Riley ignored the woman’s searching gaze, which was taking in her piercings and summing her up quickly. “It’s a family campground,” the woman said with a touch of warning in her voice. “No parties, no drinking.”
“No problem,” Riley answered with a direct gaze of her own. “I’m with my brother and my cousin. We’ll be gone in the morning.” She dropped her hand into her pocket and gripped her orb tightly. “We want to stay out of sight. Please forget we are even here.” She pushed the Tyon willingness towards the woman so forcefully she almost grunted aloud with the effort. She was still very clumsy at getting people to do her bidding, unlike Darius, but she’d done it before and reasoned that she could do it again.
“I beg your pardon.” The woman’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Forget you’ve what?”
Riley forced a smile and tried again. “Forget we’re here.”
“And just why would I want to do that?” The woman took a step back from the counter, the forms still in her hand. She gave Riley a very unpleasant look. “Just what are you trying to do?”
“Nothing,” Riley increased the wattage on her smile. “How much is it for the night?”
There was a long pause before the forms and a pen were handed over. Riley filled in the registration, remembering at the last second not to include any true information, and handed it back to the clerk.
“That’ll be twenty-five dollars,” the clerk said. “We take cash or credit. It’s an extra fifteen if you want to empty the tanks.”
Riley didn’t know what tanks the woman was talking about but did know she didn’t have a penny on her. Neither did Darius or Alec. “I’ll get my brother to pay,” she said, turning to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
The darkness was even more pronounced with the camper’s headlights off. Riley stumbled on the rutted ground as she walked to the door. “Why couldn’t that idiot keep the lights on,” she grumbled to herself as she wrenched it open and clambered up.
“Dare, I need your voodoo hex on the memories here,” she called out.
Peter looked up and a spasm of fear crossed his face before he realized she wasn’t talking about him. Then he ducked his head and continued to stare wordlessly out the windscreen.
Darius sat up slowly and ran a free hand through his hair. He yawned as he got to his feet. “Peter, if you even try and get out of your seat, your muscles will cramp so hard you won’t be able to breathe. Got it?” Without waiting for an answer he walked to the main door and left the camper. Riley watched him trudge across the parking lot and pull open the screen door to the office. He disappeared inside.
Several minutes passed before he exited. When he did, the clerk was on his heels, following as closely as a shadow and talking animatedly. Darius waved an arm at the camper as he crossed the short distance to the store. Riley hopped out and followed them, a moue of distaste crossing her face. It was clear that he’d more than gotten the woman to waive the fee.
The general store was also larger than expected, and like the office, new, well stocked and surprisingly up scale. There were several aisles of foodstuffs, one filled with souvenirs, a corner devoted to casual clothes you might have forgotten to bring, and a huge display of sporting equipment. The clerk was turning on the last of the overhead lights as Riley closed the door behind her. Her fawning expression was for Darius alone.
“We have a freezer in the back and everything you might need for a barbecue,” she was saying to him. She brushed a non-existent speck of grime from her forehead and glanced ever so briefly in the shining surface of a decorative mirror next to the light switches. “It’s such a lovely night for a campfire. Warm enough to sit outside for hours and talk. I could get you a couple of bottles of wine, if you’d like.”
“No thanks,” Darius smiled. “Just the food for now.”
“You’re on vacation,” the woman batted her eyelashes. “A little drink won’t hurt.”
“As much as I’d like one,” Darius replied politely, “the rest of my party is underage. If they can’t, I shouldn’t.” He headed down the aisle to the freezer. Catching Riley’s eye, he motioned towards the next aisle over, which was stocked with canned goods. The woman sidled up beside him.
“I could come over and keep you company,” she breathed, leaning over his shoulder. “The kids can go to bed. You and I could have a little party.”
“Sounds lovely,” Darius murmured, “but no. Afraid not.”
The woman was not to be dissuaded. She pulled out a card from her denim skirt pocket and slipped it into the pocket of Darius’s shirt. “My number.” Her grin was almost feral. “Call me once the kiddies are asleep.”
Riley resisted the desire to lob a family-sized can of ravioli at the clerk’s head. Grumbling to herself about Darius’s need to flirt with anyone with a pulse, she grabbed several cans of spaghetti sauce instead and stalked over to the small produce section. She couldn’t hear any more of the conversation while she selected ingredients for their supper, which was likely a good thing. After collecting eggs and bread for breakfast she headed to the checkout counter. Riley dumped the food next to that which Darius had collected and pointedly ignored the clerk, who was barely glancing at the keys on the cash register. After assuring herself they needed nothing else, she wandered away. There was no way she was going to let herself get nauseated listening to some idiot.
There was a pretty cotton dress in the middle of the clothing display and something about it caught her eye. She stepped closer. It was made of eyelet cotton in plainest white, with dainty capped sleeves and a scalloped neckline. A long time ago her mom used to buy her stuff like that. Riley couldn’t help glancing down at her black jeans and tee-shirt. She raised her hand and touched the fabric of the skirt. It was as soft as it looked.
Her hand was knocked away by the clerk. “’Scuse me.” The woman yanked the dress off the hanger and whipped it out from underneath Riley’s view.
Riley turned. Darius was leaning against the counter, an indecipherable look on his face. He caught her eye and smiled. Behind him, the clerk was stuffing the dress into a paper bag.
“That’s ninety-seven, even,” the clerk said.
“Put it on my tab,” Darius grinned at her and his eyes almost glowed.
The clerk melted.
“Riley, take this,” Darius said as he tossed her the bag containing the dress. She caught it deftly. “Thanks for everything, Laurie,” Darius winked at the clerk.
“She’ll pine for months, just waiting for the sound of your voice,” Riley muttered under her breath as she walked out of the store behind Darius and into the inky darkness. She clasped the dress to her tightly and tried to ignore the tingle of pleasure burbling through her stomach.
“Nah,” Darius smiled suggestively. He shifted the heavier bag carefully in his arms. “I only have eyes for you.”
Riley couldn’t help grinning back even though she knew he really didn’t mean it.
They entered the RV and Riley proceeded to put the food away in the cupboards while Darius took a seat next to Peter. Alec was still sleeping on the floor. The engine purred into life and lurched slightly as Peter put the gears into drive. Riley had to hold onto the counter with one hand as the camper meandered through the campground. Clearly Darius had chosen the most out of the way site for them. She only hoped they reached it before she fell over and seriously hurt herself.
It took several minutes to back the camper in, and in the end Riley had to take over the wheel while Darius waved to her from outside. Peter sat sulkily on the sofa staring at his brother as if he’d never seen him before. While Darius covered the license plates with mud and grass, just in case the camper had been reported stolen, Riley began cooking.
It wasn’t long before the appetizing aroma of garlic, sausage, and tomato sauce permeated the air. Contentedly humming under her breath, Riley stirred the bubbling sauce while the pasta cooked. Darius arrived at her shoulder after he and Peter deposited Alec in the back bedroom.
“Hey,” Riley admonished. “It’ll be out in five minutes.”
“I’m hungry now.” Darius smacked his lips and nodded towards the pot. “That’s really good.”
“How’s he look?” she asked.
“The healing’s gone well but I don’t want him exerting himself for several days. The tissue won’t hold together if he overdoes it. I think he’ll be awake by breakfast.”
“If we’re still here,” Riley added.
“True. However, when Anna returns she’ll need to rest and there’s no reason why we all can’t stay in this. It’s big enough.”
“What about Peter?”
Both turned and looked at Alec’s brother. He was back on the sofa again, staring at Alec’s bloodstains on the carpet.
“Hmm, good question.” Darius pulled out his orb. Peter’s eyes widened as Darius approached him and he flinched when Darius sat down next to him.
“This won’t hurt, Peter, but it is necessary.” Peter tried to lift his arm to block the touch of Darius’s orb to his temple but his arm was more under Darius’s control than his own.
Darius’s voice was cold and vibrated with power. “You follow my orders. You listen to me. You know nothing of Alec’s ability to move in time. You only know that you and Alec are special and that I’ve told you to accompany us. Nothing more. Do you understand?”
Peter’s eyes glazed over and he nodded, slack jawed. Riley turned away, sickened. Darius’s power had rarely been on such blatant display. It wouldn’t do to forget that she’d known Darius for only a month and that he’d spent most of his life with the Tyons and under their influence. The phrase, he’s not a tame lion, floated across her mind.
Darius put his orb back in his pocket and got slowly to his feet again. The strain of using that amount of power showed for a second in stark reality across his face. “Is supper ready now?” he asked with a forced grin.
Darius doused the lights immediately after the dishes were cleaned and indicated that he would share the back room with the boys. Alec hadn’t stirred but Darius wanted to be close by when he woke and, of course, Peter couldn’t be trusted to stay in the camper, despite Darius’s hold over him.
Riley snuggled down on the sofa bed and stared at the ceiling. Despite a profound fatigue, she couldn’t sleep. The window over the sofa was open, just enough to let in a breeze, and it carried in the late night sounds of the forest. Somewhere, someone was playing a guitar. Outside, the darkness was thick and impenetrable but inside the trailer the lights on the microwave and some gold under-counter lighting, that none of them could find the off switch for, bathed Riley in comforting illumination.
Anna would be back sooner than later. When she returned, she’d want answers and Riley didn’t believe for a minute that Darius’s tale would stand up to close scrutiny. And when it didn’t, and the proverbial crap hit the fan, she had to be ready to run, preferably with Alec alongside her. She fingered the soft material of the cotton dress she’d laid out on the back of the sofa. The dress was lovely and a tiny part of her was dying to wear it, but it didn’t have pockets. And pockets that held an orb were essential nowadays.
7
Someone hadn’t closed the curtains completely and a sliver of sunlight sliced right across Alec’s eyelids. He blinked several times and ran his tongue across his parched lips. His mouth tasted bitter, as if he’d been ill or something. It wasn’t until he tried to lift his head off the pillow that it hit him. Pain. Severe and lancinating. Under his ribs and shooting straight down his back to his hip. What the…?
He turned his head to the side, suddenly aware that he wasn’t alone. Darius Finn was lying next to him, fast asleep. On Darius’s far side, a more familiar figure was curled up with his back facing them. Alec’s brow wrinkled. How had Peter ended up with them, and for that matter, where were they, what had happened, and why was he in so much pain? Stifling the groan, he forced himself to sit up partway and lean back on his elbows. He took a look around.
The king-sized bed the three of them were laying on took up almost the entire packed space of the bedroom. There were built-in cupboards on either side of the door and a window on either side of the bed. The gold satin bedspread they were lying on matched the curtains, the ruffles on the valances, and the deep plush carpet. There were three large photographs hung on the wall, all depicting an older, bronzed and very vigorous couple, who liked sword fishing, hunting, and paragliding.
So how had he and Darius come to be sleeping in some adventure-mad retiree’s camper? And where was Riley? Alec lay back down and the pain receded to a dull thudding. He wracked his memory. What was the last thing he remembered doing?
Ah, yes. The bus. The gang. The fight. His hand unknowingly slid behind him to the wound. The skin felt raw and pain leapt with the slightest touch. He blew out a lung-full of air. The camper was probably Darius’s idea. He couldn’t imagine Riley picking out such an ostentatious form of transport in a month of Sundays. Of course, the camper was stationary at the moment, but he didn’t have any reservation that they’d travelled somewhere. There were birds chirping outside, the steady swishing of many trees and not a car horn anywhere. He doubted they were still in Toronto.
Despite the pain, he was hungry. Ravenous actually. The air was laden with pine scent, but garlic and onions still lingered and he had no doubt that Riley, if given half a chance, had been cooking. And heaven knows, the girl could cook.
He was only wearing paisley boxer shorts and they were definitely not his, but he was decent enough and there were no signs of his clothes. He tried to sit up again.
His movements disturbed Darius somewhat, who flung a hand over his eyes and sighed deeply before resuming his even breathing. As carefully as he could, Alec eased himself off the bed and padded silently to the door. Each step gave the scar a nasty twinge but his stomach’s need was stronger. He gently opened the door and blinked. The miniscule hall opened to a bathroom, this time in gold marble, and the huge living room-cum-kitchenette just beyond. He nipped into the bathroom and closed the door. He was surprised to see his damp jeans and tee-shirt hanging over the shower stall rail. The waistband of his jeans was darkened with stains that hadn’t been removed fully and Alec averted his eyes. His blood was disturbing in an odd sense. Instead, he treated himself to a hot shower after a few minutes of trying to figure out the controls. Even with the bout of lightheadedness, he felt a million times better as he stepped out and dried himself with an embroidered towel.
Too hungry to go searching for other clothes to wear, he donned the boxers again, securing the waist with an elastic band he found on the counter.
He noticed Riley the minute he walked into the main room. She was tightly twisted in a blanket with her bare feet sticking out and her dark hair tousled over her face. Without the makeup and the perpetual sneer, she looked younger and terribly vulnerable. If she knew he was staring she’d make a cutting remark that would have his skin peeled in strips. Shaking his head, he tiptoed to the fridge and peered inside. His stomach growled at the plate of leftover spaghetti. He carefully retrieved it and found a fork in the drying board. The microwave would be sure to wake her up so he’d have to settle for it cold.
He balanced the plate on one hand and silently unlocked the outside door. The morning air was surprisingly chilly. He stepped down the three metal steps and onto the springy turf. He looked around as he tucked into his breakfast with relish.
The small campsite was almost dwarfed by the massive camper but had enough room for a fire-pit, empty of anything but a puddle of ashy water, a makeshift clothesline, and a picnic table that had seen better days. The surrounding trees towered overhead, limiting the view of the cloudless sky. The twinkling glint of water between the trees at the rear of the camper indicated the river. Intrigued, Alec put his empty plate on the picnic table. There wasn’t a real trail, just places where the brush
had been cleared a bit, allowing access through the ring of trees to the riverbank beyond. Alec pushed several low hanging branches out of his way and stepped out into the clearing. The river stretched widely, dotted with multiple rocky islands, some inhabited with cabins while others were empty of anything but a few scraggly trees. A lone hawk dipped and wheeled, close enough for Alec to notice the markings on its feathers. Near the far shore, a tiny sailboat with a rainbow-coloured mainsail tacked against the wind.
It was like an advert for Ontario Tourism. Alec hadn’t done much camping before. All their family holidays had been either to visit his father’s relatives in northern Scotland or his mother’s family in Jamaica. But if anyone had asked him, a week in a place like this, hot dogs and marshmallows toasting over the fire and endless swimming in the river would have ranked right up there with winning the lottery. Shame he had to find this little piece of paradise while on the run.
On the run… His orb. Cripes, he had no idea where it was. Suddenly feeling naked and vulnerable, he whirled around and headed back to the camper. He pulled up short as he realized he wasn’t alone.
A uniformed police officer was standing next to the large picture window and craning to see inside. The cop whirled around at the sound of Alec’s approach, hand automatically hovering over the holstered pistol.
“This your camper, son?” the officer looked Alec up and down, taking in his bare feet, the oversized boxer shorts, and shocked expression.
“Yeah, why?” Alec answered. He forced the sullen tone out of his voice and a polite expression onto his face.
“We’ve got a report of a stolen vehicle, just like this one.” The officer gave a jerk of her head towards the front of the camper. “The plates of this camper match. Care to explain?”
Alec shrugged. “Beats me, officer. Better ask my, ah, cousin.”
“Your cousin,” the officer echoed, one eyebrow inching towards her bangs. “This is your cousin’s trailer?”
Time of Treason Page 4