by Ayer, T. G.
"The body...from the community garden?" He nodded, not giving me any information. "The autopsy showed the dead man was a Walker?"
"Yeah." His face was a cool mask, unrevealing. "I told you we had our suspicions." He evaded my eyes. Sure, he'd explained them away as police business, but it seemed unfair especially considering how difficult this skeleton was to pull out of my closet.
"And you said you were familiar with the Walkers." More a statement than a question.
He nodded.
"You know Lily and Evan were Walkers." Had he put all the clues together? The mysterious disappearances, how I knew so many Walkers? Had he wondered how I managed to survive my meeting with Brand without becoming his second course?
"And..."
I'd resolved to tell him, even though my heart ached with fear he'd back away, leave me to my freakiness. He'd been my friend. And more. So far. I knew how I would feel. Betrayed, angry, and disbelieving. But it was better he knew now, so I'd know if we had him on our side.
"So am I." I uttered the last two words in a rush, hoping to soften the blow. He had a thoughtful expression on his face. In fact he was taking it much better than I’d expected. "I'm sorry, Logan, I couldn't risk anybody finding out." It sounded like a litany of excuses. When he didn't say anything I frowned. "You don't seem surprised or shocked."
"I'm not. It makes perfect sense. So, you came to me for information and help to track down Evan and then Lily. And you wanted info on the Garden victim? Why?"
"I needed to know what the police knew, what they'd guessed. I had no choice. You were the only person within the department who we knew was not corrupt. Most of the cops at the precinct are dirty. And how were we to know you knew our kind even existed?"
"So you used me." The words came out soft, but hollow.
"No. Yes. But you helped us. And for that we were grateful. We're not very trusting. Humans were the ones burning the wood when we were tied to the stakes. Wiping out our families so we had to live in secret. We have a history too, like Humankind. But Humans destroyed us because of their ignorance. We are monsters."
"What did you really have to do with first body dump?" When I looked up, his arms were folded in a tense twist at his chest and he stared at me, almost daring me to speak, as if he knew my words would all be lies. "Well?"
"I was across the street from the garden when I saw them throw the body out the car. Was on the way to the Centre to pick up some stuff. They must have seen me as they drove off because they came back and started shooting. Shot me, actually. Hit me in the shoulder. That's the scar."
"But the wound is only days old." I couldn't blame him for finding it difficult to believe me. Humans did, even when the proof stared them in the face. We belonged in nightmares and spooky tales to scare little kids.
I shrugged. "A gift of our DNA I guess. We regenerate faster than Humans."
"So where were you when the police arrived?"
"In Clancy's office at the centre." My heart clenched as I stumbled over her name. "I called Anjelo to help me - I was bleeding buckets."
"And the bullet? Is it still inside there, or did you have to dig it out?" His face was pale, the line of his cheekbones rocky.
"No, it's out." I watched his jaw clench. "We heal faster...minutes instead of days."
I ripped off the bandages on my forearm. Logan darted forward to stop me, and came to a dead halt in front of me. His face changed when he got a good look at the wound. The raw flesh was well on its way to being healed, crusted over with dried blood and dead skin.
He moved around to my back and carefully removed the bandage there, wanting to see for himself. I could imagine the wound as he would see it, the skin sliced open, a gory eye socket without the eye. The red raw flesh inside still knitting together.
The wound would be healing well too; I imagined it would still be raw at the edges but clotting and closing healthily. I was used to injuries, even ones as dangerous as the knife wound in my back. Used to the pain during the healing. But Logan hadn't been exposed to such an unnatural, almost Magykal process.
"Crazy...I know this is real, but it’s just crazy." The words he uttered were soft, a conversation with himself. But I knew he knew what he saw. He sucked in a breath. "It's not that I don't know anything about Walkers, but seeing something like this with my own eyes… it’s quite incredible."
I thought him being a Mage was pretty incredible too, but I said nothing.
"I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted was to burden you with our problems." I rose, throwing a wistful look at the steak in the oven. "I guess I was...selfish. My people were in danger and I expected too much from you." I looked around for my clothing and headed for my room. And Logan followed right behind me.
"Don't be stupid. You need protection. Think about what happened to you today. You could’ve been killed. And you're going to put yourself in further danger."
"I have Anjelo and Storm if I need help." Okay, maybe just Storm since Anjelo was AWOL.
"No. I mean, sure, you have them but I'll arrange a guard as well." I was surprised. And curious. What made him change his mind?
"Why would you do that? You're angry because I didn't confide in you earlier-"
"You could’ve told me."
I turned away, stalked to my room and grabbed a black sweater from the closet not caring as the hanger swung off the rail and hit the floor with a clank. I wanted to cover my body, hide my scars. Maybe it would bring some semblance of order to this night. Maybe.
"I didn't know if I could trust you. It's not easy for me – for any of us- to trust Humans. How do you think I would've felt if someone I told took the information to the papers? We hide because it keeps us safe from Human society." I tugged my hair from the collar and twisted it up on my crown, holding it up with on hand while the other rummaged through my dresser draw for a clip.
I stabbed a lethal-looking clip into the knot, and stared at the mirror before me. At Logan's reflection.
I refused to look at him. Didn't want to see the questions on his face. I stalked past him, straight into the kitchen, still holding on to the pullover. If he wasn’t going to eat then his loss. I wasn't about to waste a perfectly good steak.
When he grabbed my hand and spun me around the furthest thing on my mind was steak. One look at his eyes, the fear, the worry and the deeper darker heaviness of need. My breath hitched in my throat. We moved toward each other, no control, no reason to stop. Just need. The need to feel his breath against mine, his lips against mine. And his body, all muscle and heated flesh pressed so close against mine.
Our lips collided, moist and burning with desire. He slipped his arms around my waist pulling me closer. My hands curled around his head pulling him to me. Hunger drove me, my thundering heartbeat filled my ears. When Logan grabbed me, lifted me up I didn't think, just sighed and reveled in the pleasure of being so much closer.
He moved a step forward, carrying me as if I weighed nothing and set me on the kitchen counter. All this time his lips never left mine. His hands settled on my thighs, his fingers pressing into the soft flesh. His thumb traced circles against the smooth fabric of my pants, lightning flecks of heat tracing the delicate skin above my knees. Then he tugged me closer and I moaned, wrapping my legs around him, pulling him against me.
His hands slipped beneath my singlet, and he ran them slowly up my back, bare flesh against heated bare flesh. He took care to avoid my wounds which made his touch all the more tender. My need rose, my head began to spin and I blinked. My Panther strained beneath my skin. I couldn't control it.
Logan's lips left mine as he traced heated kisses down the side of my neck. I opened my eyes and froze. Knew in that instant they were no longer human. Knew they glowed a deep green as my Panther rose to the surface. I pulled away slowly, putting my hand on his chest, needing distance but still craving closeness.
He sighed and kissed my cheek and then moved in for another kiss. I didn't stop him. It had a sense of finality to it.
Like he knew our interlude was over. I closed my eyes quickly and pushed my Panther back down to where she belonged. I was annoyed with my loss of control but then again I didn't practice holding on to my Panther while making out on a regular basis.
The mood was broken but the intimacy wasn't.
Logan grabbed me by the waist and set me back down onto solid ground. At the same time the oven began to beep, and Logan made a beeline for the steak. I sat at the counter, my mind going over the last few minutes, the coil of heat still sitting low in my belly.
I watched Logan as he brought our dinner over and smiled as we settled into a comfortable routine. We ate and cleaned up. Like a normal couple on a normal date.
But nothing was ever normal about my life.
***
Chapter 31
Grandma Ivy's door was shut, the sound of the shower confirming she was home. Ailuros knew how long she'd be around though. The Odel matriarch never stayed for long.
I grinned and headed for the kitchen. With the kettle boiling, I busied myself cutting up coffee cake and setting out plates and cups.
A few minutes passed and Grandma Ivy emerged, fresh and beautiful, her bright blond hair moist and frizzed from her shower, looking far too young to be anyone's grandmother.
"Kai, darling," she murmured, and squeezed me into a deathly tight embrace. The woman may look fragile but the blood of an Alpha ran strong within her veins.
"Grams, you're home." That was all I could offer before my throat closed up. With the week from hell just behind me, all I wanted was to let her hold me, to forget everything and just be a kid for five minutes.
She held me.
And then, she grabbed me by the arms and thrust me away from her, studying my face in scary silence. "How have you been? Anything interesting happen while I was away?" The hardness in her question gave me the eerie feeling that she knew exactly what had happened while she'd been gone.
Which was probably why I spilled everything. I skimmed the wraith hunts, detailed the dead Skinwalker and the abductions, the Alpha visits and Omegas' paranormal investigations, and skimmed my near-death experience with Brand.
Grandma sat in silence until my monologue was over and when I sat back she slapped the top of the table with a flat palm and said, "Well, I think I have just the thing to make you feel better."
Odd thing to say.
Odder still when she scurried away and returned to place a rectangular box before me. Not a box—more like an artifact.
"Hope you like it." Grandma Ivy plonked herself back into her seat and shoved a piece of cake into her mouth. The action didn't hide the strange expression in her eyes. Concern.
I hesitated. What did Grandma Ivy have to be so worried about? When her gaze didn't waver, I turned my attention to the small, bronze chest. Beautiful flower-shaped rivets held the box in shape at each corner, hinges that curved and curled into viper heads, carvings on each side reminiscent of Roman Gymnasts, and great ancient battles.
I opened the lid.
The hinges didn't dare to squeak. Within the box lay a piece of armor, a bronze armband which looked much like a gladiator's trappings. Carved into the inside of the armband was a set of letters, surely something so ancient the likes of me would never understand it. What an odd gift.
"Wow, Grams. This is insanely gorgeous," I whispered. And it certainly was no lie; the light glistened on the carved surfaces and the images seemed to dance. I had to blink as it became too entrancing.
"It's a really special piece, Kai." Grams voice lowered, a dead seriousness colored her words and a shiver crawled up my spine. She sounded so serious. Too serious for a simple gift giving. "Put it on."
Didn't sound like a request, and yet I felt like once I submitted there was no turning back. My gut twisted as instinct agreed with me.
"Once you accept this, it belongs to you." Grams was getting weird on me. I raised an eyebrow and was about to giggle when she continued, "And you belong to it."
"Grams, what in Ailuros' name does that mean?" My fingers had stilled in their movement toward the armband.
Grams sighed. "Once you place it on your arm the bracelet will sense whether you're right for each other. If you are, then the locks will jam and you won't be able to remove it."
"Okay, forgive the girlie question, but what about showering?" I looked at the band - its size would dwarf my hand from elbow to wrist. "And how will it ever fit me?"
"I don't know dear. I just know the bracelet chooses its wearer and gives him or her a special strength." Grams leaned toward me, and gripped my fingers in hers. "You and I both know you need all the help you can get."
There were too many unsaid words in that one sentence. Gram knew more than she was letting on.
"So what's this thing supposed to do for me, make me invisible? Give me super-strength?" The whole story was so far-fetched. What was Gram thinking?
"Protection," Gram said, her eyes so sad I felt an answering clench in my heart. "If you were mortally wounded, you would survive."
The silence which followed rang around the room on painful echoes. How could she seriously expect me to accept what she'd just said? I teetered on the verge of hysterical laughter.
"So, definitely no try-before-you-buy?" This is so crazy.
"Nope. No returns once purchased either."
Beneath the banter lay a stone cold seriousness I found disconcerting.
"Anything else it will give me?"
"Each of its wearers have been granted...a different sort of...ability. Some, who already possess a power, have had it multiplied beyond their comprehension. Others have acquired a new power altogether."
"Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. How do I know it won't hurt me? Maybe I should think about this."
"Kai, this is hardly the time for you to go away and have a good think about it. You have only this one chance."
I raised my eyebrows; I didn't appreciate being pushed into a corner even if it was my Grandma doing the pushing. I stood barely an inch away from the glowing bronze armor, my fingers almost touching the metal.
Almost.
When they made contact, my twinge of fear was lost within the swirl of electrical energy and iridescent light enveloping both Grams and me. From my fingers to my shoulder, aquamarine light sparkled and twirled around my arm and the band, coils of intangible color which wound from elbow to wrist in a magical embrace.
Within the blink of an eye, the band absorbed my arm into it. Or maybe it was the other way around. Perhaps my arm had called to it. Either way, band and arm now seemed as one.
I blinked and breathed deeply, drawing in some of the swirling green light too. It didn't matter. It didn't seem to have any adverse effect on me. I felt the warm weight on my arm and remembered what had just happened. I remembered, too, that I should be royally pissed off at Grams, but something within my soul had erased those negative feelings.
The weight of the band felt permanent. Forever. I felt fear of what I'd gotten myself into.
"What just happened?"
Grams looked affronted, as if I'd asked why I’d been molested by the heavenly talisman. Grams cleared her throat. "Kai, this bracelet is now yours, forever. Or until the day someone else needs it far more than you do. It has chosen you."
"Why me?"
"I don't know." She raised her hands in defense. "All I know is that you needed help and this was the best way I could help you - to pass the armband on to you. Hopefully you will find a use for it."
"Where did you get it?" I shook my head, trying to figure it out, and hoping Gram's had some answers. "Is it yours?"
"No, it wasn't mine. All I can tell you is that you can trust it. It won't harm you. Its job is to protect you and that's what it will do."
I stared at the golden bronze carvings. At that moment, though, all I could understand was some ancient adornment had taken possession of my arm. It felt warm against my skin. Molded comfortably around my arm. My heart jittered as I felt its embrace. T
his band wasn't going anywhere.
"Okay so what's it meant to do? How does it work?"
"Look Kai, I can't tell you anything more. You will know what you need to know in good time." Grams stood up, her eyes unreadable. "I can't stay, Kai. I've got to be going again."
And then she strode to her room, grabbed her overnight case and headed out the door with a wave.
I blinked.
I swirled in the wake of another Ivy Odel whirlwind visit.
And this time she left behind many more questions than answers.
I had no choice but to trust Grams.
***
The wafting aroma of fresh coffee accompanied the light knock on the door.
I'd called Tara early, inviting her over for a quick chat. She promised coffee and bagels and was on her way as soon as we cut the call. Tara loved to baby me. Being Ethereal she was no doubt old enough to be my great-great-great something. But to me she was a big-sister and a friend.
I sprinted to the door, and let her in.
"Smells great," I said, breathing in the aroma. But as much as I couldn’t wait for the coffee, I needed answers about the strange bullets we’d found in my attackers gun. "You can leave the stuff on the kitchen counter. Can I ask you something before we eat?"
"Of course. Fire away," Tara said as she left the bags and drinks on the counter and walked over to me. "What’s wrong? Sounds ominous."
"It is, kinda." I dug into my pocket for the one bullet Logan left behind. I’d been desperate to know what Tara knew, and yet so fearful that she’d admit to making the bullets too. I wasn’t sure how I would handle it if she said yes, but I said a prayer and hoped for the best. I opened my palm to reveal the hollow brass bullet containing the strange green liquid. "Any idea what this is?"
I’d made sure to keep my voice neutral and non-accusatory, and it seemed to have helped as Tara leaned forward, not in the least bit offended by the inquiry. "Interesting. Where did you get that, Kai? You getting your ammo elsewhere now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and throwing me a teasing grin. A grin that faded as I related to her the whole attack episode of the previous evening. "Oh, Kai. That’s horrible. Are you okay?"