Blood Ties Page 19

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Skeeter.”

  Jake saw Skeeter turn a sidelong glance to Qi who nodded with a smile on her face. Qi’s eyes turned to Jake’s knowingly, and he would swear she could see his heart pounding. Her eyes teased him, but he couldn’t fathom why. He looked away and stared once again at Cole who seemed to be riveted to the floor.

  “And the gentleman at the far end of the table,” Chung said, motioning towards Cole, “is Cole McJunkins, Jake’s partner in mayhem.”

  “Lady Dănești,” Cole said cautiously, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gave a polite nod of his head. It wasn’t apparent enough to be obvious, but Jake picked up unease in his partner’s posture and wondered why. The Lady watched Cole for a few more seconds and then the others. She gave a strange little smile. When she nodded her head, she added a slight bow to Cole. Jake sent a questioning look Cole’s way, but his partner either didn’t notice or didn’t feel like giving him any sign of what troubled him. With everything going on around him, Jake felt like a blind man in a shooting gallery.

  “It’s a sincere pleasure to meet all of you,” she said with a distinct accent, “but if you will excuse me, I have something of import I must discuss with Master Lau Xing.” She held out her arm and Chung took it gently.

  Jake thought about her accent … it reminded him of Szilágyi, but it didn’t sound quite right. He wanted to hear her speak more, but it looked like he’d have to wait.

  “Of course, Lady Dănești. We can go to my office.”

  “That would be acceptable,” she replied and nodded to everyone in the room one at a time. She nodded at Jake last, and he thought he saw her delicate, white eyebrow rise slightly behind the spectacles. Chung led the Lady out the way she had come.

  The room grew quiet for long seconds as Jake stared openly at the closed door.

  “Jake,” Cole’s voice broke Jake out of his stupor. “You got a minute?”

  Jake shook his head, struggling to clear the image of Lady Dănești from his thoughts. “Yeah, sure, Cole,” he replied, turning. Cole moved towards the back of the room with an uncomfortable look on his face. Skeeter looked at Jake and then at Qi, her innocent eyes not picking up any of the cross-play going back and forth. Skeeter sat down where she’d been, and as Jake stepped past, Qi looked at him with smiling eyes that seemed to know a great deal more than he did.

  Jake stepped up to Cole, and they both turned their backs on Qi and Skeeter, lowering their voices to whispers.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Cole asked.

  “What’cha mean?” Jake asked, confused.

  “I ain’t never seen you go gaga over a woman like that before.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t go gaga.” It was the only lie Jake ever told to Cole.

  “Oh, pu-lease,” Cole said, “You shoulda seen yourself.”

  “Well,” Jake conceded, “she is one hell of a fine lookin’ lady.”

  “Jake,” Cole said seriously, “remember what I said about Helga being the most intimidating woman ever?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I lied.” He swallowed and licked his lips nervously. “Lady Dănești has that Valkyrie beat by miles and miles.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Jake blurted loud enough for Qi and Skeeter to turn their heads. Jake lowered his voice. “You just met the woman, and she sure as hell didn’t look like no Valkyrie.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” Cole turned his eyes away, looking for a way to explain his reaction in a way that Jake would understand. “Did I ever tell you about my grandmother? The one in Louisiana?”

  “No, I don’t recall that you did.”

  “Her name was Alidia, but everyone called her Tante Lid. Back around the turn of the century she had a reputation as a … a … hell, there wasn’t even a word for it … she was just Tante Lid. Everyone knew what she was. She used to walk around the surrounding parishes … wherever her spirit led her.” He hesitated. “She exorcised demons and hunted ghosts.” Cole looked into Jake’s eyes to see if his partner believed him. Jake’s face was placid, not doubting. “I only have a few recollections of meeting her, but I’ll tell you, she left an impression.”

  “How do you mean?” Jake asked, wondering where this was headed.

  “The last time I saw her, my mamma took me. By then Tante Lid was known for leagues and leagues, but as a healer not a hunter in those days. Time had taken its toll on her. I’d never been to her home before. I was sick, you know? Real sick. I’d had a fever for two weeks and was coughing up blood for a few days. Folks looked at me the way you and I look at a man who’s gut-shot and ain’t gonna make it. You now?” Jake nodded, thinking of the men he’d seen die. “Mamma put me up on a neighbor’s plow horse, and I remember us walking for … hell, it seemed like forever … through this weird forest smack dab in the middle of bayou country. The cypress had opened up, replaced by this stretch of tall, straight trees I’d never seen before. They made up a canopy of sorts. They were spaced evenly—I’d have to say precisely—as if they’d been planted like that at the beginning of time. The ground under ’em was clear—which is weird if you’ve ever been to Louisiana—and the sun came down all shimmery and dusky, like we were under water or something. Well, Tante Lid’s little white house finally came into view, and it was …” Cole turned his eyes to Jake, “it was like the whole place glowed there in the middle of that dancing shadow … and it felt like a piece of heaven had dropped out of the sky and landed right there.”

  Jake was intrigued but didn’t see a point. “What’s this got to do with the Lady?”

  “I’m gettin’ to that,” Cole assured him. “As we come within earshot of the house, I start to hear chanting … or praying … whatever you wanna call it. My mamma pulls me down off the horse and carries me up the steps. I couldn’t even walk by this time. The door opens and there’s this tall fella standing there all in white. His skin was as black as my mamma’s, his hair as white as his clothes. I remember wrinkles that looked like they were a hundred years old. He looks down at my mamma and then stares directly at me, smiling like we’re old friends. ‘We’ve been expecting you,’ he says, and my mamma nods as if that’s the most natural thing in the world.”

  Cole locked eyes with his partner. “Jake, I’m tellin’ ya. There was no way he could have known we were coming. No way. So, my mamma carries me through the door, and every wall, nook and cranny is covered with red candles, the light making the place as bright as the sun. In the middle of the room is a table covered with a white cloth, and there’s seven people standing around it, all of ’em in white and holding hands. On the far side is Tante Lid. She looks older than the man at the door, but she’s got this strength … from deep inside. Even I can see it.

  “All of a sudden that strength of hers, well I feel it flow into me. My head clears a little, and I don’t feel like I’m gonna die. Tante Lid smiles at me and my mamma and then nods to the table in front of her. My mamma lays me down, pulls my legs straight, and crosses my hands across my chest. ‘Don’t be scared,’ she says and kisses my forehead. My mamma steps away, outside the circle, and Tante Lid places her hand over my eyes. I hear her whispering something in a language I don’t know, and the praying or whatever starts up from the folks around me.”

  Cole’s words trailed off, as if he were there once again reliving those events.

  “And?” Jake asked.

  “Well, I woke up the following day. Them folks were still standing over me and still chanting. When I opened my eyes, Tante Lid held up her hand and they all went silent. I took a deep breath, the healthiest I’ve ever been, and I ain’t been sick since, Jake. Not once.”

  “That’s a hell of a story, Cole, it truly is,” Jake said, sounding confused. “But what’s it got to do with Lady Dănești?”

  “Well, never being sick ain’t the only thing I got up off that table with. Ever since that day I’ve been able to sense things … unnatur
al things … not necessarily bad, or even good for that matter … just unnatural … like I have some sort of connection to … beyond. I can sense when ghosts are about, or when something terrible happened in a particular place. Tante Lid gave me something, a little piece of whatever she had. You know what I’m saying?”

  “I think so, Cole.”

  “Well, that’s how I know, without a doubt, that there’s something very unnatural about the Lady Corina Dănești.” Cole clasped Jake’s arm, almost frantically. “Be careful,” he added.

  At first Jake didn’t know what to say. He trusted his partner, had entrusted his life to Cole on a number of occasions. It was a hell of a story, and he had no choice but to take Cole at his word. He put his hand on Cole’s shoulder.

  “All right, Cole. I will.”

  “Jake?” Skeeter called from the table.

  Rescued, Jake thought as he stepped over to Skeeter. He didn’t see the concerned look on Cole’s face. “Yeah? What’s up, Skeeter?”

  “Qi was telling me about some note. Can I see it?”

  Jake looked surprised but reached into his pocket. “Sure.” He handed it over and gave Qi a questioning look. “Here you go, but I don’t see how—”

  Skeeter started reading it off. “ZEPPELIN: Have you completed the mission? SIZLAGYI: Nothing is … ZEPPELIN: We’re on our way. Prepare for our arrival.” She looked up at Jake with that gleam in her eyes when people underestimated her. “It’s Moldavian … or Wallachian. They’re pretty much the same thing, and I never could tell them apart. They speak this in places throughout the Carpathian mountains.” She said it like she would say cowboys ride horses.

  Everyone’s mouth dropped open, and Jake blinked his eyes.

  “How the hell do you know that?” Jake blurted.

  “Von Klattersnap taught me,” she replied, easy as you please.

  “I thought you said he was German,” Jake injected. It came out almost as an accusation. Sometimes he couldn’t keep up with Skeeter’s surprises.

  “He is,” she retorted. “He had me read up on Moldavian, though … said I’d need it later.”

  “For what?” Cole spoke up.

  “He didn’t say … just something big. He was funny that way.” Skeeter clearly didn’t get the connection, brushing it off as coincidence. Jake found it rather disturbing, although he was grateful Skeeter didn’t share his cynicism.

  “What? You mean aside from being a mad scientist and all?” Cole asked.

  “Yeah.” Skeeter laughed and rolled her eyes. “I mean aside from that. Most of the time he wasn’t such a bad guy.”

  Jake shot her a critical look. “Skeeter, he damn near enslaved Evergreen, and he did enslave that friend of yours.”

  “I did say most of the time, didn’t I?” she replied with an easy smile. “He was smart, too. Always made me feel like a normal kid, and he let me do mostly what I wanted.”

  “If you say so,” Cole mumbled.

  “Well, at least we know what it says … but it doesn’t say much, does it? I wish I’d been able to catch more of it.”

  “Seems to me that he’s talking about doing something to the Jezebel,” Cole offered.

  “Yeah, I figured the same thing, but Tyler and his men didn’t find anything, and they searched from stem to stern. Damn it! I wish I knew what the hell Szilágyi wanted.”

  Cole rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “It’s got to be related to the Lady’s package. It’s the only thing that makes sense.… But how could he be four steps ahead of us like that? We didn’t know we were coming to San Fran until two days ago, and we hadn’t even taken the job. He couldn’t possibly know how we’re going to get it back to Denver. I say we avoid the Jezebel like it’s a crate full of scorpions.”

  “Hard to argue with you on that one, amigo. The Jezebel is out.” Jake was pleased Cole had come to the same conclusion. “I’m sure there’ll be other transports heading out of here in the next few of days. Even if they’re not going to Denver, they gotta be going somewhere.”

  Qi stood and kissed Skeeter’s cheek. “I don’t believe the Lady or my grandfather will be coming back this evening.” She yawned, delicately covering her mouth, and then stretched her arms over her head. “I think I’ll turn in. Skeeter, you know where your room is. Cole, yours is just along the hallway from there.” She stepped by Jake and ran her hand gently over his. He didn’t miss the touch or the lack of any mention of a room of his own. “Goodnight, everyone.” She stepped to the door and then turned. “Oh, and Skeeter …”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “I want you to go over those words I taught you today. Don’t focus on them, just memorize them exactly how I taught you.”

  “I will.” Skeeter beamed. “I promise!”

  “Good girl!” Qi sent an expectant look in Jake’s direction and then closed the door.

  Skeeter stood and headed for the door. “C’mon, Cole, I’ll show you to your room.”

  “Thanks, Skeeter.” They both walked past Jake, and Cole gave him a wink.

  “Good night, Jake,” Skeeter said as she opened the door.

  “Yeah, good night, Jake.” Cole did his best to say it exactly the way Skeeter did. All Jake could do was sigh.

  Chapter Twenty – Comrades in Arms

  “There’s a part of me, deep down inside, that always regretted not being able to settle down with Jake, but he had his destiny.”

  ~ Qi Lau Xing

  Jake knocked lightly on the door and heard a rustling of bedclothes, as if someone were hastily getting into bed.

  “Come in, Jake.” Qi’s voice was inviting and warm.

  Something made him hesitate. He’d spent months yearning to pass, once again, through that very door, and now a tickling of uncertainty played at the back of his mind. Uncertainty was a foreign idea to Jake. Shaking his head, he twisted the knob and stepped in. A row of blue candles set before the mirror of Qi’s black lacquer dresser made an arc of light, casting warm ripples throughout the room. Jake remembered the last time he’d been in Qi’s bedroom, and it stirred him now just as it had then. The whisper of a white dove’s wing fluttered through his thoughts, prompting a subtle twinge of guilt. Pushing back the image of Lady Dănești, Jake closed the door behind him and stepped in.

  “I’ve missed you, Jake.” Qi held a red satin comforter up to her chin, and her face looked as warm and inviting as her voice sounded. “Do you remember what we talked about that last night?” she asked as she gave him a smile that stirred his heart in ways only she could. “Right here in this bed?” Clad in white satin pajamas, she patted the comforter next to her.

  “I do. I remember it all.” He stepped up to the bed and took his hat off, throwing it on the same chair it had landed on the last time. “Do you think anything has changed?” he asked, slowly contemplating the curves of her cheek, neck, and shoulder. A part of him wanted her, but something else made him push such thoughts aside, and it was more than just the thought of the Lady.

  “No,” she said simply. “You and I are eternal, Jake. Just as we are. Perhaps more than either of us realizes.”

  “Now you sound like your grandfather.” The smile he gave her was warm, one of friendship and trust.

  She laughed lightly, and the sound of it warmed Jake’s heart.

  “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Qi folded back the covers on his side of the bed, and the satin beneath glowed a pale blue in the candlelight, as inviting as the first time he laid eyes upon it. “You flatter and honor me,” she added, bowing her head as her finger traced patterns in the satin.

  “Just speaking plainly, Qi,” Jake replied. “You know me.”

  “Yes, I do.” She looked at him expectantly, a quirky little smile playing about her lips as she eyed the gulf of satin between them.

  Still conflicted, and not a little uncertain, Jake pulled off his gun belt and hooked it on the bedpost. He sat on the edge of the bed, maintaining the gulf between them. He looked into Qi’s eyes an
d couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her mind. He certainly hadn’t hesitated the last time he found himself in her bedroom.

  “She’s really quite remarkable, isn’t she?” Qi asked with a knowing smile.

  “Who?” Jake asked. He tried to sound ignorant, but it sounded hollow even to him.

  Qi’s light laughter filled the room, as delicate as crystal and as warm as chimes. “You know who I mean.” She clearly enjoyed his discomfort, and they both knew it. “The Lady Dănești.” Jake’s cheeks flushed, causing Qi to smile even more. “Cole was right, you know. You did go … how did he say it? Go gaga?”

  “Damn!” Jake muttered. “Not you too.”

  “Yes,” she said, her face glowing and laughter shining in her eyes, “me, too.”

  Jake turned serious, his voice going low. Besides, he needed to get out of the corner she’d backed him into. “Can I trust her, Qi? I still don’t know a damn thing about this package. And with Skeeter with me, I have to be extra careful.”

  Qi’s smile faded, but not the warmth. She stared deeply into his eyes. “She has many secrets, even from my grandfather, but she has a right to them, Jake. She’s earned them.” She reached out and took his real hand in hers. It felt warm and comforting and everything Jake remembered about her. “I can’t tell you her story. I’m honor bound. But yes, you can trust her.”

  Jake thought about it. A certainty filled her voice that Jake simply could not ignore. “All right. I believe you.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. She released his hand and ran her own tenderly over his beard, holding it gently on his face.

  “But those are thoughts for tomorrow,” she said, and a warmth lit her eyes. “Tonight is about something else, bao bei. For you have difficult times ahead, and your destiny awaits.”

  Jake raised an eyebrow. “Destiny?” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Ain’t no such thing.”

  “I know you won’t believe it now, but in time you will understand.” She gripped his hand tightly. “The signs are there. Everything I’ve seen and heard and read tells me that you will become the eye of a great storm, and if you fail, we shall all perish.”