26. Ever
Chapter 26
Ever
“ T ry touching me and thinking about tentacle porn. Or just call me your shadow daddy again, I’m not picky,” Arson purrs, and I snort.
Myles scowls. “Don’t be creepy.”
Yet, I can’t help but be frustrated. No matter how much I try to remember what I was thinking and feeling the first time with Ledger, if that’s even what happened, all I remember is being pissed off. With Arson, I was smiling and feeling better about being powerless when I disappeared, so maybe it’s an adrenaline spike thing? But then, what did I do when touching Arson that let me ‘borrow’ his shadow walking ability until I was ready to use it?
It doesn’t matter. Even if it is true, the guys thought mimics were a myth; everyone else will too, so long as we don't give them a reason to consider otherwise. As soon as we figure out how I'm borrowing their powers, I just won't do that around people and everything will go back to normal. It's only a big deal if we make it one.
Myles stumbles away from the latest conduit in the ground, hand trembling slightly as we head for the next one, and I frown. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he waves off with a weak chuckle. “Just a little tired, but I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Oh, yeah, sure. Totally. No problem.
I turn to Arson. “Didn’t Ledger say he put something in your bag for him?”
“Oh, right, daddy’s snack pack.” Arson whips off his backpack and starts rummaging around in it while I burst out laughing and Myles facepalms.
“Can you not ?“ his younger brother begs.
“Not what?” Arson asks with genuine confusion, making me laugh harder. “If you tell me where we’re going, I can just shadow walk us there, you know.”
Heat enveloping his ears, Myles snaps, “I know I seem weak compared to you, but I’m not helpless.” He darts his gaze to mine and away quickly. “Besides, it’s nice out today and I’m sure Ever would enjoy soaking up the sunshine while it lasts since summer’s almost over. Let’s keep going, I don’t need a break.”
My heart clenches. I’m sure Myles would prefer to be locked away in his workshop, but is making an effort to extend this instead of knocking it out quickly for my sake. Poor, sweet, misguided, soul.
The sun and my skin are bitter rivals. And it’s kicking my ass as we speak.
“Anyone know if Ledger packed some sunscreen in his bag of tricks? I’m baking alive.”
The corner of Myles’s lips curl a little as he leads us to the next conduit that needs upgrading. Arson rummages through his backpack, mumbling to himself as we walk. A bright flash suddenly blinds me, followed by a massive bang that leaves my ears ringing.
Smoke rolls out in a heavy cloud as Arson yanks me behind him and shouts a muffled, “Myles!” When he coughs a response, Arson tenses, then curses. “Shit, I can’t walk us out of here. Jump in the shadow realm if you can, or stay close behind me, okay angel?”
Of course now my abilities decide to work. Son of a bitch.
I try to remember the feeling of falling before I crashed into the gargoyles’ house yesterday, but nothing happens.
Come on stupid shadows, do something. Anything.
Arson makes it look as effortless as breathing, but I can’t make one shadowy tendril so much as twitch to save my soul.
I grunt as he suddenly shoves me backward a split second before a figure blurs by where I was just standing. Arson meets the stranger hit for hit, the two of them disappearing further into the cloud of smoke. “Get her out of here!” he barks at his brother.
Myles calls my name, and I follow the sound of his voice, pulling the knife from my boot. I stumble over roots and rocks, keeping one hand in front of me to ensure I don’t walk face first into a tree. I almost call out to reassure him that I’m okay when his voice hitches with panic, but I don't want to make it easier on whoever’s attacking us. Activating my necklace, I cloak myself as best as I can with the smoke curling around the outline of my body and keep walking in the direction of Myles’s voice.
A brutal crack off to the side and Arson’s pained howl has my heart plummeting like a rock to my stomach.
“Ever, run !” Myles shouts. In the next instant, he activates the illusion built into his watch he showed me the first night we met. Silhouettes of dozens of people, a myriad of scents and sounds to throw more chaos in the mix and hopefully offer enough of a distraction for me to escape.
How can I leave them, though? Could I live with myself if I ran and they were killed? It sounded like someone snapped Arson’s leg. If they can get the drop on him, what the hell could I even do to help?
Hiding behind a tree, I fire off a quick 911 text to Ledger, hitting send right as someone snatches my wrist and bolts without breaking stride, my phone crashing to the dirt as I’m dragged behind them. I’m about to go full boneless toddler and drop like dead weight to throw him off when he says, “Fucking hell, Nevermore, you’re a hard woman to find. They couldn’t stash you somewhere with internet? That’s cruel and unusual punishment, even for a demon.”
We clear the smoke, and I get my first look at our attacker, stunned. Snowy white hair is a windswept mess around his head while tattoos litter his hands and arms, creeping up beneath his shirt and peeking out of the collar of his t-shirt. But it’s those familiar steel grey eyes that knock the breath from my lungs. “ Bell ?” Realizing he can’t hear me, I click my pendant to deactivate it. “What the actual fuck is happening right now?” My eyes widen as his demon comment catches up to my confused brain. “You can only get past the wards into the city if you’re… then that would mean you…”
I’m running on autopilot, trying to make sense of everything. How is he here? Why is he here?
Bellamy throws me over his shoulder before taking a leap that has a strangled scream lodged in my throat, my vision darkening briefly. The vibration from the impact is nothing compared to what it should have been as he slides me down his body to my feet and I glance up at the fifty foot drop hidden in the mountainside forest. He retrieves a hiking bag out of a nearby bush and slings it on his back, running a shaky hand through his messy white hair.
“This complicates things a bit, I know, but I'll figure it out. It'll be fine.” Suddenly he stiffens, canting his head as he studies me warily. “Ever… what kind of supernatural are you?”
I glance around the woods nervously and take a page out of Arson’s book; avoid the question and deflect. “Arson needs a hospital. And Myles, did you hurt him, too?”
Bellamy threads his fingers through mine, anxiously urging me back into motion. “Don’t worry about them, worry about us. We need to get out of here before they lock the place down and we’re trapped here with these monsters.”
I dig my heels in, refusing to budge. “Why would I leave? This is the first place that's ever felt like home.”
He looks at me like I have three heads. “You want to stay in a town teeming with supernaturals? Do you have any idea what sort of danger you’re in?”
“I don’t know what sort of experience you’ve had with mysts, but I’m assuming it wasn’t good.” I soften my features. If anyone will understand, it’s him. Bellamy’s been my only friend for years, he knows exactly how miserable I’ve been. “But… mine has been. Things have been good since coming here. People treat me like I matter. I even bought a house, and you wouldn’t believe how affordable it was. I like it here, Bell, I don’t want to leave.”
Surprise skitters across his face, not that I blame him. I’ve never liked a city or job enough to stick around, always ready to move on the second the wind shifts.
I watch as resignation slowly settles over his shoulders, slumping as he processes the implications behind my words. It shifts to determination as he puffs up his chest and steels his spine, declaring, “I’m not leaving you in the lion's den alone. Supernaturals can’t be trusted, so if you insist on staying, you need someone to watch your back.”
Isn’t he a myst too, though?
“One month,” he amends. “That should be more than enough time for you to realize they’re putting on a front to take advantage of you. And if anyone starts watching you too closely and I think they're a risk of force-bonding you, we leave, no matter what. Deal?”
I frown. “Force-bond? Is that like a shotgun wedding?”
He looks pained. “How much do you know about supernaturals?”
Sheepishly, I rub the back of my neck. “Not much. I only found out they were real a few days ago.”
He blanches. “I changed my mind, this is way too fucking risky.” Bell tugs my hand again. “Let’s go.”
I want to object on principle, but pause to really consider it. Whatever Bellamy’s issue is with mysts, that fear in his eyes is genuine. He clearly has way more experience with this world than I do, and after the stuff Ledger told me about supernatural society, I’d be stupid to assume everything will work out here just because it’s been good so far. Hell, I’ve been trapped in a happy little bubble with my mates acting as a buffer between me and everything else, keeping me isolated. Sheltered. And they have an ulterior motive thanks to those fated mate marks, they even admitted as much.
And… I trust Bellamy. He's been the one constant in my life and only friend. If he’s saying this place is dangerous, the least I can do is hear him out.
All that goes up in a puff of smoke as I catch sight of his wrist. “Well, shit. You too?”
He follows my line of sight to his wrist and brushes his thumb over the tribal sun tattoo with reverent awe. Under his breath, he murmurs, “I knew you were mine.” Suddenly, he tenses up. “Wait, what do you mean, too ?”
“The guys you ambushed five minutes ago have them. My boss, too.”
Those grey eyes flash with a steel edge. “No way in hell do I believe you conveniently bumped into four fated mates within a week in one place. There’s simply no way. Those bastards must’ve slipped a bonding potion in your drink or something.”
His vehemence has a defensive retort on the tip of my tongue, but I force myself to look at the situation objectively. Reluctantly, I concede, “Ledger, I suppose it’d be possible since he kept my coffee topped up that first day at work, so he could have spiked it. But I don’t get any creeper vibes from him. And Arson I hit with my car right off the bat; he was unconscious when we met. Myles, I didn’t eat or drink anything either.”
Pacing now, Bellamy runs an agitated hand through his hair. “You have to admit, the timing is suspicious.”
A niggle of hesitation wraps around my heart. As much as I hate it… he has a point. Wasn’t I already thinking along those lines the other day? That everything has been falling into place far too easily? It was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped.
But Myles can’t lie to save his soul. Arson doesn’t give two fucks; he’d confess to a crime without blinking and ask where the hell his gold star is for fucking things up better than the other guy. And Ledger… after what happened to his mom, he wouldn’t ever trap a woman. I refuse to believe the worst of them without hard proof.
“One month.”
Because the one fact I am sure of? Bellamy came for me. Not knowing I was a myst, not knowing we were fated mates. I went offline and he was so worried that he tracked me across state lines because he knew that nobody else cared that I was missing. He’s the one constant in my life I can rely on, and with everything changing at hyperspeed, I appreciate our friendship more than ever.
Am I annoyed he hid the supernatural world from me? Obviously. But… I get it. Even if he’d told me, I wouldn’t have believed him. Anything he showed me over video chat I’d have written off as digital manipulation.
“Give it a month to get to know the guys and this place to prove they’re not the monsters you think they are, and bring me up to speed on supernatural stuff. It’ll give me a chance to get the ball rolling on a new contract to bankroll another move if necessary.”
Jaw clenched, he jerks his head in a terse nod. “But if I find proof they’re lying to you or anyone here tries to trap either of us, all bets are off. I’ll get you somewhere safe even if you hate me for it.”
Adjusting the strap on his backpack, he sucks in a shaky breath and offers me his hand. “Fill me in on everything I missed since you went offline.”
“While we go back to help Arson?” I confirm.
His nostrils flare, but he dips his head in agreement. “If you're dead set on doing this. But just say the word, and I'll take you away from this place.”
I study how tense and braced for attack he is as I take his hand, wondering what the hell happened to make him so afraid of supernaturals. Hell, he was able to get the drop on Arson. Which begs the question…
If Bellamy can take down a shadow demon, what could he possibly be afraid of?