Heroes of Falledge Book One: Black Hellebore (18 page)

"You'll be there?"

Big Don laughed again. "Of course not. My men will bring you back to me."

"Alive?"

"You doubt me? How touching. My men will not harm you. They will blindfold you though," he warned. "Will you come and hear me out?

"I doubt it."

"That cat you toyed with?"

Nicholas inhaled sharply before he could stop himself.

"I know about it. And who owns it. Summer Bridge. Seven. Don't be late."

The call ended.

Nicholas tossed the phone from one hand to the other. If Big Don wanted him for a job, he should be relatively safe, even in his weakened human form. As much as he wanted to stand up the mob boss, he knew where he would be going tonight.

*****

The Black Hellebore arrived at the bridge at five after seven, deliberately late. Two guys with huge guns on their backs sat on the hood of a dark car.

Nicholas approached them. He knew a third guy lurked behind him -- he could smell him -- and his muscles twitched, ready to take him out. Instead he held still and allowed himself to be blindfolded over his mask.

The ride was short, and Nicholas concentrated on all of the turns, fairly confident he could return here again on his own. The goons roughly ushered him out of the car, into a building, and down several flights of stairs.

"Remove the blindfold," Big Don ordered.

Nicholas blinked against the sudden bright light. He stood in a warehouse. Several boxes lined the wall. He had a feeling most were filled with weapons and ammo.

Crossing his arms, he asked, "What's your proposition?"

Big Don wiggled his fingers, and his goons backed off, leaving them alone in the huge room. He lifted a glass filled with red liquid and held it out to Nicholas. When he didn't take it, Big Don drained it. "Ah, delicious."

"Get to it."

Big Don raised a thick eyebrow. "You may not be mine, but I will not tolerate being spoken to in such a tone."

"You threaten Falledge, you threaten me. Those that threaten me end up dead."

Big Don picked up another glass and swallowed another gulp. "I do like your attitude. You remind me of me."

"I am nothing like you."

"You don't know me, or my story, so who are you to judge?"

"No sob story can wipe out the destruction your mob has caused in Lightmeadow."

"Enough."

Nicholas cracked his knuckles. "The monster. Its owner."

Big Don poured himself another glass, his back to Nicholas.

"You don't know its owner, do you?" Nicholas guessed. Anger grew within him, geared both toward the mob boss and himself. He had been played a fool for believing the boss would tell him anything.

But, if Nicholas had to guess, the white figure had something to do with the monster. And that curious comment the guy had made, about unfinished business...

The only guess Nicholas had was the guy from the laboratory, but he had died.

Hadn't he?

Who knew what those chemicals could have done? After all, magic and the black hellebore had transformed Nicholas into a superhero.

"You're wasting my time," Nicholas growled.

"Not at all. I want you to destroy the beast for me."

"Why?"

"This afternoon, it killed two of my men."

Nicholas frowned. That was fast. Why hadn't Julianna told him about this development? Unless she didn't know because it happened in Lightmeadow.

"How do you know it was the monster?"

"They were torn from limb to bloody limb. Just believe me, it was the monster."

A slight sheen of sweat dotted Big Don's forehead. The beast scared him.

Nicholas smiled. Now that, he could work with. "What's in it for me?"

"I have reason to believe the cat, or whatever it is, will not stop going after a mark once it picks one. Sure would be a shame if it targeted your lady cop."

Nicholas glowered. "I don't--"

"Want to risk her life? You know you're going to go after it anyhow."

"I don't take orders from you, and I never will."

The Big Don's large lips curled upward. "Do it and I will see to it you are justly rewarded."

Nicholas opened his mouth to put the mobster in his place but stopped. Surely, Big Don would pay him a pretty penny for this.

Not that he could take blood money.

Still, with that money, Nicholas would never have to worry about another meal again.

No. He had a job and a place to live. Why would he ruin everything he had worked so hard to obtain?

How hard had he worked? Julianna had gotten him the job, and he lived with Ginny. He didn't have a place of his own. Like it or not, he
had
accepted handouts. Why he had thought differently before, he didn't know, but he now recognized his weakness.

He was broken.

The two goons appeared at his side, and he didn't resist as they blindfolded him. When he entered Ginny's place a short time later, he sat down on the sofa, his head in his hands. Ever since the... change, or whatever you call it, he hadn't needed to sleep much at all. Now, sleep claimed him within seconds.

*****

One knock. Nick shuffled his feet and knocked again. He shouldn't be nervous, not anymore. They had been together for years now. Justina was still the most beautiful girl he had ever met, the most adventurous, the most fun. He had to have her in his life. Whenever they were apart, he thought of her, wanted to be with her, was planning their next bit of craziness.

He couldn't imagine life without her.

The door opened. "Hey, Nick."

He smiled, frowned, and smiled again.

"You know, I should be offended." Julianna rolled her eyes. "She'll be down in a minute."

She opened the door, and he walked inside and plopped down on the sofa. Papers covered the coffee table.

He reached for one. "What's the latest article about?"

Julianna snatched it from him. "You'll have to read it in the newspaper."

Nick leaned back. Three... two... one.

"Okay. It's about water fountains. One of the science classes did an experiment on them and found a ton of bacteria. It's disgusting!"

"So you want them cleaned more?"

"Yes! And I want the other schools in the county to test theirs and make sure they're clean, too." Her eyes lit up like Justina's did when she suggested something devilish.

"Julianna the hero."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a--"

"Julianna the germ killer."

"Nick," she whined. "I'm just a reporter."

"Editor," he teased.

"I'll be a reporter. Just you wait."

"I'm sure you will be. You'll be the best. Unbiased. Only report the facts."

"Yes. Black or white. Right or wrong. If the truth comes out, how can people waffle between issues? Everything is cut and dry."

"Which means we're black and wrong, Nick." Justina bounded down the stairs, her glistening blond curls bouncing up and down.

Julianna grinned. "Maybe white's wrong."

"Ah, but you're not denying the wrong part. I see how it is." Justina picked up several pieces of paper. "One day, the front page of a huge newspaper is going to have a huge article by Julianna Paige."

Julianna's grin grew.

"How to know if an issue is black or white," Justina said in a mock-serious voice.

"How to know if your opinion is wrong," Nick added.

"How to know if you should have fun," Justina continued. "Here's a hint: the answer is no."

"You guys are awful." Julianna put her hands on her hips, but even she had to giggle when Nick and Justina burst out laughing.

"You know we love you." Julianna kissed her twin's cheek.

"Love you guys. Now go. Have fun." Julianna managed to wait until they reached the front door to add, "And stay out of too much trouble."

"Don't worry, we're always good." Justina grinned recklessly and wrapped her arms through Nick's.

His heart raced as it always did when she was so close to him.

They were both oddly quiet on the ride over to a restaurant. Normally, they had less formal dates, but Nick had insisted this once. The last restaurant date had been a dine and dash, but Nick pressed for a real one this time. He had something to ask Justina, and he wanted things to go perfectly.

Chapter Thirty-One

The sound of an ambulance woke Nicholas. It was still dark outside. He stood and cracked his neck in both directions. His entire body ached. Pain was a new feeling in this second life.

Despite Gavina's warning, he changed into his superhero attire. After donning his mask, he opened the door.

Gavina stood in front of him, her arms crossed. She cocked her head to the right, her bright pink winged earring dangling long enough to touch her shoulder. "And where do you think you're going?"

He brushed past her to stand on the sidewalk. Using his sharper vision, he scanned the street. Black spots appeared, and he shook them away. Next, he used his hearing, but soon even Gavina's breathing beside him faded and he couldn't hear anything.

Nicholas hung his head. "What's wrong with me?" he muttered.

"Nothing." Gavina squeezed his shoulder. Although he knew she had a crush on him, there was nothing sexual in her touch, and for once, her voice was serious. "You just have to rest. We all do."

"Superheroes aren't supposed to have weaknesses."

"Superheroes aren't supposed to exist either. Go back to bed."

Feeling like a dog with its tail between its legs, Nicholas reentered Ginny's house and moved the curtain aside. Gavina was already gone. With a sigh, he lay down, unable to settle or get back to sleep.

When the sun began to climb in the sky, he was almost surprised Falledge had survived without him. As if the town couldn't. It had been just fine before he had returned.

It was strange. For so long he had hated this town and everything it had represented, but now, he was starting to fall back in love with it. Just like ten years ago, there were a lot of good people here, people he loved. There were also people he couldn't stand. He might have waited too long to confront Bobby back then, but he had no reason to back down from a fight now.

Especially when that Skull Krusher guy was on the loose and his vicious monster pet.

Damn it all, why couldn't that bastard've just died in the goo? Why did he have to go and transform into whatever the hell he was now?

'Course, Skull Krusher was probably thinking the same thing about him.

Work was slow and tedious that day, and Nicholas waited until nightfall to wear his mask. He was a superhero, so one night of rest should be enough.

Thankfully, Gavina didn't make another appearance. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about her. Gratitude, yes; respect, begrudgingly; annoyance, without a doubt.

He walked up and down the streets of his city, keeping his eyes alert for any white figures or monsters, careful to use his human sight.

The sound of glass breaking behind him stopped him short. Nicholas whirled around to see a man leap through a broken window.

He entered the house thirty seconds later. His chest grew tight. His wheezing was much too loud.

The burglar faced him, an HD player in his hand. "Beat it, I've got this joint."

Nicholas stood up tall and took a few breaths to calm down. "Now you listen to me. You better leave or--"

The guy threw the player at Nicholas. His reaction time was far too slow, and it collided into his head. Bright lights danced before him, and by the time he could see again, the guy was running upstairs.

Where were the owners? Nicholas tore after him. He was halfway up the stairs when a dark piece of furniture hobbled down the steps toward him. In the dim lightning, Nicholas couldn't see what it was until it slammed into his chest, and he tumbled down the stairs. A large computer desk chair.

With a groan, Nicholas shoved the chair away and climbed to his feet. Loud crashing and smashing was going on upstairs. He dragged his body up the steps, leaning heavily against the banister.

Someone waited for him at the top. Nicholas lunged forward with his fist. Soft hands touched his temples, and his eyes closed of their own accord. Then he felt nothing, a violent gust of wind, and then nothing again.

He opened his eyes, blinked several times, closed them, and opened them again. Somehow, Gavina had transported him to the sidewalk in front of Ginny's house.

"What the--"

"You have to relax."

"Damn it, witch, leave me be!" Nicholas headed toward the porch steps, but his legs refused to cooperate and he fell.

To add insult to injury, Gavina helped him up. "You have to stop this."

He glowered, hating himself for appreciating her aid with easing him onto a porch chair. "Why didn't you stop me like you did yesterday? Before I went out?"

She shrugged, some of her mother hen-ish features disappearing into youthful gaiety. "I got caught up watching a documentary."

"On what?" He tried to speak up, but his voice came out quieter than intended, as if even his voice was overworked.

"Witches. Completely wrong, by the way. A total waste of my time. Anyhow--"

"I have to get going. There's a burglary in progress--"

"And someone else can deal with it."

He winced, knowing that someone else would have to be Julianna. As if she didn't have enough to deal with already. "But--" Now his voice sounded hardly audible.

"You aren't in any condition to fight anyone, even someone with no weapons. You'll get hurt. Or killed."

"But--"

"If I have to stay here all night for the rest of this week, I will."

He lowered his chin to his chest. She was right, and he knew it. He tried to talk, but nothing came out. So, he pointed at her, then in the direction of the burglary.

"You want me to go after the robber?"

He nodded.

"Not gonna happen.
You
can save the world. Once you're better, of course." She plopped down on the other chair. "So whatcha want to talk about?"

Nicholas closed his eyes, and instantly, sleep claimed him.