by Alexie Aaron
“That is an awful lot to lay upon the shoulders of a twelve-year-old.”
“Mia, you were fourteen when you knew you had to burn down that house to free your ‘misty mother.’ Don’t discount Mark because he is male.”
Mia did a double-take. “Me? A reverse chauvinist?”
“Maybe a little,” Orion said, angling his head. “You forget, I’ve been in your head. I know all your heartaches and all your joys. I know you feel that Roumain has betrayed you in a way that you attribute to him being male, that a woman would never do that to you. But may I remind you, it was a woman who did the most damage to your marriage.”
“Beth.”
“Whether we are male or female, we are capable of good and evil. True, the men who fear women are the most dangerous, but I have seen a few women who should not be given dominance, too.”
“Is Beth a victim?”
“I don’t know Beth.”
“I thought I did. I held her hand and didn’t sense a hex or a flitch, but I could have missed something.”
“Or she could be bad,” Orion said.
They flew higher through the cloud layer and into the starlit sky.
“Oh, before I forget, Mia, when you close your wings around you to transport, unless you are going to the aerie, you don’t have to be nude.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s the holiness of the aerie and the Brotherhood libraries that demand you bring nothing of this world into them.”
“So I arrived naked at Angelo’s for no reason,” Mia said, embarrassed.
“About that, transforming from a naked female in front of a male, showing yourself to him at your most vulnerable, is the start of birdman mating.”
“Kill me now.”
“Angelo understood you were improvising, but it was understandably difficult for him under the circumstances. Had the Council not taken your fertility from you, it would have been impossible for Angelo to stop.”
“I am such a goof. If it’s not demons, it’s birdmen. Tell me, have I broken any etiquette rules that have bound me to any other strange entity?”
“The Other. Don’t worry, Angelo took care of him.”
“By take care…”
“I find there are too many Others around for comfort,” Orion said vaguely.
Mia filed this information away. She thought about Mark. “You said, I need to do a few things,” she said, getting back on subject.
“Mia, you need to slay the negative elemental.”
“I sensed that.”
“When you do, you need to fly to Haiti and lay the corpse at the feet of Roumain.”
“Why?”
“It will become clear when you kill it.”
“It’s a who, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell me who it is?”
“No. Trust me, Mia. It will do you no service to know right now. You have to save Mark. That is why all of this turmoil which has happened to you, has come about. Someone wanted you to shake your feathers loose.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know. Will you do this for me?”
“Yes, Orion, I will.”
“I will stay and protect Brian.”
“Is my son in danger?” Mia asked, panicked.
“Oh yes. But I know not from whom right now. When Audrey and I were playing with Brian, he soiled his onesie, and I changed him. I saw that he has a particular birthmark on his shoulder. That combined with his innate knowledge of Hindi puts him in danger. When this is all over, you need to bring him to the aerie so Elizabeth can hide the birthmark until he is a grown man.”
“Why?”
“It only happens a few times in the history of mankind, but you and Ted have given birth to a reincarnated sage. He is marked.”
“I thought he was marked by Roumain.”
“No, don’t give the judge that much power, Mia. This is bigger than Roumain.”
“Ted told me that he wanted to ask you to teach Brian. He sensed that western civilization’s education facilities would not be enough to quench his thirst for knowledge.”
“Ted is right. I think we have the rebirth of a very powerful sage, but he must be raised by you, Mia. He must understand what it is like to be human and vulnerable, what it’s like to make mistakes. How to ride a bike, play outside with friends. Being someone that is but a part of something bigger. You and Ted need to teach him to laugh, to forgive, and to love.”
“My mind is blown, Orion.”
“What blows my mind is, this would have never happened if a duo of paranormal investigators hadn’t needed help to find Murphy’s farm. It all started with them.”
~
Burt and Mike sat drinking in the RV. They had moved on to the hard stuff. Each had stories to tell about Mia that the other hadn’t heard. How her obstinate refusal of taking the easy way out had enriched each of them.
“When you and Ted were stuck in that school, I thought I would have to pry the leadership role out of her hands, but I was wrong. She seemed relieved. Mia knows her strengths and ours.”
“More or less,” Burt agreed. “She needs to be reined in at times. Her impulsive nature gets her in trouble. I’ve had to play the bully sometimes, but I really felt it was for her own good.”
“When you’re not looking, Burt, she looks at you in a way that every man wants to be looked at. Whatever good times you had together are not forgotten. No matter how horrible you were to her later, she still saw the man she shared her heart with. I envy that.”
Burt looked sideways at Mike. “You have her trust. I wish I had that again.”
“It’s a heavy burden. Although Ma says that it has brought out the best parts of me. My mother actually told me that she was proud of me, and she was cold sober at the time.”
“Mia’s a slob,” Burt said, trying to pull out of the regret dive he had entered.
“Yes, she is. She’s been raised by males. Even prim, fussy Ralph never could convince the girl to pick up her discarded clothes,” Mike said. “She’s like having an oversexed little brother sometimes. She pushes my buttons.”
“That’s because you push hers first. Do you know, Dupree, you and she have had more fights, physical and verbal, than any siblings I know?”
“Yet we’re still friends,” Mike said, pouring himself another drink. He raised the bottle and examined the lack of contents. “Ma’s going to kill me for taking her best whiskey.”
“I think she’s more of a gin girl these days,” Burt said, pushing his glass over for Mike to refill.
“Do you ever play What If?” Mike asked.
“Sure, everyone does.”
“What if I wasn’t so nasty to Mia that first day?”
“You would have been nasty to her the next day,” Burt said, laughing. “You were way into satisfying your ego, bedding all the bodacious bods, and in short, all about Mikey. I don’t think Mia was interested.”
“How the hell did you get her?”
“I don’t know. I think I walked in when she was the most vulnerable and listened. It wasn’t on purpose. I didn’t think we’d last beyond the investigation. I was surprised that we did. Honestly, I don’t think I could have handled all that has happened to her. Ted’s a unique creature. Not that he hasn’t fucked up, mind you.”
“Royally fucked up,” Mike said. “Do you think they are going to be able to get past this latest fiasco?”
“Mia forgives, maybe too easily,” Burt said. “But I’m very grateful she does. Otherwise, I’d be back in Kansas filming residuals.”
Cid stood outside the door listening to the men inside. He was glad that he and Mia never connected in the way she and Burt had. He saw her for what she wanted to be seen as, Ted’s wife and Brian’s mother. He sensed that this gave Mia peace. He opened the door and changed the subject by asking, “Who’s in for a game of D & D?”
Ted sat waiting. He had laid Brian down soon after Cid left. Audrey was having a girls�
� night with Glenda. The cottage was quiet. He thought about the revelations of the evening. His opening up to Burt and Mike surprised him. He’d thought it was best to lay his crimes on the table. Clear the air. Mike almost personally convicted him. He had misjudged the man. How much had Ted’s turbulent school years affected the man he had become? Did he still live his life in the pages of comic books? Was there a way to balance the grownup with the child?
He heard the soft voices of Mia and Orion approaching the cottage. Ted got up and walked out onto the deck. Orion had stopped and was looking at his granddaughter’s face. He said something too soft for Ted to hear. Mia nodded and seemed to square her shoulders. Ted knew that move. Mia did that when she had resigned herself to something. He wouldn’t pry, but he was curious what had brought that about.
“How was the flight?” he asked them.
The two looked up, and Mia smiled. “It was fun.”
“Next time, take me.”
Mia nodded. “I will. Better bring a parachute though. I seem to have a problem flying upside down when I should be right side up.”
Ted laughed.
“She did well,” Orion said. “She has a long way to go, but I think she’s got the principles down. Well, children, I’m going to see if I can get in on the D & D game in there,” he said, motioning towards the RV. “Or at least into that whiskey before Mike drinks it all.”
Mia climbed the steps to the deck and into the waiting arms of her husband.
“So, am I the freak of the week?” Mia asked, concerned over Burt and Mike’s reaction.
“Not any more than you normally are,” Ted said. “Come here, freak, let’s see what this geek can do to make you forget that thing that Burt does so well.”
Mia giggled nervously. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
“I’ve worked out the physics on it, but it will all depend on the practical application.”
Mia walked over, grabbed his hand and followed him into the cottage.
~
Mike sat on the dock smoking in the dark. He didn’t indulge too often, but the booze had faded his resolve. He had just extinguished his cigarette when he heard movement from the cottage. He watched as Mia walked quickly down the steps, dropped her robe, and ran to the water. He was about to make himself known when she launched herself and dove into the water. She broke the surface of the water twenty feet from shore. She took a moment to look around. She saw Mike and swam towards him.
“Come on in,” she said. “The water’s fine.”
Mike took off his shirt and slid off the dock. He followed Mia as she glided out into the lake. He kept his distance, not trusting himself to be a gentleman. The whiskey had pretty much dissolved that resolve too.
Mia flipped over onto her back. Mike was glad to see that she was clothed in a one piece bathing suit.
“What brings you out into the lake at this time at night?” he asked her.
“I was very hot, and I needed to cool off,” she said. “I take it, you couldn’t sleep.”
“Too much booze. Too many thoughts.”
“That would do it. My brain won’t stop thinking long enough for me to dream.”
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, swimming closer.
Mia moved her hands to stabilize her position. “I’m not sure I can reconcile all that has happened in the last few weeks. I feel beat up inside, bruised and bloody, and there’s a part of me that is not letting it all heal.”
“That’s unlike the Mia I know,” Mike confessed. “The Mia that forgives so easily.”
“I’ve forgiven him,” she said sadly. “But it hurt. How can I come back from that? I thought that the one constant in my life was Ted’s fidelity.”
“He told us what brought around your complete transformation. I gave him hell, and I’m not sure that helped. He didn’t break his vows, Mia,” Mike reminded her.
“Not physically. How could he simply chuck his ring on the dresser and walk out on me?”
“In his mind, he was being brave,” Mike explained. “He knew that Murphy and we would pick up the pieces, Mia. He knows how we feel about you.”
“You don’t simply disappear like that. I’m so angry.”
“And so, instead of beating him up with words and your fists, you came out here to cool off?”
“Yes,” Mia said and swam away.
Mike let her leave. He swam to shore, picked up his shirt, and took out a cigarette and lit it. He smoked it, watching Mia swim lap after lap, trying to work the anger out of her system. He thought about the old Mike, the man who would have dragged her up on the opposite shore and used that angry body until there was no going back. But he wasn’t that man anymore. He smiled. He had passed another test.
Mia glided in and dragged her tired body out of the water. She lifted a hand in farewell as she walked back up to the cottage. Mike felt sorry for her. The woman, who had Heaven and Hell panting after her, had had her ego crushed. He knew that to be humbled in this way was hard, and he hoped that she could let it go before it colored her in a very negative light.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Mia took time in the bathroom to rinse the lake water out of her hair. She braided it back, securing the long braid with the very same leather bracelet Mike had given her at the hotel. She wondered why she didn’t give it back. Was this her way of holding on to him? Was this a passive aggressive way of letting Ted know she was sought after? Just like not giving away Angelo’s dress and shoes. She never thought much about the deep-seated reasons for her actions. Mia was used to simply reacting and existing. She wasn’t a planner.
Tonight, she didn’t know how she had worked herself up into such a state of mind. They had made love, and Ted had fallen asleep. Instead of falling asleep in bliss, she was pissed. Mike had made sense out there. Ted knew that Murphy and the others would be there for her, but she ashamedly didn’t want them. She wanted Ted. He had become part of her. Did she really want to be in this position? She had severed her tie with Murphy, and instead of being free, she opened the door and let Ted walk back in.
She walked into the bedroom and stood over him. She wanted to scream at him, shake him awake, and what? She sat down on the floor, curled in a ball and cried.
Ted had felt her leave. He saw her pull on her bathing suit, so he assumed she needed to release some energy. She came back, and instead of sliding into bed beside him, she had stood there staring down at him like the woman in Paranormal Activity. He felt the anger radiating off of her. Instead of raging, she pulled it all within herself, turned around, sat on the floor, and cried. He got out of bed and moved quickly to her side. He gathered her into his arms and held her.
“Tell me,” he pleaded. “Don’t hold it in.”
“I can’t.”
“Then take me in, Mia. Take me inside you,” he begged.
Mia connected with his mind. She opened her mind to him and drew him inside. Ted found he was standing in a strange, stuffy, little sitting room by a large scorched mark on the carpet. There was a little girl sitting across from him with her head bent. Her hair was tangled, and her dress was too small. She had mismatched socks and shoes on. Her knees were scabby and her nails broken. He knew before she looked up that this was how Mia saw herself.
“I’m mad at you,” she said, sniffing.
Taken aback, Ted asked, “Why?”
“You have all this power over me.”
“Me?”
“I broke the curse, so I could give you my whole heart. You didn’t ask me to, but I set Murphy free. I have no net below me now. And then I took part of me and put it in your heart, but still you left? What do I do to make all of you leave me?”
Ted looked around and realized he was in the house Mia grew up in.
She got up and walked out of the room. He followed her up the stairs and into what could hardly be called a child’s room, but there were signs that Mia had made do with the gigantic old bed. She had stacked the dusty tomes of Charles’s and Amand
a’s professions to make a stair to the bed. In the dusty canopy, she had suspended tissue paper ghosts with strands of her own hair. It was all so horrible and sad.
“I’m sorry, Mia. I always found comfort in thinking of myself as the hero in my comic books, but it’s always been you, hasn’t it? You had nothing, yet you found something to give all of us. You didn’t let all this damage you.”
“It did though,” Mia admitted. “I’m so insecure. I need to know that when I come home, you’re going to be there. Each time I made a major stride towards becoming confident, you left me, either emotionally or physically. I can understand it. I’m not really worth staying for, am I?”
Mia pulled out a family album. She pushed it at Ted.
He opened it and saw pictures of Charles and Amanda and that was it. He tossed it at the wall in anger. He grasped the ragged child to his chest. “Mia, where’s Ralph and Bernard? Your grandmother and, for cripes’ sake, Murphy?” He ran out of the room, dragging her. He found where the good memories were residing and forced her to see the man who taught her to ride a bike. “It’s Ralph, honey, and Bernard. You were not alone.”
“Wasn’t I?” she questioned. “Come, let me show you my life.”
Ted watched the child who had a vicelike grip on his hand. He walked with her through her memories, and as they did, she grew up: the young girl left out at school, the teen who tried time and time again to fit in, and then Ted found himself at Murphy’s farm. The windows of the house were broken, and the barn was falling apart, although the foundations of the building showed the careful construction of the builder. He saw the teens arrive. Mia was a cute little thing. She was sporting a Goth look, but there was no masking that the clothes she wore were from the secondhand store. She followed Whitney, who Ted had to admit was a strikingly handsome youth. He witnessed the abandonment of Mia, and Murphy’s arrival at the campfire.
After that, there was a flashing of memories of Mia coming to the farm when her heart was broken, or she was just sad, to find Murphy waiting for her. He didn’t do anything more than make her laugh. Ted witnessed the love bloom between the two and the point when the curse locked Mia in a relationship that would forever be damned.
