19. Dilemmas and talks
2205 Words
Kara closes the front door behind her and locks it, too. She can sense her mother in the living room and Teo in his own bed, sleeping already. The nice evening ended with Elio walking her home. Her shadow had a prior engagement, but Elio just wanted to make sure she came home all right. Turning out to be a nice guy.
“How was it? The talk?” Her mother asks her.
“Pour me a Whisky and I’ll tell you.” Kara chuckles.
“Now that makes me interested. We’ll go for the good stuff.” Marra responds and takes the glasses from the burro. The good bottles are locked away, just because. The key is even in the lock of the cabinet. There is really no good reason they are locked away, it was just always done this way.
Kara sits on her favourite recliner and glances in her mother’s direction. Gods! Marra went all out with Martell Napoleon Special reserve. Not a whisky, but probably the most expensive bottle in the house. She knows Mom has been saving that for a special occasion. Has something else happened? Elio didn’t say a word as they walked here. He just waved goodbye and vanished.
“Tell me you figured him out? Did the info I gave you help or not?” Marra asks again.
“It helped. I know who he is.” Kara nods. She shakes her head and smiles weakly. “Now, I’m scared. Mom! I’m really scared.”
“Oh, darling. It can’t be that bad. Not one pack in Switzerland has such a crazy Alpha as we do. There’s nothing remotely scary about them. They are peaceful wolf clans and we have nothing to fear.” Marra consoles her.
“That’s one way of looking at it. I guess.” Kara sighs. “Mattias is from Interlaken.”
“Not bad. I heard the scenery is amazing.” Marra comments.
“Wait till I get to the worst part.” Kara tells her mother. She is half inclined to start laughing. Hysterics are not good. Not appropriate and not welcomed at all.
“What could be bad about him? The one time I saw him, he looked decent and nice.” Marra inquires of her.
“His full name is Maximilian Mattias von Zimmerle. The simple and effective cover works wonders. Nobody ever questions the arts dealer Mattias Zimmer. Sounds natural, right, common.” Kara says. She waits for her mother to connect the dots. It was Marra who told her the name in the first place.
“Oh, my God! The crown prince?” Marra whispers.
“Yeah.”Kara nods. “Can you see my dilemma now? How can I ask him to fight for me, if it comes to that? He’s royalty. If something happens to him, our whole pack could be eliminated.”
“You might be right. We just don’t know enough about his father to say for sure how he would react, if something happens to his son while he’s in our territory.” Marra responds.
“Mattias said he’s on his own, with no help from his father.” Kara tells her mom. “But I’m almost certain that only applies to him winning me over. With Uncle Vito this crazy, we can’t afford a diplomatic negotiation. He would start a war.”
“We can’t afford that. We have to do this under his radar. Even if you have to run away. There’s always Skype to keep in touch.” Marra winks at her.
“You would let me go? What about the restaurant?” Kara gapes at her mother. This is a development she hasn't seen coming.
“Kara, dear. This is your future, your life, your happiness we are talking about. You are more important than the restaurant. You always were. I just didn't know how to show it.” Marra explains.
“Running is not an answer. I would like to see you from time to time, and not over Skype. And what about Teo? Not to mention what he might do to all of you, if I just go missing.” Kara shares her thoughts. “I can’t do that to you.”
“I do understand your reservations, but if all else fails, I will support you and help you run away.” Marra tells her.
“Thank you, mom.” She nods. This means a lot that her mother has her back.
“The hiding game worked. Some of the guys he brought in for the arranged marriages left on their own. Elio tells me they weren’t too keen on actually being here.” Marra changes the topic suddenly. “We might have a problem with two of them. They seem tenacious. Looks like marrying into a city pack is more appealing than all the trouble Vito can cause.”
“Really? They couldn’t be reasoned with? Could we bribe them to just go away?” Kara exclaims.
“Where would you get the money? I don’t think a couple of grand would do it? It would have to be a nice sum to make it worthwhile.” Marra inquires. “The idea is good, though.”
“It was a thought. I don’t really have much in terms of savings.” Kara shrugs. “I could ask Vesna. I know she doesn’t care about the money.”
“Let’s save that as a last resort. It’s not wise to owe the gods anything. Not even money.” Her mother shakes her head.
Mom might be right about this, Kara thinks. Asking Vesna for anything can be a double edged sword. She might not care, but you never know when something strikes her mind. They can be grateful for all the help they are getting in the form of refuge and medical attention. She wouldn’t have to do that, so they are lucky she has a soft spot for the Milano wolves. Maybe she should send her a few trays of sweets and a thank you note? It’s the least she can do.
Happy with her plan, she drops into bed with sleep on her mind. She dreams of blue eyes and luscious lips. Of kisses shared with Mattias. There is suddenly blood and screaming and she bolts upright in her bed, drenched in sweat and tears. She was the one to scream, she realizes as her mother and Teo barge into her room.
“What happened?” Her mother demands while Teo hugs her close.
“I’m sorry I woke you. I had a nightmare.” She whispers and extracts herself from the bear hug her brother gave her. She is sensitive right now and the worry she feels from him is only feeding her anxiety more.
“A premonition or a dream?” Her mother asks.
“A dream. I hope.” Kara looks over at her mother.
“We’ll talk in the morning, try to get some more sleep.” Marra smiles at her.
“Night, sis. Scaring people with nightmares is my job, not yours.” Teo winks at her.
She can remember well, his screaming all night because of a bad dream. But Teo’s nightmares stopped when he was ten. It’s just an inside joke between them now. She can’t remember the details of her dream, but it left a sour aftertaste in her mouth. She knows there will be no more sleep tonight, even if she brushes her teeth again and does yoga. Painting it is.
By the time her alarm goes off, she has a finished work of art. Standing back from the easel, she wonders what brought this around? The painting is dark, with red and orange silhouettes dancing in a circle. Is that the sun or a bloody full moon? What did she want to convey with this? What did her mind conjure up? She has no conscious recollection of painting it. It’s… new? It’s so different from the rest, she can’t place it anywhere near the other paintings she’s done.
“I like it? May I have it?” Teo chuckles from the door.
“Sure. What do you see in it? I can’t make any sense of it.” She turns to him to gauge his reaction better.
“I see people dancing around a campfire on a full moon. It’s a perfect party.” Teo tells her.
“Well. It’s yours.” She chuckles. At least someone likes it, because she can’t decide if she does or not.
“Still does not absolve you of buying me a Christmas present.” Teo nudges her and walks casually back to his room, with her new painting in his hands. He might get fresh paint all over his hands, but she thinks that he doesn’t really care about it. He got what he wanted. Her little brother finally owns a piece. He’ll probably brag all over the internet about it.
“I don’t really remember the dream.” She tells Devana over the phone. “Could you make some sense from it? I know you can read minds, I’m sure you could see what I dremt about tonight.”
“We can try. Why are you worried about it?” Devana asks her.
“I have snippets of the dream. Mattias was there, but there was also a lot of blood and screaming. I just want to make sure it was a bad dream, not a premonition.” Kara explains to the goddess.
“Ever had premonitions before?” Devana inquires.
“No, just feelings that something bad will happen. That was before I learned to close myself off from other people.” She answers.
“Come over to the hotel. I’ll text you the address.” Devana says and there is a beeping sound in the background. Is the goddess typing while they speak?
“I can be there in an hour. Thank you for this.” Kara responds.
“it won’t be pleasant. Even when you allow me to rummage around your mind, there are sensations that you feel. You being an empath, will only make it worse.” Devana tells her.
“I know.” Kara says. She is lying comfortably on the sofa in Devana’s hotel room. She needs this to clear her mind. To be sure that it was not a premonition of an event to come. “Just do it. I want to know.”
“Fine.” Devana smiles. Her hand is hovering right above Kara’s head and her vision gets blurry, because she can’t concentrate on the fingers at such a close distance. The mumbled words from Devana mean nothing and the sudden blackness feels like a blanket for her mind. She has no sense of time and place, she floats in bliss.
Kara wakes up, or better said comes to when the sun shines on her face. She glances around to see the goddess sitting on a chair not far away from her. The picture of perfect serenity is what Devana looks like. Calm, collected, and in peace.
“What did you see?” Kara whispers. She clears her throat and adds: “How long was I out?”
“You had a dream. Two actually.” Devana smiles. “You dremt about Mattias and the kisses. Your wolf dremt about killing your Uncle. A highly unusual method that she chose, but I think effective. If only you could drug your Uncle to an almost catatonic state. Somewhere in between you became aware of her dream and that woke you up. Screaming, kicking and all the rest. Your brain kind of mushed both dreams together.”
“Oh my God! I never knew she felt like that. We don’t talk much and never about Uncle Vito. Granted, he is the cause for all our problems, but consciously, we know that is not the way to get rid of him.” Kara tells Devana.
“I see her point. Dreams are just wishes that need to fly. There is no harm in them as long as you know it’s not real.” Devana winks at her.
“Thank you. I guess I need to have a conversation with my wolf. Amongst all others.” Kara sighs. “Might be the toughest one, yet.”
“I heard you solved the mystery around Mattias. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with that.” Devana tells her.
“Yeah. I do understand your reservations. Pack promises are important.” Kara chuckles. “It’s just not what I expected. He did surprise me… In a good way.”
“You are just right for him. I’m happy for you.” Devana smiles brightly. “I might be biased, though. I’m his godmother.”
“That makes me glad you like me.” Kara chuckles. “You might be a tougher problem than my Uncle. We still need to solve that one, without anyone dying in the process.”
“Oh, the Vito problem.” The goddess sighs. “My hands are tied there. I can only observe and advise. Not that I have any good advice. I feel useless.”
- Writer
