Bonds Broken & Silent

by Kris Austen Radcliffe

  Dealing with other Shifters was scary enough. Fates were bad news.

  Aiden frowned. “Nor can they help you.” His eyes took on a sadness that to her, looked to carry the weight of ages.

  But the Fate standing in front of her looked too young to be a true threat. Too sweet, with his wide, gray eyes and his stupid hat perched on his messy hair, his also-gray hoodie, and his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans. He didn’t even look like he could grow more than a little scruff on his chin. How could this guy with his awe-shucks grin and his slight stubble be dangerous?

  Or maybe the enthraller-calmed air in the lobby made her think that way. But if something was wrong, she’d smell it. Her brain would yell and swing its arms around because at this point, she was primed for bad people being bad. Badness would be so different from the rest of the moment, it’d stand out like reeking road kill.

  “I figured I’d better leave once I realized who just rolled in.” He curled his fingers into talon-like claws and made a dragonesque, monster-snarl. “They aren’t fond of my kind.” His lips twisted up and he shrugged.

  “What?” Why was he telling her Ladon didn’t like Fates?

  He grinned and thrust his hands into his pockets again, tightening first, then slumping his shoulders. “Can’t blame them, really. I’m not fond of my kind.” He winked. “I met a triad a couple of years ago named Porsche, Mercedes, and Escalade. Honest to God. Can you believe that? ‘Escalade’ had me snickering for days.”

  Daisy grinned. How could she not? And he really was good looking.

  When a staff member in a bright green “The Land” t-shirt walked by, the cute guy named Aiden fiddled with his knit cap and looked like he was concentrating again, but in a different way. Like he was trying not to be noticed.

  He watched the staff member move on. “Talk about entitlement issues. At least the people here aren’t, for the most part, a-holes.”

  A Fate who thought his own kind had issues? Daisy frowned, even though she didn’t mean to. But she didn’t have enough information about him or his life to judge. So she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him her best Whatever look.

  He laughed and tapped his temple. “My seer ain’t working right. That’s why I’m here. Though sometimes a few visions get through.” Another shrug slumped his shoulders when he stuffed his hands back into his pockets. “I saw you. Knew I should at least say hello and let you know that you’re not the only one here who needs help.”

  “Um…” She didn’t know what to say. What did this guy know? Part of her still wanted to back away but relief flooded in. She wasn’t alone.

  And not all Fates were bad. She’d learned that already. He certainly didn’t seem to be. But she needed to be careful, especially around guys she didn’t know.

  Aiden held up his hands and stepped back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to invade your space. I saw a beautiful woman whose situation resonated enough with mine I got a sense of her. Because that’s all I can see right now. Stuff about people who are traveling the same road as me.”

  The heavy sadness returned to his eyes. For a second, he looked remarkably like Ladon when she’d acted all frightened the moment she realized who he was. The skinny-but-hot guy holding up his hands gave off the same vibe. The Another woman won’t talk to me because I come from a family of evil assholes look. Like he couldn’t catch a break.

  No wonder he was on his own and looking for Shifter help.

  Aiden leaned close again. “I know you know as much about the context of this place as I do.” He gave her a knowing nod. “And that you’ve figured out it’s brimming with enthrallers.”

  Daisy looked around. Not that she could tell who the enthrallers were, though.

  Aiden nodded again. “I can’t tell who they are, either. Though assuming all the staff has…the gift… is probably a good bet.”

  “Yeah.” The three behind the desk looked overworked but this crowd was way too calm and under control for people who’d just lived through a tornado.

  “I figure you’re here because you need a healing, too.” Now he looked flat-out sad. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have seen you.”

  “I had a car accident. My dog got hurt but one of them wanted to enthrall me.” It felt good to talk about it. She couldn’t with Ladon, but Aiden seemed to understand.

  “Is she okay?” Aiden touched her arm. “Your dog?”

  “She will be.” His fingers offered a level of comfort she wasn’t used to. Or had ever experienced, to be honest. When he moved closer, she didn’t move away.

  He closed his eyes and his shoulders stiffened. “I can’t see. I’m sorry.” He tapped his temple again.

  “What happened to you?” How could a future-seer’s abilities get broken?

  His face scrunched up in the way her mom’s used to when she didn’t want to talk about something.

  “I’m sorry I pried.” Daisy moved with the crowd when the entire mass of people stepped as one toward the front entrance.

  “This group is tourists who came in tonight for a show over at The Land.” Aiden pointed off to the side. “They were in the restaurant when the storm hit. The hotel’s sending them back into town. Their hotel wasn’t damaged when the tornado went through.” He sounded lost.

  “Was yours?” she asked.

  Aiden frowned. “I think so. No reports yet. But I don’t think I have any place to go.” He leaned close again. “And since he’s here, you know, with his friend,” Aiden did the dragonesque snarl again, “it’s not safe for me to stay.” An exaggerated frown made his cheeks sag.

  “Why?” Ladon didn’t seem to Daisy like he’d hurt this kid.

  “It’s a long, sad story and it involves relatives who a long and sad time ago did some really stupid shit.” He shrugged again. “To be honest, I can’t blame them for being pissed still, even after all this time.”

  “Oh.” So he didn’t have a place to go, either.

  “My kind can be total a-holes.” He stood on his toes to look over the crowd at the door. “I stay away.” He dropped down again. “Otherwise, I’d be insane by now. It’s like a cult. I don’t pretend to understand.”

  “Oh,” she said again. Could Fates be… normal? He sure seemed normal. And personable. Not freaky-scary like all the other Fates.

  Aiden flipped his finger between his chest and hers. “Hey, look, I know it’s forward of me, but I think we both could use some mutual protection here.” He nodded toward the front of the lobby. “I’ll get you on the bus. You can get off with me if you want. Or not. We’ll claim your room was destroyed too, and get you a place to stay tonight, at least.”

  “You think that will work?” She’d have a bed tonight. Sleeping in the mud didn’t seem like a good idea.

  Aiden nodded. “I’d try to use my seer but I need to be careful. Don’t want one of the enthrallers to sense me.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. The other Fates she’d encountered had been obvious to the other Shifters around. Why wasn’t Aiden? Did he reel in his abilities?

  He tapped his toe and grinned like a kid. “Like I said, my seer’s broken. I’m probably the least effective future-seer on the planet right now, but it does seem to have a side effect. I’m invisible unless I’m blasting.”

  So no one could sense him.

  Thoughts of Daisy’s mom popped into her head. Cecilia Reynolds ran away in one direction when she sent Daisy off in another—mostly, Daisy kept telling herself, to act as a decoy. But there had been the admission of fear about her future. Cecilia had been terrified of coming to The Land of Milk and Honey and facing the man Kobayashi made her manipulate into knocking her up.

  Daisy, the ensnaring chain baby.

  Maybe her mom was right. Maybe coming here was a terrible idea. Daisy needed help, and the first thing that happened was that she ended up threatened with a mind fuck even before she had a chance to talk to anyone important.

  No wonder her mom ran away.

  Her new companion stood close as
he watched the crowd. His hand glided over her back, his fingers spreading, and he settled his palm on the top of her hip, but not in a possessive way. He shouldered an older guy with a bald spot, to make room for Daisy.

  And he was a future-seer. Not a strong one, obviously, but maybe he could help. Maybe he could see the level of danger she faced by coming here.

  And maybe he could help find her mom.

  “You came here to ask for help?” she asked.

  When the crowd moved again, Aiden ushered her toward the door, but he stopped and yanked two bottles of water off a table set out for the guests. “For the bus.” He stuffed them into the pockets of his hoodie.

  “Good idea.” She was thirsty and Aiden seemed to want to make her comfortable.

  “Healers are hard to find,” he said. “Especially healers who will help someone like me. I thought this place would have someone I could at least pay.” This time, he sighed. “Guess I was wrong.”

  He looked so downtrodden all Daisy wanted to do was to give him a hug. “What’s the point of this place, then?”

  Aiden smiled at the staff member standing next to the bus. He stood between the woman and Daisy, smiling like the happiest man alive, and pointed at her clipboard. “Aiden and Daisy Blake. We’re newlyweds.” He wrapped his fingers through Daisy’s and held up their clasped hands for the staff member to see.

  The woman’s expression stayed unchanged. Every couple who came through The Land of Milk and Honey were likely “newlyweds.” Unfazed and uncaring, she ushered them onto the bus with a sniff and a nod, Daisy first.

  Getting to a seat was worse than boarding a plane. She waited, Aiden directly behind her and close enough to her back that when she twisted, their shoulders met.

  “Thirsty?” She heard the snaps as he opened each of the water bottles.

  “Yeah.” She would have looked over her shoulder, but an obese man a few seats up swore loudly at a young woman with light brown hair. The entire bus stopped and stared until an older woman told the man to shut up.

  When the people in front of her started shuffling forward again, Daisy quickly dropped her butt into a seat. Aiden slid in next to her.

  The bus was clean and comfy, and smelled like upholstery cleaner. Daisy wiggled into her seat and glanced out the window. A big tree in the center of the parking lot had toppled onto the car parked under it. A woman and a man stomped around next to it. The woman yelled something into her phone.

  “That your car?” Aiden thrust his chin at the accident as he held out a bottle for her to take.

  “No.” But it did make her think about Dawn again. And how Daisy was running away.

  “They fleece the tourists.” Aiden thrust out his chin again as he sipped from his bottle, but this time at the building on the other side of the lot. “If you want to know. Happens a lot in Shifter enclaves. Here. Wisconsin Dells. Reno.”

  A massive “The Land of Milk and Honey” sign on top of an expansive black building winked on, along with a stylized drop of neon-yellow honey.

  Aiden sat back. “Fleece tourists and supply them with their war dealings.” His face drew down and he closed his eyes.

  The Dracae. The doctor never said anything about “war dealings.” Only that the dragons weren’t people to mess with.

  Something else she’d learned tonight.

  “I left my dog with one of them.” What had she done to Dawn? She took another sip of the cold water.

  It tasted funny, sort of like the extra organic compounds the tornado had tossed into the air had found their way into the water. She frowned and capped it off. “I think this whole place is a little weird.”

  Aiden took her hand. He squeezed, and he didn’t let go. “She’ll be okay. I promise.”

  Daisy watched his face for a long moment. He wasn’t doing the Fate squint. “How do you know?”

  His pinky finger moved. He hooked it around hers and squeezed again. “Because she’s not a Fate or a Shifter, like us.”

  Chapter Eight

  Daisy dropped into the restaurant booth across from Aiden. She’d gotten off the bus with him when he saw that his hotel still stood undamaged, and he wanted to celebrate. He offered to buy her dinner.

  Her stomach started doing small flip-flops on the bus, but she said okay anyway.

  She still had her bag with her money and the clothes on her back, so she’d have no problem getting herself a room here, or in the other chain hotel across the street. She couldn’t decide which to do.

  All the adrenaline from the tornado must be wearing off and making her indecisive. Maybe Aiden could help her settle in tonight.

  He pointed at the fizzing brown liquid on her placemat when she scooted across the booth’s crinkly fake-leather seat. They were in a darkish corner away from the other patrons. He’d said he’d like “some breathing room” after being near all those enthrallers.

  “The waitress came by while you were in the ladies’ room and dropped off your soda,” he said.

  “Thanks.” Daisy took a sip.

  Her soda had the same weird organic aftertaste as the water on the bus.

  Aiden sipped his and made a face. “You taste that? Missouri water tastes like mud. You’d think the filter systems would take care of it but everything I’ve had to drink since I got here tastes like that.” He set down his soda and shrugged.

  Daisy sniffed her soda but all she picked up was a bunch of carbonation popping in her nostrils. She sat back, suddenly full of sneezes. A big one snuck out before she could stop it.

  Aiden laughed. “Makes me sneeze too.”

  “Smells fine.” She rubbed her nose.

  The waitress, a frazzled middle-aged woman with brown hair and eyes, came by with their orders. She set down Daisy’s salad and Aiden’s sandwich before wiping her hands on her apron. “Anything else?”

  Aiden’s eyes flashed a very brief flat stare of Fate concentration.

  His face scrunched up like someone had just nailed him in the temple with a rock.

  Daisy instinctively reached across the table to take his hand. He looked so hurt she had to make it better.

  “You okay, young man?” the waitress asked. “Lots of people been having headaches because of the storm. We’re lucky here we didn’t get damage.” She waved her hand in the general direction of the hotel’s main building.

  Aiden smiled at the waitress, but his eyes still scrunched up from the pain. “I’m okay. I have ibuprofen in my room.” When he turned his gaze to Daisy, he squeezed her hand.

  “Sure thing.” The waitress took a step back. “If you two lovebirds need anything else, give a holler.”

  Daisy pulled her hand away but a grin turned up the corners of her mouth. Heat flashed up her neck. Lovebirds? Geez, was her attraction to Aiden that obvious? God, she hoped she wasn’t being forward. Or acting like a crazy stalker chick.

  Aiden turned his head to make a show of watching the waitress walk away because, Daisy hoped, he’d seen her embarrassment. And he was being nice.

  “The waitress’s husband called a while ago to tell her their family survived the storm with no problems, but she worries. It’s going to cause conflict in their relationship.” Aiden frowned. “I wish there was something I could say or do to help.”

  “You used your seer to look?” But he said it was broken. At least she thought he’d said it was broken. A lot of what happened in the lobby and the bus seemed kind of blurry. Yeah, the adrenaline had worn off.

  Aiden shrugged. “When I’m not looking directly at my own future, it hurts like the Devil himself is poking me in the eye, but sometimes I see. Not always.” He took a sip of his soda and made the ick face again. “The waitress seems so disheartened, I had to try.”

  The grin that danced over his lips looked both sheepish and embarrassed. “It’s kind of what I do.” He slumped down in the booth.

  “Poke people’s relationships?” She had to tease with the way he was looking away and up at the ceiling.

  Slow
ly, he pulled a chain from around his neck. It slid out from under his collar, making a soft shinking noise as it rubbed the fabric.

  At the end of the chain was a single gold band.

  He leaned forward and held it out, but didn’t take it off. “My talisman.”

  “You activated on a wedding ring?” The guy across from her was some sort of Fate Cupid.

  He tucked it away again. “Tried to work as a counselor but I don’t look old enough for the normals to take me seriously.” He rolled his eyes and picked up his sandwich to take a bite.

  Daisy poked her fork into her salad. Aiden was some serious relationship guy. So if she was acting forward or embarrassing, he’d tell her.

  Or at the very least, not be too put off.

  “I can’t blame you for not wanting one of their enthrallers to brainwash you.” Aiden took another bite out of his sandwich.

  Grateful for the subject change, Daisy picked at her food. Her salad tasted astringent, the way she figured it would if they’d washed the lettuce in cleaning vinegar before adding the other veggies. She stuffed it in her mouth anyway and tried not to think about how damp and dank the restaurant smelled.

  The gray knit cap still sat on Aiden’s head, mirroring the iron in his eyes. He watched her fingers grip her fork, her cheeks move with each word or smile, all with occasional glances at her chest.

  She took a bite of the breadstick sitting on the edge of her plate. Restaurant bread always smelled weird to her, like it was full of soap or something.

  Her brain liked to frame the world in terms of scents, so scents ruled how she understood what happened around her. Then again, she was destined to become a bloodhound enthraller. If she found her mom. And if some random Shifter didn’t enthrall her into spilling the secrets she’d pledged to protect.

  “I like my brain nice and dirty, thank you.” She bit into her Cobb salad. It tasted particularly good, considering. She hadn’t realized how hungry her flip-flopping stomach was until it started growling on the bus out of The Land.