A Wicked Beginning (42 page)

Zuri stood directly in front of him and again reached for his braid. This time his demeanor shifted, becoming charged and serious. He took her hand, looked at her sternly, and said, “The braid’s sacred, Zuri.”

I saw her shiver.

No one, and I mean no one, told Z what to do. Zuri stood there, all sauciness drained from her, her blue eyes shooting sparks of fire at Mano. Tension passed between them like bolts of lightning. Even the crowd quieted, shuffling about like lowing cattle in a pen. “Well, this is sacred, too,” she uttered, tugging at her hand gripped in his. “As is all of me.”

“Damn straight it is,” Mano said, holding her gaze. “Don’t forget that.”

I didn’t know
what
was passing back and forth between those two, but it was
intense.
The tension in the air was so thick; I believed everyone was holding their breath. I took a deep inhale of air and blew it out over the crowd, hoping to break the mood. My breath passed over the throng of people like wind over wheat, causing them to stir in a ripple-like wave effect.
Wow, that’s cool,
I thought.
I’m getting good at this stuff.
They all blinked and looked at one another, perplexed. Then laughter broke out throughout the crowd. It was as if I’d infused them with joy. I saw Mano observe the crowd, distracted by their actions, and then he looked over to me. His tattooed face shifted into a fierce frown.

“What are you doing, ka?”

I shrugged. “Don’t really know, Mano. But it worked.”

Mano looked back over to Zuri. He was still clutching her hand. “You two ladies have a good time in there, alright? Maybe you’d like to have a beer with me later?”

“We just might,” Zuri responded, her eyes boring with defiance into Mano’s. “We’ll let you know.”

Mano released her hand and reached out to lift the thick velvety barrier cord that kept people from walking into the club. He ushered us through the opening before beginning his check of the club-goers’ ID. “Nope, just those two are the only ones who get to pass go. They’re VIPs. Cards, everyone, please. Show me your ID, and then you can enter. Pay at the door.”

When Zuri and I had reached the bar, she said, “I need a drink, a really stiff drink. Maybe two or three.”

“Yeah, Zuri what just happened?”

“I don’t know, but I feel strange inside. Both schooled and turned on.” She turned to the bartender. “A Dirty Martini, please. Chér?” she asked, turning to me.

“Um, I’ll have a Cosmopolitan.” I started laughing. “Zuri, that was amazing!” I spluttered.

“What?” she snapped.

“You didn’t have control over Mano. I think you are a match for one another.”

“We’ll see about that. I am
never, ever
a bottom.”

“Don’t take his behavior as a threat, Z. From what I know, Mano’s a good man.” I swirled the colorful toothpick in my drink and took a small sip of my Cosmo. “Cam told me something about the significance of Mano’s braid once, but I forgot what he told me. Something like, ‘only a woman of substance gets to unbraid it.’”

“Good memory you have there, ka,” Zuri said before downing a healthy slug of her martini. “He’s sure hot, I’ll give him that.” Zuri fanned her face with her napkin. “I couldn’t tell if I wanted to fuck him or punch him in the belly.”

My face reddened at Zuri’s bluntness. “He’s got a tattoo…” I began.

“Well, duh, he’s got them everywhere.”

“Yeah, but he’s got a…a…he’s got a snake crawling up his belly.”

I watched Z’s eyebrows shoot up. She fanned herself even harder. “Oh, my God, Chér…how do you know that?”

“I saw it once when his shirt slipped up over his tummy. It’s…it’s quite provocative looking. It made me blush when I saw it.”

“Well, when
I
see it, I’ll give you a full report, like how far down it extends. My, my, my,” she said, the paper napkin fluttering furiously in front of her face. She looked over to the dance floor. “Let’s go get our spot – you know the same place we were when you met Kayden.” She shot me a meaningful look.

“Maybe he’ll show up tonight, you never know.”

When Mad Juju took the stage, the night shot off like a rocket to full, ecstatic dancing bliss. Did I tell you I love to dance? I
love
to dance. I think if the people of the planet just up and danced more, the world would be a happier place. I sure would. Mad Juju had a wall of percussion players, flanked by a full drum set. And they had some pretty powerful bass beats, played by a pock-marked faced, long haired guy wearing a headband to keep his stringy locks out of his eyes. The guy’s fingers flew along the strings. The guitar player, a good-looking blond haired guy with a body to die for, traded riffs with the guy throughout the night. At one point, the guitar player stopped playing and started stomping one of his legs to the hypnotic percussive beat and the crowd matched his movement. We all stomped in unison, creating a sound that went straight up into the heavens, adding to the beat of the planet, I was sure.

When the second set ended, Zuri and I made our sweat soaked bodies to the back of the room, searching for Mano. Z had decided on accepting Mano’s invite for a shared moment of beer, even though she was still in a twist at him. We found him at the bar, leaning back on the counter, one arm propping up his weight.

“You two girls looked like you had fun out there.”

“Oh, we did,” I gushed. Zuri said nothing. It seemed like a sudden bout of frostbite had washed over her.

“How about you, Zuri? You have a good time?”

“I suppose,” she said coolly. “We decided to take you up on that beer,” she added, fingering the lines of the smooth wooden counter.

“I don’t know, Zuri. You seem colder than the frosted mugs behind the bar. I might have to go home and have a beer with my dog, Severe, instead.”

A smile formed at the edges of Zuri’s mouth. “You have a dog named Severe?” she said, amused.

“Sure do. She’s a handful. But I have a way with beasts. Ask Cam.” He flicked his eyes over to me before aiming a dagger-sharp look in her direction, and then he folded his arms across his massive chest.

Zuri kept her back to Mano. “Is that supposed to intimidate me, Mr. Magnetic?”

“Does it?”

“Not hardly. I’ve had strong men before.”

“Not this strong,” Mano replied, flexing his arms. The snake tattoos along his arms writhed.

I gulped watching those muscles move.

Mano lowered his voice and leaned in close to her. “And, besides, what makes you think you can have me?”

“Okay, okay, you two.” I’d had enough of the sparring. “You barely know each other, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to find a fire hose to get you guys to let go of each other’s throats.”

“Zuri and I are just feeling out the edges, Chérie. Right, Z?” he asked with a predatory smile.

“Right,” Zuri replied. “Mr. Magnetic…”

Both sets of eyes turned towards me. I started to say something when a terrifying image started to form in my mind. “No!” I shrieked. “No, no, no, no no! Oh, God, oh no, oh Cam!” I pressed my hands over my eyes to block out the vision and began rocking back and forth on the bar stool. “Mano, help me, Cam’s in trouble. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God…”

Spar forgotten, Mano and Zuri stood on either side of me trying to figure out what was wrong.

“What is it, Chér?”

“Ka, what do you see?”

“It’s Cam,” I wailed. “He’s in trouble, and I can’t do anything…” My chest started to heave with sobs. “I can’t do anything. Can’t save him. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. Kayden…!” I implored. “Kayden, please…!”

Kayden appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around me. This was so not like him. He was the guy who told me to hug my kittens for comfort last year. He was the guy who could not, would not console me, preferring that I find my source of comfort within myself. Knowing this, knowing that he was responding to me in an uncharacteristic way made me cry even harder.

“Shh, ma chère, shh.”

“I can’t shh, Kayden, he’s in trouble.”

“I know, mon amour, I know.”

“What can I do?” I sobbed. “What can I do? There must be something that I can do to help. What good is it having the ka’kriyayaga inside if I can’t use it to help Cam?”

“I’m sorry, chère, that’s not our job. Each person’s journey is his or her own personal responsibility.”

Snot and tears were streaking my face, making me one wet mess. “Well, I want a new job,” I wailed. “I want a fucking new job that requires keeping Cam safe.”

Kayden’s arms pressed around me tighter. Ignoring the “rules” we abided by of not making our “skills” known in public, he whisked me into the night sky, back to the temple, leaving Zuri and Mano standing with their mouths open.

“So, that was the ka’kriyayago?” Mano asked, recovering from the shock of having seen someone appear out of nowhere and disappear into thin air.

“If that’s who Kayden is, then yes. Oh, Mano is there anything you can do to help? Anything at all?” Zuri’s eyes were brimming with tears.

“Yup, I think there is. Care to help me out here, Zuri? I could use some assistance.” He turned and started striding towards the door.

Zuri caught up with him and matched her stride to his. “Will I have to wear a nurse’s costume? I’ve got one,” she teased. Zuri always had a snappy comeback at the ready.

Mano snorted. “I’ll take a rain check, girl. Can you run in those shoes?” He glanced down at her heels.

“Nope, but I can run without them,” she said, yanking off her Jimmy Choos. “Let’s go, big guy,” she called, racing ahead of him. “We’ve got to help my best friend.”

Chapter 39 – Cam

The kids were leaving first thing tomorrow, Lightning Rod was packing up his things, and Cam was eager to get back home. He, Mark, Lightning Rod, and the rest of the staff had one last meeting tomorrow morning, and then it was hasta la vista, baby. They were outta here. Cam could hardly wait to see Chérie. With no cell service up here in the mountains, he hadn’t been able to call her…at
all
. It was probably for the best because he had to stay focused here. The Divert program had required too much attention. But, damn, he missed her like crazy.

Whatever Mark had done to keep Angela out of sight had worked. Frankly, he did not know if she was even here or not. He sure the fuck didn’t care. He hoped he never saw her again.

Heading up the trail towards his vehicle, he felt good about himself and his contribution to the program. The kids and staff had said their formal goodbyes in group today. It had been an emotional goodbye for all of them. They’d all teared up a bit. Cam hadn’t minded. He was, after all, learning how to be vulnerable and that it was okay to cry – every once in a while, at least. On rare occasions…

Unlocking the car, he grabbed the pack of nicotine, pulled one out of the pack, lit up, and relaxed. Yup, he felt really good. He wasn’t even berating himself for having a smoke two days in a row. A sliver of moon was directly overhead. Since there weren’t any street lights out here, nothing to illuminate the parking lot, he was in the dark of the woods, enjoying the hell out of the moment. It was good to be alive.

He thought about the old bat Natalie’s admonition to make life sacred. Well, sure as shit he was aware of it right now. Everything about this moment – even the burning tobacco – seemed like an act of God or Spirit or Wakan Tanka or whatever the hell you called it. He was so cleaned out by the week, so satisfied with life, his growth, his friendships, his place in the community…how could this not be a sacred moment in time? Lightning Rod came to mind, and he chuckled. The kid was a hoot, no doubt about it. Since the sweat lodge and this week’s experiences, Cam sort of imagined himself to be a big brother to Lightning Rod. He had a respect for the kid’s wisdom and humor. Lightning Rod had kept them in stitches much of the time. He really liked that kid.

Gazing up at the starry sky, the slip of moon, smelling the night air, Cam did not even bother to bring the tobacco to his lips. Instead, he just let it burn between his fingers, imagining the smoke going up in the air along with his gratitude. Hell, just for kicks, he even mouthed a big thank you to the sky. It was then that he noticed a dim light in the distance. Curious, he gazed at it. It was blinking in a slow, steady fashion…sort of a blink, pulse, glow…blink, pulse, glow…blink, pulse, glow. It was kind of hypnotic. No, it was really hypnotic. That same pull in his belly that he’d experienced when he’d seen Angela the other day was pulsing in his navel. Shit. This was crazy wrong. Something peculiar was going on out in the woods, and he did
not
want to know what it was.

A sense of apprehension and foreboding filled him. All sense of peace gone, he put the cig to his lips, and sucked the tobacco into his lungs.
Keep it together,
he chided himself.
You’ve managed to meet every challenge so far.
That tug in his gut persisted. Like being caught on a huge fishing line, he was being pulled towards the deep woods.
Come on, resist. Don’t let this get you. Stay calm. You can figure this out.
He found himself resisting, drawing against the unseen line, but the pull was strong, steady, and persistent. He grabbed a tree trunk and wrapped his arms around it.
Come on, tree, and help me out here.
Since when had he talked to trees? Grasping the tree with all his might, he struggled against the invisible restraint. With the cigarette clasped between his lips and teeth, he sucked on it, his lungs bellowing and heaving with exertion. Finally, he gave up and spit the smoky torch out of his mouth.