Lost Souls Found

It didn"t resemble where he"d met his demise as a human. Eduard reflected as he perched on a ledge. However, it did make him think that many people fell to their deaths in the past there. "Stupid humans always free climbing." A problem but not insurmountable. He rose to his feet, dusted his hands on his pants, and looked around the area.

A large mansion built securely into the cliffs and bedrock made him happier. This place wasn"t doomed to fall into the ocean unless a truly ma.s.sive quake hit. By that time, all his charges would"ve grown into independent young men and women. A smile quirked his mouth as he pushed hair out of his face. It was past time to cut it again. The odd white color annoyed him, but he didn"t bother dying it. The color didn"t take and was a waste of money he preferred putting toward other ventures.
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"La.r.s.en, have you surveyed the area enough?" Eduard glanced at his second in command, Jethro Kenos. "Ah, Jethro, I see you caught up with me." Jethro found him floating in the ocean after he"d fallen. They hadn"t left the area for very long, only enough for Eduard to receive specialized treatment for his various injuries.

"But of course, I would find you." He tapped his nose. "Besides the fact that we"ve pretty much returned to the scene of your demise. Though it might"ve been one of the other bays closer to the big metropolis not far from here." Jethro watched him with tolerant amus.e.m.e.nt. His arms were folded against a broad chest, head tilted slightly to the left. Short cropped black hair spiked around his face. Wild golden eyes hinted at his beastly nature.

Hmph, he wasn"t going to discuss that problem. He"d yet to resolve his loss of memory in comparison to everything else going on around them. "Yes, I think I"ve seen enough." Eduard La.r.s.en nodded and turned away. He paused. "I"m having a hard time remembering that I"m using that as my first name, rather than surname." He shrugged ruefully.

His second in command frowned with concern but waved it off in casual disregard that La.r.s.en didn"t buy for a second. "Ah well, I"m glad that you finally remembered what your real name was." Jethro grinned. "Though the nightmares were horrendous." His grin vanished. "You said you remembered seeing some people who looked familiar to you?"

Uncertain about what he recalled, La.r.s.en shook his head. "Nothing concrete. Just fleeting details and movements." He rubbed his temples. "I"m getting a headache just from recalling that much." Oh, so frustrating. He hoped it wasn"t due to something he"d ingested back at the time of those events. Now that would be irritating.

"Well, we"re about to go into town." Jethro referred to some of the others. "Maisie, Denise, and Jarl are coming with me."

Hmm, well if it was them, there wouldn"t be too much trouble caused. "I"m not sure if I want to go down there with you right now." La.r.s.en pushed hands into pockets as he frowned at the ocean frothing around the rocks below them. "Then again, if I don"t go down there soon, I may turn into a hermit for real." Not something desirable to his people.

"Not acceptable, La.r.s.en." A harsh female voice scolded. "We"ve talked about this." La.r.s.en turned his head. It was Maisie snapping as usual. "You"re pushing our patience." She warned.

"Yes, yes, I was just airing my discomfort." La.r.s.en pulled his hands from his pockets. For once, the scars on his body didn"t bother him. "Right now, I"m not hurting." Which meant there was no storm rolling in either.

"Shall we go?" Before he lost his nerve. He didn"t really want to go below. However, it was necessary to learn something about their new home. Such as schools and career opportunities that offered permanency rather than remaining hand to mouth transients.

Before now, they"d lived as traveling actors and actresses. It was a lifestyle that La.r.s.en preferred, but he knew it wouldn"t last long in the current economy. Even trying to gain a foothold in a community lately was difficult without having contacts ahead of time.

Fortunately, Jethro knew someone in the Isolated Bay area. He offered to talk to that individual about loaning them a mountainside residence. They would just need to help around the area doing cleanup and other odd tasks. That didn"t bother La.r.s.en. He liked keeping natural areas, clean and free of rubbish and debris.

With that in mind, he consented to traveling to town. With that in mind, he joined Jethro, Maisie, Denise and Jarl before one of them sought him out again. That would do nothing but irritate Maisie. He"d enough of her giving him a hard time about his lacking interest in going to town.

*

Twenty minutes later after negotiating hair-raising turns and steep terrain, they arrived in the main part of town. Jethro parked the car and they all climbed out, preferring to make sure they weren"t sick afterwards. Jarl made his opinion clear. "May we allow Maisie to drive back?" Otherwise, none of them would remain able to walk around or retain their stomach"s contents.

Jethro popped him. "That"s not nice." He complained.

"I"d rather not puke my next meal up in the car." Jarl snapped. "I"m having a hard-enough time not doing it now."

Maisie winced. "Public bathroom is to the left." Her nose wrinkled. "You should be able to smell it out."

Hmm, La.r.s.en sniffed the air and grimaced. "Err, I don"t think we should go to that one." He warned. "Something isn"t right about that area." He wasn"t sure what worried him. However, he wanted nothing to do with that public bathroom.

Maisie eyed him. "Okay." She swiveled her head around. "Not sure where else we would be able to go." She tugged at her purse strap before frowning in unease. "I"ll take whatever you suggest instead." She wasn"t happy with his overruling her in this instance.

"I think he"s more worried about the stench coming from the bathroom." Jethro grunted. "I"ll go look. I"ll catch up with you all later." He waved a hand and took off without waiting for Maisie to respond.

La.r.s.en waited for Maisie to decide what to do. "It is still up to you, Maisie." He understood why she wasn"t pleased with him, but Jethro had stated what bothered him.

Jarl grunted. "Hurry up, Maisie. I don"t think I can wait much longer." He was turning green and a little blue.

Maisie grimaced. "Whatever, lead the way." She didn"t want Jarl making a nasty mess in the road right there and spraying them as well.

La.r.s.en sighed with relief. Lately it seemed that no one could enter a store and use the facilities without paying for something to use the bathroom. "I wouldn"t say no, but I have other concerns. I"ll let you know about them later." La.r.s.en understood her discomfort.

"I"ll be glad to hear your explanation." Maisie exhaled. "I"m aware of some dangers. However, I researched this area long before we came to stay." She shrugged. "Guess I didn"t do good enough job."

It wasn"t her who"d done a bad job. Lately, La.r.s.en was leery of everywhere they traveled. Fortunately, he"d taken that into consideration. "In this direction." He"d taken the time to search out alternatives to the public bathrooms. Lately those were favored targets of people to mug newcomers. He wasn"t of mind to put up with muggers.

A peculiar expression crossed Maisie"s face. "I don"t understand it. Why would Amos and Carlos be here in this area?" She wondered aloud.

Startled, Jarl and La.r.s.en exchanged glances. "Where?" Those two troublemakers were the only ones that La.r.s.en expelled from their pack. The fact that they"d come there didn"t please La.r.s.en the least bit.

"Over to our left." Maisie tilted her head. "I might be wrong about them."

La.r.s.en glanced in a reflecting mirror. Yes, it was them all right. They walked with a couple of others, making a tight group. They appeared to head in the direction of the public bathroom that La.r.s.en vetoed earlier. "I think we"re going to have to avoid certain areas around here after all." He muttered unhappily.

"Not necessarily." Maisie murmured. A few clicking sounds later and she smirked. "Now I can track their movements." She shrugged. "No need to reconnoiter unless we"re going into unfamiliar territory." Her wording gave La.r.s.en a pause.

"I suppose you"re right." He smiled. "All right, we"ve arrived." Since none of them carried bags with items in their hands, a greeter waved them through without comment.

"Now to find the bathroom." La.r.s.en glanced around and saw midway down the front of the building, there was a bathroom they could all use. One section was for women and the other was for men. "I think we can split here and meet back in front, or in the clothing section for men." He shrugged glancing at Maisie. "Or we can meet in the accessory area." That was more neutral.

Maisie smiled. "That would be better." She nodded happily.

"Okay, let"s take care of business and meet back at the accessories." La.r.s.en nudged them both to ensure that they would get to the bathroom in reasonable time. He alerted Jethro to what their plan was. He gained the impression Jethro wasn"t pleased with what he found in the original destination. He would ask for more information later.