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Part Nine
Last Updated:
2024-10-18 12:41:18
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I sighed audibly. I didn’t know anything about magic but I felt frustrated by the knowledge that the book with the spells I’d need in a few months wasn't at my fingertips. I’d always been a bit of an overachiever and I knew that I was running out of time.I stood up and stretched my legs. Today was Tuesday, I had two days to prepare myself and for Jessica to do this spell. I wondered if Malachi would be able to cut out my liver. I knew James wouldn’t be able to do it.I closed Karani’s book because it didn’t feel like it belonged to me yet and switched off the lamp next to the couch. I had no idea how long I’d been immersed in the book but pushing this harder wouldn’t bring me answers any sooner. I went to the kitchen and Malachi sat at the counter with his back to me.Malachi turned at the sounds of my footsteps and smiled. “Dad, is everything okay?”“Of course. I was waiting for you. Adara said you found your mother’s chest in the clearing.”I sat down at the counter next to him. “I
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I lay in bed for exactly two minutes as I watched the shadows in the room lighten as the sun rose. A sense of trepidation filled me and I had the insane urge to get this whole cutting out my liver episode over with.I was nervous about the future, not mine, Kai’s. For the first time in my life I began to understand Malachi’s actions, the times it felt like he hovered and especially the times I thought he was overprotective.I was a father now too and the only thing I kept thinking of was to protect Kai from whatever forces were after him. I had agreed to do the Norns bidding, they wanted me to harvest Karani’s magic and save my daughter.The previous night I’d taken pictures of the instructions in Karani’s book and sent them to Jessica. She would complete the first steps of the spell in preparation for Thursday’s ceremony while I ate the root that Karani had left for me.Jessica’s expression gave nothing away as she stared at me like I was special and not the good kind of special. I w
Last Updated : 2024-10-19Fire Part Twelve
We disconnected the call, I started the Jeep and the slow descent back towards the house. As I bumped up the dirt road and turned into the paved driveway, I saw Malachi’s Navigator in the garage and smiled again. He was already here, waiting for me.“I’m home!” I walked through the foyer hallway and into the kitchen and found Malachi sitting at the table. I felt antsy and opened the fridge. “Where’s Adara?”“She went to the store, something about cooking your last meal.” I turned around sharply as I looked at him and he burst out laughing. For once in my life I was completely speechless.“That’s not funny, Dad.”“I know, I’m sorry.” Malachi started laughing again looking anything but sorry.“I don’t think Jessica’s such a good influence on you.” He grinned at me as I sat down at the table next to him and he closed his laptop.“Let’s rather not talk about Jess’s influence.” There was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes and I was glad that I couldn’t read his mind. I knew for a fact that
Last Updated : 2024-10-20Fire Part Thirteen
“Kiran!” Christian’s voice was loud and filled with excitement as I turned towards him and he jumped into my arms.“Hey, little man, were you painting the town red with Robert?”Christian frowned and I smiled at the confused look on his face. “No, we were at the hotel. But you’re much better with punches and kicks.” He had meant to whisper that last part and even cupped his hand over my ear but had said it out loud.Robert laughed. “Thanks, Christian, good thing I’m not sensitive.”I put Christian down and sat down at the table as James handed Kai back to Adara. Malachi’s eyes glinted and I heard a car’s door outside. Malachi stood up and I caught Jessica’s scent. I didn’t even want to picture the greeting because it took ten minutes for them to come inside.“Hi, everyone.” Malachi introduced her to Robert and Malika who smiled and lowered her head briefly.James shook his head as he looked at Malachi and Jessica holding hands. I knew exactly what he was thinking. “James, Malachi can
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I burst out laughing first because Jessica’s tone was so dry and everybody else followed. The mood had been broken and I felt the familiar ease settle back between us all. I gave Jessica a nod and she gave me a half smile. It was the most I’d get from her.“I guess I’m in the inner circle of trust now.” I smiled at Robert’s words. He was indeed in the inner circle now.“Mia was the night we got arrested. Malachi killed her. We just dumped her body.” James was at full speed now and I watched Jessica’s reaction. There wasn’t one and I realized that Malachi had told her.James didn’t wait for an invitation and just carried on and I could see Robert was trying to keep up. “Kiran killed Paul in the woods, before we knew who he was, but that one was self-defense.”I shook my head at James. I was sure Robert didn’t need a detailed log of who we’d killed and why. “We’re all family here, Kiran. Honesty is the best policy.” Robert laughed at that one and Jessica just gave James a look even thou
Last Updated : 2024-10-22Fire Part Fifteen
The concoction worked fast. I could feel the fog entering my mind and I felt dizzy. Malachi physically helped me up the stairs as Adara walked outside and I could feel her anguish and her nerves. She was afraid for me.I was in bed shivering as the cold fever took me. Malachi placed another blanket over me as I closed my eyes. I felt so tired. I managed to make it to 2 p.m. before I vomited the first time. They took turns to sit with me in the bathroom as it just kept coming. Adara only left me when Kai needed her and at other times Malachi would tend to Kai so she could tend to me.At 4 p.m. she opened the faucet in the shower and Malachi helped me inside as I sat with my legs pulled up against my chest under the hot water. After five minutes she turned the water off and helped me undress and get into clean pajamas. I felt slightly better and got back into bed. My head started pounding and she had to close the curtains because the light hurt my eyes.It was strange to feel so sick wh
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I kissed the top of Kai’s head as James looked at me questioningly. I knew he wanted to say something but he closed his mouth and walked outside. I kissed Adara goodbye, wanting to keep her against me for longer but I knew if I did she’d worry.“Please call me the moment it’s over and tell me he’s fine.” Adara was worried even though I pretended not to be.We drove to the den in silence and Malachi kept glancing over at me. “You’ll be fine.” I wondered who he was trying to convince, me or him.“I know, Dad.”I took a deep breath as we stopped in front of the den. I walked inside slowly and took the stairs to the basement as Malachi went into another room. James was lowering the rack from the wall and I looked at it in disdain.I had washed Dave’s blood from that rack and now it would be my blood that flowed over it. It was almost too funny. I was going to be strapped to it willingly. The irony of the situation almost made me smile.“Get on.” Jessica’s voice was steady and I pulled my
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I had no essence of how long I’d been unconscious. I was still on the rack when I opened my eyes. The chains and rope were gone and I touched my ribcage tentatively. There was nothing there, no cut and no open wound.I sat upright as James turned around and gripped my shoulder with a smile. Malachi and Jessica stood to one side and spoke softly to each other. He had his arms around her and her face was pressed against his chest.“It was magnificent, Kiran! You passed out and then suddenly this green flame engulfed you and you just healed. You were still bleeding one moment and the next, nothing, not even a mark.” I saw awe in his eyes.I swung my legs over the rack and got up just as Malachi and Jessica reached me. “Well, I guess it was a success since I’m still here.”Jessica had a hand on her chest as she snorted. “Dude, I didn’t even know about the green fire. I nearly had a heart attack!”Malachi grabbed me into a bear hug and then he looked me over. “How do you feel?”“My mouth t
Last Updated : 2024-10-25
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Adara hadn’t changed anything. She’d washed his clothes in the hamper and nothing had been touched in Kiran’s study. Malachi had made the notifications to The Council but Adara still kept everything the same. Some nights she still made Kiran’s favorites, like that would bring him home.His car keys remained in the bowl and she recorded everything the twins did, so that when he came back he could be part of everything he had missed. She even had his car serviced and started it every single morning to keep the battery charged.“You should just give her time, maybe give her what she wants and move to our own house. We’re close enough if anything happens and she’s not defenseless, she has Norah here,” Jessica said to Malachi.Adara sighed as she stood on the stairs and listened to them talk. She turned and went to her bedroom. Every day she scoured the internet for stories of acts of heroism. That was something Kiran could never stop doing, being the hero.She had phoned all the hospitals
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Five months later…Days had turned to weeks and Malachi’s hope was dwindling. Each day brought a fresh wave of sadness and worry. They had no body and no idea where Kiran had gone. He didn’t want to believe that his son was dead. He’d pleaded with the gods for a sign, any sign. Anything would be better than wondering. He wasn’t sure how much more he could handle.He was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, staring at the newspaper in his hand but his thoughts were with Kiran. If he was indeed in Helheim, he hoped he wasn’t suffering, but even Jessica wasn’t sure. Kiran had said that Death liked to taunt and torture him. He shuddered at the thought of what Kiran must be going through.Adara pulled a chair out and sat down next to him. “Can I talk to you?”“Of course,” Malachi said and put his cup down. He folded the newspaper and looked intently at Adara.Adara fidgeted with her hands, seemingly nervous. “You don’t have to keep living here, your house was finished two months ago
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Three
“What the hell do we do now?” Carl asked and James didn’t have an answer for him. He turned around without answering and followed Malachi out of the forest with Carl trailing behind him. They had walked into the house, the clearing littered with dead witches.“What happened?” Jessica asked as she stood up from the couch putting the glass of water down on the table as Malachi put Adara down on the couch and she curled herself into the fetal position and just cried.“He’s gone,” Malachi said and walked to the study, slamming the door behind him. He screamed and wiped everything off the chest that stood behind the couch and acted as a secondary table which held the glass bottles of brandy and whiskey and the tumbler glasses.He started hitting the wall in frustration as he struggled to deal with facts that he didn’t really know. He stopped when both hands were broken and his blood dripped onto the carpet. He sat down on the couch and he lowered his face into his hands and cried.Jessica
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Two
Adara sat in the study and looked at Kiran’s laptop. It was four weeks later and she hadn’t had the heart to go into his study before now. She opened the laptop and the screen came alive. She looked at the numerous folders on the screen and started to cry.That day had been the absolute worst day in her life, by far. She felt helpless and so alone, although the house was never empty. Malachi and Jessica had basically moved into his old bedroom.James was there every day and she could see that it was taking its toll on him, between his twins, the hotel, and their house, he was overdoing it. She would have to ask Malachi to speak to him and tell him to stop coming over.Kiran had closed Karani’s chest that afternoon before he went to the clearing and Jessica had tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. She finally admitted defeat and told Adara that only Kiran could open it. She had hoped to find something in there to explain what had happened to him.She started going through his folde
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Some days Death showed me my children, other days he let me burn for hours on end. On rare occasions I was with Adara or Malachi or James. He wanted me to witness their grief and their pain and feel it deep in my soul. It was the worst punishment I’d ever suffered through.He took such pleasure in my pain that I stopped reacting to whatever they felt and turned my emotions off. He let me burn extra-long when I did that and I don’t know what hurt more, their pain or mine. I felt numb to it all, even their emotions because I was beginning to feel like I had when I’d taken Malachi’s pain, before going to Wolf Peak. I felt weak.Finally one day he let me sit down and said we should talk, man to man, and I laughed at him. I had clearly lost my mind and I had no idea how long I’d been there with him because there was no measure of time. There was only pain.“You’re not a man,” I said to him and he looked hurt.“Don’t be so mean, here I can be whatever I want,” he said and I just looked at h
