by Faulks, Kim
“Step back now!” Police pushed forward, ending the barrage from the media.
I still heard them, even when the doors swung shut. I glanced at my watch, not really caring about the time and crossed my legs. My fingers picked at a stray thread that wasn’t there as the Senator and her husband stopped at the desk.
She murmured instructions and then fell silent. I didn’t have to watch them, it’d only bring undue attention. One more glance at the time and I rose from my seat on the lounge and then slowly made for the bank of elevators.
The Senator gripped the card reader for her suite and then turned, matching me step by step. I reached out pressing the button as she stopped beside me.
She never turned her head, never even glanced my way until the gleaming doors opened and I lifted my hand. “Senator.”
The smile was quick, just a hit before it was gone and she stepped through. Her husband followed, glancing my way before he followed his wife inside. I lowered my gaze, waited for one of her guards to enter before I stepped in.
“Don’t forget to call,” Senator Williams murmured to her husband as he reached out and pressed the button for their floor.
“I won’t.” He stabbed the tenth floor button and then stepped backwards.
I could feel him watching me, as was their protector. I expected the focus, wanted it even. The elevator doors closed and gave a shudder before it started to rise.
“You didn’t press a button,” the Senator’s husband murmured.
I glanced his way, smiled. It was all timed, every action had a sequence, and a reason, and as the lights flashed overhead and the elevator climbed, I reached for the elevator controls and pressed the button for the fourteenth floor and dropped my hand.
The Senator stiffened as the lights flashed...eight…nine…ten…and the elevator came to a halt. The doors opened, her guard stepped out first, scanned the foyer and then pressed the mic at his ear piece before she spoke.
Her husband was out next, watching the bodyguard as he exited the elevator. She took a step, stopping at my side. Her gaze lingered on my hand at my side before she lifted her head.
“Senator.” I met her stare.
“Are you here for me?” she murmured.
There was a hunger in her gaze I’d never noticed before, one that wiped away the frazzled hair and the creased slacks. It was hunger that’d been tempered and tested time and time again, and came out winning.
I smiled and released the illusion, and in the space of a heartbeat the middle aged man in a three piece suit disappeared, leaving me behind.
Her breath caught. She glanced toward her husband who just stared.
“The girl…your daughter,” I murmured. “Where is she?”
The husband stepped toward the open doors, staring at his wife before he glared at me. “Why?”
“Ma’am, step away,” the guard’s hand went for his holster.
But Leah was already raising her hand. “It’s okay. He’s not here to hurt me…and if he was, there wasn’t a thing we could do to stop it.”
I wanted to answer, to warn him about the growing sense of unease that was trapped inside. Instead I just shook my head. The truth was I didn’t trust him…then again, I didn’t trust anyone. Leah stepped forward as the doors closed and shoved her hand against the frame. “You want to talk, right? That’s why you came here?”
I’d come for the girl, that was plain and simple. She haunted me, lingering in my head for far too long. I wanted answers of my own. Who was she…and why the hell did I care. “Yeah, I want to talk.”
She stilled for a second and then shoved her hand inside her bag. “Ring me on this number.” She dragged a business card and a pen free, scribbled a number on the back and then handed it to me. “We’ll meet tomorrow before the committee.”
“We won’t have time,” her husband said.
I stared at the card as she reached out. “Then we’ll make time.”
I took what she offered, nodding once as she stepped through the doors. “I think I know her…your daughter, I mean and it’s more than before in that place. I feel her in my head and…” My heart…
The sharp scent of ozone filled my nose just as it had in that alleyway all those years before. Blue eyes followed filling my mind. She commanded more than the storm.
She commanded me.
“Meet me,” Leah urged and took a step. “Tomorrow morning at seven in the lobby. I’ll be waiting.”
I gave her a nod as the doors shuddered and closed. But that urgency inside me never settled…instead it grew as the elevator rose to my floor and then stopped.
Wind howled through an open window somewhere. I winced at the piercing whistle and stepped free. The Senator wanted to meet, that was something. Would she talk to me about the girl? Would she let me talk to her…let me see her?
I yanked my phone from my pocket and hit the button. The screen came alive, four digits later it opened on the same page as earlier. The live feed for the Senator arriving now gone, showing the replay.
I skimmed my thumb across the screen, exiting the play and stopping on the local news. I lifted my head as I reached my door and slipped the card reader into the lock.
Red light turned green and a click sounded. I shoved the handle and pushed through.
The curtains were open, just like I left them, and as the door closed behind me I forgot about the phone…forgot about the Senator even.
Dark clouds gathered above the city, swirling like a hurricane, but they were like none I’d ever seen before. Thick and ashen, like the city smoldered in toxic smoke.
A flare of energy raced across my chest. I flinched at the sight, then drew closer to the windows before I looked down at my phone. There were more feeds, I scrolled and hit the news report, turning the volume higher…
The wind has been described as a supercell in the making. Scientists are baffled as to how this pressure system has been created. If you’re just tuning in, there’s a full tornado warning in effect for the Lower Sapphire District. You’re advised to secure all outside items and brings pets inside. It’s going to be a bad one folks, please stay safe.
A supercell…one that seemed to come out of blue skies and pure white clouds…the coincidence was unsettling. I stepped toward the window and lifted my hand. Cold seeped into my fingers as I pressed against the glass.
One of Us?
The thought raced, my breath caught. Deep down I already knew the answer. There was no hiding this one…no illusion or lies. The call of the storm urged me forward, just like the girl in the lightning.
I scanned the city, bypassing the buildings, searching for the pull and turned toward the mountain on the outskirts of the city. The war drum inside my chest beat louder. I slipped my phone into my pocket and turned.
They were calling…demanding someone to take notice and while everyone else ran for cover I knew where I needed to be. I strode toward the door, yanked the handle and let it slam shut behind me. The elevator ride down was quiet. I lifted my gaze as it slipped past the Senator’s floor and then kept going.
The drone of voices reached inside the elevator even before the doors opened. Wide eyes, panicked faces greeted me as the elevator opened. I stepped to the side, slipping out as the gathering pushed in.
“We’re in for a rather nasty storm, Sir. You might want to stay indoors,” the concierge called as I headed for the doors.
I never answered, never slowed, only shoved through the swing doors and lowered my head. Gale force winds whipped my hair and stung my eyes. Taxi’s pulled up, dropping passengers at the hotel door. I rushed forward, picking up into a jog and bent low. “Can you drive in this?”
“Depends where you need to be, Mister,” the cabbie grabbed money from a woman ready to climb out. “And how much you’re payin’.”
I reached for the thick wad of cash in my pocket and peeled two hundred dollars free. “This enough?”
The cabbie eyed the money, and then lifted his gaze. “Yea
h, that’ll do.”
A hat flew through the air, smashed against the building before it skidded across the ground and was gone as the woman in the backseat stumbled free. I lunged forward, catching her arm before she went over.
There was no room for niceties in salvation. She clawed my hand, grabbing hold and then she shoved me backwards as she hurled herself toward the hotel doors.
Pain flared in my thigh as I hit the car. The alley from my past flared in my mind for a second before it was gone in the rush as I grabbed the open door and dragged myself inside. “The mountain…the lookout.”
The cabbie waited as I slammed the door before yelling. “Heaven’s Gate, what about it?”
“I want to go there.”
There was a tiny shake of his head as I reached out with the two hundred dollars. A second where I thought I’d be walking the entire damn way before he answered. “I’ll get you as close as I can and then I’m a ghost, and that…” He stared at the money. “Is a one way fare. Take it or leave it.”
“Take it.” I shoved the money toward him and then reached for the seatbelt.
I would’ve paid more…much more. Money to me was nothing more than a slip of power, another skin and time. I’d become smarter…and harder, after what happened in the alley.
The cab rocked with the force of the wind as it pulled out. The cabbie drove slower, taking each turn wider as we wove through the panicked streets. People ran across the road in front of him, other cars pulled out without looking, cutting him off.
He gripped the wheel, fighting every inch of the way. “This is goddamn crazy. There wasn’t even a hint of rain this morning. I dunno where this has come from.”
I knew. I knew exactly where it came from, and the closer we came to the Heaven’s Gate outlook the more I felt him.
“You’re fucking crazy for going up there in this,” the driver growled and shook his head.
I pressed my spine against the seat and sent out a tendril of power. There was an answer, deep down in my core something flared. But it wasn’t what I expected. The energy swirling above the city, wasn’t savage…it was seeking.
A sheet of tin peeled off the side of a building and sliced the air in front of the car. It slammed against the corner of a building, bending and bowing before it tore free and was gone.
Tires howled as a car skidded sideways in front of us. The taxi driver swore under his breath and whipped the wheel right and then left, swinging the ass end of the taxi around the hurtling missile and punched the accelerator. “Dude, this is suicidal. Let me take you back.”
“No.” I gripped the seatbelt and leaned closer. “I need to get to that damn lookout.”
“I can’t…” He jerked his gaze toward me.
I shoved my hand through the gap between the seats and opened my hand. “Then give me back my money.”
The muscles of his jaw flared as he clenched tight and swung his gaze back to the war zone the city streets had become.
A truck beside us rocked back and forth on its axles, skidding sideways as it raced the winds. I shoved back against the seat as the taxi driver’s face paled. He yanked the wheel, pulling us into the oncoming lane before swinging the wheel once again, spearing us the wrong way along a one-way street.
“Fucking crazy,” he muttered, gaze fixed on the alley as he tapped the brakes and eased us back out onto the road. “I’ll get you goddamn close, then it’s up to you.”
I stared out at the panicked streets. That was all I needed. Get me close to the eye of the storm. The hood of the taxi rose as we left the heart of the city behind and sped toward the suburbs. The mountain rose in the distance, like a towering guardian, the outlook high above.
Dark clouds swept above us, growing and gathering as they circled. I leaned close to the window and stared up. I’d never in my life felt so small. The closer we came to the mountain, the stronger I felt them, like a pull deep in my belly. Instinct was coming alive now. For the first time in my life I felt alive…finally felt human. People ran toward their houses, eyes wide, filled with terror as the taxi slowly climbed the rise. The gates were closed in the distance, preventing us going any further. I reached down without looking and pressed the button for the seatbelt.
My hand was on the doorhandle as the driver glanced my way. “Sorry man.”
He swung the nose of the car across both lanes, and pulled to a stop.
“Thank you.” I yanked the handle, and shoved, pushing against the pressure then climbing out of the car.
Urgency claimed me, sending shockwaves along my veins. I lifted my gaze to the tornado swirling above and lunged toward the pathway that ran around the gates. The wind was deafening, swallowing the sound as the taxi reversed and then nosed back toward the city.
I punched my boots into the pavement, and drove my body into the wind and the rise of the mountain. Each step was brutal, stinging my eyes. I reached out, gripped the railing and climbed.
The infernal sky churned, and thunder followed. I scanned the rocky ledge, blinking away tears as my eyes watered. He stood at the top of the rise, hands in his pockets, hoodie pulled low. My chest trembled with each step.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away as that connection inside flared brighter. I knew him…knew him more than I knew anyone. I was in Ripley all over again, watching the bastards at my back while the TV screen called me.
“Hey!” The wind snatched the word away. Still I climbed, ducking my head as the gale slammed into me.
Until he stiffened, and then slowly turned.
Dark eyes met mine. He lifted his hand, tugged the end of his sleeve high and exposed his wrist. Two seven zero nine. The numbers blurred.
I couldn’t breathe, trapped between the tempestuous storm around me and the connection that roared inside. I unbuttoned the sleeve of my shirt and then lifted my hand.
His gaze slipped, stilling on the tattoo as his lips moved. The husky tone of his voice was muffled. I shook my head, closing the distance between us. “I can’t hear you!”
He looked over the sprawling city, and then turned to me. “Can you feel her?”
A flare of power arced, like lightning itself carving right through me. I tried to still the thunder in my ears, tried to open myself to what he felt and shook my head. “I can’t…”
“Try.”
It was just one word…try, as though I hadn’t been trying my entire life. I swallowed and stared out to the city…and then higher, to the dangerous sky above…and then further…
And in the stillness…in the space between one breath and the next I felt a call. I closed my eyes and dropped the walls I’d built inside…pain swept through me, and desperation so clear it was a grip around my throat.
You’ll be a good girl…
You’ll be a good girl…
The words swept in from nowhere. I jerked and opened my eyes.
“She hears it all the time. But lately…lately the voices are getting worse and the—”
“Ticking,” I answered for him as her desperation swept me away. “The ticking inside her head, it’s like a weight…like a force. It’s telling her to do something.”
He turned his head, desperation mingled with fear. “It’s telling her to kill, that’s what it’s telling her to do. The only thing is…who?”
The cold tornado winds sliced me open and a ripple of desperation slipped free. “I know where the Senator’s staying. If we get there now, we can talk to her…”
There was a flare of surprise in his gaze. I’d lived my life on gut instinct, and here I was letting it rule me again. I didn’t know this guy. Didn’t even know his name, and yet that sense of familiar swallowed the doubt.
“Mavi,” he murmured. “My name is Mavi.”
Dark clouds swirled and swirled in a maelstrom. “Finley,” I answered and turned to stare into the sky, “You can call me Fin. But you need to get a handle on that, or you’ll tear the entire city apart.”
“This is me with a handle on it,” he growle
d and then shoved his hands into his pockets. “Something’s coming for her, Fin, something fucking dangerous, and this time it’s not me.”
He turned and made for the base of the mountain. I kept up, pitching to the side and stumbling as I rounded the gates. Mavi stopped at a beat up white Camry, hit the keys in his hand and the indicator lights flashed once.
Leaves and branches smacked into the side, adding to the scratched and battered paintwork.
I followed, yanking the handle on the passenger’s side and climbing in. The place was a mess, old food wrappers and empty cans covered the floor. My face burned and stung as I slammed the door closed and yanked on the seatbelt.
“Where?” He started the car.
“Marriot Hotel, it’s on the—”
“I’ve got it. Should’ve known that’s where the Senator would stay.” The car rocked as he shoved it into gear and rolled forward.
But as we picked up speed, the wind outside seemed to dull. It was him, all the desperation and the fear all coiled like Armageddon itself. Just get there, the need pulsed inside my head.
Still my damn heart pounded, and that ache in my chest grew. I watched the streets as we shot past. What if the Senator didn’t believe us? What if she said no?
I held on to the seatbelt as we raced toward the Hotel, dodging debris, and weaving in and out of abandoned cars along the way. If the storm was this bad now, what if the Senator said no? I didn’t want to think about it…didn’t want to envision the chaos that’d come.
Mavi turned down a side street as the Marriot rose in the distance, and then turned once more, coming to a stop at the rear entrance of the hotel. “You can get us in, right?”
I reached for my pocket and pulled the door card free. “Yeah, I can.”
The wind was dying, even the dark clouds above were spreading out, bleeding black into the blue. I made for the front of the building, listening for the trail of footsteps as I went over the words in my head.
She’s in danger, Senator. I can’t explain it. It’s like someone’s in her head, urging her to hurt someone. But if I could get to her, I could help.
My heart raced with the thought. I shoved through the hotel doors and made for the elevators. The lobby was empty now, scared humans huddled inside their rooms, as they waited out the storm.
