Page 39 of Taken By Raider Kings
“Not that I can smell.I’ve kept us in here all rutting day.Bored out of our minds, but we caught the soaps.Brenda finally ditched that SOB.”Eric shrugged, his leather jacket creaking.
“No shit?”Zach’s smile returned.“Because he slept with Susan?”
“No, she doesn’t know that yet.”Eric’s tone turned low, confidential.“It’s because she’s carrying that other guy’s baby.Or shethinksshe is, because someone switched the pregnancy tests.I think it was her roommate—the blonde girl.”
“Huh.”Zach scratched his cheek, ran stiff fingers through soaked dark hair.Water darkened the pale streak, slicked it back from his strong-boned face.“Wow.No kidding.”
They watch soap operas?For a moment, Sophie had the exquisitely weird sensation of being in a world where normal rules didn’t apply.I can’t even afford a television.And here I am with a bunch of striped, soap-opera-watching werewolves.Jeez.
A swell of laughter hit right under her stomach, rose to her lips with a burp.She took a scalding gulp of coffee before Brenn leapt out of the bathroom, bounding up to the bed with two quick strides.He presented her with a white motel towel as Julia burst from the same place, her face a thundercloud and her entire body rippling.
Sophie didn’t even see Zach move.One moment he was by the door, one hand in his pocket and the other pushing his hair back.The next, he had the girl by the throat, and the impact rattled against the flimsy wall.She kicked, but he avoided her foot and slammed her against the wall again—not as hard as he could, Sophie could tell, but hard enough to make the entire room quiver again.
“Calm down.”A touch of growl under the words made the window—looking out on a sorry weed-strewn parking lot, the blue van parked right in front of the room—flex and clatter.Sophie’s jaw dropped; she almost dropped the mug, as well.There was no place to hide herself.“We’re not going to have any of that.”
Sophie shuddered, waiting for the explosion, but Julia seemed to shrink.She made a curious noise, half-whining way back in her throat, and Sophie was reminded of a nature special about wolfpacks way back in high school.Fights among big canines rarely turned deadly, because one wolf would surrender in some way and the other would take the submission as a signal to stop fighting.
Now she wondered if Marc just hadn’t been able to get that signal, if that was the reason why he had kept going until hereallyhurt her.Made her cry, or scream… or bleed.Her hands trembled, the shaking spilling up her arms, through her middle.
What was she going to do if Zach started yelling and punching?She was as helpless as ever.
The misty faces sharpened, a gossamer sheet laid over the real world.She tried pushing the vision away—no luck.They crowded around Zach and Julia, watching; some reached with thin, insubstantial hands, smoothing them over the girl’s body without quite touching her.
And just as soon as it had started, the violence dyeing the air… disappeared.
Zach let go of Julia, who landed on her feet and shook her long rippling hair, the pale streak flashing.“Bully.”Her lip curled, but some essential unsteadiness had vanished, and she slid away.The faces retreated just a little bit.
The girl didn’t seem afraid or upset in the least.
What the hell just happened?Sophie’s gaze darted across the room, searching the different faces.
Eric let out a short breath, his shoulders dropping.He glanced at her, and she could have sworn he looked… grateful?Was that it?
Brenn had dropped the towel and stood, his eyebrows drawn together.His expression went through several changes, emotions flickering too quickly for Sophie to decipher, and finally settled on deep relief.
“Yeah, right.”Zach sighed.“I think we’d better get out of here.We’ve got work to do.Got to find our shaman a new place to live—theupirtorched her apartment building last night.She’s not too happy about that.”
Boy, is that the understatement of the year.A completely inappropriate urge to giggle shrilly bubbled up inside Sophie, right next to the unsteady, panicked feeling she used to get when Marc came home angry and silent.
“Don’t they hate fire?”Brenn had dropped down into a half-crouch, now watching Sophie closely.She firmed her mouth into a usual expression, or what might pass for one.Her face didn’t feel like it wanted to cooperate, so she focused on the coffee’s brown-black swirls.
The liquid sloshed; she tried hard to steady her hands.
“Yeah.”Zach spread his hands, dropped them.“Which is why we’re going to be keeping a low profile for the time being.Since we have a shaman, though, there’s no need for us to be Tribe-quiet, and we’ve got to find out who wants her dead.Julia, Brenn, start packing.Eric, get the van ready.”His gaze swung over the room once, clearly measuring or taking internal notes, and met hers.“Sophie.Want to get cleaned up, get some fresh clothes?”
She didn’t miss the way everyone suddenly focused on her.Their attention was heavy, expectant; shehatedbeing looked at.Cold rainwater dripped down the back of her neck, her hair was a mess, and her entire body ached so bad she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand.“Sure,” she said into the mug, liquid trembling as her breath touched the surface.“Love to.You wouldn’t happen to have any aspirin, would you?My head’s killing me.”
“Find her some aspirin, Julia.”Zach didn’t miss a beat.They all whirled into motion except him—he just stood by the bathroom door looking at her, both hands stuffed in his jean-pockets now, wet hair hanging over his dark eyes.
I must look like a bag lady.Her clothes were sticking to her skin, her glasses were fogging, and she felt suddenly shapeless.
And very vulnerable.
The coffee smelled good, though.The room was warm, it wasn’t raining on her, and there was nothing to worry about right this second.
Unless it was her entire apartment building, gutted.Or Zach’s gaze fastened to her.Or the ghostly, gauzy faces even now clustering her, their mouths moving.Under the sounds of the real world—Julia asking a question, Eric humming to himself as he collected keys and a jacket, Brenn rolling up the leather he’d been working on—was a reedy little mumble, like crickets.
And now Sophie was wondering if she might seeLucy’sface, and the prospect was enough to make a little shiver of dread down her spine.What exactly were these “spirits”?Was she going crazy?Zach said she was sane, and he knew what she was talking about.It didn’t seem like a joke.
