“How does Josh feel about this?” asked my cat as he settled onto the foot of my bed and stared at me.
“Umm. He doesn’t know. Is it really his business?”
“Technically speaking, no. But what if this isn’t attack on Periphetes but an attack on you?”
“Who would want to attack me?”
“Uhh. Maybe Sedgrave?” suggested Tereus.
I froze, one leg still struck in my pants. Normally, people avoided using the warlock’s name, but my cat wasn’t normal. He ascribed to the idea that I needed a swift blow to the head to set me right. I took a moment to remind myself that I was safe in my apartment before I continued dressing.
“Why would he want me dead? He’s alive now ‘cause of me. He should be thanking me.”
Tereus hesitated, his large cat eyes drooping with feline exhaustion. “I doubt he’ll view it that way, but go if you must. Just don’t complain to me if you get eaten.”
I rolled my eyes as I finished dressing and scooped up my keys. I left Tereus drifting off into a much deserved catnap and pounded down my narrow stairway. It felt good to be on my own. Almost normal.
The last time I’d gone out and done something for myself had been before I was turned into a vampire; unless you count the time I ran away from Nik and Josh in the hopes that Isaac, the guy who turned me, would kill me—it hadn’t worked out well for any of us.
I pushed those thoughts away from my mind as I walked swiftly down Capitol Way toward the grocery store where Chloe worked. A few pedestrians were out despite the cold winter night, and I pointedly crossed to the opposite side of the street. I didn’t want to be put in temptation’s way. Jordan’s offering had been generous, but I knew I was still young enough to crave blood even when I was full.
A few blocks down the street I took a left and jogged the last couple blocks to Thriftway. The small grocery store was wedged up against West Bay, one of the southernmost tips of Puget Sound. Farther down the road was a bridge connecting downtown with the West Side.
I wandered around the parking lot, looking for Chloe’s car. She had purchased a used Buick Encore when she moved into Nik’s mansion. I had never ridden in it, but I knew it was dark blue and that she had put on a bumper sticker encouraging people to hang up their cell phones. After twenty or so minutes searching through the parking lot, I determined her car was missing. I tried sniffing around for her, but if she had been in the parking lot the rain and the scent of the other shoppers hid any trace of her, or maybe I was just too new at it.
At the entryway to the parking lot I noticed a long streak of rubber laid out on the pavement in a curve, heading toward the West Side. I took a sniff and smelled burned rubber. This had happened recently. Could it have been Chloe?
With nothing else to go on, I headed toward the bridge. A few feet onto the bridge I noticed the winds begin to pick up. Now, Olympia gets its share of wind, but this was something different. Within seconds I was having trouble, despite my vampire strength, to keep heading forward. The wind persisted in trying to send me sideways into the evening traffic.
I ducked down and pushed forward when I should have realized something very bad was about to happen.
Stupid, Ashley.
One minute I was battling the wind and slight mist falling from the sky, the next moment I was under a deluge of water. I’m not talking about the rain picking up, but rather an entire wave rising up over the side of the bridge and plummeting down on me.
My feet went out from under me and I felt my lungs clog with water. A minute or two after I started to panic, my head surfaced and the water washed away, back toward the bay. I coughed up the frigid water and glanced around. The wave had dragged me down to the edge of the bridge, and out onto the white dotted line that divided the two lanes heading west. Two cars were careening my way. I froze, half expecting them to honk and swerve in an effort to miss me. Instead, they continued on their way, missing me by inches.
This was the first clue to click in my befuddled brain. If they hadn’t noticed the giant wave that just plunged the entire bridge under water, then it was likely that a fae was nearby. Fae have a special talent of keeping humans from noticing their activities. Later, once the dust had settled, so to speak, the humans would notice whatever damage had been done by the fae, but be unable to explain how it had happened.
If my heart wasn’t already stopped, it would have with this realization. I climbed to my feet and looked around, but I couldn’t see anything that looked out of place.
Maybe due to the fact I am very obstinate, I turned and started trekking back up the bridge. Not my smartest move; I should have turned tail and ran.
This time I made it halfway across the bridge before all hell broke loose. A giant face made of water rose up beside the bridge. The water giant’s hands lapped over the railing of the bridge as though it was hanging from it. Lightning cracked, striking the water giant in the head. It lit up the sky and showed the details of the face of my enemy.
But how do you fight water?
Finally, I wised up and ran away. I bolted across the wide bridge, dodging cars that slowed down for no apparent reason. Before I could make it across the bridge, the giant head ducked under the structure and resurfaced on the other side. Without a moment’s hesitation I turned toward the nearest end of the bridge, hoping to get away from the giant water source. It seemed logical that this thing couldn’t travel on dry land, but then again, the land wasn’t dry thanks to the moisture falling from the sky.
I had nearly made it to solid ground when one of the giant hands released the bridge and swiped down at me. Like anything made of water it wasn’t able to grab me, but it did wash over me with such force that I flew backwards, landing on my rump and skidding a few yards on the wet pavement. At that same moment, a speeding car ran into me. The bumper hit me in the back of the head. The force folded me at the waist, sending me face first into the pavement.
Despite the pain, I forced myself to stay doubled over, as though I was trying to touch my toes in a long stretch. No doubt the owner would wonder what they had hit to cause so much damage to their foreign, plastic car.
Once it had passed over me, I climbed to my feet, ignoring the blood running down the back of my head and the blood seeping out of my nose. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the giant water hand coming back to take another chunk out of me. It may not be able to do me damage directly, but the cars racing around me sure could.
I didn’t give it a chance to complete the swipe. I bolted, using every ounce of vampire strength I still had and made it to solid ground in record time. I took a diagonal course through a couple parking lots. I assumed the attacks would stop when I got away from the salt water. I was wrong.
Right next to the end of the bay was a man-made, freshwater lake—with a water giant in it. I was halfway through the park that surrounded one side of the lake when another enormous wave washed over me, dragging me back to the water. I clawed at the wet ground, trying to keep myself from reaching the edge of the lake.
I stopped a few yards away from the edge, climbed to my feet, and ran toward downtown, trying to balance getting away from the lake and getting away from the bay. I felt another wave come crashing down behind me, missing me by a few inches. If I hadn’t already been soaked to the bone I would have noticed my ankles getting wet.
I ignored the almost-attack and sprinted into the maze of downtown. Two blocks away I took a right onto my own street and slowed to a jog, once again thinking I was safe. I didn’t know how far the fae’s cloaking magic worked and didn’t want the few pedestrians present to call the cops because a sopping wet woman was running around downtown as though her hair was on fire.
I was about two blocks from my apartment when I stepped in a puddle and discovered the fae was more flexible than I thought. A smaller version of the giant hand reached up out of the puddle and slammed into my shin. I tripped and landed on the palms of my hands. It hurt, but it was hardly enough to put me out of c
ommission. I rolled away from the puddle, onto the road and lay flat just in time to allow an enormous SUV to drive right over the top of me.
“What the hell is going on?” I whispered to myself as I waited for the vehicle tailgating the SUV to pass over me. This time I felt the undercarriage graze over my rump. It hurt and I screamed.
Once the Jeep had passed me, grazing me a second time, I looked up to see the street was clear. I also noticed someone was running over to me.
“You okay?” the strange voice asked me.
“Fine.” I said as I climbed to my feet and ran again in the direction my apartment.
“Wait. You need a doctor…”
I didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence. A mere minute later I was pounding up my stairs, half worrying about the blood stains I was leaving on the carpet. With shaking fingers I managed to get past the locked door. I slammed it shut, flipped the deadbolt, and flopped to the floor.
Chapter Ten
I’m not really sure what happened after that. The next thing I knew Josh was there, squatting in front of me. I looked around and realized I was hiding under my desk; it was my safe place, where I had returned many times after the ritual.
“Ashley? Can you hear me?” Josh asked from his place a foot or two away from me. He knew when I resorted to hiding under my desk that I needed my space.
I blinked a few times, giving my eyes time to focus on him. “How’d you know?” I croaked, my voice sounding rough and uncertain.
“I got a call from your number and Tereus meowed a whole bunch. I figured it was bad if your cat is calling me on the phone.”
“I was explaining the situation in full detail,” came my cat’s voice from above my head.
I peeked out from under my desk and came face to face with Tereus. He was in a lying squat, his fluffy face peering down at me from over the edge of the desk.
“It’s not my fault he couldn’t understand my words through the phone.”
“All I heard was meowing,” insisted Josh.
“How did you dial?” I asked, happy to avoid the more important topic.
“It wasn’t easy. I got many wrong numbers before I managed the ta…”
“What happened?” demanded Josh as he cut Tereus off. The cat jumped off the desk, landing in the small space between Josh and myself, and sauntered off in a big huff. Despite his best efforts, Tereus acted a lot like a cat.
Josh ignored him and reached for my face. He turned my head to the side to see the gash on the back of my head. Before I could begin explaining we heard feet on the carpeted steps leading up to my second story apartment.
“What is going on?” asked Nik as he opened the door, before he had even seen us sitting on the floor by my desk.
“You called him?” I should have censured myself, but I didn’t. I blame the concussion.
“She’s hurt!” announced Nik as he knelt beside Josh, as though we hadn’t already figured this out.
“No shit,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“What happened,” repeated Josh. He was always the voice of reason when Nik and I began to fight.
“I went out looking for Chloe.”
“You what?”
“You wanna hear the story or you wanna fight?” I asked, turning back to Nik. When I was certain he was going to be quiet I continued. “While on the Fourth Avenue Bridge I was attacked by a giant-water-guy thing.”
“A what?” asked Josh, his voice colored with confusion. I knew how he felt.
“I don’t know what it was. It looked like a giant made of water. He couldn’t really strike me, but he could knock me over with giant waves of water. Most of the damage is from cars that hit me when I was washed into the road.”
“Shit!” exclaimed Josh. Like Nik, Josh didn’t swear much. It always made me smile when he did. Just not this time.
“Let’s get her to the seethe. This likely means the attack with Periphetes was directed at her and not him.”
Josh nodded as he reached out to help me to my feet.
A few minutes later we were in the main room of the seethe, waiting for Mikhail to arrive. We had sent the first vampire we found to fetch him. Just when I was about to fall asleep in the corner I had lowered myself into, Mikhail arrived.
“Really? Again?” he asked, looking down at my mangled body.
I ignored him and let my eyes droop.
“What happened now?”
Nik, as the senior member, spoke for us. He explained about the trip to Seattle, the attack of the Cyclops, and the recent battle with the water monster.
“You are the proverbial thorn in my side,” sighed Mikhail.
I forced a fake smile to my lips and opened my eyes enough to be sure he had seen my response, then went back to trying to sleep. I felt Josh sit down next to me and wrap an arm around my shoulder, pulling me to his side, despite the fact he was clean enough to sit on one of the many sofas littering the large room. The contact felt nice, and I leaned into his body.
“We need to get her blood,” suggested Nik when Mikhail grew silent.
Mikhail didn’t respond.
“I appreciate that she needs to find her own source, but these aren’t exactly normal circumstances. She’s badly hurt, mere hours after having me muck around in her chest.”
I cringed at the memory of my Cyclops wounds, and felt Josh’s arm tighten briefly around my shoulder.
Mikhail still didn’t speak, but he did wave his hand toward the vampire who had sought him out and was now watching our interaction. The man ran off and returned with three blood bags before Mikhail had finished working through whatever was going on in his brain.
“We’re not having a repeat of what happened last time. Jim, go get that wolf boy,” ordered Mikhail. The other vampire scurried away.
“What are you thinking?” asked Nik.
“We are going to pay Richard a little visit. I’d bet my last dollar he’s involved. In the meantime, we will leave Ashley in their care.”
This perked up my attention. Okay, it might have been the three blood bags I had just inhaled, but I doubt it. Josh had risen to his feet and put a few feet between us, most likely to keep himself from being tempted by my drink.
“Wait. I’m not going with you?” I asked from my corner.
I wasn’t worried about being left with werewolves, I was upset about being left behind like some fragile doll or some equally-degrading simile.
“You will be safe with the wolves. I’ll make sure of it,” added Mikhail in a voice that made my spine vibrate with fear.
Every once in a while, I forgot that Mikhail was the most powerful person in the room, but then he spoke with that voice. He looked young, but you just don’t mess with someone who’s survived for over three centuries in a world that’s out to destroy them.
“I don’t want to stay behind. Haven’t I proved myself yet? I took on a bloody typhoon on my own today…”
“And ran away,” said Mikhail, reminding me that I hadn’t actually defeated the monster.
“Details,” I grumbled. “I still think I should go.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh cringe and Nik roll his eyes. I was stepping in it, big time, but I couldn’t make myself care. I was too tired of being the protected. I wanted to be the protector, or at least able to take care of myself.
Mikhail sauntered up to me, his blue eyes flashing with amusement. He still thought of me as the doll.
“You are not going. I am not taking you into the lion’s mouth. If Richard is after you again, the last place you should go is to his seethe.”
I ground my teeth together in an effort to stay silent. Slowly, I bowed my head to my primus, knowing it was the best I could do. I couldn’t tell him I agreed when I didn’t. Submission was the best he was going to get.
To my surprise he caressed my cheek before taking my hand and placing it in the crook of his arm like a gentleman of old would do.
I noticed Josh and Nik heave a subtle sigh of re
lief. At that moment, the door opened to reveal the messenger, Jim, and the alpha werewolf.
“What can I do for you, sir,” said the werewolf. If my memory served, and it seldom did, his name was Travis.
“I need you, and a few of yours, to take Ashley to Nik’s apartment. Nik and Josh will relieve you when I’m done with them.”
“She in some sort of trouble?’ asked Travis, his eyes flicking to where I stood, still tucked into the corner with Mikhail.
“She’s always in trouble,” smirked Mikhail.
Travis stared at me, no doubt assessing me as I hung on the primus’ arm.
Umm… what’s going on? I wondered as I stood there, my hand still hanging from Mikhail’s arm.
“You have some people who can join you in babysitting duties?” Nik asked.
“Sure. I’ll go get them.”
Mikhail nodded. “Good. Jim, go get Samuel and a few fighters. And have a few cars ready for us.”
Jim, who had stayed surreptitiously in his own corner, nodded and followed Travis out of the main room.
“Wait. What about Chloe? She’s still missing!”
“Ashley, we’ve been over this. She’s probably out with friends. If she’s not home by morning, we’ll deal with it then,” responded Nik in a condescending voice that made me want to punch him.
Before I could argue further, vampires began trickling in. Most of them I barely recognized. At about the same time, Samuel, the third highest ranking vamp in the seethe, and the werewolves entered.
“Vampires with me. We’re paying Richard a little visit. Wolves, get Ashley to safety.”
With that, the vampires filed back out. Suddenly I was left alone with three werewolves I didn’t know. I felt my fangs descend, more out of defense than hunger. That was new.
I forced myself to take a deep, calming breath through my mouth and willed my fear into my toes. I put on a condescending look, trying to fake it till I made it. It partially worked.
The werewolves, in human form, stood across the large room and stared at me. I met their gaze. One of the werewolves was a middle age woman with medium brown hair cut to frame her face. She could have either been the First Lady or a soccer mom, a perfect mix of motherliness and power. The other was a young man with black hair and black stubble. His expression was dark and menacing. Had it been just Travis and the woman I probably would have felt more comfortable. Well, maybe.
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 33