Traveller

by Abigail Drake

  “What happened then?”

  “She picked me up and sprinted to the car. She left my stroller behind. She was crying.”

  I felt my mother’s breath in my ear as she ran, her hair tickling my nose, and the warmth of her body under my fingers as I clutched her sweater. I even felt her heart racing under her skin.

  “Did she say anything?”

  Suddenly, I heard her voice. “She said, ‘They found us. What have I done? My poor baby.’ I didn’t understand what she was talking about.”

  “Where did she take you?”

  “We went straight to Grandma Sugar’s. Mama handed me over to my grandparents, crying the whole time. She kissed me and I tried to hold onto her, but she pushed my hands away. Then she grabbed my favorite teddy bear, one that was almost as big as me, covered it with my blanket, and ran to the car.”

  I swallowed hard. “Pappy George tried to stop her, but she screamed for him to get away. It had started to rain. We watched her buckle the teddy bear into my car seat, still covered in a blanket. As she drove away, I stayed by the window. I was so small I had to stand on my tip toes, and even then I could barely peek through the crack in the curtains.”

  “What did you see?”

  My lips began to tremble. “A dark shadow came out of the woods and started running after my mother’s car. I thought it was a wolf.”

  “A Moktar,” said Anselina softly.

  She was right. There was no mistaking the dark, saggy skin and ferocious face. I’d seen a Moktar at two years old and never even realized it.

  Matthew shook his head. “She went all the way to America, and they still found her.”

  Anselina frowned. “They crossed the ocean. We thought we had the problem contained. We’ll have to notify the alliance,” she said. “But you haven’t finished telling us what happened to our Jillie.”

  With no gentle way to tell her, I decided to be as direct and emotionless as possible. “She drove off a cliff. She was killed instantly.” Too sad to weep, I sat in horrified silence as the truth sank in.

  “She did it to save you,” said Anselina. “She put your bear on the car seat so the Moktar would think you died, too.”

  “There must have been another way.”

  Anselina touched my cheek gently. “If there was, she didn’t see it.”

  Anselina and Matthew stood to leave, and I got up, too. I felt exhausted, emotionally and physically. We thanked Veronique and began walking back to Michael’s caravan. When we got there, Matthew gave me a long look.

  “Pack up your things, lass,” he said. “You’ll stay with us now.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to stop me. “No Traveller girl can stay with a man unsupervised. You’re a Traveller now.”

  “I’m nearly twenty-one, Matthew.” Not quite sure what to call him, I sort of stuttered on his name.

  “Yes, you are very old and wise, but I’m older and probably a bit wiser, too. We Travellers stick to our traditions and our rules, even if they are outdated.”

  I tried not to roll my eyes. “Fine. I’ll do as you ask, but…”

  “I am your granddad.” He gave me a wobbly little smile that nearly broke my heart. “You could start calling me that, if you’d like.”

  The wobbly smile made me reconsider my plans to force the issue. I’d stay with my grandparents tonight, and sort everything out tomorrow. I gathered my things and met Anselina and Matthew outside.

  “All right, lead the way, Granddad…and Grandmother.” Their faces lit up, making it that much easier to give into whatever they wanted. I’d known them one day, and already I was putty in their hands.

  Anselina wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “It won’t be that bad. We’ll have fun.”

  I wondered if Sun Tzu had a bossy little Chinese grandmother who told him what to do, and was fairly certain he must have. There is no stronger power than a grandma on a mission. It was better just to give in gracefully.

  “I am yours to command.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  He’s got a burr in his saddle over something.

  ~Grandma Sugar

  The blankets on my bed in the spare bedroom of my grandparents’ caravan smelled like lavender, a scent that reminded me of my mother. She’d kept dried lavender tied together with a purple satin ribbon in her dresser back in Bowling Green. I found it years after she died because Daddy had never been able to touch any of her things. Lavender smelled like home to me, and she’d probably felt the same way. I wondered if she’d thought about her parents every time she smelled it, too. Sadly, we were two generations of women who’d spent our lives missing our mothers.

  Dressing for school, I slipped into a gray plaid jumper dress with a white blouse underneath, and put on charcoal-colored tights and shoes. It looked a bit like a school uniform, but it was easy, comfortable, warm, and the short skirt showed off my legs. Also, the jumper covered the wrinkles in my blouse; I had no idea where my grandparents kept their iron.

  When I stepped into the main room of the caravan, my grandparents were nowhere to be seen. They’d left a pot of coffee for me, and a variety of breakfast foods. I ate a scone and drank my coffee quickly, not wanting to be late for class. I thought about wearing a sweater, but a crisp chill in the air made me shiver, so I grabbed my wool coat instead. I scribbled a note telling them where I was going, and then wrote one out for Michael, too, sticking it on the door of his caravan on my way out. I didn’t want to wake him. He needed to sleep. I asked him to meet me at my apartment again at four.

  The gypsy compound felt subdued early in the day. Most people stayed up all night, so they slept in every morning. No one was around when I slipped out the door and onto the streets of York. I turned around as soon as the door shut behind me, but it had disappeared.

  “Gypsy tricks,” I muttered under my breath.

  Brooke already sat in the front row of class when I arrived. She looked polished, as always, with her smooth blonde hair, rosy lips, and a perfectly pressed blouse and skirt. The epitome of a southern lady, a skill I’d never quite mastered. The sleeves of my blouse were more wrinkled than I’d realized and makeup had not been anywhere on my agenda this morning. Grandma Sugar would have yanked me out of the classroom by my ear.

  Brooke greeted me with a sunny smile, her eyes taking in my less than stellar appearance. “Look what the cat dragged in. Hi, stranger.”

  I tried to pat my hair down. It looked a little like I’d stuck my finger into an electrical outlet.

  “Aren’t you rather chipper today, Miss Brooke?”

  Brooke winked, and handed me a stick of gum. Juicy Fruit, my personal favorite.

  “Leo asked me out. I’ll say yes. Eventually.”

  Something about the idea of Leo and Brooke together set off a vague sense of unease somewhere deep inside my belly, but I pushed my feelings aside. It was none of my beeswax.

  “He’s a nice guy. Don’t play games with him, okay?”

  Brooke gave me a saucy grin. “Sugar, he’ll enjoy the kind of games I want to play.”

  She wasn’t talking about Monopoly, but I was saved from further innuendo by our Shakespeare professor stumbling into the room. Always lost in thought and a little befuddled, he reminded me a bit of my own father. Daddy spent most of his waking hours thinking about soldiers who died long ago in wars people barely remembered. What may have seemed dull and dry to others was his passion.

  My mother had been his other passion, and when she died, he’d slipped a little farther into his own world. Eventually, I’d have to tell him the truth about her death, and about the Moktar and the Travellers and my grandparents, but I couldn’t do so over the phone. He would have been on the next plane to England to have me seen by a head doctor, and I wouldn’t blame him.

  Before I knew it, class ended and everyone put away their books. The professor seemed perplexed, like he’d lost track of time, too. He scratched his head and mumbled as I helped him gather his things together
before walking out with Brooke. As soon as we got outside, her phone rang.

  She squealed. “Leo’s calling. Got to go.”

  Her voice turned sexy and sultry as soon as she answered the phone. I didn’t understand how girls could change from one second to the next if a man was involved. It was a complete mystery to me.

  She waved goodbye, but her attention already centered on Leo and nothing else. I waved back halfheartedly. She wasn’t even looking.

  Walking back to my apartment, I couldn’t quite understand my feelings. I had no right to be jealous about Brooke and Leo, but that was the only reasonable explanation for the odd tightening in my chest at the thought of them going out together.

  For a second, I imagined Leo gloriously naked, his golden eyes filled with desire. Then I imagined myself naked, too. I stopped dead in my tracks and almost dropped my backpack.

  “Ew, ew, ew. Dirty thoughts, dirty thoughts.”

  “I hate to interrupt you. It looks like an interesting conversation you’re having with yourself.”

  Lucinda smiled at me, and Poppy stood right next to her. I grabbed them both into a huge hug.

  “Oh, girls. If you could only know where my mind just was…”

  “Tell us,” said Lucinda, “over lunch.”

  We went to our favorite café, but the cold and wind prevented us from sitting outside. The cozy interior was dark and warm, with wooden walls and a low ceiling. We slid into a booth with leather seats. I ordered a beef pie, which Lucinda and Poppy both looked at longingly. They ordered salads.

  “It really isn’t fair you can eat like a longshoreman and look like a Barbie doll, you know.” Poppy picked at her salad and gave me a dirty look.

  “Sorry, Pops.” I tried to give her a bite of my lunch, but she shook her head.

  “No, thanks. I love salad,” she said with such a completely false smile plastered on her face I had to giggle. She looked maniacal. “So, what have you been up to?”

  I had to be discreet. That meant no mention of Moktars, Travellers, or any of the other weirdness.

  “I have some news,” I said, and took another bite of beef pie.

  Poppy’s eyes lit up. “You slept with Michael.”

  I shook my head, almost choking. I grabbed my glass of water and swallowed some down.

  Lucinda took a stab at it. “You slept with Michael and Leo. Together. Ménage à trois. I love it.”

  A good thing my mouth was covered with my napkin otherwise water would have spurted all over the table. Lucinda and Poppy knew all about the very handsome and sexy Leo, but it was kind of funny Lucinda mentioned him only minutes after I’d pictured him naked. Now she’d added Michael to the mix inside my head, and I pictured that, too.

  “Oh, my goody gumdrops.”

  Lucinda rolled her eyes and then looked at Poppy. “She’s still a virgin.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “Only virgins can use that phrase. It’s illegal otherwise.” Lucinda went back to eating her salad.

  “Don’t you want to hear my news?” I asked with a frown.

  “Of course we do, darling,” said Poppy.

  I cleared my throat. “I found my grandparents.”

  “How?” asked Lucinda.

  I pretended to be really interested in something on my plate. “Michael helped me.”

  “I’m so happy for you, Em,” said Poppy. “What are they like?”

  “I love them already.” I gushed about them for a few minutes, and then thought about my mother and how she’d died. I swallowed hard, and changed the subject. “How is Nigel?”

  Poppy’s face lit up. “He’s spectacular. He told his parents he loved me, and either they’d respect that and treat me well, or he’d have nothing more to do with them. They are being quite bearable to me now.”

  “I’m so glad.” I reached out and grabbed her hand. Then I looked at Lucinda. “And Antarctica?”

  Lucinda’s cheeks actually turned pink. “Sven asked me to come with him on his research mission in the spring.”

  “You’re going to live on the tundra?” I stared at her in shock.

  She bit her lip. “For a few weeks. I’ve already talked to my professors. They gave their permission. And you’ll be back in Kentucky anyway. I’ll be lonely.”

  My eyes filled with tears. “I’ll miss you, roomie.”

  Lucinda looked a bit teary, too. “Which is why we have to make really spectacular plans for Friday.”

  I looked at them in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your birthday, silly.” Poppy pretended to pop me on the head. “You’re finally turning twenty-one.”

  I had to think fast. “I’ll plan the whole thing, okay? Nigel and Sven can come, too.”

  I needed to clear this with Michael and Matthew and probably the whole gypsy council. They would never let me go out at night. I had to hope they would let my friends come in somehow.

  “That’s fine,” said Lucinda. “Our only real plan is to get you completely wasted since you are finally legal to drink in Kentucky.”

  “And since you are incredibly funny and southern when you drink,” Poppy chimed in.

  “Thank you, ladies. Friday will be interesting.”

  I went to my afternoon class, but barely paid attention while trying to come up with a solution for my birthday. My friends had been very forgiving regarding the time I’d been spending with Michael, but they would not understand missing my birthday. I almost groaned out loud. The last thing I wanted to do was add to Michael’s problems. He already had enough on his plate.

  Since Michael had learned the news about his mother’s death and his new half sibling, I sensed anger simmering inside him, bubbling just below the surface. I saw it in the tightness in his jaw and in the coldly calculating look in his eyes. He wanted to stop Melo from hunting me, but he wanted revenge for his mother, too. I almost pitied the first Moktar who might cross his path.

  “Hello, beautiful.” Leo interrupted my thoughts, making me nearly jump out of my shoes. I hadn’t even heard him approach.

  The wind had picked up, and my hair blew around my face. I pushed it out of the way, glad I’d had the good sense to throw on a coat this morning.

  “Hi, Leo. Where are you off to?”

  Leo leaned in and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Where would you like me to take you?”

  I backed away a step. He made me uncomfortable. I would have thought he was drunk, but he didn’t smell like alcohol. I glanced around. Enough people milled about I didn’t think I was in any danger, but I felt oddly on edge.

  “What’s the matter, Emerson? You don’t want to play with me today?”

  He stuck out his lower lip in a pout. He wore a tight black t-shirt and no coat, and yet I could almost feel the heat radiating from his body. I had on four layers of clothing and still shivered.

  I gave him a playful little shove to make him back off, but the look on his face wasn’t playful at all. It was dark.

  “Where’s Brooke?” I asked and began walking back to my apartment as quickly as possible. Something felt very off. Leo seemed hyper, like he was high or using steroids or something. He also looked even more muscular than usual.

  “Who cares?” He tried to put his arm around my shoulders, and I shrugged him off. He made a noise deep in his throat that sounded like a growl.

  “You asked her out.”

  Only a block left until I reached my apartment, and I hoped Michael would be waiting outside. Leo was beginning to scare me, but I chatted with him as I walked in an effort to buy time.

  I turned the corner, and exhaled a sigh of relief. I couldn’t see Michael, but I saw the steps to my apartment. Running would get me there in about ten seconds. I felt around in my backpack for my keys and pulled them out. Leo grabbed my arm, gripping it so hard it hurt.

  “Ow.” I tried to yank it away, but he wouldn’t let me. He pushed me into a dark, narrow alley, slamming me against a brick wall next
to some trash bins. No one on the main street could see me now. “What are you doing, Leo?”

  He was furious, positively seething with rage. His eyes looked bloodshot and glassy, and his face had turned an angry shade of red.

  “Why are you playing games with me?” he asked, his voice a low hiss. He tried to pull me deeper into the alley and away from my apartment, but I dug my heels in.

  “Leo, stop it. You’re my friend.”

  He didn’t answer. He twisted my arm until I screamed in pain. I swung my backpack with my free arm, hitting him on the side of his head. It wasn’t enough to get him to let go of my arm, but it made him stop wringing it like a wet sponge.

  “I don’t want to be your friend.”

  He was so mad he spit. I wondered how I ever could have thought he was handsome. He looked like a monster now.

  I started kicking him and pushing him with all my might, but he stopped me with one hand to my throat, my head pushed against the wall. He began to squeeze so hard I started seeing black spots float in front of my eyes.

  For once, I was grateful for the English weather. A big fat raindrop fell on his face, distracting him. He looked up, loosening his grip on my throat just enough for me to take a deep breath. At that moment, I dealt the deathblow, kicking him as hard as I possibly could right in the crotch.

  Sun Tzu had taught me even the strongest opponent has a weak spot. In the case of muscle-bound Leo, his weak spot was right between his legs. He released me immediately, his hands protectively covering his injured area, and he fell over like a tree in the forest. Timber.

  He moaned in pain, but he’d be up again soon. I let out a yelp when he tried to grab my foot, and sprinted as fast as I could back to my apartment. Rain fell in earnest now, soaking through my clothes. Michael walked toward me, coming down the street from the opposite direction. When he looked up and saw my face he broke into a run.

  “What happened?”

  I started to babble, pointing back to the alley, but when Michael got there Leo had already gone. I looked around in a panic, sure he would jump out at any minute and attack me again. Michael took the keys out of my hand and pulled me into my flat.