by Ford, Lizzy
She took it, face warm. Amira waited for him to leave the kitchen before she held the bunched up ball of material to her face and breathed in deeply.
It smelled like him, of wood smoke and dark, sweet cologne. She loved his scent. Absorbed in it, she didn’t notice he’d returned, until he nudged her.
Amira lowered the sweater quickly and turned, glancing up at him.
“I’m ready,” she proclaimed then went towards the door. She tugged on his sweater as she went, loving the way it still retained some of his heat.
She walked outside and waited for him at the truck. He followed. Moments later, they were on the highway headed south, towards Washington DC. Amira shivered until the cab’s interior was warm. She looked at Troy from the side of her eye. He seemed focused, not like he was interested in talking.
How did one start a conversation with the man meant to be her OTL but who also kind of came across as unapproachable?
Strange lightning lit up the skies to their right. She looked, frowning when she realized there were no clouds. It was the color of a flash of fire, like from her dreams. Amira clutched her hands together.
Troy tapped her, and she looked to him. He turned on the cab light so she could see his lips.
“I’m going to check it out,” he said.
She shook her head.
“It’s okay. I can take care of us.”
You don’t know what you’re dealing with. She looked away, towards the light.
It stopped, and Troy turned down an intersection to take them closer to the strange sight. It came from the edge of town, in the direction of an empty field near the fairgrounds. It was quiet and dark, and Amira grew tenser the closer they got.
He stopped and pulled off the road. A short distance away, flashes of light were barely visible through the trees.
Troy opened his door, and she looked at him, surprised.
“Glove box.” He pointed.
She opened it and saw it was filled with weapons. At her hesitation, he trotted around the truck and opened her door, leaning over her to grab a knife and gun. He placed the gun at the small of his back and tucked two more magazines into one pocket then clipped two knives to his belt.
Amira shrank away from the weapons, not liking the sight of them.
“You stay here,” he said. “Take this. If anyone not me comes back, point and squeeze the trigger.” He rested a gun on her lap.
She shook her head. “Life is sacred.”
“So is yours. You shoot or you get shot.” He appeared grave, and she thought again about how he was suicidal. What if he didn’t come back, before she had a chance to help him?
“Don’t go,” she said. “Please. Scott died. I don’t want you to die, too.”
Troy offered a quick smile. He reached out and cupped her cheek then pulled her forward, until their foreheads met. The gentle pulse of energy he sent through her was meant as reassurance. He pressed soft, warm lips against her forehead in a light kiss then leaned away.
“This is what I do. I’ll be fine. I’ll be back in forty-five minutes. If not, contact Nathan.” He closed the door.
She watched him, not liking this adventure at all. Amira picked up the gun and replaced it in the glove box. When she looked up once more, there was no sign of Troy.
Tugging her stones free from her pocket, she dumped them into her hand then replaced all but the two-toned one. She gripped it.
Shadowman and his host were close, with the fallen guardian ahead of her and his host on the other side of the town. Amira’s eyes strayed to the steering column.
Troy left his keys. Would he be terribly upset if she took a small detour, while he was busy? She had forty-five minutes, and the host was close enough for her to make it there and back before Troy returned.
She shifted out of her seat and into the driver’s chair then adjusted the seat. Starting the car, she peered outside briefly for movement in the forest indicating he was coming back.
There was nothing.
She flipped on the lights and did a U-turn in the road then headed back the opposite way, the green-blue stone clenched in one hand to guide her. It led her to a small, ranch style house tucked down a long driveway off a side road. Taking a lesson from Troy, she parked on the road a few dozen feet away then got out and looked around.
A car pulled into the driveway, and she ducked behind the truck, hoping the driver didn’t notice her. The vehicle continued and stopped before reaching the house, pulling off to one side of the driveway.
Amira walked along a small path in the trees on the opposite side of the driveway, stepping gingerly through the brush. When she drew abreast of the car, she stopped to see who was in it. There were two figures talking in the car, a man and a woman.
The lights of the vehicle were off, as if they didn’t want the people in the house to know they were there, and they appeared to be hunched over something one of them held between them. The woman was too familiar, and Amira clutched the branch of the tree tickling her neck.
Zyra. The same woman who led the other guides to attack Scott both times.
Close to panicking, Amira sank further into the tree line and continued.
What did Zyra want? Had she sensed Amira here and followed?
Amira’s hand went to the pouch in her pocket. What if Zyra was able to track her through the stones? As far as she knew, there were only four people who could use the stones. What if Zyra had one and figured out how to do the same?
First things first. Get the stones to Kaylee.
Amira went to the back of the house. The host was here, in the kitchen.
Amira scanned the fence around the house and left the trees with some trepidation, aware she was fully exposed. The back gate was open, and she went through it then leaned against the house, so nervous, she almost felt like vomiting.
She tucked the two-toned stone into her pocket and tried to steady her nerves. Where better to hide the stones from Shadowman than in his own backyard, with the host that he would never let anyone get near? If she sought Kaylee’s help to find the others but kept the red-orange one, he’d never be able to find the gateway, even if he got a hold of the rest of them.
Chapter Nineteen
Kaylee began to think the owner of the house was never coming back. The pantry and refrigerator were stocked with food, the aged furniture showing signs of wear but also care. The lawn was neat and trimmed and the backyard fenced with a brick walkway leading to a small side gate.
It was past midnight, but she couldn’t sleep. It was more than because the bedding smelled like Nathan. She was restless, scared. Uncertain she wanted to sleep in the same house as Eddy.
“Who do you think lives here, Eddy?” she asked, gazing out the bay window into the backyard.
“I’d say no one.”
“Really? It seems like the house is waiting for someone to come home.”
“There are no family photos on the wall. The furniture is mismatched and looks like it came from yard sales.”
She padded from the kitchen into the living room again, taking in the furniture and walls once more.
“Looks like a safe house to me,” he added. “Or maybe a back-up hide out or something.”
“Guess I’ve never been to either of those kinds of places,” she murmured. “Never been hunted down before.”
Seated on the couch with his legs propped on the coffee table, he glanced up from his laptop.
“Is he around?” he asked.
She shook her head. “He’s been gone all day. He’s like this most days. Here and then not for long periods of time.”
“Cool.” He stretched to grab his phone off the coffee table and texted someone quickly. “I’m going to invite someone over for a few minutes.”
“Like a babysitter calling his girlfriend while the kid is sleeping?”
“Sorta. Except this is definitely not my girlfriend.”
Bored after spending the afternoon and evening in the house, Kaylee plopp
ed down in the oversized chair near the door and grabbed a gardening magazine from a wooden magazine holder next to the chair.
“So do I just hide out for the rest of my life?” she asked. “I’ll need a hobby, if so.”
“I’m not sure what’ll happen. Things are kinda crazy right now.”
No shit. She rolled her eyes and flipped through the magazine then set it aside. Restless, Kaylee needed something to keep her mind off a reality that was growing clearer, the more time she thought about it.
There was only one way to keep Shadowman from swallowing another office building. Not that he would, if she remained isolated from the rest of humanity, but the potential was always there.
She pushed herself up and went to the kitchen. “You want some tea?”
“No, thanks.”
The Satanist assassin was the politest person she’d met in about five years. Kaylee dwelled on the strangeness of her situation before her attention settled on the block of knives. She crossed the kitchen and leaned against the counter.
If it came to it, and she had to off herself, could she do it? She’d never once in her life considered suicide. She hated the sight of blood and going to the doctor. Would she even know where to stab herself?
She picked up a knife and fiddled with it. It appeared to be sharp enough. She touched her chest, over her heart. How hard would she have to stab herself to pierce her ribs?
Never before had she weighed the feasibility of stabbing someone in the heart. The vampire horror movies she’d watched made it look easy, but the only way she could think of to do it was to fall on the knife.
What if she did it but it didn’t work, and all she managed to do was torture herself? Or maybe die slowly, painfully?
The images in her head left her unsettled, her stomach churning. Kaylee set down the knife, sickened.
She’d need help, if it came to suicide. Would it make more of a difference if she had to do it to stop Shadowman from hurting someone else, or was she just a coward in general?
The microwave beeped, indicating her tea water was done. She went to it, attention caught by movement outside the bay window. The lighting from the kitchen lit up the closest area of the backyard, illuminating the lone figure that stood outside.
Amira.
Kaylee froze, half a second from calling for Eddy.
Amira beckoned to her with both hands then held up her hands and spun in a full circle, as if to show she had no weapons this time. She waved once more for Kaylee to come outside.
Kaylee considered, recalling what Nathan had said about the special young woman who had a knack for showing up out of nowhere.
“I’m going to … stargaze,” she called to Eddy. “Be in the back yard.”
“I’ll come get you when the person I texted shows,” he returned. “Don’t wander off, Kaylee.” The friendly warning was in his voice again.
“I won’t.” She didn’t want to know what he planned on doing if she screwed up and he caught her. “I like my fingers and toes.”
“Good.”
She shivered and crossed to the back door, tea mug in one hand. The screen door creaked loudly, and she glanced over her shoulder before taking a step out of the house.
Amira was waiting, hands in the pockets of her jeans.
Kaylee pressed a finger to her lips, indicating for Amira to keep quite, then pointed to the shed in one corner of the back yard.
Amira walked with her towards it, her light step quiet. As they drew near, the motion detector lights around the shed lit up. Kaylee took Amira’s arm and raced around behind the shed, terrified of Eddy’s threats to cut her if she tried anything. Only when they were behind the toolshed did Kaylee face her.
“What do you want?” she asked quietly.
Amira drew a deep breath. “First, I’m sorry for hurting you.”
Kaylee waited, hoping Eddy couldn’t hear them from the house.
“I need to know something,” Amira continued. “Shadowman can track me. If he can track me, then he can track the others. I need to know if you can, too.”
“So you can stab me again?”
Amira smiled and shook her head. “So we can find them and warn them.”
“You want me to tell you where the are?”
“Yes.”
“How do I do that?” Kaylee’s brow furrowed. Was it even possible? Just today, she’d learned how to talk to Shadowman.
Amira knelt on the ground. She pulled a small velvet dice bag from her pocket and dumped the contents on the ground. Three of the smooth stones were light blue while the fourth was half blue, half green. The fifth was orange-red.
“This is you.” Amira pointed to the two-toned stone. “This is me. These are the others.”
“I’m two-toned, because of Shadowman?” Kaylee frowned, dismayed.
Amira nodded. She picked up a rock and handed it to Kaylee.
Kaylee held it, surprised to feel the slight vibration of the stone. It was warm, too.
“That’s mine!” Amira explained. “The stone has some of my energy stored inside it.”
“Okay. Whose are these two?”
“I don’t know them. We have to find them.”
Kaylee picked up another one. It felt the same as Amira’s.
“Ask it where the key holder is,” Amira urged her.
“Where are … you?” Kaylee asked awkwardly. Her face grew warm at the idea of talking to a rock.
Similar to how Shadowman had told her what happened to Mike, she began to experience sensations in her mind. She saw nothing but was bombarded by sounds. Waves crashing onto the shore, seagulls, the distant blare of a boat horn.
Amira was watching her.
“Near the ocean,” Kaylee said. “Not much detail, though.”
“That’s awesome!” Amira’s face glowed. She picked up all the rocks except for the red one and replaced them in the pouch. The red one she shoved in her pocket. “Take these. Practice. But don’t let Shadowman have them. You have to protect them from Shadowman. Like, you shouldn’t even think of them when he’s around, okay?” She held out the velvet bag.
“I don’t think you should leave these with me. I’ve got a lot of issues right now.”
“You must find them! Someone is after me, and I think … I know that you should be able to protect these from Shadowman.” Amira said with urgency. “If you find them, tell Nathan where they are.”
“I’m not talking to Nathan.” Kaylee snapped. She hesitated then accepted the pouch.
Amira tilted her head to the side then took Kaylee’s hand. Kaylee shivered as a streak of energy like Nathan’s went through her.
“Oh,” Amira said. “I understand now. Do you know what an OTL is?”
“No, and I’m at my max with this supernatural nonsense,” Kaylee said truthfully.
“Okay. Then focus on keeping these safe and learning to use them. They won’t work for anyone else, I don’t think. I’m keeping the fifth one. If we split them up, no one can use them against us,” Amira said.
“Kaylee?” Eddy’s voice made her jump. It sounded like he was standing at the back porch.
“Quiet!” Kaylee mouthed to the woman. Aware Amira couldn’t hear, she pointed towards the house. “Someone is coming. Wait until I’m in the house to leave.”
Amira nodded and pushed the hand holding the pouch closer to Kaylee’s body. Kaylee rose quickly and pocketed the bag.
“Coming!” she called.
Amira stayed where she was.
Kaylee grabbed one of the flowerpots behind the shed and took it with her, emerging from the hiding spot.
Eddy relaxed visibly at her appearance. His gaze took in the clay pot briefly.
“Wanted you to meet someone,” he said as she approached.
Kaylee set the pot down beside the stairs leading to the back door and followed him inside. She pushed the velvet bag further down into her pocket then clutched the mug with both hands.
Uncertain what kind of person �
�� or creature – Eddy wanted her to meet, she braced herself for the worst and walked into the living room.
The woman at the center of the small space was gorgeous and fit with blue eyes and dark blonde hair. She wore snug leggings and a chunky tunic. Her hair was in a ponytail and her chiseled features flawless.
She was … familiar, though Kaylee didn’t know where she might’ve seen her before. The newcomer had the same wariness and wisdom in her gaze that Nathan and Maggy did.
“This is Zyra,” Eddy said. “Zyra, meet Kaylee.”
Zyra. Where do I know that name? Kaylee asked herself.
Zyra looked her over critically then offered a tight smile. There was something predatory in her gaze and in the tension of her body, something that made Kaylee think she didn’t ever want to be alone with the pretty woman.
“Zyra is …” Eddy trailed off.
“An interested party,” Zyra supplied. “Just checking in.”
Kaylee debated what to say, uncomfortable around the woman. Eddy had an easygoing air about him that helped her relax, despite his freaky background. Zyra was the opposite. Even if she came to the rescue, Kaylee would have a hard time accepting help from the woman who rubbed her the wrong way.
“Who are you with?” Kaylee asked finally. “I know who Eddy is and Nathan and Maggy. Are you with one of their organizations?”
“Not exactly,” Zyra replied. “I’m with somewhat of an independent third party.”
Kaylee couldn’t fathom what a third party in the bizarre alternate reality would want with her. She didn’t feel inclined to ask, either, not with the way Zyra regarded her.
Like I’m her dinner.
She started thinking of another horror movie then pushed the images away.
“I’ll see you out,” Eddy said cheerfully to Zyra. His tone was firm enough that Kaylee knew it wasn’t a request.
Zyra took the hint and walked with him to the door. They both exited, and Eddy closed the door behind him.
Kaylee watched them, just noticing that one of Eddy’s hands was on the hilt of a knife, as if he, too, felt the threat from Zyra. While friendly, he was also alert.
