But then, that last night, he’d come to her again.
There were no words—none that she could hear, at least—and the peaceful pale light and calm, loving demeanor had been replaced by a tortured, blood-bathed specter who’s silent cries haunted her room for less than five minutes before his ghost had finally exploded out of existence and left her screaming his name and crying in the middle of her floor.
Zoey had nearly had to put her in an auric-induced coma just to calm her down, and when she’d finally awoken nearly fourteen hours later she was bogged by a feeling that she’d fought for so long to escape.
Fear.
As the thoughts wrapped her into her own cocoon of solitude, she sensed a strangely familiar auric signature and turned in time to see a shadowed figure crawling up the side of a building. Shaking herself out of her own thoughts, she hurried to follow after them, taking care not to arouse suspicion in the crowded city streets, and keeping her aura out to scan the area in hopes of figuring out who it was.
Finally slipping free of the crowded streets and ducking into an alley—Why is it always an alley? She rolled her eyes—calling upon her recently discovered parkour skill set to carry her to the rooftop and spotted Axle crouching on a ledge, a backpack filled to bulging capacity strapped to his shoulders, before leaping to the next rooftop
She frowned at the sight, noticing that both his movements and his aura weren’t what she’d come to expect from him. Scowling at this, she put up an auric shield to mask her scent and any sounds she might make before starting after him, eager to see what it was he was up to.
Though his style seemed more clunky than before—his movement driven by powerful leaps and hardened sprints rather than the previously agility-focused run they’d shared before—there was no mistaking his personal grace as she followed him from building to building until they’d reached the business district.
Where was he going? This wasn't the way to the orphanage…
And where were the others of his group? If this had something to do with a job, wouldn’t they have been with him?
She continued to follow, feeling more concerned than ever.
Where could he be going?
Landing on the rooftop of the new clan’s headquarters, Axle stumbled and paused to catch his breath.
Seeing her chance, Serena dropped down with him, dropping her shields and using the tucked roll she’d learned from him.
“We going to make this place our thing or something?” She chuckled, starting towards him, “What the hell are you doing, anyway?”
Startled, Axle jumped to face his sudden company, dropping his bag and frowning as he saw her.
“Ser… Serena?” He blinked, his aura coiling tightly over his head before suddenly relaxing and beginning a slow sway over his head. “What are you…?”
“That’s what I’m asking you, bud,” Serena let her voice soften as she stepped forward, “Axle, what’s wrong? You’re acting funny.”
“I-I don’t know,” He shook his head suddenly. “Isn’t this…”—he looked down at the bag and bit his lip—“Isn’t this what I normally do?”
His eyes seemed so lost…
“Where are the others?” Serena bit her lip as she watched him.
“Huh? Others?”
Serena nodded slowly, “Yea. You know, your gang? Your friends?”
“I… I don’t know,” he held his head, frowning. “I couldn’t find them after I woke up. I just thought…” More blinking.
“What?” Serena pressed, “What did you think?”
“I… didn’t.” He looked up, looking nervous, “I didn’t think anything of it. I just…” He looked down at the backpack, “Isn’t this what I normally do?”
His aura tightened into a coil again and bobbed angrily over his head. Groaning, he blinked against what Serena could only guess was the worst headache he’d ever had and finally took a step towards her. Something HAD happened to him and she was more concerned than before as she stepped towards him.
“Axle, you should come with me,” she placed her hand on his shoulder and he jumped a bit at the contact before taking a deep breath and turning to face her.
“Where?” Axle frowned, biting his lip, “Where would you take me? Your clan is after me…”
“Well, you’re coming with me anyway,” Serena smiled warmly. “It’s going to be safer for you this way.”
“Safer… A-are you sure?” He shook his head, looking slightly dazed as he took a deep breath again.
“Sure I’m sure. Now come on, man; you look like alv shit,” Serena frowned.
“Thanks… I guess.” He blushed at her comment.
“Hey? You like bikes?” Serena smirked.
“What?” He blinked.
Serena rolled her eyes, “Come on, doofus.”
The two of them made their way off the rooftop, heading back towards where Serena had first spotted him and returning to where she’d parked her motorcycle.
“Is this yours?” Axle blushed, turning to her and smirking slightly, “Why am I not surprised?”
“Oh my… is that a glimmer of your trademark wit?” Serena teased, “Careful with that; the dead-eyed doofus police might come and get you. Now get on.”
Her playful banter seemed to break past some of the haze that had crippled him earlier, and he smiled as he looked back at the bike and ran his hand across the electric-purple paint job. “It suits you,” he smiled slightly, “beautiful and streamlined, but deadly.”
Serena blushed and quickly moved to the bike, straddling it and starting it up as she turned to him. “Flattery only gets you halfway there! Now,” she smirked once more at him as she moved forward in the seat. “Hop on!”
Axle nodded and climbed on behind her.
“Make sure you secure your backpack,” Serena called over her shoulder. “We don’t need a bunch of Benjamins littering the street. That’s a good way to get bad attention.”
Axle’s aura tightened again. “Backpack?”
“Yea. Remember? That bloated thing filled with money that you were—tell me you didn’t leave it on the damn roof!” Serena groaned.
Axle blushed and started stammering.
“Whatever. Don’t even worry about it,” Serena shook her head as she started off down the road. “Happy night for those assholes, I guess.”
“Sorry…” Axle finally offered, securing himself by wrapping his arms around her waist.
Feeling a flood of warmth from the contact a familiar feeling fluttered in her lower belly, Serena bit her lip against a wave of guilt and forced herself to shake the partially-formed thoughts in her head from existence. “No worries,” she shrugged, “You can just work it off as my personal slave. So did you get lost back there? The orphanage is East from here, remember?”
“The orphanage…” Axle’s aura flared with recollection, “I guess I just got a little turned around. I… I mean, I think I actually forgot where I was taking it…” Another auric shift returned him to the tightened coil, “What’s wrong with me?”
“I’m not sure,” Serena admitted over her shoulder, “But I am going to get to the bottom of it all once we’re back at the Vail Clan!”
Axle’s arms tightened around her waist, and another flood of heat struck her as she felt his lean-yet-muscled body press against her back.
“Thanks again for helping me, Serena,” Axle said as they stepped off the motorcycle after she parked it at the clan’s headquarters. “If you hadn’t showed up when you did, I’m not sure where I might have ended up.”
“Don’t mention it.” Serena looked over, “And I mean that literally! My colleagues here are going to have enough trust issues with you without you going on about how I found you running around downtown aimlessly lost in la-la land with who-knows-how-much cash. That nugget of information stays between us, capisce?”
Axle nodded.
They headed inside the clan and Serena frowned as Zoey hurried over to the two of them, shaking her head more
and more viciously with each step.
“Are you out of your mind, Serena? I mean, have you legitimately lost it? What is he doing here?” She frowned, “He’s not exactly on The Council’s good side, and him walking around freely here is a very, very fast way to put us in equally bad standings!”
“Zoey, this is a matter of that trust thing we talked about. He’s staying here, and I need you to keep that quiet around the others. He doesn’t know where the rest of his gang is and something is up with his head.” Serena frowned, “Please, Zoey, I need you to help me with this.”
Zoey sighed, “Well, about that…”
Serena frowned, “I don’t like that tone. What is it now?”
“One of our warriors found one of his gang member’s behind a casino.” She shook her head, “It wasn’t a pretty sight, either. The body had been mutilated.”
“What?” Axle frowned, his body beginning to shake with rage, “Who would do that?”
“Calm down! Even you admitted that it was weird that they were missing, there’s no point in going batshit about what you must have suspected now,” Serena frowned. “Well that settles it, Zoe; something is definitely going on here. I don’t care what the new clan’s methods might be, leaving butchered mythos bodies—rogue criminals or not—in potential sight of human onlookers is not how things are done. Has The Council been notified about this?”
“Of course,” Zoey nodded.
Serena smirked, “Did you throw the newbies under the bus to them?”
Zoey smirked, “I might’ve mentioned their ‘incompetence’ and ‘irresponsibility’ in passing.”
Serena smirked, “Girl, I could kiss you! Good job! Now, as for this lug here,” she nodded towards Axle, “somebody’s been doing some serious tinkering in his head. If we keep him here then we can be sure that he’ll be safe from whoever did this. Pardon my paranoia, but I don’t think our new allies in that other clan are as clean as The Council would like to believe.”
Zoey frowned, “Do you realize that in all my years as a warrior with the Vail Clan I’ve never gone against a single authority figure? Then you take up the role as leader and in only a few short months I’m impaling Council members with parking meters and engaged in conspiracy theories about a group that, on any other day, we should be thanking for their support.”
Serena smirked, “Quit’cha bitching, Zoey! You know you like being a bad girl—I’ve got about fifteen inches worth of proof on my side, too—and you know your ass loves me for letting you free your naughty side like this.”
Rolling her eyes, Zoey turned to face Axle, “I’m sorry for your loss. And I sincerely hope—for your sake—that Serena’s right about you,” she offered a sly grin. “I wasn’t joking about the parking meter; just something to keep in mind if you’re thinking of trying something.”
Serena smirked, “Oh man, it was awesome! Like something straight out of a comic book; full-on X-Men’s Magneto style! Bam gurgle gurle gaahh!”
Axle and Zoey stared at her.
“You had sugar again, didn’t you?” Zoey sighed.
“I might’ve bought a Snickers bar while I was out,” Serena stuck her tongue out.
Zoey sighed, “A whole Snickers bar. We’re all doomed…”
“Hey,” Serena frowned, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You have to ask?” Zoey raised an eyebrow, “‘Bam gurgle gurle gaahh’,” she chuckled, “A full-grown kid hyped-up from that much processed sugar with the strength of a trained sang warrior and the sort of auric control that could allow one to castrate a mouse from one-hundred meters away? Yea, I’d say we’re doomed!”
“Ooh… castrating a mouse from a hundred meters away?” Serena pursed her lips.
“Crap,” Zoey shook her head, “Now I’m giving her ideas.” She glanced back at Axle, “Good luck.”
“Th-thank you,” Axle called out after her. Looking back at Serena he smiled, “She seems nice.”
Serena nodded, “Yup. She’s my bestie. Just don’t get any ideas about her; she’s already got one mutant member to deal with.”
“Huh?”
“Nevermind. Follow me.”
“Thanks again, Serena.” Axle sighed as he followed down the clan’s halls with her.
“Will you stop thanking everybody? Jeez! You’re making everything seem so… I don’t know, thank-worthy or whatever,” Serena frowned and turned to him once more.
Axle smirked suddenly, his aura shifting over his head. “So much for those shining finishing school grades, eh princess?”
Serena blinked. “What did you just say?”
Another shift—the aura withdrawing into its tight coil once again—and the nervous, lost gaze returning after several blinks. “I…” He frowned, mouthing the words to himself again, “I don’t know where that came from…”
Serena stared at him in disbelief. There was definitely something different about him, but it wasn’t just that that was bothering her.
No, it wasn’t that at all.
It was the new sense of familiarity she felt around him suddenly that sparked both her nerves and newfound interest all at once.
Sighing, she led him to a spare room that neighbored her own and smiled. “If you need anything, my right next door just across the hall from yours.” She paused long enough to point over to her door and took a deep breath. “So… uh, yea! Goodnight and all.”
He nodded and headed into the room. Even from down the hall, she could hear his gasp of awe at the luxurious furnishings. Chuckling, she stepped inside her own room and slipped out of her top to get ready for bed. Drawing nearer to Zane’s prized mattress, however, the effort of retrieving a new shirt became a near-impossible burden and she allowed herself to fall into bed, using the last of her energy to shimmy out of her pants and crawl under the covers.
At least things were starting to get interesting…
11
Another One Bites the Dust…
“Serena…” Zane’s voice whispered. “Wake up, Serena…”
Serena jolted to a start as she was met with only her dark empty bedroom. Sighing, she let her face fall into her hands and she felt the fear growing through her body.
Zane…
“Please! Where are you?” She sobbed, “I… I can’t. C’mon, Serena! Time to get a grip!” She dragged herself out of bed and started the water in her shower.
Stepping under the near-scalding current and feeling it cascade down her body, she let out a sigh and willed her tension to drip off of her with the beads of moisture. Finally, after simply standing under the shower, she was able to muster up enough willpower to finally turn it off, she stepped out and wiped the fog from her mirror so she could look at the face waiting in her clouded reflection. Her purple eyes had dark circles under them, and her platinum-blonde hair was long overdue for a trip to the salon.
“Shit… I look like a hippie’s stock broker…” She sneered and turned away from her reflection.
After a quick pass with a towel, she threw a pair of jeans and a black tank-top over her still-damp skin before she stepped out of the bathroom and right into Axle’s chest.
Gasping at the unsuspected guest, she looked up at him, locking her exhausted gaze on his own and…
Driving the palm of her right hand into his nose.
“What the fu—What was that for?” Axle garbled behind the hand that was slowing the blood-flow from his nostrils.
“Sorry, reflex,” Serena shrugged, stepping past him and continuing to dry her hair. “You could’ve been a burglar for all I knew.”
“A burg—a goddam burglar? This is your clan’s headquarters! We’re hidden underground in the goddam woods!”
“Goddam right,” Serena shrugged, “Forest burglars are not a force to be underestimated. Maybe next time you’ll reconsider moseying into my room uninvited. You realize I was naked in bed about twenty minutes ago! What if you’d just moseyed in on that?”
Axle glared at her, “If you’d have asked m
e about thirty seconds ago I might have said that’d been a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately getting punched has a bit of a stunt on my libido.”
“Good to know,” Serena sat on her bed. “So did you need something?”
“I thought we could chat for a bit,” he frowned, biting his lip as he finished mopping up his bloody nose with a tissue she had retrieved for him by her bedside. Looking back at her, Serena bit her lip as she saw a flash of desire in his eyes.
She obviously hadn’t punched him hard enough.
That kind of desire could be a very dangerous thing for both of them…
Everything okay in there? Zoey’s psychic voice rang in Serena’s head, I saw Axle go into your room and heard you scream. Did he attack you?
Serena chuckled. Everything’s fine, Zoe; that wasn’t my scream. There was a long pause and, off in the distance, Serena sensed the exuberant roll of Zoey’s aura that she recognized as her friend’s laughter. I’ll be okay. Thanks for checking in.
Severing the psychic connection with Zoey, she nodded to Axle. “Okay,” she forced herself to look away, making a few passes along the back of her already-dry neck with the towel to create an excuse, “so you wanna chat? Then chat.”
“Zoey, you alright?”
Zoey frowned as she looked over at Isaac, who was staring at her. Realizing she’d been spacing out after her “talk” with Serena, she bit her lip.
“Sorry about that. I’m fine, really. Just worried about Serena, I guess.” Zoey sighed as she pressed against him and he held her tighter to him. “She’s been different after Zane, that’s for sure. But I’m afraid of what all this stress is doing to her.”
“I think you know Serena better than that,” Isaac offered. “The clan will be fine, and she will be too. She always figures it out. It’s always in her own reckless, vulgar way, but at least she gets results. Don’t worry so much and just be there to support her like you always have.”
Scarlet Night: The Complete Trilogy Page 33
