by Elle Cross
AEGIS wanted to direct Human evolution toward a different path. What they reaped instead was its destruction.
Soleil
The tea in my hand was ice-cold when Creed had finished telling his story. I had stopped drinking it sometime after the first part of his tale. He barely stumbled in his recitations, and even so, I didn't want to interrupt in case that messed him up somehow. "Something tells me that a lot of that wasn't exactly a story."
He merely met my gaze and dropped it again. Whatever hold he'd had to compel him otherwise, kept him from saying anything else.
"So what you mean to tell me is that somehow my dad and mom were involved with a scientific research that involved new kinds of magic?"
He nodded.
"And that the new kind of magic opened a gateway into an unknown, and that now there are unholy plagues in the world because of it? Because of my parents?"
"I wouldn't say that it was because of your parents. They were the ones invited to the research and your mother was told to identify plants. And your father, well, he was asked to consult on hunting and creating shields."
He looked at me meaningfully.
Of course. As an outspoken preacher and activist, my father would be recruited to do these things. No wonder he was so sure there were monsters that wore human skin. He had been working with the people who had created them.
This was starting to make a little sense then. "So he made a shield. And?"
"Something happened and the shield didn't work out as planned. The lab was destroyed and the researchers were nowhere to be found."
I nodded. I remembered that my parents mentioned a lab in their past, but they never made it seem all that important. "Why was this all relevant now?” I mused more to myself.
Creed shifted on his feet, and it drew my attention. I let myself really look at him. His cheekbones were of course still perfect, but his face looked leaner, bleaker after the telling. In fact, he looked damn near drained.
I felt ridiculously selfish sitting here when he looked about ready to faceplant. "Sorry, I didn't think about the fact that you're probably tired. I should let you sleep."
He perked up then. "I won't sleep unless you do."
I raised my eyebrow at him. I hadn't planned on going to sleep any time soon. I finally had pieces of my mother back after all this time. I was able to recall some memories of her that didn't end with her being lured away into the night.
And I needed to process all this new information that he had dropped on me. Right now, my mind was blank, there was too much that he had described that I needed a moment to focus on bits and pieces first. "Well, I guess that’s your choice. Just don’t stay up on my account."
I grabbed the notebook that I had come to think of as mine, and brought it with me.
"It will be sunrise soon,” Creed informed me. “Wouldn't you want to sleep just a little? Rest is a kind of weapon too?"
I paused at his words. Dammit. That was exactly what my dad used to say. Had he gotten it from him?
I still ascended without another word, and hopped into bed. Yawning, I opened the notebook and started to write down all the new information he shared with me. My eyelids twitched a little in protest, but I just had to get this all down. I didn’t want to forget a thing. Besides, my brain was spinning, there was no way I could sleep…
Creed
She was out.
Vin chuckled. ~Did you put her to sleep again, Boss?~
~No need. She'd been fighting sleep for the past hour, she just didn't want to admit it.~
~Stubborn. Like you.~ Osiris didn’t usually speak up, but when he did, he usually silenced the others.
I was grateful. Soleil had called me out on my exhaustion, and she was right.
She had taken the notebook with her upstairs, but she had kept her mother's plant book out on the dining table. It was fascinating to see it there. I lingered over it, remembering her mom. The person he had remembered as her mother wasn't the person of her memories.
Soleil remembered her as someone who had carelessly run out in the middle of the night. What Soleil didn't know was that her mother had been compelled to.
Lena Bishop was anything but stupid or careless, and thought only of saving Soleil's life. And the reason why had been kept secret.
I hated secrets. Once the brand was off of me, I would be able to tell Soleil as many secrets as she wanted answers to. But, if her dad would wake up, it would be most helpful.
Vin’s overeager voice rose up. ~We got that town, Creed. Nothing is going into that town let alone that church.~
~Are we following through on that plan then?~ Osiris’ cool tone a balance to Vin. ~Will we show Soleil her father’s memories?~
There wasn’t anything to think about, not really. It was the easiest solution, especially now that she had deciphered the message. Allowing her to run blind did her no good at this point. ~I don’t see why not. It would be the fastest way to gain her trust. Maybe then she will allow us to lead her to safety.~
~More safe than her warded home?~
Remy was the most uneasy about Soleil being outside this home. ~A warded home would not stand against that Hellfire.~ I let them chew on that a moment.
Thankfully, it had created the desired effect. Their voices dimmed inside my head
For now...
I slipped out of this human skin and shook off the feel of it from my body. I padded my way up the stairs. She had left the door partially open. Already she was fast asleep, the book laid open by her side. Her hand lingered over the edge of her bed.
I pushed it back onto the mattress, inhaling her scent. I didn't lick, though I'd wanted to.
The movement made her curl over to her side fully, hand tucked beneath her face.
I hopped onto the bed and dragged the blanket over to cover her. She'd be cold.
She didn't stir. She was sleepier than I thought.
The moon was starting to fade. Tonight was the last day of the full moon. The rest of the month, the evenings would get a little trickier.
But we'd cross that bridge when we got there.
~That we will, Boss.~
For now, I just hunkered down on my side and rested at her feet.
I felt like I slept for years.
It was a strange feeling, like having a dream I’d had before.
As I opened my eyes, I thought I saw a flash of gray and brown and a brush of fur against my skin. I pushed myself up to sitting. Light peeked under the curtain and for a moment I was startled into thinking I’d overslept. Fortunately, it was still fairly pink outside. Good. It was later than I usually woke but I hadn't wasted daylight.
I saw them, then. A group of people that I’d never seen before were gathered at the edge of the tree line. I blinked and they were gone.
I shook my head, then quickly washed and dressed. I didn't know where Creed was, but if I had to guess, I’d bet he wasn’t far.
I bounded downstairs and found him standing by the front living room window. He leaned against the frame, arms crossed over his chest so that his muscles bunched up and stretched the fabric of his sleeve, not that I paid much attention to all that. His compromise for comfort was to take off the jacket that he wore last night leaving him in a long-sleeve henley and cargo pants.
He had his profile angled toward me as he looked outside. It was like he was in a staring contest with nature itself. His pensive mood gave him an intensity that made me think of vipers about to strike.
“Morning,” I called out to him.
He turned toward me, straightening up to his full height, arms relaxed at his sides as I came into view. "Good morning, Soleil. Did you sleep well?" His words dripped smooth honey.
I didn't want to think about the fact that I was nearly drooling. What the hell was wrong with me? My reaction irritated me more than anything else.
I shrugged as a half-answer to his question. "Yeah, fine." I wasn't about to admit that it was the first good night's rest that I had in a w
hile. Perhaps since before my dad disappeared. "So, are you just waiting for me to tell you that you can open the door and let in the people who've been waiting at the tree line?"
He smiled a decidedly wolfish kind of grin. "Well, I didn't want to bother you with that, but kind of, yes."
I just shrugged again, and headed toward the door. The glyphs that warded it were no longer visible in the daylight. I intended to head out to the chicken coop and inspect the fence line like I normally would, and instead I stopped short.
Waiting for me on the porch was a man who blocked my way. I looked up. And I kept looking up over miles of coppery-bronze skin until my gaze locked onto his face. His shaven head emphasized the enviable curl of his dark lashes that framed his dark eyes. He cocked his head to the side, the sheen of silver like captured moonlight apparent now in his movement.
This man was easily the most beautiful thing that ever graced the earth.
"Good morning," the stranger said, midnight coating his voice. "You must be Soleil. You can call me Vin."
I blinked. It was like my brain was having trouble processing simple words let alone the fact that some large creature was barring my way. And he kept blinking at me like I was supposed to say something in return.
Was I supposed to say something in return? Had he asked a question?
As I was trying to recall whatever he might have said, I felt Creed at my back. "Vin, so good of you to join us."
Vin's lip curled in a surly amusement. "I'm so happy that I was invited."
Something about his tone made it seem like the opposite was true.
I swallowed. I didn't want to be in the middle of two strangers, let alone men who seemed about to throw down.
“Uhm, hi,” I said to this Vin person. My strangely-timed greeting produced the desired effect. Vin’s attention turned back toward me, the crackling tension in the air evaporating.
“Hi,” he replied, this time with an added smile that showed a bit of fang.
When I would have said another “hi,” a flash of movement caught my eye. A man, lean and golden, sauntered up the walk like he didn’t have a care in the world. His long sable hair was unbound and floated past his shoulders. It was streaked through with platinum, copper, and black, and my hands itched to touch that glorious mane.
Self-assured and relaxed, wearing jeans and a plaid shirt, all he needed were a couple of beer bottles dangling from his fingers to complete the look.
His eyes, though, told a different story. His body language might have made him look like he was ready to sit a spell on the porch, yet his eyes darted restlessly from the property line, the house, and the sky above. "Now, now. Why we all crowding the poor girl?” He climbed the porch, in two steps. He held his hand out to me. “Come on, now. Let's get you away from these two and over here by me."
I cocked my brow at him, ignoring the proffered hand. “And who might you be?"
He ignored the fact that I rebuffed his touch. "You can call me Remy."
My eyebrow notched up some more. I thought it was funny that so far not one of them had ever claimed their names. It was always "You can call me..." with them.
I had no illusions that Remy was any sweeter simply because his accent was closer to mine. Where the others had the clean antiseptic sound of something out of a lab or governmental facility, Remy’s was that unhurried flavor of slow moving molasses.
"Remy, is it?" I said, testing his name.
"Yes ma'am. You all right with me calling you, Soleil?"
I nearly laughed, since it was my name, but I shrugged. "Sure. I'll answer to anything that's nice." And then I moved along. They might be all right with just shooting the breeze but I had chores to do.
I skipped down the stairs and my feet took me to the practiced path of my normal routine. The shed, the coop, the barn, and then back to the house. I didn't really care what they were doing even though every now and again I felt watchful eyes on me.
Had those eyes always been there? Was I only feeling them now because I was aware of them?
Once I finished my rounds, I gathered the best eggs from the chicken coop. I felt like making a big damn omelet this morning.
Creed
Vin turned toward me, arms crossed against his massive chest. "So, what the hell, Boss? You trying to block her from me?"
I didn’t let my second get away with that tone. I stared him straight in the eyes until he looked away. Vin may be bigger, but we both knew who was stronger in the end. "You know I wouldn’t. And what the fuck you playing at, trying to call her by her name."
Vin scowled, which was his version of pouting. "You call her by her name."
I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight away from them. I preferred watching Soleil anyway as she walked around her little farm. It made me happy seeing her happy, especially since we wouldn't be making her happy for too long.
Remy sidled up to me, leaning against a post. "So how you gonna think of telling her about her past and her perfect dad whom she loves."
"I was just gonna tell her the truth."
Remy snorted. "You damn near had an aneurysm trying to tell her the truth last night."
"I don't need to be reminded, thanks." It was really annoying to know that the proscription against talking about AEGIS extended to even mentioning them. The only way I was able to talk about it at all was through that story. And who knows how much of the nuance Soleil understood there.
"Well, at least we know that you can help her sleep at night," Remy teased.
"You better believe that's right."
What was supposed to be light-hearted turned into a near challenge as Remy's eyes blurred to a silver shine. "And what if I decided to help her that way, too, Creed? You gonna stop me?"
Vin grumbled. "I'll stop the both of ya." His eyes flashed red for one moment before calming down to his usual brown. "What do you think she's thinking of anyway, Boss? Seems to be taking it all in stride, yeah?"
I followed Vin's gaze. I didn't have to hear her to know that Soleil was humming as she threw the bird feed onto the ground for the chickens. I wondered how aware she was that she hummed. How she would react when she learned how important to the world her singing was.
"She's thinking that the routine would calm her nerves and would help her forget that there are now strangers in her home where there had only been her dad and ma."
Remy flinched at that, but said nothing, merely nodded before stalking off. Whatever thoughts he might have had were muted and subdued now. Good. There was no need to butt heads regarding Soleil. It wasn't like we had any plans aside from keeping her alive.
The fact that she let me lay in her bed was a delightful memory.
~Would you control your thoughts, Creed? Remy is pissed off enough as it is.~ Osiris’ quiet voice broke through. I looked for him, but as always, he remained hidden.
~Apologies, I don't mean for it to happen.~
~Well, ‘don't mean for it’ even harder. It's annoying enough to hear him complain that you got to be rewarded for breaking the rules and showing yourself to her before due time.~
Osiris spoke truth, but I still chafed under it. ~Broke the rules? We were able to break our cover when she got in trouble, or right before. If she had fired that gun, all manner of evil would have descended upon her head.~
Vin rolled his eyes. "I will not argue any more on that score." He massaged the back of his neck.
Whatever. They were being obtuse and stubborn. I did hide the pleasure I felt when she ran her fingers through my fur while she slept. It made me feel good to know that she sought me for comfort and found it.
We watched in silence for a moment, and then she was on her way back inside, headed toward the back of the house. She looked very determined all of the sudden.
We trailed after her.
Soleil went into what she called the mud room, took off the work boots she used, and slipped into a different pair of house shoes. I opened the door for her and she was indeed humming, her voice su
ltry, smooth, and silky. It was as if it wrapped around me.
Without even thinking, she handed her basket over to Vin and went straight to the sink to wash her hands. Then she took her basket back and started sorting out the eggs.
I watched, fascinated as she separated the eggs, leaving the ones that she didn't want to use in a bowl. She handed Vin the empty basket and he stared at it like it might bite. Remy finally grabbed it and set it on a little table that I hadn't noticed in the mudroom.
When I would have asked how he knew it was there, he gave me a look that said, "See, I can be observant, too."
Soleil stopped humming when she popped up from a cabinet holding an iron skillet. "I'm going to make some omelets or like an egg scramble, are you all cool with that?"
Vin raised his hands up. "Please, there is no need. We do not need you to cook for us."
Remy elbowed him. "Uh, speak for yourself. That sounds delightful, Soleil. Thank you."
Vin chuckled. ~Delightful?~
~Fuck you.~
She looked at me last and I just shrugged. "Whatever makes you happy."
With that, she started cracking her eggs.
~Creed. There's something happening. I can feel a shift.~
I reached out to Osiris, who must have been flying overhead. ~Do we need to do anything now?~
~I don't think so. But sooner rather than later would be good.~
~No worries. I don't think she'll want to linger after her breakfast.~
~I know you don't like rushing her, but if you can find a way that wouldn't piss her off, I think that would be ideal.~
I resisted the urge to growl. As I watched her make breakfast and give us instructions to set the table, I wondered if this would be the last time she would enjoy a morning like this.
After all, rest was also a weapon, and she’d need it for what she was about to face.
I knew that this wouldn't last. I knew that I was delaying some sort of ax falling. I could feel it.
It wasn't so much that it was because there were these three newcomers and that they were suddenly in my life and in my home. They were surprisingly fine. Like they were a part of some family that I hadn't noticed were part of me or something.
