After Forever (14 page)

“I-I should go.” I turn to leave, but his
hand grabs my wrist. I know Orlie’s wary about my response and when
I pull my hand away he lets me leave.

Stumbling down the stairs I smack into a
wall. When I stagger back several steps I see it’s not a wall, but
Benedict, Orlie’s dad.

“Cali, are you alright?” he asked, putting
his hands out to steady me. When I took another step back Benedict
lets his arms drop to his sides.

“I’m fine,” I say, looking up into his eyes.
My body suddenly tenses as a memory penetrates my mind…

A toddler was unsteady on chubby legs. The
little girl was laughing and clapping while a tall man tumbled on
the grass in front of her. He grinned before grabbing the girl and
laying on his back, the child on his chest. As the man patted her
back his whispers, “I love you, Cali-girl!” As the toddler gazes
into her father’s adoring face a shadow was cast over them. The man
shifted his gaze from his daughter to the male now standing over
him.

He placed the little girl on the grass then
stood, leading the newcomer to the edge of the yard. As the girl
was distracted by a butterfly the men spoke in hushed voices.

“What do you want, Ben?” the father asked,
curious.

“She’s a beautiful child,” the newcomer
said. “What’s her name?” he brushed his hand through silver
hair.

“It’s Calista.” He moved himself in front of
the silver-haired man, blocking his view of the child. “What do you
want?” his voice was firm while saffron-blond hair gleamed in the
bright sun.

The silver-haired man took a step closer.
“She’s an abomination,” he snarled. “She’s not a full-blood. You
should be ashamed of yourself, Dharkar.”

“I’ve told Anna nothing of our kind. She
isn’t a threat to you, Benedict, and neither is Calista.” The
saffron-blond haired man, Dharkar, went to turn away, but the
silver-haired Benedict grabbed him, pulling him into his body.

“You’ve broken the law, Dharkar, and you
have to be dealt with.” As Benedict spoke, he pulled something from
his pocket. Before Dharkar could fight back, Benedict plunged a
shiny object into his chest. At first it looked like a knife, but
as Dharkar staggered back, his hands were clutching a glowing gold
star.

Benedict shielded his eyes as Dharkar’s body
exploded into millions of bright sun beams that evaporated in
seconds. The silver-haired man knelt in front of the toddler who
was sobbing for her father.

“I will see you soon, Calista.” As he stood,
a gold star appeared on the back of Benedict’s neck.

I snapped out of the memory and saw the
silver-haired man gazing at me curiously. “Cali, are you okay?” his
voice was full of concern and suspicion. He went to touch my arm,
but I batted his hand away.

“You killed him!” I growled, balling my
fists by my sides. “You killed my father!” I was shaking with
rage.

“Who?” Benedict asked. I saw his eyes
narrow.

“Dharkar Blithe,” I hissed. “You killed him
because he was with a human woman. That’s how you have that gold
star on the back of your neck.” I felt like poking his chest, but I
restrained myself.

Benedict raised his hand, rubbing it
absently over the back of his neck. “It was only a matter of time
for you to find out,” he said darkly. He dropped his hand while his
eyes took in my furious expression.

“Why?” I heard my voice shake.

“Because he broke the law! Dharkar mated
with your mother, a
mortal
, and that’s a felony. He had to
be dealt with.” He shrugged like it was an inconvenience.

“Why didn’t you kill me or my mum?” hot
tears were burning my eyes.

“Anna didn’t know about our world and you
were a toddler. I would’ve been killed if I took an innocent’s
life.”

I opened my mouth, but closed it again when
words escaped me. I pushed past Orlie’s dad and ran home and up to
my room where I threw myself onto the bed and cried for a father
who I didn’t even know.

My eyes were red, sore, and puffy when I
made my way downstairs. Mum saw my face and her expression changed
from happy to concern in a matter of seconds.

“Cali, what’s wrong?” she asked, putting her
book down. She stood from being curled up on the couch. “What
happened, sweetheart?” her arms went around me, protectively.

“I’m okay.” I sniffled. “Allergies…from
Faith’s garden, I guess.” I rubbed my eyes while mum took in my
puffy, red face. “I’m alright.” I felt bad for lying, but I
couldn’t tell her the truth: I had just met my father’s killer.

“Hmm…you’ve never been like this before.”
she placed a hand on my forehead. “You aren’t coming down with
something, are you?”

“No, but I’ll take some vitamins just in
case I am.” I went into the kitchen as mum closely followed. I
splashed cold water on my face as mum poured orange juice into a
glass. When I turned around I saw a garlic tablet and two Vitamin C
tablets beside the glass of juice.

“Thanks, Mum,” I said, picking up the
tablets and throwing them into my mouth. I took several gulps of
juice then smiled. “Stop worrying about me.”

“I can’t help it.” she felt my forehead
again then topped up my glass. “Drink it all up.”

After finishing my drink I put the glass in
the sink then slid onto a stool. “What’s for dinner?” I spotted a
pizza menu lying on the island bench. I picked it up and started to
peruse the options.

“We could have Italian or Mexican.” Mum
stood beside me. “Ooohhh that sounds yummy.” Her finger pointed to
a picture of a seafood pizza.

“I think Italian tonight,” I said. “I’m
going to have the bacon and meatball pizza with BBQ sauce.”

“Oh, that sounds good too.” Mum took the
menu and started to compare the different pizzas. “Nope, I’m
sticking with the seafood.”

“I’m going to have a shower,” I said,
pushing myself off the stool. “Are we getting cheesy garlic
bread?”

Mum grinned. “Of course and I’m
splurging…let’s get chocolate-caramel mousse.”

“That sounds good to me.” I kissed mum on
the cheek then headed upstairs.

The cool water made my skin turn
goose-pimply and it was a welcome relief from the summer warmth
outside the shower door. I submerged my face, holding my breath,
and braced my hands on the tiled wall. I pictured myself as a
toddler watching my father being killed for loving a mortal woman;
my mother. How could I tell Orlie that his dad was a murderer? I
didn’t want to hurt him, but he had to know.

Pouring conditioner into my hand I lathered
my hair making the air smell like lavender. Toweling myself off
with a towel I pulled on underwear, mauve cotton boxers, and
matching singlet. As I went into my room, a bead of sweat trickled
down my neck. The cool shower was no match for the humid
summer.

I sat on the bed, pulling the brush through
my wet hair, and watching as Orlie’s curtains gently moved in the
warm breeze. I knew the dark room was empty as I couldn’t feel his
eyes watching me.

Entering the kitchen I saw mum sliding two
pizza boxes onto the bench along with a rectangular box and two
small tubs. “Good timing,” she said, picking up the two tubs and
deposing them into the refrigerator.

“Smells good.” I hoisted myself onto a stool
then threw open the lid of the top box. It was my meatball and
bacon pizza. I moved the box in front of me as mum opened the
rectangular box and broke the garlic bread in two, tossing a half
onto my pizza.

“Let’s eat in front of the telly.”

I was about to bite into a slice, but put it
down. “Okay.” I carried my dinner into the living room and sat on
the couch, balancing the box on my lap. “I don’t think I can eat
all of this.” I picked up the loose slice and took a huge bite.

“Oh, I’m sure we can try,” mum said, folding
her legs under her butt and turning the TV on with the remote. “I
haven’t seen this show in years. I see Alf Stewart’s still living
in Summer Bay.” She shoved a piece of cheesy garlic bread into her
mouth as we watched
Home and Away
.

“Hmmm…he’s pretty cute,” I said as the
camera panned on a tall, dark-haired male with ‘
All or
Nothing
’ tattooed on his shoulders. A short girl with dark hair
was snuggling up to him.

“What did you think of Orlie?” mum asked out
of the blue. “He seems like a nice boy.” When I stayed silent, she
turned to look at me.

I swallowed my mouthful of food, keeping my
eyes on the TV screen. I stayed quiet, waiting for her to speak.
When she didn’t, I cleared my throat and said, “Yeah, he’s nice.” I
quickly shoved a piece of garlic bread into my mouth in case
another question came my way. Mum made a noise in her throat before
turning back to the TV.

After dinner I went upstairs, cleaned my
teeth, and went into my room. My desk lamp gave off a dim glow as I
sat on the window seat and gazed up at the moon. A minute later
Orlie appeared at my side.

“Cali…” his voice was gentle, hesitant. He
sat in front of me while I brought my knees up to my chest. I felt
him watching me.

“I’m okay,” I said, meeting his guarded
eyes. “I’m sorry for leaving.”

“I told you some tough stuff to hear.” He
brushed a hand through his hair and I saw the silver flecks in his
chocolate mess of hair. I watched as the locks fell across his brow
then half-smiled.

“I had to hear it,” I said. Neither of us
mentioned the subject of love. I wasn’t sure if I shared the same
feelings, but I knew that we had a strong bond. We were soulmate’s,
after all.

Keeping our gazes locked, Orlie reached out
and took my hand in his. His thumb massaged my fingers while his
midnight-sky eyes probed mine in the silence. “Tell me what’s
wrong,” he finally said.

I shook my head, breaking our gaze. Orlie
kept hold of my hand so I kept my eyes on our interlocked
fingers.

“Cali, I know something’s wrong. Did I do
something?”

“No!” I quickly answered. “You didn’t do
anything wrong.” I saw doubt cross his dark eyes. I closed my eyes,
pinching the bridge of my nose with my free hand. I took a deep
breath then let it out slowly, opening my eyes. “Remember how I
said my dad died when I was little?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Orlie replied,
nodding.

“I was there when he was killed.” I glanced
at the orange-and-black tiger sitting in my bookcase; the one my
father had given me. I heard Orlie gasp as his hand slightly
tightened on my fingers.

“What?” he asked astounded. “You were
there?”

I slowly nodded. “Mum had gone to the shops
and I was in the backyard with dad. He was mucking around…making me
laugh.” I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Orlie reached out and
brushed it away. “I was a toddler…this all came back to me when I
saw the man who murdered him.”

Orlie’s mouth fell open, gaping at me. After
a moment he closed it and shook his head. “You saw your father’s
killer?”

“Yes,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.
“I’ve seen him before.” I blinked, sending the tears down my
cheeks. “It was your dad.” my voice was inaudible.

Orlie’s expression turned to shock. He
stayed silent while staring at me, unblinking.

“Orlie, I’m so sorry.” I went to release my
hand from his, but he kept a firm grip on it. “He killed my dad
because my mum’s a human. That’s how he got that gold star on the
back of his neck.”

Orlie’s body jerked like he had suffered an
electric shock. He blinked before saying, “How did you know about
that?” his voice was thick with emotion.

I bit my lip, noticing that his eyes were
now black pools of anger. “Um…in the memory I had…Benedict plunged
a shiny object into dad’s chest. It was a gold star,” I told him.
“After dad exploded into a million sun beams, a gold star appeared
on the back of Benedict’s neck.”

Orlie stood and started to pace my room. His
body was rigid and his hands were white fists. I knew he was
furious at what I had told him.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t have
told you.”

Orlie spun on his heel, glaring at me. After
a minute he took a shaky breath, slightly calming down. He sat
beside me, his body still stiff. “We have asked him about the
star-mark on his neck,” Orlie said darkly. “But he never gave a
straight answer.”

“I guess a gold star appears after taking
another life?”

“It only happens when a Falling Star is
used,” Orlie answered. He held out his hand so I slid mine into his
cool grip. “My parents are Elders.”

“Elders?” I asked, curious. Orlie gave a
small smile.

“They are…old. ‘Elders’ is a loose term. All
you have to do is survive a hundred years and you’re automatically
an Elder.” He rolled his eyes. “Elders can only be killed by a
Falling Star.”

“How come your parents look younger than
their actual age?”

“We stop aging at a certain age. They look
in their late thirties, but are a hundred-and-seventeen-years old.”
His eyes turned amused. “Many years ago mortals thought of our kind
as vampires and werewolves.” He chuckled.

“Really?”

Orlie nodded then his face suddenly turned
dark and serious. “Cali, my father needs to be dealt with.” His
eyes were those black pools of anger again. “He has to pay for
murdering your father.” His hand gripped mine tightly making me cry
out. He released my hand immediately, clenching his hands in his
lap. I rubbed my fingers while Orlie seethed in the silent
room.

“Yes, he does, but I don’t want you involved
in this.” I said, coldly. Orlie looked at me, frowning. Rage showed
in his eyes, but confusion was joining the party.

“What?” he finally asked.

“I don’t want you to get hurt…Benedict’s
your dad. I can do this on my own, but you have to teach me how to
kill an Elder.”

Orlie shook his head vehemently. “No!” he
stood and started to pace again. “No way, Cali!”