The Banshee's Embrace (2 page)

             
"What she said!" Jacqueline also saluted. As Toby moved away, she leaned towards Angela. "Isn't he cute?"

             
"Toby?"

             
"No. Freakin' Attila the Hun. Yeah, Toby. Have you ever noticed what a great butt he has?"

             
Angela leaned over the bar to get a better look.

             
"I guess it's alright if you like guys with beards and mustaches. That's never been my thing," Angela said.

             
"Maybe you've never had a beard and mustache touch you in the right place," Jacqueline suggested.

             
"Jackie!"

             
Both women giggled.

             
"Seriously, you don't think there is something totally sexy about that guy, Angela?"

             
"Well, if you like big muscles and tight black t-shirts that show off ripped abs, then yes, I think there is some definite hotness going on with Toby. I prefer my latest boyfriend though. He's the strong, silent type with amazing skills in the bedroom." Angela sipped her drink. "Toby's too quiet for me. He's a thinker. And he likes women with big boobs."

             
She glanced down at her breasts and then over at her friend's ample chest.

             
"You're probably his type, Jackie."

             
"Oh hush," Jacqueline said with a laugh. "He's never looked at my breasts."

             
"Not when you were paying attention."

             
Jacqueline sipped her wine and cast another appraising look down the bar at Toby. He was leaning forward now, talking with some guys. Shit. She was probably crazy, but she couldn’t deny the small crush she had on him.

             
"Uh oh." Angela's face turned pale. "I don't feel so good. I think I need to make a pit stop at the bathroom."

             
"Okay." Jacqueline watched her friend stagger off towards the ladies room, knowing that Angela would spend the next few minutes worshipping the porcelain god as she threw up all the alcohol they'd consumed. "Drunk bitch."

             
The older lady sitting two stools down from Jacqueline glared at her and then stuck up her middle finger.

             
"I didn't mean you, Matilda," Jacqueline said with a shake of her head. "You're just a drunk."

             
Matilda, who was indeed quite drunk, nodded her head and went back to nursing her beer. Her shoulders hunched up and to Jacqueline, it appeared Matilda was trying hard to become invisible. Jacqueline had often wondered how old the other woman was. Fifty? Sixty? It was hard to tell, and the lines in Matilda's face grew deeper every day. Her black hair had long streaks of gray in it. Had it looked like that a year ago when she'd first met Matilda? Jacqueline didn't think so but she couldn't remember. So much about the last year had been a blur. So many things had changed.

             
Except for the depression.

             
That clung to her like bad perfume, coating her with such a heavy feeling that Jacqueline often woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air. Her doctor said she was having anxiety attacks, but deep down, she knew it was something more, something her doctor couldn’t begin to understand.

             
Something was changing inside her.

             
Before she could dwell on the thought, the loud blare of banjos burst from the jukebox. Mumford and Sons started playing the opening notes to
Little Lion
Man
.
A loud collective groan ran through the bar.

             
"Closing time!" Toby shouted, cranking up the tune. People slowly began to move from their seat, some tossing money down at the bar or on the table. A few regulars, familiar with the song, grabbed a partner and danced to the jaunty folk melody.

             
Sitting at the bar, Jacqueline hummed along and watched as the Wilsons made their way up to the bar to pay their tab. Belinda and Sean Wilson were the bar's resident fighting couple. They started out each night docile and calm, but as the evening wore on and the liquor flowed more freely, the couple would invariably start to argue. Usually the argument was about Belinda's inability to stop flirting with other guys. Sometimes it was about her need to flirt with other women. Regardless, they were always entertaining. As long as they didn’t drag you into the argument.

             
Tonight they were arguing about the blouse Belinda had chosen to wear. It was a brilliant yellow that stood out in the dim bar and dipped down low to show a fair amount of cleavage.

             
"You wouldn't be cold if you'd cover up a little bit," Sean said, pulling his money out.

             
"I am covered." Belinda crossed her arms and tossed her pretty black hair.

             
"Everyone can see your tits."

             
"No, they can't. You can because you're standing close to me."

             
"Belinda, everyone can see your goodies. Everyone! You might as well just flash the whole damn bar and be done with it," Sean glared.

             
Jacqueline let out a low whistle, already knowing what was coming next. It was never a good to put ideas into Belinda's drunken little brain.

             
"Fine." While Sean counted out his money, Belinda took her top off, revealing that she wore no bra underneath. She tapped him on the shoulder and raised her arms so that her naked breasts were thrust forward. "What do you think? Is that better?"

             
For the customers eyeing Belinda's bare bosom, the whole night had just gotten better!

             
"Dammit!" Sean swore.

             
"Belinda!" Toby's stern voice could be heard above the music. "Put your shirt on or I'll throw your ass out and keep the shirt inside."

             
A cheer went up from the crowd which was quickly silenced by a glare from Toby.

             
"Sean, man up and get your woman out of here."

             
With a sigh, Sean pushed Belinda out the door as she struggled to put her shirt back on.

             
"Everybody out!" Toby hollered. "The boobs are outside now."

             
"Wow." Jacqueline giggled at how quickly everyone exited. "That was some craziness."

             
Toby glared at her. "What are you still doing sitting there? I told everyone to get out."

             
"I'm waiting for Angela. She's in the bathroom."

             
"You get five minutes.  Then I'm going in the bathroom to drag her out by her hair."

             
"What are you, a cave man? Have you been watching too much Game of Thrones again?"

             
Toby said nothing, but she could tell by the way he tossed bottles into the trash can that he wasn't in a great mood.

             
"What are you so pissed about? It's not like Belinda takes her top off every night." Jacqueline got up and grabbed a few empty bottles from a nearby table. She handed them to him. "A little nudity is good for the soul."

             
"But not good for my bar if she started a riot."

             
"Please. Her ta-tas weren't that great."

             
"Ta-tas?"

             
"Just a little nickname Angela and I have for our lady parts."

             
The beginning of a smile lifted the corner of Toby's mouth.

             
Just as she was about to comment on it, Jacqueline felt a familiar tingling in her stomach. Her heartbeat increased and dizziness washed over her, causing her head to begin to ache. She swayed a little and grasped the bar for support.

             
"Uh-oh," she whispered.

             
"Jacqueline, if you are gonna throw up, please do it in the bathroom." Toby's voice came from far away. She barely heard it. In fact, another noise, one only she could hear, danced around in her head. "What's wrong with you?"

             
"I need some air." She moved unsteadily to the door. The urge to be outside was strong, but she'd learned that it was important to follow the feeling, to not fight it. Fighting just made it worse.

             
Toby came around from the bar and grabbed her arm before she could leave. One of his hands came up and gently turned her head towards him. Jacqueline looked into his deep blue eyes which were filled with concern and something else…wonder.

             
"You're eyes," he said, studying them. "They're so green. Are they always like that?"

             
"My eyes are brown." She pulled away. What was he talking about? Green eyes? The need to get outside was stronger, and the awful noise in her head was about to come bursting out, clashing with the fast paced rhythm of Mumford and Sons.

             
Oh, god. Please don't let me be a total freak in front of Toby
.
             

             
The night air cooled her skin as she ran into the parking lot of Merlyn's Bar. The words of Little Lion Man floated behind her.

             
She covered her ears, only dimly aware of the people pulling out of the lot in their cars. Headlights flashed in her eyes and then passed. The sense of deep foreboding that always accompanied her current state surrounded her.

             
Someone was going to die.

****

             
She could just make out Belinda and Sean at the edge of the road, still arguing. In the dim light of the moon, Belinda slapped Sean, the harshness of it breaking through the awful roar in Jacqueline's head. He staggered and then reached forward to return the slap with a harder one of his own. The strength of it caused Belinda to fall to the road.

             
Everything happened in slow motion.

             
Belinda looked up at Sean, astonished to find herself on the ground. Car headlights headed her direction, illuminating her expression which changed from anger to total fear. The screech of brakes rang out, but it was too late. Belinda's body was tossed in the air like a doll before it crashed to the ground with a sickening thud.

             
That's when the song sprang from Jacqueline's throat, freed from its confines. The melody soared through the air, a wailing high pitch keening that caused everyone to turn and look at her. Wind blustered up, lifting her hair, and rippling through the silky sundress she wore.

             
Jacqueline knew no one else could see what was really happening. The more she sang, the more a small yellow light pulsed around Belinda's body. Jacqueline reached out her hands, imagining for a moment that she could pull the light free. After a moment, it did release from the body, just a brilliant globe which drifted up towards the heavens before gently fading away.

             
Only then did Jacqueline stop singing and collapse to the ground, exhausted. Other noises were rushing through the night--voices calling 911, the screams of Sean, the screech of tire and brake as people stopped to see what happened.

****

             
"Jackie? Oh my god, Jackie? What happened? Are you hurt?" Angela's terrified voice cut through everything else. She felt the cool hands of her friend as the brushed back the loose hair on her forehead. "You're burning up. What's going on out here?"

             
"There's been an accident." Toby pointed at the chaos brewing by the tree line. "The ambulance is on its way."

             
"What's wrong with Jackie? Why is she staring like that? And her eyes--"Angela's voice was cut off by Toby.

             
"Take Jacqueline inside to my office," Toby said. "She saw the whole thing. I think she's in shock."

             
"Shock? Then we should take her to the ER, too," Angela started to pull Jacqueline up.

             
"No!" The word was sharp enough for Jacqueline to turn and stare. "Take her into my office. And then I'll call you that cab. I'll take Jacqueline home." Toby commanded.

             
Angela wanted to protest. Jacqueline could see from the tight set of her jaw and the way her eyes sparked with anger that her friend wanted to let loose a vocal trail of fire on Toby Williams, but something in the man's gaze stopped her. He looked fearsome, somehow taller, as if he would not hesitate to strike them if his orders were disobeyed. Frustrated, Angela pulled Jacqueline back into Toby's bar and headed down the side hallway to his office.