Episode 25

After Granny cleared her throat, I watched as Thea created distance between her and Ryn. Ryn somehow ended up at the edge where Gran was sitting. Granny smiled politely after the space was made and placed herself back in the booth. I could feel the heat rising to my face as I let the drapes fall shut and sat down on the other side of Thea. Just a few shades lighter and Ryn might've passed for a Pale, if I'm being honest, and for some reason, she didn't want to make eye contact. Thea, on the other hand, watched me closely. She sat there with a face of pure amusement. Nice to know that this is all just some game. Lives on the line, and she's having a good ol' time.

"Well, it seems you two were becoming acquainted while Lark and I were away. It's good to have allies." Granny peered over her big round glasses for a split second before directing her attention to the table, "We were able to secure two rooms down at the Sunset B&B down on Fifth Ave." It was a quaint place. Close by, and luckily for us, even though it's their touring season, we had plenty of options. I wanted something a little fancier, but Granny had insisted we save as many credits as possible because we never know when we might need them. I couldn't argue with that kind of logic. Plus, she said the woman who ran the place was one of us, which was good enough for me.

We were interrupted then by the service member. Everyone quieted as he passed our food out around the table. I think you probably could've sliced the air with the silence itself. It was so thick and blanketed us the entire time we waited for the man to leave. "If you need anything at all, just yell for me." He winked, turned, and left us just as quickly as he had arrived. Got to love people in service who understand how to take a hint.

"So, what were you two talking about while we were gone?" I questioned. I couldn't help it. Keeping my face as blank as possible, I continued, but my voice came out slightly irritated. Jealousy was boiling within me. It didn't make sense, and I didn't like the feeling. I couldn't help it though. It was there, and it was making itself known. It must have been because I was tired and grumpy. Looking around the table, it was clear that we were all exhausted, even Thea, who was currently poking at her coney and putting her chili-covered finger into her mouth. Granny and Ryn were already eating, but I hadn't touched anything. The sick feeling in my stomach wouldn't let me, "Seeming chummy. You turned to the dark side, Ryn?" I added.

Instantly, regret filled me with those last words. Ryn choked on her food a little bit and grabbed her drink to try and quickly wash it down. What am I even upset about? I noticed the corner of Thea's lips turned up as she responded to me in place of Ryn, who still looked like she was recovering, "Lark." Yeah, real chummy... She fluttered her eyelashes at me a few times. They were light-colored like the rest of her but long and thick. Curled perfectly. I'd looked up conditions that cause you to lack color. I've seen pictures of plenty of white people. They're incredibly light-colored, and like us, they vary in shades and tones, but Thea? She's so much lighter than the ones I've seen. It was so bright in its lack of color, but it held a warm under glow. There was one condition called albinism, but this didn't quite match up. Her voice felt like velvet as it entered my ears, breaking me from my thoughts, "To turn to the dark side implies that one was on the good side to begin with. As for dark and light, good and bad, who's to say? You forget all that exists between."

"I was just asking questions, you know?" Ryn spat out and exchanged glances with everyone before rambling on, "Asking when she's from last, how she knows stuff--things like that. Important stuff. She can take what she wants from our brains, by the way. Also, last she was here, she was a he, and that was well over a thousand years ago! Crazy... man, can you believe it? It's so..." Gran shushed Ryn's audible distress. Excitement? I don't know. To be thousands of years old? Even I still couldn't quite wrap my head around it. What would anyone even do with that many lives? All the time in the world to do anything you ever wanted and could think of. Be anyone you want to be. Wild. Then it hit me.

"She can take... what she wants... from our brains..." I spaced it out every three words without reservation and dripping with skepticism. No real questions, just statements as I slowly processed the information. Granny kept quiet as she ate and watched us. She must've been starving as she was making short work of her plate. Sometimes, the old greasy stuff was so good. It hit the spot, though I had a feeling we'd all be paying for it later, one way or another.

Thea's voice cut through my thoughts, "Yes. Yes, you heard correctly." She said it slowly and then moved to where the side of her body was touching Ryn's. She then slid her arm around Ryn's shoulders, and spoke into her ear, "Wow. He's a bright one, isn't he?" Ryn looked uncomfortable as she made an awkward smile. I was fuming. The heat grew and spread across my face. My jaw was tightening with my increasing anger. She pissed me off when she addressed her about me like I'm not even there. Just some meat puppet or watchdog. Ryn's private property. Pissed me right the fuck off. Granny had finished and sat in silence, still watching the events unfold.

I leaned back into the booth and looked down into my lap. Seeing them so close bothered me in ways I can't describe. Best freakin buddies now. Arm all around her like they're... Before I realized it, it came out a mumble, just barely audible, but I couldn't stop it from coming. "Wow, Thea. Here, not even a full day. Cheap of you to throw yourself all over everyone like some common wh- "

SMACK

Hard right across my face. Before I'd known what was coming, I'd watched in slow motion as she pushed the table out and stood up. Then, her open palm met my cheek with a mix of lightning and fire. After, she sat back down and pulled the table back in. All these motions took place in seconds--no more than two. My reaction time is decent, but not that good. I could see her movements slowed in a way, but I couldn't do shit about it. It would've stirred questions normally, and maybe it would later, but it stung badly. She'd hit me with enough force that it could probably be heard out by reception. I glared at her. No one had ever hit me like that before. Not a single woman ever. I've gotten into fistfights once or twice with some other dudes but never hit by a woman. Not even Gran. Naturally, my instinct was to fight back, so I didn't really know how to react. The residual pins and needles sensation started to make my eyes water. Ahh... What in the fuck!

Ryn and Gran looked tense while Thea just watched me and waited. I don't know what for. A rebuttal? A showdown? Finally, she spoke in a low but aggressive tone, "Watch your tongue boy. I do not take to disrespect kindly. We spoke on this once already. Now, your promised punishment will be doubled. Do not make me repeat myself again." It was a crystal-clear warning. Maybe one more time... I quickly shook the thought away. Wasn't ready to be completely honest with myself, but I liked it. The stinging sensation left afterward. Mmmm.

She giggled, and for some reason, it was increasingly hard to hold my scowl. Placing her hand on my arm, instead of just the regular shiver, it sent an indescribable calm through me. It was like someone had flipped a switch inside. The smell of freshly baked muffins filled my senses as the heat from my face slowly drained. Blueberry muffins. "You deserved it, and you know it. Calm down and accept that it happened." Instantly, I glared at her. Sure, I was less angry, but I was still angry, nonetheless. I saw Ryn shift around uncomfortably and try not to look in our direction. Gran watched, unmoving, with both hands clenched around her cane. Calm down. Don't tell me to calm down when you just slapped the shit out of me! I wanted to scream it, but I let it go and instead rubbed my throbbing cheek. A chill ran down my spine.

"Stop calling me boy... anyway, I was going to ask you how. The mind thing." I addressed her once more in desperation to shift the subject. It did make me curious and was an easy escape. Plus, how she obtains information could be vital to our journey, wherever she might lead. So many things about this situation didn't make sense, and I wondered now if they ever would. I heard Ryn let out a small sigh of relief, probably glad things didn't escalate further. We don't need the attention right now.

Thea's now brilliantly blue eyes met mine. There was a slight shine to them as she answered me, "As I told our friend here," she gestured toward Ryn, and oddly, I felt a tiny wave of relief wash over me at the realization that Thea's arm was no longer around her. The Ancient then explained the nuances of how she could access our info. She broke things up into chunks and waited silently, watching me as I processed each fresh batch. Finally, she finished, and it made sense in a way. Surprisingly, it made more sense than I thought it would. Definitely didn't make me feel any better, but

My cheek still stung, and I absentmindedly rubbed it while I mulled over the entire picture our Ancient friend here had told us so far. All that she said and what happened to this point. Every now and then, my mind would make its way to her naked body in the cave. How anyone could manage to be the most beautiful thing and Earth shatteringly terrifying at the same time was a question that could only be answered by someone way above my paygrade. It was delicate but animalistic how those bright blue and bloodshot eyes stared at us hungrily. As she greedily sized up her next delicious snack, you couldn't tell if it was your blood or body she was craving.

I swallowed hard and had to fight to toss the imagery aside. Back to business, all of it did make a little sense. Especially what she said about those coming after her. I'd had zero experience with angels before meeting David and his bunch, so I had no basis to go on there. Hell, I didn't even meet Khaleel until last night, but I've known of him. Angels are good guys. Supposed to be, but... I don't know. I'm not too sure anymore. Her words flittered through my mind. They will not ask any questions, but they will take their answers... It's not too farfetched to assume that Purebloods have some weird mind-reading abilities, too. It was hard, but I was beginning to hold a little bit of trust in her. A little. Hard not to when her words rang true. Well, kind of. She didn't violently invade my brain for a start. I mean, she did, but not violently. That counts for points somewhere in the trust department.

Over one thousand years ago was the last time she was here. While my lingering silence filled the air, everyone began eating. Well, besides Granny. She was long done. A thousand years. The history books in school, sure as shit didn't teach much from that far back. Granny's knowledge before the twenty-first century was extremely limited as well. Shit, any knowledge back farther than the year two thousand five hundred was hard to get a hold of in general. Ryn might have an idea. She was always in that dusty ass library of archives.

The mid twenty-first sounded rough, too. Granny said it was a bad time for all of us. Humans were unhappy and fighting one another. All sides were divided and being pushed to fight one another. The supernaturals were all unhappy and fighting one another for equal representation and treatment amongst species. I can't begin to imagine what that was like. And Thea was here even further back than that! What it must've been like for her. I would have to ask one day, but today was not that day.

My stomach was quickly filling, and the flavor was incredibly satisfying. Coneys were an excellent choice. It was hard to get ahold of real meat these days, like how they used to make it, but they were still good with plant-based hot dogs. Maybe even better since they would put every part of the animal in there. Why did they even call them hot dogs? They were hot but looked nothing like a dog. Granny cleared her throat, once more ridding me of my thoughts as I popped the last fry in my mouth, "If y'all finished, I have some questions for you of my own, child." As the word 'child' came out of her mouth, Thea wrinkled her nose at Gran, and I loved it. It was cute.

Everyone gave Granny the floor. "Miss Thea, you are here now. Everyone will ask you how or why, but tell me, what is calling to you?" Thea's blue eyes blinked at her. She had genuine uncertainty written on her face for the first time since I met her. Blue faded into gray in some places as those eyes drifted around the table in thought.

Finally, she leaned back into the booth and clicked her tongue, "I need to find out what happened to the plans and provisions I had supplied." I watched as she pulled the corner of her lip in her mouth to bite on it. Immediately, another rolling of that thrilling sensation fell over my body, and a slight growl escaped me. Her physical effect on me was already there, and I didn't know it was possible, but it was running even further deep into the 'enjoyable' territory. Steel gray eyes met mine now as she turned her head toward me.

"And how do we go about doing that?" I said it, hoping no one noticed or commented about the animal that decided to start living inside my chest. I needed to focus and figure out how far of a mess we'd gotten into. There was no doubt that we were connected. Premonitions of a fixed point in time. All of this was starting to give me a damn headache. My head I let fall to rest in my hands. The fullness of my stomach and the lack of sleep was placing its total weight on me. So tired.

"There's no telling for certain. I only know what I know through your memories and, of course, my own." I looked up. She'd already been silently digging through our brains with her phantasmal claws. Feeling exposed and slightly violated, I watched as the memory bandit stopped tapping her chin, removing herself from her thoughts. "Thanks to one of my new friends being a seer, my gut tells me to trust her insight and stay the course. This will lead to my calling." Thea glanced around the table, "Perhaps we should discuss this more in-depth tomorrow?" It was clear to us, and probably anyone who'd seen us today, that we needed rest.

My hands started to feel a little cold to the touch, and soon, I could've sworn I saw my breath in the air. The lights began to dim. Suddenly, Granny's head fell back, and she let out a groan. Her hands were placed flat on the table in front of her. Ryn started gently tapping on her shoulder to try and snap her out of it. Was it a seizure? We all watched as her head came back down with force, white eyes staring listlessly into nothingness. Eyes wide and full of fear, Ryn slowly scooted away from her. The voice that left Phil's body wasn't hers. Not completely, "Hear me!" the table beneath my arms began to shake, "You!" She pointed right at Thea, whose eyes went wide. "You will be tested, Old One. A wrong must be set right."

Granny was sounding almost robotic. There were many different voices melted together with Grans' as she spoke. Ryn scooted further away, practically into Thea's lap, before she and I exchanged worried glances. Thea didn't seem to notice. Instead, she watched and waited. Gran's eyes were still stained with that white cloudiness. Sometimes, they would dart back and forth across the wall as she spoke, "The entire world will come undone on the path of your just plight." Around the table, I could hear everyone's heart rate begin to rise, including Granny, which worried me. My palms were starting to get sweaty in my lap. "Many lives have fallen under your heel. Blood, once again, must be shed. Be wary of whom you trust and command. It is now your hand that must be bled. Once again, will you stand and fight? Can you again embrace the night?"