Triple Infinity (12 page)

Aiden kicked the leaves in front of him. Triaten could tell he was antsy about whatever was happening in the house.

"Training went well?”

Aiden smiled at that. “It did. Skye can be a bit of a spit fire, and I’m sure you can guess how that went over with the masters.”

“Her knuckles rapped a few times?”

“More than a couple. I spent a lot of time emulating your peacekeeping skills.”

Triaten chuckled
at the comment. Aiden’s nature screamed warrior — there had never been a lot of room in his friend’s life for neutrality. “How did that work out for you?” 

He shrugged. “She’s alive. They’re alive. I chalk it up in the success column.”

“Have you given any thought to having her fight a Malefic yet?” Triaten skirted into the issue lightly.

“No.”

“Aiden, you know she's going to have to be in battle eventually — until she actually feels what it’s like to fight death — no — face death –”

Aiden stiffened, glaring at Triaten. “She won't be facing death.”

Triaten rolled his eyes. “Clearly not, you'll be there. But until she's in a real battle, you don't know how you should be training — how she'll actually react, what you need to work on. You only have limited time, you know.”

"Why do you say that?” Aiden demanded. “Have you heard something?”

“No, but that doesn't mean the elders aren't making plans for you two right now.”

Silence.

Triaten tried again. “All I'm saying, is that the more experience she has — experience with a buffer of safety — the better Skye will be prepared for the moment your protection is more than two feet from her side. She needs true battle experience.”

Aiden crossed his arms against his chest, eyes still on the house. “
I know what you’re suggesting. And you know I don’t go on those missions anymore, Triaten. It’s been more than twenty years.”

“I know, and I’m not trying
to bring you back into the work. This is for Skye — do you really want the first time she’s in front of a Malefic, fighting, to be uncontrolled? Do you want it to be with her father again?”

“He’s not going to try to kill her. He wants her power too much.”

“Well, how about all of the Malefics you killed that came back after the time shift? How about the Folotto family? Do you think they’ve forgotten you killed six of their own — four that didn’t survive the time shift?”

Reference to
the reigning head family of the Malefic’s drew a scathing look from Aiden. The Malefics had no systematic elder organization like the Panthenites. They ran in randomness, juggernauts of power gained by crude backstabbing and assassinations. And there was no arguing Aiden had put himself on the Folotto’s to-be-killed list.

Aiden wouldn’t look at Triaten. Truth or not, he didn’t like what Triaten was suggesting. He stared at the window. There was no movement inside.

“How do you think it goes in there?” Aiden asked.

“No clue.” Triaten replied, exasperated.

~~~

When
the door had closed behind them and they entered the warmth of the house, Skye could barely believe she was holding onto her sister. She had lost, and gained so much over the last half year. And here was the one thing that she thought she’d never have back again. Her sister. Tears began to slide down her cheeks once more.

They walked into the wide open room, and Skye sat Shiv down on one of the long benches at the table. She still hadn’t let go of her hand. It was then, looking at her little sister, that she noticed her neck.

“Oh my god, Shiv, what happened?” Skye’s fingers went to Shiv’s neck, gently touching the inflamed red lines, the marks bright red against her cream skin. Skye pushed dark hair out of the way and investigated the marks as they went around her neck.

Shiv let her look for only a moment, and then jerked back at the touch. “It was nothing. A misunderstanding at a bar.”

Alarm widened Skye’s eyes. “A bar? Shiv, these are not nothing. Someone was choking you.”

Shiv pushed Skye’s arm away from her neck. “Please, can we drop it? I’m fine. This was my only injury, and I’m fine.”

The sisters stared at each other. Both seeing the other as an adult for the first time.

Skye couldn’t resist reaching up and tucking a strand of dark hair back from Shiv’s face a
s tears welled in her eyes. She had tucked that hair back countless times when they were children. “You’re beautiful. You were beautiful at fourteen. But now you’re a beautiful woman.”

Shiv avoided Skye’s gaze and looked around the room. “Aiden’s handsome, and he seems nice.”

“He is.”

“He’s big.”

Skye chuckled. “He is. I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to the wedding. After what you said to Triaten and Charlotte when they found you, and then the note you sent with box, I didn’t think...I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me.”

Shiv got up from the bench and walked into the living room
. Her left arm crossed her ribcage, and she rested her right elbow on it, her arm propped up with her hand fisted in front of her mouth. She looked out the picture window, and watched Triaten and Aiden at the jeep for a moment.

With a deep breath, she turned back to Skye, still sitting. “You abandoned me.”

Skye blinked, stunned.

Shiv repeated herself, this time, stronger. “You abandoned me.”

“Shiv, I never wanted to,” Skye pleaded. “I would have never left you alone. I didn’t have a choice.”

“I begged you. I begged you to stop. To not hurt him. I be
gged you. But you did it anyway. You did have a choice, Skye. That split second before you stabbed him. You chose.”

“Shiv, I couldn’t take the chance. I couldn’t let him get anywhere near you again.”

Shiv didn’t answer. But Skye could see her jaw flexing as she looked out the window.

Skye stood, advancing on Shiv, her arms outstretched, reaching for her shoulders. “I know. I did have a choice. I
was so stupid. And I’m so sorry. All I wanted to do was protect you.”

Shiv stepped away from her, pointing at her. “No
, Skye, when I said you abandoned me, I don’t mean just when you stabbed that kid. I mean again and again, you abandoned me. You did it when I was fourteen, and you’ve been doing it ever since.”

Desperation escalated Skye’s voice. “Shiv, no. You didn't want to see me."

“I was sixteen when you got out, Skye. Sixteen. Of course I didn't want to see you.” She was yelling now. “There have been a whole lot of years between then and now.”

“But Shiv, I tried, at your apartment –”

“Once.” Shiv interrupted her and stormed past her, back into the dining room. She turned back to Skye, finger still outstretched at her, accusing. “You tried once. Was that all I was worth? You could have tried again. And again.”

Skye followed her
, pleading. “I didn’t know. Shiv, if I had known.”

“You are my sister, my only family, and you gave up on me. You gave up.” A tear fell down Shiv’s che
ek. She smudged it away with anger. “And then I needed you, and you were nowhere.”

“What, Shiv? I don’t understand.” Worry instantly replaced any ire
that was growing in Skye. “When did you need me? I would have been there in a second.” She caught a hold of Shiv’s shoulder this time. “What happened? Shiv, stop — tell me — when did you need me?”

Shiv looked Skye in the eye. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I needed you, Skye. Really, truly needed you. But you had already abandoned me.”

Shiv shrugged Skye’s hand off her shoulder and walked to the door.

Desperate, Skye reasoned at Shiv’s back. "Shiv, wait. I know it’s devastating. I know what it's like to be abandoned by the person you counted on the most.”

Shiv looked over her shoulder at Skye as she grabbed the door handle. “Well then, me walking out this door will be nothing new to you.”

The door to the house opened, and Shiv strode over the jeep. Her cheeks were pulsating pink.

“Triaten, can I have the keys, please.” She held out her hand. It wasn’t a question.

Triaten slid off the hood. “Let me drive you up to the ranch, love.”

She glared up at him, hand shaking, palm still up and waiting. Triaten dropped the keys into it. She stomped around to the driver’s side, adjusted the seat, knocked it into gear, and sent leaves, dirt and gravel flying as she whipped the jeep in a tight circle and drove down the drive.

Skye walked up to Aiden and Triaten just as the taillights disappeared into the trees.

Aiden’s arm immediately went around Skye’s slumped shoulders. He pulled her into him, wrapping her in a tight embrace
, and then kissed the top of her head. “Didn’t go as well as you had hoped?”

Skye flattened her cheek onto Aiden’s chest. She bit her lip, trying to not let the tears restart. “I was so happy to see her and she...” her voice wavered as her head bent down. “She’s so angry at me, Aiden. And I can’t blame her. I did abandon her.”

Aiden kissed her head again as his hand went up and down her back. “Tell me what I can do.”

“Nothing.” S
he sighed. “I don’t know what to do. What I can even say to her.”

“Do you want me to bring her back, kicking and screaming, if necessary? Or I can send Triaten to do so.”

Skye looked up and her eyes narrowed at Aiden, until she realized he was joking. “Not funny.” But then she turned her head and looked to Triaten. “But I guess I won’t scratch it off the possibility list yet.”

Triaten smirked at the pair. “Man, is it good to have you two back. Even if I am trying to convince your husband to leave again.”

Skye leaned back from Aiden, looking up at him. “Leave? We just got back. You better not have cooked up more torture for me while I was inside. You promised me a day of bed.”

Aiden smirked.

Skye rolled her eyes. “A day of bed,
sleeping.
A whole day. It was non-negotiable after Master Kieto.”

“Actually, Triaten thinks I need to stop cocooning you.”

Skye wiped a tear away from her lower eyelid as she looked over at Triaten and smiled. “Thank you! I keep telling him the exact same thing. What’s going on?”

“There’s a Malefic that needs to be taken care of. She’s on a semi-private island in the deep Caribbean. It should be an in and out job. And it would be good experience for you, fighting a Malefic.”

Skye looked up at Aiden. “Am I ready for this?”

Aiden pulled his glare away from Triaten, and looked down at his wife, still w
rapped in his arms. His grip tightened around her. “Probably, and it’s the logical next step. But I’d rather say no.”

“You
would also rather me stay locked up in your bedroom, or in a very tall tower.” Skye looked back at Triaten. “Not that I’m inviting trouble, but when are you going?” she asked.

“In a few hours.”

Skye frowned. “But Shiv...I don't want to leave her again right away. Not that she’ll talk to me.”

“Leave her,” Triaten said. “She just needs to be alone for a while, and we should only be gone for a day. I've gotten to know her over these past weeks while she’s been here waiting for you. And keep in mind she did stay and wait, she wanted to see you that much. She just needs to process
whatever you two said, alone, and then she'll be okay.”

Skye broke free of Aiden’s arms and turned
fully to Triaten, eyes interrogating. “What do you mean, you've gotten to know her?” She advanced on him. “Triaten, you tell me right now, how well do you know my sister?”

Triaten’s hands went up in defense. “We’ve just spent some time together. I like her. She’s interesting.”

Skye’s hands were on her hips, and she had moved into staring Triaten down. “What kind of
time
have you two spent together?”

“At the bar, four-wheeling, she’s doing a floor
mosaic at the ranch.”

Confusion set on Skye’s face. “A
mosaic? What in the world? And her neck — what was that about?”

Triaten took a step back from the barrage. “The
mosaic — little square tiles — she’s actually a pretty skilled artist. And the neck — nothing to worry about. She’s fine. Just a misunderstanding at Joe’s and I took care of it. All is well.”

She st
epped in at him, finger poking his chest. “Triaten, you’re skirting. You tell me right now if you’ve been sleeping with her.”

Triaten looked over Skye’s head at Aiden for help. Aiden just stood, half-smirk on his face, enjoying the show. No life-line there.

He looked back down at Skye, and ripped the bandage off. “Yes.”

The slap across his face was lightning quick, and hard.

Anger almost immediately under control, Skye stepped back from him. “Triaten — she's human, you can’t —” she interrupted herself, “she is human, isn't she?”

Triaten rubbed his cheek. “Yes, she is. She went swimming in the river, and she was full-out under the water. And no light. No late-in-life tran
sformation. No hidden past. She is human.”