Bait

by Kasi Blake

  Flat on her back, Bay-Lee stared up at the foreign sky over the Tyler Beck look-alike’s shoulder as she wondered if this was a monster in disguise or if the musician had somehow faked his own death.

  The weight of his body might have crushed her if not for his quick thinking. Most of his weight had landed on his elbows. He braced himself now, an arm on each side of her as he did half a push-up so he could stare down at her face. One of his legs was wedged between hers in an awkwardly intimate position. Heat set her cheeks on fire. Part of her wanted to slap him while the other part wanted to reach up, grab him by the neck, and bring his mouth down for a lingering kiss.

  He owed her one, didn’t he?

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, eyes narrowed. “Did you follow me?”

  “I was here first. If anything, you followed me.”

  “Who are you? Or should I say what are you?”

  Laughter parted his lips, a humorless bark. “You think I’m a shifter?”

  “Or a doppelganger.”

  Mud-caked boots landed next to her face in the dirt. She looked past Tyler Beck’s shoulder to see a young man in dusty fatigues, his face painted for war. There was so much dirt in his hair it was impossible to pinpoint the color. The only thing she saw clearly was his eyes, doe brown. He cradled his M16 against his chest and nudged the rock singer with the toe of one boot. “Hey, Nick. The boys and I were wondering if you’re going to join us for battle or lay on top of the pretty girl until it’s over.”

  “Not funny. Help me up.”

  The other guy shifted the rifle to one side so he could extend a hand. He pulled Nick to his feet while they talked freely as if they were alone. They moved to the side, away from her. She stood up quietly and listened to every word. Within a few sentences she learned Mike was the other man’s name and they’d been assigned to fight border monsters. It took a while, but she eventually recognized Mike as Tyler Beck’s lead guitarist, Michael Keebler. What was going on? Was the entire rock band in the Spirit Realm? Had they expanded their worldwide tour to include other worlds?

  A bubble of laughter caught her off guard. She slapped a hand over her mouth to smother it, not wanting to interrupt the interesting conversation taking place directly to her left.

  Nick was saying, “Keep moving down the line and drive them back.”

  Mike shifted his weapon again as if the weight was too much for his short yet muscular arms. “This is so bogus. We shouldn’t even be here. Has anyone checked Van Helsing lately to see if he is really him and not a shifter in disguise, ‘cause that’s the only reason I can think of for him punishing us like this.”

  “Van is punishing me, not you. I told you, you didn’t have to come here with me. Jordan split. You can follow her lead.”

  “Where you go, I go.” Mike gestured to Bay-Lee. “Do you think Van Helsing sent her to scope the situation for him?”

  “No way,” Nick said with a derisive chuckle. “He wouldn’t want to put his precious little girl in danger. Things are volatile over here. He wouldn’t risk it.”

  Bay-Lee bristled at the ‘little girl’ label.

  “But he’s planning to visit,” Mike pointed out.

  “If Van Helsing can’t take care of himself, no one can.”

  “Still... I just don’t get it.”

  “Join the club. As soon as we wrap this up, I’m going to have a long chat with the old man. If he doesn’t admit he was wrong and bring Tyler back to life, you and I are going to leave the school behind forever. We don’t need his backing. We can take out vamps on our own.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” Once again the short guy called Mike jerked his chin in her direction. “What about her? What do we do with her?”

  Nick looked at her as if she was a rare steak, bloody, and he was a life-long vegetarian. The expression on his face was pure disgust. “I guess I’ll have to cross her back over and make sure she gets home safe.”

  “Bad idea.” Mike fidgeted. “Let one of the boys do it.”

  Nick folded arms over his chest. “Is there a reason you don’t want me to cross her over, Michael?”

  “She’s the last girl you should be hanging out with and you know it.”

  The words replayed over and over in Bay-Lee’s head. Why was she the last girl he should be with? Was it because Van Helsing was her father?

  “Yes, I do know that, Michael.” Nick expelled an audible breath. “That’s why you can trust me, because I’m more aware of the situation than anyone.”

  The guitarist obviously wanted to argue. In the end, he saluted Nick and took a step back. “Wake me when you get home,” he said in a teasing tone.

  Nick returned the salute. “Take the lead while I’m gone.”

  “Don’t I always?”

  Mike blasted her with a nasty glare before stalking off to join his fellow soldiers. Artillery continued to fire at random intervals. An occasional growl could be heard, but the monsters remained hidden. The soldiers seemed to know what they were doing. Bay-Lee thought back to her numerous visits to this side. Those trips were boring by comparison.

  Fuming mad, Bay-Lee straightened her back in an effort to look intimidating. Standing tall, she said, “I will not be crossed over like a child. No one needs to hold my hand. If I want to come here and take a stroll across the entire Spirit Realm on foot, I will, and when I decide to go back home, I can get there on my own. I don’t need an escort.”

  “When Van finds out you were here—and he will—I want to be able to tell him I crossed you back over and left you safely at home.”

  “So you’re one of Van’s yes-men?”

  “I’m one of his hunters.” He glanced at his soldiers, deep concern in his gaze. Then he pinned her with an icy stare. “As if you didn’t know.”

  “I figured it out after seeing footage of you fighting the police,” she admitted. “Those were some of Van’s trademark moves. He trained you, personally trained you. That makes you one in a million.”

  “He personally trained you.”

  “That’s because we have a... I’m his daughter.” What was it about this guy that knocked her off balance? If she wasn’t careful, she was going to blow it. There were things no one knew, things no one was allowed to know. Her agreement with Van hinged on the fact those things remained a secret.

  Nick changed the subject before she could. “Have you ever crossed over with another person? It’s different than doing it alone. I need to touch your arm while you focus on a blank screen. Allow me to guide you. Don’t pull yourself to the other side. Let me do it for you.”

  She hissed, sending a blast of air through her clenched teeth. “Fine. Cross me over then.”

  “I mean it. You need to relax. If you put up any resistance, it will be extremely painful.”

  “I understand.”

  His hands grasped her shoulders firmly and he stared into her eyes for an uncomfortable length of time. “You have to trust me completely for this to work. Can you do that?”

  The word ‘trust’ might have five letters, but it was a four-letter word to Bay-Lee. In her entire life she had only trusted three people. Giving up control didn’t come easy to her. While gazing into Nick’s intense eyes, she repeated the question in her head. Could she trust him enough to let him cross her over? The answer shocked her to the core. She didn’t know him and yet she felt she could trust him with her life. It wasn’t logical. There was no reason for her to trust him. None. But she did.

  She nodded briefly.

  He grabbed her arm just below the elbow.