“No!” Grandma called out just as a snap echoed through the bathroom, and she fell to the floor.
The men that had taken everything from me in less than ten minutes ran from the hotel room. I stretched out my hearing and only heard a slight beating from my mom. They had murdered my grandmother as my mom fought for her last breath. I crawled out of the bathtub and tiptoed around my grandmother’s body. My mom was lying on the floor with tears running down her face. I put my face in front of hers, and more tears came from her eyes.
“William…”
“Mom?” I needed her to get up. There was nothing else to it. I needed her.
“I’m sorry…” she whispered, “promise me something…”
“Anything,” I said.
“Never be anything but you.” And with those last words, my mom’s chest stopped moving, and she took her last breath.
Everything else happened in slow motion as a handful of men wearing police uniforms filled the room with guns drawn. Tears running down my face. One of them looked at me strangely and sniffed the air like I do. His eyes glowed a soft sapphire blue and then went back to normal. They searched the room and pulled me away from my mom.
“No! Mom!” I called out, reaching for her.
“Come on. We’ve got to get you checked out.” The man with the blue glowing eyes held me tight to his chest and moved me to an ambulance that had just pulled up. He sat with me while police car after police car pulled into the parking lot. “Hey, little man, what’s your name?” He tried to give me an easy smile.
“William.” I whispered so quietly that no one with normal hearing could have heard me.
“Nice to meet you, William. My name is Kurt Pearson. Can you tell me who was in the motel?” he said as his eyes glowed blue for a moment.
“Two guys.”
“Okay, what did these guys look like?”
“They work for my father. One of them was named Mick.”
“Do you know them?”
“No,” I whispered.
“How do you know they work for your father?”
“Because they said his name,” I said.
“What’s your father’s name?”
“Franco.”
“Franco what?” he asked.
“Franco Fabrizio.”
➣ Chapter 3
Kindness In the World
The officer held my hand in the ambulance all the way to the hospital. The bright lights stung my eyes as we walked through the sliding doors. People moved quickly from place to place. They were all dressed similarly, matching shirts and pants that were like pajamas. They all had plastic badges clipped onto their clothes with their pictures. I watched as one woman walked up toward me, looking concerned, but then smiled at the officer still holding my hand.
“Officer Pearson, what can I help you with?” The woman approached, looking between the two of us. I looked up to see the officer smiling at the woman. He must have liked her.
“Well, Miss Linda, this little man was at the scene,” he said.
The woman looked back at me with more concern. “Is there someone to call?”
“No, not at this time. There will be guards coming soon.”
“Guards?” she questioned.
“He’s a potential target.”
She gasped, “Oh my God. Poor thing.”
“We need to have Melanie discreetly admit him. Okay?” the officer said.
“I’ll have her get on it. Let’s get him in a private room,” the woman said and walked us back through several halls and through two different doors that needed her to put a card up to the door to walk through, and there was another officer at each of the doors.
“Where are we going?” I asked, feeling scared.
“We’re going to a room where we can make sure you’re all right and keep you safe,” the woman said.
Tears started to fall down my face. I wanted Captain America, and I wanted my mom. The woman noticed and stopped to pick me up. She cradled me against her and tucked my head against her neck, hushing me. It was comforting, and I felt an immediate release of emotions.
“The room at the end of the hall,” the woman said, pointing. The officer opened the door, and the woman walked through with me in her arms. She sat down on the bed and held me tighter. She held me for a few more minutes before she pulled back from me and said, “I’ve got to go get my friend to take a look at you. I’m going to leave Officer Pearson with you, and I will be right back. Okay?” I nodded and climbed off her lap and onto the bed toward the pillow. “I’m just going to step out and talk to Officer Pearson for a moment, and he’ll be right back.” She got up and walked out of the door with the officer, where they had started to whisper. I figured they would have been quiet since he knew what I was.
“What the heck happened to him?” the woman whispered.
“His mother and grandmother were killed at the motel. He’s definitely mac tire, but there’s something else.” The police officer put his nose closer to me and sniffed a couple times.
“Oh-no… that poor baby… what about him being a target? Who’s after him?”
“Franco Fabrizio.” The officer growled.
“Wh…what does he want with the little boy?”
“He’s his son.”
The woman gasped and held onto the officer. Their clothes rubbed together as they embraced.
“He can’t be.”
“That’s what he said. His name is William. We think he witnessed the murders.”
“No,” she whispered in a gasp.
“I’ve got to keep him away from Fabrizio. He’ll probably get placed in foster care, and it’s going to need to be a mystic family,” the officer said.
“Of course. Let me get Melanie.”
“Thanks, Sweetheart. I knew I could trust you.”
The woman walked away, and the officer came back into the room. His slight smile made me uneasy. I knew what was going to happen. I was going to get shipped off to some place where I didn’t know anyone and no one cares about me. I was scared. At least if I was at home with this monster they think my father is, then I would know him. Even if he never deals with me himself.
“William, I—”
“I don’t wanna go anywhere,” I murmured while I started crying.
“What?” He looked over to the door and then back at me. “How did you…?”
“I want my mom.” I cried even harder, and then he pulled me into him and held me while I cried until the woman came back into the room with another woman. This one was wearing a white lab coat over the pajamas. The man kept holding me while the women watched us. I needed to cry. I needed to know everything is going to be all right. But how could it?
It took some time to get me calmed down. I knew everything was changing, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. The woman in the white lab coat looked me over and smiled at me before she addressed the officer. “Can you tell what other mystic he is mixed with?”
“I scent mac tire, but the other scent isn’t common. It’s earthy. I’m just not sure. I haven’t scented it before,” the officer said.
The woman looked at me and sat in front of me. She placed her hand on top of my knee and said, “William, do you know about mystics?” I nodded. “Good, we know you are mac tire. Was that from your mom?” I nodded again. “Okay, good. Do you know what kind of mystic your father is?” I nodded again. “Can you tell me?”
Trembling, I said, “Ogre.”
“Oh… okay. Let me talk with Officer Pearson and Nurse Linda for a moment, and I will be right back.”
I could hear the tone of her voice change toward worry and anxiety. She ushered them out of the room and into the hall. But before she could start talking, the officer pulls them down the hall farther. Too bad he didn’t know how spectacular my senses actually were.
“Kurt, that boy isn’t going to be placed with a mac tire pack. The mystics won’t allow a half-breed with ogre blood into their pack. He will have to be re
turned to the ogres.”
“We can’t return him to his family. If I can build a case against Franco, he will be in mystics penitentiary.”
“Kurt, you don’t understand. Ogres can be cruel and violent. They aren’t allowed to mix with other mystics.”
“That sounds like Fabrizio. Cruel and violent. If I can save this kid, I’m going to do whatever I can to do it. He deserves better.” The officer’s voice was stronger.
I curled up on the bed, bringing my knees to my chest and tucking my head tight to me. I was left there for a little while longer before the officer came back into the room. My eyes opened to see him walk over toward me and kneel down to be eye-to-eye with me. “Hey,” he said with a sigh. “I found a temporary place for you to stay. You’ll be safe there.”
“No one wants me,” I whispered through sobs starting to come back.
“That’s not true. You’re just a little harder than most to place with someone that can take care of you.”
“I want my mom,” I whimpered.
“I know. Your mom was a brave woman who protected you. She’s going to be watching you from Tech Duinn.”
“Tech Duinn?” I asked, confused.
“The otherworld our kind goes to after death. The Donn calls our souls there when we die.”
“Oh,” I said with such sadness.
➣ Chapter 4
Secrets Hide Secrets
The officer carried me out of the hospital hours later when the sun had gone down and the moon was high in the sky. There was a sedan sitting in the parking lot that he walked to, and when he reached by the tire, he pulled out a black box, and when he opened it, there was a key inside. He opened the back door, and I crawled inside. He made sure I was buckled and safe before he got behind the wheel to drive off.
When we got onto the road, he turned on the music low for background noise. It was almost another hour before he spoke. “It’s going to be several hours before we get there. They’re nice.” He looked up in the rearview mirror at me, and our eyes met. “The couple that’s going to take care of you.” He looked back at the road and then back at the me in the mirror. “They’re nice.” I had wondered if he had wanted me to say something or tell him how I was feeling. I wasn’t wanting to talk. I found comfort in the silence.
A little while longer and I had dozed off. When the car stopped and turned off, my eyes fluttered open. We pulled up to a small white picket-fence house with a gravel drive. Fireflies danced in the yard, and the sounds of frogs could be heard from every direction. The officer twisted around in his seat and gave me a smile.
“Let’s go meet them.”
He opened his door and then mine. A couple came out of the house, holding close to each other. They had more love for each other than I had seen from a married couple. I hadn’t understood it at first. I had always thought about a marriage as a business arrangement. That’s what it was between my mother and father. Most of the time, my father was only there to order my mother to do things around the house or to get me out of the room.
The woman with blonde hair and wire-rimmed glasses smiled at me as we walked toward them. The man reached out to shake the officer’s hand. “Good to see you again,” the man said.
“Thanks for doing this on such short notice,” the officer said.
“Of course, Kurt. You know we’re always here to help,” the woman said. “How’s Linda?”
“Linda is good.”
“Good, good. Come on in,” the man said.
The officer put his hand on my shoulder and led me inside through the screen door that slammed against the wood when it shut. No one jumped but me. It wasn’t a sound I had been used to hearing. We walked through into a living room, and the couple sat on a couch after indicating for the officer to sit.
“I’m really glad you were able to do this. I’m not sure how long this placement will be …” the officer said, letting the last little bit hang.
“That’s no problem,” the woman had said with a smile. “William?” I looked over to her. “Are you hungry? I’ve got some fresh cut ham, and I could make some scrambled eggs.”
I wasn’t sure if eating anything would help, but I could feel my stomach growl and cramp at the sound of the meal. I knew I hadn’t eaten since my grandmother had handed me the biscuit. A sadness that the grandmother I had just met I would never get to know. I wished so badly I could have had a normal family where the father cared about his son and grandparents that came over to read bedtime stories and spoil them rotten. I held back tears making pressure on my nose and nodded.
“Come on,” the woman said, holding out her hand, and I looked at the officer.
“It’s okay,” he said, encouraging me to go with her. “I’ll be right here.”
I followed her toward the kitchen. She pulled out a chair at an old wood table and tapped the chair for me to sit. I pulled myself up and onto the blue and white plaid seat cushion and watched the woman as she walked around the kitchen with ease. The scents of ham filled my nose, and my mouth salivated. As the sounds of popping came from the frying pan, I stretched my hearing around and into the living room.
“Kurt, I know what you’re saying. He’s in danger. We’re taking a risk by bringing him here, but O’Dorcha said he would be by in the morning to place a protection over our property.”
“Really? I’m surprised O’Dorcha wants to get involved with ogre blood.”
“He’s mac tire, Kurt. First and foremost. You know that. His mother was of mac tire blood, and he is one of us. He will be protected by the moon.”
“That’s why I brought him to you and Diane. I knew you would protect him. Things are coming.”
“And we will keep him safe,” the man said.
“I’m counting on you.”
“I know. Now, let’s get you and William set up to get some rest tonight. Can’t have you drive back exhausted.”
The woman placed a plate in front of me with a fork and a glass of milk. “You know it’s not polite to listen to others’ conversations.”
I looked up at her, uneasy and apologetic.
“Eat up, sweetheart. There are no worries here.” She gave me a loving smile and brushed my hair away from my eyes.
“Thank you,” I whispered so quietly I barely heard myself.
“For what?” she said, kneeling down. She wiped a tear from my cheek I hadn’t known I let loose.
“For kindness,” I said and then went back to my plate to start eating.
I heard her sniffle as she stood and turned away from me. She went to clean up the small mess she had made while preparing me something to eat. I took a bite of the scrambled eggs while I watched her as she moved smoothly and made sure her hair was covering her face. I looked over when the man entered the room and walked over to her. He reached for her and made her look him in the eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He looked at her with concern.
I tried not to look her in the eyes, but when she looked out of the corner of her eyes, our eyes met. I heard her sniffle again, which only made the man more concerned.
“It’s nothing bad,” she said through a laugh of happy tears.
He pulled her close and kissed her forehead and hugged her tight. “All right, Kurt and I are going to make sure the guest room is ready for him and the spare is ready for William.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
He walked away from her, and as he passed the table, he stopped and said, “She makes some good scrambled eggs, right?”
I nodded, and he smiled back at me before leaving the room.
I kept eating as I heard their boots step along the staircase and across the wood floors. I looked up at the ceiling as they walked, and I could put together an exact map of the floor plan in my mind. I now knew all the ways to get out of the house and where all the best places were to hide. Just like Mom taught me.
➣ Chapter 5
First Day of a New Day
When I awoke the next morning, Kurt was alre
ady downstairs sitting at the table, eating a biscuit covered in a white gravy. It looked really good. I licked my lips and then heard chuckling coming from the other side of the table.
“Oh, stop it. He’s a growing boy,” the woman said as she smacked him on the arm.
I flinched and took a step back, waiting for the man to attack the woman and put her on the floor. They all watched as I did this with concern in their eyes. But not concern for the woman, concern for me.
“William, are you all right?” the woman asked.
“Wasn’t he going to hit you?” I asked, meekly, not making eye contact with anyone.
The room went silent. They all looked at each other and then back to me. “Of course not. Why would you think he was going to hit me?”
“Because you disobeyed him,” I said, not understanding what was happening.
“Because I hit him?” she asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“Is that what your father did to your mother?” she asked, coming closer to me.
“Uh-huh.”
She turned and looked back at the officer and the other man. When she turned back around to me, she smiled and said, “No, sweet boy, that’s not how people treat people they love. I was joking with Mr. Dewills. We would never hurt each other on purpose.”
“So he’s not going to hurt you?” I asked.
“No, never,” the man said at the same time the woman shook her head. I started to feel a little safer.
“Come on and sit down. I made some biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast.”
“Okay.”
She pulled the same chair out, and I sat. There was already a yellow plate on a dark blue cloth sitting in front of me. She pulled open a biscuit and left it open on my plate then poured a huge spoonful of sausage-pepper gravy over the top. It smelled delicious. “I’ve got fresh squeezed orange juice or milk. Which would you like?”
I looked up at her with a huge bite of gravy covered biscuit barely fitting in my mouth. She giggled as I tried to get it chewed and get it down so I could answer her. With a big swallow I said, “Orange juice, please.”
A Beast Among Gods (The Mac Tire Chronicles) Page 2
