Chapter 7

The town below was engulfed in a kaleidoscope of shimmering lights flickering in the distance as the starry nighttime swept over the Oakheart village that never seemed fully asleep. 

The garden was cold and completely dark when Minnow and Henry decided to head back inside. It had been quiet and peaceful under the apple tree, but Minnow felt the chill as the darkness swallowed them when the candle in the lantern burned out.

It was the most piercing darkness she had felt, awakening her senses with its sharp, crisp smells.

The night had never bothered Minnow before, but now, shadows seemed to reach for her at every turn. She could feel her heartbeats quicken, and her hands became clammy.

Henry put his hand on her arm, and Minnow jumped from his unsuspected touch.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Minnow. I didn't mean to frighten you." Henry apologised profusely.

"That's ok. The dark makes me a bit nervous sometimes." She mumbled, grateful he couldn't see her strained face under cover of night.

"Come on. I will walk you back inside." Henry huffed as he rose his age-worn body from the seat.

Minnow could hear the older man fumbling in the darkness, trying to find his way around the wooden bench. Suddenly there was a loud thud as Henry accidentally banged his knee on the corner of the seat.

"Son of a biscuit eater", Henry exclaimed between clenched teeth.

Minnow couldn't help bursting into laughter at Henry's choice of words.

"Are you ok? Here, I got a flashlight on my phone" She giggled and turned on the light shining the beam on Henry rubbing his knee with one hand and covering his face from the bright rays with the other. 

Her moment of laughter distracted the uneasy emotions being brought forward from the darkness.

She walked around the bench and looped her arm through Henry's, supporting him as he limped through the extensive garden.

Minnow said goodbye at the yellow kitchen door and watched as Henry continued to his and Ariella's cottage.

She forced herself to stay outside the door even after he had disappeared. Standing alone at night was the first step in the fight to regain control of her own life.

Minnow could hear a commotion inside the dim kitchen and peeked her head through the dutch door.

Her father, Waylen, stood at one of the long marble bench tops. His tall, slender body was brightened by the warm light from the ceiling downlights, making him look saintly.

Waylen had a firm grip around a metal silver bowl, beating a pale cake batter with a wooden spoon. 

"Um, I didn't know you had returned from your business trip? Did your meeting go ok?" Minnow said in a wary tone watching the sweat pearls build on her father's forehead from stirring the thick mix.

"Oh, hello, darling. Well, no, my meeting didn't go to plan, so I am back early. But I don't want to talk about that. I want to hear how my favourite girl is doing." Waylen stopped manhandling the innocent batter and looked up at her.

The deep frown on his face disappeared at the sight of his daughter's face.

White flour dropped from his hands and stained the dark grey suit as he used his rolled-up blue shirt arm to wipe his forehead with a crooked smile.

Minnow knew full well that his meeting hadn't gone his way because baking had always been his stress release after a business deal had gone wrong. 

She knew her father was considered a silver fox, and her female classmates had always had an eye for him. Minnow guessed she could see what they saw in him with the touch of grey in his dark brown hair, his adventurous young-at-heart look, and years of wisdom in his soul. He was pretty much an Indiana Jones in a business suit.

She watched him fill two ceramic mugs with the raw batter before putting teaspoons into the creamy mix.

Waylan handed her one of the mugs, and she accepted it eagerly.

"Just like old times, baby girl." he winked and licked the buttery vanilla mix of the spoon. 

Minnow did the same, and the flavours of her childhood filled her senses.

She and her dad had often made cake batter and put it into mugs to eat as they hid away in their blanket fort constructed from bed sheets, pillows, and sofa cushions, to Dovie's displeasing.

Minnow had always loved the batter more than the baked cake, so this had become their special father and daughter thing.

She pulled over a wooden stool and sat down at the counter with her mug. "Tell me about your meeting."

"Oh, I don't want to bother you with my boring work stuff." Waylan chuckled and sat down opposite her.

Her father was in the business of importing and selling military gear. Most of the time, Minnow found his line of work dull, but sometimes she enjoyed listening to him explain the latest inventions of weapons and equipment. He always told the story behind the various pieces enthusiastically, making her excited about them. 

"No, I want to hear about what you were trying to sell." Minnow exclaimed with her mouth full of sweet batter.

"Ok, I recently imported the Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response Rifle. PHASR, for short. It's a non-lethal weapon designed to disorient and stun enemies rather than kill them." Waylen's eyes widened with excitement as he explained his latest finds. "So, it's a light-based gun that temporarily blinds enemies with focused laser beams. The laser lights, which operate at alternating wavelengths, will disorient people who look at them, rendering them unable to stand, let alone fight. Isn't that great?"

"So cool! But why didn't they want to buy them?" Minnow wondered.

Waylen sighed before putting another spoonful of mix in his mouth. "Not deadly enough, I guess?" he muttered. 

Waylan had never been one for cruelty and wouldn't even hurt a fly. Her mother, Dovie, had instead been the one saving Minnow from spiders in her bedroom growing up. However, as she was getting older, she found it strange that her father was helping provide violence in wars by supplying them with weapons.

Minnow assumed he hadn't had that much choice after marrying her mother, whose family came from a long line of arms tradespeople.

Her grandfather Cecil was a nasty older man that wouldn't take no for an answer. He had first tried to push her mother into the family business but had later settled for her husband.

Minnow couldn't stand the man, and Cecil's arrogant down-putting ways and his evident disappointment that Minnow had been born a girl showed that their feelings were mutual. It didn't get better after her parents failed to have more children leaving Minnow to be the only heir of the Venandi arms trade empire.

 "I admire you for trying to sell nonlethal weapons. But let me guess, grandpa, pulled the pin on your deal." Minnow grumbled, annoyed.

"Look at you so grown up already. It seems only a minute ago you were my little girl hiding in a fort of blankets." Waylen sighed with a smile at the fond memory. "But you are right. Cecil likes traditional weapons and doesn't want his business to get a reputation of going soft on criminals."

"Well, you can catch bad guys without killing them in the process", Minnow yelled angrily, shooting the messenger.

"Hey, I agree with you." Her father put his hands in the air, waving an invincible white flag.

Something stirred inside Minnow's gut, and she did not fully agree with her own words. Some criminals did deserve to die. This thought initially scared her, but she could feel how the seed of vengeance planted itself deep inside her conscience as a powerful internal force.

Minnow's brain began filling with the thoughts about how sweet it would feel to torture the men that had wronged her—using the act of revenge as a way of gaining closure. It was like her mind was becoming a foreign land.  

"Earth to Minnow." Waylen's dark voice snapped her back into the now.

"Um, what?" She mumbled, confused.

"Where did you go? You seem distracted lately," Waylan said softly.

"Um, I was just thinking about the party on Saturday. I am feeling a bit nervous, that's all."

She got up and pushed the wooden stool back under the bench. 

"Don't worry about the party, darling. You will have fun, I promise." Waylen met her halfway around the countertop and gave her a warm embrace.

"Thanks, Dad." she hugged him firmly before excusing herself and heading to her bedroom.

Back in her room, she paced the floor as a plan began to form. In the morning, she was going to drive up to the Moonfall pack.