The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural (50 page)

“
I told her I’d look at it
when it’s all done.” Replied Lambert. “I’m going to go tell them
it’s dinner time. You go sit down alright?”

Grace nodded, “But you have to smile for me
first. It’s good for your health.”

Lambert made a face. He didn’t want to
chuckle, but he couldn’t allow himself to smile.

“
Come on!” Grace pleaded.
“You’re my only brother! I want you to live for a long time and
smiling keeps people alive.”

At her words a shot of sorrow crossed his
face. It was a deeper sorrow than Mason would have usually seen on
him. But he didn’t let it linger on too long and it was gone before
he could piece together what caused it. He smiled a set of
expensive white teeth before turning down the hall.

“
I love you Lambert!” Grace
called before turning around and walking with her friends into the
kitchen. But just before they turned their backs, Mason heard him
say, “I love you too.”

They had dinner that evening. Mason always
hated dinners because he had to sit still and listen as the adults
talked and for some reason Grace and Ithaca enjoyed listening. But
the moment his plate was cleared; he wiped his mouth, said a thank
you and hurried away. After wandering around the Stelter’s huge
house gazing at the numerous paintings, he found himself in the
guest bedroom set aside for him.

He pushed the two white doors open and
entered a bedroom just as big and cozy as the rest of the Stelter
mansion. A set of pajamas were laid out on the queen sized bed
beside the double doors but he ignored them as he glanced at the
far wall. Another set of glass doors lead out to a stone balcony
and he could see that the sun was already down signaling the end of
their play day.

But he didn’t want the night to be over. It
seemed as if he had just arrived. He wanted to play with his
friends but at the same time, he didn’t want to return to the
dining room. He figured the best thing to do was to wait for his
friends and so he slipped on a pair of night socks before he
considered going to the balcony to look at the stars. Just as he
crossed the room and set his hands on the golden handle, a knock
came from his bedroom door.

Knowing that it was rude to shout, especially
in a home that wasn’t his, Mason hurried across the room and slid
the door open. In the door way stood his father. His skin looked
paler and he was slightly out of breath. Maybe from walking up the
stairs. Regardless, he smiled at his son and asked if he could come
in.

Mason widened the door and stepped back
thinking that his father was going to chastise him for almost
telling their secret. Maybe that’s why Lambert showed up when he
did so Mason could remember to hold his tongue. Instead, Rex nodded
to the balcony and asked. “Do you want to go look at the
stars?”

Mason nodded and hurried back over to the
balcony. He forgot that ever since he was a child, it was a family
thing to look at the stars. Mason, remembered a night on a picnic
blanket after the Fourth of July fireworks. The sound of crickets
was everywhere and the stickiness of watermelon juice was still on
his chin. As he used his mother’s belly for a pillow, his father
had sat beside him and the three gazed up at the infinite space
above. Once or twice a lightning bug would fly overhead, and Mason
would imagine it was a shooting star.

“
If there is one thing I
want you to keep in mind son,” his father had said back before he
got sick. “It’s that when you look at the stars, you remember how
small you are. You might be a Diachi, but at the end of the day,
you’re human too.”

Mason never understood what his father meant
by that. But since then, he thought of his parents when he looked
at the stars. There was something about the night that brought him
back to that moment. Even as they stood on the stone balcony, with
their hands gripping the stone railing, he imagined his mother
there too.

For a long moment no one said a word. They
just stood there looking out at the dark fields behind the Stelter
mansion. In the distance and just hidden by night was the stone
garden with the ponds and the rooms and the tree-swing with his
friend’s initials carved in. Over to the west the sky lined with
the silver lights cast by Tarrillian City. But not a single tower
was visible through the trees and hills. Night skies at the Stelter
mansion weren’t like the night on the picnic blanket. So few stars
dotted the sky, Mason could count them.

“
What did you mean when you
said Gadianton took mom? Is that why he’s in trouble?” Mason
finally asked. Those were the thought of his mother had been on his
mind since they stepped out and overhearing what his father had
said about Gadianton had been in the back of his mind all day. So
he collaborated them both in one question.

For the first time that evening, Rex looked
down. There was a stone bench with just enough room for the two of
them to sit down behind them so with a light touch, Rex lead his
son to the seat. Instead of looking at his father, Mason kept his
head craned up at the light polluted sky.

“
Mason.” Was all Rex had to
say to set his son’s attention on him. “Mason, there are good
people in this world, and there are bad people. You just need to
figure them out.”

“
What do you mean?” Mason
asked, “How do I know they are good people?”

Rex looked down at his son with sad tired
eyes as he put his arm around his son. “A snake can hiss you a tune
and rattle you a song, but you don’t know how venomous he is until
he bites you.”

Mason was still confused but
he didn’t want to pester his father. Especially when he was so ill.
But his father went on to explain almost as if he had heard his
son’s silent request. “For years I let someone tell me great
things, things that made sense, things I thought were beneficial to
me. It wasn’t until he stopped talking and
did
something that I realized I had
dug my own grave with by listening to his lies. Now it’s too
late.”

“
Dad what are you talking
about? I thought you said everything was alright.” Mason
interjected.

“
Everything
will be
alright.” He
corrected. Another moment went by and all Rex could do was stare at
his son and Mason stared back. He could see in his father’s eyes
that he really wasn’t doing well and yet he forced himself to be
there with his son. “Great men do great things, Mason. Things that
make you happy. But bad men do bad things, if they do things at
all. When times get tough and you aren’t sure what to do or where
to go. Just remember, great men do great things.”

Mason nodded. He still wasn’t sure what his
father was talking about but he didn’t thin asking was worth it.
“Dad are you okay? You look really white.” Mason was starting to
feel the weight of his father leaning on him more and more but at
the time time he could feel his father fighting it.

“
Get Edrick for me. Please.
Hurry.”

Mason jumped up from his seat as Rex set his
hands down where his son had been to keep himself up. In a
heartbeat, Mason was panicked and he didn’t dare turn around as he
hurried out the bedroom door. But the moment he swung the door
open, Edrick was bursting in as if he had heard Rex call for him.
Mason stood by the door too stunned to do anything else. He stood
and watched the shadowy figures of the men on the balcony. He
wasn’t sure what was going on, but it looked like Edirck had pulled
a cup from the air and that was what Rex was drinking from. But
whatever it was, Mason’s father was better once he finished the
cup.

Slowly, Mason crept toward them but by the
time he was at his father’s side, Mr. Stelter was helping him up to
his feet. “You need to go lay down. It’s been a long day for you.”
Edrick was saying.

Rex inhaled deeply. They had just made it
inside the house when Rex stopped and looked over his shoulder. “I
love you Mason. So very much.” His mouth hung open as if he wanted
to say more but Edrick nudged him along and whispered something in
his ear.

“
No,” Rex said sternly then
pulled away from him only to hobble back to his son. In one swift
movement, his plump weak arms were wrapped around his son. “I love
you Mason. So, so much.”

Mason’s arms wrapped around his father though
he still had no idea what was going on but it almost sound like his
father was going away. “I love you too dad.” Mason replied
breathing in the fabric of his father’s suit. “Are you going
somewhere?”

When Rex pulled his face away, a damp river
of tears decorated his sickly pale face. “Yes, son. I am. And so
are you.”

Mason wanted to ask where but Edrick had come
up from behind and slid a strong hand over his friend’s shoulder.
“I’ll talk to him for you.” He said quietly.

Rex didn’t look up from his son. Instead he
lifted his hand to cup his son’s cheek. “Mason, we are going away
now and I won’t be seeing you for a long time. I know you are going
to feel like I have forgotten about you. I know there will be times
when you are going to be so hurt, lost and confused. I know that
there will be times when you are going to feel so alone that you
will question if I ever loved you. Mason, you are my son and I love
you endlessly. Please be strong and don’t ever stop trying. When
this war is over, we can be a family again. I promise.”

Mason nodded. At the time he had no idea what
his father was talking about. But as Ace relived those words, he
didn’t want to let go of the promise his father made. He was going
to have what he never had; a family. But only when the war was
over. Ace wanted to shout at his father. He wanted to know what his
father was talking about, but this was a memory and in the memory,
Mason watched his father climb to his shaky feet and brush the last
of his tears away.

“
Mason,” Edrick’s deep yet
gentle voice called and Mason glanced up at the fair haired man as
he crouched down beside him. “There is a bad man who wants what
your father has.” As he spoke Mason felt the ease of his voice as
he explained the situation to him. “I have built you a city. It’s a
place that will make you stronger so you can learn to protect
yourself against this bad man on your own. Would you like to live
there for a while?”

Masons eyes danced from Edrick’s to his
father’s before he replied, “If it will help keep my dad safe, then
yes.” It almost seemed like a game in his young mind. He felt like
he was going away to learn how to be a superhero.

“
You’re going to miss your
dad.” Edrick continued. “But Haileigh will be there. And so will
Ithaca.”

“
Cool!” Mason exclaimed,
“Let’s go already. We’ll learn how to be good guys and take down
the bad guy!”

When Rex beamed down at his son, a mix of
sorrow flooded his eyes. He knew he was going to miss his son
terribly, but at the same time, this was all a part of the plan. It
was a plan for their safety, but it was also a plan for their
ultimate happiness because once the enemy is vanquished, they could
be reunited as a family. Growing up in Tarrillian would teach Mason
to be a man Rex could never teach him to be. This was for his son
and for all of Edrick’s children.

“
One last thing Mason.”
Edrick said reaching for the boy, “I will never let you be alone.”
And with that, he placed a hand over Mason’s eyes. The boy was
encased in darkness and that was the last thing he remembered.
Edrick Stelter had the power to evaporate memories and so he did
with Mason, Haileigh, and Ithaca. He let their memories wash away
before placing them in various parts of his city. He did it all for
their safety and because he every single one of them.

Chapter 13 Battle for the Crown

~“I guess what I’m trying to say is:
something’s not right.” Ithaca concluded. “There’s something… big,
something crucial. And we’re missing it.”

August remained still on the corner of his
spotless bed sheets. Like the rest of Ithaca’s current hideout,
there was nothing save the very basic necessities. Aside from the
small pile of dirty clothes in the corner by the closet, nothing
shared the empty carpet. A single light bulb illuminated the room
just over Ithaca’s head. She might have taken a seat to narrate her
worries to August, but aside from the bed, there was no place to
sit down.

Ithaca stood with her hands on her hips and
glanced out the half open window at the single red car parked in
the driveway. Staring into August’s intense minty eyes was becoming
too much for her and the fact that he hadn’t said a word since she
began to vent all her concerns was more intimidating than
comforting. Larissa would be on her way to their bedroom at any
moment and Ithaca really hoped August would acknowledge her worries
before her cousin interrupted.

“
Have you talked to
Gadianton about it?” He finally asked quietly and Ithaca willed her
eyes to fall back on his.

“
I knew you were going to
say that.” She replied, “Do you know how insulted he would be if I
told him what I just told you? You’ve never been around him when
he’s pissed.”

Again August continued to say nothing as if
he were inviting her to vent a little bit more and so she did.

“
Gadianton can’t be wrong.
He’s never wrong. Do you honestly think we could have gotten this
far- that it could have been this
easy
to even get this far if Gadianton
weren’t leading us?”

“
Then what are you worried
about?” August asked.

Ithaca rolled her eyes up at the blank
ceiling and sighed. Larissa’s footsteps were approaching and Ithaca
could hear it through the wall behind her. “Gadianton may know
everything, but is Edrick Stelter somehow one step ahead?”