Cade (Society Book 2)

by Mason Sabre

  Phoenix pushed the shirt from his shoulder to look at where the bite was. He hoped it would be gone, the reminder erased from his flesh. But the skin remained puckered and pink. He lightly ran a finger over where the darker dints were from the other boy’s sharp teeth. He slapped his hand down over it, covering it so that he couldn’t see it. Why had he let Robert bite him? His mother would still be alive if he hadn’t been so stupid. He closed his eyes and dug his fingers into his shoulder until he felt the sting of his nails breaking the skin. He felt blood well, but when he looked at the damage he had done, he watched in amazement as the small welts slowly closed back up and disappeared to nothing more than indistinct marks.

  Taking a deep breath, Phoenix let his eyes close. He could feel Cade, that warmth when there is another person close by—it was so strange. It was as if he were in the room with him. Phoenix’s eyes snapped open, half expecting the man who had been helping him to be there. But he was all alone in the room. He frowned, wondering if he was just going crazy. “Get up,” he muttered to himself. “Get up and move.”

  He pushed his thoughts away and slid off the bed. There was a window to the side and he tiptoed over to it, his legs unsteady as he moved. He pressed his face against the glass, cupping his hands around the sides of his face to block out the light so that he could see outside. It was dark out there, but he had no idea what time it was—his body clock was totally off now. It had to be evening, though, he thought. Cade had a visitor, and visitors didn’t come late. Did they? He reminded himself that these were not Humans he was dealing with. They were Other. He remembered his dad’s warnings as he was growing up, how Others came out after dark, and that was why they had to stay indoors—like prisoners. Others made it so that they couldn’t go out after dark. His father hated Others, like every adult he knew. They were vermin allowed to germinate on the outskirts of town was what his father had claimed.

  Did that make him vermin now, too?

  Banishing the thought, he looked out into the darkness and was surprised to find that even his vision was better. Like some kind of super night vision, he could see everything. The room below was lit, and the glow from the window created a circled of yellow light outside on the grass, but beyond that, into the darkness, he could still see. There was just a mass of overgrowth. His mother would have loved this garden, he thought. She’d have made it nice.

  No. He couldn’t think about her. He blinked away the sudden tears and tried to focus on the now. There were no other houses that he could see—he was in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps it should scare him, but for some reason, it didn’t. He felt safe here, even though there was no logic as to why he should.

  He turned his back on the outside world and leaned against the windowsill. This was his room now, he supposed—or it was if Cade let him stay. Maybe he would throw him out into the rain, too, like his father had. His eyes fell onto his bag lying in one corner. His legs a little steadier than before, he made his way towards it and tore it open. The putrid scent of urine and blood blasted him with memories.

  The boy.

  Oh god. Phoenix reeled back, slapping his hands over his mouth as bile rose inside. Stumbling backwards, he landed on the floor against the wall at the other side of the room. He remembered now. He remembered it all.

  The boy in the square. What had he done? The flesh between his teeth, the blood that ran down his mouth and chest, the soul-piercing screams. He had killed that boy. He had bitten him and taken his life. Phoenix fought the urge to vomit.

  Those boys … they had beaten him and were going to kill him. They were Human and he wasn’t. He was … half-breed. Isn’t that what Cade had called him? He was a nothing, that was what he was. Just a thing between the worlds that no one wanted.

  He dragged himself out of the room and reached the bathroom just in time to vomit everything he had eaten into the toilet bowl. When the heaving had stopped, he slumped back against the wall panting. He listened to the sounds below hoping that they hadn't heard him and that no one would come up. If he could hear them, surely they could hear him. His shoulders sagged in relief after a few moments when he realised no one was coming up.

  Phoenix closed his eyes and let his stomach sit, the thoughts slowly subsiding and sudden drowsiness taking over. When he opened them again, he had no idea how long had passed. He was still in the bathroom, but he was lying across the floor. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he took in the bathroom—he hadn’t had time to before. Like the bedroom, this bathroom wasn’t like what he was used to, either. It was much different. There was a bathtub supported by four legs in the middle of the room. A showerhead rested on the taps and a toilet was in the corner. The sink was set within a small table, and it looked more like a bowl than an actual sink. The floor was bare like his room’s, and the walls were just plain plaster. No neat blind adorned the window, but instead, a piece of fabric draped down from where it had been tacked to the wall. A small lamp sat atop one of the two chairs in the room, while the other held a pile of towels.

  Phoenix pushed himself up, using the wall for support. It was then that he realised that the pain in his feet was gone. He lifted one foot to examine it, expecting to see the blisters that had been there from all the walking. But his skin was completely normal, not a hint of any sores or swellings.

  Phoenix walked tentatively from the bathroom to the room Cade had said was his—the door was open so he walked right in. It held a large bed and on it, there was a small pile of clothes for him. He stopped just before the bed and stared into the full-length mirror that stood to the side. All of his bruises and cuts were gone. He blinked in amazement. Was that one of the things that Others could do?

  He turned to the side and lifted the oversized shirt up to look at his ribs and his back. He took in the skeletal image reflected back at him. His stomach was sucked in, and he could make out each separate rib of his ribcage under his pale flesh. He let the shirt drop and stared back at his face. “You deserve everything bad that happens to you,” he spat at the boy staring back. “Everything that happens now is your own fault. I hate you.”

  He turned away and snatched the clothes from the bed. Once he was back in the bathroom, he closed the door and turned the taps on. The shower wasn’t so hard to work. He removed his clothes and climbed into the tub, the water cold against his hot skin. It made him gasp, but with it, he remembered different water—dark and cold water. It was there. Like a memory that was hiding just around the corner and he could glimpse the edges. Images flitted through his mind, but he couldn’t make sense of anything.

  When he opened his eyes, he realised that the water was hot now—hot enough that it had made his skin flush pink where he had held the showerhead onto himself. He lifted it above his head and let the warmth of the water seep into him. Had it really been five days? It seemed like minutes to him.

  After he was done cleaning himself, he turned the shower off and climbed out to dry himself. He dressed in the clothes that Cade had left him—just another overlarge t-shirt and some jogging pants.

  He turned the lamp off in the bathroom and realised that he hadn’t really needed it at all. He could see perfectly well in the dark.

  He walked along the landing slowly, listening. He could still hear the voices, but they had moved somewhere else downstairs. He walked to the top of the stairs and stared down before moving, each step slow and cautious. Maybe there would be a whole pack of Others waiting for him and ready to hurt him for what he had done to that boy.

  The stairs led down to another almost lightless hallway—just a lamp at the bottom on a small table. The wood creaked as Phoenix stepped off the last step, giving him away. The voices came to an abrupt stop, making Phoenix freeze in his tracks. His heart leapt to his throat as he watched a shadow move just on the inside of a half-open door. Cade appeared at the doorway and looked up at him, a smile forming on his lips.

  “Feeling better?”

  Phoenix nodded. “I have to stay in my …” He stopped. I
t wasn’t his room. “Upstairs?”

  “No. You can come here.” Cade pushed the door wide open. There wasn’t a whole pack of Others waiting for him like he had imagined, but one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen sat at a table. Her long, auburn hair was pulled back from her face, and big hoops dangled from her ears. She wore a long skirt and a long top, the kind he had seen gypsies wear in movies. Her feet were bare, too, and it occurred to him that so were Cade’s. Maybe Others never needed to wear shoes. The woman stood slowly and the bangles on her wrists jangled gently as she did. It reminded him of his mother—she had liked to wear bangles, too. She smiled, but Phoenix stood there frozen to the spot.

  “This is Gemma,” he heard Cade say. “She helped me get you here, and she has been helping me.”

  “I'm very pleased to finally meet you,” she said softly, smiling the most amazing smile. She walked to him, slow, even steps so he’d not feel threatened and held her hand out to him. “It’s okay,” she said. Phoenix reached for it. He didn’t know why, but there was some urgent need in him to grab her hand. She gave his fingers a gentle squeeze before letting go. Her hand was light, soft. “Come in and sit down with us.”

  He let her lead him to the table.

  “Are you hungry?” Cade asked as he walked to the kitchen counter. “I heard you being ill.”

  Phoenix nodded slowly and rubbed at his arm. It was itching, like a burn under his skin. “I didn’t mean to get sick,” he whispered.

  “It’s okay.” Cade gave him a reassuring smile.

  Phoenix shrank into himself at the table, wishing he could just disappear. The itch under his skin grew and spread. He started to scratch but it went up his arm, to his neck, then down his legs. He tried to keep still, but it was impossible.

  Gemma frowned at him. “Are you okay?”

  Phoenix tried to nod his head but only managed a weird, spastic jerk. He clenched his jaw, his skin burning.

  “Cade,” Gemma called out, her voice rising in alarm.

  “Shit,” Cade said as he turned and took in the situation. He dropped the bag of meat that he had taken from the side and raced over. Phoenix couldn’t bear it. It burnt everywhere and his need to scratch his skin off overpowered him. He couldn’t help it as he clawed welts into his flesh to make the itch go away. He slid sideways off the chair, unable to stop himself, and felt strong arms come around him, catching him.

  “Breathe,” Cade said to him. “Listen to my voice, okay?”

  Phoenix tried to focus on Cade’s face above him. He tried to listen to his voice, but it was too far away. Tears prickled at the back of his eyes. Had they done something to him? Put something in his food? Panic rose inside him, his breathing coming hard and fast.

  “Phoenix,” Cade called. “Listen to me. It’s just your shift. It’s your wolf. Close your eyes and find me.”

  Phoenix closed his eyes, and then he was gone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Cade cradled Phoenix to him, holding his arms down to keep him from clawing at any bare skin. He sat with him between his legs, his back pressed to his chest. His arms wrapped around his arms as they pinned him down. Blood trickled down from where Phoenix had gouged his flesh to try to ease the itch under his skin. Cade’s forearm had also been caught in his attempt to stop him, but he paid no attention to it, his main focus on getting Phoenix to calm.

  In the throes of his hunger and the burn from his shift, Phoenix suddenly had the strength of a full-grown man despite only being a boy. .

  “Calm,” Cade whispered to him, pressing his head against the side of his. “Listen to me. We can do this. You and I. We can get through this, but you need to listen to me. Calm.” He repeated the words over and over again.

  Cade glanced up and found Gemma staring at him—she had been quiet as she had watched him try and soothe the boy with his touch and his words. Her gaze heated as their eyes met, and the words Cade had been speaking suddenly died on his lips. He was brought sharply back to reality when Phoenix arched his back in a bid to get himself free.

  “What can I do?” Gemma asked, trying to grab hold of Phoenix’s ankles to hold him still.

  “Hold his legs,” Cade said through gritted teeth. Phoenix let out a growl that was neither Human nor Other. It was something deep—angry and feral. Something was loose inside the boy, and Phoenix had no control over it. His eyes were open, but they were unseeing. “Breathe for me. Come on, Phoenix. You can do it. Fight this.”

  Phoenix let out another inhuman snarl and stiffened his back, almost slipping from Cade’s grasp and knocking Gemma to the side. Realising that trying to be gentle was not going to hack it, Cade used his brute strength to shove Phoenix face down on the kitchen floor, rolling on top of him and pinning him down with the heavy weight of his body. Cade hated to do this, use physical strength against a boy—it went against everything about him. How anyone could do this to a boy was beyond him.

  “Please, Phoenix.” It was so hard to keep his voice calm. “Listen to me. Hear my voice, okay? You can fight this. You can.” Phoenix shuddered, his body wracked with spasms under Cade.

  Sending a quick glance Gemma’s way, Cade motioned towards the kitchen counter with his head. “There’s meat on the side,” he said. “Go and grab some for me.” Cade had killed a rabbit while Gemma had been there, wanting to give Phoenix something fresh to eat when he came down. The hunger was a powerful thing to have to fight, and it took time to learn to control. Phoenix had no conception of how to do that. All Cade could do at the moment was try bring his hunger down until he could teach the boy how to control it for himself.

  Gemma sprang to her feet and had raced back with the dead rabbit in a matter of seconds. Phoenix went predatory still then bucked violently at the scent of the fresh kill.

  “Tear some off, Gem,” Cade ground out. “Put it in his mouth.”

  It had already been skinned, and Gemma hastily tore off a piece of the slick meat and pushed it into Phoenix’s mouth. His canines had emerged fully now—yeah, this was his shift coming alright. This was the test to see if his body was going to survive this shift. His bones hadn't started to move yet, and his fur hadn’t materialised, but the meat at his lips calmed him and he stopped fighting enough that Cade dared to relax a moment. He lifted a hand to brush Phoenix’s hair from his eyes—bright blue again, shining in such an unusual manner. Cade stared at them with wonder—they truly were a magnificent colour.

  “Is that normal?” Gemma whispered in awe. “They're so bright.”

  “I don’t know,” Cade said. “Maybe it’s because he’s a mix. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Phoenix had stopped fighting, lying there under Cade rasping from the effort. Gemma tore off another piece of the meat, her trembling hands having calmed somewhat. She fed Phoenix the second bit just as the sound of a car on the gravel outside had both her and Cade swivelling towards the door. Phoenix growled, but Cade had a firm grip on him still. He turned to Gemma. “Stephen?”

  Gemma nodded. “I think so. He said he was coming.”

  There was a mixture of relief and disappointment at Stephens’s arrival. It was great to have his friend’s help, but it also meant being extra guarded around Gemma so that Stephen wouldn’t pick up on anything. “Go and let him in,” Cade said, holding his hand out for the rabbit.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I think he’s calmed down enough now. Go.”

  Gemma stood and quickly rinsed her hands before heading to answer the door. Cade waited a moment and when Phoenix didn’t move, he rolled off him, bringing Phoenix with him and swinging him around onto his lap as one would do when comforting a small child. He fed him another piece, and Phoenix chewed quietly, his body calm but his breathing still harsh. “I’m sorry you have to go through this,” he whispered to him. If he ever got his hands on whom had done this to the boy, he was going to make damn sure they felt every ounce of this pain and suffering. They deserved it.

  “What’s happening?” Stephen asked
as he came in, Gemma close on his heels.

  “His shift, I think,” Cade said.

  “We gave him a fresh kill,” Gemma added. She crouched down next to Cade and ran a gentle hand down Phoenix’s face. He responded to the comforting touch, turning his head into her hand as she ran a knuckle down his face.

  “At least he got proper meat this time,” Stephen said and Cade cast him a wry look. He crouched down in front of them to look at the boy, who was lost in his own mind. “Do you think he is ready to shift? Do you think he can manage it?”

  That was the question, though, wasn’t it? If he could manage it.

  “I don’t know,” Cade said, “but I damn well need to shift. I haven’t been able to, and it’s under my skin.”

  “Maybe if you shift, it’ll calm him? Maybe he is feeling your itch.”

  “It’s possible,” Cade said. He had already considered that. If they shared everything else, maybe they shared this need, too. It had been a while since Cade had felt that burn, but to him, it wasn’t an itch—not the same way Phoenix seemed to have it. It was more like fire that ran under his skin that needed to be set free. Going too long made him irritated. “Maybe we get him outside and see if we can get his shift going?”

  “You have to let him do it on his own, though. He has to learn to do it himself.”

  Cade nodded. Stephen was right about that. He had to learn to do these things or he would never be able to. Cade studied Phoenix’s face—there was a little more focus in those eyes. He was fighting his way back. It was hard for Cade not to help him—he could only imagine what it was like for the boy alone in this world.

  “Can you get up with him?” Stephen asked. “We’ll take him out back and all shift together.” He paused and glanced at his sister, raking his eyes across her body. Then he glanced back at Phoenix. “On second thoughts, Gemma doesn’t shift at all.”