Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
He passed his hands over the wound in Luther’s leg. At once that well inside him opened, heat and healing energy pouring out. “Our mother saw it in me. She talked to me often, explaining I was born to be the opposite of Rubin, that he was pure light and healing energy. I had the darkness in me. She described me as the executioner. She told me my sole purpose was to keep my brother safe. Our mother had gifts and she could see things others couldn’t.” He spoke matter-of-factly because he’d accepted his mother’s assessment of him before he was eight. He’d lived with that knowledge and done his best to make the most of his life.
Luther eyed him with a kind of shock. “Boy, you had to know your mother was ill. Mentally ill. She was always too soft inside for the kind of life she had. After your father died, and she lost your two older brothers, she had a mental break. She made you and Rubin responsible for your sisters and her. You were just little kids, and she forced you to take on the role of adults.”
“That doesn’t negate what she knew. She was a seer.” Diego placed his hands above the wound on Luther’s arm. That healing energy welled up strong. He’d never used it on humans, but he’d healed countless animals. His gift hadn’t gone to waste. He’d never revealed to anyone, including Rubin, that he had the same gifts his brother had.
“Children have no idea their parent is mentally ill. How they are raised and the things the parent says and does are normal to those children even when it’s abuse. You were abused both emotionally and physically, but you and your brother simply accepted it as how parents raised children because you never saw any other way. You accepted that you were responsible for bringing your family food. That required hunting. I know you got beat if you ever missed and came home a bullet short. I saw the evidence on more than one occasion. I used to bring fresh meat to the cabin in an effort to spare you boys when the weather got rough. Your mother had no right to expect eight-year-old boys to go out in the middle of a snowstorm and bring back food to the family.”
“Someone had to do it,” Diego pointed out.
“Not in the middle of the storm. Your father would never have gone out in that weather, but your mother insisted that you and your brother go. She didn’t recognize your genius—finding the parts to put together a generator, bringing water to the cabin. Diego, think back to your childhood. You had to have questioned her orders and decisions at some point. You had to realize she was putting your life in danger.”
Diego shrugged. He didn’t want to pull up those memories. None of them were good. “She was certain I was born to sacrifice for the family and to keep Rubin alive. It makes sense that I went out hunting when things were rough.”
“Why Rubin? Why didn’t he stay home? One never went without the other.”
“Rubin didn’t allow me to go alone. He ignored her when she was angry with him; he just picked up his rifle and went out the door. Rubin doesn’t argue.” Diego shoved a hand through his hair and then was annoyed that he’d given Luther any indication that the conversation was getting to him.
“What happened when Rubin left the cabin?”
“I followed him. I always have his back.”
“What did your mother say or do when you returned?”
Diego didn’t allow himself to think much about his childhood. He tried another casual shrug. “She blamed me for not going on my own. That was just the way it was, Luther. No big deal.”
“That’s the problem with a child living with mental illness in the house. It could be years before they realize their mother or father are ill. By that time, the damage is already done. You think the way your mother treated you was normal. You believed her when she told you Rubin was special and the ‘good’ one. From the time you were a little boy she treated you as the bad child. Not only did you accept that treatment, but you came to believe her. I’m telling you it’s bullshit.”
Diego gave him a false smile. “You saying that doesn’t make me a believer, Luther. I’ve lived with my strange detachment all my life. I know for a fact Rubin is not like me when it comes to killing anything. Even when we hunted for food for the family, he agonized over taking the shot. I feel more of an affinity with animals than I do with people, but I never hesitated or thought about it. For me it was a simple matter of survival. Of necessity. With the people we hunted, it was just as simple. They committed a crime against our family or against our country or against my unit. I don’t hesitate, and I don’t lose sleep. Rubin does.”