Airel - Aaron Patterson [127]
We decided to sit down, each of us ‘pulling up a rock,’ to soak up the rays. The sun was high in the sky, deep azure blue contrasted sharply against billowing white clouds. I thought about my mom and dad again. It was ripping me apart that they were worried sick about me, and I felt like it was within my power to go to them—it filled me with guilt. I wasn’t a prisoner, not anymore. I could just grab the keys to the Yukon and be done with it.
The only thing that kept me from going was that nagging feeling that I would do to my family what I already had done to Kim. Indirectly, sure, but still. If it wasn’t for me, Kim would never have been taken hostage and used as bait.
Then again, if it wasn’t for Michael…
“What is the great angel thinking about now?” Kim asked as she lay on her back on a huge granite boulder, sunning herself like a lizard.
“Oh, Mom and Dad,” I lied halfway. “I miss them.” Echoes of the hurt Michael had caused, along with my ebbing feelings for him, faded into the background as I forced myself to talk about something else. “And I miss my own bed and my own room. I think I won’t be graduating this year; missed too many classes.”
Kim shrugged. “No worries. You’re smart enough.” I wasn’t sure I agreed with Kim’s attitude. “Besides, Kreios can teach you anything you ever wanted to know. He’s like what, four thousand years old?”
“Something like that. I hope this’ll all be over soon. I don’t know how much more I can take. We’ve gotta get you back, too—”
“No way. This is the best vacation I’ve ever had.”
I knew she was lying for me. Trying to ease the pressure.
“Besides,” she continued, “until Stan is caught, we’re safest here. Kreios has something cooking, I can tell.” Her hands brushed away a bug that had found its way up to her cheek. I closed my eyes and tried to not think, tried not to worry. It was nice, anyway, to just lie still in the sun on a big rock. I decided to enjoy the moment.
“So what ever happened with James after we went missing?” I was curious. I hadn’t thought of him at all, but I remembered that Kim had a huge crush on him.
“Oh, James,” She sighed. “He took me out one time after, but something was not the same. He was like a shell of what he used to be. He missed Michael, and I think he took it very bad. He never talked much to begin with, but this was different. It was kinda pathetic, really. I felt like all he could think about was Michael. I just let it go; I didn’t want to be around someone who was so down all the time.”
“Well, they were best friends.” I wondered if James knew who Michael really was. I doubted it; he didn’t seem to let anyone in, even me.
“Whatever, though,” I said, trying hard again to relax and just enjoy the moment. I closed my eyes and lay my head back. It was a lazy day, and nothing to do but watch it amble on past, like an old man with a cane. It was weird, like I could hear the footsteps of the old man in my head, shuffling past in the dirt. When I realized what the sound really was, it was far too late to do anything about it.
“Hello, Airel. Did you miss me?”
Chapter VIII
Stan stood hunched over, his lips wet with blackness, a smirk on his bruised face. I could see the glowing red stone dangling around his neck. “You are an abomination, a curse, and I am here to carry out my orders.” His bloodshot eyes twitched back and forth like a whipped dog.
Kreios! I searched for him frantically.
Kim struggled to her feet and scrambled to my side. “You must have a death wish, you creepy little man!” She was trying to look tough. “Airel will tear you apart!” I elbowed her in the ribs and muttered