Eternal Read online

  Pati Nagle

  Evennight Books

  Cedar Crest, New Mexico

  Eternal

  Copyright © 2012 by Pati Nagle

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portion thereof, in any form.

  ISBN: 978-1-61138-169-6

  Published by Evennight Books, Cedar Crest, New Mexico, an affiliate of Book View Café

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  for my sister, Carol

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Chris Krohn, Patricia Rice, and Deborah J. Ross for editing help, and to my colleagues in Book View Café for being my safety net.

  = 1 =

  I never should have let them talk me into giving blood.

  Len was my best friend, but since she hooked up with Caeran I’d seen a lot less of her, which pissed me off though I tried not to let it show. Fact was, I felt like a third wheel. Now that the semester was over they were heading up north to visit his family—tonight was supposed to be our farewell fiesta after this bloodletting—and I was looking at a boring, lonely summer.

  It was almost eight and the donation center was getting ready to close. Still light outside in late May, and the view of the Sandia Mountains from the picture windows was fantastic. All the couches faced those windows, for which I was thankful as I lay squeezing a little foam bar and contributing my pint.

  I hated needles, and I didn’t much care for the sight of blood even if it was in neat little plastic bags. I was mad at myself for letting Len wheedle me into this. Ever since she switched to pre-med, she was nuts on this kind of thing.

  She and Caeran had already finished donating and were over in the lounge area with the cookies and punch. So sue me, I bleed slow.

  The technician came by and jiggled my little bag of blood. “Almost done,” she said cheerily.

  I didn’t answer. I was working up to a first class sulk.

  The mountains outside were turning pink in the sunset, earning their name, “watermelon.” Not as picturesque as the Sangre de Cristo mountains east of Santa Fe, named for the same reason but rather more graphically. Those Catholics.

  My eye was caught by movement just outside in the parking lot. A man, I thought, though androgynous in just the way I like: tall and slender, high cheekbones, long hair. For an instant I thought it was Caeran, but I could hear his voice behind me and he wasn’t dressed like that—the stranger had on a hooded sweatshirt.

  “OK, all done!”

  I watched the tech remove the needle from my arm and press a patch of gauze over it. She made me hold my arm in the air for a minute, asked me if I felt dizzy, then wound some hot pink vet wrap around my elbow to secure the gauze and released me to the snacks.

  I got up carefully, since I hadn’t done this before. I’d heard of people passing out, but I just felt a little lightheaded, and even energized.

  Len looked up and smiled as I made a beeline for the drinks. “Feeling OK?”

  Ignoring her, I filled a paper cup with lemonade. It was bad, from a powdered mix. I chugged two cups.

  “I’m always thirsty too,” Len said. “I wish they’d have something besides all this sugar.”

  I glanced at Caeran, who was munching an apple. Probably he’d brought it along. He was Mr. Healthy Eater, claimed he didn’t like sweets. I could have hated him if only he wasn’t so damned gorgeous. And nice. Disgustingly nice.

  OK, I was jealous. Len had scored the best-looking guy on campus. I’d had some dates, but none of them came close to Caeran for all-around wonderfulness. I kept telling myself I’d find the right guy eventually, but it was hard not to wish I’d spotted Caeran first. Or rather, that he’d walked up to my station at the library desk instead of Len’s.

  “Movie starts in twenty minutes,” Len said. “We’d better go.”

  She and Caeran headed for the door. I hung back to look through the cookies, grabbed the last packet of Oreos and shoved a Moon Pie into my pocket, then hurried after them.

  The front parking lot had been full when we arrived, so we’d parked in the lot to the north. Now the center’s lot was empty except for one car at the end of the row. The pavement radiated the day’s heat.

  I paused to open the Oreos and stuffed one into my mouth. As I looked up, I glimpsed the guy I’d seen through the window standing by the blood red wall that surrounded the center.

  His hair was long like Caeran’s, but it was white even though he looked young. Goth, maybe? His clothes were black. Lean bones. I stood ogling him, then he looked at me and his nostrils flared.

  I froze. Cold flooded my stomach.

  He was dangerous. Not risky, dangerous.

  I play poker. I’m used to sizing people up fast, and I trust my gut.

  I looked away from him, as if that would make me invisible. Yeah, I know—acting like a frightened animal, but I had to get out of there. I started after Len and Caeran, head down, walking as fast as I could.

  The cookie in my mouth was too dry to swallow. I got ready to spit and scream.

  I rounded the corner of the building. A lot of the cars were gone from this lot, too. Caeran and Len were opening the doors of her Subaru.

  I lost my cool and ran. When I had the car between me and the stranger, I finally had the nerve to look back.

  Either he hadn’t followed me, or he was invisible. I became aware that my mouth was full and started chewing.

  “You OK, Manda?” Len said over the car.

  I shook my head. Chewed madly and swallowed.

  “There was a guy—a scary guy. In the parking lot. Looked a little like you,” I said to Caeran, “except his hair was white.”

  Caeran and Len exchanged a wide-eyed glance, then Caeran took off running for the front of the building. I hadn’t expected that.

  “Get in the car,” Len said.

  I got in back, my usual place. Len got in the driver’s side and locked the doors, then turned in her seat and looked back at me.

  “Where did you see him?”

  “In the parking lot. I saw him out the window earlier, too. What kind of creep hangs around the blood donor center?”

  Len frowned instead of answering, then looked out the windshield. “White hair? You’re sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  Caeran was coming back. Len unlocked the doors and he got in.

  “He was gone. He must have seen me.”

  Len gave him a worried look. “You can’t tell…?”

  “No.”

  They stared at each other for a long while. They do that a lot. I had always chalked it up to mushy stuff, but this was not a romantic moment.

  Caeran turned to me. “I am sorry, Manda, but I think we ought to cancel the movie.”

  “The theater’s across town. He won’t bother us there, right? So, come on, let’s go.”

  Caeran looked at Len, who showed me a smile I didn’t believe. “Hey, you know how you keep bugging us to take you up to Guadalupita?” she said. “How about now?”

  “Wh-hat?”

  “Let’s go tonight! You can come along—Madera won’t mind, will he, Caeran?”

  “I will call and ask.”

  They’d been planning to leave in the morning. Guadalupita is way the hell north of Albuquerque, a good four hours plus of driving, or so Len liked to complain. She said it was worth it, but even if we left that minute we wouldn’t reach it until midnight at the earliest.

  Caeran had his cell phone to his ear. I heard a buzzy sound that was the answering party.

  “It’s Caeran. Would you mind if we came up tonight and brought a friend?”

>   An inquisitive buzz. Caeran answered in another language. Might have been French—it was all smooth and flowy. Or it could have been Italian. What did I know? I suck at languages.

  It wasn’t Spanish, though. Spanish I could recognize. Growing up in New Mexico gives you that.

  He talked a little more, then hung up and put the phone away. “Madera says that Manda is welcome.”

  “Great!” Len’s smile looked pasted on. “Let’s go pack you a bag, girlfriend!”

  “Wait a minute—”

  “Oh, did you have plans for the weekend?”

  I glared at her. Of course I didn’t, other than wallowing in some ice cream after they were gone. Maybe a poker tournament.

  She smiled a real smile now. A worried smile.

  “Humor me, OK, Man?”

  “What are you not telling me? Other than the usual stuff you don’t tell me.”

  “I’ll explain on the road. Let’s get out of town before it gets dark.”

  She started the car and drove to my dorm. Len used to live in the neighboring dorm, but she and Caeran were now sharing a house in the student ghetto. My loss; Len had been my best buddy on campus. We still hung out, but not as much as before.

  The campus streetlights had come on, casting a warm glow on the adobe-colored stucco of the buildings. They roused a memory from months before.

  “Hey, Len—you know maybe it was that guy you saw last fall that had you so freaked out. The one that might have been the campus killer? You said he had white hair, right?”

  “It was not him,” Caeran said flatly.

  “What if it was?”

  “That guy is dead,” Len said.

  “How do you know?”

  “I just know, OK?”

  I slumped back in my seat and crossed my arms. I hated it when they kept secrets from me. They did it a lot, actually. Usually I could ignore it, but my blood sugar was whacked and I was in a bad mood.

  I picked up the package of Oreos, which I had dropped on the seat beside me. They were a bit crunched up, and decided I’d had enough sugar. I needed protein, like a big burger or something. With fries.

  Len parked behind my dorm, and Caeran announced he wanted to stretch his legs before the drive. The words sounded casual but the way he looked around when he got out of the car was anything but. Not until he gave the nod did Len open her door.

  Caeran walked us to the dorm and waited outside while Len came up to my room with me. She sat on my bed and watched me rifle my bureau for clothes to shove into my gym bag.

  “Do I need anything dressy?”

  “In Guadalupita?” She guffawed. “No. Bring a sweater, it gets cold up there. And bring your cell phone charger.”

  Odd recommendation, since ninety percent of the calls and texts I got came from her, but I tossed the charger in my bag and went to fetch my toothbrush and stuff from the bathroom I shared with my neighbor. I considered makeup, but skipped it since Len had said there was no need to be dressy. I usually only wore it on days when I worked at the library.

  I came back and dumped my grooming gear into the bag. Added the book I was currently reading. Looked around trying to decide if I needed anything else.

  I should have been excited. I’d wanted to visit Guadalupita ever since Len told me how beautiful it was. And I was curious to meet Madera, who was Len’s mentor outside of college. He was a curandero, and I suspected he was the one who had talked her into going into pre-med, since she’d had zero interest in medicine before she’d gone with Caeran to visit him.

  But the episode with the guy at the blood center threw a shadow over things. Len wasn’t telling me everything, and that bugged me. I zipped up my bag and looked at her.

  “How do you know the guy from last fall is dead?”

  She stared at the floor. “I was there, OK?”

  I gaped. “You were there? What happened?”

  “I didn’t see. I only saw him before, and heard about it after.”

  I frowned. “And?”

  “And that’s really all I can tell you. I’m sorry.”

  Hiding my annoyance, I grabbed my favorite sweater and draped it over my shoulder. “I need to hit an ATM.”

  “OK,” Len said.

  “And a McQuack’s or something. Some place with fries.”

  “Blake’s is better.”

  “Deal.”

  We went downstairs and found Caeran waiting for us in the lobby. He gave me a brief smile, and Len a long glance, then took my bag as we headed out to the car.

  “We need to make a couple of stops,” Len said.

  Caeran nodded as he stashed my gym bag in the trunk. The first stop was their house, to get their bags. I went in with them, just because I loved their house. It was full of plants and beautiful art and stained glass and crystals in the windows. Len said the art was Caeran’s. The plants must be too, because she’d never been a plant person before.

  We grabbed the bags, got some cash from an ATM and then got on the freeway, stopping at a Blake’s on the way out of town. I splurged on a deluxe green chile cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate malt. Len got a grilled cheese sandwich. Caeran drove while we ate.

  By then the sky had darkened to the glowing blue of twilight. Venus was hanging bright in the western sky.

  “So, Len.” I leaned between the front seats, offering my fries. “You were going to explain why the change in plans?”

  “The guy you saw is dangerous,” she said, taking a fry.

  Tell me about it.

  “Like the guy from last fall?” I said, hoping to pry more details from her. “He was the campus killer, wasn’t he?”

  The killer hadn’t been caught, but the killings had stopped. Right after Len had gone up to Guadalupita with Caeran, come to think of it.

  Len glanced at Caeran. “Yes.”

  “And the guy I saw is like him?”

  “Yes,” Caeran said. “He is very dangerous. It was unfortunate that he saw you.”

  “You think he might come after me? Is that why we’re leaving town? That’s kind of crazy, isn’t it? I mean he doesn’t know who I am.”

  “He is a tracker,” Caeran said. “He could find you if he wanted to.”

  “Well, I guess he won’t unless he’s a bloodhound.”

  Caeran shifted in his seat but didn’t say anything. I stuffed a couple of fries in my face, remembering the way the guy had looked at me. Yeah, I was glad to be driving away from him.

  “What are these guys, some kind of cult? Or a gang?”

  No answer.

  Len put on some music—guitar, gentle and soothing. “So have you decided what to do this summer?”

  OK, they didn’t want to talk about the creepy guy. Fine.

  “Not sure. Might play in some poker tournaments. Or take on more hours at the library. Benny and Vic are both leaving, you know. Summer’s pretty quiet and Dave doesn’t want to hire a new person.”

  “You’re going to keep your dorm room?”

  “Cheaper than an apartment.”

  We chatted about summer and school. Len was looking into possible jobs in the medical lab. If she did that, she’d quit the library and I’d see even less of her.

  We made a pit stop in Santa Fe, then went east through the pass, then north to Las Vegas, which is a sleepy college town, nothing like its more famous counterpart in Nevada. Took another break there at a convenience store. I bought ice cream just because, then we headed on north toward Mora.

  Northern New Mexico is beautiful, but it was dark so I couldn’t admire the landscape. I had to content myself with staring out the window at the stars while I ate my toffee ice cream bar. Albuquerque has too much light pollution; you can only see a few stars in the city. Here the Milky Way poured across the sky in all its glory.

  Somewhere along the way I fell asleep. I was muzzily aware of the car’s engine shutting off, then a car door opening and closing woke me up.

  I sat up, groggy. It took me a minute to remember why I w
as in Len’s car. I heard the trunk open and then Len turned to look at me.

  “Hey, you’re awake!”

  “Mrph.”

  “We’re here.”

  Len got out and went back to the trunk. I rubbed my face, then undid my seat belt and got out.

  We were parked in front of a sprawling adobe house that looked a million years old. All across the front was a shaded wooden portal. A light glowed by the big double doors, casting a broad pool of golden light on the wood. There was no other building in sight, just a dirt driveway and the big, open field surrounding the house.

  Caeran handed me my gym bag and led the way to the door. He pulled a cord that set bells jingling somewhere back in the house.

  Madera must have been waiting up for us. He came to the door right away and opened it wide into an entryway full of plants. He looked a lot like Caeran—tall and slim, chiseled face—except his hair was black instead of red-brown. He wore it loose over a caftan, and it hung to his waist. He smiled when Len introduced me.

  “Welcome, Amanda,” he said in a deep, quiet voice. His gazed fixed on my pink vet wrap, then he looked at Len, whose vet wrap was purple. “What is this?”

  “Oh—we gave blood today.” Len started picking at her vet wrap. “We could probably take these off now.”

  “Wait a moment,” Madera said, frowning. “Come in here.”

  He led us through a doorway to the right and into a big, long great room with a dining table at the far end. Near the table was another door. Madera went through, leaving us alone.

  I looked at Len, but before I could make a smart remark, Madera was back with a little bottle of brown glass. “This will help you heal more quickly.”

  We undid our wrappings and Madera rubbed a little oil on each of our punctures. It had a faintly green smell, and tingled a little while he rubbed it in. He insisted on doing Caeran’s arm, too, then he corked the bottle.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “You are welcome. No doubt you are also tired after your journey. I have rooms ready for you.”

  He led us through the far door, which opened onto an interior courtyard. This really was an old-style hacienda, built for defense against marauding Indians or covetous neighbors. Surrounding an inner courtyard was a covered portal enclosed in glass that was obviously a modern addition. A door in each glass wall stood open to the night, which was getting chilly. Len was right, it was cold up here even in early summer. I wished I’d put on my sweater.