Sunday rolled around, and I still didn't see Jace. I suspected he was doing things for his 'assignment.' Probably running halfway across the world again, seeing various archives and old aliens that could offer more information on my kind. It was a strange aspect still, and would probably take another long time to set in, but I couldn't really believe that I was technically a true half blood. They had said the bloodlines fought for dominance; maybe I'd be spared and turn out mostly human. I certainly felt human, with all this pain. Briefly, I wondered if Riley had gone through anything similar. The half bitter and sarcastic vibes of my thoughts kept me occupied for the next day until I received yet another text from Rowan wanting a late night stroll before school the next day.
"How'd your birthday go? Better then the last couple, I hope," he said, playfully elbowing me in the ribs as we began down my road once again.
"It was alright. Had breakfast, took a bath, got presents...the usual."
"A bath, huh?" His eyes caught on my face, knowing I wasn't letting him in on more details. "Okay, then. What'd you get?"
"Mmmm, a ring from my mom, an essential oil diffuser from my dad." I sighed and looked at the houses around us. Various windows were dark and some light, considering it was about eleven at night. Somewhere, a dog barked, setting off some birds from nearby trees. A cockroach scurried by under the light posts' looming beam. I held out my hand, letting the ring glint. "And a box from Jace. Exciting stuff."
His lips twisted to the side, considering. He only barely studied the ring, eyes going to my expression right after. He knew. I knew. But I wasn't going to let him in on more. We walked in silence for another few minutes, our feet tapping the pavement with regular scuffs of pebbles. He huffed, then shoved his hands in his pockets. His eyes glowed brightly tonight, more so than I'd ever seen. I assumed that potion he'd taken before had dimmed the power in the eyes just as it did with his abilities.
"Sky, are you happy?"
Taken aback, I almost stopped walking. Catching my train of thought again, I replied, "Sure, why wouldn't I be?"
"You just seem quiet. And..." He squinted. "Sallow. Like you haven't slept in a week. You don't really offer conversation unless you're spoken to first."
I shrugged, kicking a particularly large pebble out of my way. "It's just been an interesting couple of months, Row. As you can probably imagine, finding an alien is not normal. Or finding out your ex is one of them. Or that there's a race of ugly people out to steal the energy from anything living. That they're everywhere."
"Point taken," he mumbled. "But you seemed fine when I met up with you at the party."
"It's just...a lot to take in. I won't tell you more, but there is more. I'll get over it, it'll just take more time. Everything has come at once, so it doesn't exactly leave a lot of room to think."
"I understand," he murmured. He sounded like he did, or was trying to at least. My heart ached yet again for what we had lost. But it would never be the same. The little burst of love I felt for Jace was a new and lovely thing that I wasn't willing to lose, and it would be hard to find again. I lost the urge to talk, and he seemed to sense it. The night was peaceful, at least. No breezes to numb the face, no need to run anywhere and do something. I was almost glad for school starting tomorrow. My chest caved in with the need to see Jace, to talk to him and put all of it aside.
"Oh, here. Before I forget." His hand rummaged around his jean pocket for a moment, then came up with something small and silver.
"What is it?"
He shrugged, shoving it in my hand. "You kind of have to grab it to see it, Skyler."
I examined it: it weighed about as much as a computer mouse, but was much smaller and compact. The shape was ovoid, surface pocked with little ruts. Kind of like a regular stone you'd find on a sidewalk, but the material was somehow...spongey.
"I still don't know what it is."
He sighed and ran a hand through his waves. "I smuggled it before I came back to Earth. It's a Canister. You throw it at something hard and it disarms any supernatural being within a mile radius, of mostly mental ability. So Morfilian and the occasional Sharve alike."
"Wow. Why would your people make something like this?" I slipped it into my jacket pocket with a satisfactory little weight settling at the bottom. His shoulders seemed to slump.
"For unruly Morfilians. Possible invasions. Our military. Jace would know all about it."
The reply had a stuffy cloud of nerves bundle at the pit of my belly. "But-"
"Who's that?" he suddenly asked, gaze focused on something ahead of us. I looked, seeing a silhouette of a male figure walking lazily towards us. As he drew closer, a little warning bell rang in my head. I grabbed Rowan's arm, tugging him to a stop.
"That's Jacob," I whispered urgently. "Remember from the night of the party?"
He nodded, but kept moving. "It'll be okay. He's probably just doing a walk like us."
Yeah right. I wanted to dig my heels in, but there was no point. We were only about three streets away from my house, so I could maybe make it back if he made any more creepy comments or moves. A little voice in my brain breathed obvious questions: why would he be here of all places, at night, right when we would be out. Why would he be alone? As he came more clearly into view, I noticed that the strangeness in his face was...somehow more. At first, I thought he was wearing glitter on his skin, but soon I found that it was gleaming wetly, as if he'd sprinted here and couldn't stop sweating. His clothes hung from his body in rags, somehow completing his dismal appearance. I wanted to slap myself, or better yet, my luck, for happening to be with the un-Morphed alien rather than the warrior General. The boyfriend that was supposed to be only a street away.
"Hey," he greeted immediately. "What brings you two out on a night like this?"
What? "We could ask you the same," I grated out. Rowan slung a casual arm over my shoulders, bringing me into a protective distance from his side. "You don't live here, do you?"
Jacob cocked his head to the side, eyes shining oddly in the lamp light. The gesture was almost animal, a predator listening for prey. The little light there was seemed to absorb into the hollows of his face. "I do not. But that is not the point of me being here."
"And what is?" Rowan asked, his voice unruffled. "Do you have a fever or something, dude? You look like you're sweating buckets."
Jacob slowly moved his focus to Rowan. It sent chills up my arms. "No." The way he scanned Rowan up and down... I could see a glimpse of surprise and confusion flash across his features, but it was gone the next instant. "How interesting. One of your kind, and yet you do not know how to identify one of your enemy."
At once, we stepped back, Rowan putting himself in front of me. Jacob threw his head back, an eery howl escaping his pulled back lips. Several of his teeth were broken, and I could see that his gums were black with decay. Panic overwhelmed me; the nearby houses were dark, everyone probably asleep for work the next morning. A rustling of leaves met our ears, and I looked around at the surrounding bushes. Small figures shot out of the shadows cast by the shrubs. They darted to circle us, jittery clacks pulling my insides to terror. Small eyes shone from black bodies; their features were a cross between insect and demonic teddy bear.
I pulled the dagger from my waistband. It looked awkward, me never having held anything in defense before, but it was balanced and felt reassuring in my sweaty grip. There had to be at least ten of the things, and in reaction to my blade, they clicked more urgently. It crawled over my skin and raked my ears with how unnatural it was. I felt the little weight of my new gift in my pocket, but a feeling pulled that idea out of my mind. I would need it later, not now. It was a certainty I didn't know I could possess. The same feeling from the bathtub.
"Do you regret assuming you would escape the consequences of killing my parents?" Jacob had his arms up in a boxing fashion, but he held two blades of his own. Starlight bounced off their whetted edges. They looked to be made of the same metal as mine. Rowan's back was as tense as a taut wire as he backed me farther to the edge of the circle of creatures.
"Your parents?" Rowan asked. I applauded his smooth voice, because as it was, my hands shook like leaves.
"The Smiths, they called themselves," the other boy answered with an obvious droll. If I could call him that. The realization slammed into me at once: he was a Sharve. The Smiths had been Sharve. Disgust curdled my stomach. No wonder he had looked strange that night, smelling me like a dog would a fresh steak. Why it took me so long to understand this, I don't know. "Your kind murdered them in cold blood. Now I will kill you and erase any essence of you from this planet." His chuckle rolled around us, resonating with the answering clicks of our audience. "You will taste so divine, half breed. Your blooming power called to me as soon as you walked into the humans' house." He grinned. Those eyes were unmoving and steadfast. I squirmed.
"What are you talking about?" Rowan asked. "I knew you were ugly, but creating fictional stories in your head, that's a new low even for Sharve. I thought you prided yourselves on fact." He brought his hands up. The circle around us tightened. Their blackness blended seamlessly with the darkness of night. I couldn't make out many of their features as a bead of sweat trickled down my spine. That's when I saw that another two forms stepped out from behind parked cars. They were also Sharve. Their gray skin was glazed with whatever coated it, sickly as the sunken, misshapen eyes that roved over us hungrily.
I tapped Rowan's back in warning. My hands were shaking. The dagger swept around, not deciding on any particular target.
"How cute. I'm hungry." The two stepped forward until they stood in line with the chattering creatures. His companion nodded with manic agreement. I scooted closer to Rowan's back, but he was a statue. He, also, was being crowded by Jacob's advancement.
One creature waddled forward, a little tentacle-like arm swiping at my right leg, as if testing my reaction. My blade swiped down and struck it across the head. It hissed and lunged. Spines shot from it's mouth, many of them landing in a perfect circle in my leg. I cried out and wildly swung the dagger. It sheared the head off of my attacker as easily as cutting Jello, but I was immediately distracted from my victory as one of the Sharve swung a bat at Rowan. He was much faster to deflect than me; he used his right arm as a shield, his corded muscle steady and strong under the blow. His other hand shot out and grasped the weapon, taking it easily as his own.
I reached down to pull out the spines that jabbed fire up my leg, but the third Sharve stepped up. The half smile he gave me didn't reach his mismatched eyes. One was bigger than the other, the gray line slashing through the one pupil. He was fast-in moments, he'd grabbed my wrist and twisted until my bejeweled dagger clattered to the ground. The pain spreading from my leg up to my side was a burning wake-up call to pay attention. His other hand clamped around my throat. He lifted me a foot off the ground.
And then I felt it: my necklace vibrated, a light shining from the center as the Sharve squeezed. Dots exploded across my vision. My hands clawed at his hands to no avail, and with a wicked cackle, his free hand came up to caress my cheek. He watched with mesmerized eyes as one finger trailed down from my forehead to my chin. It left a stinging line that soon throbbed. Blood began to drip down into my eye. From an echoing distance, I thought I heard Jace's voice yelling my name. Imagination is a cruel thing. A tear leaked from my clear eye. My breaths gasped and grated my throat.
Where was Rowan? What were all these tingles running up and down my body? It felt as if thousands of fire ants stung my skin, but with one eye tinted red and the other preoccupied with the Sharve, I couldn't imagine mustering enough energy or attention for anything else. Was this what it was to die? To feel like I'd rolled around in an ant pile for an hour, heedless of the consequences? I felt little punches coming down on my stomach and ribs, probably from the little tentacles of the creature mob. I just hoped Rowan had maybe gotten somewhere safe.
"Skyler!"
All I could do was cough and claw. The Sharve didn't even glance at whoever said my name. His eager grin revealed more cracked teeth. His purple tongue ran along his bottom lip, tasting what I may be like as a meal I guessed.
"Watching the light go out of the eyes is the best part," he relished. "So easy, when your kind enslaved us from the beginning, so right. Revenge is seldom got, but now..." The hand that had sliced down my face now did the same to my arm. I realized in a daze that my jacket sleeve had been torn away. His finger seared a burning trail to the middle of my hand. And then it jagged crookedly across my inner wrist. I screamed and felt life drain from the wound, blood leaking heavily from my veins. I could feel a pull from his hand, stealing something from me. It ripped painfully from the foundations of my being, ever so slowly.
"How does it feel?" he crooned. "Your pain is my dessert before the meal, little half breed. Your energy already tastes so...sweet." He popped the blood covered finger into his mouth, that slithering tongue lapping out to get it all. He was now a distant figure at the end of my tunnel vision.
But then that figure was gone, and as if from a different body, I watched myself drop to the pavement like a limp rag doll. The necklace that I wore was a soft brilliant star of light that lit up the night. A pool of blood had begun to form around my prone form, though from just the wrist, I doubted. Small gauges marred visible skin and seeped through my shredded clothes. The Sharve that had held me so easily was now flat on his back with a broken rod protruding from his chest, a blurred form on top of him. It was Jace.
I double checked. In this watery vantage point, he moved so fast that features were obscured. The sense was that of a dream- surreal, unreal, that ever present possibility of me waking up and forgetting it all in the next second... I picked out only splatters of gore that went elbow deep, coating his skin in glistening sleeves of brackish brown. His face was a bleary mask of rage. Little black shapes littered the pavement, ripped apart, and my eye caught on Rowan. He was laying on his back. A knife jutted from his leg and his breathing was a quick pant. He, also, had slashes scoring his flesh. His eyes were trained on me though, and I realized he had been trying to drag himself to me while Jace took care of our assailants. His arm buckled. He cursed.
"Not an appealing image, you see," a voice sounded from behind me. I whirled to find Ariss, towering and ghostly as ever, standing by my side. She held an elbow, the other hand tapping thoughtfully on her pointed chin. "He's my grandson, you know. That one there." She nodded in the direction that she looked.
"Rowan?" I gasped. Ah, that was why her eyes had seemed so familiar. "Why didn't you help us then? You're just watching!"
She leveled her ancient gaze on my face with lowered lids, droll and patient. She reminded me of a lounging cat. "I am not actually here in the flesh, girlie. I am merely a phantom, projecting myself here so that I may ease your pain a little. Cease that glare and watch." She pointed an elongated finger at the scene before us.
Jace stood now, chest not even heaving. The Sharve that had first attacked Rowan began to stand up, snarling a loud battle cry. Jace cocked a head, same as Jacob, and grinned with empty joy. Unable to see Jace, the Sharve was torn apart, an arm flying across the road, followed by various fingers and an ear. When it was done, and everything lay still, he crouched low. Power surged and receded in a crackling corona. His eyes glowed brighter than even on his Morphing, flickering light dancing over the bodies in one swift instant. They paused on Rowan, a flash of hatred consuming his face, then he was by my side. I looked to be sure that Jacob was no longer a threat; he wasn't. His head lay five feet away, broken teeth still bared in a snarl. His body lay in near pieces. The same could be said for the other Sharve and minion creatures.
"Do you see how he lusts for war?" Ariss's voice invaded into my concentration. "This is why he was chosen as First General, child. He is born to be successful at killing. He holds a very important role in the grand scheme of things, more so than you can believe. His family line runs strong, as reflected in the eyes. But you know this."
"Why are you telling me this?" My nonexistent stomach flipped. I couldn't decide on what I thought of this.
She shook her head and turned away. Her eyes resembled crushed ice as she looked down the street. "Because you will need as much information as you can get. It would do you well, in the coming tides, to keep your bearings and hold strong."
"I don't know what that means. Why can't you just tell me what's going on?" My voice ground and dragged through the air. Even in this form, whatever it was to be a phantom, my throat was strangled and restricted. "If it's so important, just please tell me."
She shook her head. "I am not the teller of fate."
Frustrated, I growled and kicked the curb. Or rather tried, but failed. My foot connected with only air. Fat lot of good she was.
"Now, now," she chided. "You must be better at hiding your emotions. They are good at manipulating your senses to form your emotions for you." Then her face went downcast. I got the sense that some dark memory had drawn her into a dark place, somewhere and some time not here. "Jaceannel is a dangerous pursuer indeed. But he will protect you. But there is only so much he can do against his entire race."
And then she vanished and I knew no more.
********************************
Incessant beeping was the first thing I heard. It pierced my eardrums and continued to bounce around my skull until my teeth ground. I wanted to lift my eyelids, but I knew harsh light was on the other side and that, even knowing I should wake, I didn't quite want to.
"Get out," I heard. It was Jace, his voice a low warning to my left. "Don't come back."
"I just want to see how she's doing." Rowan. "I have as much right as you to be here, General. You are the one who was not talking to her for the duration of the weekend." He sounded so formal now, with the full force of the lilting accent that Jace now, also, took on. His voice was a strained string of words that pulled into taut wires. He was exhausted.
"Being that as it is, it was hard enough to explain this to her parents. Her mother was, obviously, more understanding. I do not need to explain your presence. That would add more onto Skyler's plate. But she is fine. Now go."
"I don't see them here, do you?"
There was silence, and then I heard footsteps. A pair stopped by what I guessed was my bedside. That's when I decided to see where I was.
Light punctured my retinas. I blinked multiple times before I could actually see anything. Jace stood at the end of the bed, arms crossed over his broad chest. He offered a slight crooked smile. It sent a warm shot spreading through my chest, where the image of his face nestled cozy and safe. And to my left was Rowan, hands thrust into pockets. I had been right; light bags circled his eyes and his alabaster skin was more drained of color than before. Shadows lingered under his cheekbones and temples. A large bruise was in the process of speed healing, and it blotched over half of his right cheek. His forearms were exposed, revealing the shroud of red that cut across the skin.
"What happened?" I croaked. I tried to clear my throat, but just doing so tore pain down my esophagus. Jace flashed to the bedside table where a water jug sat at the ready. And that stupid beeping... I was in a hospital room. Tension immediately balled in my stomach. "Why am I here? I can't be that bad off."
Jace handed me a glass of water. Sipping it was so delightful that I chugged it too quickly. Coughing, I wiped my mouth.
"I healed the bruising you had, and the cracked rib, but only Healers can help with a Sharve marking." Jace gestured to my left arm, it's whole length wrapped in gauze. My right hand went to my face. I winced. My insides cringed when my fingertips brushed the ridges of stitches under a bandage. Jace's eyes tightened, and he took the hand and squeezed with a little pulse of warm energy brushing my palm for comfort. My skin was a replica of Rowan's, sliced and welted. I was sure my aura was a rioting tango of emotions.
"It will be okay, do not worry." But that was all he could say. Rowan's face reflected something similar as he shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. His eyes glanced around the room, taking in the dark windows and blank tv that sat across from the bed. I looked at a clock on the wall. It was nearly four in the morning.
"Where are my parents?" I asked in a near wheeze.
"They went back to your house to grab you some clothes and stuff," Rayne replied, breezing into the room in a cloud of jasmine perfume. Her hair was airy and swirled around her elbows with her movement. Jaden followed a moment later, folded hospital blankets and towels in his arms. This was so embarrassing. I wanted to cover my face with my hands, but the pain that tugged my left arm demanded stillness.
"But why am I here? If it's only stitches I need?"
"Because they do not know that I healed you internally," Jace said with a touch of humor. He now sat on a chair that hadn't been there before. "And the doctors worry for a concussion."
"What exactly do they think happened?" That a little herd of gremlins and three monster aliens jumped us on our night walk? Yeah, right.
"That you were mugged and robbed," Rowan answered. "I just got done talking to police. They'll want to talk to you later, Sky. So I'll tell you what I told them, so our stories line up."
"And the bodies were cleaned up by yours truly," Rayne chipped in sweetly. Jaden rolled his eyes and propped his long legs on a shower chair.
My eyes dropped to my hands and stayed, tired and restless. I didn't know what to look at, and the recollection of my brief encounter with Ariss came back. I glanced at Jace's face, who in turn smiled reassuringly. It was hard to believe that those gentle hands had ripped into bodies only hours ago, tearing flesh and bone like shredding paper. I shuddered and instead stared at the windows. A sliver of moon shone brightly, having already traveled the majority of the sky. The glittering skyline of Dallas was a nice one, and some dark humor gave me the idea that the architects had purposefully angled these rooms to show it off to homesick and sad patients.