Nightingale

by Keri Armstrong

  “What do you mean? Do you take in runaways or something?”

  He gave me a strange smile. “Something like that. You need to stay here for your own safety.”

  The softness in his eyes and tone threw me off-kilter. “Look, just because you pretended to be my dad at the station doesn’t make you responsible for me.” Geez. I sounded like a snotty pre-teen. I tried again. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for your help but—”

  “But you have no idea what you’re up against,” he interrupted.

  “You don’t know what these people are capable of,” I yelled.

  “I know even better than you do exactly what they’re capable of. As does everyone else in this room. Stop throwing a tantrum and listen to what we’re trying to tell you.”

  Tantrum? My daughter had been kidnapped by some of the most evil people in the world, and he was accusing me of throwing a tantrum? I’d show him a real tantrum. I jumped up from my seat ready to pummel that man.

  “Allie, stop,” Caleb yelled.

  My limbs froze and my eyes grew wide. Panic thrashed inside my chest.

  He walked over to me and placed his hand over my arm. “I’m sorry, Al. You have to listen to us. This is so much bigger than you know.”

  My body relaxed, arms dropping as if released from a puppet’s string. I would have fallen if he hadn’t held me up. “What just happened?” I gasped.

  “Magic.”

  I let him guide me back to the chair. Magic? All this time we’d been having our Wiccan meetings with Phoebe and Sara, and he’d never once shown us this. I looked sharply at Sara. Or had he?

  “Did you know this?” I asked her, accusation in the tone.

  “Only recently. It’s why you need to stay here with us for the time being. We need to see what you’ll transition into so you can learn—”

  “What do you mean what I’ll transition into?” What the hell were they talking about?

  She took a deep breath then spoke to Laurent. “It might be better if we show her.”

  He nodded, as did Alejandro, though Nia wondered if it might be too much.

  “Show me what?” I demanded.

  She smiled at me. “Just sit back and try to enjoy the show.”

  In spite of my love of the occult, nothing prepared me for what happened next.

  One minute, I’m watching several familiar faces, wondering what they’re planning to do, and the next, those faces begin to melt. Some, such as Caleb and Nia, simply disappeared into thin air.

  The man I thought would be my new boss sprouted hair across his face and arms at an alarming rate, as did many of the others. Arms and legs twisted to unnatural angles, hands and feet became paws, nails became claws. Noses grew into snouts; teeth turned into fangs. In an instant, I was surrounded by huge wolves, an enormous fox with several tails, and in standing in the middle of a pile of ripped clothing belonging to Gabriel Lara, stood some type of wolf-dog hybrid I’d never seen before.

  In that moment, I knew it was one thing to fantasize about supernatural powers; it’s another to experience it. In self-defense, my mind hurried to create a story for what just happened—maybe I’d been briefly hypnotized?—but watching human beings transform into animals and seeing people disappear in front of you was terrifying.

  Nia was right. I wasn’t prepared for this. I always liked to think I was a real badass. That I’d survive even a zombie apocalypse. But after tonight with the arrest, my daughter missing, likely kidnapped by psychopaths, and shapeshifters?

  I fainted like a little bitch.

  “I told you it might be too much.” Nia’s soft voice entered my consciousness.

  I had no idea how long I’d been out, but hoped it wasn’t long; she was rubbing my hand and we were still in the living room.

  “Okay. That was different,” I quipped.

  Sara’s shoulders relaxed. I knew her well, and could sense she felt guilty. “Hey, you,” I said to her. “I’ll forgive you, if you don’t keep any more secrets from me.”

  “I promise.”

  “And what about you?” Caleb asked.

  I snorted softly. He was so into her. “Don’t worry, Sir Galahad. I’d never harm Sara, and it sounds like you guys already know all my secrets, anyway.”

  I turned to the rest of them. “Please tell me I have some awesome superpower, too. I need to go kick some asses and rescue my kid.”

  They grinned, raising my spirits until I saw some of those grins begin to falter. “When is your real birthday, Allie?” Laurent asked. “Your IDs were obviously fakes.”

  My brows rose. “You knew, yet you were going to hire me, anyway?”

  He shrugged. “We’d already figured you were one of us. Or, at least close enough.”

  I frowned. “Close enough?”

  “Will everyone give us the room, please?” He appeared agitated. By the surprise on the others’ faces, I could tell this was unusual.

  “What do you have to say that can’t be said in front of them?” My tone was back to basic; that is, slightly belligerent.

  He made a motion with his hand and the others left immediately. I cut my gaze at Sara as she went. Et tu? She ducked her head and mouthed at me, “It’s okay.”

  Laurent returned his attention to me. “To begin with, I need to your exact date of birth and who your real parents are.”

  “I thought you guys already knew everything?”

  “Please. It’s important.”

  I sighed. “As far as I know, I’ll be 21 on December 23rd this year. I don’t really remember much about my real parents.” An old pang went through me. It was true. They’d died when I was very young. All I knew about them was what I’d been told, and considering the source, it probably wasn’t true.

  Laurent’s face softened again. I wished he wouldn’t do that. What happened to that snot I’d met before? Why was he being nice now? He came up to me and took my bandaged hand. To my shock, he deeply sniffed the palm again, like he’d done before.

  He stepped back, shock spreading across his face. “It can’t be,” he whispered.

  “What?” I urged.

  He grabbed me close and sniffed my neck.

  “Hey!” I tried to push him away, but it was like shoving against a brick building.

  At last, he drew a shuddering breath and backed off. “How?”

  “How, what?!”

  “Nia,” he yelled, and she came running down the stairs. “Check her blood, now.”

  I backed up, shaking my head.

  “What are you scrying?” Nia asked.

  “Her family line.”

  Nia nodded then went to a cabinet to pull out a map, a candle, and a ceremonial blade.

  Intrigued in spite of my trepidation, I followed her to a dining table as she laid out the items. She smoothed the map on the table, lit the candle, and passed the tip of the knife through the flame. “Give me your hand, sweetie.”

  I could figure what was coming next. “Um, do I have to?”

  She smiled, her brown eyes twinkling. “I’m afraid so, unless your hand is still bleeding?”

  I pulled off the bandage, but it looked like the wound had mostly healed. Sighing, I put out the palm.

  “Maybe a fingertip?” she suggested.

  “No, might as well have only one cut.”

  I endured the flash of pain. As the wound opened, my excitement grew more than the pain. If she could really scry for my bloodline, she might be able to locate Mia.

  She took my hand and held it over the map, chanting as the blood dropped onto the paper and pooled over our current location.

  We waited for it to move.

  And waited. I wondered whether she’d done it correctly. There hadn’t been any circle cast or anything.

  “Isn’t it supposed to move?” I asked tentatively.

  Nia frowned. “It starts with the nearest relative.”

  My heart raced. “Does that mean Mia is still in the area?”

  Nia frowned.
“Not necessarily. I will check for that in a moment. I was checking for your ancestral bloodline ….” she broke off, sounding confused. “It feels almost as if you’re blocked, somehow… I might need a little more power. I’ll get Caleb.”

  Laurent made a strangled noise. His already pale face had gone snow white. “There’s no need. I know her line.”

  “You do?” I gasped.

  He nodded, gazing intently at me. His eyes shone a brilliant yellow-gold, and this time I knew it was no trick of the light.

  “It’s the same as mine.”

  “What?”

  The question burst not only from my lips, but also from the lips of the others who were coming down the stairs with Caleb.

  Laurent ignored them and spoke harshly to Nia. “Try for the child.”

  Caleb and his mother joined hands over the map and began to chant. As their power rose, the back of my neck tightened. Muscles squeezed under my skin, making it hard to move or breathe. A thousand angry bees battled inside my skull, battering my brain until I thought my head would explode. Falling to my knees, I clasped my hands over my ears and begged them to stop.

  The chanting continued until I screamed uncontrollably.

  From far away, I heard voices but couldn’t decipher the words. It was all sound.

  Strong arms lifted me from the floor, cradled me close to a hard chest. My face turned into it, seeking comfort. Finding solace.

  “I’m so sorry… I wasn’t expecting this,” Nia’s voice penetrated my brain. “This is very old, unusual magic. As far as I know, there are very few in the world who even know about it. ”

  The arms around me tightened. Like a child, I was carried and laid on a sofa. I opened my eyes and saw Laurent’s worried face over me. His hand hovered over the side of my head, lingering as if afraid to touch.

  “Are you still in pain?” he asked.

  I closed my eyes, tested a deep breath. Since they had stopped scrying, I felt better, though still shaken. In all the times I’d attempted to perform witchcraft, never had I felt anything like that. “What was that?”

  “A blocking spell,” said Caleb, who’d come with his mother to stand next to Laurent.

  “Someone doesn’t want your bloodline found,” Nia said. Her eyes followed Laurent, seeming to ask a silent a silent question.

  He nodded, his mouth grim.

  Turning to Sarah, he said, “Call Phoebe. Tell her we’re coming.”

  As she gasped, Laurent looked at Alejandro. “Alert the mutts in the Tucson area to increase their watch.”

  I struggled to sit up but Laurent’s hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  “Rest.” His voice was gentle but firm. To Nia he said, “Fix this,” and I saw both Caleb and Alejandro bristle at his harsh tone.

  Honestly, who did this guy think he was?

  “I’m fine,” I said. I tried again to sit but fell back when he gently increased pressure on my shoulder. Truth was, even without him trying to hold me back, my head spun and my face was hot from all the attention. I must have looked like a crazy person, screaming and falling back there.

  Laurent ignored me again and spoke to Gabe. “We need to prepare.”

  “Maybe you should sit this one out and let us go,” Gabe said. It was a testament to his courage that he didn’t back down when Laurent moved toward him. The snarl on the big guy’s face made my pulse stutter.

  “I want you to watch over Allison,” he told Gabe.

  A burst of strength returned. I managed to sit up. “What do you mean?”

  “Gabe will watch over you while I get the baby.”

  Like hell. “I’m going with you.”

  The gold eyes hardened. “You will do as I say.”

  I pushed on the sofa, using the leverage to stand. Wobbling my way through the others, I shook off the few pairs of hands that tried to steady me as I went to Laurent.

  “You do not tell me what to do.”

  “As of this moment, I do.”

  “You are not my dad!”

  “Close enough.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I know my own bloodline.” As he said the words, his stubborn expression faltered. He looked shaken again.

  I wavered then rallied. “I don’t believe this. I don’t even know you.” I pointed a shaking finger at the map. “This doesn’t prove anything. The spell didn’t even work.”

  “It didn’t need to. I can smell it.”

  Okay. This was too far down the rabbit hole. “Smell it?”

  He nodded and I turned to the others for support. To my shock, they were also nodding.

  “Seriously, guys?”

  Toshio smiled. “We know our own. You will probably be able to, as well.” He broke off a little at the end and looked at Laurent then me, considering.

  Gabe quickly moved to Laurent’s side. “That’s right.”

  “This is ridiculous.” But even as I said the words, I began to wonder. I had no memory of my parents. No memories at all before the age of six.

  All I knew about my background was what I’d been told: My parents died in a fire and I was the sole survivor. I’d been found in the woods some way off from the burnt building. After that, it was foster care until the Gerards took me in.

  “Come with me.” Laurent grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the map.

  “What the hell?” I yelled trying to break free.

  He grabbed the knife from the table, sliced his hand and placed his cut palm over mine. “This will.”

  His large hand engulfed mine in a grip so tight, my bones ached.

  “You’re hurting me,” I whined.

  He let up slightly. As our blood mingled, my fingers flexed around his hand, anchoring me while my knees weakened.

  Rivers of blood, fire from the sky. His hand jerked but didn’t let go.

  A dark haired woman whispering in my ear as I laughed from the tickle. A surge of longing swept through me at the same time pain crushed my head. Laurent started to let go but, this time, I held on despite the pain. I wanted to see more. Needed to know who she was.

  But the vision changed.

  Running through a forest, laughing, tumbling into a meadow of flowers. A man who looked like Laurent and a tall, beautiful woman with long, dark hair. They wore strange clothing, similar to togas.

  Another man, also much like Laurent—tall, blond, handsome—yelling at the other Laurent-look-alike who had been shackled in chains. The woman was on her knees, weeping beside him.

  Laurent moaned, and our clasped hands shook from his emotion. I felt his grief and the woman’s as if they were my own emotions, and tears welled in my eyes.

  The woman alone, giving birth in a small hut, crying as a peasant-like couple helped her bring her newborn child into the world.

  Terror, as she thrust the infant and a strange disk to the couple, and sent them in one direction; then she ran in another, pursued through the woods by hounds and soldiers on horseback.

  The scene changed to the other man, the one she feared, demanding to know the whereabouts of his child.

  “Dead,” she’d told him. “I killed him rather than give him to you.”

  The man’s grief as he sentenced her to prison. Her suicide before he could torture her for information. The man’s hatred of his—

  “Enough!” Laurent cried out, breaking our connection.

  The room was silent but for our harsh breathing. It was a moment before either of us could collect ourselves enough to speak further.

  “What was that?” I gasped.

  “Proof,” he said, grim.

  I rubbed my hand. “Proof of what?” I had an idea but was still in denial.

  “Our history.” His eyes glowed strangely before he blinked, clearing them.

  My mind whirled. Were we reincarnated or something? Afraid of the answer, I still asked. “What do you mean?”

  “We share a special bloodline; therefore, we can see into our shared pasts.”

&nb
sp; “Special? Like reincarnation?” I still couldn’t believe it.

  “No. More like collective memory.”

  “That’s pretty rare, isn’t it?” Nia asked.

  His nod was short. “But not unheard of.”

  I looked to Nia when Laurent didn’t say anything else.

  “When the blood of certain relatives combine, sometimes the history can show itself,” she explained. She tilted her head at us. “You must have a strong bloodline from—”

  Laurent cut her off. “The memories start with the most relevant information for those searching.”

  As I was trying to absorb that, he said, “What was the fire and blood about? That came from you.”

  “It’s a vision I’ve been having for a few days. Sometimes I dream it, but I still don’t know what it means.”

  “Do you have visions often?” Nia asked.

  “Not often. Sometimes they’re more clear than others and sometimes if I touch something or someone, I’ll see something that either happened in the past or—” I broke off as it occurred to me that maybe Laurent was telling the truth. “And sometimes I’ll dream something that comes true later,” I finished softly.

  Sara nodded at me. I knew she’d had similar experiences. “Your powers will get stronger soon,” she said, sounding excited. “It usually happens sometime between eighteen and twenty-two.”

  Sara’s sweet voice and excitement helped ease the tension in the room.

  “Powers?” A little thrill went through me. Would I be a witch? A shifter? “What kind of power, and how do you know?”

  “It remains to be seen. You come from an ancient bloodline, but you are still a Mutt,” Laurent, killing my buzz.

  I reared back. “A mutt?”

  The others laughed. “Don’t be offended,” said the werewolf girl, Marti. “It’s a good thing.”

  Her boyfriend, Toshio, smiled at her. “It sure is.”

  Cassandra snorted, and I turned to see her looking less than impressed.

  Nia gave a tiny chuckle which earned her a glare from her daughter and a grin from Marti’s dad.

  Definitely some heavy undercurrents there. I didn’t have time to wonder about that.

  “Okay,” I said. “Somebody explain this ‘mutt’ business to me while we get ready to rescue my daughter.”