Foretell

by Belle Malory

I stiffened. “I don’t suppose her name is Indie Spencer?”

  “That’s her.” Marcellus smiled. “She’s good friends with T.J. She flew all the way up from L.A. to celebrate his birthday.”

  The tall blonde I’d spoken to earlier came to mind. I like this dress better than the yellow, she’d said.

  I played it cool in front of Marcellus, wondering if he knew I was Indie’s sister. “I get that all the time,” I told him.

  I reached for Rex’s arm. “We have to go,” I said. “Now.”

  Nineteen

  “What’s gotten into you?” Rex asked, as we rushed through the crowd. “Did the witch remove the curse?”

  “He can’t,” I said over my shoulder. “He no longer has the ability.”

  Rex stopped in the middle of the crowd, forcing me to stop with him. I turned to face him.

  “Do you believe him?” he asked.

  I slowly nodded. “He was telling the truth.”

  “So why aren’t you taking this harder?”

  My gaze traveled downwards. I stared at the floor, softly sighing.

  “Essie,” he prodded. “Are you okay?”

  “I just can’t do this right now.” I felt the tears welling in my eyes, but I refused to cry. “I can’t break down.” My voice was barely audible over the music, but he seemed to figure out what I’d said.

  Of course I took it hard, but it never occurred to me this would be a huge disappointment for Rex, too. He believed in me. I dragged him along with me on this stupid quest to find Marcellus, and in the end, it had all been for nothing.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

  I nodded and we both turned to leave, heading for the elevator. As soon as I made my way out of the crowd, I stopped in my tracks.

  I found myself standing face to face with my little sister.

  Indie crossed her arms over her chest and angled a brow. She stood like that, resting her weight on one hip while eyeing me up and down. “My, my,” she said, plastering on a tight smile. “What have we here?”

  “Indie,” I greeted her casually.

  “Essie,” she returned coldly. “Where’ve you been?”

  “Around.”

  “Evasive these days, I see.” She peered over my shoulder, her gaze traveling towards Rex. “Who’s the hottie behind you? Is he the reason you ran away from home?”

  Rex moved to stand beside me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His face was a stony mask.

  I merely shrugged. “Maybe.” I didn’t care if they thought I’d left for a guy. I wished that were the case, anyway.

  She scrutinized both of us, crossing her arms and tapping her foot against the ground. Unexpectedly, I saw the tension leave her face. “I’ve missed you,” she admitted ruefully.

  I swayed a little, shocked from hearing her confession. I hadn’t seen that coming. Not from Indie. She hardly noticed I was alive anymore, unless she needed something.

  “It hasn’t even been a week since I left,” I said. “You’ve been away on tour for much longer than that.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “But this is the first time I ever considered you would leave and not come back.”

  I swallowed, wondering what to say. There wasn’t anything I could think of.

  “And your eighteenth birthday is next month,” Indie continued, almost whiningly. “I had a party planned.”

  “There are some things I need to take care of,” I explained.

  She nodded sullenly, as if she were trying to accept that. “What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked. “And why do you look like me? It’s freaking me out a little bit.”

  Rex and I caught each other’s gaze for a moment, as if we were both wondering what I should tell her. I settled on, “It’s a long story.”

  She nodded again, and didn’t press the issue. “So when are you coming back?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Not sure.”

  My answer didn’t appease her, but we both knew there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Neither she nor my mother could control my life. Not anymore.

  Indie waved her hands for me to come closer. “Give me a hug, then. Who knows when we’ll see each other again, right?”

  I smiled, finding it strange to see such an emotional side of Indie. I never expected her to miss me this much.

  I stepped forward, closing my eyes. I felt her arms wrap around my shoulders. The familiar scent of vanilla perfume adorned her. It was her favorite, and it reminded me of home.

  “I want you to come back to Calabasas,” she pleaded with me.

  “I know, but I can’t,” I said, feeling guilty.

  “Tell me how I can get you to come home.”

  I pulled away from her, stiffening. “I can’t believe you just did that,” I breathed.

  She smiled wickedly as I fought against the symptoms. Rex reached for me, placing a large hand over my mouth. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of this place.”

  Indie’s eyes widened.

  “You told him?” she mouthed, not quite getting the words out.

  Rex shoved me towards the exit, keeping his hand firmly over my mouth. I glanced behind me, seeing Indie reach into her clutch and pull out her cell phone.

  Rex firmly deposited me into to the elevator, pressed the button with his free hand, then frantically pressed the close button several times over. They were annoyingly slow but closed before anyone could hold us up. As soon as I felt the elevator descend, my symptoms mysteriously faded. Rex lifted his hand and no words came out.

  “I didn’t know that was possible,” I said breathlessly.

  “It doesn’t hurt to learn a new trick.” He smiled. “By the way, you have one devious, little sister.”

  “You caught that, huh?”

  “She seemed hell-bent on keeping you all to herself?”

  “I saw her reach for her phone. I think she’s going to call the police.” I said this last part fearfully. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

  I thought back to my spontaneous phone booth call to my mother. She’d said herself Indie had missed out on opportunities because I hadn’t been around to instruct her. They both had likely considered the possibility that Indie might not be able to keep up the momentum of her fame without me.

  “We’ll be long gone before the police make it here,” Rex promised.

  We left the building in a hurry, sparing a few darting glances around in the parking garage for cops. When we made it to the Porsche, I knew something didn’t feel right.

  A strange sensation flooded over me. Someone was watching us.

  I turned about, looking for the intruder. I found myself staring at a broad chest, cloaked in black. Clearly, it was too late. The intruder already found me.

  I looked up slowly, apprehensively. . .and a pair of eyes blacker than the night sky met mine.

  Xavier.

  He smiled at me, evilly, a psychopath catching his victim, about to go in for the kill.

  “God, how I hoped I’d never have to see you again,” I said.

  Xavier tilted his head to the side, clucking his tongue. “That’s a shame because I’m overjoyed at the sight of you.”

  Xavier’s arm snaked around my mid-section. He jerked me up, squeezing me tightly beneath my rib cage. I grunted, as the wind was momentarily knocked out of me. I struggled against him, attacking him with my fists, while at the same time trying to loosen his grip by kicking my feet.

  “Rex!” I screamed desperately.

  I searched for him, my eyes darting around the garage in a frenzied panic. He was on the other side of the car. Two men stood behind him. They came at him with a bat, clubbing him on the side of his head.

  From somewhere outside of myself, I heard hysterical screams echoing throughout the garage. Hot tears slipped from my eyes and I realized I was the one doing the screaming.

  I heard the sound of a door slide open. Xavier pushed me into a white utility van. “Gag her!”

  A damp cloth presse
d against my nostrils.

  Just like the time I saw the little girl in the blood-stained dress, my world turned to a spotty gray. . .and then to black.

  Twenty

  A pulsating boom boom boom echoed in my head. It was the absolute worst headache of my life.

  My eyes shot open. The events of the last few hours steadily came back to me. Fear rapidly replaced my pain. I bolted upright.

  Blood rushed to my head due to the sudden movement. I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing the achy feeling to go away. After a few moments, the pain and dizziness dulled somewhat, but not enough to keep me from feeling woozy.

  I remembered the cloth over my mouth and nose, and then I remembered blacking out right afterwards.

  I think I’d been chloroformed.

  I tried to focus my hazy vision while surveying my surroundings. The fist thing I noticed was the bed I was sitting on. The mattress was springy, with itchy burlap. Aside from the bed, there was a wooden table to my right with two old-fashioned chairs, a nightstand, and a dresser in front of me with an outdated television sitting on top. I looked for a phone, but of course, there wasn’t one to be found. I shifted backwards, noticing a broken cord left in the jack.

  Rex! My mind screamed. Where’s Rex?

  The last image I had of him was getting clubbed in the head with a baseball bat. I pushed myself off the bed and stood, then wobbled into the center of the room. I raked my hands through my hair, on the verge of tears.

  Was he dead? I wondered. Please God, don’t let him be dead.

  I circled the room in horror, hoping he would be here.

  I nearly choked after finding him on the other side of the bed, lying on the floor. A bloody gash ran across the side of his head from where he’d been clubbed. I knelt down to see if he was breathing, tentatively touching his arm.

  I startled when he opened his eyes.

  “Hey,” he said, smiling. “I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

  The stupid tears came, streaming down my face. I fell back against the side of the bed, biting down on my fist to keep the sobs from coming out.

  Rex’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Why are you crying?”

  I lifted my teeth from my fist, opened my mouth to speak, but it took a few moments before any words came out. “I thought you were dead,” I said between short gasps.

  He sat up slowly, wincing . “I’m fine,” he assured me. “They just knocked me out, that’s all. Pretty uninventive of them, using a baseball bat, don’t you think?”

  I didn’t smile or laugh. I simply stared at him, so thankful he was still alive.

  “Hey,” he sighed. “Come here.”

  I crawled into his arms, resting my head on his shoulder. He lifted the bottom of his shirt to dry my eyes. “You cry way too much, Spence.”

  I nodded, fully agreeing with him, wishing I could keep the tears at bay. Now that I thought about it though, I realized I hadn’t cried nearly as much in the last year as I had in the past few days.

  “Your head,” I said, turning his face to view the damage. “It’s bleeding.”

  “Yeah, well, I asked those bastards for a first aid kit. That was an hour ago and I still haven’t gotten one.”

  “How long have I been knocked out?” I asked disconcertedly, moving out of Rex’s arms.

  “It’s been a few hours,” he replied.

  “Where are we?”

  He shrugged. “Some dingy motel.”

  “Why have they brought us here?”

  “Slow down with the twenty questions, babe,” he ordered me gruffly. He lifted his hands to his forehead, rubbing his temples. “I know about as much as you do.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. The blood on his head caught my attention again. “Why don’t we go into the restroom and try to clean you up?”

  Rex accepted my offer, and I helped to heft him off of the ground. We both grunted from hefting his weight.

  He sat on the side of the tub while I searched through the restroom for some type of antiseptic or a first aid kit. A bar of soap was the only thing available. I found a clean washcloth and doused it with warm water.

  Rex leaned against the tiled wall, eyes closed while I dabbed at his cut. “Does it hurt?”

  “No.”

  “You’re lucky,” I told him. “It doesn’t look very deep..”

  “I don’t know if you’d call me lucky,” he sighed. “As soon as Salazar gets here, he’ll probably kill me.”

  I pulled the cloth away. “Why do you think so?”

  “Gabe murdered him in a past life. It was an act of revenge, for poisoning our mother. Old Sal’s still pissed about it from what I’ve heard. He was never one to let go of grudges.”

  “This is nothing to joke about, Rex,” I said seriously.

  “I wish I was joking, babe. You should probably prepare yourself. He’ll want to kill me himself.”

  I jutted out my chin stubbornly. “No one is going to die,” I declared.

  I refused to let Rex be killed. Not after everything we’d been through.

  I dabbed at his cut again, cleaning the last traces of blood away. “There,” I said, content with my handiwork. “You’re finished.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” I smiled. “You did the same for me, remember?”

  He nodded, and asked curiously, “How is your knee?”

  “Mostly healed,” I replied.

  I tossed the bloody cloth into the sink and ventured across the room to the window. I peeked through the blinds into the parking lot. “How well are we guarded?”

  “You see that car?” Rex pointed to a black Honda Civic parked in front of our room.

  I nodded, also noticing the two men sitting inside of it.

  “I’m sure there are more. Xavier won’t let you get away so easily this time.”

  I arched a skeptical brow. “We should find out exactly how many there are.” I headed to the door, reaching for the knob.

  “Spence, wait!” Rex stopped me worriedly.

  I swung around, and said, “Trust me. I’m their golden egg. They won’t hurt me.”

  With that said, I opened the door. The two men in the Civic immediately jumped out of the car, closing the distance between us within seconds. I quickly scanned the area before they reached me, looking for their accomplices.

  “Get back inside,” one of the men ordered me.

  “We’re hungry,” I whined innocently. “We also need a bandage for my friend’s head.”

  The two men glanced at each other warily. After a moment, they nodded in agreement, then turned back to face me.

  “Go back inside and we’ll grant you your requests.”

  “How long is it going to take?” I asked, while impatiently crossing my arms over my chest. “Because we’re really hungry.”

  “Give us twenty minutes,” he barked. “Now get back inside.”

  Pleased with myself, I closed the door behind me.

  Rex waited for me to disclose the info I’d collected. “There’s one on the balcony and one more across the lot. He was waiting by the vending machines. They both jumped up as soon as I opened the door.”

  “Nice work,” he complemented me.

  “Thanks.” I beamed.

  “While we’re waiting, there’s something I’d like to try,” Rex proposed. He gestured to my hand. I figured out what he was thinking, and willingly held it out to him.

  Rex took my hand in his and we both sat down on the bed. He closed his eyes, thinking about how he should ask me for what he wanted. After a few moments, he said, “I want for the both of us to escape this motel, Xavier, and his accomplices, without either of us getting hurt before Bonjara arrives. How can we do it?”

  My eyes glazed over. We waited in anticipation for what I would say. In my mind, a plan of attack was devised. When the guards came back with our food, Rex could take them from behind. In that moment, it would be possible for me to slip out the door. I would have to run like hell, but I c
ould escape. Except I didn’t see Rex doing the same. The other guards would catch up to him before he would make it out.

  “It’s not possible,” I sighed, shaking my head. “The two of us cannot escape together. Not before Bonjara gets here.”

  Rex presented me with an all too knowing look. “Who makes it?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It’s you, isn’t it?”

  I sat there stiffly, refusing to say anything else.

  “Tell me, Spence,” he demanded gruffly.

  “I’m not leaving without you!” I shouted, upset he could even ask me to do it. “I’m not leaving you to get murdered by those assholes.”

  Rex sighed, appearing unimpressed with my outburst. We both sat there on the bed, refusing to speak to each other or look one another in the eyes.

  Finally, Rex said softly, “Your life is worth more than mine, Spence.”

  “That’s bull,” I spat out.

  He reached for my arm again, but I pulled away. “Don’t you dare,” I said. “Don’t force me to tell you how. You promised you would never do that again.”

  “You can’t ask me to let them have you. If there’s a way for you to escape, you must take it.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly. “No,” I ground out. “So don’t ask me again.”

  Angry over my refusal, Rex groaned loudly.

  I almost took pity on him. He truly thought that it was his duty or something to put my life above everything when the truth was, it would probably be better for everyone if I were dead. But I knew he wouldn’t see it that way. So I changed the subject.

  “Why don’t you try something useful?” I suggested. “Like, ask me how to get Bonjara to spare your life.”

  He considered this. After a few moments of thinking it over, he conceded. “Fine.”

  I allowed him to take my arm again, but presented him with a stern look before doing so, which clearly said no tricks. “I won’t,” he promised.

  He then asked what we could do to prevent Salazar Bonjara from killing him.

  “I can offer him a deal,” I said quietly, not happy with the answer I saw in my mind.

  “What’s the deal?” Rex probed.

  “I go quietly with him. He’ll spare your life in return.”