Everything inside of me stopped and froze. My lungs felt like they would burst as air did not enter them. My whole being was laser-focused on the woman before me, unable to tear my eyes away from the sound of her pain and grief. Never in my life have I felt so compelled to watch another human being andfeelsomething for them. We were all just a bag of water, blood, and bones, and the only thing that made me feel anything was the pain in people's screams, the horror in their eyes, and the emptiness that was left behind when their souls left their bodies. I knew I was a monster, an anomaly that needed to be used as a tool and discarded once its use ran out, so I chose not to feel. It would make me a better tool, right?
So why did this woman's heart-wrenching voice make my soul want to reach out, to hug and comfort her? Why was I so fascinated by the pain-filled water drops that were being wasted on the filthy ground when I could be licking them off her face? Why did my fingers itch to weave themselves into that wild hair and pull her tight to tell her everything was okay?
Nothing was okay. Never was life okay… and that was okay… but I didn't like that for her.
Closing my eyes and shaking my head, I clutched at my chest. It felt like it was going to burst or collapse. I didn't quite understand any of this. Why was my body and mind reacting this way? I didn't like it.
Glancing up again, orange and red flames danced in front of her, the light causing her face to glow, and I felt this tug in the center of my chest. She was slowly but firmly reeling me in like a rope had been tied to it.
A familiar voice hummed in my head along with her song, almost like they shared something. Like a kinship. One where I was not in the know because I didn't grow up that way.
“What is happening?” My whisper went out into the air, floating around as I needed an answer from someone, anyone, as to why I was feeling this way, why, for the first time in my existence, I found something that made me think without bloodshed.
Her shaken voice grew stronger at the end,
We’ll travel through the twilight, within the sunlight’s gentle beam,
A Romani mother’s promise, to chase away your bad dreams.
Romani. Romani. I knew about them. That was why M hummed along with the song she was singing.
Before I realized it, I was in front of my wild songstress, playing with the fire as I asked her questions. At first, I just wanted to hear her voice, hear her words, and memorize the sounds coming from that sweet mouth, but the answers didn't matter much to me. I’d already made up my mind the moment I followed her here. This Romani was mine.
“Who is this woman to you?” My voice came out more curt than I wanted, but my blood was pulsating, consumed by thoughts of taking this woman and running away.
“My mother.”
Oh good. So she’s dead, so I won't have to deal with someone calling the cops or the FBI on me when I steal her. I think this was what the universe called kismet. We were like Romeo and Juliet. Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. Lovers of the century. I can’t have things like her family or the police getting in the way of that.
Remember what I told you. You need to be a good boy. Girls like boys who are sweet to them.
Nan was right. She’s just so thoughtful like that. Ask another question. Remember, sweet and kind.
“Then why do you have a different last name than this woman?”
When her eyes went wide and her body shook, I knew I fucking nailed it. Hells yeah! Who’s a pretty boy sweet talker now, Ion? I didn't need any lessons from anybody! Self fucking taught, smooth talker, bitch! I never do if you don't count the voices in my head.
I was crushing this wooing thing, and she felt the same way. I mean, she couldn't take her eyes off me. Sure. Her eyes occasionally darted around like she was looking for something, but they always returned to me with complete focus. Her smile was shaky because she was so nervous about our connection. It was cute.
Like my cute little bunny rabbit, this one was not for eating. No. No. This bunny was for loving and cuddling and stealing the warmth from her eyes to fill my dead soul.
Sticking my hand into my pocket, my fingers circled the syringe I always carried. You never knew when you needed to knock someone out, and with how jumpy my sexy Romani bunny was getting, I knew I needed to be the gentleman and calm her down just a bit. She was so lucky I always thought ahead.
“Was she all you had? Your only family?” I had to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. If she had more family, then we would need to invite them to things, and that would just cause problems with my family, so I would need to kill them all just to save us the hassle.
When she nodded, I again felt like God or the Devil were shining down on us, blessing us with this perfect union. This was my Romani bride, and everyone knew you had to steal your Romani bride for it to be real.
Slamming the syringe into her neck with skilled precision, I was glad that I’d had all that practice in my youth. Wasting all the unsure and painful injections on other bodies to make sure this was as smooth and painless as possible. I didn't want my wild-haired bride to feel any pain. I wanted her to be as happy as any captured soulmate finding its other half, swooning in my arms like a normal person. Smiling down at her, I promise, “From now on, it will only be happy thoughts because we are family now.” This act was my eternal vow. She was going to be with me forever and ever.
She and my brothers.
Oh shit. I would have to explain this to Nicu, but he's like a grumpy old cat that swipes at you for no reason. Seeing his frowny face, surrounded by his fancy cars and sparkly things, it was more like he was a grumpy old dragon. Hoarder of the shiny useless things.Oooorrr… he was a cat-dragon that was thousands of years old and didn't know how to live life anymore. Yep. Nailed it!
“What the fuck did you do?!”
Shifting her limp body over to my other shoulder, I happily answered my oldest brother's ire. “Honey. I'm home!”
Ion popped off the couch, eyes wide as I blew past him to the extra room. I wanted her to be comfortable when she woke up to her new life.
