Bonds of Time

VIII

 "You found her?" She cut to the heart of the matter after the first ring.

"I did. And we have a problem." I paused for a moment, organizing my thoughts. I twirled twice in my desk chair, listening to her boisterous background. She waited. And finally I spoke again. "She's being possessed by his second-in-command."

Glass shattered.

"Mierda!"

"Cat, you good?" someone shouted.

"Fine." She snapped. "I'm coming." My phone beeps, signifying the end of our call. I sighed. Well, I'd gotten her attention at least.

As I passed the white form that was my bed, I tossed my phone onto it and listened to it bounce a few times before going silent as it settled. Once I faced my desk again, I stilled my childish spinning and tiredly rested my elbows on the glossy wood surface. Then I steepled my fingers and rested my chin atop them.

I'd gotten too comfortable these past years; nigh eighteen years of no threats had made me less vigilant. Or, "rusty", as they said. Even before I'd taken on this project with Catalina, it had been a few years since last I was on call.

I think back to my interaction with Amira.

"Are you strong enough?" Her voice had been light and taunting.

I rarely let myself be goaded so easily. Especially when I knew it was a trick of some kind. But I did. And now I had startled Caitlin, probably put her on edge. And learned little from Amira.

There was also something familiar about her energy. Deeper than just having met her twice. It was akin to seeing a face and finding a resemblance to someone, but not being able to pinpoint exactly to whom they resembled. Did that mean she was somehow related to someone I knew? Or was I simply grasping at straws?

His second-in-command. I wondered if Caitlin had caught and understood that. If she realized that she wasn't being possessed by just any demon, but by the favored one of Satan, Loki, Picullus, the devil. Whatever you chose to call him, he had been the symbol of "evil" for millennia.

I sensed Nathaniel a few seconds before he knocked.

"Come in."

"Hey, you alright?" Nathaniel asked as he walked in.

"I'm fine," I said a little confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Caitlin told us that she fainted and I knew you had a pretty strong reaction just before it happened..." His voice trailed off. "I feel stupid now. It's just that she was downstairs and obviously fine and you weren't." He stopped talking.

"Yes, I'm fine." A smile slipped into my voice. Then I thought about my behavior from earlier. "And I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I didn't mean to be so... curt."

"It's cool." We fell silent. "It okay if I sit? I know your rules about 'street clothes' and your bed. But I don't want to just insert my ass on your floor either."

I laughed. "Yeah, sit. Shoes?"

"Off at the front door. So what's been going on?" He asked, I hear the shift in his voice as he sits down. "We've been pretty distant with each other these last few month."

Well, I think. Caitlin's current world might be falling apart, and when you weren't caught up with work, you were with the band.

"Yes," I said instead. "I've noticed, too."

I'm turned as much to the side as I possibly could, the armrest prevented me from turning completely. He sat on the ground a few feet away from me. His head rested against my bed, creating a contrast with my dark coverlet. Initially, I was uncertain of his hair, it looked blond to me. Upon asking, Caitlin had informed me that it was a strawberry blond. And once I'd gotten a closer look in good lighting, it's never looked like anything but to me.

His head had been down, and then he looked up. I was now staring at his face. I lamented a little that I could not see his expression nor make out any specific feature.

"I didn't like it." he said softly.

"Hmm?"

"The distance." He paused, likely waiting for me to say something but I only nodded in agreement. "Got my car last week." He continued. "It's a (insert car type)"

"You did?" He'd been saving up to buy his car since we'd met in ninth grade. "And you didn't tell me?"

"The distance." He said.

"You couldn't send a text? You wouldn't even have to type, just tell Siri to do it."

"I know, but I was thinking well, she hasn't reached out to me so I won't either."

"It started after my date with Eli," I said, realization dawning slow.

"I was jealous," he said. I could hear him shift. His pants moving against the thick carpeting.

"Oh. I-I didn't realize that you, ah, liked me in that mann-way."

"Neither did I."

We're silent again.

"I do not know what to say, Nathaniel."

Was that too formal, I wondered worriedly. Even for me. And I'd almost said manner instead of way before. I had been a little "off" all day.

"Say that you'll go out with me this Friday."

I'm silent for near a minute. I began thinking about something that had crossed my mind many times. I was becoming more deeply ensconced in this world than I had allowed myself to get for a long time. I had a friend base and had gone on dates. But they were all ephemeral relationships. Depending on how I handled this, it could change Caitlin's life. And she was the priority.

If I said yes to this boy that I had known for four years, that I had become as close to as I could allow myself, it would be very easy. But what about when I was no longer needed in Caitlin's life? When she was finally ready to learn, and once she had gained all of the knowledge that I could give to her pertaining to her situation, I would have to move on. This sounded like the problem faced by so many of the immortal males in some of Caitlin and Makani's favorite novels.

Just do it, Caitlin's voice. I no longer remembered the situation that we were in, but it was a fairly constant saying of hers over the past seventeen years. With the weight of protection hanging about my shoulders, I was not the free-spirited person I usually was. Her safety was imperative, especially as a child.

I think about her voice again. But then again about the amount of complications this could cause. What if it did not work out? That would shift around the people in Caitlin's life and...

I understand that you want to devote your time to your charges, another voice, far deeper than Caitlin's slipped into my mind. But you must live, too.

"Okay," I breathed. My voice shook a little. Not from the decision that I'd made, but the voice. I must really be "off my game" if I'd let his voice filter in. And sway my decision. I breathed deeply and repeat myself. "Okay. Sure."

He got up fast and pulled me from my chair, the force causing the seat to spin away.

"Didn't think you were going to say yes," he said in my ear as he hugged me close.

I laughed. "Neither did I."