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Talia
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I was not allowed to go with my parents to look for the house of Uncle Dietrich's old friend. I don't know why they were so worried about me going with them. It wasn't like I was going to be in any danger. This man was someone that Uncle Dietrich knew really well. He lived with him for a long time. They worked together. And, on top of that, these people that we were supposed to be going to see were his descendants. Wouldn't they know of Uncle Dietrich? Wouldn't they welcome him with open arms? Wouldn't they be happy to see him?
Whatever, I didn't really care anyway. I mean, what would it matter to me? I was just here, away from home, away from my siblings, away from my friends. I wasn't the one that wanted to be here in the first place. I wasn't the one that begged to be here. I was brought here because I was supposedly needed.
Yeah. I was needed. To release the souls of the dead from their bodies. And to talk to them and find out what happened to them before they died. It's not like that was a vital part of this case or anything. It wasn't like they couldn't have done all of that without me. Nope. I was totally useless and not needed.
“Hahh!” I sighed as I laid on the bed in the room that I was given. “I know that I am just being overly dramatic, but that doesn't help me to feel any better.” I was talking to myself, but Lex thought that I was talking to him.
.....
“Come on now, Talia. It's not that bad. From my perspective, this is the better option.” I lifted my head and glared at him as he stood by the door.
“That's just because you don't want me to be put in danger. But I wouldn't be in danger, Lex. I can take care of myself, and you and Rudy would be there too. I don't need someone to coddle me. I need to live my life.” I could see the heartache in Lex's eyes. He probably wanted me to have a more free life, something that wasn't so restricted all the time. However, it was also his job to protect me. If I had a free life, he wouldn't have a job. Also, this world and the way that it was, was exactly the reason that I needed a bodyguard in the first place. There was always something or someone out there to get me or someone else. There was malice, heartache and terror waiting around every corner. Or that was what I was led to believe about the world.
My parents didn't try to teach me this stuff though. No, they would never try to scare us into fearing the world. But, well, when you can talk to the dead, you learn about the horrors of the world that the rest of your siblings will never know about. That's a good and a bad thing really. They were sheltered and I knew the truth. Both had their ups and downs.
“We made a deal, remember Talia.” Lex smiled at me. He was trying to bribe me into behaving better.
“I am not doing anything wrong. I am just venting my frustrations. We all need to vent sometimes, Lex. Even you. Though you never vent to me. I know that there is a lot that you must be feeling at times.” I was giving him a knowing look, trying to get him to talk.
“I cannot vent to you, Talia. You are still so young. Not to mention that you will use every last thing that I told you to blackmail me for something that you want.” He was smiling as he spoke, so I didn't know if he was being serious or not.
“I resent that. I wouldn't use it all. Just the really juicy stuff.” I laughed at him, hoping that he was joking with me and that I was returning the gesture.
“Ha ha ha! See, that is what I mean.” He was laughing, so that meant that it was a joke given and returned. That was good. Sometimes, it was hard to tell with Alexio. “You can vent though, Talia. I know that you are sensitive and that keeping them bottled up too long is not good for you. And I would never tell anyone your secrets. Your words and your body are safe with me.”
I know that he was referring to my physical safety, but I shuddered when he said that. My body was safe with him? What was happening to me? Why was I suddenly thinking like some sort of deviant? I mean, I am only fifteen, Lex would definitely not be thinking about that. Not yet anyway. And, anyway, he was like a thousand years old. I was guessing about that since I had never asked him. I should probably do that sometime, shouldn't I? Maybe I will do it right now.
“Hey, u..uh..uhm, Lex, h..how old a..are-.”
“Talia, Alexio, I need you two to come down to the dining hall now. Rudy is already here. There is much to discuss.” My mom's voice interrupted my question as it spoke to me, and apparently Lex, telepathically.
“I guess it is time to go. Perhaps your parents want to talk about what they found over dinner.” Lex smiled at me. “What were you asking me anyway?” He seemed to remember that I was saying something. I didn't want to chicken out. I wanted to know the answer to that question.
“Oh, uhm, I was just wanting to know how old you are. I have known you for eleven years now and I don't know how old you are. I think that is actually quite rude of me.”
“Where did this come from all of a sudden?” He was laughing like it was some sort of a joke. “Well, I don't really know how old I am. Time moves differently in the underworld. I know that I was created sometime toward the end of the Roman Empire. Constantine had just become the emperor, and there was a lot of turmoil between the supernatural on Earth and the leaders of the underworld. There were also wars that were happening and an influx of souls that were coming to the underworld as well. I was needed to fight in battles and to guard the souls that were travelling into their afterlives.”
“That long ago?” I was blown away. It was the year two thousand and forty. And if I remembered correctly, which I know that I did, Constantine became emperor in the year three hundred and six. So that meant that Lex was 'created' one thousand seven hundred and thirty-four years ago. And he looked like he was in his mid-twenties. If you factor that in, he was over seventeen hundred and fifty. I could officially say that my mind was blown.
“Yes. But again, I was in the underworld for most of that time. And I do not know how the difference in time speeds affects my age. That is why I said that I don't really know.” He was smiling through all of this. He was acting like he wasn't officially the older person that I knew. Like, seriously Lex? What the hell?
We walked in silence the rest of the way to the dining hall. Lex led me to my seat that was next to Mom's and then stood behind me like a good bodyguard should. He never really ate with me like the others did. He always preferred to stay alert for danger, even when we were in a safe place like this. I guess I was just now starting to appreciate how much he cared for and protected me.
“Hi Mom. Hi Dad.” I smiled at them. “Did you find anything important?” I didn't want them to know that I was upset earlier, so I was being positive and upbeat right now.
“Well, we found something.” Mom took a drink from the cup in front of her. It smelled like it was some sort of alcohol. It must have been a rough day.
“They are hiding the house from us. We will be breaking down the defenses tomorrow so that we can investigate the house itself.” Dad added. He too was taking a drink of alcohol. They were all drinking, based on the scents coming from the cups. Only Rudy was sitting nearby with juice that matched my own.
“That is odd.” I tried to be understanding, but I hadn't been there, so I didn't know the situation. “Is there anything at all that I can do to help you guys? I want to be a part of this.” I was hoping to be invited tomorrow, but I wasn't going to hold my breath.
“No. It is best if you wait here. We don't know what is going to happen at that house. With the precautions that they are taking, they might not be friendly at all.” I sighed once I heard that answer, even though I had been expecting it.
“OK.” I nodded, surrendering to my fate.
“Look, Talia, we just want to-.” Mom was starting to explain something to me but at that moment, her phone started to ring. However, hers wasn't the only one that started to ring. Dad's, Uncle Vincent, Uncle Gabriel and Uncle David also grabbed their ringing phones. The five of them answered the calls at the same time and started to talk.
It was a little hard to concentrate on all of them at the same time, so I just focused on my mom, who was right next to me.
“Hello?” Mom was a little confused when she answered the call.
“Trinity.” It was Uncle Jackson on the other end of the call.
“Jackson? What is going on? Did something happen?” Mom knew that something had. Why else would there be this mass call and panic session going on?
“There were more murders.”
“I suspected that. It has been five days. We are making progress though. I am sure that we are getting close to the killers. There is a lead here in Germany that we are following.” Mom explained to him what had been going on.
“There is more.” Uncle Jackson continued. “They have targeted a new area.”
“Where are they this time?” Mom asked him.
“Here. In the US. There were five murders along the California coast between late last night and early this morning.”
“What?” I didn't blame mom. Even I was having a hard time processing what Uncle Jackson had just said. “Are you sure that they are the same? The methods were the same? These aren't copycats or anything?” Mom didn't want to believe this, and neither did I.
“I am sure, Trinity. They were all killed the same way. Though there was one difference in one of the cases. I will tell you about that when you get here. But, please, hurry back. We need to get to work on this as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, I understand. We will leave here right away. Give us at most an hour. We need to pack. Though I am not even sure if we need to do that. We can send for the rest of our stuff later. This is important.” I could already see my mom starting to stand up. We weren't even going to eat dinner. “See you soon, Jackson.”
“I will send you the location of the murders. Rawlynne and I will be at the first one. Meet us there. ”
“Understood.” Mom nodded and then ended the call. Dad and the others had hung up as well.
“This is bad.” Dad said without being prompted. “We need to leave right now.”
“Agreed.” Mom nodded as her phone pinged. That was the list of locations. I didn't know why these people had chosen another location for the murders, but it looked like they were moving closer to my home, and that was really scary. I was instantly afraid for my family and my friends.
