Chapter Thirteen

 

 

Grabbing the ringing cell phone out of her purse, she answered it without looking at the caller id. “Gage? Gage, is that you?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Jodie’s sarcastic response resonated from the device. “You’re already calling me by his name?”

“No, Jodes, it’s not that. Hang on.” Taking the phone from her ear, Elle turned back towards Joe Mayhue and warned, “Look, behave yourself and do as these Texas Rangers say. You got a lucky break. Most people don’t get to go back home, wear a locator, and be on house arrest for the shit you pulled.” Stepping closer, she poked him in the chest, loving that she wiped the smartass look off his face and added, “Don’t fuck it up. I’ve only got so much legal Pixie Dust I can pull outta my ass.”

“Okay,” Joe mumbled then threw in, “Thank you,” when the Ranger to his left grumbled, “Mind your manners, Dick. She saved your ass. Pretty boys like you don’t do well in prison.”

Watching as the Rangers walked a handcuffed Joseph out onto the tarmac of the private little airport in the middle of nowhere and onto his father’s company jet, Elle waited until they were out of sight before turning around and putting the phone back to her ear. “Ya’ still there, Jodes?”

“Yeah, I’m still here and flabbergasted as all hell. I know you’re damn good at what you do, but Girl, how the hell did you get Richie Rich off with house arrest?”

“Honestly, I have no clue.” It was the truth, she didn’t know for sure, but she had a damn good idea. “I would like to take all the credit, but the more I think about it, the more I believe the judge knew my dad and went easy on me. There was just something in the way he spoke to me. It felt way too familiar.”

“Wouldn’t he have had to recuse himself?”

“Nah, not unless the relationship was friendly and in this case, if I did ever meet him, it was when I was little.” Saying the words with a confidence she didn’t feel simply to make Jodie feel better, Elle made a mental note to look up Judge Johnston when she had an extra minute as Jodie went on.

“Put one up in the win column and let it go.”

“You know it.”

“Now, tell me why you were so frantic for me to be Gage? And don’t tell me it’s because you miss him already.” Her friend’s chuckle lightened the mood a little more as Elle made her way back to the car Smitty had loaned her and got into the driver’s seat.

Putting her phone on speaker and laying it on the passenger seat, she explained as she got buckled in and got the car started. “No, nothing like that. He was supposed to call me when we broke for lunch so he could be there to pick me up, but I haven’t heard anything at all.”

“Did you text or call?”

“Both and I know you won’t believe it, but I actually left a voicemail.”

“Now, that is something,” Jodie chuckled. “I don’t even get voicemails.”

“Right?” Elle tried to sound nonchalant as she continued, “When I didn’t hear from him, I texted Junior and he’s not answering either. Smitty says he hasn’t heard a word. I’m not afraid to tell you that I kept getting the weirdest feelings and flashes of shit I swear I’ve ever seen all during court. It’s all so…ahhhhhhhhhh!”

“What the fuck? Elle?! Elle, are you okay?”

Jodie’s shrieks went unanswered as Elle swerved back and forth across both lanes on the narrow gravel road, gritting her teeth against the intense pain, and trying to rip her mother’s pendant from around her neck. Forcing the car into a ditch, she threw open the car door, literally ripped the seatbelt out of the doorframe, and jumped out of the car.

Tearing the top three or four buttons from her blouse, she snatched the scalding metal from her chest and ripped the thin gold chain from around her neck. Flinging the red-hot, glowing pendant to the ground, she fanned her still-stinging chest while cursing a blue streak and looking at the back of Smitty’s car precariously sticking out of the ditch.

“Dammit, Elle! ARE YOU OKAY?” Jodie’s screams coming from somewhere inside the royal blue Camry had Elle racing towards the vehicle and kicking off her shoes.

Sliding in the tall, mowed-down grass, she half-slid/half-jumped across the front seat and scooped her phone up off the floorboard. Hitting the speakerphone button, she yelled over her frantic friend as loud as she could. “I’m here! I’m here! Chill out!”

“You’re there? That’s all you’re gonna say? I’m here?” Jodie’s tone went from concern to rage in the blink of an eye. “What the fuck happened? I thought it was the rapture or an explosion. I thought you were dead.”

Trying to be patient as the skin on her chest felt as if it was being flayed from her body, she was climbing ass-first out of a car that was in an extremely precarious position with its nose at a seriously steep angle, and her Rain Bird was screeching and squawking in her mind, all while being berated by her best friend, Elle quite literally lost her shit. “Shut up! Just shut the fuck up and give me a gosh damned minute.”

Dropping the phone back onto the passenger seat as she did a whacked-out, upside-downish pushup, she continued to rage, “Stop screaming at me! Let me get my big ass outta this fuckin’ car! Let me figure out what fresh hell has kicked me in the ass this time!”

Taking a quick gulp of air, she went on, “And for all that’s fuckin’ holy, let me figure out how to put out the fire that’s trying to burn my tits off my body. Then, your fuckin’ high and mighty Majesty, I’ll be able to tell you what is happenin’. Ya’ get me?”

Only the sounds of her own wheezing as she finally pushed herself out of the blasted vehicle and put her feet onto the dirt road answered her ranting, but that didn’t stop her from grabbing the phone and shouting some more. “Are you there? Did you hang up? Are you pissed? Is this the silent treatment?”

“No…ummm…I’m, well, I’m…shocked,” Jodie stammered. “It’s about time you nut up and yell back.”

Stopping mid-stride, Elle stared at her phone and let her mouth drop open. It had to be some messed up dream. She had to be in Never Never Land or have fallen through the Looking Glass. Unable to process what was happening, she started laughing like a loon and snorted, “What did you just say?”

“I said it’s about time you nut up and yell back,” Jodie answered, her usual authoritative tone returning as she continued, “For the last year, I’ve been the bitch. I’ve been the one with the big mouth, speaking her mind and never backing down.”

“Yeah, but…”

“But, nothing. You know it’s true. At least if you’re honest with yourself, you do. The only time you’ve been your old self was when you were in court.” There was a slight pause in which Elle heard the sliding glass door at their rented home in Washington open and close before her friend went on, “Look, I have no idea what it’s like to lose your family the way you did. Hell, no one does. And I’m not sayin’ you’ve done anything wrong, I’m just sayin’ it’s time for you to come back or move forward, or do whatever you’re supposed to do. No more holding pattern. Sounds like happily ever after has come knocking at your door. It’s time to grab it and have a life. The one your family always wanted for you.”

Stunned, still speechless, but feeling the truth of Jodie’s words, Elle started to nod while trying to put her feelings into words when the voice of the Messenger sounded behind her. Whipping around so quickly she almost lost her balance, she looked straight into the soft blue eyes of Heaven’s Messenger.

“Eleanor Burntwing, the time is nigh.”

Different than the first time Elle had seen her on the beach, the Emissary’s long, flowing hair was a vibrant blue, her billowing robes the azure of a clear sky, and the gem around her neck glowed a brilliant mauve, pulsing as if it was beat the of her heart. Reaching forward with her ethereal snow-colored hand, she beckoned Elle to her.

Closing the distance, she gasped when the Messenger’s glowing fingers touched her chest, not because she was afraid but because the burning and stinging were instantly gone. Holding out her other hand, Elle saw her necklace, no longer on fire and the chain restored, hanging from the Emissary’s elegant fingers.

“Never be without your totem, Winged Chieftess. Within this metal and throughout this stone are the memories and powers of the Rain Birds who’ve gone before you. Their knowledge and wisdom will be needed in the coming days.”

Leaning forward, Elle held her breath as the Messenger placed the necklace around her neck and she when stepped back asked, “What happened? Why did it try to burn a hole in my chest?”

Looking sterner than she’d ever imagined possible, the Messenger clarified, “It was not trying to harm, only trying to warn, but its power is unstable. Both you and your amulet need to be grounded by your Bringer of Fire.”

“And who might that be?”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than an image of Gage appeared in the air between her and the Messenger. So cold that he shook, there he stood. Shoulders back, chest out, head held high, and his feet shoulder width apart, he reminded her of an ancient warrior ready to fight the enemy to the death if need be.

“Do you see, Eleanor? Do you truly see who your Bringer of Fire is and what he is willing to sacrifice to keep you safe?”

“But I never asked…. I didn’t mean…” She let her head fall forward and mumbled, “I didn’t know.”

The soft touch of the Messenger’s finger under her chin as she lifted Elle’s head and smiled so very sweetly, brought tears to the Rain Bird’s eyes. “Of course you didn’t, that is why I am here.” Letting her hand fall from Elle’s face, the Messenger added, “Remember, dear Eleanor, you are never alone. The Great Creator, the Heavens and I are always no farther than a call away, but it is your Bringer of Fire, your Dragon, your Mate who is your blessing.”

“Oh, Gage,” the words were little more than a soggy whisper.

“Now, go, Eleanor. Go to the place where the Purveyor of Death unjustly took your family’s life. Go to your Dragon. Together, you and yours are the weapon by which the Psônen can be killed.”

“But the car?”

“A car?” The Messenger scoffed. “Spread your wings and fly. Today you and your Dragon will decide your Destiny.”

With the words still echoing in the air, the Messenger disappeared. Turning in a complete circle, sure there had to be more of an explanation, Elle looked at the cell phone in her hand and slowly brought it back to her ear.

“Are you still there, Jodes?”

“Yeah, I’m here, but I need a drink.”

“Who you tellin’? I’m the one who has to sprout wings and fly.”