Only in Her Dreams (13 page)

“That must have been hard on you.”

“It still is. I’d hoped to bring her home after Greg finished his internship, but then he passed and I’ve been busy working both jobs. I just don’t have the time to devote to her.” Lucessa tried to keep the sadness and disappointment from her voice, but her emotions seeped through. It’d been a long time since she was able to open up to someone other than Julie.

Her greatest fear had been that someone would think she’d abandoned her own mother.

“Do you see her often?” Such a simple question yet it had Lucessa second guessing her efforts to care for her mother.

“I see her every Wednesday. I wish I could visit every day, but there never seems to be enough time. By the way, how’d you know her name?” she asked casually.

# # #

Shock. That was the only way he could describe his feelings at the moment. He’d attempted to hide his knowledge of her family but she was too perceptive. The earlier mention of her mom had brought back the only thing Guy had mentioned about his wife. He said something about her Italian heritage, her love of family, and her adoration of Lucessa after so many years without a child.

“I saw it on a scrap of paper when I searched your house the other night.” He hoped his quick thinking soothed her mind, he needed her cooperation to protect her and to ensure the continued safety of the people in Erebos. If he knew Darius well, and he did, when the attack came it would be ruthless. His brother didn’t care who he hurt or who he had to use to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was Guy’s place as leader of the Oneiroi and most likely the death of both Guy and himself.

The familiar tightening in his chest returned as it did every time he thought about his twin.

Maxim continued eating his burrito. His mind wandered to thoughts of his family, her family and the link between them.

“You seem deep in thought,” she murmured.

“Just thinking about my family, how things change, people grow, and how the burden of responsibility shifts.” Melancholy settled on the room.

Lucessa nodded.

He was deceiving her again. She probably thought he was thinking about the burden and responsibilities he bore. But his thoughts centered on the burdens Guy had taken on and the distance between Darius and himself.

They’d been playmates growing up, he and his twin. Darius was always a little rough, pushing his ‘little brother’ to achieve things he would’ve never done on his own. But things changed right before his father died. Darius was anxious to take over. He wanted to change the way things were done, but their father wouldn’t allow it. When he died, Maxim wasn’t convinced Darius would do what was best for Erebos and the people.

Darius always did what was good for Darius.

Maxim had been confident in his decision to seek out Guy, the brother Maxim hadn’t known existed until the month before his father’s passing. Unsure if he could trust or depend on Guy, he quickly learned his eldest brother was cut from the same cloth as past leaders of Erebos.

In the end, Guy banished Darius and his followers to a life on Earth as mere humans. His twin wasn’t equipped to live the life Guy had embraced and enjoyed. Guy reasoned the experience would help Darius grow into the man he knew he could be and Maxim agreed.

“Am I a burden?” Her question pulled him out of his past and in to her present.
Their
present.

“No, never.” Maxim stared intently at her. He needed to reassure her that his choice to be with her was essential--overwhelming.

“Until now I haven’t given much thought to what you’d rather be doing. Following me around must be boring,” she mumbled and dipped her burrito in salsa and took a small bite.

“Oh no, Erebos is boring compared to Earth.” The statement sounded lame. “Plus, they don’t have taco trucks or good wine.” He winked, hoping to sooth her worries. What he said was also true, he planned to find a taco truck soon.

“Tell me more about your life. How’d you wind up getting assigned to me?”

“I wouldn’t say you’re an assignment.” Maxim struggled with how to explain it, without giving her too much information. After his earlier slip he couldn’t afford to raise her suspicions again. “More of a hobby.”

Her eyebrow raised and she leaned toward him. “And how’d you find this ‘hobby’?”

“As an Oneiroi, we often watch over those in need.”

“So that explains why you came when my dad died and again after my husband passed.” The tension that’d creased her forehead began to smooth.

Not the whole reason, but enough to pacify her. “Yes.” He took another bite of his burrito, eliminating the option of offering further explanation.

“How’d you find out about me? I mean, who tells you who to watch over?”

“Not all us are trained to watch over and guide humans. There are protocols, procedures...you understand, red tape. Just like the American government.”

“So, like a CIA or FBI agent?” Her teasing smile told Maxim she didn’t think it was like a CIA or FBI agent at all.

Again, she joked with him.

It’d been a long time since he was around someone with a sense of humor. He relaxed in her presence; he hadn’t thought about the coming dangers in the thirty minutes they’d been eating.

“Very similar in that we have a duty to follow through with the person and we submit reports to our leader.” The leader being his brother--and her father--but he wasn’t going to share that tidbit.

“Interesting.” She leaned over the side of the table and fed the rest of her burrito to Goosey, she then stood to throw away her napkin and empty salsa bowl. Maxim grabbed his garbage and headed to the trash bin before Lucessa could pick up after him.

“How was your day?” Maxim tried for a lighter topic of conversation, steering her away from their intertwined pasts.

“Well, some guy knocked me on the street and my boss’s lunch got trampled, so not the best day,” she answered as she moved from the garbage can to the fridge. She swung the door open and grabbed a bottled water off the top shelf. “Want one?”

“No, thank you.” He went on high alert. Could it be a coincidence? “What did the man look like?”

“Funny you’d ask--I thought he looked like you. But that’s silly, right?” She turned and leaned against the counter, opening her water.

“Yes, that’s strange.” Not as silly as she’d like to believe. Maxim wiped his sweaty palms along his pants. He needed to calm down. “Did he say anything?”

“No, he just mumbled sorry and walked away. The guy was really rude.”

“What was he wearing? Was he carrying anything? Did he--”

“Slow down. Why all the interest in some clumsy guy?”

They stared at each other. Lucessa scrutinized him and he debated how much to tell her. He didn’t want her life turned upside down; she shouldn’t fear going to work. Maxim just needed more time to deal with his wayward twin. Had Darius been following her?

“Well?” she asked, her foot tapping the floor and her hands on her hips.

Time’s up and he better come up with some excuse for interrogating her. “Is it hot in here to you?”

Chapter 18

Lucessa took a swig of her water, appraising his anxious face. He was hiding something. Did he think she’d been born yesterday? “No, I’m not hot. Probably the after effect of the salsa.”

“That must be it. I’m going to head--”

“Don’t change the subject.”

 He pulled his hand through his hair, his eyes wide.

“Do you know who the guy is? Should I be worried?” She’d been worried all day, constantly looking over her shoulder. Her exploration online hadn’t helped either. They had the same eyes. There was no denying that.

“I’m sure it was just an accident, as you said, some clumsy man not watching where he was going,” Maxim said. “I really must go to bed.”

# # #

“Where is he?” Guy asked the empty room.

He awaited his dinner in the study. The ticking of the clock on the far wall pulled at his gaze. Twenty-four hours and he hadn’t heard a word from Maxim. Was there a problem with Lucessa? No, Maxim would do everything in his power to protect Lucessa.

As he finished his meal of roasted quail, cheese, and bread, the door to his study opened, revealing his youngest brother.

“Brother,” Maxim said with a bow.

“I’ve been expecting you. What update do you bring me?”

Maxim stood in front of him, head lowered and hands wringing. This wasn’t like his confident younger brother, who was always so sure of himself.

“Come brother, out with it. Is the girl in good health?” Hesitation laced his words.

“She is, but I don’t have much time. I’m here with other news,” Maxim said, continuing to deny his brother’s eye contact. “It’s Marie I’m here about.”

Guy’s heart dropped and his hands trembled. When he’d made the choice to return to Erebos, he’d given up everything he possessed on Earth, including his wife and daughter. Every relationship was severed--never to be rekindled--but the mention of his beloved’s name brought back all the guilt of abandoning his family. He’d thought not talking about them out loud would blunt his pain, but there wasn’t a minute in the day he didn’t think about his Marie and Lucessa. The loves of his life.

They were the reason he’d given up his happiness...to ensure their safety. While they hadn’t had him, they did have each other.

He’d been grateful his father had allowed him the experience of having a family, something that neither of his brothers showed any interest in.

“What about my Marie?” The panic in his voice showed his weakness, but Maxim was the one person he trusted above all else. He wouldn’t exploit this weakness. Others wouldn’t hesitant to use it against him.

“As you’re aware, after the accident I wiped her of all memories pertaining to Erebos and your true identity.”

Guy waved his hand in dismissal and waited for his brother to get on with the news. “Yes, we agreed that it was best for everyone involved.”

“In recent years her memory has gone--”

Guy cut him off. “Yes, again something I know. I was told by her Oneiroi that the doctors say it’s early onset Alzheimer’s.”

“After speaking with Lucessa I think it is more than that. Her early memory loss may be due to the mind wipe I performed.”

The implications of the statement were horrifying. “Explain.” Guy’s whole body thrummed.

“Well, Lucessa says her mother was never the same after the accident. Her memory was nonexistent from that day forward. She struggled to take care of Marie, get her to school, and run the household.”

Guy had agreed to return because he knew Marie could handle his death and take care of Lucessa, raising her in a stable and loving home.
Did I leave my wife and daughter to suffer all these years?
“That’s impossible. There has never been trouble wiping the minds of humans.” He refused to believe this could be true and all his fault.

“Yours and Marie’s lives were inexorably intertwined. She knew all your secrets. Usually we wipe the short term memory of humans to hide our recent interactions with them. Marie’s mind was different, her memory of you was imbedded deep and linked all memories in her brain,” Maxim explained.

Guy’s knees buckled and hit the marble tile. Maxim rushed to his side, catching his arm before he fell face first onto the hard surface. Guy’s world crashed around him. He thought he’d provided everything his family needed to survive without him, instead his decisions ruined his wife and created hardships for his daughter.

“How can this be? She seems fine when I visit her--”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing. How can I fix what I’ve done?” The question escaped his throat on a sob, tears fell freely from his eyes.

“I don’t know, brother. I’m not in the practice of giving memories back, but I can try.” Maxim’s regret painfully evident.

“Will she be well again?”

“I don’t know.”

Maxim had served as a watcher while Guy lived his Earthly life. Maxim’s knowledge of their powers were extensive, coming directly from Morpheus and Guy had put much faith in Maxim’s abilities, having developed them over the years Guy used none of his. The urge to blame his brother was strong and Guy struggled to accept it was his own ignorance that led to his wife’s disability.

“Can restoring her memories make her worse?”

“There are possibilities and consequences we cannot foresee.”

Guy walked around his desk and eased into his chair, rubbing his forehead to relieve the headache that throbbed powerfully in his frontal lobe. “Maybe it’s time Lucessa learns who she really is, who her father is, and how he destroyed her mother.”

# # #

Maxim had to get back to Lucessa. The danger surrounding both of them grew by the hour. He’d debated telling Guy about Lucessa’s encounter with Darius, and now he was glad he’d withheld the information.

The sadness and defeat in Guy’s posture was painful to witness. Guy loved and cherished his family above all else and Maxim’s selfish reason for ripping him away would haunt him for eternity. He’d been too weak to take control. He’d had no other choice but to call on Guy to protect the people of Erebos.

“I’m not sure that is the right decision,” Maxim said.

His brother had sworn him to secrecy concerning Lucessa. They didn’t speak her name or even mention ‘the girl’ in the presence of others. During a moment of weakness, Guy couldn’t be allowed to make a monumental decision. The repercussions would be far reaching and severe.

They had no idea how Lucessa would take the news.

“I’m protecting her from further hardships the truth and our combined deception will cause her,” Maxim continued.

He couldn’t allow Guy to hurt her more by destroying her memories of her childhood. Guy was her father, but Maxim had pledged long ago to protect her from harm, even if it was heartbreak inflicted by her own father..

“Don’t rush into this. Marie has been sick for a long time. A few more days to think about this cannot hurt.” Maxim would say anything to keep Guy from going to Lucessa with the truth.