The Blood Key (The Wander Series Book 1)

by Vaun Murphrey

  Cho gave me back the orders without a word and dipped his head at Rowena. “Ma’am.”

  Dr. Miller gritted his teeth so loud his jaw popped. Another dragonfly buzzed his face and he lurched backward to stumble off the porch steps. His exit was not graceful. The decorative rocks in the drive rolled under his feet and it took him some flailing to get his bearings.

  Izzy egged it on, or rubbed it in, or both, “Later days, pendejo!”

  29 DECLARED

  Dom asked, “How’d they get past the gate?”

  I watched the red tail lights of the cruiser round a bend and answered, “The police and emergency personnel have a pass. Kinda like how they turn red lights green at intersections.”

  He jogged down the steps and ran backwards on the crunching rocks as he said, “Well I’m gonna go get my car. Wanna come?”

  It was then that I noticed how bedraggled he looked. Jesus! They could’ve taken us in based on our appearance alone. Why hadn’t they? Dom’s dark curls were coated in dust. Maybe they’d assumed we were cleaning house or renovating or something? A walk, not a run felt like a good idea seeing as I didn’t have any shoes on. My ill-fitting mules had been in the rubble of a spaceship. That thought was too absurd to be true standing here in the daylight on a perfectly normal Earth day.

  Screw it. Life was weird. I needed to get over it.

  “Love to but I’m barefoot, Dom.”

  He grinned. “I’ll carry you.”

  Rowena snapped, “And while you waste time being idiots I’ll just go back inside this house and worry about your brother since you don’t seem to give a good goddamn!”

  A pain bloomed in my heart. She was right. Why was I laughing and kidding around when Christophe and Cyril were missing? Again.

  Dominic lost the bounce in his step as he approached. “Rowena, shut up.”

  I could see her hackles rise.

  “How dare you—”

  Izzy interrupted with her neck and shoulders in full ‘I don’t think so’ mode, “Bitch please! It’s all about you, isn’t it? We don’t even know what the hell we’re doing. You think if Zena could get Chris and Cyril back they wouldn’t already be here or what?”

  She had a point.

  Dominic put his broad back to me. “Hop on.”

  I turned to Iz and cut my eyes at a fuming Rowena. “Can you keep her out of trouble until we get back with the car?”

  Iz slid clammy fingers into mine and squeezed. “No es problema, chica.”

  Rowena slammed the door in answer. At least she didn’t lock it.

  A tiny bit of childish glee rippled forth as I draped my arms over Dom’s shoulders and pressed my palms against one another on his chest. The fabric of his shirt felt thin and I imagined the softness of his skin underneath. Before I made the jump to wrap my legs around his waist I asked into his ear, “Ready?”

  One side of his face bunched in twinkling humor. “You bet.”

  This was silliness. This was fun. Once he had a good grip on my thighs Dom began to walk with careful long strides, every now and then pausing to hitch me higher when I slid too low for comfort.

  Happiness sank to grim blank blackness as I thought about Neith and her plans. What if she had something to do with why my father and brother weren’t back? My ribs felt strained as they held my worry about where Chris and Cyril could be. With each moment of their absence the fear that something terrible had happened enlarged into a bloated tumor of anxiety.

  I blurted, “What if the Masters have them?”

  Dom stopped to lift me higher then turned his head. A line of sweat ran diagonally over his cheek, clearing a path through a fine layer of grit. It was either really hot or I was too heavy for this long of a piggyback ride. We were near the same height.

  “Zena, we don’t know that. Cyril is erratic at best. Your father could have some side mission he’s on and he’ll be back when he’s done. At least they’re together, right?”

  Cyril would do his best to protect Christophe. He’d killed to save my life—multiple times now. My father was dangerous. Not for me, maybe, but to anyone else who got in his way—Cyril was lethal. I’d never thought of him like that before.

  My childhood had been a snarl of mystery. Some of the answers I’d longed for weren’t at all what I’d daydreamed.

  Silence overtook us.

  The driveway was long and winding. Trees hung over it and birds, squirrels and other wildlife moved inside the upper reaches. None of it really had my attention. I was hyper aware of my breasts rubbing on Dom’s muscular back and my thighs began to ache for a different reason than friction.

  “You can put me down, Dom.”

  He shifted his grip on my legs and it felt like a caress. “Why?”

  “I just, uh, want down. Now please.”

  He stopped and let go.

  The short descent was awkward and the soles of my feet immediately regretted contact with the hard uneven rocks under them. I winced in reaction before I could stop myself.

  Dominic shifted forward so fast I didn’t see him coming. I was hanging upside down with a perfect view of his back pockets before I realized his intent.

  “Dom!”

  He slapped my ass and purred, “Yessss?”

  I judged us to be halfway to the gate. If he carried me like this the rest of the way I was going to have a bruised gut—and ego. The stir of excitement he’d woken with the smart sting on my butt was disturbing. Why did I like it? If anyone else touched me in that way, I’d rip their offending appendage off. His hand was still there and not moving.

  “What are you doing, Dom?”

  He sighed as he continued to trudge forward. “Trying to make you see.”

  “See what?” I had an urge to bite him through a faded denim pocket.

  All of a sudden I was flung up and out. I ended up cradled in Dom’s arms in a jumble. One of my elbows smacked his jaw and he nearly dropped me.

  His mouth made a moue of pained surprise. “Owww.”

  I poked him on the end of his nose. “Your fault, not mine. Let me stand up.”

  We straightened our clothes and faced off. The house was well out of sight. A barrier of nature closed us in and made for us our own little world.

  Dom reached around the back of my head and pulled my ponytail tight.

  “I like you. You’re not a pity case for me to defend. One second you were a kid in my head and then now you’re a woman.” He pointed with two fingers to his heart. “If you don’t like this man then just tell me no.”

  All I could manage was, “Oh.”

  He waited patient and sure. His irises were a match for the foliage around and above us. Tan and strong he looked mature and certain of himself. Confidence was a second skin and he didn’t blink.

  “I, uh, like you too.”

  Just as Dom closed in for a kiss a horn began to blare long and loud. We snapped our heads in the direction of the gate.

  30 BEDFELLOWS?

  Whoever it was wasn’t letting off the horn. Without thinking too hard on it we began to run. The large gravel hurt my feet but after the first few jabs the pain settled into an uncomfortable overload to be tolerated.

  A little late in the game I remembered the possibility of the media. What if they got us on film looking like we’d survived an explosion? Dom with me again after the gas station fiasco would spark a whole ton of attention. More than I wanted. I slowed down.

  Dom raised both eyebrows as he lowered his arms from a runner’s bent pump to a walker’s relaxed swing.

  I said, “Reporters?”

  He panted, “They know from the trial—if they come onto Skala private property they get thrown in jail.”

  Skala lands didn’t end at the entrance. They extended on for another two miles until the overgrown woods receded and the interstate appeared.

  At my dubious look Dom continued, “Judge Shumes locked some of ‘em up and confiscated their recordings. Plus, the mood of the city back then was that you’d b
een through enough–guilty or not. I mean, you were just a kid, Z.”

  To my surprise, gratefulness welled in my chest. Who’d have thought anyone cared? I’d missed a lot while the world had crumbled around my ears. Apparently all of creation hadn’t been against me. It made me love Gaston County even more.

  Memories rushed up. Ones I didn’t have time to chew on.

  A short beep broke out, followed by a sustained and annoying honk. Someone was really laying on the damn horn.

  Stabs of pain went up my legs from the nerve endings on the soles of my feet. I had been fine running but stopped my body was warning me of future bruises. Resigned to the pain, I pushed off again. Dom pulled ahead of me.

  One more curve and then we burst out into the cleared area of the wrought iron gate. Two concrete and brick posts were on each side. I winced up to the metal stand that housed the release button and leaned on the cover as I gathered my wits. Dom held his side next to me.

  A scruffy looking hobo type was on the hood of Dom’s beat up yellow hatchback. He had a cap of tightly curled white hair and his dark skin was pitted with acne scars to either side of a wide and nearly toothless mouth. It was way too hot for the long gray trench coat spread under his butt. Tennis shoes with torn open toes finished off the ensemble.

  No one was in the driver’s seat as the horn went off again.

  The man smacked his lips together and said, “’Bout time!”

  If the stranger could make the car’s horn blare without touching it why hadn’t he just opened the dang gate for himself and knocked on the front door? Maybe Cyril’s mention of wards around the estate prevented it? In which case, should I let this stranger inside at all? First things first, I’d have to find out why he was here.

  I took my hand away from the gate release and cupped the bottom of my ribs with both hands. My breathing still hadn’t settled down from the jog. I was way out of shape.

  “Who are you and why are you here?” I demanded.

  The old man slid to the bumper and stood with an ease that argued against his aged appearance. He sucked some air through the gap where his front teeth should’ve been and puffed out his cheeks before he said, “We-ell, that ain’t so easy to answer. I’m guessing you’re one of Cyril’s get?”

  At my nod he continued.

  “I’m known by a lot of different names but the one I been usin’ is Otis. I owe your father a boon. He asked me to come. You know where he’s at?”

  Dom laughed around his words. “Boon? Who says that anymore?”

  Otis scratched the top of his head then looked sideways at Dom. “I been off the grid for a spell. You ain’t Cyril’s but you ain’t all native either. What you got goin’ on, boy?” When Dom stayed silent he continued on, “You gonna let me in or should I go?”

  I flipped the lid for the release and hovered my palm over the bulky button.

  Dom made the rocks shift as he walked up closer to where the gate would open—protecting me again. I pulled the electric heat from my center and kept it flowing under the surface, ready for an attack. It felt good. It felt controlled. I had this.

  The black wrought iron lines had barely slid wide enough for a person to pass when Otis leapt through to tackle Dom. They flew hard to the drive and a shower of rocks hit my bare ankles.

  Oh, shit, I so did not have this!

  I hit the gate’s button again in case Otis wasn’t the only one looking for a way to get inside. Better safe than sorry.

  One mistake was enough.

  31 AIR STRIKE

  I heard the crack of bone and the thud of fists meeting flesh. For a second I was afraid Otis had broken something on Dom but then I saw his facial features bulge and rearrange. The face that glared up from the ground was a younger, hale version with no missing teeth. Dom gagged under Otis’s arm across his windpipe.

  I let energy zap from finger to finger. “Let him go!”

  Otis demanded, “What is it?”

  “Stop choking him and I’ll tell you!”

  He bared sharp white canines at Dom. “No.”

  A vibrant blue bolt shot out to whiz and sing past Otis’s blackening hair. He was rapidly becoming a twenty-something man with wide shoulders and long muscled arms. The ragged clothes that had hung on him prior now appeared close to ripping along their seams.

  His brown eyes swung to take me in. “Tell me! What is it?”

  My hands clenched to fists as I watched Dom’s lips turn blue. “He’s a Geb!”

  Otis’s demeanor lost its hostile inner fire and his brow rose in interest. He stood in one smooth move as Dom gasped and blew spittle onto the drive. My feet couldn’t carry me to him fast enough. The gathered sparks sank into Dom as my panic drained away.

  My anger didn’t leave me though. Otis squatted on his haunches and examined Dom’s cough wracked body with a dubious expression.

  He spoke aloud to himself, “Can’t be. They’s all dead.”

  I scooped up a handful of smooth pebbles and chucked them at Otis’s head. He dodged them at the expense of his balance and I used that distraction to dive for him. My forearm ended up across his neck in a mimicry of what he’d done to Dom. Saying something cool and tough would’ve been awesome but all I did was grunt as he punched a kidney in retaliation. We ended up rolling until he landed on top.

  Amazingly enough I didn’t lose control and zap Otis into the stratosphere. He didn’t attempt to restrain my arms, just sat on my abdomen and forced my lungs to compress then chuckled at my expense.

  Right when the strange man was about to speak Dom’s outline loomed in a silhouette against the bright sun and struck downward. Otis fell over as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

  Dom threw the heavy rock into the vegetation and scared a rabbit. The tiny fur ball hopped for its life like we were going to eat it. Not likely.

  I flipped Otis’s unconscious body off my legs. Now my side hurt from his punch. Dude was strong. He was too dangerous to roam the estate but he might have information we needed. A thought occurred to me. “Should we hog-tie him? Do you have anything in your trunk we could use?”

  Dominic jogged to the gate post and pushed the release. “Yeah, but what good would it do? He can shape change. There isn’t a way to hold him. I say we put him back where we found him minus my wheels.”

  Otis was breathing slow and steady. One of his hands stirred and I shouted, “Hurry!”

  Metal chinked against metal as the gate retracted. Dom’s old car started without hesitating. I kept both eyes on Otis and my ears trained on what Dom was doing. The downed man hadn’t moved again but his lids fluttered like he was about to wake up.

  I dared a glance backward. The yellow piece of junk was inside. Why did Dom care so much about it? The thing was a rust heap held together by peeling paint. Just as Dom got out the hairs on my arm stood to attention.

  His back was to the opening so he didn’t see it. I did.

  A brown blur blew like an airborne missile through the ten-foot gap in the gate. My shout of warning was lost in the rush of wind and the shadow that swooped inside. Sharp talons latched onto Dom, forcing him against the open driver’s side door. All I could see were brown and gold feathers. There was a shriek of protesting metal. A shiver-inducing scent of rotting corpses and fecal matter rushed into my mouth as I screamed.

  I heard Otis yell, “Don’t let it fly!”

  Energy came all at once. Electrifying, breath-stealing power. My pores oozed with it. I raised my arms and let go. Brilliant blue jagged bolts of electricity released. I had to believe Dom would be able to absorb the hit but I hoped the giant bird thing attacking him fried like an egg.

  It worked. A great puff of singed feathers flew into the air and my nose was filled with the scent of cooked meat. Otis beat me to the car. He ripped off the bent door without a pause. I guessed he’d been holding back on my kidney punch earlier.

  I couldn’t see Dom under the carcass of the insanely human-sized bird. It looked close to a falcon
in shape but it was hard to tell with most of the plumage gone and the remaining skin charred. Where the eyes should have been there were only smoking holes.

  Otis grabbed a floppy wing and pulled. His thick fingers sunk into the flesh as his knuckles glowed tan with the pressure of his grip. Sinew and tendon snapped but the thing held together. He stopped and leaned over the dead bird’s neck to get a look at Dom then let the bird’s body fall gently back into its prior position.

  “What the hell are you doing? Get that thing off him!”

  Heartbeat in my mouth, I pushed on Otis’s back.

  Otis made a fast turn and his hands clamped on my shoulders—heavy and strong.

  “The claws are embedded in his abdomen. If I remove them he could bleed to death.”

  The words didn’t make sense to me. They’d lost their earlier hick loll and now seemed precise. I had to see for myself. Dom’s muted groan was the thing that pushed me over the edge.

  Sinuous and seductive power lay under the surface of my skin. Otis’s fingers spasmed open and the weight of his hands disappeared so quickly that I swayed in place for a second. My feet didn’t hurt anymore. In fact, they were numb. So was the rest of my body as I walked around the flared brown tail feathers dotted with gold bands and black lines. How could something this unbelievable exist?

  All thoughts fled my head as I saw Dom’s arm flail. From my new angle I could see the talon Otis had mentioned. It was huge. Too big not to have created a mortal wound. Rich red blood welled to soak his T-shirt—making it dark and tacky. There was no way major organs weren’t punctured.

  Dom was dying.

  32 HARD TO HANDLE

  Otis joined me just as Dominic turned his already sunken eyes my direction. I grabbed for his hand and caught it. When the massive falcon struck, it had forced his body downward. One arm was across the footboard and his right shoulder was wedged against the twisted remains of the hinges. He rocked the back of his skull against the pedal for the emergency brake.