Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series

by Tony C. Skye

The blond cheerleader forms a wide smile and quickly turns, “Yes? Is there something I could help you with?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the man says while finishing his approach, “Could you please give me a tour of the grounds so we can plan our security strategies?”

  Rebecca glances at Caroline with her pretend smile, “I’d love to.” She points towards the first semi-truck in line, “You handle that.”

  Caroline nods without saying a single word. She is thankful for the chance to come up with a story. What story, she has no idea. But, hopefully, she can come up with one...something…anything. Problem is that Rebecca is extremely observant. In addition, she pries like no other. Caroline hates to admit it, but she believes Jennifer has just made a serious error. Caroline pulls out her phone and begins texting.

  * * *

  “Full?”

  “Plenty,” Amy complains. She glances around the restaurant. Besides her and Julianna, the establishment is void of any patrons. Amy’s two personal bodyguards sit at a table nearest to the front entrance. Julianna’s head of security is positioned by the kitchen’s doors.

  “What’d you do?”, Amy continues while picking up her glass of red wine, “Like buy the place out for little ‘ole me?”

  “Nah, it was probably the critic’s reviews about the rats and roaches.”

  “It’s nice,” Amy ignores the sarcasm, “Thank you.”

  “Not to worry. You’ll be suffocated in a few more hours…teenagers.”

  “Fans,” Amy corrects.

  “My friend Jennifer is like the biggest fan you’re ever going to meet.”

  “I hear that claim a lot. Sometimes it turns out to be like a scene of stalkers and scary letter writers.”

  “Jennifer would never do that. But she does have every download, cd, hard to find custom vinyl, poster, shirt, and other memorabilia. She probably has stuff you don’t even know about.”

  Amy laughs, “That’s probably true. I like to focus like on the music end.”

  “Don’t be surprised if you see a tall girl with short brown hair pass out on the ground. That would be Jennifer.”

  “I’m used to it,” Amy grins. “You almost did the same thing at your sweet seventeen.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  Amy takes a sip of her wine and sits her glass down.

  “Just did,” Amy reminds. She looks down at the piece of paper sitting by her plate.

  “Rebecca Hindsworth is her name?”, Amy questions before glancing back up to look at Julianna.

  “Yes, it’s her parent’s place.”

  “Like you do realize that if we go through with this, her popularity is going to skyrocket. It won’t exactly like help her if she has a goddess complex as you say she does. But what do I know? I’m just the hired help.”

  “Don’t even,” Julianna counters, “Not after that speech back at your hotel.”

  Amy smiles as she looks back down to the paper.

  “So, they’re like all cheerleaders, huh? Doesn’t seem like your kind of crowd.”

  “It was weird at first,” Julianna confesses, “But I found out real quick that they are really loyal to one another. Well…the inner-circle of them are. They can be vicious to anyone on the outside.”

  “Hmm…I suppose I stand corrected.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Amy grins.

  ‘Hit me baby one more time…’

  Amy arches her right brow slightly as Julianna smiles awkwardly. She watches as the girl reaches into her purse and retrieves a phone. Julianna swipes over her phone’s screen and silently reads the text.

  Hello, Mandie. I wld like to tlk to you if you wnt to. Txt me bck and let me knw. Tamara.

  Julianna sees another text message and opens it up. She reads:

  Hi cousin. Need yur hlp. Jen made mstke wth Becca. Asap. Caroline.

  Julianna sees an attachment and loads it onto her screen. She scans over Jennifer’s text to Rebecca, swipes her phone’s screen, and places it back into her purse. Julianna looks up. Amy is staring at her while sipping on her wine.

  “What?”, Julianna questions innocently.

  “Really?”

  “Shut up – you’re just jealous.”

  “Um - no…like not even close.”

  Julianna laughs.

  Amy nods towards Julianna’s purse, “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah. Care to give me a rundown of names?”

  Amy flips the page face down on the table. She stares at Julianna, “Rebecca Hindsworth – queen bee of the ego tribe.”

  Julianna grins.

  “Tamara Stilliard – lover extraordinaire. Jennifer Hammond – my favorite of all…huge fan, and Caroline Reynolds – cousin to like the craziest friend I have.”

  “Yep, Sounds like you have it.”

  “And you thought I wouldn’t? Try remembering the notes to a classical movement sometime.”

  “I might do that.”

  “You’re like the worst liar ever. I have no idea how this hasn’t blown up in your face like yesterday.”

  Julianna stands up, “So you enjoy telling me.”

  Amy stands, “Wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t.”

  Julianna rounds the table and hugs Amy, “Thanks for lunch.”

  “I didn’t buy the place out – too rich for my blood.”

  Julianna releases her friend, “Yeah right.”

  “My husband might object to something like that.”

  Julianna smiles, “You headed back to the hotel?”

  Amy nods, “Need a nap.” She glances towards the half-empty bottle of wine, “That stuff’s pretty decent.”

  Julianna turns and begins walking towards the front entrance, “It should be at twenty-five hundred per.”

  “What? If I’m paying, next time, you can pick from the value meals at Mickey Dees.”

  “A number two it is,” Julianna answers.

  Amy smiles while watching her friend exit the luxurious restaurant.

  * * *

  Jennifer reads the text on her phone. She looks up at Tamara, “She’s downstairs on her way up.”

  “Mandie?!”

  “The one and only.”

  “She didn’t even answer my text. Does she know I’m here?”

  “Heh - yeah. Said she brought a paddle with her.”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “No. But it made you horny, didn’t it.”

  “Quit it, Jen. What am I supposed to say to her? David Snow’s going with me to the party.”

  “You didn’t have to do it. Mandie eliminated the need.”

  “You guys already told him I would do it. I couldn’t do that to him. It felt like I was about to kick a puppy in the face.”

  “Threesome?”

  “Pleeease stop. I’m freaking out.”

  “Serves you right for making me french my trash can.”

  “I’ll never do it again, pleeeeease.”

  “Fine,” Jennifer concedes. She stands up from her bar stool and walks towards the doorway leading into her hallway, “But you will regret it if you do that again.”

  “I won’t – promise.”

  Jennifer smiles while entering her hallway and making a right. She turns the next left and meets Julianna at the top of the stairs.

  “Tam’s nervous.”

  Julianna looks down the hallway behind Jennifer.

  “Heh. I see she’s not the only one,” Jennifer continues.

  Julianna glances back to Jennifer and hands her a phone. Jennifer glances at the message, “Yeah, I sorta messed up.” The tall cheerleader hands Julianna her phone back.

  “I need you to inform me of things like this, Jen. I had to hear about it from Caroline.”

  “Noted. What should I do?”

  “Don’t worry about it – Caroline has it.”

  “Okay, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  Julianna nods.

  “Tam has a date. Well, it’s not a date – more like
something she has to do for one of Becca’s schemes. Remember whenever she told you about the date with David Snow? Well, she couldn’t tell him no because we sorta already told him she would do it before you did what you did.

  Julianna’s head retreats within her confusion, “Is that why she texted?”

  “Yeah and no,” Jennifer explains, “She wants to hook back up…I think.”

  “Oh.”

  “Heh,” Jennifer amuses while turning to walk the hallway’s length to the T-intersection, “I thought you might like hearing that.”

  Julianna remains silent while walking next to Jennifer. Whenever, she turns right at the T-intersection, Julianna’s heart rate increases significantly. She takes a nervous breath as Jennifer escorts her into Party Room One.

  Tamara sits on one of the bar stools. She smiles and waves with her right hand – her thin lips, silently, mouth the word hi.

  Hi, Julianna returns the silent gesture. She can see Tamara’s brown eyes sparkle with the excitement of her entry into the room. Julianna attempts to visually inhale the enhancing beauty of the light freckling that paints Tamara’s nose.

  “I can take a hint,” Jennifer says while turning to leave the room, “But if I hear you two nasty lesbos doing anything other than talking, I’m stuffing you both into my trunk. They’ll never find you.”

  Julianna grins nervously as Jennifer takes her leave – her eyes never wavering from Tamara’s watchful stare. She feels her heart attempt to free itself from her chest as Tamara stands.

  “Sorry about that,” Tamara quietly apologizes, “Jen…”

  “I know,” Julianna speaks barely above a whisper.

  “It’s good to see you,” Tamara says while delighting in the girl’s presence with her brown eyes.

  “You, too,” Julianna answers while fighting locked feet. She feels her hands sweat as Tamara walks towards her. Julianna sways, ever so slightly, when Tamara stops within arm’s length.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “Thanks for asking.”

  Both girls grin awkwardly during the forthcoming silence.

  “Anyway,” Tamara speaks in a weak attempt to break away from the weirdness, “I just wanted to tell you that it was wrong of me to do what I did to you – it wasn’t fair to you.”

  Julianna looks guiltily, “I liked it.”

  “Oh…heh,” Tamara suddenly feels a little embarrassed, “Not that. I mean, I liked that. But that’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “Oh,” Julianna now feels completely embarrassed.

  “Mandie, you deserve to be treated much better than the way I was acting – it was childish of me and I’m sorry.”

  “You were just trying to figure things out. I understand. There’s no reason to apologize for that.”

  “The way I did it – yes there is.”

  Julianna remains silent as Tamara pleas with her eyes.

  “Can you forgive me?”

  Julianna nods within her silence.

  Tamara steps forward.

  Julianna inhales two staggering breaths while Tamara’s long fingers find the left side of her face. She reaches up and joins her left hand over the hand that caresses her pale cheek.

  Tamara smiles, “Those vitamins are something else.” She, slowly, leans in.

  “That’ll be all from you two nasty lesbos!”

  Tamara glances over her girlfriend’s left shoulder. She closes her eyes and finishes what she started.

  “Ewwww! That is soooo-so nasty. Stop that. This is my house.”

  Julianna laughs with Tamara’s lips firmly pressed against her own. Tamara giggles and stops – she embraces the one in whom she knows she desires to spend her life. The shorter girl returns the favor with a firm hug of her own.

  “One more minute and you bitches are going to wake up in my trunk. I’m not kidding about this. You will be dead…so dead.”

  Tamara chuckles as she ignores Jennifer’s idle threat. She uses her gaze to adore the love of her life. Green eyes beg her for more.

  “Enough,” Jennifer says while slipping her arms between her two friends, “Back it up.”

  Tamara and Julianna keep their eyes locked on one another as Jennifer pries them apart. A moment later, Tamara turns her attention to her left.

  “Were you listening?”

  “Pfft – of course I was listening,” Jennifer answers, “Do you see any cameras in here? How else was I supposed to know when you two freaks were about to ruin my favorite room?”

  “Aww,” Tamara coos while turning her glance to Julianna, “I believe my bff wants to watch.”

  Julianna looks at Jennifer with an awkward grin.

  Jennifer walks around Tamara and heads towards her bar, “One more time, bitch – see what happens. I dare you.”

  “Heh,” Tamara’s response is barely audible. She returns her gaze upon the woman of her heart’s desire. She steps forward once again. Electricity fires throughout her body when her lover eagerly parts her lips.

  Jennifer quickly turns her head with a gaging sound. She reaches for a bottle and pours herself a shot of Crown Royal. She lifts her glass in the air while making a point to not look at her friends.

  Jennifer mutters quietly, “Ruined, thanks for that.”

  The hostess tilts her glass back and downs the liquid. She slams the glass down on the bar. Julianna and Tamara separate with startled looks.

  Jennifer smiles, “So much better. I would like to thank you both for your cooperation.”

  “Can we borrow your room?”, Tamara questions, “Please?”

  “What?!”

  Tamara and Julianna both laugh.

  “Oh – okay,” Jennifer replies, “Just remember that little joke of yours when you wake up in my car trunk.”

  “What is it with you and your car trunk?”, Tamara questions.

  “Nothing,” Jennifer defends, “It’s just a saying. Why does everyone have a problem with it?”

  “It’s creepy, Jen. You need to stop saying it.”

  “I’ll stop whenever I don’t feel like I need it anymore.”

  Tamara rolls her eyes. Her brown gaze pauses as her eyes make contact with the green beautiful emeralds seducing her with their silent beckoning.

  “See?”, Jennifer says, “That’s why they invented car trunks – right there. Just keep it up you lesbos.”

  Thank you, Jennifer.

  Jennifer looks at Julianna. The girl turns her head and places her left cheek against her bff’s chest. Tamara wraps her arms around Julianna’s embrace. Jennifer moves her mouth as though there is a bad taste in it. Julianna smiles her appreciation and slowly closes her eyes. Jennifer shakes her head and pours another shot.

  * * *

  Rebecca stands with her hands on her hips. Her tan legs glisten below her white shorts. She scans over the area with her blue eyes. A large wall wraps its distance around the ten acres of her backyard. Towards the far end, a stage is setup. Roadies are working to place the electronics and lights in place. Rebecca glances to her right. Rope chains are being setup by the security personnel. She smiles.

  “I think we’re going to get this pulled off.”

  Caroline fans herself by tugging on her sweaty tee-shirt, “I need another shower.”

  Rebecca crosses her arms and turns to face her bff. Caroline gives her a dreaded look.

  “It’s time.”

  “Do we have to do this now? I need a shower.”

  Rebecca raises her right blond brow slightly.

  “Whatever,” Caroline complains.

  “Tamara is a lesbian,” Caroline continues, “Mandie is too.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “They’re in love with each other, but Tam’s been all weird about it.”

  Rebecca’s mouth opens as she moves her right hand over the top of her scalp. Her fingers disappear within her long blond hair.

  “And that’s not all,” Caroline pushes, “Um...Mandie is my cousin.”

  “She’s what?
! Caroline, how could you keep this from me? Why would you lie…”

  “I didn’t know until just recently – swear it.”

  “Wait a minute.”

  Caroline remains in silence as her bff ponders over the flood of new information. Rebecca turns her back on Caroline, walks a few steps, turns, and walks back. She points her right index finger.

  “You slapped your cousin’s butt.”

  Caroline nods.

  “And you enjoyed it.”

  “Yes, but…”

  “And you knew she was your cousin?”

  “Yes, but it’s not…”

  Rebecca lowers her hand, “Caroline, that is so gross. Forget about the fact that you lied to me – and I’m pretty pissed off at you right now – but your cousin?”

  “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “It wasn’t your fault that you enjoyed playing with your cousin’s butt.”

  “Uh - well, when you put it like that…”

  “Stop, you’re not throwing this back on me.”

  “I’m not trying to, Becca. But it’s a lot more complicated than that. I couldn’t control myself. It was like a spell and I…”

  “Ah-ha!”, Rebecca announces loudly, “That’s what happened. I knew it!”

  Caroline looks at her bff with confused eyes, “Knew what?”

  “Mandie, she did this.”

  “Did what?”

  Rebecca crosses her arms, “Mandie is the reason our blood oath has been broken. I can’t feel any of you anymore. She’s a witch.”

  “She’s not a witch.”

  “Sure she is,” Rebecca counters, “Only a witch would know a way around a blood bond. It’s a witch’s spell. And she broke it.”

  “Um - she’s not a witch.”

  Rebecca’s head retreats, “Then what is she?”

  Caroline hesitates.

  “Out with it.”

  “I can’t tell you until you promise to keep it a secret. And I mean from anybody. You can’t tell Tamara anything. She doesn’t know yet and Mandie wants to be the one to tell her.”