The Marradith Ryder Series, Part 56
Marradith spun around with her fist up. Scott looked at her as if he were bored and sat down on the swing Justin had occupied a moment before.
“Don’t ‘Hey Dee Dee’ me. How’d you get here?”
“Come on Sis, give me some credit. You’re not the only one with talents.”
“Okay, so how about you tell me why you’re here?”
“Will you relax? I’m not going to hurt you.”
She sat down. “Make this quick.”
“Or what? You’ll burn me again?”
“Why not? Maybe this time it will stick.”
He looked at her, and a smile crept across his face. “You’re always trying to fight somebody twice your size. So what’s changed?”
“It never used to be serious. We didn’t hurt each other.”
He looked away. He didn’t have an answer , so he ignored the weight of her statement.
“How’s the family?” he asked. It was the only thing he could think of to say in the way of peacemaking.
“They’d all say they are fine. They’re not. Mom and Dad are fighting. Danny mostly stays by himself, upstairs playing his guitar. Trying to blend in with the scenery.”
The next question was obvious, but he didn’t ask. Knowing Marradith, she had taken their brother aside and told him everything.
That is, if he needed telling.
“I’m glad you asked about everyone, Scott, but that’s not why you came. So tell me.”
“You can’t trust these people. And now you’re married to one of them. At least if you hadn’t married Justin it would be easier to walk away. Now you’re tied to him.”
“If that’s all you’ve got to say you might as well go.”
“Doesn’t it freak you out a little that he’s been in your life since you were a baby?”
“He never talked to me. I don’t remember him at all.”
“Yeah, well I do. Look. It’s disgusting. But forget that. Let’s just give your old man the benefit of the doubt and say that he’s a nice guy. How much do you know about the Sojourners? Other than whatever propaganda they have been feeding you? They are not nearly as goody-goody as you think they are.”
“Is that your excuse for being in The Circle?”
“I didn’t say that,” he spat. “You gave me a reality check about Leighton. Now it’s your turn.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I really want to see you get your suitcase and go. But if you don’t leave, get yourself some knowledge on these people. And don’t listen to what Justin tells you, because he probably only knows part of it. You need to know just who the Sojourners really are. What they really do. If you’re going to be working for them, taking orders and marrying their men, it doesn’t seem like a lot to ask.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Get information on their records. You’ve got Will, have him do it. There has to be a file on prisoner 157342. Have him pull that for you, and then you’ll see. Find out who she was and what happened to her.”
“Why?”
Scott stood. “I can’t stay, Sis. Be careful. Can you at least not tell anybody I was here?”
Marradith paused. The Sojourners wanted Scott, and she had a good idea what the penalty would be if they caught him. She heard Justin’s footsteps approaching.
Scott’s eyes narrowed as he watched her consider what to do.
“Yes!” she hissed. “Go before I change my mind.”
“I’ll leave you alone. So you can go lay down with your Dog,” Scott said bitterly.
And then he was gone.
**************
Vanished. Gone. Just like that.
No smoke. No mirrors.
She reached out and touched air in the spot where he’d stood.
That was one thing that he’d never done before.
Marradith took a step backwards. Justin came back into the yard.
“Ryder?” he said. “Something wrong?”
She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “But not here.”
“Okay,” he put his hand on her arm. “Lets go .”
**********
Their house was lovely, but Marradith barely looked at the rooms downstairs. She went up to the master bath and started running water. Justin followed his nightly ritual: checking doors and windows, securing locks and closing blinds.
When he was done, he joined her.
He sat still for a moment, waiting.
“I have to tell you some things. But there are some questions I need to ask first.”
“Tell me.”
“I need to know more about what I am. About what Scott and Danny and I are. The main thing I want to know is, can a Lamia become something else entirely?”
©2009 Lori Titus
Green Water Lullaby, Lori’s collection of short stories, is available for pre-order: http://www.sonar4publications.com/green.html
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June 16th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Well now Scott brought a warning. No suprise that the closet has a some bats and things in it, no orginzation is compleately clean. Not once they get that large anyway.