Like a Bird

Like a Bird

By Laurie Varga

Like a Bird

Laurie Varga

Copyright © 2015 by Laurie Varga

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Edited by Paula Sarson.

Design and Layout by Laurie Varga.

Printed in the United States of America.

First Printing, 2015

ISBN 978-0-9948159-1-0 (Print)

978-0-9948159-0-3 (eBook)

41-113 Lakeshore Road West

Mississauga, Ontario

CANADA L5H 1E9

laurievarga.ink

To those who have attempted to soar.

Prelude

Blood overflowed the bounds of the large cage that hung from an exposed beam in the ceiling. The viscous, dark liquid dripped onto the floor where a pool had formed.

From the hallway, Rose unlocked the door of the room while balancing a breakfast tray in one hand. At the sight of the blood her jaw dropped and her shoulders tightened. Her eyes shifted to the still body behind the iron bars. Rose hardly noticed the loud clatter as the tray hit the floor and she darted to the cage door, careful to avoid the puddle.

She reached through the bars and pressed her fingers to the blond woman’s cold, pale wrist. No pulse.

Rose grabbed her phone from her pocket. “Mr. Renaut, we have a serious problem,” she whispered, the words catching on the lump in her throat.

In the wilderness beyond, small snowflakes and parched leaves swirled together on the chill breeze. Only the rustling of the trees disturbed the silence as a gust of wind raced through them.

- -

“Gareth, for fuck's sake answer the phone. This is getting ridiculous. We’re worried about you. Stop being an overdramatic ape and pick up.”

Gareth deleted the voice mail and put the phone back in his pocket. Standing in his home office, he stared out the massive window at the jagged, snow-covered cliffs and dark evergreens stretching for miles beneath the rim of gray rock. He surveyed the tree line for a few moments before he took a deep breath and pulled out his phone again to type a message to Louis.

I just need some time.

Within seconds Louis responded.

You scared the shit outta me. I thought you were dead.

Gareth turned off his phone and placed it on the table near the window. He made his way to the main entrance, where he grabbed a down jacket with a fur-trimmed hood. He opened the front door and stepped into fresh snow that almost reached the top of his warmest boots. A few feet out, he stopped and watched his breath flow like smoke from his mouth before he leaned forward and trudged off into the woods, leaving deep footprints behind.

Chapter 1

The snow had begun its retreat and was seeping through the ground or cutting through the mud as the liquid snaked its way back to a small lake in the distance. Though the air was still frigid at times, Gareth continued taking daily walks along the network of trails made by the animals that lived in the thick woods surrounding his home. Until the thaw, he hadn’t gone as far as the North Creek, where there was a quiet island of moss-covered rocks. This was his thinking spot.

Snow still covered the ground on either side of his path along the muddy trails. His feet slipped a little on the rocks as he climbed upward, and he had to use his hands to steady himself when a solid tree branch wasn’t in reach. As he found solid footing on flat ground again, he stopped to breathe in the clean, calm air. Gareth paused, frowning at a strange sound. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from, so he slowly turned his head to listen with his only ear.

The high-pitched noise was soft and close. Gareth walked off the path to his left, keeping his head turned so his right ear was leading him toward the sound. He stepped carefully but gave himself away as the underbrush cracked and snapped under his weight. From a short distance in, he spotted a large lump of gray fur on the ground about thirty feet in front of him. He froze and watched the animal’s subtle movements as it let out small grunts and whimpers. He took a few steps forward when a gray wolf swiftly raised its head and looked straight at him, narrowing its amber eyes. A thick halo of gray-and-white fur framed its confident glare.

Gareth halted and looked away, taking slow breaths to settle his pounding heart. The wolf sniffed the air and leaned forward but did not get up. After a few moments the animal cocked one ear back, which Gareth took as a sign to approach. He walked in an arc, coming in toward the side, watching carefully but never meeting the animal’s gaze. Now a few steps away, he could see a rusty old trap snapped tight around the wolf’s hind leg.

He stopped and rubbed his chin with his thumb and the two remaining fingers on his left hand. The wolf looked up at him with the pleading eyes of a domesticated dog and Gareth’s face softened. He crouched down and examined the trap. He assessed the trap’s jagged teeth and heavy springs and then looked around for a hefty branch to use as leverage. He found one suitable and struggled to snap it across the front of his knee. With the two levers in hand, he pried open the rusty teeth and gently slid the trap away from the animal’s wound. From this angle he noticed the wolf was female.

The large predator lay still as Gareth backed away. He returned to the path with the trap in his hand and set it down on top of a large rock, intending to bury it later when the ground thawed. He looked back and saw that the wolf had not stirred. He walked farther down the path, until he was out of sight, and brushed the snow off the top of a rock to sit and wait for her to make a move.

To pass the time, Gareth cleaned his hands in the snow and wiped them on his jeans, which were so worn a new tear formed at the knee. He ignored the holes and picked up a thin branch that lay on the ground near his feet. He began to draw shapes in the thawing mud.

He waited a few minutes before he decided to creep further up the path, where an opening in the trees revealed the wolf lying in the same place, her head up, staring with soft eyes directly at him. He paused for a deep breath before approaching her again. She sniffed the air between them as he crouched down near her back end and gradually reached out his right hand to touch her. She looked away and turned her ears back as Gareth’s palm grazed the tips of her fur. When she gave no adverse reaction, he stroked her with a firmer hand. She shifted slightly and whined as her broken back leg slipped with her movement.

Gareth inhaled deeply to summon another round of courage and moved in close to slide his hands under her body to hoist her like a human forklift. He tipped the weight of her into his own frame and rose up. His legs wavered a bit under her mass until he was standing, and then he cautiously planted one foot in front of the other on his way back to the path.

He carried her all the way to his front door, stopping only once he was inside the warm foyer where he knelt down and eased her onto the floor.

Rose, in her standard black A-line skirt and crisp white blouse, came into the foyer just as the door locked shut. Her eyes widened at the sight of the animal. “Mr. Renaut, what is this?”

“She has a broken leg,” Gareth said, his voice rolling out of his throat like a gravel avalanche.

The wolf turned her ears to take in the strange sounds.

“Can you get me some strong painkillers?” he asked.

Rose nodded and hurried down the hall.

Chapter 2

A helicopter appeared over the treetops and approached the house before it hovered over the landing pad in the middle of a clearing. As it neared the ground Gareth came out the front door and a gust of wind blew back his long, dark hair. He used his hand to sweep it back into place and continued down the stone path toward the landing pad. Just as the helicopter touched ground, Louis popped out from the side door with a broad grin, his arms stretched wide. Gareth flashed a smile made permanently crooked by the deep scars that covered the left side of his face. He wrapped his arms around his old friend.

“Finally!” Louis said. “Damn, you look . . . different. Did you lose weight? Have you been hitting the gym?” He pulled Gareth’s shirt up to reveal a toned physique before Gareth yanked his shirt back down. “That’s impressive, man. I didn’t know you had that hiding under the old Buddha belly,” Louis joked as they started back toward the house. “And here we thought you were just wasting away out in the bush, all alone, drowning yourself in Scotch.”

Gareth huffed. “After all these years, you still don’t know me.”

“Nobody knows you, Gare,” Louis said, patting Gareth on the back. They walked up the steps to the front door, and as they entered the foyer Rose came to greet Louis and receive his bags from the pilot, who had followed behind them.

“Rose! Good to see you, honey. I can’t believe your boss still makes you wear that dowdy uniform. Gare, why don’t you get this woman a pair of heels and a tight dress or something?”

Gareth sighed. “Rose prefers to look professional,” he said, glancing at his housekeeper.

“That’s what I like about you Rose, you run a tight ship here. I don’t know what Gare would do without you.”

“Thank you Mr. O’Byrne, and welcome back," Rose said in a soft, clear voice. The pilot helped her carry the luggage upstairs to the guest room that overlooked the swimming pool encased in a glass shell.

Louis turned around to see the wolf staring back at him. “Holy shit! When did you get a dog?”

“That’s not a dog; it’s a gray wolf,” Gareth replied.

“Does it have a name?”

“Her name is Wisdom.”

Wisdom stood unflinching, her gaze fixed on Louis.

“Why the hell do you have a wolf? Who has a wolf as a pet? Does she fetch?”

“She’s not a border collie. She’s a wild animal.”

Louis approached her and reached out his hand. “Can I pet her?”

Wisdom growled in response.

“I guess that’s a no.”

“Just give her space and she’ll come around,” Gareth said. He headed toward the back of the house, with Louis and Wisdom following. He sat on a white leather sofa in the great room and motioned for Louis to join him.

Rose came in a moment later with a tray of hot drinks. “I picked up the coffee you like, sir,” she said to Louis as she handed him a cup.

“Rose, you are brilliant,” Louis said.

She placed a tray of cream and sugar on the table in front of them and left the room.

“So let’s get down to business,” Louis said. “First, explain to me how you came to have a wolf as a pet.” Louis began to scoop spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee, while Wisdom sat in front of him, keeping a comfortable distance, her eyes tracking his every movement. “Your dog is stalking me,” he said, staring back at the imposing creature as he uneasily sipped his coffee.

“I found her in the woods with a broken leg, brought her home, and taped her up. Now she doesn’t seem to want to leave,” Gareth said.

“What do you feed her?” Louis asked.

“Steak, bison, a few veggies stewed in broth, that sort of thing.”

“Well, no wonder she won’t leave!”

“She’s a good companion.”

“Is that a dig? You’ve known this animal for what, a few months? We’ve known each other for . . . an eternity. However long ago elementary school was. I’m too old to do the math.”

Gareth smirked. “You each have . . . different qualities.”

“Good. That’s what I want to hear. Don’t drag me out to the sticks to tell me I’m being replaced by a sack of fur.”

“Careful, Lou. She’s got sharp teeth. And you’d make a few weeks’ worth of food.”

“Oh, so now that you’re ripped you can start making fun of us fat people.”

“I don’t know that I’d call you fat.”

“Well, Britt had no trouble calling me fat. To my face. On numerous occasions. I hope her and the pool boy are having a miserable time at my expense.”

“At least you guys didn’t have any kids.”

“Why do people always say that? Even if we were still together the damn kids would have been in endless therapy. I’d be a terrible father.” Louis grabbed a handful of biscuits off the tray Rose had left. “These things are so good. I have to remember to ask Rose where she gets them,” he mumbled, his mouth full.

“So, how are you doing? I mean . . . with Jay gone? It was really a shame, such a waste of a beautiful woman,” Louis eyes glazed over as he became lost in his own memories. “But it wasn’t your fault, Gare. She was kinda messed up. You seem to be doing well; you look good. I mean, you don’t look really happy or anything, you just lost weight and all.”

Gareth gave a small grunt and turned away from Louis.

“All right, I get it, still sensitive. We’ll move on. I’m not here to play your shrink. How about we talk business?” Gareth responded with a light sigh, and Louis took that as a sign to begin with a deep breath of his own. “So . . . how do I put this lightly? Things have gone to shit in your absence.”

Gareth frowned, looking directly at Louis now. “What are you talking about? What the hell have you been doing? This ship we’ve built is supposed to run on its own.” He leaned into the sofa.

“We’re not going down. I just — experimented — and it didn’t really pan out.”

“Can’t you do that with your own damn money?”

“Well, I did . . . somewhat. Gare, I’m not the brains behind this operation; you know that. I’m just the mouthpiece out in public, making jokes and shaking hands. I can’t read people like you do. I make bad deals when you’re busy being depressed and playing veterinarian.” Louis turned his gaze toward the wolf, who was quietly watching him.

The brief silence was shattered by an obnoxious sound coming from Louis’s phone. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to glance at it.

“Aw, shit. It’s my lawyer.” He held up a finger to indicate one minute and left the room to take the call. His exiting proved pointless as the entire household overheard the conversation.

Gareth brought his hands to his face and attempted to rub the frustration away.

- -

By early evening the clear sky had given way to gray clouds, and the wind had grown aggressive. After hashing out the numbers in Gareth’s office, he and Louis convened in the dining room for dinner. The simple, modern table was illuminated by two slender candles.

“Well, isn’t this romantic,” Louis remarked, pulling out his chair to sit down.

Gareth took his place opposite Louis as Takao entered from the kitchen with a tray in hand.

“Master Chef, what remarkable feast have you prepared for us tonight?” Louis asked.

“Something I think you will like very much, sir,” Takao replied with a faint Japanese accent. He gave each of them a warm, damp cloth to freshen up. Gareth and Louis wiped their hands and faces then placed the cloths on a tray that Takao silently whisked away, leaving them to their conversation.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I’ve never been able to find anyone who can cook like that guy,” Louis said as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

“He is good,” Gareth agreed. “I’d be eating cereal for dinner every night if it weren’t for him.”

Louis chuckled and shook his head. He grabbed a roll, tore it apart, and with steam rising from its center, he began to cover it with butter. Gareth reached for a roll, pulled off a small piece, and popped it in his mouth.

Takao returned with a tray of salads and a bottle of white wine. He poured each of them a glass, placed the salads before them, and returned to the kitchen. Famished, both men ate in silence for a few minutes, pausing only to wash down their appetizers with gulps of wine.

Louis finally spoke. “There’s just one other thing I wanted to mention.” He took a sip of wine before he continued. “I know what you’re going to say, but just humor me for a moment. There’s a private party downtown tomorrow night, and I know you haven’t been out in a long time. I’m pretty sure you haven’t seen any action in almost as long, so . . . I think you should come with me.”

Gareth stabbed at his salad and secured a few leaves on his fork. “I’m definitely not interested. You go; have a great time.”

“I’m not going to let you off that easily. You need to get out. When was the last time you left this place? When was the last time you’ve seen anyone besides the Japanese twins? OK, that sounded far more exciting than it actually is. Seriously, this is not healthy, Gare. It’s messed up, man.”

“You know I don’t do parties.”

“Gare, no one will see you, it’s a masquerade. Did I mention that?”

“It doesn’t matter if I get to wear an invisibility cloak. I can’t stand the noise,” Gareth said.

“It’s a private party, not a nightclub. You get to wear a mask so no one can see your ugly mug. And there will be lots of women there. You know, the kind of women
you’re
into.” Louis’s lip curled into a suggestive smirk.

Gareth looked up from his meal with a disapproving eye.

“Oh, and there will be a few people there we need to meet. People with plenty of money to spend. I think we can help them with that.” Louis paused as he bit into another dinner roll. “I’ve already told them you’ll be there.”

Gareth’s fork hung in midair for a moment, his interest piqued.

Takao appeared with a steaming tray of entrées. In front of Louis he placed a large plate of baby back ribs painted with a thick sauce.

Louis groaned with pleasure. “Takao, you know how to push all my buttons. I should have brought my fat pants. Maybe I could borrow an old pair of yours.” Louis looked at Gareth.

Takao placed a plate of ribs in front of Gareth and topped up their wine glasses. He left the bottle on the table and promptly returned to the kitchen. Louis, too transfixed to continue the conversation, dove into his meal hands first and smacked his lips after each mouthful. When his plate was half empty he chugged a significant portion of his wine; what little was left sloshed around in the glass as he plunked it down on the table.

“OK, so I think you were saying you might come with me tomorrow,” Louis said.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Look, I don’t care how much you can bench or that you’re taller than me. I’m going to drag your ass out tomorrow, even if I have to drug you.”

Gareth maintained a laser focus on his plate, carefully scraping the meat off each bone with his fork.

“I wish you had given me more notice,” he said gruffly.

Louis looked confused. He perked up and looked around the room. “More notice? Why, do you already have plans? What, do you need to do your hair? Just put a mask on and go.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Good, this is good. I’m happy you’ve decided to come along. It’s going to be fun. And if it’s not fun, you can leave. You’re a big boy now. That’s what adults do when a party sucks, they leave,” Louis said with one hand out, dramatically slicing through the air while the other held a nearly empty wine glass. Takao arrived to clear their plates, and he poured more wine into Louis’s glass before taking his silent leave.

- -

On the following evening, as the sun began to creep below the horizon, Louis was already drunk. Rose had located a mask for Gareth and it sat on a side table in the living room. Louis began to strut around in a cape, holding his drink high as if giving a toast to an imaginary throng of admirers.

“Gare, my dear friend, this will be a night to fucking remember,” Louis proclaimed with his Scotch in the air. He brought the glass to his lips in a dramatic arch and took a large mouthful. He choked, spraying the liquor onto the wood floor. Rose flew in with a rag to tidy up as though she had been waiting around the corner with cloth in hand.

Gareth sat in a leather chair with his legs crossed and his hand holding up his heavy head.

“Come on wallflower, let’s get going,” Louis said. He stumbled over to Gareth and patted him roughly on the shoulder. Gareth forced himself to stand and reached for the mask on the side table. He considered it for a few moments before he placed it under the dark hair that hung over his face. He grabbed a heavy, black hooded cape laying over the back of a chair and then walked out to the helicopter. Louis was already waiting for him with two drinks in hand. He passed a glass of amber liquid, neat, to Gareth, who downed it just before he climbed inside.