Morning Rising (4 page)

Small monkey-like creatures rode miniature
rhinoceros through the streets beside the cars. The monkeys’ backs
were covered with scales instead of fur, but fur still lined their
limbs and faces. The things chattered and screeched at Kara as she
passed. One spun to face her and shook his tiny fist at her. Even
the cars weren’t the same as the ones she knew. Some were the size
of tanks, with the same tread covered wheels, and others were
smaller than even the littlest electric cars she had seen.

Asian style music filled the air around Kara.
A woman with two heads, both painted up like geisha, passed Kara.
She played an instrument that looked like a banjo, but with none of
the twang. Kara watched as the woman strolled through the crowd,
never pausing in her music. She stopped near a vendor’s cart and
began singing a low, lilting melody. It was hard for Kara to pull
her eyes away as she passed the woman, but the smell of food drew
her forward. Her stomach rumbled as she caught a whiff of the food
the vendors sold along the street. It was a salty, sweet smell that
reminded her of the carnival. Kara’s mouth watered. She didn’t know
when she had last eaten.

Cautiously, Kara approached one of the carts.
The man working the cart was shouting to be heard above the crowd,
but she couldn’t understand him. His speech had a sing song quality
to it, but tumbled from under his mustache too quickly for her to
catch much. Kara hung back a moment, watching as a man three feet
taller than her with bright green hair and black skin ordered
something called a chozo and paid with three of the smallest coins.
Kara stepped forward to order the same.

“One chozo,” Kara said. The word felt strange
in her mouth and she hoped she was pronouncing it right. She kept
her head down to avoid looking the man in the eyes.

“Cheese on that?” the man asked, breaking his
chant to address her. It was such an unexpectedly normal question
that Kara looked up at him. He peered down at her through purple
eyes. One eye was the size of a cherry while the other was plum
sized. If he thought she seemed out of place, he didn’t show
it.

“Uh, sure,” Kara answered. She watched as he
dripped melted cheese onto the food and rolled it up in brown
paper.

“Three knocks.” The vendor handed her the
chozo. Kara put three of the small coins in his hand. He glanced at
the coins and nodded to her. Kara hurried away.

Kara headed to an empty bench and sat down.
She opened the small packet to examine the food. It was wrapped in
a big green leaf and smelled delicious. Not knowing what to expect,
Kara picked it up and took a bite. The leaf snapped pleasantly as
her teeth bit through it. Flavor exploded in her mouth, spices she
couldn’t begin to identify along with a sharp cheese of some kind.
There was meat in it as well, but she didn’t care to know what kind
it was.

Kara ate her meal ravenously, keeping one eye
to the crowd as it passed. Occasionally the sight of someone
passing by would remind her of her childhood in the Daylands, but
so much of that was still a mystery to her. Tet the world felt
strangely familiar to her. Even when she woke in the pit and saw
Glint and Collicks it had only been scary, not unfamiliar. In a
weird way, Inbetween felt more normal to her than the human world
ever had. She always felt out of place there, so removed from
everything around her, until Dylan came along.

Kara stopped a friendly looking girl roughly
her own age with curly pink hair, pointed ears, and glasses. She
looked like someone safe to talk to.

“Excuse me. How do I get to the Gravity
club?” Kara asked. The girl looked down at her as if she were a
particularly stupid cockroach.

“It’s two blocks away on North Caregy,” the
girl answered in a high flute like voice. She pointed down the
street toward the closest intersection.

The girl walked away quickly, leaving Kara
with the urge to disappear into the pavement. It was almost
reassuring that things could be the same Inbetween as in the human
world. Kara gathered up her trash and threw it away before stepping
back into the crowd, heading for the intersection the girl
indicated.

As Kara approached the club, her stomach
twisted in knots. The food that tasted delicious just moments ago
seemed to be threatening to reappear as her nerves took over. By
the time Kara stood outside the nondescript door of the building,
she seriously considered giving up on the whole idea.

It was Dylan though. Kara couldn’t stand the
thought of losing her. Above the door, Gravity was written upside
down. Taking a deep breath, Kara pushed the door open and entered
the club. Her mind felt thick and muddled as she stepped through
the door, forcing her to shut her eyes a moment in hopes of
clearing her head. The door clicked closed behind her, and when she
opened her eyes she found herself standing upside down on the
ceiling of the club.

She wasn’t the only one, everyone in the
place seemed to be suspended from the ceiling. The crowd danced,
drank, and went about their business with no regard for the laws of
gravity. Her equilibrium spun from the unexpected change. Dizzy,
Kara dropped to the ceiling. She grabbed a table leg, sure that she
would tumble to the floor any second. As Kara lay there, clutching
the table leg and trying to find her balance, she heard laughter in
the otherwise meaningless din of sound. Suddenly, it was easy to
pick out words in the chatter of voices.

“Newbie,” scoffed one man. “Those changelings
can never hold themselves here.” A woman laughed with the man.

Kara wished she could disappear. More
laughter echoed around her as others in the crowd noticed her laid
out flat on her stomach. Coming into the club had been a bad idea.
She wanted to stand up, but lifting her head made her nauseous; she
was forced to wait it out on the cool wood.

“God, did I look like that the first time I
stepped in here?” asked a familiar voice. Kara forced her eyes
open. She was glad to see things looked normal now; it was easy to
pretend she wasn’t on the ceiling.

There, in a nearby booth, sat Dylan. Her hair
was pulled up in a messy pony tail, and she wore even more makeup
than usual, but it was Dylan. Eyeliner rimmed her eyes darkly,
fading to a smoke like tinge further out. Kara took in Dylan’s high
heeled boots and short skirt with a mixture of hate and lust. Dylan
was the center of attention as always, everyone at the table
fighting for their moment with her. Both men and women leaned
toward her, practically basking in her presence.

Dylan glanced down and noticed Kara watching
her from the floor. She began to laugh, half covering her mouth to
hold it in. Kara wanted to sink out of sight. This was the kind of
response she always expected from Dylan. It had never happened
before, but she still dreaded it. Everything about Dylan always
radiated confidence and coolness, Kara never felt like she was good
enough for her, even as she got to know her better and saw the
darkness Dylan’s party girl image hid.

“I think she heard us,” Dylan sniggered to
the man beside her, leaning her face into his neck as she spoke. He
looked about thirty, give or take a year. His eyes were jet black
with no white showing and as emotionless as a snake’s. One arm was
slung low around Dylan, his hand drawing slow circles on the bare
skin between her top and skirt. His hair was as dark as his eyes
and slicked back, making a striking contrast against his deathly
pale skin. When he smiled in reply, Kara saw sharp teeth. If there
were vampires in this world, Kara was sure she knew what they
looked like.

“Who cares what a little changeling hears?”
the man asked. He pulled Dylan closer, and leaned down to brush a
kiss on her collar bone. Dylan nodded and pushed him away, giggling
the whole time. Kara recognized the look on her face; Dylan was
high as a kite.

“We’re here for fun aren’t we?” the man
asked. Around him, the rest of the group cheered their agreement,
lifting glasses high in the air.

Kara got shakily to her feet. Once you got
used to it, the bar didn’t feel upside down; it was as if gravity
had reoriented itself. Kara was standing across the crowded room
from Dylan, and Dylan had no idea who she was. After her initial
comments, Dylan turned away from Kara, not giving her a second
thought. Kara scanned the club as she tried to think of the best
way to approach Dylan.

Her own memories of Dylan were scattered,
with only a few clear enough to latch onto properly. Seeing Dylan,
Kara couldn’t help but remember the happiness she always felt
around the girl. Maybe if they talked, Dylan would feel it too. It
was a long shot, but it just might work.

Kara walked toward the booth where Dylan sat
at the center. Three people blocked Dylan in on either side. The
black-eyed man hovered over Dylan like a hawk, his eyes scanning
the room even as he laughed and joked with the others. Beside the
man, Dylan relaxed into his side, letting her body melt against
his, probably thinking he was just as relaxed. She was wrong. Kara
could see the man was wound tightly and ready to spring. She
wondered if anyone else realized he was only pretending to have a
good time. How close could she get to Dylan before he stopped
her?

His eyes fell on Kara when she was still
three steps away. His smile never faltered, but she could see the
malice behind it. He wore a button down shirt, a tie loosely tied
at his neck. He looked like any other man relaxing after a day at
the office, but a predatory air hung around him like haze. Kara
fought the urge to turn away.

“Yes, little changeling? What can we do for
you?” His voice had the same musical, pleasing quality as
Demitar’s. It was filled with just as much venom as well. He pulled
Dylan closer and she nuzzled her nose into his neck before kissing
the skin gently. That sort of kiss would have left Kara speechless,
but the man hardly noticed. As always, Dylan was oblivious to the
tension around her.

“Kade,” Dylan said, laughing. She slapped his
chest, and he gave her a little shake to keep her quiet. Kara bit
her lip to keep from shouting at Dylan to snap out of it.

“I assume, like most people here, you’ve
spotted something you like?” Kade asked. His eyes drifted to rest
on Dylan. She covered her mouth and giggled again. Kara’s stomach
turned as Kade raised an eyebrow at her.

“Stop it.” Dylan slapped at Kade playfully,
still giggling. He snatched her hand and held it tight in his. Kara
saw a flash of pain slip across Dylan’s face, but then Kade was
kissing her hand, and she was laughing again.

“I need to speak to Dylan,” Kara said
sharply. Her fists were clenched at her sides as she tried to hold
herself steady. Before the man’s false smile started to fade, she
knew it was a mistake to have approached the table.

“Dylan?” the man spat the name out. He
lowered Dylan’s hand to his lap. “There’s no one here by that
name.” Suddenly, the others at the table didn’t seem quite so
relaxed.

“She’s sitting right beside you.” Kara looked
right at Dylan as she spoke. For a moment their eyes met. There was
the faintest hint of recognition in Dylan’s eyes. It disappeared as
soon as it appeared, leaving her eyes blank and lifeless again.

“What is she talking about, Kade?” Dylan
asked turning her face up to the man. She looked like a little girl
in his arms. He sat with his jaw clenched, glaring at Kara. “Why is
she looking at me?” Dylan used her baby voice. It grated on Kara’s
nerves in a familiar way.

“Forget it,” Kade answered, sparing a brief
glance at Dylan. A quick, fake smile flashed across his face.
“She’s no one to you.” He shoved Dylan toward the red haired girl
on her other side. “Gemma, Linux. Take Morning and go. She doesn’t
need to deal with this.” He handed Dylan off like a child and she
went without question.

The red haired girl took Dylan’s hand and
pulled her out of the booth. A man, so beautiful he seemed hard to
look at with his silvery hair and tan skin, led the way to the
door. A minute ago they didn’t seem to have a care in the world,
but now they were all business. Each of them kept close to Dylan,
not letting her stray from the path.

As Dylan passed Kara, their eyes locked once
more before a small frown came to Dylan’s face. Her escorts tugged
her arm, and she was heading for the door again. Just before
reaching it, she glanced back at Kara one last time. In that
moment, Kara felt like things weren’t lost, like she could still
save Dylan. The feeling fled quickly as the door shut and she
realized she was the center of attention in the room.

All eyes were on her and none were friendly.
The room had gone deathly silent; someone had stopped the music.
Kara swallowed hard around the lump that formed in her throat. Kade
pushed himself up and out of the booth in one smooth motion and
sauntered towards her. He circled her, his eyes hungry as he took
in every aspect of her. Beside him, Kara felt small and vulnerable.
In that moment, she felt more human than ever. He ran a hand across
her shoulders. Chills ran up Kara’s spine, and she shivered
involuntarily.

“So you’re the Guardian?” Kade scoffed,
standing back and putting his hand to his chin as he studied her.
“You’re barely more than a child yourself.” He leaned close and
inhaled beside her head. Kara shut her eyes, too scared to move.
She felt his breath on her throat when he spoke again. “You reek of
your humanity.” His voice was barely more than a harsh whisper.
Kara opened her eyes, watching as the man stepped back. “How do you
expect to save her? She’ll hardly notice you with the rest of us
around. We shine and scream to her, while you are no more than a
whimper. You’ve no power to draw her senses to you.”

“She already noticed me.” Kara was surprised
by her own bravery. One look at Kade’s face, and she knew it was
more like stupidity.