Old Wounds

by Ren Hamilton

  Shep stared at him but said nothing.

  “Shep, who did you just call? Talk to me.”

  Shep handed Margol the towel. “The bleeding’s slowing but keep the pressure on until it’s stopped completely. Then give it ice. I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back.”

  “Alone?” Klee said. “It is not safe! Our brother is out there and he is very angry.”

  “Let me go with you,” Juris said.

  Shep started to protest, then paused as he looked at Juris. “All right. You come with me. You armed? I doubt we’ll run into Allisto. It’s still light out and he won’t want to draw attention to himself with those wings. But better to be safe.”

  “Let me get my gun.”

  When Juris returned, Shep grabbed the keys and turned to Joey. “Will you please, please promise me you’ll stay there and let Margol take care of you?”

  Joey’s eyes tightened. “I’ll stay, I promise. But Shep, for God’s sake, what’s wrong?”

  Shep pointed at him. “Rest. Margol, call me if there’s any change. Immediately.”

  Then he and Juris left the house and got in the car, forgoing the more conspicuous white van. As he maneuvered down the city streets, Juris looked at him. “And where are we going?”

  “Over to Litner’s.”

  Juris nodded. “What happened to Joey?”

  Shep put his turn signal on and pulled into a shopping plaza. He pulled into a parking spot, then turned to Juris. “I need to ask you to keep something secret, and keep it from your brothers. For now.”

  Juris blinked at him, looking confused. “All right.”

  “I don’t ask this lightly, Juris, but I need to keep this quiet until I can figure out what to do about it.”

  “I can keep a secret.”

  Shep chuckled. “Yes, I know you can.”

  Juris’s face fell. “What does that mean?”

  “Look, I think maybe...Wes did this.”

  “Wesley? How?”

  “That’s what I’m going to find out. When it happened, when Joey got hurt, I felt him. Wesley, like a hot wind blowing through me. It was his essence there, I could practically taste him.”

  “I don’t understand,” Juris said. “Wesley hurt Joey...from across town?”

  Shep raised his hands. “I have a feeling it was an accident.”

  “An accident? Well some fucking accident! Can Wesley even do that? Was he trying to kill Joey? Is he—”

  “I don’t know. Litner was all ‘who me, what?’ when I called, but he sounded scared. And Litner never sounds scared. I want to go over there and check it out. But you can’t tell anyone about this, especially Joey.”

  “But...” Juris shifted in the seat, eyebrows pinched in concern. “But what if Wesley did hurt Joey on purpose?”

  “Then I’m going to kill him.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  When Shep knocked, Litner called out, “Come in.”

  He and Juris stepped through the door, then stopped. Litner sat in a kitchen chair, facing the door, hand resting on a gun in his lap.

  “Not filling me with confidence, Litner.” Shep slammed the door shut behind him and approached the chair. “Where is he?” His eyes looked over Litner’s head, scanning the rooms.

  “It wasn’t his idea,” Litner said. “You’re not to touch him.”

  Shep knelt before him. “What happened?”

  “Are you going to stay calm?” Litner asked.

  “No. Not even a little bit. Now tell me what happened before I take your head off and tear through this house to find that little shit. I know he’s here.”

  A door creaked open and Wesley stepped out of the spare bedroom.

  “Go back in the room,” Litner shouted, keeping his eyes on Shep.

  Shep rose to his feet and rounded the chair.

  Litner stood and followed, gun at his side. Juris stayed behind Litner, pulling his own weapon. “Put that gun down, Litner,” Juris said.

  Litner’s shoulders tensed. “No.”

  Juris stepped up behind him carefully. “I mean it. I do not share my brother’s respect for you. Put the gun down or I’ll put a bullet in you.”

  Slowly, Litner extended his arm, and dropped his gun to the floor. “Everyone stay calm,” he said. “There’s no need for violence.”

  “Oh, isn’t there?” Shep approached Wesley, who backed up.

  “Shepherd,” Wesley said, and his voice quivered. “I don’t know what happened. I’m...scared.”

  Shep stopped in front of him, studying his face, looking into those blue eyes he’d known so well years ago. This boy he’d brought to manhood with blood and rituals, hopes and dreams. He fought the urge to comfort him, as he looked so vulnerable. “What happened, Wes?”

  “The basement. We were just trying something, and...I don’t know how it happened.”

  “Show me.”

  Wesley glanced at Litner, and Shep turned around. “Steven? Is it all right with Daddy if Wesley and I go play in the basement?”

  “I’ll show you.” Litner went ahead and opened the basement door.

  Shep narrowed his eyes at Wesley, then followed Litner down the steps.

  The four of them stood before the shimmering wall. Shep’s mouth fell open as he ran a hand over it.

  “Be careful,” Litner said. “It’s glass.”

  Shep pulled his hand back. “What is this?”

  “A mirror. It was my fault. I wanted Wesley to be able to defend himself if any more of your things came after him. I set the mirror up, and told him to try and knock it over.” He took a deep breath. “With his mind.”

  “Well, he knocked it over all right!” Juris said, studying the wall. He turned to Wesley. “You did this?”

  Wesley nodded. “But I don’t know how.”

  Shep whirled around and glared at him. “Really? I think you do.”

  “I don’t!” Wesley said, his jaw trembling. “You did this to me, Shep, you put this thing inside me. You tell me how I did it!”

  “Oh, so it’s my fault that Joey’s bleeding right now?”

  Wesley paled, and Litner went very still. “Joey?” Wesley whispered.

  Shep grabbed Wesley’s chin. “You better start talking.”

  “Hey,” Litner stepped up. “Don’t touch him.”

  Shep pointed at him. “One more step, Litner, and you’re gonna look like that wall. Back off.”

  He paused, but stayed where he was. Shep squeezed Wesley’s jaw tighter and he whimpered. “Now, my dear, you’re going to tell me exactly what happened. Inside. And out.”

  “I will,” Wesley said. “Just let go of me. I don’t like having you this close.”

  “And I don’t like being this close. But I haven’t had much of a choice lately.” He shoved Wesley and pointed at him. “What were you thinking about when you splattered that mirror all over the wall?”

  Wesley glanced at Litner.

  “For fuck’s sake, why do you keep looking at him?” Shep asked. “You look at me when I’m talking to you.”

  “At first I was thinking about Allisto,” Wesley said. “We thought...I thought that if I could get angry enough, I could tip the mirror over.” He took a breath. “I didn’t think it was going to work, Shep. I kept trying to go back to Allisto attacking me, imagining pushing him off. But it didn’t work. And my mind...wandered.”

  Shep took a step toward him, and Wesley took a step back. “Wandered to what?”

  Wesley started to glance at Litner, then quickly dropped his eyes to the floor. “To Joey.”

  Shep grabbed his arm. “Why would you do that? Did you try to hurt him?”

  “No!” Wesley screamed. “If I’d known something bad could happen I wouldn’t have tried! I’d never done this before!”

  “Why were you thinking about Joey?”

  “Because he threatened me.”

  Shep took a step back. “When did he threaten you?”

  Wesley smoothed down his shirt, regaining hi
s composure. “I was trying to think about Allisto, and then I felt sick, so I thought about drinking Joey’s blood. That led to thinking about Joey, when I saw him in the bar the other night, with Patrick. And he said all that stuff to me.”

  “Ah shit.” Shep turned away, running fingers through his hair. “What did he say?”

  “That I’m your abortion and when am I leaving town and blah blah but then he touched me.”

  Shep turned slowly around. “Joey touched you?”

  “Yes,” Wesley said. “He grabbed my shoulder, so I grabbed him back, and then he...I don’t know. Scanned me. With his eyes, but it was more than that. He was testing me. Then he left. He said such foul things to me and he just made me so angry that I wished...I wished I had punched him in the nose.”

  Shep and Juris locked eyes. “Those were your exact thoughts when you destroyed that mirror,” Shep said, turning back to Wesley. “That you wanted to punch Joey in the nose?”

  Wesley’s lip quivered. “And watch the blood flow.”

  Litner made a sound, a low groan. “Shep, this wasn’t Wesley’s idea. I pushed him into it. I had no idea it would affect you. Or anyone else. I don’t admit I’m wrong often, but it was my screw up.”

  “What’s wrong with Joey?” Wesley asked Shep, his voice shaking.

  “I’ve got to sit down a minute,” Shep said. He sat on the floor, back rested against a beam. Looking up at Wesley, he sighed. “You have created a very big problem for me.”

  “Shepherd,” Litner said softly, taking a step toward him. “What’s wrong with Joey?”

  Shep buried his face in his hands and growled. He looked up at Juris. “What’s the farthest you’ve ever shattered something, while testing your strengths?”

  “About twenty-five feet,” Juris said.

  Shep’s eyes drifted to Wesley, who looked about to be sick. “You have created a very big problem for me, kid.”

  “Why?” Wesley said. “Why do you keep saying that?”

  “Whatever you’re thinking Shep, think again,” Litner said. “We’re all on the same side here.”

  “Since when?” Shep said. “As soon as your city is safe again, we’ll be enemies.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

  “That kid,” he pointed at Wesley, “just issued a targeted attack across fucking town and punched Joey in the face. Took him right off his feet and bloodied his nose.”

  Wesley crumpled, sliding down against the wall. “Oh, no.”

  “He’s not a kid,” Litner said. “He’s a grown man, and he’s a good person. He would never harm someone on purpose. I just wanted him to learn to defend himself if he had to.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about, Steven. I walk out of here and leave blondie over there to his quiet little life. Until one day he decides to daydream again about punching Joey in the face! My best friend, my Sword is in danger.”

  “He’s not,” Wesley said. “I won’t ever try that again, I swear.”

  Shep stood and stomped over to him. “How could you not know, Wes? How did you not sense you had this ability? Fuck.” He turned away, hands on his head.

  “I didn’t know,” Wesley said. “I swear I didn’t know. The first time I felt anything was when Joey touched me the other night, it’s like something just bubbled up, and I felt different.”

  Shep looked at the shimmering back wall. “Different, yeah.” He shook his head. “Damn it, Joey tried to warn me. He tried to tell me what he felt in you at the bar. I thought he was being a jealous Nelly, I just brushed it off.”

  “Why are you acting so surprised that he has abilities?” Litner said. “You left him up there in the mountains marinating in your blood all these years. You must have at least guessed this was possible.”

  Shep glared. “I didn’t have to worry about it, Litner, until you took it upon yourself to drag him out of his house and play tour guide with him. This wouldn’t be a problem if you’d left well enough alone!”

  “Wesley deserves to have a life! You have no right to keep him locked away.”

  “Please,” Wesley said. “Can everyone just calm down a moment? We can discuss this without shouting.”

  “What if he can learn to control it?” Litner said. “What if Wesley could help you?”

  “Help me what?” Shep snapped. “What are you suggesting, Litner? That I let Wesley turn my brother Allisto into paste? My priority is finding Allisto and bringing him home. Alive. And in one piece. I want to heal him, not destroy him.”

  Litner sighed. “Of course you want that. He’s your brother. You love him. But you need to face facts. You may not get the option to bring him home. Allisto may be beyond healing. He’s running now, but he won’t run forever. And he thinks you left him in the void to rot for almost a month.”

  Juris approached Litner. “You’re not helping.”

  “Shep,” Wesley said. “I don’t want to hurt anybody. I won’t. How can I prove that to you?”

  Shep did a double take at him. “Well you could have started by not trying to push me into the void.”

  “You killed my aunt.”

  Shep threw his arms up. “Oh here we go. Boo hoo. Do you know what Auntie Roberta is doing now? She’s basking in The Light, happier than she ever was in this world. Do not start with me right now Wes, I am this close—”

  “To killing me.” Wesley moved toward Shep. “I won’t stop you. I won’t. In fact I’d welcome it. I thought I could be done with you, start a new life.” He huffed, wiping his eyes. “But here you are again. Here you are and I’m ready to...shit my pants all over again, because you still scare me that much. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to. So just kill me.”

  Shep stepped up to meet him. “You know what sucks? I don’t want to kill you. Because I love you.”

  Wesley let out a breath. “What?”

  “You heard me. I never stopped. I’d like nothing more than to keep you under my wing. But I can’t do that.” He turned away, shaking his head. “Joey would try to kill you, you’d accidentally kill Joey, then I’d have to kill you anyway.” He turned to face him again. “So this sucks. I’m at a loss.”

  “I’ll kill him if you want me to,” Juris said.

  Shep stiffened, then turned slowly to Juris. “Why, Juris? Because you’re so loyal to me?”

  Juris took a step back. “Of course I am.”

  Shep nodded, then turned away, rubbing his temples. “I need a beer. Really bad.”

  “I’m not being malicious, Shep,” Juris said. “I meant if he really wants to die, and you can’t do it.”

  “I have beer,” Litner said, and Shep laughed. “I’m serious, Shepherd. Can’t we go upstairs and talk about this, try to find a solution that doesn’t involve killing anyone?”

  “I wish we could. I just don’t know. And I have to get back to my brothers and Joey.” He pulled out his phone and called Margol. “How is he?”

  “He’s fine,” Margol said. “He’s watching television.”

  “His nose?”

  “Bleeding’s stopped. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

  Shep took a deep breath, and looked over at Wesley. “It’s under control for now. I’ll brief you later. No sign of Allisto?”

  “Nothing yet. Still can’t feel him.”

  “Sit tight,” Shep said, and hung up. He stared at the glittering wall. “Son of a bitch.”

  A knock on the door came from upstairs. Litner went to the basement window and looked up at the porch. “Oh shit.” He turned to Shep. “I forgot, I asked Patrick to come over and watch movies.”

  “Oh,” Shep said. “How cozy.” He looked at Wesley. “Are you in control of this now? What you did to the mirror and to Joey? Or do you feel like it could happen again? Be honest.”

  “It was a concentrated effort,” Wesley said. “I’m not just going to blow things up in my sleep. And I very much want to go home. I doubt I can do anything from that distance.”

  Patrick knocked again
, then Litner’s cell phone rang. He picked it up. “Be there in a minute, Patrick. Yeah, just hang on.” He hung up and looked at Shep. “So what do we do?”

  Shep stared at Wesley. “Can you all give Juris and me a minute?”

  Litner nodded, looking relieved. “Sure. Wesley?”

  Wesley didn’t hesitate; he ran up the stairs. Litner glanced at Shep, then followed. Shep sat down again and gestured for Juris to do the same. “I can’t kill him,” he said.

  Juris sat down across from him. “I know.”

  “But I can’t lie to Joey about this either. He doesn’t deserve that.”

  Juris nodded. “I know.”

  “Well, do you have any suggestions? You came up with the Schlarr thing, I trust your judgment.” He raised a finger. “Unless you’re going to tell me to kill Wes.”

  “I’m not Margol,” he said. “I don’t just want to kill everyone.”

  Shep laughed, then it trailed off. “What if...”

  Juris leaned forward.

  Shep scratched his head. “What if I told Joey the truth. But add that he may have been the one to ignite this power in Wesley. So I could say it’s kind of his fault.”

  Juris shook his head. “Even if that’s true in some way, you created Wesley. It would be putting too much responsibility on Joey’s shoulders. Plus, either way, he wouldn’t accept that you’d let him be in danger from Wesley. Wesley’s supposed to be the bad guy, remember? Joey replaced him.”

  Shep raked his face with his fingers. They both looked up at the sound of Patrick’s voice echoing from above. “They’re here again? Why?”

  “Great,” Juris said. “Now we have to walk by Obrien to get out of here too.”

  “Oh fuck him,” Shep said. “I wish we could just go home. Back up north and forget all of this. But Allisto’s out there somewhere. Jesus, it’s Allisto! Why won’t he just talk to me?”

  “Maybe being flesh again will be a good thing,” Juris said. “Maybe he’ll have time to think, calm down, get his senses back.”

  “Or maybe he’ll hunt us all down and kill us.” He looked at Juris. “I didn’t want to believe the Schlarr. But you heard it right from Allisto’s lips. He sent an assassin, Juris.”