by Karen Lynch
He drew himself up taller. “I didn’t say I was afraid. I just hate the little bastards.”
I hid my smile. “Just ignore them. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”
“I’m not afraid – ” His eyes bugged, and he looked like he was gasping for air. “Uh, Sara…”
I followed his horrified stare to the rocks above me where a squirming mass of fur and teeth suddenly streamed from beneath the pier. Hundreds of brown and gray bodies formed a moving barrier between us and the pier, while hundreds of pairs of black button eyes watched us with eerie intelligence.
“Jesus Christ!” Roland muttered close to my ear. “This isn’t normal, is it?”
“No.”
“Maybe they can feel the storm coming. Would that freak them out?”
I shook my head, not taking my eyes off the pack of rats. I shifted my position slightly, and a couple of rats bared their sharp incisors at me. I’d been around plenty of rodents and had healed more than one rat over the years, and I had never seen this kind of behavior. Most animals were at ease around me, and never threatening toward me. What if they were sick? My power was strong enough to heal some of them, but not hundreds.
I opened myself and let a trickle of power flow from me, directing it to the closest rodent. The big brown rat’s nose twitched when it sensed the warm energy permeating the cold air around its body, and then it reacted to my power in a way no animal had ever done – it recoiled. I swallowed my gasp of surprise. Animals loved my power. It calmed them and made them feel safe and unafraid. Something was very off with this rat.
A little mental push was all it took to send a stronger stream of power at the squirming rodent. It was almost enough to put him to sleep, but I had to get past his fear and figure out what was wrong with him. I could barely believe my eyes as the brown body twisted and jerked and tried to scramble over the other rats to get away from me. What the hell?
The pack shifted, tossing the fleeing rat around until it lost its footing and tumbled down the mass of bodies to the rocks. Its feet scrambled for purchase on the slimy rocks before it slipped and flew straight at me and Roland.
Roland made a “Gak” sound as my hands shot out instinctively to catch the rat before it hit the water. My fingers closed around the long furry body just as I remembered that the rat had hissed at me a minute ago and would likely sink its not so small teeth into my flesh any second. I let power pour from my hands and into the animal’s body. My power was always stronger with direct contact, and if there was something wrong with this rat, I would know soon what it was.
“What are you doing?” Roland asked in a horrified whisper, his hand clenching my shoulder in a death grip.
I couldn’t answer. My tongue was silenced by the shock of my power colliding with another presence inside the rat’s mind. It was intelligent and strong, and it felt like I touched the outside of an angry hornet’s nest when my energy made contact. I had never encountered anything like it, and it frightened and amazed me at the same time. I felt the rat’s heart race and sensed its terror as it cowered from the thing invading its body. If this same alien presence had infected the whole pack, it was no wonder they were so hostile. What could do something like this, and why?
Roland shook me from behind. “Are you fucking insane? Drop that thing before it gives you rabies or something.”
“Be quiet or those men will hear us,” I warned him hoarsely, securing my hold on the rodent so it could not try to bite me. “There’s something wrong with these rats. Stay still so you don’t frighten them.”
“Frighten them?”
I shrugged out of his hold. “Shhh.”
“Listen, I know you have this weird way with animals, but these are not cats or dogs, Sara. These are rats – huge, crazy rats that look like they are about to eat us. And in case you’ve forgotten, we already have enough to deal with.”
“Just give me a minute, will you?” Roland didn’t know what I knew. As soon as I felt the sinister consciousness in the rat’s mind, I knew it was not going to let us pass. I also knew I could not leave these poor tortured animals without trying to help them.
I let power pool in my hands as if I was going to do a healing. My energy worked on sickness and injuries, but I had no idea how to use it against another power. Except for that one time that I had pushed back on Nikolas when he entered my mind, I’d never used my power offensively, and I had no idea if I could do it again. Time to find out.
My palms grew hot, and the rat began to squirm. “Easy there,” I crooned, caressing its back with my thumbs as I let the power flow into him. The instant I came up against the unnatural presence, it shifted and pulsed like a cold, slimy maggot, and the rat began to squeak and twist frantically. Bile rose in my throat at the feel of the foul thing burrowed in the animal’s mind, and my power flexed unconsciously, pushing at it, surrounding it like it was an infection to be burned from the body. The invader pushed back, and I turned up the heat until I felt the thing shrink away, twisting in pain. I latched on and sent a blast of white-hot energy into it, and I felt the explosion of power in my own mind like a scream. The rat stopped struggling as a healing current swept away the last traces of the sickness and replaced it with a warm sense of safety and wellbeing.
“What the hell…? What did you do?”
“I…” I struggled for the words to explain what I had done. I’d already decided to tell Roland and Peter about my power, but I thought I’d have more time to think of a way to show them. But this – I wasn’t sure what I’d just done. How could I explain it to him?
“Look.” He pointed ahead, and I looked up to see rats disappearing between the narrow slats beneath the pier. I reached out to lay the rat on one of the rocks, and he scampered after his pack without a backward glance.
I resumed my climb over the rocks. “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered. There was no guarantee that what had infected the pack would not return, and we had to make our escape while we could. I sensed that Roland was brimming with questions, but he followed me quietly, as eager to get away from there as I was.
We made it over the rocks without further incident and came to the end of the dock and our only cover. We listened for our pursuers, and I heard them still searching the boats. The whole encounter with the rats had only lasted a few minutes, although it had felt longer, and I’d half expected to find the men right on top of us. I allowed myself a small sigh of relief. One man still watched the entrance, but there was more than one way out of the marina if you didn’t mind getting dirty. And we were already wet and filthy.
Roland followed me as I let myself slide back into the water, clinging to the slats and ropes along the side of the pier. My body hung flush against the pier as I moved sideways, pulling myself along as fast as I dared with my head just above the water. The sun had disappeared while we were under the dock, and a steady wind tossed the water, camouflaging the ripples caused by our progress. Guess that storm is on its way.
My feet touched bottom again, and I trudged the last few yards to shore where I sank wearily on the narrow strip of rocky beach beneath the clubhouse’s deck. Using my power on the rats had not drained me as much as I would have expected, and I just needed a few seconds to catch my breath. At least I wasn’t freezing anymore; that was one good side effect of my power. I hoped Roland was okay. I knew werewolves could withstand extreme temperatures, but I didn’t know if that applied to their human form.
Roland risked a peek round the building and pulled back quickly, shaking his head. He held up a finger and pointed to tell me he’d seen one man standing by the clubhouse door. The parking lot was less than twenty feet away, but there was no way to get to it without being seen.
I saw the worry on his face and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile as I examined our situation. The only way out from our current location was if we followed the beach for about fifty yards then cut across the parking lot of the nearby seafood restaurant. There was a good chance of
being seen by the men on the docks, and I wasn’t sure if it would give us enough headway to lose them if they gave pursuit. It was getting darker by the minute because of the approaching storm, so our best option was to wait until the light faded enough to obscure us and hope the men searching the marina did not think to look down here for us.
I whispered my plan to Roland, and he nodded grimly and settled down beside me to wait. Above the rising wind and the lapping waves, we heard the sounds of activity from the marina as the workers hurried to finish their preparation for the storm. I couldn’t hear our pursuers, but I knew they were still there. I didn’t know what beef they had with Malloy, but with his business it could be anything, and I didn’t want me or Roland dragged into it. The men had not mentioned either of us by name, so hopefully they had no idea who we were or how to find us.
Thirty minutes later, we stood shivering while Roland checked the parking lot again. His mouth formed a thin line as he faced me again. These guys did not give up easily.
We could not afford to wait around here any longer. It was dark enough to risk the beach escape route, so I motioned for Roland to follow me since I knew the area better. Picking our way along the rocks in the near dark was hard going, but we were too glad to be getting out of there to care. Thankfully, both of us had worn dark clothes today, and we managed to blend in well with the beach. Before long, we reached the restaurant and scurried like mice across the parking lot to the street where we set out for my place at a run.
When the lights from the waterfront came into view, we slowed and caught our breath. The wind had really picked up, and I felt cold raindrops against my face. We were already soaked from head to toe, so rain was the least of our worries. Still, I couldn’t wait to get home, peel off my stinking wet clothes, and sink into a tub of hot water. Normally I was a shower person, but I made exceptions for special occasions, and this certainly qualified as one.
“I’m sorry I got you involved in that – whatever it was,” I said when it felt safe enough to talk. “I swear nothing like that has ever happened before.”
“It’s not your fault. I insisted on going, remember? And I’m glad you weren’t alone, though you handled it all better than I did.” He grew quiet for a minute. “What happened with those rats? You did something to them. Is it some Mohiri thing?” he probed. “I don’t know what you did, but I know you made those rats back off.”
We had just spent a harrowing hour jumping off a boat, hiding under a dock in freezing salt water, and running from a group of men who wanted God only knew what, and the one thing Roland zeroed in on was something I was not ready to talk about.
“I did do something. There are things I need to tell you about me, and I promise I will soon… just not right now. Can you wait a few days?”
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
“I just need a few days, and then I swear I’ll tell you and Peter everything. Besides, we’ve had enough excitement today, don’t you think?”
“Alright,” he conceded reluctantly. “But we are going to have a serious talk very soon. You have to stop keeping stuff to yourself like you did about your dad. You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.”
“And no more running off like this. It’s just too dangerous.”
I didn’t reply at first, and his tone grew more serious. “Sara?”
“I promise I’ll be more careful.”
He made a sound like he didn’t believe me. Then he surprised me by chuckling. “And as for having enough excitement today, I think you forgot one thing.”
I shot him a sideways glance. “What?”
Roland smirked as he looked straight ahead. “Him.”
Chapter 14
I felt the Mohiri presence brush against my mind a second before I looked down the street to see Nikolas stalking toward us, his expression darker than the sky. Sucking up my courage, I braced myself for a lecture as we walked toward him. Whatever his honorable intentions, this was still my life. Eventually, he would have to get that through his head – I hoped.
Whatever Nikolas planned to say was forgotten when he got close enough to take in our wet clothes and salty, fishy odor. “What the hell happened this time?”
“We – ”
“Nothing,” I said before Roland could answer.
Nikolas muttered something in another language that sounded like swearing. He shook his head then looked at Roland. “I’ll take her from here.”
“I don’t think so,” I sputtered and filled with dread at his look of determination.
Roland stepped forward. “I’m not sure that’s such a good – ”
“Sara and I need to talk – just talk,” Nikolas told him, ignoring my protest. “And judging by the look on your face, I think you agree with me.”
I turned in disbelief to my friend. “Roland?”
Roland’s eyes were troubled when they met mine. “You won’t listen to me. Maybe it will be good for someone else to…”
“Traitor,” I accused, walking past them both. I couldn’t believe it; my best friend was siding with Nikolas – a werewolf siding with a Mohiri. If I wasn’t so upset, I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.
“Sara, wait…”
I ignored Roland’s plea. The rain began in earnest, and the wind picked up as if the storm was tethered to my mood. I was drenched all over again by the time I reached my building.
Peter was there in his mother’s car waiting for us. “What happened?” he called.
“I’m sure Roland will tell you all about it,” I replied sourly, heading straight for the stairs.
I contemplated locking the door behind me as I flicked on the light in the hallway, but I had a feeling that a deadbolt would be no deterrence to Nikolas in his present mood. For a moment, I held onto the faint hope that the troll ward would keep him out, but that hope was dashed when the door opened as I was kicking off my ruined Vans. I dropped my coat to the floor with a loud plop and moved to the stairs without bothering to look at him. “Make yourself at home,” I said in a voice that was anything but welcoming.
Upstairs, the storm was louder as the wind groaned around the eaves and rain battered the windows. I cracked a window and whistled for Harper who sometimes liked to ride out bad weather inside. There was no sign of the crow, and I soon had to close the window to keep the rain out.
I heard shuffling and turned as Daisy hopped over the top of the stairs. Storms didn’t bother her, but she always turned to me for company when Nate was gone. I rubbed her head, and she trailed after me when I went to the bathroom to start water running in the tub. Nikolas’s talk would have to wait until after I had that nice hot bath I’d promised myself. If he wanted to chat he’d just have to cool his heels downstairs until I was ready.
I wriggled out of my wet jeans and reached into the front pocket for the vial of Ptellon blood, cupping it in my hand reverently. Everything that had gone down at the marina was worth it to secure Nate’s safety. We might not be as close as either of us would have wanted, but I’d do almost anything to protect him from the danger I had brought into our lives. I opened the bottom drawer in my bathroom vanity and stuck the vial in the very back to keep it safe until Nate got home. I only had to slip three drops of the blood-red liquid into his food or drink every month, and the vial held enough to last for at least a year. Between the wards and the Ptellon, Nate should be safe from almost anything supernatural. The Ptellon blood did not repel humans, but it wasn’t humans I was worried about.
A happy moan escaped me when I sank into the hot water. I laid my head against the bath pillow and closed my eyes as the steaming soapy water soaked the grit and stench from my pores. My mind raced from what had happened at the marina. The men chasing us had been frightening, but it was the encounter with the rats that really shook me. I’d never felt anything like that thing in the rat’s mind, and I shivered in spite of the hot water. How was I able to push it out of the rat and then have the strength to affect a wh
ole pack of rats at once? Was my power getting stronger? Nikolas had said that Mohiri powers grew as they reached maturity. Maybe that’s what was happening to me. There was so much about my power that was still a mystery to me, and I wished I had someone to explain it.
I made myself relax and pushed the confusing thoughts aside. The constant drum of rain on the roof lulled me into a pleasant doze, and I stayed there until the water began to cool. I let the water out and stood to wash my hair under the shower. Despite the last few hours and the unwelcome guest downstairs, I felt considerably lighter when I wrapped a large towel around me and walked into my bedroom.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” I shrieked at Nikolas who sat on my couch with my traitorous cat curled up beside him. My sketch pad laid open on his lap as he studied one of the drawings. My drawings were like my journal, and there was something disturbingly intimate about him sitting in my private space, looking at them. “Get out of my room and keep your hands off my things.”
He ignored my outburst, his gaze dark and unfathomable as he looked at me. “You took so long I thought you’d tried to run off again.”
I pulled the towel tighter around me and tried to ignore the heat infusing my face. “Well, as you can see, I am still here. Now do you mind leaving my room so I can get dressed?”
An infuriating smile played around the corners of his mouth, and the room suddenly felt too warm. “Of course.” He laid the sketchbook on the couch and stood. “Your drawings are quite good. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“I don’t show them to anyone. They’re private,” I said pointedly to remind him again that he was violating my personal space. Inside I felt a small flare of pleasure at the praise, but I would never let him know that.
He looked entirely unapologetic for the intrusion as he walked unhurriedly to the stairs. “I’ll see you downstairs shortly.”
Fuming, I went to the couch to close the sketchbook and stopped just short of reaching for it when I saw Nikolas’s face looking up at me. I felt the familiar stab of fear I experienced every time I remembered that night in Portland. I didn’t write down my feelings in a journal. I drew them, and for some reason this image was the one that stood out most in my memory from that night. Maybe because it was the moment I knew I was not alone. It made me feel open and vulnerable having someone else look at it, especially Nikolas.