Phoenix13: Redemption (Phoenix13 Book 2)

Part #10: Red Dawn: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Kalligan paced back and forth, shaking hands clenched by his sides. His head hurt. His body refused to rest. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Deyanira's face in his mind, her cruelly beautiful features twisted as she glared at him from the depths of his memories. He was alive but not living. He walked through nightmares and shadow, a ghost in the fog, kept awake by the enduring fear of what lay ahead. The path forward twisted violently every time he found his footing, tossing him sideways into thickets of misfortune.

No matter how hard he tried, he always found himself sliding and slipping, screaming inside his head as each hour passed without relief.

"Kalligan?" Nikki Renn stood outside Kalligan's room. Her tentatively hopeful face was barely visible through a crack in the door. Her voice was like a tuft of dandelion fluff on a gentle wind. "I didn't want to disturb you, I mean I... I'm scared, you know? Of course you know, I mean, you were there! I just... I was wondering if I could come in? If that's okay, I mean. If not, I totally understand! I'll just..."

"Nikki." Kalligan strode across the room. He pulled open the door and stood aside, offering the other Liberator a small smile. "Of course you can come in. My door's always open to you."

She returned his smile. Her cheeks bloomed with color. Her bright brown eyes were full of gratitude. "Even if it's an inn room door?"

Kalligan laughed, nodding. "I guess so. Do you want a drink or something?"

"Oh, no!" Nikki said. "I mean, thank you, but I can't. I might be needed. You know. For the Captain."

Kalligan turned and looked at her. He saw fear in her eyes, but it was tempered by determination. He let out a short, gusty sigh. "Look, Nikki. I know you're scared, but it was just one case. We don't even know what disease it was. Maybe it wasn't contagious."

"I know," she whispered. She dipped her head as if embarrassed. "But what if it was? What if it's something new and terrible and dangerous? What then?"

"Then you should stay away from me," Kalligan said. "I mean, like you said, I was there. I coulda been exposed."

She looked up. Her lips were slightly parted, a little crease between her eyes. Scared and hesitant. She looked as if she was going to say something, but instead just nodded and turned away. "I'm going to get the med kit. Is it okay if I check you for anything unusual? You know, symptom-wise. You're not unusual. Not in any bad way, I mean. Not... I mean..." She blushed heavily, biting her lip. "Not as a person. Oh, and now I'm blabbering. I'll be right back." She ducked out of the room as quickly as dignity would allow.

Kalligan sighed, watching her slight figure disappear into the darkness of the hall outside his room. He reached up with both hands to press his fingers against his temples. The pounding in his brain had not abated since the incident in the bar the night before. Kalligan was beginning to wonder if it ever would.

Thirteen days. The face of the sick man was etched in his memory, pale and bloodstained. Red blood on white teeth. Kalligan shook his head, clenching and unclenching his fists. Deyanira. It has to be. He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose as he fought to calm his racing mind and heart. Whoever that man was, she sent him. I know it.

"Kallie?" Jason's strangely garbled voice sounded in the hallway. Kalligan turned to face him, but the Outlaw Prince was nowhere to be seen. "Kallie, I'm on the intercom. Yeah, I know, I was shocked too. Never woulda thought these backwards hicks would have that kinda technology. Look, Kal, I need you to come to my room. Right now. I think I found something. Don't even try to argue. Just do it." There was a soft click as the intercom went dead.