I grit my teeth.
The steering wheel creaks beneath my grip.
“It’s not my fault. Damn it, she would have freaked out too. I know she would have. Six years and then shark week, out of nowhere? Come on.”
Norma belts out the last chorus with another resounding shriek of my name, then trails off with another soft cackle.
Another song begins, but I turn it right down, occasionally glancing at Norma as I continue.
“I mean at least I know why my body feels like crap now. No wonder I didn’t recognize the feelings. It’s been so long.”
“Karson.”
“Exactly. Back pain, stiffness, fatigue? I won’t lie, I didn’t miss all of that stuff.”
“Son son.”
The traffic lights ahead of me shift in my favour, and I ease the car forward again, aiming deeper into Misona.
The streets are fuller now, but shabbier and darker despite the growing natural light. Wandering figures clog the pavement in varied shapes and sizes.
“I’ll have to ask Pippa when she wakes up. I bet she’ll know what’s going on. Or at least have a test to figure out why my body is being so weird.”
“Nika?”
“Yep. Though not if she keeps telling me I smell. Rude.”
Two hunched figures in tattered clothing start hobbling across the road several yards ahead, and I slow to let them go safely.
They still have that graceful edane glide, but it seems off balance somehow. Awkward in a way I rarely see.
They aren’t the only ones either. Others huddled in doorways or leaning against burnt out cars, they all seem to be moving in a slow, unsteady way.
“Though I bet that would get Mum’s attention, right? I could open a conversation with that…if she ever picked up the phone. ‘Hey, Mum, guess what, my periods are back. Oh, still no grandkids though. I remain as gay as they come and my girlfriend is a vampire.’”
Norma lowers her tail, her cackles fading off to the soft chittering her species is named for.
My car rumbles.
I take a left turn. Cross a roundabout.
“What am I going to do, Norma? Why is everything so bloody difficult?”
“Dan dan-dan? Dan…dan…dan…kar…dan…ka…ka…”
“What?”
I chance a look at my pet.
Slam the brakes.
Norma has curled herself into a tight, scaly ball. Her wings are down and pressed tight to her back, the barbed tail almost vanished beneath her body which is shaking all over.
“Norma? Baby?”
She turns to me, head barely lifting, both eyes wide and bright.
“Norma—”
A stunning impact rocks my car.
My seat belt tightens, saving me from hitting the steering column, but the top of my head cracks hard against the ceiling.
“What the hell?”
Thud. Thud. Creak.
Norma curls tighter still into her ball, even the chittering sound vanished and replaced by a groaning moan.
Creak. Crunch.
Something hard pokes the top of my head, followed by a squealing shriek of twisting metal.
I look up.
“Oh, hell.”
The ceiling is dented by a good three inches, and a ring-shaped set of punctures dents the scuzzy fabric lining off to the left.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Crunch.
A face appears beyond my windscreen, upside down and misshapen with fur bristling from features all mixed up and stretched.
There’s a werewolf on my car. A werewolf in hybrid form gazing hungrily through my creaking windscreen.
“Oi. Get off my fucking car.”
One huge, furry fist pulls back. Massive fangs glisten with sticky saliva.
The car roars as I floor the accelerator. Gears grind and cha-chunk through their sequence as I force the vehicle into reverse.
Tyres squeal.
The wolf yips.
Again my seat belt tightens, this time against abrupt backward momentum as the car slaloms along the street.
The werewolf clinging to my roof howls, a mix of surprise and fury, then clings for dear life as I increase the speed.
Brakes.
Another yelp and the werewolf shoots back out of view.
It tumbles thud-thud-smack across the roof, then slides down the rear glass out of sight.
I suck a hard breath through my nose.
What the hell is going on?
Howling. Lots of it. From every direction.
A glance through my side window shows humanoid figures stepping out from shadows between buildings. Humanoid figures with overlong arms and huge, thick legs.
“Dan…dan…dan…dan…dan…dan…dan…”
I grab Norma by the scruff and stuff her into my T-shirt. It’s like trying to cuddle an unwilling iguana, but at least she’s safe in there.
Her trembles continue against my stomach.
More gear grinding and the car rockets forward, this time with control and purpose. I heave on the handbrake for a Tarmac-scorching turn then continue, back the way I came.
Werewolves. Everywhere. Some changed, some not, all of them glaring at my car like a packed lunch box.
One darts at my window, forcing me to swing wide to escape. The off side clips a set of tall black bins and sends them careening down the once-abandoned pavement.
I grip tighter.
“Dan…dan…dan…dan…dan…”
“It’s okay, baby, I’m here.”
Another daring leap from a werewolf sends me in the other direction, this time sheering along the side of a parked car. Sparks fountain like a spray of celebratory fireworks and the acrid scent of charred paint stings my nose.
Not far now.
The roundabout I used to enter this area marks the end of pack territory. They shouldn’t follow me beyond that.
Shouldn’t.
Thud-thud.
More roof action.
This time I’ve no choice but to ignore it. A glance in my mirror tells me that.
There are seven wolves back there, and that’s only the ones I can see. Another trick with my brakes will make it far too easy for them to catch up, and I know I don’t want that to happen.
The lump of trembling scales against my stomach mumbles something, the words mostly lost in my belly button.
I try weaving back and forth, anything to dislodge the beast clinging to my roof. More thudding tells me this one has a better grip than the first.
Almost to the roundabout.
Just another seventy feet.
Cold air screams through my back window, chasing a scatter of glittering glass pellets. Some hit my cheeks, more shower down the back of my collar, and again I wrench at the wheel.
“Will you all piss off!”
An angry roar answers my plea.
Something pulls my hair.
I send the car the other way.
The pulling eases.
Fifty feet.
A figure steps out in front. Seven feet tall, at least, with heavy grey fur and arms like tree trunks. Tight, taut breasts are just visible beneath all that fur, and the huge bush of a thick tail shows between the wide spread legs.
It points, such a normal gesture, made terrifying and grotesque by the body behind it.
“Not welcome,” it yells. “Leave.”
“I’m bloody trying.”
Thirty feet.
At the last possible moment, the hybrid wolf steps back and out of range of my car, though not without raking massive black claws down the side of my paintwork.
More sparks fly and I find myself wondering how I’m going to explain this mess to Pippa.
Ten feet.
The wolf on my roof makes one more snatch at my hair then leaps away with a graceful bound.
The shift in weight makes my entire car bounce, and the suspension groans in protest.
I pass the roundabout by simply driving over the painted white circle, taking myself ou
t of pack territory and back into relative safety.
It’s a mile on before I can convince myself to stop. I do so against the side of the road, a haphazard parking fail that would no doubt earn me a ticket, if anybody cared.
One by one, I peel my fingers off the steering wheel, then allow myself to sit back.
Relieved breath leaves my mouth in a long, shuddering sigh.
Norma’s head pops out through the neck of my T-shirt. She eyes me haughtily before climbing all the way through and sitting on my lap with her wings flared.
“Karson,” she snaps. I get the feeling she’s yelling at me.
She’s right to be angry of course. I should have been paying better attention to my surroundings. Guess I’m more distracted than I thought.
“I’m sorry.”
“Nika. Ka, ka dan.”
“What? They didn’t get us, did they? We’re fine.”
She looks pointedly past me to the shattered back window. She may not be able to talk or even understand me fully, but I know full well what that look means.
Ugh.
“Okay, fine, I dropped the ball. Happy?”
“Dan-dan.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, now we’re definitely late.”
After one last reproachful look, Norma returns to her seat on the passenger side and her previous upright position. Her tail jabs at the volume dial on the radio.
I obey the silent order and increase the volume, but this time, when the latest teen angst track begins in earnest, I can’t bring myself to sing.
Chapter Four
“Authorised. Agent Karson, Danika. Agent ID A2024001904K06.”
I roll my eyes and step through the large hydraulic doors without comment.
SPEAR HQ opens up before me, a loud, bustling open space filled with desks, chairs, and the other administrative decor that belies the true nature of the place.
I wipe the holy water from the scanners off my chin and let Norma enjoy a little shake to do the same. Strictly speaking, she shouldn’t come through the security portal with me and the system knows that full well.
Then again, strictly speaking, I shouldn’t have her at all.
She takes off with a flutter of her wings, bobbing across the open space toward my new desk near one of the far walls. Several other chittarik come down to greet her, and the sparrow-like flock fly on together, yelling and chittering as they go.
I pull my ID lanyard from the pocket of my jeans and thread it through the loops on my waistband. Yeah, sure, it should be on my neck, but I still dislike the idea of carrying my own potential garrotte wire, thank you very much.
It’s still strange to hear and see the changes in my identification, as if anybody would be crazy enough to put an entire sub-team of agents under my command. But there it is. Kappa team, otherwise known as Special Ops. Otherwise known as “Keep Karson out of our hair for a couple of hours.”
I’m not stupid.
Now the initial excitement has worn off, it’s plain to anyone who cares to pay attention that the new Kappa team is a dumping ground for troublesome agents. I mean, with me at the head, what else could it be?
As I fight off the daily grump about internal SPEAR politics, I spy a tall, grinning figure with a set of five kunai in his left hand. He hurls one in my direction with a wordless yell and runs across the open space.
Again? Really?
The mini throwing knife goes wide, but it’s only a distraction against the other two already in motion.
I drop to a crouch and spin out to the right, grunting at the little twinge of pain from my back.
The second and third kunai hit the wall above my head, but I’m already gone, swinging back left to avoid the fourth which strikes the ground where my hand had been split seconds previous.
He’s almost on me now, his long ponytail flapping on his own slipstream as he bears down with the fifth blade.
Another swing of my legs, like a breakdancer with my weight on my hands. My momentum gives me speed and I lash out with my heels one after the after, each striking his wrist to send the final kunai flying out of reach.
When he stumbles, I’m ready, back upright and driving my shoulder up on the way to shove him off his feet.
He hits the floor, panting.
I sigh. “You’re not even trying anymore.”
Noel González grunts and rubs at a spot low on his spine. “And where did you learn to do that? Swinging and kicking? Gymnast moves? That is new, sí?”
“Rayne showed me a thing or two.”
He shakes his head. “Not fair. You have a pretty vampire personal trainer. Soon you will be unstoppable. More so. But who will teach me fancy new moves?”
“Link?” I lower my hand for him.
“Bah.” Noel grasps my wrist and uses it to haul himself up. “He has too much fun teaching edanes now. He has no time for little me.”
“Then stop being so squishy.”
He mutters something in Spanish. Probably rude. And then, “You’re late.”
“And you’re ugly.”
“So grumpy today, Dee-Dee. Did you wake up on the far side of the bed?” He squeezes my hand a moment longer, a motion that pauses my initial instinct to jerk away. “Everything okay?”
“I—” Deep breath. “Yes. I’m fine.”
A snort, then Noel drops my hand and moves to retrieve his weapons. “Did we not agree, no more lies? Say I should mind my own business, but don’t lie.”
Am I going to piss off everyone today?
“Sorry—”
“Nay. No sorry. Don’t ever tell me sorry. Just be you, sí?”
One, two, three, and four knives. Noel counts them out into his hands, and I stoop to gather up the last one.
“I…it’s Rayne.”
His eyes brighten. “Girl trouble? Oh, then you come to the right man. I can heal all your problems with your lady friend, Dee-Dee. You tell me.”
Can’t help but laugh at that. “You’ve been single for as long as I’ve known you. I hardly think you’re qualified.”
“How little you know.” Noel twirls the last kunai out of my grip and performs a set of flashy little spins with the circular hole on the end. “I am as qualified as I need to be.” He begins to walk away, throwing a cheeky grin over his shoulder.
I follow, like he knew I would. “Okay, spill. Right now. Have you actually found a woman willing to put up with your bullshit? Who is she? Do I know her? What’s her name? What does she look like? Is she an agent? Is she a body pillow?”
Noel laughs at my questions, and the sound is infectious. He taps a finger to the side of his nose, but I keep going now, too intrigued to stop. And the questions get more ridiculous too.
“Come on. Talk to me? Did you find her online? Like a dating site? Oh. Is she a mail order bride? Like from Korea or something? Did she come in a box? What are her special features, Noel? Realistic skin and heated orifices?”
He stops at the side of my desk. “You are disgusting.”
“And impatient. Tell me.”
After holding my gaze for several seconds, Noel dumps the kunai on my desk and puts his arm around my shoulder. “Look, no one else knows, sí? I don’t want to jinx it, so I keep quiet. But if I tell you, you must promise silence.”
I draw my fingertip across my chest in a broad X shape. “Cross my heart.”
“No, no, like you tell your sister.”
Wow. He’s really serious then.
I shift beneath his arm enough to allow our eyes to meet. “On my locs and hope to trim, Noel. Okay? I won’t talk about this to anybody else. What’s going on? Why are you being so shifty?”
He grins. “Not shifty, just cautious. I have girlfriend now. I must protect her.”
“So she’s not an agent?”
“No. And she’s private about her affairs.”
“Ha, yeah, that sounds shifty, Noel. So do I know her at all?”
He shakes his head. “But you may know her boyfriend. He is fro
m the Omega team.”
“A medic, eh? Interesting.” My brain takes a moment to catch up. “Wait, did you say her boyfriend? Isn’t that you?”
Noel’s grin grows ever more smug. “It is also me. She has lots of love to share and so more than one partner. In fact, I am the third.”
My mouth drops open.
“See. That is why I don’t tell. I tell you because I trust you. I trust you with everything from my life to my secrets. But you must understand before you judge.”
“I don’t think I do understand.”
He hooks my chair from beneath my desk with a skilful jerk of his right leg. The hint is obvious, so I sit without complaint after wiping a handful of chittarik droppings off the fabric.
“She favours open relationships. Many.”
“Poly?”
“That. That is the word. I forgot it.”
“But are you okay with that? I thought monogamy was the end game for you.”
Noel gazes at me for long, thoughtful moments. “This is why I trust you. You’re curious, but not disgusted.”
“Why would I be disgusted? I get it. Sometimes one relationship doesn’t fulfil all those needs, but I never thought you’d be interested in a set-up like that. It might be okay for her, but is it okay for you?”
“I don’t know. But this is the only way to find out, sí?”
He has a point.
“Well…I wish you all the best. I hope you get what you want out of it all.”
His smile is so bright and relieved that I know I’ve said the right thing.
“Thank you, Dee-Dee. I will. And thank you for—”
I cut him off with a raised hand. “Don’t thank me for not being a narrow-minded idiot. It’s none of my business who you date. I just want you to be happy.”
“That means much to me.”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “Though, you should let her know, if she hurts you, I will hunt her down and break her legs with my fair bare hands.”
“You will try.” He laughs. In fact, he’s still laughing as he walks away from my desk, holding his stomach and roaring like a crazy man.
Idiot.
And yet his laughter is catching, and I find myself chuckling as I open my laptop.
* * *
So many emails. So many messages and questions from all sources.
The computer stuff wouldn’t have taken so long except now that I’m in, every agent and his dog has some sort of question for me.
Moon Fever Page 3