The night was cool. I could already taste the end of summer. Soon the trees would turn from green and lush to vibrant color. But for now, the garden at the manor was still in full bloom, perfuming the air. Sticking to the shadows, which were a comfort more than a distress, I snuck off the grounds.
I turned down the nearly empty street, a shortcut to Atmosphere. Heath, Crash’s father, owned the seedy club. He was on my hit list tonight.
If anything shady was going on, and Heath or Crash was involved, Atmosphere would be the place to find answers.
There was a slow roll of fog tumbling in over the island from shallow shores. With the brisk evening wind sneaking up under my hoodie, I heard the soft sound of footsteps. They paused briefly as I did, then picked up again when I creeped along the side of a building. The prickles of being followed radiated at the nape of my neck.
Well, I had news for him; he wasn’t going to get the drop on me.
As an afterthought, it probably would have been a smart idea to have enlisted Oliver or Declan in on my little plan. No doubt I was going to pay for it later, once Oliver realized I was no longer anywhere in the manor. I would have to make it up to him… bring him a peace offering, maybe coffee or candy.
I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder and raise the suspicion of my stalker. I might be small and wearing three-inch wedges, but I’ve learned I could handle myself against even the toughest of opponents. After walking around the island the last few months, I knew most of its twists and turns, hopefully allowing me to use an element of surprise. I was kind of counting on it.
I stepped quietly out of my clunky black shoes, great for clobbering someone over the head. I wasn’t above using whatever means necessary. The pavement was cold under my bare feet. It had rained earlier, leaving the ground damp, and small pools of water gathered due to the changes in elevation. My discomfort was currently ranked below my need to survive. It was sort of sad, but I wasn’t nearly as freaked out or scared as I should have been. Actually, if someone didn’t try to kill me at least once a week, I wondered what was wrong. How pathetic.
Ducking behind the building, I waited until their shadow appeared on the ground, cast from a nearby street lamp. My fingers wrapped around one of my heels as I brought it up over my head. If I could get one clean thwack…
The footsteps came to a stop, and I held my breath, waiting and poised for damage. Reapers were trained to be stealthy, this predator was sloppy and careless. I shouldn’t have been able to pick up on him following me so easily. And if it was a reaper, I should have been able to sense them. My sonar abilities were stronger.
Of course, it could be a hallow, but the lack of temperature change in the air confused me. If it wasn’t a reaper or hallow, then just who or what was tailing me? I was about to find out.
I made my move, leaping around the corner, my fingers tightening on my makeshift weapon and I froze, the shoe halted inches before knocking its intended target into next week.
What the frick?
My pursuer most definitely wasn’t a hallow or a reaper. It was TJ.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, slapping him on the back of the head with my palm. “I almost bashed you with my shoe.”
He scowled, eyes moving from the weapon clutched into my hand and back to my face. “Following you.”
I lowered the shoe. “I figured that part out, deputy dipshit. But why?”
“Because you’ve been acted weirder than usual. And that’s saying something.”
I whacked him again.
He rubbed at the back of his head. “Will you stop that?”
“I will if you stop acting like a moron,” I replied, slipping my wedges back on my cold and damp feet. “Do you know how dangerous it is out here? I thought I explained this to you the other day? The world is going to hell in a handbasket.”
“If that is true, what are you doing sneaking around in the dark? Isn’t it just as unsafe for you?” he questioned.
It was, but I wasn’t going to admit it. “You’re forgetting one important fact. I can take care of myself.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, I saw. With a shoe, right? I didn’t realize that was what banshees used to defend themselves.”
“Hey, you’ve got to work with what you have.”
“Don’t you have like super powers?”
I lowered my voice. “I can’t go around blasting everyone I come in contact with. If I did, you’d be twenty feet away lying flat on your back.”
He scrunched his face. “Vain much?”
Miffed, I started to walk away, fully expecting him not to follow me. “TJ, I don’t have time to explain the reasons behind my actions. I need you to go home. Now,” I emphasized.
He jogged to catch up with me, matching our strides. “And tell those two goons stationed outside your bedroom what? That you managed to slip out of the house right under their nose? It would only be minutes before Zane issued a manhunt.”
I hated when he was right. “Look, I can’t sit around the manor and do nothing. I have to figure out how to fix this. And I can’t do that if I’m worrying about you. I’m trying to keep you safe.” It occurred to me that no one knew where TJ or I were. If something happened…
The smart thing would have been to turn back and take TJ to the manor, and I was going to do just that, but then I heard voices.
Lifting my head, I looked around. The back entrance of Atmosphere was directly to my left. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I whispered. “Stay behind me, and you have to do whatever I say. No questions asked. Agreed?”
He nodded.
Slinking along the side of the club’s building, I reached the corner that led to the back door. Crouching down, I poked my head around just enough to see with one eye. There were two people outside the exit door. I couldn’t make out their faces, not from this angle or the lack of moonlight. Not that it matter. The gleam of a cigarette gave him away.
Crash.
He flicked his lighter, giving a warm glow to the darkness surrounding his face. Alarm jumped into my eyes. I gasped, but quickly put my hand over my mouth. And to think I’d been worried about TJ making too much noise.
The other person with Crash was his father, Heath.
Perfect. This was exactly what I was counting on, except for TJ being here.
“You’re late,” Heath scolded.
Crash blew a cloud of smoke into his father’s face. “Yeah well, my life doesn’t revolve around you.”
Heath waved the air in front of him, lips turned down. “This isn’t a game. You need to start taking your responsibilities as my heir.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? Each night, helping run this club.” Crash had a quietness to his voice I found alarming. Under his I-don’t-give-two-shits exterior lived a troubled soul.
“What are they saying?” TJ whispered.
I turned my head from the corner and put my finger to my lips. My original plan had been to mingle inside the club, ask some questions, and do a little snooping in the off limit sections, but this was so much better. And dangerous. I returned my attention to eavesdropping.
Heath merciless eyes slide over his son. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. There is more to being my son than the club,” he spat. “You have duties to uphold now that the veil has been removed.”
For the first time, I saw Crash look at his father with distrust and loathing, but only for a split-second. He blinked, putting his jaded mask back in place. “Oh yes, your master plan.”
“We have too much at stake for your indolence.”
Crash gestured toward Heath with the hand holding his smoke. “You mean, you have too much at stake.” Burning ash fell off the tip, tumbling to the ground. “Don’t worry, I know my part.”
Heath’s face twisted into a fierce scowl. “You don’t have half of the strength or loyalty your sister did. At least she had the guts to do what needed to be done.”
“And it got her killed. Is that what you’re hoping for?”
Heath shook his head. Eyes hard like glass, he lifted them to meet his son dead on. “At least your sister knew her worth,” he seethed. “Her sacrifice is what is going to give us what our family has had coming to us for centuries.”
Asshole award goes to Heath.
Crash snorted, rolling his eyes as if this was a tiresome conversation he’d heard over and over. “You brainwashed her.” He was glutton for punishment.
Heath raised his hand, and I thought for a moment, he was going to strike Crash. His hand wavered, but didn’t move. “Without her, the veil never would have been destroyed. We wouldn’t get the chance to change the balance of power. Why should it fall to only one reaper? It is time we tip the scales. You will follow through with the plan. This is not negotiable.”
Crash stood there unblinking, casual lifting his cigarette to his mouth. “Thanks for the pep talk, pops.” He flicked the butt of the cigarette on the ground at his father’s feet and headed this way.
Flattening myself against the building, I had a small panic attack, and then I grabbed TJ’s hand. This better work. Please, please, pretty please. Zane and I could share abilities, we had done so on numerous occasions to save our asses. This was one of those times I needed our souls to merge. But he wasn’t here, and I couldn’t precisely scream, alerting the very reapers I was hiding from.
Our bond was strong. I just hoped it was strong enough, because I needed his shadows.
With my back pressed to the cold bricks, I closed my eyes and summoned my power. I murmured his name under my breath. A cold sensation raced through my veins. It was like jumping into a pool of icy water, and then shadows of the night seeped out from the crooks and crevices, blanketing TJ and I in utter darkness.
Crash brushed by us without a second glance. It was the overlord I was worried about it. Heath walked to the edge of the alley, watching his son’s back. He paused, and I held my breath. His treacherous, beady eyes swept over the empty lot. My gripped tightened on TJ’s hand as he glanced over where we were huddled.
I exhaled. That was close. Too godforsaken close.
But as I drew my next breath, we’d traded one disaster for another. Ice-cold air and the stench of death filled my nostrils, making it hard to breathe. I’d developed some kind of hallow detector.
TJ coughed.
I got butterflies, the bad ones that made me sick.
Hallows were here.