Mundahlia (The Mundahlian Era, #1) (30 page)

Jett

27

“She tried to tell me,” I said remorsefully. “But I didn’t listen and pushed her away.” I was blinded by a pretty woman that told me I was handsome and fooled me into raising my self confidence. I felt compelled to get her attention for some reason and something made me find Rini annoying. All my life I’d wanted a girl’s attention, and when I finally got it from Rini, I wanted more. Needed more. Like a child discovering candy for the first time. And that girl knew that somehow. Knew that I would do anything for attention from a pretty face now that I knew it felt so good. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I started to believe her lies. I believed them, and ruined what I already had in my hands—truth. But why? Why did I change? Why did I act so differently to Rini?

I snatched Ray’s cell phone that he was messing with beside me, and entered Rini’s number on the text receiver line. I’d left mine on the table inside when Martin pulled us in, and I needed a phone
now
.

“What are you doing?” Martin asked from behind the screen door.

“I have to make this right! I need to apologize for what I did.” I began pressing the numbers on the keypad—they made beeping sounds as I hit each one to turn them into letters on my text apology.

Del trudged up the steps and wrapped her bloody hand around the phone screen and crushed it—several pieces fell to the floor. Ray moaned behind me and cursed to himself. Martin hushed him and said he’d get him another one.

“What the hell was that for?” I asked.

“
Shut up!
” Del stammered. Her eyes like fire. “You broke her heart in person—then you
fix it
in person!” Her eyes were glossy and her voice was husky as she backed away and entered the cabin, pushing past Martin.

“Clean up time, boys!” Martin called.

“So, Sarah.” Max said. “Wanna see how we get rid of the evidence?”

“What do I do with these shreds of clothes?” Sarah said, carrying the cloth in her hand.

“Toss it in the pile, dear,” Martin instructed from the other end. I sat on the steps holding an empty vile that had rolled out of Vera’s purse when she’d flung it to the ground and jumped over the railing. It hadn’t taken Martin long to place the last drop of the clear liquid in it to Floradelia blood by whiffing it and sampling it with the tip of his tongue. I’d only known of Floradelias when I was a small child. When one ventured into my room one night and tried to lure me to its colony. Fortunately, my mother came in and smashed it to a pile of petals before it could do anything. She never really believed in killing any creatures. But I had never
ever
known about the way they use their blood for manipulation. That is—until now.

Martin told me that it is a specific chemical the Floradelias have in their blood that they use to persuade people into believing, or doing anything. Their own defense mechanism that is mainly used to lure food back to their colonies without having to risk their lives hunting for it. In order for it to work, the person or animal has to consume—or even taste it, three times in a row. I thought back to any moment Vera could have used it on me. Then, Nicolas’ words in the diner rang into my head,
“The girl wanted to buy us a cup while we waited...she said you’d like this one better since it’s already sweetened.”
The coffee! She’d probably mixed it in before handing it to Nicolas to give me at the diner. No wonder it tasted too sweet and odd. Then, I remembered another occurrence where I willingly tasted the bitter liquid. At Rini’s cabin. When I’d bit off the head of one of the Floradelias who’d attacked Rini. I’d wiped most of it off with my shirt, but even then some probably went down with my saliva. I knew seeing the Floradelias there was odd, Martin did too. Bane, that asshole, planned the whole thing out. Then, a third incident flashed into my mind. Today, at the restaurant. I thought my drink tasted funny when I excused myself to the bathroom and returned. She’d probably added this whole vile. My body hadn’t had time to rid the other two occurrences from my system and I got topped off with the third. Completing the process and making me do the unthinkable. I sat there, remembering how I had treated Rini just moments before, and the look of confusion she gave as she stared at me from the water. I had deliberately dropped her in to save the girl that had been sent by my enemy, because I was under the influence of Floradelia blood.
You’re an idiot!
I scolded myself.

Max was right, Vera brainwashed me into believing I was too good for Rini. “Get rid of Rini, Jett. She’s no good for you. She’s trying to force you to be something your not. Pick me. I’ll be your girlfriend. You’ll finally have someone good enough for you. Someone worthy of your love. Rini means nothing to you, understand? She is nothing. Now break her heart so I can watch her cry.” Those were the words Vienna/Vera whispered in my ear. They were barely coming back to me now that I was out of the trance. They took a while to settle in, but when the did, the last thing I remember was saying sorry to Rini before letting her drop into the lake. Seeing Rini tumble down the stairs had knocked me right out of the trance in a flash, but it was too late. Next thing I knew, she let out a wail and was clutching her hand. Two things wrong. Three, including the mess of words I’d said to her. Words I wished, with all of my heart, that I could have taken back.

Rini was too good for me. I didn’t deserve her. She didn’t deserve any of this.
I really want to fix this. But, how? How do I fix what I broke?—How do I make this right again?—How can I get her back?—How can I possibly explain how much I messed up—how much I’m sorry, and how much I want her—need her? I really screwed it up this time!

Just then, tiny floating black debris fell from the sky. A harsh ash and burnt wood smell filled the air. I looked over to my family over at the body. Mark and Max were still spraying lighter fluid on the remains, and Ray was opening the box of matches. It wasn’t from them. Martin caught my doubtful gaze, “It’s not us,” he said in reference to the smell and debris.

It was then that I turned my gaze to the sky and saw black smoke rising from nearby. I walked over to the boys—my eyes transfixed on the smoke. They seemed to have seen it too.

“You all stay here and finish this,” Martin said to them. “Let’s go check it out, Jett.”

We followed the harsh smell, throughout the forest. Walking in the direction of where it was more potent.

“We’re close,” Martin said. We entered a thick white fog that hid the forest. The smell burned my nostrils and made me want to cough. “Just keep following the smell.”

After a few more steps, we saw the orange glow through the smoke about a hundred feet away. “That way!” I pointed. When we reached the opening, the smoke thinned out, and that’s when I realized that the fire was coming from Rini’s cabin.

The whole structure was engulfed in flames from the inside and out. Immediately, a rush of panic struck me hard in the chest, making it almost impossible to swallow. I felt weak and my knees were buckling as I took in the unfortunate sight.

“RINI!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. I could feel the word scrape the inside of my throat as they exited.

“HELP ME!” A voice bellowed from within. Screeching with a hoarse voice of painful agony. I burst into a run toward the cabin. Martin called after me, but I ignored it. I needed to save her, and get her out of the—

BOOM!
a forceful explosion burst from within, sending me pummeling to the ground. The scorching fire grasped at my face. The roof of the cabin caved in, and all that was left was a burning pile of debris. Pieces of wood flew, some heading for the forest, and others scraping against her cousin’s house.

I fell to my knees, clenching my stomach. I wanted to hurl, but couldn’t. I tore grass from the ground, feeling like my body was turning inward, curling into itself and destroying every single organ along the way.
This is all my fault.
The girl who had done nothing but love and accept me and my family for who and what we are—the girl who I was shaking with fear beneath my hands as I pushed her up against a wall and yelled at her in a bout of rage—the girl I had betrayed, and left heartbroken and injured…was dead.

Rini

28

(20 Minutes before)

I entered the cabin and locked the door behind me. I needed medical help for my dislocated wrist. It had become inflated and sore to almost two times the original size. But then, a little white note, stuck to the front door, caught my gaze and headed for it—the thick bold writing became legible from a few steps away. It read:

Celeste went into labor! Can you believe it! Our baby boy is coming early! I’ll be back to pick you up later! -George

It was mixed emotions for me after reading the note. I was more than happy for them, but also in pain from my hand
and
my heart—I was still debating which one hurt the worst. They were about tied at the moment.

I tossed myself gently onto the bed, tears still falling, and held my good hand on my chest as I felt a heart-sinking feeling set in. I didn’t have a phone. I didn’t have a boyfriend. I didn’t have a working hand. None of it anymore. I closed my eyes, attempting to block out the turn of events that had happened, then the room fell silent. Too silent.

Suddenly, the backdoor burst opened. Two sets of heavy footsteps stomped on the wood, coming down the hall. I jumped and got to my feet.
I locked the door right?
I looked around the room to find anything I could use as a weapon. Nothing. A pillow?
It’s going to have to work.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” A deep male voice said as he turned the corner into my room. I didn’t recognize him. He had dark short hair, and a sly smile spread across his face. “Hello, there. My name is Bane. It’s nice to finally meet you. It’s been a long time coming, I must say.” Behind him a tall, heavy man stood blocking the doorway.
Shit!

“Who are you?" I said. Using the pillow as a shield.

“You’ve seen me before. See?” His face reconstructed and morphed into another man’s face. This time, it was the man offering free pies at the Mexican restaurant that was standing before me. “Or perhaps you remember me from the dress shop?” He shrunk in size, and shifted genders and was now the cashier that I had paid when we bought Sarah’s dress. “You’re my hero!” I heard mimicked in the cashier’s voice. I knew there was something wrong in the way they acted. Something shifty.

“Who are you,” I said again, watching him morph back into himself. He was naked, but was handed clothes by the heavyset man behind him.

“I’m your knight in shining armor, of course,” his grin was menacing, as he slid on the clothes. “Isn’t it obvious? You
must
have heard of me by now.” He spotted my swollen hand once fully dressed. “My, my, my. What happened there?” He strode over to me and gripped my broken hand aggressively. “There’s nothing a little love can’t fix.” The grip of his hand tightened and like nothing, he jerked my wrist up, snapping the bone back in place. I let out another wail, even louder than before, making my voice hoarse. I regained contact with my finger, as my hand responded and gripped the bottom of his arm. “Much better,” he said with his gaze on my hand around his arm. “I don’t like damaged goods—now come along human. Your death awaits.”

“What?”

“Let’s get a move on.” He let go of my arm. “You know,
vamanos
?”

“Where?” I asked.

He backed away a few steps and let out a grueling sigh. “To wherever I say so.”

“What makes you think I’ll go with you?” I said, eying him. He doesn’t scare me. He’s not as big as Jett. In fact compared to him, he’s rather lanky. I could take him. He stepped closer and smacked me clear across the face. I fell onto the bed—holding my cheek in astonishment.
What the hell?

“Frankly dear, you don’t have a choice.” He turned his gaze to the man by the doorway. “Paul,” he said.

The man walked from the door to me—lifting me over his shoulders as if I were a sack of potatoes. My arms and legs flailed as I kicked and screamed. I started punching
Paul
in the chest to try to get him to loosen his grip.

“None of that is going to do you any good, so stop it!” Bane pointed a finger in my face, giving an order. He was struck by surprise when I returned the slap he had given me moments before.

Thinking that I would of angered him, I was puzzled when he had a look of amusement instead—as if he enjoyed it. “You sure know how to turn a man on,” he smiled a devilish smile. “Now I see why Jethro chose you.”
Jethro? Jett?
His eyes flicked down to the dangling necklace swinging from my neck. “
Ah!
” He smiled as though he’d found a treasure. He reached his hands to the golden locket my grandmother had given to me, and with a forceful yank, stripped it from me. The small metal clasp broke off and flew across the room, clinking when it hit the floor.”

“Give it back!” I stammered, shifting even more on the heavy man’s shoulder as I tried to reach for it.

“Take her away,” Bane ordered. Looking at my broken locket in his hands, as though thinking of something he could do with it.

The man named Paul carried me out to a large SUV parked in the dirt road. He threw me into the back seat—the seatbelt box jabbed me in the side—and slammed the door shut. Another woman had been dragged out by Bane and carried behind Celeste’s house. She was tied up and her mouth was taped shut. I didn’t even get to see her entirely before she was whisked away.

A metal bar had been placed between the front seats and the trunk, and the door handles had been removed. Black metal gates were against the windows, trapping me in the vehicle in a portable jail cell.

Bane emerged from the corner a few minutes later, grinning. His black shades hiding his eyes. It was then that I saw smoke behind Celeste’s home beginning to rise to the sky. Painting the grayish sky with a thick opaque white. It looked like an ink spill. Bane smiled a cynical smile as he crumbled up a large piece of tape in his hands and cast it aside. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was the same tape that was over the woman’s mouth.

The two men entered the vehicle and peeled away, causing me to jerk back into the seat. Bane clicked the radio on from the passenger side, as they sped away. Taking me away to Lord-knows-where. He stuck a piece of gum into his mouth and began to chew.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked with my hands and face against the metal bars dividing us.

Bane popped a small gum bubble and leant forward, raising the volume of the radio without turning his head from the road, and then sighed against the back of his seat, and it was then—at that very moment, that I felt our journey was only beginning.