Chapter 4 - section 2

I stared at Cullen in complete incredulity. “Me? You want my help?”

He cringed at the unspoken accusation in my voice and tried to explain, “Look, you stay in the Other Realm, Garrett has no idea what…”

I cut him off mid-sentence, my temper kicking in. “Garrett? That’s why you need me?” Garrett was perhaps the only family member that Cullen disliked more than me. And part of Cullen’s hatred was based off of the fact that Garret was full-blooded. My memories of Garrett were primarily of a taciturn and serious boy too old to be bothered with the antics of children like Vicky and me; or Cullen, for that matter. In reality, he wasn’t that much older than us, but growing up, that eight year difference meant a great deal more than it did now.

“What makes you think that I would want to take on Garrett on your behalf, Cullen? Hell, he’d have a better chance of me supporting him than you do.” I grabbed up my glass of wine, drinking from it to still my tongue and cool my temper.

Cullen wasn’t as equanimous as he wished me to think. He rose from his bench, grey eyes snapping with his ire. “Because you’re not an idiot, Tara. You’re half-blood like me and that means we have certain advantages. We could win this if we do it together. If you refuse, I might as well just take you out of the picture entirely.”

“Same old Cullen,” I mimicked him with unflattering mercilessness, “If I can’t have my way, I’ll break your toys so you can’t play.” I clanked my wine glass down, ignoring the splash of wine that spilled onto the table and smirked. He had made my temper flare already; there was some joy in being able to reciprocate. “But really, Cullen, sororicide? Then again, if you’re waging a war against your big brother, threatening my life isn’t such a far leap.”

The light in Cullen’s eyes grew cold, hard. For an instant I felt the chill needles of fear crossing my skin. It could have been his projection, but it wasn’t his usual overwhelming and overbearing display. He had either learned some subtlety or that fear was all my own. His voice grew dangerous, even-toned; “I will do what I must. If it means imprisoning you, I will. If it means killing you, I will. I will not be denied.” This was a Cullen I had never seen before.

I fell silent. I knew that we had passed a point where the mocking, darting and all our usual jabs end. He was serious. He was completely and utterly serious and I didn’t know how to respond. Deep in my gut, my reaction hadn’t changed. Anyone who would solicit help through threats was a bully and a coward. But that didn’t change the fact that Cullen had grown into a dangerous bully and coward.

As if he sensed my thoughts, or had grown better at reading them, Cullen gentled and slowly sat down. His tone grew earnest, “Look, Tara, I want your help. But I also can’t risk having you stand in my way.”

I nodded, crossing my arms to hold my green hide over my body as I scowled. “If I’m not with you, I’m against you?” Cullen shrugged noncommittally, as if that weren’t exactly the ultimatum he offered. The world was black or white to him and he couldn’t comprehend that I might not want any part of any of it. He and Garrett could keep their battles. What did it matter if they conquered this world or that one, so long as they left the Other Realm alone? There had to be some way to back out of this without Cullen’s unreasonable threats coming into action.

Suddenly, something clicked inside and that chill of fear swept over me again. If he was approaching me in this fashion and making such threats, what if he had already done so to Vicky? I stared into Cullen’s eyes, but the bastard had gotten good at guarding his thoughts. My voice dropped as I asked, “Did you make the same request to Vicky?”

Confusion skittered across Cullen’s eyes as he looked to one side and then the other rapidly before focusing on me again. His voice remained as calm and determined as before. “No, not yet. Why?”

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. He could be lying, but he seemed genuinely confused. His response meant he might not even be aware that Vicky was missing yet. Or it could mean that he wasn’t aware that I knew she was gone. I weighed my options and decided that it might be better to play dumb about her disappearance. If Cullen was behind it, it would be easier to find out through a slip up on his part if he didn’t know I was aware.

“Because you know she spends more time beyond the Other Realms than I do. She seems like a logical choice for your alliance,” I hazarded, although I suspected I knew what response he’d make.

Cullen chuckled, “She spends more time beyond, yeah, but she doesn’t have your control. Face it, Tara, you’re the most powerful of our sisters.”

It was a flattery that we both knew had some truth behind it. Vicky had the same potential that I did, but she had never been willing to focus and train. She just didn’t have the human self-discipline. So why had she disappeared? If this were an attempt of our brothers to take out the most powerful, they should have gone for me first. There was my buddy, Blondie, but something wasn’t adding up properly here. If they were vying for my alliance, why would they try to kill me beforehand? I had that uneasy feeling that there was something greater going on than just the sibling rivalry between Cullen and Garrett, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Cullen watched me for a minute and then put on his smarmy diplomatic face. He thought it made him irresistible, but I had grown up with him. I’m not sure how I managed to refrain from rolling my eyes, but I’m glad I did because it might have kept him from his offer.

“I’m not wholly unreasonable,” he said, oozing benevolence. “You should have a little time to consider. Besides, we’re due at Dad’s in a week and your absence would make quite a stir.”

This made me sit up straighter. We had been summoned? Why hadn’t I gotten the message? There was a chance that Blondie had precipitated my departure before the message had arrived, but it wasn’t unthinkable that someone had intercepted my summons just so that I wouldn’t be there for something important. Family, sometimes they’re more trouble than they’re worth.

I nodded slowly. “I don’t have a burning desire to join you, but your alternatives are thought-provoking. I’ll give you a decision after the meeting?”

Cullen waved his hand magnanimously. “Please. You are free to go. I’ll give my soldiers the word that you’re to remain unharmed. You have a lot of thinking to do.”

I stifled my irritation and rose from the bench. I took a moment to adjust my wrapping, ensuring the piggies wouldn’t be alarmed when I left the tent. Cullen might tell them I wasn’t to be harmed, but I wasn’t taking any chances after realizing their views on exposed flesh. As I headed towards the tent flap, though, Cullen’s voice called after me: “Oh, and Tara, if you fail to appear, I will have you hunted down.”