Chapter 14 - The Alliance

James doesn’t know how much power he has over me. Mikayla’s thoughts poured over the encounter and what she should do next.

She got tired of sitting and thinking, and resorted to pacing back and forth in her room.  She knew that she had to keep herself covered up, but she also knew the role that fear played.  If someone touched her, and that person wasn’t afraid of her, that person would burn Mikayla if the touch held for more than a couple of seconds. 

Her grandmother was able to touch her for a few seconds and she had seemed fine then.  Maybe love prevented the burn?  Her father certainly loved her, and she didn’t remember burning under his touch.  He probably would have stopped touching her if all she did was scream when he did.

It would seem that love prevented her from burning, but it certainly didn’t protect that person from dying by her lips.  She loved her grandmother, and amá sání loved her back, and she still died when Mikayla kissed her, as did her father.

Fear protected Mikayla, but love still wasn’t the solution to anything.

She scoffed at herself.  So much for that ‘love conquers all’ bullshit.

If there was a solution, she couldn’t imagine what it would be.

Not to mention how many people that might die in the process of trying to find a solution.

She shook her head to clear it of thoughts surrounding killing people.  She didn’t want to think about those vacant eyes, and how they stared back at her.

I won’t become a monster.  She gritted her teeth as her mother’s voice rang accusingly in her head again.

But I can’t stay here and endanger them.

Unless…

X

Mikayla waited until she heard the footsteps climb the stairs.  There was a heavier pair in addition to two sets of lighter feet.  She went to the door and listened, identifying James’ footsteps with the kids as he brought them up to bed.

She pulled her door open a crack and peeked out.  Her heart fluttered in her chest as she set her eyes on him.  She was aware of the fact that he was the same height as her, but she felt so much smaller despite it.

What if he was angry?  Would he deny talking to her at all?

“Jay, I,” Mikayla hesitated.  She looked down, and asked if she could talk to him alone for a second.

He turned, seeing her peering at him from a crack in her door.  He blinked at her in silent puzzlement before nodding, and told the kids to go ahead and get ready for bed.  “I’ll be there in a minute and read to you then.”

Aiden and Gracie exchanged curious looks, but obeyed their father.

Mikayla pursed her lips as James stepped into her room.  She glanced at his face, which looked intrigued and not the least bit annoyed. 

He is far too forgiving. She exhaled the air she had been holding in her lungs, somewhat relieved.

“Yes?”

She shifted her weight.  Should she say something about what happened earlier, or just cut to the chase?

He sighed, and she realized that he was exhausted after a long, eventful day of work, meeting her at school, trying to pick up the pieces with her after dinner, and god only knew what else.  He was probably dreading the earful he might get from Anna-Marie once the kids were in bed too.

Unsure of how to go about asking for permission, she mentally chewed on her words for a bit before opening her mouth.  She did, after all, have a reputation to maintain, and reading did not mesh with that disposition.  Besides, she needed to let him know that she would have to go to the library at some point anyway. “I need to go to the library.  You know, for research and stuff for school.  I still have to keep up with my school work.”

“Oh.”  He looked a little bit taken aback, and shrugged.  “You can use my laptop for that if you want.”

She tried not to roll her eyes.  Yeah, like that would help.  She shook her head.  “Thanks, but no thanks.  I prefer to do things the old fashioned way.”

“Okay.  You can still use my laptop to type up your assignments if you like.”

She sighed.  “Sure, whatever,” she grumbled in reply, even though in her head the answer was a negative.

She couldn’t tell him how completely illiterate she was regarding technology.  Motorcycles were as technologically advanced as she got, and she only knew as much as she needed to maintain hers (which she had also learned from books).

He smiled warmly at her, and she refused to look him in the eye.

“Also,” she added when he was about to leave, “I would like to pick Aiden up from school… if that’s okay with you.”

She peeked up through her hair that had fallen in her face to see James’ eyebrows rise, but there was also grin in his eyes, and she knew that he couldn’t refuse her.  She was showing some interest in the kids after all.

“Sure,” he replied.  “Just give me a call on my cell before you head out so I can disable the alarm.”

She nodded as he turned to leave and quickly added, “Don’t tell A.M.  She hates me.”

He couldn’t deny that, and she knew it.  He simply nodded in acknowledgement and left.

Mikayla heaved a sigh.  Maybe it was a mistake to pick Aiden up from school, but she saw the bruise on his collarbone in the hallway just moments ago, even though he tried to hide it.  Those bullies got to him when she wasn’t around.  Maybe picking him up last week ignited their fury on him?

I’ll have to teach him a few things so he can defend himself when I’m gone.

She knew that she would have to leave.  The raven’s visit with her was more than just a sign that she was being watched.  It was a warning for her that they were closing in on her and it was only a matter of time now.

And maybe then, their prayers might not be enough to deter them.

The security of the Wrights’ house offered some reassurance for her for the time being.  She needed to make sure that that security was consistently maintained as it might keep her hidden from them long enough for her to devise a plan out of there, and thus ensuring the safety the Wright family.

She waited until after James returned downstairs for another hour or two with Anna-Marie before Mikayla snuck in to the kids’ room. 

The darkness of the room enveloped her as she gently closed the door.  She tiptoed to the bottom bunk bed and poked Gracie in the back.

Gracie looked startled to see Mikayla there, but her eyes shone with wonder and curiosity in the moonlight pouring in through the large window.  “Mikay?” she asked in a whisper as she rolled over to face her.

“Yeah,” Mikayla answered.

There was a rustling in the bed above and Aiden peeked over the edge.  “What are you doing here?” Confusion rumbled in his drowsy voice.

Mikayla ignored his question because she had to make sure the house was secure.

“Did you say your bedtime prayers?” she asked the younger girl.

Gracie nodded.  “Of course I did.”

“Good,” Mikayla told her.  “Don’t forget to say them every night, okay?  And pray more every day too.”

“Why?” Aiden asked as he peered down at them.

“Do you want me to stay, or leave?” Mikayla asked, looking up at him.

“Stay!  Stay!” Gracie said quickly, reaching for Mikayla’s gloved hand and gripping it tightly to her chest.

Both Mikayla and Aiden shushed her.  She clamped her lips together in an attempt to keep quiet, but she still held on tightly to Mikayla’s hand.

“If you want me to stay, you both need to pray more than once every day, okay?” Mikayla said, more so to Aiden then Gracie.

“Why?” Aiden looked confused.

“Because.”

“Because the monsters will come if we don’t!” Gracie whispered urgently to him.

Mikayla shushed her again.

“What monsters?  There’s no such thing as monsters.”

“Yes there are!”

“Yes, there are,” Mikayla concurred softly.

Aiden scoffed at them.  “Monsters don’t exist.”

“They do too!  I saw one last week,” Gracie declared.  “Tell him Mikay!  Tell him what I saw.”

Mikayla was torn.  She had the little girl on her side, and she knew Gracie would do anything she asked because Gracie wanted Mikayla to be her big sister.  She wanted to forge a relationship with Mikayla, even though it was impossible.

Should she show him too?  He was the only one who didn’t know about her touch.

“Aiden,” she hesitated, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course I can,” he said indignantly.  “I’m not a tattle-tail.”

“I know.  And I know your parents don’t know about those kids at school and the bruises they give you.”

Gracie gasped.  “You’re getting bullied at school?”

“Shut up Gracie!”

“Shh,” Mikayla hissed.  “I talked with your dad tonight, and he agreed to let me pick you up after school.  But don’t tell your mom.  This is between us.”

“Okay,” came a small reply.

“Give me your hand.”

“What?  Why?”

Mikayla slipped off her glove.  She saw Gracie watching with wide eyes as she cradled the other one.  She reached up with her uncovered hand, searching for his.

“Give me your hand,” she said again.  “I have to show you something.”

He found hers, the warmth instantly hit her, and he quickly pulled away.

“What the heck was that?”

“That was me.  You have to keep what I tell you a secret, okay?  If your parents find out, they will freak.”

Mikayla paused as she brought her hand back down and looked at her palm in the dark.  Her thoughts swirled around the times she had been caged like an animal.  How her mother wouldn’t touch her without covering her own body.  How Mikayla saw herself as a monster in her mother’s eyes, and in her own growing up.

And how James’ hold on her began to burn if she hadn’t pulled away.

“Monsters do exist,” Mikayla said softly then.  “I don’t know why I’m like this, but I know that the monsters are after me.  And they might hurt any one of you to get to me.  They come out in the night, and for some reason your prayers are what keep them away.  So you have to pray, Aiden.  You have to in order to protect the family.”

“And protect you too, right Mikay?” Gracie asked softy.

Mikayla chewed on her bottom lip as her stomach rolled and her palms grew sweaty.  She clutched her chest with her bare hand, Gracie still holding the gloved one, as she struggled to calm the pounding go her heart. 

She didn’t want to admit it, but Gracie was right.  Their prayers were protecting her too.  Even though she always pretended that she didn’t need help from anyone, she knew now that she did.  She couldn’t protect herself against the darkness that hunted her.  All she did was hide and run away.  All that did was put them off her trail for a little while.

They always found her in the end.  They were getting better at finding her too.  She knew that she couldn’t keep running from foster home to foster home.  She would have to leave and never stay in one place for any length of time.  She had no place to call home, and no one to share her life with.

She couldn’t risk anyone’s life by being with her either.  She couldn’t ask someone to do that.

“Yeah,” she finally said to Gracie.  “Yeah, to protect me too.”

“You know how crazy this sounds?” Aiden demanded.

“Believe it,” Mikayla replied.  “You don’t want to be held responsible for something happening to one of us because you didn’t pray, do you?”

He was quiet for a moment.  “No, I guess not.”

“Then you have to make sure you start praying more, and you have to mean it.  You can’t just pray for the sake of praying and not have any meaning behind it.  It won’t have any effect then.”

He sighed.  “Fine.”

“Good.”

“Mikay?” Gracie asked in a quiet whisper.

Mikayla was about to get up and leave, but she stayed and let Gracie hold her hand a little longer.  “Yeah?”

“Does this mean you’ll be my big sister?”

Mikayla’s throat tightened and she bit down on her bottom lip.  She looked away, not sure how to answer her.  She couldn’t answer her.

She pulled her hand free as she stood up.  “Good night you two,” she said as she slipped out of the room, ignoring Gracie’s voice calling out to her again.