Woman King (10 page)

Another said, “Civics Education Called A
National Crisis.”

“Your country is intent on electing people
who believe in a “God-endowed” policy to control the courts,
education,” Elsa said. “If they should achieve a majority, it could
be disastrous.”

“And the remaining population cannot name
members of the Supreme Court or the first seven presidents,”
Gabriel added. “You see, we are forever at a tipping point, where
intervention is necessary.”

“Intervention?” I asked, once again feeling
alarmed. I had the feeling I was being recruited into some kind of
battle. “What do you mean?”

Finally I was able to connect the nervousness
I’d been feeling all evening with its owners. Both of them shared
the anxiety equally, but it was Gabriel who spoke first.

“I’m the leader of an organization designed
to help with these matters globally. This intervention I spoke of,
the Council, is an organization devoted to maintaining stable
governments across the globe,” Gabriel said. He paused to order a
second bottle of wine.

“Do you know the story of The Watchers from
the Bible, from the Old Testament? It is the story of a group of
angels sent by God to live on the earth and help humans.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not all
that familiar with the Bible.”

“I see. Well, we are like them. The world is
full of magical beings—Others—as we refer to them. We,
they
,
do not want to be visible to the outside world, hunted for
religious reasons or perhaps exploited for financial gain or
political power. For decades we have lived among humans and
co-existed. The equation is simple: The more educated and stable
the population, the more insulated Others are from harm and
persecution.”

“How does it work?” I asked. “Do you have an
army, is there fighting?”

Gabriel waved his hands emphatically to
dismiss the comments. “Olivia, I am not asking you to fight in a
war, or join an army. Here in the U.S. and in Europe, we work the
same way as others do: We use the political process. We work to
ensure stable, moderate people are elected to every level of
government.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to do what you do now and run a
campaign,” Gabriel said, smiling. “But also to use your new-found
skills to help
increase
the odds of success.”

“Increase the odds?”

“Yes, of course,” he said. “It’s much easier
to win an election when you know what voters are thinking ahead of
time. You can help a candidate correct his messages in a matter of
seconds. You can sit in a room with a journalist and sense their
intentions before they even begin an interview. It all makes for
much better odds.”

“Why should I do this for you? I can go back
to running my company.”

Gabriel nodded. “True, but you never can tell
your clients or colleagues about your talents. Who will believe
that you can see someone’s aura, or read his or her emotions? If
your competitors come to believe that, they will try to get you
fired or disqualified. Who will you share your gift with? Who will
you ask for advice? Elsa can’t stay with you forever, she must
return to her work.

“I’ve seen your record,” he continued.
“You’re a talented consultant. Surely you must see the value of
using your skills to help make a difference? You can shape the
future, help ensure zealots don’t run governments.”

I set aside his pitch to help save the world
for the moment. It was difficult to imagine my contributions
amounting to that much, but his other remarks hit home. I couldn’t
share my secret with other humans. They would think I was crazy.
Then again, maybe I didn’t have to; maybe I could enjoy my new
skills in private.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Gabriel said.
“That you can keep it all a secret and continue on with your
life.”

I nodded. “Why not? No one has to know.”

“True. But don’t you think you would be
living a half-life, Olivia? You have been given the rare
opportunity to see what is behind the wizard’s curtain. In your
case, there is real magic to be found, not some cheap parlor
trick.”

“Maybe, but I never asked for these gifts,” I
said. “All I’ve ever wanted was to live my life in peace.”

“
Mon dieu
! Who doesn’t?” Gabriel said,
offering a sympathetic smile. “But that is not always what fate has
in store.”

****

I woke up the next morning knowing that I
needed to clear my head. A bike ride out of town would be just the
thing. The red wine and conversation had made my night’s sleep less
than solid, but I managed to wake up feeling rested enough. Gabriel
had closed the evening asking me to consider his offer, but the
truth was that I had bigger issues to contemplate.

I knew that Gabriel was right when he said
that I would never be able to reveal my skills to my clients or
colleagues. But that wasn’t the part that bothered me. What I
worried about was that I could never share all of what I knew to
others. Beyond Lily, who could I tell about this new world of mine?
And was there any man out there willing to date a woman who could
tell his true colors on the first outing? To see the world so
differently and to be so limited in whom I could share it with,
well, it didn’t sound appealing.

I planned to work through these issues
through rigorous exercise and reflection. I left the house on my
bicycle and made my way through Golden Gate Park, up into the
Presidio and across the Golden Gate Bridge. I continued riding,
past the Marin Headlands and on to Mill Valley, stopping in the
town’s village square for a break before heading back again toward
San Francisco. It was a classic San Francisco day, sunny but with a
cold, biting wind. I slogged through the tourists in Sausalito and
rode my bike up Alexander Avenue, turning right to climb the hill
toward the lookout points.

Now, after several hours on my bike, my leg
muscles rebelled against the abrupt change in grade as I climbed. I
was pressing against fierce, chilling head winds, using the
confusion I felt as my energy source. Although my body ached, it
felt good to push so hard. The wind wicked the sweat off my torso,
and I began to feel the delicious tightness of my skin as it
reacted to the frigid air.

My efforts were rewarded when I reached the
top of the road and gazed out at the stunning view of the city’s
skyline, the beautiful twin spires of the bridge across the Golden
Gate, and the San Francisco Bay. To one side I could see Baker
Beach and to the other the skyline of downtown San Francisco. It
was beautiful, and despite being exhausted, my heart felt lighter
looking out at the city I called home.

I got off my bike and decided to walk through
the old World War II tunnels and examine the view from behind one
of the gun turrets. I locked my bike into a rack and began walking
toward the opening of the tunnel. As I approached, I heard music
coming from inside. As soon as I entered, I saw what looked to be a
man in the distance, sitting against one of the walls. I could not
see his face, as the bright sunlight shining through the other side
of the tunnel made it impossible to see more than an outline of his
body.

It was the music, though, that caught my
attention. The notes were rolling off the guitar with great sadness
and melancholy. Despite the beauty of the music, I hesitated to
walk closer. A bit of pressure was building in my head. I took a
sip of water from my bottle, thinking that I was dehydrated, before
it dawned on me. The pressure was coming from him. I was being
pecked at again, which meant that the man I was staring at was
actually a guitar-playing vampire. I was in no mood for examination
after such a long ride and immediately shut him out.

Out of the shadows I saw him raise his head
and laugh, and then he looked away and continued to play his
guitar. It was an easy decision to leave, but as I turned to head
back toward my bike, the mystery musician spoke.

“Don’t worry,” he said in a voice that
carried a trace of a Southern drawl. “I won’t try again. I didn’t
realize who I was dealing with.”

I decided not to answer. I don’t normally
speak with strangers under any circumstances.

“Don’t you want to finish what you started?”
he asked, a touch of sarcasm in his voice. “It’s worth it to get to
the other side.”

I wasn’t sure what he was saying. The
previous evening’s discussions had further opened my eyes to the
world around me. There were two dimensions to everything. Was he
saying I was afraid, or did he mean something else? I wasn’t
afraid, although I had never been alone with a vampire in a dark
tunnel before. Now that I was really focusing, I could detect a
very bright green aura surrounding him. He was very calm and I
didn’t feel threatened in any way. His stance made me curious: who
was this mysterious, guitar-playing vampire with the velvet-green
aura down at the end of the tunnel? I walked toward him to find
out.

Walking briskly, I closed the gap between us,
but he made no effort to move or rise to meet me. In fact, as I
approached, all I could make out was a cowboy hat, bright red hair
and a pair of faded jeans beneath an old acoustic guitar. Whoever
he was, it was clear he was not prepared to speak with me
again.

I had been raised to never chase boys or
men—a policy I amended on the spot to include the undead—so I gave
him a feeble wave and he tipped his hat back in acknowledgment.
Then I walked through the tunnel and into the clearing. The air was
growing colder and I could feel the fog beginning to push its way
in. The chill in the air convinced me that it was time to get
myself back across the bridge and into a hot bath.

Elsa would want to discuss Gabriel’s offer to
come and work for the Council when I got home. The fee he had
offered me was enormous, certainly more than I made on my own in a
year. Although I didn’t need the funds, it was intriguing to be
offered a king’s ransom for doing a job I loved doing. When I
finished gazing at the churning sea below, I walked back through
the clearing and approached the tunnel, hoping to catch a glimpse
of the guitar player again.

When I stepped into the shadows, I discovered
I was alone.

By the time I returned home ninety minutes
later, I’d decided to accept Gabriel’s offer. Whether it was the
encounter with the vampire in the tunnel, or Gabriel’s remarks, I
now knew I had to make some changes. Despite my resolution, I
decided to call my mother to gauge her reaction. After all that I
had experienced, the visions I’d seen of my grandmother, I felt I
needed to talk to her.

We’d parted ways so badly weeks before, and
now I was anxious to clear the air.

Within seconds of dialing she picked up her
receiver. “Olivia,” she said warmly. “You have found your gifts. I
can feel the energy pouring out of you.”

“Wow,” I said. “Even over the phone,
Mom?”

“Your energy is very powerful,” She said.
“How did this happen?”

“I met someone, a woman who’s been helping
me. Her name is Elsa and she has been a sort of, umm a mentor. She
said Grandmother sent her.”

There was a pause on the line.

“That is exactly the kind of thing she would
think to do. Interesting that she appeared now…well, then…are you
OK? It’s a lot to understand at your age.”

“That’s funny. A man I met said something
very similar.”

Again there was a pause, but then she said,
“A man, you mean someone your age?”

“No,” I said. “Elsa introduced me to a man,
who runs an organization that protects people like us, and others
from harm. His name is Gabriel Laurent.”

For the third time, my normally verbose
mother was silent. “I see,” she said finally. “He’s French. What
did he want?”

“He offered me a job, to work for an
organization called the Council. I would run political campaigns
here, and maybe in states across the country.”

“I don’t know, Olivia, this is all very
sudden,” she said. “Maybe you should take some time off and think
about things. Perhaps you would like to take a trip to France? I
have an exhibition coming up in Paris, we could travel there
together and relax and see the city.”

“Mom, I would love that, but I need to work
and stay busy,” I said. “I feel like I have already been on
vacation, the way I have abandoned my company these last few
weeks.”

My mother sighed into the phone. “It’s not as
if you need to work, Olivia. Your family has ensured that you have
plenty of money. What can it hurt to take things slowly? You don’t
know anything about this Laurent fellow. Perhaps he does not have
your best interests at heart.”

I was now able to clearly map the outlines of
my mother’s state of mind. She was worried, but whether it was for
me, or in general, I could not tell. “Don’t worry, Mom,” I said,
wanting to reassure her. “I like Gabriel. He seems very nice.
Perhaps it’s because of our years in France, but I felt very
comfortable around him.”

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke. “Very
well, honey,” she said warmly. “I’ll have my assistant send you my
travel plans. Perhaps you will come to Paris for a few days and
take a break with me.”

I was about to say goodbye and thanks when
she spoke again. “Honey, remember there is a lot still to come. I
hope you will be ready for all that there is to know.”

“Please don’t worry,” I repeated. “Elsa is
helping me. I feel better than I have in a long time.”

After we hung up, I turned to Elsa who had
been listening in the hallway. “Well, what do I do next?”

“We should visit Gabriel at the Council
offices,” Elsa said. “We can go tomorrow evening. I’ll text
Gabriel.”

“Can’t we go tonight?” I asked, anxious to
get started now that I had made the decision.