Page 46 of Taken for Granite
“Mabel?”
“The waitress.”
She playfully hit his arm. “Flirting with the waitress, asking about motel rooms. I bet she creamed her pants.”
He indulged in a human kiss, taking her lips with his. “You are delightfully vulgar.”
They emptied the van. The vehicle was serviceable, but it would not withstand a long journey. Whatever happened after the night’s events, if Juniper chose to stay on Earth or go with him to Duras, she needed reliable transportation. He planned to liberate a vehicle from the Syndicate and considered it back pay.
With the last of the supplies in the room, he pushed her to the bed and reminded her of his claim to her body and all the parts she pledged to him.
16
Tas
Juniper followed her phone’s directions, but Tas could have guided her. The pull of the sigil grew stronger. He knew he should tell her about the sigil, the message from home and the possibility of rescue, but he hesitated. Rescue was not guaranteed. Duras had been embroiled in a long war with a neighboring planet over territory. There simply may not be the resources available to retrieve the survivors. He could be stuck on Earth.
He glanced at Juniper, her hair pulled back and a few blue strands escaped at her temples. The roots were a light brown. He liked the contrast.
Remaining on Earth wouldn’t be such a hardship. Better not to mention anything until he knew for certain, he decided.
The vehicle pulled off the paved road onto a gravel drive, the headlights creating a tunnel of light in the darkness. The road grew narrow and it wound through the dark forest, briefly illuminated in patches of scarlet and gold. The trees pressed right up against the road. At a sign bearing an emblem of a white rose swung from a post, the vehicle slowed.
“Is this the place?” Juniper asked.
“Yes.” Tas recognized the crest used by the Rose Syndicate. “Wait for a moment,” he said, removing the tasteless toucan shirt.
He focused his energy on his outward appearance. The human guise changed back to his natural form, then he adjusted it appear as if he were still injured. His wings folded and one hung limply against his back, as if broken. He washed out his complexion to an unhealthy gray. His eyes clouded. He drew away mass at his face and ribs, to create an emaciated visage.
“Christ, you look awful,” she said.
“That is the idea.” His captors could not know that he had healed the damage inflicted on him. “They needed to think me blind and helpless.”
“So helpless even a waitress could bring you in.”
“Yes. Now bind my hands.”
“Kinky gargoyle.” She smirked, wrapping a cord around his wrists. They had practiced the binding, fastening it so it appeared secure, but could be removed quickly.
He tested the bindings and nodded approval. “Ready. Drive please.”
A bend in the narrow drive hid the facility from the road. As they turned along the bend, the trees opened up to a docile farmhouse, complete with a red barn and grazing horses in a pasture.
“Not what I was expecting,” Juniper said.
Tas grunted. He had been in many Syndicate facilities, but he had never actually seen any of them beyond the one destroyed in London during the Blitz.
“It’s so… shouldn’t they have a fence? Guards? Guard dogs? Something.” She followed the circle drive to the house and stopped the vehicle. The porch light switched on, but no one emerged from the house.
“The horses have been bred to protect against intruders,” he said.
“Really?”
“No, not really.”
Juniper covered her eyes and groaned. “Oh, so now you get a sense of humor?”
“They have an electronic barrier. I felt it as we passed through. I am also sure that there are multiple cameras for surveillance. They know we are here.”
