Twice Cursed

by Marianne Morea

  “Ow! What was that for?” he said, dropping his roll on the table.

  At his stunned look, Lily burst out laughing. “You’re kidding me, right? Sticks and stones, Jack, but a swift kick works like a charm when you want to shut someone to up. And, by the way, I am not a snob!”

  “Not cool, Lily,” he said, wincing as he rubbed his shin.

  She chuckled, picking up her wine glass. “Cool? I don’t know, Jack,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think guys are allowed to use that word once they can quote scenes from chick flicks.”

  He straightened up and picked up his beer. “Are you done?”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you?”

  The waiter interrupted, bringing their salads. “Your steaks should be out soon. Is there anything else I can get you? Some fresh ground pepper, perhaps.”

  “No, thanks. We’re good for now,” Jack replied, watching Lily’s amused face. “How’s your neck, by the way?”

  Lily stopped with her wine glass half way to her lips. Straightening her back, it cracked a bit, but other than that, her muscles were as loose as noodles. “Well, well, well…” she said, smirking.

  “Nothing like a little adrenaline rush to help you forget about muscle tension, eh?”

  Lily picked up her fork, shaking her head. “Nice. I can only imagine what you’d do if I needed to scare away a case of hiccups.”

  They sat in relative silence while they ate. Jack’s humorous detour may have helped relieve the knots at the back of her neck, but did nothing to alleviate the feeling of dread that seemed to seep from the walls.

  Whatever it was, it lurked on the periphery of her second sight. With a feather’s touch, she sent her senses out, tendrils spreading from her consciousness. In New York City, criminal behavior was never in short supply, and with that in mind, she searched for anything out of the ordinary. She could feel the weight of what lurked like a set of watchful eyes, but couldn’t find its source. Who was watching, and why was it watching her?

  The waiter returned, carrying a large tray, and Lily reeled herself back in. She’d have time again to feel out what was eluding her for the moment, but right now, the tantalizing aroma and telltale sizzle of porterhouse steaks rose along with the steam from the top of their plates.

  “Bon Appétit,” the man said as he placed the last side dish on the table.

  Wine glass in hand, Lily took a sip, watching Jack dig into the aged beef, so large it hung over the edge of his plate. “Enjoying yourself?” she asked, still centering herself.

  “Mmmhmmm.”

  “Good, I’m glad.”

  Jack swallowed, then picked up his beer and took a sip, watching her from across the amber colored curve of the bottle. “You’ve barely touched your food, what’s the matter? You said things went fine today with Terry’s parents.”

  The waiter filled their water glasses, and Lily smiled up, when he asked if everything was okay. “Fine, thanks.” The man put another roll on her bread plate and with a nod, moved to another table.

  “Well?” Jack continued.

  Lily picked up her butter knife and slid it into the corner of her roll. “Things went great. In fact, better than great. Bev and I had a long talk and we both realized how much we need each other in our lives,” she answered, breaking the roll in two with her thumbs.

  Jack tilted his head, pointing the tip of his beer in her direction. “You mean you realized.”

  Lily shifted slightly in her seat. “Yes, Mr. Know-it-all…I realized,” she said, reaching for the small silver butter dish, and scooping some of the creamy yellow with the edge of her knife. With a couple of quick swipes, she spread the butter, lifting her thumb to her mouth to lick the excess from her finger.

  “Glad to hear it. But if that’s not what’s bugging you, then what? And don’t say it’s nothing, because the scent of anxiety is coming off of you in waves.” He dug his fork into his baked potato, bringing the steaming, sour creamed deliciousness toward his mouth.

  She put the buttered roll down on her bread plate, and then smoothed her fingers against the starched linen napkin resting on her lap.

  Sean picked his hunters well. Jack was smart and almost as perceptive as his alpha, but she wasn’t about to say anything about what she sensed. She may have picked up on a flutter in the atmosphere, but it was much too premature to do anything about it yet. Telling Jack would only turn him into an overbearing wolf.

  Sean would be so proud.

  She’d given Jack enough of a heads up already. Perhaps what she sensed was nothing more than a by-product of full moon fever, and it was her turn to have sensibilities go haywire. She still hadn’t forgotten how Jack had looked before he left for his run.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe it has to do with what we talked about earlier. I know you took my head off for calling you a babysitter a few days ago, but after what you said, I can’t help but feel like we’re back at square one.”

  “Square one? What did I say?”

  She frowned, her brows knitting together as she looked at him. “Jack, you said, and I quote, ’Sean puts my skills on ice at times’. That sounds an awful lot like disgruntled, and I can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with you being here with me, instead of up at the compound,” she said, lifting one shoulder and letting it drop.

  “I didn’t say my skills. I said our skills. Sean is the Alpha, and as members of his hunters, each of us is obligated, by more than just loyalty, to obey.”

  “I understand the political maneuvering going on in your world right now, and with the way you said it, it makes me think you’d rather be in the thick of things up there, instead of down here with me.”

  A small smirk spread across Jack’s mouth as he leaned forward with his forearms on the table. “You know, for someone so smart, you can be really dumb sometimes. And what’s with the, ‘your world’, crap. Last time I checked we were both a part of that world, or does that mean you changed your mind about Sean in the last few days?”

  Lily picked up her wineglass, but put it down again. “Now, look who’s wearing the dunce hat? I never said that, not even close,” she shot back with a huff. “But since you’re obviously trying to change the subject, it must mean I hit a nerve. Answer my question. And what’s all this bull about you being obligated by more than just loyalty? Are you trying to tell me Sean forces you to do things against your will?”

  Jack nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Not that he ever has, or will,” he hesitated, “…only that he can. At least that’s what I’m told. As to putting our skills on ice, I was referring to the bedpan duty Sean gave us last month,” he answered with a matter-of-fact frown. “It’s not exactly the hero-hunter role I looked for when I joined the Hunters. But I get it. I’m one of the newest to join, so shit rolls down hill. “

  She raised one eyebrow. “Pun intended, I’m sure.”

  He chuckled, taking another sip of his beer. “You got that right.”

  Lily gazed at him still unconvinced. “You still haven’t answered my question, though. What about now? Is shadowing me the equivalent of a Hunter on bedpan duty?”

  Jack’s smirk spread into a full on grin. “Other than you being a royal pain in the ass? No. I volunteered for this assignment. I mean, hey, what better way to move up the ranks then to guard the Alpha’s girl?” he added, waggling his eyebrows. “Besides, somebody needs to keep track of what you’re up to.”

  “Me? And what am I up to?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, how about hunting rogue vampires, for one?”

  “Hmmm. And let’s not forget the cynical cops I’ve been hanging out with, and my almost non-existent credentials by the time this is all over, and the fact that Sean is still stuck playing political Russian roulette with a power hungry sociopath.”

  Jack tapped his fork lightly against the side of his plate, a frown creasing the area between his eyes.

  Exactly.

  Lily exhaled, picking
up her knife and fork. “Who could blame either of us for being distracted? Hell, but this is progress, as far as I’m concerned,” she said, gesturing with the utensils. “If this was a couple of months ago, I’d be almost postal.”

  She sighed. Dramatic much? Count your blessings, things could be much worse. Her stomach clenched. There it was again, that uneasy ripple along her sympathetic nervous system, making her pulse quicken. “Maybe I’ll join you the next time you go for a jog. Might take the edge off for me too.”

  “We could always walk home.”

  She choked, swallowing a piece of her steak, hard. “From Brooklyn? Are you nuts?”

  He pointed his fork at her, bouncing slightly up and down. “Hey, we took the subway across the Williamsburg Bridge, with you insisting the entire way that I needed the whole New York experience. So once we cross back over the river, why don’t we walk home from the Delancy Street subway station, instead of taking a cab back from that point?”

  Wiping her mouth, she considered him. “You do realize that means walking almost completely across town?” She waited for him to say something, but he just shrugged. “At night,” she added to reiterate her point.

  Jack shrugged again, picking up his water glass and signaling to the waiter for a refill. “It’s only about two and half miles, I clocked it in the cab over from the apartment. Maybe, we can go barefoot in Washington Square Park, like in that 60s movie with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.”

  The waiter poured ice water into both of their glasses, and topped off Lily’s wine. She cut another piece of steak, and dipped it into Peter Lugar’s famous steak sauce, letting the combined flavors melt in her mouth.

  “I’m starting to wonder about you, Jack. First quotes from Sex in the City, and now classic movies. I don’t know whether to be impressed or suspicious,” she said with a chuckle. “But as to walking back, I suppose we could do it. That is, if it’s not raining.”

  Savoring the taste of the food on her tongue, she mulled over Jack’s idea. Maybe it wasn’t as dubious a suggestion as she first thought. Plunging herself into the thick of things worked best these days, and perhaps it would give her a better bead on what was making her senses erratic.

  Fork and knife in hand, he leaned forward to make his point. “Come on, with your stress levels and my usual peccadilloes compounded by the full moon, we need to head out on foot at some point tonight. So eat up. You’re going to need all the energy you can get.”

  The dessert cart passed, and Jack rubbed both hands together, like a kid. “As for me, I’ve got my name all over one of those ‘Holy Cow’ hot fudge sundaes and a piece of New York cheesecake.”

  Lily raised an eyebrow. “Can you say WerePiglet?”

  “Oink, oink.”

  Chapter Eight

  ***

  The two walked up Broadway, past New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. The famed university comprised whole area, with student and faculty buildings surrounding the park and its environs. They crossed onto Washington Square Place, two blocks from NYUs Arts and Sciences building and the park entrance at Washington Square East.

  The unease rippling along Lily’s nerve endings had subsided by the time they had finished dinner and left the restaurant. But when they got off the subway and started walking, the feeling of being watched came back with a vengeance. It crawled up her spine and over her shoulder, and the closer they got to Washington Square Park, the louder the warning bells clanged in her head.

  She tried to shake it off, but profiling was akin to speaking another language—if you don’t use it, you lose it. Except for the few hours she’d spent with Martinez, she hadn’t really worked in months. She was out of practice and could almost smell the thin metallic coating of rust on her deciphering skills. Odds were, what she sensed was no more than the average aura of menace hanging like smog over dark corners of the city.

  “The Arch is just around the corner. Do you want to head into the park here and walk over toward the fountain, or do you want to head over to University Place and the north entrance?” Lily asked, as they stopped at the corner. Shifting her weight in her boots, she winced.

  “Don’t tell me your feet hurt, because I know you’ve tracked creatures for longer than we’ve been walking.”

  With a grimace, she shot him a dirty look. “That’s easy for you to say, you’re not wearing heels. If I had known we’d be traipsing all over lower Manhattan on foot, I’d have worn my shit-kickers.”

  “You’re the one who’s supposed to be the psychic.”

  Grimacing again, Lily toed off her right boot, scooting back to lean against the scaffolding in front of NYU’s Silver Center. “I knew you were going to say that. I’m psychic, Jack, not the Amazing Kreskin,” she grumbled, rubbing the ball of her foot.

  A high-pitched howl cut through the empty street, jerking her back to attention. The sound came from somewhere down University Place, and Lily jammed her foot back into her boot, her senses moving into overdrive. It was a definite cry of pain, but the sound was anything but human.

  “I knew it!” she hissed through her teeth. Rusty skills my ass. Grabbing Jack by the arm, she tugged on his jacket. “Let’s go.”

  When he didn’t move fast enough, she shot him a look and took off at a run, crossing the street and sprinting down the block in the direction of the arch.

  Another agonized wail echoed through the adjacent trees and the flat expanse of the ornamental circle surrounding the park’s central fountain. Shit. What the hell has she got pinned? A Were? She’d never heard a shifter make a noise like that, and wondered how many other kinds of supes there were out there, that she’d yet to come across. With the way her life had been going lately, she’d bet the Grimm brothers an entire fairytale full.

  Jack came up beside her, his yellow-gold tie fluttering behind him as he ran. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked, grabbing her elbow and pulling her to a stop next to the wrought iron fence surrounding the park’s perimeter.

  “It’s here, Jack. I can sense it,” Lily answered, hoping her look told him loud and clear to stay out of her way.

  Eyes narrowing, he tilted his head to the side. “Who? The vampire? Here?”

  “No, my Aunt Susie. Yes, the vampire. I was in its head at the crime scene, Jack. Remember? Even if the images were residual, it feels like the same imprint. I know it. I can feel it. Tell me that howl didn’t raise the hackles on the back of your neck.”

  Jack let go of Lily’s arm and straightened. Exhaling, he put his hands on his hips, pushing his suit jacket back.

  “Of course it did, along with raising the gooseflesh up and down my arms to match. I thought I sensed something when I went out for my run. Things were too quiet.” He shook his head and sniffed, wrinkling his nose. “There are supes all over this city, but I just chalked the muted signs up to the garbage and funky smells you all seem not to notice.”

  His eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You’ve been feeling it all along, haven’t you? Despite your little tap dance back at the restaurant when I asked what was bothering you.”

  Lily lifted her chin a notch. “Well, I guess that means we both need to stop second guessing, but that’s not what matters now. The vampire is here, and based on that pitiful sound I don’t think it came to play.”

  Jack peeled his jacket from his arms and loosened his tie, slipping it over his head and shoving it into his breast pocket.

  “Why are you stripping?”

  “If I need to phase, I don’t want to ruin this jacket. I just bought it.”

  Lily looked at him, and blinked. “Seriously? We’ve got a deranged supe in the park across the street from crowded NYU dorms, and you’re worried about your outfit?”

  With his black slacks, a black shirt, yellow tie and a black sports jacket, he must have gotten his idea of New York chic from watching reruns of the Sopranos. He couldn’t have looked more Mafioso if he tried.

  “Pretty sharp, huh?”

/>   “Like a knife,” she replied dryly. “Are you ready?”

  “You talkin’ to me?”

  Lily pressed her lips together. “Don’t make me shoot you, Jack.”

  “What? My Robert De Niro impression making you a little twitchy?”

  “Yeah, but only my trigger finger.” Ignoring him, she continued down the street, moving at a fast clip, while Jack shadowed her every step. As she approached the north side, she slowed, stopping just short of the ornate, gas style streetlamp outside the entrance to the park.

  The arch stood just inside the north gate about twenty-five feet from the sidewalk. Fashioned after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, it was a landmark, despite the ever present homeless sheltering in the gardens to either side.

  With a practiced eye, Lily surveyed the area, checking for anyone who might end up as collateral damage, but thankfully, the cold had left the park deserted tonight. A silhouette moved around the base of the tall structure, away from the street side view, scooting behind the far statue of George Washington.

  The park was mostly in shadow, despite the light from the full moon, but Lily spotted the figure as it dragged its prey toward the children’s playground off to the right of the entrance.

  She held her finger up to her lips, and motioned for Jack to follow. Sliding her hand into the hidden gun compartment along the outside of her purse, she drew her 9mm. Not that it would do much good against a vampire, but it was better than nothing. The ability to stun and run can sometimes mean the difference between life and death in a business like hers.

  Stashing her cell phone, cash and thin leather credit card case in her other boot she then placed her empty purse under the closest bush.

  She shoved the 9mm into the back waistband of her pants, and motioned for Jack to stop. Her adrenaline level ratcheted up a notch at the feel of the cold steel against back, and her focus narrowed even as she expanded her senses. Cold steel or not, it would not do to get blindsided by another predator sniffing around the scent of fresh blood.

  She squatted down behind the winter-dead shrubs, thankful again for her choice of black clothing. With her left hand, she slid her boot halfway off her foot and removed two thin, sharp-edged stakes from an inside flap.