The Calling

by Kelley Armstrong

  "Was she? Or was that a diversion? She pulls you down, thinks she's drowned you, then pops up, screaming for help and no one notices you're gone until it's too late."

  "No. Not Nicole. Why would she--?"

  "Daniel. She's obsessed with him. She didn't think Serena treated him right and--"

  "So she killed her for it?" I said.

  "I don't think she meant to. Or maybe she did. I don't know."

  "Nicole never had a problem with Serena and Daniel. From what I heard, you did, though."

  "What?"

  "Serena told me you caught her flirting with summer boys. At the diner, just before she died. You told her off."

  "Sure, I told her off. She was being disrespectful. If you've got a boyfriend, you don't flirt with other guys. Daniel didn't deserve that."

  "What did Daniel deserve?"

  "Huh?"

  I gave her a hard look, but she didn't seem to get it.

  "You like Daniel," I said.

  "Um, yeah. He's a great guy. Which is why he didn't deserve to be treated--" She stopped and stared at me, then choked on a laugh. "You mean--Are you asking--? You think I've got a crush on Daniel?"

  "Don't you?"

  She laughed harder. "Oh my God, you guys really are as naive as you seem." She looked at me. "I don't like guys, Maya. As friends, yes. As dating material? Wrong gender."

  "Wrong--? Oh."

  She shook her head. "I kept telling myself you guys had figured it out. I mean, come on. I'm a walking stereotype. I even use a guy's nickname. I was twelve when the kids at my old school figured it out, so I stopped trying to be girlie. Then I come here, and no one says anything, so I figure you all know and you're just pretending otherwise, which pisses me off, but it's better than getting Playboy stuffed in my locker. Apparently, I was wrong. It's not an option in your cozy little world."

  "Right. So the kids who are out at Salmon Creek are only figments of my imagination?"

  "Huh?"

  "Maybe if you paid a little more attention to your classmates, you'd have realized that we don't care. But we don't jump to conclusions either. We figure if someone wants to be open about it, she'll tell us."

  Now it was her turn to say "Oh." Then, "Well, anyway, I don't like Daniel. Not that way. I just think he's a really good guy. I didn't like seeing him disrespected, but not because I wanted him for myself. If I gave off that vibe, I sure as hell didn't mean it."

  She hadn't. Daniel didn't think she had a crush on him. Even I'd always felt it was platonic, until Rafe suggested it wasn't. But Rafe hadn't known Sam well.

  "Okay," I said. "I guess I can believe that Nicole doped me, if she just thought it would 'encourage' me to get with Rafe. But killing Serena? Trying to kill me? Over a guy?"

  "Have you forgotten how she acted after the crash? How she ranted about you and Daniel?"

  "Her father had just died."

  "So it did seem out of character to you. Right? Not a side of Nicole you've ever seen? Well, I've seen it. I saw it when I first moved in with the Tillsons. She was used to being an only child and all of a sudden, she wasn't. She started stealing things and blaming me. Spiked my orange juice once, hoping I'd go to school drunk. I couldn't prove any of it until I found her planting clinic meds in my room. I caught her off guard and she lashed out and it was just the kind of paranoid talk you heard after the crash--how I was stealing her parents, how I'd probably killed mine. Ugly, crazy talk. Then, a couple of hours later, she came into my room crying, saying she was stressed out over exams and she'd been taking cold medicine and she didn't know what happened to make her act like that, but she was really, really sorry."

  "And you believed her."

  "Of course I did. She was totally freaked out. I started thinking she wasn't responsible for the missing stuff, that I'd made a mistake about vodka in my OJ. Sure, she'd planted the drugs, but you know how stressed she got over exams. Add cold medicine and it could push her over the edge. So I let it go. But I've caught glimpses of that Nicole a few times since. I don't know what's wrong with her, Maya. Maybe it's mental illness. Maybe it's whatever drugs they have her on. Maybe it's a side effect of the experimental stuff. But she's not stable. That's why..."

  She took a deep breath. "That's why I didn't want to go back for her. I feel bad about it, but ... we can't. She's dangerous."

  Kenjii perked up. She looked to the left, then tore off.

  "Daniel's coming," I said. I thought fast. "We can't tell him."

  "He should know."

  "What? That we suspect Nicole killed Serena? That she tried to kill me? Over him? She's gone, so I'm safe. He's safe. And if he thinks Serena died because of an accidental drug side effect, then I'm going to let him keep thinking that as long as possible."

  She paused, then nodded. "Okay, you're right."

  Daniel appeared, Kenjii at his side. He looked from me to Sam.

  "All clear," I said. "Sam and I were just discussing what her parents told her. About everything."

  I looked at Sam. She hesitated, then nodded. "Right. You should know, too. It's not much but ... you should know."

  Daniel nodded, then said to me, "Did you see anything?"

  I shook my head. "I could see a lot better from the hilltop. We're still heading in the right direction, but I couldn't spot the road."

  "Let's keep going then. Sam? Talk and walk."

  Sam's story was similar to Rafe's. Like his mother, her parents had left the experiment. In her case, though, that had always been the plan. Many of the parents hadn't been real couples. To ensure the best results, the scientists had performed in vitro fertilization using men and women who both carried the latent genes. But Sam's parents met during the initial screening process, and fell in love. Neither of them had any interest in living as experimental subjects--they just wanted their child to be a benandanti. So they played along up to the point where Sam was conceived and her DNA was modified to reactivate the gene. Then they bailed.

  As Rafe's mom and mine found out, though, the St. Clouds weren't willing to let them go.

  "Resurrecting extinct supernatural types isn't a public service," Sam said. "The St. Clouds run a business. They hire supernaturals and that's how they get the advantage on human corporations, though they still have to compete with the other Cabals."

  Daniel nodded. "The guy who left a message on Mina Lee's answering machine said something about double-crossing a Cabal and paying the price. So that's what these corporations are called?"

  Sam didn't respond.

  "Right," I said. "So it's a big secret and you're not going to confirm. Now move on."

  "There's no secret, I guess," Sam said slowly. "Only..." She turned to face us. "You guys probably feel like you got ripped off. Lied to. Betrayed. But I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. Imagine being four years old and moving to a new town, being told that now you have a new last name and you can't tell anyone the old one. Then you're five and you're moving again, and you have another name, and the other kids go to school, but you can't. Then you're six and you move, and you're talking to a nice lady at the park and she calls you by your old name and you forget you aren't supposed to answer to it. She tries to take you, but your parents stop her, then your dad goes after her, and you aren't sure what he did to her, but you're pretty sure it was bad. And that night you're in a hotel, with all your toys left behind, and you hear your mom crying about how they almost lost you, and you know you can't ever, ever slip up again."

  She surveyed our faces. "Try living like that, and I bet you'd become really careful about everything you say, too. I bet you'll think that maybe, just maybe, growing up in a nice town, with everything you ever wanted, isn't such a terrible thing. Maybe you'll think the lies weren't so bad."

  She stalked off ahead. Daniel shrugged at me, then went back to collect Corey and Hayley. I caught up to Sam.

  "Don't," she said. "Just don't, okay?"

  "I was only going to say that we need to head that way." I pointed.

&
nbsp; "Right." A soft, choked laugh. "Kind of ruins the dramatic effect if I'm storming off in the wrong direction, doesn't it?" She shook her head, then waited with me for the others to reach us.

  SEVENTEEN

  DARKNESS WAS FALLING. THERE'D been no sign of our pursuers, so we finally surrendered to exhaustion and found a sheltered grove of trees for the night.

  We couldn't risk building a fire, but our clothing was long dried, and the night was warm, with the trees blocking the wind. Kenjii stretched out against my back, which was as good as a fire, and I should have dropped into an exhausted sleep. I didn't.

  About a half hour passed before I heard Daniel get up. He tried to pad silently across our sleeping area, until he stopped by my head and hunkered down.

  "Yes, I can't sleep either," I whispered.

  He motioned me up. Kenjii rolled to her feet and silently followed us. He didn't need me to take the lead. It was a three-quarter moon in a cloudless sky.

  He kept checking over his shoulder, making sure I was still there. Every time he looked ahead, again I'd watch him and remember what Sam said about Nicole. I imagined how he'd react and that crushed any concern I had about not telling him the truth.

  He'd blame himself, wonder what he'd done to encourage Nicole, when the truth was that he hadn't encouraged her. Just being himself was enough. Nicole fell for Daniel for the same reasons almost every girl at Salmon Creek had, at one time or another. He wasn't hard to look at--wavy blond hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders, gorgeous smile... It was the smile that did it the most, because it wasn't calculated or flirtatious--it was open and it was friendly and it told you this was, as Sam said, a good guy. A really good guy. That's why girls fell for Daniel. He could no more stop that than he could stop the sun from coming up.

  So what did he get for being a decent guy? An obsessed classmate who'd apparently killed his girlfriend, and was trying to do the same to his best friend because now she'd decided I was the one keeping them apart.

  Well, unless we encountered Nicole again, he wasn't going to find out about that. The obsessed classmate would remain a tragically kidnapped friend. The dead girlfriend would remain the victim of a freak accident no one could have foreseen. And the best friend had just panicked or been attacked by some underwater creature.

  We reached an outcropping of rock far enough from the others that we could talk without disturbing them. We stretched out on our backs. Kenjii nestled down by our feet.

  For a few minutes we lay in comfortable silence, enjoying the warm fall night and the star-dotted sky.

  "I'm sorry about Nicole," he said finally.

  That startled me so much I pushed up onto my elbows.

  "Were you drifting off?"

  "No. Just--You mean about leaving her behind? Don't be sorry."

  Really, don't be sorry.

  "You were right," I continued. "I was acting on emotion; you were using your head. I'm sure she's on the mainland by now. A long way from here." At least, I hope she is.

  "I feel awful about leaving her behind."

  "Of course you do. But it was the right choice."

  "I'm really glad she's alive." He looked over. "That was great news. I was worried about you. Losing Rafe, and then Nicole, after you guys started being friends, and I know you weren't over losing Serena yet." He paused and cleared his throat. "Well, obviously. I just mean..."

  "I know." I tried to see his expression in the moonlight, but he was looking at the sky again. Thinking about Serena. After a moment, I slid my hand over his. "I know you're not over her either."

  "Right."

  The word came out thick and he turned his face a little farther to the other side. I sat up, cross-legged. When he didn't move, I touched his shoulder.

  "Anytime you want to talk--"

  He sat up so fast I nearly toppled off the rock. He didn't seem to notice. He sat down again on the other side, looking the other way, feet dangling over the edge, his shoulders set.

  "I'm sorry," I said. "I just never know whether you want to talk or don't want to--"

  "I was going to break up with her."

  He blurted it so fast, I wasn't sure I understood. I lowered myself to sit cross-legged beside him.

  "You were..."

  "I was going to break up with Serena. End it. Dump her. Right before she died."

  "Oh."

  "Yeah, oh." A sardonic twist of his lips. He went to stand. "Forget it. I shouldn't have--"

  I caught his hand. "Don't. You want to talk about this, right?"

  He hesitated. Then another humorless smile. "I'm not sure talk is the right word. More like confess."

  "So what happened?" I asked. "She hadn't mentioned a fight or anything."

  "Because there wasn't one. Because nothing happened. Nothing went wrong. It just--" He took a deep breath, then let it out, cheeks puffing. He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted, then took another breath. "We were doing fine. But it wasn't ... going anywhere. When she first asked me to that dance, I didn't feel right saying no. She was a friend and--"

  He swallowed. Rubbed his neck again. Looked around. Then he motioned at the rock. "Can we lie down again? I think I'll do this better..."

  "If you're talking to the sky?"

  A half laugh, half snort. "Yeah. Lame, I know, but--"

  I stretched out on my back. He did the same.

  "So you went to the dance..." I prompted.

  "Right. And it was fine. I liked Serena. She was fun to be around, and easy to get along with and ... well, you know. There was no reason not to go out with her, since that's what she wanted and..." He paused. "But that's not really a good enough reason to go out with someone either. I started figuring that out. Mostly because of the summer boys."

  "Her flirting with them? She--"

  "She didn't mean anything by it, I know. And I wasn't upset. I wasn't the least bit jealous or insulted and I started to realize that I should be. Even if I trusted her, I should have felt something when she flirted with other guys. Instead, I'd almost hope..."

  He rubbed his mouth. Blurted the words again. "I almost hoped she'd meet someone else. I played the whole thing out in my head. I'd tell her it was okay, and we could still be friends. That's when I realized I wasn't being fair, letting her think things were fine and keeping her from finding someone else. I had to end it."

  I nodded.

  "Only doing it wasn't easy. I was close, really close when..."

  "She drowned."

  He nodded.

  "I'm sorry," I said. "That must have been--"

  "Hell." He spat the word. "It was hell. I felt like the biggest phony ever. The grieving boyfriend who hadn't even wanted to be her boyfriend anymore."

  He sat up then. After a moment, he looked at me.

  "I did grieve. I missed her. I really did."

  "Like me. A grieving friend."

  He nodded. "Only no one would let me be that. It felt like everyone wanted me to be heartbroken, and when I wasn't..."

  "You felt guilty."

  "It was like they went back and rewrote our history. Sure, we'd been going out for almost a year, but it ... it wasn't serious, you know? Not like Brooke and Alan, crazy about each other, can't keep their hands off each other, and everyone knows they're going to get married and grow old together. With Seri and me, it was more like you and your summer boys. Just fun. No one expected it to be a forever thing. Then she died, and it was as if ... as if people wanted it to be more. More tragic. More romantic."

  "I don't think they meant that," I said. "If I ever made you feel--"

  "You didn't. With you, I could just be the guy who lost a good friend. Until..."

  "Until I started worrying about you not dating. Started thinking you and Serena had been more serious than I realized."

  "All I had to do was tell you the truth. Only I couldn't. At first, it felt like I'd be dumping on you for no reason. By the time you started worrying about me, it was too late. I couldn't figure out how to say it."
/>   "Kind of like me and this skin-walker business?"

  A faint smile. "I guess so."

  "I wish you'd told me."

  He met my gaze then. "So do I."

  I paused, then said, "She was happy. Serena. If you had broken it off, she'd have understood. She was--" Crazy about you. I couldn't say that, of course. It wouldn't make this easier. "That last year... She was really happy."

  "Good."

  More silence. Less comfortable now. I glanced over at him. Time to change the subject.

  "So, you were going to tell me about your powers. Still up for it?"

  "If you are."

  "Definitely."

  Daniel said he first noticed changes in the boxing ring--getting faster and sharper, sensing blows before he even saw them coming. The persuasion, too. He'd always found it easy to persuade people to listen to him. Simple skills like paying attention, looking them in the eye and being firm when he spoke. Lately, though, it seemed ... too easy. Like with the tattoo artist's aunt--he'd been able to get her to talk after she refused to.

  "You gotta admit, that's one sweet power," I said.

  "You think so?"

  "Um, yeah. Duh."

  He glanced over. "Well, I think being able to change into a cougar is cool, which you obviously aren't so sure of. Maybe we can switch."

  I laughed. "I wish. Shape-shifting will probably be cool, eventually, but changing from human to cat? I don't think that's going to tickle. Persuasion, though? I don't see the downside."

  "No? So if I have this power, how do I know why people agree with me? Was I right when I persuaded the others not to go back for Nicole? Or did Hayley and Sam just agree because of my power?"

  "No, you were right. And even if you did use your mojo, it obviously didn't work on me."

  "That's good." He looked at me. "If I do have this power, I hope it never works on you. I wouldn't want that."

  "Don't worry. You can count on me to keep telling you you're full of crap. And in this case, I'm not sure it was working on anyone. Corey stayed undecided. I think you have to switch it on, like you do sometimes."

  He nodded.

  Another quiet moment. Then, "So you can tell when I switch it on?"

  "I can."

  "Good. If I ever do it with you, accidentally, stop me, okay?"

  "You think I wouldn't?" I knocked his shoulder. "Believe me, you are not using any of that mojo on me. Ever. You want to convince me of anything, you gotta be you."