Mimics of Rune 02- Surrender (3 page)

“Don’t play that game, Wyatt,” James said.

Wyatt’s shoulders drooped. He, like Cael, ran a hand through his hair. “Why does it have to be you? If he’s already masterminded Lily’s kidnapping, why do
you
need to talk to him?”

“’Scuze us, boys.” Charley took Wyatt’s hand and dragged him farther down the street. Her calm meant a storm brewed inside.

Cael turned to James. “Roy’s involved in this, right?” Cael’s hand fisted against his forehead. “I can smell her out here, James. I can breathe her in, but I know she’s not here.”

“You smell her everywhere because you’re too close to the situation.” James nodded toward where Wyatt and Charley stood, she talking, he with his arms crossed over his chest. “Wyatt’s right about Roy. You need to step back.”

“No. Ever since last month—” Cael stopped at James’s head shake.

“This is different. What happened last month was specific to Wyatt and Charley. If Roy’s working for someone … if he’s involved in Lily’s seeming disappearance, he’ll have the answer.”

Cael waved toward the shops along the block. “I’m going to go through the stores.”

James didn’t alter his stance, his gaze stuck in Charley and Wyatt’s direction. “Charley already did.”

“I know. Just call me when they’re done, and she gets her way.”

James chuckled as Cael took off down the street.

With the five o’clock hour, people milled all along the sidewalk. The almost-summer temperatures kept the area busy with shoppers, diners and tourists taking in the old-time feel of downtown.

Cael entered the yogurt store, the newest shop to open, but found no Lily. He traipsed to the counter and rang the bell.

An Asian woman came out, wiping her hands on an apron with a giant smile on it. “Can I help you?” she asked in perfect English.

Cael fished his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out the one photo of Lily he’d hidden inside years before. “Have you seen this woman?”

The clerk took the paper from his hand, angling it right and left before shaking her head. “No. This the one looking for her child?”

“Uh …”

She offered Cael another head shake. “Seems like I saw her yesterday. Darker hair, though. Something along the lines of a coffee with light cream. I’ll show you.” She picked up a pot, poured coffee into a cup and added a drop or two from a massive, spiraling ice cream bin. With mug in hand, she returned and set it on the counter. “That color. You want to try some?”

“Uh … not a big coffee drinker myself.”

“Yogurt then?”

Shit.
“Yeah, sure.” A glance at the menu board gave him a view of at least a dozen different flavors. “How about strawberry?”

One scoop, three dollars and five dings of the bell over the door later, Cael left.

Charley met him on the sidewalk, James and Wyatt on either side of her. “She got you, too, huh?” Charley poked her head over the cup. “You hate strawberry.”

Yeah, but it’s Lily’s favorite.
Cael handed it to James. “She thinks she saw Lily in one of her look-a-like activities yesterday.”

Charley shook her head as she scooped out yogurt with her finger. “Nope. Lil was with me all day yesterday.”

“It was a long shot, anyway, since the description wasn’t right on,” Cael said. “What’s next? More doors? More people?”

Charley and Wyatt advanced toward each other as James withdrew the spoon from his mouth. “You and I …” James started, “… are going to go door to door. Charley and Wyatt are going to go have a chat with Roy.”

Anger at the lack of trust and Wyatt’s need to push him to the outside made Cael want to spit, but he held back.

“Keep us in the loop,” Wyatt said.

James gave him a nod as Cael headed in the direction of the next shop.

3

The back of Lily’s head throbbed. A smack of her lips found them parched. An unlit room welcomed her burning eyes. From the slight bubble of light under the door, she gathered that she lay on a queen-sized bed, in a king-sized expanse of space, with a door more than twenty feet away.

She pushed up, wiggled her way to the edge and draped her feet over the side. The room wavered, a nausea-inducing disco snatching control of her ability to focus. Even as she fought off the dregs of whatever drug coursed through her system, she knew she needed to find her way out.

Lily stared at the glowing lines under the door until they merged into one continuous stream of light. She inched her way off the bed, testing her weight on one foot before standing fully upright on both. When the little bit of light didn’t swirl again, she took a tentative step.

The floorboard beneath her creaked. “Shoot!” Her hands covered her mouth a second later as movement outside her confined space reached her.

A look back at the bed and she considered faking sleep again, but instead, vowed to be strong and courageous, like Charley had when she’d been attacked a month before. Lily took a deep breath as the shadows under the door darkened in two places.

Feet.

She blew air out as she steeled herself for what would come.

A small creak accompanied more light.

The door opened wider until a silhouetted form appeared in the middle, no higher than four or five feet—smaller than Chase, her eight year old nephew.

Lily held her breath, trying to gauge whether she could run around the person, bowl them over, or how much it might hurt if, despite the small stature, he or she had more strength than Lily.

“Okay?” The whispered voice held no malice but a distinctness of youth.

Lily had no idea how to respond. Before her stood her captor, yet she couldn’t make out any details other than what looked to be mussed hair—also like Chase.

A child?

The thought had her staying in place, though the memory that she’d been kidnapped urged her to run.

The door widened, and the form made its way across hardwood floors.

Lily shifted to the right, prepared to bolt around him but stopped. Her inner gasp managed to stay contained.

A child, as she’d suspected. Half Chase’s age at best, he stood in front of her in Superman pajamas and slippers.

“Mommy? Are you okay?”

• • •

Cael dropped to the couch at home as the chime of midnight rang through. He’d walked into and out of every building downtown, crossing paths with James half a dozen times. Other than the yogurt-shop lady, no one had seen Lily, or no one had seen anyone who matched Lily’s latest description, or any others Cael could remember.

James set a bottle of beer on the coffee table. “Drink.”

Charley and Wyatt followed, taking the loveseat—a perfect place for the two of them, about to get married after sixteen years apart.

Cael had known Lily for over forty years, and with the exception of their first encounter, he’d migrated straight into friend-land and stayed there. She’d needed him. She’d become his sister. Only when he realized just how much he loved her had she disappeared.

He took a swig from the bottle, letting the hops coat his throat. With a tip back, he downed the entire twelve ounces. “I need another.” He hurried into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

Lily’s fridge. With her organized containers, each labeled for contents yet not a bit of them leftovers. None of them worried about weight, so they never left any food on their plates.

He grabbed a beer and closed the fridge door, darkening the room around him.

Lily’s kitchen. Her space with her touches.

Cael leaned forward, dropping his forehead to the cool, marble surface.

“She’ll be back, Cael.” Charley’s unmistakable hand ran up and down his back. “If someone has her, she’ll change form, freak them out and run.”

“She’s not as strong as you, Charley. We both know that.”

Charley continued to rub. “Just because you take care of her and are her rock, doesn’t mean she isn’t strong. We have to remember that we’ve taught her everything we know, or as much as she could learn.”

“I wish we could put out an Amber alert on her.”

Charley chuckled. “She’s not that young. A baby to you and me but not quite. And not human.”

“Biggest downside there is. A human female missing from a small town? The entire police force would be out. I can’t even describe Lily to them. For all intents and purposes, she doesn’t exist. It’s me against an unknown.”

At a push against his shoulder, Cael turned toward Charley.

“It’s not you against whatever. It’s us—” She pointed into the family room where Wyatt and James both sat, elbows on knees, their bodies angled toward the kitchen. “All of us. It’s always been that way, and it always will be.”

“You’re just as bossy as you were before you moved out.” Cael tweaked her nose, an action he knew she hated.

She rubbed at the sides as soon as he let go. “Why do you and James do that to me?”

“For fun.” Cael pulled her close, breathing in her scent—so familiar and so different than Lily’s. “I know why Wyatt loves you. Knew it ages ago.”

“Oh yeah?” Charley’s arms fit around Cael. Had they not, he’d have adjusted so she could wrap and squeeze.

“Yeah. You’re still kinda good to us.”

“You’re my family as much as he is.” Her arms tightened before she let go. “Do you want to see the tape of the interview? Roy wasn’t quite the Chatty Cathy. He pretty much said the same thing over and over.”

“Which was?”

“Absolutely nothing. It’ll put you right to sleep.”

“Then why watch it?”

“Oh, because he eventually talks. Sort of.” She mock punched him before heading into the living room.

• • •

No sooner did the child speak than a darker shadow appeared within the door frame. Male for sure. Broad shouldered. Muscular with a tight T-shirt engulfing his torso.

Lily’s nerves came to life. Goosebumps ran the length of her arms. She needed to run, yet a feeling—a tingling deep inside—rooted her feet to the floor.

The man reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Go back to bed, Max.”

Max backed up, shuffling his tiny feet and disappearing around the corner.

“I’m sorry he woke you.”

“He didn’t.” Lily coughed into her fist, the dryness of her throat cracking her voice. Worry mixed with curiosity.

The man stepped forward so fast Lily jumped. She backed up toward the bed, tripping over her own feet and falling toward the corner.

He pulled her up and held her tight against his body.

Lily’s heart pounded in her chest.

Before she could pry herself out of his hold, he said, “Angela.” Wistfulness overtook his voice. “I knew you were alive. I knew you were out there.”

Lily’s body trembled, not from the name, but from uncertainty and fear and the sensations that had begun to build when the boy had entered. There’d been a sort of connection—one only a Mimic could feel. She tried to force her body still, to be the strong one she believed Charley had always been.

Her shaking only spurred the man on, his hold on her binding them together.

He nudged her toward the bed.

No!
All manner of thoughts surged through her mind. She shoved him away, knocked him off balance and ran toward the door.

“Wait!”

She fumbled in the hallway.
Get away. Get away. Get away!

Pictures lined both sides of the walls, swinging as Lily’s hands hit them in her wobbled run.

Just get out and find help.

She passed at least three doors until she came to the top of the stairs. Her bare feet slid against lush carpeting as she tried to regain her balance. Whatever she’d been given hadn’t fully worn off. Her depth perception made the drop down the first step seem more like five or more feet.

Just go!

Her foot hovered over the step.

The creak of a door pushed her forward.

When her foot landed without falling, she went for another step. Down three. Down four. A fifth and sixth.
Keep going!
Her breath came fast in her chest, burning her lungs with each inhalation.

At the bottom, smooth, flat floor greeted her. She turned, hoping to find a simple doorway so she could run into the freedom of the outside.

“Mommy? Where are you going?”

The voice tripped her heart as his words stopped her. She heaved air.

“Angela?” The softness and hurt in the man’s tone sent a wave of coldness down her body.

Mommy? Angela? I’m not … what are they talking about?

While innate fear had Lily searching for an escape, ridiculous curiosity had her wanting to ask the question.

“Come on, Max. Let’s get you back to bed,” the man said.

“Why is Mommy leaving again, Daddy?” A small hiccup—one Lily recognized well from Chase—forced her own eyes to well up.

She leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

“Remember what I told you about the birds in the nest? Sometimes we just have to let them go, right?”

“But—”

“If Mommy needs to fly, we need to let her try.” The man’s voice broke as if he’d lost his best friend a second time over.

She imagined the father-son interlude included big eyes, with bigger tears looking up, and sad eyes looking down—a duo much like Cael and Chase when one had to discipline the other.

“No!” At the scream from the little boy, Lily opened her eyes wide.

Small feet pounded down the steps.

“Max!”

Lily scrambled from her spot.

“Mommy!” The call followed Lily as she raced down yet another hallway.

How big is this house?

More doors and photos greeted her as she raced around a corner and down another flight of stairs.

At the base, a mahogany door loomed. She managed the second set of steps better than the first, her hand reaching for the handle just as his words hit her again.

“Mommy? Why are you going away?” Tears and sniffles glued Lily to the door.

Her heart tightened.

She should leave yet seemed unable to move.

To her left: freedom. To her right: a formal living room with carpeting that may never have been stepped on, a fireplace that could never have been used and a giant portrait over the mantel.