Right on all counts. Her mouth went dry, and she croaked out, How did you learn all that?
Honey, I can listen to any conversation, anytime, and no one ever knows Im there. And I listened to a lot of yours.
You spied on me.
Isnt that what I just said?
How many times? What all had he seen? She popped her jaw. Perhaps, if she was never able to drain him, shed just stab him the same way hed stabbed Aden. What makes you think Vlad will succeed?
Gray eyes went flat. Please. As if there can be any other outcome. I researched Vlad, too, and he is a warrior who has won countless battles and survived for thousands of years. Hes flat-out mean, underhanded and has no concept of honor. What is Aden? Nothing but a bag of meat to a guy like Vlad. Why? Because Aden will want to fight fair and will actually care about collateral damage, both of which will handicap him.
Phrased like that, there was no denying the truth. She needed all the help she could get for her original mission. Even from someone like Tucker.
Mary Ann fell back into her chair, closed her eyes for a moment and breathed. Just breathed. In and out, trying to relax, to come to grips with what she was about to do. If Tucker betrayed her, she would have done more harm than good to her friend. If he didnt, well, he could actually help keep Aden alive.
So. No contest. She had to do this.
Okay, she said, meeting his gaze dead-on. Here it is, the whole story, the unvarnished truth.
He rubbed his hands together with glee.
That didnt comfort her and, in fact, intensified her tension. But she said, A few weeks ago, Riley and Victoria gave Aden and me a list. Because, on December twelfth, seventeen years ago
Wait. December twelfth, your birthday?
She blinked in surprise. He remembered. How had he remembered? Yes. Anyway, fifty-three people died in the same hospital where Aden and I were born. St. Marys. At his look of confusion, she added, Did I forget to mention Aden and I share a birthday?
Yes, but I already knew.
Anyway. A lot of those people died because of a bus accident. My mom died giving birth to me. Her mom had been like Aden, a force of nature, able to do things normal people couldnt, and infant Mary Ann had drained her dry. Dont think about that, either, or youll, what? Cry. Somewhere on that list are the three other souls that Aden inadvertently sucked inside his head. Maybe, they thought, hoped.
Youre sure? Maybe they died nearby, and their names arent there.
A possibility, I guess. One she wouldnt entertain at the moment. Through my research, Ive managed to cross off more than half the names already.
That seems excessive.
Not really. The remaining souls are male, so that automatically eliminated the females.
Tucker arched a brow. Unless theyre transgender souls. I mean, really. Aden seems like the type to host a pink panty party inside his
Tucker.
What? He does. And his friend Shannon is as gay as
Shut. Up. The males possess the same special abilities now that they possessed when they were alive. I know this because my mother did, too. So Ive been going through the names, looking for stories about raising the dead, body possession and predicting death. Even the minutest hint.
He thought for a moment. Backtrack a little. Why exactly do you want to identify the souls?
Because they need to remember what their last wish was, and do it. Then, theyll leave Aden and hell be stronger, able to concentrate and defend himself from Vlad.
You really think that will help?
What is this? Twenty questions? Hell, yes, I do. She had to. Otherwise her friends chances were nil.
Once again Tucker was blinking down at her. Mary Ann, you just cussed.
Hell isnt a cuss word.
To me it is.
Why? Because youre afraid of spending eternity there?
Good humor, gone. Something like that.
He looked so sad, she actually felt bad for her waspishness. Maybe, by the time this is over, Ill have earned myself a spot right next to you. We can keep each other company while roasting.
He barked out a laugh, as shed hoped, but that earned them another glare from Hush Girl. He flipped HG off and said to Mary Ann, You wish Id spend eternity with you. So, you got any leads?
Before you interrupted me she paused, waiting for an apology, but of course he didnt offer one I was reading a story about a mortician at the hospital. Dr. Daniel Smart. Apparently he was murdered there. Defense wounds on his arms and legs, as if hed rolled into a ball to protect himself while someone or something bit and punched him.
Great story. But what does that have to do with Adens souls?
One of them can raise the dead. What if Dr. Smart raised a dead body in the morgue, and it killed him?
But wouldnt he have raised a dead body before? And if he had, why would he have continued to work there? He would have been in constant danger, and his secret would have gotten out. But it didnt, which means he didnt.
Maybe he could control the ability.
Maybe he couldnt.
I dont care what you say, she grumbled, hating that he was right. Again. This is the best lead Ive got.
Our definition for the word best differs. Still, Tucker went on blithely, its worth checking out.
I know. How irritating! As if she needed his permission. Thats next on my To Do list.
What about his parents?
Who, Smarts?
Tucker rolled his eyes. No, moron. Adens.
What about them? Their current address was burning a hole in her pocket. Finding them had been first on that To Do list shed mentioned, in fact, and shed already crossed it off with shocking ease. A search engine, a (stolen) credit card Tucker had given her, and boom. Results.
They were still local; the shame of abandoning their son, when they might have been the only people in the world who could truly help him, hadnt driven them away. Were they happy with their decision? Regretful?
Shed debated: call Aden and tell him, or not call Aden? In the end, shed opted for not. For the moment. He had a lot to deal with right now and if she met with the couple firstfine, spied on themshe could make a more informed decision.
Close up for today, Tucker said, drawing her back into the conversation, and lets find a place to sleep. Well head out for He paused, waiting.
Smarts wife is still here in Tulsa, close to St. Marys, the hospital where her husband used to work. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Which was two hours away from Crossroads, Oklahoma. Two hours away from Riley.
Not that shed imagined him driving that stretch of highway a thousand times.
Good. Tucker nodded. Did you read the mans obituary?
Yes.
Checked out his family?
As best as I could. Hed left the wife behind, but no one else had been mentioned.
And you have an exact address?
No. I thought Id drive around until a golden ray of sunlight shined down from the heavens and spotlighted the house.
Sarcasm again. Not your best look.
Then stop asking dumb questions.
He sighed, the last sane guy in existence. Well drive there in the morning. Does that work for your timetable? He didnt give her a chance to respond. He stretched out his hand and waved at her. Come on.
With a sigh of her own, she placed her hand in his. As he stood, he pulled her to her feet. He helped her into her jacket and tugged her out of the microfiche area. Just before they walked into the main library, someone screamed. A girl. Hush Girl, maybe. Fearing the worst, Mary Ann tried to turn around and see what was going on. Tucker threw his arm around her shoulders and forced her attention straight ahead.
Believe me. You dont want to see.
No attacking witches or fairies, then. What did you do? she whispered fiercely. And she knew hed done something, the turd.
Lets just say the snake under her desk is trying to converse with her, he replied with another wicked grin.
Of course.
They stepped outside, into the moonlight and cold. She tugged the lapels of her jacket closer and glared up at him. I thought you couldnt cast illusions when you were so close to me.
His grin widened, and all she could see was straight white teeth flashing down at her in the darkness. She looked away before she gave into the urge to slap him. Repeatedly. Cars whizzed along the street in a zoom, zoom rhythm. No one stood on the sidewalk, and there were no insidious shadows lurking nearby. Searching had become a habit.
Well? she insisted.
He leaned down, as if sharing a naughty secret. Lets just say my skills are going nuclear.
Or her ability to mute was fading, she thought suddenly, and her eyes widened. Oh, please, please, please, let her ability be fading. If she stopped muting powers, she might stop draining energy, too. And if she stopped, she could see Riley again. Could kiss him again. Could finallyplease, finallydo more. Without worry.
Okay, why did that make you so happy? Tucker asked, suspicious.
What did he have to be suspicious about? Nothing.
Liar.
Demon.
He cleared his throat as if fighting a laugh. Thats not really an insult for me, you know.
I know. She practically skipped along the concrete. Even the thought of safely seeing Riley lightened her mood. Lets just enjoy the moment, okay?
Tucker had to quicken his step to remain beside her. What moment?
This moment.
Why? Theres nothing special about it.
There could be if you shut your mouth.
This time, he laughed outright. Remind me why I dated you.
No. Id only throw up in my mouth.
Nice, Mary Ann, he said, but he was still grinning.
I try.
FIVE
THE SCREAMS THAT HAD RAZED Adens mind for such a torturous eternity ceased abruptly, and he knew only silence. Yet, the silence was worse because, without the distraction, he became aware of a thick, gloomy fog surrounding him, writhing with malicious glee.
Escape, he needed to escape. He would die if he stayed here. Surely the fog would suffocate him. Was even now trying to do so. Determined, he clawed his way through, climbingclimbinghis body broken, throbbingclimbingclimbinghigher and higher until
His eyelids sprang apart.
First thing he noticed, the fog had dissipated. Still, the world around him was hazy, as though smeared with Vaseline. He sucked in a deep breath to center himself, then growled. There was something sweet in the air, and his mouth watered. His blood heated.
Taste
Someone called his name. A girl, her voice layered with concern and relief. He blinked, gradually clearing away the film, and sat up, ignoring the aches and pains shooting through him. His gaze panned thebedroom. Yes, he was inside a bedroom. Or a snowstorm. All that whitewhite walls, white carpet, white furnishingswas as overwhelming as it was familiar.
A girl approached him, her hands wringing together and twisting the fabric of her black robe. Finally, a shade other than white. Long dark hair cascaded over one delicate shoulder. She had pale skin, smooth and flawless, and the loveliest blue eyes hed ever seen.
She reached out, slowly, so slow, to feel his brow. The sweetness in the air thickened, and the urge to taste increased. Though he wanted to bite her, he leaned away from her touch.
Hurt consumed her features.
Within seconds, she masked the emotion and squared her shoulders. Im glad youre awake, she said, voice devoid of any emotion as well.
Fangs peeked from between her lips, he noted. Vampire. She was a vampire. A vampire princess. Her name was Victoria, and she was his girlfriend. The details came at him like they were baseballs being shot from a pitching machine. Yet no reaction accompanied them.
How do you feel? she asked.
He just looked at her. Feel? His nerve endings had calmed, and he didnt feel anything.
She gulped. You were asleep for nearly four days. We gave you medication to quiet the souls, just in case they were the ones keeping you under. Chewing on her bottom lip, she glanced over her shoulder. We didnt feel we had any other choice.
We, she kept saying. Implying someone had helped her.
Can we get you anything?
We again. Aden panned the room a second time and noticed a guy standing in the far corner. Tall, strong, dark hair, green eyes. Riley. A wolf shape-shifter and an all-around pain in the ass, but he was a good guy nonetheless.
A human girl stood beside him. How Aden knew she was human, he wasnt sure. Hed never met her before. She was nervous, moving her weight from one sandaled foot to the other, her short crop of blond hair dancing over her shoulders, her brown eyes looking anywhere but at him, and her freckled skin chalk white.
Again the sweetness in the air intensified. Except now it was layered with something spicy, and his entire body vibrated with anticipation.
Anticipation. His first emotion since waking up, and it consumed him.
Thirsty, he croaked.
Victoria reached out, not to touch him but to offer her wrist. Distantly he recalled drinking from that wrist. His gaze lifted. And from that elegant neck. And that gorgeous mouth. Hed been besieged with need, utterly intoxicated. And hed hated himself. He recalled that, too.
Also, hed hated her. Or at least, a part of him had.
That part of him must have grown, taken over. Because, looking at her now, so lovely and serene, he wanted to grab her arms and shake her. To hurt her as shed hurt him. To punish her for what shed done to him.
The urges surprised him. What had she done to him? Besides try to turn him into a vampire. Besides feed him and feed from him. Besides fight him to survive. All of which he understood and accepted.
Aden? She wiggled her wrist.
The moisture in his mouth heated and burned, demanding relief, demandingblood. He recognized the sensation and was leaning toward her before he registered the fact that he was moving at all. Just before he sank his teeth into her skin, he stopped. What was he doing? He needed blood, yes, but not hers. Hers was dangerous. Addictive.