The Beings

“Are you done with your perusal?” His voice was deep and silky smooth as he held her gaze with his. “Do you like what you see?”

Wren blushed bright red and turned her back to him, well aware that all three were taking in her appearance. Suddenly, Wren was very self-conscious.

She stood before these elegant people in her folk-style skirt and tank top, a pale comparison to them.

The lady smiled at her, stepping forward and extending her hand. “Good day. My name is Lilith, Lily for short. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Wren ignored the offered hand but gave Lily a nod and a slight bow. “Good day, ma’am,” she murmured as the man stepped forward.

“I am Eric. It is a pleasure to finally meet the person who will become Talon’s partner. We have been waiting a long time for this day.”

Lily nudged Eric’s side, and Eric rolled his eyes in response.

Wren’s eyes widened slightly. It was obvious Eric was not supposed to make that comment.

This was not the first time she had heard the word ~partner~. The thought of having a partner frightened her more than the Beings that attacked her did.

She did not need someone in her life. Been there, done that, wrote the book, signed it, and moved on.

She had made a promise to herself that she would never be at another person’s mercy again and intended to keep that promise.

~Who is this Talon person?~ Wren wondered. ~There must be a way to convince him that he does not need me to become his partner.~

Lily turned and spoke to Mr. Lee. “Did you have some trouble? It seems you have not had a chance to explain everything to her yet.”

“We have had some complications with this one. I have not had a moment to get into the details. If you would please take over now, I am needed elsewhere,” Mr. Lee said.

Lily nodded.

It must have been pretty rough if Mr. Lee had not been able to cover everything.

“I will leave her in your very capable hands then,” Mr. Lee said. He bowed and left, glad to be gone before Talon decided to get into the mix.

Things were going to heat up quickly when he did.

“Complications?” Eric mused. “What complications?” he asked Wren as Mr. Lee hurriedly stepped past the man guarding the door and disappeared.

“It seems that there were others…Beings…following us most of the way. Mr. Lee spent most of the time taking care of them,” Wren explained, still quite aware of the man staring at her from the door. She doubled down, focusing on the lady and gentleman before her. But it was hard.

“Mr. Lee had quite the time keeping them at bay until we got back on land. He was injured, so once they were gone, he needed rest.”

“I see,” Lily said. “It seems that you have already become a target. It is good that we got you here safely, then.”

She and Eric shared a look before Lily continued. “Come, I will show you to your room before filling you in on everything Mr. Lee did not have the opportunity to explain. If you would follow me.”

She gestured toward the staircase.

Wren quickly fell into line with her but could not help glancing back to see that the man was still leaning against the door. He did not look happy as he continued to watch her intently.

She blushed when he gave her a saucy yet cold smile, and hurried to catch up to where Lily was waiting for her, midway up the stairs.

As they continued up, Lily started to chat. “You will be on the third floor with Talon.”

~There is that name again! Who is he?~

“Eric and I have the second floor, and Evan and Emerald are on the fourth. Then there is Michael and Carrie. They live on the first floor.”

She laughed when Wren just stared at her. “Do not worry. You will get it soon enough,” she said.

“I hope so,” Wren murmured to herself, already confused.

Lily opened a door at the end of a short hallway on the third floor and ushered Wren into a spacious sitting room.

“This is your suite. The door on the left leads to your bedroom and bath. The one on the right leads to your study and personal library. Finally, the one in front leads to a spare room that you can design yourself. The room is soundproof, and you are welcome to decorate it any way you wish.”

Lily motioned for Wren to sit on one of the two couches. “Now. I do not know what Mr. Lee has told you and what he has not, so please forgive me if I repeat anything.”

~Finally. Some answers!~

“Let’s see… I suppose the beginning would be best.”

Wren nodded and sat as Lily took the seat across from her.

Lily brushed an imaginary bit of dirt off her pants and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows for a moment before turning back to Wren. Wren waited patiently.

After all, she had no other place to be right now.

“Let’s see. To put it in simple terms, we are a small group of humans—and yes, we are human—that have been found to possess a certain gene called, for lack of a better word, the power gene. I know, stupid name,” Lily said.

Lily let out a tinkling laugh. It reminded Wren of a bell.

The lady before her was nothing but elegance. Wren was even more aware of her shortcomings as Lily continued.

“Especially since this is not a gene at all. To put it rather crudely, it is a mutation in our makeup that allows a substance in the air around us to enter our body and combine with this ‘gene’ to create a power core. This core is what gives us our special abilities. An example of an ability that comes from the core is the most prominent ability we all share, the ability to see and destroy Beings from other worlds.”

Lily paused. “Are you with me so far?”

Wren nodded as Lily poured them some tea.

Wren took a sip before continuing. “I am pretty sure I understand that part. Continue, please.”

Lily continued without hesitation. “Humans have not needed these ‘powers’ until about twenty years ago, so they knew nothing of them. However, about twenty years ago, the first…Being, let’s call them, appeared on Earth, and a human with said power just happened to be there. Through sheer dumb luck, they were able to defeat the Being. Since then, governments worldwide have sought out and used those that have this ability to track and destroy these Beings.”

Lily paused a moment to let Wren process the information being poured into her. She took a moment to size up the young lady before her.

~She has seen things,~ Lily thought to herself as she waited for Wren to speak again.

~She has seen and been through things others have not, even before she met the Beings. What is her story that allows her to be so calm and rational after learning about an unseen world of monsters and death?~

“What about other humans?”

“What do you mean?” Lily snapped out of her thoughts.

“I was told that they cannot see these…Beings. Can they see us fighting them?”

Wren thought back to the moments before she lost consciousness. How the people were there and then gone.

“No,” Lily replied, explaining further. “We have containment fields that we put up as soon as we detect the presence of one. It controls the damage and keeps the rest of the humans out so they will not get hurt. But understand this right now.”

Lily looked right at Wren when she spoke.

“They can and will harm humans, even if you cannot.”

“Uh?” Wren was confused.

~Why would I want to harm a human?~

“We each have specific weapons that we fight with. Though your weapon can kill a Being, it cannot harm a human. Do not forget,” Lily said.

Lily made sure that Wren was looking directly at her. Lily’s voice turned harsh at the words.

Wren wondered why she felt that was so important. Something must have happened in the past that still haunted Lily.

Wren understood how much your past could haunt your future, so she would not pry into Lily’s past at this time.

“How long have you been here?” Wren asked quietly, changing the subject to something not quite so heavy.

“It has been ten years since Eric and I were found and brought here,” Lily said.

Lily smiled, remembering her first couple of months. Back then, there had only been Carrie and Michael to help them through the coupling process.

Now they had Evan and Emerald, and then Talon came, and now Wren. Their family was growing, and Lily could not be happier and scared at the same time.

She wanted a family, but with a family came loss and sadness, along with the joy and love.

She looked at the young lady before her once more. She found she was already taking a liking to Wren.

Lily just hoped that Wren was strong enough to walk the path laid before her. Most importantly, Lily hoped that she would survive and find a way to thrive in this environment, or she would become another victim of this war between humans and Beings.