Kilty Secrets

by Amy Vansant

  “So this disease killed the angels?” she asked trying to get Anne’s story rolling again.

  Anne shook her head.

  “No. It made them less interested in helping humans. Which doesn’t sound awful, maybe, at first, but when a very powerful being suddenly realizes they’ve spent eons helping an arguably inferior creature advance themselves, turns out it doesn’t sit well.”

  “And we’re the inferior creatures?”

  Anne nodded.

  “Are you an inferior creature?” asked Catriona.

  “Am I human? Yes. Sort of. Except a bit enhanced. I’ll explain that in a minute.”

  Catriona tried not to roll her eyes. “Hm.”

  “The Angeli started hurting fowk?” asked Broch.

  “Yes. They discovered they could eat them, so to speak. They siphoned away their energy for their own use, turning their victims to dust.”

  Catriona stopped mid-gulp.

  “They eat them?”

  Anne nodded. “So to speak.”

  Broch grimaced. “Och.”

  Jason bounced back to the table and deposited Anne’s five whiskeys before her. She shot one back before he set down the second.

  Catriona stared down at her ruby-red sangria, fruit floating at the top, and then looked back at Anne’s shots lined neatly before her. Her own cocktail looked like the Playskool version by comparison.

  Well. I feel a little less cool now.

  Anne pushed a shot in front of Broch, Catriona and Luther. The remaining glass she kept for herself and held it aloft.

  “Cheers.”

  The others picked up their shots and downed them.

  “Ah prefer Scotch,” said Broch, wincing.

  Anne smiled. “Duly noted.”

  Catriona wiped her mouth as her throat began to burn.

  I am in trouble now.

  She took another sip of sangria to cool the sting.

  “So, anyway, that’s where I came in,” continued Anne. “To help the Angeli with their rogue angel problem.”

  “And you are, who, exactly?” asked Catriona.

  “I’m Anne Bonny.”

  Broch’s head cocked. “Anne Bonny?” His voice dropped to an awed whisper. “The pirate?”

  Anne nodded. “That one.”

  Catriona scowled. “What are you two talking about?”

  Broch pointed at Anne. “Lassie’s a pirate. Ah read aboot her in mah history books.”

  “In your history books?” Catriona squinted at Anne, who shook her head.

  “No, I’m not a time traveler like you. I’ve been alive since then.”

  “T’was the seventeen hundreds, was it nae?” continued Broch. He couldn’t seem to get past the pirate thing. He looked like a little boy who’d just met the real Peter Pan.

  Anne nodded. “I was born in sixteen ninety-eight, but yes, most of my original time was in the seventeen hundreds.”

  Catriona leaned back in her chair. “So you’re saying you’ve been alive since pirate times?”

  “The whole time.”

  “Are you a vampire?”

  Anne laughed. “No.”

  “But that’s impossible—” Catriona looked to Luther, who sat, bemused, his arms crossed against his chest. She realized she was looking to a dead man to help her debunk a three-hundred-year-old pirate. She dropped her head back into her hands, defeated.

  “Fine. Finish your story.”

  Jason arrived and placed a plate in front of each of them, forcing Catriona to move her elbows and support her head on her neck.

  They took a moment to shake hot sauce on their food and then Anne continued, “Here are the important things: First, the reason I’ve been alive so long is to reboot the angels infected with Perfidia.”

  “Reboot?” asked Broch.

  “It’s a computer thing,” interjected Catriona, happy to feel like she knew something someone else didn’t.

  “Yes, like restarting a computer. I don’t kill them, though it looks like it. They disappear and come back later, cured.”

  Catriona plucked a tortilla chip from Broch’s plate. “Okay. If you say so. But what does this have to do with us?”

  “The Angeli know about you. You’re like a—” Anne seemed to struggle for the words. “Subspecies.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Anne waved away her last statement with her hand. “That’s not the right word. Sorry. Michael called you Kairos. Time-traveling Kairos.”

  “Kairos...” Catriona mouthed the word several times, unsure whether she liked the term or not. It was certainly better than subspecies.

  “We just found out about the time-travel thing. How do you know about it?” Her tone was growing uppity. Clearly, the booze had kicked in. She made a mental note to talk less, knowing that probably wouldn’t happen.

  “The Angeli told me.”

  “They know everything?”

  “Not everything. But a lot.”

  “And the three of us are Kairos?”

  Anne motioned to Luther. “He’s changed.”

  “I’m an Angelus now,” said Luther, beaming.

  “You are?” Catriona felt a flash of jealousy, though she had no idea why. Her stomach roiled and she raised her chin, trying to appear settled. She’d forgotten syrupy drinks never sat well with her.

  “So, what do you need from us, Anne Bonny the Pirate?” she asked.

  Anne sighed. “It seems the Kairos are falling to Perfidia now.”

  Catriona felt a strange air of dread settle on her shoulders and then identified the source. “You’re talking about my father, aren’t you?”

  Anne nodded. “And maybe your sister, too. Are you aware something is wrong with them?”

  Catriona leaned back in her chair and nodded.

  “So embarrassing.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Fiona threw her hands toward the television as if she wanted to choke it. “You can’t use a stainless steel pan for salmon.”

  “Idiot,” agreed Rune.

  Fiona found watching television with her father surprisingly relaxing. She’d decided to stop dreaming of escape and instead settle into her captivity. Not only could she consider it a vacation from her life, but it was the best way to learn more about what Rune was up to and how it might benefit her. He apparently had some powers she was hoping to gain herself and there was no way for her to learn them beyond apprenticeship.

  Maybe he’s a genius. Maybe he’s crazy.

  Potato, potahto.

  The never-ending house and cooking shows had allowed her mind to relax and wander. She’d begun thinking about her career from a different perspective. For one, she realized it was silly of her to refuse roles like the ‘crazy aunt’ in a Hallmark Channel movie. She’d played the vamp in sexy thrillers and reality shows for so long she’d forgotten she had range. Being with Rune was helping her come to terms with aging. She felt as if she were growing up. Maturing. Really, her father had given her a gift, forcing her to spend time away from Hollywood and its oh-so judgmental gaze.

  Maybe I could even play the mom of a teenager.

  She sucked in a breath at the thought.

  Baby steps.

  Sure, her ankle itched a little where Rune had attached the cuff. At the end of a long chain, another cuff clamped around an ancient radiator. She’d never seen cuffs like them before, and couldn’t dream what they’d be used for other than keeping someone captive, but on a long leash. It crossed her mind that the same person who’d bought all the weapons mounted to the walls had to be the same person who’d bought the cuffs.

  Didn’t anyone ever ask what he was up to? It was like walking into Home Depot and buying rope, duct tape, trash bags, lye and a shovel. Somebody had to do the math.

  She had yet to meet the owner of the dismal little hovel she now called home. Luckily, her father was equally disgusted by their accommodations. He assured her that once her assimilation was complete, they would move. In the meantime, he’d suited up in
gloves and a homemade trash bag hazmat suit and cleaned the only bathroom until it smelled like a hospital ward. For that, she was forever grateful. He’d also run out and bought clean sheets, which he used to cover the greasy sofa and everything else offensive to their eyes.

  Dad was really a nice guy under all the humans-need-to-be-destroyed diatribe.

  And really, who could blame him for being a little bitter? There he was, encouraging people to be kind to their fellow man for years, centuries maybe, and there went people, starting wars and killing each other with pollution and greed. Who wouldn’t get a little exasperated?

  She’d never really liked people anyway. She’d been warming up to Catriona a little lately, but like Dad said, that was because she was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Catriona and her band of soft-hearted idiots were a bad influence. They were making her soft. Rune was here to clear her mind and, damn, if she didn’t feel clearer.

  “You know, I think you’re right about people. They don’t need to be coddled. They need to fight to become stronger,” she said, echoing one of the lines he’d been feeding her during their time on the sofa.

  “Exactly.”

  “I think you can unclip me from the radiator now.”

  Rune patted her knee. “Not quite yet, I think.”

  Fiona pouted. “What if I promised to go wreck Catriona’s world?”

  Rune looked at her. “Who?”

  “Catriona. My sister.” She huffed. “Why do you pretend you don’t know who she is half the time?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Fiona eyed him. “I can’t figure out if you know what I mean or not.”

  There was a rattling in the back of the house and a moment later, a squat, tan-skinned man appeared in the hall entrance. He stared at Fiona, a laptop tucked under his arm, his thick features pulled to the center of his expression.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked.

  Rune smiled. “Very well. Making wonderful progress.” He motioned to the man. “Fiona, this is Joseph. Joseph, this is my daughter, Fiona.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  Fiona raised her hand to the back of her neck. “You’re the one that shot me with the dart.”

  He nodded. “Si. Rune insisted we give you another chance.”

  “But you don’t like the idea?”

  “No.”

  Gosh, Joseph, tell me how you really feel.

  Fiona clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and mentally put Joseph on her list. Little man had to go.

  She glanced at her father and he looked at her. She could tell from his expression they were on the same page, but that for now, Joseph was somehow useful.

  Fine.

  Joseph moved to the reclining chair, now covered with a sheet. He plucked at the sheet, glanced at Rune, shrugged and sat to open his laptop up on his lap.

  “I’ve had a tremendous response.”

  Rune arched an eyebrow. “Really? How many?”

  “At least a hundred.”

  “Keep up the good work.”

  “A hundred what?” asked Fiona.

  Joseph’s mouth hooked to the right. “None of your business.”

  “It absolutely is my business as long as I’m chained to your radiator.”

  Rune frowned. “You can tell her. What can it hurt? In a day or two she’ll either be on our side or eliminated.”

  Fiona’s head swiveled.

  Wait, what?

  Joseph took a deep breath and forced it out, as if bracing himself for a great confession.

  “Using shortwave radio, Internet chat rooms and email I’ve been able to contact a large number of people like us, all over the country.”

  “People like us?”

  “Time travelers who have changed our minds about our core mission.”

  “Our core mission to help people?”

  Joseph seemed surprised she knew. “Right.”

  “All these people are time travelers, too?”

  Joseph nodded.

  “How do you know?”

  “They said so.”

  Fiona nodded. “Riiight.”

  So that’s got to be about ten percent time travelers and ninety percent crazies.

  “So what are you asking them?”

  Joseph scratched his cheek. “I asked them to come here.”

  “Why?” Fiona straightened. He’s calling every nut in the country to our doorstep. She glanced at the cuff around her ankle. I have to get out of here.

  “They all worship Rune.”

  Fiona looked at her father.

  “I was one of the first to see the truth,” he explained.

  She nodded. “Ah. You’re the O.G.”

  He blinked at her.

  “The Original Gangster.”

  Rune shrugged.

  Fiona moved on, returning her attention to Joseph. “But, do you think that’s a good idea? Bringing them all here?”

  Joseph wriggled in his chair as if agitated by her questions. “Rune and I decided. We’re going to build an army.”

  “In Hollywood?”

  “What better place? We’ll take over the media here, and then we’ll expand.”

  Rune shook his closed fists in the air like an over-sugared toddler. “I’m thinking D.C. next. We’ll take over politics.”

  “Which should be easy once we have Hollywood,” added Joseph.

  Rune pointed at him with a long bony finger. “Exactly.”

  Fiona chewed on her lip, thinking. “Okay. I see where you’re going with this. But, to play devil’s advocate, what if they’re lying?”

  “Who?”

  “The people you’re contacting. What if they’re lying about being like us. What if they’re just crazy?”

  “Ah,” said Rune. “But what if we’re just crazy.”

  Now it was Fiona’s turn to blink at her father. He stared back, his eyes wide.

  Oh boy.

  “Dad, are you under the impression you just made a pertinent point?”

  Rune lifted his chin and looked away from her. “Don’t be rude.”

  Joseph folded his laptop and leaned forward, scrutinizing her from head to toe. “She hasn’t gone through the change yet.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” agreed Rune.

  Fiona groaned and scratched her ankle. “How can you tell?” She asked as off-handedly as possible, hoping to catch them off-guard.

  Please tell me it’s as easy as asking them. I’m an actress. Give me the script and I’ll play the part.

  Rune tapped his chin. “Well, when I started changing, I felt a bit lost.”

  “How?”

  “I started losing time, finding myself places I didn’t remember going.”

  “Me too,” agreed Joseph.

  Rune perked. “See? That’s the point I was trying to make. We’re all crazy, until we’re not.”

  “Until we’re crazy like a fox,” added Joseph, grinning.

  “And you’re better now?” asked Fiona.

  Both men nodded, and then Joseph seemed to have a second thought. “It took a few years—”

  “Decades, I’d say,” corrected Rune.

  “Yeah, maybe, but then you can see everything.”

  Fiona gaped and looked down at her cuff. “Decades? If you think you’re keeping me chained on this filthy sofa for decades, you’ve got another think coming.”

  I’d go right from crazy aunt parts to grandmothers.

  She shuddered at the thought.

  Rune wrapped a gangly arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. “No, no. We’ll let you go once it starts. Then we’ll keep an eye on you to make sure the change is easier on you than it was on us.”

  “You won’t be alone like me,” mumbled Joseph.

  Fiona grimaced. “But what if I already feel like you do?”

  “Without the transition period?” asked Rune.

  “What if I’ve already had my transition period?”

  Rune seemed g
obsmacked. “Is that possible?”

  “I felt lost during the eighteen hundreds. A little loose-cannon.”

  “Oh yeah?” asked Joseph. He seemed less disdainful of her for a moment.

  Rune tilted his head, ogling her as if she’d appeared before him for the first time. All the attention made her feel like the cool girl at the party. It was an experience both familiar and missed.

  “I never considered that you might have already gone through the change,” said Rune.

  Fiona nodded as earnestly as possible.

  Or maybe I’m just smarter than both of you and don’t have to lose my mind to change my mind.

  A touch of suspicion seemed to creep back to Joseph’s countenance.

  Time to put some effort into the little one.

  “I’m fascinated by your plan, Joseph. Tell me, what are you planning to do with all these people when they show up?”

  Joseph leaned back. “Um...”

  Rune slapped the tops of his thighs with his palms. “We’ll have some meetings—”

  Fiona stopped him. “See, that’s what I thought. We’re going to need a house.”

  “We have a house,” said Joseph.

  Fiona laughed. “This isn’t a house. It’s an episode of Hoarders waiting to happen.”

  “This is my house.” Joseph’s voice rippled with irritation.

  Whoops. This is no way to earn Joseph’s trust.

  Fiona rushed to backtrack. “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t clear. This is a fine house for a few people, but we need a compound. Somewhere we can house our army and really do things right.”

  Rune’s eyes lit. “That’s a fabulous idea.”

  “It’s a pretty good idea,” admitted Joseph. “But who’s going to pay for it?”

  “I’m a famous actress. I can get us money. Sponsors, even.”

  “Maybe some of the new people are rich,” suggested Rune.

  “Maybe,” agreed Fiona, though she didn’t think the sort of nutballs beating a path to Joseph’s door were likely to be rolling in dough. But who knew?

  “And who’s in charge of the entire operation?” she asked.

  “I am,” said Joseph and Rune simultaneously. They looked at each other.

  “I mean both of us,” said Joseph.

  Fiona smiled.

  I don’t think so.

  Chapter Thirty