Nightshade

by Andrea Cremer

  My heart slammed against my rib cage as I pushed through the intoxicating mist and the wall of dancers to escape his advances. I glanced back once, cringing at Ren’s thunderstruck expression. I was about to turn back when I saw arms slink up his chest. Sabine curled her body around him, pulling him into the swaying crowd.

  That is exactly why you can’t have me yet, Ren. I’m not going to share.

  I turned away from the press of bodies, slinking back to the couches we’d occupied. I snatched my jacket and made a break for the stairs.

  SEVEN

  I COULD STILL FEEL THE BASS VIBRATIONS from the club as I stood on the sidewalk, wondering if I should just call a cab and go home.

  “Um, hi. Calla?”

  Shay Doran emerged from Eden’s doorway wearing a shy smile. The cold night suddenly felt balmy. I thought about bolting.

  The Keepers want you to take care of him. Don’t freak.

  “Hey,” I said, returning his smile. “How are you, Shay?”

  “Good. I’m good.” He pulled nervously at the lapel of the slim-cut blazer that covered his white T-shirt. “Do you hang at Eden a lot?”

  “Not really. My friends and I were invited tonight. I’m mostly here out of obligation.” I wished I were at home in bed, instead of standing outside with this strange human.

  A relieved laugh emerged from Shay’s throat.

  “Yeah, me too. This isn’t my scene. Bosque thought I’d have a good time, but I’m not really a club kid.”

  “No?” I asked. “What are you?”

  “Well, I think I have my uncle convinced that I’m a wannabe Greenpeace member.” He flashed a grin, then he sighed. “I’d always rather be outdoors. I hike. But I guess you know that.”

  He suddenly looked fearful. I ran my tongue along my lips but didn’t reply. He hurried to speak again. “And I like to read. Lots of philosophy, history, comics.”

  “Comics?” The unexpected image of Shay surrounded by volumes of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Spider-Man amused me.

  “Yeah.” His eyes brightened. “Sandman has always been my favorite, but that’s really more of a series of graphic novels. I like a lot of Dark Horse stuff: Hellboy, Buffy: Season 8 . . .”

  He trailed off when he caught my blank expression.

  “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

  “Sorry.” I shrugged. “I read novels.”

  “Works for me.” He grinned. “What’s your favorite?”

  I watched a cab pass us on the street. I really should just get out of here.

  “Ah. Too personal.” He raised his eyebrows. “The relationship of a girl and her favorite novel can be complex indeed.”

  The cab turned down the next block. So much for escaping. “No, it’s just strange to talk like this outside of the club.”

  “Agreed.” He looked back at the massive bouncer who hovered by the door. “Wanna go get coffee?”

  I wondered if I’d heard him right. A boy just asked me out; that can’t be right. No one asks me out. It’s forbidden. I felt warmth creeping up my cheeks. Then I remembered that he didn’t know any better.

  He spoke again. “I’ve been making a habit of finding the best late-night reading spots in Vail. There’s a twenty-four-hour Internet café two blocks from here.”

  I nodded. “I know the place.” If I’m supposed to watch out for him, then this wouldn’t really be breaking the rules, would it?

  He shifted back and forth on his feet as he waited for my answer.

  I considered Ren and the dance floor one last time before saying, “Watership Down.”

  “What?”

  “My favorite novel.”

  He snorted. “Isn’t that about rabbits?”

  “It’s about survival,” I said. “I’ll tell you about it over coffee.”

  I began to walk down the street, hearing the clatter of his shoes on the pavement as he rushed to catch up with me.

  “Well, bunnies aside, at least you’re original.”

  “I’m sorry?” I didn’t look at him but continued at a fast clip along the deserted block.

  “Every girl I know says Pride and Prejudice. Or some other Jane Austen tale of class-obstructed love, conflict, and—insert longing sigh here—marriage.”

  “I’m not the Jane Austen type.” I slowed my steps so he didn’t have to work to keep pace with me.

  “No, I didn’t think so.” I heard the smile in his voice and felt a grin tug at my own mouth.

  Shay kept his hands shoved in his jeans pockets as we walked.

  “You know.” He cleared his throat. “Grizzlies are supposed to be extinct in Colorado.”

  I kept my eyes on the sidewalk, pulling my jacket tightly around me. Nothing is the way it is supposed to be up on that mountain. The world’s natural laws don’t apply.

  “I like to hike. Pretty good at it, actually,” Shay continued. “And I read about the terrain when I moved here. Mountain lions maybe, but no grizzlies.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe they’re coming back. Conservation movements are making significant headway these days.”

  “No, I don’t think so. Wannabe Greenpeace guy here, remember? I can tell you think I’m an idiot, but I’m not. I’m pretty competent when it comes to backpacking. There should not have been a grizzly where I was hiking.” He paused and then plunged on. “Or werewolves.”

  I bit my tongue and quickly swallowed down blood. “Is that what you think I am?” He’s only interested because he thinks I’m some kind of freak. Disappointment gnawed at me.

  “Let me see: super-strong girl who can turn into a wolf and hangs out with a bunch of other kids who act like a pack of animals at our school and are pretty damn scary. Do I have the definition wrong?”

  “It depends on what you think werewolves are.” I glanced at him.

  He ran a hand through his already-mussed hair. “I think you should tell me. The rules of the world I’m used to don’t seem to apply here. Lately it seems like I can’t be sure of anything.”

  He stopped abruptly and I turned to face him. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the desperation in his face.

  “Except that I should be dead.” He shivered. “But I’m not. Because of you.”

  He took a step closer, his gaze moving over my face, searching. “I want to know who you are.”

  I could smell his fear but was intrigued by the other, more-alluring scents beneath it. Clover, rain, sun-warmed fields. I leaned toward him, taking in the shape of his lips, the light in his pale green eyes. He wasn’t looking at me like I was a freak. His eyes were full of fear and wanting. I wondered what he could see in my eyes.

  And I’m beginning to think what really matters is who you are.

  Unable to resist, I reached out, curling my fingers around a tendril of hair that fell in his eyes. He took my hand, turning it over in his, tracing my palm as if I might not be real.

  “You’re so much like a normal girl.” His eyes moved over my face and shoulders. He tried to hide his quick glance at my corset.

  Man, this thing really does work.

  I thought about new places his hands might wander but instead drew my lips back in a warning snarl, shaking free of his grasp.

  He looked startled for a moment. “See, you have fangs when you’re angry. You’re a werewolf for sure.”

  When he rubbed his eyes, I noticed how deeply shadowed they were. “Or else I’m going crazy.”

  Sympathy tugged at my chest. I want you to know me, Shay. To really know me.

  “You’re not crazy.” I kept my voice low.

  “So you are a werewolf,” he whispered.

  “I’m a Guardian.” I glanced around the street, worrying that we might be overheard.

  “What’s a Guardian?”

  I spoke in a hurried whisper. “I need to know if you’ve said anything to your uncle or any of his friends, like Efron, about what happened on the mountain.”

  Shay shook his head. “Like I said, I t
hought I might be crazy. I didn’t want to say anything about it. Things have been too weird ever since I moved here.”

  He shoved his hands back in his pockets. “And I was trespassing on that hike. I had my own reasons for being up there, and I didn’t need my uncle to know about it.”

  Relief spilled through my body. “All right, Shay. I’ll make you a deal.” I hesitated another moment, knowing I shouldn’t tell him anything. That I should leave him alone on the street right now.

  But I didn’t want to. I wanted something that was just mine.

  A thrill coursed through me when I whispered, “If you swear that you won’t speak to Bosque or anyone else, and I mean anyone—school, home, online Dark Horse fan group, whoever—about what I tell you, I’ll let you know why things seem so weird in Vail.”

  He nodded with a little too much enthusiasm and I wondered if I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

  “Let’s get to the café and I’ll start explaining after you buy me an espresso.”

  I was about to return his smile when I saw them. Two men across the street, a few yards behind us. They leaned against a building taking nervous, short drags off their cigarettes. I frowned. Though the pair chatted casually, I was certain that a moment ago, they’d been watching us.

  “Come on.”

  I crossed the street onto the next block. Shay fell in step, oblivious to my sudden wariness. I glanced over my shoulder. The men trailed behind us. I sniffed the air, but the pair of strangers walked downwind of me, making it impossible for me to know if they were human . . . or something else. I flexed my fingers as I worked through a map of the area around Eden in my mind’s eye.

  I tilted my head and listened; it was easy to pick up their gruff whispers.

  “We can’t be sure without getting a look at his neck.”

  “You gonna ask him to roll back his collar to give you a peek?” the second man said. “He fits the description and he just came out of the warlock’s club. Let’s grab him and ask questions later.”

  “He’s not alone.”

  “Are you afraid of a girl? Probably some tart our golden boy pulled off the dance floor. Just knock her down, snatch the kid, and we’re out of here.”

  With a languid stretch I draped my arm around Shay and curled him toward me. A curious, flirtatious smile appeared on his lips. He glanced at my bursting cleavage again. A sudden low ache made me stumble, sending hot blood up my neck to scorch my cheeks. Then one of the men uttered a low, lewd sound, bringing me back to the street. I shook my head and dug warning nails into Shay’s shoulder, trying as much to focus myself as distract him.

  “There’s trouble. Those guys are following us.”

  I took care not to say “you.” It was still unclear to me what this boy did and did not know about his connection to our world.

  “What?” Shay pulled his eyes off my curves and began to turn his head.

  “No!” I hissed. “Keep walking. Look straight ahead.”

  When I pulled him tight against my body, his heart fluttered. So did mine; my eyes found his lips, tracing their shape.

  Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. My blood was boiling.

  I murmured in his ear: “When we get to the end of the block, I want you to run. Get back to the club. Tell the bouncer there’s a problem out here. He’ll send help.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone,” he protested.

  “Yes, you are.” I smiled at him, letting my sharp canines catch the glow of the streetlamp. “I can handle myself but not if I’m watching out for you at the same time.”

  “I have a cell; shouldn’t I call 911?” he asked.

  “Absolutely not,” I said.

  “I won’t leave unless you promise me something,” he said. It took all my will not to nip his shoulder like I would a misbehaving pup. Why isn’t he afraid of me?

  “What?” My heart was pounding, both from the heat of his closeness and the possibility of an attack.

  “Meet me tomorrow morning,” he said. “On the mountain. You know where.”

  “That’s not a good—”

  “Meet me.” He cut me off. “Promise or I stay.”

  We were almost to the corner. “Not tomorrow! Sunday morning. I’ll be there.”

  “Sunday?” He clasped my fingers.

  “Promise,” I whispered, squeezing his hand briefly, and then I shoved him forward. “Get out of here. Now!”

  He grinned before dashing around the corner. The rush of footsteps came from behind me. I whirled and spread my arms wide, obstructing their path.

  “Out of the way,” the first man said gruffly.

  He raised a hand to shove me aside. I whipped my fist low, catching him with a sharp jab in the stomach. The air whooshed from his lungs and he doubled over in pain. Now that he was close, I caught his scent: not human. Searchers.

  All the heat in my body gave way to an icy flood. I couldn’t believe I’d let them get so close. My distraction could have cost me my life. Shay was even more dangerous than I’d imagined.

  The second man lunged at me. I dived for the sidewalk, rolling out of his reach, and shifted into wolf form. A string of oaths rippled off his tongue.

  “They’ve got Guardians watching the kid, Stu.”

  The first man recovered from my blow; his hand dipped into his long leather coat, and he moved into a crouch. His lips curled in disgust. “Let’s see what you’ve got, fleabag.”

  Something glinted in his hand. I caught the twitch in his wrist just in time to dodge, and the dagger clanged along the sidewalk. I bared my teeth and leapt on him. His scream cut off as my jaws closed, crushing his windpipe. His blood poured into my mouth, molten copper. When I felt his heart stop beating, I raised my muzzle.

  The other Searcher stared at me, his face contorted in horror. I dropped my nose low and stalked toward him. He made the mistake of turning to run. I hunched and then rocketed from the pavement. My teeth tore into his hamstring. He fell to the ground, shrieking, before he rolled over and brought his hand up. I yelped as brass knuckles drove into my shoulder. The blow was enough to bruise and enrage me but not to cripple. I barreled into him, pinning him against the sidewalk, eyes fixed upon the throbbing pulse at his throat.

  Stop!

  I froze at the sharp voice in my mind. Two Bane elders loped up beside me.

  Efron wants him alive, if that’s still possible.

  It is. I shifted forms, catching the startled Searcher in the jaw with a heavy blow. His head dropped to the sidewalk; his eyes lolled back unseeing.

  The Banes shifted back into their imposing human shapes. I recognized one as the bouncer from Eden.

  “Impressive,” he murmured.

  I shrugged, wincing at the throb of pain in my shoulder. The bouncer took a step toward me.

  “Injured?”

  “It’s nothing,” I replied, though the lingering pain from my opponent’s blow was more intense than I’d expected.

  The Bane frowned. “Did he hit you with his flesh or a weapon?”

  “Weapon.” My eyes darted to the unconscious Searcher’s hand. “Blunt, not sharp.”

  “You’ll want Efron to take a look at you. Searchers enchant their weapons. Could be more damage than you think.”

  The other Guardian gathered the Searcher’s limp body in his arms. The bouncer nodded at him. “Let’s go. Back door. Get word to the front office: we’ll need someone to dump that other body. I’ll get the Bane heir; Efron wants him to see this too.”

  I followed the hulking men through Vail’s deserted streets to an alley that ran between Efron’s nightclub and the other businesses on that block. The pulse of music and rush of heat made my shoulder throb. We moved through darkened back halls lined with storage closets but ended up outside a door I recognized from earlier in that night. Efron’s private suite.

  “Wait here,” the bouncer ordered.

  The door opened once again and the bouncer’s head poked through the slight opening.

>   “Efron wants you inside.”

  He opened the door just enough for me to pass by him and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

  Efron Bane stood at the center of the room talking on his cell phone. Logan hovered over the unconscious Searcher; a cruel smile floated on the young Keeper’s lips. The Bane elder who’d carried my attacker back to the club stood just to the side of the couch. Lumine sat nearby in a high-backed leather chair and sipped a glass of sherry. The oak doors opened once more and the bouncer, followed by Ren, entered the room.

  “Heard you bagged a Searcher.” Ren came to my side.

  I nodded, running my tongue along my teeth as a reflex. I could still taste the man’s blood.

  “Sorry I missed that.” His gaze became troubled. “Are you hurt?”

  “A bad bruise,” I said. “Nothing to brag about.”

  “Ah, Renier. Thank you for coming so quickly.” Efron slipped his phone into his pocket. “That should do it. We can begin.”

  “Where’s Shay?” I hadn’t seen the boy anywhere in Efron’s office.

  “Bosque drove him home. The encounter with your assailants—um, I believe he referred to them as ‘muggers’—shook the poor child terribly. Best to get him safe in bed.”

  “Of course.” I tried to keep the confusion out of my eyes. So the Keepers wanted to keep Shay ignorant. I couldn’t puzzle out what the boy’s place was in all of this. I wished I could see him to be certain he was safe.

  Efron moved close to me; I fought to stay calm. “My guards say the Searcher used a weapon against you.”

  I nodded.

  “Where is the injury?” His eyes narrowed.

  “My shoulder.”

  “Take off your jacket,” he ordered.

  I swallowed my fear and complied, letting the leather jacket slip from my shoulders. The movement shot pain deep within the bruised muscles and along my spine. He took my arm in a rough grasp. I gasped as the wound throbbed again. Ren stiffened next to me, a growl rippling from his chest.

  Efron’s glance flickered to the alpha, a disdainful smile ghosting across his lips. He examined the dark purple splotch on my shoulder, muttered a curse, and hooked his finger at my mistress. Lumine rose from her seat and walked over. When she looked at the wound, her lips curled back. Efron nodded.