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“Now, where were we?” I ask by way of telling him to move the fuck on.
“Your father.” Harrow says, linking his fingers together sitting up straight. “As I was saying, he felt a pull. We aren’t supposed to have relations with humans. Considering your people are scheming assholes.” I start to interrupt him and he silences me with a glare. “We had to wait until we were on our own, for the rest of our company to branch off and shadow walk to various states and countries. When he followed the pull, he found your mother playing with you. We watched you guys for a moment and debated whether to take you or not.”
“Excuse me? Take me?” He ignores my interruption again.
“We thought of taking you so you could learn your abilities, if you even had them. With your half human heritage we weren’t sure. We were going to but Kanes watched you guys eat dinner and you were talking about your day. You were thrilled about some art project you were doing in class.” I was hanging on every word he said. He had a soft smile playing on his lips like he was reliving the memory. “Your mother was nodding along with your excitement and smiling. Laughing with you. We only watched for a few more moments before we had to finish our part of the mission. After that we both checked in often. Making sure that you weren't manifesting any abilities.”
“Why didn’t my father ever introduce himself? Tell me what I was? Why did he ignore me all this time? Why didn’t you tell me? Why the secrecy? Why did you leave too? I haven’t seen you in years. I have spent so much time thinking about you. Wondering where you were. Wondering if you crossed over. I thought you were a fucking ghost. This whole fucking time you could have said something. I have bared my gods damned soul to you time and time again. You know way too much about me. You couldn't even give me the respect of telling me who I was?” I spit questions and venom rapid fire. My brain is working a million miles an hour. I have so many more questions I don't even know where to start. I scan his face for any hint of lies. I wish I could smell a lie like a werewolf or a fae in the books I have read. “Why is there a portal thing in my basement? Is it related to your world? Is that why I was so adamant to buy this house? Are you the reason? Can you-” Noah grabs my hand stopping my descent into madness. I huff and start breathing faster and faster. Suddenly the room shifts and I’m looking at Noah, I focus on his lips. I can hear him talking to me but nothing makes sense. It’s all garbled. All I can hear are my racing thoughts and my heavy breathing.
What the fuck is happening? I knew, I knew, it was going to be more than seeing ghosts but to actually come face to face with it. To learn I have a father. I mean, I knew I had a father but to actually hear the words ‘your father’ hit like a ton of bricks. It makes him real and makes me hurt because he didn’t want anything to do with me on a personal level. To learn there are other worlds out there. I have a soul bond. What the fuck? I have an honest to gods portal in my basement. Oh, god those animals in those books are, probably, totally real. Real life beasts. I feel cool hands on my neck and then a sense of calm. The hands start to massage my neck, relaxing me farther. I open my eyes and focus on the world around me. Slowly, I notice Noah.
Noah is glaring over my head, practically shooting daggers. That’s when I realize that his hands are on my thighs, gripping them so tightly his hands are mottled red and white. The veins in his arms are popping out. Leaving trails from hand to bicep. Then I notice the pain in my thighs. I pull his hands away and hold onto his hands. I realize that means the hands on my neck are Harrows. I tense up, dropping Noah’s hands and grab the arms of my chair. I don't know whether to sink into the feeling or run away. Why is my fight or flight so…flighty?
“Thank you, I’m calm now.” I turn my neck out of his hands and I hear him sigh deeply. His hands drift away and he walks back to his chair. When he sits back down I stand up, nearly knocking my chair over in the process and head towards the fridge. “Anyone want a drink? I need a drink.” My voice has taken on a very hysterical edge. I pull out some seltzers and juice. “I may need a whole fish bowl.” I pull out three cups even though they haven’t answered me. I then grab my vodka and start pouring healthy amounts of vodka into each cup. When I'm done with that I look up at them. They are just watching me like hawks. Maybe to make sure I don't lose my shit again? It is possible it will happen again. Soon, even. Very soon. I turn to grab the ice. I finish making the drinks and they are still just sitting there, watching me. Silently. What the fuck? Why are they just watching? Have they even blinked? This is now making me uncomfortable.
“What?!” I snap.
“Sorry, I just don't know what to say right now. I’m just trying to comprehend what is going on.” Noah says, scrubbing his face and adjusting himself in his chair. He stares at Harrow, keeping an eye on him like he may disappear or butcher us at any second. I grab the glasses and bring them to the table. Setting the drinks in front of them. I sit down and take a long pull from mine. I take a long look around the table weighing my options right now. Do we continue? We most definitely should. Do I need a break? Yes. This is a lot to choke down.
“I think I need to pause this conversation for a minute. I need to compartmentalize and then I can finish this conversation.” I get up, grab my drink and head to the living room. I head for the fireplace. I slowly start the fire, placing kindling down at a snail's pace. My father is a Shade, my mother human. I may have powers and I apparently have a soul bond. I grab some larger logs placing them on the kindling. I continue focusing on getting the fire started and hear both men walk into the room. I look up and watch Harrow, who has pulled his smoke in, sit in the armchair next to the fire and Noah sits on the couch. I grab the torch and set the blaze and stare into the fire. Getting lost in it. When I come out of my trance Noah and Harrow are still quiet. I turn to Harrow.
“What’s your first name Harrow? Or do you just go by Harrow?” I ask as I lay down in front of the fireplace, staring at the ceiling.
“Aavin.” I lean up on my elbows.
“Aavin. I like that better than Harrow. Less intimidating. Harrow sounds like a general of war.”
“I am a general of war.”
“Shit, that’s right.” I lay back down and look over at Noah who is barely sitting on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees. He looks ready to pounce at any moment. I can tell he doesn't want to get comfortable.
“I need to ask why you bought this house, why did you knock the basement wall down. I need answers Dana.” I look over at Aavin. Then I look at Noah who just continues staring at Aavin.
“We knocked down the wall because that’s where our answers led us. It started when I passed out at the neighbors, then I was attacked by ghosts who looked like they couldn’t quite stay in this world and I saw shadows the next morning. I was also hearing your…soul. This has all happened in a twenty four hour time frame. Anyways, we decided to go to the library to see what we could find about this house. None of this started happening until a few days ago. As for why I bought it, I just felt a pull to it. I don’t know. It’s weird.”
Aavin looks contemplatively at me. “Maybe a binding but continue please.”
“We found the previous owners but nothing really came of that. Then, Noah happened upon a blog that was talking about some murders in 1944 that happened here. In this house we think or at least around it. It led us to believe there used to be much more room in the basement than I’ve been living with. Apparently there was a satanic cult or some shit and they decided to play ‘Let's summon Satan’ here. The complaint was lodged by a lady who lived in the house across the street. She said there were people going in and out of the house but they were using a cellar door. I don’t have one of those. Anyways, that is how the wall got torn down. I was just trying to find out what was scaring me. I also wanted to see if there was information on why the ghosts have changed tactics.” I turn onto my stomach to warm my back. My cheek is laying on my hand, still looking at Aavin who hasn't moved at all. “I just want to sleep without ghosts or shadows trying to kill me. Also, if your soul could stop yelling at me. That’d be great.” Aavin’s lip ever so slightly twitches up before he regains his stoic glare.
“I’m sorry. I knew you were my soul bond years ago. I was never planning to act on it.” He looks over to Noah for a moment before looking back at me. “You were young and we are of two different worlds. You're still young and we’re still from two different worlds. I can't do anything about my soul calling out to you. While I'm alive it reaches for you. I hear yours often.” He holds his hands out in supplication. “It’s quieter when we are together. Do you not feel it? My soul must have been calling you for years and you're only now hearing it?”
“The bond? I don't think so. What's it supposed to feel like?” I sit up and cross my legs. “I didn’t hear you until a couple days ago. I thought the voice and the ghosts were related.” Aavin considers my questions. Maybe trying to find a way on how to explain it to me.
“It feels like a pull, like I said before. I can calm you with my touch which you learned earlier. Other times you may feel…” He trails off looking at Noah. “Well, you’ll just feel a pull.” I frown at him and then look at Noah who rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
“He means horny, Dana. You’ll feel horny.” Noah scoffs and stands up, walking into the kitchen. Leaving Aavin and I alone.
“I think you have a binding on you that is falling apart or it has run its course. I’m not sure who would have done it though. Your father and I didn’t put one on you because we wanted to know if you would manifest abilities. Are you sure your mother was human?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“As death.”
“I–” I rub my forehead, “I think so.” My voice goes squeaky with uncertainty. “There is a bunch of stuff I didn’t go through when my mom died. I just threw everything in a box and I haven’t had the will to go through them.”
Noah stalks back into the room with a drink. I scoot closer to him.
“I’m not leaving you Noah. Also, I don't even know him. He could be a psycho. He could be a bad kisser.” Aavin scoffs. “He could be the worst at sex.” I whisper to Noah, chuckling. Finally, this drink is hitting the spot.
