Chapter 19 Part 2

                                                                    19-2

    Gertie felt the disturbance almost as soon as it happened. She felt the presence of her Mistress, just a shred but she knew it was her. Feeling the call of her Charge, she turned from Jack’s cage where she had been feeding him sunflower seeds and closed the cage door before she went to see what was happening. She wanted to be there for her Mistress in case she needed her. Before she made it even two steps out of the kitchen Chase was already in full stride running up the stairs in two’s.

    “Damn it!” Gertie cursed knowing she could never reach them before he could because of her age and restricted motion. Even so as she started to climb the stairs Maury stepped out of the front room and leaned casually against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. The smirk on his face did more than just irritate her.

    “Forget it old woman. You won’t win this.” The smugness in his tone rattled her more than anything else had. She was so used to being alone and she remembered why now as her hatred for the guardian settled over her like a blanket. Even as a young girl they had misjudged her. She looked at him with distaste as his mouth curved into a harsh smile causing her to turn and return to the kitchen instead of getting involved with whatever was happening upstairs.

    Opening the cage door Gertie cooed at Jack and tears threatened to spill over her eyes, but she kept it at bay by thinking back to her cottage that she missed more than anything at this moment. She swore that she would never let them see her cry.

                                                                             ~~

    Chase reached Skye’s bedroom and for a moment he felt wrong crossing the threshold. A brief flash of Deacon almost caused him to miss a step until he saw the terror on Skye’s face as she fought an invisible but all too real threat within herself. He knew his knowledge of the past wasn’t going to help him now and he couldn’t stop to think about what was going to happen next. He blocked everything out except for her when he crossed the room and took hold of Skye’s arms putting himself directly into her field of vision. Even though she was looking at him, he was well aware that she couldn’t really see him with the turbulent thoughts going on inside of her head. He cursed the fact that Georgia had a grip on her that he had no idea how to break.

    His first thought was to slap her again but seeing as it was Skye he was looking at he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Managing to gently move her over to the bed and sit her down he took a deep breathe. Every now and then her brows would crease in confusion but he had no way to be sure. “Skye…” he ventured softly. “Can you hear me?” when all she did was blink he took out his cell phone and called Dominic thinking maybe he knew something, a cold shower…something to help. He would question later why he felt so protective over her.

    He reluctantly stepped away from her and dialed Dominic’s number. He waited for him to answer as he paced back and forth across the room, his eyes constantly watching Skye. On his last pass in front of the bedroom door Savannah unknowingly strode in humming to herself a tune. He had at first ignored it thinking that she should not be near her mother at this particular moment in time and then a vague recollection of the notes niggled in his mind but couldn’t place from where.

    Bringing him back to the moment he remembered that he had a phone in his ear. “Chase…what’s the matter?” Dominic’s voice filtered through the receiver.

    “Hey Boss, we have a situation here…” his words trailed off as he watched Savannah climb up the end of the bed; crawl across the quilt and under Skye’s arm to sit in her lap.

    “What’s happened? Did she come back?” Dominic sounded calm at all times but with this all being so new he was a bit on edge, not enough to crack his strength or his resolve but enough to be frustrated and wary the same time held hostage by lack of knowledge.

    Chase took a breath to reply while he watched Savannah tuck herself into Skye’s side. She didn’t say anything, she continued to hum and play with a piece of Skye’s hair that had escaped her bun on her head. Within a few minutes Skye began to blink rapidly, trying to focus and looked around the room. Breathing heavy as she digested the situation Chase could sense the panic she was beginning build and moved towards her. Before he reached her she looked down at her sweet girl unaware of seeing Savannah come in.  The last visual that Skye remembered was seeing the girls in that backyard. Her mind cycled through what had happened in what had ended up only being a few minutes. When she looked up and saw Chase standing in front of her with his phone to his ear she felt the first pangs of anxiety.

    She hugged Savannah close and kissed the top of her head hoping to ease the panic and anxiety, keeping it in check. She didn’t want to scare her youngest daughter considering she was scaring herself. Even as that thought was going through her she felt the weighing presence of Chase near her and for the first time since they had dominated her home she was glad that she wasn’t alone. Daring to look at him she whispered harshly “What happened?” her eyes were pleading with him while every fiber of herself was hoping and praying that Georgia hadn’t broken through or hurt Savannah.

    Chase saw the additional question in her eyes and said softly “You’re fine Skye, Savannah just came in a moment ago. I was here the entire time” The sigh that she released was heavy but her body relaxed all except for her arms which had her daughter pinned in her lap.

    “Mommy?” The muffled sound of Savannah’s voice trapped in the crook of her arm made her jump and she let go of the little girl. After taking a few dramatic deep breaths Savannah got up on her knees and hugged Skye around the neck, kissing her cheek. “I love you Mommy.” She said before she hopped down like nothing was unusual.

    Chase still had the phone in his hand and the conversation forgotten. Dominic was trying to tell him that he was on his way over and they would figure this all out yet Chase never heard the last words Dominic said because he was too focused on Savannah as she strode from the room. Just before she reached the door she stopped and turned to face her mother. Her little smile lit up the room.

    “Don’t worry mommy, she can’t hurt you unless you’re sad.” She said and skipped from the room.

     Skye sat dumbfounded on the edge of the bed and Chase could do nothing other than hang up the phone. He was pretty sure that Dominic was still talking but at this point couldn’t care less as he processed what had just happened. He knew that Dom would not approve of the abrupt cut off and yet it was the furthest thing from his mind.  Chase stood speechless and in awe of one so small that could have an answer to something none of them knew the answer to. He turned then to look at Skye who by now white as a sheet.

    “I am going fucking crazy…” Skye turned to face him and her eyes were wet with tears but there was no sobbing, no wailing just quiet tears streaming down her face. Wanting to go to her and wipe her tears away overwhelmed him, it was completely unexpected. His training had taught him how to put emotions aside and he did so with ease once he had a handle on the feelings stirring inside of him. Deciding to focus on something else he turned Savannah’s words over in his head and took the chance that she might be on to something. The song was familiar and he held on to that.

    He tapped his cell phone on his wrist, something he did out of habit when his brain was turning. Something came to mind; he stopped tapping and looked at her.

    “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you thinking about before you tranced out?”

    Chase had a feeling he already knew and his instincts were usually right on the button. For once he prayed that the answer wasn’t what he thought it was because grief is the hardest thing to fight. Skye looked up at him, her green eyes lined with silver as she fought back the tears. Clearing her throat she said what he knew in his heart to be true.

    Between muffled breaths she managed to work her lips. “Deacon.”

    As soon as the word was out of her mouth Skye was up and pacing, now almost frantic at what Savannah had said and what had happened. Feeling relieved that Chase was there could only calm her so much. She had felt him and so did Georgia the minute he touched her. That was when the Goddess slipped giving Skye moment she needed to grab hold of the surface, but the struggle was like wading through quicksand. Suppressing the feelings that she had was all she could do at the moment until she figured out what it all meant. More and more Georgia’s emotions were flowing freely through her and the only one of them without pain was curiosity and sometimes mild amusement.  Georgia had been caught off-guard a second time and Skye knew that would not so easily happen again.

    “So what now?” she asked, “Georgia picked up an image of Deacon out of my head and she almost had me!” She wrung her hands together in front of her so hard that they hurt leaving her some reality injected into the situation. Her fear was beating at her, nothing seemed real anymore and everything that kept her grounded felt so far away.

    Leaning up against the dresser Chase followed her pacing with his eyes trying to find something that would help her calm down and think straight. He was at a loss with her, wondering about the other versions of her and how similar they were but the time periods produced different women and reactions. Even though at her core she was the same Skye he had seen over and over again, she had been submissive and he never really had to get to know her, she was Deacons Charge and where Deacon was easy and instructive Chase was an Enforcer and for the most part a silent killer.

    Not husband material.

    “Ok, listen,” he started off and realized that there was no way that she was listening to him. He could sense the anxiety and panic overriding her senses. Skye kept pacing ignoring him until he stood up and stepped into her path. When she ran nose first into his chest she was startled, not expecting his body to be so…firm. Georgia scoffed inside her head and Skye realized through Georgia that his close proximity distracted her from being afraid. For a moment when Georgia found the way Skye reacted to him amusing in return she would calm down, especially when he was close but right now he felt way too close to her. Too close in the bedroom she shared with his cousin for many years.

    Gently he put his hands on her shoulders and she visibly relaxed and began to breathe normally. Without warning she wrapped her arms around him and started to cry, as each sob rocked through her he felt the pull towards her, protecting her and her family.

   …His family now.

Chapter 19 Part 1

    
    Now that things had settled into some normal type of pattern Skye realized that she didn’t mind the houseful as much as she had thought she would. Chase and Maury shared the guest room in shifts as they took turns sleeping in the front room to guard the door. With their extra sensitive hearing they could be up and at the door before whomever it was reached the bottom of the stairs. From Angels usual spot just outside of the kitchen there was no way anyone would get past her without a full wake and shake. When Skye asked why they needed to guard the door in the first place Maury told her that in case Gertie tried to wander or initiate the exchange of souls they would be ready, both men awake and alert in an instant.

    The fact that Georgia had made another appearance rattled them and in turn they decided that if she returned again the first thing she would try to do while she had control would be to try and leave the house in which case they would be there to stop her. When she asked Chase if she was now a prisoner in her own home he told her that she was no prisoner, but she now went nowhere without an escort.

    Gertie turned out to be a big help despite the words and curses she would spit out against Maury every time he was near her. She would cook and clean, she set up Jack in a corner of the kitchen temporarily and would sleep in the den just off of the kitchen. The room was too small to fit both her and the cage in the tiny space. Gertie had mentioned the attic and staying up there but Skye didn’t feel comfortable with that since the witch was not supposed to be there for long there was no reason to set up house for her. 

    Skye even began to get used to the smell of Sage in the house as well as other herbs Gertie put out every day. Something began to change in the banter that Gertie and Maury had begun the week with and for a minute Skye thought the old witch might have a thing for the young-ish Guardian, until she came into the kitchen one night and heard them fighting almost to the point of coming to physical blows with each other.

    At that point Skye removed Gertie from the room as Maury made obscene gestures until they cleared the area.  Skye glared at him over Gerties shoulder and all he did was glare at the back of Gerties head and his tense muscles threatened to tear through his shirt. Chase never gave any reaction to the fighting between the two. He was always looking into the age old curse and noting the events in another Journal much like Deacons, both were close at hand. The front room had been turned into a makeshift headquarters. Every now and then one of the others would show up and either add or take away information but none of the other men were ever near Gertie.

    Skye had put off going in to work or seeing Anna and Leigh over the course of the week and knew that pretty soon her best friend from up the street was going to show up at her door with a lot of questions if she didn’t physically see her soon. Making sure she talked to both of them every day made her feel normal too. Like nothing had changed. She told them both that she had unexpected family in from out of town, the same story she told Savannah and Kyra so they left her to her own devices  for the remainder of the week. The shock from both of them was not hidden and if she knew Leigh at all the curiosity was killing her at the thought of Skye with more family. She would want to see it with her own eyes.

    Up in her room, staring out of her bedroom window at the girls playing in the yard but not really seeing anything, Skye wondered how she was going to go on living like nothing was wrong. She hadn’t told Dominic about the bank foreclosing yet because the shame kept her quiet. She could tell that her new bodyguards knew something was wrong but neither of them felt the urge to ask any questions and she was thankful for that. Letting out a loose sigh she crossed her arms over her chest and had to remember to breathe as she tried to think about how to solve this problem that was ticking away day by day.

    Georgia was becoming a constant in her head, always trying to poke through the fabric and trick Skye into setting her free but a lot of the time Georgia seemed content to watch what was going on through Skye’s eyes. At first the feeling of sharing a mind felt like an intrusion but now it was beginning to feel like a part of her. Maury had told her a few days before that he knew when Georgia was watching because Skye’s eyes would become flecked with gold.

    “They feel safe.” Georgia mused.

    “Well,” she corrected “Not the large one, I have dealt with that one before.” The sound of her voice softened “He is not the brute he makes out himself to be but make no mistake he is ruthless and has no remorse for the things he does.”

    Curiosity beat at Skye then and she wanted to know more. Thinking about Chase bothered her,especially when there was someone else in her head that would analyse her thoughts as something other than innocent curiosity.  Never had Skye spent so much time with the two men that were quickly becoming part of her household. Besides the time that Cyrus spent with them learning things that he considered private, the girls spent a fair amount of time with them too. Savannah was always behind Maury as he told her stories and Kyra would sit for hours of endless silence with Chase either reading or drawing.

    It just dawned on Skye that Kyra wasn’t drawing in the sketchbook that her father had given her. Skye’s heart sunk a little more and guilt grew anew in the space left behind.

   She felt Georgia’s attention refocus on her; she could feel the interest in her feelings and why she felt that way. Like tendrils of smoke through her mind she could sense the soul sifting through her memories and an image of Deacon drifted up. Shock rippled through her and Skye immediately got angry; before she knew it she threw up a wall so fast that Georgia didn’t know what had happened and for that matter neither did Skye. Both of them were shocked and Georgia retreated quickly to her corner of Skye’s mind in complete confusion. It didn’t last long; Skye knew that although Georgia was confused, she wasn’t rattled, she was too calm.

    On the outside Skye was trembling so fiercely that she couldn’t see straight. Her vision became hazy as the scene she was looking at out the window started looking farther and farther away. She felt the tug like a rope pulling her backwards and sound warbled in her ears, in that second she clued into what was happening. Georgia had found her weakness, it was in her emotions and Georgia latched on holding on for dear life. In her grief that refused to lessen or go away, the grief that stayed with her every second of every day. Once Skye made the connection she fought close off herself and to pull herself forward, swimming against the current trying to get closer to Kyra and Savannah playing outside in the yard.

    She focused on them with everything she had but she was losing her grip. The other soul dug in and hung on, she wanted out just as much as Skye wanted to stay on the surface and she screamed inside her head, screamed for Georgia to let go and crawl back to where she came from and that only made Georgia pull that much harder.

Chapter 18 Part 3

                                                                    18-3

    Carol Anne was feeling more like herself. Her ribs were still sore but she could move around again. Robert was surprised when he called her that morning and she was up and about already but she had to thank the iron will she had suddenly acquired for that. She embraced the pain and continued her day to day chores. Going about her day, her plan was always on her mind to get away from Robert and yet she wondered why she hadn’t done so before. Now… she told herself that all she had to do was make it to her brother before Robert could find her or take the money and run.

   He had been a gentle man over the past few days, almost as if he truly regretted what he did to her but she wouldn’t buy it for one more second. If she fell into that trap again then she would never build up the courage to get out.

   He was doting on her now, bringing her flowers and little presents when he came home from work and finally once he started talking about the little antique shop in town that he loved so much. Carol Anne knew that she would have to finalize her plan to escape soon. If she could get access to her bank account before he went into the store she could be gone right then. Even if she had to hide in an alleyway until he went away and then she could get to the police station further into the city. She would buy cloths later and had already stashed some of her belongings deep in the treeline on the property that she could go back for later with her brother. She knew those woods like the back of her hand but the main thing was her getting away from him long enough to go back and retrieve the bag she stashed.

    Robert never went into the woods. From the first time he heard the wolves howling in the night and the low growls of the bears he refused to get close to them at night. Fortunately for Carrie Anne that was exactly what she needed because when she went back for her things it would be under the cover of darkness. He kept everything related to the accounts in a safe she had no access to and on him at all times. More than once it occurred to her that she could hit him and knock him out, but the fear of that not going as planned prevented her from trying it.

    Sitting alone in her sun room she mulled over what she needed to do, putting everything in place. What would happen if she couldn’t get access to her card? She would have to come back and try again. It was the only option because he was not getting her inheritance; she was not going to let that happen. It had occurred to her that she could call the bank and report the card lost or stolen but then she would have no access either until she receives a new one. Even then it would be sent to the house. She wished that there was someone that she could trust to help her. She wanted more than anything to call her brother but once he saw what Robert had done and would do to her again there would be no stopping him and Robert would be a dead man with her brother in a cell instead.

    That didn’t sit well with her on any level.

   Carol Anne stood up and paced back and forth in the sun room slowly so she didn’t agitate her injuries. Absently she gently touched the leaves of the various plants in the room feeling a sense of calm while her brain moved from one thought to the next. She had so much in her head and it took everything she had to wait and be patient. Robert normally would have been very eager to go to Odd and Ends and his patience was a shock as well. Carol Anne had met a couple of the women that worked there when they first started going to the little shop and they seemed nice enough but after Carol Anne talked to them a bit too long one day Robert decided she was best left in the park outside of the shop where he could see her from the window and he knew that she wouldn’t dare leave.

    She stopped moving and turned her attention to the window. Her eyes automatically found the tall old growth trees towards the back acres of the property. She focused on a small cluster of trees that hid the path into woods where she had her few things that she could risk taking waiting for her. Once she could get free and to a phone she could start her new life and the only thing that was causing her any grief was knowing that she would have to go far away because Robert would not stop until he found her.

    Deciding that she didn’t want to think about that, she kept telling herself as she resumed pacing the floor that she would be free soon and would never let anything or anyone ever hurt her again.

    The violence that Robert exhibited towards her made her wonder how it was possible that he had ever loved her in the first place and when everything had gone and changed. She shook her head and decided that she didn’t care anymore why or how it happened just that it had and she was done being a victim.

    Suddenly she heard a car coming up the gravel drive and rushed as much as she was able to the Foyer. One look at the security monitors mounted in the wall by the door and she could see that Robert was home. Knowing that he would take a few minutes to collect his things from the car she walked back to the sun room and sat down in the chaise pulling a blanket over her legs.

    She had done everything she could around the house even though he told her to rest and with his new demeanor she didn’t want to rock the boat by not keeping things the way he liked them. She heard the key turn in the lock and the door swish open. Two steps to the right beside the monitors she could hear the soft beeps as his fingers swiftly put in the pass-code to the alarm. His footsteps echoed as he went into the kitchen and put the bags he had on the counter.

    Holding her breath Carrie Anne wasn’t sure what persona was going to walk through the archway to her and when she heard his steps coming towards the sun room she put on her loving wife face. She was right not to breathe because when he rounded the corner and entered the room. In his arms there were lilies, pink, orange and white all large and fragrant filling the whole room up with their aroma.

    He knew that she loved them, they were her favourite flowers and something her would buy her on a regular basis when they first started dating. Even on their honeymoon he had filled the hotel room with flowers. But then he spoke the words that let her know exactly what kind of mood he was in.

    “Hello Angel…” He purred with a smile.

Chapter 18 Part 2

                                                                       18-2

    A few days later Skye’s body and mind were feeling better, her mind was still fractured but she had gotten enough of a grip on everything that she didn’t feel like she was going to have a meltdown every second of the day thus having to commit herself to a facility where she would be drugged back to some form of normalcy.

    The thought was still in her head when she entered the kitchen and saw Maury standing in front of the toaster, head tilted back, eyes closed, toast about to burn and clearly still tired after being up all night playing video games with Cyrus. The sight of him standing there, lightly swaying from side to side made her smile and as small as it was it was a smile none the less. Those had been few and far between in the recently with everything that was going on.

    “Morning,” she said casually as she glided past him. When all she got back was a grunt she smiled again. “Did my boy kick your ass…again?” she asked with a cheeky tone. Skye made it to the sliding glass door and as she picked up her cigarettes that were on the counter, both dogs came barreling through the house and into the kitchen all teeth and tongues, fully aware that the actions their human had just completed meant that they were going to go outside.

    Maury tilted his head at the chaos and cocked open one eye. “That kid…” he paused “is a lethal tactical genius.” He frowned “I guess that means I’m not?” 

    Fishing the lighter out of the cigarette pouch Skye let out a soft laugh. “I prefer to say it takes one to know one.” 

    She watched as his head snap up as he thought about what she said.  Slowly he turned to her with a self-satisfied half smile. “Thank you Skye that made my day. I’m too tired to walk over there and hug you for it though so let’s just pretend I did OK?” She had no problem with that seeing as she still barely knew Maury or Chase. Maury got a look in his eyes that made her curious enough to stop her with the sliding door barely open. Angel wedged a paw in and pushed her muscular body through the opening so quickly that Skye nearly fell over.

“What?” She inquired

“I think I just figured out how to take that son of yours down thanks to you.”

    Skye froze; her eyes went wide and shook her head. “Oh, no you don’t. If he knows you got any form of insight from me he’ll lose his mind.” Maury just grinned and stared at her nodding his head. She was pretty sure he didn’t hear a word she had just said and she couldn’t help taking comfort in the fact that there was someone there for Cyrus. They truly did have men in their family that could step up and show him how to be a man in the absence of his father.

    Just as she was mulling over the thought in her head, cigarette still unlit in hand, Chase came strolling casually into the kitchen shirtless in blue jeans with a towel thrown over one shoulder, his skin freshly damp from the shower making his skin glisten and ripple with every step he took. The man’s abs were perfect as they stretched across his tapered waist. Skye backed up a step and hit the sliding glass door at an odd angle startling herself. She recovered quickly and turned her attention to the two dogs chasing each other around the yard before either man could see the blush that hit her cheeks. Without another word she turned and took the opportunity to get herself out the door into the cool morning air, gratefully leaving the glass between the things that make you stupid and herself.

   She hadn’t had even a smidgen of interest in anyone else since she and Deacon had gotten together. She cursed herself for reacting that way and chastised herself for thinking she was being unfaithful to his memory. Chase was good looking, even more than that with his strawberry blonde hair and aqua green eyes. The strong jaw line he had like Deacon, the same jaw that Cyrus had and would become more prominent as he got older. Her mind wrestled with the reaction she had. As she tried to shove it away, Georgia spoke up in her head. “He is a fine, fine specimen of his species.” She purred from inside of her.

    “Shut up…” Skye pushed back “I’m married.” She felt the heavy weight in her heart but Georgia had no filter.

   “Ahhh…yes.” She crooned. “But I am not. The things I would do to him and have him do to me…if I liked... Wolves”

    Anger shot through Skye immediately and she wasn’t quite sure why but she stifled it just as quickly. Was it because this was her body and she wouldn’t let Georgia use it to betray her love of Deacon or was it because in the short time Chase has been in her face over the past week she felt a bond with him? Was she being protective over him like he was over her and the family? The internal debate went on between herself and Georgia to the point that she hadn’t realized that not only did she light her cigarette but had burned away to nothing so she tossed it in the nearby ashtray. While she fought this internal battle Chase had standing in front of her leaning against the closed sliding glass door with an eyebrow cocked staring at her.

   When her recognition kicked in she blushed immediately because of course, he still wasn’t wearing a shirt.

   “I…ah…I” she started. Before she could continue he cut her off.

   “She’s talking to you isn’t she.” More of a statement than it was a question in that gravely, knees weakening voice he had.

   Skye could only nod and then ever so softly she heard the low growl in his throat. She regained her self-control and asked sharply, “Dominic and Gertie are positive that she can’t take over my body as long as the incantation hasn’t been said, correct?” Chase gave her a solid dip of his head in confirmation.

    “Well then, it doesn’t matter if she’s talking to me about how hot you are then.” It was out before she could take it back and both of  Chase’s brows shot up in question. Skye put both hands up palms out in front of her and her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest. “Never mind!.. I never said that out loud, are we clear?”

   Chase’s face relaxed into a smoldering half smile that forced Skye to blush yet again as she sidestepped past him before her mouth could get her into any more trouble.

    The whole time she heard Georgia in her head laughing.