Saint's Sacrament - Sins of the Father (28 page)

Saint nodded. “It does. When I could have used it, like with my mom, it didn’t show up and then it reveals itself when I actually don’t want to know. That is one gift I honestly have no use for. I find it debilitating and quite upsetting. I don’t want to see any more young children like that, none of that. I don’t want to know…” Saint turned away in disgust.

“Jagger has a
nother gift that neither of has—reality warping. It means just what it sounds like. He can make someone believe they are somewhere that they are not.”

Saint smiled. “That’s pretty cool, Jagger.”

“It’s fun,” Jagger said coolly, as if he wasn’t too impressed with himself.

“As for me,” Lawrence
’s gaze settled on one man than the other, “I have element generation, enhanced senses, heat vision, omnilingualism, in—”

“Hold up, what’s that?” Jagger questioned.

“You know what it is, Jagger.” Lawrence frowned. “I just used the proper term for it. You know how I’m able to understand and read any language. It includes computer codes as well.”

“Ahhh, okay
.” Jagger nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t know that that was what it was called.”

“I also have intuitive aptitude which means I know a lot about an object just by looking at it and maybe holding it for a brief period.”

“Lawrence, it appears a lot of your gifts are cerebral and tied to nature.” Saint looked at him, duly impressed.

“That’s right. My mind houses most of my gifts while you and Jagger
have more of the physical attributes. I have ESP, and I can induce sedation in others. I just wave my hand in a certain way over their eyes, and they are at rest.”

“Like hypnosis?” Saint questioned.

“Yes, but they have to be a willing participant. I can’t just, say, walk up to a bank teller, put him to sleep and grab the loot.”

Saint and Jagger burst out
in infectious laughter.

“Lawrence, I know you can manipulate the weather and I also know your father is an upper
world shaman. Some of that must run in your veins.”

“It does. Though my father can speak directly to the
Creator, if the Creator so chooses, through smoke, it is predicted that I may be able to as well, though I haven’t tried as of yet. It would be a big undertaking. Now, back to Jagger for comparison’s sake. Jagger has mind control, you both do actually, but Jagger’s power is stronger in that gift than yours. It is a gift that has to be trained and it takes decades to perfect it. He also has what is called feral mind.”

“Oh
, here we go!” Jagger rolled his eyes. “Lawrence, why do you tell people that?”

“It’s not a bad thing,
Jagger!”

Saint grinned
. “Feral? Like an animal?”

“Well, yes, that’s what it means. It ties into his superhuman strength, actually. He can become quite animalistic. If he gets angry enough, he could rip a man apart with his bare hands and it would feel like he w
as only pulling bubble gum. It’s not something anyone would want to see, not even himself. You can do a lot of damage in that state. Imagine a werewolf. Now, of course werewolves aren’t real, but it is a similar principle. He doesn’t get hairy knuckles or anything like that; he would look exactly the same as he does now, only, well, there would be blood everywhere.”

Saint
and Jagger stared at each other as a long silence stretched among them. Lawrence wanted to ask what the deal was, but again decided to leave it alone. He didn’t want to get them started.

“Jagger obviously also has ESP
, as well as mindscape transportation and psionic inundation.”

“So basically,” Jagger jumped in
, “I can transport someone to another dimension. I really haven’t, it just appears that I have, and we know seeing is believing. It is similar to my mind warping abilities, only this is more. It’s a full-fledged imaginary environment. I can make someone believe they are in paradise or in hell.”

“And Saint can make someone believe it by showing either dimension to them,
” Jagger said, “only he is
really
showing it to them. As a warrior Angel Child, he has permission to do so.”

Jagger nodded in agreement.

“You both have great agility and speed. The one thing also that Jagger has that we don’t is, he can turn his complete form into a shadow. How long does it usually last, Jagger?”

Jagger shrugged his shoulders and contemplated. “Oh hell, I haven’t done it in forever. Usually just a couple of minutes or so.”

“So, you will just be standing there, and then become a shadow?” Saint looked utterly confused.

“Basically.
” Jagger shrugged then looked down at his empty juice bottle. “Like many of our physical manifestations and transformations, it is quite painful, so it isn’t something I would do simply on a whim. It is useful if I ever needed to hide, but I always need a light source to make it work properly and I prefer to be seen.” He gloated.

The conversation continued
for an hour, and then it was time to leave. Saint said his goodbyes with a hug before he and Jagger walked out. Lawrence couldn’t take it anymore. After waiting for Jagger to go to his car, he called after Saint.

“Hey
, Saint, can you come here for a sec?”

Saint doubled back, looking anxious and irritable.

“Yeah, what’s up?’

“I mean it, don’t go after whoever you were going to get.
I can feel it.”

“
Okay. I took you seriously when you said it the first time. If you’re saying it is a bad idea, then I will hold off. But I don’t know how much longer I can hang on. I’ll try though.”

“
Please do. Now, what’s going on between you and Jagger? Something isn’t right.” They both watched as Jagger pulled away, his headlights beaming then slowly disappearing into the night.

“Man,
you’re not going to believe this.” Saint put his hand on his hip and shook his head in disbelief, as if about to lay out some gossip.

“When it comes to Jagger, I will
,” Lawrence teased.

“Well, I think that even
this
will shock you. He hasn’t told Traci he is an Angel Child and now he keeps dodging me when I try to get one-on-one time with him to discuss it.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, man. He knows I’m after him and he knows I won’t do it in front of others. He’s been trying to read me, too.”

“I had no idea
he hadn’t told her!” Lawrence was truly astonished, and a bit disappointed in his best friend. “I think I should call him right this second.”

“
No.” Saint shook his head. “Xenia is the one that found out accidentally, so let me follow up with him about it, especially since I already arranged a one-on-one with him. He hid it from all of us.” Saint exhaled deeply. “Anyway man, thanks for tonight. It helped me, I appreciate it.” Saint started to walk away toward his car.

“No problem!” Lawrence called out, then closed and locked the door once he saw Saint steering out the driveway.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling about all of this…
really
bad…”

~***~

“Hey baby, can you pick me up one of those chicken gyro sandwiches? I have to work late tonight and Pam called me asking where Hassani’s tent is. I take it they are spending their Friday night over there.” Saint chuckled and gripped the phone tighter.

“Oh honey, I can’t swing by Poli’s right now. I’ve got,” he heard her huff and
then the sound of something falling. “Damn it…” she muttered. “I’ve got to take all these books of Dakarai’s back to the library. I’m in the car and the damn things just slid off the passenger’s seat, I’m at a light now, hold on.”

He waited while she picked up the avalanche of books.

“I figured since the kids are gone with Mama, I could run some errands. How’d you know I didn’t cook, hmmm?” He could hear her grin through her words.

“’Cause you told me this morning you had too much to do. See, your memory is fading, Xenia. You’ve got too much on your plate.”

“Oh shit, that’s right, I sure did say that. Anyway, I’m pulling up to the library now.”

“Hey
.” He grinned, leaned back in his chair and picked at the pants fabric over his upper left thigh. The light gray material rolled between his thumb and forefinger, feeling cool and soft like silk. “Remember when we used to read to each other at night?” He couldn’t help but smile.

“…Yeah.”

She was definitely smiling, too.

“We’d cuddle up real close and sit by the fireplace or in the bed, and one of us would pick a book
. It could be about anything, and we’d take turns reading a chapter to one another… I miss that. We haven’t done that in a long time. I just remembered since you said you were at the library ’nd all.”

“Yeah
.” She sighed. He heard her car door close. “Those were the days. That was a long time ago, baby. I miss it too. I tell you what, I can’t swing by there and drop you off a sandwich, but I can pick one up on the way home for you. Is that cool?”

“Yeah, baby, that’s fine.” He tried to remove the sadness in his tone. He didn’t want her upset, but he missed her. They didn’t seem to have enough time for one another
lately. He hated that he was starting to resent her job and his, too. He hated that every time he turned around and thought he’d get more than just an hour or two with his Goddess, the phone would ring and it was anyone’s guess what alarm had been rung for either of them.

“Okay, honey. See you tonight
, and since the kids are gone, and if you aren’t too tired, maybe we can watch a movie or something,” she offered as a consolation prize.

“Yeah…that sounds fun
,” he said weakly. They said their goodbyes and Saint looked up at the big clock on his wall. It was getting late and mostly everyone else had left for the weekend. Then it hit him. Devilish delight filled him as he bolted out of his seat, seized his car keys and rushed into the elevator, down to his lonely parked car. He turned on the engine and went in reverse, his tires skidding about in the parking lot, and sped off as if his life depended upon it…

~***~

“It’s not overdue, is it?” Xenia asked as she flipped through a flyer lying on the library front desk.

“No ma’am, you’re fine
,” the short, balding, cherub-faced man answered as he placed the hard-bound children’s books in a bin.

A slew of people stood behind her, clutching their bags, library cards and items to return. The place was huge, and had been recently renovated. She loved bringing the children there, but as of late, the nanny go
t to take them more than she did. Her heart felt heavy as she thought about it. Guilt needled her. She hadn’t told Saint, blaming it on the business with Sinclair, but she missed being around her children in the daytime. She mulled it over a bit, but she wasn’t convinced she’d renew the contract. Life had always been busy but simpler when it was just the radio station. She often had to stop and ask herself as of late, ‘Am I happy?’

The answer was ‘No.’

She missed her husband terribly, and it seemed as each month passed, the less they saw of one another. She stepped out of line and made her way up the steps to the second floor of the library. Her flat brown shoes with tiny satin bows felt like luxury against her aching feet.

The house felt so odd with the children gone, but her mother had called and swooped her grandbabies away
, and as soon as Xenia stepped foot inside, the nanny would have her purse in hand and be out the door in seconds. The girl had offered to cook once, but Xenia preferred to do it herself. She figured it was the least she could do for her children. There it was again, the sinking, sad, quicksand feeling that grappled at her heart and pulled it slowly down into the pit of her gut. She pushed it aside as she flipped through an assortment of colorful books and DVDs.

“Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Train…
Oh yeah, Dakarai loves him. This is new. I don’t think he has seen this one before.” She flipped it around and read the back of the DVD. Honestly, all of the movies they’d rented were blending together. She used to recall almost every book they had, every outfit they’d worn and every toy they owned. Now, her mind was as good as pudding. There was no room for anything else anymore and the television show was so tiring, wearing her out before it even began. Regardless, she’d agreed to do it, and resigned herself that she would see it through. And now, with Sinclair pushing his weight around and trying to intimidate her, it made her all the more certain to stand her ground. He would not get the satisfaction of seeing her bail, at least not yet.

Xenia collected more books and movies in her grasp, then made her way to the counter. The children’
s section was strangely quiet for a Friday evening. After the puppet show had ended, the children poured out of the small auditorium and left. Only the sound of the nearby elevator doors opening and closing breeched the fortress of silence.