Influence

Chapter 19

A gust of wind shifted the crown of the palm, deep green leaflets catching sunlight like the broken surface of a breezy lake. The long stem swayed, and the fronds on the stem, and the leaflets on the fronds swayed with it, coordinated movement that reminded Tam of a flamenco dancer's ruffled skirt. Tam studied it. The tree bent with the wind instead of resisting it, and that's why it still stood. Its adaptability made it strong.

Her phone chimed and she thought maybe her sister had snuck her phone into class with her, but the text was from Jasper. Recalling fragments of her dream, she contemplated deleting the message without listening to it. She'd never put much stock in dream interpretation, but even with a skeptic's mind, she had to wonder if the king of the Shadow Fairies was a stand in for Jasper. But the king was a creature of the underworld. He was cold and calculating and wanted to possess her, whereas Jasper reminded her of the forest and the warmth of campfires. And, if anything, he kept her at arms-length. His well-publicized track record with women indicated nothing of the psychotic possessiveness that was the calling card of her dream nemesis.

She opened the text.

I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday. It was uncalled for. I'm not handling my grief well, but that isn't an excuse. I'd like to talk to you again and I think you'd be more comfortable if we met in a public setting. If you're willing, choose a place and time and I'll meet you there. Needs to be mid-afternoon or later. I'll be tied up during the day. Again, I'm so sorry, Tam.

She read it over twice, imagining him typing words into his phone, deleting them and rephrasing, deleting again, until the paragraph he'd texted to her read the way he wanted it to. He'd been careful. How she perceived his apology mattered to him.

Jasper had left the ball in her court. She could say no. She could say yes but make it for another day. She could choose when and where.

She let his text go unanswered for nearly an hour. The prospect of having an upcoming meeting with Jasper wasn't without appeal. It gave her day structure beyond staring at a tree out her window, contemplating adaptability, underground realms, and rocks in her hand as she anxiously awaited an uncertain future.

Then again, Jasper was a loose cannon. It might be a fatal mistake to step into his path. The internet hate wasn't random. It stemmed from somewhere—from someone who knew she was in Goldie's apartment the night Goldie died. Jasper knew, and he sure as shit was acting like he suspected her. Maybe he'd started the rumor online or fed it to someone who had.

Jasper couldn't be trusted. So then, why was she contemplating seeing him again? She took a shower, blow-dried her hair, applied makeup in a haphazard way that would have made Goldie cringe, and finally texted him back instructing him to meet her at a coffee shop in walking distance from her place.

Stupid, she told herself. You're making a mistake. Text him back and cancel.

No, don't.

He had key information but couldn't bring himself to tell her. Maybe she could convince him to trust her, even if she couldn't trust him back. Besides, they were meeting at a place she'd selected, a location with enough people to make it reasonably safe, but hopefully not too many that she'd be berated by gawkers and Goldie Girls.

#

Cosmic Coffee sat wedged between a laundry mat and an alley three blocks from Tam's apartment. If she walked through the center of her complex to adjacent street, she only had to walk along a road for a block and a half before cutting through the alley leading to the café. It seemed like a low risk venture. She'd be like a ninja, hoodie up along with her hackles, all her senses attuned to potential dangers. The more she kept away from sidewalks lined with pedestrians and roads with passing cars, the safer she'd be.

Still, she passed near people. Each one was as suspect as the evil king in her dream. Each as potentially dangerous to her. They would kidnap her, sending her away to their magical realm and punish her for Goldie's murder however they deemed fit. She shifted her eyes to make out the intent of the lady watering geraniums on her balcony or the man sweeping in front of his shop. She kept her head down when anyone passed nearby. She imagined someone following her, but when she turned, there was only a woman about her own age walking a shaggy poodle. The woman seemed more concerned with managing her dog and her phone at the same time than with Tam.

The dog walker continued up the street as Tam crossed away from her, and there, to her left, was the alley. Two story homes stood on either side of its entrance, and after them, the back ends of several small commercial buildings, including her target destination. The stench of decaying meat and a chemical she couldn't place wafted towards her from a dumpster, shiny black garbage bags filling it past its rim. Her stomach retched as the smell overwhelmed her. She paused, hand to gut, trying to stop a dry heave. She didn't want to enter the café and meet Jasper after puking all over the alley. He had the upper hand in so many ways. Money, fame, privilege. But she wasn't powerless. He wanted to meet her. He needed something from her. She held a card and she would be damned if she gave up that one mysterious advantage.

She stepped forward. The further she got from the dumpster, the easier it would be to concentrate on something besides the turmoil beating her from within. The street intersecting the alley loomed fifty feet or so ahead. She pressed on, only to have her fake ninja skills failed her. The strike to her skull made the oddest sound, like the hand of an old clock struggling to click to the next hour. An innocuous sound, and yet, the pain and confusion that accompanied it was like someone had cast her in a horror film without her consent.

The force from the blow knocked her into the brick wall next to her. A second assault on her ticking clock head. The world went blurry. She cried out in her mind, as loud as a screaming banshee, but couldn't determine if she'd made any audible sound.

As she collapsed to the alley floor, she realized she'd been right. This had been a mistake. Jasper must have believed her to be guilty. The Goldie Girls would love him forever now that he'd sought his revenge.

______

Sometimes something from my life will directly impact what I write, and that is particularly true of today's chapter, because Tam's dream is based on an almost identical dream that I had. My husband was a little alarmed when I described the part where I bashed the Shadow King's head in. I am a non-confrontational, non-violent person by nature. But let's face it: it had to be done. I gave Tam that same agency in her version of the dream and I have no regrets.

And yet... despite that agency, Tam doesn't end this chapter climbing out of a hole in the ground to a bright, sunny day. Things are looking bad. Who did this to her? Was it Jasper?

We'll find out soon, so stay tuned!