Against the Fallen

by Devin Lee Carlson

  My lip curled upward. “Cozy. Cool guy, your grandfather. Did you ever tell him about me—about us?”

  After taking a swig, Jesse belatedly raised the silver can in a toast. “No need, he already knows. Don’t ask me how, he just does. Grandpop is the most mystical man I’ve ever known.” He approached me when I sat at the table. “Grandpop brought home The Arizona Republic. You’ll find this article interesting.”

  “A newspaper?” First roll-down windows in the antique truck, dial-up, and now a newspaper. Had I traveled back in time? Again? Ink pressed atop flimsy paper blew a dusty odor across my senses. I read the front-page headline aloud: “Cave Creek Millionaires Reported Missing.” I exchanged glances with Jesse. My brow creased as I continued to read.

  “Cave Creek residents, Brian and Ariane Colton, twin siblings, believed missing or dead. Officials confirmed the twins hired a helicopter to tour Washington’s Joker Mountain with their guide, Eric Tripper, when it crashed. Three bodies along with the pilot were burned beyond recognition; however, evidence states the twins hired and joined Tripper on the ill-fated chopper.

  Further investigation led to the Colton’s residence in Cave Creek. The home was ransacked and burglarized. Officials suspect foul play.

  Citizens of Cave Creek are shocked by the news. No memorial service is planned at this time.”

  “They think we’re dead.” Again, I glanced at Jesse, my brow furrowed. “You arranged all of this. Didn’t you?” I bit my lower lip to stop myself from laughing out loud.

  “Special Agent Jesse Rivers at your service.” He coughed. “For the Fallen, mind you.” He held his chin up. “I’ve earned the title. Certain clans employ human liaisons to mask wrongdoings that could expose the Fallen. I have worked for them on many an occasion, while claiming neutrality to every clan.”

  “Shut up.” Who is this guy? “Like the DanJal hired Wayde.” My eyes peered over the top of the paper. “Who’d have guessed? Better keep my guard up because there’s no mention of my credit card.”

  “Ariane has it.” Jesse grabbed another can from the fridge. His eyes questioned me if I wanted another and handed me one when I held out a hand. “Have you checked your online bank statements?”

  A curse along with the beer I swallowed shot from my mouth. I palm-slapped my forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?” I opened the laptop, scanned the bookmarks, and punched the keys to enter the password. My fingers drummed while waiting for the dial-up connection to open the latest statement. Then my eyes narrowed. Someone other than me had made several charges over the past two weeks.

  “You’re right.” I stared at Jesse, this time with renewed suspicion. When all of the excitement settled, I made a promise to myself that I’d investigate his enigmatic career. While dial-up uploaded details of the charges, I probed the special agent. “So, your mother is Navajo. Gray Wolf is her father? What about your pop?”

  “Born in Las Vegas. A meteorologist.” Jesse patted his bronzed arm. “He’s black. So that makes me Native-African American.” He rolled his eyes when my eyebrows shot up my forehead. “My parents are stationed in the Antarctic. Weather research.” Swift fingers brushed his phone’s screen until the image he had been looking for appeared. He shoved the phone in front of my face. “Mom is almost as dark as Dad.”

  Handsome couple like their son. “You’re full of surprises, Jesse.” My gaze switched to the spinning cursor on the laptop. “Sabree’s upset because I refused to tell him where you hid Ariane. He knows she’s safe but that’s not enough. He thinks I don’t care.”

  “Don’t worry. He’ll know soon enough.” Jesse circled around the table to lean over my shoulder. He whispered each entry, his pitch rising with the cost. “Holy buku bucks, the amounts are exorbitant. Nothing under a thousand. I recognize the suppliers. If these are Ariane’s purchases, she’s buying high-end research equipment.”

  The purchases raised a few concerns, but as a joint account, if Ariane made the purchases then she could confirm it with the bank. “The charges started in Billings, then Cheyenne. Yikes, the one in Denver cost eight thousand.” Unlike the medical suppliers, the last charge came from a Grand Canyon gift shop. My mind mulled over the details. “Aye, it has to be Ariane.”

  “Makes sense,” Jesse said. “But why would she go to a gift shop?”

  One end of my upper lip curled. “Seriously? You really need to ask? Whatever stores she shops at, she’s making a beeline straight for here.” The idea of seeing her should’ve elevated my spirits; yet, I found it hard to swallow, the tightness in my throat constricting. “Better alert Sabree. Or not.” It seemed my sister had taken the scenic route, taken her sweet time to get here. However, if she did make those huge purchases, where did she store the goods? I scratched my scalp. “For all we know, she could already be here.”

  Jesse looked away. “Could be...”

  By the way Jesse shrank away and the quiet we shared reached a deafening crescendo, the mysterious agent knew more than he was willing to admit. My sister was already here. I raised my sensors to reach her. Nothing. “Hope she took the time to do some soul searching. I sure did.”

  3

  BEEP, BEEP

  S abree stretched as soon as he stepped out of the sweathouse into the chilly night air. He had agreed to sit through a quickie, tourist-type sweat before Gray Wolf performed the authentic ceremony—he promised the real deal later on. For reasons unknown, which Sabree assumed as strange, the Navajo insisted Brian join them. The ceremonial cleanse might have purified his spirit, but the visions he experienced tarnished his optimism. The Navajo blanket draped over his shoulders fell onto the bench behind him.

  He pulled on his jeans, brooding on his interpretation of the prophecies he envisioned: Ariane the size of an ant, sparkling flames in Brian’s eyes, neon-green annihilation, and then total darkness—an empty void where Sabree drifted aimlessly. Goose bumps sprouted across his bare skin, caused by the visions, not by the cool desert breeze. “I know you’re out there. Show yourself,” Sabree demanded as he yanked on a tee shirt. The sensation intensified. His back stiffened. He spun around, eyes scanning the dark horizon. Movement near the boulders caught his eye.

  A chocolate lab wagging its tail crouched low. The animal’s body trembled violently, disfiguring until it metamorphosed into a nude woman. Tawny highlights in her brunette hair glistened from the blazing campfire. Her eyes twinkled an iridescent amber. Ariane rose to her feet.

  The sudden transformation took Sabree by surprise. “Ariane!” A knot settled in his gut. “Where have you been? Does Brian know you’re here?” Eternally a gentleman, he handed her the blanket.

  “Somewhere safe.” She bit her lip and smiled. “And, no, Brian has no idea I’m here.”

  He leaned over to touch her face and stroked empty air when she dropped the blanket and transformed into a bat. The creature flew out of harm’s way. He stumbled forward and quickly misted before he fell onto the mound of boulders. Sabree reappeared where he once stood. “Come back, I only wanted to make sure you were real.” A bat? She’s a shape-shifter.

  “You’re always looking for an excuse to touch me.” Ariane reformed a distance away.

  Awestruck, Sabree pinched himself. Her nudity woke sensations he refused to allow himself to feel, and so again, he tossed her the blanket. “Not a dream.” He sensed Brian speeding in their direction.

  “Sis?” Brian pushed by Sabree to embrace her. “About time you showed up. What took you so long? Why didn’t you call me?” His breath hitched long enough to suck in air. Brian glanced at the driveway and then at her. “How’d you get here?”

  “I’m guessing she flew,” Sabree said. “And not by jet.” When Brian’s upper lip curled up in question, Sabree explained. “So, you had no idea she could shape-shift? Your sister has the Fallen gift to change into different animals. Perhaps even fish. The color animal might reflect her hair color—like the chestnut mare the other day.”

  “Bugger!” Brian scrunched
his face. “I rode my sister?”

  Footsteps approached from the driveway. Jesse had followed Brian to the hogan, but at a slower gait. A smile as big as the crescent moon spread across his face. “Ariane, you’re here. So, you must be that mare everyone keeps talking about.”

  “Thanks to you,” Ariane said followed by an earnest hug. Furrowed brows replaced up-turned lips when she released Jesse and held out the charge card to Brian, who snatched it and questioned her with curious eyes. “Eric left it,” she said. “He hoped the card would implicate you.”

  “Eric practically left me for dead with a jackhammer of a concussion,” Brian said. “Took me a while to get home.”

  “I figured as much.” Ariane cupped her hand on one of her cheeks. “You’ve always been right about him. Anyway, Jesse let me stay at his parents’ vacation home in Seattle. Their private beach house.”

  All eyes turned to Jesse.

  Sabree broke the hushed silence. “So, Mr. Rivers to the rescue? Again.” His insides boiled because Brian knew all along but refused to tell him. Some friend.

  “More like Special Agent Rivers,” Brian said, his smile of approval aimed at Jesse. “Thanks for helping her, but you and I are going to have a little chat later on.” When Jesse shrugged, Brian raised two fingers to his eyes and pointed them at Jesse to gesture that he would be watching him from now on.

  Gray Wolf crawled out of the cozy sweathouse. The old man scratched his head of silver as he ogled Ariane. “Is she another friend, Jesse?” he asked. Wide eyes betrayed how much he hoped the answer would be yes.

  The interruptions and idle chatter grated on Sabree’s frazzled nerves. Apparently, neither twin cared about his feelings. He gestured Jesse to take Gray Wolf inside to give them time alone. “Three’s company, five’s a crowd.”

  When the pair disappeared inside, Brian held up the credit card and waved it in her face. “Care to explain the expensive charges on my card?”

  “Our card,” she reminded him. “Research equipment.”

  Sabree tugged on Brian’s sleeve. “To recreate the anti-vamp serum, I bet. Tell her it’s too dangerous.”

  “Quite the contrary, Sabree.” Ariane drew the blanket tighter. “You are open game for the Caderen.”

  “I am?” What did she know about his clan that he didn’t know? When her coppery eyes locked with his, all troubles melted away. Sabree could get lost in the warmth but would never allow himself such pleasure.

  “They know you helped us,” Ariane said. “Actually, you’re more of a threat to us than to the Fallen.”

  The endless stack of troubles made his head pound. So what if he disobeyed clan orders, someone had to take charge. “I would never harm either of you.” Why the accusations? What happened to their budding friendship? Sabree growled a curse, ready to grab her hair before she morphed into a bat again.

  “Down, Fang.” Brian reached for his arm to hold him back. “What are you saying, Sis?”

  Ariane eyed the hogan before she spoke. “Sabree needs our blood to replenish himself. What if he had an endless supply without the need to feed on us ever again. Would he still hang around? Pretend to be our friend?”

  Sabree’s mind filled with thoughts of life without the twins. Mostly negative to his surprise. Without them, he would have no hope of ever returning to the heavens. He would be lost without them, especially without Ariane, whose gentle touch rekindled emotions he had long ago abandoned. One benefit rang loudest—rid himself of Brian’s obnoxious attitude. Like it or not, Brian might have been the brother he always desired, a pain in the derriere, but dear to his heart, nonetheless. However nasty of late, the siblings were the only two he could call friends. He reinforced his shield in case either might try to read his mind. “Cloning your blood?”

  “Think of the benefits,” Brian said. “No reason to hang around anymore.”

  “I thought we were friends,” Sabree hissed.

  “My point exactly.” Brian grabbed Sabree’s arm and pulled him over, so they stood face-to-face. “Would you still be my friend if you didn’t need to leech off me?”

  For once, Sabree found himself tongue-tied. The implication stabbed both his hearts. But could he blame them?

  “Maybe I’m tired of being your feedbag.” Brian pushed him aside to approach his sister. “Are you up for this?”

  “With my education and research background? Easy peasy.”

  Grinning, Brian focused his gaze on Ariane while he signaled a thumbs-up to Sabree. “Cocky, isn’t she?” he asked without looking his way. He gave her a hug. “Aye, Sis, speaking of education, I need to update you on our half-assed vampiric transformation.”

  Ariane nodded. “Meet you back at the ranch.” Her body trembled and shrank until it transformed into an owl. One eye blinked before it flew away.

  Brian muttered a curse.

  While they continued to gawk at the owl in flight, Sabree opted out of using his preferred method of travel and strolled toward the house. He refused to acknowledge Brian, certain he would follow. A quick glance back at the sweathouse soured his mood. He released a heavy sigh, not only for his dismal future, but also for never envisioning his animal spirit during the sweat. As luck would have it, a chipmunk might have reared its ratty head. Maybe the real deal would reveal the powerful jaguar that possessed his spirit. Its animal traits were more apt to tackle any imminent hardship charging his way. For the moment, he cared less, still offended that Brian called him a feedbag.

  Sabree stole another sideways glance. Brian kept his distance behind him. Like a staring match, which one would give in to their Fallen ability before the other. His smirk twisted even more when Brian sped off in a streak.

  3 3 3

  A fast-approaching storm whooshed in my wake as I shot up the hill like the Road Runner himself. I half-expected to squeak, “Beep, beep,” when I screeched to a stop. At the door, the owl transformed into a woman the moment she stepped inside the ranch and looked around. Did the simplicity of Jesse’s former lifestyle shock her? Bet it paled in comparison to his parents’ beach house or the extravagant condo in Scottsdale. To avoid taking in her nudity, I sped to the couch, my body a blur, and flew back to her, wrapping a fleece throw around her shoulders.

  “Now, what’s this about our transformation?” she asked.

  Knuckles supporting my chin, my brows knitted together, I had no idea where to begin. My reluctance to speak worried her. Sensed it as easily as I did Sabree’s reactions. Was this a new ability? A lot had changed since the hike to Joker Mountain.

  “Not safe to stay here. Our number one priority should be to find a place where I can clone our blood in peace. Above all, our new sanctuary must be hidden from the Caderen, creepy Wayde, and Mr. Gung-ho vampire slayer.” She brushed a few fingers through her hair until they unfettered a feather. It floated from her grasp and fluttered to the floor.

  As always, my sister was right. Our list of adversaries grew longer with every day. Never knew when Duncan’s righthand man, Morgan Wayde, might strike next. Jesse must’ve filled her in about Eric’s latest career choice of slaying vamps. I picked up the feather and cocked my head in question. She had turned into an owl, a horse, and God knows what else. I had to ask, miffed that she had left me out of the loop. “When were you going to tell me?”

  “Tell you what?” Ariane dusted the rest of her locks. “Oh, that. I found out by accident.” She glanced around the room at everything but me. “Sometime before the hike. I wanted to fly one morning at first dawn. Next thing I knew, wings sprouted on my back and I took off. An eagle was my first morph.”

  “Why so secretive?”

  “Why not? You keep secrets from me. Too wrapped up in your scavenger hunt and journal. You never even knew I went off the anti-vamp serum. I could’ve dyed my hair purple and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

  “Not fair, Sis. You always keep things to yourself. You’re selfish that way.” What was I saying? The same selfish quirks hushed me up as well. A rustle outs
ide startled me. Sabree barged through the door, his glare aimed at me.

  “Talk about secrets,” he growled. “When were you going to tell me where she was hiding all this time?” Arms folded, Sabree frowned at the two of us. “I thought Brian cared less about your well-being. I despised his blasé attitude.”

  “Not now. We’re busy.” I grabbed Ariane’s arm and dragged her into the night. “We need to talk about the transformation bullshit without Monsieur Ears meddling in our business.” My grasp firm around her wrist, I dragged her toward the barn. Neither one of us had any trouble seeing the path ahead. Assured we were far enough away from the immortal sonar, I stopped halfway.

  Ariane yanked her arm free. “Make it snappy. We have to leave ASAP.”

  Pouted lips betrayed my hurt feelings. “Go where? Why the rush? You just got here. Today in fact.” In answer, her chin jutted out as if to claim her way or no way. Defeated, I lowered my head. “Okay, Sis, apparently you’re in charge now, so I’ll make this fast.” I sucked in a much-needed breath before explaining what happened between the end of the hike and showing up here.

  “Eric confessed all and then ice-axed my skull. Blamed me for your death. I knew you weren’t dead, but he didn’t.” Off track already, I locked onto the key topic. “Duncan hired Eric to keep an eye on us while he pretended to be our friend—your lover. Duncan was never our father. We were never human. Never Scottish! And especially never mutated vampires.” Ridiculous that we even accepted the off-the-wall folktale. My eyes met hers for a second too long.

  “We were born from the Fallen. Twin embryos placed in suspension for thousands of years until Duncan incubated us inside an artificial womb. Our entire childhood consisted of three years of fabricated lies, implanted memories, and jam-packed education—Serine style.” I gathered a breath.

  Ariane took advantage of the pause to ask, “Three years? Then I’m only four years old?” What she interpreted as one of my blasé nods made her stomp her foot. “I thought you said we had human DNA.”