Master of the Lights

Chapter One pt. 1

"Asa, its 50 feet from the door, " I say.

"And maybe 50 feet to your death," he argues, somehow incredibly clam.

"It will take 30 seconds."

"It takes 5 seconds for a Shadow to slit your throat."

"There's nothing out--"

"You don't know if there's 1, or 15, or 100 outside, you naive little girl."

"First of all, I'm not little, I'm 18. Second, if I can't turn the power back on then how are we going to lock the basement if we have to go down there?  You know it's electrical." Nothing. Asa is quiet. "Its probably just a drill anyway," I mumble.

"It's just a drill? You don't know that, Dekka. You don't know anything! What if it's not a drill this time?" Asa has been speaking relatively calmly until now. Now his voice fills the mostly empty house. It rises above the wind and pouring rain. "Would you go outside if you knew this is real?"

I look him in the eyes, crossing my arms, but remain silent. From the corner of my eye I see Amity, who is sitting on the edge of the kitchen table hugging her knees, look from Asa, to me, then back to Asa.

"Don't answer that." He spits the words at me as if they are bile, repulsive in his mouth.

Amity speaks up for the first time, "Guys, please. The power will probably be back on soon. You don't have to fight about it." Her words are light, trying to stop anyone from feeding the fire any further.

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Asa snaps.

"Asa!"  I hiss.  There isn't much Asa can do that will make me yell at him in this way, but needlessly yelling at Amity is on the top of that short list.  "I didn't ask for yours either, did I? No, I did not. But I listened when you gave it."

 Amity runs out of the room without looking back. I don't blame her.  I start to walk out the front door but pause and turn around before getting too far.  "Do you notice a pattern?"  I quietly ask my brother.  Asa is bigger and looks more menacing, but I have a tendency to spit fire along with my words.  "If mom and dad are gone, you target Amity.  I can't imaging her doing anything to you that would make you act like this."  I start out the door again.

  In a few strides, Asa has re-closed and locked the door and turns around to face me. With one hand he grabs my arm.  With the other he swings at my face, clipping my nose.  "Dekka you're not listening.  Why do you have to be so stubborn?"  Asa has a way of being quietly menacing.  He tries using this tactic now.

 This is not Asa. This is not me. We're not like this. We are kind to each other. Asa is quiet, but protective. I am loud, but thoughtful. Asa has never purposely hurt me, and I never thought he would.  But I guess I was wrong. I wipe my nose with the back of my hand.  Looking down I see a smear of blood arching across the back of my hand.

"This is why your parents left you." I say, pulling my arm from his grip and knowing that I was deliberately hitting a hugely sore spot.  Asa's parents left him when he was only one year old.  My parents found and unofficially adopted him just after I was born.  That was eighteen years ago.  We he was told it left him with a broken heart that never healed.

"Excuse me?" He asks.

"You heard what I said!" I shout, leaving of the room.

In the bathroom, I lock the door behind me. As I hold a wad of tissue to my nose, I hear Asa yell something unintelligible and slam a door a moment later.

* * * * * * *

I knock on Amity's door, two steamy cups in my hands. She opens the door, then crawls into her bed again, picking up a drawing pad and pencil.

 "Hey," I croak. "I made some tea if you want some." Amity nods as I sit on her bed next to her, being careful not to splash the hot, spiced goodness everywhere. "Are you okay?" I ask quietly. She shakes her head yes, but won't look me in the eyes. Sure I'm loud and obnoxious 90% of the time, but my sister is my world. She always puts up with me even when I know she would rather be anywhere but by my side. She does at least half the work when I'm sick so mom can rest. She can be weird with me, but Amity is also wise beyond her 16 years of life.  In exchange, I stand up for her when she is feeling shy at school. I help her with her homework and daily chores as often as possible, even though I have my own. I listen when she needs someone to talk to. I know my sister, and I know that she is indeed not okay.

  "Amity, are you okay sweetie?" I ask again. She shakes her head again, but this time it's a no. She sucks in a sharp breath as I wrap my arms around her body, shivering violently as silent tears escape from her eyes onto my button down.  As her crying gradually slows, I examine her alluring looks.  The shape of her face, her thin lips.  Amity has sea colored eyes; a gorgeous bluish green mix.  Unlike my waist length deep red hair, her hair is short and black.  Truly beautiful.

 Amity sits up wiping her eyes.  "Sorry. I didn't mean to start crying, but I hate to see you two going at each other like that."

  "I know, don't you worry about a thing. Its over." I whisper.

  "Thank you." Is all she says in reply. I flip the switch on the lamp next to Amity's bed, but it remains unlit. Power is still out. My stomach rumbles making us both laugh. I'm relieved to see her smiling again.

  "Tonight's dinner: hot dogs from the fireplace." I say. Amity starts to ask if I want any help making them, but I wave the words from her mouth as I walk into the hallway.

  In the kitchen, I find that we are out of both hot dog buns and normal bread. I start a fire and find some skewers to roast our dinner on.

  "Crap!" I yell, face palming myself. "Who left Iggy outside?" I scan the area through the window in the door, then quickly open and close it. My soaking wet orange and white cat -this cat is basically my child, mind you- runs straight to the fire place. I walk to the bathroom for a towel, trying to lighten my steps as I pass Asa's bedroom. After drying off a very unhappy and wet cat, I resume my search for anything that might taste good on a most likely burnt hot dog.

* * * * *

Asa doesn't join us for dinner. Instead he walks right past Amity and I as we eat. I don't turn to see Asa, but I can tell what he is doing by the sounds he makes. He opens the only squeaky cabinet to get a cup. The refrigerator door opens. He pours something liquidy into the cup, then sets something heavy back inside the fridge. Amity catches my eye, shaking her head. She knows exactly what I want to do. Asa walks past us holding a cup of probably milk and a box of cereal. As he passes me, he tries to jam his foot into my side, but I grab it and yank. Not hard enough through. Asa briefly falters, but keeps walking.