Relentless (20 page)

Nate was at his computer when I got home. I stopped in front of his office door and held up the carrier. “Judith taught me how to make a casserole,” I gushed like a kid who’d just learned to tie her shoe laces. “Chicken and rice.”

“Really?” He eyed the carrier with anticipation. He didn’t say it but I could tell he was happy – not because of Judith’s cooking, but because I was spending a lot more time with Roland and Peter. For once I agreed with him. Despite all the bad things that had happened in the last few weeks, I was happier than I’d felt in a long time.

Dinner was nice. Nate had two helpings of casserole and we were both more relaxed than we’d been in a while. That didn’t stop him from noticing that something was off with me. “Are you feeling okay? You look a bit pale.”

“Just tired. We stayed up late last night and I helped Judith around the house today.”

“Cooking
and
housework?”

“Hey, I do housework,” I protested even though we both knew how much I disliked it. I’d rather gut fish down on the wharf than clean the bathroom.

Nate smiled like I’d said something funny and I scowled at him.

“Why don’t you ask Judith if you can stay with them while I’m at the conference next week?” He said. “That way you won’t have to be here alone? Imagine what you could learn to cook in five days.”

Nate had started going to an annual writer’s conference in Boston two years ago, once he finally realized I was old enough to get along without him for a few days. Five whole days of total freedom. I loved Roland and Judith, but no way was I giving that up.

“Are you kidding? I’m going to order from Gino’s every day and dust off the Buffy DVDs.”

He grimaced. “Pizza and vampire slayers. What more could you want?”

“Hey, you should be glad I’ll just be lounging around in pajamas,” I said with a sly grin. “Although I could call up the cute drummer I met at the party last night and see if he wants to hang out.”

His eyes widened in dismay. “A drummer?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. He’s also taking college classes in case the band thing doesn’t work out.”

The look on Nate’s face was priceless. “College? How old is this boy?”

“Um, twenty, I think.” I had no idea how old Samson was but I was having too much fun to stop. “So really he is more of a man than a boy when you think about it.”

Nate’s expression of horror was so funny I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. “Breathe, Nate, I’m just messing with you. I mean, I did meet a very nice guy but nothing happened. Of course, that might not be the case if I was a
normal
girl who was going out and dating and all.”

He glowered at me. “How long have you been waiting to use that one?”

“A loooong time.” My heart felt light as I wrapped up the leftover casserole and put it in the fridge. I couldn’t remember the last time Nate and I had bantered this way. “When are you leaving?”

“Not till next Tuesday morning and I’ll be back on Sunday. You have my cell number and I’ll leave the hotel information on the fridge before I go.” He sipped the strong black tea he liked to have after dinner. “That way you can get hold of me anytime.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him. “Oh by the way, I need to get a new cell phone. I lost mine last night. It’s probably water logged now after all the rain.”

“How did you lose your phone?”

“Dropped it somewhere in the woods out in the Knolls,” I replied vaguely.

He looked at me over his cup. “Do I want to know what you were doing in the woods in the middle of a storm?” He shook his head. “Never mind, forget I asked. I’ll get you one tomorrow. I don’t want you here alone without a cell phone.”

Nate went back to his book and I cleaned the dishes before I headed to my own computer. Judith had found information about Madeline so easily that I was hopeful I could learn more about her movement on my own. But I soon realized that Judith’s network knew a lot more than anything I could find online. 

I was in the second hour of my fruitless search when I got the email from NightWatcher. It showed up in the email box I’d set up for message board correspondence to keep my real identity safe. I stared at the unopened message for a good five minutes before I clicked on it. It was the first time I’d heard from him since we made the arrangement to meet at the Attic and I wondered what he wanted and why he waited this long to finally contact me. For a second, I contemplated deleting it but my curiosity won out. I wanted to know why he hadn’t shown up that night. More than that, I wanted to know if he really knew anything about my father’s murder.

I’m sorry I didn’t go to meet you at the Attic. I did intend to go in but when I got there it didn’t feel safe. I heard later that someone was attacked by a vampire that night. Portland is not a safe place these days. I left town that night and I’ve been keeping a low profile ever since.

If you still want to talk, I want to meet you. Just not in Portland. Let’s pick a place away from there where the vampires aren’t likely to go. I’d prefer to meet during the day if we can. I think that would be safer for both of us.

I sat back in my chair, staring at the screen. I had expected to never hear from NightWatcher again and his email stirred the same need that had sent me to the Attic in the first place. No matter what had happened, I still had to find out why my dad was killed. The sane part of me protested that I didn’t know this guy from Adam and for all I knew, he could be luring me into some kind of trap. But a bigger part of me argued that I was never going to find the answers I sought, sitting in my bedroom searching Google.

I sent a quick email back telling him I might have trouble getting away and asked him if he could share what he knew online. His reply was almost immediate.

The things I know could mean my death if the wrong person learned of them. I need to meet you in person to be certain I can trust you. You will understand once we meet.

Hmmm, cryptic.
I was more determined than ever to meet him now but slipping away to meet him was going to be damn near impossible with my self-appointed bodyguards following me around, especially after the crocotta attack. There had to be a way to do this.

I still want to meet you. I just need to figure out some things. I’ll think of a place we can meet that will work for both of us. Let me see what I can work out and I’ll get back to you.

I clicked Send and let out a long breath, wondering if I had done the right thing or made a huge mistake. The way things were going for me lately, I never knew what to expect when I set foot outside my door. But I couldn’t let that keep me hiding out at home and afraid to ever take chances again. I loved my freedom. If fear stole that from me, what kind of life did I have?

Bad things could happen whether you left your house or not – a painful truth I learned with my father’s death. And it wasn’t just me I had to think of now, but Nate as well. What if the crocotta had followed my trail back here instead of finding me on the road last night? Nate would have been helpless against such creatures.

Remy would know how to keep Nate safe. I needed to go see him as soon as possible because the least I could do was try to protect Nate.

My injured back and arm ached as I undressed for bed. The scratches were healing at an incredible rate and Chris said they would be completely gone in a few days. I’d have to make sure I wore long sleeves until they faded because there was no way I could explain away those scars.

I turned off the light and pulled back my comforter, but instead of getting into bed I was drawn to the window. Parting the curtains, I looked down at the dark waterfront and wondered if Nikolas or Chris was out there right now, standing guard over my place. Roland told me that Nikolas had refused to leave the house even after Maxwell and the others arrived, though some of the younger wolves were very unhappy to have a couple of Mohiri hanging around. I had to say one thing about him; he was pretty serious about this whole protection thing. I just wished I knew how long it was going to last. Didn’t he have warrior business to take care of?

A movement in the shadows caught my eye and I realized someone actually was out there, standing just outside the glow of the nearest streetlight. As if they heard my thoughts, the shadows moved again and a tall figure stepped into the light. I couldn’t see Nikolas’s face but I knew it was him. A feeling like contentment settled in my chest and I stepped back from the window.
It’s nothing
.
I just feel better knowing he’s there... for Nate’s sake.

For the second night in a row, the nightmares stayed away.

*     *     *

Slipping away to see Remy or anyone else turned out to be a lot harder than I had anticipated with my two Mohiri bodyguards stepping up their watch after the attack. It wasn’t like I could just jump on my bike and ride down to see my troll friend, and if I admitted it to myself, I wasn’t too keen on going out into the woods alone right now. But it was as frustrating as hell to have someone watching my comings and goings around the clock.

It wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon that I finally saw an opportunity to steal away. I got home from school to find a note from Nate saying he was at one of his environmental meetings. Peering out the window, I saw that Chris was on duty, sitting casually on a bench as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Didn’t he get bored just sitting there? I thought warrior business was supposed to be a lot more exciting.

As I watched him, two girls approached him and sat on either side of him, engaging him in conversation. At that moment, I could have kissed Jessie and Marie. I felt no pity for Chris because he seemed more than capable of holding his own against two teenage girls and this was the perfect diversion to keep him occupied long enough for me to make my escape. In minutes, I was pushing my bike through the back door and between two buildings to Market Street.

Remy was standing just off the road waiting for me when I arrived. It was uncanny how he always knew when I was coming to see him. I’d asked him about it more than once and he only smiled and said it was a troll thing.

Today he was not smiling. He spent a full five minutes going off about the crocotta attack and how I’d almost been killed. I should have known he’d know all about it. There was no way something that big had happened close to troll territory without them being aware. “This what happens when you go to city. Bad things come from city,” he ranted as we walked to the cliff.

“I know, I know. But I can’t go back and change that now. I guess you probably know about my new bodyguards too huh?”

He nodded seriously. “Warriors are strong. They protect you.”

I told him about Nikolas coming to see me last week and his news that I was Mohiri. Remy didn’t blink an eye as I shared my news. “Did you know what I was all this time?” The possibility that he had known sent a pang of hurt through me.

“No,” he answered sincerely. “I knew you not normal human, but even trolls not know everything.”

“You knew I wasn’t normal?”

He smiled wickedly. “Everyone know that.”

“Funny guy!” I retorted, hitting him in the shoulder.

We sat in the cave for an hour while I told him about Nikolas and how he wanted me to go live with the Mohiri. “I don’t want to leave here. And I don’t want to live forever. Everyone I know will get old and die and I’ll still look like this.”

“I live long time.”

My eyes widened. “That’s right!” There was nothing I could do to change my immortality but for the first time, the long years stretching before me didn’t seem quite as bleak.

“Do you think we will still be friends in a hundred years, Remy?” Just the thought of the two of us still being here after a century and looking like we did today was too much to imagine.

“We always be friends,” he stated with conviction.

My joy dimmed when another thought hit me. “I’ll have to go away for a long while because if I stay here people will know I’m not aging. I won’t be able to come back until they are all gone.” I gave him a hopeful smile. “You could come with me if you want. I could find us a place out in the country somewhere, maybe up in the mountains.”

He shook his head sadly. “Have to stay with family.”

“Oh.” I sighed heavily. Remy was adventurous for a troll but he still had the deep sense of faith and family ingrained in all of his people. He was a steadfast friend but his first loyalty would always be to his family. I understood it and respected it even if the thought of leaving him for years saddened me.

I shook off my gloom; I would worry about leaving my friends behind when the time came to do it. Right now, I had more important things to take care of.

“Remy, I need to protect Nate in case a vampire or some other monster finds out where we live, maybe some spells to watch over him. You have warding spells, right?”

“I have strong ward for home but it not help when uncle not at home. Troll magic not good for humans. But there some good spells you can use.”

“I need something really strong. Nate’s all the family I have.”