Chapter 7
After the Captain had taken us back to the hotel, I changed into a pair of sweats and tank top. I went to the wet bar and grabbed a candy bar and a bottle of water. The hotel's suite in Flagstaff was nothing like the one in San Francisco. The hotel here was a lot smaller, similar to a bed and breakfast. The suite was decorated in florals and lace, whereas in San Francisco, it was chic colors and straight lines. There were even pictures of cats with pink bows in this quaint hotel. No sophisticated art shapes here!
However, the layout was similar. The doors opened to a large living room, with plush couches and a dining table to one side. I made my bed on the large couch. There was a small kitchenette and a small dining table. There was no massive wall of glass, but two small windows with lacy curtains. There were two bedrooms, on each side of the suite, the doors tightly shut. I know Ivy went to bed early, and Jenks was snoozing on one corner of the love seat.
I looked at the second bedroom door as I chomped on my candy bar. Trent was in there. He was probably dreaming of some hostile takeover. Or maybe he was dreaming of catching HAPA. Trent and Ivy always claimed the bedrooms, I realized. They also loved to plan, and grew up rich. I wondered if that meant something. Was Trent sleeping? I looked at my watch and realized it was almost time for him to wake up, and for me to go to sleep.
My fight with Trent from earlier this evening was running on repeat in my head. It seemed like whenever things got good, we got into a big fight and stopped talking. Were Ivy and Jenks right? Was I avoiding this…situation with Trent? I sat up hugged my legs close to me. My mind wandered to my moments with Trent. Of when he called me beautiful, his green eyes staring intently at me, as if he was waiting for a response from me. Of when he squeezed my hands after our takedown of Eloy and Cordova.
I yawned and thought back to our first actual "nice" moment. I had just gotten Francis's car from the FIB, and Trent drove it. His face, when he does things that are outside of the businessman norm, looked remarkably like Lucy, a child who just discovered the world is wondrous.
Trent was sexy, no doubt about it. But he was sexiest when he didn't know it. Like when he was being a dad to Ray and Lucy. Or when he is unsure of something and for a millisecond, goes through the process of figuring things out. Or that time in his office, when he was taking the zip strip off, and the ley-line coursed through me.
Ley-line? I straightened. Why didn't I go into my second site and search for a ley-line running through the building? I could feel the energy, but whatever was happening, had to occur around a ley-line. The thunder… the lightening…
I burst through Trent's door. "I think I know what's going on!" I exclaimed. Trent sat up on the bed, the sheets pooling around him. The moonlight shone through the window, landing on Trent. Did he sleep naked? I just stared at his chiseled chest.
"Rachel…" He looked confused. "Why are you in here?" He gathered the sheets around him, covering himself more. I guess he did sleep naked.
Screw his modesty. I parked myself on his bed. I said to him eagerly, "did you check to see whether there was a ley-line running through city hall?"
"Not inside, but there was one off to the side. It was outside the building though," Trent said sleepily. His eyes were still closed. I started pacing. I was trying to get my thoughts coherent, but I wasn't doing a very good job explaining.
"There was something going on in the ley-line, or in the ever-after," I said. "Think about it! Nick is summoning, and Ku-Sox is killing people. Ritualistically." I stopped pacing, and started tapping my foot. "So what is the ritual? It has to do something with the ever-after!"
"Mmmm, I thought that was already obvious?" Trent mumbled as he gripped the sheets on the bed and kept his eyes closed.
"Yes, but we didn't realize that it was on a ley-line and directly connected to the ever-after. I think it has to do with," I took a deep breath, "how I shred a hole in the ever-after." I grinned widely, feeling vindicated. Of course, being happy about a hole in the ever-after would probably backfire on me at the worst possible moment.
Trent opened his beautiful eyes and looked at me. It didn't seem like he agreed with me, because he glowered at me and said. "Can you leave now? I want to sleep for a couple of more hours."
I frowned. "Isn't it time for you to wake up?"
"I couldn't sleep." Trent snapped at me. Ooookay. How is it my fault he couldn't sleep? He leaned his head back on the headboard. He pulled the sheet and comforter up, and laid back down. "Please, just go."
I smiled, trying to cover up the pain I felt from his dismissal. "Uh. Sure. Hey, about our fight earlier. I'm sorry." I rushed out. Trent shifted uncomfortably, not looking at me. I waited for another half a second, hoping he would sit back up and talk to me. No response. I walked out of the room, refusing to allow tears to shed again. I went to the couch and laid there. I forced thoughts of Trent out of my head and thought about what we could do. Should I go there, and hop the ley-line to see what is going on? Lightning struck, and it illuminated the whole room. I don't think my friends would let me go alone. So if I went there, I would have to go now.
I went over the options over and over in my head until I heard a creak and saw Trent's profile by his door. He had put some pants on, but nothing else. Not even shoes or socks. I hoped he came out to tell me to get ready, because we were going to go back to city hall. I hoped for a snide remark on my choice of sleepwear. I hoped for a gentle smile. Oh, what we could be together…
"I can't do this anymore with you." Trent whispered, his voice hoarse.
Oh, crap on a stick. Trent had a haggard look on him, something that I have never seen. I chewed on my bottom lip before I asked, "Do what?"
Trent looked at his hands, where he had brand new fingers. Those fingers were lost because of me, and gained because of me. He even had his elf ears back now. He looked beautiful, even as he talked about what we normally avoid. "At first, I thought it was just residual feelings from the kiss, nothing major. It's not as if I didn't respect you. I've always admired your convictions and your purity." Purity? I hope he didn't think I was a virgin. "Not like that, Rachel. You just believe the goodness in everyone, except me."
Man, now I felt like shit. I opened my mouth to respond, but Trent kept going. "Until I saw that you believed in me, too. And I felt like a better man. You make me a better man. It doesn't really matter though. Because I will never be enough.
"I talked to Ivy a couple of weeks back, and she said a lot of things. She explained your relationship and told me all the reasons why you guys are not sharing blood. You're individuals, you move faster than her. How you're straight." Ivy and Trent had discussed me? Why did Ivy not mention this? I was holding back from falling in love again. The pain and the fear from losing someone were all too real. "What she didn't say spoke loudly than anything else," Trent added sadly.
I was afraid to ask, so I remained silent. The winds were picking up outside, and you could hear thunder in the distance. After a long pause, Trent said, "She got tired of waiting for you." He looked at me, his eyes glowing green in the dark. "And now I understand how she felt."
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. "You do?"
"Getting my daughter back from Ellasbeth made me realize what love was. Watching Quen and Ceri makes me believe that love is worth it." He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "God, you made all of that happen, didn't you? You even broke up my sham of a wedding. Yet…" He shuffled his feet. I know what he was about to say would shatter both of our hearts, and I hoped he wouldn't say it. But he said it anyways. "I can't wait for you anymore." He spun around and slammed his door shut.
I sat there, dumbstruck. I fell headfirst into trouble, almost as often as I caused the trouble in the first place. So if action wasn't a problem in my life, why couldn't I just act on my feelings for Trent? It was too late now, and the passion that we didn't feel months ago in his office, will never be realized. My heart was broken, and it was all my fault.
I looked out the window. I should go to city hall now, by myself and take care of this problem. That way we could go home, and Trent and I could go back to the way we were before the kiss. Ignoring each other as much as possible.
I quickly pulled on a jacket, socks and sneakers. I grabbed my keys, and used the room phone to call the lady at the front desk to call me a cab. I paused at the door, trying to decide if I should wake up Jenks. No, my friend had so much heartache, and I knew that losing your love didn't allow for much restful sleep. I rushed downstairs and jumped into the cab. On the ride over, I let loose the tears that I held back and sobbed quietly. The cab driver looked uncomfortable. I guess out here, they didn't have very many women crying over broken heart.
I heard something hitting the car and looked up. It was raining now, with the winds more powerful than before. None of the street lights were on in Flagstaff. The city was covered in eerie blackness. I brought up my second sight and saw that the ley-line ran through the city hall's backyard, and out of the city. The Ley-line ran to where there was nothing except for maybe cacti and snakes. Lightning hit again in the distance, right on the ley-line. I directed the cab over there and in a half an hour or so, I got to the place where I think I saw the lightning. I hopped out of the cab as the cab driver asked uncertainly, "Are you sure you want to be dropped off here?"
I nodded, turning away from him. I heard him drive off, the sound of the car dimming into nothing. All I was able to hear now was wind, rain and thunder. My resolve tightened and my fists clenched. I was going to take care of the designer genetic shithead and the human rat once and for all.
