The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) by Derrolyn Anderson Page A

garage door. The girl whose body Michael had been slurping shots from stood screeching at the man to stop as Michael gasped for air, his eyes rolling back into his head. A crowd had gathered, their delight at witnessing a fight slowly being replaced by the horror of a one-sided spectacle.
    “Stop it!” Layla shrieked, but the man was so white hot with jealous rage that he heard nothing but the blood pounding in his own ears. She rushed forward, but Conrad grabbed her arm, holding her back.
    He pulled out his phone, “I’m calling the cops!”
    “No!” she cried, “Let me go!” She wrenched away from his grasp just as Calvin and his father arrived to pull the man away, each one fighting to control an arm. Michael slumped to the ground and Caledonia wedged herself between them, taking the big man’s face between her hands and forcing him to look her in the eye.
    “Calm down,” she said in a low voice, and Layla saw an impressive stream of tranquilizing lavender engulf his anger, tempering the blood red rage, dulling it, and finally encompassing it. Layla knelt by Michael’s side, cradling his head in her lap as he coughed and gasped, his body twitching.
    “Michael! Michael? Can you hear me?” she cried.
    “Yeah… yeah,” he nodded, coughing. He struggled to sit up.
    She had just gotten him to his feet when Jarod came over to apologize, “I’m sorry buddy. Someone should have warned you to stay away from Tiny’s girl.”
    “Tiny?!” Layla repeated incredulously.
    “He only gets like this when he drinks… He put a dude in the hospital just for grabbing her ass once.” He frowned over at the girl, “She likes to start this shit too.”
    Layla turned to see the big man standing in a cloud of bewilderment, temporarily pacified. His friends milled about him, equally confused by the sudden turn of events. They looked suspiciously at Michael, and she could feel the anger swelling in their ranks. Their mutterings were underscored by the sympathetic squeals of Tiny’s faithless girlfriend as she clung to his thick neck.
    Layla took Michael by the arm and led him to where Conrad stood watching helplessly. Cali came to join them. “That wasn’t easy,” she said in a low voice. “You’d better get him out of here.”
    Layla nodded, looking to Conrad, “Can we take him home?”
    Conrad grudgingly agreed, his disappointment obvious. “I’ll go pull the car around.”
    Crystal arrived and started fussing over Michael, who stood reeling, more drunk than injured. Jarod watched Conrad stalk off into the dark street. “What’s that dude’s problem anyways? He’s been standing around all night like he has a stick up his ass.”
    Conrad drove his car up the driveway, leaving the engine running while he helped Layla maneuver Michael into the back seat. When they pulled away he heaved a heavy sigh. “I suppose this means we skip the bed and breakfast.”
    “I’m sorry.” Layla twisted around to look back at Michael, his head lolling from side to side with the motion of the car. “But we should probably get him home right away.”
    After a while Conrad started to look nervously into the rear view mirror. “He doesn’t look very good.”
    Layla turned back just in time to see Michael roll down the window, lean his head out, and spray vomit all over Conrad’s pristine silver paint job.

    ~
     
    Chapter Eight
    SNIPER
     
    ~
     
    Conrad drove them straight home that night, only stopping briefly at a gas station where he did his best to hose off the side of his car. When they pulled into the driveway Layla nudged Michael awake, waiting while he mumbled his apologies and stumbled sheepishly into the house.
    Layla watched him disappear inside, turning to Conrad, “I’m so sorry. Michael isn’t always like that… He hasn’t been very happy lately.”
    He nodded with sympathy. “It’s not your fault. You can’t pick your family.”
    “No… really! He doesn’t know any better. I mean, he doesn’t know how