"It's a habit. If you can't say anything, though, I understand."
"Parts of it probably won't matter if I talk about them." I drummed my fingers on the counter and stirred the sugar into my coffee. "As long as you don't tell anyone else. From what I hear, cops gossip more than I suspected."
"My lips are sealed."
"I'm going to be going into places without Logan and Rider."
"The clubs and parties?" Ethan asked with his eyebrows raised.
"I probably shouldn't have mentioned that part, but yes."
"And your partners are not going with you because..."
"Logan has talked to some suspects. It's too risky for him to be anywhere pretending to be anyone else. And Rider... well, he stands out. We need to blend in."
Ethan looked like he was thinking over his words carefully. "You'll be alone?"
"No, someone else will be with me, but Logan and Rider won't be far away either."
"You'll be wired?" He looked troubled about the wire as much as the rest.
"I'm not sure what the plan is yet, but I'm not going anywhere, or doing anything that will cause someone to want to check me close enough to notice, even if they strap a tape recorder to my back."
Ethan looked tense.
I put my hand on his leg and softened my voice. "You're thinking too far in the wrong direction again. I'm not going in, guns blazing, ready to make some big arrest. I'm slipping in, seeing a few faces, and walking back out again."
He tugged gently on my arm, and I moved over and sat on his lap.
"No arrests?" he asked.
"None."
"You won't be alone?"
Neil counts, right? "Someone has my back."
"Am I worrying too much?"
"Always."
"Am I being overbearing?"
"Completely tyrannical."
We were both smiling through our kiss.
***
Heather Dean Wills was escaping an abusive relationship and hiding out in the city. Considering the mass of bruises and cuts that I had collected over the past week, it was a good cover. She was smart but went down the wrong trail early in life. Heather had no real friends in the community beyond her adopted cousin Neil, and she was one of those people that could really thrive if the world would stop kicking her down.
Neil couldn't say why that was important, but he insisted the data pointed in that direction. I would be able to slide into his circle because I was an occasional druggie with the track marks to prove it.
It's a good thing I'd had so much blood drawn in the past year.
If I thought too long about who I was and what I was doing, I'd only make myself nervous, and I didn't need to be. I should be able to read the Path's and follow this thing back in no time. I had a werewolf and an elf backing me up, not to mention MyTH. Besides, there was a tingle of excitement to the whole thing, and I wasn't backing away.
I think getting Neil's buy-in was hard. I'm not sure what type of threats or bargains Taylor made, but in the end, Neil had agreed to bring me into the world of drugs and dealers.
When we were introduced to Neil, Logan tried to call the whole thing off. Neil was stoned, and he didn't care if I was going with him or not. This didn't instill me with a lot of confidence, but I couldn't sit around and wait for new evidence to fall into our laps.
By two-thirty, Neil and I were out the door, meeting up with a few of his friends. Given the fact that Neil was glassy eyed, I got behind the wheel. He wasn't talkative, which didn't make for the best company.
An hour later, we were walking up the stairs to a second-floor condo. The exterior of the building was meticulous, luxury cars littered the parking lot, and I felt horribly out of place in jeans and a T-shirt.
"What are we doing here?" I hissed before we reached the door.
"Chill, man. You've got to, like, relax."
"If you're screwing around again, I swear I'm going to make you regret it."
"This is the place to be. You've got to, like, throw out your stereotypes and prejudices. Besides, I don't want to screw this up any more than you do." He sounded much soberer during his last statement.
Before I could say anything else, he was knocking on the door.
My mouth almost gapped when the door opened, and I was introduced to Pat. She was a tall, beautiful African-American woman that was as meticulously put together as the decor.
If I hadn't been nervous before, I was now. Then a strange thing happened, after about twenty minutes of Pat being standoffish, towards me, I began to fit in. At first, I didn't notice it, but Neil stealthily led the conversation to highlight everything about Heather that Pat might relate to in some way. The abusive relationship cover story came in handy, and I wondered if it had been hand tailored for Pat. As far as Pat was concerned, Heather was she, two years ago, and she couldn't wait to give me advice.
A few hours later, I found myself in Pat's BMW, with Neil in the backseat. She made a stop and left the car running in front of a house.
"Want anything?" she asked as she got out.
Neil stretched out in the back seat and laid down. "Nothing hard, man. That shit can hold off until tomorrow night."
"You're going to the party?" Pat sounded surprised.
"I'm like, hosting my cousin. It’s the only way to make sure we get the best."
"Do they know Heather's coming?" Pat asked.
"Oh man,” Neil said. “You think that will be a problem."
"Who knew someone so smart could be so dumb. Don't worry Heather, I've got you." Pat winked at me and went in.
"You're in." Neil sounded almost sad.
"Already?" I asked.
"Pat is a VIP wherever she goes."
"She's pretty cool."
"Yeah man, she's great. Too bad works involved now."
"I'm not sure why you're in any of this, but I'll try not to mess it up."
"Oh man." Neil sprang up in the seat. "You were like, awesome. I couldn't even believe the shit you all were talking about. You were totally Heather."
"Thanks, I think I'll take that as a compliment. We've got company," I added, seeing Pat come out with someone else.
"Oh, yeah, that's short dude."
No one introduced our new passenger when he got into the car, so I only knew him by the name Neil gave him. Since I wasn’t going to call anyone short dude, I avoided using the name completely.
On our way back to Pat's, my role as Heather led me into the metaphysical. It wasn't part of my cover, but I stuck my foot into it and had to incorporate the mystical. Pat drove us past a strip mall, and I spotted a neon sign lit up in the shape of a hand with an open eye in the palm.
"It's a Palm Reader!" I was so excited that I almost forgot I was Heather. "We have to stop."
"Dude, not cool," Neil muttered from the back seat.
Chapter 19
"Is that like a psychic?" Pat asked.
"Yeah." Feeling embarrassed, I looked out the window.
"You believe in all that fortune telling stuff?"
Thinking of Gran, I grinned. "It's fun."
"I knew there was a reason I liked you." Pat turned into a parking lot and turned the car around. "Let's go."
Neil leaned forward from the backseat. "Really?"
"Hell yeah. Sit back, smart boy, some things can't be explained."
"Huh." Neil slumped back in his seat.
"Most of these people can't predict that you shouldn't walk down Defoe Street in the middle of the night, never mind that the cops don't even go there until morning. But every now and again, you find someone that knows their shit. You boys wait outside." Pat jumped out of the car.
I noticed Neil's face when I closed the door, and he looked like he was mentally trying to solve a hard problem, so I left him to it.
The brightness of the day was cut off when we stepped inside, along with the traffic being hushed in the dimly lit room. The walls were lined with scrolls of parchment in other languages, detailed drawings of
a person’s hand, and pictures or mirrors covered with black fabric. Scattered around were relics, old pottery, statues, and candlestick holders. I recognized a statue of Shiva and one of Buddha, but the rest were lost on me. The only items that looked new were cluttered around the front counter. Miniature Buddhas stared at me from by the cash register. Pat was as excited about seeing the palm reader as I was by the time we were greeted.
The woman that approached us was wearing a green sari. She wore jewelry in her hair, thin golden ropes leading to small jeweled medallions. It set off the golden tones of her skin and looked beautiful nestled into her dark hair. Her voice was lightly accented.
"Good afternoon, my friends, my name is Fatima Jain. May I assist you today by showing you what awaits you in the future?"
"This is exciting! Yes, we both want to know what's coming," Pat said.
"One at a time, please, unless this is a group or couple reading." Fatima lifted a curtain to a small room off the main store. "The inner eye gets clouded when there are too many people."
"You first." Pat nudged me towards the door, and when the curtain dropped, an enchanted ambiance greeted me.
Fatima lit a candle, a bright beacon, and she asked me to put a hand down next to it. As I sat down, butterflies flapped in my stomach. What was Gran expecting me to see here?
"Fortune telling is a gift brought to us from India." Fatima's voice became more heavily accented. "The gift spread throughout Asia before moving to the western world. In reading the lines on your palm, we see the past, present, and future. We see the mingling of these states and how they affect one another.
"There are those who would tell you that palmistry can be learned. That its secrets can be unlocked from a book or words from another. This is untrue. True palmistry is a gift from the gods. Those who are ordained to possess these gifts must dedicate themselves to the path, or forever walk the realms of uncertainty."
"What does that mean exactly, dedicate yourself?" My voice came out lower than intended in the dim room.
Fatima smiled at me. "No matter what lies in your fate or mine, in the past, or present, it is my duty to help those that seek to peer into their futures and speak the truth."
My arms broke out in gooseflesh as I laid down my palm next to the candle.
"We will start with the Heart Line. Relationships in the past, present, and future." Fatima traced a line through my palm. "I see here that you were love in the past, but it ended in pain. It is important not to let that pain guide you into your future. You have held it close to you in the past, which has caused you to miss out on new relationships. It appears that presently, you are trying to shed some of that past pain. You have several prospective relationships moving towards the future. If you allow your past strife to continue forward, you will choose poorly."
Most of this stuff I already knew. The fact that she knew it from looking at my hand was unnerving, but I hardly think Gran would send me here for my love life.
"Lucky girl. There is more than one path to relationships that will lead to happiness."
She lost me on that one. I don't see my personal life ever becoming that complicated.
"Unfortunately, each way has its own complications and pain." Fatima squeezed my hand and looked at me. "But that is always the case with love."
That part, I believed.
"Next, we will look at your headline. This helps us take a look at how your mind works." Fatima traced another line on my hand. "I see stagnation of your intellect in the recent past, but in the present and the future, you will add to your stores of knowledge. This isn't unusual for someone your age. You will gain great knowledge from what you do, but also from unexpected sources. Your mind spent some time in apathy, but is now growing."
Which told me nothing beyond I had moved to a new job, and let's face it, all of my sources of new knowledge were unexpected.
"Your stubbornness can cause strife for others, but that appears to be fairly balanced with your intellect and your ability to know when to speak the truth and when to hold your tongue. Although, the stubborn nature leads the way a great deal of the time, and that's not always a bad thing."
I would like to say I could argue against that one, but that would be a lie to me.
"This is your lifeline, which tells us of your physical heath and events that disrupt our lives in—" She grabbed my hand tighter and twisted it around, looking at it from many directions.
I leaned forward. "I've not encountered this before. You— This says you have died recently." Fatima twisted my hand again pulling it closer to the candle. "It says you've died twice. There have been several cataclysmic events in your past and present. So much pain feathering out and you have even greater turmoil in your future." Fatima blinked her eyes rapidly, closely examining each little branch of my lifeline. "There are three places where your lifeline rolls over on itself, to become you and not you at the same time."
Wait, had Gran said that?
"Things become confused here. It's almost as if you are relocating, but—" She narrowed her eyes and looked confused. "But you're not at the same time. Looking at your lifeline with your travel lines only confuses the matter further. The trip that is not a trip will become of great importance.
"You have ominous lines that affect your lifeline again." She was so caught up in what she was reading that she dropped her accent completely. "Interesting to see the clouding of the lifeline, but to see the future beyond that. Do you die again? Does that cloud your future? There are relics and other items, of course, that can do this. They can alter your path, remove obstacles and move you into a better future. Is this the effect of such a relic?" She dropped my hand and inspected her own, before looking at them at them side by side.
Fatima was silent for a while, which only built the anticipation I was feeling. Travel, but not travel, death twice in my past. I knew I died last fall, but twice?
I cleared my throat. "Did you say I'll die again?" I asked.
Fatima looked up at me, not really seeing me. She blinked a few times until she was actually looking into my eyes. Her cheeks turned red. "I am so sorry," she said, regaining her accent and removing her own arm from the table. "You have a very interesting palm. It is unique, and I let my professional curiosity get the better of me. Please forgive my rudeness."
"It's no problem," I said quickly. "Did you say I was going to die?"
"Your future is clouded. I see injuries, relocation, and possible death before, of course, the inevitable death. There are many events in your future that could lead to perilous outcomes. Many Paths will open themselves to you. Choose wisely moving forward. Don't rush to judgment or rush a decision."
"Is there anything I should be doing now? I mean, for the immediate future."
Fatima swallowed hard. "Keep your friends close, beyond that, I can say no more that would help."
I stood when she did and looked at my hand. Keeping Logan and Rider close went without saying, but what she had said about my future shook me. Everything else had been so accurate, so was her prediction of the future going to be the same?
Pat was led back into the room, practically vibrating with excitement. Lost in thought, I looked around the shop. Had Gran wanted me to hear all that? Could things change?
Several items in the shop seemed to sing out. There was a long thin piece of clay that looked like a stick. When I reached out to touch it, little warning bells pinged me from the Path, even though I had it closed tight. No touching, got it.
Was that the type of item that Fatima had mentioned? One that can change the shape of the future?
Right, time to get a grip here. Even if Fatima was the real thing, which I suspected, then I had a little warning, but the future was still the future and it's all coming towards me. Nothing I can do, but be prepared.
Other peculiar items in the shop seemed to clamor for my attention, causing me to feel jumpy. After a stroll around the shop, I found that around the register looked like the safest place to stand. L
ittle Buddhas in bulk and the other items sitting out here looked safer to inspect. On the wall behind the counter, some pictures weren't covered up. Family maybe. There was one in particular that stood out, with Fatima and a man embracing each other. There was a familiar look in his eyes, but I didn't know him.
"That is my betrothed," Fatima said from behind. "My family is very old fashioned, and they have only recently allowed the union." She laughed. "Not that it would have stopped us."
Pat was very quiet, but not altogether unhappy. While she paid, I looked through the glass facing of the counter.
My heart sped up, and my breath hitched. A tiny silver pendant of some unknown Indian god stared up at me. The case had a few different gods, all silver, and all the same size as the pendants we have in evidence.
Maybe this was why Gran sent me here.
"These look interesting." I was amazed my voice was steady.
"They are beautiful, are they not? It is said that they bring luck." Fatima took one out to show me.
I was very careful not make contact with the pendant, but I looked closely. "You know, I could use a few gifts for some friends."
As Heather, I ended up having money for five after paying for the reading and had them wrapped and placed in a bag, which I held carefully by the handle.
The sunlight was blinding after the dimness of the shop. My eyes took time to adjust before spotting Neil by the car, looking dejected.
"That was intense," Pat whispered on our way to the car. "How about you?"
"That's a good description."
"You think she's the real deal?"
I looked back at the shop and said, “I think she is."
"Me too, but don't say anything to Neil. He's too smart for his own good and gets all weird if he doesn't understand everything. But I guess you know that."
"Yeah." Heather would know, but I had no idea what she was talking about. "My lips are sealed if yours are."
***
That evening, Pat took a pass on the drugs, giving me a knowing look, so I felt free to do the same. After she had gone to bed, I got to work.
Broken Paths (AIR Book 2) Page 16