Storm Brew

Nathaniel never took a seat but he made me take one and he was hovering at my side, hand placed on my shoulder. I was aware of the door being locked—not just closed. I tried not to shift around as much as I could, Nate seemed assured enough that this woman wouldn't pull a gun from under a table and shoot us, so it helped a little.

"You look..." Megan paused sitting behind her red-wood desk. "Like your Mother—your hair color, that is." Hmm, what a nice way to start a conversation as awkward as this one...

It was true though. Despite my deeper blue eyes, darker hair and lighter skin—I was every bit like my Mother. I never saw any resemblance to my Father with his platinum hair and gray eyes. Yet, no one had ever said it to me which didn't come as a surprise, since my Mother wasn't around and didn't leave photos hanging about the house so I could take them for show-and-tell.

Megan's monolid eyes set on me at long last—she'd been eying Nate for a little while.

"Me and your Mom were friends—good friends." She stated twisting her hands slightly, the discomfort was visible.

After baring a deep sigh I knew this wasn't easy for her at all. Maybe she and my Mom had been really close—best-friends-close.

"I'm sorry... this is just..." She trailed of shaking her head.

I could see Nate shift uncomfortably as Megan wiped a lone tear. Someday he'd have to tell me what his problem with crying was—right now, I tried to look soft and compassionate. It was hard since I didn't feel true loss over the person Megan was crying over—my own Mother. To feel loss you had to know a person. I hadn't known my parents. Megan rubbed the side of her head thinking of something—something old if I had to guess.

"It was a miracle she survived this long, I guess..." She mourned in a whisper. "I told her it was insane, she didn't listen though—she threw her life away..." I listened puzzled. "Your Mother's family never belonged to that Company—she had no prior generations. She didn't need to go in..."

Well, that was an utter shock. My Mother's family hadn't been rooted into the Hive. My Mom didn't need to become an assassin, she had a normal childhood. That's what Megan was saying. But then... what would cause her to become one?

"My Mom..." I rasped, Nate's thumb graced my skin and it hummed to the touch. "Why did she join the Hive—if no one belonged to it—why did she join?" I always thought that had been the reason, that my parents' families had belonged to the Hive.

Megan gave me a brief glance before closing her eyes, opening them once she faced the window.

"That's a bit of a mystery, dear. Elena never gave a reason. She was never straight with me... The only thing I know was that after a trip to Chicago she was different... and a few weeks later your Father came into the picture." There was no harsh detectable sentiment toward my Dad but I could tell some anger was being kept from unleashing itself. She probably blamed my Father for my Mom's so called 'change'. It was strange though, I wouldn't lie.

"All I know is that she began showing up with bruises and other injuries—from practice she'd say... A few months later she discovered she was pregnant," Megan faced me now. "With you." For a little second my blood became icy cold, I didn't know why, but I almost felt undesired or something. Nathaniel rubbed his fingers on the back of my shoulder trying to get me to relax. "But... we're not here to come up with reasons for your Mother's decisions."

Megan combed her short hair a few times before getting up from the brown office chair and sauntering over to a large bookshelf. Nate's other hand moved then, slowly but agile. I noticed where it fell to—the back of his jeans, where he kept his gun. I couldn't blame him for being protective and distrustful. When he saw Megan pulling a few heavy books from a shelf he seemed to study and relax his tense muscles. The stack of books she moved had been hiding a safe. My hand made it up to the one on my shoulder. What could be in that safe?

"I hoped this day wouldn't come. It would be a good thing... but it did and I have to keep my promise." My Mother's friend punched the right numbers into the safe's console.

If there was something I'd come to dislike was waiting. My blood was pumping full force in my ears—every bit of nerve tissue burned with anticipation of finding out what Megan had been asked to keep for my Mother. What she showed us caught me a little off guard. It was the size of my palm—metal, maybe platinum—shaped in a sun and, on one side, there was a thin-looking needle with a complicated end, it couldn't be larger than a regular-sized pinky finger. I knew that image. The sun… it was the same one on the silver box. And… I couldn't wait to see if I was correct. My hands worked the box to the outside. I held it a little loosely with all the emotion coursing through me, almost letting it topple to the ground if it wasn't for Nathaniel. He grabbed my hands in his, stabilizing my hold. Megan approached us looking over our hands once—then she held up what I presumed to be the key.

"A few years ago your Mother came to me and asked—begged—me to keep this in a safe place…" There was a passive wince from her lips. "She didn't want me to give it to anyone. Only if something were to happen to her, then, I should give it to you when you came knocking on my door."

That was why she felt sorry this day had come… I couldn't say it was strange—all this preparing… it was like my Mother knew she wouldn't be able to survive The Order. For what reason, though? What had she and my Father done that was so…unforgivable?

"I… thank you." I didn't know what else to say.

Megan gave a sad smile handing over the metal sun. I took it and weighed it—it reminded me of the weight I felt when I held Drew's gun. I flinched on habit, half expecting her ghost to hover—it never did.

"I'm just—" Megan's voice was washed away by the bell ringing. She looked down at her wrist watch for confirmation. "Like I was saying," she moved about closing the safe, returning the books to their rightful place. "I was only doing what Elena asked me." Megan grabbed a book bag from her desk checking its insides. "It was very unfortunate that we had to meet under these… circumstances." Megan's legs carried her to the door. "I have to teach a class right now—"

"We'll leave." I hastened to say, not wanting to cause more discomfort to this person.

Megan smiled waving at me.

"Leave when you're ready, no one ever comes in here, anyway."

Just like that the door was shut and she was gone. I honestly think she wanted to bail the minute she'd seen me… it took guts to hold herself together like that.

"Mel?" Nate called, and I noticed the level of curiosity in his tone. "Can I open it?" I blinked. Turning around to look at Nathaniel, I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, Indiana Jones knock yourself out." I joked admiring the glee he bared.

Nate was like a kid unwrapping his Christmas gifts. Carefully, he tested to see if the hole was wide enough to allow the needle-key passage. It was, just barely. He descended the needle all the way into the key-hole—gripping the sun in his hand. This key was like a one-sided doorknob, I thought. Soon, Nate was spinning it to the right—once, twice—click. My eyes sparked with anticipation. What was inside? Nathaniel lifted the needle out in order to open the silver lid. When he did… I tilted my head with a slight crease of my forehead.

"It's a… book?" Nate appeared as confused as I was.

Yeah, it was. Though, I had no idea what to expect to be inside this box—it sure wasn't a book. I skimmed my eyes across the leather cover. It belonged to The Order, it said so on it. My fingers traced the spine marked with a silver sun, just like the one on the box. What could this book hold inside? I was as curious as I was afraid. I felt goose bumps frame my arms, at first, I thought it was due a breeze coming from the cracked window but soon hot, fresh breath bathed my neck. Nate was standing behind me.

"Are you going to take a look or just admire the fine cover?"

Any other time that type of sarcasm would've earned him a nice up-side the head slap or a deep disapproving glare. This once, I allowed him to get away with it. In my head it pretty much worked like comic relief. I did want to open it, not just stare at it like it was a ticking time bomb.

It was written by hand. The calligraphy varied but there was always a common factor, it was refined. My hand traced the papery thin pages, I wasn't reading anything special yet, right now I was only admiring… until my finger caught a harder texture in the end of the book. I fast forward all the pages before it, aware of Nate wandering around the room now. Maybe he'd lost interest. The last pages were thicker, sandy-papered and they had…

"They're birth records of the original families—there were two..." I murmured reading the slight faded out text. "The last entry..." I paused doing the math in my head. "Was twenty-four years ago," I gripped the cover a little harder, wondering what this had to do with me. "Vincent Rudolph King and Kristen Michelle Lane had—"

"What did you say?" I broke out of concentration at Nate's sizzling tone. Quick, sharp and baring handfuls of disbelieve. Hesitating just a little I returned my eyes to the sand paper below. "Vincent Rudolph—"

"Not that one, the other name..." He asked quieter, eyes slit softly.

I wanted to ask what had gotten into him, but instead, I did what he wanted.

"Kristen Michelle Lane?" I ended it in a questioning tone, sort of.

I had no idea what was happening in his head—why he was reacting to a name this way. Could he know the person? It was strange, since Nate said he had only known Fredrick when it came to The Order. He could've lied, though. Back then we were more interested in getting away with blowing one another up than anything else. Nathaniel came over with long, slow steps—a weird combination, if you ask me. It was almost like he was excited about the name and at the same time dreaded seeing it written. What was even stranger was the parting of lips once he did see the name. One of his finger pads traced the fine writing, it didn't linger there—he flipped a few pages backward softly, careful not to tear them, I imagine. More birth records showed up, always from the two founding families he stopped when the woman's name showed up again, only this time it was her who'd been born. Nate's breathing itched considerably upon locking eyes with the birth date. I watched with intrigue as he hesitantly turned back to where the last entry was.

"Nate...?" I found power to ask at last. "What's wrong?" I reached out a hand to his wrist, he didn't respond for a long while.

His brandy eyes were wild and restless, one of his fists curled and uncurled.

"That name..." He muttered hollowly. "That person... that's... that's my Mother."

That's my Mother... the words didn't seem to sink. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Nate's Mother—his real one?

"But I thought she was a surgeon—"

"Assassins take on other jobs for covers." He whispered as if reciting a long learned lesson.

"There are lots of people with the same name—"

"Same birth date, too?" I closed my mouth. "Didn't think so."

Okay... getting back to thinking straight. Nathaniel was twenty-two, so his Mother had another child before Nate. I was certain this Vincent King wasn't his Father—he hadn't reacted at the name. There was something else, though. Something Nate was staring at with a tight jaw. Following his eyes, I nearly dropped the book. Oh God. I read it once, twice—but it never changed. The name didn't alter.

There were relatives who had no alike traits at all. But they had. They weren't obvious... the biggest one was their skin. Golden. Then there were the ticks—the ones I saw Nate exhibit and then...

"Aric Xander King…" I licked my lips saying the name; half afraid he'd pop-up when I did.

Aric was Nate's brother—half-brother?

I looked up and saw his eyes wide with so many things I couldn't begin to name them. It was more than certain all of this came as a shock to him. His Mother was from The Order, from a founding family... that was, probably, what Aric meant about being special. Being from a founding family gave him perks. I hadn't found out what or why but I would...

"She... he's..." Nate mumbled once I slipped my hand into his.

My heart chimed with sympathy for him, it was like when I found out my parents weren't normal Company workers. I knew what it felt like. The betrayal... On top of it though, he just learned his Mother had a family two years before he was born. It was bizarre, to say the least. Then something cut through me. Something Aric said.

She's dead. You could say she died because she didn't know how to let go. Those were Aric's words about his—their Mother. I didn't have a clue about what it meant, but I couldn't just spray it on Nate. For starters, it seemed to me she left Aric and his Dad and began anew with Nate's Father. When Nate was eight she vanished. Who's to say she wasn't alive? Maybe she faked suicide to escape The Order and, like everyone else, Aric believed she was gone? Did he even know Nate and him were half-brothers? There were so many questions and ifs, too many hypotheses.

Bam!

I gasped, the book falling from my hands. Oh you had to be kidding! Maybe I should buy a pair of handcuffs... Stuffing the book in my messenger's bag I ran out after Nathaniel before he did something stupid.

Outside I bumped into Anna in my feverish hunt for Nate. I pulled her along without sparing her a single explanation whatsoever. I was searching for the black Mustang I'd gotten so well acquainted for the last two months. There was no car in sight. Damn...

"Mel what's going on?" She asked throwing her arms out. "Seriously, you almost got us run over—"

I listened to her but searched everywhere around Campus. No sight of my boyfriend's car.

"Nate..." I started.

This was private for him, it was his life. He didn't want anyone knowing about it... I think it still applied.

"Nate what?" Growing aware, Anna looked over her shoulder. "Where—where's the car?"

I wish I knew... My hand cuddled the side of my head in a turmoil of emotions.

"Melissa," Anna's raven hair whipped around with the breeze. "What happened, did you find something? Where's Nathaniel?" She wasn't hysteric, she was rather calm—maybe a little flared tempered but that was usual.

"We found out something we weren't expecting." I couldn't betray him—I couldn't tell Anna what it was. I grabbed onto her wrist. "Do you know how to get to Dawsonville?"

If there was a place I could think of it was that one—Nate wanted answers. Aric was there. I didn't want to think what could happen if things got out of hand. And knowing Nathaniel like I did... they were bound to escalate.

"Of course I do—we went there to get you."

I nodded dumbly, chewing my lip.

"Anna," I locked our eyes. "Do you know how to steal a car?" I lowered my voice but her face still morphed in slight shock.

"Melissa Sullivan are you asking me to steal a car?" Her voice came out a tad chocked up.

I frowned softly then leaned in to whisper.

"You kill people." I deadpanned.

She tilted her head with a brief nod.

"Right, sometimes I forget." Her shrug allowed me to know she was being completely carefree as she was being honest. "I guess I wasn't waiting on that suggestion, not from you, anyway." She winked.

"Sorry, Anna, but you'll have to have to save the applauses for later—" I pulled into a deserted area of the parking lot; it was a good time since classes were going on. "We need to get to Dawsonville Forest before something bad happens..."

Anna tucked a loose hair behind her ear picking out our future-to-be stolen car.

"I don't get what's happening but fine—just what's the worst it can happen?"

"Heads might roll."

Her face mimicked a wince as she walked over to a dark blue Kia.

"Not my taste, but it will do." She added. "And whose heads are going to roll if we don't make it on time?" Anna bent her face close to the window, scrunching her face. "Good, no alarm."

"Can we just hurry, please?" I begged.

Taking me by surprise Anna tugged my messenger's bag into her hands—crash. The driver's window shattered before my eyes. Anna opened the car door through the broken window then proceeded to clean some shards from the seat. I stood behind her, mouth slightly gaping—she returned the bag to me and jerked a chin to the other side of the car. I didn't miss the small smirk of triumph once we were locked inside the blue vehicle.

"Nice to see I can still impress you." Anna tossed her hair over her shoulders. "Buckle up, girlfriend—we're gonna burn this baby's tires."

I gulped at her words because the minute I buckled the seat belt... my body rammed into the backrest—it was like going on a roller-coaster. I'd forgotten how Anna could drive fast—this car was being turned into a freaking rocket. I wouldn't be surprised if the hood flew off.

"Tell me you have a plan if the police catch us?"

Anna gave me a knowing look after glancing down at her breasts—really? No, seriously, why was I still surprised...?

"I flash them and you drive!" She sounded way too excited about this strategy.

"What if it's not a guy, what if it's a woman?"

Anna made a rough turn sending us both to the left harshly.

"Let's hope she's a lesbian—or at least appreciates nudity." Oh boy, what had I'd gotten myself into...?

I couldn't keep my mind off what we'd found out. Nate and Aric had the same Mother. My brain was sent back in time to when I first met Aric; he knew all these things about Nathaniel, his full name, his birthday, there was no way he didn't know they were related. Still, why hadn't he told Nate? Could that have any connection to me?

My head was in a twist. I needed to talk to him and read more of that book. From what I'd seen, it seemed to go back to The Order's formation, maybe it had the way they operate and things related. Maybe that was why my Mother left it for me to find or did she know Nate's Mother had been an Assassin? That Nate had a brother? So many questions and no answers; it was understandable that Nate was panicking, he had that right, I wasn't saying he didn't—but why couldn't he have taken us with him instead of running out of College, leaving us stranded?

"Are you going to fill me in on anything?" Anna perked.

I glanced over to her.

"I... it's personal for him." Was all I said.

Anna sighed.

"But it has something to do with that mysterious assassin from The Order." She stated sort of confused. "Is this something about you?"

"No," I rolled my eyes. "Aric—his name is Aric."

"Right... doesn't come with a last name I suppose?" She was trying to keep my head from spiraling with wild thoughts.

"King." I responded.

I swear there was a sudden braking and she'd gripped the wheel with more vigor—but then we were speeding up if it was possible.

"Hate it."

I chuckled shortly.