Electric

by Stokes, Tawny

Chapter Four

  After leaving Chloe in a state of two parts shock, one part frenzied, Trevor drove me home. We didn’t talk much. Likely we were both thinking about what was ahead of us and what we needed to do fix it. I know I was wishing I still had the sword so I could drive it through the gut of whoever had killed that girl. The list of suspects included the remaining members of Malice, Seth and Quinn, or Merlin himself, their granddaddy of sorts.

  He was ours in a way too.

  But believe me I had no problem gutting him like a pig. There would be no family sentimentality with this girl.

  Trevor parked in front of my house but didn’t shut off the car. I took that as a sign that he wasn’t coming in with me. Instead he reached across the seat and stroked my hair with his fingers.

  “Are you going to be cool?”

  “I guess. No point in freaking out about it.” Of course what I was referring to was the fact that Kyle had known the deceased girl. I wasn’t one to believe in coincidences. In my world, everything happened for a reason.

  “Just keep it together. Okay? They want us to be afraid and do something stupid.”

  “Well, it’s working,” I said then gave a little humorless laugh. “Do you think I should tell Kyle?”

  “I don’t know, are you ready to come out as a cambion to your family?”

  “No.”

  He squeezed my shoulder. “Then I guess you shouldn’t tell Kyle anything. We’ll just keep an eye on him.”

  I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. The kiss was hesitant at first, as I wasn’t sure how Trevor was feeling, but then he buried a hand in my hair and deepened it. I dug my fingers into his arms and held on as he kissed me hard. By the time we parted, I was completely breathless.

  “Good night sugar.”

  “It will be now with that on my lips and you in my mind.”

  He chuckled as I opened the car door and slid out. I stood on the sidewalk and watched him drive away, then I turned and booked it up to the front door. I went into the house, kicking off my shoes, and found my mom in the living room with my brother watching The Walking Dead, their favorite show on DVD.

  My mom paused it on a particularly gory part and said, “Hey baby doll. How was work?” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Aren’t you home a little early?”

  “I wasn’t feeling all that hot, so I left early.” I slumped into the comfy easy chair. “How was your day?”

  “Good. Uneventful.”

  I looked at Kyle who was busy shoving more popcorn into his mouth. “How about you Kyle? Anything exciting happening?”

  His eyes narrowed. “No. Why?”

  “No reason. Just asking.” I got to my feet.

  “What’s up Sale? You never ask me about my day.”

  “Nothing.” I didn’t turn toward him. If he saw my face, he’d know I was lying. He could always tell when I was lying. I was never any good at it. “I’m going to bed. Can you keep your zombie murder down to a dull roar please?”

  I escaped to my room and shut the door. After dumping my bag on the floor, I stripped off my work clothes and put on my comfiest—boxer shorts and an old ratty tank top. I had homework to do but was in no frame of mind to complete it. Not if I didn’t want to hand in random lines of gobblygook for my English paper.

  I climbed into my bed, grabbed the stuffed Pikichu Trevor had bought me weeks ago, and tried to empty my mind of the horrible images and thoughts that had gathered there in the past hour. I wanted to erase the picture of that poor girl from my brain. But it was impossible. It was etched like someone had actually carved it directly into my gray matter. For as long as I lived, I would probably never be able to forget her dried up corpse.

  I knew it wasn’t my fault she’d died, but I still felt responsible. Whoever had killed her did it to get back at me. I should’ve killed Seth and Quinn when I had the chance. And I should’ve taken Merlin’s sword into the shadow-way and eviscerated the druid himself.

  A soft knock came at my door. I turned just as my mom came in. “Is everything okay?” she sat on the edge of my bed. My mother the super sleuth. She always knew when something was wrong. God, I loved her for that.

  “I’m good.”

  “Are you sure?” she patted my foot.

  “Yeah, Mom. Don’t worry.”

  “You know I do, Salem. Please don’t put me through that again.”

  I butt-shuffled forward on the bed and wrapped my arms around her. She squeezed me back.

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  She pulled back, and kissed my forehead. “Okay. Have a good sleep.” She stood and left my room, shutting the door behind her.

  Sighing I leaned back against the mound of pillows on my bed. I was an evil liar monster. And I was probably going to go to hell for putting my mom through even more shit than I already had.

  I pulled the blanket over me and settled down in my bed. Yawning, I closed my eyes and tried to let sleep take me quickly. I was hoping things would seem better in the morning. Although I knew without fail they would be worse.

  I dreamt that night. Not about Merlin this time, but about the other him.

  Thane.

  He was the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Malice. He was tall, with beautiful hair and a beautiful face, and a voice that sent me into a euphoric fog. He was also the one that had seduced me one night after a gig, taken me to a hotel room and sucked out my soul.

  Well, he didn’t do a very good job of it, because obviously I was still here. Alive and well. But I’d been turned into a cambion, a half succubus, half human creature of darkness.

  I dreamt of his often and it was the usual scenario. The night I met him. The night I became a cambion.

  Thane was singing to me as he always did in my nightmares.

  I swayed to every note, to every dip and crest in cadence of his sweet sensual voice. He’d entranced me. I was caught in his spell. I was trapped but I liked it there. It made me feel wanted, craved and sexy. Like I could conquer the world with just a kiss of my lips.

  Gripping the microphone stand tightly in his hand, Thane leaned down toward me. His eyes were as black as tar. But I didn’t flinch, I didn’t back away. I liked that he was looking at me so intensely. Instead of fear, flutters of desire, deep and intense, started in my belly. I nearly gasped aloud from the strength of them.

  His voice was so powerful, I nearly wept. I knew I was crying in my sleep. Subconsciously I could feel the tears on my cheeks.

  You belong to me,

  I won’t ever let you go.

  I own you, I possess you,

  I dominate your life

  Follow me, Follow me

  Down below

  Remember...

  You must reap what you sow

  Then I was in the dumpster. It was dark, but I could still see everything. And feel the slime and filth covering my limbs and face. Something sticky and smelly was in my hair. I scrambled in the trash and pushed the lid up so I could get out. But the metal covering wouldn’t budge. I pushed with all my strength. I put everything, all my energy into it, but still I couldn’t move the lid one inch.

  Then I heard something moving under the garbage next to me. It seemed too big to be a rat. Empty coffee cups and plastic wrappers moved to the side as whatever it was dug its way to the top. I tried to get away by pushing myself into the corner, but there was nowhere to go. I couldn’t get out.

  My gorge rose as a hand emerged from the trash. Then an arm. I wanted to shut my eyes as the rest of the body pushed through the filth but I couldn’t. I knew who it was digging in the garbage next to me. I knew who I’d see popping up out of the trash.

  Deanna Moser’s nearly petrified corpse emerged from the mushy scraps of food and debris. She turned toward me and grinned. Something squirmed out from between her lips. It was a shadow. And its black twisted tendrils reached for me.

  “Salem...” it whispered in a voice brimming with static.

  “Salem...” another voic
e undulated underneath the first; it had a decidedly feminine quality to it.

  I jolted awake. Surprisingly this time I wasn’t stuck to the ceiling. I was still in my bed. But something was keeping me there.

  I turned my head and all thought and reason drained out of me.

  Thane was lying beside me, a devilish grin on his face.

  “Hello sugarpop.”

  Chapter Five

  I jumped out of the bed, my heart pounding, sweat slicking my skin. I could barely breathe. “You’re not real.”

  He sat up. “Sure I am. Do you want to come over here and feel how real I am?” He grabbed his crotch.

  I had to have still been sleeping. Thane was dead. He couldn’t possibly be in my bed. I pinched my arm hard. It hurt but Thane didn’t disappear. He was still grinning at me like a Cheshire cat with a squirming mouse in its mouth.

  “Keep trying to wake yourself up, girly. I’m not going anywhere.”

  I had to try something drastic. I lifted my hand and slapped myself across my face. My cheek stung something awful.

  “Ow! Damn it!”

  Thane chuckled as he got to his feet. “It’s going to take more than that to get rid of me, sugarpop. You should know that by now.” He moved toward me.

  I took a step back, although I knew I had nowhere to go. He had me trapped. “Trevor,” I whispered. “911.”

  “He’s not coming, Salem. He’s got more important things to do then to save you again and again,” he took another step toward me, “and again.”

  “You’re wrong. He’ll come. He loves me.”

  Thane laughed. It was full of disdain and it made my skin crawl. “Love. Ha! Trevor doesn’t know how to love. None of us do. Cambions can’t love. It’s all in your head, girl.”

  “You’re wrong. I love him.” I tried to sound tough, to sound full of resounding faith, but I could hear my voice quiver.

  As I moved back, I looked around me, trying to figure out an escape plan. The shadows on the floor rippled, making my gut roil. I’ve never seen them do that before. Was something else trying to get into my room?

  He shook his head at me as if I’d disappointed him. “Foolish notions by a foolish girl. I thought you were cooler than that, superpop. I thought you’d make a kick ass cambion.”

  “I do, dickhead.”

  “Ah, there’s the spark. There’s the fire I like.” He moved even closer.

  I took several steps backward and banged into the dresser against my wall. “Trevor,” I said a little louder this time. The last thing I wanted to do was wake my mom. If she came in my room and Thane hurt her. I couldn’t even bear to think about it.

  “He’s not coming. He’s probably banging some random chick right now.”

  I shook my head. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure I do.” He ran a hand over his mouth. I knew it meant to entice me. And however much I didn’t want it to, it did. I was focused on his lips now and how soft and full they looked even in the pre-dawn darkness. “Do you know how many skanks he banged while on the road with us? Almost as many as me.”

  “You’re a filthy damn liar.”

  “Am I?”

  I didn’t want to believe him. He was trying to get into my head, trying to cast doubt about my relationship with Trevor. Unfortunately it was working a little. Didn’t I just have a similar thought yesterday about why Trevor had been keeping his distance?

  Thane’s lips lifted. “Ah, I see doubt in those pretty eyes of yours.” He took another step toward me until he was a breath away. I could feel the heat of his body cascading over mine. Despite my loathing, I couldn’t stop the tingle of desire deep inside. The beast inside me responded to its maker. His grin widened when he realized what his nearness was doing to me.

  “Let’s not fight, sugarpop. Let’s make up.”

  He reached for me, and that’s when I scrambled backwards, knocking my dresser drawer open. My fingers brushed against the wall hoping to find something to use against him. They itched for the sword. If only I could wrap my hands around the hilt and swing it, cutting Thane again. But the sword had vanished from my room not long after Trevor and I had returned home for the first time. It was like it moved on after its work was done.

  Stupid sword. Why couldn’t you have stuck around?

  He reached for me again, and I darted to the side, knocking my dresser again. I needed something to fight him off with. I didn’t have steel, but there had to be something else. I searched my brain for all the things Trevor had taught me back in Seattle. Ways to be safe from the members of Malice.

  I remembered how Devon had attacked me, and how she popped in on us in Trevor’s room the first time. But Trevor had made it so she couldn’t do it again. Come on brain. Work for a change!

  Out of the corner of my eye I spied a purple velvet pouch in my dresser drawer. I remembered putting it in there for emergencies. Salt. Trevor had salted the hotel room so Devon couldn’t use the shadow-ways to get into the room. Maybe it would work on this fake Thane too.

  I scrambled for it, grabbed it, opened it up and threw the contents into Thane’s face. The second the salt seemed to touch his flesh, he evaporated in a puff of black smoke. I stood there stunned as the tendrils drifted up to the ceiling then disappeared.

  The shadows rippled beneath me again, but this time Trevor appeared from within them.

  His eyes bugged out when he saw me, and he rushed to my side. “Are you okay? What the hell happened? I heard you call but couldn’t get through.”

  “Thane was here.” My teeth chattered, and I couldn’t’ get warm.

  Trevor hugged me close. “It wasn’t him.”

  “It was, Trevor.” I shuddered, and hugged myself. “I could feel him.”

  “It was a projection. He wasn’t here.”

  I pushed away from him. I didn’t like the condescending tone he was giving me. “You weren’t here. You don’t know.”

  “Salem, Thane is dead. You killed him. He wasn’t here.” He sat on my bed as I paced the room angrily. “It was just a projected image to scare you.”

  “He seemed so real.” I rubbed at my arms. I couldn’t get warm.

  “I know. Whoever did it wanted to scare you, and wanted to block me from coming to you.”

  I turned to look at him. “Who has power like that?” I already knew the answer before he spoke the words. I put up my hand to stop him from saying it. “Don’t. I don’t need to hear his name to know.” Then something occurred to me and I nearly got sick. “Does he know where I live? Is my family in danger?”

  He shook his head. “If he knew where you lived, he’d already be here. No, he sent a mental image to you because that’s all he can do right now.”

  “So we are mind linked like Harry and Voldemort.”

  Trevor stood and came to me. “Yes, if you have to put it that way.” He touched my cheek. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you.”

  “It’s okay.” I shrugged. “I have to learn to take care of myself.”

  He looked at the pile of salt on the floor. “And it looks like you did just fine without me.”

  Fake Thane’s words came back to me and I eyed Trevor seriously. “Do you want me to be fine without you?”

  “What?” His brow furrowed.

  I stared in his eyes, then looked away. “Never mind.”

  He cupped my face and made me look at him again. “What did Thane say?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Salem, tell me. We don’t keep secrets from each other remember?”

  “He said you had sex with a lot of girls.” I said it all in a rush without taking a breath, then I waited for his reaction.

  He sighed, closed his eyes, then opened them again. “And did you believe him?”

  I chewed on my lower lip. “I didn’t want to. I knew he was just saying shit to piss me off.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So,” I chewed on my lip again, “did you?”

&
nbsp; “No, Salem, I didn’t bang a bunch of girls.”

  I let the breath I was holding go. I hated that I needed to hear it, but the truth was I did deep down. I didn’t delude myself into thinking Trevor was a virgin but I was glad that he wasn’t a man-whore. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with that.

  “Satisfied?”

  I nodded, then grabbed onto his shirt and nuzzled into him. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. His face was in my hair and he breathed me in. I loved when he did that.

  “They are going to try and divide us, Salem. Together we’re stronger. Remember that.”

  “I will. I’m sorry.”

  He brushed a hand over my hair. “Don’t be sorry. Be angry. This is just the start.”

  “What’s our next step?”

  “Finding out more about the girl and where she was the other night. Find out how they got to her and if it was a coincidence that your brother knew her or not.”

  “What if it wasn’t a coincidence?”

  He stroked my head again. “Then a lot more people are in danger.”

  I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I had a feeling he was going to say that. I just didn’t want to hear it.

  Chapter Six

  The next day we began our research on Deanna Moser. Chloe wanted to help so I had her ask around the school about her, to see if anyone knew her, or knew of someone who knew her well. I decided I needed to bite the bullet and ask Kyle about her when I got home after school. Trevor was going to do his magic and get an address for her. I didn't know what magic he possessed to get that kind of information and I didn't ask. Now that he knew the way to the morgue he'd probably sneak in through a shadow and search the files for Deanna's information, her address and her next of kin. I shivered thinking about it.

  At lunch Chloe and I met up on the quad to go over strategy. It was just the two of us because Jamie wasn't at school. Chloe said he called in sick, and when she tried him he didn't answer his phone.

  "Do you really think he's sick?" I asked while taking a bite of my pizza pocket.

  Chloe shrugged. "Who knows. He's so moody sometimes."

  "Maybe it's PMS."

  "With him, it might very well be." She laughed.