Fort Lupton

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  “Did she ask about in here?” Sandy asked as she came back with the bottle.

  “No.” Tanesha held the bottle up to the mist, and it floated inside. “She didn’t ask about the babies either.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t know about them,” Heather said.

  “Maybe,” Tanesha said. “She said this space was infamous. I didn’t ask her, but I got the impression it was famous because of us killing the serpent. She said that everyone is stuck in the amber because of Delphie, and that it had to do with all of this.”

  Her friends gave her skeptical looks.

  “I know!” Tanesha said. “It all sounds like bullshit.”

  “We should ask Edie,” Jill said.

  “Where is Edie?” Heather asked.

  “She’s on a date with James Kelly.” Jill rubbed her hands together. “She was really excited.”

  The women smiled at the idea that Edie and James Kelly would start a relationship.

  “What do I do with this?” Tanesha asked.

  She held up the container. The mist from the beam had congealed into a murky sludge. The girlfriends shrugged.

  “What if you . . .” Heather started. Tanesha turned to look at her. “Nah . . .”

  “What?” Tanesha asked.

  “What if you did that thing, you know, with your hands on the floor where we killed the babies?” Heather asked.

  “Why?” Jill asked.

  “I don’t know.” Heather shrugged. “Maybe something will happen.”

  “Like the mist?” Tanesha said.

  “Yeah,” Sandy said. “If this junk so important, we should get more from where the babies died. Don’t you think?”

  Jill and Heather nodded.

  “Okay, but stand back,” Tanesha said.

  “What are you guys doing?” Honey asked from the top landing of the basement stairs.

  Sandy ran up the stairs to her. Honey was so tiny that even Sandy could carry her down the stairs. Jill grabbed Honey’s chair and brought it down.

  “The fairy came down here and got some juju from the serpent,” Heather said while Honey got settled.

  “She said it would help get everyone out of the Sea of Amber,” Tanesha said. “I did what she did and I got . . .”

  Tanesha held up the juice bottle of sludge.

  “It looks gross,” Honey said. “Is it supposed to do anything?”

  Tanesha shrugged.

  “It looks like tobacco spit,” Honey said. “You know, from chewing.”

  “Ew,” the women said in unison and made disgusted faces.

  “She said this serpent juice would save everyone,” Tanesha said.

  “What about the babies?” Honey asked.

  “That’s what we said.” Jill nodded.

  “Don’t you think we should ask your dad, Jill?” Heather asked. “He’s just back from there and . . .”

  “We can ask him,” Jill said. “I want to ask Edie too. But if this juice is key, we should get as much as possible.”

  “Before the fairy figures out there’s more stuff to get,” Sandy said.

  “She’s right,” Tanesha said.

  “I think we should be careful,” Jill said. “This creature wanted to infect us so it could take us over. There’s no reason to believe this stuff doesn’t have the same desire.”

  “Or can’t do the same thing,” Tanesha said.

  “Right,” Honey said. “Good point. Should we get some hairspray?”

  “Good thinking,” Sandy said.

  She jogged to the room hidden by the paneling and came back with hairspray cans.

  “Lighters?” Tanesha asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Sandy ran back to the room and got out the lighters they had used before.

  Honey laughed when she could click her own lighter, and the women cheered. While the party continued upstairs, they lit their hairspray.

  “We’re ready,” Sandy said.

  “Start over here,” Heather said. “We killed a whole bunch over here.”

  Tanesha held her hands out over the place where they’d killed the baby serpents.

  And nothing happened.

  “Try over here!” Jill said. She pointed to the burn marks where they’d killed several of the baby serpents.

  Nothing happened.

  “I’m going to try all of them,” Tanesha said.

  She ran from spot to spot. A slight hissing sound started when she had waved her hands over five or six spots.

  “Keep going!” Jill said.

  Tanesha went from spot to spot. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t notice that the room was getting foggy. The fog began to swirl around them.

  “Tanesha!” Heather yelled.

  “Get behind me,” Tanesha said.

  “No,” Honey said. “We have our flamethrowers. We need to protect each other, not have you sacrifice yourself for us.”

  As the tornado took form, the women moved against the wall. The places where the baby serpents had died continued to give off steam, and the steam swirled with ever greater intensity. There was a snapping sound. The fog condensed to create the shape of a female serpent. The fog-serpent hissed at the women.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday night — 9:05 p.m.

  Phoenix, Arizona

  “How did you do that?” Dionne asked in a low voice as she pushed the bathroom door open.

  Yvonne followed her into the room and made a beeline for a stall. Dionne waited to see if Yvonne would answer. When she didn’t, Dionne went into the stall next to Yvonne’s. After a few minutes, Yvonne flushed the toilet and went out into the main area.

  “Sorry,” Yvonne said. “I really had to go.”

  “Me too,” Dionne said. She flushed the toilet in her stall and came out. “How did you get them to let us come in here?”

  “Tannie said that I could have anything I wanted,” Yvonne said.

  “And your fairy power is high,” Dionne nodded.

  “It worked,” Yvonne said.

  “And now?” Dionne asked.

  She looked at Yvonne in the mirror. Yvonne smiled.

  “Don’t worry,” Yvonne said.

  “What do you want now?” Dionne asked.

  “A warm bed and a handsome man,” Yvonne said. She washed her face and took a paper towel from the dispenser. “Warm bed. Handsome man.”

  “You think that will work?” Dionne asked. “They were pretty . . .”

  “No,” Yvonne said. “I don’t think it will work.”

  “Then what?” Dionne asked.

  Yvonne leaned into the mirror to use the paper towel to wipe the mascara from under her eyes. She kept working and didn’t say a word. Dionne touched her shoulder.

  “What do you think, Yvie?” Dionne asked.

  Yvonne sighed. Dionne scowled.

  “What is it?” Dionne asked.

  “Rodney’s not coming.” Yvonne put her hand on her heart. “I know it in my heart.”

  “But Tanesha…”

  “She was tricked,” Yvonne said.

  “What are we going to do?” Dionne asked.

  “We’re going to have to kill them,” Yvonne said.

  “We have to?” Dionne asked.

  Yvonne nodded.

  “There’s no way around it?” Dionne asked.

  “No,” Yvonne said.

  “If there’s no way around it,” Dionne sniffed, “can we kill them before…”

  Yvonne nodded and threw the towel away. There was a knock on the door and one of the men leaned in.

  “You girls ready to party?” he asked.

  Yvonne stuck a bright smile on her face and followed him out of the bathroom. Dionne stood there for a moment, gathering her courage. Yvonne turned at the door and smiled. Dionne returned her smile and followed Yvonne out of the bathroom.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday night — 9:08 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  “You know what?” Tanesha asked. “I don’t have time for
this.”

  The fog-serpent laughed at her words.

  “No, she’s right,” Honey said. “I don’t have time for this shit, either.”

  “Speak your mind,” Tanesha said.

  “I don’t take orders from you,” the fog-serpent said in a subtly deep voice that seemed to resonate through their bones.

  “Whatever,” Tanesha said.

  She pointed toward the door. Honey started rolling toward the stairs. Heather and Jill followed her. Sandy stayed by Tanesha’s side.

  “You’ll never see your father again,” the fog-serpent said.

  “My father?” Tanesha spun to face the fog-serpent. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  The fog-serpent laughed.

  “Tell us!” Jill demanded.

  “Yeesss,” the fog-serpent hissed. “The little murderous Titan makes demands.”

  The fog-serpent rolled the “R” in sinister amusement.

  “What are the rules of that place?” Sandy asked Heather in a low tone. Honey was seated between them so Sandy had to lean over her.

  “Sea of Amber?” Heather asked.

  Sandy nodded. Jill lit her hairspray-flamethrower and stepped torward to the fog-serpent. Honey looked up at Heather for an answer.

  “I can find it, you can go there. Otherwise…” Heather shrugged. “Not much is known about the Sea of Amber, because it traps everyone who goes there.”

  “Except Jill’s dad,” Sandy said.

  The fog-serpent laughed at Jill but slid away from the flame. Tanesha opened her mouth, but Sandy put her hand on Tanesha’s arm.

  “The fairy world is rotten from the inside,” Sandy said in a low voice. “That’s what Fin said, right?”

  Tanesha reeled back from Sandy, and Sandy nodded.

  “Yeeessss,” the fog-serpent hissed. “Now you understand.”

  “Understand what?” Heather asked.

  “That either wasn’t Ne Ne or she’s been perverted by…” Tanesha gestured to the serpent.

  The fog-serpent laughed.

  “And you did this because. . .?” Heather asked the fog-serpent.

  When Heather spoke the fog-serpent shifted away from her and moved to attack Honey. Jill jumped in front of Honey with her hairspray-flamethrower. The fog-serpent moved back.

  “Human… Titan… Fairy…” Tanesha’s voice was low as if she were talking to herself. She looked at Heather. “It’s afraid of your voice.”

  Heather turned her head to look at Tanesha.

  “Ask about Rodney,” Sandy said in a low voice.

  “And Ne Ne,” Honey said.

  “Yes,” Heather took a step toward the fog-serpent, “Tell me about Rodney Smith.”

  The fog-serpent looked as if it didn’t want to respond.

  “Tell me!” Heather demanded. “Now!”

  “He is with the others in the Sea of Amber,” the fog-serpent said.

  “And Ne Ne,” Heather demanded.

  “Something is rotten at the core of fairydom,” the fog-serpent said.

  “And that means. . .?” Heather asked.

  The fog-serpent hissed at Heather. Much to her friends’ amazement, Heather seemed to grow in size. She began to glow with a kind of golden radiance.

  “You will tell me,” Heather said. The fog-serpent weaved as if it were woozy. “Now!”

  “All fairies are vulnerable now,” the fog-serpent said. “The prize is almost at hand, and the queendom will fall.”

  “The prize?” Heather asked.

  “He means my mother,” Tanesha said.

  “And the Sea of Amber?” Heather demanded.

  “The Sea of Amber is the domain of the serpent,” the fog-serpent said.

  The fog-serpent fell silent.

  “To. . .?” Heather demanded. “What do you have to do with the Sea of Amber?”

  “It doesn’t know,” Tanesha said.

  “Why us?” Honey asked. “Why did you steal our family?”

  Heather repeated the question.

  “You started this war,” the fog-serpent said. “We only engaged after you killed two of our kind and all of their progeny.”

  “And Yvonne?” Heather asked.

  “Capture the prize, and all of fairydom will fall,” the fog-serpent said.

  “Yvonne is the prize?” Heather asked.

  “Yessss,” the fog-serpent said.

  “How do we release our loved ones?” Jill asked.

  “You can’t,” the fog-serpent said. “No one has ever escaped the Sea of Amber.”

  “My father did,” Jill said.

  “We replaced him soon enough,” the fog-serpent said.

  “With Rodney?” Heather demanded.

  “Yesssss,” the fog-serpent said. “His loss will tear the heart out of the prize, and fairydom will fall.”

  “And Ne Ne?” Heather demanded.

  The fog-serpent laughed.

  “Tell me now!” Heather demanded.

  “She is Ne Ne no more,” the fog-serpent laughed.

  Heather glanced at her friends. She noted the disgust on Sandy’s face, the rage on Tanesha’s, the sly-anger on Jill’s face, and the quiet power on Honey’s face.

  “You’re a liar,” Heather said. “I will cast you out of this world.”

  “You don’t have the power, half-breed,” the fog-serpent said.

  “Hera,” Heather said in a low voice. “Come near me now.”

  The air filled with electricity and the fog-serpent’s countenance radiated with terror.

  “There is nothing wrong with fairydom, is there?” Heather asked.

  “No,” the fog-serpent said.

  “Ne Ne doesn’t even know you replaced her here,” Heather said.

  “She does not,” the fog-serpent said.

  “And Abi? Fin?” Heather asked.

  “Prince Finegal and his mate are resting in the palace of the queen and king,” the fog-serpent said. “The Queen is expecting a grandchild.”

  The air cackled.

  “We will get the prize,” the fog-serpent said. “We will destroy them like you destroyed…”

  Heather clapped her hands together, and the fog-serpent exploded with a loud boom. The women turned their backs to the barrage of tiny water particles and fog.

  “What the hell?” Jeraine’s voice came from upstairs.

  The music switched off, and everyone was suddenly standing on the landing of the basement stairs.

  “Your mom’s in terrible danger,” Heather said.

  Tanesha nodded.

  “There’s something you need to know,” Heather said.

  “Mom?” Tink asked. She hesitated for a moment before running down the stairs.

  “She’s not the prize,” Tanesha said.

  “You know,” Heather said.

  “Miss T, are you all right?” Jeraine said at the same time Jabari said, “Mommy?”

  “Ne Ne, or whoever that was, said something about it,” Tanesha said.

  “What is she talking about?” Sandy asked.

  “I’m the prize,” Tanesha said under her breath. She gave Sandy a nod and went to greet Jeraine.

  Denver Cereal continues…

  Glossary of Characters

  Aaron Alvin:

  Father of Ava; also called “The spider” by Yvonne Smith.

  Abi the Fairy:

  General in Fairy Corps; great-grandmother of Tanesha; Fin’s partner

  Aden Norsen:

  CEO at Lipson construction; single father of Nash and Noelle; husband of Sandy.

  Alma Fontaine:

  Mother of Heather Lipson; Psyche.

  Alexandra Hargreaves:

  Identical twin to Max Hargreaves; ‘The Fey;’ the leader of the Fey Team; wife of Dr. John Drayson; sister to Colin and Samantha Hargreaves.

  Anjelika:

  Megan, Mike, Steve, Candy and Jill’s mother; grandmother to Katy; wife of Perses.

  Andrea Menendez or Andy Mendy:

  Mother of Sandy
; Seth’s love & lover from the time he was 14 until he lost her when he was 30.

  Annette:

  Reality television star; mother to Jabari; Jeraine Wilson’s ex.

  Arthur “Raz” Rasmussen:

  Member of the Fey team; boyfriend of Samantha Hargreaves.

  Ava — Amelie Vivian Alvin:

  Denver Police Crime Lab Technician; fiancé of Seth O’Malley; daughter of Aaron Alvin.

  Ben Red Bear, Detective:

  Denver Police Detective in charge of investigation of rapes; possibly involved in the distribution chain.

  Bestat Behur:

  Partner to Zack Jakkman; stepmother to Teddy; dragon.

  Beth Baker:

  Ava’s best friend; Child Psychologist; murdered by Saint Jude.

  Blane Lipson:

  Jacob’s ‘cousin;’ assistant to Jacob Marlowe at Lipson Construction; Chinese Medicine doctor; husband of Heather; father of Mack; getting bone marrow transplant for HIV infection.

  Bob aka ‘Blood spatter Bob’: Former expert forensics instructor with the FBI; currently a laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver Police Department lab.

  Bumpy Wilson:

  Good friend of Seth’s; medical doctor; father of Jeraine Wilson, husband of Dionne, born Leroy Wilson.

  Candace or Candy Roper:

  Daughter of Anjelika; sister to Jill.

  Charlie Delgado:

  Stepbrother of Sandy; street kid; drug addict; moved in with Sandy in Cimarron.

  Chesterfield or Mr. Chesterfield:

  Rodney Smith’s large black dog, which he was given in prison from the Puppies for Prisoners program; best friend of Jabari.

  Celia Marlowe:

  Wife of Sam Lipson; mother of Valerie Lipson and Jacob Marlowe; Delphie’s best friend; died of cancer nine years before Denver Cereal begins.