Thirteen Orphans (18 page)
“We have a problem,” she went on. “The memory spell seems to have hit him very hard.”
“Worse than Gaheris?”
“Far worse. My young visitor does not seem to remember anything about himself.”
“He’s faking it,” Nissa said. “He’s trying to cover.”
“I wish I thought so,” Pearl said, “but I don’t think he’s acting. I think he has genuinely lost his memory. If so, we’ve lost our best chance at learning who sent him.”
“You don’t think he’s in it on his own?” Nissa asked.
“Now that I’ve met him, no,” Pearl said. “I’ll explain why later. Are you coming over?”
“I’ve called in to work. Bob understood perfectly why I needed a sudden holiday. All I had to do was promise I would get you to autograph a stack of paraphernalia from his collection.”
“Gladly. Can you leave Lani at home?”
“Yes, if she thinks I’m going to work. She knows the rules.”
“Then come when you can. Meanwhile, I’m going to talk to my young guest. Maybe something I say will jog his memories.”
“Take care,” Nissa warned. “It could be someone will come looking for him—and that someone cannot be counted on to make the same mistakes.”
Des’s phone rang early, while Des was over at the stove stirring a pot of rice congee for his breakfast. Reassured by more normal foods available, Brenda and Riprap had promised to try the rice porridge, but it didn’t look very appetizing—especially as Des apparently planned to eat it with hot and spicy pickles.
“Get that for me, Brenda?”
“Sure. Hello. Des Lee’s residence. May I help you?”
“Brenda? This is Pearl Bright. Are Des and Riprap near?”
“Right here,” Brenda replied. “We’re having breakfast.”
“Ask Des if his house phone has a speaker.”
Brenda did and Des nodded. “Sure. Right there.”
When the connection was established, Pearl launched into a report of what had happened the night before.
Remembering how she and Riprap had been ordered not to discuss anything related to magic over the phone or via e-mail, Brenda was impressed how Pearl managed to talk around the fact that magic had evidently been used.
Had anyone been tapping in on the call, they would have thought that Pearl and Nissa had had an encounter with a particularly obsessed fan—one of those who could be dangerous—but certainly not odd beyond the fact that in the shock of his encountering his idol he had somehow lost his memory.
Pearl’s listeners, of course, had the necessary information to fill in the gaps.
When Pearl stopped for breath, Des cut in.
“Pearl, do you think the amnesia is real?”
“I do. My young ‘guest’ honestly doesn’t remember a thing about himself, where he is from, or why he came here. He only speaks a form of Chinese, which is rather a help, as I’m the only one here who understands him, and so he can’t tell anyone that I’m, well, effectively holding him captive. I think the best thing would be for me to drive cross-country to my place in San Jose.”
“You wouldn’t dare fly,” Des agreed. “You couldn’t get him through security, but why go all the way to California?”
“Because I can control everything—including him—much better both in a car and then in my own home,” Pearl replied sharply. “I also have resources in my home that might enable me to figure out how to alleviate his amnesia.”
Riprap leaned toward the phone. “Ms. Bright, would you like me to fly out and join you on the drive? If I understand correctly, Ms. Nita is a young woman responsible for an even younger child. I might be of more help if your ‘guest’ decided to cause trouble.”
“Riprap, I would,” Pearl said. “I hate to interrupt your studies, but Nissa admits to being reluctant to subject Lani to a week where the child would be strapped for hours on end in a car seat. I must say, I agree.”
“But Nissa does want to come to California?” Des asked.
“Very much so,” Pearl said. “She was hesitating before, but now she’s quite certain she’d like to be one of this summer’s interns.”
“I’m surprised she wants to bring Lani,” Des went on.
A new voice cut in, its notes colored with a Virginia drawl. “This is Nissa. I can use the chance to take a California internship as an excuse to get my professors to let me take my exams early. However, my sisters would never believe I’d go away for what might be weeks and leave Lani. Anyhow, I think all that emphasis on secrecy might have made the Thirteen vulnerable. Lani might as well pick up what she can. She’s at the age where she’ll accept anything, and no one will believe her if she talks about magic and spells. They’ll just think she’s mixing up some book I read her with reality.”
“That makes sense,” Des agreed. “Pearl, even if we’re lucky enough to find Riprap an open flight, he can’t get to Virginia immediately. Can you handle things until he gets there?”
“I think we can,” Pearl replied. “Nissa is quite resourceful, and, at least for now, our young visitor is completely overwhelmed. He looked out the hotel window earlier and saw a couple of cars driving by. That nearly sent him under the bed. He’s not a coward, but right now he’s convinced he’s in some supernatural hell. Nissa and I are his closest anchors to reality.”
“That’s weird,” Brenda said. “If it’s the same man, we met him first in a parking garage, I mean. He should know about cars.”
Nissa asked. “Brenda, can you get pictures on your phone?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll send one. Tell us if it’s the same man.”
When the picture came through, Brenda studied it for a minute, then turned her phone so Riprap could see it. He nodded.
“It’s the same fellow,” Brenda said. “He’s not dressed the same, but as best as we can tell from such a small picture, it’s the same man.”
She didn’t mention that the young man looked even better with his hair loosely gathered at the nape of his neck, or the weird mixture of fear and attraction she felt as she looked at him. Covertly, she saved the picture on her phone so she could look at it later.
“Our guest showered this morning,” Nissa said, “and while he was in the bathroom, we took his Chinese clothes. They’re sort of noticeable. He wasn’t thrilled with our style of clothing. I’m glad I thought to buy him button-fly jeans—a zipper would have stumped him. He’s not dumb, but he sure isn’t sophisticated.”
Des frowned. “If he’s that naive, he’s not likely to enjoy traveling by car.”
“He’s not going to have much choice,” Pearl replied tartly. “If he will not cooperate, I will compel him.”
Riprap asked, “Do you think he has allies?”
“That’s a pretty good bet,” Pearl said. “There were ‘items.’” Her inflection indicated that these were other than normal, and Des mouthed “probably amulets,” to clarify. “I think the wisest course of action is to assume that our boy is the front man for someone more sophisticated.”
“Any thoughts?”
“Let’s just say I think we may have a return to old troubles.”
“Pearl,” Des said, “we’ll call as soon as we know what flight we can get Riprap on. Let us know what arrangements you make for Nissa.”
“We will,” Pearl said. “Be careful.”
“We will … . Talk with you later.”
Had the world been at all normal, Brenda knew she would have protested against what the others were doing. What Pearl Bright was doing amounted to kidnapping, and probably a bunch of other illegal things. However, the memory of Gaheris Morris’s face as his memory was taken from him, of the vacancy Brenda sensed whenever they talked, seemed to have burned every residue of pity from Brenda’s soul where that young stranger was concerned.
By the next phone call, Pearl and Nissa had christened their amnesiac visitor Foster, which seemed to be appropriate, given his role as their charge. Brenda tried to accustom herself to referring to him by such a prosaic name, and found herself wondering what his real name was. Maybe the spell’s hold on him was like in a fairy tale, and when they learned his true name, his memory would come back to him.
After breakfast, Brenda listened in when Des called his travel agent. “Patricia? Des Lee. I have a friend visiting who needs to get to a small town in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains as soon as possible, family emergency. From what I know of his eventual destination, he might do better to fly into D.C., then drive from there. Can you find me anything—a cancellation, even a good bet at standby?”
Des listened, then nodded. “Yes. My friend can drive. Okay. Book that flight, and arrange for a rental car, something comfortable for at least four. He’s probably going to need to drive relatives around.
“My friend’s name is Charles Adolphus. Thanks a bunch, Patricia. By the way, keep your eyes open for good fares either to San Jose or San Francisco, for two, probably sometime next week. Thanks … You’re an angel.”
Des hung up the phone, rubbed his eyes, and stretched. “Okay. Riprap, we have a nonstop flight for you out of Albuquerque tomorrow leaving fairly early. It will get you into Washington National—I can’t stand the new name for that airport—midday. There will be a rental car waiting. I’ll let you judge whether you’ll drive to Pearl in Virginia then or wait for morning.”
“That afternoon, if I’m not too beat from the flight,” Riprap said. “I know Pearl Bright is a tough old tiger, but it makes me nervous thinking of her there pretty much alone with that young thug. I’m itching to leave right now, but I know it won’t do any good.”
Des grinned mischievously. “Well, since it won’t do any good for you to sit around and fidget, I plan to keep you and Brenda pretty busy tomorrow morning.”
Brenda wrinkled her nose. “Making more tiles? Des, I’m not sure I could concentrate.”
Des shook his head. “I know. However, I’ve tested the tiles you and Riprap made, and they look good. I think we’ll go out and show you how to use them.”
Pearl hung up the phone and turned to Nissa in time to see the younger woman apologetically patting back a yawn.
“Sorry, Pearl, but I had trouble sleeping last night. I was worried about you here, alone with him.”
She tossed her head to where Foster sat as if mesmerized in front of the television.
“That was sweet of you,” Pearl said. “Des has arranged for Riprap to take a flight that will get him into D.C. by tomorrow afternoon. He’ll drive down here to meet me. I think we’ll leave as soon as Riprap can bear to get in a car again, although I’ll drive to give him a chance to rest. Now we need to make arrangements for you and Lani.”
“I don’t want to leave until after Riprap is safely here,” Nissa said.
“That’s fine,” Pearl agreed. “I was actually thinking that since we’re driving, and Des and Brenda are still in Santa Fe, you could have a few days here to tie up your affairs and come up with a reason why you’re going to California on such short notice.”
“I’ve already been working on that,” Nissa said with a faint smile. “Bob, my boss at the drugstore, already has it in his head that you came out here to scout Lani for the movies and TV. The rumor got home before I did.”
“Aren’t your sisters upset that I’m overlooking their kids? Several of them are very cute. I realize that you’re biased, but I think they’re at least as cute as Lani.”
Nissa shook her head. “Not much. Not really. Most of them are seriously into the home-schooling, natural-foods way of life. Hollywood doesn’t match with that at all.”
“Good,” Pearl said “If that’s our excuse, I’d better make some calls. It wouldn’t hurt to at least do a portfolio and some screen tests. I have a friend I can call … . But first, let’s see about getting you a flight.”
There were plenty of available seats on nonstop flights from D.C. to San Francisco, fewer available directly to San Jose at such short notice.
“But if you don’t mind,” Pearl said, reviewing the options she’d copied down, “I’d like to put you on a late flight five days from now. That will get you into San Francisco early in the morning. I’ll arrange for my driver to pick you up.”
“A night flight would be best,” Nissa said. “Lani’s much more likely to sleep on a night flight.”
“That was what I was thinking, too. You can drive my rental car to D.C. and return it,” Pearl said. “Des said Riprap’s bringing a larger, more comfortable car with him.”
“Sounds as if you and Des have everything covered,” Nissa said. “But isn’t this going to be expensive?”
Pearl glanced at where Foster sat staring at the television.
“Not nearly as expensive as if we pay with our memories, not nearly as expensive at all.”
“Okay, folks,” Des said. “If I’m going to show you how those bracelets you made work, I need a little time to set up. Can I leave you to review this list of limit hands?”
He put two copies of a short list on the table: name of hand, combination of tiles needed, and a short description of what the hand could do.
“These are good basic attack and defense spells,” he went on. “You’ll find it easier to craft them onto tiles—and later to work them from memory if you have the sequences down cold.”
Brenda still felt awash with the tension and confusion of the last few days, and she’d have preferred a chance to go for a walk or see some of the local tourist sights.
And get jumped like Pearl nearly did?
the querulous voice of her inner self asked her.
the querulous voice of her inner self asked her.
“Sure, Des,” Brenda said.
Riprap took out the spiral-bound notebook that Des had—with some reluctance, for apparently it was traditional for students to learn without written cribs—given each of them.
Riprap looked up from the notebook he’d spread open on the table, his large brown eyes warm and nonjudgmental. Brenda went to her room to get her own notebook, but when she was seated across from Riprap at the table and saw that he was now carefully copying each sequence over ten times, something in her snapped.
“You’re determined,” she said. “Don’t you want to give it a rest? We’re in one of the tourist capitals of the country—if not the world—and here we are doing lessons.”
“I don’t think I can give it a rest,” Riprap said almost too mildly. “You see, whoever’s after us has got what they want from the Rat’s line, but they didn’t quite manage with the Dog’s. More than that, I’m still burning over letting that man get to your dad—especially since Pearl managed to stop him. I’m not going to let anyone go down while I’m standing by—not if doing a bunch of lessons will let me know what to expect.”
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