Galin (3 page)

When he figured out the kitchen was empty of
her and that stupid little case she carried around, he looked around the
cabinets, trying to find something to eat. He’d have to restore his supply soon
or he’d have to come out and have a meal with her. Last night his belly had
thought his throat was cut. Man, he was starving. Kip found a can of soup in
the back of one of her cabinets and dumped it into a bowl that was on the
counter.

The rest of her house was nice and clean. The
cleaning lady he’d met one day when he skipped school had been about to go into
his room, but he’d told her it was off limits to everyone and had gone out and
bought a lock that night. Now no one could go into his little space unless he
let them. Smiling, he thought of what Dusty had said about his room on his
first day there.

“You can have your own space. All I ask is
that you keep it clean and that you don’t mark up the walls. I want to sell this
in a few years and I don’t really want to spend a great deal on repairs, all
right?” Of course the first thing he’d done was take out his pocket knife and
cut the date into the wall, and had been making hash marks every day since. It
had only been twenty-three days, but it seemed an eternity. When the timer
beeped on the microwave, he sat at the table with a spoon to eat.

His mother was dead. Some days he’d think
about it and would have to find a quiet dark place and bawl like a little baby.
It wasn’t like she’d never left him alone. There were times when she’d be gone
for three or four days at a time, and only returned long enough then to get
some clean cloths and leave him a few bucks before she left him again. But this
time was different. She was never coming back.

Shoving the bowl back, he thought about her
laying there in the hospital. Her head looked like someone had wrapped her in
pink rags, and her body, what he could see of it, was black and blue. But the
machines and wires they had on her were what had terrified him. There were so
many beeps and dings coming from them that he hated going in there to see her. But
he did. Because his hope was—and he still had it—that she’d come out of this.
That she’d wake up and tell him things were fine.

The doctors had told Dusty that his mom was
clinically dead. That there had been so much damage done to her head and body
that if she did live, it would not be a quality of life that would be good for
any of them. He had no idea what that meant, but Dusty had said that his mom
had a DNR paper signed. He asked her what that meant after the doctor left
them.

“It means that nothing heroic is to be done
if she dies. She told me a long time ago, just after you were born, that she
didn’t want to live on life support…that we were to end her life if it came to
that. Our dad was on life support for three months before Mom finally let him
go. I think that’s why your mom wanted this. It’s hard on people. And she would
never have wanted that.” Kip had stood up and towered over his aunt when she
finished.

“So you’re going to okay them letting her
die? She’s my mom. And your sister. How the hell can you just let them kill her
like that?” She started to speak but he cut her off. “You go and tell them
right now you changed your mind. I can’t live without my mom. And I won’t be
living with you.”

“You most certainly will be living with me.”
When she stood up he took a step back. When his mom looked at him like that,
she usually followed it up with a punch to the face, but all Dusty did was take
a deep breath. “I know that you’re hurting right now. So am I, but we have to
do what is best for your mom. You heard the doctor. She won’t be able to
survive on her own. She’ll be hooked up to something to make her heart beat and
her lungs function. Her brain function is gone, Kip. Your mother is gone.”

He stormed away from her and decided that no
matter what, she was not going to take him from his mother. Yet here he was, sitting
in her house with nothing of his own except for a few pairs of pants and his
backpack. And all his other things…Dusty had told him that they were gone.

“How can my things be gone?” he asked his now
cold soup. “I had it all in the apartment. She just was too lazy to go and get
it for me. And she wouldn’t even let me stick around and say goodbye to my
friends. Now look at me. I’m stuck in this house with no one and nothing. And I
hate her more than I ever did anybody else.”

Kip went back to his room, thankful that it
was Saturday. He thought about cleaning it up—he was having a hard time finding
things in it—but only picked up his clothes. He took them all to the little
laundry room and put in a load while he tried to decide what else to do with
his day. It would be easy enough to avoid his aunt, but that game was getting
boring.

Dusty would work until about five today. She’d
mentioned on the flight back from his home that she had this big project to get
finished and then she’d not be so busy. He barely listened to her and couldn’t
have told anybody what she’d said most of the trip back to her place if someone
would have asked. Instead he tried to think of ways to get back at her.

She’d taken him to a department store to get
him some clothes on the first day. He didn’t want them, but knew that if he
didn’t pick out some things, she’d do it for him. And he didn’t want to be
thought of as a frigging nerd. The way she dressed, all fancy and shit, was bad
enough. There was no way he was going to be caught wearing what he knew was
going to be sweater vests and dress pants. So he’d gotten three pair of pants
and four shirts. She’d made him get some underwear too, and a coat. He’d never
had a winter coat before, just a jacket that his mom would get from the free
drive at the beginning of fall. And none of them had ever fit him like this one
did. When the wash was finished, Kip put in another load and put the wet things
in the dryer.

He’d been caring for himself for a long time.
His mother, even when she was home, rarely did more than talk on her cell phone
when she had service, or watch television when they had that. And her idea of a
hot meal was having the pizza guy come to the house with their food rather than
her going to get it and bringing it back. Most of the time, he’d end up eating
alone while his mom “paid” the guy with a trip to her bedroom.

Kip wasn’t as stupid as some people thought
he was. He knew they also thought his mother was a bad mother. Most of the
time, he thought so too. The electric only stayed on because it was included in
the rent. Cable would be on for a few months after she’d get her taxes done,
then the money would be gone and so would the cable. They had food at the
beginning of the month, but nothing by the end because she’d use the food card
to buy steaks and crap for her boyfriends. And the apartment they lived in had
rats bigger than cats and smelled like people peed in it all the time. In the
summer months it was nearly impossible to sleep with the windows closed because
the smell would heat up and it would be nasty. But she’d been his mom. The only
one he’d ever have.

When his laundry was finished he took it to
his room, and when he saw what a mess it all was he stripped down his bed and
put his sheets in the washer as well. By the time they were washed and dried
he’d been able to get his room in better shape and had three bags of trash to
show for it. Ashamed he’d let it get that bad, he put the bags in the trashcan
in the back of the house and even took out the kitchen trash. But he made sure
he was in his room again when Dusty came home at six-thirty.

Dusty came to his door twice. Once she asked
him to come to dinner, the second time she’d begged him to let her in. He’d had
to turn the music up twice as loud when she started crying. He didn’t want her
tears to make him sad, but they did, especially when she told him that she
missed his mom too. Kip wanted to tell her it was her fault that she wasn’t there,
but said nothing. By midnight, he was in bed and trying to sleep.

The dream started off like the others he’d
had about his mom. She was in the hospital bed all banged up, but this time he
saw a man standing next to her. He looked at Kip. The smile he gave him made
Kip want to take a hot shower, but he stood still. It was a dream after all,
and no one could hurt you in dreams.

“I’ve taken her.” The man came toward him and
stopped just short of touching him. “You look so much like her that I want to
take you as well. I can’t just yet. But soon. Especially on the path you’re
on.”

“Who are you?” The man moved back to the bed
and touched his mom’s cheek, and the monitor started beeping. But when he moved
away, the machine settled again. Kip was so confused that he tried to work things
out, only to end up with a pain in his head. His mother was dead and yet this
man was with her somehow. “I asked you a question. Who are you?”

“I have many names. And many looks. Would you
like to see the one I like the best?” Kip nodded before he thought about it and
the room seemed to catch fire, the heat was so intense.

The man…shifted was all Kip could think to
call it. One minute he was standing there looking like a normal person and the
next…the next had Kip screaming when he touched his leg. As soon as he opened
his eyes someone came near him and he threw out his fists. It wasn’t until the
light came on that he realized he’d hit his aunt, and Kip was sure as shit he’d
killed her.

Chapter 2

If she had to tell one more person she was
all right she might just pull out a gun and shoot the lot of them. If she’d
owned a gun she might have hurt Kip when she went rushing into his room when
he’d screamed, and that would have been bad. Looking at her nephew, she
wondered if he’d ever like her. Denise handed her a Baggie of ice as a man came
toward them.

“Miss McGee, can you tell us again why your
son hit you?” She eyed the man, wondering if she could hit him and get away
with it. He flushed brightly and she had a feeling he could see she was pissed.
“It’s just that you—”

“It’s her nephew, and I believe she’s told
you that nearly two dozen times. Now, unless you want me to pound you in the
head with that book you’re holding, I would suggest you step back.” The man
nodded at Denise so hard that his glasses fell down on his nose and nearly off
his face. When he backed off, a man in a suit sat down. Dusty pulled the ice
pack from her face.

“I will hurt you if you ask me the same
questions again. I’m in no mood to fuck with you people any longer. I’m not
even sure how the hell you all got here.” He nodded and looked at Kip when he
shouted. “I think it’s time you people left us alone. You’ve seen to my wound,
and as I have said countless times, he didn’t mean it. He had a bad dream.
Understandable if you knew what was going on, but it’s time to go.”

“You know that when he called the police he
told them he’d killed you.” She nodded. Kip had been standing over her with the
phone in his hand when she’d woken up. He told her he’d called the cops and the
number over the phone. It was why Denise had come barreling in before the
police arrived. “We have to treat this like we would any other domestic disturbance.”

“And how is this the same as a man beating
his wife or the other way around? I startled him into reacting. Frankly, I’m
quite proud of him for being able to defend himself. It makes me feel better
knowing that he’s—”

“Did you know that he’s burnt?” She stood up
and started for Kip when the man stopped her. “You’ll upset him if you ask him
about it, and he looks ready to explode right now.” Dusty turned to look at
him. “I swear to you as soon as the cops leave, I’ll have a look at it myself. My
wife is on her way here and she wants to see it.”

“Why?” He nodded toward the chair. “Okay
then. You know me but I don’t have a clue who the hell you are or why that cop
looks ready to piss himself every time you look his way. So if your wife wants
to see Kip, then you’d better do some major explaining. Or you’re going to have
a majorly pissed off woman on your hands and trust me, I’m not a piece of
fluff.”

“I’m Commissioner Anderson. Benny to my
friends. You’re…you won’t believe me when I tell you what I suspect happened to
your nephew, so we’ll leave it for—”

“Get out.” Dusty had had enough. “I want all
of you to get out of my house right now. You don’t want to explain, I don’t
want you here. So pack your stuff, and leave.”

“I’m not human.” Dusty stopped moving toward
the door when Benny spoke from behind her. “I know you believe me. You have two
people working for you that aren’t human as well. I’d very much like to explain,
but right now I don’t have enough information to give you, and what I suspect
will scare the shit out of you.”

Dusty sat down but not near Benny this time.
She watched the other men leave her, and then Kip get up and go to his room.
He’d not said a single word to her since he’d told her he was sorry he’d hurt
her. He’d not even told her he had been hurt or what the dream he’d had was
about. When she’d asked, he shut her out like he had for the past few weeks. An
hour later Denise left too, telling her that she’d rearrange her meetings in
the morning so she could come in later.

“He hates me.” Benny didn’t say anything, for
which she was grateful. “His mom was in a car accident about a month ago and was
killed. Kip is pissed at me because I’m the only one left to take care of him.
His mother and I…we didn’t actually get along very well, and when she moved
out, I moved on. I had to, or else be sucked into whatever mess she’d get
herself into the next time, then the next. I don’t know what she ever told him
about me, but I’m assuming he has no idea that I bailed his mom out more than
she did herself. He thinks…Kip thinks that I killed her because she had a DNR
in place.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” She nodded and
reached for a tissue from the box he held out. “Have you told him everything?”

Dusty looked at Benny with a frown. “I don’t
know what you mean. He was there, he knows that she’s gone and that I’m taking
care of him.”

“When you brought him here we were notified
that he had a minor record and that his mother had one as well. Hers
was…extensive and varied. Most of it should have put her in prison. We’re
required to notify other districts when someone comes into our town with any
kind of criminal record. Along with his file and that of his mother, we were
given the run down on everything that happened when she died. That includes the
things that were sold off for collections.” Benny handed her a large envelope. “This
came to me today. It’s an accounting of what was sold and how much more you
owe. I’m so sorry.”

Dusty didn’t even look at it. She’d gotten
the same thing yesterday. “I had to empty my savings account to pay for the
hospital bills before they’d let me have her body for burial. And the funeral
home said I had to pay up front because they knew of her…circumstances. The
police had been very busy while she was dying making sure that everyone knew
that if they wanted anything from the estate, they’d better be tapping into me
as soon as possible. Then to fly us both back home and to purchase Kip
something to wear was….”

“Expensive.” She nodded and wiped her tears. She
hated crying and she’d been doing a lot of it lately. “You should let him know.
All of it. How you’ve sold most everything that means even the slightest bit to
you so that you could raise him properly. More than likely, this is the first
real home and family he’s had. No offense to your sister. But perhaps he’ll
realize how lucky he is.”

“No. I don’t…his mom left him for days on end
the cops told me. Days and days without as much as a nickel to his name. How
the hell could she do that to her own child? And then when I brought him home, he
told me that his mom had told him that I’d never helped her in all the years
we’d been apart. She apparently told him that I had hurt her somehow and had
washed my hands of them both long ago.” She laughed bitterly. “I paid their
rent for two years before I found out she didn’t even live in the building any
longer. The landlord had been splitting the rent money I sent him with her.
That’s when I decided she’d have to get a job on her own. I just didn’t know it
would be as a mule for some drug lord. And because of the food stamp fraud
against her, I can’t even get any help for Kip. None whatsoever. My sister
might be dead, Commissioner Anderson, but she is still fucking up my life and
his from the grave.”

She was broke. Not really broke, she amended,
but personally she had nothing more to fall back on. The business she owned was
in great condition, in the black for the last five years. But she’d never
borrow from the company. Right now, it was her only support, and Kip’s. And if
things went the way she thought they would in a few months, she was going to be
fucked there as well. Things were not going as she’d…it was going down the
tubes and she was quickly going with it, thanks to her landlords and the fact
that they were going to run her out of business by jacking up the rent. If it
were just her, she’d sell out and try to find something else, but she had Kip
and she’d never let him do without again.

“My wife.” Dusty stood up, embarrassed that
she never heard the door open. Benny nodded at the woman by his side as he made
the introductions. “Dusty McGee, I’d like you to meet my wife, Lily Anderson.
She isn’t human either.”

“I got that.” As soon as Lily put out her
hand, Dusty hesitated. “I’ve heard that touching someone can give more than you
want them to have. While I don’t want to be rude, I don’t know what you are or
how you’d use it again me. My life is in the toilet enough, thanks.”

“I understand. I have been watching you for a
few hours. I was once a protector. I know you have no idea what that is, but I
will explain.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “This is your
protector. His name is Jacob.”

The man seemed to fade into the room and
Dusty took a step back. She watched as he spread wings out but never moved
toward her. When she looked at Lily again, she too had wings, as did Benny.
Dusty didn’t so much sit down as she fell into the chair behind her. Things
were just going clickety click too fast.

“I’m not sleeping, am I? I mean, this is not
all a dream where in a few hours my alarm will sound and I’ll wake up thinking
what a strange dream I’ve had. Or nightmare. I can handle a nightmare. I
certainly have enough of them.” Jacob shook his head and his wings disappeared.
“Are you around all the time? I mean, like all the time?”

“Most of the time I am. Not when you sleep.
There is someone, a night protector, who comes to you then while I rest. I do
not sleep, but I do need to rest.” She nodded, not sure what to say to him.
“Are you going to scream?”

“I’m not a screamer.” He nodded and sat down.
“How long have you been here? I mean watching…protecting me?”

“Since you were born. I was assigned to you
for your life and will bring you over when you have finished with this one.”
She nodded again, terrified beyond words. “I shall not harm you, Dusty. I am
here only to protect you. We all wish to only protect, but things have happened
here and we must have you aware of us. It is much worse than you have even
imagined.”

She thought of times when she’d felt someone
was with her but never really…. “I just need a minute here. A few…maybe a few
days. My sister, she had one too? Where was he when she needed him?”

“Your sister was…her protector tried to help
her. She would not…there were times when he was only able to keep her from
death by calling in help. Rose was not…she was her own worst enemy.” Dusty
couldn’t argue with that so said nothing more to Jacob. Lily smiled at her
before she spoke.

“I should like to see the mark on your nephew’s
leg. I will not disturb him, but I must look. If it is as we think, then I will
speak to you about it and explain what will need to be done.” Dusty nodded and
Lily faded from the room. In a few seconds she was back, and she looked afraid.
Dusty stood up, wondering what had happened to Kip now. “He is sleeping. His
protector has helped him sleep and he will rest for a while. He is…Kip has been
touched by a demi-god.”

The room seemed to fill with people. They didn’t
come in the front door like regular people did, but sort of just appeared. She
knew she had to talk to them, had to find out how to protect Kip, but it was
too much. They were too much.

Dusty got up and walked to the kitchen. She
had no idea why she had to get away, but she needed air. The house was suddenly
devoid of it. Going out onto the tiny deck, she stood there without a coat just
making herself breathe in and out. When someone leaned against the railing next
to her, she simply glanced over but said nothing.

“I am called Boss.” Dusty didn’t care if His name
was God, and looked at Him again when He laughed. “You will have questions for
me, I’m sure. I can answer all that you ask, but I will be truthful with my
answers. So if you do not wish to truly know, do not ask.”

“I don’t even know where to begin. There
are…there are….” She looked out over the yard. “I don’t know what is going on.
I’m freaking out a…there are winged people in my living room, my nephew has
been touched by a demi-god, I’ve had this man watching over me since I was a
baby, and right now all I can do is make myself breathe in and out. So pardon
me all to hell if I need just a minute, all right?”

“I’m sorry for that. But we must protect
young Kipling more than ever now. What we have feared has happened. Someone has
marked him, and with the emotions that Kipling is going through right now, the
man may harm all of us before he is finished.” She looked at him, wanting to
ask but afraid to. “Yes, he will kill the boy before he is finished if we do
not work now to save him.”

Dusty didn’t say anything. She didn’t even
know what she would say if she could. There was only so much a person could
take in and she was pretty sure she was at her limit…maybe even over the weight
load for something like this. She flushed when she thought of the shower she’d
taken before bed. Boss laughed again.

“He does not join you in the bath. He simply
watches over you. You are not to fear him because you know that he is there
now.” Dusty snorted. “That is a habit a friend of mine has. When she is…disbelieving
something I have said to her, she snorts like that. My friend Michael, he does
it as well. He, however, is trying to break the habit.”

“If You give her the bullshit You just did
me, then I can understand.” She sat in one of the chairs on her deck and
shivered. As suddenly as she realized she was cold, she was warmed. When she
looked at the man with her, He simply shrugged. As much as she wanted to ask,
she didn’t want to know even more if He had warmed her up. “Why Kip?”