How so? Aiden asked, an eyebrow raising.
We don’t argue or fight a lot, but when we do, it feels like World War Three. I usually have an extremely tight hold on my temper. I have to, or unpleasant things can happen. That day, I slipped a little, and the next thing we knew, things were flying around the room.
Wait. You’re telekinetic? he asked, stunned.
Mickala laughed. Yes.
She could almost see his mental eye roll. When do you plan on telling me this stuff?
When you need to know, she said, unable to keep the smugness out of her voice. A girl has to have a few secrets.
Aiden chuckled. All right, all right. I guess I deserved that. So, Victor freaked out?
He fainted. The freaking out came when he woke up, she said. Eventually, I told him everything. I told him I would leave if he wanted, which I did for the night, just to let him think about everything. I didn’t go far, just right outside as a wolf, and I listened to him pacing the house. I wouldn’t dream of eavesdropping on what he was thinking. Victor’s never been a big drinker, but he was that night. I couldn’t really blame him, though. Finding out the daughter you’ve known for fifteen years wasn’t who or even what you thought she was a large pill to swallow, so to speak. He spent the entire night in my room, flipping through our old photo albums. The next morning came and went, but he still didn’t call.
He must have eventually, though.
It was a close one, though. It was almost 6:30, and he said he wanted to talk. I waited a few minutes so it would seem like I had really left, then I went inside. I had never seen him cry, but he started as soon as I walked in the doors. He hugged me, and said it didn’t matter what I was, I was already in his head, and his heart, and he couldn’t go back to an empty house, and he loved me. He even got me crying, Mickala said, smiling at the memory.
And you’ve been good ever since?
It was a little touchy at first, but it wasn’t anything other than what I had expected. It took him a little while to get ‘okay’ with what I am, but he accepted it. Eventually, though, things began getting back to normal. Better, actually. He realized I wasn’t the average fifteen-year-old who was going to go out and do stupid stuff. He pretty much lets me do whatever I want.
You really love him, don’t you? Aiden asked, taking her hand.
Yes, more than any human I’ve ever known, and it’s mostly because of him accepting everything I am and loving me despite all of that. I don’t know what I would’ve done if he hadn’t called. I don’t even want to think about it, she said, looking out of the window.
***
They fell quiet, then eventually went to sleep, and didn’t wake up until Gary touched their shoulders. They landed, and the plane taxied to a hanger, and they got ready to get off. His eyes landed on the 2021 Corvette convertible as they came down the stair, and they widened. Mickala laughed. “I like to go fast.”
“Obviously.”
They both laughed, fitting all the bags in the trunk, then Gary told her to be careful. “Always,” she replied, sliding on a pair of sunglasses.
They got on the interstate, and she asked if he wanted to go to her house first, or to the townhouse he’d gotten. “Your house, if that’s okay.”
“Great, cause I really want you to meet Victor.”
“Really?”
She just nodded, and they followed the interstate out of the busy city and headed north. They finally got off the highway and went down several long, winding roads. Each house seemed bigger than the last. She pulled up to a gate with a large, ornate ‘C’ in the middle, and a keypad with a camera and speaker. “The code is 0528, my birthday,” she told him, and the gate slowly opened, and she took the car up the long, tree-lined drive. Aiden had the impression of entering a long, green tunnel with the way the massive trees’ branches interlocked overhead.
He eyed the rolling pasture. “Do you have horses or something?”
She smiled. “Some like that. You’ll see.”
He finally saw the house. Only ‘house’ was an understatement. It was an enormous stone and wood mansion, two stories high, and there was a matching six-car garage, and a large wolf fountain in the middle of the circular drive. The fountain was incredibly lifelike, with a single wolf sitting, its head thrown back in a howl, and the rest of the pack lounging at its feet. Water poured from the wolf’s open mouth.
They pulled into the massive garage with a Jeep Rubicon that had a huge body lift, super-sized tires, the ragtop and doors removed, and an Audi R8 Sypder. Aiden’s eyes landed on a dark blue electric guitar with an extremely lifelike black wolf with honey-colored eyes. He laughed. “I really should bring mine over here. It’s black with a silver fox on it, and Ian’s going to be thrilled.”
“What do you mean?” Mickala asked as they got their bags out of the trunk.
“One thing he’s really taken up with is playing the drums, and he’s a total badass at them, but he’d never really had a place he could play them,” he explained.
“Well, he’s got a place now,” she said in a tone that left no room for argument. “Victor loves it when I play, so having you guys around makes it even better.”
They got out, and Mickala opened the door into the kitchen, which was full of cherry and marble counters, even on the huge island. There was a note laying there. “I’ve got a meeting, which Gary should have told you about, then I’m going by the store before I get home. I hope you and Aiden had a safe flight, and I’ll see you when I get home. Love, Victor.”
Aiden looked at her, and she grinned. “I told him about everything when I called him this morning,” she said, then gave a loud, piercing whistle. “Lazy bones,” she muttered. Aiden heard a loud scramble from overhead, and it sounded like a herd of elephants coming down the massive staircase in the front of the house. Two large wolves burst into the kitchen, almost knocking Mickala down. One was black with silver tips to his fur, and the other was white with grey-tipped fur, and they both had golden yellow eyes. They stopped short on the Italian tiled floor at the sigh of Aiden. “The black wolf is Kita, and the white one is Ash. They’re two of my best friends in the world.”
They came forward to smell his hands, then rubbed their heads against them. They could smell their alpha on him, so they knew he was no danger. She took his hand. “Come on. I have one more friend I want you to meet, then I’ll show you around.”
***
They went back outside, the wolves bounding ahead of them, and Mickala easily jumped the white fence, putting her fingers to her lips and giving another whistle. A few seconds later, he heard what sounded like thunder, which got louder, and a huge black stallion topped the small hill in front of them. The wind blew his mane and tail out like silken banners against the blue sky as he reared to his full height, a loud neigh echoing across the enormous field, his front hooves slashing at the air. Even at the distance, he knew the stallion would easily top eighteen hands. He was huge. He raced down the hill, his tail flagged proudly, and he showed no signs of stopping as his huge strides ate up the ground between him and Mickala. Aiden came to stand beside her warily, ready to push her out of the way if it looked like he was going to run her over.
When the stallion was just a few feet away, he suddenly stiffened his front legs, and he slid to a stop as Mickala leaped forward, throwing her arms around the massive neck. He draped his large, exquisitely shaped head over Mickala’s shoulder, his eyes closed. When they opened, it amazed Aiden to see they were blue, as blue as Mickala’s and Michelle’s. Together, they were the perfect picture of content. Mickala looked up at him. “I know he looks like a regular horse, but he’s so much more. He’s called a Delling, a creature from Solaris, and they’re companions to the royal family,” she told him, rubbing under the stallion’s heavy forelock with one hand, the other combing through his long, silky mane. The giant creature’s eyes closed in content as he snorted softly, nuzzling her cheek.
Aiden couldn’t take his eyes off him. “I would n
ever know him as anything but a horse. A gorgeous one, though.” The Delling tossed his head, prancing around.
Mickala rolled her eyes. “What an ego,” she said playfully. “But, like I said, they’re so much more than horses. They’re faster, stronger, and more intelligent than horses. Some humans, too, for that matter. This guy’s name is Adelaide.”
Inside her mind, just like when Aiden or Ian would speak to her, she heard Adelaide’s deep voice. Don’t worry, heart-sister. He’ll understand soon enough.
What do you mean? she asked.
There’s someone who’s been waiting for a while to meet him. They heard another loud neigh, and Adelaide arched his neck up to look back over his massive back.
Nine
Myths of Impossibilities
It was another Delling. There just wasn’t any getting around it. This one had a dark red coat with a long, flowing black mane and tail. He cantered up to Aiden with only a slight glance at Mickala, tossing his head every few steps. He stopped in front of Aiden and stood as still as stone, his broad back even with the fox demon’s shoulder. He lowered his head to Aiden’s, his ears pricked forward. My name is Titus, and I’ve been waiting for you since the day you were born. We’re made for each other, and we’ll never be alone again. We’re connected from now until our death, whenever that may be.
Aiden met the blue eyes squarely, and he felt as if he were falling into a deep blue sea. For the first time since he could remember, Aiden felt complete. Every single crack and splinter life had ever put in his heart, which Mickala’s entrance into his life hadn’t healed already, was suddenly full. He was surprised by the love and welcoming he felt coming from the Delling, and the love he felt in return for the magnificent creature.
There was the same voice in his head. Are you okay?
Aiden stirred, taking a deep breath, unsure what had just happened. I think so, he said, rubbing the sleek neck. It’s just a lot to take in at once.
You’ll get used to it soon, brother, Titus said, reassuring him.
Mickala’s mouth dropped as she watched the connection between the Delling and her boyfriend forming. The only case of a Delling ever Connecting with a non-Solarian was that of her grandfather, Sathe, and his mare, Freya. The new Delling nuzzled Aiden’s cheek possessively, bringing the fox demon back down to earth. Mickala just laughed as Titus then turned to her, bowing his head and greeting her in her mind. She smiled, laying a hand on his neck, welcoming him. She jumped onto Adelaide’s massive bare back easily. “Come on, Aiden. Let him show you the true meaning of speed.”
Titus reared to his full height, but Aiden jumped on, wrapping his hands in the long black main, his legs tights around the stallion’s side, and the two Dellings took off flying through the field. The speed took his breath away, and the two demons crouched low on their backs, the manes whipping sharply across their skins. They had to have been going fifty or sixty miles an hour. With hardly a break in stride, they jumped the seven-foot fence easily, and Mickala led the way through the trails in the woods. Thoughts and feelings were constantly flowing between Titus and Aiden as they rode. Mickala and Adelaide talked between themselves, and she told him all about her trip to Florida. Aiden would sometimes speak to Mickala, but she didn’t mind his distraction at all, knowing the two of them needed the time to get to know each other, to finish closing the connection.
The sun was going down before they headed home. Jumping the fence again, Mickala led them into the large barn, where they gave to two Dellings a rub down. At one point, there had been four stalls in the barn, but they had taken some walls down to make just two, huge, stalls. Aiden was pleased to realize that, although he hadn’t owned a horse in decades, he still remembered what to do. They let them loose in the pasture, and Mickala leaned up against the fence as the two stallions played. She could see it still stunned Aiden, and she chuckled. “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I can’t describe it any other way than that I feel complete. Even more than I felt after I met you,” he said, his eyes on Titus.
“That’s what a Connection with a Delling does. It heals every hurt, every pain. Titus will be with you for all your life, no matter how long. He was born the day you were. He was made to complete you.”
***
They eventually went inside, and she gave him a tour of the house. On the ground floor, there was a huge two-story library which held just about every kind of book imaginable, a small coffee table and three or four overstuffed chairs in front of a large, ornately carved marble fireplace. She laughed at the look on his face. “We like to read.”
He laughed. “I couldn’t tell.”
There were also two bedrooms, one of those Victor’s, his public office with a door to his private office. Then, she showed him a large meeting room with a long table about several chairs, a formal dining room and living room, then a larger living area which opened straight onto the huge patio with an outdoor living area and free-form pool with a waterfall feature hiding a cozy cave. There was a small home gym with a couple of treadmills, some weights and a bench press. The foyer was massive with a large dual staircase, and they went upstairs, where there were two more bedrooms, another living area which looked like it was more for Mickala than anyone else. Then she stopped outside a set of double doors. “It’s the best room in the house,” she said with a grin.
“Let me guess. It’s your room?” he asked with a laugh.
“And you would be right.”
She opened the doors, and they went in. The room was almost as big as his townhouse he was moving into. There was a huge California King-sized bed with a canopy tied back on a raised platform, a sitting area with its own fireplace, a balcony with two chairs that had the best view of the house, overlooking the pool and field, where he saw Titus and Adelaide grazing peacefully. Aiden’s eyes took over his face. “This is a room? I think I could fit my entire apartment in here.”
There were also two huge walk-in closets which were full of clothes, and a massive bathroom with a jetted soaking tub, a walk-in shower with only a curved glass block wall, multiple shower heads and even a Bluetooth music system, and a built in vanity with several lights.
They went back into the bedroom, and he saw a small door in the ceiling. “What’s that? The attic?”
She laughed. “It’s my little hideaway.” She jumped the ten feet easily and pulled a small cord, and the door swung open. She jumped up and over the edge. “Come on up,” she said.
Aiden jumped up just as easily, and he landed on his feet in a small room enclosed in glass. The panes had to have been specially treated, because it wasn’t hot in the small room, despite being in the nineties outside. There were beanbag chairs, a large round wicker chair with a blue velvet cushion, an acoustic guitar on a stand in the corner, and he saw sheet music scattered here and there. “You write your own music?” She nodded, and he picked up a sheet. “May I?”
“Go ahead. It’s always been my stress relief.”
He read a few pages, and he shook his head. “This is amazing, Mickala.” He saw several drawings, and they were all in realistic detail. In several of them, he recognized Adelaide, Kita, and Ash. She picked one up from under several others, and he thought he heard her gasp. “What is it?”
Mickala looked up at him, her eyes stunned. “I remember drawing this, but it was about four years ago, before I even came to the States. I had this dream, like the one before you and I met. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Finally, I ended up drawing the two people in it, and it eased off. Apparently, I had completely forgotten about it.”
She handed him the picture, and his own mouth fell open. He had no difficulty in recognizing himself and Ian, down to the faint scar, and Ian’s usual smirk. Aiden looked at the date on it, and it was almost four years ago. He looked back up at her. “What has Michelle gotten us into?”
She shook her head. “The more I think about it, the more I wonder exactly how much Mom had to do w
ith it. I mean, we would’ve met anyway when school started. I think we were meant to be together. What our moms did was just speed along what I’m pretty sure would’ve happened anyway,” she said, her voice full of awe as she set it down.
They sat on the beanbags, and he started flipping through her tons of photo albums. She began showing him some of her favorite pictures, from various vacations and business trips. “You love taking pictures, huh?” he asked, and she laughed, nodding. He saw an older man with her in several of them. “This must be Victor.” She nodded again, her eyes fond as she looked at her adoptive father.
***
It was an hour later when they heard the front door open, and a man’s voice calling Mickala’s name. Her face lit up as she jumped to her feet, then stepped down through the doorway. Aiden just laughed, closing the album and following suit. He got to the top of the stairs when he winced, hearing a collision from the bottom. A man said ‘ow’ even as he laughed, then Mickala’s laughing apology. He looked to see her hugging the man from her pictures, her face one of total happiness.
“I’m glad you’re home,” he said. “I’ve missed you, love.”
“I missed you, too, Victor,” she replied, then stepped away and looked at Aiden. “Victor, this is Aiden Stone. Aiden, this is Victor Clarkson, my father for all intents and purposes.”
Aiden joined them at the foot of the stairs, and they shook hands. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Clarkson. Mickala talks about you nonstop,” he said, then laughed as Mickala wrinkled her nose at him.
“Likewise, and please, call me Victor. Mr. Clarkson was my father, God rest his soul. I was so happy when Mickala called me this morning and said she had someone she really wanted me to meet.” He grinned down at his adopted demon daughter. “I also want to thank you for finding the truth out about EJ. I hate to think he spent time in prison for something that wasn’t his fault. Do you think you’ll be able to figure out who was controlling him?”
“I don’t know, but we’re going to do everything in our power to try,” Aiden said. “I’m just glad my time here in the human world has helped, otherwise I would’ve killed him first.” He smiled to himself as Victor didn’t even flinch.
Releasing the Demons: Solarian Chronicles II Page 8
