My Father's Bidding

16 (PartTwo): Not Even I Can Help You

“Are you alright?” Alison’s concerned gaze pulled me from my thoughts. Kylani was now standing in front of her, fidgeting with her mother’s jewelry. I realized my cheeks were wet with tears and quickly wiped them dry.

How long had I been in Talia land?

“Yes. How long until your friend will be here?” I changed the subject.

“She arrived long before we did.”

I looked around confused, spotting no one, other than Elias being tackled by the familiars. Outside the barrier, Elijah still stood alone.

“When I was your age, I had a best friend, Nakya. Witch Orchids were her favorite flower, so I come here to remember her,” she glanced between Kylani and me, seemingly debating what to say.

“Mya!” Kylani beamed proudly.

“Oh, no no no!” Alison perked up quickly. “Let’s hope your aunty didn’t hear you.”

Shax stopped next to us, staring at Alison with sad eyes. Kylani saw him and started running with her hands out. He perked up again and took off through the flowers, laughing as Kylani followed.

My mouth dropped in realization as I looked around quickly. “We’re eating lunch on a grave?”

“I find excuses to visit her as often as I can,” she ignored my question, staring down at a butterfly sadly. The life seemed to drain her face and her skin paled.

“So this is why it’s your “emergency garden”?” I suddenly lost my appetite, slowly setting my plate down.

“She was my best friend. I couldn’t bear to part with her, so I buried her and hid the garden. Even the people that know of the garden don’t know that she’s here. Only Elijah,” She explained, correcting herself at the end. “She is my best friend.”

“What about Jaylon?”

“Apparently you can keep secrets after mating. You just have to be very careful.” Her voice was low as she fidgeted with her nails. She didn’t seem proud of her accomplishment; she didn’t look like she regretted it either.

“What was she like?” I asked, hoping to lift her mood.

It worked. Her sad eyes lit up as she thought about it and a weak smile grew. “Let’s just say, I named Aurora after the wrong friend. She was very bold. If she wanted her presence known, it was. Just the same, if she wanted to be out of sight, you’d never find her. A very sneaky, clever girl. She could find her way out of everything. . . nearly. Fitting she had a fox for a familiar,” Alison’s eyes glanced over to Shax briefly.

“That explains the bell.”

“He loves his sneak attacks. And so did she. I will never fully understand how she got around so seamlessly. She had a gorgeous pair of copper eyes that calculated every room she walked into and bright ruby hair. She’d be the first person you would spot in a crowd.”

“THAT GIRL!” I blurted out quickly, pulling Alison from her thoughts. I froze, realizing I said too much, and calmed myself down. “That girl- the one you painted…”

She studied me for a moment before letting it go. “I was still grieving her loss when I was pregnant with Julien. Pregnancy complicates things so much. My powers were wonky for a bit and the emotions I had were amplified. It felt like I lost her a hundred times over. I started to go insane. Every time I closed my eyes, I relived her death. Jaylon and I had just gotten married. Thousands of people were joining our pack. I had a million distractions to focus on but my mind remained in a constant state of hell. Noah and I took up painting to get the memory out of my head. We had no idea that such strong emotions would manifest into a portal. If only I could manifest her back to life just as easily. . .”

“Julien said you had friends that could help with your dreams?”

“My familiar was a gift from the dream god. Elijah is possessed by a dream demon. You would think those two could manage to pull some strings. Unfortunately, the trauma was too deeply ingrained in my head to get around.”

My heart stung as I realized the position I was in. I saw that girl. I talked to that girl. I could tell her I saw Nakya. I could tell her we spoke. However, I’m not supposed to say anything. She’s clearly still pained by the loss. Seeing her might help. On the other hand, the idea of her best friend being there could throw her over the edge.

“What made you trust him?” I nodded to Elijah.

“He understands my point of view.”

A soft breeze brushed past us, blowing the hair off her neck. The sun beamed onto her mating mark, highlighting the details of the purple scar. She turned her head while grabbing a handful of berries, revealing another mark on the other side of her neck. This one looked almost completely healed, with soft pink marks in a near-perfect circle.

“You have two marks?”

“Jaylon and I changed our minds the first time,” she replied, quickly fixing her hair. Given her quick response, I took it as a lie. “Talia?”

“Yes?”

“Could you not discuss this with Julien? I don’t want him to think my pregnancy with him was miserable. I was overjoyed to be his mother.”

“Sure, but why are you telling me?”

“Because I am not a god, Talia. After a certain point, not even I can help you. I need you to understand how fortunate you all are that I pulled you out when I did.”

It was a warning of what could happen if we ever went back. I don’t know why she thought anyone would ever return there. I certainly will never step foot in that realm again.

-

The twins had tired themselves during lunch and made Alison carry them home. By the time we reached my room, Kylani was asleep and Elias had a sleepy stare. Alison was in the middle of thanking me for joining her for lunch when she suddenly froze.

“Are you alright?”

She turned back to me, now beaming. “Xander is awake.”

“He is?”

“Yes, thank the gods.” She readjusted the kids on her hips uncomfortably when a thought seemed to pop up. “Would you mind if I left her with you? She usually naps for an hour right about now. I could have the nanny up to get her in fifteen minutes.”

I froze in fear, smiling awkwardly at the sleeping child. “Me? Babysit?”

“Fifteen minutes tops. She’s a heavy sleeper. She’ll never know I left.”

“What if she wakes up before the nanny arrives?”

“Doubtful, but you can always call for me. I will be back to grab her in seconds.”

I shook my head yes, but I thought no. I can’t do this. I can’t babysit a normal child. I do recall this one running screaming from a goblin the first day I was here. I grabbed her from Alison anyway, feeling a slight relief that she didn’t wake up. “Wait! I thought you fired your nanny?!” I whisper-shouted in realization.

“It’s a work in progress. She’s still on call. Thank you, Talia!” She beamed before smiling down at – and disappearing.

I looked down at the sleeping girl as my worries crept up my spine. With my luck all of hell will break loose in the next fifteen minutes.

I walked stiffly into my room, cracking the door behind me. I slowly laid her on my bed, stopping every few seconds to examine if she was waking up or not. When she was fully on the bed, I let go of her and paused one more time to be sure. My breath caught as her hand started to move. It found my pillow and latched on tight, pulling it to her. I sighed with relief and looked around for something to entertain her with, in the event she did wake up.

I can’t believe I agreed to this. I can’t even babysit my own siblings. The one time my mom hired me to do it, I was fired an hour later by a literal fire. My brother blew up our microwave with instant macaroni and we had to get the kitchen remodeled.

As my mind panicked, my eyes scanned my room. I gave up, realizing I had no idea what would entertain someone so small. I didn’t even have anything here to keep someone my age entertained. I just have clothes and homework.

I have got to add some things of my own to this room. . .

I walked back to the sleeping little girl, smiling down at how peaceful she looked.

I guess this isn’t so bad.

A cough suddenly escaped her mouth and my hope died again. She didn’t wake up until a second cough came, forcing her to sit up. She looked at me tiredly, rubbing her eyes. Her face began to rise, sending panic through me. Instead of the tantrum I was anticipating, she sneezed and disappeared. Literally. Into thin air.

A scream ruptured from my mouth as I hurriedly began searching all over my room. I lifted the sheet. I looked under the bed. Under the couch. In my closet. In my bathroom. Nowhere. She was literally nowhere. I wanted to call Alison, but how the hell do I explain that her kid just vanished?

My doors blew open and Rori stopped in my room with concern all over her face. “What is going on in here?”

“I lost your sister. She was sleeping one minute then sneezing out of sight the next! I can’t find her anywhere!” I cried, dropping onto the floor helplessly.

“It’s okay, just breathe. I will be right back.” She sped off, coming back a second later with Roman’s iguana. “Lani, I brought Killian for you,” Rori sang, holding him up as if she were sacrificing him.

I froze as giggles filled my room. A second later Kylani appeared on my bed with her arms out. Rori put Killian on the bed next to her and ran a hand through her hair. I quickly scrambled to my feet and made my way over to see if she was real.

“How- how did she do that? Where did she go?”

“It would seem another plane. I could still sense her in the room.”

“She went to a different plane?” I questioned with wide eyes.

“I’m guessing she and I share interdimensional powers. This is typically how it starts.”

“What? Sneezing into another plane?”

“Plane travel is normal for beginners. The sneezing is just a cold. Our powers are thrown off when we’re sick. The last time I had a cold, I sneezed the head off a statue.” Kylani sneezed again, this time turning into a puppy. I shot Rori a questioning look as she raised her brow curiously. “Very thrown off I see.”

“Can’t we just call your parents?”

“This is completely normal for a witch, I promise. She’s fine.”

I shot her an unsure look but finally allowed myself to breathe. Kylani returned to her normal state, snatching Killian up and playing with his tail. “Roman,” She beamed up at Rori.

Rori grabbed them both from my bed and turned to face me. “Are you coming?”

“I think I need to digest what just happened. . .”

“Come on, you have to get used to my family's weirdness.”

I followed behind them reluctantly, scared that something else would go wrong. The kid has already gone to a different plane and turned into a puppy in under three minutes. I didn’t even think it was possible to transition before seventeen.

“Don’t try to understand it, your head will hurt,” Rori interrupted my thoughts.

“What makes you think that’s what I’m doing?”

“You’re far too quiet back there.”

“Actually, I was thinking about Roman,” I lied, simply because I refused to be read.

“What about him?”

“I don’t think he is that comfortable around me.”

“He’s reserved. His powers are getting stronger and he’s not happy about it. Just try not to worry too much around him it will freak him out.”

His doors were open, I’m guessing from when Rori came to retrieve Killian. On his walls played a blue scene of a dragon standing over mountains. On his ceiling spun what looked to be a galaxy. “His walls are enchanted to show whatever he imagines,” Rori explained.

Kylani had dozed off again, so Rori gave Roman Killian and laid Kylani on his bed. She lay next to her, rubbing her hair while she watched the scene play out on the walls. Roman paused the game of chess he seemed to be playing with himself to look at me for a second. I took Rori’s advice and thought nothing of it and continued looking around his room. He eventually turned back to his game.

He clearly tries to keep himself busy in here. Every surface of his room was covered with something to keep him occupied. Half completed puzzles. Stacks of books to the ceiling. Finished Lego sets in the corners. Paintings and drawings. Even a piano.

“Ugh! The witches keep cheating!” He complained.

I glanced over again, noting that he was still sitting at the table by himself.

“They’re dead, Roman. They don’t care about rules,” Rori mumbled.

“Then they don’t need to play!”

I turned my attention to his paintings. The first took me by surprise. A shadowed figure sat in the corner, watching someone sleep. I moved on to the next, each one darker than the last, until a cold shiver crept up my spine. I bit my tongue and replaced his painting, hoping to find something demon-free to look at.

“They’re fears,” Roman explained from behind me, making me jump.

“Yours?”

“Other peoples. I paint them to get it out of my head.”

“What happens if you don’t?”

He examined my features and returned to his rigged chess game. I’ll take that as an “I don’t want to know” answer.

Why are Alison’s kids uniquely unsettling?