The Ringleader, as Josh thought of him, stepped between Aiden and the street. “Hey, you brought something to our hoedown?” He grabbed the bag before Aiden could stop him, peering inside. “Organic yogurt? You some kind of hippy hillbilly? Like, a hillhippy?”
Again, there was a chorus of laughter. The others shouted out other possible combinations, such as billhippy or hipbilly. This egged on the Ringleader.
Aiden glared at him as he snatched back the bag. “I’m gonna ask you one time to get out of our way.”
“Or what? You gonna lasso me?”
Taking a deep breath, Aiden turned around and started walking back the way they came, putting an arm around Josh to bring him along. The gang moved to block their path.
Josh glanced up and down the sidewalk. He saw other people, but they were on the other side of the street or crossing to get there, avoiding whatever trouble was brewing.
“Josh,” said Aiden quietly, “you should always try to talk your way out of situations like this.”
“I know.”
“I tried to. I tried real hard.”
“I know.”
“It’s just that, sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. And for the people you care about.” The way Aiden said it told Josh they were more than just words; he was dead serious. “Now close your eyes.”
“What?” Josh asked, surprised by this last bit.
“Just close them.” Aiden’s tone of voice left no room for argument.
Josh did as he was told and felt Aiden’s arm leave his shoulder. The laughing stopped instantly. The next thing Josh heard was one of the men saying, “What the—oof!”
He had seen enough karate movies to know what a fight sounded like. This was kind of like that, but different. There was no “hi-yah” to signify a punch. There were only grunts and random nonsensical yells. Heavy thuds made Josh picture bodies hitting the ground. Is that what was happening?
When things went silent again, Josh felt safe to open his eyes. Aiden was the only one left standing. Josh did a doubletake, realizing that it wasn’t his nanny, but a creature wearing Aiden’s clothes. Some sort of half-man, half-beast, it stood there breathing heavily and turning in circles, looking at the men splayed on the ground. One of them started getting to his feet. The beast shot to the man like a dart, grabbing the front of his shirt and pinning him up against the wall of the building behind them. It was the Ringleader, and he was terrified. The creature’s bared teeth were inches from the guy’s face. A low growl came from between the long, sharp teeth.
“Where’s Aiden?” Josh asked, his voice shaking with fear.
The beast looked around with Aiden’s blue eyes. He let go of the Ringleader, who broke into a sprint the second his feet hit the pavement.
The creature stepped from under the streetlights, retreating into the building’s shadow. In the darkness, Josh couldn't see what was going on. When the thing in Aiden’s clothes came back out into the light, it looked like regular old Aiden.
“What?” Josh asked, the fear gripping his heart and making his breath catch in his throat. “How?”
“Josh, I—” Aiden started.
Josh didn't stick around for any explanations. He started running toward home.
* * * *
Aiden kept pace with Josh, staying a constant fifteen feet behind to keep an eye on him, but not crowd him. When they entered the apartment, Josh bolted straight to his room and slammed the door.
Mrs. F-G sat at the kitchen table, working on something involving a large bowl and a red fruit. She gave Aiden a “what was that all about?” look the second he came in to deliver the yogurt.
“What was that all about?” she asked when he failed to answer her eyes.
“Just, um, you know. Normal pre-teen boy stuff.”
She shook her head. “I know Josh. That’s not normal. Not for him, at least.”
Aiden put the yogurt in the fridge, slamming the door a little harder than he intended. Condiment bottles clanked together. “Well, I hope that breakfast is good tomorrow. It might be my last meal here.”
“Meaning?” She stood and took the bowl to the sink, tipping it on its side to pour out a considerable amount of water.
“Meaning…I sort of wolfed out in front of Josh.”
“Oh, dear.”
Mrs. F-G held the bowl out to Aiden, who looked at it and said absently, “Oh. Pomegranate. I love these things.”
“They’re right behind sausage gravy and biscuits on your favorite food list, yes?”
“Something like that, yeah.” Aiden tossed a handful of red, juicy seed casings in his mouth. “How do you know all this food stuff? And, come to think of it, how did you know about…my condition?”
“Food oracle,” she said, as if those two words would explain it all.
Aiden shook his head, a blank look on his face. “No idea what you mean.”
“You don’t know about food oracles?”
Again, Aiden shook his head.
“So you must have been bitten not too long ago. You didn’t grow up surrounded by all things mythical and mystical.” Mrs. F-G began cleaning up the white pulp and red rind from the sink, the bits of the pomegranate left over after picking out the edible seedpods. “Well, there’s no such thing as the classic oracle anymore, the kind you read about in books. The know-all, see-all, riddle-spouting fortuneteller. We have rather narrow fields. I can see the future, but only as it relates to food. You’ve noticed that I prefer to keep my quarters private?”
“Yeah. Josh told me.”
“There are some mystical items in my closet that are best kept secret.”
Aiden nodded, mulling this over. “And how did you know about…the wolf part?”
“Ah, well, I kind of cheated there. I know the Coopers use Staffing Solutions. It’s where all their entertainment-industry friends go for nannies and such. And I know that they place…people with our special qualities. As a matter of fact, I’ve known Cleo for quite some time.”
“Oh.” That explained a lot. You’d think after so long, Cleo would outgrow her need to gossip.
“And what are you going to do about Josh?” she asked, bringing Aiden back to the looming problem.
He shrugged. “Any chance I could get you to talk to him for me?”
She thought about it for a second or two before replying, “I think you two need to sort this out yourselves.”
* * * *
There was a knock on the door, but Josh didn’t answer. From out in the hallway, Aiden said, “Cookie delivery.”
“I’m not hungry,” Josh called over his shoulder. He went back to lying facedown on his bed. Burying his face in his pillow made him feel better somehow, as if he could just block out what he’d seen.
“Come on, Josh,” Aiden urged. “I’ve got chocolate milk and everything.”
Chocolate milk was just one notch below soda on his mom’s forbidden foods list, so this got Josh’s attention. It was kind of weird that his mom allowed Mrs. F-G to bake so many cookies. Maybe it was because she used organic ingredients. Or maybe it was just because his mom loved cookies.
But not even chocolate milk was enough of an incentive to get Josh to open the door.
“Go away,” Josh said through the pillow.
“What was that?”
Josh raised his head. “I said, go away!”
“Okay. But I’m leaving the milk and cookies outside your door.”
Josh waited until he heard Aiden’s footsteps retreating down the hall before he brought the bedtime snack into his room. Josh knew he should take his dirty dishes to the kitchen, but didn’t want to run into Aiden. He opened his door and peeked along the hallway. Seeing a light shine out from under the nanny’s closed door, Josh started for the kitchen. As he passed Aiden’s door, he again heard one side of a conversation.
“I know it was stupid, Larry, but I’m still gettin’ the hang of this...I’m gonna see him in the morning, so I reckon I’ll just tell him then…Well,
yeah, he’s already pretty ticked at me about stopping that robbery…I just couldn’t help it. I have to keep those kids safe, Larry... Yeah, I know I can’t keep them safe if I get fired, but when there’s danger around, I don’t even think about what might happen to me. I just have to protect the kids, no matter what… So, if I do get fired, I can crash with you for a while? Thanks, man. See ya.”
Josh didn’t realize he had paused in front of Aiden’s door until the conversation ended. He made for the kitchen, putting his empty plate and glass in the sink. If Aiden meant all the stuff he just said then he really did care about Josh and his brother and sister. No matter what else he might be, he truly was their protector. Distracted by confused thoughts, Josh wandered back to the hall, almost bumping into Aiden.
“Sorry,” Josh mumbled.
“No, I’m sorry,” Aiden said, his eyes full of concern. “I should have told you the truth right away.”
“Yeah, that would have worked real well,” Josh said with a trace of a smile, the thought striking his funny bone. “‘Hi, I’m your new nanny, and I’m a…’ what are you, anyway?”
Aiden looked up and down the hall and then straight into Josh’s eyes. “I’m a werewolf.”
“Like a howling-at-the-moon kind of werewolf?”
“Not exactly. The moon doesn’t make me change, that’s just a—wait, let’s talk in here.” He started for his room.
Josh knew that if Aiden wanted to hurt him, he’d had plenty of opportunity already. He was pretty sure he was safe. Walking into Aiden’s room, Josh took a seat on the edge of the bed. Aiden twirled the desk chair to face him and sat down, taking a deep breath before saying, “You see, it’s kind of complicated.”
“Why?”
“Well, because I just…changed…a few years ago, so I’m still kind of figuring things out as I go along, but let me explain it as best I can.”
“Okay.”
“So I’m gonna give you the quick version.”
“How come?”
“’Cause it’s past your bedtime and I think I already broke enough rules tonight. Anyway, a few years ago, I was in the woods back behind the house where I grew up, and I got bit.”
“By what?”
“Well, we’ll skip the details for now, but the bite turned into a fever, and the fever turned me into a werewolf.”
“But not the howling-at-the-moon kind?”
“Naw, all that stuff’s just a myth. We don’t change when there’s a full moon. We don’t eat human flesh.” Josh shivered involuntarily at this. “And we definitely have more weaknesses than silver bullets. We can be hurt just like anyone else.”
“But you won’t hurt me? Or my brother and sister?’
“Of course not.” Aiden looked distressed at the thought. “I have to protect you. You’re my pack now.”
Josh’s parents were all about doing the latest thing before it became too popular, but inviting a werewolf into their home was a little extreme, even for them. “Do my parents know about this?”
“Um, sort of.”
“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”
Aiden looked away, staring at the blank wall in front of him, like he was trying to put just the right words together. “Well, everything was explained to them. Like how werewolves make great protectors, and how we bond, making the family like our own pack. Legally, everything needs to be explained to them, and they need to give their permission to place a werewolf.”
“So they do know?”
“Not really. At least, not anymore. After we get their permission, we erase their memory.”
Josh almost laughed at this, but a sudden thought caused it to die in his throat. “Do you have to do the same thing to me?”
Aiden stared at Josh for a long moment. “I think I can trust you. I think I can forget to put in a call for a memory modification. But, you know, just don’t tell anyone.”
Josh smiled. Not only was his new nanny a dude, but he was also a werewolf. If only he could tell the guys at school. Or better yet, the girls, especially the ones who read those Twilight books. That would score him some instant popularity points. Coming off this brief fantasy, Josh realized that sharing the news would make him known as crazy rather than cool. And then there was that whole memory modification thing. There was really only one thing to do. “I won’t tell,” he promised.
Chapter Three
Meeting at Scary Poppins
The next morning, Aiden got up early to prepare for his meeting at Staffing Solutions. On his way down the hall, he passed a sleepy-eyed Mrs. F-G, who tilted her head toward the kitchen. “Your breakfast is on the island. Good luck today.”
“Oh, great, thanks. I, um, okay.” He didn’t have much else to say. She kept right on walking back to her room as if she hadn’t heard him.
Waiting for him on the kitchen island was a small stack of toast and a steaming mug of tea. The toast had no butter or jam, but that suited his uneasy stomach just fine. He half-expected the meeting would result in his firing. Well, more than half-expected. It was more like 92.5 percent expected. He had spent the previous night tossing and turning and dozing off for very short periods. The tea intrigued him. He was more of a coffee or cola kind of guy. Thinking back, Aiden couldn’t remember any time when he had ever had tea before. But Mrs. F-G was supposed to know everything about food, so he gave it a shot. It tasted just as he expected, like drinking hot grass, but then he noticed a subtle flavor. It could have been peppermint, licorice, or some mixture of the two. Whatever it was, it had an almost instant effect. His stomach was no longer tossing and turning as he had the night before. To be on the safe side, he poured the rest into a thermos to bring with him, just in case he needed it later.
* * * *
Aiden stood on the sidewalk outside Staffing Solutions, unable to prod himself into taking those last few steps through the door, dreading the meeting that awaited him on the other side. To kill a few more seconds, he studied the sign. It was a non-descript sign, not the flashy sort meant to catch anyone’s eye and entice them inside. Staffing Solutions didn’t have to go fishing for customers. They had a very loyal—and very short—list of clients. There was no need to expand their customer base; there were only so many imaginary creatures available to hire out.
This was the unique niche filled by Staffing Solutions. They took werewolves and placed them as nannies. Or found chef jobs for food oracles. They had once even hired a mage out as the Channel 7 meteorologist. In short, they did their best to find jobs in the human world for creatures with unique skill sets. The company’s nickname, given affectionately by its employees, was Scary Poppins, Inc.
Cleo sat at the reception desk just inside Staffing Solutions’ front door. She stared at her long, red-painted fingernails, looking bored. As one of the owners, she could have had a nice, big office. But as the official face of the company, she preferred to be the first person to greet her dedicated customers.
Her overly made up face brightened when Aiden entered. She sounded surprised as she asked, “You’re back already? You’ve only been there, what? Three days?”
“Two,” he corrected her. His stomach told him it was time for another sip of tea.
At the sound of his voice, two heads (a blonde and a brunette) popped up in the pair of cubicles situated behind Cleo’s big, tall desk. Both faces wore hopeful smiles. Seeing that it was Aiden, the blonde rolled her eyes and sat back down. The brunette hurried out of her cubicle to lounge against Cleo’s desk.
“Hi there, Aiden,” the brunette simpered.
“Hey, Britney,” Aiden muttered.
Cleo, meanwhile, was looking down at her schedule and shaking her head, making her sleek black bob shimmer in the harsh fluorescent light. She frowned. “You’re not on here.”
“I talked to him late yesterday. He said to come in first thing this morning.”
Cleo sighed and muttered, “He never tells me anything. Here I am, trying to keep things nice and orderly, and he goes doing all thes
e things without telling me. At least, I don’t think he told me.”
Making a conscious decision not to take sides, Aiden said nothing. He gave a commiserating smile and wandered over to the waiting area, outfitted with a contemporary black leather sofa and several beige armchairs. A square, glass coffee table, topped with neatly fanned magazines, was in the center of the seating area. The walls of Staffing Solutions were dove gray, the flooring a dark laminate. The décor was carefully chosen to be bland. By the looks of the place, no one would ever suspect what kind of people worked here.
“Can I get you anything?” Britney asked as Aiden took a seat on the sofa. “Coffee? Water? Cran-lemon-tomato juice?”
“No, thanks,” Aiden said, holding up his thermos to show that he was all set in the drink department. He placed it on the table and started thumbing through an old copy of People without really reading it, trying to make himself look unavailable for conversation.
“Oh. Okay then.” Britney looked downcast as she wandered back to her cubicle.
The magazine trick didn’t work with Cleo, who either didn’t notice or didn’t care that Aiden wanted some time alone with his thoughts. “So, seen Larry lately?” she asked. The blonde head immediately popped back up over its half-wall.
“Uh, no. I mean, not for a week or so. I’ve been busy moving in and getting settled with the Coopers.”
“He hasn’t even come over to see your new place yet?” the blonde interjected.
“No, Lindsay, he hasn’t. I should probably try to keep a little separation between work and, you know, vampires.” Lindsay rolled her eyes and sat back down.
Cleo let out a hearty chuckle. “Oh, he’s not bad for a vampire. At least he’s always seemed nice to me.”
“But you don’t have any blood,” Aiden reminded her.
She looked offended at this. A little too offended, as if it were an act. “Mr. Lynch, what a terrible thing to say to a lady.”
Aiden wasn’t sure how to respond. If she were kidding around, it would be easy enough to play along. If she were serious, though, he would be digging himself into a deep hole with one of his bosses.
Shadows of New York Page 3