Marduk’s Mark [8]
Teach Me the Shadow Pact
“We only have two days,” Karlos said. Gerhalt nodded at him. Reysha looked at them and then at Xandra. She gasped as soon as she realized what they were talking about.
“The inspection!” Reysha exclaimed. Xandra looked at the ground in defeat.
“I’m so sorry,” Xandra said. Karlos placed a hand on her shoulder and met her eyes with his stare.
“It’s not your fault,” Karlos said. He gazed at Gerhalt and then pointed at himself. “It could have happened to either one of us too.” He looked towards the largest window, the one behind the kitchen counter. “It could have happened to any of our Deelamn neighbors as well.” Xandra looked at them and sighed.
“Either way,” she said. “It happened to me, in a very visible place,” she continued as she removed the towel wrapped around her head and showed them the still scalding skin.
“Don’t remove that,” Karlos told her. “The E’hal oil should help you heal faster and leave little trace of the Mark. It won’t work if you remove it though.”
Xandra nodded and reluctantly wrapped the towel around her head again, covering her forehead. “Even if it helps me heal,” she said, “It will still leave a scar,” she said. Karlos nodded at her. Gerhalt furrowed his brow.
“Then maybe we should just finally realize that we’re not cut out for living here, among the humans,” Gerhalt said. Xandra looked at him with a puzzled expression. Karlos didn’t seem too pleased with this remark either.
“But we’ve lived among them ever since Reysha was born,” Karlos replied. “In fact, I don’t think you even remember what it was like to live among the Wayward bands.” With a sharp gaze, Gerhalt retorted immediately.
“I remember enough to know that we wouldn’t have anything to worry about the Mark if we were among them!” Gerhalt exclaimed.
Karlos sighed. Reysha shrugged. Xandra stared at Gerhalt and found his determination to be a welcome sight within the current situation.
“The Wayward won’t accept your sister,” she said. That simple statement caught him off-guard. “That’s the reason we moved to Incantirl.”
Karlos nodded after Xandra’s remark. “Even if living among the humans here feels oppressive,” Karlos added, “It’s still a situation that allows us to live in relative peace.”
Gerhalt frowned. He felt his face getting hot, the muscles on the bridge of his nose and around his lips tightened up in a ferocious scowl. His sharp gaze fell on Karlos like the weight of a thousand bricks. “So that’s it then? You’d let them inspect us, possibly singling our mother out unfairly just because of an illusion of peace?” Gerhalt asked.
Karlos dipped his head. “Ok Gerhalt,” he said. “You’re right. I’d rather brave an inspection every once in a while.”
Gerhalt frowned. “That way of thinking is useless now. She’s got the Mark,” Gerhalt said.
“Her Mark will turn into a scar soon!” Karlos’ facial muscles trembled while his right eyebrow and eye twitched after replying to Gerhalt. Gerhalt remained tense and pushed his chest towards Karlos, ignoring the presence of his mother and his sister were as he countered his uncle’s arguments.
“Not sooner than two days!” Gerhalt’s voice boomed as his brows shook up and down. His teeth were exposed in a snarl, showing off the Deelamn’s fierce upper canines. Karlos met Gerhalt’s snarl with one of his own and exposed his own menacing canines.
“Enough! I will not have you two arguing about my fate as if I were not present!” Xandra exclaimed. Both men kept staring intensely at each other, then frowned as they backed off. Xandra shook her head. “The nerve of you both, forgetting that we are a family.” She sighed. “Forgetting that we need to stick together no matter what,” she said as she shook her head.
Neither man had much to say after Xandra’s outburst, so they both sat at opposite ends of the table, staring at each other. There was a moment of awkward silence as they all bottled their emotions. Then, finally, Reysha broke the silence with a simple question that gnawed at her.
“You all choose to endure this life because of me right?” she asked. Karlos turned pale. He realized he was the one who said so. Gerhalt shook his head. After another long silence, Xandra went towards her daughter and hugged her close.
“I won’t lie to you. You are right; we do stay here because of you,” she answered. Reysha shook in her mother’s arms, but Xandra held on tighter. “I — ” Xandra stammered as she continued, “ — no, we decided that living amongst humans in a stable place was the best way to keep you safe and sound so you could grow up and become the hope that we so desperately seek.”
Reysha closed her eyes tightly. She was trying to reply but had trouble coming up with the right words for it.
“We also thought you’d feel happier living among those whom you resemble the most,” Karlos added. Reysha pulled back from her mother’s hug. Karlos looked at Reysha. She met his eyes and sharply replied.
“And because the Wayward would probably try to get rid of me, right?”
“Yes,” Xandra said. A simple, powerful word.
“Then I have the solution,” Gerhalt suddenly said. Xandra looked at him with inquisitive eyes. Gerhalt stood up and moved directly in front of his mother, staring her right in the eyes. “Teach me the Shadow Pact. I need to know it,” he said.
Xandra took one hard look at her son. She could tell he was extremely determined. His eyes showed a kind of courage that made her proud, even if the request had taken her by surprise. “I understand where you’re coming from and why you want this,” she told him. She paused to look for the right words, but Karlos took that pause as his chance to intrude on their conversation.
“Your mother may understand, but I certainly don’t!” Karlos burst out. Gerhalt stared at him and frowned.
“Why must you always butt into everything? This conversation does not concern you!” Gerhalt protested. Without skipping a beat, Karlos slammed his fist on the table.
“Who do you think you are? You’re not old enough to make such a choice!” Karlos exclaimed.
Gerhalt turned away from Karlos and looked down. He took a deep breath, his fist shaking as he replied in the evenest tone that he could muster. “Who must I be, and how old should I be to decide that I want to protect my sister?”
The calm reply took Karlos by surprise, and the way he relaxed his facial muscles showed it. He didn’t know whether to snarl at him or to accept it as a true, valid reason for his request. Finally, he let out a sigh.
“I do not agree with his request, Xandra, but I don’t blame him for it either,” Karlos finally said.
Reysha didn’t know what to say. She just watched the exchange. It certainly intrigued her, but it had been too much for her to process. She had always known that there was a lot to their situation and that they spent a lot of energy protecting her, as her brother put it. In fact, she suddenly realized that she just didn’t know as much as she thought she did. She had an idea, of course, but seeing the passions of her family members stirred as such really made her realize that things were about to get more complicated. It also made her feel incredibly inadequate. After all, that heated argument about her was happening right then and there and they acted as if she wasn’t even present. Her body was still there, holding out among them. She wasn’t following the conversation anymore though; she was too submerged in her own thoughts.
