by JJ Krzemien
I could tell I was staring, but didn’t know what else to do. The emotional roller coaster going on inside of me left me reeling.
Beside me, Nixie released my arm and said, “Look what you did. You put her in a trance.”
“Not likely.” He chuckled. It was similar to the deep but smooth sound that I’d grown accustomed to from my garanth friend—or traiter. I still wasn’t sure which Oscar had turned out to be.
Finally, I gazed down, blinking. “I’m sorry.”
Nixie nudged me. “Don’t be. Pretty boy here is Zur. He likes surprising people with his oh-so-unique blue eyes while he’s pretending not to notice their reaction.” She gave him a feisty grin. “Zur, this is Li—”
“Lilianna Ross. Our newest member. Welcome to our island.” He extended a hand. I stared at it for a moment before taking it. His palm was warm, hard, and dry. I looked up at him. He had to be six-four, and was bursting with muscle.
My heart beat faster and it had absolutely nothing to do with him reminding me of Oscar. I slipped my hand from his and said, “Thank you.”
“Nixie here will drag you around this island all day if you let her. But my superpowers tell me that you, Lilianna, could really do with some down time. Am I right?”
“I’m fine actually.” I shoved my hands in my jean pockets. As if that would hide my exhaustion.
“See, she’s fine.” Nixie said. “She wants to meet new people. Cool people, not just you.”
“Hey now.” Zur pretended to be offended. “Fine. I was wrong. Carry on.”
Nixie turned toward the coffee house.
I followed her for a couple of steps then turned back. “What superpower?” I asked Zur.
Nixie answered for him. “He’s talking about his mood sensing powers. He’s half gargoyle.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Half gargoyle. Like Oscar. I wondered if I had sensed that about him or if it was just the black-guy-with-blue-eyes similarity that reminded me of Oscar. Either way, I wasn’t sure how much time I wanted to spend around him. The resemblance was uncanny. Maybe they were related.
We walked through the coffee house door, Nixie leading the way and Zur behind me. Small groups of teenagers crowded the place. Although with hybrids a fifty-year-old could still look like they were eighteen, at least that’s the way it seemed. I’d have to ask someone about the whole aging process. How long would I appear to be sixteen?
Most of the hybrids looked human—either able to hide their mythic side or they were shifters. Others were obviously not fully human. One girl, about my age, had green skin. A guy in his twenties had an elephant’s trunk for a nose.
At one square wooden table set against a wall, Edgar laughed with a group of dhampirs. How could they possibly let him stay here after what he’d done? He was one of the Amigis. He’d admitted it in front of them.
He glanced up, probably sensing my stare. I shifted my gaze to the back of Nixie’s head. Let him stay, I didn’t care. As long I could avoid him.
We stopped in front of a long table of eleven girls. Each had the exotic features of islanders, but from around the world. Nixie made an encompassing gesture. “This is the demi-mer sorority.” Nixie said. “And this,” she said, pointing to me, “is Lilianna, who will be living in our wing of the dorm.” Nixie leaned toward them and whispered, “She’s a nephilim.”
Several of the girl’s raised their brows at that introduction. All of them politely said hello as they scooted closer together on the bench to make room for me and Nixie. Zur took a seat in the chair at the end. The demi-mer next to him gave him a dirty look before turning toward her sorority sister. What was that all about?
Sitting at the end of the bench, next to Zur, I glanced at him. He grinned in response, seeming to ignore the mermaid. I looked down. Why was I blushing?
“Lili,” Edgar said at my shoulder.
I startled, not having noticed him walk up. I really needed to get some sleep, and I really didn’t want to deal with him right now.
“Go away.” I said without looking at him.
He squatted next to the bench. “I really need to talk to you. I need to make you understand—”
I glared at him. “Oh, I understand just fine. Go away.”
“This is not the right place to talk,” Edgar took hold of my hand, “come with me.”
I wrenched out of his grip.
Zur leaned forward. “Dude, she said leave her alone.”
Edgar flashed his fangs at Zur. His eyes turning gold.
“Stop it. Go away. I mean it.” I turned my frown on Zur. “And you stay out of this.”
He held both hands up over his head. “Only trying to help.”
“Well, I don’t need it.” Being rude seemed like the only way to get my point across. But I wasn’t angry with him. If anything, some part of me felt like I was protecting him from Edgar. I’d seen Edgar fight—it was both horrifying and amazing.
Edgar grabbed my arm and yanked me up as he stood. What was wrong with him?
“Let me go!”
The coffee shop fell silent as everyone turned to stare at us. I could feel the heat rise in my face from both annoyance and embarrassment.
I heard a slapping thud and Edgar released his hold. He stumbled back a few feet before regaining his balance. Zur was standing, his face set in stony anger.
Edgar, who was at least four inches shorter, puffed himself up to his full height. His slight build seemed even thinner next to Zur’s broad frame.
“You want to push me again, boy?” Edgar said in his best drawl.
I gasped. Edgar wasn’t racist, was he? “Stop it, both of you.”
Zur reached out one arm and gently moved me behind him, as he took a step toward Edgar.
Edgar smiled. “Who knows what kind of half-creature you are. But I’m a dhampir and you’ll regret this.”
The silence in the coffee shop broke as people shoved their chairs back and stepped away. A space was cleared around the two circling hybrids.
Nixie took my hand. “We’d better get back a bit. You’ve never seen Zur fight.”
My heart sank. “And you’ve never seen Edgar fight.”
We exchanged a worried glance. Nixie whispered, “Good thing they heal real quick.”
That statement did little to make me feel better. Zur was only sixteen, maybe seventeen and Edgar had over a hundred years on him—which meant a lot more experience.
“Isn’t fighting forbidden here?” I asked Nixie.
She shrugged. “Yep. But it happens all the time.”
I frowned. Didn’t anyone enforce the rules?
Edgar hissed, slowly circling Zur.
Zur said, “You ready? I’ll show you what kind of half-creature I am.” Then he morphed. It wasn’t the same slow bone cracking that Oscar went through. Zur’s transformation was fluid and swift. One moment he was a muscular guy and the next he was a fearsomely huge garanth. He lacked Oscar’s muzzle; his face more closely resembling a human’s. His skin was white marble, reflecting the last bit of early evening light. I blinked. He was beautiful.
He flexed translucent batwings in an intimidating gesture and Edgar’s usually pale skin turned whiter. He’d really not known he was facing off with a garanth. Had Oscar been the only one he’d even seen, too?
Determination filled Edgar’s eyes. He wasn’t going to back down. He also wasn’t going to underestimate Zur anymore. I wanted to make them stop, but they were beyond listening to me. They were so focused on each other.
Edgar lunged at light speed. He ran up and over Zur until he perched on the garanth’s back. He drew his head back and opened his mouth, preparing to take a chunk out of Zur’s neck with his teeth.
Zur folded over and collapsed into a ball. He rolled into a somersault. A sickening crunch sounded as loud as a gunshot in the room—he’d rolled over Edgar. Zur came out of the roll and was on his feet again, ready and waiting.
Edgar lay healing on the wide plank floor. In seconds he was s
tanding, then moving in a black and gold blur around Zur. He took pieces out of the garanth with his nails and teeth.
As quick and agile as Zur was, he was no match for the speed of a dhampir. Bits of flesh and blood flew everywhere. My stomach churned. I’d seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and it had already followed me here to my new found sanctuary. This fight was because of me.
Through either luck or anticipation, Zur got one clawed hand on Edgar. He lifted the dhampir by the throat and shook him. “This can stop now,” Zur said in a deep, silky voice.
Edgar shook his head and gave him a bloody grin. “Can’t you see I’m winning?”
Zur growled. He threw Edgar out the front window. Glass shattered, showering onto the paved, mossy walkway.
This could go on forever and I didn’t have the stomach for it. I ran to Zur and stood in front of him. “No more. Just stop.”
“Tell him that,” Zur gestured with his chin over my head.
Edgar stood in the doorway, glaring.
“Stop right now.” I glared back at him.
“I need to talk to you.” Edgar glanced at me.
“Fine! Just stop already.” Anything to get these two idiots to stop fighting.
“Okay. In a minute. I’m going to teach this dog his place.” Edgar sped around me and launched himself at Zur, they both went down.
I screeched and jogged backward to get out of their way. The back of my knees hit a bench and I sat down hard. For a moment I felt the rage flicker inside of me. Then it went out. I was too tired. Where my anger had been, and all of the power that I felt with it, now held nothing but heartache and regret.
Zur and Edgar rolled around on the floor like drunken frat boys. I did my best to ignore them. This wasn’t my fight anymore.
The screen door to the coffee shop opened with a squeak. “That’s enough!” A man said.
Zur immediately disengaged and stood at attention. Edgar slowly rose to his feet, looking around.
Something about that voice sent chills down my arms and up my scalp. I squinted toward the door. He hadn’t come in all the way and the door frame cast a shadow on his face. He seemed about average height with a stocky build.
The man spoke again, “Both of you to Proteus’s office now. Zuriel, I’m surprised. You know fighting isn’t allowed.” He took a step forward to get out of the doorway. The overhead lights clearly showed his plain features, brown hair, and brown eyes that bored into mine.
It was the gunman. The man who’d killed Sarah.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
My breath caught in my throat. Flashes of memory overwhelmed me: The gunman’s semi-automatic firing into my shoulder in the hospital. The nurse he’d killed. His easy manner with his fellow officers at the Lake Oswego police station. The glint of his rifle on the clock tower downtown. Sarah covered in blood as she slumped to the sidewalk outside of Nordstrom—dead.
This was all his fault. For all I knew he’d also killed my parents, Sarah’s parents, and made my life a living hell. I hated him as much as I hated Rose and Cadoc.
Slowly, I stood. The familiar feeling of anger and power tingled as it coursed through me. My vision focused in on the gunman; the rest of the room, and those in it, seemed to darken and blur.
My power reached out to him. This time I could almost see it, like translucent red tendrils. When they found him, the tendrils entered his body and clutched his heart. His brown eyes widened. He clawed at his chest and screamed.
In unison the coffee house echoed with fifty other screams. In the back of my mind I knew it was the other hybrids. I was hurting them, too. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I couldn’t stop.
The life force of so many hybrids flowing into me was ecstasy. It filled me up, empowering me. Once again I felt invincible. The expression of pure agony on the gunman’s face brought a smile to mine. Finally, some justice in this world.
Abruptly, the flow was cut off. I felt bound and stifled. The sensation reminded me of Cadoc’s power. I whirled around, seeking him.
The coffee shop floor was a sea of young hybrids coughing and moaning. My anger vanished. What had I done? I swallowed hard.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to the room.
“You should be.” The girl, about my age, stood at the back of the shop. She wore a green apron and her black hair pulled up inside of a net. She snapped her fingers and I felt the invisible bonds release me.
“You?” I gaped at her. Was she a cambion, like Cadoc? Oscar had said the Tribe wouldn’t allow half demons in. Maybe he’d been wrong.
She took the hairnet off and dropped it in the trash. “That’s right. Now I’m going to take you to the Founder.” She looked me up and down with a sneer. “Proteus will deal with you.”
“Angelica, I’ll deal with this,” the gunman said. I’d almost forgotten him by the door. Turning to him, I glared. He’d stood up and seemed mostly recovered, though he eyed me warily.
“No disrespect, Mr. Greer,” the girl said, “but I think you’ll need some help with this one.”
“Angelica, this is my fault.” He waved at me. “She thinks I’m Amigis or worse.”
Angelica crossed her arms. “Why would she think that?”
The gunman shook his head. “It’s a long story.” His gaze fell on me. “Ms. Ross, please come with me and I’ll explain everything.”
I snorted. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You shot me—twice. You killed Sarah. You—”
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Come with me to talk with Proteus.”
He was a liar and a murderer. My face grew warm and my hands trembled. Angela snapped her fingers again and the dampening sensation came back.
“Mr. Greer, I think you should leave,” Angelica said.
The gunman glanced at her. “This is my responsibil—”
“We’ll be right behind you. Just walk ahead. Meet us at the Founder’s office.” She stepped toward me. “I’ve got this.”
With a single nod, the gunman turned and went outside. The screen door banged shut against its wooden frame.
“Freak,” someone in the shop said. I flinched. They were talking about me. Half of the students were standing, the other half were either sitting up or hiding under the tables. The heat of embarrassment crept up my face.
Nixie stood off to one side and wouldn’t meet my gaze. Behind her, Zur had his arms wrapped protectively around her shoulders. He studied me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. The three of us could have been friends, but I’d blown that for sure.
Edgar was standing by the other dhampirs, who all bared their fangs at me. He didn’t seem as shocked as the others—having already experienced my uncontrollable curse when I’d gotten mad at him in his living room. He’d been the only one here who knew what kind of monster I was, now they all knew. I hung my head.
Angelica poked me. “Let’s go.” She removed her apron and strutted past.
We walked through the painfully silent coffee house. She opened the squeaky door and I followed her out. As soon as the screen door closed, the shop burst with conversation. I cringed.
Following behind Angela, I noticed we were the same height. She wore torn blue jeans and a chunky tan sweater. The heels of her ankle boots clicked on the stone walkway.
Even though she faced away, she was still focused on me. I could tell by the bound feeling that wrapped me tight. Was she just showing off? There wasn’t anyone else around and she didn’t seem fazed by my horrible ability.
I summoned up the courage to ask her, “Are you a cambion? I can feel what you’re doing—”
She whipped around. “How dare you!”
I halted, startled by her outburst. “What? I can feel what you’re doing to me.”
“I’m a nephilim, you idiot.” She huffed. “That’s angelic grace you’re feeling.”
Seriously? How clueless was she? “Uh, no it’s not…”
“How would you
know?” She crossed her arms.
“Because yesterday I had a cambion do this exact same thing to me. You may have heard of him. He’s called Cadoc.”
Angelica grabbed my arm and hurried me along. “There are a few things you should know. One, don’t ever speak a cambion’s name—in fact we don’t even talk about the C-word here. Two, maybe what that evil thing did to you felt similar, but I guarantee you that it’s not the same at all. I’ve wrapped you in grace so that you can’t hurt anyone else.” She halted, pointing a finger in my face. “And three, you can thank me anytime now for saving you from making a huge mistake—like actually killing someone.” She released my arm and continued to lead the way. “Gah, you’re so stupid.”
Saved me? Thank her? While she calls me idiot and stupid? I don’t think so. What kind of holier-than-thou trip was this girl on?
We reached the center of the campus as the last rays of sunlight vanished. Street lamps clicked on to cast a yellow hue under the evergreen branches. The lights had a muted glow and were spaced far apart. They were shorter than most lamps so they wouldn’t be detected from above through the dense forest.
At Proteus’s unusually tall door, Angelica let us in. Angry voices floated down the staircase into the foyer. One belonged to Proteus for sure. The other had to be the gunman. But why were they yelling at each other?
Angelica arched an eyebrow at me, as if to say see-what-you’ve-done-now. She started up the stairs. What was Proteus going to do with me when he heard about what I’d done? Throw me out? Probably. Reluctantly, I followed Angelica. Sure I was about to find out.
As we approached the landing, I could clearly hear Proteus and the gunman.
The gunman said, “I wish you’d rethink this, Proteus. It was a mistake.”
“It was cocky, absurd recklessness,” the founder boomed. “I’ve already suspended you from the Squad, and until further notice, you’re on suspension from teaching as well.”