Eudora's Gift

Chapter Four

My God, I've found her. 

She stared up at him like a wild animal caught in a hunter's trap, her big brown eyes wide and confused.  For a moment her hair fell away, and he finally, FINALLY saw her face.  She was breathtakingly beautiful, with high cheekbones, and brown eyes that tipped down a bit at the corners, making her look a little sad.  Her honey colored skin was marred by an ugly bruise across her cheek.  The sight of that bruise made rage rise instantly in his throat.  Who ever had hurt her was going to die.  She pulled away first, and he had to remember that he was in a classroom full of gawking kids, and he had to keep playing the teacher.  Go slow, his mother reminded him.

It took all of his self control to walk away, play it cool and continue teaching the lesson.  His heart was racing under that hateful tie.  She had a name, and she had a face... and judging by the confusion in her eyes she knew nothing. She had no idea what bonded them together.  As soon as the bell rang, she sprinted for the door.  By the goddess, she was stealthy and fast.  He trudged through the rest of the work day, but he kept watching for her, any glimpse he could get of her in the halls, or in the cafeteria at lunch time, but she had disappeared into the halls of the school.

After he finished his classes he took out his personal computer and hacked into the schools archaic record system.  They really should update their security protocols he thought grimly as he typed in her name and accessed her files.  There she was.  Eudora Ann Stone.  Her 18th birthday had indeed been August 17th.  If he remembered back, it was the very night he had first dreamed of her shadowy figure in the wood.  Her academic records were impressive.  She was a straight A student, across the board, in every subject.  She was taking the most difficult courses the high school offered, and had already earned several credits toward college.  Her attendance was a little sporadic, and he saw that last year she'd been issued a warning that if she continued to be absent she would not receive credit for the classes she was enrolled in.  There was also a red flag on her file stating that "Eudora Stone is a troubled and difficult child with poor social skills."  Jericho frowned darkly at that, and wondered who had flagged her file, and why?  As he studied her schedule, he saw she favored art classes, and seemed to have taken every art class that was offered.  She was now in an Honors Elite Art class in 4th period.  He memorized her schedule so that he would know where she was every moment of the day.

Her health history was completely blank.  There was no record of her last physical, or any physical for that matter, and no immunization record.  That was a bit puzzling, as that was government mandated by most schools.  He scrolled down to her personal information.  There was nothing listed under parental contacts.  No father, no mother.  There was a guardian listed as an uncle: Foster Stone, and an address on Olde Job Road.  Jericho jotted down the address, and the telephone number, and then logged out of the school system.

He used Google maps to pin point her address, and found that it was far up on the mountain, in a very remote area.  Olde Job road was merely a dirt road that wasn't maintained by the state, and seemed to be an old logging road.  The satellite imagery revealed what looked to be an old trailer tucked away in a small clearing near the end of the road, miles from any other houses.

For several days he just relaxed and observed her.  She seemed shy and fearful, avoiding other students and even the teachers.  She darted in and out of her classes, sat in the back corners, and kept her face covered with her grey hoodie and her long dark hair.  She wore shapeless, baggy clothes that were old and worn but always clean.  She always had her homework done and was well ahead of the teachers assignments.  She usually took her lunch period in the library. She didn’t eat, but spent the time on the computers typing up her papers or simply reading in a back corner.  The librarian seemed to be quite fond of her, and sometimes they exchanged a few quiet words.  So it wasn't that the girl couldn't talk, she just chose not to.

Now that he'd seen her, now that he had made eye contact with her, the bond had become quite strong, and his nightly dreams had become more detailed, more intense.  His mate now had a face, the shadowy figure had a form.  Sometimes she seemed vaguely aware of him, she would look up and search the trees in his direction, as if she sensed him, but could not see him.  Once he heard her singing, something sweet and enchanting.  Her voice was so melodic, it drew him like a siren, but still he could never quite reach her in the dream.  Either she faded away in the darkness, or she ran away.  Was she running from him, or was there something else in the dream-forest that scared her?  Who was this girl?

He called in a favor from a friend of his at work, and asked for information on Foster Stone.  It took a few days for the email to arrive, but it was pretty sparse.  "He's nobody special," his friend had informed him over the phone.  "A rogue that’s been living alone in a rural place.  Works at a quarry."

"Why did he go rogue?"

"Seems the pack kicked him out for being drunk and disorderly and being unwilling to seek treatment.  Lost his s**t after his mate died.  You know how it happens.  Its in the report bro."

"Alright, thanks man, I owe you one."

"Of course you do.  Stay safe."

Jericho opened the email and read through the file, but like his friend had said, Stone was nobody of particular importance.  There was no reference to Eudora in the file, however, and that seemed strange.  Shouldn't there be some sort of legal guardianship documentation?  He did have a younger sister named Kayla Lee.  Was that Eudora's mother?  Her whereabouts where unknown.  He sighed in frustration and closed the laptop with more force than necessary.  He had the feeling that there was something more here than met the eye.