Forgiven

[Caira Ayryn]

HIDE! HIDE! Daniels shouted at his Prime guest. But Merik knew not where, and instead, sifted through his mind for all the well known alleyways and nooks of the Daniel household. Finally, the Prime resorted, simply, to hopping out the nearest open window in the next room. He crept swiftly and silently, without another word to his host, and only just made it in time, before Mrs. Daniels’ feet reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Hmmm.... Hun? Is that you?” she said sleepily, her eyes were half open, and it was still dark, so she was prone to stub her toe on the furniture, though she had memorized just about every single extra doily in the house.

“Yes dear?” her husband said calmly. She approached the kitchen, Merik’s clothes were dusty now, after diving head first into the hateful ground. He groaned soundlessly, and paused underneath the sill, meanwhile, he could hear both what they were saying, and the thoughts stirring in their minds. Mr. Daniels was mostly frantic, but calm, and his Mrs. was a little suspicious herself.

Suddenly, Merik felt the compulsion to take the woman hostage, and simply ask for the information he wanted to know, however, his freewill held him back. If he was to make amends with his son, he would have wanted to do it the right way, not in a way that his real father should force his foster parents to speak if they don’t want to. With a visible cringe in the dark dawn, Merik’s face twitched as he fought the curse with his willpower- a battle that he had always lost.

His eyes flickered intently, while he felt as though a thick venom was sinking into his blood. While the wife responded back, “It sounded like you were talking to someone dear, is Tom back yet?”

Daniels blinked, shocked, while his surfaces thoughts worried that Merik would read his wife’s mind, for the location of the boy. Merik did, however, it was deeper than he was able to go, for sleep was a shield against telepathic Primes like himself, though he could see dreams, those often spoke in code, hiding the subconscious's meaning so well, that even the dreamer could not derive their purpose.

“Voices? No it was just me hun, I got off duty a little early ‘cause my neck was creakin’ and thought I’d make myself a hot cuppa joe.” The wife’s eyes moved to the gas stove, it remained unlit but it was certainly a feasible lie.

“Well, I can make it for you dear, it’s no trouble.” She offered, as a good wife might do to aid and nurture her weary husband after a long day of work.

“No no, I’d feel better if I didn’t bother you, you best be going back to bed, and I’ll be up there soon.” Daniels was almost too hasty, but the wife submitted to her body’s fatigue, and her mind’s temptation.

“Well... Okay, but let me know if you want some food, there’s biscuits in the fridge and a cooked patty on the same plate. All ya gotta do is heat it up.” The wife said no more, and ventured on back up the stairs.

After Daniels breathed a sure breath of relief, and felt he had waited long enough for her to fall back into a peaceful slumber -though he would confirm this with Merik- Daniels popped his head out of the window sill, speaking no words, but turning his head around for Merik. He was not on this side of the house. Suspicion grew in the dark pits of the man’s heart again, until he turned his head around, with anger, and pulled his shoulders in from the open window, steaming with worry and regret, and fear for his wife.

As he stood up and straightened himself, he nearly ran into Merik’s tall posture. Daniels jumped, Merik seemed amused, and while he was a little dirty, he showed no signs of having disturbed Mr. Daniels wife. Daniels realized what true trouble his family was in, when a telepathic Prime with little boundaries went looking. He could have taken her, killed his wife. Though that was not in the Prime’s nature, that was the nature of the curse.