Forsaken (9 page)

"Yeah,
things kind of happened fast. I left without really having a chance
to say goodbye to anyone."

Albert
gave me a considering look, one that said he'd heard all of the
rumors that had probably circulated after I'd left and that he was
pretty sure I wasn't telling him the full truth. I did my best to
move the conversation along so that he wouldn't get a chance to grill
me.

"Your
show was really, really good. When did you guys become famous?"

His
chuckle was just as self-deprecating as always. "I'm pretty sure
we're still not famous, but things started moving along pretty well a
little while ago. We put some of our stuff up where people could buy
it, and the next thing we knew, we started getting monthly royalty
checks. It's not enough for all of us to retire in comfort on yet,
but it was enough to support us on a six-month tour. My parents
freaked out when I told them I wanted to drop out of
school and really try to make a go of things with the band, but I
managed to get them to meet me halfway."

"Meaning
you're touring but still doing homework so you can graduate?"

His
smile was just as cute as I remembered it being.

"Pretty
much. That and I've got a two-year window before I need to be
making obscene amounts of money or I'm supposed to go to college. The
fact that I was already eighteen and making enough money to support
myself was probably the only reason I managed to get even two years
out of them."

I
was still reeling from the idea of
Albert
, of all people,
telling his parents that he wanted to drop out of school and become a
rock star.

"So,
can Isaac and I buy a big-time rock star something to eat?"

Albert
shrugged. "I don't know about a big-time rock star, but you can
buy Albert the high-school dropout something to eat. I haven't eaten
since last night."

Isaac
suggested an all-you-can-eat buffet, which I thought was a really
good idea considering how skinny Albert was looking these days. We
jumped on the subway and half an hour later we were sitting inside a
modest-looking restaurant. The conversation on the way there had been
pretty light, but a few seconds after we all made it back to our
table with our food, Isaac looked down at his phone and sighed.

"Sorry,
guys, I need to take this. I'll just be right outside."

Albert
watched Isaac leave and then took a long pull of his Mountain Dew.

"So...you
and Alec?"

"Wow,
you don't waste any time, do you?"

His
smile had hints of the shy math geek I'd known before, but he managed
a breezy wave.

"I'm
a big-time rock star and we can get away with that kind of thing. At
least that's what the rest of the band keeps telling me."

Something
about Albert's presence dulled the sting that Alec's name
usually inflicted on me.

"Alec
is in Sanctuary, and I'm here. That kind of says everything that
needs to be said."

Albert
shook his head. "Come on. I'm a geek at heart, but even I know
better than that. Girls only simplify relationships as a way of
confusing the issue. You guys aren't in the same city, but that
doesn't necessarily mean you aren't talking to each other."

"In
our case it does. I haven't talked to anyone from Sanctuary since I
left. Other than Isaac, I mean, and him showing up here was a complete
surprise."

"So
you guys not talking, was that your idea or his?"

I
was starting to get less and less comfortable with the direction he
was guiding the conversation, but I managed to keep my voice pretty
normal when I finally sighed and responded.

"It
was my idea."

"Your
idea, but you're not sure it was the right thing to have done?"

Maybe
I hadn't done as good of a job keeping my unhappiness out of my tone
after all. I picked up a piece of garlic bread and bit off a corner
as a way of buying myself time.

"I'm
conflicted about a lot of things where Alec is concerned, but I made
the only decision I could at the time."

Apparently
I'd finally given Albert the answer he wanted to hear. He dipped a
shrimp in some marinara sauce and popped it in his mouth.

"Can
we not talk about Alec? I mean there have to be like at least twenty
other people in Sanctuary. I haven't heard anything about any of them
for a couple of months now."

Albert
swallowed his shrimp and then stuck his tongue out at me.

"You're
behind the times. It's eighteen now. Twenty was before you and I left
town. I guess technically, right this instant, it's seventeen because
Isaac is standing outside pretending to talk on his phone while he
keeps a careful eye on the two of us."

My ears heated up. Albert hadn't gotten any less observant since
leaving home to play with a rock band.

"Aren't
you rock stars supposed to be shallow and self-centered? You're not
supposed to catch on to stuff like that."

Albert
shrugged and grabbed another shrimp. "I grew up in Sanctuary.
You develop an odd kind of sixth sense when it comes to weird after
living there for a couple of years."

"Things
are complicated for me right now. Isaac is out here kind of watching
out for me. If you ask him he'll probably tell you he's checking in
on some of Alec's business interests, but you're right, he's here because of
me. Don't spread that around though."

"I
won't say anything about Isaac's current whereabouts. Actually, I'm
glad to see him and know that he's keeping an eye on you. We had
three people disappear a little while after you left."

My face froze, but Albert was reaching for a shrimp, so I was
pretty sure he hadn't seen my reaction.

"Oh,
no! Who was it this time?"

"Sam,
Jack and Alison. You know, I hadn't really connected those three to
the other disappearances, but now that you mention it, every single
person who used to hang out with Brandon is gone now. Sanctuary is
starting to rival Sunnydale when it comes to missing people."

It
took me a second to get the reference. Cindi had been a big-time
Buffy
fan so I'd seen every episode at some point or another, but I
didn't even know what had happened to her DVDs.

"You
know, you're really going to ruin your rock star mystique if you keep
making those kinds of references."

Albert
tapped his chin for a few seconds and then nodded. "Should I
switch to
Vampire Diaries
instead?"

"I'm
not sure. I'm not in the loop very well so I don't know if it's
considered geeky or cool. It's very contemporary, though, so maybe
you'd better steer clear just in case it is geeky."

"Okay,
I'd better retire my 'What Would Damon Do' bling."

He
was funnier now, less shy and more confident, too. My shoulders started to relax.

"Very
funny. Seriously though, I'd like to hear about everyone we left back
there."

"I'm
not sure what to tell you. Not a lot changes in just a few weeks.
Brandon and the rest are gone, so there was a massive hole at the top
of the social food chain. Britney Samuels made a valiant effort at
capturing the top spot, but then just kind of seemed to lose
interest."

That
made me a little sad. Britney had always wanted to be popular. If
that had lost its appeal for her then she probably was going through
a bit of an identity crisis.

"Ben
disappeared too, but not like the others. A couple of people claim to
have talked to him. Supposedly he's out here on the East Coast somewhere
working on cars or something like that. The tutor lab was still
ticking along when I left, but Mrs. Campbell was a little at a loss
for what she was going to do to fill out her staff with you and I
both having left so close to each other. Who else did you want to
know about?"

I
opened my mouth to respond but it clicked shut almost of its own
accord. I wanted to know about Alec, but not really, not enough to
deal with the pain it would involve. Besides, it was unlikely that
Albert could offer any more insight into Alec's mind than Isaac
already had.

"I
guess nobody. I hadn't realized how small my circle of friends was
until just now."

Albert
shrugged. "Don't let it get you too down. You only lived in
Sanctuary for a few months and I've always said that it's quality
that counts more than quantity. I'm your friend, so you can't have
been in too bad of shape."

I
reached over and punched him gently in the arm.

"Careful,
Mr. Rock Star. If this all keeps going to your head then I'll have to
dissolve our friendship."

"You
know that isn't going to happen, Adri. The tattoo and the piercings
are pretty much all just a smokescreen to make the fans think that
I've got the chops to sing. Inside I'm still the same quiet math geek
I've always been."

I
hadn't expected the conversation to take that turn.

"If
you're still the same math geek you've always been then why did you
choose all of this?"

"What
guy doesn't want to be a rock star? Granted, I'll probably never
change the world or anything as a performer, but there's an
excitement there that you don't get anywhere else."

"Excitement...and
girls, obviously."

"Not
really. I mean there could be if I wanted there to be. A couple of
the other guys are nearly out of control right now, but for me
there's only ever been one girl I was really interested in."

My face heated up. The adulation from his fans apparently was
doing more for his assertiveness than I'd realized.

"It's
admirable that you haven't just jumped into bed with a bunch of
groupies. I think we can continue to be friends despite your newfound
fame and fortune."

Albert
had worked his way through his shrimp and now was starting in on his
pizza.

"Newfound
fame I can maybe give you. Fortune is still a long ways off. Some of
the guys are starting to push for us to take a deal from one of the
record companies that are sniffing around. You know, cash in right
now and start living on more than two or three dollars a day."

"But
not you?"

"No,
the way that I see things we're already building a good following on
our own. As crazy as it sounds, people really like our stuff. I think
we should release another couple of albums and see how we do as
independents before we make a final decision as far as signing with a
label. They can offer wider distribution, but they'll take three-
fourths of the proceeds."

"So
for now you tour the East Coast and live on ramen in the hopes of
future millions."

Another
bite of pizza and then a pause while he chewed.

"This
food is good. I mean it's probably just mediocre, but wow, it tastes
good right now. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up, but you've missed
the biggest bonus of all."

"What's
that?"

"Well,
since I don't have to answer to a label, I can schedule our tour
stops wherever I want. I'm thinking that we're suddenly going to be
swinging back through New York a lot over the next few months. Do you
mind if I look you up?"

I
knew he wanted more than just friendship, but I found myself
answering before I'd even paused to consider all of the implications.

"That would be really nice."

Alec Graves
Graves Estate
Sanctuary, Utah

Shawn's
nebulous aid hadn't materialized and I was getting nervous. We hadn't
had another challenger since the one who had ripped Ash up and I was
pretty sure we were past due for our next fight.

I
was in Donovan's study running through our monthly extended business
update when I got a call from Ash.

"Alec,
we've got another car inbound. It's not one that I recognize."

"Okay,
Donovan and I are on our way. Can you call Dom and James?"

"Sure
thing. You want to play things like we did last time?"

That
was the question, a very important, high-stakes question, and despite
having agonized over it for the last week or so, I still hadn't made
up my mind. Ash healed only a little faster than a human would have.
We all healed more slowly from wounds inflicted by other shape
shifters, but Ash really was one of the weakest wolves I'd ever met.
In a straight up fight he was completely overmatched, which was no
doubt the reason that he'd become so proficient with guns.

When
he had the drop on someone, he had a chance at besting them, but it
was virtually guaranteed that our last challenger had already let
Ash's particular cat out of the bag, and he still wasn't moving as
smoothly as he normally did. I waved for Donovan to go get Jess,
partially as a way of buying myself some time and partially because
things hadn't been the same between us since he'd pushed on the Shawn
issue.

"Are
you ready to lead off another match?"

"Honestly?
Probably not, but I don't know that we've got any other options
really. If we don't create a defense in depth we're all pretty much
screwed. That means that Jasmin, Jess, Dom or I need to lead off, and
throwing Dom or Jess out there is like throwing kittens off a
bridge."

I
was far enough away from Donovan that he shouldn't be able to
overhear my conversation. I closed my eyes for a second and asked one
of the questions that had been preying on my mind for the last few
weeks.

"Ash,
why are you still here? There is really nothing stopping you from
taking Kristin and heading for the hills."

I
could hear him pop the magazine out of his handgun and then slam it
back home with a sense of finality.

"We
have a deal, Alec. I know you don't have your crap together right
now. Hell, the entire world knows that you're not at the top of your
game. You may be only going through the motions, but you're at least
doing that much. The rest of the pack has seen some crazy action over
the last couple of years, but in a lot of ways they are still kind of
naive when it comes to how the world works. You saved Kristin when
you'd have been a lot smarter to have just sent us on our way. As
long as you don't throw me under a bus, I'm going to stand with you
and just hope your power clicks into place sooner rather than later."