by Miranda Kavi
It was a shackle, tying me to something that wasn’t mine. I yanked at it at roughly, trying to pull it over my hand. It was snug around my wrist, just as Gavyn had tied it. I wanted it gone. Now. I rummaged through my drawer looking for a pair of scissors.
Carmen’s voice floated up the stairs. “Aurora? You ready? Julie’s here, hon.”
I slammed the scissors down and grabbed my purse. Bracelet intact, I pasted a big fake smile on face before heading downstairs.
It was the dead of winter, but it was always winter in Alaska. The ground was covered with ice and snow, the trees marked with white frosting. When I paid attention, the beauty of this place was breathtaking.
We pulled up to the salon several minutes later. It was pretty, with soft eggshell green décor. Fortunately for us, it was also very warm. We eagerly took off our snow boots and climbed into the chairs, dipping our feet in the bubbling water. After a few minutes of pampering, my body relaxed.
Carmen had her eyes closed and was leaning back in her chair. Julie, for once, did not feel the need to fill the air with her incessant chattering and was sitting silently as she flipped through a magazine. I grabbed a magazine off the rack next to me. Girly nonsense was the theme of the day, after all.
“Sexy Brit star woes onset love interest,” the headline blared. The paparazzi style picture showed Gavyn, looking just as handsome and perfect as I remembered him. His arm was casually slung over the shoulder of Mira Tavana, his breathtaking costar in Blue Leaf. The caption indicated the photograph was taken outside a restaurant in L.A.
The surprising pain ripped through my thin facade. I tried to fight it off, but it consumed me. I was still sitting in silence as I stared at the page that had just shattered the little sanity I had left.
Carmen’s eyes popped open and she shot up in her chair, instantly alerted to my state of mind. “What is it?” she whispered, flicking her red hair out her face as she spoke. Her eyes darted down to the magazine splayed across my lap. “Oh.” She took the magazine off my lap, re-shelving it quickly.
Of course he had moved on. Who wouldn’t he? Why would he worry about me when he could have someone like Mira?
Carmen leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “I’m sorry. That’s not something you should have to see.” I glanced over at Julie, who was now watching my sudden outburst with concern.
“I’m okay,” I managed to say, my voice thick with repressed tears. “I’m okay,” I repeated. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. I took deep breath, counting to five to inhale and five to exhale. It was all I could do keep from becoming completely unglued. Behind my eyes, the picture of the happy couple was burned on my retina.
Somehow, despite all my denials to Carmen and myself, I had clung to a fantasy. I hid a small glimmer of hope deep inside my being that Gavyn still loved me, that he wasn’t afraid of me, that he wanted to be with me.
Julie’s concerned voice worked on the edge of my conscience, sounding like it was far off in the distance. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“She’ll be okay. She saw something that upset her,” Carmen said.
I sat very still, waiting to calm down. Eventually, the pain started to fade into something else. Something hard. Something angry. I could hear the bubble of the pedicure baths and the soft chatter of the technicians. I was present again. I opened my eyes, determined to fake it.
I spent the rest of day in almost complete silence. Julie was kind enough to fill my silence with her chatter. Carmen watched me, but said little as we moved through the shopping mall and off to an Italian restaurant for lunch.
Back at the cabin, Dennis gathered everyone and spread out maps of the Garden District and the French Quarter of New Orleans on the table. “Study it and memorize all the streets. We’ll be doing this at night, so we can’t have any confusion. Understand?”
We all nodded in response.
“The group coven lives here.” He put his finger down on the map. “The Shyama have been spotted here, here, and here.” His fingers moved to three locations on the map, all in the heart of the French quarter.
He pulled a marker out of his pocket and circled a small swatch of land off the Mississippi river, only a few blocks away from Jackson Square. “This is tricky, because it’s in a touristy area. It’s the dead of winter, so it won’t be too crowded. There’s lots of tall grass here. It will block us off visually from the city, plus the river is right there to dispose of the remains. We all hide here, except for Aurora. Your job is to draw them out, have them follow you to this location.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You will all have your usual weapons. For our new girl,”—he paused and nudged my shoulder playfully—“that means I want you to have two guns.”
“Yeah, I know. A semi-auto as my primary, a small revolver as a secondary,” I finished for him.
“And a knife,” he said. “You’ve had enough training to handle it. Wear it on your torso.”
By the time I went upstairs to finish packing, it was 1:00 A.M. I crawled into bed, exhausted and dreading the five a.m. alarm I needed to get to the airport in time. I closed my eyes and tried review the mission information one more time in my mind. Of course, my brain disobeyed my commands and returned to the painful image I saw in the magazine.
I gave up and stayed awake until it was time to leave for the airport.
Chapter 16
I slept fitfully the entire way to Seattle, nodding in and out of consciousness during the long flight. From Seattle to Orleans I was wide awake.
Konstantin sat next to me in the plane, Carmen on his other side.
“Welcome back,” he joked. “Feel the adrenalin? You probably won’t sleep much from here on out.”
“True story. I’m wired.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be safe. The blockers from Houston have already checked into the hotel.”
“Thanks. I feel okay about it.” It was true. I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t feel anything really, just kind of dead and numb inside. I’m pretty sure that was a bad thing, but I was okay with it anyway.
By the time we landed in New Orleans, night had fallen. We drove through the dark streets of the city still bearing the visible scars of Hurricane Katrina. The highway twisted by the eerie above ground mausoleums.
“Why are graveyards like that?”
“They’ve tried to bury their dead here before, but the soil is too swampy and they wouldn’t stay buried. After a heavy rain, bodies would become unearthed and float down the streets,” Carmen said.
“Oh, wow.”
The French Quarter wore a different dress than the rest of the city. The narrow one-way streets were marked by the courtyard style buildings with their balconies overlooking the street. As expected, there were plenty of people walking around, toting their drinks.
The hotel was located on Bourbon Street, smack in the middle of the action. In another setting, it would have been the perfect place to stay and live it up. The historic building had a pretty façade with green iron balconies. The inside lobby was furnished with cream-colored furniture.
I was sharing a room with Konstantin and Carmen. I thought it was odd, but said nothing. The room was connected by a door to a suite on either side. The blockers were staying in the adjoining suites, creating a mini-wall of protection around me.
I sank into one of the soft queen beds. There used to be a time when I could travel without a posse of blockers to protect me from a sinister force.
Carmen sat on the other bed in silence, her red hair forming a curtain around her face. She had her eyes closed and her chin was dropped to her chest. I learned to leave her alone when she was doing this. After a few minutes passed by, she opened her eyes and tilted her head side-to-side, stretching out her neck.
“Well?” Konstantin asked, walking out of the restroom. He sat by his wife, rubbing her shoulder.
“They can sense we are here, but they have no idea where. They won’t be able to get a fix on Aurora while we
are all with her. It’s working.”
There was soft knock on the door. Konstantin let Dennis in and updated him.
“Excellent.” He walked into room and folded his arms across his chest, all business. “The locals are staying inside their home nearby until they get a signal from us. Once we give them the all clear, they are going straight to the airport. Me, Ben, Damien and Karen are two doors down from here, in another suite like this one.”
He stood near the window, gazing outside, hands crossed behind his back. “We’ll do surveillance tomorrow to see if we can pinpoint them. Aurora will stay here with the blockers. If all goes well, tomorrow night we make our move.
We all nodded solemnly.
“Against my better judgment, I suggest we all go out for dinner, together.” He gestured to the rooms on either side with a quick nod.
“Oh, if it’s easier, I can just stay behind.”
“No. You must go where the blockers go, and they need to eat too. Plus, you need to get out. How else are you going to meet your handler?” Dennis asked.
Dinner was in a hole in the wall Cajun place with a live Zydeco music. The mood was cheerful, but still subdued. We were there on serious business. No one touched a drop of alcohol.
Hours passed back in the room. It was dark, the TV was off and Carmen and Konstantin were asleep, but I wasn’t. Sounds floated through the window: music, the occasional drunken yell or car horn.
I must have drifted off at some point because the next morning, Carmen shook me awake. She was already dressed. “We’re getting ready to leave. Get up in case we need you.”
As soon as the door closed behind me I jumped up and got in the shower, relieved I could at least do that in private. I glanced at the doors leading to the adjoining suites, wondering what the blockers were doing.
I dressed quickly and brushed out my hair. It tumbled down to my waist now. My arms and shoulders were now clearly defined with compact muscle. My eyes were different too. Sad.
I gave up on my reflection and entertained myself by staring out the window. It was 9:30 in the morning and some very intense tourists were already walking around with the famous hand grenade drinks. I entertained myself by imagining what their individual lives must be like, inventing identities and dramas in my head. I envied them and their simple, Shyama free lives.
Keith, the blocker from Houston I had met the night before, knocked on my door. He was tall and muscular with a shock of auburn hair. “Hey, I thought you might be hungry.” He handed me a plastic wrapped sandwich. He plopped himself on my bed and flipped on the T.V.
“Thanks, Keith. Make yourself at home.”
“Will do.” He smiled, which made me notice he was damn hot.
We ate in comfortable silence, watching a stupid comedy on the television. I was relaxing and doing nothing, but I knew he was active as he used his ability to protect me. I let my mind remain blank, refusing to visit the dark parts today.
Carmen and Konstantin returned late in the afternoon.
“What’s the latest?” Keith asked as soon as they walked in.
“We didn’t see them. We need to draw them closer. Aurora, let’s go. You’re up,” Konstantin said. “You’re just going to walk around with me and Carmen, like a normal tourist. If I say go, run. We just need to get them down to this neighborhood.”
I grabbed my purse. “Wait,” Konstantin said. He walked to the bathroom and returned with a gun and a holster for my pants pocket. “You must always arm yourself when they are close like this.”
I put the holster in my pocket and tugged my bulky sweater over it. “Okay. I’m ready.”
We walked out into the breezy bright afternoon. Tourists were bundled up in jackets, but we were comfortable in our sweaters. This was almost tropically warm to us Alaskans. We walked from store to store in the French Quarter. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted familiar faces in the crowd. I saw Dennis once and Damien twice.
We made our way down to Jackson Square. I was admiring the small artist booths set up on the perimeter, when Carmen grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “Go. Now!” She roughly spun me in the direction of the hotel.
I sped walked, weaving my way through the packed crowd. I was afraid of drawing too much attention to myself. Out of nowhere, Damien appeared at my shoulder, winding his arm through the crook of my elbow.
“Run,” he said in my ear. Then loosened his grip and gave me a gentle push.
I felt the tiniest stab of fear as I jogged back to the hotel. I glanced at my side and saw I was now trailed by Karen, as well as Damien. “Faster!” Damien shouted, not bothering to be discreet.
I broke into a dead sprint, to the lobby of the hotel. Damien appeared at my elbow and guided me to the stairs as soon as I came through the doors. The four blockers were waiting outside my hotel room. They opened the door and pulled me in as soon as I was within grabbing distance.
Damien and Karen came through the door a second later. Karen whipped out her gun and stationed herself next to the door. Damien pulled out a large firearm and slammed the magazine into the bottom of the gun and pulled the slide in one smooth movement. He stood in front of the four trackers, facing the hotel door.
I sat very still on the floor where Keith had shoved me as soon as I came in. Now, the fear was clear, the cobwebs of numbness wiped out of my brain.
Tension tightened the air. Two taps made us all jump. “It’s Carmen, let me in.” Karen threw open the door, not lowering her firearm.
Carmen came in, Konstantin behind her. “They didn’t see her. Thank God. They’re on this block, but they can’t tell which hotel we are in.” She was breathless as she spoke, her fingers tightly wound with Konstantin’s. “That was close.”
Karen pulled a chair up to the door and sat down. Damien sat too, keeping his firearm in his hand. “How did they get so damn close without us knowing?”
“I don’t know. They usually don’t go near crowds like the one in Jackson Square.” Her voice trailed off. “I’m sorry, Aurora. For a second there, they were closing in on you.”
“Don’t we want them around here so they’ll follow us to the river?” I asked, keeping my voice detached and steady. It frightened me to run away from something without knowing exactly what it was.
“Yes,” Konstantin answered me. “You did well.” He turned to Carmen, putting his hand on her face. It was an intimate gesture that made me look away. “Carmen, what’s going on? Are you okay? They were really close before you saw them.”
“There’s a distraction at the perimeter of my thoughts. I can’t put my finger on it.” She placed her hand on top of his. “I won’t let it happen again. They’ll be here when Aurora leads them to the river.”
Awkward didn’t even begin to describe the rest of the afternoon. Afraid to leave me alone, the blockers stayed in the room. Karen and Damien eventually moved into an adjoining suite to watch television, but they left the shared door open and their firearms in easy reach.
I reclined on my bed, curled up in the small corner. I tried to ignore the two blockers sitting at the foot of my bed, but was unsuccessful. Maybe under different circumstances it would be nice to have two good-looking, brawny guys in my hotel room.
And boy, did I notice them. Especially Keith. He was handsome in a generic, all American sort of way. I admired his bulging biceps from my vantage point. I had been so out of it yesterday I failed to notice his assets at dinner the night before.
Carmen shot me a glance out of the corner of her eye with a small smile. I smiled back. I was glad we could share the secret without saying a word, though I was embarrassed to be caught with less than pure thoughts.
We ordered room service for dinner and ate in silence. The blockers were concentrating, and no one wanted to distract them.
After dinner, I plopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. To my surprise, Keith re-seated himself on the bed right next to me. He briefly pressed the outside of his hand gently on my cheek.
“You feel a little warm. You okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay.” There was the tiniest of sparks with his touch. “I think I’m just a little freaked out by all this.”
“Okay. Try and get some rest. You’re on next. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He scooted back down to the foot of my bed, next to the other blocker.
The hours dragged on. There was no rest, just the passage of time.
“It’s time,” Konstantin said.
Adrenaline moved through my body, setting every nerve ending on fire. I glanced at the beside clock; 1:55 in the early morning.
The room was a flurry of activity. Damien pulled a large machete out of protective sheath and examined it briefly in the lamplight before putting it back.
The blockers left the room and headed to the river ahead of my arrival. Konstantin handed me the semi-auto and holster for my pocket. I took the small revolver and placed it in my special boot holster. I held my shirt up while Carmen deftly strapped the large knife to my torso. I let it drop when she was finished.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
She leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. “Okay. Be careful. We’ll be close by.”
Konstantin gave me a quick hug. “Get moving. Everyone is in position waiting for you.” He and Carmen slipped out the door.
I made my way down the stairs, following the faint red glow of the exit sign. I took a deep breath and then pushed the door open.
Chapter 17
The cool night air felt fresh on my skin, but the fear was cold in my chest. I began the six-block trek to the river, my footsteps quiet on the pavement.
Tourists occasionally strolled down the streets near the hotel, but after a few blocks, I saw no one.
I was alone in the dark night. I passed near the beignet café, the river front only a block away. I glanced behind me as I crossed the road.
