The Marked Ones (9 page)

Aubrielle instantly looked concerned. She glanced over at the lone customer at the manicure station and nodded briskly, leading Ivyanne towards one of the curtained off rooms. ‘Follow me.’

Ivyanne did so dutifully, knowing her face was flushed with shame. She was about to ask Aubrielle to break her biggest rule, on the hope that it would help Ivyanne clean up her mess. And in order to ask so much, she was going to have to do the one thing that terrified her-tell the truth about Lincoln Grey.

*

Ten minutes later, Ivyanne felt her face burning as Remi and Aubrielle gaped at her in shock.

‘Let me get my head around all of this.......’ Aubrielle said, holding up one pale and perfectly manicured hand. ‘Twelve years ago you shared one kiss with a lifeguard and it turns out that the same lifeguard grew up to be our boss?’

Ivyanne nodded miserably-even the
watered down version of events seemed like a freak act of cruel serendipity.

Remi’s grey eyes were as big as saucers. ‘And he apparently remembers this one tiny kiss so well that he’s carried a torch for the girl all these years? And outright
asked you if you were related because you’re practically her twin?’

Ivyanne nodded again. ‘Yep!’

‘So...you panicked and told him that the girl was your dead sister, then ran away?’

Ivyanne leaned her chin in her hands and regarded her cousins unhappily. ‘If you guys can think of a better lie, right here on the spot, I would like to hear it.’

The two women glanced at each other in befuddlement for a moment, before facing her again. She could practically hear their thoughts turning blind corners.

Remi shrugged, her flaming hair bouncing. ‘If he believed it, that’s all that matters, right?’

‘I agree,’ Aubrielle said slowly, patting Ivyanne’s hand encouragingly. Her grey eyes were empathetic. ‘I think you handled it as best as you could.’

Ivyanne relaxed a little. Of course, they didn’t know the full story, and had no inkling of the emotional impact the whole scenario was having on
her-but so long as they thought her lie had been an adequate guise, she felt better.

‘I’ve always thought Vana was a little overprotective of you, especially considering how wildly the Court blood flowed through
her in her youth, and I’m your godmother, not your warden. I’m not here to tattle.’ She paused. ‘But onto the favor you requested….I don’t know how I feel about using my powers to turn his body clock back.’

‘I know you could do it, Aubrielle.’ Ivyanne said ‘And your spa reputation is solid enough to pass it off as chemical, not magical.’

‘Be that as it may…’ Aubrielle made a face. ‘Vana would kill me if she found out I’d done it.’

‘No actually, she’ll kill
me.’ Ivyanne pointed out. She sighed. ‘I know it’s a big ask, but I really think he’d deserving of it. Lincoln’s on this massive health kick, so he is working for the results. If you could reverse a few years worth of stress-off his body and off his mind....well, not only would I feel better about it all, but it might lift his spirits enough that he decides to leave the past in the past and move on.’

Aubrielle screwed up her face. ‘This is not a great idea.....’

‘I know,’ Ivyanne said quickly, before Aubrielle could utter an “absolutely not.” ‘But it’s not just Ivanna he lost, Aubrielle- but his mother too. Link’s having a rough decade-and whether he knows it or not-he helps our species every single day. Is it such a big ask really, that we give him a sense of self back?’

Silence followed this statement. Remi sighed and leaned back against the couch, tousling her gleaming red hair and narrowing her blue eyes in thought.  ‘The girl makes a convincing case.’ Remi giggled. ‘I suddenly find myself desiring to help the humans now. And Link
is a great guy.’

Aubrielle groaned and buried her head in her hands. ‘Oh........shit,’ she blew out a huff of air and glared up at Ivyanne accusingly. ‘You know, I’m only agreeing to this because as my future ruler, you
commanded it.’

Ivyanne’s eyebrows flew up. ‘I’d never command you to do anything Aubrielle! You know that!’

‘Oh Jesus!’ Remi snorted. ‘Seriously Ivyanne?’

‘Huh?’ Ivyanne glanced from Remi’s rolling eyes, to Aubrielle’s disbelieving ones. ‘What am I missing?’

‘A lot more than I realized.’ Remi giggled. ‘Ivyanne for pete’s sake-command her to help Lincoln before I smack you silly!’

Ivyanne turned back to Aubrielle, who was motioning towards herself emphatically. ‘Come
on Ivyanne-let’s hear that command....’

Ivyanne suddenly got the in-joke, and blushed with embarrassment. ‘Oh!’ she grinned bashfully at Aubrielle, before rising to her feet. ‘I get it. Aubrielle-I
command you to help our boss when he seeks you out. I also must demand that this conversation stays within these walls-and curtain. Got it?’

Aubrielle nodded seriously. ‘Yes, your majesty!’ she gave her a ridiculous salute. ‘Thy will be done! I will use my special salves to heal his prematurely-aged skin and broken heart...on your decree only, of course,’ she winked at Ivyanne.

‘Blessed fucking be,’ Remi muttered, before bursting into peals of laughter.  Ivyanne and Aubrielle quickly joined her. For a moment, Ivyanne finally found the peace and joy she’d been seeking. Tristan’s kissed had revived her, and within a matter of days, Lincoln would be on top of the world again and hopefully, ready to leave his past and embrace his future.

Once that was handled, Ivyanne was certain she’d be ready to do the same thing for herself.

9.

‘Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.’ A melodic voice chimed as a dark shadow was suddenly cast over Tristan’s laptop screen. ‘Working on holiday? On a
Saturday? We’re supposed to be freewheelers, Tristan, not stuffed shirts. And when did you get here anyway?’

Tristan craned his neck to meet the dazzling cerulean gaze of Pintang Kayu-Api. ‘We’re also supposed to suck on plankton and steer ships into rocks. Don’t believe
everything you read.’ He outstretched his arms for an embrace. ‘Come here you!’ He hugged her. ‘I got in late Thursday night, and spent most of yesterday sleeping and swimming off the flights I’ve subjected myself to this week.’

‘Ick.
Flying.’ Pintang returned his hug and then sat down across from him, her face animated. He hadn’t seen her for at least a year and she looked fantastic. ‘What room are you in? I’ll be able to skip over it, right?’

Tristan laughed. ‘Room forty-six. And if you can find a mess to clean up after me, I’d be surprised.’

‘Nice digs. You had the do not disturb sign up yesterday. I remember.’

‘That would be the sleeping part.’ He confirmed.

‘Ah.’ She smiled. ‘What brings you this way?’ Her face clouded. ‘Oh my god-you’re not here to chase Ivyanne are you? She’ll flip!’

‘Actually, no.’ Tristan lied, knowing that Pintang would relay anything he said about Ivyanne back to her younger brother. Vana had warned him that if Ardhi thought he was here to pursue Ivyanne, he’d been in their faces permanently. ‘I have some real estate matters to help her mother with.’

‘Ohh...so you’re the reason Sven was summoned back to work.’ Pintang mused, her eyes rueful. ‘Just as we were starting to hit it off too.’

‘Yeah, sorry.’ Tristan wondered what exactly Pintang meant by ‘hit it off’ but he wasn’t the type to pry. Besides, if there was anything to know, Sven would divulge all when Tristan returned to the Sydney office.

‘It’s okay. It’s a damn fine trade.’ Pintang joked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Tristan laughed and glanced around the pool area. It was still early morning and the entire resort was quiet. ‘I remembered this place being great. I had no idea she was working here when I came up.’

‘Then you must be completely out of the loop.’ Pintang tucked her legs under herself. ‘I’m glad you’re here though. Remember the first time you came and I took you up to the Cape to see those caves?’

‘That was awesome.’ Tristan said, although he was only being polite. He’d seen caverns in his travels that would make Pintang’s jaw hit the floor.

‘I could take you back there if you wanted.’ Pintang said, smiling gently at him. ‘You know, if you get bored.’

‘Well thanks but I really don’t think I’ll be here long enough to get bored.’ Tristan shut his computer, his eyes catching sight of a man striding down the path wearing a distracted frown. ‘Who’s the anxious looking guy?’

‘Ssh...that’s my boss!’ Pintang whispered, then turned her face to the walkway. ‘No run today Link? You’ve been such a machine lately!’

The guy paused and smiled in a way which left his eyes devoid of any spark. ‘If that’s the case then I’m a Beta machine. But no, I need to run an errand or two. My work out will have to wait until later.’ His eyebrow lifted slightly when he set eyes on Tristan. ‘Hey. How’s it going?’

‘Great thanks.’

‘This is Tristan Loveridge,’ Pintang said sweetly, her manner professional. ‘He checked in late Thursday night. I was just asking him how he likes his bed turned down.’

‘Ahh I saw that booking.’ Link looked sufficiently impressed, so obviously he knew that Tristan was staying in the deluxe cabin overlooking the sea. ‘Hope you enjoy your stay Mr Loveridge-I have to get back to it.’

‘Have fun.’ Tristan waved and then turned back to Pintang, waiting until Pintang was out of earshot to say: ‘Want to grab breakfast with me?’

‘The maid, having breakfast with the wealthiest guest?’ Pintang rolled her eyes. ‘Like that won’t seem suspicious. No, you go.’ She got to her feet. ‘And I’d delay breakfast for another hour if I were you. The demon is working right now, and you don’t want to get all covered with slobber, which will happen when she lays eyes on you.’

Tristan chuckled. ‘I really hope you’re not referring to the princess.’

‘Actually no, Ivyanne is doing the brunch/lunch shift today. I just heard her say she was going down to the coffeehouse to try it out this morning. Pintang glanced around. ‘Actually, she must have walked right past you.’

Tristan tried to mask how much this irritated him. Ivyanne had probably
run by. ‘Ah well, we’ll catch up at some point, I’m sure.’

‘God be with you when you do!’ Pintang smoothed her skirt. ‘Anyway I was referring to the duty manager-Ivyanne’s working for her, and she’s a total gold-digger. Believe me when I say that you’re best off ordering room service when her fiancé isn’t around.’

Tristan got to his feet, his hand already itching to grab his phone and dial the local cab company. ‘Thanks for the tip. I’ll see you around?’

‘Count on it.’ Pintang grinned at him. ‘Anyway I have windows to wash. Enjoy your breakfast!’

Tristan smiled, desperate to be rid of Ardhi’s second pair of eyes before he called a taxi to take him to the local coffee house where he fully intended to prove to Ivyanne that avoiding him was futile. Catch and kiss had begun.

⁓

No matter how hard Lincoln resisted, the black cloud of grief which had accompanied Ivyanne’s tragic revelations refused to leave him for a moment. It was like all of the joy had been sucked from the universe. He still went to work (carefully avoiding Ivyanne’s eyes) and jogged, and spent time with Adele, but he was really just going through the motions. If there was any bright side to the revelation, it was knowing that Ivanna hadn’t actually abandoned him after all-she’d simply ceased to be.

Lincoln didn’t know what to say to Ivyanne, or if he should say anything at all. The poor girl would have suffered so much more than he had-it made him feel for her, deep inside his heart. He didn’t know why she’d come back there, perhaps she was re-connecting with her sisters’ past. Maybe, in time, she’d want to discuss it further.

Lincoln locked his black Celica and made his way into the coffee house. It was a tiny building, barely any room on the inside, so the majority of the tables were out, underneath green and white striped umbrellas.

Seaview was a very small municipality on the northern-most tip of a large coastal town. It was a beautiful place, and would have been a very popular tourist destination, were it not so far removed from River City. There were dozens more beaches closer to the city, so people avoided the twenty minute drive and left the sleepy suburb to itself. Besides, the north-bound road came to a dead stop a few kilometers past the resort at the tip of the peninsula, where the rainforest suddenly gave way to rolling hills which led down to the water below. It was a popular look-out, affording an awe-inspiring view of the Cape on the other side of Shoal Bay.

Three quarters of the Seaview area consisted of sugar cane farms, and most of the land closest to the beach was occupied by a bizarre blend of bush meets rainforest, so the original owner must have been the quirky sort to stick a tropical paradise resort in the middle of nowhere. But there it sat, the four star resort on the hill overlooking a quiet beach, with a view to the Cumberland Islands. Somehow, people came, every year, shunning the showiness of The Whitsunday's for somewhere a little more tranquil. His mother had loved it.

The southern road went over the hill to the Seaview residential area. Once upon a time, most of Seaview’s residents had lived in hastily-built beach shacks, but now the shore was lined with fancy apartments and the hills dotted with McMansions. Still, the shacks remained-vacation houses for some, permanent residents for surfers in others.

Lincoln took his place in line behind a young, blonde male in the coffee shop, glancing at is watch and wishing he’d come there first before going to the newsagency down the road. He needed the caffeine after his sleepless night and he didn’t want to have to wait for it. But on the bright side, the younger girl was working today-perhaps he’d avoid an unpleasant run-in with the ogre who owned the place? If that was the case, then he’d break his routine more often and come every Saturday morning.

But he wasn’t as fortunate as he’d hoped. He spotted his nemesis the moment he looked around properly. She was reclining in a chair in the corner, nursing a tiny baby. That’s when he realized that she’d been missing for a few weeks, and he kicked himself for not making more visits in her absence. Too bad she obviously wasn’t the type to take a long maternity leave.

He could see the reflection of the young man in front of him in the expresso machine, and he instantly recognized the him as the guy he’d seen Pintang talking to by the pool not half an hour beforehand. Lincoln groaned inwardly-standing next to this guy was not doing wonders for his already flailing self-esteem!

The bell signaled that another customer had entered behind him, but he didn’t bother looking. He just wanted to get his latte and get gone.

‘Decaf frappe please.... soy milk,’ the boy before him said to the clerk, a young teenage brunette who always seemed to be there. ‘And your phone number, if you can write it on top with a bit of extra caramel sauce.’

‘You got it,’ the girl giggled, clearly smitten. ‘I’ll see if I can get a break, huh?’

‘Awesome.’

Lincoln felt pre-historic. The young waitress had never even smiled at
him before. The older woman stood up, closing her shirt expertly with one hand and switching the baby to her shoulder.

‘Take five Abigail,’ she said, making her way behind the counter, eyeing Lincoln with dull hazel eyes. Lincoln could already feel the dread rushing over him as she began to prepare his order without bothering to take it.

‘How’s it going old man?’ she asked over the top of the expresso machine, a gleam in her eye. ‘I could have sworn I saw you jogging the other day!’

‘That was me,’ he said smoothly, sliding a ten dollar bill across the counter as he stepped up to it, instantly self-conscious. ‘I just started.’

She nodded. ‘I could tell. You looked like you were struggling a bit.’

He ground his teeth together. ‘Well, it’s getting easier.’

‘Just don’t give yourself a heart attack or anything, okay?’ her tone was conversational, but she wasn’t fooling him-nor did she mean to. ‘It must suck when you remember all that life guard training last century and how easy it was then-all of it. The girls, the fitness, the fun.....’

Just as Lincoln was daydreaming about holding her tongue under the steam valve, someone brushed against his shoulder to step up to the counter.

‘Excuse me,’ she said quietly.

Lincoln did a double take. It was Ivyanne. There was no mistaking that head of hair anywhere.
Oh no! He thought, wanting the floor to open up and swallow him. She heard everything! His face turned red and he stiffened-wondering what further humiliation was awaiting him now.

Ivyanne was in casual clothes, not her uniform, and looked almost as good in the faded denim shirt and pink tight fitting t-shirt as she did in a bikini-all soft cotton and curves. With her hair pulled into a long braid and a hint of make-up, she looked less like her sister than he’d seen her yet. Ivanna had always favored natural, earthy tones-but clearly her little sister was a bit trendier. Lincoln’s mouth went dry. Wasn’t the experience humiliating enough without having her there to witness it?

‘Oh... what an adorable baby!’ Ivyanne suddenly cooed, resting her elbows on the counter, keeping her back to him. If she’d recognized him, she didn’t acknowledge it. ‘How old?’

‘One week.’ The ogre was, suddenly all smiles and goo-goo eyes. ‘Isn’t he beautiful?’

‘He really is! Congratulations!’ Ivyanne’s voice was sweet and melodic. Even the baby’s eyes seemed more focused now that she was in the room. He eyed her, stuffing a puffy fist in his tiny mouth.

I hear yah
. Lincoln silently commiserated with the infant. Too old for you buddy, and too young for me.

The next words out of Ivyanne’s mouth completely floored him:

‘So, is this your first grandchild?’

For a moment, the woman gaped at Ivyanne in a stupor. ‘Excuse me?’ she stammered. ‘
No! This is my son!’

Lincoln’s mouth popped open, but he quickly shut it

‘Oh!’ Ivyanne’s hands went to her mouth, an appalled expression on her face. ‘Oh my god I’m so sorry! Please, don’t be offended..... I know lots of women your age are having kids later in life-’

‘My
age?!’ the woman barked, slamming Lincoln’s coffee cup down in front of Ivyanne so hard that foam burst through the hole on the rim. Her face was almost purple. ‘I’m not even thirty yet!’

Lincoln realized what Ivyanne had just done the moment the woman turned away from the counter. She turned to face him, treating him to a brilliant smile that made something deep inside him quake. But as soon as she faced him, acknowledging her ruse, she turned away again, looking guilty and crestfallen.

‘I really am sorry.…’

For me!
Lincoln was beside himself. She gave her a taste of her own medicine-for ME!