Darkest Deception, page 4
part #4 of Rise Of The Dragons Series
Chapter 5
Despite having practically lived round Claire’s house while I was at school, I took a wrong turn. There weren’t a lot of places to turn around so I was ten minutes late when I finally got there. As I stared up at the stone house, I was embarrassed. I’d been so keen to get out of the town and put distance between the bad memories, that I’d avoided the good things too. I hadn’t stayed in touch with anyone. Not even my former best friend. I shook myself mentally and forced on a smile that I hoped looked genuine before pressing the doorbell. Mrs Hillson’s small form appeared behind the glazed door.
“Come in, come in child, you’ll catch your death out there.”
It was late summertime and the earlier rain shower had blown itself out but Mrs Hillson was always concerned about her children. I offered her the wine, which she took with a smile before bustling back towards the kitchen. I followed her. Claire was chopping vegetables on the counter.
“Let me help,” I offered awkwardly. Mrs Hillson beamed and found me a sharp knife. Without thinking, I twirled it in my hand before starting on some carrots.
“Wow, that’s…something else.”
I caught the glances between Claire and her mother. “Force of habit, sorry,” I stared at the wonky carrot in front of me as I cut it into neat slices.
“So, what are you up to nowadays? I don’t think I’ve seen you in, oh, must be fifteen years?”
“It’s been a long time,” I agreed.
“And? What are you doing? I always said you’d be running a company by the time you were thirty! You were always such a good girl, got your grades…” Claire’s mum shot her a meaningful look.
“I run a government office actually, it’s pretty bureaucratic though, a lot of paperwork, nothing like running a bakery!” I deflected away. I didn’t need to bring the magic part of my work into their lives.
“Yes Mum, exactly, I don’t need bits of paper to tell me how to run my business!”
“I never understood how you two were so different and yet thick as thieves…” Mrs Hillson shook her head as she pointed a wooden spoon at us, “Now, leave me be while I finish up here. I’ll call you in when it’s ready.”
Claire made a face behind her mum’s back and led the way to the front room. It was the same mauve colour it had been painted twenty years ago, when Mrs Hillson had gone through a DIY phase. I caught a glance of both of us in the hallway mirror as we passed. We made a strange pair. Me: tall and dark with my copper skin and black hair, Claire: short, curvy and blonde with blue eyes to match. We were different at school too. I was quiet, kept to myself, got good grades. Claire was confident, the class clown.
“You look like you’re thinking hard!” she pulled me from my thoughts.
“I was just thinking…do you remember the day we met?”
She laughed, “Of course! That bully Billy was pulling your pigtails, but you weren’t crying, you were looking at him like you could kill him if you wanted to but were choosing not to! I couldn’t stand it!”
“You marched right over and punched him in the stomach before leading me away to redo my hair!”
“I always did have a good right hook! I loved your hair, so sleek and dark, not like my curly mop! How much time did we spend trying to copy the looks of our favourite popstars?”
I laughed, “Too long!”
“So tell me, any men in your life? Any kids?”
“Not for me, it’s all work, work, work. You?”
“I’m married now,” she held up her hand showing off her diamond engagement ring and a plain band beneath it, “five years me and Sam have been married. He’s got the twins tonight. I told him we’d be staying up all night, just like old times!”
“Not Sam the bricks?!” I used the old nickname we’d given our classmate as he was constantly creating constructions with building bricks.
“The very same! I always thought he had a crush on you, but he finally got up the nerve to ask me out and here we are. I’m now Mrs Bricks, well actually Mrs Lewis. I tried to send you an invite, but no one had your address and I tried looking you up on social media but I couldn’t find you…” she was twisting her ring on her finger and staring at it.
I reached over, “I’m sorry Claire…it’s just, after Mum…it was too painful, I had to go…”
“I know that, but, you could have stayed in touch. You were my best friend here, then you were gone. I wanted to talk to you. I was alone too you know.” There was more than a hint of reproach in her voice.
“I really am sorry.”
Claire placed her hand over mine. She seemed about to say something then we heard her mum bellow down the hall. “Let’s go eat,” she said and led me back to the kitchen and through to the conservatory, where a round table was already laid.
My mouth was already watering. I thought back fondly to breaded turkey dinosaurs and oven cooked chips after school. I looked down at the plates. This evening Mrs Hillson had provided the adult equivalent: chicken kiev with buttered potatoes and steamed vegetables. I cut into the crispy chicken and allowed the garlic sauce inside to flow onto the plate. I wasn’t normally a fan of butter, but it added a richness to the meal.
“This is really good, thank you.”
“Not a worry, love. How’s the old house looking then? I haven’t been up to see it since…well, yes…”
I interrupted before she finished that sentence. I didn’t really want to talk about Mum. “It’s pretty run down actually. There’s a tree in one of the rooms and the roof needs redoing.”
“Ah no, that’s too bad. Are you going to do it up?”
“I’m going to try…I had one estimate today, I’m going to need to do a lot of the work myself.”
“Who did you have out to look at it?” Claire was curious.
“Sam. He’s the son of the lady in the supermarket.”
They both nodded. Mrs Hillson said, “He’s the best one around, you can trust him. He did my conservatory.”
“And he’s my husband!”
I blinked in surprise. I was annoyed I hadn’t made the connection earlier, how many Sam’s were there in this small town. I gave Claire’s hand a squeeze as I looked around the room we were in. It was tastefully done with a small log burner tucked into one corner meaning the family could use it all through the year. I didn’t know much about building but it looked good.
“Whatever you do, don’t hire Billy Biggels and his mate. Right cowboys they are! Always smoking those cigarettes. I swear they’d do anything for some cash, goodness knows how they’re still in business.” Mrs Hillson shook her head disapprovingly.
“Weren’t they on that show about crooked builders a few years ago?”
I smiled along as they began talking about TV shows I’d never seen. Eventually the talk got back around to the farm.
“Still, it’s a shame you can’t rent out one of the buildings. Mary always talked about doing that, earning some money from the place. That would help pay for repairs.”
I froze. Hearing Mum’s name without being ready for it was like taking an ice cold shower. I reached for my glass of wine, covering up the emotions. Inwardly I chastised myself. I was back at the place where I’d grown up. A place where people knew each other and their goings on. Of course her name would be mentioned. I should have been ready. Mrs Hillson didn’t seem to have noticed my pause as I took a long swig of drink.
“What’s that?”
“I said it’s a shame you can’t rent out the guest house there.”
I frowned. Now that I wasn’t focusing on the throwaway mention of Mum’s name, the idea had merit. “That’s a good idea. The guest house is in decent shape…”
The conversation turned to other holiday homes in the area and then to holidays in the sun. I nodded along, contributing very little as I allowed the comforting conversation to wash over me. This could be part of the answer. I didn’t like the idea of sharing my space but I needed the money. I’d been planning to stay in the guest house but I could easily camp out in the main house. By the time I left, my head was swirling with thoughts about how much I could charge. I sat in my car for a few minutes to use the phone signal in town to look up a few similar places in rural Wales. They were charging hundreds a week in the summer and all seemed to be booked up. Impetuously I created an account on a popular site and uploaded the after pictures of the small guest house, set the availability for the rest of the year and added a high price per week. Humming along to a familiar nineties tune on the radio, I set off back home.
When I let myself into the outbuilding, the cat was curled up on the small sofa bed. A dark spot on the cream cushions. I stared at her, wondering what to do. She met my gaze with her yellow eyes then settled her head back down on her paws. She’d clearly decided to stay. She looked lean but not unhealthy. Her coat was a bit shabby. I wondered briefly about her life then decided that I had enough to think about without stray cats taking up my mental energy.
Chapter 6
I woke before dawn to a soft rumbling vibrating in my stomach. I looked down and found the small cat curled up next to me.
“Oh no, this isn’t going to fly. We need to set some boundaries,” I undermined my own words by stroking her soft head. Looks like she was comfortable here. I watched her quietly for a minute. She was white with patches of tabby fur picked out on her flank and paws. One large black patch covered one eye.
I left the bed and pulled on my workout gear. I couldn’t face the awful coffee so I drank a glass of water as I considered. It was early morning. The sun wasn’t up…I made my decision. The cat wound her way around my feet. I ushered her out of the door with me.
“I don’t have any breakfast for you, Patches, so you’ll have to catch your own,” she gave me a look. The name seemed to fit her. She turned away and sauntered off into the long grass.
I looked around. Once I was certain there was no one around, I shifted. The world was instantly clearer in my lynx form. Sounds were sharper and smells stretched out in front of me. I set off for the hills. A couple of deer started when they sensed me. I kept my course, but they still sprinted away. The sheep were more unsettled. I heard bleating and could feel their nervousness. I veered away from them. I raced over the countryside, feeling a freedom I hadn’t felt in years. I had had to be so cautious in the city. Here, I could run. I paused at the crest of a hill and sat on my haunches. Dim lights showed the small towns dotted around. The moon hung low in the sky. A milky crescent. I wouldn’t have to worry about the full moon for a little while. My ears swivelled on my head as they picked up trace sounds. A fox scurrying along. The birds starting to wake in their dawn chorus. More lights began to come on in the dwellings around the hill. Time for me to head back. I thrilled in how fast I could go, and even made a game of leaping from rock to rock on the way back. I had forgotten how wild it was up here. In the distance, an engine started up. I skirted back onto the footpath around the fields, back into the more managed farmland. I kept low and to the edge of the field, my tawny colouring blending well with the dry crops in the fields. I smelled cigarette smoke. Not close. I sped up. My paws pounding the soft ground. With a leap, I cleared the boundary into my own property. I stretched in the shadow of the barn. That felt good.
A noisy engine caused my ears to twitch. An early morning driver on the road. My eyes narrowed as I heard it turn onto my own dirt road. The crunch of gravel and twang of the grass stems being squashed told me they were close. I lay down in the long grass and watched. A whiff of foul cigarette smoke hit my nostrils. It was the same van from the garage. My body automatically tensed and I forced myself to still.
One of them got out of the van. He was holding a gun. He sighted along it. “Dammit! I can’t see anything here. You sure you saw a lion?”
Dzrak, I cursed inwardly in Dwarfish. I had been seen.
“You saw it too!”
“Hey isn’t this the Jones place?” The blonde one lowered his gun, “Want to have some fun?”
His buddy grinned, tugging his baseball cap down on his head. They walked towards the main house. I weighed my options up. I had no doubt I was better trained in combat than they were, but it would only take a stray bullet to seriously mess up my day. It would take time to heal and there were two of them. I heard them try the door. It was locked. They circled round. I heard them climb in through the broken kitchen window.
“Hey little lady, you here?”
That settled it. I shifted back to my human form. Hugging the walls, I let myself into the guest house. I grabbed my crossbow from the side, where I’d left it and tucked a knife into my waistband. I dialled 999 on my phone, crouching in the one corner of the room where I had signal and called it in. Armed burglary in progress. The operator seemed surprised when I gave exact co-ordinates. Guess they didn’t get a lot of trouble round here. I arched my back to look out of the small window. When I glanced back at the phone, the line had gone dead. I had lost signal.
Cursing softly, I picked up my handbag with the spare crossbow bolts in it and scurried over to their van. It was unlocked. I twisted the keys out of the ignition. They wouldn’t get away before the police got here. Then I sprinted back over to the barn. More cover there. I crouched behind something large covered by an old musty tarpaulin.
They had realised I wasn’t in the house and were coming back around when I called out to them from the barn. “You’re trespassing! I have called the police!”
The blonde one clocked that I was pointing some sort of weapon at them. I watched him squint as he couldn’t quite make out what it was in the gloom of the barn. He nodded to his friend and held his gun upright. A gesture of peace. His friend followed suit.
“It’s alright sugar, we were just trying to find a lion we saw. You haven’t seen anything have you?” He gave what he thought was a subtle jerk of his head to his friend. Baseball cap started to move around in a shoddy pincer movement.
“Not a good idea!” I fired a warning shot. The bolt whistled through the air and landed between his feet. Baseball cap pissed himself. Literally. I saw his pale cargo shorts darken and the breeze carried the acid tang of urine to my nose.
“What the hell?!”
I reloaded fast while their attention was on the bolt.
“Now, now, we’ve just come here all friendly like. Looks like you’ve got a lot of work needs doing in the house. Just so happens we’re builders. I’ll give you a discount…”
“I wouldn’t employ you to flush my toilet!”
He was angry now. I saw his fists clench. But he wasn’t quite stupid enough to aim his gun. Not yet anyway. “You stupid bitch! You wouldn’t be so cocky without a weapon!”
“And you won’t be either if you don’t turn around and leave, or I’ll take your weapon with my next shot.” I lowered my crossbow pointedly. It was now aiming at his crotch.
He glowered at me. He was too prideful to back down. I considered my options. Actually hitting them with a bolt would cause me a lot of trouble. I didn’t want the paperwork. Going out in the open meant they could shoot me. I was trapped in my own barn. My blood boiled. We were at an impasse.
My keen hearing picked up the welcome sound of sirens approaching. I was annoyed I’d had to call for help but I allowed myself a smile. Impasse over. Their heads turned as they heard the wailing sirens too.
The blonde’s icy blue eyes found mine. “You haven’t seen the last of us,” he ground out. To his credit, he lowered his weapon and didn’t run.
A screech of gravel and then two police officers arrived in blue uniforms. They took in the scene and raised their own handguns. Baseball cap immediately dropped his weapon and raised his hands.
“In trouble again Biggels? Let’s get down the station.”
A rustle of grass made us all turn our heads. Biggels raised his gun at the grass. Collectively we held our breath. My cat friend pushed through, carrying something half her size through the long grass. She gave him one look and ran off.
“There’s your lion!” I called.
Relieved laughter filled the air and the police officer patted Biggels on the back, “Still chasing that rumour huh? Come on, let’s go.”
Reluctantly and with a face like thunder, Biggels handed over his own weapon. Both men were bundled into the back of the car. The female police officer took my statement down. She was clearly angling for me to be a damsel in distress but I was more annoyed that I hadn’t been able to handle two mundane humans by myself. She raised her eyebrows at my crossbow but, once I’d shown her my own Magical Liaison Office badge, she was satisfied.
I watched them drive off, dust clouds filling the air. With a smug smile, I headed back to the guest house. I found the cat on the iron steps leading to the front door, with a fresh bird dead between her paws. She looked up as I approached. I stepped over her as she flattened her ears back. As if I’d try to fight her over a wood pigeon.
“Nice catch Patches,” I acknowledged, tickling her behind one ear to thank her for her part in confusing the two idiots earlier, “but you’re eating that outside.”
Chapter 7
I poured myself a black coffee with shaking hands, grateful I had splashed out on the quality beans at the supermarket. I still had adrenaline to burn after the encounter with Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber. I stepped into the warm summer air and surveyed the land. My eyes came to rest back on the barn. I walked over to it and impulsively pulled the old tarpaulin off the odd shape. My old quadbike! I ran my fingers over its rims. My thoughts turned to good times as a teenager racing around the fields and roads on this thing. I considered taking it out for a spin. I made it as far as retrieving the remaining can of diesel before I stopped myself. It would be fun, sure. But I wanted to make progress on this place. With a longing look and a promise to myself to ride it later, I filled up the ride on mower instead. After some frantic pulling at the old-fashioned choke start and a couple of well-placed kicks, the motor chugged into life. More diesel fumes filled the air. I pulled my t-shirt up like a face mask and climbed on.
