The Last Alignment: Cry of the Scorpions (26 page)

~*~*~

Zander knocked on the doorsill before
speaking. “You ready? Everyone is downstairs waiting.”

Androse didn’t answer him. He was clearly
ready, but he sat on the end of his bed staring out of the window
into nothing. Zander pressed his tongue against the back of his
teeth wondering if he should say anything or not; he still wasn’t
comfortable with Androse just yet and he knew that Androse felt the
same way. Nonetheless, he did feel bad about Charles, so Zander
decided that he would at least try. And, the fact that Androse’s
back was to him made it a bit easier.

“
Look, bro,” he said
walking in and leaning against the wall near the door, “I didn’t
know Charles all that well. Actually, I take that back. I didn’t
know him at all because he didn’t speak to me that much, but he
seemed like a nice enough guy, and-”

“
He wasn’t,” Androse cut
across him. “He was…he was
hard
, insensitive, and he was
controlling. Over me and my mom. I hated him most of the
time.”

“…
Oh,” Zander said feeling
awkward.

“
He loved me. I know he
did,” said Androse, “and I loved him, but we didn’t really have
much of a relationship.” Zander didn’t know what to say and heat
rose in his cheeks.
Why the hell is he
telling me all of this
, he thought. “My
mom told me that my grandfather was always rough on my dad. She
said that when he was a little younger than me his hair was as long
as mine, but Charles made him cut it. Charles made him do a lot of
things that he didn’t want to do all for the sake of ‘toughening
him up’ and ‘instilling discipline.’ He did the same to me. He was
such an asshole sometimes,” Androse laughed. Zander still didn’t
know what to say and he was sure that if Androse hadn’t been
feeling particularly emotional right now, then he wouldn’t be
pouring his heart out to him. “Should I feel bad? Like…should I be
sadder,” he asked as he rested his forehead in his
palms.

Your grandfather was
killed. I
’
d say
that
’
s reason
enough
, Zander thought, but it sounded
like Androse was getting at something. “What do you mean,” he
asked, walking around the bed so that they could face each other.
Androse looked completely and totally absent like he was mentally
somewhere else.

“
I feel weird,” he said
closing his eyes. “I mean, my grandfather…my father’s father was
just murdered, and I am hurting, but at the same time I feel this
huge sense of…I don’t know…emancipation, I guess?”
Whoa
, Zander
thought.
That is some heavy shit that I am
not qualified to talk about
. Zander didn’t
think that he ever felt that way about anyone that he’s ever known
that has passed away, so he had no words of comfort or
understanding. “I’m sorry for unloading on you,” Androse apologized
before shaking his head. “I thought that you out of everyone else
would understand. It’s just, feeling this way makes me feel like
I’m an awful person, and then you are an awful person, so I thought
that you could maybe relate.” Zander frowned.
Did he just make a joke
,
or is he being serious
,
he thought, but before he knew it they were both laughing loudly
and hardily and Zander was sure that they were laughing because of
more than what was just said. “I’m kidding,” Androse sighed as he
wiped his eyes.

“
No, you aren’t,” said
Zander, “but at least you’re trying to mess around with me. It’s a
start. Did you call your family yet?” Androse went from laughing,
to silence, to tears, and Zander swallowed regretting his question.
“Dude, it’s going to be alright. We’ll get through
this.”

“
My mom and my grandma are
all I have left,” Androse said composing himself. “My mom’s parents
are both dead and she has no siblings. My dad is dead and he had no
siblings, my grandpa is dead and he had no siblings, and then my
grandma has no siblings either.”
Damn
, Zander thought. Androse wiped
his eyes on his forearm. “What if Mordikin somehow manages to get
to them? What if he wipes out my whole fucking family?”

“
Dude, he won’t,” Zander
assured him, though he couldn’t say it with much confidence.
Mordikin now had all of their information and who knew what he was
planning to do with it.

“
It’s a possibility,
though,” Androse said candidly. “I am not about to sit here and lie
to myself. Maybe if I start expecting the worst all of the time,
nothing will shock me and everything will be easier to take when
shit happens.”

Zander smiled in spite of himself. “Sad
thing is,” he said moving to sit next to Androse on the bed, “I
can’t even argue with you on that.”

“
I know you can’t,”
Androse said chuckling a little.

“
And, as far as family
goes…you have us. Our Alignment. But, you mainly have me,” he said
ignoring his feelings of embarrassment and awkwardness; he wasn’t
good at these types of talks.

Androse gave him a look. “Zander, that’s
nice of you and all, but what-”

“
We’re god-brothers,
Androse. My dad told me the first day that we got to Oren’s house.
Nicolas made my mom and dad your god-parents, and vice
versa.”

Androse stared at him searching for a hint
that maybe he was joking, and when he found none, he looked down at
the floor. “You knew that this whole time and never said
anything?”

“
I mean, it’s not like we
were speaking to each other and hanging out all the time, were we,”
asked Zander. “How in the hell could I have told you? And it’s not
like you would’ve been happy and giddy about it. It probably
would’ve made you hate me even more.”

“…
I suppose I have to give
you that,” Androse said going over his face with his
hands.

“
Look,” said Zander. “I
really am sorry about how we started out. It was my fault. I
shouldn’t have come at you like that.”

“
Forget it,” Androse said
before standing up and grabbing his bag. “Let’s just put all that
crap behind us. I don’t even think that it was all that big of a
deal in hindsight. You aren’t the first person to be like that to
me and you aren’t going to be the last.”

“
Awbrey thought it was a
big deal, though,” said Zander.

“
Yeah? Well, I’m sure that
Awbrey thinks a lot of things,” Androse chortled, “but we’re good,”
he said holding out his hand. At first, Zander didn’t want to shake
it because Androse had been using it to wipe his eyes and nose, but
he smiled and shook it anyway.

“
Music to my ears,” Zander
said following Androse out of the room, but not before quickly
wiping his hand on the bed behind Androse’s back. “Just so you
know, though, I still think you’re a weird-ass dude with weird-ass
hair.”

Chapter
21

Natalye

Oren stared at the road and didn’t say much
of anything. In fact, none of them had done much talking since they
left Tyler’s house. Hektor sat in the front passenger’s seat and
Sylvia and Zander sat in the seat behind them; Zander was fast
asleep with his head on his mother’s shoulder. Natalye and Emma sat
in the very back and Natalye was resting her head in her
grandmother’s lap. Hektor had seen. He saw everything, and Natalye
was grateful that he dropped it and didn’t say anything to the
others. She knew that she would eventually have to talk about
Pamela; it was unavoidable, but she wasn’t ready to open herself up
just yet.

“
Are you okay,” Emma
whispered. Natalye looked up to meet her grandmother’s green eyes
and shook her head, but tears came regardless and she rested back
down sure that she was at the peak of her guilt. Natalye had no
words to express how she felt. Six were dead and thirteen were
injured because of them and that was all that she could think
about.
Hektor was right
, she thought.
If we would have just
stayed put, Amanda would
’
ve been the only one to
die
, but even that thought hurt, and
Natalye buried her face while Emma stroked the back of her
head.

“
Though being a Wielder is
life changing in and of itself
,
it was the duties that came with the territory
that changed all of your parents. You have to be so much
stronger
,
braver
,
and
wiser than the average person. It altered us and it will no doubt
transform the five of you as well
.” The
words ran through Natalye’s brain as if her grandmother had just
spoken them again and she cried a little harder. What they wanted
didn’t matter anymore. Now, they had to put everything before
themselves and they had to think about every possibility and
consequence that could stem from every action that they made before
they even reached a decision about something. They had to be
careful, they had to be mindful of everything that they did and who
it would affect, and Natalye felt like there was an overwhelming
amount that was required of them.

You will be
fine
.

She jumped and sat up. It sounded as if the
voice was in the very center of her head.

It is me, Hektor. I can
communicate with you telepathically. The five of you will be able
to as well with each other once you turn sixteen
.

Natalye raised her shoulders a bit and
looked worriedly at Emma who appeared to know what was
happening.

To
respond
,
all that
you have to do is think your words
,
but keep your mind still. I just wanted to tell
you that while I do understand why you feel the way that you
feel
,
do not
allow yourself to fall too deep into despair. It was an atrocious
thing that Isabel did
,
but what is done is done and now you have a sense of the
impiety that you face. The only way that you can avenge the events
of today is to become determined in accomplishing what you must.
And by all accounts, the fact that you kids encountered Isabel and
survived without having come into your powers yet is very
impressive
.

Natalye was too freaked out to appreciate
the fact that Hektor was trying to semi-comfort her, and now
knowing that he was able to read her thoughts, she felt susceptible
and even violated.

I cannot read your
thoughts
,
Natalye
. She jumped
again
. However
,
I can Sense and get a strong feel
of your emotions which is why I will now leave you be.

“
First taste of having him
in your head,” Emma whispered, nodding toward Hektor.

“
Yeah,” Natalye said
rubbing her ears. “We’ll be able to do that with each
other?”

“
Yes. It comes in quite
handy, especially when you kids are in public and you need to
communicate discreetly,” said Emma.

“
Can you do it,” Natalye
asked, still feeling like she had been trespassed upon.

“
No, not anymore,” Emma
replied pensively. “Only Wielders can for the most part. But, even
if I could, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you. You can only
communicate with those in your Alignment, but of course Hektor can
reach any one of us that he wants.”

Natalye stared at the back of Hektor’s head.
He was so mysterious. They said that he wasn’t a Wielder, so then
what in the hell was he? She wiped her face and put her head back
down in Emma’s lap not wanting to think anymore. Part of her wanted
to ask more questions about telepathy and how it precisely worked,
but at the moment, all that she really wanted to do was lay there,
not contemplate anything, and allow herself to grieve.

Chapter
22

Awbrey

“
I need to talk to you,”
Hallie said pulling Awbrey off to the side and away from everyone
else once they all got through airport security. “What happened to
your wrist?” Andrew walked over, lifted his sister’s arm, and ran a
finger along one of her scars. “I respected your space enough to
leave you alone in the car, and I understand you not wanting to
really talk about what happened in the school just yet, but before
you get on that plane you are going to tell me why Hektor had to
heal you.”

Awbrey took her arm back from her brother.
She certainly didn’t want to talk about any of it, but seeing as
how she was about to say goodbye to her mother for who knew how
long, she spilled. “Isabel held me against a locker by my throat.
She burned me. I’m not sure how, but she did.”

Tears came to Hallie’s eyes, but she shook
it off and stood at her full height. “So, that’s where those
bruises on your neck are from as well?” Awbrey nodded, knowing that
her mother was getting angrier by the second.

“
What if she had burned
your neck? You know what…Andrew, go over there with your
grandmother, please,” Hallie said pointing. Andrew lightly struck
Awbrey’s thigh with the back of his hand and smiled at her before
he walked away, and Awbrey hung her head and bit her bottom lip.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush with you,” Hallie said
crossing her arms. “I know that you’re going through a lot right
now, but I am highly upset that you kids did what you did today. I
know that your intentions were pure and good, but what you did was
just flat out stupid and downright disrespectful.”