by K. D. Peters
His words definitely got my attention. “Your own?” I repeated.
“Indeed. But what could I really expect in the end? Great powers always seem to attract to one another, and this one was destined to be written long ago. So for now, I’ll leave it all to be whatever it will be. But I warn you child, if you cause him any harm, I will cause it for you. Mark my words on that one.” Jade said. He leaned down then to whisper in my ear. “If you think your dreams are frightening, you haven't seen anything yet.”
The grip on my arm tightened even more, and the pain came. I found myself quickly pushing against him to get away. And just as quickly, I found myself waking up. To my surprise, Chris was leaned over me, apparently trying to wake me up as well. “Hey, are you all right? What happened?” he asked, looking concerned now.
I worked hard to catch my breath. A dream. It had just been a nightmare. But at the same time, I knew it was also much, much more. I’d just seen the other Fallen that had a whole lot of involvement with Saffron. And he was threatening me in a roundabout way. He was threatening me about his own. And with that, a startling realization began to dawn on me. His own….
“You’re his son.”
Five
Maybe I’d just been blind to it before. Maybe I’d just never wanted to even suspect it. But sitting there on that bed, breathing hard and trembling from that dream that was apparently all too real, I knew that I’d just learned the hard truth. And the truth was going to hurt. Chris wasn’t just any child of a Fallen. He was the son of one of the most feared Fallens out there.
He was Jade’s son.
For a moment after I’d actually said the words out loud, Chris was very still. But I knew he'd heard me. His eyes actually widened a little in shock from my words. “What did you say…” he started.
I quickly jerked back on the bed, feeling the pain in my left arm from where Jade had grabbed me in that dream. “You’re that other Fallen’s son. Jade’s your father.” I repeated in disbelief. Honestly, I couldn’t believe that I didn’t connect it all before. He knew far too much about this to be just another Shadow Wing. Even for their so called prince. Jade must have told him about everything at some point. And looking at those different colored eyes, I realized that the green one looked exactly like Jade’s. He even looked somewhat like him, although his hair was definitely lighter, and his features were a little bit softer.
Chris sat himself back, looking a little defeated now. “So I take it he decided to show himself.” He said quietly. He didn’t sound too happy realizing that.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before? You know who I am, and you knew he might come after me. You know he hates my father for what he did before.” I said in shock.
“Look, it’s not exactly something I like admitting to.” Chris defended.
“Didn’t you think it was kind of important this time?” I asked him. I honestly couldn’t believe any of this now. Maybe I had made a big mistake in trusting Chris. Maybe he was actually getting ready to lead me into some sort of trap…
Chris didn’t back down though. Instead, he tried to reason with me. “Come on, don’t start that. Just calm down and listen to me.” He said.
“Why should I calm down?” I asked him as I leaned back against the headboard of the bed. My arm was still throbbing. “What do you really want with me in this? Where are you really taking me?”
“I told you, we’re going to Baton Rouge to see Zane. It’s going to be the safest place for you when you change.” Chris answered. With that, he reached over and gently touched my arm. To my surprise, it began to feel better almost immediately. “Look, just because he happens to be my father doesn’t mean that I have to obey him or be anything at all like him. I haven’t even seen Jade in over ten years now. And to be perfectly honest with you, I don't even want to see him. He’s probably just pissed off because of that as well as me deciding to come get you myself.” He continued.
I’ll admit that it did make a little bit of sense when he put it that way. But I still didn’t feel comfortable at all about any of this now. I was sitting in a motel room with the son of the Fallen who had once worked with my father, and was betrayed by him. This was the same Fallen that basically said that I should've never been born in the first place. I quickly pushed myself off of the bed, going over to the door. “I’m not staying in here right now. I just have to get out of here for a little while. I need some air.” I said, quickly going back out into the hallway. Thankfully, Chris didn’t try to stop me either. Guess he figured out that I needed the space.
I knew that I had to get away from him by then. My mind was very confused and conflicted at that point. The dream was still replaying in vivid detail for me. Slowly, I walked down the darkened hallway and the two flights of stairs, rubbing my upper arm. It was still a little sore, but not half as bad as before. I guessed that somehow Chris must have healed some of the bruising when he touched it. I couldn’t help but let out a long exhausted sigh though. Could I really stay with him now, knowing what I did? I wasn’t too sure at this point. I just couldn’t see how I could trust him. Or even how I’d be able to fight off the fears that Jade would show up again and come after me. His words were so cold and calculating then, and I shivered as I remembered them. If what he said was true, then I wasn't safe anywhere.
Still, as I stepped outside and leaned against the brick wall of the motel, I knew that I had another problem too. I couldn’t get myself back home that easily if I chose not to stay with him. I had no money with me, and I wasn’t even sure just where I was. Even if I called my mother, I couldn’t tell her where to come. And with what Chris was, would he even let her take me back? I shook my head. I felt absolutely helpless now. Looking up at the full moon, I couldn’t help but feel completely and utterly defeated.
But as I stood there with all of these thoughts racing through my mind, I slowly became aware of an odd sound near me. It sounded like something with long claws that were clicking against concrete. I lifted my head, carefully looking around. The sound seemed to be coming from near me, but higher. All at once, I felt small pebbles of concrete rain down on me. Carefully, I followed the wall upwards to see where they had come from. And when I did, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
There was a woman climbing on the side of the motel building. She was holding onto the wall and crawling up it, trying to look into the windows. She was dressed in a tattered and stained white dress, and had unruly dark hair that fell down her back and obscured her face. Her long nails were digging into the concrete blocks, thus making the sound I had been hearing as she moved. I stood very still, watching her in disbelief. I knew just by looking at her that she was very dangerous. There was no way she could've been human. Slowly, I took a quiet step back. I had to get myself back inside without her seeing me…
Trying to move quietly, I snuck back towards the door. But as I opened it, it suddenly squeaked. The woman quickly turned her head to the sound, although I still couldn’t make out her face because of her hair. A grunt came from her, and she quickly began climbing down towards me. I raced inside, trying to run back to my room. Hopefully I could get there in time to get Chris to open the door. Or maybe even be lucky enough to find him standing out in the hallway. Even if he was Jade’s son, he was the only hope for me now.
But as I reached the top of the second flight of stairs, I fell forward as my foot was grabbed. I was quickly pulled back on the floor. Somehow I was able to flip over and onto my back, and I screamed as a weight was pressed down on me. The woman had crawled over me quickly, sitting herself on top of me. Her long, nasty hair tickled my face and chest as she leaned down towards me, and I could feel her hot breath on my face as I closed my eyes. I just knew that an absolute evil being now had me. This was it. I was going to die there. I should’ve just stayed in that room with Chris after all…
But all at once, the woman let out a shriek and jumped back off of me. I felt something warm splatter on my face and chest. Then, I was being lifted back up
and held against a warm body. I opened my eyes and looked up, and to my surprise, saw that it was Chris holding me up against him with one arm. Near us, the woman stood a few feet away and growled. I then realized that Chris was holding a sword with black flames coming off of it in his other hand. It glowed slightly in the dim light of the stairwell. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I looked back at the woman and realized now that there was dark blood on her dress.
“Just stay close and walk backwards slowly. This should be enough to keep her away.” Chris whispered, keeping a tight hold against my back. The flames on the sword in his hand seemed to glow a bit brighter, and the woman dropped to the floor on her feet and hands, crawling backwards slightly.
I managed to nod, looking away from her and moving back with him. Thankfully, after what seemed like forever, we got back to our room. The woman was still following, crawling up and down the sides of the walls. Chris gently let me go, reaching behind us and slipping the key into the door. Hearing it unlock, he turned the handle and opened it. “Quick. Get inside.” he ordered softly.
I nodded, quickly getting in there. Chris backed himself in, then slammed the door shut and locked it. After making sure it was secure, he held the sword up and, as I watched, it disappeared in a quick black flame into his hand. “Looks like I made that one just in time.” he said, actually sounding relieved.
I just stood there, still feeling in shock from it all. I’m not even sure if it registered that I’d almost been killed out there. All I really knew was that I had just seen some kind of evil creature that had nearly finished me off. It was almost too much. First that dream, and now that thing. How much more was I supposed to be able to handle here?
Chris seemed to realize this pretty quickly. He walked back over to me and hugged me close. “Hey, come on. Don’t lose it on me now.” he said.
I closed my eyes, leaning into the embrace and wrapping my arms around him. “I can’t keep doing this.” I told him. I could hear my voice shaking as I spoke.
“Yes, you can. This is a part of who you really are, and you're not able to avoid these things now. It’ll get easier once you awaken.” Chris said softly.
A scratching sound suddenly came from the door. The two of us looked over at it, but it stopped abruptly. “She’s still out there.” I whispered, holding onto Chris a little bit tighter.
“Don’t worry about it. She can’t get in here, and she’ll be gone by dawn.” Chris assured me.
“How do you know?” I had to ask.
“The ones like her hate the sunlight. It blinds them, and zaps most all of their power. That’s part of the reason I keep saying that it’s not a good idea to be outside once total darkness falls. The things like that thrive in it. But they’re also a dime a dozen, so they’re not really worth a kill either. It’s better just to stay in and let them pass with the night.” Chris explained.
“I guess.” I breathed, not bothering to move yet. I just felt so comforted and safe being close to him, whether that thing could get in there or not.
Chris lifted my chin up, looking at my face. “Hey, come on, let’s get you cleaned up. It’s been a long day.” he suggested.
I don’t think I realized until then that I had that thing’s blood on me. Looking down at my top, I could see the dark stains there. Well this is just great, I thought. I get new clothes and the first top is ruined by a monster. Still, I couldn’t exactly make myself voice that one either. Instead, I just agreed to what he said.
It really didn’t take me that long to clean myself up with another shower. I probably hadn’t needed to do that, but I felt pretty dirty with that nasty blood on me. Peeking out of the bathroom afterwards, I found Chris making sure that the window blinds were completely closed and draping a blanket over them. Apparently, he wasn’t taking any chances on that thing being able to see inside. I couldn’t help but tremble slightly as I stepped out. Even before that dream, I didn’t think I would’ve ever imagined that he was Jade’s son. I wasn’t that sure that I even wanted to know that. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to look at Chris any differently. Maybe it was because I was looking at him as a friend, and perhaps maybe, just maybe, a little bit more....
Chris quietly turned back around as I stood there. “You don’t need to worry about her anymore. Like I said, she can’t get in here. And she won’t be able to look in now either.” he told me. It was funny, but he actually sounded a little more gentle now. At least, more then I’d heard him be since we’d met.
“Thanks.” I said softly. I couldn’t help but look down now. A part of me actually felt a little bit guilty for just leaving like I did. If things had turned out a little different back there, he might have gotten hurt, or even worse, I might have gotten myself killed.
Chris walked back over to me, looking a little exasperated now. “Will you please stop blaming yourself about that? I told you before not to worry about it. It’s happened, and it’s over with. Now let’s try to get some rest. We’ve got a long drive tomorrow.” he said.
“All right then.” I reluctantly agreed.
Lying back down in my bed, I curled up in the covers and closed my eyes. But sleep wasn’t coming easy now. Shifting here and there, I tried to turn my mind off and tune out the occasional scratching sounds just outside the door. But nothing I did really seemed to be working. And it didn’t help that I felt like all of the shadows were melting and shifting in my vision every time I opened my eyes. No doubt the trauma of what had just happened to me. Finally, I lifted my head a little bit. “Hey Chris?” I whispered.
“Yeah?” I heard him answer.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t get to sleep that easily.” I admitted.
I heard him grunt a little, then get up. To my surprise, he came over and laid down beside me. “I didn’t really think you would. It’s hard to sleep after something like that.” he said.
I couldn’t help but smile slightly. “No kidding.” I agreed.
“So, I guess you’re not still mad at me then.” He said as I curled up against him.
“What do you mean?” I asked, actually forgetting for moment about the dream before.
“About me not telling you about my dad.” Chris clarified.
He just had to remind me, didn't he? But at the same time, I was thinking a little bit clearer on it all. “I guess I can get why you wouldn’t tell me before. But seriously, you know a lot about what happened back then, don’t you?” I said.
“I know a good deal of it.” Chris admitted. “It’s something that’s been passed around between us Children of the Fallen for a while because it ended up being such an interesting story. Not to mention that there were rumors flying around about your existence for the last fifteen years or so.”
“So I really was just a rumor?” I asked. I suddenly found it hard to believe, considering that it meant that no one else aside from them and Mama knew I existed.
“For the most part. Saffron did an incredible job with hiding you when you were born. And I think part of it might have been his fear of my father and how he might react to you.” Chris explained.
“But he was there right after I was born. I saw it in my dreams.” I said.
“You saw it?” Chris repeated, looking a little bit surprised now.
I nodded. “I’ve had strange dreams my entire life. And I ended up having that one right before I came looking for you. I was standing in the room over Faith Kent’s body, and looking at Saffron holding a newborn baby. And Jade was there too. He knew that I was Saffron’s baby.” I explained.
For a long moment, Chris was quiet. But he seemed to be taking my words in. “I see. So maybe that’s part of your abilities. Even if your blood hasn’t really awoken yet, you could still have limited abilities from the time you’re born because you’re one of us. Yours is probably very similar to Zane's in seeing the past and possibly some of the future through dreams.” he finally said.
“I guess that would make some sense.” I agreed. Sounded like Jade was te
lling the truth about that.
“So what else is there that you’ve dreamed of? Is it always about him or Saffron?” Chris asked me. He seemed more then interested in hearing about this now. In a way, it made me feel kind of good. He actually wanted to know more about me.
I shook my head. “No. For a long time, I’ve been dreaming about a little boy.” I admitted.
“A little boy?” Chris repeated.
“Yeah. I’ve been dreaming about him ever since I can remember. And it’s always the same. I’m standing in this doorway of this strange looking stone house with a dirty floor, and inside, there’s blood everywhere and three bodies. And sitting there in the middle of all of it, there’s this little boy. He’s drenched in blood, and he’s crying. It feels like it’s his family that’s been killed there.” I explained.
As I spoke though, it seemed like Chris was tensing up. That surprised me a little bit. Did he really not know that I was dreaming about him if he was indeed that child? I reasoned now that maybe it was possible, considering that he thought Saffron had erased my memories. “Is there… anymore to it?” he finally asked. His voice was quiet, and actually a little bit hesitant.
“Well, for a long time there wasn’t.” I admitted. “But the last time I had it, there was a little bit more. I saw this dark person appear beside the boy, and they seemed like they were comforting him. I couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but it seemed like they were promising him something, if he kept his end of the promise.”
“Make yourself strong and become their leader, and I’ll make sure they all know your name.” Chris interrupted, finishing the words and closing his eyes.
I felt my eyes widen at those words. They were the same. The first part of that was exactly what I’d heard. So Chris had to have been that little boy after all. “Did you telepathically read that thought or something?” I asked, just to be safe.