Centaur Legacy (21 page)

“That’s right, no loose
strings.”

“I think we should move her to a
bedroom, get her away from all the racket.”

“Fine, put her in the bedroom next to
the den. She was like Houdini after she left Zandra’s place. I want
a watch on her the whole time, understand?”

“Yeah. Got it.”

(Drake Nash – Hotel near
Crazy Horse Mountain, SD)

What was William waiting for? We had
all been at the hotel for more than twenty-four hours. He said he
was going to mount a search, but only a few Centaurs had been sent
out, and they had come back hours ago – empty-handed. Zandra had
arrived, and the two of them were huddled in a corner together. My
patience was gone. If they wouldn’t do anything to get her back,
I’d do it on my own. I couldn’t wait for Cami’s dad any
longer.

I was halfway to the elevator when
Zandra’s voice stopped me short. “Drake, would you come here,
please?”

My pulse quickened. This was what I had
waited for; this was why I had called her in the first place. I
found myself standing in front of her with William looking
nervously to the side. Her tone was pleasant, neither heated nor
angry, “I need you to leave the search to William,
Drake.”

“What? No.”

“I’m sure you find it hard to believe,
but all my intervention has been for both your and Camille’s
protection. If you continue your search, neither of you will be
happy with the outcome.”

Nearly speechless, the only
words I could find were, “She chose
me
. I am her Centaur.”

Flatly, Zandra replied, “I am aware of
her choice.”

“So, you will ignore her wishes?
Again?”

“I know if you don’t leave now, I won’t
be held responsible for the outcome. Go to your family. I’ve known
Hallenjah for many years; your mother misses you. Let us, Camille’s
family, work on her safe return.”

“I won’t abandon her, Mrs.
Chiron.”

“Aaaah, yes, Drake. If you could see
through my eyes, you would leave now. Camille would want you to
go.”

William didn’t make eye contact with
me. I started to argue with her, but understood her mind was made
up. I didn’t regret asking her to help find Cami, but I had no
intention of leaving. Phineas had her. I didn’t know much else, but
I knew that much.

I ran up to our room, taking steps two
at a time. Our room had been cleaned, I didn’t know by whom as the
cleaning staff had been sent away. The blood that had soaked into
the rug was nothing more than a memory now. My hand stretched out
flat as I touched the area of the carpet where the Centaur had been
killed with the table leg. Not only was the bloodstain gone, but
the carpet was dry, too.

I found Camille’s backpack
tucked on the floor in the closet. I dug down to the very bottom,
hoping it wouldn’t be there, but it was. My hand emerged with the
hideous spider that Eadie had given Cami in Ireland. I clasped the
menacing charm in my hand, closed my eyes, and prayed,
“
Athena, I don’t need your protection from
Zandra, but Phineas has taken Cami. She’s not with me right now
because I wasn’t strong enough to defend her. I need your help to
get Cami back. Please help me find her
.”

I didn’t feel or hear
anything. I tried again to see if I had some sort of connection to
Cami. “
Cami? Cami, can you hear me? It’s
Drake. Where are you? Tell me where they took you.”
My hands began to shake. I could feel the
loneliness I had felt in Zandra’s guest house creeping back to me.
In the weeks that I spent in that guest house, not knowing what had
happened to Cami tore me apart. I remembered staring at the walls,
sure I wouldn’t see her again until it was too late.

When I was given a second chance with
Cami, I vowed I’d never let her out of my sight. A single tear
formed in the corner of my eye. I felt it drip down my face. Why
would Phineas do this? Why would he take her away from
me?

They had drugged her before they took
her away. I’d watched one of them plunge the syringe into her neck.
Was she awake now? Was she hurt? What if they had poisoned
her?

“Cami, if you can hear me,
I love you. I’ve loved you from the very first second I saw you.
You are mine. When the breeze blows across your face: that is my
caress. When the blanket of fog rolls in so thick you cannot see:
those are my arms covering you. When you look up into the heavens:
the star winking at you is me. You aren’t alone. I promise I’ll
never rest until I find you.”

I didn’t hear a voice. I didn’t get any
kind of sense for where Cami was. Somehow I knew what I needed to
do. Reaching for the door, I hesitated a second. I had asked Athena
to help me, but maybe that wasn’t the right goddess. She was
vengeful and jealous. Those weren’t the feelings in my heart for
Cami. I walked over to the dresser where an unopened bottle of wine
stood next to a basket of fruit. I picked up the basket, examined
the fruit, and removed a bruised apple from the basket.

I threw the bruised apple in the trash
and laid the basket of fruit on the floor in front of me. I fell to
my knees, and bowed so low that my nose was just above the carpet,
and I prayed. “Blessings my Aphrodite. My love has been stolen.
Protect her. Keep her safe. I belong to her and will not rest until
I have found her. Please. . . please protect her until I am able to
protect her myself.”

I felt a twinge of warmth. I couldn’t
be sure if Aphrodite had heard my prayer or if my own heart had
reacted to my pleas. I stood up, wrote a note on hotel stationery
that read, “Do not move. This basket is an offering to
Aphrodite.”

I ran to the stairs and returned to the
lobby. Nothing had changed. William and his sons were tucked away
in a corner with Zandra. I felt a fire beginning to burn inside me;
I’d called her and asked for her help, yet she stood across the
room and did nothing but try to convince me to leave. Zandra wore a
smug look before turning her attention back to William.

I caught Lacey’s attention and motioned
for her to come over. Lacey looked concerned, but I cut her off
before she could ask me a question, “I need your help.”

She reached out and touched my forearm.
Her touch sent a strange sensation through my body: not the way it
felt when Cami touched me, but the way it feels when your body is
sunburned and an ice cube contacts your skin – a welcomed and
comforting touch.

Without an explanation of what I
needed, Lacey answered, “Drake, I see who you’re looking
for.”

Lacey had been asked by nearly everyone
where Cami was, but even Zandra couldn’t give that answer. I think
Lacey was pleased to be able to finally give someone an answer they
needed. “Cameron lives on Warrior Way in an old farmhouse. Look for
an old blue pickup truck in front and a henhouse just to the
side.”

I was pleased that I didn’t need to
explain myself. She was a talented Centauride. Lacey knew
instinctively what I was after. I wondered silently how Lacey could
know exactly where Cami’s twin brother was while Zandra and the
others were clueless.

Still maintaining her hold on my
forearm, she answered my silent question quietly, so no other ears
would hear. “You are her Centaur. She is connected to you. Cameron
is her twin. Whether you know it or not, you share a similar
connection to him, too.”

I didn’t even try to mask my
appreciation. “Thank you, I don’t want anyone to know where I’m
going. It’s my only chance to save Cami. Will you keep my
secret?”

She looked down. Lacey wasn’t
comfortable with deception, even if it was for a good reason. I
didn’t want to put her in an awkward position, so I offered, “Would
you be willing to give me a fifteen minute head start? They’re
going to ask you where I went. If you could just hold them off long
enough for me to get to Cameron’s and talk to him, I might have a
chance to find Cami.”

She eagerly agreed. Her smile was so
bright I worried it might draw attention as every other face in the
lobby looked sullen. “Any more time would be great, but if I can
get there before everyone else, I can tell Cameron’s guardian
what’s going on and get him to safety. With any luck, I’ll get what
I need to save her.”

Lacey nodded her understanding. I could
only hope she could make a wish reality when she answered, “Be
safe, Drake.”

(Drake Nash – Camille’s
twin brother’s house, SD)

I had asked for a fifteen minute head
start, but I hoped she’d reconsidered and given me thirty. I used
the rental car’s GPS, but it didn’t have any better idea where
Warrior Way was than I did. After having driven past the same
unmarked, snow-covered dirt road several times, I noticed a small
faded sign nailed to a tree. It read “Cameron’s Collectables,” with
an arrow pointing down the road. Crazy Horse’s mountain was
directly in front of the little dirt road. The mountain was easily
seven miles from this road, but as I turned down the lane I could
feel the mountain’s eyes staring at me through the barren winter
trees.

I stopped long enough to look at the
mountain through the rear view mirror. All I could make out was the
enormous head peeking over the top of the mountain, as if the
mountain itself were watching the little road I was parked
on.

My heart skipped then began racing, the
same way it did when I was near Cami. He was here. I eased down the
dirt road, my heart still throttling wide open in my chest. The
steering wheel felt wet under my hands as my nerves took control of
my body.

I pulled up in front of a house that
had a 1970’s Ford pickup; at some point in the last forty years it
had been blue. To the right of the house was a small empty chicken
coop, both just as Lacey had described. I didn’t waste any time,
preferring to sprint to the house’s front door.

The man who answered the door was
unmistakably Cami’s brother. He had the same symmetrical face, the
same brown hair, and the same milk-chocolate colored eyes. He was
absent her charismatic demeanor, instead adopting a curt, “Sorry
partner, closed ‘til 10 a.m. tomorrow.” He moved to close the door
on me. I wasn’t sure how many after-store-hour visitors he would
have had; judging from the signage on the main road, only locals
would know this store’s location.

“Wait, I’m not here to shop. I’m Drake,
Drake Nash. I’m here about your sister.”

He shook his head. “I think you’ve got
the wrong guy. I don’t have a sister.” He moved to close the door a
second time.

I jammed my foot in the door to prop it
open. “Yes, you do, and she’s in trouble. I need your
help.”

He gave me a semi-hostile look. I began
to question whether I had gone about this the wrong way. It may
have been a better idea to do this with William. “Look, you don’t
know me, but I know about you. You were raised by a guardian. Could
I talk to him? I can get this cleared up right away.”

“A guardian? My dad doesn’t live here.
Now move your foot.”

“I know a lot about you, Cameron. Your
father is William Strayer, your mother was Angela Chiron. Your
grandmother is Zandra Chiron, and I met your Great-Uncle Zethus in
Ireland just last week. Look, I really need your help.”

“My dad’s Roger Brown. My mom ran off
when I was a baby. You got the wrong guy. Now go on!” Outwardly he
seemed frustrated, but my connection with Cami allowed me to sense
things with her. This was her twin; I could feel it. I could feel
Cami through him and the worry he tried to mask behind the
frustration.

I started searching my mind for a shred
of evidence that would make him believe me. I had my phone with me
and had taken pictures of Cami while we were in Ireland. “Hold on,
let me show you a picture of your sister.”

“I already told you, I don’t have a
sister. Get off my property a’fore I git you off.”

I fumbled with the pictures until I
found one of her standing in front of a moss-covered rock. The
flowing green hills were behind her, fog settled low to the ground.
It wasn’t a close-up of her face, but the resemblance to Cameron
was uncanny. Even he had to see it. “Here,” I held the phone up to
him, “this is Cami. Tell me she doesn’t look just like
you?”

“Yeah, she’s real pretty. Now
git.”

“Look, I don’t care if you believe me.
She’s in danger and I need something from you.”

“The only thing you’re going to get
from me is buckshot square in your ass if you don’t git back in
that car.”

I glanced at my watch. They’d be here
any minute. “An arrow. A very special arrow.”

“I got lots of arrows,
arrowheads, tomahawks in the store, and I’ll be happy to show ‘em
to you,
tomorrow
.”
Cameron kicked my foot and tried to close the door.

I wedged my shoulder in the door jam. I
was too close. Cami needed me to make him understand. “I’m sorry I
don’t have time for that. Your family is probably already on their
way here.” Cameron’s eyes grew large, and I recognized the look
staring back at me – panic. Cameron knew more than he was letting
on.