Phantom (Endlessly Book 3) (8 page)

“Donation?” Jack said, terrified.

“Don’t worry,” Josh told him. “It’s nothing bad. Don’t be such a chicken shit.” Josh laughed as he slid the gun into the waistband of his pants.

I helped Jack into the game room and got his shoe off. We would have Hania cast a spell to make him forget, then send him on his way. His ankle was swollen and possibly sprained. Jack retold his story to Lex, Jenny, and Hania. His eyes danced around at the game room.

We all looked at each other, wondering who he was, and who’d sent him. What were we going to do if someone started sending strangers in? Especially humans? I didn’t want to move, but this could compromise our home.

Ash and Sarah whispered to each other in the kitchen. They were in there with Abby, hiding from Jack. Hania sent Jenny after a few things. Jack watched us and I sat down opposite him.

When Sarah popped her head out the kitchen door Jack saw her. She didn’t have her hair colored or any makeup.
Jack lurched off of the sofa and fell to his knees. He was more scared than ever.

“Jenny! Fucking hurry!” I yelled.

It happened quickly. Ash cried out. I took in Sarah’s astonished expression as her bottom lip began to tremble. Jack started crawling toward her on his hands and knees. I jumped forward and grabbed the guy’s good ankle and pulled him back. Sarah and Jack let out a cry in unison.

“No, Jason, let him go!” Ashley bawled from the kitchen.

I could hear Ash sobbing and Abby was whimpering. Jack crawled closer to Sarah. My chest ached from Ash’s emotions. Sarah rushed toward the human, embracing him as she let go tearless sobs. Jack buried his face in her snowy hair.

Jenny ran in, her hands full of witch paraphernalia. She stopped and took in the scene.

“Soul mates,” Hania whispered.

“Holy shit!” Josh replied. “Sarah Rhodes… I never thought I would see the day.”

Jack pulled back from her and stared into her eyes. He kissed her softly. I turned away from their private moment. The first face I saw was Lex’s as she smiled at me.

This was what I was missing. I could have this if I found Oz. I knew it, Lex knew it, and so did everyone else.

Abigail appeared in the doorway and watched, confused. Lex motioned for Abby to join her and the girl silently moved past the couple. Lex took her hand and led her down the hall. The girl was about to learn of something she would never have.

If Ash’s virus mimicked the vampire virus, Abigail was never going to grow into an adult. She might find her soul mate, but trapped in a child’s body, how could she have a relationship? The thought seemed obscene.

I got up quietly, passed the two kneeling on the floor and went in the kitchen. I found Ash gripping the edge of the sink as water trickled from the faucet. She cried quietly. She cupped water in her hands, splashed it on her face, then wiped her cheeks with a towel.

A long-missing happiness radiated from her. She turned to me. Washing her face had been pointless; again black tears streaked her cheeks. She stared at me silently.

You would throw that away for eternity?
she asked.

I felt the tug in my chest again. My thoughts became a jumble. I felt the happiness through Ash and the forceful tugging. My body was ready to run out the door and head east. Was I willing to throw it away to take care of Ash? Was I really willing to settle for second best?

I could have what was in the other room, but it could lead to what was standing in front of me. I could end up a broken person, praying for death, and feeding off of other people’s happiness. Or worse yet, Oz could end up that broken person. I didn’t want that. I pushed Oz out of my mind.

“I would do anything for you, Ashley,” I said. “I would be…
whatever it is I need to be, just so you can be happy again.”

“You’re here for me. Isn’t that enough?”

“No, because being here for you isn’t making you happy.”

I listened to the group in the other room as they helped Jack up onto the sofa. The long explanation started. Ash hid her face behind Verloren’s sweatshirt hood and rushed from the kitchen. I needed a cigarette. I sat down at the table and looked at the bar. I knew what I was doing tonight.

Josh walked into the kitchen and headed straight to the fridge.

“Isn’t that some shit,” Josh said. “The man-hater has a man.”

He grabbed a tray of ice from the freezer. He must have sensed the tension, because his smartass demeanor wavered. He opened a cupboard door, grabbed a large plastic bag, and made a homemade ice pack.

Could Josh tell me more about Oz? Did I really want to know?

“Yeah,” I forced a chuckle. “Talk about a one-eighty.”

“What about you?” he asked, fishing a clean towel from a drawer.

Feelings weren’t what Josh and I usually discussed. He was probably curious as to whether or not he was going to lose his video game partner.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged.

He wrapped the bagged ice in a towel. “You gonna look for her?”

“I don’t know anything about her.”

He leaned on the counter. “Oz is really cool. She doesn’t give a shit about all the girly garbage.”

“Like a Tom Boy?”

“No, not really. I mean… you didn’t have to watch your mouth around her. She liked to hang around us guys and listen to us talk shit. She was always laughing; everything was a joke to her.”

I asked: “Did you ever… you know, hook up with her?”

Josh shook his head. “No. Oz was one of the guys.”

Lex poked her head into the kitchen. “Josh, we need that ice. Hania’s not a miracle worker.”

He shook his head and grabbed his homemade ice pack. “She’s cool, Jason. You’d like her.” He walked into the game room.

I went to the bar and made my selections.

9
CONSTANT REMINDER

I knocked on Ash’s apartment door. She made me wait, then opened the door and scowled at me. I shoved a bottle of vodka at her while I balanced a two-liter of Mountain Dew and a bottle of Captain Morgan in the other arm.

“Let’s get fucked up,” I said.

She took the vodka and let me in. Her apartment smelled like pumpkin pie. I noticed the candle burning on the kitchen counter as she got glasses from the cupboard. Her apartment was colorful compared to mine. She had a red and beige living area compared to my black and white. I noted that I could no longer smell Verloren. His scent had lingered here long after his death. Now all I could smell was pie.

“Why do you girls like smelly things?” I asked, as I sat on the sofa.

She sounded sad. “What do you mean… smelly?”

“I don’t know. Smelly lotions, soaps, body sprays, candles, incense… you know, that sort of shit.”

Laughing weakly, she handed me a glass, and sat down beside me. I wondered if Oz cared about all that stuff.

“Is it a crime to smell good?” she asked.

“No, but you don’t see guys doing that sort of shit.”

She unscrewed the cap from the vodka and started to tip it toward the glass. She hesitated with the bottle hanging over the glass, then shrugged, skipped the glass, and brought the bottle straight to her mouth. Once she’d drank, she sat back and balanced the bottle on her knee. “I think I read somewhere that smell is the strongest sense connected to memory. I do remember the pumpkin pie part though.” She took another drink.

I mixed a strong rum-and-soda. “What about pumpkin pie?” I asked.

“There was a survey to figure out what smells attracted men. Pumpkin pie was number one.” She made a face as she swallowed the third drink.

I drank half of my glass then looked at her. “So you do want me.” I laughed at her scowl.

“Whatever,” she said.

“That’s a polite way of telling me to fuck off.”

“Then fuck off,” she said blandly, as she looked at my glass. “Since when do you drink that?”

I set down my empty glass and thought about the girl. This wasn’t what I came here to talk about.

“I don’t know. Something different.” I shrugged.

Liar. It’s what she drinks,
she thought.

“Well, I guess that makes us both fucking liars then, huh?”

I’d let down my guard and she’d read my thoughts. I pushed the soda out of the way, grabbed the bottle of rum, and drank it straight. If she was going to lie to me, then I was going to lie to her.

“So what do you think about what happened today?” I asked.

“Just great,” she hissed.

“Not about
them
, about the phone call Jack got.”

“Oh
… I don’t know. I forgot about that part.” She looked at me glassy eyed.

“Yeah,” I sighed, “everyone keeps forgetting about that part.”

I took a couple of healthy swigs of the rum and coughed. Ashley laughed at me. My face felt warm from the alcohol.

“You can’t keep up with me.” She taunted and drank from her bottle.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, you might get a hangover.”

“Oh shit, here we go. I knew this was going to be a fun night.” I was already feeling good, but I wanted to get blasted. I didn’t want to care.

I tipped my bottle again as she continued to drink from hers. She watched me as we both chugged trying to finish first. I sat my empty bottle down on the coffee table. She was finishing the last of hers, spilling most of it on her sweatshirt. She gasped for air.

“No fair! I had a bigger bottle.” She looked down at her shirt. “Now I’m all wet.”

“That’s what she said.” I laughed.

“You’re so disgusting, Jason.”

“Am I?”

She sat her empty bottle on the coffee table. Now that she was buzzing, I knew she would talk.

“The phone call.” I reminded her. The warmth from the liquor spread from my stomach up to my ears. “Who do you think it was, and what do you think they’re doin’?”

“Someone knew,” she said, leaning back. She turned her face up to me as her pitch-black eyes gazed in my direction. “It had to be someone who’s been here. They had to know about Sarah and Jack. Told him to ‘tell her’.”

“Tell her what?”

“I think that’s obvious. Jack needed to tell S-Sarah that he loved her.” Her fangs flashed in the light as she grimaced.

I felt the pain in my chest when she made the face. I knew it was a touchy subject, but she saw into Jack’s mind.
She would have all the details and might recognize the voice in his memory.

“But who would have known about them being soul mates? And this place?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. Good Samaritan I guess. Some kind of soul matchmaker crap,” she snapped.

“A good Samaritan. That’s all you got out of his thoughts? You didn’t recognize the voice at all?”

She leaned toward me, her eyes half closed, as the vodka did its job. “Who cares, Jason?” She laughed. “They’re happy…” She waved her hand weakly toward the game room. “…and I’m miserable. I really don’t give a shit who sent Jack. I don’t see the place bein’ raided, or fallin’ in on our heads.” She pointed to her head, dropped her arm, closed her eyes, and smiled. She whispered: “I wish it would fall on my head.”

I leaned toward her. “You don’t have to be miserable, you know.”

Her face seemed too close. Suddenly she felt happy and I felt it with her. With her eyes closed, her smile grew. It was nice to know I could make her happy. I was all too aware of the pull in my chest. I didn’t know where it was coming from and didn’t care. I assumed it was from in front of me, but you know what they say about assumptions. I don’t know what came over me, but I would blame it on the alcohol. I grabbed her cool face and pulled her mouth to mine as I pushed her onto her back. My free hand grabbed her thigh and pulled it around my waist. She resisted my kiss as I playfully bit her lower lip. Her whole body vibrated with angry thoughts, then the vibration died, the alcohol would keep her touch from becoming lethal. A growl rose in her chest as I ran my hand down the velvety skin of her neck.

Ash grabbed the front of my shirt roughly and snarled at
me. She shoved me away from her and I flew, landing on the sofa. She stood and glared at me. I looked at her dumfounded.

“Goddamn it, Jason! Is this why you got me drunk? You thought if you got me drunk enough I would screw you?” Her hands clenched into fists.

“’M sorry,” I mumbled. “It wasn’t like that… I felt a pull…”

“It wasn’t me. You know better, you… you… horny jackass!” she hissed. She crossed her arms, sat down, bounced, and almost fell off the sofa. She avoided looking at me.

I was glad she was drunk.

“Sorry,” I repea
ted. “Please don’t be mad at me. I know I’m a dick.”

She glared at me. “You better start thinkin’ with the right head… you… ass head!” she barked.

I started laughing uncontrollably. “Ass head?” I echoed.

Ash tightened her lips and fought not to laugh. She refused to look at me. She was getting pissed at my mocking her.

“Well, that’s what you are!” she yelled. She pursed her lips and sat back with her arms still crossed, trying to look mad.

“Okay, okay.” I tried to catch my breath. “I’m an ass head. I won’t do it again.”

She glared at me. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t, you’ll sti
ll love me in the mornin’. Hey… you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You…
you…”

“No, no, really, I’m joking. I just wanted to see what you took from Jack about the phone call.” This was true, bu
t I wasn’t completely sorry I’d kissed her.

“You could have asked me,” she fumed.

“You’re only truly honest when you’re drunk, Ash. Besides, it’s been awhile since I got fucked up with someone other than Josh. Let’s watch a movie.”

Her face lit up. “Som’tin’ with zombies.” She hiccupped.

I laughed at her. “You can make zombies, and you want to watch a movie about them?”

She stumbled toward the DVD player.

I don’t remember much more after
Zombieland
started. I woke up freezing and my head felt like it was going to split open. My stomach rolled and I took a deep breath. Something smelled good. Slowly I opened my eyes; the light from the TV was too much as the menu from the DVD replayed. I closed my eyes. God, it was fucking cold. I shivered, wondering if I had a fever.

I opened my eyes again and found the reason I was cold. I was spooning Ash on her sofa. What did this mean? I moved my head. Pain shot through my brain and down my neck. Did we have sex? Did I get bitten? Was that the rea
son for the pain in my head? Was I turning into a hybrid?

I felt my chest.
I still had clothes on. We hadn’t done anything. The pain must be a hangover. Damn it.

I felt around on the back of the sofa and found a throw. I pulled it over Ash and tucked it between us. I wrapped my arm around Ash and pulled her tight against me. I laid my arm across the dip in her waist. It felt like that space was meant for it. I buried my face in her snow-white hair and inhaled. Though I felt like barfing, she smelled good.

There was a frantic conversation. Pain threatened to burst my brain. I listened to the house and heard nothing. I laid my forehead against the back of Ash’s head. The cold felt good.

Hazy pictures formed in my mind. The new images
didn’t help the hangover. I recognized Verloren’s face; I was seeing Ashley’s dream.

Ash cradled Verloren just as she had the night he died. She placed her hand over the gun wound on his head, trying to will it to
heal. She cried in frustration, and I felt her agony. She could never relinquish this power. No matter how hard she tried, her hands would only deal death. Verloren was gone forever.

The pain in my mind was too much. I winced and pulled my head from hers, then fell back to sleep with my face in her hair.

I dreamed that I was a teenager mowing the lawn of the house I grew up in. I was pushing the mower toward the sidewalk when Oz walked past, watching me.

She looked different. She wore a tight-fitting black dress accentuating her curves. Stiletto heels made her ca
lves flex with each slow step. I let go of the mower handle as the engine died.

Every fiber of me wanted to go to her. I tried to, but I felt weak and couldn’t move. The more I struggled to get to her, the more paralyzed I became. I found myself falling to my knees. I called to her, but my voice was only a faint whisper.

Oz disappeared. As the sky darkened, I fell and rolled over on my back. The sun turned into the moon, and I stared at the night sky. There was a low purring sound, and I struggled to see Ash in her dragon shift.

Something was pulled out from under my face
. I opened my eyes. Ash eyed me, and I pulled my arm from her to block out the light.

“Was it horrible?” I asked.

I saw into her thoughts. She questioned her celibacy, and I couldn’t help but smile. She lingered on the memory of me kissing her. I let her see how I’d felt. She was mortified.

I let her sweat it for a moment, then said: “We didn’t do anything.”

How do you know?

I groaned, then took a deep breath. “I’m not naked. So, was it horrible to spend the night with me?”

She didn’t answer, blocking her thoughts. I rolled over and fell asleep again. I woke up alone. Finally I could move without pain. I listened to the house. The pull was strong. Was Oz close?

I listened to Ash; she was at the pool. She seemed no different. I snuck out of her apartment, not wanting any weird questions. Once I was back in my apartment, I smoked a cigarette, and dug in my dresser for swim trunks. I changed and headed to the pool.

Ash saw me coming through the door. She swam to the deep end, treaded water, and kept her eyes on me. Her thoughts were hidden. The water felt good, though I wished it were a hot tub.

I submerged my head and swam toward her, then broke the surface and wiped the water from my eyes. Ash swam toward the edge of the pool and I followed her. She
stepped on the shelf running around the edge. I stood beside her. Being almost a foot taller, the cool air hit my chest. She searched my face as I leaned on the edge.

“There is no gra
y area for you is there?” I asked. “Everything is either black or white. It’s all or nothing.”

She watched me. “What I would give you, would only be a faint echo of what I had. And even though you are an ass at times… you deserve better than that. And what you are offering me… there is no substitution for the original, Jason. You’ll see when you find her.”

My chest tightened. “I’m sorry I kissed you last night… wait… I’m not sorry; I would do it again in a heartbeat if I knew you would return it. But last night that weird… pull… and I was drunk…”