Huntress (19 page)

"Nanites haven’t kicked in fully," Drew noted.

"You think?" I asked, my voice raising an octave. That freakin’ hurt. My chin started itching and burning and I raised a hand to feel what was going on.

"Don’t touch it. It will heal faster if you just let it do its work."

I rubbed my sore thigh instead, willing it to stop hurting. "So obviously I can’t run that fast yet."

"You will soon. We’re going to start upping the intensity of your training because I need you to be able to defend yourself against Zachary when he comes at you again." He sighed and ran agitated fingers through his hair. "Nobody has seen him in hundreds of years. Most of us thought that he’d gone back through the gates. I’m so sorry Grace. I was in shock and I didn’t react quickly enough to keep you from having to suffer through his attentions."

Ok, I guess this was as good of a time as any to get this talk out of the way. I mostly wanted to block the terror of those initial hours but there was something redeeming in Zachary and I think his son needed to see that.

"Do you want me to tell you what happened?"

He closed his eyes and nodded, then sat on an exercise ball.

"I died," was how I started the conversation. Call me a Drama Queen, but I wanted to get that part out first because it was the part that scared me more than anything else.

Pacing, I told the story. I could feel my body tightening with the leftover fear. My arms wrapped around my middle as if hugging myself would make those painful memories all better.

I was interrupted mid-stride - and sentence - by a loud popping noise. My head jerked around to see Drew sprawled on the floor, his fingers digging into the rubber of the now exploded ball.

Running over, I held out my hand to help him up off the floor. He pulled me down to him instead and wrapped his arms around me.

"I’m so sorry," he whispered.

I nodded against his chest and wrapped my arms around him holding on tightly. We lay there for a few minutes, letting the tension go.

"Ok, now you tell me why my son thinks that I bought him shoes two days ago," I demanded, thinking this was a good time to change the subject.

His body softened beneath me and I sat back staring at his shifted form in surprise.

"Oh that. No wonder Dylan thought that I was weird. Let’s try not to mentally scar my kid okay?"

He chuckled in response.

"And change back to yourself. That just creeps me out." I paused for a few breaths. "Drew, thank you. I really mean it. Thank you. I don’t know what I’d," my throat closed off and I choked out a sob.

He pulled me back into his arms and let me cry, stroking my hair.

"I need to tell Dylan. I think that it’s time. He needs to know that I could," I gulped back another sobby hiccup. God I hated crying. "I could go away and not come back. He needs to know that things are going to be changing in a big way. He’s a smart kid. He’ll get it."

He nodded and I relaxed. "You’re right. Spending the last few weeks together has made me realize what a great job you’ve done with him. He IS a great kid. Let’s do it tonight before we decorate the tree."

"That sounds perfect."

The incredible lightness of being isn’t just a pretty phrase. It was suddenly my new state of mind. If I could tell Dylan, and he took it well, this could all work. Some parents don't mind keeping big secrets from their kids. I wasn't one of them and since I already had a doozer of one, adding more didn’t feel right. The elephant that'd been living in my house since Diana had thrust herself into my world was on its way out the door.

"Ok, what’s next?" Wiping my eyes was the first bit of business. Drew was a harsh taskmaster and a few tears weren’t going to deter him from busting my ass.

"Next, we’re going to have to start going through the basics. You have your weapon materialization to learn as well as the exploration of your other powers. And…we need to work on controlling your emotions so you don’t accidently sink the West Coast." There was a quirk to his lips as he said this.

All I heard was weapon materialization. I excitedly clapped my hands and did a little bounce. Sweet! It would be like having a bag of holding. I could pull anything in and out of it. My very own magical bag of everything. I couldn’t wait!

Three hours later, I could give a shit about the bag. My brain hurt. I didn’t understand the physics of what he was talking about.  It was all I could do to not collapse under the sheer weight of everything that he’d told me. If physics had been my forte, I would have become a scientist
not
a romance writer.

To make matters worse, he’d brought down a grocery bag to help me visualize. One hundred attempts later and the only thing that had come out of the bag was the smell of musty strawberries.

"I give up!"

"You can’t give up. How are you going to get your weapons when you need them if you can't do this?"

"I’m not going to need weapons," I groaned. "I’m going to hide in this basement for the rest of my life."

"Whiner."

"Shut up!"

Scooter trotted over and plopped himself down on my legs, as if to give me comfort. It would have been more comfortable if he hadn’t weighed a metric ton. I rubbed my hand over his sleek coat and tried to concentrate.

My fingertips tingled as I rubbed Scooter’s body and I thought of his mercurial state. How did he hold himself together? That was the mystery of magic. Maybe there wasn’t logic to it. Perhaps it just happened from sheer will alone. I was a stubborn woman with a lot of will. Pulling a weapon out of thin air shouldn’t be so tough, right?

Drew had told me that my weapon should be a personal reflection of what I wanted to be.  Of course, my immediate response had been to search the internet for the most destructive, resilient weapon I could find.

The kukri, a short curved weapon, kept popping up in my results. The gleaming wide blade could slice or stab and because its length was shorter than a traditional sword, it became more of an extension of the arm - allowing for better mobility.

Closing my eyes, I pictured this weapon filling my palm. Magic filled the air and left the taste of currants on the back of my tongue.

With a crow of triumph, I pulled my new weapon out of the plastic bag.  Its grip was immediately both comfortable and familiar in my hand.

"Yes!" The sword whipped up into the air and whacked off a length of my hair. "Shit!" My eyes widened as I watched the strands drift lazily to the floor.

Drew laughed. "Great job Grace!"

"Finally! Jesus, I didn’t think that this would be so hard."

"It looks like the kukri is going to be your weapon of choice, so we’ll primarily train with those. I want you to think of using a gun as a backup, though. Most of the things that you’re going to come up against aren’t going to be used to modern tech and the bullets will help slow them down - if not stop them outright."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Then why haven’t we been training with guns? I can shoot fairly well."

"Because, Grace.  You can’t just go around shooting creatures willy nilly. Not everyone will be a bad guy. Having to use a blade gives you time to think."

"Could I take Medusa out with a bullet?"

He grinned and shook his head.

"How about a gargoyle? Could I take a gargoyle out with a bullet?"

"Yes, Grace. Now, grab another kukri and let’s get started."

"Nice." I pulled another kukri out of the plastic sack and fell into fighting stance. Hmmm, maybe carrying around a used grocery sack wouldn't be the most practical decision.  It would probably be a good idea to find a new, durable knapsack.  Just in case.

I grinned widely. "Sweet sassy molassy! This is getting
exciting
!"

"Grace, sometimes you say the oddest things."

That just made me giggle.

Dishes were done, the boys were playing Halo and I was starting to feel nervous. Dylan could take the news. I just didn’t know how well.

I stared at the boxes in front of me and remembered the first time we’d decorated the tree together. In his excitement to get it over with so Santa would come, Dylan had thrown the glass balls at the tree - giggling as they bounced off the branches.  It was a miracle that we'd only broken three of them. Still, the memory made me smile. 

Time flew by too quickly. Visions of toothless grins, chubby fists clutching candy canes and shining eyes sped through my mind. It was hard to believe that he was almost a teenager. Where did it all go?  Was there a way to slow it down?  To be honest, I still saw that skinny three year old kid with the rosy cheeks and sparkling smile when I looked at him. 

  "I have hot cocoa!" I called out, as I picked up the steaming mugs and carried them into the family room where the sounds of an intense battle waged.

Setting the mugs down on the coffee table, I collapsed next to my son and breathed a sigh. I could do this. I’d died and survived horrifying pain. This was going to be cake. Beating around the bush wouldn’t help, so I just started talking.

"There’s something I need to tell you Bubby."

Drew shot me an apprehensive look. It didn’t matter if
he
was ready because
I
needed to get this out. The secret weighed so heavily that it was caving in my chest.  My stomach felt like it was being carved up by a dagger.

"One sec Mom, we’re almost done."

"Nope, can’t wait. Save if you can, but it’s time to talk."

He groaned and hit the button on his controller to exit the game before tossing it on the couch in a huff.

"I don’t think other moms make their kids quit in the middle of a game," he groused.

"Yeah well other mom’s aren’t about the rock their kid’s worlds like I’m about to. So, shut up and listen."

"Grace, I don’t know if it’s a good-" Drew, tried to stop me. He really did. But I’d worked up the courage and by God this was coming out.

"Shut up Drew. I’m doing this."

"No, Grace, I really-"

"Dylan, I’m immortal now. Last week I was trapped in another dimension and Drew was standing in for me."  Nervousness made me talk faster and faster.  None of this was making sense but I was so afraid that if I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to start again.

Drew sat back and covered his eyes
,
as if that would stop the train wreck from happening.

"Sooo, you interrupted a game that I was winning to pitch me a new book idea?" One of his eyebrows was cocked up and he was gaping at me with a look of disbelief. As if I’d have the gall to do such a silly thing.

"No, this isn’t a new book idea. Dylan, I’m being serious. The blue hair, the weight loss. It’s all part of it." I sighed. "Drew, show him."

"I’m not getting into the middle of this." His hands came up defensively.

I growled. "Drew, show him."

"Uh uh."

I wracked my brain and then snapped my fingers. I pulled in one of my kukris and waved it. "See?"

"Jesus, Mom! You’re going to cut someone’s head off with that thing. Quit waving it around!" Dylan jumped back, now afraid.

"But did you see what I did? I pulled it out of thin air."

"Yeah, I’ve also seen David Copperfield vanish the Statue of Liberty. Cool magic trick by the way."

This was getting me nowhere. The problem was that I didn't have that many tricks up my sleeve yet.  I hadn't really thought this through and had so little proof.  I looked at Drew, my eyes pleading.  "C'mon.  Just give me this."

He sighed and changed into Dylan.

"Dude!" Dylan shouted and started scrambling backwards.

I dispersed my weapon and grabbed him before he could topple over the couch.  I pulled him close. "See?"

"What the h-e-double hockey sticks is going on here?"

"If you just relax, I’ll tell you the story. Ready?"

He nodded and his trembling eased as I stroked his hair and told him the story - leaving only the torture and death out. By the time I’d finished he was staring at me with an open mouth and wide eyes.

Of course the thing that distressed him the most was his missing Grandmother.

"Are you going to be able to find her?" he asked in a small voice.

"We’re going to try."

"Does this mean that I’m going to live forever too?"

I looked at Drew for guidance. He wasn’t any help of course, just quirking an eyebrow and shrugging his shoulders as if saying "Hey, I did
my
part."

I took a deep breath and asked, "Do you
want
to live forever?"

"I don’t think so," was his hesitant response.

"Then you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. Are you ok with this?"

"I think that it’s going to take a bit of getting used to. Have you told Dad?"