Whispers

Encounters

Gaze plastered to the floor, Lucius entered his bedroom after a whispering still thinking of how he would apologize to Karina for disappearing on her. He didn’t understand why he’d left so suddenly. All he knew was he needed to leave. Like he was the odd one out in her near-perfect life. Like his mere presence tainted her purity in some way.

His guilt doubled each time he remembered the number of bags she must have had to lug home by herself. He’d promised he would help her and he just upped and left. She must think of him as the worst person in the world. The thought sat like a lump of coal in his stomach.

He couldn’t stop thinking of her no matter how hard he tried to keep himself busy. He whispered, wrote the reports, then escorted the souls back to Dee’s place. Press repeat. Day in and day out, he concentrated on work, but the need to see her grew with each hour he managed to convince himself he shouldn’t. The voices in his head weren’t happy at all. They got louder and more incessant the longer he stayed away from Karina.

In his spare time, he researched whisperers interacting with humans. So far he came up with nothing. All the histories merely chronicled the lives of whisperers past and present. Not once did he come across an entry of a whisperer who went to see a human outside of the job. And quite frankly, it made Lucius nervous. Wasn’t it allowed for whisperers to make friends with humans?

He knew of no rule saying so, but maybe because no one had ever done it before that a rule against it hadn’t been made up yet. He groaned. He needed a shower badly.

He shed his shirt without noticing the figure stretched out on her side like a lazy cat across his bed. He had unbuttoned his jeans before a soft purring interrupted his distraction. He faced his bed and froze, forgetting about being half-dressed.

Janika licked her lips and grazed her eyes over Lucius' chest and stomach, following the light dusting of hair that began from his navel like a path that led all the way to Wonderland.

“Please, don't stop on my account,” she said.

Lucius regarded her with disdain, but he made no move to fix his current state of undress. “What are you doing here, Janika?”

“I can feel the love already.” She caressed the satin sheets with an open palm. “How are you dealing with being babysat?”

“You too?”

Janika lay on her back, propped up on her elbows. She raised a knee and swiveled it from side to side. “The boss gave me Travis,” she moaned. “What a bore. Nothing I do gets under his skin. He's worse than Tomas.”

Lucius doubled over from laughter.

“It's not funny!” Janika sat up. “Really, Lucius! Must you continue to antagonize me?”

He laughed so hard, he ended up on the floor. His mirth reached a point where he couldn't breathe. He touched his chest and gasped repeatedly.

“That's right, suffocate!”

“I . . .” He gulped in air greedily. “I've . . .”

“Well, spit it out!” Janika snapped. Her peroxide ringlets quivered.

Lucius inhaled, held the breath in for a moment, and then exhaled the rest of his humor. “I never thought I’d get away with what I did so easily. You must have offended Dee more than I ever could.”

“I call it favoritism! Leaving you under the care of Tomas. It's unfair. That old whisperer loves you, everyone knows that.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Yes.” Janika looked away.

Surprise had both of Lucius' eyebrows curving upward. “Really?”

She stuck out her tongue at him.

“Mature, Janika, very mature.” Lucius pushed to his feet. “What did you do that made Dee put you under Travis' care?”

Janika moved from the bed to the bay window. “I threatened him.”

Goosebumps rose all over Lucius' forearms. “With what?”

She stabbed him with a stare. “Killing all the younger whisperers. I certainly have the power to make it happen. The nursery is the easiest target.”

“You wouldn't.”

“You should see your face right now.” She vanished and reappeared directly in front of him. She ran her hand down his cheek and stopped when she reached his chest. “We could be something. You and I. Think about it. The two most powerful whisperers together.”

His muscles tensed. The idea of being with Janika in any way repulsed him. It took all his strength not to push her away.

“I never had anyone challenge me before.” She planted a kiss on his chin. “I find that so sexy.”

“Janika.”

“Hmm?”

“Now I know why Dee gave Travis the responsibility of your care.” Lucius grabbed her wandering hand before it reached places he didn't care for her to touch.

“Enlighten me.”

His lips lingered just above hers without them really touching. “You forget . . . Travis is the most debauched among us. Whatever you can do, he's done tenfold.” Lucius pushed Janika into the figure that materialized behind her.

“I wouldn't say that,” Travis drawled, taking hold of Janika's arms with his massive hands. “Now, darlin', what do we have here? Being naughty I presume? I like naughty.”

“Screw you!” Janika spat, trying and failing to free herself.

“Sorry for the intrusion, Lucius.” Travis tipped his head at him.

“You came just in time.” Lucius returned the gesture. Then he tipped Janika's chin up with his index finger so he could meet her belligerent glare with a menacing one of his own. “It was nice seeing you again, Janika.”

She snapped her teeth at him like an alligator. Lucius yanked his hand away in time, denying her the satisfaction of making him bleed.

“I always like 'em rough.” Travis tightened his grip and disappeared with Janika as she cursed a blue streak at the both of them.

***

Though autumn hadn't officially called Blackwood home, a fire danced in Lucius' ornate fireplace. He liked keeping the temperature in his home crisp so he could enjoy the shadows a fire brought into a room.

He sat cross-legged on his plaid upholstered reading chair, leafing through the pages of A Man of Peace in a World of War, a biography of Kofi Annan. He found the fascination for the man relaxing since it reminded him of Karina blurting out a quote that part and parcel saved his life. After his shower, he decided he’d pay her a visit. He couldn’t spend another night without apologizing to her.

“Boy do I feel popular today,” Lucius said. He snapped the book shut and it disappeared. A chair, matching his own, appeared opposite from where he sat. “Might as well sit down while you're here.”

Tomas strode out of the shadows, removing his suit jacket as he went. He draped it over the chair's back before settling into its cushions. Lucius snapped and a small table with a snifter of the finest brandy materialized by Tomas' left.

His mentor picked up the glass and swirled its contents before taking a sip. He closed his eyes and savored the amber liquid as it made its way down his throat.

“You always know what I like,” Tomas said.

“Only the best for you.” Lucius sat back and studied the flames. “I'm assuming you're here because of the little incident with Janika this afternoon.”

“Travis has that handled. She's unpredictable at the best of times.” Tomas returned the snifter to the table and mimicked Lucius' pose. “You're still alive, so I assume she didn't do any lasting damage.”

“Nothing I can't handle.”

“Lucius . . .”

“Get on with it.” He removed his gaze from the blaze to level it at Tomas. The orange light played over the planes of his face. “You're never one to mince words with me.”

Tomas folded his arms. “Tell me about the girl then.”

His treacherous eyebrows—a part of his anatomy he'd been hard-pressed to control—rose a fraction. It shouldn’t surprise him that Tomas knew. He cursed himself for forgetting he was under observation. “I won't even get a chance to play ignorant, will I?”

The older whisperer shook his head from left to right slowly. “You know you can never hide anything from me for long. Especially when I’m keeping an eye on you.”

“Oh?”

“Well, almost everything. You do have your privacy, Lucius. I guarantee that much. Plus, watching you shower just isn’t my cup of tea.” The lines at the sides of Tomas' lips deepened. “I must apologize for not noticing your condition sooner. I would have helped if I'd been more observant of you. But knowing you are all grown, and that you know what it means to be a whisperer, I assumed you'd be careful. I assumed many things.”

Lucius didn't acknowledge the concern he found on his mentor’s face. “I’m fine.”

“You’re clearly not.” Tomas unfolded his arms and rested them at his sides. “Cavorting with a human. One who saved your life and we erased the memory off. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“I found nothing in the histories that says I can’t interact with Karina if I wanted to.”

Tomas nodded. “It's not in the rules if that is what you are wondering about. It’s never happened before. But what do you plan to get out of being with her?”

Considering his next words, Lucius said, “Call it immersion. Understanding the human condition. I’d think it’s a good way to be a better whisperer.”

The words came too easily, which crumpled his stomach into itself. He hated lying to Tomas.

Taking a large swallow of his brandy at the time, Tomas coughed.

“Gracious, what’s gotten into you, boy?” he replied when his windpipes permitted. “I didn’t think your depression has gotten so bad that you’d seek the company of a human. Let me set you up with one of the younger whisperers. Sasha has had her eye on you since the first time she’d been allowed to attend a meeting. I’m sure she’d be happy to give you all the company you need.”

“I don't know.” Lucius rested his chin in an open palm. “I’m not interested in any of them. What I feel for Karina frightens me. I don’t understand it. It's only been a few days and I already find myself never wanting to part with her. Being in her presence calms me in a way that I haven’t felt in so long.”

“You’re inexperienced with these things, Lucius. Believe me. I was like that once.” A sage aura enveloped Tomas. “Remember the time I was knee deep in my own ennui?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Be careful.” Tomas leaned forward. “You are treading into unknown territory. One that might lead to your own destruction.”

Lucius recalled his earlier conversation with Desmond. “Why is everyone suddenly so worried about what happens to me?”

“With the way you look, I wouldn't be surprised.”

“Don’t go there, Tomas. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m fine?”

“When it starts to sound true.”

“There’s nothing to find here. I’m fine.” His defensive tone surprised them both.

Tomas broke their stunned silence first. “I’m just saying be careful. Just because there’s no rule against it doesn’t mean it isn’t right. If you were allowed to be with her, how will you explain what you are? And she’s human. Someone who gets old and dies. What then?”

“I think you’re jumping the gun here.” Lucius leaned further into his chair. “I don’t even know anything about this girl. Let me figure things out. This could be a passing phase, haven’t you considered that?”

“Fine. Let it run its course. I don’t believe Dee will disapprove. He’s too busy to notice, anyway.” Tomas stood and shrugged on his jacket. “Took you long enough to get yourself out there. This girl might just be good for you.”

“Why do I have a feeling you've been taking bets on me.” Lucius grimaced in disgust.

“Because we have. And I just won the pool.” His mentor grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Just remember that your responsibilities come first.”

Lucius let himself breathe the sigh of relief itching to leave his lungs the moment Tomas disappeared. So he knew about Karina, but he didn’t see anything wrong with Lucius interacting with her. Either way, even if Tomas disapproved, he would still find a way to be with Karina. He needed to see his feelings for her through. He needed to understand for himself why the mere thought of spending time with her turned him into a giddy little boy experiencing the crash of waves on a beach for the first time.

He allowed himself a smile.