Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations (6 page)

“No, I think that would be a bit much,” Tiffany agreed and turned to face Kenneth, who was still staring ahead with wide eyes and moving his mouth, but nothing was coming out as he cradled the expensive wine bottle. “Kenneth,” she said with a big smile, but he didn’t acknowledge her. “Kenneth,” she snapped, and he shifted his gaze to her. “Will you hold out your right hand?” she asked.

Closing his eyes, Kenneth tried to remember his right from his left. Almost messing it up, he pulled the bottle of wine tight to his body with his left arm and slowly put his right hand out. “Thank you,” Tiffany said, smiling, and some tension left his body as he smiled back. “You are going to feel my touch in the center of your palm like I was touching you with a finger,” she explained, and he nodded. “But it won’t be my finger,” she added, and the tension returned, bringing apprehension along for the ride.

Feeling a fingertip touch the palm of his hand, Kenneth looked down. He could see a dimple in his palm like a finger was there. Then the dimple moved around his palm like a finger was drawing on it.

Visibly trembling now, Kenneth jerked his head up, looking at both of them, and spoke in a breathless whisper, “Bathroom.” Then he gave them a forced, terrified smile.

Tiffany raised her hand, pointing. “The door on the wall behind you,” she said, not sure if Kenneth was doing okay. Humans were very easily damaged.

“Thank you,” he croaked and turned, walking to the door. Seeing the zippo on the table was too much. “HOLY HELL, it’s back!” he screeched, breaking into a dead run and almost taking the door out as he slammed it shut.

They both stood speechless and stared at the door. Tiffany finally broke the silence. “I think you are correct. He just had to take in so much. Most humans don’t react well when they find out they fell in love with an edimmu.”

“He fell in love with me knowing I was different and didn’t care. He’s tried to protect
me
.”

“Oh, he is special,” Tiffany said, grabbing her arm. “Will he be fine alone?” she asked.

Unsure, she said, “He should be. Let’s leave him alone for a while.”

“You must tell me everything,” Tiffany said excitedly.

“Oh, I will, and there is much more you need to know,” Besseta told her, pulling her to a couch. Tiffany sat with her as Besseta started talking, and Tiffany noticed the oddest behavior. Besseta kept looking at her wrist at a timepiece as she talked. Four hours later, Besseta finished, “and that’s where we are.”

“Oh, this is not good,” Tiffany said, pinching her lip. “Humans have never wanted to take the virus and develop it to conform to the many. But to use our kind against us is most troublesome.”

“That’s why I was wanting you to be informed and on our team,” Besseta told her.

Tiffany let out an excited gasp. “You want me to stay with you?” she almost shouted with a smile.

Caught off guard, Besseta nodded. “If you wish.”

“In your house on the island?” Tiffany asked, clapping her hands.

“You knew about that?” Besseta asked in shock.

“Oh yes,” she nodded and saw her friend’s expression. “I’m sorry if I intruded, but I try to keep an eye on you in case you need help.”

“I thought you wanted to be alone,” Besseta confessed.

“From most, but I enjoy you and always have. I kept my distance because you seemed to want to face the world alone, but as your friend, I felt compelled to keep a watch for you.” Tiffany nodded with conviction.

“Thank you,” Besseta said, smiling. “I just have to make sure Kenneth doesn’t mind.”

“Of course; you two are bound.” Tiffany smiled.

Besseta hugged her and walked over to try to open the door, but it was locked. Then she wondered why Tiffany even had a lock on her bathroom door. Lightly knocking, she called out, “Kenneth, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he slightly slurred.

“Would you mind if Tiffany moved in with us?” she asked, cringing.

Silence answered her, and she cringed more. Then she heard movement coming toward the door and stop, but the door didn’t open. “Is, ah, that demonic lighter coming?” he asked in a low voice.

“No, it is gone for good,” Besseta assured him and turned around to see the lighter float off.

“Damn right she can move in then,” he said in a sturdy voice.

Besseta smiled and waited on him to come out, but the door remained closed. “Kenneth, aren’t you coming out? We need to go,” she told him.

“Go ahead and get ready. I’ll come out when we leave. I know for a damn fact that lighter isn’t in here,” he informed her.

Besseta looked over at Tiffany, who blurred around the room then stopped back by the couch with two large bags beside her. “We’re ready,” Besseta called out.

“Besseta, baby, will you move that big rock out of the way for me pretty please?” he groveled. Besseta turned to do it as the boulder slid to the side, and Tiffany smiled at her.

“It’s open, baby,” she told him, and the bathroom door exploded open, and Kenneth was in a dead sprint, running for the light. Once again, Besseta was impressed with his speed for a human. Kenneth dove out of the cave entrance and rolled on the ground, coming up on his knees with his arms held out, praising the dark, sunlit clouds and holding an empty bottle of wine.

Besseta walked toward the door, bewildered, as Kenneth called out praises to the light filtering through the dark clouds. Tiffany picked up her bags and walked beside her. “I don’t think he should see a lighter for some time. At least till he comes to terms with the world of edimmu,” she told Besseta, and Besseta nodded in agreement and stopped beside Kenneth, who had tears of joy on his face.

She picked him up, rocking him, as Tiffany stood beside her, and the boulder slid back. “I can carry him if you wish,” Tiffany offered.

“No, I don’t think he’s ready for that yet, but thank you,” Besseta told her.

“I will follow you then,” Tiffany said, throwing her bags across her shoulder. Besseta nodded and took off, shocking Tiffany with her speed. Kenneth didn’t care as he buried his face in Besseta’s chest, so overjoyed to be away from that demonic zippo and sinister cave.

Realizing Tiffany wasn’t keeping up, Besseta slowed down. Well, for her it was slow; to Tiffany, it was as fast as she could move.

When they reached the car an hour later, Tiffany was winded. Dropping her bags, she shook her head. “Besseta, I have never seen anyone move that fast. How have you gotten faster?”

Turning around, Besseta could see Tiffany was exhausted. She smiled and looked down to see Kenneth asleep or passed out. The way Kenneth was cradling the empty wine bottle, she was leaning toward passed out. “Just have,” Besseta finally said, not wanting to tell Tiffany how she came upon these new powers. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Tiffany; Besseta didn’t want her to get in trouble with the knowledge.

Giving a small laugh, Tiffany said, “You’re the first I’ve ever seen evolve past the turning.”

Holding Kenneth tight, Besseta managed to open the back door and lay him in the backseat. Kenneth clutched the bottle and never stirred as she slid back out and helped Tiffany put her bags in the trunk.

“Since he’s asleep, we could just run,” Tiffany offered.

Shaking her head adamantly, Besseta said, “No. He would freak out if I just left the car here.”

“Yes, that would be a needless waste,” Tiffany agreed. “I take it you know how to drive?”

“Oh yes, Kenneth taught me,” Besseta said with a smile. “It seems it’s very un-American to not drive.”

Besseta walked around and opened the door for Tiffany, who was just looking at it. “Thank you,” Tiffany said as she hesitantly climbed inside. Besseta closed the door then flashed to the driver’s door and climbed in.

Seeing Tiffany looking around in wonder, Besseta asked, “You’ve been in a car before, right?”

“Of course I have,” Tiffany told her. “Right before I saw you last time.”

“That was over fifty years ago. They’ve improved some since then.” Besseta smiled and started the engine.

Watching Besseta put on a seatbelt, Tiffany turned and struggled with hers. “Well, the time before that, you had to turn a handle on the front to make a car go,” Tiffany told her, locking the seatbelt. “Why do we have to strap in? They go that fast now?”

“No, we can still move much faster than a car, but Kenneth gets upset if I don’t wear it,” Besseta replied as she backed out and drove back down the road. “Don’t get me wrong; they can go fast, but the local rulers put up speed limits that must be followed.”

“They make you drive them slower than a car can actually go?”

“Yes,” Besseta told her. “Kenneth said it was for the safety of everyone.”

“Why not have everyone drive better?”

Besseta shrugged. “I asked that, and he said with as many stupid people licensed to drive, it would be impossible.”

Liking that answer, Tiffany nodded. “So I take it your quest is still going well?”

“It was until this new crap started.”

They rode in silence as the night started to fall. “It was bound to happen sooner or later, you know,” Tiffany finally said.

“I guess, but if the Leagues are supposed to keep our existence a secret, I’m still surprised,” Besseta admitted.

“Surely you aren’t that naïve,” Tiffany said. “Besseta, in that last big war, everyone knew about us.”

“Just one side,” Besseta stated.

“No, they all knew,” Tiffany corrected, shaking her head. “When the European League joined the twisted cross people, everyone knew. In England, I found an area that was listening to every coded message the twisted cross people sent.”

“Well, we destroyed the records at that fort.”

“No, we didn’t get them all.”

Glancing over, Besseta asked, “Are you sure? We destroyed everything there.”

“Besseta, the church alone has a whole archive of what they’ve gathered over the centuries about us.”

“Whatever,” Besseta said, flipping her wrist.

“It is a rather remarkable collection,” Tiffany said and noticed Besseta slowing and pulling off at a store. “Is the car broke?”

“No, we need fuel,” Besseta told her, coasting next to a gas pump.

“We’ve only been traveling for few hundred miles, and it needs fuel?”

“Yes, the cars love to flash this light at you to remind you they are hungry.” Besseta turned off the car.

“Amazing, it can tell you when it’s hungry,” Tiffany said, looking over the instrument panel in wonder.

The bright lights overhead shined in the car on Kenneth’s eyelids. Thinking the zippo was near, he shot upright, wide awake. “What?” he shouted, looking around, and saw the gas pumps. Then he noticed it was dark. “How long have I been out?” he mumbled, looking at his watch.

“Not long, baby,” Besseta smiled, unlocking her seatbelt.

“Humph, six hours is a long time for me,” he corrected, putting the empty wine bottle down. “I’ll fill us up,” he said, opening the back door.

Besseta looked at him in the rearview mirror. “Baby, I can do it. Why don’t you just rest?” she asked as he climbed out.

“Nah, I got it. You need anything from inside?” he asked.

Shaking her head, she said, “No, but you need to eat.”

“I’ll get something, love,” Kenneth promised, closing the door,  he pulled a credit card out of his wallet and slid it in the gas pump.

Tiffany smiled and turned to look at Besseta. “It’s so cute how he treats you as fragile,” she observed.

“At times,” Besseta told her. “Other times, it’s very nerve-grating.”

Tiffany reached over and gently grabbed her hand. “I’m so happy for you. You found someone to love and love you. I was worried that you would always be alone. Life isn’t meant to be lived alone.”

“Hah,” Besseta scoffed. “What about you? I’ve never seen you with another.”

With a gentle smile and sad eyes, Tiffany told her, “My love died long ago.”

Feeling bad Besseta placed her other hand on Tiffany’s. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know.”

“It’s of no bother,” Tiffany replied. “You’ve never asked.”

Besseta looked at the outside mirror at Kenneth. “You never offered and never seemed to want to talk about your past.”

“I asked about your past; you could’ve asked about mine,” Tiffany said, watching Besseta stare at Kenneth in the mirror. “May I ask why?”

Turning back to look at Tiffany, Besseta flipped her head to get her hair off her face. “You never seemed to want to talk about it. When I asked, you just briefly answered, so I always thought you didn’t want to talk about your past.”

“I’m sorry if that is the way you perceived it, but I don’t mind,” Tiffany corrected as Kenneth put the nozzle back in the pump.

As her door opened, Besseta looked up at Kenneth. “You two want to come in?” he asked. Besseta looked over at Tiffany and saw a look of panic appear on her face then quickly disappear.

She turned to Kenneth. “No, we’ll wait for you. You get some food and then go back to sleep. I’ll drive us home,” she told him with a smile. He closed her door, and she looked back at Tiffany. “When was the last time you fed?”