My Father's House

Chapter 22

"Why did you leave her?" Although spoken just above a whisper, the sharp question woke me from the fog of my nightmares.

"This is not my fault! You walked out on us both. And don't forget, it was your girlfriend who did this." The second voice was louder, a weak attempt at a whisper. Somewhere, not so distant, glass shattered to the floor startling me. "Don't get angry with me! This whole time, I have been trying to protect her. As soon as she's well enough to travel, we're going home." I tried to force my lids open, to see what was going on as the argument continued.

"What about the letters?"

What letters? I thought, confused.

"You aren't going to know what to make of any of it unless I help you."

The evil laugh that followed could only belong to Garrett. "You have proven yourself far less than useful. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you wanted her to be killed. You are probably right in bed with these people aren't you?"

"You're daft, man. I can't imagine why she trusts you. Don't pretend you could have saved her without me either."

Garrett sounded furious now. He was making no attempt to keep his volume low. "Sure you fight like some sort of ninja and you can sew a wound. What of it? You're not fooling me. I know what you people are!" The sentence was punctuated with the familiar thud of fist meeting flesh. I opened my eyes in time to see Garrett retract his punch from Kael's injured side. I could see in Kael's face that he was prepared to retaliate. I started to sit up and tried to shout, "No!" though my voice lacked audible quality.

Both heads turned in my direction in surprise. Garrett leapt over to take a seat on a chair by my bed, looking over, rubbing his hand on his pant leg nervously. "Hey, you ok, Harper?"

Surprised to find myself back in my guest room, I glanced around me. The curtains were partially drawn, but I could see that it was dark outside. I must have been unconscious for some time. I tried to nod, propping myself on a weak elbow to sit up. Kael came over and pushed me down gently, crouching by the bed, "Lie down."

I tried to whisper, but the words just wouldn't form. What's wrong with me?

"What?" Kael asked, recognizing my efforts. He put his ear down toward my mouth, his hair lightly brushing my face.

"Don't... hurt him," I breathed.

His face came back above mine, looking hurt. "Ok," he nodded. "I won't, just rest." I gave a feeble attempt at a smile. He'd given the response I had wanted. I closed my eyes, trying to recall what had happened to bring me to this state.

"As soon as your neck injury allows, we're getting out of here. It's not as safe as we were led to believe," Garrett was glaring at Kael as he spoke to me.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fuzzy spots in my memory. A bandage rubbed the tender skin at the nape of my neck as I moved. "It's ok. It's my fault." My voice was slowly recovering with use. I didn't want their fight to resume. I looked at Garrett and whispered a string of explanations, "I got myself locked in there. She started talking to me. I guess I didn't see the danger in it. She offered me information." I shook my head, hoping my explanation was adequate.

"What did she tell you?" Kael asked.

I looked away, unsure what I wanted to divulge, but Garrett spoke, irritated. "For goodness sake, man, quit worrying about your own agenda. She couldn't have told her anything to make you out to be worse than we already know you are, be sure of that."

Actually, she could have, I thought.

"I'll take the first watch," Garrett called back to Kael who was headed for the door. Turning back to me he said, "You need to rest. The medications haven't worn off. He had to fix your shoulder." He saw me wince and patted my hand reassuringly. "Nothing too worrisome, I promise."