Fragile Brilliance (Shifters & Seers) (25 page)

“The painting isn’t his normal style, but he has the skill to do it,” Maggie said. “But do you think he’s really capable of something like this?”

Jase snorted. “I’ve read
Midnight of the Mighty
, and I’m telling you, that guy is screwed up. I definitely think he could have done it.”

Some other names were tossed around, but everyone kept coming back to Stroud. After about ten minutes of discussion, Charlie was ready to storm out into the night and hold the guy accountable, but Liam held him back.

“We’re not making the same mistake we did before and focus on one suspect,” he said when Charlie suggested an interrogation team pay the good professor a little visit. “We’ll take our time, and gather evidence. We’ll look at other options. And then, when we’re convinced of who is behind this, they will find out that this Alpha Pack isn’t as weak as everyone believes us to be.”

“It’s perfect.”

Maggie leaned back against Charlie’s chest, enjoying the weight of his arms wrapped around her waist. The vase sat on the table in front of them, fresh from the final firing.

“I did it,” she giggled. She knew eventually she would look at it with a critical eye and see things she could have done better, but at this moment she was reveling in the giddiness of having it finished. She’d spent so much time and exerted so much energy creating the piece she’d been too nervous to even open the kiln. Seeing her panic, Charlie made her leave the room. When she came back in, it was sitting on the table, a light positioned directly above it. Even from the door she was able to see the pattern clearly on the outside.

“I say we celebrate,” she said, spinning in his arms so she could reach his lips. Even though she’d had open access to his perfect mouth for a week now, she still marveled over the way he let her touch him, and the way he responded. She thought the growls and pawing would fade with the moon in the sky, but if anything, Charlie was getting more…
interactive
as time went on. Not that Maggie was complaining. No, the only complaint Maggie currently had was the studio didn’t have a couch where they could make themselves more comfortable.

Well, maybe not so much comfortable as lateral since Maggie didn’t feel truly comfortable anywhere on campus anymore. Liam called in some more Shifters from the Den in Romania to help with the investigation. Every night they had a meeting to discuss their findings, and every night more names got put up on the suspect board. Everyone was getting freaked out, including Scout, which was enough for Maggie to get freaked out all over again.

Charlie’s mouth left hers to travel to her earlobe and all thoughts about murder suspects and Scout scattered at the onslaught of full-body tingles running from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.

“Good grief, you two. Get a room.”

Maggie jerked back at the sound of Reid’s voice, but Charlie didn’t seem to care about how the situation looked. He allowed Maggie to put some distance between their faces, but he kept her body pressed tight against his.

“We have a room,” Charlie said. “And we’d like to have it back. Good-bye, Reid.”

“Ha ha. You’re a funny, funny guy,” she deadpanned as she walked over to the table where the vase was. “Ooooh. Pretty.” She reached for it, and all the oxygen in Maggie’s lungs disappeared. But before Reid could make contact, Charlie’s hand clamped onto her wrist.

“No touching. It’s fra-gee-lay.”

“Wait a minute,” Maggie said, smacking Charlie’s hand away from Reid. She knew it was ridiculous, but she didn’t like seeing him touch her. “I’m African, Chinese, and Scottish. Not Italian.”

They both giggled at their own cheesy cleverness while Reid looked between the two of them, her forehead folded in confusion.

“Is there a chance you two were possessed by pod people over Thanksgiving? Maybe you body swapped with some really happy, touchy-feely people?”

“Hey. I’ve always been happy.”

Reid smiled at Maggie indulgently. “Of course you have, sweetie. Those little lines around your mouth probably were from bad moisturizer.”

“I don’t have lines around my mouth,” Maggie said, her hand worrying over the corners of her lips self-consciously.

“I don’t
see
any lines.” Charlie leaned in until his breath was tickling over her jaw. “Maybe I need to see if I can feel any. Hmmm… tongues are really sensitive. I should probably use that…”

“Charlie!”

Even Maggie didn’t know if her squeaked exclamation was because of his boldness in front of Reid or because as he was moving closer to follow through on his threat all the lights went out.

“Okay, did I just go blind, or did it get tomb-like dark in here?” There was just enough light for Maggie to see a spasm of movement, which she took to be Reid’s arms.

“Reid, don’t move. You might hit the vase.” But still she flailed about. Maggie heard a rustling of clothes behind her, then the sound of something being placed on the next table.

“Moved it to safety,” Charlie muttered in her ear.

There are definite advantages to having a boyfriend with supernatural senses
, Maggie thought. She literally couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, but he was able to perform a ceramic vase rescue mission.

Charlie’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and because it was the only light source in the room, Maggie couldn’t help but look at the screen when he pulled up the message from Joshua.

“Power has been cut. Video feed gone.”

“Most probable source is the basement.”

“Backup is on the way.”

Maggie’s knees went wobbly. “We need to get out,” she said to Charlie, not caring Reid was there and would think they were crazy. Crazy was better than dead any day.

She felt, rather than saw, Charlie shake his head. “Let me go see what is happening,” he whispered into her ear. He kissed the spot where her pulse rammed against her neck with a techno beat. “Just stay put, and if you have to, use this.” He slipped something into her pocket. The weight pressed against her leg, and a quick exploration with her fingers revealed a gun.

She might have felt safer if she had any idea how to use it. As it was, she was now worried about accidentally shooting herself in the leg.

“Stay,” she mouthed, hoping his super-vision enabled him to see her in the dark.

“Are you guys seriously doing the nasty over there?” Reid sounded oddly offended and put out for a girl who was known to have sex with Boyfriend in hall closets and empty classrooms. “I swear, if my phone wasn’t in the metalworking studio, I would totally be spot-lighting you right now.”

There was a zipping noise, and then Charlie said, “Oh well. I guess if you feel that way about it, I’ll put these clothes back on and go see if I can figure out what happened to the lights.” Reid made a gagging noise, and Maggie’s face shot up in flames. “Be right back,” he said, giving Maggie’s hand a squeeze.

Don’t go! Someone might be down there! They might hurt you!

But Maggie didn’t scream after him like she wanted, because it wouldn’t have done any good. Charlie wouldn’t give up, and he didn’t care he could get hurt or worse. She could have followed, but what good would that do if someone really was out there? At best, she would fumble around and not help matters at all. At worst, she would get them both killed. No, the best thing she could do would be to sit there and hope he made it back safely.

Well, sit around, hope he made it back safely, and tattle.

“Charlie went off to find whoever cut the power. Hurry,” she texted to the oh-so-convenient list she’d programmed into her phone that included every person who would storm in, kicking ass and taking names, if they knew Charlie was in danger.

Jase texted back a string of cuss words, Joshua said he was working on getting the power back, and Scout said they were still ten minutes out.

“Yo, Phone Hoarder. Pull up a light on that thing and let’s get out of here.”

Maggie jumped at the sound of Reid’s voice. She was so busy with being trapped in the dark and freaking out over the way Charlie could be dying at that very moment, she’d forgotten she wasn’t just stuck in the room, she was stuck with
Reid
.

She supposed it could be worse, although she couldn’t come up with any good examples of how.

“We don’t know what is going on. We might run into something if we left.” As far as made-up excuses went, it was on the terrible side of lame, enough so Reid didn’t even bother acknowledging it.

“Come on. This crazy darkness if freaking me out. The metalworking shop has more than one window. We’ll at least be able to see each other.”

Maggie didn’t want to leave - she felt most comfortable in her studio and Charlie had asked her to stay - but Reid had a point. Standing around in the dark wasn’t doing anyone any good.

Reid insisted on taking control of Maggie’s phone, leading them through the building. Even though it was a weeknight, very few people seemed to be around. One of the glassblowers was leaned out a window, blowing the smoke from his joint into the alley between their building and the Admissions Office, and two of the dancers were doing some back-breaking stretches near the door where what little moonlight the night offered spilled in.

Maggie hadn’t actually been in the metalworking shop since the first week of school. It was forever away from the ceramic studio, and since Maggie never actually sought Reid and Boyfriend out, she had no reason to traipse over there.

The first thing she noticed when walking through the door was the smell. It was an odd mixture of earth and chemicals. The earth was coming from a mound of fresh dirt sitting beside the forge, ready to smother out the flames. The chemicals…

Well, she wasn’t really sure where they were coming from, but this was the metalworking shop. Who knew what those guys did.

The second thing she noticed was the crucifix.

“What in the hell…?”

It wasn’t huge, maybe three feet tall, but it seemed to take up most of the room. As far as skill went, it was amazing. No doubt the artist had immense talent.

Too bad their art made Maggie want to throw up.

“What do you think?” Boyfriend flicked a piece of imaginary dust off the figure. “I know this isn’t how it really works, but I was making a statement, you know?”

Maggie could only stare mutely at the figure on the cross. It had the body of a human and the head of a wolf. Into its stomach was carved the word “abomination”. Instead of eyes, it had hollowed out sockets.

“Reid didn’t like the cross. She thought I was comparing you guys to Jesus, but I explained to her how crucifixion is one of the most painful, humiliating forms of public execution, and she eventually started liking the idea. Didn’t you, babe?”

Maggie glanced at the door, calculating if she could make it.

“Not happening,” Boyfriend said as if reading her mind. “Even if you were faster than me, I can have a knife stuck in your back before you make it to the hall.”

“Charlie—“

“Is locked in the basement. When Reid told me he’d wandered down there after I cut the power, I realized how much better it would be for you both to die alone.”

Reid pulled a phone out her pocket and did her best
The Price Is Right
Showcase Showdown presentation. “Turns out I had it with me all this time. Silly me.”

Maggie was dreaming. Or maybe the gas fumes were making her high. That had to be what was going on. No way was this happening.

“Why? How?” Reid. And
Boyfriend
. Maggie’s mind went back to Barros’s body and all the wires and tools used to pose him.

All the wires and tools a metalworker would know how to use.

“Why?” she asked again, panic and terror making her voice quake.

“Why? Because you’re all an abomination.” His words were even more disturbing because of the casual way he said them. “Because God never meant for you to exist.” He raised his arms out to his side. “I’m merely trying to send you all back to hell where you belong.”

“Us?”

“Your kind. Shifters and Seers,” Reid said. “Can you imagine my surprise at finding out you’re a Seer? I mean, I came to this school to eradicate the world of such demons, and they had gone and given me one as a roommate.” She smiled, which made her look all the more crazy. “It was a sign. God is on our side.”

“God? You’re not even religious.”

“Religious isn’t the same as spiritual, Maggie. Of course, as one of the damned, you probably can’t understand the difference.”

Reid was insane. Like over-the-cuckoo’s-nest insane. No way did Maggie believe this had anything to do with God. She was just using the big guy upstairs as an excuse to screw with people’s lives.

And Boyfriend… disturbed was the word that came to mind, especially as Maggie watched him play with a wicked looking knife appearing from God only knows where. He’d always seemed off, disconnected in a way that spoke of anger, bitterness, and a whole host of ugly thoughts and emotions, but this was beyond anything she’d imagined.

They were bat-shit crazy, and they were going to kill her.

Bizarrely, the thing worrying Maggie the most was knowing Charlie would never forgive himself for not saving her. The robot would return, more cold and emotionless than before.

But at least he will survive
, the part of her living in hope whispered, confident he could hold his own against them.
And maybe, with time, he’ll heal. He’s done it before, and he can do it again.

“You realize they will find you, right? That even if you kill me here today, they will hunt you down and give your twisted minds a lesson in pain and torture? These aren’t some backwoods coyotes you’ve picked a fight with. This is the Alpha Pack.”

“A stolen title for a freak among freaks,” Boyfriend said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not worried.”

“You will be,” Maggie bluffed. “Soon.”

Surely ten minutes had passed. She couldn’t be certain because when the world goes crazy, apparently time perception goes MIA, but she thought ten minutes had passed. Liam or Scout was going to burst through the door any minute and save the day.