Bite Marks

by Jennifer Rardin

  “Who would?” asked Rory. Lance giggled.

  “You blokes are flaming jerks!” Gabbie declared.

  Mostly to prevent myself from punching the defenseless bastards I said, “Dachelle, I’ll give you and your friends each fifty bucks if you get us to Wirdilling in five minutes.”

  “Hang on, mates!” Dachelle called. “I’ve had my eye on a pair of shoes at Mathers for the past three weeks and now I’ve finally got the chance to snatch ’em!” She floored it, sending Lance and Cole sliding into the window frames. Cole caught himself but Lance banged his head, which turned out to be the last straw. He passed out with his forehead against the window, which meant every time Dachelle took a sharp curve we could hear his skull bang against the side of the car.

  Twelve minutes later we crawled out of the Hyundai and waved goodbye to Dachelle and friends. Lance kept rubbing his head and grimacing, but the rest grinned happily as they sped away since I’d decided to pay them for getting us there in one piece. Even though the timing sucked, I was sure nobody could’ve pulled us in faster.

  While Jack strained to reach a fire hydrant at the street corner and Astral rolled around on the asphalt like a kitten, Cole, Kyphas, and I stood in the middle of Wirdilling Drive, staring at the dusty storefronts and empty alleyways, trying to figure out where the flying nose could’ve landed.

  “Maybe he couldn’t reverse the sky car,” said Kyphas. “Maybe it stopped near the Space Complex and right now they’re all—”

  “They’re here,” I said flatly.

  “How can you be sure?” she asked. “What if it was never here to start with? What if they stored it miles away in some deserted canyon? That’s what I would do.”

  “It’s here.” I sounded a lot more confident than I felt. Because if Vayl had been close, I should’ve been able to sense him. I couldn’t. But he’d told us to meet him here, so this was where we were going to be.

  “Why isn’t Vayl talking to us?” asked Cole.

  Because he’s miles and miles away? “Because they’ll overhear him if he says anything. Which reminds me. Bergman? We’re standing in front of Crindertab’s. It’s about to get pretty hot downtown. Now that you’re done with all the lab work, we could use your help here.”

  “Oh. Sure. I’ll be right there.” He coughed to hide how his last word tried to climb right out of his throat.

  I said, “Let’s find that sky car.”

  “How?” asked Kyphas. “The cables are practically invisible.”

  “So were their doors at first, but now we’ve discovered three of them.” I didn’t tell her my sudden surge of confidence was probably based on the rush I still felt that began at the clotting bite on my lip and ended at my tingling toes.

  “Are you sure the drop is even in town?” asked Bergman, sounding slightly out of breath.

  “Yeah, I think it’s here,” I said. “They’d want easy access to it, and the car was coming from this direction. I know our analysts never picked up on it, but maybe the Ufranites only use it at night. Much less chance of being seen at three a.m. Especially if your shaman has thrown a camo spell on it.”

  Cassandra spoke up. “Jasmine, can you hear me?”

  I crouched down and touched the road like she was standing right underneath me. “Is everything okay? You sound [tearful] different.”

  “I’m fine. You can’t even imagine… Jasmine, the most wonderful thing has happened! I heard—no, let me tell you to your face. It’ll be soon because I’m nearly done here. Remember I said we were sneaking into the shaman’s quarters? You’ll never guess what I found there.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Tabitha’s dress.”

  “Ruvin’s Tabitha?”

  “She’s the shaman.”

  I wanted to ask Cassandra if she was sure, but she was a freaking Seer. Of course she knew! Now Ruvin’s sacrifice to the larvae made perfect sense. Wives killed off their husbands, and vice versa, all the time. But why? Did Tabitha-Shaman really believe Ufran needed his privacy? Or did she have ulterior motives even her people, from whom she’d hidden her real identity, didn’t understand?

  “That’s… you’ve gone above and beyond,” I told her. “Now do something even more important and get yourself out safe. If anything happened to you, Dave would never forgive me. And I kinda like it that he’s finally speaking to me again.”

  “In that case I’ll be seeing you very soon,” said Cassandra. I could hear the smile in her voice. “In the meantime, why don’t you ask Astral about the sky-car dilemma? Or rather, her Enkyklios?”

  I turned to the cat, who was currently dragging her hindquarters through the dirt between the sidewalk and the road and singing, “Oh, get down, turn around, go to town, boot scootin’ boogie.”

  “Astral, you whacked robot, you are not Brooks or Dunn! Get over here!”

  “What happened to her?” asked our psychic.

  “You know what? I’m just gonna let you touch her and See the whole moment in surround Sight. You bringing reinforcements?”

  “As many as I can manage.” Which would probably be, what, seven?

  “Cool, I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Be safe.”

  “Probably safer than you.”

  She chuckled as Astral trotted to my side and said, “Hello!”

  “What do you know about the Ufranites’ sky cars?” I asked her.

  After the usual I’m-searching ear wobble, a deeper voice came from her moving mouth, one more suited to a broad-shouldered, potbellied history professor. “The vehicles in question were built during the early twentieth century and improved upon after the devastating nose-to-nose crash of 1945. Though somewhat ponderous and slow-moving, they are built to move twelve to fifteen gnomes from one to another of ten points in the ACT.”

  “Yadda, yadda, yadda,” I griped. “Where’s the station?”

  “The main access point is inside the old water tower,” Astral said, like I should’ve figured that out hours ago.

  Holy crap! That’s right beside the damn post office!

  “Bergman, you know where that is?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Meet us there.”

  “Hey! You’ll never guess who I just saw dancing around in the playground of the old primary school.”

  “Miles, this is no time for—”

  “Tabitha!”

  I paused for a beat to trade a significant look with Cole and make sure Jack was still trotting at the end of his leash. “Bring her.”

  Small yelp. “Who, me?”

  “Time to prove yourself. If you want to be my future partner, she’d better be dangling off the end of your fist the next time I see you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  In Australia, land of fire and drought, sharks and surfers, water is damn near worshipped. If nobody’s built a shrine anywhere they probably should, because I’m pretty sure people would come and kneel, take a drink and then, like humans all over the globe, make a wish and throw coins in to seal the deal. If somebody did decide to erect a monument, maybe it would resemble the old wooden tower that had once provided sustenance to Wirdilling. Though a new metal one had been erected within sight of the original, it seemed almost sacrilegious that true Aussies had let the old girl go to waste. Which might’ve been why the gnomes had latched on to her.

  Outside she looked like your typical nineteenth-century above- ground town well. Except the section created to hold the juice was square, built on a platform that jutted out slightly farther than the container to give maintenance workers room to walk the perimeter. Nine sturdy posts held the tower a good thirty feet aboveground, their crosspieces stained an even darker brown than the rest of the structure, as if to emphasize the fact that they provided stability and helped ensure that the pressure stayed nice and high. We knew the place hid something marvelous simply from the fact that it was humming like a power station when we approached it.

  “What now?” asked Cole.

  I said, �
��Kyphas and I investigate. You get into position and wait.”

  “For what?”

  “I’m pretty sure you’ll know when it happens.” I looked down at Jack. Who, while multitalented in doggy terms, hadn’t yet mastered pole climbing. I handed the leash to Cole. “You guys grab some high ground.”

  Cole nodded quickly and, grinning down at my dog, said, “Come on, dude. Let’s hit the roofs. You can be my reloader.”

  “Be careful, Cole,” said Kyphas.

  His smile went crooked as he met her gaze, which was so damn sincere I nearly bought it. I pulled a Vayl, standing stock still, internalizing the eye rolling and grimacing that wanted to crease my face as he replied, “No need to worry about me, beautiful. I was born under a lucky star.”

  Oh, gag, did he really say that?

  “Besides,” he added, without missing a beat, “I’ve got angels watching over me. Right, Jaz?” His eyes swept to mine, their sparkle so bright they could’ve lit fireworks.

  “Close enough,” I said, coughing to hide the laughter as Kyphas put a hand to her stomach and made an I-may-vomit face.

  He wheeled around, taking Jack for a quick trot down the block and around the corner, where he was sure to find a handy fire escape. Kyphas watched him all the way.

  When she muttered something under her breath I asked, “What was that?”

  “Nothing.”

  Astral spoke up. “Kyphas just said, ‘That one, he is so likeable!’ Her tone is somewhat irritated, which does not compute with the wording.”

  “Shut up, cat!” Kyphas snapped.

  “I am not programmed for your orders.”

  I said, “Have you noticed what a great ass he’s got too?” Cole, listening in on the party line, chuckled with delight.

  “Are you joking? Every time he turns around my fingers begin to ache!”

  I stepped in front of her, nose to nose, to make sure we had pure communication. But I didn’t have to say a word.

  She held up her hands. “I know, I know. Nothing in heaven or hell will stand between you and my slow, screaming death if I harm any one of your babes.” She flipped back her shining hair. “Already you bore me. So are we climbing this tower or—”

  “Yeah. You first.”

  Flash of suspicion. But she went up, stiff in the legs and back, like she half expected me to stab her on the way up. As if I’d reduce my meager forces at such a key point. But I still enjoyed making her uneasy.

  I looked down at the kittybot. “This is where you take a break, Astral. Hang out here until Bergman shows up and then do what he says until I need you again, okay?”

  “Hello!”

  “You are so fried.”

  I followed Kyphas up to the platform. Though we searched like a couple of treasure hunters, we discovered no Ufranite doors. Which meant we’d have to be patient. Surely Vayl would find a way to contact us soon.

  I motioned for Kyphas to post herself at the south end of the tower while I took the opposite.

  “I’m in position,” Cole whispered. “Your dog’s peeing on the roof vent. I think that means you own Crindertab’s now.”

  I nodded to let him know I’d heard. Wondered how Bergman was doing and decided no news was good news.

  So hard to sit and wait. I touched Cirilai, wishing it would signal me, frustrated that it and my vamp-sense were my only connections to Vayl.

  Or are they? The only reason I didn’t ignore Teen Me, who was straightening her hair in the empty hope that she could make it look like Jennifer Aniston’s, was that too many other people already had.

  What do you mean? I asked her.

  He’s a vampire, she told me, like I was some kind of dufus for having to have the obvious pointed out to me.

  I nearly said, So? But I took a second to think beforehand. The first time he’d taken my blood he’d formed a bond with me that had enabled him to sense my strongest emotions. After the second time, my Spirit Eye had opened wide enough for me to track the Vampere. And now? What had happened to us with this exchange, Eldhayr blood for Vampere power?

  No clue, I thought as I crouched against the railing. But that took too much energy, so I hit my butt. Because I was suddenly so tired. The after-bite crash had come. If I’d had to raise Grief in that moment I’d have said, “To hell with it,” and hoped for an asteroid impact to do my work for me.

  We waited for an eternity. Stars came to life and died in the time I sat there trying to decide if I was already too old for this gig. I began to think I could sense the earth revolving while I remained in one place, like a chess piece that could only be moved by the hand of the universe. Then I realized I was dizzy.

  Vayl, where are you? Reach me, dammit!

  I closed my eyes, but that only made the vertigo worse. Instead I focused on the fat-headed nails that held the walls of the water tower together. They blurred into a rust-colored mass, like the bricks on a fog-shrouded building. And then I realized I was standing. Not in Wirdilling, Australia, at nearly four in the morning. But in London under a full moon, long before garbage trucks and sewage plants, if the stench gave any clue.

  I began to walk, each step bringing my situation more sharply into focus. I had never been so strong. I felt like I could single-handedly tear the bridge I currently strolled upon from its very moorings. And part of me wanted to. It yammered inside of me like a mad dog straining at the end of its chain. Because my boys would never draw breath again.

  Oh, fuck.

  I glanced into the water. Saw a tall, broad-shouldered man whose shoulder-length curls were held secure by a band at the back of his neck. He wore a long black coat buttoned over a red waistcoat and black breeches. His white stockings were stained with mud, his black buckled shoes needed to be resoled. But I could never mistake those high cheekbones, slanted brows, and fierce, kaleidoscope eyes.

  I’m Vayl. Or he’s me. How—?

  I stopped, raised my nose to the foul night air and scented something that did not belong, even here on these careless streets. Werewolf!

  I ran, still new enough to the power that I exulted in the speed I could gain and maintain. Within moments I had reached the abandoned building where the wolf hunted. Pulling my dagger from the sheath at my waist, I crept after it, the freezing river that now fed each of my humors rising quickly to a flood. It took all of my will not to release it upon the city itself, like a rain of razor-sharp ice. But I had freed the deluge once before. Some actions should never be repeated.

  I found it upstairs. A shiver ran up my spine at the sound of its claws raking across the grime-laden floor as it battered its shoulder against the bedroom door. Its final blow caused a rupture that made the wood crack like the shots that had taken my sons. I jerked as if hit, my mind tearing as it tried to evade memories too fresh to bury. But I could never turn from their faces, their dark lashes brushing their cheeks as if they had simply stopped beside the road to take a nap before coming home to supper.

  A scream jerked me from my nightmare and pulled me into hers. I leaped through the doorway to find the wolf crouching, grinning at the child as his distorted features and dripping fangs caused her to writhe with fear.

  I know those eyes! Where have I seen that Were’s face?

  “Trespasser!” I cried, speaking the only word I had heard from other lips since my travels began.

  The wolf spun. His scent hit me fully, causing my gorge to rise. It smelled as if his last meal had been dead for quite some time before he had indulged. He growled as he came for me, his yellow eyes intent on my throat.

  I let my arms hang limp, as if his charge had petrified me. At the last moment I spun aside, burying the dagger deep into his chest. Now he screamed, more from rage than pain, since my weapon contained no silver. He staggered into the wall and turned for another charge, but could not find me. I hovered above him, hanging from the ceiling, my hands and feet anchored to the boards that had been uncovered when chunks of plaster had fallen during the building’s decay.

&nb
sp; Having lost sight of his latest quarry, the wolf stalked toward the child, his low-bellied rumble raising the hairs on the back of my neck. The moment he walked beneath me I dropped, landing prone on his back like a trainer of wild horses. But this beast would never be tamed. And so, as he rolled and snapped, clawing at me over his shoulders, I buried my fangs in his neck.

  His blood tasted foul, and I did not sup. Only summoned the cold fury that rode me every waking moment and pushed it into the wound I had made. It felt… delicious. I found I could not stop. I wanted him to choke on my sorrow. To die again and again since I, damned father that I was, could not. I shoved the ice of my undeath into him until his eyes bulged and his ears cracked.

  “Is he dead?”

  Such a small voice. And miraculously steady for what she had just seen. I raised my head. “Perhaps. Werewolves are notoriously difficult to kill, however, so you must run home.”

  She looked around at the filthy, curtainless room with its corner full of papers and four distinct marks where a bed had once stood. “I am home.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Eleven.”

  I dug into my pocket and gave her a pouch containing all the money I had left in the world. “Go find another home. One that is clear of both dirt and monsters.”

  She looked at me with wide blue eyes. “Will you come with me?”

  “I… cannot. My time for homes is past.”

  She nodded, as if she understood how the warm blood pumping through her body tempted me even now. After she left I turned back to the wolf. Silver I did not have, but I thought I knew another way to finish him. Ah, if only he did not smell so damned—

  “Jaz!”

  I jerked my head, banging it against the tower so hard my ears rang. I looked down. Bergman stood at its base, his hand gripping the arm of Ruvin’s wife.

  I signaled to Cole and Kyphas that I was heading down. As I climbed I told myself firmly, No. That’s all. Just, no. I’m not going nuts today. Okay, so now I can relive Vayl’s past. That’s fine. Some people are skilled fishermen. You don’t see them hurling themselves off water towers just because they know which lures to pick for the big tournament. I’ve just gotta figure out why I had that particular vision. The girl looked familiar, but I think she’s just reminding me of some young actress. So it’s the Were, right? I’m sure I’ve seen those yellow eyes somewhere before. Yeah, and those raggedy ass ears too. Vayl didn’t end up killing it after all. It survived. And now…