Page 7 of Anywhere

Waving my hand back and forth, I shook my head. “Please don’t call me sir. Rook is fine.”

The colour drained from his face, and he stumbled back, his hand going to his chest. His shock-white hair seemed to stand a little taller as his pale blue eyes grew wide. It was hard to tell how old Illiam was. The soft lines starting to form around his eyes said late thirties, but the way he spoke suggested that he was a fuck tonne older.

“Ave me offended ya?” Illiam asked.

I shook my head. “Um, no. Why?” I asked as the trolley of my suitcases was pushed over for me.

“Sir, it be tradition ta call ya sir or Master. Ta no do so be shameful. I’d be thrown out of da home and me wife beaten and me children sold for such a heinous crime.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, lifting a brow at the man. I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. Father was hardcore on the rules we had to follow, but I couldn’t picture him killing someone for not calling him sir or Master.

Illiam began to laugh, his face transforming from fear to joy in a heartbeat. “Naw, I’ma just takin’ the mick outta ya.” As he laughed hard, all I could think was how I might actually like the idea of him being punished after all. “Come on, den. Put yer case in da boot,” he said and wandered to what I thought was the passenger side of the car until the miniature box on wheels fired up.

“What the fuck is a boot?” I yelled. “And where is my damn limo?”

Illiam stuck his head out the window and put a pair of sunglasses on. “What ya waitin’ for?”

There was a click, and the trunk lifted slightly on the small car. Pulling it open, I stared at the space that would hold only one of my seven suitcases.

“Where do you expect me to fit my stuff?” I pointed to the trolley being wheeled over by one of the workers.

“Put da one in. Da rest will be brought ta da castle fir ya. Hurry on. We ‘ave a schedule ta be keepin’.” Illiam put his head back inside the window, and I ground my teeth together.

“I’m going to kill someone before I figure a way out of this. I can see it,” I said, laying the suitcase into the thing they called a boot and then grabbed the next smallest one and my guitar. I didn’t trust anyone with my baby. Stuffing the second bag in the boot, I closed the lid and had to lean on the top to get it to lock. Getting into the passenger seat, which felt completely strange on the opposite side of the car, I rested my guitar between my legs and looked over at Illiam as he stared at me.

“What?”

“Seatbelt.” He pointed to the buckle, and I groaned.

“Oh, for the love….” Grabbing the strap, I buckled it and crossed my arms as I slumped down into the seat. It had no leg space for my long legs. My head slammed back against the seat as Illiam shifted the car into gear and tore out of the small airport like we’d entered a Formula One race. “Holy shit!” I grabbed for the emergency handle as the car skidded sideways out of the airport. “What the fuck? Are you trying to kill me?”

“We ‘ave a schedule ta keep. Come on. I be tinkin’ yer dis wild rocker dat likes livin’ on da edge.” Illiam removed his hands from the wheel to make air quotes with his fingers before he laughed and flicked on the radio. He pressed a button, and soon my voice was being blared into the car. “Well, come on, den, loosen up. Yer gonna get ta meet yer second. Rhys be eye candy,” Illiam said and smiled. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

“Oh, yay for me,” I mumbled under my breath.

I’d never even seen a picture of this guy, and yet we were supposed to go on some wild hunt like savages to find our woman. Roar! Look at me. Me savage and need to drag woman back by hair to fuck and make a triad of three. It was fucking ridiculous that this format of the triad still existed. It was beyond archaic. Why did this ritual need to continue, anyway? The world was at peace. The Flitters were blissfully kept unaware, the other Factions were happy, and we all got along. It simply made no sense.

Once we reached the main road, Illiam opened the windows and lip-synced along to the words. This was my favourite song to sing live. The crowd always got into it, and I could feel the energy flowing from the thousands singing and dancing. Never hurt that the girls in the front row would throw their underwear. I always got security to bring a few back to the room to complete my night.

Leaning my head on the door, I watched the world pass by and had to admit that the bright emerald greens of the rolling hills were stunning. The landscape opened up, and I occasionally caught sight of large castles in the distance and the water well beyond that, but for the most part, we were surrounded by vacant space. It just felt so open and empty. The roads were quiet, too quiet. Back home, the highways and freeways were always jammed, but here, it was like we were the only two people on the entire island. It gave me the creeps.

The farther we drove, the more things changed, and soon it was farmland and large clumps of forest. I never saw another living person and began looking closer at the farms we passed. There were homes, but no one outside.

“Is there a reason why no one is on the road?”

Illiam looked over at me. “Were ya expectin’ ta be seein’ someone?”

“What? No, I mean it’s quiet,” I said and gestured toward the front window to demonstrate.

Illiam smiled. “Oh! Aye, ain’t it grand?” He took a deep breath. “I’ma bettin’ yer no used to dis kind o’ fresh air.”

I blinked at the man. Forget not speaking the same damn language. We didn’t belong on the same planet. I just nodded, deciding that if the man were driving me to my death, at least it would have more people.

I turned my head to stare out the window once more when we drove past a magnificent castle that even I couldn’t take my eyes off. Not that I’d never admit it to my father, but I loved the look of it.

“Dat be Glentruan Castle and da home of da McGregors,” Illiam said, pointing at the massive castle. Of course, it was Rhys’. I definitely wasn’t saying anything about liking the look of it now. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the cool stone and large turrets. There was something majestic and haunting about it.

Back home, the Factions had left everything pretty much the same as it had been when the war started. The only difference was that toll booths were set up to mark borders. Those who manned them were hired by the Faction for their abilities to keep the border safe. To a Flitter, the employees simply took the money for the toll and told them to have a great day at work.