The Hidden Prophecy Trilogy

6. Transient Salvation-2

Walking up to the door, she was temporarily blinded when the automatic floodlights came on by the garage. The steps creaked as she walked up to the porch, and before she had a chance to knock, the inner door cracked open, and through the screen, Kinza could see an older man in his late sixties maybe, with a shock of gray hair on both sides of his head peering out.

“Who’s there?” he shouted, his body angled behind the door. “I’ve got a g*n!”

Well, that’s not how this was supposed to go. “Sorry, sir, I uh…”

Well, that’s not how this was supposed to go. “Get off my property!” he shouted. Kinza heard whispering from inside the house.

“Wait, no!” she said, hands out. “I’m sorry to bother you so late. I’m lost. I—” She didn’t think telling them that she had been kidn*pped by a man with superpowers, only to be attacked by a ninja assassin, and then escaped when a light beamed out of a tattoo on her abdomen would get her anywhere. “The gas station up by the highway.” She pointed back toward the way she came. “I was attacked by this crazy guy, and we all ran. I ran into the woods, and I was so scared I got lost. Please, could I just use your phone? I lost mine.”

The man had one eyebrow raised in skepticism. There was an insistent whisper again from behind him. The man sighed and opened the door wider, “All right, my wife is adamant that you need to eat or something. Might as well come in.”

“Oh my God, thankyousomuch!” She all but vomited out the words. She had been worried they would turn her away, and she would have to go back into the dark forest. She stepped inside a cozy hallway that led deeper into the house. White wainscoting covered the walls underneath old but well-kept floral wallpaper. A dark mahogany staircase went up the second floor.

“My name is Jack, and this is Josie,” the man said, jerking a finger toward the woman behind him. Josie was several inches shorter than him, maybe a few years younger as well, but with a head of thick white hair styled in a bob.

Josie reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Oh sweetie, it sounds like you’ve had a horrible night! Were you with your friends or family at all? Was everyone all right? Wait,” she said, ushering her down the hall and into a large kitchen lit by a lamp and a few candles. “Let’s get you something to eat and a sweater or something. It’s been getting cold in the evenings. Honey, will you grab the fluffy blanket on the wicker chair in the bedroom?”

As Jack went upstairs, Kinza said, “Thank you so much. Again, I’m so sorry to bother you. I’ve just had the worst night, I don’t have my phone, and I need to call my grandma.”

worst Josie gave her a sympathetic look, “Well, I’m not sure if you know where you are, but we are pretty far from the big town up the way, and there really isn’t any cell service out here. But Jack will give you a lift in the morning if you’re all right with that?”

Kinza hesitated but nodded. She didn’t really have another choice.

“Okay,” Josie said, patting Kinza’s hand just as Jack walked in the room and handed her a giant blanket that was as soft as a lamb. She thanked him and wrapped herself up like a burrito. “Are you hungry? We just had some homemade chili for dinner, and I can easily heat some up for you. I make mine a bit spicy,” Josie winked.

Kinza chuckled and said, “I love chili, thank you.” She sat down at the island counter, and Jack sat at the stool on the end. “My name is Kinza, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Kinza,” Josie said as she moved about the kitchen, pulling out plates and mugs.

“So, go on, tell us what happened,” Jack said. He was a bit rougher around the edges than Josie was, but it didn’t bother her.

“I was up at the gas station by the highway, and I was inside using the bathroom when this man in a ninja costume came in with a sword—yeah, a real sword, and started swinging. It caused a huge mess knocking everything over, and he must have hit, like, electrical wires or pipes or something because part of the building exploded.”

Josie and Jack had paused, frozen, staring at her with shocked expressions. “Well, shoot,” the latter said.

“So that’s when I ran out back into the woods and just kept running. By the time I slowed down, it was dark out, and I couldn’t see anything until I saw the light on your barn.”

“Are you from around here?” Jack asked.

“No, I’m from Chicago. My, uh, boyfriend and I were headed up north for the weekend.” She inwardly cringed.

“It’s Wednesday, though,” Josie said, setting down a bowl of steaming chili and a mug of chamomile tea in front of her and one in front of Jack.

“Thank you, and, um, yeah. A five-day weekend, I suppose.”

“Hmm,” Jack said, sipping his tea. “I hope someone called the police and caught that ninja maniac.”

“Me, too.” She laughed awkwardly. Despite her need to lie, Kinza was relaxing, her shoulders felt less tight, and her heart had slowed for the first time in hours. It almost felt like being back in the kitchen with Grams and her lavender tea.

Josie leaned on the counter across from them. “Well, don’t you worry, honey. We’ve got a guest bedroom upstairs and, like I said, Jack can give you a ride up to town tomorrow. They’ll have better service there.”

Jack nodded in silent agreement.

“Thank you so much,” Kinza said. She and the couple spent the next hour chatting over random things. She told them about the college degree she was trying to get and her job, and they talked about all the renovations they had been making to the house over the years.

Josie had grown up just north of Chicago, and Jack was from up here. They told her about how they met when Josie had gone fishing with some friends and accidentally tipped their boat over. Jack, who was fishing closer to shore, dove in and pulled Josie to safety in a dramatic rescue. Only after they had gotten back to land did Josie tell him that she could swim just fine.

The three of them laughed hard enough for tears to form in Kinza’s eyes and her stomach to cramp. It was all just so normal, she realized. No lost city, no supernatural beings, no one trying to kidnap or kill her, no white lights. Just a few laughs in good company and a good mug of tea.

normalWhen Kinza’s eyes started to droop, Josie announced it was time for bed. As Jack locked up, Josie took her upstairs to a small bedroom at the end of the hall. It was just big enough for a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. All the furniture was dated but in good condition. She brought her a spare set of pajamas that were a bit big on her but would work fine. After saying goodnight, Kinza closed the door and huddled under the heavy blankets. For the first time in over a week, she slept deeply and without nightmares.

* * *

Kinza woke in the middle of the night, needing to use the bathroom. She grudgingly climbed out of the warm bed and tiptoed down the hall to the guest bathroom. In her half-asleep state, she noted the excessively powder blue style, from the miniature bluebird figurines to the blue, clawfoot bathtub to the blue curtains. She smiled sleepily and came back to the bedroom a few minutes later. The house was old and creaked lightly with the wind. She almost found the lack of midnight police sirens and ambulances too quiet. The noise of the city had been a constant in her life, and this was probably the first time she had slept in a place so quiet, even with the creaky house. She was too tired for it to matter though, she eagerly shut the door, ready to crawl back into bed.

She had kept the bedroom window cracked just slightly, and the wind caused the lacy drapes to blow inward, letting the moonlight shine into the room. Fear, like a hot poker, speared her as the outline of a tall, male body stood before the window. She didn’t get a chance to scream as the figure took two long strides and caught her, one hand going to her neck.

The last thing Kinza saw before she blacked out was a familiar bit of tattoo poking out of the man’s shirt.