“It was just easier one day.” David said sheepishly.
“What day, son?” Isaac growled.
“Nora’s eighteenth birthday. I obviously wasn’t around, but it still changed everything.” He said in a hushed tone. My heart was pounding as I listened. This was not at all what I expected to overhear.
“But she isn’t your mate.” Isaac argued.
“You know it isn’t a physical thing, Isaac. If she’s alive, there’s no one else. It’s enough for me.” He swore. I heard Isaac groan in frustration.
“It’s enough until it isn’t.” Isaac finally responded.
I knocked on the window and both men jumped.
“Are we there yet?” I asked Isaac with a smug smile. I was hell bent on seeming like I had no idea what I interrupted. I wish I had never heard any of it.
“We just entered Old Texas.” Isaac answered.
“That means nothing to me. I don’t know where Tavern Falls is, and I really don’t want to pee in a bucket again.” I complained.
“We have eight hours to go until—”
“Wait.” I interrupted. “I remember this highway.”
I remembered a van crowded with people. I remembered Connie being there and forcing me to drink something that kept putting me to sleep.
“Your mother took my family from me. Now she pays.” Connie hissed as I gagged on the liquid and she covered my nose and mouth until I swallowed. I remember all my bones aching and my head pounding.
“Connie was from Tavern Falls. She was from Arkansas. I’m from Arkansas!” I said excitedly. Isaac reached back for a high five, but the truck lurched and I fell backwards onto Edmund. He caught my head before I slammed into the trailer floor even though he’d been asleep.
“You good?” He asked me.
“I’m from Arkansas.” I beamed.
“You are.” He agreed proudly. Isaac slammed on the breaks and we all went forward roughly.
We were in the middle of nowhere and he got out of the truck and stormed off. I couldn’t see anything with only the small forward-facing window.
“What is he doing?” I asked David.
“He’s stripping, and he will probably shift.” David said unimpressed.
“Why?” I asked worried. “Should I go check on him?”
“Nope. Not unless you want my current view of your dad’s glowing chiseled ass.” He advised. I heard an animal howl so loudly that the truck seemed to shake. David sighed. “You better grab that extra uniform, Ed. He just went alpha.”
Edmund untangled himself from me and went to the back door for David to let him out.
“Now’s your time to pee.” David told me. I jumped at the chance and Westly shook his head not wanting to be disturbed from his book. Or maybe from guarding Diana.
A giant wolf was picking up huge rocks with its jaws and throwing them in a rage. They waited on the wolf’s side of the truck while I squatted to pee on the other side behind a huge wheel.
“So how do we calm him down?” I asked as I urinated and tried not to think about it.
“We don’t.” David replied. “You do.”
“When he’s like this, it has to be a master of beasts that calms him.” Edmund explained.
I zipped up my jeans and rolled my eyes as I recalled the lore behind my bloodline. I could allegedly breed shifters and control them to an extent if they trusted me. I walked over to my four-legged father and stood right in front of him. He was massive in his wolf form. He was about the size of a typical car.
“You need to get in the truck.” I said sternly. I heard David snort. Isaac did nothing but sniff my head. He did calm down a little and glance at the truck.
I rubbed my temples and wondered how the hell I was supposed to dog-whisper my father into a stolen guard truck. I laughed a little at the mental image of a giant wolf driving into the next guard check station. When I inhaled deeply and opened my eyes to try again, Isaac was climbing his giant wolf self into the back of the truck.
“You did it.” David clapped laughing. It was a slow clap. He was being rude.
“You did it.” Edmund repeated impressed.
“I don’t know how I did it.” I muttered.
“That’s life.” David shrugged as he offered me a hand into the truck. Edmund was already dressed as a guard again, and we quickly took off. The back of the truck was crowded with Isaac panting happily next to Westly who seemed content to pet him and continue reading.
“We’re the fricken Addams Family.” I muttered.
The next eight hours passed uneventfully. Eventually Isaac shifted back to his usual self and was already holding a pair of David’s signature sweatpants cut-offs for him and held them out blindly with my eyes closed. “Thank you.” Isaac said clearing his throat awkwardly.
“What the hell?” I asked gesturing to him and his episode a moment later.
“Connie is the daughter of the woman who raised Abigail.” Isaac said with forced calmness.
“So, she was my aunt?” I asked.
“No. Her mother was the housekeeper for Abigail’s family for like thirty-some years. Abigail adored her. And she was killed as a threat to your mother and me. We tried at least a dozen times to reach out to Connie, but she would never see us. After a few years, we never saw her around town again. She probably began to realize what we were when the war reached the media.” Isaac shared distractedly.
“That must have been hard.” I figured. “To have a mother and watch her raise someone else’s daughter who was better off.”
Isaac looked surprised. I realized the window was open, and I saw Edmund and David exchange a look.
“Just so you know, we are getting close to town. Shifters have been flying overhead for miles.” David called back. We payed little attention to his words, but he knew we heard it.
“Connie was probably always jealous.” Isaac agreed after considering my words for a minute.
“And she loved ranting about what I deserved.” I added. There was no bitterness in my tone. It was just a fact.
“Ironic.” David called back to us. “She didn’t seem too fond of karma when I met her.”
The truck stopped roughly, and David and Edmund hopped out. When the door opened, I was blinded by the direct sunlight, and nearly deafened by a roar of applause. “Welcome home.” Edmund said taking my hand. I looked back at Westly who was clamping his headphones down over his ears and scowling.
CHAPTER 22
Tavern Falls was incredible. Isaac repeatedly assured me I was safe here, and no one could enter with cruel intentions. They had the perimeters protected by magic, and the roads were guarded by others like us. I wondered if they couldn’t just drop a bomb on us and get rid of everyone, but a faint shimmering haze above told me otherwise. These people were still at war.
The town looked like everything had been boarded over for a while. People were opening windows, dusting rugs, and finding shelter wherever they could.
I noticed that they seemed to be in groups, and Edmund explained that they were still clustered by the camps they were released from. I received more handshakes that I’d ever had before, and after a while I stopped flinching with the expectation of seeing death at the slightest touch.
David calmed the applause and shouting ahead of us as we moved through the town and people gave Westly a respectful buffer while welcoming him with waves and words of kindness. He seemed happier now. Diana was awake, and someone had produced a wheelchair for her. They treated my father like a long-lost king, and I was in awe of how many people there were everywhere I looked. They were all like me.
As we got off the main street, it was far less crowded. Edmund took my hand and walked me away from the masses. “How are you handling all of this?” he asked gently.
“I don’t know.” I answered honestly. I smiled though. It was a change to feel overcome with positive factors.
“It’s safe here. No shan, but soon enough we all need to deal with that problem. We can’t hide
here forever and let the rest of the world suffer.” He said.
“I know that.” I assured him defensively. I wasn’t sure where this his concern was coming from.
“I need you to be safe.” He said with his voice breaking a little. There it was. His usual issue.
“Then help me.” I said. “I want to see my home, and then I need others like me. Specifically, like me and Abigail. I need to learn quickly.”
Edmund leaned in and kissed me softly. I had a feeling he was distracting me on purpose, but then I realized I was just annoyed at how much I lost myself in his affection. He had no ulterior motive. My thoughts went back to the conversation I overheard earlier that morning, and I knew exactly what they meant.
This man would put me before the world itself and every life on it. He would kill for me. He would die for me. Beside him was the safest place in the world for me, and I felt loved beyond measure... but this war wouldn’t be won from a comfortable location. It was about to get worse and quickly.
***
My childhood home was on a country road, much like the house Edmund had chosen for his temporary home in Raven’s landing. I wondered if he did that on purpose. It was a massive plantation style home that had peeling white paint and was missing a few of its blue shutters. There were steps leading up to the burnt remains of what was once probably a very nice and peaceful porch.
As soon as the door opened, I saw the trashed remnants of hundreds of familiar items. Blankets and photo frames were in the middle of the floor. The place had obviously been ransacked and searched meticulously. They had gutted the sofa cushions in a way that Matthew might have done in a drug search once upon a time. When drugs and crime were the biggest problem for him.
Each familiar room and item would trigger flashes of memories and within minutes I had a terrible migraine and wanted nothing more than to leave, but I couldn’t see my way out with random visions of the past filling my eyes. I felt someone lift me and then I was back outside in the grass. I was hyperventilating and shaking.
The truck pulled up and Isaac and Westly carefully unloaded Diana and her wheelchair. When Westly saw me, he climbed into the truck for one of his bags and I felt a heavy blanket go over my shoulders a moment later. It was familiar too, but from my new life. It felt good for my mind to carry out an entire thought without straining. I visualized Westly’s familiar bedroom and breathed deeply.
“We can’t stay in there.” Edmund said to Isaac.
Isaac nodded understandingly and smiled at me. He was worried and maybe sad, but too kind to let it show.
“David. Have everyone meet us at the Taylor house.” Isaac said.
We all got back into the truck and drove for only a few minutes to reach another area of town. It was a structurally similar home to the other one. It had a small orchard in the front beside a long dirt driveway. It was gorgeous, but the energy surrounding the house was not that of a happy family home. It was more like a haunted house, but Isaac assured me no one would be there, and nothing would be familiar to me.
“Your mother grew up here. She hated this place, but we planned on gutting it and making it new again for your own family.” He said nodding to Edmund and me. “Your grandmother Nora was a thing of legend. Like ogres… or Satan.”
“So, you named me after her?” I laughed.
“Well, she did us a big favor by killing my estranged father in human form before I knew who he was.” Isaac explained. There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in his words.
“So, my grandfather was murdered.” I sighed grimly.
“Both of them. Yep.” Isaac answered vaguely as he led us up the porch steps and wrestled the door open. Edmund shot him an annoyed glance, but I wasn’t upset. I was just taking notes on a very dark family history that I would need to re-learn, eventually.
“Were my grandfathers both bad people?” I asked Edmund.
“Well… yeah. You never met either. Rebecca was Isaac’s adoptive mother, and she was as good as it gets for grandparents though. She’s the only one that got any influence over you.” He assured me, smiling.
The inside of the Taylor home was untouched by the drama of the war. Everything was covered in white sheets and the sheets were covered in thick dust. I had no reaction to the home, but I did wonder how my mother grew up in such a stale environment. It was more like a museum than a family home. I wandered through the sitting room and the kitchen. It was the only room with any real color and warmth to the décor.
There was a pin board covered in pictures of my mother as a child. I quickly took them all down and studied them fondly while everyone else was doing more productive things like dusting and clearing out old food from the kitchen.
“So, we all live here now?” I asked Isaac.
“Is that okay?” he replied.
“I’ve never… I used to live above a store. This is a castle.” I explained. He just smiled at me.
“Eventually I want to box up our things…from home.” Isaac added gently. “But I don’t think I can live there without Abigail.” He continued with difficulty.
“I can box everything up and take care of the house.” David offered. “Sooner or later some things might help Nelsonora remember. Not all at once though.”
“David you can live there as long as you want. I won’t sell it. It’s open to anyone who needs it. At your discretion, son.” Isaac said to him. “We’ve wanted you home for years. We used to think you might end up with Diana.”
“That’s a hideous idea.” Diana groaned. I hadn’t noticed her wheel herself into the kitchen.
“Agreed.” David nodded. They were far too sibling-like to see each other that way, and the look Diana gave Westly told me she was too invested elsewhere anyway.
“Do you need to sleep more?” I asked Diana.
“Nope. I think I need pain candies.” She said miming something tiny.
“You mean medicine, dork?” Isaac asked. She pointed appreciatively at his guess. I realized that she had never needed anything for illness or discomfort before they cured her. She would just heal.
***
By the following morning we had opened every window in the house and dusted and purged until we had what looked somewhat like a charming bed-and-breakfast. Isaac found a special joy in tossing everything in the swamp that was formerly his mother-in-law’s bedroom out of her windows onto the lawn below. By the time he was done the room was unrecognizable, and he designated it as Westly’s bedroom because it was quiet and calm. He was quickly becoming very fond of Westly, and it was clear that Westly wasn’t sure what to make of my father.
Diana would stay downstairs in room that was once an office so she could easily wheel herself around until she was recovered. The room was even conveniently missing its door.
Isaac chose to live in a sunroom that he was particularly fond of many years ago even though there were guest rooms and nicer options. He insisted. Edmund and I settled into my mother’s former bedroom with a private bathroom. It was nice being somewhere that he’s never been either. For once we were living life together in the present instead him spoon-feeding me facts.
Edmund graciously slept on the floor. The return to Tavern Falls had improved his patience and understanding that I was still trying to get to know him and regain my memories. I suspected that my episode in my childhood home was not at all what he expected and probably enlightened him on just how lost I was feeling. It surprised him when I joined him on the floor in the middle of the night. I found it easier to sleep beside him.
After a breakfast of questionably expired instant oatmeal, people began to arrive in front of the house without knocking on the door. I looked out the window and saw that they were putting up a massive tent.
“Are we going to have a circus? We could probably make a pretty good circus.” I asked.
“That will be a lab.” Isaac said grinning excitedly.
“We have a town full of magic and we’re prepping for science?” I asked skeptically.
&nbs
p; “I’m going to work some magic of my own.” Isaac winked. “Trust your old man for a minute.”
CHAPTER 23
It only took a few days and the people of Tavern Falls had Isaac set up with a massive generator, lighting, and all kinds of lab equipment that I couldn’t identify to save my life. Diana was up and walking again, though she took frequent breaks, and everyone was nervous about her falling. It was interesting to see that she was completely at home within the lab.
Westly and Diana were talking excitedly about whatever they’d helped Isaac create the night before as everyone else slept. I kept them well supplied with coffee and meals since I felt otherwise useless in the lab. And frankly in general.
Edmund and David worked on rounding up other women from the original bloodlines so that I could figure out a safe and effective way to eliminate large groups of shan the way I did in the warehouse. And ideally without dying. The problem was that many of the new releases had been cured.
In the evenings, I would walk through town and get to know more about the people who were recently released from camps. I started binders of names of the people who had made it here, and those who were known to be missing or deceased.
A former newspaper office was now bustling with intake volunteers and Edmund found three working computers for us in their storage basement. A huge mural on the side of the building read Small Town, Big News.
The Curious Fate of Nelsonora (Fractured Universe Series Book 1) Page 11
