by S. J. West
“No, they wanted property. They wouldn’t take anything less.”
Malcolm shrugs. “Easily replaceable. I’m just glad you were able to find a body at all.”
I stare at Vala’s new form and wonder what she will think about being so much larger. Her coloring is close to the same orange and white coat she had as a Pomeranian. I just hope the shock of finding herself in a different body won’t be too much for her.
“How many of her memories were you able to save?” I ask.
“Not sure yet,” Travis admits. “We’ll have to wake her up to find out, but from what I can tell from her brainwave activity the damage should have been minimal. That’s one reason I wanted you here before I woke her up. If she doesn’t recognize you, then we know the damage is more severe than I thought. Plus, she’ll be a little disoriented in this new body.”
I let go of Malcolm’s hand and walk to the table to stand by Vala. For some reason, I’m hesitant to touch her new body, but I force myself to take hold of one of her paws like you would a sick person’s hand. If I’m feeling a little unsettled about her new form, I can only imagine what her reaction will be to it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lucas get a little closer to Malcolm’s side as they both watch what happens next.
“Are you ready?” Travis asks me.
I take in a deep breath and nod my head. “Wake her up.”
Travis taps the hologram of Vala’s brain and it vanishes from sight.
I watch Vala’s face and see her slowly open her slightly slanted brown eyes. She looks around until she sees me.
“Anna?” she says, her voice sounding different, not quite as high pitched as it once was.
“Vala,” I say, “I need you to listen to me very carefully before you try to move. Ok?”
“Ok…Anna,” she says, already sounding like she knows something isn’t quite right.
I’m sure she can feel the difference in her body. I know by the hesitancy in her speech pattern that she can hear the difference in her voice.
“What is the last thing you remember?” I have to ask, needing to know if her last memory is of Levi separating her head from her body.
Vala is silent for a moment, and I can see by the movement of her eyes that she’s trying to think back.
“I remember Levi coming to see us and snatching me out of Lucas’ arms…” she says, hesitating like she’s doing her best to remember what happened after that. “I’m sorry, that’s all I remember, Anna. What happened next?”
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Vala,” I tell her, silently thankful she can’t remember the pain or fear from having her head ripped off. “I’m the one who should be apologizing for not being there to protect you.”
“Anna, what happened?” Vala implores. “I feel funny. Did he do something to me?”
“Vala,” I say, hoping to ease her into her new reality as gently as I can, “Levi tried to kill you, but a friend of mine was able to save your brain. He had to use parts of your body to keep your brain alive though.”
“My body?” Vala asks, slowly moving the paw I hold and lifting it out in front of her so she can see it. “Am I in a new body, Anna? Is that why I feel so odd?”
“Yes,” I tell her, “but the important thing is you’re still alive. This body is a lot bigger than what you’re used to, Vala. It will take you some time to adjust to it.”
Vala lowers her leg and rolls over onto her stomach. She looks around at her surroundings. Her eyes focus on me then turn to see Lucas and Malcolm.
“Are we safe now, Anna?” Vala asks, looking back at me. “Are we away from Levi?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “You’re perfectly safe now, and I plan to keep you that way.”
Vala turns her head as far as her neck will allow to view the rest of her new body. I see her eyes widen in surprise, but she doesn’t exactly look alarmed by her new state of being.
Slowly, she looks back at me.
“I’m big,” she says in amazement. “I always wanted to be bigger.”
“Then you’re ok with it?” I ask. “You’re ok with this new body?”
Vala stands up on the table and turns her head to look at her fluffy, curly Q tail as she wags it.
“I love it, Anna!”
She makes to jump into my arms but thinks better of the action.
“Oh,” she says sounding slightly disappointed, “I guess I can’t do that anymore.”
“I can hold you,” I tell her. “But I’m not sure it would be very comfortable for either of us.”
“No, probably not,” she admits.
Vala turns to look at Lucas.
“Who do you have there, Lucas?” Vala asks, staring at the latest addition to our family.
Lucas walks up to Vala. “This is Luna, and she’s a hellhound. Anna’s dad gave it to her.”
“Is Lord Andre back as well?” Vala asks me, hope in her voice.
“No,” I regret to inform her. “Lucas is talking about my biological father.”
“Oh, yes, Lucifer.”
“How did you know about him?” I ask Vala, caught off guard by her knowledge.
“Lord Andre mentioned him to me a few times. I was to tell you about him if, for some reason, Lord Andre wasn’t around, and you needed to know about your true lineage.”
“It seems my father used you as his backup memory for a lot of things,” I say, remembering that it was Vala who showed me where to find my sword in my father’s office. “Is there anything else that you need to tell me?”
“Not that I can think of at the moment,” Vala says, lowering her head a little like she’s trying to recall if there actually is something else that she needs to tell me. “Some of my memories seem a little hazy.”
“They might come back to you later,” Travis says to Vala. “Or, they might be lost forever. It’s hard to know for sure.”
Vala turns to look at Travis.
“Vala,” I say, “this is Travis Stokes. He’s the friend I was telling you about who was able to save you.”
Vala holds out a paw to Travis. He looks at it for a second before shaking it.
“Thank you, Travis,” Vala tells him. “I appreciate your assistance in my recovery.”
Travis looks a little embarrassed. I’m sure he isn’t used to talking to dogs, even though Vala is so much more than that, at least to me.
“You’re welcome, Vala. I’m just glad I was able to help you. You’re very unique.”
“Thank you,” Vala says, taking his words as the compliment they were meant to be.
Vala turns back to me. “Are we going home now, Anna?”
“Yes, but not to the one in Cirrus,” I tell her. “We’ll be staying with Malcolm and Lucas in one of their homes in the down-world.”
“The down-world?” Vala asks, sounding intrigued by such a notion. “That’ll be a new adventure for us.”
“Yes, a very new adventure,” I tell her, hugging her around the neck.
I smile as tears of joy and relief come to my eyes. My family is almost all back together.
Now all I need is my father to make the circle complete.
Chapter 18
When we return to Malcolm’s home, we eat the soup we prepared for lunch at the kitchen table. Vala watches the flaming hellhound within our midst with blatant curiosity.
“Why doesn’t she speak?” Vala asks as she lies beside my chair while I eat.
Luna is eating some food Millie gave her in a small bowl over in a corner of the room.
“Animals don’t talk,” I tell Vala.
“Oh,” Vala says like the distinction between herself and the hellhound should have been obvious to her before my statement. “Sometimes I forget I’m not real.”
“You’re very real,” I say, leaning down to scratch her between the ears.
Vala tilts her head to the side, enjoying my attention. I smile down at her filled with joy to have one of my oldest friends back by my side. I look over at Malco
lm who is sitting next to me and suddenly feel the urge to kiss him all over his face for providing a way to make this happy moment possible.
While we’re cleaning up the table after our meal, Millie says, “I’ve tidied up a room for you to sleep in upstairs, my sweet. I plan to go buy you some clothes of your own as well. Is there anything you would like in particular?”
“Just something comfortable,” I say, feeling the cramps which started earlier in the day intensify. “And don’t forget to get those other supplies for me while you’re out.”
“Oh, they’re on my list,” Millie assures me with a worried look on her face. “In fact, I’ll go out straight away and get some things for you. Then, I'll bring them back here before I go shopping for your clothing. You might need them sooner than I thought.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, trying to hide the pain I feel, but apparently I’m not fooling anyone.
Malcolm comes up to me and sweeps me off my feet to cradle me in his arms like I’m a child.
“What are you doing?” I laugh, looping my arms around his neck.
“Taking care of you,” he tells me, kissing the tip of my nose. “Come on. You should rest.”
“I don’t want to sleep,” I tell him. “I’m not tired.”
“I didn’t say anything about sleeping,” he replies with a smile which makes me hopeful we’re going to go back to his bed and make out again. That is until he turns to Lucas and the dogs to say, “Come on Lucas and Vala,” Malcolm lifts an eyebrow at Luna, “and you too mongrel. Let’s try to make Anna more comfortable.”
“Are you sick, Anna?” Lucas asks in a worried voice as he picks Luna up in his arms and follows us out of the kitchen.
“No, not really,” I say, not wanting to go into any details about what’s actually wrong.
“It’s a woman thing,” Malcolm tells him off-handedly.
“Ohhhh, ok,” Lucas says, like this simple sentence explains everything.
I look at Malcolm for an explanation as he begins our ascent up the stairs.
“I’ve always told Lucas that women are mysterious creatures we men aren’t always meant to understand,” Malcolm tells me with a wink.
I just shake my head and roll my eyes at Malcolm which makes him chuckle.
Malcolm takes us into his study and sits me down on the leather sofa in there. Vala hops up beside me and rests her head in my lap. I stroke her fur while I watch Malcolm light a fire in the fireplace. Lucas goes over to a set of cabinets on the wall by Malcolm’s desk and pulls out a bag of tinker toys. He brings the bag over in front of the sofa and dumps them out not too far in front of me.
“I’ll be right back,” Malcolm tells me after the fire is lit. He phases out of the room but soon returns with a soft brown blanket in his hands. He walks over to a bookshelf and grabs a book before walking back over to the sofa.
“Vala, would you mind moving for just a moment?” Malcolm asks her.
Vala jumps down off the sofa while Malcolm drapes the blanket over my lap. He then sits down next to me and brings me up against his side. I lift my legs from the floor and lounge against his warmth while Vala jumps back up and nestles in the open space between my legs and the back of the sofa.
I look at the book Malcolm has in his hands. It’s a copy of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
“I’ve never read that one,” I admit.
“It’s a classic,” Malcolm says, opening the book to its first page. “There are probably a lot of books in here that you might like. This is a personal favorite of mine.”
“Why?”
“It’s about a boy who thinks he’s being given everything he could ever want only to find out that it’s not what he thinks at all.”
“Is there a love story?”
“Yes, but…I don’t want to ruin the ending for you.”
“Will you read it to me?” I ask.
Malcolm smiles and kisses me lightly on the lips. “That was the plan, my love.”
I snuggle in closer to Malcolm and smile as he begins to read to me.
It’s not so much the story which instantly captures my interest, but the way in which Malcolm reads the story to me. Both Vala and I laugh when he voices the character of Miss Havisham, the wealthy old spinster. As the story unravels, I begin to feel sorry for Estella and Pip being played as pawns in Miss Havisham’s sadistic game of hearts. At one point, Lucas becomes interested in the story as well and grabs Luna to place her in his lap as he sits closer to his father’s feet. We take little breaks in between chapters for small snacks Malcolm goes to the kitchen to prepare. One such snack ends up being mugs of hot cocoa. When I taste mine, I notice it's been spiked with a splash of alcohol. I look up at Malcolm in surprise.
“I thought it might help ease the ache a little,” he tells me with a small, sympathetic grin.
I find that it does in fact take the edge off quite well and marvel once again at the thoughtfulness of the man I'm in love with.
We spend the whole afternoon and most of the evening in the study with Malcolm reading to us. At the beginning of this day, I remember thinking that Malcolm would make this day one I would never forget. I was right. It was one of the first times in my life I felt the fullness of a family of my own. I thought about the future Malcolm showed me and smiled. My heart yearned for that future so badly I was ready to cut down anyone who got in the way of it happening quickly. I understood I would have to be patient and wait for our lives to unfold on their own, but that knowledge did nothing to lessen the need I felt to have it sooner rather than later.
By the time we got to the end of the story, Lucas was curled up in front of the fire with Luna nestled up against him, snoozing peacefully. It was well into the night, but I didn’t want to go to bed just yet. All I wanted to do was hold onto Malcolm forever.
“You should get some sleep,” Malcolm says, kissing the top of my head as he holds me close.
“Not yet,” I beg, almost sounding like a child asking for permission to stay up just a little while longer.
Malcolm stands and scoops me up into his arms again.
“You know I’m fully capable of walking,” I tease him.
He smiles. “I know that. But, then I wouldn’t be able to hold you so close.”
I rest my head against his shoulder, loving the fact that Malcolm is doing everything he can to show me his love. I realize he’s right. Actions can speak louder than words sometimes. And the way he showed how much he cared for me that day lit my heart on fire with the knowledge that he truly did love me. He would do anything for me, and I hope he knows I would do anything for him.
“What about Lucas?” I ask Malcolm as we walk out of the study.
“I’ll come back for him after I tuck you into bed,” he tells me, kissing me tenderly on the lips. “He’ll be fine with Luna watching after him.”
“I see you’ve decided to use her name instead of calling her mongrel,” I comment, noting the difference in Malcolm’s attitude about the hellhound pup.
“Lucas is taken with her, and she seems to love him too,” Malcolm says in resignation. “I guess I can’t exactly hate something my son loves so much.”
“You’re a good father,” I tell Malcolm, such a thought making me think about my own and bringing tears to my eyes.
I try to hold back my sobs, but Malcolm hears me sniffle. When we reach the door to the room Millie made up for me, Malcolm rests me on my feet and takes me into his arms to provide a shoulder to cry on.
“We’ll get Andre back,” Malcolm promises me fiercely. “I promise you that, Anna.”
I know Malcolm will do his best to hold true to his promise. I try to hold onto God’s words that Levi hasn’t harmed my father, but it doesn’t prevent me from worrying.
Considering what Lucifer did to Levi, I wouldn’t be surprised if Levi simply killed my papa out of spite. Though, he knows I’ll kill him for sure then. There would be nothing to hold me back, and Levi’s death is at the top of my to-do-list.<
br />
I finally pull back from Malcolm and wipe away my tears. He leans down and kisses me on the lips.
“I want to make your future one in which you never have a reason to cry,” he tells me.
I smile at the sweet sentiment, but we both know such a future would be impossible to achieve. It was just part of human nature to become upset by certain things. Sadness was happiness’ counterpart. You couldn’t have one without the other. It was just like you couldn’t have peace without war or good without evil.
I lean into Malcolm and tug at the front of his shirt as we kiss. It’s not a kiss filled with passion but one filled with an undemanding love where the joining of our lips isn’t rushed. We’re simply enjoying the taste of one another and marveling in the fact that we can kiss without any adverse side effects.
“God you taste good,” Malcolm moans, forcing himself to pull away with me. “Too good in fact.”
He leans behind me and opens my door for me.
“I should say goodnight here,” he says with his words but his arms pull me against him once more. “But, you make it really hard for me to want to let you go.”
He kisses me deeply before forcing himself to pull away from me again.
“Good night, sweet Anna,” Malcolm says, kissing me lightly one more time before turning away and walking down the hall back to his study.
I look down beside me and see Vala staring up at me. I had completely forgotten she was with us.
“I’m sorry you had to watch that,” I tell her, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I forgot you were here.”
“Don’t be sorry, Anna,” Vala says walking into my bedroom. “I’m just happy to see you finally find someone you can love. It’s been one of your heart’s desires for a long time now.”
I close the door behind me. There is a white nightgown laid out on the bed for me, and I assume Millie was probably the one who left it out. As promised, she came back after lunch with supplies for my little problem and returned again right before dinner with some new clothes for me to wear. I quickly shed the clothes I borrowed from my mother's closet and slip into the sleeveless nightgown. Just as I am pulling down the covers to get into bed, I notice something lying on the pillow next to mine. It’s a paper flower, but the petals have words written on them telling me it’s actually a note.
