Knight Shift (41 page)

Penny ignored Charlie’s last comment and asked a little too excitedly for Jax’s comfort, “You have Night Walkers like Sam and Susi?”

Charlie replied, “A Night Walker named Razor is in charge of the group and I know they would all love to have you over for dinner. One of them is new and has only been with us for about a week.” She gave Penny an evil grin and added, “He isn’t tame yet.”

Jax replied, “Charlie. Stop trying to scare Penny. She’ll be fine.”

Realizing what Ice had just said, Charlie asked, “Wait, you plan to let her see where we live? I figured you planned to dump her along the road somewhere before we got home. She can’t go; she’ll expose us.”

Penny was ecstatic, realizing that she was about to see a safe house. But before she could respond, Ice replied without hesitation, “No, she won’t.”

Penny was truly touched by Jax’s response, but Charlie just got more frustrated with the whole situation. She tried to use Jax’s unexplained toleration for the Human to her advantage and said, “Well, it’s too dangerous for her, so she can’t come in.”

Jax couldn’t argue about the dangerous part but, when an idea popped into his mind, he smiled and said to Charlie, “Since you think it’s too dangerous, you’re going to be her protector while she’s there.”

Charlie exclaimed, “Hell no! I’m not babysitting a disgusting Human.”

Penny tried to defuse the situation by saying, “It’s okay; I don’t need a babysitter. I’m willing to take the risk.”

Jax replied flatly back to Penny, “I’m not.” He then gave Charlie a stare that told her not to argue and said, “You will do what I ask and you’ll do it with a smile.”

Charlie cursed and then said, “Fine.” She plastered a huge, fake smile on her face and, after turning back in a huff, she said under her breath, “This has to be the worst thing that you’ve ever made me do. She better do what I say or all bets are off.”

From the backseat, Penny said, “I promise to listen to you and not be a burden.”

As Charlie mumbled things that Penny knew it was best not to hear, Penny sat back and marveled at the whole situation. The conversation between Jax and Charlie reminded her of her own teen years when she fought with her father. She knew Jax well enough to know that no one argued with him, but yet, he allowed it with this Changeling. It told her that, even though he was furious with the young woman, his anger was because he cared for her. And even though she was arguing back, it was obvious that she cared for him as well. But in the end, like Penny with her father, Charlie would do whatever Jax asked of her.

Although Penny had many questions burning to come out, she kept them to herself and they spent the rest of the trip in silence.

Jax drove through several backstreets and, when he approached an old run down building, Penny’s pulse started to race with anticipation. She couldn’t wait to see a home that Jax had created for his people.

As they pulled into a back entrance, someone must have been watching because a large door automatically opened for them. Once the path was clear, Jax pulled in and the door quickly closed behind him. At that point, Penny knew that there was no turning back.

Just before Jax got out of the Rover, he urgently placed his hand on Charlie’s arm and said, “I’m trusting you to help watch over Penny because I know you’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Don’t let me down.”

Initially Charlie was taken aback to have the one she looked up to touch her. It was the first time he had ever done it without anger being involved. Although she had no idea why he wanted this insignificant Human protected, she knew that he didn’t give his trust easily. She was suddenly filled with pride that he thought her strong enough to do this job for him. She wouldn’t let him down, no matter how disgusting she thought of the assignment.

She hesitantly put her hand on top of his cool skin and said, “You can trust me. I promise I’ll watch over her and, if anyone gives her grief, Conan will knock the crap out of them with his broadsword.”

Penny cleared her throat loudly and, once she had their attention, she asked Charlie, “Can you make it Thor instead? Chris Hemsworth has dreamy eyes. Anyone staring at those baby blues would melt into submission.”

When Penny fanned herself, Charlie couldn’t hold back a snicker and said, “I can’t argue with you on that one, Human.” For a brief second she found she had something in common with Penny but, as she recalled her being tossed to the curb by her childhood family, the hate she held for all Humans crashed back into her mind.

As they walked through the main door into the living quarters, the three travelers were met by several dozen Changelings. It was apparent that they had been told of their arrival and were waiting to greet their guests. When they made eye contact with Jax they all stood a little taller. Penny remained hidden behind him and, when she peeked around his back to see those that had assembled, she thought the scene reminded her of movies where the villagers all welcomed home an honored warrior after a battle where he saved the village. In this current scene, the villagers came in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and colors. Although several looked Human, she knew they hid another side to their nature. Others weren’t so lucky. Their form forced them to stay out of the public eye because their nature fully surfaced and appeared to have replaced their Human form.

Penny’s visual tour ended when a tall, thin man with pointed ears stepped forward and said, “Welcome back, Ice. We weren’t expecting you in town again so soon.”

Jax replied, “I had to take an unexpected trip to the east coast and I’m heading back to Oregon now. I was passing through the strip and ran into one of ours playing with a few Humans.” He pushed the guilty party forward.

While staring down at Charlie, the man asked, “Sorry, I assume you found her by a casino?” When Jax nodded, the man said, “She’s been warned repeatedly to stay out of the downtown area.” He then added while glaring daggers at Charlie, “It’s dangerous and you know it.”

Charlie pulled out a large stack of bills and said, “But Spock. I have talents for a reason and, as your name-sake would say, it would be illogical to not utilize the gifts that I’ve been given.” She handed him the money and added proudly, “Here’s my contribution for the castle.”

Spock took what she offered and, while waving it in her face, he said, “This isn’t worth it if we lost you. And being killed wouldn’t have been the worst price to pay. What if you were followed back here by cops or, worse yet, you ended up in some research facility as a lab rat? You’ve seen what they’ve done to others in the name of ‘science’ and your unique skills would be quite a prize.” Although his words were full of anger, it also held great concern and affection. When he groaned in frustration and looked away for a moment, his eyes caught the partial figure of someone standing behind Jax. Thankful for a change in subject, he asked, “So, I see you brought us a new member. I hope this one is less work than our little impersonator.”

Penny decided she couldn’t hide anymore and stepped out from Jax’s protective shadow. As she was revealed, the room went instantly silent. While everyone stood in shock, someone across the room whispered, “She’s Human.” Several others growled menacingly.

Spock said with eyebrows raised, “I have to admit that it’s a bit surprising to see you with a Human that’s not screaming. You’ve never brought one of your snacks here before.”

Jax replied between clenched teeth, “She isn’t my snack.”

In an effort to give Jax a moment to calm down and to help him maintain his Human hating persona, Penny announced, “My name is Penny. Sam and Susi asked Ice to escort me across country, so he’s stuck with me until we get back to Oregon.”

Spock gave Jax a sympathetic nod and said while ignoring Penny completely, “Susi will take in any pathetic thing off the streets, but I never would have guessed that she would sink low enough to take in a Human. And Sam’s talked me into doing many things I swore I would never do. It’s somewhat comforting to know that even someone as strong as you can fall prey to their skills, but they’re going to owe you big time for this one.”

Penny shivered at a cold stab from Jax’s projected anger towards Spock’s words. Although the room took his reaction as anger for being stuck with a worthless Human, she knew differently. To defuse the situation, she put her hand on Jax’s arm and whispered, “They have every right to hate me. Maybe I should leave and wait in the Rover.”

Jax shook his head and, knowing how badly Penny wanted to look around, he pulled her forward and announced, “She may be Human but, while she’s here, she’ll be treated as our guest. I’ve asked Charlie to show her around so that Penny can report back to Sam and Susi how things are going.”

A young woman standing in front of him pointed at Penny and asked, while scrunching up her face, “You want us to treat her as a guest in our home? But she’s a worthless piece of sh—”

Jax quickly interrupted her by saying with a growl in his chest, “She will not be harmed. Do you understand?”

The intensity of his stare made the one that spoke cower.

Penny couldn’t stop tears from welling in her eyes at all of the projected hate in the room. Although she wanted to hold out her hand in greeting to each of them, given their glares of hate, she knew touching anyone was out of the question. Instead she gave the room a smile and said sweetly, “You have no idea how much it means for me to meet all of you. I may be Human, but you have nothing to fear from me.”

When several from the crowd looked away and whispered angrily to each other, Spock said, “Every single Changeling in this room has had not so pleasant interactions with Humans and some are still trying to recover from the damage they left behind. As long as Ice wants you here, I won’t throw you out into a gutter where you belong but, while you are here, keep your distance and watch your back.”

Hearing the unspoken threat in his words and seeing the fear and hate filled faces of those in the room, Penny said somberly, “I understand.”

Spock then turned his attention back to Jax and said, “If you’re going to stay for a few hours, I could use your help. Razor’s new Night Walker has injuries that are much worse than we feared and he’s wiped out our blood supply. We were getting ready to go out and restock.”

When Jax looked down at Penny, she replied to his unspoken concern, “Please go and help them. I’ll be fine.” She gave him a forced smile, trying to show her confidence. He saw through her deception but, before he could respond, she added, “They need you and I want to do this. Charlie will be here to keep me out of trouble.”

Jax reluctantly agreed and said to Charlie, “Watch her. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Although Charlie agreed, she couldn’t hide the obvious revulsion she had for her assigned task.

Spock put a cap on to hide his ears and he and his band of blood thieves moved toward the door. Just as they headed outside, Penny overheard Spock say to Jax, “By the way, we received word from the Nashville castle that you were seen there and ran into some issues. The attack at the bar has been all over the news. What happened?”

Jax growled in frustration, “First tell me the latest news.”

Penny desperately wanted to hear their conversation, but the door closed behind them before she heard any details.

Charlie tapped Penny on the shoulder to get her attention and said, “Come on, Snack. And whatever you do, don’t leave my side or my sight.”

Looking around at those still staring at her, Penny replied, “You don’t have to worry about that.”

As they walked through the many rooms, Penny tried to ignore all of the snide comments and references to her new nickname, Snack. Instead she focused on the accommodations, which were practical but lacking completely in color and life. With none of the furniture matching it gave the place the appearance of a second-hand furniture store. Seeing many teenagers among the group, Penny asked Charlie as tactfully as she could, “You know this place has a lot of potential, but have you considered bringing in some color?”

Charlie replied angrily, “We used whatever your kind throws away that we could salvage. No one comes here with money and, with so many Changelings coming and going, we don’t have any cash lying around to hire an interior decorator.”

Penny cringed at Charlie’s projected anger, but held her ground and said, “You would be amazed what you can do with only a little creativity and time. I could offer some thoughts.” Just then they passed a room where a teenage boy was sitting on a bed scribbling in a sketchbook. Penny was going to ask if she could have a piece of paper from his pad so that she could sketch a few ideas for Charlie, but before she could ask, the boy’s head snapped up and he sniffed the air. He turned toward the door and Penny gasped internally as she looked at a thin, deathly ill looking Night Walker with dark circles under his eyes and many unhealed wounds on his exposed skin. She guessed there were more in places she couldn’t see.

Penny held back her reaction and asked, “Excuse me, what are you drawing?”

Charlie leaned toward Penny and whispered, “That’s Van Gogh and he’s the new Night Walker Spock was talking about. He doesn’t interact with anyone, which is good because he’s very unstable. Although I would thoroughly enjoy watching him use you for his snack, I wouldn’t want to face Ice if I broke my promise. So you need to definitely keep your distance from this one.”

Penny looked at Charlie and said, “But he’s a fellow artist and I would love to see his work.”

The boy stared at Penny for a moment and filled his lungs with her scent. Although he normally kept his distance from everyone, he surprised Charlie when he got up and walked over to Penny. Penny noticed that his pace was slow as if he was very weak and in pain. When he was standing next to her, he handed her his sketch pad and said, “You really should listen to Charlie. Besides not being much to look at, I’m not very pleasant to be around.”

Showing no sign of fear, Penny chuckled and, realizing that her reaction was impolite, she said, “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that I’m traveling with Ice and he has said those exact same words to me several times.”

Van Gogh’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You’re traveling with Ice? I haven’t met him yet, but I’ve heard the talk around the castle. You’re Human. I’m surprised that you’re still breathing. I was told that he thought your kind wasn’t good for anything but a midnight—”

Penny finished his thought for him, “Snack. I’ve already been given that nickname, but here I am. Walking and talking.” Getting back to the task at hand, she asked, “How are you feeling right now standing next to me? Does my presence cause you any pain?”

After taking in another deep breath, he shook his head and said, “Your scent. It smells quite…”

Penny expected him to say “delicious”, but instead he said, “…comforting. For some reason it actually makes me feel a little better.”

Penny gave him a gentle smile and said “Good. Then we can visit for a few minutes. But if my presence becomes uncomfortable, please let me know and I’ll leave.” When he nodded, she took the pad he offered and flipped through many sketches of birds in flight. She asked, “Did you draw these?”

He nodded silently.

“These are wonderful. You have real talent. Like the one with pointed ears being named Spock, I’m assuming you were given the name Van Gogh because you’re an artist?”

Charlie answered for him, “When they found him, he was passed out while clinging onto that sketch pad in one hand and had a death grip on a pencil in the other. The moment we noticed that his one ear was badly injured, it took all of two seconds to give him his name.” Charlie had no idea why she had given the information to a Human. Without realizing it, she was already becoming comfortable around her and she didn’t like it.

Penny said to her fellow artist, “I like the name and I also love to draw.” Looking around his room of monochrome off white and grey, she said, “You really should take your artwork to these blank walls.”

He asked sadly, “What would be the point?”

Penny replied, “Making a room come alive is something that’s my passion and gives me great comfort, especially when I’m down. Maybe it could help you find focus as well.” Looking over at his bed, she asked, “Would you mind if I come in and offer some suggestions on how you can make this home of yours come alive?”