The Marradith Ryder Series Part 18
“Marradith.”
Justin grabbed her hand. “Let’s talk a minute before we get back in the car.”
Will was already inside the car, and they stood together behind it. Justin popped the trunk, and lowered his voice to a whisper.
“I made a call just now when I walked off into the woods.”
“You’ve got a cell?”
“Yeah, I ripped off a disposable one from one of the convenience stores we went to. But that’s not important. I called my boss. There’s been a change in plans.”
“What happened? Is my family okay?”
“Yes, they’re fine. This has nothing to do with them. Look, there’s an APB out for you.”
“What…? How?”
“They want to question you about the what happened at LessCost. It’s just a tactic to get you into police custody. Obviously they figured out that you were in the store, but they also want to know why you and your family disappeared.”
“They think you kidnapped me?”
“It gets better. They think Will kidnapped you.”
“Are you serious?”
“That’s what happens when witnesses get their stories mixed up. No wonder so many crime that go on don’t get solved. Anyway. My boss and I put our heads together, and we thought we could use this as an opportunity. I need you in on this with me. I’m hoping Will is tired enough to just go to sleep. But if he gets onto the internet and sees anything about you, act surprised. As far as he knows, we’re still going to a safe house.”
“So what are we really doing?”
He paused. “Baby, you’re not going to like it.”
When did I become baby? she wondered. She tensed up. This meant there was some new element of danger involved. The worse the circumstance, the sweeter the talk.
“I’m supposing you’re going to ask me to trust you on this?”
“Always,” he said, and then laid out his plan.
***
“You guys took long enough,” Will said as they got into the car. “What, y’all were kissing back there?”
Justin wiped at his mouth self consciously, as if there might be some traces of lipstick. Sure, it was better for Will to think that they were kissing rather than standing out in the cold scheming, but she wondered if maybe Justin wasn’t exaggerating a little too much.
Will was holding his arm. She could see it was swelling. “I don’t know how much good it will do, but I’ve got some pain reliever in my bag,” she offered.
“I’d appreciate it,” he said wearily. And then, after a beat, he said, “Have you ever done that before? Electrocuted somebody?”
She paused as she reached for the capsules. “No. I’ve blown up stuff before. Trees, electrical wires, things. I always knew I could, but hadn’t been in the position to use it on a person.”
She turned around and handed him the pills. “Thanks,” he croaked, and chased them with a gulp from his water bottle.
“What can you tell me about Leighton?” she asked.
He frowned. “Why won’t your boy over here tell you about him?”
“Because,” Justin said, “I haven’t seen Leighton in a hundred years. At least.”
It always bothered Marradith when he talked like that. It was just impossible to imagine how old Justin really was.
“Oh, yeah,” Will said. “I guess you’ve got a point with that. Syd goes to see Leighton once, maybe twice a week, and I’d drive him up there because Bruce was usually out killing somebody whenever he got a night off . Syd’is a lot older than Leighton, but Syd’s his henchman.”
“By the time on of us looks old,” Justin interjected. “We’re very old.”
“Yeah, and Syd has white hair and walks with a limp,” Will said. “Man, how old you think that makes him, like, in dog years?”
Marradith put a hand on Justin’s arm. “Is there a reason that an older werewolf would serve a younger one?” she asked.
“There could be. Maybe he has a power that is more useful than physical strength.”
“He does. Mind control.”
Justin and Marradith both turned around. Justin gripped the wheel a little harder as he turned his eyes back to the road.
“Wolves have that power?” she asked.
“Yes, but very few,” Justin sighed. “There may be something to him being an Ancient.”
“He got that guy at LessCost to go crazy. Just whispered something to him and off he went,” Will confirmed.
“So when you’d take Syd to see Leighton, what would they do?” Marradith said.
“Sit around. Drink. Talk about finding you. Mostly I’d stay out in the car, but Syd would tell me about it later. He said that Leighton was obsessed with you and he didn’t understand why.”
“Is there a woman that lives in the house with him?”
“He has had a girlfriend he was seeing until recently, but she never lived there.”
Marradith met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “What does Leighton look like?”
“Blond. Long hair. Probably 6’2 or 6’3. Thin.”
“And you know his address?”
“By heart, but it’s on the laptop.”
In the front seat, both Justin and Marradith were quiet. Just as he drifted to sleep, Will heard a bit of conversation between them.
“Why were you asking about what Leighton looks like?”
She waited a moment to reply, dropping her voice. “Because,” she said. “I think I have been having his dreams.”
—
© 2009 Lori Titus
Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears each Wednesday on Flashes in the Dark. She is the short story editor for Sonar4 ezine. Many of her stories have appeared on MicroHorror and Shadeworks, and her first anthology of horror stories is scheduled for release in 2010.
For more information see her at: http://www.myspace.com/talesforthedark
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June 4th, 2009 at 1:49 am
Excellent! I do look forward to my weekly Marradith fix!
June 4th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Another wonderful update - keep ‘em coming!
June 16th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Oh no wonder this guy is looking for her. Probably been dreaming about her for a long time, just had to wait till she looked more like she does now to find her.