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Mom pulled back as if I slapped her.  “Tessa!  What’s wrong
with you?”

“What’s wrong with you?  Did you get in an accident?” 
Despite her now angry frown I still worried.

“Don’t be ridiculous.  Stephen dropped me off.”

When she said his name, she smiled a little.  That’s when I
noticed the glint on her ring finger.

I grunted in pain, feeling a very real punch to my stomach. 
“Engaged?” I whispered, my eyes darting to hers trying to read a denial in
them.

She nodded, her smile growing.  Gran gasped and Aunt Grace
squealed for her to show the ring.

Stepping back, out of her way, I stared at her as an alien
feeling gripped me.  Morik congratulated her quietly and then strode toward
me.  Our gazes locked.  How could she do this?  Less than five months to go,
and I struggled to find the answer to make the choice to set them all free.  I
was trying.  Very hard.  She couldn’t wait?  Didn’t she want to know if I’d
live with Morik or die as Aunt Danielle before throwing herself at Stephen?

I pushed those thoughts, and the angry bitter feelings that
burned my throat, down.  Moving toward her, I took my turn hugging her and
congratulating her.  Then we listened to her story of how romantically Stephen
had proposed after dating a year.  A year?  I pushed down more bile.

Since it would be Stephen’s first marriage, he wanted to go
big.  She wanted Aunt Grace to be her maid of honor with Stephen’s sisters and
me as bridesmaids.  Given their age, they wanted a spring wedding.  The
upcoming spring.  The slap stung my cheeks, turning them red.  Of course, no
hand actually touched me.  I swallowed hard.

“What do you think of May?” she asked the room with a happy
glow.

I quietly got up and went to my room.  Morik followed.  I
waited until he cleared the door to close it with a snick.

“I’m not in the mood for a quiet day.  Can I call Beatriz
from your house and see if they want to meet for bowling or something?”

He pulled me into his arms as an answer.  I felt the
temperature change immediately but stayed in his arms for a moment.  He
tightened his hold minutely assuring me he knew I struggled with something.  That
he didn’t pester me to explain it endeared him to me further.

We passed the remainder of the day at the bowling alley
enjoying the company of Beatriz, her brother, and a few of Brad’s friends. 
When Morik returned me home, I snuck to the bathroom to get ready.  Morik
waited for me.  We found Aunt Danielle in her chair and I asked her to help chant
me to sleep.  She didn’t ask why.  We both heard the conversation coming from
the back of the house.  Excited female voices talking wedding details.

The soft murmur of her voice blended with Morik’s as they
worked together.  He lifted me gently into his arms, their touches knocking me
out.

The day definitely did not rank in my top-ten-best-days-ever
list.

*    *    *    *

I shivered awake, the cooling spot next to me explaining
why.

“Morning,” Mom said as she sat claiming space in the vacant
mattress real estate.  “Tess, I’m sorry for yesterday.  I didn’t think how it
would sound to you.”

It sucked discussing this topic for I could even brush my
teeth.  “Mom, it’s fine.  You’re doing exactly what I’d want you to do.”  I sat
up and brushed my hair back from my face.  “If he makes you happy, then it
sounds perfect.”

She pulled me into a hug, sniffling ominously.

I quickly pulled back telling her I had plans with Morik and
needed to get ready.  She felt guilty enough for yesterday she didn’t quiz me
on the details, just left to let me get ready.

Once I had clothes on, I whispered his name.  He popped into
the room just inside the door.

I didn’t bother asking where he’d come from.  Instead, I
asked if the snow had stopped enough for a bike ride to the Coffee Shop.  He
brought us to his house with a touch and handed me my leather jacket as an
answer.

Minutes later, the bell above the Coffee Shop’s door rang as
we walked in.  Its familiar smells greeted me.  Mona called hello and hurried
behind the counter to take our order.  A few older men sat at tables reading
various sections of the shop’s single paper.

We ordered our specialty drinks and grabbed our own table. 
It warmed me after the ride, but didn’t quite take care of the hungry grumble
my stomach kept emitting.

When Mona moved around the tables filling cups for those who
had plain old-fashioned coffee, I asked if she served anything quick for
breakfast.

“I tried making muffins and a few baked things, but the oven
and I aren’t on friendly terms.  Things don’t come out looking like the
pictures.  And ordering from one of those bakers means a minimum for delivery
or picking it up myself.  Too much hassle for just a handful of people who’d be
interested.”  She changed topic abruptly, “Nice ring, Morik.  Someone special
give it to you?”  She didn’t wait for his answer, just winked at me and moved
along on her rounds.

I stared after her with a growing respect for her astuteness. 
Then I began contemplating her reason for not offering breakfast items.

“We could do it,” I said to Morik.  “Gran and I.  Well more
Gran than me since I sleep so late.  But she could bake it and I could bring it
here for her.  I think Mona’s right about the weekday needs being small, but I
bet once people tasted Gran’s baking, there’d be a demand for it on the
weekends.”  I slugged back the rest of my cooled coffee and insisted we go back
home.

Gran loved the idea when I explained it to her and started
pulling out cookbooks.  I sat at the table with her calculating ingredient
costs, prep time, and baking to estimate costs for her favorite recipes.

The next morning, Morik and I borrowed Aunt Grace’s car,
with promises to return it in an equally pristine condition, and delivered
eight beautifully plastic wrapped blueberry muffins.  Before we left, Gran
insisted we test one of the remaining four that hadn’t made the cut.  They were
delicious and still just barely warm.

When I walked into the shop carrying the muffins, Mona
laughed at me.

“Gran wants you to taste one of these and let her know if
you’d consider a partnership with a bored home-baker,” I said setting the
platter of muffins on the counter.

Mona groaned in anticipation while unwrapping a muffin. 
Since I knew how it tasted, I grinned watching her eyes roll back
dramatically.  “Yep,” she agreed.  “We’ll see how well they sell.  If not, I’ll
just gain weight having this stuff here.  How much per muffin?”  We discussed
the price for a moment and I left feeling giddy on Gran’s behalf.

“You’re giggling,” Morik commented on the way home.

“I’m so happy for Gran.  This is a perfect way for her to
contribute.  Maybe they can start saving some money away so it won’t be so hard
when I…” I stopped myself stunned by my thoughts.  So it wouldn’t be so hard
when I had babies.  But I wouldn’t need to worry about that.

Deep down, I found that hidden part of me that denied the
possibility of Morik and squashed it with my thumb.

The sudden burning sensation along my spine took me by
surprise, and I hissed in pain.  As soon as it started, it disappeared.

Morik pulled the car into the garage, watching me while he
did it, which made me cringe.  He did his blink thing to move us into the
bedroom as soon as he turned the key, cutting the engine.

“What happened?”  Concern laced his voice.

“I don’t know.  When I kissed you that first time at Bea’s house,
a mark kind of burned my back,” I admitted and saw his brows draw down in a
troubled frown.  “I forgot about it.”  I unbuttoned my pants and turned away
from him.  “It just happened again in the car.”

Tugging down the waist of the jeans low enough so he could
see the start of the mark, I bent forward slightly and lifted my shirt a
little.  He moved close, running a finger over the black and silver twisted
lines decorating my skin.

And that’s the sight that greeted my mother when she opened
the door... me bent over in front of Morik with my pants loose.  And Morik
inches behind me running his hand down my back.  If I had to guess, I would
also add black eyes to the picture.

“Out!” she screeched at Morik.  Wisely, he disappeared,
leaving me to deal with my extremely livid mother.

“Well, there goes my source of a possible explanation for
this…” I turned and gave her the same view while she still sputtered trying to
piece together a coherent thought.

She gasped.  “What is that?”

“Dunno.  Morik might know though.  It’s why I was showing
him… in the privacy of my own room.  Didn’t want to freak anyone out
unnecessarily.”

“How long has it been there?”

“A few days,” I hedged.

“Why didn’t you tell me about it right away?”  She
tentatively touched it with cool fingertips.  I straightened and pulled my
shirt back over it.

The distraction of Ahgred and Brian in the woods and then
Christmas wiped it from my mind.  But that’s not what I told her.

“Why didn’t you tell me a year ago that you were dating?”

She remained silent as I buttoned my pants.  Tears gathered
in her eyes.

“So it’s really not okay,” she stated in a subdued tone.

I sighed.  “Mom, Stephen’s fine.  You getting married is
great.  You keeping secrets from me for a year while preaching to me the
virtues of honesty is not okay.  Ever.”

“I’m sorry.  I thought it would be too much pressure on you
if you knew that…” she trailed off.

“That you are all looking forward to having a life again? 
Maybe.  Or maybe I would have realized that much sooner how important this
choice is for the rest of you.”  Swiping a hand over my face, I added, “If we
don’t have plans for today, I’ll stay at Morik’s for the rest of the day.”

She nodded and left the room, closing the door softly behind
her.

“Morik?” I whispered.  He reappeared in the same spot.  “If
you can hear me call you, how did you not hear my mom coming?”

His cheeks reddened.  A first.  “I was a bit distracted.”

Understandably.  I hadn't heard her either. "What does
it mean?  The mark.”

“It signifies a link we're forming,” he said it absently,
looking at me, but not seeing me.  “Once complete, it binds you to my plane of
existence and your own.  Time will not affect you.  Through you, I will have
unlimited access to this plane and the people.”

"Is this part of choosing you?"

He shook his head, a slight frown marring his brow.  “I
sought you for companionship.  One of the youngest of my kind, I was created
closer to humans than my predecessors were.  The solitude they enjoyed, I
deplored.  With no need for additional chaos, I spent my time planning, waiting
for the right opportunity.  I saw you as a chance to end a lonely existence. 
The chaos that others like Ahgred still feel compelled to create stopped
calling to me long ago.  Once you leave this life, my purpose will vanish, as
will I.

“Others heard of the deal I made and began their own quest
to seek a similar deal.  But they did not want to expire once their human
companion did.  They sought permanent entry into the human world, a link to
maintain existence when our time here as chaos is no longer necessary.  Such as
the twisting link you wear.  You see, because I am so close in appearance to
humans, humans still willingly deal with me.  The others of my kind have more
difficulty.

“Like most of our interactions with humans, the link is
forged through deals.  You willingly give a piece of yourself to me in exchange
for whatever it is you demand as a price.”

“But neither time it burned me was related to a deal.”

"Correct."  He finally focused on me.  “Though I
do not understand its existence, I don’t see it as a bad thing.  Once complete,
it will protect you from Ahgred and time.”

“I thought choosing you would protect me from Ahgred.  Once
we choose, we no longer carry out the chant to protect us at night.”

“I’m no longer sure.”  He said it quietly, his voice laced
with apology.  To be bound to the same limitations I now faced for the rest of
my life...  I thought choosing Morik would gain me more freedom.

“So if we complete this link, then what?  How do we know
when it’s complete?”

“It runs from base to crown.  When it’s complete, by pact,
none of my kind shall harm you.”

I sat on the edge of my bed, thinking.  To do what’s right,
I wanted to choose Morik.  I didn’t want any of my line to go through this. 
Not only did I need to choose with my heart and head, I also wanted the link to
give him free access to my world.  I didn’t understand his world and preferred
to stay in the world I knew if possible.

Despite his violent possession of Clavin before he first
introduced himself, violence didn’t live at the core of his nature.  Curious
and thoughtful, he observed us and learned.  To provide him with a link, didn’t
give me a moment’s concern.  My pensiveness steamed from the cause of the link.

“If it’s not growing because of deals, then what?  How am I
supposed to finish it?”  Part of me feared, my inability to choose directly
related to this link, which kept me under my existing time limit.

“I’m not sure.”  He reached out and ran a hand gently over
my hair.  “We’ll figure it out.  We have time.”

But how much?

The rest of Christmas break passed in a breathless rush.  In
spite of Beatriz’s begging, I spent New Year’s Eve in my enchanted sleep more
aware of the significance of a new year than most other people my age.  When I
woke, Morik drove me to work.

Typically, Sundays boomed at the Coffee Shop.  I’d
questioned Mona asking if business slowed because of the holiday, but she
assured me that she kept the shop open on New Year’s Day because the high
demand for coffee made it extremely profitable.  I looked forward to the work
and Gran, ever clever, added mini-quiches to the delivery she sent with me. 
The smell of them made my mouth water.