A writer is only a writer when she writes. What about the rest of the time? What about when nothing else in the world seems to matter or when the welfare of your children consumes you or you feel like nothing is left to say? What happens when you feel like you've already served your purpose on this planet, but your body refuses to just die, and you are either to big of a coward or or have made promises not to take matters in your own hands?
The common answer is to just sit back and let life happen. Not a good plan. When you let life happen to you, you end up with the throw-away parts of life that no one really wants. You end up with nothing you really want and a lot of what you never expected. And you know what is the worst part? If you are not willing to take control. If you are not willing to be an active participant in your own life, you really have no grounds on which to complain.
Welcome to my world lately.
The Biker Wore Red
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The biker wore red. The red leather chaps were fastened over Wrangler jeans; the red leather jacket boasted an array of bold silver zippers and snaps snazzy enough to earn the envy of Michael Jackson fans everywhere. He fell short of fashion plate perfection, though. The steel-toed boots were biker-black standard issue, and both the boots and the Raiders baseball cap pressed down firmly over his wild locks had seen better days.
Between his legs roared the engine of a Harley Easy Rider. At the head of a pack of more than a dozen bikers, he was at home no matter what part of the country they traveled through. Today, he called Arizona home.
The mirrored lenses of his shades reflected a neon sign ahead announcing the Last Chance Grill and Gas. Red glanced at his odometer. Seventy-four miles out of Tucson, and within spitting distance of the Edmond city limits, according to the sign staked out just feet from the turn into the grill. 'City.' That was a stretch. The green sign set the population at 834. Red assumed that included the dog and cat population, if Eli's description held up to close scrutiny.
He signaled a left turn and pulled into the Last Chance parking lot. The pack riding behind him followed his lead and formed a two-by-two wave of chrome and rubber as they poured into the empty lot after him.
Niki looked up from the paperback novel pressed open on the counter as the roar of motorcycles announced her first customers all day. It wasn't unusual to see bikers, but this bunch was different, straight out of a Mad Max movie. An ox of a man wearing red leathers and a lanky biker with long, stringy black hair headed her way; the rest dismounted and stood around, smoking cigarettes and checking their bikes for road wear and bug debris.
The door opened, letting in a gust of hot air followed by the two bikers she had spotted heading her way. Niki was trying to determine if the taller of the two was a man or a woman. As they approached the counter, scruffy razor stubble and unabashed crotch scratching cleared up the gender question for her.
"You be Nikita Travis?"
The gruff voice seemed to come from nowhere, but since she had been busily admiring the collection of jewelry and piercings decorating the taller man's head, she assumed the speaker was his companion.
"I'm Nikita. Why?"
"Eli sent us."
Eli? Her Eli? She pictured a fourteen year old, sandy-blonde youngster who preferred studying bugs or stars to human companionship. Her junior by eighteen months, they were worlds apart in personality, but had been as close as any brother and sister could be when it came to supporting each other in the months after their mother had walked out, leaving them to care for their old man.
"He sent me to get you."
"How do I know that? I haven't heard from him in years."
"Lenny?"
The lanky stranger with the piercings and facial makeup removed the saddlebag from his shoulder and slapped it down on the counter. The other man flipped it open, removed a well-worn bible, and opened the front cover.
Staring back at Niki was her own handwriting. To Eli: May you stay safe and return home soon. Niki. She had given the bible to Eli on the day he'd left for boot camp.
With tobacco-stained fingers, the stranger flipped to the middle of the book. A St. Christopher's medal on a gold chain marked the twenty-third Psalm.
Hands shaking, Niki turned the medal over to inspect the back. The inscription read "With love always, Mom." An identical medal hung around her neck.
"This doesn't prove anything. You could have stolen these or…or found them."
"But I didn't."
She might have accused him of not finishing his eggs.
"Where is he? Why didn't he make the trip, if he wanted to see me?" She still lived in the same house they had grown up in. All these years, he'd known where to find her, but he hadn't. Why now?
"He's about a day from here. His health wouldn't let him make the trip, so I made it for him. We need to leave soon." The biker shut the bible, slipped it back into the saddlebag, and handed the bag to Lenny. With a nod, Lenny took the bag and left.
Niki paced in the small space behind the counter as her mind tried to wrap around this new development. Eli was alive! Twenty years ago, her dad had received a letter from his commander announcing he had died in action, but it had taken more than that to convince Niki. It had taken twenty years of silence and nagging doubt eating at her subconscious.
"I don't even know your name, and you expect me to drop everything and leave? I don't have a day off until Tuesday. Come back then or, or leave me directions. I'll be there when I can." She knew she was babbling, trying to buy time to think. She knew the wise thing to do would be to call Sam and let him check it out.
"I can't do that."
"At least let me call my fiancé and my boss. I can't leave the store unattended. Besides, Sam is the sheriff. If Eli's in trouble, he may be able to help." She turned her back to Red and picked up the receiver.
Red walked around the counter and jerked the phone from her hand. "I can't let you do that."
She became all too aware of his proximity. He smelled of dust, leather, and that musk natural to only one man in a million. And he was big, even bigger than she had first believed. His girth made it impossible to move around him in the confined space between the counter and the magazine rack against the opposite wall. His head barely cleared the Coors Light banner hanging from the ceiling.
"Let me go!"
"Negative." He grabbed a handful of her t-shirt and drew back his free arm. His closed fist snapped back for a quick jab to her jaw.
The blow did its job. Niki's eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed against the hold Red had on her shirt.
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Red draped Niki over his shoulder before to retrieving her bag from its place beside her stool. His size thirteen boots made quick time to the front door. He was careful to clear the doorframe without any additional injury to his unconscious passenger.
"Hey, T.C.! Catch!" He threw Niki's bag to the black woman leaning against the cherry-red sidecar, talking to Lenny and a dishwater blonde in a half shirt.
T.C. caught it one-handed, flicking her cigarette butt into the dirt with the other.
"Find her keys," Red ordered. "Lock up the store then meet me round back. The jeep has to be hers. You're driving."
Niki's head bounced to the side, banging into the window with a loud thunk. She let out a moan and rubbed her sore jaw. Working it back and forth, she assured herself nothing was broken.
"It's about time you woke up." T.C. smiled at her drowsy passenger. "I hope you don't mind, but I changed your radio station. Songs about drinking, cheating, and coon dogs ain't my bag."
Niki didn't recognize the song playing but guessed blues or jazz—definitely not the country she preferred.
"Where are we?"
The jeep was encased in a cloud of dust so thick that the bike directly ahead was little more than a back tire and a foggy image.
"Hell if I know. Close to home, I guess. Red left the highway a couple of hours ago."
"Red? He's the guy who hit me, isn't he?"
"Yeah." T.C. chuckled. "Never expected him to do that. He's usually a pussycat. What ticked him off, anyway?"
"I didn't want to leave."
"Even after you heard Eli was waiting?" T.C. shook her head. "No wonder he decked you. Red makes sure Eli gets what he wants. We'll get some ice on it back at camp. You may bruise, but there won't be any permanent damage."
It didn't feel that way at the moment.
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Half an hour later, the jeep pulled into a camp made up of a variety of RV's, trailers, and a dilapidated tour bus sitting up on blocks. T.C. pulled up to the bus and turned off the engine.
"End of the line, sugar. It's not much, but provided the generator doesn't give out, it's air conditioned."
A quick survey of the camp perimeter was enough to convince Niki that being cooperative was her best option. Sentries were posted at fifty-yard intervals, armed with automatic weapons. Besides, she wanted to see Eli.
She followed T.C. into the bus. The run-down condition of the exterior did nothing to prepare her for the comfortable, shabby chic interior, heavily accented with deep purples and glass beads.
"Do you like? I still have the kitchen to work on, but for the most part, it's what I always imagined."
T.C. stood to one side with her hands on her hips as she surveyed her handiwork. "I can't believe it took me a lifetime to make a home for myself. Eli made that possible, you know."
"Nice. Is Eli here?"
"No, he has his own place. I thought we'd clean up a bit first then go over after dinner. We look about the same size; let me find you something fresh to wear. You can clean up through there." She nodded towards the back of the bus.
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The man lying under the army blanket bore little resemblance to the Eli Niki remembered. The once boyishly full face was now little more than skin and hair sagging from his skull, the eyes sunken and rimmed with dark circles. But there was no mistaking the voice.
"Is it you? Is it really you?"
"Yes, Eli. I'm here."
An emaciated hand reached from beneath the covers and latched onto hers. "How long has it been? It seems like forever."
"Twenty-two years, come September. We thought you were dead."
A slow grin spread across his face. "As someone once said, rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated. Here, sit. We need to talk."
"Where've you been? We got a message saying you died in Saudi."
"If only I'd been so lucky. Six months after setting up camp, we were attacked and I suffered a brain injury, resulting in amnesia. My bunkmate wasn't so lucky. Somehow, our IDs got switched and they sent him home in a body bag with my name on it. I spent the next year or so in and out of hospitals. No one could tell me if I would ever get my memory back, or what was causing my other problems. I couldn't sleep, I had chronic diarrhea so debilitating I couldn't keep a job, and I suffered an endless array of bacterial infections. And the drugs they gave me were as bad as the problems. So, I split and headed for the coast. That's where I met Red. You met Red, didn't you?"
Niki rubbed her discolored jaw. "Yeah, we've met."
"Did he do that?" At Niki's nod, he sighed. "Sorry, my fault. Red can be a bit rough sometimes, but he means well. Anyway, Red found me passed out on the beach and gave me a meal. Since then, we've taken care of each other. I couldn't ask for a better friend.
"Why didn't you call when you regained your memory?"
"By then, I had a new life, one I didn't think you, or more importantly, Dad, would care for. Besides, why put you through losing me twice?" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"What makes you think we'll have to go through it again?"
"You've got to understand, I didn't put everything back together again until very recently, just in time to find out I have lung cancer—officially, that is. Unofficially, it's GWI: Gulf War Illness. It was hell over there, Niki. Unsafe radiation levels, fumes from the oil fires—it sank into our pores so deep no amount of soap and water would wash away the stink. It felt like a polluted film over our whole bodies. Not to mention the sand, and who knows what kind of chemical and biological agents were being used."
"What about treatment? Can't the doctors do anything?"
"I'm too far gone. Besides, I'm tired, Niki. It's time."
"Is that why you had your goons kidnap me? To watch you die?"
"No. God, no! Nikita, I need your help—we need your help. I would never have sent Red for you otherwise." He hesitated. "It involves mom."
"Mom?" The last time Niki had seen their mother, she was watching her load the car and drive away. Niki had just turned sixteen. It hadn't exactly been what she'd had in mind as a birthday present.
"Yeah. You see, when I started recovering my memory, Mom's was the first name I could come up with. Red thought she might help me regain my full memory, so he tracked her down. After she left us, she met an ex-con named Rodriquez. They got married and relocated to Kansas City.
"She still lives there; she's an ER nurse. You wouldn't recognize her now, Niki. Our petite mother with the long blonde hair and dimples is now a plump, grandmotherly type with short, curly hair and a scar down the left side of her face, where Rodriguez marked her as his "property." I went ballistic when I saw that. He'd be dead now if she hadn't stopped me from bashing his brains in."
"She stayed with him?" Niki was incredulous.
"Yeah, can you believe it? She left us because life in Edmond was too boring, but she stayed with that bastard."
Nikita remembered helping her mother cover bruises with makeup after Dad had had one too many at the bar and slapped her around. Had Eli been too young to realize what was going on, or was that part of his memory still missing? "So, what do you want me to do?" she asked. "Get her away from him?"
"He had a heart attack ten months after Mom and I were reunited. He was out deer hunting; never even made it back to the city. No, it's something more important than that." He looked at her seriously. " Niki, do you believe in black magic?"
Dumbfounded, Niki stuttered "I…I never thought about it before. I guess…I mean, anything is possible, I guess."
"Rodriguez practiced black magic, Niki. Two days after my run-in with him over Mom, I was sitting in a bar with Red, T.C., and the other bikers you saw today. We were knocking back brews and telling lies when an explosion in the back room knocked us on our asses, broken glass and splintered wood flying everywhere. The bar was destroyed.
"By all rights, we should have been dead, every one of us. The newspapers even reported it: twelve dead, seven critically injured. T.C.'s left arm was blown completely off. And Lenny… He was the closest to the explosion. Does he look like a dead man to you?
"There isn't one of us who remembers a thing of what happened next, until we woke up the next day, back at camp, all in one piece and breathing. About a week later, Lenny took some of the gang into town for supplies. When they hadn't come back by nightfall, Red went looking for them.
"He found the supply truck and Lenny's bike at the bottom of a ravine, but no bodies. So, he went into town and checked with the local law. A witness saw a semi force the truck off the road. There were no survivors. In fact, there wasn't even enough left of the bodies to bring back to camp for burial.
"Niki, the next morning Lenny and the others woke up in their bunks, oblivious to what had happened the day before, just like after the explosion. And there have been other incidents, too. I could go on and on. Every time anyone has left the camp, there has been an incident leading to a fatality, and every morning following the fatality, the victims awake as if nothing has happened."
Niki was stunned. "How do you know Rodriguez was responsible?"
"He told me, about a month after the bombing. I awoke one night to find Rodriguez standing over my bed, wearing a grin to fit Satan, and the red garments to match. To this day, I can remember his exact words. 'You should never have interfered,' he hissed, his voice dripping with venom. 'You and your people will pay for that. Each time one of you leaves this camp and goes into the world, you will come back under the cover of darkness, a dead man revived. See what happens to those who cross me?' He ran a hand over his satanic-looking garments. 'How do you like me now?' he said, smiling again. 'It was so simple, too,' he gloated. 'Just a few words chanted over the carcass of a sacrificial goat, and you'll suffer a million fold the pain you inflicted on me.' Then he raised his arms over his head and, with a menacing laugh, disappeared. Within minutes, the others had crowded into my room. They had all had the same vision."
"Wait a second," Niki broke in. "You said everyone was cursed, but Red left to find Lenny, and came back in one piece, didn't he?"
"You're as quick as ever," Eli approved. "Yes, Red is able to come and go as he wants without retribution. But you're getting ahead of the story.
"I tried to go back to Kansas City, to confront Mom and Rodriguez, but each time, I would fall victim to the curse before the sun set and wake up back in my bed the next morning. If Red rode out with one of us, he suffered the same fate as whomever he was with. But the strange thing was, whenever he rode alone, he was immune from the curse. It took us weeks to discover that, though.
"So, he made the trip to Kansas City on my behalf. By then, Rodriguez was dead. Mom hadn't been aware of the curse until Red told her, but she's been working on a way to break the curse ever since. She's had some successes, too."
"What kind of progress?"
"Do you see that leather bag over there?"
He motioned to a bag the size of a change purse hanging from a long strap hooked over the back of a chair. The strap was decorated with feathers, what Niki decided was a chicken's foot, and a squirrel's tail.
"I see it."
Eli licked his lips. Niki, taking it as a sign he was thirsty, offered him a drink from the pitcher of water by the bed.
He took a sip before continuing. "That was her first success. With that poultice, I can move the camp under the cover of darkness."
"What?"
Eli's face lit up, and for the briefest moment, the spirit of the old Eli showed through. "It's like playing God, Niki. It takes a lot out of me though, and I'm not sure how many more moves I have left in me now. But it's allowed us to move the entire camp and eveything—everyone—in it to within a day's ride of whatever we need."
Niki looked doubtful. "Don't people freak when you just appear and disappear?"
"That's the coolest part. Mom programmed in a safety feature that prevents the camp from locating any closer than twenty miles from the nearest neighbor. It's a little prohibitive, but it saves on unwanted publicity, visits from the law and the like."
"Does it prevent the deaths?" Niki asked.
Eli shook his head. "No. It doesn't do that. That came when Mom denounced her connection to the Black Arts and joined a sect practicing White magic. That was about two years later. The sect was able to develop a counteractive spell giving us a partial reprieve. We can travel beyond the gates uninhibited during the daylight hours, but when the sun sets, the deal is off. We either return to the camp willingly before dark, or unwillingly through death after."
"And, that's how they were able to find me?"
He nodded, and they regarded each other silently for a few moments.
Niki stood up and stretched. She had so much to absorb. Her mother. Magic. Curses. Eli alive but ill. She needed time. She needed Sam. A glance at her watch confirmed they had been talking for more than three hours without a break.
Eli noticed. "I can see you're tired, Niki. I'm tired, too. Red's waiting outside to take you back to T.C.'s place."
"What about you? Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?"
"Red takes care of me. I can wait until he gets back." He closed his eyes, content to let the darkness take over. He had told her what she needed to know, but the effort had been exhausting.
When Niki didn't move, he said, "It's ok, Sis. Tomorrow's soon enough to finish. I won't die if you leave the room, you know. I couldn't even if I wanted to, remember?"
She placed a tentative kiss on his forehead. "I guess there's a part of me afraid you'll disappear again if I look away. Like waking from a dream, or something."
Eli took her hand and placed it on his cheek. "I missed you, Niki. There were so many times I wanted to call or write, but I couldn't pull you into my problems. I wouldn't now, if there was any other option. Thanks for coming."
His hand slipped from its place on top of hers as his breathing evened out and he gave in to the need for rest. Niki waited until she was sure she wouldn't be missed before letting herself out.
Red was squatting in front of the fire with his back to her, stirring the embers with an ash-stained stick.
"You be done?" he asked without turning.
"Yes. Eli said I would be staying at T.C.'s."
"This way, then." Red pointed toward the bus, falling into step beside her as she picked her way across the camp. A pack of dogs were stretched out in the sand in front of T.C.'s door. They looked up, but didn't move as Nicki stepped up.
Within minutes of T.C. showing her to her bunk, Niki was asleep.
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Niki was still on her first cup of coffee when Red let himself into the bus the following morning.
"Well, good morning!" T.C. greeted him. "Time for a cup of coffee?" She filled a cup and set it down on the table across from Niki without waiting for a response.
"Can't. Eli's waiting for his sister." He nodded in Niki's direction.
"Oh, Eli can wait long enough for you to have one cup," T.C. protested.
Red just shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked poi tedly toward the open door.
Niki settled it. "Red's right. I promised Eli I'd be there first thing this morning. We still have a lot to catch up on." She rose and took a last sip of coffee then put the cup in the kitchen sink. "Thanks for putting me up, T.C."
She followed Red out the door as T.C. rattled on about enjoying the company, and how white folks needed to learn to take it easy more often.
Niki had to take two steps to every one of Red's just to keep up. "How is he this morning?"
"He'll do."
"You don't talk, much do you? Or is it me?"
"It's not you."
Niki let it drop. She had too much on her mind for small talk, anyway.
Eli was propped up reading a tattered magazine when Niki arrived. "Good morning. How did you sleep? Did T.C. make you her world famous hotcakes?"
"Fine. Yes. You'd have thought she was feeding an army, with the stack she set down in front of me."
Eli grinned. "She always does. That pack of dogs running around here is hers, and she splits her monster-sized meals between them, and two or three of the unattached men. She's been eyeing Red now for years, but he ain't biting."
He patted the mattress beside him. "Here, sit with me. We still have a lot to go over before you leave."
"Leave? Already?" Niki couldn't hide her disappointment.
"Afraid so. Mom is expecting you."
"She knows I'm coming?"
"It was her idea to bring you here to begin with."
Niki was skeptical. Her mother hadn't been in contact Niki since she'd abandoned them.
"It's like this," Eli explained. "A few months ago, a member of the sect found a spell in an ancient text that may be the answer to our prayers. That's where you come in."
Niki's imagination went into overdrive and she imagined giving birth to a demon baby that spoke in tongues, before having her heart removed from her chest while it was still beating. She shivered as the blood drained from her extremities, and she paled in dread of what Eli would say next.
"You ok?"
"It depends on what you say next," she said shakily.
"It's not as bad as you think," Eli reassured her. "The spell requires a vial of blood from a close relative of each man cursed to be combined with the blood of a relative of Rodriguez. Your donation is the last of what we need."
Niki felt the color return to her face as Eli smiled.
"Feel better now?" he asked. "See, no one has to die, or sell their soul to the devil, or anything."
Niki nodded a bit sheepishly. "But why did you wait so long? You should have known I'd help as soon as you asked."
"It's a little more complicated than that," Eli explained. "The blood has to be collected by a member of the sect, under very specific conditions. Besides, I wanted to see you. I know it was selfish of me, but I couldn't think of leaving this world without seeing you once more."
"But, if I'd known sooner, we could have had more time!" Niki protested.
"No, honey. I couldn't do that. There was too much to do, and too many unanswered questions, like whether you'd fall under the curse, too."
"Can I ask a dumb question?"
"What's that?" Eli asked, running a hand over her hair and smoothing it away from her face.
"Why didn't you just use Mom's blood?"
"Where we could, we've used the blood of a sibling. Siblings share the blood of both parents, and it makes the bond stronger. In my case, there is no option. The curse centers on me, and we have to do everything we can to optimize our chances."
Niki nodded. "Okay. The sooner we do this, the sooner you'll be free to come home, where I can take care of you. When do I leave?"
"I won't be coming home afterwards, Niki," Eli explained gently. "I can't. Once the curse has been lifted, our spirits will at last be free to cross over completely. Niki, try to remember we've been dead for a long time, most of us, more than once. No, if the spell works, my life—and the lives of everyone else here—will be over."
"We need closure," he explained, "even if it means permanent death. This is no kind of life, living like prisoners, going through the trauma of death only to wake the next day, as if it had just been a bad dream. It's too much. Can you understand what I'm saying, Niki? Can you see why this is so important to all of us?"
"I…I suppose so," Niki said slowly.
"Good." He squeezed her hand encouragingly. "Red will take you to Mom's. He's the only one I can trust to take care of my sister." Eli smiled.
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* * * *
After she'd said her goodbyes to Eli—with only a few tears, but many regrets—Niki found herself alone with Red.
He looked very out of place behind the wheel of her Jeep, but it was a better alternative for the bike-shy Niki than riding behind him on the back of a Harley for the next two days. She climbed in without comment.
They rode without speaking until the Arizona border was a distant memory, and Niki, a social creature by nature, couldn't take the quiet any longer. Besides, Red was an enigma wrapped in bright clothing. He knew Eli better than she did, but he hadn't said more than two dozen words in her presence in two days. She saw him as a challenge.
"So, how did you hook up with Eli?" she began.
"You want to know something about Eli, ask him."
"I did. I was just making conversation." Niki went back to staring out the window, contemplating her next move at getting the stoic man sitting next to her to open up.
"Ok. Then let's talk about you," she tried again after a little while.
"What do you want to know?"
"The usual. Where are you from? Family? Interests? You're parents didn't name you Red, did they? Where did that come from?"
Niki thought she saw the flicker of a smile from beneath his mustache.
"Albert. They named me Albert."
Red fell silent again, but Niki wasn't ready to give up. Red was her brother's best friend. She needed him to be her friend, too.
"Then you had parents?"
"Yeah. Two of them."
"And the handle Red?"
"Can't say as I recall. I've had it as long as I can remember. The boys gave me the leathers last year for Christmas."
By the time they reached the outskirts of Kansas City, Niki knew the history of his Easy Rider, that his favorite author was Vonnegut, and that the big man with a preference for red was neither gruff nor scary, simply shy and particular as to what he was willing to discuss.
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Red pulled the Jeep into the driveway of a white house. Spider plants hung on the front porch, framing a set of neatly arranged wicker furniture. Around the side of the house, a hefty woman in a red gingham shirt and cropped jeans was working in a bed of marigolds and old maids. She looked up curiously at the new arrivals from beneath her wide brimmed straw hat. Struggling to her feet, she pulled off her gloves and strolled toward the Jeep, a smile dawning as she recognized at least one of the Jeep's occupants.
"Red! What brings you here? Is everything all right with Eli?"
"About the same, Lita. I brought you a guest."
As Niki walked around the Jeep to join them, Lita's face lit up, first in recognition, and then in sheer elation. "Nikita, my baby girl! I didn't recognize you!" She wrapped Niki in a bear hug, openly bawling and crying repeatedly, "My baby, my baby girl!"
Niki hid her confusion and allowed love to rule her reactions, clinging to her mother.
After what seemed a reasonable time, Red cleared his throat, reminding the women he was still there. They wiped their tears and tried to regain their composure.
"Come into the kitchen, Nikita. Red, make yourself at home out back." She nodded toward the guesthouse at the end of the driveway. "Niki and I have woman talk to catch up on, and I can't see you wanting to be a part of that." Taking Niki by the arm, she started toward the house, leaving Red to fend for himself.
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Two days later, the women were still reminiscing but were no closer to collecting the final vial needed to break the curse. Niki was growing increasingly concerned—concerned she was failing her brother, concerned she'd made a fool of herself by believing Eli's story when it had all been an elaborate plan to reunite her with her mother, concerned what her absence was doing to Sam.
She missed Sam. He'd been her lifeline when her father died. Though she'd never been farther than Phoenix before Dad's death, Sam had convinced her to take the job at the Last Chance instead of leaving town. Sam had shown her she could go places and see things, yet always have Edmond as her home base. In that sense, she understood why Eli had had to leave when he did. Without a little adventure, Edmond could become a prison.
As they weeded the flower garden, Niki voiced these concerns to Lita.
"Honey, why didn't you tell me you had someone waiting for you? Call him! I'm sure if you explain you're here with me, he'll be relieved."
"But what about the blood?" Niki wanted to know. "Eli is depending on us. When can you complete the spell to break Rodriguez's curse?"
"Oh, there's time for that. Eli's waited this long; a little longer won't do any harm." Lita kept her eyes on her work. "As long as it's collected under the light of the moon by a member of the sisterhood, the spell should work. You see, the potion is brewed during the ritual—"
She broke off with a little laugh. "Oh, what am I saying? You don't want to know about all of that! I promised myself I'd never force my beliefs on my children, and here I am trying to pull you into my world! Go on and call your Sam. You'll feel better after you talk to him."
Niki wiped her hands on the front of her pants and left to make her call.
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Later, Niki had to admit her mother had been right. Talking to Sam had made her feel better. Sam told her Red had left a note when he abducted her, saying she was safe and visiting her ill brother, so at least her disappearance hadn't worried anyone unnecessarily. Now, there was just Eli to worry about.
After dinner, she asked about lifting the curse again.
"Why do you keep harping on that?" Lita grumbled. "I told you, we'll get to it. I would like to think you'd want to spend some time with your mother first."
"I do, Mom, but that's not why I'm here, and you know it. Why can't you just lift the curse, and then we can visit? We have the rest of our lives to renew our relationship, but Eli and his people feel like they've lived several lifetimes over. They're impatient to make an end to it, I can't say that I blame them."
Lita rubbed her temples. "I can't think about this right now. I'm going to bed; I have to work first shift in the morning."
After Lita went to her room, Niki walked out to the guesthouse and knocked. Red welcomed her in and offered her a seat on the couch.
"Red, how well do you know my mom?"
"Well enough."
"Do you know why she's delaying the ritual?"
"You'd have to ask her."
"I'm asking you."
Red took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. "Have you looked at this from her point of view? If she performs this spell, she loses her son."
"But, he's lost to her already. She can't go see him and he can't come to her."
"True, but as long as he's still bound to this world, there's always a chance."
Niki thought about his words long after she had retired to her room. Maybe he was right. Maybe her mother didn't really want to work this spell. Maybe delaying was her way of holding onto him a little longer. After all, she'd already lost him twice—once when she left, and once when he was reported dead. But did that justify her actions? Niki didn't think so, especially considering the others who had been caught in the family's troubles.
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When Lita arrived home from work the following afternoon, Niki was waiting for her.
"We have to talk."
"This sounds serious."
"It is. You can't put off freeing Eli and his people from this curse any longer. I don't know for sure why you're delaying the inevitable, although I have my ideas."
Lita put up her hand to ward off Niki's demands and turned her back on her daughter. "Not now, Nikita. I can't handle this right now."
"You don't have a choice. Either we get this over with or I go to Eli and tell him he is living through endless torture because you don't have the courage to let go."
Lita spun around, her face livid. "Courage! Don't you talk to me about courage! You have no idea what it took for me to leave you and Eli. I would have given the world to take you with me, but he wouldn't allow it, so I did the only thing I could. I removed myself from the situation, so you wouldn't have to witness my abuse.
"For a long time after I left, I cried every time I saw a child resembling either of you. Then I met Rodriguez. He was so handsome. He made me feel good about myself again. After we were married, I found out about his interest in black magic. He made me his apprentice, and opened a whole new world for me. I knew it was wrong, but I had my reasons for learning what he had to teach me and when he started hitting me, too, I took it, so I could continue to learn. And do you want to know why I did all of this? I did it to protect you and Eli. I allowed Rodriguez to use and abuse me so I could protect you.
"I'd already heard of Eli's death in Saudi before I knew enough to protect him, but I still had you, and I wasn't about to lose you. You know your precious Sam? Do you really think a man like Sam would go to Edmond without a purpose? Well, I gave him that purpose. I took a nearly dead cop that was brought into my ER and turned him into your personal protector. I could trust him to watch over you and provide you with the guidance I could no longer give. Best of all, he reported back to me. Not only could I keep up with your public life, I also had a direct line into your private thoughts—thoughts that by all rights, you should have been able to share with your mother, had I not given in to your father.
"And then, one day, quite by accident, I discovered my boy was alive. This too, I can attribute to my knowledge of black magic. So, I created Red from a half dead biker who was destined to live as a vegetable if not for my spells. I sent Red to Eli, and then he was safe, too. Or so I thought.
"When Rodriguez found out what I did, he was furious that I had been practicing magic behind his back. That was right around the same time Eli found me, and Rodriguez saw his arrival as a new way to torture me. I begged and pleaded for Eli's life. When Rodriguez finally promised not to take away my baby, I should have known it was a trick, but I didn't. I didn't think of anything but the fact that Eli would be safe.
Between his legs roared the engine of a Harley Easy Rider. At the head of a pack of more than a dozen bikers, he was at home no matter what part of the country they traveled through. Today, he called Arizona home.
The mirrored lenses of his shades reflected a neon sign ahead announcing the Last Chance Grill and Gas. Red glanced at his odometer. Seventy-four miles out of Tucson, and within spitting distance of the Edmond city limits, according to the sign staked out just feet from the turn into the grill. 'City.' That was a stretch. The green sign set the population at 834. Red assumed that included the dog and cat population, if Eli's description held up to close scrutiny.
He signaled a left turn and pulled into the Last Chance parking lot. The pack riding behind him followed his lead and formed a two-by-two wave of chrome and rubber as they poured into the empty lot after him.
* * * *
Niki looked up from the paperback novel pressed open on the counter as the roar of motorcycles announced her first customers all day. It wasn't unusual to see bikers, but this bunch was different, straight out of a Mad Max movie. An ox of a man wearing red leathers and a lanky biker with long, stringy black hair headed her way; the rest dismounted and stood around, smoking cigarettes and checking their bikes for road wear and bug debris.
The door opened, letting in a gust of hot air followed by the two bikers she had spotted heading her way. Niki was trying to determine if the taller of the two was a man or a woman. As they approached the counter, scruffy razor stubble and unabashed crotch scratching cleared up the gender question for her.
"You be Nikita Travis?"
The gruff voice seemed to come from nowhere, but since she had been busily admiring the collection of jewelry and piercings decorating the taller man's head, she assumed the speaker was his companion.
"I'm Nikita. Why?"
"Eli sent us."
Eli? Her Eli? She pictured a fourteen year old, sandy-blonde youngster who preferred studying bugs or stars to human companionship. Her junior by eighteen months, they were worlds apart in personality, but had been as close as any brother and sister could be when it came to supporting each other in the months after their mother had walked out, leaving them to care for their old man.
"He sent me to get you."
"How do I know that? I haven't heard from him in years."
"Lenny?"
The lanky stranger with the piercings and facial makeup removed the saddlebag from his shoulder and slapped it down on the counter. The other man flipped it open, removed a well-worn bible, and opened the front cover.
Staring back at Niki was her own handwriting. To Eli: May you stay safe and return home soon. Niki. She had given the bible to Eli on the day he'd left for boot camp.
With tobacco-stained fingers, the stranger flipped to the middle of the book. A St. Christopher's medal on a gold chain marked the twenty-third Psalm.
Hands shaking, Niki turned the medal over to inspect the back. The inscription read "With love always, Mom." An identical medal hung around her neck.
"This doesn't prove anything. You could have stolen these or…or found them."
"But I didn't."
She might have accused him of not finishing his eggs.
"Where is he? Why didn't he make the trip, if he wanted to see me?" She still lived in the same house they had grown up in. All these years, he'd known where to find her, but he hadn't. Why now?
"He's about a day from here. His health wouldn't let him make the trip, so I made it for him. We need to leave soon." The biker shut the bible, slipped it back into the saddlebag, and handed the bag to Lenny. With a nod, Lenny took the bag and left.
Niki paced in the small space behind the counter as her mind tried to wrap around this new development. Eli was alive! Twenty years ago, her dad had received a letter from his commander announcing he had died in action, but it had taken more than that to convince Niki. It had taken twenty years of silence and nagging doubt eating at her subconscious.
"I don't even know your name, and you expect me to drop everything and leave? I don't have a day off until Tuesday. Come back then or, or leave me directions. I'll be there when I can." She knew she was babbling, trying to buy time to think. She knew the wise thing to do would be to call Sam and let him check it out.
"I can't do that."
"At least let me call my fiancé and my boss. I can't leave the store unattended. Besides, Sam is the sheriff. If Eli's in trouble, he may be able to help." She turned her back to Red and picked up the receiver.
Red walked around the counter and jerked the phone from her hand. "I can't let you do that."
She became all too aware of his proximity. He smelled of dust, leather, and that musk natural to only one man in a million. And he was big, even bigger than she had first believed. His girth made it impossible to move around him in the confined space between the counter and the magazine rack against the opposite wall. His head barely cleared the Coors Light banner hanging from the ceiling.
"Let me go!"
"Negative." He grabbed a handful of her t-shirt and drew back his free arm. His closed fist snapped back for a quick jab to her jaw.
The blow did its job. Niki's eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed against the hold Red had on her shirt.
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* * * *
Red draped Niki over his shoulder before to retrieving her bag from its place beside her stool. His size thirteen boots made quick time to the front door. He was careful to clear the doorframe without any additional injury to his unconscious passenger.
"Hey, T.C.! Catch!" He threw Niki's bag to the black woman leaning against the cherry-red sidecar, talking to Lenny and a dishwater blonde in a half shirt.
T.C. caught it one-handed, flicking her cigarette butt into the dirt with the other.
"Find her keys," Red ordered. "Lock up the store then meet me round back. The jeep has to be hers. You're driving."
* * * *
Niki's head bounced to the side, banging into the window with a loud thunk. She let out a moan and rubbed her sore jaw. Working it back and forth, she assured herself nothing was broken.
"It's about time you woke up." T.C. smiled at her drowsy passenger. "I hope you don't mind, but I changed your radio station. Songs about drinking, cheating, and coon dogs ain't my bag."
Niki didn't recognize the song playing but guessed blues or jazz—definitely not the country she preferred.
"Where are we?"
The jeep was encased in a cloud of dust so thick that the bike directly ahead was little more than a back tire and a foggy image.
"Hell if I know. Close to home, I guess. Red left the highway a couple of hours ago."
"Red? He's the guy who hit me, isn't he?"
"Yeah." T.C. chuckled. "Never expected him to do that. He's usually a pussycat. What ticked him off, anyway?"
"I didn't want to leave."
"Even after you heard Eli was waiting?" T.C. shook her head. "No wonder he decked you. Red makes sure Eli gets what he wants. We'll get some ice on it back at camp. You may bruise, but there won't be any permanent damage."
It didn't feel that way at the moment.
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* * * *
Half an hour later, the jeep pulled into a camp made up of a variety of RV's, trailers, and a dilapidated tour bus sitting up on blocks. T.C. pulled up to the bus and turned off the engine.
"End of the line, sugar. It's not much, but provided the generator doesn't give out, it's air conditioned."
A quick survey of the camp perimeter was enough to convince Niki that being cooperative was her best option. Sentries were posted at fifty-yard intervals, armed with automatic weapons. Besides, she wanted to see Eli.
She followed T.C. into the bus. The run-down condition of the exterior did nothing to prepare her for the comfortable, shabby chic interior, heavily accented with deep purples and glass beads.
"Do you like? I still have the kitchen to work on, but for the most part, it's what I always imagined."
T.C. stood to one side with her hands on her hips as she surveyed her handiwork. "I can't believe it took me a lifetime to make a home for myself. Eli made that possible, you know."
"Nice. Is Eli here?"
"No, he has his own place. I thought we'd clean up a bit first then go over after dinner. We look about the same size; let me find you something fresh to wear. You can clean up through there." She nodded towards the back of the bus.
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* * * *
The man lying under the army blanket bore little resemblance to the Eli Niki remembered. The once boyishly full face was now little more than skin and hair sagging from his skull, the eyes sunken and rimmed with dark circles. But there was no mistaking the voice.
"Is it you? Is it really you?"
"Yes, Eli. I'm here."
An emaciated hand reached from beneath the covers and latched onto hers. "How long has it been? It seems like forever."
"Twenty-two years, come September. We thought you were dead."
A slow grin spread across his face. "As someone once said, rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated. Here, sit. We need to talk."
"Where've you been? We got a message saying you died in Saudi."
"If only I'd been so lucky. Six months after setting up camp, we were attacked and I suffered a brain injury, resulting in amnesia. My bunkmate wasn't so lucky. Somehow, our IDs got switched and they sent him home in a body bag with my name on it. I spent the next year or so in and out of hospitals. No one could tell me if I would ever get my memory back, or what was causing my other problems. I couldn't sleep, I had chronic diarrhea so debilitating I couldn't keep a job, and I suffered an endless array of bacterial infections. And the drugs they gave me were as bad as the problems. So, I split and headed for the coast. That's where I met Red. You met Red, didn't you?"
Niki rubbed her discolored jaw. "Yeah, we've met."
"Did he do that?" At Niki's nod, he sighed. "Sorry, my fault. Red can be a bit rough sometimes, but he means well. Anyway, Red found me passed out on the beach and gave me a meal. Since then, we've taken care of each other. I couldn't ask for a better friend.
"Why didn't you call when you regained your memory?"
"By then, I had a new life, one I didn't think you, or more importantly, Dad, would care for. Besides, why put you through losing me twice?" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"What makes you think we'll have to go through it again?"
"You've got to understand, I didn't put everything back together again until very recently, just in time to find out I have lung cancer—officially, that is. Unofficially, it's GWI: Gulf War Illness. It was hell over there, Niki. Unsafe radiation levels, fumes from the oil fires—it sank into our pores so deep no amount of soap and water would wash away the stink. It felt like a polluted film over our whole bodies. Not to mention the sand, and who knows what kind of chemical and biological agents were being used."
"What about treatment? Can't the doctors do anything?"
"I'm too far gone. Besides, I'm tired, Niki. It's time."
"Is that why you had your goons kidnap me? To watch you die?"
"No. God, no! Nikita, I need your help—we need your help. I would never have sent Red for you otherwise." He hesitated. "It involves mom."
"Mom?" The last time Niki had seen their mother, she was watching her load the car and drive away. Niki had just turned sixteen. It hadn't exactly been what she'd had in mind as a birthday present.
"Yeah. You see, when I started recovering my memory, Mom's was the first name I could come up with. Red thought she might help me regain my full memory, so he tracked her down. After she left us, she met an ex-con named Rodriquez. They got married and relocated to Kansas City.
"She still lives there; she's an ER nurse. You wouldn't recognize her now, Niki. Our petite mother with the long blonde hair and dimples is now a plump, grandmotherly type with short, curly hair and a scar down the left side of her face, where Rodriguez marked her as his "property." I went ballistic when I saw that. He'd be dead now if she hadn't stopped me from bashing his brains in."
"She stayed with him?" Niki was incredulous.
"Yeah, can you believe it? She left us because life in Edmond was too boring, but she stayed with that bastard."
Nikita remembered helping her mother cover bruises with makeup after Dad had had one too many at the bar and slapped her around. Had Eli been too young to realize what was going on, or was that part of his memory still missing? "So, what do you want me to do?" she asked. "Get her away from him?"
"He had a heart attack ten months after Mom and I were reunited. He was out deer hunting; never even made it back to the city. No, it's something more important than that." He looked at her seriously. " Niki, do you believe in black magic?"
Dumbfounded, Niki stuttered "I…I never thought about it before. I guess…I mean, anything is possible, I guess."
"Rodriguez practiced black magic, Niki. Two days after my run-in with him over Mom, I was sitting in a bar with Red, T.C., and the other bikers you saw today. We were knocking back brews and telling lies when an explosion in the back room knocked us on our asses, broken glass and splintered wood flying everywhere. The bar was destroyed.
"By all rights, we should have been dead, every one of us. The newspapers even reported it: twelve dead, seven critically injured. T.C.'s left arm was blown completely off. And Lenny… He was the closest to the explosion. Does he look like a dead man to you?
"There isn't one of us who remembers a thing of what happened next, until we woke up the next day, back at camp, all in one piece and breathing. About a week later, Lenny took some of the gang into town for supplies. When they hadn't come back by nightfall, Red went looking for them.
"He found the supply truck and Lenny's bike at the bottom of a ravine, but no bodies. So, he went into town and checked with the local law. A witness saw a semi force the truck off the road. There were no survivors. In fact, there wasn't even enough left of the bodies to bring back to camp for burial.
"Niki, the next morning Lenny and the others woke up in their bunks, oblivious to what had happened the day before, just like after the explosion. And there have been other incidents, too. I could go on and on. Every time anyone has left the camp, there has been an incident leading to a fatality, and every morning following the fatality, the victims awake as if nothing has happened."
Niki was stunned. "How do you know Rodriguez was responsible?"
"He told me, about a month after the bombing. I awoke one night to find Rodriguez standing over my bed, wearing a grin to fit Satan, and the red garments to match. To this day, I can remember his exact words. 'You should never have interfered,' he hissed, his voice dripping with venom. 'You and your people will pay for that. Each time one of you leaves this camp and goes into the world, you will come back under the cover of darkness, a dead man revived. See what happens to those who cross me?' He ran a hand over his satanic-looking garments. 'How do you like me now?' he said, smiling again. 'It was so simple, too,' he gloated. 'Just a few words chanted over the carcass of a sacrificial goat, and you'll suffer a million fold the pain you inflicted on me.' Then he raised his arms over his head and, with a menacing laugh, disappeared. Within minutes, the others had crowded into my room. They had all had the same vision."
"Wait a second," Niki broke in. "You said everyone was cursed, but Red left to find Lenny, and came back in one piece, didn't he?"
"You're as quick as ever," Eli approved. "Yes, Red is able to come and go as he wants without retribution. But you're getting ahead of the story.
"I tried to go back to Kansas City, to confront Mom and Rodriguez, but each time, I would fall victim to the curse before the sun set and wake up back in my bed the next morning. If Red rode out with one of us, he suffered the same fate as whomever he was with. But the strange thing was, whenever he rode alone, he was immune from the curse. It took us weeks to discover that, though.
"So, he made the trip to Kansas City on my behalf. By then, Rodriguez was dead. Mom hadn't been aware of the curse until Red told her, but she's been working on a way to break the curse ever since. She's had some successes, too."
"What kind of progress?"
"Do you see that leather bag over there?"
He motioned to a bag the size of a change purse hanging from a long strap hooked over the back of a chair. The strap was decorated with feathers, what Niki decided was a chicken's foot, and a squirrel's tail.
"I see it."
Eli licked his lips. Niki, taking it as a sign he was thirsty, offered him a drink from the pitcher of water by the bed.
He took a sip before continuing. "That was her first success. With that poultice, I can move the camp under the cover of darkness."
"What?"
Eli's face lit up, and for the briefest moment, the spirit of the old Eli showed through. "It's like playing God, Niki. It takes a lot out of me though, and I'm not sure how many more moves I have left in me now. But it's allowed us to move the entire camp and eveything—everyone—in it to within a day's ride of whatever we need."
Niki looked doubtful. "Don't people freak when you just appear and disappear?"
"That's the coolest part. Mom programmed in a safety feature that prevents the camp from locating any closer than twenty miles from the nearest neighbor. It's a little prohibitive, but it saves on unwanted publicity, visits from the law and the like."
"Does it prevent the deaths?" Niki asked.
Eli shook his head. "No. It doesn't do that. That came when Mom denounced her connection to the Black Arts and joined a sect practicing White magic. That was about two years later. The sect was able to develop a counteractive spell giving us a partial reprieve. We can travel beyond the gates uninhibited during the daylight hours, but when the sun sets, the deal is off. We either return to the camp willingly before dark, or unwillingly through death after."
"And, that's how they were able to find me?"
He nodded, and they regarded each other silently for a few moments.
Niki stood up and stretched. She had so much to absorb. Her mother. Magic. Curses. Eli alive but ill. She needed time. She needed Sam. A glance at her watch confirmed they had been talking for more than three hours without a break.
Eli noticed. "I can see you're tired, Niki. I'm tired, too. Red's waiting outside to take you back to T.C.'s place."
"What about you? Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?"
"Red takes care of me. I can wait until he gets back." He closed his eyes, content to let the darkness take over. He had told her what she needed to know, but the effort had been exhausting.
When Niki didn't move, he said, "It's ok, Sis. Tomorrow's soon enough to finish. I won't die if you leave the room, you know. I couldn't even if I wanted to, remember?"
She placed a tentative kiss on his forehead. "I guess there's a part of me afraid you'll disappear again if I look away. Like waking from a dream, or something."
Eli took her hand and placed it on his cheek. "I missed you, Niki. There were so many times I wanted to call or write, but I couldn't pull you into my problems. I wouldn't now, if there was any other option. Thanks for coming."
His hand slipped from its place on top of hers as his breathing evened out and he gave in to the need for rest. Niki waited until she was sure she wouldn't be missed before letting herself out.
Red was squatting in front of the fire with his back to her, stirring the embers with an ash-stained stick.
"You be done?" he asked without turning.
"Yes. Eli said I would be staying at T.C.'s."
"This way, then." Red pointed toward the bus, falling into step beside her as she picked her way across the camp. A pack of dogs were stretched out in the sand in front of T.C.'s door. They looked up, but didn't move as Nicki stepped up.
Within minutes of T.C. showing her to her bunk, Niki was asleep.
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* * * *
Niki was still on her first cup of coffee when Red let himself into the bus the following morning.
"Well, good morning!" T.C. greeted him. "Time for a cup of coffee?" She filled a cup and set it down on the table across from Niki without waiting for a response.
"Can't. Eli's waiting for his sister." He nodded in Niki's direction.
"Oh, Eli can wait long enough for you to have one cup," T.C. protested.
Red just shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked poi tedly toward the open door.
Niki settled it. "Red's right. I promised Eli I'd be there first thing this morning. We still have a lot to catch up on." She rose and took a last sip of coffee then put the cup in the kitchen sink. "Thanks for putting me up, T.C."
She followed Red out the door as T.C. rattled on about enjoying the company, and how white folks needed to learn to take it easy more often.
Niki had to take two steps to every one of Red's just to keep up. "How is he this morning?"
"He'll do."
"You don't talk, much do you? Or is it me?"
"It's not you."
Niki let it drop. She had too much on her mind for small talk, anyway.
Eli was propped up reading a tattered magazine when Niki arrived. "Good morning. How did you sleep? Did T.C. make you her world famous hotcakes?"
"Fine. Yes. You'd have thought she was feeding an army, with the stack she set down in front of me."
Eli grinned. "She always does. That pack of dogs running around here is hers, and she splits her monster-sized meals between them, and two or three of the unattached men. She's been eyeing Red now for years, but he ain't biting."
He patted the mattress beside him. "Here, sit with me. We still have a lot to go over before you leave."
"Leave? Already?" Niki couldn't hide her disappointment.
"Afraid so. Mom is expecting you."
"She knows I'm coming?"
"It was her idea to bring you here to begin with."
Niki was skeptical. Her mother hadn't been in contact Niki since she'd abandoned them.
"It's like this," Eli explained. "A few months ago, a member of the sect found a spell in an ancient text that may be the answer to our prayers. That's where you come in."
Niki's imagination went into overdrive and she imagined giving birth to a demon baby that spoke in tongues, before having her heart removed from her chest while it was still beating. She shivered as the blood drained from her extremities, and she paled in dread of what Eli would say next.
"You ok?"
"It depends on what you say next," she said shakily.
"It's not as bad as you think," Eli reassured her. "The spell requires a vial of blood from a close relative of each man cursed to be combined with the blood of a relative of Rodriguez. Your donation is the last of what we need."
Niki felt the color return to her face as Eli smiled.
"Feel better now?" he asked. "See, no one has to die, or sell their soul to the devil, or anything."
Niki nodded a bit sheepishly. "But why did you wait so long? You should have known I'd help as soon as you asked."
"It's a little more complicated than that," Eli explained. "The blood has to be collected by a member of the sect, under very specific conditions. Besides, I wanted to see you. I know it was selfish of me, but I couldn't think of leaving this world without seeing you once more."
"But, if I'd known sooner, we could have had more time!" Niki protested.
"No, honey. I couldn't do that. There was too much to do, and too many unanswered questions, like whether you'd fall under the curse, too."
"Can I ask a dumb question?"
"What's that?" Eli asked, running a hand over her hair and smoothing it away from her face.
"Why didn't you just use Mom's blood?"
"Where we could, we've used the blood of a sibling. Siblings share the blood of both parents, and it makes the bond stronger. In my case, there is no option. The curse centers on me, and we have to do everything we can to optimize our chances."
Niki nodded. "Okay. The sooner we do this, the sooner you'll be free to come home, where I can take care of you. When do I leave?"
"I won't be coming home afterwards, Niki," Eli explained gently. "I can't. Once the curse has been lifted, our spirits will at last be free to cross over completely. Niki, try to remember we've been dead for a long time, most of us, more than once. No, if the spell works, my life—and the lives of everyone else here—will be over."
"We need closure," he explained, "even if it means permanent death. This is no kind of life, living like prisoners, going through the trauma of death only to wake the next day, as if it had just been a bad dream. It's too much. Can you understand what I'm saying, Niki? Can you see why this is so important to all of us?"
"I…I suppose so," Niki said slowly.
"Good." He squeezed her hand encouragingly. "Red will take you to Mom's. He's the only one I can trust to take care of my sister." Eli smiled.
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* * * *
After she'd said her goodbyes to Eli—with only a few tears, but many regrets—Niki found herself alone with Red.
He looked very out of place behind the wheel of her Jeep, but it was a better alternative for the bike-shy Niki than riding behind him on the back of a Harley for the next two days. She climbed in without comment.
They rode without speaking until the Arizona border was a distant memory, and Niki, a social creature by nature, couldn't take the quiet any longer. Besides, Red was an enigma wrapped in bright clothing. He knew Eli better than she did, but he hadn't said more than two dozen words in her presence in two days. She saw him as a challenge.
"So, how did you hook up with Eli?" she began.
"You want to know something about Eli, ask him."
"I did. I was just making conversation." Niki went back to staring out the window, contemplating her next move at getting the stoic man sitting next to her to open up.
"Ok. Then let's talk about you," she tried again after a little while.
"What do you want to know?"
"The usual. Where are you from? Family? Interests? You're parents didn't name you Red, did they? Where did that come from?"
Niki thought she saw the flicker of a smile from beneath his mustache.
"Albert. They named me Albert."
Red fell silent again, but Niki wasn't ready to give up. Red was her brother's best friend. She needed him to be her friend, too.
"Then you had parents?"
"Yeah. Two of them."
"And the handle Red?"
"Can't say as I recall. I've had it as long as I can remember. The boys gave me the leathers last year for Christmas."
By the time they reached the outskirts of Kansas City, Niki knew the history of his Easy Rider, that his favorite author was Vonnegut, and that the big man with a preference for red was neither gruff nor scary, simply shy and particular as to what he was willing to discuss.
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* * * *
Red pulled the Jeep into the driveway of a white house. Spider plants hung on the front porch, framing a set of neatly arranged wicker furniture. Around the side of the house, a hefty woman in a red gingham shirt and cropped jeans was working in a bed of marigolds and old maids. She looked up curiously at the new arrivals from beneath her wide brimmed straw hat. Struggling to her feet, she pulled off her gloves and strolled toward the Jeep, a smile dawning as she recognized at least one of the Jeep's occupants.
"Red! What brings you here? Is everything all right with Eli?"
"About the same, Lita. I brought you a guest."
As Niki walked around the Jeep to join them, Lita's face lit up, first in recognition, and then in sheer elation. "Nikita, my baby girl! I didn't recognize you!" She wrapped Niki in a bear hug, openly bawling and crying repeatedly, "My baby, my baby girl!"
Niki hid her confusion and allowed love to rule her reactions, clinging to her mother.
After what seemed a reasonable time, Red cleared his throat, reminding the women he was still there. They wiped their tears and tried to regain their composure.
"Come into the kitchen, Nikita. Red, make yourself at home out back." She nodded toward the guesthouse at the end of the driveway. "Niki and I have woman talk to catch up on, and I can't see you wanting to be a part of that." Taking Niki by the arm, she started toward the house, leaving Red to fend for himself.
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* * * *
Two days later, the women were still reminiscing but were no closer to collecting the final vial needed to break the curse. Niki was growing increasingly concerned—concerned she was failing her brother, concerned she'd made a fool of herself by believing Eli's story when it had all been an elaborate plan to reunite her with her mother, concerned what her absence was doing to Sam.
She missed Sam. He'd been her lifeline when her father died. Though she'd never been farther than Phoenix before Dad's death, Sam had convinced her to take the job at the Last Chance instead of leaving town. Sam had shown her she could go places and see things, yet always have Edmond as her home base. In that sense, she understood why Eli had had to leave when he did. Without a little adventure, Edmond could become a prison.
As they weeded the flower garden, Niki voiced these concerns to Lita.
"Honey, why didn't you tell me you had someone waiting for you? Call him! I'm sure if you explain you're here with me, he'll be relieved."
"But what about the blood?" Niki wanted to know. "Eli is depending on us. When can you complete the spell to break Rodriguez's curse?"
"Oh, there's time for that. Eli's waited this long; a little longer won't do any harm." Lita kept her eyes on her work. "As long as it's collected under the light of the moon by a member of the sisterhood, the spell should work. You see, the potion is brewed during the ritual—"
She broke off with a little laugh. "Oh, what am I saying? You don't want to know about all of that! I promised myself I'd never force my beliefs on my children, and here I am trying to pull you into my world! Go on and call your Sam. You'll feel better after you talk to him."
Niki wiped her hands on the front of her pants and left to make her call.
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* * * *
Later, Niki had to admit her mother had been right. Talking to Sam had made her feel better. Sam told her Red had left a note when he abducted her, saying she was safe and visiting her ill brother, so at least her disappearance hadn't worried anyone unnecessarily. Now, there was just Eli to worry about.
After dinner, she asked about lifting the curse again.
"Why do you keep harping on that?" Lita grumbled. "I told you, we'll get to it. I would like to think you'd want to spend some time with your mother first."
"I do, Mom, but that's not why I'm here, and you know it. Why can't you just lift the curse, and then we can visit? We have the rest of our lives to renew our relationship, but Eli and his people feel like they've lived several lifetimes over. They're impatient to make an end to it, I can't say that I blame them."
Lita rubbed her temples. "I can't think about this right now. I'm going to bed; I have to work first shift in the morning."
After Lita went to her room, Niki walked out to the guesthouse and knocked. Red welcomed her in and offered her a seat on the couch.
"Red, how well do you know my mom?"
"Well enough."
"Do you know why she's delaying the ritual?"
"You'd have to ask her."
"I'm asking you."
Red took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. "Have you looked at this from her point of view? If she performs this spell, she loses her son."
"But, he's lost to her already. She can't go see him and he can't come to her."
"True, but as long as he's still bound to this world, there's always a chance."
Niki thought about his words long after she had retired to her room. Maybe he was right. Maybe her mother didn't really want to work this spell. Maybe delaying was her way of holding onto him a little longer. After all, she'd already lost him twice—once when she left, and once when he was reported dead. But did that justify her actions? Niki didn't think so, especially considering the others who had been caught in the family's troubles.
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* * * *
When Lita arrived home from work the following afternoon, Niki was waiting for her.
"We have to talk."
"This sounds serious."
"It is. You can't put off freeing Eli and his people from this curse any longer. I don't know for sure why you're delaying the inevitable, although I have my ideas."
Lita put up her hand to ward off Niki's demands and turned her back on her daughter. "Not now, Nikita. I can't handle this right now."
"You don't have a choice. Either we get this over with or I go to Eli and tell him he is living through endless torture because you don't have the courage to let go."
Lita spun around, her face livid. "Courage! Don't you talk to me about courage! You have no idea what it took for me to leave you and Eli. I would have given the world to take you with me, but he wouldn't allow it, so I did the only thing I could. I removed myself from the situation, so you wouldn't have to witness my abuse.
"For a long time after I left, I cried every time I saw a child resembling either of you. Then I met Rodriguez. He was so handsome. He made me feel good about myself again. After we were married, I found out about his interest in black magic. He made me his apprentice, and opened a whole new world for me. I knew it was wrong, but I had my reasons for learning what he had to teach me and when he started hitting me, too, I took it, so I could continue to learn. And do you want to know why I did all of this? I did it to protect you and Eli. I allowed Rodriguez to use and abuse me so I could protect you.
"I'd already heard of Eli's death in Saudi before I knew enough to protect him, but I still had you, and I wasn't about to lose you. You know your precious Sam? Do you really think a man like Sam would go to Edmond without a purpose? Well, I gave him that purpose. I took a nearly dead cop that was brought into my ER and turned him into your personal protector. I could trust him to watch over you and provide you with the guidance I could no longer give. Best of all, he reported back to me. Not only could I keep up with your public life, I also had a direct line into your private thoughts—thoughts that by all rights, you should have been able to share with your mother, had I not given in to your father.
"And then, one day, quite by accident, I discovered my boy was alive. This too, I can attribute to my knowledge of black magic. So, I created Red from a half dead biker who was destined to live as a vegetable if not for my spells. I sent Red to Eli, and then he was safe, too. Or so I thought.
"When Rodriguez found out what I did, he was furious that I had been practicing magic behind his back. That was right around the same time Eli found me, and Rodriguez saw his arrival as a new way to torture me. I begged and pleaded for Eli's life. When Rodriguez finally promised not to take away my baby, I should have known it was a trick, but I didn't. I didn't think of anything but the fact that Eli would be safe.
Justice Served
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The view from up here is incredible. It makes me feel like justice is served. 21,369 days of hell, and now, to simply see the sky and breathe fresh air is heaven on earth.
I look up at the smog-filled skies the way others admire a stained glass windows in a great cathedral.
“Excuse me. Can we begin?” The petite reporter in the camel tweed suit shoves a microphone in my face.
“What do you want to know?” My voice is gravelly, deep and foreign to my ears.
“The AP reported you were the first soul ever released based on an error? How did that come about?”
“It was a computer error. My name is Carl A. Brightworth of Akron, OH. Someone recorded the deeds of Carl A. Brightworth of Acorn, OK in my file. So, when I appeared for judgment, it was a no brainer. I was sent, you know, there.” Even thinking the word turns my stomach.
“And ten days ago a clerk found the error?”
“Yes. It turns out everything was one big mistake. I wasn’t scheduled for termination for another seventy years. By all rights, I should be a great-grandpa now.”
And Kelly Maye Rebard should be my wife. That was the plan. It was six months and three days until our wedding day when everything went wrong.
“What was it like?” Asks the reporter; her nose wrinkles up as if she has caught the odor of something bad. She has no idea what bad is.
I look up at the smog-filled skies the way others admire a stained glass windows in a great cathedral.
“Excuse me. Can we begin?” The petite reporter in the camel tweed suit shoves a microphone in my face.
“What do you want to know?” My voice is gravelly, deep and foreign to my ears.
“The AP reported you were the first soul ever released based on an error? How did that come about?”
“It was a computer error. My name is Carl A. Brightworth of Akron, OH. Someone recorded the deeds of Carl A. Brightworth of Acorn, OK in my file. So, when I appeared for judgment, it was a no brainer. I was sent, you know, there.” Even thinking the word turns my stomach.
“And ten days ago a clerk found the error?”
“Yes. It turns out everything was one big mistake. I wasn’t scheduled for termination for another seventy years. By all rights, I should be a great-grandpa now.”
And Kelly Maye Rebard should be my wife. That was the plan. It was six months and three days until our wedding day when everything went wrong.
“What was it like?” Asks the reporter; her nose wrinkles up as if she has caught the odor of something bad. She has no idea what bad is.
Life of a Gargoyle
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Have you ever imagine what life would be like if you awoke one morning looking more like a hybrid between a demon and a wild animal? How would you survive the shock?
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About Me
- Nicole Breeze
- Nicole Breeze is a writer from the midwest who dearly loves the creative process almost as much as she hates the editing process. The two are polar opposites. On the upside when a good story meets with great editing, magic can happen.