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Dayshia dabbed the tears from her cheeks as images of her father today intruded on her thoughts again. Beth had taken her to the home he was in, and Dayshia was shaken by how small her father had become. He’d been such a strong and vital man, but this sickness had sucked all of that away until he was left a shadow of his former self.
On top of this, his personality, which had always been so calm, firm, and self-assured, had twisted as his mind slowly failed him. Fear and bitterness were taking over. He’d said some pretty mean things to his younger daughter today, and she was torturing herself with self-recriminations for living so far away.
The man she saw today was not the man who raised them.
Beth saw how hard the visit was on her baby sister, and they’d spent hours talking afterward. Dayshia knew her sister held absolutely no resentment for staying behind to look after her father while Dayshia left to make a life for herself. She was thrilled to hear she was going to be a surgeon.
Dayshia was happy to spend time with her sister’s kids, but she realized that it didn’t inspire her to want her own. She recalled teasing Tish and Sandy about her hopes and dreams, including marriage and a family, but she wasn’t sure she wanted that at all. With her new career as a surgeon, she knew she wouldn’t be able to dedicate sufficient time to her family.
Spending free time with Henry… that sounded good. The thought of being a surgeon also made her happy. Being with her friends made her happy, and their group was undoubtedly getting bigger.
Losing Roger had been painful at first, but she now realized he was always pushing them outside their boundaries, but not in good ways, not in ways that led to personal growth. It was like doing damage control all the time. The fact that he’d become a murderer after his change, that gave her pause. How much of that was due to what he’d become and how much had been there all the time.
That thought gave her shivers.
He needed to be stopped. She knew, if she was given the opportunity, she would do it without hesitation.
She just hoped her soft-hearted bestie Sandy didn’t interfere.
-=-
Tish sank into the overly soft pillow top mattress in Steph’s guest room. Her mind immediately took her to her memory of sleeping on the collected grass on Eden with Henry. All she needed was the slight scent of cinnamon, and his warmth beside her to make the scene for her with her eyes closed.
She heard a soft knock on her door.
“Come in.”
Steph opened the door and peeked inside. “Still up?”
“Yup.”
“Mind if I visit?” her sister asked tentatively, and Tish’s eyebrows went up. Steph wasn’t the shy type.
“Sure, pull up a cloud,” Tish teased as she patted the mattress next to her.
“Ugh, I told David the mattress was too soft!” Steph said as she closed the door behind her. She rushed over and slipped under the covers on the bed next to her younger sister.
“I thought you’d be all talked out,” Tish teased her.
“Are you kidding, me with nothing to say?” Steph asked in false shock. Tish just chuckled as she knew it was true. While Steph was eleven months older than Tish, she acted two years younger and never stopped talking.
Looks-wise, they could have been twins, except Steph preferred a pixie cut for her ebony hair.
“Oh my god, I missed you!” the older sister sighed as she cuddled next to her Tish. “You know, of all of the kids in our family, you’re the only one that doesn’t immediately tell me to shut up?”
Tish chuckled. She missed this.
Then her mind took her to a painful truth she’d been hiding from herself. Once her baby was born, she might need to stay away from her family until her child was grown enough to know how to remain in disguise.
Steph caught the sadness in Tish’s eye and pulled back a little to examine her carefully. “I’m sorry if I said something to upset you.”
Tish gave her head a firm shake and forced a smile onto her lips. “No, it’s nothing. I-I just missed this too. I’m sorry I live so far away.”
Steph smiled at her. “You could move here! Bring that hunky man of yours with you, too!”
Tish chuckled. “I’m afraid to bring Henry anywhere near you!”
“He’s so yummy!” Steph growled quietly in her sister’s ear, which caused both of them to burst into giggles.
Once they got control of themselves, Tish sighed happily. “He is.”
“So, sex is good?” Steph asked with a wicked grin.
Tish snorted softly. Steph was such a lusty girl. Her husband, David, who Tish found to be a cold fish, had his hands full with her. “The sex is… indescribably good!”
“Oooo! You bitch! You weren’t supposed to tell me that!” Steph squealed with a pout.
Tish just smiled and shrugged.
“Now you’re gonna have to give me all the details,” Steph said petulantly.
Tish watched her sister with love in her eyes. There had to be some way to keep this. Then an idea came to her, but it was so dangerous she immediately shut it down. She’d… talk to Henry when she got home.
In the meantime, she had a fantasy to provide the details for.
DJ was going out of his mind! The morning after he’d arrived on Eden, Nate introduced him to Xiong once the sun had risen high enough to wake the Glass Being. Nate touched it to speak with Xiong, and from Nate’s expression he knew the answer wasn’t going to be good.
It seemed that the Glass People had drained themselves recently making home improvements in the valley for all the new arrivals and wouldn’t be able to open a gate probably until the following day. Nate told him the group no longer allowed Xiong to open tears on his own as it took so much energy, it put the being’s life at risk. They spread the effort amongst a group now, which was far safer.
Spending another day and night on this itchy planet was torture for him, but at least he had Nate to talk to. That said, he found himself being careful what he said around Nate as the man wasn’t as innocent as Henry had been. DJ was getting the impression that Nate wasn’t warming up to him. That was too bad, but DJ wasn’t looking for a friend at the moment.
He wanted to get back to New York to deliver his message to this Roy guy to pay off his debt to Henry. In their gratitude, they’d point him to someone with information on what skills he had. If he really was all-powerful, he had some scores to settle and riches to accumulate. Henry was a nice guy and all, but he knew jack shit about how to live amongst the Humans, or rather, how to rule them.
He’d waited all day as a large group of the Glass People basked in the rays of the orange sunlight. Then by noon the next day, it finally looked like they were ready as the group made their way towards Nate and himself.
“Last chance to head back to the city with me,” DJ said, aware of what the answer would be.
Nate spread his wings and stretched them. “No, I’ll go later.”
DJ shrugged and looked to the one he identified as Xiong. Nate placed his hand on what might have been Xiong’s shoulder then looked to DJ. “They’re ready to send you back.”
“Will they open the tear near VRL?” DJ asked.
Nate frowned. “That’s a very busy spot. Too much chance of being seen.”
“I’ve already put Henry at risk from not reporting his location for so long. If I have to run across half of New York to get to this guy Roy, it might be too late!” DJ said, adding a little desperation to his tone.
Nate shifted uncomfortably, but the Glass People seemed agitated by what they heard through Nate’s ears. They gathered closer and reached out their hands to touch one another. Xiong, DJ recognized by his color and shape, was at the front of the group and held his hands before him. A tiny tear formed, maybe the size of a football, and DJ could see it was in a darkened doorway. A dirty metal door was closed just beyond. Xiong turned the viewpoint, and they could see an alley, and it looked empty. At the end of the alley, people were walking by, dressed in business wear. DJ changed his glamor to match and grinned as he was suddenly looking as sharply dressed as the working stiffs. He felt a surge of joy as this was going to work.
“Perfect! Let me through here!” he exclaimed, riding the high of success.
Xiong opened the tear wide enough for DJ, and he wasted no time leaping through. As his feet hit the pavement, the tear snapped closed behind him. He turned to head out of the alley and saw three large figures standing in the alley entrance gaping at him. They weren’t human.
He recalled what Henry said about remaining calm when faced with what he once thought were hallucinations. Now he knew he simply saw past their disguises. He schooled his expression and walked towards them.
The three were large, furred creatures with clawed fingers and toes and face reminiscent of wolves. Nate said Roy was a werewolf, so these must be some of his pack? He smiled confidently.
“What? Did you see how this guy appeared out of thin air?” one said to another.
Seizing the initiative, DJ stopped before them. “I need to speak to Roy Duncan immediately. It’s about the location of Henry Gable,” he said boldly and watched their expressions freeze.NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.