Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (45 page)

I saw the two feet standing on the other side of my door
:  s
till a prison, but now
,
one of indescribable horrors. 
When
I
lay
down on the bed
,
I realized it still smelled of Drake
.  I
f I closed my eyes and lay very still
,
I
could imagine him with me
.  I let my mind wander.  I had been so focused on my own circumstances
that I
didn’t know anything about him
:  n
ot his family, his interests, hobbies, political persuasion
, wh
at his job was other than he worked for his father
.  T
he only thing I knew was every time I closed my eyes, I could see his ice blue eyes staring back at me.   

I stayed in my room.  There was no need to leave.  I had taken every lesson that I would allow
Zandra
to teach me.  I didn’t need food
,
and I could get water from the bathroom sink.  From time to time I would see a guard open the door – I guess checking to see if I w
as
swinging from the rafters.  I never once acknowledged one of them
,
and none ever uttered a word to me. 
I found the small tube of salve that Drake had gently put on my neck to help the healing.  I would be rid of this stupid necklace very soon
,
and when I was, I wanted no reminder that I ever wore it, that this time ever existed. 

By the third day with no food and only water for su
stenance,
I felt lethargic.  I had difficulty determining what was a dream and what was reality.  I had decided that when Gage came to take me from this house of horrors
,
I would ask him to let me go back to California
-
back to the uncomplicated life I had led before I met my father or any of the others.  I knew he wouldn’t be over Bianca and may even hold me responsible for her death.  I was pretty sure he would
be happier with me out of his life than he would with me in it
.

The door opened slowly
.  I
t was
Zandra
.  I turned away from her and looked out the window. 
I’m sure she said something to me
,
but I was too weak to waste the energy to listen.  Whatever she had said, the lack of a response from me must have been some sort of an answer she was seeking because moments later I was again alone. 

*****

Daniel

I stood outside the gate, a
state policeman
on my flank, lean
ing
up against the steel gate
,
wondering what kind of a prison Cami was in.  It took several hours to convince someone even
to
escort me out to
Zandra Chiron’s property.  After we got
t
here
,
I was expecting the police to help me. 
I got the
distinct
feeling
they were
humoring me
.

When the
policeman
had spoken to her through the intercom
,
I’d expected him to be polite
,
but firm.  I was thoroughly pissed off when I heard him say, “Good evening Miss Zandra.  This is Officer Westcott from the Florida State Police.  If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I have a word with you
?
”
 

I expected the massive gates to swing free, maybe I’d see Cami goofing around
,
and I could give her hell for not calling or texting me or her family.  I didn’t.  The place was large, completely surrounded by a swamp
that acted
like a moat
,
and the gates didn’t budge.
 
An elderly voice answered back
through the intercom
, “Officer Westcott, so nice of you to drop by.  I’ll be down at the gate in a few minutes.
”

I turned to him and said, “We need to get in there.”

Officer Westcott shook his head, “We don’t have a search warrant
,
and M
is
s Zandra is well regarded in the community.  You can ask her permission to speak with her granddaughter
,
but don’t go off half-cocked.”

“Half-cocked?  My best friend is being held prisoner in there
.
”

“So you say.  Maybe she
ran away from you.”

“She didn’t run away
; s
he was taken!”

“By a little old lady?  You ever met Miss Zandra?”

This guy was about as helpful as a mall cop.  I could see a golf cart
driving toward us
.  The lady on it had to be Zandra Chiron
.  S
he had long
silver-
white hair, wore a large brimmed straw hat
,
and
gave us both
a warm smile.  “Hello, Officer Westcott, so nice to see you again.  To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Officer Westcott tipped his ha
t
, “Good evening, ma’am.  We’re sure sorry to bother you this evening, but this young man is worried about your
granddaughter
,
Camille.  He asked us to come out here
.  We obliged
to make sure there wouldn’t be any trouble.”

“Trouble?  Trouble from me?  Certainly not.”

“Oh,
no,
we didn’t think you would be any trouble at all, Miss Zandra.  We wanted to make sure he wasn’t a nuisance
to
you.”
   

“How very thoughtful of you.”  She gave him a thin smile, almost daring me to say something to get me handcuffed and escorted away.

I straightened my posture, returned her smile and asked, “Mrs. Chiron, I’m Daniel Gaskins. I was wondering if I might see Cami for a few minutes?”

She lowered her chin and raised her eyelids
.  T
he look was thoughtful, sincere, and to anyone who’d grown up around actors – it looked rehearsed.  “I’m sorry, Daniel.  Camille is under the weather.  I’ll be happy to tell her you stopped by.”

“Mrs. Chiron, I’m sorry to hear that.  I’ve flown here from California because I hadn’t heard from her.  Is there any chance I could see her?”

More firmly than her first refusal, but still an Oscar-worthy performance, “I’m afraid not
.  I will tell her that you inquired about her.”

“Could I stop…”

I was interrupted by Officer Westcott’s hand on my shoulder a
s he said, “She’s not feeling well
,
son.  Time to get going.”

I yanked my shoulder away from him and on reflex shared my best glare, “I’m not leaving until I see her.”

Mrs. Chiron, still with the sweet voice, “Officer Westcott, you know how I feel about trespassers on my property.  I’m an old woman and fear he may return when you aren’t here to protect me.  Is there anything you can do?”

I couldn’t believe my ears.  Was she trying to get me thrown in jail?  I just wanted to know that Cami was fine.  “Listen, I just want to see her.  Just for a second.  Once I see her, I’ll go.”

“I’ve already told you
,
Mr. Gaskins, she isn’t well enough for visitors.”

Officer Westcott interjected, “M
iss Zandra
, thank you for your time this evening.  I hope we weren’t too much trouble.  Daniel, let’s go.”

Although it sounded like a request, his big beefy hand cinched tight around my arm as he led me back to his squad car.  I couldn’t believe this was happening.  I could see the house off in the distance
.  I
f
Cami
was in there
,
I didn’t understand why I couldn’t see her. 

Maybe what Dad had told me was true, it wasn’t just his family – all full-blood
ed
Centaurs would see me as nothing more than human.  I would never be worthy to be in her life –
not even
as
just h
er friend.
  I had given up hope of anything more years ago when he first told me about his family and why I was different from other humans.
  I was thirteen and had my very first crush – Cami.  She was really tough, not just for a girl, but like, “bite steel and spit nails” tough.  She never picked fights, but she was always the first person to step in and shut someone down if they were picking on someone else around school.  At thirteen I thought she was beautiful – my dad picked up on it right away.  He told me she was different, that she wouldn’t want to be my friend in another couple years – that she’d outgrow me.  He discouraged our friendship, but never outright forb
ade
it.  I’d seen her date one loser after another
.  A
s her friend
,
it bothered me, but whenever my dad heard about it – he would get pissed off.  Yet now that she was with the rest of her family and no one would let me see her, he didn’t seem to care at all.  None of it made sense to me. 

I wished I understood the whole Centaur thing.  My dad told me enough to peak my interest, but fell short on actually answering questions.  Dad and Cami’s mom were not at all friendly
;
there was always this weird tension between them
,
and any time there was a school function where both had to attend
,
I
could count on them to be at opposite ends of the auditorium.   

I was lost in thought when I felt the squad car come to a halt in front of the Jacksonville
A
irport.  “My return flight isn’t until tomorrow.”  My overnight bag was in the back seat of the car
. 
I hadn’t even checked into a hotel before I went to ask for the police’s help.

“Son, my advice to you is
,
you get in there, get on a plane,
and get out of here -
tonight.  Miss Zandra
’
s an influential lady.  She knows judges, lawyers, politicians – you name it.  She isn’t someone you want to cross.”

“I just want to see Cami
. 
I don’t know what the big deal is.”

“The big deal is, you asked nicely and she said, ‘no’.  You get caught over that way again, you won’t get the option to go home – and the last place you want to be is
in
a jail
,
here
,
with her as the complaining witness.
”

I couldn’t be mad at the guy.  He may have strong-armed me into the car
,
but I could hear his sincerity
,
and he was right.  My dad had told me not to come, Beau had told me not to come, Cami still wasn’t returning any of my calls.  Maybe Dad was right after all
: 
maybe she really
had
outgrow
n
me.
    
 

*****

Camille

I remained in that “almost” dream state for
another
full
day
.  By then I had visibly lost weight that I didn’t need to lose.  My cheeks were sunken into my face
,
and
any hint of color from the sun had bleached itself off my skin from the dark room
.  L
arge
purple
circles hung
thick
under my eyes.
  I had eaten crackers
and fruit
that were left for me just inside my bedroom door – not because I wanted them but because I couldn’t be dead when Gage came back.  I needed to live
. 
I didn’t think his spirit could take one more
loss – no matter how painful my presence
m
ight
be f
or him
.

I knew I was
a little over
a week away from the wedding.  Although
pleased
with the idea I would soon find my escape
,
I didn
’
t welcome the celebration that came so close to the tragedy. 
Phineas
stepp
ed into my room at close to 3
a.m. and saw that I lay there awake
.  “Camille, you will be able to leave soon.  Tomorrow morning I will bring you breakfast.  I want you to eat it, do you understand?”  I nodded that I did
,
but I wasn’t sure my feet were planted in reality or if I w
ere
dreaming the conversation.  “Have you contacted your mother?”  I stared at him blankly, not fully processing his question. 
Phineas
put his hands on both of my shoulders, “Camille, you
r
father wants you to contact your mother’s spirit.  She needs to tell you something.”