Sticks and Stones

by Alexie Aaron

  “Whoa. I think you have something there. Not as painful as a good kick to the nards, but at least I won’t be denying the kid a sex life.”

  “But not with you.”

  “Honestly, you’re as bad as your mother is.”

  “You also may consider getting the Rapunzel hair trimmed.”

  “Victor pointed that out once, and I cut it off. He told me later that securing it to my head would have been enough.”

  “Dork.” Lazar walked to the door. “I’ll leave you to your bath. Don’t let the water get cold; you may end up with a cramp.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, closing the door. He walked out and down the hall to check on Dieter who had returned from the aerie. He was on the phone behind a closed door. Nanny Berta had the twins downstairs. The Martin household was under control. He liked to think it was under his control. He heard a long string of muffled curses. Mia must be getting out of the tub. He knew the salves had a sting to them, but they worked. He got on the elevator and took it down.

  Nanny was making a sandwich in the kitchen. She scooted the one she made for Lazar across the counter to him. “How’s our girl?”

  “Bruised, battered, but determined. Is it really necessary for her to train at this level?”

  “Mia doesn’t seem to do anything by half measures. Although, in the last few weeks, she has been listening more and reacting less.”

  “I hope it’s not just a phase.”

  “Me too.”

  “Tell me about Victor.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if I can understand Victor, maybe I can relate more with Enos,” Lazar explained.

  “Those two are as different as it gets.”

  “Really? Because from my point of view, they are very similar.”

  “Victor isn’t interested in emotions. He is visceral. He reminds me of the old ones who just took what they wanted. Enos wants to know the emotional reasons for things. He already asked me whether I knew anything about Mia and Angelo’s pre-Ted times. I told him that wasn’t really his business. He then told me that he thought Mia was and would continue to be Angelo’s weakness.”

  “Ed told me that Mia had asked him to train her how to kill birdmen. He assumed it was because Mia didn’t trust Angelo. But that was years ago. There has been some kind of private accord between the two,” Lazar said.

  “She gave Angelo her son yesterday,” Nanny said. “She wouldn’t do that if she no longer trusted him.”

  “Why use the word give?”

  “She let Brian join Flock Excelsior. When a birdman joins a flock, he becomes part of the whole. His allegiance is to Angelo. Mia’s commander is Nicholai, and when he steps down, Victor, unless he releases her to Angelo or the Gray Ladies.”

  “Why did she do that?” Lazar asked.

  “Ted thought it was best. You see, Flock Excelsior is a more cerebral squadron. They are last into battle. Varden’s different. His soul is already that of a warrior. But Brian doesn’t have a birdman’s soul. He’s special.”

  “When I enlisted, I never thought I would be in forever nor end up losing a leg. I was looking for a way to earn money for college and to serve my country. My parents were having a hard time being accepted where we were living. I thought I would improve myself and be able to support them somewhere else. Instead…”

  “You’re here taking care of us,” Mia said from the doorway. She handed Lazar the salves and turned and raised the back of her shirt. “I’m going to be putting the peninsula house up for sale. There’s money there for you to go to college.”

  “I’m not taking your money,” he said, applying salves to the hard-to-reach scrapes and contusions.

  “Are we not family?” she asked. “Didn’t your father recognize me as your cousin?”

  “Yes.”

  “Haven’t you been… Hoo boy, that burns,” Mia said, losing her thought for a moment. “Haven’t you been lording over me for the past few months?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why won’t you let me help you?”

  Lazar finished and lowered her shirt. Mia turned around, and Nanny recognized Mia’s look of determination. “Don’t wimp out like I did. When my children are grown, I’m going back to school, but you can start now.”

  “Your husband pays my salary. He cosigned my mortgage. I’m not taking another dime from you. I’ll find a way.”

  “Do that,” Mia said. “What about my idea about the podcast?”

  “I thought you were kidding.”

  “Bad word, bad word, bad word,” Mia said, her fist clenching. “Lazar…” Mia growled, grabbed the salves, and walked out of the kitchen. They heard the front door slam.

  “Do you know, this is the first time I have ever seen Mia lose her ability to speak from being so outraged,” Nanny said. “She looked a lot like Victor. I think I’ll have their family lines run. I bet they are distant cousins.”

  “No. She’s my cousin,” Lazar said. “My responsibility.”

  “Give her time to cool off. I bet she’s headed to check on Enos anyway,” Nanny said. “You just fell out of favor.”

  Mia climbed the stairs and found Enos flat on his back with a watery ice bag on the floor. He opened a swollen eye and closed it again.

  “Did I do that?”

  “No. I ran my face into your elbow on purpose.”

  “Phew, I thought I did it,” Mia said. “Two questions.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Are you naked under that sheet, and can I put some of this smelly shit on your cuts and bruises?”

  “No, I’m not naked, and yes, please.”

  Mia lowered the sheet. The massive muscular youth was showing a lot of color. She whistled. “Maybe we better find a better coach.”

  “Or develop a little restraint,” Nicholai said from behind her.

  Mia turned around and swallowed hard. The sight of the elder birdman would always make Mia weak in the knees. He was a mighty specimen of a warrior bird. His quick sharp eyes bore into hers. “I didn’t mean to break him.”

  Nicholai frowned. He lifted Mia’s chin and saw the strangle marks on her neck. “What exactly were the two of you doing?”

  “Training.”

  “I should swat you on your behind, but Nanny will just chew me out,” Nicholai said. “Who won?”

  “He did.”

  “She did.”

  He smiled. “So, you weren’t angry with each other?”

  “Oh no, we were training, and then he pulled my hair.”

  “I bet that got you kneed,” Nicholai said to Enos.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Why would you pull her hair?”

  “Murphy said it was one of Mia’s weak points. I only did it after she kicked me under my left wing.”

  “Why was it exposed?” Nicholai asked.

  Enos’s face reddened.

  “Sariel told me it was the only flaw in Enos’s fighting,” Mia said.

  “And you had to win,” Nicholai said, lifting Mia’s shirt gently off and examining some of her deeper gashes.

  “Yes.”

  “Children, the two of you are too competitive to spar with each other.”

  “We thought Murphy would stop us. He said he would. Instead, he was laughing,” Mia said.

  “How’d you know we were beat up?” Enos asked.

  “Varden. He said his mommy and you were injured.”

  “Tattletale,” Mia hissed.

  Nicholai grabbed Mia by the shoulders and yelled, “You could have killed him! He’s got a fuse. It’s a slow burn, but once lit, he could have killed you! Why were your hands around her neck?” he asked Enos.

  “I grabbed her to stop her from kicking me in the side.”

  “He threw me a good thirty feet,” Mia said, impressed. “I landed in the water.”

  “Mia, for God’s sake, shut up,” Nicholai said. />
  “Sir, don’t be mad at Mia. I thought she’d be a good match for me. During the frost giant battle, she was magnificent. I wanted to improve my skills.”

  “Mia’s not a teacher. She’s an immature child.” Nicholai turned to her. “Heal him. And then you and I are going to have a little talk.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Put your shirt on. You’ll give him ideas.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Mia said and shut up when she saw his face.

  Nicholai left the room.

  “I’m sorry, Mia,” Enos said.

  “I’m sorry too,” Mia pouted. “Let’s see what damage I did to your side. Crap on toast, I busted your ribs.”

  Enos started laughing.

  “Shush, we’re in a lot of trouble.” Mia healed his ribs and applied the salve. “You know we’re going to look like hell for that meeting tonight. That’s if I live past the scolding I’m going to get.”

  “Why? We’re both at fault.”

  “I’m older.”

  “I hope he doesn’t tell Victor.”

  “Me too.”

  Mia walked down to find Nicholai in the library with his back to her. He turned around and stared down at her. “Show me your wings.”

  Mia did, taking care not to expose her back to him as she opened them.

  Nicholai examined each wing and stopped. “What happened here?”

  “I used my wing to stop a bullet.”

  “Victor said you rushed in. Fortunately, you thought the better of it. What am I going to do with you?”

  “I’m sorry I got carried away with Enos. Please don’t take him away.”

  “How close are you?”

  “Don’t you dare insinuate anything more than family,” Mia warned.

  “You have a track record of turning my warriors into lapdogs.”

  Mia opened her mouth to protest but wisely closed it again.

  “Enos will stay, but I will be training him. It bothers me, if Sariel can see his flaws, others can. You’re going to watch and learn the proper way to spar with a young hothead like Enos.”

  “He was never angry.”

  “He never showed you he was upset. That’s the beauty of this child. He can control his emotions. They are there but so well hidden, no friend or foe would ever know you had riled him.”

  “He’s like an archangel when he fights,” Mia said.

  “Don’t insult him.”

  Mia looked down at her feet.

  “Did you use any Blue Star energy?”

  “No.”

  “Did you draw from the primal demon genes?”

  “No.”

  “Even when he pulled your hair?”

  “No.”

  “And you did all that damage?” Nicholai asked.

  “He did a lot himself. We would have been fine in a few hours. I have some restraint. I have a lot of control.” Mia opened her hand and a ball of blue energy appeared. “I could have bested him in minutes with the knowledge in my head, but I chose to teach him. Sure, we got carried away because we are competitive. Murphy was supposed to intervene. I understand your concern, and even though in my heart I know I did nothing wrong, I respect you and your need to reprimand me in front of Enos.”

  Nicholai felt the temperature drop in the room. “Mia, what are you doing?”

  “Healing everything but my pride.”

  Nicholai watched as her skin shimmered, and faint green scales momentarily appeared behind her ears. When she was finished, she tossed the ball of energy into the air, and it rained bluebells.

  Mia walked out of the aerie without saying another word.

  Chapter Seven

  Mia didn’t really say much the rest of the day. She did inform Cid that Nicholai may be staying for the barbecue before she locked herself away and cuddled with her children. Ted checked on her a few times, and he was amazed how well she looked considering the damage he had seen when he left her in Lazar’s care.

  Mia dressed carefully, considering that they were having guests. She couldn’t hide that her jeans gapped at the waist. “I just got these,” she groaned.

  Ted walked in and whistled. He hooked his finger in a belt loop and pulled her to him. He slid a hand down the back. “I find nothing wrong with these jeans.”

  “Whoa, Teddy Bear, we’re going to be late for the meeting.”

  “How can I help?”

  “Loan me your jersey. I can’t walk in with my underpants showing.”

  “Done,” he said, pulling the garment over his head and sliding it over hers.

  “Yum, it smells like Red Vines and coffee.”

  Ted pulled on a PEEPs shirt and leaned down and received a few thank-you kisses from his wife. “Mia, how would you feel about arriving a little late?”

  Mia and Ted arrived arm in arm. Ted slid into his spot at the console, and Mia greeted Gates and Scott. She squeezed Audrey’s hand and sat down next to Enos. He passed her a note. She opened it up in her lap, read it, and jammed it into her pocket.

  “How’s the ribs?” she whispered.

  “Fine.”

  “Good.”

  Mike narrowed his eyes. He knew that Mia wouldn’t sit next to him or Gates. That was a given. But she avoided the handsome history teacher and chose to sit at the far end of the table with Enos. Something was going on. Was Mia collecting another man/child? The young birdman’s eyes followed Mia whenever she was in sight. Was it always like this?

  “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to thank Scott Hogan for coming to speak with us. I know it has been a few years, but I feel his experience is very valuable,” Burt said.

  Scott got up. “Since it was in college, Burt, it has been a lot longer than a few years, but I’ll never forget it. I remember it started with a scratching. We thought it was the house mascot, a bulldog named Pete. We had his nails trimmed, but the scratching continued. Pete eventually refused to come into the frat house. That was a warning that we should have paid attention to. We had him housed with one of the sophomore’s families. I’m not sure what reason was given. The little details fail me.”

  Mia noticed that Scott was comfortable speaking. Dieter had reported that Scott was an excellent lecturer, and Mia could feel the sincerity of the man by the ease with which he moved.

  “Next came the knocking. Drove us nuts. The frat house had this large heavy front door, and the interior doors were also made of wood. So, when the knocking first started, we all were opening our doors, the front door, the basement doors, and so on. Burt, you came into things about this time.”

  “Yes. I heard the knocking but didn’t put two and two together until it rained stones.”

  “Rained?” Mia questioned.

  “Just like hailstones but inside,” Scott said. “No one got hurt. You could tell you were hit, but it didn’t sting. Aside from a few dings in some sports trophies, there was no damage. We asked for Burt’s help, and aside from some comforting words that this too shall pass, he really couldn’t do anything.”

  “I stayed in the frat house at night with them from that point on.”

  “Who was the focus?” Cid asked.

  “A freshman. We called him Lowman for low man on the totem pole, but I think his name was Lloyd Manson. Anyway, he got the brunt of the attacks. At first, he thought these were good-natured stunts from the other guys. That was until he woke up and half his head was shaved. He complained to the house mother, and she took us to task. Lowman told us that he would find disturbing things in his backpack. One day it was filled with stones.”

  “Where did the stones come from?” Gates asked.

  Scott nodded to Burt.

  “As close as the drive and as far away as the gravel pathway by the arboretum. The reason we could trace the stones was because the type was unique to the surrounding community.”

  “Then came the voice,” Scott said.

  “Voice?” Enos asked. “Male or femal
e?”

  “Male, definitely male. He started off with one word, often vulgar, while we were studying. This would produce a lot of activity as we were trying to find the culprit. Then came the lies. He told us he was a former pledge who was murdered by the fraternity brothers hazing him. He said he was buried in the basement. Burt stopped us from taking a jackhammer to the concrete. He kept saying, this too shall pass, and it did, but not without one horrible night. We were all hazed old-timey. Back when the rituals of pledging weren’t monitored, pledges were forced to eat worms, down deadly amounts of beer, and so on. We all were victims of this activity and only survived because Burt kept us all together and sane.”

  “I had them spend their evenings camped out in the living room, and even though we removed anything smaller than couches and chairs, trophies and personal items manifested. Beer would fill someone’s mouth without a source for it. They were the lucky ones; others had living worms apport in their mouths,” Burt reported.

  “Ew, just ew,” Audrey commented.

  “This stage lasted just over a twenty-four-hour period,” Scott continued. “And then all but a few attacks happened, but they were light. A few items disappeared, and a male voice sang bawdy drinking songs while we were trying to study. This lasted a few days, and then nothing.”

  “Did Lowman stay with you the entire time?” Mike asked.

  “Yes. We as a fraternity decided to all stick together. It was a bonding experience. We still remember it as the St. Hicks Days.”

  Mia saw Burt blush. There was a murmur as the other team members made quiet comments to themselves, but Mia and Enos remained silent.

  “Have any other paranormal events occurred with other frat houses in the area or since in the house you stayed in?” Gates asked.

  “Not to my knowledge.”

  “Has Lowman recovered and been bothered since?” Cid asked.

  “I called him last night to prepare for this meeting and asked him that question. He said that, although he has an unnatural aversion to stones used in landscaping, he has had an uneventful life. Burt, I have his information, and he is willing to speak with you.”