Star People Legacy Smith, T.L. (e book free reading .TXT) 📖

seconds, bypassing PH4, PH3, PH2, stopping at PH1. “Here we are.” She extended her hand with a head bow, inviting me to exit first.

I obliged, stepping out into a glass hallway wide enough to entertain a large reception or party. Possibly used for exactly that purpose with the layout of elegant tables, chairs, sofas and a full-service bar. The floor-to-ceiling glass wall faced east, towards the mountains. If not for knowing what those mountains protected, for what Yazzie and her crew were doing this instant, recovering Lutz’ body, they might have made for a breathtaking view.

But I knew the truth.

Cherise cleared her throat, drawing my attention away from the view. There were more security guards, large, broad-chested, clean shaven and dressed impeccably. They stood at either side of the elevator. “Mr. and Mrs. Adams are at the end of the corridor.”

Mrs. Adams… oh yeah, my mother.

She didn’t seem to notice the second of confusion. “The rooms between are assigned to the Adams brothers.” She bowed her head to Daniel, but urged me down the long corridor in the opposite direction of my mother’s room. “And these are your rooms.”

She stepped ahead of me to open a set of double doors, stepping into the apartment and waving her hand like a game-show model. “I hope this meets your needs.”

Two steps in and I did my best to not drag my chin on the deep carpet. Daniel gave me a little nudge to snap me out of my moment of brain fog “Thank you, Cherise. This looks… lovely.”

She smiled with that hint of smugness that said she knew they were the best accommodations to be found, on par with the best in the world. Not conceit, but certainty. She waved to the security guards with our luggage. Frankie was quick to intervene, stopping them and pointing out my and Casey’s bags.

He took them from the guard. Daniel gave me an eye flick, that silent language we had as kids that said to get rid of the outsiders. Cherise had already started to point out the room’s amenities. I stepped up and put my hand on her arm. “I’m sorry. I’m exhausted. I think I’ll show myself the suite, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, certainly!” She smiled at me warmly. “If you have any needs or questions, I am at your 24-hour disposal.” She turned to Daniel. “I will await you by the elevators and get your keys set up.”

He bowed to her, giving one of his charming smiles we saw so seldom, as he walked her and the guards to the doors. “We’ll only be a moment.”

He closed the doors on her and Frankie carried our bags to the bedroom. I followed him and was as stunned by the opulence of this room as I was with the sitting room. “Who the hell is paying for this? Let alone four floors of suites.”

“That’s not your concern.” He swung our bags up on the luggage shelf next to the dresser.

“Actually, it is.” Daniel joined us. “The Cocopah will bill the Council.”

“The National Council, as in Tribal Affairs, in DC?”

“The one and only.” He went to the wall of curtains and pulled them back. “Wow, spectacular view.”

“Seriously, Daniel.” I stomped up beside him, trying to ignore the dizzying twenty story drop straight down the back face of the hotel. I could see gardens below and the river. There was a dock with a paddleboat moored down, allowing tourists to board. I pulled myself away from the view. “What does the NCTA have to do with this?”

“Everything.” Daniel leaned against the window, making me nervous, though I was sure the hotel had installed glass thick enough to be nearly bullet-proof, if it wasn’t. “Long story into the short, our tribe is scattered throughout the Nation, assimilating into areas where the Maxa’xak might have fled. We constantly track events the local police can’t explain. Or things most people write off as drugs or alcohol. Strange sightings of large snakes in the rivers, ghost men, unexplained, gruesome deaths...”

“Shit like that happens all the time.”

“Increases in unsolved missing persons.” Daniel raised an eyebrow at me. “Whole family groups have disappeared. The Yahi. Now illegals. The Maxa’xak found a perfect source of bodies to infest.”

“Mom said we failed the Yahi, but that’s not what I read in the history records.”

“The real story was suppressed. No one, particularly the white men, were going to believe that an evil Spirit grabbed adult males and killed everyone else. They were a lot more willing to believe their own were responsible for the murders. Our people tried to kill the Maxa’xak, but it got away with a few of its children, and we’ve been tracking it since.”

“And the NCTA knows this.”

“The NCTA is the Nation.” Daniel leaned closer. “It’s nearly impossible to keep this big a secret, unless you believe. Ten thousand years they have kept us secret, because they believe. They know we’re here to kill this monster, or it will destroy more than the People.”

Frankie came into the room. I hadn’t seen him leave, but he carried a steaming cup. An odd smell rolled up into my face as he handed it to me. “Mom says you’re to drink this and get some real sleep.”

I took the cup. It wasn’t tea, though it had the right color. It had flecks in it I remembered. She always made us bark teas when we were sick. “I should talk to her first.”

“She’s not available.”

“Really? Do I have to go knocking on her door?”

“No, but she is in one of her meditations.” Frankie squinted at me. “Do you really want to try to interrupt that, or just do as she says?”

“No.” Whether I needed the tea or not, I drank it down. It was bitter. Way more bitter than I remembered. I shifted to say something to Daniel, but I couldn’t remember what. He just nodded in a strange slow motion.

CHAPTER

21

 

“It’s time to wake up, Din’ah.”

Hearing my name, I opened my eyes, then