Death Be Blue (The Terra Vane Series Book 1)

by Katie Epstein

  The solid cylinders that supported the tracks had long since become a natural part of the backdrop in every quarter. And we had to use our badges to get through the barriers that would allow us to descend the stairs that headed down into the city.

  I had to use my citizen badge to get through the barriers that led to the stairwell. Having a desistance order also meant that the agency stopped footing the bill for things such as travel or healing. Lucky for me, my citizen badge also acted like a credit card as well as a form of ID so I could use that instead. Until the desistance order ended, my personal currency account would have to meet the cost for the monorail journey instead of the agency. If Cole could have heard what I thought about him at that moment then he would have fired me on the spot.

  After leaving the monorail station, we headed off in the direction of Whisper Street where Mayra’s shop was situated. The night was cold as the dark descended upon us so I zipped up my jacket with haste.

  “Kaleb crashed at ours last night,” I confessed once we headed off onto the cobbled streets of the Victorian Quarter.

  “Please tell me he didn’t stay on the couch?” Rosie asked, cringing.

  “He didn’t stay on the couch. He slept in my room.” I caught the look she gave me and hurried on. “He slept on the floor. Very much so on the floor. I left him there, snoring his head off before heading to the labs.”

  “You know he would be in your bed in five seconds flat if you gave him half the chance.”

  “Kaleb would be in anybody’s bed given half the chance. I’m not exactly flattered by his attentions.”

  “True. But I bet he’d stay the morning after for you.”

  “Yeah. He’d stay. To make sure he got seconds and a cup of coffee before telling me that he didn’t think it was a good idea to mix business with pleasure. All before informing me that we should just be friends.”

  Rosie laughed. “You’re right. That definitely sounds like Kaleb.”

  “He’ll be hell until he gets an arranged union fired his way. I’m sure he’s lying with every woman walking in preparation for that very moment.”

  “How do you know he’ll have an arranged union?” Rosie asked as she linked her arm through mine.

  “Because he’s the son of an Alpha. Kaleb said that Alphas have to marry, or unite, or whatever they call it, with compatible mates. It’s their duty to always consider the future of the pack when making their choices. He said that if they go against that choice, they could get thrown out of the pack and be forced to go as a lone wolf.”

  “Kaleb is the second son of an Alpha,” she rectified. “He won’t be as pressured to have an arranged union as Cole would be. I mean, I know that shifters don’t like it when members of their own choose mates outside their pack or clan, but it still happens. Kaleb would have more freedom with his choices than Cole would.”

  A sharp pain stabbed my heart at Rosie’s words for reasons I couldn’t explain. Cole would one day be an Alpha and required to marry the perfect shifter bride. He shouldn’t even be an option for me, so why was I so bothered that he was out of my league?

  “Chris said my mom sent another letter last week,” I said, swiftly changing the subject before Rosie picked up on my disappointment. It wasn’t the best way to divert the conversation, but I may as well mention my mom while riding the pain train. It was sadistic, but telling Rosie helped.

  “He did mention it,” she tapped my hand in comfort, “and he also said you refused to take it from him.”

  “What’s the point? All she does is tell me how amazing her new husband is and that his children are a dream. I don’t want another underhanded lecture about what good people they are because they go to church on a Sunday. I had enough of the overzealous, religious bull crap when she allowed my sweet, old grandpa to consistently label me as the child of the devil. Yet she still wants to ignore all that, along with how she stuck me in an abusive mental hospital. She grates on my last nerve.”

  “Maybe it’s the only way she knows how to reach out?” Rosie asked. She knew a lot of what I’d been through at the hospital, so I knew she was only trying to make me feel better. But right now, I didn’t want to feel better. Right now, I wanted to vent about my weak-willed mom, to take my mind off the crush I had on my out-of-my-league boss. Talk about having issues.

  “She has the nerve to take advantage of Dan by using him to send her proud letters to me through Chris. After all she’s done …” I let out a deep breath. “She ignored me, Rose. When I begged and pleaded for her to take me out of that twisted place, she believed the lies the doctor spun her. She ignored the bruises on my wrist and the fear on my face, and walked out of the hospital with her head held high. She was hell to live with over here. And when Chris told her she had to either pull herself together or to go back to Earthside and leave me in his care, she couldn’t have packed fast enough. Where do I even begin to start forgiving her for that?”

  “I don’t know. Time will tell. Just know that she isn’t a strong woman, and her failings aren’t because of you. They’re on her. You don’t have to think you’re unworthy because of how people treated you. And don’t look at me like that. I know how you work. I’ve known you long enough.”

  Her words made me chuckle as they broke through the icy veneer that crept around me when the past reached out with its spindly fingers.

  “You know how to give me a metaphorical slap, don’t you?” I asked and she gently squeezed my arm.

  “You’re not that girl anymore, and you never will be. No one will ever leave you stranded again, and no one will ever see you hurt. You have so many people who embrace you for who you are. And so many who will fight to the end of Portiside to make sure you’re safe. There’s no going back to what was, not even if you were to let her back in your life.”

  “I guess. And I don’t want to keep wallowing in it. It’s done, it’s gone, but every so often …”

  “It’s a part of you,” she told me. “It always will be. That doesn’t mean it has to take you over. You’re an EFA of Portiside now. No one can take that status away from you.”

  “Cole will if I keep bringing him trouble,” I scoffed. “He’s already dangling a suspension in front of me like a decaying carrot.”

  Rosie laughed. “Cole has never been able to see straight where you’re concerned. One day you might realize that.”

  “Now you’re the deluded one,” I said as I heard a rumble behind us.

  Hurrying to move out of the way of an oncoming carriage, we headed off to a safer part of the street and made our way through the lantern-lit pathway. It was pretty during this time of night in the Victorian Quarter. Thankfully, there was no stench like there may have been during the time period of its namesake. Plumbing was a lot more affordable than the crystal generated power, and it could be employed more frequently. I think we were all lucky there.

  Rows of shop fronts flowed down Seller Lane, which ran adjacent to Whisper Street. Their bay windows jutted out to display wares, with ‘Closed’ signs displayed in many. It was quiet and peaceful aside from the odd noise of the evening revelers walking about.

  We passed by a florist whose bay windows displayed a colorful abundance of geraniums, pionies and chrysanthemums; all in pale pinks, vibrant yellows and soft whites. Hanging above the display was a pink and green wooden sign with the name Late Bloomers scrawled across it. I wasn’t very good at keeping flowers myself, but I knew if I bought some Rosie would tend to them if I forgot. I loved the burst of color they provided against the white backdrop of our apartment. And it was a happy compromise in influencing the decor of our place as Rosie also loved having them around.

  “I should buy some flowe—” I began, but the words were suddenly forgotten as a swirling tornado of stars swam across my vision. I felt myself fall back against the wall, images crashing through my shields like a freight train. I knew then that my gift was hitting me hard and fast.

  Pain burned my shoulder as the sting of something sharp almo
st became unbearable. I saw the fangs of something terrible hovering over me. Panicked screams rang in my ears and I tried to remain focused as another image came through: a blue circle spinning to the point where it made me nauseous. It shimmered out and disappeared, and then another building formed in front of me with a sign above it that read Tormenting Treasures. I knew that place. It was a confectionary shop on Desire Street, two streets over from here. Suddenly, a woman screamed. But whether it was in the vision or coming from my own mouth I didn’t know. All I could feel was the paralysis of fear as a shot of pain fled through my abdomen.

  “Terra!” I heard Rosie shout, and I felt myself return to consciousness as her words registered. The vision was leaving, but my perspiration and breathlessness remained. “Terra, what’s wrong?”

  Rosie’s features slowly swam into view, sharpening into a worried expression. My heart thumped hard against my chest, and I realized that whatever I’d seen in the vision could be happening right now. The lantern-tinted darkness that surrounded us was the same as it had been within the images. I needed to investigate to make sure no one was in trouble.

  The shields couldn’t protect me from the visions. Not like they could from a person’s energy or any energy stains left behind. They came as and when they wanted to—asleep or awake—and hit me from nowhere. I never knew if they were showing me things from the past, present or future. So, right now, all I could hope was that it had been sent for me to try and stop it from happening. I began to race off in the direction of Tormenting Treasures when Rosie grabbed my shaking hand.

  “Terra,” she pleaded, worry etched into her face. “Where are you going?”

  “I think someone is getting hurt. Go get Mayra and bring her to Desire Street. Tell her to head toward the shop Tormenting Treasures. Hurry, Rosie!”

  “Terra!” she shouted after me as I raced away, but I couldn’t hang back any longer. My instincts felt like nails down a chalkboard as they tried to reach out and urge me to get there as fast as possible.

  Skidding around the last corner that threw me into my intended destination, I heard the growls. A noise of satisfaction hit my ears, followed by the sound of fangs being pressed into flesh. My eyes adjusted to see the scene before me, and I raced toward what appeared to be a man leaning over a woman. Her body, her face. They were all covered in blood. And she began to scream when she saw me. Her hysteria could have been because she was grateful for my appearance, or because she was telling me to get the hell away and find some proper help. Regardless, I jogged forward, knowing I had no weapon or badge on me to claim I was an EFA. All I could do was act like a concerned citizen and try to take the attacker out.

  “Hey!” I shouted as I saw the man lift his head to go in for another bite. He stopped mid-air, then slowly turned around to face me.

  A rogue wolf shifter stared back at me, stunning me for a moment. Nerves clashed with adrenaline and I had to take a calming breath before I continued my approach. He growled once more as his eyes met mine and, from this distance, I could tell he was eyeing me up to see if I would be a good enough second course.

  Usually, if a rogue shifter escaped their pack or clan, they had several other shifters on their tail hunting them down. But it looked like this one was being left to go solo, and that could be devastating to anyone who got in its path.

  The rogue shifter’s body appeared frozen between the change of wolf and man, as if he were neither. Whereas a natural shifter appeared like a true wolf, this shifter’s appearance was more like a typical Earthside portrayal of a werewolf. The dark fur on his face and body covered the stature of a man, yet his face was a mangled hybrid of wolf and human. His nose protruded out into a snout lined with whiskers and pointed ears peaked out the top of his canine-shaped head. Long fangs overlapped his bottom lip and his torn clothes were saturated with dirt and blood.

  Shifters were immaculate creatures and very vain when it came to their appearance in both their shifter and human forms. To them there was a distinct line between acting civilized and wild. But not with rogue shifters. Rogues were dominated by their animal half, and that line became more blurred depending on how far gone they were. With this shifter crouched in front of me, it appeared as if his line had been completely erased.

  The whimpering of the woman caught my attention but I wasn’t the only one to hear it. The rogue shifter snatched his head back toward the victim at his feet, and I knew then I had to make my move.

  “Hey!” I shouted again, but the rogue wasn’t about to have his meal disturbed a second time. He roared loudly before opening his mouth to take another bite of the poor woman in front of him.

  No conscious thought about what I was about do entered my mind. All I could think about was stopping him from hurting the woman. I threw myself at him causing him to topple over to the side.

  Clawed hands pierced my jacket and I felt a couple break the skin as the rogue shifter took hold of me. He tried to throw me to the side so he could carry on filling his stomach, but he’d underestimated his opponent. He may be a rabid shifter with bloodlust on his mind, but I was a pissed off and bleeding Enforcer Field Agent. And he’d just ruined my favorite jacket.

  Head butting him in the sensitive spot did the job as he whimpered and fell backward. From my shifter biology studies at the academy, I knew if I’d hit him hard enough there it would buy me a few seconds. Part of their prefrontal cortex wasn’t skull protected at the front of their heads, and it was a rogue shifter’s Achilles Heel.

  Standing up to full height, I put myself between the shifter and the woman. I didn’t like the fact that she’d suddenly gone quiet, but I couldn’t risk looking down at her in case Fang Boy decided to take another run at me. Damn it! He was fast.

  Meeting him head on was all I could do to draw him away from the victim. We clashed in the middle of the street as he tried to take a piece out of my face. But I anticipated the move and dodged in time. I punched him below the ribs, grabbing the fur on his head to twist his face to the side. My knee came up and crashed into his furry jaw and he whined from the hit. It didn’t slow him down any though. He picked me up with him and hooked his clawed hands under my legs, smashing me against the wall as he tried to bite me again.

  My eyes met his and for a moment I was completely thrown. He had a blue ring around his irises—exactly like the wendigo had.

  “Crap,” I heard myself whisper, but then I saw an opening. I thrust my hand into his exposed throat as hard as I could and hoped for the best. He gargled as my hand hit home, then dropped me, staggering backward as he did so. As he gripped his throat, a strange expression formed on his face. It was almost as if I’d hurt his feelings by attacking him. Then he gave one last longing look at the woman before racing off into the night.

  Worry consumed me. I knew I couldn’t let the rogue head off and find another victim to take a hold of. But I couldn’t leave the woman alone either.

  Ignoring the roaring burn of pain in my arms, I pressed the button on my watch comms and dialed Mayra’s transmission code. It was ringing out, so I tried Kaleb. No answer.

  The woman’s skin was cold beneath my fingers when I leaned down to feel for a pulse, but she still had one—barely. The material of her clothes felt heavy with blood and I didn’t want to have to pull them away to see the extent of the damage.

  “I’m here, I’m here,” Mayra shouted as she rounded the corner. I turned to see her waving at me with her leather bag in one hand and her long skirts hoisted above her ankles in the other. Her dress sense was one to be desired, and she embraced the stereotype of an eclectic witch with open arms. Right now though, I was more than pleased to see her. Her white-blonde hair flowed out behind her as she raced toward me, then she threw herself down onto her knees to check on the woman. “You’re bleeding,” she said as she glanced at me, those penetrating turquoise eyes of hers laced with concern.

  “I’m fine.” I stood up and noticed Rosie rounding the corner. “Stay with her, Rosie. I need to go and c
atch the rogue shifter who did this. Try and get Kaleb for me, too.”

  I didn’t wait for an answer as I fled off into the night. I headed in the direction of where I’d seen the rogue go, but he could be anywhere by now. He would have made good time of it too if pumped up on the same thing the wendigo had taken. But then I realized he hadn’t been as fast as the wendigo. Still, he was fast enough, and I pushed everything I had into the run as I headed in the direction of the park.

  A piercing scream shattered the night air, urging me to run so fast that the burn in my arms was nothing compared to the fire in my chest. Pushing it aside, I raced toward where the scream had come from and saw a man consoling a woman who was crying in his arms.

  “I-In there,” the man stammered as he lifted a shaking finger toward the section of trees that lay at the edge of the park. I nodded my thanks before heading off.

  The darkness of the trees swallowed me up as I broke through the foliage. Listening intently, I tried to detect where the rogue shifter could have gone, but I couldn’t hear anything. Suddenly, a flash of red seared my vision. I felt the heat of my instincts urging me to move.

  My gift may have been the only thing to save my life as I crouched down in time to avoid the full onslaught of the rogue’s attack. Gnashing teeth came at me, forcing me to duck, as the rogue took advantage of his night vision to seek me out. My hindered sight may have gone against me, but the silver light of the moon revealed enough to tell me I was in a deep pile of crap. The shifter pounced and writhed on top of me.

  We scuffled and fought while each of us tried to win supremacy over the other. I could feel myself tiring as I defended and attacked constantly. Then his teeth grazed my shoulder, too close for comfort. I retaliated with the dirty move of kneeing him between the legs so hard that it was just short of neutering him.

  The rogue howled in pain and I managed to shuffle out from beneath him regaining my feet once more. As soon as I was steady, I roundhouse kicked him in the head, falling back a few steps in an attempt to get some of my breath back.