The Watchers (39 page)

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 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 and
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, and what
the night meant to 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!”

“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 Allen 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 calls, 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 affect
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 lay 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 out loud: 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 of me was too overpowering.

“Clare…” he started then 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.