Shadow Bloodlines (Shadow Bloodlines #1) (12 page)

“Your blood is killing him!” I screamed at Jack, my father, cradling Amar’s head in my lap and holding down his arms as best I could while Jacqui pressed her weight down on his legs.

“What the hell did you do?” Jacqui’s voice sounded hoarse. “A blood ritual’s not supposed to do this.”

“You knew this would happen?” Of course she did. She’d have the privilege of being raised by her shifter father. Unlike me. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t know it would do this!” she shot back. “Maybe Amar’s too ancient and his shifter too screwed up for it to work.”

“Maybe you’re yelling ‘cause you know more than you’re saying,” I murmured under my breath.

The floor swayed from more than the waves underneath us as my emotions overwhelmed me.

Jack, or Jonathan, or whatever he wanted to call himself, reached over and helped hold Amar’s arms down. I couldn’t think of him as my dad. Not now. Maybe not ever. I’d been stupid to trust him. I didn’t even know him.

“Just let him ride it out.” His brow pinched. “I’m sure the seizure will subside in a moment. I didn’t know this would happen, but blue-ringed octopuses are poisonous to humans.”

“You knew this? That there was a chance this would happen?”

His eyes widened. “No. I’ve only done this once before, and the shifter, who had a possum spirit animal, was immune to my poison.” His brow furrowed and red spots dotted his cheeks through his beard. Maybe he didn’t really know. “Even if stung, the effects of the poison will wear off humans and, since Amar isn’t fully human, hopefully, it will wear off much quicker.”

Amar stilled and my throat closed. He wasn’t breathing! I leaned over to make sure and didn’t feel his breath against my cheek. Maneuvering around, I laid his head down on the wooden floor, then shuffled over to his side.

I began the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation I’d learned being a lifeguard for three summers in a row. I did compressions while I counted, then moved back to his mouth. I glanced at Jacqueline beside me for a split second, but her eyes filled with tears and she pressed her fists to her chest. “Do something.”

“I-I don’t know CPR.” Her voice filtered through my counting.

“Let me help.” Jonathan shifted and brushed a hand on my arm.

“No!” I didn’t want him to touch him. My heart clenched. He can’t die. Amar can’t be dead. “Don’t leave me!” I could do nothing else but breathe for him, use my weight to compress his ribcage over his heart and repeat.

Finally, when my arms felt as though they were filled with lead and I doubted I could lift them again, Amar breathed a warm sigh against my lips.

The rise and fall of his chest made my heart clench. He was alive.

I leaned back but kept a hand on Amar’s arm. Then I glared at my dad. “Tell me the truth… if you are capable of it. What did you do, exactly?” My words were scratchy, and I wiped a hand over my cheek, shocked to find wetness there.

Jonathan retreated in the tiny room until he was sitting on the floor against the sink. “He’s ancient. Sorry, I didn’t know he’d react that strongly to the ritual, or I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Right.” I brushed a lock of Amar’s hair off his forehead avoiding, putting pressure from my knees onto his wings. At least he was breathing now, and my own lungs released a bit. “We never should have come here.” My gut twisted. What if Amar stayed in this coma-like state? Or had brain damage? Had Jonathan done this to keep him from interfering? What if he worked for Ms. Moor and had used Amar to trap us all here?

If Ms. Moor and her goons had succeeded in killing me, Amar would still be a statue and Jacqueline would be safe at home. And would it be better that way?

“Look.” Jacqui scooted away from Amar and bumped into the table.

Each black feather in his wings was vibrating, almost lifting him off the floor. Then one by one, his feathers curled into themselves and vanished in a snap. With a grunt I moved back, easing his head off the floor and onto a pillow that she handed me.

“Where are his wings?” Had Jonathan maimed him?

“They’re fine. He’s shifted completely into his human form.” Looking up at me and apparently seeing distrust in my eyes, Jonathan continued, “He’ll be able to transform back at will. Now though, he won’t be a burden.”

How the hell did he know what a burden was? He’d lived out here on the ocean for years without responsibilities, playing tinker with cars and frying up fish.

“It was a risk, but he accepted it.” Jonathan nodded, as though that would validate his actions.

I scrambled to my feet and Jonathan and Jacqui followed. The wood panel behind me scratched my back. “What risk? You mean him not waking up again?” I shoved Jonathan and he held up his hands. “Just what are you trying to pull?”

“And why didn’t you tell me about this… that this could happen?” I turned toward her.

She squared her shoulders. “I’ve only heard pieces about it. And I’ve never witnessed it until now, nor knew what it would do to him.” She placed her arms on her hips, but a tremor sounded in her voice. “If you want to be mad at someone, don’t throw this in my face, I’m not to blame.”

Reining in my temper, I took a shuddering breath. “Fine.” I addressed Jonathan, “When will he wake up?” My fingers brushed aside a lock of his dark hair from Amar’s face. Amar looked different without the wings. I wanted to wake him with kisses. Even now, my lips tingled from where I had given him mouth-to-mouth.

“He’ll probably be out until the morning,” Jonathan answered and his voice soft. “Best to let the magic finish completely and let him wake on his own.”

“What happens if we wake him before then?” I squeezed my hands into fists. I didn’t want to know the answer but knew I had to. Anxious, my insides screamed at me as though someone had filled them with hot gasoline.

“He might never be able to shift into his… prior form. The wings, they’d be gone forever.”

Shit! Not good. So Amar was helpless until morning? I didn’t know what it was like to have wings, but I assumed it would devastate Amar if he was suddenly without his. He’d already given up his other shifter animal and the ability to transform completely into any animal. I didn’t want to add the sacrifice of his wings to his payment.

The cabin stifled me. I only wanted to be with Amar, but Jonathan and even Jacqui’s presence was crowding me. “I-I need some air.” Without waiting for their response, I tore outside onto the ship’s deck.

The sun faded behind clouds and I clutched my arms, rubbing them to take away the chill.

A thought bore into me and I grasped the railing to keep from falling. What if what he had destroyed Amar’s hawk shifter? And he never had his wings again?

Even though I hadn’t known I was a shifter last week, the realization of his potential loss made bile creep into my throat. I had to find out, I spun around to find Jonathan behind me.

“Now, if you’re done yelling at me, maybe we can go for a walk and talk?” Jonathan raised his eyebrows.

“No, I want to stay here and watch Amar.” What if he awoke when I was gone?

“He’ll be asleep until morning, most likely.” He shuffled his feet as though nervous.

“Go ahead.” Jacqueline waved us on from the cabin’s doorway. “Just bring me back a burger or something. I’ll stay here and watch out for birdbo—Amar.”

“And if the Blood Spirits come while we’re gone?” He looked from me to her.

Was it wise to let him know her shifter power? I didn’t see how he could use it against us. “She’s a chameleon. So, she’ll be able to conceal herself and Amar if anyone shows up.”

“You have that ability too. Or at least for yourself.” He grabbed a pair of fishing boots and stuffed his feet inside.

Was that what had happened at the pool with the coach? Maybe that was why Ms. Moor and her goons hadn’t noticed me sitting at the bottom of the pool? I thought it was because they couldn’t see into the corner I was in and believed anyone in there would have to come up for air after a few minutes.

“Let’s go.” I squeezed past Amar, and scuttled through the door and was on the dock before Jonathan shut the cabin door.

I still didn’t trust him and wished I would have brought a knife or something to protect myself with. I doubted my amateur skills against my father’s octopus would even help. If he tried anything, I’d scream and stay in a public place. He couldn’t do anything to me there.

We walked in silence as the sun darkened red and threw splotches of purple, red, and orange against the sky. At first, I thought he was heading toward the hotel restaurant, but he sidestepped the entryway and kept moving straight ahead.

I glanced at him as we walked. Until now, I hadn’t really looked at him. Too much had happened so fast. He stood about six feet with a messy mop of brown hair with grey highlighting around his face. His cheeks shone red from what I guessed was the sun, sea, and salty air. In the picture I had, he didn’t wear a beard. But I knew his jawline was square with a jutting chin like mine.

“Where are we going?” I tried not to sound as nervous as I felt. Part of me wanted to stay by Amar’s side. The other part wanted to learn as much as I could from him before I left. Even if I didn’t know or trust him, Jonathan was the best shot I had at learning quickly.

“There’s a Cajun seafood place around the corner. Best food on the island.” He slowed his pace so I caught up with him. “And it’s got a secluded table next to the kitchen. Not many people will sit there, but I do. It lets me see the whole place and if I need to escape, there’s an exit on the other side of the kitchen.”

Did he live his whole life knowing where all the exits were? Was that how all shifters lived? Jacqueline and her parents had moved around a lot before they settled here in seventh grade – they’d even covered their tracks with fake names and a fake death.

“So. You said some things earlier about Mom. Stuff I didn’t know you knew.” We ducked inside a low hanging building that looked more like a house than a restaurant. I wasn’t in the mood to eat, but I’d take something back for Jacqui and Amar. Even if he didn’t wake until morning, maybe he’d be starving and welcome the food.

Tables and chairs took up every square inch of space, and I weaved through waiters and patrons following Jonathan, my dad, to the back corner. Candle lights flickered on every table and against bright pink walls.

The spice smell of cayenne, onions, and fish made my stomach rumble in appreciation. But bile rose in my throat at the thought of eating.

Jonathan took the chair against the wall on one side and a swinging kitchen door on the other. Clanking of knives on metal and water running made me move the empty chair across from him to the wall perpendicular from him. I didn’t want my back to face the whole place either.

A waitress came over and handed us menus and ice water. I glanced over the choices and decided a shrimp Po-boy for Amar. Jacqui didn’t like seafood, so I ordered a pork one for her. Dad ordered corn cake and a bowl of gumbo.

“I like spicy food.” He handed our menus to the waitress and looked over at me. “Do you?”

“Yeah, I grew up in Texas, home of TexMex.” I took a sip of water, then cleared my throat. “I think Mom kept things about you from me to protect me. Or maybe you asked her to?” I shrugged. “Either way, you’d better tell me everything now or I’ll need training on how to use my powers and…”

He held up his hands. “Whoa. One thing at a time.” He tucked his napkin into his lap, then leaned forward until his elbows rested on the table. “I met your mother here at a carnival twenty-one years ago…”

“I know this part.” I leaned back in my chair. “You and she had a whirlwind romance for two months. When she told you she was pregnant, you disappeared.”

His eyebrows rose into his greying hair.

Wait! Did he just say twenty-one years? I was eighteen.

“I think your mom left out a bunch.” He took a sip of his coffee and wiped his brownish grey beard with his napkin when a few drops spilled. “It was for your safety.”

“But how is me not knowing about you, or that I’m a shifter, protecting me? It nearly got me killed.” I didn’t realize my voice was rising until he hushed me.

“Let me tell you the story and you can ask questions after, okay?” He reached out to touch my hand, but I pulled back. “I met your mother in the Keys at a carnival. She was beautiful and smart.” He leaned back and his eyes held a faraway look in them. Despite his age, however old he was, he didn’t have the beer gut I’d seen on many older men. “We moved around the mainland for over a year, then discovered she was pregnant with you. We were both excited.”

If he was so enamored with my mom and the idea of a baby, then why did he leave?

“You were such a happy baby.”

I spewed my water and grabbed my napkin to clean up the mess. The waitress brought our food. “I’ll bring your to-go orders out when you’re ready, sweetie.”

Thanking her, I wished I could eat, but my appetite was gone, no matter how delicious the food smelled.

“You should eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.” I crossed my arms. When his eyebrows rose and a look of pain crossed his face, I rescinded. “Maybe later.”

He ate his food while my thoughts swirled inside me. I needed to know more. My dad had been with me as an infant? Then why had he left? Taking a guess that it had to do with the Blood Spirits, I let him eat several bites before I asked.