Tomy straightened herself and took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to step out of bounds. I was only concerned.” She also didn’t mean to apologize, but she needed the job, she needed the money, and she had an overwhelming need to protect Shona.
Julia looked Tomy over carefully, studying her. “I’ll see you tonight then.” She turned back to Shona, an obvious dismissal.
Tomy’s frown returned as she grabbed her backpack off the sideboard and turned to leave. “You can count on it.” She stopped, turned back and bent to look Shona in the eye, ignoring Julia as she did. “I’ll see you later, girl. Take care of yourself this afternoon.”
Shona smiled. Julia didn’t.
Tomy stood, looked from one face to the other and sighed as she left the room.
Julia’s face was expressionless for a moment before she turned again to her most prized possession. “Well, looks like we have some time to ourselves.”
Shona stared blankly at her.
Julia smiled warmly. “I have good news for you.” She reached up to smooth some of Shona’s long curls away from her face.
Shona flinched.
Julia ignored the action. “Very good news. Philip may be coming for a visit. You’d like to see Philip again, wouldn’t you?”
Shona tried to speak, but the muscles in her throat were paralyzed. She swallowed again just to see if she could. Why was she not able to use her voice?
“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine in a little while. You are looking forward to going out later? It will be such fun. Too bad Philip couldn’t be there with us. I hear he’s a terrific dancer.” She sighed dreamily. “I think he’s terrific in everything. Don’t you?”
Shona wanted to shake her head, but couldn’t seem to remember how. Frustration began to take hold. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Julia leaned forward. “You like Philip, don’t you?”
Shona was about to take another breath but Julia’s words stopped her. Did she like Philip? She had not seen him in such a long time. But Julia said that she liked him, so maybe she did. How could she like someone she couldn’t even remember? What did he look like? Where was he from? But she must like him. Julia said so.
“Yes, you like him, don’t you? You want to see him again.” Julia’s voice cooed seductively. “He’s the only one, Shona. The others are bad. They’ll hurt you, you know. They don’t care about you the way Philip does.”
Does Philip care? Shona wasn’t sure. When had she seen Philip last? Three years? Five? Perhaps more. She couldn’t remember. But she did like him. Didn’t she?
“You know what the others will do to you. Remember the three? The three who came after you near the library? They wanted to hurt you didn’t they? They don’t care about you. Not the way Philip does. He would never hurt you, Shona. Never.”
Shona was barely aware of the fact she was shaking her head. But was she agreeing or disagreeing? She stared at Julia, trying to focus, her eyesight blurred. She had a floating sensation, her mind and body still not connecting with one another. Julia’s words were the only solid thing in the room.
Julia leaned forward again. “Philip will come for you soon, and when he does you will do whatever he says, won’t you? When he asks you to submit, you will.” Her voice was firm, controlled.
Shona stared at her, the words penetrating, the identity of the speaker fading. Philip was coming soon. What was she to do? Why was she to do what he told her? But she liked him, didn’t she? So shouldn’t she be able to trust him?
Shona blinked her eyes a few times, surprised she was able to. A woman’s face faded in and out of her vision. Who was she? And where was Philip? Wasn’t he supposed to come take her to the zoo? Hadn’t they gone there the last time he came? Or was it the ice rink? She was just a little girl. Was she a little girl now? What did he look like? If only she could remember…
An image began to form, distorted, reformed. A man. Was it Philip? The image became clearer, more distinct. Yes, definitely a man. Blonde hair, brown eyes. Philip? Yes, Philip…
The image changed as something within her suddenly came to life. She threw her head back and moaned silently.
The image of Philip was ripped apart by the thing inside her. Its fragments dissolved instantly as tremors of fear beat against her, trying to get out. Another image pushed itself forward, replacing Philip’s.
Shona screamed silently, closed her eyes, and opened them again.
The woman wasn’t there anymore. The little boy was now painted onto her vision scape, taking over the room, filling her eyes, her mind. He pleaded with her, begged her to see him. And indeed she could see him, and feel him as well. A distinct presence.
At that moment something stirred deep inside her heart, as if waking.
Shona moaned, the sound unfamiliar to her own ears, then yelped in surprise as she felt a sharp pinch of pain on her right arm. She tried to pull away but someone held her in place. She began to panic. “Nooo…” The word barely managed to escape before a hand clapped itself over her mouth. She struggled, but it was no use, there were too many hands on her, or so it seemed, holding her in place. Who was it? Philip? But Philip would never hurt her. Julia said so. It must be the others then. They would hurt her. They didn’t care. Julia said they didn’t care.
Help, please, someone help me!
The little boy tried to run to her, to help her, his image changing to that of a man. A man she had never seen before, but one she knew could save her. Or would he? She didn’t know anymore. She didn’t know anything; as her consciousness slowly slipped away…
* * *
“Dallan,” John pleaded, “please get on the bus when it comes. It won’t hurt you, I promise.”
“Eaton,” Lany whispered, “let me try.”
John threw a hand in the air. “Good luck.”
Lany marched up to the pacing Scot and stopped him in the middle of the sidewalk. “Dallan, you’re acting like a child. Stop it. Either get on the next bus when it comes, or we’ll leave without you.”
Dallan glared down at Lany, eyes narrowed to slits. He took his hands out of the pockets of the odd grey trousers he’d been forced to wear and held them loose at his sides.
“Don’t take that stance with me. I don’t care. Get on the bus or get left behind.” Lany stopped and sighed. “I’ve been here before. I know it’s scary. Go ahead, admit it. There’s no shame in that.”
Dallan sucked air through his nose, his jaw too tight to open his mouth.
“Aye, lad, ‘tis a wee bit frightening at first, but I rather enjoy it meself, now that I’m used to it.” Angus tugged on Dallan’s sleeveless shirt. His arms and shoulders had been too big for it, so John and Lany had cut the sleeves away, not to mention part of the neck line, to allow a more comfortable fit. They called the outfit sweats.
Dallan looked hard at Lany. “How long do we have to… ride it?”
Lany tried not to smile. “Not long enough for you to decide whether or not you like or dislike it.”
John stepped forward. “Dallan, please. The next one will be coming any minute. We’re late enough as it is. It’s the only mode of transportation available to us. I know it’s all strange and new, but time is of the essence.”
The bus suddenly pulled up to the curb, its white and orange bulk rocking slightly side to side as it hit an uneven area of the street. It let out a loud hiss and came to a screeching halt.
Dallan froze.
Lany grabbed John and Angus. “Well, no sense waiting here for the next one. If we do, we’ll never make it on time.” He ushered them to the bus’s door.
The door opened with another loud hiss.
Dallan’s eyes narrowed, his twitch danced.
Angus hobbled up the few steps to a man sitting behind a large wheel and put some coins into a funny little box, the sound distinct in Dallan’s ears. Lany was next to board, whistling as he did, making a show of putting his own coins into the box, all the while looking Dallan right in the eye
. John was next. He stopped before getting on and backed up a few steps, motioning Dallan to precede him.
Dallan looked at the open door, the little box and scowling driver. He swallowed and looked back to John, then took a step forward. Two steps, three. “There’s something I’ve never told ye, John,” he said as he stood poised in the doorway, one foot on the first step.
“What’s that?”
“I dinna travel well.”
“What do you mean, you don’t travel well?”
Dallan stood on the first step, the smell of the bus’s interior sending waves of nausea through him, the rocking motion from his weight entering the thing not helping the cause. But he knew it was more than that. “Ye’ll find out soon enough.” He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to run, the walls of the bus suddenly closing in around him.
He boarded, John following. They were finally on their way to securing the Muiraran.
* * *
“Will you look at that one over there!” Kitty chirped for the ninth time.
Tomy rolled her eyes and looked to where Kitty pointed, squinting in the dim light. “Lordy, Kitty, I can’t take much more of this. If Shona and Julia don’t get here soon, I’m leaving. You are driving me crazy, girl!”
Kitty’s face plunged into disappointment. “What’s the matter, don’t you like him?”
Tomy rubbed her temples and closed her eyes a moment before she glared at Kitty. “Are you this man-crazy at home, too? Or only when you’re with me?”
Kitty sat up straight in the huge crescent-moon shaped booth they occupied as the music around them got louder. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Tomy’s sip of diet soda was cut off by Kitty’s statement. “Give me a break!”
The music suddenly stopped, the song over. Mondays were not the most thrilling at Stan’s; the patrons had to rely on the jukebox for entertainment. The DJ was reserved for Wednesdays, live bands for the weekends.
Tomy breathed a sigh of relief, not just because of the relative break of silence, but because Shona and Julia had finally gotten there.
“Oh, look, there they are!” Kitty exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Tomy grimaced as she watched Kitty bounce around in anticipation. “Lord help us all.”
“Hello, Tomy.” Shona said as she approached the center of the table as if deciding who to sit next to. Kitty immediately bounced to the middle of the booth to make room for them, moving closer to Tomy.
“Do you have to sit next to me?” Tomy grumbled. She brushed Kitty off with a sigh and turned her attention elsewhere. “Hello, Shona, girl. You feeling better?”
Shona slid into the big red booth, Julia following. “I am much better now, thank you.” Her voice was oddly stoic, factual, cold. Tomy and Kitty looked at her with mild curiosity.
“Tomy told me you weren’t feeling well earlier." Kitty began concerned, as she continued to bounce about in her seat. "What did your doctor give you this time? Geez, can’t that man make up his mind?”
“It’s none of your concern,” Julia interrupted. “Everything is fine. Let’s not talk about it anymore. We are here to enjoy ourselves.” She glanced about as she spoke, taking in their surroundings. Several people milled about the mammoth jukebox in one corner of the huge room. Quite a few more around the bar. For a Monday night, attendance was quite high. Good.
“What are you drinking?” Julia asked nonchalantly, eyeing the men around the jukebox.
“Diet, what else?” Kitty blurted, still bouncing even though there was no music.
A woman in a T-shirt and jeans approached the table, her boot heels stomping across the wood floor. “STAN’S” was printed in large bold red across her chest. “What can I get you?”
The music suddenly began again.
“I’ll have a glass of white wine. Shona, what do you want?”
No answer.
Julia looked at her. “Shona? What do you want?”
Shona shook herself and forced her attention to Julia. “I would like a, a glass of orange juice, please.”
“Be right back with those,” the woman said as she turned and left the table.
Shona watched her leave, relaxing in waves. A pleasant song was playing, just a man’s voice and guitar, a love song. She closed her eyes, the music wrapping itself around her, the thing inside her responding, soaking up the words and music, absorbing them. Feeding.
“Oh, look at that!” Kitty squeaked, grabbing Shona’s arm. “What do you think?”
Shona glanced lazily ahead in the direction of Kitty’s pointing finger to a tall man clad in black jeans, white shirt, and a large black cowboy hat. He stared back at her, a wide smile under his long mustache. She smiled back. “Okay.”
“What?” Tomy blurted, practically choking on her drink. “Did I hear you right, Shona? Are you looking at a man?”
“Shona, it’s very unladylike to stare. Stop it.” Julia glanced coldly at the man who shrugged and turned away.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Kitty pouted. “Now I’ll have to find another one.”
Julia turned the look on her to stop any further attempts at man-watching. Kitty frowned and rested her chin in her hands. “This isn’t much fun.”
“Kitty?” Julia said sweetly.
Kitty looked up expectantly at her older sister. “Yes?”
“Shut up.”
Kitty’s chin found her hands again, her mouth forming a frown.
The music changed.
The music was upbeat, full of life, fun, racing. Fast. Shona threw her head back as her breathing picked up and her blood began to course through her veins like lightning. Her eyes grew wide, as an odd sort of anticipation began to mount within her, feeling ready to erupt like a volcano.
“Lordy, Shona, what’s wrong?” Tomy asked, horrified.
Shona tried to focus on her but couldn’t. Her control was nearly gone. She had to get out of the booth, move, anything to curb the excitement building inside her. She swallowed and almost choked.
Julia quickly stood up. “Shona, I want you to come with me.”
Shona was shaking now; the thing nearly had her.
“Hurry, Shona.” Julia insisted.
“What is going on? What’s wrong with her?” Tomy stood.
Julia smiled, her eyes narrowing. “Absolutely nothing. I told you she wanted to go out tonight. She’s going to have a great time, trust me.” She reached across the booth and grabbed one of Shona’s arms, pulling her out of her seat and all but flinging her toward the jukebox. “Let’s hear that song again!” She hooted to the men, dragging Shona along beside her.
Tomy sat down slowly. “Oh-My-God. What is that woman up to?”
Kitty looked from Tomy to her sister, as Julia, the self-proclaimed founder of class and sophistication, slapped an unsuspecting cowboy on the butt. “I guess she just wants to have a good time?” She commented haphazardly.
Tomy sat stunned as Julia put a quarter into the jukebox. The same song started again…
* * *
Dallan was on his knees, clutching his stomach. “Oh, Saints,” he rasped shakily, and retched again.
“Eaton,” Lany began uneasily, “how long is he going to do this?”
“He said he didn’t travel well. Now I know what he meant.” John paced nervously as the sounds of Dallan’s suffering came from the other side of one of the parked cars surrounding them.
Angus shook his head. “It isna that he canna travel. The De’il heathen told me before we left he might ha’ a wee bit o’ trouble wi’ the bus.”
“And?” John prompted.
“If it were the travel, how could he sail cross the Channel when he went to France, hmm?”
John and Lany exchanged the same look of curiosity.
“The lad no has a-traveling sickness. He can’t stand to be closed in. The heathen says he has a sickness of closed spaces.”
John understood, his features relaxing. “He’s claustrophobic. He does fine on a ship…”
“Because he can get on deck. Close the lad in though, and…” Angus made a motion as if being sick to his stomach.
Dallan emerged from the other side of the car, his face pale and sweaty, hands shaking, jaw tight. Angus hobbled up to him and offered a handkerchief. Dallan nodded his thanks and turned to clean himself.
Lany sighed slowly and bit his lower lip. “Well, this is an untimely piece of information.”
“Better we found out now,” John commented as he walked over to Dallan. He put a hand on one broad shoulder. “Are you all right?”
Dallan looked over his shoulder at him. “Aye, I’m fine,” he rasped weakly.
John came around in front of him. “Dallan, are you sure you’re all right?”
Dallan sniffed once and coughed. “I feel a wee bit strange. I guess riding on that… that thing didna help me much.”
John looked to Lany, who glanced behind them at the large building on the other side of the parking lot. A big red sign rose high into the air. STAN’S. He nodded his agreement to John. It wasn’t just Dallan’s newly discovered claustrophobia affecting him; it was the Maiden as well.
John closed his eyes in silent prayer for a few moments before speaking. “You understand what you’re to do? Just get a good look at the Muiraran. We’re not here to take her… the Muiraran yet.”
Dallan absently rubbed his chin with a hand missing John's mistake, “Is it that well guarded then? Can we no steal it? And this place, John, just what is it?”
“It be an inn of sorts, lad,” Angus quickly volunteered. “The kind one might go for a wee bit o’, ah, well, one might call it a…”
“It’s a tavern, Dallan,” Lany added calmly. “A place where people go to get drunk, socialize or both.”
Dallan looked the building over carefully, suddenly thankful the heathen wasn’t there. Kwaku had stayed behind to tend to his wife; feed her, he said. Just as well. If he had been there, Dallan knew he would probably still feel sick. He refocused his attention on his companions. “Tell me, John, why is something o’ such great importance to yer people kept in a tavern?”
Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) Page 17