Mackenzie Legacy, The (15 page)

“Okay,” Max addressed Michael, “Let’s get going, we’re gonna be as close as we can get next time she calls.”

~

Chapter Seventeen

RUINED

~

They pulled into the sleepy little town, going straight to the county clerk’s office to take care of their business. Calvin parked the truck on the main street, and the three of them climbed out into the crisp autumn air.

“We’ll just be a minute,” Caledonia said.

“I’ll be waiting right here,” Calvin replied, nodding towards a sun-drenched bench just out front. He’d been careful to avoid looking at Layla all morning, uncomfortable around her all of a sudden.

She watched sideways through a veil of red curls, seeing the two of them part with an affectionate kiss and a squeeze. It hadn’t taken long for her to realize that Caledonia had told Calvin what she’d done, putting the punctuation on everything Cali had said about trust.
Layla
found it hard to understand how the couple could keep no secrets from one another, and yet still find each other endlessly interesting.

In Layla’s experience, affection was something that needed to be earned, a prize that could be withdrawn as easily as it was bestowed. She’d been brought up performing tricks like a circus animal, craving the praise and attention that went along with a job well done. Teddy favored her over her brother precisely
because
of what she could do, and her brother loved her because she protected him from Teddy.

The whole thing was confusing.

The two girls went inside the courthouse, prompting Millie to look up from her desk with a start. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the pale speckled girl surrounded by a cloud of red hair. Caledonia explained that she was Alastrina’s daughter, and they were there to add her and her twin brother to the deed for the Mackenzie land.

“My goodness,” she said, meeting Layla’s eyes, “Now,
you…
You certainly do take after your granny.”

“Really?” Layla was enraptured. “You knew her?”

This time they barely needed to try in order to extract information from the old woman. Layla’s razor sharp focus combined with Millie’s busybody nature to make it impossible for her to stop talking. Millie actually seemed delighted to have her inhibitions removed, and she couldn’t have asked for a more avid audience for her stories.

“Well, none of us really
knew
her, because all of those Mackenzies kept to themselves up there in that mansion… Thought they were too good to come and mix with us townsfolk. Nobody really wanted to tangle with old lady Mackenzie anyway, because in her younger days she was a pistol! She had hair like yours– Red as the devil, and a temper as hot as you-know-where… They say she fired maids just to be mean, and could put a spell on you if looked into those witch’s eyes of hers.”

“Did you ever meet her?” asked Caledonia.

“I never actually
met
her, but we all
saw
her when she got down off her high horse and came into town for something. She didn’t like us townsfolk much–”

“Surprising,” said Caledonia, her sarcasm going completely over the gossiping woman’s head. She felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the grandmother she never knew; it must have been terrible to be the object of such vile rumors in a small town full of suspicious minds. She had no problem imagining how viciously her ancestors were persecuted.

“Everyone knew they were on the run from something when they settled up there in the backcountry. When they stopped coming to church services there were wild rumors… Devil worship, animal sacrifice and all sorts of goings on! Some Gypsies and circus folk came through town and they even invited those folks to camp right there on their land! Bunch of pickpockets and thieves if you’d ask me… Why, when that group moved on one of the pastor’s girls was in trouble! The whole town blamed the Mackenzies.”

“In trouble?” Layla asked.

“Pregnant,” Caledonia explained.

Millie nodded at Caledonia, her eyebrows raised and her voice lowered, “She had to go visit a relative for the summer, if you know what I mean.” She cleared her throat, “You know, your visit set me to thinking about all the crazy goings on at that place, so I did a little digging. You might be interested in the photo I found…”

She handed Caledonia a print, explaining how a local builder had documented some of his construction projects, including the very courthouse they stood in. Millie rattled on, elaborating on the history of the little town, but both of the girls stopped listening once they laid their unusual eyes on the fading picture of their grandmother’s house.

It was an imposing building, with a large wraparound porch sporting four massive fluted columns supporting a Greek style portico. The hills behind it looked familiar, as did the location of the massive brick chimney. It was the house from both of their dreams, and a chill passed through Cali when she recognized the spot where she’d spent so many warm summer afternoons.

She looked into Layla’s gold and green eyes. “Is it the same one?”

She nodded, her face grave. The picture confirmed that they had a connection that went deeper than mere genetics, and the psychic component flew in the face of everything that Professor Reed had taught her about the world. There was something going on that went far beyond mere coincidence, and they both knew it.

Caledonia was honestly surprised. Her understanding of their synesthesia kept zig-zagging from scientifically explainable to out-and-out paranormal, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine what her parents would make of it. She remembered Jesse once telling her that everything people considered supernatural was simply phenomena that was beyond current science’s ability to understand.

Maybe he was right… But then again, he claimed to have seen Bigfoot.

“Take me there,” Layla urged her.

“If you girls ask me, I wouldn’t set one foot up there,” Millie chimed in, “Folks say that the land is haunted, and that the ghost of–”

Caledonia smiled sweetly at her. “Nobody asked you.”

Millie made a little clucking sound, handing over some paperwork and watching as Layla signed. “Your brother is going to need to come in and file a form too,” she told Layla.

Layla pulled out her phone and dialed, “I need to tell him about this.”

This time, he answered right away, “Hello? Hello?”

“Michael! I’m at the courthouse, and you’re not gonna believe–”

Just then, the door opened and in walked the young sheriff’s deputy. He nodded politely to Caledonia, “Cali…right?” His eyes flickered over to Layla and lingered.

She was stunned speechless. From the top of his close cropped head to the tips of his scuffed up cowboy boots, she’d never seen such a cute boy in her entire life. He stared at her, his shining black eyes full of curiosity.

“Uhm… I’ll call you right back,” she told Michael, pocketing her phone.

Cali nodded back at him, gesturing towards
Layla
. “Officer Ruiz, this is my cousin Layla.”

He smiled, flashing even white teeth and holding out his hand for a shake, “Call me Ramon. This town is sure looking up.”

She reached out her hand automatically, forgetting to breathe when he smiled again and a pair of dimples popped onto his smooth brown cheeks. Her own face flushed bright pink when he took her hand in his.

“I like your freckles,” he said, and she could swear his eyes twinkled at her. He leaned in closer to inspect her face with undisguised curiosity. “Wow. You have awesome eyes.”

“She’s a Mackenzie,” Millie piped up, as if to warn him off.

He nodded towards the old woman pleasantly, smiling back at
Layla
again. “Are you staying in town?”

“Uhm… uh…” Layla couldn’t seem to string two words together.

Caledonia was surprised to see the master manipulator thrown for a loop. “We came to put her on the deed for our property,” she explained.

“Where are you from?” he directed his question to Layla.

Once again she didn’t know what to say, finally squeaking out, “Los Angeles… I mean, San Francisco… I mean, I used to be…”

“We’re just visiting,” Caledonia added helpfully.

“Too bad,” he looked disappointed, “I was hoping to have some locals show me around.”

“Oh,
they’re
not locals,” Millie called out.

“Their land is local,” he tossed back, making Layla smile.

“We’ll be back–” Layla finally found her voice, “I mean… to visit… and stuff.”

Millie cleared her throat, looking past the girls. “What brings you here today officer Ruiz?”

He excused himself and stepped over to Millie’s desk, sneaking a few backwards glances at Layla as she left the building.

“How’d it go?” Calvin asked as he drove them deep into the wilderness.

“Just fine,” Cali replied, smirking over at Layla who was gazing out the window, lost in thought. “That old lady showed us a picture of our Grandmother’s house. I want to go for a hike out there.”

They traveled down the bumpy, rutted road, jostling around inside the big truck’s cab until they finally came to a stop in front of Caledonia’s tiny cabin.

“Wow,” Layla looked around after she climbed out, “This really
is
out in the middle of nowhere.” She looked over at the mossy little house, “Who lives there?”

“I used to,” Caledonia replied, suddenly realizing it was no longer her home. Calvin climbed out and stretched his long body, his smile filling her with reassurance.

“Wow. It could be Hansel and Gretyl’s cottage,” observed Layla. “Is this where the house used to be?”

“No, the ruins are about an hour’s hike from here… On a hilltop with a view of this whole area.”

“Oh!” Layla’s eyes flew open. “I forgot to call Michael.”

Calvin walked around to the back of the truck, crouching down to inspect the slow leak that had started on one of the rear tires. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?” Cali asked.

“Tire’s way too low… I think we might have picked up a nail.”

Caledonia came around to look at it. “What should we do?”

“I’ll switch it out for the spare.”

“How long will it take?”

“I’m not sure,” he grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s been awhile since I’ve done it.”

Calvin looked over at the tiny cabin; he didn’t relish the idea of spending a night in such cramped quarters with Layla. He looked up to the sky, remembering how completely black the darkness around here was. “I’d better get started right away.”

Layla came around the corner, her head down over her phone. “My phone won’t work,” she frowned. “I think it’s going dead.”

“You might be able to get a stronger signal when we get up out of this valley,” said Calvin.

“Okay, let’s get moving then!” Layla said, excited.

“We have to fix the tire before we go,” Caledonia told her.

Layla frowned at the tire, sighing theatrically. “I suppose I’ve waited this long…”

Caledonia looked up at the sky, and Calvin could see that she was calculating the time. She turned back to him, “Do you mind if we go while you work on it? I can take you up to see it another time.”

“I don’t know,” he flushed an anxious chartreuse, thinking about Jesse’s warning.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine,” she patted her knife. “We’ll only be a couple of hours.”

He took her into his arms, giving her a big squeeze. He knew that if anyone would be safe out in the wilderness, it would be her. “Be careful,” he said in her ear.

“Let’s get started then,” Layla grinned, overcome by a surge of excitement. “Let’s go!”

The two girls set out on their hike, winding along overgrown roads that were little more than deer trails after years of neglect. Up, up, and up, they climbed, stopping to rest and take in the increasingly spectacular view. Finally they emerged from a stand of brush to a leveled off area on a hilltop surrounded by mountains as far as the eye could see.

“This is the place,” Caledonia announced.

~

“Your sister you say?” Millie looked up at Michael over her bi-focals. “Hmm.”

“We’re twins,” he said.

“I can certainly see that!” Millie smiled at her own observation, “But you just missed her.”

He looked anxiously over his shoulder at the big man that stood by the door. “Do you happen to know where she went?”

“They said something about heading out to the old Mackenzie place…”

“Can you tell me how to get there?” he asked desperately. “Please?”

“Sure I can. I know these parts better than anyone.” She reached into her desk drawer, pulling out a detailed topographical map. She traced the back roads from the town, pointing out the mile markers along the highway, rock formations and switchback roads that would lead them as close as she could recall to the place.

After she’d told him all she knew she sat back in her chair, scrutinizing him closely. “Now, honey, are you gonna tell me where you got that shiner?”

~

Chapter Eighteen

TRADE OFF

~

“Wow…It’s beautiful… Incredible,” Layla gasped, spinning around to take in the panoramic view. Endless ridges of trees faded into a soft blue haze, and a hawk circled lazily off in the distance. “I can see why they picked this place.”

Cali nodded, leading her through the overgrown rubble, past the remains of the foundation and the crumbling brick fireplaces. “I always loved spending time here… But I never knew I had any connection to this house.”

They shared the wistful longing for a family they never knew, as well as an overwhelming sense of deja vu. “I feel like I’ve been here before.” Layla said with wonder in her voice, “Like I belong here…”

Cali nodded with understanding. This place was beyond the boundaries that her parents had set for her, and once she discovered it, she’d kept it to herself like a precious secret.

They walked around the phantom outline of the building, trying to imagine what it must have been like when the impressive house crowned the hilltop. They stopped at the spot where the porch must have been, taking a seat on some crumbling brick steps. Layla shrieked when something scurried across a pile of rubble.

“Don’t worry. It’s only a lizard,” Caledonia laughed, “But snakes like hanging around here too.”

She smoothed her vivid curls and shuddered, looking all around. “I hate snakes.”

“People only hate what they fear.”

Layla scoffed, “I hate Brussels sprouts.”

Caledonia laughed. “Maybe you fear the way they taste.”

Layla was quiet for a moment. “Calvin hates me,” she said sadly.

“No… No, he doesn’t. But I suppose he is a little afraid of you.”

“He doesn’t trust me.”

“You have to earn trust.”

She sighed, “Will you tell him I won’t do it anymore? I promise.”

“I already did… It’s just going to take some time.”

They sat in silence for a minute, drinking in the view.

“Do you believe what that lady said about a curse on people like us?”

Cali heaved a deep breath. “It sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know. It does seem that everyone who has our abilities doesn’t end up very happy.”

Layla shook her fiery red head defiantly. “It doesn’t have to be that way for us. Maybe our Grandmother showed us this place because she wanted us to do something…” She got to her feet and started pacing. “Think about it! This is where she stood… This is what she saw!” She spun to face Caledonia, her eyes on fire, “I want to live here! We should re-build the house! Maybe we can be the generation that breaks the stupid curse!”

Caledonia looked up at her like she was crazy. “
You
want to live out in the country?”

Layla shrugged, “Look how pretty it is. I wouldn’t mind waking up here every morning… And that little town was awfully cute…”

Caledonia stood up with a knowing smile. “Are you sure it’s the town you think is cute?”

Layla giggled, amused that Cali understood her so well, “Talk about tall, dark
and
handsome.” She moaned, burying her face in her hands. “He must think I’m such an idiot.”

“What do you mean?”

She shook her head with regret. “I could barely think of anything to say.”

“I don’t think it bothered him. He was pretty curious about you.”

She smiled slyly, glancing over at Caledonia sideways, “He was… wasn’t he?”

The phone in her pocket rang, and she pulled it out to answer excitedly, “Michael! We’re here! We’re at the–” She stopped talking abruptly, listening in silence. Her colors suddenly changed with a rush of ice cold fear.

“Max…” she whispered. Her eyes met Caledonia’s, and she handed over the phone, “He wants to talk to you.”

She took the phone, trying to sound braver than she felt, “What do you want?”

“I have your boyfriend here, and if you ever want to see him again, I suggest you bring Layla to me right away.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, confident that there was no way he could possibly have found them.

“Judge for yourself,” he said.

“Cali!” She heard Calvin’s voice on the other line, “Don’t do it! Stay away–” He was suddenly cut off, and now it was Layla’s turn to watch in horror as Caledonia went steel blue with dread.

“So, let’s make a deal,” Max’s voice returned, like a knife twisting in her stomach. “You bring Layla here right now and he might still be alive when you get here. If you call the cops Michael will never be seen again… Understand?”

The line went dead. “Hello? Hello?”

The cousin’s eyes met in terror. “Oh my God,” Layla gasped. “He said he’d kill Michael and Calvin if I don’t come back!”

Caledonia thought for a minute, remembering how much Max wanted to hurt her. Even if Layla came back to him there was no guarantee that Max wouldn’t hurt them all just to punish her. Both girls knew what he was capable of.

“What should we do?” Layla’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Follow me,” said Caledonia, her face hardening with grim determination. “We need to get some backup.”

Layla struggled to keep up as Cali led her deeper and deeper into the woods. They finally emerged into a clearing hosting some tents made out of camouflage material. Caledonia was surprised at how quickly Jesse’s bucolic little camp had been transformed into a major pot growing operation. She lifted a flap to see hundreds of enormous plants hanging upside down by their roots.

“Jesse!” Caledonia called into the tent, “Jesse… Are you here?”

Three armed men burst into the clearing, surrounding the girls. They wore dark clothes and knit caps, topped off with camouflage print jackets. All of them carried enormous military style rifles. The men aimed their weapons at them and started yelling commands in rapid-fire Spanish, but Cali could only make out a few words.

“Where’s Jesse? Donde esta Jesse?” she asked, holding up her hands.

There was a movement in the brush and Layla looked to see a man as old as the hills appear, rushing to put himself between the girls and the gunmen, “It’s cool! It’s cool… No problemo!” he told them, wild eyed. He turned back to Caledonia. “Cal! What are you doing here?”

“We’re in big trouble– We need some help,” she said. “We need to get these guys to help us.”

“Oh Cal,” his voice dropped, and his face filled with fear. “You shouldn’t have come here…These guys won’t help you.”

Caledonia exchanged a glance with Layla, “I think they will.”

~

They could smell the cigarette smoke as they neared the cabin, and Caledonia held her finger to her lips, giving the gunmen each one more blast of fiercely protective scarlet. She crept to the edge of the clearing to see a black van parked next to the truck, with Max and two of his hired thugs leaning against it. When her eyes landed on Calvin she couldn’t suppress a gasp.

He was crumpled on the ground at their feet, his hands bound behind his back. From the way he looked, she could see that he’d put up a ferocious fight, and she brought her hand to her mouth in horror when she saw blood on his face.

“Stay hidden,” she told Layla, signaling for the men to follow. She burst into the clearing with three heavily armed men flanking her, their military weapons raised. Max and his men all drew their handguns, faces tense, eyes hidden behind mirrored glasses.

“Let him go,” Caledonia snarled, “Or these guys will kill you all.”

Calvin lifted his head at the sound of her voice, struggling to his knees. “Run…” he croaked out. “Get away!”

Max lowered his gun, pressing the muzzle directly to Calvin’s head. “Where’s Layla?” he asked.

“She’s not going with you,” Caledonia said.

Max saw the object of his hatred and the rage within him boiled over. He faced Caledonia, and she watched as a cloud of bitter irrational spite rose up within him and spilled over.

“Are you willing to watch your boyfriend die for her?” he sneered. Every time this girl showed up he’d been forced to change his plans, and he’d had just about enough of her. There was no way he was going to back down.

The side door on the van slid open, and Michael got out, his freshly bruised face bearing testimony to Max’s brutality. “Do what he says,” he pleaded, “He really means it.”

Layla stood watching in the shadows alongside a shocked Jesse. She could see her brother’s beaten face and taste his acrid fear. Her heart ached in her chest.

“If you do anything to him, my friends will kill you all,” Caledonia tried to reason with Max again.

She’d watched enough poker to know that he was calling her bluff. “Then it’s a trade,” he sneered.

She looked to Max’s men, fearfully pointing their handguns at men armed with assault rifles. This was a lot more than they’d bargained for, and she addressed them, “They’ll kill all of you … None of you will get away.”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take,” Max answered for them.

Layla could see his acid green hatred as plain as day. She stood shaking, and finally broke cover, putting herself between Max and Caledonia.

“Stop it! No one needs to die!” Layla cried.

Max smiled without warmth. “Get in the van Layla.”

“Only if you let them go,” she whimpered.

Max holstered his gun, holding up his palms in a placating gesture. He kicked Calvin once more in the side, knocking him back over onto the ground before stepping away.

“I got no beef with you boys,” Max told the gunmen. “I’ll just take the girl and go.”

Layla
saw Calvin groaning on the ground and her eyes filled with tears. She turned to Cali in silent despair before finally rushing over to embrace her brother with a sob. The two of them clung together desperately, climbing into the van to disappear behind the dark windows. Max and his men slowly backed away, following them into the vehicle.

The engine roared to life, and Caledonia was behind Calvin in a flash, drawing her knife to slice through the plastic strips that were cutting into his wrists, cradling his battered head in her arms. The van turned around to stop, its window lowering to reveal Max’s triumphantly smiling face.

“If I ever see your face again… I’ll kill you,” he told her.

With the threat gone, the cartel gunmen seemed to melt back into the trees, leaving only Jesse standing in the clearing. He hobbled over slowly on his tired legs, bending down to force Calvin’s swollen eye open, “Looks like he’ll keep it.”

“How can you tell?” Cali choked out, trying not to burst into tears.

Jesse shook his head sadly, explaining, “I was a medic in Nam. I’ve seen worse make it through okay… Never thought I’d never see that kind of brutality again…” He sighed with resignation, “I guess it’s human nature.”

Calvin groaned, struggling to sit up.

“Get him some water,” Jesse told Cali, feeling Cal’s ribcage with gnarled hands. She scrambled to the truck, bringing him a bottle from the cooler and holding it up for him to drink.

“I’m so sorry… I’m sorry we weren’t there,” she sobbed.

He turned his head to spit out some bloody water, taking the bottle from her to drink deeply. “Don’t be. Thank God you weren’t here,” he said when he finally caught his breath. “Good thinking to go get those guys.” He tried to stand and winced in pain.

“It don’t look like they broke anything, but he might have a concussion,” Jesse told Caledonia. “Watch him close, and if there’s any blood in his piss, get him to a doctor pronto.”

The old man stood up slowly, with great effort. “I don’t know what on earth you two girls did to make those guards go your way, but I’m guessing they’ll be hell to pay when the head honcho finds out… He might send someone ‘round here to check it out…” He scuffed the ground with his shoe, deep blue shame coloring his next words, “You might not want to be here when that happens.”

Caledonia nodded, realizing that she’d just kicked open a hornet’s nest. “I understand.”

She looked over at her parent’s little cabin, realizing what a shaky foundation it had been built on. It no longer seemed like her home, and she wanted to get Calvin as far away from this place as fast as possible. She only hoped she hadn’t gotten her oldest friend into trouble.

“Jesse… If you ever need someplace to get away, the cabin’s all yours, alright?”

The two of them helped Calvin to his feet, leading him to the passenger side of the truck.

“I’m driving,” she told him.

He nodded and climbed in, in no mood to argue with her despite her limited experience. She was relieved to see Calvin had managed to fix the tire before Max had arrived, and she went over to give Jesse a quick embrace before returning to the truck.

“Where are we going?” Calvin asked when she slid in next to him.

“I’m taking you home,” she said, starting the engine.

~

Ramon meandered down the back-roads, and try as he might, he couldn’t stop wondering about Layla. Not long after he’d first come face to face with her a black van had pulled into the sleepy little town, and he’d watched as a thuggish looking man escorted a nervous boy into the courthouse. They’d peeled out within minutes, and when he went to ask Millie about it, she said the boy was Layla’s brother, come looking for her.