by Kim Cormack
He laughed and said, “I think calling 911 when we get home is a fabulous idea. Can you imagine the therapy they would all need afterwards?”
Kayn stated, “Nobody would need therapy. They would all be dead.”
Kevin ran his hands through her curly locks, and said, “Are you okay?”
“Don’t you already know? I thought you were a psychic. You’re sleeping on the job,” Kayn teased back. She grinned as she shifted her body around to face him.
“We are going to be okay … I promise,” Kevin whispered, cupping her chin with his hands and kissing her softly on the lips.
“I know we will,” Kayn whispered back with a weak smile. She turned around to look at the basement.
“Come back upstairs, Kayn,” Kevin said as he kissed the back of her head gently, his lips making contact with curls of blonde hair.
Kayn thought the answer to Kevin’s question after he left her there on the stairs. Half of my family is dead the other half is about to die. I signed up for a life of being a sacrificial lamb, a peacekeeper, and murderer. Why wouldn’t I be fine?
Kayn stood up and took a good look at the basement. She descended the stairs and walked over to the small tricycle in the corner. She had no choices left. She smiled and attempted to squish her teenage sized butt into the seat on the tiny tricycle. Once in the seat she attempted to pretzel her legs to operate the pedals. She was on it attempting to experience a moment from her childhood. She got about five feet when the tricycle fell apart. She was stuck. She heard laughter coming from the stairs. She looked up towards the stairs, and there sitting on the bottom step was a grinning Grey.
He said, “Hey, I totally understand. I am not even going to ask you what you were thinking. I already know.” He descended the rest of the way down the stairs towards her.
Grey squatted down beside her, and said, “Answer me one question. Was it worth it?”
Kayn broke into a giant grin and said, “Strangely … yes.”
He helped her get out of the twisted metal and said, “That’s all that matters.”
Kayn felt like he had just taught her the biggest lesson and from doing something completely ridiculous. It hadn’t been ridiculous to her though, it had been oddly inspirational.
Kayn replied, “Thank you … you can be nice when you want to Grey.”
He chuckled, “I should put that in the fine print at the bottom of my friendship contract.” He took her hand and helped her up off of the floor.
“That cement floor was damn cold,” Kayn said as she felt her icy behind.
Grey placed both of his hands sort of innocently on either one of her scantily clad butt cheeks and said,” It was cold wasn’t it?”
She started to laugh and stepped away from his warm hands. “I hope I don’t get hemorrhoids.”
Grey said, “You can’t get hemorrhoids from my hands?”
Kayn said, “No silly … from the cold cement floor.”
Grey started to laugh, “I’m glad to see you’re back to being your goofy self again. Who in the hell told you that?”
Winnie’s voice said, “I did and I’m not going to bother to ask you two what you were doing down here.” Winnie and Kevin stood at the top of the stairs.
Grey bounded up the stairs past Kevin. He said, “Sorry about the touching her butt thing. Kayn got stuck on a tricycle, and her bum was cold.”
Kevin grinned and shook his head. He teased, “You naughty little sinner. We were just coming down here to see if you were okay?”
Granny Winnie chuckled, “I’m glad to see you in better spirits dear. However, that came about.”
“I got my ass trapped in a damn tricycle. It was totally innocent,” Kayn huffed as she stomped up the stairs. She walked towards Grey in the kitchen.
He said, “You totally just let me touch your butt.”
She winked and whispered in passing, “You saved me from being caught in an embarrassing moment, so yes I totally did.”
Kevin started to laugh from behind her, “I’m standing right here.”
Kayn turned and stepped towards him and gave him an enormous hug. She whispered in his ear, “It was all in good fun. I sat on the tricycle, and my butt was freezing.”
Kevin laid both hands on her behind and squeezed. He said, “I would have warmed that up for you. All you had to do was ask.”
Grey walked up to the couple and feigned shock, “But Kayn … I thought we just had a moment?” He started to chuckle and said to Kevin, “Next time I have a girlfriend. You are allowed to touch her bum, but only once. Then we are even.” Grey grinned and strolled away.
Kevin shouted after Grey, “I’m holding you to that.”
Winnie cleared her throat and Kevin let go of Kayn’s behind and stepped away from her. She said, “You two are going to have to give me at least five minutes to get used to seeing you together romantically before you grope each other in my presence.”
Kevin looked a little mortified, but Kayn winked at Winnie and said, “You probably knew this was going to happen all along.”
Winnie smiled her all knowing smile and said, “I had a hunch it might, but I never knew for sure.”
Kevin casually remarked, “Hey does Lily count as Grey’s girlfriend?” Kayn socked him in the hip with her fist. She knew this was the calm before the oncoming storm. This was the end of her mortal life. It would not be five or ten years down the road. It was over now. She had been told horrible things and her mind had shut down. It was all too much. She laughed in the face of it, and that was all she could do. Was it a basic survival instinct to laugh in the face of danger?
It was as if her old life was the mirage. The reality of her situation was far too terrible to think about. Jenkins and her brother were going to die. When she arrived home there would be a battle over, not her life, but her soul. What would happen to her if Abaddon took her? This place would become her new home. She felt like she’d only taken a short walk through mortal life. It was definitely a life that was worth fighting for, but a battle that she couldn’t win. She was meant to become something else. She glanced at Kevin and he looked back at her and smiled. She couldn’t lose him. What would happen if she was taken by another clan? She couldn’t imagine a day without him. What if she had to spend an eternity without him?
Kevin leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You’re making me dizzy. You have to stop over thinking everything. You are going to make yourself sick. I have all of Granny’s memories. I have seen a few versions of the future. In every version we still love each other. You can’t lose me Kayn. It’s impossible to lose me. I could never let you go. You have to learn to stifle that inner dialogue. There’s a stone and an elixir that can help you fake it till you make it. I’ll get them for you once we are safely away from the other clans and Abaddon.”
Granny leaned over and whispered in Kevin’s other ear, “You really have them all, don’t you, Kevin? My memories? I bet you know things about my life that I can’t even remember. Do you have any idea how powerful you could be? To know how to react based on others’ experiences. How much wisdom and training you can retain in your mind.”
Lily walked over to stand in front of Kevin. She looked at Winnie and said, “I have always been a warrior. I should be offering your grandson my memories. He could make good use of my training and experience. We won’t have enough time to train him properly, but if he can operate on instinct then, what if we load Kevin up with a wellspring of information?”
It was time to forget all the things that they could not change and concentrate on the things that they could change.
Grey had been sitting in silence for a while at the old orange and brown linoleum table, “Kevin, you can have mine too. Try to concentrate on my fighting skills. I would hate to have another guy using all of my moves with the ladies.”
Kevin glanced toward his extremely youthful grandmother for guidance, and she raised her eyebrows and said, “Just be careful, Kevin. Only do it when you are sure you have
recovered from reading me. Pace yourself, Nobody knows your limits better that you do.”
Lily smiled and pushed her chair toward his and took his hands in hers, “Go ahead and read the story of my life.” Kayn watched as Kevin shut his eyes and held his hands to Lily’s head. Kevin’s eyes rolled backwards to reveal slivers of the whites of his eyes, and he slumped to the ground. They gathered around him.
He opened his eyes and said, “You naughty girl,” shaking his head.
Grey almost choked on his own burst of laughter. Lily shot him a look that clearly stated I will light your ass on fire if you tell a soul.
“Don’t worry; your secrets are safe with me. I was just messing with you,” Kevin teased.
“Kayn, I need to have a moment alone with you,” Winnie said.
“Okay,” She said as she followed Winnie out the front door. She gasped because it was still sunset. The skyline had not changed.
“Time is a very confusing thing in this place, Kayn said.
Winnie answered, “Time is always something we want more of. Here in this place you have all of the time that you need.”
Winnie began to speak after a brief pause as they enjoyed the swirling pastel scenery together. “There is a problem with the gift he has inherited. He gets to keep all of those bad memories. His emotions can turn off. I think that is what happened to his grandfather. The knowledge and wisdom of everyone is so seductive that he kept going long past when his heart said that he’d had enough. He became a monster then, only interested in control and power. I saw glimpses on occasion of the man that he had once been. I know what this gift did to his grandfather. Kevin is in urgent need of information and the ability to fight.”
The multicolored sky wove a pattern through the clouds. It did appear as though someone had painted this very picture from her mind, and placed it above her for her pleasure. The grass really was greener here, and the flowers had colors so magnificent that it left you in awe. The scenery continued to randomly alter as if it were controlled by mood. The air was the perfect temperature all of the time with a light tingly breeze every once in a while.
Kevin’s grandmother smiled and said, “I keep forgetting that this is only your second trip to the in-between. It’s amazing those first ten times. After that it’s like going home.”
“I can’t imagine a time when this isn’t amazing,” Kayn replied. Ripples of pure pleasure from what her eyes were seeing had given her goose bumps. “This is all so totally unbelievable.”
Granny agreed, “It is absolutely beautiful, but let’s get back for one second to the situation at hand. After all, you will not be staying here. You will be going back to real life. Kayn you must stay with Ankh. No matter what happens. You must remain with Ankh. I have had this conversation with Kevin. He knows everything I know. There is a purpose behind everything. The bad things often lead toward the good.”
“I have no plans to change clans. Why would I want to change clans?” Kayn said, smiling at Kevin’s youthful grandmother.
Granny Winnie gave her a hug and said, “I needed to say those words to you. I hope you remember them when the time comes. This has been a strangely healing, but confusing visit for me. I feel that I’ve now dealt with emotions that I needed to face.” She hugged Kayn once more and kissed on the cheek. Kayn wondered how a woman as sweet as Winnie had been able to assimilate into the Triad. It proved her strength, but it also proved her ability to be morally flexible. In a strange moment of clarity, they had seen what was written between the lines. Survival—it was pure and simple survival. Kevin’s grandmother had done whatever she’d had to do to survive. They would have to do the same.
The group had left Granny Winnie’s house with a promise to return before they left the In Between.
Chapter 28
It Was Always Goodbye
Chloe lay beside Frost, sweat glistening on her skin. She was practically glowing with happiness.
Frost chuckled as he said, “You sure don’t waste any time, do you?”
Chloe rolled over onto her elbows, naked in the grass, her hair cascading over her shoulders covering her chest. “We don’t really have any to waste, do we?”
She was breathtaking lying next to him this way, gazing into his eyes. It was almost as if she really could see right through him directly into his soul. It scared him to feel like this. The only thing after a thousand years that scared him was caring about someone.
“You, my darling, are absolutely right,” He said, thoroughly amazed by the beauty in his presence.
Frost found himself wishing that this could go on forever. He knew their time together was almost up. Lily had told him to give her whatever she needed to feel whole. So he did, but in turn she had made him feel whole again, if only for a night. He wanted to remember her just like this, a vision of exquisite beauty under the stars staring longingly into their light.
Chloe rolled over on one side looking like a magical fairy as the light of the moon left a glowing halo around her blonde hair. “I wish I could tell you that I will never forget you, but I don’t have any idea how this is going to work. I don’t know what will happen to me. Just know that you completed my life. I’ve dreamed of a night just like this one. You would have been the perfect person for me. Well, if I was still alive.”
“I’m not really a person,” Frost whispered, then chuckled.
“Oh, shut up,” Chloe hissed and slapped Frost on the arm. “You know what I mean.”
Frost smiled because he had felt the same way about Chloe from the moment that he sat on her in Kevin’s car.
Chloe said, “I know this is stupid, and I know I’m dead, and in a day, I could be gone forever. Frost, if I had more time I would wait for years until you said it all on your own, but I need to hear the words. I don’t want to disappear with it left unsaid. Do you love me? Are you in love with me, even a little bit?”
To say the word aloud would be like begging for a broken heart. He definitely was starting to fall in love with her. He knew he probably did love her and if he didn’t tell her right now, he might never get the chance to. Chloe was close to becoming a part of her sister and no longer a separate entity. This was going to hurt like hell.
Chloe gave him a look of impatience and Frost whispered, “Of course I do.”
“Do what?” Chloe questioned innocently.
“Love you … I love you, Chloe,” Frost whispered, leaning in and hugging her against his chest. He pulled her on top of him and stroked the side of her face gently and kissed her lips, still swollen from his kisses. He had not said those words in a long, long, time. In this moment he knew those words were all that Chloe needed to hear to complete her life.
Chloe whispered, “I know that was probably hard for you to say to some girl that’s going to be gone forever, Thank you”
Frost said, “You can’t know that.”
Chloe laid her head on his heart and began to clear her mind by telling him everything that still lingered there,” I think I always knew that we were two parts of a whole. I’m the dark half of Kayn. I always felt like if I could just keep Kayn at arms length, then I wouldn’t pull her into the darkness with me. I pulled them all into the darkness with me, didn’t I? I took my whole family with me into hell. I know if I was the one that survived that night, I would have never even met you. I’m sure it would have been Triad, or Abaddon that came for me. Ankh never would have come for me. I’m not good like she is. I’m the dark and twisty road that leads somewhere horrible, and she’s the angel on the top of the Christmas tree.”
Frost said, “You really have an inferiority complex don’t you? Give yourself a bloody break. I’m not exactly all rainbows and kittens either. The dirty work needs to be done for both sides. He trailed his finger down her arm. You are just a little flexible with your morals. So am I, and who cares? You know how to drive down those twisty roads. You’re family’s expiration date was probably set the second your mother gave birth to you. That isn’t your fault. The gift that
we have is not easy to control. It’s impossible to control, if nobody has ever taught you how to manage it. You were always meant to join with your sister. You become whole together. Your Mother is Ankh, and we would have come to claim Freja’s child. I was always meant to be with you in this moment. You were meant to be here in my arms. I was meant to love you, and you were meant to love me. I will never regret loving you, not for a second. No matter how much it hurts when I lose you. You really love me. Believe it or not that is something I never get to hear. I never get to know whether or not it’s real either. I know it now, and that is the most incredible feeling. I know you love me back.”
Chloe teased, “Wow, you are way mushier than I thought you’d be.”
Frost pinned her down and started to tickle her in the grass. This was going to hurt like hell.
They spent hours in each others arms joking around and loving each other. Frost had a feeling the others were coming to find them. They put their clothes on and made an attempt to look like they were innocently sitting in the grass.
Chloe said, “I need you to promise me something.”
Frost looked at her and said, “Anything.”
She said, “Take care of my sister.”
Frost replied, “I intend to, because you will be a part of her, and even if you never love me like this again. I will always look for you in her. I will never stop trying to find you.”
Chloe fell into his arms and said, “I’m counting on it. I’m not afraid anymore.”
~
Kevin had waited a full day before taking on Grey’s memories. After he had, there came a kinship between the two men. They began to get along like old roommates. It was as if they’d been friends forever. Once someone knew all of your deepest and darkest secrets from the furthest recesses of your mind there was no point in being stand offish.
They began their training, and at first it was catch up for Kevin. Grey provoked and attacked him at every turn, and Kevin was ready for him. He guessed every single move that Grey was going to make. Kevin could not be done in by flying boulders or surprise attacks of any kind. He was a forward moving, brilliantly skilled, fighting machine.
