Starlight in the Heavens - 26. Chapter 26

Part 26 - Joshua

Watching Adrian and Mandy was both disturbing and exhilarating for me.

The last time I saw Mandy was at the beach. It was before Alex's rendezvous and she'd been a healthy, happy young woman. What I saw when Miss Sherry led her out of the house was someone that had been starved almost to non-existence—not only physically but in every other way imaginable. She'd hardly been strong enough to walk and had leaned heavily on Miss Sherry's lean frame.

The light that had shown so brightly on the beach was gone from her eyes. They were lifeless—a muddy pond green that actually seemed cloudy. The hourglass frame that had wowed so many young men had dwindled to nothing more than a stick figure. The only thing that still looked completely alive was her hair, though even that didn't have the same fullness and luster.

When Miss Sherry sat Mandy on one of the seats, I cringed at the discomfort she had to feel. There was little padding in the cushions placed on the outside furniture, and none on her.

Alex knelt in front of Mandy and took her hands into his. I watched as tears spilled down his cheeks at the sight of her so diminished. They had been so close, not even counting the last time they were together. That time had been set apart in our minds. I know he was thinking about all the times they'd spent as best friends, closer than siblings.

"Mandy," he whispered. She lifted her head and I saw recognition in her eyes and a small smile on her lips. "Oh, Mandy, what happened?"

"You came." Her voice was so quiet you had to strain to understand.

"Of course we came." He brought a hand up to cup her cheek. "Why didn't you come to us, Mandy?"

She sighed and leaned into his hand.

"I hurt you so bad." When her eyes opened, she looked around until locking in on me. "I'm sorry."

I couldn't sit across from her anymore. Not after seeing the regret that poured out of the muddy depths I was used to seeing shine. I moved across the patio and lifted her from her seat. Carefully cradling her boney frame in my arms, I sat with her while keeping a hand on Alex to prevent him from moving away. She needed to see that we harbored no ill will. We had been placed in a situation that none of us would have chosen. It was what it was, and though I didn't like what had taken place any more now than before, I could not fault the end result. Anthony was here and he made all of it worth-while.

I moved us to a bench seat closer to the back door so Alex could sit next to me. Anthony soon climbed up on Alex's lap and the four of us sat in silence as one unit. It felt like a healing balm having the four of us together. The bond we'd had as friends, though frayed by things beyond our control, was being knitted back together.

Mandy moved to sit up and took one of each of our hands—mine, Alex's and Anthony's. She put them together and said, "You belong together. It was wrong of me to keep you apart."

I flinched at the sound of her voice. It almost sounded as though she was saying goodbye, that now that we were together she was giving up.

"Mandy?"

Alex had sensed it, too.

"It's alright, Alex," she said. "You are what he needs now."

I looked down at Anthony. His attention went from his mother to the other side of the yard. A small smile formed on his cherubic face, lighting up his eyes.

"Mommy, your salvation is coming."

I looked to where he was staring only to see Adrian coming, with purpose in every step. His eyes were riveted on the woman in my arms. Never wavering, he bent and took her from me.

I watched in awe as he looked into her eyes and asked, "Will you give yourself to me?"

Anthony giggled as she gazed back at Adrian and nodded.

Adrian kissed her and the transformation was immediate. Life flowed between the two of them. Mandy wrapped herself around the shifter, arms around his neck and legs around his waist, and kissed him back with such passion I was sure I could feel the scorch of its heat. There was to be no crying in this union.

We were left breathless as Adrian turned and ran with Mandy clutched in his arms. All but Anthony, whose giggles had turned into full belly-laughs.

Anthony was asleep and Alex had taken him inside to his room when TJ and Sean stepped outside. I let them have the bench while I took a chair close by. TJ took up most of the seat and pulled Sean into his lap. They looked tired, the strain of the day evidently taking its toll.

When Alex and I had been allowed into the diner, the fight within had ended. We found four men dead and one with his arms bound tight against his sides with rope and his mouth secured with duct tape.

Sean was kneeling with what I could only assume was an elf at the prone body of a young man. On closer inspection, I knew beyond a doubt that it was the man Josen had dreamed about. He looked to be passed out and there were singe marks around a gaping hole in his shirt. Pale green light glowed from a burn in his chest.

Behind us, a couple of uniforms entered. One of them introduced himself as Sheriff Anders and said he'd gotten a call from Miss Sherry. The elf looked hard at the man who met his eyes without a flinch. After a minute of staring, the sheriff nodded and walked over to TJ.

"I can take him," he said and roughly grabbed the bound man's arm. "He'll be held until you come for him."

TJ nodded and skirted around the dead men to Alex's side. "How is he?"

Sean looked up at him and shook his head. "It's bad, TJ. Saeldur put him out, but we need to get him out of here. It will take some time to see if I can help."

I hadn't seen Adrian leave, but I didn't see him inside either, but when TJ lifted the unconscious man and headed for the door, it was Adrian that held it open for the group of us.

"Sir?"

Saeldur looked back at the sheriff.

"What do you want us to do with the bodies?"

Adrian snorted in disgust as Saeldur answered. "Burn them."

We followed Saeldur as he led us to a house not far from the diner. Adrian brought up the rear. I noticed he was bound up tighter than a drum, fidgeting with every step. It made me nervous to be so close to him, knowing what he was capable of, in his current state of agitation. I still considered Adrian to be unbalanced. I almost sighed with relief when he refused to enter the house.

I was brought up short when Alex stopped dead in his tracks not far past the doorway. But when I saw what stopped him, I dropped to my knees and held out my arms to the child that until this moment lived only in my dreams. It wasn't long before my arms were filled with squirming, laughing, crying boy.

We'd spent the next hour out in the yard watching Adrian pace and listening to Anthony chatter incessantly about his short life and Brian—mostly about Brian. I knew, after listening to our son rave about the young man, Brian would remain a fixed figure in our lives. If he survived that is. I hoped to God that he did. I knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, that if Brian died Anthony would be devastated.

"How's Brian."

Sean lifted his head from TJ's chest and answered. "I think he will be okay. Saeldur has gone to get Samantha."

"Samantha. Adrian mentioned someone named Samantha last night. He spoke as though the sun rose and set just for her. Is that the one you're saying he went for?"

He nodded and rested his head back on TJ while closing his eyes. A gentle rumble sounded from TJ and I knew Sean would soon be asleep.

I directed my next question to TJ. "Why Samantha? Why not get him a doctor?"

While shifting Sean in his lap to better facilitate cradling him, he said, "No doctor could help. Only Samantha has the power to pull the fire."

"I don't get it. What fire?"

He looked up at me. "You saw the glow—the burn?"

I nodded.

"It was what we call witch fire... and it burns deep. It moves through the body, centering on the soul. The more the soul fights it, the faster it is consumed. Sean can calm the soul and heal some of the damage it contains, but he cannot stop the fire from returning. Nor can he heal the body. A human doctor—any doctor really—would have no idea of what they are seeing."

"And Samantha?"

He nodded. "Samantha's power is greater than even she is aware."

"Wow."

We sat there, me thinking about the past week, and TJ idly combing through Sean's hair. He'd glanced up a time or two and noticed Adrian walking with Mandy.

"I see Adrian has found the one Samantha told him would come."

"Samantha..." I stopped speaking as I remembered what Adrian had told me. Samantha told me not to give up, that there was someone in the world to make me complete.

"Yeah, I guess he has."

"This was your Mandy?"

I nodded.

"I can see the resemblance."

That statement gave me pause. "Resemblance to whom?"

His eyes went from Adrian to me. He waited a moment and I could see that he was thinking. Maybe seeing if this was a story for him to tell. He glanced back out at Adrian then sighed.

"Adrian lost himself to someone half his life ago. He gave his bond to one who could not return it. For those like us, that is the same as losing your soul. Our bond to our mate is forever—in life, or in death."

"Then how did he make it this far?"

I thought I knew the answer even before he gave it. I was wrong.

"Her mate... Jason. He took Adrian's soul within himself and sifted the bond from it. But even with the bond removed, Adrian was left with a void." He nodded toward the couple as they walked. "It seems she has filled it."

"Who's mate? Samantha's?"

"No. Megan's mate. It was she who he bonded his with." His eyes took on a faraway sadness. "It almost killed him. I didn't understand it at the time, and I should have prevented him from putting himself in such danger. But Adrian means so much to Sean, and..."

He paused and I held up a hand to stop him from trying to explain further. I could feel that that part of his past, their past held a personal note that I didn't want to intrude into.

There was a question that plagued me though, watching Adrian with Mandy.

"Jo said, before she was Josen." I shook the clutter from my head and continued, "She said that Jeremy was Mandy's whole. So, how is it that Adrian makes her whole?"

TJ smiled at me as though I were a child. "Hard to except, isn't it?"

"Nooo, it's just that this is all so confusing. But then, so is most of what she said."

TJ closed his eyes, seeming to process his words before answering. "Okay, let me see if I can help. Jeremy was taken before his time... yes?"

I nodded.

"And you and he were identical twins?"

"Yes."

"So, you kept a part of him with you even after he was gone from the physical world, just as you always will. But, you could never bond with Mandy."

I felt like he was going in circles, and he must have seen that.

"Okay, let me cut to the chase. Mandy was a whole soul, and Jeremy was a whole soul. Together they could give Anthony half and still together be a whole. Are you with me so far?"

I pondered what he'd said so far. "Yeah, I think I do. Without Jeremy, she gave her half to Anthony but that left her broken."

"Exactly."

"But why didn't she just find someone else to fill the void?"

He paused to comb Sean's hair back and kiss his forehead. Still looking at his mate, he asked, "Would you? Did you date? Or did you wait for that one person you knew would fulfill you?"

I got it. I still didn't know why Adrian was the one that could make Mandy whole, but then, I didn't know why Alex was the one that filled me. I just knew.

Some time later, Miss Sherry called us all in to eat.

"I would normally have us go to the diner to eat, but..." She spread her arms and continued with a chuckle, "We will have to make do with what an old blind woman can scrounge.

Scrounge indeed. She put out a full meal. There was baked chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, corn bread with sweet butter... how the hell had she prepared all this without any of us knowing?

I looked at her across the table with my chin dropped to my chest. Amazing.

And damn if it wasn't one of the best meals I'd ever eaten. We stuffed ourselves, though it was quiet as we were very conscious of those missing in our group. I found that it wasn't only me whose eyes strayed to the hallway. We all pitched in to clean up afterward and when night came, Alex and I were to bed down in Anthony's room, Adrian with Mandy, and TJ and Sean outside. They said they wanted to scout out the area quietly and were quite comfortable in their other skins. Anthony giggled and had quite a time climbing all over TJ after he'd shifted.

The night was over before I'd realized I'd gone to sleep. I don't think I'd ever had a night where I didn't dream, until then. Breakfast was a serve yourself time and then the waiting game began again.

TJ and Sean peeked in on Brian a few times and reported back to the rest of us that there was no change. Sean had said that this was good. It meant that the fire hadn't moved. So long as Brian remained under, he was safe. Josen would not be moved from Brian's side.

It was mid-morning when Saeldur arrived with Samantha. I only got a brief glance at her long red hair before they went into Brian's room and closed the door. Not long after, Saeldur and Josen exited the bedroom and Saeldur pulled Josen out into the back yard.

Josen was breathing hard and fast. I watched as Saeldur moved in close to him only to be pushed away. Sean knelt in front of him, refusing to budge and spoke in hushed tones. I saw Josen nod and slump back into the seat.

"Daddy J, we need to go outside. I have to help." Anthony said while grabbing my hand. I looked at Alex and nodded when Anthony started to pull on him too. "Come on."

I wasn't sure what a five year old could do to help, and was even more confused when he climbed up on Josen's lap and rested his little hand over Sean's as it lay on Josen's chest.

"What—"

"He is calming his soul," TJ said.

He and Saeldur had taken up space on either side of Sean. I could see the strain on Sean's face, whereas Anthony just settled in, slipping his hand beneath Sean's and closing his eyes.

Adrian walked up and put a hand on my shoulder. "It is a gift," he said reminding me of the conversation we'd had at the motel cabin. He smiled when he saw my understanding.

Mandy rested a hand on Anthony's head then bent to kiss his hair before returning to Adrian. They walked out to the end of the yard and sat in the grass to wait, and watch.

Alex and I took seats to the right of Josen. TJ lifted Sean into his arms when he began to slip to the side and took a seat to the left. Anthony snuggled in closer to Josen, never lifting his hand. It glowed, and I marveled at the power flowing through our son.

I knew the wait was over when Josen opened his eyes. Sean had gone inside but returned as Josen began to look around. When his eyes stopped on Adrian, Sean said, "He has found his soul."

"And Mandy has found hers." Alex gripped my hand and smiled. "We've come to the end of the line. We just didn't know that the line was drawn for more than only Josh and me."

I looked up at the patio door when Brian stepped out. He blinked a couple of times before his eyes settled in on Josen as he stood to move closer.

Josen had been correct when he'd said his eyes were beautiful. Gold and green sparkles lit up like fireflies in a backdrop of soft brown.

Josen lifted a hand to the long bangs that threatened to hide those eyes and pushed them to the side. He cupped Brian's cheek then slid his hand to the back of head. Before pulling him in for their first kiss, he said, "Mine."

It brought back memories of running on the beach and being brought to an abrupt halt as my own wet dream walked out of the ocean. I'd kissed him that day with the same thought running through my mind. Mine. Always. Through life or death, we would always find each other if parted. Even if we have to wait in the starlight to get there.

The End?