They all could see Mickala’s heart wasn’t completely in the excitement, however; that something else was heavy on her mind. Aiden knew it was whatever she had felt, but considering she hadn’t told the others yet, he knew it wasn’t his place to tell. She began having nightmares, which left her in a cold sweat, but she couldn’t recall them when she woke up.
Fifteen
Brotherly Un-Love
One day, she, Ian, Aiden, and EJ were hanging out in the barn with the Dellings as a light rain fell. Mickala was rubbing Adelaide’s neck absently, quiet as the other three demons talked excitedly about New York, which was still just under three months away. Ian was twirling his drumsticks idly as he talked. Mickala sighed quietly, and the other three looked at her, then at each other, but Aiden just gave a small shrug.
Ever since a couple of days after winning the regionals, Mickala had gotten silent and withdrawn, hardly talking or even smiling. “Mickala?” EJ asked. “What’s wrong?”
Her Delling gently nuzzled her cheek. “I know something is coming. I can feel it in my heart and in every fiber of my being, I don’t know from whom, when, where, or even what or why, and I can’t take it much more.”
Her voice sounded as if she was trying to keep from crying, and her eyes were too bright when she looked up. Aiden’s heart hurt at the sadness and fatigue on her face. “Mickala,” he started, but she shook her head.
“Please, Aiden. I, I just don’t feel like talking right now,” she said, then got to her feet. “I’m going to go to bed. Sorry, but I’m just not very good company tonight.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “I love you, Mickala.”
She smiled, but it was sad, a mere shadow of its former self. “I love you, too.” She looked at Ian and EJ. “Good night, you two.”
They said ‘good night’, and Mickala left. EJ sighed. “I’ve never seen her like this,” he said. “She’s always been so composed and pulled together. It’s frightening.” The three talked a little longer, but Aiden was only half paying attention to the conversation. He could feel Adelaide and even his own Delling’s concern for the suddenly melancholy wolf demon.
They soon went to bed themselves, and Victor looked up as Aiden and Ian came in. “Hey, guys. Um, what’s wrong with Mickala? She’s been acting odd for the past couple of days.” Neither the dragon nor the fox demon could really tell Victor what was wrong. Not when they didn’t even know for themselves.
***
Thanksgiving came around, and the day before they got out for the holiday, Kira renewed her attempts on Aiden. The girl came up to them when they were at lunch, totally ignoring Mickala. The wolf demon’s eyes seemed to flash, and dark clouds boiled up outside, lightning flashing and thunder roaring. Mickala got to her feet, towering over Kira, and a tense hush fell over the lunchroom, all eyes on them. Mickala’s voice was quiet, but dangerous. “If you know what’s good for you, Connelly, you’ll leave us the hell alone.”
“Oh, really? And just what are you going to do?”
Mickala was just inches from her, staring down at her in contempt. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with,” she warned.
“Bitch,” Kira said in a sneer.
Mickala smiled, but it was almost feral, and it was everything Kira could do to not take a step back. “You’re right. I am a bitch, and you have no clue in that small, simple pea you’ve got for a brain as to what I’m truly capable of. If you really want to find out, keep pushing me like you’ve been doing. Trust and believe me, it’s a fight you’ll never be ready for. For your own sake, I’d leave before something bad happens to you.”
“Like what?” Kira tried to sound brave, and to human ears, it would’ve succeeded, but the demons heard the slight tremble in her voice. Suddenly, her feet shot out from under her, and Kira hit the floor, the back of her head causing a loud ‘thunk’ to echo through the suddenly silent room. Everyone burst out laughing as she scrambled to her feet, her face blood red.
Mickala got in her face. “I’ll repeat myself since I know you’re slow. Leave all of us alone before you really piss me off. This is your last warning,” she said. Kira turned on her heel and stormed out, and Mickala took a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh when she sat back down. Outside, the storm faded as fast as it had risen.
A couple of days later, they all received their letters officially inviting them to New York for the final competition, which was the first week in January. They were out of school for Thanksgiving, but instead of relaxing, Mickala seemed to get more and more quiet as the nightmares grew worse until she was having them almost every night. The day before Thanksgiving, they were all in the kitchen, getting the food ready for the next day. Victor looked at her. “What’s wrong, love?” he asked gently. “And don’t tell me nothing. I know you better than that.”
“I just have a terrible feeling. I’ve been having nightmares, and they scare the hell out of me. At first, I couldn’t remember what they were about when I woke up, but the past few nights, I can. It’s only a single man’s face, one I’ve never seen before. He’s got long black hair with grey eyes, like the sky before a storm. His energy is through the roof, at least thirty times what Valez was putting out, and he’s pure evil. The only marking I can see is a single scar from his forehead, across his right eye, down his jaw, and all the way down his throat.”
***
Everyone jumped as a glass shattered, and they all looked so see Aiden’s eyes wide, and the jagged bottom of the glass was still in his hand. “Are you okay?” Mickala asked.
“You said he had a scar over his right eye?” he asked quietly, and Mickala nodded.
“You know him?” Ian asked.
“Quite well. I gave him that scar the last time we met, over two hundred years ago.” He got up, went to Victor’s bar and poured himself a triple shot of scotch before tossing it down, then repeated with another. The others all just stared at him in shock and confusion. “He’s my brother.” They could have heard a pin drop on the plush carpet, and he sighed. “Well, my half-brother. We have the same mother, but different fathers. Our mother raised me, and his father took him when he was just an infant. His name is Xiden.”
Ian raised an eyebrow. “Aiden and Xiden?”
Aiden shrugged. “Yes, and we hate each other with a passion. We’ve managed to avoid each other these past two centuries, ever since the fight that left him with that scar.”
“Why is he coming now? How would he know where you’re at?” Mickala asked.
“There’s a connection between us which has been there since birth,” he replied. “Thanks to our bastard father.”
“Could you use it to find him?” Victor asked.
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t work both ways. I’ve just never had a reason to look for him before,” he replied.
“Well, you might have a reason now,” the human man said, and they all looked at him. He was only looking at Mickala, though. “Haven’t you noticed it before, love? Anytime you dream about something repeatedly, it usually comes true? Didn’t you tell me how you’d dreamed about Aiden and Ian long before you ever met, then again the night before? And now, look who’s sitting here in my kitchen.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed, but a faint smile formed. “Leave it to the only human in the house to pick up on what all the demons miss.”
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t work both ways,” Aiden mused, closing his eyes. It didn’t take much searching, but he swore as Xiden quickly sensed him and closed the connection down. “He’s definitely on his way.”
“Why?”
“He’s sensed Mickala, but he wants me as well. He’s had enough of this cat-and-mouse game we’ve been playing for seven hundred years, and so this time, he’s out for death. Plus, he’s intrigued by all the power he feels coming from this place.”
“What do you mean?” Victor asked, an eyebrow raising.
“Between EJ, Ian, Mickala, and myself, it’s one of the largest concentrations of demon energy in this h
emisphere. It’s actually been a deterrent for more than a few demons,” Aiden replied, and Victor’s face seemed to pale slightly.
“When, and where, is he?” Mickala asked.
“I don’t know when, and I only got a vague feeling of mountains. It could be the Alps, the Himalayas, the Rockies, or even the Appalachians.” He looked at Mickala’s fearful face. “Are you okay?”
“He’s so powerful. I haven’t faced someone like him in over two hundred years,” she said.
They were all quiet afterwards, and Mickala kept glancing anxiously at Victor. For the first time in a long time, there was someone gunning for her strong enough to threaten her peaceful existence.
***
Thanksgiving came and went, and Mickala’s nerves were getting worse day by day. Right before school started back, she, Aiden, and Ian were in the studio, practicing a few new songs. Mickala was playing the piano for a ballad she’d written, ‘Alone Again’, but she just stopped, and it shocked them to see she was on the verge of tears, blinking rapidly. “What’s wrong?” Aiden asked.
She shook her head. “I wish he could come already. I feel like a guitar string that’s tuned too tight. If it doesn’t happen soon, I think I’m going to snap completely. I just know, when he comes, only one of us will survive.” Neither of the demons knew what to say, so they said nothing.
That night, she went to bed early, and Victor just sighed. “She’s not going to get any better, is she?”
“She’s expecting something from Xiden or Trey, but both of them are blocking us,” Aiden replied with a sigh.
Victor frowned thoughtfully. “You’re probably going to think I’m completely mental, but is there any chance Trey and Xiden could be working together?”
Ian and Aiden stared at him in amazement. “It’s entirely possible. I mean, he was behind Valez this whole time,” Ian said. “Never in a million years would I have thought about that.” He looked at Victor. “How well did you know Trey?”
He shook his head. “Not well at all. Like I said, I didn’t trust him from the moment I laid eyes on him, so I never tried to get to know him. He would’ve just lied to me, anyway. I’ve always liked EJ more, and he knew that.”
The weekend dragged by, but not even her dance team winning their competition could drag Mickala out of her deepening depression. She tried to put on a happy front, but while most everyone bought it, her ‘family’ knew better. For Victor, it was like watching her after EJ all over again. The Dellings and demons could all sense her tightening up, and Aiden spent most of his free time trying to track down his half-brother, but Xiden continued to block him. Aiden was considering a full mental assault, determined to see what he was up to, but Mickala stopped him.
“Aid, if you do that, for a single second, Xiden would have full access to your mind, and it would be completely open to any attack he might launch. He could destroy you if he was prepared,” she said, laying a hand on his arm. “Please, Aiden. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you. Promise me, you won’t try it.” He gave his word, albeit reluctantly, wrapping his arms around her.
The next three weeks went by, and they began getting ready for Christmas break, which was only a few days away. Three days before the end of the semester, Mickala woke up, and she felt completely different. If she’d been wound up before, now she was on the very edge of the snap she’d mentioned. The very air around her was different, charged with electricity. Her eyes were wild, like an animal. Aiden watched as her eyes were constantly on the move, as if she was expecting an attack any minute, and he knew something had to give, and soon, or she would completely go to pieces.
***
Mickala wasn’t the only one who seemed preoccupied. Victor was already downstairs, looking at the paper, but he didn’t really seem focused on the headlines. He was usually the main one talking in the mornings, but now, even he wasn’t saying much. They were all quieter than normal as they got ready for school, but he asked Mickala to hold up as they headed out the door. Aiden and the others went to warm the car up. “Is everything okay?” she asked quietly.
“I just don’t feel as if I’ve ever told you how truly proud of you I am. I couldn’t love you more if it was my blood running through your veins. You’ve brought so much joy and happiness to my life. I couldn’t bear to imagine how empty my years would’ve been without you. I wanted to let you know that, if anything happens to me, everything’s already arranged so transferring the company into your hands will go smoothly. Gary and I have already talked, and he’s assured me he’ll be at your side as he was by mine,” he said, taking her hands.
Mickala gave a trembling smile, and tears stung her eyes. “You said you were going to live forever, remember?”
He shook his head with a quiet laugh. “That was before I knew the world I live in. I’m not like you, Aiden, and the others. I’m only human.”
One tear fell slowly. “Why are you talking like this, Victor? You’re scaring me.”
He hugged her tightly. “That wasn’t my intention, not with everything else you’ve got going on. I just wanted to make sure you know about everything, and just to tell you one more time how much I love you, Mickala. Now, go on before you’re any later to class.”
She hesitated as she walked out the door, then turned back to him. “You know, if I couldn’t have my real father, and I had a choice, you would’ve been as far as I looked. I love you more than I’ve ever loved a human. You’ve let me be myself. You know everything there is to know about me, and you’ve loved my, anyway. For that, I can’t say it enough. With everything I am, I love you, Dad.”
It was the first time she had ever called him that, and the look of happiness on his face brought the tears back to her eyes. Dropping her bag, she ran over to him and threw her arms around his waist, her head on his chest. He embraced her back fiercely, and they stood like that for several seconds. He finally took her face in his hands, wiping away the tears rolling down her cheek. “Go on, and I’ll see you when you get home.”
She fled to the car after kissing his cheek, struggling to keep the tears at bay. Aiden immediately saw she was about to lose it. “What happened, Mickala?”
She tossed the keys to him. “You drive,” she said, and they heard her voice shaking. “I just can’t right now.” It took the entire time getting to school before she could get herself back under control.
She was in the middle of taking a test in her second class when she felt an enormous power burst that took her breath away, gripping the edge of the desktop with white knuckles. Are you okay? Ian asked, glancing at her.
You don’t feel that?
We don’t feel anything, Aiden replied.
It’s an enormous power, and it’s close. God, it’s close.
Can you tell who it is? Nehela asked, even though they all had the same idea.
It only took her a few minutes, and she raised her eyes to Aiden’s. Your brother’s here, she said. Her face literally turned white in front of their eyes. And he’s at our house.
There was another explosion in her head, and she gasped quietly, her head in her hands, and her eyes closed tightly. She flew through the rest of the test and handed it in. Fortunately, it was AP History, a class she could’ve aced in her sleep, having lived through most of it. “Can I use the restroom?” she asked the teacher. “I don’t feel well.”
“You do look pale,” she replied. “Go ahead.”
Once Mickala was out in the hallway, she raced for the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Victor’s office. “I’m sorry, Mickala, but Victor isn’t in yet,” his secretary, Jessica, said kindly.
“What?” she asked. “But, he was getting ready to leave after I did.”
“He hasn’t shown up yet, and you know that’s not like him. If he even thinks he’s going to be late, he calls.”
“I know, Jessie,” she said in a whisper, closing her eyes. “If you hear from him, will you please let me know?”
“Of course I will, hun,” she said.
***
They hung up, and she immediately called her house, but there wasn’t an answer, and it was the same thing with his cell phone. She couldn’t help but fear the worst when she couldn’t reach EJ, either by cell phone or her mental call. There was another power flare, and this one made her physically ill. She threw up until there was nothing left in her stomach, and she dry-heaved until she was so weak, she couldn’t do anything but lay on the floor, the tile cool against her skin.
She heard the door open, then Nehela called her name. She found which stall Mickala was in and slid under the door to sit beside the wolf demon, brushing her hair back from her face. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“Victor’s missing,” she said in a voice so low, Nehela almost didn’t hear it. “He never made it to work, and he’s not answering any of his phones, and I can’t get a hold of EJ, either. Adelaide and Titus are too far away.” Mickala’s body was trembling, and she jumped as the bell rang. “And I can’t do a damn thing because I’m too busy playing human.” Her lips sneered around the word in such a fashion, Ian would’ve been proud of her. “Meanwhile, Xiden’s unleashing his power at my house. What can I do, Nehela?”
“Make it through the best way you can. You’ve only got one class left before band, and you know Mr. Thomas will let us go early.” Nehela tugged gently on her arm. “Now, come on and get up off this nasty floor.”
She helped the wolf demon to her feet, and she was still shaking like a leaf. Aiden and Ian were waiting outside the door anxiously. She explained what was happening about Victor and EJ, and Aiden swore quietly. They were never completely sure how they made it through Japanese, then they were sitting in the lunchroom, none of them able to eat. Mickala’s head was on the table, her eyes closed. “I can’t believe none of you are feeling this,” she said. “In all my lives, I’ve never felt anyone like him.”
Releasing the Demons: Solarian Chronicles II Page 14
