Broken (46 page)

It made sense, but didn't really help me fill
in any of the broad holes that had been bothering me for so long.
Mallory gave me several seconds to ponder her answer before
continuing.

"How is the rest of the pack? Alec will tell
me, but he'll filter his answer through what he thinks I'm able to
hear, not necessarily what I need to hear."

"They're worried. Jessica and James seem to
be the most unsettled by everything that's happened, but I think
everyone is more or less concerned. Is there someone in particular
that you were curious about?"

Mallory hesitated for a moment, and then
nodded. "How does Donovan seem to be doing?"

The question took me completely by surprise.
There was no reason it should have, but it was the last thing I
expected her to ask me.

"He's good I think. I mean I haven't been
there very long, and I don't know him or anyone else very well, so
it's hard to tell. As long as there isn't any kind of public fight
with massive amounts of bloodshed, I probably wouldn't know that
everyone is at each other's throats, but Donovan seems happy. He's
always pleasant."

The expression on Mallory's face tugged on my
heartstrings. The open vulnerability there made me cast about for
additional tidbits to tell her.

"He's one of my favorites. Rachel and I were
already friends, so it made sense that she'd be nice to me, and
Dominic at least knew who I was, but Donovan was nice to me right
from the start. It's almost like he approves of me where some of
the others aren't so sure Alec's dating me is a very good
idea."

Mallory's expression was far away as she
spoke. "Yes, he would approve of the two of you. He's the
consummate man servant, so very professional that you probably
wouldn't ever know it if he didn't like you, but I'm sure he does.
He approved of Alec's father's choice even back when most of the
pack was still, quite energetically opposed to the idea. He's
always been one to see truly."

"You are, I mean, you were close?"

Her smile turned sad. "Actually, neither. We
weren't close when there was an opportunity for closeness, and now
that I'd like very few things more than to be close to him, there's
no real opportunity for us to become so."

She patted my hand as she shrugged. "It's
rather ironic how things work out sometimes, but that's not fair on
my part. I'm sure there are things you would much rather learn of
than how I came to be in my present circumstances."

"Actually, that's part of what I want to
understand. I mean I didn't come here wanting to learn your story
specifically, but there's so much history I don't know. There's
this shared past that I'm not a part of. It's like, oh I don't
know, I think maybe learning about the past will help me understand
what's going on right now."

Mallory's sigh seemed to allude to every one
of her presumably substantial years. "How very perceptive. The past
is very much driving what's happening right now, but so much of the
past is tied up with the very things from which Alec's trying to
protect you."

I was bubbling with questions, but sensing
that now wasn't the time to push, I sat back and waited in silence
while she decided exactly how much to tell me.

"Alec's father was killed nearly two decades
ago. I don't remember everything about that night, I wasn't even
conscious for a large part of the happenings, but the pieces I do
remember are somehow sharper than they should be. Sharper in my
mind now maybe than even when they happened."

Her hand gripped mine with a fragile strength
that hinted at the vibrant, powerful woman she'd been back then.
Back before the years had worn at her.

"The pack was huge back then. Much larger
even than Brandon's is today, but all of that might didn't save
Alec's father that night. There was a nightmare of blood and death,
and when the sun finally touched the earth again the next morning,
a full third of our number were dead, and most of those who
remained were crippled. I would've been one of the former, except
for Donovan."

The questions continued to bubble up inside
me, but I throttled them down, suppressing them rather than risking
an interruption which might cause her to not finish.

"At great risk to himself he carried me away
from the site of the battle, running and swimming more miles than I
care to think about. Eventually his strength finally gave way, and
when he couldn't even crawl anymore, he found a cave and did his
best to ensure I wouldn't die from exposure. As soon as he was able
to move again, he went back and I haven't seen him since."

"But how?" The question just kind of popped
out before I could think. It could've been taken as the worst kind
of insensitivity, Mallory just gave my hand another squeeze.

"He hasn't always been crippled. In fact he
used to be a delightful dancer. His injuries were sustained at the
hands of the individuals who killed Alec's father, the same ones
who wanted to kill me, and who tortured Donovan for days before
finally accepting that I'd died from the wounds that left me like
this."

Mallory shrugged, slowly and painfully in
response to my questioning look. "My scars aren't readily visible,
but they're there. That's why Alec is forced to come move the food
he has sent to me. The scar tissue built up around my heart tends
to pull in painful ways when my pulse starts racing. I tend not to
worry about it all that much, but Alec fears it's a sign of deeper
problems. I generally humor him and leave the heavy lifting for his
visits, and we both pretend he doesn't know about the small garden
I keep in a nearby cave."

I opened my mouth, but just simply didn't
know what to say. The horror of being trapped in a body that was
riddled with old injuries was something thousands of people faced
every day, but it seemed somehow even more of a shame for someone
who'd once been so vital and strong.

Mallory's smile held only the faintest hint
of regret. "No need to feel sorry for me. I've had a good run. A
much better one than most of my friends did. If I haven't managed
to accomplish what I was sent down to do in the course of almost a
hundred and fifty years, then I've nobody to blame but myself."

"Still, I'm sorry. You seem much too nice of
a person to have had all of that happen to you."

"Nonsense. If I am kind, it's no doubt
because of those very experiences that I would've been the most
desperate to avoid. I think most of the best people are that way
exactly because of the things they've endured. Individuals like
Dominic, Rachel, and Jasmin don't just happen. They're the result
of a native goodness being tempered and refined by terrible
experiences."

Mallory suddenly doubled over in a fit of
coughing that left her white and shaking. I jumped to my feet and
almost ran for Alec, but she grabbed my hand with more of that
fragile strength, and pulled me back down.

"There isn't anything he can do for me child,
and unless I'm very much mistaken he's more than normally worried
right now. He's in no kind of way needing yet more to fret about.
Just let me catch my breath and I'll be as right as ever."

Several minutes later, once the renewed bout
of coughing had subsided, Mallory looked back up at me with wan
features.

"How did it happen? What brought things
between Brandon and our Alec to a head?"

"It was my fault. I'd been dating Brandon,
and we went to a party. Only while we were there he tried to do
things I wasn't comfortable with. When I told him no, he, they
threw me out and told me to find my own way home."

It was harder to relate the story than I'd
expected, but Mallory's cluck of disapproval over Brandon's actions
helped a little. It made me hope that maybe she wasn't going to
hate me for bringing ruin to Alec and the others.

"I was stumbling in the dark when Simon and
Nathanial came for me, only I didn't know it was them, I just saw
two enormous wolves running me down. If Alec hadn't stopped them I
think they probably would've killed me."

"Undoubtedly, but don't let it bother you
sweetie. This has been all but inevitable since Alec's father died.
From the moment they were born, I could tell that both Alec and
Brandon had been gifted with uncommon potential for power."

My blank look apparently made her take pity
on me. "I'm sorry. I forget you're not aware of my special gift. I
see inside people. Shape shifters really, but every once in a while
normal humans as well. I can see their potential, and when they
develop gifts, I can see the shape those gifts have taken."

"Gifts?"

"The most powerful of the Fir'shan, the
hybrids as the younger generation calls them, occasionally develop
unusual abilities. Alec's father's was that of being able to heal
himself more rapidly than normal, even for our kind. Thanatas, the
legendary king who defeated the southerners, was said to be able to
mold his own body, making powerful changes that made him unbeatable
in combat."

Mallory's explanation was tickling the back
of my mind. "Is that why Brandon's unbeatable?"

"Nobody is unbeatable, but yes, that's why
Brandon is such a formidable adversary. His gift is more prosaic
than most, it's just increased strength and speed, but that makes
him more than a match for most normal hybrids."

"That's why Alec had more food than normal
dropped off here then? Because he really doesn't think he can
win?"

Mallory pondered for several seconds, before
finally shrugging. "That may be unduly pessimistic. He's detail
oriented enough that part of it's probably just an insurance policy
for me in case he doesn't prevail, but there is a kernel of truth
to your concern. Alec is an incredible fighter, but Brandon's like
hasn't been seen in centuries."

"Why are you telling me all this? I've been
with the others for almost two whole weeks, and nobody's hinted
that there were hybrids with special powers."

Mallory patted my hand again. "I probably
wouldn't have complicated things this way save for the fact that
for only the third time in my long life, I've looked inside a
human, and seen something outside of the ordinary there."

"Wait, you mean me? I've got a power? I'm
about as ordinary as you can get."

"Hardly ordinary. Have you had more of the
dreams since Alec rescued you?"

"How can they be a power? They're gorgeous,
but nothing cool like what you described."

Mallory started to answer, only to break off
as she was overcome with another coughing fit. Thankfully this one
was less intense.

"Many of the gifts aren't flashy like
Brandon's strength. In fact, I suspect that many of the Fir'shan
actually develop gifts but never realize it because they're of a
less powerful nature, and are mistaken for luck, or uncommonly
sharp instincts. Your gift seems to be that of sharing dreams."

I gasped as I realized what Alec must have
suspected for quite some time. "You mean that was really him in my
dreams?"

"Indeed. That's part of why he was so
concerned you might be a powerful Fir'shan posing as a normal
human."

A tiny sound just outside the door preempted
my next question. Alec carefully maneuvered a pair of huge metal
baskets in through the door. I felt my eyes go wide as I realized
that they were full of hundreds of cans of food. I didn't even want
to guess at how much weight was in each basket, but as Alec cleared
the door it was obvious that the slow speed that he'd been moving
at had only been due to him not wanting to hit anything. He moved
like they weighed no more than a couple of pillows as he crossed
the cabin and set them down in front of what must be the food
pantry.

"That was almost as quick as normal."

Alec nodded in response to Mallory's
observation. "I've been lifting weights for a while, but present
circumstances dictated a more aggressive program."

He opened the door to the pantry, and started
putting cans away, but Mallory waved him off. "You'll put them in
the wrong spots. Just leave that, and I'll put it away later. Don't
go all mulish on me, I may be old and feeble, but I'm still able to
move a can of food. Come over here and let me look at you."

Alec came back towards us with an air of
resignation. Mallory tenderly accepted the letter he produced from
a pocket somewhere, and then waited while Alec knelt in front of
her.

I felt a tingle of power as Mallory reached
out and placed her hands on either side of his face. The power
surged, and Alec's heavy, cool power was joined by something light
and laughing.

Several seconds later, Mallory released Alec
with a sigh and fell back in obvious exhaustion. Alec watched
intently until she shook her head, and then the mask fell for just
a second before he locked it back in place, hiding the
disappointment that for the slimmest of moments had been plainly
written on his expression.

Mallory reached out, as if to take Alec's
hand, but he gently set her hands back on her lap. "Nothing's
changed. We'll just proceed as before. Rest now, and should the
worse come to pass I'll send Donovan to you."

A few seconds later Alec and I were outside
the cabin, walking back in the direction of the waiting motorcycle.
I reached out to take his hand, and felt a glimmer of relief when
he didn't reject the gesture as he had with Mallory.

"Alec, was the letter from Donovan?"

I had to repeat the question again before he
shook himself and nodded. "I've been running letters back and forth
between the two of them since I was ten. I don't come out here very
much, but I make the trip as often as it's safe to do so. They both
live for those letters."

We walked in silence for several more seconds
before I got the nerve up to verify my interpretation of what I'd
just seen.

"She was just looking inside you to see if
you've developed a power yet, wasn't she?"