CHAPTER 24
Two Princes
I was in heaven. School was going well, except for Statistics; I had a fun job; Georgia turned out to be great; my family seemed happy; and I had a gorgeous, rich boyfriend with super powers. Life was, as they say, good.
It was autumn in Georgia and the nursery was now open only on weekends. That gave me time to take Michael up on his offer to tutor me in Statistics. I had put it off initially to placate Ty, although he hadn't asked me to. But after he had completely opened up to me, I didn't want to jeopardize our new-found closeness. However, the "C" I made on my first quarter report card now made tutoring unavoidable. Michael and I rendezvoused every day on my back porch about fifteen minutes after Ty dropped me off. He knew that we were studying together but preferred not to talk about it. I was only too happy to comply.
My grasp of data analysis was improving and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Michael. He wasn't a "man of few words"; no, he could hold his end of a conversation, but his words were always well chosen and kind. He saw the good in everything and never seemed to get rattled.
"Essie, have you had a chance to do any more research on demons?" he asked out of the blue one day. So much for well chosen words. I didn't like this question.
"I haven't bothered. Why do you ask?"
"Why haven't you bothered? Don't you want to get to the truth?" he asked in a tone that affirmed his concern.
"And what truth is that, Michael?" I asked, slightly annoyed.
"That there are angels and demons in this world - good and evil. Demons steal, kill and destroy. They masquerade as beings of light but they are tempters and deceivers whose only purpose is to keep humans from understanding the truth. Everything that Ty says and does is contrived to captivate and there's not much you can do about it. I'm concerned that your feelings for him are blinding you to that."
"The truth is that more research isn't going to accomplish anything. I've verified everything that each of you has said. As far as I can tell, you're both telling the truth, but that truth is up for interpretation. Ty and Mara are not evil and neither are their parents. It looks to me like you're all part of the same league, just playing on different teams. And until I see something evil with my own eyes, this discussion is closed."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"What?"
"That you'll become embroiled in something evil some day and it will be too late."
"You don't need to worry about me, Michael. I can take care of myself."
"Just promise me one thing then."
"What's that?"
"Promise me that you'll think of me if you're ever in danger. I told you that I'm tuned in to you and that I can teleport. All you have to do is want for me to be there and I will be. And I promise you right now," he said unequivocally as he took my hands in his and stared into my eyes, "that I will never let anything happen to you."
"Thank..."
My thank you was unexpectedly interrupted as Ty burst through the back door.
"What the...?" he spewed as he pushed Michael aside and almost knocked him over in his chair.
I jumped up, startled. "Ty," I yelled. "Knock it off. He wasn't doing anything wrong."
"He doesn't get to hold your hands and be your protector. That's my job," he yelled back at me.
Michael had gotten up from his chair, prepared to defend himself. "Ty, calm down. Think about where you are. If you want to talk about this, let's leave Essie's house."
"The only thing I have to say to you is, 'Keep your hands off her'. I know what you're doing, Powers. You think you can use the time at work or these tutoring sessions to fill her head with lies about me. Why don't you just tell her how you feel so that it's out in the open. She thinks you're just being nice, but we both know that it's more than that. You think she should be with you, that you'd be better for her. Go ahead, tell her."
Michael looked at me, then looked down.
"Is that true, Michael? Are the job and the tutoring just a ruse?"
"You don't believe that, Essie," he said somberly. "We needed someone at the nursery and you were the first person to apply. You've done a great job there. We wouldn't keep you on if that weren't true. And as far as the tutoring goes, you asked me for help. I think you'll agree that we've accomplished a lot during our sessions. I don't need to try to deceive you. You'll eventually see Ty for who he really is and I just want you to be forewarned. To be fair, he is right about my feelings for you. But I wouldn't do anything underhanded in an attempt to steal you. I don't need to. I told you before that I'm always honest and that hasn't changed.
"You are meant for me, Essie. In your heart, you know it, too. You knew it from the first second you recognized me at the nursery. Ty knows it, too. That's why he intercepted you before we had a chance to meet."
"You see, Ess. I told you all along that he was trying to come between us. He just admitted it."
I sighed heavily, not sure what to make of Michael's admission. I looked at Ty, his face still twisted in anger. I looked at Michael, the embodiment of tranquility.
"Michael, I think it's best if you leave now. Thank you for your help today. I'll see you at school tomorrow."
He looked only at me and smiled. "See you."
"See you."
In an instant, he was gone; his super-speedy departure leaving the plants on the deck rustling in his wake.
Ty collapsed into the chair that Michael had been sitting in. "I'm sorry that I had to do that, Ess. But you needed to know the truth."
"Funny, that's exactly what he said."
"Tell me what he said. Exactly."
"You mean you weren't eavesdropping on our entire conversation?" I asked scornfully.
"I wasn't eavesdropping at all. I came by because I was going to go to the coffee shop and wanted to see if you could take a break from studying. I didn't know Powers would still be here. When I looked through the door and saw him holding your hands, I lost it. I'm sorry. I want to be okay with this, with you and him working or studying or whatever, but it makes me crazy, Ess. I don't want him to have the opportunity to fill your head with all of his lies."
"Is that how little you think of me? Do you think I could be swayed so easily?"
"Well, when you put it like that..."
"Ty, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him. As far as I can tell, you're both telling the truth, but that truth is up for interpretation. I also told him that I don't believe that you or your family are evil. I hope that's satisfactory because that's the best that I can do."
He brought his hands to his face and covered it for several seconds, shaking his head. I held my tongue, giving him time to compose his thoughts.
Without looking up, he said quietly, "I want to kill him."
I scarcely knew how to respond to that statement. Instinctively, I said, "You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do, but I can't," he continued, finally making eye contact. "I don't want to lose you to him, Essie. I hate it that he's able to remain calm when I know it's glaringly obvious that he gets to me. I'm sorry for allowing that to happen."
"I know," I responded sympathetically. "Let's go get that coffee."
In the car, Ty brought up something that I had hoped slipped past him.
"You didn't tell me that you recognized Powers when you applied for the job. Had you met before?"
This was going to be awkward. How could I possibly frame my response so that it didn't seem that I found that first realistic dream of Michael pleasurable? And the first dream was definitely the only one I would admit to. How much time had passed since he asked the question? Hurry up and say something, I thought frantically.
"It was nothing, that's why I didn't think to mention it."
"You didn't answer my question. Where did you recognize him from?"
"Fine. I dreamt about him before we moved here, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. When I walked into the nursery, I was momentarily surprised because he looked like the guy from my
dream. No big deal."
"And you told him that?"
"Of course not! I said he looked like someone I used to know. He was obviously referring to the look on my face."
"So, you dream about Powers," he said heedfully.
"One dream, Ty. And it wasn't my fault. I have no control over my dreams. Geez!"
"You're right. Forget about it, alright?"
"Gladly."