Odin

Chapter 10

“Simone, do you wish to go to the square with Loathe and me?” Malign asked. “Venom and Bitter are already there.”

Simone shook her head.

Malign stepped closer so that his words would only be heard by Simone. His shoulder brushed against hers as he leaned closer and practically whispered in her ear. “You and I can go somewhere alone if you prefer. I know you aren’t yourself lately, and you used to enjoy our outings. You are still very important to me, Simone.”

Simone took a single step away from Malign before she turned to look at him. “I’m sorry, Malign. I’m just not interested in a relationship with anyone. I love you, but as family. It will never be more.”

“Will you at least come out with us? You love to try all the foods for sale in the square,” Malign asked, trying to play off his disappointment.

“I’ll stay here.”

“You cannot stay here alone!” Loathe snapped. “There are shadows here!”

Simone turned slowly to glower at Loathe. “How many times will the lot of you make me say it aloud? He. Does. Not. Want. Me! He will not be back. The shadows are nothing but shadows!” Simone threw the cup of water she’d been holding to the ground and stormed off toward the exit of their hideaway.

Malice waited until she was outside. “Did you truly believe she’d choose you?”

“She once chose me,” Malign said.

“No, she didn’t. You enticed her when she was barely nineteen. You shouldn’t have then, just like you shouldn’t have today,” Malice snapped.

“You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do with my life, nor who my mate is. How do you know she isn’t meant to be mine?”

“She feels no pull toward you, Malign. And you feel no pull toward her either,” Malice said.

“He’s right. If she was yours, you’d have lost your mind years ago from trying to stay away from her,” Loathe said.

“This is none of your business,” Malign bit out.

“Actually, it is. Simone belongs to all of us. She’s our family. If she wanted you, it would be one thing. But she’s older now than when you and she had your dalliance. She’s no longer interested,” Loathe said.

“I’m just trying to refocus her,” Malign insisted. “She’s not herself and hasn’t been for weeks. And how would you know what she wants and doesn’t want?”

“How would you?” Loathe asked.

“That’s enough,” Malice said. “Do you believe we haven’t noticed she’s not herself?”

“We have to do something. We don’t know if she’s sad, or angry, or doesn’t even care! She takes pleasure in nothing anymore!” Malign insisted.

“I think she’s angry,” Loathe said. “And I think if I see that Demon again, I’ll snatch him from the shadows and beat him until he dies.”

“That may make her more sad,” Malice said.

Malign and Loathe both looked at Malice with a surprised expression. “You believe she cares about the demon?”

“I do,” Malice said. “Or at least she did. I think it’s why her scent has changed. I think it’s why her demeanor has changed. Think about it, not once has she said I don’t want him. She always says he doesn’t want me. Does that make her angry or cause her sadness? I don’t know. Maybe both. But one thing is clear, since she’s returned to us, she is not the same Simone. Something has to change.”

“She’s out there alone now. I’m going to find her,” Malign said.

“Malign, keep your distance. If you push her, she may leave here altogether. That is not something any of us want.”

“I know that! I’m not an idiot!” he snapped and strode away from them.

“Leave her alone!” Malice half-shouted.

“At least he got her outside today,” Loathe said.

“It’s something,” Malice agreed. “Are you opposed to staying here today?”

“Not if you need me to,” Loathe answered.

“I think it might be best. Just so if she returns she’s not here alone. I know she said that the demon won’t be back, but there’s nothing wrong with being safe rather than sorry,” Malice said.

“Agreed. I’ll stay here,” Loathe said. “Are you going to the square with Bitter and Venom?”

“I think I’ll keep an eye on Simone. She’s already struggling. She doesn’t need Malign pressuring her as well.”

~~~

“Simone!” Malign called out the moment he stepped out of their hideaway and saw her sitting on the edge of the stream the bridge they lived beneath spanned.

Simone pushed herself up off the ground. “Malign, just leave me alone!”

“I’m concerned. We all are. Why do you keep pushing us away? We care about you.”

“I’m not pushing anyone away but you. And you are making me do that.”

“What can I do to make things better for you. You only have to ask,” he insisted. As he got closer to her, he reached out and took her by the arm. He wasn’t rough, but he was not going to let her run from him again until he’d had a chance to speak his piece.

“Malign!” Malice shouted.

Malign and Simone both turned toward Malice’s voice.

Simone took the opportunity to pull her arm free of Malign’s hold.

“Go to the square. Bitter and Venom need someone to relieve them so they can take a break. They’ve been there since sunrise.”

“Why me?”

“Because I said you should do it.”

Malign stood his ground, considering his reply.

Malice shrugged off his hood, displaying his dark hair, and broken horns peeking out from his long locks. “Are we going to have a problem?” he asked, a growl underlying his naturally deep voice.

Malign only hesitated a moment longer. “No,” he sneered. He cast one last glance over his shoulder at Simone, then walked off, letting his shoulder bump into his older brother’s shoulder as he went past.

Malice waited until he didn’t sense Malign’s presence any longer before moving closer to Simone who’d sat back down where she’d originally been.

“It’s about time for you to have to show him his place again.”

Malice nodded as he took a seat beside her. “You’re not wrong. Every few years it seems I have to remind him of exactly his place among us.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He is causing this strife between us, not you.”

Simone nodded. “I’m not helping the situation, though. I’m sorry for that. And I’m sorry for making all of you so on edge. I don’t mean to.”

“I know that. So does everyone else. And you can’t help that Malign sees your pain as a weakness and tries to exploit it to his benefit. In reality, he’s not trying to take advantage of you. He’s always had more than a little admiration of you. You know that.”

“I do.”

They sat quietly for a little while before Simone spoke again. “Do you know I’m the last of my family line?”

“Are you?”

“Yes. I always kind of thought I might be. At least the last of my mother’s line, but when I was in Whispers, I saw Marie’s grave. So, now that she’s definitely gone, I’m it. My mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother all gone. And isn’t it strange that my great grandmother outlived all of them but me?”

“I think that’s likely because she was in the convent, safe from any illness that may have been moving through the regular populations, and safe from your grandfather’s hand. He couldn’t reach her in the convent.”

Simone gave a quick smile. “You’re probably right. I’m sure if he could have reached me, I wouldn’t still be here either.”

“He tried his best. But you were stronger than he imagined. You survived, and you’ve thrived. And we all love you. You will eternally have a home here. You are aware of that aren’t you?”

Simone looked over at Malice with tears in her eyes. “Is it hard to survive if you aren’t with your mate?”

“Have you found yours?” Malice asked.

“It’s just a question. If you find your mate, and your mate refuses you, does it kill you?”

“Not literally. But it can drive one to drastic behavior. You, though, are human. You will overcome it. But you won’t have to overcome it alone. You’ll always have us. Whether you are unmated, or with child, or with mate and child, you will always have us, as will any you choose to spend your life with. Just make sure they’re not afraid of Gargoyles,” he said the last part with a teasing whisper.

“You shouldn’t have to take care of me forever.”

“Oh, Simone. You bring us so much happiness. We’d have fallen apart long ago if not for you holding us all together. You take better care of us than we do of you.”

“I love you all. You’re my family. I’m just a little…”

“Lost?”

“Yes. I’m a little lost. But I’ll be okay. I refuse not to be.”

“There’s my girl,” Malice said proudly.

He watched as she dried her eyes and got to her feet. “I think I’m going to go back and rest for a while.”

“Loathe is there. He’ll make sure you aren’t disturbed.”

“You don’t have to have someone stay with me. Malign might keep bringing it up, but he won’t harm me, or force me to do anything I don’t want to do. He cares about me, too. He’s just more lost than I am,” she said with a smile.

“I know. But give me the opportunity to feel that I am taking care of you in your hour of need. We all feel the need to do so, and Loathe wanted to be with you today.”

Simone leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for always taking care of me.”

“It is honestly my pleasure.”

“Are you going to the square?” Simone asked.

“No, I have another errand in mind. If it turns out well, I’ll tell you about it.”

“Be careful.”

“Always,” Malice answered.

~~~

Terrus stood back and looked at the clearing he’d just made with a sweep of his hand. It seemed enough to him, but maybe his Maura would like more room to walk about. He lifted his hand and swept it across the area again. The clearing expanded more than twenty feet in all directions. He walked around his soon to be homestead imagining what should be where. He kicked the blanket of dead leaves and pine needles up off the ground and waved them away, leaving just the compacted dirt beneath it. He knelt down and curled his fingers into the dirt, causing grass to sprout to life and spread like a wave of water across the ground.

Smiling, he stood and admired his handiwork. “A garden perhaps, full of bright flowers, and especially roses. She likes roses,” he spoke aloud to just himself and the piece of land he’d chosen for his home. He waved his hand and a home appeared, then flower gardens flanking it on all sides.

“That should do it. She’ll like it. It’s a sturdy home. A good shelter.”

“Who will like it?” Brannaugh said from right behind him.

Terrus gave a little startle and turned quickly to face Brannaugh. “That’s a good way to get yourself sent to the veil!”

Brannaugh grinned. “They’d just send me back.”

“There’s no one there to send you back. That’s my point. And you’d be there before I even realized who it was that had walked up on me!”

“I am sorry. I startled you. I assumed you’d hear me and know that you weren”t alone,” Brannaugh said.

“Normally I would have. But I’ve not been myself lately.”

Brannaugh nodded as he walked past Terrus toward the house he’d just misted into existence. “Whose home is this? Yours?”

“Yes. I’ve decided that it is past time to have a home like everyone else here in Whispers. I can’t very well take a mate without a home for her to live in.”

“You’re right. You can’t. Has she told you what she wants in a home?”

“No, she has not,” Terrus said. “But, I know that she likes your home very much.”

“Really? Well, this is nothing like my home.”

“Of course it is,” Terrus said, standing back and looking at his creations again. He took note of the simple wooden exterior walls. The minimal windows, one small one in each exterior wall. Perhaps it wasn’t as much like Brannaugh’s as he’d thought. “I could paint it white.”

“You could. But it still wouldn’t be like my home. Have you ever been to my home?”

“I’m sure I’ve seen it at one point or another.”

“You have. I remember you being there.”

“You see, my problem is that I’m so easily distracted of late. I don’t pay attention to much. I feel so unsettled. It’s infuriating!”

“I think I know what your problem is,” Brannaugh said, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“And that would be?”

“You’re in love.”

“Luci agrees,” Terrus said.

“It happened to me, too. Once I had my mate at my side, though, all the distractedness went away. I’m myself again, and more importantly my mate is with me.”

“My sister said that I should build her a home, my mate, that is. And that is what I’m trying to do. She did say that I should consult you.”

“I’m not the one to consult.”

“Then who should I consult?”

“Maura. Tell Maura how you feel, and ask her to help you design the home you’ll share together.”

Terrus focused on Brannaugh. “How did you know it’s Maura?”

“Terrus, everyone knows it’s Maura, except Maura. You have to tell her what she means to you. Stop being so damned polite and tell her what you want. Tell her you won’t be happy until she’s beside you. And for the sake of your own happiness… claim her. Let her and the world see that she belongs to you.”

“She knows that!”

“She does not. She’s long hidden herself away. And now it seems you do, too.”

“How so?”

“You only ever take her on long walks though the woods. No one sees her. No one sees you. If she wasn’t there beside you even she would doubt that it ever actually happened. If you’re proud of her, show her off.”

“Luci said something similar. I’m just no good with people. Trees, plants, animals, I’m at ease. People… I’m hopeless.”

“You could do nothing and end up watching Maura accept an offer from someone else.”

Terrus scowled at Brannaugh. “Why exactly are you here?”

“I’m looking for Odin. I thought that maybe you could tell me where he is.”

Terrus squatted down and placed his hands on the ground again. Less than a minute later he stood up. “He’s in his shelter. He just moves into the shadows whenever you approach so that you can’t see him.”

Brannaugh pressed his lips together in a flat line, clearly showing his irritation. “Good luck, Terrus. And thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Terrus stood back and looked at the house he’d waved into existence, then lifted a hand and waved it all away. “She’ll have to tell me what she wants. I won’t be guessing.” He waved away the flowers, the grass and everything else. He replaced the trees he’d waved away, then called his green and silver mists to carry him to Maura’s side.