4. The Messenger
Manny paced beside the airport terminal and scanned the horizon to the north. Claudia lost her cell phone signal after she got off the ground, and he hadn't heard from her since. He got his hopes up every time a dot appeared above the horizon; sometimes it was a hawk or a turkey vulture, sometimes it was a small plane, but it was never the small plane that carried his sister south.
It was May when the skinwalker Angelito attacked Claudia behind the hay shed. Each month since then as her period approached he stalked her again. Claudia could sense his presence like a stench in the air. It was July when Claudia and Abuela Ortiz told IdĂĄlia what was going on, and when Claudia's time came close again she was on a chartered plane where Angelito's couldn't follow her. Now it was Manny's job to keep his little sister safe; he'd done it before and he was ready to do it again.
Manny's phone chimed to tell him he had a message. Claudia texted, "I have a signal! The pilot says we're over Radium Springs and we'll be there in a few minutes."
"I'm waiting," Manny replied. He felt a bulge grow in his jeans and shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know if Claudia felt the same anticipation.
"God it's hot," he thought, and glanced to the southwest. He looked for the thunderstorms that might bring some relief; they boiled up behind Mount Riley, but that was still too distant to help
A plane appeared around the barren little mountains to the north. It circled the field and Manny's phone chimed. "I think I see you," Claudia said. Manny waved and his phone chimed again, "I do!"
The little plane shimmered in the hot air and settled toward the blue mirage that obscured the runway. Once on the ground it slowed and turned back to the terminal, and Manny spotted Claudia waving through a window behind the pilot.
Claudia waited until the pilot opened the door and helped her out. She squealed, "Manny!" as soon as her running shoes touched the ground, but she glanced toward the pilot and stopped herself from throwing her arms around his neck. She touched Manny's arm and brushed her lips on his cheek, but even that sent a thrill through her big brother.
The pilot placed Claudia's luggageâtwo pink bags, each with a pair of large, gold "C"s beside the handleâon the tarmac next to her and asked, "I'll see you Tuesday morning?" he asked.
Claudia nodded. "That's the plan," she said. "If there's a change, how much lead time do I need to give you?"
"A day's warning would be good," he said, and left them looking at each other.
Claudia gripped Manny's arm and asked, "You don't have to go back to work or anything, do you?"
Manny knew the answer that his sister wanted from the way she tightened her hold on his arm. "No. It's Friday and I have the rest of the day off. My unit manager knows I have family visiting, so she's letting me set my schedule while you're here. The one catch is that there's a staff party tomorrow night and she wants to meet you there."
Claudia relaxed and tugged at his arm. "I love parties, now can we get out of the sun? It was cool when we left town and it's like baking here now."
Manny picked up Claudia's bags, and she walked beside him on the way to his car. "Was there any sign of Angelito before you left?" he asked.
"I could feel him watching the house," Claudia said, "But I don't think he followed us to the airportâat least I couldn't feel him there." They were quiet for a few steps then Claudia added, "I hope this works Manny, 'cause I'm tired of it. I can't go anywhere alone when he's around, and I feel like anyone with me could be a target."
"Better me than anyone else," Manny said. He stowed Claudia's bags in the trunk then opened the car door and warned her, "Don't get in yet. It's hot."
"HĂjole, Manny, you're not kidding!" Claudia said. The air from inside the car met her like the blast from an oven. It passed, and then she slipped into the seat and winced from the touch of the hot upholstery against the back of her bare legs.
Manny folded his long frame into the driver's seat and started the car. He turned the air conditioner all the way up, and while he pulled out Claudia adjusted the vents so they blew straight on her. He glanced at Claudia as he got onto the interstate and found her searching through her purse. When he pulled off the interstate again she was brushing her long, black hair up into a loose topknot.
Claudia saw Manny's curious expression and explained, "I'm getting my hair off my neck. It'll feel so much better this way." There was something about his sister's look, or maybe it was in her scent, that made Manny's cock stiffen again.
They both jumped from the car when he stopped. Manny opened the trunk while Claudia looked around to get her bearing, then she said, "Give me your keys. Its 2B, right?"
She snatched the keys away from Manny and ran ahead of him while he pulled her bags out of the trunk and hauled them up the stairs. He found the apartment door open and Claudia in the small living room adjusting to the cool darkness inside.
"Your roomy is gone for the summer, right?" Claudia asked.
"Yeah. For three more weeks," Manny said. He set her bags on the floor and motioned to a tidy bedroom that opened to the right of the sofa. "I put new linens on his bed and it's all yours." Manny stepped behind Claudia while she looked into her room and touched her arms. "If you want it, I guess."
Claudia spun around and looked at Manny with a big-eyed expression, and laughed. "Dios mĂo, Manny!" she said, and motioned toward the bed. "Mom can think I'm staying in there, but I want to sleep with you." She stepped close and looked up at her brother. "Manny, I'm so horny I could cry. I need you to fuck me."
"Now?" Manny asked, and when Claudia nodded her head he tugged her by her elbow into his bedroom where the curtains were all drawn against the bright daylight. He stopped her by the bed and pulled on her new topknot to tip her head back. Claudia rose in Manny's arms and he bent to kiss her mouth while he unsnapped her shorts and pushed his hand down into her panties.
Claudia stepped her legs apart and broke their kiss. "Touch me," she said. "I know I'm already wet."
She was. Manny explored Claudia for only a moment before he boosted her onto his bed. He climbed onto the bed behind her and turned her on her hands and knees. He tugged her pants and her panties down to bare her wet slit and she pushed back against his hand while he opened her with two fingers.