Silver (12 page)

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“Don't do what?” Jonah holds me against him. He traces his index finger down my cheek. The motion is eerily soft.

Bile rises in my throat.

He cups my chin in his hand and tilts my head up so that I'm forced to look into his dark eyes. “I never in a million years would have suspected Brianna Paxton. Hiding in the shadows of her hot little friends.” He laughs to himself.

I manage to lift my foot and come down hard on his instep.

He doesn't flinch. His left hand grabs my neck. “You wanna fight?” He squeezes, cutting off my breath, letting up only when I gasp for air. “Don't tempt me to end this early.”

“From what I understand, you can't help ending early
.
” My voice is raspy and dry, but my meaning is clear.

His eyes widen and his grip around my neck tightens. “You have nerve even showing up here, at the home of a
giolla
.”

Giolla
?
“Where's Blake?” I rasp, hoping to buy some time. I hear laughter from around the corner. We're not far from the party. Someone might hear us if I can get him to let go long enough to scream.

“You think Blake will help you?” Jonah's hand tightens, making me gasp again. His thumb presses hard where my pulse throbs. “He'll be first in line to rip your heart out.”

He pushes me backward, thrusting his foot behind my knee and sending me sprawling to the grass. He does nothing to slow the momentum of my fall. My back hits the ground fast and hard. I want to scream at the shock of pain, but I can't get a breath. He's on top of me before I can do anything, his fingers back around my neck. His body is a dead weight, trapping me against the grass and dirt. The earth is cold and unforgiving. I try to find some connection to it. There is nothing.

Jonah's leg pushes between my legs. I try to kick. I can't move beneath his weight. My arms are pinned to my sides by his body. My stomach heaves. I'm going to puke.

“Brianna!”

At the sound of Austin's voice, Jonah freezes. “This is none of your business,” he growls, still pushing against me.

“Help!” I try to scream. The word comes out in a whisper.
Austin is there in a second, pulling Jonah off me. I scramble to my feet as soon as I can, grateful to be off the ground. I shudder, my hand coming up to rub my neck.

Jonah is on his feet too, glaring at Austin, his eyes wild. “Stay out of this, Montgomery.”

Austin stands his ground, turning his shoulders to block me from Jonah's line of sight. “Go home, Jonah.”

Another set of footsteps comes around the corner. Joe takes in the scene and marches toward us, shaking his head.

Jonah steps closer to Austin, appearing larger and more menacing. His entire body is tense, and there's no mistaking the threat he poses. “Last chance, Montgomery. If I have to go through you to get to her, I will.”

“Have you gone mad?” Austin responds, with no trace of the fear that pulses through me. I shrink back from Jonah.

Joe lays a calm hand on Jonah's shoulder. “Time to go.”

Jonah doesn't move. “You see what she is. I have to finish this.”

Joe looks around Austin, searching me out. “You okay?” he asks smoothly, his hand still on Jonah's shoulder.

I'm pretty sure I'm not okay. I mean, the guy just attacked me. I don't want to think about what could've happened. My stomach lurches again. There is no stopping it now. I move over to the hedge and puke.

I wipe a trail of saliva with the sleeve of my jacket. “Keep him away from me.”

Joe grabs Jonah's arm with a strength that belies his skinny frame. Jonah stumbles to remain upright. “Time to go,” Joe says again, still cool and smooth, leading Jonah away.

Before they turn the corner, Jonah looks over his shoulder and silently mouths, “Later.” He kisses the air, sealing the promise.

I tremble. Jonah is not going to let this go. Whatever this is.

“Are you okay?” Austin asks, his eyes searching.

I shake my head and run to him. I bury my head in his chest; his arms come around me, holding me to him. He rubs my back, gently stroking my hair. “It's okay.”

I nod, wanting desperately to believe him.

“Let me take you home,” Austin whispers. His breath is on my neck, too close. I back away, but his smile is so innocent that I'm sure I must have imagined the invitation in his tone.

He leads me toward a gate in the side yard. I'm glad we aren't going back toward the party. I'm not ready to face anyone yet.

But as we pass the fountain, something isn't right. I stand taller and walk faster, pulling Austin with me. “We need to hurry.”

He resists. “Don't worry. Jonah's just a bad drunk. Joe can handle him for now.”

We're isolated in the side yard. A cold breeze comes off the fountain, raising the hair on the back of my neck. I regret not going out through the party now. “We need to go back.” I turn around and pull on Austin's arm. The water in the fountain is no longer frozen. It churns and laps, spilling over the edge of the basin. “Now.”

Austin doesn't move to follow me. “Brianna.” The quiet way he says my name is more terrifying than if he'd screamed it.

I turn around slowly. Austin doesn't move, his eyes focused on something in the shadows in front of him. A flash of silver glows in the darkness, growing a blinding white light. An onyx shimmer appears in the center of the light, sucking the light to its center like a giant black hole. Then the light is gone, except for a silver glow that illuminates the dark figure.

“Bloody hell.” Austin backs up a step.

I'm unable to do anything but stare. Jonah stands before us, bathed in the light of a thousand stars. He wears only a tartan cloth draped around his waist, with a long swath of cloth across one shoulder, accentuating his bare chest. Silver light dances in his eyes. He's a living oxymoron, simultaneously beautiful and scary as hell.

Austin moves in front of me.

Jonah laughs, a melodic sound that rides the wind blowing around us. “You shouldn't get involved, Montgomery.”

A glint of silver draws my eye to Jonah's right hand. He raises his hand, revealing a hideous serrated knife. The handle is covered in jewels, making it look more like a ceremonial relic than a weapon of war. He wields the jagged blade with smooth strokes.

As he steps closer to Austin, Jonah's eyes get bright with a cold, harsh light. He lunges, a movement that's barely perceptible. The knife slashes at Austin's chest.

Austin laughs as he steps back, nearly crashing into me.

Then Jonah disappears. Vanishes, throwing us into darkness. I blink, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Before I can acclimate, there's a flash to my right. Jonah appears directly behind Austin, the knife poised to slice his neck.

“No!” I finally scream, a true scream, high and loud.

Austin swings his arm, knocking Jonah off balance. He twists away and grabs Jonah's wrist.

Jonah recovers quickly, turning the knife to graze Austin's shoulder with the sharp edge. Austin lets go with a curse. Blood spreads across his ripped shirt sleeve.

Jonah steps closer, grinning. He raises the knife to strike again.

“Get back!” I yell. A swirl of wind grows around me as I move forward. “Back!” A rush of air flies away from me, straight at Jonah. It picks Jonah up, sending him flying into the fountain. His right leg hits the base hard, pitching him forward. He lands in a heap on the ground, his silver eyes closed.

Austin falls to the ground, grabbing his shoulder.

I kneel beside him. “Are you okay?” The question of the night.

Austin grins at me. “About bloody time.” He sits up, still holding his arm. His shirt is torn. Blood spreads along the fabric.

I take off my jacket and press it against Austin's shoulder.

A bright flash of light forces our attention back to the fountain. Jonah is on his feet. He limps toward us, his right leg barely touching the ground.

“We need to get out of here.” I tug at Austin's arm.

Austin curses and falls back down on the grass. I wrap my arms around his chest, trying to help him up.

Jonah fixes his silver eyes on me.

“Stay back!” I try yelling again. Nothing happens. I try to remember what I did before. I put my arms out. “Back!”

Jonah curls his lips in a smile. Then he disappears again. I spin around in the dark.

“Get out of here, Brianna.” Austin sits up, still holding his arm. “I'll be fine.”

I reach for the knife, still lying in the grass next to Austin. The jeweled handle is hard to grasp, and the blade is heavy. It takes both my hands to lift it. Silver light flashes to my right, and then Jonah is next to me.

He grabs my arm with such force that I'm pulled off my feet. I fall toward him, turning away from the teeth of the blade in my hands.

The wind whips harder around us, and for a second I wonder if I'm doing something. There's another burst of silver light and I'm pushed away from Jonah, the knife falling to the ground between us. I land in the grass beside it.

“Stay out of this.” Jonah's honey-laced voice has a sharper edge to it.

I turn to see Jonah fly back against the house.

When I finally look over to where the silver light appeared, it's almost too late. I only catch a glimpse of him, bathed in the same otherworldly light as Jonah, his blond hair glowing white.

“Blake?”

Then he's gone, leaving no trace he was ever here. I see Jonah's glowing body slumped in a flowerbed next to the house; then Jonah disappears too.

Before I can say anything, Jonah appears again in the same spot, surrounded by perennials. Not the bright, beautiful version of Jonah, just the plain old petulant jerk, in dress pants and shirt, his hand pressed to a bloody wound on his leg.

Austin sits up on his elbow and tosses me a cell phone. “I suppose you'll want to call an ambulance.”

T
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Wild dogs. That's what we tell the paramedics. A couple of wild dogs jumped the fence and attacked Austin and Jonah. The jagged cuts look enough like bites that the story seems to hold up. The ambulance takes both of them to the hospital. Austin still has my jacket, leaving me in a white tee splattered with his blood. I nurse a glass of orange juice in Joe's kitchen. As if the natural sugars can stave off shock. No hope of that.

Christy watches me from across from the table, worried.

Haley sits next to me, her eyes holding nothing but accusations. “So are you going to tell us or not?”

Is it that obvious that the dog thing is a lie? I hold the glass tighter, swirling the orange liquid. “I told you what happened.” The familiar dull ache in my stomach has returned with a vengeance.

“Dog attack, whatever.” Haley leans forward. “That's not what I'm talking about.”

I have no idea what her problem is.

“I can't believe that I fell for it when you said you didn't know it was Austin, that night you disappeared with him.” Haley's tone is cold.

Are we really going to get into that? Now?

“And then you were going out with Blake, and I was glad you finally had a boyfriend.” The emphasis Haley puts on the word “
finally”
is not flattering. “Just because Blake dumped you or whatever, it's no excuse for what you did tonight.” The knives flying from her eyes are even sharper than her words.

I hold my glass up like a shield. “He didn't dump me. We were never together.” Unless you count that whole soul-bonding thing. I'm not sure how to begin explaining that one. Okay, so Blake dumped me.

Haley's blank stare tells me that my relationship with Blake or lack thereof is of little concern to her. “So it didn't work out. You don't have to be a skank about it.” She pats Christy's arm. “And you had to involve Jonah too?”

Christy's lower lip trembles. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I am.”

“Right. That's why you went off with both Jonah and Austin? Because you're such a great friend.”

Leave it to Haley to assume that the only possible reason I could have been alone with two guys is to broaden my sexual horizons. They can't seriously think that I went off with Jonah and Austin for some kind of weird orgy. And anyways,
Jonah
? Totally gross.

“It wasn't like that.”

Haley's eyes narrow. For the first time, I can see the resemblance between her and her mother, and it scares the crap out of me. “You think I haven't seen the way you look at Austin?”

Christy's hand is over her mouth. Her eyes are huge and wet.

The glass shakes in my hand. “I … ” I want to deny it. I shouldn't have to deny it. But I can't exactly deny it, either.

Haley stands and turns to Christy. “Come on. Brie can't even come up with a decent story this time.”

They walk out of the room, leaving me with my half glass of orange juice. Not that I will drink anymore. It might be the only friend I have left.

“You shouldn't frown like that.” Sherri Milliken saunters into the room like a fashion model. “It'll give you wrinkles.”

“Hey.” I know I should comment on how great she looks, but I'm not really in the mood to chat at the moment.

Sherri sits down in one of the wood chairs, leaning back until the front legs are off the ground and the back hits the wall behind her. She puts both her legs up on the table, crossing her ankles. “You never called me.”

“I texted you tonight.” Not that joining the Mathletes is at the top of my priority list right now. “I've been busy.”

Sherri laughs with the kind of confidence of someone who is gorgeous and knows it. It sounds strange on her. “That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?” The shakiness in her voice is completely MIA.

“What do you mean?” Has the speculation about me and Jonah and Austin already made it through the entire party?

Sherri lets her chair fall back to the floor, leaning in until her face is just a few inches from mine. “From what I can tell, you've already started to access your power even though your birthday isn't for another week. And you've managed to engage a Son of Killian and survive.” Her full lips curve into a gorgeous smile.

“What?” I whisper.

“Oh, get over it already. Is this awesome or what?”

“But,” I stammer, my entire vocabulary apparently now that of a two-year-old.

Sherri reaches into the front pocket of her shirt, pulling out my bracelet and dangling it in front of me. “Lose something? It's much better than mine. It doesn't alter your appearance at all, it just makes it irrelevant. I was always so jealous.”

“Yours?”

“My talisman. I hated the way it made me look. Like a total geek. It did its job, but you have to admit, the last four years sucked for me.”

I reach over and take the bracelet from her. Once it's back around my wrist, I rub the flower charm between my thumb and finger. “You're?” I'm still struggling for words. “Like me?”

“We can't talk here.” Sherri stands up. “Follow me.” Sherri leads me outside to a gray hatchback.

I've always felt guilty about abandoning Sherri the way I did. She never seemed to hold a grudge about it, but somehow that made it worse. Then Haley took me under her wing and that was it. No pheromones required.

We get into the car. “Where are we going?” I ask as we head south on the freeway.

“It's time for you to meet Sasha.”

“Who?”

Sherri just smiles and turns up the radio.

We get off the freeway in Mira Mesa and pull into the empty parking lot of a nondescript office building. There are no locks on the main door. Inside, a large atrium with planters and sparsely lit floors opens to two hallways on either side of an elevator. Sherri leads me to a plain brown door with a sign that only says
Suite 111
. She punches a series of numbers into a keypad on the door. When a light on the panel goes green, the door clicks open. She flips a light switch, revealing a dark walnut receptionist desk in a bland office.

I pick up a
People
magazine from about six months ago. The address label has been blacked out with marker. The office is devoid of anything that would indicate who works here or what type of business it is. There are no signs, no framed diplomas, no personal photographs.

We move to a conference room in the back. It's just as sterile, with an oval wooden table, eight leather chairs, and a plant in the corner. Sherri walks to a small mini-fridge and pulls out two Diet Cokes.

A beep sounds from the front room, and within seconds a young woman bursts through the door. Her white-blond hair flows past her shoulders and sets off her luminous blue eyes perfectly. She's not thin, but voluptuous in a way that says pure sex. No one, not even Parker Winslow, would call this woman fat.

She frowns at us as she closes the door, her lips forming a seductive pout. “So this is her?”

“Brianna, meet Sasha Westley.”

I hold out my hand to shake, but Sasha grabs my left hand instead, turning over my palm to stare at my bracelet. I pull my hand away.

“There's nothing to worry about.” Sherri pops open her can of soda. “Sasha's on our side.”

Our side of what?