“So, where are we going surfing?” I interjected.
Soon we were saying our goodbyes, Brad embracing Abby with a kiss on each cheek at the porch, telling her how he was looking forward to meeting Dutch sometime soon. I grabbed my board from the side of the house and met the guys in the driveway, eager as Cruz was to get moving.
He stood holding open the door of a classic wood-sided station wagon, a fully restored antique that sparkled in the morning light. It looked like something that belonged in an old surfing poster.
“Hop in! We borrowed this cool surfer-mobile from his dad’s house. Brad wanted to take us out in style.”
I climbed into the back seat with my tote while Brad loaded my board into the back. We pulled out of the driveway, the three of us waving goodbye to Abby.
“Your mom is so awesome!” Brad enthused, “I wish I had a mom like that.”
“That’s what everyone says,” I ruffled Cruz’s hair and leaned back in my seat smugly.
He turned around to give me a long suffering look, straightening his long bangs with his fingers, “Where’s Ethan today?”
“He’s out on the boat with with Dutch,” I replied.
“All work and no play…” he said mischievously. I don’t think he realized how close to home that one hit, for it was the one and only thing about Ethan that I was determined to change.
“So,” I looked around at the perfect leather interior, “Does your dad collect old cars?”
“My father collects everything,” he said, with a trace of sarcasm.
With the windows down and the wind in my hair, it was easy to believe that the situation with Olivia would sort itself out. Marissa’s strange warning seemed to have come a long, long time ago– maybe she was simply being overly dramatic. Maybe that’s what all the muses were like. After all, I’d spent my whole life subjected to Evie’s histrionics.
It was a pleasant drive up the coast, and I looked out the window, noticing the other driver’s heads turning to check out our classic ride. We pulled off the freeway, rolling onto an unpaved road that stopped at the edge of a sheer cliff. I clambered out to look over the bank of the crumbling bluff that dropped precipitously off, tumbling down to a rocky beach below. There was no clear way to get to the water.
“This is your secret spot?” Cruz asked Brad, peering over the side nervously.
“How do we get down?” I asked impatiently.
“This way,” said Brad, setting off on a narrow path that wound its way through the dense underbrush and waving stands of pampas grass that crowded the bluff. I tucked my board under my arm and followed, listening to the unmistakable sound of surf pounding on rocks. A delicious little shiver trickled down my backbone.
All at once we broke out of the brush into a small clearing. Brad pointed out a dangerously steep and narrow switchback trail that dropped down to a rocky cove. There were some beautiful waves forming off a small point that jutted out into the sea. It was a breathtaking and remote spot– exactly the sort of place Lorelei liked to bring me in the dead of the night. I could already feel the motion of the surf and taste the salt on my tongue. I was raring to go, determined to get down there if I had to sprout wings and fly.
Cruz burst out, “You can’t be serious! I’m not a mountain goat!”
Brad reached under a shrub and pulled out a knotted nylon rope that was tied to a sturdy cypress trunk. “You can do it,” he told Cruz.
I just grinned. This was going to be a piece of cake. There was nothing in the world that was going to get between me and those waves.
Brad ignored Cruz as he tested the strength of the rope and tugged on the tree. Satisfied, he turned to me, “I’ll go first and you can lower the boards and bags to me, alright? Then you can use the rope to steady yourself on the way down.”
Cruz stood rooted to the spot while I sprang into action, tying the rope around my board and slowly lowering it down the cliff to the rocky beach below. Brad climbed down agilely and reached up for my board. I followed suit with his, finally lowering our bags.
Nervously pacing the whole time, Cruz looked paler than usual, and completely out of place in his skinny jeans and black leather jacket.
“I don’t suppose I ever mentioned my fear of heights to you?” he whined.
I rolled my eyes at him, “I don’t recall any fear of heights the day you made me go on that rollercoaster!”
“Marina… I can’t!” he wailed, panic stricken. I thought about how I felt about getting on the horse and softened.
“We’ll go together,” I said, taking his hand and leading him to the edge. I grabbed hold of the rope firmly and went first, coaxing him along behind me. Cruz and I made our way down the steep pathway slowly, his knuckles white on the rope. I stepped down lightly onto a boulder at the bottom and looked up to see Cruz stumble along behind me, losing his balance and tumbling towards me with outstretched arms and a terrified face.
I braced for the impact, but Brad stepped in and caught him, holding him up and embracing him warmly, “See?” he said, “I knew you could do it.”
I turned my focus towards the crashing waves, leaving them to their moment. By the time I got my wetsuit on, I looked back to see Cruz settling in on a blanket with his sketch pad, fastidiously brushing the sand and pebbles off the edges. I don’t think I’d ever seen him sit down at the beach, and I smiled at the incongruous sight. Brad was good for him.
“We lucked out,” Brad said, once he was suited up, “It looks great today!”
“Yeah, lucky,” I said, even though I’d known it the minute I woke up.
Brad took a moment to explain the break to me, advising me on the best way to enter and the various dangers that lurked beneath the roiling waves. I nodded politely, already having judged the potential from shore, itching to slip into the whispering water. I smiled and followed suit when Brad dove through the crashing surf to get out to the sweet spot where we sat up and faced out to sea, waiting for the ocean to send us some perfectly surfable waves.
“I can’t believe I haven’t been out here for so long!” Brad smiled at me.
I nodded my agreement, “It can be kind of addictive.”
It felt like we had the whole sea to ourselves, and we surfed set after set; the natural rhythms of the water pacing us perfectly. Brad turned out to be a fairly good surfer, improving as the day wore on. We shared the waves with an easy camaraderie, taking our turns and shouting out encouragement to each other. I held back a little, unwilling to give in to it, afraid to lose myself in front of Brad. The hours slipped away quickly, and when we both began to tire we paddled ashore to join Cruz on the blanket.
“I sure needed that!” Brad told Cruz.
“Yeah, me too” I smiled, already planning a trip to this spot with Ethan.
I leaned back to soak up the sun, sighing with contentment. We ate some sandwiches that Brad and Cruz had packed, rested, and went back to the waves to surf the rest of the day away. This time I let loose, laughing with the sheer joy of being able to completely master the crashing surf, all of my worries rinsed away. We surfed until we were utterly spent, staggering out of the water to flop down on the blanket with Cruz.
“Your cousin is an awesome surfer!” Brad enthused. Cruz’s eyes flashed onto mine and darted away. I wondered if he’d managed to keep my unusual heritage a secret. The way he looked at Brad I doubted he’d have the ability for long.
“Her boyfriend taught her,” said Cruz with a wink at me.
“Boyfriend?” said Brad playfully, looking down at my ring and back up at me with olive green eyes.
I blushed, admiring the diamond and aquamarines flashing in the sun, “Fiancé, I guess.”
“Get out!” Cruz grabbed my wrist, pulling the ring closer for inspection, “I knew you two were serious… But are you serious?”
I nodded, smiling, “Yeah.”
“Don’t you think you guys are a little too young? What will your dad say?” Cruz asked.
“Cruz,” s
aid Brad meaningfully, “Don’t you think congratulations are in order?”
He proposed a toast to my engagement, and we drank to my future with Ethan, clinking our soda cans together. I was starting to like Brad more and more.
“How did you find this place?” I asked, looking up at the bluffs.
“It’s just up the coast from our beach house. When I needed to get away from the old man I’d walk along the cliffs… and imagine throwing myself off them.” Cruz and I looked at him in shock. “But I built this trail down instead,” he added with a grin.
“That’s not funny!” Cruz exclaimed.
Brad shrugged nonchalantly, “I was a messed-up kid. After my parents divorced, they sent me away to one boarding school after another, but I kept managing to get kicked out.”
“Why?” I asked, finding it hard to imagine.
“Let’s just say, I always got into a lot of trouble. I suppose I was acting up… But it was inconvenient for mother’s social life so father got stuck with me in the summers.”
He spoke bitterly, making little quotation marks with his fingers. Cruz took his hand, his warm brown eyes full of sympathy, “At least your dad wanted you around.”
Brad just gave him a look full of amused cynicism. It was clear he thought Cruz was being naive, “Yeah… uh huh. I’m a real chip off the old block.”
Cruz brightened, turning to address me, “Evie gets in today! I hope you and Ethan are coming to dinner tomorrow.”
“I’m not sure,” I said, but I was already planning to skip her little soiree. I was hoping that Olivia would just go home so I could sit Evie down and tell her what I suspected.
“Well, I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Evie’s flying a famous sushi chef in from Japan, just to cater it!”
I shrugged noncommittally, “Can I see your sketchbook?” I asked Cruz, reaching for it. I flipped through the pages, truly surprised by his continued growth as an artist. He’d designed and illustrated an entire year’s worth of collections. There were detailed drawings of sophisticated winter coats juxtaposed with flowing summery resort wear. Outfits both casual and businesslike were sketched out in the most intricate detail; he had a unique take on everything from skimpy swimsuits to lush, romantic ballgowns.
“Wow!” I exclaimed, “You’ve been busy!”
Brad jumped in to proudly tell me how Cruz had been turning out a prodigious amount of samples from his new workshop. He gushed about Cruz’s talent, telling me he thought it was time for him to start lining up financial backers to debut his own line.
“I’m just getting started at school,” Cruz said hesitantly, “I wouldn’t want to jump the gun and blow it.”
“Listen to your intuition,” I smiled reassuringly, “You’ll know when the time is right.” I looked up at the massive bank of fog that was rolling in towards us. You could feel a chill descend as the swirling edges drew near.
“We better get going,” said Cruz, following my eyes.
We changed out of our suits and packed up our gear as the breeze began to pick up. Brad scrambled up the precipitous trail while I attached our bags and boards to the rope for him to haul up.
“Geez!” Cruz complained, “I wasn’t expecting ‘outward bound’ today!”
“Just hold onto the rope,” I advised him sternly, surprised when he scrambled up almost as quickly as Brad had. I turned to see the fog had now completely overtaken the little cove, bringing a damp rush of briny sea air along with it.
I took my time climbing up, and when I got to the top I found that Brad had already loaded our gear into his Woodie. We all climbed in, glad to be out of the chill.
“I should get this back into the garage before my father gets back,” said Brad, driving down the gravel road. “I don’t really want to deal with him today.”
He turned onto a paved road that went alongside the highway, and turned again onto a long driveway, heavily lined with trees. The fog’s misty gloom made it look eerie, and the skin on my arms tingled with gooseflesh.
We broke out of the trees, pulling onto a large circular driveway, illuminated by the long afternoon rays of the sun, and bathed in swirling eddies of fog. Brad pulled up to a keypad mounted on a post and punched in some numbers, and I could see a metal gate that led to an underground garage slowly roll open.
Something about the paving on the driveway looked familiar, and I glanced up to see the multiple chimneys of the big house looming in the fog. My heart nearly stopped when I suddenly realized where we were, and before I could react we began our descent into the parking garage. I clawed at my seatbelt, turning frantically to see the gate slowly roll closed, trapping us inside.
I was shaking violently when the car came to a stop. The last time I’d stepped out into this garage it was from the back of a van, and I had been handcuffed to Lorelei.
I was back at the Edwards mansion.
CHAPTER TWENTYTWO
TRUTH HURTS
Brad pulled the wagon into a parking spot, stopping with a jolt. I could see one of Evie’s convertibles parked next to us.
Cruz turned around with a smile, “Wait ’till you see– Marina?”
My panicked eyes locked onto his, “Take me home now,” I demanded, “I want to go home!”
“Whoa,” he said, reeling back a little, “Chill out! I just wanted Brad to show you his dad’s house for a few minutes– you really should see this place!”
“NO! I want to go now!” I knew I sounded hysterical, but I couldn’t help it. Fear had triggered a powerful surge of adrenalin, and I clawed at the door, jumping out; it was fight or flight, and I was ready to do both.
Brad got out and faced me, “Are you alright?” he looked perplexed, “Won’t you come in and get something to drink?”
I backed away, looking at the hallway that led to the two prison cells. I remembered everything as if it had happened yesterday, and the smell of the garage brought all the horror crashing back down on me.
“Cruz…” I tried to steady my voice, but it quaked with fear, “Please… I need to go home…”
Cruz came around the back of the car, “Geez Marina… What’s wrong?”
I looked over my shoulder at the metal bars of the closed garage gate. I felt like I was trapped in a cage, and I cast my eyes around frantically, desperate for a way out.
“Marina?” Cruz came towards me with a concerned face, “Are you okay?”
Panic and fear were clouding my mind, but I managed to sputter out, “I don’t feel well… I’m sick.” I clutched my elbows with my hands, but I couldn’t stop the trembling.
Brad came over to us, his eyes filled with concern, “Can I get you anything? Water? Do you need to come in and lay down or something?”
“NO!” I cried, turning to Cruz, “Just– just– please take me home.” Cruz and Brad exchanged a look.
“She does look pale… why don’t you drive her home,” Brad said to Cruz, “You can meet me later… I’ll wait for you here.”
The two of them took my things out of the Woodie and loaded them into the back seat of Evie’s car. I stood there, hugging myself tightly with gritted teeth while they embraced goodbye. I went around to the passenger side, giving Brad a wide berth, and stood waiting for Cruz. He looked at me with questions in his eyes, “OK… let’s go.”
I climbed in, tensely waiting for Cruz to start the engine. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. I held my breath as Cruz backed out, watching while Brad punched a code into the keypad. The gate slowly rolled open, and I avoided Brad’s eyes, looking up into the lens of a security camera just as we pulled out. We drove away from the house, and I twisted around to get one last look at the fog shrouded mansion of my nightmares.
Cruz glanced nervously over at me, “Do you need a barf-bag or something? You look green!”
I shook my head no, and it was only when we got out onto the freeway that I felt like I could draw a breath again. The top was down to accommodate my surfboard, and the roar of the wind made c
onversation nearly impossible. I leaned back in my seat, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The awful truth was slowly dawning on me.
The Edwards family hadn’t given up on me, far from it. They had found a way to get my muse powers to work for them without my even knowing it. They had used an attack on Lue and Ethan’s land to put a family member into national office, a position that was conveniently vacated by a terrible car crash. I always had a feeling that Congressman Hill’s death was no accident, but now I realized that it wasn’t my anger that had killed him. It was crystal clear to me that I had unwittingly used my muse powers for them. But why?
I wanted Ethan desperately, only he was out on his dad’s boat until sunset.
My mind raced as I recalled meeting Brad and his aunt for the first time. It was Barbara who had recommended me to the gallery, but it was her nephew who had bought my paintings, giving Barbara a perfect excuse to meet me. Stella’s ghost had been right. She tried to warn me that Edwards and his sister were working together. I just didn’t realize that Barbara Watson was related to the Edwards family.
My stomach lurched when I realized that Brad had to be in on the whole thing. I felt betrayed, and imagining how Cruz would feel made me really want to throw up. I had to figure out how to break the awful truth to him, and wondered how much I should tell him. Then I remembered Olivia. If Marissa was right, and she was working with the Edwards family, what exactly was she after? It was like trying to solve a puzzle that was missing many pieces, and I had no idea where to start.
We pulled up in front of Abby’s house and Cruz turned to scrutinize me, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not sick,” I said, looking at the house, “We have to talk. Can we go someplace?”
“Marina,” he said sourly, “Do you mind telling me what that was all about?”
I took a deep breath, “I will, but I want to keep Abby out of this... Can we go somewhere?”
“Fine,” he was irritated, “But I have to get back to Brad. I can’t believe you were so rude to him!”
03 The Fate Of The Muse - Marina's Tales Page 23
