The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (81 page)

             
“But Adam is on our side now. He won
’t let you forget that. He will show you how good it is to be on his side, Brynna. Plus, you were also almost killed by the Old Spirits, too. You took one of them hostage.”

             
“Where is he?” I asked, though I barely cared.

             
“We delivered him to Adam. He is
v
ery
grateful.”

             
“I am sure he is.” My heart dropped. What I felt now was the sting of regret I had mused on briefly but had not expected to actually experience. Was that boy going to be another body hanging in the woods to warn enemies away from Don's
stronghold? I could not bear the thought of sending a young man to his death. Although, if everyone truly was immortal and ageless, I had no way of knowing exactly how old he was. His aging might have stopped hundreds of years ago, for all I knew.

             
“He wou
ld like to speak to you, too. Would you like to see him now?”

             
“No. I want to see that they are all okay. The longer you stall, the more I am beginning to believe that you have done something to them. I want to make sure they are alright.”

             
“For the sake o
f the one God, Mr. Abba, let the young woman see her dear ones.”

             
It was Adam’s voice. He was entering the room with the same effortless charm and predatory nature of the Serpent who had targeted another man sharing his very same name. He moved behind me,
sending a chill that twisted around my spine like two rough hands wringing a rag dry.  After kneeling down behind me, he freed my hands. I could feel his eyes watching me.

             
I jumped up and turned abruptly to face him. It was all his fault. We would have li
ved peacefully in our campsite until the day we ran out of food. We never would have known any of that violence if he had not attacked us so senselessly.

             
I spun around and lunged for his throat. I was stunned that he did not stagger back a single step aft
er I had run into him with every bit of strength left inside of me. His hands came up and lazily peeled mine from around his neck. I prepared myself for a physical blow that never came. He merely chuckled and held my wrists lightly to my sides.

             
“There is
no need for that, Ms. Olivier. I would not hurt you even if you had chosen the other side.”

             
“I have not chosen
any
side!” I actually stomped my foot to show the frustration that had been building inside of me for the previous half-hour of conversation with Don. I could not stand not knowing if my family was alright. I wanted to beat the man's head in for even allowing
me to question whether they were safe or not.

             
“Even if you do not realize it, you have chosen a side.” Adam's smile widened and his eyes gleamed maliciously.

             
“I have not done anything of...” I trailed off when my brain began to turn pirouettes once agai
n. “God or Gods, what is wrong with you people?!”

             
I put my face in my hands as I swayed on my feet. Adam reached out to steady me. At first, I shook him off but then I had no choice but to allow him to hold me upright.

             
“Just take me to them.” I ordered w
eakly and immediately, he turned me to face the door.

             
“Can you walk?” His voice was gentle as his arm wrapped around my shoulder. I nodded; even if I could not, there was no way I was allowing him to carry me.

             
He let me take a few cautious steps before h
e tightened his grip to ensure that if my knees were to crumple out from beneath me that I would not hit the floor. With every step, my mind cleared just a little bit more.

             
“Now, please do not be alarmed by his appearance. He is going to be alright, I pro
mise you.” Adam was still speaking gently, as though he was soothing a screaming child. I glared at him as he opened the door.

             
James was sitting, handcuffed to his chair, facing the doorway. His head was rolling from one side to the other as his eyes did
the same in their sockets.

             
“Oh, my…” I managed to gasp out as I rushed forward and knelt in front of him. “James?” My hands were on his face, “James! Honey, wake up.” I shook him carefully, noting that his face was bruised severely and there was blood dri
bbling from one side of his mouth. The next time I spoke, I was not shocked to hear my voice break. “James, please wake up, baby!”

             
I pressed my forehead to his, fighting the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. Perhaps I would feel stronger if I just
allowed a few to leak out.

             
No. I needed to remain defiant. I could beg for James to come back to me through frenzied, quickened, suffocating breaths but I would not shed a tear.

             
“Did… they… hurt you?” His voice was so weak and low, I believed I had imag
ined it. I leaned in when he repeated himself.

             
“No. I am alright. Look at you, honey…” The crackling in my voice made him open his eyes.

             
“I’ll be fine.” He was trying to raise his voice above a whisper for my sake. “Have they said anything?”

             
“Too much h
as been said. It would take too long to repeat it all. What matters is that they do not intend to kill us, which is a plus, surely.”

             
“Indeed, it is.” He nodded and looked into my eyes. I put both of my hands on his face again before kissing him for a long
, tender moment. “Don’t worry about me, baby. I'm tough; I can handle it.”

             
“I
am
worried about you. Beating you up was unnecessary.”

             
“I was ready to kill every one of them to get to you. It was necessary, or else they’d all be dead.”

             
“I know,” I pressed
my forehead to his again, “They have Violet, Penny and Elijah. They have Quinn, Alice and Nick, too, but I could not care less about that.”

             
“We need to stick together now. We need to start caring about them. They’re just kids, baby. We need to start watc
hing over them a little more.”

             
“I sincerely doubt that any of them desire our protection. They are much too proud, which is admirable. It is also very convenient for our sake.”

             
“I’m being serious.” He told me as I wrapped my arms around his neck and rest
ed my head
against his chest. I was comforted by the sound of his heart beating steadily. He was truly in no danger of succumbing to his injuries. “I already feel a little better, sweetheart. I felt better the moment I saw you.”

             
I squeezed him a little ha
rder and closed my eyes, wishing that I could fall asleep there with my body against his, listening to the sweet serenade of his heartbeat all the while.

             
“That is a very sweet thing to say, though I am sure that you are exaggerating slightly.”

             
“I'm not,
actually. Your ability to downplay yourself never ceases to amaze me.”

             
I changed the subject quickly.

             
“Don asked about us.”

             
“Did he now? I am shocked that he would so nosily pry into our business.”

             
I ignored his sarcasm.

             
“He is puzzled by our
relationship. He does not understand what a young woman like myself would be doing with someone your age. He asked if I love you. It was quite random and aggresively forward of him to ask such a thing. It is no business of his.”

             
“What did you say?” James
asked, and I pulled away to look up at him.

             
“Your curiosity is driven by your own need to know my feelings.” I accused him softly, “This is not the time or the place to discuss such things, James.”

             
“You’ll have to forgive me for wanting to know.”
             

             
“You
are the only man I have ever met who actually cares what I am feeling.”

             
“Is that such a bad thing?”

             
“No. It is just interesting. Confusing, also, and you know how befuddlement does not suit me at all. When the time is right, I will tell you where I stand
on the matter. Just know that I am very fond of you.” Looking into his bruised face that was still so handsome despite his injuries, I was urged to say more. I allowed myself to indulge my heart’s desire to express my feelings, even if just for a moment.
“I adore you. I depend on you more than I have ever allowed myself to depend on anyone and that is comforting, James. It is comforting to know that someone else is willing to care for me. I have done that  myself for so long without complaint. That is why
I say that you spoil me.”

             
“That’s not spoiling, Brynn. That's what is supposed to happen. It’s normal. It’s right.”

             
“Perhaps so. But it is as alien to me as the planet we are walking on and the situation we currently find ourselves in.”

             
“Our situation?”

             
“I was referring to both our relationship and the current conundrum with Adam and Don. They want us to stay here. I do not know why I feel such a reluctance to do so. They are offering us shelter, protection, food…” I looked at him, “It will be good for
Penny and Violet to be around other people. It will be good for us, too.”

             
“To be around other people?”

             
“Yes, because we will be protected. I read his mind. He will allow you and I to live together. There will be no judgment, no chiding about our relation
ship. Of course, I do not care about that.”

             
“Nor do I, baby.” He closed his eyes after I embraced him warmly again. He burrowed his face in my hair and kissed my head. “You smell so good.”

             
“So do you.” I smiled brightly, “Do not ask me how that is possib
le considering that we have been living a life free of soap and shampoo. We have been bathing in streams, for the sake of all deities and Gods.”

             
He chuckled softly.

             
“What?”

             
“I love that one. That’s one of your more famous Brynna-isms.”

             
“Brynna-isms?” I
repeated through a giggle.

             
“That’s what I’ve been calling them mentally.”

             
“I like it.”

             
“Do you?”

             
“Yes.” I laughed as he moved forward with difficulty to kiss me. I closed my eyes and returned his kiss, feeling my heart fluttering madly in the way that
I had become accustomed to experiencing. I had never understood how so many great writers could toil endlessly over love and all its counterparts. Hate I understood. Loathing was a motivator, driven by its God, Anger. But love seemed so trivial, so
meanin
gless
. I agreed with Maura who said that it was a “bloody waste of time.” Now, I understood what all the fuss was about. I could write endless pages on my feelings for James, which I would not acknowledge openly as charging dangerously close to the border
of love. I shuddered to think what I would feel when I hopped over that invisible, mental divide.

             
I pulled away when a bitter, gnawing cold filled up my insides. Maura’s others words, so unwelcome, were echoing through every dark room and corridor of my m
ind, which only a second earlier had been blissfully empty as James kissed me.

             
“They will trick you with their wiles, my dear. They want to make you weak. They prey on women to make themselves feel like men. It is all a play for power and control, for tot
al dominance.”

             
“Tell me,” James whispered gently, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

             
I shook my head, begging the warmth to return. It had been so serene, so divinely perfect. I should have known it would not last. My wise wariness of men was beginning to r
ear its hideously deformed head as my feelings for James grew.