by Sandra Elsa
"He's nervous and understandably upset."
He peeled his hands from the steering wheel one finger at a time, then opened his door. "You saved my life once, Miss Leone. I'm begging."
"For a bunch of high-and-mighties ya'll do an awful lot of begging."
Jerry slid back in the car, cheeks pink.
Nan's voice judged my rudeness harshly. "His magic is nearly gone. He doesn't fit in Seven anymore. It may come back, but right now he doesn't stand a chance of defending himself."
"And what was his talent?"
"He's a seer. Or he was."
"No shit? See the future? He damn sure didn't see that siphon."
"Visions are unpredictable and subject to interpretation. A man can't live in the future all the time unless he wants to give up the present."
I glanced at Jerry, looking for magic. They were telling the truth about that at least. He was so pale a shade of yellow, the mist of his aura scarce existed. On the road ahead of us another dust column rose up and I holstered the pistol and pulled the binoculars from a back pocket. I hopped around behind Nan, then focused on the oncoming car, leaning against her shoulder for balance.
It was the Forester barreling down the road. At least Harrison hadn't been silly enough to expect me to let them know where we were staying. I had wondered if he thought they were driving me home.
Nan looked at me as I lowered the glasses.
"It's Harrison."
Dee got out of the driver's side of the car and Jerry's eyes followed her curves. I contained the grin. "Girlfriend, we got company."
"I see him. He's a friendly."
"You tellin' me I get to meet the mystery man?"
"Yeah. Unless you want to take off now. Cyn's got to be boiling over."
She placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head sideways. "As if I care! Besides, that cow doesn't move until noon. I'm sure when I get there I'm still going to have to make her pack up. So what are we doing?"
"As soon as Harrison gets here, we'll move the boxes and then you can take off. I'll sort this mess with him. No point to you getting involved."
"Sounds good."
We watched the car zip up the hill, slowing as it approached us. After he stopped, Harrison stayed behind the wheel a moment, staring at me, uncertain which way the wind was blowing. Finally he appeared to settle on a course of action and opened the door. Striding purposefully toward me he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me, trapping my hand in his as I drew back to slap him.
I settled for biting his lip. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I didn't sleep at all last night, I was so worried about you. Where's your chair?"
"In the damn car with all my other crap. Get out of my space before I hurt you in front of your mother. Did you have a relapse to stupid in my absence?"
He backed up a step and Dee popped the trunk and opened the rear doors of the car. "Girlfriend, that man is fine. Sure as hell wouldn't argue with him if he wanted to kiss me." She laughed. "But alas I must be going. No time to play." She pulled out a box and started to carry it to the Forester. Harrison hurried toward her and tried to take the box. She snorted and strode around him. Lowering her voice an octave she said, "That macho shit don't work on Frankie what the hell makes you think it would on me. I ain't never needed help from you prissy damn Seveners." She put the box in the car and turned toward me. "All right, I get it Frankie."
Harrison remained where he was, jaw hanging.
Dee brushed a hip against him as she passed. Keeping her voice in a male range she said. "You're in the real world now, big boy. Get over it." She glanced around, then laughed at herself. "And I guess I mean that more literally than I ever expected to."
Harrison started moving again and turned to get another box. Jerry got out of the car and helped them though he was still weak and shortly found himself panting in the thin air. After all the boxes were transferred I hugged Dee. "Take care of yourself. And don't let Cynthia give you any shit. Can I ask you for one last favor?"
"You know you can, Girlfriend." I leaned up and whispered in her ear and she turned to look at Jerry. "No problem." Without hesitation she grabbed Jerry and kissed him as he struggled, gently lowering him to the ground the moment he slept.
"Thanks Dee. You're a life saver."
She kissed my cheek. "You know where I am if you ever need anything."
"I'll be in touch."
She got in the Prius and waved as she turned around and headed back down the road.
When she was gone, Harrison asked, "What the hell did you do that for?"
"I don't like surprises. I've had more than enough of them in the past couple of days. I need time to think, and since you didn't bother to inform me of this little adjustment to my plans, I figured I didn't need his two cents. Christ, why don't you just invite your whole damn family." I pointed at Jerry. "Put him in the damn car."
He put Jerry in the car then returned, his eyes following the direction Dee traveled. "What the hell was that anyway?"
"You never met a hooker before? She's a transvestite."
"So she was a he?"
"No she's a she. Don’t call her a he unless you want to make an enemy out of her."
"You wouldn't let me come with you, but you invite a hooker to assist. How am I supposed to take that?"
"Take it any damn way you want.” I didn’t have time for his jealous bullcrap. “She could pass as a potential customer looking for me when I went to get my weapons. She scoped out the hallway and took out the trooper and a mage that followed us up there. She's not registered so nobody knows what she can do. Most of them are really good people and more than a few have some sort of talent. Don't put yourself above them. I have a lifetime of friendship with them. You're damn straight I trust them better than I trust somebody fresh out of Seven. Or are you forgetting, they were good enough for our fathers."
Harrison withdrew from the battlefield, casting a glance at his mother's stricken face. "Mom…I'm sorry. I just…she drives me crazy. Half the time I don't know what I'm saying or doing around her. She spent the night with another man it had nothing to do with the fact he's a hooker."
Nan drew herself up. "You don't own her, Harrison. You paid for her skills as a private investigator not for her body or anything else. And she's right, her friend is every bit as much a female as she or I. And obviously was a very good choice for the job. They seem to have accomplished what she came to do. At least there were only two boxes from the office so I'm assuming the rest are from your apartment."
I grinned at her. "Yeah, but that wasn't us. Mage Jallahan grabbed my shit from there."
"You saw him then?" She sounded taken aback.
"I did."
"I'm glad.” Her fingers fluttered nervously at her sides. “I'm surprised he didn't stop by."
I laughed. "Maybe he needed time to process. I'm not a warm-fuzzy sort of person."
"More like a raspberry bush," Harrison muttered.
"Explain the marriage license. It's plain it doesn't mean anything."
Harrison told her, "It's a rather effective distraction for Father."
"All right then. I'd hate to think you bought a bride. And she doesn't seem the sort to be bought."
"She's not. Maybe with blood. But she'll be worth every drop I shed."
I grabbed his wrist. A quick twist laid him in the dirt. "What did I tell you about that wild imagination of yours?" I turned to his mother. "OK…Jerry. What the hell am I supposed to do with him? I'm having a hard enough time trying to control your son. He's going to get both of us killed. I don't know if I can deal with two of them."
"Jerry is very shy and withdrawn at the moment. Never was as sure of himself as Harrison is. The decision is yours, but I don't think he'll live long, turned out on his own."
"You don't seem to understand. I don't trust any of you. The more I have around me, the jumpier I am. And that's not good for anybody."
Her fluttering fingers wrapped in
the her shirt and she stilled them but it took concentration. "I think I do understand. That doesn't change the fact that you're the one person I'm reasonably sure won't turn him back over to Jordan. He's young. He suffered an error in judgment. He doesn't deserve to die because of that."
"Die?" I started pacing. Hands behind my back, handicapped by the cast even if the pain meds were effective enough I could stomp around.
Harrison had sat up, but he remained where I’d put him. As I passed him he reached out and touched my leg. "Frankie, please stop walking before you permanently cripple yourself."
His mother looked at him, eyes wide, mouth open, clearly not expected behavior.
I glared down at his hand resting on my thigh. "If you want to keep all those fingers, you had better move them." I slapped his hand off of me, then trekked to the car. Jerry was out cold, as he would be the rest of the day. My tote was beside him on the back seat and I banged his head as I dragged it across him.
I grabbed my chip and returned to Nan. "Put his money on this."
"You want this much on a chip?"
"My accounts have been frozen by the dictator of the world. We have a single account open between the two of us, and I'm not sharing the name on that one with anybody. I'll transfer it in later."
"I suppose you want it all?" Her mouth pinched in disapproval.
Didn't particularly care what she thought, but I defended myself anyway. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I'll keep it all. He'll need something to get him started if I unload him."
"Very well. You don't have to be rude."
"This is me. You're coming to me. I won't put a mask on to soothe your sensibilities. Besides, your son seems to like the abuse. Keeps coming back for more anyway."
She frowned down at Harrison. "I taught him to be more respectful of women."
"Well apparently somewhere between leaving District Seven and meeting me, he lost everything you ever taught him."
Harrison looked up. "I'm sitting right here."
"What? You can be rude to me and I shouldn't give it back?" I glared down at him.
"When have I been rude?" Frustration clearly edged his tone.
"Have I not made it perfectly clear on multiple occasions, I don't like to be touched."
"I thought it might ease my mother's mind to believe I was going to marry somebody I really liked. And before I get called an idiot by both of you, I do like you. I like your independence and your spirit and the fact that you're not interested in me because of who my father is. I could wish for you to be interested in me for who I am a little more, but we're tied together for now, who knows, maybe I'll grow on you."
"Like a fungus," I muttered, stretching a hand down. When he accepted it, I snatched him to his feet. "That plan might have worked better if you hadn't been too cowardly to tell me what surprises you and Mom cooked up for me. Say good-bye to your mother. I'll be in the car. Don't take forever it's getting late enough traffic will pick up and the three of us are standing around, outside, yapping, without rebreathers. Ms. Kendrel, I'd like to say it's been a pleasure, but I truly hope I never see you again. One more frickin' mage and I may have to put myself out of my misery."
"It's been...interesting, Francesca. It may be difficult for you to believe, but I feel far better about them being with you, now that I've met you. And mage or not, I must tell you, my son is a fine catch. Not that I'm biased or anything."
I spun toward the car, casting a parting shot over my shoulder. "You know what we do when we get a fine catch out of the source? We celebrate, because we actually get to eat meat that isn't turkey."
She laughed. "Take care of my son, Francesca. And keep him in his place."
I didn't look back until I was seated in the car. I heard her telling him, "If there's anything you need from me or Annabel, message me." Took me a few jealousy filled seconds to recall that Annabel was Jerry's mother.
Harrison hugged her and kissed her cheek. "We'll be fine. As soon as Frankie gets the OK to be up and around we plan to leave the area. Until then, I hope she'll settle down and let the leg heal now that she's organized her world as much as she can."
"You're sure this is what you want?"
"It's the first thing in my life I'm absolutely sure is something 'I' want."
"And the message you sent last night...is that real or is that you trying to make me happy. Because I'm not seeing it."
"It's real. I'm certain of it. I just need to learn to play by new rules. I've detested that particular talent my whole life. For a change it's showed me something good in my life. I just need to figure out how to make it happen."
"You will. And I think you'll find it worth the uphill battle."
A column of dust rose off the road in front of us. "Let's roll, Lover Boy. Company's coming."
"Coming, dear heart." I looked at him in the mirror as he winked at his mother. "I've never felt more loved."
She cupped her hand on his cheek. "I love you."
"I know Mom. I love you too. Thank you for understanding." He glanced over his shoulder at the approaching plume of dust then spun and strode to the driver's door.
Chapter 28
Nan pulled out in the opposite direction as we accelerated back onto the road. The approaching car passed us as we cruised down the hill. Another blue Taurus. I'd never noticed so many of them existed. Of course they probably crawled out of District Seven like ants, searching for the three of us in this car.
The passenger in the car whipped his head around as they passed. Harrison stomped on the brakes, rolled the window down and lightning bolts left his fingertips, tires exploded on the car. He rolled the window back up and raced down the road before the Taurus stopped careening.
I looked over at him, for the first time feeling something disturbingly like admiration for something other than his looks. "So maybe you're not just a pretty face. Somebody you know, or just somebody who knows your face?"
"Used to think he was a friend."
"I'm familiar with that feeling. Funny how reward money changes some people."
"What's Father offering?"
"Going rate for me was ten thousand dollars yesterday. My friends didn't say anything about you, but considering how much he was willing to pay me to find you, probably a lot more than that."
"Don't be too sure. You've pissed him off. I'm just truant."
"The sooner we get out of this area, the better. I know his reach is world-wide but his pull has to be less, away from District Seven."
"Should we leave immediately? I mean if we're traveling, there's less chance you'll feel the need to stomp around on a broken leg."
"Less chance for you to do stupid crap too. But we need to have some kind of plan before we head out. Like, what the hell am I supposed to do with doofus in the back seat."
"We take him along."
"To where?"
"District Two-Three Seven. The one on the ocean."
"What kind of personality does he have?"
He answered without a pause. "You two should get along great. He hated being caged in District Seven. From the time he was ten he's talked of little but escaping their rules and expectations."
Three plumes of dust rose up in front of us. The last car must have called for help. Three cars on the road that close together was too unusual an occurrence to be happenstance.
"Got a plan?" he asked me.
I looked behind us. At least one more plume rose back there. "I don't suppose that would be your mother?"
"She should be long gone."
"Yeah it's definitely headed our way."
"I could change our appearance with illusion."
Hated to burst his bubble, it was a good idea. "Not with me in the car. Pull over to the side of the road." He did as I ordered. "Now pop the rear."
I hopped out and scrambled tripod style for the hatch where my weapons had been tucked away. A quick search came up with the Remington and a magazine of ammo. I leaned on the car for balance and sighted on a tire of
the rear vehicle. A gentle squeeze of the trigger and the car careened off the road. I shifted to the second vehicle. This driver held the wheel steady and drove another hundred feet but when the car ahead of him swerved off the road he stopped moving forward. The air sizzled and tires exploded behind us. Harrison stood by his door. I'd been so focused ahead, I'd forgotten to watch behind. I slammed the rear door and hopped to my seat, cradling the rifle. Ahead and behind, mages were scrambling from their cars wearing rebreathers. "Get in!" I yelled at Harrison.
"They'll just stop us the same way."
"Get in the damn car and drive." He slid behind the wheel and pulled back on the road. He looked at me with misgiving as he floored the accelerator so I explained, "I'm counting on them not having guns. They can't affect the car with magic any more than you could change it with illusion." I hoped. This car hadn't been ours for very long. "While I'm sitting here, the vehicle is an extension of me."
"And if they have guns?"
"Let's hope they're not very good shots."
Arms started waving and fingers pointing as we approached. I felt spell after spell hit the vehicle and fade away. I didn't even have to turn them off, which was fortunate because the sheer quantity being leveled at us by eight mages would have been impossible. This was an extension of the power of being a null. The driver of the middle vehicle remained behind the wheel. He pointed a pistol at our car and squeezed off a shot as we neared. A crack appeared in the top right corner of the windshield but it looked like the bullet struck a glancing blow. He pointed again as we passed and I grabbed the wheel.
Harrison released it to my control and I spun it toward the shooter's car. He dove across the seat as a collision seemed imminent and I tugged the wheel back, unfortunately not in time to completely avoid impact. Our fender would be dented and probably have some blue paint on it, but it could have been worse.
Harrison reclaimed the steering wheel. "You're out of your fucking mind." But he laughed when he said it, eyes bright, maniacal grin on his face.
I grinned back then leaned out the window and fired a shot back at the second car to make sure the driver stayed pinned and then we were too far away for a pistol to be of any great concern. I slid back down to the seat and stretched over to rest my hand on Harrison's chest. His heart beat a rapid powerful thrum under my fingers, eyes shone bright. "I may be out of my mind, but you're excited. This isn't a frightened rabbit heartbeat. This is a-- damn, that was fun, let's go back and do it again heartbeat."
