Gertie didn’t flinch when she
saw the two dogs at the top of the stairs but she stood her ground unafraid of
them only trying to calculate how she would get around them. Skye was still
trying to catch her breath and the static got louder and louder until she
couldn’t hear anything but the noise. Her head tilted towards the ceiling again
and the static ramped up like it was attached to her anxiousness.
“Please call them off Miss.”
Gertie said softly, she wasn’t pleading just simply asking to remove them from
her path and her voice was the only one to cut through the static. The sound
was raging through her ears and brain but she heard the old woman clearly. With
all of the control she could muster, “No.” Skye bit out as her stomach
threatened to betray her and make her throw up on the stairs. Gertie turned to
her slowly and her old wise eyes focused on Skye, “I can remove them myself
Miss,” she paused and returned her gaze to the canines “but they would not
remain in the condition that they are in now.” Skye was just about to tell her
where to go when the door opened and Cyrus strode in.
At first he wasn’t sure what
to make of what he was looking at. He
stopped dead taking in the strange woman in his house, his mother was hunched
over, pale holding her head in her hands while the dogs were growling
furiously. Without the sound or movement it looked like a movie that was paused
as he took it all in.
Gerties eyes went wide when
she saw him and she straightened. Her eyes went to his and over the curve of
his face, down the length of his body and back up. “Fascinating…” she whispered,
“absolutely fascinating.” In what seemed like a trance state she stepped past
Skye and as she did so the static stopped abruptly. Skye caught her breath in big
gasps as her stomach began to settle, with care she dropped her hands from her
ears that now only had a dull ringing in them. The dogs stopped growling and
came to their master’s side while Skye registered that Gertie was heading
straight for Cyrus.
Cy had no idea what to think
and with each step Gertie took towards him, he took backwards, his eyes
shifting from the old woman to his mother. Gertie kept her slow advancement on
Cyrus raising her hand and attempted to touch his hair. Skye got her legs back,
protectiveness and anger replaced the residual sickness and pain she had felt
not even seconds earlier and this sent her into motion. When he hit the wall beside
the door his skin started to crawl like there were ants moving all over his
arms and neck.
She was almost on him about
to push her hands through his long shaggy hair as Skye came up to grab her but
at the same time the front door was pushed open and Chase’s big frame stepped
through filling up the doorway. In a flash Gerties face was one of disgust and
hatred towards him, suddenly once Dominic stepped through after his she was still
holding a look of pure hatred in her eyes as she dropped to her knees and bowed
her head before him. Dom didn’t miss a beat as he put his hand out and took
hold of Cyrus’ shoulder before he could move to Skye’s side.
“Caretaker…” he growled as
he looked down at her. “Guardian…” she spat back.
Skye had a pretty certain feeling
that even after everything Dominic had told her the night before that there was
so much more that she needed to know. More than she would be able to comprehend,
like how he and Gertie knew each other, why they referred to each other the way
that they did and what the hell it all had to do with her. On top of that the
bowing? What was with that? Her headache came roaring back and leaned into the
wall, her body had been through so much in what…maybe 24 hours. Maury slipped
in behind Dom and came to her instantly urging her to put her weight on him
instead of the wall as he directed her carefully to the kitchen. Chase closed the
door as he stared sideways down at the old woman on her knees. “Stand up witch
and start talking about why you’re here, in this home.” Dominic bellowed. She
stood then and Dominic took his hand from Cy’s shoulder only to take Gertie by
her arms…he was not gentle with her as he turned her around and shoved her off
in the same direction that Maury and Skye had taken.
As much loathing as Gertie
had for Dominic she was much more enthralled with Cyrus whose eyes were wide as
questions ran through his own head mirroring Skye’s own but he had no fear of
her, only confusion. Now it was Chase that put a hand on Cyrus and gave him a
quick pat on the back but said nothing. The moment the two stepped forward to
follow the others Chases’ gaze rose to the ceiling and he smiled slightly until
he walked past Gerties forgotten luggage and a loud squawk came from beneath
the cover. Cy was startled but from ahead they heard Maury let out an
exasperated sigh. “You still have that fucking bird?” he said and when Gertie
cackled his response shut her up “I can still kill it you know.”
“Animal…” she muttered shuffling
herself to the table so she could sit and as Maury smiled Skye realized that
his canines were more prominent that she had remembered. They were larger than
she thought; they weren’t longer but still larger than your average human
canine teeth.
Before Maury and Gertie
could get into any further argument about the bird Dominic cleared his throat
and put a glass of water in front of Skye that she hadn’t even noticed he had
gone to get her. Chases large frame filled the kitchen archway as he leaned to
the left and rested himself there with his arms crossed over his chest.
“So Caretaker…” He sat down
beside Skye and nodded towards the cage in the foyer. “Spill it or I’ll let my
man here have a snack.”
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