Chapter 10
Getting Scott to Sophie’s shop was more than difficult. There were a lot of problems with bringing someone who was basically a hostage through streets crowded with business people and tourists. Not only did Scott have an aversion to sunlight, he quite obviously did not want to be with the two young women. Melanie kept an iron grip on the darkling’s left arm and Ree held the power ready to use if he tried to escape.
Despite Scott’s obvious displeasure, people seemed to be more concerned for the two uniform-clad schoolgirls walking with him. Looking at him, Ree had to admit that he did indeed look scarier than the two girls with him. Of course, the passersby couldn’t see Melanie’s fangs or the swirling silver of Ree’s eyes. She was pretty sure if they were to notice those things they wouldn’t be worried about anyone but themselves. Telling Sophie what had happened had also been an adventure. Using the new cell phone Roland had given her, Ree had called the older Guardian and received a surprise tongue-lashing for going after the darkling.
Melanie had been insulted, but Ree was more bothered by the change in Sophie’s normally stoic manner. She had never raised her voice to any of them before, and while she hadn’t screamed or cursed, the anger had been palpable. Ree suspected the change in attitude had to do with the acknowledgment of her past life. It looked like Sophie was going to have to come to terms with the idea as well.
Once they got to the back door of the shop, Sophie joined them under the small awning that shielded the back door from the elements. Looking Scott up and down, she grimaced and shook her head before yanking the door open and practically throwing the darkling through and onto the floor. Almost immediately, Scott was on his feet and headed for the front of the store. Flicking her hand in his direction, Sophie used the power to throw him to the ground once more. This time though, she used the power to keep him in place.
“You’re wasting my time, darkling. Who do you sell your information to? I want names.”
“What am I going to get out of it? If I tell you, they’ll kill me.”
“They are going to kill you no matter what you do.” Sophie squatted down so she was sitting on her heels. “One way or another, you were dead the moment you decided to play lapdog.”
“They’re going to turn me. If I tell you, they won’t. No one wants a narc around.” He tensed his muscles, and Ree could tell he was trying to fight the invisible bonds holding him down.
“It’s been a long time since they’ve given you any blood, hasn’t it? What makes you think they still want to have you join their ranks?”
“They need me.” He glared venom at Sophie.
“They don’t need you. Your blood is too diluted to fulfill their needs. That’s why they’ve thrown you out.” Some of the anger in Sophie’s tone diminished and Ree could feel the woman’s pity.
“What the hell do you know? You think because you’re some type of Guardian you know everything?” He did his best to spit at Sophie. The glob of saliva managed to rise an inch above his mouth before falling back onto his face. He sputtered in disgust, causing Ree to bite her lips to keep from laughing. Sophie, however, tilted her head back and laughed, exposing her elongated canines.
“Look, if they were going to keep you, they wouldn’t have let you live in an alley. Tell us what you know and we will be more lenient.” Sobering, Sophie looked at him, her fangs still causing dimples in her bottom lip. “No matter what you think you were going to bring back to the Dark Ones, you would not have lived the night. I’ve seen this very scenario played out a hundred times over the years. You want what they have, and they use your desires against you. They drink from you, even giving you a taste of their blood here and there. They tell you it will start the change, and you believe them because you can see better at night, hear more, and are stronger than usual. Only it doesn’t last, does it? You go back for more, only this time they drain you to the point that you are sick. They pass you around like a toy. As an afterthought, they give you a little more blood to heal the damage they have caused.”
Strain tightened Scott’s face, fear and denial warring in his eyes. “I can offer them things that no one else can. I had access to the club they wanted into! Only I could get them the people they wanted. They need me.”
Ree felt her chest tighten as she listened to his words. He hadn’t meant to, but she knew from the spike of adrenaline that came from Sophie that the darkling had revealed something she hadn’t known. Something nagged at the back of her mind and Ree tried to grab the fleeting thought. She had turned on the TV over the weekend to try and escape the gloom in her household, but nothing had been on but the news. Not wanting to listen to anything else depressing, she had turned it off—but not before the anchor announced the disappearance of a local club owner.
Ree moved closer to Scott and Sophie, taking in the light pink button-up shirt and khaki pants the darkling was wearing. They were filthy: covered in dirt, grime, and blood, but if clean they would be the exact type of clothing a young, influential business owner might wear. Tons of clubs littered the downtown area, but she couldn’t remember the name of the one with the missing owner. Sophie tilted her head so she could look at Ree with a curious expression.
“I heard about him on the news. A local club owner had gone missing and his family was offering a reward for his return.”
“A reward? Finally, a side benefit!”
Ree turned around in shock to see Weylin stumble through the back door. His hair was a mess and the tie of his school uniform was loose and hanging crookedly around his neck.
“Are you drunk?” Eyebrows drawn together, Ree sniffed in her friend’s direction.
Flopping down onto a chair near the door, he looked at her with glazed eyes. “Maybe. Gonna tell my mommy?” Snorting, he trailed a finger along the window sill and grimaced. “Really, Sophie. Swiffer Dusters. Amazing invention.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Melanie walked over to where Weylin was sprawled. “God, you smell like a distillery!”
“Well, you would too, if you had drunk as much as I have! Do you know how much alcohol it took to get this drunk? Let me tell you. A lot. Apparently being immortal means you can’t be an alcoholic. Which I think is totally unfair. I mean, what else are we supposed to do when we need to drown our sorrows?”
“Why do you want to be drunk, Wey?” Since Tristan had died in an accident while drunk-driving, Ree couldn’t stand to see people intoxicated. Of course, I’m not really sure if that was the reason he died.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it was that hot girl, Sheila. I was sitting in first period, making progress with her and she noticed my ear.” He sighed and looked around wistfully. “She literally said, ‘Ew.’ So, yeah. I’m mourning my ear, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sheila? You let Sheila Morgan drive you to drinking? Are you kidding me?” Melanie marched over to his side and yanked him to his feet. “Get up, dork. We’re going to go get some coffee.”
“But I don’t wanna!” he whined as she tugged him to the door. “I had to work really hard to get this drunk!”
“Go, get him so coffee. If that doesn’t work shove him in a fountain.” Sophie’s eyebrows were drawn together, frustration rolling off her. “Don’t bring him back until he has stopped slurring and can stand up straight.”
“Who made you the boss?” Weylin leaned dangerously to the side and Melanie shoved him against the doorframe. “Ow! That hurt.” Sticking out his bottom lip he looked at Mel with puppy-dog eyes.
“Oh, geez.” Melanie rolled her eyes before yanking him out the door with her.
Ree let out a breath and looked at Sophie. Still staring at the door, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, a crease between her eyebrows the only obvious sign of her worry. Shaking her head briefly, the older woman’s eyes met Ree’s before turning back to the darkling on the ground.
“Ree, why don’t you watch the front of the store for me?”
“Why?” Ree looked at the older woman suspiciously. Obviously Scott was thinking the same thing, because his eyes had grown narrow, his chest heaving.
“Someone needs to watch the storefront while I question the darkling. We can’t risk someone coming back here looking for the owner.”
“Then close the store.” Pressing her lips together, Ree met Sophie’s stare with her own.
“Please, Ree.”
“No. I’m not going to go hide while everyone else does the dirty work.” Clenching her fists, Ree stared at the Guardian. “I can help you with this.”
Sophie watched Ree with serious eyes. “Go lock the front door and hang the Closed sign.”
Ree hesitated; worried Sophie would do something once she walked away. One corner of Sophie’s mouth quirked, and if Ree didn’t know any better she would think the woman had rolled her eyes. “Go. We aren’t going anywhere.” She turned to look at the darkling. “Are we, Scott?” His eyes grew big and his Adam’s apple bobbed.