Shadow's Dangers (21 page)

The way she said it made it clear she didn’t believe that Tess had done it by accident. That was ridiculous. Why would Tess burn memories of our father? And why didn’t I ever know that my father and I shared the same love for drawing?”

“I assure you it was me who did it. For God’s sake, I didn’t even know that our father drew!”

“And you can thank your dear Tess for your ignorance on this matter. She made sure that you knew absolutely nothing about our parents.”

“This is absurd!” I couldn’t help exclaiming--a thing I regretted immediately when I felt my pain worsen.

“You’ve lived your whole life with this woman and yet you know nothing of her. Believe me, the grandmother that you idealized had nothing to do with the real Tess.”

I watched her, disgusted to hear such utter nonsense. Tess was a wonderful woman and the best grandmother you could ever dream to have.

“You can keep your lies,” I retorted bitterly.

“Very well. Anyway, you drew the same landscape as our father. I wonder why, though. You know what it is?”

My eyes became suspicious.

“You know?” I inquired with suspicion.

She sneered.

“Obviously, you don’t know. Maybe you should look for information from your new friends? What’s their name again? The Wates?”

She smiled falsely. Everything seemed to fall into place, suddenly. How Annabelle spoke to Leighton when she was with us, the mutual enmity between the Wates and my sister. She had knowledge of certain facts. I didn’t know what exactly and I doubted she knew much, but in any case, she had understood that there was something strange with this family and they had a link with me other than our friendship. On a sudden impulse, I rose from my bed. I felt so bad that the move made me nauseous but I went on, anyway. Being already dressed, I only had to put on my shoes, pull the pile of papers that my sister still held and put them in my school bag to be able to show it to the Wates. Without a word to Annabelle, I left my room, threw on a jacket hanging on the coat rack in the entrance, and left the house. I walked at a rapid pace to the Wates’s house, which was a little further down the road. The day before, Garreth had wanted to tell me the truth. I didn’t let him. But now, I was finally ready to hear, Travis or not. I couldn’t stay in the dark any longer.

A few minutes later, I found myself in front of their home. The Mustang wasn’t there, which meant that at least one person was gone, if not all three of them, but I hoped it wasn’t the case. I approached their house, very similar to mine with the paint on its facades not so fresh anymore and climbed the steps to the porch. Facing their door, I was no longer so sure I wanted to know. What would I learn? My headache painfully reminding me that only they could help me with it. I didn’t think on it any more and knocked on the door.

The door opened and I immediately regretted having come here. Travis stood in front of me, relaxation personified with his low black jogging pants and white t-shirt. However, his face betrayed the sudden tension he felt by seeing me on his doorstep. I had ignored his warnings and he had the evidence right before his eyes. Anxiety flooded over me but I forced myself to remain where I was.

“What a bad surprise,” he said in an icy tone.

I read in his amber eyes that he was furious. If he didn’t kill me, it would be a miracle.

“I thought I made myself clear, last time. Didn’t I?”

“You have been very clear...and I’m not going against your...advice,” I finally concluded.

The word was very inappropriate but I couldn’t see myself talking about threats unless I wanted to die on the spot.

“You advised me not to see Leighton or Garreth anymore,” I explained. “I came to see you.”

It was a lie but as long as he believed it I had a chance to stay safe and sound. By the time he understood the real reason for my coming, maybe his brother or sister would have had the time to get here.

“I thought that by telling you to get away from my family, you would have understood that I was included. But given your intellect, I should have known to be even more explicit. Why did you come?”

In the past, I would have replied vehemently or I would have even slapped him. But after seeing what he was capable of, I didn’t want to push him. I searched for something to use as an excuse. It came to me quickly.

“Uh...since whatever you did to me...I don’t know what to call it, actually...I have migraines. It’s getting worse and I want you to help with it because I know you’re responsible.”

He stared at me, his face reflecting nothing of what he thought. After a moment, he finally said:

“Let me guess...you see things?”

“What are you talking about?” I inquired, trying not to react despite the fact I could see exactly where he was going.

I just played naive so he would say more about it.

“You see things. Images or more accurately scenes while you are conscious and they awaken something in you while giving you the impression that it isn’t real. It occurs anywhere, anytime and you can’t grasp the meaning of it all. You even have to believe you were mad at times. Am I right?”

“How do you know all this? Is it you who are responsible for the...visions, in addition to the migraines?”

His smile couldn’t be more sarcastic.

“No, both are the work of Leighton and she did it after Garreth ordered her to do so.”

I felt like I received the most stinging slap of my life. It’s been my understanding that they had a connection with these flashes that came to me suddenly, but I never thought they were the instigators of them and the terrible headaches. I couldn’t help but feel betrayed and taken for a fool. They led me to believe I was losing my mind and, during that time, they had dared to act like they cared about me. I felt the tears coming but I made sure not to let them fall. I wouldn’t give this satisfaction to Travis.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” he said, approaching me before wiping the single tear that had trickled down my cheek with his thumb.

This move filled me with disgust. He was delighted to see the effect of his words on me.

“Garreth who claimed to care about you and Leighton who pretended to be your friend...I told you, you must stay away from my family. They will bring you only suffering...if not worse.”

I refrained from answering.

“You should go now. Nobody can help you, except yourself.”

“How can I fix what Garreth and Leighton did to me if I don’t have a clue of what it is? That’s not possible. No, I’ll wait here and they will fix me up. Then I can assure you that I will never talk again to any of you.”

Even though it was hard to think that I wouldn’t talk to them anymore, with the latest revelations from Travis, I was determined to stick to this resolution.

“See, it won’t be possible,” he said in a tone filled with hardness, a bad gleam in the eye. “You can’t see my brother or sister.”

“Why?” I said warily. “I told you, after that, I won’t ever cross your path again. I just want them to repair the damage they have done.”

“I told you that you can’t see them!” he exclaimed emphatically.

Surprised by his outburst, I tried to step back but he stopped me by grabbing my shoulders. He held me in place so hard that I couldn’t escape his grasp. Alarmed, I did the only thing that came into my mind, I gave him a powerful kick in the leg. He released me, taken aback by my gesture but not in the least diminished by it. I turned around and began to run. Then in the middle of their driveway, a murder of crows of an impressive size came from nowhere and fell upon me. Soon, everything became black feathers and loud croaking. I curled up on myself, protecting my head with my arms, while the birds were around me, like predators playing with their prey before killing them.

“I told you not to come near us again! I warned you!” I heard Travis yelling as the fluttering of wings and cries increased.

Eyes closed, I told myself that all this couldn’t be true. I was awake after all. What was taking place in my head was like lying in the arms of Morpheus, God of Dreams. It couldn’t exist in the real world. At least, I wanted to convince myself of it more than anything at this point. All of a sudden, the sound and feel of feathers, beaks and claws disappeared. It was as if it had only been a figment of my imagination. I opened my eyes. No more birds on the horizon. Trembling with fear, I turned to Travis. He wore a resolute expression, but his eyes betrayed a brief feeling of incomprehension. What I read in his eyes faded quickly and was replaced by the malicious sparkle that I was used to seeing in him when his eyes rested on me.

“If I were you, I would look behind me,” he advised me.

A relentless roaring was heard behind me. I knew that sound. It was one of the beasts of my nightmares, the black monster. I turned slowly, fearing to see him, hoping that this was a fantasy of my mind. Unfortunately, it was not. The enormous canine, midway between a wolf and a bear, was really there and he seemed anything but a figment of my imagination. Without missing a beat, I rushed for the road. My instinct told me that if I could reach my house, I would be safe. The rumblings were quickly supplanted by fierce barking augmented disproportionately by the beating of my heart. Then silence fell suddenly. Panicked, I glanced behind me to identify the animal. My lack of attention made me fall on the road, causing me to tear my jeans and skin my knee badly. I tried to locate the beast around me. It was nowhere to be found and I was afraid it would come from nowhere to attack me. I finally heard the sound of an engine in the distance. The noise seemed to get closer and louder. I rose hastily not to end up crushed. I barely had time to get on my feet before I saw Garreth’s Mustang fly straight at me at high speed. I exhaled a sigh of relief, somehow knowing I was saved. The car sped up and for a few seconds, I began to doubt. If the vehicle didn’t stop? If this was again the work of Travis and it wasn’t real? However, the car stopped just five feet away from me in a squeal of tires. In a blink of an eye, Garreth was in front of me, his hands on my shoulders and Leighton at our side.

“Damn it, Lila! I almost crushed you!” Garreth told me, both surprised and angry.

He looked me in the eye and anxiety soon took precedence over everything else. Same for his sister.

“Your jeans! You’re bleeding!” she realized, crouching down to look at it more closely.

Garreth took my hands in his gently to examine them. I noticed at the same time as him that they were badly banged up. It took me out of my torpor, the memory of the last moments submerging me.

“Oh God! The beast! It was after me! It’s there, somewhere!”

Leighton put a comforting hand on my shoulder, even though the gleam in her blue eyes let me know that my words worried her.

“Calm down. You have nothing to fear. You’re coming home and we will take care of your...”

“No!” I cried as I stepped back.

Leighton frowned while Garreth seemed even more concerned about my behavior. Everything that I could think of at that time was that they had left me thinking I was crazy, they had caused this terrible migraine that tormented me, so who knew what other things they could do to me? The sensible part of me forced me to face the facts. Even if these stories of visions and headaches made no sense, I had to admit that if they had wanted to hurt me, I’d be dead now. Hell, they could have crushed me with their car if they had really wanted to get rid of me!

“What happened, Deliah?”

I couldn’t help but feel my heart twinge at the idea of giving him the truth, knowing that it would break the bond between brothers, but I couldn’t remain silent about the threats and everything else. If I kept all those things to myself any longer, I was good for the cemetery.

“It’s Travis. He threatened me. He...”

“He did
what
?
”
Garreth said, his face became a mask of pure rage.

I made an involuntary movement back that he didn’t even seem to notice. He could be scary when he was out of it. Far more than Travis in his worst moments. Leighton saw my reaction and put her arm around my shoulder to reassure me. Garreth finally realized what was happening and tried to calm down. In vain. Anger oozed from every pore of his skin.

“Let her explain, Garreth. This is not the time to lose your temper.”

He nodded after taking a moment to come to his senses.

“Go on,” he added.

I told them everything in summary. My nightmares, the threats, the crows and animal attacks he had just inflicted on me, the visions and migraines Travis said to be the result of what Leighton did to me after Garreth ordered her to and the revelations he made to me about his nature of chimera maker. When I finished, a dead silence fell upon us all.

“Is that true? I mean, what he said about the visions, headaches and you, is that true?” I questioned them, wanting to know the truth about it.

“Yes, but he didn’t tell you everything. This is...”

“Complicated and it will have to wait,” his sister interrupted. “We must know first what this story of chimera maker is.”

“It doesn’t exist?”

I had experienced it, so I was well aware that Travis had a gift--if it could be called that--and that everything he did to me was real. Garreth and Leighton exchanged glances, as if to agree on what should be done.

“It does exist,” Garreth said gravely.

At that moment, I knew that my life had taken a new turn, even though I didn’t like it at all. Now, I would be part of this world,
their
world and I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. The Wates were different beings. Not human, even if they looked like it. It was insane. I wanted to believe in anything, but this. I was even ready to believe that I was mad rather than tell myself that this was the reality. Unfortunately, after all that I had seen over the past few months, especially the last few days, I couldn’t convince myself that it was an invented fantasy of my mind. It was the reality that was crazy, not me and it was so much worse.

“Travis has hidden his game well,” Leighton eventually said, lips pursed, her eyes fixed in the distance. “And unfortunately, if he hid it, we know what that means...”