The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series) (30 page)

By the time we finally pulled up to the mall, I had gone into full relaxation mode. I know it was a bit odd, that I was only able to finally relax in the presence of a stranger, one who I should have known better than to be relaxed around, but there it was regardless. It was nice to be away from responsibilities and expectations.

I manually rolled up the window, and Chase and I both stepped out of the rickety truck. I had to slam my door twice to get it to latch, then we both headed toward the mall. Chase walked casually by my side, holding the door open for me with a slightly mocking smile. I walked through nonchalantly, not bothering to catch the door on the interior to hold it open for him. I was instantly bombarded by the chaos of a shopping center a week before Christmas. I sent a brief, angry thought to my dad, blaming him for the fact that I had to come to the mall twice in one week.

The only person I had left to buy for was Jason, and I was still at a loss as to what to get him. I figured Barnes & Noble was as good a place to start as any, and made a beeline for the store with Chase hot on my heels. Once in the store, I began browsing the shelves with the idea that I could simply buy him a bunch of books, and hopefully equal, but not outdo whatever he got for me.

Chase leaned in over my shoulder, his face uncomfortably close to mine. His shampoo smelled like oranges. “Who ya shopping for?” he asked in a sing-song manner.

I sidestepped to put some space between us. “None of your business,” I grumbled.

Chase made a hmmf sound in his throat, then held up a finger, as if experiencing an epiphany. “Aaah, shopping for the vampire, are we?”

I glared at him. “Yes, if you must know. My dad interrupted my shopping the other day. Jason’s was the only gift I didn’t get.”

Chase simply nodded and strolled away to a different shelf of books, hands clasped behind his back casually. My relaxed ease officially crushed, I turned my attention back to my task. I was beginning to think that the bookstore was a lost cause, because I couldn’t be sure what Jason had or hadn’t read. Then my eyes were drawn to a collection on an end-cap. I walked closer to investigate, realizing that the collection was a boxed set of fifteen classics. Bingo. I swiped up the box, not bothering to check the price, and headed to the register.

After I payed, I started looking around for Chase, who was nowhere to be seen. I deduced that he wasn’t anywhere in the store, so I walked out into the crowded concourse to look for him. The place was a madhouse, and I resigned myself to the possibility that it could be awhile before I found him, and I had stupidly handed him the truck keys. Not that I would strand him at the mall. No . . . neeever.

Just as I was about to park my butt on a bench to wait, Chase came striding toward me with a coffee cup in each hand. As he approached he extended one out to me. “Peace offering?” he said with a smile.

I switched my shopping bag to my left hand and took the offered coffee with a glare. “You make it very hard to dislike you.”

Chase’s smile grew as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “Then I suggest you stop trying.”

I smirked at him, then turned to walk back toward the closest exit.

Chase caught up to walk shoulder to shoulder with me. “You’re done already?”

I nodded. The exit was in sight. Eye on the prize, eye on the prize. I’d be away from the bustling crowd soon.

“Did you get anything for your dad?”

I stopped and spun on Chase. “Are you kidding?”

Chase raised his dark eyebrows at my reaction. “Why would I be kidding? He
has
afforded you your very own bodyguard,” he said, putting his arms out and looking himself up and down.

I let out a harsh breath. “And that’s supposed to make up for not being around my entire life?”

“No,” Chase said apathetically, “but it’s a start.”

I just stared at him, at a loss for words.

He made a calming gesture with his free hand. “Sorry, sorry. I concede to your point. Now drink your coffee.”

I took a sip, more to cover up how flustered I was than anything. Creamy deliciousness poured down my throat. Delighted, I asked, “What on earth is this wonderful concoction?”

“Breve,” Chase responded, laughing at me. “It’s like a latte, but they use half-and-half instead of milk.”

I smiled. “You are fully forgiven. Let’s go.”

We went.

I
t was already 3:00 pm when we got back to my house. My mom’s car was missing from the driveway again. I went inside, grudgingly inviting Chase in with me, and learned from my mom’s note that she was indulging in more retail therapy. She had probably been at the mall when we were, but it was so crowded, I wasn’t surprised we hadn’t run into her.

I walked to the machine and pushed the button below the flashing red light. The first message was from one of my mom’s coworkers and I skipped over it after a few seconds. Lucy’s voice played out of the machine next. “Xoe, it’s Lucy. We can’t find Lela. She was supposed to meet me and Max hours ago. Call me back.”

Lucy’s message clicked off and I jumped when my dad’s voice began to play. “Alexondra, stay near Chase. We need to talk.” Click. Ominous, very ominous.

I turned toward Chase, who had been listening over my shoulder. It was lucky that I reached those messages before my mom. I really needed a cell phone.

“Any idea what he wants?” I asked.

Chase shrugged. “Not a clue. Lela was one of the werewolves we met at the pizza parlor, right?”

I nodded as a sick feeling sunk into my gut. Something was very wrong. My skin started to prickle with an electric sensation. A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s your dad.” Chase stated.

I went to answer the door, figuring the prickle had been me sensing my dad’s peculiar form of teleportation. Maybe I could learn that one too. Now
that
would be nice.

As soon as I opened the door, my dad came striding in, looking expensive in black slacks and a dark blue, cashmere sweater. “A witch was abducted in Bear Creek,” he stated, anger tinting his words. Bear Creek was another small town within an hour of Shelby.

“They’re getting closer,” Chase observed.

“Well duh,” I added. Then turning toward my dad I asked, “I take it we should be worried?”

He nodded, making his blond hair fall forward from behind his ears. “I will protect you.”

“I don’t want your protection,” I replied defensively.

“But you need it anyhow.”

I barely heard my dad’s last statement. A horrible idea had dawned on me. “Lela’s missing.”

My dad looked at me, obvious surprise showing on his face. “One of your wolves?”

I nodded.

My dad nodded somberly. “They’re here then.”

My palms began to sweat from my nerves. I suddenly didn’t feel safe at all. “What do we do?”

Chase put a hand on my shoulder. “No one’s going to take you.”

I shrugged his hand off and turned to face him. “That’s not what I was asking!” I shouted. “How do we find Lela?”

“Calm down Alexondra,” my dad said flatly. “You will stay here with Chase. I will find your wolf.”

Before I could argue, my dad strode straight out the front door, closing it behind him. I ran to the door and flung it open, but all that was left was a wisp of smoke and a scorch mark on the gravel. Unable to argue with my dad, I slammed the door shut and stomped to the phone. I picked it up and quickly dialed Lucy’s number.

She picked up on the first ring. “Xoe?” Lucy’s voice questioned.

“We think Lela was taken,” I said quickly. “You and Max should come to my house.”

“Safety in numbers?” Lucy asked.

“Something like that,” I muttered.

“I’ll call Max. See you soon.” She hung up.

Feeling numb, I gently set the phone back in the cradle. Chase was watching me from across the room, still standing where I left him. “We can’t go looking for her,” he said, referring to Lela.

I shook my head in frustration. “Who said I was going to look for her?”

Chase raised a questioning eyebrow at me, but said nothing.

“Okay, okay.” I raised my hands in submission. “So the thought had crossed my mind, but I have no clue where to start looking.”

Chase sighed loudly. “Where was she seen last?”

I smiled. “So you’ll help?”

He grimaced, then nodded slowly. “Just don’t make me regret it.”

My smile grew. “We have to wait for Lucy and Max. They’ll know where she was.”

Chase nodded. “We’ll all go there together. I doubt we’ll find any clues, but in the very least Max and Lucy might find a scent.”

I nodded, feeling relieved to at least have a semblance of a plan. “Sounds good.” Then after a horribly loud growl from my stomach, I added, “You hungry?”

Chase finally smiled, if a little weakly. “Starved.”

I went into the kitchen to rummage. Chase came into the kitchen as I was pawing through the few items in our fridge. I took out a cardboard carton of Chinese food and opened it to take a whiff. Satisfied, I handed the carton to Chase and reached in for the others. We zapped them all in the microwave. Then with forks in hand, went to the dining room table.

We sat, and I grabbed the box of Mongolian beef right before Chase could snatch it for himself. He frowned, then went for the sweet-and-sour chicken. I took my first bite of food and smiled smugly at him.

“So,” I began around a mouthful of broccoli, “do we have any idea what type of, um, creatures are behind the abductions?”

Chase shook his head, not looking up from his food. “Obviously someone, or something pretty strong, seeing as they were able to abduct witches and werewolves.”

“And merpeople,” I added.

“Yeah, but merpeople aren’t any stronger that regular humans. They just swim faster.”

I nodded. “Learn something new every day.”

There was a knock at the door. Chase set down his box of chicken to get up and answer it. I heard the door open, then Lucy’s voice as she and Max came in.

Lucy entered the dining room first, looking disheveled in blue plaid flannel and jeans, with her hair a staticy mess around her delicate face. She took the chair across from me that Chase had used and slumped down in the seat as if exhausted. She eyed the boxes of Chinese food skeptically, then at my arched eyebrow, started filling me in on the details.   “We were all supposed to meet at Max’s house,” she began. “We knew Lela had a job interview this morning, so we didn’t worry at first when she was late. But then an hour went by, and we still hadn’t heard from her. I called her cell phone and a stranger answered. He said he had just found her phone lying in the middle of the sidewalk.”

Chase pulled out the chair beside Lucy, while Max took the seat to my left. Max was dressed in a bright yellow sweater and his usual khaki cargo pants.

Chase turned to Lucy. “Did he say where he was when he found it?”

Lucy nodded. “The phone was outside of Blue Moon coffee shop. He told us he’d leave it inside with the cashier. Blue Moon is right across the street from the bank where Lela was supposed to interview.”

I pushed away my unfinished Mongolian beef. “Well I guess that’s where we’ll start.”

“What about that other guy?” Chase asked. “The one who was late for pizza.”

“Nick?” Lucy responded. “We haven’t seen him since yesterday. We don’t even know how to get a hold of him.”

I sighed. “Great, just great.”

We all stood to leave, abandoning the leftover Chinese food on the table. I grabbed my cloth purse and shiny dark brown leather jacket as we walked out the door. Chase locked and shut the door behind us, then fished in his pocket for the truck keys, which he then tossed to me. I caught them one-handed, then noticed the box of Chinese food in his hand. It was my discarded Mongolian beef.

Noticing my glance, he produced a fork from his back pocket. He put a bite of beef and broccoli in his mouth and chewed slowly with a pleased smile on his face. I laughed despite our dire situation. I just couldn’t help it.

We all piled into the ancient truck, Lucy squished into the middle of the front seat between Chase and me, while Max squeezed into one of those pointless little fold-down seats that some pick-up trucks have behind the front seat.

“Whose truck is this?” Lucy asked as we pulled out of the driveway on onto the street.

“Chase’s,” I answered.

Chase cleared his throat. “Technically, it’s Xoe’s dad’s truck. He bought it.”

I turned toward him, almost swerving off the road. “So when you left, you had my dad buy you a truck?”

Chase had the courtesy to look abashed. “No. I bought it, but I bought it with the expense account your dad allowed me while I’m watching you.”

I didn’t argue. It seriously chaffed to have to take so much help from my dad, but I would not pout. When life hands you demons . . . well, you get the idea.

Chase was still waiting for my reaction. I put a pleasant smile on my face. “Well, now that I know that, I know who’ll be paying for stuff from now on.”

Chase smiled back mischievously and produced a wallet from his pocket, then picked out a blue credit card to hold up. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

As I exited onto the highway, I glanced at Max in the rearview mirror. A look of astonishment was plastered on his face. Lucy looked like she had eaten something sour. I realized that a lot had changed between Chase and I in the course of one day. It was nice to have a companion that didn’t ask anything of me, except that he had to stay by my side. My thoughts fluttered to Jason, wondering where he was and what he was doing. I was going to have to make a phone call and get some answers.

We were nearing the exit that would take us to what I thought of as the pedestrian area of Shelby. The few roads that the area consisted of were populated with coffee shops, bookstores, bars, restaurants, and some random curio shops. There was one large parking lot, and the few other spots were all parallel parking, so most people parked in the lot and walked to their destination.

I took the exit, then only had to drive another minute or so to reach the lot. I took the first available spot next to several motorcycles. We all climbed out of the truck and began to walk the three street blocks to Blue Moon Cafe. Though it was only around 5:00 pm, it was also December in Oregon, so the sun was slowly making its descent behind the mountains. There weren’t many people out. Most of the coffee shop goers had gone home, and the bar and restaurant goers were yet to surface.