Into The Labyrinth Ch 03

THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY

The Raven's Roost was tucked between a dance studio and an upscale clothing place on the inland side of Fairview Avenue. By far the smallest shopfront, it always gave the impression of its two brightly-colored neighbors squashing it from either side, like a pair of cheerleaders dragging their one goth friend to the beach.

The sign was in a looping, new agey font, with a stern raven glowering at pedestrians. I never really understood it. Aragon Beach had its share of burnouts. We had hippies, conspiracy theorists, crystal obsessives, pyramid power types. We even had a crazy survivalist out in the hills. And of course we had the tourists. I still didn't see how a place like the Raven's Roost got enough business to remain open, let alone take up valuable real estate on the main drag.

I probably wouldn't have thought of the logistics of its presence without my family's store as an example. We were plugged into the town's main industry, and staying open wasn't a guarantee. That was one of the reasons I wanted to get out. I didn't need a life like my parents had, always wondering if this pointless shop could stay open. Praying to sell another bottle-opener shaped like a surfboard wasn't a life I wanted.

The shop's prime location was my first clue that Blaise had some kind of money. I'd learn later that it was a little more complicated than all that. These things always are. For now, Blaise was still a mystery, and much of the next couple years was stripping away that mystery, layer by layer to find the woman underneath.

I opened the door. The smell inside the Raven's Roost is a physical thing. Scented candles, oils, herb extracts and even seeds. Then there's the bones, the books, the heavy stained wood furniture. All of it tumbling over one another into a dense, spicy miasma. Going from the bright light of Fairview into the dim light of the Roost, sight just vanishes for a moment as your eyes adjust and your nose tries to recover from the cacophony of aroma.

The shop is arranged so it's entirely nooks and crannies, with shelves and tables filled with all manner of things for every goth's interior decorating needs. Even though the front windows are glass, the display in them is so dense with objects, from clothing to crystals, that it blocks almost all the sunlight from the street.

"Theo?" I knew the voice, but for a second, I couldn't place it.

I blinked away the light as my eyes adjusted. Standing across the room behind the counter was a familiar face. "Dani?"

It took me a second to recognize Daniela Soto. I hadn't seen her in four years. She was a little taller, a little older, and I thought a little prettier. That could just be that she was twenty now, rather than someone I'd dismissed as a little sister. She was still little, but only in the literal sense at only an inch or two over five feet. She wore a black tank top with a scarab beetle off center that showed off an impressive rack and a slender waist. Her heart-shaped face broke into a smile of recognition, her teeth bright against the black lipstick.

"I thought that was you. I haven't seen you since...Grace's prom?"

Just hearing Grace's name gave me a jolt. She'd probably never be out of my heart, no matter how much I'd want it. "How's she doing?"

"She's good. Moved to L.A." Of course she would. Aragon Beach was too small for the likes of Grace Soto. And here I was, a townie working in his parents' shop, made worse by the fact that my circumstances would get back to Grace the next time Dani talked to her. Not where I wanted to be to impress the girl who'd punched my v-card.

"How are you?"

"I'm good. You know, summer job," she gestured at the shop. "What about you?"

"I'm back for good, I guess." I shrugged. Hard to communicate what I was actually feeling, especially in a quick catch-up conversation with someone I only knew vaguely. I was back, yes, but I wanted to be somewhere else. I just had no idea where or how.

"What brought you in here? Didn't know you were into this kind of thing."

"Yeah, me neither. I was looking for your boss?"

"Miss Black? She'll be in this afternoon, I think. Do you know her?"

I had a flash of her golden body, wreathed in sweat, writhing beneath me as I bottomed out in her pussy. "Yeah, a little."

"I can tell her you stopped by. I'm here all day." I tried to imagine Blaise calling me. I couldn't imagine her calling anyone with how self-possessed she was.

"Sure, yeah." I accepted the stack of post-its Dani offered and wrote my number on it.

"If you're looking for a job, there will be an opening when I go back to school."

"When is that?"

"Next month. Like, the end of next month. So I'm around until then."

I looked up into her face.

Was she flirting? No, that was crazy. I was a friendly face, nothing more.

"That's cool. Maybe we can hang out."

"Sure, yeah. Here, let me give you my number."

"I still remember the house number."

"Unless you want to talk to my folks or Arturo or Aimee, best just use this one," she said, writing it on another post-it in neat, looping letters.

"Good idea." I always got the impression Grace's dad didn't like me. After all I'd deflowered his little girl, and I didn't think that the excuse that she'd deflowered me too would carry much weight. Probably work against me if anything.

"You still writing?"

I gave a brittle laugh. "Been blocked, actually. Blood from a stone. See? I can't even describe it without a cliché."

"I don't know if you believe in this stuff," she said, coming around the counter. My gaze fell to her ass, wrapped in a tight pair of black jeans. Looked like Grace's, although hers was bigger. I always thought of Grace as a Mexican elf, and though Dani had some of that elegance, she was a bit curvier, her attitude more earth than air. I followed her over to a display of every kind of crystal I could imagine.

She picked up a geode, the stone partly clear, with a deep stormy blue-gray at its heart. "This is celestite. It's supposed to bridge the connection with the divine."

"Do

you

believe in this stuff?"

"If you were anybody else, of course."

"And if I'm me?"

She shrugged, giving me a winsome smile. "I don't know. It's pretty, though, isn't it?"

"This stuff works for writer's block?"

"It's a high-vibrational crystal that puts you in harmony with your environment. You should be able to hear your subconscious better."

I sighed. "Okay, ring me up."

She walked back to the register, swinging her hips in triumph. "And now you're a crystal guy."

"Oh man. I'm becoming such a townie."

"You want a bag?"

"No, I think that's okay. What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Put it where you write. Just have it close by, and whatever it'll do, it'll do."

"Level with me. Am I a total sucker?"

"Not a

total

sucker."

I chuckled. "Thanks, Dani. I'll see you around."

"Call me." I hit the door, and as the bell rang, she added, "

Before

the end of next month!"

I sat in my room, staring at the blank screen of my PC. The cursor blinked over absolutely nothing. A big, fat empty page. Bigger than my whole life and nothing to put on it. I looked over at my desk, where the piece of celestite was being held by an old Alien action figure. The creature's second jaw ran over the top of the tiny geode. It almost looked like a facehugger egg, which had prompted this display.

"Anything?" I asked the crystal. It had no response. No glimpse into the divine. "Yeah, I'm a sucker."

My phone buzzed, rescuing me from more self-recrimination. "Hello?"

"Theo, my boy. Daniela told me you stopped by my establishment." The voice was smooth, a rich contralto that made me think of a femme fatale in an old noir movie.

"Blaise?"

"Who else?"

"I was hoping to talk to you. Not at the club. In private."

"Interesting. Come to my home at one a.m. next Friday, and we can speak."

"I'll be there."

"I know you will be." I heard the unspoken part of that: this was my one and only invitation. Miss it, and there wouldn't be another. We ended the call and I stared at the page. I felt as though something could go on it, but it remained stubbornly blank.

I was in the middle of my shift on Thursday when the bell at the door rang, announcing a new customer come off the hot summer sidewalk for a taste of air conditioning and a little overpriced kitsch. I looked up from the Neal Stephenson paperback I was reading to give the tourist a welcome when a flash of red hair made my attention drop to the pretty, freckled face underneath.

"Beth? What are you doing here?"

Beth MacLaren had a kind of old-school kind of beauty, a soft-yet-fit figure that made me think of the early '70s. she was dressed in a pair of cut offs and a tank top, showing off her summer coating of freckles. She had an expression on her face like she was about to tell her teacher that she hadn't done a term paper.

"Hey, Theo. Haven't seen you at Gremmie's much."

"Oh yeah, sorry. Gremmie's is a sometimes food." I patted my belly. "Can't eat it every day like I did in high school."

"I was beginning to think you didn't like me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Things have been...weird. What brings you in? Want to do some early Christmas shopping for some relatives you don't like?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I think my aunt could use one of these Aragone Drinkin' shot glasses."

"Mock all you like, but those things paid for my college."

Beth's freckled face always showed blushes easily, and her cheeks were red. At first, I thought it might be the sun, but the red deepened. "Listen, I kind of have a weird favor to ask."

"Sure. You need me to help you move?"

She gave a sudden bark of a laugh. "No, nothing like that. Still living at home. Uh, no. Listen, my cousin...she's like a second cousin, she's getting married. I kinda need a date."

My eyebrows shot up. "A date? Yeah, okay. That sounds fun."

"Wait," she said, holding a hand out. "I kind of told my folks that I had a boyfriend. They kept trying to fix me up, and this was the only way to shut them up. So it's not just a date to the wedding, it's pretending that we're together."

"We gonna make out?"

The blush deepened. "Hold hands. Maybe a little kiss. Not making out. I don't need my parents seeing that."

"Okay. I can handle that."

"Wait," she sighed.

"Are you about to tell me we have to be married?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. It's just that, the wedding is up around Santa Esme. There's a winery up there."

"Okay, so it's a destination wedding about ninety minutes away, and we're a couple."

"And it's a whole weekend."

"Anything else?"

"No, that's about the size of it." She gave me a hopeful smile. "It's good food all weekend and all the wine you can drink."

I let her hang for more than a second. The truth was, my heart was giving me little kicks. I kept thinking about Beth back in high school, the pretty redheaded cheerleader dating our football star. Here she was asking me out. Granted, it was clearly a friend thing, but I wasn't going to quibble.

"Yeah, of course. Sounds fun. When is it?"

"Last weekend of August."

"I'm in."

She sighed. "Thank you. You have no idea how much you're saving me."

"I can't believe it."

"What?"

"A whole town full of guys, and you pick me."

"Who says this is my first stop?"

"Right, right. Stay humble."

"Well, it was my first stop."

I almost said something else, but the bell rang and Beth was gone.

That Friday evening, I stared at the computer, then leaned back in my chair. Every time I tried to concentrate on something to write, all I could think was that at one in the morning I would be with Blaise. The thought of being between her legs, inside her again, it was more than I could handle. I'd already jerked off once, and the prospect of a second time was sounding more and more tempting. Besides, I could use the endurance.

The strains of mariachi music from across the alley filtered in through the window. My stomach growled. It was dinnertime and I needed to get out. Get out of my childhood bedroom, and do something. Anything. The words weren't flowing and I couldn't force them.

The more the scents came in, the more my mind wandered. The arroz con pollo from next door would hit the spot. I'd been raised on the stuff. I decided I'd scratch the itch. I probably should have just gone. But I picked up my phone. I had to make everything more complicated.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dani," I said into the phone. Then, abruptly worried she wouldn't know it was me, "It's Theo. I was about to get some dinner. You want to come? Catch up a little?"

"Yeah! Yeah, that sounds good. Where?"

"I was thinking Rosarito's? Like nowish?"

"Sure, yeah. I can be down there in like fifteen."

"Cool. See you soon."

I put on some shoes and went out via the fire escape. I didn't want to explain to my parents that I was about to have dinner with Grace Soto's sister. Wasn't romantic, but I knew my folks wouldn't see it that way. I'd been sneaking out since I was fourteen, and so I barely made a sound. The last, six foot drop onto the alley wasn't pleasant, but it got the job done. I went out around the front of the restaurant and waited.

Dani walked up twelve minutes after we'd gotten off the phone. She was cute as always, dressed in a short skirt, a tank top and a light jacket. I kept thinking of Grace, who moved through the world like a goddamn song. She would have come up the street like the world around her was lucky to have her, the wind carrying her subtle scent to my nose. Dani was a much more earthbound presence, and wishing for her sister made me feel like a dick.

I put a smile on my face that I mostly felt. "Hey, let's get a table."

"I haven't been here in years," she said.

"It's a Bright family staple."

We got a booth a smaller side room, my favorite in the restaurant. The inside of Rosarito's was like a maze, filled with small alcoves and little rooms. It was like they wanted to pretend it was some rich guy's hacienda. Day of the Dead art covered the walls and sat in the alcoves of the windows. Sitting in this place brought me right back to my childhood, eating another meal in the shadow of a thousand grinning skeletons.

The waitress stopped by, dressed in a touristy approximation of a Mexican peasant dress, and we ordered.

"Did Blaise get back to you?" Dani asked, sipping her Coke.

"Yeah, thanks."

"What was it about?"

My heart gave me a nice, cold kick. Couldn't very well tell Dani that I wanted Blaise to give me fuck lessons. That it was some weird, misguided thing over me and Tessa going friends-with-benefits. Because anything I told to Dani might get back to Grace, and the idea of her looking at me as anything less would kill me.

"Oh, she had concert tickets she couldn't use. I guess she couldn't make the show. I didn't have the cash on me when she was offering."

"That's cool. Who?"

"You know Switchblade Symphony?"

"I didn't know they were touring."

Oh, fuck.

"Yeah, I think it's a secret show. Anyway, that's not really important. What have you been up to?"

"School mostly."

"What's your major?"

"PoliSci."

"Wait, are you going into politics?"

"That's the plan."

"So I might be having dinner with the future mayor?"

"And later, you might be smoking out with the future mayor."

I laughed. "Not gonna turn that down."

The food arrived and I dove in. The arroz con pollo from Rosarito's will always be the sense mainline to my childhood. Instant comfort. Dani wasn't Grace, but eating with a Soto didn't hurt. She and Grace were decidedly different people, but they had enough similarities, that it was like a welcome ghost was the third person at the table.

"Tell you what," I said. "If you run for mayor, I'll volunteer for your campaign."

"That would be interesting. Seeing you politically engaged."

"I don't know. Maybe I should."

She cocked her head. "What's going on, Theo? Seems like...I don't know. This, the writer's block? Something's up with you."

I almost deflected, but shades in her voice, the shadow of her face stopped me. She wasn't Grace, but she looked enough like her that I couldn't deflect. I had to be honest. "I need something," I said. "Don't know what that is. It's like...my entire life has been scheduled, you know? Elementary school, junior high, high school, college. And now, congrats! You're an adult! But nobody's hiring. I got the degree they said I'd need, and no one wants it, and I can't even write a damn book."

She gestured emphatically with her fork. "You should do something and write a book about it.'

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Find a shipwreck."

"A shipwreck?"

"Yeah, find some pirate treasure. That's got to be good for a book."

"Did we even have pirates off the coast of California?"

Dani shrugged. "I'm not the one trying to write a book."

I laughed. "Point."

"Is that crystal working out?"

"Kind of soon to tell. Maybe it'll point me at a shipwreck."

"Never can tell."

I finished my chicken and she her enchiladas. "You want to get dessert? Fried ice cream?" I asked.

"Actually, I was going to a party later. Friends from high school."

"Oh, yeah. No problem."

"You want to come?"

It was only a little after seven. Six hours until I had to be at Blaise's place. More than enough time, and this would pass it. "Why not?"

I paid the check, and when Dani protested, I said, "I was just in college. You're broke, it's cool."

The party was at one of the identical ranch-style houses out in El Prado, maybe a mile from Blaise's house as the raven flies, but with the way the streets meandered it was more like four or five. Built in the '60s, El Prado could have been a suburb anywhere in California. The Soto house was out here, and I could have traced the roads right to it without a second thought.

The house was invitingly lit, with music thudding out through the night. I saw a lot of familiar faces inside, and out in the back where the party spilled out over a dead lawn. Faces that had been a year or two behind me, aged a bit from college. I followed Dani out into the backyard, where groups of old friends hung out, drinking cheap beer out of old igloo coolers.

"Theo Bright?" I turned to find a friend of mine stepping away from a group of guys I kind of knew. He was tall and lanky, his strawberry blond hair shaggy.

"Owen Kendrick," I said, shaking his hand. "How are you?"

"Where've you been?" Owen and I ran in the same circles, the AV club and drama geeks. He was a year younger and had been bound for film school last time I checked.

"At the shop. What about you?"

"School. Still got one more year, then Hollywood here I come. Hey, Dani."

Owen got the two of us some beers, and the three of us settled into lawn chairs. Talking with Owen and Dani, they had plans. Wasn't like me. Owen was going to break into Hollywood. The way he said it, it wasn't even in doubt. Had a career all picked out and everything. Same with Dani, different destination, same drive. Me, sitting there with the two of them, all I could think of was the novel I couldn't write, and my childhood bedroom that I had no way to get out of.

"You're still writing," Owen said.

"Trying to," I said.

"I'm glad. You know what I keep thining about? You remember that movie we did?"

I laughed. "Oh god.

Turf's Up.

"

Dani's face dropped. "I remember that! You put that in the talent show at school."

Owen laughed. "Got us suspended."

"What?"

"Oh yeah."

"How long?"

"Okay, Theo was the leader, right?"

"I wasn't the leader," I said.

"Yeah, you were. You were in the seventh grade, and the rest of us were in sixth, so you were the leader. Anyway, Mr. Reyes tells us we're getting suspended for, and I quote, 'Showing filth,' you know what Theo says? He looks Reyes right in the eyes and goes, 'I'm just telling it like it is.'"