She bit his lip playfully and kissed his chin. Then, in her sexiest voice, she said, “Make love to me tonight.”
Wrapping himself around her, he secretly glanced toward Caleb’s room. Pulling his T-shirt up, she pressed her chest closely against his. “You’ll see…everything will be all right.” She brushed her lips against his neck and Alex shot another, more intense, glance toward the wall that divided their room from Caleb’s.
“I know you want to,” she said, as she ran her hands down his chest. He sucked in a deep breath as her fingers skimmed the top of his pajama bottoms, snapping them playfully.
Then Valeria heard a movement in Caleb’s room and a knock at their door.
“Can I come in?” Caleb opened the connecting door and stepped in, wearing his pajamas and looking much younger than his twelve years. He looked like he had been sleeping hard.
“Sure, Caleb,” Alex said as he moved Valeria off his lap and pulled down his T-shirt.
Covering her chest with the sheet, Valeria said, “Uh, Caleb…it’s just that, Alex and I were…well…”
“Caleb, you must have had a nightmare?” Alex said, with a hint of suggestion.
“Nightmare?” Caleb laughed his loud, boyish laugh and then, seeing Alex’s insistent expression, he sighed in irritation. “Yeah, something like that. It was more like…” Caleb looked up at the ceiling as if thinking, and then glanced woefully at Valeria. “It was like there was a voice inside my head.” Alex shook his head, but Caleb ignored him and continued speaking. “It was this angry voice that kept saying, ‘
Get up! Now!
’ It was a nagging, annoying kind of voice. And there was something—I don’t know—just, so familiar about it. It gave me the shivers.” Caleb now glared at Alex, who rolled his eyes.
Valeria looked back and forth between Caleb and Alex wondering what was going on with them. They seemed at odds with each other and it was rare for either of them to be ill-tempered with the other.
“What’s going on between you two?” she asked.
Caleb looked down at the floor, unwilling to respond. Alex drew a deep breath. “Val, I think what Caleb doesn’t want to say is that he’s scared.” Alex narrowed his eyes for a fraction of a second as he stared at Caleb. “Isn’t that what happened?” Then, in a near-whisper, Alex admitted to Valeria, “Boys don’t like to admit it when they’re afraid.”
“Ah, buddy, is that it?” she asked sympathetically. “It’s okay to be afraid. We’re all afraid sometimes.” She held out her arms to him. “Come here.”
It was definitely not Caleb’s idea of fun to be woken up by Alex yelling in his head to get up and leave the comfort of his own bed to sleep on their couch. He had complied several times with various excuses since they had arrived in Africa. But tonight, Caleb was tired of the game. He was pretty sure it had something to do with grown-up stuff…sex and all.
Suddenly, Caleb had an idea to end the late night wake-up calls once and for all. He glanced with mock shyness toward Valeria. “Yeah, I guess I am afraid. But guys like me, we don’t like to admit it. I mean…I don’t have a mom, like other kids. I guess I just…” Walking to the bed, Caleb’s eyes lit with mischief. Alex rose from the bed and went to the closet to get a pillow and blanket, knowing that Caleb would play his role.
“No problem, I’ll make up the couch for you,” Alex said, relaxing.
Caleb climbed onto the bed and snuggled his head against Valeria’s chest as Alex went to the couch with the pillow and blanket.
“Umm…well, it’s just...” Caleb glanced up at Valeria and gave her his saddest expression.
“What Caleb?” She had never seen him like this.
“After that…scary dream, I just kinda feel safer right here. I guess I just need some time…like this.” Valeria wrapped her arms around him tighter and Caleb glanced toward Alex with a sly smile.
Shaking his head, Alex said, “Caleb, I am
certain
you will be just fine here on the couch.” As long as Caleb was in the bed, Alex couldn’t be there.
Caleb continued to glare at Alex. “Val, I don’t want to make Alex sleep on the couch. But ever since I saved your lives and all, I
have
been having nightmares.”
“Oh, Caleb,” Valeria brushed his hair back. Caleb gave her his most pitiful look. “Alex, he can stay here for just a little while, can’t he?” Alex’s jaw tightened before he nodded. “I mean, Caleb did save our lives, after all!”
Nodding unsympathetically, Alex punched the pillow a bit heavily and then sighed as he threw himself down on the couch.
A monkey worked his way onto the breakfast table on the patio by the main lodge. Valeria watched as Caleb held out his hand with a piece of apple.
“Caleb, they’re wild animals.” Caleb was wearing his thin rubber prosthesis so that he wouldn’t shock others…or the monkey. Still, Valeria felt like she needed to warn the boy, even though, in reality, he was 2,000 years older than she was—his exact age was unknown since he had no memory except for his search for Alex.
“Val, am I ever going to get to be the best man?”
Glancing into the distance, she said flatly, “Sure, buddy.”
He laid out a pattern of apple pieces on the table to lure the monkey to him. “Well, when?”
Glancing down into her Kindle, she clenched her jaw and then shrugged as if it were unimportant.
“You guys are sure taking long enough!” he said with an exasperated sigh.
“Caleb, what was that name that Amy called you?” she said in an attempt to change the subject.
“Oh, uh, Raiden. Some kids call me that.”
Valeria shook her head.
“Raiden? I thought I heard her call you
Lord
Raiden. You didn’t tell her that was your name did you?”
Pushing a piece of apple toward the monkey, Caleb answered with his attention still on the monkey. “No. She figured it out.” The monkey grabbed the piece of apple and ran to the rail to eat it.
“Figured it out?”
“Yeah.”
Caleb grabbed another slice of apple to lure the monkey back. “That’s the name I use—you know, kind of like a pretend name—when I’m playing on-line games against other kids.”
“Why Lord Raiden?”
“Oh, he’s a dude in another game. He’s immortal and he can throw cool thunderbolts and stuff.”
“I see. Yes, that does seem appropriate. So, why did Amy call you that?”
“She was watching me play and figured it out.”
Hearing footsteps, she turned to see Alex walking toward them from the main lodge. There seemed to be more of a bounce in his step than in days earlier. Something must have gone well. Suddenly, Valeria heard a zap, and the monkey screeched loudly and ran away. Valeria looked at Caleb accusatorily and shook her head.
He let out a boisterous laugh. “He bit me!”
“Let me see your finger. Did he break the skin? You might need rabies shots.” Caleb held up his finger and moved the layer of rubber aside. Valeria examined it, but it didn’t look like it had broken his skin. “Better wash it and put some antiseptic on it. Okay?” He rolled his eyes as if she was being overly protective.
Alex glanced toward Caleb and said, “And while you’re at it, pack your bags.”
Narrowing her eyes, she wondered if only Caleb was leaving, and why. But there was definitely something…different in his mood. Maybe he had changed his mind about having that pastor perform the ceremony and he wanted to give them some privacy. Or maybe it was just good news on his investments. Alex leaned down and kissed Valeria. She loved seeing him happy.
“What’s happened?” she asked.
“Why?” he asked coolly, but his face betrayed him and he pulled her into his arms and gave her a lingering kiss.
“Hmm…so, what’s going on? Why is Caleb packing?”
“It’s a rather interesting business meeting I have to attend.
Thought you might want to get out of here for a while.”
“Where?
Johannesburg?” she asked.
“Innsbruck.”
Valeria’s jaw dropped. “
Austria?
Is that wise?”
“I can go alone if you prefer,” he teased.
“Not on your life! You promised never to leave me again—remember?” Then she realized that there was no possibility that he would be leaving her alone, especially now that Toma wasn’t here to protect her.
“That’s what I thought.” Alex winked. “We’re flying out of here this afternoon and then catching a flight in Joburg. We’ll arrive in Innsbruck late tonight, but I thought you would appreciate a bit of time near our part of the world.”
∞
Innsbruck, Austria was only two hours from their home, Morgana, in northern Italy. Alex had said that, to be safe, it would be many years before they could risk being in Europe. Yet after only just over a month, they were flying not only to Europe, but they would be only two hours away from their home. Valeria was ecstatic. She knew they wouldn’t be able to see anyone, or even drive down the mountain. But to be that close—and to be in the mountains in the summertime. Alex had told her stories about how beautiful the spring and summer were at Morgana, with the fantastic smells of everything in bloom.
It took her only minutes to pack her bags—not that she had that many clothes with her. Alex took his time, occasionally smiling as he saw the thrill in her eye. Then they put on the brown contact lenses that Paolo had supplied them. Their brilliant blue eye color would alert any other immortals that they were in the vicinity. Not that there were that many, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Alex restated their safety rules: If there was any trouble, Caleb was to grab Valeria and the two of them were to get as far away as they could. Alex assured her that if they got separated, he would find them. He was immortal. Valeria was not. Still, he didn’t seem too concerned.
They arrived in Johannesburg and Valeria was surprised when Alex escorted them to a private full-sized jet. Caleb was thrilled and asked if he could ride up front in the jump seat, a fold-down seat, so that he could watch the pilots.
“After take-off.”
Caleb shrugged and pulled out his laptop.
In all the time that she had known Alex, he had always avoided the ostentatious flaunting of his wealth. To see him paying Toma a huge severance pay and then
this
, was beyond her reality. Something big must have occurred in his investments. Valeria and Alex sat next to each other on comfortable tan leather seats as a woman in a navy blue uniform served them champagne.
As soon as they were airborne, Alex pulled out his laptop. “You might want to rest. This is a long flight and we probably won’t get much rest in Innsbruck.
“Oh, you have meetings tonight?” she asked, disappointed.
“Just a few.”
“A few?
So are we going to check in at a hotel first?”
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “No. I have…other plans.” Then he cleared his throat and lowered his brow in concentration as he focused on his computer screen.
“What’s going on there?” she asked.
“Just some business that requires my personal attention.”
She shrugged, pulled out her Kindle, removed her contacts, and read. A short while later, a dinner of stuffed sea bass and tossed salad was served—along with her strawberry kale shake.
Caleb was busily working on his laptop.
“Alex, did you know that Caleb goes by the name of Lord Raiden?”
Glancing up from his laptop, Alex smiled. “So you’ve discovered his alter-ego.” Caleb kept his head buried. “You know he’s quite famous online, or perhaps I should say, infamous.”
“Our Caleb?”
“Yes, he’s probably the best in the world.”
“So, Lord Raiden, what game are you mastering now?” Valeria asked.
“Ahhh, you don’t have to call me Lord. That’s just to make me sound kinda spooky, like in a scary movie. But I decided that playing games is pretty boring now.”
“Boring?” Valeria lifted a delicate brow.
“Yeah, once you find all the glitches they’re really easy. Besides, if I’m gonna be a best
man,
I probably shouldn’t be playing so many kids’ games.”
Inside, she felt the inkling of a new pain. Then she thought about how a parent might feel, witnessing their child growing up. For the external world, she put on a smile.
“I think that’s a good idea, buddy. There’s a lot of life to live, and I think it would be better for you to find something more fulfilling than keeping your head buried in that computer.”
“Well...I decided to make my own game.”
“What kind of game?”
Caleb’s eyes lit with enthusiasm.
“A game that has real stuff—like when we went down to the cave and swam out. I think other kids would like to do cool things like that.”
“What would you call it?” she asked, her interest piqued.
“I haven’t decided yet. You wanna see what I put together?”
“Sure.”
The sun was beginning to set over Africa and, below, they could see hundreds of bonfires.
“Think I’m going to want to see this, too!” Alex shut his laptop and followed Valeria over to the other side of the cabin. She folded her legs underneath her on the leather seat next to Caleb as Alex stood behind them.
“This is just the prototype and I still have to fix some stuff,” Caleb said. “The goal is to get to the third triumvirate.”
“Triumvirate?”
Alex asked.
“Yeah.
I thought that would be cool.” Caleb’s fingers danced on the keys as he entered code that meant nothing to her.
“What’s a triumvirate?” she asked.
Leaning between seats, Alex said, “It’s three people who make up a power group. So, Caleb, are you referring to the Roman triumvirate? Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus?”
“Well, yeah, kind of. Only from, like, the Greek underworld, instead,” he said, as he continued to type furiously. “I was thinking it would be cool to start from the beginning.”
“Chaos?”
“No. I was thinking of the first triumvirate—what do you call them?” He looked up from the keyboard, thinking, and then nodded.
“Oh, yeah, the Moira?”
“The Moira—you mean the Fates?”
“Yeah. That sounds cool, huh! Guys like to play games with lots of chicks. I had to kind of soup them up—you know, to make it interesting.”
“
Okay, and you said there was a third triumvirate?” Alex asked.
Caleb sat back excitedly. “I got it! Okay, watch!”
As the game came up, a thunderbolt flashed and then morphed into a staff. A snake crawled up the staff and blinked with another crash of thunder. Then, the name flashed across the screen, “A Thunderbolt Production.” Caleb turned to Valeria. “I thought that would be cool.” On the screen, there was a boy who looked very much like Caleb in a kayak on a moonlit night. The sound effects kicked in and you could hear the surf hitting against the cliffs. Cartoon Caleb blinked and a message appeared as if someone were typing it:
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rescue the damsel and her loyal guard from the cave of no return
.
Caleb glanced sideways. “Cave of no
return—pretty cool name, huh.”
“So, now I’m just a lowly guard?” Alex muttered with a hint of amusement.
“Well, this is just pretend,” Caleb said seriously, as he typed wildly.
Valeria laughed and shook her head as she glanced up at Alex.
Cartoon Caleb paddled furiously toward the cave. Suddenly, the background music and sound effects stopped just as Caleb reached the wall of rocks that hides the entrance cave into Delos.
“Watch this!” Caleb’s face lit with excitement. Cartoon Caleb looked at the wall and blinked twice, complete with sound effects, and then ran straight into the wall.
Valeria couldn’t help but cover her mouth.
“It’s cool!” Then seeing Valeria’s concern, he said, “Don’t worry, it’s just a game.”
The decapitated cartoon head spun several times and froze momentarily, as it looked down to see its body and the water below, reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote discovering himself as he flew off a cliff. Then, he made a sound as his head dropped rapidly into the water.
Caleb let out a rollicking laugh as the head plunged underwater with a look of irritation as it sunk past fish and other sea life. A caption appeared on the screen with a deep voice that sounded suspiciously like Tavish, saying, “You lose! You’ve lost your head!”
Valeria giggled.
The boy turned toward her for an instant and said, “I just wanted to show you that part. That part’s easy…well, for me, anyway. Let me back it up.”
This time, cartoon Caleb paddled toward the cave wall with a look of fierce determination. As he approached the stone, Caleb made a movement on the mouse pad and cartoon Caleb rolled the kayak.
“Cool, huh!”
“Mm-hmm,” she responded.
The screen went dark, but Caleb’s fingers flew over the keyboard and then there was the sound of a match. Cartoon Caleb held a match and looked around the cave. He stashed bags of supplies along the way.
“If you don’t hitch these supplies just right, you can’t make it out of the cave,” he said.
Then, cartoon Caleb jumped out of the boat at the island of Delos. The frightening white faces of the dribs lurched toward him, but he zapped them just in time. Caleb’s rollicking laughter drowned out most of the games’ sound effects.
“I made it so you have to release an electrical charge.” Caleb’s face lit with exuberance with each zap.