Julie sits in the chair. Stewart sits on the floor watching cartoons on the TV in front of them.
The two moms sit in silence. They both are lost in thought about Ann being pregnant, and how James has two Fearlings. It is a lot of information and they were not ready for any of it but they remain calm.
The cartoon goes to commercial and Stewart turns around to his mom and Ann. He sees the serious looks on their faces. He is a lot like his friend James. He is excited about it all. “It’ll be ok Mom.” He smiles.
Ann responds with a smile of her own as she stands. “We know.”
“Yeah, James is going to have a little sister,” Julie jokes.
“Or little brother,” Stewart says.
“Yes, or a little brother,” Ann says as she walks down the well-lit hall toward the kitchen. “Does anybody want a drink?” She hears both say no as she reaches for the kitchen lights.
The way they have their lights setup in the kitchen allows for three feet of darkness in the back corner of the room. It allows Kynar to visit with them but pins the Fearling to the corner. If they want the entire room lit, they flip the second switch.
Right now Ann isn’t worried about seeing a Fearling because there are no Vauns in the house. She flips the first switch then walks across the room to the cabinet and grabs a glass. A quiet soft toned voice startles her from behind.
“H e l l o.”
“What the…” Ann says as she quickly turns around. She has never experienced this before. There has never been a Fearling without a Vaun. The tall shadowy figure is bigger than Kynar and his presence scares her. She tries to hide the fear from her tone. “What, who are you?”
“ Nanlar .”
“You’re a Fearling, how are you here? There are no Vauns in this house.”
“Wrong. Not a Fearling.”
“What?” Ann asks. She knows what that means. “You’re, you’re a Molawner aren’t you. Like Rick’s Sevol ?”
“Yes,” Nanlar nods as he answers. “You, the Vaun is living within you.”
Ann steps back. She understands. The baby inside of her is going to be a Vaun. She still doesn’t understand how the Molawner is here. “Are you the baby’s Molawner ?”
“One,” Nanlar says.
“What?” Ann asks.
“I travel here in need of only one.”
“One what?” Ann asks again. She doesn’t like the Being’s evasiveness. She knows that his words can mean many things and not all are good for them. Her tone is more forceful. “What do you need?”
Julie enters the room but stops when she sees the image of Nanlar in the darkened corner. She has enough experience with Fearlings to know not to panic but to be ready for anything. Her thoughts are about reaching out to the light switch.
“Mom,” Stewart says. He walks down the hall toward his mom who is not moving, “Mom?”
“Stay there, Stewart,” Julie says. She knows that there is plenty of light in the living room and hall. She turns back to Ann as her friend continues her conversation with Nanlar .
“Are you here for us?” Ann asks. Her tone shows her fear of the answer as she repeats the question. “Are you here for one of us?”
“You,” Nanlar quietly says. “I am here for you.”
Ann turns to Julie. Their eyes meet and Ann can tell that Julie is about to flip the second light switch. She shakes her head no. “Not yet.”
“No,” Nanlar says. He turns his shadowy head towards Julie standing at the entrance. “She wishes to learn so allow me to stay without struggle.”
“Julie, my phone is in the other room on the coffee table. Please get it and call Rob then bring it to me.”
“Ann?” Julie asks. She doesn’t want to leave the room, doesn’t want to leave the switch. “No.” She flips the switch and the Molawner vanishes within the light.
CHAPTER 10
James sits at the table quietly as the others continue to talk.
“I
Learning to Kill: Stories