“Go out my dad’s room. I’ll keep them distracted. You can slip over the back wall; follow the foot trail down to the gate. The bus stop...”
“I know where it is,” I interrupted him. “Royal...” I wanted to thank him, but he turned me around and shoved me toward the bedrooms. I didn’t resist.
As I slipped into Royal’s dad’s room I heard him open the front door. “Yes?”
I entered the dark bedroom and moved quickly across to the French doors, opening them quietly. The night was getting colder, but Cassie’s jacket offered some protection. I slipped up and over the stucco wall. As my feet hit the ground, I heard a door open.
Royal’s voice cut across the night, a little too loud. “I told you, she left the car here about an hour ago. Maybe she dropped her cell phone out there and that’s why you’re picking it up.” I scrambled in my pocket for my cell phone. No good taking the battery out now. I dropped the cell phone in a weed and started moving.
I kept low, using the wall as cover, and followed one of the hiking trails that crisscrossed the foothills. In moments I was behind another house, and Royal’s father’s place was out of sight. I straightened and started running, my feet making soft scuffing sounds in the dry sand of the trail. The moon was rising, casting a silvery sheen on the desert landscape. It was weirdly bright to my eyes. I reached the bus stop in about a half an hour. The hem of my coat was covered with dust and goathead thorns.
I only had to wait about five minutes for the bus. I didn’t bother to read the destination; it was going away from here, and that’s all that mattered. I paid the fare and slumped into an empty row, staring out the window for any sign of Hale’s truck. The bus pulled away from the curb and headed back into the heart of the city. When I was sure no one was following, I glanced up at the front of the bus and read the sign. We were headed to Old Town. Fine. There was a public phone near the bookstore. I could try Dad from there, and just hope he was home. It took about forty-five minutes for the bus to make the trip across town. I got off and headed into the Plaza. The coat was drawing stares, but that was fine with me. Neither Hale nor Gretchen had ever seen it, so it might throw them off my trail.
I spotted my favorite bookstore, but hesitated, worried that they might search the places I knew. Instead of heading for familiar comfort, I slipped into a coffee shop I’d never entered before. It was new, capitalizing on the revitalization of Old Town, but it was nice and dark inside. I ordered a simple coffee and found a chair next to a window. I’d had time to think on the bus. I still hadn’t come up with a viable plan beyond calling Dad for help. I had a clear view of the public phone outside. I was getting up the courage to call when I saw the Lilitu.
She was strolling down the sidewalk, as though she had all the time in the world. She held the hand of a guy who looked a little star-struck. I recognized her as the brunette Lilitu who’d crashed my party at the Raven. The guy at her side was clearly an intended victim. I studied him a little closer. He still looked alert and aware. It was a safe bet he hadn’t been attacked yet. I stood, reaching into my pocket for the cell phone that was no longer there, then, remembering, raced out of the coffee shop. I dropped some change into the public phone and dialed Dad’s cell. It went straight to voicemail.
“Dad, it’s me,” I whispered into the receiver. “There’s a Lilitu in Old Town, she’s got a guy with her. I don’t think she’s attacked him yet. Please, hurry. I don’t know where they’re going.” I hung up, feeling helpless. In desperation, I dropped more coins into the phone and dialed our house. It rang and rang, and finally the answering machine picked up. I left another breathless message and hung up, but the urgency I felt kept growing. Who knew when Dad would get the messages? If it wasn’t soon, it would almost certainly be too late for the unsuspecting stranger. I hesitated, conflicted, then fed a few more coins into the phone and dialed the number for the Guard’s house.
Lucas picked up on the second ring. “Yes.” His voice sounded clipped, emotionless. He barely sounded like himself. “Who is this?”
I swallowed, scared. “Don’t hang up. There’s a Lilitu in Old Town. She has a mark with her, but if you hurry...” There was a click on the other end of the line. “Hello?” He’d hung up on me. I turned back to the street, feeling helpless. The Lilitu and her prey were gone, and for one horrible moment I feared I’d lost them. But then I saw a man craning his neck out of a doorway, and another, and another, all staring in the same direction. I turned to see what they were gaping at, and spotted her. She was leading the stranger into a narrow alley between two buildings. I knew the alley. It let out onto the edge of the park of Catalpa trees. Lots of people used it as a shortcut to Old Town’s grassy amphitheater. The redevelopment team had paved the alley with terracotta tiles in an attempt to make it feel more like a pathway and less like an alley.
As I watched the Lilitu and her prey disappearing between the buildings, I realized no one was coming. In an hour, it could be too late for him. I slipped after them, only half-sure of what I was doing. I figured that if I could scare her away, I might be able to save him.
I followed them through the alley. As I emerged from between the buildings, I heard the music. The Lilitu was leading her prey toward a low thumping beat. I followed them up the side of a grassy slope, and the music grew louder. As I crested the small hill, I saw the manmade grassy amphitheater, pulsing with young couples. I couldn’t see the Lilitu in the crowd. I pressed forward, desperate to find her.
“Braedyn. What are you doing here?” Karayan swept toward me in a white dress. She gleamed in the moonlight, from the tip of her honey-blond head to her gleaming pearlescent toes. The cold night air seemed to have no effect on her. I saw a pair of smoky wings, barely visible, cascading down her back. “No offense, but this is kind of an exclusive party.”
A man in his early twenties approached me with a smile. Karayan waved him away, impatient. “Not this one.” He glanced at me and I noticed his pupils. They were too wide, even for the darkness of the night. A Thrall. I glanced back at the rave.
The Thrall moved toward another young couple. They looked like students from the local university. Suddenly, a different Lilitu was there, smiling at the college boy. His girlfriend started to object, but the Thrall swooped in with a charming smile and handed her a drink. Distracted, she wasn’t watching when the Lilitu unfurled those smoky wings. They curved around the boy, shimmering eerily, cloaking the Lilitu and her prey from human sight. When the girl looked back for her boyfriend, she couldn’t see him, even though he was standing only feet from where he’d been moments ago. The Lilitu whispered into his ear. He turned back toward his girlfriend, but the Lilitu caught his face between her hands and kissed him. I saw a glimmer of silvery mist moving from his lips to hers. When she released him, he swayed a little on his feet. She took his hand and led him away.
I stood, rooted to the spot. Karayan watched me, her head tilted to one side. “Don’t be shy,” she said. She gestured and I saw the Lilitu I had followed here dancing with her mark in the crowd. “I think I see someone looking for a dance partner.” She nudged me forward and I saw a kid about my age hesitating at the edge of the rave. I stopped dead in my tracks. Karayan came around to face me with a knowing smile. “First time?” Before I had the chance to answer her, someone spoke over my shoulder.
“Perhaps you were correct after all.” I turned, and all thoughts fell away from me. A Lilitu approached, her eyes wide and deep pools of twilight. Her hair was long and so blond it seemed white. I’d seen her once before, briefly, at the Raven.
Karayan straightened unconsciously. “Ais. She surprised me...” The white-blond Lilitu lifted a hand and Karayan fell silent.
“I had hoped you would come around,” Ais murmured, studying me.
Ais. I felt a prickle of goose bumps cascading down my neck. Ais was here, and I’d met her without even knowing it! Ais studied me, and once again I saw past her human mask to her Lilitu self. Her eyes might have been beautifu
l if they weren’t so frightening. They glowed faintly, like the blue-purple of the sky half an hour after sunset.
“Still a ward of the Guard?” Ais touched my forehead, her finger leaving another icy chill behind. Her eyes widened a fraction. “Ah. You must question your place in this world.” I dropped my eyes, unwilling to let her know how close she was to the heart of my trouble.
Karayan shifted closer to me, linking her hand in mine. “She doesn’t know her own strength yet. But she’s learning.”
“The more she learns, the more fully she becomes herself.” Ais murmured. “And the greater the danger she faces at the hands of those who stole her from us. Is that not so?” Ais waited for me to respond, but I could only stare at her, unnerved. “Such potential.” A possessive desire glinted in Ais’ eyes. “It has been millennia,” she said, as if to herself. “And to let you fall into the hands of the Guard. She must have been mad.”
“Who...?” My heart lurched in my chest. “Do you mean...? Did you know my mother?”
Ais’ eyes hardened. “At one time, I thought so.”
“Who is she?” I asked. My mind pored over the story Dad had told me. How she had given me my name. How there had been goodness in her. “Is she still...?”
Ais frowned and I fell silent. “Own your power, or it will own you,” she said. Ais turned to Karayan. “Watch her.”
Time skipped a beat and Ais was suddenly a dozen feet away, walking back into the crowd of dancing, oblivious humans. Karayan let her breath out slowly.
“She’s so...” I started, shuddering.
“Powerful,” Karayan murmured.
“Alien.”
Karayan glanced at me sharply. “We have more in common with Ais than we do with those creatures.” She gestured at the swelling mass of dancers around us.
“Those ‘creatures?’ Are you kidding me?” I looked at Karayan, really studied her. I could see her Lilitu self under her human mask, but they looked virtually identical. The only things that really distinguished the Lilitu part of Karayan were her smoky wings. “No, we don’t,” I said. “Did you see her?”
Karayan knew exactly what I meant. She crossed her arms defensively. “We’ll become like them, but it won’t happen overnight. It takes time to grow into our power. Don’t be scared.” She gestured, and the boy she’d pointed out earlier walked toward us.
“No,” I hissed quietly, feeling my face heat up.
“The Guard doesn’t own you,” she said, coaxing me with a smile. “It’s your body, Braedyn.”
“Yeah, exactly. And I don’t want this.” I glanced at the boy as he approached, smiling. His face was open, interested. Human. And Karayan wanted me to break him. He came to a stop beside us. Karayan draped an arm over his shoulders.
“Why? Because he’s not Lucas?”
My heart stopped beating for a moment.
Karayan smiled. “I got it wrong the first time, but I’ve been watching you. And as for Lucas - I think that ship has sailed, sweetie.” She watched my reaction calmly. “Yeah, I know all about your little kiss this afternoon. The Guard is hunting you, your guy hates you... Basically, the life you knew is over. So why not drown your sorrows? He makes a cute consolation prize, don’t you agree? I guarantee you’ll feel better afterwards.” She turned to the boy, including him in our conversation. “Her boyfriend just dumped her. Are you any good at cheering girls up?”
“I can try,” he smiled at me and offered his hand. “I’m Jesse. You like to dance?”
I pulled him close, hissing into his ear. “Jesse, run. You’re not safe here.”
Without waiting to see if he’d take my advice, I retreated up the side of the grassy amphitheater. At the top of the slope, I glanced back. Karayan was talking with three muscular guys. She flung out her hand, pointing at me. The men started forward. I ran. I found the alley between the buildings and darted inside, risking a look over my shoulder. I could just make out three large silhouettes cresting the hill behind me. They were coming fast.
I reached the end of the alley and was about to step into the Plaza when I saw Gretchen, searching faces in the crowd. I turned and darted back into the shelter between the buildings, my heart leaping into my throat. When I was halfway back down the alley, the three strangers Karayan had sent after me appeared ahead. I saw an opening along one wall of the alley and ran into it. I realized my mistake instantly. It was a blind alley with a trash bin and a pair of metal doors. I tried both doors, but they were locked. No way out.
Panic surged inside me and I turned back to the mouth of the alley, but the men were there, blocking the exit. The first moved forward, and what I saw in his eyes terrified me. I glanced at the others; all shared the same vacant stare. Karayan had sent three Thrall after me.
“Stop,” I said, filling my voice with the power of the call. I felt the connection, heard the chimes, and the first Thrall stopped. But the other two simply stepped around him. “Stop!” I tried to include the others in my command, but as I tried to spread the power, it weakened and snapped, freeing the first Thrall. I panicked, and stumbled up against the back of the alley.
The first Thrall reached for me. He snaked a hand inside my jacket and pulled me close. “A gift from Karayan,” he said. His free hand cupped my chin and he forced my face up, leaning in to kiss me. I knew then why they were here. Karayan, trying to help me ‘feed,’ had sent these men to be my victims. She’d sent them to die, and they were eager. Revulsion coursed through my veins and I shoved him back, instinctively settling into a fighting stance.
The men ringed me loosely. When they lunged, I moved. It was reflex more than anything else. I sidestepped the first and tried to run, but the second caught me by the shoulder. I grabbed his hand and twisted, running him into the alley wall like Lucas had taught me all those long weeks ago. But the third man kicked my feet out from under me and I fell, hard. As he dropped to pin me, I rolled away. Except Cassie’s gorgeous coat gave him something to grab onto. He jerked me back and caught me in a bear hug.
“Let me go!” I cracked my head back into his face and his hold weakened. I ducked out of his arms and sprang to my feet. The second two were flanking me. Terror rose in me, so strong it was suffocating. The man I had driven into the wall was favoring his shoulder. I turned to the other one and attacked. It was different than sparring with Gretchen. Fear and adrenaline lent me an extra boost of speed, but the men were strong, and there were too many of them. All I wanted was to get around them and flee, but they kept moving to block the alleyway. I kicked out, hoping to catch one in the stomach, but my leg got tangled in the coat. It was a fatal mistake. The second man knocked me off balance. I fell and scrambled back, too winded from the fall to stand. They stood, like an impenetrable wall blocking my way to freedom. Fear and rage shot through my scrambled thoughts. But when the first man reached for my ankle to pull me away from the wall, I felt a surge of emotion and a ripping sensation along my spine. I screamed.
The men froze, uncertain. But it wasn’t my scream that had stopped them in their tracks. I realized, as a shimmering cape clamped tightly around me, that they could no longer see me. Slowly, aching, I drew my knees close and got to my feet. The shimmering cape moved with me, stretching to allow me movement but keeping me tightly veiled. Dim realization glimmered in the back of my mind. I reached out and touched my wings. I felt the sensation in my fingers, and an echo of sensation in the wings. They were sensitive, like skin, but tougher.
I faced my attackers, still blocking the alley. I tried to slip between two of them, but brushed one. He struck out, sending me crashing back. My wings snapped open as I struggled to regain my balance. They saw me and moved. I briefly feared the wings would make fighting impossible, but they were insubstantial. I might be able to feel them, but they brushed through my attackers as though they didn’t exist. I didn’t have time to consider this as I dodged the first man. My attention was divided between trying to figure out how to keep myself cloaked, and fighting the Thralls.
In the end, the wings gave me just enough of an advantage. Half-cloaked, I managed to disorient my attackers. I fought my way free of the alley and ran. When I made it to the Plaza, my body started shaking uncontrollably. I managed to collapse in the alcove in front of a darkened storefront. The trauma of the attack flooded through me, blocking out everything else. I hugged my knees to my chest, kept my wings tightly wrapped around me, and choked out a few ragged sobs before I managed to get my breathing back under control. I sat in the dark alcove for a long time. People walked past me, unseeing, unaware. As my heartbeat slowed and my mind cleared, I was left with one clear thought – I had to warn the Guard before they got on that plane.
Ais was here.
A grizzled old stranger in a worn trench coat stepped into the alcove. I held my breath, wondering if he hoped to hole up here for the night like I had. He stood next to me, and then turned to stare out at the Plaza. I watched him for a long time, but he didn’t move. Finally, I eased to my feet, as quietly as possible. I had only taken one step forward when he spoke.
“Who do you fight for, Daughter of Lilith?” he asked.
I turned back. He was staring directly at me, through the cloaking effect of my wings, as though he knew who I was. He must have been some kind of spotter. The recent trauma was still too fresh. I had no fear left in me.
“I’m Murphy’s daughter,” I said. “Not Lilith’s.”
He studied me for a long moment, and then drew a sword out of his coat. That was enough to awaken my survival instincts. I tensed, waiting for him to make a move. He handed the sword to me, pommel up. “Take this.”
I hesitated, but as I took it, our hands brushed. In that moment, I saw the being beneath this human shell. Or, rather, I saw a blinding figure that gleamed in silhouette against an even brighter light. There was nothing grizzled or old about him; he was ageless and powerful. I squinted against the glare, but as soon as our hands broke contact, he was merely the grizzled stranger again, watching me with inscrutable eyes.
Thrall (Daughters Of Lilith) Page 24
