Instinct Ascending: Rabids Book 2 (25 page)

Amiel

Amiel stared at the girl standing before her door.

“Charleen?”

The enigmatic blonde woman with pristine blue eyes gave a sharp nod.

“Oh, um, please come in.” Amiel stepped aside. The woman took a deep breath before pushing herself over the threshold. Her gaze wandered the room, eyes searching each detail, body stiff with a tense sort of apprehension. In that moment, she reminded Amiel an awful lot of Harley, and the way he’d first appeared in her apartment. It brought a smile to her face. It had been a long time since Harley was so nervous in here. Charleen suddenly leaned toward Amiel and took in a deep whiff.

“You smell of Harley.”

Amiel’s lips parted in an O of surprise. She’d forgotten just how brusque Charleen could be at times. The blush soon followed.

“I do?”

Charleen nodded, moving back around the room, looking as though she wanted to touch everything she came across, yet holding herself back. Again Amiel grinned, reminded of Harley and his tendency to do the same when he came over. Perhaps that was their way of marking territories? If that were the case, Charleen refraining from touching her things was surely a sign of respect.

“Everything in here smells of him,” the woman confirmed.

“I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning,” Amiel offered, her curiosity over this unexpected visit growing every second. Charleen nodded again.

“It is because you yearn for him. Your body holds onto his essence for as long as it can.”

Amiel’s eyes flew wide, cheeks flushing deeper at Charleen’s blunt assumption of her yearnings for Harley.

“Uh… I didn’t know that?” She wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say or not, but Harley’s warnings of control echoed in her mind, and arguing anything with Charleen was the last thing she wanted to do.

“You were expecting him.”

“Yes. He usually comes over at this time and we train together at the gym before work.”

“He takes you patrolling after work,” Charleen stated, turning to face her.

“Yes.” Amiel dragged out the word, still entirely lost. Did Charleen just come over tonight to tell her her schedule?

“He will not come tonight, or after work.”

Amiel felt her heart falter. There could be so many reasons as to why he wasn’t coming, but something told her the reasons were not good ones.

“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately.

“He has Collapsed, I assume.”

“Collapsed? Oh, my gosh, what happened? I can help.” She reached for her coat, ready to rush to his side.

“He is in Foundation; you can’t help him there.”

Amiel bit her lip, feeling panic welling within. If Harley was Collapsed at Foundation, didn’t that mean he was in danger? As though sensing Amiel’s thoughts, Charleen answered.

“No one will harm him. Not this time, at least.”

“I don’t understand.” Tears burned in her eyes, the urgency within demanding she seek out Harley immediately.

“Harley…” Charleen paused, searching for the right words. “…proved himself to be a very dangerous man to cross today. No one will go against his strength, even in his currently weakened state: out of respect, if not fear.”

Amiel sank onto the foot of her bed, fingers gripping her legs to stop their shaking.

“What happened?”

“He saved his brother from dishonor and possibly death.”

“Is Cajun all right?” Amiel asked cautiously. Charleen turned to regard her carefully, a curious gleam in her eyes.

“He is as well as can be expected. I thank you for your concern,” Charleen replied hesitantly. Cautiously, she sat on the lone chair in the room, fidgeting on it as though unsure how to sit. “Cajun is… not always in control of himself. They were dealt punishment of fifty lashings each. Harley stepped in and took his brother’s lashings on top of his own. Had he not, Cajun would have lost control and been put down. It is a tradition of action Harley has carried on behalf of his brother for many years.”

“Lashings?” Amiel gasped. “Are we talking lashings like the thing with the whip that they did in medieval days?”

Charleen’s head ticked to the side in thought. “I don’t know of the medieval days. Formal education has not been wasted on me.”

Amiel thought she saw a moment of sadness in Charleen’s gaze, but if it was there, it was gone in a split second.

“But yes, it does involve a whip. The pain can be… torturous for our kind.”

“Oh, gosh, with your sensitive skin! I can’t even imagine how painful…” Amiel felt her horror battling with the fury within. “Will Harley be okay?”

“He will survive. My Second always survives. He is strong.”

Amiel blinked at Charleen’s odd, somewhat formal, phrasing of everything she said tonight. “Are
you
okay?”

Charleen blinked at her in the closest thing to surprise Amiel had seen from her. “I apologize. I am struggling with myself at this moment. It is not an easy thing to watch your family endure such pain.”

Amiel’s fists clenched in her lap. “Why did this happen? What could they possibly have done to deserve this?”

“The man they call Darvey…”

“Darvey did this? I’ll kill him, the little snake!” Amiel was immediately on her feet, hands shaking at her sides with fury. Charleen watched her carefully, a calculating light entering her astute gaze. Amiel swallowed hard, remembering what Harley had told her
. Control. Control
. She whispered the word over and over in her mind. It wasn’t helping much. She forced herself to sit back on the bed, though she couldn’t do much about the stiffness in her body.

“He is already dead,” Charleen stated simply, still watching her carefully. Amiel felt an odd sort of conflict within. Part of her was relieved, and part of her wished she’d been able to witness it. Both appalling thoughts, yet seemingly unavoidable as they stayed firmly lodged within. Charleen saved her from too much internal confusion on the matter as she began explaining everything in her clinical and clipped way. By the end, Amiel was pacing the length of her small apartment, and Charleen watched each pass like a cat with a toy.

“Thank you for telling me, Charleen.” Amiel rubbed at her eyes. “I wish I could do something to help him.”

Charleen grabbed Amiel’s phone from the side table near the chair, offering it to her.

“Call your work. Tell them you are ill.”

“No, really, I am fine.”

Charleen’s left brow rose imperiously. “It wasn’t a request. You’ll be busy tonight.”

“I will?” Amiel asked cautiously.

“Yes. You’re spending the night with me.”

Amiel swallowed hard, glancing at the doorway as though she could escape. Charleen stood gracefully, a rare smile on her lips.

“Don’t worry. I usually don’t bite.” She strode toward the door, holding it open wide, waiting. Amiel zipped up her coat and grabbed her phone, hesitantly walking toward the door. Charleen stopped her as she reached for her helmet on the counter.

“You won’t be needing that tonight.”

“This isn’t where you kill me and hide my body, is it?”

Charleen frowned in thought. “Why would I hide the body? Rabids would handle disposal just fine.”

Amiel froze, eyes wide in silent horror. Charleen’s grin grew, and she actually laughed. “No, Amiel. You have nothing to fear from me. This night or any other.” Her smile disappeared. “Unless you make me angry.”

Amiel waited for the smile to return. When it didn’t, she swallowed hard and carefully edged by Charleen on the way out the door.

“You spook easily,” Charleen pointed out, joining her in the hallway, small smile back in place. “We need to work on that.”

“We do?”

“It’s on the to-do list.”

“We have a to-do list?”

“Of course. This is my first real girls’ night out. I don’t want to forget anything.” Charleen offered her a large grin, and Amiel said a silent prayer that she would survive the night.

As it turned out, it was one of the best nights she’d had in a long time. Charleen took her directly to the gym, which made Amiel endlessly nervous. Training with Charleen was intimidating to the core. Yet when they got inside, she watched in confusion as Charleen promptly sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes. Amiel stared, body tense, waiting for the girl to spring from the floor and catch her unawares.

“Sit.”

Amiel jumped at the quietly spoken word. Charleen didn’t bother opening her eyes; her serene expression never changed. Amiel carefully stepped forward, her feet moving silently, still expecting attack. A small smile quirked Charleen’s lips.

“While your stealth is admirable, you won’t need it.”

Amiel bit her lip, but finally sat, moving to position her body as closely mimicking Charleen’s as she could.

“Close your eyes.”

“How did you…”

“I can feel your suspicion burning a hole through me.”

Amiel blushed. “Sorry. I just… what are we doing?”

“Training.”

“This is training?”

“Not all conditioning revolves around the body, Amiel. Sometimes the mind can be the most powerful weapon, or defense.”

“So, you’re not going to jump up and attack me the moment I close my eyes?”

Charleen laughed again, the sound musical and light. It was so entirely in contrast with what Amiel knew of Charleen, it was all that much more charming.

“If that is how Harley trains you, it is no wonder that you are so tense all the time.”

“I am not tense all the time,” Amiel argued. Charleen opened one eye, peeking at her with a grin that argued without a single word. “Well… either way, his training has helped a great deal. It’s good to always be aware of the dangers around you,” Amiel added, feeling the need to defend her friend.

“I am not attacking Harley’s methods, Amiel. I am merely pointing out that, sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in the battle of the storm within: so easy that you forget the calm that can be found by centering yourself in it.”

Amiel blinked, caught off guard by the depth of that particular statement. Taking a deep breath, Amiel closed her eyes. For a long time they sat silently, floating in the eye of their own storms.

“Meditation is a way to your deeper self.” Charleen’s voice was calm, quiet and serene. “There will be times you feel out of control. When those times come, meditation is your key to dominance. Everything in the Hybrid lifestyle comes down to dominance.”

“Does that apply to me too?”

“You are one of us now. In every aspect that matters. Of course it applies to you.” That sheer acceptance warmed Amiel’s heart, through and through.

“I think we need to teach Harley meditation.” Amiel felt Charleen’s smile more than she saw it, with her eyes still closed.

“Harley is in a constant state of meditation, I think. Only he does it differently than most.”

“What does he do, stand on his head?”

“No. But he gets lost inside himself often.” A frown entered Charleen’s tone. “That is a gift that can be helpful, for self-reflection and betterment. It can also be detrimental.”

“He is too hard on himself. Takes everything to heart,” Amiel guessed.

“Yes. As do you.”

Amiel was glad her eyes were closed. It helped ward off some of her embarrassment. She was finding that Charleen had the uncomfortable ability to see deeper than the average person.

“You are new to this life, Amiel. You walk a path no one has before you, aside from your brother; and he is no longer around to ask for guidance. You can’t expect to be a master of self-control, a master of a part of you that you do not understand. Not yet. But, given time, you shall conquer all, and be better for it. And in the meantime, you have us to rely on.”

Amiel squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that threatened.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You are welcome. Now, be a dog with me.”

Amiel opened her eyes in confusion, only to find Charleen bending her body in the downward-facing dog position. She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled from her lips, as she quickly moved to replicate the position as best she could. The rest of the night was spent with quiet laughter, and movement that relaxed and stretched the body and mind alike. They didn’t speak in depth about their personal lives, or hopes or dreams. They merely enjoyed one another’s company. And it was pure bliss.

By the time Charleen took Amiel back home, the sun was rising, and Amiel was yawning. Her body and mind felt relaxed and warm, all too ready to cuddle into bed.

“I never had the chance to thank you for that night out at the restaurant. It was a smart and sneaky way of making the boys be nice to one another.” Charleen grinned, clearly enjoying the sneaky factor. “I couldn’t have stood Cajun’s whining over his brother another day. So thank you for that.”

Amiel grinned. “It was my pleasure. I couldn’t let them be angry at each other because of me. I know how it feels to lose a brother. I would never wish to impose such a loss on a friend.”