“I don’t have honey. If it's such a problem, go to the supermarket.”
I turned and glared at him. “I'm not surprised you have no honey.”
His face made it clear he thought I was crazy. I didn't care. If I was starting to lose my mind, they were to blame.
I pulled up to the address of a sprawling beach mansion. Before I could ask what we were there for, I knew.
Fate was heading toward the car. Two things came to mind. That better not be where he lives and he better not be coming with me.
“Did you need to talk to him for a minute?” I asked Harold, clinging to hope.
“No. He's going with you.”
Harold ignored my scream of “Absolutely not!” and got out of the car anyway.
Then he was there.
I saw Hank pull up in the Mercedes behind me as Fate took Harold's spot and sat in my front seat. I didn't want him in my Honda.
Neither Fate nor I said a word to each other in greeting.
He finally spoke first. “Do you plan on driving? I've got things to do besides babysit you.”
“I was hoping if I ignored you, you'd get out.”
“Wish I could. But the bottom line is you need to learn the ropes and I'm the best equipped to teach you.”
No wonder I had no honey left.
I put the car in gear and my Honda's engine whined slightly, as if she resented his presence as much as I did.
“This is my job, so don't think you're going to get all bossy on me either.”
“Whatever, transfer. We both know you have no clue what's going on.” He hand cranked up his window and turned on the air conditioning full blast, which made my old Honda wheeze like it had a pack a day habit.
I white knuckled the steering wheel and headed out. Eighteen days left, that was it.
I pulled into a spot near the coffee bar, after stewing over his last comment the whole ride over. If Harold didn't know, I bet he didn't either.
“Fine. You're right. I have no idea what we're here to do. Why don't you tell me?”
“It's your job. I won't know until you do.”
“If you, the so called experienced one in charge, are clueless,” yes, I'm petty and that dig was extremely necessary to my emotional well being, “how am I supposed to know?”
“Because, this is how it works.”
“Well, thanks for the big heads up.” I shouted at his back, since he was already getting out of the car and heading toward the coffee shop alone.
It didn't look like he was planning to wait for me but I knew I had to do this, active participation and all. I got out and took my time making it inside.
Even if I wasn't particularly fond of him, I wasn't sure I was ready to go it alone, not after I found out I could literally vaporize myself. Even if Fate was a bit of an ass, I didn't doubt his competence.
I found a free table toward the front windows when I entered, while he was in line. I heard the girl at the cashier giggling flirtatiously and caught Fate smiling back, equally friendly. So, it was just me he instantly disliked.
When he returned with two cups I was actually surprised. Did he buy me a coffee?
He sat across the table, and I forced the words “Thank you,” out, even if it felt like chewing on sand to do it.
“And now?” Between my dislike of him for how he treated me and the unsettling feelings I had being near him, I was watching the second hand on the clock tick away all too slowly.
“Now we wait.”
Ten to twelve, six more revolutions it had to swing around. Neither of us bothered to make small talk. Of all the things I wanted to know, I didn't bother asking him or we wouldn't even make it ten minutes. Silence was the best option when it came to him.
The second hand did its final turn and I looked out the window, not expecting to really see him, the man from my visions. My breath caught as I saw the guy approach the building.
“Stay calm.”
I didn't reply. “Go to hell, you arrogant jerk,” didn't seem like the correct response and I knew, for some reason, I overreacted to Fate. But I couldn't think about that right now, I had a job to do.
As the man from my visions got closer, more flashes popped into my head; horrible images that made my stomach turn. A picture of a hive appeared in my mind and then a tree. Now, this might sound odd to some people, but I've always loved trees and when I notice a particularly nice specimen, I always take note, so I knew this was the old oak in front of the building we were sitting in now.
And just like that, I realized what I was supposed to do. But was that really it?
The man entered the shop and I watched as he got into line to order a drink. I looked at Fate, having no one else to turn to, and then a strange thing happened. Fate and I had an honest moment.
He touched my hand and looked at me with what seemed sincerity, the rancor that had existed between us since almost the very first meeting disappeared. “Go with your gut feeling. Whatever you are seeing is the right way.”
“I'm afraid.”
“If you do what it showed, you'll be okay. Just follow the visions.”
He broke contact then and our small moment of truce seemed to fade the minute he pulled back.
My mark, as I decided to call him, took a coffee and sat down a few tables away.
I got up and went outside. His convertible was parked under the old oak, directly under the beehive.
Good thing I had jeans on. I walked to the base of the huge ancient tree. It had a lower branch that made it perfect for climbing and, having scaled many in my youth, I was a bit of a pro. I looked around, making sure no one would see me climb into the tree, when I realized Fate had followed me.
He stood directly under the hive, arms folded and waiting. “No one will see.”
“How do you know?”
“They just won't.”
“How is that possible?”
“Does it matter? Just do what you have to do.”
Would it kill him to be pleasant for more than one minute? I kicked off my shoes then gripped the branch in my hands and hoisted myself up, all while muttering curses at him under my breath.
The branch wasn't as strong as I hoped and it swayed with my weight. My fingers dug into the bark until my nails hurt. My memories of climbing were a lot more fun than the current reality.
I crept close to the hive, waiting for either the bees to start going crazy or the branch to break with me landing on my ass at Fate's feet. What a wonderful time that would be. Well, there was always the bright side; maybe if I fell while the bees were chasing me, he'd get stung in the process.
I paused two feet from the hive. My fear taking over, I couldn't seem to force another step forward but I had enough control to halt a movement backward.
“They're going to attack me,” I mumbled to myself.
“What?”
I looked down at where he stood safely on the ground, safe and useless. I wanted to drop the hive on his head.
“Nothing,” I shouted down at him.
“Just do it.”
“You just do it.” Good thing he wasn't human. He'd have no friends at all if it weren't for the freaks at the office. If they were his friends. Maybe they didn't like him either? I was technically a freak now too, and I certainly wasn't looking to spend time with him.
“I can't. You got the order. I wish I could.”
Order? That's what we were calling a few flashes? This business, for lack of a better name, had some serious gaps. Lots could be left to interpretation with this but I went with the hunch.
The fact that I'd be stuck with him until I got this done urged me forward.
“Okay, bees, just you and me, boys.” I edged out further on the limb. Probably about twenty or so bees were buzzing in and out of the hive as I closed the final distance and, at some point soon, they were going to be mightily pissed off.
“I just want you to know, I didn't want to do this to you. Personally, I think it’s very wrong to involve you in all this ugliness.”
“Why are you talking to them?” Fate's hands had shifted to the equally unhelpful position of resting on his hips.
“I'm making friends. You wouldn't know anything about that.”