by April White
Adam was looking back and forth between me and Alex. “You’re both exceptionally frightening, and I’m very glad we’re on the same team.”
Alex and I traded glances, then laughed. She got busy assigning tasks, which we all jumped into with both feet. The guys were digging trip holes while Alex and I whittled sharp points on short sticks. Ava positioned the long sticks around the edges of the minefield to discourage people from skirting the sides, and finally Tom spoke the question no one had asked yet. “Against whom are we defending ourselves?”
Alex sat back from having just buried three spikes in a shallow depression. She wiped the hair from her face with the back of her hand and looked up at Tom. “No one.” He nodded and turned back to the hole he was digging. “Yet.”
Adam regarded her steadily. “But you expect there will be someone?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Who?” Tom winced, like he expected the answer but didn’t want to hear it. Alex looked steadily at him.
“You spent time with them, Tom. You know what they’re like.”
She meant Mongers. Of the enforcer variety.
“You think they’d come here? To St. Brigid’s?”
Alex shrugged. “Uncle Bob does. Or at least he doesn’t want to leave it to chance. Anyway, these are useful skills for you guys to have.” She raised an eyebrow and looked at me. “You never know when you’ll have to fend off a pack of wild boys.”
Ava’s cheery voice piped up. “Or pink elephants.” Which, of course, cracked everyone up and diffused the tension so we could focus on the tasks at hand.
Alex made a very cool rabbit snare with the grass she’d woven into a kind of rope. She held it up at rabbit head height with little notched sticks and looped it to a tree. The sticks reminded me of my own slingshot sticks, and I pulled them out. “What can I use as a band to turn these into slingshots?”
Alex regarded the stick in my hand for a long moment, then finally smiled. “Underwear elastic.”
I laughed. “Perfect.”
Adam smirked. “Somehow I don’t see you girls volunteering your skivvies in the name of weaponry.”
“Why not? We do it all the time.” Alex delivered the line so casually it took Adam a full ten seconds to finally get it while the laughter erupted all around him. I really liked his girlfriend.
I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my jeans and pulled out my knife.
“Whoa, hey! What are you doing?” Adam looked a little freaked out as I tugged the top of my pink and leopard bikini and got ready to separate the elastic from the fabric. It was kind of a bummer because the panties were cute.
“Making a slingshot.”
I’d shocked him. Which would have been funny if he didn’t try to grab my knife away from me and almost made me cut myself. “What the hell, Arman?”
He sounded like he was strangling on his words. “Don’t. Cut. Those.”
I stared at Adam, then looked at Alex in confusion. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as if to say ‘who the hell knows?’ So I matched his tone. “Why. Not?”
“Because if you destroy them he won’t be able to imagine you wearing them anymore.” The smooth tones of a cultured male voice seemed to melt out of the woods and I spun toward the voice.
“Archer!”
Fight or Flight
I ran toward him as he emerged from behind the trees. Something Adam had said about secret relationships not feeling real had landed hard with me, and I suddenly wanted everyone to know Archer was mine.
Archer’s eyes flicked to the knife still open in my hand, and I practically skidded to a halt, embarrassment flaming my face. “Oh. Sorry.” I folded Sanda’s knife and quickly buttoned my jeans before stepping into his warm embrace.
He nuzzled my hair near my ear and spoke so only I could hear him. “Your friend would like to kill me.” The matter-of-fact tone of his voice didn’t require me to do anything about it, but I was sick of all the pink elephants. I turned to Adam and struggled to keep my voice calm and even.
“You all know Archer, right?” There was tense silence from my friends. Well, except for Ava. I don’t think she ever got tense.
Ava’s voice was warm and generous when she greeted Archer. “It’s nice to see you again.” She moved forward to kiss him on the cheek, and I loved her for it.
Archer gave her one of the melty smiles that turned my insides to mush on a semi-regular basis. “It’s very nice to see you too, Ava.” He gave Alex the same smile but with the wattage turned down slightly to adjust for the fact that she’d gone rigid at his appearance. “I’m impressed with your defenses, Alexandra. They’re very well planned.”
The wary expression on her face didn’t relax as she nodded acknowledgement. I was proud of Adam for moving protectively closer to her, misplaced though it was, and I tried to ease the tension. “Archer won’t hurt you, Alex. He’s not like that.”
Adam’s voice was laced with nails. “He’s a Sucker, Saira, and Suckers kill.”
I whirled on Adam, ready to unleash the full weight of my temper, but Archer’s low voice stopped me. There was an edge to it that sounded dangerous, but also completely controlled. “I am deadly, Arman. I need blood to survive. But I am a man, not a monster. I do not kill for pleasure, and I can certainly control my need to eat as easily as you can, or perhaps more so, since I don’t enjoy my food. Becoming a Vampire did not remove all reason or humanity in me.”
It could have been my imagination, but the dangerous edge in his voice seemed to soften slightly. “So, although I struggle with my own insecurities about your friendship with Saira, I will not harm you or anyone you love. And perhaps, if I’m lucky, I might find my own brand of friendship among those of you who can stomach the thought of associating with a Sucker.” He included Tom, Ava and Alex in his gaze, and I let my fists unclench.
Adam blinked, clearly unsettled by Archer’s speech. But Alex was the one who moved first. She stepped forward, a little like she was offering a slab of steak to a lion, and put out her hand. “We weren’t formally introduced before. I’m Alexandra Rowan, Shifter.”
He took her hand in his and smiled carefully at her. “I’m glad to meet you properly, Alex. I’m Archer Devereux, Seer, and now something far less socially acceptable.”
Then Adam stepped forward and I tensed again, not sure what he was up to. He put his hand out to shake. “Adam Arman, Seer, and fellow over-protective ass.”
Archer laughed and clapped Adam’s hand in one of those manly handshakes that crush bones. “It’s good to see you again, Arman.”
Tom stepped forward to shake Archer’s hand and clasp him on the shoulder with the other. “Sucker.” He barely held back a grin.
Archer returned the shoulder clasp and the suppressed grin. “Half-Sight.”
Tom’s eyes narrowed, and then he smiled. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you.”
“Where’ve you been?”
“London.”
“Taking on the town, huh?”
Archer grimaced. “Sleeping in an altar and spending my nights in a cellar. Hardly a party.”
“He’s been looking for Wilder.”
Tom shook his head. “Okay, sleeping in an altar I want to hear about, but I don’t get why Wilder matters. I thought he was dead.”
“Archer had a vision of him, and I saw it.”
Adam’s eyes widened. “You…saw it?”
I nodded and looked at Alex. “Have you ever seen anything that Adam was Seeing, just because you guys were next to each other?”
Adam looked shocked, but Alex glanced over at him, then bit her lip before nodding. Her voice was almost a whisper. “I saw Ms. Rothchild and her brother-in-law coming after us to take Adam away from me.”
Adam looked at her, horrified. “You saw that? But it couldn’t have been a vision. It didn’t happen!”
Her eyes filled with tears, and I could tell it mortified her. “Because I left, Adam. I ran away before it co
uld.”
He stared at her, then looked helplessly at his sister. “It doesn’t work like that though. We can’t change the future.”
I shook my head. “You’re confusing past and future. We can always change what hasn’t happened yet. It’s called free choice.”
“But—“ He sounded lost, like his foundation had just been rattled by an earthquake of existential proportions. I knew him well enough to know he was sick to his stomach because it was his vision that had sent his girlfriend away last year. And his fault they broke up.
Shaw’s sudden whistle pierced the night, and every one of us flinched. Ava’s eyes went glassy in a way I knew meant she was Seeing something, and then Adam shuddered. They shared a look of twin communication, and just as Adam opened his mouth, Tom’s voice cut in, answering the unspoken question. “But you’re back together now. And they’re coming.”
Battle Lines
There was a look of relief in the Bear’s eyes when he spotted us.
“Kelsey Saw Mongers—“
Adam interrupted him. “We know. The Rothbitch, Walters, the Were, and a couple others. We Saw them too.” Tom and Ava nodded silently, and Mr. Shaw’s eyes darkened perceptibly.
“I’ll go talk to them.”
“There wouldn’t be so many if they were here to talk.” Archer spoke quietly, and Mr. Shaw’s head whipped around at the sound.
“Right. Devereux, they’ll be after you, then?”
Archer stiffened. “No one knows I’m back.”
Mr. Shaw studied him for a long moment, then finally nodded. “Then I’m glad you are.” He looked at Adam and Alex. “I suspect you two are their excuse for coming. Though the resumption of your relationship was quiet, it’s been noticed.”
Alex’s voice was a whisper. “I’m sorry, Uncle Bob.”
Even though his expression was stormy, Mr. Shaw pulled Alex into a rough hug and kissed the top of her head. “The boys can Shift if there’s trouble, but I don’t want you to, not with the Were out there.”
“Owen, what do you Shift into?” I got all bossy business, like I was talking to my Parkour pack.
“A Fox.”
“Good. Connor, you and Owen should maybe Shift and head out. Then if there’s a fight you can flank the Were and keep him out of it.”
Mr. Shaw growled. “There won’t be a fight.”
I glared at him. “Mongers fight. It’s what they do.”
His eyes narrowed, and I thought he might have even huffed, but then he turned his gaze on Connor. “If it comes down to it, don’t let the Were get teeth on you again. The second time takes twice as long to burn out.”
Connor looked grim, but he nodded and shot a quick glance at Adam before he and Owen left to Shift. “Don’t let anything happen to her.” He meant his sister, Alex, and Adam clapped him on the shoulder.
“Be safe, Wolf.”
I turned to the Bear. “We have pit traps and spear barricades about a hundred yards out between us and school. If you Shift, stay behind them. It’s like a minefield.
Mr. Shaw gave us an approving look. “Good to know, but I don’t intend to Shift.”
In the distance we heard the crack of a big stick, and then a guy yelled something in a foreign language. Mr. Shaw and my mom looked concerned, but I knew. “That was the Were. He just hit a pit trip.”
I turned to Archer. “If they see you, it’s all the excuse they need to use force.”
He looked grim. “With Walters in the group you’re on the Monger hit parade yourself, love. And for that matter, so is Tom.”
Archer was right, and the odds of walking away from a confrontation were looking bleaker by the moment. Even with the Were in the group, injured though he might be, Seth Walters was the biggest badass of them all. But then I had a sudden thought and spun around to Ava. “Can you look for the genealogy again?”
Her eyes went unfocused in an instant and I could feel the web of tension tethering us all to each other. She let out a breath and shuddered. “It’s just like before. I can see the room with the computer and a lamp on a desk. It’s the same desk I saw before, but this time the book isn’t there. Or at least it isn’t visible.”
“What else about the room?”
“The window. It’s arched, like one of those big old warehouse windows in high end lofts.”
Tom grabbed Ava’s hand and spoke in an urgent whisper. “Do it again. Let me See.” We could hear crashing through the woods, and it was getting closer.
This time Ava closed her eyes, and it seemed like I could feel her focus reach out beyond us, beyond the school, out into the universe. None of us dared to speak. Then Tom’s eyes popped open.
“I know that place. It’s on the Thames. Seth took me there once, to a meeting with an East End gangster.”
I spoke quickly to my mom and Mr. Shaw. “I’m going to take them out of here. If it’s just you guys, Kelsey and the Shifters left, there’s nothing the Mongers will want.”
“Where are you going, Saira?” My mom asked, but the Bear already knew.
“He won’t have left the book unguarded.”
“But if Seth’s here, he’s not with the genealogy. We have a shot if we go right now.”
A twig snapped too close, and I grabbed a stick from the fire pit. The tip was charcoal and still smoking from the fire Mr. Shaw must have taught the younger kids to make. I used it like a giant pencil to start drawing a spiral on the flat boulder under my feet. Buzzing filled my ears almost immediately, and I caught my mom’s worried eyes on me. “You can go with us.”
“I’ll stay in case I need to get the others out.”
The buzzing was getting louder and I turned to my … tribe, for lack of a better word. “I’m Clocking into the Bedlam cellar, just to get us into London. We can figure out where to go from there. If you want to come, grab onto me.”
Alex and Ava were next to me instantly. Tom grabbed a shoulder, and Archer hooked his foot around mine and wrapped his arms around the two girls to hold them to me. It seemed like Adam was struggling between the idea of staying and fighting Mongers, or running with us. The humming in my brain was sending waves of dizziness and nausea over me, and I reached my other hand to Adam. “Come with us. We need you.”
My vision blurred, and I felt like I was fracturing into a thousand pieces. The hum was at a higher pitch than I’d ever heard before and barely drowned out the yelling Mongers as they crashed into the camp. I thought I felt Adam’s fingers clasp mine just as everything went black and my stomach heaved into my throat.
The world was spinning.
And black.
And the thrum of an amplified rubber band sounded in my whole body.
I screamed.
And then I landed.
And puked.
And I wasn’t the only one.
It should never have been so hard to clock through space. Time was the tough one. Space was just like a fast elevator ride to me. But not this time. Not with so many people hitching a ride.
My people. The sounds of groaning, a couple gasps of puke-in-the-mouth syndrome, and a dry-heave in the corner and I thought I’d identified all of them. It was dark in the cellar, but I could tell we’d hit the correct time because of the smell. “Say your name so I know everyone made it.” My voice broke, and I knew I sounded bad.
“Archer.” His voice was shaky and right next to my ear.
“Ava.” She sounded weak, but okay.
“Tom.” He was the dry-heaver in the corner.
“Alex.” She sounded disoriented.
There was silence after Alex spoke. “Adam?” Had I imagined his fingers in mine? Did he come with us?
“Over here.” He sounded … messed up.
“What’s wrong?” I felt my way over to his voice. Waves of dizziness washed over me, and I could barely keep my feet under me. This wasn’t good. But as bad as I was feeling, Adam sounded worse. I reached for him, and he grabbed my hand tightly.
“That’s what you do? When
you Clock?”
“That one was rough because I’ve never taken so many people before, but yeah, it sucks.” It didn’t sound like he was hurt, and I was relieved. I’d had a momentary, horrible image of part of him being left behind in the woods.
“I can’t do that again. I felt like I was dying.” He took a shaky breath, and I could feel Alex move to his other side. I hope she had his hand because he was gripping mine like a vise. “Like my soul was being ripped from my body and I couldn’t hold onto it.”
I needed my Maglite. I needed to make sure he wasn’t in shock, because the clammy skin of his hand made me think his pupils would be like black holes and his face pale and sweaty.
Alex’s voice gained strength as she calmed him. “You’re fine, Adam. Nothing happened. Everything’s okay. I’m here, baby, I’m here.”
I let go of his hand and stumbled away, feeling awkward and intrusive. I could hear Archer’s footsteps, and then the overhead lights clicked on suddenly. He and I were okay with the sudden light, but everyone else was blinking like bats.
“What is this place?” Tom was the first to recover his vision, and he scanned the old Bedlam cellar with startled eyes.
“Now it’s the Imperial War Museum, but this used to be the main cellar of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Otherwise known as Bedlam.” Archer was calm and confident. He had clocked almost as much as I had, and he had also just spent a week down here with Bishop Cleary.
“Should we get the bishop?” My head was clearing and I was starting to get my balance back, but I didn’t like how long it had taken.
He shook his head. “Unless we need him, it would be better not to involve Cleary in anything illegal.”
“Right. And we probably only have as much time as it takes Seth to get back to London. Tom, we’re in Southwark. Are we close enough to this gangster building to walk, or do I need to clock us someplace closer?” The idea of clocking again so soon was not something I relished, and I saw Adam shudder.
Tom considered for a moment, then nodded. “We’re close.”
I looked at Archer. “Discovered any other exits from here, or do we have to go through Guy’s Chapel?”