Fort Morgan

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  “Was it awful?” Sissy asked.

  “Yes,” Ivan said. “The gulag was in the farthest most north of Russia. There were no fences and few guards. The vast frozen wilderness was our prison. Everyone was housed together.”

  “Women, too?” Sissy asked.

  “Men only,” Ivan said. “This gulag was men only, mostly Bratva. The prisoners made their own culture. It was like cavemen times. The biggest and most vicious were in control. I am not big. I am not able to fight, so I was in trouble.”

  “Sexual violence?” Sandy asked.

  “No,” Ivan said. “We had barely enough food to stay alive and it was very cold. I’d grown up in the ballet, where there are lots of gay danceurs. I was able to steer clear of that kind of trouble. But the violence and cruelty was pervasive. The pressure of the cold, lack of food, and endless violence brought out people’s most basic animal nature. It was like a zoo, only worse — there was no one to feed us.”

  Ivan gave a curt nod.

  “You know Bruno?” Ivan asked.

  “He’s the bodyguard for Jill’s grandfather, isn’t he?” Sandy asked.

  “He was,” Ivan said. “About a week after I got to the gulag, he found me. I was bullied into dancing like one of those little dolls in the music box. Spin around and around. Jump high, no higher. He fought for me and won.”

  Ivan’s eyes welled with tears.

  “You don’t know him,” Ivan said. “He is a good friend, very loyal. He gave me protection and asked only that, when we were out, I would dance on stage again. He said he’d never seen anything as beautiful as the ballet. After some months, his boss, Otis, arrived with some of his men. This Otis still had access to lots of money. He is also a great healer. He set up a hierarchy, and Bruno made sure I was a part of it.”

  Ivan smiled.

  “I sponsored Bruno to come to the US,” Ivan said with a nod. “Otis came with Perses. Without Otis, Bruno would have been killed in Russia. I paid for him to come to this country. Bruno stayed with me until Otis was released by the government.”

  Ivan raised an eyebrow.

  “That was the gulag,” Ivan said. “Horrible. I still have nightmares.”

  “How did you get out?” Sandy asked.

  “Seth O’Malley,” Ivan said. “For a long time after the fall of the Soviet Union, everything was for sale in Russia. You want to own something, someone, anything, you just need to make an offer. People were sold from the gulag all the time.”

  “Sold to do what?” Sandy asked in a horrified voice.

  “Anything you want,” Ivan said with a shrug. “Whenever a military helicopter flew overhead, the prisoners rushed to see who was leaving. Bets were placed — were they leaving for something better or something much worse? It was thirty below, and still everyone ran out. I could only hobble, so I stayed behind. When I was first there, I’d hurt my leg with stress fracture, and it had never healed.”

  Caught up in the memory, Ivan’s gaze softened.

  “There were some military people,” Ivan said. “They had been to the gulag before to take a few people from Poland, I think. Diplomats — or maybe spies, soldiers. This day, the military surrounded O’Malley. They moved through the prison like old-time movie stars. People threw themselves at them. Begged to go with them. Many, many people would rather be slaves than continue to stay in gulag. But the military could only take what they’d paid for. Otherwise, they would lose their ability to get any more. They found me in the cell.”

  “Because of your leg?” Sissy wheezed.

  “Yes,” Ivan said. “One man, their leader, I think, put me over his shoulder and walked out of the gulag. The military people and Seth folded back into the helicopter, and we flew away.”

  Ivan raised his eyebrows and nodded.

  “Like that,” Ivan said. “One moment, I am starving in filthy, violent gulag, and the next I am pumped full of morphine and flying on a US helicopter.”

  Ivan snorted and shook his head.

  “Life is amazing,” he said.

  “I had that experience when I went to live with my dad,” Sandy said. “Sissy’s father, Mitch. One moment, I’m wondering if I can survive, and the next. . .”

  “Everything is different,” Ivan said. He gave Sissy a fond look. “That’s my story of the gulag.”

  “What did you do after that?” Sandy asked.

  “We flew to a military base, where they did surgery on my leg,” Ivan said. “I stayed there while the Americans tried to assess if I was a spy. Eventually, O’Malley arrived to bring me to Denver. Some twelve hours later, I met Sissy, and my life started, probably for the first time.”

  As if he hadn’t intended to say the last words, Ivan blushed and looked down. After a second, he looked up at Sissy and said very simply, “Thank you.”

  “For what?” Sissy asked.

  “For saving me,” Ivan said with a smile. “Without you, I would probably still be in the gulag.”

  Sandy caught Sissy beaming at Ivan.

  “Ivan, I need to use the restroom,” Sandy said. “Would you mind staying here with Sissy until I get back?”

  “Certainly,” Ivan said.

  Sandy leaned over to kiss Sissy’s cheek. She nodded to Ivan and left the room. Smiling to herself, she looked at her watch. She would give Sissy a little time alone with Ivan before Sandy returned. She glanced at her watch and realized that she would finally be able to talk to Aden. She went out on to a patio and dialed.

  “You will never believe what I have to tell you,” Sandy said.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty-four

  Not blind or stupid

  Tuesday mid-day — 12:17 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  “Hello?” Valerie called out.

  She was standing at the entrance of the new Marlowe School. The site managers and crew were currently attending a company vote at the Lipson Construction headquarters. The state had lifted the ban on Lipson Construction, and the employee-owners were voting on whether they wanted to take state jobs again. This was an historic moment for the company.

  Valerie was supposed to be there for the vote. She’d intended on being there. In fact, she’d arranged to be in Denver specifically for this vote. She and Mike were driving home from DIA when they passed the new school. Valerie had to stop in to see it.

  “Hello?” Valerie called again.

  “They must be at the vote,” Mike said.

  Mike picked up the pacifier Jackie had spit onto the ground. Jackie was riding in a Baby Bjorn on Valerie’s front. Mike wiped the pacifier on his pants and was about to put it back in Jackie’s mouth when he caught Valerie’s face.

  “Uh. . .” Mike said. He tucked the pacifier into his pockets. “Shouldn’t you be at the meeting?”

  “I only own five percent,” Valerie said.

  “That’s more than most employees,” Mike said.

  Valerie nodded and started down the hallway.

  “Can you believe that Jake fought that entity here?” Valerie said. She pointed to a mark on the wall that paint and plaster were able to cover.

  “It was something out of legend,” Mike said. “That’s what Delphie called it.”

  “Mom helped, too,” Valerie said. “That’s what Jake said.”

  They continued down the hallway to the first door. There was a plaque on the wall that said: “Administration.” Valerie opened the door, and they stuck their heads inside. The principal, Helen Siegle, had made sure the suite was perfectly organized.

  “It’s really great,” Valerie said.

  “Will you have an office here?” Mike asked.

  “Oh, I doubt it,” Valerie said. “Helen runs the show. I just find donors and take responsibility for decisions. You know me and my schedule. When am I going to be here?”

  Valerie nodded, and they closed the door. They went down the hall opening doors. The classrooms were bright and open. The bathrooms were well lit. Everything was new.

  “Ooh, the kitchen
,” Valerie said at the door. “This is where. . .”

  “Jake almost succumbed to the entity,” Mike said.

  Valerie wiggled her eyebrows and pushed the door open. The entire kitchen had been updated.

  “Wow,” Mike said.

  “Want to go up?” Valerie said. “Or down? Up is more classrooms. Down is the new basement.”

  “No crypt,” Mike said.

  “No,” Valerie said. “The basement is all new. Delphie and Jake destroyed the one in Brighton, after they cleared out the yucky stuff, of course.”

  “I think. . .”

  The door to the kitchen moved, and Valerie made a surprised squeak. Jackie laughed at her mother’s sound. Jacob’s face peeked around the door.

  “What are you doing?” Jacob asked.

  “Um,” Valerie said.

  “Hey, Mike,” Jacob nodded to Mike, and then gave Valerie an intense look.

  “We’re fans of that Jacob Marlowe,” Mike said in a high-pitched voice. “We’re tracking his amazing adventures. . .”

  Mike squealed, and Jacob laughed.

  “We need to go,” Jacob said.

  He grabbed Valerie’s arm and moved her out of the hallway. Mike followed behind. Jacob put Valerie in the passenger seat of Jill’s SUV and went around to the driver’s seat. He passed Mike on the way. Mike slipped him a five-dollar bill.

  “Impressive,” Mike said with a nod.

  The men got in the car at the same time. Mike leaned forward from the back seat to get Jackie. He put her into her car seat.

  “I’m not blind,” Valerie said. “Or stupid.”

  “Blind?” Jacob asked in his best innocent voice.

  “What did you bet on?” Valerie asked.

  “He said he could get you to the meeting by catching you at the school,” Mike said. “I said we weren’t going to stop at the house.”

  Valerie turned to look at Jacob. He grinned and started the car. They drove for a few minutes in silence.

  “Stop the car,” Valerie said.

  “What?” Jacob asked.

  “Stop the car right now!” Valerie said.

  Jacob pulled the car to a stop at a stoplight.

  “What didn’t you want me to see?” Valerie asked.

  “What do you mean?” Jacob asked.

  “The only reason you would hustle me out of there is if you didn’t want me to see something,” Valerie said.

  “Me?” Jacob pointed to himself. “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know,” Valerie said. “What’s not done?”

  “A couple of things,” Jacob said. “Nothing big or important. We’re on track for the kids to come.”

  “Noelle’s going to go there,” Mike said.

  “Noelle and Nash are the reason there is a Marlowe school,” Jacob said. “Or one of the reasons. Of course, Noelle’s going to go to school there. Nash, too, I think.”

  “You think she’s okay?” Mike asked. “I’ve been worried about her.”

  “She’s okay,” Jacob said. “Not great, but okay. She’ll be better once Sissy is home. She’s sad that Sissy is still so sick.”

  Mike nodded. Jacob continued driving down Colorado Boulevard. He turned on Alameda to make his way to Lipson Construction. They were just pulling into the parking lot when Valerie cleared her throat.

  “You can’t keep me out of there forever,” Valerie said.

  She punched Jacob in the shoulder and stalked into the Lipson Construction offices. Jacob waited for Mike to get Jackie out of the car seat.

  “You almost finished?” Jacob asked.

  Mike nodded.

  “Did you pick it up from the post office?” Mike asked.

  “It’s sitting in your studio,” Jacob said.

  Jacob helped Mike put Jackie into the baby carrier.

  “Then it’s just touch-ups and varnish,” Mike said. “Noelle’s really good at that kind of stuff. You think she can help?”

  “She’s already taken a look at it,” Jacob nodded. “She said that it was her job as your mentee to keep the masterpieces on track.”

  Mike grinned at Noelle’s words.

  “Saturday?” Jacob asked.

  Mike nodded.

  “We just have to keep her out of there until then,” Jacob asked.

  The men turned to look where Valerie had gone. Mike raised his eyebrows.

  “Yeah, I doubt it, too,” Jacob said.

  “We’ll just have to finish sooner,” Mike said.

  They walked into the offices together.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday afternoon — 2:37 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  Her classmates were grabbing their things and running out the door. But Katy lagged behind. Her mommy had been so busy with school and work and the twins and what her mommy called the-fairy-stupid-stuff, that Katy had barely seen her. Katy’s days were filled with boring old school and boring old Castle and boring old twins and boring old Edie.

  Katy missed her mommy. Plus, Paddie had to go with his mommy to the doctor for his brother’s checkup.

  She sighed and shuffled to her cubby. She carefully unfolded her jacket and slowly put it on. She grabbed her a-little-too-girly lunch box.

  “Time to go, Katy!” her teacher called.

  “Okay,” Katy said and slouched to the door.

  She shuffled her feet to the front of the school. Standing on the top step, she scanned the courtyard where kids and parents mixed. Her daddy wasn’t there to meet her. The fairy-nanny wasn’t there, either. Katy nodded to herself. She’d probably just have to walk home.

  She shuffled into the fray. She’d gotten only a few feet when she was swooped off her feet. Despite her bad mood, Katy giggled. She looked up to see her mommy.

  “Wha. . .wha. . .” Katy was so surprised she didn’t know what to say. A usually happy child, this bad mood somehow didn’t evaporate. Katy looked away. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to get you,” Jill said. “I thought we could spend the afternoon together.”

  “Isn’t there something more important you have to do?” Katy asked a question she’d heard one of the other kids say to their parents.

  “Pretty sassy,” Jill laughed.

  “It is?” Katy looked surprised.

  Jill laughed.

  “There’s never anything more important to me than you,” Jill said. “You know that.”

  “But. . .” Katy said. “What about the twins? And the fairies? And. . .”

  “Katy?” Jill asked.

  “I know,” Katy said. She sniffed. “I just. . .”

  “I miss you, too!” Jill said. “Let’s try to be more. . .”

  “. . .honest with how we feel,” Katy said with her mom. Katy frowned, “I don’t want to. I want to be mean and hurt. Because. . .”

  Katy touched her heart. Jill’s eyebrows shifted with concern. She moved out of the press of school pickup and found a cement bench near the edge of the courtyard.

  “What are you doing?” Katy asked.

  Jill sat down with Katy on her lap. She put her hands on either side of Katy’s head.

  “That doesn’t feel good,” Katy said. She pushed at her mother. “Don’t.”

  Jill scowled and held on.

  “What is this?” Jill whispered. She shook her head. She saw the open sea. She saw snowcapped mountains that weren’t in Colorado. Something had latched onto her baby-girl’s mind. She saw something dark and foreign to her daughter.

  “Mommy,” Katy said in a low tone. “You have to help me.”

  “I am, Katy-baby,” Jill said.

  “Mommy?” Katy asked.

  “Shh, I’m almost there,” Jill said.

  Katy’s body began to shake with seizure. It wasn’t like the seizures she had when she had visions. This was something more malevolent. Something was fighting to hang onto Katy.

  Jill scooped up her daughter and ran to her SUV. She was only a few blocks from the new Rocky Mountain Children’
s Hospital. She threw Katy’s limp body into her booster seat and jumped into the driver’s seat. Pulling into the parking lot, she saw her father standing by the entrance to Emergency. Jill pulled up.

  “Don’t ask,” Perses said. “Give me the child, and I’ll take her inside.”

  Jill’s mind screamed with warning. Before she could think it through, she drove away from her father and the Emergency room. She drove as fast as she knew how to the Castle. Able to move via magic, her father was standing in the Castle driveway. She drove around him to the back and climbed into the back seat of the SUV.

  Jill wrapped herself around Katy’s now limp body.

  “Katy-baby, come back to me,” Jill whispered. “Katy-baby. Katy-baby.”

  “Jillian!” Her father commanded. “Open this door right now.”

  “Mommy,” Katy whispered.

  “Katy-baby,” Jill kept up her chant. She kept her focus on the part of Katy that was hooked into whatever this thing was. “Come back to me. Katy-baby.”

  “Jillian!” her father yelled.

  “Hey!” Mike’s voice came. The SUV rocked with what sounded like the spray from a garden hose. “Get away from there!”

  “You heard him!” Honey’s voice came from the other side of the SUV.

  Jill opened her eyes to see a stream of water cover the SUV. Katy moved in her arms, but Jill held on fast.

  “You are loved, Katy-baby,” Jill said. “I love you. Daddy loves you. Paddie loves you. The boys love you, as does everyone who knows you. You are so loved.”

  “Mommy?” Katy whispered.

  “Yes, Katy-baby,” Jill said.

  “I don’t feel so good,” Katy said.

  She threw up all over Jill, but Jill didn’t let go. Outside the SUV, she heard what sounded like Mike chasing someone or something off. Through the window, she saw Honey trying to open the door of the SUV. Jill rolled down the window a tiny bit.

  “How did you get use of your hands?” Jill asked through the crack.

  “Fairies after the twins were born,” Honey said. “I have a daughter named Maggie, and my mother, Tiffanie, is ridiculous.”