Episode 21

*Sorry, my hiatus was a bit longer than planned! I'm back on schedule. Happy reading!*

"... and hastily." What in the fuck... my brain couldn't come to terms with how quickly everything went to shit. Less than eight hours. Everything was moving so fast around me. I didn't have time to process it. I have literally never been more fucking scared in my god damned life. I looked down at my watch. Yep, it was well into morning now. Four forty-seven in the morning, to be exact. So, my bad. Less than five hours, not eight. Jesus fu-

I could feel the blood leaving my face, probably for the fifth time tonight. Man, I was going to faint for sure if it happened again. I'm going to be fully honest here; I was paying full attention to them until David left, and this... Bast stood up. She made it hard to concentrate on much of anything. They were still talking about something, but I was too lost in my thoughts to pay them any attention. Lack of sleep and so much had gone down in such a short period. Damn. Unconsciously, I licked my lips, and my gaze moved over her body as she inched her way to the door. She was tall. Well, taller than me anyway. Her figure was strong. It was curvy, though. Not too thin. Just the right amount of things in exactly the right places. Symmetrical. A chill fell down my spine.

Images of her lying naked and unconscious on the couch floated through my brain, causing my palms to get sweaty and that familiar ache to return. Everything was just so... right. I wanted to touch her. Really touch her. Run my hand gently across her skin as I make my way from her neck down and then follow that path with my mouth. I closed my eyes for a minute to try to clear my head. Why did I have to be the one to dress her? I'd been the one to dress her because 'why not' is the question I should ask myself. I had extra clothes for girls because I am one. Who else would they ask? Normal. I reopened my eyes only for my gaze to fall back down her body lazily.

She wore my clothes so much better than I did. Just a light blue simple button-down blouse. A pair of ripped jean shorts. I was shorter and less endowed. She had two buttons at the top undone, and her chest threatened to pop the next button down. I know because I had also done up the one above it, but it refused to stay. Taller than I was, too, so the shirt was a little short. I didn't mind, though. Her hips were on display just above the shorts that were a bit too short for her. It didn't help my sick mind knowing that she had no underwear on. One good bend to pick something up and-

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Lark was putting on an authoritative tone, which caught my attention during their conversation. "This sounds all good on paper, but how do we know we can trust you?" he snapped at her. Her intense stare was unmoving, and she scowled at him. She was so hot, even when completely infuriated. In more ways than one. Heat seemed to flow from her with her building anger. I saw her gesture with her hand and was quickly reminded that she wasn't wearing a bra either. I don't usually wear one unless I am working out, and then it was a sports bra. Swear! She was a lot larger than me for that to work. This was not intentional. Completely accidental. Coincidence.

I had wanted to touch her so badly. A compulsion, unlike anything, to reach out and have her. So perky. Impossibly so for their size. Her skin was so white it was really strange to see. Nipples, which were currently very hard and noticeable, were more of a pink color than I'd ever seen. It was wild how hard it was to fight that urge to follow her and be nearby. To pull her into me and hold her. Am I a terrible person? She glanced over right at me for a split second. Those eyes were beautiful, too. A blue, almost gray, but I swear to you, I saw them shift colors a few times during their conversation to a nearly green. They reminded me of the sea.

If looks could kill, Lark would've been dead tenfold by now. Did he even realize who the hell he was messin' with? This idiot has been flashing her this shit-stain smile all night. Was he trying to die? Even now, it was plastered on his face as his eyes kept looking her over. Swear I saw her eyes flash red, but it must've been my imagination. He walked up to her, got right in her space, and crossed his arms. This man. He's gone completely insane! It was the only explanation. She scoffed at him, "Take my help or don't, boy." She snapped at him. She pokes him right in the chest, "It makes no real difference to me, but you would be completely daft not to heed. Now, just be a good child and do as you are told. Get. Ready." The last two words came out of gritted teeth.

I could feel her aura hitting again in waves. It was like constant pressure everywhere on my body. I could not move. This was all anger. Before in the cave, she pushed out something else--not anger. It had to have been why we were so... aroused. This pressure, though? It started to burn. The temperature in the room was at a steady rise and I could see little beads of sweat start to form on Lark's brow.

Other than that, Lark, seemingly unaffected, gave her his most charming smile and said, "Aww. She cares about us guys! Why didn't you just say so?" He allowed his body to relax as if we were no longer in any danger at all. Why are we practically sick, but he isn't? "We're going to have to work on that attitude. Help gran pack, will you?" She cocked her head and looked at him quizzically. He either ignored it or didn't see and instead turned, walked past her to the stairs, and made his way up. I made note of the visible shiver that hit him as he passed her. So not completely unaffected.

She turned her piercing gray eyes toward me, and the pressure on my chest immediately softened. "That one," she pointed after him, her finger followed by her gaze and her nose slowly started to wrinkle. "Is he yours?"

"W-Wha-," What the hell kinda question was that anyways? Is he mine... What? Who says shit like that? What would that even matter or have anything to do with anything!?

I heard a hum escape her before she replied, "You need to put him on a much tighter leash." She almost looked angry at me as she moved toward me. Don't stare at her body. Don't stare at her body. Don't stare at her body. Don't stare at her body. Against my own wishes, I looked at her chest as she stood right in front of where I was sitting. Breasts level with my eyes. So full. So large. I couldn't help it. How could I help it? They were in my face! One flick of that button or arch of her back and the button would pop off.

She chuckled as she bent over to look me in the eyes. I could see right down the shirt. I looked back at her face. There was a slight smirk forming. Oh shit. Busted. "Aww, what's the matter?" She put her hand on the table and leaned in, towering over me. Pressure hit my body once again as she was getting closer. I felt like I couldn't take in a breath. Something flashed behind her eyes. "Cat got your tongue." I felt her breath, and the tingling began as my eyes began to fall downward again. "Wouldn't you be such fun to play with?" Her breath was cool as it hit my face. I felt her soft touch run from my neck up under my chin and secure my stare. I swallowed hard. If I weren't so scared of her, I'd reach my hand around the back of her head, pull her to me, and kiss her full lips. Fuck that button up too.

Granny cleared her throat, "That will be quite enough. I was told I would have help packing." She smiled and tapped her cane as she stood there, finally somewhat recovered. "And no more compulsion on my people, my dear." She let her eyes fall on me briefly and then back to her. You could almost hear the smile in her voice, "It is truly unnecessary in most situations these days, you will find. Especially where she is concerned." She shuffled back to the front room and down the hall to her "lab," as she called it. This... woman followed close behind, mumbling something or another about maps.

I just stayed where I was frozen. Huh. She's doing what Lark asked. No... he basically told her to... He's an eighteen-year-old, nothing, and she is an Ancient. She's very powerful, and you can feel it when you're around her. She could do whatever she wanted. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of years old, and she's here accepting tasks from a toddler in comparison. Nothing made sense anymore, and what Philomena said finally hit me. She said it wouldn't be necessary. Especially for me. What does that mean? Compulsion. I know the definition, but was it a power of hers? How did that work? I was distracted from my thoughts as I heard Lark scurrying around upstairs. Shelve that for another day, I suppose. There were more important things to focus on right now. I glanced around at the gaudy décor. Might never see these millions of chickens all over the walls again. The wallpaper was dull and weathered in places.

Khaleel stood there in the living room doorway, studying me. He reminded me of that feeling. That you're being watched like some sort of lab rat. They say that's what we were doing to ourselves way back when, but the humans doing it to us was an entirely different demon--running experiments and torturing us. Khaleel told me about David once. Said he'd seen the scars on his back where they'd removed his wings and waited for them to regrow. Multiple times. Rumor was they wanted to figure out how many times it would take before they would quit regenerating. They always do. It takes a lot to maim and scar the flesh of a fourth generation like David, and he made it clear to Khaleel that he was not the only one or the only species in cages in those labs.

"You know I have to leave." He broke me from my trance, "I can no longer stay and help you. Now that David ha-" I waived my hand at him in return, successfully shushing him. He gave me a regretful smile, and I knew that guilt would be joining him as soon as he left here. There was a lot to this that I didn't understand, but one thing was clear: the angels were afraid of this woman, and by the conversation she and David just had, there were wars waged between them. Right about now, I'm feeling like I'm stuck on the wrong side. "I will check in on you as much as I can. I will find a way." He gave me a brief hug and was out the door. I heard the familiar whoosh sound as he launched from the ground. Even understanding why he had to leave didn't make it any easier. Having blood around was comforting.

Lark appeared at the bottom, landing with two bags. His brow furrowed. He looked around, and I noticed his entire top half was tense. "It was just Khaleel leaving." He shook his head. "What is it?" Slowly, I stood up. Concern was building within me. Alaric's senses were always keen. If he was being cautious, it was best to follow suit.

He was walking around now, making sure to be ginger with each step. I watched as he peered out the back windows, then silently and masterfully made his way to look out of the front windows before coming to stand by me. My eyes lay on him, unblinking, noticing that he had yet to look at me. Still, I watched him as he was scanning the room slowly. Fight or flight mode activated. "Wh-?" he stopped me mid-thought by moving his finger to his lips.

Who knows how many minutes passed before Philomena and the shivers lady returned to the dining room. She looked annoyed, and I then realized she was carrying two gym bags and a backpack. Granny shuffled toward us with empty hands. Lark was still standing there on alert. He blinked and finally acknowledged me, turning slowly to meet my gaze, "You didn't feel that? Or smell it? It's horrible... It's not real strong, but it's putrid." The look on his face was distant, as if he were somewhere else entirely right now.

I shook my head, "No. Nothing at all. Smells same as it did in here yesterday. You made me think someone was already here for us." He sounded like a crazy man. What smell? Why is he worried about a strange smell right now? I pushed the thought aside and asked the questions eating me alive, "Lark, what about my things? I have nothing with me. My parents?" The voice escaping my throat sounded to be pleading with everything it had for some peaceful certainty. Pleading was not something that I did. "What about my brothers?" I could feel real tears starting to well up and distort my vision. Held on, though. I was not going to let any more of them fall tonight.

"Ryn, it's okay. I have a bag of your stuff here that I grabbed already. Right here." He softly pats on a brown bag thrown over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but we're going to have to call them on the road."

"You can sense them?" The busty lady reentered the room and our conversation, laying her intense stare on Lark as she spoke, dismissing his and my interaction completely. In reply, he shrugged at her. The man shrugged. After a few minutes, she broke her empty stare and pinched the bridge of her nose. Vacantly, she shook her head and stated blandly, "All right. It is time to go. Say your goodbyes now. You'll likely never see this place again." Without another word, she was out the back door.

Philomena tapped her cane on the floor three times, closed her eyes, and threw something up in the air. Must've been herbs of some kind. She mumbled some words and then tapped the floor three more times. The weathered and cracked linoleum beneath her blew up some dust with each tap. She stood there in silence for a bit. Her gaze looked misty and wistful, I'd imagine, from admiring time spent here and all of the memories made. Every single memory of Clyde was here. This house. This town. She cleared her throat, "Well, you heard the young woman. On the road." Then, she was making her way out the door, too.