by Lori Saltis
His eyes go piggy small. He shrugs. “This is my trailer. You change your mind, you pack your bags and hit the road. Now.”
Bridie convulses. Her knees seem to give out as she sinks to the mattress.
My grin fades. Kingfisher is good at manipulation, but he hasn’t reckoned on my determination. I sit beside Bridie and wrap my arm around her. “Mum, I’d rather live in the car than spend another night here. You’re strong. We’re strong. We’ll figure something out. We always do. Please.”
The Upright Man sneers, “Don’t come crawling back here.”
I glare up at him. “We won’t.”
“I mean it. You drive out that gate, you ain’t coming back in.”
Bridie covers her eyes. Her lips quiver.
I gently rub her forearm as I speak in a soothing tone. “Mum, think of Gerry and Matthew. What would they want you to do?”
“They’d want me to fight.” A sigh wavers through her. “But I got so tired of fighting, of struggling, and this is where it got me. If Matthew saw me now, if he knew…” A tear rolls down her cheek. “If only he hadn’t died. If only he and Gerry were still here.”
“They’re not, but they’d want us to carry on and be strong. We don’t need Bill, we don’t need,” I thrust my chin toward Kingfisher. “We have each other. We’ll figure something out.”
“But we’re skint. We don’t even have enough to buy food.”
“We do have money, remember? That money we got this morning. It’s enough to get us out of here.”
“Where will we go?”
Kingfisher sneers, “There’s nowhere for you to go but here.”
Tears fill her eyes again. Time to bring in the big guns. I squeeze her shoulder hard and sharpen my tone. “Mum, if we stay, I’ll be forced to handfast with Mikey Boy.”
Her spine stiffens. “What?” She glares at Kingfisher. “That wasn’t part of our agreement.”
He shrugs. “Girl’s sixteen. Can’t have her running around loose. I figured I’d let my boy find out if she’s a virgin. Don’t worry. If she is, I’ll make ‘em marry proper.”
Fire sparks in Bridie’s reddened eyes. She jumps to her feet, fists pressed into her hips. “Not my daughter.” She takes a deep breath and shouts the words. “Not. My. Daughter. You bastard. Sod off. I’m done with you. To think I almost…” She shudders. “Sod off.”
Kingfisher doesn’t budge. “It’s time the girl left and you and I finish our business.”
“We have no business. Get out.”
He still doesn’t move.
“Then we’ll leave. Come on, Penny.” Bridie puts her arm around my shoulders. I can feel her tremble.
Kingfisher shifts so he blocks the door. “You ain’t going anywhere. Not until we finish our business.”
I step in front of my mother. “Stay away from her.” My heart pounds so hard, I can barely hear. As soon as he gets close enough, I’ll fake a knee to his groin, while he blocks that, I’ll gouge his eyes and…
The front door swings open, slamming against the wall. My heart lifts. Lennon!
Kingfisher turns. Past his bulk, I see Kai running down the hall, followed by someone else, an adult… a woman.
“What the hell are you doing?” Doreen. I would recognize that shrill voice anywhere.
Kingfisher glares at her. “Get lost, woman. This is none of your business.”
“I’m making it my business.”
Kai squeezes past Kingfisher and spreads his arms to shield our mother and me.
“Where’s Lennon?” I whisper.
“Don’t know. He went to the playground to switch places with you, but you didn’t come back, so I went out looking for you guys and ran into Doreen.”
What happened to Lennon? Maybe Kingfisher set some of his men on him. The thought makes my chest hurt. I don’t want to abandon him, but I can’t leave my family.
Doreen shoves her way into the bedroom and stands before us, hands on her hips. She jerks her head toward Kingfisher. “He played you for a hob. I made up my mind to be square and stop him, but it seems your girl got here first.”
Bridie looks down. Her voice falters. “Doreen, I’m so sorry. I don’t have any money and Kingfisher, he… he…”
“He threw you under the bridge.”
Kingfisher grabs hold of her arm. “Stow it, Doreen.”
She shakes him off. “To hell with you. She has the right to know.”
Bridie looks at them with suspicion. “What do you mean? Know what?”
Doreen jabs a finger at Kingfisher. “He told your Bleater husband that you’re a Strowler and that you planned to drain his bank account before leaving him high and dry. He paid a caterer to take pictures of you and the Beggar Chief together and send them to your husband.”
Bridie gasps. My mouth drops open. There are few crimes worse than betraying a fellow Strowler.
Kingfisher takes a step toward Doreen. Then the anger in his face shifts to indifference. He shrugs. “She’s lying. She’s jealous because I want to dump her for you.”
“No, she’s not,” I jump in. “Mikey Boy told me it’s your fault we’re here.”
Bridie rises to her feet. “You did this to us? You’re the Upright Man. You’re supposed to protect us. How could you?”
Kingfisher rubs his chin. His chest rises and falls as he maintains his casual pose. “You ought to thank me. I saved you from a life of misery with that Bleater.”
Bridie lays her hands on my and Kai’s shoulders and gently pushes us aside. Then she steps forward to face Kingfisher, her every word ground with bitterness. “You threw me under the bridge and lured me here. You demanded money from me. Then you threaten to kick us out if I don’t rut with you. And now you want me to thank you.” She tilts her head, her green eyes blazing, as she draws back her hand.
He catches hold of her wrist and twists it, hard. She grimaces, but doesn’t cry out.
Kai leaps forward, his fists raised. Kingfisher swings his free arm and slams him into Doreen. They crash into the closet door before tumbling to the floor. Blood spills from Kai’s nose. Bridie cries out and tries to go to him, but Kingfisher holds on tight.
I ready my knee to smash into his bollocks, but as if reading my mind, he turns sideways, dragging Bridie along with him. This time, she whimpers in pain.
Confidence returns to Kingfisher’s face. “I’ll twist her arm out of its socket if you don’t all calm down.” He waits while Kai picks himself up and helps Doreen to her feet. “You three get lost.” He nods toward Bridie. “Me and her got business to finish.”
No one moves.
Kingfisher wrenches Bridie’s arm again. Tears come to her eyes and she bites her lip as her face contorts with the effort to not cry out.
I grind my teeth, determined not to tremble or seem weak. There has to be something to fight him with. Some kind of threat. “You rape my mother, I’ll tell my Uncle Owen. He’ll kill you.”
“You tell anyone anything, I’ll kill your mother and you brats. Now, stow it.”
“No.”
I brace myself, waiting for another threat or for him to strike with his free hand, but he just stands there staring at me. Then a look comes into his eyes, like panic. Breath hisses in his throat, but he can’t seem to talk.
Lennon steps around him. He looks at me apologetically. “Sorry I’m late.”
He’s all right. Relief floods the fear coursing through my body. My knees quiver, but I manage to stay upright. Where the hell has he been? Part of me wants to jump into his arms and the other part wants to shove him into the wall. Instead, I take a deep breath to slow my pounding heart. “What did you do to him?
“I froze his pressure points. He won’t be able to move for a couple of hours.” While he speaks, he jabs Kingfisher’s hand at a spot between his thumb and index finger.
Kingfisher’s hand flops and Bridie snatches her wrist away. As she clutches it to her chest, rubbing the reddened flesh, his fingers contract as he tries grasp
ing for her. Lennon’s jabs the spot again, rendering the hand motionless.
“Dim mak,” whispers Bridie.
Dim mak. I know the term. Matthew had the same skill, though I’d never seen him use it. It’s a Two Dragon Clan skill, but one shared by lots of other Asian clans.
Lennon acts like he didn’t hear her. “We better get out of here while we can.”
Bridie rushes to Kai side and examines his nose. “Is it broken?”
Kai presses his sleeve to his nostrils to staunch the bleeding and replies with a muffled, “I don’t think so.”
“We’ll get some ice on it just to be sure.” She starts to head out of the bedroom.
“Wait.” Kai lowers his arm. Blood trickles down to his chin as he speaks. “I’ve got news. Good news. Our phones are working again. I called my grandparents and they’re sending us money. We can get out of here.”
Bridie’s face freezes. I hold my breath. If she refuses, I’ll ask Lennon to stun her so we can carry her out. Then she glances at Kingfisher. “Good. Very good, but I don’t want to discuss our future in front of him.”
“Can he still hear?” asks Doreen.
Lennon nods. “He can hear, see and breathe. All the stuff that keeps him alive still works, but he can’t talk or move.”
A toxic smile spreads across her face. “Good.” She marches over and stands before him. “While you were busy with your party, I packed up my and the girls’ things and loaded the car. I’m taking the dog so you can’t breed her no more. We’re getting out and we’re going where you’ll never find us. I’d say I gave you the best years of my life, but they were bad years and so were you.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief when she mentions the dog. Then she turns to Bridie and her next words tighten my throat again. “Have you got a mirror?”
Bridie’s face stiffens. Then her eyes narrow. “I’ve got two we can use.”
“Good.” Doreen smirks at Kingfisher. “Take care of your boy first.”
Kingfisher’s breath wheezes in his throat. His eyes are maddened with helpless rage.
Bridie turns to Kai. “Let’s get some ice for that nose and then you can tell us everything.”
A chill prickles my skin. “Mum…”
Her look silences me. As much as I don’t like what’s about to happen, I’ll take a vengeful Bridie over a submissive one any day.
Lennon whispers to me, “A mirror?”
I grab hold of his arm and tug him into the hall. I wait until everyone passes before I speak. “Never mind about that. Where were you?”
He ducks his head. “I’m really sorry. If I got here sooner, he wouldn’t have been able to hurt Bridie and Kai.”
“What happened? Did you run into Mikey Boy or something?”
He looks me in the eye, in a way that makes my heart sink. “My family caught up with me. I have to go.”
Chapter 29
Penny
“What are they doing?” whispers Lennon.
“Blood curse.” I don’t bother lowering my voice.
Neither Bridie nor Doreen pays me any mind. They’re standing at the kitchen counter, Bridie with the square, silver compact mirror from her purse and Doreen holding the mirror from Bridie’s face powder. They use red lipstick to write Kingfisher’s name on each surface. When they’ve finished, Doreen takes the needle I reluctantly gave her from my sewing kit. We follow her and Bridie back to the bedroom.
Kingfisher’s breath hisses through his nose as they enter. Then they hold up the mirrors so he can see them. His eyes bulge and his chest heaves as he reddens with the effort to move.
“Mum,” I say loud enough to make them pause. “What about the darkening of the soul?”
Bridie keeps her eyes on Kingfisher. “I’ll risk darkening my soul if it means saving my children from this monster.”
Doreen takes the needle and pricks Kingfisher’s thumb. Then she squeezes until a drop of blood falls on each mirror.
“Cool,” whispers a wide-eyed Kai.
I spin on my heel and head back to the kitchen. Then I lean against the counter and close my eyes. “Kingfisher, may kings respect you…” The words fall into the sink and go down the drain. I can’t bless him.
Lennon leans beside me with owlish eyes. I sigh. “You take a mirror, write someone’s name on it and smear it with their blood. If the mirror breaks, he’ll die in seven days. After that, whoever cast the curse will die seven days later.”
He sucks in his breath. “That’s some serious shit. Do you believe it?”
I don’t want to answer, almost as if saying so will make it real.
“All he has to do is stay away from us,” says Bridie as she and Doreen return to the kitchen. “If he tries anything, I break the mirror. Simple as that.”
“And die.” I choke on the words.
“Worth it,” Bridie says as she pats my cheek. Then she reaches into a cupboard and pulls out a box of cling wrap. She and Doreen use almost the whole roll to pad the mirrors against breaking.
“All right then.” Doreen gives a curt nod.
“Walk in peace,” Bridie says. The other woman doesn’t reply as she heads out the door. “Ah well.” She turns to us. “We best get cracking.”
“Don’t say that word,” I mutter. She ignores me.
Packing up is similar to when we were kicked out by Bill, except this time we’re loomed over by Kingfisher as we shove our belongings into suitcases and plastic bags, his enraged eyes tracking our movements. I “accidentally” step on his feet a few of times. Kai intentionally punches him and would’ve done more damage if Lennon hadn’t pulled him off.
Lennon. He stays with us, helping us pack while keeping a close eye on Kingfisher. I can’t tell if what happened with his family is good or bad, and he’s not saying. His glasses are gone and that hunted look in his eyes has been replaced by a solemn, faraway gaze.
It’s so unfair. I want to feel happy and triumphant, and laugh in Kingfisher’s face. Instead, my heart squeezes every time Lennon and I brush shoulders. What if I never see him again? How can I say goodbye without telling him how I feel? How do I feel? Do I love him?
I stop in my tracks as my face grows hot. No, I don’t love Lennon. I can’t. It hurts too much.
“Bedroom’s clear,” Bridie announces as she comes down the hall carrying a final bag.
“Bathroom’s done, too,” says Kai.
“Anything left?”
“Just one thing.” I open a cabinet and carefully lift out my sewing machine. Wherever we’re going, hopefully I can start designing clothes again. I need something to keep me busy, so I won’t think about what might have been.
Lennon gives me a gentle smile before taking the sewing machine from my hands and heading outside. The perfect boy and I’m losing him right now. My nose tingles. I rub it hard to keep my eyes from filling with tears.
Bridie picks up her phone, which was charging on the kitchen counter. She turns it on and stares at the screen. Then she holds the phone to her ear, frowning as she listens.
“What is it?” I ask.
“A message from your step…” She clears her throat. “From Bill. He’s in trouble with the police because of that video. He’s begging us to come back, no strings attached.”
“I don’t want to go back.” I say the words so fast they run together.
“I don’t, either.” Her thumb slides across the screen. Then she smiles. “Matthew’s parents wired us some money. More than enough to find a decent place to stay for the next few nights.”
I’m still a little surprised by that. Maybe they know Kai won’t accept their charity if it doesn’t include his mother.
Bridie wraps the mirror again, this time with a kitchen towel, before placing it gingerly into a side pocket inside her purse. We exchange looks. “There’s no curse until the mirror breaks, so stop fearing for my soul.”
“What if it breaks accidentally?”
“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
> “You’ll have to carry that thing for the rest of your life.”
“Or his.” She takes a final glance down the other end of the caravan. Kingfisher casts a wide shadow on the hall wall. She shudders. “Let’s get out of here.”
The place feels like a tomb. We’d come so close to being buried alive. I try to think of some final insult to hurl at the man who tried digging our grave. Is he worth the effort? No. In fact, leaving without a word and closing the door behind him feels incredibly satisfying.
I climb into the backseat with Lennon, except not really because there are several plastic bags full of clothes between us. I can’t hold his hand or lean my shoulder against his, or whisper in his ear. As we drive through the Nest, the party is still in full swing. Mac in the Box must have joined in the fun since no one challenges us when Kai gets out and opens the gate.
Once the car pulls onto the main road, Bridie lets out a huge sigh and whispers, “Thank God.” She gives her head a brisk shake. “All right, I’ll get some gas and we’ll find a decent place to spend the night.”
“Can you drop me off at a light rail station?” asks Lennon.
The pulse in my throat starts to throb. I swallow hard to make it stop.
Bridie glances at him in the rearview mirror. “Lennon, you’re welcome to come with us, wherever we go. More than welcome.”
He glances down for a moment, almost as if he was seriously considering her words. But when he looks up, his eyes are resolute. “Thanks, but I can’t. I have to go back to my family. It’s time.”
“I understand,” she murmurs sympathetically. I want to scream: No, you don’t. “Why don’t I take you there?”
“No. I have to go back on my own.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah.”
My chest hurts. It feels as if all the oxygen has been sucked out of the car. I crack open my window. The cold air feels good on my hot cheeks. Then Lennon reaches across the plastic bags for my hand. For a moment, I want to snatch it away and punish him for leaving me. If I do that, I’ll only be hurting myself, though clasping his hand and squeezing it hard has its own sweet pain.