Double Life - Book 1 of the Vaiya Series (23 page)

What’s wrong with me?
thought Ian.
I’ve got to stop acting so childish. What’s the worst that’s
going to happen?

As he gulped down the lukewarm water and
stared through the window into the dark night sky, his question was
answered as he pictured a white-robed Master Thargon unleashing
fire magic, cooking him alive, then performing an autopsy on
him.

Complementing his thoughts, a powerful streak
of purple lightning brightened up the countryside, revealing a
large ghostly forest behind the house, which he could already
envision wolves lurking in, a bare bone trampoline, whose matless
frame reminded him of a tornado-wrecked town, and a dilapidated
shed, which no doubt housed criminals. Ian’s heart nearly stopped
beating.

Something wasn’t right. Alarm swept over his
solemn face, fear slashing the bars of its jail. Throwing the
plastic cup into the sink with such force that it bounced back out,
he hurried around the rectangle table in the kitchen into the
living room, which had two tall bookshelves, a small flat-screen TV
above the mantelpiece, and two leather couches. Making a split
second decision, he took the shortest route to the basement.

As he leapt over the leather couch, suddenly,
a burning white light encompassed him, and he squeezed his eyes
shut to save them from damage, sliding roughly onto the fuzzy blue
carpet.

Knees reeling from the floor burn, he groped
around on the floor, crawling feverishly towards the basement,
telling himself that this couldn’t be happening again. Helpless, he
felt the carpet quickly change to snow and ice beneath his long
fingers, causing his heart to sink like a bowling ball in a lake. A
cold winter wind blew harshly around him, and needles of ice stung
his face, arms, and any part of his exposed skin.

Tormented with fears of an early death, Ian
covered his face with his hands. To think that this was to be his
end--dying by hypothermia, all alone, in another world no one
thought existed. It was completely unfair; none of this even should
be happening....

“Hey! What’s wrong?” It was William. “Trip
over the couch?”

He hesitated as he reoriented himself, his
eyesight steadily coming back, the cold ground gradually giving way
to fuzzy carpet. “Yeah,” he mumbled, dazed, gratitude and
thankfulness gushing from him. He swiftly took his hands off his
face and tried to look as normal as possible. “I tried jumpin’ over
it but it caught my foot.”

William smiled knowingly, a hint of worry in
his voice. “Yeah, that used to happen to me all the time until I
started going around it. But seriously, are you ok?’

His kneecaps stung, his ears tingled, his
hands throbbed. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He haltingly lifted himself off
the ground.

A warped smile materialized on William’s
face. “Are you sure? Cuz you look awful.”

“Once my kneecaps stop burning I’ll feel
great,” murmured Ian, in his most assuring tone, as he tried to
stop his teeth from chattering.

“Whatever you say.” William passed around the
leather couch, ran into the kitchen, and, after turning the faucet
handle back to cold and waiting a few seconds, drank straight from
the faucet.

Ian followed behind him, secretly picking up
the cup on the kitchen floor that had rebounded out of the sink and
putting it on the countertop. Right now, saying the obvious seemed
like the best course of action. “So, you thirsty too?”

Swallowing a mouthful of cold water, he wiped
his mouth with his hand and looked at Ian. “Of course, man. You’re
not the only one who had salty food there.”

Recalling William shaking salt all over his
fried chicken, steak, and even vegetable soup, he nodded with a
smile. “Yeah, you’re a salt maniac. My mom would have a fit if I
used that much.”

“Who cares?” he replied humorously. “You only
live once.” Then concern radiated from his face. He paused, his
tone now solemn. “Hey, so you think you can handle the movie?”

“Sure. I’ve already watched it once before
and I was only fourteen then,” he said, upset by this weak
reputation he was building up, yet powerless to stop it.

“Then you should be fine,” William assured
him, although he looked anything but convinced.

Heading downstairs, putting one of his hands
on the varnished cherry wood banister to keep himself from falling
over, followed closely by William, Ian watched as flames soared
from the fireplace, logs crackling. In his cold state, it looked
very inviting. In spite of all the horrid creatures he’d seen in
the flames earlier, right now he wanted nothing more than to curl
up by the fire and warm himself up; but since he wanted no more
questions, he instead took his spot on the couch and leaned back,
pulling a lever which popped out the leg rest.

Jimmy looked completely oblivious to what Ian
had just gone through. “Seems the storm’s died,” he said,
completely relaxed, as he switched from The Weather Channel back to
the movie. “Looks like my sister won’t have to unplug anything
after all.”

“That’s good to know.” Still cold, Ian
gratefully accepted the pink blanket, covered with red, purple, and
blue flowers, that William offered him, not caring that it likely
belonged to Jimmy’s sister, and quickly buried his arms and legs in
it. “So, where’s she at anyway?”

Jimmy shrugged. “Probably hiding
upstairs.”

“Am I that scary?” asked Ian, finding some of
his humor returning.

“Nah, she’s just shy,” replied Jimmy. “She’s
always down here when it’s just Will and me.” About to say more, he
paused before switching his train of thought. “It’s not like I have
any room to talk, though. When my sister invites her friends over,
I make sure that I’m invisible.”

William broke out laughing, soon followed by
Ian.

Jimmy, slightly flustered, waited until they
had both calmed down before speaking. “Ok, enough of that. Back to
the movie now; no more interruptions.” He resumed the movie and
then tossed the remote control onto the 8 x 10 foot purple rug as
he turned toward Ian and grinned. “Still afraid, Ian?”

“No way, man! I’m ready for anything.”

“That’s the spirit,” said Jimmy, enthusiasm
fueling his voice.

Ian folded his hands between his arms and
nodded in silence, as the woman’s disturbing voice once again
filled his ears, threatening to ruin his bravado. It didn’t help
any that throughout the movie, William continued to watch him, as
if he were a hospitalized patient under his care.

After nearly three hours, the movie ended and
Ian slowly arose from the couch, stretched himself out, and yawned.
“Cool movie, Jimmy. Now I wanna watch the next one.”

Jimmy’s eyes beamed with surprise, as he took
out the movie and snapped it reverently into its case. “I’m glad
you liked it. I thought it’d bore you.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” he said, laughing,
as he reached into his right pocket, pulled out a stick of
wintergreen gum, unraveled it, and stuck it into his mouth.

“I did.” Jimmy stared into space for a few
seconds and then broke out of his daze. “So, what’s Darien like? Do
you think he’d want to hang out with us?”

“Probably,” replied Ian slowly, somewhat
unsure, as Darien usually kept his thoughts about people to himself
and rarely mentioned Jimmy. “Though he has football practice until
six, Monday thru Thursday.”

Jimmy shuffled his feet around uncomfortably.
“Ok, what about Eddy?”

Hesitating, he blushed slightly, turning his
head away from Jimmy, as he humorously recalled Eddy’s comment last
week about Jimmy being the “Master of the Underworld”. Though it
really didn’t fit, as Jimmy loved fantasy and not Greek Mythology
(at least to his knowledge), it still made Ian laugh every time he
pictured Jimmy reigning over the underworld with his hand-crafted
longbow over his shoulder ready to employ at a moment’s notice.

Then there was Eddy’s comment yesterday that
Jimmy looked like a prince out of a Disney movie. Though it could
be construed as a great compliment, as princes were usually very
handsome, Eddy had meant it to show how weird Jimmy was. Once
again, his friend had a knack for insulting people. Sure Eddy’s
quips about people were usually hilarious, but they came way too
often and could be rather cruel.

Thinking about the euchre game last night,
where Eddy had told Tianna and Samantha the latest gossip about
Jimmy buying a Lord of the Ring’s finger puppet set for his oldest
sister, Ian frowned--though not enough for Jimmy to see--and turned
to face him, finally answering his question. “Yeah, I think he’d
want to hang out with us; he’s pretty nice to most people.”

Jimmy smiled wryly. “Pretty nice? Most
people? I like the confidence, man.” Pausing, as Ian shifted
around, he let it slide. “So, how about all of us hang out
tomorrow? If you want to eat out again, we could go to my favorite
restaurant, Shadowcrest Manor. It’s got the best chicken and
desserts that you’ve ever tasted, an authentic atmosphere that will
take you back to the Middle Ages, and breathtaking live music from
a professional octet.”

Ian paused, as Jimmy’s fervor died down, and
smiled. “Another buffet--that might just do me in.” Laughing, he
warmed his hands near the fireplace and curiously read the words
above the mantle.
Darkness wars against the light.
It
unnerved him, yet he found it hard to take his eyes off the large
cursive words written in silver ink.

“Don’t give me that,” said Jimmy, glaring
amusingly. “You’re thin enough--I’m sure you could handle it.
Besides, you’ve gotta see this place. It’s awesome.” Sensing no
opposition, he went on, “So how does tomorrow at five sound? I’ll
drive again.”

“That’ll work.” He thought about the best way
to tell Eddy if he wanted to hang out with Jimmy the castle-man but
gave up. It would come easier in the morning.

“Great!” Excitement beamed from his face, as
he turned to William. “So, Will, you up for five?”

William frowned. “Can’t,” he murmured, eyes
drooping. “I’ve gotta help my grandpa rake leaves and then I’m
supposed to babysit my three nasty cousins.”

“That’s rough,” said Jimmy, laughing
ruefully, likely recalling some unpleasant memories about them.
“I’d hate to even spend a minute with one of those brats.” Turning
back to Ian, he proceeded, a bit discouraged. “I guess it’s just
the three of us then.”

“Yeah.” Ian glanced over at an old-fashioned
clock above the TV--it showed nine thirty.

Jimmy caught his look. “You can’t be thinking
about leaving yet, Ian--the night’s still young,” he spoke with
fervency in his voice. “How about we play some games on my
Wii?”

“Fine with me,” replied Ian, who mentally
calculated when Rowan would leave his house, deciding she’d
probably still be there for at least half an hour. “So, what kind
of games do you have on your Wii?”

“All sorts.” He breezed through his games. “I
have the usual sports games, some racing ones, a couple of shooting
ones, and a few sword fighting ones.”

“How about Wii Tennis?” suggested
William.
“You’ve made a wise choice.” Grinning, Jimmy found the game and put
it in before using his Wii remote to select the game.

As the game appeared on the screen, Will’s
aloofness quickly vanished, being replaced by raw enthusiasm.
“Prepare to lose!” His competitive nature took over, and Ian
witnessed a new side of William, one that surprisingly made Ian
gain more respect for him. “First one to win two sets is the winner
of the round,” he blurted out so fast that Ian could barely
understand him. “The loser gives over his controller to me.”

“Or we could do teams,” suggested Jimmy,
considerably more calm than his friend. “We could put on a
computer--”

“No way, man,” said William, as he snatched
the rocking chair from Jimmy. “We’ve discussed this before; I want
pure competition.”

“Then only two of us can play at a time,”
Jimmy said. “Are you sure you want that?”

“Definitely,” replied William. “I’d not have
it any other way.”

“Ok. No teams then.” Jimmy tossed Ian a Wii
remote controller and looked longingly at the cozy rocking chair,
likely knowing it wouldn’t be his for the rest of the night. “Let’s
get this started.”

Time passed--it was past eleven thirty. Ian’s
eyes drooped, his shoulders sagged, his stomach twisted in knots.
Will’s blaring shouts, which occurred whenever he did anything
remotely good, which happened way too often, were mostly
responsible for this condition. Staying up late again didn’t help
either. The rich food lodged in his stomach filled in the gaps. The
only highlight of the evening was that he’d taken his many losses
at Wii Tennis surprisingly well, and had actually not felt very
competitive at all, in spite of William’s boastful and
overconfident persona, which could even rile up a garden gnome.

Ian attributed his acceptance of such failure
to the fact that he’d never played the game before in his life and
because these weren’t the typical friends he hung out with. If
either of these factors had changed, he imagined he’d be steaming
right now. Shaking his head, he wondered why he’d ever respected
William for his competitive nature.

As Jimmy parked the vehicle, Ian said goodbye
as he walked over to his house. Opening the door, he went inside,
shutting it gently behind him, the darkness once again unnerving
him. After climbing the staircase quickly, just wanting to make it
into his room, Ian stopped short, as he stared at his room up
ahead. Light was coming through the closed door and he heard
giggling and laughter.

In an instant, he felt his anger rising,
quickly replacing his former fear, as he marched towards the door.
Reaching the threshold, he briefly paused as he sought to get a
rein on his temper, before flinging open the door.

It was just as he’d expected. Rowan and his
sister were sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at him with
mischievous eyes, suppressing their smiles.