by T. R. Hamby
“Emotional torture, maybe,” Mel said quietly. “He’s messing with our heads.”
“Well, he’s doing a bloody good job of it,” Barry muttered under his breath.
Mel took a deep breath. “We have to keep our heads,” he said firmly. “I know it’s hard. We’re all already exhausted. But we have to keep it together.”
Nora looked down at her hands, suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. She was probably the weakest of the group now, emotionally, and she didn’t know how to fix it.
Barry took her hand and squeezed, and she managed a small smile.
She took a deep breath. “I like Gilla’s idea, though,” she said, and everyone looked at her. “Mel should speak with Agatha, and Gilla and Gabriel should speak to Serene. But it shouldn’t be done at the same time, I don’t think. We don’t want them to gang up on us.”
Everyone was nodding slowly. Michael looked even more pained, and Nora guessed he was thinking about his sister. Gilla murmured to him, and he nodded, taking a deep breath.
“We should tackle Agatha first,” Mel said. “She’s the greatest threat, and we don’t know when she’ll come back.”
“So we’ll go downstairs, and you stay up here--Gilla will stay with you just in case--and you can Call Agatha and talk to her,” Nora said.
“More like beg,” Mel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “but yeah.”
“When?” Barry asked. “Tonight?”
There was a silence. Nora caught Michael and Gabriel casting furtive glances at her, and she tried not to roll her eyes.
“We can’t skirt around this just because I’m traumatized,” she said, and Michael winced. “It should be done tonight.”
She looked at Mel, whose jaw was working. He seemed to be blinking back tears, and Nora deflated. Clearly that wasn’t the best thing to say.
He cleared his throat. “Right. We’ll do it in my room.”
So they filed out, murmuring amongst themselves. Nora caught Mel at the door, taking his hand.
“I’m sorry. That was stupid of me to say,” she whispered guiltily.
He shook his head, brushing at her hair. “You’re right. We can’t avoid what’s going on. And we can’t tiptoe around you either.”
Nora nodded. She was suddenly nervous, defeated. “Maybe I’ll slow everything down.”
Mel sighed, wrapped his arms around her. “You don’t always have to be strong, you know,” he said gently. “I’ll take care of you. It’ll be fine.”
“This is the worst time for me to be going through this.”
“You’re right,” he said firmly. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
They weren’t exactly comforting words. But Mel was right anyway--it had happened, and they would all have to adjust.
He kissed her, and she melted, her spirits rising a little. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Mel. So much. Be careful with your sister.”
Mel snorted. “Yeah. God knows I’ll have to.”
Mel
400,000 Years Ago
Whenever the four would meet, it would be at Judith’s house. Judith’s house was large, and fit the growing family comfortably. There were plenty of chairs, a large fire, and toys for the children.
But Judith’s daughter Dina was pregnant, and needed peace and quiet. So the four met at Agatha’s house instead.
“I said stop wriggling,” Agatha said, smacking Mel’s arm.
She was making the final adjustments to a coat for Mel--a woven coat colored a blue deeper than the sky, to match the sapphire necklace he often wore.
“I can’t stop looking,” Mel grinned, looking down at it. “It’s better than I thought it would be.”
“Of course it is,” Agatha said with a smirk. “Only I can sew like this.”
“What do you want for it?”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“You know I’ll do it anyway,” he replied, grinning at her. “What about some earrings? I have some lavender jewels from the mines.”
Mel had just returned from a trip to the Northern Mountains.
She flushed, pleased. “All right, all right.”
Just then Michael arrived, followed by Judith, and young Serene and Gabriel.
“Kira!” the children exclaimed, rushing to him. “Did you bring presents?”
“Of course I did,” Mel said, reaching out to hug them.
Agatha smacked his arm again, and he laughed. “Go look in that satchel over there.”
The two went to it, and Michael and Judith approached.
“Another coat?” Michael asked, raising his eyebrows. “Too much space in your closet?”
“Jealous, are we?” Mel replied, looking down at himself again. “The world isn’t made entirely of gray and beige, you know.”
“Yes, but I look more serious.”
Mel snorted. “It’s difficult to look serious hauling around those two urchins.”
Now Michael laughed, glancing at his children, who were playing with the toys Mel had brought back from his journey.
“It’s a beautiful coat, Agatha,” Judith sighed, reaching out and smoothing her hand down the fabric. “It brings out the color of your eyes, Mel.”
“There,” Agatha said, sticking one last pin into the coat’s sleeve. “All right, take it off. I’ll have it done by tomorrow.”
And she turned to Judith, embracing her, and then to Michael, throwing her arms around his neck. He spun her around, and she shrieked.
“Michael, you know I hate that,” she laughed, looking pleased.
“I’ve been missing you,” Michael said awkwardly. “You’ve been holed up in here.”
She flushed. “I know. I’m sorry. I have so much work to do….”
“Maybe you could make me something. You know….colorful.”
The last word came out as though it pained him, and Mel couldn’t help but roll his eyes. That would be the day, when he saw his brother wearing something colorful.
Agatha and Judith laughed. “The sacrifices you make for your sister knows no bounds,” Judith teased, and Michael turned red.
Mel carefully hung up the coat, then turned, surveying his siblings with a smile on his face. Michael was still flushed, shuffling his feet as Judith and Agatha teased him.
He decided a rescue was in order.
“All right, all right,” he said, slinging his arms around Judith and Agatha. “Let’s leave the teasing to the urchins.”
“Feeling left out?” Agatha shot back, a wicked grin on her face. “You didn’t find any mates up there, then?”
Mel rolled his eyes. His lack of a mate was always a never-ending source of amusement for Agatha.
Michael came to his rescue too. “Let’s go to the lake. Gabriel is still learning how to swim.”
So they left the little house and went down to the water. They swam for a good while, playing with the children. Gabriel clung to Michael, afraid, and it took some coaxing from Mel and Agatha to get him to swim.
After a while it was just Judith, Serene and Gabriel playing in the water. Michael and Mel sat on the bank, with Agatha between them. Agatha laid her head on Mel’s shoulder. Mel glanced at Michael, and saw jealousy in his eyes. He didn’t know what to do, so he looked away.
“It’s wonderful--all of us together,” Agatha sighed. “I miss all of you.”
“It’s strange,” Michael said thoughtfully, “that once it was just the four of us. Until the others came.”
“We were so young,” Agatha said. “We’ve grown, haven’t we?”
“Some of us have,” Michael said dryly, shooting Mel a wry look.
Mel rolled his eyes. “Some of us have gotten more interesting.”
“Some of us have gotten more ridiculous.”
“You two are ridiculous,” Agatha said, squeezing Mel’s arm. “But I love you anyway.”
Mel
Mel had never been more nervous to talk to his sister.
He stood in his roo
m, taking deep breaths. He was reminded painfully of the last time he had begged for someone’s life--for Lilith’s, groveling at Michael’s feet. Now he was begging for Michael’s life. What a fucking twist.
Nora, Michael, Barry and Gabriel had gone downstairs to wait, with Michael a safe distance from his sister. Gilla, conversely, was in the next room, on standby in case anything happened.
Mel cleared his throat, shuffled his feet, and Called in a whisper, “Agatha.”
She was there almost instantly, standing by the bed, her sword at the ready. He was pained to see that, and held up his hands.
“It’s just me.”
Agatha saw the look on his face and faltered, looking guilty.
She sheathed her Blade and looked at him. “Hello.”
“Hi,” Mel said gently, lowering his hands. “How are you?”
She had circles under her eyes, and was a little pale.
She cleared her throat. “Why is it just you?”
“Why do you think, Agatha?”
She sighed. “Mel. You can’t change my mind. Sydney needs to be found--”
“We’re working on that.”
“And?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mel hesitated. “You have to give us more time. We’re looking, we--we have help.”
She snorted. “What help?”
Mel took a deep breath. Pulling the “Them card” hadn’t worked very well with Serene, but maybe it would help with Agatha.
He took some time, carefully detailing everything they knew about Them. Agatha listened, appearing both intrigued and disgusted.
“For god’s sake, Mel,” she growled. “You actually believe that this god Exists?”
“I know she Exists, Agatha. She brought Barry back.”
“I’m sure Father brought whoever back.”
“Father doesn’t like him. Trust me. Why do you think he’s doing all this? It’s because we’ve been working with Them.”
“Why?” Agatha exclaimed impatiently. “Why would you do that? Why would you betray Father for a god you don’t know?”
“No one really knows Father, either,” Mel said darkly. “And I would think you’d be the first to jump ship, given what he’s done to you.”
Agatha’s dark eyes flashed. “Michael did that to me,” she seethed. “He could have found a million other ways to….to….”
But she trailed off, seeing the look on Mel’s face.
Mel stared at her, his insides turning to ice. He felt a mixture of horror and betrayal.
So that was it, then. All this time, Agatha hadn’t cared about Lilith’s life, only that she had been forced to kill her….
“No, Mel,” she said quickly, turning white as a sheet. “I didn’t mean that….of course what he did to that girl….”
“That girl meant more to me than you can possibly imagine,” he breathed dangerously. “Or maybe you can. You have children. I’m sure the love you have for them is just as strong as the love I had for her. And Father ordered her death.”
Agatha was quiet, looking down at her shoes.
After a moment she said, “I’m sorry, Mel. I truly didn’t mean that. But it was Michael who chose me, against my will, to kill her. I can’t forgive him for that.”
“I’m not asking you to forgive him,” Mel said. “I’m just asking you to spare him. Please.”
She muttered under her breath, shaking her head.
She looked at him. “You of all people, Mel. You of all people.”
“Please.”
“Stop.”
“Please.”
“Mel!” she snapped angrily.
Her eyes were filling with tears. Mel’s were too, and he was shaking. He suddenly remembered the four of them--him, her, Judith and Michael--their time together. The laughter they shared. Agatha in his arms, Judith in his arms. Agatha had always been so teasing, and Michael had borne it so patiently, anxious for her attention. Mel had never quite noticed how much the two sisters favored him, leaving Michael out in the cold. It hurt to know.
He had to protect him.
He took a shaky breath, and then slowly sank to his knees.
Agatha looked enraged. “Godammit, Mel, don’t you fucking dare,” she hissed.
“Agatha, please….” he moaned, looking up at her. “Please….please….I’ll do anything….”
“Why are you doing this?” Agatha breathed.
Tears were splashing down her cheeks, and Mel was overwhelmed by her pain, by his brother’s pain.
He took her hands. “Please, Agatha. I need him….he’s my brother….I can’t lose him too….please don’t kill him….”
“I hate you,” she moaned, though she let him cling to her. “I hate you for doing this to me. I deserve vengeance. He deserves to die.”
“Please don’t do this to me, Agatha. I can’t do it again. I can’t.”
“You should hate him. You should despise him.”
“Well, I don’t,” Mel spat, anger burning inside him. “He fucking killed me that day, and I still fucking love him, and if you take him away from me, you’ll be doing the same damn thing he did to me. So if you love me, you’ll leave him alone.”
Agatha shivered at his anger. She looked struck, stunned. Tears still ran down her cheeks, and her hands hung limply in Mel’s.
“You truly don’t want him to die,” she whispered.
Mel realized his face was also damp with tears.
He brushed at them shakily. “No.”
She looked away. She ran a hand through her hair, bit her lip, cried some more.
“He killed me, too. That day,” she breathed.
“Father killed us, Agatha,” Mel said firmly. “He killed you and I, and he killed Michael, too.”
She wiped at her tears. She looked devastated, and Mel knew she was remembering that day, in the clearing, all those years ago.
She finally stepped away. Mel’s hands slipped out of hers, and he felt cold.
“All right,” she murmured dully. “You win.”
“Agatha….”
“You won’t see me again….for a while….I don’t know,” she said.
She sighed, ran a hand through her hair again. “I need to be gone. I need something….new.”
Mel got to his feet. He felt a terrible sadness, and he reached for her hand again. But she didn’t take it, and he let his hand drop to his side.
“Are you angry with me?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry.”
His chest hurt, and he struggled to keep from crying again.
Agatha looked at him, and there was a pitying look in her eyes. “I know you are.”
And with that she took a step backward, and vanished.
Michael
He was washing up. His hands and arms dripped with cool water, and below him, he found, was a marble basin. He studied it, then looked at himself in the mirror before him. His dark eyes glittered, and he brushed at his short hair.
Michael….Michael….
Then he left, his bare feet padding on the cool marble floor. Down a hall, through a door, into a beautiful day. It was summer; a breeze turned the trees’ branches. Lush grass was soft under his feet.
Can you hear me….
A clearing. He looked behind him. A great mountain loomed, and at its foot was a castle built out of the rock.
He turned again. Michael wondered what was going on, having no control over his actions. He stretched out his hand over the earth. Inch by inch, hair by hair, a creature appeared--a woman. She was naked, pale, with raven hair.
The scene blurred a little. Michael. Michael.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m your husband.”
But she still cowered, and in a flash was on her feet, sprinting away.
He felt a surge of rage, and he ran after her, tackling her to the ground, grabbing her hair--
He woke with a gasp.
He was in the hotel room. Gilla w
as fast asleep beside him.
Michael swore under his breath, his heart pounding in his chest. What the fuck was that?
He sat up and found that he was shaking. He held his head in his hands for a moment, trying to get his bearings. All the while flashes of that terrible dream plagued his mind, and he felt sick.
It was night. They had gone to bed, after an exhausted Mel had told them that Agatha had agreed to spare Michael’s life. Michael hadn’t felt any better. The fact that his beloved sister wanted to kill him was still a painful idea to bear.
Even if he deserved it.
The dream played in his head again, and he almost gagged, repulsed. Where the fuck had that come from? He never dreamed like that.
He needed to think. He carefully slipped out of bed, leaving a sleeping Gilla behind. He pulled on some clothes, then went down the hall. He stopped by Gabriel and Barry’s room, and quietly poked his head in. They were both asleep, their chests resolutely rising and falling.
Good.
He went downstairs to the living area. There was a fire going. He threw himself on the sofa and gazed at it for a long while.
That dream continued. It was horrific. It made him sick. Where had it come from? He never had nightmares like that.
He heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up. It was Nora, slowly inching her way down, scanning the room anxiously.
Michael’s heart ached. He knew she was searching for Roone, and found it a small miracle that she was able to leave her room on her own.
“Hey,” he said quietly, but she still jumped. “It’s just me.”
Nora let out a breath, holding a hand over her heart.
“Sorry,” he said, straightening. “Why are you up?”
She sighed, descending the last few steps and coming to the sofa. “I can’t sleep. I didn’t want to wake Mel.”
“Nightmares?” Michael asked shrewdly.
She flushed and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Me too.”
She sat beside him, hugging herself. Michael could still see her glancing around, waiting for Roone to pop out of a shadowy corner and abduct her again.
His insides boiled. Whenever they caught up to Roone, he would be sure to make him suffer a thousand times more than what he had done to Nora.
