by M A Roth
“That’s enough. She has been locked in here for nearly a day and Abigail needs to eat as much as the next person.”
Steven looked at me for a few seconds before responding, “Fine, but I want her back here in an hour.”
Father Peter nodded then gave me a kind smile. “Come on, Abigail.”
I stood, and let out a breath, as I followed Father Peter without looking back.
“What’s going on? They’re asking stupid questions,” I said.
“Not here,” he responded, and I followed him quietly, taking twists and turns through the underground corridors. We finally stopped at two large doors. I felt nervous.
“They sure keep our cafeteria hidden.”
Father Peter didn’t answer, but opened the double doors and I followed him in.
This wasn’t a canteen, but a huge empty hall that had a few chairs scattered around it. Maybe it was used for meetings or something.
“Sit down, Abigail.” He was making me really nervous now.
“Please tell me what’s going on!”
Father Peter started fidgeting, something I had never seen him do. This was bad. He stood, unable to sit still, but I sat frozen.
“I have something I need to tell you, something I should have told you a long time ago, but it always seemed like the wrong time.” He paused.
“And now is the right time?” I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know.
Father Peter looked at me. Really looked at me. “No, but I fear someone else might tell you. I knew your mother. She came to me for help and she thought something was following her around,”
Father Peter knew my mother. I stood, pacing the large room. He didn’t stop me, but waited for me to sit back down. I did with a heaviness in my bones.
“Abigail, she told me things as a priest, things… that I am not meant to repeat.”
“She’s dead. I don’t think your promise still applies,” I said far too bitterly - always the last to know. Father Peter knelt in front of me while taking my face so gently in his hands I nearly flinched from the touch. It was love, warmth, regret, and sadness.
“Sam is not your brother,” I pulled my face out of Father Peter’s hands.
“No. No, of course he is!” I said, shaking my head.
Father Peter’s eyes coated with tears.
I felt sorry for him. “Look, I have his birth certificate, Mary Thornton and Peter Thornton are his parents the same as me.” My words faltered. My head felt light.
“He’s your half-brother. Oh, Abigail, I’m so sorry!”
Tears fell freely from my open eyes. I sniveled and rubbed the tears away. “No, no, that makes no sense,” I said as my heart rate elevated, I couldn’t think of the implications of what he was saying. My dad wasn’t my dad. That’s what Sam wanted me to know, that’s why I had no birth certificate in the box and he did. My mother’s letter made sense, that I was her daughter, but Peter Thornton wasn’t my father.
“At times, your mother was herself,” he said, almost absentmindedly to himself as if he was remembering talking to her, like it played out in front of him.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked so close to breaking. I didn’t need to know this. I would have never found out.
“Because I was watching the interview, and when you mentioned Sam, I knew where it would lead. Steven knows and I was afraid he would say it to see how you would react.” So he was one of the people behind the glass.
“I need a moment alone,” I said.
“Okay.” He kissed my forehead before leaving.
I stood and paced some more. Sam wasn’t my brother. Did it really change anything? I had a different father… did my dad know? Why hide it from me?
My breathing was becoming shallow. I needed air. I needed out. I needed to get away from myself. Too many questions and the only person who could answer them wasn’t there. I raced from the room, running past a startled Father Peter. I needed air now. I ran through all the corridors until I could see two large steel doors up ahead.
I burst through a set of them, setting the alarms off, but I didn’t stop until the rain and wind smashed into me from the outdoors. The weather raged around me as I stood in a small twelve by twelve square that was walled in, just enough to walk around for a bit of exercise, but no escape. It was like a prison yard. I moved around in a full three hundred and sixty degree spin and threw my head back, letting the wind and rain smother my face with its vicious attack. I wanted to scream, but couldn’t. I needed to cry, but no tears came. The only thing that happened was three men dressed all in black came through the door. They had little earpieces stuck to their left ears.
I didn’t move, but stayed still, facing the sky with my eyes closed.
“Leave her,” I heard Father Peter say.
I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure how long I stayed like that, but Father Peter had left, closing the doors behind him. My name being called pulled me back from the torment and questions that raged inside me.
I looked at Zee. He was soaked through, but he stood in front of me, saying nothing. Always there. My teeth knocked together with the cold. I stared at him. What could have been? I thought before walking back into the building. I didn’t wait to see if Zee followed, but made my way back inside. A few people stared as I dripped everywhere, but no said anything.
Father Peter stood at the end of the hall. He looked lost in a thought, anguish registered on his face when he saw me.
“Abigail.” He reached for me, but I took a step back.
My teeth chattering together. I had found no release from going outside.
“I’m okay, but I’m soaking, I need a hot shower,” I said.
He studied me then embraced me in a fatherly hug. I kept my hands at my side. I couldn’t hug him back. He knew so much, yet he never told me.
He pulled back. “Come on, I’ll take you to the showers,” he said, and I followed obediently.
Clothes had been laid out on a small seat for me. I got dressed quickly and made my way back to the interrogation room. Steven was talking to a priest outside the door, when he saw me, the conversation ended.
“Abigail, you’re back. That was much longer than an hour,” he said. I walked past him and into the room, but his hand wrapped around my forearm. “We will continue our interview tomorrow. Right now, I need you to come with me.”
“Where?” I asked as I looked up and down the corridor, looking for the others, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“It will take just a moment, and then you’re free to go.”
His smile made my spine tingle. But I followed him, no point in resisting. We moved only a few doors down before he stopped. He gave me another one of his creepy smiles, and I almost bailed until the door opened, and inside, sat a plump woman with glasses on the tip of her nose.
“Nurse Morgan, this is Abigail, the girl I was telling you about,” he said. The nurse gave me a curt nod, a no messing around look on her face, and asked me to come in. Once I was seated, Steven turned to leave. “I’ll be outside the door,” he said.
I turned to the nurse, but she was getting a syringe and a tie for my arm.
“Now, we’re just going to take a little blood and then you’re good to go,” she said.
“Why?” I asked. I didn’t mind, but why the hell did they want my blood?
“It’s just a routine; all hunters have to have a medical check.”
I was glad I hadn’t drank in a few hours, but I could feel my hands tremble slightly from the want of one.
“Hold still, this won’t hurt a bit.”
I turned away and let her take my blood.
“All done,” she said after a few moments and a few vials of blood sat in a little tray. She started writing my name and the date on them. I fixed my sleeve.
“You can go now,” she said, looking at me from under her glasses.
“Thanks.”
I left and Steven escorted me back to the main room where everyone was waiting.
Zee came straight to me, a look of concern on his face, but he stopped a foot away, unsure whether to approach me or not. Instead, he turned to Steven, giving him a hard look. Father Peter must have told him about me. I wanted to run away again, but stood my ground.
“We will see you all tomorrow.”
No one answered Steven as we left The Reote and climbed into the minibus that was waiting for us outside. We rode back to our hotel in silence. Everyone looked exhausted from today. I went straight to my room and avoided pitying stares from Zee and Father Peter. I didn’t want their pity.
Chapter Twenty Five
Daniel
When we returned to the hotel, Father Peter asked me for a moment. We sat at the back of the lounge, away from the prying eyes and ears.
A waitress arrived and John ordered two whiskeys. He downed his straight and sat waiting for me to do the same, so I drank it quickly. I needed to speak to Abigail. I needed to tell her the truth.
“I know what she is,” he said while twirling the empty glass on the beer mat. He looked up at me then. “Her mother told me what happened, and I have seen enough in my time to believe her.”
I sat tense. “So what is she?” I asked, in case he didn’t really know.
“Lucifer’s daughter.” That got my attention.
“You knew this all along and never told her?” I questioned in disbelief for a man with such beliefs in God.
He gave me a look of hurt before anger replaced it. “You knew too, yet you never told her!” When I didn’t answer, he continued, “I know you’re not from our world, Daniel, and you always stay close to her. I can see the way you look at her. You know what she is.”
“Fine, I do. So what now? We both know why are you telling me this?” Was it a threat that he would spill the beans to The Reote? He wouldn’t get to, I would kill him.
“I’m telling you because they will find out soon.”
I leaned across the table and grabbed his hand tightly. I could see him wince. “And how are they going to find out, Father?” With a little more force I could snap his wrist.
“They took her blood.”
I pulled back, shocked. How had I missed it? I had always replaced her blood. I had never messed up keeping her safe. I stood and so did Father Peter.
“It’s too late. You can never get back in and they went straight to the lab with the blood.”
I grabbed him by the neck, not caring that we were getting attention now. “Where is the lab?”
“Daniel,” he pleaded.
“Where?” I shook him, so he told me and I left without a second glance.
Abigail
I lay on my bed and Cathy on hers. She didn’t say anything, which was odd for her, but I wanted my own peace and quiet, so didn’t ask her what was wrong. I got a small bottle of vodka from the minibar and downed it in one gulp. Grabbing three others, I returned to my bed and lay, sipping them. I closed my eyes and let the vodka relax me. I could hear Cathy move, bottles rattled and then she returned to her bed. I opened my eyes, and she was lying on her bed, drinking small bottles of Jack Daniels. I gave her a smile and received one in return.
“Rough day?” she asked.
“You could say that,” I replied.
We continued to drink in silence, my mind reeling a hundred miles an hour.
“You know, I think Blake likes me,” Cathy said, making me laugh.
Once again, she had interrupted me when I needed her to. She smiled, but sadness filled her eyes. I needed to keep it light for both of our sakes.
“Yes, I see the way he always talks to you,” I said and Cathy stuck out her tongue.
We went into a comfortable silence again. Something that I really never believed I would experience with Cathy. But our silence was short lived as the door opened. Simon walked in, then took two steps back and knocked. I laughed.
“Come in, Simon. We’re decent.”
“For now,” Cathy added. Giving him an apologetic look that was the closest thing he would ever get to her saying she was sorry.
I patted the bed beside me and Simon sat down.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Simon said and Cathy got up to leave. “No, I want you to hear this too.” Simon said, and Cathy sat back down, looking uncomfortable.
“About what happened last night, what you said…” He turned to Cathy, but she didn’t budge. “I’m gay,” he said.
“I knew it when you were watching Legally Blonde. It was a total giveaway,” I said, poking Simon in the side, trying to make him feel more comfortable.
He laughed. “I wasn’t watching it.”
“Sure!” I replied. “But seriously, as long as you’re happy, Simon, that’s all that matters to me.”
He beamed at me.
“Me too,” Cathy said.
Simon hugged me tightly.
“Thank you,” he whispered before getting up and going to Cathy, who looked terrified.
“What are you doing?” she asked, drawing away, but Simon pulled her into a hug.
“Thank you, Cathy, for giving me the courage.”
She relaxed and hugged him back, and after a moment, she pushed him away gently.
“That’s enough of that for me. Get me a drink, Simon.”
I rolled my eyes as Simon laughed and opened the minibar. I wondered how many times they had restocked it and how much our stay would cost. Well, actually, Steven was covering the cost.
“One for me, too,” I said and smiled, a little bit of payback.
We had a few hours of daylight left and I wasn’t wasting it stuck in our hotel room. Once I finished my drink, I jumped up and went to the bathroom, to rinse my mouth and dab my face with cold water. I returned to the bedroom, to get my shoulder bag.
“Where are you going?” Cathy asked.
“Sightseeing. Are you guys coming?”
Both Cathy and Simon scrambled off the bed in delight. I needed to get out, do something normal and try to pretend that today never happened. I wrote a note and left it on my bedside locker, letting the rest know we would be back later. I knew that Zee had been avoiding me, but now, I was the one avoiding him. He made everything seem so complicated and my emotions were always all over the place when I was around him. I let out a heavy sigh, leaving all my problems in the hotel room and promised myself I would enjoy the next few hours.
“I want to see the Mona Lisa, and see what all the fuss is about,” Cathy said, full of enthusiasm.
“Yeah, that would be great, I’ll just ring the airline now and book us tickets to Paris where the Mona Lisa is!” I said as me and Simon burst out laughing. Cathy scowled.
“I was never good at history,” she said.
“Or geography,” I answered back, moving in front of her; she was not going to be our guide. Not after that.
I knew what I wanted to see, so I waved down a taxi.
We all climbed in.
“Could you take us to Ostia Antica, please?” I asked.
The taxi man turned to us. “Long drive, money first.” His English was broken.
“It’s forty minutes. And we will pay you when we arrive,” I told him; we were so not getting ripped off.
He turned in his seat and started to drive.
“What is Ostia Antica?” Simon asked.
“They say it was built as a military camp, called Ostia. Its Latin and means mouth of the river. It soon turned into a commercial city and spread out. They say that it’s quite a site.”
“Very interesting!” Cathy said in the most boring voice ever.
“Yes, it would have been more interesting to fly to Paris and see the Mona Lisa.” I smirked.
“Shut up!” she retorted before turning back to the window and I couldn’t help, but smile.
The day was perfect and all my troubles were left back at the hotel.
“I can’t wait,” Simon said and I could hear the genuine excitement in his voice.
Chapter Twenty Six
Abigail
We r
eached our destination in the time I had predicted. I climbed out and looked around, taking in this amazing city. There wasn’t much left, but I could imagine what stood before, once upon a time.
We moved around from one building to the next, but the Square of the guild was breathtaking. Cathy lay out on the grass, truly bored, but I ignored her and moved around the trees, letting all the history soak into me. It was really beautiful. I let my hands trail along the hard bark of the tree. This is what I wanted, to live in that moment. The sun on my face, a bark pressed against my palm, the sounds of birds and insects chirping, the laughter of people, and the low hum as they spoke in their little groups. My reprieve was disturbed by Cathy.
“Hey.” I turned at the sound of Cathy’s voice from behind me, there was a softness to her features and a blush lightly touched her cheeks as she blew out a breath. “I want to thank you for the other night and… to also say, I’m sorry for hitting you,” she said the last part while she focused on the grass beneath her feet.
“We all need to let off steam sometimes and you are no exception,” I said, making her look up. A sadness filled her eyes, but she forced a smile.
Our little chat was cut short as Simon came running up to us.
“You have got to check this out.”
We followed Simon and even Cathy’s eyes lit up with excitement. Maybe she was relieved she had got to apologize and now, it was over. Either way, we arrived at the baths, according to the plaque that was placed on the outer wall.
Inside, the walls were rough, but my eyes went straight to the statue that filled the top part of the room. It gave me the creeps. I moved closer to the head of the baths and there stood a sculpture of a man with one arm raised and what looked like a hound below him. He held its snout, forcing the hound’s head up. I don’t know why, but it was weird.
“Are you kidding me, Simon? This is what you called us for? I thought that maybe, you found some hot guys or something. I’m going back to sunbathing.” Cathy left in a strop.
I rolled my eyes. “She will never change,” I said to Simon.
