Hidden Carmina

by Adri Sinclair

  “You should invite John, Jarrod, and Lilly. Let’s not waste.”

  John could not have been far off because as I speak, the back door to the kitchen opens, presenting the devil himself.

  “Lilly and Jarrod are on their way.”

  Lilly was about to squeal again upon seeing the food. She must have grasped the look on my face as I brace myself for the sound.

  “Eeep!” I hear the restraint and watch Jarrod shake in silent laughter behind her, red in the face with his own comical understanding.

  “Good morning,”

  “Oh hi, what a lovely surprise,” Sometimes, John outdoes himself, and this is one of those times.

  “Don’t pretend it’s a surprise, wolf boy.” I shoot back at him.

  Lilly sits somewhat on top of me and Jarrod joins John at the other end. I feel the warmth and support from the small group around me.

  “Thank you,” I mouth to Liam, whose response is a cheeky wink.

  I don’t eat much, but what I eat is suitably satisfying. Lilly’s appetite matches Jarrod’s at the moment, and I marvel at how thoroughly she is putting away the food. When the baby moves, she plants my hand on her belly and holds hers over it.

  “I think the baby likes you.”

  “How can you tell?” I ask, curiously.

  “I don’t know. The baby just seems busier around you; less lazy.”

  I raise my eyebrow. “And that is a good thing?”

  “Sure.”

  I let it go when I see the warning look on Jarrod’s face.

  “I have put a blanket and book out for you in the front room Mina… if—”

  “In the bay window. Please! Please?” I make my best puppy face and Liam rubs over his face.

  “Of course…”

  John cleans the plate he was eating from, steals Jarrod’s bacon and with a full mouth, halfway out the door, turns to Liam. “Yeah! Vixen is going to keep you on your toes, Nurse Nightingale!”

  The book Liam chose for me is a collection of romantic stories, including Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Lancelot and Guinevere, Napoleon and Josephine and a host of others. I look up at him pensively and he answers the question before I ask it.

  “Human stories, about human people, feeling human feelings.” He sits down in my glove-seat with a book of his own. I lean to see what it is but he is onto me and points his finger at my own book.

  Vixen Vs Hellcat

  Liam’s choice was excellent. I skipped over Romeo and Juliet, looking for something a bit less suffering drama so I turn to Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett’s story. Half way through the entire book, I look up to the volcano. The sun is setting and the sky is hazy and on fire. The movement on the treeline draws my attention and the approaching footfall immediately starts burning at my temper. The faint scent in the air pushes a hiss from my lips that I didn’t know formed. I am wondering if my cottage was changed for the amount of activity around my senses.

  “Ignore her, she will go away.” Liam says.

  “Why is she here?”

  “She wants to see you.”

  “Let her.”

  “Carmina…”

  “No, there’s a pink elephant in this room, and now there’s a lynx skulking around my patience. Bring her in. You know I don’t need you to do it for me Liam.” I remind him firmly.

  I feel Liam’s request, along with Will, Joseph and Jackie. I accept them all.

  “Mina… Carmina wants to see you, Jackie.” Liam announces. I know the protocol. Any confrontation between the two of us has to be monitored and witnessed.

  “I want them all. Lady E and Maria too.”

  “Hum, Mina… all includes Fayola, Alissa, Dian and Amber.”

  “All. Of. Them.”

  “Why? Who says…?” Jackie sounds flabbergasted and panicked.

  “I do.” I answer her. I don’t care what the question was. I said and that is final.

  The group is complete and Liam being the conduit goes to open the front door of the cottage for Jackie.

  “Well met Car-mi-na,” Fayola speaks and I immediately fall in love with her energy.

  “Well met. Thank you and sorry.”

  “Oh you are welcome honey-badger. It has been a long time coming.” I frown at the honey badger reference but don’t have time to figure it out now.

  I don’t move from my seat, even when I smell, hear and feel Jackie right next to me. I also hear John’s thunderous run.

  “John, you don’t sneak well.” I tell him and a round of sniggers makes way.

  Looking out the window, I ask Jackie: “Now you’ve seen me. What do you want from me?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Hmmm, well I want something from you. You can give it, or I can take it.” I am still not looking at her for fear of losing my temper.

  “I don’t think so, Carmina.”

  I put my book down and swing my legs from the seat. Liam steps forward but my mind is made up. I tie my hair back and push my chin out. Liam puts his hands palm up in front of him, honoring our clan tradition, John who appears in the kitchen entrance follow suit.

  “Like puppets,” Jackie snaps angrily.

  “No, Jackie, like honorable people. You are in my house now.” I wave my hand around. “Not much, but it is mine. Here… I rule Jackie.” I measure my words before I speak. I control my breathing in the same way I would do around Dimitri’s clientele. I don’t allow my heart to run away with me either.

  “Why am I here?”

  “You wanted to be here, Jackie. I watched you, I heard you, and I smelled you… felt you and I tasted you, all the way from…” I lift my head. “From Liam’s den, that smells of smoke?”

  The silence is palpable inside my head. I feel the bewilderment flickering from the audience, but I focus on Jackie’s signature.

  “I wanted to confront you; to see you, weak and fragile,” Jackie confesses, hatred seeping from her words.

  “And are you satisfied, Jackie?” I ask her but the reply I receive is in a crackling static. I react to the sound spontaneously. Jackie was confused to see me at John’s side before she was done changing.

  “I see. I refuse to fight with you Jackie. I want the truth from you. I can take it, or you can give it to me.” I let her know in the conference arena.

  “Carmina…” Liam starts but my hand raises up at him.

  “Not yours to give, Liam, and not yours to interfere with. Witness only.”

  I know I am faster than Jackie. I know I am also weaker than her. My body is not following orders as it should. The stubborn and determined side of me wants this to end.

  The scuffing sound of Jackie’s claws on the floor alerts me to her leap and I move out of her way, watching her fly into the wall. John does not flinch and I end up right next to Liam.

  “Third and last time, Jackie. I just want the truth. From you. You can give it, or I will take it from you.”

  Jackie’s fall infuriates her more. “Who give you the rrrright?! You are a filthy human, I am an Ancient!” she shouts at me.

  “I do. My house, remember Jackie? I invited you here. Had I not done that, you’d still be playing kitty purr around my cottage.” I taunt her.

  In our many discussions, Dimitri told me about a method he’s employed against the Gello’Des in fights. He would irritate them to the point where they practically turn blind with fury. It weakens their attacks because they do not focus their strength or strikes.

  It works, and Jackie storms at me. Then the world slows down. The bottom of the glass appears. I see the saliva foaming in the corners of Jackie’s mouth, and the tension in her muscles. I see her skin where it is loose and where it is tightest. I wait for her paws to extend and then walk directly past her and embrace her from behind, driving her legs and claws into the wall with my body. The grip around her neck and throat locked in place. I hold her there, pinned up against the wall and yowl into her ears: “GIVE!”

  Jackie does not hold back and I find my mind flood
ing with the whole memory.

  ***

  The Memory

  Liam is searching frantic along the river for Carmina. He keep losing her scent and is getting frustrated and concerned. Jackie finds Liam and helps him search but, when nothing turns up, she invites him back to the Lynx House for something to eat and drink.

  They’re both soaked, and Liam dries his shirt over the fireplace, Jackie half stripping down to do the same. Jackie and Liam get into a confrontation about Carmina and he pushes her aside. When Jackie trip over the couch behind her, Liam leans over her and proclaims, “I don’t want her like this.”

  He lean further into Jackie and hisses in her face, “I want more than what she will give me.”

  Liam leaves the residence and Jackie is left alone.

  ***

  Liam and John are still not moving when the memory ebbs away. I feel my legs buckle and stumble backwards. Liam’s arms catch me before I land on the floor and John catches Jackie before she lands on me. I feel the flow of contempt from the onlookers while my attention is still on Jackie’s energy. Humiliation and shame, anger and pain roll over us in waves.

  “I am sorry, Jackie, are you hurt? John, is she hurt?” I ask.

  “Nah, Vixen, just a little ego bruising. You did good.” John assures me.

  I get no answer from Jackie but I hear the wing fall of the Vultures and seconds later, they land on the roof.

  “Jackie. It is time to go home. We are done here.”

  Fayola’s screechy call lifts from the roof. The padded footfalls from two more Lynxes come into range and from another direction I hear the wolves.

  “We will decide what—” Joseph offers but I cut him off.

  “No, no please… I don’t like what she’s done, but I understand it. Just leave her be.”

  Another round of silence and mixed emotions flood around me.

  “How can you understand?” Jackie’s wild voice punches into the energies.

  “Because I know how hard it is to love someone and not get crazy when they don’t love you back.”

  I hear nothing more from Jackie; she snaps the link between us closed and walks out the front door. John is right behind her and the three Ancient Houses escort her off the clan estate.

  “If that girl is human, I’m a monkey’s uncle.” Fayola declares and the houses withdraw under a series of jokes about early birds and honey badgers.

  The exchange has taken more out of me than I would have liked it to and my body starts trembling. Liam marches me to my room, tucking me into bed. He kneels next to the bed, watching me with those big, beautiful eyes of his. I put my hand out and slide my wrist under his cold palm, close my eyes and enjoy the throbbing being mollified by his touch.

  ***

  Liam sits quietly with Carmina’s hand under his palm. He is not sure how to react to what he had just witnessed. He hears the words from Dimitri floating at him, “She give us humanity….” and truly understands what he meant.

  Liam sits at the edge of Carmina’s dream room, keeping watch, as always. She turns to him and hands him a brush. Liam reaches for it, unsure what to do next. She draws a line and waits. When he draws a squiggly line, she makes a circle… he follows her circle.

  He senses her saying, “Dream with me, Liam,” and he is convinced, had he possessed a beating heart, it would have stopped in that exact moment. In a dance that speeds up, they move around the room – Liam chasing her patterns and Carmina takes delight in leading the chase.

  ***

  Gipsy Brats

  The smell of ice is on the air. I stir and feel the tips of Liam’s fingers reaching over the side of the bed for me. Rolling my head towards his, I stare at him. His forehead is leaning against the bed and his black hair is inviting me to stroke it, but I don’t. Closing my eyes again, I feel pent-up energy in my body. I need to get out today.

  Without a word, I get up from my bed and saunter to the bathroom for a shower. Before I get dressed, I regard myself in the mirror. My hair is long, below my waist and it is going in every which way. I blame Lilly. Since the day of her wedding, my hair has taken on a life of its own and no matter what I try, it just bounce right back to being a nest. Reaching for the scissors, I cut half the hair off in hopes of taming the burning bush. This made matters worse. The weight of the length helped but with a lot of it gone, my hair springs into a fluff around my shoulders that reminds me of candy-floss. I groan at the sight.

  Dressing quickly in denims and a jumper, I enter the kitchen looking for food. I’m starving again. Liam silently appears behind me, his eyes following my every move. There is a possessive glint playing around in the golden flecks and it sends my heart fluttering.

  “I’m going to have breakfast with the clan today.” I announce.

  The gong responds before Liam can and then I hear the long, drawn out trumpet of a horn. Liam’s head lifts with a frown and I squeal in the super girly version of Lilly.

  “ROLAND!”

  “Who is—?”

  There is not enough energy in the world to get my shoes onto my feet fast enough. I don’t answer Liam in my excitement and rush out the door. Halfway to the courtyard, I realize I should slow down to a human run.

  Roland is a gipsy brat. His family visits our clan on rare occasions and I have had a schoolgirl crush on this boy since I was 11 years old. Jarrod approves of Roland simply because the gipsy boy has no interest in me romantically. His mission has always been to try and be the biggest pest around the courtyard, and that is saying something considering I grew up with Jarrod around! As I grew older, I realize that my infatuation with Roland wasn’t romantic in nature. He is simply the fact that this wild boy understands my soul; a kindred spirit.

  The family is Romany, and made up of five people: Sullen and Briaan, the mother and father; Bianca, Lucas and Roland, the children. I know now that they are half-breeds too and avoid city limits as much as they can. Our clan is the one place where they will stay and mix with the families for more than a few hours at a time. Momma’s family is seen as ‘Friend-Family’ by the group and treated in that way. They always seem to know what is going on and always show up at the exact time of major events. Momma says it is because Sullen has a gift that far surpasses anyone she has ever met. Sullen insists that she does not tell the future; she simply pays attention and listens to the world around her. Bianca is nine, the newest member of the family, and Lucas is twenty-five years of age. Roland is twenty-three years old, my age. Sullen and Briaan are spectacular performers and bring with them stories and songs both old and new. The whole caravan certainly lifts the spirits around the courtyard.

  I spot the boys all standing in the square. Roland takes a running flight at me when he sees me and swings me over his shoulder to spin me until I’m dizzy.

  “Carminaa!! I thought these two were joking but, by the gods and the devil’s coin purse, you look delicious!”

  In true me style, I not only blush but trip over my own two feet while trying to find something not spinning to focus on.

  “They know, Mina,” John calls out to me, “Been traveling with them since before the sun. What did you do to your hair?!”

  With the comfort of shared knowledge, I can’t help but tease Roland.

  “In which case, fast mouth, you will go hungry because I am faster than you.” To John: “I ran with scissors, it fell into my hair.”

  The roaring laughter goes up from the boys and it is Jarrod that confirms my claim to speed.

  “Yeah, she is fast, sadly…” John makes stabbing motions at his heart, stumbling around like an overdramatic death scene in a badly produced movie.

  “If I dinna see it, it isna true.” Roland reverts to his brogue accent when he’s issuing a challenge or being charming.

  “Tag! You’re it!” and with that, the courtyard blurs into three black haired hazes with a red stripe darting between them.

  Momma’s call from the hall puts an end to the game. With Roland on the one side and Jar
rod on the other, locked around my waist, we head towards Momma.

  “Grown men and woman behaving like children! For the life of me, you’re keeping everyone!” Momma pretends to scowl.

  “Sorry Missus,” Roland’s charm is on, “I had to chase down this beautiful wild fire that was threatening to burn down yer whole back garden.”

  Momma rolls her eyes and swipes the tea towel towards Roland. Her eyes are soft when they land on me.

  “Good to have you on your feet, my child.”

  John pushes us from behind like a bulldozer and it is all we can do not to run Momma over.

  “Now get yourselves inside… Lilly is going to eat the table if you don’t.”

  The mood inside the hall is already festive and light. The eyes turn on us as we walk in and Lilly squeals as Lilly does. Thankfully, my senses have settled to normality and I have found the volume control to regulate that squeal. Lilly doesn’t understand her own pitch even though John and Jarrod both have hinted at shattered glasses when Lilly gets excited. Heading to my regular seat, I watch Liam stride past and claim the one next to me.

  During breakfast, Briaan and Sullen take a more serious tone, speaking to mother about their travels. They have spotted a lot more Gello’Des in the area and they worry about Lilly and the baby. Sullen feels that neither would be safe, considering the encounter with Teresa Gello’Des and I, which also may have fired old sparks of interest in Lilly.

  I listen for a while as they try to work out the best course of action, eventually breaking in: “You should speak to Dimitri. He told me about his personal vendetta with the Gello’Des and why they are considered the natural enemies of the blood servants. Darya and Alina would be more than happy to help where and how they can.”