Smoke drifted past my face. A lazy wind moved the smoke along, disturbing my hair with its hazy fog and making me smell of cheap wine and demon dog. I leaned against a poplar tree and watched the building burn, knowing all the once-beautiful furniture would make good tender.
Once we had reached the surface, Daniel had set the building on fire using wine from Cobb’s feast and a lighter he had in his pocket; one he said he always carried. Then he had called the others to meet us. Our first priority had been to get Alex to the hospital. She hadn’t stirred at all since we’d brought her out. Jackson had volunteered to drive her, wanting to check on Margaret, who was taking Amanda to the hospital. They had found Amanda shivering and hypothermic, but alive. She would live. It was something good in a night filled with bad.
Beatrice explained how they had been confused by images of Amanda and me being taken away in a variety of directions. Apparently the woman Seeker, whom Daniel and I had found torn to pieces when we’d come outside, had a gift for illusion. Finding Amanda had been pure luck…or fate. I was starting to warm to the idea.
After we had played catch up, Beatrice and Daniel started arguing about what to do with me. I listened to the argument without joining in. “I don’t care what you say,” Daniel said forcefully. “She’s not getting tests done on her right now.”
“We need to study her and find out what caused her to act like that,” Beatrice replied.
“She’s not a lab rat to be studied!” he snapped.
“A lot happened down there. We need to understand what, so we know how to proceed. With tests we can get answers,” Beatrice said calmly. “Besides, there’s nothing else we can do here.” She gestured at the burning structure.
I didn’t care what they were saying. My thoughts were with the people whose existence was being erased from the earth at this very moment. All but Amanda’s father. I had made Daniel retrieve the head and look for the rest of the body. Despite the fact that he had tried to kill me – I still didn’t understand how he had created the fireball or turned invisible – I felt sorry for him. A part of me loathed him, but his last act had been to try to protect Amanda. That counted for something.
I looked up at the night sky, where the moon was starting to shine brilliantly, the rains having passed with Margaret’s rage. A million stars danced like diamonds on the horizon. That was good. I started counting stars and waited for Daniel and Beatrice to stop arguing. It took them a while. They were surprisingly chatty when they disagreed on using me for a lab rat.
I finally felt a hand on my cheek and I looked back down to the earth. Although I had lost count of the stars, their presence had helped in another way. They didn’t accuse me of being a murderer, they didn’t judge me for what had happened – they simply existed. They would continue to exist without judgment, without malice long after I was gone. I needed that kind of affirmation. Looking into Daniel’s eyes, I was soothed in yet another way. He was okay. Whatever else I was guilty of, he was okay.
“We’re going to go somewhere to talk.” His face hardened, and I knew he had compromised. “Then…then I think we should go back to my house for some tests. But only if you agree to them.”
“I don’t mind tests, not if they mean answers,” I told him. Feeling a bit distant from everything, I reached out to touch his face to find myself again. As I moved, I realized I wasn’t tired physically. I felt wonderful physically. All my exhaustion was mental. “But I need to call Ellen.”
I couldn’t even begin to think how I would explain to her what had happened.
“Beatrice is going to call her. If she still wants to talk to us, she can call. Beatrice will give her the number.” He held up his phone.
“Okay.”
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded mutely.
Jackson had commandeered Cassandra’s SUV to take Alex to the hospital, so we climbed on his abandoned motorcycle. The black and silver bike roared to life under Daniel’s able touch. We left Beatrice to wait for Jackson’s return and guard Mr. Nichols. Her eyes were thoughtful as she watched the building burn. I sensed her contemplating the tests she would run on me and what the night meant for the future of her family. I put my head against Daniel’s back, and turned my eyes to the front and what lay ahead.
Daniel drove fast, but was more careful with me on the back than Margaret had been. I held him tightly as we bumped down the uneven trail, the forest passing in a blur. I shut my eyes, enjoying the rush of movement again. It was a different enjoyment now. It was affirmation I was still here, that the night hadn’t seen my death.
I wasn’t aware of it when we stopped. Somewhere along the way, I had started crying again. At least this time I wasn’t gasping for breath and debilitated by guilt. Daniel turned off the motorcycle and helped me off. We walked a short distance then he sat and wrapped me in his arms. He whispered words of comfort in my ear and rocked me gently. His calm and understanding helped me regain my composure again. I sat up and wiped the tears away.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Not right now.”
“I…” He was interrupted by the ringing phone. He answered curtly, irritated by the interruption. The conversation was brief, but upsetting. His face melted from irritation to shock. He hung up with a sharp click.
“What?”
“Alex is better. Frightened, depressed, and a little out of it, but otherwise unhurt.” He let that sink in for a moment.
“That’s impossible!” I exclaimed.
“After the night we’ve had, I’d say nothing is impossible.”
No kidding.
“But how did she even get to the bunker? Why was she naked? Why was she hurt? How could she heal like that?” I demanded, thinking that if I could understand her situation then I could understand everything.
“Well…”
He bit his lip, and I was startled by the uncertainty. It made him look more vulnerable than when Thomas had been torturing him. We stared at each other. I could see him trying to decide what to say. I waited, hoping he would opt for the truth.
“She was the demon near the stairs before you fought Thomas. Somehow, she managed to change into one of them then change back when the danger was over.”
I pushed away from him and stood, an idea forming in my head. I knew. I understood what they were all after. It made sense. The epiphany had me pacing with nervous energy. Poor Alex! I had brought my world crashing down onto her head!
“That’s what they wanted! Holy Crap! Do you know what it means?”
“No, I don’t, actually,” Daniel said.
“Alex and I shared out blood tonight. We became blood sisters. I think that’s what Cobb wanted. He kept begging for me to give him my blood willingly. Something about me giving it willingly matters.” I waved my hand, trying to clear the air of his dying plea. “But it changed her. Don’t you see? It made her…” My hand went to my mouth in horror as I realized what I had done. “Oh God! I turned her into a Nightstalker! That’s why they’re after me! I can turn people into demons!”
Daniel moved to stand in front of me. He put his hands on either side of my face. I remembered the sound the bones had made when they were being snapped. All because of me. The panic was overwhelming. My mouth moved without proper words forming.
“Edgar Allan Poe was an overrated hack with mental issues.”
“He was not!”
He laughed at my indignation, his eyes sparkling. I rolled my eyes, realizing what he had done. He took advantage of my less panicked state. “Look at the bright side. We now know what they’re after – your blood. We know that it can change people. I don’t understand the business of her turning into a demon, but at least we have one answer.”
One answer out of a whole hailstorm of questions.
“But what happened with… me?”
“I don’t know, but I promise we’ll figure this out. A hunt as big as this one has to be all over the map. People will have heard about this. With a few phone cal
ls, I might be able to get some answers.”
“Other Watchers? They’ll know about me?”
“Yes. Information travels fast in our world. Even those not involved in the war, hear about things that effect it,” he said.
“Won’t that make it more dangerous…for everyone? I could go…”
I was back to running.
His hands slid from my face and gripped my shoulders. He fought the urge to shake me again. “No! Absolutely not!” I leaned away from him, startled at his vehemence. “You pride yourself on your strength, correct? You think of that strength as the one great asset you have that no one can take. Take away all the variables, all the dangers, and what is the strongest thing you can think to do?”
“Fighting to protect the ones I love,” I answered sullenly. He had trapped me. He had obviously also seen more in our joining than I had thought. I didn’t want to think about how much.
His lips lifted into a satisfied smile. “I’m glad you see the light. Now, come over here and sit down.”
Daniel turned gracefully and sat down on our rock. He laid back and waited for me to join him. Looking past him, I saw we were at a lake; beautiful, dark water lapped lazily against the edge of our rock, which overhung the water. The dull roar I had sensed, but had been too worked up to fully notice, was coming from a waterfall on the opposite side. The waterfall was laughing happily from the moonlight playing across it as it streamed into the dark lake. Dark trees surrounding the water only heightened the beauty of the spot. The full moon looked very big here, almost as if I could reach out and touch it. There was a sense of utter stillness in the air. I felt if I concentrated hard enough I could connect with every other living thing in the universe. I laid down feeling a curious sense of déjà vu.
After a moment, I asked, “What does this mean for Alex?”
He ran his thumb over my hand he had claimed and said thoughtfully, “I honestly don’t know. I’m not even sure how she’s able to move between the Nightstalker and her human self. After we change, we stay changed. It’s part of our curse. She shouldn’t be able to just transcend that barrier.”
I thought about it. “Maybe, it has something to do with me?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just a feeling, but I think I may have given her a part of myself. Maybe, my talent includes being able to change shapes or something?”
He thought about it. “Maybe. But how did you create that fire? How can you do any of this before the change?”
“Good point. I don’t know. You know what that fire was like, right?”
“Yes.”
Neither of us had to say it aloud: The fire at the pool.
“I think Gavin Nichols had my blood. I think they were giving it to him, but I don’t think it was working very well. I think he wasn’t really trying to figure out how to capture me, but how to get me to give my blood to them willingly. I doubt Mr. Nichols knew it was my blood that made him able to create fires and turn invisible and stuff.”
“But how did they have your blood in the first place?” he asked.
“Ellen.”
It instantly clicked for him. “The attack.”
“Yes.” I shook my head, frustrated. “I don’t get why I have to give it willingly, though. That doesn’t make any sense. What am I saying? None of this makes sense.”
He started laughing. I made a face at him. “I’m sorry it’s just…I knew from the day I met you, you were different. I just didn’t know how different. This explains so much, even if it explains so little.”
“It also doesn’t explain how they knew my blood was capable of turning people.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “No…it doesn’t.”
We were silent for a long minute lost in our separate thoughts. I assumed Daniel was going over what he had witnessed in the cellar. I certainly was. I replayed what had happened before I’d lost my mind and went super-Rambo. My thoughts kept returning to the people I had killed. Thomas’s expression when he died flashed in front of my eyes over and over again. It was the death that felt the most personal.
“How’d they capture you anyway?” I asked not wanting to think about Thomas anymore.
“The woman made it look like she had captured you and was running off. I gave chase and we fought. I underestimated their strength, though. They overwhelmed me.”
He picked up a small pebble, and chucked it into the dark water, disturbing the dark, liquid surface. His agitation at the memory was obvious.
“It took three of them?”
“Yep.”
I smiled slyly, a thought occurring. “You’re not embarrassed that a girl saved your angelic butt, are you? Especially the girl who happens to be your…girlfriend.”
His face was full of macho superiority. “Of course not. But I would have gotten us out of there eventually.”
“In pieces,” I muttered. “They’ll come again won’t they? This isn’t the end of it.”
He sighed like Atlas shouldering the world. “Yes. A marker of our kind is our resilience and determination. Beyond that…I know Marcus will send others. He does not give up easily. You mean a lot of money if he can sell you. That is also something he does not give up easily.”
“You sound like you know him personally.”
“I do.” His admission wasn’t encouragement. I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it. I wasn’t in the mood to push him.
More would come. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my days fighting, but I knew I would if it meant having the things I wanted…like Daniel. Did that make me selfish? I sighed and shook my head. That was a question for another night.
“Before we go to your house, can we run by Alex’s? I want to make sure she’s okay.”
And that she didn’t hate me for what I had inadvertently done to her.
“Of course.” He sounded glad for the excuse.
I looked out at the lake wondering if I had lost Alex as a friend. I wondered how Amanda would cope, and what would become of me, the killer. I looked down at my soiled clothes feeling dirty for a million reasons. I wouldn’t feel better for a long time, but right now, I really wanted to be clean, to wash away the silver blood that was encrusted on my skin, hair, and clothes. I needed to wash away the night. I stood abruptly and kicked off my shoes then peeled away the socks that were already drenched from my dive into the river. I started on my shirt.
“What are you doing?” Daniel asked nervously as he watched me strip.
“Shut your eyes and don’t you dare peek,” I warned. I didn’t care that he was there. The desire to be clean, to get the blood off me was too overpowering.
“Clare…” he started, then he slapped his hand over his eyes as I peeled away my shirt.
I started laughing at the expression on his face. It was nice to know I could make him so jittery. Nice, because he spent all his time doing that to me.
I went to the edge of the large rock we were sitting on and dove into the water with a clean slice. The water was breathtakingly cold. But, I felt better. Cleansed. I treaded water and scrubbed at my arms and neck to wash the blood away. Without any soap, it was tough, but it came off, little by little, exposing my pale skin.
When I was done with my cleansing, I floated on my back and stared up at the moon. Long moments passed where the only things I was aware of were the sound of my heart beating, the crickets chirping, and the moon hanging low in the sky.
“I just realized something,” I called to out to Daniel as I stared at the sky.
“Can I open my eyes now?” he asked, his voice laced with laughter.
“Nope. I just realized that the answers we’re looking for don’t matter nearly as much as moments like these. All the bad stuff…” I held my arms up toward the moon, trying to embrace her, “can’t compare to this.”
I heard an unexpected splash come from the direction of the rock. I swallowed water as I dunked beneath the surface to hide my body. Daniel came towards me doing a slow breaststr
oke his eyes playful.
With everything but my head beneath the water I said, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Swimming.”
“This is my lake,” I said.
“You can’t own a lake.”
“Well, just stay over there. That’s your side. This is my side.”
Ignoring me, he swam right up, his bare chest reflecting the light of the moon. “You’re right. It’s moments like these that matter. Everything else…peripheral.” He touched my neck, cupping it gently. “And Clare?” I looked at him questioningly. “I totally peeked at you.”
“That’s because you’re a cheater.”
“No one is perfect.”
I rolled my eyes. Then, because he was so conveniently close, I kissed him. He felt great, solid and real, continuity in a life that felt like it was being overrun by too much random weirdness.
I broke away from him, all too aware of how easy kissing him was, how easily getting lost in the moment would be. Now wasn’t the time for that…not when I was so emotional and confused.
Feeling slightly awkward with the emotions pounding inside my chest, I shoved Daniel under the water and swam towards the waterfall, daring him to catch up. Laughing, we raced each other there, not as half-angels, not as murderers, but as two people embracing the moment.
We tied.
Epilogue