Twelve Shades of Midnight:

by Liliana Hart

  She slid off the bed and my whole being screamed, No, no, no! It was bad enough Sage left. Baby couldn’t leave. Fear mixed with anger and all I wanted to do was cry. Stone doesn’t have the luxury of emotion, but I was more than stone. Inside, I still held onto all that made me human. My mind recoiled as it collided with every horrible outcome if Baby left.

  The little girl pushed her small feet into her shoes and then glanced at me one last time. Her mouth slowly opened and her eyes widened. Quick as a kitten, she hopped on the bed again, bringing her hand to my cheek. When she pulled away, the tips of her fingers were wet.

  “Sage was right. You’re still in there.” She plastered her intense little face close to mine and cupped each side of my face. “Are you scared?”

  Of course I was scared! I was terrified, not just for her, but for Sage and Ryan.

  She wiped away my tears with the edge of her shirt. “Don’t be. I’ll stay with you.”

  Baby turned around and found a comfortable spot within the curve of my wing. Kicking off her shoes, she said, “I’d be scared too, if I turned to stone.” She thought for a moment and shot me an awkward glance, “So, is it like a shell? I bet you’re all gooey on the inside like a snail.” She stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted face. “Gross. Did you know snails don’t like salt? It makes them all bubbly mad.”

  As she chatted, an unlikely calm descended on me. I’d worked so hard to stay detached from humans, I was taken aback by how attached I’d become to this little girl and her sister.

  Ten minutes turned to twenty before we heard the front door open, and then close with a wall-shaking bang. Baby bolted upright and scooted off the bed. Loud male voices squeezed under the door. Her eyebrows snapped together and her hands worried the edge of her shirt. “I think Ryan’s mad at me.”

  The brothers were arguing and it made Baby even more fidgety. I wished I could hold her hand. Instead, she touched my cold knee, her little fingers curling around it until her knuckles whitened.

  The yelling crescendoed and then silence filled the house. Ryan must have told his brother about me. From what he’d mentioned, Beau wasn’t too eager to trust anyone not 100 percent human. Baby needn’t worry about herself. I was the one who faced being smashed to pieces when they realized exactly what I was.

  Footsteps sounded and someone stopped on the other side of the closed door. As the doorknob slowly turned, Baby grabbed the sheet and tossed it over my head.

  Chapter Nine

  Ryan

  Beau unlocked the front door. “You left me hanging. We’re either a team or not. I have to trust you’ll be where you say you are, when you say you’ll be there.”

  I pushed past him and laughed. “Dude, I was there, and the only ones who got hurt were the bad guys. Stop angsting or you’re going to give yourself high blood pressure before you even turn thirty.”

  The front door slammed shut with so much force, it shook the walls. “I’m serious, Ryan. I could’ve died. Hell, when you didn’t show, I thought you were dead. Punctuality is key to our success.” Beau’s jaw twitched, a sure sign he was close to losing what was left of his temper. “We’re not going out there and doing frat house stunts where the losers walk home naked. We lose, we die.”

  I tossed my motorcycle helmet on the table and locked eyes with him. “You think I don’t know that? I’m not a kid. I get it. I know what we were supposed to do, but sometimes plans fall apart. Adapt, damn it! It’s what you taught me. Why is it okay for shit to happen to you, but when I get delayed or change the plan, it’s because I’m irresponsible?”

  Aw, hell. I didn’t have time for our weekly throw-down. I knew better than he did that lives were at stake. Two little girls depended on me. Instead of accelerating the situation, I shook my head and walked away. It had been a long night and a frustrating morning. Nothing went right from the time I met up with Beau. I was filthy, tired and now seriously grumpy from getting my ass chewed on.

  I got to my bedroom door and twisted the doorknob, but didn’t go in. I wanted to tell Beau about the girls, about Anara, but he wasn’t a “go with the flow” kind of guy and tonight only proved that.

  I glanced down the hall. He’d followed me and now stood at the top of the stairs, his hands on his hips and a disgusted look on his face. There was no point in stoking his anger, but he had it all wrong, and I couldn’t keep quiet. “I do take it seriously, bro. I was unavoidably late. I’m sorry. But I showed. I always show and take care of business, so give me some credit.”

  We stared at each other, both struggling to remain calm. Beau finally dropped his aggressive stance. “I don’t think you’re irresponsible, just easily distracted. Focus on the here and now, not on something shiny and new that promises a bit of fun. You’re too important to me, and the last thing I need is to worry about you.”

  “You’re important to me too,” I shot back, “but you have to let go and trust me, Beau. I had to follow them. I couldn’t let them think they could mess with us and walk away.”

  He rubbed his forehead, and I could see him fighting his need to be the alpha dog. Control was his gig. He was a natural leader, and he did it well, but I was strangling on the leash he’d placed around my neck.

  “You can trust me,” I said one last time before entering my room and closing the door. Locking it, I let out a huge sigh and turned to find Baby’s wide-eyed gaze staring straight at me.

  “I didn’t mean to do it.”

  Not exactly the words I wanted to hear after my blowup with Beau. “Do what?”

  Her gaze slipped to the bed. “She’s not dead. She’s still gooey on the inside.”

  All sorts of horrific scenarios flashed through my head. Had Baby hurt Sage? Anara? Both of them? Who exactly had I brought into my house? I yanked the sheet away to reveal a stone statue of a woman. A very familiar looking woman.

  “Oh my God…Anara?”

  It was her. I ran my hand over the stone hop, touching the same spot I’d touched earlier, remembering how soft and warm she felt. Every detail about her, down to her once silky shirt with a cut near her hip and serviceable leather pants had been cast in stone. The look on her face showed her shock. The position of her arm had me looking toward the window. “What happened?”

  “Didn’t Sage tell you?”

  “How could she? I just got home.” My stomach twisted and I turned my gaze on Baby. “Where’s Sage?”

  The little girl’s clear blue eyes darted to the door and then back, her eyebrows drawing closer. “She left to get you.”

  I slapped my hand to my forehead and backed up. I could actually feel my heart stop in my chest. “No, no, no. This isn’t happening.”

  Tears sprang to Baby’s eyes followed by a deluge of blubbering. I shushed her, my gaze shooting to the door, expecting Beau to come through it any second, but Baby wouldn’t stop crying. I grabbed her, put my hand over her mouth and hustled her into the no-go-zone closet and then shut the door. Amid my clothes and guns and knives and hand grenades and ammunition, I grabbed her shoulders and stooped to look her square in the eyes. As calmly as I could, I asked, “What happened?”

  The little girl was a mess. Between hiccups and sniffles, the story spilled out until she finally said, “The wings were our secret, not that!” she cried and pointed in the direction of Anara and my bed. “I didn’t know. I swear. I didn’t know.”

  “I believe you. It’s okay.”

  I never saw Anara because she was hidden in the day as a stone statue. She only came alive by the light of the moon. I thought she was being adorably poetic, but she’d been trying to tell me her real secret. I dug my phone out and checked the time. More than eight hours until night and Anara becoming human again. That was a huge chunk of time. I repocketed my phone and peered at Baby. “And afterward, Sage left to find me?”

  Baby came unglued again when she heard Sage’s name. She tried to control her sobs, but it made understanding her even worse, so she just nodded.

  “Do you k
now where she’s headed?”

  She nodded again. I closed my eyes and thanked God. At least I had a direction.

  “She’s going to the tur—the tur—the tur…”

  The poor kid was going to pop a vein if she didn’t calm down. I hugged her close and swept my hand from the top of her head to her back. Again and again until I felt her relax. I eased away. “Better?”

  She nodded. “She’s going to the turtle and the bunny.”

  What was that? Some kind of pub I’d never heard about? I knew them all, so I doubted that. Then it clicked. “She’s going to the park with the tortoise and the hare statues?”

  She nodded so vigorously, I thought her neck would snap. “She’s got money to take the bus.”

  I couldn’t think of a worse idea, but I didn’t let it show. “Good job, Baby.”

  All of a sudden, it sounded like Beau was trying to break down my bedroom door. I couldn’t let him in and see Anara. He’d never understand. I bolted from the closet, unlocked the door and snatched it open, but not too wide, and found him standing there holding Anara’s armor. I’d forgotten to take it out of the bathroom…and her boots. They were downstairs where she’d left them.

  “What the living hell is this supposed to—” His gaze focused on something just over my shoulder and his jaw tensed. I looked behind me to see Baby, her face shockingly pale, staring at Beau. A split second later, she bent and threw up all over the floor.

  Beau reared back and I followed him into the hall and closed the door behind us. The last thing I wanted was for him to find Anara. “I can explain.”

  He shoved the armor at me and spat out, “I hope so because right now I’m seriously worried about you. Who is that?”

  “Her name is Baby, although I think that’s more of a nickname than her real name. She’s six and she’s why I was late. Her mother was attacked by vamps and she has no one to take care of her.”

  “So you volunteered?” He looked at me like he didn’t know me. “Are you insane? She’s a little girl. We don’t…we don’t even know how to…she’s a little girl, damn it. Call the police.”

  “We can’t. She knows all about vamps. Think what they’ll do to her if she starts talking about what she’s seen? They’ll shove her in a mental ward. You know they will. She’s smart and—”

  “Good, then she’ll know how to keep her mouth shut.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head as if he were disappointed in me for saving an innocent life. “She’s got to go, Ryan. She’s not a pet. We don’t do that sort of thing. That’s the vamp way. We rescue people and set them free.”

  “I know the difference between a person and a pet.” God, he could be such a prick at times. “She needs us. Trust me, if we give her to the police, she’ll only run right back to our front door.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “I do.”

  He turned in a full circle, his hands scrubbing at his face before he stopped and glared at me. “Since when do you care about kids?”

  I snapped back, “Since when don’t you?”

  “Well…shit.” Beau turned and walked a few feet away, then stopped. He looked back. “This is ridiculous. I’m too tired to think. For now, keep her away from me. You know I don’t do sick. And make sure she cleans up after herself.”

  “She’s six, dude.”

  “And three quarters,” her high-pitched voice said through the closed door.

  “Whatever.” Beau waved me off and started toward his room. “She’s your problem for now.”

  I waited for him to close the door to his room before sprinting downstairs to get Anara’s boots, and then sprinting back to my room. After closing and locking the door again, I placed Anara’s gear against the wall, and then eyed the snot-filled mess Baby had made on the floor. Disgusting. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, but her pale face didn’t convince me. She’d lost Anara and her sister in one night. The kid was on a one way street to a mental meltdown. I needed to reassure her, but I didn’t have a clue how to comfort a kid. I shouldn’t have worried. Baby took things into her own hands and threw her arms around me, rubbing her tearstained face against my ribs.

  I gave her head a quick pat and her crying got even louder as she whined, “You’re not good at this. I want my mommy.”

  “Sorry.” I patted her back. “Better?”

  She nodded and I soon found the shirt I wore absorbed better than a chamois. A good four minutes of crying—I timed it—and she slowly calmed down.

  Disengaging myself, I quickly cleaned up the mess she made—gagging a little when I did—and then squatted in front of her and cupped her cheek. “We’re running out of time. I have to leave and find Sage, so it’s up to you to do something very brave for me.”

  She pulled away, shaking her head. “I can’t. I don’t have any more brave left in me.”

  I gave her a coaxing smile. “That’s crazy talk. Of course you do. Besides, you don’t even know what it is.”

  Distrust simmered in her eyes. “What is it?”

  “I need you to stay with Anara.”

  Confusion replaced the distrust. “That’s not brave.”

  “Yes it is, because I need you to keep my brother out of this room. He can’t find Anara. Not like she is right now. He won’t understand.” Hell, I didn’t understand.

  Before she could panic, I grabbed an old tin box and dumped its contents onto my dresser and showed it to her. “It’ll be fun. He doesn’t like germs, so if he knocks on the door, all you have to do is pretend to throw up in this.” I demonstrated, and the sounds echoed ominously within the box. She covered her mouth and giggled softly behind her hand.

  “You like that, huh?”

  “It’s cool.” She took the tin and pretended to throw up, now all smiles and confidence.

  I rubbed the top of her head. “You’re a pro at it already.”

  My gaze slid to the bed. My mind bucked at the sight of Anara cast in stone. No wonder she had a surreal quality about her. Figures all these years I’d waited for a woman I could connect with and she’d turn out to be a cold lump of stone. With wings. That was a shocker. But was she a lump of stone that turned into a woman or a woman who turned into a lump of stone?

  With the sound of Baby practicing being sick, I went to the window and opened the curtains. The sun’s rays fell on Anara and highlighted just how beautiful she was. All the fine lines and gentle angles that made her unique still existed, but they no longer held the warmth of life. My heart sank, and I whispered, “I’m thinking you probably should have told me about this sooner.”

  The girls believed she was still alive. I chose to believe that too.

  I went to her and put my hand on her stone head, coming up with no easy fix for our problems.

  “You’re going to find Sage and bring her back, aren’t you?” Baby asked.

  “That’s the plan,” I said without looking her way. When I finally did, she was sitting on the floor, her hands clutching the box and rocking back and forth. I wasn’t the most astute guy on the block, but even I could tell when someone was worried. I went and slumped down beside her. She was so little and looked completely lost. I nudged her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Sage’s smart, just like you. I’ll find her.”

  Baby sighed, held up the tin and pretended to throw up, then sighed and looked at me with all seriousness. “I hope so.”

  Convincing her would take time I didn’t have. I made sure she had something to eat and drink for lunch before I left.

  I tried not to look at Anara as the door closed, but it was unavoidable. I took a step back and stared at the white paint that barely covered the words I’d painted on the door when I was thirteen, Enter At Your Own Risk. From the start I knew she had secrets, just like me, but seeing her like that…

  She was immortal because she was living stone. That just blew my mind. My curiosity, one of my many faults, and the one Beau hated the most, grew. How did someone like her even ex
ist?

  I spun away and headed down the stairs at a breakneck speed. I couldn’t think about Anara now. I had to focus on Sage.

  I scooped up my keys and helmet and headed outside. The city was huge, and I doubted Sage had enough change to make it all the way to Copley Park. My best chance at finding her was to follow the bus route to the park and hope I’d stumble onto her. Straddling my motorcycle, a deep weariness settled over me. I hadn’t slept yet and the afternoon was slipping away. I rolled my neck, loosening tight muscles before I cranked on the engine, revving it just before I hit the street. I zigged in and out of traffic, stopping at each bus stop to look for Sage. I described her to the guy behind the news kiosk at one stop. I talked to a female coffee shop employee at the next. I even talked to the homeless dude who pushed his shopping cart up and down Boylston Street near Little Steve’s Pizzeria. Every time, the same story. No one noticed the people getting on and off the bus.

  She might have gotten lost. I cut over a few streets, and the bulk of my afternoon stretched into a hunt for Sage. I went to Copley Square and sat on my bike, looking around, praying she’d appear in front of me. The place was buzzing with people, but no sign of Sage. I began to work my way backwards when I saw a familiar blond head bobbing through the sidewalk traffic. Relief caused my hand to shake as I flipped the visor on my helmet up and yelled her name.

  Sage glanced around, a scared look on her face, but she wasn’t looking at me. People milled around on the sidewalk, and I didn’t see anything odd. No one followed her that I could see. The poor kid was freaking herself out.

  Racing ahead, I pulled my bike into the nearest alleyway, took off my helmet and went to I hover near the entrance to wait for her to pass, except she didn’t. Someone snatched Sage by the arm and dragged her toward a black SUV.