You killed five men and fatally injured three others. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Oops?”
“Don’t oops me. You have been in and out of homes and have nothing to say for it. Faolan… I can’t do much more for you. You are seventeen. If you act out even once more I won’t be able to keep the law enforcement from taking you to jail.”
“I know-”
“If you know then why do you do it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure that out myself.” His stormy gray eyes scanned the woman before him carefully. She was a mother-figure in his life but she had never seen him as a son. Her job strictly forbid her from building that kind of relationship. “Kaz, please listen to me, I didn’t mean to kill those men. They were hurting some girls, so I stepped in to protect them.”
“You can’t lie to me, Faolan. I know when you are.”
He sighed. His past would always come back to haunt him. He knew that. Why hadn’t anyone ever warned him? Why hadn’t they told him who his father was? They told him he was the liar, but in truth it was them.
“You’re already convinced I’m guilty. What’s my punishment?”
“No punishment this time. I’m sending you off to a local farmer. He says he can teach you the trade. Try your best please.”
“So that’s it? You’re just sending me away to a stranger?”
“I have given you many chances. I believe in second chances but this is above me. Faolan, you have to do well on that farm.”
“And if I don’t? If I screw up because I do that a lot, what happens then?”
“Then I will never see you again.”
“What do you mean?” fear darkened his face. A face that his mother thought was beautiful, a face that no one wanted to see when he was angry.
“If the farm doesn’t work out, I will have to leave. I am going to be fired if I don’t leave, if you fail. Faolan you have to try.”
“Try? Does it not seem like I’ve been trying for the last ten years of my life!?” His breathing quickened and his eyes seemed to be on fire with anger.
“Faolan you need to calm down.” Her voice remained even and steady and that made him even angrier.
“I won’t. I… I can’t,” panic hit him like a tsunami. He wasn’t thinking right.
Without thinking, he jumped up and ran out of the room. He ran until he couldn’t breathe. He ran until it no longer felt like running. The air bit into his skin. His nails dug into his skin. His skin was on fire and there was nothing he could do to put out that fire.
Eventually, he returned to Kaz. She took him to the farm and dropped him off with the old man.
“Hello Faolan, my name is Old-Man Jalu, but you can call me Jalu.” The man greeted him with a warm smile and an outstretched hand for Faolan to shake.
Faolan looked at the man’s hand, which had calluses on them, then at the man’s face. Reluctantly, he decided to shake the man’s hand.
“Thank you for bringing him to me. I've always wanted a son, especially since my first born passed away,” the man said to Kaz.
“Of course, and if he gives you any trouble send him here. Don’t give him any second chances. He’s a killer,” Kaz whispered, handing the man a card, but her voice was loud enough for Faolan to hear.
“I’m going to guess that we will have no problems,” the old man said, wrapping his arm around the boy.
“You don’t know me well enough then,” Faolan muttered. Kaz shot him the ‘shut up’ look and smiled at the old man.
“Have a good day, then!” she said, gleefully before turning to her rusty old truck. She climbed in and drove off. Faolan began to dread the fact that he would never see her again.
“Well come on boy! What are you just standing there for? It’s a full moon tonight and the wolves are going to be out. You don’t want to be a wolf’s dinner. My son learned that the hard way.” Faolan realized that the old man had begun to walk back into his house.
“Wait did you say ‘full moon’?” Faolan asked, his voice almost trembling.
“That’s right I did.” The man instead of entering his house had now turned and was heading towards what Faolan assumed to be a shed for tools.
“Sir, you should just send me to that place Kaz told you to send me to. I’m already going to be too much trouble.”
“You are correct. Now help me lift this door.”
Faolan helped the old man lift the door. Upon successfully doing so, a sleek black car appeared before him.
“Is that-”
“That is a 2953 Hornet. Twin-powered engine and is very hard to steer or else I’d let you drive. Even if it weren’t,” he paused, “I still don’t let wolves drive.”
“How’d you-” he began to ask, not taking his eyes off the beautiful car.
“As I told you, my son was a wolf. I couldn’t miss that bloodthirsty look, even if I were blind.”
“Oh,” he would try to stand up for himself, but he knew the old man would not be convinced of his case.
“Get in the car, for crying out loud. Sahheti oitr,” the old man said, annoyed.
“Don’t call me stupid.” Faolan got in the car and waited for the man to start driving.
The road that they were driving on was rough and windy.
“You know kid… I tried to give my son advice before he died. I used to think it was what got him killed before I realized that it was his own fault. I think you could benefit from it.”
“I could benefit from a lot of things, but let’s hear it.”
“Death is a gift, life is a treasure, monstrosity is a protection.”
Faolan had no clue what the old man meant. His monstrosity was what had gotten him to this situation. It couldn’t be protecting him from anything.
“Boy, you must not tell anyone on your other side. It would bring chaos to us all.”
Suddenly, a brilliant castle appeared before him. Faolan wanted to question how quickly they had gotten to this place but he was no longer in the car and the man, no longer there.
“Welcome Faolan Nirichu. We have been expecting you.” A female, wearing an apron, greeted him. “Come on in and get comfortable. This is your new home after all.”
YOU ARE READING
Evil & Love
خيال (فانتازيا)Nesrin has always been the quiet type. Faolan has always been the trouble maker. Ramiron is too good to be evil, but to evil to be good. Keilylia is so lost. Ahehp is an outcast. And Korei, well she's an untold story. A world in which magic and supe...
