Sapphire Flame - Yasmeen J.
A lot had happened just within the last twenty-four hours and Kaena was still trying to comprehend everything. It all was a lot to take in. Asking her to leave everything she had behind to go with him to an entirely different 'realm' that she didn't even know was real for sure, was too much.
"I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I promise you, you'll be protected at all times--"
"This is crazy!" she interjected loudly. "Do you have any idea what you're asking me?! What you're telling me?! God, what the fuck is happening?! What f-fucking creatures?! What the fuck is Aedezia!" She began to freak out.
"Kaena you have to understand that you'll be safer with me and I can't stay here very long. If I could I wouldn't ask you to leave and I wouldn't expect you to believe anything I say, but everything I do is for your safety."
A hard knock at the door silenced him from going on. Both their heads turned to it. Kaena made the move to stand, but before she could even blink again he was gone and the door was opening.
She jumped up from the sofa, darting towards the door. When she got there Renée was standing there, a tight black dress around her petite body, black heels on her tiny feet, with her purse hanging on the crook of her arm, and a phone in the other hand.
He looked her up and down suspiciously. He couldn't help it.
"Uh, and who the hell are you?" she said, placing a hand on her hip.
"Renée," called Kaena. "What are you doing here?" she asked, walking up to her.
"Well," she began, stepping inside confidently, her heels clicking against the hardwood. "We have a lot of work to do today. We need to get to the office like now."
"Oh shit!" she groaned. "I completely forgot about that meeting today." During their exchange, Griffin stood watching the two women carefully.
"And uh... Who's this?" Renée gestured to him, squinting her eyes.
"Oh, right. This is Mu- uh-- well...-um--"
"Griffin," he announced.
"R-right... G-Griffin. Griffin this is Renée, my assistant."
She said nothing and continued to stare him down
"Um, I need to take a shower and then we can go," she said to her. "I'll be in the car then." She looked Griffin up and down one more time before walking back outside, shutting the door behind her.
She cleared her throat, "I'll go get ready."
"Kaena wait." He reached out and grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "Please... Think about what I've said."
She didn't reply just nodded her head, pulling away from him gently.
She let out a long-awaited breath when she got alone. She turned on the scorching hot shower water before dropping the robe and removing her underwear. Only now was she starting to feel the effects of the night before. The scratches on her arms and face began to burn slightly and her bones felt stiff and sore. She stepped into the heat of the shower. She thought furthermore about the things he said as he asked.
<><^><>
"She needs to know, Dean," said the woman pacing around the bedroom, her voice sounding hoarse but still sharp. "She's too young and you know it," the tall dark-skinned man retorted. After hearing the yelling and screaming coming from her parent's room, Kaena's curious little heart led her to the outside of their door where she listened intently.
"The only way she can control it is if she knows about. It's too dangerous." She stopped to face him. "I'm telling her," she declared.
"No. You're putting her in more danger than you think," Dean said. He sighed, approaching her before taking her in his arms. "Not now. Just give it time."
"We don't have time!" she cried to him, gripping his shirt as she buried her face in his chest. "We'll be dead before we could tell her." He stroked her dark hair to soothe her but it didn't work. The more she thought about it the angrier she got. She suddenly pushed roughly back from him.
"NO! This is exactly what she wants, she wants her weak and unaware! I refuse to let Kaena die because you don't want to tell her what she really is!"
Dean shushed her. "Keep your voice down Regina!"
Her fists balled and she growled as she stared at him with fury. The room began to quiver and the lights started to flicker. Regina felt herself beginning to lose control of the energy within her. Dean looked around the room in a panic then back at her.
"Ok ok just calm down Regina," he soothed. Kaena remained still in her spot, wide-eyed with shock.
"I-I can't," she strained.
She tried to calm her rage with everything she had in her but the power began to ooze from her. Suddenly the things that covered the dressers and tables were swiped to the floor, the mirror that hung on the wall shattered before falling, the bulb of the light that was fixed in the middle of the ceiling popped, making the room go dark. Dean jumped back from his wife and Kaena gasped loudly in fright not caring if they noticed or not.
Everything stopped. Regina's head hung low, her hair over her eyes. Her soft sobs broke the silence. She dropped to her knees as she began to wail, rocking back and forth. Dean calmed his racing heart then made his way back to her and leaned in to wrap his arms around her once again.
"I'm sorry," he said. "We'll tell her ok? We just need to be able to protect her."
"No... We can't protect her like he can. No one can."
<><^><>
They had been sitting in Kaena's office for a couple of hours. Kaena had gotten straight to work after Renee had filled her in. Her mind couldn't help but wonder. So many questions but only one kept repeating. Why didn't he find her? It didn't make sense to ask that before because it seemed as though they both were separated against their will. But after piecing together certain things, it begged the question.
"What are you doing?" asked Kaena, breaking her own thoughts as she looked up from her desk to a pacing Griffin.
He stopped mid-step and then looked at her. "Sorry. I have something on my mind. Just thinking."
"Um, Griffin?" she hesitated.
"Yes?" he answered. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She just had to know. "Why didn't you follow me?"
His head cocked to the side in confusion. "What?"
"When I left," she said. "I was a kid and I didn't have a choice whether or not I stayed, but you..." She trailed. "You could've come with us or something when I asked. I don't really know how to explain what I mean but-"
"Kaena-"
"Do you have any idea how hard it was going through everything without you after that day? You weren't just my friend, you were my rock and I needed you," she confessed, feeling the tears beginning to build.
"Even though you couldn't talk to me I could still vent to you and no one else. It's weird I know but let's face it, this whole fucking situation is beyond weird!" she raised her voice with a little frustration.
"Kaena," he said her name once more as came to sit beside her. "Listen to me," he took her face in his hands gently, "I never left you. I was always there. You have no idea how much it hurt my very soul to even be a few feet away from you. If I could have I would've been with you a long time ago but it wasn't that easy. I had to keep my distance from you. I couldn't be near you for too long, I was protecting you, the closer I was to you, the more they knew."
Her face twisted. "Who?"
"People who could've hurt you. I couldn't risk anything happening to you." She leaned into his touch, placing her hands on the top of his.
"Sorry for blaming you," she said lowly.
A knock on the door sounded. "Ms. Black?" Renée's voice called from the other side. Kaena pulled away from him reluctantly.
"Come in."
She stepped inside fully. "They're ready for you."
Kaena stood up and fixed her suit jacket. "I'll be back in about an hour..."
"I'll be here."
"Oh! By the way..." She turned back. "I-it suits you."
"What does?"
"T-the name. Griffin. It fits you b-better than Mutt."
He smiled up at her.
"Thank you."
<><^><>
Kaena caught a glimpse of the night sky then glanced down at her watch. The meeting turned out to be a little over two hours plus she handled some things to the side. Renee waited by the door for Kaena, holding it open for her to walk through.
"So," Renée started as they both strutted down the hall. "How'd you meet "Griffin"? You haven't mentioned anyone lately. Didn't know you wanted to start dating again."
"We're not dating. He's... an old friend," she informed. "I grew up with him." Wasn't one hundred percent a lie like she intended. Renée was the only true friend she'd had in the past few years but that was something she couldn't trust anyone with, not to mention that she would think she was absolutely insane. They made a turn down another hall.
"Right. A friend," she added, doubtfully.
They got to the doors of her office where Renée spotted Kaena's full bin of trash outside the doors. "Ugh! Those dumb ass janitors. This shit was supposed to be cleared out by now. Now I have to--"
"I'll take it out myself," she offered nonchalantly.
"You don't have to-"
"No, it's fine. I'll do it," she assured. "Could you tell Griffin that I'll be a minute?"
Renée nodded. Kaena bent down to gather the bag out of the bin and then made her way toward the elevator. Before she stepped out the door she grabbed a few more bags that she noticed were full.
She held her breath, tossing the bags into the foul-smelling dumpster outside at the back of the building. She then turned back to head inside, that's when someone's fist connected with her face. Hard. Causing her to fly back into a brick wall as she clenched onto her instantly aching cheek. She was quicker than before, not letting this person catch her completely off guard. Whoever these people were it was clear they weren't going to stop until Kaena was critically hurt or even dead. And she wasn't ready to be either.
She quickly faced them, seeing that their fist was coming toward her again. She ducked, causing the person to hit the wall with a crack instead.
"Ah fuck!" He stumbled back holding his most likely broken hand. Without really thinking, Kaena sent her foot straight to his crotch while he was distracted. He groaned, leaning forward now cradling his throbbing crotch.
Kaena took the opportunity to send a punch to his jaw. Blood flew from his mouth as he hit the ground. Kaena was breathing heavily, staring down at the man. She heard something fall behind her and when she turned another man was standing there, reacting quickly once again, she swung at him.
She began to panic when the man caught her hand in his and began to close his hand around hers, her bones started to crunch beneath his touch. She let out a blood-curdling scream. The man grinned, obviously taking pleasure from her pain. Kaena shrieked as he continued to crush her hand. To shut her up, he let go and began to choke her, lifting her off the ground with one hand. She fought, clawed, and kicked at him to let her go. It felt as if the man had inhuman strength but maybe it was because he was very large and muscular, she didn't know. All she knew was if he squeezed any tighter, he would kill her.
She was then dropped from his grasp. Plummeting to the ground with a thud, choking and coughing for the air that was taken from her. She heard the man grunting and struggling with another, she peered up to see Griffin sending multiple powerful punches to his face. The man apparently wasn't going down without a fight though. They began to exchange punches, one harder than the last but it didn't last very long for Griffin took the final punch from him then wrapped his arm around his neck. With a twitch of his arm, CRACK.
She knew the man had died instantly but Griffin wasn't finished. He grabbed the underside of his chin before pulling upward forcefully, ripping his jaw from his face. Blood spattered everywhere, the floor and the walls, on him, and Kaena. He dropped the body carelessly. Griffin was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with every breath of exhaustion, reminding her of the night he saved her the first time. She deeply admired the way the beast within him reflected on the outside so much.
He approached her quickly, glancing from the side looking for more danger. When he reached her he picked her up back to her feet effortlessly by her arms. She watched as another man and a woman emerged from the darkness behind him, they looked as if they were ready to pounce on him.
"I'm sorry about this."
"About wha-"
Kaena's sentence was cut short as she was pushed off her feet. Instead of meeting hard ground as she expected, darkness swallowed her whole. It happened so quickly, one moment she was stuck in some sort of empty void, and as soon as she attempted to move it was as if she was spit right back out, landing on what felt like dry grass. Her head pounded like she had a concussion which she probably did.
The next thing she knew, she was being picked up again but gentler this time. "Are you okay?" Griffin asked as he pulled her entire body into his chest, cradling her.
"Y-yeah," she stuttered. "I-I'm fine."
When her fuzzy vision cleared she glanced around herself, studying the unfamiliar place they were now in. Grey clouds crowded the dark gloomy sky, the trees that surrounded them were leafless with bark dark as ebony and branches thin and weary, the grass was tall and blew stiffly in the musty wind.
"Where are we?"
He glanced down at her then back up into the distance with admiration in his eyes before starting to take slow and heavy steps forward.
"Welcome to Aedezia."
Originally Published ~ 5/30/18
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Republished ~ 9/2/18