Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  And now he had committed to going to the Mortons’ barbecue on Saturday. Another step upwards on the matrimonial ladder. He felt his chest tighten at the very thought.

  He swivelled around, distracted, and bumped into a man on the street. He apologised quickly, then kept walking. He had to put the unexpected meeting with Rick Morton out of his mind. He had to put all of it out of his mind for now. His face twisted. He needed to try to find Sienna again, before he lost her entirely, and she melted into the shadows of the city forever.

  He took a deep breath. He would call Crystal tonight and end it once and for all. He had let it go on for far too long, and it was starting to gather the momentum of a runaway train. It would be a kindness to everyone.

  He didn’t love her. It was that simple. And he knew now that he never would. He had been waiting for it to hit him, but it just wasn’t there. Fake it until you make it hadn’t worked in this case.

  Crystal would be angry and upset, of course. But she would get over it. Hopefully one day she would find a man who could love her like she deserved. He tried to side swipe the guilt that suddenly consumed her.

  But that man wasn’t him. Right now, he was a man who needed to save a damaged woman from danger that pressed around her from all sides.

  And he chose to ignore that the damaged woman in question just happened to be the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. That was quite beside the point.

  ***

  Sienna sipped her tea slowly, staring at Shelby over the rim of her china cup. He gazed at her expectantly as he sipped his own tea.

  She sighed, placing her cup carefully on the table between them. He deserved to be told what had happened to her. He was taking a great risk sheltering her, after all. If the man discovered that Shelby had been harbouring her, the retribution would be swift.

  Guilt consumed her, and along with it, the familiar feeling of self-loathing that always accompanied her like a shadow. She was the one putting him at risk. She should never have come here. But when she had fled from the docks that awful night when Lola had been assaulted and taken away she hadn’t known what else to do. If she had planned to run away maybe she could have worked out something different.

  Shelby kept gazing at her, his bleary eyes soft. “Sienna, you are safe now. Take a deep breath.”

  She did as he said, feeling the air hit her lungs. Yes, she needed to calm down.

  “The man who was following me,” she said slowly, staring at him. “He claims that he’s not one of them.”

  Shelby raised an eyebrow. “You spoke to him?”

  She nodded. “I was outrunning him, but then I tripped. Twisted my stupid ankle.” She took another deep breath. “He carried me to the motel on the corner of Olympic and Fairfax and took care of me.”

  Shelby was speechless for a moment. He blinked, trying to make sense of what she had told him. “He didn’t…expect anything for his care?”

  She shook her head quickly. “Not at all. At least, not in the way that you are inferring. He wanted me to tell him what was going on.”

  Shelby frowned. “Who does he claim to be? Why was he following you?”

  Sienna sighed. “He says that Julia employed him to find me and bring me back to her. As a favour to her.” She frowned. “She knows someone who he works with, or lives with, or something.”

  “Julia?” Shelby paled. “Why does she want you to return to her?”

  “My very question.” Sienna scowled. “She’s making out that she is upset and that we are great friends and she’s concerned for my welfare.”

  “You don’t believe her, of course.” It was a statement rather than a question.

  Sienna laughed. “Once upon a time I would have,” she said. “I thought that she was my friend. But I know better now. She was the one who handed me over to him.”

  Shelby’s frown deepened. “It might be true,” he said hesitantly, sipping his tea. “Perhaps she does care for you, deep down.”

  Sienna gazed at him. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. The only person that woman cares about is herself. She doesn’t do anything that isn’t in her own best interests.”

  He nodded, placing his cup on the table. “So, the question then is what is her interest with you? If it is true what this man says. Although I can’t think of a reason that he would lie about it.”

  Sienna sighed again. “I think he is telling the truth, as well,” she said. “For starters, how does he even know about Julia? And if he did work for them, he could have taken me back at any stage. I was captive with my ankle. And yet, he didn’t.”

  “He looked after you instead,” said Shelby slowly. “That is odd. Where is he now?”

  Sienna stared at the old man, hesitating. “I ran away from him,” she whispered. “After he bought me breakfast.”

  “What did he do?” Shelby’s eyes were wide.

  Sienna shrugged, stirring restlessly. “He was asking too many questions, and I don’t know him. How do I know that anything that comes out of his mouth is the truth? And besides, even if he is telling the truth, there was no point hanging around.”

  Shelby nodded slowly, but he frowned. “He might be alright, Sienna. He might be a man who has somehow gotten involved not knowing all the facts. If what he told you about Julia is true, he could have taken you straight to her, don’t forget.”

  Sienna’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought of that.

  Zach could have taken her to Julia at any point yesterday, when she had been incapacitated with her ankle. But he hadn’t. Instead, he had wanted to know what was going on. In her own words.

  She shifted restlessly on the chair, staring down into her cooling tea. Inexplicably, she felt a little bad for running off on him like that. He had just bought her breakfast. He had paid for the motel room while she recovered from her sprain. And all that he had wanted in return was the correct information and to find out if she was okay.

  Maybe Shelby was right. Maybe Zach was alright.

  She squirmed again. What did it matter? Even if he was a decent guy? He would run for the hills if she told him what was really going on. There was no way he would want to get involved in something like this; or with someone like the man. This was way beyond him. Way beyond anyone. He might pretend that he wanted to play the part of her rescuer, but he didn’t know all that it entailed.

  And besides, she was used to looking after herself. A small swirl of anger started to spiral to life in her stomach. She didn’t need some handsome stranger barging into her life, demanding to know what was going on. A handsome stranger who would surely run away with his tail between his legs once he found out what that actually was.

  No, she had made the right decision. The only decision that she could, given everything. And she had done him a favour, as well. Saved him from his own misguided protective instincts.

  “Sienna,” said Shelby gently, gazing at her. “Remember that you have to keep calm. It’s not good for you to get anxious. You have to think clearly about what you are going to do, if you are to escape once and for all.”

  Sienna nodded. She reached out a hand, placing it over the old man’s that was resting on the table between them. “I know, Shelby. What would I do without you? You have always been my friend. One of the few.”

  Shelby smiled. “I will do anything I can to help you, Sienna. You know that.” He gazed at her hand on top of his own. “Tell me, have you had any visions since that night you ran away?”

  Sienna paled. “Only one. Last night, while I was dreaming. Apparently, I talked to the man—his name is Zach—about something. It spooked him, but I’m not sure why.”

  “And how are you feeling now?” Shelby stared at her. “I worry about you. It seems to drain you more and more. Weaken you.”

  She nodded. “It is getting worse. Sometimes, I feel that I barely have the energy to do anything afterwards.”

  “I was afraid this might happen,” he said with a nod. “I have known others like you, Sienna. Th
e gift demands a lot.”

  “Gift?” Sienna’s voice was scornful. “This isn’t a gift! It’s a curse. I’m a freak.”

  “No.” He shook his head, determinedly. “You are not a freak.” He squeezed her hand. “My dear one, when will you accept what you are? That you have a power beyond imagination, one that can be used for good?”

  But Sienna was shaking her head emphatically. “You are being kind as always, but I know what I am. And what it is. It isn’t a gift, Shelby. It sweeps over me like a sickness, beyond my control. And it means that evil people want to possess me because of it.”

  Shelby sighed. “You must accept yourself, Sienna. Only then will you have peace.”

  But Sienna had stood up. She started pacing the floor. There was no way that she would ever accept what she was. It had ruined her life—or what life she had managed to carve out for herself. It had never been much of a life, but it had been her own. Until the man had noticed her, and what she could do.

  And now, she was a runaway slave. Her master was seeking her. It seemed that her whole life was just running away from something.

  “Sienna, my dear, sit down,” said Shelby gently. “I didn’t mean to upset you. We will speak of it no more.”

  She sat back down slowly, refusing to look at him for a moment. She knew that he was only trying to help her. Shelby was her friend. He had soothed her in the old days when she had lived at the house, letting her come out here to the back of his bookstore to read in peace. To try to forget what she was. And she would probably have never told him about the visions if one hadn’t swept over her one day while she was here.

  She gazed at him, thinking back to that day. As soon as she had come around after it, he had told her that she was very special. A prophet of sorts, like in the old days. He had given her a book to read about soothsayers and wise women. She had taken it, thanking him, but tossed it aside as soon as she got back to the house. She didn’t want to read about freaks like herself.

  But Shelby didn’t know everything. She had never told him about the bird, or how she would see things through its eyes when the visions were upon her. How she would soar through the air, looking down upon what she was seeing. He didn’t need to know about that.

  Sienna frowned, suddenly. Why did she see things as the bird? What did it mean?

  She always fought it. Wrestled to come out of it. But equally, a part of her longed to give into it. To keep flying the skies, her wings searing through the air, feeling the wind upon her. To glide upon the air forever…

  A bell chimed in the bookstore. Someone had opened the door and come in.

  Shelby stood up slowly, patting her arm as he passed by.

  “Keep sitting,” he whispered, staring back at her. “Have another cup of tea. I will serve this customer, and we will keep talking, okay?”

  She nodded, tears springing into her eyes. He was such a darling. She watched him slowly shuffle into the store. He was getting older. When he came back, she would try once more to persuade him to retire. He was always talking about the nest egg he had saved up and going back to England one day. He should do it while he was still able to. It would mean that she would probably never see him again, but he deserved to have his dreams come true.

  She glanced around, staring at the books in boxes, waiting to be shelved. It was too much for him now. This place needed a younger person to take over. But she knew how much he loved this store and all the books within it. It was going to be difficult to persuade him.

  Sienna smiled slightly, hearing him ask the customer how he could be of assistance. Shelby was so old-school, she thought. His manners were impeccable. And she knew without a doubt that he would spend half an hour trawling through his store to find the book that this customer wanted. All for less than a ten-dollar sale.

  There was the sudden sound of shattering glass from the store. Sienna frowned. Had he knocked something over?

  She got up, walking to the door, hesitating. Should she call out to him? See that he was alright?

  But at that moment all the blood drained from her face, as she stared at what was before her.

  Chapter Seven

  Zach opened the door to Shelby’s Second-Hand Bookstore and Bric-a-Brac slowly, hearing a bell sound above it as he entered.

  He looked around, gasping. It was incredible.

  Old bookcases soared almost to the ceiling of the space, twisting upwards. And the ceilings were high—at least fifteen feet. Books were stacked to the sides of the bookcases as well, so that he had to step around them to walk into the room.

  His gaze swept to the side, examining the books carefully. They were all old; some were leather bound and had formidable spines, but there was an equal number of paperbacks. There were so many books that Zach wondered how the owner kept track of them all. But then he noticed that they were all carefully catalogued by genre. He was currently looking at a section that was categorised as “Gardening/Landscape/ Sustainable Living.”

  He smiled slightly. If he ever had the urge to make a garden or felt the yen to go off grid and live off the land, he would make sure he came here first.

  He glanced around. It seemed like he was the only customer in here, and the place was deserted. No one stood or sat behind the counter.

  He cleared his throat. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

  He waited for a response, or at least the sound of footsteps coming from the back of the store. But the silence stretched on. He frowned, his head sweeping around. There was nobody here. Had the owner stepped out for five minutes and forgotten to lock the door?

  “Hello?” he called again. But his voice merely echoed through the room.

  He kept walking down the aisles, which were so overflowing with books he could barely step. Suddenly, he saw a man’s legs sticking out from behind a pile of books. He quickly ran down the aisle, stopping abruptly when he was almost there.

  It was a man. An old man, by the look of it, who was lying face down on the floor. He wasn’t moving, and he was surrounded by broken glass.

  Cursing, Zach crouched down, and gently examined him. He seemed to have a large gash on his forehead, which was oozing blood. As Zach touched him, examining it, the man suddenly opened his eyes fearfully. He cringed, backing away from him.

  “It’s okay,” said Zach gently. “I’m not going to hurt you. Can you stand up?”

  The old man kept gazing at him. His eyes were dazed. Suddenly, he found his voice.

  “I think so,” he whispered.

  Zach helped him to his feet and led him to a chair behind the counter. He grabbed a cloth off the counter and gently pressed it against the old man’s head, trying to stem the bleeding. The old man sighed, and leaned back, closing his eyes briefly.

  Zach studied him covertly. He was a short man and hunched; so hunched, in fact, that it appeared like a turtle’s shell on his back. Wisps of grey hair covered his balding scalp, and his face was heavily wrinkled. He was slowly getting his breath back, but Zach could feel him trembling.

  “What happened?” asked Zach softly. “Did you fall?”

  The old man slowly shook his head. “No. Someone came in…” he trailed off, his eyes suddenly wide, as if he remembered something. “Oh no! I have to go out the back!”

  “Hey, hey,” said Zach, restraining him. “You’ve got a nasty wound. I wouldn’t get up if I were you.”

  The man’s face was ashen. “You don’t understand! I think that something I value has been taken.”

  “You were robbed?” Zach was frowning. “Are you saying that someone attacked you, and robbed you?”

  The man nodded his head. “That is what happened,” he said.

  With shaking hands, the old man opened the cash register. But he closed it again quickly, shaking his head. “I knew it. They didn’t take anything out of it. They came for her. They knew she was here.”

  Zach’s frown deepened. Was the old man addled? Or had the gash on his forehead confused him? He had claimed firstly that he was
attacked and robbed, and now he was saying he wasn’t. Then it slowly dawned on Zach what he had said.

  They came for her. They knew she was here.

  Zach stilled, his heart thudding in his chest. Was he talking about Sienna?

  He crouched beside the shaking man. “What is your name?”

  “Shelby.” The man had a northern English accent. “Shelby Foster. I own this bookstore.”

  Zach smiled. “Pleased to meet you, Shelby. My name is Zach Byrnes.”

  “Zach?” Shelby frowned. “I’ve heard that name, just recently.” His frown deepened. “But where?”

  Zach took a deep breath. “Shelby, who were you talking about when you said that they had come for her? Was it a young woman?”

  Shelby stared at him, his eyes wide. He didn’t answer.

  Zach sighed. He reached into his jacket pocket, taking out the book that Sienna had left behind in the diner. “I’m looking for a woman who just left me,” he said slowly, showing the book to him. “In her rush she left this book behind. It says that she got it from here. That’s why I’m here, Shelby. Looking for her.”

  Shelby’s face paled further. With a shaking hand, he took the book, staring down at it. “Keats,” he muttered, shaking his head. “She always did love the Romantic poets. Especially him.”

  Zach’s heart started thudding uncomfortably in his chest. “It’s Sienna you are talking about, isn’t it, when you say that someone came for her? Was she here?”

  Shelby gazed up at him, placing the book on the counter. “I remember now. She mentioned your name. You are the man who followed her, and helped her when she sprained her ankle, aren’t you?”

  Zach nodded. “I just want to help her, Shelby. I think she is in real danger.”

  Shelby took a deep breath then exhaled heavily. “She is in danger. Grave danger. It has always hovered around her like a mist, threatening to swallow her entirely.” He stared at Zach. “Are you telling the truth when you say you want to help her? She doesn’t trust you.”