Plagued: Book 1 (48 page)

Chapter 29

White is the New Black

I woke shrouded in cold, white cotton. Oh no, I was dead! It had happened. The Soul Eaters had won, I was wrapped in a shroud. Screaming, struggling, I tried to throw it off, to get free.

“I'm not dead!” I shouted. Several pairs of hands held me down and remembering the hairy long-fingered goblins, I screamed even louder.

“Lexie! Lexie, it's Dad. Honey, stop. You're not dead, you're dreaming. Wake up.”

It took a little time until the message finally sank in. I stopped struggling and my sight became more than just a white blur. A hospital room. How did I get in a hospital room? Dad held my hand, speaking softly as the nurse tucked the sheet around me and straightened the pillows, checking the tubes and needles. I had several IV's in one arm and a picture of turned-to-dust Keiko jumped into my mind.

“You were unconscious sweetheart, I couldn't wake you. The ambulance brought you to St. Luke's Hospital.”

“What's wrong with me?” I croaked out. My throat was achingly dry.

Dad had been a single parent a long time. Without me asking, he poured a cup of water from a pitcher on the bedside table, slipped in a straw and held it for me to sip. The cool water tasted wonderful, though it burned my scratchy throat. I was so thirsty.

“Anemia. You're very run down. White blood count is,” he paused before going on, his voice quiet. “It's very low. We're giving you an IV packed with vitamins and nutrients to help you get some strength back.” He set the cup back on the side table and smoothed my hair away from my face. “The doctor thinks the imbalance may have led to these strange mood swings you've been having the past couple of months.”

Oh, if you only knew, I thought. No, it was better he didn't. Far better.

I was running a fever, my blood pressure was low, Dad said. I felt awful. Looking beyond my dad I thought I saw something move in the corner, a shadow. I nearly screamed again; had the Kiros spirit come for me already? There was a terrible buzzing in my ears like a swarm of bees and I felt the blood drain from my face. The shadow in the corner coalesced, just for a moment, revealing not a terrifying spirit of death but the huge, doggy grin of Blaze, standing guard as he'd been ordered. I sank back into the pillows, my heart still pounding.

The next few days I slept away. My new found friends at the Tokyo American School signed a big card, delivered by Dad, along with homework assignments for when I got my strength back. Every morning a large bouquet of mixed flowers – roses, tulips, snapdragons, daisies, marguerites and many more – arrived in a kaleidescope of colors with a card signed only, “E=MC2.” From Albert, of course, a reference to Einstein's famous equation. Julian was most noticeable by his absence. I felt a little piqued, though I couldn't say why. Weren't we supernatural comrades-in-arms on the vengeance trail or something equally dramatic?

Though I tried to put it down to spite or outright lies, Savan's words kept echoing in my head. The things he said about Julian and Caroline. And me. Snarling out the words as he lay there, bound and bleeding, accusing Julian of planning a black magical ritual. Needing me only for that. Not really my saviour. Of course Savan also told me Julian was making the whole Soul Eater story up. That, as had been proved rather too often for my aching body and bruised heart, was not true. Magic was real. My life and soul, however I wanted to define it, were in danger. No matter how many times I ran different scenarios through my head, the conclusion was the same: Julian was my only hope for survival. This game was way too deep for one very mortal girl. What choice did I have except to play along? I didn't want to believe Julian could hurt me. A menace to others undeniably; not to me. Please not to me. That moment in the Harbor alcove, he said he was on my side. I wanted to hold onto those words. He was a monster, yes. But he was
my
monster.
We had a common bond against the Club; we were linked, right?

At that point in my musings my inner voice would generally shout, “Reality check! You thought Savan was a great guy, too!” And I would tell my inner voice to shut up.

Funny how 'weird' becomes 'norma' so quickly. The human mind is a strange thing, especially mine, I couldn't help reflecting. Me, Lexie Carpenter, wimp-girl supreme, queen of the nightlights. A girl who cried the first time Dad took me on the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland (I was twelve!), had managed to lose her soul to practitioners of black magic. Not only that, I was saved by a sorcerer, and now receiving flowers from a half-Daemon rock singer with a barbed tail. Oh, and his monstrous dog was hanging out in my hospital room. The Shadow Hound stayed loyally by my side only slithering up the wall to hang on the ceiling when the doctors or nurses came in. He took up rather a lot of room and the staff tended to bustle about. Blaze blinked back into sight whenever the coast was clear. He insisted on climbing into bed with me, springs groaning under the weight, to curl up by my side and watch DVDs. I wasn't sure how to keep him out since commands of, “No!” or “Down!” were met with his deep
chuffle
and a lot of face licking.

For some inexplicable reason, I was not afraid of Blaze and never had been. When the nightmares of my waking life threatened to overwhelm me during my hospital stay, I stroked his rough fur and felt comforted. The room smelled a bit like charcoal and the smoky-scent confused the nurses terribly. When I could walk, I kept the window open to air the Blaze-ness out of the room. Meals were the one time he would obediently slide off the bed to stare at my tray longingly, all doggy-like and puppy-eyed, licking his teeth. Albert must have trained him not to beg. I fed him most of my three squares a day. Food just didn't hold any interest right now.

Taka texted pretty regularly and even came by for a brief visit. He'd nearly given me a heart attack when I looked over to see him clinging like a spider to the ledge of the window outside my room. Especially since I was on the sixth floor. Pushing it open, he flashed a bright smile and started talking a mile a minute. Blaze eyed him warily as the
kami
squeezed through the narrow window frame. Taka had no reservations at all about Blaze, jumping down to eye level on the floor and scratching his ears with both hands.

“Is this your dog? I love dogs. I have a dog. Well, kind of. He's what you people call lion dogs. He's really big, too. Like yours. With a lot of teeth. Like yours. I love my dog. What's his name? Your dog's, I mean. My dog's name is Taro.”

“Blaze,” I managed to squeeze in.

“Who's a good doggy, Blaze? Who's a good doggy!” Taka cooed. Blaze, obviously deciding Taka was one of the good guys, flopped onto his back and let the earth
kami
scratch his enormous tummy. Hiro, Taka said eventually through a whirlwind of other information, had sent over a vial of clear cold water from their mother's well to help me get my strength back. I swallowed it down and it tasted wonderful. He then pulled out a pile of chocolate bars from inside his deep kimono sleeve.

“These are
Crunky
b
ars. Crispy chocolate. They'll make you feel better, really. Remember in
Harry Potter
how the professor guy gave Harry chocolate to feel better?
Harry Potter
is very popular in Japan. Did you read the books? I read all the books. All chocolate helps against bad magic, I think, but especially
Crunky
. Maybe only
Crunky
bars. Not sure. Coffee helps. A lot. Did you know that? I was going to bring you some strong coffee. Hiro said 'no'.”

He chattered on and on and I ate one of the bars. Maybe it was the water or maybe it really was the chocolate, whichever, I started to feel better after Taka's visit. Much to Blaze's disappointment, I even got my appetite back.

The hospital was hooked up with WiFi, which was awesome. Bridges needed to be mended with Brianna and Isobel. I'd hardly spoken to them in weeks. Never even acknowledging their birthday gifts. At first they wouldn't answer. Finally they typed a few sentences saying how very hurt they were by my long silence. Begging them please to turn on the laptop camera, I switched on mine. When they saw me on screen in living color – or absence of color – hooked up to IVs and pale as death, their hurt melted into sympathy and cries of, “
Cher! Mon pauvre petit!
”

“I haven't been myself,” was about all I could come up with as an explanation.

“You are like a shadow!” Isobel exclaimed.

“That is
far
closer to the truth than you could know.” I ruefully agreed.

I gave them an edited version of the party and meeting Albert. I downloaded the few shots I'd managed to take early in the evening of the VIP group. They were not satisfied with that pitiful offering.

“Why didn't you take
more
!” Both girls shrieked in mock agony.

Brianna saved the day by searching online for photos. At several top gossip sites she discovered screen after screen of them. It had been a very big event, apparently. If the
paparazzi
had seen what Albert Pantera was
really
capable of, it would have been much bigger! That tail! Those knives! I was in several pictures, one with Amber Lynne of all people. My back was half-turned towards the camera. A good thing, otherwise it would have shown my expression was definitely not social. My friends
oooh'd
and
ahh'd
over the Betsey Johnson dress and my descriptions of Albert Pantera.

“He is the hotness that
burns!
” sighed Isobel.

“Did you talk to the bassist? Or her mother?”

“Sadly, no.”

“The band was in Tokyo making a new music video.” Brianna informed us, reading from one of the sites on her screen.

“Are you in love?” asked Isobel with a soulful look.

“What?” So startled by the question I jumped, disturbing Blaze. His head popped up, instantly alert for danger. Even more startled when the first picture that came into my head at those words was Julian Lake. The first time I saw him at that techno club, his silver hair sweeping into his face and those emerald eyes burning through me. Blaze gave me a look, head cocked. “Don't you start!” I wagged a finger at him. He stretched out his long tongue to lick my hand. Luckily, the computer was angled away from him.

“In love, love, love,” sang Isobel, “with Albert of the Albert Einsteins. Are you in love with him? Oh, I am. Forever and ever.”

Blaze gave a doggy grin and panted. Was it my imagination or was he nodding? He must be used to girls crushing on his handsome, flirty master.

“I thought smoldering vampires were your heart's desire?”

Brianna nodded. “One for weekdays, the other for weekends.”

“But which is which!” exclaimed Isobel, her hands to her face and eyes wide in mock concern.

We laughed.

“But
d'accord
, he is gorgeous yes?”

“He is most definitely 'yes' – gorgeous. And he smells lovely.”

“
What
?”

“
What
?”

Brianna put her face right up to the camera, so close her nose covered most of my screen. “You got
close
enough to savor the
scent
of his
skin?
”

I had done precisely that. And he saved me from an evil Soul Eater, demonic spiders – which, admittedly he'd conjured himself – goblins and the clawed darkness. He also kissed me. Twice. Plus, I was babysitting his dog. Or the dog was babysitting me.
And
his best friend was either my savior or dooming me to an eternity of dust.

Life had certainly become interesting. What little I might have left of it.

Chapter 30

Devilishly Handsome

Albert Pantera leaned with easy grace against the side of a shiny blue sports car the exact color of his eyes. He wore beautifully stitched jeans, a hip length suede jacket of deep moss green and suede boots to match. Arranged around in a half circle in front of him, a group of students five deep and growing stood whispering and pointing. After all, it isn't often you find a world-famous rock star lounging on your school's doorstep, even in Tokyo.

He raised one hand and gave a casual wave in my direction as I stepped through the wide, double doors of the main building after my first day back at school. “Alexandra, darling! Hello! Come and
kiss
me!”

The entire group of students silently turned as one to stare while I made my way to the car. 'Surprised' hardly described my feelings at seeing the devilishly handsome, or maybe I should say 'handsome devil' waiting for me. He moved forward and the students fell back as if on cue. Taking my backpack, he gripped my shoulders and pulled me close for a lingering kiss European-style on both cheeks, which I automatically returned. He smelled wonderful, like a summer afternoon, exactly as he had the other night when he swept me off my feet in the battle with Savan. Still holding me, he purred in his delicious voice, “Poor thing, had a rough time of it since last we met. Thought you could use some TLC. Julian a bit lacking in that department, plus, we have an appointment.”

“With?”

“
Destiny!
” He gave an exaggerated flourish to the word followed by a deep throaty laugh and kissed me again, this time on the lips.

The boys and girls near us strained forward and I could see camera phones aimed in our direction. Little Abigail of the blond afro, with Missy Simpson towering over her – how could
anyone's
legs be that long? – were in the front row. Missy waved, holding up a blank piece of paper, a desperate look in her eyes. To her credit, she did try to dissuade Amber Lynne from the St. Valentine's Day massacre of my character.

Albert expertly handed me into the sports car, the door shutting with a very expensive sort of
whoosh
. “Maybe you could sign a few autographs, if you do that sort of thing, that is?”

He gave me a smile that made his eyes twinkle.

A short time later we were roaring down the expressway to Tokyo. I wasn't sure if I was recovered enough to be in such close proximity to the singer/Daemon. Talk about supernatural charm. He certainly enchanted the student body, signing around a hundred autographs and posing for countless pictures before maneuvering the car out of the parking lot.

Missy came over to the car while I waited. Her long hair, as pale as her skin, was pushed back by a pair of black and white Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses. She was wearing skinny jeans that made her mile-high legs look even longer and a cute white lace shirt. “What happened to the Italian?”

“History,” I said. And meant it.

She smiled, her eyes flicking to the rock star and back to mine. “I don't blame you. Albert Pantera's so hot. I'm a huge fan of the Einsteins. Thanks for getting him to pose for pictures and stuff.”

“That's okay. I love them as well.”

She shifted her books nervously. “No, really, thank you. Everyone was a bitch to you when you came in February. By 'everyone' I mean
us
. I'm sorry. I should have said that a few weeks ago.”

I looked up, meeting her eyes. “You mean before I became popular or after?”

She had the honesty to look embarrassed. “I didn't really have the courage until then. This place,” she gestured with one hand behind her to the two-story school, American flag flying high on the flagpole. “The Academy is extreme, you know. Like, you're
too
rich, or
too
social
, or
too
rebellious. No half measures allowed. All or nothing. I came in the eighth grade already this size. Taller than most of the boys. Amber was nice to me. She used to be nicer. We laughed all the time. I don't know what happened. She changed and we sort of had to change with her or get left behind. I didn't want to get left behind...”

Albert returned and we roared off. Missy waved and I felt oddly touched. The rip tides of the social sea were never easy to navigate. Even for the popular girls.

I didn't question leaving with him, though we had only met on that crazy and dangerous night of the party. It was like when Julian asked me to come to Meiji Shrine that time. It just seemed the natural thing to do. My life certainly was taking on a new edge, even without the Club. Where was the girl who preferred anonymity? The buzz from being around the Club members had faded after that awful first week of separation. Julian said it was much like a drug addiction, their power worming its lethal way into all the pleasure centers of the brain just like cocaine. Finally the victim wanted only to be with the Club for ever and ever until death they do part. Which, unfortunately for the victim, was the forgone conclusion.

I had never taken drugs, still I imagined those days after they ripped out my soul were very much what withdrawal must be like. The feeling had not been replaced, as I expected, with the empty longing that had sat behind my eyes for so many years after Mom disappeared. Julian, and if I were honest, Albert, were partly the reason for that. Even Hiro and funny Taka. Thinking about them was much more preferable to thinking about what happened to me before I met them all.

The car was small and fast. “How can Blaze possibly fit in here?
Is
he here?” I narrowed my eyes, squinting behind me, calling, “Blaze?”

Albert gripped the polished ebony knob of the gear shift. Flicking it up, the little blue car shot past those around us like a bullet. It was warm today and the wind in my hair felt lovely. A 'good to be alive' day. However many of those were left.

“Blaze will meet us. He's keeping Uncle Julian company; they're shopping.”

I had the impression Julian did not particularly care for the Shadow Hound. Albert and Julian seemed to be the sort of guy friends who loved to annoy each other, just a little. I laughed and Albert said, “
Exactly!
He likes you though.”

My cheeks went hot.

“Blaze thinks you're a grand girl and says he will guard you anywhere, anytime.”

Oh, the dog. I gave myself a little mental shake.
'Get a grip, Lexie. You are just a means to an end for Julian. The tool of his revenge for lost love.'

Albert's tail worked its way out of the back of his jeans and reached over to curl around my waist. Though I tried to unwind it, he held fast. Giving me a wink, he drove on. Instead of struggling, I just left it. He was so obviously a flirt and there were worse things than being flirted with by the charismatic lead singer of a famous band. Watching Albert navigate the expressway, I couldn't help noting how relaxed he was and said so.

“Spent a lot of time in Asia growing up, especially Tokyo and Yokohama.” He shifted again as we wove in and out of the slower traffic. The way Albert drove, that meant everyone else on the highway. “My family has business dealings with the demon clans of Japan.”

“You mean Daemon.”

“No, I mean demon.
Oni
in Japanese.”

“Oh.”

“No,
Oni
.”

“
No,
'oh'. Like,
'Oh-my-God'.
And Julian told me Japanese demons didn't like Western supernaturals coming into their territory. How come you guys can, or could?”

“We offer goods and services. Buying and selling. No threat factor. There's a lot more going on beneath the skin of this world than you might have imagined. Better get to know who's who and what's what.”

“I don't want to know.” My voice sounded childish even to me.

“Alexandra, I've spent my entire life straddling both worlds. Believe me, I can see the allure of ignorance. It's a lot to process, that step from watching horror movies to living one.”

“I never watch scary movies. Anything ghostly terrifies me. I slept with a light on in my room until I was thirteen.”

“How ironic you are now a part of these dark enchantments.”

“
So
not laughing,” I moaned.

He gave me a very serious look, though much softer around the edges than Julian's razor-edged glare. “Of course not. You have accepted though, that your life hangs in the balance, haven't you? Because we can't win if you don't believe heart and absent soul. Julian needs your will to live as much as you need his powers and potions.”

I considered that, trying to analyze the rush of emotions churning beneath the surface since the night of my birthday. What was my analogy the other day? Like being only partially strapped into a roller coaster approaching the corkscrew. Yep, that was about right. What had changed, I realized, was my determination to grip onto that bit of safety harness and hold tight. Perhaps it was when Savan snarled at me, “Can't you just die like a good girl?” that I decided to fight for my life.

“Does he want to save me? Really?” Savan's declaration that Julian wanted me only as a vessel to reanimate his lost love still hung heavy on my heart.

Albert raised one eyebrow, obviously sensing there was a story behind that question. I gave him a quick version of what happened after his return to the party.

“You don't really believe it, do you? That Julian is planning to hijack your body for someone else? To become a vessel for poor Caroline's soul?”

“Are you saying that as
his
friend or mine?”

To do him credit, Albert did not reply with some flip answer, laughing off my fears. Driving silently for awhile, he finally spoke. “Fair question. If you are asking whether Julian has the ability to perform such a ceremony, I would say, I think it has become very likely. Massive power sits behind those green eyes. His mother's a terrifying woman, by the way. Even to a Daemon like me! You couldn't break her personal wards with a Bunker Buster bomb. Because of his father drinking himself to death, I always assumed Julian's power comes from her side of the family. However, I could be wrong. Magical power and mental stability do not always go skipping along hand in hand,
tra la la la la
. The Soul Eaters were always more than a little afraid of Julian, even as a child. They were extraordinarily determined to recruit him. For all I know, his mother encouraged it. After the death of his father there was no one to watch out for the boy.”

I nodded, remembering our talk after Keiko turned to dust. “He said something about the Club being afraid of him. Not long after we met. They wanted to punish him or something, you know, with Caroline's death. Put him in his place.”

“And didn't
that
work out well for them!” He made such a face, I had to smile. “Julian is the supernatural equivalent of a genius savant. Numbers or language, spells and energy. Good God. Uncanny. Really and truly. The way he draws energy to him. People, however, are another matter. Not so long ago, I would have been more than a little suspicious of his motives in this venture. He was on the way down a very slippery slope.”

“But you're friends with him. Are you bad too? Or, were you?”

He laughed long and hard before saying, “Define 'bad'! I am definitely naughty.” His tail snaked up to caress my cheek and tickle the lobe of one ear just like in my dream. “No, I don't think I am bad. Julian has the capacity to be much worse or much better than he is. For all our sakes, we must work to keep him moving towards the light. I saw the potential in him for more than darkness when we first met and held on to that through his blacker turns. He has changed in the two years since Caroline's death. Given that he is jealous of me coming near you, I would say his feelings have become somewhat
entangled
. That would be a good thing.”

“You're imagining the 'entangled' part. And how could that be good?”

Albert kept his eyes on the road as he maneuvered in and out of several lanes. “Good for him, for Julian, to think about someone else. Bit self-absorbed that lad. Very adept at spells, not so much with relationships. Borderline autism, perhaps? Circumstances and all, you know.”

Actually I didn't know, or knew very little.

“Besides,” he winked at me. “I'm in the game now. My job to watch your back. Especially the lower part when it is walking away from me with that lovely way you sway from side to side.
Swish, swish.
You must let me take you shopping and buy you more beaded dresses. Scrumptious! I hate skinny girls, all angles and bones with a stride like a man's.”

I pulled his tail. “Albert! Are you calling me fat?”

“No! You are curvy, then slim in all the right places. Why do women think it's fashionable to look like pre-pubescent boys? If I wanted to see a flat bottom, I need only turn around and look at my own!” He gave an exaggerated shiver that reached right down to the tip of his tail and easily turned the conversation to other topics. We chatted about his family. He obviously adored them.

“My Daemon line is through Dad,” he explained. “He's a big man, much broader than me, and you should see him manifest when he drops his
glamour
. Absolutely terrifying until you know it's all an act. Course Mum was never fooled! The man cries over greeting cards, especially anything that starts with 'To a Great Dad.' I have two older brothers by the way. Also Dad is not allowed to see any films with dogs in them as he just breaks down completely. We all love him to pieces. Mum is human, well, mostly with some Fae thrown in. She's an empath. Damn difficult going through puberty with an empath for a mother, I can tell you! Humiliating. He and Mum make a great team. Though she's as bad as him about my brothers and me. I swear, you can give her a nasty bit of old string tied in a bow and say, 'Mum, I made this for you,' and the tears just
well up
.”