Don't Call Me Kitten! (5 page)

One last thing
Petrov had stipulated. If Anya marred her beauty as Helena had done
they would both pay with their lives. Helena gently stroked the
drying scar. She would carry it with her for the rest of her life
but she would wear it with pride. Her life might not be perfect but
she had in a way shaped it and that at least gave her a small
feeling of empowerment.

Slowly
relaxing as she let everything drift from her mind she became aware
of a subtle warm throb emanating from the tree. It was just her
imagination she knew but enjoying it she bonded with the sensation.
She imagined the tree as a great being, protecting her back and
lovingly folding it’s branches around her. In her mind’s eye she
became part of a vastness that was just the tree and her. A great
peace and silence seemed to sweep her away. Reluctantly she parted
from the vision and opened her eyes to a stunning panorama. She was
still in the park, still sitting against the great birch but in
every other way things were very different. The scent of freshly
mown grass near bowled her over. Little movements caught her
attention, first a squirrel jumping branches in a nearby pine, then
a weasel scurrying through the undergrowth. A vast array of birds
and insects she had barely noticed before flitted amongst the
brightly colored flower beds. And there was more. Each plant seemed
to be overshadowed by a myriad of small beings dancing within a
field of colored light that surrounded it like a protective layer.
Larger winged beings flew alongside the birds, seemly blissful,
lost in a trance as they swooped and somersaulted like dolphins
playing in a great ocean. A brighter area of light coalesced before
her, forming into a radiantly beautiful but somewhat androgynous
looking being who was definitely not human. Human’s didn’t have
translucent wings sprouting from their back and they certainly
didn’t go around semi-naked like that, not in the middle of Moscow.
Only one word could describe it, a word from tales she had read as
a child, Feya.

“Greetings
bright eyes, the spirit of eagle is strong in you. No don’t get up”
The being made a halting sign by raising her hand. “We will have
many times in the future to get to know you more. You must return
home soon and calm your sister’s worry. For now it is enough that
we meet.”

“But
how...what is all this...am I dreaming? Have I spun out from too
much adrenalin?”

The being
laughed at her notion. “I assure you this is very real but take a
moment to look at the joggers.”

Helena could
see what the being meant. The humans were there but compared with
the abundance of life she now saw they seemed almost dull. They
were almost black and white when contrasted with the color of the
winged Feya.

“Which is more
real? Your reality or ours?”

Helena’s
scientific mind was struggling for some kind of explanation that
would make sense of what she was seeing “I guess it all depends on
your perception”

The being
seemed pleased. “Exactly. You bright eyes have stared death in the
face and stood your ground. You sacrificed your beauty to keep true
to yourself. Such bravery and tenacity pleases us greatly so we
have decided to grant the boon of being able to see us. We would
befriend you if you would allow.”

“I’m honored
but a little amazed that I would come to your attention. I’m nobody
of any importance.”

“Your boss
keeps an african violet on top of his filing cabinet. The
micro-fairies that tend it saw everything. And you’re wrong. You
are of immense importance. You are the condor’s mate. He waits for
you even now. You have already seen him but you didn’t know him.
One day you will free him. When that time comes we will consider an
alliance with your friends.”

Petrov kept an
african violet? There were creatures called micro-fairies? She had
a mate who was a bird? Her mind spun. These beings were seeking an
alliance. She couldn’t see a problem with that at least. She could
only sense goodness and power emanating from the being in front of
her. Although her scientific mind laughed at her putting much store
in her intuition. She thought it might be best to be honest though.
“I don’t have any friends I’d think you’d want to know, no one that
special, a few classmates but that’s it.” Helena winced at how that
sounded. Sure there was Levi, her only true confidant over the last
few years, but he was heading back to his country next month and
she got a sense that this being was after a longer term alliance
than that. “Okay, that sounds awful but really, with my ties to the
Mafia, I didn’t want anyone extra in my life to put at risk.”

“It is true
that you have a lonely time ahead of you but that will eventually
change. We would be glad if you would count us as your friends. The
Mafia, as you call them, can’t hurt us. You will have a little free
time each Sunday afternoon, I believe. Come visit us then. Mostly
we avoid your concrete jungle but you will find us here or in
places like it. We are not as fixed by time or place as you are.
Wherever life is strong and vibrant you will find us.”

“I would be
very pleased to get to know you but maybe after I have worked with
the Mafia for a bit you might not want to know me. I can imagine
that some of what they might ask me to do may sully my soul.”

“There is a
way. Hold yourself apart from the life you must now lead. Do as
they ask but no more. Witness your actions as though you were a
player on a stage. You will keep your spirit strong that way. You
will know when you can help others along the way. We will show you
ways to protect your soul and balance yourself, if you wish.” As if
pulling it from thin air the being took a small object into her
hand, then it vanished just before reappearing around Helena’s
neck. “Whatever may be we will be watching out for you. If you have
need of us simply touch this pendant. It is made from the essence
of the birch tree behind you. Think of me and I will come.”

“But who are
you? I don’t even know your name.”

“Ah yes, I
remember, names are important to your kind. You can call me
Eadaoin.” And then she vanished.

Some years
later, several months before the present day...

It was a busy
Saturday night at the club, made even more so by one of their
regular staff being down with the flu. That left the rest of them
multitasking between their usual jobs and signing clients in for
the night. A client at the bar indicated his glass was empty by
turning it upside down.

“Same as
before?” Helena was already reaching for the Stolichnaya to refill
his glass.

“Maybe
something with a bit more kick. How about it kitten?” He made his
intention to solicit her clear by piling a small wad of cash on the
counter.

Helena’s eyes
steeled. Barely contained fury boiled in her gut. Her lightning
reflexes had her hand lashing out to grab him by the collar,
yanking him nearly halfway over the bar until he was barely a
breath away. The fact that his face was turning all sorts of colors
as he struggled to breathe did nothing to quell her anger.
“I...am...not...your...kitten! The general staff here are not your
playthings. Or are you such an imbecile that you can’t tell the
difference between the staff and the pros? Now leave or do I need
to throw you out?” Releasing him she moved away in disgust.

One of the
male bouncers came over to check on her. “Everything all
right?”

“Fine, he’s
just leaving.” Although she had to wonder whether Ivan was checking
on her or the client. Just then her phone rang.

“Hello?” The
international dial tone peaked her curiosity. “Who is this?” She
wasn’t about to state her name until she assessed the threat. Call
her cautious but life had taught her to be.

“Hello Helena.
My name is Andrew McCullum. I work for the Australian Government.
You might say I’m ringing on behalf of your sister.”

Worry clenched
Helena’s gut. Her sister’s mail-order marriage had been a total
disaster. The aging guy who’d seemed gentle and amiable at first
had turned out to be a total brute once he had a ring on her
finger. Fortunately he’d recently keeled over but she knew her
sister was struggling financially. The bastard hadn’t left her
anything, giving it all to his grandkids from a previous marriage
instead. To top it all her sister had up and lost her job in the
last week. “Is she alright?”

“She’s fine.
Although I haven’t met her personally. I’m based in Canberra. A
good friend of her new boss rang me wondering if we could help you
migrate out here and join her. He seems to think she’s had a hard
time of late and has trust issues. To be honest though there is
something else.”

Helena’s
suspicious side kicked in. “And what would that be Mr
McCullum?”

“Andrew
please. If you’re going to come out here you’ll need to get
familiar with our customs. Unless you are trying to kowtow to me or
you really dislike me don’t call me Mr.”

Odd people
these Australians but who was she to call them on it. As the guy at
the bar had quickly found out there were certain names she didn’t
like to be called either. “Fair enough Andrew but you still haven’t
enlightened me to the other reason you want me there.”

“I know this
is going to be a stretch to believe but we want you for your
research into non-coding genetics. I don’t know if you’ve heard of
a scientist by the curiously singular name of Jnarn?”

Had she heard
of him, the man was a goddamn genius. “Yeah I’ve heard about him.”
She tried to sound casual but rising interest coursed through her
veins. “He’s based in Japan. He and his adopted daughter Kitsuneko
Abe have been doing some intriguing work on using retroviruses to
see if they can repair genetic damage.”

“Well they’re
both moving to Australia, not coincidentally to the same small town
where your sister just got her new job as the local veterinarian.
There’s a move afoot to build a state of the art genetics research
facility for them. Sorry I can’t tell you anymore than that. We'd
rather keep the town off the radar as much as possible. Whatever
you decide it would be better for the world if you kept all this to
yourself. So...you interested?”

Better for the
world eh? That sounded a bit melodramatic but she wasn’t exactly
going to turn down a chance to be with her sister again, get the
Mafia finally off her back and work with one of the world’s most
renowned researchers in her rather specialist bleeding edge field
of science.“Yeah, of course. But...”

“Ah yes, we
know about your debt to the Mafia. We’ll deal with all that for
you. Leave the logistics and paperwork to us. It might take a
several weeks arrange. You have no idea how slow the wheels of
bureaucracy can sometimes run. Just be ready to get on a plane at a
moment’s notice. Once we’ve sent you the necessary documentation
have a bag packed and near you at all times. Anything else you need
to bring with you we can arrange to have sent over.”

Okay, that was
surprising. Not just that they knew so much about her situation but
that even knowing about her connection with the Mafia they still
wanted her and were prepared to go into bat for her. “I have a few
research notes and reference materials I suppose but other than
that I can travel light.” She noticed Kristina the club’s
supervisor starting to frown in her direction. Kristina and her got
on but she didn’t want to abuse that friendship by slacking off and
expecting to get off lightly. “Ah, got to go but count me in.”

“Good, good.
I’ll let Simon know though knowing him he probably already knew
you’d agree. I’ll get back to you in a couple of days.” He hung
up.

No
pleasantries, no formal goodbyes...if this level of informality was
typically Australian it might take a bit of getting use to. She’d
make sure to visit the library in the morning and start researching
their culture and slang. She needed to know a bit more than what
she’d gleaned from her late night phone conversations with her
sister. She never liked going into anything unprepared. Who the
hell Simon was, well that was a mystery maybe Anya could explain
later. At least her sister had a job. She let the weight of that
particular worry slip from her shoulders. Noticing newbie looking
clients at reception she went to intercept them.

The couple at
the front desk looked to be in their early forties. To her fairy
enhanced eyesight they seemed to have more color than the rest of
the people in the club but they had a smell of “tourist” about
them. Tourist was the derogatory term the club used for ordinary
people who dared to peek inside their door, whether for the thrill
or just plain curiosity. Usually they were easily shocked and the
club didn’t need the notoriety with the media or the law that would
come from mainstreamers griping about what they saw here. Certainly
not the kinds of activities most of the clients here participated
in.

The fact the
couple smiled shyly at her had her dampening her usual approach to
such encounters. “You do know where you are don’t you?”

The guy looked
a bit worried, like a swarm of bouncers were about to descend upon
him at any moment.

The woman
seemed more relaxed, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. It was easy
to see who had steered them here. She gave Helena her best pleading
look. “Please don’t turn us away. We so want to see inside.”

“If you’re
just voyeurs I suggest you go home and watch a film.”

The man
coughed nervously. “Ah, no. We were wondering if we might use your
dungeon for a bit. You have one of those here don’t you?”

Helena rolled
her eyes. “Yes we have rooms like that here but let’s be frank
shall we? What you might see on the way to those dungeons would
probably burn your eyeballs. None of us want either of you
suffering from post traumatic distress afterwards then telling all
your friends and acquaintances what disgusting things happen
here.”