Authors: Rain Oxford
“That is not exactly attractive.”
“Please stop. My girlfriend and my dad… No amount of
therapy would make this all better.”
“I’m sorry, son. It’s genetic; no woman can resist
me. I passed it down to you, so you should be pleased.” Ronez was much more
playful than Edward, a lot more like Dylan. Apparently, Dylan had his father’s
personality minus the philandering.
“If Divina didn’t save you, how are you here?”
“Kiro made a deal with the demon guard. Janus, a
demon himself, is precarious to deal with, but the two of them have a standing,
uneasy alliance. Unfortunately, Janus and the void itself suffered from the
damage of time, so I ended up kind of late. I was supposed to arrive the same
day Kiro ordered me.”
“Don’t trust Void-Express one-day,” Dylan said.
That made no sense at all to me, so I assumed it was
a human reference.
Dylan sat cross-legged on the ground. If it looked
more like he collapsed in shock and exhaustion, no one said it. Never tell a
madwoman she was crazy, and never tell Dylan he was tired.
“Do you have to heal this world now? Can’t you come
back later?” I asked.
He opened one eye to look at me, as if he were
concentrating with the other. “I can’t allow people to suffer and die so that I
can take a nap. Besides, I’m halfway done already.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. I shifted my eyes to see
the tears and gashes in the universe healing at an alarming rate. Something had
happened for my friend to have grown this powerful. Of course, I had no idea
how long I had been away.
The magic passed through me without pause, which was
odd. I figured with everything I went through, there would be some damage on me
like there had been on Shiloh, but it appeared not. Within another minute, the
world was as it should be and there was no sign of damage. Dylan’s magic was
gentle and controlled as it dispersed and he stood with no signs of
overexertion. I felt happy for my friend that he had accepted his magic, just
like I had accepted Rojan.
Divina’s expression was schooled, but I could scent
her worry for him. As that was the last thing Dylan wanted, I hoped she kept her
feelings hidden. Ronez’s intentions were more difficult to read, as they
appeared to be quite a bit shallower. Or perhaps that was a distraction.
“Can we all go home now so I can take a nap or
something?”
“Dylan, you must never let your lady know you are
lacking stamina. Fight through it.”
“Shut up, Dad.”
“That’s my boy. I told you I would be back to haunt
you again. Let’s go see my brother. I bet I scare the piss out of him.” He
looked positively gleeful at the prospect as the room filled with light, then
cleared and left us in Dylan’s cabin. Edward was on the floor, playing blocks
with Sammy.
“Mama!” Sammy screamed, jumping up and running into
my arms.
“Dylan? Are you okay?” Edward asked, staring at his
brother as if the man would disappear.
“I’m fine. Ronez said you brought him here.”
“I made a deal with Janus so that he can help you. I
just didn’t actually think I would see my brother again.”
Ronez’s playfulness dropped like a rock in water.
“I’m sorry about the way things were between us. I couldn’t talk about---”
He was interrupted as Edward hugged him. They were
completely identical by sight, but their personalities and scents were
different. Edward let him go and patted his shoulders. “How are you solid? I
thought you would be…”
“I am essentially a demon. This body is as synthetic
as Divina’s. I mean, demons are a species while I am a soul, so I could never
be a demon, but my body is designed the same as a demon’s.”
“Then you can stay?” Dylan asked, hopeful.
Ronez smiled sadly. “I am the previous Guardian of
Earth. It would be unnatural for us both to live, and the universe needs
balance now more than ever.”
“What if I gave up being a Guardian? You could go
back to being a Guardian and---” Dylan started. Divina cut him off by putting
her hand over his mouth.
“You will always be the Guardian of Earth. It was
what you were born to be, just like you were meant to be with Divina,” Ronez
insisted. “I was just keeping her warm for---” Divina slapped her other hand
over his mouth to shut him up.
“What a family. Sammy, don’t grow up to be like
anyone in this room, okay?” I told the baby. He giggled and buried his face in
my shoulder.
Divina removed her hand from Dylan’s mouth and he
took her arm, dragging her off to the bedroom. Edward sighed. “I’m sure he’s
thanking her for saving you,” he told me. “We should go outside.”
“I really hope he’s not thinking of me right now.”
We all went outside and Edward cooked dinner. After
the first good meal in days, the sun was getting low and I was ready to go to
bed, even if it was just to rest in peace.
When Dylan and Divina came out, they both looked
disheveled, but didn’t smell of sex. Divina sat beside me, discreetly adjusting
her skirt, and took Sammy from my arms. She certainly looked more natural with
the baby than before. Dylan didn’t sit down; instead, he grabbed my arm and
pulled me from the log.
“We need to talk,” he said.
“Oh, no thanks,” I said.
He rolled his eyes as he dragged me back to the
cabin, then finally let me go to fall into one of the chairs at the table.
“What happened in there?” he asked. “When you were pulled into the void, I
thought you were dead.”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure if I was or not. All I know
is that I found out a lot about myself.” I explained everything that happened
since I went into the void. When I was done, he was staring at me.
“Are you okay?” he asked finally.
I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I should be happy
that I met my mother and sad that it was for so short, and miserable and guilty
about all of the people who suffered… but all I can feel is… I don’t even know.
I really feel nothing.”
Your friend is knowledgeable in psychology, yes?
Ask him what that is called.
I do not want Dylan to diagnose me with anything
,
I insisted.
“You need to sleep and process things.”
Great. So he skipped right to the prescription. “I
can’t sleep.” I tried not to sound like a temperamental four-year old when I
said it, but I could only hope my friend understood. “I want to sleep, but I’m
wound up.”
He leaned forward and pressed his hand against my
forehead. “Sleep,” he said calmly. Lethargy overtook me and I felt Dylan catch
me before I hit the floor.
* * *
Over the next few days, Dylan woke me up to eat and
bathe and made me read a book, insisting that it would help me to have a break.
I also played with Sammy. In that time, I worked through what happened, but I
never really had an epiphany. Rojan and Dylan told me repeatedly that the world
was better off with me in it. Mostly, I wanted to help Dylan finish healing the
universe and get on with life. Whether or not it was right that I was here and
so many others were dead, all I could do was make good use of my life. The best
way to do that was to help Dylan.
Ronez was fun to visit with, but I hardly saw Dylan
or Edward; they were both taking the opportunity to be with him. I would have
been okay, but Divina must have been feeling left out because she took care of
Sammy more than I did. I was tired of being alone with my thoughts.
“You said you had no motherly instincts,” I said one
night as Sammy ate berries in her lap while we were all sitting by the fire. I
had wanted to put Sammy to bed, but Divina insisted he stay up longer, since he
had apparently taken a nap earlier.
She shrugged. “Maybe it’s a learned talent.”
“Good thing you are getting the lessons then,” Rojan
said. I hadn’t realized he was about to say something, so I didn’t think to
stop him.
Divina froze and looked at me. “What are you talking
about?”
Rojan grinned, but I didn’t let it out. Instead, I
shrugged. “That wasn’t me. Rojan must be bothered by something.” I turned my
attention to Dylan and Ronez, who were having a heated argument about who the
best Doctor Who was.
“Tom Baker was born to be the Doctor. All of the
others based their acting on him,” Ronez insisted.
“You haven’t even seen Matt Smith! You don’t know the
Doctor until you’ve seen Matt Smith!”
Edward put his face in his hands. “Divina, cover your
eyes, you shouldn’t see me strangle your mate and ex-Guardian.”
“Strangle Ronez, but leave my mate alone,” she said.
Sammy giggled.
“Cut me a little slack here, I died to protect Earth.
Do you know how many of my favorite shows I missed?” Ronez asked.
Dylan rolled his eyes. “Ungrateful dead,” he
muttered.
“What?” Ronez narrowed his eyes at his son.
“I said, ‘glad you’re not dead.’ You know, that
you’re back. I’m glad you’re back.”
I thought it was nice that Ronez and Dylan were
bickering like they were; it made things feel settled. Still, I could smell
that something was bothering Edward. I had learned that I could rarely
comprehend Ronez’s intentions, probably because he was dead. The problem was
between Edward and Dylan; they were both being cautious around each other.
Let me talk to Ronez and Kiro
, Rojan said.
I shrugged. If Rojan had something to say, who was I
to keep him quite? I asked Ronez and Edward for a moment and they both followed
me into the cabin. Dylan gave me a look before I closed the door, but he
trusted me.
Rojan’s presence took control of my body flawlessly.
I could have been worried that he had always had this power over me, but he was
my dragon, a part of me, and the one who gave up his life so I could have one.
I could give him nothing less than my full trust.
“Dylan is much younger than both of you, but about
the same age as Mordon,” Rojan began to speak with a strong tone and no
preamble. This strategic approach was well-known to both of us to display
competence and obtain attention. “Therefore, he has confided many of his
worries and thoughts in his friend. I am telling you this for the emotional
well-being of Mordon’s friend.”
“He’s upset about my pig-headed brother, isn’t he?”
Ronez asked, shooting a glare at his identical twin.
Edward glared back, but didn’t respond. Good… He was
reasonable for now.
“Ronez, I can see that Dylan likes you very much, but
he calls you by your name. When he is unsure of something, he looks to Kiro,
not you. He consciously thinks of you as his father, but not subconsciously.”
Rojan’s tone was gentler than before, but Ronez still looked like he was
slapped. “You have my sympathies, but not my sorrow, for your stay is
temporary. With his deep affection for you, it will be distressful enough for
him when you must leave; do not wish more upon him.
“Kiro, you are another matter. The man Mordon knows
has grown leaps and bounds with your help. Dylan grew up in a world that never
cared about him. His mother barely tolerated him, and his only experiences with
father figures were abusive. He learned to rely on himself, to never look to a
father as a role model. You have broken down those preconceived notions, those
learned fears, but your past has replaced those fears with new ones. He
believes you hated your children, and that you would hate him by association.
He fears that the closer he is to you, the closer you are to kicking him out.”
“I would never kick him out! None of my children have
ever liked me and I never wanted Dylan to have the same---”
“You are such an idiot,” Ronez interrupted him. When
Edward glared at him, he didn’t give his brother the chance. “You gave up on
your kids. You always wanted it to be easy. Family is difficult. It’s
demanding, stressful, and completely disastrous sometimes. You make mistakes,
they make mistakes, and at the end of the day, everyone says they’re sorry and they
move on. You never gave them the chance to apologize, and you never moved on.
Dylan is the best son you could ever have and you are going to ruin it because
he
is
everything you ever wanted in a child!”
“I don’t want him to leave, but soon he will leave to
live his own life and I don’t want to get in his way.”
When Ronez opened his mouth, Rojan raised his hand
calmly to halt the Guardian. Ronez closed his mouth, probably in shock. I doubt
anyone else was brave enough to silence the man.
“I was a father once, Kiro. I may not have been the
best, but I can tell you that I was loved by my children. It was not that they
told me they loved me, or that they always obeyed. You have to know your
children better than they know themselves to truly understand their feelings.
Very often, they do not comprehend what they feel. However, Dylan is not a
child, and he knows exactly what he feels. What he does not know is how you
feel.
“Yes, he will soon go and live with his mate, but if
you do not turn him away, he will still look to you for guidance. He will
always look to you as a father, whether it is with the love and respect you
have always wanted from your children, or the aggressive, obligated disfavor as
Mordon feels for his father. Talk to him, because he has too much to lose to
come to you. He has only ever known the rejection of a parent, so you will have
to give in first. Show him what a parent is supposed to be. Show him that he
can rely on you to be honest with him. Do not let fear ruin your relationship.”
When they both stared at us, a million questions
crossing their faces, Rojan waited patiently. Oddly enough, I believe he was
trying to model the role of a parent.
Finally, Edward asked the question they were both
burning with. “How old are you?”
Rojan smiled. “I was alive when the books had not yet
been created. I flew in skies crowded with dragons, when the gates to the
worlds were open and we could all travel freely between worlds.”