by Tate, Sennah
Through a crumpled door, Carson squeezed his way into one of the back rooms of the warehouse. He padded softly through the room, listening for signs .of anyone else.
It didn’t take long for him to hear a couple of distinct voices.
“He said there’s going to be a fresh shipment tonight,” one man said in a wheezy breath.
“There better be,” a gravelly reply.
Carson didn’t know what shipment they were talking about, but he didn’t stick around long to find out. He slinked around the corner before heading up the stairs. He didn’t know what made him take that route, but he was following the wolf’s instincts right now.
The second floor of the warehouse was converted into what looked like a kennel of some sort. Thick opaque shadows writhed and darted into the cages obstructing the prisoners from view. He could hardly see anything at all as the shade clouded his vision. But he knew he was close.
Lifting his muzzle into the air, he tried to get past the acrid sting to find more subtle scents. He picked each scent apart until something clicked with his body; the smell of Izzy’s home was in here somewhere which meant she was too!
Without hesitation he bounded into the thick shadows, ignoring the stings and burns as he clawed and bit his way through as if it were a field of thorny brambles.
He saw her then; curled up unconscious in a steel cell alone. His relief at seeing her alive was short-lived once he took a closer look. She was cloaked in a faint silver shimmer, but each time it started to shine, a shadowy tendril struck out and latched onto it, draining her until her shine was dimmed.
Don’t worry, Carson thought, I’m going to get you out of here.
He knew he could walk through the walls of her cell, but he wouldn’t be able to pull her out with him. He needed to break the lock somehow.
Before he could think on that any further, he heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, what’s that dog doing in here?!” Wheezy hollered, gesturing wildly in Carson’s direction.
Carson saw the distinct shadow attached to the man and as his parter — a burly biker type — joined them, Carson saw that his shade was even more pronounced. What did it all mean?
The shadows around Izzy closed in on him, giving him no escape route from the two hunting him.
The larger man’s shade seemed more agitated by Carson’s presence than the others. It hissed and popped at him; he planted his feet and growled in response, the hairs on the back of his neck bristling in warning as his lips pulled back to reveal deadly fangs.
“Leave it to me,” the big man said, pushing Wheezy out of his way.
The shade bubbled and rippled in his direction, morphing the man’s appearance with it. In a matter of seconds he went from an ordinary — if not intimidating — man to a grotesque disfigured monster.
Carson took a step back, suddenly unsure of what he was facing. The dancing circle of shades burned his paw as he tried to retreat.
The monster lunged at him and Carson braced himself for the attack.
<<< >>>
Gemma woke up with a sleepy smile on her face before she realized why she was smiling: Carson. Everything about him had been absolutely perfect. He was relentless in pursuit of her pleasure and she still felt the after effects of it in the soreness of her muscles. It was the most wonderful soreness; every slight twinge of pain reminded her of the events leading up to the injury and filled her with liquid satisfaction like no cup of coffee ever could.
She rolled over, anticipating snuggling into his warm body, but she flopped to the other side of the bed finding it cold and empty.
Confused, she got up and looked around the rest of her little home, hoping to find him. She’d been asleep for a few hours, but judging by the temperature of the sheets, he’d been gone just as long.
“You should have known better, Gemma,” she scolded, fighting back the tears that came with the sting of betrayal.
Why would she have thought that he could be any different? They both cared about Izzy, but that didn’t mean he cared about her.
The more she thought about it, though, the more she wondered.
Maybe he got some news about Izzy. But why wouldn’t he share it with her? Or at least leave her a note?
She sighed, accepting that it really was everything it appeared to be; wham, bam, not even a thank you ma’am. How could she show her face to the rest of the guys again?
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment just thinking about it. She didn’t want to give up the search for Izzy, but could she act normally around Carson knowing the strange powers they shared? How could he ignore it?
As she waited for a fresh cup of Ethiopian Sidama, Gemma’s cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“We got her. We got Izzy. We’re bringing her to your place. She needs your… attention,” Carson said cryptically.
Her mouth went dry at the sound of his voice; she wanted to be angry with him, but how could she be? Izzy was with them and alive!
“Okay, how far away are you?”
Before he answered, she heard car doors slamming outside of house and opened the door to see the familiar cadre of men toting her best friend who didn’t look to be in great shape.
“Nevermind,” she said, slipping the phone into her pocket before stepping aside to keep the door open.
The poured into her tiny cottage. Even standing shoulder to shoulder they nearly filled her tiny home making her feel suddenly claustrophobic.
“Here, put her on the couch,” she said, clearing a path for them, “where did you find her? What’s wrong with her?” she added another silent question for Carson with a pointed glare. He looked apologetic, but didn’t offer an explanation.
“Izzy? Izzy can you hear me?” Gemma asked, crouching down next to her friend.
“What the hell, man, for real,” Trick muttered, flopping down into an armchair.
Carson watched Gemma intently as she whispered and cooed to Isabel. The past few hours were all a blur, but he was thankful that they’d rescued Izzy.
His friends started to rehash the events, but Carson only had attention for Gemma.
While she thought no one was looking, Gemma drew on her own powers to give Izzy strength. Carson watched as Gemma’s golden sparkle slowly faded and Izzy’s silver grew strength.
Then, the silver faded again. Carson frowned before spotting it: a shadow attached to Izzy, growing, feeding off of their combined energies.
“Gemma!” He said, pulling her away from Izzy.
Everyone turned towards him, expecting some kind of explanation. He opened his mouth, trying to think of an excuse when he was knocked to the ground.
His stomach connected with the floor first, knocking the wind out of him. Before he was able to catch his breath he saw Izzy leap towards Gemma. The shadow fed and fed and Carson saw the color drain from Gemma’s face just as Aaron pulled the girls apart.
Carson rolled over and coughed violently, trying to pull oxygen back into his lungs.
Aaron’s arms wrapped around Isabel in a vice grip as she squirmed and shrieked against him.
“LET ME GO!” she screamed, her nails clawing at his hands, drawing blood.
“I don’t think so,” said Aaron.
Carson stood and tried to intimidate his little sister with the stare-down that had always worked before her age reached double-digits.
She used Aaron’s unrelenting embrace as support and swung her legs out to kick Carson’s shins.
“Jesus, Iz!” He cursed, hopping backwards.
Everyone was confused by her strange behavior, but none of them could see what he could.
“Why don’t you guys go? I’ll stay with her while she comes down from whatever they had her on,” Aaron said, shouting over Izzy’s ceaseless screams.
Carson helped Gemma to her feet and supported her when her knees buckled after three steps.
“I don’t… I don’t know what happened,” she muttered.
“I do. And I thi
nk it’s time everyone else does, too,” he said.
“I’m still not really clear on how you found her,” Trick said.
“I was wondering that, too,” said Ty.
Carson nodded.
“I think it’s time that Gemma and I share with you guys everything we know.”
<<< >>>
“So, you expect us to believe in all of this magical nonsense?” Ty asked.
Carson shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you, man.”
Trick looked like Christmas had come early.
“This is so freaking cool. I’m so jealous. I want magical powers, too!”
Gemma glowered at Carson.
“You said you were going to wait to tell them before you went looking for her,” she said, her arms folded across her chest.
“But aren’t you glad we found her?”
“Of course I am, Carson! That’s not the point! You lied to me; you tricked me; you used me,” she said, her voice cracking near the end.
His stomach sank to the floor.
“Gemma… I didn’t…”
“So you didn’t think that sleeping with me would help you cross without me?”
He averted his gaze; out of the corner of his eyes he saw Dez, Ty and Trick trying to look like they couldn’t hear the entire spat.
“I… uh… the thought crossed my mind,” he admitted.
Hearing the words out loud made Gemma’s chest hurt.
“I thought that… I mean, we have this…” she faltered, her voice trembling with emotion.
He took her hands in his and squeezed, “We do. I know it was selfish and reckless and I’m sorry.”
She nodded and wiped the tears from her face; she wasn’t forgiving him completely, just acknowledging that there were more pressing matters at the moment.
“So what did they do to Izzy?” she asked, dreading whatever answer he would give.
“I’m not sure. She has a shade attached to her though…”
“Can’t you pull it free like you did with Mrs. Kruft?”
Gemma knew from the deep lines that crossed Carson’s face that it wasn’t so simple.
“I haven’t told you all everything about how I found her…”
“There’s more than magical powers and creepy shadow creatures?” Trick asked, scooting to the edge of his seat.
Carson sighed and nodded.
“One of the shadow creatures attacked me while I was there as the wolf. I attacked it just as I had before, but when I ripped the shadow from him… well, I think they were one and the same at that point; he was destroyed.”
Gemma clasped her hand over her mouth with a gasp.
“But Izzy…”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t touch hers. It was feeding off of you though, draining you.”
“I felt like I was being sucked through a straw,” she said.
“I think it could have killed you,” said Carson solemnly.
“So what are we going to do?” Trick asked.
“Everyone’s going to get some rest and wait until Isabel is feeling better. Once she tells us what she knows, we’ll go from there,” Ty said, surprising everyone.
Carson raised his eyebrows and nodded.
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”
Gemma frowned, “I just got out of bed, I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
Carson slipped a hand around her waist and quirked an eyebrow, “Who said anything about doing nothing?”
Chapter 15
The dull buzzing of his phone against the night stand woke Carson from his post-coital nap with Gemma. He gingerly reached an arm over the sleeping angel nuzzled into his side to grab it.
He glanced at the caller ID: Aaron.
“What’s up?” he answered with a whisper.
Gemma moaned and snuggled in deeper, flinging her arm over his broad chest.
“Izzy wants to talk,” he said.
Carson shifted slightly so he was sitting up and reached for the pack of cigarettes he’d given up years ago. Old habits died hard. The first morning drag still haunted him.
“Oh yeah? Has she calmed down?”
“Uh… mostly. She hates my guts, but I think she’ll be okay with you guys.”
“She’s never been a huge fan of mine either,” Carson reminded him.
“Yeah. Well, see you soon,” Aaron replied.
Carson didn’t like the terse tone Aaron had taken on with him. Something was definitely weird with him.
Gemma stirred, her soft waking groans bringing parts of him back to life.
“What was that?” she asked with a yawn and a big stretch.
It took a moment for his brain to attach meaning to her words; he was mesmerized watching her body move and still in awe that she shared it with him.
“Aaron. Izzy wants to talk.”
Gemma’s brows shot up and in a split second she was out of the bed getting dressed.
“Awesome! Let’s go!”
“Gemma…”
“Don’t you DARE try to ask me not to come!” she said as she clasped her bra and slipped into a t-shirt in record time.
“We don’t know if she’s safe to be around,” Carson said.
“Nothing you say will change my mind, Carson. If Izzy wants to talk I’m going to talk to her.”
He followed her out of the bedroom, hopping into his pants as she stomped down the hallway.
“I just think that maybe you should let me talk to her first… to check her out, you know?”
“Sorry, it’s just a chance I’m going to take.”
He groaned and followed her down the stairs.
“Hey, Car, I got something to show you,” Ty said as soon as they walked in.
“Later,” he answered.
“But it’s about the video…”
“Izzy wants to talk, are you guys coming?” Gemma asked, having zero patience for their dawdling.
Ty looked surprised, but didn’t say anything else. He could see that Carson was in no mood to talk about the past with present problems glaring him in the face.
When they pulled up to Gemma’s house, they found Aaron on the front porch shuffling his feet impatiently.
“You look like you’re in time out,” Trick teased.
“He is!” Izzy called from an open window.
Gemma’s heart leapt into her throat at the sound of her friend’s voice; she thought she would burst from the rush of joy she felt. She skipped up the stairs to the front door and ran through greeting Izzy with a big hug.
“Oh my god, I was so worried about you.”
Izzy gave her a sad smile, “Thanks for looking out.”
As the men crowded into Gemma’s tiny cottage once more, all eyes fell to Izzy in anticipation of what she had to say.
“Um, so… thanks for saving me and everything,” she stammered, failing to make eye contact with any of them.
Aaron shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. Izzy directed a pointed glare in his direction and he stilled, remaining on the other side of the door.
“I’m sure you guys have a lot of questions about everything, but I don’t know how many answers I’ll be able to give you. It’s all going to sound a little crazy anyway…”
Carson smiled, “Doubtful. We have our own crazy stuff going on,” he added, slipping a possessive hand onto Gemma’s hip.
Izzy raised her eyebrow in question, but figured it wasn’t the time or place to inquire about whatever was going on there.
“Okay,” she said with a big sigh, “so, I met this girl — Alina — who tried to explain some of it to me. There’s some kind of magic… Certain people have it, but they don’t know until they’ve met their other half. Or… something like that.”
Carson nodded, “I think we’ve figured out that much.”
Izzy’s eyebrows shot higher, “You two?”
Gemma nodded.
“Weird.”
She took another deep breath, looking at her hands in her lap before
continuing.
“Well, there’s this guy… Alina’s other half… he’s not a good guy,” she faltered and Gemma stepped forward to rest a hand on her shoulder.
“He’s tracking down magical people that haven’t found their other half and… he’s draining them, I guess. I don’t know, it’s all really blurry.”
“But that doesn’t really explain why people are going nuts,” Trick chimed in.
Izzy frowned; trying to pull the memories to the surface made her head swim.
“It’s called the frenzy. Or, that’s what Alina called it. This magic is too much for normal people, she said. It’s like a really powerful drug. That’s why he’s draining people, he’s learned to harness the stuff and dose it out to people to keep them under his control.”
Ty sank into an armchair with his head in his hands.
“Do you know how crazy this all is?”
Izzy’s face darkened, “I told you. I’m not making this shit up though.”
Carson intervened, “We know you’re not. What do you know about this guy?”
Her eyes lost their focus, as if she were watching something far in the distance.
“Not a lot. He…” her voice cracked and she dropped her head for a minute before lifting her gaze to meet Gemma’s.
“He’s done some really awful things to her. You have to help her.”
Gemma nodded; her heart clenched at the pain in Izzy’s voice. Whatever this man did to Izzy’s friend Alina must be truly atrocious. Whether it was a part of the original plan or not, Gemma knew they had to help this other woman.
“Look, it sucks that all of this is happening, but our only goal was to find you and bring you home safe. We can’t go out rescuing every sad stray out there,” Carson said.
Gemma took a step back from him, her fierce gaze challenging him.
“If Alina knows more about what is going on here, we’re going to get her out of there. We were given these powers for a reason Carson,” she said firmly with her hands on her hips.
Izzy smirked, impressed that she’d been able to rub off on Gemma a little bit.
“This guy sounds like bad news. We need to kick his ass before this goes any further,” Dez added drawing surprised looks all around.
“I agree,” Ty said.
