Dare (17 page)

W
e crouched low. I could smell the grass, and feel the longer blades stroke my chin. Vix focused her eyes ahead of us. Maya’s ears twitched at every sound.

“What if they moved her?” Vix asked.

I scanned the perimeter. We had been here an hour. No one had come or gone.

I whispered, “Then, we’ll have Ian do the spell again. He said he’ll help us—whatever we need.”

We hadn’t been to this neighborhood before. It was dilapidated, but part of an old district in town that used to be popular. When the light hovered along Corinth Avenue on Ian’s map, I had to study it. I didn’t know why Case would have chosen this place for Abi.

I adjusted my position. They would have to leave for class soon.

Maya poked me in the side, and I zeroed in on the doorknob. It was moving.

Eli zipped his jacket to his neck then slung a backpack over his shoulder. He scanned the perimeter before throwing one leg over his motorcycle. We watched him turn the corner before rising to our knees.

“Do you think it’s safe?” Maya asked.

“We don’t know how much time before someone else shows up.” I started toward the house, checking the neighboring yards for surveillance.

“Why this place?” Vix growled. “It looks like someone’s grandma lives here.”

“I don’t know. Let’s hurry.”

We ran toward the door under the carport where Eli had exited. It was locked.

“Stand back,” I ordered. I leaned on my left leg before throwing a sold kick at the door with my right heel. It popped open.

Vix rushed ahead of me. “Abi? Abi?”

“Maya, watch the door while we check the rest of the house.” I ran after Vix.

The rooms were unfurnished. It was a small house. If Abi were here, we would find her.

“Back here,” Vix yelled. I raced to the last bedroom.

“Abi.” I covered my mouth.

She was sitting on a bed, watching TV.

“She won’t look at me, Dare.” Vix sat next to her. “Abi, it’s us. Come on. We don’t have much time before Eli gets back from class.”

I walked toward her, turning off the TV when I passed in front of it.

“Abi, do you know who we are?”

She searched our faces. “Where’s Eli?”

Vix jumped back. “Not her. It’s not possible.”

I sat on the other side. “Abi, he’s in class. He needs you to come with us.”

“He does?”

I nodded. “Yes, he has a special surprise planned. You wouldn’t want to ruin it, would you?”

“He wouldn’t like that.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Let me get my things together.”

We watched while she collected clothes and a few items from the bathroom and put them in a bag.

“What’s wrong with her?” Vix whispered.

“I don’t know. We’ll get her home and we’ll figure it out. Tegan can help her.”

Vix grabbed my arm. “What if Tegan is like this too? And Eva?”

I closed my eyes. “Let’s just get her out of here.”

We ushered Abi toward the door. Maya greeted her with a hug, but quickly realized something wasn’t right. It was as if Abi were operating in a sleep state, only with her eyes open.

“What did Eli do?” Maya snarled.

“I don’t know. She’s completely out of it.” I put my hands on her shoulders. “All right, Abi, just a few more steps and then we’ll take you to the surprise.”

“Eli likes it when I make him happy.” She turned to smile at me. It was wide and innocent.

“Good, then he’ll love this.”

We guided her outside and to the car, parked on the next block over. I had a sinking feeling the other Nox might be like this or worse.

Vix paced in the den in the lair. “She doesn’t even know who we are.”

“She will. We just have to figure out what they did to her. She’s here now. She’s safe. That’s the important thing.”

We had coaxed Abi into wearing a blindfold, all part of Eli’s surprise, while we carried her through the woods to the cave. After what Sloan had revealed about how strong her pull toward Ronan was, I didn’t know where Abi’s loyalty lied. It was better if she didn’t know how to get to our location. Eventually, she would discover Eli wasn’t a part of the plan, and there was no way to predict her reaction when she put it all together.

Maya appeared, the flame light illuminating the sadness in her face. “She’s napping. I put her in her room. I showed her pictures of Tegan, but she didn’t recognize her.”

“She will.” I put a shoulder around Maya’s shoulder. “It’s magic, whatever it is. Magic can be undone. There’s always a balance between what is done and undone. It’s the law.”

Vix made another lap. “They’ve brainwashed her. Erased Tegan and us from her memory, so she’ll say yes to Eli. What if she did? What if they bonded? We were too late.”

I shook my head. “No, Case wouldn’t do that. He knows he’ll lose all leverage with me if another Nox leaves.”

“But Sloan left,” she roared.

My eyes shot to hers and she mouthed an apology.

“Once Tegan is back, I’m sure it will trigger something. Abi will come around. And Sloan—it’s going to be more difficult, but we’ll bring her home too.”

None of us was convinced. All the rules were being broken, and I was the one who had started it. I couldn’t promise them Abi and Eli hadn’t bonded. I couldn’t promise them anything. Ronan’s move had shifted things. Sloan was gone.

“Then let’s go get Tegan,” Vix suggested.

“I think I should stay with Abi. She might wake up and not know where she is.” Maya sat on a stone bench. “If it’s ok with you.”

“Of course. Vix and I can handle the rest.”

We left Maya in the lair in charge of taking care of Abi and preparing for us to move. I couldn’t work this hard to get everyone back, just to have someone kidnapped again. We needed to move underground ahead of schedule.

Vix and I walked through the forest.

“It’s getting worse, Dare.”

“I know, but it will get better. It has to.”

She stopped. “Did you hear something?”

I looked ahead. The trail was in sight. “It was probably a jogger.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t care what the rules are anymore. If anyone in the Tribe comes near us again, I can’t promise I won’t attack. Seeing Abi like that changes things.”

I didn’t blame her. The Tribe had pushed us, broken us, changed us.

“Do what you have to do to stay safe, Vix.” I didn’t like saying it, but I couldn’t hold her back. The Nox weren’t killers; at least they weren’t before the kidnappings started.

“Thank you.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

I
stared at him. Seconds passed. Maybe minutes.

“You want me to help you capture a fabled she-panther? Wait. Kidnap a girl that turns into a panther, or a panther that turns—” I stood too quickly, forgetting my leg. “Damn it.”

“Calm down.” He scowled. “Here.” He pulled out an unopened bottle of vodka from a paint can. “Looks like you could use one of these.”

He filled two plastic cups, and shoved one in my hand. “Drink.”

I slung it back. My leg was calling for it. I took a deep breath as if starting from the top would clear up the insanity.

“Explain it to me again.”

Silver unscrewed the lid and poured a second cup for himself. “I’ve needed help for a long time. But one, either people think I’m crazy as hell, or two, they think I’m crazy as hell.” He laughed. “But you don’t because you’ve seen her. Now people will think you’re equally as crazy.”

I raised my palm. “I did see a panther, but I never said I believed she was part human.” I held out my cup, needing a refill. Things like this weren’t real. Shifters were part of folklore; it wasn’t possible. “That’s nowhere in the legend. She can’t be human.”

“She is.” He filled it higher this time. “She’s human like you and me. Only, there’s another side of her—the panther side. That’s what everyone is caught up in.”

I chugged the vodka. It made me forget about my leg. It also made me forget reality.

“So what you’re saying is the town’s legendary panther is really a shifter? And not just any shifter, a girl shifter?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

We were both drunk, but his eyes were clear. His words were certain.

“And why do you want to catch her?” I sat the empty cup on the paint-splattered floor. The messy surface matched my emotions.