by Belle Malory
“Do you even have witnesses?” I asked Salazar.
“I could gather up a few,” he replied. “They can’t prove I didn’t launder the money. But they can testify that I filtered some of it back through the tribes.”
“Which will appeal to the people,” I added. “You’ll look like Robin Hood.”
Salazar grinned. “I always liked Robin Hood. The story, anyway. I never met the real Robin.”
“You mean he actually existed?” I asked, incredulous.
Salazar nodded. “Oh, definitely. He was a hero. A friend of mine met him in a past life.”
I smiled. “That’s really cool.”
Salazar pushed his reading glasses closer to his eyes and jotted down some notes. I adjusted the lantern to shine brighter for him, waiting patiently.
Suddenly, Salazar put his pencil down. He sighed despondently. After a few moments, he looked up at me, meeting my gaze.
“Estelle,” he began, looking as if he didn’t quite know how to put what he was thinking into words. “I haven’t always been respectable. I’ve committed most of the crimes I’ve been accused of.” His voice tapered off remorsefully. “I just wanted you to know that.”
I nodded to let him know I understood. I’d already suspected Salazar hadn’t exactly been a royal prodigy, but I didn’t believe he was all that bad, either.
Salazar waited for me to say something, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. I finally settled on, “Just don’t make me regret this, okay?”
He smiled, looking as if that was the confirmation he’d needed in order to pull this off. I really hoped he wasn’t as evil as I thought. For Rex’s sake, if for nothing else. I suppose it didn’t matter what Rex thought anymore, or rather, it shouldn’t matter. But it did.
I was still thinking of Rex when Salazar left me alone in my new tent. I curled up on the pallet, realizing this would be the first time in days Rex wasn’t somewhere near me while I slept. Except for when I’d been drugged, but I wasn’t counting that.
I wondered what he was doing right now, and what he was thinking about. He probably left on the first flight out of Vancouver. I was positive he was tracking down Tatiana, now that he knew her location. I wasn’t sure if it hurt more knowing Rex was looking for her, or if it was worse knowing he’d have to come to Redwood Forest to find her.
Either way, it hurt.
Thirty-Two
The next day Xavier agreed to take me to the market again in order to shop for clothes. I hadn’t had the luxury of bringing anything with me, so I was desperately in need. Though it had only been one day, it hadn’t been easy living with a group of guys. Salazar rented only one RV, which he occupied, and the rest of us commoners used tents. This meant almost ten people had to share one tiny bathroom. I was not a happy camper-literally. However, Salazar asked me to have the patience to stick it out. He promised the castle would hold more luxurious accommodations. And once he had his throne back, he promised to purchase me my very own RV for whenever we traveled.
In the meantime, I sifted through the market’s selection of clothing, which I could only describe as exotic. There was no Chanel, Gucci or Prada. And worst of all, there was nothing in black. All of the women’s clothing fell into one of two categories: traditional, with lots of patterns and beadwork or modern, but skimpy and see-through, similar to how the girls dressed at the Irish Traveler wedding. I opted to go the traditional route.
Luckily, I stumbled upon a vendor selling a pair of old Levi jeans. They were a size smaller than I normally wore, but I bought them anyway, since they were the most normal item of clothing I found.
Bored with all my shopping, Xavier offered to buy us some food while I hit up one last clothing stand. I was in the middle of browsing through a rack when I noticed the most peculiar woman. Petite and plump in stature, she had the brightest red hair I’d ever seen. I peeked over the clothing rack to get a better look. Possibly in her mid-forties, she had gray eyes that sparkled while she smiled, which she was doing right now. At me.
I looked over my shoulder, wondering if it were someone else she was smiling at. But there was no one there.
I turned back around, realizing she was, in fact, looking at me. “I’d go with the red one,” she advised, pointing to a bright red tunic with golden beadwork. “The color will go great with your complexion.”
“Um, thanks,” I said.
She smiled again, showing off a pair of deep-set dimples. Before passing me on her way out of the stall, she slipped something into my hand. My eyes widened as I felt a piece of paper slide into my fingertips.
“Wait, who are you?” I called, trying to catch her before she left.
But she was already gone. I looked down at the note I held in my hands, carefully unfolding it.
Meet me by the waterfall. Tonight at midnight. – Aurelia
My brows knotted together in confusion. That name, Aurelia, sounded familiar. I thought I’d heard it mentioned recently. Everything about the mysterious woman seemed eerily familiar. That bright red hair . . . I couldn’t place her face, but I knew her. Perhaps from a past life?
Argh, this was going to drive me batty.
While I was debating on whether or not I’d go to the waterfall tonight, Xavier caught up with me at the stand. A bag of food was in his hands.
“All finished?” he asked hopefully.
I nodded, trying to act like everything was normal.
“Thank God,” he sighed. “I’m starving.”
“One last thing,” I told him. I reached for the red tunic, pulling it off of the rack. “I think I’ll take this, too.”
On the way back to our camp, I puzzled over the strange woman, wondering what she wanted to meet me for. Did she know who I was? I suppose it was possible, being we were in the midst of hundreds of gypsies. There were bound to be other psychics out there who might approach me.
But why did she want to keep everything so hush-hush? Why meet me in secret, in the middle of the night, in a secluded spot? If I went, I might be placing myself in danger. It could be a trap. However, I had this feeling telling me I needed to meet with Aurelia. My sense of curiosity urged me, getting the better of my judgment.
It was settled then. I would go to the waterfall tonight. First though, I would find out where Xavier kept the baseball bat they’d knocked Rex out with. Just in case.
I slipped out of my tent close to midnight with my makeshift weapon in tow. Everyone in my new tribe was either sleeping or back at the marketplace where there were still several parties ablaze with drinking and gambling.
The walk to the end of the river took longer than I’d expected, giving me more time to question myself on whether or not I was making a careless decision. I wore the wrong shoes apparently, since the new flats I’d purchased kept catching on twigs and brambles.
This whole thing was probably stupid of me to do, but my curiosity surrounding the red head was eating me up. I had to know what she wanted.
Eventually, I traipsed out of the brush, and made my way to where the waterfall met the river. The water expanded into a large pond, undulating noisily from the constant flow. Despite the noise, the scene was breathtaking. The pond water shimmered, reflecting the moon’s glow upon its clear surface.
Aurelia found me before I spotted her. “I see you chose the red one after all.”
I swung around, finding her standing behind me, bright red hair gleaming in the moonlight. A soft breeze drifted by, fluttering Aurelia’s long white night robe.
I looked down at my tunic, realizing I’d chosen to wear the one she’s suggested.
“My love, we’re not here to play baseball,” she said, eyeing my weapon dubiously.
“Oh, this is just--”
“Forgive me for asking you to come so far from your camp. I wanted to ensure we weren’t heard.” She pointed to the waterfall in explanation.
I remembered Rex mentioned that the rain hid people’s thoughts from mind readers. I supposed waterfalls produced th
e same effect.
“My thoughts are well hidden,” I advised Aurelia. “We don’t have to worry about that.”
I didn’t intend to explain, but she seemed to already know. “Sal’s potion maker?” she guessed. I didn’t even bother to deny it.
“He’s one of the best,” she added. She seemed uncomfortable mentioning Salazar and quickly moved onto the next topic. “So I bet you’re wondering why I asked you to meet me here.” She grinned as if she’d been let onto some big secret I didn’t know about.
“I’m definitely curious,” I admitted.
She held out her hands, spinning around in a grand gesture towards our surroundings. “Welcome to your first training,” she told me excitedly.
“Training,” I repeated, confused. “Training for what?”
“To work against that curse of yours, of course. What else?” She beamed at me, grinning from ear to ear. “I bet it’s pretty damned annoying, always having to tell people how to get what they want. Especially when you don’t want to. Am I right?”
I gaped at her, not really sure what to say.
“I’m a psychic,” she explained. “A very powerful one, I might add. I knew you’d be coming here with Sal long before you did. I dreamed about it a few months ago, actually. I’ve been so excited to meet you ever since.”
Aurelia’s gray eyes sparkled vivaciously in the moonlight. Her voice and expression was dripping with animation. Her constant state of excitement was a little overwhelming.
“I suppose we should begin this properly. I’m Aurelia. And you must be Estelle.”
I nodded. It was the only thing I was capable of doing since I seemed to be having difficulty producing actual words.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She looked over me, moving closer. “I have to say, you’re much lovelier in person.”
“Uh, thanks,” I mumbled, finally finding my voice. “You’re actually familiar to me, too. Did we know each other before this life?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, fidgeting.
I didn’t care what she said though. I knew her somehow.
“I’ve got it!” I finally placed her face. “I have this painting at home. It’s of this woman on the beach, chasing butterflies. She has red hair just like you. In fact, you look exactly like her.”
She chuckled. “Who knows? I may have inspired an artist in a past life. No matter how many times I’ve been born again, my hair color follows me.”
I smiled, feeling more at ease. This woman, Aurelia, seemed friendly enough. “How do you know Sal?” I asked curiously.
Aurelia didn’t look like she wanted to talk about Salazar. “Oh, we go way back,” she told me. “It’s a long story. I won’t bore you with it, and anyway, we should probably start on your training.”
I eyed her skeptically. “Why do you want to help me? What’s in it for you?”
Aurelia’s expression finally turned serious. It was the first time it had since I met her, and made her appear older than I’d first guessed. Gravely, she said, “I think we both know your existence is a danger to everyone. Especially now that you’re in Salazar Bonjara’s tribe. Those reasons aside, I want to help you, Estelle. I think we’re going to become close, you and I.”
I bit my lip, debating. “So let me get this straight,” I said. “You want to train me to fight my curse, correct?”
“Correct.”
“And how exactly are you going to do that?”
“Well, I think we should start by wielding it. You have to learn to work against it in order to overcome the hold it has over you.”
I sighed. Whether or not her intentions were good, Aurelia was in way over her head. Fighting against the curse was a useless endeavor. I’d been doing it my whole life and the outcome had always been the same.
“Shall we begin?” she prodded.
“Listen, Aurelia,” I began. “As much as I appreciate your efforts, I’ve already tried fighting against the curse. In fact, I fight against it almost every time someone uses it. Fighting has never once worked.”
In the back of my mind, I thought of the night Rex pulled me away from my sister. Fighting had worked in that instance. But since I couldn’t be dragged away from every assailant, it probably wasn’t worth mentioning.
Aurelia wasn’t chagrined. “That’s because you never had me to help you.”
I stared at her for a moment, considering her offer. She waited eagerly, bizarrely positive about my situation.
“How do I know you won’t ask me for something you want and then bolt as soon as I’ve answered you?”
She merely shrugged. “You’ll have to take my word for it, I suppose.”
“But you’re a complete stranger.”
“I won’t be after you get to know me,” she argued, grinning.
I had to admit, her enthusiasm was infectious. But I was afraid to let my guard down. More than that, I didn’t want to give myself false hope by this whole training nonsense she was spouting. I think that’s why I hesitated. I’d been so sure Marcellus would be the answer, and when he hadn’t been, it had hurt deeply. I didn’t want to live with this thing looming over my head for the rest of my life.
Besides, living with Salazar couldn’t be all that bad. As long as he didn’t use me like my mother and sister had, I really couldn’t ask for more.
But what could it hurt to let Aurelia try?
If it didn’t work out, I could quit this whole ‘training’ business and move on. And if she was only here to use me, I could always club her with my baseball bat for making me believe her.
But if it did work…I would finally be free. Freedom was always worth a risk.
“Well,” she persisted. “Are you going to give me a chance?”
“Okay,” I agreed. Aurelia clapped her hands, nearly squealing with glee.
“But we have to continue to meet in private,” I stressed.
She nodded. “Of course.”
“It doesn’t have to be in the middle of the night though. I don’t exactly have much to do, anyway. I can probably get away.”
“Perfect,” she said.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You have to be the most lively gypsy I’ve met so far,” I mentioned. “Are you always this excited?”
“Oh, yes,” she nodded. She stared off into the distance, looking out towards the many tents and RVs parked along the river. “Believe it or not, I’m not a new soul. I’ve lived many, many lives. I think it’s our curse to be jaded, but I try not to let myself fall prey to it. Sometimes it can be difficult. When that happens, I remember to take pleasure in the little things because it’s the little things that make life great.”
Aurelia made a good point. I decided I would try and adopt her attitude. Not that I had to worry about becoming jaded, at least not yet. I did have a habit of letting things get to me though, which is probably why my panic attacks continued long after my father’s death.
Aurelia grinned and the moment instantly lost its seriousness. “I should go work for Hallmark, right?”
“Definitely,” I agreed, chuckling.
“So are you finally ready to begin, my love?”
Aurelia had spread out a picnic blanket close to the water and set a lantern on top of it. Here, she directed me to sit across from her. She pulled out a timer strung onto a cord beneath her robe and set the device to zero.
Wrapping her chubby jeweled fingers over my wrist, she held her hand there, pressing down against my drumming veins. “I want to monitor your heart rate,” she explained.
Before she asked her first question, I warned her it had to be something she wanted. She surprised me, by asking, “I’d like to know if Elvis is truly dead. How do I find out?”
I almost laughed, the question was so ridiculous. Then my usual symptoms began, cutting my laughter short. I strained against them.
“Don’t give in,” she encouraged me. “And tell me what’s happening to you.”
I shook my head wearily. If I spoke, I was sure
the only thing that would come out was her answer.
I strained against the symptoms until I felt like I would pass out. My lips moved of their own accord. “He’s dead. He’s buried in Graceland at the Meditation Garden.”
“Damn,” Aurelia muttered. “I always hoped he was still alive. I saw him in concert once, during my last life.”
Too drained for words, I gave her a weak smile. She patted my arm sympathetically.
“You didn’t do so bad, my love. One minute, two seconds.”
“This is impossible,” I whined dully. “It’s not even me speaking. I don’t know where it comes from.”
“You have to learn to control the curse, rather than to let it control you. We’ll keep at it. Stay positive. Now tell me what was happening while you fought the curse. What were you feeling?”
I gave her the extensive list of my symptoms. She nodded and scribbled down notes onto a pad of paper she’d brought with her. “Your heart rate sped up before you spoke,” she advised me. “I thought that was interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because it remained steady the rest of the time.”
Her answer surprised me. If that was the case, I wondered why it always felt as if I were having a melt down.
“Which means it’s all in your head,” she told me. “And further proof you can beat this thing. Mind over matter. Repeat after me, mind-over-matter.”
I repeated the mantra with her, feeling sort of dumb, but willing to try anyway.
She asked me a few more questions before we quit for the night. The longest I held out for was one minute and five seconds. It wasn’t much of an improvement, but I figured at least it was an improvement.
“Great work tonight, Estelle,” Aurelia said once we were finished. “I’ll meet you tomorrow. Not here, people like to swim during the day. Meet me behind the castle at noon, on the Eastern side. There’s a garden there I like to visit.”
“See you then,” I promised.
I felt exhausted as I hiked back to my tent, but it was a good kind of exhaustion.
In the end, I was happy I met with Aurelia. I still was unsure about her intentions, but I didn’t believe they were bad or self-serving. I felt it in my gut to believe she was good. And aside from that, I liked her. Her enthusiasm and positivity made me believe it was possible to beat this thing. I only hoped I could pull it off.
