Mackenzie Legacy, The (7 page)

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Chapter Eight

WARNED

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The next afternoon Calvin and Caledonia packed up their bag and drove the truck into the heart of the city, pulling up to the entrance of a bustling hotel-casino. A uniformed valet rushed up to take the keys from Calvin, who joined Caledonia at the curb. She grabbed Calvin’s arm in shock when the man drove off with their truck, the motorcycle still firmly strapped in the back.

“It’s okay,” Calvin reassured her, “He’s only parking it for us.”

They were both nervous when they entered the imposing lobby. A lengthy front desk was flanked by imposing marble columns and wide hallways that led to elegant lounges and expensive storefronts filled with luxury goods.

An impressive portal beckoned guests into the casino, which was humming like a beehive. It was the pulsing hub of the hotel, the only reason for its existence, and Caledonia could see swirling clouds of emotion wafting and dissipating throughout the air conditioned atmosphere.

When Calvin approached the front desk and presented the card, the pretty brunette behind the counter was all smiles. She called for a concierge to make the tournament arrangements, and slid another card across the marble counter towards him. A bellman materialized to show them to their suite.

“Whoa,” was all Calvin could manage when they stood in front of the floor to ceiling windows in their room. After a summer of traveling they were accustomed to hotel rooms, but this one surpassed anything they’d ever seen. Not only was it the finest room either one of them had ever set foot in, but looking down at the strip from thirty stories in the sky was amazing.

“I’ve never been up this high before,” Caledonia breathed, looking down. Pedestrians moved like blood cells on elevated walkways that fed fresh gamblers into the heart of the compound.

Calvin tilted his head towards a large sunken bathtub mounted on a raised platform with the same million dollar view as the bed. “That tub… is definitely big enough for two,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Caledonia rolled her eyes at his one-track mind, but she had to agree that it looked inviting.

Calvin smiled, “They gave me this for tonight.” He handed her a voucher for dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants.

“La Volière… Hmm, I think that means aviary in French.”

“Seriously… You speak French too?” he asked in mock horror, only halfway joking.

She smirked at him. “Just a few words here and there.”

The poker tournament wasn’t scheduled until the following afternoon, but Calvin was nervous, and they both wanted to take a closer look at the venue ahead of time. They dressed in their best clothes and took the elevator back down to the labyrinthine lobby, following the herds of people drawn into the casino’s palpable current of energy.

Time no longer seemed to exist in the busy whirl of the windowless gaming palace. Bells and buzzers sounded, bringing cries of elation that stood out like little mushroom clouds in a sea of fixated anticipation. Scantily clad cocktail waitresses dipped and twirled through the crowd, their trays laden with drinks.

The two Cals found the card room, taking a spot with the rest of the spectators to watch some of the games in progress. Caledonia gazed upon the scene, her singular eyes seeing a cacophony of intense emotion. A palette of vivid color swirled above the player’s heads; cold greed, envy and anxiety contrasting with warmer pulses of elation and arrogance.

It occurred to her that the whole town was built on a foundation of deceit and deception, and the glitz and glamor of the shiny new surfaces only masked a scaffolding of greed. Calvin was engrossed in watching the action at the tables, but Caledonia didn’t want to stay any longer than she possibly had to. The place made her head hurt.

“I’m going to go check out the shops in the lobby,” she told him.

“Okay,” he said, tearing his focus from the game. “I’ll go with you.”

“No. You stay and watch,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, giving her hand a squeeze. “Don’t leave the hotel… okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him, beating a hasty retreat.

She lingered in the quiet hallways, looking at some sparkling jewelry displayed in glass cases. The rest of the hotel was hushed in contrast with the gaming rooms, and as she wandered she regained her equilibrium. She walked past a small lounge with a sign advertising “The Magnificent Raynaldo–Master Hypnotist”. Caledonia peeked inside to see a small gathering of people drinking cocktails, watching a man on a small stage set in the corner.

She lingered in the doorway, watching as he scanned the crowd for a volunteer from the audience. He suddenly stopped, theatrically pointing towards a table hosting a group of jovial women. He singled out the most attractive one. “The lady in blue… please allow my lovely assistant to show you onstage!”

The woman laughed nervously, and after being goaded by her friends she followed a showgirl clad in sparkling red sequins onto the stage. The hypnotist directed his assistant to swing a pendulum before the woman’s eyes.

“You will hear nothing but the sound of my voice, and you will obey all my commands without question…”

Caledonia smiled with amusement, slipping just inside the entry to watch from the shadows.

Raynaldo continued, “When I count backwards from ten you will believe that you won the lottery… Ten…Nine…Eight…”

When the count was finished the formerly shy woman was transformed. “Whoopee!” she squealed, jumping up and down with intense excitement. Cali was surprised– Did she just see what she thought she saw?

The sequined assistant raised her pendulum again, and Reynaldo announced, “You just heard the funniest joke in the entire world!”

The woman started giggling, and was soon overcome with mirth, laughing so hard she had a difficult time catching her breath. Caledonia stepped further inside, stunned. The closer she got the more obvious it became; it wasn’t her imagination.

The hypnotist’s assistant was
changing
her.

The Magnificent Raynaldo took a bow, and the audience clapped. He signaled to his assistant again, and Cali inched closer to the stage, fascinated. She studied the woman in red closely, realizing that she was much older than she’d first appeared from a distance. Caledonia watched as she lifted her pendulum again, gazing intensely into the eyes of the audience participant.

Raynaldo smirked at her, announcing loudly, “Now my dear… You are going to fall madly in love with me!”

His assistant flushed emerald green with irritation, but Caledonia watched her steel herself and cast a cloud of intense blood-red infatuation directly into the woman’s eyes, topping it off with a compliant amethyst. The woman in blue looked adoringly at Raynaldo, and he took her in his arms, twirling and dipping her theatrically to the hoots and hollers of the audience. He released her and took a deep bow for his delighted applause, exiting the stage.

His assistant led the dazed audience member back to her seat, stopping briefly to send her an unmistakable pop of lemon yellow confusion. The woman took her seat, asking her giggling friends, “What did I do?”

Caledonia was shocked. She had just witnessed the Athena effect in action, and yet this woman was far too old to have been mutated in the womb by Professor Reed’s drug experimentation. How could it be? If she hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes she wouldn’t have believed it. She followed her over to the bar in the darkened lounge.

The woman sat down heavily, motioning to the bartender, “Scotch and soda.” She wore theatrical makeup, and her thick black hair was teased high and piled on top of her head. She looked hard, and even older up close than she did from the stage. She took the tumbler the bartender handed her, lifting her glass to drink with a tired air.

Caledonia studied her profile, trying to make sense of what she’d just witnessed, finally speaking, “I saw what you did. I saw you change her.”

The woman sighed, turning to look up. Her own mismatched eyes mirrored Caledonia’s, flying open in shock and recognition. “Well I’ll be damned… Where did you come from?” She looked around, “Who are you with?”

“M-my boyfriend,” Caledonia answered, stammering in disbelief as she looked into one golden brown eye and one blue eye, “You have heterochromia…”

“I have what?” she asked, sizing Caledonia up with an appraising glance. She knocked back her drink and motioned to the bartender, “Gimme two more Joe… neat.” She nodded to the stool next to her, “Have a seat… You look like you just saw a ghost.” She held out her hand, “I’m Roxy.”

“Cali” she replied, shaking her hand and sitting down. The bartender brought two more drinks, sliding one in front of each of them and bustling away.

Roxy leaned back on her barstool, looking Caledonia up and down, “Well aren’t you just as cute as hell. Granny always told me that there were others like us… I never really believed her though.”

“Others? Like us?”

“Don’t play dumb sweetheart, you just called me out on it. My Granny saw the colors too… She called it ‘the sight’,” she sighed, casting a sour glance at Reynaldo flirting with the table of women.

“Your Grandmother could see…” she gasped, shocked.

“Yeah, and my great aunt also… She’s gone too. Died a long time ago. I thought I might be the last one.”

“The last one,” Cali repeated softly, her mind racing.

“You’re here to gamble, aren’t you? It seems like such a great idea when you first get good at it… but they’ll catch you– they always do. Plus, it gets harder as you get older…” She grabbed her glass and knocked the drink back, rubbing her temples as she inspected Caledonia, “Do you get the headaches when you do it too much?”

Cali nodded, eyes widening. “Yes.”

“Well, it gets worse when you get older,” she said sourly.

“But I don’t understand– How did you get it… Th-the sight?”

“Granny said it was in the blood.” She laughed a little, remembering. “Old country witchcraft, she called it.” Her hand grasped for a little pendant she wore, a tiny hand with an eyeball embedded in the palm. She twisted it on the chain.

“Witchcraft?” Cali echoed.

“She used to tell me that our ancestors were burned at the stake in Scotland… That’s why her people came here and headed for the hills,” She chuckled, “Superstitious hillbillies, that’s what they all were. I don’t buy all that stuff. I think it’s more like… ESP or something.”

“She said Scotland?” Cali gasped.

Roxy shook her head wearily. “Yeah, and she also said the sight was cursed… and I’m actually starting to believe her. She said that gambling was the devil’s work… Don’t your people know? Didn’t they tell you about any of this?”

“My parents are dead,” Caledonia said.

“What about your other family?”

“There aren’t any.”

Roxy frowned, “Listen sweetie… Take my advice, and get the hell out of this town. It’s rotten to the core. I’d have been outta here a long time ago if it wasn’t for Ray.” She looked over at The Great Raynaldo, still flirting with a table of women. “Don’t end up with a gambler. Go find yourself a nice guy…. Make some pretty babies. The only thing that’s real in this life is love.”

She looked so sad that Cali felt like crying.

Roxy could see her sympathy, and sighed. “I suppose it’s time for me to move on… But I feel like I’m just too old to start over ya-know? You can always use people to get what you want, but you can’t make someone love you… Well, maybe just for a little while, but it’s too much work to keep it up. And it’s not worth it… Not really.”

Caledonia could see the bitter truth behind her words.

Roxy looked at the bar in front of Caledonia. “Are you gonna drink that? My head is killing me.”

Cali slid her over the third drink. “Why are you doing this? Why aren’t you gambling?”

“They know me and Ray in every joint from here to Reno. We’re blackballed most everywhere. Listen sweetie– They’re always watching, and they’ll figure out that you’re working together. They don’t have to know
how
you do it– or even have any proof. Hell, they kick out legitimate card counters.” She started to slur, “They can ban you from the tables for no reason other than you win alot! Get out of this town before it ruins you. Ray over there… He won’t leave… Loves the high life too mush.”

She looked back at Caledonia’s stricken face and softened. “Cheer up hun… There’s still plenty of time for you.” Her hand went to the pendant again, fingering it like a talisman.

“What’s that?” Cali asked.

“Sah good luck charm. Got it from a Gypsy in Reno… I went to get a reading, hoping she could tell me how to break the curse… She said it would protect me from the evil eye.” She looked over at her boyfriend flirting at yet another table of ladies, “Wish it could have protected me from falling for a louse like him.” She patted Cali’s hand, “I’m sure things’ll work out better for you.”

“Thank you,” Cali said solemnly, looking over at Ray, and then back down at the charm dangling from Roxy’s neck. She couldn’t help wondering if Calvin would ever start to behave that way again. She’d seen him in action before.

Roxy rose unsteadily, “I gotta go break that up… It was real nice meeting you angel face.”