Chapter 15: WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGES I WILL STILL WANT YOU REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU BECOME

He paced. There was nothing else to do. Den walked down the hall toward the stairwell and back again to the open bedroom door. Grace had assured him Aria would wake up as soon as her body was prepared to accept consciousness. Den didn’t like that answer but there was nothing he could say other than a stiff “Thank you” and a nod of appreciation for trying.

Delaney hadn’t said anything this whole time, only leaned her head back against the wall and stared into space. He could only imagine what she was thinking – and then not even very well. The chaos she saw was beyond him but then his world was hard for her to comprehend. They settled on being friends and left it at that. Right now, Den needed to talk to someone he trusted. The hard part was finding the right words to explain everything that had happened and the things he assumed would happen next.

“They’ve given her a nickname,” Delaney finally said out loud, her eyes suddenly open and watching him closely. “I told you they would eventually need to call her something.”

“There wasn’t much time between you telling me that and our run in with the leeches. I didn’t have much time to come up with something suitable.”

“Do you want to know what it is?’

He stopped and stared at her in irritation. This was not the conversation he wanted to be having right now. Their existence as they knew it now was being compromised by leeches and something more sinister… and she wanted to talk about names. “What does it matter? As long as they’re not calling her something horrible, they can call her what they like.”

“You’ll want to know.” She looked smug. That was never a good sign.

“Fine. Tell me. What do they call her?”

Delaney folded her arms to her chest. “They’re calling her DG. It stands for Den’s Girl. I thought it was kind of childish myself but Heather came up with it and she’s feeling rather proud of herself. You do realize what this means, don’t you?”

“I don’t think I do. As far as I can tell, they gave her a name that attaches her to me because that’s how they know her. Through me.”

“No, silly. This means that they realize what she means to you. At first, she was ‘That Girl’ and most of them hated the fact that she was taking up all your time. You’ve failed to be the big brother they think of you as. When you came home this time, you didn’t ask Xander how the planting had gone or offer to build Becca any new houses for her animals. No one was able to sit you down and give you a run down on what they’d been doing while you were gone.”

It was hard not to roll his eyes at how silly this all was. “I was gone for a day. Not even that.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she persisted. “That’s what you do. You care about people. Since you’ve decided to let this be your home, this has been your whole world. We are your main focus. Now that she’s here, that’s changed.”

As he continued pacing, he thought about what she said but not in the same way she had offered the conversation to him. She wanted to talk about Aria and he wasn’t ready to bring her up quite yet, family crisis or not. “I have always concentrated on the family but I think I was too close to all of this. I saw the trees but not the forest. It goes back to what we were discussing earlier.”

“How so?”

“This family is broken. She saw it right away and I didn’t believe her. Not until tonight. It’s hard to explain what those leeches were like and I’ve been fighting them for years.” His jaw hurt from the force with which he’d been clenching his teeth together. As he ran his hands over his chin, trying to ease some of the ache, he realized that he hadn’t shaved since he’d first left the property three days ago. Enough had happened in that time that he was surprised he didn’t have a full beard hanging down over his chest. It certainly felt like he should. “They were on our property, Delaney. Have you thought about that? It wasn’t even on the fringes. This was the heart… the very middle of our land.”

She nodded slowly, her eyes growing dark with grief. “I realized it. As soon as Heather began screaming, I realized what was going on. And you’re right. None of noticed how lax our guard was.”

“Not our guard. There was nothing wrong with that. Now, I realize that they attacked a pair of vulnerable people but I don’t think we were the targets for that reason. Why not attack Xander when he’s out in the middle of the fields? He’s usually concentrating so hard on the plants that he wouldn’t realize what was happening. If they wanted to pick us off individually they could do that on any given day.”

“What are you thinking? Were they after you?”

“No. At least, I don’t think so. I think they were after the ground. They were going to make their stand regardless of who was there. In fact, they fell back for a time before coming at us. It was like they were surprised to see anyone there.”

Delaney began to take deep steady breaths as she put what he was saying into a form that she could understand it. He watched her come up with the same conclusion he had. “Who told you to go there?”

He didn’t want to say the name but he had to. If he was going to make Delaney understand, he needed to lay everything on the line. “Constantine.”

“Would he willing send you to face them alone?”

“I would have said no before today. I talked to you. I talked to him. That was all. No one else approached me at dinner. I was alone all day except when I was with… her.” He couldn’t bring himself to use her nickname but he didn’t dare say her name out loud either.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. And what you said about Harris today was-“

“You don’t need to worry about her.” Delaney’s eyes blazed. “I can take care of that mess on my own.”

“But what if it’s connected?”

“How could it be? My problem is with Alma. She wouldn’t… would she? Could they both… could they?”

“After I talked to… her about her powers, it started sinking in. We’ve all been pushed to use the birthright. Xander is in charge of the farm even when we could plant most of it like everyone else in town. It might look more normal that way, as well. Instead, he pushes those crops to their furthest potential. Heather is constantly wandering through the state, clearing rocks or mixing in ash for no other reason than she can. Who cares if farmers get better land out of it? It’s ridiculous. Look at how she badgers Becca to help out with the wild animals. Every time an elk gets hit by a car, she gives the poor girl grief over not helping out the community more. Putting you and Harris together makes both of you have to work less. You say it drains you. I say it gives the chaos an outlet so that it isn’t frying your brain. And it gives Harris patterns to analyze without having to constantly go find them elsewhere.”

“Our attention is being drawn inward.”

“Exactly!” He stopped pacing and punched the air with his fist for emphasis. “I don’t know what she’s up to but it’s not right.”

“Then what is Con doing?”

His righteous mood evaporated back to the fruitless search for the right puzzle pieces to put in this puzzle. “I don’t know. All I know is that Aria is turning this family upside down and I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

“What did you say her name was?”

Den’s stomach sank. He’d broken his promise to Aria to one of the people most likely to be able to do something with the information. “You didn’t hear anything, Delaney. Forget it.”

“No. I can’t. You said Aria. I know that name.” She stood up, her hands gripping the hair on the sides of her face. He could see that something had triggered a memory or a chain of information she hadn’t been accessing before. This was a look he’d seen only three or four times before when she was really concentrating. “Great goddess, I know that name. No wonder she brings up such bitter feelings in me. I thought it was just because you picked her. I thought I was absurdly jealous.”

She started to walk toward the open doorway but Den got there first, baring her entrance with his body. “No, Delaney. I promised her and you aren’t going to make me regret talking this out with you tonight.”

“You don’t understand. She’s the catalyst for all of this. She was before.”

“The fire?”

“Does she remember? How could she, though. It was bad enough that we thought it had killed her. When we couldn’t find the body, we assumed it had been completely burned up.”

“What had she done to you? Why didn’t you like her?”

“Oh, I liked her well enough. She’s always been very likeable. That was one of her character traits. Much like you make a good big brother.”

“I wish you would drop that. You make it sound as wonderful as if I was going before a firing squad.”

“Got yourself out of all those particular situations so I don’t know why you think it was such a bad time in your life. It’s just… I can’t explain it to you. She was-“

“I stepped on her toes.”

Den and Delaney stared at each other until they realized the words hadn’t come from either of them. As he looked over his shoulder, Den was torn. Seeing a healthy Aria made him able to breath better but he wanted to know what Delaney knew about her before she found out. In case… well, in case he needed to weed out the bad parts.

She reached out a hand and he set down beside her on the bed. “You’ve got that look about you again, Den. No protecting me, remember? Not until I tell you that it’s okay.”

“That was a really stupid thing you did. What if it had killed you?”

“I knew it wouldn’t kill me. And I did tell you that you would be responsible for getting us out of there.” He wanted to retort back that he would have preferred to use his original plan but she was looking around him, craning her neck to see the doorway. “Still bitter about Georgia?”

“You did more than step on my toes and you know it,” Delaney retorted from the doorway. She looked torn, as if she wanted to be by the bed but wasn’t sure how it would work out in the long run. Den wanted to shoo her away and end this talk of the past but he knew Aria well enough to know that she wouldn’t give this up until she was ready.

“The group needed leadership.”

“And I was perfectly willing to be that leader.”

“You made Mikala cry at every meal.”

“She was stupid enough to think that we were all best friends. I just dissuaded her of that notion whenever she tried to press it.” Den watched the impossible happen. As Delaney talked, she began to smile broadly with only the barest hint of moisture in her eyes. “You should have listened me. I told you it was foolish to present yourself like that.”

“I couldn’t resist. If the other three….” Aria’s face scrunched up as she tried to concentrate. Her eyes let on how bad the headache was but Den wasn’t sure if he could get her anything for the pain. Since Grace wasn’t nearby, she’d have to suffer for a bit longer. He wasn’t leaving her side even to go get her. “What were their names again? I can’t remember.”

“The three bears to your Goldilocks? Hans, Bernie and Love.”

“Oh, yes. Love. How could I have forgotten her? Worst air elemental I’d ever met but she was all we had. What happened to them?”

“A couple of scratches and a few broken bones. Nothing that didn’t mend with time and care. Bernie was never the same after that. He went rogue soon after. From time to time, I ask around to see if anyone has seen him but he’s hiding out pretty well. Love is still living in that van down on the river.”

“So you remember?” Den reached out for one of her hands but drew back, afraid to touch her. His irrational fear had come to pass. Aria was remembering the past, changing in front of his eyes. He had been hoping to hold onto her for a while longer, imprinting a need for him on her heart. Even he had to admit that it had been a long shot but he’d wanted a chance to try.

“Not everything but it’s coming back. It’s like using all that power chased away the rest of the fog in my head. I know now what I could have done to get rid of the leeches, what I’m capable of in those types of situations.”

“She was one of the strongest water elementals I’d ever met,” Delaney confirmed from the doorway. “In fact, I haven’t met anyone stronger since. And she also didn’t know when to quit. I’m assuming you haven’t lost that part of your personality, either.”

Aria smiled wryly. Her hands twisted in the blanket covering her legs, the first sign that there was something bothering her. Den was glad to see the gesture, suddenly reassured that the Aria he’d gotten to know hadn’t disappeared completely. “I guess I haven’t. Now that we’ve reminisced about old times, are you going to be able to work with me again?”

“I don’t see why not. Things have changed, Aria. It’s not just that you and I have grown up. We’ve definitely done that. But I’ve learned a thing or two about fighting these battles.”

“Don’t pick a ditzy blonde girl as an important member of the team when she can barely tie her own shoes?”

Den stifled a laugh. He loved watching Aria get sarcastic, especially when it wasn’t directed at him. She had a way of lowering her eyelashes to half-mast as if hiding all her own laughter inside. It wasn’t a move designed to be sexy but he couldn’t help thinking of the way her lashes curved on her pale cheeks or the quirk of her mouth that made it even more kissable.

Delaney didn’t find her nearly as funny as he did. She folded her arms and leaned against the door jam, getting comfortable and making a statement about where she planned on standing for the rest of this conversation. “That, too. But I know something now that I didn’t know before. We were trying to save the world, Aria. It’s not possible.”

“Sure it is.”

“No. It’s not. The leeches aren’t just in one spot. They’re all over. This is a heavy pocket of them. It’s because there’s a high concentration of the birthright. Going rogue keeps the leeches at bay. Why take out one or two when you can take out a whole bunch? The same can be said for fighting them here as opposed to every place else.”

“Earlier,” Den interrupted, “you mentioned that Aria was a catalyst.”

All the laughter dropped off Aria’s face. “Thanks a lot. Are you still labeling me? I thought you said you’d grown up?”

“I also said she was the strongest water elemental I’d ever met. There aren’t many of those around. They tend to draw larger concentrations of the bad stuff to them. It evens out the playing field.”

“Then why didn’t they destroy her?” Den turned to question his friend, not forgetting that Aria didn’t know all her story yet but needing to know more information from someone who had been there. He prayed he was wrong but it was starting to sound more and more like he wasn’t. “Why preserve her if she could mean their destruction?”

Delaney shifted her gaze away from him. That didn’t make him happy but he couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t asking easy questions. “I don’t understand it either. We assumed she was dead mostly because she was such a threat to them. It was easy to be fooled. Because we thought she was dead, we gave up. There was no hope of our plan succeeding with her. Maybe that’s what they wanted. To take her out of the equation.”

“But why not just kill her?”

“You sound like you’re disappointed they didn’t.”

Den turned back to Aria. This time taking her hand was easy and he did it without thinking. “I’m sorry but I have to know her viewpoint. Having someone who was there, who knew what those last days were like, will help me figure out these other puzzle pieces I have in my head. I’m very glad you didn’t die, then or now.”

“What if I don’t want to know what you’re trying to figure out? What if I’d rather just go on like things are at the present? I remember more of my past. It helps me to understand what exactly my birthright means. Isn’t that good enough?”

He could imagine what she would have looked like as the small child that ran from angry villagers. Her eyes were shuddered but the hurt was still leaking out of them with surprising force. It was impossible to think of anyone able to harden their hearts against her.

“I think I understand,” he replied, his words coming out slow as the pieces began to fall into place. As they did, he felt his compulsion settling over him. “Delaney, I need you to leave.”

“What?” both girls asked at the same time.

He hardened his expression as he glanced over his shoulder. “Please leave. This is between me and Aria.”

“Fine.” Delaney pushed herself away from the wall, her mouth turned into an ugly pout. In that fleeting expression, he could also see a younger version of his friend as she might have been when this all happened for the first time thirty years ago. The last thing he needed was a repeat. Until he understood more, he wanted to keep this new information under wraps and, even more importantly, he wanted to keep Aria safe.

When they were alone, Den got up and closed the door. Instead of coming back to the bed, he began pacing the light-colored room. Times like this, full of indecision and uncertainty, were easier to deal with when he was in motion. It was as if he could fool his brain into thinking he was accomplishing something instead of mulling over the same thing until he found what he was looking for.

“You remember the group of people that you knew with Delaney?”

“There are still holes in some of the memories, but yes, I do.”

“These other elementals, would you say they were competent?”

She thought about this for a moment before answering. “Hans and Bernie were very good at what they did. Love… well, she was inconsequential when it came to the birthright. She could hover in the air but that was about it. We picked her because we couldn’t find anyone else on the short notice we had. Looking back, it’s easy to see that we should have waited until we had a competent foursome. I guess we thought the rest of the group would make up for the lack we had.”

“But it’s the elementals that are important?”

“Yes. I think. No, they are important. I just can’t remember why.”

“And you were the strongest. They wanted to kill you. But they couldn’t. They decided to hide you and make your forget.”

“The leeches? I think I would have remembered living with leeches.”

“I guess I figured the discussion would never get this detailed but the leeches are the foot soldiers in this war. There are beings that rank higher up. You never see them in a small fight. They wait for the larger fights. Probably like the ones you had brewing with a pack of elementals. You were<.i> the catalyst but not the way that Delaney thinks. You weren’t the it grew so big but it probably saved you in the long run.” Taking a deep breath, Den started the part of the conversation he’d been dreading. “Tell me about the people you lived with. In Florida. What were they like?”

“You want a character sketch of everyone I knew?”

“No. Just the main ones. That management company you mentioned. Tell me about them.”

It was easy to see that she thought he was insane. With all this information swirling around him, he felt like he was. He indicated for her to start talking and she complied. “Richard and Tony are your run of the mill management team. Once I got older, I started to see them less and less. Richard was producing a play on Broadway and Tony didn’t like how the humidity made his hair curl.”

“And they were normal?”

“They didn’t have any black blobs hanging around, if that’s what you were asking. I guess they were normal. At that point, I didn’t know any different.”

“Now that you remember what preceded the fire, what is your first memory after it?”

This question made her pause again. He stopped and stared at her, willing her to understand what he was driving at without him having to spell it out for her. She might not appreciate that he was only the messenger in this situation. Other than telling her when no one was around to judge her or pass along the information to someone who might use it to harm Aria, he’d done nothing but connect some dots.

“It was probably a couple of days. No. Wait… it wasn’t a couple days. I remember now that I thought it was weird. Tony and Richard talked about what happened to my family as if I’d been a young girl. A toddler almost. They told me story after story about what had happened after the fire. How we had moved up north to get away from the taint of what happened and they discovered how much I loved to swim. There were all these stories about a swimming pool that I liked to swim at but I could never remember it. Every other part of the story made sense except for that one. I remember every puddle of water I’ve ever stepped in but none of the ones they talked about.”

“So they were feeding you stories to fill in the gaps of your memories so that you thought you’d been with them longer than you had?”

“Maybe. It seems so strange now that I would have been drawn into believing them.”

“It’s not strange. Let’s look at the facts. You were led to believe that these men rescued you and that you had every reason to be thankful to them for your life. They worked out a plan where you could still utilize your birthright so you wouldn’t question the strange feelings you had around the water. And, most importantly, they kept you complacent so you wouldn’t ask too many questions.”

She was staring at him, her mouth literally hanging open with the shock of everything he was telling her. “Complacent. That’s exactly what I was. The day I decided to fight that overwhelming feeling was the day I could feel the water talking to me. Something was lifted away from me and I was real for the first time.”

Den took a deep breath. “You were hidden from yourself. A blanket of lies and deceit.”

He stopped when she gasped. “That’s why I don’t like it when you lie to me. Even a little bit. It feels like that same feeling is creeping up on me again. I don’t like the way it makes me feel.”

This was the breakthrough he’d been hoping for. Sitting down the bed once again, he took both her hands in his. “This is the sort of thing we need to talk about. I didn’t realize that was what was affecting you. All you have to do is tell me when it happens because it will happen again. I’m only human. When I lie to you, it’s my way of protecting you.”

“They thought that, too.” She wasn’t seeing him as she looked into the distance. As she gripped his hands, Den could feel some of her fear. “They wanted to keep me safe. They wanted to keep me away… away from someone. Someone who wasn’t supposed to know about me.”

“Delaney? Someone in your group?”

“No.” She shook her head and a few tears splashed onto her cheeks. “Someone they knew. Someone they feared. Someone… I think it was someone who wanted to kill me, Den. Oh my god, it was someone who wanted me dead. I remember them talking now. Right at the beginning. Tony was afraid about someone named Constance.”

Den went blank as the name washed over him. “Constance… or Constantine?”