“No, ma’am. I really wouldn’t.” In my head I could see Talley twirling a strand of shiny black hair around her finger. She was on the floor just above me, I could tell both from the way her voice floated down through the air vent and her smell. The room must have been some sort of living room or family room since the drone of a television set is what kept me from noticing anyone in the room before then. One of the first survival skills I acquired after Changing was learning to tune out background noises. If I hadn’t, I would have been driven insane by the constant stream of marginally talented Disney singers coming from Angel’s bedroom a long time ago.
I closed my eyes and tried to visualize my best friend standing just above me. Was she scared? Were they treating her right? And where were the boys? They should be there with her, protecting her.
“I was wondering, your highness, if it was possible for me to see my friend.” The tremble in her voice was evident even through the floor/ceiling.
There was a long pause, and then the Alpha Female said, “I do not think that would be a good idea. The Thaumaturgic has too much sway over you, I fear. Not that I blame you, my sister. Not in the least. Anyone in your position would have been caught unaware by her deceit.”
“But, your majesty, I honestly don’t believe she is—” There must have been some hand motion or look, because Talley cut off instantly. There was a scrapping noise, like a chair being pushed back and then soft footfalls.
“You know it cannot be natural for a woman not of Shifter blood to make the Change.” The Alpha had moved in closer to where Talley was.
“I know, but—”
“Our enemies have long been looking for a way to infiltrate our ranks. And they almost did it. She’s the perfect Trojan Horse, is she not? A lone female wolf when we lose almost all of the young born to us. As Seers, we want to protect her since we have been unable to save the others. And the males. The entire species is drawn to her, looking for a mate of their own kind. The Strategos tell me her scent is absolutely intoxicating, nearly impossible to resist. No wonder Hoplite Hagan looks at her with such admiration. The poor boy is a victim of biology.”
“I don’t think—”
“And the way they placed her with your Pack when she was so young, letting the child become like a part of your family. It was smart, strategically speaking, but so cruel to your family.”
“But Scout didn’t—”
“That, of course, is the reason the Hagan Pack isn’t facing charges of their own,” she said, her voice infused with a touch more strength. “I did not think it was fair to punish the entire Pack for something that was obviously committed against them. Don’t you feel the same, Seer Matthews?”
Blackmail. Awesome.
“You’re very kind and wise, my Alpha.” Talley sounded choked, and I knew it was because she felt guilty for not defending me. She shouldn’t have. I understood, and would have been angry if she had said anything else. There was no need in all of us going down with the ship.
After that there was some more conversation, but mostly of the “So, how are you liking Kentucky?” variety as opposed to manipulation by The Man. A few minutes later there was an influx of feet moving about, and then a television flicked on and my ears flicked off.
The rest of the day passed without much in the way of excitement. Hashim brought me lunch and dinner, both of which were pretty good for prison food. The television stayed on upstairs, blocking out any conversations. Since I had nothing better to do, I fretted over the whole intoxicating scent issue. Neither Jase nor Charlie had mentioned that I smelled especially sexy, but the theory did explain a few things, like that moment with Travis and Makya in general.
On second thought, nothing really explained Makya.
But what if she was right? What if I was throwing out a come and get me boys scent? Did it develop with my first Change, or had it always been there? The first time I met Liam he smelled me and asked Jase what I was. Could it have been because I already smelled like a female Shifter? And if I did, what did that mean in terms of Alex and Charlie? Did they really want me, or were they simply acting on animal instinct?
After many miserable moments, I decided that train of thought was both unhealthy and unproductive. To distract myself, I attempted to figure out how many people where in the house. Since I was locked in a concrete basement and the cabin was the size of the White House, it wasn’t an easy assignment.
My Pack was the easiest to pick out. Talley and Jase spent most of the day on the third floor with each other. Charlie, on the other hand, seemed to be stationed near the top of the basement stairs. I tried to remember what could be holding his interest for so long up there, but couldn’t come up with anything. As best as I could recall, the stairs were located in a super-huge pantry which came off the kitchen. Unless he was put on dishwashing duty, I couldn’t think of a single reason for him to spend the day up there.
Stefan and his three henchmen were almost as easy to pick out as Jase, Charlie, and Talley. Not only was I already familiar with their scents, but I could feel them somehow. It was like they were so Dominant they leaked power, and that power was an actual tangible thing floating through the air. Even without the aide of my super-powered hearing and smell, I could point out any member of the elite guard at any given time.
After that, it got harder. There were other males in the house, I could hear their heavy footfalls and smell their boy smell, but keeping up with the exact number was hard. People were constantly moving, and the stupid TV blasted CNN Headline News at full volume all blessed day. I knew there were at least three other guys on a level below the Strategos on the power structure, not including Akay. There were possibly others, but no more than six.
The females in the house were actually a bit easier to peg, thanks to the very profitable body wash, shampoo, and lotion market. Not counting Talley or the Alpha Female, I caught four other distinctive scents. There could have been more, but I didn’t detect them.
That left me in a house with, what? At least a dozen probable enemies? If any delusions remained about breaking out of this place, that promptly shattered them. I had better odds at winning the Miss USA crown, landing the lead role in a Wonder Woman movie, and hitting the lottery all in the same night.
Still, I listened and smelled and brain stormed. It was either that, or stare at the blank walls and go crazy. By the time I drifted off to sleep after all the motion upstairs stilled for the evening, I had a pretty good layout of the house and was starting to recognize different unknowns by their scent and the sound of their footfalls.
The next morning my breakfast was brought in by Mandla, the NBA guy. Along with the heaping plate of eggs, sausage, and toast, he sat a stack of books down on the end of my mattress.
“The one who owes you a life debt insisted you have these,” he said in that smooth voice. “He claimed it was cruel and unusual to leave you without something to stimulate your brain.”
I glanced at the stack, which was comprised mostly of Nora Roberts and James Patterson paperbacks. Not a whole heck of a lot of brain stimulation going on there, but still… “Thank you. I was going kind of crazy with nothing to do.”
“Thank not me, but the Alpha’s generosity. She is giving you much comfort considering what you are.” I made a split-second decision not to waste my breath on restating my innocence and slammed my lips back together. “She will be coming to see you shortly,” he continued on. “I suggest you show her the respect and reverence she deserves, Thaumaturgic.” With that, he turned and strode back to the door, leaving me alone with the high calorie breakfast I wasn’t going to be able to eat thanks to the awe-inspiring things that bit of knowledge did to my belly.
It’s not like I expected any sort of physical altercation with Stefan’s mate. No, if anyone other than the Alpha Male himself was going to leave me bruised and battered around here, it was one of his Three Amigos. The threat from a Seer wouldn’t be physical. Instead of upper-cuts and side-kicks, you had to wor
ry about what she was going to pull out of your brain. Could she See what was knocking around up there, like Talley? Or maybe it was what your weaknesses are or how to break you from the inside out. No one ever bothered to cover the complete scope of Seer powers with me, but I was under the impression they were so various and many you couldn’t really keep up with them all.
Since the basement lacked a clock and someone confiscated my phone just an hour after I arrived, I had no way to know for sure exactly how long it was before someone else came downstairs. Judging by the fact I made it through twenty-four chapters of a James Patterson novel, I estimated it at around thirty minutes after I gave up on breakfast.
Three women came through the door along with Mandla, Hashim, and Travis. Mandla and Hashim took up post just in front of the door of the cell while Travis lounged against the basement door.
“You are to stay at least two feet away from the bars,” Mandla informed me.
I took an exaggerated step backwards.
The three girls, all of which looked to be in the high school to college age range, stood clustered together in the middle of the non-caged half of the basement looking at me with the same fearful curiosity you would a lion in a zoo.
“So, are you a good witch or a bad witch?” The one brave enough to speak was a black girl with some very awesomely done purple extensions. And while I’m no expert in dialect and accents, I would put good money on her being from Brooklyn.
I threw a hand over my heart and did my best Judy Garland. “Me? Why, I’m not a witch at all. I’m Scout Donovan of Kentucky.”
“And your little dog?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, I guess I’m that, too. Although, truth be told, I’m not all that little.”
There was a moment of complete and utter silence and then Brooklyn burst out laughing. “I like her. I vote we not kill her.”
“True!” exclaimed the girl with hair the color pumpkin juice and more freckles than I knew was possible. “Don’t be so horrible.”
“I’m not being horrible. I’m saying I want to keep her alive. That’s the exact opposite of horrible. It’s nice and thoughtful. Right, Sabrina?”
“I’m feeling the love, Pythia.”
“See, funny and smart. She could totally hang with us.”
“She’s not one of us,” the older girl, a blonde Amazonian, said. Her accent was similar to Stefan’s but not exactly. I decided she was either from a different part of Russian or one of those countries that used to be back in the USSR when John, Paul, George, and Ringo were doing their thing together. “She Changes during the full moon without the aide of lineage, upsetting the balance and natural order of things. It would be a good idea for the two of you to remember that.”
True stuck out her tongue, which meant I got to see the bar she had running through it. The Russian responded with a lift of the middle finger without even looking over her shoulder in True’s direction.
“Let me guess, she can See whatever is going on in a room, even if she’s blindfolded.”
“No, True is just predictable.” The blonde threw a thick braid back over her shoulder. “I See potential, if you must know.”
“Potential?”
“It’s a very important gift,” said Freckles. She was definitely the youngest, and her accent was American of some sort, but I had no idea as to the particulars. I just knew she wasn’t from New York, Boston, or anywhere south of Kentucky. “She can hold a baby in her arms and tell you if you should encourage her to explore music because she could become a great pianist, or warn you to be cautious because she has the tendencies of a serial killer.”
“Does it only work on babies?”
“Of course not.” Another toss of the braid, which seemed to have trouble staying put. “All I have to do is touch any living thing and I can See where its greatest potential lies.”
“So it would work on me?”
Mandla, who had been statue-like up to this point, snapped his head around. “I do not think that would be wise.”
I had asked in a theoretical sense, but now that Mandla was against the idea, I was all about it.
“It’ll be fun. I want to know where my greatest potential lies. Maybe I’m supposed to be one of those hairdressers who enter crazy hair shows. I’ll never know if she doesn’t tell me.”
Mandla didn’t even think before he said, “No.”
“Awww… c’mon,” True whined. “Let her do it. What is the Thaumaturgic going to do? Bite off her fingers?”
“Well, fingers are tasty.”
Mandla cut me a climb-in-a-handbasket-and-take-a-trip-down-South look. The flames shooting out of his eyes didn’t dissuade the Russian, however.
“I want to See.”
“She is a Thaumaturgic, Mischa. What if she shows you the very depths of Hell? Would you really want to See that? Do you think you would ever recover?”
“I’m willing to take the risk.” Mischa’s nose climbed into the air, obviously displeased he thought there was something she couldn’t handle. “I think it’s important we know.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. “I mean, what if I really am supposed to be one of those competition hair dressers? I’ve seen those hair shows on public access, and some of those ‘dos are scary. You may have Flock of Seagulls themed nightmares.”
True giggled, which only cause Mischa to be more determined. She swept up to the cage, one palm up in the air as if she was telling me to stop. I raised my hand in a similar fashion, walked forward, and then pressed it to hers. At first I couldn’t tell anything was happening, but then her pupils grew large as her breathing accelerated. When Mandla ripped our hands apart she was gasping for air.
“Mischa! Are you okay? What did you See?”
Mischa didn’t answer. She was still trying to catch her breath while her eyes remained locked on mine, although I’m not sure she was actually seeing me.
I really, really didn’t want to know what it was she did See.
“Mischa! Damn it, answer me. What did you See?” Mandla grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard. She finally snapped out of her trance, but started shaking so hard I don’t think she could’ve answered if she wanted.
I was so absorbed in the drama, while keeping an eye on Hashim who looked as if he might leap onto Mischa to get answers, I didn’t see Travis admit another person into the room. Big mistake on my part. Because it would have been nice to not squeak like a little girl when the Alpha Female stepped forward.
“What is going on here?” a tiny girl with dark skin and darker eyes and hair asked. She was wearing a Manchester United t-shirt, ripped jeans, and flip-flops, which made her look all of nineteen. If it hadn’t been for the power radiating off of her, I would have actually considered her harmless.
The Seers all went down on one knee, even Mischa, who almost collapsed trying to get there.
It was Hashim who answered his queen. “Mischa touched the Thaumaturgic. She’s refusing to tell what she Saw.”
The Alpha Female cocked her head to one side, sending a heavy curtain of hair cascading over one shoulder. “Mischa?”
“I… I can’t remember.” Mischa’s eyes darted to mine for the briefest of moments. In that fleeting look one thing was overtly clear: She was lying. “I’m sorry, your highness.”
“Are you certain you can’t remember? You do understand the penalty for lying to me, don’t you?”
Mischa visibly paled. “I promise. Let Lizzie read me.”
The Alpha Female nodded at the red head. “Do it.”
Lizzie placed her hand on Mischa’s cheek, closed her eyes, and started swaying as a strange humming noise emitted from her throat. She went on like that for longer than was entirely comfortable before releasing Mischa and opening her eyes.
“I only get confusion and fear, your highness. I believe her.”
“Can you See the truth?” It slipped out before I remembered I should be attempting to be invisible.
Lizzie
blushed, which made her look even younger. “I’m a Soul Seer. I pick up on emotions and the occasional stray thought.”
Emotions and the occasional stray thought? Talley could totally kick her butt in a Soul See-Off… not that it was a competition or anything.
“Harper is it?”
“I prefer Scout,” I said, sounding more calm and collected than I actually was.
“My name is Sarvarna, but I prefer ‘your majesty’, ‘your highness’, or, as you Americans are so fond of, ‘Alpha’.” The funny thing was, she wasn’t trying to be ironic. The chick really thought I would want to know that she preferred to be addressed royally.
“You’re the Alpha?” When a healthy dose of pissed off flicked across her face I backtracked. “Sorry, it’s just that I’m confused. I was under the impression the Alpha Male and Alpha Female were mates.”
One corner of her mouth lifted. “We are.”
Oh. Okay. So, her and Stefan…
Ewww. Just, ewwwwwwww.
As the realization and my feelings on the matter played across my face, Sarvarna’s smile widened, showing teeth just as small and perfect as the rest of her. “It took quite a bit of doing,” she said, “but eventually I was able to win him over.”
She looked rapturous. Mischa and Lizzie both looked a bit uncomfortable. True looked as ill as I felt.
“How… fortunate for you,” I said. “Stefan seems… nice?” God, what were you supposed to say to a real life Lolita?
“Your approval means the world to me, Thaumaturgic.”
I made my tongue bleed to keep from saying something ill-advised. Lizzie spoke into the stilted silence my efforts caused. “Want me to take a turn, your highness?”
“Are you certain?” Sarvarna asked.
Lizzie’s head nodded as her fingers drummed on her thigh.
“Causing her harm will forfeit your life.” The words were severe, but the Alpha Female’s expression was bored. “Are we clear?”
“As a bell.” Because it’s really hard to get that confused.
Time Mends Page 19
