Born at Midnight (29 page)

“No. I mean, Derek did save me, but it was the ghost who told you, right?”

“Sort of,” she said. “Because he’s attached to you, he can’t really communicate with me. But he found someone who could.” Holiday reached down and squeezed Kylie’s hand. “Nana said to tell you she loves you. But she wished you wouldn’t have let them bury her wearing that purple lipstick.”

Kylie got tears in her eyes and laughed at the same time. After a few minutes, she said, “I finally did it.”

“Did what?”

“I saw into someone’s mind.” Kylie almost told her it was the ghost’s mind that she’d been able to see, but for some reason she wasn’t ready to talk about that. It was as if she needed to digest it all first. There were a lot of things she needed to digest.

Holiday grinned. “Welcome to our world, girl.”

Kylie’s smile was weak, but it was real. “Does that definitely mean … that I’m one of you guys?”

“Yup.” Holiday brushed a strand of hair from Kylie’s cheek.

“When you saw Nana, did you check if she had been a supernatural?”

“I did. She was human.” Holiday gave Kylie’s hand a squeeze. “How do you feel about this new development?”

Kylie let out a deep breath. “A little scared. A little relieved. Now I just want to figure out what I am.”

“You will, Kylie. The answer is here. It always is.”

Chapter Thirty-eight

Holiday was right.

Not about Kylie discovering what she was. It had been five days since Kylie had almost been a lion’s dinner, and her identity crisis was still alive and thriving.

The thing Holiday had pegged right was Burnett’s method of solving the wildlife crimes backfiring. As soon as he announced that someone at the camp was guilty everyone started pointing fingers. The vampires accused the werewolves because most of the animals killed had been from the feline family and everyone knew werewolves hated cats.

The werewolves accused the vampires of doing it because their blood supply was low. The fairies accused the witches because they sometimes used tiger blood in some of their spells. The witches accused the fairies because everyone knew fairies were sneaky little bastards. Someone pointed out that the shape-shifters were known to use wild animals as sport to hunt and conquer them.

Then, the finger-pointing stopped being species-directed and certain unlucky individuals got suspicion slapped on them. Lucas and Fredericka got voted to be the most likely guilty parties. Then Derek’s name got thrown in the hat because he could communicate with animals, and everyone knew he didn’t want the gift. Then because Kylie was still considered “the weird one” with a strange pattern and a closed mind, her name got tossed into the guilty hat as well.

Kylie had even forgotten herself and went to Della and accused her cousin Chan of being the culprit. Maybe he really was one of the Blood Brothers gang. Della did what Della always did. She got furious.

Tension at the camp was at an all-time high. People had stopped participating in the Meet Your Campmates Hour, and Holiday and Sky were having a hard time just keeping everyone from killing each other.

Then there was the tension between the two camp leaders.

Kylie had walked into the office and overheard them tossing verbal punches. Sky insisted it was time to throw in the towel and close down the camp. Holiday insisted right back that it would be over her cold fairy body before she let them close it down. Sky accused Holiday of being a martyr and unrealistic, and Holiday accused Sky of having lost her faith in the school and of half-assing her job this year.

Kylie didn’t know Sky very well, but she knew enough to agree with Holiday. For some reason, Kylie had never warmed up to the werewolf camp leader. In some ways, the woman even reminded Kylie a bit of her mom. Cold, uncaring, and closed-off.

Not that Sky might not have reasons for joining the ranks of the Ice Queen Sorority. It appeared that Kylie’s mom sure as hell did.

It was funny how all of a sudden Kylie saw the relationship between her mom and dad differently now. Yeah, her mom was cold, but her dad was a cheater. It sort of became a “what came first, the chicken or the egg” kind of question. A question Kylie didn’t have the answer to.

While it still hurt something fierce to think about the divorce, Kylie had decided to try not to make it her problem. Face it, she had enough fires to put out in her own life. Heck, she’d almost become kitty chow. In the back of Kylie’s mind, she still wondered who wanted her harmed badly enough to put the lion in her room. The only name that came to mind was Fredericka. But if she believed Fredericka guilty, did that not put more suspicion on to Lucas?

Thoughts of Lucas snuck into Kylie’s mind more than she wanted. Now at least when they showed up, they had to compete with thoughts of Derek. He and Kylie hadn’t been alone since the whole lion scene, but he sat with her and Miranda and Della sometimes during meals. Every now and then, she’d catch him looking at her with more than friendship, but good to his word, he never put any pressure on her.

Nope, the pressure she felt came from herself. One minute she’d make up her mind to just walk up to him and kiss him. The next she’d find herself thinking about her dad, about Trey, and she’d wonder if giving herself to a relationship was worth the heartbreak that seemed to follow.

And then there was the whole issue of trying to figure out what she was. For some reason, she felt that once she got that solved, she’d be free to make other life choices.

Kylie walked back into her cabin, stopping to sniff the air for beast smells. Nose still up, she felt her foot being attacked by Socks. Scooping the little fellow up in her hands, she brought him to her face.

Whenever Socks was running amok, Kylie figured the cabin was free of beasts and ghosts. Daniel had only dropped by a few times—each of which would send Socks scrambling under the sofa. Not that Socks had to stay hidden long; Daniel was back to short visits and he’d stopped talking.

“So the coast is clear, huh?” Kylie asked Socks.

“Except for a very happy witch,” Miranda said, barreling out of her bedroom to give Kylie and Socks a hug.

“Let me guess,” Kylie said. “Perry finally grew a pair and kissed you.”

“No,” Miranda said. “I’m beginning to wonder if he ever will. But forget about him right now, because I finally did it. Well, with your help, of course.”

“You did what?” Kylie asked.

“I got rid of Mr. Pepper.”

“Of who?”

“My piano teacher.”

“Oh gawd, tell me you didn’t let Della cook him.”

“No. I figured out what I messed up with the curse, and reversed it. I used those books to help me figure out what I could have gotten backwards—words, letters. It was like a puzzle, but I finally figured it out.” She held her arms up in the air in victory. “I’m toad free.”

Kylie laughed.

“And…” Miranda continued, “the best part is that Mr. Pepper checked himself into a mental hospital.”

“Because he has a thing for young girls?”

“No, because he’s been dreaming he’s a toad, but … he confessed to the doctor that he was worried about his attraction to little girls.” Miranda laughed. “I sort of dropped in on his first session. But what’s important is maybe he’ll get some help.”

“You did good,” Kylie said.

“No. We did good. I wouldn’t have done it if not for you. And while I’m not sure I’ll ever make High Priestess, I still might be in the running. You’re my hero, Kylie Galen.”

“And I’m not?” Della asked, walking out of her bedroom.

“Sorry,” Miranda said. “You’ll have to try harder next week.”

Kylie put Socks down so he could attack Della. For some reason, the kitten loved her Donald Duck slippers.

Kylie watched the kitten take swats at Donald’s bill and then reality wormed its way into her good mood. “We may not have next week. They really may shut the camp down if they don’t find out who is terrorizing the wildlife park. We’ve got to stop pointing fingers and do something. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to go home.”

“Did something else happen?” Della asked.

Kylie told them what she’d learned when she’d stopped by Holiday’s cabin. “They almost snagged the white tiger.”

“How?” Della asked. “I thought that vamp from the FRU was guarding the place.”

“He is, but someone broke into the lion’s fences again, and while Burnett was investigating that, someone cut the fence to the tiger’s cage.”

“Poor animals,” Miranda said.

“Yeah,” Kylie answered, remembering Derek saying the lion that had shown up in her cabin had been confused and scared. “Wait,” Kylie said. “Why didn’t I think of this before?”

“What?” Della and Miranda asked at the same time.

“I think I know how to get to the bottom of this.”

Chapter Thirty-nine

“It doesn’t work like that,” Derek said ten minutes later, wearing his shirt completely unbuttoned. No doubt Kylie had banged on his cabin door after he was already undressed.

Kylie glanced at his chest and noticed that his scratches were healing. “What do you mean, it doesn’t work like that? I thought you could communicate with animals.”

Derek closed the cabin door and moved her off the porch as if he was afraid one of his roommates might be listening.

“It’s not like I can ask them questions. I hear or, should say, sense their emotions. And not even all of them.”

“You said the lion told you he didn’t like how you smelled.”

“He didn’t tell me. He thought it.” Derek shook his head. “It won’t work, Kylie.”

“But it has to.” Her throat tightened. “They’re going to close down the camp, Derek. I’m just getting a grip on the whole non-human stuff, I can’t leave now.”

He studied her face for a moment. “I know, but—”

“It’s not just about me, either. You’ve seen what’s been happening at the camp. Everyone is turning on each other. Everyone says the camp is what helps keep peace among all of us. If they think the various supernatural gangs are bad now, think of—”

He put a finger to her lips and she fought the desire to slip her hands inside the opened shirt and hug him. “I’m not disagreeing with you. But I just don’t think it will work.”

Right then she remembered. For Derek to be able to turn off his gift, he had to continue to shut them out. Yet he’d saved her from the lion. She hadn’t even considered his sacrifice until now. How could she have forgotten that?

“I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes a second. “It’s because of your gift, because you have to stop using it. I forgot—”

“No,” he said. “Okay, yeah, maybe a little.”

“It’s okay, Derek,” she said, seeing guilt in his eyes. She remembered that only a few weeks ago she would have eaten worms to send her gift packing. “It’s not fair of me to ask you to do this.” She turned to leave.

He grabbed her by her arm. “Wait.” His gaze met hers. “I was serious when I said it was only a little part of why I’m hesitating. To be honest, I’m this close to saying the hell with it and playing the Tarzan role.”

She saw from his expression that he told the truth. “Hey,” she said. “That Tarzan role saved my life. Don’t belittle it.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m thinking about accepting it. But this is … over the top. It’s not like I can sit down and have a chat with the animals. It doesn’t work that way.”

“How do you know?” Kylie asked. “Have you tried?”

“No, but … others have this gift. And if I could actually do that, Holiday would have said something.”

“Holiday has said a thousand times that everyone’s gift is different. Look, I know you said that so far all you hear are their thoughts, but somehow you communicated with that lion not to make hamburger meat out of us.”

“Okay, if by some miracle I can actually communicate with them, it still won’t happen. That FRU James guy wouldn’t let me near the animals. He had me in the office again today. He thinks I’m involved. He even accused me of doing it to impress you.”

Kylie considered going to Holiday right then, but she knew Holiday would worry someone might get hurt and would say no. She tilted her chin back in defiance. “Then we don’t ask him to let us in. We sneak in.”

“Sneak by a vampire? That’s like trying to fool Superman.”

“Yeah, but I happen to know what his kryptonite is.”

“He has a kryptonite?” Derek asked.

“Yup. And her name is Holiday.”

*   *   *

Kylie admitted this might be a long shot, but when it was your only shot, you made the most of it. And that’s what she and Derek had done. They had to acquire a little help to pull it off, but she was dang proud of her plan.

Kylie and Derek waited a few hundred yards away from the wildlife park gates, hidden behind some trees. According to Della, that distance would be far enough that Burnett couldn’t smell them. Kylie clutched the maps of the park she’d printed off the Internet from the computer in Holiday’s office.

Once Burnett was out of the way, getting into the camp was going to be a piece of cake. Well, it was when you had a certain eye-color-changing shape-shifter helping you out. And to make sure they didn’t run into any unexpected surprises, Della would make a sweep of the park, and then stand as lookout.

Their biggest concern was if Derek’s ability would allow him to learn anything from the animals. He was skeptical.

Kylie wanted to believe in miracles.

Her phone rang. “Done,” Miranda said.

Which meant Miranda had managed to get Holiday’s cell phone and send Burnett the 911 message, a ruse Kylie knew he would not be able to resist. Helen, gracious enough to help, was right now having a meltdown by the creek that required Holiday’s help. The longer Burnett searched for Holiday, the more time Derek would have with the animals.

However, first they needed Burnett to leave. And he did a few minutes later, when he slammed the door to the office and disappeared into the night.

“Looks like he’s in a hurry,” Derek whispered.

“I think he really cares about Holiday.” Kylie’s heart pinched with guilt for scaring Burnett. To make up for it, if things calmed down, Kylie might help get the two of them together.

“Ready?” Derek asked.

She nodded. They ran toward the park, knowing the clock was ticking.

Perry had the gate open for them when they arrived. “See ya.” Because his presence might upset the animals, he took off, sparkles falling around him as he transformed into an eagle and disappeared into the dark sky.

“It still freaks me out to see that,” Della said, stopping at Kylie’s shoulder.

“What did you find?” Kylie asked, knowing their time was short.

“One guard, human—sleeping on the job—in the back office.” Della paused. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come, too?”

Kylie shook her head. “I think the less people involved, the more likely the animals will communicate with Derek. Go back to the camp and let us know when Burnett heads back. Hopefully in time for us to get out.”

Having already studied the maps, Kylie and Derek took off to the section called the “lion’s den” first. Lion’s den? That so didn’t have a good ring to it.

While there were some stars out, the moon, as if stingy with its light, only peered out from behind a cloud every now and then. Even the animal sounds seemed more ominous than usual, or maybe Kylie’s perception was warped because she knew they were trespassing—basically breaking the law. Either way, she found herself moving closer to Derek.

“The lions are right around the bend here,” he said.

She wasn’t sure if it was cat urine or something else, but the stench hit her nose. “I can smell them.” The odor took her back to being trapped in the room with the beast. Her emotions started jamming to the tune of panic.

“Relax,” Derek said.

The fact that he could read her emotions still unnerved her. “I’m trying.”

“There’s something I need to know,” he said at the same time as a lion’s roar rang out.

“What?”

“What are you going to do if we learn that Lucas is behind this?”

“I’ll do the same thing I’ll do if we discover someone else is behind it. Tell Holiday.” She paused. “But that’s not what we’re going to find.”

“You seem really sure he’s innocent.”

She could feel Derek studying her. “And you seem really sure he’s guilty.”

“That’s because the evidence says he is.”

“It’s all circumstantial.”

“For someone who was scared shitless of the guy, you sure have changed your tune.”

Kylie realized where this conversation could lead and she wanted to call it over. “I just want to find out who’s doing this and pray it stops them from closing down the camp.”

“Me, too,” he said.

Feeling a blast of icy wind brush against her, she wrapped her arms around herself.

Derek studied her. “Is the ghost here?”

“Maybe.” She looked around and didn’t see him. “He’s only come back a few times since the lion incident and he never stays but a few seconds.”

“Maybe he’ll help us out the way he did then.”

“Maybe, but I’m hoping we don’t need any help,” she said, and the coldness left as quickly as it had appeared.

They stopped at the fence. “This is it.” Derek peered through the chain-link fence.

“Are they here?” She couldn’t see them.

“Yeah. Behind the tree and beside the pond over there.”

“Do they know we’re here?” Kylie asked.

“Hell, yeah.”

She took a small step back from the fence. “How are you going to do this?”

He chuckled. “I was waiting for you to tell me.”

“You’re serious?” she asked.

“Partly,” he said, sounding a tad insecure.

“Okay.” She bit down on her lip. “Can you read them?”

“Right now, all I’m getting is that they see us as a threat.”

“Why?” Kylie asked at the same time as another wild animal noise—maybe an elephant?—filled the night. “Surely that’s not all they’re feeling.”

“They’re males.” He snickered. “We don’t elaborate on feelings.”

“Real cute,” she muttered.

“I thought so.” He grinned.

“This is serious.” She nudged him with her elbow.

“I know.” His smiled faded. “I told you I didn’t know if this would work.”

“Just concentrate,” Kylie said. “Ask them what they’re afraid of in your mind.”

He leaned his head on the fence and closed his eyes. She watched him. Time crept by, one minute, two. She had to bite her lip to keep from asking him if it was working.

Then thinking if she concentrated, too, maybe it would be better, she moved against his back and placed her hands on his sides.
Why do we scare you? Why do we scare you?
She repeated the question in her mind.

“Kylie?” Derek whispered.

“You getting something?” she asked, hoping.

“I was until…”

“Until what?” she asked.

“Until you pressed your breasts against me. And thinking about them beats lion chatter hands down.” He chuckled. “You’re going to have move back.”

She stepped back and gave him a swat on his back.

He laughed, but then went back to concentrating.

She heard a rustle behind the fence. “I think one of them is coming.”

“Shh,” he said.

She hushed, but when the lion pounced on the fence, she let go of a scream as loud as his roar. Jumping back, heart pounding, she landed on her butt.

“That’s the same lion, isn’t it?” she asked, staring at the creature who stared at her. She would never forget his eyes, golden and hungry.

Derek didn’t answer. He didn’t even turn around to offer her a hand up. Then she noticed how he stood frozen, eyes open, staring at the beast as if … as if they were having a mental chat.

Staying where she was on the ground, so as not to disturb them, she lifted her hands to dust off the gravel. She hadn’t given her hands one dusting when she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

She screamed, and another hand slapped over her mouth.

Derek swung around but before he could even take a step forward, a blond guy had him by the throat, pressing him into the fence. The lion roared behind him.

“Not so loud.” The voice didn’t sound even slightly familiar. From the coldness of the touch, Kylie knew the person who had her was a vampire, or something equally cold-blooded.

Derek struggled to free himself. The lion’s roar grew more threatening.

“What do we have here?” her attacker asked.

Kylie managed to look at him. Auburn colored hair. Red glowing eyes matched his hair. Definitely vampire, she decided, noting his fangs that hung slightly over his bottom lip.

“Looks as if someone is hungry,” said Red, the vamp holding her against him. “Bet the kitty would like to eat a young tender thing like you. Problem is, so would I.”

“What the hell?” The blond guy who had Derek by the neck yelled out, and then he dropped in a dead faint to the ground.

Kylie noticed the intense look on Derek’s face, and she knew he’d done something to the blond. Then Derek’s gaze shot to her and Red.

“Get your hands off her,” Derek said, his voice hoarse.

Kylie saw him lunge forward, but out of the sky two more guys dropped, each grabbing one of Derek’s arms. He struggled.

“Excuse me,” Kylie’s attacker said. “I think I’ll go have a snack.” He jumped back at least twenty-five feet, taking her with him. They landed with a thud. Kylie’s whole body jarred and she bit the edge of her tongue.

Hard.

She tasted blood as it pooled onto her tongue.

She tried to pull away but the vampire’s strength made her feel as capable as a bug against a fast-approaching windshield.