Shift of Time (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 1) (16 page)

“Why, Rue, you’ve come to visit me again.”

I spun to face him, hands on my hips. “Bill, where have you been?”

He smiled and glanced past me at the assembly. No one else had sensed his arrival. He was a sneaky devil. “I don’t particularly like dealing with devils.”

“You mean now that you’ve left your old job and didn’t give notice? Don’t expect a reference, buddy. They frown on that type of thing.”

Bill’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “You’re probably right.”

“You didn’t
work
for the devil, did you?” I cringed at that thought.

“No, of course not.”

I started to ask him who he did work for as a grim reaper, but he walked past me. “Hello, everyone. Welcome to the library. Please let me know how I can be of assistance.”

The imp ate the floor again, and Ken and the other demon seemed tempted to, but they tried to save face. I took the moment to study Ken inside the library. Like the imp, his glamour was stolen away, but as a “lesser” demon, he wasn’t the bare bones claws and fangs creature feature the imp was. Ken’s skin tone was ash gray but smooth and unblemished. He had the same black eyes as the imp, and where the imp stood about four feet, Ken’s height was the same as it was with the glamour, about six feet. The lesser demons had the advantage of having hair, sheets of silky straight hair that reached down past their shoulders. Ken’s was black, and his partner’s white. I didn’t glimpse horns in the midst of the hair, but these beings were unmistakably creatures of darkness. Then again, so was I.

I decided to show myself and walked out to join Bill. The boy screeched, pointing a finger at me. “That’s her. That’s the monster!”

I blinked at him. “I’m cute. Have you seen them?” I pointed at Ken and his buddy, and the boy’s teeth clicked together as his eyes rounded. He tried to glue himself to his guardian.

Bill made a tsking sound. “Monster? Little one, you don’t know the world you live in. Some would call you a monster. You can manipulate time.”

I frowned at him. “How did you know that?”

He just smiled.

“I c-can’t…” the boy stuttered. “Why doesn’t it work?”

“Not here,” Bill told him. “Not in my place. No powers allowed.”

The boy’s mouth fell open, and he stared at Bill in confusion. I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest. “I know what you’re thinking, sweetheart. Odd, right?”

The boy blinked at me as if to say he was thinking the same thing.

Bill harrumphed. “You’re being insulting, Rue.”

“Sorry, Bill.” I pressed my lips together.

“Well, then, shall we wait for the others to arrive?” Bill asked the assembly and offered us all seats at the tables. “I have refreshments if anyone would like any. Anything you would like.”

I remained standing, leaning against a sturdy shelf of books. The first time I visited the library, Bill had offered me blood. What would he give the demons? The thought disgusted me, but I was curious. His eyes sparkled as he bent toward the boy. “Do you like tacos? I have plenty of those, but you can have anything you want.”

“No, thanks.” The boy’s eyes were on me. I recalled the night my ears almost popped, and I’d nearly burned. He had sent me through time.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

He hesitated and then shrugged. “I’ve never had a name. Everybody always called me Shift.”

“Shift? That’s not a name. That’s a title. You shift time, right?”

“Yeah.”

I sensed sadness in him, and it touched me. How lonely he must be. Examining the guardian with his thick mustache curling into his mouth and thinning hair atop his head, I didn’t see any resemblance to the sweet-faced boy.

“Where are you parents?”

“Dead.”

“And this man is your guardian?”

“Stop talking to him,” the guardian demanded.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Watch yourself, human. I’m not the enemy here.” I nodded to Ken. “He’s the demon, along with his pal there and the others outside.”

“They work for me.”

I blinked. “That’s not possible.”

He turned his head. I supposed I wasn’t good enough to warrant an explanation. Bill moved to the kitchen, and Ken rose from the chair he had taken upon Bill’s suggestion that they sit. He approached, and I scowled at him.

“Back away, demon.”

He held up his hands. “We’re on a sort of truce right now, Rue.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Such animosity. It’s just business.”

“A boy’s life isn’t just business!”

His eyes flashed. “To me, it is. We were hired by this man to steal the boy back. We did.”

“Steal him
back
?”

“That’s right. You’ve been working for the wrong side, vampire.”

“Impossible. You’re demons. You’re evil by nature! The Fae—”

“Are good and bad.” Bill entered the room to interject into the conversation. “Among the Fae are those of the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. The Unseelie are what you would term as being evil.”

Bill’s words left me at a loss. This was too much. My world had changed too radically. After I had learned of the existence of ghosts, vampires, Death, and witches. I thought I was prepared for anything. Now I had to accept that there were humans with special powers, demons, Fae, and whatever creature Almonester was? Okay, I had already believed in the existence of demons, but had never seen any until recently. Bill had lectured the boy, but the lecture should be aimed at me as well. I had no idea of the world I occupied.

“There are good and bad Fae?” I squawked.

Ken scoffed. “I’d say mischievous and evil Fae. None of them are actually
good
.”

I recalled Pammie and Orin glamouring their customers to purchase more. Were they the mischievous kind? Yes, I thought so, and knowing them I understood why Ken made the claim that there weren’t good Fae. That left Milo.

“Shift,” I said, “there’s a box, a magical one that I was given by the Fae Milo.”

At mention of the box, Bill caused it to appear on the table where Shift sat. In an instant, Shift leaped backward, knocking over his chair. He fell to the floor and scrambled away, crying. His guardian ran after him and dragged the boy into his arms.

“Take it away! Can’t you see it torments the boy?” the guardian shouted.

“Bill, please,” I begged.

Bill, flicked a finger, and the box was gone. Everyone in the room sat in shocked silence at such a severe reaction from Shift, or perhaps I was the only one shocked. I knelt before him and rubbed the boy’s back. His cheeks were red as he sobbed, and I sensed his embarrassment at giving in to weakness.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I never meant to frighten you. It seems I’ve been lied to.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Can you tell me about the box?”

He hesitated, looked at his guardian, and then nodded. Shift squared narrow shoulders and stood to return to his chair. The guardian stood behind his chair with hands on Shift’s shoulders.

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve been able to change time—for myself or for other people. At first it was weak, like five minutes. After a while, it got stronger. Now I can do it by a few hours. Up to eight if I push myself. I always thought it was nothing cool except to get myself out of stuff.”

“Fascinating,” Bill said. He bit into a taco I didn’t recall him having.

“Eventually, when I was seven, people started noticing. Bad people. They kept coming, trying to take me away. We had to go on the run and hide, but then my parents were killed, and I was alone.”

“You poor thing.” I took his hand, glad he no longer flinched away from me. “But you found someone to look after you?”

“I’m a scout,” the guardian said. “My name is Thomas.”

I took a wild guess. “For this corporation?”

He looked at me. “You know about the corporation?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” I lied.

He appeared doubtful. “The corporation is a group of humans who protect those who are special. They’ll take him in and feed and clothe him. He’ll even be trained to use his ability for the good of mankind.”

I frowned, and Thomas glared at me.

“I personally can vouch for the organization,” he snapped. “They are good people, tough but fair, and they won’t hurt him or use him for their own selfish gain like that Fae!”

The mention of Milo brought the conversation back around to the box, which Shift had avoided explaining up until now. I debated whether I should prompt him, but he spoke of his own will.

“The box holds me in one place,” he said, a haunted expression in his eyes. “I can’t shift away, and I can’t get my hand off it once I put it on the box no matter how hard I try. It hurts too, really bad.”

A cage, Bill had called the box. Now I knew the truth, and Milo had been the one to make the contraption. I had no doubt in my mind that Milo was of the Unseelie Court. Milo was a dark Fae.

“Well, darn,” I grumbled. “I guess I’m not going to get paid. Bill, bring me the box, please.”

Bill complied, and I picked it up and held it in my hands. I moved away from the others, tossing the box from one palm to the other. I felt the magic seeping from its very core. When I spun to face the others, I imagined right now Milo could see us all there, see that Shift was present and that I could easily take him and bring him back.

Instead, I squeezed the box between my hands. A sting of pain touched my skin, but as fast as it did, my healing kicked in. With much manipulation from a vampire, the spells embedded in the box broke and dissolved. Less and less energy emanated from the device, when its special ability depleted, the structure itself collapsed. The box crumpled into dust and trickled from my palm to the floor.

“
A
h
, they’re here,” Bill said, and all of us turned away from the pile of dust on the floor and looked in his direction. He focused away from the exit, so I wasn’t sure what he meant. As far as I could tell, the barrier around the outside of the building hadn’t been removed. I could sense nothing and no one moved.

Bill, as usual, read my mind. “The same pass I gave to these two humans were given to the others.”

I frowned. “So they’re outside?”

“No.” He flicked a wrist, and the shelves nearest to me rearranged. I managed to step aside in time for a door to appear, and when it opened, a man and woman walked through, both human.

The woman, tall, leggy, and with a headful of long, dark hair, paused just inside the library to look down her nose at the company. Her gaze scraped over me dismissively and kept moving until she spotted Shift. “There you are,” she said as if they had already met, and she had misplaced him around the house.

“Do I know you?” Shift asked. He had the look of one reserving fear until he was sure he had something to be nervous about.

The woman approached him and laid a hand on his cheek, smiling. She was beautiful when she did, but there was still that air of superiority. “Not yet, but you will. I’m Arianna Justiss, a member of the Meris Organization. This is my assistant. His name doesn’t matter.”

I winced, but the man didn’t seem to be offended.

“I’ll escort you back to our headquarters where you’ll live from now on. What do they call you?”

Shift hesitated. His guardian stepped forward. “He’s been called Shift most of his life. I’m not sure if he had another name and forgot it in the trauma he’s lived through, but there aren’t any records of his birth.”

“His parents probably had them destroyed.” Arianna nodded, knowingly. “Well, don’t worry. You’ll have a new identity along with your new life.”

I took that moment to speak up. While everyone seemed okay to trust this person, I wasn’t so sure. “Just where is this organization, and how do I know you’re not going to try to use him?”

Arianna’s sienna gaze transferred to me, and she all but sneered. “I
said
he will be cared for. My organization has been in existence for longer than you’ve been alive—or dead. We don’t need your verification, vampire.”

I was a little tired of people calling me “vampire” as if it were some sort of insult like “idiot” or “ugly.” In fact, Arianna’s inflection on the word implied she thought much worse of me and my sort.

Arianna and I stood nose to nose, glaring at each other. Rather we would have if she didn’t tower over me. I took in her scent and wasn’t quite sure what it was, maybe human but not quite? Maybe she was like Shift or Inna, humans with special abilities. There was definitely something about her. A human who was aware of what I was wouldn’t have the boldness to go head to head with me. This woman was either bold or confident in her skills. I suspected the latter because she had walked in way too sure of herself.

“You are not taking Shift unless I’m comfortable you won’t hurt him.” I confess I felt attached to the boy, maybe because of Jake.

Arianna’s eyes sparked with anger, and her lips thinned. Still, I didn’t sense she was about to attack. No one moved or spoke around us. I felt their gazes as they waited and watched for how this confrontation would play out.

At last, the woman stepped back with a sigh. “I believe you’re concerned about him, but the organization doesn’t allow visitors who don’t have clearance. In fact, you can’t even find the place without us allowing it.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No.” I heard regret in her tone. “I have to take him tonight, but you can escort us for part of the trip. First, we have to pick up our other charge.”

“What other charge? Surely, you don’t take demons into your organization?”

If possible, Arianna’s glance toward Ken and his partner held more dislike for them than it had for me. “Never! I don’t approve of using them at any time. Thomas, I’ve already suggested you be brought in for review regarding your use of these vile creatures.”

Ken made a sound in his throat like the beast he was accused of being. “Your love is choking me, Arianna.”

“Don’t speak my name,” she shouted and then turned to me. “I’m assuming you know where I can find my other charge. Her name is Inna.”

“Inna?” Shift piped up. His anxiety melted away. “Inna’s going with me?”

Arianna stroked his cheek and smiled at him. “Yes, she is. Inna is a member of the organization, and she can be like a big sister to you. She’s pretty new herself and has lots to learn.”

“I’ll go,” Shift chirped. No fear could stop a twelve-year-old’s crush.

“Great.” Arianna nodded. “Shall we go?”

She waited for my assent, and I still had my reservations. After all, I had believed Inna was running away the night I met her. If she’d run from the organization, why would I consign Shift to them? On the other hand, I didn’t have a lot of choices. I couldn’t take him to school during the day or leave him home alone when I went out to hunt. If he were a regular boy with no one after him, maybe it would work out.

Shift had a gift, and unless he was taught to use it properly and responsibly, he might hurt himself and others. Perhaps I could find out the location of this organization whether Arianna wished it or not and keep an eye on both Inna and Shift. Yes, that was what I would do, and the resolve removed a huge weight from my shoulders.

“Fine. I’ll take you to Inna.”

Arianna arranged for a car to transport her, her assistant, and Shift to Inna. She refused to ride with the demons or the scout, so they were left to make their own way. When she had settled into the back seat of a black SUV and swung long, shapely legs in, she looked at me, still standing on the curb.

“Are you coming, vampire?”

“My name is Rue. Rue Darrow.” I rolled my shoulders and glanced at Shift. His excitement at seeing Inna hadn’t dimmed. “I’ll follow in my own way. I’ve given your driver the address.”

“Suit yourself.” Arianna slammed the door, and they were off.

I ignored the humans loading into a second car and the demons loitering about and started to move off. Ken called out to me, and I paused.

“Are you trying to keep me distracted, Ken?” I narrowed my eyes at him as he approached.

He raised his hands, grinning. “No, but you and I know who would win if we fight again.”

“Because you have backup?”

He smirked. “Because I’m stronger and better.”

“Oh, that’s why I took your charge from you, because you’re better. I see.”

He ground his teeth. “The old guy.”

“What about him?”

“Know why we agreed to work for him?”

I glanced over my shoulder at the scout, who was now settling into the car, a demon on either side of him in the back seat. The other two humans sat in the front. I assumed the scout had hired them as bodyguards as well should the demons betray him. So far they hadn’t.

“You asked for his loyalty, like you did me?” I suggested.

He chuckled. “Your loyalty would be fantastic, a vampire’s strength and ability… Anyway, he agreed to let us use his body any time we want.”

“What!” I grabbed Ken’s shirtfront and dragged him closer. He didn’t put up a fight. “Why would he do that?”

“For the boy. He’s one of those sentimental, stupid types. All he had to do is see what was happening to Shift once, and he caved. Humans are like that, but you already knew. Imagine how free I’ll be when I can walk about this plane in human skin.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

He grinned. “You don’t have a say, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re not allowed to kill humans. That’s the only way you’ll separate me from the human.”

He was right. One of the direct orders Ian had given me as my sire was that I was not to harm or kill a human. I had no wish to hurt them of course, but his words were a seal on my existence that I couldn’t disobey. What irritated me was that everyone seemed to know my entire business better than I knew it. I should feel warm and cozy, as it was like living back home in Summit’s Edge. “Why are you telling me?”

“So you won’t be too shocked the next time you see me behind his eyes.” Ken faded from my view, and it was my turn to grind my teeth. He’d told me to rub it in, to get a little of his own back after I took Shift from him and forced him to back off. He hadn’t recaptured Shift. The boy had returned on his own. That fact had bruised Ken’s ego. Even male demons had big ones, it appeared.

I caught the wind and sped over to Nathan’s apartment complex. Come to think of it, what had happened to my canine buddy? He’d killed the imps earlier, but had left Ken and the others alone when they arrived. I couldn’t remember whether I sensed him at the time. Ah well, I would catch up to him later.

When I arrived at the apartment, I picked up Inna’s scent right away. I waited in the lobby, leaning against the doorway for the others. Arianna, leading her entourage, arrived and marched to the entrance. We took the elevator down to the lower level, and as soon as the door opened, we were greeted by a wolf as big as Nathan. She sat blocking the way forward, a growl rumbling in her throat.

“Step aside,” Arianna ordered.

The wolf stood but didn’t comply. I rolled my eyes. “I’m Rue, a friend of Nathan’s.”

We were granted entry, and Arianna hissed annoyance as if all of us were beneath her. The door at the end of the hall was the one I knew held Inna. I knocked, and Arianna banged.

“Open up, now,” the woman ordered.

Shift’s hand brushed mine. “She’s bossy,” he whispered.

I grinned and winked. “Give her a run for her money later.”

He nodded, excitement sparking in his eyes.

The door opened, and a rather rotund young man, maybe late twenties stood before us. Human, I thought, as he pushed thick glasses up his nose with one finger while the rest held on to a slice of pizza.

“Oh, it’s you guys. Here for Inna?”

“’Oh it’s you guys?’” Arianna demanded. “What if we were the enemy? How would you protect her?”

He stuttered at Arianna’s presence and authority, and she shoved him out of the way as she barged into his apartment. The assistant followed Arianna, but I waited at the door. The man, smacking loudly, looked back at me.

“Oh, Rue.” He had the audacity to leer. “I’ve heard about you. Wow, you’re prettier than Nathan said.
Way
prettier.”

He must not have seen the Amazonian goddess just ahead of me. I cleared my throat.

“Come in, come in.” He swept his hand out and stepped back. “I’m Zander.”

My eyebrows rose as I entered. “Really?”

“It’s a nickname.”

I didn’t have to guess he had given it to himself, but I did speculate if any of his friends deigned to call him by it.

“Inna!” Shift ran over to her and hugged her. Inna sat in a chair pulled up next to a computer with the biggest monitor I had ever seen. If it fell over onto a person, I was pretty sure they wouldn’t get up again.

For herself, Inna was dressed in droopy sweats that did nothing for her slender figure. Her dark, straight hair had been pulled back and secured with a rubber band, and her feet were bare. She too held a slice of pizza in her hand, and I was surprised she accepted Shift’s hug with a smile.

Then Inna’s gaze slid to Arianna, and she stiffened. The smile disappeared. “So you found me.”

“That’s right.”

Inna turned her back on the company and pushed Shift off. “I’m not going back.”

I stepped forward, clenching my hands into fists. “She wants to take Shift to this organization, Inna. Are you saying it’s not safe?”

Inna spun to face me, and she looked at the boy and wrinkle her nose. “Shift. That’s what they call you?”

He shrugged.

“That’s not a name. It stinks, dude. Big time.”

“He’ll get a new one,” Arianna said. “It’s not important right now, but we need to get to the organization where he can be protected.”

“I said I’m not—”

“You don’t have to go, Inna.” Arianna’s voice turned surprisingly gentle.

The girl’s eyes widened. “But when I got there…”

“You don’t have to go. You’re an adult and can make your own decisions. Contrary to the way it seemed when you were at the organization, you are not a prisoner.”

Inna folded her arms across her chest. “Could have fooled me. I was locked in my room.”

“After causing havoc with your abilities.”

Inna blushed.

“You were never beaten or starved. Your room was comfortable.”

I moved over to the girl and squatted before her. “I need you to confirm whether this is true or not, Inna. It will help me with my decision of whether I let Shift go.”

“You don’t have a say,” Arianna snapped. “The organization is Shift’s legal guardian.”

I ignored her, keeping my attention on Inna. She stuffed her mouth with pizza, and when Shift watched every bite disappear, she offered him some. He devoured two slices in the time it took her to finish one.

“I don’t know,” Inna said at last. “I wasn’t there long enough.”

“If Inna’s not going…” Shift said around a mouthful of pizza.

Arianna rubbed her forehead.

“I’ll go,” Inna said. “For a little while, until he settles in and can see it’s not some type of concentration camp for special kids.”

“Honestly,” Arianna grumbled.

“You have my number,” I told her. “If you need me—either of you—call. I’ll find you.”

Arianna’s expression turned sour, but she didn’t deny my claim, maybe because she was getting her way. She wanted the kids to go without fuss, and Shift was convincing Inna to give it a try. I wasn’t fully satisfied, but Arianna for all her dislike of nonhumans, seemed to care about Inna and Shift.

“Well, then we’re done here. We’ll head back to the library.”

I frowned. “You’re going back through the library? Is the organization in another dimension?”

Arianna glared at me. “No, we’ve just arranged passage that way for safety’s sake. You don’t need to know any more than that, and don’t think you can fleece the librarian. He will never betray a client.”