Shapeshifted (An Edie Spence Novel)
Page 26
“Tomorrow night okay? Unless you have a hot date, that is,” she teased.
I made a face. For once I actually might, but I knew Asher would understand. Besides, my mom went to bed pretty early. “Tomorrow night’s fine.”
Her face wrinkled, and she squinted with a little worry. “Can I invite Jake?”
“Of course. You don’t have to ask, Mom. I’ll even bring something he likes to eat this time.”
My brother’s weight lifted, she smiled even more widely at me. “Thanks, Edie. I like it when we feel like a family.”
“Me too.” I leaned in and hugged her close. “Hey—hang on, Mom.” I pulled back a little and leaned out the doorway to wave down the street to Asher, gesturing for him to get out of his car and come down the street, and I gave my mom a silly grin. “I have someone for you to meet.”
* * *
I went back downtown with a bouquet of flowers to get my car the next day, surprised to find it intact. What, no one wanted to see what treasures were hiding in a Chevy? I opened the door, and heard someone shout my name.
“Edie!” It was Olympio, again on his bike. “I was waiting for you! I figured you’d come yesterday.”
“Sorry. I was busy.” I hadn’t left Asher’s bed for one blissful day. Even just sleeping beside him was nice. But today was back to being a grown-up, and dealing with things.
“Who’re the flowers for?”
“For Ti. I don’t think they’re going to find a body.” And if they did, they wouldn’t know whose it was. I’d try to find out where his wife was buried and put them together if I could, but I didn’t have enough to go on about his past. I’d borrowed Asher’s laptop this morning to try, but no luck. Besides, as my mother was fond of telling me, bodies were just our mortal shells. If there was any fairness in the world, Ti was already with his wife wherever they’d wanted to be. Now that I was with Asher, I was more inclined to believe things could be fair. Maybe.
“You want me to go with you?” Olympio offered.
“You got a lock for that bike?”
Olympio tsked at me. “Nobody’s going to steal it.”
“Because you’re the world’s greatest curandero now?”
“Exactly.” He leaned it against my car, and together we went back down to the ditch’s side.
* * *
The weather had gotten better immediately after our battle, and all the drainage had done its job. Now there were only long shallow puddles and muddy debris to prove it’d ever rained. We reached the bottom and walked up to the three metal mouths. The sun was coming up behind them, so the retaining wall cast shadows, and the tunnels—I didn’t think anyone could talk me into going into a tunnel ever again.
“Do you want to say anything?” Olympio asked when we’d reached the shadow’s edge.
“Not really.” I didn’t want to pray, and I didn’t know what to say. Ti’d been a good man for almost a century. It didn’t matter that his heart wasn’t beating for half of it. I walked forward, leaving Olympio behind. I reached the middle entrance and threw the flowers inside it. I heard them land with a splash, and knew they’d be there until the next rain. “I’ll always think of you when I see storms,” I said softly.
“How sweet,” a voice in the tunnel echoed back.
I jumped, but Olympio must have taken my movement for grief; he didn’t rush in. Which was good, because I didn’t want him seeing what I knew I’d see next. He’d already seen enough strange.
“Ahhhh,” the Shadows hissed in an imitation of sympathy. “We didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Why’re you here?” I wanted to tell them to get out—they didn’t deserve to be anywhere near Ti.
“Because. We entered into a pact. You did find Santa Muerte after all,” their voices murmured, interspersed with dripping sounds. “She is not ours, but we are bound by technicalities. So we talk now, as we said we would.”
“What do you want?” There was no way they’d be talking to me if they didn’t want something from me. I knew how they played the game.
“There’s been a little accident on Y4. We could use you there again. In exchange for helping your mother, of course.”
Forty-eight hours ago I would have jumped at that chance.
But the events of the past two weeks had changed me. I stared into the blackness of the tunnels where the Shadows lurked, only now willing to offer their aid. As much as I still wanted to save my mom the easy way—probably the only way, whispered the darkest part of my heart—my mother wouldn’t want her life to come at the cost of mine.
Which is what it would be, if I went back to Y4 under the Shadows’ yoke.
I’d come so close to death this time. Next time—would I make it? It all came pressing down on me. I’d had to weigh so many options and choose between lives since I’d arrived here. How much longer could I press my luck before it ran out?
I was close to a normal life here, with my job and Asher, and I knew it. As close as someone like me would ever come. And that was what my mother really wanted for me.
I chose me.
“We’ll see,” I told the darkness inside the tunnel mouth.
“We’ll see?” they mimicked back. “We’ll see?” Their multivoice raised harshly, and then ended in a laugh. “We’ll see, indeed.”
I stepped away from the tunnel entrance. With Ti’s body gone, there was nothing for me down here now.
Olympio still waited politely, just out of the Shadows’ reach. “Everything go okay?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll say an oración for him later.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” I smiled down at him. “You’re awesome, Olympio.”
He patted himself like it was no big deal. “I know.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
And so now things are normal. Ish. As normal as I’ve ever had them before. Shadows don’t talk to me, I haven’t seen a vampire in three months, and Asher wants me to move in with him, which is good because I practically live over there anyhow and Minnie is royally pissed off at me. Asher can change safely into Hector—we haven’t tried anyone past that—and he still works at the clinic and no one else knows. Catrina was discharged from County into Adriana’s waiting arms.
My mom’s condition stabilized. The tumors are still inoperable, but they’re no longer growing. I don’t know who I have to thank for that—God, Santa Muerte, science, or luck—but I’ll take it. It’s good.
I still miss it sometimes, though.
I like to think I’d go back someday because I want to. Not because anyone owes me, or I owe anyone else, especially not the Shadows. But, well.
You never know.
Don’t miss the next book in the Edie Spence series by
CASSIE ALEXANDER
DEADSHIFTED
Coming soon from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
And for more of the nightshift don’t miss …
NIGHTSHIFTED
and
MOONSHIFTED
… the first two Edie Spence novels.
Available now from St. Martin’s Paperbacks!
Also by Cassie Alexander
Nightshifted
Moonshifted
Praise for the Edie Spence series by Cassie Alexander
“Dark and clever full-moon insanity that will get into your blood, crawl under your skin, and haunt your dreams.”
—Sherrilyn Kenyon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dark-Hunter series
“The best debut I’ve read all year. Nightshifted is simply amazing!”
—Kat Richardson, bestselling author of the Greywalker series
“Nightshifted’s main character, Nurse Edie Spence, has a distinctive, appealing, and no-nonsense style that you won’t quickly forget. Add to that a paranormal population that needs medical care for some very odd reasons, and you have a winner of a debut novel.”
—Kate Elliott, author of the Cold Magic series
“Fresh, exciting, dark, and sexy, Nightshifte
d is excellent urban fantasy that grabs you by the throat and pulls you along for a wild ride. Cassie Alexander is an author to watch!”
—Diana Rowland, author of Mark of the Demon
“There’s so much paranormal stuff out there that I often find myself longing for some true urban fantasy. Nightshifted is the one I was starving for. It’s gritty and dark, its heroine jaded and tough, and both of them are studded with moments of humor and human frailty.”
—Angie-ville.com
“Medical drama and vampire cold wars intersect in this solid urban fantasy debut. Alexander’s zombies are particularly well designed, and the hospital environment adds an intriguing additional dimension. Edie’s life is full of hard knocks … and her gradual development into a character who can allow others to care for her is satisfying.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Nightshifted is like a dark and twisted version of Grey’s Anatomy with vampires, zombies, and werewolves taking up residence in County Hospital’s Y4 wing … The story moves at a similar pace to a hospital setting where there are small lulls in action with sudden, even frantic bursts of action. That sort of pacing made Nightshifted an exciting read as I was constantly on edge, waiting to see what was going to happen next.”
—All Things Urban Fantasy
“I loved this book. What a breath of fresh air! A memorable scene with an STD-afflicted dragon (yup) had me on the edge of my seat, the budding romance with Ti (zombie firefighter!) is sweet and tender, and I just plain loved hanging out with Edie. Nightshifted is a very strong start to what promises to be a wonderful new series!”
—My Bookish Ways
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In addition to being a writer, Cassie Alexander is an active registered nurse. All of her patients are of the human variety … she thinks. Visit her on the Web at www.cassiealexander.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
SHAPESHIFTED
Copyright © 2013 by Erin Cashier.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781466823976
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / June 2013
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.