••••
Loveth shakes underneath for a bit, and when she finally cos down from her high, I kiss her softly and lovingly on the lips.
"Thank you, Nick," she tells after a few monts of tender kissing. "I know you only did that to make feel better, and I appreciate it."
Now, why did she have to go and ruin a good mont like that? I wonder.
"Dammit, Loveth," I exclaim. "If I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t have. I wanted that as much as you did, and if I hear one more—" She cuts off with a laugh and a kiss, followed by the biggest hug she’s ever given ........
.....
Loveth has to change her shirt because it was drenched in my seed, but we get cleaned up and dressed as fast as we can, then I drive us ho. I know everyone is going to start getting worried about us if we don’t get ho soon.
On the drive ho, I tell my sister the sa story I’d told Tina, explaining my powers but saying nothing about Vage. I’m not sure why I continue to keep her a secret, but sothing inside tightens every ti I consider letting that na pass my lips. It feels like a line I’m not ready to cross, as though once spoken aloud, she would no longer belong to just .
I explain how the switches work, how intent matters more than words, and how the effects feel different depending on proximity. I also tell her carefully how physical contact between the two of us changes everything. I don’t fully understand why yet, only that when I’m touching her, the power sharpens, as if sothing dormant inside wakes up and aligns itself. She listens quietly, absorbing every word with her hand resting against mine as though grounding herself.
She did not interrupt while I was talking, nor did she doubt . That alone makes the confession more easier than I had expected.
When we pull into the driveway, the house looks the sa as it always has, with warm lights glowing through the windows, everything familiar and safe, but I know that whatever sense of normalcy it once held is gone. We step inside together.
Tina ets us at the door and greets my sister with a warm smile, as though nothing in the world is wrong. The sll of food and wine hangs in the air, it was comforting and surreal all at once.
Loveth leans over toward and whispers accusingly, "You didn’t tell you have a girlfriend."
Before I can respond, Tina hears her anyway. "He’s not my boyfriend. We’re just REALLY good friends," she said, emphasizing the really.
I wince internally. I wish she hadn’t emphasized really quite so much. Stephanie had said nearly the exact words to once, almost verbatim, and I can’t help wondering what that says about my luck with won lately. Or maybe it says sothing about .
Tina’s expression shifts, the warmth fading as sothing heavier settles in her eyes. "Your dad showed up a while ago," she said. "It wasn’t pretty."
"I know," I tell her. The words co out flat, already spent. She doesn’t seem surprised.
"I kind of wondered if you had sothing to do with it," she said thoughtfully. "The way he handed her everything, and yet seed so angry about it... I thought you might have had a hand in it." She pauses, then adds more softly, "Your mom is taking it pretty hard. She says she always knew he was cheating, but she did not ever think he would let her leave the marriage with this much. Still... I think she will be able to move on pretty quickly."
There was no accusation in her voice, just concern. She’s so sweet, I thought...
We move farther into the house and find Mom and Nancy sharing a glass of wine at the table. Whatever storm had passed earlier had left behind a fragile calm. They greet us with smiles and hugs, and I realize Tina was right: Mom looks stronger and steadier than I expected.
When soone fills a glass for , I pick it up and raise a toast, "To Christmas Eve," I said, then added, "and new beginnings."
The others echo the toast, glasses clinking softly before we drink.
The night stretches on longer than it should. Laughter returns in small, careful bursts, as if everyone is afraid of pushing too hard. Eventually, the wine takes its toll. One by one, the won grow unsteady, words slurring, movents slowing. I end up carrying each of them to bed.
Mom doesn’t bother with any more kisses this ti; I think she’s too far gone. Tina tries to pull down beside her mom, clinging to my shirt and attempting to kiss before I can disentangle myself. I manage to pull away gently. I’m not comfortable doing anything with my sister here now, not after everything. Tina is snoring before I even reach the door.
When I tuck Loveth in, she thanks again. She gives a quick, shy kiss and murmurs, "Maybe next ti, maybe next ti..." before drifting off to sleep.
I barely rember reaching my own room. I collapse onto the bed fully clothed, imdiately I got in, exhaustion was dragging under before I can even think.
Vage ca to take as usual.
I wake in the blue room, the faint sensation of dizziness still clinging to . I’m slightly drunk, disoriented, and imdiately aware that sothing is different. The familiar presence isn’t there everything was not the way it usually is.
I don’t even bother pleading with her to see . What’s the point? It had never helped before, and I’m tired of asking questions that don’t get answered. The white light bathes in its glow, warm and invasive, and I lie there silently until it finishes.
When I was not imdiately sent back to my room, unease prickles along my spine. I sit up, scanning the space, wondering if she was going to appear after all.
Instead, a section of the floor rises smoothly, forming a pillar. Sothing materializes on top of it. I stand and approach cautiously, curiosity battling with dread.
Before I can touch it, a voice fills the room. The voice was flat, chanical, and utterly unfamiliar.
It isn’t Vage’s voice.
Fear slams into . Have they killed her after all? The thought cos unbidden, sharp and terrifying. No, I tell myself. They’re a peaceful race. At least, that’s what she said. Maybe they sent her away.
"THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST TREATNT WITH THE WHITE LIGHT," the voice announces. "TAKE THE OBJECT ON THE PEDESTAL AND PRESS IT AGAINST YOUR ARM," The voice said flatly.
I hesitate only a mont before obeying. Trust has been drilled into by repetition, by necessity. I cling to the belief that they don’t want hard. Or maybe I just don’t have the strength to resist anymore.
There was a sharp prick when I pressed the object against my arm, it was barely noticeable at first. Few seconds later, fire floods my veins.
Liquid agony spreads outward from the injection point, racing through my arm. My veins stand out beneath my skin as the pain intensifies, crawling, burning. I cry out silently, my mind screaming questions no one answers. What have they done to ?
"DO NOT BE ALARD. THE PAIN WILL BE BAD, BUT YOU WILL SURVIVE."
The voice continues, uncaring.
It isn’t Vage. When she did this, she spoke to herself. The pain worsens, spreading to my fingertips, creeping up toward my shoulder. I wonder distantly if I’ll die when the pain reaches my heart, or if I’ll be forced to endure the pain until it reaches my brain.
"YOU WILL NEED TO USE YOUR ABILITY SOON. THE DEMONS HAVE SENT A SCOUT SHIP AHEAD OF THEIR FLEET. IT ARRIVES IN TWO DAYS," the voice rang out coldly.
I collapse onto the floor, curling inward as the agony becos unbearable. I did not die when the pain reached my heart. Unfortunately, death would be too rciful at this point.
"YOU MUST STOP THE SCOUTS BEFORE THEY CAN SET UP A FOOTHOLD ON YOUR PLANET. IF YOU FAIL, THE HUMAN RACE WILL BECO EXTINCT WHEN THE REST OF THEIR FLEET ARRIVES," the voice warned.
The pain slows as it crawls up my neck, but when it reaches my groin, sothing new ignites. The pain was sharper and crueler to my brother, which made cry out incoherently, with my body convulsing.
"THE HUMAN RACE NEEDS YOU. I NEED YOU. AND YOUR NEW CHILDREN NEED YOU. I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN WHEN I’M ABLE. VAGE."
Her na hits harder than the pain.
The agony finally reaches my toes and my head at the sa ti, overwheld by everything, my thoughts dissolve. And my awareness shatters.
And then there was nothing.
Sweet oblivion takes .
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