Torn From the Shadows (31 page)

“Sierra,” Oren said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“You don’t look so good,” he said, reaching out for my elbow.

I pulled it back. “Let’s get this done, okay?”

“Are we ready to go?” Saul asked.

“Yeah, I call shotgun.” I made my way to the passenger side of the van. I didn’t feel like chatting with Oren, or having him fuss over me. Besides, I wanted to include someone else on this mission and to do that I had to convince Saul to drive me there.

“Sierra,” Lavie called, and I turned to look at her. She threw her arms around me to give me a quick hug. “Make sure you bring them back safe. And take this with you.” She slipped a bulky keychain with lucky charms on it—four-leaf clover, cross, rabbit’s foot, others I didn’t even recognize—into my hand. “For luck,” she whispered.

“But don’t you need it?”

“I made this one especially for you,” she said as she stepped back. “I’ve been meaning to give it to you.”

“Thanks.” I shoved the charms into my pocket.

“I’ll meet you at Wallace Street tomorrow. I’ll make sure Burr doesn’t leave before you get there.”

“Thank you.”
 

“Take care,” Sally mouthed, catching my gaze.

I nodded, and climbed into the passenger seat without looking back. Oren was already sitting behind me and Saul was buckled into the driver’s seat, fiddling with the GPS.

“I’ve got the road name.” I stuck a hand into my jacket pocket but the piece of paper was gone. “What the hell? It was in here a minute ago.”

“I’ve got it.” Saul held the familiar scrap of paper between his fingers. “I’ve already set the coordinates.”

“How the hell do you do that?”

“It’s an old magic trick.” He started the van and was on the road before I could wrap my head around his response.

I wanted to ask him a hundred questions. They were all on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t voice them. I wasn’t sure if it was because Oren was with us, or because I didn’t really want to hear his answers. So I stuck with the plan. “I need you to stop somewhere.”

“I know. We’re almost there.”

“Are you reading my mind?”

“Don’t need to read what you’re projecting so loudly,” he said with a shrug.

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“You will soon.” Saul turned onto Conrad’s street and stopped the van. He swiveled around in his seat, one arm casually leaning on the steering wheel as he studied me. “Don’t worry, everything will make sense soon enough.”

“Is that because you’re going to tell me?”

He shrugged. “The weapon strapped to your thigh should have answered most of your questions.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Professor Spooker should’ve provided the rest.”

I watched him lean back into his seat, staring out the windshield so I could admire his perfect profile. He might be eye candy and even intriguing, but he was frustrating as all hell. No wonder Sally disliked him so much.

A grin curved his lips. “Well, stop checking me out. Go get the hunter and the vampire. We’ll be out here waiting for you.”

What vampire?
I climbed out of the van, needing to get away from him. I knocked on the back window and Oren rolled it down. “I’m going to see if Conrad can help.”

“Sure,” he said. If he’d overheard my conversation with Saul he didn’t let on.

I strode away from the van, raced up the stairs and took the deck-access corridor directly to Conrad’s apartment. I knocked hard, but no one came to the door. A light was on inside, I could see it reflected in the window beside the door. I could also hear giggling, and moaning. Was Ebony inside? I smacked my knuckles harder against the wooden door and was rewarded by Conrad peering out the window. He narrowed his eyes before releasing the curtain.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said, holding the door open. “I should’ve known. You’ve got the worst timing.” Conrad was bare-chested, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs sitting so low on his hips the bones jutted out of the waistband. The silver crucifix at the hollow of his throat was missing and he’d shaved his goatee. “Well, what do you want? Or did you just want to see me half-naked?”

“I need your help.” I hated asking, but if we were going up against a couple who could incapacitate Papan, I needed more backup than an old witch and a tricky demon. We might not be best buddies, but Conrad and I worked well together when things got tough.

“Is it Ebony?” He looked hopeful. “Has she remembered something?”

I shook my head. If Ebony wasn’t with him, who was?

“Well?”

“It’s—”

“Rad, come back to bed.” Narelle the vampire stepped into the doorway, rubbing the front of her nude body against his side. She wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing, just her tattoos—which covered just about every inch of her bare flesh with a multitude of colorful art.

I glared at Conrad, even though I had no right to.

“Oh, hello there,” the vampire said with a bright smile. “You didn’t tell me you were inviting someone else to the party.” She ran her long nails over Conrad’s bicep. “But I like your choice.”

“Forget it,” I snapped. “I’m sorry for interrupting.” I turned to leave, but Narelle stepped in front of me. I hadn’t seen or heard her move. Vampires could be so creepy.

“Don’t leave on my account,” she said, flashing her pointy fangs.

“Call off your pet vamp.”

“Narelle quit playing around,” Conrad said.

“Oh, you’re no fun when Spooky’s around.”

I assumed I was Spooky. By the time I turned to face the vampire hunter, Narelle was already beside him.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Conrad said.

I sighed. None of this was any of my business, so I shouldn’t let it bother me because I still needed his help. “Papan and Willow have been abducted. We’re on our way to get them back, and I thought you might want to come along. I need as much muscle as I can get.”

His blue eyes darkened. “I was in the middle of something, but I suppose I could go along. Where are we going?”

“To the Blue Mountains,” I said. Though my answer was more guess than fact.

“I want to come too,” Narelle said, bouncing on her tattooed feet.

“Why? You don’t even know me.”

“But she knows the Blue Mountains is werewolf territory,” Conrad answered, his jaw clenched. “She loves wolf blood.”

She licked her lips “So,
can
I come along?”

“Sure, the more the merrier, I suppose.” I had no idea what we were walking into but everything seemed to be pointing towards a wolf pack, so people with a variety of skills should put us in a better position.

“Awesome! When do we leave?” Narelle asked.

“Now—”

“I’ll be ready in a jiffy.” She disappeared inside, making so much noise I couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing.

“So…” I looked at Conrad. “You and the vamp, huh?”

He shrugged. “She’s fun, which is what I need right now.”

The air of confidence and machismo I’d always associated with him seemed to have fizzled away. Since he’d lost Ebony to Cam’s corruption, he hadn’t been the same. But I didn’t want him to give up on her. She might not remember him at the moment, but I still hoped she would.

“I thought you were trying to get things back on track with Ebony.”

“There’s no point in crying over spilt blood.” He stepped closer. “Besides, I know what she’s doing with the old man, okay? I’m not stupid. She doesn’t remember me and is ready to move on, that’s fine with me. I’m just doing the same.”

I opened my mouth to apologize but he cut me off.

“Don’t. It’s my fault she forgot about me, anyway.”

Giving him a hard time wasn’t fair. Conrad was a big boy and he could do whatever the hell he wanted. If having sex with a vampire would get him through this, better for him. I exhaled. “Um, the old man is coming along. Is that going to be a problem?” This could get messy.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Why would it be a problem?”

“Conrad—”

“It won’t be a problem,” he said with a firm shake of his head. “Narelle and I will be down in a few minutes. We’ll take one of my bikes.” Conrad closed the door in my face.

Maybe I shouldn’t have invited him—not just because of Oren, but because of the piggybacking vampire minx. If she had a taste for werewolf blood and she stumbled on Papan first, what would stop her from taking what she craved? I’d seen her eye him like he was the main course. Saul’s comment made sense now. He’d somehow known Narelle was with Conrad.
Creepy.

Refusing to let crazy thoughts get in the way, I strolled back to the van and climbed inside. Saul was checking out his phone and Oren was quiet in the backseat.

“He’s coming,” I said.

Saul chuckled. “This should be interesting.”

“Sierra, I think you should get some rest,” Oren called.

“Not now, Oren.” I pressed my head against the backrest and waited for Conrad’s motorcycle to come up behind us. Instead, I heard its rumble.

Saul turned the key in the ignition and drove away from the curb.

I yawned, fighting the need for sleep. I closed my eyes to rest them for just a moment and before I could resist, slumber sucked me under.

“We’re here!”

My body jerked sideways but something held me steady.

“She’ll wake up any minute now,” a familiar voice said.

“Let go of the sleeping spell you put on her.” A chuckle followed the comment. “Did she know you were going to do that, by the way?”

“Sierra, wake up.” Cold fingers pressed against my temple, soothing me out of dreamland.

My eyes snapped open and a yawn escaped me. My eyesight was blurry and the corners of my eyes crusted. I wiped the sleep away and sat up, but couldn’t move much because the seatbelt was still secured around my body. I was inside a van… It took me a moment to remember it was Saul’s.

“Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty.”

My heart skipped a beat. Was that Papan? It sounded like something he would say, but when I turned my head and found big blue eyes focused on me, my excitement faded. The demon was staring at me with an expectant smirk on his lips.

“What happened?”

“We’re here, that’s what happened.”

“No, I mean, what happened to me?” Why had I fallen asleep long enough for us to trek from the city to wherever we were now?
 

He snickered. “Ask the witch man.” Saul jumped out of the van, still laughing.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned enough to glare at my very interfering biological grandfather. “Did you drug me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t need drugs to make you rest.” He shook his head as if it was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “I used a spell.”

“You
what?
” was my initial reaction. But I felt rested and focused so I decided to let the anger go. He’d probably done me a favor.
 

“I should have asked, but you looked exhausted and—”

“Yeah, you probably should’ve asked,” I cut in, yawning. “But I’m not angry. I feel better. How long was I out?” At least I’d missed most of the drive over and hadn’t had time to worry while caught up in a dreamless sleep.

His light blue eyes were shiny when he said, “A few hours.”

“So, where are we?”

“We’re parked about a kilometer away from Willow’s last location.”

I reached for the door handle. “Let’s go, then.”

“Sierra, wait.”

“What?”

“Make sure you keep your guard up with the demon,” Oren said.

“Why? Lavie and Papan speak very highly of him, and I trust their judgment.” A shiver raced up my spine when I remembered what else Lavie had told me about him at the crossroads.

“That’s fair enough, but there’s something about him that’s making me edgy.” The old man seemed troubled. “I can’t put my finger on it…” He looked me in the eye. “For some reason, you’ve both got the same Strophalos symbol marking your auras.”

“What symbol?” I asked. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

“I didn’t mention it because I didn’t notice until now.” He grabbed my hand, squeezed it quickly and let it go. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”

My mind raced because I had a feeling I knew why a symbol was imprinted on my aura. I turned my left hand over and looked at it. The itchiness was still there, but I couldn’t see any change or cause for alarm.

“You can’t see it. It’s a metaphysical manifestation,” Oren said.

I thought about what had happened at the crossroads—the pink neon ley lines, the power grid below my feet, the cord connecting me to it. All of it happened
after
Saul shook my left hand with his. But I wasn’t going to tell Oren. I didn’t want any distractions. We were here to find Papan and Willow.

“Sierra, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing—”

A knock on the windshield made me jump.