Strange Fates (Nyx Fortuna) (7 page)

Jenny was pacing on the front porch, a lit cigarette burning to ash in her hand. “I see you found him,” she said.

Elizabeth dropped my hand. “I found him.”

“Where did he wander off to?”

“I needed some air,” I said.

“For two days?” Jenny asked.

Sarcasm was lost on her, so I tried the direct approach. “How about it’s none of your business?”

I glanced at Elizabeth, but she didn’t comment.

I felt uneasy in my own skin. It had been a long time since I’d been around people for an extended time. I’d been around them, I guess, but often I hadn’t actually interacted with them.

Jenny ground out her cigarette. “I’m going to hit the gym,” she said and went inside.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Elizabeth said.

I nodded. “Don’t worry. I won’t wander off again. At least not until you tell me about your brother Alex.” I realized where I’d heard the name. From Jasper. Someone once said there were no coincidences. “I’m not making any promises, you know.”

“I know.” She sat down next to me, but was careful to sit far enough away that we weren’t touching.

“About six months ago, Alex got a new job,” Elizabeth began. “He’s in R and D, cutting-edge stuff. My brother is brilliant.”

“What’s the name of the company he works for?” I asked.

“Parsi Enterprises,” she said.

“What do they do?” For one thing, they bottled that sugary orange soda that Gaston guzzled down. I was almost certain that Alex had worked for my aunts. He wasn’t their first employee to disappear and he wouldn’t be the last, but it sent my nerve endings screaming.

“He never told me,” she admitted. “He was secretive about his work, but he was in research and development.”

She was silent, and I realized she was getting to something she wasn’t looking forward to telling me.

“And then?”

“He was gone. Without a word.”

“What made you think it was something sinister?” I finally asked. “Maybe he’s shacked up in the Bahamas with some girl.”

It sounded like the story she was telling me was true, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Alex would never leave without telling me first,” she said. “Not unless someone forced him.”

“Family money?” I asked. It was a reasonable question. In my experience, people did horrible things for cash.

“Some,” she replied. “But it’s not enough to kill him over.”

She might be surprised what someone would do for a few bucks.

“Can you think of anybody who would have a grudge? Ex-girlfriend? Someone Alex used to be friends with?”

“Everyone likes Alex,” she said.

“What did you do after you realized he disappeared?”

She sniffled and looked away in embarrassment. “The usual. I called the cops, hired a private investigator, but nothing helped.”

“Whose house is it, really?” I asked. “And is Alex really your brother?”

For a second she looked like I’d punched her, but she recovered quickly. “I’m sorry for lying to you. Alex is my brother and the owner of the house.”

“Do you trust him? Your brother?”

“He would do anything for me,” she said quickly. “He would never leave without telling me. Alex has simply vanished.”

“So why were you inviting strangers into your home?” I asked her. Something about her story didn’t make sense, but maybe I was missing something.

“What do you mean? You were injured. I was trying to help you,” she said. The hurt in her voice made me feel like a jerk.

Jenny had let me know I wasn’t the first stray Elizabeth had brought home, but I didn’t want to bring that up now, not when Elizabeth’s tears still clung to her eyelashes.

“I came to Minneapolis for a reason,” I said. I didn’t want to tell her too much. The less she knew, the better. “And I haven’t accomplished that goal yet.”

“I understand,” she said. “I’ll just have to find Alex on my own.”

I thought of how I’d met her, in the bathroom of the Red Dragon with that sketchy guy Brad. “I’m not saying I won’t help you,” I said. “But you have to be honest with me.”

She nodded. “That’s fair.”

“Are you okay here by yourself?” I asked.

“I’m not alone,” she said. “There’s Jenny.” She hesitated. “You could stay here, too.”

“Not a good idea,” I said. I didn’t want her anywhere near the trouble that was bound to start once my aunts realized I was here. I’d crash at the Dead House until I figured out something else.

“The offer stands,” she said.

“What about your parents?” I said.

“They’re dead,” she said baldly.

“I’m sorry.”

“What about you?” she asked. “Where are your parents?”

“Both dead,” I replied. I actually had no idea about my father, but I assumed that after all this time he was gone.

“Were you close to them?”

“To my mother,” I said. “I never knew my father.”

“Tough to lose your only parent,” she said.

I put my arm around her. “We’re both orphans.”

“Not exactly the best thing to have in common,” she commented wryly.

I dropped my arm. “It’s something,” I said.

“Yes, it is definitely something.” She took my hand and held it tightly. I wanted to hang on, to pretend, just for a second, that something more was possible, but there wasn’t going to be a happy ending to my story, just a blood-drenched one.

Chapter Seven

Elizabeth stared out the window at the snow falling. I’d never realized before that there could be so many different ways for it to snow. This time, the snow was well behaved, dropping from the sky in dainty swirls.

The view was gorgeous, but I don’t think she really saw it.

“Are you guys hungry?” Jenny asked.

“It’s really coming down out there,” Elizabeth said.

I nodded. “Do you want to go out tonight?”

I wasn’t keen on the idea of fighting the weather; from the looks of it, neither was Elizabeth.

“You can’t go out in this,” Jenny interjected. She acted more like Elizabeth’s jailer than her roommate.

Contrarily, I said, “Why not? It’s better than sitting around all night.”

“I’d rather stay here,” Elizabeth said. She shot me a pleading look out of those green eyes of hers and I was lost.

I smiled at her. “If that’s what you want.”

Jenny snorted in derision, but I pretended to ignore her.

“It’s too cold anyway,” I said.

“I’ll build a fire,” Elizabeth said.

“It’s a gas fireplace,” I pointed out.

“Exactly,” she said.

I laughed and she grinned triumphantly. She flicked a button and a flame lit. Instant roaring fire.

I had to admit it was cozy, sitting snug in their living room as the storm raged outside.

I settled back into the sofa and watched the snow fall. Contentment made me nervous. Is this what it was like, not to have a sword dangling over your head all the time?

What prompted my aunts’ rage? They would leave me alone for months, years sometimes, and then Gaston would appear. I didn’t kid myself that it took him that long to find me. How could I finally get them out of my life?

I turned the questions over and over in my mind. Elizabeth’s resemblance to my dead ex wasn’t a coincidence, but what was it? A trap? Good fortune? Something somewhere in between?

I realized that Elizabeth was looking at me expectantly. She’d obviously said something I’d missed.

“You’re staring.”

“You remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I’m not sure.”

Apparently, it was up to me to provide the entertainment. “Up for a game of poker?”

Jenny looked from Elizabeth to me. “I’m going to bed.”

She was barely out of the room before Elizabeth jumped up and went into a discreetly concealed cabinet near the fireplace.

“Let’s make this game interesting,” she said. She handed me a bottle from the cabinet and sat next to me, so close that our legs were touching. She’d given me a bottle of Mezzaluna Italian vodka, my favorite. Coincidence?

“This is my favorite,” I said.

“Mine, too,” she said.

“I have the devil’s own luck,” I warned her.

She grinned at me. “I’m willing to take the chance.” She grabbed the bottle and poured healthy amounts into each glass. “What are the rules?”

“Lowest hand drinks?” I suggested.

We popped some microwave popcorn and used that to bet with.

I watched Elizabeth’s face as we played. My gaze was drawn to her, despite my best efforts to keep my mind on my cards.

An hour later, I wished I had picked some other rules. Elizabeth had spectacularly bad luck and had lost the last five hands. I wasn’t one of those guys who needed to get a girl wasted to get her to make out with me. At least my ego hoped I wasn’t.

I’d won again, but this time I pretended I had the low cards. Elizabeth had somehow gotten closer to me. She’d inched closer, probably without realizing it, during every hand.

“You’re cute,” she slurred. Her pale skin was flushed, and my eyes traced the lines of her body as she stretched like a cat.

I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t let anything distract me from my plan, and Elizabeth could be much more than a distraction.

“I need a break,” I said. I stood and went down the hall to the bathroom, where I splashed cold water on my face.

When I went back into the living room, Elizabeth was gone, so I headed for the guest room.

I bumped into someone standing in the hall and reached out to steady her. Elizabeth.

“I thought you went to bed,” I said.

“I needed to check on something.” She didn’t move away from me. We were so close I could smell the alcohol on her breath.

We stood there, in the dark, where it was quiet, except for the sound of our breath mingling. I wanted to kiss her more than anything. Instead, I realized I was holding her and took a step back.

“Good night,” I said.

“Good night,” she replied.

A pair of men’s pajamas was folded neatly on the bed. I took off my jeans and slid into the cotton bottoms. A fellow could get used to this kind of life, but I needed to keep my distance from her. I needed to find my mother’s charms, take care of the aunties, and get out of Minneapolis. I needed to get away from Elizabeth.

Chapter Eight

The next morning, the weather finally cleared up. When I came down to the kitchen, Jenny was drinking a Bloody Mary. The smell of vodka was strong so I sat at the opposite end of the counter in my borrowed pajama bottoms. The house was warm so I hadn’t bothered with a T-shirt. Besides, I bet it pissed Jenny off that I was walking around shirtless. She’d taken an immediate dislike to me, which was more than reciprocated.

“A little early, isn’t it?”

“That’s rich coming from you,” she snapped.

Elizabeth walked in wearing a maroon sweater and a plaid skirt. Complete posh schoolgirl outfit, even down to the pearls studs decorating her earlobes and the headband in her hair.

I poured a bowl of Wheaties and offered it to her, but she shook her head. “You look different,” I said. “Like a schoolgirl.”

“I
am
a schoolgirl,” she said. She laughed at the look of horror on my face.

“Scared you, didn’t I?” She chuckled. “I’m completely legal. I’m in college.”

I was perplexed by the many faces she’d shown me. Who was the real Elizabeth?

“I have a class in approximately twenty minutes,” she continued. “What are you going to do today?”

“I’ve got stuff to do,” I said. I was going to hit the streets to look for my mother’s charms. I needed to check my messages. I’d never heard from the guy I was supposed to meet at the Red Dragon. It worried me that someone else had bought the charm from him before I could. Or worse.

“You could come with me,” she suggested.

I shook my head. “I’m done with school,” I said.

“Dropout,” I heard Jenny mutter.

I ignored her. “I could use a ride to my car.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Gaston was already trolling the city looking for me. The guy had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to me. He’d sniffed out my hiding spot more times than I wanted to admit. He and my aunts would figure out I was here soon enough, but I wanted it to be a surprise. The kind they’d never forget.

I grabbed my stuff and walked out to Elizabeth’s sports car. She slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. “Where to?” she asked.

“It’s just a couple of blocks away,” I said.

“You promise you’ll call me?” she asked.

She grabbed my phone and programmed her number into it. It was the kind of phone you could use a couple of times and toss, but it freaked me out to have her number stored there.

“Don’t you have to get to class?”

She made a face at me but headed the car in the right direction.

She sang along with the radio as we drove. I didn’t say anything, just watched her. Why was she so eager to keep me around? I didn’t kid myself that it was my strong jaw. She wanted something from me, besides finding her brother, but I wasn’t sure what it was. A competent private detective could find her brother before I could. There was more to the story than what she was telling me.

I hopped out while the light was red. “I’ll see you later,” I said.

“I hope so,” she said. “You promise you’ll be in touch?”

“I’ll be in touch,” I said. I watched her drive away.

*  *  *

I hit a couple of antiques stores, but I didn’t have any luck. My source had been sure that the cat carved from ebony he had was the one I was looking for. He’d indicated that the other charms were in Minneapolis as well. I dialed his number, but it was disconnected. I slammed the phone down and swore.

My next stop was the manufacturing district. Jasper had mentioned my aunts were producing something the magical world had never seen before. But what could it be? And Elizabeth had said her brother was in research and development.

I headed back to the Drake, but as I walked along Fifth Avenue, a few blocks from the hotel, the wind kicked up, sounding like someone was howling in pain.

I glanced up at the graying sky and froze.

High in the sky, large birds circled lazily above the hotel. My skin felt too tight, and it got hard to breathe.