The Shadows of a Supernova

by N P Hector

  Oh my god, he’s mental.

  “Protect me? I don’t even know you!”

  The man frowned briefly at her but then amped up the wattage of his smile. “But I know you! You’re Dr. Ashford.”

  He knows who I am. How long has he known who I am?

  “Any idiot with half a brain could know that. I’m all over the web.” She tried to rationalize how this weird guy with braids could know who she was and where she lived. It clicked in when he shook his head at the suggestion that he had creeped her online. “Oh my gosh, you’re a stalker. Jamie warned me that this could happen. Look, I’ll give you a pair of my underwear and you can just go along your merry way, ok?”

  She cringed when she said it, but she had seen enough creeps in her lifetime to know that if she offered him a stalker gift he might leave her alone long enough for her to get to the police and file a report. She scanned his face and committed every wrinkle, scar, and muscle twitch to memory so she could tell a sketch artist.

  The man lifted an eyebrow and threw back his head. He was roaring with laughter and clutched at his ribs. “While that’s a tempting offer, I’m not here for your underwear, trust me.”

  “Then what do you want?” She demanded as she looked for her phone. Where the hell was her phone?

  Keeping the bat trained on the man, Selene moved to open a window. She was on the second story but she might chance it. There was a slim chance that she could be able to get away without breaking anything if she tucked and rolled. But just as she was lifting the window the bat was lifted miraculously out of her hands and raised to the ceiling.

  A circular portal of light appeared beside the window. Selene blinked at the floating bat and the stranger smirked. “I’m here for you.” With a flash of light, Selene felt her whole-body sizzle as she was drawn inexplicably to the circle.

  It felt like coming out of the waterslide. That was the closest thing to going through whatever the hell that glowing circle was. And she came out of the portal with the clumsiness of someone who had come to the end of a water slide. Slamming onto a marble floor, Selene scrambled to her feet and checked to make sure that she still had all her appendages after a trip through a wormhole. After confirming that she was still whole, she looked around what appeared to be an antiquated drawing room. Had she gone back in time?

  I’m going to positively commit murder if this guy dragged me back to the 17th century and I have to wear a corset.

  Her elbow smarted from her clumsy tumble, and she cradled it as the stranger who had abducted her waltzed out of the still glowing portal. As soon as he exited it snapped shut. Smirking, he approached Selene and winked. “Amateur.”

  Now that she was vertical and on her feet, she could see that there was a large circular table and several very tall, very well-dressed people standing around it. They were dressed in modern clothes and she spotted a computer on the side table. So, she wasn’t in some bodice ripping horror show, then. But they were almost comically at odds with the historic décor.

  And there was something eerie about the way they stood around the circular table, blinking at them as if a glowing portal spitting two people out was an everyday occurrence.

  What is up with these people?

  Super old-fashioned décor: check. Totally okay with bizarre portals: check. Staring creepily at her: also check. She crossed her arms over her chest as the answer struck her like a bolt of lightning. “Oh my god, you’re in a cult and you’re about to harvest my organs” slipped out. A few chuckles arose from the crowd, and Selene hugged her arms around her waist even tighter. She felt like an idiot. A very vulnerable, very ripe for human sacrifice idiot.

  The stranger who had kidnapped her from her apartment chuckled and made his way to the crowd. He nudged another thin wiry man wearing glasses. “If you think that’s funny, you should have heard what she said earlier.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and hiked his thumb in her direction. A very stern looking lady stuck her nose up at his crude behavior.

  As if to tease the bird like lady, the braided man spoke to her in a stage whisper. “The good Ms. Ashford here offered me her underwear.”

  She could feel fury rising from the pit of her stomach like acid. As a young woman in a male dominated field she had endured all sorts of innuendos. She had gone through it all with a stiff upper lip and didn’t have to take that bullshit anymore. Especially not from a guy who wore his hair in braids. “That’s Dr. Ashford to you, Neanderthal. And that was only because I thought you were a stalker!” Her voice had steadily climbed until she was practically screaming at the guy.

  At any other time she might have found it comical to see herself standing on one end of the room with wet hair and bruised elbow, yelling about her underwear to a cult across what looked like King Henry V111’s drawing room. But she was too incensed to see any humor in this at all.

  Hell, I’ve been shot at so many times I don’t deserve to die in a cult circus.

  There was a beat of silence as the group seemed shocked at her outburst. She had a moment of confidence at the thought that perhaps she had seemed too crazy for them to sacrifice. But that moment was quickly slashed by a portly man with a straggly beard. “So, did you take her up on it, Dougall?” another man asked.

  That was it. She clenched her fists at her sides. “She is right here! And she DID not!” Selene practically screeched.

  They must have thought that she was the crazy one, because a bull chested blonde man gestured towards her and turned a disbelieving eye towards the guy with braids. “Dougall, I thought you said that this woman thwarted Kem’s plans? Did you grab the right one?”

  Dougall nodded earnestly and said “she did! She’s a police officer!”

  Selene vehemently shook her head. “I am most certainly NOT a police officer”, but then, thinking again, she hastily added “BUT, I am friends with a lot of them! They’ll notice if I’m missing!”

  The man she had nicknamed “braids” nodded along. So, he must be Dougall, then. Like a child who had been accused of lying, Dougall piped up righteously, “If you’re not a police officer, then what are you?”

  Selene rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. With as much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances, she lifted her chin, “I” she added a pause for dramatic effect “am a hostage negotiator.”

  There was a hush as a man emerged from the back of the room. Selene considered herself to be a tall woman, but she had to crane her neck to see his face. He strode forward with purpose, and without a word, the men and women around him gave him a wide berth.

  There was an aura of power around him. His obsidian eyes were trained on her and her alone, and she squirmed like a pinned moth. There was something about him that made her heart race. Something inside her, she wasn’t sure what, just seemed to click into place. She didn’t even know that a part of her had been loose. His ash blonde hair fell long and straight beside his angular jaw, and the top portion was tied away from his face. He looked like he could be on the cover of Calvin Klein.

  But something about the powerful way he moved, all that energy tightly contained, made her think that this man could never do something as leisurely as modelling. No, this man was made for more sinister purposes. And he was walking towards her.

  Coming to stand directly in front of her, he looked her straight up and down. She had to resist the urge to step back and away from him. “You want to know what she is, Dougall?” Reaching out to brush the hair from her neck, he lifted her chin and examined her face. He hummed in satisfaction and was barely bothered when she jerked her chin away. Instead of erupting with anger, he smiled as if he was satisfied with her display of spirit. But she could never have anticipated his next words. “She’s mine.” Lifting his wrist the to birthmark just below her ear, Selene winced as the two connected like magnets and started to glow.

  Did he just curse me? What did he mean when he said that I was his? Was he going to be the one to harvest my organs?

&nbs
p; His dark brown eyes searched her shocked face. He removed his hand and the glow disappeared. She felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She wasn’t even aware that it had been there until he moved away. “Just as I am hers.”

  There was a collective intake of breaths from the room. A tall blonde woman broke from the group “Sorcha?” She looked quickly between the two and then moved closer to get a better look at Selene.

  Selene took a sharp step to the side. She didn’t like being looked at like she was a zoo animal. But maybe claiming that he belonged to her had elevated her status from reluctant organ donor to zoo animal. She tried to be ok with that.

  Dougall spoke in hushed tones “I... it’s a miracle.”

  Selene took a step back and watched the tall silver haired man’s face crumble. “my name isn’t Sorcha. You have me confused with someone else.” She patted her jeans for her wallet with her ID but realized that she must have tossed it on the table beside her front door when she discarded her keys.

  The man with silver hair stepped forward and tried to pull her towards his expansive chest. When she struggled, he reluctantly let her go. But he refused to step back. He was so close that if she chose, she could reach out and touch him. But she didn’t. Well, she couldn’t. She shouldn’t.

  The man’s large chest expanded with a breath and he caged her against with wall with his arms. There was nowhere for her to go unless she wanted to take a run at him. Leaning down, his forehead almost touched her own. It was so intense she felt it in her guts. “It’s me, Sorcha. It’s Adrian. I’ve finally found you.”

  Did I meet this guy at a club when I went out with Jamie? She racked her brain trying to remember any encounters at a club. No, I would have remembered someone with those muscles, that jaw line, and definitely that hair.

  “Listen to me...Thor? I don’t know an Adrian, and my name’s Selene, not Sorcha. Maybe we met at a club and I could have been drinking. Music’s always loud in those places, so maybe you heard Sorcha instead of Selene.”

  His lips curved into a smile. “Thor? Is it my white hair?”

  Selene found herself shaking her head. Spotting a set of double doors in the corner, she edged towards them. Sure, she probably didn’t have a shot in hell. But she had to get out of the cage of his arms, and maybe she could duck quick enough to be out the doors.

  White hair giant with the obsidian eyes moved as she did and took both hands in his own. “I know that it’s scary now, but any moment you’re going to remember your last life. I wasn’t able to save you then, but now that I’ve finally found you, I won’t ever let you out of my sight again.”

  Selene felt a thrill in the base of her stomach at the thought that someone could want her so badly. It was a primal feeling, and a stupid one. This man was probably crazy. They all were. And now he was saying that she died in her last life? Was he the one to kill her?

  Her heart was beating in her chest, pounding like a hummingbird’s wings. She felt that everyone in the room could hear it. He was so close to her now that she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She turned her face away from his and tried to suppress the bubble of fear expanding in her chest.

  “She’s gonna run” a woman in the back mumbled just before Selene bolted for the double doors. She was almost at the threshold when an invisible force slammed the doors shut. She was so close that they could have clipped her nose. Defeated, Selene sank against them and rested her head against the solid frame. She felt the tall man behind her, stalking towards her like a predator.

  “Romulus, wait.” A statuesque brunette separated from the group. She was dressed in dark washed jeans and a cream sweater. The woman was gorgeous, but instead of looking like a soccer mom, she had an air of authority around her. This woman knew her power and wasn’t afraid of the giant hostage taker. Instead, she actually stepped between the Thor look alike and Selene and placed a reassuring hand on Selene’s arm. The woman was a stranger, but she was a stranger who willingly put herself between the two. For that, Selene had to trust her.

  The man they called Adrian – Romulus - whomever he was stood still. Every muscle in his body was clenched, practically humming with the energy to move towards her. Her neighbor’s had a cat who sat in the window everyday watching the birds at the feeder. One day, the family’s youngest left the door open and the cat escaped. The cat had sat below the feeder watching the birds, just as he did from the window, before he sprung and took the bird down in a flurry of feathers and seeds.

  In this moment she felt the same way that bird probably felt. And Romulus was looking at her like a very hungry, very impatient cat.

  “Leave us” he growled to the room, looking over his shoulder past his long ashen hair to ensure compliance. Selene blinked rapidly as the room suddenly emptied. Her stomach began to quiver. He turned to the brunette and began with a warning tone, “Joan.”

  The woman removed her hand from Selene’s shoulder. She shouldered the great man aside and poked him in the chest. Selene watched in terror. What would the man do? “Romulus, she needs time. Time and space. She wasn’t raised by the Order like you were.”

  The Order? Was that the name of their cult?

  Romulus clenched his jaw. The muscles in his cheeks jumped and he looked absolutely menacing. Selene worried for the woman who had so bravely stood against the man. He tried to move around the woman named Joan to get a look at Selene. His voice was gravelly. “But she has to remember. She must.”

  Selene just wanted this nightmare to end. She was tired of feeling like a chew toy and of being reduced to this Sorcha woman, as if she had no agency. “She is right here.” Selene waved her hand. When the woman smiled at her comment and Romulus snorted Selene thought that the mood had been lightened sufficiently.

  She held out her hands and used her best negotiator voice. “look Romulus, Adrian, whatever you want to be called - you are very attractive. I get that. But you can’t just go around claiming people.” Maybe that would appeal to whatever logic he used.

  Her gesture of peace had the opposite intended effect. Instead of being calmed by the statement, the suggestion that he could not go around claiming people angered him. He strode around Joan and looked Selene in the eye. His nostrils flared and his voice was determined as he spoke, “we claimed each other four hundred and thirty-seven years ago.”

  Okay, we have officially entered crazy town. Maybe he’s part of some steampunk cult and he thinks he’s a time travelling vampire or wolf or something.

  She tried for soothing instead of condescending but felt a bit of frustration seeping into her tone. “That’s what you believe. But I’m telling you that I’m not the woman you’re looking for!”

  The man shook his head back and forth. He was dead set on proving her wrong. “I’ve waited centuries to find you! I could never mistake Sorcha’s soul, because her soul is half of my own. Can you not feel it?”

  Selene shook her head “I’m sorry, I really am. I hope that you find Sorcha; it sounds like you really love her.” Shaking herself into negotiator mode, she straightened from the door and smiled pleasantly at the brunette. So far, the woman had been the only one to actually display signs of executive function and sanity. If anyone could get her out of this situation, it would be her.

  Silver haired guy looked like he’d start beating his chest any moment. Then he’d probably toss her over his shoulder and take her back to his cult cave. Brunette looked like she understood that silver haired guy was kind of crazy, and that he should take a step back from Selene. That was something she could appeal too. She tried again, “look, I think that this is all just one big understanding. You think I’m Sorcha. I’m Selene-- and clearly not Sorcha. So why don’t we all just take a deep breath and separate and go on our merry-- but separate-- ways. The more time you spend with me the more you waste in

  finding the real Sorcha, right? So, just show me the way out and I’ll be out of your hair.”

  His voice boomed out and his eyes flicked from black to pure silver. �
��Impossible.”

  Selene’s roommate in undergrad had been into the gothic scene and they’d partied at some themed clubs. Selene had seen some weird contacts, but she’d never seen anyone with contacts that could change colors so quickly.

  She didn’t even want to think about how his eyes had done that. She tried to switch into negotiator mode again. “Ok, that doesn’t necessarily show good faith. Why is it impossible?”

  The man pinched the bridge of his nose and gestured to the chairs at the table. Selene moved to take the chair closest to her but was surprised when this Romulus firmly pulled the chair away from the table and offered her the chair closest to the fireplace.

  He gestured for her to take her seat and spoke so softly that she almost didn’t hear what he said. “You look like you’re about to catch a chill.”

  She hated to admit it, but the man had some serious manners. It had been a while since anyone had been concerned about how comfortable she was. But she couldn’t be drawn in by something that banal. The man probably wanted to wear her skin or something like that. So, she decided to aim for civility. Selene folded her hands in her lap and said, “thank you.”

  Striding to the fireplace, the man flicked his wrist and suddenly the flames roared to life. Selene blinked and looked around the base of the hearth for a motion sensor ignition tool. She couldn’t see anything except for newly formed embers. Just like his flashing eyes this didn’t seem to have an easy explanation. The man leaned on the mantle and turned to the statuesque brunette. “Joan, you are dismissed.”

  Standing at attention, the brunette nodded and offered Selene a reassuring smile before vanishing. Without the other woman’s presence, the strength of Romulus’s energy hit her like a ton of bricks. His stare was mesmerizing as he searched her face for…recognition?

  She shook herself and turned her face away from his and faced the fire. Now that they were alone and she wasn’t talking about leaving he seemed much calmer. He had previously caged her in his powerful arms when she ran for the door. But now that she was seated and warm beside the fire he appeared entirely at ease, as if this is exactly how he wanted their first meeting to go. His body was no free from tension, and he leaned casually against the mantle. The flames cast long shadows across the strong bones of his face and made his grey hair seem like silk.