Triple Infinity (A Flame Moon Novel

by K. J. Jackson

  “Iffy, right now, but we’re working on the infrastructure up to the ranch. The connection is good in town, so you can always head in and use access at one of the hotels or at Joe’s, if needed.”

  Shiv paused, looking down at her feet. She was thinking. Weighing the options. You’ve got nowhere else to go. Triaten read in her thoughts. He’d have to explore that one more fully.

  Her head snapped up, and she gave him a trepidacious smile. “Okay, thank you. I’m not sure I deserve the kindness, not after our last meeting.”

  “No worries. Oh, and one minor thing. Can you be discreet? We usually don’t have casual tourists on the ranch, and there are some high profile guests that come and go there.”

  “High profile? I guess, sure, I can be discreet. Is it going to be expensive to stay there?”

  “What? Oh no.” Triaten opened her car door. “There will be no money exchanged — Skye would kill me if she knew I charged you for a bed.”

  “Oh, no — I can’t sponge off you.”

  Triaten chuckled. “You can and will. Buy me a beer at Joe’s and we’ll call it even.”

  She gave him a genuinely grateful smile. “Sounds good,” she said, stepping into the car and sitting down behind the wheel.

  And just like that, Triaten’s bridge into her mind broke. No more thoughts, no chance of reading her again. It always happened once he got to know someone, friend or foe. But it had never happened this quickly before. Never.

  And he was momentarily unsettled at the fact.

  ~~~

  Up at the ranch, Triaten showed Shiv her room with a private bath, and the kitchen where she was free to make her own food or eat whatever Stewart, the chef he had hired for feeding guests and staff, was cooking up. She also met Rafe, Skye’s dog, who was hanging around the back kitchen door.

  Rafe took to Shiv immediately, nuzzling up against her. Triaten watched them intently. Had he misjudged her? Because if there was one thing he had learned about Rafe in the last few months while Aiden and Skye were gone, is that the dog had an even better instinct about people than he did. So much so, that Triaten often trotted the dignitaries that were common at the ranch by Rafe, before even bothering to read their minds. Rafe’s reaction to a person usually pointed Triaten in a specific direction when he was fishing in their heads.

  The elders were more than pleased with the current arrangement of sending international dignitaries, who had come to negotiate amongst themselves or ask for Panthenite help, up to the ranch for meetings. The ranch was removed, and whereas many of the dignitaries were suspicious of being in town near the elders, as a few of them knew of the Panthenite powers, Triaten appeared a non-threatening host. None of the visitors knew Triaten could read minds.

  The situation worked perfectly, as there was often too much at stake in many of the negotiations — borders in dispute, warring clans drawing up peace accords, decisions on aid for famine or displaced communities — to leave it up to the politicking and ulterior motives of man.

  So when Shiv bent down to give Rafe some good love scruffs right behind his ears, and the dog was clearly smitten with her, Triaten conceded in his mind that maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t as awful a person as their first meeting had him believing.

  After the quick tour, Shiv excused herself to her room so she could work. She went outside and grabbed a laptop bag and ear buds from her car, and on the way back in through the house, a cup of coffee from kitchen. From the study at the front of the ranch, Triaten watched her walk up the stairs to her room, which was actually adjacent to the room Skye had originally stayed in when she first landed at the ranch. He couldn’t quell the suspicions he had of her presence. Why now? And did she have any clue of what Skye was? Since Skye was adopted, and turned out to be a Panthenite — Panthenite-Malefic, he corrected himself, who was to say Shiv wasn’t the same?

  But Triaten didn’t get any closer to answers in the next three days. Shiv went to her room and sequestered herself in there, door closed. According to Chef Stewart, Shiv rarely showed up in the kitchen or dining hall, and when she did, she ate very little food. She did however, per reports, drink unusual amounts of coffee.

  On day four, Triaten was at the stables, checking out a mare, when he just happened to glance up and see Shiv walking out of the woods. Even from across the short field, Triaten could see she looked gaunt and bleary eyed, dark circles dragging down her face. He hadn’t seen her out of her room at all, nor had anyone else on staff, except to come into the kitchen, so to see her walking from the woods startled him.

  It made him wonder what she was really doing in her room all this time. He could normally discern the slightest twitch of drug use in people right away, but he hadn’t seen any indication of that in Shiv the other day. But his powers were off, and he knew it. At least with her.

  He left the horse and walked in Shiv’s direction, intercepting her just before she got back to the main house.

  “Hey, finally out of your room?” He came to her side and touched her shoulder.

  She jumped and looked up, startled. Her eyes had been trained on the ground in front of her, and the earbuds in her ears had blocked the sound of Triaten’s approach.

  She pulled the buds from her ears as her eyes took a moment to focus on him. “Sorry, what?”

  Closer, she looked even worse than he had thought. Triaten wondered how much sleep she’d had in the last few days. “Out for a walk?” He pointed at the woods behind her.

  “Yea, I’ve got a bug in the code that I’m trying to pinpoint. I fix it and I’m done with the project. But it’s a bitch. I thought not staring at a screen might help, so I headed out.”

  “Have you slept, eaten in the last three days?”

  Confusion hit her face, and she didn’t look like she could even think her way out of a paper bag. “I had...I think...Yes, I ate something — I don’t know what — something from the fridge last night. I don’t remember what it was, but I definitely remember chewing.”

  “Okay, well, two things — no three. One, you need to eat. Two, you need to sleep. And three, you need to take Rafe out with you if you’re walking in the woods –” he grabbed the white buds hanging around her neck, “and no more of these in the woods.”

  Shiv glared up at him. “I get this project done, and I’m good for a year. These people pay me well to be quick and to solve their problems. And I haven’t solved their problem yet, so the eating and sleeping are my decision.” She paused with a sigh. “But what’s with Rafe and the music in the woods?”

  Triaten tried to hide his exasperation. “It’s real wilderness here, Shiv. That means bears and mountain lions. You need to hear what’s around you. And Rafe is extra insurance against running into wildlife. He’ll scare off pretty much anything that comes across your path. Plus, he likes you and misses Skye, so he’d enjoy the walk.”

  She smiled. “So that’s why he’s been hanging out in my room. It’s been kind of nice having him in there while I work. We — I never had a dog.”

  “So you’ll take him with you if you go out again?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. And you’ll do me a favor and at least eat something? It’s one of the basics, since showering doesn’t seem to be one of them.”

  The smirk on Triaten’s face wasn’t returned. Instead he got a defeated shrug. “Fine, I’ll — hell,” her eyes lit up as she interrupted herself, “– that’s it! The basics — I didn’t think it could be in there, but I bet — you’re a genius!” She thwapped his arm in excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  Shiv ran past him, half skipping into the house. Triaten doubted she was stopping for food.

  { Chapter 4 }

  Morning came, and with it, a showered and well-rested Shiv. Triaten walked past her room several times once the sun had set the night before. He had a sandwich in hand, thinking to force it upon her, but when he heard the furious typing, he figured he dare not interrupt.

  In the early morning light, it
was quiet in her room, and Triaten hoped that meant sleep. Hours later, she walked into the stables, searching. The moment she saw Triaten, she strode over to him.

  “You were right. Your Internet access is crap up here. Where did you say there was a good connection? I’d like to get the work in and the contract complete this morning still, if possible.”

  Triaten smiled at her, but didn’t slow as he used a pitchfork to move the hay in front of him into a stable. “Good morning.”

  She sighed and gave him a perfunctory smile. “Good morning,” she managed with a tilt of her head. “Is that all?”

  Triaten nodded.

  “Okay, so where can I find a solid connection?”

  Triaten stopped and leaned on the pitchfork. She wore fresh clothes, a tight blue and grey striped v-neck, paired with flowing pants. She had good taste. Good taste that, unfortunately, reminded him of Charlotte. He squashed the thought.

  “Internet? Both Hotel Auric and Joe’s have good lines. You can get your files off at either, it just depends whether you want to sit in a dive or sit in cold refinement.”

  “I’ll take the dive. Thanks.” She turned without another word and left the stables.

  “You’re welcome.” Triaten muttered at her back.

  She didn’t turn around.

  Evening came, and Triaten went into town to report to the elders on current negotiations going on at the ranch. The Frenchman and the Arab, and their respective posses, were not getting on as hoped. Negotiations on the land rights they were constantly warring over were beginning to break down.

  There had been too many deaths over the years, and it had been an achievement just to get the two sides to finally sit down together. But now there were too many heads in a room, too much posturing, and pissing matches that popped up hourly. Aggravating, for Triaten had read in both of the leaders, Shafar and DeLisio, honest intentions to make peace happen. Triaten just needed the two to sit down or walk a trail by themselves, and there would be progress. Someone just needed to make it happen. He’d let the elders worry about that one.

  Report to elders at Hotel Auric done, Triaten walked out onto the street of Brigton. The sun was just setting on the crisp day, and the distinct fall smell of red and yellow leaves drying up, dying, hung in the air. His stomach growled. Joe’s it would be.

  A walk down the street told him that the summer tourist season had flipped into fall season — the bustle of people was lighter, but when he walked into Joe’s and scanned the bar, it was full, per usual. He started walking across the room, and then noticed Shiv sitting at the bar. She was still here? Triaten questioned in his mind. He sidled up by her left hand, which twirled a striped straw in her lowball glass.

  The stonewall look on her face was in place before she even looked up at him. It was a clear “buzz off” facade that most pretty women were adept at. At least the ones that hung out in bars a lot.

  It wasn’t until her eyes met his, that she recognized him. A smile erupted on her face. A true smile. Triaten suddenly recognized the fact that he hadn’t ever seen one from her before. This was a real smile, unmistakable in the way it crinkled her lively eyes.

  “Triaten! Hi! You sir, deserve the beer I owe you right now!” She reached around him and patted the ripped, black vinyl swivel stool next to her.

  Drunk. Or soon there. Triaten didn’t sit. “I see we’re in a better mood?”

  “Fantastic! I got the files transferred a few hours ago, and I’m free — at least for a good year, or so.”

  “So it’s a celebration?”

  The smile dropped away and she shrugged. “Among other things.” Her eyes dove to the bar top for second, then bounced up, having shook free the momentary somberness. Whatever had just invaded her brain, she wasn’t letting it ruin her good mood.

  Triaten hadn’t pegged her as a heavy drinker. “It’s not even dark out and you’re knee deep. Any reason for that?”

  “Many.” She drew the word out slow, and then took another sip from her glass.

  “Anything to do with why you showed up with your life in your backseat?”

  “Among others.” Shiv shrugged. “But at this point, I’m going to change the conversation and tell you that you look like you need the drink more than I do.”

  “Come again?” Triaten eyed her hard.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a brooder. Any reason for that?”

  “Maybe.” It was Triaten’s turn to be evasive.

  “Well then, sidle up and have a drink.” She patted the stool again.

  Triaten relented, and sat down on the black vinyl. He studied Shiv’s face, noting her cheeks had a bright glow on them. “Have you had anything to eat yet?”

  “Are you saying I haven’t been soaking up the alcohol?”

  “I’m saying there were promises made about eating.”

  She choked a laugh. “Promises? I think we recall our earlier conversation differently. I agreed to take Rafe with me on walks. But even dead-tired, I don’t recall promising anything about food or sleep to you. I do, however, recall you making demands upon my life.” Instead of annoyed, her tone merely teased.

  Triaten liked this Shiv way more than the one that had been the crisp, recluse ghost the past few days. “Begging forgiveness, love. Your sister is like family to me, so that makes you the same, no matter how onerous you might be.”

  She laughed, and it was hearty, filling the air around them. In that second, Triaten recognized that Shiv’s laughter, her smile, was a drug. It was a rare thing in a woman, and he hadn’t seen it in her earlier, but there it was.

  It was in the infectious smile, the corners of her mouth that crinkled up, pointing to tiny dimples that sucked him in. It was how her eyes effortlessly brightened the room, electric in their mirth. Her laughter. See it, hear it once, and one would want it again and again. Triaten wondered how many men had gone over the top to produce it. It was a drug of the worst kind, because it was attached to a woman. A woman with her own mind. Charlotte’s laughing face sliced through his mind, taking him off-guard. Triaten blinked away the image.

  “Onerous, huh?” Her eyes still twinkled. “I guess I deserve that one. Sorry, I suppose my mind has been in a thousand places these past few days, and you weren’t in any of the orbits. But right now,” she slapped the bar top, “I have nothing else to think about, so let’s see what a charmer I can actually be, shall we?”

  Triaten couldn’t help but smile at her. “I’m game.” He waved Joe over, then turned back to Shiv. “So food. How about you buy me that beer and I buy you some food?”

  “Again with the food?” She thought about it for a moment, then relented with a wave of her hand. “Fine, just to stop the harpy in you.”

  “What’s up?” Joe gave a wave with his head at Triaten. “You guys hungry?”

  “You bet. Two burgers and fries –” he turned to Shiv, “you eat meat?”

  Drink to her lips, Shiv nodded.

  Triaten turned back to Joe with a thumb pointing at Shiv. “And she’s buying me a beer.”

  “Lucky man.” Joe smirked as grabbed a micro-brew and cracked it open for Triaten. “I’ll get the order in right off. And you’re good, Shiv?”

  “For now — thanks, Joe.”

  Joe rapped his knuckles on the bar, and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Triaten took a large swallow of the beer. “First name basis with Joe — that was quick.”

  Shiv shrugged. “I’ve been here all day.” A wicked smile crossed her face. “And I can be delightful when I want be.”

  “Lucky Joe.” Triaten deadpanned.

  “Indeed.” Shiv turned and leaned on her elbow as she looked Triaten up and down. “I gotta say, I don’t think anyone has ever ordered for me before.”

  “I hardly believe no one has ever ordered a drink for you. You look in a mirror lately?”

  An embarrassed smile landed on her face. “Is that a compliment?”

  “Possibly, love.”

  Sh
e shook her head in exasperation. “So yes, I have had one or two drinks come my way. But I mean the food. That’s never happened to me before. It seems so archaic — man orders for the woman.”

  “Archaic?” Triaten took a swipe of beer. “Maybe. Where I come from, it’s just polite.”

  “And do you come from the 50’s?” She raised her hand to stop his answer. “No, it’s okay. You’d think the woman’s lib-er in me would cringe, but I have to admit, it wasn’t half-bad.”

  Triaten raised his bottle. “Well, cheers to a bygone era, then.”

  She picked up her drink and they clinked, bottle to glass. Both swallowed, and then sat for a moment, each silently contemplating the bottles of spirits neatly lining the back of the bar.

  Shiv looked over at Triaten cautiously. “So you, what’s your story for real? I’ve only seen you working in solitude around the ranch, usually with a sulk on your face.”

  “A sulk? Really?”

  Her face turned serious, like she was dramatically divulging a great secret. “Really. Sulky. A general scowl about your face.”

  Triaten sighed as he brought the beer to his lips. “Ask me in a few more drinks. And they’ll have to be harder than beers.”

  Shiv smiled and pounded the bar hard with a fist. “Joe,” her voice thundered over the bar din, “we need some scotch over here.”

  Triaten stifled a laugh. “How about you? You show up, all your possessions in a car. And, forgive me for saying, love, with a look about you that said you had nowhere to go.”

  Shiv nodded. “Fair enough question. But no answers until that scotch makes it over here.”

  “Deal.”

  Food, four games of darts, and eight neat scotches between the two of them, and Shiv broached the topic again.

  She leaned against the stool shoved to the wall by the dart board, half-sitting on the round top, fingernail picking at the bottom edge of the vinyl. She had her glass in her hand as she pointed at Triaten. “So tell me — who, or what, are you drowning in the drink?”