by MJ Schutte
‘Why not?’ Carmen asked.
‘It’s wrong to steal energy from other people,’ Lilian said. ‘I don’t mind sensing where people are but I never take their energy.’
‘What does your father say about this?’ Carmen asked.
‘It’s the reason he keeps me so close to him. He’s trying to teach me that other people are here purely to serve us. He is wrong!’ Lilian said angrily.
‘Why don’t you run away?’ Carmen asked already knowing the answer.
‘I tried. He finds me every time,’ Lilian answered.
She dropped her eyes in shame.
‘I’ve also tried killing him a few times. It is not possible, he is very powerful.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Carmen said. ‘It must be hard for you.’
Lilian just nodded.
‘Please go tell Brighton to hurry up with the water,’ Carmen asked.
Lilian nodded. She left without another word. Carmen went to the door and watched Lilian go. She waited until Lilian reached Brighton before she used her talent. Both Brighton and Lilian immediately looked towards the house.
As always, she could not sense Brighton.
‘Why can you sense him, young girl?’ Carmen said to no one in particular.
Shortly after supper, Lilian said she had to leave. Brighton wanted to walk her to town but she insisted that it wasn’t necessary. They were sitting outside on the porch. Carmen didn’t join them for which they were both glad. They enjoyed the privacy.
Lilian sat on Brighton’s lap. Brighton slipped his hand under her dress and stroked her leg. He loved the feeling of her perfect skin.
When Lilian said it was time for her to go, Brighton gave her a long, tender kiss. Lilian melted into the kiss, she wanted it to last forever.
Brighton ran his hand further up Lilian’s leg but she gently stopped him and whispered in his ear, ‘Next time.’
Although he was sad that she had to go, he smiled at her and gave her bottom a squeeze.
‘Are you coming to visit tomorrow?’ he asked.
She nodded and smiled, struggling not to cry.
As she walked into the night, the tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Lilian walked into town. She didn’t know where Seth was and didn’t use her sense to locate him. He would find her shortly, he always did.
‘A kiss for your father,’ the soft, rumbling voice said behind her.
‘I’d rather drown myself,’ she said.
‘Careful Lilian,’ Seth said raising his hand.
She stood her ground.
‘Kill me or not, I don’t care! Your little hand trick doesn’t scare me anymore!’ she screamed.
‘You’re testing my patience child,’ he warned.
‘Oh, really?’ she mocked. ‘And still you won’t do anything about it.
‘Well, here is the excuse you need!’ Lilian screamed as her energy link slammed into Seth’s head.
Seth allowed her to take some energy and then reversed the link. He did not take any from her; he simply stopped her stealing his.
‘Feels good, doesn’t it,’ he said softly.
‘No. But one day when I kill you it will,’ Lilian said.
She broke the link. If he wanted to retaliate, he would have done so already. He was very quick to measure out punishment. Strangely, he never hurt her.
The last time was six years ago back in Four Mountains.
Chapter 8
THOMAS RAN FOR his life.
How did they find me again? he wondered as he dodged branches.
He jumped over a fallen tree and stopped. An idea formed in his head. He went down on his haunches behind the big tree and waited. Sensing the assailant coming he braced himself. He knew the Dark One could sense him too; he was counting on that.
The Dark One was approaching fast; he was running.
Good Thomas thought.
Just don’t stop before you reach the tree.
He didn’t. Instead, the young man jumped clean over the fallen tree hoping to turn around and corner Thomas. As he flew over the tree Thomas brought his trusted walking stick up with all the force he could muster.
The stick caught the man between the legs. He crashed into the ground holding his groin, screaming in pain. Thomas got up making sure he stayed outside of arms reach.
‘When will you lot learn? You are human too,’ Thomas said slowly.
Before the man could speak, Thomas swung the walking stick. The Dark One’s head exploded like a melon.
Slowly Thomas walked back to a stream he saw while he was running. He sat down next to the water. First, he washed his face and had some big gulps of water. Next, he rinsed off his arms and then cleaned the blood off his walking stick.
He rested a while, continuously scanning the area with his talent. He knew the Dark Ones could find him easier this way but at least he also knew when they were coming.
Night was approaching. Slowly he got up feeling very old.
‘I am very old,’ he chuckled to himself.
He hadn’t seen Carmen in a long time, almost a year.
At first, they spoke often, every few days, but as Brighton settled in to his new life, the meetings between Thomas and Carmen became less and less. This gave Thomas the time to travel and gather information. He needed to know what Brighton’s talent was and how it worked if he was going to help the young man. So far, he had found nothing of value, just a few theories.
Thomas missed Carmen very much but he knew it would be better if they didn’t have too much contact. He always returned to this area after one of his travels. Carmen would leave a signal at the rock where they used to meet if she needed him.
Thomas got up and started walking towards the meeting place.
Somehow, the Dark Ones kept finding him. There was never any small talk; they simply tried to kill him. So far, he had not run into a Supreme or one of their children. He knew that day would come and then he had no chance of survival. His walking stick would be useless against an energy link.
When he reached the rock, he sat down on it. Looking straight into the woods, he checked the branches of the third tree. Nothing. No red cloth.
If Carmen needed him, there would have been a piece of red cloth tied to one of the lower branches of that tree.
Thomas sat for a while. He was hoping to see the red cloth but also glad it wasn’t there. The red cloth would mean trouble but at least he would see Carmen again.
He got up and started walking into the woods. Suddenly he changed his mind and took the road towards Avarya.
Lilian walked behind Seth. Her mind was racing. They were travelling back to Avarya from Farrendale where Seth had questioned more people. He killed them all when he didn’t like their answers. Normally this bothered Lilian for days afterwards but today she had something else on her mind.
Her half sister Paige joined them in Farrendale for the questioning. She seemed to enjoy it as much as Seth did.
Afterwards Seth sent Paige to convince Lilian to start using her talent but instead they ended up speaking about the family. Lilian could not remember anything Paige said except the part about Evangeline’s bracelet.
Evangeline was their grandmother, Seth’s mother.
Paige told her it was a bracelet Evangeline wore until the day she died. Somehow, a part of Evangeline’s talent stayed behind in the bracelet after she passed on.
Lilian walked faster and caught up to Seth.
‘Seth, tell me about your mother’s bracelet please?’ Lilian asked.
‘No.’
‘Please?’ she begged.
‘No.’
‘Why not? It’s just a bracelet,’ Lilian said irritably.
‘It’s not just a bracelet. It’s very powerful,’ Seth retorted.
‘What does it do?’ Lilian asked.
‘It drains the power of anyone who wears it,’ Seth answered.
‘How?’ she asked.
Seth ignored her.
‘How?’ s
he repeated the question.
‘Stop asking. I will not talk about it anymore,’ Seth said slowly.
He never raised his voice at her. In fact, he never raised his voice at anyone.
A thought formed in Lilian’s head.
Brighton walked into the house. He was in a terrible mood. Lilian’s visit was four days ago. She promised to come back, but so far, she hadn’t shown up. It was dark already; he knew she wouldn’t come now.
Carmen was busy preparing supper.
‘Did you manage to find berries?’ she asked.
Brighton wordlessly put a full basket of berries on the table.
He sat down heavily on a chair and muttered, ‘Thomas was right.’
Carmen looked at him quizzically.
‘I knew this old man back in Four Mountains called Thomas. He once said that a man will never know if a woman truly loves him, he will just have to guess. Thomas was right.’
Sounds like Thomas, Carmen thought with a smile.
‘You know that I love you,’ she said.
‘That’s different. You’re like my grandmother or something,’ Brighton replied.
Carmen laughed.
‘I prefer “Mother” if you don’t mind. Grandmother makes me sound so old,’ she said.
Brighton often teased Carmen about her age. She didn’t mind, it was all in good spirit. This time, however, he did not say anything. Carmen went back to preparing supper.
Brighton looked at the door moments before the knock came. Instinctively Carmen used her sense.
She smiled.
She recognized the energy. Brighton got up and opened the door.
‘THOMAS!’ he shouted.
Before the old man could speak, Brighton grabbed him and gave him a big hug, lifting the old man clear off the ground.
‘Thomas, I’m so glad to see you! Where have you been? How did you find me?’ Brighton fired off the questions as he put Thomas down.
Thomas ignored the questions and looked past Brighton.
Carmen was facing them, hands clasped tightly in front of her, tears welling up in her eyes.
‘Thomas,’ she said softly.
‘Hello Carmen,’ Thomas croaked past the lump in his throat.
Excitedly Brighton said, ‘Carmen, this is Thomas, he’s the …’
Thomas walked over to Carmen.
He put his arms around her and they hugged for a long time.
‘It’s been too long,’ Thomas managed.
Tears were streaming freely down Carmen’s face. She couldn’t speak.
‘Wait, you two know each other?’ Brighton asked with a frown.
Still the two old people ignored him.
‘I missed you,’ Carmen said through her tears.
‘And I missed you,’ Thomas croaked.
Finally, they separated.
Carmen looked more closely at Thomas.
‘Another run in with the Dark Ones?’ she asked.
‘Several,’ Thomas replied.
Brighton couldn’t stand it anymore.
‘What’s going on here?’ he asked impatiently.
Carmen spoke.
‘Brighton, I would like for you to meet….’
‘I know who Thom…’
One look from Carmen made him slam his mouth shut.
‘I would like for you to meet Thomas, my brother,’ Carmen finished.
‘Your brother?’ Brighton gasped.
‘Yes, my younger brother,’ Carmen replied.
Brighton’s mouth was hanging wide open.
‘I can’t believe it,’ he said excitedly, ‘what are the odds of that?’
He gestured towards Thomas. ‘I leave Four Mountains, run into your sister and I end up living with her.’
He shook his head in amazement.
‘Wait for it,’ Carmen whispered to Thomas.
Brighton frowned.
‘What are the odds of that happening?’ he asked looking at Thomas.
‘Never takes very long,’ Carmen whispered.
‘Stop whispering and tell me what’s going on,’ Brighton demanded.
‘Do you want to?’ Thomas asked Carmen.
‘Not really,’ she replied, ‘I’ll cook supper, and you tell Brighton what you’ve done.’
‘Me?’ Thomas replied indignantly. ‘You were a part of it,’ he accused heatedly.
‘But you were the mastermind behind it all,’ Carmen countered, her voice rising.
Brighton couldn’t believe it. Here were two people of more than five hundred and sixty years old and they were arguing like children.
‘Stop it!’ he shouted. ‘Tell me what’s going on here,’ he demanded and quickly added ‘Please?’ when he saw the expression on Carmen’s face.
Thomas sat down and gestured for Brighton to do the same.
Carmen continued with supper.
‘Carmen is my sister…’ Thomas began.
‘Yes, that part I already know,’ Brighton interjected.
‘Brighton,’ Carmen said without looking up.
Brighton mumbled an apology.
‘I see she has taught you some manners,’ Thomas laughed.
Brighton decided not to say anything. He waited patiently for Thomas to speak.
‘Like I said, Carmen is my sister. Much older sister I might add,’ Thomas teased Carmen.
One look from Carmen and Thomas quickly mumbled, ‘Sorry’.
‘I see she taught you some manners too,’ Brighton whispered to him.
They shared a knowing look.
‘When you said you wanted to leave Four Mountains I was worried. If you did manage to catch up to Seth and Lilian, who knows what might have happened. You could have been killed, Lilian could have been killed. I decided to try and avoid that so I left before you. Carmen lived in the woods just outside Avarya. I came to her and asked for her help. Together we devised a plan to try and protect you.
‘To make a long story short, we set up the entire thing hoping that you would abandon your quest to save Lilian. Obviously it worked.’
Brighton frowned, ‘You mean all of this was a setup? Where did the house come from? And the goats, the vegetable garden?’
Thomas replied, ‘I found the goats and Carmen convinced the people who lived here to give her this house. The vegetable garden was here already.’
Brighton turned to Carmen, ‘You convinced the people to give you their house? In one day?’
‘I asked nicely,’ Carmen replied.
‘Wait,’ Brighton said. ‘You’re Thomas’ sister. That means you’re a Dark…..’
Thomas shook his head urgently.
‘…..uh… also talented like him. Did you use your talent on the people that lived here?’
The question brought a very dark look from Carmen.
‘I guess not,’ Brighton said quickly.
‘What was the idea behind all of this?’ Brighton asked.
‘To make you forget about Lilian, Clarissa, Seth and everything that happened,’ Thomas said.
Carmen spoke, ‘Tell him the truth.’
‘It is the truth,’ Thomas defended.
‘All of it,’ Carmen instructed.
‘Fine. It was also to hide you,’ Thomas said with a sigh.
‘Hide me? Why would you want to hide me?’ he asked. ‘And besides, this is a terrible hiding place! It’s right in the open next to a road. Wouldn’t somewhere deep in the forest have worked better?’
‘It’s a brilliant hiding place,’ Thomas said heatedly.
He continued more calmly, ‘Very few people stay deep in the forests. If Seth passed anywhere nearby, he would have sensed Carmen’s energy and investigated. That means he would have found you. If you lived in town there is the risk of a chance encounter with him. The road next to this house leads only to the river, nowhere else, so the likelihood of Seth travelling past here is slim. He won’t go fetch his own water; he has servants to do that. If he happened to cast his sense this far he would only pick up a single o
ld woman living just outside of town; nothing suspicious about that.’
Brighton had to agree, it was brilliant.
Thomas carried on, ‘You have to understand, these are all guesses I had to make in a day. Perhaps living deep in the forest would have worked, or even in town. As it turned out this hiding place has been good for six years. Besides, it gave you the chance to do something you know and love,’ Thomas said, referring to the garden and goats.
‘Why hide me in the first place?’ Brighton asked.
‘Now that is a good question. I didn’t understand at first but now I do,’ Carmen commented.
‘Understand what?’ Brighton asked her.
She kept quiet and let Thomas continue.
‘You’re a very special person,’ he started.
‘Well, thank you. You’re pretty special too but what does that have to do with hiding me?’ Brighton interrupted sarcastically.
Thomas smiled.
‘You still don’t know when to keep quiet and just listen,’ he said.
Brighton opened his mouth but another black look from Carmen made him change his mind.
He sat back and listened to Thomas.
‘There are a number of things in your life that does not make sense. Think about your birth. Did you go to the place?’
Brighton nodded.
‘How is it possible for a newborn baby to survive like that?’ Thomas continued. ‘Why were all the plants dead? And what about those wolves? These would be the first questions that need answers if we are going to understand you.’
‘I have travelled far and wide in the last few years. I spoke to everyone I know, and I know a lot of people, to try and get some answers. Nobody knows anything useful. I’ve thought about the story of your birth for a long time and there is only one explanation. You’re talented like us. Actually, more like a Supreme.’
Thomas paused to read Brighton’s reaction.
The younger man sat stone faced.
Thomas continued, ‘There is no way you could have survived the way you did, unless you have the talent. This theory presents a few other questions though. Why can’t you use it like other Dark Ones? You’ve never stolen energy from anyone or anything, apart from the time of your birth.’
