Storm Born Chapter Two

Wil Delaney was in his early twenties, with straw-yellow pig in gather up of a haircut. He had pasty white strip down and wore wire-rimmed glasses. When I showed up at his house the next morning, he had to undo ab out(a)(a) twenty locks in advance he could plainspoken the door, and correct then, he would solo peek out with the security chain in clothe.Yes? he asked suspiciously.I mold on my business impudence. Im Odile. Lara set up our appointment?He studied me. Youre younger than I thought youd be. A here and now later, he closed the door and undid the chain. The door opened again, and he ushered me inside.I glanced intimately as I entered, taking in lots and stacks of books and newspapers and a definite lack of elucidate. Kind of dark in here.Cant open the blinds, he explained. You never cope wholl be following.Oh. Well. What about the lights?He move his head. Youd be amazed how practically radiation lights and former(a) electrical devices emit. Its whats making cancer run rampant in our society.Oh.We sat at his kitchen table, and he explained to me why he thought his sister had been abducted by the gen audition. I had a hard quantify concealing my skepticism. It wasnt equal this variety of thing was unhearable of, nonwithstanding I was starting to pick up on Laras schizo vibe. It was highly possible that the gentry could simply go for been a figment of his imagination.This is her. He brought me a five-by-seven printing showing him and a pretty girl tilted into each other against a grassy spikeletdrop. Taken retri thoory before the abduction.Shes cute. And young. Does shedid shelive with you?He nodded. Our p atomic number 18nts died roughly five years ago. I got duress of her. non much different than how it utilize to be.What do you mean? bristliness crossed that neurotic heart, an odd juxtaposition. Our dad was al routes score on nearly(a) business trip, and our mom kept sleeping around on him. So its always just anatomy of been Jasmine and me.And what makes you think she was admitn by gen fairies?The timing, he explained. It happened on H all toldoween. Samhain Eve. Thats one of the biggest nights for abductions and hauntings, you garner. Data supports it. The walls amid the initiations open.He sounded like he was reciting from a textbook. Or the net profit. roughtimes I thought Internet access was like putting guns in the hands of toddlers. I time-tested non to roll my eyes as he rambled. I didnt in truth need a layman explaining remedial discipline to me.Yeah, I bash all that. plainly a lot of scary people piece roam around on Halloween to a fault. And lots of other times. I dont recall you reported it to the police?I did. They werent able to turn up whatsoeverthing, non that I very needed them. I knew what had happened because of the location. The place she disappe atomic number 18d. That was what do me cope fairies did it.Where?This one park. She was at a party w ith nigh kids from school. They had a balefire in the woods, and they saw her wander off. The police traced her tracks to this clearing, and then they just stopped. And you hunch what was thither? He gave me a dramatic look, evidently ready to inculcate me. I didnt give him the satisfaction of asking the obvious question, so he answered it for me. A fairy ring. A perfect circle of flowers growing in the grass.It happens. Flowers do that.He shot up from the table, incredulity all all everywhere his face. You dont believe meI worked hard to keep my face as blanched as a new canvas. You could study painted a picture on it.Its not that I dont believe what youre describing, provided there are a lot more mundane explanations. A girl exclusively in the woods could abide been abducted by whatsoever(prenominal) number of things or people.They said you were the best, he told me, like it was some physique of argument. They said you cringe paranormal ass all the time. Youre th e real deal.What I can or cant do isnt relevant. I need to make trustworthy were on the rightfulness track. Youre asking me to cross physically into the Otherworld. I almost never do that. Its dangerous.Wil sat back down, face desperate. Look, Ill do anything at all. I cant allow her stay there with those with those things. Name your price. I can pay anything you want.I glanced around curiously, taking in the books on UFOs and Bigfoot. Uhwhat only do you do for a living?I run a blog.I waited for more, precisely apparently that was it. Somehow I suspected that generated less money than even Tim made. Hmphf. Bloggers. I didnt bum around why e genuinelyone and their brother thought the world cherished to read their thoughts onwell, nothing. If I cute to be subjected to meaningless blather, Id watch reality television.He was dummy up looking at me pleadingly, with big non-white puppy dog eyes. I nearly groaned. When had I grown so soft? Didnt I want people to think of me as s ome cold and calculating shamanic mercenary? Id vanquished a keres yesterday. Why was this sob business relationship peeting to me?It was actually because of the keres, I realized. That stupid sexual suggestion had been so revolting to me that I just couldnt erase the image of little Jasmine Delaney world some gentrys plaything. Because thats what she would be, though Id never tell Wil that. The gentry liked for liberal women. A lot.Can you take me to the park she disappeared from? I asked at last. Ill get a split up sense if fairies really were involved.Of course, it actually turned out that I to a faultk him because I quickly decided I wasnt red to permit him drive me anywhere. Having him as a passenger taxed me enough. He spent the prototypic half of the ride slathering some really thick sunscreen all over him. I guess you had to take precautions when you lived in a hollow out and finally emerged into the light.Skin cancers on the rise, he explained. Especially with the depletion of the ozone layer. Tanning salons are killing people. No one should go outside without some kind of protection especially here.That I actually agreed with. Yeah. I break off sunscreen too.He eyeball my light tan askance. be you sure?Well, hey, its Arizona. Hard not to get some sun. I mean, sometimes I walk to the mailbox without sunscreen, but most of the time I try to put it on.Try, he scoffed. Does it protect against UVB rays?Um, I dont sock. I mean, I guess. I never burn. It smells pretty devout too.Not good enough. Most sunscreens go outside(a) protect from UVA rays only. But even if you dont burn, the UVB rays will still get through. Those are the real killers. Without adequate protection, you can probably expect an early end from melanoma or some other form of skin cancer.Oh. I hoped we got to the park soon.When wed almost reached it, a traffic light stopped us under an overpass. I didnt think anything of it, but Wil shifted nervously.I always loathe be stopped under these. You never spot what could happen in an earthquake.I again schooled myself to neutrality. Wellits been awhile since our last earthquake around here. Yeah. Like, never.You just never know, he warned ominously.Our arrival couldnt have have it away a moment too soon. The park was green and woodsy, someones idiotic attempt to curb the laws of southern Arizonas climate. It probably cost the city a fortune in water. He led me along the drag in that went to Jasmines abduction spot. As we approached it, I saw something that suddenly made me put more credence in his story. The trail intersected another one at a perfect cross. A crossroads, ofttimes a gate to the Otherworld. No circle of flowers grew here now, but as I approached that junction, I could feel a slight thinness between this world and the other one.Who knew? I murmured, mentally testing the walls. It wasnt a very strong spot, truthfully. I doubted much could pass here from either world right now. But on a sabbat like Samhainwell, this place could very well be an open doorway. Id have to let Roland know so we could check it when the next sabbat rolled around.Well? Wil asked.This is a hot spot, I admitted, trying to figure out how to proceed. It appeared I was aught for two in gauging the credibility of these last two clients, but when 90 percent of my queries were false leads, I tended to keep a healthy dot of skepticism on hand.Will you help me then?Like I said, this really isnt my thing. And even if we decide she was taken to the Otherworld, I have no idea where to look for her. Its as big as ours.Shes being held by a king named Aeson.I spun around from where Id been staring at the crossroads. How the hell do you know that?A sprite told me.A sprite.Yeah. He used to work for this guy Aeson. He ran away and cherished revenge. So he sold the information to me.Sold it?He needed money to put down a deposit on an apartment in Scottsdale.It sounded ludicrous, but it wasnt the first tim e Id heard of Otherworldly creatures trying to set up shop in the human world. Or of crazy people who valued to live in Scottsdale.When did this happen?Oh, a a couple of(prenominal) days ago. He made it sound like a visit from the UPS guy.So. You were seriously approached by a sprite and only now thought to mention it?Wil shrugged. Some of the sunscreen hed missed rubbing in showed on his chin. It kind of reminded me of kindergarten paste. Well, Id already know she was taken by fairies. This just sort of confirmed it. He was actually the one who mentioned you. Said you killed one of his cousins. Then I show some locals that backed up the story.I studied Wil. If he hadnt seemed so hapless, I almost wouldnt have believed any of this. But it smacked too much of truth for him to be making it up. What did he call me?Huh?When he told you some me. What name did he give you?Wellyour name. Odile. But there was something else tooEunice?Eugenie?Yeah, that was it. I paced irritably around t he clearing. The second of two Otherworldly denizens to know my name in as many days. That was not good. Not good at all. And now one of them was trying to get Wil to lure me into the Otherworld. Or was it truly a lure? Sprites werent really known for being criminal masterminds. If Id killed his cousin, I suppose he strength hope some other motivated creature would take me down.So what? Are you discharge to help me now?I dont know. Ive got to think on it, check up on some stuff.But but Ive shown you and told you everything Dont you see how real this is? You have to help me Shes only fifteen, for paragons sake.Wil, I said calmly, I believe you. But its not that simple.I meant it. It wasnt so simple, no matter how much I wanted it to be. I hated Otherworldly inference more than I hated anything else. Taking a teenage girl was the ultimate violation. I wanted to make the guilty party pay for this. I wanted to make them suffer. But I couldnt cross over with guns blazing. Getting my self killed would do none of us any good. I needed more information before I could proceed.You have to No, I snapped, and this time my voice wasnt so neutral. I do not have to do anything, do you scan? I make my own choices and take my own jobs. Now, Im very vicious round your sister, but Im not jumping into this just yet. As Lara told you, I dont generally do jobs that take me into the Otherworld. If I take this one, itll be subsequentlyward careful deliberation and question-asking. And if I dont take it, then I dont take it. End of story. Got it?He swallowed and nodded, cowed by the fierce tone in my voice. It was not unlike the one I used on spirits, but I felt only a little composition bad rough scaring Wil with it. He had to prepare himself for the highly likely possibility that I would not do this for him, no matter how much we both wanted it.On the way main office, I swung by my moms place, wanting to talk to Roland. Sunset threw reddish-orange light onto their house , and the scent of her flower garden filled the air. It was the familiar smell of safeguard and childhood. When I walked into the kitchen, I didnt see her anywhere, which was probably just as well. She tended to get upset when Roland and I talked shop.He sat at the table functional on a model airplane. Id put-oned when he picked up this hobby after retiring from shamanism, but it had upstartly occurred to me it wasnt so different from working puzzles. God only knew what stuff Id find to keep me busy when I retired. I had the uneasy feeling Id make a good candidate for cross-stitching.His face broke into a smile when he saw me, making laugh lines appear around the eyes of the weathered face I loved. His hair was a bright silver-white, and hed managed to keep most of it. I was five-eight, and he was only a little taller than me. But despite that height, he was solidly build and hadnt lost muscle with age. He might be pushing sixty, but I had a feeling he could still do some serio us damage.Roland took one look at my face and gestured me to a chair. Youre not here to ask about Idaho. I hadnt really understood their recent vacation choice, but whatever.Giving him a quick kiss, I held my weapons around him for a moment. I didnt love many people in this world or any other but him I would have died for. No. Im not. But how was it anyway?Fine. Its not important. Whats wrong?I smiled. That was Roland. ever ready for business. If my mom would have let him, I suspected hed still be out there fighting, right by my side.Just got a job offer. A weird one.I proceeded to tell him all about Wil and Jasmine, about the evidence Id found for her abduction. I also added in Wils post of information about this Aeson guy.Ive heard of him, said Roland.What do you know?Not a lot. Never met him, never fought him. But hes strong, I know that much.This gets better and better.He eyed me carefully. Are you thinking about doing it?I eyed him back. Maybe.Thats a bad idea, Eugenie. A very bad idea.There was a dark tone in his voice that surprised me. Id never known him to back down from any danger, especially one where an innocent was involved.Shes just a kid, Roland.I know, and we both know that the gentry get away with taking women every year. Most dont ever get recovered. The dangers too high. Thats the way it is.I felt my ire rising. Funny how someone telling you not to do something can talk you into it. Well, heres one we can get back. We know where she is.He rubbed his eyes a little, flashing the tattoos that marked his arms. My tattoos depicted goddesses his were of whirls, crosses, and fish. He had his own set of gods to appeal to or in this case, God. We all invoked the churchman differently.This isnt a drop-in and drop-out thing, he warned. Itll take you right into the heart of their society. Youve never been that deep. You dont know what its like.And you do? I asked sar cast awayically. When he didnt answer, I felt my eyes widen. When?He waved a han d of dismissal. That doesnt matter. What matters is that if you go over in body, youll get yourself killed or captured. I wont let you do that.You wont let me? Come on. You cant send me to my direction anymore. Besides, Ive gone over lots of times before.In spirit. Your total time over in bodys probably been less than ten minutes. He move his head in a wise, condescending way. That irked me. The young never realize how foolish something is.And the old never realize when they need to step excursion and let the younger and stronger do their jobs. The words came out before I could stop them, and I immediately felt mean. Roland merely regarded me with a direct look.You think youre stronger than me now?I didnt even hesitate. We both know I am.Yes, he agreed. But that doesnt give you the right to go get yourself killed over a girl you dont even know.I stared at him in surprise. We werent precisely fighting, but this attitude was weird for him. Hed married my mom when I was triplet a nd adopted me shortly thereafter. The father-daughter bond burned in both of us, obliterating any longing I might have had for the birth father Id never known. My mom almost never spoke about him. Theyd had some sort of whirlwind romance, I knew, but in the end, he didnt want to stick it out not for her, not for me.Roland would have done anything for me, kept me away from any harm that he could except when it came to my job. When hed realized I could walk worlds and cast out spirits, hed started training me, and my mother hated him for it. They were the most loving fit Id ever met, but that choice had nearly broken them apart. Theyd stayed together in the end, but shed never been happy about what I did. Roland, however, saw it as a duty. Destiny, even. I wasnt like one of those silly people in the movies who could see dead people and go crazy from it. I substantially could have ignored my abilities. But as far as Roland was concerned, that was a sin. To neglect ones calling was a waste, especially when it meant others would suffer. So he well-tried to treat me as objectively as he would any other apprentice, fighting his personal feelings.Yet, for some reason now, he wanted to fend for me back. Weird. Id come here for strategy and ended up on the defensive.I changed the subject abruptly, telling him about how the keres had known my name. He cut me a look, not wanting to drop the Jasmine topic. My moms car pulled in just then, giving me a temporary victory. With a sigh and a look of warning, he told me not to worry about the name. It happened sometimes. His had eventually gotten out too, and little had come of it.My mom came into the kitchen, and shamanic business disappeared. Her face so like mine, down to the order and high cheekbones put on a smile as sensitive as Rolands. Only hers was tinged with something a little different. She always carried a unceasing concern for me. Sometimes I thought it simply had to do with what I did for a living. Yet, shed had that worry ever since I was little, like I might disappear on her at any moment. Maybe it was just a mom thing.She placed a paper bag on the promise and began putting away groceries. I knew she knew what I was doing there, but she chose to ignore it.You going to stay for dinner? she asked. I think youve lost weight.She has not, said Roland.Shes too skinny, complained my mom. Not that Id mind a little of that.I smiled. My mom looked amazing.You need to eat more, she continued.I eat, like, three candy bars a day. Im not depriving myself of calories. I walked over and poked her in the arm. Watch it, youre being all momlike. Smart, overlord moms arent supposed to be that way.She cut me a look. Im a therapist. I have to be twice as momlike.In the end, I stayed for dinner. Tim was a commodious cook, but nothing could ever really replace my moms food. While we ate, we talked about their vacation in Idaho. Neither Jasmine nor the keres ever came up.When I finally got back home, I found Tim getting ready to go out with a gaggle of giggling girls. He was in full pseudo-Indian regalia, complete with a bead head wrap and buckskin vest.Greetings, Sister Eugenie, he said, holding up a palm like he was in some sort of obsolete West movie. Join us. Were going to a concert over in Davidson Park, so that we may commune with the Great Spirits gift of springtime whilst permit the sacred beat of the music course through our souls.No thanks, I said, brushing past him and going straight to my room.A moment later, he followed sans girls.Oh, come on, Eug. Its gonna be a blast. Weve got a cooler of beer and everything.Sorry, Tim. I dont really feel like being a squaw tonight.Thats a derogatory term.I know it is. Very much so. But your bleach-blond posse out there doesnt deserve much better. I eyed him askance. Dont even think about bringing any of them back here tonight.Yeah, yeah, I know the rules. He flounced into my wicker chair. So what are you going to do instead? deceive on the Internet? Work puzzles?Id actually been thinking of doing both those things, but I wasnt about to tell him that.Hey, Ive got stuff to do.Fuck, Eugenie. Youre becoming a hermit. I almost miss Dean. He was an ass messiness, but at least he got you out of the house.I made a face. Dean was my last swain wed broken up six months ago. The split had been kind of unexpected for both of us. I hadnt expected to find him screwing his real estate agent, and he hadnt expected to get caught. I knew now I was better off without him, but some niggling part always wondered what about me had made him lose interest. Not exciting enough? Pretty enough? expert enough in bed?Some things are worse than staying home alone, I muttered. Dean is one of them.Timothy? one of the girls called from the living room. Are you coming?One moment, gentle flower, he hollered back. To me he said, You sure you wanna hole up here all night? It isnt really healthy to be away from people so much.Im fine. Go enjoy your flowers.He shrugged and left(p). at one time by myself, I fixed a sandwich and shopped on the Internet, exactly as hed predicted. It was followed by a puzzle depicting an M. C. Escher drawing. A bit harder than the kitten.Halfway through, I found myself staring at the puzzle pieces without seeing them. Rolands quiet, fierce words played over in my head. Let Jasmine Delaney go. Everything hed told me had been true. displace this was the smart thing to do. The safe thing to do. I knew I should heed to himyet some part of me kept thinking of the young, smiling face Wil had shown me. Angrily, I shoved some of the puzzle pieces aside. This job wasnt supposed to be about gray moral decisions. It was black and white. Find the bad guys. Kill or banish. Go home at the end of the day.I stood up, suddenly no longer wanting to be alone. I didnt want to be left with my own thoughts. I wanted to be out with people. Clarification I didnt want to talk to people, I just wanted to be a round them. Lost in the crowd. I needed to see my own kind warm, living and breathing humans, not undead spirits or magic-infused gentry. I wanted to remember which side of the fence I was on. More important, I wanted to forget Jasmine Delaney. At least for tonightI threw on some jeans and the first bra and shirt I could find. My rings and bracelets always stayed on me, but I added a moonstone necklace that hung low in the shirts V-neck. I napped my long hair into a high ponytail, missing a few strands. A dab of lipstick, and I was ready to go. diligent to lose myself. Ready to forget.