The Rift (11 page)

“Yeah,” I said, looking down at my lap.

“Are you okay?” Jed asked, his voice soft
with concern and sympathy.

“Yeah, I’m peachy. Just daydreaming about the
great sex Henry and I had last night,” I said, not because I
thought Jed would care about me and Henry having sex, but because I
wanted to prove I didn’t need his pity.

Next to me, Henry choked and started
coughing, and I could see Jed’s skin pale in the rearview mirror.
“Okay, well try to stay focused today. I know you probably want to
stick by Henry, but I want to know more about Wraith and the rest
of his pack, so try to play nice and chat him up.”

I groaned. “Chatting up for information is
not exactly my forte.”

Jed grinned. “Yeah, well, he appears to be
Jeremiah’s closest friend, and we need to know if Jeremiah has
changed lately and what kind of community he’s got supporting him
here. We can’t let Angelica be alone with him until we know
more.”

I looked at Angelica who was staring out the
windshield like it was playing a movie, and I nodded. “Yeah, sure,
no problem.”

“Maybe you and I should have an argument or
something,” Henry said. “That will give you an excuse to stomp off
without me and be alone with him.”

“Makes sense,” I said. “What are we fighting
about?”

“I’ve been talking to an old girlfriend and
you caught me. You saw a text pop up on my phone on the way over
and you figured it out.”

“Good.” I didn’t look at Angelica or Jed, I
didn’t want to see what they thought of our fight. “Knock-down drag
out or silent treatment.”

“Silent treatment,” Henry said. “You knocked
me down last night.”

“Hardy, har, har,” I said. “Fine. Let’s do
it.”

Jed parked his car behind the hulking SUV
with the tiny interior, and we all got out. I felt like I might
throw up, but I pushed the feeling down and swallowed the fear that
threatened to choke me. Voices in my head warned me that I was
about to step into a bad situation from which I wouldn’t be able to
escape. I knew they were just voices. I knew my fear came not from
any real threat, but from a memory of another bright, beautiful
day, a day when my friend Cat was brutally murdered, twice, in
front of me. I understood that going out into that beautiful day
with two werewolves should ignite wariness in me, but not
blood-curdling fear. I understood that I was overreacting. So, I
forced a smile and stepped out into the sun. When I felt a hand on
my arm I jumped and bit back a scream. Henry stepped close enough
to whisper in my ear, but he didn’t touch me again. He knew what
was going on, he’d seen it before. Sometimes, when I was in a new
place, anywhere too open and vulnerable, I kind of freaked out. The
werewolves weren’t helping. “Breathe, Kelsey,” he whispered in my
ear. “Just breathe. You can’t let them see you weak.”

I sucked in a lungful of air and tried to
relax. I noticed Wraith watching me, so I shook my head and glared
at Henry. I let my panic shift into anger, though I had to think
really hard to come up with reasons to be angry at Henry. He was my
best friend, and he was just about the most perfect human being I’d
ever met. He had the same laid-back, happy personality that Jed had
when I first met him. Jed’s personality was all an act, as it
turned out, but Henry was the real deal. He had never lied to me
for any reason, he’d never gone behind my back, and he’d never
pretended to be someone he wasn’t. Finally, I felt the anger build,
all the anger I had for Jed. His words from the night before
whispered to me, all his reasons and the truths behind his actions.
I pushed them down. No matter what Jed said, I still had plenty of
reasons to be angry with him. He hadn’t been there for me when I
needed him. He hadn’t kissed me back. Okay, so maybe that bit of
rejection was the only reason I had left to be angry at him, and I
knew it wasn’t fair. He couldn’t help it if he wasn’t attracted to
me, but I needed to be angry and that was as good a reason as
any.

I glared at Henry with the hurt and anger I
still felt toward Jed and stalked off into the woods, pulling my
camel back on as I walked. “Kelsey, wait,” Henry called after
me.

I kept walking. I suddenly didn’t want to be
around any of them. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want
to play nice with Wraith to get information from him. I just wanted
to be alone in the woods and walk until I couldn’t think, until my
heart couldn’t pound with fear anymore.

The woods smelled of dirt and decay and clean
air, and I breathed it in, smelling freedom. I wished, not for the
first time, that I had taken Jed up on his offer of a safe house
somewhere no one would find me. I could be living a normal life
away from werewolves and interventions, if I had just said yes. Of
course, Angelica might have been killed alongside Bruce, and
Briarton would probably now be ruled by reapers.

“I felt your panic and I came, but I see no
danger,” a small voice said.

I glanced over to see Alice walking next to
me. She looked like an eight-year-old, a kid out for a day of fun
in the sunshine, but she was actually a reaper who’d been around
for at least a hundred years. I’d known her since I was a kid, and
she had a habit of showing up when I was in danger. She didn’t meet
my eyes, but looked around for trouble. “I’m fine,” I said. “I’m
just a bit panicky for no good reason. Doctor Veronica says it’s
because of all the traumas I’ve experienced.”

Alice nodded. “Then I’ll go.”

“Hey, wait. I’ve got questions for you.” I
wanted to know how old she really was, and why she protected me.
I’d always thought of her as a timid, weak reaper who stayed hidden
from other reapers out of fear, but the last time I’d seen her,
she’d destroyed three powerful reapers in seconds.

“Ask when you see me again. When you see me
in the flesh.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, hoping it
didn’t mean what I thought it meant. Hoping she wasn’t planning to
reap someone.

Alice gave me her sweet little girl smile,
and vanished.

Wraith caught up to me a few moments later
and it took every ounce of energy I had to smile at him. “It’s a
beautiful day,” I said.

“And you’re a beautiful woman.” I swung my
head to look at him, surprised by his aggressive tone. He grinned.
I was back in baggy pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, and I hadn’t
even put on Chap Stick that morning, so I was sure he was up to
something.

“It’s so peaceful here,” I said, a bit
envious of anyone who had mountains like those in their
backyard.

He looked out at the mountains and nodded,
his smile genuine.

“How long have you known Jeremiah?”

He chuckled. “You should trust your friend’s
judgment, and stop worrying.”

“I’m just trying to make conversation.”

“So let’s make it more interesting and skip
the small talk,” he said. “I hate small talk.”

“It’s a good way to get to know someone.” I
looked over my shoulder and saw Henry and Jed walking together, far
enough back not to overhear, and Jeremiah and Angelica another ten
paces or so behind them.

“It’s a horrible way to get to know someone,”
he said. “I know that you know I’m a wolf, and I know you’re a
powerful medium.”

I stumbled on an exposed tree root, but
Wraith caught me with a strong hand on my elbow. I shook him off
and faced him. “What?”

He smiled, clearly pleased with himself.
“Keep walking, or your friends will want to know what we’re talking
about.”

“Maybe they should know,” I said, but I
started walking again. Wraith fell into step next to me.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I think you want to
hear the rest of what I have to say, and you don’t really want to
mess up things for your friend and her dead boyfriend.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

He laughed long and hard and I shivered.
Then, he jogged ahead of me, exposing me to the sight of his
well-shaped calves and the way his t-shirt stretched over his
rippling back muscles. The asshole had a sweet form, and I was
captivated for a moment, before he turned to look at me. “I’ll give
you three guesses, but why don’t we jog first?”

I looked back at Jed and Henry. I knew they’d
be pissed. One of them would have to jog to keep up with us, while
the other stayed back with Angelica and Jeremiah. I would be
putting myself and them in danger by separating the group, but I
picked up my feet, and I ran after him anyway. I needed to get
answers, Jed wanted me to get answers, and following Wraith was the
only way to get them. I was already panting, fear making it hard to
breathe. I was so tired of being afraid. I didn’t have the energy
for it anymore and, if I couldn’t make it go away, I would learn to
live with it and stop letting it make my choices. My heart in my
throat, my skin pimpling with goose bumps I followed Wraith.

I heard Jed call my name, but I ignored him.
The trail disappeared under my pounding feet. I felt like I was
flying up the hill. It had been so long since I’d had the freedom
to run anywhere besides the park on the Varius campus. Wraith was
so unbelievably fast that he was out of my line of sight before I’d
crossed the first switchback. I picked up my pace, and landed flat
on my face. Damn tree root. I lay there for a moment, checking my
body mentally for injury. Suddenly, and through no movement on my
part, I was on my feet, my back pressed against a tree, Jed in my
face.

He was panting, his face hardened by anger.
“What the fuck are you thinking, Kelsey?”

I wanted to rage against Jed for questioning
me. I was doing what he’d asked me to do, I was fighting against my
own fear to do it, and he was questioning me? Even while I was
furious at him, my body couldn’t help responding to how good he
felt pressed against me, the heat of his body so close to mine. Not
that I wanted him to know how he made me feel. I glared at him.
Part of me wanted to kiss him and the other part wanted to smack
him, but I needed to catch Wraith if I wanted answers. “He knows
what I am,” I said. “He knows who Angelica thinks Jeremiah is, and
he’s going to tell me who
he
is after I catch him.”

Jed’s face paled. “Shit. Fuck.” He shook his
head and squeezed my shoulders tighter. “I don’t like this.”

“We can talk about it later, Jed. Let me go,
please. Let me do something.” Fear was rising in me like a tidal
wave, and I was finding it hard to breathe. If I didn’t move,
didn’t do something, I would choke and drown on my terror.

He studied my face for a long moment, and his
gaze softened. In that moment, I knew he understood without me
having to explain anything. He leaned in a fraction of a fraction
of an inch and my stupid heart picked up its pace like I was about
to be kissed. The sound of feet crunching on dead leaves sounded
loud in the quiet forest. Jed let go of me and took a step back. He
gestured for me to continue. “I’ll hold back as much as I can.”

“Thank you.” I turned and raced up the trail
after Wraith.

That time, I kept my eyes on the ground,
watching for tree roots and large rocks. I needed to find out
everything I could to help Angelica, even if I was pretty sure she
was beyond my help. I’d seen the way she looked at Jeremiah, and I
knew I wouldn’t separate her from him without some sort of
irrefutable proof he wasn’t Bruce.

I crossed three more switchbacks before I saw
Wraith at the top of the next hill. He sat on a rock watching me. I
slowed to a walk and had mostly caught my breath by the time I
stepped up next to him. My long-sleeved tee felt damp from my
sweat, and I pulled it off over my head and stuffed it in my
bag.

Beyond him the mountain dropped away and
revealed the valley below. I stopped and just stared as my heart
continued to slow and my breathing returned to normal. The valley
was green and lush and spotted by only a few houses. The mountains
flowed from the one on which we stood to a seemingly endless range
of undulating shadows and bright mountaintops. I took another deep
breath and sat down on the rock next to Wraith.

“Who are you?”

He chuckled and tsked. “I told you, you get
three guesses.”

I didn’t have to think about it for very
long. He knew who I was, and he thought I should know who he was.
“You’re a reaper.”

He frowned and stared out at the valley
below. “I’m a wolf, now, Kelsey. I’ve reaped Wraith, and I have no
intention of returning to my spirit form. Wolves can live much
longer than ordinary humans.”

“How long have you been Wraith?”

“Two days.”

The understanding hit me like a thunderbolt,
and I almost fell off the rock. I jumped to my feet and took a few
steps from him. “Houston?”

He nodded and smiled slowly. “I knew you’d
get it. There’s a connection between us.”

My head spun and my vision tunneled again.
“You drained me. You almost killed me. You told me you wanted me
dead.”

He frowned. “I drained you, yes. I wanted to
know the extent of your abilities and it seemed like a good use for
you at the time. Rose took things too far, and I couldn’t convince
her to leave you alone. I was watching, though, and I made sure you
didn’t die.”

“Oh, wow, that makes me feel all warm and
fuzzy inside. Let’s be best friends.”

“I don’t expect you to understand or forgive
me, right away, Kelsey, but I’m not the monster you think I
am.”

I remembered him talking to Landon behind the
second curtain, telling him he’d kill me if I was too powerful.
He’d sounded so casual about ending me, like he was discussing what
to have for dinner. He could say whatever he wanted, but I knew how
cold and hard he could be. I’d believed him when he made the same
threat to my face, just a few months before. “You told me you
wanted me dead. You said it was the others who insisted I be kept
alive.”