Jude Stephens (6 page)

“
Where we headed to
boss?”

I grimaced at the word boss. “Do you have to call me
that? It makes me feel weird.”

He shrugged and said, “What do you want me to call
you?”

I began to tell him that he could call me Olivia,
but when I opened my mouth to tell him, what came out was,
“Orenda.” Orenda was actually my real name, though I hadn’t let
anyone use it in years.

As was his custom, he didn’t comment just nodded at
me. I called Bullet who came running up as if he hadn’t even been
wounded. Hmmm….he must be a fast healer. I squatted down next to
him and said, “How you doing boy? Are you okay to get into the
jeep?” I could swear I heard him give a snort right before he
leaped into the jeep. Shrugging, I got into the Jeep beside
Mark.

“
Where to?” he asked.

With confidence I said, “Alexandria Bay.”

Mark nodded and he started the Jeep. During the ride
I let my mind wander. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous at all about my
anticipated meeting with my clan or relatives or whatever they
were, just anxious to start a new chapter of my life. The hours’
drive flew by and the next thing I was noticed was the same sign
announcing that we were in Alexandria Bay, the place I saw in my
vision earlier.

“
Pull into that parking lot over
there,” I instructed Mark. We pulled into a lot that had a sign for
daily and weekly boat rentals. I thought to ask Mark, “Do you have
any money on you?”

Mark said, “I have about three grand on me, but I
can get more if you need it.”

I sighed, “We need to rent a boat. If you lend me
this money, someday, somehow I promise to get it back to you.”

Mark shrugged. “Whatever you need boss.”

I grimaced at the word boss but didn’t say anything.
I turned in my seat to talk to Bullet. “How are you feeling
Bullet?” He gave me a look that I swear made me feel like an idiot.
He also looked fine. “You stay here while we talk to the boat
man.”

We got out of the Jeep and walked over to the small
office in the corner of the lot. A kindly looking gentleman stepped
out and said, “Can I help you?”

“
Yes, we were wondering if you had
any boats for rent.”

“
Well, that would depend on how
long you want to rent it for,” he replied.

Pulling Mark to my side I said, “Well, we’re on our
honey moon and thought we would cruise around the islands for the
week.” I looked up at Mark with what I hoped were adoring eyes. As
usual, Mark’s face was a blank mask.

The proprietor looked at us a bit dubiously and
said, “You would want something then that would have sleeping
accommodations on board, I suppose.”

Looking shyly at the man through my lashes I
replied, “Of course…we were married just this morning and we’re um…
anxious to get the honeymoon started.”

The man looked from me to Mark who was standing
beside me like a statue with a blank look on his face and muttered,
“Sure…let me go see if we have anything that will meet your
needs.”

As soon as he walked away I turned to Mark, “What is
wrong with you? Are you slow? We need to convince this guy we’re
honeymooners and you stand there like a brick wall. I don’t want to
arouse suspicion. I’m not sure where we’re heading, and we may need
to cruise around the islands for a few days. The honeymoon story is
the perfect cover.”

“
Well, why didn’t you tell me that
before? I wasn’t prepared.”

“
Shhh…here he comes.”

“
Well, it must be your lucky day.
We do have a motor cruiser available. It’s on the small side, but
there is a cabin with sleeping space and a kitchenette. It’s going
to run you, with the security deposit, about thirty five hundred
dollars,” the man said still eyeing us suspiciously.

I turned towards Mark, “Oh Sweetheart, it sounds so
romantic. Can we get it please?”

I was nearly floored when Mark grabbed me and pulled
me into his arms. “Oh my darling, how could I deny you anything?”
With that he bent his head and slanted his mouth across mine. I
played along and whispered against his mouth, “That’s better; make
him think that you can’t keep your hands off me.”

When Mark’s hands began to roam
over my ass, I realized that he wasn’t acting. I could feel the
hardened length of him pressed against me and his tongue probing my
lips for entrance. Knowing I couldn’t put a stop to it with the
boat guy watching, I let Mark invade my mouth with his tongue, but
only for a minute. I pulled away and didn’t have to stretch my
acting skills too far to appear embarrassed. “I’m sorry about that;
we tend to get carried away.”

The man chuckled. “I’m not so old that I don’t
remember my own honeymoon. You seem like a nice couple, so I’ll
waive the security deposit. It’ll be twenty five hundred for the
week. Follow me to the office and we’ll square away the
paperwork.”

I smiled at him, and without looking at Mark,
followed him into the office. When the paperwork was done we drove
to a supermarket to get some supplies and since Bullet was looking
a little restless in the backseat we stopped at a park to let him
run around for awhile.

We would have to wait until near dusk to get Bullet
on the boat. When the sky started to turn purple we headed back to
the marina. Luckily there weren’t many people around, and we
managed to get Bullet on the boat without any problems. I went
below deck to unpack the supplies and Mark was up on deck with
Bullet getting ready to depart. When I finished and went up on
deck. Mark was sitting in one of the two captain’s chairs with, of
all things, a big grin on his face.

In shock I asked him, “Are you actually
smiling?”

He turned towards me. “I love being on the water.
When I was a kid growing up in Virginia, we had a sailboat that we
would take out every weekend during the summer.”

I sat in the chair beside him. “It’s really lovely
out here on the water. It makes you forget all of the ugliness that
the world hides.” Mark nodded his head in agreement.

After a long stretch of comfortable silence he
asked, “Any idea yet where we’re heading?”

“
Not exactly, I know we’re going
in the right direction though. I feel it. We’ll have to make a few
stops along the way so Bullet can do his business.” I looked over
at Bullet stretched out on the deck. He looked very much at ease.
We were cruising at a slow speed since it was getting to be full
dark now on the river.

“
Are you
hungry?” I asked Mark. He nodded in the affirmative.
So much for the new smiling and chatty
Mark
, I thought as I went below deck to
make some sandwiches. I was spreading mustard on the bread when a
shiver traveled from the top of my head all the way down to my
toes. Goosebumps spread across my flesh. Up on deck I heard Bullet
whine and then the boat engines cut off.

Mark appeared at the cabin entrance. “What’s wrong?”
he asked.

“
I’m not sure. I just got a
strange feeling. I think I need to go up on deck.”

I climbed the few stairs up onto the deck. Bullet
padded over and stood close, touching my leg. The wind picked up
and blew my hair across my face. As I raised my arm to brush it
away, what felt like an electrical current running through my body
made the hairs on my arms stand up.

“
Holy shit.”

“
What?” I asked him
anxiously.

“
Your hair. It’s standing up. You
look like that chick from Carrie before she hacked everyone to
death.”

I gave him an exasperated look. “Carrie didn’t hack
anyone. She burned them. But I’m guessing this means we’re close to
where we need to go.”

Beside me Bullet, whose hair was also standing on
end, suddenly lurched for the left side of the boat and began to
whine loudly.

“
Mark, start the boat. I think we
need to go left.” I went to stand beside Bullet and felt the
electrical current intensify.

Mark started the engine and turned the boat
left.

“
I’m not comfortable with straying
too far from the coast. I can’t see in this darkness,” Mark said
worriedly.

“
Don’t worry. I can see just fine.
I’ll let you know when to stop.” It was still a marvel to me having
my extraordinary senses. I peered into the darkness. I felt with
every fiber in my being that we were getting close to something or
someone. The energy crackled in the air around Bullet and
me.

My heart started pounding until I thought surely it
would burst. And then I saw it. At first it was just a dark shape
in the night, but as we drew a little nearer I could see tree lines
and some definite hills. When we got a little bit closer I said,
“Slow down. I think I see a dock.” And indeed the closer we got the
more defined the dock became until I could clearly see the entire
thing including the handsome dark haired man waiting for me.

Chapter 7

I recognized him instantaneously. It was the rude
man from my dream, the one who I had bumped into in the Native
American village. If I had thought him gorgeous in my dreams, it
was nothing compared to real life. His dark hair curled over the
collar of his denim work shirt. I could see the tanned skin of his
throat and chest where his shirt was unbuttoned. My eyes traveled
lower taking in the way his jeans rode low on his narrow hips. When
my eyes traveled back up to his face, he was staring at me with
dark and dangerous eyes. Eyes that were hard yet framed with long
black eyelashes.

I tried to keep from looking at his mouth, but I
couldn’t help myself. His lips were soft and full, the upper one
being just a little bit fuller than the bottom. I could imagine
nibbling on that lip…wetting it with my tongue. I was brought out
of my musings by a rather rude snort. He was smirking at me as if
he knew exactly what I was thinking! I felt my face flush which
just made him laugh out loud.

The sound of his laughter was deep and rich and
before I knew what was happening, I felt my pulse quicken and a
shiver go down my spine. What the hell? I couldn’t quite believe
it. This rude man, a stranger no less was getting me excited.

Abruptly the man stopped laughing and said, “You’re
very weak Orenda. I’m going to have my work cut out for me.”

“
I don’t know what you’re talking
about. And how do you know my name?” I demanded.

“
You will know soon enough, and
everyone here knows your name.”

“
Here? I’m not even sure why I’m
here much less where I am.”

He began to tie the boat lines to the dock and then
easily swung himself onto the boat. Now that he was up close, I was
overwhelmed with shivers that invaded my body.

“
What’s happening?” I asked in a
frightened voice.

He came to stand behind me and bent and whispered in
my ear, “I will tell you everything, but first you will tell your
man to back off and put his gun down.”

I turned around and sure enough Mark stood in the
shadows with a pistol trained on the man. I couldn’t help wonder
why Bullet hadn’t come to my rescue.

“
Mark, put the gun down. I sort of
know this guy. He may be rude, but I don’t think he wants to harm
me.” I took a few steps away from the man before I asked, “What is
your name?”

“
My name is Cheveveyo, but you can
call me Cheve.”

“
Cheveveyo? Is that
Iroquois?”

“
No, it’s Hopi.”

Now that I had stepped away from him I felt a little
more in control and I wanted answers. “Where am I? I just kind of
followed my instincts getting here.”

He leaned against the railing and again I couldn’t
help but think how ruggedly handsome he was. Mark, having sensed my
emotions came to stand beside me. Again, I wondered where Bullet
was.

“
You are on the island called
Wahya…or Wolf Island. It is a private island and is not on any of
the maps. The only way to get here is to follow your
instincts.”

“
Well, Cheve, I have to tell you,
until recently, I didn’t even know I was Native American or that I
had relatives still living. Can you tell me what this is all
about?”

Cheve sighed deeply, “Can we talk while we walk back
to the village? It’s getting late and I wanted you to meet your
akso:d.”

“
My what?”

“
Akso:d, your
grandmother.”

“
My grandmother? I wonder why my
parents didn’t tell me.” I mused.

“
I imagine they wanted to protect
you. Is there anything you need from the boat before we head back?”
Cheve asked.

“
Not too much, just a few things
that we brought. Mark can you help me get everything
together?”

Mark grunted and went below deck. “Who is that? He
obviously isn’t one of your vampire lovers.” Cheve asked.

“
What? How do you know about my
vampire lovers… lover?”

Cheve smirked at me. “You came to me in a vision

remember? Besides you are connected deeply with your
akso:d. She, you will soon find out, knows everything.”

I swallowed hard, “Everything?”

Cheve leveled a steely look at me. “Yes everything,
but she never mentioned this one to me.”

“
Mark is a friend who wants to
help me that’s all.”

“
He has feelings for you,” Cheve
stated matter of factly.

I began to deny it, but
thought
what the hell, if this pompous ass
knows everything then let him figure it out.