Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (208 page)

T
he sprawling campus
of Southwest Youth Expeditions stretched out before us an hour and a half later. Located north of Roosevelt, near the Salt River, the summer camp took up several acres. Excited looking teens milled around the grounds, some hauling rafts, some ready to go swimming, others carrying hiking packs. Cole and I watched the dozens of campers, wondering how we were going to find Daniel.

“Any thoughts on how to get this kid away from camp?” Cole asked. I still didn’t have an answer for him. “’Cause I’m sticking with my earlier plan if you don’t come up with something better,” Cole said.

I waited a few seconds until my irritation leveled off. “I think it’s a little more complicated, now, don’t you? It’s not just a matter of getting him away from his parents for a few days, anymore. He’s going to have camp counselors looking after him and doing bed checks at night. We’ve got to come up with a believable excuse to get him away from here.”

“The only way they’d let him go would be for some kind of family emergency,” Cole said.

“But they’d probably call his parents to make sure we weren’t lying,” I reminded him. “We need something that won’t involve his parents. Maybe he can fake sick.”

“For the whole weekend?”

“Maybe. Do you have a better idea?” I asked.

“I guess not, but we still have to convince him to come with us. I think playing to his hormones is the best plan. I know you don’t like it, Uriah, but aside from outright kidnapping him, I don’t see any other likely options,” Cole said.

There was one other option.

I remained quiet. In the hours we had spent driving I hadn’t been able to come up with anything better. There was just no good way to try and convince Daniel to run off with two total strangers. I hated to admit it, but Cole was right. I knew he was right the first time he mentioned it. Claire would hate the idea of us using her looks, but it had to be done. Even she couldn’t be too upset under the circumstances.

“For it to work, you can’t tell him Claire’s your fiancée. You’re just a concerned friend,” Cole said.

I closed my eyes for a second. Most of the guys around San Juan were pretty carful about how they talked about Claire, at least around me, but I had still heard some of the things they said about her, about her looks and body. Even remembering some of their comments made my anger spike. I was supposed to sit back and pretend I didn’t care when Daniel talked about my fiancée? I knew he would. Judging from all the girls featured on his wall, Daniel’s respect for women was lacking.

“Can you handle that, Uriah?” Cole asked. Cole had seen me react to crude comments about Claire a few times. He thought it was funny at the time when I slammed a guy against the wall in the locker room for saying exactly what he wanted to do to Claire that weekend, but I doubted he would even crack a smile if I hit Daniel for the same thing.

“I can handle it if I have to,” I said tightly.

“Good,” Cole said. I doubted he believed me. I didn’t really believe myself. I would try, but there was no guarantee I wouldn’t deck Daniel if he got out of hand.

“Well, we can’t just sit here. I guess we can try to blend in and look for him,” I said.

“It’s better than sitting here staring at everyone,” Cole agreed.

Watching as a camp bus pulled up to the entrance, I nudged Cole and pointed at the bus. Campers started piling off the bus laden with camping gear. Shouldering our backpacks to look like we had just returned from a long hike as well, Cole and I walked through the low brush and joined the groups of returning campers. Cole took the picture of Daniel out of his pocket, but I didn’t need to see it. Daniel’s face was etched in my memory. I searched very face we passed for his obnoxious smile.

We stalked the grounds with no luck, avoiding anyone who looked like a counselor. “He must be out climbing or something still,” I said. A shrill ringing sounded over the area. “What was that?”

We watched as the campers abandoned whatever they were doing and started heading for a large rectangular building. Shrugging, Cole started to follow the throng. I was only a step behind him. The empty courtyard in front of the building began to fill quickly. The pushing to get inside intensified as more and more teens arrived. The double doors of the building sprung open, sending rolling waves of delicious aromas out over the waiting crowd.

“It must be dinner time,” Cole observed.

I searched the faces more carefully. Daniel should show up here. After a day filled with white water rafting, or kayaking, or whatever they had been doing, no teenage boy was likely to miss out on a good meal. I moved away from the doors to get a better view of the crowd. Boys jostled each other while girls huddled in tight circles, giggling and pointing. I walked along the line taking in their faces.

The line moved forward slowly. I was nearing the end of the line when a group of boys came crashing around the corner. Bumping into the last few people in line, they doled out laughing apologies. The girls they ran into only giggled in return. The leader of the group of guys didn’t turn away from the girls. The young woman closest to him smiled shyly. He stepped around his friends so he could stand next to her. His face turned in my direction as he moved.

His smile was cool and relaxed, and a perfect match for the one I had seen on Daniel’s picture. “Cole,” I hissed. “Cole, I found him.”

Cutting off his own search, Cole walked over to me casually. He glanced toward where I was staring, then down at the photo in his hand, and nodded.

“That’s him.” Daniel was getting closer to the building. “Should we go now?” Cole asked.

Approaching him in front of his friends didn’t seem like the best idea, but letting him disappear into the building and hoping to find him again later seemed even worse. I didn’t want to go into the dining hall and risk running into a camp counselor. These kids had already been here for two weeks. The counselors would probably realize we didn’t belong, and make sure we left without bothering anyone. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Let’s go.”

Walking slowly so we didn’t draw any unwanted attention, Cole and I crossed the stretch of gravel between us and Daniel. Daniel moved forward, only a few feet from the double doors. Cole glanced at me and quickened his pace. I matched his step. Stepping up to the doors, Daniel glanced behind himself, looking for his friends and seeing us instead. His face lost its casualness.

I pictured what we must have looked like, half running toward him, most likely panicked looks on our faces. I consciously made an effort to slow down and attempted to smile. Cole must have had the same notion. Still, Daniel looked at the doors to the dining hall. He looked as though he was trying to decide whether or not we were dangerous.

“Excuse me, Daniel?” Cole’s voice was calm and even. I quickly decided to let Cole do the talking.

“Yeah, who are you?” he asked, his body still perched halfway through the doorway. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

Bringing himself up short of Daniel by several feet, Cole offered his hand and said, “Hi, Daniel, my name is Cole Brant and this is my friend, Uriah Crowe.”

Daniel squinted, searching his mind. He seemed to wonder whether the information should mean something to him. His friends walked around him and through the doors, saying they would save him a spot. “What do you want?” Daniel asked.

“We were just wondering if we could speak to you about a mutual friend for a minute,” Cole said. Amazed at how cool he was staying, I was about to stuff my sweating palms into my jeans pockets when I remembered the strand of hair. I quickly lowered my hands, not wanting to touch the strand in Daniel’s presence.

“What’s this friend’s name?”

“Her name’s Claire Brant,” Cole said.

“She your sister or something?” he asked Cole. Cole nodded calmly. “Well, I’ve never heard of her. You must have me confused with someone else.” Daniel moved closer to the door, one foot crossing the threshold. I quickly pulled my wallet from my back pocket and snatched Claire’s picture out of its usual place.

“Maybe if you saw a picture of her,” I suggested, holding the photo up for him to see. Controlling the impulse to shred the picture before Daniel had a chance to look at it, I thought of Claire collapsing again. I would do whatever it took to bring this boy to her. Daniel shrugged and turned away from the door. He took the picture from my fingers. Every inch of my body was poised, ready to identify even the slightest hint of the Twin Soul bond forming.

“She’s pretty,” Daniel said. It was a casual comment, but the way his grip tightened on the picture was a clear sign there was something more hiding behind his feigned indifference. His next words were an obvious lie. “I don’t think I know her.”

The idea that he somehow recognized Claire was agonizing, but I knew I had to test just how far the recognition went. I snatched the picture out of his hand, watching his reaction closely. “If you don’t recognize her…”

A strange expression came over Daniel’s face. Fear, maybe, or desperation. He reached for the picture, but I held it tight. His desperation increased.

“Uriah,” Cole warned under his breath, misinterpreting my intention.

Daniel tugged on the picture. “Wait, let me see it again.”

I released the photo slowly. This time Daniel took his time, his eyes drinking in every detail of my beautiful Claire’s face. Bile rose in my stomach. I had to turn away and take a deep breath.

“I’m sure I’ve never met her before,” Daniel said. His voice had a sad, wistful quality to it. He had never met her, but there was clearly a connection. “There’s something…”

“Are you sure you don’t know her?” Cole prompted. “She sent us to find you specifically. You are Daniel Harding, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but,” Daniel started, “how would she even know my name?” His eyes were still glued to the picture. The restraint it took not to rip it out of his hands again was tremendous. Knowing I would be putting Claire in danger if I was selfish held me back. Cole stepped forward just enough to bring himself between Daniel and me, obviously sensing my struggle.

“Why would she send you to find me? My number’s in the phone book. She could have just called my parents and told them what she needed,” Daniel said. The look on his face said he was once again considering jumping through the door and finding a counselor.

“Claire’s in trouble,” Cole explained. “She’s been hurt very badly. She may not live.” The concern on Daniel’s face was alarmingly intense. His hand gripped the door frame more tightly than before. The movement set me on edge.

“She asked us to find you and bring you back to her because she believes you can help her,” Cole said.

Cole’s words were dangerously close to the truth. If Daniel’s curiosity provoked questions, it would be very hard to answer them without words like potions, visions, and Twin Souls slipping out.

“How could I help her? What happened?”

“I’m not exactly sure how Claire thinks you might be able to help her,” Cole lied, dodging Daniel’s second question entirely. “We had to leave quickly to find you. There wasn’t enough time for questions. All we know is that we were sent to find you. We had to move fast, Daniel. Claire doesn’t have much time left.”

Daniel’s body looked ready to explode with tension, but he wasn’t giving in quite yet. “So you just expect me to come with you, just because Claire told you I could help her? There’s no way the camp counselors will let me take off with two strangers without permission from my parents, and I have a feeling that’s not going to happen, either,” Daniel said, although his voice was thick with concern for Claire.

The objection that the counselors or his parents wouldn’t let him leave with us caught my ear. He wasn’t saying that he didn’t want to go, just that he didn’t want the trouble he would get into if he left with us. I felt nothing like the spectacular connection my mother had spoken of, but his reactions to Claire’s picture and injury were clear signs that he felt compelled to find Claire. Guilt and need struggled for dominance of my emotions.

I might be able to shorten this discussion up if I could just tell him to come with me. Cole nodded for me to try. I seemed to be losing my touch lately, but I tried any way. “Daniel, you have to come with us to save Claire.”

He balked. “I don’t have to go anywhere with you. For all I know, you’re lying through your teeth so you can murder me for sport. I’ll go if want to.”

So much for that. Cole shrugged. I tried, at least. When I needed this freakish ability most lately, I couldn’t make it work. It wasn’t love this time. It better not be love yet. Something kept Daniel from hopping on the back of our bikes. Maybe it had something to do with him already being in the hold of the Twin Soul bond, even as tenuous as it still was. That would certainly figure.

“Where is she?” Daniel asked suddenly. Cole faltered for a split second. This might be what brought us back to the question of kidnapping.

“New Mexico. We’re from small a town north of Santa Fe,” Cole replied. I braced myself for his reaction.

“You guys drove all the way here from New Mexico? Just to find me? You must really be serious about this, or completely nuts.” His voice was still a little incredulous, but Cole and I sighed in relief. The problem with kidnapping was that we were riding motorcycles. It would be nearly impossible to control a captive while trying to keep the bike upright and moving. Plus, I was still hoping to avoid involving the police. We had been lucky so far with that, and I didn’t want to tempt fate any more than absolutely necessary.

“Yes, we did drive all the way here from New Mexico,” Cole said. “Will you come with us?”

Daniel rubbed his forehead and stared at the noisy dining hall. “Maybe you guys should come in for a minute,” he said.

I spoke up quickly. “We’d rather not attract your counselor’s attention since we’re not really supposed to be here.”

“I doubt they’d notice,” Cole said, “but I am hungry. Wait here so I can grab some food and then we can go back to my cabin.”

“Just hurry,” I said. “Claire doesn’t have much time.”