touch (27 page)

“You two have a seat,” Gran said pointing to the two cups of
hot chocolate waiting for us on the table.

Morik sat next to me, watching me curiously as I took the
first sip.  “Don’t tell me… never had hot chocolate?”

Gran started clicking her tongue in dismay as Morik shook
his head.  “Then I should have done it up.  I wonder if we have any whipped
cream,” she said more to herself than us as she opened the refrigerator.

She mumbled to herself for a moment then remorsefully
admitted we didn’t have any.  Just like that Morik disappeared.  Gran looked at
his empty chair and steaming cup.  “Does he do that often?”

“With increasing frequency.  Makes me wonder why he has a
motorcycle.”  I blew gently on the chocolate and only managed three sips before
Morik reappeared by the door holding a can of whipped cream, which he handed
over to Gran.

She smiled at him and patted his cheek.  I caught a fleeting
look of surprise on his face at the contact, but he quickly suppressed it.  He
followed Gran to the table and watched her add a mound of the fluff on top his
chocolate.  Gran and I both watched him take his first sip, which was more of a
gulp.  I wondered if it burned his throat, but he didn’t seem fazed by it. 
Based on the look on his face, he enjoyed the drink.

By the time we finished breakfast, Aunt Grace had joined
us.  Morik and I listened to them making plans for a day filled with cooking
and baking leaving us with nothing to do, but stay out of the way.

“Do you think mom would mind if we went to Morik’s house?” I
asked Gran.

“No, she won’t mind.  Be back by three though.  She’s
invited Stephen over for dinner as long as you won’t be sleeping early.”

I felt Morik glance at me.  “Gran, because of what happened
last night, it’d be best if we went back to the way things were.”

“That’s smart of you both,” Mom said walking into the
kitchen.  “I’ll call and cancel.  It’s snowing too much for him to drive out here
anyway.”

She couldn’t quite keep the disappointment from her face as
she fixed herself a plate.

“Mom, if he’s willing to drive, we can make this work.”  I
looked to Morik for support.  “Before dark we can say we’re walking to your
house.  I can spend the night there.”

“Is it safe?”

Her question caught me off guard.  I’d been anticipating an
immediate no.  Did this mean she was warming up to Morik, or that she liked
Stephen enough to put aside her distrust of Morik to spend more time with
Stephen?

Morik answered before I could.  “Yes.”  He stood when mom
sat, which I found endearing.  Old world manners by today’s standards. 
“Although your chant is stronger, my home is safer.”

“Then if you’re willing to take on that responsibility, I’ll
agree to it.  Just for tonight though,” she said giving me a ‘mom’ look.  After
that, conversation switched to dinner and preparations.

I excused myself from the table taking my plate to the
sink.  Morik followed suit helping me clear the dishes.  I washed while he
dried.  Behind us, the conversation didn’t flag.  They started talking
decorating.  When we finished, Mom shooed us out of the house saying they would
handle the rest.

Hurrying to my room, I packed a bag for myself.  Morik
followed me.  When I had everything I needed in the bag, I called good-bye to
my mom and stepped close to Morik with a smile.

In a blink, we stood in Morik’s living room.  This time,
toasty warmth enveloped us.  He’d turned up the heat for me.

He led me to the guest room, which had changed since my last
visit.  A large bed with a thick white down comforter occupied the room
contrasting with the deep brown walls.  Heavy white panels covered the room’s
only window.  He’d changed the room for me and it looked beautiful.  I would
have been just as happy to sleep in his bed with him as we’d been doing for the
last several nights.

I set my bag at the end of the bed turning to smile at him. 
“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  He watched me for a moment as if waiting
for something more from me.

Not knowing what he wanted, I quickly thought of a question
that had been bothering me.  “Morik, if you’re supposed to be an option for me,
why doesn’t my touch work with you?”

“A future with me isn’t natural.  What will happen can’t be
predicted.”  That didn’t sound very comforting.  “What did you see when Brad
kissed you?” he asked quietly.

I hesitated, not really wanting to talk about it, but
knowing I owed him an answer.  “Beatriz really.  I saw Brad die.  He would be
really caring and someone I’d be able to care about in return.  His death would
hurt me, and I would confide in Beatriz.  Instead of turning away from me,
she’d embrace it and help me raise the kids and prepare them for what would
come.  We wouldn’t hide them from you…”

I looked at him suddenly concerned.  “But it wasn’t just
about hiding from you, was it?  Is it possible that Belinda knew about Ahgred? 
If he’s only out at night, maybe that’s why she added that bit about shuttering
the windows.  That’s the only rule that hasn’t made sense so far.”

“It’s possible,” he agreed quietly, studying me.  “So
friendship calls to you?”

“It’s been a pretty solitary life,” I said shrugging.  Only
after I said the words, did I connect them with his existence and his quest for
companionship.

He glanced around at the room in general lost in thought for
a moment.  When his gaze settled on me, he said, “I want to show you
something.”  Without waiting, he reached for me.

He wrapped his hand around mine and all light winked out. 
Cool air surrounded me as if we had stepped outside on a fall morning.  Only it
didn’t smell crisp and fresh.  Dusty and slightly stale air filled my lungs
when I breathed deeply.  Under my feet, the ground felt hard and uneven.  I
shifted slightly and heard the slight sound of grit against stone.

“Hold on.  Let me find the light.”  I felt him move
slightly, but his hold on my hand remained steady and sure.

A flashlight clicked on nearby.  Pointed at the stone wall
to my left it still blinded me.  Blinking, I saw a rough stone wall and stone
floor in the circle of light... the floor and wall of a cave.  No water dripped
eerily nearby or anything equally creepy, just a cool quiet cave.

Morik moved the beam of light slowly around the cavern. 
Items filled the area with walkways through the stacked collections.  There
were tables old and new, paintings, pottery, metal work, hutches, things that
looked like old woven sacks, fish nets… was that a bowling pin?  Absently, I
held out my hand for the flashlight.  He surrendered it with a smile and
followed me as I walked among his treasures.  Finally, I had a glimpse of his
history the pieces of his life that helped shape him into the Morik I now knew.

“Morik, this is amazing,” I said softly looking everything
over thinking of the things he’d done, the things he’d seen.  A painting caught
my eyes, the texture of it and the swirl of colors drawing me closer.  It
reminded me of his eyes.

“I thought we might find something here to add to your
room,” he said beside me.

I turned with a small smile knowing he’d seen my interest. 
“I’d like that.”

He let me browse through his things for a while, moving what
I liked to the side.  I found a vase, an old shell comb that I couldn’t quite
surrender to him, and a beautiful old chair, when I heard something in the back
of the cave.  Moving closer to Morik, I watched the silver swirl in his eyes as
he focused on the area from which the sound originated.

“She is of the line?” a feminine voice queried from the
dark.

My heart stuttered.  I didn’t know if I wanted more
attention from any others of Morik’s kind.  Ahgred’s appearance had pushed me
enough for the weekend.  Make that a lifetime.

“She is.  Lurel, come meet Tessa.  She is dear to me.”

He said the last part quietly, and I thought he meant
Lurel.  My eyes searched the darkness for her.  When she spoke from nearby, I
jumped a little.

“Dear to you?  Of course she is,” she said with a slight
giggle.

I didn’t like the way she said the last part.

Apparently, Morik didn’t either.  “Be nice or leave,” he
growled taking me by surprise.

Worried about the reason for his anger, I moved closer to
him.  Just who waited out there in the dark?  He reached out and twined his
fingers through mine.

“Ah.  I see.  Not just a link to your future existence,” a
tall curvy woman said stepping out of the shadows.

Dark hair, like Morik’s, fell in waves down her waist.  I
wondered if hers hid horns too.  Wearing a long diaphanous dress, layered over
a simply spun fitted tunic, she glided further into the light her stride so
smooth, I looked to the ground to see if she actually used her feet to move. 
Her skin didn’t carry his reddish tone.  Instead, her ashen hued skin made her
look sick.

Her eyes sweep over me and she gave Morik a small smile. 
“I’m truly happy for you, brother.”

Brother?  My eyes bounced between the two of them.  Other
than the hair, there wasn’t much resemblance.  Her eyes lacked the amazing
colors that Morik’s possessed… pale white orbs, they lacked all color.

Morik seemed to relax.  “Tessa, this is Lurel, one of the
few of my kind that I can tolerate for more than a minute,” he said now smiling
at Lurel in return.

He didn’t claim her as sister.  Interesting.  I nodded a
mute greeting, not sure I wanted to risk the standard greeting
nice to meet
you
.  It’d be a lie.

“So what are the two of you doing in Morik’s cave of
wonders,” she asked me directly, maintaining her impish smile.

Shrugging, I looked toward Morik unsure how to answer.

“Doesn’t she speak?” Lurel asked.

Flicking a glance back at her, I struggled to maintain a
pleasant face.  “Yes,” I said firmly, “I speak.  We’re picking things to bring
back to Morik’s home.”

Her eyes flicked to Morik, her smiling growing.  “She is
adorable.”

I didn’t particularly care for the way she spoke as if I
were his pet.

“Yes,” Morik said softly, “I believe Ahgred finds her
adorable as well.”

Sparks of red drifted into the liquid mercury of his eyes.  Fascinated,
I watched the change.  Starting from the outer edge, the color began a slow spiral
to the center as he spoke.

“He lured her into the dark using another human.”  He
glanced at me and the red’s saturation in his eyes paused.  “I prevented his
touch in time.”  The way he said it sent shivers down my back.  He noticed. 
“We should return.”  He directed his gaze back to Lurel.

Her brow furrowed with concern.  “Call on me if you have
need.”

Morik nodded and flicked off the flashlight.  I blinked at
the dark and when I opened my eyes, we stood in my bedroom, the things I’d
pointed out piled at our feet.  I glanced at the alarm clock.  We’d spent more
time than I thought wandering his treasure room.  My stomach rumbled as soon as
my brain knew it was lunchtime.  Funny how that worked.

“So, what’s for lunch?” I grinned up at him and noted red
still held his irises.  “Hey.  None of that.”  Leaning against him, I gently
reached up to smooth his hair back.  A simple touch meant to comfort and
distract him.  I didn’t want him to dwell on what could have happened.

My fingertips brushed a horn.  The ridged surface begged for
further exploration.  I traced it to the tip and he held still for me.  The
sharp tip scratched against the pad of my finger and he whispered for me to
take care.  Yellow replaced any trace of red and I smiled at him, lowering my
hand and accidentally brushing the tip of his ear.

He closed his eyes with a shudder, whispered a quiet, “Let’s
look in the refrigerator,” to answer my question and then vanished leaving me
standing there with a hand still raised in the air.

“Morik?”

He called back from the kitchen, “I have many ingredients,
but am not sure what they could make.”

Shaking my head, I wandered back out to the kitchen.  Bent
at the waist, he inspected the contents of his refrigerator, not giving me an
opportunity to study his eyes.  I inched close and looked over his shoulder to
see what he had for food.  When I rested a hand on his back, the muscles under
my palm quivered and then settled.  His reactions confused me but I refrained
from asking, fearing another rule.

Focusing on the food, I pointed out we could piece together
a sandwich.  He even had an avocado.

Morik began gathering ingredients and passing them back to
me.  Stacking them on the counter, we worked together to make lunch.  I noted
his eyes once again swirled silver with veins of brown.  Struggling to recall
all of the color patterns during our time together, I turned to study him
openly while he spread mayonnaise on the bread.

Whenever I looked at his eyes for long moments, they pulled
me in.  The particles of color blended and swirled in soothing patterns.  Captivated,
I moved forward noting a single fleck of violet.  It drifted in from the outer
edge and began its slow spiral to the middle.  The middle acted as a drain or
something because all the outer colors moved toward it.  Never away.  When they
reached it, they disappeared.  I inched closer to observe.  His breath brushed
my face.  More violet flooded the iris and I made a puzzled sound watching the
center.  No, not disappear because there was never a void of color.

His low chuckle broke the spell and I pulled back with a wry
smile along with a mumbled apology.  “Your eyes pull me in.  I love the way the
colors swirl.”

He looked at me oddly for a moment, the violet draining and
black and brown creping in.

“I think I know most of them,” I commented and watched the
violet come back.  Distractedly, I reached out to close the sandwich he just
finished and handed the plate to him.  In my mind, I sorted through the colors
I’d witnessed.