The Nymph's Curse: The Collection (67 page)

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Starling answered. “They wouldn’t even let us in.”

To be honest, Harper wasn’t sure either, but there was no way she was going to let Starling down, not again — they had to get in.

“Wait,” Harper said, as Starling moved to step up into the passenger side of the truck. “You said you’ve shifted before, right?”

“Absolutely.” Starling nodded, but looked at Harper like she was losing her mind. “But wait, how are we going to get in as swans?”

“Look,” Harper said, pointing at the top of a maple that poked up out of the center of the single-story building. “I think the building is built around a courtyard. We can shift and fly into the square. If we get lucky, we can sneak in to the building from there.”

“Awesome.”

Harper tried to not act shocked when a tight smile magically appeared on the normally sullen teen’s lips. It was so nice to see the girl smile Harper almost forgot why she was smiling. “I … You … ” Harper stammered. “Do you like to shift?”

“It’s one of my favorite things, but it’s been a long time. My mother hated when I shifted. You know … She was always telling me how dangerous it was — how if I have more than a single feather plucked I’ll die.”

Harper had misjudged Carey. She had thought Starling’s mom had been nothing more than a drug addict, only caring about herself and where she could get her next hit, but she had never been more wrong. Yes, Carey had been using drugs, but not for recreation. Instead the drugs had been a necessity, not only for herself but for her daughter as well. Carey had loved Starling. Carey had done everything she could to help her daughter — and for all Harper knew, it was Carey’s sacrifices that may have caused her death.

“Your mother was only trying to protect you from your shift?”

“Yes, but my shift is a nice break from having to deal with the spirits. It’s the only time they don’t bother me. It’s like when I’m a bird I don’t have to feel them there.”

The love of shifting and the fear of doing so was something with which Harper could relate, but the realization that her mortality was in question had only occurred after Jenna’s death. Never before had she been more frightened — her vulnerability, her soft underbelly, had been attacked. But it was different for Starling. Carey, her mother, had been overly protective and had wanted to save her daughter from the possible consequences of Starling’s swan shift. She had wanted to protect her child and keep her safe — Carey’s efforts had succeeded … and it only made it more clear how much Harper had failed Jenna.

“Well, you don’t have anything to worry about. I promise I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.” Harper meant what she said, but the nagging feeling of failure seeped into her thoughts and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would fail this young woman just as she had failed Jenna.

“I trust you. Let’s do this.” Starling smiled again, this time her teeth gleamed in the waning winter sun.

A sliver of Harper’s heart, a piece that had been missing after Jenna’s death, clicked back into place. If Starling trusted her with her safety, Harper wouldn’t let her down. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt the beautiful raven-haired woman. “I think you should stay here.”

“What?” Starling’s delicate smile disappeared. “No. Didn’t you tell me I needed to know when to walk away and when to fight? Well, this is my fight. I’m not staying here while you fight. I’m helping. You can’t keep me away.”

The young woman’s bravery was commendable and her point unarguable. Starling had every right to fight her fight, but Harper would have to protect her every step of the battle. “Don’t you think you will be safer here?”

“Yes, but that’s not the issue.” Starling paused. “Besides, we won’t be in our swan form long, right? Plus, who would try to kill two swans inside a laboratory’s courtyard?”

Starling had a point. These were the types who lived inside their work stations most of the day and then lived behind the computer for the rest.

“We can’t be seen, Starling. If we fly in, we have to do so without being noticed. Okay?”

The teenager gave a begrudging shrug. “Alright, if you say so.”

Checking to make sure no one was watching, Harper led Starling around the side of a warehouse building to the right of the lab. “Ready? Remember, no one can see us. We need to be careful.”

“Got it.”

Stripping down, Harper let the familiar, but seldom used, energy of her shift flutter through her body. The wonderful current was like a warm bath, soothing her frayed nerves and calming her with its waves. Her neck lengthened, but there was no pain, only a slight light-headed feeling as her body morphed. A soft wind blew down the stark alley between the warehouse and the lab and gently rustled the white feathers of her wings. She longed to catch the soft breeze and climb up into the skies and away from all the problems they were facing, but she’d never run away.

Starling’s young curves melded into a familiar swan shape beside her. It stunned Harper to watch the way the young woman’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she shifted. Her long black locks started to morph and change into beautiful black feathers, which sprouted and grew over her entire form. Her feathers caught a beam of sunlight and shone with a rich black so complicated with colors it appeared blue and then a brilliant red, reminding Harper of a prism the way the silken feathers captured the light and spread the colors like rays of hope. Harper gasped at Starling’s inexplicable and unexpected beauty, but the gasp came out as a strange strangled breath.

With a quick motion of her head, Harper unfurled her wings and rose up into the sky. For a brief moment, she forgot why they had shifted as she concentrated on the touch of the wind. The breeze lifted her up like invisible hands and pulled her into the bosom of freedom. The fresh air filled her lungs with each pump of her wings. The rare black swan to her left lifted higher, and Harper raced to catch up.

The air current shifted as it swirled over the building, pulling her back down to earth and to the task at hand. For too long, both Harper and Starling had lived in the pressure cooker of their lives — for what? Starling was forced to take drugs to manage her gifts while Harper had lost her sister because of her desire to succeed, her need to control, and her inability to forgive. When they finished with their meeting, maybe they could fly together and once again find the freedom they had been missing.

The courtyard was empty except for the graceful trees and a blue picnic table that gave the yard a feel of an overgrown and under-utilized park. Gliding downward, Harper swung to the right and landed between a small patch of trees. Several offices’ windows looked out into the courtyard, but no one seemed to be watching.

Starling dropped to the ground at her side. Close to their left was the main door. Behind the door’s glass a skinny, alabaster colored man talked, his hands moving animatedly as he explained some unknown point to his co-worker. Careful to stay out of sight, Harper and Starling moved behind a shrub next to the entrance.

The door’s hinges protested as the door opened and the blond man stepped out. “He can’t just expect us to follow along. This is bullshit.”

“Well you know how it is. Politics,” his co-worker answered.

The two continued talking about a shared wrong, but Harper paid them no attention; instead she concentrated on the door. As soon as the men turned toward the blue picnic table, using the shrub for as much cover as she could, Harper rushed toward the door, catching it with her webbed foot just before it closed. She opened the door and waited for Starling to step inside before their one chance slammed shut.

Inside the door, they shifted back into their naked human forms. Harper tried to divert her eyes for Starling, looking anywhere but at the young woman.

“What are we going to do now?” Starling whispered. “We can’t go meet the doctor naked.”

Down the sterile white hallway was a door marked
Utility Closet
. There had to be something inside they could use. “Follow me.”

Her heart thundered in her ears as they walked down the narrow hall. The familiar scent of antiseptics and the unmistakable bitter aroma of medications filled the air. In most ways, the place was just like Merckson, the same bitter scent, the same sterile laboratory environment, but something was different and Harper couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong.

Opening the door to the closet, they slipped inside before anyone could see them. The closet was filled with mops and buckets, and against the far wall was a shelf filled with toilet paper, window cleaners, and waxes. Above the supplies and to the left sat a stack of dark blue coveralls. They would have to work.

Harper grabbed the coveralls and handed a set to Starling. “Here, take this and put it on.” She slipped a pair over her bare flesh. The harsh fabric rubbed against her chilled skin, but it was better than nothing. Glancing over at Starling she bit back a nervous laugh — the pantsuit was about ten sizes too big for the young woman and hung on her like an old whale’s skin.

“Laugh it up. You look just as stupid as I do,” Starling retorted.

“I don’t doubt it, but at least I don’t think we’re going to draw as much attention as if we were naked.”

The young woman’s delicate smile reappeared for a split second.

Harper opened the door and stepped out into the silent hall. Stepping around a corner, the hallway was lined with offices. Farther down, and behind bulletproof windows, lab coat wearing scientists bustled around a laboratory.

To her left was an office with the brass placard that read “Dr. Eliot McDougal, Pharm.D., M.S.”

She knocked gently on the door, praying he wasn’t one of the men standing in the laboratory at the end of the hall.

There was a click as the door opened and they were met by a bald man in a white lab coat. The coat was stretched tight over his stomach as the buttons struggled to stay closed. He wore black oversized glasses that made his eyes appear enlarged, giving him the look of a squashed bug. “Dr. Cygnini? Ms. Jackson?” he asked, recognizing them from their attempt at admittance. “What are you doing in here? I told them not to let you in.”

“Dr. McDougal, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Harper said, as she and Starling slipped past him and into his office. “I’ve heard such wonderful things about you and your company. I’m sorry we had to meet like this, but you know how it is when you really need something.” Her awkward laugh fell flat.

The small office was filled with empty soda cans and wrappers. On the wall, next to his computer, was a fading movie poster for
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
. The only thing missing was a stack of Dungeons and Dragons cards and the man could have been a teenager right in the midst of his awkward high school years.

He blinked over and over as if he struggled to believe what he saw. “How did you get in here?”

“We have our ways. You can’t stop determined women,” she said, trying to play off their mysterious appearance into his office.

“I suppose, but I can see I’m going to have to learn more about women and our security,” he said, almost in a socially awkward way, as if she was the first person he had talked to in days.

Harper couldn’t control the smile that overtook her lips. This was going to be easier than she had anticipated. All she would need would be a little nymph wiles and he would be under her spell.

“So if you are so determined, you must really be desperate for a job. What kind of job are you looking for? Most of the time our HR department handles this kind of stuff.”

Her smile widened. “Oh, I know and I appreciate your seeing us like this. I know how busy you must be with your new medications, I’m sure that is why you couldn’t let us in.” She turned her smile into the picture of innocence. “Aren’t you working on a new breast cancer drug?”

His eyes tightened into a suspicious squint. “How do you know about Tribextra? That was supposed to be under wraps until next month, after the clinical trials.”

“It seems to be working well on your test subjects. I heard one woman’s cancer was cured within two months of starting your new drug regimen.”

“Yes.” The suspicious look on his face disappeared and was replaced by a look of pride. “It only took six weeks. The tumor’s margins saw significant reduction. Tribextra will be touted as the new go-to medication in breast cancer treatment.”

“Does it show any indication for use in other types of cancers?”

“We are looking into it, but the drug works at a nanoscale.”

“So you are attacking the individual cancer cells versus the entire body?”

“Exactly,” he said, his proud smile growing.

“You really enjoy helping others, don’t you?” Harper wrapped her arm over Starling’s shoulder.

“I suppose.” He sat down at his computer and motioned for them to take the two chairs wedged behind the other side of the desk.

“I have to admit I was hoping you could help us with something.” She gave him a seductive smile, letting her energy radiate toward him.

His eyes sparkled and there was a new radiance to his ruddy cheeks as her energy wrapped around him like a candy coating of sex. His chair squeaked as he leaned across the desk. “What kind of help are you looking for?”

An empty candy bar wrapper crinkled as she picked it up and moved it across the desk so she could lean closer. “We are something special.” She motioned toward Starling.

“Yes, you are,” he said in a daze.

“Thank you.” Her grin tightened. “You’ve helped
our kind
before, a woman named Carey … with a certain kind of drug … Something that didn’t pass clinical trials. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

The sparkle in his eyes receded. “You’re not here for that, are you? I can’t help you … ”

She tiptoed her fingers across the desk until her fingers stopped on the top of his hand. Energy seeped from her touch and into his damp flesh, strengthening her seductive bond. “So you do know what I’m talking about? The anti-psychotic you’ve been delivering to Starling’s mother, Carey?”

“I stopped all contact with Carey over a year ago.”

“So you haven’t seen her at all in the last year?”