Symbiosis (Scintillate Series Book 2)

by Karen Tjebben

  Nick interrupted, “It’s because of who she is. What she is.”

  I looked at Nick and wrinkled the skin between my brows. “What I am?”

  “I agree,” Alex said. “It is because of who she is. Who she is at her core.”

  “Wait,” I interrupted, “would you just stop? I’m doing my best to cope with all of this. And not to make it sound like a great achievement, but I made my first kill tonight. And you two are fighting about how to define me.”

  “It actually was a big accomplishment,” Nick said. “How you handled the aftermath says a lot about you.”

  “True. Your reaction showed us your true character.” Alex’s face softened into a smile as he took my hand. “And now you have a decision to make.”

  “It’s not really a decision,” Nick interrupted. “It’s more like embracing who you are.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. I pulled my hand free of Alex’s hold and crossed my arms.

  Nick began, “Tonight you killed the Nephilim, pretty easily from what Alex said. I think it’s because of what you are. Tell me, did you feel guilty for killing the Nephilim?”

  I stared at Nick. I didn’t want to answer that question. I didn’t feel guilty. That was part of the problem. That was part of why I felt sick. Sure, it was gross when the blood oozed everywhere and made my fingers slick, but I should have felt more conflicted. My first kill should have bothered me. Instead I felt relief. I knew it was the right thing to do. It was the only choice I had. “I can’t feel guilty for something I had no control over. He died because of his actions, not mine. He came at me.”

  A proud smiled beamed on Nick’s face. “You see,” Nick nodded slowly, “that is what an Avenger would say.”

  Alex shook his head. “You are wrong. She didn’t have a choice tonight,” he added with a sneer. “She did what she had to. That doesn’t make her an Avenger.”

  “Wait,” I said, “an Avenger?”

  “Like me,” Nick said.

  “I’m an Avenger?” I interrupted.

  “No,” said Alex. “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes,” said Nick. “It makes perfect sense.”

  “It definitely does not make perfect sense,” Alex interrupted. “It does not account for Kate’s power surges, her ability to see the other-worldly creatures so quickly and easily.” His eyes dropped to my necklace. “It’s because of who she is. Her necklace is making her very powerful.”

  My fingers flew up to the butterfly. “I’m getting very tired of the choke hold this necklace has on me. It does not define me. I define me.” I sucked in the cold night air. I knew this was hard for Alex. Each time he looked at this necklace he saw Sarah. It was a daily reminder of her. Why couldn’t I have my own amulet and not a recycled one? “I wish you guys had just congratulated me on killing that disgusting piece of…,” I shook my head in disgust. “The only words I can think of are not proper to say in front of gentlemen.” I smiled.

  “Then you can tell me later,” Nick said. “I’ll even teach you a few more.” He laughed, and I remembered why I missed him so much. We’d had so much fun together. I loved his sense of humor.

  Alex shook his head at Nick and then trained his eyes on me. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think your first kill is something to celebrate. You’re right though. Your first kill is momentous because it also sweeps away the last shred of innocence that remained within you. You can never get that innocence back.”

  My heart almost ached for Alex. Was he truly this naïve? “My innocence has been slipping away for a while,” I said. “What do you think happens when one sees death and destruction? I was practically in your arms the night my innocence was shredded.” Alex twisted his face in confusion. “The night we watched Nick kill the cerberi and Ramel.”

  “Of course,” Alex said. He inhaled deeply, looked at Nick, and then back at me. “It is obvious now. Innocence never survives in the presence of wickedness. The two cannot coexist.”

  “We know this,” Nick said. “One always overshadows the other.”

  “I am still sorry, Kate,” Alex said, “because innocence has a radiant beauty that can never be replicated.”

  “Well, I’m not going to apologize for losing my radiant beauty,” I said.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Alex said.

  “The truth is, Alex,” I said, “you want something you can’t have. You’ve waited and waited for Sarah, and now that I’m here, you’re terrified that the fantasy that’s sustained you is about to crumble.”

  Alex wrinkled his brow. “You’re wrong. Everything is just as it should be.”

  I slowly shook my head, impressed by Alex’s perseverance but exhausted by tonight’s events. “Good night, y’all. I’m going to bed.”

  15. Playing Hooky

  I slipped back into my room and stared at the carpet where my rug should have been. I could still envision the body of the Nephilim lying there. I could imagine him gasping for air and scratching at his throat as he bled out before my eyes. The sickening sights and sounds contributed to my nausea earlier, not guilt. I felt no remorse for my actions. He left me no other option. This gang of Nephilims hunted me down. Ramel had proven how merciless the Nephilims are. Thankfully I had Alex’s help tonight. He dealt with the others. I couldn’t take any chances with the one that attacked me. He was here to kill me. One of us was going to die. I just made sure it wasn’t Rylee or me.

  I slid under the covers and lay in bed with my eyes closed. I’m not sure if I actually slept. But before I knew it, a clock radio turned on and music played softly in another room; Mom was up. I continued to lay there. I knew she’d check on me.

  My bedroom door handle turned and the door slowly opened. Mom tiptoed into the room and padded across the carpet. She sat on the edge of the bed. “Kate,” she whispered. Her warm fingers tucked my hair behind my ear. “Are you awake?”

  I took a deep breath, as if just waking up, “Hmm,” I moaned as I pressed my head into her hand.

  “How do you feel? Is your back sore?” Mom asked as she ran her hand down my arm.

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “I’m fine.” I twisted and stretched and then rolled my head from side to side. “You don’t need to worry.”

  “Worrying is what Moms do.”

  I gave her a crooked smiled. “Did you talk to Dad?”

  “No, he hasn’t returned my call yet. He was on the red-eye flight. I’m sure he’ll call soon.”

  “I’ll get breakfast. You get ready for school.” Mom kissed my head and walked out of the room. I walked to the shower and thought about what I’d done to the Nephilim. Was I a natural born killer, an Avenger, or did I just get caught up in the reality of the situation? Did I kill him because I truly had no choice, or was it something that I wanted to do?

  I got ready for school and jogged down the stairs. Mom and Reese sat at the kitchen table. They stared across the room at the television that hung on the wall in the family room. A reporter stood on a driveway outside a brick ranch house. The picture of a young boy with brown hair and brown eyes filled half the screen. “This little boy, Sammy, disappeared last night around 8:00 pm. His parents last saw an African-American male talking with him.” The female reporter continued talking, but my heart clenched in my chest, my stomach roiled, and my ears denied the rest of her words access to my brain. I didn’t want to know more. We were too late. Trevor had crossed the line last night too. He had gone from killing animals to kidnapping a child. Had Trevor transitioned to killer last night?

  Reese sat there, staring at me, for once not having a word to say.

  Mom’s voice wavered as she spoke, “It’s terrible, first Trevor and now this little boy. And it’s seems like you’re constantly under attack. That could be your picture on the television. What if the same man that took Trevor came here and tried to get you. And when that failed, he went after that little boy? All of this can’t be a coincidence.” Mom nervously wiped her hands on her napkin. “Oh, and you
r father called while you were in the shower.”

  “You told him I was okay, didn’t you?” I said. I didn’t need Dad getting in the way of hunting down Trevor, especially now that Trevor had Sammy. We were running out of time.

  “Yes, I explained everything to him. He wants to talk to you.” Mom slid the phone across the table. “You should call his cell.”

  I picked up the phone and walked into the living room for some privacy. The phone felt heavier than usual. Actually it felt like the heaviest thing I’d picked up in a long time. I dialed Dad’s number. He answered immediately. “Hi, Katie Bug. Are you all right?”

  My heart hammered in my chest. I didn’t want to cry, but his voice broke my strength and my will. “Hi, Dad,” my voice cracked. “I’m fine.” I sniffled and wiped away an errant tear with the cuff of my sleeve.

  “So you fought off another attacker? That’s my brave girl,” Dad said as he tried to lighten the mood.

  “Yeah, he was terrified.” I chewed the tip of my thumb nail. He had been terrified as his life drained from him. “I think the uh… sirens scared him away.”

  “You guys tease me for having a great security system, but aren’t you glad we have one?”

  “Yeah, apparently it’s not all that safe around here.” I dug away at the skin along my thumb nail.

  Dad chuckled softly. “Try not to worry. I’m sure the police have increased their presence in our neighborhood and the surrounding areas. They’ll be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

  “Good. That’s good.… That will make Mom feel a lot better.” I wasn’t sure how much longer I would last. Talking with Dad was killing me. I kept replaying last night in my head and couldn’t get Sammy out of my mind. Mom and Dad always taught us right from wrong, and now I’m faced with the idea that I may be an Avenger. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it much when I found out that Nick was an Avenger, but now that I may be one, it’s weird. Does that mean I’ll go around killing things without any remorse or perhaps with righteous satisfaction? OMG! Would I have to kill Trevor because of what he’s done to Sammy? “Hey, Dad, I need to go. I’ve got school.” I have to think about my future as a killer, and I know who’s at the top of the list.

  “Sure. Love you, Katie Bug.”

  “Love you.” I hit end and understood the importance of lying. I couldn’t tell people the truth because that would put them in danger. Asteri live false lives in order to protect the ones we loved, but I am failing in that part of the mission. I am putting the people I love in danger, and that needs to change.

  I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast off the table. “I’m going to school with Zoe today.”

  “Okay,” Mom said, and she threw me a kiss.

  I grabbed my backpack and coat and headed out the door. I rang the Bishop’s doorbell as I finished the last bite of toast.

  Alex answered. “Hi, come in.” He stepped aside as I entered.

  “Hey, I’m skipping school today. We need to find this Sammy kid before Trevor hurts him.”

  “You’re right,” Alex said. “We’ll spread out. You’ll be with me today.”

  “I’m gonna grab a drink.” I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

  “We have to stop by school first,” Alex said, leaning against the doorjamb.

  “Is that a good idea? What if people see me?”

  “That’s exactly what we want them to do.”

  I took another swig of soda and felt some relief. The soda washed down the dry bits of toast that were caught in my throat, but it didn’t help settle the nerves in my stomach. I followed Alex out of the house and into his SUV. He explained the plan on the drive over to school.

  Kids stared at me as I walked past them on my way to homeroom. No thanks to social media, the rumors of last night’s attack at my house had already spread through the school social circles. There’s no such thing as privacy anymore. The whispers everyone thought I couldn’t hear clanked loudly in my ears: “There she is.”, “She’s got a target on her back.”, “I bet she’s making it up.”, “She’s just after attention.”, “No, some other girl was there too.”, “They could be in on it together.”

  I entered homeroom, dropped my backpack on the floor, and shut out the voices because they weren’t worth listening to. After the tardy bell, the classroom phone rang. Mr. Dobbs answered it, nodded his head, and then hung up. Mr. Dobbs looked in my direction. “Kate, you need to go to the office.”

  “Yes, sir.” I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the office. Now my day could officially begin.

  Alex stood outside the office door waiting for me. He smiled as I approached. “After you,” he said, holding the office door open for me.

  I walked into the office and rested my arms to the counter. “You called for me,” I said to the back of Mrs. Redman’s head.

  Mrs. Redman twirled her ergonomic chair around to face me and shuffled through some papers. She tapped the pile lightly on the desk in front of her and then moved them into the electric stapler. The stapler hummed as it pressed the staple into the papers. “Yes, Kate,” Mrs. Redman began, “your father called. You can wait for him in one of the chairs.” She smiled and pointed to a small cluster of chairs that lined the wall with one hand as she placed the papers into a tray with the other hand.

  Alex approached the counter. “Mrs. Redman,” he said as he took her hand.

  Mrs. Redman narrowed her green eyes and her lips were in a tight line across her face. “Alex Bishop, what are you doing?” She tried to pull her hand away, but he gently stroked the top of her hand and stared into her eyes. Her face relaxed and she left her hand in his.

  He spoke in a soft and steady voice. “Kate is coming with me, but you will not alert anyone that you saw her leave. She will be on campus all day today. You must be sure that the computer record shows her in attendance today. Do you understand?”

  Mrs. Redman smiled and nodded. “Kate Archer is on campus,” she said. “I will be sure the record reflects her attendance.”

  “Thank you.” Alex smiled. “I knew we could count on you. Have a wonderful day, Mrs. Redman.” He patted her hand and added, “Kate, you can go back to class now.”

  I walked out the office door and waited for Alex in the hallway. He met me a moment later. “Mrs. Redman will be all right, won’t she?” I asked as we headed out the front doors. “You didn’t fry her brain?”

  “Pfft. I’m offended that you’re even asking me that. Of course she’ll be all right.” Our footsteps tapped lightly on the asphalt as we made our way across the parking lot. “Everything is back to normal as far as she’s concerned. The only thing that’s different is that she truly believes you’re on campus. She’ll take care of the attendance so that your mom won’t get a phone call alerting her to your absence.” Alex opened the SUV door for me.

  “Good, I don’t need her thinking I’ve been kidnapped.” I sat on the passenger seat and dropped my backpack beside my feet.

  Alex walked around and then slid onto the driver’s seat. “Zoe, Evan and Justin have been searching for Trevor since we learned of Sammy’s kidnapping. They’re tracking around Jordan Lake, to see if he returned to someplace similar to his original lair. Nick started tracking from Sammy’s house. Hopefully that will give us a break.” He started the engine and pulled out of the school parking lot.

  Sammy was probably terrified. Hopefully he was still alive. “Do you think Trevor’s already killed him?” I asked.

  Alex swiped a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know. I play the scenario in my head and can’t decide. The Dolum will want to kill Sammy quickly to take his power, but Trevor has an influence, too. Trevor may be able to delay the killing. Perhaps we can get there in time if we’re lucky.”

  “If we’re lucky,” I mumbled. Those three words hung in the air with the power to change Sammy’s fate. I stared at the trees and houses as we raced by and wondered how things could go so terribly wro
ng.

  Nick texted us the location in a rural community where he thought the Dolum might be hiding. Alex’s tires bit into the gravel as he slowed along the side of the road. The SUV came to a stop, and I stepped out of the SUV and onto a grassy field. The smell of nature accosted my senses. Cows and goats munched lazily on grasses, and horses neighed in the nearby field. It was an idyllic setting, even back-dropped by farmhouses on multi-acre lots.

  Nick walked across the field towards us.

  The SUV chirped as Alex locked the doors. “So this is where you tracked him to?” Alex asked. He shoved his car keys into his pocket.

  “Yes, kidnapping Sammy gave us a definite starting point to track him from. His scent was strong, but I lost him once his scent blended in with the animals.” Nick pointed at piles of dung scattered throughout the fields. “The feces and urine is just too strong. The scents jumble together, but he can’t be too far. Out here provides plenty of isolation and privacy. He also has access to animals for food and water.” Nick pointed to the lake that served as an additional watering hole for the animals on the farm.

  “Kate and I will go east,” Alex said. “We’ll search the farms and let you know if we come across anything.”

  “Sounds good,” Nick said. “I’ll go west. If I pick up his scent, I’ll text you.” He waved his smart phone in the air.

  Nick and Alex took off in opposite directions. I followed Alex. He’d already claimed me, and Nick didn’t want me. I had a job to do, and right now finding the Dolum was my top priority. I would work out the details of my relationship with those two guys later. Yes, following Alex was the right thing to do.

  “We’ll start at this farm.” Alex pointed to a large white farmhouse. He stepped under an old oak tree whose branches swept the ground. “We should cloak ourselves.” He pulled me close so that the branches sheltered us. “We don’t want to be seen.”

  Our bodies pressed together as we hid under the tree. Memories of the intimacy we shared in my dreams flooded my mind. No, the intimacy Alex and Sarah shared in my dreams flooded my mind. That person wasn’t me. I was just an intruder in their past.