Relics

by Wilson, Maer

  Jones explained again, as he had with Jane, about their ability to keep a drug addict supplied and happy merely so they had a convenient emotional energy supply.

  She shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't see what any of it had to do with the family.

  “It's called courtesy, Lynda-Jean. It's called keeping one's family informed of what we're up to. And we want everyone to stay alert because there are more things going on than the news is reporting. You have noticed that Earth has been contacted by other beings, right?” I wasn't in a mood for her at that moment.

  She rolled her eyes, “Yes, I noticed. It's not like you guys are in the habit of sharing your work, so I don't know why you're bothering now.” Her voice was filled with a venom, that was unusual, even for her.

  Thulu gave her a steady look. “Because now the entire world knows magic exists, and I want my family to know what we are dealing with.”

  She gave him a sour look. “Whatever.”

  Some of the others frowned at her and shook their heads.

  The rest thanked us for bringing the information to the family and offered any help they could, if we needed it. Evan said he had a couple of things to go over about our finances, and he covered that pretty quickly. Mostly he wanted us to know he and Mara were prepared at a moment's notice to move us out of our investments, if they looked like they were going to go bad, and he wanted to get our permission. It was a formality, really. Since we'd expect them to act immediately if things looked bad.

  After Evan and Mara were done and had answered several questions, I voiced my concerns about the calmness Earth was maintaining throughout the new situation.

  “I'm not psychic, like Reo, but I definitely have a sense that there's more to this than empaths and shock. I'm concerned about what will happen when everyone comes out of this.”

  Nana nodded. “Yes, Mr. Jones, Reo and I were discussing that earlier. I've been feeling an undercurrent since the portals opened, but I'm not sure what it is.”

  Reo added, “I've also picked up a thin thread, but it's erratic. I wrote it off to just excitement about the portals opening and the empaths.”

  Jones was thoughtful. “I have been slightly preoccupied with other aspects of the situation and had not noticed this. Once I turned my attention to what Nana Fae and Reo described, I have to agree with them. There is definitely an undercurrent, but what it is and who is directing it, I cannot tell. I have tried to trace it, but the origin is deliberately obscured. I have asked others to look into this. When I know more I will let you know.”

  I blew out a heavy sigh of relief. “Well, it's nice to know I'm not crazy.”

  “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.” I'd known someone would say that as soon as my own words had left my mouth.

  “Thank you, Reo.”

  Jones pulled his phone from his pocket and moved away. After a short conversation, he came back to say he needed to leave right away. “Mason is waking up,” he explained as he turned to Reo. “Would you be willing to go back?”

  Reo nodded. He, Jones and Stuart made their goodbyes to everyone and left.

  We broke up and moved back outside. Most of the family gathered up belongings and kids, called their thanks and gave hugs all around before leaving.

  Soon, it was pretty much down to the immediate family, with Lynda-Jean and a few cousins scattered here and there. We were down to only four kids: Marty, Josh, Kalie and Carter. The three older kids had gone back inside to show off some video game to Romeo.

  Thulu and I moved down the path to the tables to see if there was any more cleanup to do, but the older kids had finished up while we were still inside.

  We heard a high-pitched, “Oh, my god, who the hell is that?”

  We all turned to see Carter standing on the walkway with his hands on his hips. A lot of us laughed, and his mother frowned at him, telling him that was not nice language.

  I smiled at him and moved forward to see which of our guests had caught his eye. No one was where he was looking, except Jenna. I looked back at Carter, and I think my mouth dropped open.

  Several others, including Lynda-Jean, also turned to see who he was talking about. Of course, they saw no one. Thulu had moved next to me to see Carter looking straight at Jenna. The last rays of the sun passed right through her and bathed the walk in reddish gold light.

  Carter looked at the adults around him and asked again, “Who is she? The little girl.”

  “What's he talking about? What little girl? I don't see anyone.” Lynda-Jean's voice held a note of annoyance.

  Jenna stood on the flagstone path, and Carter went right up to her and said, “Hi, who are you?”

  Jenna looked at me, her mouth a round “O” as Parker showed up. Carter shifted his attention up to Parker. “Oh, hi. Who are you? Oh, you have a doggie!”

  Parker said, “Hi, I'm Parker and this is Jenna and our dog, Sophie.” Carter was trying to grab Sophie, which of course he couldn't.

  “Hi, Sophie.” Carter turned around to us, all smiles. He could both see and hear them. When no one else said anything, he frowned at us briefly, turned unperturbed to Jenna and said, “Do you want to play with me?”

  Lynda-Jean gave a theatrical sigh. “Oh, god, not another imaginary playmate! Carter, there's no one there. You really have to stop this.”

  “Yes, there is, Mommy. You always say that, and there is too someone there.” He had turned on her with a stubborn look on his face. Lynda-Jean's mouth twisted in irritation.

  He looked at the circle of people around him. I don't know how he picked me and Thulu, but he came over to us and reached up his arms. Thulu picked him up as he pointed back at Jenna and Parker. “They are there, aren't they Uncle Thulu?”

  Thulu looked at the boy. “Yes, Carter, they are there.”

  “Don't encourage him, Thulu,” Lynda-Jean said loudly.

  Jenna was frowning now, and I motioned to Parker to see to her. He picked her up and balanced her on one slim hip.

  “Should we leave?” he asked. I thought a moment and nodded. They waved to Carter, but he had his head buried in Thulu's neck. They popped out, with Sophie following. I could call them back when I saw how this played out.

  Lynda-Jean came over and glared at me suspiciously. She was quite angry by that point and got right in my face, which was not her brightest move. “Just who the hell is he talking about?”

  Thulu answered her in a calm voice. “He's talking about two children ghosts, Lynda-Jean. Nothing to get excited about, though. Children can often see ghosts when they're young and outgrow it when they get older.”

  Ally had moved over and put her arm around her friend. “Wow, LJ, very cool. Nice to have someone else in the family be “supe”-gifted finally.”

  Lynda-Jean shook her off and glared at her. “Gifted? That's not a gift. My son is not a freak! Carter, come here, we're leaving,” she demanded. Carter looked at her startled, unsure what he had done wrong. Thulu still held him.

  “I want to play with my new friends.” He looked around, trying to find them.

  “You aren't playing with anyone. We're going home right now.”

  Everyone had gotten very quiet and was watching Lynda-Jean, who was bordering on furious as she spun in a circle. She spotted her purse and went and snatched it from a table. Her face had become very red and blotchy. I thought I saw fear in her eyes, too. The look she turned on me, though, was pure hatred.

  “I should have known you freaks were dangerous. Now look what you did to my child. You contaminated him.” She moved to take Carter from Thulu's arms, but he backed away, handing the child to Erik.

  Brent and Ally moved to stand in her path, while Thulu backed them up.

  “LJ, I'm not sure why you're so upset, but I don't think you should be driving. We'll drive you home,” Ally said soothingly.

  “You freaks aren't driving me anywhere!” she yelled.

  Ally paused in shock, dismay and hurt. “Then let us call a taxi for you. LJ, I mea
n it. I won't let you drive with your son in the car in the shape you're in.”

  They stood nose to nose as Lynda-Jean moved closer.

  “What do you think you're going to do? Call the cops on me?” Lynda-Jean sneered at her best friend. None of us had ever seen her behave like this, although we knew she got belligerent when she drank.

  Ally's voice was soft, but I heard the steel in it. “If that's what it takes to protect your son, then yes.” She lowered her voice even more. “LJ, what's wrong with you?”

  “You're what's wrong. All of you with your stupid family. Most of all, those two freaks and that old bat and that other freak friend of theirs. He was right. There's something wrong with them.” She had pointed at me, Thulu and Nana Fae and seemed to be working up a good head of steam. I had no idea who “he” was. She turned to me. “It's all her fault. She's always been the super creepy one with her dead people and stuff. I couldn’t believe you people let her into your family. Her and her creepy grandmother.”

  The yard was very quiet. Carter was crying softly, and I saw fear in his eyes. Erik turned and moved away, distracting Carter.

  There was a sharp crack as a portal began to form. Swirling pastel colors moved as it quickly grew to over twelve feet. Everyone moved away from the area as three tall figures stepped through. They unfurled their wings and refolded them, but they still took up a large part of that side of the yard. I heard gasps from the others. The reality of a portal and Light Ones was more amazing and frightening than I would have thought.

  They all topped eight feet in height, with faces of chiseled beauty. They looked like ancient statues come to life, except for their eyes. Their eyes were too big for their faces and were a faceted color, with no whites showing. Their skin was smooth and creamy white. One had flowing, white hair and was a bit bigger than the others. Another had hair and wings of soft brown, and the third had a pale gray coloring. The three of them stared at our group impassively.

  The white-haired Light One waved his hand and all hell broke loose. A tremendous wind gusted through the yard, knocking me several feet across the grass, where I ended up against one of the tables. I couldn't move at all.

  I realized I was frozen by an immobility spell and guessed it was on all of us. Thulu had landed near me. The white-haired angel strode the few steps over to him, grabbed him with one hand and casually threw him through the portal. The brown Light One quickly followed through the opening. Before the gray one could make it through, he collapsed into glittering dust in front of the portal.

  The white-haired Light One turned and glared at Aela, who had popped in front of me and hovered in the air in front of my face, an arrow aimed straight at him. There was nothing unsteady about her now. Apparently the immobility spell didn't work on her.

  He looked past her at me. I tried to move and couldn't. I felt my muscles relax somewhat and got to my knees. Aela moved to the side of my face, her tiny arrow never wavering, teeth bared, menacingly. My brain was busy, trying to grasp the fact that Light Ones had invaded our barbeque, my husband had just been thrown through a portal, and my family was immobilized somewhere behind me.

  Gabriel, I was sure it was Gabriel, moved to stand over me. Once again I was frozen in place, kneeling on the grass. He looked even more gigantic from that angle. I floated up a few feet, my immobile body several feet off the ground. Having no control over your body is a scary thing. He moved back to the portal, towing me behind him like some demented balloon. I hovered in the air a few feet away from the portal. I felt my face and throat relax and could move my face and head a tiny bit.

  “Having one of those things here was a mistake.” He pointed at Aela, who had kept pace with me. His voice seemed to come from far away. The rest of the world was silent. I felt that I existed in some sort of bubble, alone with this creature and my tiny protector.

  “Yeah, yours. Bring my husband back and the fairy will let you live.” At least my voice worked, even if I sounded a bit ridiculous. “Aela, we need him alive to get Thulu back.” The tiny fairy nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off her target.

  Gabriel stared at me, threw his head back and laughed. The portal snapped out of existence.

  “You will get your husband back, when you turn over all of the relics to me.”

  “I can't do that! I don't know how to find them.” A note of panic had set in.

  “Of course, you do. You are a finder, so go find them.”

  I became a bit hysterical, which explains what I said next. “You insane idiot! I'm not the finder. Thulu, the man you just kidnapped, is the finder.” I met his eyes, black on black, definitely non-human. He studied me as a change came over his face. It wasn't a pleasant one either. He moved quickly and snatched up Lynda-Jean, holding her by her throat several feet off the ground.

  “You told me she was a finder.” He shook her.

  Lynda-Jean squeaked a denial. “Both,” she choked out.

  “No, lying human. You said her. You were quite clear. Why?” He relaxed his grip slightly, lowering her to stand on the grass, so she could answer. She took a big, shaky breath, but seemed as immobile as I was. It was a good thing I was too, as I realized that she'd betrayed us to Gabriel.

  “Thought you'd take her.” His fingers tightened around her throat again. “Please, stop, please, you're hurting me.”

  “Am I?” He was unconcerned as he lifted her into the air once more. “You dare to try to manipulate me? To lie to me?”

  “Please, stop! It hurts – Please let me go,” she was choking. I looked on in horror as Gabriel turned to me.

  “Should I let this liar go? This worthless one?” he asked, eyes staring into mine.

  In that moment, I wanted to say no. I wanted her to hurt. Hell, I wanted her dead. She'd betrayed us to this creature, and I had no idea why. All I knew was that my husband had been taken because of her. I couldn’t do it though.

  “Yes, let her go. Just – stop hurting her.” I kept my voice even, hiding my disgust and contempt.

  Gabriel continued to look at me, and I dared myself not to look away. Never taking his eyes off me, he casually reached up with his other hand. With a sickening snap, he twisted Lynda-Jean's head. He dropped her body to the ground. I stared open-mouthed at her lifeless face, her head turned at an impossible angle.

  “Pain stopped. I let her go. See? We can work together.” He seemed pleased with himself.

  I felt a wave of dizziness and probably would have dropped if I hadn’t still been kept immobile. Aela still hovered beside me, arrow pointed at Gabriel. I hoped she wouldn’t shoot. Until I got my Thulu back, we needed Gabriel.

  I dragged my gaze back to his face. He looked down at the ground, thinking, then back at me. “Very well, I will bring the man back. By now they are several worlds away. It will take a small amount of time.” He smiled, large sharp teeth glinting in the remaining light. It made him even more frightening, if that were possible. “You will find the relics and give them to me.”

  “Even if we find the rest, Jones will never let you have them. You must know that.” How could he think Jones would sit idly by while we turned them all over to Gabriel, his worst enemy?

  His face became hard, and there was nothing beautiful about it, but his voice was soft, as if he were chiding a child.

  “You should not be working with that evil creature. You may make reparation to me by giving the relics to me.” He paused and nodded to himself. He gave a significant look at Lynda-Jean's body, before pointedly letting his gaze wander behind me. I caught the threat to my family. “You are a clever human, right?” He reached out, and I rose higher into the air, still in my kneeling position. I floated to him until our faces were inches apart. His face so much larger than mine. His voice was silky smooth, but I felt it echo around me, almost through me. “You will get the relics. You will get all of them and give them to me. You will now agree to this.” His gaze swept behind me again. “Agree – now.”

  There was no way I'd be able to keep
any agreement. He had to know that, didn't he? I didn't care. I nodded my head, knowing I was lying.

  “I agree.”

  “Now see how easy that was?” His voice was soft as he again looked behind me and took a long, deep breath. His obvious pleasure was almost obscene. As I watched him, something clicked in my mind, and I knew Gabriel's secret. His eyes turned back to me, and he gave me a lazy smile before he blinked out. I fell heavily to the ground, one knee catching the edge of the sidewalk. My kneecap shattered and exploded in pain.

  Chapter 32

  Pain and fear warred with each other. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I brushed them away, irritated with myself. I didn't have time to be a baby. I looked at my knee and saw blood and bone and felt a wave of dizziness. I didn't bother putting my weight on it. I could tell it was going to be a bad recovery and didn't have time to worry about that. I looked around and saw Nana Bette and Nana Tara on the back porch. They were shell-shocked, but not looking at me.

  I twisted around to see where they were looking. At first my brain simply couldn't absorb what I was seeing. The scene came into focus as everything finally, slowly registered. Erik was on the ground nearby, braced against a tree. He was protectively hunched over a crying Carter and both seemed uninjured.

  Ally and Brent had been blown into a table. They were slowly and shakily helping each other to their feet. They came toward me and helped me up, each supporting me on a side as I stared at the back fence. Ally gasped when she saw my knee, but one look at my face and she followed my gaze to the block wall fence.

  The bright colors of the summer clothing my family wore were splashed with blood. Limbs tangled together, many of them had been mashed together by Gabriel's gigantic gust of wind into a scene straight out of Escher. Sound leached back into the world, with cries and screams of pain. Nana Fae and Mama Deb stood to one side as Drew made his way toward them.

  It was at that moment I wailed in loss and denial. I recognized Nana Fae's bright green blouse on a form lying lifeless to one side of the tangled group. I looked in shock at the crumpled body and back at her not quite solid form. Mama Deb and Drew were by her side as they drifted over to me. Frantically, I told the three of them to get back to their bodies.