by Ron Francis
Thomas reloaded his clip and saw the big Paladin charging him, sword drawn. "You're going to pay for what you and your pet have done to my men!" he yelled. Then he leapt at Thomas.
"Maybe if you didn't just try to kill the woman I love, I might care. He tried to mentally shove the Paladin, but to his confusion, it didn't work. He dodged the sword at the last second and rolled to pick up one of the dead men's swords. He brought the weapon to bear just in time to block the Paladin's killing blow. "Looks like you don't follow the will of your precious council so well, either. Now you die!" Thomas went on the offensive and he was moving so fast he thought it might be a dream. He was also good, very good. When did I learn how to use a sword? he wondered.
While he was fighting, he spotted Abby rolling with the wolf's lunge and coming up on top of it. He breathed a sigh of relief when she pounced on the wolf with a mighty roar, and the wolf cried its last with a high pitched whimper. After she had just dispatched the second wolf, she turned her attention to the enemy Mage. She leapt at him, but stopped in mid-air. She then went sailing backwards. The frightened Mage breathed a sigh of relief. He looked to Thomas who had disarmed the big Paladin and was moving in for the kill. The Mage sent a telekinetic burst at Thomas who deflected it with his sword. The Mage reacted as if he had never seen anyone do that. It was clear that this group of, whomever they were, had not expected this level off resistance from Thomas and Abby. The wind picked up and the trees began to sway. The sky darkened and it looked as though the weather was going to make this fight even more difficult, but the threatened rains never came.
Thomas began running towards the Mage, and while he had the Mage's full attention, the big Paladin yelled, "Look out." Just then, Abby pounced on him from behind, and Thomas turned his attention back to the big man. He looked back at the Paladin who was staring in awe at what just happened and he tried to keep his cool. How did I do that? How did I do that? He was so frightened by what he had just done he wanted to scream, but at the same time, he had never felt such raw power. How was I able to throw people with my mind? He refocused his attention on his enemy and asked, "Who sent you?" His question was made at gun point. "What clan are you from?"
"TJ, we need to go," Abby said while pulling a sweatshirt from her backpack over her head. "There are more on the way." She looked at him with questioning eyes, no doubt wondering where that surge of power had come from. He would have to find out later who these guys worked for. On top of the Ethereal reinforcements, he heard sirens in the distance. He retreated with Abby to the street, keeping an eye on the big Paladin the whole way and picking his bag up without stopping. Several more Ethereals began to give chase, seeing that their target didn't have much left in the tank. More gun shots rang out around them as they ran along the street. They were weaving in and out of the traffic while gunfire plagued them. Thomas was stumbling more than running by this point as the unexpected burst of power he had received had run its course, and left him in his previous feverish state. The chase continued for another block and Thomas began to lose hope when he saw more Paladins and Shifters emerge from the park in front of them. There was nowhere to go. Abby grabbed his gun in preparation for their last stand when a black Cadillac made an abrupt u-turn. The door swung open and someone shouted, "Abby, get in."
"Grandpa?" she yelled in surprise, "I didn't think you'd make it. What took you—?"
"Later! We need to get you two to safety and there isn't much time.
Abby helped Thomas get in the car; he wasn't even able to stand by this point. Then, with a nimble leap, she jumped in and closed the door. Bullets bounced off the front and rear windows as the car accelerated away. Angry Paladins filled the street, but they grew smaller and disappeared from view.
When she knew they were safe, she took the bandages out of Thomas' pack and put the gun back in. She put her own pack on the floor, and she turned to her grandfather and said, "We need to get him to Grams, fast!"
Chapter eighteen
Abby sat in the back seat of her grandpa's bulletproof Cadillac with TJ's head in her lap. She stroked his sweat drenched hair, and reassured him everything was going to be all right. The problem was that she didn't know if everything was going to be all right. TJ felt like he was growing weaker by the moment and he was burning up. He began mumbling something incoherent and Abby felt soft tears begin to roll down her face. She was so happy just a little while ago. She had fantasized about a long passionate kiss in the park followed by a trip to city hall. Then their attraction, their craving could be satisfied. Their passion would have been met with freedom, but it hadn't gone that way at all. Even in his wounded state, his strength surged and he had saved her life. Where did he get that power? How did he have that power? She struggled with her thoughts while the tears fell.
"Who were those men, Grandpa? And why did they try to kill us?" She asked expecting the whole story.
"I don't know who all of them are, but their leader, the big one is Bartholomew. They are from the Cadaraii clan. He is their version of Malachi. He leads their top warriors." The traffic light turned yellow, but he continued down Clove Road without stopping.
"Why does the Council want to kill us?"
"The council doesn't! It's just Asaph and Rupert acting from a place of fear. They believe Thomas to be too powerful to be alone. They fear Devlin will find and turn him dark."
"Don't realize that they are the ones that have turned dark? Only evil people would do what they have done to TJ, grandpa. There's a very good reason he wants nothing to do with Ethereals."
"You may be right," he replied, and she could see him shaking his head. He made a right turn to get on the Staten Island Expressway and she hoped it wasn't as packed as usual.
"Where did TJ get the power to throw those Paladins with his mind, grandpa?"
"He what? Are you sure?" he asked. "We need to keep this quiet. If the council knows he has secondary powers, they will stop at nothing to find him. Are you sure he threw people with his mind?"
"At least fifteen of them at once, and Bartholomew knows, so it's probable the council has already heard. How is this possible? What are secondary powers?"
He looked back at the tear stained face of his only granddaughter and prepared to launch into his explanation. "Thousands of years ago, before the purge, it was common for Ethereals to exhibit more than one power. There would always be a dominant power, but they would also have access to the other powers as well. Time has not been able to completely eradicate the secondary powers. It's the reason a Shifter can place an image in another's mind. It's the reason some Mages are also skilled warriors and it's the reason mighty Paladins possess an almost precognitive reflex in battle. Aside from those instances, there was no real proof that this used to be the norm. The Ethereals are one race, sweetie, not three. That is why each clan, each family, possesses Mages, Shifters and Paladins. We are all children of the same beings.
"Thomas' parents were the first Ethereals in over a hundred generations to manifest secondary powers. Thomas' father was a very mighty Paladin, but he also manifested Shifter abilities. He couldn't completely change form, but his face could become wolf-like and his hands and feet could produce claws. His mother was a powerful Mage, but she also exhibited Paladin abilities, like unnatural bursts of speed, the ability to deflect bullets with her sword and so on. Many believe their love brought the secondary abilities out in one another, but no one knows for sure. They made the terrible mistake of telling the Council of their abilities and from that point on, their lives were not their own. When Thomas was born, Devlin had just taken control of the Satarra clan as a young man and the council already believed him to be the prophesied destroyer. It was all too easy to think that the newborn son of so powerful a couple would be the child of destiny."
"What does this mean for us, grandpa?" Abby dreaded the answer as soon as she asked the question.
"It means that as soon as Thomas is healed, he must go before the council and let them know he will fight D
evlin when the time comes. I am so sorry, sweetheart, it also means the wedding plans you have in mind right now will have to wait a little while longer." He watched her countenance fall and was quick to add. "I am sorry. Destiny has not been kind to the two of you thus far, and your deserve better."
"Where are we going?" She wanted to change the subject to hide her disappointment. She suspected her grandpa knew her too well to fall for the ploy, but he was gracious and played along.
He merged onto the West Shore Expressway, and answered, "A Fitzpatrick safe house near Wolf's Pond Park." Wolf's Pond had always been a favorite park of the Fitzpatrick family Shifters. "Grams is there. She'll sew him up properly and give him the medicine that will heal that infection. Don't worry, Little Tiger, your betrothed will be fine." He reassured her while he continued to drive.
*****
"What a mess," Abby's grandmother cried out in frustration when she saw Thomas' wound. "What idiot thought this would be a good solution to his wounds?" She pointed at the stitch job Thomas had done while looking in the mirror.
"I believe he tried to stitch himself up, Grams." Abby replied while she watched her grandmother cutting through the mess that Thomas' stomach had become. "There was no way he could have gone to a doctor while he was on the run. He told me there is no one he trusts in the entire world besides me," she added with a frown. She looked around the room while her grandmother worked. She was unfamiliar with this safe house but the drab tan walls and brown curtains let her know that this one was just like the others.
"Well, he will soon learn he can trust the fighting Fitzpatricks." Her father called out as he ran to pick up his little girl in a giant bear hug. She couldn't help but smile a little in spite of the situation when her father spun around with her in his arms like he did when she was a little girl. Her five brothers followed their father into the room and took turns embracing their only sister. All of her brothers were practically clones of her father except Mark. He had the traditional Irish red hair, blue eyes and freckles like mom, while everyone else had a light brown hair, brown eyes and their father's strong jaw line.
"Bartholomew will pay for trying to kill you, Abby, if I have to kill him myself." Her oldest brother offered with a serious nod.
"Thank you, Connor, but I do not wish to see you put your life on the line for me." She said.
He mussed her hair and replied. "What you wish is irrelevant, sis, no one messes with my little sister. Not now, not ever!" Her brothers roared in agreement.
"Besides, there's no way Bartholomew can take all of us," Liam added to another rowdy response. Abby was so happy to be back among her family. Even her fears over TJ were creeping away. She watched her grandmother's expert surgeon hands cleaning TJ's wounds and sewing him back up. Her grandmother injected him with a powerful antibiotic, and then turned to scold her noisy family.
"Abby's betrothed needs his sleep, he is very ill and all of your hollering is not helping him." She folded her arms in a stern manner, only to be met with laughter and hugs from her grandsons.
"Don't worry, Grams, we'll make sure Thomas gets better, he's one of us now," Mark said. He winked at Abby and she nodded back at him.
"Abby, did he really throw the Paladins with his mind?" Dyson asked, and all of a sudden they became very interested. Dyson was the one member of her entire family that had not manifested any Ethereal abilities. Connor was a powerful Paladin, like her dad. William was a Shifter, like her, and both Liam and Mark were Mages like their grandpa. She knew how bad Dyson wanted to be part of the action and he loved to hear about it, so she relished telling him of the battle.
"Several of them at once," she replied with a look of wonder. "They were about to shoot me, and the next thing I knew, almost fifteen of them flew twenty meters through the air. He tried to do it again when Bartholomew came at him, but it didn't work. I'm not sure he has a handle on it yet."
"It was his love for you that made his telekinetic powers manifest, just like his parents' secondary powers. That's probably why it didn't work when he tried to use it again when you weren't in immediate danger." William's summation garnered a round of agreement from everyone in the room.
"I just don't understand how he has such a handle on his Paladin abilities; he's only just discovered he's a part of our world. You should have seen him use the sword; it's as if he trained his whole life. He must have been born to it," she added in wonder.
"You had better sit down, Little Tiger," her father said. "You're about to become very angry with me." Abby shot her brothers a quizzical look, but from their expressions could tell they had no idea what their father was about to say. She sat down on the flowery patterned couch in the living room with a fair amount of apprehension, waiting for her father began his tale. "Sweetheart, has Thomas ever mentioned taking Tae Kwon Do classes when he was a teenager?"
"Once, after the first time we were attacked, but what's that go to do—"
Her father held up his hand and interrupted her. "Those weren't Tae Kwon Do classes, he was training with me. Do you remember when I used to take all of those business trips to Dallas?" She nodded her head, and he continued. "I knew that thug, Malachi could never train him properly, so I trained him, from his thirteenth birthday until his eighteenth birthday. We trained three days a week. By the time he was sixteen, he was already better than me. Your grandfather used his powers to erase the memory of us training with him, but he was able to retain the training, and we knew it would begin to emerge as he began to figure out who he really was. I'm sorry we couldn't tell you. We couldn't risk Asa and Malachi finding out. We weren't powerful enough yet."
"But you are now?" Abby asked in disbelief of what she was hearing.
"Yes, Abigail," Her grandfather chimed in. "I have six sons and twenty eight grandsons. You were the only little girl our family ever produced. All of the grandsons are adults now, and many have married into five of our clan's other powerful families. We are strong enough to challenge for rule of the clan now, we weren't eleven years ago."
Abby knew why her father had done what he did, but she was not happy about it. "I can't believe you knew where he was that whole time. I was miserable, I needed him so bad, and you knew that. How could you do this to me, dad?" She stood and walked across the room. If Thomas weren't already sleeping she probably would have slammed a door or two.
"I know you're hurt and angry right now. I only hope that in time you will see that I did it to protect you. Asa would have prevented you by any means necessary from being with Thomas, and we know what that means. I couldn't risk losing you. You are the perfect jewel of the Fitzpatrick family." He moved to hug her, and she walked away at first, but then relented and let him. Maybe it was the realization that he was right, and maybe it was just that she needed her family, but she couldn't refuse her father's attempt at amends.
She leaned into her father's embrace and said, "I'm still mad at you, I'm not letting you off that easy."
"I know, sweetheart." He released his embrace and looked at the somber expressions of his family.
"Thomas is not going to be happy that you messed with his mind. He found out Asa had done it twice and he will never trust Asa's again. I told him that Asa messed with my mind, too and he was not happy about that, either."
"He what?" her grandfather's yell was so unexpected that two of her brothers jumped a little.
"I thought you knew. He took TJ's last name from my mind and implanted Archer in its place, he knew we were friends, and that our families were friends, and didn't want me leading Devlin to his champion before he was ready." She looked around at the serious expressions in the room. "You really didn't know?"
"If I knew, Asa would already be dead. You don't mess with a small child's mind, unless it's an extreme circumstance. Thomas' situation was the exception to that because so many people were after him and he no longer had parents to protect him. Asa knows that, which is why he didn't say anything to us. He knew we'd never agree to it. How do you know he did it?"
"Pete and Laura Archer told me when they found out I thought his real name was Archer."
"Asa will pay for this!" Connor shouted. In his anger, he started to leave but his grandmother blocked his path.
"Sit down, Connor. You don't take on men like Asa and Malachi in anger, you need a plan or you wind up dead."
"What is the plan, then?" He asked, his patience wearing thin. Abby loved how much her brother looked out for her.
"The plan," her father started in a voice that let his sons know it was final, "is to get our full strength together to protect these two until Thomas is healed. Fitzpatricks only. Then, when we bring him to the council, we gather our other five families and call for a vote of no confidence in Asa's father as the leader of our clan. When he's out and we're in, we bring up Asa and Malachi on charges for their crimes. We cannot have this moral decay in the Council of Light. It will spread like a fire within the clans, and pretty soon, no one will be able to tell the light from the dark."
"Now," grandpa added. "Let's get all of the Fitzpatricks together. We may need them if the council thinks we intend to keep Thomas from them. All of the clans know by now that Thomas is on Staten Island and the Cadaraii clan will be seeking retribution for their defeat."
"Can I at least go see Bartholomew about what he tried to do to Abby today?" Connor asked in frustration.
