RockScars

It’s been a week since Daisy came to stay at Vengeance manor and everyone seemed to adjust to having her there. There were of course a few exceptions. Vengeance had put the word out about the missing girl and even had a few of his friends on the police force trying to find her parents, but everyone seemed to come up empty.

“Hi ya, Mr. Gates.” Daisy entered the classroom early as she had been instructed to do so by Vengeance.

Gates stopped what he was doing and leaned back in his chair. While Daisy sat, he looked her over and forced himself to bite back what he was thinking. If her hair gets any higher, she could hide a bird’s nest in there. Say it Gates, you know you wanna.

“Daisy, I want to talk about something other than what I teach in my class.”

“Oh you mean like the weather n stuff?”

Gates bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from snapping. “No. I want to talk about you and well, your demeanor so to speak.”

Daisy looked confused. “I aint sure I get your meaning. Mr. Gates.”

Gates picked up his pen and started tapping it on his desk. He lifted his eyes up to look at Daisy, but her eyes were focused on the pen. “It’s the way you speak, the things that come out of your mouth. Incase you haven’t noticed, no one else talks like you do.”

“Oh I noticed for sure,” she nodded.

He stopped tapping the pencil and put it down on the desk. “Can you at least try and fit in? Try and be like everyone else? Some of the things you say disrupt my classroom and it is really quite annoying to tell you the truth.”

Daisy managed to put on a smile and look unaffected. “Well, I guess I could try.”

“That would be greatly appreciated,” he nodded. “You can go see The Rev now. I’ll see you back here later for class.”

Daisy stood up and picked up her backpack. “Mr. Gates?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe, where ever it is I come from, you’re the one who talks different.”

Gates didn’t know what to say to that; he just sat there watching her walk out of his classroom. But those words would stick with him throughout the rest of the evening.

When Daisy did return to his class later that evening, she was quiet. Didn’t raise her hand to participate in the discussion and didn’t interrupt the class with a silly question. She didn’t even talk to Twyla. She took notes as the other students did when Gates spoke although she had no idea what she was writing down. She kept her textbook open and read along as everyone else did and didn’t question the big words. All the while, she managed to keep her smile on her face.

Gates wasn’t faring so well. Someone in his classroom was in extreme pain and he felt it all the way down to his bones. It couldn’t have been Twyla because she would never have hid her pain from him. Yet none of the students appeared as if something was bothering them. When class finally let out, Gates was the first one out the door.

********

“What’s going on?” Twyla walked into the living room after class let out only to see Shadows and Vengeance waiting for her. Lark sat on the floor eating cookies while waiting for Shadows.

Vengeance walked over to her and put his hand on her lower back ushering her over to the couch. “Sit down, Twyla, we need to talk.”

Twyla sat down on the couch looking back and forth between both Vengeance and Shadows. “What’s this about? Why is my sister’s suitcase by the door?”

Vengeance held up his hand. “Hold on. One question at a time.” He looked at Shadows and then back at her. “Lark is going to live with Shadows at the guest house.”

“WHAT?” Twyla stood straight up and Vengeance set his hand on her shoulder.

“Sit down, let me explain.”

“No!”

“Twyla,” his hand squeezed her shoulder harder. “Sit down.” She nodded and did as he asked.

“Shadows is Lark’s guardian now.”

“No,” Twyla whispered. “You can’t let that happen.”

Vengeance knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her knee. “It’s going to happen, Twyla. It has to happen.”

Lark got up from the floor and walked over to Shadows and jerked on his hand til he looked down at her. “I have more cookies?” Shadows knelt down and Lark giggled.

“Two more cookies and that’s it.” He tapped her nose and she ran off to the kitchen to her cookies.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Twyla looked at Vengeance while waiting for an answer.

“We didn’t do this to you.” Vengeance looked at Shadows and Shadows took a paper out of his back pocket and handed it to Vengeance. “You parents wanted this.”

“NO!” Twyla shook her head. “You’re both fucking crazy!”

Vengeance was none too pleased with her little attitude. “I don’t think you should be speaking that way to me.”

“I don’t really give a fuck what you think right now!”

“Twyla, I swear one more word out of your mouth and you’ll regret it.”

She quieted down knowing Vengeance never made an idle threat. “Read this.” He handed her the paper and she opened it and looked down at it.

“My eyes,” she whispered. “Can you read it to me?”

Vengeance nodded and took the paper out of her hand. Twyla was wringing her hands together nervously. Shadows couldn’t help feeling bad for her.

On this Earth, there is life and there is death. Sometimes, through one comes the other. When two worlds collide, there will be a war. This war will span ten years long. Death is imminent and in the face of death a child will be born.

The child, a female, whom shall be called Lark, will be born with the gift to end all future wars. She will live unable to hear a single word, but her vision will tell of what’s to come. Her gift is one that requires careful guarding for she will not understand how important her gift truly is until she has reached adulthood.

I give to her this gift knowing before she was even conceived that she would be the tie that can bind the two worlds together. On the hour of my death, I shall leave both my children in the capable guardianship of Vengeance.

A time will come when this will change. When Lark starts to come into her gift, her life and her guardianship will be turned over to Shadows. Shadows and the child will share a bond only they can understand and for that he will raise her as his own. He will guide her, train her to use her gift and keep her in his care until she takes a husband. He will be kind, yet firm as well as patient. Should the need arise; he will lay down his life to protect her and her gift. No one will ever be able to break the bond between the two of them. Even in death they shall be bonded.

This is my last will and testament.

Lance.

Twyla looked like she was going to cry. Vengeance folded the paper and put it in his pocket. No one could seem to find the words to speak. Shadows was holding Lark and she was resting her head on his shoulder trying to fight from falling asleep.

“We should get going, she’s falling asleep.”

Vengeance nodded and Shadows carried Lark out the front door and back to the guesthouse. Twyla shook her head and with Shadows finally out of sight, she let her tears fall. “What about me?”

“Twyla, you’ll see your sister when ever you want. I’ve made that a condition and Shadows will abide by it.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she cried.

“What then?”

Twyla wiped her eyes and looked at Vengeance. “Didn’t I matter to my parents too?”

“Of course you did. You just have a different purpose in life.”

“Yeah, my purpose is to go blind apparently.” Twyla stood and shook her head. “I think I just want to be alone for a while.”

Vengeance stepped back so she could pass and watched her walk out of the room. If only she knew what life had in store for her…one day.

About twenty minutes later, Twyla found herself in the back yard staring up at the moon. They sky was clear as could be Perfect skies with no rain…and the night air was cool. Not cool enough to need a jacket, but cool nonetheless.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Get lost, Shadows.”

Shadows stood less than a foot away from her with his hands on his hips shaking his head.

“Shouldn’t you be watching over the precious one?” Bitter much?

“Johnny’s with her.”

Twyla chuckled to herself. “You may as well have left her alone.”

Shadows took two steps towards her. “What is your fucking problem, Twyla?” She turned around to face him, but he wasn’t going to let her answer. “Ever since you came here you’ve been nothing but a damn bitch to me. Why? What the fuck did I do to make you hate me so much?”

Twyla closed the small gap between them walking fight up to him and hurling herself at him as hard as she could. He caught her around the waist and laughed right in her face.

“Is that your answer? To try and hit me?”

She pulled back her arm and punched him in the jaw as hard as she could, but again, he just laughed in her face. “I hate you!”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You made that clear.” He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to the pool. “I really think you need to cool off a little bit.” Next thing she knew, Twyla was in the pool.

When she surfaced above the water, Shadows was squatting down in front of the pool smirking. “You better fucking grow up, little girl. For your sister’s sake and for yours.” He left her there even more pissed off than she was before.