Chapter 14

The phone rang and rang, but no one answered.  Closing her phone, Shane rubbed her face with her hands.  Her fingers smelled of cigarettes, sex, and Carmen.  Pinching the collar of her shirt, she sniffed at the neck opening.  A shower was definitely in order.  She walked back inside, tugging at the buttons of her clothes.  After a brief, but thorough shower, she stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror, applying product to her hair when she noticed something strange.  Clearing the fog off the mirror, she peered intently at the tattoo on the back of her arm.  It had changed.  Before, it’d been a starkly simple rendition of a swallow.  Now all the dark lines were replaced with color.  But not just color.  The colors were like gems…glittering and almost transparent.  Running her fingers over it, it felt just like skin, but it looked like a jeweled inlay.  “Shit,” she thought.  She was definitely going to ask about that.  Dressing quickly she was out the door and on her way to the mansion in minutes.

When she reached the driveway, there were several cars parked haphazardly and light shone from all the windows.  Not bothering to knock, she hurried inside.  As she entered the spacious living room a few of Princess Meredith’s men looked up, but recognizing her, they shifted their attention elsewhere…to more pressing matters.  Most were wounded, all looked stunned—seated on couches and chairs or lying on the floor.  They were taking turns bandaging injuries.  Looking around the room, she didn’t see Maeve anywhere.

Addressing the room in general Shane asked worriedly, “What the hell happened here?  Where’s Maeve?”

Looking up, the guard named Frost answered with a frown, “She’s in the kitchen…with the Princess.”

Nodding her head in acknowledgement, feeling slightly relieved, she threaded her way through to the kitchen area where she found both ladies absently rummaging through a first aid kit while speaking in subdued voices.

“Hey,” she said in greeting.  “What happened?  Are you alright?”

They both looked up.  Maeve looked both surprised and glad to see her.  “Shane,” she began as tears filled her eyes.  She hugged her young friend fiercely.  “We were attacked, but we survived.”