Amber Smoke

by Kristin Cast

  “Get to the fourth floor?” she asked, her smile reappearing. “Just walk down the hall behind you, and you’ll see the elevators on your right.”

  “Elevators?” Alek asked.

  “Yes, they’ll be on your right. Have a wonderful morning.” She turned from him to assist another guest.

  Alek followed her directions and weaved between groups of beer-soaked partygoers taking pictures of themselves. He reached the end of the hall and stared blankly at the two banks of elevators. “Up,” he said. After a minute he tried again. “Up, please?” The left bank of elevator doors immediately opened.

  “For shit’s sake, Jill. Did you not push the goddamn button? No wonder we’ve been standing here for so fucking long.”

  Alek peered into the open box, and the two young women inside eyeballed him. “Will this take me to the fourth floor?”

  “Totes!” the girl closest to him chimed.

  “Totes, Jill? Seriously? What are you, like, sixteen?” The snippy blond cleared her throat before continuing. “Yes, this will take you to the fourth floor. It’s such a coincidence, that’s actually where we’re going.” Her voice lightened as she spoke to Alek. “Get in!”

  Alek stepped in between the doors and awkwardly waited for whatever happened next.

  “No, come closer, silly.” She waved him to her. “The doors won’t close if you stand right in their way.”

  Alek walked to her; the thick steel doors came together behind him.

  “Thank you for saving ussss?” She stretched out the last word and emphasized her question by raising an eyebrow.

  “My name is Alek.”

  She pulled a bottle from behind her back and took a swig. Clear liquid dribbled down her chin and onto her strapless top. Her pastel pink sequin skirt started above her bellybutton and hugged her thin frame. Alek couldn’t tell if her skirt was supposed to be that high, or if it had ridden up without her noticing.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alek.” She offered him her best smile. “I’m Bridget. You want?” She held out the bottle. Absolut Raspberry was written in big pink letters across the frosted glass.

  “No, I’m okay.” He leaned away from the bottle. “I don’t like alcohol.”

  “Had a bad experience?”

  Alek nodded. “A woman I met in Segovia bought me a drink. The bartender lit it on fire, and my next memory is waking up hours later with singed eyebrows.”

  “Oh, yeah I’ve done that before. You have to blow those out first.” She paused to take another gulp. “But that’s okay. I’m not really much of a drinker either.” Using the elevator to brace herself, she slid across the mirror-lined wall until she was close enough for him to smell the liquor clinging to her breath and clothes. “Thank you for saving us, Alek.” Her tongue grazed her top teeth as she enunciated each syllable of his name.

  His stomach lurched, and he tilted his head up to breathe in the clean air above her.

  “Yeah, thanks for rescuing us, Alek,” Jill chimed in.

  “Jill, shut your mouth and push the fucking button so we can get out of this box!” Bridget snapped. She flipped her hair, took another drink, and turned back to Alek. She leaned closer, pressing her chest into his arm as she spoke. “And into someplace a little more comfortable. I’m all alone in room 419. If you’re not busy, you could be.” She stepped back and sloppily traced the outline of her body with her free hand.

  “Perhaps on a different day.”

  The elevator doors opened with a ding, and Bridget hooked Alek’s arm with hers, dragging him past Jill and into the hallway.

  “Don’t be silly. You can come in for just one drink.” She raised the bottle and shook it in the air. “I’m sure the girl who’s waiting on you won’t care.”

  “No one is waiting on me. I—”

  “Perfect!” she interrupted. “And looky! My room. Excellent timing.” She released his arm and propped herself up against the wall while she pushed her room key in and out of the door slot.

  “Bridget, there is something much more important I must to do. I can’t—”

  “Shhhhhhhh.” She shoved a sticky finger over his mouth. “Fine. Whatever. But can you make this card thingy open the door?” She slipped the key into his hand. “Whenever I do it, it gets all red and flashy at me.”

  She unscrewed the bottle cap to take another sip before shuffling over to make room for him at the door. Alek copied off her and carefully slid the key into the opening. The lock made a whirring sound and a green button illuminated.

  “Have a good night.” He propped the door open with his foot and turned to give the key back. Bridget wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The sudden movement tangled their feet, and she fell backward into the hotel room. Alek landed on top of her, and the opened bottle sloshed its contents onto his neck before clattering to the floor. The door slammed shut behind them. Bridget rolled over on top of Alek and held the bottle over his face. “Have one drink,” she whined. “I don’t want to be the only fun one here.” Alek opened his mouth to protest, and she tilted the bottle into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered. It tasted dry and sweet and burned as it washed down his throat.

  “I could tell you wanted to come with me but needed a good excuse.” She released her grip around his neck and stuck out her bottom lip in a flirtatious pout. “So I gave you one.”

  Alek’s legs wobbled as he stumbled to his feet. He brushed the back of his neck with his hand and moisture dripped from his fingers.

  “Oh no, you’re all wet.” She held her arms out for balance as she stood. “Come rinse off with me.”

  Unable to trust his legs, Alek staggered over to the bed.

  “Whoopsie.” Bridget tripped over her shoes as she kicked them off. “I may have had a teensy bit too much to drink.” She giggled and swept her blond curls up into her hands. “Help me with my zipper?” She backed into him. The heat from her body warmed his tingling thighs.

  “I, uh.” Alek’s cheeks turned red and his eyes felt like they were swimming in his head. He pawed at one of the zippers spinning in his vision.

  “What is taking you so long?” Bridget dropped her hair and looked back at him. “Wait. Are you…drunk? Seriously? You’re swaying around like a toddler and you barely even had one drink.”

  Alek shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a burp.

  “Oh my God. Epic fail. And you’re so cute. Shame.” She stepped away from him and began the process of turning her strapless top around her body so the zipper faced front.

  Alek crashed backward onto the mound of decorative pillows and watched. His thoughts spiraled and his vision blurred. “H…How are—” Hiccups interrupted his question. “How are you doing that with your body? It’s all twisted all around.” Hiccups intermittently halted his laugh.

  “Someone must have pregamed. Why do I always get stuck with the losers?” she grumbled. “Okay, look there’s water next to the bed. Drink it and sober up a little bit. I’m going to hop in the shower. When I come back, you better be ready. You don’t want to let this go to waste.” She unzipped her top and it fell to the floor.

  Those are nice, Alek thought before closing his eyes.

  Nine

  “Hey! Hey! Jesus Christ. Alek, or whatever your name is, get up!”

  Alek rolled to his side and away from the person poking him. “Be gone,” he grumbled. “I will wake later.”

  “Fine. Then you’re going to have to pay for another night in this room. Check out is in like five minutes, and I’m not getting stuck paying for your lazy ass.”

  “Check out?” Alek opened his eyes and squinted against the sunlight pouring in from the room’s picture window.

  “Yeah. You passed out for like six hours off of that baby shot of Absolut. Totally ruined an otherwise fantastic night. I even had to sleep on the couch because you were all sprawled out like an enormous dead ogre. Now get up! Ándale!”

  Alek sat up, panic
ked. “What have I done?” A dull ache pulsed behind his eyes.

  “Well, let’s see.” Bridget took a break from packing her heels into her neon green overnight bag to tick off the list. “You embarrassed yourself by proving what a total lightweight you are. You lost your shot at ever hooking up with me. And you ruined a perfectly good throw pillow by drooling all over it.”

  Alek glanced down at the mound of pillows he slept on. A slick spot saturated the ivory silk, creating a puddle of beige. He flipped it over and stood up. “I have to go and find the new, uh, my friend.”

  “Well, that makes two of us.” She dropped her bag by the door and took her phone from the pocket of her turquoise hoodie.

  The skin on the back of his neck was tight, and he rubbed his hand over it. “Disgusting,” he groaned. The vodka Bridget spilled on him the night before had dried into a sticky film. The raspberry stink followed him as he rushed to the bathroom.

  “Sure, take your time. Go to the bathroom. Take a shower. It’s not like I have anywhere to be.”

  Alek watched Bridget’s reflection in the bathroom’s mirror. She impatiently shifted her weight side to side while repeatedly pressing the call button on her phone.

  “I also have somewhere more important to be.” He turned on the faucet and scraped at the back of his neck with a wet hand towel, trying to remove all traces of the pungent alcohol and his growing regret.

  “Come on, Eva. Pick up. I know you’re awake. You wake up at, like, the crack of dawn every day,” Bridget said to her phone as she dialed again.

  “Eva.” Alek lowered the towel and stepped out of the bathroom. “Your friend’s name is Eva?”

  “Umm, yeah.”

  “You know Eva?”

  “I know an Eva. Me and thousands of other people. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who has a friend named Eva.”

  “But you are the only person here who knows someone named Eva.”

  She dropped the phone to her side. “If by here you mean this room, then yes.”

  “I came here last night looking for someone by that name, and now you are trying to find your friend Eva. This must be more than coincidence.”

  “I guess.” She paused, studying him. “Are you that guy from her boring English seminar?”

  “What? No. I don’t think I even know what an English seminar is.” He wrinkled his forehead and continued rubbing the syrupy mess off of his neck.

  “If you think we’re talking about the same person, and you’re not the English seminar guy, then you have to be the one from her anthropology class. The gum popper. She said that you’re super hot, but annoying. You know, because of all of the gum popping. I told her that I knew you were just doing it to get her attention, and apparently I was right. I usually am.”

  “I don’t know her from class.” Alek went back into the bathroom to rewet the towel.

  She pressed a few buttons on her phone before lifting it to her ear. “Well, I can’t imagine my Eva not telling me about you, so we’re probably talking about two different people.”

  He came out of the bathroom and stood next to Bridget.

  “It’s too bad, too. Tall, blond hair, tan, muscly, those pretty honey-colored eyes, it makes a gorgeous package.” Alek puffed his chest at the string of compliments. “You’re definitely her type.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know where she is? Your Eva. So I can be sure that is not who I’m looking for.”

  She shook her head. “Sorry. That’s who I’ve been trying to get ahold of while you were using the sink like a birdbath. I haven’t had any luck, though. She’s not even answering my texts.”

  “Thank you for your help. I apologize for ruining your pillow.” He opened the door and waited for Bridget to walk through it.

  She smiled up at him. “I think housekeeping has seen worse. Especially from last night’s party. Go ahead and go. I’m going to try Eva a few more times before I head down. The elevator messes with my service.”

  The door closed behind him, and he could hear the beeping of Bridget’s phone as she attempted to call Eva again.

  Alek waited impatiently in the empty hallway for the elevator to open.

  The sense of urgency returned and filled him with guilt.

  “Come now, elevator,” he demanded, remembering this time to push the down button. He did so repeatedly until it chimed its arrival. The elevator slowly lowered to the lobby, and for the first time, Alek was glad the Hall of Echoes was barren. He didn’t want his mothers to watch as he disappointed them.

  The elevator stilled and Alek walked out the lobby doors and into the sunny midmorning air. Summer still had its hold on Tulsa, and the temperature outside made Alek uncomfortable and sweaty. He stood baking in the sun and waited for the power within him to pull him toward Eva.

  “Why is nothing happening?” Fiery pressure burned in his chest, but the extreme pull he’d felt the night before was clouded by new thoughts of doubt and self-pity.

  He plucked the talisman from under his shirt and pressed his only connection to his home between the palms of his hands. “Pythia, I again need your aid. For the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do and know of nowhere else to turn.” He strengthened his hold on the talisman and concentrated on flooding the Underworld with his plea.

  A familiar, chilling laughter trickled into his thoughts. Pythia?

  “Who else would I be, Immortal Warrior of Tartarus?”

  Thank you for answering my call. How is it that I can hear you?

  “Your mind is young and desolate. The tentacles of my expansive power wriggled in without problem. Did you call on me to display my abilities, or is it my aid of which you are in need?” Her voice became louder and more forceful as she spoke.

  I can no longer fully connect with the power that leads me to the future Oracle. Can you grant me something new so I can continue this journey?

  “Young warrior, my gifts make time itself quiver and hide. But, in this, even I am void of guidance.”

  If even you cannot help me, what am I to do? How will I find her?

  “Stop searching in others for what only you possess.” Her anger boomed. “Out of your heart spark the fires of fearless confidence, yet it is now ignored by your embryonic brain. Warrior, the belief in oneself is more powerful a tool than the broadest of prayers.” She left his mind with the reverberation of laughter as the only evidence of her visit.

  Alek’s eyelids fluttered open. “She is right. I am the Immortal Warrior of Tartarus. I haven’t time to doubt myself.”

  He cleared his mind and stared at the speckled gray pavement between his feet.

  Eva, I know I have the power to find you. I am the protector of this realm. Now, I am your protector.

  The heat within his chest flared in response.

  Eva, descendant of the great Oracle Pythia, I will find you. I will save you. Together, we will restore my home and rid this realm of evil.

  The fire beneath his lungs roared to life, and the feeling of urgency exploded inside him. He rubbed his open hand on his chest and smiled. “Eva.”

  Ten

  James sat on the edge of his desk and studied crime scene files and photos while he waited for Schilling. “Where the victim was last seen and where her body was found are within blocks of each other.” He studied the images again before settling on the conclusion. “How did we miss this? It’s so obvious.”

  He fished in his pocket for his phone and dialed Schilling’s number. The voicemail picked up after only a couple rings. “Hey, it’s me. Found something you should see. I’m waiting for you at the precinct.” He ended the call and flagged down the nearest detective. “You seen Schilling anywhere?”

  “Uh, yeah. He’s in with the captain.”

  “Thanks, man.” He stuffed his phone in his pocket and headed down the hall.

  Before he rounded the corner to the captain’s office, his phone chimed. He cleared the text message icon, and slipped it back into his pants.

&n
bsp; Schilling’s voice grumbled into the hallway. “He tattooed her and sliced up her body. This is the real thing.”

  “Shit.” Captain Alvarez let out a big puff of air. “We’ve got to put this one down fast, Schilling. Can’t have the city panicking.”

  “I know. We’ll keep the lid on it and get a solve.”

  “And what do you think about your new partner? Cases like this come with a lot of attention. Think he’ll be able to handle it?”

  They sat in silence for a moment, and James waited for Schilling’s response. “He’s already working on some theories. He’s got the head for it…”

  “But what?”

  “He’s young and not too into making friends.”

  Captain Alvarez chuckled. “From what my predecessors told me¸ neither were you.”

  “Rookie mistake number two. I learned.”

  “I’m telling you, Graham is straight out of Gotham. You haven’t seen his military record. We’re lucky he chose to join the force.”

  James loudly cleared his throat before turning the corner.

  “Graham, perfect timing. I was just about to tell your partner here the good news. I’m putting you both as lead investigators on this case.”

  “That’s great.” Schilling stood and shook the captain’s hand.

  “Yes, thank you, sir. We won’t let you down.” James stepped forward and gave him a firm handshake.

  “That’s what I like to hear. See that you don’t.” Captain Alvarez sat back in his cushioned chair and took a sip from his coffee mug.

  “Then we’ll be getting back to it.” Schilling led them out of the small office and down the hall.

  “I noticed something,” James said as he followed his partner to the parking lot. “Our victim was last seen around two in the morning downtown at a late night pizza joint. At some point, between her leaving her friends and getting back to her apartment on campus, our perp grabbed her.”

  “Right, I read the file. Her roommate said that she never made it home, but they found her car at the school. No one in the area heard anything that night, and there are no cameras in the vicinity. So we don’t know if the car was dumped there or if she drove and was abducted between her parking space and her front door.”