by Diana Graves
“They asked too many questions,” Cole finally said, earning him a heated glare from the other two. He flinched under their stares, which lingered too long. He sunk into the sofa, becoming inches shorter, a vaguely child-like reaction.
Anger washed over me like scolding hot water from a shower and I stood then, maybe too abruptly because my chair fell over with the force of it. The anger wasn’t mine. Even holding back, I sometimes felt other’s emotions if they were strong enough. I couldn’t tell who it was coming from. Too many people looked angry and with this much emotion I so didn’t want to open myself up to it.
I bit the insides of my cheeks and counted to ten. “Well, how the hell was I supposed to help you if you were planning on keeping information from me? What little bones were you planning on throwing me had I been prepared to help you?” I asked as calmly as I could with so much burning anger riding my mind.
Cole said nothing. He looked horrified. I didn’t know him, I knew nothing about him. And, yet I felt sorry for him, I really did. His strong body just seemed so useless.
The other two sat silently and stared at me the way some people will do when they want you to change your answer; as though simply staring at me would change reality. All the sudden I’d be willing to work for them. I growled.
“If that is all, you can leave. I told you that I can’t help you, so thanks for stopping by,” I said as I walked across the living room and grabbed the door handle. I was taking deep breaths. Stay calm, show no weakness.
Bayard and Cole got up to leave but the woman stayed seated. When the men looked back at her she blinked slowly and Bayard turned to Mom and Ruy.
“Could you two step outside for a moment,” Bayard asked politely.
Mom put her fists on her hips. “This is my house, mine! You step outside!”
Ruy wrapped his strong dark arms around her. I could understand her frustration. These people came into her home, invaded her privacy and seemed in no way grateful or respectful.
“Come on Anna. If it will get them to leave sooner rather than later why not just sit outside on the patio for a bit,” Ruy pleaded with her.
Her face was red with anger but she was not unreasonable. She stomped to a cabinet in the kitchen and grabbed a Germanic metal jewelry box that she kept her lilac weed and pipe in--she calls it lilac weed, others call it purple Kush. Either way, that’s what the back deck was for. The back yard had a stone fence and a great big garden. It was like a little piece of heaven with absolute privacy.
With Ruy and Mom gone, the two men sat back down, so did I, but as far from them as I could get. I had a bottle of mace that might help if the men got out of hand, but I wasn’t sure it would work on the woman. Hell, I didn’t even know what she was.
“What do we need privacy for? I already told you that you’re wasting your time. I can’t help you.”
“We were hoping to appeal to your heart,” said the woman. Her voice sounded like music, like rose petals falling on a bed of silk, like warm oil being massaged into a sore back. It was all things good, all things beautiful. It was a trick somehow, fae glamour most likely. The moment I realized that, it was gone and her words were just words and not a fuzzy warm eternity come to lovingly swallow me up. It was good to be an elf sometimes. Most elves have a small immunity to fairy magic, being that they are close cousins and all. Being a witch, elf hybrid was a bitch most of the time. Good to know there were perks.
“Appeal to my heart?” I asked, one eyebrow up in suspicion or caution, tomato-tomáto.
“Yes,” said the woman, “My name is Nanuet, I am here in search of my daughter. She ran away from home as a young child. We’ve been looking for her for so long.” She shook her head in a show of disbelieving grief or something like it. Every word she spoke felt like a lie, a manipulation. It was a show and I knew it. This was Nanuet at play, and I could humor her until it was time to repeat my original decision. No, no, a thousand times no. No matter how much money they offered, no.
“So, your daughter ran away and you’re here looking for her?” I tested my understanding.
The woman said, “Yes, I must find her.”
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“It will do us no good to tell you her given name; she has undoubtedly taken a new one.”
She put her hand out and for a moment I thought she wanted something from me. She was staring at me, talking to me, but Bayard placed a light pink handkerchief in her hand with a gold embroidered N. on it. She used the hanky to wipe pretend tears from her eyes and placed it back in Bayard’s waiting hand. “Please help us.”
I glared at them, “You haven’t told me anything. You want me to look for a runaway with no name and nothing to go by.”
“So you will help us,” said Bayard.
“No! I can’t, I told you. I was saying that IF I were to take the contract, I would have nothing to go by, no name, no clues, nothing. What even makes you think she’s in Washington or is that too much information to know?” I asked a little hot headed. They didn’t say anything. Damn these people. I stood up again and threw my hands in the air, as if to shoo them away. “Just leave!” I yelled. I turned toward the door to open it for them.
“Her name is Nenet!” shouted Nanuet when I moved to turn the knob.
I knew her, I knew Nenet and I was wholly glad that they couldn’t see my face at that moment because I knew it betrayed the shock I felt. They were looking for Nenet? Like Ruy, Nenet lived and worked in the town of Darkness. She was a giane, which meant Nanuet was also a giane. That explained why Nanuet was looking at me like I looked yummy. Gianes drink the bodily fluids of mammals, all mammals. I didn’t know Nenet well. She diagnosed me as a living vampire after the attack, but if she ran away from these people she must have had her reasons. I needed to talk to Ruy.
“We know she’s here because she kept in contact with her sister. We found the letters she wrote her,” Nanuet said.
I couldn’t master my face well enough, so I hid my feelings with anger and annoyance when I turned back to their waiting faces. “Still, no means no. I am not as generous as my mother and I will call the authorities if you do not leave her house now.” I said it very calmly and clearly as I stepped toward the phone.
“Is there no convincing you? You are our last hope here,” she pleaded.
I sighed and grabbed the phone from the desk. I held it in my hand tightly. “I am sorry that I can’t help you, but really think about it. I’m not a bounty hunter. I haven’t been trained, I have no experience. If I am your last hope then you’re in a piss poor situation.” I punched four-one-one, but acted as though I had dialed another three number service.
“No need to involve the authorities, we will go,” Nanuet said as she finally stood.
She smoothed her long bronze dress down with her delicate hands. Now that I knew she was Nenet’s mom I realized why her face looked familiar. They had the same narrow cheeks, the same large eyes and the same delicate body, tall and fragile. Cole rose and got the door while Bayard gave me a dirty look. I pushed the button that hung up the call even though the operator had hung up a while ago, and watched them walk out of the door. I closed my eyes in relief when I heard them drive away.
WARNING
I KEPT MY eyes closed while I waited for the adrenalin to leave me. I hated confrontations. It could have been avoided. I could have just told them that Nenet lived in Darkness, and they would have left without argument. But, something told me that they weren’t in search of a happy family reunion. It was the secrecy, anger, and the muscle Nanuet brought with her. She was no grieving mother in search of her beloved child. I didn’t know what she was, but I knew she wasn’t that. And, here I was thinking that I was the only lady with a fucked up family…
When my heart stopped pounding I opened the front door and motioned for Katie to come in. It was the first time Katie had ever stepped foot in my mom’s house, and her eyes were wide taking in all the old world charm; the dark woods, the bright c
olors and the exotic flavor of it all. We made our way down the hall and to the wide black double doors that led to the back deck. Katie stood beside me as I turned the brass handles and opened the doors wide. I heard a low gasp come from her.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured and I agreed.
Mom’s garden was magnificent. The far side of the garden had three trees; a tall willow tree, a red leafed cherry tree and an overgrown apple tree. Together they were large enough to hide the freeway from view. Mom and I built a six foot tall water fall that splashed into a wide and deep pond full of fish on the left side of the yard that helped drown out the sound of the freeway as well. Roses and ivory climbed the rock fence, fully a bloom with crimson and white. Tiny fairies and bugs buzzed about the garden. The grass was the greenest green and soft enough to sleep on. Mom and Ruy were sitting on a long bench on the deck near a built in fire pit. Ruy saw us first and gave me wary eyes.
“They’re gone,” I said.
“Did you take the job? They said they’d pay fifty thousand,” Mom said.
“No.” I breathed in deep, taking in the scent of the freshly cut grass, the flowers and Mom’s weed.
“Fifty thousand?!” Katie said. She looked at me as if I were stupid to have passed up that kind of money. They never told me how much they were willing to offer me, but even so I would have declined. Something about me must have told them that money wasn’t my thing. Being rich had never been a goal of mine. I just wanted to work hard and live free. I didn’t need a McMansion or a trendy car.
The rock fence was six feet tall and the water fountain was noisy, but was it loud enough that someone listening from the other side of the fence wouldn’t hear us? I couldn’t take that chance.
“I need to talk to you inside,” I said to Ruy.
He looked to Mom. He was caressing her delicate hands with his own large rough ones. They didn’t say anything to each other, but Mom shrugged and Ruy stood after he brought her hands to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on each of them in turn. “I’ll be back,” he said. He was looking down at her. Both his tone and his posture told me that he was her protector, but who was he protecting her from? Me?
Katie asked to stay outside in the garden and that was fine by me, because Ruy and I had to talk. He knew Nenet, how well and for how long, I didn’t know, but he knew her better than me. I closed the doors behind me after Ruy stepped into the house. He looked back at me with his bright eyes.
“They didn’t tell us much while we were waiting for you. Just that they needed you to find someone and that they were willing to pay you handsomely for your services,” Ruy said. “But by the look on your face I’d say that whatever they asked you to do was something illegal or…”
“They’re looking for Nenet,” I interrupted, because whatever my face might have looked like, I was more curious about what his reaction would be to that information. For a moment he stared at me, possibly gathering his thoughts, or waiting for my words to sink in.
“Nenet?” he asked. “Why?”
“Didn’t that woman look familiar to you?” I studied his face as he thought about her and watched confusion fill his eyes.
“She looked a little like Nenet actually, same eyes and body type at least.” He looked at me from under his brow. “Did she give you her name?”
“Yes, Nanuet.” Ruys eyes shot open, impossibly wide. He began walking down the hall toward the front door without a word and then stopped and turned back to me before I could say anything.
“I must go to Darkness, now,” he said.
“Why? Is Nenet in trouble? Why is she hiding from her mother? Why do you have to go? Why can’t we just call her?” So many questions.
Ruy tried to calm himself. He took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Where do I start? There is no time to explain it all. Nenet must know now and I must tell her.”
“At least tell me why you have to go, why we can’t just call her.”
“Nenet has a phobia of phones, she doesn’t own one.”
“Then we can call the Darkness police and they can tell her.”
Ruy just looked at me like I wasn’t getting it and he was right. I didn’t get it. Why did he have to drive all the way to Darkness just to tell her something that could be easily said over the phone or sent in an email even?
“I’ll tell you this much. Nenet’s family is bad people, if you can call them people. She’s been hiding from them in Darkness for years. Only Sheriff Mato, the Masters and I know. Nenet would like things to stay that way. Mato and the Masters won’t be up yet and you must stay here for your mother’s sake until I get back. The less people who know, the better.”
Ruy moved toward the double doors, probably to say goodbye to Mom, but I blocked him, and he gave me a questioning look.
“Why do I need to stay here for my mom? She’s a strong woman last I checked. She can take care of herself. She doesn’t need a baby sitter.”
He looked down at me, and the look was enough to tell me that he didn’t appreciate the question, but he answered me anyway.
“Annabella is strong, but all of her children have left her, her siblings won’t talk to her and her parents are dead. One person can only take so much abandonment.” His face was bitter as he said it and I knew mine matched.
“I can’t speak for Tristan, but she pushed Nicholas and me out of her life. A fact for which Aunt Fauna and Uncle Seth are angry with her. And, grandma and grandpa died a long time ago.”
“Loss is loss, Raina,” he said. He began to walk away but stopped. “I’ll talk to you later about training.”
I watched him walk outside. I was still thinking about what he said when Katie came back through the black doors.
“Ruy said he’s leaving and we’re staying?” she made it a question.
“Yeah, we’re staying,” I said, and Katie frowned so deep that it may have matched my own.
REVELATION
AFTER RUY LEFT, Mom retired to her room, leaving Katie and I alone in the garden. I took the liberty of introducing Katie to the wildlife that called Mom’s little slice of heaven home; the rabbits, squirrels and fairies. Mom only tolerated one tiny garden troll, Frances. He stood but three inches tall and lived under the deck. For him it was a mansion of a home. The only reason she let him stay was because he promised to not eat anything with a face; no fairies and no bugs. Just fruit and veggies from her garden. Katie found everything and everyone so enchanting. She’d never seen wild animals so loving and she’d never seen fairies at all. They danced around her, spilling their colorful dust here and there. I could feel Katie’s happiness, and I just knew that she hadn’t felt this at ease in a very long time.
Eventually it got late and we became hungry. Katie offered to make us some lunch, so I showed her to the kitchen. While she was busy, I called Ruy on the cordless to get an update. He didn’t answer right away.
“Raina,” he finally said by way of greeting just as the voicemail came on.
“I’m just calling for an update. How is Nenet?” I asked quietly. I left the kitchen for the privacy of the living room. Walking past Mom’s room, I found her crying on her bed. It made me tilt my head. I’d known my mother all my life and yet I didn’t understand her in the least.
“She’s understandably shaken, but she’s been moved to a safe location.”
“That’s good.”
“Mato asked after you.”
“Well, that was a drastic change in subject. Um, it’s not dark enough for Mato to be out and about, though.” I was blushing just at the mention of his name.
“It is in the master’s keep,” Ruy said.
I hit my forehead, duh. “Well, I’ll be here until you come back to relieve me of duty…You are coming back, right?”
“Yes, I’m coming back. I’ll see you soon.”
“Wait.” A question came to me. I’d meant to ask it after Nanuet left, but in all the excitement of Nenet’s newfound predicament, I’d forgotten until then.
> “Yes?”
“Why didn’t you tell Nanuet you were a bounty hunter?”
I heard him let out a heavy sigh. “Because, I’m not a bounty hunter. I was one, once. But, now I’m Darkness’s seeker, their vampire hunter. I hunt for them alone, but I can still train you. Training from a retired bounty hunter counts as valid training and you’ll still get your license.”
“That makes sense. Okay, well, I’ll see you soon.”
“One more thing; Mato’s coming with me. He wanted it to be a surprise, but I wasn’t sure you’d appreciate that.”
“Thank you. I’ve never been one for surprises. Is that why you’re taking so long, you’re waiting for night fall?”
“Partly…I was hoping that if I forced you and Anna under the same roof, that you two might reconcile.”
I had to laugh then, but it was a curt sorry laugh. “You forget, Mom and I shared the same roof for twenty-one years and she’s always done well to avoid me, even as a child.”
“Believe me when I say that she has her reasons.”
“Oh, she’s told you so much, has she? Would you enlighten me as to why my stoic mother would shun two of her children, whose only fault I can see, is not living up to her expectations?”
“I’m not your family counselor, Raina.”
“Then butt out, Ruy.”
“Will do.”
He left the conversation at that and hung up. But, he’d gotten me thinking, and I found myself making my way to my mother’s room. She was sitting on her bed with a huge box in her lap. I recognized the box. It was full of our family photos. She was a complicated person. I almost didn’t want to make my presence known. She always shuts down around me. Why hide from me what she freely shared with Ruy?
I walked over to her tentatively and sat beside her. “Can I see that?” I asked. She didn’t answer me, but her fingers loosened their grip on the box, and I was able to lift it off her lap and onto mine. “I can’t believe we were ever so small.” I was holding a picture of Tristan, Nick and I sitting on a train on our way to some place I couldn’t remember. I was only a couple years old, which made Nick four and Tristan nine. Tristan had his arms around Nick and Nick had his tiny arms around me. Already, our personalities were showing. Nick looked shaggy, a rag-tag sort of dirty boy with a big grin. Tristan was sitting up very straight. He was a well-mannered, well dressed boy. And, there I sat with my hair covering most of my face, refusing to smile, refusing to sit still, refusing to do whatever I was told. My aunt once said that I went against the grain, simply to go against the grain. She said it like it was a bad thing, but I smiled at that comment.
