Reaper's Nox (Chapter 2)

2

The week went by faster than Ronie had realized it would. She had a few more instances of the cold spots and weird headaches that wouldn’t go away despite having taken pain killers. She shared these moments with her friends, and they all unanimously declared that she could be getting sick. She wasn’t so certain, though. Her suspicions were raised when she noticed them sharing secretive looks of concern and fear. It wasn’t helping that thanks to Gavin she had started noticing Conway having more of his episodes. It even started happening at school. The only reason she knew this was because there was a rumor going around that he had a terminal brain tumor that caused the episodes. The truth was that the doctors couldn’t explain why he was having the strange seizure like episodes. All of this put Ronie inside her head more than normal. She was looking for comfort in logic. The facts were that she and her siblings did not get sick. She couldn’t remember the last time she was sick. There was that one time when they all had got chicken pox, but that was it. No colds or flus. Surely that wasn’t normal. She decided to ask Gavin when she got home from school.
Ronie’s shirt grew taut as though it were caught on something. She stopped and turned to find that Meghan had grabbed her shirt hem. “Where are you, Rons? You haven’t been your usual self lately.”
“Yeah,” chimed in Maddox. His bright brown eyes looked at her and she suddenly felt self-conscious. She pulled the hem of her shirt out of Meghan’s hand and rearranged it attempting to hide her growing bosom. “I’m sorry,” she replied to them, “It’s just all that weird stuff on top of what’s going on with Conway has me really messed up right now.”
“Well…” Jenna began, “It’s a good thing today is Friday, right? Um…I mean…so you don’t have to worry about school anymore.”
“Anymore,” Ronie repeated questioningly, “what do you mean by that?”
“Oh! Um…I mean…you know because of the weekend. Uh…of course, there is homework but if you do it tonight you won’t have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend,” offered Jenna, who seemed harried to find an excuse for what she meant. She squirmed a bit for some reason. Ronie wondered if one or both were giving Jenna scolding looks from behind her.
The walk home from school was rather silent as Ronie once again became lost in her thoughts and the other three sent each other meaningful looks. As they passed a park near their houses, Ronie noticed there seemed to be a strange patch of green grass and trees with all their leaves. Wildflowers bloomed on the ground. Their fragrance wafted through the air to her nose. Unbeknownst to herself, she had started moving toward it. Behind her, Ronie’s three friends exchanged looks of fear.
“Are you guys seeing this,” she asked them as she continued forward.
They started discussing whether they should lie to her or finally tell her the truth. Their lowered voices caught her attention, so she turned around to look at them. She stumbled back at what she saw. The only one of her friends that looked normal was Jenna. Maddox had sharper features and pointed ears. He looked more animalistic. Meghan was harder to take in. She had no definite form yet did. Her body was transparent.
“What happened to you guys,” she asked in bewilderment. Before they could answer, she felt a searing pain in her head that caused her to sight to go white. She felt her body falling but couldn’t catch herself. Before she felt the hardness of the ground, she felt arms around her.

****

Maddox watched as Ronie swooned hard after clutching her head. Fear gripped him as she started to fall to the ground. He moved with unnatural speed to catch her in his arms. He shivered. Not with cold, but with unease; the sort of unease one feels when their grave has been walked over. He took her into his arms carrying her princess style.
“Wait,” called Jenna, “I know it’s not as important right now, but if you carry her like that it might attract too much attention. It’s bad enough she fainted when she saw your true form, but what do you think other people are going to say when they see you carrying a passed-out girl? People are going to talk, and we don’t want that.”
She walked over and took hold of Ronie, “Meghan, help me put her on Maddox’s back. You can carry her like this, and it won’t seem as though anything is wrong.” With a bit of shuffling, they managed to get Ronie on Maddox’s back. Halfway through the yard, Conway pulled into the driveway. He had practically leapt out of his car as he rushed over and scooped his sister up into his arms.
“What happened,” he demanded of the three.
“She fainted when she saw our true forms,” answered Meghan.
“Or she passed out from the pain of her third eye being forced open,” added Jenna.
“What do you mean? Is she seeing?”
“She definitely saw us,” replied Maddox, “Past our glamours to our true forms. Conway, it’s been happening more frequently. She has been trying to hide it from us, but I can feel the bind fading in and out.”
Conway was silent for a moment, “Her birthday is tomorrow. That is the likely cause of the fluctuations with the bind. It’s possible that she will be quite powerful so hiding her is going to become more difficult. If you know how to get into contact with our parents, please do so. Jenna, I need you to ask your mother if she can strengthen the bind temporarily.”
Maddox watched Conway carry Ronie for a few more seconds before he departed to carry out the orders Conway had given him. He approached the gateway to the Seelie Court and stepped onto the crisp green grass of the Spring Court. He shaded his eyes from the glaring sun and headed in the direction of the border it shared with the Shadow Court. He had to move quickly to keep from being discovered by the agents of the Spring Court. They didn’t take kindly to Unseelie being in their lands even if said Unseelie wasn’t tied to either Court. He moved as quickly as he dared using all manner of foliage to hide himself. There was one problem with going to this gate: he had no clue how to open it or what it looked like. If it was anything like the one in the Autumnal and Winter Courts, it wandered. Honestly, it was more annoying than surprising. It meant he would have to spend more time looking for said door risking being caught by an agent. He stopped under a copse of trees as he looked around to determine his next move.
Maddox perched there as he wondered how he was going to find this door when something caught his eye. Up ahead, there was a strange colorless patch. It looked as if the color had been sucked from the area. All the foliage was still there, but everything was in shades of grey and black. The portal seemed to ripple like water against the bank. Taking one last look around to ensure that he wasn’t being followed, he leapt up to make his move. He made it within a few feet of the door when a grey fox jumped between him and it.
“What do you think you’re doing here, human,” growled the fox, teeth bared and ready for attack.
“Aren’t you a little underpowered here, fox,” Maddox growled back as he prepared to make a mad dash for the portal.
The grey fox didn’t move or respond; he simply started at Maddox. “Look. I simply wish to cross into the Shadow Court,” Maddox explained through his teeth.
“Then perhaps you should have done so from your own Court.”
“I don’t serve any Court and I was closest to the door of this Court in the mortal realm.”
“The mortal realm? What business did you have there? Trying to go back to your human parents?”
Maddox narrowed his eyes at the grey fox, “My business in the mortal realm is my own.”
“Then I can assure you that you will not cross over to the Shadow Court,” the fox growled once more.
“You won’t be able to stop me, fox,” Maddox snarled as he curled his legs in preparation to pounce over the fox and into the portal.
Maddox leapt through the air toward the portal and over the fox. A young wolf crashed into him midleap knocking him sideways into a tree trunk. The impact knocked the breath out of him. He didn’t have long to get his breath back as the wolf lunged at him. He dodged it, rolling forward and breaking out into a sprint. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the fox running toward him. It jumped and opened its maw clamping its teeth down on Maddox’s forearm. Yelping in surprise and pain, Maddox swiped at the fox’s face with his claws. The fox yelped in pain, releasing his hold. Taking the opportunity, Maddox half jumped half tripped through the portal into the Shadow Court.

****

Before her, Conway approached her, but she realized that there was something strange about him. He had wings. They were white with black speckles and the wingspan was almost the width of the living room. Then, almost as if he knew what she was looking at his wings faded away. He smiled the smile he used to make them at ease as he lowered himself to one knee next to his sister. “How are you feeling, Wennie pooh?”
“…wings…” was all Ronie was able to mutter.
Just looking at her in that state broke his heart. It was compounded by the fact that he was now going to lie to her face with a smile on his. He swallowed back the lump that rose up from his gut and fixed a confused expression on his face, “Wings? That was a dream, Wennie pooh. Just sit there and relax for a few minutes.”
Instead, she sat forward and pushed him back, “A dream? Was I dreaming that I walked in a meadow in the middle of spring when it’s nearly winter? Was I dreaming that Maddox and Meghan looked different and that you have wings?”
His smile faltered for a fraction of a second, “Of course. I mean, think about it logically. Those things don’t make any sense.”
She just gazed at him in bewilderment. Then, she pushed him away from her and stood to her feet. She rushed off to her room without another word to him.
Dinner was more quiet than normal with Gavin and Me-Me in a mild state of confusion. Me-Me also had a slight air of satisfaction. She smirked throughout the entire meal. She didn’t know details, but she didn’t need to. All she cared to know was that Conway’s pet was angry with him. Meanwhile, Ronie looked at each in their turn to see if she could see the wings again. To her surprise, Me-Me had them also but it looked as though she didn’t know they were there. The same with Gavin. As she investigated, she tried to ignore the persistent shooting pain stabbing her forehead. She decided to sneak a glance at Conway and found that he was watching her with concern written all over his face. He looked like he was going to say something but thought better of it and returned to eating his meal. She looked at him a bit longer before turning her attention back to the other two. Ronie had observed that Me-Me and Conway’s wings were mirror images of each other. She wondered if it had anything to do with their personalities. As she pondered that, she recalled the sight of Maddox and Meghan earlier that day. She had so many questions and she knew her brother wouldn’t answer them. Maybe Maddox would. She decided to call him after dinner and demand he tell her the truth.
In the foyer, the front door opened and closed followed by two sets of footsteps. Ronie looked to Conway who calmly rose to his feet. “Mom. Dad,” announced Conway, “I’m glad you could make it home in time.” He smiled and walked around the table to embrace them. To Ronie, it looked like he used that as an opportunity to give them a message. Their mom wasn’t as good at hiding her shock as their dad, but she was quick to hide it behind her mask. Just looking at them caused Ronie excruciating pain. Unlike with the others, she saw two faces on them. The faces on the top looked like normal human faces, but the ones underneath was a different story. Before anyone could say anything else, Ronie jumped to her feet, “May I be excused? I suddenly have a terrible headache and I also have a lot of homework that I’d like to get started on.”
Conway appeared at a loss for words as her sudden movement and announcement surprised him, but it was their mom who smiled and replied, “Of course, Wennie pooh. We have all day tomorrow to catch up.”
Ronie realized then that Conway got his smile from her. She, too, smiled in such a way as to be comforting, neutralizing even. As she left the room, she wondered what the deal with the two faces was about. She felt like her head was swimming. She held it as she climbed the stairs to her room, cradling it in one hand and gently massaging her temples with her thumb and middle finger.

****

Ronie had managed to sneak halfway back down the stairs. She listened to the conversation. The shattering bulbs startled her causing her to yelp in surprise. She covered her mouth with her hand and started backing up the stairs to her room. There were a few moments of silence before she heard footsteps go past her door. On the other side of the door, she could hear Conway and their dad talking.
“How much has been leaked,” queried Jacob.
There was a short silence before Conway answered, “She has been seeing for the past week. That’s why she has the headache. Her eye isn’t fully open yet.”
“How do you know she’s been seeing?”
“Maddox confirmed she found the portal to the Seelie Court in the park. Then, she mentioned my wings,” he answered, then, paused before he went on, “I hate it, dad. I hate lying to them. Our time is limited as it is. This might push them away.”
There was silence before the response came, “I know. I’m sorry we had to put a lot of this on you, son. Your mother and I thought this would be the best. We thought we were giving you your best chance without our presence to attract them here.”
“I don’t think it would have mattered, dad. We had mom’s talisman here the whole time and no one came. Also, something strange happened to Ronie on her way to school last week. The homeless mam down by the church grabbed her and told her, ‘The abominations must die!’”
“It was here? Wait…what homeless man?”
“The crazy homeless man with the sign about the end being neigh,” he asked in confusion.
“Why didn’t you send word that this had happened, son?”
“Nothing came of it and Ronie hasn’t had any more run ins with him. Honestly, I think it was a fluke. Nevertheless, I have been vigilant since then and have had Maddox doing the same thing.”
Conway turned to leave his father alone in the room when he called after him, “Son. Do you think they are ready for what’s coming?”
Conway froze like a statue. This time he couldn’t keep himself from tearing up before he answered, “I don’t know, dad. You ordered me not to train them this time. You said you wanted them to run and not fight. You wanted them to know nothing of our past lives so they wouldn’t be so suspicious. I-I haven’t seen anything past what we have figured were yours and mom’s deaths.”
Moments later, Conway felt his father’s hand on his shoulder. Jacob turned his son to face him and pulled him into an embrace. That was all it took for the dam to break in Conway. It was like he was a little boy again and Jacob was trying to comfort him and explain things in a way that a child could understand. Jacob held him tighter, cherishing the beautiful memory, as his son unburdened himself.
“Dad,” Conway said, muffled, “Do you think that the reason I never saw anything else is because I’m gonna die too?”
There was a moment of hesitation before Jacob replied, “I hope not, son. We wanted to save all of you not just a few of you. Is that what you think is going to happen?”
“Yes. I’m afraid for them, dad. How will they survive if all three of us are dead?”
“What about Ronie’s friends,” inquired Margaret.
Both men turned to look at her. Despite the worry on her face, her eyes expressed a grim joy at what she had witnessed of her husband and son. There were few moments when they truly felt like a family. It was tragic it had to be during their crisis. Jacob took Margaret’s hand and pulled her into an embrace in which he included Conway. Like Conway, Margaret’s emotional dam broke. Sobs rocked her body as both men held her. She wept uncontrollably for a few minutes before she sniffled and pulled back from them. It was Conway who spoke first, though. “I’m sorry, mom. I failed you and dad again.”
“Nonsense, sweetheart! You and the others have lived longer than you have any of the other times. If anything, it’s your father and I who should apologize to you for leaving you to raise three children and robbing you of your childhood. Can you forgive us for being so selfish about wanting to have a family when literally the World is against us?”
“How can I be angry with you for giving me the chance to exist, to know more than suffering and fear,” Conway asked tearfully, “Besides, I wrote everything down. When things go down, they will at least have some answers.”
Margaret and Jacob smiled lovingly at their son but before anymore could be said, Conway’s name was called from down the hall at the top of the stairs.
“Are you going to help clean up dinner, Conny,” Gavin asked sounding a bit annoyed.
“Coming, Gav,” Conway replied as he flashed his patented smile. He bid their parents goodnight and turned toward the stairs.
Ronie could swear that Conway looked directly at her as he walked past her door to head downstairs. She waited until she heard the click of her parent’s door indicating that it had closed before she opened her door and went to Me-Me’s. She pushed the door open without knocking and stepped inside the room.
“Knock, please,” Me-Me said flustered for a moment before she realized that it was Ronie who had entered. She looked at her younger sister through the mirror on her vanity.
“What’s that,” Ronie asked momentarily forgetting why she had come to talk to her sister. Around Me-Me’s neck was a necklace she had never seen before. Despite that, it felt like it was from a memory that she couldn’t grasp. The chain of the necklace was a delicate looking silver with an azure-colored stone set in bronze. The stone itself was roughly the size of a nickel in circumference. It was in the shape of an ‘O’ with a line of the stone going straight across the center. Ronie felt inexplicably drawn to it. Almost like it was calling to her soul to touch it.
“Hello,” Me-Me called to her in slight annoyance, “You came into my room for a reason I assume.”
Ronie still didn’t respond. Me-Me grabbed the nearest stuffed animal she could and whispered an apology to it before she lobbed it at her sister. The stuffed animal bounced off Ronie’s shoulder and seemed to have the intended effect. “Hey,” shot Ronie, “What was that for?”
“What do you want?”
Ronie looked at her in confusion.
“You’re in my room for some reason. What is it that you want?”
Ronie focused on the necklace around Me-Me’s neck and pointed at it, “Where did you get that?”
She watched as Me-Me raised a hand to stroke the stone, then, she smiled. “It’s mom’s. I took it from her hiding place. You didn’t come to ask me about this. You didn’t even know I had it so why did you come into my room.”
“Oh…yeah…right,” Ronie said feeling foggy headed as she tried to think about the conversation she had overheard. It didn’t take her long to tell Me-Me about it. “So?”
“So what,” asked Me-Me.
“What do you make of it?”
“I have no clue! I mean, who knows what those weirdos are up too, Ronie. Mom and dad have always been that way. Conwart probably turned out that way because he idolizes them.”
As much as Ronie tried, her eyes kept being drawn back to the necklace around her sister’s neck. She shifted uneasily. Her awareness of this made her feel awkward and curious. Why was she so drawn to this necklace? Why did she want to touch it so badly?
“It’s just weird. It seems like Conway knows more than he is telling us,” Ronie heard herself say.
“I agree. He and mom and dad do have some big secret, but honestly, I’m over it. You can search all you want, Rons. I gave up on that years ago,” replied Armes as she moved to unclasp the necklace.
Ronie watched as she walked up to her and reached around her neck. When Armes had stepped back, the necklace was lying lightly around Ronie’s neck. She reached up and brushed the stone with her fingertips. Ronie suddenly felt a rush of relief like she had never experienced before. She was filled with such peace and felt physically lighter. Everything around her looked brighter; newer. It was such a strange feeling, but she didn’t care. Without even realizing it, a delighted giggle escaped her lips.
“Are you okay,” Armes asked her sister.
Ronie looked up to her sister and noticed she had a faint glow about her. A mixture of colors swirled around her. Then, there were the wings. They were black with white speckles. Despite the thought that it was strange that her sister suddenly had wings, she thought they were beautiful. She wondered, for some reason, if they were soft. Ronie reached out to touch one, but it moved away from her hand. In confusion, she turned her gaze back to her sister’s face. She noted that her sister had a mixture of concern and incredulity on her face. Ronie smiled at her sister. She was about to answer when Armes arched any eyebrow at her.
“Wings? What are you talking about? Are you sure you’re fine?”
Ronie cocked her head to the side in puzzlement. Once again, she opened her mouth to speak, but Armes spoke first, “As long as you’re certain. Anyway, as much as I love having bonding time with my favorite sister, I’m beat. I think I’m going to turn in for the night.”
Still feeling somewhat confused, Ronie smiled and nodded as she turned to leave Armes’ room. She stood in the hallway in front of her sister’s door for a few more seconds before heading to her room. She turned the knob to her door and started to enter her room when her mother came out of her room. The two locked gazes for a second, then, her mother’s eyes fell to Ronie’s neck. Instinctively, Ronie brought her hand up to touch the charm that lay nestled in the crook of her neck. The sadness was visible on her mom’s face as she realized what had happened. She looked both grief-stricken and terrified, but she tried to cover it up with a smile. Ronie could tell that she seemed to be in a hurry to reenter her room but didn’t want to set any alarms off in her daughter's mind. Too late, though.
“I thought you had gone to bed already, sweetie,” she said.
“I wanted to talk to Me-Me before she went to sleep.”
“Oh? Anything I can help with?”
“Actually, I have been meaning to ask why you didn’t answer my phone call last week. I needed you.”
Her mom took a deep breath and shifted, “I was in an area where I didn’t have phone service. I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t know you had called me until later when Conway finally got into contact with me. I would have called to talk to you about it, but I thought it would be better to talk to you in person.”
“Well, you were wrong.”
Her mom let a soft laugh and smiled, “Clearly. If you can forgive my indiscretion, I’ll let you keep that necklace.” She walked toward Ronie slowly and stopped less than arms-length from her.
Ronie watched and weighed the options in her mind. She wasn’t like Armes who could hold a grudge for something when a sincere apology was being offered. She smiled and nodded. Her mom wrapped her arms around her tightly. Ronie could hear her heartbeat. It was steady. She nuzzled into her mom relishing her warmth. She could feel her mother’s love for her and a terrible sadness welling up inside her. It was then, that her mom pulled away and turned away before Ronie could see her face.
“Goodnight, sweetie,” she said, her voice sounding thick with pain.
Ronie watched her enter her room and close the door behind her. She stood there in confoundment for few minutes. As she stood there, she started to feel drained herself and went into her room.