by Tara Lain
Carla yanked her arm away from her mother and glowered at Jazz. “No concussion. I’m fine!”
Jazz nodded at Mrs. Mendes. “I think she is fine, actually.”
Mrs. Mendes looked wary but said, “We’re ready to go home anyway. I’ll see she gets some rest. Thank you for finding her, Jazz.”
“No problem.” He smiled at Carla. “See you later.”
“Not if I—”
“See me first, I know.”
She snorted at him and walked off with her mother, staring back a couple of times with confused eyes. But hell, he couldn’t help her. He didn’t know any more about what had happened than she did.
“Hey, Jazz. You going home?” Seth called.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s talk.”
“Sure. Okay.” He turned toward the car. Why did the idea of talking to Seth and Lindsey make him antsy?
On the edge of the parking area, someone called out, “Yo, Vanessen.”
He turned and stiffened.
Donald Evenride trotted toward him, and as he got closer, he… smiled? Seriously? “I never got a chance to say good game. That was one helluva home run,” he said.
“Uh, thanks.”
“Yeah, well. That’s it. Have a good one.” He kind of shook his head, then turned and trotted away.
What’s going on? Jazz looked after Donald and came eye to eye with his father, Karl. Karl stared hard toward Jazz, his eyebrows drawn together, but he didn’t look or smell angry. Just intrigued.
Jazz shuddered. Having Karl Evenride curious about him wasn’t high on Jazz’s list of goals.
DASH STARED at Lys as she calmly reviewed her emails and sipped champagne. Her limo was equipped with all the comforts. But right now he was tempted to snatch some of that comfort from her hand to get her to pay attention. “Lys, are you going to tell the Magicouncil?”
She looked up, curious. No, that wasn’t right. Evasive, that’s what she looked. “What do you want me to tell them, Dash?”
“That we’ve experienced two unexplained surges of power in this area in the last two days. And the second one was significant. Hell, Lys, the hair on my arms is still standing on end.”
“They’ll then ask me where it came from.” She drained the last inch of bubbly in her glass.
He raised his eyebrows. “And you’ll tell them that you think it came from some unregistered and unexplained kid in a backwater called Hartford, Connecticut.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Don’t forget, I come from this backwater.”
“Only by accident.”
She set the empty glass in the side compartment next to her seat. “What did you think of him?”
Dash inhaled. Strange, but he didn’t want to tell her everything. “He’s powerful. Amazingly so. But—” He shrugged. “—he’s different. I don’t think he knows anything. And there’s something really odd about him. Like a power I don’t get.” He looked at her face and realized she looked uncomfortable. “What did you think?”
“I’m not as impressed as you are.” She stared at her computer screen. “You know that there are many humans who have skills they’re unaware of.”
“You think that’s all it is? Seriously? All that power?”
She turned and met his eyes. “I don’t think we should go off half-cocked, getting the council all riled up and intruding on this boy’s life until we know more. He comes from a very powerful human family, Dash, one with money and influence. We can’t start harassing him without consequence.” She glanced at her hands. “I wish we’d met more of his family. That might explain something about his skills.”
“Well, you set up the perfect scenario to learn more about him.”
She smiled slowly—and slyly. “You finally got with the program.”
He barked a laugh. “You’re always a step ahead of me, Mistress.”
“And don’t you forget it. By the way, I loved your comment about absorbing experience from the cosmos. Very cute.”
He smiled to cover his hard swallow.
She gazed at him and sipped her champagne. “Think of this assignment as a chance to further prove yourself. A step toward—well, let’s just say big things, where you really can absorb teachings from the cosmos, my little mage.”
His stomach flipped. Arcantaria. Barely more than a myth. He and his friends whispered the word and called it SuperMage School. Lysandra wasn’t allowed to say the name to him; he knew that. No Master could confirm the existence of Arcantaria to a student. Still, she’d been dangling the idea of it in front of him since he was fifteen and apprenticed to her. To be selected for Arcantaria at eighteen would be a coup. Few of his kind were ever chosen, much less so young. The rumors said that even Lysandra had been past twenty when she’d gone. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to some serious absorbing.” So much it made him salivate.
They laughed together as the limo crossed into New York City.
THE RAP on the door made Nardo looked up from his computer. “Yes?”
The door opened, and one of his guards stuck his head in. “Evenride’s here, boss.”
“Oh good. Send him in.”
The handsome, tall blond human walked into the office. Definitely nervous. Good. He stood inside the door with his hands clasped in front of his genitals.
Nardo sat back. “Come in.” He waggled his fingers. Evenride swallowed hard and walked over. Nardo pointed at the guest chair. “Sit.”
Evenride sat.
“So, was she there?”
Evenride cleared his throat. “Yes. Yes, sir. She was. With that nephew of hers she takes everywhere.”
“Anything interesting?” Obviously this idiot human knew very little, so Nardo had to interpret anything he observed for its possible significance.
“Uh, she’s certainly a fan of the governor. She seemed very close to him and his family.”
Boring. “Anything else?”
“Uh….”
“Anything. Anything. Not just her.” He waved a hand impatiently.
Evenride shrugged, though he didn’t look casual. “A kid got stuck up a tree, and the governor’s daughter and her friend, that Vanessen kid, had to climb up and save him.”
“The governor’s daughter?”
“The teenager. Carla. She’s a real piece of work. Shoulda been a boy. All those guts are wasted on a female.”
Of course the asshole would be a misogynist. “The Vanessen kid?” His ears practically pricked.
“Yeah. I’d never seen him before. Quite a tree climber. And speaking of climbers, those Vanessens are a bunch of rich snobs. I know some people on his board who’d like to shove the old man out and take over.”
Nardo’s eyes snapped up to Evenride’s face. “You know people close to the Vanessens?”
Evenride puffed up. “Sure. I know all those important rich bitches. Me and the assistant gov? We’re like this.” He pressed two fingers together and smiled huge.
“Tell me about the boy. The one who climbed the tree.”
“Whaddya want to know?” He leaned forward conspiratorially. What an ass.
“What does he look like?”
“Real tall and skinny. Weird brown hair. I don’t get it, but the governor’s daughter seems to like him.” He leaned forward. “Of course, I’ve heard the kid’s a screaming fag, so maybe the girl’s kind of dykey, you know?”
Nardo raised an eyebrow and the idiot seemed to pick up on it because he shut up.
“Does this boy go to school?”
“Uh, I think he’s going to Yale in the fall.”
“And this summer?”
“Donald, that’s my boy, says the kid’s got some cushy job working for his grandfather.”
“In New York? At Vanessen Enterprises?”
“No idea. They’ve got a building in Hartford too.”
“Yes, I suppose.” He stared at the weaselly man. Evenride smelled so much like a liar, it was impossible to pick out if anything he said was true. “Wou
ld you be able to find out where the boy is working?”
“Me?” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I guess so.”
“Good. Do that. That’s all.” Nardo looked back at his computer.
“Uh, okay.”
Evenride must have gotten up and walked out, but Nardo didn’t notice. He was too busy researching Vanessen Enterprises.
Chapter Six
FORTY MINUTES of not paying much attention to the road later, Jazz pulled the Prius back into the giant garage full of limos and Lindsey’s collection of electric cars—including the one they’d been driving. They’d beaten him back, so here he was. Why the hell am I so nervous about talking to them? He loved his family more than anything and trusted them with everything. So why was he so nervous?
Easy. They loved him too much to see how weird he was. He’d trust them with his life, but he didn’t trust their good opinion of him. I know I’m different, but do I want them to believe I’m wacked? That I’m really not like them?
With a sigh, Jazz climbed out of the car and walked through the garage entrance into the mudroom, where he traded his sneakers for some flip flops. Then, having run out of dumb distractions, he strolled into the informal living area. Sure enough, Lindsey and Seth, both in casual clothes, sat with glasses in their hands, waiting for him. What he hadn’t expected was to see Pop-Pop with them. That made him feel better.
Pop-Pop was sipping from a teacup and wore his favorite sweatshirt, the one that said, “Some People are Gay. Get Over It.” He smiled at Jazz. “Go get comfortable, Jazz. Grab whatever you want to drink and join us.”
Leave it to Pop-Pop to not make him feel like he was in front of the Inquisition.
Jazz bounded up the steps and jogged to his room, changed into sweats, then ran to the kitchen where Bette, the longtime family cook, pointed at the fridge. “Your tea’s inside.”
He opened the door and found a big glass of iced tea with extra ice and some fresh fruit decorating it. He grabbed the glass, stepped over and gave Bette a kiss on the cheek, then strode back into the informal living room. Lindsey and Seth were sitting side by side on the couch, bending over Seth’s tablet. Pop-Pop was scrolling through his phone. Jazz flopped in a chair and sipped his tea.
Pop-Pop looked up casually. “I’m looking forward to having you in the office tomorrow, Jazz.”
“Me too. I know there’s a lot to learn if I ever want to be in your business.” He smiled. Working with Pop-Pop and Lindsey would be great. Beyond that, he was just confused.
Maybe something showed on his face because Pop-Pop said, “Remember, you don’t have to come into the business unless you want to. This internship is to help you understand what you’d like to do with your life. Not to fence you in. But no matter what you end up doing, an internship at Vanessen Enterprises should give you some useful experience.” He smiled, and it warmed Jazz’s mixed-up heart.
“Thanks Pop-Pop. I’m looking forward to learning.”
Lindsey chimed in, “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll give you lots of experience—from the bottom up.”
Seth laughed. “And if you hate it all, you can come be a cop with me.”
Lindsey punched his arm, which had to be like hammering a rock.
Pop-Pop sipped tea. “Did you have fun at the picnic?”
“It was… unusual.”
“Tell me.” He sat back like he had all the time in the world.
Jazz fished out the strawberry from his tea and popped it in his mouth to give him thinking time, chewed, then glanced at Lindsey and Seth. “I was playing baseball with some guys, and this dude named Donald seemed really angry that I was there with Carla. He was being obnoxious, and I let him get to me. I got show-offy and hit a huge home run. Sorry.” He stared at his glass.
“Probably not the worst indiscretion ever committed by the Vanessen Pack.” Pop-Pop gave Lindsey a grin. “What else?”
“I know Seth and Lindsey must have told you that Lysandra Mason was there.” He cocked a sideways smile.
“Yes, I heard. She had a handsome young man with her, I understand.”
“Yep. Her nephew. And she even said she might try to find a way for this guy, Dash, to hang out with me and Carla this summer.”
“Interesting. Maybe she thinks you and Carla would be a good influence on the boy.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. He’s this really sophisticated, supergorgeous dude. I doubt there’s anything he could learn from me. Carla maybe.”
Pop-Pop smiled. “I understand Ms. Mason was impressive.”
“Totally great. Real, you know? I liked her a lot. Gorgeous too.”
“Anything else unusual about the day?”
Jazz frowned and glanced at his brothers. Okay, try to explain. “Later in the day, Carla had to go take some pictures with her family. She told me she’d come find me, but the Mendes’s came back and she wasn’t with them.” He looked at Seth and Lindsey. “Remember?”
They nodded.
Jazz leaned forward and set his tea on the end table. “I got kind of worried, so I took off looking for her. I found her with that obnoxious asshole, Donald, the one I hit the home run against earlier. The dude was trying to get all handsy and pushy with Carla, and she was fighting him off. My wolf went nuts. He wanted to stop Donald.”
Pop-Pop nodded. “Of course. She’s your best friend.”
Jazz wiped his eyes. “My wolf was angry and…well, really upset. Donald had these three other guys with him. Big guys. I knew if I let my wolf loose and took out all of them, at least one of them would remember what they’d seen.” Jazz couldn’t stop himself from folding and unfolding his fingers. “I was really angry and confused about what to do. I knew I was losing it and was trying to keep from shifting. And then, suddenly, something weird happened.”
Jazz glanced up at Pop-Pop, who gazed at him steadily but without any judgment in his eyes. Jazz stared back down at his hands. “There was this flash of light and a sound, but I’m not sure who could hear it. It felt like a sonic boom or something. Really scary. I actually fell down, but I managed to get up and run into the clearing because I was so scared for Carla.” He glanced up again to be sure they were paying attention. “I found Carla lying on the ground, fully conscious, but all four of the guys were gone. Totally gone.”
“What?” Seth was frowning. “Did they run away when you fell down?”
“I don’t know. I asked Carla what had happened, and she didn’t know and couldn’t even remember. She wasn’t even completely sure that the guys had been there, but I knew they had. I saw them. She seemed okay, but when I got her back to the picnic site, I saw all of those guys. And they looked… strange.”
“Strange how, exactly?” Pop-Pop leaned forward in his chair.
“They looked confused. Kind of spacey, I guess. And then something else happened, something really strange.”
“What?” Lindsey was frowning now.
“As I was walking to my car, Donald came running after me. I was all ready to defend myself, but the dude was smiling. Then he congratulated me on my great home run.”
“Seriously?” Seth stared at him.
“Yeah. And the weirdest thing of all?”
“What?”
“I think he meant it.”
When he finished, they were quiet.
Jazz sipped his tea until he couldn’t take the silence anymore. “Say something.”
“What, Jazz? What do you want us to say?” Seth asked.
He fell back hard against the chair. “What happened to me? What did that whole thing in the clearing mean?”
“What do you think happened, Jazz?” Pop-Pop’s voice was quiet.
“I don’t know!” He looked at Lindsey. “Has anything like that ever happened to you?”
“No, dear. But I’m not much of a werewolf, as you know.”
Jazz was getting a little desperate to understand. His voice rose. “Have you ever heard Cole or Winter say they’ve had something like that happen to them? Some
phenomenon they can’t explain?”
“You’d have to ask them, but they’ve never said anything to me.”
“Why’re you so upset about it, Jazz?” Seth asked.
Jazz jumped up. “Because things like this only seem to happen to me. And they happen a lot, you guys. Not every experience is as strange as this, but weird shit is always happening, stuff that never happens to other werewolves. Only me. Me. Because I’m weird!”
Lindsey stood, took a step forward, and gathered Jazz into his arms, even though Jazz’s head towered over his. Jazz wriggled but Lindsey held him tight. “You’re not weird, Jazz. You’re wonderful. Special.” He leaned back and looked up into Jazz’s face. “I understand how it feels to be different. To feel like you’re crazy or unnatural. You believe that, right?”
Jazz breathed out and nodded. Since Lindsey was raised by their human mother, who hadn’t known that her one-night stand was with a werewolf, he hadn’t understood he was only half-human. He’d literally shifted the first time with no knowledge that werewolves even existed. “I can’t believe how scary it must have been for you.”
“All I’m saying is, you’re the way you’re supposed to be. Maybe you don’t get it now, but you’re going to find out how great it is to be you one of these days.”
Pop-Pop smiled at him softly. “We already know.”
Jazz swallowed hard and blinked against the heat in his eyes. Lindsey pressed a hand against his face, and Jazz gave up and dropped his head on Lindsey’s shoulder. “Thanks, you guys. I love you.”
Seth came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Back atcha.”
Pop-Pop joined the group hug. “Time to get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow.”
Jazz gave each of them a hug, then walked to the wide staircase that led up to his rooms. A glow warmed his chest, but his brain still whispered, Maybe it’s great to be me, but I’m still weird.
JAZZ STARED down at the city, which seemed to be rising up toward the helicopter. He didn’t get to New York all that often, and he’d only been on Pop-Pop’s helicopter once before, so today was exciting for a lot of reasons.
