The Nightwalkers Saga: Books 1 - 7

by Candace Wondrak

  “How was your date?” I questioned, almost immediately feeling a swelling headache rise in the back of my skull. I put a hand to my head, trying to overcome it with sheer mental force.

  “It was fantastic,” he said all too quickly, his voice sounding louder than it should’ve in my ears.

  I was about to ask what they did and where they went, but the headache only intensified, and I struggled to get out of the blanket to stand. “Sorry, Max—tell me about it tomorrow. I’m…really tired.”

  “Oh, okay,” Max spoke slowly, watching me as I meandered to the stairs and made my way up to my room.

  I felt bad for cutting him off, for not acting interested—I was interested. Gabriel and I were rooting for Claire and Max for a long time. I wanted to hear Max’s thoughts, and I wanted to hear Claire gush. But right now, all I could do was trip myself on my own feet as I fell onto my bed, face first.

  My eyes closed. I didn’t even get under the sheets. My headache soon faded away as I drifted off to sleep. A dreamless one, thankfully.

  For the first time since it all started, I didn’t think of Gabriel before dozing off.

  “Wow. You really look terrible when you sleep.”

  A feminine voice woke me from my slumber, and as I tried to open my eyes. They were like stone. I felt kind of sick. I pushed myself up, finding that I literally hadn’t moved all night. Oh, and there was a huge drool circle on my pillow, and some remnants on my face. I hastily wiped off the drool, finding that my headache was mostly gone. The pit in my stomach remained, but it wasn’t so bad. I could deal with it.

  I’d dealt with much worse.

  Claire stood beside my bed, staring down at me, incredulous. “It’s almost noon. You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Michael and Liz—”

  “They let me in before they went to visit Gabriel. Max went with him. I made him. I thought it’d be better if I talked to you alone.” Claire’s blue eyes were heavy. “About last night.” Her voice did not sound as thrilled as Max’s did.

  Uh-oh.

  I held up a hand. “Wait. Let me hop in the shower and wake up. Then you can tell me the bad news.” I grabbed new clothes out of the closet and headed for the bathroom, as Claire trailed behind me, declaring it wasn’t bad news, it was just weird news.

  Either way, I had definite morning breath and my pits stunk. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure I just went to bed last night. No shower to rid my body of that day’s sweat, and no toothbrush to make my mouth minty fresh. If it were any other day, Michael would’ve been appalled. But, still, it wasn’t another day, and his Purifier was still out cold.

  I was beginning to lose hope.

  I spent the next fifteen minutes doing my morning routine, moving slower than I normally did. If it was a school morning, I’d be done quicker, spend a little time dusting on some makeup. Soon enough, I stepped out of the bathroom, smelling fresh and somewhat ready to take on the day.

  Or the rest of the day that I didn’t sleep away.

  Claire sat on the cushioned seat near the window, pensive as she looked out into the backyard. Her muscular figure looked strange hunched as it was, but the moment she saw me, she straightened up.

  As I moved beside her, I said, “So. Lay it on me. Max is in love with you, but you’re not with him?”

  She smiled. “No, that’s not it. It was fun. Really, we had a great time. We went to a bookstore, then to dinner, and we saw a movie after. Maybe it’s my fault, for going into it with expectations.”

  My brows lifted. “What kind of expectations are we talking about here?”

  “I don’t know. I thought guys tried doing stuff in movies.”

  “Max is not that kind of boy,” I defended him without realizing it.

  “Not that kind of stuff—but like hand-holding and putting his arm around me. Max just sat there. And when I dropped him off last night, he was out of the car before I knew it.” Her shoulders went up and down once. “He didn’t even try to kiss me.”

  Ah, so there’s where the disappointment on her face comes in.

  “Claire,” I paused, trying to think of what to say. I was no good at comforting or giving advice. Not really, even if I pretended otherwise. “Max was so happy when he came home last night. He couldn’t stop smiling. He likes you a lot. He’s never been allowed to date before, so he probably didn’t know what to do or that you wanted him to kiss you.”

  “So, he’s never been on a date before?”

  I nodded.

  “I was his first?”

  I nodded again.

  “Wow. I just—with a brain like that, I’m surprised. He’s the smartest kid I know. Smarter than me by a longshot.”

  Laughing, I said, “I don’t think girls in high school care much about brain power.”

  “I do. Good looks will fade, but intelligence? That sticks around a lot longer.” She smiled to herself, eyes shifting to the window once more. “He is cute, though. I do wish he was taller, but…” She shrugged.

  I playfully hit her arm. “So you going to give Max another chance to woo you?”

  “Woo?” she echoed.

  Woo. That was a word Gabriel would say.

  And just like that, my somewhat okay mood went down the toilet.

  But she paid me no mind, continuing, “Yes. Even though I was in my head half the night, I did have fun. The most fun I’ve had in years, probably.” Her voice lowered when she added, “I hope Max sticks around.”

  “Why wouldn’t he?”

  “Last night, he mentioned that, before Gabriel’s coma, Liz was searching for a new Guardian for him. He said he might have to leave.”

  Of course, I should’ve known this. Deep down, I guessed I did.

  “Principal Elsin wasn’t his first Guardian,” Claire whispered. “He told me about what happened to the other one, Rogan was his name. Died, not because of a Demon, but because of another human. He said he had a history with you, though.”

  How much did Max know about Koath and I? I wondered, drawing my gaze to the dresser, where the two wedding bands sat. “He did. He was my dad.”

  Sympathy flashed in her eyes as she leaned toward me, whispering, “He was? Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” I said, even though it wasn’t. “I didn’t even know he was my dad until after.” I coughed. “Not to change the subject, but I did find out what’s going on in the school.” I didn’t even wait for her before I stated, “It’s a Skinwalker.”

  “A Skinwalker?” She blinked. “That sounds disgusting.”

  “It is. When they jump into a body, they start devouring it from the inside until there’s nothing left. They take on the memories and mannerisms of the person, and the voice. It’s nearly impossible to tell based on appearance alone.”

  She swore under her breath. “So how do we figure out who it is?”

  “You don’t do anything. You stay safe, and if you see anything suspicious go to the office and alert the principal. He’ll handle it.” I felt stupid, saying that she couldn’t do anything. She’d risked her life for me before, but this felt different. This felt worse, somehow. “That’s what Liz told me to do.”

  “That’s reasonable, but it doesn’t make me feel any safer.” Claire sighed loudly, banging her head on the wall behind her. “I know I’m a Morpher, so I should’ve known other things existed, but I never really knew how many other species were out there. I can’t imagine being trained to fight them all.”

  Mostly Nightwalkers—the bane of human existence. Everything else, we did our best.

  We sat there for a while, talked and laughed. But soon enough, when I wasted enough time, I got up and said, “I have to go, Claire.” I slid on my tennis shoes, unaware that Claire was eyeing me dubiously.

  “Where do you disappear to? You say you’re going for a run, and everyone believes you, but there’s no way you’re running for hours on end.”

  “Sure, it’s called a marathon.”

  “
No, it’s called lying.”

  As she stood and moved next to me, I looked into her eyes, their color reminiscent of Gabriel’s. Hers were a deeper blue, with flecks of brown around the iris. Gabriel’s blue was like the sky on a clear day. “You don’t want to know where I’m going.”

  “What does that mean, Kass?”

  I didn’t hesitate: “It means that if you knew where I was going, you’d get mad. If Michael knew where I was going, he’d forbid me from leaving the house. If Max knew, he’d be pissed, too.” I left my room, taking two stairs at a time. “I’m going somewhere I know I shouldn’t.”

  Claire was behind me, not leaving my side. “Then why are you going?” Before I could reach the front door, she moved in between its handle and my hand. “I did a lot of stupid stuff after the accident. Please tell me you’re not doing anything stupid that could hurt you or anyone else.”

  We stared at each other for a bit, because I knew that it would hurt almost everyone if they knew I was going to meet Crixis, that I was training with him, that he had taken up residence in a house across the street and I didn’t tell them. Crixis’s crimes went on and on, especially against me and my friends. He attacked Claire, used her as a bargaining chip. He killed Koath, my father. He tried killing me on multiple occasions, sending Demon after Demon my way while watching on the sidelines.

  It was ridiculously stupid. I knew it, and I got it. I understood that I was doing something bad, something stupid.

  But I also didn’t care.

  “No,” I finally said, lying. “It’s nothing that’ll hurt me or anyone else. I swear. I just need to have something else to focus on, and sitting in this house, I’m going crazy.”

  Claire slowly moved from the door, opening it herself. Her car sat in our driveway, her keys jingling in her pocket. “Okay. If you say so. I know you can handle yourself, but if you go looking for trouble, sometimes you get more than you bargained for.” She left me with that nugget of wisdom as she went to her car and got in. She waved, said “See you at school tomorrow,” and then she drove off, leaving me alone on my front porch.

  It’s what I wanted, wasn’t it—to be alone? To not hear about how her date went, to instead wallow in my own pity. Yeah, it’s what I wanted, when I didn’t have Gabriel with me.

  I made sure the door to the house was closed and locked, hoping someone would be home when I was finished with today’s session with my good old buddy, and then I started jogging. I had hopes of making it around the block a few times before making my way to Crixis’s door, but for some reason, I grew tired quickly, so after one loop, I was already knocking on Maurice’s door.

  A pair of brilliant green eyes answered it, coupled with a smirk I’d grown to abhor with my entire existence. “Good. I was wondering if you’d given up.”

  I forced out a smile. “You should know by now that you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  Crixis met my smile with his own grin, a set of white, pearly teeth behind it. “Yes, I suppose I should.” For the first time in a while, he wasn’t wearing one of David’s hideous Hawaiian-printed shirts. He wore a simple black T-shirt, and dark jeans. Both articles of clothing made his tanned, Middle Eastern skin pop.

  He was, I realized, devilishly handsome. If I were anyone else, and he wasn’t a murdering psychopath, I’d definitely have a thing for him. But I was me, and he was a killer, so here we were. I would never cross that line, even if Gabriel stayed in a coma forever.

  I wasn’t that nuts.

  “You’ve tried—” I stepped into the house, tossing him a glimpse over my shoulder. “—how many times now?” I shouldn’t be so smug, for he’d almost succeeded quite a few times already. So what if he was afraid of Gabriel? Gabriel was in a coma. So what if he owed us? He was an ancient being; he didn’t owe anyone anything.

  “More times than I care to admit,” Crixis replied.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “To the attic?”

  He gave me a nod. “To the attic.”

  In the living room, Maurice waved to us, saying, “Have fun—but not too much fun.”

  Ick.

  My arms grew sore faster than ever. I didn’t even last one chapter through the current book Crixis read: Gone with the Wind. I didn’t even have the strength to flick him off when he made fun of me and my lack of endurance.

  He closed the book by bending a page. “You stun me, Purifier. I am serious when I ask: how have you lasted this long against me?”

  “Sheer luck, apparently,” I said, miffed, angry at myself for not showing more strength. I rolled my shoulders, raising my hands into fists. One of the whole points in training with Crixis was so I could beat him up whenever I felt like it. And right now, boy—did I feel like it.

  Crixis, however, did not raise his fists right away. He simply cocked his head, studying me. “Are you feeling ill?”

  “No, I’m fine,” I spat, wanting to fight. I also wanted to sleep, even though I’d just slept for over twelve straight hours, like a log.

  “You don’t look good, Kass,” he spoke my name softly, which further enraged me. How dare he speak my name, like that, after everything he’d done to me? He had no right to sound so…

  So caring.

  “Don’t say my name,” I hissed, practically growling like an animal. “Don’t you say my name! You don’t have the right to say my name! You don’t—” I took a step toward him, wanting to hit him, wanting to hurt him, but I tripped on nothing but air. Strong hands grabbed me before I fell, and it was only due to his steady arms that I did not fall. “Okay,” I admitted, “maybe I don’t feel so hot.”

  “You look like, I believe the correct word is, shit.”

  I managed a smile, and Crixis was slow to release me. I leaned on the beam behind me, holding my head. “I think I’m getting sick. I didn’t feel good all day yesterday, too.”

  “A bit of my blood, and you’ll feel shiny and new.”

  My stomach curdled. The very last thing I ever wanted was his blood. I gave him my famous death glare. “I don’t want your blood.” I closed my eyes, resting the side of my head on the wood.

  “Don’t say I never offered. It is quite the effective cure-all, I assure you.” Crixis was beside me in an instant, looking down on me with a smirk. “It would bring us closer together. Your boyfriend would love it.”

  There were so many things wrong with that.

  I shook my head, pushing away from him. I clumsily stormed out of the attic and through the house. I didn’t even say goodbye to Maurice as he shouted about where I was off to in such a hurry.

  I made it to the yellow lines of the road between our houses when my vision went black and I lost consciousness.

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Crixis

  The girl was stubborn. I knew that, of course, after my many dealings with her.

  Kass was clearly ill. She had great bags under her eyes, and her flesh was paler than normal. In addition to growing thinner since the battle with my maker, she had grown weaker, in some respects. She was not as strong as she used to be, not physically. Mentally, she was all there. She could still cut anyone down with words.

  Sighing, I knew I should probably let her go off and do whatever it was that she did when she ran from her problems, but a nagging suspicion had me follow her. I was on Maurice’s porch when I saw her fall down in the middle of the street.

  After tossing a quick glance around to make sure no one was out and watching, I flashed to her side, lifting her effortlessly. She weighed practically nothing, all flesh and bone. In the next minute, I set her down on her bed, careful of her head lolling back. It wasn’t difficult to break into their home. I’d done it many times before.

  So many, I’d lost count, in fact.

  I rested a hand on her forehead, feeling for a temperature. It wasn’t too hard for me, since my body ran close to a normal human’s. I was not cold like the lesser Vampires. Thanks to Vexillion, I was the exception to many rules.

  Her skin, dotted with
sweat, did not feel warm. If anything, she felt cold.

  I gently lifted her legs and set the thick top blanket over her. For a moment, I lost myself in my past as I stared down at her unmoving, unconscious form. I could hold a hand over her mouth and nose and smother her so easily. She wouldn’t even put up a semblance of a fight. She’d die in her own bed, and her Guardian would come home from the hospital none the wiser. How long would it take him to realize that his other charge lay dead in his house?

  An abnormal light caught my eye, and I glanced up to the mirror resting on the dresser, swearing to myself that someone else was here—which was preposterous, because I would’ve heard the approach. Light and brown hair was all I saw, and I was temporarily thrown back in time as I came upon Kass’s mother.

  An Angel?

  If there were Demons around, it was only probable that other celestial beings weren’t of mankind’s imagination, too. But I still was uncertain. It was a lot to process, and though I lived through the millennia, some things I just couldn’t accept.

  I was alone in the room with Kass. There was no one there, no one’s reflection in the mirror. It was, oddly enough, my mind playing tricks on me. My mind was my only ally throughout time. It had failed me once, when Sephira compelled me, before she turned me and for a while afterwards, but after Vexillion’s integration, it never failed me again.

  I made my way to the dresser and, since I had nothing but time, I started snooping. I went through her stuff, found two rather expensive-looking necklaces, along with the one that was around Koath’s neck when I tore into him.

  The sensation of flesh tearing in my mouth, the rush of blood coursing down my throat, the exhilaration of watching someone’s eyes widen with realization, loosen with death, and go blank…

  Oh, yes. There was no doubt in my mind that I was still a monster. I still wanted to kill. I was only pretending with the Purifier because—because of something. Because of Gabriel and his evil soul. This facade had nothing to do with repaying her for her help with Sephira, and definitely nothing to do with what her mother had told me all those years ago. That’s what I tried to convince myself of.