Peanut was up, off of the floor, and sprinting alongside me to the truck. Déjà vu swept over me. We were screaming down the gravel driveway just as we had the last time we left Joe’s house. We were ten miles away before I let the speedometer slide below ninety mph. I watched my rear view mirror and saw nothing. I powered up my cell phone and heard it announce thirty-four unheard messages. I dialed Max’s number. He picked it up on the first ring.
“Lauren, please don’t hang up. I really need to see you. I am so sorry. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I just really need you.”
I ignored Max’s plea and forced out the words, “You need to go check on Joe. He’s hurt.”
“What did you see? Gramps is hurt? Was he attacked?” Max’s sorrow was quickly replaced by rage, and I knew Max was talking on the run. He had an old farm truck in his garage that he could use to get to Joe’s quickly.
As calmly as I could, I explained what had happened. Max was silent before he choked out, “You were there? You went to Gramps’ house? After what happened before? Why would you do that? Lauren, you could have been killed. Why wouldn’t you have come here? I would have gone with you.”
“Max, just get to Joe and make sure he’s okay. I am so sorry.” I hit the disconnect button and powered the phone off. Bile rose in my throat. I pulled over and stood there on the side of the road puking my guts out. I got back in the truck and closed my eyes, my familiar tunnel appeared, and I went to see Joe. He was, as I had imagined, lying on the floor. I knew in my heart I had killed him. I knew, no matter what else happened, I was responsible for his death. I laid my head on the steering wheel and cried. Not sad little tears, but huge powerful emotions draining from me, snot running freely, and I couldn’t breathe.
I shouldn’t have kicked him. I should have just waited for the Beast to come. It was all my fault. Max would never forgive me for this. Who was I kidding? I would never forgive me for this.
Chapter 18
I sat in the truck replaying what had happened. I closed my eyes and my tunnel appeared but I couldn’t bear to see Joe lying on the floor or Max kneeling over his body. I looked at the purse sitting beside me on the seat and was furious with myself. I had risked my and Joe’s life today and Joe paid the price, for what? My stupid purse.
He wasn’t going to die in vain. I was going to get my life back, starting right now.
*****
Three hours later I had emptied my bank account. There was over $18,000 I had squirreled away – most of it the result of being shot in my senior year of college. I was surprised and thankful my parents hadn’t raided it to cover medical expenses from my “Bear Attack.”
I bought a used Dodge Caravan, stocked up on non-perishable food items for myself, and got 30 pounds of dog food for Peanut. Once I was all set, I went to the library to surf the net, looking for a place to rent that was as remote as possible.
I found the perfect place, 20 miles off of the interstate, 50 acres of wooded area and a small cottage. I went to the post office and mailed Max his keys with a note. For such a simple note it took forever to write.
Dear Max,
I’m really sorry about Joe. I didn’t mean for it to happen. Your truck is in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot where we got groceries. I won’t let anything hurt you like this again.
Love, Lauren
I re-read the note several times. I knew this was it. I wouldn’t contact him again – not until I knew it was safe. I could feel that same hole in my chest beginning to open again, the emptiness I hadn’t felt since before Max walked back into my life. I silently embraced the pain because it was mine. I would gladly accept the pain knowing that this was a small price to pay to make sure Max stayed safe. I looked at the phone setting beside me and longed to dial Max. I didn’t.
*****
The rest of the day was enough of a whirlwind that it was easy to drown out the emptiness. I met the property manager at the remote furnished cottage, paid the first and last month’s rent and the security deposit, had the electricity turned on, and went to a Wal-Mart to buy all the things I needed for the house. Peanut had been in and out of the little house as if he were a hired sentry. He knew he was on guard and somehow understood it was just the two of us. The isolated place, despite its location, felt welcoming.
I remembered that I hadn’t locked the door to the Caravan and decided to go outside and lock it before it got dark. I opened the front door to go outside, instantly took two steps back on reflex, flailing my hands to the side, in an effort to catch myself and keep from falling. Peanut had given no advance warning of anyone’s arrival, and I didn’t expect to look into a face, any face. The inaccessibility of the house and the land it sat on had been one of the reasons I chose this remote little house. I had been under the false assumption that any intruder, friend or foe, would give themselves away before they got anywhere near me. Wrong again.
I sucked in air hard as soon as my lungs would allow and blew the air out through a rush of words, “What in the heck are you doing here?”
He smiled wryly, knowing he had completely caught me off guard. It may not have been smugness about sneaking up on me, it may have just been stifled laughter at the ass I had just made out of myself when he appeared out of nowhere. He had a friendly look and said, “Well, I wasn’t just passing through, so you could say I’m here for my thirty dollars, if that makes you feel any better.”
I stood steadfast, with my mind racing in every direction. Peanut, who was always right at my side, was nowhere around. I was miles from a neighbor, so screaming wasn’t an option. I was standing in the doorway, my Glock nowhere within reach. Cycling through all the potential weapons that were within five feet - I came up empty. Vulnerable, that’s how I felt. Mike’s words hardly registered as self-preservation thoughts flooded my mind.
Mike leaned in a few inches, asking, “Are you going to invite me in, or should we have this conversation in your doorway?” He wasn’t threatening at all. To my relief my body sensed no danger whatsoever, although that sense had proved unreliable yesterday at Joe’s house. This was just silly. Renswa had told me that Mike was on the Council; maybe he had some words of advice that weren’t masked as some sort of stupid riddle. That would be a welcomed change.
Without a word, I stepped to the side, holding the door open for him to enter. His response was jovial. “Thanks, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find you.” His eyes darted around the room and found Peanut standing in the living room entryway. “Well, hi, Peanut, how are you, boy?” Peanut jumped on Mike with a paw on each shoulder looking him square in the eye. Mike was definitely a dog person. I had always heard animals have a sense for people, and Peanut seemed to think Mike was an okay guy. Mike eased Peanut back onto the floor but continued scratching his ears, then told him, “Peanut, go run the perimeter. Make sure your scent is near all the entry ways. Go on, boy.”
As if Peanut had miraculously learned human speech, he trotted over to the door, hit the screen door latch with his nose and was gone in a flash. Puzzled by Peanut’s lack of protectiveness all of the sudden, I couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you?”
“We met about a week ago, remember? I was the one who stopped Peanut from becoming a hood ornament on someone’s car on the interstate. You do remember?”
“Of course, I remember. You didn’t really come here for your thirty dollars, right?”
“No, but I couldn’t think of anything clever to say when you startled me. I had just gotten to the door when you opened it.”
“I startled you? How did you even find me?”
That smug grin reappeared. I could see he was wrestling with just what to say to me. I had all the time in the world and just let the question hang in the air, knowing he would have to answer it. He stepped to the window to look in the yard as if he were surveying Peanut’s progress.
“Leaving his scent at all of the obvious entries of the perimeter should deter most animals from coming close to the house. It isn’t a fai
lsafe measure, but Peanut is a pretty big dog. Predators will know he’s close and may avoid the area entirely. You’d better have a pretty big bowl of water ready for him when he gets back. As big as this place is, he’ll dehydrate himself trying to keep his scent fresh.”
“You didn’t answer my question: how did you find me?”
Still watching Peanut’s progress, he absently answered, “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to install some security lights, too. It isn’t a huge deterrent, but if anything tries to sneak up on you at night, at least you’ll know what you’re dealing with.”
It registered that he used the word “anything” instead of “anyone.” Goose bumps shivered over my arms as that settled in. I’ve never been a huge fan of talking in circles. I stared at him, well - glared is maybe more accurate. I sensed no danger, but I didn’t need any special sense for being annoyed. His avoidance of my simple question irritated the crap out of me. I refused to ask it a third time.
Mike lost interest in Peanut’s mission and pulled a chair out from the table to sit down. His demeanor was friendly; he looked as though he were going to answer my question when he asked, “How open is your mind?”
Great, he is just like Rewsna. I might as well go take a nap because he’s going to be about as helpful as boobs on a bull. “Wide open sunshine, will you answer my question now?”
Mike smiled and until this moment I hadn’t noticed his perfect teeth. I had noticed before that he was attractive, but for some reason I could now see the symmetry of his face. Mike’s nose was perfectly proportioned to his face, his eyes were an odd gray-blue combination, and his smile warmed the room.
“I’ll tell you how I found you, but there’s a pretty fair shot you won’t believe me. I don’t mean you any harm, and, as hard as this is to believe, it’s the truth.” He looked at me as if he expected me to interrupt him. I didn’t and he continued.
“I’m the Beast Master on the Council. Just as Renny speaks to you through your mind, I communicate with Peanut much the same way. Finding you took longer than I had hoped because, let’s face it, there aren’t a whole lot of street signs out this way, and I only had a vague idea of where the two of you had gone. With Peanut in the house, I couldn’t pin point you right away. Luckily there was a piece of mail from the previous tenant setting on the coffee table, and I was able to see it through Peanut’s eyes.”
The Beast Master? He can control Peanut? No wonder Peanut didn’t warn me when he arrived. If he was controlling Peanut, how could I be sure Mike was one of the good guys? Why was he looking for me anyway? A stark realization hit me, and, without thinking, I went into a defensive posture, “This Beast thing that attacked me, did you have anything to do with that?” I stared directly into his eyes, knowing whether or not he could control Peanut, I would be able to tell if he lied to me.
He shook his head and answered, “No, it’s not really a man or a beast, although at times it can look like one or the other.” I could see this question made him a little uncomfortable, and he quickly changed the subject. “I think your location choice was great from a hiding perspective. I can’t imagine anyone who can find the two of you up here, well - other than me.”
A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed, responding sadly, “Max isn’t with me.”
He rolled his eyes at me, “Hello, I was referring to you and Peanut. I know Max isn’t here. He’s back at Ridgeville now. He’s driving Renny crazy, by the way. Renny had planned to check on you herself, but Max called her, came to her house, and followed her around all day today. She told me she could tell that he intended to follow her, thinking she would lead him to you. Rather than take the chance, she contacted me, and asked me to come check on you and make sure you were okay.”
I guessed that he must have meant Rewsna, but to be sure I asked him, “Renny, you mean Rewsna?”
“Yeah, but no one calls her that. It’s too much of a mouthful! But we wanted to make sure you had everything you needed. Do you need anything?”
What, like the death of some crazy beast? The scattering of his demons? My family and friends here so I’m not so alone? I knew none of these answers were remotely acceptable, so I told him, “I think we’re pretty well set.”
“Good, so what’s your game plan?”
I was a little taken aback by his question, not understanding what he was asking me, “My game plan?”
“The only way you’re going to get your life back is to destroy the Beast. Unless you want to live like a hermit for the rest of your life, it might be worthwhile to work on your game plan. The Council wants to help if we can, but we can’t interfere. I’m fairly new, so I’ve never encountered one of these things. Renny said there was one back in the fifties that the media got wind of and dubbed as a serial killer. This one only seems to be focused on you, so with any luck, it won’t go on some killing spree anytime soon.”
Hesitant to respond on so many levels, I didn’t really have a plan. Up until his question, I thought I was doing pretty well living like a hermit. Away from all my family and friends, none of them would be hurt. This had seemed like a pretty decent plan just this morning.
I replayed the last moments with Joe this morning, and my stomach felt like someone had kicked me again.
“Won’t this thing eventually lose interest in me? I mean, if he can’t get to me through other people, and he can’t find me, will he assume I just dropped off the radar and find a new target?”
“Lose interest in you? I know this is going to sound dumb, but you do know who you are, right? I mean, I know you’re trying to live some normal life and everything, but that’s more of a cover, right?” Mike looked so earnest, I was sure there was something I was missing.
I looked him square in the eye, “I’ve given up all hope of ever living a normal life.”
“But you know you’re the Odd-One?” I could tell from his expression that there was something he wanted to tell me. Being called the “Odd-One” felt as though I had just been insulted, and, worse yet, I think he knew more about me than I did.
Mike took a deep breath, “Let me back up just a little. The Council is made up of ten members. You already know Renny and me; each member of the Council is given a role relative to the emotion we bring out in others. The roles never change, but the person whose job it is to fill that role changes in the normal course of life and death, so I was invited to join the Council when my predecessor passed away.”
He had my attention, but how could ten people be everywhere at once? I thought it better to start with an easier question, “So there are ten of you. What roles are assigned?”
Without missing a beat, “The Council responsibilities are Confidence, Joy, Honesty, Love, Friendship, Truth, Conservation, Fidelity, Hope and Light.” His eyes were warm, and I could tell from his body language this was a secret he rarely got to share. I felt almost privileged to have this knowledge, and to my surprise his explanation continued.
“I know that sounds like a big bowl of cherries and everything, but for every Alpha there’s an Omega. There is a Cabinet whose roles are Doubt, Loathing, Deception, Anger, Jealousy, Fraud, Waste, Infidelity, Temptation, and Darkness. The Council – to which Renny and I belong, contend with our opposites on the Cabinet. Although we know that the others exist, we don’t spend a great deal of time getting to know them. It’s uncomfortable to be near our opposite. Renny believes this Beast is tied closely to the Cabinet – if not an actual member himself.
There’s balance. Our Council is complete as is their Cabinet. Yet when you were born, both sides felt your power, knew that you would have the power to alter destinies - for the good and bad. No one has ever been born with the powers you possess. It’s a law that we may not interfere with someone’s destiny. We may persuade through a variety of means – but each person’s own free will and their mapped destiny is theirs alone.
You, Lauren, have the power to alter destinies - should you choose. The universe is perfectly balanced and the Cabinet very much wishes for
you to help them, and I believe it only fair to tell you our Council wishes for the same thing. We don’t wish for you to alter destinies, but we definitely don’t want you to assist the Cabinet in their efforts.
Rewsna broke the rules by contacting you initially. She should not have done that, and because of her intervention, the Beast was permitted access to you and was allowed to alter your destiny. Had Rewsna never made that initial contact, you would be happily on the way to the future you had mapped for yourself a very long time ago. She had only the best of intentions that day on the bus, but that’s irrelevant. She broke the rules. Her interference allowed the floodgate of attacks you’ve been exposed to ever since.
The Council got together recently and decided it was in our, and your, best interest to share any knowledge that we could, that would not negatively impact your destiny. The hope was that some information or a rudimentary explanation might guide you to the right path. We all believed that denying you the information you so desperately wanted served neither of us very well. That’s the good news. But now that the entire Council has opened itself up to you, the Cabinet has been given the same access. If they are able to find you – they’ll try to manipulate you and…” Mike didn’t finish his thought: it looked like he was uncomfortable providing this information and being so open. All along I had been upset with Rewsna for talking in circles, yet in the end it was her explanations that allowed this Beast thing to take away two years from me. Mike was allowing me to process all this information and chose to remain quiet.
Finally I asked, “So this means I can ask you anything I want and you’ll just answer me?”
He shook his head slightly, “You can ask me anything you want. If I believe the answer will not do you harm or create a vortex in your or someone else’s destiny, I will answer it.”
“Rewsna, what’s her role on the Council?”
He smiled at me and responded with, “You don’t want to take a guess?”
Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) Page 11
