by Kimbra Swain
“What! No, I can’t believe you would even suggest it. We have work to do.” I climbed out of the bed, and had the awful realization that I was completely naked. I jerked the sheet off the bed almost causing her to fall in the floor and wrapped it round me. She started giggling, but she turned her back to me.
“There are clothes for you on the table. Ashley brought them for you,” I could hear her smiling in her voice.
“You could have told me before I got up,” I said embarrassed.
“Honey, you haven’t got anything I’ve never seen before,” she bragged.
“You haven’t seen me,” I said.
“Seen one, seen them all.”
“Completely not true,” I said pulling the jeans up, and buttoning them. She bantered with me to help me relax.
“Prove it,” she said.
I spun around as I put my shirt on. She still had her back to me. “Dammit woman!”
She laughed, and said more seriously, “Meredith came by here a little bit ago checking on you. She really did not want to talk to me, and left pretty quickly. I did not want a confrontation. I let her just go.”
“Guess I should go check on her,” I said.
“Probably a good idea,” she said. Which I was surprised she would say, because she clearly did not like Meredith. She deferred to my feelings though. Even though I had told her my feelings for Meredith were nothing more than friendship, she still thought I cared for her. But I felt ashamed for leading her on even if I didn’t realize that as it was happening. I’d go talk to her and clear everything up.
“We going through the portal? What day is it?”
“It’s early Saturday morning. The auction in Paris is Monday night. We can head to the island and rest up today. We will leave for Paris tomorrow,” she explained.
“Sounds good. I’m going downstairs. I’ll meet back up in your room right after I talk to her,” I said. I walked around the bed and hugged her. “I’m sorry about the car.”
“I’ll just take it out of your paycheck,” she said and I pulled back to look at her. “I’d rather have you than the car anyway.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“We save each other. I could not let you get one up on me,” she quipped.
“I’m not joking, Abby.”
“I know. I thought I lost you there for a minute. It was awful.”
“It will take more than a bullet to stop both of us,” I said fully confident in her abilities and for once in mine. Had that first bullet hit her, I couldn’t have pulled it out of her and healed her. I was glad it hit me. “See you in a little while.”
She nodded, and I left the room. Ashley went in as I came out. “Don’t screw this up, Duarte,” she said.
“I’m trying not to,” I said. She smiled and went in the lab.
“Hello,” I answered the buzzing cell phone in my pocket.
“Hey, we just left the bar. They are leaving too,” Travis said.
“Leave the rest to me, dear boy,” I said.
“When do I get my payment for this?” he added suggestively.
“I’m taking you on a trip to Paris with me. I’ll call you in a bit,” I said and hung up the phone. Travis’ usefulness had worn out. I was ready to terminate his employment. I moved out to the edge of the highway and waited. He had texted me earlier, and said they had arrived in a restored silver Mustang. An engine like that wouldn’t be hard to mistake. I would be ready for them when they passed this way. I cast a shadow spell on myself and lurked by a large spruce tree. The shadow made me blend in with any shadows or actually become the shadow of an object. It was a great way to hide in plain sight. Nalusa had taught me the trick. Mwenye did not approve of me learning from other masters, and I paid for it with a beating. Nalusa refused to teach me anything else after that happened. He had a few honorable bones in his body, and didn’t want to see me beaten.
As I sat in the darkness, I thought about my relationship with Mwenye. I didn’t realize it until this moment, but it came to me that I did not need him anymore. I knew he was almost done with me. He clearly had moved on considering he never spent nights at home anymore. Whether he consumed souls or fucked his next whore, he no longer needed me. I needed to be on my own. This move and taking the book from all of them in Paris would put me on the map. I would no longer be the necromancer’s apprentice. I would belong only to myself.
I heard the low rumble of a V8 engine. I pulled power from the darkness around me. I pulled power from the black crystal in my pocket that held the souls of long dead men. Stretching my arms out before me, I uttered the word, “Murus!” A shimmering almost transparent wall stretched from my hands across the entire road. It blended with the darkness. I cast a spell on it to make it look transparent like tinted glass, “Sepculo.”
I heard the brakes engage on the car as it sped forward, but it was too late to stop. The car hit the wall and crumpled. I dropped the wall, and the momentum of the vehicle caused it to surge forward and roll. I pulled the .40 caliber pistol out of the holder on my back and aimed toward the car. I approached it slowly as it steamed and leaked fluid on the grass along the side of the road. The car was empty. I turned and reached for my senses. They must have shifted planes. “Fine. You want to jump around, I can play too,” I said to the darkness.
I reached for the edge of the spirit world and tugged. I pushed my arm through the rift, and I could see them standing back to back. The wreck had barely scraped them. This was the first time I saw Tadeas Duarte. He was magnificent. The picture on Cassidy’s computer did not do him justice. His handsome features and green expressive eyes were godlike. His lean muscular form tensed, and he stood alert protecting her as much as he could. I wanted him. It was a shame he would have to die. I raised the gun and dropped my shadow spell. As I pulled the trigger his eyes flicked to a golden yellow, and he lunged for her. I had decided to take her out first. She posed more of a threat to me than he did. The moment he touched her, they shifted back to the real world, and I followed. I fired multiple rounds, and they bounced of the glowing golden shield she cast around them. Before I got close to them, I heard her gasping. I saw the large red spot expanding on his back. The poor girl cried as she tried to save him.
I cast the shadow spell quickly and watched. She rolled him over on his back and tried to cover the wound on the front of his chest. I could feel her power as she pulled it in. She would do all she could to save him, but you can’t come back from that kind of bullet. The gun was a black glistening metal. The bullets were elemental bullets. They housed the basic 4 elements. These particular ones contained fire. Once inside a body, it would start to burn them from the inside out. I stole the gun from Mwenye. It was a shame to watch the jaguar die there on the dirt. He should have been loved and protected. Not assigned to the one woman in the world that was sure to get him killed. I laughed inside as she dug into his chest trying to dislodge the bullet. The large red spot of blood grew on the ground. No amount of pressure on his chest would stop the bleeding from his back. His beautiful green eyes rolled back in his head. “Such a waste,” I said to myself. I turned and started walking to Boulder. She was on the phone calling for backup. I wouldn’t be able to finish her now with all the power she pulled in to help him. He would die. She would either go back into seclusion or kill herself. Either way I was happy, and had completed my task for the moment.
Once I got several miles away from them, I dropped the shadow spell and hitched a ride into Boulder. I found a cheap hotel out of the main part of the city and called Travis.
“Hey babe, I just got a room at the Foothills Motel out on Highway 119. Why don't you come join me? Bring your little girly with you if you would like.”
“Sam is off with the old guy. But I'm on my way. I'm not going back to the compound. I'm done with that bullshit,” he said.
“Aw, too bad. Well you come along, honey. I believe I owe you payment for services rendered,” I said to him. I didn't have to lure him. He'd come for sex n
o matter what I said to him. I needed a good roll. It would be nice to get it without Mwenye being involved too.
“On my way,” he said and I hung up the phone. I laid back on the shitty bed in this shitty hotel, and daydreamed about Paris.
I dozed off waiting on Travis, but about 45 minutes later he knocked on the door. I barely had the door open before he was all over me. “Slow down there, tiger.”
“No way! I've been waiting on this for a long time,” he said ripping my clothes off. It was nice to have someone want me like that. We had only gotten started when my phone rang. It was Meredith. I rolled over to answer it, and Travis groaned. I swatted him away.
“Hey honey,” I said to her.
“You shot him!” she screamed. “You fucking shot him!”
I played dumb. “Meredith, what on earth are you talking about?”
“No. You can't lie to me Vanessa. I know you are in town. You were supposed to kill her!” she screamed.
“It is not my fault he took a bullet for her. Honey, there was no way you were ever going to get him. Why don't you come out here to the hotel and have some fun with me and Travis?” This unhealthy infatuation with Duarte was always her hang up. But after seeing him I understood why she had it bad for him.
“He's not dead. If he were dead, I would hunt you down and kill you will my bare hands,” she said.
This shocked me. I pushed Travis off me completely. “What do you mean he's not dead?”
“She saved him. I hate her guts, but she saved him. You stay the fuck out of this Vanessa. I've got this handled. Go back to your necromancer and your masochistic games,” she spouted.
“What are you going to do? You have no real power Meredith. Chito carries you. Get yourself down here with me. I'm done with Mwenye. It's just us girls now.” Travis grunted. “And Travis,” I added.
“Fuck Travis,” she said.
“I was trying to until you called. Look Mere, you know I adore you. This is our chance. Come with me to Paris,” I begged her. I really did care about her.
“No, my plan no longer involves you. You know when he catches up to you he's going to kill you, right?” she said almost like she cared.
“No, he won't. He's got a new whore. It was time to move on,” Travis took that as an indication to start back up on me. I let him. He was useful at the moment.
“Goodbye Nessa, stay away from me,” she said quietly and hung up the phone. I tossed the cell phone over to the nightstand and turned my attention to the son of Asmodeus in my bed.
I would have to come up with a new plan for Abigail Davenport and her jaguar. Maybe this time I could get her and then have him. I don't know what Meredith’s plan was but once it failed she would be calling me back. However, with her ties to Chito and the GEA, it was probably best we cut off our friendship.
True to form it was only a couple of hours and the phone rang again. “I need help,” Meredith said.
“Sure love, come join us,” I said.
“No please send Travis back. I need help. I need it now,” she said.
“Unless you are putting a knife in his heart, I don’t think you need any help,” I said.
“No, he’s not the one I want dead. I want her dead,” she protested.
Travis untangled himself from me and rolled out of the bed.
“Where are you going?” I said.
“I’m going to help her,” Travis replied putting on his pants.
“No, you aren’t. You are staying with me.” I said.
“It won’t take long. I’ll be back, and I’ll pick up Sam on the way,” he said.
I did need the girl for part of the plan in Paris. “Alright fine, but you promise to come back, right?” I pouted.
“Yes, Vanessa, you know I will come back, I can’t resist you,” he said and smiled.
I kissed him, and he smiled at me. It almost felt genuine for a few seconds. Travis was a means to an end. Samantha was a means to an end. They were all my means.
I sat in the dark on the couch and waited. It had been 2 hours since he went downstairs to find Meredith. More than anything I wanted to get out of the compound and back home. This was the longest I’d been away from the island in a very long time. I needed my peaceful place. It made me calm, and helped me think more clearly. Everything here seemed a tumult all of the time. I felt like a boat tossed about in a storm. I got up and fixed a drink. I thought back over the car, and the black figure that shot at us. It was not Nalusa Chito this time. The figure looked clearly female. It looked like maybe the woman we had seen before with him. A knock at the door shattered my concentration on replaying everything that happened in my mind.
“Come in. It’s unlocked,” I called. It wasn’t Tadeas. It was Jay.
“Oh hey, I wish I could have caught you earlier. Thank you for coming for us,” I said.
“Kind of dark in here, you okay?” he asked.
“Yea, just trying to figure out who shot at us. What can I do for you, Jay?” I had to be nice to him. I called him even though I wish I could have thought of another way out of the situation. He showed up. Helped me get Tadeas in the big Tahoe he drove, and together we collected the bullets that we could find. He drove us back to the compound. I knew I could rely on him. He’s been with me since even before I met Lincoln. He was there the night I died.
“I wanted to talk with you,” he paused for a moment. “Mind if I fix a drink?”
“Of course, I’m sorry. I should have offered.”
“No, it’s okay. I know how your mind is. You are going over everything over and over,” he said. He was right. He did know me. He poured himself a drink and came and sat next to me on the couch. He didn’t even take a sip of it.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked. I knew he wanted to talk about us.
“Your car. I have a friend in Boulder. He’s going to take a look at it and see if he can salvage it. He can work wonders on vehicles. He might be a wielder,” he joked.
“Auto mechanic, an interesting profession for a wielder,” I said. “Thank you for doing that.”
“I know you love that car,” he said.
“In the grand scheme, the car doesn’t matter.”
“You are right. You could have died out there if Duarte hadn’t taken that bullet for you. I’m glad he was there.”
“Me, too. But I hated that he got hurt.”
“Abby, all of us know this job. We know that something could happen to any of us at any point. I myself have my fair share of scars.” He continued to speak the truth. We all had been in quite a few fights together. “He knows that too. You can’t assume he doesn’t get it now.”
“I know that he does,” I said.
“You still seem upset. What can I do?” he asked.
“Nothing. You’ve already done a lot. Thank you, Jay, really for coming after us.”
“I’m here for you. Whatever you need,” he said and stood up. “I’ll leave you alone. I just wanted to check on you, and tell you about the car.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Did you consider what we talked about in your office?” he asked.
“Well, after the party and your comments there, I decided you were just being the same old you,” I replied. I didn’t mean to be hard on him, but he was obnoxious at the party.
“I apologize for the things I said at the party. When I saw he had marked you, I got pissed,” he said and hung his head. “Ashley explained things to me. I knew why you guys did it, but I still hated the idea of it. Never in all the time we’ve spent together would you have allowed anyone to do that to you. I’ve known you longer than any of them. I worry that you are following a path that will just get you hurt again. I’ve seen you hurt too much.”
I got a large lump in my throat. I didn’t know what to say. He has known me longer than anyone else. “I’m on the right path, Jay. I’m sure of it. I would like your support.”
“You know that I always have your back.” It seemed like he wanted to
say more, but he didn’t. He just silently left.
I got up and went to the bedroom. I dialed Tadeas’ number. It rang several times, and I got his voicemail. I did not want to bother him, so I didn’t even try to contact him through the bond. Maybe Meredith and he were resolving their issues. I just hoped resolving them didn’t involve them getting together. I could not think like that though. If he was happy, then I would be happy for him. “I can lie to myself like the best of them,” I said to no one. I curled up on the bed and went to sleep.
About two hours later, I woke up. I looked at my phone. No messages from him. I could not feel him either. That meant he wasn’t nearby. I got worried. I put my shoes on and headed down stairs. I got to the door of his apartment, but I could only barely feel him inside. Perhaps Maki underestimated his healing abilities and needed help. I started to knock on the door when Samantha came around the corner.
“Don’t,” she said.
“Why? Something is wrong. I need to check on him.”
“Abby don’t, she’s with him,” she said.
“What do you mean with him? How do you know that?” I asked.
“I came up here earlier to try to talk to him about last night. I felt like we intruded on your date. I wanted to apologize. When I knocked on the door, she answered. She wasn’t wearing clothes. She said they were busy. I apologized and went back downstairs, but I came back up because I didn’t want you to find them. I’m sorry, Abby. I know you both looked completely happy last night together. I never thought that he would cheat on you.”
“He’s not cheating, Sam,” I said. My heart exploded. “We were pretending. We were practicing for field work. We never thought we would run into anyone from here. I’ll leave them alone. Thanks for the warning. That would have been awkward.” I turned as fast as I could and headed back to my office. Back to the portal. I was going home. I was going home right now.
I opened the door to my office. A note hung on the door from Aunt Lianne about the paperwork. “I’m so sick of the damn paperwork.” I shouted.
