“Hmmm, yu-yun…chocolate ice cream…shard…”
Charlie sighed and now glanced at Al’bah. She and Stella did not like each other much, but then again every girlfriend that Cain and Charlie had never liked the other much. Perhaps it was because how different he was to Cain. Perhaps it was a lack of insight both of them had, or some sort of insult they presented to women they were unaware of.
“Pretty…”
Now it was Cain who turned his head to look at the two girls. Charlie noticed a soft smile on his face as his eyes lingered on Al’bah. Ah, Cain. Charlie had never seen Cain so attached to a girl before. It was like he was a new person! Maybe he was. As much as Charlie hated to admit it to himself, he almost felt glad that Cain was in this big of a jam. Not only was he running from everything he had known, he was now responsible to someone other than himself. That might be a good thing in the long run, perhaps the best thing that ever happened to him.
“Does she do that all the time?” Charlie asked as Al’bah went off on another soft, incomprehensible dialogue.
“All night long,” Cain said with a slight chuckle.
“She sure smells pretty,” Charlie said awkwardly.
Al’bah’s scent reminded him of Holly. And her scent was always like that of coconut and lime. Not the cheap chemical crap you would get out of a bottle at some stupid bath shop. No, he was reminded of his high-school graduation vacation to Hawaii. The loud crack, the open coconut fresh as the sea breeze which carried the faint yet sharp essence of lime peel.
Cain grunted. “It’s so intoxicating. But I don’t think Stella likes it much.”
“Heh, yeah. I was just thinking about that. You know, Stella and Al’bah might not like each other. But now that I think about it, every girlfriend I had never liked your girlfriend, and vice versa.”
“It might be us.” Cain shrugged.
“Yup, I was thinking that too, but boy, lemme tell ya! Al’bah is one jealous chick.”
It was true! Oh man, Charlie had never seen anyone more jealous than Al’bah. Hell, she was even jealous when he took Cain’s attention away from her. Cain had dealt with jealous girls before, but he never stayed with them long, always saying that jealousy spoke of a deficient mind. Except for Al’bah that description did not fit so cut and dried. It had the feeling of something more, almost like a fierce protectiveness instead of a pigheaded sense of possession.
Charlie also found Al’bah to be a very curious individual. She seemed to have a certain ignorance on common knowledge, like ringtones or email. Strangely enough, neither Cain nor Stella seemed to notice it as much. Charlie supposed there was a shared secret between the three, and he planned on finding out once he and Stella parted ways with them. And yet, her strange sense of ignorance was powerfully overshadowed by her intuition. She had a mystical quality about her, and the way she could speak of his innermost feelings, and desire, reminded him of old Japanese stories his grandmother used to tell him of Mu-onna and Yuki-onna. *
How did she know about Holly? How did she know about me? There is something about her eyes and the way they seem to pierce right to the core of one’s being.
Indeed, the way Al’bah dissected his relationship to Cain was amazing. Though he and Cain had suspected as much before, it never was as blatant or as real as Al’bah placed it. The only thing her analysis lacked was the firsthand knowledge he and Cain shared. And with her being so accurate with the knowledge she had, he knew her deductions would only be more concrete if she knew more.
Was I holding Cain back? Or was he holding me back? I wonder.
It was enough to make one wonder just how blind people can be. Or rather, how blind they could choose to be. The ice seemed to thaw a bit as Cain and Charlie chatted their way west. They made their last stop just before Richmond at a Waffle House for breakfast; it was still dark, but the sun was set to rise any minute now.
“Well,” Charlie said, hanging up on the cell phone call he was just on, returning it to a fellow patron. “That’s it.”
“Right,” Cain said, standing.
“Hmmm?” Al’bah looked at Cain then to Charlie, who did not stand.
Charlie looked at Al’bah. “This is where we part ways. I got a cab that is going to pick me up; I buy my tickets to England first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Why not today?” Stella said, finishing off the last of her milk and pancakes, a rarity that had to be demanded at a Waffle House.
Cain shrugged. “We need time to run.”
“And you and I have an appointment with an old friend of yours. Remember Shane Harper?” Charlie nodded, seeing the look of recognition from Stella’s face. “Yeah, your ‘deal’ includes a full debriefing from him.”
Cain looked over. “Al’bah, it’s time. Let’s go.”
“Bathroom,” Al’bah said, getting up. She stood at the table, looking expectantly at Stella, and after a moment of blank stares, Al’bah grabbed Stella by the hand. “Bathroom,” she said again.
Cain and Charlie watched Al’bah push a protesting Stella into a bathroom built for one. They walked out to the parking lot, and Charlie handed Cain the keys after getting his and Stella’s things out of the trunk. “Here, man, take care of her, okay?”
Cain took the keys gingerly. “Sure, man, least I can do.”
“No, I mean Al’bah. She sure is something special.” Charlie looked around the lot and sighed.
“Cain…”
“No need. We’re brothers, after all. You do well at Oxford. Take care of Stella, okay?”
“Yeah,” Charlie said, holding out his hand.
Cain passed the hand and clutched the man who had been by his side for so long.
“Hey, man, don’t be like that,” Charlie said. “It’s not like I am your keeper, you know.”
“Ani sayonara. Watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu, Charlie-sama,” Cain said with tears in his eyes. *
Charlie nodded. “You can say it in my language, but not your own.” He chuckled. Saidai no ai wa, kazoku kara shira retu iru.” *
Al’bah and Stella joined them. “Cain, your girl doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘boundaries,’” she said with a look of disgust to Al’bah. “Right there? In front of me?”
Al’bah opened the passenger door, shrugged, and got in.
Cain looked back to Charlie; the moment was upon them. It was bitter, and the gloom settled hard upon the cold parking lot. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. It was like holding onto a totem of an unsurpassed worth that was burning away in your hands. It was gone, and holding on made it worse but you couldn’t let it go. It wasn’t right.
Suddenly, everyone was startled by Al’bah honking the horn.
Everyone laughed at that; it was right, and it was perfect timing.
“See you when this is all over,” Cain said and got in.
But still, even as he drove away, seeing their forms silhouetted by the rising sun, Cain felt a small lump in his throat that wouldn’t go away. Perhaps it never would until he saw the face of his brother once more. He was headed west, and his brother was headed east.
He noticed Al’bah looking at him with a sweet smile on her face.
“Cain, it is so strange. I feel like I have known them for so long. It is hard to accept that we will not see them for so long. I am so sad. But, I am so happy.” She sniffed.
“Really? I thought you would be glad to have me all to yourself again.”
“Well, I am. But it is different now that Charlie and Stella have each other. There is so much that we could have been together! I—” Al’bah sighed. “I am going to miss them.” She smiled again, but it was a bittersweet smile that was just as sad as it was happy.
Cain couldn’t help but smile that same smile himself. “Me too.”
Chapter 49
Wanderings in the Desert
“I don’t believe this. I…yes, yes, I will!”
—Stella Fullson
Al’bah stared out the dusty windows of the car to th
e southwestern desert that passed by as an interesting blur. The desert boasted of dry hardpan that stretched for miles, broken only by the odd rock, dead shrub, or cacti.
And yet, it is so beautiful, Al’bah marveled.
The desert was a strange combination of brown, yellow, and muted green smears, giving way to the firmament between heaven and Earth. The sky had its own beauty, a pale blue infinitely deep and yet broken up by the occasional white fluffy smear of cloud, or one of the higher rocks jutting from the ground.
That was the beauty of the days.
The nights too held its unique beauty. It was a shocking darkness magnificently framing the grace of the heavens! Al’bah giggled slightly, remembering how Cain compared the night sky to her hair. Though the nights were cold, they coursed with a unique heartbeat! She was amazed to feel the presences of the life that—
“What did you say, Cain?” Al’bah said, snapping back to reality. How I love to dream. But I love listening to Cain even more.
“I said, are you able to actually fly?”
It had been a hard two days of driving on secondary roads and at times just sitting and hiding while the “manhunt” continued for Cain and Al’bah. It left little time for talking, as they always had to watch for the authorities. Cain decided they were going to continue on foot soon after as they crossed into the southwest and ditched their car.
He had said they were running to the border. But Al’bah knew safety would be a dubious thing no matter where they ran. Already Al’bah had to defend her Bond and herself from an attack from an agent of corruption. It was a terrifying moment; a homeless man at a rundown truck stop, barely able to move due to intoxication, suddenly stood and nearly cut Cain’s throat.
Ever since that moment, the agents of corruption and the authorities knew to look further south. At the very least, leaving the lands of Cain’s fathers might bring them out of the influence of the human who called himself Walter Stratton. At the most, it would be harder for Taint to track them both. There had been other close calls during their journey. But now they were in the middle of the desert, with no cars to be seen for miles. Cain must have decided to take advantage of such a rare opportunity to ask Al’bah more questions about herself.
“Perhaps. I have not taken to the firmament for over four thousand years,” Al’bah said at last.
“Wait a second, what about when you were pissed off and you were able to bring yourself off the floor with me right along with you?”
Al’bah raised her eyebrow. “Do you not remember how out of breath I was afterwards? Cain, that was merely for show, and to expend the energies that were building up and in need of release. Besides, I am not so sure ‘flying’ would ever be a good idea on this physical realm.”
“Do you miss flying?”
“No,” Al’bah said with a light and easy tone.
It was true. Al’bah did not know if this lack of desire or lack of missing flight came from her imprisonment, or if she truly did not miss it at all. Cain did not seem convinced, however, but didn’t press the issue and asked another question before she could speak.
“You say that you were a ‘spiritual’ creature and had gotten a physical form from my blood. But when I first saw you, you looked like a flesh and blood creature. Are you really that different? And which form is better?”
Al’bah sighed and thought for a moment; his question was strange. Which form is better? His question assumed much, and it stood upon a foundation of knowledge that was outright wrong at best and foolish at worst.
“Cain, the answer I give you must include a mention of a subject.” She grinned, feeling the small rise of happiness within her Bond, and continued. “The issue I must mention has long been debated by powerful and wise minds for so long, that I could never do it justice by the simplistic overview that I give you. This topic provokes such high tension because it has far-reaching implications affecting so many other spheres.”
She stretched and ran her hands through her hair and continued. “The issue is: God is perfect, and everything and anything created was created by a perfect being. So it begs the question that if the ‘first’ sentient creatures were spiritual, why would God create physical sentient creatures? Or if the physical creations were better than the spiritual, why were spiritual creatures created in the first place?”
Al’bah sighed and went on. “The answer to your question, however, is this: spiritual creatures are not just beings of energy. We have separate parts which make up a complete being, as do you. What you saw was what your mind could perceive. Since you are a physical creature, you saw a visual representation of my parts that make up my being in a way you could comprehend.” She took a deep breath. “And, I prefer flesh form, perhaps only because it is so new to me.”
As Cain was digesting that bit of information, Al’bah was reminded of a statement Cain made earlier, and she seized her own opportunity.
“You said that Purity said that God is loving and merciful. You…did you actually meet him?”
“Yes.”
“Oh! I could barely stand before his presence. Please, how did his presence feel to you?” Al’bah said, tugging Cain’s sleeve.
***
“Purity was completely not what I expected.”
“Go on! Please!”
“I will tell you, if you tell me something first.”
“Okay,” Al’bah said, almost too eager.
“What is your real name? Law said that I named you. So, that would mean you have a real name, right?”
Al’bah laughed and laughed until her cheeks turned hot and tears sparkled down her face. “Real name? Oh, Cain! I wish you could know just how funny that was for me just then.”
“Why is that funny?”
Still laughing and gasping for air, Al’bah managed to speak again. “Because, my real name is Succubus.”
“What?” Cain said, taken back. “That can’t be it.”
“I suppose this will take a bit of explaining too,” Al’bah chortled. “The language of old has so many considerations for tone, inflection, emphasis, and word association. There are innumerable Demono. Succubi are just a subclass within the entire race. However, to alter the syllable emphasis of ‘Succubus’ to pronounce the word ‘S’ue’cebus’ would address a completely different individual than pronouncing the word Sussub’I’s.”
She sipped from a bottle of water that was between them. “The problem is, the differences in pronunciations my race can perceive are so subtle, humans would not be able to tell the difference. To listen to you say the word ‘Succubus’ is always interesting to me. You have even managed to pronounce other Succubi I have personally known.”
“Oh, well how do you pronounce your true name then?”
“Succubus,” Al’bah said with a playful grin.
“Succubus.”
Al’bah shook her head. “Nope.”
Cain was about to try again when Al’bah placed a finger to his lips.
“Cain, my precious Bond. My name, even my true name, is but a spot of dust compared to the treasure of being named as your Al’bah.” She kissed his cheek with soft and passionate caresses of her lips. “And that is all I wish for your voice to shape and form, when it is I whom you call out for.”
Cain slowed and pulled the car over. He pulled Al’bah close and reviled in her presence and her kiss. Though he easily lost his sense of self-preservation, Al’bah gently stopped his hungers.
“My Bond, our lives are yet in danger, and we are in the open.” She moaned softly while she pushed his hands away
Cain sighed and started to drive again. “If only,” he muttered.
Al’bah tugged Cain’s sleeve again. “Okay, your turn. Purity, tell me.”
Cain sighed too; he couldn’t think of anything neutral to say about Purity, so he told Al’bah the truth. From the accusations and doubt Taint had planted within him, to the cryptic yet straightforward answers and statements Purity gave. It was strange to repeat what Purity had told hi
m. Now that the Angel’s words were now coming out of his mouth, they made more sense than they did before. He could feel…something from them. A wisdom that he never considered before.
After it all, Al’bah had a strange expression on her face, like a cloud that went over the moon. “Did he mention anything about me?” she said quietly.
“Aside from referring to you in conversations we were having? No.”
“You are lying to me,” Al’bah said, her voice almost a whisper.
“What?”
“Either you are lying to me, or you are keeping something from me.”
“Oh! Yeah,” Cain said, now remembering. “Purity asked me if I knew what a Succubus’s purpose is.”
“Oh.” Al’bah seemed abashed.
“I get the impression you don’t know, either.”
“No, I do not. I know what most Succubi do now, and how they devote themselves. Paralleling one of your first statements to me: ‘stealing souls, tempting mortals,’ and the like. But it is not the original purpose of my specific race, I am sure of it.”
The conversation died for a moment until Cain was reminded about something else. “Al’bah, what can you tell me about the Demono?”
“Cain, please keep your word to me.” Al’bah sighed.
“I am. You are Demono, and so I want to know more about your nature and, by proxy, you.”
Chapter 50
Full Circle
“Chief Turnovits? Yeah, looks like two of your own were traitors. I say ‘were’ ‘cause the dead can’t betray anyone.”
—Shane Harper
Charlie stepped out of the passenger’s side of the sleek, black Land Rover he rode in at the receiving lane of the Richmond International Airport. He turned and opened the rear passenger door and held his hand out, which Stella took, and she stepped out.
“Y’all serious about traveling that light?”
Charlie grinned, adjusting his backpack and still carrying Stella’s. He was always one for traveling as light as absolutely possible. “Don’t you worry about us, Harper-san. I’ve always traveled light.”
Succubus Tear (Triune promise) Page 28
