Chapter 2: New Beginnings
“Can I help you?” a deep voice from behind me
said. I yelped as I jumped and turned at
the sound. I blushed of course when I
saw the huge man standing in front of me.
He sheepishly grinned and apologised for startling me. It was surprising
and embarrassing since I was not used to being snuck up on.
“I-I’m looking for James Madley.” I stammered
as the sweat on my forehead started to trickle down my face. I brushed the back
of my hand across my forehead.
“Well you’ve found him. What can I do for you
kid?” he said smiling in a friendly manner.
I was relieved and stunned to see my godfather
standing in front of me. He’s about
six foot six inches tall with sandy blond hair and pale blue eyes almost the
colour of the sky in early spring. He is
a huge man, and built as solid as a brick house. He was very good looking but almost
terrifying to look at because of his size.
I guess the look on my face was what made him laugh, a deep warm
heartfelt booming laugh that made me smile in return. I relaxed slightly, took a deep breath and
handed him the letter my mother had written for him. “I’m supposed to give you
this.”
He read the letter quickly, nodded and asked me
to come inside with a motion of his hand.
“So, I guess we need to talk this out then don’t we?” he said politely.
“Where do you want me to start?” I asked “I have so many questions and
not many answers.”
He smiled softly at me “Well, why don’t you tell me how all this
happened and how you came to be here at my house?”
“Ok. Well my mom and I moved
around a lot, which I’m sure you know.
While we were in Las Cruses, New Mexico my father caught up with us, I...I
saw him.,” my voice started shaking.
“It’s OK kid, take it slow, I know you’ve had a tough go of things and
I’m here to listen. I won’t hurt you. I
promised your mother a long time ago that I would protect you with all the
resources at my disposal” he said, his voice soft and warm.
I looked at him curiously. How did he know my mother and what exactly
did he know and would he tell me? He
laughed at me again.
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you my story when you’ve finished yours.”
I sighed, swallowed the lump in my throat then
continued. “I saw my father and one of his goon’s kill her. They killed my mother. They didn’t see me hiding in the hallway. I wanted to go to the FBI or the police but
I didn’t know if it would have done any good.
My father is apparently a very powerful man.
I managed to slip away without them seeing me but I couldn’t destroy any
of the pictures and things that we normally did when we moved. So he knows what I look like now. Although he thinks I’m a brunette with brown eyes,”
I muttered with a bit of annoyance. “I stayed with my mother’s friend Stacy in New York
for a few years. But it wasn’t long before
one of my father’s family members found me again and I had to disappear. So here I am, at your door wondering what I’m
going to do, and if you’ll help me.
That’s my story.” I took a deep breath, exhaled and looked into my
godfather’s eyes waiting for his response.
He knew that I only passed along the highlights
keeping as much information to myself as possible without compromising details
that may be a bit too sensitive for the time being. He watched me with an assessing gaze, that made me feel like squirming in my seat before he responded.
“Well, you are in a pickle aren’t you?” he stated. “Well I guess you’ll be staying here until
this whole mess is sorted out. I was
waiting for this day to come, I knew it would.
Your mother was a brave lady and she lasted a lot longer than I thought
she would” he sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “I guess I had
better tell you my story and how your mother and I were connected and of course
all the parts that you don’t know about your own situation.” he looked at me
with concerned expression on his face.
My mouth dropped open at this blunt statement... I started to say
something incoherent and of course James look at me with amusement. “Hang on kid, breathe, I
think you need some water I know I need a beer.
This is going to take a while.” he rose from his chair and moved to the fridge. He grabbed a bottle of water and a beer then returned to the table and sat down sliding the water bottle to me before he spoke.
“I guess I should tell you about myself
first. Yes, I am your real godfather. Your mother and I knew each other for
years. We went to high school together and
I was like the big brother she never had.
I was always watching out for her.
When she accepted the six week exchange program to Oxford, I was
thrilled for her. She was a great nurse
but she always wanted to travel and this was the best way she could think of, school
and travel. She loved to learn new things, and she loved to write poetry. When she met your father, things moved very
quickly. I didn’t meet him until the day
of the wedding and I must say, I did not approve. I tried to warn her, I used my
contacts to look into his background.
His family is powerful and they will do whatever is necessary to achieve
their goals. Your mother was just a
means to an end for them. They wanted you.
Above all else, they wanted you, a child with a very special gift. A gift so amazing that if they could control
it, it would bring them absolute power. So your mother hid you from them. She
knew that she would die to protect you from them and she wanted nothing more
than your freedom. That you have the right to choose your own path in life.”
I looked down, I was frustrated and angry. Why had she never told me of James Madley?
And what was he talking about?
“I don’t understand...what kind of connections do you have? And what is
this ‘gift’ I’m supposed to have? And what can I do?” I asked my questions in rapid succession, I could feel the heat
of frustration radiating off my face.
“Slow down kid. It’s OK. Remember breathe... I used to work
for the government in a military secretive kind of way... that’s all I’m going
to say about that. Just know that no one
will get anywhere near you with the individuals I have watching you. They’ve been on your trail since you first
used you real name. Surprised I
see. You wouldn’t see them, they are
very good at what they do.” he smiled.
My stomach growled then. I blushed, I hated it when I did that, it
felt like my body was betraying me. My
godfather smiled.
“You must be hungry? Do you like pizza? I’ll order in.” He said grabbing his phone.
I nodded, stretched out the kinks in my back gently and got out of my
chair. Thinking food would be lovely but
I needed some time to think and organise my thoughts.
“Can I have a shower? I need to
let some of this stuff sink in before we continue” I asked James.
“Sure, the bathroom is right over there, the first door to the left of
the front door. You can have the room
down that small hall, the door on the right.
The pizza will be here in 40 minutes or so. Take your time.”
“Kay” I replied tiredly as I moved to get up from the chair.
I took a slow deep breath and grabbed my stuff
and turned towards the hall. I looked
around for the first time. James’ house
was small but cosy, an open concept with hardwood floors. The kitchen and family room are on the main
floor with a small hallway that leads to the two bedrooms. A staircase leading down to the basement was
to the right of the hallway. In the
living room there was a wood stove for heat in the winter and a set of sliding
doors leading out to a wrap around deck that looked out onto Fox Lake
I walked into the small
bathroom and turned the water on for a shower.
I undressed slowly because my ribs still hurt like hell. Looking into the mirror I saw the deep blue
black bruises that were just starting to turn yellow around the edges. I took a deep breath and flinched at the
pain. Stepping into the shower I sighed
enjoying the hot water splashing down my back.
I let the warmth soak into my shoulders and started to relax. Once my shower was done I pulled out a large
tensor bandage and wrapped it around my chest to help support my most likely broken
ribs. I pulled on a baggy tee and a pair
of shorts and then wondered back into the main living area.
When the pizza arrived James and I sat at the
table and he started our conversation again as we ate. “Well we need to get you into school, so I
guess we’ll do that tomorrow and if you want we’ll go shopping to get you some
new clothes and stuff to get you settled here.”
“Thanks that would be great” I said quietly looking at my hands. “I
didn’t bring much with me on the road. I
had to leave in a hurry.” James watched
me for a moment and then looked out the window, a look of contemplation on his
face.
We ate quietly for a while.
“James, what is this gift that I’m supposed to
have? What is it that makes me on the so
called wanted list anyway?” I asked my voice sounding frustrated as I searched
his pale blue eyes for answers.
He smiled gently at me. “I can’t be exactly
sure how it will manifest, but from what little your mother was able to find
out, you will be able to do things with your mind. I’m not exactly sure how it works and neither did
your mother. She also said that your abilities would start to manifest a few
months after your seventeenth birthday and be fully developed by your eighteenth
birthday. She said that you would either
be free to choose your own path or you would be under the control of your
father because he has a claim on you.
You are his daughter and if he stakes his claim, you will have no choice
but to obey him.”
“What do you mean by stakes his claim?
When, and how, would he be able to do that?”
“From what your mother told me and from what my friends have been able
to learn, he or technically anyone close to you, can stake a claim on you and
you wouldn’t have much choice about it.
All your father has to do is verbally state that you belong to him. I'm not sure what he actually has to say but your mother said that the only way she could think of that would keep
you safe is for you to go away on your own for your birthday. I’m not even sure if that would work to be
honest.”
“This really sucks. Mom and I
thought that running would protect me, I guess she was wrong. I really do have to face him don’t I?” I
sighed.
“Don’t worry about that right now it’ll be awhile before he finds you
here. My contacts have set up a few
decoys to keep you protected for a while.
Right now I think you should go to bed and get some sleep. I need to make a few calls and set some
things up.”
“Set things up??” I cocked my head to the side questioningly.
James smiled “Don’t worry kid, nothing for you to worry about.”
“See you in the morning?” I asked almost worried to walk away from James
in case he was too good to be true and disappeared on me.
“Ya kid. I’ll be here. I don’t have to go to work for a few
days. You’re lucky that I’m here, I was
planning on going hunting, but don’t worry I’ve changed my mind. I bet things are going to be interesting
with you around to keep me company.” he winked at me with a lopsided grin on
his face.
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