by S. L. Gray
"And got Dr. Andruss killed." That fact hadn't quite sunk in yet, she thought. She hugged herself now, fighting off the first fingers of a chill.
"That's not your fault," Noura told her seriously. She laid her hand against Melanie's arm and held her gaze. "You're not responsible for him, you understand me?"
Melanie summoned up a faint smile and nodded. "I know. It still bothers me."
"Then bring the tablet back," Noura pressed. "No one will be upset."
Plenty of people would be upset, Melanie knew, but that wasn't what bothered her. "I didn't say I had it."
"You didn't say you didn't."
Beyond her, Melanie saw both Kade and Garamendi turn their heads. As one they started moving toward where she stood, matching scowls darkening their expressions. The shiver she'd held off raced up her spine now.
"If I happen to find out where it is," she allowed carefully, "I'll try to get it back."
"Good." Noura's smile brightened again. It touched her eyes but something about it looked insincere. "We wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt.”
Chapter Thirteen
Melanie stepped into Kade's embrace the moment he reached her side. She tucked her face against his chest and held on to his shirt. Now wasn't the time to keep her at arm's length. He could feel her tremble in his arms and forced his expression lighter as he waited for her to look up. He wanted her to talk, not fear whatever she thought he might say.
"Well, I'm off then," Noura said, favoring the rest of them with a smile. Her attention lingered on Garamendi and warmed a few degrees. "Unless, of course, you have anything else to ask me?" She sounded almost hopeful.
Garamendi shut her down. "We've got all the information we need for now. If anything else comes up, we'll be in touch."
"Suit yourself." She lifted a hand, wiggled her fingers in farewell, and walked away.
"Is it me?" Melanie called Kade's attention back. She tried for a smile, but the corners of her mouth wavered. "Am I just paranoid?"
"It's not paranoia when they're really out to get you." Garamendi summoned a crooked smile of his own, then held out a hand. "Dominic Garamendi. Nice to finally meet you."
Melanie took his hand and smiled politely. She relaxed enough to look comfortable, but she stuck close to Kade's side all the same. He put his arm around her waist again, less to sell a story now than for reassurance.
"So you are his Garamendi. It's nice to meet you, too, after all I've heard."
Garamendi arched an eyebrow and Kade shrugged. "I only tell her the bad stuff. If I was her, I'd run screaming the other way.
"So the lady has a bigger set. Doesn't surprise me." He winked at Melanie. She laughed in response.
Kade clenched his teeth against an unreasonable surge of jealousy. Garamendi had charm and personality to spare. He needed it in his position. No matter whether the mundane world knew who and what he was. He took care of first contact. Troubles landed at his feet and he decided who could handle the situation best. He'd chosen Kade specifically for Melanie. They weren't in competition. Kade curled her closer to his side all the same.
"So how're you doing?" Garamendi asked. "Kade tells me you had a little excitement last night. Read the tablet?"
Melanie nodded. "I don't know how. I didn't mean to," she added, glancing up at Kade. "I could see the words and they made sense, just like reading English. If I did something wrong..."
"It's not wrong," the supervisor promised. "Unexpected," he added with a glance at Kade. They'd traded words about the subject. Garamendi had insisted he didn't know she shared their blood, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. It would make this whole exercise easier. "But it happens. We can't keep track of everyone all the time."
"No, I don't guess you could. Not across generations." She inhaled sharply and pressed her hand against Kade's chest, as if she needed the touch to command his attention. "That reminds me, though. Something's up with Noura."
Kade frowned. "Up? What does that mean?" He didn't want his concerns about her friend to have any merit, but if they did, he needed to know.
"I'm not sure." She made a frustrated sound. "It's a hunch. A feeling, I guess, but before she left, she said a couple things that made the hair on my arms stand up."
He knew better than to discount a feeling, no matter how seemingly random. "What'd she say?"
Melanie's gaze slid toward Garamendi and back. She wet her lips and took a deep breath. He watched her shoulders straighten and felt her brace herself. She expected some sort of reaction, possibly from both of them, and that twined anxiety even tighter around Kade's spine.
"She asked if I had the tablet, which isn't really a stretch, I guess. She knew I'd been excited to work on it. But then she said I should bring it back before someone else got hurt." She shook her head faintly. "Threats aren't Noura's style."
From the little he knew about and had seen from Noura, Kade had to agree. She seemed far more likely to joke about the missing tablet than try intimidation. "Did she say where she wanted you to bring it?"
Melanie frowned. "She just said back. Here, I assumed." She glanced toward Garamendi again. "I didn't admit I had it. I didn't tell her about what happened." She drew back to hug herself. "Maybe it's just my nerves. I liked Dr. Andruss," she added plaintively. "Someone killing him is a little too close for me."
"It's not nerves." Kade didn't hesitate. "We'll keep an eye on her," he promised, meeting Garamendi's gaze over Melanie's head. "Maybe something got triggered when she fixed the tablet. Some kind of warning or signal that got picked up."
"Wouldn't put it past them to use someone close to get to her," Garamendi agreed.
"I think you were right," Melanie said, reaching out to tug Kade's shirt again. "About the guy in the bar with her last night. She doesn't remember most of their date. Can they do that? Erase your memory?"
"Wouldn't put that past them either," Kade echoed. "Could come in handy, especially if they're planting subliminal impulses. Key words that set off some programmed response—"
"But you wouldn't do that, right?" Her gaze shifted between the two men again. "You wouldn't get inside my head without telling me. Would you?"
Uncertainty bled off her in nearly palpable waves. Her eyes were wide and dark, filled with something between panic and worry. He wanted to soothe it all away. He wanted to pull her into shadow and tuck her out of sight, stand guard over her and protect her with everything he had. He'd discovered as he watched her go about her morning routine that letting go of his reservations about her could easily overwhelm him.
He settled for brushing her cheek with a thumb as he slid his hand into her hair. "Not even if I could. You have to trust me, and that's not trustworthy. Not ever, I swear."
She managed another wan smile and leaned into him. She'd accepted his decision to keep her closer than usual without a moment's obvious doubt. She slid her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. Kade bowed his head over hers for a moment and let his eyes drift shut.
Garamendi cleared his throat. "Think I'm going to take off. No point in hanging around any longer than I have to. Someone's going to realize they don't know me." He met Kade's gaze when he lifted his head. "You have everything under control?"
"Not yet," he answered honestly, "but we'll get there. I'll check in."
Garamendi nodded. "See that you do." His glance slid toward Melanie, but he didn't say a word. Nothing needed to be said. Kade knew what he had to do.
He nodded in return and watched Garamendi walk away. Straight toward the trees on the edge of the museum grounds and the shadowed places between them. He didn't glance back and he didn't slow down. He merely parted the veil and let it fold around him, then disappeared.
"I'm never going to get used to that, am I?" Melanie murmured. She hadn't moved or loosened her grip. She shook her head, then let go to stand up straight, composing herself. "Or you'll do something else, just when I think I've seen it all, and I'll have to readjust."
&nbs
p; Kade let himself smile a little. "Have to keep you on your toes."
"My toes are going to be worn out if I don't get off them soon."
"I'll carry you." He didn't miss the startled look she gave him. He just chose not to acknowledge it, tilting his head back the way they'd come instead. "Walk you home? You're not going to do any more good here today and we've got things to do."
Melanie made a face but turned so she stood at his side. "No rest for the wicked."
She was silent until the trees closed around them enough that the Sentinel had nearly disappeared behind them. "I don't know how you do this all the time. I feel like I'm barely hanging on to the back of the bus that tried to hit me."
"You get used to it after a while."
She laughed. "God, I hope not." She looked up when he didn't join in, expression clouding with worry again. "You're not joking. This is really your life."
"It's a war," Kade said, putting his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't shrug. He might be used to this, but she probably wouldn't take his nonchalance well. "It's not explosions and armies, but we've been fighting a long time. Sometimes it gets quiet. Things are picking up again."
"But I don't want to be a soldier. I didn't agree to this. You people just showed up and I'm suddenly in the middle. Is this how everyone gets initiated to the cause? Because if so, I've got to tell you, you need a better recruitment plan."
He couldn't help smiling. It might not be polite to laugh at her complaints, but they were as funny as they were valid. "Yeah," he agreed. "We do. You can take that up with the boss next week."
She grumbled, but he saw a smile lighten her face as well. "Don't think I won't file a complaint if someone shows me how," she threatened. "Your name will be all over it."
"Can't wait," he said, then caught her sleeve and redirected her. "Come on. We'll cut through the park."
Kade let her set the pace though he'd chosen the path. The park they paced through took up four full blocks. Nothing like the impressive sprawl of Golden Gate Park, but it was big enough to get lost in and provide a get-away. The farther they walked, the more Melanie seemed to relax. Kade let his guard slip a little too. He could almost pretend they'd just gone for a stroll and let his thoughts drift to the next important thing.
Like mapping out Melanie's apartment with his mind's eye. She needed lamps to banish shadows and wards to block spells. It would effectively trap him in, but more importantly, it would keep those who wanted to harm her out. He would find a way to give her as much space as he could within the confines of her walls. He preferred to stay close.
He nearly ran her over when she stepped sideways into his path and stopped. She hardly moved when he jostled her. Her shoulders hitched once, then she went motionless again. She reached for his wrist and held on but she didn't say anything.
Every sense sprang to the alert. "What's wrong?" He kept his voice pitched low as he ducked his head enough to make sure she could hear him. He scanned the park around them, looking for whatever had set her on edge.
"I thought I heard something," she murmured. An animal, growling, but I don't see it."
"I didn't hear it." He held out a hand, motioning for her to stay where she was, then he moved a few steps away. He strained to catch the faintest whisper of whatever she'd heard, but there was only birdsong and the hum of traffic. "Maybe a car went by. Their engines can be pretty loud."
But a car didn't explain the growl that suddenly thrummed through the air around them. Melanie flinched backward, two seconds shy of blind panic and a bolt through the woods. "You heard it that time, didn't you?" The words were barely a whisper. "Please tell me I'm not going insane."
"You're not," he promised, coming back to her. He slid an ivory-bladed dagger from the sheath at the small of his back. "Just stay calm. It could have been a dog."
"Dogs don't give me cramps."
As if those words were the command the creature waited on, the deepest shadows between a pair of leaning cedars shifted and unfolded, revealing the monster that had been hiding in its depths.
At first glance, someone might have mistaken it for a lost mountain lion. Now and then, one of the animals wandered into a city so it wasn't entirely out of the question. It had a long, lean body, muscle shifting easily beneath tawny fur. Thick pads on the bottom of broad paws let it move almost silently as it prowled forward, long tail hanging heavy behind it. Only the twitching tip gave away any hint of its agitation.
But there the comparison to a beast of nature ended. Though it had deep golden eyes that tracked even the slightest twitch, a mountain lion would have had a feline head. A muzzle and a broad nose, whiskers and swiveling ears. It would have revealed a mouth full of cruel-looking teeth, had it curled its lips in threat.
The creature that stalked toward them wore a hawk's head, the cruel-looking beak tipped with black. It tilted its head to keep one eye fixed on Kade and Melanie as it circled. Now and then it clicked its beak, cutting off the rolling sound of the growl that issued from its throat.
Melanie hardly moved at all. "What is that? What is that, Kade? What am I seeing?"
"We call them rancors." The word sounded heavy to his own ears. "Like a sphinx with an attitude and a taste for roadkill."
Kade watched the creature as closely as he was being watched.
"So it doesn't want to talk?" Melanie laughed, but the sound came out high and thin. She had good reason to be scared.
Kade reached for her hand. A reminder that he was still with her. A promise he'd keep her safe. "Probably not. Look. They move fast, no matter how much they look like their parts don't fit. When I tell you to go, you run as fast as you can."
"What?" She turned her head just enough to look at him. He caught a glimpse of wide, frightened eyes. "I'm not leaving you."
He bit back a groan. "Now's not the time to get stubborn, Melanie. The goal is to get us both out in one piece. That means I call the shots and you do what I say." She flinched in his grip and held her breath, but didn't protest again. She was trying to behave, at least. He'd give her credit for that. "You want to chew me a new one for it later, I'll sit pretty and try not to cry, but for now—"
"I got it." She spoke through her teeth. "You're the boss, boss."
Kade studied the clearing where they'd stopped, a small open space at the heart of a network of paths that branched off in all directions. Traffic passed on a side street to their right. If she could make it there, into the public eye, she'd be safe, he reasoned. The rancor must have a master and that master would want to keep them out of sight.
So he turned with her, pointing her toward the distant cars as he put his mouth by her ear. "On the count of three." He felt her tense again. "I'll be right behind you. Two. Three!"
Melanie pushed away from him the instant he let go. He didn't watch her as she raced away. His attention stayed on the beast, which startled at the sprint, feathers mantling. Its pupils spun down to pinpricks then widened again and it surged forward.
Only to skid to a halt when Kade got in its way. "Not her. Not now, not ever. Not without going through me."
The rancor tilted its head again, eyes refocusing. It took a step toward him and paused, lifting one paw, the better to display the wicked-looking claws that slid from the ends of its toes.
Kade ground his teeth. "Yeah, yeah, I see them." The longer he distracted the thing, the better the chance Melanie would get away. He heard her running footfalls fading away. A few more seconds and it wouldn't matter whether it charged or not. She'd be in the clear.
Something about his body language must have reminded the beast its prey was escaping. It jerked as if someone had prodded its flank, then moved sideways, peering past Kade's body. It opened its beak.
The sound it made had no place in this world. High-pitched and blood-curdling, Kade clapped his hands to his ears to block out the sound. In the same moment, the monster charged him, every bit as swift and deadly as he'd warned Melanie. It lashed out with a paw full of daggers and
slashed through the air where his knees should have been if he hadn't moved. It grunted and barreled for him, muscle bunching and shifting as it launched off the ground.
Kade caught it when it crashed into him at chest height, hind feet scrabbling for a purchase in flesh and finding none. He went over backward, using its momentum to roll them both. It twisted beneath him and rolled to its stomach. He wound his arms around its neck and pried up, hoping that his arm would not slip out from under the beak. The thing could take a hand off. It would tear off his arm if it could.
In his struggle, he nearly missed the shrill cry of a second beast.
Chapter Fourteen
She was nearly there. Nearly out of harm's way. She hadn't looked back and wouldn't until she stood in the open, just as Kade said. She heard the sounds of struggle behind her, but kept running. Forward, always forward. There'd be time to see what had happened once she was safe. A few more strides, another few yards…
Something shrieked behind her. It had to be the monster. If Kade could make a sound like that, she didn't want to know why or how. Her heart pounded harder, as if it might burst free of her chest. She dug in with her heels, pushing for one last burst of speed. One final sprint to freedom.
A shape exploded from a bush beside the path, hurtling into Melanie's side and knocking her into a tree. It was still thrashing when they crashed to the ground. She had just enough time to twist out of the way before its beak plunged into the earth by her ear. Another rancor!
Or was it the same one? "Kade?" She heard the fear in her voice and willed it away. Now wasn't the time to fall apart and need rescuing after all. She'd managed this long on her own, she could handle another few minutes.
Of course, living alone wasn't quite the same as wrestling a creature that couldn't exist and desperately wanted to do her injury. The bird-cat-beast writhed atop her and growled, paws carving grooves in the ground as it reared back in preparation for another stab. "Kade!"
She heard him swear by way of answer and the sound of his voice leeched her panic away long enough, at least, for her to act instead of freezing where she lay. She got her hands on the creature's neck and locked her elbows. The thing was stronger than it looked. She ground her teeth and concentrated on keeping its head away from hers.
