The longer she stared at the small group of people, the more she learned. These were close friends who had gathered for some sort of beach party. It all made her jealous.
Always responsible. My time…rarely my own. When was the last time I was able to just turn up somewhere?
She sat back and settled into the sand. There were three girls in the group and they all dressed in distressed jeans with bikini tops. They looked to be around Sabrina’s age. So lucky…
Of the four guys there, three wore cargo paints and the other an unzipped wetsuit.
“He’s there to surf.”
Sabrina had always found it hard to comprehend why water fairies never surfed. Not even one. They fished, swam, even paddled around in canoes, but those were just about the only recreational things they did in water.
She recalled times, years ago, when she and Mira would come to the beach just to tan, watch, and flirt with the surfers. Simpler times—that’s what I need.
Sabrina looked behind her. She wondered if Jackson had followed her and gazed off in that direction for a bit. No, if he had followed, he would’ve caught up by now.
When she turned back, one of the girls had separated from the group and faced her. When the girl waved, Sabrina smiled and waved back, resulting in a much-welcomed “come join us” gesture.
As she stood, the cute, tanned dirty blond waved again and again. Sabrina could not deny the irresistible pull across the sands.
“Hola! “ the girl called out as Sabrina got closer.
“Hey there!”
“Glad you decided to join us. I’m Rae, come meet the others.”
Sabrina marveled at Rae’s flawless island braids. It must have taken forever to get them so perfect. I wonder if one of her friends did this for her. Sabrina looked to the other two girls, who wore dirty dreads.
If mine was still long, she thought as she combed her fingers through her hair, I’d totally ask the girls to do me.
“Course she joined us, Rae,” one of the seated guys said as he tuned a guitar. “She’s a fellow traveler, just riding the waves of sun, fun, and surf, right honey?”
Sabrina smiled. “Totally.”
“See?” He nudged his friend. “I’m Doug, and this degenerate pothead is Trick.”
“You here to party?” Trick asked as he offered up his joint to Sabrina, who declined.
“Love your hair, its sooooo—”
Sabrina shook her head forward and back. “Metal?”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Totally metal.”
“So, is this a special occasion, Trick, or are you just—?”
“Chilling.” The last seated guy said as he laid back and covered his face with his hat. “We’re all just chilling.”
“That’s Danny. He’s got two speeds: slow and slower,” Doug said.
The couple to Sabrina’s right, both tall and athletic, appeared to be at least a decade older than everyone else. The guy took a sip from his beer and smiled before he spoke. “I’m Mack and this is Sunny.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Me and my girl…” He paused to take another sip. “We’re gonna go tackle some waves. Right, babe?”
Sunny threw up a shaka sign and said, “Right.”
“Oh, you guys been surfing long?”
“We’ve been surfing this spot for ten years. Best waves on this beach are right here, child. We just love the water. Don’t you?”
Sabrina had to think for a second. “I guess I do.”
“My brother is gonna build us a camp fire soon,” Rae said. “Right, Doug?”
“Soon as I get this tuned.”
“And Celeste over there,” Rae said as she pointed, “she’s gonna make us all dinner.”
The last of the three women, a brunette with ass-length dreads and tattoo sleeves unpacked things from a large cooler. Sabrina could not deny the woman held a certain resemblance to Mira—it was her painfully plain looks. “I’m gonna cook up some burgers and dogs for these savages. Wanna join us?”
Sabrina gazed back in the direction she had come from; there was no one there. Jackson had not followed her. The Tainted did not chase her. She was, for the moment at least, seemingly safe.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“I don’t want to sound all bougie…but…” The guy laying back nodded at Sabrina. “Not really beachwear, you know.”
“Danny!” The surfer girl’s voice rose.
“What?” he said.
Sabrina had forgotten she was wearing Jackson’s sweatpants and sweatshirt. She hated that she looked such a mess, but the alternative was worse. “I was…”
“Rough night?”
“Like you’ve never woke up in someone else’s clothing, Danny.”
“True enough, Sunny.”
“Come here,” Rae called to Sabrina. “We look like the same size. I bet you can fit in my extra suit.”
“That’s thinking, Rae!” Danny cheered.
“Ignore him, ummm…” The girl drew out the sound as she clearly waited for Sabrina to fill in the blank.
She considered a lie. She could tell them her name was Amber, but that felt weird and she did not want to muddy the waters anymore. “Sabs. Call me, Sabs.”
“Nice to meet you, Sabs.”
“Sure you don’t wanna a hit?”
“No thanks.”
Rae smirked at Trick, who’d offered Sabrina his joint again. “Mack, Sunny, and I don’t smoke either.”
“Yeah, not after all that weirdness with the anti-nicotine drug a year back. Fucking government was trying to brainwash us. You know?” Mack said then took a drink. “Legalizing then declaring it illegal. Giving us drugs to stop our addictions to other drugs…”
Sabrina nodded. She knew more than they knew. “Fucking government.”
Mack smiled. “I like this girl.”
“Wait until you see me in a bikini.” Sabrina laughed and followed Rae to a pile of backpacks and duffle bags.
“The red backpack has all my clothes in it.”
Sabrina could not fathom what she just heard. “All your clothes?”
“Yeah, I mean the clean ones. Dirty ones are in a bag in the back of my van.”
Sabrina opened the backpack, there was a red bikini up at the top. When she pulled it out, Rae nodded.
“That’s the one. This white one,” she said with a point to her perfectly round breasts, “I wear when I’m just planning on soaking up the sun or going out at night. It’s smaller, so better tan and better attention from the old rich guys.”
“Yeah?” Sabrina smiled. “I have one of those…well, I had one of those.”
“You lost your ‘free drinks’ bikini?” Rae asked.
Sabrina laughed. “I did. But it served me well.”
“That red one,” Rae pointed to the one in Sabrina’s hand. “That one has earned me a few drinks too.”
Sabrina held it up to her chest over the sweatshirt. Then over Rae’s chest for comparison. “I think it’s what’s inside the bikini that’s getting you drinks.”
“Could be. Girl’s gotta use what she’s got.”
“And you got good ones.”
“No complaints. I’ve been told I’m blessed. Now, I’m still not sure if I should thank my mother or thank God.”
Sabrina wondered why she was so suddenly horny. Was it that she had just had sex and wanted more, or was it Los Angeles and the all the good memories of lustful times? Or was it the freedom of her disguise? She could be anyone, do anything. Maybe, she thought, it’s all the above. Regardless, she wanted to touch Rae but didn’t.
“Both.”
“Well, I hope the suit fits you.”
Sabrina started to pull off the sweatshirt and then stopped. Her tattoo was too easily recognized, and she had to stay anonymous.
“Is that…?” Rae started to reach for Sabrina’s back where the tips of her wings were, but she focused them fully under the skin before the woman could see them.
“W
hat?” Sabrina played dumb.
“Oh, I thought I saw some skin art.”
“No, no tattoos on me. I’m afraid of needles.”
“Weird. I could’ve sworn I saw something.”
Once the shirt was off, Sabrina gazed over her shoulder to her bare back to be sure her wings were not visible and then dropped her pants and quickly put the bottoms on.
“I have some shorts you can wear too. If you’re cold or don’t want the guys staring at your ass all day.”
“Thanks. It’s not every day I get so many compliments,” Sabrina said as she turned to face Rae, who was staring back with a blank expression on her face. “What?”
“I think I should buy you a drink…”
Sabrina traced her own cleavage with her finger, then tilted her head. “I’d like that.”
After a small step forward, Sabrina reached out to take Rae’s hand. When her fingertips brushed the other woman’s, Danny interrupted them, and Rae nervously stepped away.
“Damn girl!” Danny shouted.
“Told you,” Rae sighed.
“I opened my eyes and Jesus, I thought I was still dreaming. I thought, am I alive or dead, because that looks like the body of an angel.”
“You wanna see my wings?” Sabrina asked slyly.
“I wanna see your—”
“Danny!” Sonny raised her voice again.
“Keep talking, you guys, and our nice new guest is gonna cover up,” Doug warned.
Rae caught up to Sabrina with a pair of cutoff shorts. “Here.”
“Told you,” Doug said flatly.
Danny groaned with disappointment.
“You can all thank Danny,” Rae joked.
“Thanks, Danny.”
“Thanks, Danny.”
“Fuck you, Danny!”
“Thanks, Danny.” Sunny sounded most sincere. “Come on, Mack. Grab my wet suit. Ocean’s calling.”
“Ocean might be calling, but the mermaid is already here,” Doug said with a smile.
Sabrina stepped into the shorts and pulled them up, only fixing the zipper not buttons. “I know mermaids. You wouldn’t like them.”
“Why not?” Doug asked before he took a drag from Trick’s joint.
“Sharp teeth.”
The group laughed.
“You wanna beer, Sabs?” Celeste asked.
“What kind do you have?”
“All sorts. Help yourself.”
“Sit down. I’ll pick out a good one for you,” Rae said.
Sabrina winked at Rae and then sat cross-legged in the sand. The breeze scattered her hair but felt nice and smelled like the ocean. She had not realized it until then, but for the past few minutes, she had not worried about the future or the past and had simply lived in the present.
“Here.” Rae handed Sabrina a cold, open bottle.
“Thanks.”
“So, tell us, what was your day like before you happened upon our merry lot?” Doug asked, still at work with his guitar.
“Well…I was running. Just…running.”
“Oh yeah? Running from what?” Danny asked in a smart-ass tone.
Sabrina chuckled. “Running away from bad people, bad places, and…”
“And…?” Danny promoted.
“A wedding.”
“Whose?” Rae asked.
“Mine, I guess.”
Two Brides, One Groom
Sabrina pressed the beer bottle to her lips and took another sip. It was her third beer and she had to remind herself to stagger when she left to pee or act drunk soon. Damn my fairy constitution.
It was between six and seven o’clock. She could tell by the position of the sun. She had learned that skill on the island.
Funny, she thought, I might not have been late to so many dinner dates in the past had I been able to tell time like this. She smiled. Good skill to have. I’ll teach my daughter it. That and how to love, to be creative, and most importantly, how to fight.
“Still chilling?” Trick asked her as he walked by.
“Still chilling.”
Her time with the partiers had been fun. She had relaxed and enjoyed chilling, but there was one thought that had nagged her off and on all day.
Today was the day—Skipper and Dunyasha should have initiated the final steps of the plan. Skipper should already be married to Lord Raion—if he believed the lie.
“How the hell am I gonna sleep tonight?” she asked herself.
“Nobody’s sleeping tonight, Sabs,” Doug said. “We’re gonna party and drink and sing all night.”
“Sing all night?”
“Yeah, you like to sing?”
Sabrina smirked. “I used to.”
“Cool. Well, maybe we can sing a duet.”
“Okay.”
Sabrina stared out at the water. Sunny and Mack were out on the waves. She watched them surf a set. They were good. She then turned and looked at Rae, who smiled and nodded her head as if she was already listening to music.
“What do you hear, Rae?”
“Nature, Sabs. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“You’re beautiful.”
“Ha,” she smiled. “Says the sexiest girl on the beach.”
H.B. circled the dump. Joe had transformed himself into the shape of a scarf and had wrapped himself around H.B. The two had returned to L.A. in search of someone—anyone.
At first, Joe and H.B. flew in the direction of Jackson’s high-rise apartment building. But when Joe received messages from the hive about events at the dump, he’s decided a trip there was most important.
“Yo, keep us up high. It’s hard enough to prevent the hive from reading my thoughts, even with the tricks Dunyasha taught me. We don’t need to get any closer. No need to draw attention to ourselves, capiche? “
“No worries, friend slime. I can see everything…fine from here.”
“So, can you tell the difference? Is that her or the fake her? “
H.B. giggled. “PG13. Boobs? Right?”
“Right, buddy.”
“I would say…it’s fake her.”
“Faker?”
“Faker.”
“You see Dunyasha down there too?” Joe asked.
“No. No…elder vampires.”
“Set us down on the top of the tallest building. We can watch the show from there. Oh…yeah…and, pal, I guess, you can do your thing.”
“Statue still?”
“With your eagle eyes on.”
H.B. landed on the edge of the building and then struck a gargoyle pose. “Eyes on.”
“Good work, pally,” Joe said. “Let’s see how this thing plays out.”
The moment Joe transformed to his natural form, a smog spirit formed up near him.
“What are you doing way up here, slime?”
“Who? Me?” Joe replied. “I’m here for the…”
“Here to watch the wedding?” the smog asked. “Your people are meant to be down there, on the ground.”
“Ground forces, I know, but I’m special forces, brother. I’m more than just a rat.” Joe transformed himself. “I’m a mole.”
H.B. chuckled slowly. “I see it.”
“Why have you brought a gargoyle here?”
“Him? He’s my partner, yo. The Cagney to my Lacey. The Murtaugh to my Rigs.”
The air spirit did not response.
“Geez. No classics for this guy,” Joe said. “Umm…”
“The Chip to your Dale?”
“Really, guy?” Joe asked. “You don’t get mine, but you go all Disney afternoon cartoon classics on me?”
“I like cartoons,” the smog spirit said.
“Right, pal.” Joe shrugged his slime shoulders. “Who doesn’t? So…what do you hear? Any gossip?”
“We are tasked to block the skies, so the fairy cannot fly away.”
“We flew in.”
“You did. Our perimeter is a little lower. Lord Raion does not want her to get thirty feet off the ground.”
&n
bsp; “Wow. Tight.”
“He was…concerned. Earlier we had reports of a fairy at the ocean. He thought she was trying to escape back to her island, but then she appeared here moments later.”
“Oh yeah…” Joe got to thinking. There’s more going on here than it seems. “So, she didn’t chicken out? Amazing.”
“She’s here now. Nowhere to go. She must marry Lord Raion or else he will kill her and the heirs to the other elemental kingdoms.”
“I see them.” Joe pointed an appendage. “Captive audience. I like it. Yo, I wouldn’t mind being the ball gag in that one girl’s mouth, feel me?”
“Orders are no slimes, molds, fungus, or smog allowed to touch.”
“Yeah. What’s new?” Joe sighed. “So, where’s the vampire?”
“What vampire?”
“The one blondie travels with. The one that portals her around.”
“She came alone.”
“I’ll be damned. Bold.”
“Maybe the vampire was afraid.”
“I doubt that.” Joe shivered. “You ever seen her? Met her? She’s the scariest being I have ever had the—”
“Scarier than Pollution?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she is.” Joe remembered his promise to Dunyasha and the penalty for failure. “Look, I—we got a job to do. Wish we could stay for the wedding, but we gotta roll.”
“Keep rolling…rolling…rolling?” H.B. asked.
“Yeah, partner, time to spread your wings.”
Amber heard a commotion behind her, and when she looked, the thousands of rats that had been mulling about all over the trash, seemingly everywhere, had vanished, and now there were hundreds of black cats in their place. The cats sauntered around, purring and meowing. Some warbled like strays in the night. Amber sneered—she’d never liked cats; she was more of a dog person.
Before her eyes, the cats began to change. As they made contact with one another, the cats flashed with a spark of dark light and transformed into dogs.
Amber was amazed. She knew what she was seeing, but she had never seen it before.
“All good weddings need wedding parties, am I right?” Lord Raion asked.
“Yeah…” Amber answered as she watched the dogs circle and brush into each other, slowly becoming larger. “Wolves?”
“The rat becomes the cat. The cat becomes the dog.” Raion made a grand gesture, like he was the conductor and the slimes his orchestra. “From wolfs to what, Sabrina? What do you think is next?”
Three Burning Red Runaway Brides Page 24