Destiny (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

‘Claire Davis,’ she said, extending her hand. ‘Nice to meet you, Debs, and yes, I’m glad we got to sit next to each other—made the trip seem much shorter than usual. It must have been fate, don’t you think?’

Debs smiled at Claire, raising an eyebrow once again. ‘Yes, fate … of course. Now, is someone meeting you Claire, or can we give you a lift?’

‘Thank you for the offer, but Mum always sends a car to pick me up. I’m sure it’s waiting so I really should go,’ she said, then looked at me and added, ‘I’ll email you later.’

~~***~~

Two hours later we arrived at what Deb’s affectionately referred to as ‘The Docklands’. It didn’t look like much to me, but Debs said that one day it would be quite the social mecca. Right now, it was mostly just a construction site.

Debs’ apartment was in a high-rise tower that had restaurants and shops at the ground level. Above that were several levels of parking garages and then the apartments at the top. Everywhere I looked there was metal, glass, and concrete. Completely the opposite of the neighbourhood I grew up in. I was used to family homes with big yards and lots of trees. I wasn’t too sure I was going to like it here in this concrete jungle.

Debs parked the big Mercedes in the garage, and we took the elevator up to the sixteenth floor. ‘They’re called lifts here,’ Debs corrected me, when I said I’d press the button for the elevator. Although Australians spoke English, there were quite a few words that were different. I made a mental note to try to use theirs—I didn’t want to sound like a tourist for the whole two months.

When Debs opened her front door, I felt like I was staring at a magazine cover. She obviously didn’t like clutter. The place hardly looked lived in. There were vases with fresh flowers, and little sculptures on beautiful coffee tables. Not a dirty coffee cup, dusty book, or folded up magazine in sight. Even the kitchen was pristine.

Debs showed me to the room that would be mine, and all I could say was ‘Wow’. Not only was the room beautiful, but I would also have my own private bathroom—something I’d never had at home. There was even a small balcony with a round table and two chairs. I could see myself sitting there with a glass of iced tea and a good book. I pulled the sliding door open and stepped out for a moment.

It was the end of June—just past the longest day of the year in California, which meant it was about the shortest day of the year here. I had expected winter, but I hadn’t imagined it would be quite this cold. This was Australia after all—the land of hot red deserts filled with snakes and kangaroos. I’d figured that even in winter it would still be warm, but I was wrong. It was freezing. The sky was grey, with no hint that the sun would ever peek through. There’d be no sitting out on that lovely balcony today.

‘Why don’t you have a shower,’ said Debs. ‘You’ll feel so much better afterwards. Then we can have a cuppa and catch up. Ian will be home around six, and I thought we could have an early dinner somewhere in the city, if that’s okay with you.’

‘Yeah, that sounds … great.’

‘Oh, and do you want to ring your Mum? Let her know you’ve arrived safely?’

‘Uh … I thought I’d just send her an email, if that’s okay.’

‘Yes, of course it is. You can use my computer. It’s in the study, just down the hall. You’re welcome to use it any time.’

No fighting over the computer … my own bathroom … well, maybe I would like it here after all.

~ C
HAPTER
T
WO
~

‘Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?’ asked Claire when she picked me up two days later.

I remembered Claire saying her stepfather was a lawyer, and seeing her car I figured he must be a pretty good one because I didn’t think the gorgeous convertible would be something Claire had bought for herself on a secretary’s salary.

‘If not, I thought we could start by going to the Vic Market. After that I’ll take you on a bit of a tour of the city. We can have lunch in Chinatown—you like Chinese food, right?’ Claire’s chatter reminded me of Debs. She wasn’t waiting for me to answer, she was just telling me.

‘Wherever you want to go is fine, Claire. Oh, and nice car,’ I said, without even trying to hide the jealousy in my voice.

‘He he he,’ she giggled, a satisfied look on her face. ‘It is nice, isn’t it? I got it for my eighteenth birthday. I know … I’m spoiled, but I’m not complaining.’

‘No, I’m sure you’re not,’ I replied.

I jumped in, and Claire did a U-turn and off we went up the hill. The wind blasted us as she jetted up to the set of traffic lights. The cold air was invigorating, and helped clear the last traces of my jetlag.

‘This feels so weird—sitting here where the steering wheel
should
be. I keep trying to steer and brake.’

‘Too funny. Well … I’m so used to both now I hardly notice any difference.’

We pulled into a right turn lane and stopped at the red light. Straight ahead of us was this really cool old building, painted black, and shaped like a castle. The sign at the front read The Cauldron, and a little sign in the window said they were hiring.

‘Hey, what’s this place—The Cauldron?’

‘That? Oh, it’s some sort of theatre restaurant. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard about it. Do you want to go sometime?’

‘No, I mean, yes, but not to eat. There’s a sign in the window saying they’re hiring. I think I might apply for a job there.’

‘Yeah? Well, I did think you looked a bit like a witch when I first met you,’ she laughed, winking at me.

We zipped around the corner as soon as the light changed, and at the end of the block we arrived at this thing that Claire called a ‘round-about’. I thought we were going to die when a huge tram headed toward us, but Claire manoeuvred her little car like an expert, and we sailed around the turn and then quickly around another corner to the left. Then she turned left again into a gap between two large buildings. We arrived at a parking lot with a big sign at the entrance: Queen Victoria Market, since 1878.

Claire parked, but before she got out of the car she turned to me and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Hey, wanna hear something really creepy?’

‘I don’t know, do I?’

‘There are like nine thousand dead bodies under us right now,’ she whispered again, waving her hands around, and shivering theatrically.

‘What do you mean, under us?’ I asked, feeling the hair on my arms standing on end.

‘Under the car park,’ she laughed. ‘Seriously, there’s a graveyard under here. They built the market right over the top.’

‘Oh, gross. How could they do that? I mean, what about the families? And like … health laws and, and… oh, I don’t know—just how could they do that?’

‘It was a long time ago. This was built like … way over a hundred years ago. But don’t worry … there’s a lot of asphalt or concrete or whatever between us and them.’ She laughed again, then opened her door and jumped out. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun.’

The market was a complete contrast to the ultra-modern Docklands I’d just come from. Everything about this place was old. From what I could see, it was little more than just a collection of tables and stands set up under old metal roofing—maybe even old sheds. And the concrete floors were covered with dirt and grime that looked like it had been there for years.

When I hesitated, Claire grabbed my arm and dragged me past table after table with every type of souvenir you could imagine; stuffed koalas and kangaroos, key rings, bottle openers, leather hats and sheepskin slippers. Then there was a table with box after box of running shoes, and behind it the boxes were stacked so high they almost made a wall. Next to that was a table with hundreds of watches in little gift boxes. On the other side of the aisle were stalls. One had jeans with a makeshift change room at the back; one was selling candles and incense and little gifts and the like. Then there were towels and sheets, and perfume and makeup.

I was getting dizzy trying to look and walk at the same time, and I totally lost my sense of direction. Not only did I have no idea where we were going, I had no idea where we’d come from. But eventually we headed toward what looked a bit like a grocery store, and Claire finally stopped.

‘There’s someone over there I want you to meet,’ she whispered, pointing toward a large area filled with overflowing crates of fresh fruit and vegetables. ‘Just over there, next to the apples. See that absolutely gorgeous guy—the one with the blond hair and big brown eyes?’

I looked over in the direction she pointed, but I barely noticed the clean-shaven blond with the chiselled good looks. I was far too focused on the darker man next to him. I began feeling light-headed again—my jetlag returning with a thud.

He was dressed all in black—jeans, and a heavy pullover. His dark hair was brushed back away from his face, but a few strands seemed to have a mind of their own. He was slightly taller than the blond man, with a medium build. I was trying to decide if he was good-looking, or if he was the sort of guy people would walk past in the street and not be able to describe afterwards. Either way, there was one exception—his eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

As I stared, I got this sense of being pulled in—like the black holes that we learned about in high school. You know, where the gravity is so strong it pulls everything in … even the light.

Then Claire grabbed my hand and led me over toward her man. ‘Isn’t he something,’ she whispered in my ear.

When I looked at him the man cracked a smile, and I sensed that he’d heard her too.

Claire was completely absorbed. I don’t think she even noticed the other man standing there. If she did, she didn’t say anything.

As we got closer, I could see the colour of the darker man’s eyes. From a distance they’d looked almost black, but now I could see they were actually a very dark blue. He was frowning and there was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on—sadness maybe? As I stared at him, I realised he’d been staring back at me the whole time, and I felt the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks. I tore my gaze away from him to look at Claire.

Claire looked like a kid in a candy shop—her smile lighting up her face and making her even prettier than usual. And as for her friend, his eyes were dilated, the way a cat’s get when it is about to attack a favourite toy. Then he smiled at her, showing off absolutely perfect white teeth.

‘Hi Tom, I’m back … obviously,’ Claire cooed, looking up at Tom through her lashes. ‘This is Lili. She’s come over to stay with her aunt and uncle for a couple of months.’

‘Hey, gorgeous … have you been away?’ he asked with a joking tone in his voice.

Claire seemed almost crushed by his words, and maybe he sensed this too, as he quickly changed his tone.

‘Just kidding—of course I missed you. I’m glad you’re back. Did you have fun?’

Claire smiled again. ‘I sure did. The weather was great—sunshine every day, and warm. Not like the crap weather here.’

‘Yeah, well, you haven’t missed much around here, that’s for sure. There’s been nothing exciting happening at all,’ said Tom, grinning as he looked over at the other man.

‘Yeah, and the Hawks’ last few games have been a joke,’ said Claire, talking about some sort of sport I guessed.

‘Oh, that’s right; you’re a Hawks supporter too, aren’t you?’ asked Tom, again looking over at the other man.

I followed Tom’s gaze toward the darker man and couldn’t help notice that he looked to be grinding his teeth. Tom turned back to Claire and grinned, and I got the feeling that he was clearly enjoying the discomfort that this conversation was causing his friend. Then Tom’s expression changed, like he just had an idea.

‘Hey, we should go to a game one day; show Lili what Aussie Rules is all about. How’s that sound?’

‘That would be awesome,’ said Claire as she turned to me. ‘You’ll LOVE our footy. It’s fast and furious and has lots of big, strong men running around wearing … well, not much at all.’

Tom laughed at this, and Claire giggled too.

‘Sam, what do ya reckon? Should we take these girls to a footy game on the weekend?’ Tom asked, turning toward the other man. I followed his gaze, but the man was no longer there. ‘Sam? Hey, Sam? Bloody hell … sorry girls, I guess he’s gone out the back for something. I’ll catch up with him later. I’m sure he’ll be in it. I’ll ring you when I know I can get the tickets.’

Claire was barely able to contain her excitement as we said goodbye to Tom. And as we made our way back to the car, she giggled and chatted, talking about what she’d wear to the game, and where we could go for dinner after, and how much fun it would be, and how glad she was that Tom took the bait when she mentioned the Hawks.

But I kept glancing over my shoulder, only halfway listening to Claire’s chatter. I could swear someone was staring at me, and I couldn’t get the image of those dark blue eyes out of my mind.

I had no idea which direction we’d gone, but in a short time we were back at the car and Claire was unlocking the doors.

~~***~~

We’d had a massive lunch in Chinatown so I wasn’t the least bit hungry at dinner time. But Debs was fine with that, saying that Ian had to work late in any case. She’d just make something light, and we could spend the evening at home.

I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV to watch the news. I loved the Australian accents—they made even the boring stuff seem more interesting. Right now they were talking about how the Mayor and the Chief of Police were trying to find ways to control what they kept referring to as alcohol fuelled violence. One young man was in the hospital fighting for his life, and another was still missing. I’d sworn years earlier that I’d never touch the stuff—alcohol. All it ever did was ruin lives.

Debs came in and sat on the sofa next to me. ‘Oh, let’s not watch this—it’s too depressing,’ she said, pushing the buttons on the remote until some soft music filled the room.

She wasn’t what I’d expected. I mean, she was nothing like Dad, or at least not the way I remembered him. He was quieter, thinking a lot I guess—after all he’d been a brilliant scientist. Mom said she still often wondered what he might have achieved if he’d lived … there was a good chance he could have made a breakthrough in his research for a cure for diabetes.