The school yard was empty, and I cut a diagonal path through the snow, passing the chain link fence that radiated cold at me and carrying on down the sidewalk till I reached the bus stop. I would have to catch a city bus to take me to the bus depot and find a greyhound or something. Something that could take me almost all the way there. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders around, trying to adjust the heavy back pack. The straps of my purse had tangled in the cords of my back pack. This traveling thing was not fun. I cursed Frost, Fire and whatever other giants happened to exist.
Just leave me alone.
The bus came, sending a rush of dry air over me that sent my hair flying. I climbed onboard and found a seat near the back, resting my head against the window. Suddenly I felt small and alone. I was too young to be running, by myself no less. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. It wasn’t like the movies, where I was so sure of my next move, and that everything would turn out fine. I felt sort of lost. Maybe California was a terrible idea. Wouldn’t they expect me to go there? They would know who my friends were, wouldn’t they? Loki knew I was going there. What if he found me?
California is a big place, I told myself. I can find somewhere to hide until he stops looking for me. I shut my eyes and let my mind wander, letting my thoughts blend and drift with the rumble of the machine that carried me further away from my home.
The palace library was filled with the smell of leather bound books. The shelves towered up to the ceiling, spiralling enough to make you dizzy if you gazed upwards for too long. I liked to sit in the library by the great fire after battle. Books have so many words, but they do not speak, they do not scream in pain or yell battle cries. My feet shuffled, softly echoing through the library as I hurried to the dim lamps of the tables, to the book I had yet to finish. The book of poetry I read each time I come here, a weighty tome that may very well outlast me. I find relief in the pictures the author paints, solace in the calm fields and seas of his imagination.
I am lost to the words, and no longer see battle gore and running blood in my memories.
Even the words of the Queen could not calm me as his do.
The bus jerked to a stop with a hiss, knocking my head painfully on the window. I groaned, sitting upright to be greeted by an instant crick in my neck. The last stop was the depot, and I guess we were there now. I forced myself to get up, peering out the window. The depot was crowded, people waiting under the canvas shelters with luggage, saying goodbye to their families. I felt my stomach flutter a little as I climbed off, wishing I wasn’t by myself. I sort of wished I’d convinced Charlotte to come with me, but that was ridiculous. She wasn’t in any danger, and there was no sense worrying her step parents. I wondered if Dave had seen the note on the white board yet. I knew Janet had for sure by now. It made the corners of my mouth quirk a little, thinking about her face when she looked into her wallet, or tried to pour herself a cup of tea. I checked the schedule, discovered to my irritation that I’d have to wait for an hour, and went to lean against the wall behind one of the benches, standing behind a couple of dread- locked hippies who sat there smoking. I was examining the crowd, and so I saw him before he saw me. My heart gave a violent lurch as I watched him stride towards the depot. His dark curls were squashed under a black knit winter hat, and he was obviously searching the crowd for me. I stood there for a second, debating with myself.
Which way do I run? Where do I go?
I had to slip away before he spotted me. Slowly I slid sideways along the wall, falling in to step with a couple who had started walking past me. Luckily he was looking the other way, and I managed to slip around the side of the building. Once he was out of sight I put on a burst of speed and yanked open the doors of the nearest building.
I found myself standing in the lobby of a motel, staring at the startled young woman at the front desk.
“Can I help you?” she said.
“I..yes,” I said. What the hell, I’ll go with it. “I’d like a room.”
She brightened, and I wondered if she’d been expecting me to cause trouble or rob her or something.
“Of course, just for yourself?”
“Yes, just me. Doesn’t need to be fancy.”
She smiled at that, and I wondered what sort of hotel I had signed myself up for.
“How much is it for just the night?”
“Eighty dollars,” she stood up and came around the desk, “this way please.”
We rode the elevator, a tiny tin can that would have been a nightmare if I was claustrophobic, up to level two. The silence was pretty awkward, and I was relieved when the door slid open and she stepped out, leading me down a narrow hallway. The doors were all white, and marked with large gold numbers. She stopped at number 92 and handed me a swipe card.
“Enjoy your stay,” she smiled cheerily, “call me at the front desk if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” I stared at her back as she walked away, a little scared to open the door and reveal the bedroom I’d have to sleep in. I turned, took a deep breath and inserted the card into the slot in the door. It buzzed and clicked, and I grasped the knob and pulled the door open.
“Oh, lovely.”
The room was done in horrible beige and green wall paper. The carpet was green to match, and there was a queen sized bed squatting in the middle dressed in a green and pink floral pattern comforter. There was a desk with a chair, a night stand with the hotel phone on it, and a stand with a big boxy TV in front of the bed.
I told myself it wasn’t as horrible as I’d thought it would be. It was only costing me eighty bucks. It was just a temporary hiding place and I’d head back to the bus depot in the morning. I threw my knap sack and purse onto the bed and went in to examine the bathroom. It was tiny, just a sink and a little bath tub that looked like it could use a good scrubbing. I hadn’t planned on relaxing in a bubble bath anyway, had I?
I turned back to the room and my stomach growled noisily. Apparently those cucumber sandwiches weren’t going to hold me over. I debated with myself for a bit. Should I phone down to the front desk so she could bring me something? I doubt she would do it. You didn’t get room service in this type of motel. There was nothing for it, I would have to venture outside or starve. I unloaded my knap sack on the bed, finding the red knit hat that I had hastily shoved in with the rest of the stuff, thankful that I’d grabbed it. I tied my hair back and shoved the hat on, pulling it down to disguise the brilliant blonde color. There was nothing I could do about my height, but at least I could walk around without looking all platinum.
I studied myself in the bathroom mirror. Sure, I wasn’t too obvious. Six foot girls weren’t that uncommon, right? Who was I kidding?
The hat would have to do though. I slung my purse over my shoulder and rode down in the “hellevator” again, thinking that if it broke and I got stuck I would probably hyperventilate till I used all the oxygen in here and die. I’m apparently morbid like that.
The girl at the desk gave me a few recommendations for food. There was a sandwich shop down the street that sounded good, so I followed her directions, turning right down the street, which was thankfully heading away from the bus depot. I kept my head down and stuck to the crowds, making sure I was never walking by myself. He’d be looking for someone by herself. It reminded me how alone I was, and I felt another wave of sadness. Again, I wished Charlotte was with me. She’d probably be babbling about sandwiches or something right now.
Yeah, peanut butter sandwiches. I smiled.
The sandwich shop was tiny, wedged in between two retail stores, both closed, their windows dark in contrast to the shop’s bustle and the light that flooded out onto the street. I was happy to duck inside and be suddenly part of a lively atmosphere. A group of people that had obviously just come from the bus depot were at the bar by the wall, their backpacks leaning against the stools they were sitting on, gulping down huge bites of the massive subs and talking excitedly to one another with full mouths. A couple sat at one table, sharing halves of sandwich and bowls of hot soup, and a family in one corner had plates of grilled cheese in front of them. My stomach rumbled insistently, and I moved to the counter and placed an order for a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup, standing to one side impatiently with the rest of the crowd waiting for their lunch. Mine came at last, and I moved to a corner booth and sat down, looking around to see if anyone had noticed the tall girl in the red hat who sat by herself. No one had even glanced my way.
The tomato soup was amazing, and I was halfway through devouring the sandwich when a voice spoke from beside me.
“Hello.”
My stomach plunged and I looked up, sandwich forgotten. It wasn’t Loki, as I’d expected, but it was just as bad. The man who stood there was very tall, with wintery blue eyes and blonde hair. I remembered the firm jaw and square chin. There was bandage on his temple where Loki had hit him. I braced myself, wondering what he would do to me in front of all these people. He held both hands palm up, as if to show me he was unarmed.
“I’m just here to talk. I know you can’t possibly trust me right now, but I promise I don’t want to hurt you.”
I stared at him silently.
“Can I sit down, Megan?”
That startled me into speaking, “Don’t pretend you know me.”
“Sorry,” He slid into the seat opposite me, “The truth is I don’t know you, but I was sent to take you back to the palace. I don’t agree with how Rob went about it.”
“Mr. Scott you mean. He wasn’t really an English teacher, was he?”
He shook his head, “He was there to make sure nothing happened to you girls.”
I glowered at him, “Until he was ready to kidnap us you mean.”
He frowned, “Look, I promise I’m not here to try anything funny. Let me at least introduce myself. I’m Erik.”
“Good for you,” I said. The fact that I was surrounded by people made me feel a little braver, “Now go away.”
He sighed, running fingers through his light blonde hair, which made it stick up like crazy, “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t expect him to do that. I told him I was simply going to talk to you. A civil conversation, like we’re having now.”
“But this queen, she ordered us to be knocked out and kidnapped?” I raised an eyebrow at him, “doesn’t sound like someone I want to meet.” I remembered my dreams suddenly, the sense of loyalty that my dream self seemed to have towards this queen. What could that possibly mean? I almost asked him about the dreams, but then he might think I was warming up to him. And I wasn’t.
“She just wanted to make sure that you all got to her. She didn’t order him to tie you up like that, in fact, right now your Mr. Scott is in a whole world of trouble over it. She’s pretty furious at him. You were supposed to go to sleep and wake up in a beautiful room in the palace. All the other girls did.”
“How are they?” I said quickly, “you didn’t hurt any of them, did you?”
“Not at all,” he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest, “they’re all settling in nicely actually. That girl Amy, she was pretty excited about the palace, kept repeating how they were all princesses or something like that.”
“That does sound like Amy,” I muttered, reluctantly.
“You must have tons of questions,” Erik said, “listen, I’m not going to drag you anywhere, in fact, I’ll leave right now. But can I meet you here again tomorrow? I’ll buy you breakfast.”
“I don’t know if they serve breakfast here,” It was a ridiculous thing to say, but I couldn’t think of anything else.
“Breakfast sandwich,” Erik smiled, and it warmed up his cool features. “Plus, if you like, I can teach you how to control how cold you get.”
I stared at him, “You mean…I won’t freeze people by touching them all the time?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” He smiled at me again, “I’ll show you. Tomorrow?”
I grimaced at him, not wanting to give him an answer just yet. I had to think about it, “How did you know I was here anyways? How did you find me.”
Erik’s face was grave as he reached out and tapped my cell phone with his index finger, “You might want to turn this off. Better yet, take the battery out. I’m assuming you have others after you?”
My stomach lurched as I looked down at my cell phone, and I felt like kicking myself. I didn’t say anything as I flipped over the phone and slide the battery out, slipping it into my pocket. I refused to make eye contact with him as I did it. He must think I was a moron. Apparently I don’t watch enough spy movies.
“Alright,” I said slowly. He was obviously trying to gain my trust by showing me the cell phone thing. Technically he couldn’t trace me now, if I decided to just take the next bus out of town, “I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning, but I’m not leaving here till you’re gone, and we’re not leaving this place tomorrow. We stay here. In front of lots of people. And I want to know everything. Everything about this queen and why she wants us, and…and what I am. What I can do.”
“Deal,” he stood up and put his palms on the table, leaning in closer to me. I made myself stay where I was and not flinch back,
“You’ll come around eventually, Amora”
“What’s that?” I said, wondering if he was calling me some horrible Frost Giant swear word.
“Your real name.”