Chapter 5
"Ryan!" Kayleigh squealed and fell on his neck. The tall redhead returned the hug warmly, grinning broadly. Ryan, Marty mused, I know this man. Marty was sure he'd seen him at one, or maybe more than one, of Sarah's parties. Ryan, something-irish-last name, O'Neill? No. Son of a famous writer . . . O'Reilly. That's it, he's Mairin O'Reilly's kid. Marty shook his head, amused. Gee, aren't we cosmopolitan. Kayleigh had finished her exuberant greeting and was turning towards him with her arm still around Ryan. "Do you know this man, Marty? This is Ryan O'Reilly. We literally played together when we were in diapers." "When you were in diapers." Ryan corrected her. "I had graduated to jeans. I am five years older." "Details, details." Kayleigh waved a hand airily. Ryan squinted at Marty. "Yup. Sarah told me I knew you. And I know all about you two." "That's ominous." Marty shook the profferred hand. "Oh, Sarah just said the two of you were inseperable these days." Ryan replied and crowed with delight when Kayleigh blushed. "And I see Sarah spoke true! My dear ice princess, what a lovely shade of fire engine red you're turning!" "Beast!" Kayleigh flung herself at him with a roar of outrage and was firmly restrained and tickled mercilessly. "I hate you! Why didn't you stay in California with all the other fruits and nuts!" She moaned. "Now, is that any way to talk to your big brother." Ryan clucked his tongue. "Such a lack of respect. This town is just not a good influence on you, young lady." "Okay, gramps!" Kayleigh gave him another hug and giggled up at him. "I've missed you! How long are you in town for?" Ryan flushed, which contrasted in an interesting manner with his hair. "Well . . . kind of forever." "Oh." Kayleigh gave him a sympathetic look. "So you and Stephen didn't work out?" "No." Ryan replied glumly. "He turned out to be a fickle little shit." Ryan half turned towards Marty. "If you're a photographer, don't ever move in with your top model. It ends you up with a broken heart, totally empty bank account and quickly nonexistent job." "Ouch." Marty winced. "Thems the breaks." Ryan was definitely working hard at being nonchalant. "So, I'm crashing with mom again until I can find a place of my own, which won't be for a while unless I get real lucky in the job department." "Your mother's really cool, though." Kayleigh replied comfortingly. "I definitely couldn't deal with living with my mother, but yours is a lot more laid back." Ryan snorted. "Mom would be pleased and rather smug to hear you say that." There was no love lost between Lillith and Mairin, due to events that happened years ago that neither would talk much about. They managed to get along. Barely. Since Lillith was an executive in the same company that Mairin freelanced for, it was necessary that they at least be civil in their professional dealings, but there had certainly been some late night meetings behind closed doors that had turned into shouting matches. "Well, I'll take your mother over mine any day." Kayleigh grumbled and then shook away the train of conversation before it could get going. "So I guess Sarah told you about my show?" "Yah. She's sorry she couldn't come, by the way. Something came up. It's great to see the band so together!" Ryan smiled approvingly. "You looked great up there." "Thank you, thank you." Kayleigh grinned back, but her smile faded a little as she noticed Kyle in the background, staring as he always did. Marty noticed the direction of her stare and frowned forbiddingly at the smitten goth. "That kid is getting creepy. It was kind of cute at first, Kayleigh's first real groupie, but he's getting a little scary." Ryan wasn't sure if he should be amused or concerned. "Why don't you tell the bouncer to toss him?" Kayleigh shook her head. "I can't do that! He hasn't done anything." Yet, the little voice in her head piped up. Kayleigh told it to shut up and it did so promptly. Kyle raised his drink in a salute towards her and Kayleigh responded with a wry smile. Kyle turned his eyes towards the flame haired young man, curious about him. There was something incredibly compelling and vibrant about him. For some reason, Kyle almost felt like he would be able to handle it better if he was Kayleigh's chosen man rather than Marty. Kyle and Marty had taken an instant dislike to each other, like two tomcats meeting, both feeling territorial. There was something different about this other young man, though. . . "Little creep." Marty growled under his breath. He slid an arm around Kayleigh, which caused her to exchange a glance of amusement with Ryan. "Pissing on your territory?" Kayleigh asked conversationally, but with a dangerous glint in her eye. "Kay-" Marty began sheepishly. "I know he bothers you. But making you react to him is part of his game. If you really want to baffle him, you might try playing it cool." Kayleigh responded shortly. "Whatever." Marty shrugged and downed his drink. Kayleigh shook her head in exasperation. "I'm going to dance now." Kayleigh headed for the Bank's spacious dance floor, her tone indicating that she didn't give a damn whether or not Marty followed her. Ryan and Marty chose to order a round of tequila shots and sit companionably at the bar, watching her lithe figure move out there. "Do you want some unsolicited advice?" Ryan asked quietly. "Go for it." Marty reached for the beer he'd ordered as a chaser to the shot. "Don't hold too tight. I can tell you right now that it'll only send her running for the hills." "Yeah, I know." Marty's eyes sought out and found Kyle, who was on the edges of the dance floor, still watching his idol. "But that guy really weirds me out." He sighed. "Besides, I sometimes wonder how I'm going to keep her when she's breaking into the music biz. She's already got guys falling at her feet, and can you blame them?" Ryan smiled. "She's pretty amazing all right." The lady under discussion was cheerfully oblivious, dancing the night away. Marty watched her for another few songs and then, on a song they both really liked, he cut in. Kayleigh stepped into his arms with a demure little smile and they moved gracefully around the floor. Watching them, Ryan was convinced that this time Kayleigh had found her mate. * * * * * * Ryan got home at 4:00 AM and found that his mother was still up. And pacing the kitchen, cigarette clamped between clenched teeth. "Mom?" "Hi, kid. No, I'm not waiting up for you, I was up working on a book." Mairin reassured him. "That's what I figured." Ryan smiled. "How's it going?" Mairin growled and poured herself more coffee. "That good, huh?" Ryan snickered and poured himself a cup of coffee. Anyone seeing the pair of them together would know they were related, but would probably guess brother and sister before they would mother and son. They had the same flaming red hair with gold highlights and the same slanted violet eyes and fair skin. It made for striking features. Men tended to lose their heads around Mairin and women tended to sigh over Ryan. (For all the good it did them, since he preferred his own sex) Mairin smiled fondly at her son. "So, how was the show?" "It was great!" Ryan enthused. "Kayleigh's incredible. Damn, but she's good!" Mairin smiled at her offspring with tightening lips as she felt the inner rushing wind that indicated a bout of the Sight. Something about her sons words had triggered something. Ryan noticed, but was used to the eccentricities of his mother. Mairin opened herself completely and let the wave of precognition wash through her. The mist flowed in, obscuring her sight and then cleared, taking the kitchen with it. She saw all of their lives as strands in a complex tapestry, moving in and out intersecting, constantly spanning off into the future. She saw two bright threads move together, glowing with youth and vitality. In the future that many had caught glimpses of, she saw those two threads draw closer, twining into a lovers' knot, one that resulted in a third thread starting, growing off from their two mingled ones . . . After that it all became unclear as the possible futures became almost infinite. She saw both the threads and the images in a peculiar double vision . . . the dance whirled faster and faster, disorienting her and then it all began to slide away . . . The kitchen came back into focus and Mairin found herself staring into the depths of her son's violet eyes, still seeing the shimmering web as it faded. He doesn't know, she thought with mingled horror and wonder, he has no idea and it's so important! Mairin brought herself in hand sternly. We can not meddle. If he opens himself to it, the web will show him his part, but I can not tell him. Mairin shook her head at her son. "You know us crazy irish prophet types. Give us a little sleep deprivation or a couple of beers and we start to lose it." "Go to bed, mom." Ryan replied gently, seeing from her reply that she wasn't going to tell him whatever she'd seen. Mairin obeyed, wandering up the stairs of their brownstone in a daze. Ryan watched her go with a bemused expression on his face. He knew better than to ask, but his curiousity was inflamed. * * * * * * Marty lay beside Kayleigh and watched her sleep with the dazed, dreamy expression of love that he often found himself wearing in her presence. She was so beautiful, a beauty that came not from delicate features and mincing feminity but from the strength that manifested in the lines of her face, the vitality that shone in her eyes. Kayleigh tossed restlessly and Marty found himself wondering what dream disturbed her so. Kayleigh wandered through a dark and twisted landscape. The crunchings under her feet didn't bear analysis and the odd sounds carried by the wind were not something she wanted to pay too close attention to. Suddenly, through the smoke, she could just make out the standing stones, the mystical circle that people had named Stonehenge. Something was wrong, though. She could feel it, a dark foreboding that was beginning to grow stronger. Something was buzzing in the back of her mind, growing louder. It sounded like a horde of angry bees. Kayleigh drew back instinctively, dropping into a crouch and hiding her head in her arms. The explosion was deafening, sending a rain of shrapnel down on her cringing form. Kayleigh looked up, heart pounding in terror, to see the flames and smoke rising in a great tower from the rubble that had been Stonehenge. Within the smoke, twisted forms were moving sinously. One swam into clarity before her. Kayleigh stared into shifting iridescent eyes. They were every color of the rainbow, moving about the cat-like slit pupils in an ever changing array. Somehow, Kayleigh could see Marty's death there, the promise of more pain and destruction than she could have imagined. She screamed herself awake and clung to Marty, trembling and sweaty. Across the city, Kyle turned in his sleep, smiling. He met the strange eyes and nodded in recognition. They promised him power and the love of a certain singer . . . Marty held his quivering lover and soothed her with soft words, and genlte caresses. "What is it, sweetie?" Kayleigh finally managed to remember how to speak. "It was a nightmare." "You're awake now, love." Marty held her gently. "What could terrify you so?" Kayleigh shuddered. "Don't ask." Marty tilted her face up towards him. "C'mon, you know you can tell me anything." Kayleigh smiled tremulously. "Don't worry about it." She kissed him fiercely, as though to defy the creature in her dreams and made love to him with a passion that took his breath away. They lay still later, sweat cooling on their skin, listening as each others breathing slowed to normal. "That was a dodge." Marty muttered sleepily. "Not that I object to the manner of it." "Hush." Kayleigh held him tight and they both drifted off towards sleep. Any nightmares lurking out in the ether were held at bay, either by her exhaustion or the love she clung to as fiercely as she held her lover.