by S. L. Baum
“I will tell you everything, later,” I promised him. “There are no secrets,” I squeezed his hand and brushed his lips with my own.
“Later,” he agreed.
“Hey, Emily!” A familiar voice called.
I turned my head to find Delilah waving wildly from the front counter. She had just walked into the restaurant with the rest of the group in tow.
“Hi guys,” I smiled and ran over to them.
“Hey,” chorused Summer, Rusty, and Burke.
“We haven’t heard from you since school got out,” Summer said and stared over my shoulder at the table’s occupants. “Are those friends or relatives?” she asked.
“We have friends visiting from out of town. They might as well be family though,” I responded.
“Who are the twins?” Delilah asked, eyeing Oz with interest.
“Their names are Cozmo and Marcus. Next to Marcus is his fiancé, Eve,” I said.
“Is Cozmo’s girlfriend in the restroom or something?” Dee fished for more answers.
“No,” I hesitated. “He’s here by himself.”
Cozmo was listening to every word. His flirtatious nature took over and he flashed Delilah a knowing smile. I could see Burke’s features tense up, just a bit. Cozmo infuriated me sometimes.
“He’s a bit of a player,” I added and looked over my shoulder to catch the slight frown appear on his face.
“Did you see any familiar Santas on the slopes yesterday?” Rusty piped in, trying to save his friend by changing the topic of conversation.
“I saw a few Santas. Why? Were you one of them?”
“Yeah... Burke and me, we put on the hat and beard and red coat, stuffed a pillow inside, and tore it up,” he smiled.
“I’m sorry I missed that. I bet you guys looked great,” I laughed.
“I’ll email you the pics,” Summer offered.
“That’d be great. Well I’d better get back. See you at church tonight,” I excused myself to return to my other friends.
Marcus grabbed my hand, when I got back to the table. “Your friend Summer... I got a flash of her yesterday as I arrived in town. Find a way to suggest she look behind her dresser for the set of keys she can’t find.” He rolled his eyes when he finished the sentence.
“Thanks, Marcus,” I squeezed his hand. “It is a useful power. Someday you’ll see that.” I reassured him
“I was just scanning your friends there and I have to say, sometimes high school girl brains are so confusing,” Eve sighed. “I got a pretty clear view from Summer, she hasn’t seen anything. But that Delilah girl, she’s all over the place. She has several versions of the same memory, with the details skewed just a bit in each one. It’s like she’s trying to change the past to suit,” she sighed.
“Dee loves to get her way, so that doesn’t surprise me. But she has a good heart. I overlook the rest,” I admitted.
“The boys saw that same Husky today too, in the back of a vehicle. Rusty told Burke it looked like a clone dog,” Eve paused, thoughtful.
“What are you thinking?” Link asked her.
“I’m thinking that too many people in this town are noticing this dog. I say we keep our eye out for it. There’s a house not too far from here, with a husky that always sits out front in the snow. Everyone keeps flashing back to it when they see the ‘clone dog.’ I couldn’t see an address, but the street intersects with this one over by the gondola. We should check it out,” Eve said.
We left the restaurant, following Eve to the house. Out front, asleep in the snow was a beautiful dark grey and white dog. Eve called to it, and it looked up for a moment. Sparkling pale eyes decided we were of no interest, so it rested its head back down again. I tried to take a mental picture of it, commit its image to memory, knowing that it was always best to go with Eve’s gut.
“I’m having trouble understanding how a dog is connected to finding Leviticus and Ezekiel Lord,” Link puzzled.
“You would, Mortal,” Oz quipped.
“Oz,” Eve and I scolded at the same time.
“Sorry, slip of the tongue,” Oz apologized.
His tone was surprisingly sincere. I was impressed.
“Link, you have to think outside of the box in which you have lived your life so far,” Eve told him.
“Sweetheart,” I began, “a dog is not always just a dog. It could be a clue. It could be another creature entirely. It could be an image projected in the minds of others by a very powerful Witch as it passes by. It could be one of a hundred different things,” I explained.
Link looked at me with doubt, “Or it could be just a dog.”
“Yes, it could be. But you have just seen a glimpse into my world. There’s a vast expanse that you are still unaware of. To the world around, I am just a girl. But now you know the truth about me,” I smiled at him.
“You are a glorious being,” he smiled, a brilliant smile, and drew me to him for a kiss.
“Good idea Mortal,” Marcus patted him on the back and pulled Eve to him for a kiss as well.
“Do I have to be subjected to this?” Oz shook his head and looked away.
“Brother, you have to find a mate,” Marcus sighed.
“I’ll leave the chains to you. I’m a free man,” Oz answered.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Marcus replied and hugged onto Eve, again kissing her passionately – right there on the street.
They were perfect together.
Eve giggled and pushed him back, “Stop... later darling.”
We went back to the house and waited for Catherine and James. “Surprise awaits u @ hm,” I texted to both of their phones. We waited for them in the kitchen, perched on stools at the island counter, eating, drinking, and talking. These were the friends I had allowed myself. No mortals. Only sturdy beings that wouldn’t easily die on me, that wouldn’t see me as a freak. I loved them for that, but was glad that I was beginning to let a few mortals into my life. Especially the one seated beside me.
I put my hand on Link’s leg, loving the strength I could feel radiating between us, and turned to my old friend.
“Oz, tell me where have you been and what you’ve been up to these last few years,” I inquired.
“Traveling around Europe. I played tourist for one month in each town that I visited. I spent the last three with these two,” he said, pointing at his brother and Eve. “We were in Scotland and England.”
“Yeah, Oz got us in this nasty car crash in Scotland and we had to high tail it out of there before anyone started asking questions,” Marcus accused.
“Nobody died, well maybe a sheep, but no people!” Oz exclaimed.
“You should really be more careful. Both Link and Charity have lost their parents in terrible car crashes,” Eve commented. “I would hate to be the cause of someone else’s pain.”
“You took that out of my head, didn’t you?” Link asked.
“I saw it last night. It still pains you,” Eve observed.
“I guess it does,” he murmured.
“Charity didn’t tell you, but she was in the car with her parents the night of the accident,” Eve went on.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Link rubbed my shoulders.
“I don’t remember anything about it,” I admitted. “The last thing I do remember is headlights coming toward us. I woke up in a hospital four days later and the doctors informed me of my parents’ death. Apparently we were run off the road. I was thrown from the car, but my parents remained inside while it rolled down the embankment. They told me I was probably in and out of consciousness for three days, hidden in the brush, before anyone discovered the wreckage. Other than hitting my head and obtaining memory loss, I was spared any major injury. My parents lost their lives,” I recalled the only details that remained.
“It’s amazing that you survived, stuck outside for three days and nights not knowing if help would arrive. Maybe it is better that you have no memory of the event,” Link concluded.
“Charity is a strong girl. She can survive any hardship placed before her,” Catherine said as she walked in the room. “Is that my surprise?” she asked, pointing to Cozmo. “I’m not sure if I really want it,” she wrinkled her forehead in mock distaste.
“Sweetheart, now don’t hurt my feelings. I’ve come a long way to be made fun of by the likes of you,” Oz stepped over to her, engulfing her in an exuberant hug.
“I’m so glad you came this year,” Catherine squeaked out through the tight embrace. “We’ve missed you.”
“That scoundrel? He’s back again?” James said with a laugh, from the entrance to the kitchen.
“I couldn’t stay away too long. I know how you miss me,” Oz answered.
The next hour was spent playing two kinds of catch up. Cozmo told James and Catherine what he had been doing since we had seen him last and Eve shared the visions that she’d gathered from people throughout town.
We went to church as planned. My strange little group occupied almost an entire pew. Three Immortals, three Witches, and one completely mortal man sat through a sermon on the meaning of Christmas and the importance of giving. My friends from school were in the pew directly in front of us. Rusty, Summer, and her mom sat next to Delilah, her parents, and Burke. Dee kept twisting her head backward, smiling at me and then letting her gaze linger on Cozmo.
Poor Burke, I thought. I hope he had alternative plans for college. It was only two months into their relationship and Dee’s eyes were already straying.
Link held my hand and I rested my head on his shoulder. I’m a lucky girl, I told myself. I had been given a second chance... a second chance at love.
When the sermon was over, and the last carol was sung, we stepped out of the church and into the cold. The Tylers were walking toward us, towing little Sammy along. They each flashed a friendly smile, curiosity present in their eyes. I assumed they wanted to be introduced to our new friends. I was gearing up to start the introductions that I just knew were forthcoming, when Mr. Tyler started to share some information of his own.
“Dr. Johnston, I just wanted to let you know that someone visited our home last night. I answered the door to find some fella trying to act all official, with a clipboard in hand, but something didn’t seem quite right. He said he represented some company that surveyed urgent care patients and wanted to know all about Sammy’s recent visit. He even asked if he could check my boy out.
“I have to tell you, I can usually tell when someone is feeding me a line of bull. This guy was full of it. I can’t see why somebody would be checking door to door on medical care. I was real vague in my answers. I told the guy that Sammy was asleep and I saw no reason to wake him,” he explained.
“Thank you Mr. Tyler. I’m glad you’ve brought this to my attention. I’ll inform my other patients and urge them to turn away anyone that may come around asking questions. I’m so sorry that you were bothered in your home,” James said.
“No big deal Doc. I just knew this guy wasn’t on the up and up, and thought you should be informed.”
“Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!” James shook Mr. Tyler’s hand and then crouched down in front of Sammy, “I bet there’s something good waiting under the tree for you Sammy,” James smiled at the boy.
“I got lots to open tomorrow!” Sammy jumped up and down with excitement.
As soon as the Tyler family had said their goodbyes and walked away, Eve motioned for everyone to gather around her.
“I scanned that family just now and it’s not good,” she turned to me.
“What?” I almost shouted at Eve.
“Well, the guy that I keep seeing walking the dog, is the same guy that Mr. Tyler just told James about. And there’s more - Mrs. Tyler was looking out the window while her husband was talking to the man at the door. She saw the ‘clone dog’ in the back of a car parked out front. Leviticus Lord was sitting in the passenger seat,” she finished with a sigh.
“They’re here,” I exhaled.
James stepped between us, draping his arms over Eve’s and my shoulders. “It’s time to go back to the house everyone. We need to make a plan. They’re closer than I thought they would be,” he said.
“We should have left the moment I saw Leviticus in Montrose,” I insisted, as soon as we had all walked into the kitchen. “Then we wouldn’t be sitting here worried, wondering when those lunatics will find us.”
“Do we flee, or do we fight?” James asked me. “I for one am tired of fleeing.”
“It’s six, well seven if you count the mortal, against two,” Cozmo pointed out. “Relax, Charity, we can handle this.”
Oh can we? What if Leviticus or Ezekiel comes up from behind and slices off my head with a sword? What can we do about that? What if Link gets injured? He can’t heal himself the way we can. What if one of the townspeople get hurt? All of these thoughts ran through my mind. But I didn’t say them. I knew I had to be strong for Link. But I was afraid.
Instead I answered, “You are right. We can handle whatever they throw at us.” I hoped Link thought the same.
“As long as we stay together, we can handle anything. I know it,” Link smiled that brilliant smile and I forced myself to smile back.
It was a weak version of a smile, and I prayed that he wouldn’t notice. I desperately wanted to believe that all their words were true.
We made a plan. Tomorrow we would start our hunt. We would find Leviticus and Ezekiel Lord and drag them out of town. We would eliminate their threat to our family, by whatever means necessary.
After the seven of us had worked out all the details, Link and I headed upstairs.
We had decided to exchange one present on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning. It was a tradition that his grandparents had started with his mother when she was a little girl, and then his parents had carried on with him. I was determined to keep this tradition going for him. We wouldn’t let the day’s events spoil our Christmas Eve plans. I wanted to bring some normalcy back into the exceptional world he now found himself living in.
We sat on the bed and tore into the wrapping paper as soon as the gifts were exchanged.
“Oh wow, it’s that great art deco jewelry set that we saw in Montrose. How did you get it?” I asked.
“You’re not the only one with secrets,” he gave a sly smile and continued unwrapping his present. When the paper was discarded on the floor, he pulled the top off of the box, “A weapon!” he exclaimed. “My girlfriend has bought me a weapon.”
“Not just any weapon,” I ignored his sarcasm. “It’s an exact replica of my gold rush era push dagger. See,” I said as I unsheathed the matching blade from the waist of my jeans. “See how ornate it is. Look at the intricate carvings. It tucks easily into your belt and can be quickly retrieved,” I explained as I curled my fingers around the handle.
“Sorry, it is beautiful and handy, I’m sure. It is just the first weapon given to me as a present. Thank you.”
“Get used to it,” I told him. “It’s the first of many.”
“You mean there are boxes of these things under the tree?” he teased.
“No. It just won’t be your last. And, I’m not telling you what’s under the tree,” I smiled.
“The tree,” Link paused. “My Grandma’s ornaments, I forgot to get them,” he said with disappointment.
“We’ve preoccupied you today. Once again, my crazy life is disrupting yours,” I berated myself. “I’m so sorry.”
“They’re ornaments, Charity, you’re not disrupting my life,” he shook his head at me.
“But they’re important to you. It’s not too late to go get them,” I offered. “I know it’s after midnight, but I’ve always subscribed to the saying ‘the night belongs to the day it follows’ so technically, it’ll still be Christmas Eve when you place them on the tree.”
“Why not, we’ll be back in no time,” Link smiled.
We were on the road, and on our way to Link’s apartment, within minutes. My cell phone buzzed almost as soon as Link pulled out of the driveway. I looked at the screen and read aloud, “‘Txt when u get there n txt when ur on the way hm,’ It’s from Marcus,” I told Link.
“K” I texted him back immediately.
“We are completely alone now. Can you please tell me what, if anything, there is, or was, between you and Oz? Should I be jealous? Why does he keep looking at you that way?” Link pressed for answers.
“About fifteen years ago, Cozmo decided that the two of us belonged together. He wanted me to leave James and Catherine and come to live with him, Marcus, Eve, and the others. I toyed with the idea for awhile. I thought that maybe it was time for me to move on with my life and attempt to love again. But it just never felt right. I couldn’t view Cozmo as anything but a very good friend.
“He tried to change my mind and I tried to view him romantically. But in the end, he admitted that it wasn’t love, it was companionship, he was looking for. I told him I couldn’t leave my family. He was hurt, and has been inconsistent in his visits ever since. It ended before it ever began,” I confessed.
“Did anything ever happen between the two of you?” Link asked.
“There were a few very minor make out sessions, but as I said, it just never felt right,” I admitted. “I never got that tingling feeling, that breathlessness that I feel with you.”
“Thank you for telling me the truth,” he said. “I make you tingle eh,” Link smirked.
“And this is news to you?” I scoffed.
“No, I expected as much. It’s always nice to hear that you like it,” he smiled.
“Love it,” I corrected.
chapter fourteen
THE STORM
The snow, which fell in delicate flurries as we left Mountain Village, began to thicken the closer we got to Telluride. It soon created a filmy white blanket that clung to the air. By the time we reached the apartment complex, the wind was whipping the flakes around violently.