by Kimbra Swain
“Thank you, Mr. Castille for getting her immature dumb ass out of harm’s way,” Lianne said to him.
“You are welcome, Lady Lianne.” He backed to the window.
“Now I've got some business with Abby. We need to talk in private. You sit right here and don't move, and I will be back in a few moments,” she told Cassidy. She got up and grabbed the file folder. “You need to sign these. I'm tired of carrying them around.”
“The damn paperwork,” I laughed.
She smiled, “Indeed.” It was like she flipped a switch from mad Momma to cordial Aunt.
“I thought they might have gone down with the compound,” I quipped.
“Thankfully no. I am to keep them with me at all times until I hand them over to you. Can we speak somewhere private?” she asked.
“There is an office down the hall, Abby,” Lukas said.
“Thanks Lukas.” Tadeas and I turned to walk that way.
“Just you, Abby,” Lianne said.
“I go, where she goes,” Tadeas stated flatly.
“I figured as much. So much like Lincoln,” she said without putting up a fight. She must have just been testing him. We walked into the office, and the second the door shut Lianne put up a privacy bubble that put mine to shame. It was utterly quiet, yet none of the claustrophobic feel.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Hell, if I know,” I replied, because I honestly had no clue.
“You can talk out loud. I can hear you,” she said.
I cleared my throat, “Just because you can listen, Aunt Li, doesn't mean you should.”
“Sit down.”
I sat in the chair while she opened the document and laid it before me. It was a contract on parchment. It was signed in blood. I read the first few lines and bolted up out of the chair. My heart pounded out of my chest. “No, I won't sign it.”
She bolted out of the chair so suddenly it shocked me. I immediately went to her. Her heart pounded harder than I had ever heard it. She was frightened.
“I won't sign it,” she said with a shaky voice.
Her body shuddered. I looked back at Lianne. Her face was calm as if she had expected this exact reaction. I didn't know what to do. Abby put her arm up on my chest to keep me her arm’s length away. I did not push, but I did not withdraw.
“Yes, you will, child. It's what he wants,” Lianne explained.
“He's had every opportunity to tell me himself,” Abby said.
“It had to be me. I'm the only approving member of The Six,” Lianne continued. Abby shook her head, “Child, he is weary of this world. He has his own island to go to, and you are the only one he trusts.”
“He trusts you too, apparently,” Abby said.
“Not as so. I'm ready myself. Cassidy was created in my image for the sole purpose of taking my place. She has been reluctant. I need her to understand, so I want her to stay here with your team,” Lianne dropped the bomb.
“No. Hell, no.” Abby cringed.
“It's not a request,” Lianne said. I could feel her anger rising. The room started to get warmer.
“You can't do that,” Abby said.
The room suddenly darkened as the shadows grew to engulf us. As I looked back to Lianne, I noticed her eyes were huge and feline, and her hair had turned black. Her presence in the room was overwhelming. Gasping for air, I positioned myself between her and Abby facing Lianne. Abby froze in place and stared at her. I looked over to the door. I could see it shaking, but couldn't hear it.
“It. Was. Not. A. Request.” she emphasized each word, and my ears burned.
Abby choked out, “Okay.”
The air rushed back into the room, and I took a deep breath. I still stayed between them. Abby leaned forward and put her head between my shoulders. I could feel her trying to calm herself. She had my shirt clasped in her fists in the back. I felt them slowly loosen.
“Abby.”
“It's okay. I'm okay.”
“What's on that paper?”
Lianne answered since she could hear us, “Her grandfather is retiring, and turning the Agency over to her. The transfer will take place over the span of five years. It will take time for Abby to learn to control the powers he will give her. Her acclimation has to take place over several years so she doesn’t get overwhelmed. Her induction really should be over 10 years, but Abby has always been special.”
“No. I'm still not signing it,” Abby was defiant still on this point even after Lianne’s show concerning Cassidy.
“Yes, you will. I'm leaving them here with you. Thank you for taking Cassidy,” she said smartly.
“Not like I had a choice,” Abby murmured back.
“All the same, child, thank you.”
“Leave,” Abby said.
“As you wish, but remember of the Six, I'm your only ally,” Lianne quipped. With allies like that, who needs enemies? With a cool breeze that blew the curtains, she vanished. When she left, the magic privacy bubble popped. Lukas came barreling through the door. His knuckles were red with blood where he physically pounded the door trying to get in. He looked terrified, but ready to fight. Perhaps he wasn't so bad after all. Abby moved from behind me and walked over to him.
“Consano.” She healed his wounds.
“What the hell was that? The whole house shook,” he asked.
Abby put her hand out, and the door slammed shut. “Bulla.” The privacy bubble snapped back up, but clearly didn’t have the same impact as Lianne’s bubble.
“Look,” She said to him and pointed at the document.
He read it, but didn't say anything. After a few moments, he looked up to Abby. “Does this mean what I think it does?”
“Depends on what you think,” she said.
“Divine inheritance. You would become him?” he asked.
“Whoa, wait. No way,” I said.
“Essentially, yes,” she replied.
“No, no and no.” She finally smiled.
“I would still be female, Jag,” she said knowing why I protested. I mean, we weren’t together, but we kissed. I wanted to try it again in a less life or death situation. We hadn’t had a chance to talk about it. At this rate, I didn’t know if we ever would get the chance.
“Thank God,” I said.
She actually laughed. I knew Lukas was aware of the communication spell and I felt bad for doing it in front of him.
“You would take on all his aspects?” Lukas asked.
“Yes, but all his responsibilities too. I'm not doing it, and he's just going to have to find someone else or stick it out a little longer,” she resolved.
“Wait, you would become a god?” I asked.
She gritted her teeth. “It doesn't matter, because I'm not signing it. But, I have to secure this document. His blood is on it. If he is compromised before he passes his power to someone, it will be lost forever. Chaos will reign.”
I knew she was thinking about her vault. It was no longer accessible. “Where?”
“I will just have to keep them with me until I figure it out. I have a day, maybe I can set up a temporary vault here,” she thought.
“If you need any supplies, I can get them,” Lukas offered.
“I'll let you know. I may have Tadeas shift us to the spirit world to see if we can find a place in the house that might be adequate to what we need. Enough of a hidden space for me to build a time capsule,” she explained.
The doorbell rang.
“Oh, more visitors?” I said.
“No, I ordered pizza,” she said.
Lukas and I both bolted to the door. I could hear her laughing down the hall at us. I was starving. Apparently, Lukas was too. We took the pizzas to the kitchen, and she called everyone up from downstairs. Cassidy sat on the couch looking at all of us. Abby went over and sat next to her on the couch. Cassidy refused to look at her like a petulant child. I made me wonder if Abigail was like this at the same age. From what she’d told me, I imagined it was very similar.
“You are under my care now, Cassidy. You do as I say. If you cross me or double cross me, I will burn you to the ground, and I don’t care who your mother is. Are we clear?” she said bluntly.
“Yes,” Cassidy said.
“Swear it on your power,” Abby insisted.
“I swear to abide by your rules and not double cross you on my power,” she swore.
“Okay, go eat,” Abby relented. Cassidy jumped up and went to the kitchen. Everyone was a little wary of her, but Abby followed her into the room. “Cassidy will be working with us for the time being. She is new, and not to be trusted with essential information, however, if she proves herself to us, at some point she will be allowed full access. She is currently a temporary part of the team.” Ashley smiled. I remained skeptical as did Abby.
I handed Abby a plate with some pizza on it. She didn’t look like she was going to eat it. “Don’t even start. Eat.”
“It’s just that I didn’t need this too. I feel like I’m barely holding it together now.”
“It’s pizza with lots of cheese and bacon, and it’s getting cold. Eat.” I wasn’t ignoring her, but we weren’t going to start this where she got so lost in everything going on that she didn’t take care of herself. She went over to the dining room and sat at the table alone. The team had swamped the table in the kitchen. Lukas was deep in conversation with Cassidy about her food likes and dislikes. I grabbed a plate and sat with Abby. She was actually eating.
“It’s good,” she said.
“You can’t resist bacon. You really should listen to me more,” I said.
“You are right. I should,” she conceded way too easily. I didn’t realize until that moment, she had the folder sitting there under her plate. She was serious about keeping it with her.
“After we eat, we will find a place for that,” I offered.
“Yes, we should. I can’t carry it around,” she said.
“Then what?” I asked with a mouthful of pizza.
“Lukas is going to get us some weapons. We need to make him a list. Will you do that for me?”
“Sure, that won’t be a problem.”
“Talk to Tony and Tommy and see what they need. They probably have some things already, but Lukas can get whatever we need quickly,” she explained. “Ashley will get us a charter to Atlanta for tomorrow. The day after that we will attend Andrew Gilbert’s funeral. I need to go through the information that Tavaris sent Ashley. Try to figure out who we are dealing with in Atlanta. Then the man I want to put in place as proxy works for the East Coast regent in New York City. We will go there after Atlanta. I will have Ashley start moving some of our companies and shell accounts over to his name. People will know the company names. We will go in and introduce them all to the millionaire business man they didn’t know existed. It might take a little time, but I have some high hopes for him. We will be spending some time in Atlanta. I have a nice estate there, and I think you will like it.”
“As long as we are together, I don’t care where we stay,” I said to reassure her that she wasn’t alone.
“Yes, hopefully, I won’t need to do any direct reputation building with him there. He should be able to handle it on his own,” she replied.
“If you have to get directly involved, what do you have to do?” I asked.
“It usually means I have to be seen with him at functions and around town. Draw attention to him,” she explained.
“You have to date him,” I said. This was getting more worse by the minute.
“Sort of, but it’s all really a show. There will be a public break up, then all the eligible women in the city will descend upon him, and his reputation grows. He becomes more and more visible in the community.” She looked at me.
“How many proxies have you dated?” I asked.
“None. I’ve played the game.” she responded.
“So, what? Don’t hate the player, hate the game?” I asked trying not to sound too tense.
She quirked her head sideways. Clearly, she had never heard the saying. It was cute and amusing. “That’s actually pretty accurate,” she said. I couldn’t be mad because she’d been doing this for years before I ever came along. I reminded myself that for now we were partners.
“I’m going for more. You want some?” I asked.
“No, I’m good,” she said as I headed into the kitchen. Lukas passed me going that way. It’s like he knew that I was leaving her for a millisecond. I walked back in and sat down in the middle of their conversation.
“I apologize Lukas, but it needed to be done. She might have had information that we needed to get to the bottom of this earthquake thing. If you had seen the hole that Meredith Spence opened up in the earth, you would be skeptical of anyone with attachments to the GEA,” she responded.
“I don’t care about the girl. I’m worried about you, because I’ve never seen you so cutthroat,” he explained.
“No, you just don’t remember it,” she returned.
He shook his head. “I’m going into town for some business. Tell Ashley to email me the list of what you need, and I’ll bring it back this evening when I return.”
“Thank you, Lukas. I know your job keeps you busy, but you have taken time out to help us despite it,” she said to him extremely kindly.
“You are welcome, Abby. You know I’d do anything for you” he said, kissed her on the cheek and walked out. I just sat quietly and chewed pizza.
“Nothing to say?” she asked.
“Nope,” I responded. “I know there are things I shouldn’t have an opinion on.” She pushed her plate away and laid her head on the table. She tried to clear her mind. I didn’t speak into it. I wanted to say something, but I figured it was best left alone.
The team filtered back down to the basement. I caught Tommy, and he said he would make a list of weapons we would need for the house, as well as for the trip to Atlanta and New York. Abby still sat at the table with her head down. It got very quiet, and I listened her heartbeat. It reminded me of how connected we were. Even back when she was pretending in my canvas crew class, I felt the strange need to help her and understand her. I went and sat down beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. I moved her hair from in front of her face. I expected tears, but I just saw serenity. She had successfully cleared away the anxiety and fear. “What can I do for you now?” I asked.
She blinked as she came out of whatever she was focusing on. “Nothing. I just needed to rest for a moment. We need to tell them what happened in Boulder.”
“You ready for that now?” I asked.
“No, you tell them,” she smiled at me.
“Okay. I’ll tell them.” We went to the basement, and she sat listening to me tell the story to the team of how we found Meredith in the basement with Blake, one of the other instructors in the training facility. I told them about the fight with her and the revelation that she was Lincoln’s long-lost daughter. Making sure to make Jay sound like a hero, I reinforced that he saved us. They all dialed into the story when I talked about racing up the steps, and those last moments as the ceiling came down on us on the tenth floor. I had built up the story to that point. “I was barely hanging on to her and the light fixture. She tried to hang on it too, but we slipped and slid down the tilting floor. My leg hit something concrete, and I dislocated my hip. It hurt like hell. She tried to reach down and heal it, but things would start crumbling around us as we moved. Eventually, we caught a little daylight through the top of the ceiling where it had broken in half. We shifted to the spirit world and crawled out to the top of what was left of the building. Then Abby made us fly, and we got out of the hole. It started to collapse when we got to the top. She had used just about everything getting us out of the hole. I had a concussion from the door blast, a stab wound freely bleeding and a dislocated hip. But we pushed to solid ground, and Gregory showed up in time to take us to the airport. Now we are here.” I said finishing the story.
“I get the feeling that was t
he condensed version,” Ashley teased. I blushed and didn’t respond.
“You did skip a part,” she said.
“Yes, but that memory is mine, and I’m not sharing it.” I turned back to look at her, and she smiled.
“I do recall something about being able to tell the story was a reason to survive,” she said.
“I changed my mind.”
“He is hiding something,” Vince said.
“You mean to tell me at no point in that whole daring escape with imminent death looming about you, the two of you didn’t have a moment? Not even one?” Ashley implied more than she asked.
“I told you the story, Ashley. That’s the story,” I said. I didn’t want to lie, but I decided that we had enough complications without Ashley or any of them losing their shit over us kissing. It was my memory, and even if it never happened again, that one moment was mine.
I sat, listening to him tell the story and crying when he rehashed Jay's death. He made it sound like an epic death about how he came down there and slammed Meredith into the wall. He told them how he died trying to get us out. He left out the parts where he had to push me along because I was giving up. He left out the part where in a last dying moment, all I wanted to do was kiss him. I was glad he did. Ashley would have taken the ball, and the next thing you’d know, I’d be getting wedding dress emails. I laughed at the notion. He turned around and looked at me as they continued to ask for details. I dismissed the kiss as a desperate moment. He was gorgeous, and if in my dying moment, I wanted to kiss a handsome man, then I should. So, I did. The other part wanted to do it because he said he wanted to kiss me. He said would regret it if he went out of this world and didn’t get to do it. I gave a good man his dying wish, but then we didn’t die. I never thought that not dying would be the complicated part.
