Day Dreamer (Undeadly Secrets Book 2)

by Aaron L Speer

  “Of course.”

  “A lot?”

  “Obviously.”

  “We just got a new delivery. You better not be yankin’ my chain,” he laughed. As they approached the door to the back entrance, Lauren was suddenly aware they were not alone in the corridor. Two men were behind her and closing the distance.

  Shit.

  Just as the thought of danger reached her, two taser jolts struck her in the back, bringing her to one knee, screaming. She was strong, but not enough to simply shake off two tasers and a sudden knee to the face from the bartender. Something grabbed her by the head and tossed her outside onto the cold ground, surrounded by rows of industrial garbage bins and kegs.

  “Big mistake to come here alone, bitch.” That was not the bartender. Lauren recognised the voice but couldn’t quite place it. She rose, baring her fangs, and saw the speaker. It was Calibos, the head honcho of the wolf pack she’d witnessed at Coffinail. She guessed No-name and his pals had indeed done their homework in narrowing down the list of pubs that might be their headquarters. Pulling out the wires, she tossed them away from her and hissed, “Who says I’m alone?”

  “Oh, what?” Calibos said, pointing up, as more men moved to surround her. “You mean you were counting on him?”

  Lauren’s stomach felt full of cold lead. No-name hung from a noose on a large hook above the bartender, twitching like a fish on a line, blood foaming and pouring from his neck. It wasn’t rope digging into his throat, it was barbed wire.

  Lauren cracked her neck and then her knuckles, baring her fangs. There was nothing she could do for No-name, but she still had a chance, even if it was just to kick some arse before dying. “Let’s go, fuckers.”

  Calibos held the others at bay. “She wants to play, boys. I’m game.”

  There was a crack like thunder and Lauren rocked her head back and screamed again. A bullet had been fired and gone straight through her leg. She grabbed her thigh with both hands and collapsed. Even through her pain, she knew neither Calibos nor the bartender had been holding a gun. And it wasn’t the guys behind her, either. Where had the bullet come from?

  “Well…that was disappointingly quick.” He pouted. “Oh well. Let’s see if you can shoot her other leg from there.”

  The response was another bullet. There were cheers now that drowned out her wails. She scrunched her eyes but could tell there were at least five men closing in on her.

  “Two bullets filled with lemon juice and salt. Man that’s gotta sting. Let her have a couple more. She can take it.”

  One, two more. One in her shoulder and another in her leg. Lauren’s fangs were piercing her lower jaw, she was clenching them so hard. She tried not to let the tears show, but as the red haze came over her, they could not be missed.

  “Sit her up,” Calibos instructed.

  Her arms were yanked over her head and she was brought up to a sitting position. The side of her face caved in as several fists pummelled her. She was too weak to use her one defence—invisibility.

  She heard the reloading of the gun. The shooter had positioned himself directly in front of her. She fluttered her eyes open. No…

  “Matt, please stop.”

  “Matt?” Calibos asked. “You know him?”

  “Go fuck yourself, wolf”

  Calibos laughed. “No point in asking him for mercy, babe. Matty is blank upstairs. Healing him up took a lot more from him than we thought. We’ve given him Dream State to enhance his skills when he sleeps. He gets better every day. Now he is a silent killing machine, but that’s the trade-off. His elevator doesn’t go all the way up to the top floor anymore, as long as we keep juicing him up. Ain’t that right, Matty? We only do one thing now, aye? Kill vamps!”

  The men holding Lauren let out a unified howl. Oh the irony. She had succeeded in her mission. She had found Matt and the wolves but she would not be able to tell Clive or Vincent or anyone else.

  “Who are you and what the fuck are you doing in Sydney?” She shouted a last desperate attempt to find out something, anything. Was it just to buy time? She wasn’t sure. She just knew she wasn’t ready to die.

  “I’ll answer yours if you answer mine. Deal?”

  Lauren grunted her affirmation.

  Calibos squeezed her neck rather tight. “How do you know Matt?”

  Lauren tensed her face, yet did not show how much his grip was hurting her. “He is my…ex besties…ex. Then I broke his back. Or I thought so. Couldn’t have done a good job.”

  “You put him in hospital?! No shit. What a small world,” Calibos spoke up to his pack. “Aye, boys, I’ve just had a thought. Let’s send this bitch back to her king. She can deliver a message for us. Tell me, bitch, where does he live?”

  “Darling Point.” Lauren didn’t hesitate to tell them. Any chance she might live would be worth it.

  “Good girl. Now to your question. You will tell your king that my name is Calibos. My men and I are here looking for our friends. Four of them were sent here by our Alpha’s wife to negotiate with your king. They were never heard from again.”

  “So Vincent has obviously killed them!”

  “Uh-uh,” Calibos said. “We may have believed that, except that this…” he indicated the Dream State lodged in her cleavage, “proves otherwise. It is made with living werewolf blood. Vincent is keeping them somewhere. We want to know where. It’s very simple. If he hands them over to us unharmed, we’ll go home. If he doesn’t, vampire blood is going to keep flooding the streets. He brought this upon himself.”

  Calibos reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade, then knelt down closer to Lauren. “Tie her up to that post, boys.”

  They dragged her several feet backwards and tied her hands together around the lamppost. “So, you’re just gonna kill me now?”

  “No sweetness, I’m going to send you home with a message. Like I said. But not just yet. You see, I think you’ll be good company for Matty, since you know him so well.”

  Fear and rage swelled in the pit of Lauren’s chest. She steeled herself as Calibos swiped at her top with the blade, clean cutting it and her bra free, exposing her breasts to the cool night air. She had never been demure, but this was somehow more excruciating, more violating than the bullets had been. She clenched her teeth as well as she could with a broken jaw and cheekbone, and swallowed the blood in her mouth rather than spitting it out.

  “That’s a shame. Best set of tits I’ve seen and wasted on a dead chick. Oh well.”

  Calibos brought the knife down and sliced her chest, deep and slow. Lauren heard a horrible shriek and realised it was her own voice. Calibos simply ignored or was excited by her agony.

  “Matty needs more practice. Dream State can only take him so far. Every time he ventures out with us, you guys don’t last long enough.”

  Calibos tapped Lauren on the cheek and handed the switchblade to Matt. “Now remember: shoulders, sides, thighs and arms. No face and no chest. Got that, Matty? If you hit the chest, she just might bleed to death before we send her back and you’ll break your toy.”

  Lauren didn’t know if Matt even registered he was being spoken to. He continued to stare blankly at nothing. But he did take the knife with four hands. Wait, four?

  Lauren scrunched her eyes and released them quickly. Her vision was still blurry and skewed. The adrenaline was subsiding and the pain was seeping in. Every bone felt broken. Her chin felt so heavy…she couldn’t hold the weight of her head.

  “Oi! You better not be dying on me,” Calibos yelled. “Not yet. Keep your head up or the first throw will go through your forehead to help you on your way.”

  Even if she’d wanted to, Lauren could not obey. Exhaustion and pain were overtaking her. Without warning, Lauren coughed and retched as blood flowed from her mouth.

  “Jesus Christ!” Calibos exclaimed. “The one time you actually want a vampire to live…”

  Belt in hand, he approached her and pushed the back of her head against the pole s
he was tied to. He clipped it around her forehead and the lamppost, keeping her head upright and in place.

  “Doesn’t look like we’ve got long with this one, Matty. She’s on the way out I’d say. Let’s make it a quick practice.”

  “Matt, no, please…” Lauren whimpered,

  Matt flung the blade directly at her. She wailed at the sickening thud it made, and felt like she’d been punched hard in the shoulder. Its aim must have been true, due to the howls and cheers of the wolf pack.

  “Nice one, Matty! Clean as a virgin’s slit.” Calibos wrenched the blade free, ignoring Lauren’s sobs. “Let’s try the other shoulder.”

  There was no energy left to protest, let alone fight back. She was going nowhere.

  Chapter 28

  Lean On Me

  “Hey, sleepy head… Let’s go!”

  “Awwww, come on. Just five more minutes,” Nick mumbled in semi-consciousness.

  “That’s what you said fifteen minutes ago.” Alex swiped his pillow from under his face and smacked him with it. “Let’s…go!”

  Nick laughed into his sheets as he rubbed his rear. “Who told you I’m into that?”

  “Oh shut up, you brat!” Alex grinned and pushed his face back down into the mattress. “Jesus, I really have to take you shopping.”

  Nick sat up and frowned. “What do you mean?” He followed her gaze to his chest. The sleeveless shirt he wore to sleep in was torn from collar to stomach.

  “Looks like you’re growing out of your clothes overnight, Incredible Hulk! How small is that singlet?”

  “It isn’t. Small, I mean. I only bought it last week. It fit me fine.” He tried to get a look at it and found the bottom completely shredded. He pulled it over his head and it came apart in his hands. “Geez, so much for craftsmanship.”

  “Weird. Well, I’ll try to pick you up something with a bit better quality later today. Meanwhile, in the shower you go.”

  Nick pulled a face at her, but Alex was not to be thwarted. “Come on, you stink. What the hell have you been up to, running a marathon? Hurry up. You’ll be late for school.”

  “Yes, dear,” he said, kissing her on the cheek as he left.

  Nick closed the bathroom door, stripped off his underwear, and checked himself out in the mirror. He had noticed his body changing rapidly over the last few days, but particularly today. He showered and stepped out, noticing his shoulders and chest seemed broader, bulkier. Back when his father still had hope of Nick becoming his alpha heir, he had told him that the body of a werewolf transforms in a different way for each individual, much like regular puberty—only much faster. As the change nears, the body increases in size to deal with the trauma it is to be put through on a monthly basis. Yet again, more proof that this was real. This was happening. He was still unsure how he felt about that. It was frightening, but there was also an excitement that he couldn’t quite explain.

  Nick dressed quickly and inhaled breakfast. He wasn’t sure what it was, something crunchy and fruity.

  “Nick, hun? Can you sit for a sec?”

  Nick froze. Alex sounded serious, and whatever it was she wanted to talk about, he really didn’t feel ready for it right now. Especially if they wanted him to come clean about Alicia. “I’m going to be late.”

  “We really want to talk to you. Please?”

  Nick slumped back down opposite Alex and Margaret and waited with some trepidation.

  “Nick, you know we love you and we care about you,” Alex began. “But I think the time has come to ask a difficult question.”

  Nick nodded, barely.

  “Now just so you know, no matter what you tell us, as long as you’re honest, we’re not going to be angry,” Margaret added.

  Nick let out a short breath, but before he could utter a reply, Alex cut him off. “Are you taking steroids?”

  Nick did a double-take. He could not have heard that right. “Sorry?”

  “Hun, you have grown something like ten, maybe fifteen kilos of muscle in only a few weeks…”

  Nick could not help but laugh. “Ooh, is that what this is about? Look, Alex—”

  “You were getting bullied at school, and then that seemed to stop very quick. Plus, it was over a girl, and certain girls like the muscly type. I mean if you put the pieces all together…”

  “Alex, I see where you’re going with this. I swear I am not taking anything. I couldn’t do that to my body, and besides I couldn’t afford it.” He grinned.

  “Ok, then how…?” Alex indicated all his new bulk, eyebrows raised in confusion.

  “It’s just me,” Nick shrugged. That was true. He could not stand lying anymore, but without knowing the full extent of what his body was doing, it was all he could say. After all, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t in control of himself. He stood, needing to get out of there. He wasn’t going to be able to explain anything more to their satisfaction right now anyway. “But I really gotta go now. See you later.”

  Alex narrowed her eyes, but didn’t say anything as he grabbed his pack and made for the door.

  *

  Nick stepped off the bus to flashing lights. An ambulance and two police cars were parked outside the front entrance of the school, and the double doors were filled with staff and students, not yet allowed to go in. It seemed someone was close to being brought out.

  “What’s happening?” Nick asked a huddle of students at the base of the steps.

  “I dunno exactly. I heard Mr. Shubert came in this morning and went nuts.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, had a gun and everything.”

  “But why?”

  The student shrugged and was about to say something more, but the murmuring of the crowd near the door made him close his mouth again. Medics wheeled Mr. Shubert, tied to a gurney, out toward the ambulance. Shubert was raving. “He’s not human. He tried to kill me! Look at my car. Why don’t you believe me? Let me go!”

  The paramedics loaded the coach into the back and injected him with something that made him immediately drowsy. He grew quieter, but Nick could still hear what he whimpered. “He’s dangerous…don’t…let him…near…anyone.”

  The ambulance doors shut and one police car escorted it along the street to the main road where the vehicles turned and disappeared. Two police officers remained behind to take statements from witnesses. A heap of students lined up for questioning, even those Nick had travelled with on the bus, who could not possibly have seen anything.

  The boy he had spoken to moments before piped up. “Did you see his car? You should have a look before the cops take it.”

  “Sure,” Nick said. “What does he drive?”

  “Some shitty Ford. It won’t be hard to find.”

  They found it parked a short distance up the street. They weren’t the only ones who had had the same idea. The vehicle was surrounded by a small-but-growing crowd of students and even a few curious teachers.

  When Nick finally got close enough to see the car, he felt a lump rise in his throat. Four gashes about a metre long and a fifth about half that, had been ripped into the roof, allowing streamers of sunshine to pour into the car. The edges were sharp and bent upward, as if pried up by a crazed can opener. The chatter went on around him.

  “What the hell could’ve done such a thing?”

  “Aw, come on, bro. Stupid fuck got pissed and hit a tree or an animal last night or something.”

  “Then where is the damage to the bumper, the windshield?” Nick asked to no one in particular. He tried to shake the feeling he knew exactly what had happened but couldn’t remember. Or something wasn’t letting him.

  Four and a half grooves, just like the table in the cafe.

  “I suggest you all get back to school before you spend the next week in detention!”

  “Sorry, Ms. O’Brien!” One boy shouted and ran off together with a friend as the remains of the crowd dispersed.

  Nick couldn’t bring himself to move. Nicole walked up behind him. “Just be
cause I have a soft spot for you doesn’t mean you’re above anyone else. Come on…”

  When Nick still didn’t make any motion to leave, however, she changed tacks. “Hey, are you ok?”

  Nick had his hands on the boot, studying the roof, not really listening to her words. “I did this,” he whispered.

  He chanced a look at her. Nicole looked around, making sure no one could see her. She placed her hand on Nick’s cheek and turned him around to face her. When she spoke, her voice was soft, not demanding like it had been.

  “How do you mean? This is not your fault.”

  “What?” Nick snapped in shock.

  “I know you feel guilty for what happened yesterday, but you shouldn’t. He was hysterical when he arrived this morning. I usually wouldn’t speak ill of a staff member, but he was absolutely off his rocker. He stormed into the staff room this morning, ranting about a monster and demanding the teachers cancel lessons and lock the kids in their classrooms!”

  “Nikki…” Nick said, taking her had from his cheek and holding it tight. “You don’t understand. I did this. To him, to his car. It was me!”

  “To his car? You mean those cuts?” she asked, her head to the side. “Impossible. If you made them, how did you do it?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t remember,” he said.

  She quirked her mouth. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”

  “That I am losing my fucking mind or I’m an inhuman beast.”

  “I don’t think it’s either of those.”

  “Nikki, something is happening to me. I wish I could explain it but I can’t. I wish you’d believed me before, but I guess it would be strange if you did. You have to stay away from me.”

  She didn’t move. “Nick this is ridiculous. Why won’t you let me help you? Friends don’t abandon each other.”

  Nick rolled his eyes. He wanted her to be quiet. He wanted her to kiss him. He wanted her to just shut up about that goddamn “friend” business. “Because I don’t want to hurt you! And I don’t fucking want to just be your friend. I want… I need you.” Before anger overtook him further, Nick walked past her and headed to the school. He heard Nicole start to speak, but he ignored it. He couldn’t listen right now.