Uniquely Unwelcome (The Shadow World, #1)

by Brandy Nacole

  “Hey,” I say simply. I feel awkward now thanks to Jared. Not to mention the plane incident. From the looks of it, so does Coy.

  “Hey back. I was just coming to see if your room is as gross as ours.” I’m not buying this little ploy. After Jared’s little stunt earlier, the way Coy just stands there pale and unmoving, I’m sure he’s really here to talk. Unfortunately, I have no interest in talking about it.

  “It’s disgusting. I was actually headed out to get some newspapers or something.”

  Coy scrunches up his face giving me an odd look. “Newspaper?”

  “I have to get something to lay on. These beds are disgusting.”

  Coy chuckles a little, turning up one corner of his mouth. “So practical.”

  “Hey it’s better than injections and an IV stuck in my arm while they try to get rid of whatever funky disease I would most likely catch.”

  Coy shakes his head, like Danika. “Well that’s true. I’ll just go with you then. I wouldn’t want those Chimera things grabbing you.”

  “Ah, so gallant of you.”

  He shrugs his shoulders, placing his hands in his pocket acting shy. It’s cute. “I don’t know about that, but I’m a good distraction.”

  As I’m about to say okay, an idea hits me. Maybe walking the streets alone is exactly what I need to do. “Actually I was hoping to catch a minute alone. I’ve been feeling really crowded. I just need a little time to think.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Those Chimera were all over us today. Why don’t I go with you? I want to talk to you anyway.”

  “Listen Coy, I know what Jared said shook you up. He shouldn’t have said what he said, but we both know it’s true. I understand you want to talk about it but not now, okay? I have too much on my mind to delve into that conversation right now. But we will talk, I promise. Right now I just want a little time alone, then come back, get some rest, and look for my sister tomorrow.” I try saying it nicely but it doesn’t keep the disappointment off his face.

  “Okay. Well be careful and keep your eyes open for the Chimera.”

  Little does he know that’s exactly what I plan on doing.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Those stinking Chimera! When you don’t want them to find you, do they? Why, crap yes. But when you want them to find you, do they? Why, crap no.

  After I left our little bacterial hole, I strolled through the streets of Nuuk, hoping to find at least one. Then I took to the sky, flying over the city searching and searching.

  After a few hours, I call it quits, and head back.

  I’ve only been gone for a few hours, I bet Coy and Danika are freaking out, fearing that I’ve been caught. Little do they know that was my plan, one that failed miserably.

  Now I’m walking back to the dungeon of germs, ready to receive the lecture. I was hoping that when I was headed back to the hotel it would be to tell everyone I had found them, rather than to say I failed.

  But as I round the corner of the building, my luck changes. There at the end of the alleyway leading to the hotel stand five Chimera. Each one of them is nasty in their own way. One sniffs the air with a long, wolf snout. The frog legs and Fairy wings give him a not-so-appealing look.

  I decide to make my move before they head for the hotel and someone sees them. My plan won’t work unless everyone else is out of the picture.

  I walk up closer to them; their backs are all turned from me. They’re more worried about the alley in front of them instead of what’s behind them. Not smart.

  I waste no time attacking them. I jump the one closest to me, pouncing on his back like a cat. He swings around, swinging my legs into the others, and I use the momentum to knock two of them down at one time. Now I have their attention. I keep fighting, throwing a punch here and a kick there. I’m not planning on coming out of this victorious, although I put on a good act.

  The funky-looking wolf Fairy smacks me across the face, sending me flying into a building. He may be weird-looking but he sure is strong. I pretend to go limp from the hit, relaxing my body and closing my eyes.

  After one of the Chimera nudges me with his foot a few times to see if I’m unconscious, he tells the others in a hoarse voice to pick me up. I stay alert just in case they decide to go ahead and kill me. That would totally screw everything up.

  Two of them pick me up, sharing my weight. One has my legs and the other has my hands. Not a way I prefer to be carried considering my back is dragging the ground across the trash, glass, and rocks in our path. It will make escaping a bit easier, though.

  I can feel one of them step down before my back hits the edge of a walk way. My body screams out in pain but I remain immobile. They lug me through the quiet town in silence.

  Finally we reach a boat, where I’m tossed in like a sack of taters. Maybe this was a bad idea. By the time we get to wherever we’re going, I’m going to be so banged up and bruised I won’t be able to put up a fight.

  The boat ride lasts for a while. The only sound slicing through the quiet night is the water, slapping up against the boat. By the time we hit land my stomach is churning from the boat rocking. I hope I don’t get sick. Imagine their surprise if I was to jump up puking.

  I’m grabbed by the same two who had me before. I can tell from the scaly hands of one and the claw-like grasp of the other. I open my eyes just a slit to see where we are. My head is propped up on my left arm, so all I see is the lake behind us.

  Making a move I hope they think is just gravity at work, I let my head drop back and droop between my arms. Focusing on the path before me and not the rocks lying in wait to connect with my head, I see nothing but snow, sloping up a mountain side.

  Apparently my head move goes unnoticed, since I’m not being thrown to the ground and pummeled. Now that I have seen the path in front of us, I want to pick my head back up to ensure I keep it. But I’m pretty sure something like that would be noticed. Gravity pulling my head down makes sense, it being lifted back up, not so much.

  So I relax my head completely, allowing it to sway back and forth. This gives me a chance to dodge the big rocks without alerting anyone.

  Before long we are halfway up the mountain. I can see an outcropping coming up, and the ringleader is already up there, waiting on the others. As we get closer my heart starts slamming in my chest. This is it. I know it is. I can feel it. The power on this mountain is strong. The little hairs on my body stand straight up.

  As soon as I can see over the outcropping, I’m tossed onto the ledge. I don’t land hard, but jeez they could be gentler with me. There should be some sort of kidnapping handbook that teaches manners when holding someone hostage, or better yet, dragging them up a mountainside.

  I lie where I was dropped, with my right cheek against the ground. I keep my left eye closed as I peek through my right eye. That’s when I see it, a shimmer in the mountainside, like a doorway.

  “The rest of you watch her. I’m going to tell the master we are here.” The mangled-up wolf gives the others a severe look, or what I perceive as a severe look. Who can tell with that face? Then he walks through the shimmer, disappearing to the other side.

  Now I have to act fast. I only have a small window of time before wolf-boy comes back, possibly bringing an entourage with him. There’s one Chimera standing next to my head, two behind me, and the other one is standing next to the shimmer. I’m not too worried about him, so I implement my plan to take out the other three first.

  Grabbing the one by my head on the leg, I yank him down while spinning up to connect my leg with the other two. One of them falls off the ledge, and down the mountainside he goes. The other one catches himself, landing on the ledge. The Chimera that was by my head is now lying on the ground, but is quick to jump back up.

  With no time to spare, I shift, taking flight into the air while there’s still time. Just before I’m out of reach, the Chimera standing by the shimmer jumps at me, managing to pluck a feather from my tail as I escape. Ouch! That
freaking hurt! Here’s a tip: don’t ever pluck a bird’s feather, it really ticks them off. If I wasn’t trying to escape with my life, I would so go back and pluck his eyes out.

  I pick up speed, heading straight into the heart of Nuuk. I land on top of the hotel and change back into my human form, then start to rush downstairs, pumped and ready to tell the others about what I found, but then I freeze. Crap! I’m naked. Didn’t really think that through did I? I should have left some spare clothes up here before I went out earlier, but I didn’t. Now what am I going to do?

  I crouch down, trying to cover as much as I can. Not that anyone can see me, but still. After wasting a few moments stressing over my awkwardness, I decide to woman up. Breaking the lock on the roof access door, I descend the stairs. Thankfully, I don’t meet anyone on my way down. Once at the bottom, I peek around the corner to scope out the hallway. The lights are flickering but I see no one roaming around. When I take a step into the hall, I cringe at the feeling of damp and gritty carpet. Ignoring it as best I can, I move on.

  I’m almost home free, almost to my room, when I meet a woman in the hall. Holding my head high, I never meet her eyes but know she’s looking at me shocked. Who walks around naked down the hall of a hotel in the middle of the night? Considering the location, a few scenarios come to mind. I can only imagine what the woman is thinking.

  I eagerly grab the doorknob to my room, but it’s locked. Figures. I knock really hard on the door, hoping Danika is inside. Within a few moments the door knob jiggles, followed by the door being flung open. Coy stands on the other side of the entryway ready to yell at me but he quickly loses his aggravation.

  Grabbing a hold of me, he yanks me inside, shutting the door. Instead of being a proper gentleman, he stands there gawking. He doesn’t bother hiding it either. I know sometimes it’s hard for guys to think, but he could grab me a towel or something instead of just standing there. But what can I expect really? He was raised in a dungeon where manners were nonexistent.

  “Enjoying the show?” I place my hands on my hips, giving him my best ‘uh-huh, that’s right I’m naked, but you could give me some respect’ glare.

  Jerking himself out of his daze, he runs into the bathroom and brings me back a towel. Well I say towel but it’s more like a cloth that mice have probably used to make their home. The number of holes in it is proof of that.

  Waving him off, I walk over to my bag getting my own clothes. He’s already seen me naked, so why try to hide under a piece of worn-out cloth that wouldn’t hide the freckle on my butt let alone anything else?

  Once my clothes are on, Coy is finally out of his stupor and ready to lecture. “Where have you been? You said you were going to get newspapers. That was five hours ago, Racquel. Do you realize how crazy worried we have all been? Danika and the Elders are doing a tracking spell on you as we speak.”

  I need to rally everyone together. I don’t want to tell my story a dozen times. Plus, we need to set a plan into motion. “Where are they?”

  “They’re down the hall, why?”

  Without a word, I walk past him and out the door.

  I walk down the hall to the Elders room. Not even bothering to knock, I open the door. Everyone looks up as I enter, and a million questions go flying through the air a second later. I let them all rant for a minute, then put a hand up to stop them.

  “I know where they are.”

  “Where who are?” Danika asks, her hands crossed over her chest. She looks mad but I can tell she’s relieved too.

  I give them the rundown of what happened, which takes longer than I expect. I keep getting interrupted with comments like ‘are you crazy?’ and ‘Racquel, are you insane?’ When I’m finally able to finish, everyone just looks at me. Not really the reaction I was going for. I was hoping for something more along the lines of everyone running to grab weapons and heading out the door to get the bad guys.

  “Hello. Did y’all hear what I said?”

  Eldrida rises from her seat, and walks over to me. “We heard you, my dear. But I’m more worried about you, and why you would take such dramatic measures to find this place? Within time we could have found the location without the risk.”

  Dramatic measures?! Now it’s my turn to rant. “I thought everyone would be pleased to know that this is all almost over, that after all our hard work we had found the place, but instead I get scolded. Really?

  “You think your magic—that didn’t seem to be doing the trick—and searching all over the world while being chased by Chimera was working? I know what I did was extreme, but I got results.”

  “You could have also gotten yourself killed. Then what would we have done? We would have wasted more time trying to find you. For one reason or the other, your grandmother is convinced that you are the key to ending this war, because that’s what we are in, a war. If you die, then Cerelia and the Vampire aiding her may never be found or defeated. Did you ever think about that?” Eldrida argues, her tone rising.

  “I did think about that, actually, but I also thought about our deadline, and all those lives hanging in the balance. All the people we set out to save. Remember them? What we were doing wasn’t cutting it. I know what I did was crazy but so is everything else going on. So let’s just move past what I did and continue on with what I found out.”

  A moment passes with everyone watching Eldrida and I stare one another down. I never thought I would be arguing with Eldrida. And I wouldn’t really call this an ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ stare-down. Even though I’m annoyed, I notice Eldrida’s expression is more calculating and observant. I’m the one who’s pissed and glaring.

  Ethan rises from his chair, clearing his throat. “What’s done is done. So let’s just move on and figure out our next move.”

  Eldrida shakes her head with a bit of disapproval and then joins the others at the table. Where did they get a table? The closest thing to a table in my room is a lopsided dresser.

  “Where’s Jared?” I ask, looking around the room.

  Right on cue the door opens, and in pops his arrogant face. “Miss me?”

  Ugh. Vampire hearing is so annoying.

  Danika gives Jared the run-down while the rest of us discuss strategy. Even though everyone has looked past my so-called ignorance for the time being, there is one downside that can’t be overlooked.

  “Now we know where they’re hiding, but now they know we are coming. Instead of having surprise on our side, we are going to have to be vigilant from here on in.” Eldrida pulls up a map of Nuuk and the surrounding mountains on her iPad. One thing I can say about the Coven is, they may live in the middle of nowhere and still revere to their natural abilities and survival tactics, but they spare no expense when it comes to technology and traveling in comfort.

  “I think we should approach the mountain from two sides.” Ethan points at the map.

  I shake my head. “There’s only one entrance, so even if we do split up, we’ll still meet at the top. It’s best if we stick together.”

  Eldrida nods in agreement. “She’s right. If we stick together, we can use all our resources to fight them off. Splitting up would only weaken us.”

  After a few hours of strategic planning, the plan is set and I’m ready to bust down a shimmering door, but Eldrida has other plans. “You need to rest, Racquel. We all do. This is going to be a major battle, one that we cannot face while we are dragged down by fatigue.”

  Our plan is to meet up in the Elders’ room before dawn, which is only a few hours away. I don’t really see what a few hours of rest will do, but everyone agrees with Eldrida, the sound of fatigue heavy in their proclamations.

  Danika keeps a close eye on me, probably fearing I may take off to fight the bad guys myself. She even goes to the extreme of switching me beds so she is between me and the door. I guess I really did scare her.

  Lying in bed, on top of the blanket Eldrida gave me, all I can think about is seeing Addie again. I know deep down in my soul that she is still al
ive. And even if my death is to meet me tomorrow, I will see Addie before that happens. I must see my sister again.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  I get caught up in my dreams, but for once it’s a happy time from my past. I’m laughing on the bed with Addie back home in a time where everything is okay. I sense Danika trying to rouse me from sleep but I fight her off. I don’t want to leave this happy dream.

  “Do you want to go save your sister or not?” I hear Danika shout.

  Point taken. I’m out of bed, dressing faster than I ever have before, and am out the door before Danika can turn to follow. Running down the hall to catch up with me, she’s right behind me as I enter the Elder’s room. Everyone else is there and ready.

  I am still worried about Coy but he refuses to stay behind. Eldrida and Laveda had a talk with him last night about the dangers of him going, but he refused to wait. If it were up to me, I would tie him to the bed, tell him I’m sorry, and then bring his brother back safely. But, it’s not up to me.

  Everyone gears up with their weapons. I’m guessing the Elders brought them along. Where else would they have come from?

  I ditch the crummy weapons I brought for the more effective ones before me. I strap on several knife holders, one on my ankle, my arms, and my back. I then strap a pouch to my thigh that’s filled with throwing stars.

  Eldrida brings out a small case, a look of resolve on her face. She walks over to Coy, opening the case and bringing out a 9mm handgun. “I do not believe in violence, but there are times when we must protect ourselves with extreme measures.” She hands the pistol to Coy. With no magic or unnatural strength available, I’m grateful he has something to keep the monsters at bay.

  Ethan only takes one small blade. I know Ethan’s tough and all, but one knife? Seriously? “Don’t you think you’re going to need more than that?”