Forging Truth (The Truth Saga)
Page 37
“You are a mean spirited youth, so ya are,” he replied. It wasn’t that my mother was a bad cook – she was, actually, one of the best in her church, if not all of Ransom – but, I knew Caduceus wouldn’t be sampling any of her good cooking today. For two weeks straight, she had made a variety of meals for the rest of us, but apparently, she had gotten it into her head a freshly resurrected Caduceus could only handle her homemade chicken noodle soup. So for two weeks, that’s all he had eaten.
“I really am, aren’t I?” Turning somber, I said, “I’ve really enjoyed living with you again – I told you I’d have you out one day – but have you given any thought to when you’re returning home?”
“I’ve enjoyed it, too, so I have. As for my old place, I’m afraid it’s lost to me for good. I no longer possess my staff, and without it, I haven’t been able to call to the nexus, nor to my home. Then, there’s the Jacobs and the Lendseys.”
Seeing the pain on my mentor’s face cut me deeply, and I said, “Oh, C, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
He waved away my apology. “You know, I told you I had watched the oldest of the two family’s kids date throughout the years? Well, Mao was showing me a few things on this computer of Tabitha’s, and I found a bit of good news. The day their families were slaughtered, the two had been out on the town. In light of their shared tragedy, they moved somewhere together and have since issued a marriage proclamation. Something decent may come from this yet.” He cocked his head, and from the corner of his mouth, he confided, “Still can’t wait to get well and do some real cooking and eating.” He flashed an infectious smile, and we both began to laugh.
Wiping my eyes, I said, “After all these visions and wars, maybe we should go pay President Perry a visit. It isn’t right for these brave soldiers to keep fighting so they can provide fodder for Van Parson’s experiments. At the very least, maybe we could go fetch your staff back.”
I paused to thank my mother for her hard work as she positioned my plate and Ducie’s bowl in front of us. “No problem at all,” she said – as she always does. Then, to Caduceus, she added, “And I want you to eat it all this time, Ducie.” Caduceus smiled at the nickname and agreed. She returned the smile with a whip of her apron and went to gather the others. Are you kidding me, I thought, did she actually just flirt with Caduceus? Caduceus winked at me.
“Were you flirting,” I pleaded in a ‘say it ain’t so’ tone.
“Still got some fightin’ to do, eh,” he asked. It took me a moment to realize he was picking back up on our previous conversation. “Well, those are both fine ideas, son, and we will definitely have to revisit them at a later date. For now, let us enjoy ourselves, our meals, and our recuperating.”
I nodded, consenting to the compromise, and began to eat my meal. Caduceus started to do the same, but then he lowered his spoon, and said, “And aye, we were flirting.”
5
Per the usual, whatever it was Tabitha had cooking was about to starve Jessie to death, especially after spending the morning working over Tabitha’s little garden. Mao and Stephen made their way into the kitchen to join Caduceus and Kade. Before Jessie sat to eat, she needed to wash the grime from her hands. In the front bathroom, Jessie ran some water in the basin, allowing it to get hot, while she went for a towel. Returning with towel in hand, she saw a film of condensation had fogged over the mirror above the sink. She wiped it clean – and had to stifle a scream at the sight revealed to her.
In the reflection, Aesculapus stood, looking pristine in a crisp black suit. From the mirror, he said, “Hello, my sweet, did I startle you?”
“I’ve told you to leave me the hell alone,” Jessie whispered harshly. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“But I cannot. I will not. Since I first learned of your existence in young Kade’s fantasy, I knew you were the one, Jessica Hall. Your grandfather would truly be proud.”
“Stop talking like that,” she warned. “I’ve told you, do your worst to me, but I love him and will never harm him.”
“Yes, and I’ve told you that you are destined by the Sins of the Grandfathers, dear one. ‘And one shall corrupt the greatest of truths.’ It is preordained.”
“Shut up!” She pointed an accusing finger at the mirror. Focusing her anger, she pushed a yellow arch of lightening from its manicured tip and smashed the offending mirror to shrapnel. “I’m okay,” she called. She decided to leave the mess for after lunch. As the door closed behind her, she could still hear the Dark Monk’s haunting laughter.
Forging Truth
By Raymond F. Masters
Also Available In Paperback
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raymond F. Masters lives in Arkansas with his too supportive wife Hessie and his too energetic son, both of who keep him honest. He has been a comic geek for 20 years and has had a short comic accepted for anthologies at Viper Comics and Incubator Press. He would deeply love to do more comic book work. Currently, he is a contributor for Wired.com's GeekDad blog and a slush reader for Dark Quest Books.
He invites you to drop him a note online at the following:
http://raymondmasters.wordpress.com/ https://twitter.com/#!/RaymondFMasters
Beyond that, he’d simply love to be finished typing in the third-person.