Scarlet Night (Limited Edition) (14 page)

“Thank G
od for small favors!” Serena grumbled as she used her aura to steal the keys to one of the cars on the dealership’s lot, “I don’t know what we’d do if I had to try and hotwire a ride.”

“I still don’t see why we have to
steal
the car!” Zoey frowned, hoisting Zane into the back seat of the convertible with her aura.

Serena sighed, “Because I left my checkbook at home! God, Zoey, are you
serious
? If we’re standing around when they flashing lights show up do you think us
jacking a car
when there’s all
this
”—she motioned to all the damage in the streets and finished her arc with a nod to Zane—“is
really
going to be their main focus? We’ll be lucky if we aren’t brought in as
terrorists
! Besides, he’s too heavy for us to carry and I can’t travel with
both
of you in overdrive!”

Zoey blushed. “I suppose that’s true…”

“Fuckin’ A it’s true! Now get in!” Serena hopped over the driver-side door and nestled into the cushioned leather seat and ran her fingers over the steering wheel with her left hand as she fed the stolen key into the ignition. “Oh, baby! Where you been all my life?”

Zoey frowned and looked over. “What was that?”

Serena pouted and shrugged, “I said ‘this’ll have to do’.”

Zoey frowned and shook her head, sighing nervously. “Should we at least leave a note or something?” she asked, chewing her lip.

“Nah. The thing’s probably insured, and if it’s not they have it coming. Besides, what would you write? ‘So sorry to have stolen your car. Better luck next time’? Yea, real badass!” she shook her head and shifted into gear before slamming the accelerator to the floor and rocketing out of the lot; “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

Zoey whimpered, pressing her hands against the dashboard to secure herself, “I… I think I left it back there, actually!”

Serena rolled her eyes and turned sharply onto the next street, running the light and hopping the curb as she did. “Shit! The steering’s loose! Piece of junk!” she frowned as the sirens’ wails grew louder and she realized they were coming from ahead. “Aw, dammit! Zoey, a little help?”

“If I do will you slow down?”

“Not likely, but at least we won’t have an entourage of law-enforcement following us all the way back to the clan!”

Zoey groaned in defeat.

Serena smiled, “Knew I could count on you!”

As the emergency response crew neared, both Serena and Zoey’s auras darted out, entering each and every mind and cloaking their escape as they passed.

“God damn, Zoey! We make one hell of a—” the headlights of an ambulance caught the windshield as it changed lanes, the driver unaware of the car in its path due to the pair’s auric blinders, and Serena flinched as the impending collision approached. In an instant, the world around them went blue as Zoey’s aura wrapped around the car and yanked it to the left and out of the path of destruction. “Holy shit!” Serena’s eyes went wide as she watched the tail lights of the ambulance disappear in the rearview mirror, “I mean, wow;
that
was adventurous, huh? Look at that, they took off the mirror on your side!” she cackled and slapped her left knee, “Damn, Zoey! I should drive with you more often!”

“I think I’m going to be sick!” Zoey cried out, still bracing herself.

“Oh c’mon, ya big baby! We did it!” Serena laughed wildly as she ran another light to make a hair-pin turn.

“Oh god! We’re going to die!” Zoey squeaked.

“Is he going to be okay?” Zoey’s already soft voice was nervous and shaken.

Zane groaned and struggled to open his eyes, but found his lids heavy and unresponsive
. He sighed and, still rolling on what he assumed was a sedative-induced calm, enjoyed the serenity while it lasted. Though he couldn’t see, he recognized the energies of the clan and found further comfort in knowing that they’d made it back safely.

And that was about all that made sense to him at that moment.

He recalled the fight—the familiar rage and the overpowering impulse to murder and destroy—and he
also
remembered seeing Serena.

A
nd then he remembered…

Clarity?

Peace?

That couldn’t have been right. Nothing about the curse was clear, and there certainly was nothing
peaceful
about it; nothing! Perhaps Serena or Zoey had altered his memories to cover up some horrible act…?

He was just beginning to test his mental condition to see if something hinted towards auric tampering when a second voice interrupted his thoughts
; “It looks like he won’t have any prolonged injuries. His wounds were pretty severe, but his… er, unique condition seems to have repaired a lot of the damage. He’s also responding positively to the enchanted synth-blood we have him on, but we’re still monitoring for any lingering damage to his psyche. We should know for certain in a day or two when the swelling in his head’s gone down.”

“That’s a relief
,” Zoey said with a heavy exhale, “The big dummy! This was the
second
time he’d transformed in less than 24 hours! Every time it happens I can sense his pain from all the way across town! I don’t know how many times he can go through that before his body…” Zoey’s voice trailed off.

Zane tried to move again—to will some response that would tell Zoey he was awake—but his body was still unresponsive
.

“It’s hard to tell.
He’s not
built
for the process. While I don’t understand exactly
what
it is that does this, it certainly hasn’t helped him to endure the physical strain. Every time he changes—both
into
and
out of
that… thing—his body
and
his mind are literally broken. He isn’t so much being transformed as something is rebuilding him, but any biological response that could numb or moderate the pain seems to be held back, and if our scans are accurate, then it would appear the same response is actually
keeping
his system from going into shock. Not only is the pain
not
being suppressed, his body’s actually
working
to stay conscious so he’s forced to endure it! It’s as though whatever it is those tattoos do
wanted
him—”

“Listen,” Serena’s voice cut into the med-tech’s explanation, “this is fascinating
and all—not to mention
incredibly
reassuring to hear—but maybe now isn’t the best time. What I’m hearing and what this all boils down to is ‘he’s suffered, he’s suffering, and he’s doomed to suffer yet again’ and while I’m sure this is making Zoey feel so much better—‘cuz, hell, your bedside manner is spot-fucking-on!—I’d say all your reassurance has put us both in such a positive frame of mind that we may just burst into song. Problem is, I’m tone-deaf and I have—get this!—actually
killed
housecats with my voice. So, while I’m eager to have more of your sunshine blown up our asses, I’d
hate
to cause an untimely death on your staff with my lyrical exuberance. So how ‘bout you give us a moment alone with our friend, huh?”

Had it not been for Zane’s
inability to speak and move he was certain he’d have fallen out of bed with laughter, and he once again cursed his unresponsive muscles at the realization that he couldn’t applaud the Vailean girl’s superb delivery. The silence—save for the rapid clacking of the med-tech’s retreating footsteps—was both a blessing and a curse. Though he hated the prolonged silence, the explanation had been—though nothing new to him—depressing and unsettling. Thankfully, Serena’s brashness had been more than enough to end it.

Did she know he wa
s awake?

Had she done it for his sake?

Though she had opted not to hear of his curse from their clan’s staff, he was certain that she was far from being over her curiosity. He would, no doubt, still have to explain everything to her sooner or later. If nothing else he owed her that much.

He
aring her voice
had
calmed him though, and the more he thought about it the more he was forced to admit that he wasn’t imagining that fact. No matter how he approached the situation, there was no denying that the monster’s destructive nature had been squelched upon her arrival; had allowed his reason and focus to return so he could keep them both alive.

But
why
?

Why would the beast
’s fury—a fury that had proven on
many
occasions to dwindle only
after
everything and everyone around it had been destroyed—yield to
anybody
.

And why her?

Could her ties to Gregori truly be
that
influential on something that was nothing less than rage and chaos incarnate?

Surely it couldn’t be her gender; the
beast didn’t care for anyone. Male or female.

And none of the women on his mile-long list of past flings had ever swayed or stayed the perpetual mayhem in his mind.

Hell! The only impact they’d had on it was encouraging him to make it hurt.

But all
the hair-pulling and rough fuck sessions had only ever been just that.

Nothing but a one night stand.

So why her?

Why now?

He heard more footsteps start up and fade into the distance, followed shortly after by the sound of the door as it was pushed open and then slowly closed with a sigh, and he wondered if he had been left alone with nothing more than his drug-hazed thoughts. He tried again to pry open his eyes, putting all his conscious effort into getting
some
control—no matter how small;
anything
to feel like his body was his own—and succeeded in getting them to gradually flutter open and was rewarded with a bright white light that bled past his parted lids. As the beams of fluorescence assaulted his wide pupils he hissed and tried to turn his face away.

“Jeez
!” Serena jumped a short ways away as his noise and movement cut through the still silence, “God! You big dummy! Scared me to Hell-and-back! Oh, and for the record, you should’ve left your eyes closed.” Serena’s condescending tone was laced with one of concern that gave her away as she leaned over him to adjust the light away—hanging on a swinging fixture over his bed—out of his line of sight.

He looked around for a moment, relishing in his returning motor functions, and allowed his gaze to finally come to rest on Serena.

He bit his lip.

She
was so close to him.

Too
close to him!

H
e caught a whiff of her subtle scent—sweet and floral with something spicy mingled throughout, and visions of cherry blossoms and cinnamon sticks surfaced in his mind—and, getting lost in the enticing aroma, allowed himself to inhale it further again and again. It was too compelling to experience only once; demanding to be recognized and worshipped repeatedly. It was the smell of nature and beauty. Her long hair—the color of sunlight reflected on fresh snow—was tied back into a tight ponytail, and while he found the vision an enticing one, he couldn’t help but feel a tugging desire to pull it free of its confines. He frowned as he caught his left hand shifting and beginning to rise towards her and forced himself to pull away, shaking his head softly at himself.

He would never allow himself to fall in love
;
could
never allow himself to fall in love.

Not with anyone!

Not with this curse!

Destroying everything and everyone was what it thrived upon, and any feelings he had for anybody would make it all the more painful when he tore their still-beating hearts from their fractured ribcages.

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” she asked softly.

He sighed, keeping his gaze locked to the sterile-white ceiling tiles,
“I wasn’t sure if you were ready to hear it.”