Chapter Thirty-Four

Selena

Broken Hearts, Broken Parts

I followed Mr. Sloan through a kitchen with gleaming marble counter tops, honey-colored cabinets, a large center island with copper pots and pans hanging above it, and a stainless steel fridge. Mr. Sloan wore a moss-colored sweater and dark jeans, looking oh-so-casual and doubly sexy. Genes like that shouldn’t all go to one family. I could just imagine what Dillan’s parents looked like to produce someone as hot as him. I made a mental note never to tell Mr. Ego that or all hell would break loose.

We passed a sunken living room dominated by a massive white couch. I let myself imagine Dillan lounging on it, reading a book with that same intense concentration he wore the first time I’d seen him at the bookstore.

At the end of the hall, Mr. Sloan motioned for me to enter a room with huge glass windows along one side. I blinked repeatedly because of the sudden brightness compared to the more muted lighting in the living room. When my vision cleared, I gasped. In the distance, a pond gleamed where a gathering of ducks bobbed over the water’s surface. A group of geese flew by in a loose V.

“Wow,” I said. “Amazing view, Mr. Sloan.”

“Yes.” A clipped answer, not at all like the warm and inviting Mr. Sloan I knew from school. Dillan’s comment about losing his mind rang in my ears. What could have hurt this man?

In my periphery, I noticed a large frame spanning one wall. I turned to gape at a family tree with at least a hundred names. It pulled me closer, like I should know what it represented. My eyes searched the names and found Rainer Sloan and Aluara Sullivan. Most of the names carried the Sullivan last name. And Mr. Sloan’s was the only name not crossed out.

“This was my wife’s family tree.”

“You were married?” I asked when he came to my side.

“A long time ago.” A robotic answer. Cold.

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”

His words forced me to face him. I couldn’t believe this was the same Mr. Sloan that taught American History at Newcastle High. I barely recognized the guy who stood beside me now. He looked so withdrawn. The warmth had disappeared. His eyes stayed on the family tree, but from the deep lines at the sides of his lips, I could tell he held something back.

“Did you retire because she died?”

Icy blue eyes settled on me. I almost flinched back. Almost.

“She was the last of her family,” he said. “I keep the Sullivan family tree here to remind me betrayal can come from anyone. Even those you trust the most.”

His words scared me. I didn’t like this version of Mr. Sloan. Was that all an act? How much more lying could I take? The normal life I’d so carefully built around me seemed to crumble with each new piece of information I gathered.

“Intimidating her already, Rainer?” Dillan walked briskly into the study and moved to my side. He snaked an arm around my shoulders. “Witness the Jekyll and Hyde that is my uncle. Sunny outdoors, chilly indoors. Make sure not to swing at him or you lose an arm.”

“What did your grandfather want with you?” Mr. Sloan regarded him with the same ice he used on me.

“Oh, he just wanted to make sure I’m still the failure he thinks I am.”

The desire to defend, the need to protect, flowed through me when I heard Dillan’s self-deprecating words. “You’re not a failure.”

He planted a soft kiss on my temple. “Thanks. But that doesn’t erase the fact.”

“Enough PDA.” Mr. Sloan walked to his imposing lava stone desk opposite the framed family tree. On top, Dillan’s bandana and the needle he asked me to pull out of a tree from Mt. Rushmore waited for us. “We have much to discuss.”

I leaned closer to Dillan and whispered, “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

“Because you won’t.” He nudged me forward. “Remember what I told you about the things that go bump in the night? Well…”

“Don’t over simplify this, Dillan,” Mr. Sloan scolded. He sat down on the leather swivel chair behind his desk and tented his fingers. “You know better.”

“You’re right, uncle.”

A quiver went through me. Something about the way Dillan said uncle spoke of moonless nights and menace. Beneath the surface of his charm and arrogance hid a deadly aura that reached out and grabbed my spine, causing it to straighten like a rod. There was still so much I didn’t know about him. The playful guy who looked hot in a ribbed shirt was just one side of the whole. I couldn’t let my guard down for a second.

I broke the awkward silence that settled in the room. “So, you know what’s after me.”

Mr. Sloan pointed at a chair. “Take a seat.”

“I’ll stand, thank you.”

He wasted no time when he asked, “What do you know of Manticores, Selena?”

The word set off a chime of recognition in my brain. I should be familiar with it, but the light bulb moment seemed too far away for me to reach. My hands came together in a tight grip until my knuckles turned white.

Not waiting for my answer, he shifted his icy glare to Dillan. “Enlighten her, please.”

“Manticore. A creature that has the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the head of a man with lots, and I mean lots, of sharp teeth. Its name means man-eater in Old Persian. In ancient times, it was known to lure men off the road with its melodious call and eat them.”

My throat constricted, cutting off the air I so desperately needed. “What does it have to do with that needle?”

“Manticores shoot poisonous needles from their tail.” Mr. Sloan indicated the spike with his finger. “That’s certainly from a young one.”

“How do you know it’s young?” Dillan asked.

Mr. Sloan pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re alive. The older the creature is, the more potent its poison. The wound should have killed you instantly, but it didn’t.” My teacher studied me closely. “Are you aware of the kind of danger you’re in, Selena?”

His question hit me square in the chest where fear gnawed away. “You tell me. Only a month ago, I thought my life was normal. Now, I’ve been attacked by corpses, I find out about the Illumenari, and you’re telling me a creature that shoots poison darts—”

“Needles,” Dillan corrected.

“Whatever.” I glared at him. “I wish I could say I want my old life back, but it’s not going to happen. So, you tell me, Mr. Sloan. Do you think I’m not aware of how dangerous my life suddenly is?” Dillan squeezed my shoulder in warning. I ignored it. I was on a roll. “Instead of telling me what I already know, why don’t you share something useful, like how I can survive this?” I still held on to the hope that everything that had been happening had nothing to do with my certain death.

“I believe now is the time for you to speak to your grandparents.” He tapped his desk.

My brain switched to overdrive. “What do they have to do with all this?”

“More than you might think.” He nodded. “We’ve been monitoring the situation, but the creature continues to elude our efforts to capture it. Dillan can’t seem to find proper tracks that could lead us to where it hides.”

“It’s probably a rogue.” He rubbed his chin.

“Manticores are obsessive creatures. When they latch onto someone, in this case—”

“Me.” One bleak syllable that distracted me enough from the big ball of anxiety growing in my gut. My grandparents? I wanted to run out of that study, go home, and grill them. Did everyone in my life lie to me?

“They tend to stick around until the object of their obsession is claimed. Since this creature is young, it is still inexperienced.” Mr. Sloan’s expression became thoughtful. “But, it certainly doesn’t connect to the Maestro. They seem to be working separately but with the same goal.”

A groan escaped before I could suppress it. This just kept getting worse and worse for me. “But I haven’t been attacked by the puppets since that night at Valley View.”

“Just because you haven’t been attacked doesn’t mean you’re safe. A Maestro is smart. What happened at Valley View could mean it tested our defenses.”

“I don’t think we should lump the two together,” Dillan said. “Selena might be a common denominator or she might not. It’s foolish to jump to conclusions.”

Mr. Sloan smiled ruefully. “Spoken like a true Sloan.”

Dillan grimaced at the compliment that sounded more like an insult.

…

After hours of listening to Dillan and Mr. Sloan bicker about why two seemingly unrelated supernatural creatures stalked me and how I should stay home for the next couple of days just to be safe, I called it a night. Well…late afternoon. I had other things on my mind, like how to broach the subject of all this to my grandparents. I got the feeling Mr. Sloan had Dillan bring me to their house to drive home the reality of my situation. My life was never normal to begin with. His words made so much sense now. Betrayal could come from anyone, especially those I trusted most.

With a heavy heart, I looked out the window of Dillan’s car as he drove me home. The sun bathed the prairies with fading orange light. The sky looked a rosy shade of pink, the color of my favorite summer dress. I didn’t care why mythical creatures wanted me. What I cared about had to do with staying alive. Considering the track record of my visions, I had an ice cube’s chance on a radiator that I wouldn’t die any time soon. But the vision involved a black dog and a cloaked figure, not some creature with a man’s head, lion’s body, and a scorpion’s tail.

“I’ve never seen Mr. Sloan so…cold,” I said, my chin on the palm of my hand.

“He just wants you to be safe.” He took my other hand and placed it on top of the gearshift.

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

He sighed. “Rainer has his faults, but he does have his not-so-psychotic moments.”

“Dillan Sloan complimenting someone?”

“It’s the closest you’re gonna get.”

I looked at my hand under his while he shifted from first to second gear. The intimacy of our connection curled my toes. I kept my hand as slack as possible, so he didn’t have trouble shifting. The charm on his cuff bumped against my wrist. Its pulse reminded me of the power it contained. So did the electricity that ran through our bodies.

“I still can’t believe this is happening to me.”

“Me either. A few weeks ago, all you did was get on my nerves.”

“Ugh! You’re one to talk, Mr. Rock-Star-National-Geographic.”

He flinched. “How’d you come up with that name anyway?”

My shoulders slumped forward. All teasing had left the building. Or in this case, car. “Penny put it together.”

“What’s with the tone?”

“Penny’s being all weird. Kyle hasn’t spoken to me properly since the fieldtrip. I miss my friends. And I have to have a ‘conversation’ with my grandparents I so don’t want to have right now.” Something in the distance caught my eye. “What was that?”

A flicker of movement then a shadow.

“What?”

I squinted and pointed. “There. Is that Kyle?”

“Where?”

“Stop the car!” I removed my seatbelt. “Stop the car!”

Dillan pulled over to the side of the road. I hopped out without waiting for him and ran in the direction Kyle went, about fifty yards away. My best friend held a long staff in his left hand. I lost him when he crested a hill. Barely aware of Dillan running alongside me, sword in hand, I ran as fast as my legs would let me. About halfway up the hill a growl similar to the whole trumpet section of an orchestra reverberated from the other side. I stopped and covered my ears. Kyle was running toward that sound. I couldn’t see him, but I needed to get to where I assumed he was before whatever growled hurt him.

“What’s that?” I shouted over the trumpeting wail.

Dillan grimaced. “The Manticore.”

I stood still, shocked for a second, then took off. Dillan grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

“Urgh! Dillan? Kyle’s running into that thing! Let me go!”

“In case you’re forgetting, that thing is after you.”

I twisted out of his grip and ran full tilt toward the sound on the other side of the hill. He cursed a blue streak behind me. I didn’t check to see if he followed. I knew he would. My main focus currently involved how to get Kyle away from the man-eating thing.

Adrenaline-laced blood roared in my ears, muffling the voice that asked me to turn and run. It annoyed me to no end. At Valley View it asked me to fight; now it wanted me to run? I was no coward.

At the top of the hill, I had a clear view of nothing but grass. A solitary pine in the distance, then more grass. The growling had stopped.

I turned to the left. “Kyle!”

I scrambled down the hill toward him. I didn’t care where the creature was. Kyle needed my help. He lay on this stomach, unconscious. I skidded to a stop beside him and knelt down. Breathing hard, I couldn’t get my brain to work properly. All the First-Aid training I’d learned in school went out the window. My hands hovered over his back without really touching him.

Dillan knelt beside me, feeling for a pulse on Kyle’s neck.

“Is he…” I couldn’t say it. The word refused to come out of my mouth.

“He’s alive,” he said.

I didn’t like the harshness in his tone. My heart in my throat, I asked, “But?”

“Help me turn him over.” He grabbed Kyle by the shoulders while I held on to his legs. In one quick heave, we flipped him over.

“Oh, God.” My hands covered my mouth so I wouldn’t scream.

Four diagonal claw marks ran from his left shoulder to his right hip, like a large cat had swiped a paw at him. He bled, soaking his tattered shirt and jeans. His skin had turned ashen.

Dillan removed his jacket and bunched it into a rough pillow, then placed it under Kyle’s head. “He needs healing.”

I flashed him a quick glare for stating the obvious. To argue with him wouldn’t help Kyle, so I tamped down the temper and worry twisting my insides and focused on the more important stuff.

“Can’t you—”

“His wounds are too deep,” he interrupted.

I worried my lip to keep from screaming my frustration. “You’ve got to do something.”

“I will…but you have to promise not to freak out.”

“Why would I—”

“Selena?” The voice, silky smooth, sent goose bumps through my body.

At the edge of my field of vision stood the one person I didn’t expect to be in that prairie with us. I slowly turned my head, lips parting in amazement and mounting fear. It couldn’t be.

“Bowen?” My tongue felt thick in my mouth.

He stood a few yards away. Completely naked. Oh. My. God. “You’re here.”

Dillan spoke before I could answer Bowen. “Selena, I need you to get out of here.”

My heart felt like a fist knocking on my chest. Every beat hurt. Every breath a struggle. My head groped for reasons to explain why Bowen was here of all places.

“Don’t tell her what to do.” Bowen cracked his knuckles. “Or you’ll end up just like Hilliard over there.”

The mention of Kyle’s last name snapped me back. I focused on Bowen’s face. “Why are you naked?”

He smirked. “Like what you see?”

I stifled the urge to shake my head. Built like a Greek god, nothing about Bowen’s body was ugly. I’d seen him in the pool enough times to know. But I was beyond staring at him. I put the pieces together. I trembled to my core when I realized what Bowen being naked meant to Kyle’s injuries.

I had to force the words out of my mouth. “Did you do this to Kyle?”

His coffee-colored eyes barely glanced at Kyle. A cruelty I’d never seen before crept into his face. “You’re coming with me.”

Dillan tensed at my side, a tiger ready to leap.

Cold sweat trickled down my back. Forcing myself to keep calm, I said, “I can’t right now. I have to help Kyle.”

“I don’t care about Kyle. You’re coming with me.”

“No, she’s not,” Dillan said.

“Dillan. Don’t.” I touched his rigid forearm.

“Enough.” Bowen grimaced. “If you don’t want to give her to me, I’ll just take her from you, Illumenari.”

A gust of wind forced me to look away, but I glanced back after a series of pop, pop, pop.

Bowen’s body contorted. He doubled over on his hands and knees. His arms and legs morphed into the front and hind legs of a large cat. Golden fur grew out of his skin. His sun-kissed hair formed a full mane around his head. A long tail lashed out from behind him, thudding on the ground. I couldn’t blink even if I wanted to. My eyeballs were dry, but I continued to stare anyway. His head remained human except for his mouth where three rows of jagged teeth dripped saliva. The boy I’d known for years transformed into something that shouldn’t even be real.

“Manticore.” Kyle shuddered.

I tore my eyes away from Bowen to look at my best friend. “Hey, you,” I whispered. “Stay with me, okay. Everything’s gonna be fine.” My smile broke before it could fully form.

He raised a trembling hand and I took it in both of mine. “I’m sorry,” he whispered back.

“For what?”

“Not telling you.” He coughed then fainted.

“Kyle?” I patted his cheek. “Kyle? Open your eyes. Please, please open your eyes. Don’t you dare die.”

“She’s coming with me,” Bowen said in a trumpet-like voice. I looked up from Kyle’s increasingly pale face. His scorpion tail aimed threateningly at Dillan. Long needles stuck out from its tip, dripping with a sticky, purplish substance.

In my worry over Kyle, I hadn’t noticed Dillan move. Now he was standing between Bowen and me. Sword in his right hand. Stance wide. Shoulders squared.

“Bowen.” My voice shook more than I thought it would. “Why are you doing this?”

“The Maestro wants you.” He licked drool off his lips.

“What about the dogs?” Dillan hissed out.

Bowen’s face crumpled into a bizarre reproduction of a frown. “A diversion. To keep everyone in town occupied.”

Dillan charged Bowen. The creature roared and jumped aside to avoid the incoming blow from his sword. Dillan took the momentum of his charge and used it to dodge the spiked tail coming at him. Then he sidestepped a swipe from massive paws with razor-sharp claws. They moved so fast, all I could do was watch. All this time Bowen worked for the Maestro. I couldn’t believe it.

“You gonna wipe the grin off my face now?” Dillan taunted.

Three rows of jagged teeth snapped at his head. I gasped. He ducked and lunged forward, landing a blow on Bowen’s left shoulder. Black blood oozed out of the wound, but Bowen stood as if he felt no pain.

“The last thing you’ll feel is my teeth squeezing your head like a zit.” He snapped his mouth. He brought his tail around and shot poison needles aimed at Dillan’s chest.

Dillan tucked and rolled, only evading half of the volley. Six needles embedded themselves along his arm. He grimaced, and a small scream escaped my throat before I clamped my mouth shut. In the movies, bad things always happened to the guy when the girl couldn’t keep her mouth shut or stay put. I reminded myself that as he struggled to his feet. With preternatural quickness, he circled Bowen and lopped off the tip of his tail. It bounced a few feet away. Bowen screeched and bounded over to Dillan. He stood on his hind legs while his front paws struck out like a lion ready to collide with another head on. Dillan took the opening Bowen provided and lunged forward. He plunged his blade deep into the creature’s chest.

Bowen sank his teeth into Dillan’s shoulder and ripped at both sides of his ribs with unforgiving claws. He cried out and twisted his sword. I gagged at the sickening squelch of something exploding. Bowen’s body went limp and fell to the ground taking Dillan with him. He pried open the creature’s jaw and pushed himself to his feet. His shoulder was torn badly enough that I saw bone. He pulled the weapon out of Bowen’s chest with a grunt and flicked the blood off the blade with a twist of his wrist while watching the creature morph. In seconds, Bowen’s naked body lay motionless on the grass.

Blood spread from his shoulder and sides. He staggered toward me, his face a pale expressionless mask. Sweat gleamed on his forehead, intermingling with the blood spatter on his face. I let go of Kyle’s clammy hand and ran to him. I caught him just as he fell, his sword returning to its original form. I sank to my knees and cradled his limp body on my lap.

“Of all the stupid, moronic, idiotic—”

He coughed. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips to his chin. “Selena.”

“What?”

“Remember…” He swallowed. “Remember the not freaking out part?”

“What? Now?” My voice rose a couple octaves at the absurdity of his request.

“I’m going…” He coughed again, a horrible hacking of air and blood. I clutched at a ragged piece of his shirt. He bled in too many places for me to put pressure on anything, but he managed to continue. “I need you to whistle as loud as you can.”

“Whistle?”

He tried to nod and ended up wincing. “Like right now.”

I couldn’t react fast enough. Fear gripped me so hard. Even as my hands dripped with his blood, I lifted two fingers to the corners of my mouth, like Gramps taught me, and whistled, which resulted in a pathetic, breezy whimper. The metallic salty taste flooded my mouth. I spit to suppress the gag reflex.

“Selena.” He touched my cheek with an even bloodier hand. “You have to calm down,” he said as if he didn’t just kill a mythical creature. Then his eyes rolled into his head.

“Dillan?” I slapped at his cheek repeatedly. “Dillan? Oh, God. God. Please. Don’t do this to me.” Wiping my fingers on my jeans, I lifted them to my mouth again. Still no go. Wracking sobs left my body. I bit down hard, the pain centering me, and tried for a third time.

“Come on!” I screamed out. I spat again, took another deep breath, and puckered my lips.

This time, a high note came. Literally music to my ears.

The silence seemed to eat up the sound. Nothing happened. As I prepared myself to whistle again, a black shape appeared in the distance. It bounded toward us, sleek and swift, cutting through the prairie like an arrow flying to a target.

Panic churned in me.

A dog.

A German Shepherd. Bigger than a cow.

And it came straight for us.

It stopped about a couple yards away, studying me with its ruby-red eyes.

I hugged Dillan’s limp body closer and hissed. “Don’t come near us.”

You called me. I will not hurt you.

Another voice came from somewhere inside my head, stopping my heart for a second then causing the muscle to rev up again.

Please, you have to let me help him.

I looked around for the source of the second unfamiliar voice. “Where are you?”

Selena, please, Dillan is dying.

“Where are you?” Terror and confusion mixed with my question.

In front of you.

My eyes locked with ruby-reds. “You?”

The dog dipped its head. Yes. My name is Sebastian. I am here to help.

“Sebastian?”

We are running out of time. He came forward and touched the tip of his nose on Dillan’s forehead. A ripple of energy zinged through me, like the open current that sizzled from Dillan into me. It sent my skin tingling. I closed my eyes and sparks exploded behind my eyelids. The raw power a hundred times over, like what I imagined being struck by lightning would feel, knocked me out.