The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) (16 page)

“Oh…” she said, embarrassed. “Sorry.” Then her face grew grave. “Do
you
believe in witches?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

He leaned in closer with a playful smile. “Only beautiful ones with cute freckles,” he said, making her cheeks burn self-consciously. She scoffed and busied herself stirring her tea again, pretending she wasn’t terribly aware of his eyes following her every move.

“My grandmother warned me about something else.” Her mismatched eyes snapped up to meet his, worried. He thought they were the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. “She said that you looked like you were high maintenance.”

When she realized he was teasing her she forced a smile. When he started la
ughing she couldn’t help but join in. She was unaccustomed to being around someone with his jolly nature, but it felt good to participate in his happiness.

He stopped laughing to regard her warmly.
“Rosa wanted me to tell you that she appreciated your help.”

Layla nodded. “It was no big deal.”

“Yes it was. You made all the difference. I think I was only making him angrier.”

“Why is he so mad at you?” she asked, remembering his surge of rage.

“I helped her get away from him.” He sighed. “Rosa jumped into things with Jose much too quickly. By the time she realized what he was really like she had the twins… She hid his abuse from the family for a long time.”

“What abuse?”
Layla asked.

“
First he started keeping her away from her friends and family. Then we found out he was hitting her.” His jaw clenched with protective anger.

“That’s terrible!”

“Yeah. He’s a real control freak, and he flips out when he drinks. He’ll feel real bad tomorrow and apologize to everyone, and he makes you want to believe him. Rosa always forgave him until the twins got old enough to see what was going on. She doesn’t want them to grow up around that.”

Layla nodded, wondering why people had to be so cruel to one another. “That’s good.”

“I helped her move into her own place and file a restraining order. You should have seen him when he realized she was leaving him. He went nuts. Ask any cop… Domestic arguments are the most dangerous calls you’ll ever get.” He scratched the back of head and chuckled, “We sure could have used your witchcraft that day.”

“Very funny,” she rolled her eyes at him.

“Enough about him,” he said. “What’s the story with your family? It sounds like your father was real strict and everything.”

Her voice went cold,
“The professor is
not
our father. He was our guardian.”

He nodded, “So what happened to your parents?”

“Our mother died when we were little.”

“How?”

She squirmed a little in her seat, finally looking him squarely in the eye. “She killed herself.”

He flushed pale blue with empathy, but he kept up his questions, “I’m sorry… What about your father?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I used to believe he was dead too, but now I don’t know.”

“
Wait a minute… How did this professor guy end up raising you?”

He was genuinely curious, and surprisingly, Layla found herself talking about things she’d never discussed with anyone before. She told him that her mother was an orphan who had gotten involved in a research project with Professor Reed, and had signed over custody of her twins to him. She explained that when she found out about her grandmother’s connection to the land she was dr
iven to try and re-capture something from the past.

“Everyone else thinks I’m crazy to want to re-build
the old house,” she said. “But it feels like I should. I don’t know what else to do.”

“I understand,” he told her. “History is important.”

She described her fruitless attempts to identify her paternal father, and he wanted to help. 

“What did the professor say about him?”

“He never talked about it.”

“He must know something!”

“It seems likely,” she said grimly.

“You never asked?”

“He didn’t like talking about her. I didn’t even know what really happened to my mother until Cali found us. Then we kinda… left in a hurry. I haven’t seen him since.”

“You should ask him.”

She shuddered involuntarily. “I’d like to, but don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Michael and I left San Francisco on bad terms, and everyone thinks I should just let it go.”

“Do you want to let it go?” he asked gently.

“No,” she replied. “But I’m afraid to go see him alone.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Her eyes flew open wide as she considered the implications. “He’d never try anything if I showed up with a cop… I mean, a policeman.”

He looked surprised. “What do you think he would try?”

“Nothing,” she blurted out too fast, adding, “It’s just… He might try and get me to stay.”

“I’m off tomorrow if you want to take a trip to the city then.”

“You’d really do that for me?”

He leaned forward to look into her eyes with intensity, “It would be my pleasure.”

They made plans to meet for breakfast and head out for San Francisco first thing in the morning. Satisfied and hopeful, Layla relaxed, leaned back in the booth, letting the stress of the day melt away into the warm colors that he kept washing over her. She yawned, turning away and covering her mouth.

“I should get you home,” he said.

She nodded. She was exhausted, and her feet ached from the new shoes she was wearing. When they got to the car they drove along in a comfortable silence, and Layla actually found herself drifting off, fighting sleep. Before she knew it, they were pulled up in front of her house. Ramon cut the engine and turned to face her.

She blinked a few times, stretching, “Ramon?”

“Yeah?” he said, leaning in closer.

“Would you bring your gun tomorrow?”

His color changed to a shocked yellow. “Why?”

She sat up straight, now fully awake. “No reason. Nothing. Nevermind. Thank you for inviting me,” she said, suddenly formal. She
offered her hand for a shake.

Ramon took it, and held on. “So, are you dating that Conrad guy, or what?”

“Why?” she asked, feeling the sweet emotion flowing through his hand. It was a strange sensation, and she pulled back suddenly.

“Because i
f I had a girl like you, I wouldn’t want her anywhere near a guy like me.”

“What kind of guy are you?”

“One who’s interested in you.”

He saw her eyebrows
arch up, but he couldn’t tell what she thought about it. There was something about her that was powerfully alluring to him, something strange that he couldn’t quite figure out. She seemed so fragile, and yet she made him nervous. She was both weak and strong, smart and stupid, sophisticated and naive all at the same time. She was a mystery that he knew he could spend a lifetime trying to solve.

She looked into his searching eyes, so warm and dark, so completely sincere. “Can I … Can I touch your hair?” she asked.

She expected him to laugh at her, but he nodded yes, scooting closer to incline his head. She reached up and stroked the crown, expecting it to feel rough, like a bristle brush.

“It’s soft!” she gasped, surprised. Ramon smiled and closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. She gave in to a sudden impulse and bent down to plant a kiss on his lips, pulling back to look at him with shocked eyes. He was as surprised as she was by her bold move, but before he could react
she bolted out of the car and raced to the front door. She’d just gotten it open when he called out to her.

“Layla?”

She paused, “Yes?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow
morning.”

~

Layla tossed and turned in bed that night, realizing that Ramon’s grandmother was right. She really was sort of like a witch, whatever that meant. Unfortunately, she’d been a black witch all of her life. She’d used her ability to do the bidding of evil men, and it had brought bad fortune down upon her and Michael.

Today she’d used her
synesthesia to protect the innocent, and her powers had been stronger than ever before. If she had to be a witch, she thought, she could at least try and be a white one. Cali was right, she could find a way to use her peculiar talents for good. Maybe she could even wipe the slate clean someday, erasing all the wrong she had done.

“Bruja Blanca,” she said out loud, and something surprising occurred to her. She’d just spent the entire day with Ramon, and although she’d come close, she’d managed to show some restraint.

She hadn’t changed his colors once.

~

Chapter Fourteen

SAN FRANCISCO

~

“Good morning,” Layla announced her presence as she entered the kitchen.

Cali was crouched down, checking on something in the oven. She looked up with a smile, “Hey Layla. You’re just in time for breakfast.”

“Thanks anyway, but I’m on my way out the door.”

Caledonia scrutinized her cousin with all-seeing eyes. “You look nice today. Where
are you headed?”

Layla paused for a moment before replying. She knew how strongly Cali was opposed to her going to visit the professor. “Uhm… I’m going to meet Ramon for breakfast.”

Cali narrowed her eyes, noticing how edgy her cousin was. “I take it things went well yesterday? We heard you get in late last night…”

Layla just smiled, rummaging in her bag for her car keys. Cali came closer to look her in the eyes, “What are you going to do about Conrad?”

“I don’t know,” Layla bit her lip. “I’m not sure.”

Cali looked surprised, “Are you going to keep seeing him?”

“Uhm... I told him I’d go to a thing with him next weekend.”

“You’re going to date
both
of them?”

“I’m not really
dating
Ramon… It’s more like we’re just good friends.”

Caledonia
looked dubiously at her cousin. “Whatever you say.”

Layla’s cheeks flushed bright pink. She’d gone from having no suitor
s to having two at the same time, and as much as she told herself that she was only bringing Ramon along as a bodyguard, she was nearly as nervous about seeing him again as she was at the prospect of facing Teddy. 

She hurried out of the house before Caledonia could weasel any more information out of her, fully aware of her inability to hide anything from her perceptive cousin.
When she arrived in the heart of the nearby town she parked and hurried into the diner. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ramon’s smiling face beaming up at her.

“Good morning,” he said, standing while she slid into the booth across from him. “You look nice today.” He was
dressed casually in jeans and a pullover, while she was wearing a business-like skirt and blazer over a colorful silken blouse with a ruffled neckline. Her hair was pinned neatly into a low bun, and she stood tall in high heeled, open-toed stilettos.

“Thank you,” she replied solemnly, “As do you.”

He handed her a menu, waving for the waitress. “Tea?” he asked her.

“Yes please,” she replied.

They made small talk over breakfast, focusing on the weather and Layla’s building plans. When he insisted on paying the bill, she insisted on driving to the city. “Are you ready?” he asked her as they got up to go.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said with determination, leading him out to where she’d parked.

“Nice ride,” Ramon commented, admiring the pristine white leather interior of her new convertible.

Layla
didn’t know quite what to say, fully aware of the rumors of ill-gotten gains that swirled around her entire household. She thanked him politely, asking him to pick a radio station to listen to on the long drive. Ramon relaxed and looked at the scenery as they drove; Layla grew more and more nervous the closer they got to the city.

They finally pulled up in front of the nondescript building in the industrial district where she and Michael had spent most of their childhood
, and memories came flooding back to her as she looked up and down the street. She cut the engine, announcing in a quavery voice, “Here we are.”

“Where’s the house?” Ramon asked, looking around. He’d expected to be taken to a street lined with mansions, but once again, Layla surprised him.

“This is it,” she explained, her voice tight. She looked up to see the barred window of her former room and her hands started trembling.

“Hey,” he said gently, covering her hand with his. “Are you okay?”

She nodded unconvincingly, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you want to do this right now?” he asked, “We can always come back later…”

“No… No. I want to get it over with.”

He squeezed her hand gently.
“Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll be right beside you.”

She flashed tremulous smile
. “Thank you.”

Ramon walked with her to a nondescript metal door, the wires of a long-gone surveillance camera still dangling from above. Layla steeled herself, projecting a confidence she didn’t really feel, and pressed the buzzer.

A few long minutes passed, and the door finally squeaked open a crack before flying open wide to reveal a thin man with surprise in his watery blue eyes. He looked older and smaller to Layla, his normally pristine lab coat rumpled and stained. The sour stench of desperation wafted out of the door from behind him.

He threw his arms open wide, “Layla! I knew you’d return to me!”

When she flinched back he noticed Ramon.

“Th-t
his is my f-friend,” stammered Layla. “He’s a policeman,” she added hastily.

Professor Reed’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What do you want?” he asked her.

She stood up straighter, taller than him in her heels. “I’d like to have a word with you. I have some questions about my father.”

He considered her request for a moment, and then stood back, “Why don’t you come inside.”

Layla exchanged a glance with Ramon, and he stayed right alongside her as they followed the old man down the empty hallway. They passed several small rooms that looked like prison cells to Ramon, and a shiver down his spine told him that this was an evil place. A bank of windows to the right looked into what appeared to be some kind of mad scientist’s workshop, its long metal tables crowded with test tubes and curious machines.

The man gestured to an elevator at the end of the hallway, “Shall we go up to the sitting room?”

“No!” Layla stopped in her tracks, looking up and down the hall suspiciously, as though she expected some kind of trap. “We can talk down here.”

Professor Reed studied her nervously, and Ramon noticed that he seemed to go out of his way to avoid making direct eye contact. Everything about the way the two of them were interacting was odd, and all of his policeman’s instincts told him to be on guard.
It suddenly occurred to him that she had wanted him to come armed.

The old man gestured to a door, “Come, we can discuss this in the lab.”

They followed him into the room where he pulled a couple of chairs in front of a desk.  He took a seat facing them, opening a drawer to extract a pair of sunglasses and place them on a pile of papers filled with tiny, precise writing.

Layla
took a good look around before sitting down. Ramon stood behind her, uneasy.

“Where are your manners Layla?” The old man smiled ingratiatingly at Ramon, “I’m Professor Theodore Reed.”

Ramon reached across the desk to shake his hand, “Ramon Ruiz,” he said with a curt nod, finally taking the seat beside Layla.

The professor cleared his throat, addressing her once more, “How have you been? You look well.”

“I’m fine,” she replied. She couldn’t say the same for him, realizing how difficult the past year must have been for him. After everything she’d been put through, and despite all the terrible things she knew about him, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of pity.

“Are you still… with Max?” he asked.

She shook her head no. “Max is dead.”

He raised his eyebrows and nodded with satisfaction. It was the first bit of good news he’d had in a long time.

“Where do you live now?”

“
That’s none of your business.”

Ramon
looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering why Layla seemed so jumpy. He scanned the cluttered laboratory, thinking the professor seemed more crazy than dangerous. He had a hard time imagining someone as polished and sophisticated as Layla being raised in such a bizarre place.

“I want to know who my father is,” she blurted out.

He smiled patronizingly. “Why Layla, I’d always hoped you thought of me as your father.”

“I want to know who my biological father was… is,” she replied tersely.

“I haven’t seen you for nearly a year and this is all you have to say to me?” the professor complained, his face distressed with mock hurt. Now that he knew she wanted something his colors shifted to a triumphant silvery violet.

“Do you know anything?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“I’ll have to check my records.”

“Your records?” she asked. 

He gestured towards a wall of filing cabinets. “I couldn’t possibly find anything for
days
. Everything has been in disarray since the day you disappeared. Max took everything from me that day, including you…. My most valuable–”

“Possession,” she finished his sentence, her lips curling with disgust. “That’s all I ever was to you– A means to an end. You haven’t even asked about Michael once.”

Professor Reed’s beady eyes darted over to Ramon, and Layla could see the old man was wondering how much he knew. “How is Michael?” he asked.

She sneered, “He never wants to see you
ever again
.”

“I’m very disappointed in you Layla. You were such a sweet girl until you were led down the wrong path by that… that…
Caledonia
,” he spat out her name with scorn.

“Cali told me the truth,” she said, looking at him meaningfully. “
And you as well.”

“She ruined everything! If it wasn’t for her, why I– I was on the verge of–” he leaned forward intensely, his face reddening, spittle flying. Ramon sat up protectively.

Layla shied back from him, a look of disgust blooming on her face. “Michael was right. This is pointless. I never should have come.”

“Now Layla,” he regained his composure. “
Michael never had all of your brilliant gifts…”

“
He was brilliant enough to warn me not to bother with you.” Layla rose from her chair, followed by Ramon. “It’s time to go,” she told him, turning for the door.

Professor Reed sprang up from his seat, calling after her, “Wait! How will I contact you if I find anything?”

She paused, not entirely ready to give up her last shred of hope.

“Why don’t you give me your number?” he added.

She turned around, evaluating him for sincerity. “I’ll call you.”

He held out his empty palms in a gesture of defeat. “Sorry, but I can no longer afford to keep a phone…” Once again, she felt an unexpected rush of pity for him.

He shuffled over to hand her a paper and pen with an ingratiating smile. She hesitated, rationalizing, weighing her options. If he started to bother her, she could always get it changed. She wrote down her number and handed it over.

Layla walked out with Ramon by her side, feeling a flood of relief once the door closed behind them. She rushed to get back into her car and sat for a moment, gripping the steering wheel tightly, trying to get control of her conflicted emotions.

Ramon finally broke the silence, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she lied. “I am.”

Ramon’s spoke tentatively, “He seemed like a pretty creepy guy… I can understand why you wanted to change your name.”

She nodded again, taking a shaky breath. She wasn’t sure if she was more angry or hurt, but now that the veil had been lifted from her eyes she could see what a manipulative sociopath Teddy really was. There was never any love from him, only reward
and punishment. She meant no more to him than one of his animal subjects.

After spending the past few months watching people with genuine affection for one another his utter… emptiness… was glaringly obvious. She’d spent her entire childhood trying to earn the love of someone incapable of loving. She’d always thought that if she could only perform a little better, please him just a little more, that she’d get the love she’d always craved from him. Now she could see that it was not her fault.

At least that’s what she tried to convince herself.

Ramon was overcome with curiosity, “What was that all about? What did he do to you?
Who’s Max?” Ramon asked.

She looked at him with tears blurring her vision. “I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t… I just can’t.” She looked away, gathering herself.

“Hey,” he nudged her gently. “Since we’re in the city anyway… Let’s go do something fun today.”

She wiped her eyes with her wrists. “Like what?”

“I dunno… How about Fisherman’s Wharf?”

“I’ve never been there.”

Ramon was surprised. “You grew up in the city, and you’ve never been to Fisherman’s Wharf?”

“Ted– The professor sa
id that it was a tacky tourist trap.”

“It is!” Ramon smiled, dimples popping on his cheeks. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun.”

She looked into his dark eyes and nodded, feeling much better. “Okay.”

He directed her where to go and before she knew it they were walking along a wooden boardwalk, taking in all kinds of new sights and sounds. There were seaside restaurants and snack stands, souvenir shops and street vendors. Seagulls shrieked and swooped for scraps among the throngs of people eating, shopping and sightseeing.