02 Seekers (18 page)

“I’ve seen one of those swords before, Spider,” the man said. His voice was tight, controlled. It teetered on the edge of irritated anger.

“She has answers,” Spider said.

“She’s one of them. She probably started that fire at the hotel.”

“Eli, come on! Look at her! She’s saved my life twice now. She’s not like the others.”

Around the tension, I was surprised at how adult Spider sounded. He was the voice of reason – a mature voice of reason around Eli’s suspicion.

Eli and I kept up our shared glare of distrust. My main concern was Alex. I wasn’t sure if I should fight or run away. What would be best for her? The last time I had gotten in a fight with a Watcher she had turned into a Nightstalker. This wasn’t the best place for that. Not just because it could get us killed. She dreaded turning again. She never mentioned it, but I knew.

“Clare…” Alex warned, perhaps seeing some of my thoughts on my face. The fear in her voice was enough for me to seek out a better resolution than fighting.

“Who do you work for?” I asked Eli.

“Work for?” Eli asked back.

“Marcus? The brothers at war? Someone else?” I listed them out for him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eli said.

“That’s what I was saying,” Spider said. He put a hand between us, pushing me back. “Why I need information. Please. This isn’t a trap, or whatever you think it is. I’m just trying to help out a friend.”

My anger spoke to me – it told me to do the easy thing and start a fight. The sword agreed eagerly, thirsting after the blood of another Watcher. The part of me that reminded me of Daniel was saying other things, suggesting temperance instead of violence. I choose to listen to the Daniel-voice…for now. I lowered the sword from Eli’s neck in a tentative form of trust, but I kept a tight grip on the hilt. The tense silence hummed down to merge with the increasing traffic on either end of the road. Eli’s eyes made me uncomfortable as they bored into my face with an intensity that went beyond human. I waited for him to speak, to do anything, but he didn’t feel compelled to talk first.

“So, who wants to start first?” Spider asked.

“I don’t think this is the best place to do talking,” Alex said. “We don’t know…”

“There’s no one around, and I’m not taking you anywhere unless I know you’re not one of

them,” Eli said.

“One of who exactly?” I asked.

“The ones who hurt people. The ones who haunt this town for victims.” He pulled his hood up to shadow his face against the rising sun. He glared at the light in strange hatred. “The evil ones.”

“I’m not one of those,” I said.

“What are you? What am…”

“
What are you
?” Alex repeated, astonished. “Clare, he doesn’t know.”

“I’m beginning to figure that out,” I said slowly. “How could you not know what you are?”

“I-I…” Eli searched for the words.

Spider interceded. “We’re street kids, doll. We only know what the streets tell us. The streets don’t know nothing about the freaky stuff Eli can do. They just know he’s different, and that difference has chased him for a long time.”

“That has got to be…”

“The single most frightening thing I’ve heard,” I finished for Alex.

Eli didn’t know what he was, or what was happening to him. I had been blessed with Ellen, then Daniel, to tell me what was happening. He had no one. I understood him being paranoid about who he asked; especially if he had noticed the bad Watchers running around town. The miracle was that Marcus’s Seekers hadn’t found him yet or that he hadn’t otherwise been attacked by a wayward Watcher. I didn’t know how they were able to track Watchers the way they did, but I knew they were good at it. Two of them had tracked me for two years and that was no mean feat with a gypsy of a mother who had a knack for disappearing.

My suspicion wavered at the questions in Eli’s eyes and Spider’s genuine concern for his friend.

Alex and I shared a questioning look. If we told Eli who he was and what that meant, maybe, he could be the key to finding the people we were looking for – if they were still alive.

“Are you sure we’re alone?” I asked Eli.

He nodded in affirmation.

“I swear to you what I’m about to say is the truth,” I said. “Try to believe me.”

Again, a silent nod.

I launched into the story, secretly waiting for him to scoff, or laugh, or try to kill me. He didn’t.

He simply watched with those odd eyes until I had finished. His intensity was disarming. He flicked his eyes to Spider when I’d explained the majority of what he needed to know – about Marcus, the war, who he was, and what that meant – and Spider perked up.

“So everyone has a unique talent?” Spider asked for Eli.

“Yes,” I replied.

“That explains why you can heal people, Eli…” Spider said.

That also explained why Spider’s broken nose was suddenly unbroken. Eli scowled at Spider, obviously not wanting us to know his talent. Spider ignored him with a familiar shrug. While Eli was the superhuman in the group, I got that Spider didn’t always agree with the way Eli acted. It was curious Eli put up with it, especially since he seemed so impatient.

“And this Marcus person is the reason for all the stuff starting to kick up around town…all the disappearances, and the other ones moving through town?” Spider asked.

“Yes,” I agreed. “That’s why we’re down here. Marcus is up to something – he’s set up a nest here to recruit new members and sell others for money. Daniel is trying to figure out what his plans are with me, and why he’s stepping up his game. Only things went bad. We’re trying to find Daniel and our other friends, and make sure they’re okay.”

“I got all that from the first time you told the story,” Spider said.

“She’s doubly serious about it,” Alex replied.

“We’ll help,” Eli decided. “Don’t think I won’t be watching you, though. Telling the truth now doesn’t mean you aren’t lying about something,” he said. He turned and walked off, his long legs taking him out of eyesight quickly.

“Friendly,” I said, wrapping the bag around the sword again.

“That went well,” Spider said with a clap. “I guess that means you are officially invited.”

“Invited?” I asked.

“We’re going to help with your search...it’s only fair after what you’ve told us. That means you can stay with us for a while.”

“Oh…we’ve got a place,” I said, wanting to maintain a level of privacy.

Trust wasn’t instantaneous for me, even though Spider seemed to be telling the truth. They could be hiding something. After everything that had happened in the past two days, it seemed as if everything was a hidden threat and trust was a luxury.

“Not like this. Come on.” He waved for us to follow, ignoring my refusal.

Alex shrugged. “First good thing that’s happened in days.”

“First thing that appears to be a good thing,” I corrected.

She made a face of agreement, but we followed him regardless. We caught up with his quick

pace and walked through the streets of the French Quarter. Occasionally as we walked, Spider bumped into the tourists around us, his quick hands always finding a wallet or piece of jewelry which didn’t belong to him. I didn’t say anything. I just watched, curious and envious of his practiced skill.

“So…you two aren’t really homeless?” he asked stuffing yet another wallet into his ratty clothes as we turned the corner of another street.

“We are, but we aren’t,” I said.

“Huh?”

“We have a home, yes, but it’s too dangerous to go to it right now,” I explained.

“A good home?” he asked.

“The best,” I replied.

“I can’t believe you have a home, and you’re just…man, that makes no sense.”

“Oh, well, Clare is saving the world,” Alex explained. “That never makes any sense.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ve never had a home?” I asked Spider.

“Nah. I mean, I had foster parents, but they were all a real drag. I got tired of it all, so I ran off.

Cops aren’t really concerned with hunting another runaway down, so it’s been me and the mean streets since I was seven.”

“That’s awful!” Alex said.

“Better than some things,” he said.

“Is Spider your real name?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“How’d you get it?”

“I like spiders,” he replied. “And, well, I like doing things with my hands, building things. My first robot was a spider, and the name kind of stuck.”

“Cool,” I said.

“You girls got any real life skills?” he asked us.

“I think you saw we do,” I replied.

“No, I mean…you’re going to have to make your way while we help you. We’re not rich,

obviously. Everyone in our group has to take care of themselves…”

“I don’t think I could steal,” Alex said.

“What about begging?” he asked.

“I don’t know…” Alex replied.

“Your perception of it is all messed up. It’s not stealing if they willingly give you the money. It helps if you think of it like acting,” Spider said. “Or a game.”

“A game?” Alex questioned.

“You’re trying to best your opponent. You win if you get money.”

“That sounds fun,” I said.

Alex and I exchanged another look. Her eyes told me she wouldn’t be able to beg. She could live on the streets and follow me in to danger, but she wasn’t programmed to beg. We would have to figure something out for her.

“It is.” He stopped abruptly in front of a white building and gestured grandly. “Welcome to my home.”

“The Orpheum?” I read the words across the green awning over the front door.

“All the world’s a stage,” Alex said.

“And all the people merely…something profound. You live in a theater?” I asked Spider.

“Yep. It’s got some flood damage from Katrina, and has been abandoned for a while now, but it’s as good a place as any.”

“It’s better than a roof,” I said.

“You’ve been staying on a roof?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Smart, but what happens when it rains?” he asked.

He took us around to a side parking lot. Metal stairs hugging the building led up to a heavy metal door. The stairs creaked and groaned at our steps as if the stairs wanted nothing more than to collapse to the ground. At the top, he jiggled the handle of the door and the heavy chains slithered loose. He grinned at me and gestured for us to go first. I was hesitant, the darkness beyond the door almost absolute, but his mocking smirk spurred me forward.

“Is it just you and Eli?” Alex asked, stepping into the dark. She stayed close to my side, not caring if Spider saw her afraid.

“No. We got a group, sorta like a family. So…this is Eli’s rule, not mine, but I agree with it…If you hurt any of them, Eli will kill you.” He said it very calmly, bluntly. I had no doubt he meant what he said.

“You invited us here,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s good to get that out right at first. Another rule is that we share what we get during the day. No keeping the good stuff. It’s a sharing endeavor we got here, and it works…so no selfishness.”

“Clare here is very rarely selfish,” Alex said. “And she keeps me in line.”

“Oh, shut up,” I told her.

Her teeth flashed white in the darkness in response.

Spider led us down a set of stairs, through a set of double doors, and in to a large room. This room was the only lit room in the whole place. There were no windows, but the broad stage, elegant seating and shadowy back stage were touched by lanterns set up intermittently

throughout the space. The light sparkled out around the large room leaving shadows thick in the corners. I imagined, as we walked down the aisle towards the stage, a thousand plays being performed on the wooden stage.

“How do you have electricity?” Alex asked

“Oh, I’m stealing it from next door. Just enough so they won’t notice. I thought about getting cable, but they’re always so touchy about those sorts of things…” he told us. “The others are out right now,” he continued. “They don’t come back until dark.” He jumped up on the stage. Old costumes and blankets were laid out in rows for beds. “I’ll find you some things to sleep on…

there’s lots of stuff downstairs they didn’t take with them.”

“Thanks,” I said.

He shrugged. “It’s part of our deal.”

“How’d you know I knew the truth about Eli?” I asked curiously. “For all you knew, I didn’t have a clue.”

“I could tell. You were just so confident you knew what to do…”

“That’s just because you don’t know me yet,” I told him.

“What does your friend look like…this Daniel?” Spider asked. He plopped down on the edge of the stage with his feet dangling over.

“Green eyes, black hair, about six foot three…I think it would be easier if we just found the nest.

He’ll be there.”

“But how do I know what a nest is? Do they have a sign on the door that reads: ‘Super bad guys here: we devour souls for free’?”

“That would be helpful, but no. Haven’t you heard anything about this end of town?” I asked wondering if the hobo had been wrong. I had thought Spider of all people would be up on the darker goings on of the city.

“I just know people have gone missing,” he said. “I can’t say where to or how…well, I can say

‘how’ now, at least.”

I thought over all the impediments in my way. The frustration was almost palpable. Alex’s baby blues bored into the side of my face as she read my emotions. I turned away from the stare, not wanting the analysis.

“I guess if we’re going to have to beg for a living, you’re going to have to show us the ropes. No sense in wasting any more time,” I said to Spider, feeling full of nervous energy suddenly. His questions were only letting me know how little we really had to go on. Being here wasn’t any different than being on the streets, only now we had Spider.

“I like your enthusiasm, doll. It’ll take you far…”

He jumped off the stage and beckoned us to follow. The daylight outside was alarming after the dark of the theater. I blinked rapidly to clear my eyes of the dark. As I did, I saw a hooded figure turn the corner and disappear. It was obviously Eli; it was also obvious he had followed us to make sure nothing bad happened to Spider. I didn’t blame him for being suspicious of us, but I wasn’t happy about being followed. It wasn’t my favorite feeling – I had spent long enough feeling chased.