03 Saints (29 page)

“No one accused me of brilliance,” I said, cracking my knuckles.

“I’m shocked…really,” King said. “I know he picked on your friends, but…” He sighed. “We need to stay focused on the big picture. Fighting amongst ourselves is just a bad idea.”

“Okay, okay,” I said still fuming.

River met us in the hall. She smiled at us, particularly King.

“Hey, Riv. What’s happening?” King asked, casual despite my anger.

“Reaper’s got another one for you. Top priority,” River told King.

“That’s my cue,” King said with a smile. He pointed at me. “Don’t go picking anymore fights.”

“No promises,” I said.

King shook his head and walked away.

“You’ve been picking fights?” River asked.

“Long story,” I said.

“I’ve got time,” she said.

“Quinn…”

“Ah. Ego-city. You shouldn’t worry about him,” River said.

“I will worry about him, if he comes near my friends again,” I promised.

She frowned. “What?”

I told her what had happened. As I talked, I led her to the stairs. I wanted to put more distance between me and Quinn. If I didn’t, I wasn’t certain I could keep myself from picking a fight.

“I’ll have a talk with him,” she promised when I stopped talking. “He won’t bother your friends again.”

“Why does it matter if they’re not Watchers? I thought this is supposed to be a place where everyone is welcome?” I asked.

“That’s Reaper’s policy. The truth is: we don’t have many humans who hang around long-term. They are usually gone within a day, never knowing our business, beyond the fact that we saved them. There is a…movement here that tends to think of humans like animals, lesser beings. They don’t think we should save humans, but should focus on saving Watchers. They think humans weigh us down.”

“A movement led by Quinn?” I asked.

She nodded but didn’t reply. “It’s quite a risk Reaper is taking, banking on you. Some cannot see his endgame.”

“Maybe they should try looking,” I replied. “Instead of depending on prejudice to guide them…”

Her half smile was full of agreement. “Just keep in mind that this situation could go beyond you. If Reaper has to step in for you, it might mean a fight between Quinn and Reaper. If Quinn wins, he gains control of the Saints. It’s Reaper’s rule: anyone who can beat him takes his place. Plus, Quinn has a following going, people who believe that his…methods are the way to get handle on this war we are fighting.”

I sighed, having forgotten about Reaper’s rule. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Please do,” River said.

“Clare…Oh, hey, River.” Alex had come out of her room holding a towel and a change of clothes. She looked sleepy – she had large bags under her eyes.

“Hey,” River said.

“I was wondering if you’d stand guard while I shower,” Alex said to me.

“Are you afraid someone will attack you there?” River asked, still focused on the information I had shared about Quinn.

“Um…no. I just, uh,” Alex searched for a way to put it delicately.

“She’s not comfortable being naked in front of a bunch of people,” I said.

“Oh…When you’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all,” River said with a shrug. She waved and turned away. “Be careful, huh?” she threw back over her shoulder.

“Yeah…”

“What?” Alex said.

I grabbed some clothes out of my room. “I’ll tell you on the way down,” I told her.

As I repeated the story, all I could think about was the way it had felt when looking in to Quinn’s eyes. It was a bloodlust I had never felt, without being in the heat of battle or in the middle of a deadly situation. I wanted to hurt him.

I wasn’t sure if the newly risen bloodlust was from my ever-emerging Watcher abilities, or if I simply hadn’t found someone so vile to hate before. However the bloodlust made me feel, I knew I would have to be cautious. I would have to be careful to not let my guard down…or let the bloodlust consume me. It was an easy pull, in a direction I wasn’t certain was healthy.

Quinn was turning into more of an enemy than I had originally thought him to be.

I figured him for the deadly kind.

Chapter 13

Jackson came looking for Alex and me just as we finished our showers. He met us in the locker rooms, where I had stood watch. His brown eyes were full of laughter.

“Were you two showering together?” he asked.

Alex sighed. “Really? And they call you a higher being?” she asked.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked him pointedly.

“We’re ready to go find Sevier. I was sent to see if you were still willing to go,” Jackson said.

“We are so there,” Alex said.

“We’re there like maple syrup on pancakes,” I agreed.

“Mmmhhh. Pancakes…” Alex said.

“Just keep in mind that your job is to look pretty and not say much. Reaper is going to do the negotiating,” Jackson warned.

“Look pretty?” I demanded.

“Yep,” Jackson said, mocking me with his smile.

I sighed and shook my head, already knowing this meeting was going to be a pain. I was never good at ‘not saying much,’ or letting my looks speak louder than my mouth. If things went without a hitch, it would be through a miracle of the highest order.

Jackson led us to the front of the building, where two cars were waiting on the dirt road. One of the cars was sleek and streamlined; its paint was a dark grey. The other was more bulky, athletic, but I liked it more. It was a classic, a true muscle car. Spider had noticed the cars from inside and had come down to drool over the sleek one. Daniel was next to him, smiling at the car, obviously happy. He held up a key when he saw me, proud he was the one who got to drive it.

“Who gets to drive this one?” I asked pointing at the muscle car.

“It’s mine,” Reaper said, opening the driver’s side door. “Sara and Shawn are busy today, but I always like to travel in style.”

“Oh,” I said, disappointed.

Reaper laughed. “Your girl has better taste than you do, Daniel. Appreciates history.”

“I’ve had plenty of history,” Daniel said.

“You want to drive it?” Reaper asked me.

“Can I?” I asked eagerly.

Daniel’s face turned sly. “You sure Clare can keep up?” he asked Reaper. “She is a girl…”

“Oh, God,” Alex said in exasperation. “You’d better buckle your seatbelt,” she told Jackson, as he and Margaret crawled into the back of Daniel’s car.

Jackson nodded, aware of the challenge Daniel had just made. I snatched the keys from Reaper’s hands. The look I gave Daniel warned him of the dangers of such a challenge. Alex and Reaper scrambled to get in my car, before I left without them.

The sound of the car’s engine drowned out the sounds coming from the school. It roared like a hungry lion, eager for a fresh kill. Without hesitation, I punched the gas, headed for the exit. From the way it surged to life, I knew Reaper had made some modifications. Dirt flew up in Spider’s face as I took off. Daniel wasn’t far behind me. He was limited by the narrow, dirt road, but he closed in on my bumper, ready to pass me when he had the chance. Once we hit the interstate, the race was on.

Grinning from ear to ear, my heart racing from excitement, I raced him, until we reached our destination. I finally stopped the car on the top of a mountain. Reaper’s directions had led us to a different rocky wilderness. The house on the mountain was gated – thick iron gates protected the driveway from intruders. The large house was a tribute to California grandiose and had numerous ugly statues and lights decorating the steep front lawn. Though the style was typical of the area, there was an undeniable garishness to it.

“I won,” Daniel said as I stepped out of my car.

“No, you didn’t,” I argued.

“I was clearly here first,” Daniel disagreed.

“That’s because you cheated,” I said.

“So, you admit defeat?” he asked.

“This is it?” Alex interrupted, pointing at the house.

“Yep,” Reaper agreed. “How about we go drop in on my good friend Sevier?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jackson said cracking his knuckles.

“Try not to hit him, unless it’s necessary,” Reaper said. “He’s a useful contact.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Jackson said, obviously not listening.

Margaret pointed to the horizon, which was slowly darkening with rain clouds. “I’ve got rain coming in. Use it to your advantage, should things go wrong.”

“Right,” Reaper agreed. He squared his shoulders, and arranged his expression, so that it was confident and dangerous, and went to the gate.

Daniel told me in a look to ‘be careful’ and that he would be there in an instant should things go wrong. I smiled at him, and followed Reaper to the gate. Reaper spoke to the box near the gate for the briefest of moments and the gates swung open. As we walked up the steep drive, a pair of dogs ran up, barking and snarling.

Alex reflexively grabbed Reaper by the arm, when she saw the dogs, and moved him in front of her. He was obviously startled by her touch, but found the movement funny. He had trouble hiding his smile around his forced demeanor of ‘dangerous.’ She peeked out from around his back, and he started laughing as she clutched his shirt.

I had a different reaction. I recognized the dogs. I had encountered them in New Orleans, when I had robbed a man’s house for a decidedly dangerous Watcher named Serenity. The dogs and I had become instant friends. I bent down to pet them. The dogs recognized my scent and stopped growling. Their tails waging happily, they jumped up to lick my neck and face.

“Hey,” I said rubbing both of the dogs on the chest.

“Old friends?” Jackson asked with one eyebrow cocked.

“Yeah…” I said.

A flutter of worry went through my stomach as I realized what seeing them here meant. If this Sevier was the man I had robbed, was it possible I would be recognized? If he did recognize me, would that complicate things? I was certain he would hold a grudge about my theft. Anyone would.

A man appeared on the porch as I stood again. He was large, with sunglasses covering his impassive face. He yelled unnecessarily for the dogs to heel then gestured us to enter the red front door. He shut out the dogs out with a sharp ‘click’ of the door. As soon as we were inside, five people with guns stepped forward.

“We will shoot you if you try anything,” the man with sunglasses said. “There will be no second warning.”

“Friendly,” Jackson said, his hand twitching slightly at the man’s words. I knew he wouldn’t need a gun to win the fight.

“You ever get tired of threatening people?” Reaper asked, walking past the man without bothering to slow down.

It was obvious he wasn’t intimidated; he had seen this show before. He headed straight for another room directly across from the front door, forcing the men with guns out of his way with a stride not even they dared stop.

As I followed, I looked around the interior of the house in cautious curiosity. The inside of the house was as grandiose as the outside. I wrinkled my nose at the gold decorations and tacky wallpaper, wondering if the decorator had lost all sense of sight when planning the inside of the house.

The man waiting for us, who had a girl on either side of him on the sofa, was as garish as his house. The crocodile boots and gold chains around his neck were just the beginning of his problems. His whole countenance screamed of oily decadence and over-the-top vanity. His black eyes screamed with his ability to kill without mercy. The girls at his side looked excited to be surrounded by such wealth and depravity. Their thoughts were loud and clear, a sign they were human. Reaper’s face remained carefully neutral as he looked at the man known as Sevier, though I sensed his distaste.

“Reaper, old friend, it’s been a while,” Sevier said, sipping on a glass of wine.

“It has,” Reaper said.

“You’re looking well,” Sevier said.

“And you haven’t changed,” Reaper said eyeing the girls and the room.

The man laughed, revealing gold teeth where his canine teeth should have been. “No, no I haven’t.”

He turned his black eyes to Alex. He sized her up, licking the red wine away from his thin lips. Then, he turned his lustful eyes to me. His smile had me clenching my fists.

“Did you bring me gifts?” he asked.

Reaper’s neutral expression flickered for a brief second at Sevier’s words. “We’ve actually come for information,” he said.

“Information…information is expensive. It is the most expensive thing I sell. With a gun you can take down one man, but with information… you can take down an army,” Sevier said.

“Money is not an issue,” Reaper said.

Sevier stood and circled the group, looking Alex and me over carefully. “I would be willing to trade,” he said leering at us.

Reaper pulled a stack of bills out of his pocket and held it up, not willing to deal. “Your usual cost. Two scientists taken by Marcus. Watchers.”