by Melissa Haag
“Okay. You could still just come over to hang out,” Beatriz offered again, a persistent glint in her eye.
I gave my standard lame answer.
“It sounds fun, but my great-grandma and great-aunt live with us, and I have to go home right away to help out.”
Already grumpy because of the pressure from Mom and the forced walk to school, the reminder of all the things I couldn’t do until I made my choice put me over the edge enough to allow an epiphany.
Morik, the dealmaker, was the key. I could make a deal with him to remove the effect of the chant, win my freedom, and prove what he said was true. Or, at least, the part where he could make deals. I wanted to believe everything he shared just so I had an explanation for my life. Except, he’d been wrong regarding how many of us were alive. So, I hesitated to believe the whole thing, even with the possibility that Gran and Aunt Danielle being twins confused him.
Yet, if I did make a deal, I needed to be careful. I didn’t want to do something that would hurt anyone else like Belinda had. Maybe only temporarily remove the chant so the price wasn’t so high. But how would I pay? I needed to find out what Morik valued, other than a companion. He said that he could only make deals of equal value.
My plan sounded good. However, the more I thought about it, the more I worried. I was considering making a deal with a creature that had walked Clavin in front of a moving car to break his leg. Then, that same creature had threatened Clavin’s other leg. Did I really want to mess with that? I liked my legs just the way they were.
“What about after that?”
I looked up at Beatriz, confused again.
“After you help out at home,” she said. “We’re usually up until ten or eleven.”
For a moment, I’d thought she’d wanted to know what I’d do after my legs were broken. I really needed to pay more attention.
“Not tonight, but I’ll talk to my mom and see if I can maybe work something out.”
I just wanted a small taste of what it would be like to be a typical teen before I went and got myself knocked up. The irony of my thought wasn’t lost on me as I walked past a senior well into her third trimester.
When Morik joined me for lunch, thanks again to Beatriz, I initiated the conversation I’d been plotting over the last few hours.
“You said you weren’t upset with Belinda when she didn’t choose you. What about her descendants? Did you ever get upset with them? Or maybe do something to their husbands to help along their passing?” I needed to know what type of person...er, creature, he was.
He gave me a dark, disapproving look as if I just said something rude.
“No. The rules are clear. They have a free choice.”
“Why did you hurt Clavin, then?”
He gave an exasperated sigh.
“I regret that completely.” When I said nothing, he explained further. “I saw your face, felt your pain, and was angry. Until you choose someone else, I consider you mine to protect.”
Wasn’t expecting that. If he considered me his, how would he not get mad when he lost me to someone else? I didn’t want to push that point further, though, so I redirected my thoughts.
While he’d admitted his regret, he hadn’t explained why. Was his regret because he knew I didn’t like what he’d done or because of his own feelings on the matter?
“Do you like hurting people?”
“I protect what is mine. What I like comes second to your safety.”
So he didn’t like to hurt people but did what he had to do. And his attitude made some sense. He only had access to Belinda’s line. If any of us died and failed to have a baby, it limited his chances. Now that he was down to just me, well, I guessed I would be pretty important to him.
“Okay. I’m important to you as a potential companion. I get that. What else is important to you?” This was the part of the conversation I really cared about.
“Nothing.”
I fought not to wrinkle my nose at his answer.
“There has to be something you think about. What about the things you would do once you have a companion?”
“We’re out of time. Tomorrow.” He left as quickly as he’d appeared.
I looked around the cafeteria. There were still students lingering over half-eaten lunches. We’d had plenty of time. I scowled at my food. He’d run, the chicken. Whatever was important to him, he didn’t want to admit. That made it harder to make a deal with him, but not impossible. I’d just have to lay the cards on the table and see what price he demanded. If the price was too steep, I’d walk away.
Decided, I finished my lunch and chatted with Beatriz, who didn’t seem to notice the gap in time.
Morik stayed away for two days. I hadn’t realized how interesting he’d made my life until he stopped appearing.
During his absence, my highlight in excitement occurred when a boy stopped me in the hallway to ask if I really preferred girls. Beatriz, right by my side, had laughed so hard she’d cried.
By lunch on Thursday, I couldn’t decide which emotion ran stronger. Annoyance or boredom. When he finally took over Beatriz after she finished eating, I’d just about given up hope that I’d see him.
“It’s about time! You’re a liar, you know that?”
Beatriz’s eyes rounded in surprise, and I wished I knew how he’d look if he were in front of me and not in her.
“You said tomorrow. That was two days ago.” He opened her mouth to speak, but I didn’t give him a chance. “I’d been trying to have a serious conversation with you. You can’t just take off in the middle of it.”
Taking a slow calming breath, I closed my eyes and rolled my shoulders. Definitely annoyed. Bored went out the window as soon as he showed. Crabbing at him wasn’t a good opening for a deal, though.
I opened my eyes and started again.
“I’m sorry for jumping down your throat.”
“You’re right. I apologize for leaving as I did.”
“It’s okay. We all have things we don’t want to talk about. If I hit a nerve, just say so. I’ll back off. Since we have limited time to talk, I’d prefer if you didn’t just leave.” His apologetic expression faded to a carefully blank mask, so I quickly changed subjects.
“But I do have something I want to talk about.” He nodded, encouraging me to continue. “I was asking what was important to you because I was hoping we could make a deal.”
He frowned.
“Nothing big like my ancestors,” I said. “They made enough of a mess. I just...” I looked down at my hands, busily turning my unused spoon in the silverware trench of the tray.
Forcing myself to stop, I again met his gaze.
“I want ten days where I can pretend I’m normal. I want to go to a friend’s house and not worry about when it’s getting dark. I want to see the stars again. I just wanted to know if there was something I could help you with, something you would value as much as I would ten days of freedom.”
He bowed Beatriz’s head for a moment, deep in thought. When he looked at me, his intense gaze drew me forward. Whatever he had in mind meant a lot to him.
“Ten days. I can release you from the chant, but not from our bargain or the touch.”
I nodded. I could live with that. The idea of no curfew really appealed to me.
“Your price?”
“I want you to look upon me as I really am and touch me without fear.”
Through our interactions, I’d gained bits of knowledge about him, and the memory of the shadowy green-eyed creature frightened me less after our time together. However, I still struggled to think of him as a person.
“Just one touch?” I needed to be sure I understood the scope of the bargain since that was the basic thing that Belinda had failed to do.
“Yes, but for each day, you must spend an hour with me as I am.”
“Okay, but how are we going to do that without people freaking out?”
He grinned slightly.
“I will blend.”
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I thought about it, trying to see it from every angle.
“Help me out here. Are you tricking me in some way? Is there something that I should be asking or thinking of? If your price is really to touch you once and spend an hour a day with you for ten days while I’m allowed to stay up as late as I want, with no backlash, I’d agree. But is someone going to die because of this? Am I going to fall into a coma for ten days after or something weird like that? Or will this affect my children someday if I don’t choose you?”
He watched me carefully as I spoke. I thought the last comment would bother him, but he took it without reaction.
“No. The terms are as simple as they sound.”
Taking a deep breath, I agreed to the deal and waited expectantly for a swirling of pixie dust around my head or something, but nothing happened. Instead, Morik flashed a triumphant smile.
“I will see you tonight. After the chant, you will feel sleepy, but will stay awake until you see me. Do not fear me. Tonight will be the first night of ten.” He faded as the last group of students rose from their table.
“Come on, Beatriz,” I said when she blinked at the suddenly empty cafeteria. I didn’t let her dwell on it. “Do you have plans for Saturday? I was thinking of trying to talk my mom into a little free time.”
She perked up, and we started to make some potential plans. All I had to do was get through tonight without screaming and running away when Morik showed up. I hoped there were no hidden terms to the deal—like my imminent death.
Chapter Seven
It took effort to hide my tension from Gran while we prepared dinner. Anticipation warred with trepidation. Would I be able to touch Morik without fear? I wasn’t sure I would even manage to look at him without wanting to run and hide.
Gran looked at me questioningly a few times when my thoughts slowed me, but I smiled and diverted her attention with different topics. The most distracting one being that of our elderly neighbor, who had invited her to a card party. I grinned and asked if she would go. The happiness on her face dimmed just a little when she said the party didn’t start until dark. After that, we both quietly withdrew to our own thoughts.
I wanted happiness for all of my family, but until I chose, they had no freedom. Once they put me to bed, the house and everyone in it remained under lockdown until sunup.
Those limitations just made my deal with Morik that much more important. If I could pull off meeting him in the flesh, his new deal with me would be the proof I needed to believe his story enough to tell my family everything. Then, I might not be the only one making plans for the weekend.
Sitting through dinner tested my patience. I couldn’t ever remember looking forward to the evening chant. Yet, I was careful not to give anything away.
I forced myself to eat slowly and listened to my mom talk about her boss’s invitation to a seminar that she had turned down. Something in her tone caught my attention briefly, and I wondered if she might actually be interested in her boss.
When I finished my meal, I excused myself from the clean-up process to shower and get ready for bed. As I changed, Morik’s words repeated in my mind, and I started to panic. Was he going to knock on the door after they put me to bed? They didn’t answer the door for anyone. I could miss my chance to complete my end of the deal.
I looked around my room, trying to think of a solution. He said I would feel sleepy but stay awake. Maybe that was so I could sneak to the door and slip out. If I had to sneak out, I’d need more than pajamas, but Mom would be suspicious if I dressed in anything else.
I set clothes out on the chair near my bed. If I didn’t pass out, I’d change then listen for my chance to get to the front door. Warmth was good, but I’d need light to go outside. Using a drink of water as an excuse, I went to the kitchen and took a book light out of the drawer we used to store emergency supplies. No one noticed me sneak it back to my room.
“You’re very quiet tonight,” Mom said when she came to get me.
“A lot on my mind with school,” I said, too nervous to come up with anything better.
She stopped in the hallway and turned toward me, forcing me to stop as well.
“Are you being bullied again?” Concern laced her voice.
All the resentment over the yelling we’d done at each other vanished when I saw the fear in her eyes. I gave her a reassuring hug.
“No, Mom. It’s just regular school stuff.”
She nodded, and I felt guilty for the secrets I was keeping as I followed her to the living room. There were still too many reasons not to tell her everything, though. One more night, I promised myself. If the deal went as simply as Morik said it would, I’d have more trust in the legitimacy of the story he’d told me and be able to share it.
My family’s chanting surrounded me, and I closed my eyes. I bit my lip to keep from smiling as anticipation finally won over trepidation. Whatever happened tonight would be the result of a deal of my own making, not someone else’s. I felt each light touch on my bare arms. Mom’s, strong and sure; Aunt Grace’s light and shy; Aunt Danielle’s quick and cool; Gran’s soft and gentle. Then it was over.
With a steady arm wrapped around my shoulders, Mom led me to my room, pulled back the quilts, and helped me into bed. I didn’t feel any different. The strange compulsion to sleep gripped me as usual. I struggled to keep my eyes open as she turned off the light and closed the door.
Frustrated, I rubbed my eyes. But that meant closing them. And once they closed, they refused to reopen. I hovered on the verge of sleep.
Time slipped away from me until I heard a slight noise from the direction of the chair.
“Tessa,” a deep, rumbling voice quietly drifted to me, “It’s Morik. Open your eyes.”
My heart gave a little flutter at the sudden sound. I took a calming breath, pushed aside any fear I had, and tried to open my eyes as he said. To my surprise, it worked.
I waited for them to adjust to the darkened room. However, the light coming from under the bedroom door just wasn’t enough to see a thing. So I listened. I couldn’t hear any noises inside my room but did hear the TV in the living room. That surprised me. I’d always thought everyone else went to bed after I did.
“Can you turn on the book light on my desk?” I whispered, not wanting to turn on the bedroom light.
A quiet click later, the dim yellow glow from the light blinded me.
I sat up and mentally braced myself. No fear. I could do this. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress and turned toward the light.
I held still and focused on slow, even breathing while I studied Morik.
He wasn’t the creature of mist and shadows that I remembered. At first glance, he was solid and very human-looking. But that was due to the small light that he still held loosely in his hand. It cast shadows over the features that made him not human.
In the dim light, the color of his skin hinted at Native American but with a subtle greyish undertone. Normal, pitch-black hair fell in soft short waves around his head. However, his hair wasn’t long enough to conceal the last inch of his pointed, very non-human ears.
I swallowed hard and pulled my gaze from them to the two worry lines that marred his smooth, wide brow. The sight of his concern gave me the courage to continue, and I met his gaze.
His eyes captivated me. Swirling prisms of color, his irises contrasted the muddied backdrop of the whites of his eyes. The difference between the two was as scary as it was beautiful.
He held himself still as I continued to study him though his wide, full lips turned down in a slight frown. I noticed his lower lip protruded slightly as if he had an underbite. Before I had time to study his mouth further, I discerned a slight dent in his chin. Not quite a butt chin but still a strong one. My gaze drifted further down.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt?
I did a quick peek lower, and I breathed in relief at the sight of khaki cargo pants. Calmer, I went back to his chest. No ha
ir sprinkled his skin there, everything lean muscle. He was right. He did blend well. Better than my first glimpse of him. I forced my eyes back up to his face, not wanting to be rude.
Seeing the real him without fear? Check.
“So, where exactly am I supposed to touch you?” I kept my voice low so no one would hear.
At the sound of my voice, the worry lines disappeared, and he smiled. When he did, I saw the reason behind the prominence of his lower lip. His lower two canines, longer than the rest, extended just enough to overlap his top teeth. The slight curve of them pushed against his lip, giving the illusion of an underbite. Definitely not human teeth.
He stepped forward and extended a hand to help me stand.
Fine, dark hair dusted the back of his hand. Normal enough. Sharp, black nails neatly tipped each digit. Not normal. I stared at them for a moment and struggled to push back at my rising fear. He patiently waited with his hand outstretched.
Please don’t shred me with those nails, I thought as I hesitantly lifted my hand.
His warm fingers closed around my own, and he gently tugged me to my feet. Since he was taller than me by a foot, I found myself staring at his chest. He didn’t release my hand. Instead, he pulled it up toward his chest while gently turning it so my palm would make first contact. Before I even touched him, I felt the heat radiating from his skin.
Once he placed my hand over his heart, he let go again and stood still for my inspection. The texture of his skin distracted me from my embarrassment.
I moved my fingers slightly to test what I felt. Soft, smooth skin covered hard muscle and the steady beat of his heart. Most women would kill for skin like that. The thought made me internally cringe. The women in our family had killed enough without envy of skin texture.
