First Born (37 page)

A child’s high-pitched voice carried through the still air. A family walked and babbled as their feet pounded on the wooden slats overhead. She held her breath hoping she had stirred up enough mud from the bottom to mix up the blood. When they were out of range, she released her breath and looked into the eyes of a killer.

He blinked. His mouth moved. She tilted her head as he whispered into her ear.

Ten minutes later Lily still hid under the bridge. She recognized her surroundings—Unicoi Lake where Smith Creek came into the body of water. The pain in her side caused her to examine her wound. The bullet had traveled clean through and her preternatural body was using the powers of the crucible to begin healing. The locket’s power couldn’t quell the queasy feeling overwhelming her though. She gathered that had more to do with the now dead man next to her.

Judging by the height of the sun in the sky, it had to be early afternoon. She considered curling up with the corpse and waiting until dark before moving. She doubted police helicopters and search teams would spread out from Tray Mountain to this location for some time. However, someone’s friendly canine could easily root her out. Them out.

She hadn’t intended to mortally injure Gates, just stop him from hurting Li Liu anymore. Relief mixed with the cesspool of fear swirling in her gut. At least it happened naturally, with a rock and all. If that’s considered natural—crashing down to earth like a meteor. She had only teleported a few times and always with a strong intent in her head. This time she just leapt thinking of water. It’s a wonder she didn’t wind up in the middle of the Atlantic.

The stench of fish, mold, algae, and blood permeated her senses as Lily considered what she must do to survive the rest of the day and night. She did the only thing she could—she turned into a ShihTzu.

Sarah Clemens sat at her vanity brushing her soft, white hair. Lily watched through the swing-hinged window that hung open to the milder temperatures. Clemens stopped her grooming and turned her attention to the 10:00 nightly news. Lily followed her gaze to the TV screen.

Detective Caldwell Simms looked mighty fine in a navy blue suit as a reporter interviewed him about the discovery of a body at Unicoi Lake. Lily sighed through the screen as she rested in the branches of a mimosa tree just a week after her encounter on Tray Mountain. The mosquitoes didn’t dare come near her.

“Yes Ma’am, that’s what I said. At 6:30 yesterday morning, a fisherman discovered the body that has been identified as that of Ernie Gates. Next of kin have been notified,” Simms said.

The reporter shoved the microphone back into his face. “But wasn’t Gates an employee of the APD?”

“He was a Search and Rescue handler who contracted with various organizations including ours.”

“What was the cause of death?”

“The Medical Examiner has yet to make the final determination. Authorities retrieved a vehicle from the water as well. There’s a possibility Mr. Gates was driving at a high rate of speed and crashed through the guardrail on Georgia 356.”

Lily grinned. Genius, really. Staging it to look like he crashed with her in the car. She planned to resurface in a week or so claiming amnesia.

“There are reports that he is responsible for the kidnapping of a retired officer, Li Liu and is also tied to the murders of Peter Marx and Gates’s biological mother, Mona Sinclair.”

“This is an ongoing investigation. I can’t comment further at this time.”

“What about the Moore girl?”

Clemens huffed and strode across the room in her white cotton nightgown to turn off the TV. “Liars,” she hissed.

Lily protracted a claw to slice the screen so she could slip in with ease. She really had wanted to hear what Detective Hottie had to say about her. She wore a lovely new green sundress she’d found on someone’s clothesline. A pink pom-pom from the Dr. Seuss tree perched behind her right ear. Other than the skunky roots she had, she thought she looked darn fine for a presumed dead girl.

Clemens turned and shrieked. “Jesus Christ!”

“Not even close, lady.”

Clemens scrunched her nose in disgust. “I’m calling the police.”

“Go for it. They would love to hear this story.” Lily said.

Clemens backed up and sat at the vanity. Her hand travelled back toward the grooming paraphernalia and a gaudy broach on the surface.

“Uh,uh,” Lily said. The woman pressed her lips together in a tight line as she released the sharp pin.

“What do you want?”

“Retribution for Peter and Mona.”
And even Frank.
He may have been racketeering, but he didn’t deserve to die. Lily’s anger kept the tears at bay.

Clemens cocked an eyebrow, setting off the fine wrinkles of her face.

“Your nephew and I had a heart-to-heart. I know that you told him about his biological mother when you discovered the true story about Mona’s twins. I know you were aware of Dr. Hitomi working with shapeshifters and you steered him to her—thinking she could help him. I know you hated your sister because she was beautiful and powerful even though she wasn’t the First Born. But you
are.
Yet, you’re not able to shapeshift. Are you?”

Clemens clasped her delicate hands in her lap as she glared at Lily.

“And I know you pulled all the strings including paying off Frank Harding to hide Peter’s notebook in a safety deposit box after Ernie killed him since Peter had discovered Ernie’s plans to murder Mona.” Lily took a breath and smoothed down the creases in the front of her dress.

“You are really troubled like they said. I thought your brother had issues. But you definitely need some jolts to the synapses.”

“Or possibly a few bullets would help me. Huh, Bonnie? Nice shooting at the Quinn cabin. Next time don’t ditch the car. I’m sure they’ll find some trace evidence when they finish processing Ernie’s car.”

“Miss Moore. I knew your father. Your grandfather knocked up my sister and created this mess in the first place.” Her brow wrinkled as she looked down at her nails. “Actually I believe your mother’s family started the trouble. But your grandmother’s dead now, isn’t she?”

Sarah Clemens turned back to the vanity and began to brush her hair again.

Lily clutched the fenghuang locket and averted her eyes as she thought of Waipo. It became impossible to swallow. She reminded herself to breathe as tears filled her eyes. The crucible glowed red sending its reassuring waves to wash over her. Lily welcomed the tremendous freedom of her stomach dropping before she teleported. She had said her piece.

Caldwell rested against an overturned rain barrel at Li Liu’s ranch. Liu sat on a shoeing stool next to him, his bruised temple exhibiting a yellow starburst pattern. His haunted eyes remained on his mare, Rosie. Caldwell swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched early morning haze circle the base of the white pine trees in the distance.

“Nothing?” he asked Li as he looked across to a hobble containing Rosie’s saddle and an enormous white cat with bobbed tail. The cat didn’t blink, but stayed seated in the saddle as if taunting him.

Liu answered, his voice devoid of emotion. “She’s out there. Considering the injuries she’s suffered over the last month, my guess is she’s trying to remember who she is and what happened.” Liu rested his chin atop his hands propped up by a cane.

“Sarah Clemens is in custody. We found trace evidence on the car she drove to Helen. We also found Peter Marx’s notebook in her possession.” Caldwell sighed as he looked to the cat. In the dirt beneath the hobble rested an ankle monitor. Caldwell didn’t make an effort to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “Really? Can’t you even pretend while I’m here that it’s effectively keeping you in state until the hearing?”

Seth the cat leapt down, leaned back and put his back leg through the device before shifting into human form. Caldwell averted his eyes as Moore slipped into a pair of shorts he retrieved from the ground.

“Sorry,” he said softly.

Caldwell shook his head. Seth had apologized quite a bit, but it didn’t change the circumstances. The captain had placed Caldwell on administrative leave while the department investigated and decided his fate.

Seth was cooperating with the authorities. The judge had released him with the ankle monitor into Li Liu’s supervision until the next hearing. The DA was working a plea bargain for Seth. He most likely would get community service as long as he testified regarding Dr. Hitomi and her research.

Caldwell didn’t really care about anything else right now. Sure, he worried his career was in the crapper, but until he saw Lily again, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep or rest or concentrate on anything else. She was out there somewhere.

Lily stared at Waipo’s head stone. With trembling fingers, she traced the outline of fucanglong, the dragon of hidden treasure engraved upon the surface. The figure assumed to undulate and pulse, but it was just her grief bringing him to life deceiving her mind and heart.

She placed a single red rose upon the earth, “Shangdi baoyou,” she whispered. God blesses.

The crucible pulsed red, blue, yellow, white, and black against her chest. Lily held her breath as the most exquisite singing reached her ears. Off in the emerald hills of the Nanhua Mountains the fenghuang sang to her its soothing songs.

After three days in her grandmother’s village, Lily still felt 7,000 miles away from the truth, but closer to Waipo. While tempted to remain cloistered in the remote village, Lily knew she couldn’t hide from life. With longing, she searched the landscape again for the colorful bird, but it had disappeared leaving an empty place in her heart. She hadn’t found all the answers here, but managed to garner some peace and strength, taking the first step towards healing.

Time to face issues back home.

She couldn’t procrastinate any longer. She planned to visit a certain Atlanta homicide detective.
Will he be Detective Hottie or Hothead when he sees me?
She clutched the crucible as her stomach lurched and she took a chance, plunging down the spinning roulette wheel of life.

# # #

Tricia lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, Lou, her little yappy dog, Lola Belle, and her big orange mutant cat, George. Her two stepsons, Joseph and Robert, make stopovers as well, making sure to keep life an adventure.

Tricia earned a B.A. in Journalism and Anthropology from Indiana University in Bloomington. After moving to Atlanta in 1992, she obtained her Masters of Education in Communication Disorders from Georgia State University and spent a decade working as a Speech-Language Pathologist, most recently in the pediatric field treating children on the Autism Spectrum.

Writing has always been a part of her life—like breathing and chocolate. To reach Tricia or get the latest stories, please visit
http://www.triciazoeller.com
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tricia-Zoeller-Author/439025286173082?ref=tn_tnmn
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