The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (106 page)

             
“Was it the worst?” I was trying to steady my voice when I spoke.

             
She studied me for a long second. She would tell me later that
she was both surprised, impressed, and very thankful for my tact in not using any heavy words to describe what had happened with “Uncle Mike”; words like “rape” or “assault” sent chills down her spine and turned her stomach.

             
“Yes.” She answered.
             

             
I trie
d to suppress my tears but the guilt and shame over judging her so harshly were too much
to bear.

             
“Why didn't you tell me?”
             
“It was not, and still isn't, a burden I wish for you to carry.”

             
“And Lucien?”

             
Now, the pain in her eyes intensified and her gri
p on James's arms tightened. He was holding her around the middle from behind. Because of how pale her skin was and how badly she was shaking, I worried briefly that he was the only reason she was still standing. When she spoke, her hands began to run up a
nd down his arms somewhat neurotically.

             
“I looked away and by the time I looked back, he was gone.”

             
Even speaking of our brother, whom we both loved dearly, didn't evoke a shred of emotion in her voice.

             
“Did Maura know?”
             
She looked away from me and up
at James for a minute. The question that came over her eyes answered my own. She was unsure whether she wanted to defile the high perception I had of Maura, our mother and our father. I reached out, closed my eyes and held onto the wall as I tried to gathe
r my thoughts.

             
“Tell me that they didn't know, Brynna. Tell me that they tried to stop it.”

             
“Our mother did. Our father didn't believe me. Maura was present.”
             
I lurched forward, so horribly sickened by the fact that Maura had not stopped such a senseles
s, sick violence. My youth could not be blamed for why I didn't understand. There was no explanation. There was no excuse.

             
“How did you ever look at her? How did you ever forgive her?”
             
“Because Maura was weak and I knew that from a very young age. I was
the victim of her weakness, however. She paid no price for it. She still has not paid for it.”
             
“How could you have saved her? How could you have saved her from Earth? She doesn't deserve...”

             
“Perhaps she does deserve life and perhaps she does not. I owed
her a debt. If it were not for her, I would not have survived infancy. If she had not cared for me, I would not have grown up to care for you and Penny. You two would not exist, either.”

             
“But it's so wrong!” I wanted to reach out and throw my arms around
her. I needed her to comfort me when the situation called for the reverse.

             
“Yes.” She replied vaguely. I got the feeling that she didn't know what else to say.

             
“How can you not hate her? I hate her now! I hate them all for letting it happen and for blam
ing you for Lucien...”

             
“Violet...” She whispered and warmth finally emerged in her words. I felt her hands on my face and her thumbs wiping my tears away. “I have carried great anger for many years. That rage plants the most insidious, detrimental thought
s in one's mind. I do not wish that for you. Everything that has happened to me is my own burden to carry, like I said. Do not add to that weight by embracing anger, rejection and despondency. It is useless now. It was useless then, as well.”

             
“But it's no
t fair!”
             
“You know exactly which cliché I am going to utilize so I will not even say it.”
             
“I know. Life isn't fair.”

             
“Indeed. We are safe now. We have created a new life. You were happy before this conversation, weren't you?”

             
I nodded.

             
“I love it here
.” I told her honestly.

             
“I know. If all of the things that happened on Earth were payment for the happiness we are currently experiencing, then it was worth it. It was worth this chance at something better than what we would have had. Okay?”

             
I nodded and
looked up at her. Then, I turned my gaze to James.

             
“James, I know it's an uphill battle, but you better take care of her.”

             
“I can take perfectly satisfactory care of myself, thank you so much.” Brynna told me with the usual sass in her voice. Her tone r
eassured me that she was returning to normal.

             
“Fine. Then how about this? James, take care of her when she finds herself incapable of taking care of herself. Is that better?”

             
“Indeed.”

             
“I've learned to navigate these conversational minefields she sets u
p.” James told me, “You need to start watching your step. She'll get you.”

             
“I know she will. But I'm serious.”

             
“And I will do just that, Vi. You don't need to worry about that. It is my job to put her above myself, and I do. I
always
do.”
             
I nodded, feeling genuinely relieved. I looked between the two of them for a moment. Though they fought, there was a durability to their relationship now that was far superior to anything that could be experienced in the early stages of a romance on
Earth. It was odd to think that two people who had only met maybe four months earlier would be capable of possessing such deep feelings for one another. But the forces of the universe were strong and insistent that they meet and fall in love, never to par
t for the duration of their eternal lives. I wondered if they would have children together.

             
“My stars, Violet Mae!” Brynna exclaimed, and she grasped her chest in shock.

             
“What? What?” I asked as the panic pulled me from the depth of my thoughts. My thoug
hts... I gasped and covered my ears. “Stop doing that!”
             
“Children!?” She repeated, “Are you daft?!”

             
She grasped James's hands tightly to steady herself.

             
“Oh, no...” James replied, shaking his head back and forth quickly. “We have more than our fair sha
re with you and Penny. Actually, we have the best of both worlds with you two; we have the teenager to make us pull our hair out and the precious, angelic little girl to shower with love and gifts.”
             
“What are you going to shower me with, then?” I put my h
ands on my hips in mock indignation.

             
“Advice and stern warnings.” James answered immediately. Brynna and I both broke out into laughter. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. I knew that she was comforted by his inclusion in our lives and how openly
he discussed being present in the long run. It was consistency and stability that had never been given to her, for whatever reason.

             
Everything should have looked up from there. But then, we had been saying that for far too long. It was while we were pick
ing up Penny from the kitchen that we knew, beyond any doubt, that something terrible was brewing.

             
An almost tangible rage and tension laid heavily over the house like a blanket of smog. People were shouting, running, and demanding blood for those we had
lost. When Don passed us calmly, he listened to their demands but said nothing. I saw more white eyes and fangs than I should have been comfortable with. People were ready to go to war.

             
“Brynn!” Penny ran to us, her ballerina flats pattering against the f
loor almost noiselessly. She jumped into Brynna's arms and squeezed her tightly.

             
“Hey, baby,” Brynna greeted her soothingly in an attempt to pretend like nothing was wrong. “Did you have fun?”
             
“Everyone is yelling and running! Everyone is mad!” Penny loo
ked between the three of us. “I'm scared because they're loud and they have sharp teeth and their eyes are scary! I wanted to come find you!”

             
“No.” Brynna replied firmly, “You do not ever leave the person that I ask to watch you, Penelope.”

             
A genuine fea
r was in Brynna’s eyes, one that was there and gone in a matter of seconds. It had emerged at the thought of being unable to find Penny.

             
“Don't be afraid, honey.” Brynna nuzzled Penny gently with her head. “No one's going to hurt you. We are just going to
go upstairs and play until dinner, okay?”
             
Penny nodded and reached her tiny arms out to James. Brynna handed her over and rubbed her back for a minute when Penny laid her head against his.

             
“Alright, come on....”

             
We opened the door to leave the kitchen
only to find Adam and Don standing right in our path.

             
“Can you two talk?” Don asked, “It's very important.”

             
“No.” Brynna and James replied simultaneously as they pushed past them.

             
“We're going after the Bachums. We're going to need all the able-bodied p
eople we can find.”
             
“Funny, baby, I thought we told them that we couldn't talk?” James told Brynna.

             
“Yes, that's quite humorous. I remember saying that, as well.” Brynna replied.

             
“They have crossed over onto our land, killed our people senselessly and u
nfairly...”

             
“They threaten your very place on Purissimus.” Adam added convincingly. I knew that his eyes were only on Brynna. “You will fight them sooner or later, if you wish to stay.”
             
“No, I will not. Coincidentally, Adam, you have some rogue civilians
joined up with the other team. Either that or you are playing Don for a fool, which I am sure is none too difficult.”

             
“To what are you referring?”
             
“Oh, just the people clearly from this planet that we saw fighting with the Bachums people. No big deal.”
James replied airily.

             
“Those were not my people.” Adam informed him with a soft chuckle of derision. “They are the Old Spirits, far removed from my city. Their allegiance with the others is not surprising. They favor ruthless, pious action to appease the
one God. Both the Bachums and the Old Spirits remain rooted firmly in the past that simply cannot exist nowadays. It is unsurprising.”

             
“Maybe it is evidence, though, that you have no handle on the people of your world so you should stop trying to have a h
andle on the people from ours. Just a thought...” James continued.

             
“We are going down to question those we took.” Don interrupted them. I noted that he looked even tinier in Adam's shadow. “James, Brynna, I'd like for you to accompany me.”

             
“Yes.” Brynna
replied, “And I would like five minutes of peace and a unicorn but those are simply not options, are they?”
             
“There is no other option for the two of you right now. You will either join us or suffer the consequences.” Adam informed them dryly.

             
“And what,
dare I ask, are the consequences? I thought there were no laws here, Don. I thought that nothing was required.”
             
“It's not.” Don replied timidly. He shrunk even more under Brynna's harsh stare. “It's not required by me, at least. But he has final say.”

             
“W
hatever fear I had of you has officially been pacified.” James told Don sarcastically. Don scowled at him.

             
“I wield power you cannot possibly imagine, James. If you're not afraid of me, you certainly should be.”
             
“You're just the sidekick. If I'm not afra
id of the boss, why would I be afraid of his right-hand man?”