8. A Hidden Power
A Hidden Power
Eliza
E liza sat on the bench, her hood pulled low and her face mask high, watching people walk back and forth. Some were talking amongst themselves; others were on their phones. A little girl escaped her mom’s hand to grab a ball she’d thrown too far.
She’d been surprised when Malcolm suggested they fly to his pack's land from North Carolina. The chance of them being noticed using the Magic ways of travel from Veil City was higher. So, they’d had Alek move them from Malcolm’s apartment to Raliegh airport. Then, they’d use the human travel system to get to Nashville.
The airport was packed with travelers of all kinds. Coming back to the human world had been weird after so many years of being away from it. She’d occasionally contacted her friends to ensure no one thought she was missing, and she’d come over occasionally to renew her license; just sitting here and watching normal people live felt alien.
Sometimes, she was scared to close her eyes. She was terrified she’d open them and find herself still in that silver casket, watching people be killed over and over as they were tested on and tossed aside like sticks of lumber when they became ‘failures.’ She winced when something cut into her palm; she looked down to see herself bleeding; soon after, she watched her skin heal. The wound disappeared like it was nothing.
“We are close.”
She nodded, as she looked away from her hand to the counter where Malcolm was getting their tickets.
“The male, he is interested in you as a female.”
She frowned. “He shouldn’t be.”
“He has no choice, the one inside of him has chosen.”
“You’re wrong, he’s just doing the right thing.”
The goddess chuckled. “A goddess knows these things.”
“I don’t have time for love or a relationship, kind of have your mission to deal with.”
“Do not blame me for your fear of claiming the wolf.”
The familiar chill evaporated as quickly as it came.
Eliza wanted to scream at the damn voice in her head. That she wasn’t blaming her for shit, she was just being logical. She wished she could remember what the damn goddess had done to draw his attention. If she could, she’d be able to reason away why he’d saved her calmly.
Instead, she couldn’t help noticing how patient and kind he was to her. But he seemed kind to everyone, even now as he made his way towards her, he was bumped into by a little toddler, and instead of being irritated as some had acted with the child bumping into them. Malcolm bent down and tweaked the toddler's cheek, which caused the little boy to laugh before he ran shakenly back to his mother. Straightening, Malcolm offered a grin of greeting to the mother before continuing on his way towards her.
“We can head to security check now.”
Eliza stood at his words, reaching out to take her ticket from him. “I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough for what you’re doing for me.”
He shook his head, taking her free hand and pulling their luggage along behind him. “You don’t need to. I should be the one thanking you. It’s nice not to be alone, going back home.”
She glanced at him. “Is it that bad?”
He stiffened but didn’t turn around as they got in line. “It’s complicated. When I’m ready, I’ll tell you, but right now.” He glanced over his shoulder at her, his green eyes dark with something unspoken. “I would much rather enjoy our time together than talk about bad things.”
She nodded. “I understand,” she said, not pulling her hand from his. Touching Malcolm, or being touched by him, always brought her a level of comfort that not even having a dead goddess under her skin could provide her.
He blinked at her. “That easy?”
“That easy,” she repeated. “I have a few things I don’t want to discuss, and it’s only right that I respect your desire not to speak about things.”
He tightened the hold of her hand. “I wonder, then, why now I wish to tell you.”
She couldn’t help laughing. “I don’t know, maybe you like to be contrary.”
His expression turned thoughtful before he grinned. “Maybe you’re right.”
Eliza couldn’t help shaking her head in amusement. Malcolm always managed to make her feel normal. At moments like this, she forgot about how different she was. With him she forgot the horrors she’d been put through; she’d even found herself sleeping peacefully at night.
Not that it bothered her; she would take this pleasant comfort over anything else.
“Move forward,” the TSA agent called.
Together, she and Malcolm made their way through security. She could not wait to leave this place; it felt like a dog was nipping at her ankles. The sooner they left North Carolina, the better.
Malcolm
As he watched the clouds drift across the sky, Malcolm found a peace he’d never experienced before. Next to him, Eliza rested her head on his shoulder, her breathing soft and unbothered as she slept. He’d been worried at first that she’d have a hard time sleeping after her experience. Though she never complained, she hadn't been able to sleep a full night during the time she’d spent in his apartment; he’d caught her on occasion sitting on the stool by the window, oddly able to curl up on top of it. Her eyes on the sky, watching it like a cat.
Her actions spoke louder than words, of her terrible torture. Sometimes, he’d gotten up from the couch to check on her to see that she had the lamp light on. He’d initially thought she’d forgotten to turn it off, but one night she’d awoken right when he’d been reaching over her to turn the lamp off. She grabbed his wrist and begged him not to.
Malcolm hadn’t the heart to ask her why and just left it on. Then right before he could leave, she’d asked him something he hadn’t expected.
“Can you stay?”’
Surprised, he automatic reaction was to say no. It was already hard enough fighting temptation when they were just in the same room. Just as his lips parted, he caught the darkness in her brown eyes, which turned them deep with anxiety. Even though he shouldn’t have, he’d nodded and joined her in the bed.
Instead of laying behind her, he’d decided to lie in front of her. Hoping that would keep him from doing anything, she’d surprised him again by wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face against his back. At some point her breathing calmed down, and she fell asleep clinging to him. The smell of her, like woodland wildflowers encircled him.
It had killed him to ignore his urges to shift then and there and rub his furred body against hers to provide comfort and submerge her in his scent. A marking that only other werewolves would pick up. Instead, he’d rolled over and pulled her into his arms, and watched her chest rise and fall with every breath as her mass of hair tickled his nose.
Eventually he fell into a troubled sleep. Their bodies curled around each other; he ignored his own hunger for her body and focused on being her comfort.
The next morning he’d watched the sun hit her right across the bridge of her nose. The tattoos that decorated her face when she was awake weren’t there, and he could see her unmarred toffee-colored skin beneath. He traced the lines of her face with his eyes, her nose was slightly wide, and her bottom lip poked out a bit, but those traits were beautiful because they were a part of her.
When he thought of his father and mother, he couldn’t help wondering if this was how his father felt every time he looked at his mother. His memory of them had grown fuzzy, iced over by the last time his father had spoken to him.
“You’ve killed your sister’s mate,” his father cursed, his expression hard. “Do you not care what happens to her?” He demanded. The death of one’s mate was a curse. The mated werewolf would live their lives as half a person.
“It was him who ignored my words,” he said. His head lowered as the rain fell. He couldn’t feel anything, only the numb realization that he’d done something he couldn’t take back. “It had to be done.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” his father spat.
“I did what you were too afraid to do,” he shouted. “You and the elders allowed Damon to continue beating her and shaming her before our people, before the clan. I held my anger and rage in for years in respect of you and our ways. I pretended not to hear her screams of pain. And no matter how many bruises appeared, I, along with the rest of you, ignored her silent cries for help. I am no better than the rest of you who never moved to help her. So, I finally decided to make a move and do what none of you could. Not one of you.”
He widened his gaze, daring any of their clan to speak, “Not one.” He returned his gaze to his father, torn expression. “You’ve no right to judge me. I demanded a challenge, and he ran from it, so I chased him down and ended him and his evil.”
His father's expression tightened. “Fine, then I’ll do what needs to be done.” He left, and when he returned, he returned with Tiller and his man.
“Hello, flyers. We’d like to announce that we will land in Nashville in just 20 minutes.”
The flight attendant's voice pulled him from past memories. Shifting, he turned his attention to Eliza, who released a low groan and picked her head up, staring blearily at him before looking around him. She pulled away, releasing a slight cough, “Right, we’re were flying.”
“We’re about to land soon.”
She nodded, rubbing at her cheek, her eyes still half closed. She smacked her lips together. “How exactly are we getting to this place?”
He smiled, letting the mischief show in his eyes. “I’m sure you’re familiar with it.”
Her brow creased. “Hm, I doubt it. Actually, I don’t think I’ve left Veil City much since I was brought there by Lanias.”
He chuckled. “Everyone knows how to get to the other side of the veil.”
She opened her eyes, shooting him a confused look. Malcolm shook his head; he couldn’t wait to show her.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Eliza exclaimed, looking from the blank wall to him. She settled her hands on her hips. “You’re joking.”
“I am not,” he said, pushing their basket that held their luggage towards the door. We must go through this wall to get to our transportation on the other side.”
“Tell me you guys didn’t rip off that book off,” she said, following behind him as he made his way along with a few others toward the wall. “I wonder how much copyright fees you must pay her.”
Malcolm scoffed. “Why do you think we took it from her?” he asked, just as their bodies were swallowed up by the wall. “She pays us, but last I heard they’re raising the fees cause of some things she said in the human world.”
Eliza snorted, shoved her hands in her pockets, and released a whistle as she looked at the bullet train with its sleek white exterior and fancy uniformed attendants. A few people hung out in the waiting area of Starbucks, focused on their laptops, while other small stores ran along the wall occupied by other travelers.
“Well, this is definitely better than a locomotive,” Malcolm said, feeling pleased; they had taken the human plane to not draw attention, but it was also nice to see Eliza's eyes light up. She hadn’t even realized she kept closing the distance between them as they walked towards one of the attendants in the light blue uniforms with a red hat that was tilted just so. A feather pinned to the corner of the hat completed the look.
“Do you hear that?” she asked, whipping her head towards him, her face aglow.
“Hear what?” he asked.
She blinked and pointed at him. “That, you’re country accent.”
He blinked. “My accent?” He smiled. “I didn’t think I ever lost it.
“No, I mean,” she said, staring up at him in fascination. “It’s, like, more pronounced. It’s cool.”
Well, he hoped so. Malcolm had been away from home for a long time and hadn’t realized his accent had lost some of its tone. He had always considered himself a country boy, but the idea that he’d changed so much that he’d nearly lost his voice disturbed him a bit.
“All boarding should come to the yellow line,” a voice announced over the speaker.
“Come,” he said, continuing forward. “We need to get our seats before there aren’t any.”
She nodded, following behind him, humming. He swallowed around the lump in his throat; the smoggy scent in the air made it all the more real that he was back. The ball of nerves he’d ignored until now was flaring up inside of him. He would soon be facing the music and the faces of those who’d betrayed him when he’d only been trying to do the right thing.
Eliza
She could tell something was bothering him, but she wasn’t sure she should ask. Ever since they’d gotten their seats on the train, and he’d ordered her a sandwich and a coke, he’d kept his troubled gaze on the passing view of rolling hills. She could tell they were getting further and further from the human world. The city views suddenly went up in smoke, and they saw nothing but forest and nature.
Her eyes landed on a set of black-and-white unicorns that ran wild along the side of the train. Taking a bite of her sandwich, she couldn’t help wondering what Malcolm's story was.
Everyone had a story, some a bit harder to swallow than others. She’d grown up living a life with chapters filled with things she would much rather forget, and sometimes, when she looked back, she couldn’t believe those chapters were actually her life.
Even now, when she thought back to the fear she’d felt sitting in the cell, waiting night after night for someone to come for her, every night wondering if it would be her last, those paragraphs were there, but it was like a filter covered the memory so that it wasn’t as harsh or as mind-numbing as it should be.
Lifting the sandwich, she took another bite. Eliza wanted to forget all of the bad things, but she couldn’t. If she wanted to bring justice for Ashe and the others, she couldn’t just hide away from the monsters that went bump in the night.
“Do you want my other half?” She lifted the other half of her sandwich out to Malcolm; whatever he’d been thinking about must’ve been a lot because he looked at her blankly for a second as if he’d forgotten where he was.
Awareness slowly came to his gaze, and he gave a short head shake. “Thank you, but no.”
She didn’t back off; she pushed it into his hand. “Eat. There’s no point in thinking too hard about it. There isn’t anything you can do now anyway. Just worry about it once we get there.” He fumbled with the sandwich before finally taking it.
She took a sip from her coke, “When I was locked in that place, all I spent my time doing was thinking about any and everything.” She didn’t look at him.
He looked away from her. “It’s the first time you’ve mentioned your time there.”
“I think you know why that is,” she said, taking another bite of her sandwich, “Talking about it won’t change what happened or that, unlike many of those other women, I’m free.”
“Do you regret it?” he asked.
“Regret what?” She knew what he was asking but pretended not to understand.
“Being here and alive?”
“Should I? Because I don’t, survival is about luck and strength. Some of them were better off dying; since the ones who didn’t are now mindless dolls.” Her lashes fluttered as she averted her eyes. “I’m alive and have full control of myself. I’m not some mindless weapon killing innocent people. I won’t regret it, not for a single moment.”
She could feel his gaze on the side of her face; she wondered what she looked like in his eyes. Her words had been cold, but they were the truth. Her life had had many obstacles, but she had never regretted living through them. She wouldn’t start now. Yes, she hated that she’d fallen into such a hell like experience, but now she was out, and she had every intention of using her newfound strength to find the fucker who’d orchestrated the entire thing.
“You’re stronger than me.” Malcolm's words caused her to whip her eyes to his face. He was smiling, and damn if that didn’t highlight his handsome features. He looked from her to the land, “I’ve been feeling nothing but regret and guilt as we make our way to my home. I continually wonder how they will receive me. I was once one of them, but now…I’m an outsider.”
“You are what you want to be,” she said, finishing her sandwich. “If you want to be an outsider, be that. Either way, I’m here with you. You’re not alone.”
She felt his hand cover hers, and she felt her cheek heat at the immediate sensation of comfort that came from touching him , It always threw her off.
He wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he ate half of her sandwich in three big bites and leaned back; they watched the scenery pass together.
Both of them were lost in thought; one worried about the future, and the other worried about her past.