Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (15 page)

We all watched her walk away with Elizabeth and Gilbert, then Detherina spoke to me. “Thank you. My daughter is very lucky to have you.”

“It’s my pleasure to be there for Shannon.” What a loser thing to say, but somehow, this seemed to please her. Matro also inclined his head in a gesture of appreciation.

“Take good care of yourselves,” she said to all of us. “I will keep you informed. Carionis will stay and keep watch. After we bury Arthur, Matro will stay nearby.” They disappeared without giving me a chance to respond or tell them goodbye.

“That’s so weird,” Darryl observed after Detherina and the rest left. “That’s Shannon’s real mom?”

I nodded.

“Wow.” From the corner of my eye, I thought I spied him wiping a little drool from his chin.

We went back to school and finished the rest of the day. The mood was somber, and for the first time, I thought about the impact of losing a loved one. My parents were healthy, and they’d probably be around for a very long time. Even though we drove each other nuts, I couldn’t picture life without them.
 

The last ten days had been a whirlwind. Everything had happened so fast, and most of it still made me shake my head in amazement. Mark had been right. I might have been weird to begin with, but the recent events had taken things way beyond just “weird.”

Mertest

The pungent aroma of pot roast woke me up. I’d fallen asleep on the sofa right after school.
 
I scrubbed my eyes and strained to see the time. Once again, my catnap had turned into a two-hour sleep.
 

I got up and sluggishly walked to the kitchen to give my mother a kiss. “Hi, Mom.”

“How was the funeral service?”
 

“It was okay, I guess.” Really, what did people expect from a funeral? “What time’s dinner?” I asked, taking a glass from the cabinet.

“In an hour. Your dad is running late.”

I poured myself some orange juice and downed it. Then I said, “I’m going out for a run. I’ll be back in time for dinner.”
 

“Take a flashlight,” Mom called after me.

In two minutes, I was in my running clothes and out the door, hot air chafing my face.
 
It was early autumn already, but in Southern California, winter didn’t begin until late November or early December. I could do without the heat and preferred the winter.
 
I got in my groove with a brisk walking pace and then broke into a jog for the first quarter mile, picking up speed until I hit my stride. To avoid any encounters with the Ergans, I decided to take the shorter route with well-lit streets. I had my ear buds in place and music blaring, but I stayed alert.

Running had been an outlet for me throughout the years. If I had problems, running was the answer. It helped me forget about the bad stuff. If someone made fun of me at school, I would run to let off steam. This time, I needed to clear my head and get a better handle on what I’d gotten myself into.

If I hadn’t been crushing on Shannon, I might have dismissed Detherina’s plea for help and told her to buzz off. However, I’d been daydreaming about Shannon since freshman year, so the opportunity to be with her looked like the chance of a lifetime. I wouldn’t dream of turning down her mother’s request. This was a mission, and I was on board with it all the way. After all, I enjoyed being with Shannon, and her safety had come to mean more to me than anything. I wouldn’t have had the balls to stand up to Kevin if it hadn’t been for the little talk with Detherina, and to be honest, getting saddled with the title
Prodian
was an ego boost, too.
 

The lamppost on the corner of our street began flickering as if it were taking its last breath. Aside from the faint light coming from our neighbor’s house, the street was blanketed in darkness. I glanced up at the dull half-moon and began to sprint. Out of nowhere, heavy panting rose behind me, loud enough to be heard over my music.

Without looking back, I kept pounding my feet on the pavement. Ten houses before I reached the safety of my home, two massive mongrels jumped out in front of me. I couldn’t see their bodies very well, but their yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. They blocked my path, making it impossible for me to move forward. Their teeth made horrible gnashing sounds like they thought I was their dinner. I took a step back.

Why are you protecting a species you know nothing about?
The question floated in the air with no movement from their mouths, which got bigger the closer they got. This optical illusion had to be one of the mind tricks Detherina had warned me they’d use.

“Why are you intent on taking Shannon when she hasn’t done anything to you?” I asked, not fazed by their proximity. Detherina had told me that Ergans couldn’t kill me themselves, so I had to trust that she was right. It wasn’t like running was an option anyway.
 

Her mother is a whore. She’s brought destruction to our people. She must die.
The words swirled around me like a brush of wind.
 

I took another step back when they drew closer. Their teeth were jagged and sharp, and I had a sinking feeling that even if they couldn’t kill me, those teeth could do a number on my puny body. Each movement of their claws on the pavement made a horrible scratching noise and they stunk to high heaven.
 

The glare of headlights came from behind me without warning. An engine revved and accelerated, and a motorcycle came out of nowhere, braking a hairsbreadth from my leg.

I turned to see Carionis.
 

“Hop on,” he shouted above the roar of the engine.

There was no hesitation on my part. I jumped behind him. Startled, the creatures rushed forward, but Carionis took out a bottle and splashed its contents on them. On contact, they fell on the ground, convulsing. The motorcycle spun around, smoke rising up from the rubber, and Carionis spat on the ground.
 

“Serves you right,” he said before we sped away.

It dawned on me that he was driving away from my house. “Where the hell are you taking me?” I asked, hating that I was clinging to him like a damsel in distress.

“You and I need to have a little talk, unless you want to introduce me to your mom and pops right away.” He snickered and revved the motor.

We had to be going a hundred miles per hour. The wind dried the sweat on my face, so I couldn’t complain. I hung on tight while we made our way toward the darker patch of Griffith Park. Carionis turned off the headlight, and we covered several miles in the darkness. When we stopped, I jumped off before he could even turn off the engine.

I knew the guy had saved my life, but something told me that he wasn’t too happy about it.

“I talk, and you listen.
Capisce
?” Carionis leaned against the motorcycle.
 

I put my hands on my waist and shrugged.
 

“First, I’m here to look after you and Shannon. Shannon mostly,” he added as an afterthought. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t stand still and wait for those morons to slaughter you.”

My eyes widened. “Detherina said they couldn’t kill me. You were there. You heard her!”

“True, but I’ve seen those beasts at work. They can manipulate the weak-minded into doing the damage themselves.”

This information made me shudder. “So how do I protect myself from those . . . dogs?”

“They’re not dogs. They’re a cross between a gorilla and a bull. They can’t run fast, even on all fours. They create an illusion to make you think they can. Their claws hurt like hell, and their fangs can shred you to pieces. So if I were you, I’d carry Mertest everywhere I go.”

“Mer-what?”

“M-E-R-T-E-S-T,” he spelled it out like he was talking to an idiot. “That bottle the Totren left in your car.
 

“Totren?” I repeated.

“Detherina, she’s a Totren—our ruler. She left a bottle in your car when she first showed herself to you, didn’t she?”

I suddenly remembered. “Oh . . .
that
bottle.” I’d thought it was some sort of perfume. It was still sitting inside my glove compartment.

“You thought she left you cologne?” Carionis snickered.
 

If this was the guy who’d be watching my back, I had a feeling that we’d end up killing each other.

“You don’t have to like me, Morrison. I can definitely say that I don’t fancy being your nanny. But an order is an order. I respect our Totren, and Shannon is—” He shook his head.

“What about Shannon? You dig her, don’t you? I saw you watching us this morning.”

Carionis clenched his jaw and looked away. “I’m not even going to answer that. Just make my job easier, would you? Run with protection, loose the freakin’ earbuds, and stay alert.”

Looks like I hit a sore spot. Well, whoop-dee-doo.
“What is Mertest, anyway?”

Carionis sighed before answering. “It’s a potion we use to subdue the Ergans. It incapacitates them and then turns them into dust.”

“Where do you get it?” I asked, remembering the purple bottle Detherina left with me.

“It’s a concoction made by our spiritualist,” he said. “Now, if we’re done with the twenty questions, I want to know if you understand what I’m telling you. No earbuds while running. Keep your eyes open, and most of all, don’t toy with your life.”

“Yes, I heard you,” I replied, wishing he’d shut up and take me home.
 

“Whatever suits you. Just make sure you take good care of Shannon, or I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
 

If Carionis meant to threaten me, it hadn’t worked. The ride back was quiet, but tense. Neither one of us spoke.
 

Carionis stopped in front of my house. “I’ll drop by tomorrow afternoon. Be prepared to introduce me to your parents,” he said before speeding away.

Sure, my parents would buy the idea that I’d made a new friend.
Not
! First of all, I didn’t make friends, not by choice. Second, I had always hung out with a pretty boring crowd, like the photography club members. Darryl and Mark were the exceptions.
 
Carionis, with his Mohawk and piercings, would make my parents raise their eyebrows and question my choices.

“Bri-boy, is that you?” Mom called out from the kitchen.

I cleared my throat. “It’s me.” Before I could head straight to my bedroom, she called out again.

“Set the table, will you?”

“Okay.” Reluctant, I turned around and headed to the kitchen.

I turned in early that night so I could wake up a bit earlier. My plan was to wait for Shannon in front of the school so I could talk to her before classes started.
 

Mark and Darryl showed up a few minutes after I got there, so we hung out until I spotted Shannon. I shooed them away just before she started climbing the steps.
 

“Hey.” I stood up. “How’re you doing?”
 

She gave me a weak smile. “I’m okay. It’s just hard, you know, knowing I won’t see my dad anymore.”

I could just imagine. “I’m sorry. You know I’m here if you need to talk.”
 

We walked toward the building together. The corridor was filled with loitering students, waiting for the bell to ring. When we got to our photography class, we both sat in the back of the room.