Siara’s black eyes shine through in my memory, a sight I will never forget. The very real reminder I need that we’re doing this for a reason. The motivation that allows me to put one step in front of the other.
‘It’s ready, Master,’ Xander calls drearily, tearing me away from my thoughts.
They arrive at the house with packed bags and warm smiles. From afar they look like nothing more than a normal young couple, spending the weekend away at a summer home, so aggressively mundane, so blatantly human. How endearing and simultaneously irritating.
The young boy’s heart races – not because he’s happy, not because he’s in love, but because of what he will have to do and the betrayal he will soon commit.
The young girl, on the other hand, is slow, methodical in how she interacts with the world, as if trying to remember how she used to exist here before us – before the other world she became accustomed to.
‘This is the right thing, Will.’
I can’t bring myself to look at the Godly being next to me but I can feel her eyes glancing to my face. Any other time I might have resigned to respond with silence but I’m tired. ‘It doesn’t feel like the right thing.’
‘It never does,’ she says, placing a hand on my shoulder. As the wind shifts through the small beachside town, her hand slips away, leaving me to my own thoughts.
The humans unpack the car, giving a small wave at the young blonde I had met earlier as she drives away. It had taken a lot of persuasion from Xander to entice the young girl to stay with friends in town for the weekend, giving Rye a means of transport but also adding in a potential extraneous piece in the plan. Something we can use if need be.
When she drives out of sight, they amble over to the door, Rye fumbling clumsily with the keys before allowing them entry. Hands in pocket, I tilt my head slightly to gain better audio of their conversation.
Siara coughs. ‘I thought you said someone was using it before us? Your sister didn’t seem to mention anything about staying here either.’
Rye’s heartbeat increases. ‘Oh, how strange. I guess I was mistaken.’ He laughs, a nervousness playing in his voice that I’m sure even Siara can hear. There’s a lull of silence. If she does notice, she doesn’t mention it. Watching them is like watching any other humans now. From tonight, there will be nothing that connects us together.
Sadness forms as a dull ache in my chest, one I don’t expect will go away any time soon. Maybe I’ll feel this way forever.
Xander eventually walks up alongside me, joining me in a moment of mutual silence and understanding. This could very well be the last he sees of her. From a distance. Unable to approach.
I want to apologise to him. I want to explain to him one last time why we have to do what we’re going to do but there’s no point. It’s futile. It won’t change anything and it won’t bring him any more closure. This is his goodbye. Detached and cold. And he hates me for it.
Later, past the TV binges and the experimental food concoctions, Rye convinces Siara to join him on a walk, just as planned – something I would never be able to do without creating immediate suspicion. Rye has a disarming and unassuming nature that allows anyone to follow him. He is good. Trustworthy. Which is why it’s so entertaining for me to witness him in this role where he’s not so inclined.
Now we wait.
Rye turns the heater on to a high temperature, putting on a series of astrophysics documentaries that are sure to bore Siara. As part of her nightly tradition, she ambles over to the door, locking it before fully relaxing in front of the TV.
Waiting for her slumber is like anticipating my execution.
Some part of me doesn’t want her to fall asleep because I know the moment she does is the moment the plan fully comes into play. Yet, sure enough, despite the complaining, Siara eventually falls silent and within a few minutes, Rye appears at the window, giving the signal.
By the time I wander down the conveniently perched hill to the front of the house, Siara is in bed asleep as intended. With barely a creak, Rye opens the door, greeting us with a silent nod. And once more, we wait.
I look around the small home, pieces of memory scattered throughout. A faded photo in a frame piques my interest; two young blonde children, Rye and his elder sister I assume, smiling widely. But it’s the older woman behind them, embracing them tightly, that causes me to still. Her eyes shine a bright hazel, her devilish grin reminiscent of my mother’s and her straight hair reminiscent of my father’s. Rye wanders over, noticing my curiosity.
‘That’s us and my nan, about a year or so after my parents’ accident.’
I frown, looking to him, inspecting his features. ‘What? What is it?’ he murmurs. I pick up the frame, seeing my own reflected in the glass. It’s there if you look hard enough.
She’s the right age to be Mary-Lou. I shrug, pushing the possibility away. The world isn’t that small. ‘No reason. It’s nothing.’
When Siara enters her deepest level of sleep and her breaths become slow and deep, we enter the darkness of the room. Rye steps aside, giving me space as I walk to Siara’s bedside. Siara stirs momentarily from the chill. ‘Rye, is that you?’ I freeze in my tracks, my heart in my throat.
‘Yeah, it’s me. I’m just getting something. Go back to sleep,’ he hushes from behind me. I can’t help but give him a glance of gratitude. Xander shuffles, his body tense as I raise my hand to rest against her head. Her hair is soft, her skin warm. And just like that time in the townhouse, my heart skips a beat and I hesitate. I don’t want to do this.
That lapse of rationality gives Xander the opportunity to make his move.
He darts forward. ‘No!’
Seeing Siara’s eyes spring open, I start the extraction. She gasps with recognition as the glow from my fingers illuminates the room. She cries out in protest but quickly falls quiet, her eyes glazing over in a vague gaze.
My mind races, giving a quick glance behind my shoulder at the state of Xander. Surprisingly, he has been pinned to the ground by a desperate Rye. Clearly, the human is stronger than what I have given him credit for. The human’s eyes plead me to hurry up but I have to take my time.
Just a little longer. Just hold him a little longer. It’s almost done.
With a final wail, Xander flies his claws through the air, landing a swipe against Rye’s left shoulder and chest, just below his collarbone. Rye winces, gritting his teeth in pain as red bleeds through his shirt. Xander finds his footing, kicking Rye off him.
He runs towards me with the intended purpose to kill me to save his friendship but it’s too late. I release Siara, grasping the extracted cord in my hand and watching it die.
Xander falls to a stunted step, witnessing its demise within my hand.
Rye groans on the floor. I take a few steps over to him. ‘It’s not life threatening but it will scar. Best to tell them a wild animal did this. Go now, she will not awaken for quite a few hours yet. You know where to find her when she does.’ The human nods, taking out his phone and calling his sister. As he hangs up, he turns back. ‘What about everyone’s memories?’
‘They have already been restored,’ a voice says, the Goddess emerging from a portal in the wall. ‘Haven’t they, Will?’ I nod.
Xander’s face scrunches as he stares accusingly at me. ‘You said it wasn’t you. You lied.’
I look away. ‘I needed Siara to follow us. I needed her to want to follow us.’
