Inquest

by J. F. Jenkins

  "Huh?" Teague raised his gaze back toward him.

  Laughing, Denver shook his head. "Before you went to sleep. You told me not to worry, because things were already getting better, so don't let everyone else make me doubt my actions."

  "Oh, yeah, that. Yeah, things aren't the same." He shrugged. Teague was pretty sure that was a good thing. Then again, anything would have been better than the alternative.

  "That's all I wanted to know." He stood and gave Teague a firm pat on the shoulder. "Don't know if I'll be coming back. I'll tell you where to meet me, though."

  With a nod, Teague closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Okay."

  Being alone was for the better. There were a lot of memories to sort through, both old and new.

  Chapter Two

  The next time Teague woke up in the hospital, Jewl was at his bedside. Her being there surprised him, even more so that she was alone. Every other time she'd seen him at the hospital, someone was with her — a reluctant someone, but someone all the same. He imagined she needed the moral support. She always had a hard time dealing with stressful situations and worry on her own. It was part of why she and Anj made such a good team. Teague noticed how well his parents helped balance one another back home. Witnessing their relationship in the past was even more fascinating. There wasn't the same kind of seasoned maturity present, yet the deep, playful love was just as strong.

  His parents were far from perfect, but Teague admired them and found them inspiring all the same.

  Rather than disturb her by talking, he kept quiet and watched her sleep in the chair next to his bed. She was actually sleeping near him. For someone who claimed not to be affectionate or caring, she was being awfully sweet. What caused her to put up so much of a front? So many mysteries behind the woman who gave him life.

  He shifted in bed and stretched. Hopefully, the doctors would allow him to go back to his dorm. While he preferred the hospital, he wanted to go back to a place that was his own as well as more private. Denver wanted him to plan. Planning was hard to do with people coming in and out of the room every few hours unexpectedly. No one knocked or waited for him to be ready to see them. They just showed up. It wouldn't be a problem if all he had to do was rest and focus on getting better. Saving the world was being put on his shoulders, though, and that took a lot more of his mental energy.

  I need to figure out how much information I can give Denver and how much information I should. Just because I could potentially tell him everything, doesn't mean it's a good idea. The world is going to be changing enough as it is, and life is a surprise, right?

  And so much of the future would devastate Denver. How did Teague explain to him that the woman he was most in love with was no longer around? Until he'd come to the past, Teague had never met Cheyenne before in his life. She was another reason he traveled through time.

  Jewl stirred and wiped at her eyes. "Ugh, sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep. It's been a long few nights."

  "It's okay," he said softly. "You didn't have to sleep here."

  "I didn't mean to, but I also didn't want to wake you up when I came by to see how you were doing," she said.

  He nodded. "Thanks for sticking around then. It's nice to see a familiar face when I open my eyes."

  "Sure," she mumbled. "Not sure what compelled me to stop by and see you. I'm tired of hospital wings and people getting hurt in general. Hopefully this is the last of it."

  "Hopefully." Since Teague's arrival alone, both Anj and his twin brother Zes, as well as Jewl and Cheyenne had all been injured. He hadn't been there for longer than six months. Too much had indeed happened in too short of a time.

  There were a lot of things he wanted to say to Jewl. Most of them weren't appropriate. When he got back home, he was going to give her a big hug and not leave her side for a while. As childish as it was, he wanted his mother — his real mother. The woman who knew he existed and loved him and didn't see him as nothing more than a chore. And then he would find his dad and do the same thing with him. Seeing so much annoyance in Anj's eyes whenever they were together was hard to handle.

  Jewl leaned forward and fidgeted with her hands. "So are you feeling okay?"

  "I'm fine," he insisted. "All of this observation stuff isn't necessary. I was fine after the attack too."

  "You were unconscious," she pointed out.

  "Right, but I mean when I woke up again. I was fine. No headache, no pain. It's okay."

  She nodded, biting her lower lip. "What's going on? Anj is tense and worried. He won't say anything, but I know he knows things because he...just knows things. And Zes is a wreck, but you know how he is — he always refuses to talk about much of anything unless you're ripping out his fingernails for answers. Even then, I think he'll keep his mouth shut."

  "R-right," Teague said. He didn't know Zes all too well, so he couldn't agree or disagree with her. His interactions with his uncle were limited to just those few moments they'd had together in the past. Most of them involved lunch time, and Zes didn't talk during meals. The two only had one moment alone together, and Teague got the impression Zes thought he was crazy — an opinion that a lot of people seemed to have of him, actually.

  "So can you...can you tell me?" she asked, and he noticed tears pooling in her eyes. She must have realized it as well, because she wiped them away immediately. "Shoot, I've been trying hard to keep it together. Don't tell anyone I'm scared. They'll have a meltdown."

  Always trying to be strong. That was her way. "I won't say anything."

  "Okay, cool." She frowned. "Or do you mean you won't say anything, period? Like, no answers?"

  He shook his head. "I won't tell anyone you're crying. Though, you shouldn't have to hide if you're sad. From anyone, but especially from people who love you. They might feel better knowing you're sad, because then it'll show them they can be sad, too."

  For a moment, she stared at him, and he couldn't get a read on anything she was thinking. I didn't say something out of character, did I? That seemed right to me. While his brain hadn't been the smartest before his memories returned, it had retained a great deal of wisdom — the kind of wisdom that came from a pure heart, something he still kept even though he remembered experiences that might taint that purity remaining inside of him. But compared to so many of my peers, I guess I am still a lot more innocent than anyone else I've met.

  "I'll think about it," Jewl said. "Being honest about what I'm feeling is still pretty new to me, though I've noticed Anj really likes it. Go figure. Anyway, so are you going to tell me anything?"

  "Um...Cheyenne is gone. I know that," he said, struggling to figure out how much information he should share.

  "I know that, too."

  Biting down on his lip, he replayed the past week or so again. "I wasn't too involved in what was happening. I know Denver was trying to do some family stuff. He didn't want me to get in the middle of things too much because they aren't safe. When the demons attacked us, he wanted me to run away. I chose to stay and fight anyway. It wasn't his fault. I don't know why he's in so much trouble."

  "Because people don't want him here," she said. "Sometimes people look for excuses to get rid of someone, grasping at straws, or making up stupid reasons in order to have their way."

  "You don't hate him?" he asked.

  Jewl shook her head. "There are few people I hate, but Denver isn't one of them. We're not friends, but we're not enemies. I, personally, don't think he's as bad as everyone says he is."

  "I don't either."

  "Obviously, but you seem to think there's good in everyone."

  He didn't think that. A lot of people he knew were bad news, and he did his best to stay far away from them. Why argue with her? Instead, he kept his mouth shut.

  "So that's all you can offer me?" She pouted. "You have no clue why Cheyenne went missing and why everyone is going crazy? Nothing?"

  "She went missing because the bad guy took her away," he said. That seemed like the kind of statement his st
upid self would have made.

  Jewl rolled her eyes. "Duh, but beyond that?"

  "It has to do with why Lucien tried to hurt you earlier," he mumbled. "He wants more magic and stuff. I think Denver did something to make Lucien not as powerful, and it freaked him out, so he took Cheyenne away for...um..."

  "Leverage?" Jewl provided.

  He nodded. "Yeah, that." Being dumb is hard work.

  "How much more will happen before all this ends?"

  Three deaths and a mountain getting sucked into the underworld, unless I can stop it. He shrugged and gazed out the window. Looking at her was hard. It made him weak. If he was weak, he might cave and confuse everyone by acting strangely — or say a whole lot more than he should.

  Thankfully, a knock on the door broke up their conversation. Halyn Alpay stood in the doorway, and when his gaze met hers, she lit up, giving him the biggest of smiles.

  "I'll go," Jewl mumbled. "Feel better and I'll see you when you get back."

  And he knew she wouldn't be back to visit him again. A shame. He understood all the same. All he could do was hold on to the last memory he had with her from the future. Teague needed all the good thoughts he could get his hands on.

  ****

  "Hey turd." Cory shook Teague hard until he woke up.

  Teague hated that nickname, but it was better than some of the other, more colorful, things his older brother liked to call him. Groaning, he swatted his brother away and rolled to the other side, desperate for just a few more minutes of sleep. On the other side of the bed, however, was his brother Alain. He ripped the pillow out from under Teague and hit him with it.

  "Mom has been calling for you for at least ten minutes," Alain stated. He tossed the pillow to his identical twin Cory and walked out of the room.

  Cory gave Teague one more firm swat with the pillow. "Besides, you've got lots of things to do before tonight. Don't waste your time sleeping."

  "I do?" Teague frowned. "You said there wasn't anything I had to do to prepare."

  "There isn't, but you might not come back." Cory winked. "You should make the most of your last moments with Chanel, just in case."

  Teague felt his cheeks flush at the thought of his girlfriend. Because he knew all too well what Cory was getting at with his suggestion.

  And, of course, Cory had to laugh. "Blushing? You're such a prude!" He left Teague alone again.

  Wanting to wait to sleep with my girlfriend doesn't make me a prude. Cory would probably never understand that. As the future heir to Aphrodite's powers, Cory got a little too into practicing his magic of infatuation, manipulation, and seduction. When it came to relationships, he was the worst at maintaining them. Any suggestion he made, Teague ignored. Alain on the other hand, was still with the same girl after nearly four years. He would never tell Teague to take advantage of his girlfriend because of an intense situation.

  Slowly, Teague got out of bed. He went to the bathroom and changed into his clothes for the day. By the time he was done and joining his mother in the kitchen, he found her tapping her foot impatiently, arms folded across her chest. He was in trouble.

  "I'm sorry?" he said, unsure of what he even did wrong.

  His mom continued to look at him with her lips pursed. "If you didn't stay up at night, you wouldn't oversleep, miss breakfast, and be late to private lessons."

  "P-private..." Teague pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. "Shoot, I need to call Professor Thantos and –"

  "I already did. He assumed you would be late already, since the security cameras clocked you at returning to campus at just after midnight. Your lessons are rescheduled for two hours from now."

  He let out a nervous laugh, grabbing a bagel from the refrigerator. "It's not a school night."

  "Your curfew is ten. You know that. You're only sixteen."

  "I was back before the police mandated curfew, though. That makes me better than Cory, right? Otherwise you could have picked me up at the station in the middle of the night."

  "Don't throw me under the bus!" Cory called out from the other room.

  Mom rolled her eyes and faced away. "Were you with Chanel?"

  "No," he said honestly. "I went to a late showing at The Main. It was the last night they were playing a movie for my film class. I let the whole thing sneak up on me. It's my fault, I know."

  "You could have downloaded the movie, or rented it, or something, you know, like most normal people," Cory chimed in again.

  That time, it was Teague's turn to roll his eyes. "I like the whole experience of being in the theater. Big screen, speakers, the works."

  "And you went alone, why?"

  Mom growled. "Cory, be quiet. You and I are talking next, so don't think you're off the hook." She faced Teague again. "You went to the movie alone?"

  "Chanel thought it sounded stupid. She only likes chick flicks," Teague said, hoping the answer appeased his mother. Because while he didn't go to the movie alone, he also didn't go with his girlfriend. Truth was, he'd seen the movie so many times he'd had it memorized. It was one of his favorites. The Main, which specialized in old films from before he was born, played it several times a year because it always drew in a good audience.

  His parents didn't pay attention to that kind of stuff, and that was why Teague told Denver Collins to meet him there.

  For a moment, his mother gazed at him. Eventually her expression softened. "Don't let it happen again. I've got enough trouble in the house between Cory and Madison." She touched his cheek.

  "I'll be better about watching the clock," he promised.

  She must have been pleased with that response because she nodded, smiling at him, and then left the room. "Okay, Cory, I don't care if you're eighteen. You still live in my house, so that means you're going to have to respect my rules."

  ****

  Teague's family was far from perfect. They all loved each other anyway, even if they were broken beyond repair. He watched Jewl get up and leave without so much as a glance. The pain his family would forever suffer through was just beginning to unfold. It was hard to watch.

  "Bad time?" Halyn asked from the doorway.

  He shook his head. "No, come in. We were just talking."

  Halyn walked in and hugged him close, shoving his head against her chest. "Why do you boys always have to pick stupid fights?"

  "I couldn't leave him alone to take on all of those demons," Teague said. "It would have ended up even worse."

  "The demons can have him, as far as I'm concerned," she mumbled. She released him from her grip before pulling up a nearby chair so she could keep sitting with him while holding his hand. Her skin was warm, her hand so small in comparison to his own. Halyn was petite and fierce. The daughter of witch doctors from the Philippines, she gained similar magic to them. She knew spells and herbal treatments. Overall, she was one of his favorite people to spend time with at the school because of her bubbly personality and optimistic outlook on life.

  Not to mention she was pretty cute. Large, almond shaped, dark eyes always gazed at him like he was the most fascinating person on the planet. Despite her being small in size, she had a body proportioned to her height. Her creamy skin was probably just as soft as it looked. He continually found himself wanting to touch her to find out.

  What was even more interesting about his attraction to Halyn was how she was nothing like his girlfriend back home. The thought of Chanel stabbed him with guilt. I didn't know I even had a girlfriend for the longest time. And it's not like Halyn and I ever dated. The way Halyn held his hand suggested the attraction was mutual, and he did remember wanting to ask her to be his date to one of the school events. He'd never gotten the guts to actually do it.

  How did he nip whatever was going on between them in the bud before it got out of hand? It wasn't like he could pick up their relationship from where it left off once he got home again. The age difference was gross, for one, and secondly, Halyn wasn't even in his version of the future. Come to think of it, I don't
even know what happened to her. She just doesn't exist.

  "So, have I missed anything interesting?" he asked, casually pulling his hand away from hers so he could put it under his blanket. He hoped the action was subtle enough that she wasn't insulted by it.

  Halyn laughed. "You are the interesting thing, T. Everyone has all these theories floating around about what happened. Most of them are stupid and probably bogus. No one knows what's going on for real."

  "I'm sure they're entertaining anyway," he said. There was no way he was going to tell her anything. She loved her gossip. If he needed to, he could probably trust her with a major secret, but he'd have to tell her in advance that her confidence was needed. Most people didn't need a warning. They could discern based on content alone what was appropriate for sharing and what wasn't. He didn't think Halyn had that filter.

  She gave him a small smile. "Of course they are. Seriously, though, I have been worried sick about you. No one would let me in on how you were. I tried to see you yesterday, and the doctors said that wasn't okay."

  "Weird, because I've had a few visitors," he said.

  "Jewl is your sister. She doesn't count."

  "She brought the twins. Denver stopped by a couple of times as well."

  Pouting, she put her hands on her hips. "Someone has some explaining to do then. Because I tried and kept getting told no."

  "I think the twins got in because of Jewl, and Denver...he doesn't listen to anyone."

  "Yeah, he's such a...a jerk." She clenched her fists. "Everything is his fault."

  He didn't say anything, not wanting to get into a conversation about his friend. Halyn may have loved gossip, but Teague didn't. Nor did he enjoy talking badly about people he cared about. He tried to wrack his brain for a new topic, and fast, something to fill the pause in their conversation that didn't make it seem like she was making him uncomfortable with how she trashed Denver.

  "I'm going to have a lot of homework to make up for," he said at last. Probably the lamest thing I can come up with, but it's something.