Authors: Diana Paz
“More creatures?” Julia sputtered. “
Lucky?
”
“As long as we stay together, we’ll be all right,” Angie said. “You’ll be ready to Journey us if anything goes wrong.”
“But—”
“Chill out,” Kaitlyn snapped. “We’ve been through a war, we overcame creatures already, how could this town be any worse?”
Julia bit her lip. Danger was not appealing to her in the least, but even after whatever Kaitlyn just went through, she didn’t seem phased by it. In fact, the more dangerous their situation, the brighter her eyes gleamed and the quicker she smiled.
“We have a job to do,” Angie said softly. “Rest up for now.”
Julia tugged at her gown, which had gotten twisted in all the running and creature-killing. She sat down stiffly. “Fine. It’s break time, then we go back to trying not to die. Yi-pee.”
~ Chapter 22 ~
Kaitlyn
Strange,
this existence in a timeline that wasn’t her own.
The faces they passed by as they ambled through the town’s streets didn’t seem to matter. Everyone around her was already dead, after all. They hardly seemed real.
As usual when they weren’t battling creatures, Kaitlyn practiced using her powers. Discreetly, of course. She didn’t want a lecture from Angie about how important it was to keep things secret. Walking slightly behind the other girls, she waved her hand to one side and caused a chicken to float into a second-floor window. A few steps later she pointed her finger and pushed it down, causing a man’s pants to fall. Silly little tricks, but she liked learning to control her power. The more she used it, the easier it became to manipulate.
Amused with her new game, she caused a bag of vegetables to spill across the ground. Soon a group of ladies began tripping over their petticoats, which she had caused to slide down to their ankles. Before she could think of her next bit of mischief, Kaitlyn noticed a tall, lean man pushing a wheelbarrow. She quickly touched her cheek, glamouring her scar as best she could as she slowed her steps.
He was obviously poor, probably some lowly farmer, but despite his ragged clothes and young, unlined face, he looked worldly and exotic. His dark skin contrasted against a white, thin shirt, making her wonder what a lifetime of labor had done to his chest muscles.
He set down the wheelbarrow and watched her boldly as she sauntered by. She kept eye contact, loving the way his nearly black eyes smoldered on her curves. The other girls were now several steps ahead, and one of them was bound to turn around and notice her. Was she really going to miss the chance for a little fun on this mission? She had barely started kissing that gorgeous artist in Paris before Indira’s whispering about the power of the jewel distracted her, and what had that gotten her? A lifetime with a cursed scar and a missed opportunity for making out with someone from a completely different era.
Before the girls noticed, she slipped around a corner, indicating with a single finger that the farm boy should follow. He didn’t hesitate, leaving his things behind and coming around to find her.
“
Eres bella,
” he whispered, not coming quite as close as she would have liked.
“And you’re not bad looking, yourself,” she purred in Spanish, closing the space between them.
There was a certain sense of invincibility to having powers. She couldn’t make herself invisible without the others, but she could blast him or cast minor spells on him. It made her want to do something reckless, and before something happened to stop her, she slid both palms up his chest.
“What are you doing?” he asked, clearly not used to strange women fondling him in the street.
She lifted one hand to the back of his neck, twining her fingers in his loose, silky hair. “Giving you a new memory,” she said softly, pulling his head down until their lips nearly met. “One you’ll never forget.”
Her kiss cut off his sharp intake of breath. Soft, warm lips met hers, taking a moment to respond, but after the initial shock of her actions, the young man was an eager participant. Their kiss deepened and she tasted coffee. His hand lifted to find her waist. He pulled her close.
“Kaitlyn!”
The moment shattered as the guy abruptly let her go.
Damn it to hell.
Kaitlyn shoved away from the guy, ignoring him as she strode to the girls. “Why do you guys insist on ruining my good time? Seriously. If you see me making out with a guy and there are no creatures around, leave me alone!”
“
Señorita?
” the guy prompted.
“Oh, shut up,” she said, waving an irritated hand at him. “The moment’s gone. Have a nice life.”
“Nothing you do surprises me,” Julia said.
Angie stared at her for a moment, but Kaitlyn strode past her. “We can’t split up, we have to focus on the mission, I know, I know. Save your lecture, okay? I’ll just go over my notes from the last one.”
Angie cleared her throat. “Well. We were just going to get you because we found a building that has a strange sort of energy coming from it.”
“It might have something to do with the mission,” Julia added. “So if you’re all done adding a notch in your lipstick case, maybe we can check it out.”
“Looks like a tavern,” Kaitlyn said, ignoring Julia’s pathetic attempts to insult her. “Any signs of creatures?”
“Not that I can tell,” Angie said, heading for the door.
The moment they walked in, the room came to a standstill. Men sat at most of the tables. They had rough-looking faces and wild, bushy beards. The only woman in the room had a face powdered so white, with cheeks and lips so red, she looked like she was wearing a
Dia de los Muertos
mask like the ones Kaitlyn saw when they remembered her dead aunt and grandfather.
“
¿Que es esto?
” The woman’s barking words came sharp and harsh in Spanish. “Are you Isabela’s new girls, then?”
Kaitlyn glanced over at the other girls, Julia who stared blankly, most definitely not understanding a word, and Angie, who was casting Comprehend.
“Wh-what’s she saying?” Julia whispered as the woman looked Angie over, a slow smile curving up her painted lips.
Kaitlyn noticed the way Angie’s gaze narrowed a moment before she put on one of her little girl expressions. She took a dainty step back. With her head tilted to one side and her wide blue eyes round with innocence, she looked like a little lamb ready to be pounced on by a wolf.
Angie cast a quick glance Kaitlyn’s way, and she understood that handling this situation would have to be up to her. Julia was too oblivious and spazzy, and these people wouldn’t take Angie seriously, even if she could speak Spanish with the magic of the Fates.
“
Sí, señora.
We’re the new girls,” Kaitlyn said, stepping forward. She placed a hand on her hip and laced her lips with a sultry smile. “I hope she still needs us. We could really use the…” for a moment she forgot the word for money, but played it off with a throaty chuckle. “Coin.”
The lady laughed, loud and unrestrained. “She always has need for fresh faces, have no doubt of that.” Her gaze swept over them. She nodded with approval at Kaitlyn and Julia before returning to Angie. “This is a very sweet little picture.” She slipped a finger beneath Angie’s chin and lifted it. Her voice softened as she ran her hand across Angie’s flat chest. “There’s a certain type of man that will like you.”
Angie’s cheeks blazed red and she blinked rapidly, her eyes finding Kaitlyn’s.
“Hey,” Julia cried out, her palms already glowing white. “Hands off, lady.”
The woman ignored her. “How old are you?”
“
Diecisiete,
” Angie said shakily. The woman released her chin and she took a hasty step back, bumping against the wall behind her. “Seventeen last spring.”
“As old as that? You will be no older than twelve in this house. We will do your hair and dress to keep it that way.”
“Wait a minute,” Julia said, glancing around the room, then back at the woman as understanding dawned on her face. “This place is a—”
Kaitlyn took her arm. “This place is going to take good care of us.” She turned her gaze back to the woman and shrugged. “My cousin. She only speaks English.”
“I see. She will learn quickly here.” The woman’s hungry eyes roved over Angie again as she wrapped an arm around her slim shoulders. “I have a pair of Dutch sisters who knew no Spanish, either. They get along fine now, and they’ve only been here a few weeks.”
A rush of icy slush swept through Kaitlyn’s veins. This lady knew she would make good money letting some sick pervert do what he wanted with Angie.
Not that they would be here long enough for anything bad to happen.
“I am Doña Teresa,” she said, leading Angie toward the stairs. Kaitlyn motioned for Julia to follow. “Now that you are here, business will surely pick up. Two of my girls are too far gone with child to bring in good money.”
The narrow wooden stairs bowed beneath their weight as they ascended to the second floor. Iron-wrought lanterns glimmered along the dark corridor, reminding Kaitlyn of pirate movies she had seen. She cast Julia a quick glance, not missing the way her round eyes darted around the hallway.
Her hand found Kaitlyn’s arm.
Spooky place, don’t you think?
Everything spooks you.
“This floor has the rooms where you bring gentlemen up. No one comes here without payment.” She paused, her eyes narrowing on each of them. “That means no personal visits. You are not to give yourself freely under any circumstance. As long as you are in this house, you will accept no beaus. No romances. No courtships. Understood?”
Kaitlyn nodded, her gaze sliding to one of the open rooms. It was tiny, with hardly enough space for the rumpled bed inside of it. There were three other doors along the hallway, all with the same setup inside.
“I will introduce you to the other girls,” the woman said, turning to the stairs again with a brisk step. “Men are never to come to the third floor. These are your rooms for sleeping, when you’re not working, as well as where you will ready yourselves. Gerdina and Hendrina are the twins. You already saw Martina working downstairs, and the other girl still lazing in her room is Juana—”
The slam of a door and thundering footsteps cut Doña Teresa short. She paused a moment before racing up the rest of the stairs, leaving Kaitlyn and the others behind.
“What the heck?” Julia whispered.
“Whatever. She’s gone,” Kaitlyn said. “Let’s make a break for it and get out of here.”
“Wait. Don’t you feel something?” Angie asked. Kaitlyn raised a brow at the girl. At Julia’s blank stare Angie continued. “From the moment we entered, I began hovering at the edge of another vision. It’s as though there’s a reason we’re here.”
Angie was becoming more and more cryptic lately, with her visions. Before Kaitlyn could make sense of her words, Angie darted up the rest of the stairs and disappeared after Doña Teresa.
“Great,” Julia muttered. “What is
with
Angie lately?”
Kaitlyn followed after, coming up to a corridor with only two rooms. Both doors were open. Hushed voices rose and fell with clear excitement. Kaitlyn pushed her way past a pair of blonds, one who didn’t have a shirt on at all. Angie hovered at the threshold of a dimly lit room.
A scream split the silence, making Kaitlyn’s blood run cold. Kaitlyn pulled out her dagger but Angie raced up to her and took her wrist.
No one is being hurt
.
What the hell are you talking about? Listen to that.
Another scream broke through the room. Angie led her to the bed, where a woman with an enormous belly writhed, her hair a wild mess around her sweaty face.
“Tell Maria it’s time,” Doña Teresa said. “She will know what to do.”
One of the twins dashed off, while the other, who was very much pregnant herself, stared at the screaming woman in unmasked horror.
“What’s going on?” Julia asked, crashing into Kaitlyn’s back and almost making her fall forward onto the bed.
Doña Teresa’s head snapped up. Her bright red lips became thin as she motioned for the girls to leave.
“Wait,” Angie said. “I-I have experience with childbirth. I can help.”
The older woman’s gaze narrowed on her for a moment. Finally, she nodded once. “It looks like her time just began. I need to get these other girls to work or they waste a day’s work hovering around watching the birth of this babe. Maria should be here soon, and I will return as soon as I am able.”
Kaitlyn watched the other girls shuffle out. Prostitutes. Real ones. Girls who were used by men for money… unless they were smart enough to do the using.
“Do you really know something about childbirth?” Julia whispered.
“Well. No, but I’m sure my healing could come in handy if things go wrong. But to be honest, I had to find a way to stay here.” She held her hand out to Julia. Kaitlyn quickly touched Julia’s shoulder to make sure not to miss anything they said.
The magic kept urging me to stay. There’s something here. Something we need to do.
The woman screamed and cursed again. Kaitlyn didn’t really care about childbirth, and would have rather followed the prostitutes out to see what their life was like.
“A baby,” Julia whispered.
“Sucks to be her,” Kaitlyn murmured. She wouldn’t be wrecking her body growing a kid. Getting stretch marks and never wearing a bikini again? Not a chance.
“Do any of ye speak English,” the girl asked between panting breaths.
A crackle of apprehension skimmed along Kaitlyn’s thoughts. There was something familiar about that voice. She approached the bed.
“We do,” Kaitlyn said.
“I ain’t no whore like the other sluts in this brothel.”
Kaitlyn’s gaze dropped to the girl, who started writhing and grimacing again. Even in the dim light she could see that the girl’s hair was red. “Anne,” Kaitlyn said softly. “Anne Bonny.”
“Aye. What’s it to ye, wench?” she panted before another stream of curses sped past her lips.
Other than her swollen belly and the dark circles under her eyes, the girl didn’t look much different than when they had seen her in Nassau.
We shouldn’t be here,
Angie said.