Darkness Shifting: Tides of Darkness Book One

by Sarah Blair

  “I have my sources.”

  “TMZ or Page Six?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” He actually sounded exasperated. “Tell me what happened.”

  He hadn’t believed her about the werewolves when she was a child; why should he believe her now? There was no way she would tell him the truth. Actually, grandfather, I was bitten by a Big Bad Wolf, but it’s no big deal because we’re part of an ancient magical bloodline! He’d have the men in white coats come snatch her up and send her off to the loony bin before she could blink.

  “Nothing happened. I’m fine.”

  Banks motioned that he was loading up the van and she held up a finger to tell him she’d be a minute.

  “Don’t forget, I’ve always been able to detect a lie when I hear one,” her grandfather said.

  There was no way she was going to tell him anything, especially the truth, so she didn’t say anything at all.

  “You are aware my labs on Ellis Island house the most renowned medical research facility in the country,” he continued. “The doctors and medical engineers whom I employ are at the cutting edge of all pharmacological advancements.”

  “Yes, I’m fully aware. And no, I’m not available to attend any fundraisers.”

  “This isn’t about fundraisers. I’m offering you the finest medical care available in the world—”

  Her phone beeped telling her she had a call waiting on the other line. She checked to see Mitch’s name on the ID and wished she were talking to him instead. As much as she wanted to answer, she wanted even more to put things to rest once and for all with her grandfather.

  “You want me to be one of your lab rats? No, thanks.”

  “Despite whatever issues we may have had in the past, you’re still my granddaughter. You deserve the best.”

  Sidney’s cheeks burned. “Oh? I deserve to be taken care of because I’m your granddaughter? Not because you love me. Not because I’m a human being and it’s the right thing to do.” Sidney jumped to her feet, pacing back and forth out of frustration. “See? This is exactly why I don’t want anything to do with you. It’s all about image, what the rest of the world thinks of you. How would it look if Alexander Lake’s granddaughter died of some disease that he could have easily cured? You don’t care about me. You care about losing funding.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. It was the only answer she needed.

  “Will that be all? Because I’ve got things to do,” she said.

  “You’re making a terrible mistake.”

  “The only mistake I made was answering my phone. Have a nice life.”

  Sidney hung up and got in the van with Banks.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” Sidney buckled her seatbelt. “Actually, no. A lot of stuff fucking sucks right now.”

  All she wanted was to rewind the day. The morning had started off so perfectly, she wished she could tell her past-self to turn the damn cell phone off. They could have had an entire day filled with sex and strawberries.

  Banks scratched his jaw. There was more than a days’ worth of stubble on his face, and his hair looked less like a graham cracker and more like a bale of hay sticking out at odd angles.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload on you or anything,” she apologized.

  “Rant away, honey. I know what you mean.”

  “Seriously, welcome to New York,” Sidney said. “Here you go, have a dead boss and some mean ass shapeshifter werewolf things with claws and teeth all in your first week. I wouldn’t blame you if you packed up and headed back home. I’m sure you don’t have this kind of craziness where you come from.”

  He flashed her that big white grin.

  “Nah, I grew up in Savannah. They do cemetery tours around town in sawed off hearses. It’s not any less crazy, just a different brand.”

  The corners of her own mouth turned up. That smile was contagious.

  “I used to sneak out of bed and sit on the stairs to watch my Granny do séances in the parlor,” he said. “Growing up with a Necromancer, I’ve seen my fair share of crazy shit, believe you me.”

  That got her attention. She’d had him pegged for a biology nerd like Tom. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he may have already had plenty of experience with the supernatural. Then, something clicked inside her brain.

  “Hang on, are you related to Amelia Banks?” she asked.

  His face actually tinged pink. “That’s my Granny.”

  “I didn’t even know she had a grandson.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly something she likes to advertise. She was none too happy when I chose science over magic.”

  “Hmm, disapproving grandparents rock, don’t they? My grandfather’s kind of the opposite. All science, all the time. He’s convinced I’m delusional.”

  “I grew up with a giant crystal ball on the coffee table. Just a way of life. I never knew any different.”

  She’d meant to ask him about the virus he’d found, but the whole necromancer thing was way too interesting.

  “Have you seen any zombie raisings?”

  Great, now she sounded like a total fan girl.

  “Witnessed eight. Assisted in two. Attempted one solo.”

  “Attempted?”

  That smile of his faded. “Big mess. I was young. Stupid. Overzealous. Sentimental. Call it whatever you want. It was a mistake.”

  Her phone buzzed. Unknown number. She sent it to voicemail, afraid it was her grandfather calling back.

  It was clear Banks didn’t want to continue down that lane of questioning, so Sidney didn’t pursue it. She watched him while he navigated the thick traffic back to the OCME.

  “It’s all good though. I chose to focus on med school instead. Now I study evidence and piece together the scientific clues left behind to find out why people died. Not as fast as bringing them back and asking them myself, but it sure is a lot less trouble.”

  There was that grin again, complete with dimples this time. He pulled into the gravel lot behind the morgue and backed up to the loading dock.

  “Wanna help me unload?”

  They hopped out and went around back. Banks pulled out the gurney and Sidney shut the doors behind him. Her phone vibrated again as she followed Banks through the automatic doors. This time it was the chief’s name on the ID and she remembered the call she’d missed earlier.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she answered.

  “Are you okay? I’ve been trying to call. Are you with Banks? He’s not picking up either.”

  “Everything’s fine. We just got to the morgue. What’s going on?”

  “The bodies— Dimitrius is—”

  The words garbled and she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then the call failed. Her heart thudded a little faster when she remembered the other failed calls right before the shifters had attacked her in this very hallway. She had to remind herself she couldn’t keep thinking like that, not if she wanted to stay sane and continue doing her job.

  “Dammit. Do you have a signal in here?” she asked Banks. Her hands trembled.

  He took his phone out, but shook his head. “I forgot my charger. It’s deader than . . . well, this guy. Let’s drop him off in the cooler and you can use the landline in my office.”

  “Sounds good.” It was much more preferable to standing out in the cold wind, trying to pin down a signal. Sidney held her breath and checked down the hallway toward the elevator. She blew out slowly when she saw it was clear. No wolves.

  Banks opened the door to the refrigerated room where the bodies were stored and pulled the gurney inside. Some of the empty shelves put a scowl on his face.

  “That’s weird,” he said.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The other bodies are gone.” He went back outside and examined a clipboard hanging on the wall outside the door. “No record of them being moved. They’re just not here.”

  The hairs on the back of Sidney’s neck raised when s
he remembered the way that creature had recovered and reanimated even after she’d stabbed it with the scissors.

  “It’s not like they could re-grow an entire head and walk out.” She rubbed her clammy palms on her jeans. “Could they?”

  Banks stared at her. “There’s got to be a logical explanation.”

  Sidney nodded vigorously, trying to stave off a panic attack. The idea that those things could be up and walking around again was too terrifying to contemplate. She hoped Banks would attribute her sudden shivering to the cold of the refrigerated room and not the fact that she was scared out of her mind.

  “Let’s call the chief back,” she said.

  “Good idea.”

  Banks’ office had only a few days ago belonged to Tom. Everything was still the same as he’d left it, the photo of his wife Carla, the baseball bat signed by Derek Jeter Sidney had bought at an auction for his birthday. The only thing different was that plant he always forgot to water looked surprisingly perky.

  She smiled while Banks tossed his keys on the desk. He picked up the phone and dialed the chief’s number from a business card.

  A thud came from back in the autopsy suite.

  Her mind jumped to the sound she’d heard right before Tom’s body had fallen to the floor. The brief smile was wiped off her face. This wasn’t the same, but it drew her attention.

  “Did you hear that?” she asked.

  Banks shook his head slightly and shrugged. “Hello, chief? Banks, here.”

  Sidney was already on edge enough as it was. There was no way she’d be caught without a weapon again. She dried her sweaty palms on her jeans and snatched up the baseball bat.

  She tossed a glance at Banks’ back and headed out to the lab to investigate.

  Nineteen

  “Watch it, you big oaf!” A gruff Highland brogue scratched out.

  “Can’t help it. It’s a bit awkward innit?” A second, less gravelly voice spoke up.

  Sidney peeked into the lab to see two men with a body bag between them. She thought of the two men who’d killed Tom. The ones in front of her now were bulkier, red-headed, and dressed casually. They didn’t fire off her instincts like the others, but they were leaving the freezer with their last bit of evidence.

  “Oh, hell no.” Sidney pushed through door to the lab. “Not this again.”

  The men were three times her size, but this time she had a weapon. This time she was ready for them to change. She’d killed two others, and somehow survived. She’d do it again if she had to, but there was no way she was going to let them get out that door.

  She came at them so fast, they didn’t have time to react. She swung the bat and whacked the one closest to her in the back of the knees.

  “What the bloody hell?” He hit the floor, dropping his end of the bag.

  Now that Sidney saw them closer they looked like they could be twins, except the one on the floor had a full-beard and the other only had a goatee.

  “Hey, there. Wait a second—” the one with the goatee said. With the bearded man on his knees, his head was at the perfect height for her to knock it off his shoulders.

  Sidney swung again.

  The other wrapped his hand around the bat before it connected. Sidney yanked.

  “Let go.” She struggled in a tug-of-war with him for a second. He was strong, but she gave a good yank and pulled him forward.

  His thick eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “What are you playing at, lass?”

  He gave another tug and Sidney let go. He fell back, tripping over the other man. He sat up and rubbed his head, then nudged his friend and pointed to her.

  “Argus, don’t she look like . . . ?”

  The one called Argus looked back at her and gave a nod. “Aye, spittin’ image.”

  “Amazing, innit?”

  She didn’t wait to figure out what was so amazing about her appearance. Instead, she stomped hard on Argus’ insole and placed a well-aimed elbow directly into his kidney. He arched back with a roar.

  The man with the goatee opened his mouth to speak, but she punched him before he could get a word out.

  “Banks, they’re stealing the body!” she yelled.

  “Agh!” The man doubled over and spit blood on the ground. “She split me lip.”

  Argus climbed to his feet, and his words came out more like a wheeze. “If you’ll just listen a second—”

  She turned and kneed him in the groin, wondering why it was taking them so long to shift form. The others had changed immediately.

  Banks came in just as she got yanked back by the collar of her shirt.

  “All right, Lass. That’s enough.” Argus wrapped his enormous arms around her, pinning her arms against her sides. He didn’t squeeze tight, just enough to keep her under control. She couldn’t move her upper body at all, but she kicked her legs out, accidentally catching Banks in the jaw.

  “Shit!”

  Banks collapsed on the floor, out cold.

  The man with the goatee wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He’d already stopped bleeding. “Honestly, woman. Settle down.”

  Sidney sank her teeth into the man’s meaty arm at the same time he spoke, “Dimitrius—OW!”

  She let her body go limp, her dead weight pulled her right through his hands, and she scooted out of his reach.

  Sidney crawled over to the wall by the cooler to catch her breath, and the words hit her.

  “Wait, what did you say?”

  “Argus, no!” The man with the goatee grabbed Argus and held him back as he yelled all sorts of things Sidney had never heard. She wasn’t even sure if they were English, but they seemed like some sort of cursing.

  “Malcolm, let me go, or so help me, we’re not brothers anymore!”

  “It’ll do no good. You can’t do anything.”

  “She bit me!”

  Malcolm shrugged and let go. “Suit yourself.”

  Sidney jumped to her feet as he dove at her. He stopped, inches from her face as if he’d smacked into a glass wall. The man fell back, banging into one of the exam tables before he went down with a thud.

  Malcolm put his fists on his hips and took in the scene.

  “Well, this is a right mess, innit?”

  Sidney stared up at the man. He looked like he’d just climbed down from a beanstalk. If the next words out of his mouth were Fee, Fie, Fo, Fum, she’d go for the fire extinguisher again.

  “Malcolm, at your service.” Her hand disappeared inside his. “You must be Ms. Lake.”

  “How did you know that?” She tried to pull away, but he hung on. His goatee scratched the back of her hand when he kissed it, and then let go.

  “Um, what’s going on exactly?” She rubbed her hand on her jeans.

  “Dimitrius sent us to bring the body back to his place for safekeeping. I take it you dinna get the message?”

  “How did he know the other bodies were missing?”

  He shrugged and scratched his goatee. “How does he know anything? I quit tryin’ to figure that out a long time ago. Not worth the headache, I promise you that.”

  Banks groaned on the floor.

  “That was a mighty kick you gave this one. Like a damned centaur.” Malcolm’s eyes grew wide suddenly. “Oh, but I mean that as a compliment.”

  “Thanks.” It was a dubious compliment, but she accepted it anyway. “Help me get him back to the office?”

  “Aye.” The man hefted Banks up like he was a rock and this was the Highland Games. He followed Sidney to the office and put him down on the small love-seat crammed in behind the door.

  “I should get back before Argus wakes up. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him you’re gone. He doesn’t take too kindly being outdone by anyone, let alone a wee little lass like yourself. No offense, of course. That was quite impressive.”

  “I didn’t even touch him. He sort of just . . . fell over.” Sidney stared up at the man, in the same way he regarded her. She was fairly certain neither of them quite knew wh
at to make of the other.

  “Part of the deal. Sulis made us what we are. It’s impossible for us to touch the bloodline with intent to harm.”

  “Wait, you’re supernatural super-soldiers, like Dimitrius?”

  He quirked his head a little at her description. “Aye. There’s another, Tyran. I’m sure you’ll meet him soon enough. If you don’t mind, my lady, my brother will be waking up soon.”

  “Right. Go, um, take care of him.”

  The huge man bowed to her in a surprisingly graceful manner and ducked through the doorway.

  Banks covered his eyes with his hand and mumbled, “Who were those guys?”

  “Long story.”

  Sidney picked up the phone and called the chief to explain the situation.

  “I thought we talked about this, Lake? You know, trusting my judgment, not running off half-cocked, or did you forget already?”

  She winced and held the phone away from her ear. His voice came through loud and clear.

  “Stay there. Take care of Banks. Don’t move. Don’t even blink your eyes until I get there. I mean it!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Lasagna night at Chez Williams was always a group event, so Mitch and Williams swung by the morgue to pick up Sidney and Banks on their way to the Upper West Side. He didn’t lecture her in front of the others, but she got enough jaw-ticks and worried side-glances that let her know he was simultaneously angry and concerned she’d put her life at risk again so soon. She fought the urge to slip her hand into his, to give him a reassuring squeeze to let him know she was all right.

  Thundering feet and high-pitched screams erupted inside as the group made their way up the front steps of the four story townhouse left to Megan by Aunt Rose. The door flew open before Williams could even bother with his keys and two fairy princesses burst out.

  “Aunt Sidney!” Rachel threw her arms around Sidney’s leg. Williams’ older daughter had the same wild mane as her father.

  “Hey there, Snow White,” Sidney said. The last time she visited, Rachel was going through a Snow White phase and wouldn’t go near any apples.

  The little girl put her hand on her hip, and modeled her sparkling wings. “I’m not Snow White. I’m Tinkerbell! See?”