Stained (13 page)

For a long time, her eyes didn't stray from the Interstate. The mountains receded and the desert stretched out before them, dry and dead. The setting sun made everything look faded, and later blue, and then gray, and then colorless as night came.

When she could finally look at him again, Cayne had his eyes closed. As the stars came out and the land began to roll, he said, "We're closer."

"Do you know where he is?"

Cayne shook his head.

They went through Reno under a full moon, and under the glare of the flashing casino lights, Julia started getting angry. She let it simmer until they neared the California border, and then it bubbled over.

"I can't wait until we find him. Stupid bastard Nephilim." She waved at Cayne. "No offense."

He nodded.

"I need to talk about it," she said. "I want to talk about how he..." And that was all there was. Her shoulders shook with so much grief that it was all she could do to keep from breaking her hands squeezing the wheel. Cayne was a sturdy presence beside her. When it became clear that she wasn't going to talk, he asked, "They were most like your parents, Harry and Suzanne?"

She sniffed and nodded.

Cayne glanced out the window. "Are you ready to find out why he did this?"

"Yes," she choked. "And what he did to you."

Cayne squeezed her shoulder. His touch, so unexpected, stopped her tears.

"He's near San Francisco," he said softly. "Have you been there?"

"No."

"When we're finished, I'll take you to the bay. I think you'll like it."

"I'd like to get Sam."

"I'd like that too."

"I'll help you," she promised.

"I know."

Chapter 18

Every time Julia was almost asleep, the horizon would brighten and exit signs would appear. Casa Loma, seven miles. Dutch Flat, five miles. A teensie town would peek over a hill or around a bend, and for a full minute the windshield would flash in reds and yellows.

But as quickly as they appeared, the oases would vanish. The dark would return, and Julia's eyes would slip shut as she gazed at the black sky. Then the horizon would light up again.

They were near the California border. Or maybe they had crossed it. Julia couldn't remember. The land looked the same: small, rolling hills, trees in twos, threes, fours, and fives, and little communities gone as quickly as they popped up. Half asleep, it was hard to tell where the road ended and her dreams began.

She tried to imagine herself in a town smaller than her old high school, but she was never sure if she would fit in or fall out. Were these the sorts of places that embraced lonely, hunted girls and half-demons with missing memories? Or was anything out of the ordinary out of the question?

Cayne, who would probably stick out like a broken middle finger anywhere--okay, he might fit in at an Unnaturally Good Looking People Who Are Also Kind of Intimidating Convention--made an impatient noise. In the hour or so since they'd passed through Reno, he had again gone the way of the mute. Or the almost mute. The grumpy, noise-making almost mute. He was driving, and Julia hoped he was concentrating on the road--at more than 100 miles per hour, he needed to--but she felt sickly certain that something less mundane had his boxers in a wad.

"Are those marbles in your mouth, or are you just unhappy to see me?"

"...I think you may have the wrong expression."

"But the right impression," she said.

"Huh?"

"You're unhappy."

"Pensive."

"Pensive?"

He nodded. "I thought ladies liked the strong, silent type."

"We don't."

"Hmmmm..." He pressed his lips together, so his mouth seemed to disappear. He glanced in the rearview mirror. "I've got a feeling."

Goosebumps spread across Julia's body like a million little dominos. "Is it Sam?"

"No. But it's something."

"Bad?"

"Is it ever good?"

No, it was never good.

Julia wondered what he was feeling, because all of a sudden she was feeling it, too. It was like a rock in a shoe, or a shopping cart that pulled left, or a missing button. Something just wasn't right.

"Should we pull over?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, and Julia settled back in her seat, hoping he sensed something like a thunderstorm. She glanced at the sky. It was completely clear.

They passed several more towns, and Julia's unease increased. Each new village was exactly like the one that preceded it, but to her eyes they had changed. They had been havens from whatever was lurking in the night; now they were traps ready to spring.

They were near an itty bitty place called Gold Run when Julia noticed Cayne was paying too much attention to the rearview. "Watch the road."

He grunted and looked down. "We have company."

Julia turned in her seat. At first she didn't notice anything, but once they started climbing a hill, two small white dots appeared, maybe a mile behind them.

"So?" she asked.

"They're gaining."

Julia glanced at the speedometer. They were hovering around 105. After a minute or more, the lights were visible in the side mirror. Definitely closer.

"So?" Julia asked. Maybe they were drag racers or something.

"So I can't get them to stop."

"Crap." She wondered who was behind the wheel and just felt sicker. It wasn't Sam, but neither were the two Nephilim that had almost killed them last. The vehicle was too far away to make out its size. What if it was a bus full of Hunters? "Could it be a cop?"

"Do cops ride motorcycles?"

"Yes. Those are motorcycles?" Cayne nodded, and Julia felt a little relieved. "Well, pull off!" she snapped. "Up here. Exit 143!"

"Our best bet is to stay on the road."

"Why?"

Cayne's jaw twitched. "They haven't tried to hide. That means they want us to pull off."

"Are they Nephilim?"

"No."

"They're people!"

Cayne glanced at her. "If you mean human," he said sourly, "I don't think so." He glanced at the mirror again. "Try to touch their auras."

"Are you kidding! They'll know--"

"They already know."

Julia had never tried anything long-distance, but she couldn't think of a reason why it wouldn't work. Which sucked, because she really didn't want to try.

Nervously, she opened herself and pushed her energy toward the specs of light she could see in the side mirror. It kind of felt like pulling putty until it was very long and very thin, except Julia was the putty. "Nothing." She found nothing but cold, and felt sick again. "What do we do now?"

The engine revved and the car lurched forward. Julia sank into her leather seat.

"Let's see if we can outrun them," Cayne said.

Julia bit her tongue and checked her seatbelt. The Audi was hugging curves and shooting over hilltops. The shadows made the rollercoaster ride ten times worse. Each dip into the dark was like freefalling through space. And the race kept getting faster. 115. 120. 125. The car topped at 130.

Julia watched the mirror until her eyes hurt. For several amazing minutes, they seemed to put some distance between themselves and their pursuers. Then motorcycle lights appeared over a hill.

"They're closer!"

Cayne swore and eased his foot off the pedal. "We can't outrun them." He checked his mirror and gritted his teeth. "You steer."

Cayne turned around in his seat, and Julia lunged for the wheel. "What the hell are you doing?!"

He glanced back. "We've got a minute, maybe. Buckled in?" She nodded. "Push the seat back as far as you can."

"
Why
?"

Julia could see the motorcycles now. They were the souped-up racing kind that a lot of the guys in her class had wanted. The drivers were dressed in dark clothes; they looked large and vaporous under the city-bright sky, and for a terrible moment she thought they were ghosts. "They're getting closer!"

"I know," Cayne growled. They were climbing another hill, and he put the pedal to the floor. The tires spun and Julia shut her eyes. Her stomach flipped. She opened them.

They had just crested the top and were speeding down. At the bottom of the hill, the road was straight and relatively level.

"Brace yourself."

Julia could hear the engines of the bikes, straining to catch up. She could see the red of the Infiniti's taillights glint off their rims. They were too close. She felt like she was going to suffocate. Halfway down the hill they were within spitting distance. Too close. She saw the driver on the right reach into his black leather jacket. She thought she saw a gun.

"Cayne."

"One second." He sounded strained.

They hit the bottom of the hill at more than 100 miles per hour and the front of the Audi lurched up a good foot. Cayne slammed on the breaks and jerked the wheel to the left. The tires screeched, the car spun, and Julia felt gravity release it. They were going to tip over. "Crap!"

The bike on the left smashed into their ride with bone-shattering force. It flipped in the air and landed on the hood, miraculously bringing the Infiniti back to earth.

Cayne cut the wheel right and the car wobbled. The second driver shot past them but looped back around. Cayne grabbed Julia's head and forced her down as the back window exploded. The biker fired two more rounds at the back tires, hitting both. The car spun into a ditch and Cayne flew through the windshield.

"
Cayne!
"

Julia tried to unsnap her seatbelt, but she couldn't find the buckle. Then the passenger's side window burst open. The biker reached in and unfastened it for her.

She tried to scramble away, but he caught her wrist. "Come," he commanded. His hand was cold and his voice was empty.

He tried to pull Julia out the window but she twisted and managed to claw him in the face. He snapped her wrist and she screamed.