“Gee, thanks for the tip, Mom.” He eyed me wryly, hiding his thousands of years like a pro. “Are you going to start hounding me about my piercings, too? I can call my mom, and the two of you can gang up on me . . .”
I snorted. I’d had no idea that Aset gave him a hard time for his rebel-without-a-cause appearance. I guessed a mother was a mother, whether her son was fifteen or five thousand.
“No, dummy,” I said, flashing him a cheeky grin. I reached out to touch the silver ring piercing his bottom lip, near the corner. “I happen to like your piercings,” I said, just brushing the warm metal with the pad of my thumb.
Nik’s expression changed, sobering until his stare became too intense.
I swallowed roughly, withdrawing my hand and shifting in my seat. I was pretty sure that was the first time I’d ever complimented him, and it stunned me how easy it had been to just reach out and touch him. How easy we’d become.
Was it the bond? Or was it just exhaustion from the shadows draining me, making my emotions less all over the place? Maybe Nik had always been easy around me, and my wild and wacky teenage hormones made me the difficult one. That possibility was a hard pill to swallow, though it sounded about right.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, surprising myself. “I don’t mean to be so . . .” I searched the windshield for the right words, not really seeing the scene of Americana beyond the glass. I shrugged. “Crazy, I guess.” I laughed under my breath, shaking my head. “I’d blame it on having the hormones of an eighteen-year-old, but that just sounds like an excuse.” I risked a quick glance at Nik, but the moment my eyes met his, I couldn’t look away.
He was watching me—no, studying me—not a hint of his usual smirk in sight. His eyes searched mine, the pale blue of his irises turned silver in the dim light. “You never cease to surprise me, Kitty Kat,” he said and raised his hand, molding his palm to my jaw and running his thumb along the line of my lips. “Please don’t ever stop being crazy.” That smirk made a brief appearance. “It’ll keep things interesting after a few hundred years . . .” He slipped just the tip of his thumb between my lips, making my pulse spike and my groin throb with need.
I gripped my knees, nails digging into my skin through my jeans.
Nik’s nostrils flared, and his pupils dilated, desire raw on his face. He licked his lips, his tongue lingering on his lip ring, and I caught the faintest glimmer of a metal ball on his tongue.
Nik had a tongue piercing? How had I never noticed? My need for him amplified as possibilities flitted through my mind.
He drew in a shaky breath, and I thought I caught a brief flash of wild fear in his eyes. He withdrew his hand and pushed the button to start the car. The electric engine whirred with a gentle hum, likely only detectable to our Nejeret ears.
I couldn’t stop staring at him. There’d always been a strange connection between us—now I recognized it as our souls’ perfect compatibility, the potential for us to share the oh-so-rare Nejeret bond—but this thing between us now . . . it was so intense that it was unreal. It was alive, almost like it had a will of its own. It was like I wasn’t in charge of myself anymore, and neither was Nik. Like we overrode the individuals we’d always been.
Was that where Nik’s thoughts had gone, too? Had that been the thing that sparked his fear? Because I wasn’t afraid.
I was terrified.
Chapter Twenty
We parked a couple blocks away from Ninth Life Ink. I hopped out of the car and squatted down in front of a naughty goods shop, doing my best homeless kid impression. I figured that ought to make me pretty much invisible.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Nik get out of the car. He emerged with his long leather coat and a pair of sunglasses, donned both, then reached back in through the open driver’s side door for the food. He shut the door and headed for the shop, more swagger in his little finger than I had in my whole body.
All I could think was: What the hell is he doing with me? There was no accounting for a soul’s taste, apparently.
Nik was in full-on superstar mode, and once a few people on the outskirts of the gathered crowd took notice, word that Nik—Nekure the Nejeret—was there spread like wildfire. People flocked closer to him, though it seemed like he was surrounded by an invisible force field with the way they all stopped short just out of arm’s reach. They might’ve adored him, but Nik gave off too much of a don’t-fuck-with-me vibe for the onlookers to get too close, let alone too grabby.
He moved through the crowd like Moses, the parting of the sea of people practically a divine miracle. As he made his way up the sidewalk, he was much less chummy than he’d been in the line at Dick’s, and I thought that only enticed the crowd even more. He was like a magnet, pulling them along with him. And, thankfully, away from me.
When he reached the block housing the Ninth Life, I stood, hands in my coat pockets and face angled down toward the sidewalk. Walking quickly, I rounded the corner of the block and headed for the alleyway behind the shops. The crowd was still sparse here, just a few stragglers heading in to join the fun or taking a break from all of the excited milling. I jogged across the street mid-block, ducking into the alley when I reached the other side. Just another block and a half to go.
Up ahead, the back door of one of the restaurants opened, emitting a cloud that smelled like Chinese-food heaven. My stomach growled, and I had to remind myself of the greasy fast-food feast waiting for me when I made it home.
Newly motivated by the rumble in my tummy, I hunched my shoulders, made my pace uneven, and cleared my throat every few steps, putting on my best junkie impression. That ought to keep whoever it was taking a smoke break from connecting the dots between the location, my apparel, and me.
When I reached the end of the alleyway, I skittered back a few steps and crouched down behind a particularly rank dumpster. A charter bus had just pulled up in the street ahead, getting as close as it could to the crowd before opening its door and spewing out a whole new wave of gatherers.
The crowd was still growing, and it was big enough now that it just reached the mouth of the alleyway. I couldn’t get to my home alley across the street without wading through the sea of people. Maintaining my junkie impression was probably my best bet if I wanted to continue on unnoticed.
So I shrugged out of my leather coat—it was far too recognizable—and balled it up inside out, holding it against my belly like it was the most precious thing to me in the world. Then, in just a hoodie and jeans, I stood, leaning heavily on the slimy edge of the dumpster and making about a thousand mental notes about showering when I made it into the apartment over the shop.
Crossing the street took forever, especially at my slow, seemingly aimless trundle. I took drug addict and made it into an art form. I coughed, sniffed, snorted, and groaned, playing the part for all I was worth. The promise of cheeseburgers lured me onward.
Much to my annoyance, a few of the humans gathered had wandered away from the crowd into the alley behind the strip of shops that included the Ninth Life. The closer I came to the shop’s back door, the more and more anxious I felt. Each time I passed someone, my stomach knotted and my trembling increased, but my outward nervousness probably only lent credence to my druggie act. Must’ve, because I made it to the door without being noticed.
Unfortunately, when I tugged on the door handle, I found that the door was locked. Of course it was. Kimi would’ve been a moron to leave it unlocked with all of the craziness out here. The only problem was—I didn’t have my keys.
Cursing mentally, I turned away from the door and shuffled along the brick exterior of the building, searching my balled-up leather coat for my phone. I figured a text to Nik wouldn’t do much good right about now, considering his sole focus needed to remain on working the crowd, and he was damn good at it. I didn’t want to distract him from his pretty damn epic misdirection. So I texted Kimi instead.
I’m at the back door. I need you to let me in. Now.
I s
ent the text and blew out a breath, barely able to resist sending furtive glances around to check if anyone was watching me. The waiting seemed to take eons. After about fifteen seconds, I crossed the narrow alley, heading for the dumpsters and squatting down between them. I figured their stinky cover would at least hide me from prying eyes.
“Hey, isn’t that the door to Ninth Life Ink?” one of the gawkers in the alleyway—a woman—said, voice hushed.
“Think so,” another woman said.
“Well, that chick just tried to open that door.” She and her friend were quiet for a moment, and I could only imagine the look they were exchanging. “Did you see her? Maybe I’m crazy, but I really think she could be her.”
Fuck. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my jaw. “Hurry up, Kimi,” I breathed.
I could hear two pairs of footsteps slowly drawing closer to my hiding spot.
“Come on . . .” I bounced on the balls of my feet, elbows on my knees, ready to spring up and run for it if I had to.
After a nerve-racking moment, the shop’s heavy back door creaked open a half of a foot, and Kimi’s face appeared in the crack. She peered through the opening into the dark alley.
I jumped up and rushed across the alley to the door, passing the two curious women on my way. Kimi shoved the door open, and I slipped in through the space before it swung closed again. I flipped the deadbolt as soon as the door was shut, breathing hard and heart racing. I rested my forehead against the door and laughed under my breath. Gods, but I was sick of this celebrity bullshit.
“Jesus, Kat, you look like hell,” Kimi said, touching my shoulder. She looked like your standard, trendy college chick, curly, brown hair pulled up in a loose bun, the vibrant ink on her exposed forearms giving her a slight edge. I was sure they loved that at the business school.
Again, I laughed that humorless laugh. “Thanks.”
Kimi was quiet for a few seconds. “What are you doing here?”
I inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Oh, you know . . .” I straightened and looked at her. “Just tempting fate. The usual.”
Kimi shook her head, her eyes opened wide. “Dude, it’s effing crazy out there today.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I don’t know what they’re all riled up about, but about ten minutes ago that crowd just went totally bonkers.”
The bell over the door out front jingled as the shop’s main door opened, momentarily letting in the roar of the crowd.
“That would be Nik,” I told Kimi and headed for the beaded curtain that had been in the shop since my mom’s day, back when it had been filled with all things mystical and magical. I peeked through the spaces between the strings of beads, double-checking that it was Nik who’d just come in. A tense smile curved my lips when I saw him. “Right on time.”
Someone tried to open the door behind Nik, but he pulled it shut, twisting the lock. He readjusted the bags of food and the drink tray he was carrying, then headed for the beaded curtain.
I backed away a step and turned to Kimi. “We’re going to stay here for a day or two,” I told her. “We’ll be upstairs. You won’t even notice we’re here.”
Kimi bit her lip, expression uncertain. “Do you want me to close down the shop?”
I shook my head. “Then they’ll know something’s up. Can’t have that.” I reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. “Just pretend we’re not here. That should keep things calm . . . ish.” I was a little worried about the two curious chicks from the alleyway—if they spread the word that someone who may or may not have been me had just slipped in through the back door, Nik and I would be taking off sooner rather than later.
Kimi’s expression was still uncertain, but she nodded. “Kat . . . is everything okay?”
I lowered my hand, meeting Nik’s eyes as he pushed through the curtain. “Nothing worse than usual.”
“So, that’s a no,” Kimi said, a mixture of amusement and concern lighting her eyes.
I flashed her a smile. “What can I say . . . I like to keep things interesting.” Turning away from her, I started to follow Nik up the narrow stairway to the door to the second-floor apartment, but I stopped on the third step up and looked back at Kimi. “Your sister goes to Newport, right?”
Kimi nodded. “Yeah—why?”
I frowned, brow furrowing. “Maybe tell her to play hooky for a few days.”
Kimi narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“I can’t really say, Kimi, but it’s for her safety. Please, just trust me.” I waited for her to nod again, then climbed the rest of the way up the staircase.
I may not have had the keys to unlock the multiple deadbolts barring the door, but when Nik was around, keys weren’t necessary. When I reached him at the top of the stairs, Nik handed me the food, then went to work unlocking the door.
Thirty seconds later, we were inside my apartment. The air smelled stale, but then, the place had been sealed up for a few weeks. I wished we could crack a window open, but that would’ve just let the crowd below know that somebody was up here. It would only get worse from there. At least we would be able to gateway out of here when it was time to go—the apartment was about as secure of a place as any to leave an open gateway to the Heru compound on Bainbridge.
Nik and I sat on the couch, pulling food out of the paper bags and spreading it out across the coffee table. He really had ordered a little bit of everything. There were deluxe burgers, cheeseburgers, hamburgers, fries, and a whole wad of ketchup packets, as well as the two paper cups filled with Cherry Coke and two more with milkshakes—strawberry, for him, and chocolate, for me.
Begrudgingly, I offered Nik one of the Cherry Cokes.
He declined with a shake of his head. “That shit tastes like chemicals,” he said, taking a sip of his milkshake.
Hands on his knees, Nik stood and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cupboard before moving out of sight. I heard him running the faucet, filling a glass with water, chugging it down, then filling the glass again. I’d already downed a deluxe burger and was halfway through a helping of fries by the time he returned with his glass of water and sat beside me on the couch once more.
We ate in companionable silence, which was surprising, because I would’ve expected me to be freaking out about pretty much everything that was going on. The crowd should’ve only made it worse, proof that I really would never get my old life back.
But I wasn’t freaking out. In fact, I felt surprisingly calm.
Sure, I had all of the usual thoughts—the usual worries—but they weren’t overtaking my mind like they’d been hours earlier. It was like I’d transformed into a normal person, a version of me who could control herself. A version of me who didn’t have crazy emotions flailing all over the place all the time. A version of me who’d grown into a real live adult, shedding the shell of the eternal teenager. I wondered if the life-force-sucking shadow souls were to thank. Maybe they’d drained more than just energy from my soul; maybe they’d drained some of the excess emotional energy usually flooding my body as well.
Inspired by my newfound maturity, I decided to do the most grown-up thing I could think of; it was time to stop hiding from my problems and start talking about them instead. I wiped the crumbs and grease from my fingers onto a paper napkin, then crumpled it up and stored it in the paper bag we’d been using as a garbage.
“What are we going to do, Nik?” I asked, meeting his eyes. “About us, I mean—about the bond.”
One corner of Nik’s mouth turned down in a partial frown, like my question had caught him off guard. Or maybe it was the straightforward, levelheaded nature of the question.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. He was quiet for a moment, mulling over our predicament. “I know I said it wouldn’t work, but maybe when things calm down at the school, we can test out the separation theory and see if the bond isn’t fully formed yet. If there’s even a chance . . .” He paused. “I think we should try it.”
His words w
ere a jab at my heart, disappointment an unexpected lump in my throat. But even through the hurt, I knew his proposal was the sensible thing to do. Besides, I couldn’t be too upset; it had been my idea first, after all.
“So,” I said, “we’ll cool things off for a bit.” I flashed him the tiniest of smiles.
“Yeah.” He returned the smile, but it never reached his eyes. I doubted mine had either. “That’s probably for the best.”
Business taken care of—for now—we cleaned up, which basically consisted of putting wrappers into paper bags and shoving the whole thing into the garbage can under the sink. I considered reaching into the booze cupboard over the fridge and spending the rest of the evening drinking whatever random bourbon was in there, but the idea was weirdly unappealing. I was tired. All I wanted was sleep . . . maybe a year or two of sleep. Or a hundred years.
I showered, brushed my teeth, and changed into a T-shirt I’d borrowed from Nik, since all of my clothes had been moved to my room in the house on Bainbridge. The shirt was dark gray and reached midthigh, so it didn’t really matter that I was going commando when I emerged from the bedroom, a wad of dirty clothes in hand. I padded down the hallway to the closet that housed the washer and dryer, stuffed my clothes into the washer with some detergent, and spun the dial to get the washer started before heading back to my room.
Nik was already settled on the couch, his eyes closed, the rise and fall of his chest shallow and even. He was either asleep or doing a damn good job pretending to be, so I did my best not to disturb him on my way back to the bedroom.
I crawled into the bed for the first time in what felt like forever. The mattress wasn’t fancy or new, and the sheets weren’t a very high thread count—hell, they probably weren’t even clean, since Nik had been staying at the apartment off and on in my absence—but it was my bed. And it felt awesome to be lying there.
The Kat Dubois Chronicles: The Complete Series (Echo World Book 2) Page 68