04 Last (21 page)

“Where are we going?” Reaper asked as the others moved to take Sara’s hand.

“The bunker,” Daniel said.

Sara held out her hand to get a picture to place with Daniel’s words. Daniel shared the image of the spot and took his hand away. Daniel came to me and laced in fingers in mine. He looked at Han and Beatrice, saying ‘goodbye’ in a glance.

The others looked at us oddly, wondering why we were not hitching a ride with Sara. I smiled at them, proud to have mastered one thing about my increasingly weird talents, and focused on the ruined remains of the bunker. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the place. I had seen it enough in my nightmares.

I pulled in a deep breath and let my mind search out the place I had never wanted to see again in my life. The shift between light and dark was easier than before. I walked the darkness, the feeling of Daniel on my hand the only thing that kept me moving forward.

Chapter 8

Tall trees arched over our heads. A bitter wind blew through the forest, rattling the tops of the trees but leaving the forest floor barely touched. Rain dripped from the sky, wetting everything in its path with a fine mist. The sound through the trees as a thousand drips came from the branches was deafening. My boots kept the moisture at bay. Alex hugged her arms around her chest at the cool wind and the wet rain. None of us had thought to bring our jackets. After Alaska, we had assumed North Carolina would be warm.

In front of us were the ruined remains of the bunker. The ground was sunken in. Concrete was piled in the hole. Fresh leaves, dirt and branches were scattered over the top of the concrete, hiding the worst of the rubble from view. Around the edges of the bunker were different marks, almost like tools had dug in to the ground. I looked at the marks in concern. Had someone been digging?

“We should have brought shovels,” Alex said, not noticing the marks.

“We won’t need them,” Reaper said confidently.

He jumped in to the hole the concrete was covering. As he did, he took off his jacket. He didn’t offer it to Alex, but I saw him flick his eyes in her direction. His glance was lingering as he set the jacket on a rock, off the ground and away from the moisture. It was a subtle hint for her to take it. She ignored his obvious invitation as we all moved to the hole to help.

Sara looked at the rubble with a frown. “I could try to walk to the room down there,” she suggested. “I just need a visual.”

“If it’s caved in, it’s suicide,” Reaper declined her offer. “We’ll do it the hard way. Why don’t you go back to the ship and get some rest? The others shouldn’t have any missions until tomorrow.”

He had heard her grumbling complaints. He knew she was looking for a break.

Sara looked at us as we started lifting rocks out of the hole. Her face was thoughtful. She didn’t take long to think.

“I’ll help,” she said.

She jumped in to the work without waiting for a reply from Reaper. Reaper didn’t argue with her; he was too focused on moving rocks.

Alex, Spider and I had to take breaks from the lifting but the others were like machines. They lifted rock after rock without any hint to the backbreaking work I knew they were doing. I envied their limitless strength and endurance. I wished again for my body to adapt to that special talent, instead of ones I barely had control over.

After a couple of hours of backbreaking effort, the hole had transformed. Rocks and rubble were thrown to the side of the hole, wherever there was room, and getting in and out of the hole was harder. Despite our progress, the bottom room remained untouched.

“This is going to take forever,” Spider complained, stopping to rest again. “Even with super-humans.”

“It would go faster without your complaints,” Eli said.

The aura of joking camaraderie we had built up switched to a tension-filled silence. Daniel and Reaper glared at Eli while the others looked between Eli and Reaper, seeing if there was going to be another fight. Spider’s face was a contrast of hurt and the desire of violence. He wanted a fight. But a fight was the last thing we needed. Fighting between ourselves just wasted time. I wasn’t happy about Eli’s presence, but he was necessary right now. He was part of Serenity’s deal to help us. And I felt her help would mean world’s more than his. She had probably only brought him along to irritate us. Before Reaper could act out the fire highlighting his silver eyes, I turned to Eli.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked Eli.

Eli looked at me. His eyes were suspicious. He thought I meant ‘fight’ instead of ‘talk.’

“I’m not really asking,” I said. “You either talk to me or Reaper takes out his aggression on your face again.”

Eli glanced at Serenity for permission. She nodded once at the unasked question in his eyes, and then went back to lifting stones. I pulled myself out of the hole and walked down the mountain. Eli followed me. I walked until I could not hear the shifting of the rocks, which was quite a ways. I wasn’t eager for the others to overhear me, or come running if my words backfired. Part of me was hoping I would make Eli mad enough to attack me, another part of me wanted to understand where he was coming from.

We were at a small dirt road barely big enough for a car when I finally stopped to face him. He stopped walking abruptly and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“You don’t get to come back here and act like you are acting,” I told him. “You don’t get to mutter insults under your breath or tell Spider what to do. You left. You left the kids when they needed you most. You abandoned Spider and Alex, because of your prejudice. They’ve had enough pain and hurt for you to continue to cause them hurt.”

He looked as if he was going to scoff at my words, but I stopped him.

“You didn’t see the aftermath,” I said. “You have idea the pain you left in your wake. Every time Alex has to see you, the pain is worse. The same goes for Spider. You need to grow up.”

“Grow up?” Eli asked in a deadly quiet voice.

“That’s what I said,” I replied.

“What do you know about ‘growing up’?” he asked me. “You spend your life being rescued by people stronger and better.”

“Your insults would mean more if they were true,” I said. “But you should know that you’re really starting to sound like people who work for Marcus. No one is better than anyone else. Your prejudice is making you think backwards.”

“Quit saying that,” Eli said. “I’m not prejudiced. I fight evil. That’s all.”

My eyebrows lifted in to my hairline. “You hate Alex because of what she can turn in to. No other reason. She’s far from evil, yet you still hate her.”

“I don’t hate her,” Eli said in a voice barely heard, even with my super-hearing.

“Well, you are doing a great impression of it,” I retorted. “You’re the one who left her after the joining. She didn’t leave you. She didn’t abandon you to emotions she couldn’t reconcile. If you had stayed, she would have tried to work it out. She would have loved you like you have never been loved before. But you didn’t stay. You ran away.”

Eli’s face had lost the impassive quality I was used to seeing. His whole being shook with his emotion.

“I left because of her!” he said in a voice that was almost a cry. “I left to keep from killing her!”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“After you left to go find her, I went back to my father’s study to think. Near dawn, a Nightstalker appeared on my roof. My first thought was not of Alex, and what I had seen, but of the enemy. I attacked the creature. We fought. I broke the thing’s arm. It howled in pain then…it turned in to Alex. I was…not prepared for that. There’s no way I can describe to you how it felt to know that I had hurt her, regardless of her shape at the time. You cannot even begin to understand.”

“So what? You left to keep from fighting her again?” I asked.

“My hatred of Nightstalkers clouds my judgment,” Eli admitted. “What if there was another misunderstanding? Another fight I couldn’t control? Killing her would kill me. I couldn’t stay…I didn’t want to leave, but it was my only option beyond hurting her again. Serenity gave me a way to channel the anger. It’s a good way.”

I felt some of my anger drain away at his words. I didn’t like what he was saying, but I understood his logic. I would feel the same way if I had attacked Daniel in so dramatic a manner. The fight Eli had with Alex was the sort of fight that changed you; it had to. He had left to keep from hurting her again, to protect her. It was the sort of protection I didn’t like, but I couldn’t deny the emotions implicit in the act. He had left, thinking he was doing the best thing for everyone. I hit Eli on the chest.

“You’re an idiot!” I told him.

He looked taken aback by my words. His hand moved to his chest as if my blow had actually hurt him.

“I can’t undo what I did,” Eli said with a sad shrug.

“That’s right,” I agreed.

I looked over my shoulder in the direction of the others. The look made me think of Alex and Reaper. Despite the tension they shared lately, there was something special between them. It was the sort of ‘special’ that went beyond her ability to change in to a Nightstalker or what that meant for their future. Reaper and Alex could be there for each other in a way Eli could never dream to be her. As far as I was concerned, Eli had lost his chance.

“I don’t agree with the choice you made. I think there were other ways to handle it. But now that you are back in her life, you don’t get to come in between Reaper and Alex,” I said. “Your ship has sailed.”

“Is there something between them?” Eli asked.

“Sort of…there will be…if you don’t get in there and stir up a hornet’s nest in Alex’s head.”

Eli nodded in understanding.

“And stop making comments to Spider. Either talk to him and explain yourself or don’t talk to him at all. He’s hurting, too, though he won’t show it to you. You were his brother, someone who would never abandon him and…”

“I left without a word,” Eli said. “I know. I get it. I’m not stupid.”

“No, just dumb,” I said.

The sound of tires on the road distracted us from our conversation. We had been so wrapped up in our discussion that we had not noticed the distinct sound cut through the forest. We both turned to look as an SUV with police lights on top rounded the corner of the road. Branches slapped against the edge of the SUV as it made its way up the mountain. Eli and I exchanged a look as the SUV slowed down at the sight of us. The thoughts from the driver were loud after spending so long surrounded by people whose thoughts I could not hear. I put up a wall to block him automatically. It was a mistake.

The driver put the SUV in park and got out, gun in hand. I recognized the driver. It was Chuck. He had been elected sheriff after Cobb had ‘gone missing.’ Chuck was round all over and had the sort of face that was always smiling, even when he was not trying to appear jolly. Sweat was beaded on his forehead, despite the cold. He pointed his gun at me, his eyes flicking between Eli and me with the training of a seasoned cop.

“Show me your hands!” Chuck demanded.

I held up my hands, proof that I was not going to attack him.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Clare Michaels…you are under arrest for the murder of Sheriff Cobb,” Chuck added.

“Chuck…” I started to protest, a cold knot forming in my stomach at his words.

How on earth could he know that I had killed Cobb? There was no way. There was no way he could know without having been there. Cobb’s body had been burned beyond recognition. No one living had seen what I had done – no one beyond Daniel.

“Put your hands behind your head and walk toward me,” Chuck said.

Eli tensed at the words. I saw violence looming in his eyes. A gun would be nothing to him. He would be on Chuck before he got off a second shot. Eli would kill Chuck. I saw it in his eyes. I warned Eli with a look not to attack. We didn’t know what Chuck knew, and I was curious. I wanted to know if he knew more than he was saying or if Marcus had him in his pocket. It wouldn’t be the first time Marcus had a sheriff of King’s Cross under his spell. If Chuck was working for Marcus, then he would be fair game. But I had to figure out the truth first. Something more was going on – I could feel it.

Chuck had noticed Eli’s subtle shifting.

“You there! Stay put. Don’t move,” Chuck said.

“He’s not going to move,” I said, moving my hands to my head as Chuck had asked. “Dang, Chuck. Maybe you should put that gun down before you poke your eye out or something.”

“Be quiet!” Chuck warned me.

I stepped in front of Chuck with one eyebrow raised.

“What now?” I asked.

Chuck looked put-off by my casual tone.

“Turn around, and put your hands behind your back,” he said.

I did as he asked and heard him holster his weapon and pull out his handcuffs. He was not gentle as put the cold steel around my hands. I cringed as the metal cut in to my skin, but I didn’t complain. Chuck put his hands on the cuffs and forced me to walk over to his SUV. He helped me get in the back of the vehicle, which had a metal partition separating the front from the back and doors that could only be opened from the outside. When I was safely locked away, he got in on the driver’s side. His eyes raked the rearview mirror a couple of times as he moved his vehicle in to reverse.