Page 2 of Stryker's Ruin
“Ruin Camassa.”
Disconnecting the call, I pull up the photos he sent, memorizing the faces, names and positions before deleting them from my phone.
The last picture is of a slender young woman, long dark hair, with a dainty nose and bowed lips. Gently arched brows offset guileless hazel green eyes. Kneeling before a lilac bush with her delicate hand cupping a flower, she looks directly at the camera as if sharing her delight with the photographer. With me.
Rage washes over me. An anger I’ve spent my life trying to contain. How dare they use this innocent as a pawn in their selfish pursuits. A trinket to be used and discarded. Bait for the bigger prize.
Closing my eyes, I breathe deeply, focusing my energy, directing it, controlling it like I do before every battle. When I’ve controlled the beast, I dial seanathair. It’s a meaningless gesture. I already know I’m taking the case. I’ll be the one protecting Ruin.
CHAPTER 2
Ruin
“Ettore, what do you mean? What is the rush?”
“Your Nonno Vince called. He’s sending people to get you. You're moving to his big house.”
“Are…are you coming with me?”
She faces me over the open suitcase on the bed and shakes her head. Her eyes are filled with tears. “You are to only bring the best of your clothes and nothing else. You will be married soon.”
The breath rushes from my lungs and I stagger back against the wall shaking my head. “No. NO! I turn eighteen in a week. Then they can no longer force me.”
“Mia Cara, they will always be able to force you. They have the power. I have told you, to fight is to bring harm on yourself.”
“I’m almost free, Ettore.” I shake my head as the tears run down my cheeks. “I can’t do this. I can not keep doing this. Every two years they uproot me and change my whole life. They move me to another location and hire a new teacher. Every time I start to care, to feel comfortable they uproot me again, again andagain. I want to stay with you. I want to do what I want. See the things you teach me about.
“Yo-you’ve been a friend, my companion. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“Ruin, calm yourself. There is nothing we can do my sweet child. I—I too wish you could stay with me. But we have no power. To fight them is dangerous.”
“Why? They don’t know me. They don’t care about me. A one-hour visit every two years, and a weekly five-minute phone call to tell me I must behave, to make sure I am where they expect me to be. My whole life I’ve been trapped in a cage. Controlled. I want to be free.
“Ettore, you’ve lived in the real world. Help me run. Help me hide.”
She wipes at her own tears. “Cara, you know I can’t. You know what they’d do to me. To my family. I love you but we can’t change your birth.
“You know your family is… powerful. They have many spies. You can’t fight them.”
“They don’t even want me. I’m the bastard that not even my mother wanted. Why won’t they just let me go!”
“Because they own you, Mia Cara. And they never give up what they own unless they get something better, more powerful for it.”
She cups my face between her hands. “Cara, pay attention to what I am telling you now. You must remember the games we play in the woods. Be aware of what’s around you. How you feel around something or someone. How to be very very quiet like a mouse. Always listen to your feelings. Never speak unless asked a direct question. Keep your thoughts to yourself, they will use them against you. I have tried to show you many things. Remember what you’ve learned little one. Be brave.”
The man who comes to take me away is the one who has brought my Nonno before. The one who brings us groceries every week. He doesn’t speak. He puts my bags in the trunk, hands Ettore an envelope and tells her that a car will pick her up in an hour. This is the way it has always been. Every two years.
We arrive at a small airport, and he drives me right up to the plane. I’m given two bottled waters, a sandwich and fruit. There’s a pillow and blanket on the seat next to me. I know from all the other times I’ve been relocated that I’ll be left alone for the flight. No one speaks to me or acknowledges me. I’m invisible to everyone.
Once we land, I’m again ushered into a car. The windows in this one are dark and there’s a barrier so I can’t see into the front.
When the car stops the driver gets my bags from the trunk before opening my door and leading me inside a big house. He directs me to a bench outside the door where I am to sit in silence and wait. I get a glimpse of Vince and another man across the room. A little while later another man comes for me and takes me to a small cabin. There is a note on the table.
Stay inside the house. I will meet with you in the morning to discuss your responsibilities.
There is no signature, but it is always the way Vince addresses me. Short clipped sentences telling me what is expected. I lock the door before going to the window. In the distance I see abig house with lots of windows alight. I think I might be in the United States this time. I’m fluent in five languages and can comprehend two more. In the kitchen I find cereal in the cupboard and realize by the words on the box that I am in the United States. I know I was born here but have few memories of my early years. This is where Vince makes his home, has his family.
I scoff. All the memories I have are the same. Living with a guardian and taking lessons. Always the lessons. Ettore was the best. She talked to me about the world. About people and normal families. She told me about big cities and restaurants and music and dancing. And parties where you sit with friends and laugh. We even had pretend parties a few times, just the two of us.