The Flash of a Firefly

by Amber Riley

  Her eyes welled up with tears as he tried to grab for her hands again, and I stepped between them. I didn’t need problems with a jealous cop, but I didn’t want to see her cry. I felt like I needed to protect her, so that was what I tried to do.

  “Hello,” I said in a low voice.

  He looked around me at Lyn and said, “Hi.”

  Lyn clung to the back of my shirt. Her little hands wadded into my T-shirt and sent a jolt of electricity up my spine. I kept my body still so I didn’t make it worse, but my skin was soaking up the heat like a sponge. I wanted to close my eyes and enjoy the relaxing sensation. But the man in front of me made that impossible.

  “Who’s this guy?” Frank turned his eyes back to me with a less than friendly look. “You’ve got a new boyfriend? You’re cheating on me?”

  “I’m not your girlfriend anymore,” she replied angrily. “Go home.”

  “Who is he?” He tried to stare me down, but I didn’t budge. He even went so far as to puff his chest out and go into full cop mode. When he finally realized that I couldn’t be scared off, he put his hat back on and broke eye contact.

  “Kaden,” she said angrily. “He owns The Amaryllis, and he’s a friend of mine. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “The Amaryllis?” he asked with a sly grin. “You mean the club in Manhattan? One of your employees was reported missing last night. Do you know anything about that?”

  I had no idea what he was talking about. None of my employees were missing. If they were, then Jessica would have called to let me know. Putting aside the supernatural aspects, these were still dangerous times. Anything could have happened, but I would have gotten a call if it had.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

  “Jessica Miner,” he said, gloating. “She’s been missing since last night. The last time her parents saw her, she was leaving for work. Your bartender reported it around two in the morning. You don’t know anything about it?”

  My stomach knotted, and my hands balled into fists. It was no coincidence. I needed Jessica. She was what kept my business running. Without her, things would start falling apart. Francesca was going to try smoking me out. She thought that once everything I cared about was gone, I would go back.

  Frank took a little notepad out and scribbled something down. Who does he think he is? I asked myself. He was a cop, not a detective. I doubted that he was even on the missing persons case.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow. Pick up,” he told Lyn. He glared at me a moment longer, trying to commit my face to memory. “If not, I’ll stop by.”

  “Go home,” she repeated.

  He left, slamming the door behind him and leaving half of his tires on the road as he sped away. It looked like he had anger management issues. I would hate to be a criminal and cross his path. He would probably end up on the news for beating them half to death.

  Lyn’s hands slowly uncurled from my shirt, and she stepped away. The places where she had touched me still burned and ached for more, but I checked myself. I had to keep a cool head and maintain control. I was glad to have a little space between us again, but it almost made it worse.

  “I’m sorry,” Lyn said, letting out a long breath.

  “Don’t worry about it.” I grabbed my sweater and zipped it on. “I’ve got to go to work and see what’s going on.”

  “Of course.” She nodded vigorously. “Let me know if you need anything. And thanks for hanging out tonight. It was fun.”

  “It was,” I agreed. I made my lips turn up into a charming smile before I flew out the door. I didn’t want to leave yet, but I had to find Jessica before it was too late, assuming it wasn’t already.

  The wind whistled in my ears as I ran to Manhattan. The closer I got, the worse the weather became. Drops of slush began to beat down on me like little bullets. It wasn’t quite snow, but not exactly rain. It was the kind of weather that was only good for getting everything wet and dirty.

  By the time I made it to The Amaryllis, I was completely soaked. It was closed already, but I was hoping that someone had picked up the slack for Jessica and stayed to clean up. I stood in the back alley, pounding on the door, for what seemed like forever before anyone opened it.

  Max stood in front of me with his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows and a towel thrown over his shoulder. The door began to close as he backed away from it, but I held it with my hand. His heart was about to pound out of his chest, and he started to stammer a bunch of nonsense.

  I held my hand up to stop him. I didn’t have time to figure out what he was saying. “Where’s Jessica? What happened?”

  He blinked at me and pulled the towel off his shoulder. “I don’t know. She never came into work last night.”

  “Why didn’t anyone call me?” I fumed.

  His face turned fire engine red. “No one knew your number.”

  I took a deep breath and turned away without another word. Someone other than Jessica should have known how to get in touch with me. My number should have been in some sort of address book in the office.

  “Wait,” Max called. He left me to standing outside in the elements. A minute later he came running back, holding something out to me. “This came this afternoon, but the police haven’t come to get it yet.”

  I took it carefully. It was a postcard addressed to Jessica. There was no message and no return address. I flipped it over to see the photo. It was the old Shea Stadium. Jessica was a Yankees fan. I looked at Max through the slush and handed it back to him. “Thank you. Make sure the police get this.”

  He nodded and quickly shut the door in my face. Even now he was avoiding me. At least he had taken the time to show me the postcard. I knew where to look now.

  The lot where Shea Stadium used to stand was empty with the exception of some heavy machinery. Francesca wouldn’t hide her there. It was too busy and there were too many chances to get caught. But she was keeping Jessica nearby. The rain had washed away most of the scent of blood, but there was enough to follow.

  It was coming from the east. I wove my way between cars and around businesses. The scent of blood became stronger with each step. I crossed into a muddy lot full of rusting metal objects. There were trailers, vehicles, and cement tubes left there to rot. That was where the blood was coming from.

  I snuck behind one of the trailers, and then the next, until I got as close as I dared without being seen. I heard Jessica groan before I actually saw her. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. She was still alive. I hoped I wasn’t too late to keep her that way.

  I had to risk getting closer. I stayed hidden behind old rusty vehicles and other debris, moving quietly, until I saw them. Francesca was pacing back and forth next to a white van while the Marquis had perched himself on the hood of a black car.

  “Are you sure he’ll understand the clue you left?” she asked him.

  The Marquis swung his cane around, bringing it down with a loud crack. There was another groan and a fresh wave of blood in the air. “If he sees it, he’ll understand. And if he doesn’t come tonight, then we’ll just kill her and be done with it,” he said.

  As I moved to the next piece of cover, I saw her. Jessica was on her hands and knees, coughing up blood, beside the black car. Her left eye was swollen shut, and there were cuts and bruises covering her skin. Francesca kicked her in the side, and she fell over, curling into a fetal position.

  The Marquis chuckled. “Perhaps we should have abducted a better hostage.”

  “I already told you,” Francesca hissed. “The girl didn’t leave the house tonight, and all our werewolves are gone on their little woodland adventure with the rest of them.”

  The Marquis shrugged. “He still hasn’t found out that his blood supplier is dead. You said he would be devastated and be forced to feed on humans again.”

  Merv was dead?

  I hadn’t talked to him since the night in the cemetery. I still had enough blood to last another week, so I ha
dn’t bothered to call. Come to think of it, I hadn’t had any messages from him. He usually called a few times during the week and left a voicemail.

  My stomach knotted, and I had to shake my head to see straight. They were going to play hardball. That was fine. I had waited around long enough.

  I stepped out from my hiding place and stormed through the mud. The Marquis saw me first, tipping his bowler hat. Francesca turned to see what he was looking at and grinned ear to ear.

  “Nice of you to join us,” she called across the yard.

  I picked up my pace, soaring right for her throat. She jumped out of the way at the last minute and grabbed Jessica by the hair. She pulled her to her feet and held her like a human shield.

  Blood ran down Jessica’s face in a steady stream. She was wheezing, unable to get enough oxygen. The slush falling from the sky had drenched her, and she was covered in mud. She was shaking all over, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from pain.

  “Let her go,” I hissed.

  The Marquis hopped off the hood of the car and sauntered over to me. He touched my stomach, and I shivered. I had to stay strong. I couldn’t let him see my fear.

  “Don’t touch me,” I growled.

  He smirked and stepped away. “I was just remembering old times. I apologize.”

  “Kaden,” Jessica croaked.

  “I know,” I told her. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

  The knot in my stomach tightened. I didn’t want to move. I was inches away from the devil himself, smelling more fresh blood than I had in a long time, and I wanted my human back.

  “We’ll let you take her body with you.” Francesca glowered.

  “Enough,” I hissed. “I’ve had enough. Give her to me.”

  Both Francesca and the Marquis laughed, setting me over the edge. I picked up a steel bar and threw it at the Marquis’s chest. He dodged it, grabbed it in midair, and plunged it into Jessica’s heart.

  Jessica’s breath caught in her throat as blood began to pour out of her wound. She looked at me, pleading with her eyes for help, but it was too late. Her head fell limp, and she stopped feeling pain.

  My hands balled, and my Nikes sunk into the mud as I got ready to charge at the Marquis. Francesca dropped Jessica’s body into the mud and appeared between us. My fist met her face, sending her tumbling backward.

  The Marquis’s ivory cane landed on my shoulder. The scales, carved carefully to replicate a dragon body, dug into my skin. The top of the cane, the dragon’s head complete with ruby eyes, ripped through my clothing as he dragged it back toward him.

  I grabbed onto it with my left hand and pulled. The Marquis pulled even harder, and I stumbled. Francesca took the chance and sank her fangs into my forearm. Blood poured freely from the wound, and I was struck by a wave of dizziness. I hissed and tore her off my arm, taking a chunk of flesh with her. Searing pain ran up my arm, and I fought not to black out.

  “You’ve gotten weak,” Francesca said, wiping her mouth.

  She was right. I had. After years of peace, with no one to fight, I had lost my touch. I was out of practice. But it was like riding a bicycle. My body remembered. I just had to trust it.

  “It’s the diet,” the Marquis said solemnly. “The master won’t like it.”

  That was also true, but there was nothing I could do about it. To break my promise to myself now would put me back at the beginning. With Merv dead, I was going to have to find some other way of getting around it.

  A helicopter with a spotlight started circling above us. The propellers were cutting the air with a loud whoosh. It would only be a matter of seconds before it spotted us. Even if we could evade the police after being spotted, it was better not to be seen at all.

  Francesca and the Marquis took off into the night, leaving me standing in the muddy yard with Jessica. The sleeve of my sweater had a huge gaping hole where my skin had already healed. But the blood had soaked through it and the left leg of my jeans. The tear in my right shoulder wasn’t nearly as bad, but it still left a bloody trail. I was soaked and covered in mud and was completely pissed.

  I spared one last look at Jessica before forcing my feet to carry me out of that yard. “I’m sorry,” I told her body. And I was.

  Chapter 10

  The slush stopped when I got home as if on cue. Flo was on the porch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was shielding her eyes, watching me stumble up the driveway. The fact that she was waiting for me raised a red flag. I could only imagine what she had to tell me. I walked by her shaking my head. I wasn’t ready to hear it. I couldn’t process anything else tonight. I wanted to take a shower, crawl into bed, and forget the evening had ever happened.

  “What happened?” she demanded, following me into the house.

  I kicked off my soggy sneakers and let my head hang. Alex was sitting at my dining room table with a phone stuck to his ear, and Stu was standing beside him clicking keys on a laptop. They were all staring at me intently.

  “What?” I snapped. “I forgot my umbrella. And what are you doing here?” I asked Alex. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching Lyn?”

  “I … They aren’t … I’m calling the bus company now,” he sputtered.

  Flo stuck her face next to my chest and inhaled. “That’s your blood.”

  “Stop smelling me.” I made a circle in the air with my finger. “Personal space.”

  “Kaden, what—” Stu started.

  I held my hand up to stop him. I wasn’t ready for questions yet. I needed a hot shower, and I had to replenish my blood supply. Then I would answer them. I was sure I would have a few questions of my own once the fog lifted. I focused on walking up the stairs as normally as possible. It was hard but necessary. I didn’t want their help.

  Once in the privacy of my own room, I latched onto a bag of blood, shivering as the cool liquid made its way through my body. My shoulders relaxed, and I could breathe a little easier. But the more I drank, the more aware I became of how uncomfortable my clothes were.

  I unzipped my sweater and pulled it off, one clingy sleeve at a time. It hit the floor with a heavy slosh, and I peeled off my soggy socks. I shed the itchy jeans and gathered all of the clothes under my arm. With two strides I was at the window, tossing the sodden pile into the backyard. That took care of that for the time being. I grabbed a set of clean clothes from my dresser and walked to the bathroom feeling a little more like myself.

  The hot water steamed up the room within seconds. I removed the rest of my clothes and stepped under the showerhead. The water was hot enough to blister normal skin, but I scrubbed myself with a bar of soap until the water swirling down the drain was clear. I stood there, soaking up the heat, for countless minutes.

  My mind slowly sorted the jumbled mess. Jessica was dead. Merv was dead. Lyn was a target, and I had no idea what side Sid stood on.

  Sid.

  I turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the rack. I threw my dry clothes on and hurried back downstairs. Francesca said she had wolves on the bus along with mine.

  “Where’s Sid?” I asked before anyone could utter a single word.

  “His cell goes straight to voice mail,” Alex replied. “The bus was due back over two hours ago, so the company is trying to get ahold of the driver. I can call back in a little while to see what they find out.”

  I pulled up a seat at the dining room table across from Alex and rested my head on the smooth table. “Jessica’s dead. So is Merv.”

  “What?” Flo slammed her palms onto the table. “You killed them?”

  I lifted my head again. “No, Francesca and the Marquis did.”

  “This night keeps getting better and better,” Stu groaned.

  “Did you try to call anyone else?” I asked. “Sid can’t be the only one with a cell phone.”

  Alex blushed and nodded. “No one is answering.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sid had either orchestrated this or was a vi
ctim. The results were the same. My werewolf pack had just become a pack of one. One young, naive wolf that hadn’t seen a day of battle in his life.

  Wonderful.

  I pushed away from the table. “I’m going to bed.”

  I felt like Atlas with the world sitting on my shoulders. I couldn’t understand how so much had gone wrong in such a short amount of time. I would make it right again. It was time to start fighting back.

  When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I thought of was Jessica. They would have found her body already. I wondered if I could say the same about Merv. I reached over and felt around the table for my phone. I dialed his number and waited. It went to voice mail, and I ended the call. He always answered. They must have been telling the truth.

  There was a text message waiting for me. I didn’t recognize the number, but it read, “I saw your employee on the news today. I’m really sorry. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” There were a few squiggles and stars surrounding the sender’s name. Lyn.

  I smiled to myself. She would be the only one I knew to say that to me. She had sent it around midday, which meant Francesca hadn’t figured out how to pry her out of the house. At least she hadn’t before dawn. Tonight was another night. I hopped out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans.

  Alex was lying on the rug in the middle of the living room. His phone was on his chest, and the television remote was in his hand. An anchorwoman was talking about some political scandal on the news, but he was just staring at the ceiling.

  “Why isn’t anyone calling?” he asked in a dry, monotone voice.

  I sat down in a chair and sighed. “I don’t know.”

  His eyes were bloodshot. “The bus company still hasn’t heard anything.”

  I didn’t know what to tell him. I had no answers. The company wasn’t able to get in touch with the driver. None of the pack were answering his calls. Whatever was going on wasn’t good.

  “Everyone has gone out to feed,” he told me, breaking the silence. “They left just after dark so they could be back in case something happened.”