Galin (2 page)

“Simply love him.” She looked up when she
realized she was sobbing again and the man was gone. She stood there for
several minutes before she moved out of the building and into the fresh air.

There were things she had to do, things that
needed done now. Sitting on the long low wall, she let the breeze blow over
her, almost feeling as if it were taking away some of the pressure she suddenly
found herself under. When she opened her eyes, the list she needed to get done
seemed complete and she pulled out her phone.

She had to get arrangements made. Dusty knew that
her sister had made funeral arrangements along with her will, but not what they
were. There were people to call and make sure her nephew was going to be well.
Dusty wasn’t sure what happened now, and told herself she didn’t want him any
more than he did her, but she knew that for the lie that it was. She wanted him
in her life, if for nothing but the simply reason he was all she had left.

Sitting there for a few more minutes, Dusty
knew two things. She was more alone than she’d ever been, and as of right now,
she was as depressed as she ever would be again. Standing, she re-entered the
hospital. The sooner she was finished with this, the quicker she could get
moving again.

Chapter 1

Galin sat in the hall just outside the
offices and waited. It was his turn next and he dreaded this more than he had anything.
They were going to marry him off and he had no desire for it to happen. But
what did one say to a man like Boss? His word was law.

“Galin? Would you like to come in now?” He
wanted to tell Michael no, but stood and nodded.
Might as well get it over
with
, he thought. Moving through the great doors, he was shown to a large
table and asked to have a seat. The file appeared in front of him before he
could ask any questions.

“This boy you are going to protect is
somewhat of a problem child. He has had a great deal thrown at him, but—”

“Boy?” Boss nodded and frowned. “No, I’m
sorry, but it should be a woman, not a boy. I’m not…you’re going to assign me
my wife to care for. I don’t want one, but I know it should be female. What is
this about?” He pushed the file back at Michael.

“You want a wife? It was my understanding
that you have no wish to be wed. Am I correct on that?” Galin nodded and looked
at the file with the picture of a young boy on it. He appeared to be in his
early teen’s maybe, but he wasn’t much older than that. “Galin? Do you wish for
me to reassign you? Do you have no desire to help this young man?”

“I thought I was going into the rotation to
find me a wife. The way that you did for Riss and Agon.” He looked up at Boss
and Michael, who had summoned him today. “I had thought that the Mystic’s were
a way for you to get rid of us all, and marrying us off was better than having
us die. I’m…I’m not sure what’s going on now.”

“I do not wish for anyone to die, Galin. But
you have expressed a desire to not wed, and I do listen to the men and woman
who work for me.” Galin thought Boss was angry, but wasn’t really sure so he
said nothing. “Would you like to go over this file? Or do you wish to come back
later? He is in a rough way, this young man, but he can wait for another time.”

“Now. I’m ready now.” He was both
disappointed and relieved by not being matched to a female. He wasn’t ready to
settle down, and he had a feeling that a woman would take away his ability to
do what he loved most. He was a fun man, and those around him had always come to
him when they needed cheering up. He looked at Michael when he started to
explain what was needed.

“His name is Kipling McGee, but he goes by
Kip. He is living with his aunt now, but they are both most unhappy with their
forced arrangements. The aunt’s name is Dusty McGee; she, like his mother, was…is…single.
The young man is very…his mother was killed a month ago and he has been living
with the aunt, as I have said. Things are not going well for the young man and
he will need a great deal from you, I’m afraid. More than someone you might
have been with for a long while. His temper is short and he has taken to skipping
school, as well as hanging with the wrong crowd. You will need to work hard at
having him listen to you. He has shut us all out.”

“His mother is dead? How did this happen?” He
looked up when neither man answered him. “She took her own life?”

“Nay,” Boss said to him with a sad shake to
his head. “She was in an accident in which she was said to be at fault. There
were others involved but all were fine. Miss McGee was driving to an
appointment and using her phone. She hit another car and was pushed into the
intersection and hit several more times before she stopped. Her injuries were
profound and she did not live long. The son and sister were there when she was
pronounced. There was already a great deal of bad blood between the three of
them, and now there is more. I do believe the boy…he will not survive if he is
not taken to task soon. He is going down a path that will not see him live
long, I’m afraid.”

Galin looked at the several pictures of the
young man. There was one of him and his mother, and three more of him smiling.
The last two were of him looking angry, and one of him looking lost. This one
Galin knew was the true child, and his heart broke for him.

“I would ask that you observe him for several
days to see what you can work with. Most of the time he is locked away in his
room, but he does come out when he believes there is no one about. Tread
carefully with this boy, Galin. He is very fragile right now.” He looked up
when Michael cleared his throat before continuing. “His last protector…his last
protector has disappeared. We think that Markum has returned.”

“You mean since he was at Judith and Agon’s
place?” Michael nodded and Galin looked at Boss. “Why now? I mean, what does he
think he can do after all these decades? Surely you don’t think that he’s done
something with…you do, don’t you?”

“Just after Kip’s mother was in her accident,
a flurry of messages came from Gordon, the young man’s protector. Short things
as in ‘trouble,’ ‘damage.’ I had no way of contacting him then, as he suddenly
disappeared from my radar as soon as I received them. Then nothing. I tried
several times to find him to reach out to see what was happening, but he never
returned any of my calls or came to me.” Boss looked so afraid that Galin felt
his own fear start to rise. “You will watch the boy, please? I don’t know if
Gordon will contact you, but he might reach out to the young man.”

“He can do that?” Boss nodded at him but said
nothing more.

 “I’ll keep an eye on him. But I have to
wonder, why would Markum want Gordon? He is young in comparison to the other
protectors, and has little experience in dealing with the kind of evil that
Markum would use.”

“That is precisely why he’d contact him. His
lack of experience and his young age makes him a perfect person to contact. It’s
also why he would be easier prey for one such as Markum.” Galin looked down at
the pictures again as Boss continued. “Or he may want to hurt us through the
child. Who knows with one such as him?”

Galin left a few minutes later and made his
way to his newest charge. He was right where Michael had told him he’d be,
holed up in his bedroom with the music blaring. Galin watched him from the
corner of his room nearest his ceiling and wondered what was going through his
mind. Galin noticed that his computer was on and moved to see the screen.

At first he wasn’t sure what he was looking
at. When the image of a can of soup with crackers started to move about, he
realized it was an advertisement. As he had an idea that Kip wouldn’t be
watching commercials, he waited for the thing to end and whatever it was he was
watching to appear. As soon as the commercial for the crackers—as it turned out
to be—disappeared, Kip typed in another search. This time an image of a child
watching something on a small computer appeared.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Galin stepped back
from the venom in Kip’s voice and watched him carefully. “She thinks I don’t
know what she’s doing all day. There is no way she’s making money off this
crap.”

He watched as Kip pulled up three more
commercials. Each one he derailed for its stupidity as well as calling them
“lame” and “retarded.” Whatever was going on with the woman he was upset about,
Galin didn’t see what had upset the boy. When someone knocked at his door, both
he and Kip turned to it when a voice sounded from the other side.

“Kip, dinner is ready. Come on out and eat.” When
Kip stood up, Galin did as well. But instead of going out to eat, Kip simply
turned the music up louder before sitting down again. Galin knew then that this
was going to be his aunt.

You should get something to eat. There is no
need for you to go hungry when someone has fixed you a meal.
Galin knew that he’d
heard him but all he did was shake his head
. Kip, aren’t you hungry? It’s
late and you need to keep your strength up. Please, go do as you’ve been asked.

Kip opened a drawer in his desk and pulled
out three large candy bars. As he peeled one open, Galin laughed a little at
the stubbornness of the young. Of course he’d have a stash. Galin did as well
in his own place. But the boy was hurting by not interacting with people, while
Galin would eat in his room to continue playing one of his many gaming systems.

This went on for over two hours, with Kip stealing
a candy bar from his drawer and pulling up commercial after commercial on his
computer. After Kip fell asleep on the bed with a book on his chest, Galin
shifted from his world to that of the boy and looked around.

As far as rooms went it looked like every other
child’s room he’d ever been in. There were clothes laying on the floor that
were either dirty or clean, depending on the pile. The bed looked as if he had
not made it in days. The closet door hung open and hangers looked like they
were giving a high-five to the clothing that had ended up laying over a few
pairs of shoes. The walls were a bright blue, Galin thought, because he could
see very little of them. Instead, the walls were mostly covered in what looked
like graffiti and drawn on with pens and crayons, with a total disregard for
the person who owned the house. Perhaps that was the point. The boy—young man
he supposed—was more than just upset with his aunt. He was angry with the world
in general.

Some things on the desk made Galin think that
whoever Kip’s aunt was, she was not giving him whatever the boy wanted. He
found references to her not supplying him with the boots he wanted, nor tickets
to some football game at the school. Galin also found a notepad of all the
things that she’d spent money on.

One list was marked “unnecessary” and another
was labeled “superfluous.” These two lists seemed to say the same thing, but
the things on them were funny to him. Haircut and car were just two of the
superfluous things. The unnecessary list contained things like stockings and
maid service. The latter made Galin take a look around the room again, thinking
that was a definite necessity, especially for this room. Spending the day with
the boy proved to be both exhausting and enlightening. The young man did need
help.

When his replacement showed up for the sleep
duty, Galin went to his own room and sat down on the couch. He looked around
his rooms and realized that he needed to clean up after himself a little more.
A knock at his door had him bidding the person enter, and he sat up straighter
when Michael came in.

“I have that file for you. I thought you
could use some more information on the child.” Galin took it and waited for
whatever else that Michael wanted, and he could tell there was more. “I should
like for you to tell me something. It’s about the woman, Kip’s aunt. Have you
any interaction with her protector?”

“I didn’t even see the aunt at all but spent
the day observing the boy. He is…the boy is most troubled, Michael. Someone
came to the door once to tell Kip dinner was ready, but he didn’t leave the
room and I didn’t either.” Michael nodded. “Is her protector gone as well?”

“Oh no. I was just…she’s with Jacob. He said
that she was…he worries about her some. He thinks she is not doing well.” Galin
could understand that. He didn’t have any sisters or brothers by blood, but he
had lost a great many people he’d come to love like one. “He has been with her
since birth and he has noticed a great deal of things lately. Some of them are
not…it is most worrisome for him.”

“I know that Kip is mad at her. He has these
lists of things that she has denied him. Things that he feels she has purchased
for herself that he thinks are not useful or cost worthy. Could that have a
little to do with it?” Michael shrugged. “I could see if he would cut her some
slack, as I’ve heard said. I don’t think he’s been doing that. Of course, she
could be just as bad as he believes, too.”

“Please see what you can do about him helping
her, or at the very least communicating with her on some level.” Galin nodded
and waited again. “There is something else. I was wondering if you would do me
a favor. Not a large one, mind you, but one all the same. I need something
from…Judith has given me a jar of some of her exquisite jelly and I’ve no bread
to eat it on. I know that you have partaken of some of the foods on earth and
may have run across this bread called sourdough. I should like to try it.”

“Sure, but I don’t think that’s something you
want to eat jam on. It’s more of a sandwich bread. Kind of has a bite to it.” Michael
nodded. “I can get you some, but I think you’d enjoy it more on a biscuit, or
even some toast.”

Michael left him a few minutes later after
deciding that he did want the bread, but he’d take some biscuits as well. After
going over the file again Galin decided to go to bed. He’d have to get up
earlier with a school-aged charge, and he wanted to be there when he woke up.

~~~

Kip waited until he was sure that his aunt
had left for work before leaving his room. He really hated her and was going to
make her suffer every minute she did him by keeping him here. Why they’d had to
move to her house instead of just staying at the one his mom and him had was
beyond him. It wasn’t like she had a real job or anything, and she seemed to
always have money to burn. When she did leave for this so called job, she more
than likely just sat around all day eating those fancy cookies she liked and
drinking coffee. And probably having sex on the desk with her boss.

Frowning, Kip amended his complaints about
his aunt. “She doesn’t even own a coffee maker, so she probably buys that crap
at the shop with an ‘e’ on the end of it. Like the word ‘shoppe’ makes a whole
lot of difference.” He giggled a little at his own joke but sobered quickly. He
felt guilty laughing and tried hard not to do it. But he had noticed that it
was becoming harder every day.