Now I had a better idea what prey was.
I cleared my throat and nervously shifted on the hard pew. “Alright then, I’m ready to listen,” I said, my voice surprisingly normal. “Please, fire away.”
He sighed and stood up. Pacing the ground, he looked at me for a long time. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts, or maybe he was just as nervous as I was.
“Alright, Grace, What I have to tell you may sound crazy, but please keep an open mind. I’ll try to make it as short as I can.”
I only smiled and nodded.
“Okay then,” he looked away, taking a huge cleansing breath, then he began. “Many centuries ago, there lived an incredible race of beings called the Madea. Although they resembled humans in many ways, they were very different. They were impossibly powerful and, unfortunately for them, impossibly kind and trusting. Humans discovered these beings, and, coveting their amazing powers, they used them and preyed upon their kindness.
“The Madea were tricked into abusing their powers. Men lured them with lies. The Madea believed they were helping the sick or producing bountiful crops, when in reality, they were granting selfish souls their hearts’ desires.”
He paused, looking serious and commanding as he walked the floor. “Realizing mankind was abusing these great gifts,” he continued, “The entire population were forced into hiding. Man sought these creatures out with a wild avidity. Their evil hunger for power and wealth resulted in a brutal war. Pitching man against man in a wicked tug-of-war for the control of these creatures and thus, their power. Not surprisingly, the fighting resulted in the destruction of their civilization and the Madea were virtually wiped from the face of the earth. The few who remained were captured and held against their will. Their own gentleness prevented them from striking out against their captors. Fearing the contagion of greed, the Madea vowed to destroy themselves. However, before doing so, they secretly formed their collective powers into a ring. The spells the ancient Madea placed on the ring kept it hidden away, until the soul of a Madea is reborn. Only then, would the ring reappear.
“Once this being, this incarnation, for lack of a better word, places the ring on their finger, they will be transformed into the physical form of a true Madea. This would virtually guarantee that their power could never fall into the wrong hands.” Lucian sat still as he finished. His face twisted into a look of resolve and panic. “That’s the shorter and much edited version of the tale; however, it should be enough for you to grasp your significance.”
I sat for a moment in silence.
“Well?” he asked soberly.
“Okay…” I began, rising slowly off the pew. “You believe all of that? You actually think that it’s true? How could you possibly? If this really happened wouldn’t there be some sort of record? Wouldn’t there be some sort of documentation? Some kind of proof?” My voice began to steadily rise, taking on the tone of a mad woman. “Oh, and a magical ring? Yeah, that sounds disturbingly familiar!”
“Grace!” Lucian shouted.
“...Let me guess, you have a hobbit in your pocket?”
“Grace, would you stop being so damned sarcastic?” He stood up, glaring at me.
I continued in my half hysterical, half giddy tone, “Did they lose their precious?” I giggled, my voice sounding strange.
Lucian took a step toward me and I spun.
“I’m getting out of here,” I screeched and shot for the door. Clearing the pews like hurdles, my long legs made impressive progress. I got about eight feet from the door when I was suddenly hit by a truck. Lucian had me in a bear hug and we both fell to the ground, hard. The air whooshed from my lungs on impact as his weight sealed me to the floor. My last conscious thought was…Wow, he smells like sage, then nothing.
FIVE
I woke to the smell of coffee.
”Mmm, coffee.” I yawned and stretched like a cat. I felt pretty good. I must have slept more than my usual three hours. My eyes didn’t burn and the annoying gravel under my eyelids was blessedly absent. I squinted, opening my eyes slowly to test the light. It beamed brilliantly through a small stained glass window, painting a riot of colors all over the small room. “Stained-glass? Oh my God, the church!” I rose too fast and made myself dizzy. I sat back down. Only then did I notice the soft cot under my butt. I looked around to see if I were alone. Of course not! Sitting on the floor looking broody was Lucian.
“Good morning.” I said, eyeing the two Styrofoam cups by his leg. “Coffee?”
He stood up, carrying the cups of heaven. He handed one to me. Turning, he sat on the cot beside me. The springs screeched and groaned as they took on more weight.
“Not going to bolt, little deer?” he said with a smirk.
“No.” I said. ”I haven’t had my coffee. No coffee, no boltee” I said jokingly. “What time is it anyway?”
“It’s a little after ten in the morning. You sleep like the dead.”
“Ten?” I jumped up “I have to get home!”
I looked around, my shoes sat next to the cot. He must have taken them off for me. “Hold on, ten. AM? Where is everybody? This place should be crawling with people by now.” I whipped my head back and forth taking in the little room. Lucian smiled, but it wasn’t very friendly.
“It is,” he said with a sneer. “That’s why we’re crammed together so nicely in this tiny room, and not spread out on the pews.” He still looked a little pissed off. Why? I didn’t know. I was the one knocked unconscious.
“I need to get home,” I repeated. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me. Seeing him in the light of day made me feel sorry rather than scared at his failing mental state. “I’ll be okay, Lucian,” I soothed. “I’m sure the bad guys aren’t out there.” Although I was still pretty undecided if the bad guys even existed.
“Grace,” he said quietly, placing his warm hand on my knee, “please, don’t leave. I know you don’t want to believe anything I have to say. I know you don’t want to take any of this seriously, but please…please believe me-you are in danger. You need to stay safe. Will you please listen to me? He wants you. His people want you. Not only them, there are several groups that think you are the reincarnation of the Madea!”
I stopped sipping my coffee, setting the cup on the floor carefully.
“That man from last night, Seth, said he wanted to speak to me about the ring. He was wearing it.” I looked at Lucian. Hope lit up his eyes. “He believes the ring I found is the ring? The one the Mediclorians or whoever they were shoved all that power into?”
“The Madea, and yes, Grace, whether or not you believe it, they do. I’m sure they know you’ve been warned by now, and are taking precautions to keep yourself safe. I suggest coming home with me. You’ll be safer there. No one will know where you are, and Seth will be physically unable to approach you.”
“Why’s that? You live in an underground bunker? Or maybe a castle with a moat? Just how are you going to keep me safe, Lucian?” I stood, folding my arms.
“I have a modest home, not too far from here actually. It once belonged to my great grandfather. It will do until we figure out a more permanent solution.
“Okay, you lost me, why would I stay at your modest house? With you I presume, when I could stay at my own modest home? Where I actually know I’m safe? You’ve got to understand, Lucian, I just met you. How do I know you’re not a bad guy as well? How do I know you just didn’t get to me first? I mean, I’d have to be pretty dense not to consider that.”
He ignored my rant and continued with his pitch. “My home was built on holy land. The ground was blessed, long ago, but I had a priest perform another blessing a few weeks ago. It’s virtually impenetrable.” He looked satisfied, as if that explained everything.
“That’s what makes your place so damned safe?” I scoffed. I was astonished he would think blessings were good enough protection from future assassins. I had very different ideas. “No offense. I know I’m in a church and this is probably bad mojo, but seriously, Lu
cian! God takes care of those who take care of themselves, and I have never heard of a blessing stopping a bullet. Faith is great, but you’ve also got to use your brain. I’m sorry, but I’m going home. I promise I’ll lock my door and not talk to strangers.”
His eyes narrowed as he paced the length of the room. He looked like a caged lion, all golden and furious, ready to rip me apart. Then he stopped. Closing his eyes, he put his hand on his forehead and growled with frustration. “My home is safer!” he yelled, continuing to pace. He threw his arms in the air, clearly ready to throttle me. “You foolish woman! Seth cannot set foot on my land!”
He turned to me, he was getting pretty upset. But that wasn’t really my problem. I was sick and tired of this shit! I was done talking about it because it made no sense. I mean, come on, if Seth were after me, would he have given me his card? A thing any police force could easily trace back to him, seeing as it had his phone number on it. Wouldn’t he have accosted Ann? Evidently, that was the shortest way to get to me.
I hated to say it, but, I didn’t know Lucian anymore than I knew Seth, and that made him untrustworthy. Not only that, but I was still unconvinced that Lucian was a very sane person. I had to get out of here. I’d already wasted too much of my time.
“Lucian?” I began, as an idea formed. “Could you please get me some water and maybe an aspirin? This room is making me feel claustrophobic. I think I should lie down.” I gave him my most pathetic, sickly look and flopped limply onto the cot.
He nodded. Concern knitted his brows as he rushed from the room.
I didn’t know how far he would have to go or even if the church still had people in it, so I grabbed my shoes and slipped quietly from the room.
I heard voices. I said a small prayer of thanks and ran in my stocking feet to the main entrance. I smiled to the scattered people who noticed me, sparing a quick glance behind me to make sure choir boy was still playing fetch. I stopped in my tracks. He was leaning against the wall, mostly hidden by a long curtain. His muscular arms folded across his chest. A scary look of contempt marred his lovely face. He didn’t move a muscle; he was letting me go. A small traitorous part of me felt slightly offended that he didn’t run after me. I was sure he didn’t want to cause a scene by tackling me again. I frowned at him and quickly reached for the door.
SIX
Dark clouds blotted the sun, threatening another thunderstorm. I could smell the rain falling miles away. I wanted to stop and savor the metallic scent for a little longer, but I was forced to enter the stale little world of my Nova.
I unlocked the door and got in. Lucian may not have wanted to cause a scene inside, but the parking lot was pretty dead. No one would have noticed him banging me on the head to drag me back to his cave.
I pulled into my drive a little after eleven. My shift at The Edge didn’t start for several hours. Sitting behind the wheel, I pondered my bizarre night. The entire experience was so surreal; it was hard to make sense of it.
I got out of the car as small droplets of rain began to fall. Taking my four little steps in twos I unlocked my door. The house was just as I’d left it. The faint smell of popcorn hung in the air, making my stomach growl. I entered the kitchen and inventoried the refrigerator. As always, it was practically empty. I grabbed a lonely yogurt and quickly scanned the expiration date. It was expiring by the second. I went for it. My stomach may or may not pay for it later. I would swig some Pepto before work and hope for the best.
I headed for the bathroom to start the shower. The thought of hot water made me almost giddy. I stripped to my birthday suit and turned on the stereo.
The water felt as wonderful as I’d imagined. The chamomile shampoo almost forced me to relax. I lathered my entire body, foregoing the usual body soap most people use. I never understood that. In my mind, soap was soap. After my twenty minutes of bliss, I shut off the tap, dried and wrapped my long hair in a towel.
When I opened the bathroom door, I heard the phone ringing. I ran and had to nearly dive to catch it before the machine picked up. Just as I panted, “Hello?” the line went dead. I hate that, but it gave me an idea. I decided to take things into my own hands. I looked around, trying to remember where I put that damn card.
I ran back into the bathroom and grabbed my work skirt from the previous night. Fishing around in the cargo-style pockets, I came out with the small black rectangle. “Yes!” I yelled and fisted it as I ran back into the kitchen. Moving the card back and forth, I dialed the number.
The phone rang only once.
“McPhee Estate, Nadia speaking,” a female voice answered sweetly. “How may I help you this afternoon?”
Oh-yeah, this guy was definitely loaded.
“Yes, this is Grace Allen. I’m calling to speak with Seth, er.. Mr. McPhee; is he available?”
The woman was silent. The silence stretched and I began to wonder if she were still there. “Yes, Ms. Allen,” she finally began in a skilled office tone. “We have been expecting your call, but, unfortunately, Mr. McPhee is out for the day.” However, he left a message for you, should he be unavailable when you called.
Okay, I guess that was normal. What did I expect her to say? “Seth isn’t here, because he’s on his way to your house. He will be there presently to chop you into tiny little pieces.” I giggled to myself, but only half of me thought it was funny.
“Ah…Thank you.” I puzzled. “What’s the message, please?” I felt a little better. She sounded like someone’s mother. How could he be an insane murdering psychopath with such a nice sounding receptionist?
“He has instructed me to inform you that he will be at a bar called The Edge, if you wish to speak to him this evening.”
Well, hell. “Tonight? But how will I know who he is?” I lied, feeling only a little guilty.
“He said he would come to you.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. My hand shook, jiggling the receiver against my ear. Lucian said Seth was given a full account of what I looked like. I wondered if he already knew the bartender at The Edge was really me. Lucian didn’t believe Seth was fooled. He seemed a little surprised, actually.
Super. Well, so what if he already knew who I was! If that were the case, then he let me lie to him. What was he playing at? I must have looked like the biggest fool! There was still a small chance that he was duped, but I wasn’t really counting on that. Damn, I felt dumb.
While I pondered all of this, Nadia was giving me directions to my job, in case I got lost. She said she would let Seth know I would be joining him, even though I hadn’t agreed to anything yet. She promptly thanked me for calling and hung up before I could voice a single protest.
I stared at the phone in my hand, and then tried several times to fit it into the cradle. Cripes! I had another set of shitty options presented to me in another shitty situation. I could go to work as my normal self and possibly risk my job, which didn’t seem all that intelligent; or I could go in my everyday work wear and just say, “Screw it.” The sad fact was that no matter what I wore, I was going to look like a total lying dip-shit! I was really starting to hate my life!
I heaved a frustrated sigh and pulled the towel from my hair. It spilled down my back in a wet tangle as I walked mindlessly to my bedroom. I felt chilled as the wet tips brushed the curve of my butt.
I dressed, shaking my ample breasts into my favorite purple bra, then, slipped into a pair of zebra-stripped panties. The look left something to be desired, but I was staying in until I had to go to work. I may not have fully believed Lucian and his freako fairy tale, but I’m a cautious person. So, I popped some more popcorn and made myself a little bed on the couch. I thought for a moment and then got up and unplugged the phone.
I was enjoying the last episode of The Fright Fest marathon, in between catnaps and trying not to continuously look at the clock when I finally gave up. Shutting off the television, I stood, resolved to don my everyday work wear and to hell with Seth. He could just admit he knows it’s me, or beli
eve Grace stood him up. I was not going to stress about it anymore.
The parking lot was almost full as I pulled into my favorite spot under the security lights. I locked the door and went in through the back door. I laid my purse on a chair by the ice machine without a care. No one ever went back there so I didn’t worry about it getting stolen. Besides, all I carried in it were my keys, ID and emergency bus money. I never brought anything of real value with me, it just made life easier.
The bar was average for the weekend. The air was filled with a mixture of musty bodies, smoke and laughter. Harsh music pumped on the speakers as Debbie flirted with a man who could double for Santa Claus. That is, if Santa wore a beat-up leather vest with “Dogmeat” sewn on the chest and had his eyebrow pierced. I hoped she was just bucking for a better tip, otherwise… yuck.
I settled behind the bar, noticing immediately that Seth was nowhere to be seen. I sighed with relief. Maybe I didn’t need to worry after all.
Soon I was fully into the rhythm of the job. Bloody Mary-extra spicy, martinis, the occasional shot of Jack, but mostly it was beer, beer and more beer.
I was in the middle of filling a shaker glass with ice when a chill raced down my spine. I slowly turned to face the crowd, my eyes sliding automatically to a flash of long, panther-black hair.
Seth.
I blew out my breath in a slow exhale that puffed my cheeks. My eyes drank him in as he made his way to the end of the bar. His movements were smooth and graceful. Weaving through the crowd, he looked like a man on a mission.
He was breathtaking tonight. His incredibly long hair was pulled back again and he wore a dark blue shirt. It clung seductively to his powerful chest, making him look elegant and dangerous at the same time. The rest of him was blessedly hidden from my sight. I was thankful; I didn’t think I could take all of him in at once.
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