by Kim Falconer
Technically no, but we rose from the same bed.
You what? I shot the question straight to her mind.
Oh good, darling. I was afraid you couldn’t hear well, let alone speak. We can’t expect too much though, being half-blood, can we? Still, this is a relief. She took my arm. ‘Show me your place, there’s a lass.’ Let’s see how the human side lives.
What could I do? I jerked my arm back, but couldn’t resist the urge to reach up and pull a few splinters of glass from her cheek. ‘You didn’t kill him, the police officer that was following me?’
‘Of course not. Like Rossi, I’m just here to observe.’
I rubbed my bruised head. ‘Sure you are.’ If the stalker did show up, Salila could have him for dinner. I surrendered, picked up my gym bag and led her home.
* * *
‘What do you mean, he’s busy?’
‘It’s an emergency ward. It tends —’
‘Page him again. Please.’
The nurse hung up on me.
‘Bastard!’ Okay, I knew there was ‘doctor’ in front of Rossi’s name, but after an hour of Salila poking through my things and name-dropping people who — judging by their titles — lived centuries ago, while stalking Mrs Beal’s cat, and threatening to eat my entire building, I needed backup, quick. I let Snick out and tapped redial. It wasn’t the architecture making her lick her chops. ‘I need Dr Miguel Rossi, please.’
‘He’s in the ER, as I explained.’
Great. They recognised my voice now.
‘I have your number, Ms Sykes. Dr Rossi, or his nurse practitioner, will return the call ASAP.’ The attendants on the ER nursing station were getting frostier every time I rang. Where was the compassion? ‘If you have a serious problem, of an emergency nature, please contact your regular healthcare professional, or come down to the hospital, or perhaps choose a different one.’
‘Fine.’ I hung up. Sweat beaded my brow and my heart pumped hard. Poor dude on the other end of the line. He probably had enough going on without dealing with what would have sounded like a crazed girlfriend.
Miguel likes a challenge. Salila was digging in my closet, trying on clothes. She’d found a G-string that fit, but my bras were a joke. ‘Is this right?’ She was talking at the mirror as she tried to strap on my lucky sky-blue bra.
I pulled it out of her hand. ‘You’re what’s known as a C cup. In other words, stacked. I’m not. You can’t expect everything of mine to fit you.’
Don’t know how you stand clothes at all. She opened another drawer and pulled out my spare, newly washed and folded black gi. Oh, what’s this for?
I ripped it out of her hands. ‘You can’t wear this.’
She started pulling on the drawstring pants. Why not?
‘Because I said no!’ I tried to stop her but she pushed me into the closet. Great. Now we’re going to fight again, and trash my apartment?
If you want. She smiled, stepping into my gi pants.
Both our heads turned around at the knock on the door. My eyes went wide. ‘Rossi?’ But no. He didn’t have a keycard for the front.
Someone else. Her canines showed.
Take it easy. ‘And put a shirt on, Salila.’ I chucked her a bright-blue halter-top.
I love it. The hues remind me of nematodes, the ones further north, near San Francisco Bay. The excitement at the door seemed forgotten.
‘If you have something to say, speak aloud,’ I hissed under my breath. ‘I’ll see who it is.’ It had to be one of two people, unless a neighbour was checking in. Or the landlord. Please don’t be the landlord. I reached the door and knew immediately who stood on the other side. ‘Tom?’ I opened it fast.
‘Ava, you didn’t answer your phone. I had to ring Cate to find out you were here.’
‘I lost it.’ In more ways than one. I tipped my head to the side. ‘Got a burner.’
‘You should have let me know. I wanted to apologise.’ His gaze slid away along with whatever he was going to say.
‘Ooh la la.’ Salila came out of my bedroom and swaggered up to us. Who is this hunky treat?
‘Hey!’ I grabbed her arm and pulled her back into my room. Put some freaking clothes on. She’d kept the drawstring pants, but had abandoned the top.
Only if I can wear this. She pouted, and picked up my jujitsu top.
‘Alright. Just speak out loud.’ And be nice.
I returned to Tom in time to see a stream of emotions cross his face. He passed curiosity, landed on lust and stayed there. I waved my hands in front of his eyes, trying to get his attention. So much for his apology. Stupid men. ‘It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.’ Of course that wasn’t true. He’d never seen a Mar, not a full-blooded one, anyway. He wasn’t blinking. ‘Hey!’ I punched him in the arm.
‘Who is she?’
‘Dr Rossi’s sister.’ I crossed my arms. ‘She’s, um, Scandinavian. You know how they are, about clothes and such.’
He licked his lips. ‘What’s she doing here?’
‘Driving me crazy.’ I led him into the kitchen and pushed him into a chair. ‘You came by for a reason?’
‘To say I miss you. Can we put the other night behind us?’
‘Yeah. I want that too.’
‘And …’ It took him a minute to remember what the hell else he came for. ‘It’s about my girlfriend.’
‘Her name’s Zoe.’ I couldn’t believe the guy needed prompting.
Salila padded into the kitchen in my gi. The front was left open, the drawstring pants tied low on her hips, a real conversation stopper.
‘It’s a good fit?’ Salila asked him.
Tom was nodding, like an idiot. Intellectually impaired, I corrected myself.
‘No, Salila, it’s not. The legs and sleeves are too short.’ You’re supposed to act like a human, remember?
I’m trying.
Try harder.
She shrugged, slipping off the top and undoing the drawstring. ‘I’ll change. Won’t be a minute.’
Tom drooled on my kitchen table. I wanted to hit him. Finally, he wiped his mouth and looked at me. It took a moment for him to focus on my face. ‘What happened to you?’
My hand went to my forehead. I hadn’t had a chance to check in the mirror. No doubt I was a bit knocked around from the spat with Salila. ‘Sparring.’
‘You okay?’
‘Do you care?’
Salila returned before he could answer. She was in short cutoffs again, and my blue halter-top. Her hair was nearly dry. It rippled all around her. Whatever damage I’d inflicted didn’t show. Salila pulled out a chair like it was a foreign object and sat. Somehow, no matter how unfamiliar her surroundings, she managed to look sexy, and elegant. Her hand went straight to Tom’s shoulder. She palpated all the way down his arm, like feeling a prized bull.
Not human behaviour, Salila.
He likes it.
Doesn’t matter. You have to stop. I was going to say, or he’ll jump your bones, but I guessed she’d do him right here on the table whether I left the room or not. Just stop, Salila. Please?
She slid her hand off of his and started toying with the salt shaker.
Are you ADHD? I knew what was coming next so I stood up and swiped it out of her hand. ‘Who wants a drink of water?’ I poured three without listening to the responses, and put a shake of sea salt in mine, double in hers.
‘Is there ice? I so love ice. It reminds me of the Arctic, or the Tasman Sea.’ Her eyes were still on my ex. ‘Have you been?’
Tom gurgled laughter.
I pulled the tray out of the freezer and plunked a few cubes in each. ‘Tom.’ I clapped to get his attention. ‘You were going to say why you dropped in?’
He looked up at me and shook his head. ‘I was coming back from the hospital.’ He turned to Salila. ‘Work experience. I’m third year pre-med. We spend some time in the lab this term.’
‘She doesn’t care,’ I interrupted. ‘Go on. You’re here because?’
/> Salila, being a contrary bitch, was hanging on his words. ‘Oh, please tell me more, Thomas. This is so fascinating.’
Thomas?
‘I was nearby,’ he said, still looking at Salila, ‘and I couldn’t reach Ava on the phone.’
‘And?’ I tapped my foot.
Finally he tore his eyes off Salila. ‘I wanted to say thanks, for looking after, um …’
‘Zoe?’
‘Yeah, Zoe. At training. It’s rough there. I didn’t know how she’d handle it.’
‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘She texted to say you did, and after, well, the other night, I wanted to thank you face to face. Make sure we were okay.’
I shrugged. ‘You’re welcome.’
I’m bored.
Seriously, Salila? Was she twelve?
And, hungry. Salila’s hand was headed for Tom’s chest.
‘No!’ I jumped up. ‘Tom, you’re going to be late.’ I pulled him out of his chair and away from the six foot tall, sexy, animalistic Mar woman.
‘For what?’
‘Your date with Zoe, remember?’
Salila grabbed his other arm. ‘Don’t go yet.’
Tom was out of my grip and leaning toward her like the tower of Pisa. My com buzzed and I pushed the panel button to answer it. ‘What?’ My voice might have been an octave higher than usual.
‘It’s Miguel. I got your messages.’
‘Hurry.’ I buzzed him in and went back to the kitchen. Salila let loose a low, menacing growl in her throat. Tom didn’t seem to notice.
‘Tom!’ I slapped his face. ‘Snap out of it!’ And you, Salila, don’t you dare touch him again. I’ll be right back. I ran to the door and threw it open. ‘Finally!’
Rossi wore surgery greens and a hassled expression. ‘Ava, just to note. One phone message, in the future, will suffice.’ He must have sensed that whiff of the sea that clung to Mar, because he shoved me aside and stormed into the kitchen.
Come on in then. I ran to catch up.
‘Salila!’ His voice was demon deep. It rumbled in my chest and raised the hairs on my arms.
Oh, shit.
Tom was slammed back against the sink, Salila clinging to him, one long bare leg hiked up and wrapped around his waist, her lips on his mouth, his hands on her bottom. ‘Tom!’ I shouted, my voice coming out surprisingly strong as well. He ignored me completely.
Rossi grabbed Salila around the middle and dropped her none too gently into a chair. ‘Stay!’ He turned back to Tom, who looked like a man just awakened from a dream, held his face and turned his chin from side to side. There was a tiny puncture hole on his neck, dripping drops of blood. Rossi froze for a moment, staring at it.
Great. Now he’s hungry too? ‘What’s with you people?’ I pushed Rossi hard in the chest. It was like trying to shove a brick wall, so I dragged Tom away. ‘Can we not be in some kind of feeding frenzy right now?’ I led Tom to the bathroom, cleaned the wound and slapped a gauze square on his neck. ‘Hold it there.’
Tom did as he was told.
I must have had a drop of his blood on my finger because when I tore the surgical tape off the roll, using my teeth, I was knocked back with a flash, straight out of Tom’s head. I could see through his eyes, the events of a moment before, hearing what he heard, feeling what he felt. Salila was hot and heavy in his face but he was calm, wrapped in a warm sense of safety. Familiarity, and excitement. Even with her freaky pointed teeth heading for his neck. Weird. It reminded me of …
‘Ava?’
I shook it off, storing the vision for later. ‘You’re going home, Tom.’ I dragged him to the door, avoiding the two arguing Mar in my kitchen. ‘You have a date with Zoe.’ I didn’t let go of his hand until we reached his Tesla. He fumbled the keys. I took over, opened the door and pushed him into the driver’s seat. I put the keys into the ignition and slammed the door shut. He lowered the window. ‘Ava?’
‘Look at me, Tom. Nothing happened here.’
‘I think something did.’ He touched the bandage on his neck. ‘I just don’t know what.’
‘Let it go, Tom.’
He sobered, nodding.
Then I added, ‘It’s good Zoe’s into training. She has potential.’
He looked me straight in the eyes. ‘I’m glad we’re okay.’
‘Me too.’
He waved out the window and drove away. I turned around and went back in. I still had the Mar to deal with.
Mrs Beal opened her door as I passed it. ‘Ava! What’s all the racket?’
‘Rehearsing lines,’ I said without a second thought. ‘For a charity play. Raising money for the CDC. Sorry. We’ll tone it down.’
‘I hope so.’ She had Snick pinned tight against her chest. The little ginger cat was squirming, claws coming out.
‘There’s been too much drama already.’
Part of me wanted to question her. Did she mean the drama of my attack and the ambulance arriving, or of Rourke’s men doing drive-bys, or something else I didn’t know about? As I started to ask, glass shattered.
Beal’s eyes widened. ‘What kind of play is it?’
‘A Fish Tank Called Desire. It’s avant-garde.’ I gave her a fake smile.
Snick fluffed up his fur, claws extending as Rossi and Salila came out my door and headed toward us. Mrs Beal dropped the hissing cat.
Rossi gave my neighbour a heartwarming smile then turned his eyes to me. ‘Sorry, Ava. I’m taking her home.’
Salila pulled out of his grip and led the way. ‘Ta ta,’ she said, as if nothing was wrong.
I paused at my door before going inside. Snick, brave now that they had left, twined around my leg. I reached down and scratched his stripy gold cheeks. ‘Let’s see what they’ve done to the kitchen, shall we?’ It sure as hell better not involve my blender.
Snick looked up at me with golden eyes, pupils down to thin black slits. There was a drop of drool on his chin. ‘That’d be right. You’re hungry too. Come on. There’s something in the cupboard for you.’ The groceries were still in my gym bag, hopefully not smashed to soup. If I cooked the meat straight away, it would be alright.
I spent the next few hours cleaning broken glass off the kitchen floor, making pad Thai and staring into space, trying to call Cate. I wanted to tell her the truth. She might think me crazy, with talk of the sea and Mar and my more than human father, but she was my best friend. I had to, no, wanted to tell her. Somehow, by doing that, I might be able to accept it myself.
No luck though. She hadn’t called back, or answered my string of messages. It reminded me of Rossi saying, ‘One message would suffice.’ I wondered briefly if he threw his blood-hungry ‘sister’ back into the sea. How much am I like her? With eyes closed, I imagined that underwater world, reliving my experiences there. Yeah, I felt drawn, but it made my temples sweat.
I opened my embryology notes and studied slides. After midnight, I went to bed, still thinking of Cate. Tomorrow I would track her down, and we’d have a good long talk.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I jolted awake, the digital clock reading something a.m. Couldn’t see. Contacts out. Alarm? For a second, I thought it was a dream, but the buzzing continued.
I got up, and went to push the com. ‘Who is it?’
‘Ava. Let me in!’ Male voice. Urgent. Drunk. Joey.
Damn. What could he want? I buzzed him into the building.
While he made his way down the hall, I popped a new packet of contacts and put them in. Before I was finished he pounded on the door. I’m sure everyone on the block heard. I threw the bolt and opened it. ‘What the fuck, Joey?’
He staggered in, reeking of stale booze, chemicals and fear. He stumbled to his knees.
‘Jeez, Joey.’
I closed the door and locked it before dropping to his level. His face was raw and red, and had a few days’ regrowth. He really didn’t smell good. ‘What happened?’
Joey wrapped his arms around himself. ‘It’s C
ate.’
I gripped his shoulder to stop the rocking. ‘What about her?’
He went to the next level of his catharsis.
I pulled him to his feet and slapped his face. ‘Man up and tell me what happened. Where’s Cate?’ Big mistake.
He went berserk, flailing his fists around, bellowing curses. It was a full psychotic episode. I ducked a wild right hook, closed the distance and took him down. His face pressed to the floor as I growled in his ear. ‘You need to calm down, Joey. Right now. And you need to tell me what happened to Cate.’
He started to relax, but didn’t answer. Sirens whined far away. Mrs Beal would have called the cops. It probably sounded like we were killing each other in here. I had to do something, before they arrived. ‘Tell me, nice and slow, Joey. What about Cate?’
He couldn’t move his body, pinned like I had him, but his face was another matter. He scrubbed it back and forth over my carpet while gibbering.
Oh, hell. I bent to his ear. ‘Tell me.’
He whimpered, incoherent. The artery in his neck pulsed, and I stared at it. Rossi’s voice came back to me. The Shen Mar take human blood. From it, they pull the memories of their victims. It had worked with Rossi’s blood. With Tom’s. I took a second to acknowledge what I was thinking, and a few more to muster the courage. Pushing through the urge to puke, I whispered, ‘Last chance, Joey. Tell me what happened to Cate, or we find out the hard way.’
He started sobbing. Sirens grew closer. ‘Time’s up.’ Let’s see what you remember then. I nearly gagged on the stink rising off him. Bile burned the back of my throat. I swallowed hard and bit his freaking neck.
He yelped, and his skin tore like paper. How much would it take? A drop? Believe me, I didn’t want any more than that. Blood touched my tongue. The shock of it, the astringent sting and copper base, threw my head back. I sat astride him, rolling the fluid around in my mouth, my hands still pressing Joey into the floor. No way was he escaping while the blood flashed images into my mind.
They hit like a truck, colours exploding behind my eyes. Red, orange, purple and a blazing vivid green. Damn, it was intense. Light flared like a match strike, then blurred. I recognised Poseidon. Music pounded, the walls vibrated. I was on a packed dance floor, strobes flashing. My eyes shut involuntarily, but that didn’t stop the show. Then the music was muffled. Fog rolled in. Chains were dragging across the slick floor. It was wet, slippery with dark fluids. Moans and whimpers floated around my head. ‘Cate!’ She was there. A man clamped her with manacles and pinned her to the wall. Dark figures in fine clothes stood around her, passing a goblet, each taking a drink. When it was empty, they refilled it from Cate’s wrist. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. ‘Cate!’ I let go of Joey, stood up and puked the blood out of my mouth.
