Page 9 of The Boys
Ten
Caleb
Aweek had passedsince Syd and I had confessed to each other what we truly were, and each night my family had feasted on flesh. I could feel Syd there, but I never felt his judgment, only his understanding. Tonight, after the feast, I approached Mother to confess to her.
“Hello, lad, how are you this night of Yule?” she asked. Mother was very old and very large with giant gnarled hands that were more like fists made of stone than flesh.
“I have a confession tonight,” I said, and she stopped scraping the cauldron and moved closer to me.
“What is it?”
“There is one who came here by mistake. He’s pure of heart and has no evil in his soul, but he’s not without talents that show him things that have happened and things that may be in the future.”
“He is a seer?” she asked.
“Yes, and he sees us together.” I had to say it fast, or I knew I wouldn’t do it, and every night that I spent with Syd made me want to spend another.
“He is a man, a human,” she said, and gave me a puzzled look.
“I can’t control what my heart wants,” I said and looked away, unable to see the disappointment or possibly rage that I knew she’d direct at me.
“You’ve revealed yourself to this human?”
“He saw us in a dream and every night that he’s here he sees it. He knows what we do and why we do it, but I have not shown him my true form in person. I don’t want him to fear me.” That was my biggest worry. If we really had a chance, he needed to see me for what I truly was and not what magic had made me appear to blend in with his kind.
She stared at me hard for far too long. Her cold eyes never looked away from mine. My mind raced with equal parts fear and hope before she finally spoke. “If you truly share a heart with this human you will need to reveal yourself to him. If he cannot accept you then you will need to let him leave and never seek him out or let him return here. Do you understand? If he cannot accept you then there is no future for the two of you no matter what his senses tell him.” Without another word she walked to the back of the cave that led to her living quarters. She was always of few words, and this was no exception.
“She’s right,” one of my brothers said. “If it’s meant to be he must accept you as you are.”
“He’s already accepted that we eat flesh and kill thirteen humans for Yule,” I said, but I knew he was right.
“Brother, I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. It matters not to him what you really look like.”
They were right, both of them. Syd and I both valued honesty, and this was the last thing that I’d kept from him. His reaction mattered to me, and I didn’t think I could recover if he ran away screaming. But Mother was right, if we were meant to be he needed to see what he was getting into. I’d held back physically for fear of him regretting anything we did together. But kissing him wasn’t enough. I wanted all of him, and I knew there was only one way to make that happen.
I left as I always did, and once I passed the boundary my form shifted to that of a human. “All done?” Syd asked as I stepped through the doorway from the tunnel.
“Yes, and there’s something I want to show you,” I said and kissed him. When I pulled back his eyes were still closed, and a soft smile played at his lips. “You mean so much to me.”
He looked at me then and wrapped his arms around me. “You mean a lot to me too. What did you want to show me?” We’d spent every evening the same as we had that first night. He’d meet me here and we’d go and spend time together, but neither of us had tried to push past whatever seemed to hold us back. I suspected his heart was still healing from the hurt his ex-fiancé had inflicted on him.
I took his hand and led him to the same room we frequented but this time I closed and locked the doors behind us. We had the ability to fit into any room we needed to enter, but I wanted him to truly see me. “Please don’t be afraid,” I said just before I stripped the magic away and stood before him as I truly was.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to see fear or loathing reflected back at me through his, and his quick intake of breath had terrified me so much I couldn’t make myself look at him. It had to be his choice, and I waited, hoping he could still remember it was me behind the massive creature who now stood before him.
Eleven
Syd
My hand still touchedhis but gone was the large strong hand I’d become used to, instead a massive misshapen hand gently touched me. My eyes were focused down at his large feet that were covered with old leather boots and trailed up to his legs that were as big as the trunk of a tree. I chanced a look at his face to find I could still see the human form I was used to behind the horrible creature who stood before me.
“Caleb?” I asked even though I knew it was him.
“Yes,” he growled but his voice had a very strong accent that I now knew was Icelandic. His hair stuck out all over his head and he wore a scraggly beard but just like in my dream I knew this was him. I rushed at him, and he scooped me up in his arms. I breathed out a deep sigh of relief and for the first time in months felt safe and content.
“I think I might be falling in love with you.” I didn’t mean to say it, but if he was willing to show me his true self that he’d never shown another person, then it was time for me to show him my heart. He gently lowered me to my feet again before a pained expression crossed his features.
“How could you possibly love this?” he said and jabbed his thumb at his chest. “I’m a monster.”
