by Jackie May
“Not a date, then,” Parker persists. “Consider it a business meeting. We’re both working on the same case, and we can help each other.”
Tempting. Very tempting. I almost say yes. But I just can’t disregard years of bad experiences and gut instinct. “Or…you could just tell me what you know now, and I won’t have to wait for dark to get to work.”
Parker sighs. “The plates were fake,” he says.
“What?”
“The license number you gave me belongs to the minivan of a soccer mom in Plymouth.”
My heart sinks. That was our only lead. “You’re certain?”
“100 percent. It was most likely an illusion spell.”
“Magic?”
“Yes. The club’s cameras and the street cameras were all spelled out of commission that night, too.”
I leave the kitchen and start pacing in the living room. This doesn’t make any sense. But it does go along with the vision I had of the guy who took Shandra. He’d breathed something in her face that knocked her out. I’d assumed drugs of some kind, but maybe he was using magic. “So we’re looking for a sorcerer.”
“One who’s stealing underworlders,” Parker says. “Though I can’t imagine why.”
I thought about the two guys in my vision, and their conversation. “It was like they were collecting them—different kinds of underworlders, I mean. They were really excited to have a troll. I guess that’s pretty uncommon.”
“And dangerous. Trolls have unbelievable strength and stamina. And they’re fiercely loyal to each other. Mess with one troll, mess with their whole clan.”
“Then why risk it? Why do they want them? For what?”
“I don’t know.”
Parker yawns, and I realize the wariness in his voice is probably just fatigue. It’s the middle of the night for him, and the fact that he can be awake at all while the sun is up means he’s a very powerful vampire. I feel bad for disturbing his sleep. “Sorry. I know you’re tired.”
“I am. It’s very hard for vampires to be awake in the daytime. I won’t last much longer. But if you would just meet me tonight, we could go over all of this together.”
I still don’t want to, but he has a point. If I can’t find anything else out today, I might have to. “Call me when you wake up, and we’ll see.”
Parker chuckles. The sound gives me shivers. “Strictly professional. You have my word.”
“We’ll see,” I say again. “No promises. And no Henry. Don’t you dare give him this number. Don’t even tell him I called. Or any other vampire, either. At all. Just you. I mean it.”
“You have my word, Nora. I’ll call you around eight.”
I swallow back dread as I hang up the phone. What did I just do? Did I just make a date with the devil? It’s not a date. I didn’t even promise to meet him.
I continue to rage a war with my inner thoughts as I google Greek life and start sifting through different fraternity images. If the license plate number on the car was a fake, the only other lead I have is the sticker that was on the back windshield. I can’t exactly remember the symbols, but I’d know them if I saw them.
I look through photo after photo and don’t see what I’m looking for. I look on several sites that list all the Greek fraternities and sororities and still can’t find the image I remember. But I would swear that’s what that window decal was for.
Before giving up, I have one last idea. I turn on my chat and smile when I see that my only contact is online. Knowing the face behind the screen name is still surreal. It makes me feel shy as I send a message to my longtime guardian angel.
PsychoPsychic: Hey…Oliver.
I immediately get a reply.
SorcererX: Nora! I’m glad to hear from you. I was worried about you going home with your neighbor after you and all…is everything okay?
His concern warms me. I might have five contacts in my phone, but at the moment there are only two people in the world I trust—Oliver and Terrance.
PsychoPsychic: Actually, I’m pretty great. Terrance wouldn’t let me stay there anymore. He’s putting me up at his place until I decide where I’m headed.
SorcererX: TERRANCE??????? The TROLL took you in?
PsychoPsychic: It’s okay. I know he’s a troll, and I know they’re dangerous, but I swear he won’t hurt me. I don’t know how I know, I just do. I actually slept better last night than I ever have. I’m safe here, Oliver. I promise.
SorcererX: Of course you’re safe. Terrance took you in. That’s not what I meant. I’m just surprised. Nora, him bringing you home is a BIG deal. You’re under his protection now. You’re probably safer than most underworlders in this city. I can’t believe he took you in. That’s CRAZY. I’m glad, though. I’m glad you’re safe now.
I laugh at his shock. I guess it really is unusual for Terrance to bring home guests.
PsychoPsychic: Thanks. Me too, though I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept. Anyway, listen, you said you were taking criminal justice classes. Does that mean you go to Wayne State U?
SorcererX: Yeah. Finishing up my master’s here. Not my school of choice, but my budget disagrees.
I laugh. I know how it feels to settle for less than what you want because you’re strapped for cash.
PsychoPsychic: Are you on campus now?
SorcererX: Yeah, my last class just ended. I usually head to the library by your place to do my homework right about now, but I guess I don’t need to go all the way over there, since you won’t be there. Why? You need something?
I hesitate before I respond, my heart speeding up at what I’m about to ask him. The idea of hanging out with Oliver in person is both exciting and terrifying. Right now, as things are, we could still continue to be just random Internet buddies. He can keep feeding me info about the underworld and answering my questions, but things would stay the same. If I ask him to meet me, that changes things. Then, I’m acknowledging our friendship as something more. Something real. I’ve never had a real friend before. He would be my first.
“Suck it up, Nora,” I whisper to myself. “It’ll be fine. He already knows your secret. You don’t have to hide from him, so maybe he could be a real friend.”
With a deep breath, I reply to his question and try not to have a heart attack.
PsychoPsychic: I need to go over there and check something out. I thought maybe if you’re there already, you could give me a tour? Help me find what I’m looking for?
SorcererX: Of course. I’d love to.
I wince. Oliver is going to be hard to have as just a friend. Normally his interest in me would have me running for the hills, but I like Oliver. I want to find a way to be friends without hurting him.
PsychoPsychic: Thanks. I’m on my way. T-man gave me your phone number, so I’ll text you when I get there.
Sighing, I close the laptop and grab the set of keys from the counter. I still can’t believe Terrance is letting me use his car. I’ll try not to make a habit of it, but for now it’s my only option. I’m a good seven or eight miles from the college right now, and I don’t know the bus routes on this end of town. I doubt there’s a stop anywhere near me, anyway. I’m under the bridge, for heaven’s sake.
As I leave, I’m shocked to find the stairs to the exit are already lit up with built-in overhead lights that give off a soft glow like the rest of the house. When the hell did Terrance have time to install a whole lighting system?
An even bigger shock comes when I get outside and click the lock button on the car key fob Terrance left me. After taking a moment to let my eyes adjust to the harsh afternoon daylight, I realize the key on my ring is not for his candy-apple red Caddie. It belongs to the smaller silver sporty-looking coupe parked next to it. This car is a Cadillac, too, and I happen to know it’s an expensive one. Not as expensive as Terrance’s, but close.
My stomach drops as suspicion creeps in. I hadn’t seen a second car parked out here last night. I scan the temporary license sticker in the ba
ck window and curse. He’d bought the car this morning. He’d purchased a whole second car just so that I’d have something to drive, even when I told him I don’t plan on sticking around more than a few days. “Damn you, Terrance,” I whisper as I walk around to the driver’s side.
It was a kind gesture, but I hate feeling beholden to anyone, and how could I possibly not be indebted to Terrance for this?
Oh, well. Nothing to do about it at the moment. I’m not going to wake him up to argue with him when he was awake all night making sure I was taken care of. And he’d probably be insulted if I refused to use the car, so I climb behind the wheel and head over to the college in the nicest car I’ve ever driven.
I’m in heaven with each acceleration, each stop, and each turn I make. I get to the college way too soon and find the visitor’s parking lot. I’m afraid for such a nice car to be parked in Detroit, but as I get out and lock it, I feel the slight zing of magic surrounding it. I smile to myself. It’s protected by wards. I’m not sure what they do—do they make people not see it, or zap them if they’re not supposed to touch it and do—but I know it’s safe to leave it where it is.
I head toward the nearest building, about to text Oliver when he calls my name. He’s wearing jeans and a Zelda hoodie. I recognize him instantly. His warm amber eyes are locked on me, sparkling with delight, and his smile is wider than I’ve ever seen it.
“Oliver!” I wave and close the distance between us quickly. “Hey! How’d you find me so fast?”
He shrugs. “I traced your phone number. I saw you park in this lot.”
I cock a brow at him. Tracing phone numbers? So he’s a bit of a computer hacker? Honestly, I’m not surprised. “Sorry.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “It’s just, this isn’t the best neighborhood, and now that the underworld knows about you, people are going to be curious. Not all of us are nocturnal.”
Sighing, I give him a small smile so he knows I’m not upset. “Looking out for me, as always.”
The twinkle in his eyes comes back. “Of course. Always, Nora. I promise.”
I have no idea what to say to that, so I clear my throat and shrug toward campus. “Okay, so here’s the thing…I need to find a fraternity.”
Oliver jerks his head back and gives me a peculiar look. “I think you mean sorority, and you’re interested in rushing?”
I shake my head, thinking back to my vision and the meatheads who stole Shandra. “Oh, no, I mean a frat.” I shoot Oliver a look as dry as my next question. “And do I seem like someone who would rush a sorority to you?”
Oliver grins. “No.”
“No is right. We’re not here to rush, Oliver, we’re looking for clues. The car Shandra was taken in had a decal on the back window. It looked like the Greek letters of a fraternity name, but I couldn’t find it on Google. I’m hoping since Wayne State is the only university in the area, the sticker I saw belongs to a fraternity here. If we find the fraternity, we find the car. We find the car, I can do my Sherlock thing and find the clues.”
“We?” Oliver asks in a quiet voice as he holds the straps of his backpack.
I can’t tell if he’s nervous because he doesn’t want to get involved, or because I invited him along. “Well, I suppose you don’t have to play Watson to my Sherlock, if you don’t want to,” I say. “It might get dangerous. Powerful underworlders are getting snatched, and Nick Gorgeous mentioned you’re crazy-ass strong. These psychos might want you. Maybe you should just point me to the student union and—”
“No, I want to help,” Oliver blurts. “I was just surprised you’d include me.”
“Why?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Nora, but…well…you’re a loner. You aren’t the type to work with a partner or ask for backup.”
He’s not wrong about that, but what he doesn’t know is that I’ve always been a loner out of necessity. “Only because I’ve never had anyone I could trust with my secret before.”
“You can trust me, Nora,” Oliver says quietly.
His declaration makes me feel all kinds of emotions I’m not used to experiencing. Warm and fuzzy are not words I’d use to describe my life.
Ignoring the heat in my cheeks, I casually bump his shoulder with mine. “I know I can, or I wouldn’t have called you.” There’s a brief, awkward pause, which I break up with a clap of my hands. “Come along, Watson. We’ve got a troll to find.”
Even though Wayne State University is no Notre Dame, it’s still fun to be walking around campus with Oliver as if I belong here. It makes me wish this were my life—that I was normal, and had friends, and went to college. I almost see myself graduating, getting a job, having a boyfriend. For the moment, I feel normal. Of course, I’m a psychic strolling across campus with a sorcerer, looking for a group of supernatural kidnappers who’ve snatched my troll roommate’s potential mate, so…normal is relative, I guess.
“You’re in luck, because it’s Rush Week right now,” Oliver says as we move into what seems to be the main quad. It’s full of tables and booths all advertising different sororities and fraternities. “Every Greek organization affiliated with Wayne State will have representatives here. We’ll just start at one end and work our way around the quad.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Oliver smiles, lighting up his whole face. When he offers me a hand to hold, as if this were a date, I grimace and shake my head. “Sorry. I’ve got a no touching policy. Unless you want me to hear every thought in your head.”
Oliver’s face heats up, and he matches my grimace. “Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
I try to smile, but the mood has slipped into awkward territory. Surprisingly, Oliver is the one to drive us back into comfortable conversation. “You can’t turn your gift off, then?”
I shake my head, grateful that I have to be paying attention to all of the booth banners so I don’t have to maintain eye contact. “I wish. That would make my life a hell of a lot easier.”
“What about clothes? Does it work through material, or do long sleeves, gloves, and things stop it?”
“Mostly. But I hate gloves. I hate having my fingers restricted, and I really don’t like to draw attention to myself any more than I have to. It’s bad enough I’m a small white girl living in inner city Detroit.”
Oliver sighs. “That’s true. I guess I don’t blame you. But…don’t you ever crave human touch?”
No way am I answering that question. I stop to look loosely at a yellow banner advertising a fraternity.
“That it?” Oliver asks, following my gaze when I stop walking.
After a moment, I shake my head. “I think it looks similar, but the symbols were different. I’m sure of it.”
Oliver heads over to the booth. It’s being manned by a couple of tall, well-built guys—one white and one black. Both look like basketball players. They’re leaner than the meatheads from my vision, and they seem like they’re slightly more intelligent, even though all the pictures at their booth are of raging parties.
They both eye skinny, geeky Oliver warily. “Hey, bro. You looking to join up?” the black guy asks.
He’s good looking, but his condescension toward Oliver pisses me off. As if he can feel me seething, he looks my way and then does a double take before grinning widely at Oliver. “Damn, man, your girl is fine.”
I know Oliver is about to correct his assumption that I’m his girlfriend, so I jump into the conversation before that can happen. “Thanks.”
The white guy joins the conversation, grinning widely at me. “Hey, beautiful, whatcha doin’ with this joker?”
My jaw drops. Are these guys for real? At least Oliver doesn’t seem to care about this guy’s low opinion. He slides me a sideways glance and gives me an eye roll that makes me smirk. I move close to Oliver and slip my arm around his waist. He glances curiously at me but follows my lead, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He’s so considerate that he’s careful to only touch my sleeve. “Haven’t you boys hear
d the news?” I ask. “Geeks are totally in now. And I’ll have you know that not only is my man brilliant, fun, and a god between the sheets, he’s powerful, too.”
Both guys’ mouths fall open, and their eyebrows climb up their foreheads. I shoot them a smug smirk and lean in closer to Oliver. “Oh, yeah. He’s got his own brand of self-defense. He could kick both your asses to defend me—kill you if he had to.”
I give Oliver a knowing wink. He had come to my defense before, and maybe he doesn’t use his magic anymore, but I have no doubt he would if my life were in question. My praise makes him squeeze my shoulders. “And it’s a good thing, too,” he teases me, “as much as you find trouble.”
“Very true.” I chuckle. Oliver is kind of hot when he’s being assertive. Maybe I misread him before. Maybe he’s not shy like I thought, but just introverted.
Both frat boys get over their shock and laugh along with us. They’re eyeing Oliver differently now, with curiosity and respect. “Okay, okay, shorty,” the first guy says to me. “We get you. No offense meant. So…” He turns his attention back to Oliver. “You looking to pledge?”
I give Oliver a questioning look that he snorts at. It makes me laugh. Man, this having a friend thing is awesome. “Actually,” I say, and Oliver happily lets me answer for him, “we were looking for a specific fraternity. I thought maybe it was you guys, but I can see now it’s not. Do you guys know of another house that has a logo similar to yours? Same yellow color, but the symbols were different. Loopier somehow.”
The white guy scoffs, and the black guy glares at nothing in particular. “Are you talking about those punk-ass poser bitches?” he asks.
I perk up at this. “So you do know them?”
The white guy shakes his head. “Those jokers made up their own house and walk around like they’re all legit, but they aren’t even Greek.”
“Girl, you don’t want nothing to do with them. They ain’t right. More like a cult than a frat, and they get rough.”
“I’ve heard their parties get weird. Real freaks, you know?”