Seventh Mark (Part 1 +2) (23 page)

“It’s ten
minutes down the road! What kind of trouble can I get into there?
An old lady knocks me out with her cane ‘cause I grab the best head
of lettuce?”

“True…No
Grollic’s going to come after you in a crowd of people.”

“They aren’t
interested in me.”

“Why don’t I
come? I can just wait in the car while you shop.”

“And leave
Sarah in the house alone? Would Caleb be alright with that?” With
Sarah’s military background, she’s probably safer than the rest of
us. “Michael’s positive they are after you and him. You’re safest
place is here.”

She played with
an earring. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I just want to
make dinner for Michael.”

“Ohhhh.” She
grinned, punching my arm. “Now I get it. Why didn’t you just say
so?” She winked, then headed back inside. Then she popped her head
out one more time. “Fifteen minutes. Twenty tops. Then I’m texting
you and hunting you down myself.”

Shaking my
head, I opened the Jeep door and sat on the tanned leather driver’s
seat. The “new” car scent teased my nostrils. Checking the wheel
and dashboard, I finally found the ignition and started the engine.
I pulled forward slowly trying to set the mirrors and realized the
seat also had automatic adjustment.
This vehicle’s cooler than
cool
.

Flipping the
radio on, I drove and turned carefully into the lot of the grocery
store. Paranoid, I parked towards the back, far away from the other
cars. As I dashed toward the store trying to avoid road salted
puddles, fresh snow flakes started to fall.

I grabbed a
shopping cart and made my way around the outside part of the
grocery store. All the fresh produce sat on the outside aisles and
the packaged goods were in the middle. In line for the checkout, I
stared at my cart. Maybe I bought too much. I just wasn’t sure if
Michael liked chicken, hamburger or salmon. Setting my stuff on the
counter, I saw a little rack with mini bottles of alcohol.

Glancing around
and not seeing anyone I knew, I threw two rye ones with the rest of
my groceries. Fingers crossed the cashier wouldn’t ask for
identification.

No luck.

“ID,
please.”

I stared down
at my wallet and handed him my licence, knowing full well I was
screwed.
Stupid. Stupid idea
.

The check out
guy, who didn’t look much older than fifteen, checked the date,
glanced at me, then down at my card again. Handing the card back,
he tossed the bottles in my bags and never bothered to look up.
“Happy Birthday.”

Stunned, I paid
and left.
I’ll pay it forward one day, kid.
Outside the snow
had begun falling harder. Large, fat flakes sparkled as they
drifted in the masses toward the ploughed parking lot, hiding the
mud and salt. I shook my head, I still needed boots.
Tomorrow
.

My lovely,
lonely Jeep waited patiently for me. I threw the bags into the
backseat behind the driver’s side and quickly hopped into my
seat.

I leaned to
pull my keys out of my coat pocket and nearly dropped them when the
passenger door opened and someone hopped in.

I closed my
eyes and took a deep breath. “Grace! I told you nothing would
happ—” All conversation fell away when my lower left shoulder blade
started to burn like fire and I caught a whiff of wet animal.

Damon
.

“So glad I
found you.” Damon’s eyes were full of mockery.

“Get. Out.” I
pointed to the jeep door, and shifted trying to ease the sudden
ache in my shoulder blade.

“No can do.” He
pointed his thumb to the exit. “Get this thing started and head
onto the road. I’ll tell you where to go.”

I’d like to
tell
you
where to go.
“I’ll leave,
after
you get out.” Bile rose in the back of my throat. “I’m not taking
you near Grace.”

“Rouge, start
the friggin’ Jeep, or I'll start it for you. And you do
not
want that.” He snarled. His eyes turned a terrible yellow color,
the same shade that haunted my dreams.

Frozen, I tried
to get my brain to process any coherent thought. Grace and Sarah
wouldn’t start to worry about my absence for another ten minutes.
Michael and Caleb were gone, so I was pretty much on my own. Damon
didn’t know…He couldn’t right? “M-Michael an-and Grace are meeting
me here, any minute now.”

His barking
laugh reverberated off of my own chest. “Nice try,” he spat, as if
reading my thoughts. “Michael’s halfway across the country and
well, let’s just say Grace and her dear so-called momma aren’t
going anywhere.”

My shoulders
and lungs dropped as if they’d collapsed.
The Grollics have
Grace and Sarah?
They’d been waiting and watching till they
were most vulnerable. “You’d better not hurt them,” I hissed.

“We won’t… for
now. If you do as I say, it might be for a bit longer.” He grinned.
A stupid, irritating grin that made me want to tear his face
off.

What choice did
I have? “Fine. I'll drive. Just leave Grace and Sarah alone.” The
closest thing I had to a family wouldn’t die if I could help it.
Damon didn’t need me. He just wanted to get to Michael and Grace. I
knew he didn’t stand a chance against Michael.

Damon raised
his eyebrows for a quick second. “Good.”

My hands shook
as I turned the ignition and grasped the wheel. I leaned to turn up
the heat, hoping it might give me some courage. Whatever I did
might mean life or death for Grace and Sarah. If Grace contacted
Michael through their ESP-thing, he and Caleb might be heading
back.
Did the Grollics know of their ability?

“Turn right out
of the parking lot and head towards the highway. We need to get off
at the exit before the lake.” He sniffed and turned his head to the
groceries in the backseat. Grabbing a bag of chips, he opened them
and started eating. The idiot had the audacity to offer me some of
my
chips.

“No,
thanks
.” I focused on the road as the snow began falling in
thicker, heavier flakes.

“Drive like
you're going to the head to the Knightly’s cabin. We'll park the
Jeep there and head out again. We’ll take your groceries along as
it would be a shame to let all this good stuff go to waste.” He
turned and dug through the bags. “What’s with all the healthy crap?
You need more starchy foods. They fill you nicely.” Damon patted
his stomach, stuffing another handful of chips in his mouth.

I squeezed the
steering wheel tighter, my knuckles white against the black
leather. Like I cared about food groups at the moment. “I have no
freakin’ clue how to get there.” I lifted my foot off the gas and
let the Jeep slow its pace.

He grabbed my
arm and squeezed. It hurt like crazy and if he tightened his grip a
fraction my bones would break. “Listen closely as I’m only going to
say this once. It’s in your
best
interest you try and humor
me. Keep me happy and content. I’m the only one who can save you.”
He swore under his breath and punched the dashboard. “Just drive
and keep your mouth shut!”

I dropped my
foot back on the gas pedal and pressed my lips tight. I rubbed my
sore arm. If I ticked Damon off in the Jeep he might shift into a
Grollic. What if he changed and bit me?
Could that make me a
Grollic?
If that could happen, everything with Michael would be
doomed, and I did not want to spend an eternity living without him.
The Siorghra around my neck tingled against my skin giving me a
small warning. Glancing around, I realized I didn’t know where we
were. I’d only been to the cabin once with Michael, and it had been
dark. Blinking back the water filling my eyes, I whispered, “I
don’t know where I’m going.”

“Take the third
exit, and head north. I'll tell you where to turn when we get
there.” Damon went back to eating the bag of chips and began
ignoring me.

Forty minutes
later, with no decent plan popping into my head, I turned into the
snow covered road which let to Caleb’s cabin. Thank goodness for
the Jeep’s four wheel drive. Nothing had been cleared in days. No
trace of the fight between Seth and Tatiana against the Grollics
existed, except for the odd fallen tree and a large clawed gouge
mark on a maple close to the cabin. My breath caught as I rolled to
a stop and let the engine idle.

“Stay in the
Jeep.” Damon swung his door open. “Don’t bother even thinking about
taking off. We’d catch you on foot, or on wheels or with a bullet.”
He jumped out and jogged toward the tree line on the right. He
whistled into the forest and leaned against a tree, his jacket open
and oblivious to the cold.

A female, a
couple years older than me, emerged from the trees. She walked to
Damon and stood inches away from him, then began pulling the black
hooded sweater off and he pulled at her belt.

“Great,” I
muttered, dropping my gaze to the crumpled bag and chip crumbs all
over my passenger seat. “Just what I want to watch. Two Grollics
gettin’ it on. Disgusting.” I jumped at the sharp rap against the
side window.

The passenger
door opened and the girl dropped into the spot Damon had vacated.
She began pulling off her boots. “Give me your clothes,” She
commanded in a husky voice.

I stared
straight ahead, not moving.

“Get your crap
off or I'll do it for you, bitch.” Her husky voice turned into a
growl as she grabbed my shoulder and squeezed hard.

“Ow! That
hurts.” Her sharp nails dug deep into my skin, even through my
coat. The pressure didn’t weaken. She could crush my bones if she
wanted. I pressed my lips tight to cut off the groan trying to
escape. She lessoned her grip when I reached for the hem of my
coat. I lifted my elbow and pushed her arm away and then pulled the
zipper down on my coat and shrugged it off. At least I didn’t have
to watch them messing around.

“Take
everything off. Then put on what I'm wearing.”

Silent, I did
as she commanded. My thoughts kept drifting to Grace and Sarah,
hoping they were safe. Whatever the Grollics plan was, they would
take me to them, right?

I tossed my wet
sneakers on her lap and had the satisfaction of watching her nose
wrinkle. She kicked her boots on the floor by my feet. I snorted.
Finally got a pair of boots for the snow.

I struggled to
get dressed in the tight space under the wheel, but Damon’s ugly
face pressed against my window helped speed the process. The girl’s
clothes smelled damp and of wet fur.

“Perfect! And
Damon said I was too big.” She leaned forward, staring directly at
him. With a grunt, she got out and walked to the front porch. The
girl paused on the porch and played with her earring before
dropping to sit on the steps, and rub her arm against the railing.
After leaving her – my – sneakers at the door, she slipped her hand
inside the sleeve of my sweater and wrapped it around the door
handle before heading inside.

My breath
sucked in sharply.
She’s putting my scent around the cabin.
I wouldn’t be staying. I tried to think of something I could do
inside of the Jeep. A clue which might help Michael. Something to
let him know it was a trap, and I wasn’t inside the cabin.

Damon had
stepped in front of the Jeep, hollering at the girl to hurry, then
turned and glared at me. I touched Michael’s pendant and ran it
along the chain.

An idea
skittered across my mind. I reached for the clasp at the back and
pulled with both my hands. It unclipped easily. A little wave of
disappointment flushed through. Michael had said no one could take
it off if he put it on.
Shame he’d never get the chance
.

Swallowing the
lump in my throat, I dropped the Siorghra on the floor, pushing it
slightly under the seat.

Damon came
around to the driver’s side and wrenched open my door. He reached
in to turn the ignition off and tossed the keys in the snow.
Grabbing me by the collar, he dragged me out and then shoved me in
the direction the girl had come from the forest.

“Walk,” he
barked, then swung around and grabbed the bags of groceries from
the back seat of the Jeep.

The girl never
came out of the cabin. I ran my fingers through my hair and
scrunched my nose at the loose strands entangled in my fingers. I
shook them out at the edge of the forest where we headed into the
trees. Pushing me in front, Damon pointed the direction to
walk.

I moved in
front but glanced back at the cabin. The amount of snow in the
forest was higher than I’d anticipated. “Where’s Grace? Is she in
there?”

“Shut up.”
Damon scowled.

“No. Where’s
Grace and Sarah?”

“Not right
freakin’ here.”

I stopped, knee
deep in a snow drift, and crossed my arms.

Wrong move.

He marched
right up to me and, before I had a chance to flinch, curled his
fingers around my throat. “Walk. Or someone’s going to end up
dead.” He squeezed tighter, emphasizing his point.

Slapping and
trying to pull his hand away, I struggled to get air into my
throat. Little flecks of white danced in my vision and just as
everything started to blur, he let go. I fell back into the soft,
wet snow. Sucking in sweet, cold air against the burning in my
throat, I rolled to my side.

Damon kicked my
hip. “Get up.”

Wiping the
tears that had escaped my eyes, I managed to get onto all fours and
slowly straighten to standing. Damon shot me a single nod and
pointed. I dropped my head and started to walk, trying my best not
to swallow.

We hiked for
what seemed liked forever but when I checked my watch, only about
forty minutes had passed. The soreness in my throat dulled, but
there were going to be bruises. Though tired, I resisted the urge
to ask Damon where we were going. I’d given him the silent
treatment since the cabin.
Jerk. Big stinkin’ dickhead.