by H. D. Gordon
Raven stood there, hair as black as night and lips as red as blood, a flowered duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
“Hey,” Raven said, stepping into the apartment with a smile for me, and a wary glance at Matt and Sam.
“Hey, Raven,” I responded when it was obvious no one else would.
“You guys ready to go?” Raven asked, shifting uneasily on her feet under the looks she was getting from Matt and Sam.
Since I’d saved Raven’s life on the Grant City Bridge when the Blue Beast was about to collapse the structure right on top of her, the dynamic had changed between Raven and I, as one might imagine. I’d forgiven her for her bitchiness, and in exchange, she had told me everything she knew about the man she’d been working for, which, unfortunately, didn’t turn out to be much.
Before you go thinking how stupid it is to trust someone like Raven, remember that I can read auras, so I rarely had to take someone at their word.
“Aria,” Sam said, “what’s going on?”
I flashed a quick smile at Raven and pulled Sam over to the kitchen area. “I, uh, forgot to tell you. I invited Raven to come with us.” I spread my hands and smiled widely. “Surprise.”
Sam looked less than enthused, to say the least. Her blue gaze was icy as it flashed over to Raven, who was making idle, uncomfortable chitchat with Matt. Matt appeared appropriately stunned by her beauty. Say what you want about the chick, but Raven was a head-turner.
From the subtle shift in Sam’s aura, for the first time since I’d known the two of them, I thought that maybe Matt’s feelings for Samantha were not entirely one-sided. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of jealousy floating in Sam’s generally sunny aura.
“You invited the evil Succubus?” she snapped. “Why would you do that?”
I kept my voice low and tried to appeal to Sam’s empathy. “She doesn’t have any family, any friends. The people she worked for set her up to die on that bridge, and as far as they’re concerned, she did.”
I could see that this was doing little to sway Sam, and I acknowledged that if Raven would stop flipping her glorious hair around Matthew at the moment, the task would probably be easier.
“She gave me some good intel to pass on to the Brokers,” I added. “And she’s all alone in the world, hiding her existence from very dangerous people.”
Sam nodded, her arms folded over her chest. “You’re leaving out the part where she’s a total bitch.”
I placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You know what someone wise once told me? Real heroes don’t decide who’s worth saving and who’s not.”
Sam gave me one last withering look, then finally sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she mumbled, and moved past me. “I hate when you throw my words back at me.” Then, because Samantha Shy really was a hero, a certified good guy, she plastered a smile on her face and lifted her shoulders.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s get on the road. We’ve got an… interesting trip ahead of us.”
She wasn’t wrong about that.
***
“I gotta admit, Nerdgirl,” Raven said, placing her bag down on the hardwood floor and nodding in appreciation. “These digs are pretty sweet. Good job.”
Sam brushed past her and rolled her eyes. “Thank you so much, Evil Succubus,” she replied. “You’ll be sleeping on the couch, since there’s only three rooms and no one knew you were coming.”
I smiled nervously, wondering if I would be able to deal with these exchanges for the next few days and if I’d made a mistake by inviting Raven. “Who’s hungry?” I asked, rubbing at my belly. “I know I am.”
“I could eat,” said Raven.
“Cool,” Sam said, plopping down in one of the chairs in the living room of the rental house. “I’ll just Google the nearest restaurant that has souls on the menu and we’ll head right out.”
Raven’s dark eyes narrowed. “Or I could just eat yours, Nerdgirl.”
Matt gave me a sympathetic look but made no move to intervene, which was probably wise on his part. I didn’t really have the same luxury.
“Guys, we’re going to get along,” I said, and looked at Sam. “Raven is my friend, and with time, I think she could be yours.” I looked at Raven. “Sam is my best friend and if you can’t get along with her, we probably can’t hang out that much. Okay?”
After a moment, both of them nodded reluctantly. Then we could turn to matters that were actually important. “So, food?” I asked. “Let’s go for a walk and find a little place, maybe we can even sit outside.”
Everyone agreed, and we set up in our respective areas of the house and readied ourselves to go out. It was strange, the whole of it. Being on a vacation with friends. Having money in my pocket to spend and the world seemingly at my fingertips, part of a life I’d never imagined having.
Seaside was indeed an incredible little seaside town. The weather was perfect; the sun staying out until past eight p.m. and lazy drifts of clouds dotting the endlessly blue sky. The air smelled of the sea, salty and a bit fishy but still pleasant, and the sound of the churning ocean played as ever-present background music.
The town itself was actually its own little island, about three miles long and consisting of two main streets. On one side was the bay, and on the other, the Atlantic. People wandered the streets in bathing suits, rode bikes with surfboards tucked under their arms, and wore tan lines like jewelry.
In the winter months, much like Blue Hook, which was my residence before Grant City, the town would empty and many businesses would go into hibernation along with the yearly residents. In these long, cold months sometimes a fog would descend over the island and the little towns beneath would disappear into the mist like something out of a science fiction novel.
The beach house Sam had reserved was a small structure painted white with nautical blue accents and a short walk to the beach. We had only to round the corner of the block before we came to the main drag, with its variety of local food places and other small businesses.
Agreeing upon an Italian place, we settled down at a table outside so that we could take in the views Seaside had to offer while enjoying the cuisine. To my delight, both Sam and Raven seemed to be making a genuine effort to be pleasant to each other, though it became clear to me that I’d have to warn Raven to stop flirting with Matt if I hoped for the pleasantry to persist.
“Hey, I have an idea” Raven said as we were finishing up our meals. She looked at me with her dark, mischievous eyes. “You can use your Fae persuasion skills to get us into one of those bars we walked by on the way here. Then we can have some real fun.”
Sam shook her head and pulled a piece of paper that we all were familiar with by now out of her bag. “Nope,” she said. “Sorry, but being a juvenile delinquent is not on the itinerary.”
Raven gave her an annoyed look. “What is on the itinerary? Dressing up like Harry Potter characters and waving wands at each other.”
Sam smiled at this sarcasm. “I’ll be sure to add that for next time,” she said. “But, actually, there are recreational volleyball games being held on the beach in about twenty minutes, and I thought you guys might want to play.”
My brows shot up. “Sam, you hate sports.”
“Yes, but you like them, and I chose stuff for each of us.” She looked over at Raven. “Well, each of us that I knew was coming. So what do you think? Want to take on some locals and see if we can win?”
Raven shrugged, though Sam had directed the question at me. “I guess it’s better than Cosplay,” she said. “I’m in.”
I nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it. I always enjoy a good physical competition.” I looked over at Raven. “And Cosplay is cool, dude. Don’t hate.”
Raven let out a heavy sigh. “I’m surrounded by nerds.”
Matt stood up and dusted breadcrumbs off his shorts, laughing. “Cosplay is not cool, Aria, but it is fun. Now who’s ready to go kick some butt?”
I stood as well. “I’m always ready fo
r that,” I said.
CHAPTER 4
“We spanked them!” Matt exclaimed, high-fiving me and getting an eye roll from Raven. “Well, you two spanked them, but that was fun! I guess sports aren’t always so horrible.”
Sam came up beside Raven, and in a leap of faith I knew wasn’t easy for her, she said, “Thanks for hitting that ball in that guy’s face for talking crap to me. I don’t know that he deserved a broken nose, but I appreciated it, anyway.”
Raven smiled, her face becoming even prettier as she did so, and it was easy to see how men would fall over her. “Even an ‘Evil Succubus’ can look out for teammates from time to time,” Raven said.
I smiled at this exchange. A guy on the other team had been making fun of Sam’s obvious incoordination, and rather than let it slide, Raven had spiked the ball so hard that it hit him in the nose and caused a fantastic eruption of blood. The guy hadn’t said much else after that, and a sub had had to take his place.
“See?” I said. “I knew you two could get along. Breaking that guy’s nose was very sweet of you, Raven.”
“You guys are a bunch of weirdos,” commented Matt, and for the first time all of us laughed as a group. I began to think maybe this vacation wouldn’t be so bad after all.
After the volleyball games we returned to the beach house to clean up, and despite the heavy meal of pasta and breadsticks just a few hours earlier, I knew the late night munchies would come for me as they always did. The sun had finally sunk behind the horizon over the bay, and the night brought with it a cool breeze, so I asked my companions if they wanted anything from the little store down the block and headed out into the night as the others showered off and settled in.
As I walked, I admired the simplicity and beauty of the present. Who would have thought someone like me would be taking a casual stroll while on vacation with friends? Who could have predicted that I would be here, at this seaside town with the colorful homes and manicured lawns and mailboxes shaped like fish, and not because of a mission, but because this was what normal people did?
I was becoming one of the normal people. That thought struck me with lovely certainty.
The universe is a real jokester, however, because it took this opportunity to remind me that this sentiment couldn’t be further from the truth.
If my ears had been ‘normal people’ ears, I wouldn’t have picked up the sounds of the trouble. If I’d been normal, I would have been grabbing some junk food and candy bars at the corner store a few blocks ahead and returning to my little group of Nerds and Succubae. Instead, I paused in my tracks, the Vans on my feet halting on the concrete. My head tilted to the side, my senses perking to peak.
No crime-fighting, remember? chimed a voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like Sam’s. Just keep walking. You promised.
My body ignored this voice, moving toward the sound with a swiftness that shocked me a bit. When had it become so routine to run toward the trouble as if it was my occupation?
When you started running around Grant City in a cape and mask, replied that same voice.
The sound was coming from the beach, and I found my steps hastening the closer I got. My heart picked up pace and I knew that the sudden physical exertion had nothing to do with it. It was the aura that called to me, an undeniable call for help that drew me like the tip of pencil.
Somewhere between this thought and the next I picked up into a dead run, moving through the shadows of the evening like a woman on wheels. My hair flew back off my shoulders and I used my aura-reader to guide me in the right direction. The sounds of struggle had ceased, and I knew enough to know silence following struggle was never a good thing.
My senses guided me toward the jetty, where dark, slippery rocks jutted out into the surf. This broke my stride, as one false step could send me slipping down into the rough hands of the Atlantic Ocean, tossing me against the jetty and pulling me back, tossing and pulling, again and again.
Despite the danger, I moved with the agility of a Halfling, jumping and leaping, keeping my balance like a circus performer. When I got to the end of the jetty, and my aura-reader pointed me into the dark, pounding waters, I took a deep breath and dove in.
The water was cold enough to send a jolt of shock through my system. The tug of the tide was immediate and insistent. I fought against it and swam toward where I believed there to be a drowning man, and just when I was starting to think he was lost, my fingers brushed fabric under the water.
With a renewed sense of hope, I gripped at the fabric and found it attached to a man. I wrapped my arms around him and moved like a fish, my head breaking the surface so that my lungs could gasp for air.
Unfortunately, grabbing ahold of the man had been the easy part. The hard part would be getting him up on the beach without both of us being smashed into the unforgiving surface of the jetty. A bit of panic stole over me as I felt our bodies being tossed and pulled. It occurred to me with a terrible certainty that perhaps this time I’d bitten off more than I could chew.
I was no Olympic swimmer or Navy diver. I was strong, yes, but pure strength could not prepare someone for a battle with the ocean. Every time I got the two of us closer to the shore, the tide would suck us both up and spit us out further from the shoreline again. I tried instead to grip the dark, unforgiving rocks of the jetty and to heave myself up out of the water, but each time I slipped off as smoothly as a bar of wet soap in a hot shower.
Several times I lost hold of the guy I’d jumped in to save, and just as the fatigue was beginning to set in, I realized that all I’d managed to do was doom both of us. Some hero I was. My stupid brain wondered if this was seriously the way I was going to go. The Masked Maiden, taken out by raging waters she had no business being in.
Told you to keep your promise, whispered that little voice, and if I’d had the breath to spare at the moment, I likely would have told it to shut up. As it was, I did not have the breath to spare.
Against my will, a large gulp of water snuck past my lips as I tried desperately to grab some air for my aching lungs. I choked and sputtered, and pain shot through my chest, blooming outward like a flower. Following this, my senses began to dull, and I felt myself slipping away. A darkness that was incredibly deep and cold called my name, beckoning me home.
Just before I answered it, there was the flash of a face so handsome it seemed to me an angel, and considering my circumstances, I prayed like hell it was.
***
I sputtered, water gurgling up my throat and spouting out of my mouth in a coughing spray. Gentle hands turned me to the side, helping me to spit out the rest of the salty water rather than swallowing it back down.
I wretched and clutched at my stomach. It took a moment to recognize the feel of the sand beneath me for the focus on the pain in my lungs. I blinked, my vision taking too long to come back to me, and when it did, that lovely face I’d glimpsed while in the ocean was hovering over me.
That face smiled, and my nerves gave a little twist. I tried to sit up, but my head swam and the handsome man gently insisted I lay back.
“Easy there, tiger,” he said. “You almost drowned. Give yourself a minute.”
I ignored this directive and pulled myself up to a sitting position, shoving some of my soaking hair out of my face and cringing at the way my clothes stuck to me. My head whipped from side to side, my eyes searching.
“There was a man,” I said. “He was in the water.” I tried to jump to my feet but stumbled back down on my bottom with an oomph!
“Relax,” said the angel-faced man. “I got him out, too.” He gave me a smile that revealed perfect teeth and dimples. “Pretty stupid to jump in after him like that. Brave, but stupid.”
Before responding, I took a moment to study this stranger more closely. Like me, he was dripping wet, his sandy blond hair falling just past his strong chin, dripping salt water that fell down to the tan skin of his bare chest. His face was classically handsome, like one of those old movies where the pictu
res are only in black and white. A five o’clock shadow covered his chin, and he wore all black, a deep hood resting over his wide shoulders.
As captivating as his features were, it was not his attractiveness that held my gaze, but rather, his aura. It told me only one thing for certain; that whoever this man was, he was not human.
“What are you?” I asked.
His brow lifted, the smile on his face growing slowly, curiosity in me increasing. “Don’t you mean, ‘who are you’?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, I meant what.”
A short laugh escaped him with this, and he stood out of his crouch and held a hand out to me. “I’m Remos, mortal son of Ares,” he answered. “The name most people know is Night Rider. Those who really know me just call me Remy.” He paused, smiling that devilish smile as I took his offered hand and let him pull me to my feet. “And, what, may I ask, are you?”
I blinked. The Night Rider was a name everyone knew. He was like the Masked Maiden but on a way bigger scale. As unbelievable as this was, I’d watched his aura while he answered, and I knew his answer to be truthful, so I answered in kind.
“I’m Aria. Fae Halfling. Some people know me by the Masked Maiden of Grant City.”
Remy’s handsome face lit up at this. “Are you, now?” he asked. “I’ve been wondering about her. Been making headlines in these parts.”
I pulled my soaking shirt over my head and rang it out, casting a look at Remy that warned him not to ogle me in my sports bra. “You’re the one always making headlines, Night Rider. How did you know I was in the water?”
“I was flying overhead and saw you jump in,” he said, smirking. “Totally saved your life. Feel free to thank me with kisses and other displays of affection.”
I hung my soaked shirt over my shoulder and gave him a droll look. “I think I’ll pass, but thank you for saving me. Where’s the guy that I jumped in to save?”
Remy pointed down the beach to where a man was stumbling to his feet under the moonlight, looking around as if he didn’t know where he was. I nodded, relieved to see that he was all right.
