Brush With Death: A Sadie Salt Urban Fantasy (Sadie Salt Series)

by Ware Wilkins

I frown. “He’s a quarter Cherokee.”

  “I mean he seems square, to use another generation’s term.”

  I want to fight for Abe’s honor when Benji brakes hard. My seatbelt cuts into my chest and shoulder and my head rocks forward fast enough for my neck to pop. The tires squeal but stick.

  “Jesus, Benji!”

  “Grab your bat.”

  My hands are wrapped fiercely around its grip before my brain has caught up to what’s happening. Immediately I start skimming the shrubs and trees for vampires, assuming the Queen no longer interested in alive me. Or perhaps worried I’m coming between him and Benji.

  “Looks like we don’t need to find the pack,” Benji mutters. “The pack found us.”

  As he speaks, Alec emerges from the trees. His bare torso shines pale and strong in the moonlight, and I have to work to keep my eyes up, because he’s naked. From the shadows on either side of him, wolves begin to creep forward, yellow eyes locked on us and hackles raised.

  “Sadie Salt,” Alec’s voice bellows through the empty night, “Get out of the car and face justice.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Wolves.” Benji hisses it like a curse word. “Always action before thought. Whatever he says, do not get out of the car.”

  Um, I don’t need him to tell me that. Like I’m about to “face justice.” That just sounds like “get torn from limb to limb,” and the vivid thought leaves me queasy.

  Instead, Benji gets out and leans casually against his hood. I get that he’s old and I just saw him feel comfortable enough to square against the Queen of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but I count at least six wolves, plus, Alec. Those are the ones visible. It’s possible more are hidden or circling around us.

  I do crack my window so I can hear.

  “Fine night, Alec.”

  “We will go through you vampire, and not hesitate.”

  “You’ll lose.” Benji says it with such confidence that Alec’s gaze homes in on the new threat.

  “You’d protect a bone witch?”

  “I’m protecting a friend and an innocent.”

  A wolf with something in his mouth pads over to Alec, who takes it from his mouth. “This scrap of paper was found in Gina Long’s backpack. ‘Ask Sadie’ is written on it.”

  Benji waits, but Alec’s finished. My heart is lodged firmly in my throat and I’m glad I’m sitting or I’d be shaking so hard my teeth would rattle. “That’s all you’ve got? To ask her? Here she is, ask away. That doesn’t require the pack and doesn’t explain the justice.”

  “We’ve been asking around. Sadie Salt takes teeth as payment from all her patients. She even has one from me! She says it’s for insurance. I say it’s for magic.”

  At his words, the stupid craving kicks in. My fingers twitch around the bat. If I had a few teeth, I wouldn’t be so scared. The craving is intense, powerful enough to change my fear tremors to the quaking I’d previously attributed to addicts. My bat is reacting to this, flaring, like it’s figuring out how to get me what I need. Did my uncle know it would become as hungry as I am for the one thing we can’t have?

  “Even if it is magic, and I’m not saying it is, she hasn’t harmed you or anyone.”

  “Murder of pack and pack family is harm, vampire. Maybe a nestless blood sucker like you doesn’t understand the concept of loved ones, but we do.”

  “I understand love just fine,” Benji replies coolly. “Sadie didn’t murder Nash. Use your head, Alec.”

  “Let her defend herself, then.”

  “That’s like saying a woman isn’t a witch if she drowns. Either way, she’s screwed.”

  My blood is thundering in my ears. The need is taking on a life of its own. I sniff. Human olfactory senses aren’t shit compared to the paranormals, but something tickles my nose. It smells earthy and electric, if electric had a smell.

  It’s coming from under Benji’s seat. The odor has my complete focus now, enough that I forget the confrontation outside of the car and lean my chair back, scrambling to reach under his seat. The nice thing about being so small is, even in a tight space like the Spyder, I’m able to maneuver with ease.

  My fingers brush against plastic. I’m able to snag the corner of the bag and it comes when I tug. There’s something with a bit of bulk that catches. A harder tug pulls it free, but I can hear and feel the tear in the plastic. Then a new smell enters the car. Decay.

  What I remove should sicken me.

  It’s a cat that’s been dead for at least a day. Its eyes are still open, its mouth frozen in a scream. Its body, which doesn’t have the weight it should, is all skin and bone.

  There’s no blood in the bag, but I can see the gash at its neck.

  Of course Benji has to feed. Vampire feeding is a don’t-ask-don't-tell situation. I like Benji because, as a loner, I doubt he keeps a house filled with people who are essentially walking vending machines. But cats?

  Poor Fluffy.

  As disturbing as the package is, I’m more concerned with the material that Benji has made so much easier to get at. Stomach roiling, I skip the teeth and go straight for the good stuff.

  As soon as bones are in my hands, I can feel the power radiating from them. These are going to pack a punch. More than my uncle’s tooth. This worries me, but I’m also giddy with relief. Is this the difference between bone and enamel? That the marrow can give this much oomph?

  Stashing the bones in my pocket, I pull my seat back up and step out of the car. All eyes are on me and Respect.

  “Alec,” I say, nodding my head. The energy and excitement of having the power right there, right in my pocket, makes me feel bold. Maybe a little crazy, even. “Good to see you. We were just on the way to let you know about Gina, but apparently you already got the news.”

  He growls and it’s a strange scratch when issued from a human throat.

  “But how did you get her backpack? Shouldn’t it have been with the police?”

  “We found it before they did, four miles from where you left her body.”

  “I didn’t leave her body, Alec.” Four miles confirms that the body was moved, though. And by someone who knew how to cover their tracks. “Were you able to track a scent at all? Someone with her?”

  “There were a few scents on her.”

  One of the wolves is edging toward me, back haunches tensed to spring. I wag my finger. “Naughty puppy. You don’t want to do that.”

  “He really does,” Alec sneers.

  “Okay, well he’ll meet my bat and learn some respect.”

  “Fucking humans,” Alec spits. “The sheer hubris of all of you—”

  “I could say the same! You know me. Your pack knows me. You’ve been following me since Nash’s murder. When did I have time to kill Gina? Why would I leave her bag somewhere else? With a note that mentions me, nonetheless? How would someone my size move her body without tracks?”

  “Magic! I can smell it on you.”

  Benji hops off the front of his car and stands close to me. “We’ve just seen the Queen. If Sadie were guilty of harming someone with bone magic, do you think she’d be standing here? Alive?”

  This is what finally gets through to Alec. He stomps around, clearly frustrated, and finally punches a thick tree hard enough that the crack at its core is heard by everyone. When his fist pulls back, I can see blood tinted silver by moonlight. Beside me, Benji licks his lips before standing a little straighter. Controlled.

  Alec’s knuckles heal as he strides close to me. It’s a struggle to keep my eyes on his face. In the time that this conversation’s occurred I’ve become a bit immune to the nudity, but not when it’s heading straight toward me.

  “I’m sorry, it’s just that last night was the full moon, and the pack has questions. They’re scared and they’re angry and I need answers for them.” The grimace tells me it isn’t easy for him to back down. The ease in my tight chest is welcome.

  “I get it, I do. You have to understand that this is new for me, too.
I’m just a girl who happens to clean monster teeth for a living.” The reminder of how I exact my payment is not my best move, so I hurry on before Alec can come back to it. “I think whoever did this also killed my parents. Oliver told me their teeth had been taken, too. So not only am I not used to having patients murdered in my home, and I’m scared to death. I’ve been accused by the pack and in the heart of a vampire nest. And on top of everything else that’s happening, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in what feels like a week. So I’m tired, I’m scared, and I just want to find whoever is responsible and let your pack exact all the justice you need to.”

  It tumbles out in a rush and I feel better for saying it. The mood shifts, and so do some of the wolves, leaving me with a gaggle of naked men and one woman standing around looking sheepish.

  “I need sleep. Without any more bodies or late night trips. Is it possible Gina had ‘Ask Sadie’ in her bag because she and Nash were dating and she’d have a question for me? Like ‘why is my boyfriend so grumpy near the full moon’ or ‘what’s the deal with his teeth?’ Especially if y’all aren’t exactly forthcoming with information to non-pack.”

  His soft growl is no less menacing. “It is forbidden to speak to humans about pack business.”

  “Well, if she knew he was coming to see me late two nights in a row, I can think of a dozen questions she might have.”

  “She’s tired and she still thought of that before you,” Benji scolds. “Stop being so damned reactive, Alec. You’re a leader. Act like one.”

  Alec’s next growl is not soft and he steps into Benji’s space, looming over him like a mountain. Benji looks pointedly at Alec’s exposed parts and back up, giving the pack leader a saucy wink. Throwing his hands in the air, Alec stalks away from Benji while the others begin to buzz, like they’re debating shifting back to four legs. Alec stomps around, curses, and seethes. His shoulders are trembling with anger still. He goes to the same tree as before and gives it a cross-jab, only the punches are too quick for my eyes to follow. The crack of the trunk echoes through the mountains, then there’s a whistle as it topples down. “Fine, fine. Sadie, you have my number. Keep me informed of every development.” It’s snarled and reluctant. Alec is still on edge and came to end the pack’s worry, I’m sure, with my death. Instead, he’s being forced to back down. That can’t be easy for him, but I’m still glad for it.

  “I’m sure you’ll do the same.” There’s a barely audible grunt. I soften a bit toward Alec. He’s scary and rash, but he’s looking out for so many wolves. Nash was young and couldn’t defend himself. There has to be a lot of pressure on him to find the killer.

  Do a tracking spell, a voice inside me whispers, and you’ll find the witch tonight. As if the pack could just overlook my blatant use of taboo magic. As if, in one big wash, I can clean up my life and forget this ever happened.

  The hardest part about this new addiction is how damned convincing it is.

  It makes sense to just use it, to get what I want in one swoop. I have the pack and an old vampire here, ready to take the witch down. Then I can focus on paying off my debt. Going to school like Dr. Winston wants. Maybe having a life that’s not constantly in the shadow of all these paranormals and their hierarchies and rules and danger.

  It’s the need talking. It’s trying to paint a story that glosses over the fact that if I’m jonesing this badly now, how deep in it would I be after a major spell?

  I don’t want to know.

  “I’m going to take her home. It’s near dawn, so we can meet up tomorrow night?”

  None of the pack looks pleased with Benji. I get it. They were probably amped up to take me down and now they’re left waiting and unsatisfied. But I swing Respect up onto my shoulder and nod. “Rest first, hunting second.”

  “We’d better hunt fast,” Alec says, eyes flashing. “If we keep having deaths around here, we’re going to have other hunters in the area. The ones who don’t care if you’re a bone witch, a were, or—” he nods to me, “a human mixed up in the lot.”

  Benji says smoothly, “You’ve heard things?”

  “No. Just been around long enough to know it doesn’t take them long to find us.”

  With that, Benji escorts me to the car. I’m crashing again, body overdosed on adrenaline and pleading that it is underdosed on bone juice. Well, not today, body, not today.

  As soon as we’re in the car, I hand him the cat bones with an apologetic look. He glares, but pockets them. I wonder if he’s mad at me for taking them. It’s not like I killed the cat. That’s on him. It’s a revelation to realize I care greatly what Benji thinks of me.

  “We need to get you home,” he says, before revving the engine and taking off. “Before you decide to do something stupid.”

  “It was for protection.”

  “I’m here to protect you.”

  “Just you? Against all those wolves?”

  “You have a weapon, too.” His terse replies tell me yeah, he’s mad. Feeling prickly, I decide to reverse the conversation.

  “So. You eat cats.”

  “Would you prefer animals or humans?”

  “Then you don’t eat people?”

  He doesn’t reply as he takes a turn fast enough to make my stomach lurch. “I feed from humans occasionally, but never fully drain them, and not often. I have to stave off the hunger with other means. I noticed a large amount of cats around your apartment complex, so problem solved. For whatever reason, these cats are particularly satisfying.”

  “Too much information. And I’ve never noticed that many cats.”

  “Of course not. I see them first.”

  His meaning is not lost on me. When we pull into the lot, he’s looking more than angry. He looks worried.

  “I’m not judging you about the cats, Benji, if that’s what you’re upset about.” Secretly, I hope this will guilt him into saying something like “I’m not judging you about the bones, Sadie.” But of course he doesn’t.

  “I live a five minute drive from here.”

  “Yes?”

  “It’s three minutes until dawn.”

  That’s when I notice the low purple and muted pink beginning to color the sky. The sun is coming up and Benji definitely doesn’t have time to get to his place. “You can stay with me. In the closet, maybe? Or under the bed? And I’ll close the blinds.”

  His frown deepens. “I don’t want to inconvenience you—”

  “It’s not an inconvenience. You’ve been going out of your way for me, let me help you.”

  We hustle inside. I can hear a male’s snoring coming from Ingrid’s room and David is getting a little too comfortable in my home. That’s a worry for another time. Instead, I rush to my room and close the blinds and shut the curtains.

  Benji sinks in relief onto my bed. “Thanks. Even a hint of sun takes a lot out of me.”

  “How long could you survive in full sunlight?

  “Maybe four or five hours, but I’d be completely incapacitated. Imagine being paralyzed and then slowly roasted in an oven, and you can see why we prefer to avoid it.”

  “So, I’d let you sleep on my bed, but I’m afraid—”

  “Under it is preferable. The darker my space is, the more restorative my sleep.”

  “Do you sleep?”

  “You want to know what vampires dream about?”

  I nod. Because of course I want to know. This is the longest I’ve spent with a paranormal that wasn’t Ingrid, and she barely counted. The fact that he was willing to be so open was even more intriguing.

  “We don’t dream. It’s closer to being dead without being full dead.”

  “Full dead, like you don’t get up again?”

  “You got it.”

  He slides off my bed and begins to scoot underneath. I have a high, older iron bed and I’m grateful for the space, but I also never clean under there (who cleans under their bed?) and worry about how gross it is. Instead, a pale hand sticks out holding something purple. “Found th
ese,” his muffled voice calls.

  I take them and basically die, because they’re the only sexy panties I own. I bought them when Ingrid had a ‘really good feeling’ that something good was going to happen and it involved a man. I’d hoped it was Abe, but it was just my insurance adjuster giving me a check because I’d been overpaying my insurance.

  Slinky underwear had gone missing shortly after, along with any ability to trust Ingrid’s intuition.

  “I have to go to work, Benji.” Envy doesn’t cover how I feel about his being able to sleep. Yesterday and the night were supposed to be my chance to catch up, to feel human again. Instead, I’m having to drag myself to work while he, Ingrid, David, the pack, the vampires... freaking everyone, basically, get to rest. At least it’s the end of the workweek, and Dr. Winston doesn’t take on many clients. It’s a day reserved for paperwork and filing insurance and placing orders.

  It occurs to me that I should change clothes, but it feels strange to do it with Benji in my room, even if he’s sleeping. Because of this, I grab my change of clothing, including said slinky purple panties because I haven’t had a chance to do laundry, and go to the bathroom. Inside, I get dressed quickly. While I’m brushing my teeth, there’s a gentle knock on the door.

  “Sadie? It’s me.” I hear Ingrid’s whisper and open the door a smidge. “May I come in? I really have to pee.”

  I step aside and she wastes no time taking her seat. Her hefty sigh of relief almost makes me spit toothpaste. “Did you just get in?” She asks.

  I nod.

  “Poor baby,” she coos. “You were supposed to be sleeping.”

  I spit and rinse. “How did you know I was gone?”

  “I just knew. What were y’all up to last night?”

  “We went to the local nest and warned them about the bone witch. Then the pack tried to kill me for murdering Nash and I found out Benji drinks cats.”

  Her face scrunches up. “Well, that explains it.”

  “Explains what?”

  “I’ve been feeling weird all night, like something bad was going to happen. It was probably just your flirt-with-danger night.”

  “Or it’s that new guy. He’s here again? Doesn’t he have a home somewhere else?”