Nightwalker

by Jacquelyn Frank

  He would see to that.

  —

  After the nausea of traveling so fast wore off, Viève found herself in the damp, humid wilds of a Brazilian rain forest. The first thing that struck her was the noise. There was a cacophony of sounds: the sound of buzzing insects, the sound of a rushing river, the sound of living things swinging about in the canopy and sliding into the water. Something slithered past her feet and with a squeal she practically jumped up into Kamen’s arms. For the second time that night, she made him chuckle.

  “You know you can phase and nothing can touch you, right?” he said.

  “Oh. Right. I forgot.” But she didn’t want to phase as long as she could be pressed up against him like this. He felt so strong and he was so self-assured. He knew what he was doing, where he was going, and he did it all with single-minded purpose. There was something inherently attractive about that. Call her a fool for feeling that way, but she felt it just the same.

  And she realized that now that she’d had a small part of him, he could not take it back from her. He could not color her experience with him, however much he might have rejected her afterward. She had felt something in those fleeting moments of their kiss and she was sure he had felt something too.

  Maybe that made her a fool.

  The air was hot, heavy, and sultry—the dampness settling immediately on her dry skin. But as she drew in a breath she thought she had never smelled anything so…so alive in her life. There had to be hundreds of varieties of plants just within the quick sweep of her eyes. This was nature’s landscaping and it was beautiful.

  “We have company,” he said, looking up at the canopy.

  There, flying between the branches of the soaring trees were flame colored birds, their red and orange feathers obvious in the darkness.

  “Phoenixes?” she whispered.

  “That would be my guess. But I imagine they aren’t interested in making the first move.”

  Kamen cast a spell and suddenly they began to levitate off the ground. With a squeak of surprise, she wrapped herself tightly around him as they went up into the canopy, leaving the ground far below. She could have phased right then, since she was just as capable of flying in phased form as he was in this form. But, again, she didn’t want to let go of him.

  The feel of him was fast becoming an addiction. And was it any wonder? He was strong and vital and everything she wasn’t. Of course she would be attracted to that.

  They reached the arm of a tree and he put his hands around her waist and hoisted her up onto it. Her feet were left dangling over what felt like hundreds of feet of air.

  Then he turned into the canopy and shouted out, “The Bodywalker court wishes to address the Phoenix court on a matter of extreme urgency.”

  At the sound of his voice things were startled into movement all around her. There was the flutter of wings and the rustle of vines and leaves. The humming sounds of the rain forest paused briefly, but picked up again after only a few moments of quiet.

  “Now what do we do?” she asked.

  “We wait,” he said. “We wait for them to realize we aren’t going anywhere until we get the meeting we are looking for.”

  “But that could be hours. Days even.” She swatted at a mosquito on her neck.

  “This is true. If they don’t respond immediately I will see about making things more comfortable for us.”

  “How will you do that?” She swatted again.

  “Well, for one I can keep the insects away.” He mumbled something in a hushed tone and suddenly a green light limned her entire body, hugging her skin perfectly. It left her looking like a pale, glowing emerald, but it was keeping the insects off her. She could feel the difference immediately and when a mosquito landed, it appeared to alight a full inch away from her skin. Frustrated, it flew away.

  “They won’t even know you’re here in another moment. As soon as your scent drifts away.”

  “My scent?”

  “You smell sweet like strawberries. That would attract anything.” His voice dropped an octave as he looked at her intensely for a long moment. She felt her heart flutter in her chest under his penetrating regard.

  “Does it attract you?” she blurted out, before she could think better of it.

  His mouth tightened into a grim sort of line. “More than you know,” he said, though he did not look happy about the admission.

  Well, it was something at least. He was attracted to her. He simply didn’t think he had any right to be. It was a curious reaction. What was it, she wondered, that held him back so tightly? What was it that made him feel so undeserving, even of someone as insignificant as she was?

  “Why…” She broke off. Perhaps it was best not to press the matter. He had not grown angry with her thus far, but it was only a matter of time. She always made everyone angry eventually. They lost patience with her or she earned their contempt in one fashion or another. She didn’t want to earn his contempt. “Do you think they’ll answer you soon?” she asked instead of asking him why he was so hard on himself or why he didn’t allow himself even the smallest of comforts or pleasures. He didn’t even allow himself the pleasure of a hobby. There had to be a reason why.

  “I doubt they will answer right away.” He moved to sit beside her on the tree branch. He looked around for a moment and took in a deep breath. “This is a beautiful place. I can see the appeal.”

  “But there’s no one here. It’s so isolated.”

  “They have each other. Perhaps that is all they need.”

  “Perhaps,” she said. She could understand that. The Wraiths were a very insular society. They lived in cells, each house containing multiple generations from the same family. It was only at the Kinua, the gatherings of the cells, that they were exposed to other Wraiths. Where they could find mates if they so desired. Even so, Wraiths did not get married and did not move into the family houses of other Wraiths. Not usually. They merely mated if they wished to and got pregnant, the females keeping the child in their houses and freeing the males of all responsibility toward that child. It was a cold transaction, just like all the other transactions between Wraiths. If not for their sex drive there would be no new generations of Wraiths. But while the Wraiths had no real emotions to speak of, they did have an intense sex drive. They were not sexually attractive, did nothing to attract a mate, but they did want to rut and rut hard when the mood fell on them.

  “If they only have each other, I imagine they don’t have things like half-breeds in their society.”

  “Perhaps. There could be indigenous tribes around here that might attract their attention.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  He paused a beat. “What is so bad about being a half-breed?” he asked gently, knowing it was a touchy subject.

  She winced. “It’s a testament to the weakness of the mother. A living testament. It’s worn like a scarlet A on the chest.”

  “The mother? What about half-breed children sired by the father?”

  “We don’t have those. In our society the mother rears the child. If a male strays from his race…well, he leaves the product of it behind if there is any. Just like they would with a Wraith female.”

  “But then that’s leaving a human woman with the rearing of a Nightwalker child. A child that can’t go out in daylight.”

  “Oh, we can go out in daylight. We just can’t phase in daylight. It turns us solid. Takes away all of our preternatural abilities. Makes us…in a word…human.”

  “But surely they look different.”

  “You mean like me? I’m sure they do. But there are ugly humans all over the world. It’s not really given a second thought.”

  “You are not ugly,” he snapped at her. “Far from it.”

  “I’m ugly to a Wraith. And isn’t that all that matters? Unless I want to find a mate from the human world, which I don’t. I wouldn’t do that to a child—Raise it up in a house where it would be spit upon and ridiculed.”

  “Not e
very mating ends up in a child.” He paused. “So you don’t have children?” It was a question he hadn’t thought to ask. Had he forced her to leave her family behind?

  “No. I haven’t…I’m not…” She set her chin. “I am not what you would call an ideal choice for a Wraith male. Perhaps one day there will be a male who won’t care that I’m a half-breed, but that day hasn’t come yet.”

  “Do you mean to tell me you’ve never had sex? Fifty years on this planet and you’ve never had sex?”

  “No Wraith has ever wanted me. My only other choice would be a human male, and I already told you why I won’t do that.”

  “But surely you’ve wanted to…”

  “Of course I have! Sometimes so badly I ache all over from it! Luckily for me the craving—the overwhelming urge to have sex that Wraiths experience—hasn’t hit me so hard that I am blinded by it, as happens with the rest of my people. Thankfully my sex drive is one of the things affected by my being a half-breed. I have seen Wraiths go mad from being denied a resolution to the craving. Can you imagine what would have happened to me if I’d been a half-breed with a full-bred dose of the craving? No one would have wanted me so if I didn’t choose a human partner I would go crazy with need.”

  “Your society sickens me,” he said with heat, his hand wrapping around the side of her neck, his thumb feathering along the length of her jaw. “I’m sorry, but it does. It’s cold and callous and prejudiced beyond reason.”

  She nodded and whispered, “But it’s all I know.”

  “You could easily pass for human. You could live in the human world.”

  “I wouldn’t know how. And it would cut me off from all the Wraith resources. Money, comfort.”

  “Comfort! What about the way you live is comforting?”

  “Well…there’s my gardening.”

  “You could easily garden in the human world.”

  “Well why don’t you live in the human world?” she rounded on him. “You are practically human!”

  “Only the touch of the sun paralyzes me.”

  “So? Humans live their lives in the night too.”

  He got her point. But his existence wasn’t an abused one. Not really.

  Or was it? Nowadays most hated the sight of him. But he had given them good cause. She had done nothing to deserve the contempt of her peers besides being born. It was different. She didn’t deserve it. He did.

  “But maybe in the human world you could find people to accept you. To love you,” he insisted.

  “I’m a Wraith,” she said quietly. “We don’t need love.”

  “You’re a half-breed, and I can see that you do need it.”

  He saw tears well up suddenly in her eyes. “I don’t want to. I wish I had been born without these emotions. It would have made life so much easier.”

  “But you weren’t born without them. You have them and you have to accept them. You have to accept that you have needs that the Wraiths aren’t fulfilling for you. If you do that then maybe you can move on to a situation that is far healthier for you.”

  “I’d be an outcast for the rest of my life,” she whispered.

  “You already are an outcast,” he said gently.

  He was right. She was an outcast. She always had been and always would be. She would never belong anywhere. It was a saddening thought and it made her heart feel heavy in her chest.

  But the sensation was swept away in the next instant as his mouth touched gently to hers. He kissed her with little passion, but with plenty of comfort. She drew in a sharp breath.

  “Don’t do that,” she said, turning her face away from him. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t want your pity.”

  He caught her head in his hands and turned her eyes back up to his.

  “I do feel sorry for you. Someone has to because you won’t do it for yourself. You simply accept it and move on with your daily life as though you don’t deserve more. But you do.”

  “So do you!” she blurted out. “You deserve more too but you don’t think you do any more than I do.”

  “It’s different. I’ve done terrible things, Viève. Things you don’t understand or you wouldn’t even want to talk to me. You wouldn’t want me to touch you. You certainly wouldn’t want me to kiss you. And I’m being selfish by not telling you what those things are because for just a little while I want to be around someone who doesn’t hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you. I wouldn’t hate you.”

  “You would,” he breathed as he touched his forehead to hers. “You would.”

  A sound to their right caught their attention, as a large orange and red bird came to roost on the branch next to theirs. There was a sudden burst of blinding, hot flame and then a man was sitting on the branch. He was dark skinned, with a pair of dark brown eyes, flame-red hair, a wide flat nose, and a full, plush mouth. His skin was an even brown, the complete antithesis to any redhead Kamen had ever known. He was naked, of a wiry build and every muscle could be seen beneath the smooth dark color of his skin.

  “Who seeks to speak to the Chieftain?” he asked in a heavily accented voice.

  “My name is Kamenwati. I represent the Bodywalkers and the united tribes of the Nightwalker nations. They have sent me here to seek your help in dealing with a problem that threatens us all.”

  The man laughed. “We have no problems here. Now go away.”

  “I can’t,” Kamen said quickly before the man could turn into a bird again and fly away. “There is a creature on this earth that will seek the destruction of all of the Nightwalker races. Including the Phoenixes.”

  “Who then?” the Phoenix countered. “Who threatens us in our peaceful forest far away from the rest of the world?”

  “His name is Apep. He is an imp god brought forth onto this planet by a foul deed. Even now he is gathering strength. And when he is at full strength he will attack us because he knows that only the joined races of the Nightwalkers can stop him from running rampant throughout this world—he will kill or enslave any man or Nightwalker that gets in his way. So far all of the Nightwalker races save the Phoenixes, Mysticals, and Wraiths have joined our cause. The Wraiths will join, but only once all the others have. I implore you, we must see the Chieftain as soon as possible. Time grows very short.” He drew a breath. “And there is more. Much more. Would you rather live in ignorance or will you hear me out?”

  The man seemed to contemplate that for a moment, and Viève held her breath. He had to say yes. He simply had to. She didn’t know what they would do if he didn’t.

  “My name is Cembo,” he said after a moment. “I am the Chieftain of this Nightwalker tribe. Anything you have to say, say it now, because I am not certain yet if I believe you.”

  Kamen did so, and quickly. He explained first about the curse and the two factions of Nightwalkers. Then he explained every other detail, save the one about how he personally was responsible for bringing Apep to this world.

  “This sounds like a Bodywalker problem, not a Nightwalker one. You have made an enemy of this god. We have not. We will not expose ourselves to the outside world when we do not have to.”

  “This is beyond a Bodywalker problem. Surely you can see how it affects all Nightwalkers.”

  “I do not see that,” Cembo said stubbornly. But then, “However, I do think it deserves further study. I will send representatives to the outside world. They will make a judgment and send word to me.” Cembo called out in a cawing sound and a pair of brightly plumed birds alighted on the branch next to him.

  “This is Cordo and Ceara. They will come with you to the outside world.”

  “I will have to bring them on two separate trips,” Kamen said. “I can only carry a maximum of two passengers and I will not Viève behind.”

  Cembo gave him a nod. “Return here and Cordo will be waiting. Take Ceara now.”

  The bird on the left exploded into flame, a light dusting of ash drifting over Kamen and Viève in its wake. After the burn of the flame eased from
their retinas, they could see a pretty, Amazonian woman with skin as dark as the Chieftain’s and hair a slightly fairer shade of red.

  “Ceara and Cordo are my voice. Whatever they decide is what I decide. They are my most trusted advisors.”

  “I understand. Thank you. They will quickly come to see the importance of this.”

  “I pray not. I pray that you are blowing this out of proportion and that it has nothing to do with us. The alternative is unthinkable.”

  “But the unthinkable is real. Your aides will see that. Ceara, come take my hand,” Kamen said, reaching to grip hold of Viève’s hand with one hand and extending the other to Ceara. She looked at it a moment as though she were perplexed by what to do, but then she held out her hand so Kamen could take it.

  They jumped into the streak a second later.

  Chapter 7

  They appeared on the grounds of a sprawling ranch with several empty stone platforms lining the drive and a nicely manicured front garden. There were cacti and stone, deep red earth and well-tended flowers. The house had three stories to it at least, with great soaring windows by the front door.

  Ceara fell to her knees when they came out of the streak and vomited violently. Strangely enough, this time it didn’t feel so bad for Viève. She was actually beginning to grow used to the unnerving, unsettling streak.

  Feeling for the Phoenix, she got to her knees beside the young woman and patted her back consolingly.

  “It will pass in a second,” she said.

  Ceara merely nodded and made an obvious effort to keep from heaving again. Meanwhile, Kamen disappeared from sight, in a streak of movement. Ceara was just getting to her feet when he returned with Cordo in tow. Cordo’s reaction to the streak was just as violent as Ceara’s had been, but when Ceara and Viève went to help him, he put up a hard hand to keep them at bay. He regained his composure with a few swift breaths, then got to his feet.

  Both Phoenixes were naked, and Viève found herself discomforted by the fact. Cordo was a very well-endowed male and much larger than the Chieftain had been. More muscular. Overall he was a very handsome male, in a savage sort of way. And Ceara was only slighter in build than her counterpart, but she was very much all curves and all female. With their matching broad features, red hair, and dark skin, they could have been brother and sister. Viève wondered if they were.