Phantom (Endlessly Book 3) (16 page)

23 ENOUGH PAIN

Oz pulled my arm as I followed her up the side of the cliff. The urge to be close was overwhelming. We reached the top and walked a short way. She stopped to kiss me again. My hand snaked under her dress and up her thigh. I wanted to take her there and didn’t care who knew it. Then I caught myself.

Gasping for air, I
said, “I don’t even know you. Well… I know your name is Oz…”

“That’s my nickname. My real name is Nicole Ozick.”

“Um… er, Jason Zurk,” I replied, awkwardly.

Nicole laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

As she leaned back into me, something moved in the shadows. I turned to look, squinting to see what was there.

“What is it?” Oz whispered.

I listened carefully. ”Thought I saw something,” I whispered.

Her lips brushed my earlobe. When I glanced back, her eyes glowed yellow. She grabbed my belt, pressing her pelvis
into mine. We wanted the same thing. But then something moved again. We both watched as a man appeared from the darkness.

“Hello, Jason.” The voice strained with false enthusiasm.

“Tyler?” I called.

He stopped a few yards from us. “You remembered me this time.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard through the grapevine you found your soul mate, so I figured I would come and claim what’s mine.”

“Claim what’s yours?” I asked
, confused.

“Oh come on
, Jason, don’t play stupid, you know what I came back for.”

“Ashley,” I said, laughing. “The fucking grapevine didn’t tell yo
u everything. Verloren is back and they just got married. She won’t have anything to do with you.”

“I was told you would say that.” He smirked. “Even if he could come back, it’s only been a couple of years. I’m not an idiot. I do know how to count.”

“See,” a woman whispered. “He’s not going to let you by. You have to remove him.”

I looked around.

Oz peered into the shadows. “Kristy?”

Tyler stepped toward me. “You won’t stop me this time, Jason. I will have her. She and I are connected. We need to be together.”

“Kill him,” the woman whispered.

“Kristy, show yourself,” Oz demanded.

I pushed Oz behind me, keeping a protective stance. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re thinking, Tyler, but she wasn’t meant for you. Her virus connected you, but with Verloren back, there’s nothing you can do.”

“You’re a liar,” Tyler growled, his body trembling as his eyes glowed yellow.

Something new stirred in the darkness: the shadow swimmer. She stepped up beside Tyler.

Oz peered around me. “Kristy, what are you doing here?”

“I’m eliminating any obstacles, pumpkin,” said the swimmer. “I’m going to put us back together.”

“You’re going to beat up Jason?”

“Beat him up? Is this high school? No, Oz. Tyler’s going to kill him,” Kristy laughed. “That way Tyler and I both get what we want. I get you back and he can have Ashley.”

“I’ll never forgive you if you hurt him!” Oz cried.

I wasn’t afraid to fight Tyler, but I was afraid of losing Oz. I would do anything to keep her.

“Tyler
, you dipshit, you don’t want to do this,” I said. “Once you get past me you’ll have to face a beach full of fucking dragons. It’s suicide.”

“Suicide?” Tyler cackled. “Maybe for them. Having control over three elements will come
in handy.”

“You’re fucking pyscho,” I said. “What? You want to kill the other dragons and eat their hearts? Don’t you remember what Ash did to Kale, Pedro and Sarah? She won’t let it happen. It’s only her virus that makes you want her. I thought that way too, assu
ming my love for her was deeper — but it was the virus connection, nothing else.”

“All lies,” Kristy cried. “He’ll say anything to keep you from her.”

“Why don’t you shut up, you stupid bitch?” I snarled. “If you’re a shadow swimmer, it will only take you two seconds to go and see for yourself.”

“Oh, I already know,” she said snidely. “I also know what I want.”

Tyler trembled. His eyes locked on me.

Oz spoke: “Tyler, she’s using you. She knows that Ash doesn’t want you.”

Tyler closed his eyes and shook his head, as if to clear it.

I reaffirmed Oz. “She also knows that once they find out you’ve hurt either of us, they’ll destroy you. She just wants me out of the way so she can have Oz back.”

Tyler frowned. “Enough!” he shouted, shifting.

I shoved Oz back and shifted simultaneously. Tyler leapt at me, knocking me on my back. He hovered, baring his teeth, then lunged at my throat. I thrust my forearm into his Adam’s apple. He yelped, staggering backward.

Oz screamed.

I sprang to my feet. Tyler recovered and rushed me. I swung my arm, raking my claws across his face as I spun him around. Something came loose. A sickening splatter rang through the night. His head jerked back and he roared. Skin sagged off his cheek, and a hole gaped where his eye had
been. He ran at me, but I dug my feet into the ground. He tackled me like a linebacker, his shoulder smashing into my stomach. My feet slid, the wind gushed out of me, and I doubled over. He sank his teeth into my side.

I fought through the pain, slicing him with my claws. His good eye glowed, illuminating inky blood. A snort sounded behind me. Oz. She’d shifted and now flanked me. I barked at her to get back, but Tyler was after her now. I roa
red at him, but he only grunted and started circling her. Shouts closed in from below. The party had heard the fight. They were coming up the path with Ash leading.

Tyler saw them, but refocused on Oz, hurling himself at her.

“No!” Kristy screamed.

I launched myself at him
and we collided. He toppled backwards and I landed on top of him. When I swung he caught my hand in his teeth. I curled my fingers into the bottom of his jaw, grabbed his upper muzzle with my free hand, and pried him open.

Light blinded me
and I let go. Tyler’s jaw shut. There was a loud snap and my hand was free. I looked down and was minus a pinky. Tyler dragged his claws across my chest. I screamed as Oz whimpered. Yellow light shone across a blood-drenched scene.

Tyler spat out my finger, then erupted in gurgles of maddening laughter. I shove
d his chin up, saw his throat, and chomped down. My teeth broke through his esophagus. He grabbed my shoulder as my teeth tore tissue. He clawed at my face and did some damage. He weakened as I bit. Muscles and tendons came loose as I jerked my head, and everything gave way.

I
sat back and spat. He twitched and his remaining eye stared at nothing. His lungs pumped hungrily for air, then faded. Tyler would never breathe again.

An eerie quiet fell as I crouched, holding my wounded h
and. Blood trickled down my neck and chest. I looked above me and saw a flat sheet of fire along the path, burning bright yellow. Up the path Kristy stood dazed, staring at something behind me.

Stil
l in her shift, Oz rushed to me and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

The whole crowd stared at Kristy. Ash kept the swimmer in a mental stranglehold.

I could have used your help holding Tyler,
I told Ash.

You didn’t need my help,
Ash told me.
When you fight for something you love, it always puts you at an advantage.

Tell that to my fucking pinky
.

Ash crossed her chest and rubbed her shoulder blade where a wing had been.
Every scar is a battle won. You can’t make it out of life without any.

A strange purring came from the darkness. Animal eyes glowed
beyond the path as I made out two large shadows.

“Aubrey
, no,” Ash whispered.

The elf had called a cougar and a wolf for help
. Kristy shivered, terrified of the animals, as they waited eagerly to pounce.

Oz, what do you want done?
Ash asked, keeping her mind open so all could hear.

Someone help Jason. He’s hurt.

What about Kristy?

I don’t care. Just someone help Jason. Please!

Coylene, Lex, and Josh rushed to me, and Coylene wrapped my hand. Hania stumbled toward me, and Jenny ran to help him.

Ash and Verloren closed in on Kristy. She was no stronger or faster than a human, so when Ash dropped her hold, the swimmer turned, looking to the shadows for escape. The fire shifted, casting its light in all corners. Verloren blocked her and Ash grabbed her upper arm. “Your death will be more merciful than the rest,” Ash hissed. “Kale, Pedro, Cory, Jesse… they suffered. And do you know why they’re dead?”

Kristy whimpered
and shook her head.

“Because they tried to hurt my family,” Ash said.

Kristy went slack and Ash laid her body on the ground.

We’d all frozen, watching the death sc
ene. Coylene tapped me gently. “This will be easier if you shift back. You’re going to need a lot of stitches.”

Reluctantly, I did what she told me. I’d had enough pain.

24 THE MOMENT

My wounds quickly healed. Though I was minus a finger and plus a few scars, I had no regrets. I couldn’t have stopped myself from defending Oz.

Nicole Ozick was my world
and that was a strange feeling. I’d known her for centuries, but in this life, we’d never formally met. We’d danced our ballet of search and evasion and now we’d become one entity.

I woke up each day feeling as if I was seeing something holy. She made me want to be better.

A few weeks after the attack we were all helping Jack, Sarah, and Abby move their stuff. I wasn’t sad to see Sarah go, but I knew the place would be different without her. She would move on, starting a new life with Jack and Abigail. We all knew so many vampires couldn’t share the same area.

I couldn’t thank Sarah and Jack enough for all
the work they’d done to the abandoned house. It gave those of us remaining a nearby escape from the compound. It provided privacy. Verloren and Ash honeymooned there and, when I was healed, Oz and I would follow.

Time could not be stopped. Sarah and her family weren’t the only ones moving on. The gargoyles were going their own ways. Aubrey and Fabi left, along with the dragons, shortly after the ceremony. Ashley, Verloren, Oz and I stayed on with Hania.
Coylene remained to assist him and take his spot when he passed.

Lex and I were carrying boxes to the barn when she nodded toward Oz ahead of us. “So what’s it like?” Lex asked.

I thought about it for a moment. “You know how when you go on vacation, everything is exciting, because it’s all new? Then after a week away, you finally unlock your door, and you’re glad to be home.”

“Yeah.” Lex nodded.

“It’s… something like that,” I said.

“Which part, the vacation or the home?”

“Both.”

I smiled as I looked at
Oz and felt the pull of the scars on my face from Tyler’s attack.

Josh and Jenny’s wings
beat above the treetops. Ash squealed behind us and raced past. Verloren was on her heels. They disappeared into thick brush. Verloren growled, Ash giggled. We wouldn’t see them for a while.

W
ings flapped behind me, then came Josh’s low voice. “Like a couple of fucking kids.” He pulled his wings tight and shifted back to his shirtless human form. “Looks clear,” he said. “No cars for miles.”

“Tomorrow it will be you guys leaving,” I said.

Jenny landed in front us carrying a footlocker full of clothes. As she shifted she said: “Don’t think we won’t come back and visit.”

As we crossed the road toward the barn, our caravan grew eerily quiet. We loaded everything into the Lincoln, and I reluctantly handed the keys to Jack.

He looked at me apologetically. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

As the
girls said their goodbyes I turned to the covered bike in the back of the barn. I headed for it, then saw Verloren doing the same. Suddenly I realized this was his bike, not mine.

Ash approached him. “I’m sorry, Verloren. I gave it to Jason.”

His face fell.

“We’ll buy you a new one,” she said.

Verloren looked at me with a smile. “Then I’m getting a turbo.”

“You’re such a one upper,” I sneered.

“Are you sure you can even ride that thing, Fingers?”

“I’ll show you a fucking finger, asshole.” I flipped him off.

“Jason, can’t you wait five more minutes before you run your mouth,” Sarah said.

Oz came up beside me
and looked under the tarp. “What is it?”

“Fun at two hundred miles an hour,” I said. I pulled the tarp off. Dust flew everywhere.

“That doesn’t look safe,” she said.

I straddled the bike and patted the seat behind me. She shook her head.

“I swear I won’t go fast or do anything stupid,” I cajoled. If she’d said no, I would’ve caved. Instead she approached. I started the bike before she climbed on. “Just lean with me.”

She gripped me tight. “If I get hurt I’ll kill you.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Her touch turned my thoughts from speed to sex. Verloren’s low chuckle cut through the purr of the engine.

At least my thoughts are justified now,
I told him.

Touché,
he responded.

Ashley looked away, embarrassed.

Lex smiled at me and nodded. I pulled out of the barn and onto the road.

Oz gripped me tighter as I sped up. Sex versus
speed — a strange, maddening Catch-22, but I enjoyed it. I drove faster and she gripped me tighter. I tried to keep my head clear, but we both knew we wouldn’t go far on the bike.

Life became as normal as our lives can get: comfortable and natural. As summer passed the house began to feel like an Ark: two vampires, two werewolves, and two witches. Then Hania died.

As inevitable as death is, we never quite accept it until it pops in for a visit. Even when it’s come for someone else, it reminds us of our own mortality. Losing Hania was like losing a father. For a time death lurked behind every corner, threatening all I’d found to live for. Verloren had shown that even immortals face death. Nothing lives forever.

The funeral was bittersweet. The cancer that had killed Hania drained some of the life from us as well. Verloren and Ash could smell the disease as it grew in his body. We’d all seen him failing, his body weakening even more in the months after Oz arrived. He bore it with a smile, comforting us when we should’ve been doing the comforting. He told us he would come back, and said his spirit would live forever. Hania knew what we needed to hear and made a gift of it.

Some people get a moment of silence. In the house we didn’t speak for a week. Then life started up again. Coylene moved her human family into her apartment. That meant her husband, Shannon, and their tw
o sons, Jaden, 9, and Logan, 6 — two little human boys in a house full of monsters. They were a cure for silence. Their presence brought us all back to this world. When they weren’t being home-schooled by Coylene and Shannon they were usually in the game room. Despite their human psyches, they weren’t the least bit wary of us.

We made sure they never saw any of our feeding habits, but it was harder to curb my foul mouth.

Humans needed a steadier stream of supplies and when Coylene and Shannon went shopping, the kids were left in the care of us monsters.

Jaden had his mom’s fiery red hair and he tried desperately to spike it like mine. He
took to shadowing me and copying everything I said. It made me more careful, but he picked up enough. Fortunately he imitated my caution too, and seldom cursed in front of his parents.

One day when we had a new game on the screen, I said: “You’re sure your mom and dad aren’t going to be mad at me for letting you play violent video games.”

On the screen he shot several zombies. He let out a cheer as the corpses fell to the ground on the screen, then turned to me. “If you don’t tell them, they can’t get mad.”

“I
f your mom gets pissed at me—”

“Jason,” Oz said, “don’t say the ‘p’ word.”

Six-year-old Logan sat with Oz on a nearby sofa. He had short brown hair like Shannon’s, and he was fascinated by Oz’s tattoos. He was sitting on her lap as she doodled something on his arm with a marker.

“Oh man,” I said, “Coylene is going to be pissed at you for drawing on her kids.”

Oz looked at me and smiled. “She’ll get over it. It washes off.” She finished her drawing. “There you go, Logan.”

As he jumped down, he looked at the heart with a banner through it. He recognized the word: “Mom”. His brown eyes lit up. “Cool!” he squealed. He ran down the hall calling: “Ashley
, I gotta tat! I gotta tat!”

“Hey, I want to see,” Jaden called, dropping the controller to follow his brother.

“Jaden is going to want one,” Oz said, watching them disappear.

“What are you teaching those kids?”

She smiled at me and wagged the marker. “That beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

I grinned. “I want a tattoo.”

“Okay, take off your shirt.”

“I like this already,” I said. “Are you going to take off your shirt too?”

She laughed as I pulled off my shirt. Oz pushed me back, straddled me, and ran her fingers across my scars. Her touch raised goose bumps on my arms. I grabbed her thighs.

I moaned, and said: “Maybe we should take our tattoo session to the apartment.”

“Later,” she whispered.

With her free hand covering the scars she drew something on my chest. From my angle I couldn’t identify it, but I was content to watch her face. The marker slid across my skin with a light scratch. Oz brought her face closer to the design and glanced up at me.

I smiled at her. “It tickles.”

“You wouldn’t say that if it were real.”

When she was finished she looked at it and smiled. Once I got a good look at it I read “Eternally Mine” with a heart directly above my own.

“I don’t want it to wash off,” I told her.

“It won’t.”

I ran my hand through her hair and pulled her lips to mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer.

Jaden and Logan rushed back into the room.

Jaden yelled: “I want a tattoo!” Then he saw us kissing. “Ew! Gross! They’re kissing again!”

”You left our door open,” Ash shouted from down the hall.

“Yeah, they’ll do that,” I replied.

Oz wagged the marker at Jaden. He rushed to her side and Logan jumped on the sofa to watch. She smiled as she drew a spider on Jaden’s arm.

She knew I would do anything to keep her smiling.

The boys often begged to go to the beach and Oz always gave in. They knew the routine. I would boost the boys up toward the bottom of the tree and Oz pulled them out. I always followed behind them.

Later that day we went outside
and the boys sat on a fallen log while Oz and I headed to a spot where they couldn’t see us. We stripped off our clothes and I caressed the tattoos no one else saw. I kissed her.

She pulled away from me and traced the heart she’d drawn on my chest. “The boys,” she reminded me.

“Can’t just the two of us play?”

She laughed, then shifted, and ran back the way we came. I followed.

To me she was just as attractive in her shift as in her human form. Her sleek muscles rippled when she ran.

We pick up Jaden and Logan and then headed to the beach. She raced beside me, Logan on her back, Jaden on mine. The boys’ laughter echoed through the woods, a carefree sound I had grown to love.

This was how most of our days ended. We ran in the forest and played on the beach. We lived, loved and laughed.

I lived in the moment. My life felt complete.