My father currently thought he had hired Andrei and Luca to kill Jason because Jason had discovered the missing pension fund money. They left out any explanation for where the replacement money, currently sitting in the pension fund, had come from. The glamour would eventually wear off but by then it would be too late. We figured that the agents could try to solve the mystery of the replacement money.
To my disgust, my father was released shortly after he was hauled away. Joshua Levy might not have a way with regular agents and policemen but he had a real knack for rallying police commissioners, mayors and judges to my father’s cause. I should have expected that Senator Quentin Lassiter wouldn't see the inside of a court room, let alone a jail cell. It was sickening really. My brother was dead because of my father, and no one cared. My father had embezzled money from the company retirement fund, and no one would lift a finger to punish him.
I started paying attention to the news again as the newscaster animatedly described the huge warehouse fire raging out of control at an industrial park near the river. So far there were no casualties, and firefighters were merely making sure that the blaze stayed contained to one building. The sheer size of the fire was enough to make it a featured story for the evening. Once information was uncovered that the building was owned by Liam McCallister, the story sidled out nearly every other newsworthy item of the day. I fully expected it to make the national news before the evening was over.
“There is no word yet on Clan Master McCallister’s reaction to the fire, or how it started,” the sandy haired, male reporter said into the camera. “Early evaluation by firemen on the scene suggests a possible gas leak.”
My phone rang. I didn’t even need to check the display to know who was calling. I smiled as I snuggled further into the down throw blanket on my couch, watching the news as if it were the latest blockbuster newly released on DVD. Hell, I even made popcorn with extra butter. Yum!
Thirty minutes later there was someone pounding on the front door. When I heard the hinges groan under the onslaught I decided it was time to face the music. I reluctantly pulled myself away from the very entertaining news coverage to answer the door.
“Have you seen the news?” an irate, Liam McCallister asked from where he stood framed in the doorway, angry fingers of darkness roiling around him. A quick peek over his shoulder showed Seamus and Lok a few paces behind.
“Yeah. Wow!” I said. “Shouldn’t you be holding a press conference or something? The guy on channel ten just said they have been unsuccessfully trying to reach you for a comment.”
“Don’t be funny,” he growled, storming past me into the foyer, Lok hot on his heels. Uh, oh, lie detector in the house. Seamus stayed outside, smirking at me as I closed the door.
“Won’t you come in,” I said dryly, rolling my eyes.
“How did you know the Sapphire was there?” he demanded, rounding on me.
“Where?” I asked innocently. His face darkened and that creepy black fog thickened.
“Oh no,” I said in dismay, pointing to the television, where helicopters were now presenting a birds-eye-view of the flames and smoke. “Don’t tell me the Sapphire was in that warehouse?”
“It was,” he ground out, looking as if he were seconds away from completely losing it. “And I think you know something about the out of control fire raging there as we speak.”
“I had no idea that the Sapphire was in that warehouse,” I answered.
“Truth,” Lok said from where he stood near the door. McCallister didn’t look convinced. Too bad. He walked a circuit around me, the murky black tendrils moving with him. One reached out, skimming along my arm and sending a biting chill across my skin.
“Let me ask a different question. Did you have someone burn down my warehouse, even though you didn’t know exactly which warehouse they would target?” Better question but still not the right one.
“No.”
“Truth.”
“I think she is lying somehow and you cannot tell,” McCallister bit out, never taking his eyes off me.
“I assure you, I’m not lying.” I hadn’t known the Sapphire was in that warehouse and I didn’t have someone start the fire. But… I did know who was privy to that information. Was it my fault that he still wasn’t asking the right questions? Not.
“Warehouse fires do happen occasionally. It could just be a coincidence.”
“I don’t deal in coincidences Abigail. Someone set that fire deliberately. Someone who knew what was in there.” His expression turned calculating. “Who else besides you knew all of the details of our arrangement?” Uh oh, I wasn’t loving his train of thought.
“No one other than me had all of the information. Obviously my man on the crane knew what was in the shipment but he didn’t know you were involved. Samantha knew you were involved but I never told her what we were smuggling.” I didn’t think it necessary to point out she suspected she knew what we were smuggling. “Everyone else knew even less. Regardless, none of us knew where you were taking the Sapphire after we handed it over.”
“You had something to do with this. You may be fooling Lok but I can almost smell your deceit.”
“Almost?”
“I suggest you drop the sarcasm,” he said as he reached out and yanked me against his chest. I couldn’t stifle a little squeak when I found myself partially wrapped in the bitter darkness swirling around him. “You’re treading on thin ice with me. I warned you there would be consequences if anything got lost this time.” This last bit he said directly into my ear. I suppressed a shiver.
“Nothing got lost,” I said as I wrenched myself away from him. “And I was no longer responsible for your merchandise once you collected it from the Wholesome Foods warehouse.”
He got right up in my face. “If anything happens to any of the other shipments, you will be punished.” The look he gave me suggested that he just might enjoy such an outcome. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t.
“Yeah, about that,” I said as I again put some distance between us. After last night, I decided working for my father was not really going to work out for me any longer. “I turned in my resignation to Lassiter Shipping earlier this morning.”
“That is unacceptable.” I staggered as his anger blasted towards me. I was choking in inky blackness, ice crystals like shards of glass burnt my lungs, stung my eyes. “You still owe me a debt. One I expect to see paid. In. Full.”
“Not happening,” I said. His hand reached out and I found myself plastered against his hard chest again. He sniffed my neck, anger fueling his desire for blood.
“I believe I mentioned a way could be arranged for you to repay your debt without running any shipments. You were not willing to consider the idea before, but things change, do they not?” I did not like the way he was smiling at me, all fang and lust. I wasn’t sure if it was lust, lust or blood lust. I was unwilling to consider either. I pulled away again, stumbling as I regained my balance.
“Like I said, not happening.”
“You do realize that there is nothing preventing me from killing you right now?”
Naris was suddenly standing in the space between McCallister and me, his wings glowing an electric blue behind him. He was standing so close that I caught a whiff of his familiar citrusy scent. It tugged at a memory I couldn’t quite place and didn’t have time to contemplate.
McCallister stumbled back in surprise while Lok, ever the practical one, crept forward to get into a better position to protect his master from this new and unexpected threat. I had to admit, McCallister’s surprise was nothing compared to the astonishment I felt. Naris was more of a fix it behind the scenes kind of guy and had never before shown himself to anyone, at least not in my presence. And since no one had ever mentioned meeting him I was pretty sure that meant he hadn’t revealed himself to anyone I knew. Ever.
“And you are?” McCallister asked after schooling his features into a neutral expression. I had to admit that I was kind of impressed at how quickl
y he had pulled himself together. It took me a bit longer to wipe the shock off my face.
“Her Guardian,” was all Naris said, as if that should explain it. By the look on McCallister’s face I would say that it did. Although, he did flick his eyes to Lok who nodded his head in confirmation. Truth.
“Guardian,” McCallister said, bowing his head respectfully to Naris in acknowledgement. Wow, did McCallister just bow to Naris?
“Understand this,” Naris intoned, “your arrangement with Abigail is officially at an end.”
“I’m not sure I agree.”
“You are entitled to an opinion but you will obey.”
“And if I don’t?”
Naris smiled. “I will end you.”
Well that was pretty clear and kinda dark for Naris. A new facet of his personality revealed. Hmm. I think I liked it.
“Guardian,” he bowed again. This time I thought it was in acceptance but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. “Abigail,” he said as he turned to me. “You never fail to surprise and amuse. This is an unexpected first.” He seemed almost pleased when I had expected fury. I was completely baffled. He turned back to Lok, jerking his head towards the door. Lok took the hint and immediately moved to open it. McCallister stopped just before crossing the threshold and turned back to me.
“I will consider your attendance at the function in Washington on October 20th sufficient to satisfy your debt. We will drive down the evening before.” Oh no he didn’t, the cheeky bastard! He shifted his gaze to Naris, obviously wondering if the Guardian would accept the offer after insisting our arrangement was over. I couldn’t wait until Naris told him to shove it, in the nicest possible way of course. I nearly snorted at the thought.
“It is settled then,” Naris replied inclining his head in agreement.
“What?” I screeched. “Are you crazy? I’m not going to that function with him! Not five minutes ago he threatened to kill me!”
“It is a suitable compromise,” Naris said as McCallister smirked at me and made a hasty exit out the already open door.
“No it’s not,” I said to Naris once I heard the snick of the door closing. “Who are you to decide that for me?”
“Who indeed?” he said chidingly. I glared at him and while I writhed with anger, my berserker was oddly quiet. She understood the truth that I was reluctant to admit.
“Alright, you have a point,” I conceded, my anger deflating like a popped balloon. He was the one who had burned McCallister’s warehouse to get rid of the Sapphire, and he was the one who had stopped the leech from killing me tonight. That didn’t even begin to cover all of the countless other times he had come to my rescue over the years. If he thought this was an acceptable arrangement, I was going to have to live with it.
Chapter 32
That night I slept fitfully, thrashing around in my bed as I was bombarded by dreams. Jason, lying in a pool of blood, his eyes pleading with me to save him. Threads of darkness plucking at my clothes as Liam McCallister’s glowing red eyes pinned me like a butterfly behind glass. The emerald green eyes of a russet wolf, its face marred by a silver tipped streak of fur. My berserker, in her tattered shift, begging me to fix what was broken.
“Abigail, you must awaken!” a voice cut through my jumbled nightmares.
I jolted upright and opened my eyes, completely disoriented. I blinked several times but couldn’t shake the image of myself standing in the night sky, a thousand myriad stars twinkling all around. Next to me stood Naris and across from us both, suspended just above a luminous nebula, stood another Guardian with brilliant wings of blue struck with gold. Those glowing wings were where the similarity between the two men ended. Where Naris was inordinately tall and golden, this new Guardian was only a few inches taller than me, five-ten or eleven at best. He wore supple brown leather pants and a fine linen tunic that hung just past his hips. His bare arms were an unblemished mahogany that appeared burnished, even in the muted starlight. His black hair hung in a single long braid to his waist, and somewhere on his person were bells that chimed as he moved.
“What’s going on?” I asked, certain I was still dreaming.
“You have done well Abigail,” the other Guardian said.
“Ah… okay. I’m not sure what I have done exactly but thank you.” I turned to Naris, a question in my eyes before returning my gaze to the other man.
“I am Aadi,” the dark haired Guardian said with a single nod of his head.
“It’s nice to meet you Aadi,” I offered lamely. What was the protocol when meeting a new Guardian while suspended between two constellations?
He nodded. “I know you will have many questions but time is short. You must know a few important facts before we can move forward.”
“Okay.” I said ‘Okay’, but really, what the hell was he talking about?
“I believe you already know that The Plan was altered. While we speak, the plan is being changed yet again, the weft and weave made new. Know this Abigail; a single thread cut from The Plan’s Grand Tapestry can change all that comes after. So too can a single thread rewoven restore The Plan to its previous design.” I was still blinking away sleep, hell maybe I was still asleep, while trying to understand what in the world he was talking about.
“You may not fully grasp the implications of what I am telling you, but that will come in time.” He smiled at me before indicating Naris with a sweep of his hand. “Naris’ faith in you was well placed and we are granting you a boon.” Wait. What?
“Alright,” I said hesitantly, afraid to ask questions. This was obviously Naris’s superior and someone who had the ability to alter the Plan. Not a being I was comfortable questioning.
“Thank you?” I think. I was counting on whatever he was talking about being something good since he was referring to it as a boon. He dipped his head in acknowledgement of my thanks, even though it obviously had a big question mark after it.
“There is one more thing you must have before we go.” He turned to Naris, who stepped forward.
“Abigail, I have a gift for you,” he said solemnly, his gaze steady. “Will you accept it?” His question made me uncomfortable, like my clothes were itchy and too tight. There seemed to be something more to this than a simple gift. He was asking my permission, as if my consent was required. That implied, at least to me, that it was a gift with strings attached.
“Your insight does you justice,” Aadi’s voice echoed in my mind. He had obviously pulled my thoughts straight from my head. “Another indication that we have chosen well.” I frowned, looking between the both of them.
“I think you need to tell me more about the gift first.”
Naris shook his head. “I am sorry Abigail, but this gift you must accept without prior knowledge of its nature.”
I frowned again. That was weird, and just a little bit scary. It was also quintessentially Naris – ambiguous, obscure and confounding.
He looked to the older Guardian before turning back to me. “I can offer you this – I believe it to be something worthy of you.” I noticed he didn’t say that he thought I would just love it.
“Time is short Abigail. The alteration of the Plan is nearly finished. You must either refuse or accept the gift in the time before that task is completed.”
Nothing like giving a girl some time to think about it and I had a feeling that this was something very important, something that I would like some time to mull over. I exhale noisily knowing I was going to take a leap of faith, something I was not always so good at doing.
“I trust you Naris. So far you have not let me down.” I grinned at him, “well other than that time with the cat.” He reached for my hands and as I placed them into his I fell into the void between the stars.
*********
There was a dog barking incessantly in my dream. Bark, bark, bark! Pause. Bark, bark, bark! Pause.
What the…?
My brain finally turned back on. I reached out my hand, feeling around on the bedside table f
or my cell in its dock. My fingers closed around the phone and I pulled it back to me, shutting off the alarm without having to open my eyes more than the barest sliver. Rolling onto my back, I squinted at the swirls of reflected sunlight dancing on the ceiling.
Last night had been filled with crazy dreams. I was thankful for the bright sunlight streaming through the windows this morning. It was warm, comforting – real. I stretched, halting mid-motion when something caught my eye. There was a small blue tattoo on the inside of my right wrist – an intricately outlined set of wings. They reminded me of Naris. I licked the thumb of my other hand and rubbed at the outline. Yep, it was definitely permanent or at least spit resistant. My pulse sped up as I examined it, remembering a bit of the dream but nothing about a tattoo. I didn’t have much time to ponder my new ink before I was distracted by something else - the smell of coffee.
I didn’t own a coffee maker and I never drank coffee in the morning. When I heard a toilet flush seconds later, I sat bolt upright in bed. If the sight of the new tattoo hadn’t fully woken me, the sound of a toilet flushing sure as hell did. Swinging my feet over the side of the bed, I grabbed the baseball bat from behind the edge of the headboard, where I kept it for just such an emergency, and crept to the door. I peeked around the doorframe, listening. Someone was moving around in the hall bathroom. Who the hell was in my house?
Hefting the bat over my right shoulder I crept down the hall, stopping just outside the bathroom door. Heart pounding, I was sure whoever it was could hear my blood pulsing thunderously through my veins.
Okay Abigail, you can do this, I thought. I grabbed the door handle and flung open the door, the bat poised to bash in the head of whomever I found in there.
I froze in the doorway, the bat still held aloft as the door banged against the wall. This was not possible, I blinked rapidly. Not. Possible.
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