She shook her head and wrapped her arms around my middle. I patted her head comfortingly.
“You are angry that they dragged you here. I understand that. I am not exactly thrilled about it, either. But I also understand that despite what they have done, they are our best chance of surviving.” I sighed heavily, looking up for divine guidance to help me determine how best to make them understand. As usual, I was offered no help, at least not by a higher power.
James rescued me from the conversational stalemate as he always did.
“It has been a long, violent fight. Every day since we’ve been here, we’ve been fighting something. Natives, Shadows, cave-people, monstrous squid-sharks…” He looked between Violet and Elijah, “The list will go on the longer we stay out there. Who knows what else we’ll see? Who knows if we’ll continue to survive? At least here, we have a chance. We might not see another fight ever. Is there anything else that we could possibly ask for, given the circumstances?”
Elijah and Violet were convinced by what he had said. They still distrusted the situation as James and I did. But they knew he was right. I wanted to hug him in thanks for convincing them but I also wanted to roll my eyes in annoyance that was only partially serious. Why was it always James that was able to convince people? We would have to compare notes on the fine art of debating a course of action.
“Now we need to tell Quinn, Alice and Nick that we are staying.” I heeded James’s request that we keep them close. He looked at me and I nodded before speaking again, “I might not agree, but it is important to you.”
“It is.” James responded, and I could see that he wanted to kiss me to show his gratitude for my agreement. But Elijah was there with us so instead of a kiss, I got a quick squeeze on the shoulder. “I don’t want to see them get killed after everything we’ve survived.”
“I know. I am starting to agree with you more and more on that, believe it or not.”
“Or not.” He responded sardonically, and I swatted him lightly in the arm with a suppressed smile forming on my face.
“Well, I don’t agree with that at all!” Violet exclaimed after crossing her arms again, “We don’t need them. You two don’t need anymore responsibility. We were just saying that you two are leading the way and doing a damn good job of it.”
“You thought that was a good job?” James asked incredulously, “I shudder to think what a bad job is.”
“Speak for yourself, James Maxwell. I personally believe that we were doing a stellar job.”
“We nearly got eaten by a prehistoric river serpent, we almost drowned in said river, we were attacked by…”
“Thank you!” I pressed my fingers to his lips to stop him from continuing.
“Whatever your own opinions of it are, even Quinn, Alice and Nick said that under the circumstances, you guys are doing a good job.” Elijah added.
“Oh, so you all have spoken? That is nice.” I replied honestly, “That will make convincing them to stay much easier. I was picturing a slippery, eighty-nine degree slope.”
“I talked to them.” Elijah corrected me, “Violet is still mad that they left us to fight by ourselves in the cave.”
“Forgive me for being slightly put out by an obvious show of cowardice.”
“Alright, Brynna…” Elijah snapped sarcastically, “I wasn’t getting on you about it. I was just telling her what was going on before they disappeared.”
“I just don’t think that you two need to be responsible for three people who wouldn’t throw water on us if we were on fire. That’s all I’m saying.” Violet held her hands up in defense.
“I would not go that far. Surely, if all was known and there was a sense of immediacy, not to mention the guilt that would follow watching someone burn to death…” I started.
“Oh my God, Brynna!” Violet threw her hands up in frustration.
While Violet was clearly at her wits end from hearing so many of my overly logistical musings on things, James and Elijah were both laughing hysterically after that particular one.
“You think I am being funny but I was just pointing out a fallacy…” I continued seriously. I sighed heavily and walked forward, heading towards Adam and Don. When they turned to me, I shuddered upon meeting Adam’s eyes. There was a depth to them that I had not noticed before; it was downright unnerving. I looked away from him immediately and spoke to Don instead. Standing next to Adam, he was about as threatening as a guppy swimming alongside a great white shark. I looked between them, trying not to smile; the simile was very fitting, actually.
“We have decided to stay, though as I have stated, I do not believe that we have much of a choice.”
“Of course you…” Don started soothingly only to be interrupted by Adam.
“You are right, as always, Ms. Olivier. You did not have a choice.”
“Adam, I don’t think that making the girl feel imprisoned is helpful in making her want to stay.”
“I would not have let you leave because there are many out there that hunt you. There are creatures that hunt any living food source, of course. But they are the least of your worries. Did Don inform you that Richard Bachum and your father have a bounty on your head?”
I was momentarily stunned into silence, which more than answered whether or not Don had told me.
“It is of little importance now that you are here. You needn’t worry. You are safe behind these walls. You can fight like an animal if you venture out and they attack you. You have a strong man who feels great affection for you and will protect you.” His eyes darkened when he looked at James and I could have sworn I heard a note of disdain in his voice. “And of course, the Bachums and your father fear crossing me.”
“I am not worried,” I lied, “Nor am I confused. Nor am I surprised. The Bachums will cross you because that is the arrangement of your war, is it not, Adam?”
“They are not crossing me if they continue to fight. They are crossing Don.”
“What exactly are they offering as a bounty? Is it only me that they are after?” I pressed him.
I had to know how to process the notion of being hunted. I needed to know the exact reason behind their desire to capture and kill me because it could become a weapon if any situation called for one.
“They are offering safety. They are offering an exit from the war that is starting as we speak. They are offering an abundance of food and royal standing. What more could any of you ask for?”
“I am going to assume that you were being condescending when you said that and I am going to ignore it for the time being.” I crossed my arms in indignation, reminding myself of my younger sister who was standing the exact same way as she watched us. “Is it only me? What is their reasoning?”
“Their highest bounty is for you. But they are also hunting your sisters and brother.”
“Do they want us dead or alive?”
“With you, preferably alive. With the others, certainly alive.”
“Adam, I don’t think this is right, telling her all of this…” Don chimed in. We both scowled at him and he shrunk into the background where he did not speak again.
“What about James?” I asked.
“They want him dead.”
I almost grasped my heart as the icy fear took a strangling hold of it once again. I suppressed the urge.
“And their reasoning?”
“Does it matter?” Adam asked me after raising an eyebrow.
“It matters to me.”
Adam chuckled softly, nodding in a show of respect for my need to learn all that could be known. It showed great wisdom and an embrace of common sense. That is what his mind was saying, anyway. For some reason, he was allowing me to see into it, though his many thoughts were hazy, like trying to see into a mirror after throwing water on the glass.
“You all have been gifted with great powers that we also possess. Each of you has been given at least one. They do not take kindly to being rejected by the One God they follow so closely. They do not blame Him. They bl
ame you.”
“Interesting…” I mused on that for a moment.
“They know that those who embraced their powers will be more likely to win their place here. They do not like being usurped. They certainly will not allow a total victory. They certainly will not surrender.”
“May I ask you something?”
“You are going to ask me whether I agree or not. I can sense your stubbornness and your aggression.”
“Well, I am not going to apologize for either.”
“I would never expect you to apologize, Ms. Olivier.”
“This is truly a rare opportunity to get inside the mind of a tyrant.”
“You believe I am tyrannical?”
I furrowed my brows and stared at him. My silence and the look on my face answered his question. He chuckled softly again.
“Continue, Ms. Olivier.”
“Why is it that we cannot all live here? Why do you insist on one group eradicating the other?”
It was a question that had been tugging at my consciousness since mine and Don’s discussion. Now, I was faced with what was perhaps the only chance to have it answered. I needed to know just for my own mind. I could not see the answer clearly the way I could see other things.
“That will become evident to you soon enough.” Adam replied and our eyes met again.
He reached out his hand to me. Once I clasped it, he brought mine to his lips. As he kissed the back of my hand, he never broke his gaze away from my eyes.
“Your stubbornness and aggression will persist most boldly in my mind until we meet again, Ms. Olivier.”
I blinked and he was gone.
XXX
Elijah knew about James and me. When two women were asked by Don to lead us to our rooms, I was not careful or quiet when I disclosed to them that James and I would be sharing. Elijah narrowed his eyes at me and I shrugged.
“What do you want me to say?” I asked him softly.
“Can you come with me, please?” He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from our group before I had a chance to tell him that I could not.
“Are you serious right now?” He was clearly trying to keep a hold on his anger and disapproval, though I could not imagine why. I was more than capable of dealing with both.
“This does not have to turn into anything drawn out. Perhaps I was wrong in keeping mine and James’s relationship status a secret. I should have been open with you from the start. I do apologize.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“You just asked me if I was serious and now you are asking…”
“Don’t even pull that right now!” He exploded suddenly and pointed at me in rage. “You and him? Brynna, are you out of your mind?!”
“No, Eli, I am not.” I replied calmly. “I am twenty-two years old and fully capable of deciding who I want to be involved in a relationship with. I have decided on James.”
“He’s like…” Elijah threw his hands up as he tried to settle on exactly which exaggerated number he was going to use to define James's age. I stopped him before he could speak it.
“He is forty-five. I am not going to spend even a moment justifying our relationship to you. I certainly do not have to do that, therefore I will not. I don’t care whether you approve or disapprove. We have been together officially for several weeks but I know that you had to have noticed how we were even before then. There was always an attraction.”
“I did notice it. I noticed that he was attracted to you and it disgusted me. That’s why I called him on it the first night I met him.” He told me as he shook with fury. “He’s preying on you! You’re young enough to be his kid!”
“He has done nothing predatory throughout the entire duration of time that I have known him. He is a good man. He has one eye out for me constantly. He would do anything to make sure that I was safe.”
“Is that what this about? Feeling safe?” His tone softened only slightly.
“No. It is about the fact that when I look at James, I see a brave, humorous, painfully good-looking man who cares deeply about you, Violet, Penny, and me. That is why I am with him. Because I…” I stopped, knowing that admitting to Elijah the true level my feelings for James had reached would only make him angrier.
“I’m not going to approve of it, Brynna. I will never approve of it!”
“What, are you our father now?” My anger rose instantly at his assumption that I needed or even wanted his approval.
“No, I’m not. Thank God! But I am technically the man of the family now and I don’t approve of him!”
“You had no problems with him only a moment ago.”
“That was before I found out that he dates girls half his age! That he preys on girls too stupid to realize they’re being played! What if I started dating someone who was half my age?! What if I started dating a twelve year old, Brynna?!”
“First of all, that is an utterly ridiculous comparison. What you suggested would violate several old-world laws. This is not a matter of James dating me while I am too young to fully grasp what we are doing. I am an adult, Elijah! Secondly, it is folly to accuse me of stupidity. I mean, really! It is utterly nonsensical to assume that I would ever be enchanted into foolishness by a man!”
“Yeah? It happens to the best, doesn’t it? Look at Mom! Look at Maura!”
“And now you have offended me further by comparing me to them!” I exclaimed furiously, and my eyes turned red at the mere suggestion that I, for better or worse, was similar to Maura or our mother. “They are certainly not the best of any breed, human or otherwise! What occurs between James and I has nothing to do with you!”
“You know, I get it now.” He was grinning with a sadistic rage I had never seen in him. He was going to say something cruel, something unforgivable. I braced for it.
“Go ahead. If you want to have that look on your face, then you say it, Elijah.” I challenged him in a dangerous whisper.
“This is all about Lucien, isn't it?”
What exactly he was referring to escaped me somehow. Lucien's death and my relationship with James possessed no commonality to one another, I believed.
“You're with him to punish yourself for letting our brother die, right?”
My stomach turned over. I almost heaved forward as the assault of memories overtook my consciousness. My anger spiked as his words lashed their way through my stream of terrifying thoughts. How long had he floated in the water before I emerged from my stupor? Had he screamed my name? Had he called to me so desperately for help? Had he thought that I was purposely ignoring him so that he would die?
That particular thought was the one to send me reeling into a space of temporary insanity.
I ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes for just one second as I tried to control the high-speed train of my consciousness. I wanted to scream again and stomp my feet until that terrible question faded away. There was not even a tiny part of my brain that could bear it. I could not imagine, even for a moment, that he had thought I was allowing him to drown for some selfish reason...
My sweating palms slid off of the table in the hallway that I had tried to grasp in order to steady myself.
None of those obvious signs indicating that what he had already said was enough stopped Elijah from continuing.
“He probably tells you all the things you want to hear about how Lucien died. He's old, so he's desperate to keep you. He'll say anything. Any normal, young guy wouldn't be able to look at you knowing that you killed your own...”
I would not have stopped myself if I could have. I slapped him so hard across the face that he slammed into the wall and left a dent in the plaster. He ran through a list of expletives that were meant to make me sorry but failed. I glared at him, wanting to hit him again and again until every last bone in his body was broken. Even in my cruelest moments towards Maura, my mother, or even my father, I had never said anything so agonizingly cruel. How could my brother, my protector, say such a terrible thing? I couldn’t fathom i
t.
Holding onto the anger while forcing away the hurt, I stormed away and opened the door to my room. There, I found the man who had caused the great conflict. Elijah followed after me, shouting still about my promiscuity and stupidity, though those are terms too nice to put in the place of what he actually said. He yelled about my ignorance and malicious self-interest that had resulted in our brother's death.
James was standing at the window and he turned upon my entrance into the room.
He was outlined by the bright moon that had come up over the tree line. A shadow was cast over his face, eerily complimenting the anger I could see in his eyes. If his thoughts were any indication, which they should have been, he had not heard the details of mine and Elijah’s fight. He knew that it involved him but he had tuned out the arguing to give me privacy.
My eyes were ablaze with rage that I would not allow to dissolve into pain. I refused to cry, even in front of James. I would hold onto the anger because it was more honorable than admitting to being hurt. I needed something to distract me, some way to release the poisonously incensed energy coursing through my veins. My blood was on fire, burning through every part of my insides with no mercy. I would surely melt from the inside out.
When James looked into my eyes from across the room, he saw both the anger I wore proudly on my sleeve and the hurt I was trying to suppress. He sensed my need to release both in a frenzied action. Animals can sense desire in other animals. It was no different for James and I, who were becoming more animalistic with each passing day.
“Come on, then.” He challenged me, and I attacked.
I ran forward, jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around him to hold on. We fell onto the mattress made of feathers, kissing frenetically, as though our very lives depended on that moment between us. James and I had been fighting the desire to sneak off into the woods to do exactly what we were doing in the present. Now, there was nothing to stop us and fury to drive us forward. It was sinful.
Our hands were ripping at our clothes as the scorching anticipation reached its maximum capacity. I had never experienced such painful desire. There was but one cure for the hunger that James and I were suffering from. There was but one way to exorcise the fear, regret and uncertainty that had been plaguing us since we had walked off the ship that very first day on Pangea.
The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) Page 51