Forbidden Power

Feelings

I got back to the tent in mere seconds, and I was immediately calmed by the sound of Layla's soft breathing. Marco also sounded fine. Both were fast asleep and unaware of the strange phenomena in the desert. It was reckless for me to rush back to camp in my beast form without making sure everyone was asleep first, but I would do anything for Layla.

I sat back down on my haunches like a gargoyle on a turret and thought about the messages I had received. Silently, I slipped into my tent and grabbed my worn leather travel bag, a change of clothes, and my shoes and brought them outside. I changed back into my human form and laid out the contents and looked them over. A puzzle ball with no puzzle. Adiel had told me he sensed that it does hold magic, but so far it's nothing but a cumbersome rock that I'm toting around. I looked over the message that came with it and the message in blood from the suitcase that I bought for Marco. Then I pulled out my notebook and quickly wrote down the latest message in the desert.

What is it all pointing to? Now that I see it all together, I don't perceive that the blood message is a direct threat to Marco and Layla as much as an acknowledgment of my companions.

The first message said that the puzzle ball will show the way. The second one warned about the weakness of my friends and warned me about that. Perhaps their mortality? Is the wizard sending me these messages warning me in order to protect them? Now that I'm seeing these things together, I don't feel like there's an actual threat in any of these. Just statements of the obvious.

I held up the puzzle ball and looked at it closely, turning it over in my hands for the thousandth time. Such a small thing, and I'm supposed to figure out in all of Egypt where this fits into a mystery? That's a tall order.

I looked out toward the direction of the lingering smoke in the desert. I'm missing something vital here. I know I am. I wish I could ask Layla about it, but I can't really do that without revealing too much of who I am. I'm not ready for her to know the truth about me yet. I know she could handle it, but I can't handle it. I like our relationship as it is right now. Playful flirting, friendship, happiness... I'm not weighed down by anyone here knowing about my powers. We're friends because she likes my personality, and that is comforting. I looked down at my hands and clenched them into fists. Sometimes I wish I was a normal human.

The sun slowly broke over the horizon, casting a dull pink light on the campsite. The smoke in the desert had blown away, and the chill of the night was beginning to dissipate. I scooped my items back into my backpack and set it down quietly in the tent. I crossed my arms and glared toward the city Layla escaped from. The taxi driver told me she was fleeing for her life and to protect her. She hasn't told me anything about what happened back home, but I already hate her husband. I wonder if she would be upset if he suddenly turned up dead? A cold case murder?

No. I'm no killer. I've never killed anyone outside of war. Plus, I don't want to see her grieve him and know that her grief is my fault. I don't know where she stands with him. Many times, the women who suffer abuse from their husbands still love the men who beat them. They feel trapped and dependent, a web of manipulation that the husband has spun to keep his victim under his sadistic thumb. It infuriates me to think that Layla might be caught in that kind of web.

Movement in the tent brought me from my dark thoughts.

"Teddy? Did you sleep at all?" Layla asked softly. I shook my head and turned to her with a small smile.

"Good morning to you, too," I greeted her.

"Good morning? You've been up all night! Come in here and get some sleep. Immediately!" Layla fussed, coming out and tugging on my arm.

"We need to go back to the square and start checking the second and third houses today," I argued.

"I will start work with Marco. You,sir, are going to get yourself into the tent and get some sleep. I'll see you after lunch, got it? I'll come get you when we come back in for our lunch break," Layla demanded, pulling me into the tent. Marco was buttoning up his shirt and yawning.

"Getting chewed out already? I traded my quiet life in the monastery for this?" Marco teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Go to sleep! Marco and I will get you up, got it? Sleep!" Layla ordered, pointing at my bed. I obediently took off my shoes and laid down. Layla put her hands on her hips while she watched me, then nodded in satisfaction. "Good. We'll see you in a few hours."

She pulled Marco out of the tent, and once again I was left in stillness and quiet. I don't have to sleep. I really don't feel tired, but my bed smells like Layla. I inhaled her scent on my pillow, and my mind settled as I felt comforted by her presence. She sleeps in my bed. My stomach did little flip flops as I thought about her resting here. She smells like the earth and sky at the same time. Like trees in autumn dancing on the breeze. Like a freshly plowed field. I couldn't figure out exactly what she smelled like, but everything that came to mind felt peaceful and calming. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

"Teddy? Teddy, it's time to wake up," a soft voice called. A gentle hand ran down my arm and patted me at the elbow. I didn't want to open my eyes and break the spell. I felt warm and safe.

"Oy! Wake up, lazy!" Marco called, making me jump.

"Marco!" Layla fussed at him.

"It's okay. I have younger siblings. They're just as obnoxious," I said, sitting up and shooting him a look. He rolled his eyes. "Is it lunch time already?"

"Yes. I'm glad you slept. You got at least six hours. Still, I'm worried about you, Teddy. It's my fault you're not sleeping at night," Layla said guiltily.

"It's not your fault, Layla-"

"Yes, it is! There's no place for me here. There's no place for me anywhere without being in someone's way! I'm so sorry!" Layla covered her face with her hands, and I gently pulled her into a one-sided hug.

"There's a place for you here. I'm happy you're here and sleeping well. I really am. I don't mind," I told her.

Layla looked at me suspiciously before turning on her heel to head out.

"I'll meet you guys back at the site. I'm not hungry," she said. Marco and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked.

"I think, my friend, you said something right. Women are mysterious creatures, are they not?" Marco lamented.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

We headed to grab some lunch, and I got an extra bottle of water and some pita and cucumbers for Layla. She may not want to admit she's hungry, but she needs some nourishment. We headed back to the the site and joined her in the second house.

"The first house yielded no results, but I have high hopes for this one!" Layla called to us as we approached.

"Where do you want us to start, Layla?" I asked, handing her a piece of pita without a word about it. She shoved the pita in her mouth and pointed to the outer house wall.

"You shtart vere," she said with her mouth full of food.

"Yes, ma'am," I answered, picking up some tools and going over the wall to start excavating around it.

I carefully worked around the upper part of the wall closer to where the door would have been, but there was nothing there. I made my way further in, working for hours as the sun made its way west. I finally reached the point of the wall that connected to the first house.

"Have you found anything?" Layla asked, coming over to me and looking defeated.

"Not yet," I told her. "But we will. I know it. We'll find the answers, Layla. You're not one to give up. I'm not going to give up. We're a team."

I stood up with the intention of offering her a handshake, but as I put my weight against the outer wall to stand up, it suddenly collapsed out into the square. I whirled around and looked at it horror. Archaeology is about careful preservation. This...

"Oops," I said aloud.

Layla started laughing. "It's okay, Teddy. Perhaps it is symbolic of our efforts crumbling. Let's clean up the debris and call it a day."

She set down her tools and came over and patted my arm with a smile. My heart skipped a beat. This touch...it wasn't just a touch between friends, right? Because it doesn't feel that way to me. I hate to admit it, but I'm falling madly in love with Layla, and there's no going back.