The Marradith Ryder Series Parts 36 & 37

 PART 36, STORM FRONT

“Hi, Baby.”

I opened my eyes and looked around.

I was laying on a bed, back in Leighton’s house. A burst of lightening illuminated the room for a moment. I could see Justin sitting beside the  bed. He was smiling, the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face.

“Fi,” he called. “She’s coming around.”

It was raining hard outside; thunder rumbled through the air. When I looked to my left I saw Fiona sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. Even in the dimness I registered the look of exhaustion on her face. She smiled at me encouragingly.

“Well it’s about time,” she teased. “This one,” she shrugged towards Justin, “was going to drive us all nuts if you didn’t wake up soon.”

“What happened?”

“You lost consciousness after you…um… dispatched of Leighton.” Justin grinned. Not his casual smile, but something…predatory.

“He’s gone? You’re positive?”

“Yes. Will helped me build a pyre for him. Though that didn’t last too long with this storm. We got the job done.”

“Glad to see you’re alright,” Fiona said. “I called your parents. They are on their way down.”

“My Mother must have had a seizure. You told her what happened with Leighton?”

Fiona and Justin exchanged a meaningful look. “We’ll explain that when your parents get here.” he said.

“Where’s Scott?” I asked.

“He was gone when we got back here.” Justin replied softly.

“Figures,” I sighed.

Fiona got up and crossed the room, turning on the light. The light from the bedside table was very dim, and I had only seen the two of them in outline.  

As I sat up, I could see the patchwork of angry cuts across Justin’s face.

There were thick, purple bruises on his arms and hands as well.

“I’m going to leave you two alone,” Fiona said.  Thin red cuts stood out on the left side of her face, down her neck and her arm. “Rafi is downstairs, so don’t be long, Justin.”

She smiled and shut the door behind her.

“What happened to your face? Did Leighton…?”

“It’s a long story, starting with Leighton and I fighting, and him tying me to a device in the greenhouse. Fiona shot me down, but she took out part of the greenhouse roof when she did it. There was glass everywhere. We both got some cuts, but… we are Others. These will be healed by tommorow.”

I touched his face anyway. He winced a little, but did not pull away.

“It still hurts you. I don’t like that.”

 ”I love you,” he said, suddenly serious.

He leaned close to me, and we started kissing. I tried to mind all the places where he was cut, across his cheeks and on his neck, not wanting to make it worse. There was a cut just above his lip, and when we kissed I felt the scar brush my skin.

 He pulled me against him.

“I love you too…” I said against his ear. “So there’s the first time I’ve said it in English.”

“Yes.” he said. “I’m glad you didn’t just say that in the forest, in the primal language… well, in the heat of the moment.”

“Yeah. Well, I maintain that you already knew  that. I’m kind of painfully obvious.”

He laughed, confirming my suspicions.

“We’re going to have to work on how you can….control your powers. Fiona told me about what you did at the park today, and Will told us about what you did when you got here. My guess is you’ve never used that much of your abilities at once. Your body just short circuited. You gave me a real scare, you know that?”

“How long was I out?”

“A couple hours. Your breathing and heartbeat were even but still… very frightening.”

“I feel different,” I whispered. “I feel things and then… they’re just happening. Like I barely have to think about it.”

I didn’t say the rest, but I felt he inderstood my meaning: that my power seemed to have a way of its own.

I felt bad that I’d scared him, but I knew he wouldn’t take an apology well. I also knew that he’d wanted to kill Leighton himself, and wasn’t really sure what I’d done to stop him.

I had done something, that much I was sure of.  He was ready to kill Leighton before I intervened.

The thought made me cringe. One bite and he could have been infected with the spirits Leighton carried.

It had never occurred to me that I might one day have to use my powers on Justin.  Even if it was for his own good.

He spoke, breaking my train of thought.

“I don’t want you to be scared.” he said. “ There’s something I want to talk  to you about tonight. Fiona and Rafael are here. And your parents are on their way. It’s not going to be the same, you know. We won’t be alone anymore.”

I sighed. “I’m always with you. How am I going to go back to not being around you?”

“I am your Protector. And I’m far older than you. We’re not supposed to be as close to each other - the way we are.”

“Yes, well, not to be mean, but aren’t you too old for anybody? I mean, if you look at things that way…. besides. If today is any indication, I’m not exactly…very human .”

“Well. I can’t argue with that.”

“And you shouldn’t,” I said. “I’ve been wondering for a while now. I mean, I can’t really be with another human. Not without taking the chance that they’d find out what I can do. But besides that. I get my choice too, don’t I? What I feel should matter.”

He nodded. “We need… a strategy to handle things.”

“My parents are difficult,” I warned.

“That I do know,” he replied. “I’m going to go downstairs and talk to Rafael. And when I come back, we’ll talk about it.”

I didn’t like that at all. I knew my parents were going to lose it once I told them about Justin. Not that anything had happened….

“Get some more sleep,” he said. “I’m sure you can use it.”

When he left I got back under the covers, turning towards the window. The storm outside kept up, a low roar of wind and rain.

I knew I was not going to get any more sleep that night.

*******

PART 37, MANIFEST DESTINY

Rafael shook hands with Justin.

They were in Leighton’s old study, but Justin was as nervous as if they were in Rafael’s office back at the Compound.

“It’s good to see you again,” Rafael said. “How long has it been since you’ve been off of assignment?”

That’s a loaded question to begin with, Justin thought.

“Five years or so,” he replied evenly.

“I see. You used some rather interesting tactics this time around. Contacting Syd was something that most would not have considered. It was drastic, but I do see how it could have worked. The biggest flaw in that plan was that Leighton wasn’t reasonable enough to take you up on your offer. And of course, the obvious personal consequence to you.”

“We’re taught that sacrifice is acceptable in order to protect our subjects.”

Rafael smiled grimly, a little twitch of his mouth.

“Yes, it is acceptable, though it’s not something we’d recommend as a first choice. However, I admire the decision that you made. I can count on one hand the number of my men that would actually take such steps.”

“You’d do as much for Fiona.”

His eyes lit at the mention of her name. “Oh yes, and possibly worse. But that brings me to the next point that we need to discuss.”

“Which is?”

“I need to know if there’s a relationship between you and the girl.”

Justin shrugged. “Nothing has happened between us.”

“Yet,” Rafael added. “Her parents are coming, so if you say nothing has happened, then I expect that to be the truth.”

“It is.”

“The Ways are very clear about this kind of thing. So I expect that you will handle things with her family.”

“I have no problem with that.”

“Good. So tell me about Marradith as a subject.”

“Well, she is Manifesting. She told me that she has always had powers, but I have seen them increase and change in the short time I have known her. She tracked and killed Leighton, and it came easy for her. She also has blood memory. She knows the primal language, and seems able to grasp other human languages which she has not been taught.”

“What stood out the most?”

“Before she killed Leighton, she spoke one of the old sacraments over him.”

“Really? For him?”

“No. It was a prayer to release mortal souls that clung to him.”

Rafael sat back. “So she understands that. Those are very deep, very ancient rites. Did you ever mention this to her?”

“No. I explained to her how the intake of too much human blood can effect Wolves. But we never spoke of spiritual implications. I certainly did not teach her that. There’s a lot of things…I’ll have to detail them all in my report. The control over electrical impulses. She seems to be able to produce an effect with weather as well, though that seems to be a sort of an….unintended effect. I think that now, having been placed into a situation where she has needed to use her powers, she has blossomed, for lack of a better word.”

“That may be exactly what has happened.” Rafael mused. “We lost Marradith’s brother, Scott. But that was never part of your assignment, and not at all your responsibility. We’re assuming that he may be headed back to Japan. He’s well established with the Urufu.
Be aware that her parents may harbor resentments about that. Nora and I have talked extensively. I’ve assured her that you’re quite capable and have handled the situation admirably. Make sure that you continue to meet my expectations.”

“Of course.”

“Does Marradith know about her Mother’s history?”

“No, and I have not told her.”

“That’s fine. We’ll give Nora the chance to tell her daughter.”

Justin did not trust Nora to tell her daughter anything, but he didn’t want Rafael to know that. He’d have told Marradith already, if he wasn’t certain that it would have opened up another emotional issue that he wasn’t sure she was prepared for. Fiona had already filled him in on how upset she was about Scott.

He’d have to make a decision about that soon. Not to mention that he was quite sure that Marradith could read his mind anytime that she chose to. He remembered the words that she told him in the primal language.

That much, he decided, he would keep secret. Something inside him, an instinct that he couldn’t quite name, told him that there were some things about Marradith’s powers that he should not reveal to anyone, not even Rafael.

She was changing by the day. It wouldn’t be unexpected if he missed a thing or two, would it?

He breathed in a sigh of relief as their meeting was concluded.

In all the commotion, with Marradith being unconscious for a time, Leighton’s body needing to be disposed of, and Fiona running about like a nervous mother, he hadn’t had time to be happy about the one thing he was ecstatic about….

His stubborn, beautiful girl admitted that she loved him.

©2009 Lori Titus

Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears each Wednesday on Flashes in the Dark. She is the short story editor for Sonar4 ezine. Her stories have appeared on MicroHorror, Shadeworks, and The Daily Tourniquet. Her first anthology of horror stories,Tales for the Dark, is scheduled for release in 2010.

 

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