Nightshade (9 page)

Musical laughter caught my attention, drawing my eyes to the platform dancers, who moved in rapid synchronized steps as they turned in ever-swifter circles, tilting their heads back and blowing through full bloodred lips. The mist poured from their throats and wafted toward us. I blinked at the strange sight, wondering how safe it was to inhale the breath of a succubus.

The pulse of the music slowed, became dark, throbbing. Bryn’s eyes closed; she twirled in slow circles, her arms weaving smooth, intricate patterns in the air. Ansel watched her, mesmerized.

My eyelids dropped low, lashes brushing my cheeks. I let the vibration of the floor flow up the muscles of my legs, guiding my hips in circles and dips as the liquid darkness of the music wrapped around me. I gasped when hands came from behind to encircle my waist.

“The way you move is incredible.” Ren drew me back to press against him. His fingers slid down to the curve of my hips, rocking our bodies in rhythm with the heavy bass. The sensation of being molded against the hard narrow line of his hips threatened to overwhelm me. We were hidden in the mass of people, right? The Keepers couldn’t see?

I tried to steady my breath as Ren kept us locked together in the excruciatingly slow pulse of the music. I closed my eyes and leaned back into his body; his fingers kneaded my hips, caressed my stomach. God, it felt good.

My lips parted and the misty veil slipped between them, playing along my tongue. The taste of flower buds about to burst into bloom filled my mouth. Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to melt into Ren. The surge of desire terrified me. I had no idea if the compulsion to draw him more tightly around my body emerged from my own heart or from the succubi’s spellcraft. This couldn’t happen!

I started to panic when he bent his head, pressing his lips against my neck. My eyes fluttered and I struggled to focus despite the suffocating heat that pressed down all around me. His sharpened canines traced my skin, scratching but not breaking the surface. My body quaked and I pivoted in his arms, pushing against his chest, making space between us.

“I’m a fighter, not a lover,” I gasped.

“You can’t be both?” His smile made my knees buckle.

I pulled my eyes away from him, trying to focus on the lace-like patterns created by the flashing lights on the dance floor. It didn’t help. My body felt alien, hot and wild. Even if we were hidden, I didn’t want that. Not now. I would not swoon for Ren. If we were going to lead the pack together, I needed his respect.

“I am not just another one of your groupies, Hefner.” I shoved him back a foot.

Ren stalked toward me. “Of course you’re not. You never could be.” His words wrapped around me, low and soothing.

He trailed his fingertips along my cheekbone. His other hand slid around my waist, caressing my lower back where a sliver of bare skin lay exposed between the hem of the corset and my low-slung jeans. A sudden quivering filled my limbs. I hated how weak I felt.

Ren leaned forward, his thumb tracing the line of my lower lip. I was almost drowning in the heat and mist when I realized he intended to kiss me.

“No.” I darted out of his reach. My body ached for his touch, but my mind was in a frenzy. “Seriously. We can’t.”

My heart slammed against my rib cage as I pushed through the intoxicating mist and the wall of dancers to escape his advances. I glanced back once, cringing at Ren’s thunderstruck expression. I was about to turn back when I saw arms slink up his chest. Sabine curled her body around him, pulling him into the swaying crowd.

I turned away from the press of bodies, slinking back to the couches we’d occupied. I snatched my jacket and made a break for the stairs.

I COULD STILL FEEL THE BASS VIBRATIONS
from the club as I stood on the sidewalk, wondering if I should just call a cab and go home.

“Um, hi. Calla?”

Shay Doran emerged from Eden’s doorway wearing a shy smile. The cold night suddenly felt balmy. I thought about bolting.

“Hey,” I said, returning his smile. “How are you, Shay?”

“Good. I’m good.” He pulled nervously at the lapel of the slim-cut blazer that covered his white T-shirt. “Do you hang at Eden a lot?”

“Not really. My friends and I were invited tonight. I’m mostly here out of obligation.” I wished I were at home in bed, instead of standing outside with this strange human.

A relieved laugh emerged from Shay’s throat.

“Yeah, me too. This isn’t my scene. Bosque thought I’d have a good time, but I’m not really a club kid.”

“No?” I asked. “What are you?”

“Well, I think I have my uncle convinced that I’m a wannabe Greenpeace member.” He flashed a grin, then he sighed. “I’d always rather be outdoors. I hike. But I guess you know that.”

He suddenly looked fearful. I ran my tongue along my lips but didn’t reply. He hurried to speak again. “And I like to read. Lots of philosophy, history, comics.”

“Comics?” The unexpected image of Shay surrounded by volumes of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Spider-Man amused me.

“Yeah.” His eyes brightened. “Sandman has always been my favorite, but that’s really more of a series of graphic novels. I like a lot of Dark Horse stuff: Hellboy
,
Buffy: Season 8 . . .”

He trailed off when he caught my blank expression.

“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. “I read novels.”

“Works for me.” He grinned. “What’s your favorite?”

I watched a cab pass us on the street.
I really should just get out of here.

“Ah. Too personal.” He raised his eyebrows. “The relationship of a girl and her favorite novel can be complex indeed.”

The cab turned down the next block.
So much for escaping.
“No, it’s just strange to talk like this outside of the club.”

“Agreed.” He looked back at the massive bouncer who hovered by the door. “Wanna go get coffee?”

I wondered if I’d heard him right.
A boy just asked me out; that can’t be right. No one asks me out. It’s forbidden.
I felt warmth creeping up my cheeks. Then I remembered that he didn’t know any better.

He spoke again. “I’ve been making a habit of finding the best late-night reading spots in Vail. There’s a twenty-four-hour Internet café two blocks from here.”

I nodded. “I know the place.”
If I’m supposed to watch out for him, then this wouldn’t really be breaking the rules, would it?

He shifted back and forth on his feet as he waited for my answer.

I considered Ren and the dance floor one last time before saying,
“Watership Down
.
”

“What?”

“My favorite novel.”

He snorted. “Isn’t that about rabbits?”

“It’s about survival,” I said. “I’ll tell you about it over coffee.”

I began to walk down the street, hearing the clatter of his shoes on the pavement as he rushed to catch up with me.

“Well, bunnies aside, at least you’re original.”

“I’m sorry?” I didn’t look at him but continued at a fast clip along the deserted block.

“Every girl I know says
Pride and Prejudice.
Or some other Jane Austen tale of class-obstructed love, conflict, and—insert longing sigh here—marriage.”

“I’m not the Jane Austen type.” I slowed my steps so he didn’t have to work to keep pace with me.

“No, I didn’t think so.” I heard the smile in his voice and felt a grin tug at my own mouth.

Shay kept his hands shoved in his jeans pockets as we walked.

“You know.” He cleared his throat. “Grizzlies are supposed to be extinct in Colorado.”

I kept my eyes on the sidewalk, pulling my jacket tightly around me.
Nothing is the way it is supposed to be up on that mountain. The world’s natural laws don’t apply.

“I like to hike. Pretty good at it, actually,” Shay continued. “And I read about the terrain when I moved here. Mountain lions maybe, but no grizzlies.”

I shrugged. “Maybe they’re coming back. Conservation movements are making significant headway these days.”

“No, I don’t think so. Wannabe Greenpeace guy here, remember? I can tell you think I’m an idiot, but I’m not. I’m pretty competent when it comes to backpacking. There should not have been a grizzly where I was hiking.” He paused and then plunged on. “Or werewolves.”

I bit my tongue and quickly swallowed down blood. “Is that what you think I am?”
He’s only interested because he thinks I’m some kind of freak.
Disappointment gnawed at me.

“Let me see: super-strong girl who can turn into a wolf and hangs out with a bunch of other kids who act like a pack of animals at our school and are pretty damn scary. Do I have the definition wrong?”

“It depends on what you think werewolves are.” I glanced at him.

He ran a hand through his already-mussed hair. “I think you should tell me. The rules of the world I’m used to don’t seem to apply here. Lately it seems like I can’t be sure of anything.”

He stopped abruptly and I turned to face him. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the desperation in his face.

“Except that I should be dead.” He shivered. “But I’m not. Because of you.”

He took a step closer, his gaze moving over my face, searching. “I want to know who you are.”

I could smell his fear but was intrigued by the other, more-alluring scents beneath it. Clover, rain, sun-warmed fields. I leaned toward him, taking in the shape of his lips, the light in his pale green eyes. He wasn’t looking at me like I was a freak. His eyes were full of fear and wanting. I wondered what he could see in my eyes.

And I’m beginning to think what really matters is who
you
are.

Unable to resist, I reached out, curling my fingers around a tendril of hair that fell in his eyes. He took my hand, turning it over in his, tracing my palm as if I might not be real.

“You’re so much like a normal girl.” His eyes moved over my face and shoulders. He tried to hide his quick glance at my corset.

I thought about new places his hands might wander but instead drew my lips back in a warning snarl, shaking free of his grasp.

He looked startled for a moment. “See, you have fangs when you’re angry. You’re a werewolf for sure.”

When he rubbed his eyes, I noticed how deeply shadowed they were. “Or else I’m going crazy.”

Sympathy tugged at my chest.
I want you to know me, Shay. To really know me.

“You’re not crazy.” I kept my voice low.

“So you are a werewolf,” he whispered.

“I’m a Guardian.” I glanced around the street, worrying that we might be overheard.

“What’s a Guardian?”

I spoke in a hurried whisper. “I need to know if you’ve said anything to your uncle or any of his friends, like Efron, about what happened on the mountain.”

Shay shook his head. “Like I said, I thought I might be crazy. I didn’t want to say anything about it. Things have been too weird ever since I moved here.”

He shoved his hands back in his pockets. “And I was trespassing on that hike. I had my own reasons for being up there, and I didn’t need my uncle to know about it.”

Relief spilled through my body. “All right, Shay. I’ll make you a deal.” I hesitated another moment, knowing I shouldn’t tell him anything. That I should leave him alone on the street right now.

But I didn’t want to. I wanted something that was just mine.

A thrill coursed through me when I whispered, “If you swear that you won’t speak to Bosque or anyone else, and I mean anyone—school, home, online Dark Horse fan group, whoever—about what I tell you, I’ll let you know why things seem so weird in Vail.”

He nodded with a little too much enthusiasm and I wondered if I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

“Let’s get to the café and I’ll start explaining after you buy me an espresso.”

I was about to return his smile when I saw them. Two men across the street, a few yards behind us. They leaned against a building taking nervous, short drags off their cigarettes. I frowned. Though the pair chatted casually, I was certain that a moment ago, they’d been watching us.

“Come on.”

I crossed the street onto the next block. Shay fell in step, oblivious to my sudden wariness. I glanced over my shoulder. The men trailed behind us. I sniffed the air, but the pair of strangers walked downwind of me, making it impossible for me to know if they were human . . . or something else. I flexed my fingers as I worked through a map of the area around Eden in my mind’s eye.

I tilted my head and listened; it was easy to pick up their gruff whispers.