Bite Marks

“Are you ready?”

Instead of answering his question the way I wanted to, I checked my Astral-feed. It showed a dark path similar to the one we’d come in on. And then, a flicker of light. “They’ve found something,” I said.

He grabbed me and kissed me, quickly, deeply, before whispering into my ungadgeted ear, “Never mind the bustier. I want you in wet, tattered clothes. Imagining peeling them off of you, and the hot, soapy shower to follow, is suddenly driving me mad.”

“Do I need to get you a shovel?”

His eyes widened. That choked sound that passed for laughter gurgled out of his throat. He nodded slowly. “Perhaps.”

I allowed myself a moment of pure delight despite the mass of emotions that still clawed at me. Even though I’d regained control of my mind, I’d lost Pete forever. Who knew what would happen after the department reopened? And what the hell was I becoming?

Heavy sigh. Oh well, everybody’s got their shit to deal with. At least I have Vayl at the same time.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

With Vayl’s hand wrapped securely around mine, I ran up the trail beside him, the wind of our sprint making droplets of moisture fly from my hair. Cole met us at a spot where the trail rose abruptly, the steepness of its ascent made user friendly by a set of wooden stairs.

“I figured you’d seen what I saw, but I was coming back to get you just in case,” he whispered as we huddled beside the first step.

“I can’t make out much,” I told him. “Astral is just inching forward, so she must be pretty sure they’ll catch her if she moves any faster.”

Cole responded to Vayl’s puzzled look. “Ruvin and the software guys aren’t inside the rock shelter like we thought they would be. They’re on top of it.”

“How did they get up there?” asked Vayl.

“Not sure. I didn’t see a ladder and the boulders are too smooth to make it a quick climb even if you know what you’re doing.”

“Another illusionary door?” I suggested.

Vayl squeezed my hand. “Brilliant. Let us find it.”

We ran up the stairs, the breeze of our movement chilling me as it plastered my wet clothes to my body.

I put my discomfort aside as we came to another wooden bridge that spanned a shallow ravine and led us to the shelter, a simple arrangement of one massive boulder leaning on another that left a triangular space clear underneath for wanderers who needed shelter from the rain. On top of this monolith our quarry had lit a fire. The angle didn’t allow me to pick out any faces other than Ruvin’s.

“I’m not hearing anything from his bug. Are you on a different frequency again?” I asked.

“No,” said Cole. “Do you think it could’ve fallen off while they were shoving him around?”

“Search for a door,” Vayl ordered.

Cole slipped inside the white fence that kept tourists from touching the ancient paintings I could see adorning the bottom of the bigger boulder. He began combing the outer edges of it as I moved to go inside the shelter.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Vayl asked. When I raised my eyebrows at him he added tactfully,

“I realize it probably would not bother you much that tons of rock were hovering over your head, waiting for just the right earth tremor to shake it to the ground. But if I went in you would not have to be disturbed at all.”

I waved him off. “Naw, I feel great!” And I ducked inside, realizing I did feel awesome. Better than I should considering my circumstances.

It’s Vayl’s bite, said Teen Me. She’d found herself a beanbag chair and thrown it on Granny May’s front porch, where she’d also, somehow, installed an Xbox 360. You’ve got a megahigh going on.

I am not high, I snapped. I’ve never done drugs in my life.

Okay, fine, she agreed without looking away from the flatscreen she’d bolted to the porch rail. What would you compare it to?

I pressed my lips together, only now feeling the soreness from where Vayl’s fangs had sunk in. I felt oddly uncomfortable discussing the aftereffects of tremendous sex with my adolescent self. But I did have that same grin-and-click-your-heels feeling that the world was singing a special tune only I could hear.

Even though I’d experienced similar reactions after Vayl’s two previous bites, I still wasn’t prepared to relax and go with the flow. Because later on I’d crashed. The first time, pretty hard. The second had been shorter, but just as debilitating. I needed to wrap up this case before my body demanded a milk shake and hammock time.

So, while I hummed that soaring song under my breath, I ducked into the shelter and conducted a quick search that netted nothing.

Maybe it’s on the other side. I went through, noting that the path, however far it meandered beyond the shelter, eventually came around to the back of it. And right up next to the formation, nearly buried behind a pile of dead branches, was a Jaz-sized boulder whose face looked like granite but felt like Silly Putty.

I went back for the guys. “Found it,” I whispered, motioning for them to follow me.

“I’ll go first,” Cole volunteered. “After all, if I’d picked a better spot to snipe from, Ruvin wouldn’t be in this mess.” Before we could argue he’d stuck his head through the door. And just as quickly pulled it out.