by Shelly Crane
Lynne looked at me and chewed her lip. She glanced unsettled around me and I saw the light above me honing in and out of bright to dark as I got worked up. I looked away unable to comfort her.
I was mad enough to make my power work without much effort and when I slammed the kitchen door, smacking one of them with it in the back and he fell unconscious to the floor, I almost smiled. I heard Jen’s scared thoughts but didn’t understand why until…they brought out Maria. They had her and the one who held her had a blue blazing fire in his palm. He grinned at me as if they’d won already. I had to keep myself in check so as not to throw something at him.
Caleb took my arm from behind him and I felt him shaking with rage.
“Villainy 101; always have a backup to your backup,” Marcus said happily and laughed at the look I shot him.
“What do you want?” Peter asked Sikes, back to business.
“I want Maggie to come with us and for you all to not put up a fight. I figured this was the only way to do that. Now…what do I have to do to get you to understand that I mean business.” He tapped his finger on his lip like he was thinking and I yelled a ‘no’ before he even finished his sentence. “Kill Caleb maybe? That way there’d be no reason for you to come after her.”
“Take my blood,” I told him, begging, “I don’t care, just leave them alone.”
“Ah, Maggie, so quick to try to resolve things. No, my dear, I’m afraid that won’t do. I need a steady supply until my experiment can give fruition.”
I could no longer hold my anger in and the blue ribbons bounced and writhed in the air around us, glowing brighter than usual.
“Sikes,” Peter employed, “you know this won’t work.”
“It will, or she will die while I try.”
“Like hell,” Caleb growled and moved me behind him further.
“Ooh, I love to see a newly mated couple. So feisty.” And then he glanced at our wrists and his grin turned up even more and he laughed almost as is he was happy for us. “And feisty you are. Already got her to Mutualize with you, I see. And how was it, boy?”
The Watsons laughed and cackled all around us as Caleb’s arm tightened protectively around me.
My face flamed, even in the circumstances, and our families eyes searched our wrists, their faces wanted to smile at the revelation. I held my wrist to my chest as if in protection of it. My mom and Sikes were trying to ruin all our happiness with their doom and gloom.
“Even Maggie, a human, gained a family tattoo. Hmm,” Sikes hummed not sounding too thrilled about the idea but Peter and the families thoughts were fascinated.
Maria whimpered near us and I saw the man putting his fire palm towards her face and then taking it away, over and over. I saw that it was only his left hand and he couldn’t do anything but hold it in his palm. I remembered what Kyle and Marla had told me about their abilities being lame. And I’d had enough. I had a strange feeling coming over me; an ‘urgency’ that told me exactly what to do.
Caleb. We can do this.
What?
We can take them. I know it.
Maggie, I see what you’re thinking but I don’t have my ability. That was a fluke before-
Not a fluke. Trust me. Please, please, trust me. I can feel it.
Alright…I trust you, tell me what you want me to do.
Just feel it out. I’m going to take out fire-boy, just follow my lead.
At that, before they realized we were plotting, I grabbed a vase of flowers with my mind next to Maria and the man and flicked my fingers to send it flying into him. It busted against his chest, soaking him with water and putting out his hand blaze. He snapped trying to make it come back but the water wouldn’t let it. I flicked my fingers on one hand again to make Maria careen as gently as I could toward Jen who caught her easily and used my other hand to send him flying into the china cabinet. Porcelain plates, cups and gravy boats rained down around him and I felt a twinge of guilt for wrecking Kyle’s house.
Then we had a full force war going on. They all piled in to start in on us and Peter bellowed for some of our family to stay back, the ones without abilities, and he came forward taking out one easily with a too quick to be human powerful uppercut with his palm to the man’s nose.
“No!” Sikes roared and looked around at his plan falling apart.
I saw Rachel pushing one hand forward to throw silverware off the table across the room at two men charging her family. One knife then one fork, alternating her hands as one piece of hard metal flew then the other. The men were stabbed several times by several different pieces before they finally fell to their knees and groaned. I turned away when one pulled a butter knife from his chest. It was buried half deep and he screamed in pain as he yanked it free before collapsing to the ground.
Sikes roared and lunged for me.
Caleb stopped him easily lifting his hand out and holding him in the air by just a thought. Caleb’s face beside me was fierce and he couldn’t even be surprised at himself. He was in his element and in the moment, his hand strained in his control. Peter gasped and looked at Caleb as proudly as a father could. He thought he’d gotten his ability, though in truth, we had no idea what was going on with him.
When another Watson made a move to stop Caleb. Caleb used his free hand to call a vine from the yard. It burst through the window, showering Caleb and Sikes with glass shards and then wrapped around the man’s neck and torso, slamming him forcefully into the wall and holding him in place. Caleb’s uncle, the one who’s ability it was to do that, gawked and glanced confused at Peter before doing almost the same thing to another Watson.
Caleb still held Sikes in the air and I stopped another one by flicking my fingers to crash the couch against him and smash him to the wall. The rest of them that were left just stared as if they had no idea what to do now.
I answered their internal questions.
“I suggest you run.”
One did run. Marcus ran right out the front door like the coward he was, but the couple of others that were left seemed torn.
Sikes’s choking and gagging noises were beginning to be annoying in the silence of the aftermath. Caleb lowered him slowly to the ground as we all surrounded them.
I wasn’t the only one wondering what we were going to do with them, especially Sikes, the leader of my lynch mob. It was one thing to use self defense but to outright just kill them…
Out of nowhere, the absolute last thing I ever expected happened.
One of Sikes’s men jumped forward from behind him and shoved one of the silver long sleek knives that Rachel had thrown at them into Sikes’s back. His eyes went wide in surprise and then he fell, lifeless to the expensive tile floor in a very anticlimactic end.
Everyone was more than shocked when the man threw his knife down and fell to his knees, looking right at me.
“I’m sorry, Visionary. He was my family, my clan, my Champion. I felt like I was obligated to follow him but I… He was wrong,” he said firmly and his thoughts were of a tree; a big leafy old tree that’s branches had grown and intertwined into a wrought iron filigree fence. It didn’t make sense to me but I listened. “Please forgive me and take this,” he motioned to Sikes’s lifeless body, “as retribution. Let me go. I’ll go far away. Please.”
He bowed his head low and kept thinking about this strangely mangled and beautiful old tree. I figured it was from his home and he missed it and was ready to go back.
I nodded to him and watched as he got up and walked slowly out, my family parting to let him pass. I nodded to the other two as well that just stood there, waiting for punishment. They ran to catch up to the other one and I turned Caleb to me.
“I told you,” I said I relief and hugged him tightly. “I knew it would work.”
“What happened?” Peter asked Caleb and came to the center. “How did you do that?”
“I still don’t know,” Caleb said and leaned back. His took my wrist in his hands and ran his thumb over my tattoo. “M
aybe it has something to do with this.”
He turned and showed them and they gasped and came closer. He showed them his wrist too and the reaction was the same.
“What is that?” Uncle Max asked.
“Infinity,” Caleb answered.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Max continued. “And Sikes’s was right. A human getting the family tattoo had never happened before.”
“And,” Peter asked, “when did you…um…how long have you had…” Peter was having trouble getting his question out.
“Oh for goodness sakes,” Gran cut in. “When did you do the deed.”
“Gran!” Rachel said appalled.
“What? We all see the tattoos. We know that they Mutualized, it’s not a secret. It’s natural isn’t it? I remember when you and Peter came over after the first time you Mutualized-”
“Gran, please, no,” she begged.
“Oh, whatever. Anyway, what your extremely old fashioned parents are trying to ask you is when you Mutualized.”
“Last night,” Caleb answered softly and tried not to laugh but failed when Kyle and Uncle Max chuckled. Even I found myself trying to stop laughing. This whole thing was just ridiculous as we stood in the debris and talked about intimate events. “What does that matter, though?” Caleb finally asked.
“I’m trying to pinpoint when the change happened in you,” Peter explained.
“It’s not that,” I told them and I looked at Caleb. “Yesterday at your house you, you didn’t have the tattoo then, and before, when that guy grabbed me at the club. You held that big guy down with no effort at all.”
“I don’t get it,” Caleb said hopeful and intrigued.
“Ok. Peter’s ability is to detect earth elements. Go ahead. Try to focus on something in this room and see if you can find anything.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“Trust me,” I whispered and smiled.
He closed his eyes immediately and cocked his head to the side. Peter watched spellbound as Caleb’s eyes scrunched and he moved his head around. When he opened his eyes and looked dead at the ring on Gran’s finger, Peter clapped his hands once and laughed.
“Incredible,” he said in wonder.
“What is it?” Caleb asked. “I can…see something. Like a sparkle.”
“Yes,” Peter concurred. “Gran’s ring is sapphire. Wow.” He grinned ear to ear. “What does this mean?” he asked me.
“It means,” I explained, “Caleb can borrow our abilities.” I turned to Caleb and spouted my revelation proudly. “You were doing it this whole time with me. You just thought you were reading everything through me because I’m your significant but really, you were borrowing my ability when you were around me.”
“So I’m a…poacher?” Caleb asked but he was happy. So happy.
Everyone laughed and clapped him on the back and hugged us.
“That’s why you never felt the urgency we feel for our ability. Wow,” Peter continued. “I’m so proud of you, both of you. You saved our lives, I hope you know that.”
We looked around at the mess and I apologized for starting the demolition. Uncle Max waved me off and said it was fine. He was just glad everyone was alright. We also had to go soon. Our flight left in two hours. I tried to come up with an idea on how to fix their house. And we still had Watsons to dispose of.
“Go,” he told me. “Me and the wife will deal with all this and leave tomorrow. You need to be there now.”
“If you’re sure…” I inched.
“We are.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Not another word about it,” he commanded and hugged me. “Now, you all get going or you’ll miss your flight.”
~ Thirty One ~
After the guys got the luggage from upstairs and we loaded down the cars, we convoyed our way to the airport. Peter handed me my passport right before we got out. I started blankly at it. I’d never even thought about my needing one before that but he apparently had. And he’d somehow had connections to get one for me. Hmm.
They must have bought every seat on the plane to fit so many people flying at once. And that was exactly what they did. We rode a huge Boeing all the way to London, a straight shot, with a plane full of Jacobsons. I shook my head at them, the uncles bantering with the stewardesses and Gran yelling about her orange juice being powdered and they were trying to kill her.
I laughed as I turned back to my seat.
“What’s so funny?” Caleb asked me beside him.
“Nothing, I’m just happy.”
“Good.”
“Hey, love birds,” Kyle said as him and Lynne took the seats beside us. “We sure know how to party, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Lynne, you ok? That’s not a very good way to be introduced in to the family is it?”
“I’m ok,” she said softly. “It was pretty scary though. It’s not always like this is it?”
“Lately, yeah,” Kyle said but soothed her by rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. She sighed deep and I bit my lip, remembering how drugged and calm I felt at Caleb’s touch those first few days of being with him. Caleb read my mind and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles too, winking. “But don’t worry. We’re going to London. The reunificantion is just a big party really, and with us coming with our significants to show off, it’s gonna be even better. Nothing bad ever happens at these things.”
She smiled at him and they put their heads together to take a nap. We had a long flight so I leaned into Caleb and did the same.
When we landed, we were met by another convoy, but this time it was a row of sleek black Range Rovers. We all piled in and Peter led the way. Caleb drove behind him and the rest followed us. We drove for about an hour and a half before we reached a small road that took us up into the green hills. It was absolutely gorgeous. There were huge rocks and boulders everywhere and green vines and the greenest grass. We went up and up and just when I was about to ask Caleb how much further, we pulled into a stone driveway and into a big yard with a little cottage.
Peter didn’t stop though and was headed straight for a big long wall of bushes. I figured he’d turn at a driveway or something near it, but no. And when he went through I heard my little shriek and then it was our turn.
“Caleb!”
I squeezed his arm and braced for…something, but instead we went straight through it, like a big curtain that swayed around us and into a big garage looking thing. It went down and around like a parking garage and there were some other cars there too already nestled into spots along the back wall. We pulled into a spot beside Peter and I heard Caleb and Kyle chuckling.
“You could have told me,” I said.
“What would have been fun about that?” Kyle asked and got out, pulling Lynne out his side with him.
“I’m sorry,” Caleb said with a smile that said he wasn’t. “Forgive me.”
“Maybe, after some persuasion.”
He leaned forward with a grin and kissed me. I sighed at the rush of calm I got and felt him pull me a little closer over the gear shift. Someone tapped on the window.
Maria.
“Come on, guys!” she said muffled through the glass. “Everyone’s going in and you don’t want to be left out here alone do you?”
I bit my lip as we laughed and even though we very much wanted to be alone for a minute before making my debut, we got out and walked with her. We walked back to the yard through a door off the side and everyone made their way to the cottage.
I felt confused as to how everyone would fit in there.
“The guardians live here year round,” Caleb explained. “They live in the house but the council palace is underground.”
“Palace,” I whispered.
Then I saw the tree from that Watson’s mind. It lined the side fence. It was massive and just like his memory, it had wound its branches and limbs into the filigree work along the top of the fence. It looked old, like it had been there from long ago.
&nbs
p; When we crossed the threshold behind everyone else, I saw an older couple holding open one door that lead right to another, down into a dark hallway. They ushered us in and shut the door, locking it behind us. I felt my heart rate pick up.
“It’s ok,” Caleb soothed. “It’s always this way. This hall takes us down to stairs to the council meeting place. They hide it so there’s never any chance of someone seeing us or wondering what all those people are doing all together like this, you know.”
I nodded and he wrapped his arm around me and kissed my temple. We reached the stairs and started our descent. It was a very long way. Maria was going on ahead of us about the fight today and how awesome it was. How Caleb and I kicked butt, she said. Caleb chuckled, his thoughts affectionate for her. He’d been scared today, watching her in the clutches of the Watsons. That had been one reason he had been so focused and honed into what he had to do.
