by S. L. Baum
“I’ll be fine. Wherever Charity is, that is where I’ll be,” Link stated.
“I love you,” I said, my lips pressed to his shoulder.
“I love you too,” he said and kissed the top of my head.
We had never put a mortal alone in a room with Marcus, Eve, or their friends before. We had all been out together, in many cities. They were as concerned as we were about discovery. I just couldn’t see them harming someone unless provoked. But still I worried.
The stream of questions came as soon as we were alone, behind closed doors.
“What are they like?” Link asked.
“Marcus has a great sense of humor, and Eve is just sweet,” I answered.
“A sweet Witch,” he shook his head. “No I mean, what are Witches like? The real ones,” he clarified.
“Well, James thinks that they were originally a genetic offshoot from us. There are similarities.”
“But their powers are the difference,” he pointed out.
“Yes. We can heal, that is our only ‘power’. They have at least two, and gain others as they age,” I said.
Link sat down on the chair at my desk. “So how do they age?” He asked.
“James has been tracking their progress for about fifty years. They give him blood samples whenever they visit. He thinks that about ten human years it equal to one Witch year. The ageing process doesn’t actually slow down until after their body reaches full maturity. That is also when their powers start to emerge,” I explained.
“Explain their powers to me. I’d rather know now than be shocked with them later and act like a fool in front of your friends.”
“I’ll start with Marcus,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Marcus finds lost items. It sounds silly, but whenever something is dropped or misplaced within about a fifty mile radius of him. He gets these mental flashes of what the item is, exactly where it was misplaced, and then how it was lost. Because they are just images, he calls it a useless power... unless everyone had a name and a phone number tattooed on their forehead. But if he knows you, it’s very helpful.
“Last Christmas he found my pearl earring. I went to the movies with Eve and one fell out in the theatre. He texted me immediately, to tell me it was under my seat. So I personally love that power,” I paused to look at Link. He was still wearing his calm mask. But otherwise he appeared okay, so I continued. “Marcus also commands fire. He creates it in the palm of his hand and then can direct it to do his bidding. That one you’ll just have to see. It really is amazing.”
“Creates fire in the palm of hand,” Link repeated. “And what can Eve do?” he pressed on, ready for more.
“Eve can create a blast of energy, a shock wave that would knock you off your feet,” I answered.
“So what’s her other power? You said they have a mental one,” he reminded me.
“She knows things. When you get in front of her and she concentrates on your energy, your aura, she will know everything about you... past and present,” I replied.
“So no secrets from Eve,” Link smiled. “Can they be hurt? Can they die? Can they be killed?” He bombarded me with more questions.
“They can sustain injuries, like I can, but their bodies will also heal. Legends conclude that they will die eventually. We’ve never met one old enough to judge when. They can be killed. Beheaded and burned, just like me,” I ended on a somber note.
“No broomsticks for flying?” He joked.
“They can’t fly. Although they are extremely swift and agile, which would give the appearance of flight to the mortal eye,” I explained. “There is a grain of truth to most legends. Are you with me?” I asked.
“I’m just taking it all in. The frail and delicate threads that were holding my world together, are slowly deteriorating,” he attempted to smile. “Is there anything else you want to shake it up with?”
“Vampires do exist,” I whispered.
“I figured that might be so. Do you know any?”
“Yes a few. There is one I’d definitely consider a friend of the family. But he doesn’t come around as often as the Witches. We probably share a genetic link with the Vampires too. James theorizes that Immortals and Witches share ancestry. At one point in history an Immortal or a Witch was able to create a Vampire by giving a mortal enough of their blood that a metamorphic event occurred. James attempted to experiment... years ago... He tried to collect enough of his own blood to let somebody drink it. But even with a syringe, he can only extract a small amount. The veins push the needle out. The need to self heal is too strong,” I paused, studying Link’s face.
“Are there good ones? ... Vampires I mean, or are they all evil blood suckers?” He sighed in defeat. Link had reached his limit of new information.
“Just as there are good and bad people, there are good and bad Immortals, Witches, and Vampires. All beings make choices in this world. Yes, Vampires need blood to survive, but they can choose where that blood comes from. A person can offer a portion willingly, an animal can be sacrificed, donated blood can always be found, and then sometimes it is taken without permission and death occurs,” I explained.
“Do they go up in flames and burn up in the sun?” he asked.
“Myth,” I answered. “Sunlight burns their eyes. Then they are blinded until they have time to heal. That can take days. It just makes more sense for them to avoid the sunlight altogether,” I explained.
“There are more things that go bump in the night, aren’t there? Link gravely asked.
“Yes there are, but I think that’s enough information for today,” I said, reaching my arms out, beckoning him to come closer.
He stood up and walked over to the bed, to stand in front of me. I tilted my head up and tugged at his arms. He bent forward to receive the kiss that was waiting on my lips. I was eager to replace the confused and worried look on his face with something more pleasing to my eye.
He responded to my touch immediately, with his own ardent embrace. He leaned in further, so that his arms rested on the bed. My neck extended so far that I was forced to lie down or break the embrace. I scooted back toward the pillows and Link followed, crawling across the bed with me, his lips never leaving mine.
My arms moved upward, my hands lingered on his hips and then travelled up the sides of his body. I pulled back and he raised his head no more than a few inches. I traced his entire face with the tips of my fingers. When my fingers reached his mouth, he kissed them and then lowered his head to kiss the tip of my nose, then my chin. His lips worked their way from my chin to my ear where he softly whispered my name.
I turned my head so my lips could find his again. His hand moved down my side and slipped under the small of my back, as we turned onto our sides. We stayed that way - a mirror of each other, face to face, chest to chest, knees touching, sweetly kissing – not long enough it seemed, until my head began to swirl and my breath became ragged.
His hand moved from my back, to my hip, and rested on my thigh. I twined my leg around his, pressing my body closer. He grew suddenly still.
“Did I do something wrong?” I worried, trying to pull back my leg.
“No, you are doing everything right,” he held onto me tightly. “I just remembered a promise I made to Catherine last week, while you were in school.” He murmured softly between kisses.
“What did she ask you to do?” I groaned, knowing the answer.
“To take things slow, because it has been so long since Roger. And that there has been no one in between,” he said.
“I could have guessed. She is worried about me,” I said.
“Did you ever... with Roger?” He asked the question I was dreading.
“Would it matter to you?” I whispered, hiding my face in his chest.
“No, but I want to do the right thing here,” he said moving his hand to the small of my back again.
“I want this,” I breathed, “I mean I think I want this. I don’t know. My head starts to spin and my br
ain goes on vacation, and it feels so right. But to answer your question, I never have - not with Roger – not with anyone. I am probably the most experienced inexperienced person on this earth. I am a really, really, old virgin,” I admitted, and quickly turned my body to face the opposite direction.
“Charity,” he whispered in my ear, pulling my back against his chest, never letting me out of his embrace. “There is no shame in that.” He moved my hair and gently kissed the back of my neck.
“But you’re not,” I assumed.
“No, I’m not, and it was a mistake. Since the day that I met you, I knew that you were something extraordinary. In these last few weeks, I’ve realized that my whole life has been a journey that eventually led me right here, to you. I should have known you were out there. I should have waited for you,” he said holding onto me even tighter.
“I’m so glad you’re mine,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“I am yours,” he whispered back. “But this can wait. Neither of us is going anywhere.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, and wondered... How did I get to be so lucky?
I snuggled further in toward his chest, not yet able to speak. The last of the delicate threads... the ones that had well guarded and protected my fragile heart for several decades... were beginning to unravel. For the first time, in this very long life, I didn’t feel the need to strengthen or repair them.
chapter twelve
OZ
We stayed that way, in each other’s arms, just a few minutes more. We seemed to get into these long conversations right around the time we should be eating. Link’s stomach started gurgling quite loudly and I dragged him downstairs to forage for food.
I stood at the stovetop toasting up two grilled cheese sandwiches, drowning them in fact, with tons of butter. Link sat at the counter, waiting patiently.
“Ever get the feeling that we are not in Kansas anymore?” Link asked, after a few moments.
“I can hardly remember what Kansas ever looked like,” I admitted. “This life is really all that I know anymore. I don’t want to do that to you. I feel guilty about opening your eyes to the world that is really out there. Sometimes I think you would have been better off if you weren’t acquainted with all of this.”
“But if I didn’t know this,” he mused, “then I wouldn’t know you and I’m completely unwilling to give you up. So, I’ll just get used to where I am, and say goodbye to Kansas. It’s not as if I can turn back time and prevent the tornado from coming. It already tore through here. But don’t worry, it didn’t destroy anything irreplaceable. I think I was pretty lucky. It brought you to me,” he smiled.
“Yeah well, we’ll see how you feel about your lucky tornado tomorrow – after you meet the next group of people it is bringing to you,” I said as I placed the sandwiches on two plates and the plates down on the counter.
“Speaking of tomorrow... Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions that I should be aware of?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” I said after I had swallowed my first bite. “I always go to church. It was something that I did with my parents. James and Catherine joined me after I came to live with them.”
“Church...” Link mumbled, through a mouthful.
“I’ll put it this way - it is the one part of Kansas that I still like to visit. I’ve gone to every kind of religious meeting imaginable during this life of mine. There is a comfort that I get from it, from hearing that a part of me will go on when my time on this earth ends. There is no guarantee that I will live forever,” I explained. “You don’t have to go with me.”
“It’s just that I haven’t stepped into a church since Grandma died. Grandpa shut down after she was gone and I shut down after he was gone,” he shrugged. “I’d be happy to join you.”
“Thank you,” I beamed, but quickly straightened my face. I hated myself sometimes for allowing another person to affect me so much. I was becoming too attached to him.
“Anything else?” Link asked, breaking the silence.
I put a smile back on and answered, “After church we come back home and finish trimming the tree that James will be bringing home any minute now,” I finished.
“I was wondering about a tree. I’m glad you guys do one. That was one thing that I loved to do with Grandma, trim the tree. I saved a few of her favorite ornaments. They’re in the bedroom closet, back at my apartment. We’ll have to stop by there when we go into town tomorrow,” he said.
“Absolutely,” I agreed. “Oh goody, James just pulled onto the driveway. Let’s finish up quickly so we can go outside and help bring the tree in,” I said and took an enormous bite.
“That super-hearing still creeps me out,” Link said as he stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth.
James had brought home a hulking monster of a Christmas tree which was slightly dwarfed by the size of the room we placed it in. The four of us managed to get the tree up and partially trimmed in less than an hour. I saved the Angel that would adorn the top, for Christmas Eve. It had been a tradition of my mother’s.
The scent of the evergreen wafted through the air and mixed with the cinnamon laced cider we drank. Soon, the room was filled with the sweet aroma of Christmas.
“It’s looking so beautiful,” I sighed as we finished for the night.
“Why don’t we settle in for a traditional Christmas movie?” James suggested.
“It’s a Wonderful Life!” Catherine exclaimed.
“Grandma and Grandpa loved that movie. We watched it at least once a year,” Link smiled at the memory.
“Perfect choice. I remember going to the theatre to see it when it first came out. There were some great movies that got me through the rest of the Forties,” I sighed.
“Man, you are old,” Link teased.
“And you are a young pup,” I cried, and smacked him soundly on his back.
“Stop fighting children,” Catherine playfully scolded.
“I’ll put the movie in. Link, why don’t you start a fire? There are some logs in the fireplace already. You’ll find matches in the silver case on the mantle,” James instructed.
“Got it,” Link said, flashed me an exaggerated scowl, and crossed the room to the fireplace.
I smirked back at him as Catherine and I each sat on one of the overstuffed leather sofas, waiting for our partners to join us. I grabbed the blanket that rested on the back of the couch and draped it across my lap, tucking it under my legs. I wiggled my toes, enjoying the feel of the soft fuzzy material against my bare feet.
James inserted the DVD and took his place beside Catherine, remote in hand. She immediately snuggled herself into his side.
Link knelt down in front of the fireplace, removed a long match from the silver case, and was about to strike it - when it happened.
A ball of glowing red whizzed between the two couches. My hair stirred and my cheek grew warm as the breath of hot air blew by. The fireball streamed through the room, barely missing Link’s left shoulder as it landed in the fireplace. The logs were instantly bathed in flames as a roaring fire appeared. Link fell backward, bracing himself with his hands, abandoning the silver case to let it fall, clanging onto the floor. I jumped up.
“Marcus,” I cried out with joy, turning around to find him, “and Eve,” I smiled when I saw the two of them, standing in the back of the room. “You’re early!” I exclaimed as I rushed over to give them each a hug.
I stood there a moment, taking the two of them in. Marcus was the perpetual stylish, modern young man, no matter the decade. He wasn’t a tall man, standing around five foot ten. But if some thought he lacked height, he made up for it in sheer confidence. Simply the way he walked through a room, and his well maintained frame, turned heads wherever he went, I was sure of it. But he only had eyes for Eve.
Eve had cut her formerly waist length hair much shorter. It now fell just below her shoulders, like mine. People had often mistaken us for sisters, and now the resemblance was even greater. We ha
d the same hair color, eye color, were roughly the same height and weight. She rarely packed a bag when they came to visit. She loved to raid my closet.
“We decided to surprise you,” Eve giggled.
“How did they surprise you? Couldn’t you hear them?” Link wondered aloud as he stood and straightened himself back up.
“Yes,” James puzzled. “How did you do that?”
“Eve gained a new power. She can block sound now,” Marcus glowered. He cocked his head toward Link, raised an eyebrow, and asked with the ever present hint of an English accent. “What’s with the mortal?”
He could make the accent disappear if he really wanted to.
“Charity has found a companion. She’s in love with him,” Eve answered, absorbing the details from my mind.
“With a mortal? Really Charity!” Marcus exclaimed.
“Leave it be, he will not expose anyone. He’s becoming part of our family. He’s good for Charity,” Catherine said as she crossed the room to greet our friends. “Welcome to Telluride,” she finished.
“Welcome,” James echoed her greeting.
“Come,” Eve gestured with her hands. “Give your new friend a proper greeting,” she smiled at Link.
He walked forward, but came to a stop a few feet in front of Eve. He seemed unsure of what to do next. Eve closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Link took an automatic step backward, stunned by her too quick movement. Eve paused, waiting for Link’s reaction.
I went to his side and took hold of his arm. Link looked down at me and gave a small crooked smile.
“Link, may I introduce my friend Eve,” I began the introductions. “Eve, as you’ve already extracted from my head, this is Link.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Link finally spoke, and held his hand out in greeting.
Eve grabbed him and hugged him tightly. When she pulled back, she held onto his hands with her own and stared into his eyes. She held his gaze for a few moments, taking him in, absorbing him. The smile she wore grew broader, warmer, as she silently got to know the man that I was helplessly in love with.