Siblings Bele and Hale, Black Lake Novel 7

Chapter Ten

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I’d used enough eye shadow I could do Halloween. Three tones. Made for a very dramatic look. Very rare for me to use much house paint, but I opted to apply a bit of lightener below my brows. I expected Mama to pound on my door any moment, so I held the applicator lightly. Didn’t need to put out my eye today of all days.

Thirteen hour drive. Would any of my makeup make it to the Western hamlet? Why did I want to look so adult? Sultry?

I pulled away from the mirror to take it in. Wow. Very dramatic. If I say so myself. Worked well with my nearly black irises. Contrasted well with my gold hair. I considered wipin’ some of the blush off. I’ve got enough ogre genes my cheekbones can cut glass. Don’t know why I like to give ’em any more emphasis. I fought the little guilt that polarized me. I’m not embarrassed about my troll side. So. I enjoy the drama of my ogre genes. Tough tiddlywinks.

My phone pinged. It’ll be noon soon. I stuck my tongue out at it. Sun wouldn’t even rise for two more hours. Another ping. I’m gonna leave without ya. Yeah. Mama gave me her key fob.

It occurred to me Mama might have borrowed Hale’s phone. Not like him to be passive aggressive. Mama was a little irritated about us announcin’ we were headin’ North after the hoedown. With a huff, I stuffed my last-minute items into my duffle, zipped it up and slung it over my shoulder, walked out of my en suite, givin’ my room a last glance over to ensure I hadn’t left my brain on my bedside table, or nothin’ similar. Yes, my passport was stashed. Pair of dressy shoes, just in case. Not likely necessary for an ogre hoedown.

My bedroom door banged open and I worked on an evil eye for Mama. She squinted at me though before I got my own face goin’.

“I wanted ya to know,” she said. “Late last night yar cousin, Izig, texted me. Wanted to see ya off at the airport this mornin’.”

That was strange.

“I told her ya two weren’t flyin’.”

I met her at the door and we danced a moment as I made my way around her, into the hall.

“She’s in the lobby,” she added.

I stopped abrupt enough she bounced into me. Ya get bounced by a troll, ya notice it.

“What?” I hissed. Worry hit me.

“Yar brother is waitin’ for ya in the car. I got her away from him.”

I strode briskly through the residence, and searched for her in the dim light of the lobby. Found her sittin’ in my favorite place. I heard Mama’s faint pitter patter on the granite as she headed outside, clickin’ the door closed subtly. Gone the passive aggressive, maybe.

Izig stood abruptly and slinked toward me, as though she approached a mountain cat. “I won’t keep ya,” she said.

“Why are ya here?” Don’t know why those words came out of my head. Coulda come up with better thin’s if I’d put my brain to it.

“Papa said last night, that it's more about actions than words.”

That made no sense. Maybe if there was some context.

“So I’m here to see ya off. This is a big deal. Everyone in the Hamlet’s excited for yall.”

Okay. I considered just noddin’ and headin’ for the door, but waited.

“It was good seein’ ya Saturday,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much I missed havin’ ya in my life.”

Yeah. Sure.

“Sorry our—uh—didn’t go well.” She motioned toward the door. “Don’t have any excuses. Just. Want ya to know I feel ashamed.”

Ashamed of what? I wanted to hear in her own words, what exactly she was ashamed of, so I waited.

After a good ten-count, it appeared clear she meant it, about no excuses. The light was dim, but I imagined her eyes might be misted up. Quickly thrust that idea out of my mind as a possibility. She motioned toward the door again, so I accepted the offer, and led her outside. Oddly, the pitch dark surprised me. Yeah. We’d opted to leave hours before sunrise so we wouldn’t arrive so late.

Mama stood next to Papa, who leaned against the car, which was already pulled out of the garage. He reached out for my duffle, grunted a bit when he grabbed it. Tough ogre. It couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds, maybe a bit more. I had to pack for a lot of contingencies.

While he stowed it in the backseat, Mama and I shared a tight hug. She didn’t have to try to break my sternum. Dang troll. We weren’t goin’ off to war. “Drive safe,” she blubbered.

Really? Tears were washin’ down her cheeks?

~

Hale

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Drama. Hens are all about drama. Drama, drama, and more drama. I observed that a long time ago. I didn’t have to reach the enlightened age of seventeen to figger it out. I think Izig may have wafted a wave at me, but I wasn’t gonna respond. So dark inside the car, and with the tinted glass, she wouldn’t have seen it anyway.

Was good to get the engine goin’, the air blowin’. Probably maybe fifty degrees this mornin’, but felt a bit stuffy in the car. Whoa. Bele used a bit of right foot on the floor as she pulled out of the drive. Hit the peddle harder as she merged onto the village drive. If there was a constable about, we’d be startin’ our big trip out in an ignoble fashion.

“Don’t kill us before we give ’em humans a chance at us.” I had to say that.

“Ya just had to drive. I coulda gotten an extra three hours of sleep this mornin’, easy.”

I waited. Bele never ended with that few number of words. She made me wait a good twenty-count.

“No idea why that evil cousin wanted to see us off.”

Let it all out, hen.

“Not like they’ve changed their spots.”

I know Woriz hasn’t grown any digits of IQ.

“So immature,” she said.

They’re sixty days older than us, I think. She flew by an SUV I was pretty certain had to be a constable, this time of the mornin’. I peered back to see if red and blue lights flashed on.

No?

“So Woriz wasn’t with her. That surprise ya?”

Not my drama. I considered askin’ her about all the black over her eyes. Decided against it. Might just be the dark. But the dash gave her face an interestin’ earth-tone hue.

“Ya hear from yar professor friend?”

Good, she wasn’t completely consumed by one obsession. “He’ll overnight a sponsor visa by Thursday night.”

“Ya give him the clan leader’s address?” she asked.

Now why would I give him a way to get it to us?

“Ya consider givin’ Woriz a—”

She musta had a brain fart. I waited. After a while I withdrew a stylus and my twenty-inch tablet. I could do plenty of sketchin’ before the sun gave me some cool topography to enjoy. But wished Bele would click down the speedometer a bit. A few moments later she merged onto the West Highway, and accelerated more.

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