by Oxford, Rain
I studied the ace of hearts for a moment, unable to figure out why it was so important. That was something I hadn’t seen in my vision. As I was about to hand it to Vincent, I turned it over. Instead of a typically patterned back, it was a picture of a Japanese castle. At the bottom of the card was a gold inscription stating that it was taken in Kyoto.
* * *
Our training sessions over the next three days were more of the same. It started to feel like I was the lost-and-found service. Vincent made me practice almost every minute of the day. While I was happy to learn to control my power, it was extremely exhausting.
Darwin brought food and water in every few hours. Henry had tried to at first, but Vincent said the shifter was setting me back too much every time we were interrupted. Henry was apparently stuck in a protective mood, because he kept growling at Vincent.
Darwin was great at making plans for the new dorms, yet he insisted on my input. When I asked why, he said it was because people did what he said when the orders were approved by me. This was especially true for the shifters, which I didn’t get at all.
“Flagstone and Maseré are their alphas. Why do they want to listen to me?”
“Even humans have a concept of alphas, although it is sometimes very subconscious or subtle. With you, it’s very not subtle. Every time you face trouble, you become stronger and more of a leader. People notice, and paranormals will pick that up even faster.”
“It is why I wanted you to be the liaison for the vampires,” Vincent agreed. “Most people know a natural born leader when they see one, but you take it a step further. Because Henry has never had a proper authority figure, his jaguar will undoubtedly fight you until he learns that you are not an authoritarian.”
“You know about his parents?”
“I know nothing about who they are, but I can see it in his eyes that he’s been mistreated. The way he over-organizes everything, how he over-emphasizes his actions when Darwin is watching, how–”
“What do you mean? Darwin is as non-alpha as a wolf can get. No offense.”
Darwin shrugged. “I’m happy not being an alpha. If I were like my dad, I would have to take a wife.”
“Darwin has somehow become a younger brother in the jaguar’s mind,” Vincent said.
“Henry is constantly trying to set an example for me,” Darwin explained. “That’s why he started going to Addie’s room instead of ours under the full moon in the first place.”
I had no idea. “I guess I still have a lot to learn about the cultures of shifters.” And fae. I kept forgetting that Darwin was as much a fae as he was a wolf. “Why isn’t Henry an alpha? I mean, he’s pretty damn stubborn.”
“Henry is what my father would have as a beta, or even an enforcer. If he were a pack shifter, he would have found the top alpha around and fought his way right to the alpha’s side. Betas can take over for alphas, but it’s rare that they fit in on the top. Since jaguars are solitary creatures, alphas are just leaders to Henry. His jaguar acted the way he did in the field because he was testing your leadership.”
* * *
On the fifth day, I skipped out on my training with Vincent to feed cucumbers to the kappa. Aside from the sound of hammers, drills, and saws, it was very peaceful. Almost absentmindedly, I pulled Professor Langril’s red foam ball out of my pocket and rolled it between my hands like I had seen Langril do. I reached into my other pocket and pulled out my vision ring.
The hair stood on the back of my neck; this was a bad idea. I slipped the ring on, not really believing it would do anything. I was instantly in a living nightmare.
It was a place without sunlight, where shadows were life and death. Everyone was predator or prey. Langril was standing in an alley, holding a tiny baby girl in his arms. It wasn’t Heather and he couldn’t keep her. He was one of the most powerful beings even in this place, but he couldn’t protect this baby.
Although his mind wasn’t open to me like in my normal visions, as this took place many years in the past, I saw general impressions of his thoughts. The atmosphere, on the other hand, was very much like walking through a disaster site; the people were accustomed to the morbid lives they lived.
There was something about the baby, but before I could lock onto the thought, everything was moving forward. The baby was gone and Langril was back in the alley. There were screams from a woman in the house in front of him. It was that house he had saved the baby from, but the woman wasn’t worth it to him. The woman wasn’t valuable.
A sound drew his attention to a nearby bush. He grinned kindly. “Come on out, Miranda.”
Miranda? Heather’s mother? The little girl who came out of her hiding place couldn’t have been more than ten. She had long, light gold hair and light brown eyes. She looked like a much younger Heather.
“How do you know my name?” she whispered.
“Oh, you are so far from home, Miranda Anne. You must have accidentally followed me back here. Would you like me to take you home?”
She nodded hesitantly and he reached for her hand. He took it and noticed a bright, red, foam ball in her other hand. More importantly, he felt her lifeline through her flesh. She was valuable… like the baby he had just saved.
* * *
I nearly took my finger off trying to get the ring free. The atmosphere of the place was enough to make my skin crawl. Fortunately, the sensation faded immediately after removing the ring. Even at thirty-one, I could still get freaked out by what was basically a dream. Only I had learned something from it; Langril sure as hell wasn’t the good guy.
* * *
I barged into Hunt’s office ten minutes later without knocking. Vincent and Hunt were having a conversation at the desk while Ghost sprawled out on the couch, napping on his back with his legs spread wide. It was a horrifying image that could scar young children for life.
“I’m ready to do this. The ring is working.”
Vincent picked up his cat by the scruff of the neck and dropped him on the table. Ghost was as limp and unresponsive as if he was dead, and I would have worried if I couldn’t hear his angry, raspy breath. The damn cat was even pissed off in his sleep.
I sat on the couch and leaned back.
“We don’t have anything of Gale’s to use, unfortunately, so you’re going to have to rely on your mind control powers to start off. Once you feel you have a secure lock on him, slip the ring on. It will enhance your power. You may not be able to read Gale’s mind because of the amulet, but you can see his next move.”
I focused on the man, first from my vision and then from the pawnshop. Next, I let myself daydream, not postulating any locations, times, dates, or names. I just focused on his face and slipped the ring on.
The change this time was subtle. My vision grew darker and it took me a few minutes to realize it was actually the room that dimmed. I recognized the dirt tunnel walls as Gale held a ball of fire in his hand for light. The burning sphere lifted into the air and floated near his head. The mountain of a man and Felicity were with him, which was odd, because I always saw through someone’s eyes in the visions.
There was no calendar or watch, but I somehow knew the date and time.
I pulled the ring off and opened my eyes. “I know where they’re going to be and when.”
“Where?”
“Here and now. They’re in the vampire tunnels. They must have snuck in while everyone was dealing with the golems.”
“Why would they be down there? They don’t know about the tower.”
“That woman, Felicity, she knew about the keys. I seem to be the only damn one who doesn’t.” I knew there was a tower under the school that was dangerous enough for Hunt to abandon his students over it. I also knew that whether or not I could trust Hunt, I didn’t want Gale getting to it.
“If they don’t know what is down there, they would never make it to the tower,” Vincent said to Hunt.
The headmaster shook his head. “We cannot count on Dejarus or the traps to stop th
em.”
“Who the hell is Dejarus?!” And why does it sound familiar?
They ignored me. “The amulet works on our powers.”
“It didn’t work when you got Remy out,” I said.
“That is a different matter entirely. We need to send someone in who has no magic. Maseré’s pack should do it.”
“If the strongest alpha shifter in all of America gets killed, there will be a war,” Vincent argued. At that point, they started arguing in German.
I walked out and shut the door behind me. This time, I was going to follow my instincts and rely on the people I knew I could trust. “Darwin?” I called in his head. “Get Henry and meet me at the door to the underground level.”
“I’m on it.”
Five minutes later, I found them already waiting at the door. “Gale, Felicity, and the big guy are down there. If you want to stay up–”
“Don’t even think about it, bro,” Darwin interrupted. “Now let’s smoke this–”
“You need to take this seriously. Hunt and Vincent can’t go because it would be a disaster if Gale got their powers.”
“But you absorbed John’s power and you were already powerful before that. If Gale gets your magic, we could be in trouble.”
“That’s why you’re here; we need to outsmart him.”
Darwin opened his mouth to argue and paused. “Oh. Okay then. I have a plan.”
“Care to share?”
“Nope.”
“You suck, Darwin,” Henry said, throwing our younger roommates words back at him.
I opened the door and started down the stairs first. The torches were out, so I pulled three penlights from my pocket and handed one each to Darwin and Henry. Henry took one but didn’t turn it on, since his night vision was too good.
Halfway to the second stairwell, I felt something odd. Neither of my roommates said a word as I opened the door on my near right. It was one of the vampire bedrooms, but I wasn’t expecting to see a vampire lying in the bed. I especially wasn’t expecting to see Clara lying in the bed. Henry grabbed my arm to hold me back and entered first. He approached her cautiously, glancing around in the dark as if something was going to jump out as him.
He sniffed her and reached out carefully to feel her pulse. She shot out of bed with the speed only a vampire could manage. Darwin dived out of the way while I gripped both sides of the door to try to block her path, but Henry had already caught her with an arm around her waist before she could reach me.
“Calm down, Clara!” Henry demanded. She stopped fighting him. “You’re safe now; the golems are all dissolved.”
“We can’t be down here! We need to get upstairs!”
“Your father is looking for you,” I said. “Henry can take you back upstairs.” Henry scowled at me, but didn’t argue.
“No, no, I want you to take me,” she said. She pushed Henry away, but didn’t make a run for the door again.
“Okay, you can go by yourself.” I reached my mind out for the closest familiar mind upstairs; Maseré. I sensed it just fine, but I couldn’t establish a connection. Still, I had to try. “Maseré, if you can hear me, tell Stephen that I found his daughter and that she’s fine.”
No response.
“No, you need to come with me. It’s not safe for you down here.”
“We’re wasting time,” Darwin insisted.
“You’re right. Clara, you can come with us or go back upstairs on your own.” I didn’t give her a chance to argue; I just turned and started back through the tunnels. Not surprisingly, she followed us.
“What are you looking for?”
“Gale, the bad guy who has been killing everyone, is down here.”
“What’s he looking for?”
“He was trying to get to Narnia and got lost,” Darwin said sarcastically.
They fell silent when we reached the stone staircase. With every step, I felt greater dread, but at least no spikes came out of the floor this time. Unfortunately, as Henry led us through the tunnels Clara was nowhere near as quiet as I expected her to be. Although Henry was absolutely silent, Clara kept tripping over nothing, breathing too loudly, and complaining about it being too hot. I assumed it was because she hadn’t fully recovered from being drugged and then nearly killed by a golem.
Henry froze and held up his hand to gesture that we stop. “There’s something different about the air current in here,” he whispered almost too low to hear.
Clara sneezed.
“Get down!” I yelled, shoving her down. Darwin and Henry hit the dirt just in time to avoid the iron spikes that shot out from the wall. It was a square section of the wall to our right, starting a foot above the ground and reaching to about a foot below the ceiling, from which hundreds of inch-thick spikes protruded. The spikes were about five inches apart, and reached the other side of the tunnel. None of us would have survived that.
The spikes receded slower than they shot out, but I fisted my hand in Darwin’s hoodie to stop him from getting back up. Henry watched me silently, waiting for my signal. I sighed, purposefully loudly.
The spikes shock out again. When they began to recede, Clara cursed, and they shot back out. This time, one of the spikes caught on Henry’s t-shirt. His silent wince told me it had cut more than cloth.
Before the spikes could withdraw, Darwin made a low, continuous humming noise. When the spike didn’t go back in, he tried to wiggle his way to the other side, still humming. If the ground was loose sand instead of hardened dirt, I could have done it, too, but as it was, I was too big. It was even more difficult for Henry.
“You’ve got to be joking,” he said, realizing one of the spikes had gone through his shirt and effectively trapped him from wiggling another inch.
As soon as the spike disappeared back into the wall, I put the penlight in my mouth and motioned for everyone to move, but stay low. Darwin shook his head and put up a finger. “One at a time,” he mouthed. I nodded and pointed to Henry.
After a moment of hesitation, he stood up and crept silently into the safe, perpendicular tunnel. I pointed to Clara, but she shook her head. When I gave her my best glare, she reached back and slipped off her heels, then stood and made her way as quietly as Henry had been. I indicated for Darwin to go next. He started to crawl, only to realize he was better off walking. He made it easily, probably thanks to his wolf genes.
I was the furthest from the safe zone and my boots had hard soles. I stood, carefully. Mentally, I measured fifteen soft steps. I can do fifteen. Fifteen… I took a step, paused, and took another step. Ten… I looked up and wished I hadn’t.
Henry clamped his hand silently over Clara’s mouth before she could scream. Fear was evident in her face as she stared right at me. When I looked down, I realized what she was afraid of, and I couldn’t really blame her. I made myself take another step forward… and another. Five… I can do five… I lifted my foot, set it down softly…
A roar shook dust from the ceiling.
I leaped, hit the ground, and rolled. It took me a few seconds after I hit the wall to be sure that I hadn’t been skewered. No pain, no blood gushing out into the dirt, no brain matter painting the walls. It’s a good day.
I picked up the penlight I had dropped. Henry kept his hand over Clara’s mouth and she was still frozen in terror. I reached down, panting, and carefully removed the huge black scorpion from her thigh. Henry let her go and she whimpered loudly.
“What, this little guy?” I asked calmly, relief in my voice. “This is Becky’s scorpion, Katie.” Clara whimpered louder. “No, she wouldn’t have hurt you. Her stinger was removed.” As I spoke, I let the scorpion crawl over the back of my hand. When she tried to crawl up my arm, I picked her up gently by the tail and set her on the floor. “I bet Becky is worried sick, but I don’t have anything to take her back in, so Becky will just have to get a new scorpion.”
“Your friends are weird,” Darwin said.
“Yes, I know.”
“If we took
care of the golems, then what made that roar?” Henry asked.
“If I had to guess, I would say Dejarus.”
“Who?” Darwin asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
We continued on the path. Clara had left her shoes, so she had something new to complain about. By the time we made it to another set of steps, we were all sick and tired of her. From my previous encounters with the woman, I had no idea she was such a brat.
“Are you following a sound, or just heading lower?” Darwin asked.
“I can smell them. I would find them faster and be able to avoid the traps better in my shifted form.”
“Then shift.”
His expression was doubtful. “Do you think you can control my jaguar?”
“I don’t think he wants to kill me.”
“He wants to kill everyone. It is also very likely that he will abandon you all here and then come back just to eat you when he’s hungry. He didn’t kill you before because I was able to redirect his attention on another foe.”
“I thought he didn’t kill me because I’m an alpha.”
“He is not a wolf; he does not desire pleasing his alpha. He saw you as too strong an opponent; you were not worth the risk of injury.”
“None of it was because we’re friends?”
“Jaguars can feel affection, even make friends. I have never seen mine do it. He can barely stand Addison even under the full moon and would kill her in an instant if we were both in cat form, just because she is small. Mine is not a normal jaguar.”
“If you don’t shift now, you won’t be able to when you’re near the amulet.”
“Correct.”
“Then shift. Try to make him go after Gale instead of us.”
“Felicity and the big guy, not Gale,” Darwin argued. “Leave Gale to me.”
Henry sighed and started stripping his clothes. Darwin and I turned our lights away. “Want to tell me the plan now?” I asked.