Chasing Shadow (Shadow Puppeteer) (20 page)

I shrugged. There was no way I was going to tell him that I was responsible for every single one except for the thin scar that stretched from my eye into my hairline or the long one over my chest. He raised an eyebrow, but I didn’t feel like elaborating. If I told him pain kept the empathy at bay, he would bring up that I slid into his mental space without asking.

“What about you? When did you lose your daughter?” I asked.

He leaned back in his seat, his food now forgotten. “You heard us talking, huh? A long time ago. One day she was there and the next, gone. I only got to raise her for a few years, then her mother joined the Reincarta and she took my baby girl with her.”

My record says I was found wandering down the roadside at the estimated age of two. Chances were I was abandoned. By then, I was told, the deep cuts had already healed into scars.

“You finished?” Jose asked.

“Yes.” I wiped my mouth, careful of my sensitive nose and sat the napkin on the table.

“Good. Let’s get down to business.” His tone left me uneasy. He was a man on a mission. I saw that in his eyes. “Katrina needs help keeping an eye on D and I need an assistant to help keep tabs on Xyla citizens. They don’t govern themselves, as you witnessed.”

He saved my life, but I wasn’t sure I owed him this price. Training sounded like I was getting into a life time job.

I leaned forward, weighing the question, until I knew I had to ask. “Who do you think I am?”

He stood up, and I followed. I needed to know why he trusted me. As much as I hated it, the moment we walked back outside, my hands started to shake. I didn’t want to be out here in the open.

“I don’t want to be anyone’s hero. I’ve never wanted to be a patroller. I’m grateful for all you’ve done, but I really don’t know how I can help.”

He raised a hand and stopped me. “Are you done ranting like a
consentida
?”

That shut me up. He smiled, softening the blow as we started through the streets. The word
consendtida
repeated in my conscious. I had no idea what it meant, but it sounded sharp when Jose said it. He was in a better mood outside and started pointing things out. Having a guide didn’t make me any less uneasy. I kept glancing over my shoulder expecting trouble.

Jose pulled me long, talking about the different shops, even the ones in languages I couldn’t read. There were Chinese diners with incense shops next to them. We stopped long enough for Jose to drop some money in a box and pick up a fresh incense stick. He lit it before placing it in black grit in front of a statue of a big man.

“This is Buddha. World Congress doesn’t monitor religion on the island,” he said.

I wanted to ask him who Buddha was, but he was already moving on to the next subject. He pointed out stores that I really wanted to see, but I’d be just as glad getting back to the apartment. The Asian section turned quickly to Middle Eastern markets and I wanted to stop and look at the items on display.

People played music while others sang and danced. Despite the dark, the island was a collection of colors. I couldn’t believe I never strayed from the junkyard.

Starr would have loved this… or rather, the Starr I thought I knew. My chest pinched in sorrow. I lost everyone.

Jose stopped behind a gathered group. Men beat drums while a woman danced with a snake around her shoulders.

“She’s a belly dancer,” Jose said. “Pretty things are never what they seem. She can call all kinds of snakes to do her bidding.”

I watched her hips as she made the little silver coins on her clothing, jingle. She was beautiful from the length of her dark hair to the bronze of her skin. When she worked her dance around to face us, her eyes caught me off guard. They were slit like a snake’s. She winked at Jose and stuck her tongue out, nearly flat and split.

“Tonight, I will give you homework. Tomorrow night, wear something you can work out in,” he said.

I would argue, but the promise of sleep was more than enough to get me to agree to anything. There was a small bookstore at the end of the street and bells announced our presence as we entered. Jose knew exactly where to go, because in a few short seconds, I was holding over seven large books.

“Wait here,” he ordered.

“I wouldn’t dream of leaving,” I grumbled. In fact, I took a few steps away from the window so no one looking in would recognize me. I really hoped Sonya’s men couldn’t track a person by scent.

He went to the counter, dropped coins in the cashier’s hands and mumbled a few words to him. The man nodded and handed Jose two very large books with glossy colorful covers. Pleased, Jose walked over to me.

“Let’s get you back to your residence. I’ll swing by for you tomorrow night.”

I wasn’t cold now, lugging all these books, but it didn’t help my tension. With my hands full, my reflexes were slow.

We walked back though the circus of people, but before we reached the comfort of the building, I had the dreadful feeling that I was being watched. I really needed to get off the street. Jose caught the entrance door to the apartment building for me, but he didn’t follow me in.

“You remember your way back up?” There was a great deal of sparkle in his dark brown eyes. It almost looked like hope.

“Yes.”

Before the door shut, cutting us off, I had to try again.

“Who do you think I am?” I asked.

“There is a lot to learn, so try to get some reading in before you sleep.”

He still wasn’t giving me a great answer. I wanted to lower my shields and read his empathy, but after the elevator incident, I knew he’d feel it. Still, his sadness touched me. He was hurting and I had a feeling a hug wasn’t going to fix his problems, or mine for that matter.

“Go on up, and I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He turned and walked away, leaving me to stare at the back of his head.

“Thanks,” I yelled. It felt stunted like there was more to say, but he was already putting distance between us.

A scream pierced the night and was immediately strangled quiet. I let the glass door close behind me as I retreated down the frigid hall. There was no way I was going to ride the elevator alone, and opted for the stairs instead, even though they were a hassle with all the books.

I was exhausted by the time I made it to the fourth floor. I knocked on the door almost positive that Katrina wouldn’t open up. A few minutes later, the lock slid from its place and Katrina stood there looking as exhausted as I felt. Her hair was down, and small strands stuck to her sweaty face. She was dressed in jeans, a thin long sleeve shirt and hiking boots. There were a few leaves stuck to her top, which made me wonder where she went after I left.

The minute I was in, Katrina shut and locked the door behind me. Beside the door was a baseball bat with nails hammered into the base. I wondered if she had a second one I could keep beside the bed.

“How’s D doing?” I asked.

Anger made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. Those things meant to kill him. I’d be dead too if Jose hadn’t interfered. I could see the battle he waged, but I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to do what he did. Those were perfect headshots.

The two guys I shot in my lifetime were in self-defense. If I killed someone now, it would be to defend another. Was that worth killing for? Looking at D, I could almost say it was worth losing the greater worth of my spirit over.

“He’s a fast healer. He’ll probably be fine in the morning. If you don’t go out with Jose during the day, can I get you to watch him for a few hours?”

“Yes, of course.” How hard could that be?

“You’ll be sleeping in the room you changed in. I left a clean towel in the bathroom and pajamas on the bed. I’ll find something clean for you to wear in the morning,” she promised. She barely opened the second bedroom door to slide in. It was almost as if she didn’t want me to see inside.

I took the offer and dropped the books on the dresser before heading into the bathroom to clean myself. There was so much on my mind, I wasn’t sure I’d ever fall asleep and strangely, that’s the only thing I wanted most.

I
jerked awake and my hand whacked my nose. Pain spread through my cheeks and head, but when I dabbed at my nose, I didn’t feel blood. In the dark, I lay still, waiting for the sound that woke me, and it came in the form of a chocked cry.

Something was wrong. I felt it in every fiber of my being. It was suffocating. It drew me down into the pits of such fear that I barely found the strength to crawl from the bed. I groped the bedside table for my blade and shoved the door open.

Nothing moved.

There was a long, pained scream and it came from Katrina’s bedroom. Light shined under the door’s crevice. All I could think of were those creatures biting into D’s flesh. I shoved the door open, ready to attack.

Katrina barely glanced at me. Her hands were tied, trying to keep D’s wrists over his head and pressed into the pillow. She used her body weight to keep him down as he tossed violently. I neared the bed, confused by her behavior and realized D wasn’t even awake.

“Get me a wet washcloth,” she ordered.

I dropped my knife on the dresser and ran to the bathroom. There were no doors on the cabinets which made it easy finding a washcloth. I wetted two of them and rushed back. When she didn’t let go of his hands, I leaned forward and dabbed at his sweaty forehead. D kept repeating the word: Lubor.

Katrina’s words were soothing, though I couldn’t understand the language she spoke. Her accent made the words strong. His eyelashes batted and he looked at me first. His smile was weak. His skin was so pale that the purple in his eyelids and under his eyes really stood out.

She let go of D’s wrists and sat on the edge of the bed. I did the same.

“He has nightmares. We escaped a cruel master,” Katrina said.

D’s lids were growing heavy as we spoke. The sheets hung low, giving me a better look at his tattoos. He had so many and the size and shape of them depended on the scarring underneath. I wondered what D saw and was grateful at the same time to not have that knowledge.

“How did you get away?” I asked.

“You are hurt,” D said. Again, his accent drew my attention.

My nose ached and the stiffness in my hand made it hard to bunch my fist, but I was surprised in his state that he noticed this. He reached for me and Katrina grabbed his hand, firmly pressing it into the mattress.

“No, not right now D,” she said. He looked at her and didn’t respond.

She gave me a signal to stand and I did, putting distance between myself and the bed. I turned my back, giving them privacy as they spoke in their foreign tongue. His voice was soft, fading with exhaustion.

I focused my attention on the room. It took a moment to realize it wasn’t wall to wall wallpaper, but blueprints. I wondered what building they were watching.

“What building is this?” I asked.

“The Ardent Asylum,” Katrina said.

There were tons of open notebooks and some of the notes were written in a foreign language. I stood and wandered over to a map that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than the Ardent Asylum.

When Katrina touched my shoulder, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable being here. “What do you want with the asylum?”

Knowing that Diablo got inside the asylum and released prisoners go just a few days ago left me troubled.

“There are three towers that World Congress operates on earth. These towers provide direct communication to their brethren,” she nodded her chin skyward. “Their technology is far more advanced than ours. They have the ability to transport, and we believe that’s what they are doing. They are moving people to their planet. If we take these towers out, they’ll be earthbound and we’ll be waiting for them.”

“How do you know it’s going to work?”

“We don’t. We have a large following in the states that are working on aircrafts that can battle World Congress ships head on. Our ships are small and untested. We don’t know if they’ll make it into space, but we need to stop World Congress’s reign on our planet,” she said.

“So what are these plans for?”

“We have one goal here. Break into the asylum, bring the building down. When we’re done, we will join with the Diablos in Mississippi. It’s the next location in this war and there are many of us on here on earth wanting our planet back.”

Diablos. There wasn’t a lot known on them. They were quiet like the Reincarta. The Berserkers were the ones that got in the paper.

Mississippi was on the mainland. If I stuck with them, I might have a ticket off the island.

“Is Jose going with you?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I had questions, but my head was spinning. Exhaustion took over.

“I need to lie down,” I said.

Katrina sighed, mirroring my tiredness. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

I stopped at the dresser to grab my knife and lingered to watch D. I tried picturing him in white the night we saw someone scaling the asylum wall. Was he
the
White Diablo harassing the islands?

“See you in the morning,” I said, leaving her room.

Sleep was eluding despite my exhaustion. The last thing I wanted to think about was the asylum. It was the scariest place to end up in life and that’s where Katrina and D wanted to be.

I
was groggy and trying to piece everything together without opening my eyes. A gnawing, grinding sound drew my attention to the bedside table where a rat sat staring at me. The rat gave an annoyed chatter and jumped off the side of the table, scurrying into a nice size hole in the wood panel. I wasn’t fond of rats, but I wasn’t afraid of them either.

The minute Starr and Ms. Sable slipped into my thoughts, I jerked from the bed, knocking books to the floor. Since I couldn’t fall asleep right away, I spent the night flipping through them. The oldest book in the group went out of print in 1970, which was well over four hundred years ago. None of this could be relevant or even interesting, but Jose made it sound important. Each page of this accent tomb was yellow and fragile.