touch

In a blink, we stood in Morik’s living room. This time, toasty warmth enveloped us. He’d turned up the heat for me.

He led me to the guest room, which had changed since my last visit. A large bed with a thick white down comforter occupied the room contrasting with the deep brown walls. Heavy white panels covered the room’s only window. He’d changed the room for me and it looked beautiful. I would have been just as happy to sleep in his bed with him as we’d been doing for the last several nights.

I set my bag at the end of the bed turning to smile at him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He watched me for a moment as if waiting for something more from me.

Not knowing what he wanted, I quickly thought of a question that had been bothering me. “Morik, if you’re supposed to be an option for me, why doesn’t my touch work with you?”

“A future with me isn’t natural. What will happen can’t be predicted.” That didn’t sound very comforting. “What did you see when Brad kissed you?” he asked quietly.

I hesitated, not really wanting to talk about it, but knowing I owed him an answer. “Beatriz really. I saw Brad die. He would be really caring and someone I’d be able to care about in return. His death would hurt me, and I would confide in Beatriz. Instead of turning away from me, she’d embrace it and help me raise the kids and prepare them for what would come. We wouldn’t hide them from you…”

I looked at him suddenly concerned. “But it wasn’t just about hiding from you, was it? Is it possible that Belinda knew about Ahgred? If he’s only out at night, maybe that’s why she added that bit about shuttering the windows. That’s the only rule that hasn’t made sense so far.”

“It’s possible,” he agreed quietly, studying me. “So friendship calls to you?”

“It’s been a pretty solitary life,” I said shrugging. Only after I said the words, did I connect them with his existence and his quest for companionship.

He glanced around at the room in general lost in thought for a moment. When his gaze settled on me, he said, “I want to show you something.” Without waiting, he reached for me.

He wrapped his hand around mine and all light winked out. Cool air surrounded me as if we had stepped outside on a fall morning. Only it didn’t smell crisp and fresh. Dusty and slightly stale air filled my lungs when I breathed deeply. Under my feet, the ground felt hard and uneven. I shifted slightly and heard the slight sound of grit against stone.

“Hold on. Let me find the light.” I felt him move slightly, but his hold on my hand remained steady and sure.

A flashlight clicked on nearby. Pointed at the stone wall to my left it still blinded me. Blinking, I saw a rough stone wall and stone floor in the circle of light... the floor and wall of a cave. No water dripped eerily nearby or anything equally creepy, just a cool quiet cave.

Morik moved the beam of light slowly around the cavern. Items filled the area with walkways through the stacked collections. There were tables old and new, paintings, pottery, metal work, hutches, things that looked like old woven sacks, fish nets… was that a bowling pin? Absently, I held out my hand for the flashlight. He surrendered it with a smile and followed me as I walked among his treasures. Finally, I had a glimpse of his history the pieces of his life that helped shape him into the Morik I now knew.

“Morik, this is amazing,” I said softly looking everything over thinking of the things he’d done, the things he’d seen. A painting caught my eyes, the texture of it and the swirl of colors drawing me closer. It reminded me of his eyes.

“I thought we might find something here to add to your room,” he said beside me.

I turned with a small smile knowing he’d seen my interest. “I’d like that.”

He let me browse through his things for a while, moving what I liked to the side. I found a vase, an old shell comb that I couldn’t quite surrender to him, and a beautiful old chair, when I heard something in the back of the cave. Moving closer to Morik, I watched the silver swirl in his eyes as he focused on the area from which the sound originated.

“She is of the line?” a feminine voice queried from the dark.

My heart stuttered. I didn’t know if I wanted more attention from any others of Morik’s kind. Ahgred’s appearance had pushed me enough for the weekend. Make that a lifetime.

“She is. Lurel, come meet Tessa. She is dear to me.”

He said the last part quietly, and I thought he meant Lurel. My eyes searched the darkness for her. When she spoke from nearby, I jumped a little.

“Dear to you? Of course she is,” she said with a slight giggle.

I didn’t like the way she said the last part.

Apparently, Morik didn’t either. “Be nice or leave,” he growled taking me by surprise.

Worried about the reason for his anger, I moved closer to him. Just who waited out there in the dark? He reached out and twined his fingers through mine.