Synnergy, Chaos Time Book 3 (3 page)

Her pink lips puckered, and then with a regal sigh
she proceeded to walk down the steps. “La, I see we’ve new girls,
One Eye. Do be nice to the little darlings and serve them a bowl of
stew.” Then she turned to them, and fluffing a curl over her
shoulder, cocked her head as she reached the bottom of the
staircase.

She smiled at them, and it seemed genuine, reaching
up to her eyes. Try as she might, Sable could not see the reason
for calling the woman Long Nose. Her nose was pert and upturned,
sitting square in the center of a pixie face. “Do, please sit.” She
gestured with a lily-white hand that looked as if it had never seen
a day’s hard labor.

They walked over to the nearest table and for the
first time Sable noted how clean this place was. Weren’t bars,
especially these types of bars, supposed to be sticky with stains
and the floors tacky with nasty stuff?

This was the opposite. For as much dust as the wagons
had kicked up outside she wasn’t sure how Milly managed to keep it
all so neat, but it was.

After they sat, One Eye served them steaming stew in
tin cups with a hot loaf of bread each. The scent of boiled beef
and rich broth made Sable groan and her belly growl. She’d
forgotten how long it had been since she’d last eaten a decent
meal.

He returned to his spot at the bar and resumed
counting his gold.

Milly smiled and urged her to begin eating. Arianna
was digging in as well and Sable had to admit to feeling good
seeing her eat. She didn’t know the healer much, but it worried her
to see how much she was struggling. In all the chaos of what they
were doing it was easy to forget sometimes that Arianna had just
lost her family.

Midway through the meal Milly spoke. “I assume coming
here means you’re in need of work?” She lifted a shapely brow and
Sable nodded.

“We’ve only arrived,” she said, hoping that sounded
like an old timey response.

Milly narrowed eyes brimming with intelligence.
Another mental image of a noose intruded in Sable’s thoughts. Had
she already screwed up?

“That’s a long journey you’ve made from the South,
Ms...” She paused, waiting for Sable to supply a name.

Her lips were going chapped from licking them so
much, but it was a nervous habit she couldn’t seem to break. Not
only was she shocked that Milly had pegged her southern twang, but
now she was wanting a name. Had they talked about going by an
alias? She hadn’t listened completely to Hunter. Now she wished
she’d paid a little better attention. She blurted out the first
thing that came to mind.

“Bunny Smyth.” Immediately she wanted to groan. Had
she really just said that?

Arianna looked at her and a glimmer of something
flickered out of sight behind her still gaze.

Milly shifted and cleared her throat, a small smile
on her lips. “Bunny. Indeed.” She nodded and then shook her
head.

If she could have buried her head in the sand she
would have. Sable shoved a spoonful of stew into her mouth, mostly
to keep herself from speaking again. At this point it tasted like
sawdust.

“Okay, Bunny,” Milly drew out the vowel with that
gentle brogue of hers, “I’ll not pry. Your business is your
business, so long as you make me money, I don’t much care about
your past.”

She looked askance at Arianna. “And you must be,
Kitten?”

Sable shifted down in her seat.

Arianna shook her head. “I’m Ari.”

Sable was surprised she’d answered.

Milly touched the curve of Arianna’s face tracing the
gentle swell of her cheekbone. “Lovely creature you are. The
boys’ll love you,” she laughed softly. Obviously satisfied, she sat
back. “Well finish up. I like my girls strong, you’ll start
tonight. My wages are fair, seventy-thirty split, best you’ll find
round these parts.”

Really? That sounded like highway robbery to
Sable.

“One Eye, see the ladies to their room please.”

He looked up and nodded; walking around the bar he
returned to their side and pulled the chairs out for them. He was
very polite, methodical about it. Like a male version of Arianna,
and the closer he got to her, the more ravaged his ear and face
looked. Sable couldn’t stop staring. She knew it was rude, but it
was so unbelievable anyone could survive something like that. Was
he the Lord? He definitely looked the part.

Scary, psychotic, and creepy.

Was it possible that it would be this easy?

His shoulders stiffened and she knew he was aware of
her staring, only then was she able to glance away.

Milly’s shrewd gaze was like a hot brand on Sable’s
face and made her squirm in her seat.

Sable swallowed. “Where is everyone else?” Wasn’t a
whorehouse supposed to be full of scantily clad women?

The Madam suppressed a smile. “I was an innocent like
you once.”

“What?”

“We work at night, dear. Sleep during the day.” She
winked, and Sable wanted to curse herself all sorts of stupid. Of
course they did, and she’d just given it away that she wasn’t much
of a whore. Her palms were sweating again, she was such an
idiot.

“I’ll ease you into it tonight. A gentle client for
your first time. Should make me more coin too, men love breaking
virgins.”

Sable swallowed.

Her heart skidded and then sunk. For a moment she’d
actually forgotten what she was here to do, the reminder made her
break out in a wash of goose bumps. Maybe she could sneak out a
window or something.

Then One Eye was walking upstairs, both their packs
across his shoulders. She understood that he intended for them to
follow.

With one final glance back at Milly, she followed
Arianna who had already begun to walk away.

On the second floor, One Eye turned to his right and
led them to the final room. He opened the door and pointed
within.

Arianna went in and dropped down on the bed placed
against the left side of the wall. It was made of brass and the
second she sat on the mattress it sank.

Walking across the threshold made her skin crawl,
everything was suddenly too real. Too in her face. This wasn’t just
some movie prop with actors walking around and playing parts. These
were real people, what went down in this place wasn’t just some
script. The guys had better come up with some way to get her and
Synn out of this, cause there was no way in hell she’d be selling
her virginity off to the highest bidder.

The room was tidy. Effiecient. It wasn’t dirty. Not
at all. Everything was as clean in here as it had been downstairs.
A little less furnished, but suitable she supposed for what was
supposed to take place.

One Eye sat the packs down and then closed the door
behind him, never having spoken a word.

Sable toed the brightly woven rug, staring at the
green and blue gingham checkered quilt on her bed and wrung her
hands.

“It won’t bite,” Arianna whispered. Hearing her voice
eased the tight knot of tension in Sable’s spine.

“I hope they don’t expect us to um...share men in the
same room.”

“Why not?” Ari shrugged. “It is a whorehouse.”

A second later there was a knock at the door and
Milly floated inside, arms loaded down with a heavy looking tan
canvas. “I nearly forgot the barrier between your beds. There’s two
hooks on either wall,” she smiled, sat the canvas down on the
floor. “The room is yours to decorate as you’d like.”

Sable nodded, seeing no point in telling her they had
no intention of staying long enough to do so.

Milly clipped her head and then left.

“Well, that answers that,” Sable’s chuckle was just
this side of not screeching.

Arianna stood up and grabbed the canvas, attaching
one end to the hook nearest the door. Sable leaned against the door
and stared with sightless eyes at the other bit of canvas still
gripped in her hand.

“How can you be so calm?” Sable asked, suddenly very
envious that Arianna didn’t seem to feel emotions the way she
did.

The healer shrugged, and though she looked at Sable,
there was nothing in her large brown eyes. It was like a part of
her was dead; all that remained was a shell that breathed. “After
what I’ve gone through, I don’t really care anymore.”

She dropped the canvas and returned to her bed.

That answer disturbed her. “You aren’t talking
about...” She lifted her brows, unable to utter the last part.
Because of where she’d grown up, the people she was around, suicide
was not wholly uncommon to her. She recognized the signs, a pulling
into one’s self, shutting out the rest of the world, ceasing to
care about anything at all. She didn’t know Arianna well enough to
pass judgment, but the symptoms were classic. Then again, not
everyone who exhibited the traits planned suicide. It was a touchy
subject which required a delicate hand.

Synnergy rolled her eyes. “I wish I could,” she
snarled, for a second seeming like she would scream or explode off
the bed in a ball of rage. But then she stopped shaking and after a
second, she sighed. “I cannot. It goes against what my papa and
mama taught me.”

Sable glanced at her bed and decided to brave sitting
on the very edge of it. The mattress was lumpy and didn’t have the
springs she was used to. It gave beneath her weight and she fought
not to topple over. Another reminder she was in a different time, a
different place, with different people.

“What did they teach you?” she asked quietly,
honestly curious. What did parents teach their children? Good ones
anyway? All she’d ever heard was
shut up, no don’t stand there
you’re blocking the camera shot, move, get out of the way, why did
we ever have you?
Yeah, great memories those.

Arianna’s nose wrinkled. “That life is hallowed. That
it should be honored, revered, and that it was my sacred duty to
preserve it.” The last came out full of bitter regret.

Recognizing this conversation might lead to places
better left unearthed, she switched topics. “How do you speak
English so well?”

A smile, the first one she’d seen Arianna use since
knowing her, graced her lips like the gentle blossom of a rose.
“Catholic missionaries from England came to my tribe ten years
ago.” That would explain her exotic lilt. “None embraced their
message but my parents; no one else was ready to change the
century’s worth of infighting and tribal warfare but them. They
were kind and had no children of their own. Emma took a particular
interest in me and when we weren’t learning the bible or tilling
the land, she taught me English and I taught her Spanish.”

Sable smiled. “Sounds nice.”

Her voice was wistful, the icy demeanor had
completely vanished, and Sable thought maybe she was catching a
glimpse of the true Arianna. The one she’d been before the tragedy
struck. She was a beautiful girl, but in that moment she was
breathtaking. Soft black curls, soft doe eyes, cheekbones any model
would covet with a heart shaped pouty mouth and a gentle curve of a
jaw. Everything about her was suddenly soft and approachable and
she knew if Hunter were here to witness this, he’d not be able to
hold onto his tightly leashed desire.

Then she shook her head and the softness vanished,
replaced by an implacable cool wall. “It was.”

“So what should I really call you, Synnergy or
Arianna? Hunter calls you both and I get a little confused to be
honest.” Sable laughed self-deprecatingly.

Ari shrugged. “I go by either. Arianna is my birth
name, Synn my tribe name. Both apply to me.”

“Do you miss your homeland?” As much as Sable’s life
had sucked in that mental ward, it’d been the only life she’d
known. Time traveling, battling Lords, it was all still so
overwhelming. But Arianna had had a good life it seemed, this must
be twice as hard on her.

The healer blinked. “Sometimes. But that was a long
time ago.”

“Well,” Sable toyed with the frayed edge of the cream
quilt, “better to have known that kind of love, even for a short
time, than to not know it all.” She could see Arianna turn rigid,
her nostrils flared. “What I mean is,” she was quick to insert, “my
parents didn’t want me. Did Hunter tell you where he picked me
up?”

Synn shook her head, the anger slowly fading.

“An insane asylum.” She gave a tight lipped smile as
old hurts and resentments started to intrude. “Wonderful parents I
have, maybe I’ll introduce you to them someday. Oh yeah right, I
can’t. Wanna know why?” She didn’t give Arianna time to answer.
“Because they hate me. They say I terrify them and they never want
to see me again. I guess they’re happy now that they think I’m
dead.”

Ari didn’t say anything for a bit, simply narrowed
her eyes as she scanned up and down Sable’s body. She shifted on
her butt feeling suddenly ashamed for sharing so much, for opening
herself up that way. She probably thought she was crazy now. Blood
rushed hot to her ears and she glanced out the window, staring at
nothing as she waited for Arianna to say something.

“Why did they put you there?” she asked, and Sable
could sense she was nervous to do it. As if she wasn’t sure if she
was being too personal. But it was too late now, she’d already
opened the door and she had to get it out sometime.

“Because I didn’t work. I wasn’t perfect. I killed
things with my voice and I terrified them. Their daughter was a
freak and didn’t fit into their perfect little life.” Her laugh was
heavy with bitterness and anger.

When Arianna didn’t respond, Sable said the first
thing that came to mind. “Why did you snap at that guy on the
sidewalk?”

Arianna pursed her lips. “He reminded me of someone,”
she said it quickly and then looked away, outside the window Sable
had just been staring through. That wasn’t the full story, Sable
knew it. There was more, but for the life of her she couldn’t
figure it out. Arianna was no time jumper; she obviously didn’t
know the person. And she might have said something else but a loud
knock sounded at her door and a then a face poked its silver blond
head inside.