The Change (Unbounded) (15 page)

C
ORT MIGHT BE A LITTLE
nerdy, but he cleaned up well. He wore a tan suit with a brown shirt that matched his hair and set off his blue eyes. I knew he wore a gun strapped to his calf because I’d briefly seen the bulk stretch against the cloth of his pants when he’d climbed into the green Lexus.

“Nice car,” I said.

“Thanks.” Cort glanced at me quickly and then back to the road. “You look really beautiful. I mean, you’ve always been attractive, but with this disguise, you look mysterious. Unrecognizable.”

You’d think that at nearly five hundred years old, he’d be better at compliments. “You can blame Stella for that.” She’d made up my face with far too much makeup, given me sunglasses, and tied a silky red scarf around my head to show off my new blond fuzz. Okay, curls. I barely recognized myself. I also had stylish red glasses with clear lenses to wear in the restaurant. “But I don’t think I should have worn this red dress. I mean, it’s good for these”—I pulled up my dress a few inches above my knee to show the leather knife sheath that I’d decided to wear at the last moment—“but it sort of makes me noticeable.”

“That’s the best way to hide. Out in the open. But you shouldn’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Show me your leg. I may be old enough to be your tenth great-grandpa, but my hormones say I’m only forty.”

I laughed, feeling flattered. “Like you haven’t seen it before. Are you married? And how many children do you have anyway?”

“I had ten children, two Unbounded, one still alive and living in Europe, and a slew of great-grandchildren and other posterity. I’ve been married several times now, each time to mortals.” He shrugged. “Not for a while though. It’s tough in the end.”

Always it came down to loss. I was beginning to understand what the Unbounded faced, and that there would eventually come a time when they would be afraid to take another risk. Too many hurts piled up. Too many losses. Yet being alone was a terrible way to live, even if it took a thousand years before you could resign yourself to saying goodbye without that bitter regret.

So how could regular humans, whose lives were comparably short, be satisfied with such a brief time with their loved ones? Merely a week ago, I’d been resigned to exactly that. Perhaps because I hadn’t realized others had far more.

“Now I’m thinking of saving myself for just the right Unbounded,” Cort said with a laugh that sounded only a little forced. His stray glances had become a little pointed, and I wished he’d pay more attention to the road. I hadn’t banked on being the hot new commodity on the Unbounded single scene. It was sort of like being sought after because I had money, only this time my wealth was measured in potential years of life.

I shook off these thoughts. Right now my body was sending me strong signals I couldn’t ignore. Not hunger, but something else. “We have to stop by a grocery store. I need gum or mint, or something. Maybe chocolate.”

“Protein. It’s always that way after you’ve been hurt.”

“I could just absorb it, couldn’t I?”

He smiled. “I’ve forgotten how it felt in the beginning. It’s as natural as breathing now. I never feel in need of anything.”

“Well, I’m aware of absorbing every second, at least when I’m awake. It’s like I’m reaching out to bring it inside me. Very physical. Calculated.” I hesitated, debating on whether I should confess the rest of my thoughts. I decided to go ahead. “I’ve been wondering—do we take sustenance from other living beings? I mean, I know we absorb from the air and plants and everything, but I’d hate to think we were absorbing people, too.”

His chuckle was deep and warm and inoffensive. “No wonder you’re so aware of it, if that’s what you’ve been thinking. Don’t worry. Absorbing from another live human or an animal would be a last case scenario. There’s too much else that’s easily accessible to us in the air from decaying matter, even through glass or ordinary walls. Our systems go for easy first.”

“What if we were in a sealed room with someone, and no other food source was available?”

“We do have some innate control over our absorption, so you would instinctively avoid absorbing from them unless you were unconscious.”

“And then?”

“Then your body would do whatever it took to keep you alive. That’s part of the Unbounded gene. But by the time you started absorbing the other person, they’d be dead from starvation or suffocation, and you’d be doing it unconsciously as their body decomposed and became part of the air.” He made a face. “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a nice outing, not a morbid one.”

“Sorry. Are we almost there? I’m not hungry, exactly. I just want to eat.”

“We’re almost there.”

He drove to Café des Amis, a French restaurant on the Missouri side of Kansas City that I’d never eaten at before, though I’d seen the outside, which sported wooden decks lined by trees where diners could supposedly experience the atmosphere of a real French restaurant. As Cort parked, I made a decision. “Maybe my family could meet us here—I mean, after our meal. Join us for a drink or dessert. It would probably be one of the last places anyone would look for us.”

“The attack scared you, didn’t it?” Cort’s blue eyes were intent again, piercing as I remembered them from that first day.

I nodded slowly.

“Go ahead, call your family. I’m sure we haven’t been followed.”

I considered a moment before dialing Jace’s number. I was closest to him, and I knew he wouldn’t pester me with more than a few questions about my welfare.

“Hello?” he answered, a bit of impatience in his voice.

“It’s me, Blondie.” I used the nickname I’d had as a teenager. We’d both enjoyed the comic strip, and because I was blond, the name stuck, though we hadn’t used it much since leaving high school. I hoped he’d remember.

“Blondie, hello. Been wondering when I’d hear from you. How is everything?”

“Good. Thanks. Look, I called because, well, what are you up to right now?”

“Packing. I’m heading back to Texas tomorrow. The army only let me have a week off for my, uh, sister’s funeral.”

“I was sorry to hear about her death.” More sorry to have experienced it, but I couldn’t very well say that with the Emporium possibly listening in. “Look, I’d really like to see you and your parents. I was hoping you could meet me. Right now, if you can.”

“My parents are out. Some school play for my brother’s kids. But I can come.”

Maybe it was better this way, since neither of my parents would be happy I was leaving the state. “Okay, meet me at Café de Amis. Know where that is?”

“Do
you
know what that place costs? I’m on a serviceman’s salary, you know.” There was a note of teasing in his voice that calmed me.

“Cheapo. Never mind—it’s on me. Besides, by the time you get here, we’ll be finished eating. You can have dessert with us.”

“Us?”

“A friend. Someone I want you to meet.”

“Okay. I’ll be there soon. Later, Blondie.”

Cort arched a brow as I shut the phone. “Well?”

“Just my brother’s coming. It’ll be better this way. But I wish I didn’t feel so unsettled.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know. I feel strange, like I’m not myself. I’m sure it’s all these changes.” My quick healing proved I was Changed, but it was still hard to wrap my thoughts around living for two thousand years.

He reached out a hand and placed it on my leg. “Let me know if you think of anything I can do to help.” His touch felt good, too good, and that confused me further.

“Thanks, Cort. I appreciate it.”

He nodded and opened his door, moving swiftly around the Lexus to help me out of my seat.

“I have a chateau in the south of France,” Cort said minutes later as a waiter led us outside onto one of the decks at the restaurant. “I lived there for more than eighty years, and I still go back as often as possible. Lovely place. When you go to France, you’ll have to visit.” I noticed he said “when” not “if,” as though it went without saying that I’d eventually go there in my extended lifetime.

As Cort pushed in my chair, I lifted my gaze, scanning the people around us. The restaurant was comfortably full, but no one was paying us extra attention. I set my small red purse gently on my lap, all too aware of the gun inside. But instead of feeling nervous, I was surprised to find both the gun and the knives gave me a sense of power.

Totally not like the old me. If I’d had any doubt about having undergone a complete physical and emotional change, this proved it beyond doubt. But it was still all kinds of weird.

We began our meal with an assortment of French cheeses, fruit, and wine, to be followed by a salad and a dish of wild boar, which I’d always wanted to try. Cort watched me, a smile on his face. “I’ve been wanting to tell you that I’m sorry about your, uh, boyfriend.”

I shrugged, unwilling to talk about Tom. On the phone, he’d hesitated before his declaration of love. I’d felt a lie in the words, as I had in the hospital when he’d assured me I would live. Whether because of the lie or his desertion, I hadn’t called him back. It didn’t make sense that he could have discovered anything about the Unbounded when for all our lives we’d never heard of their existence. Could there possibly be something about them on the Internet? Had he been contacted by Hunters? Whatever the case, I was finding it hard to trust him. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to call. I would, but not yet. I had plenty of time before the exchange in New York.

“I’m more worried right now about surviving this week than I am about Tom.” I nibbled a piece of cheese. “Ritter’s determined to kill me with all this training. I don’t seem to have any talent at it, though they say I should.”

“Well, let me know if it kicks in.” Cort set down his wine. “In fact, I’m interested in recording everything that happens to you—for science’s sake, of course. If you notice anything happening, in your physical makeup, your abilities, your senses, please let me know. It could really help new Unbounded adjust more easily in the future.”

Except that I wasn’t feeling comfortable enough to talk about my strange hormone shifts with anyone, much less with a man who’d as much as admitted he was attracted to me. “Someone should write an Unbounded manual, that’s for sure.” I’d finished most of the cheese and was looking around for something else to eat. Fortunately, the waiter was coming our way with our salads and steaming entrees.

I’d made good headway on my food by the time Jace arrived. My little brother greeted me with a hug and kiss on the cheek that he had to lean down to give me, even though I’d come to my feet. I grabbed his hand as we sat down, knowing we looked more like lovers than siblings, but I couldn’t help myself. He was the only thing I had to cling to from my past life. My normal life.

“What’s with the paint and the glasses?” he asked. “Almost didn’t recognize you.”

“That’s the point.” I introduced him to Cort, and he released my hands to shake Cort’s, but already I was feeling steadier.

“So,” Jace said. “What’s happened?” My brother was nothing if not direct.

I glanced pointedly at Cort, but he shook his head. “Sorry, can’t leave you two alone. Ava’s orders.”

“Because you don’t trust me?”

“Do you trust us?”

I sighed and turned back to my brother. “I’m leaving town tonight for a little trip. I wanted to say goodbye and remind you to keep your eyes open.”

The waiter chose that moment to ask Jace if he wanted anything. Jace ordered coffee and pastry puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled in chocolate sauce. “Make that two,” I said.

Jace arched a brow in surprise. “Glad to see you’re back to eating dessert. You’re looking a little thin. What about that absorption thing?”

“Still getting the hang of it. Plus, I’ve been working out a bit.” I gave a wry smile at the understatement. At least my Unbounded body had so far endured Ritter’s training. “So about Mom and Dad . . .”

“I’ll keep an eye on them, as much as I can from a distance. And Chris always looks in on them. We have to keep working, of course.”

My old life may have completely stopped as though I’d really died, but not his or Chris’s, or Lorrie’s, or my parents’ lives. Only I had changed. Or Changed.

I leaned toward him and whispered, “After we left the house the other night we were attacked. Eighteen men with guns. Jace, you have to understand—this is far more serious than I ever realized.” I grabbed his hand under the table and placed it on the leather sheath around my leg.

He looked confused until he recognized the shape of the knives. He pulled back as if bitten. “What the—you’re serious!”

“I was shot in the shoulder, but that was nothing compared to what they were going to do to us if we’d lost. Remember what Ava and I told you about the only ways to kill an Unbounded?”

“Got it.” His face was ashen. A little louder he added, “I wish I could come with you. I don’t like you being out there alone.”

“She’s not alone,” Cort said. “I assure you of that. We’re looking out for her.”

Jace didn’t seem comforted.

“They do hire security,” I told him. “Maybe when you decide you’ve had enough of the army—”

“I’ve had enough of it now. I’m not sure how I can go back knowing what’s really out there. You’re different, Erin. I see that. And I’m not ashamed to tell you I’m jealous as hell. If I hadn’t signed that contract with the army, I’d go with you right now.”

I leaned close to him, put my cheek against his. “I’m sorry.”

That’s when I noticed the man. He was two tables over to my left, nowhere near us. He wasn’t looking our way, and I couldn’t see his face clearly because he was framed by the light coming through the trees behind him, but the confident way he held himself, the way his mouth moved when he spoke to his red-haired female companion, told me he was Unbounded. I fought a burst of panic. They weren’t part of Ava’s Renegades. Could they be from the Emporium?

“Cort!”

“Yes?” He looked at me sharply.

“I think we have a problem.”

“What problem?” Jace hissed.

I glanced at him and then at Cort. “Don’t look around or anything, but I think we’re being watched. By an Unbounded. Someone I don’t recognize.”