by Ron Francis
The teller looked over the picture for a moment before concluding, "Yeah, I think he was here about twenty-five minutes ago. He has a beard now, right?"
"Yes," she feigned annoyance. "It's a new experiment that he won't be keeping for the wedding, I can assure you. Did he say where he was off to next?"
"No, but he had a cab waiting for him outside, so my guess would be either the airport or a rental car agency."
"That makes sense. My car is in the shop and he loaned his to me. Thank you so much, you've been very helpful."
"No problem, I hope you make your meeting on time." The woman was so sweet and helpful that Abby hated to do it. She couldn't take a chance that Asa would get the same information she did. She forced a powerful image of another man into the woman's mind. The woman seemed stunned and Abby held up the picture of Thomas again. "No, I don't believe I've ever seen that man. I'm sorry, ma'am. I hope you find him."
"Thank you so much, you've been so sweet." Abby then went to the manager and the other teller and forced the same image into their minds. She then held up Thomas' picture and the men didn't recognize him. She left, satisfied that Asa would not get any information here. She walked out of the bank and ducked around the corner when she saw Asa, Jake and Sam walking towards the bank.
While they were entering she could hear Asa saying, " Someone was here; I felt the use of power." Abby was glad she had taken the precaution of going in disguise. She left to find the nearest rental car place. She was now a mere twenty-five minutes behind TJ, but she could feel him slipping away from her again, and it caused her heart to ache.
*****
Asa was starting to fear he would never find Thomas. It was now apparent that the cautious nature he had given the young Paladin gave him an advantage in staying hidden. It had been almost two weeks and the council was breathing down his neck. His father was putting pressure on him, and the Fitzpatricks were outraged at his dismissal of their precious little daughter. They just couldn't understand that she was no longer useful for this particular mission. They already hated his family, so he didn't much care for their opinion, except that a number of strategic marriages they had been involved in made them powerful in the Undaraii clan. If they became too unhappy, they now had the power to take control of the clan.
Asa wondered where it all went wrong. There was no doubt that Malachi had been the last straw for an already dissatisfied Thomas, but he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had told Thomas the truth from the beginning. He realized that he had lied about things he didn't even need to lie about, just because he needed to control the flow of information and thus control the situation. He had always been that way, and frankly would remain that way. He mused that he would have fit right in with one of the dark clans. He was willing to do things for the good of the clan that good people would never do. He often struggled with the idea of what that made him, but he always rationalized that even the good clans needed people willing to get their hands dirty.
This was the biggest mission he had ever been charged with, and he had dropped the ball. He had to figure out the best way to draw Thomas out. He was sure Abby had beaten them to the bank, but he didn't know if she pushed those images to keep him off Thomas' trail or to keep Devlin away. I'm sure it's both, he thought. She no longer trusts me. She will enlist the help of her family if she catches up to him, and that will cause significant complications. He could not allow the Fitzpatrick family to begin protecting Thomas. That would be a severe hindrance to his personal plans, and give his rivals even more power within the clan. As much as he needed Thomas to take out Devlin for the council, he needed to be a part of it to have any shot at enacting his long-term plan for the clan. The only thing that mattered now was finding Thomas and either bringing him before the council or letting Malachi kill him if he still didn't feel that compliance was necessary.
"Asa," Malachi broke into his thoughts. "We have had several possible Archer sightings around the country. How should our people proceed if they encounter Thomas?"
"They are to report in all confirmed sightings immediately. Possible sightings are to be investigated by the person making the claim. We do not have the resources available to chase down every possibility." Giving these instructions annoyed him; his people should already know these protocols. He had no time to explain things several times to people unwilling or unable to pick it up the first time. "Tell our people," he added with an intensity that would have made anyone except Malachi wither, "that if they confirm Thomas and keep him in their sights, they shall be rewarded. If they confirm Thomas and he escapes their grasp, they shall be sent home for reeducation on how to do their jobs."
"Reeducation? Why can't we just beat them to death and blame Archer?" Asa wasn't sure he was joking which caused him to think, Malachi would be a good fit for the dark clans as well.
Chapter thirteen
Thomas made it all the way to Nashville before he decided to turn in his rental and take a bus to Memphis. He couldn't hold on to one car too long, rental cars could be tracked and even though he had a new name, if someone were to flash a picture, it wouldn't be too hard for them to find out that new name. He walked into a Red Roof Inn; it was a reasonable price and allowed for anonymity. He was feeling stronger and stronger by the day, as evidenced by his easy disposal of the Texoma bully. His cautious nature had almost been eradicated by this point. He felt himself growing more confident as well. Still, he needed to remain in the shadows, for now. After a late meal, he retired to his room and fell asleep. Dreams of Abby dominated his night. Most of the dreams were mere glimpses or flashes. He saw a smile here, a pout there, the playful way she would touch his arm and the electricity that would pass between them. He woke up in the middle of the night, took a long drink of water and returned to bed. He began to dream again, but this time, the dream was vivid. It was another dream about a seven year old TJ, sitting in a torch-lit cave while Paladins, Mages and Shifters decided his fate. This time, he could hear much more, and this time, there was no little Abby holding his hand.
"Paul, you and Lynette need round the clock protection. Devlin won't stop until he has your son," Asa argued.
"We'll take our chances, Asa. Traveling with an entourage is a surefire way to draw Devlin's attention. We'll change our names and go into hiding."
"Paul, even your powers are not strong enough to fight off Devlin's forces. Please, reconsider! The fate of all Ethereals may lie in your son's hands."
"He is too young to carry that burden, Asa, we love TJ more than anything and we will not subject him to this intrigue, this secrecy, unless we are one hundred percent certain he is the child of destiny." Paul's impassioned reply garnered a nod from several of the other Ethereals.
"No more arguing, boys, Thomas has school tomorrow and he needs his sleep." A female voice broke in. Lynette gave Asa a kiss on the cheek, grabbed Paul by the wrist and hoisted Thomas up into her arms. They walked through the woods for a few minutes before reaching their car. Little TJ was wide awake even though it was late. Paul took him from his wife and put him in the car. As he fastened his son's seatbelt, he looked at him with a serious expression and said, "Bad things might happen soon, TJ. If anything happens to us, the only people you will be able to trust is little Abby's family. Do you understand?"
"Abby's my best friend, daddy, I love her," little TJ replied with a serious nod.
"She's more than your best friend, sweetie," his mom said from the front passenger seat before his father got in the driver's seat. "She is your lifelong mate. The two of you are forever bound, if anything happens to us, trust no one else, do you understand?"
"Yes, mommy." TJ replied in a quiet voice. "What bad things are going to happen, mommy?"
"We don't know, pal," dad replied. "Hopefully nothing. We just want you to be prepared."
"What about Asa, daddy? I can trust him, right?"
"Not even Asa, pal. When push comes to shove, he wouldn't want to see you hurt, but he goes about a
ccomplishing things a different way than we do," His father replied with a note of disapproval. "Just find Abby, she won't let you down."
"Okay, daddy," he replied as his mom fussed over his seatbelt from the front passenger seat.
His parents continued to speak in hushed tones for the next fifteen minutes. Then, without warning, several bright headlights blocked the road in front of them. His mother screamed. "He's found us, I don't know how, but we have to get out of here."
"Hold on, Lynn," his father replied while he drove the car off the road, and down an embankment into the woods. It was a miracle that he didn't hit anything, and he took the car pretty far into the woods before they could go no further. His mom was out of the car with a quickness TJ didn't understand, and his father was removing a large gun from the trunk of the car. "Get him out of here, Lynn."
"No, you come with us."
"I can't, I have to give you the time you need to get away."
"I won't leave you, Paul." she replied with tears streaming down her face.
His father came over and embraced his mother. "I love you, Lynette; now, get our son to safety, please." He hugged his wife and his kiss was brief, but passionate. He then rustled his son's hair and added, "You be brave, TJ. I'm proud of you and I love you, always remember that." He turned and stalked through the woods with the largest gun TJ had ever seen.
His mother looked down at him and said, "Hold on, sweetie." She then began to run faster than TJ's mind could process. She was chanting something and had her eyes closed. He could also see she was crying and he reached his little hand up to wipe the tears from his mother's face. He jumped when he heard gunfire and more tears streamed down his mother's face as she continued to run in silence. He realized she wasn't running for her life, she was running for his. She heard more voices coming from the direction she was running towards so she stopped. They were boxed in. She hid him in some thick brush and told him to be quiet while she looked around. A slight glow in her eyes took all the questions from him, and he sat without making a sound and listened to the gunfire. Tears started streaming down his face as he watched his mom take out two guns and meet her bleeding, retreating husband. "Where's TJ," he called out in pain.
"He's hidden, and he won't make a sound until he is found, my love."
"A quiet spell?"
"Yes, we need to make sure he will be safe." Just then more gunfire erupted around them and they both went on the attack. TJ watched from his hiding spot while his mom threw things without touching them and his dad with a few bullets already in him, killed several men. His mom called out, "There's just too many of them."
"No," his father replied, "we fight to the last, for TJ. That monster will not have our son." He killed three more men with swords while his mom was impaling two men on tree branches. They fought for what seemed like hours before his mom cried out and fell, he could see the blood streaming from a small hole in the side of her head. His father let out a yell of rage when the woman he loved was taken from him. He had run out of bullets and now had two swords. He was deflecting bullets as they were fired and soon was upon the last of the attackers. He sliced through them so fast it was frightening, and then it was quiet. Thomas sat there with tears running down his face as his father stumbled over to him and said in painful gasps, "I love you, pal, find Abby, trust Abby."
Thomas sat there crying, in shock, unable to speak, unable to move until the next morning when Asa, surrounded by soldiers, found him. He picked him up with a look of deep concern in his eyes and said in a soothing voice, "I've got you TJ; everything is going to be all right." But TJ knew nothing would ever be all right again.
Thomas woke up in a sweat, tears streaming down his face. He had just had his first memory of his parents, and it was of their murder. It was now apparent that his dad was a powerful Paladin, and his mom a powerful Mage. They had put up quite a fight saving him from Devlin's men, taking out dozens of the attackers before giving their lives for him. He thought back through the dream, or memory, whatever it was and had learned his parent's names were Paul and Lynette. He learned that on some level, they almost trusted Asa to do the right thing, even if he did the wrong things to get there. He learned that he could trust Abby, no matter what. His father wouldn't have wasted his dying breath on those words unless they were true. Above all, he learned how much his parents loved him.
As more memories of his early childhood came flooding back, they were filled with hugs and smiles and kisses and fun. There were so many good times and little Abby was there for most of them. He now had an understanding of the depth of their connection. He had told his father he loved her as a seven year old and more tears streamed down his face as he realized the pain he must have caused her by forgetting. It wasn't just the other women; it was not having any memory of his one true love. He reached for his phone.
*****
A low ring woke Abby from slumber. It was another number she didn't recognize and hope swelled inside her. She picked up the phone and in a voice scratched by sleep answered, "Hello."
"Abby?" he started so softly, it jolted her awake.
"TJ, what's happened, are you all right?"
"I watched them die, Abby. I watched them die, saving me."
Her breath caught when she realized he was talking about his parents. His memories had returned. "They loved you, TJ, they loved you more than anything," she said. She longed to be by his side, to console him, support him, and love him.
"My dad used to call me TJ, too. That and pal, and my mom always called me Thomas or sweetie. I was so little, and helpless and I was so scared. I couldn't move and I watched them die. My mom was shot in the head and my dad was shot several times, but he didn't go down until there were none left.
Abby couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to watch that, and then have that memory come rushing back. She wished again that she were by his side right now comforting him. "Your parents were very powerful, TJ, and their love for you was just as strong."
"My dad's name was Paul and my mom's name was Lynette. Abby, did you know my parent's names?
"No, TJ, not until I spoke to your aunt and uncle a few days ago. They also told me your last name was Hunter, but I swear, I never knew before that. They also told me that Asa had taken some of my memories and implanted the name Archer in my head, so that if I ever did find you, I wouldn't lead Devlin to you by using your real name. I swear, I didn't know before that." Tears were now streaming down her face, and she prayed he believed her and still wanted to be with her.
"I know, and I remember everything now. Every smile, every day we played together, the stuffed tiger I gave you on the first day of school."
Abby was so happy to hear that, she thought she might scream. "That stuffed tiger is why tiger is my favorite shape to take. My parents told me that wolf was supposed to be the easiest, but it has always been tiger for me."
"I remember telling my dad that I love you." He added and Abby thought she would burst with joy. The man she loved was finally the whole man she loved. "My dad's last words were: find Abby, trust Abby. I understand our bond now, I understand everything. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you. I'm sorry I forgot you. I have so many regrets now."
"No, TJ, none of it is your fault. It is already forgiven." She was still struggling with it, but that wasn't what he needed to hear right now, and it wasn't his fault. She needed to be with him. Now that she had a taste, this conversation wasn't going to be enough. She needed her lips pressed against his. She needed his strong arms wrapped around her, but she didn't want to push it, she would take what she could get. She had resigned herself to that when he started to speak again.
"Abby, I need you. I don't want to go another minute without you. We need to meet."
"I'll leave right now, where are you?"
"Not yet, we need a plan. I want you to know, I have complete trust in you now. However, I have no faith in Asa. We have to be certain he will not follow you. After this conversation, you need to dump your
phone, get as much cash in your hands as you can, and pick up a burner phone. I would buy new clothes, too, in case he's planted a bug in any of your clothing."
"All right, I'll do it, all of it. I just want to be with you. I'll never even ask you to go back if you don't want to."
"I know, and I will begin training, and I will kill Devlin. Abby, I saw my dad deflect bullets with his sword. I saw my mom throw people with her mind. I know I'm powerful. And whether this Devlin is the destroyer or not, he will die by my hand for what he did to them."
"So what do we do now?" She asked, aching to know where he was.
"How much does Asa know about our childhood together?"
"Not much, he didn't even know we were betrothed until after our mission to find you and bring you in had already begun. Why?"
"I can't be sure your phone isn't tapped right now and I want to meet up with you."
"It's not," she replied, desperate to have her love beside her.
"Just in case, don't say the location when I ask you the question. Just tell me you remember, all right?"
"Yes, all right, TJ, just tell me." She realized how impatient she must sound and she didn't want him to think it was for the wrong reasons so she added, "I'm sorry, TJ, I just need to be with you. Your aunt and uncle told me we have been betrothed too long, and if we did not find each other soon, our feelings might die and the bond will be broken."
Thomas sounded confident when he replied, "That's never gonna happen, Abby Fitzpatrick. Do you remember the park we used to play in as children? Don't say the location or give any other details, just a yes or no."
"Yes, yes I do." she replied as her excitement swelled.
"Good, let's meet there in three days, Nine in the morning."
"Three days, that's too long. I need you now, TJ, please."
