Chapter 13 - Kira
Several days later, Kira was resting at her home when the door opened. She straightened quickly, wincing as pain throbbed through her ribs and bruises. Her heart beat faster, expecting Joshua. Gwen was busy today with a party Lianne was attending. Who else would it be?
“Kira?” a high voice called.
Disappointment hit first, followed by a renewed excitement. “Chelsey?”
Chelsey, her sleek black hair pulled into a bun at the back of her neck, charged into the living room. “What’s this I hear about you being married?”
All the blood drained from Kira’s face. Right.
She hadn’t told Chelsey about this, only the demon threat.
At the time, it seemed like a good idea, so she wouldn’t worry so much about…
well, everything. Judging by the harsh look on Chelsey’s face, her little sister didn’t agree.
Chelsey put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips as she looked Kira up and down.
“Well?” she demanded. “Is it true or a rumor that you and Joshua got married, you left him at the altar, then turned around and came back five minutes later?”
“It’s not the whole truth,” Kira hedged.
Chelsey’s eyes widened. “You did marry him?” She plopped onto the couch, looking as though she’d just stuck her head out of the window of a moving car and instantly swallowed a bug. Her eyes bulged as she stared at her.
“A lot has happened since you left.”
“After a week?” Chelsey demanded.
“It’s been more than a week.”
Chelsey snorted. “A week and a few days. So what’s happening? If you’re married, why are you here? Did Joshua move in with you? The place does smell like a man.”
For the past few days, Kira and Joshua had settled into a comfortable routine.
He cooked, cleaned, and made the potion she needed for her bruises.
She rested, napped, watched TV, and read.
If she were totally honest with herself, the times when he wasn’t with her were the worst. The pain became more distracting, and she got bored out of her mind.
Of course, the ointment was helping a great deal.
She technically didn’t have to spend the day lazing around, but she liked Joshua waiting on her.
Chelsey didn’t know about Kira’s history with Joshua. Trying to explain it all would just be too complex. She couldn’t even begin to think about how to start it all.
“I was trying a spell and it backfired,” Kira said, shaking her head. “Joshua has been helping me.”
“Helping you?” Chelsey’s face paled. “How badly were you hurt?”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“It must have been bad if you’re letting someone help you.”
Kira shot her sister a dirty look. “It’s not that bad. Apparently, he has some proficiency with potions himself. It’s been nice.”
Chelsey pursed her lips.
Kira didn’t like the concern on her face, so she quickly switched the conversation. “I might have had a vision the other day. Actually, I’m not sure if it was a vision or just a nightmare.”
“Has Gwen had any visions?” Chelsey asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. Like I said, I’m not really sure if this was a vision,” Kira confessed.
“Joshua and I were standing on either side of this huge canyon. In the canyon was this black, black river. It was like it was made out of darkness, and it was bubbling as if it were boiling. It started to move faster, and I knew I had to get across it. Joshua was yelling, but I couldn’t hear him. Then I woke up.”
Kira shuddered at the memory. It hadn’t been particularly vivid, but the feeling of danger she’d gotten from it still lingered.
“Hmm. As far as visions go, that one is pretty obvious,” Chelsey said, rubbing her chin.
“How so?”
Chelsey gave Kira a withering look that reminded her of the one Chelsey always gave her when they were kids and Kira would purposefully sing the wrong words to the songs Chelsey loved.
“You and Joshua separated by a darkness-filled chasm. You being desperate to reach him, and him yelling, but you can’t hear him.
It’s obvious. You two are facing some serious communication issues, and you need to find a way to bridge the gap, because the demons are trying to keep you apart.
” Chelsey nodded, a smug smile on her face.
It did sound rather obvious when Chelsey said it that way. But… Kira groaned as she passed a hand over her eyes. “I’m not sure the demons have anything to do with it.”
“But you said the canyon was filled with darkness.”
Kira winced. Yes, that did sound like demons.
Or at least, it did when Chelsey didn’t have all the facts.
“I didn’t choose to marry him. I mean, I did choose, but I didn’t want to.
It was… well, I was told to marry him so we could have powerful babies like Lianne, and that’s why I walked out of the wedding. ”
Chelsey stiffened. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
“Calm down. It’s not exactly what you think.
Joshua also wasn’t given much of a choice,” Kira said quickly.
“So it’s not like anything has happened that I haven’t wanted.
Other than the wedding itself. Joshua has been a bit overbearing at times—” Like when he decided he was going to essentially lock her up for her ‘protection’ without giving half a thought to what she wanted.
“—but he’s been a gentleman. He hasn’t touched me when I haven’t wanted him to. ”
Chelsey leaned back on the couch. She opened her mouth, paused, then closed it again. Seconds ticked by as Chesley rearranged herself, clearly wanting to demand answers but looking for the right way to ask.
“And… how do you feel about it?” Chelsey finally asked.
That question had no right being so damn difficult to answer. “I’ve made my peace with it, I suppose.”
“Are you going to sleep with him?”
Kira winced. Chelsey’s bluntness hit her squarely between the eyes. Was she? No, she didn’t think so. Although that first morning, waking up in Joshua’s arms… The heat of his closeness, how aware of his body she had been. It felt like a dream she yearned to return to.
“He doesn’t want kids,” she murmured.
“He doesn’t?” Chelsey frowned. “Why would he agree to marry you on the basis that you were going to make super babies together if he doesn’t want children in the first place?”
Kira shook her head, not knowing how to ask that. It was all just so ridiculous. Maybe if she asked him directly, he’d answer. Or maybe he’d just make up excuses again. The image of the bubbling chasm from her dream-vision came to her again. But how was she supposed to bridge the divide alone?
How is he?
She shook her head sharply. She didn’t want to get locked up in all of this right now.
Yes, things had been somewhat better between her and Joshua lately, and they’d had that moment.
But trying to deal with emotions? Ugh, no.
She was just going to take a deep breath, remember that they had other issues at play, and focus on what she could actually control.
“There haven’t been any further demon sightings, but I want to keep practicing my magic, so I’m able to fight them when they decide to attack,” she said, standing. She tested out her movements. While the bruising still throbbed, especially in her ribs, it was much better than it had been.
“Obvious subject change aside, I’ve been looking at our potions more closely.
I think we might be able to combine a few of them to create new potions that we can use to fight demons, or at the very least, strengthen your fighting abilities.
Maybe even get my magic to start flowing,” Chelsey added, a hopeful look in her eyes.
Kira thought of the potions room in Joshua’s house and grinned. “I have something to show you.”
***
“I don’t care what you think, the man loves you,” Chelsey said, clasping her hands over her chest. She gazed at the wall of ingredients with stars in her eyes. “Look at this! It’s not just the money, but look at how much thought he put into this place!”
Kira’s cheeks burned. She wanted to protest the word ‘love’, but somehow that felt as though it would cause even more drama. Nope. Best to just pretend like Chelsey didn’t say anything.
“So it looks like we have everything for your new potion except fresh thyme and rosemary,” she said instead, focusing on the notebook Chelsey had been jotting her ideas down in. “Let’s go to the store and pick some up.”
They headed out to the car, but when Chelsey tried to start it, the engine spluttered. They tried a few different things, but it still didn’t work. Kira groaned as she tried to decide whether she could make the walk. It wasn’t that far, and she was healing up nicely.
“Maybe you can call Joshua?” Chelsey suggested.
Kira hesitated. “He’s at work. I don’t want to disturb him.”
“Liar,” Chelsey said, sounding rather smug about it, too.
“Excuse me?” Kira demanded. “What do you mean?”
“I meeean you’re a lying liar who lies. I know what this is about.
I’m not blind. You’ve been head over heels for Joshua Woods since the first time you laid eyes on him,” Chelsey crowed, clapping her hands lightly.
“And now that you’re married, you want to be head over heels in joy, but he was forced to marry you, and you don’t know what to do with your emotions.
That, and you have always had that streak where you think you’re not allowed to ask for help. ”
Kira gaped at her younger sister. When did Chelsey become a shrink? “That’s not true.”
Chelsey pointed a finger at her face. “Liar. Any man who will live in our dump rather than his own place, waiting on you hand and foot, wouldn’t care about being disturbed at work, and you know it.”
Kira hated how right Chelsey was. She slumped in her seat, trying to think of a reasonable way to argue against it.
Nothing came to mind, so she grabbed her phone out of her pocket.
Quickly, she scrolled to Joshua’s number and hit the call button.
After a couple of rings, it went to voicemail.
Kira explained what happened and asked him to meet them at the grocery store.