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Talia
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Lex came back into the room when I was shivering. He must have seen it right away. His eyes were as sharp as our wolf eyes were. Maybe even sharper.
“Are you still cold, Talia?” He asked me with worry in his voice.
“No, I'm not.” I answered him honestly and that just made him look even more concerned.
“I have brought you some juice. Abigail is preparing lunch at the moment, and there will be a sweet option available for you as well. For now though, the juice will help you to feel better.” He came over and knelt in front of me again. He was so tall that even when he was kneeling in front of me while I sat on the couch, I was still shorter than him. I hoped that I grew a little more. My dad was tall, and so was Reagan. Rika was a little taller than me as well, a little taller than mom is. I love my mom, but I want to be taller than she is. I don't want to look like a dwarf next to my guards forever. Well, next to Lex. Rudy was more normal in height.
.....
Lex pressed the glass of juice into my hands and urged me to take a drink from it. I lifted it to my lips and sipped on it. It was good, and the sweetness seemed to be instantly spreading throughout my body. It was already starting to make me feel better. At least, until Lex grabbed my wrist and looked at it with pure rage in his eyes.
“Talia, what is this?” His voice was deep and angry as it rumbled through me and the room.
“What?” I asked him, not sure what he was talking about.
“This.” He moved my arm up so that I could see it, his hands completely gentle and tender as they gripped me.
There, on my wrist, was a bruise. Not just any bruise though, no this was a bruise in the shape of a hand. It looked like someone had grabbed a hold of my arm and squeezed very tightly while pulling and yanking on my arm. I hadn't noticed them before. Perhaps they were still developing from that vision or something. They were there now though, and there was only one possible way that they had gotten there.
The bruises were too large to have been Ada's. And Mr. Amadeus didn't grab me roughly at all. These bruises were from that man in my vision.
“I..I..I don't know what is happening to me.” I looked up into Lex's eyes, fear filling me at the thought of what was happening to me. “Th..th..these bruises, th..they are fr..from the vision. Th..th..they are from when th..that man gr..grabbed me.”
“It was just a vision, but he was able to hurt you like this?!” Lex was angry.
“Talia, this isn't good. These visions are getting dangerous.” Dad was just as angry and worried as Lex was. They both cared for me so much. I often felt like Lex cared for me like a second father. He was always there to look out for me and take care of me. It was nice knowing that he was here with me.
“We should try to prevent anymore visions from happening.” Mom put her hand on my hair, stroking it gently to soothe me, and probably herself as well. “This is getting to be more than just scary images. This is starting to hurt you.”
“I..I know that, M..Mom.” I was trembling again. I didn't know why. Maybe it was the shock settling in. Maybe it was that the adrenaline from earlier was leaving me, and I was able to start feeling more of the emotions now. Maybe it was something else. I didn't know the cause behind my trembling, but I knew that I couldn't show them that I was scared right now. These visions were coming to me for a reason. I was meant to help my parents. I was meant to help stop these monsters.
“Talia, you can't keep-.” I don't know what my mom was about to say, but I cut her off before she got that far.
“No Mom. I will not stop the visions. Even if I knew how, I wouldn't.” I was shaking my head as I refused to accept that. “These visions are meant for me. If I had known in the beginning, I might have been able to save Andrea and the others. I didn't though, and that will haunt me forever. This time though, the vision showed me my friends. People that I know and care about. And I am not going to let them get hurt. That is my duty, my responsibility. And if fate sees fit to show me another vision and another and another, I will save those people time and time again until we can stop these monsters from ever hurting anyone else.”
I don't know if what I was doing was being righteous, stupid, or something in between, but I knew that I was not going to listen to a single word in opposition of what I had decided. I loved my family, but they were not going to stop me from doing the right thing.
“Talia, I understand that determination of yours. I know that you want to do the right thing. That is admirable and all, but I will not risk you in all of this, sweetheart.” I didn't like how my mom was talking to me right then. She was patronizing me. She was treating me like a little child.
“Mom!” I stood up and faced her, almost evenly matched in height. “I am not going to be persuaded otherwise. I am not going to give up on this. I will see this through to the end. I will, without fail, find these monsters and stop them. Even if I have to do it by myself. Even if I am all alone, I will stop these men. I am the only one that has seen them and lived to tell the tale.”
“You won't be alone, Talia.” Lex rose from his kneeling position and stood beside me. “I will be there to help you every step of the way.”
“Alexio!?” My mom glared at him.
“It is the truth, Trinity.” He never really called her Queen Trinity like the others did. I think it had to do with the fact that he was not part of her kingdom. Not to mention that he just didn't think the same way that the others did. “Talia is going to have these visions. We do not know how to stop them. And if she can use them to save the people that she sees, then why not let her? That will give her a calmer soul and more peace of mind.”
“They're right, Trinity.” Dad stepped closer to me. “These visions, nightmares, or whatever it is that you want to call them, they are not going to stop just because we want them to. Talia didn't ask for this, but she is willing and determined to do something about them. We all need to be united in this. Talia is the biggest piece of evidence that we have gotten so far. We need to use this information. I know that it must be difficult for you to accept, she is our daughter and like me you want to protect her. We can't do that right now though. She is growing up and there are things that we can't shield her from. We need to just accept that.”
I saw the anger, confusion, pain, and sorrow all mix in my mom's eyes as she looked at Dad, Lex, and finally me. When she was looking at me, she lowered her head and sighed deeply.
“Hhaaaahhhh.” Her head was shaking side to side like she was either saying no or trying to remove bad thoughts from her mind. “Fine, I understand. This is something that we need to embrace and not stop. I..I just don't like the idea of using my baby for this.”
“I hate to break it to you Mom, but I haven't been a baby in a long time.” I laughed at her. “I am fifteen, and I am training to be a lot like you.”
“That's what I am afraid of.” She pulled me into a hug at that. “I haven't had the easiest life in this world. It's been blessed with many things, a great husband, wonderful family, amazing children, wealth and health. All of that is good and all that, but there have been a lot of negatives too. I have fought battles that have cost thousands of lives. I have been tortured. I have been injured severely. I have had so much that has happened to me over the last twenty years that I would never want you to go through, Talia. I..it's just not worth the risk.”
“I know that, Mom. I really do. But I am the one that these visions have sought out. I am the one that has this ability, not you. No one except for me can do this. It is my job, my responsibility, and I will see it through until the end.” She squeezed me as I spoke, like my words were hurting her somehow.
“You went and became so mature without me even noticing.” She cried a little with a shaking voice. “Why did you have to grow up so fast?”
“It's what kids do, Mom. And there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it.” She laughed and so did the others.
“Alright Talia, we will work together on this. We will meet with the others after you eat some lunch. Can you get those drawings done before then?”
“Yeah, sure, no problem. And if you manage to find photos of these men, I can identify them with no problems at all.”
“I know.” Mom wiped a tear from her eye. “I know.”
We were just standing there for a moment when Abigail came into the room.
“Lunch is ready.” Her sweet voice and angelic looking face was one that I always enjoyed seeing. She was so sweet and kind.
“Thank you, Abigail.” Mom took my hand as she acknowledged her.
We went together to eat our lunch. It wasn't an overly complicated meal, mostly simple foods that were quick to make so that I could eat, but it was all good. And there was a dessert, which isn't often made for lunch. I am guessing that Abigail had some sort of powers that my mom never told me about when it came to cooking. How else was she able to get all of this, including the brownies for the à la mode [1] dessert.
After lunch was done, I went to my room with Lex. He was keeping watch over me as I started to work on the drawings. I needed to get them done before I joined Mom, Dad, and the others for the meeting.
At least they weren't going to be treating me like a child anymore. I was part of this, more than I had been while we were travelling. And Dad was right about what he had said, I was the only reason that they had anywhere near as much evidence as they did. I didn't want to sound full of myself, but I think that made me a vital and irreplaceable part of this investigation.
At least Dad and Lex had been on my side. They knew that I was needed to figure all of this out. They knew that no one could figure this out without me. And thankfully, Mom finally admitted that too.
I think that I will use this experience to my benefit. I will need to be strong and confident when I am the ruler of the underworld, now would be when I started to practice.
[1] à la mode (North American Definition) – served with ice cream. 'Would you like some pie à la mode?'
