Abomination (The Path to Redempton Book 1)

by Kimbra Swain

  “Not really. Usually the Liquor Mart down on 15th street usually has it. It runs about $65 a bottle. It’s good stuff.”

  “Yes, I like it. I have a friend that would like it too. How about Milt? He come in here often?”

  “Yeah, old Milt is here every Sunday. He waits on his girl and always has two glasses, and meets her outside. She never comes in. To be honest, she doesn’t look old enough to be in here anyway.”

  “She did look young,” I agreed. I knew all too well that Samantha was only 18.

  “Rich guys have all the luck, no matter how old they are, don’t they?” he laughed.

  “Seems that way. Thanks for the service man. I know he paid for it, but I appreciate the attention,” I said. I pulled out my wallet and dropped a $20 on the bar for the Coke and the service. “Have a good one.”

  “Come back again, and bring a friend,” he smiled.

  “I plan on it,” I said and walked out the door. The night air was cool, and the mountains in the distance loomed darkly over the city. I hopped in the Mercedes, and headed back to the compound. I rarely went out, but it was nice. I need to do it more often. Maybe the guys from the training center would like to visit the bar. Maybe Abby would come. As I drove back, I started to feel tired. For a moment, I even crossed the centerline of the highway. Thankfully no one approached in the opposite direction. I centered myself and focused on the road. Needed to stop letting my mind wander. I hadn’t had much sleep and it was catching up with me. But the sleep was persistent. Overly so. I became concerned and found a small road to pull off the main highway. I put the car in park and rubbed my eyes. I felt unnatural. Perhaps the bartender drugged my drink which sounded utterly ridiculous. I leaned forward and put my forehead on the steering wheel. I lost consciousness for a minute. The jaguar started to stir. Danger was nearby. I bolted back in the seat and tried to look around. I reached for the door handle, and started to get out of the car when the door swung open, and a tall muscular man stood there in silhouette. I couldn’t see him. He looked to be nothing but a shadow. I tried to pull away, but I felt like I was bound. He was a wielder. I started to panic, but my body felt numb. I had no way to fight back. I heard him speak in a deep, dark tone, “Yes, you will be a fine addition to my collection.”

  “Get the fuck away from me,” I managed to get out of my mouth as he reached for me. He grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me out of the car. I hit the dirt beside the car. I tried to move. I tried to kick him away. He started speaking to someone else.

  “Take the car. Lose it. Make it disappear,” he chuckled.

  I twisted a bit and put my hand on my chest. I could feel my crucifix there. I could not speak. I hoped a silent prayer would work, but before I could even start I heard a storm moving in from the west. The shadow man turned to look at it. “We must go. Forget the car.” He bent down and spoke in my ear, “Next time, Jaguar. I’ll take you with me.” The person with him, also in shadow, joined hands with him, and with a whoosh of wind they were both gone. The thunder rolled closer. I had a little movement and tried to pull myself back to the car. I searched my pockets for my phone but couldn’t find it. A car pulled up behind me. A man got out and called to me.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  I shook my head, and managed to choke out, “No, I’m not.” My arms and legs started to respond to commands again, and I felt more alert. I tried to push myself up off the ground. I was covered in dirt. The man approached me.

  “Let me call you an ambulance, man. You look rough,” he said. He was tall and muscular. He looked young but seemed older. I could see his blonde hair reflecting with the car lights.

  “No, please don’t do that. I’m feeling better now. Thank you.” I steadied myself next to the car.

  “There are bad things out in the night, Tadeas Duarte,” he said. He had dropped the young surfer boy tone. “You should go home.”

  My heart rate picked up, and I touched the edge of the spirit world. I would shift if need be. I looked back toward the man and his car, but they had vanished. The storm rumbled in the distance. I inched my way back to the seat of the car. I just knew this day would end just as it had gone all day. I would need to have it detailed with all the dust I was about to put in the leather seats, but I didn’t take the time to dust off. “Abby is going to kill me,” I thought. I pulled the door shut and sped off as fast as I could. Once I reached the compound, I got to the elevator and to my room as quickly as possible. I didn’t even take off my clothes and just crashed on the bed with all the lights on.

  I awoke to my cell phone ringing. I bobbled it onto the floor. I fell off the bed trying to reach it. I clicked the button, “Hello.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Hey Mere, what’s up?”

  “Tadeas, it is 9am and your class has been waiting for you for an hour. Please tell me you aren’t with that whore.”

  “Meredith, please stop yelling,” I mumbled. Why was she yelling?

  “I’m not fucking yelling, YET!”

  I jolted with her scream in my ear, and it all started to register.

  “Holy crap. I’m on my way.” I hung up the phone and rushed over to the dresser. I pulled off the dusty clothes and put on clean ones. I ran my hands through my hair, and shook my head. I looked back at my phone. I couldn’t find it last night, but it laid right here. I was completely out of it. The whole thing felt like a hallucination.

  I rushed to the classroom door and steadied myself before walking in. “Control,” I whispered to myself. I pushed the door open, and started barking orders for the opening of class. We always started with forms. I started calling positions, but did not join them today. I looked around the class. I spotted Samantha in the back. She seemed fine. I worked myself though the class in the same old fashion. I did none of the new things I had planned. None of the things that Abby and I had discussed. Just before dismissing them, I spoke to all of them, “I apologize for my tardiness this morning. It is inexcusable. I hold all of you to a very high standard. I hold myself to the same. I failed in that today, and I will promise that it will never happen again. You are all free to go to lunch. Be back here at 2.” They all left the room except Samantha, and she stood at the door. “Miss Taylor, I’m sorry. I haven’t spoken to Abigail. She stayed back at her home this weekend, and she has not returned my call.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I planned to tell you to forget about it anyway.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you for trying. Is she okay?”

  “I believe so. I haven’t spoken to her since before dawn Sunday morning.”

  “Okay, cool. See you this afternoon,” she said and scooted out the door.

  I started walking for the exit myself when Meredith came in, and she put her hands on her hips. She was cute when she was mad. “What the hell, Duarte?”

  “I am sorry. Thank you for calling me. I had a very strange day yesterday, and I went into Boulder for dinner,” she cut me off.

  “Again! With her!”

  “No, I haven’t spoken to Abby since around midnight Sunday morning.” I decided it was best to stick with Colorado time. “I had a drink and a meal at this nice tavern down there.”

  “You went drinking alone?” she asked. “You have lost your mind.”

  “What? Why?” I said.

  She walked toward me, and looked very concerned. She put her hand on my forearm and squeezed. “The Tadeas I know doesn’t go out to bars. He doesn’t go following a fairy witch all over the place. He’s steady. He’s routine. I don’t want to see something bad happen, because she’s come into your life and tried to wreck it.”

  “She didn’t do that, Meredith.”

  “The way I see it, she did. She is. It’s scary. Please don’t let her ruin your life.”

  She was almost in tears. “Meredith, it’s not like that. I think you’ve got a few questions to ask yourself, too, about the boy.”

  “Travis is something to have fun with,
a toy. Did you go and tell on me? Did you tell her about it?”

  “I have not spoken to her, Meredith. I haven’t told anyone actually.” “You didn’t go upstairs yesterday and report me?” she asked.

  “No. I didn’t.” I fully intended to, but after Lianne and Gregory I honestly forgot about it. “But you need to be careful. Break it off. There are plenty of frivolous flings you could have without breaking the rules.” “I wouldn’t have to if you would just.” she trailed off. “Oh, never mind.” And with that she stormed off.

  My head pounded. I wandered back to my room to clean up the clothes and wash my sheets. I sat on the couch with headache meds and a coke. I called Blake, one of the other instructors.

  “Hello?”

  “Blake, hey man, it’s Duarte.”

  “Hey, what's up?”

  “Can you take my afternoon class? I’m not feeling well. I’m going to get some sleep,” I said.

  “Get some sleep, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. I already knew where this was going.

  “What’s her name?” he asked.

  “Her name is Karma, and she’s a bitch,” I said.

  “Damn straight, she is. I’ll cover the class. Get some rest man,” he said.

  “I appreciate it.”

  “No problem,” he said and hung up. I stumbled into the bedroom, and hit the bed. I was out in a matter of seconds.

  I woke up to the phone ringing again.

  “Ugh, who is it?” I growled.

  “Master Duarte, it’s George.” I perked up at the sound of his proper British. It was 11 am. I’d been asleep since close to noon on Monday.

  “Oh, hey George. Is everything okay?”

  “Sir, she is awake, but she went for a walk. I think you might need to come here if you can get away,” he said.

  “What’s wrong, George? Is she okay?” I was fully awake now. Something inside me clicked, and I felt like I needed to get to the island as soon as possible.

  “It’s hard to say, sir, but if you would please,” he continued.

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll be there soon. Bye, George.” I said and hung up the phone. I went to my closet and opened the door. The closet was full of clothes like the ones at Casa del Sol. “Creepy as hell, Abby,” I said, but I smiled. I pulled out a pair of dark tan slacks and a navy button up shirt. I jumped in the shower, shaved and combed my hair. I got dressed quickly and rushed out the door. The hallways were deserted. Thankful for that, I hit the stairwell in a full sprint. George called about 45 minutes ago. He sounded urgent, but not so much that I should have left immediately. I didn’t have to worry about classes today. I could be back in 24 hours in time to teach on Wednesday. I entered her office without even checking and went straight for the portal closet. I opened the door and rushed through to Casa del Sol.

  We were having company over tonight. I tidied up a bit while Mwenye showered. Ever since I got the info about Duarte he had been rather tame. I suppose this whole endeavor weighed on him. He generally did not work well with other people. This was a definite step out of his comfort zone. I eased my anger toward him, and over the last 24 hours I enjoyed my time with him. Old Trujillo would be here in a few minutes, and I would have to endure his advances. But perhaps with Mwenye here, he would not be so bold. I sat out candles and opened wine. I set a tray of crackers, cheese and meats on the coffee table. I wore a simple black dress which was cut low in the front. The truth was, I didn’t think I owned anything that didn’t show cleavage. Even my tee shirts I cut the neck out until they hung just right. I used all my tools in my arsenal.

  Mwenye entered the room wearing black slacks and a charcoal grey dress shirt. He looked wonderful. He even smiled.

  “You should do that more often,” I said testing the waters.

  “Do what, my love?” he asked.

  “Smile,” I said looking up at him. He smiled more. It made me happy. Maybe we were through this rough patch. I really did love him.

  “Ah, well, anything you for you, my lovely,” he said. The doorbell rang.

  “Let me get that,” I said passing him and kissing him on the cheek as I passed.

  I opened the door, and there stood old Milt. “Please, Mr. Trujillo. Come in. We welcome you to our home. There is food and refreshments this way.” Mwenye instructed me that this would be an official hospitality-observed meeting. They both were formidable beings. Trujillo was a shifter. I’d never seen him shift, but I’d heard the stories.

  “Why thank you, dear Miss Vanessa. You do look lovely tonight,” he took my hand and kissed the back of it with a slight bow.

  “My goodness, Milt, when did you become so debonair?” I teased.

  “My picture is in the dictionary next to debonair, Miss Vanessa,” he laughed and walked up to Mwenye. “John, very pleased to see you. Thank you for the invite and the hospitality.”

  “Please come in and sit,” Mwenye motioned to the living area.

  I grabbed two glasses and poured each a glass of Casa Del Sol Merlot. I gave them to each man, Mwenye first. Then backed away to the chair removed from the main sitting area. I started to sit when Milton protested.

  “Now Miss Vanessa, please sit with us old men. Let us see your pretty face as we discuss business. If that is okay with you, John” he asked his host.

  “Why yes, of course,” he nodded to me. I picked up another wine glass and poured myself a half glass and sat down on the couch at the opposite end of Milton. John sat in the leather stiffed back chair on the end.

  “How’s Colorado?” John asked.

  “Well, I found a pretty little piece of ass out there. She is young and beautiful. And useful,” he said.

  “I like useful women,” Mwenye said and winked at me. I blushed.

  “Yes, I see,” Milt responded. “She has confirmed the info you gave me regarding the jaguar shifter. It seems Miss Davenport is recruiting. Perhaps it’s time we make a move on her.”

  John waved his hand in the air dismissing the thought, but he did it with such ease that it did not come off as a slight to Milton. “No, I want to keep her in play a little longer. She is predictable. She has a pattern. We don’t need to concern ourselves with her until she starts breaking the pattern. When Lincoln died, we all rejoiced, especially you, old Eagle.”

  “Aye, I did. My old nemesis finally laid to rest. Although I admit, I do miss him a little. He was a formidable foe and honorable. You don’t find many like that anymore,” Milton said swirling the Merlot in his glass. “The girl said that Duarte and Davenport have had a couple of meetings. She is not in a position to get a lot of information,” he explained.

  “What is her position just out of curiosity?” Mwenye asked.

  “She’s a canvas recruit that I met in Boulder,” he said.

  “A canvas recruit! She can’t be more than 18 Milt! You dirty old man!” Mwenye teased.

  “That I am, and I love every minute of it. So, she only hears what she hears. I don’t want to push too much out of her right now. She is just turning the tricks for money right now.”

  “Oh, you are paying her. That makes much more sense,” Mwenye said.

  “I admit my good looks had an expiration date that has long gone, but my charm and pocketbooks are deep,” Milton admitted. I giggled a little at this, but tried to stay quiet. “I hear you giggling there, Miss Vanessa. If Mr. Mwenye gets tired of you, you just come see Old Milt, and I’ll take care of you.”

  I started to decline his offer when Mwenye spoke up, “I will never tire of her Milt. She is magnificent.”

  I blushed hard at this and turned my head away and spoke quietly, “Thank you, my love.” I cut my eyes to Mwenye, and he smiled at me. He admired me like he did when I first met him. I was younger and inexperienced. He adored me then. I missed that relationship. Things were much darker now, even though these smiles were here now, I knew the blacker parts of our relationship would return.

  “Mr. Mwenye, what do you suggest is our next move?” Milt ask
ed. Then there was a knock at the door, “Are we expecting anyone else?”

  “No. Vanessa, if you would please get the door. Perhaps it is someone we can just send on their way,” he looked at me, and I rose to check the door. I reached out with my magic and felt a cold dark presence there. It was a familiar one. I opened the door, and there stood Nalusa Chito.

  “Hello Mr. Chito, may I help you?” I asked. He started to speak, but then he looked over my shoulder and saw Milton there with Mwenye. “Oh, I do apologize. I did not realize you had company. I will return later.”

  “No, Chito, don’t be daft, please come in,” Mwenye called over my shoulder. Chito smiled at me, and as he passed me he squeezed my hand. I’m sure Mwenye noticed, because when I turned around after shutting the door he glared at me. I shrugged. I was not sure why Chito felt the need to touch me, but hopefully it wasn’t enough to set Mwenye off on me.

  “Come here and sit down, Chito,” Milton called. “Miss Vanessa, get this man a glass of wine.” I looked over to Mwenye and nodded. Milton caught the exchange and shook his head.

  I poured him a glass and gave it to him. I went back to the chair in the corner and let the men talk. I know all the modern sensibilities about male chauvinist and the roaring feminism in this country, but I’ve found it’s easier to make a fool of men if you just let them sit and talk. So, that’s what I did. I sat and listened to them talk about the shifter and Miss Davenport. I refilled their wine as needed and would then return to my seat. Mwenye caressed my hand the last time I filled his glass. Maybe, just maybe, we were on a long good streak. The three men spent about an hour discussing their next moves. All the while I listened and taking mental notes. Mwenye smiled at me several times, and I returned them.