02 Seekers (33 page)

It was selfish, dangerous, and stupid! Do you even think about other people, or are you so focused on your little mission of being ‘Ms. I-can-do-everything’ that you don’t find the

concerns of us mere mortals important?!”

“Alex…”

“DON’T ‘ALEX’ ME!!!!”

I clamped my mouth shut.

“I came down here to be a part of this journey, not to sit back and watch you do dangerous stuff in the name of stupidity! What did you prove by going down there?” She didn’t give me time to answer. “You don’t think!” She held up her thumb in an accusation. “We’re supposed to be

sisters and all you can think about is risking everything we’re trying to do. If you cared more about what you did to me, you wouldn’t be so callous with your actions! You would let me be a part of this instead of shoving me to the side! ‘Oh, it’s okay! Alex won’t mind. I’ll just run off and get myself shot or attacked by a gang or get lost in a Seeker’s nest!’ I’m in this as much as you are! More, sometimes! When will you stop acting like I don’t get it?! I gave up seeing Dad, having a house, regular meals, to come down here! You’re not the only one longing to see people you care about! Ah!”

She doubled over and grabbed her stomach in a gesture similar to the one Daniel had made only half an hour earlier. A strange shifting started under her skin, moving things that shouldn’t be movable. Her whole body started to shake and deep rolling growls formed in her throat – sounds I knew she shouldn’t be capable of. The shaking got worse as more growls ripped from her

body. Flesh and bone moved in ear shattering pops, crunches, and tears. It didn’t take long, perhaps twenty seconds, for her to completely change, but I was aware of every painful second.

Her eyes were the last thing to change. A milky white film covered her blue eyes. Those eyes trained on me once the change was complete.

Eli was frozen halfway out of his chair. I was frozen as well but for a different reason than shock. It was instinct keeping me still. Would Alex attack me? Was her anger at me that great?

That question was answered immediately. She jumped away from the tattered remains of her

clothes and landed with a solid thump on the molded carpet. I felt the vibration of her landing through my feet. Her growls turned deadly, menacing. She didn’t take her eyes off me once, not even when she jumped. She bared her teeth at me, then charged. I only had time to push Ethan out of the way before she barreled through the spot I had been standing only seconds ago. Her momentum took her too far, though. She kept going, busting through the main doors of the

theater as she scrambled to find footing. The heavy chain the owner had placed to keep

trespassers out broke as easily as thread against her charge. She glared up at the sunlight, hating the feel of it on her skin as she regained her feet.

I started forward, not knowing what I was doing, only aware that I had to stop this before it got out of hand. Her white eyes flashed briefly with blue in a moment of clarity as she craned her neck to look at me running toward her. She turned before I could find the words to calm her down and jumped up in the air. Using the building across the street like a jungle gym, she climbed up and over, disappearing from sight in seconds. The massive hole in the wall of the theater was a stark visual, a gaping question mark in my brain.

Ethan found his feet again; he trembled at what he had witnessed, and his eyes were the size of half dollars.

Eli had a much different response. “She’s a monster,” he said to me. “You let a monster into our home without telling us.”

“She’s not a monster!”

“What else do you call that?” he demanded.

“My sister,” I said.

“I’ve seen one of those creatures before. There is no humanity to them,” Eli said.

“Seen one?”

“It killed my mother,” Eli admitted. “It killed her trying to get to me.”

“Alex isn’t like that.”

“She just tried to kill you,” he pointed out.

“I was just buried alive and witnessed things down in that sewer you can’t imagine, so you’ll have to forgive me for being a little…honest, but here’s the truth: I don’t care what you think. I don’t care about your opinion. I’m going to go find my friend, before she hurts herself or someone else.”

“You should do her a favor and put her down,” Eli snarled.

My blood boiled, and I felt heat rush into my face. “Don’t even think about it!” I warned.

His face was ugly. The dank hair that was always greasy accentuated his glare, and for the first time I saw Eli as a killer – not simply as a defender or a protector of the kids, but a cold-blooded killer. Perhaps, because he had saved my life I had ignored the potential deadliness of him, or had underestimated him because of his silence, but I saw it now. I glared at him and his

murderous expression. I felt like fighting him, wanting to take out my aggression somewhere.

Ethan stepped between us and held his hands out. “Um. What’s going on? What happened to

Alex?”

“She turned into a Nightstalker because…because she got angry.” The reason behind her shift was obvious now that I had seen it.

“A Nightstalker?”

“Ethan, I would love to explain everything to you, but now isn’t the time.”

Thoughts of curious neighbors were starting to close in. Hanging around the theater was not only dangerous, it was stupid. With a final glare at Eli, I turned away and started out the hole Alex had carved with her body. I focused in the direction I thought Alex had gone, and after a brief pause Ethan hurried to join me. He caught up quickly.

“Eli doesn’t want you to come back after you find her,” he said quietly.

“I figured that much,” I said still angry.

“But I want to help you look for her.”

After what he had just seen, it was amazing he could still be so willing to help us. I felt my heart warm at his generosity, but I knew I couldn’t accept his offer. “It’s too dangerous,” I said.

“Don’t tell me that. I’m older than Spider, have lived on the streets longer. I think I can handle whatever he can handle. I’m the one that taught him to pick locks for heaven’s sake!”

“I…”

“Tell me what’s really going on,” he commanded.

I shrugged indifferently and told him as much as he needed to know. He was surprised, but he accepted my words. The truth of Alex’s change had given him all the proof he needed. “Spider knows about this?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Okay. Where do you think she would go?” he asked.

“Shopping.”

“She’s a demon,” he pointed out.

“Do demons have malls?” I asked.

“We should probably split up,” Ethan said. “I’ll look for her near the water.”

“I doubt she’s hanging around where people are, but okay.”

“I’ll meet you at the bench near the coffee stand Alex likes tomorrow morning, okay? Hopefully one of us will have found her by then,” he added.

“All right. Thanks. This means a lot.”

He shrugged. “Family sticks together. Eli’s just forgotten that. He’ll come around.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I muttered as he walked off.

I took a deep breath then tried to think through what I knew about Alex and her curse. This was the first time she had turned since what had happened in the bunker with the Sheriff. Would she be able to focus her energy like she had then, or would she simply go wild?

I didn’t know how it felt to change, she hadn’t talked about it much beyond the general things, but I got that it was much more of an instinctual way of being. She would be operating on primal emotions and desires. Where would a Nightstalker, who was Alex, go if it was extremely pissed off and in need of a cool down? I hoped she was in need of a cool down and not searching for people to murder. My thumb I had cut when first I had given her my blood throbbed painfully at the thought, as if it, too, knew the danger. I rubbed at it and ignored my fear. Fear wouldn’t bring her back. If she were operating on primal emotions, it was possible Alex would go to places she was familiar with; it was possible she would go somewhere that had a level of comfort or a strong emotional memory. I started toward the hotel, thinking I would simply retrace our steps in New Orleans.

Plywood blocked off the front of the building as it was being repaired. It was silent, the construction crew having packed up for the evening. I searched for a decent vantage point of the hotel, knowing I would see more up high. There weren’t any access points on the road I was on, but I had learned through my time with Spider there was always a way up. I circled to the street behind the hotel and found an obliging building with an easily accessed fire escape. I climbed up and sat on the edge of the roof, waiting for a sign of Alex. I sat there until it was fully dark, watching the tourists coming and going as they marched from one attraction to the next. A light rain soaked me fully, but I didn’t leave or seek shelter.

When it got too dark to see the hotel any longer, I climbed back down and wandered the streets in search of a shadow and a hope. Shadows were everywhere; the city was full of them. Hope was less obvious. None of the shadows were the sort I was looking for. I passed jazz bands and lonely guitar players as they vied for attention and money, stores packed with families, and bars and clubs packed with partiers, but none held a clue to where Alex had run off to.

My next stop was the building we had stayed our first couple of nights on. The sofa was in the same spot as our two night stay, though there were more empty cans scattered about the roof. It was obvious in a glance that Alex wasn’t there, but I lingered for a moment. This had been the spot I had promised myself a change. How much had I really changed?

I stepped on to the thick ledge and looked over the city, mimicking my first night on the roof.

The rain impaired the view as it danced out over the city in arching sheets. I took a deep breath as I scoured what landscape I could see and a thought occurred. I could always go to Serenity for help in finding Alex. I didn’t relish the idea of owing her anything, but Serenity seemed like the sort of person with lots of resources at her disposal. She knew people in this town I didn’t.

She had an ear to the underbelly of the city, which could prove useful in finding a wayward Nightstalker. I shoved the idea to the back of my brain, the idea of seeing Serenity again not something I relished in. It would be a last resort…something I would only do if I couldn’t find Alex by tomorrow.

I sighed as the scene in the theater rose in front of my eyes again. How could I have not

considered her feelings before I followed that woman into the nest? Saving that woman had felt important in the moment, but it hadn’t been wise. It was rash. It was emotional. It was something I knew would happen again. If I found Alex, how could I truthfully promise to not do something like that again, when I felt so obligated to help people like that nameless woman; when I felt like I was letting go of something important if I didn’t? I hadn’t realized Alex had felt so left out of our adventure. I realized, as I watched the rain in thoughtful silence, that every time something dangerous had happened down here I had taken off, instantly not including her. Did she feel as if I didn’t think her capable of handling the danger?

Though I had only meant to stay on the ledge for a couple minutes, I ended up locked in place on the ledge for a couple of hours. Every moment was a hope that the next would bring Alex to me.

At the end of the two hours, a couple stepped out of their car to go inside the apartment complex that was the purpose of my building. With my super hearing I heard their discussion clearly.

“How come you always feel guilty for what he does?!” the girl asked. “You can’t possibly think you’re responsible for his choices!”

“He’s my brother…I love him,” the man replied.

“That’s fine and everything, but you can’t take on his mistakes. They’re his!” the girl argued back.

“I know…but I can’t help the feeling.”

The pair disappeared inside. I sighed as their conversation lingered in my brain. Guilt…guilt had a funny way of messing with your choices. Or perhaps it was love. I shook my head and headed for the fire escape ladder, not wanting to linger any longer, their conversation moving me to action again. The only way I could get rid of the guilt was to find Alex, instead of staying lost in thought on top of a building.

My next stop was the only other “secret” place Alex and I shared in New Orleans: Eli’s hideout.

The windowed room was deserted, the darkness of his fortress of solitude complete. I had

expected as much, but it was still disheartening to see.

I was about to turn away and search for Alex elsewhere, when I remembered the sword. The

worries of living on the street, and finding information, had distracted me from the deadly nature of the sword. Eli had locked it away here, but he had no say over me now. I would take it back from him. I wanted the protection, no matter how evil the protection was. It was the one thing I had that could kill Watchers. Plus, I wanted to show it to Daniel, so I could ask him about it. I wanted to know how it could kill a Watcher.

I gingerly tested the door handle, feeling weird about trespassing, despite the fact that I had a claim on the sword. The door creaked open slowly and the musty odor of stale books and dust assaulted my nose. Not wanting to linger in case Eli decided to show up, I went straight to the second door inside and pulled it open. The sword was heavy in my hands; I had forgotten how heavy it could feel. I had also forgotten the feel of evil it radiated with. Its cold malice burned my hand as I touched the pommel. I instantly took my hand away and covered the pommel again with the bag satisfied I had what I wanted.

With the added weight of the sword on my back, I walked the city streets for hours, checking every nook and cranny for Alex. Drug deals, sex deals, and other dark deals were my

companions in the night. I walked until even the predators of the city had searched out their beds.

Hours of walking later, I was miles from the French Quarter, alone in a city – which for the first time felt lonely – and nowhere close to finding Alex. By dawn, I knew finding Alex was