Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (209 page)

Daniel’s face paled visibly as he nodded and ducked into the dining hall.

C
ole paced
next to the dining hall door while I wondered how long it was going to take before we were back on the road. Daniel walked into the chaotic room and made a beeline to the serving counter. I was glad to see that he didn’t stop to talk with any more girls. Daniel gathered his food quickly and was coming back out of the hall within a few minutes.

“Just follow me,” he said. The march across the campus was quiet.

Leading us into his rustic looking, but well-built cabin, Daniel pulled a soda from a miniature fridge and held it up, a silent question to us. Cole and I both shook our heads. Daniel popped the can open and set it on the night stand next to his bed. He sat on the narrow wooden bed while Cole and I remained standing. His tray of food on his lap, Daniel took a bite, speaking in between each mouthful.

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you guys, it’s just that my parents will freak out if I suddenly disappear from camp and they have the counselors calling them in a panic.” His expression made it clear that he really did want to help us, very much.

“Do you think it would help if we talked to them and explained the situation?” Cole asked. Daniel and I both stared at him sharply.

“I seriously doubt it,” Daniel said. Cole merely shrugged.

“Don’t you have any friends here?” I asked. Daniel started at the sound of my voice. It was the first time since he emerged from the dining hall that I had spoken to him, and the urgency in my voice made it hard and too loud.

“Of course I have friends here,” Daniel said, obviously offended by my words. “What does that matter?”

Surely he wasn’t that naïve. I was pretty far from being called a troublemaker or bad influence, but even I knew most teens often used their friends to cover for them when they needed to get away from their parents for a while. Realization suddenly dawned on Daniel’s face.

“Oh,” he said. “I could probably talk Clay into covering for me. How long will we be gone?”

I had also gotten directions from Roosevelt back to San Juan off the internet before leaving Daniel’s house. If we could leave in the next few minutes we would get back to San Juan late, but the eight and a half hour drive was doable. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for Daniel to administer the antidote, but I intended to have him out the door immediately afterward. “We can have you back tomorrow night.”

“Or the day after,” Cole amended.

“So, before Monday morning for sure, right?”

“Yes,” I said. Cole agreed tentatively.

Daniel nodded his head slowly, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Maybe I can go with you guys. This is the last weekend of camp. We have the weekend free to do whatever we want, so missing activities won’t be a problem. I’ll just need someone to make excuses for me if anyone asks.”

The picture of Claire was still in his hand. He held it up again. A pained look flashed across his features and I knew he was thinking of the beautiful girl in pain and dying. “Okay. This might work. Let me call my friend real quick. Only the counselors are supposed to have cell phones but Clay snuck his in to call his girlfriend every night.” Setting his empty tray aside, Daniel grabbed a cordless phone off the nightstand. He punched in the number quickly and waited impatiently. Almost a full minute passed before he hung up in frustration and tried the number again. This time someone answered.

“Hey, are you not taking my calls anymore?” Daniel asked. His voice was completely casual again.

I could hear the low mumble of his friend’s response, but couldn’t make out the words.

“Yeah, yeah, save your excuses. Hey, I have a favor to ask.”

More mumbling.

“I need you to cover for me this weekend.” Daniel paused, looking at Claire’s picture again. “I need to take off for a few days. I have something to take care of. Okay?”

There was silence on the other end before the indecipherable speaking began again.

“Well, there’s this girl, and…”

The laughter was easy to hear. Daniel’s face broke into a rueful smile. No doubt his friend had something much different in mind than what was really happening.

“Thanks, Clay. I owe you big time for this. Later.”

Even cool and confident Cole looked relieved. I was itching to get out of this kid’s cabin and on my way back home to Claire.

“Now all I have to do is check in with my parents before they call looking for me,” Daniel said. Dialing again he waited for his mother to answer.

“Hey, Mom. I just wanted to call and check in with you, let you know I’m doing okay.” His mother’s voice was a pleasant hum compared to Clay’s braying laughter.

“Yeah, it’s been great so far. I went kayaking today with Clay and Donny. It’s our free weekend this weekend, so Clay and I are going to be out for the next couple days. He wants to hang out and blow off some steam, maybe take some four wheelers out into the hills or go water skiing over at Roosevelt Lake,” Daniel said. “I just wanted to let you know what we’d be doing just in case I don’t get the chance to call you again before Monday.”

I could hardly tell he was lying, but I hoped his mother wasn’t paying very close attention. Mothers could usually tell when their kids were being dishonest.

Daniel listened to his mother for a few more seconds before a questioning look formed on his face. “They stopped by the house?” he asked. His mom said something else then he spoke again. “No, I know Cole and Uriah, Mom. Yeah, I met them at the skate park. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call them when I get back.”

Staring at us with a slightly suspicious look again, Daniel wrapped up his conversation with his mom. “I love you too, Mom. I’ll see you guys next weekend. Just leave a message at the front desk if you need to get a hold of me this weekend.”

After a quick exchange of goodbyes, Daniel set the phone down. Turning back to us with a sigh of relief, Daniel clapped his hands together. “Well, that’s taken care of.”

Taken care of. He said it like he actually thought everything was fine now. If only he had any idea what we were still facing. It was a good thing he didn’t know or he never would have agreed to come. Cole watched me thoughtfully. My thoughts must have been showing again. Wanting to keep my fears to myself for the moment, I smoothed my expression. Cole raised an eyebrow at the change in my features, but said nothing.

“You guys went to my house?” Daniel asked.

Cole nodded carefully. “You thought we knew you were at camp when we left New Mexico? Of course we went by your house first.”

He didn’t think to ask how going to his house led us to Roosevelt, thankfully. If he would have, it probably would’ve led to him wondering why his mom would tell us where he was. It was a good thing he wasn’t thinking very hard at the moment.

“Let me grab some clothes and we can get going,” Daniel said, forgetting the exchange. He slid Claire’s picture into his back pocket as he walked past me. I stifled a pang of agony at losing the picture and shoved my hands into my pockets.

Just as my fingers touched the strand of hair, Daniel’s step faltered. His gaze turned back to me, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Panic swept over me. He had felt something when I touched the scrap of hair. Snapping my hands out of my pockets, I folded them over my chest and attempted to lean against the wall casually. Daniel shook off the odd feeling and began walking again.

“Make sure you put everything in a backpack, Daniel. Neither of us has room on our bikes for your stuff,” Cole said.

“By bikes, you mean motorcycles, right?” Daniel asked.

“No, we rode to Arizona on our mountain bikes,” I said sarcastically. “Of course they’re motorcycles.”

Unbothered by my hot retort, Daniel lips turned up in a smile. “Nice. My mom won’t let me have a motorcycle. She thinks I’ll kill myself.”

“She’s probably right,” I said under my breath. Cole gave me warning look. We needed Daniel. “Just hurry up, Daniel. We need to get going.”

“Right, right,” Daniel said, bounding into the bathroom. I wondered if we had mentioned the motorcycles earlier, we could have been out of here by now.

“Be nice to the kid, Uriah. I know you’re worried about losing Claire to him, but I’m more concerned with whether she lives right now than who she marries,” Cole said. The edge to his voice surprised me. Cole rarely spoke harshly with anyone. His words brought on a heavy dose of guilt. My face must have given away my emotions again. “Don’t get me wrong, Uriah, I’d rather have you as a brother-in-law than Daniel any day. Just remember what’s at stake.”

I knew he was right. I wasn’t the only person in Claire’s life. There was no doubt in my mind that saving her life was more important than saving our love. “I’ll be nice,” I said quietly. I turned toward the little window hovering above Daniel’s bed. The look on Cole’s face was too full of pity for me to look at him.

Daniel emerged from the bathroom, eagerness to get the adventure underway showing plainly on his face. “You guys ready?” he asked.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I turned back to Cole. With a forced smile, I said, “Just waiting on you, kid.”

“You know, Uriah,” Daniel said with a laugh, “you aren’t that much older than me. You’re what, twenty or something?”

Cole rolled his eyes and shoved Daniel toward the door. Daniel pushed out into the courtyard and we hurried across the empty space, slipping through the gate left open to haul supplies back into the compound. We made it over to the motorcycles without seeing a single person. Daniel strapped his backpack onto his body as he said, “Getting out of there was a lot easier than I expected.” His eyes were shining with a mixture of excitement and maybe just a little bit of fear. Excitement was definitely winning.

“Yeah, much easier,” I mumbled. The fact that his friend was willing to lie for him wasn’t that surprising. It could be that it was just a coincidence his mother was too distracted to hear the hint of deceit in her son’s voice, or that no one had seen us leaving, but I had a feeling that it was something more. Twin Souls wanted to be together, even before they knew they did. I was suddenly remembering stories of how the universe could bring Twin Souls together despite any odds. My good fortune soured. Apparently, I was more alone in my battle to keep Claire than I realized.

C
ole and Daniel
rode ahead of me. Daniel had been slightly disappointed when he realized there were only two motorcycles, although I had no idea how he thought we might have brought an extra one. When Daniel asked who he would ride with, I folded my arms across my chest and stepped in front of my bike. There was no way I was spending the next eight and a half hours with that kid sitting behind me. Cole was quick to offer his own bike, mumbling something about my size making the ride uncomfortable for two people.

The drive through the main part of Roosevelt was slow because of the residential speed limits, and nowhere as unnerving as our first trip through Tucson or Phoenix. We were probably the only two people in those cities that had been happy about the rush hour traffic jams. Slow, but steady, we made our way north out of Roosevelt. I could see Daniel’s mouth moving almost constantly. Cole was kind enough to turn off the helmet headset.

Driving across town toward the open desert, my anxiety rose with each mile. I hadn’t forgotten the shape shifting man or the wolves. The picture the wolves showed me had not been pleasant. The gaping wounds bled as the creature limped away. I had faith in the wolves’ estimation of the damage they could inflict. The simplicity of their messages seemed to reflect their honesty. Animals had little need for pride or deception.

Still, a creature that could change its shape at will would most likely be capable of repairing whatever damage the wolves had done, as well. The only real question was time. We had left the creature behind almost five hours ago. I had no way of knowing how quickly it could recover and find us again. My animal lookouts had reported in just before leaving the adventure camp with Daniel, but their news had been confusing.

Several animals reported feeling the creature’s presence nearby, but none had actually seen it. Wondering what other powers the shape shifter held, I hoped that invisibility wasn’t one of them. That would just be taking this trip into fantasyland too far. Whatever healing capabilities the creature had, they were hopefully slow enough to give us a little more time.

I felt pretty confident that if Daniel’s and Claire’s souls were united, the creature would abandon its hunt. I was dead set against that very result, but facing the creature again, in return for keeping Claire safe, seemed a small price to pay. Even if it meant I got killed in the process. I wasn’t very optimistic about my chances against that thing.

Warily, I watched the roadside. Most likely, the creature would continue to try and hide its existence in some way, but that only made me more wary of the long shadows creeping across the desert floor. Soon we would be on the lonely stretch of highway leading us back to the New Mexico border. Among other humans, the creature would most likely not attack, but if it did, the wolves or other animals may not be able to intervene. While in the desert we would be protected more easily, the creature would be free to attack us. It was a double edged sword. I desperately hoped we wouldn’t be forced to stay outdoors overnight.

“Uriah,” Cole’s voice broke over the headset. “We’re about to leave Roosevelt. I want to top off the gas tanks before we head out and maybe grab some food for later.”

My rumbling stomach reminded me that all I’d had to eat in the last twenty four hours was a couple granola bars and a hamburger. We had a long drive ahead of us and I wasn’t sure whether any of the towns we would pass through would have anywhere to eat. I was glad Cole had the presence of mind to pay attention to the details. “Sounds good,” I replied.

“There’s a gas station up ahead.”

Following Cole, we made a smooth exit and pulled up to the pumps. Cole swiped his card at the pump and handed Daniel some cash. Daniel hurried into the convenience store, his gaze falling back to us several times. My stomach lurched every time I looked at him. Cole stuck the pump nozzle in his bike’s tank and walked over to me.

“How much are we going to tell Daniel?” Cole asked.

“As little as possible.”

“He’s been yammering since we left, with lots of questions about what’s going on.” Cole ran his fingers through his hair. The smooth motion reminded me of Claire’s complaints about the length of my hair. Brushing my eyelashes now, it had really gotten out of hand. I resolved to get it cut as soon as possible. Cole finished filling up his bike and handed the nozzle to me.

“He’ll give up eventually,” I said. Cole’s glare was meaningful.

“You’re not the one stuck sharing a bike with him. I need something to tide him over,” Cole said.

“Hormones or no, he’s in this for the adventure, as much as for Claire. Tell him he can ride the motorcycle around when we get to San Juan and he’ll be happy. Just keep him interested in the motorcycles, and sneaking off from summer camp, and he’ll drop the questions after a while.” The nozzle snapped, halting the flow of gas. Ignoring Cole, I returned the nozzle to the pump station.

“Uriah, his questions haven’t all been about the bikes, or how exciting this is, plenty have been about Claire.” Cole’s face was serious. “He understands why I’m here, Claire’s my sister, but he keeps asking about you. He can tell there’s a connection between you and Claire,” Cole said, pausing and looking down, “and he sounds jealous.”

“What?” I demanded.

“I know he doesn’t understand the emotion, but it’s there. He’s already starting to feel the pull,” Cole said. “It started as soon as he saw her picture and you know it. He wants to be with her.”

My face tilted toward the sky. Closing my eyes, I pressed my hands against my face. There were no simple answers. Confirming his fears that I was Claire’s fiancée would only intensify his jealousy. Telling Daniel I was another relative or friend of Claire’s would make him suspicious. We had to walk a fine line with him. Tipping the scale too far either way could make him change his mind and want to leave.

“I don’t know what you should tell him, Cole. The truth will make it worse, but so will lying,” I said. “We’ll be out on the highway in a few minutes. He won’t really be able to talk then. Just try to hold him off for now, unless you come up with something better. I’m sorry, Cole. I don’t know what to do. I’m having a hard enough time just keeping my thoughts straight half the time. Every time I think of Claire, I see her collapsing, and all I can do is hope we’ll be able to save her. I can’t focus on anything except getting back to her. Hopefully this will all be over soon.”

Cole shrugged warily, but didn’t look too annoyed that I had failed to answer his question. There really was no good answer as far as I could see. We were hauling this kid across the desert because centuries old stories had suddenly decided to come to life. There was no way to explain that to Daniel. Besides, Cole was a capable problem solver, and I was too distracted to come up with anything useful. I just wanted to see Claire again. Even if she turned me away, I had to touch her soft skin and kiss her one more time. The promise of touching her again was the only thing keeping me going right now.

“I just hope we can make it back tonight,” Cole said. “I really don’t want to have to explain camping with mountain lions to Daniel.”

Nodding in agreement, I planned to keep everything to do with the animals from Daniel. I watched as a smiling Daniel exited the store with cellophane wrapped sandwiches in his arms. “Hey, Cole,” I said, “thanks for not making me ride with him. I don’t think I could take it.”

“Sure, man,” Cole said. “We’ll be home soon.”

Crossing the pavement quickly, Daniel held his purchases up as if proving he were more than capable of the simple task. Daniel tossed me a sandwich before climbing behind Cole. Thinking of what Cole had mentioned, I smiled politely and thanked him. Daniel eyed me thoughtfully for a brief second. His obvious excitement to move on quickly took over. Cole glanced back at me, his expression grateful for my small effort. Slowly, we rolled across the blacktop. Just before we merged back onto the road, I thought I saw a flicker of brown fur dart behind a dumpster.

My spine tingled. Testing my new found ability, I searched for the wolves by forming a picture of the animals standing near the gas station in my mind. All I received in return was the frightened, scattered thoughts of a small rabbit as it darted away. The communication was easier each time I experienced it, but this time the answer was disappointing. The patch of fur had been too far above the ground to be a rabbit.

“Cole,” I tested, unsure of whether his headset was on.

“Yeah?”

“I think I just saw something following us.”

“Oh really?” Cole asked casually. His tone confused me until I remembered Daniel. He didn’t want to tell Daniel about the creature, and neither did I.

“I don’t think it was friendly,” I said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cole said, his voice a little tighter, but still upbeat.

“Keep your headset on for now, okay?”

“No problem.”

The few remaining buildings disappeared behind us. Our speed picked up when we left the city behind, but I could still see the image the mountain lion had shown me of the creature pacing us even as we drove along the highway. Cole apparently didn’t feel safer at the higher speed either. His head routinely checked the roadside as he drove.

“Uriah,” Cole spoke, “do we have any…help out here?”

Clearing my head, I formed the question as an image and sent it out to the surrounding desert, deeper than I had before. Immediately, answering images crowded my mind. Wolves, coyotes, even mice watched us as we passed and assured me there were more ahead. They knew we were coming. They also knew the creature pursued us. He wasn’t hiding as carefully as before. Each image of the shape shifter was tinged with fear and hatred.

“Yes. The whole desert seems to be watching.”

“Good,” Cole said, sounding like he actually meant it. It was a huge departure from his reaction to the mountain lion the night before, but I imagined that after seeing the shape shifting monster, Cole was willing to accept help wherever he could get it. “Let me know if anything changes.”

Nodding even though I knew Cole couldn’t see me, I focused on the images still flooding into my mind. With so much sensory information, I could hardly concentrate on the road. Unsure of how to make my request clear to our friends, I pictured the animals watching us silently, only calling out to me if they saw the creature coming too close. The image barely made sense to me, but most of the animals seemed to understand. Thankfully, my mind cleared, letting my own thoughts dominate once again.

“He finally stopped talking,” Cole said. “The wind is too loud to hear each other, thank goodness.”

“That’s good. We might have to stop at some point to eat, but we’ll keep it short so he won’t have too much time to ask any more questions.”

Cole was quiet for a few seconds. “Is this going to work, Uriah?”

“Yes, it will,” I said with conviction.

“What will you do if you can’t stop Daniel and Claire from connecting with each other?” Cole asked.

I had refused to consider that I wouldn’t be able to stop the bond from forming. “I know what you were saying earlier, but can you really see Claire going for Daniel, now?” I asked.

“Now? I don’t see it happening,” Cole said.

I couldn’t tell whether he was merely being supportive or if he truly believed what he said.

“Since that first week you guys hung out, you’re the only one she’s ever been interested in. I just can’t imagine her with anyone but you anymore.”

I considered his words. Claire and I were so well matched despite what Cole had said earlier. We complimented each other in every way. Claire was my light, and I her anchor. I just couldn’t see what Daniel had to offer her. “Even if the bond forms, I think Claire can withstand it,” I said.

“I’ve heard that meeting your Twin Soul is something like being struck by lightning. It’s supposed to bring the most powerful emotions a human can feel, all released in one moment,” Cole said. “Could anyone abandon that?”

He was speaking my fears. I loved Claire with every last particle of my soul. If the connection was made between Claire and Daniel, could I really ask her to give up true, soul binding love for me? It was a selfish desire, but one I believed Claire would share. “Claire is one of the strongest people I have ever met. If anyone can fight against a pull like that, it’s Claire. I have to believe it’s possible,” I added quietly.

“Claire is incredibly stubborn,” Cole agreed. “I hope it works, Uriah. My dad is a fool for not wanting you to marry Claire.”

I couldn’t reply. Quaile had said basically the same thing, but I knew I was the one who was lucky to have Claire in my life. Cole said I changed Claire. I knew it was the other way around. Before Claire, I had been comfortable gliding through life in the background, content with what I had, not brave enough to imagine there was more waiting for me. Claire had changed everything. The day on the riverbank had been the beginning, but each day after was a new adventure.

Cole’s obvious fear that I would lose my battle stung. I was trying to keep Claire as close to my heart as I could, and I hoped she was doing the same. Hope was all I really had left. Although, as I thought about what was chasing us I realized I did have my dad’s training. His letter had talked about preparing me. I still didn’t know for sure what he thought he was preparing me for, but the hours he’d spent passing on to me the hand to hand combat and weapon skills he learned in the military were undoubtedly about to come in handy.

I always thought he just wanted me to know how to protect myself and the people I loved. Doubts about the reasons behind his lessons were starting to creep into my mind. His letter mentioned me having to face difficult things and how Claire and I would have to be strong to survive them. Did he somehow know all of this would happen? A particular sparring match with my dad a few weeks before he died came to mind, working to convince me that he had.

“
Y
ou can’t just defend
, Uriah,” Dad said. “You’ve got to be more aggressive or you’ll never win.”