“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
I gasped out something unintelligible in reply, and she let me go, dashing out the door and calling for Mouse at the top of her lungs. She was cute as a button, but man, she had no concept of her own strength.
Rubbing my aching ribs with one hand, I put the box on top of my duffel and continued on to the kitchen, using the phone on the counter next to a microwave. Sara called out Arnold and Janine’s numbers for me from her spot on the couch, and I dialed the mage first. He answered after a couple rings.
“Arnold, it’s Shia.”
He didn’t sound terribly surprised to hear from me. “Jeez, where the hell have you been? Sara and I have been worried sick about you.”
“I know, I know. I was extraordinarily stupid, more so than usual, and I’m really sorry about that. ”
“I take it you’ve been saying that a lot lately,” Arnold said. I could practically hear him grinning through the phone. “If that’s the case, I assume you don’t need me to rub it in, too.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Anyway, listen—”
“Hold up a sec. Did you end up turning Were? Did you shift with the moon?”
Train of thought derailed at the station. It took me a sec to get my mouth back in gear to answer him. “Um. No, I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?” He made a thoughtful sound. I heard some rummaging and clattering through the phone, as well as a few low curses. Then a thump, and the sound of pages being turned. “Hold on . . . just a—here. Anything happen when the moon rose? Anything at all?”
“I didn’t grow fur, if that’s what you’re asking. I coughed up some black stuff, and some of it came out my eyes and ears.” It might have been absurd to have listened to it, but the belt had talked me out of putting my faith in the mage for finding a solution to prevent my potential lycanthropic infection. It hadn’t occurred to me until he started asking questions that he might have information about what was happening to me. “Do you know why?”
“Black stuff. Huh. Consistency?”
I made a face he couldn’t see. “Arnold . . .”
“Sorry, it’s for science. This is important, Shia. Anything you can tell me about the symptoms—even the slightest detail—could make a difference.”
“Ugh, I don’t know. It was gross. It was mixed with blood, kind of thick and oozy. The first time, I had a nosebleed and a headache, then the stuff kept coming for what felt like hours. Earlier tonight it plugged up my sinuses and made it hard to breathe for a minute or two, then it all came out in a rush. What does it mean?”
“It means you’ve got some strain of lycanthropy that I need to do more research on. Sounds like something in your body is fighting it. Might be the vampire blood. Any chance I can get a sample?”
Well. Couldn’t have asked for a better opening for letting him know about what else was going epically wrong in our lives. “I’m afraid not. That’s kind of why I called you to begin with. I’m really sorry—again—that I’m not calling with good news, but Sara and I aren’t safe yet. There are still people after us, and we’re going out of town to lay low for a while.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised considering all of the people who are after you. I suppose it’s better you two are somewhere safe until all this blows over. Where are you guys going, and for how long? Someplace I can visit?”
“We’re going to Los Angeles until Royce settles things here. We’re staying with some vampire Royce knows, so it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for you to swing by unless we can meet somewhere other than the vamp’s house.”
Arnold didn’t reply right away, waiting just long enough for the silence to grow ominous before he spoke. “Whatever you do, stay away from the werewolves out there. There are two primary packs that will pose a great deal of danger to you if they even get a whiff of your scent. The Amberguard pack might just kill you, but the Goliaths will kill and eat you. Not necessarily in that order.”
That was . . . good to know.
Particularly considering that Analie had mentioned her pack name at one point. Gavin, the werewolf I was supposed to deliver the package to, was a Goliath.
Great. Just peachy keen.
“Hey, you’ve got my number. Just call me if you run into any trouble. I won’t be there to help you two, but I might be able to talk you through any tough spots. And check in with me in a few days; I might have an answer for you about what the black stuff is and what it means.”
For the first time, I truly regretted blowing off Arnold’s offer to help me over the last month. He might have saved me a lot of grief if I hadn’t listened to the belt and had contacted him before the sickness set in. Even though he’d as good as confirmed I was still infected, I wasn’t afraid anymore. He had resources in his mage coven and access to potential solutions I couldn’t have dreamed of coming up with on my own. The belt had well and truly warped my perceptions of what my options and who my friends really were.
“Thank you,” I said, voice a bit thick. “Arnold, you’re a lifesaver.”
“Hey, what are friends for? Now put my girlfriend on. I want to hear her voice before she leaves.”
I leaned over the breakfast bar and tossed the phone to Sara. She was quick to scoop it up and rise from the couch, heading with purposeful strides and a quiet murmur into the phone into the bedroom, shutting the door behind herself.
It seemed as good a time as any to find Royce and let him know we were almost ready to leave. The two of us needed to have a chat, too. This entire situation was driving me bonkers. After I had finally broken down and given in to my desire for him, we had to separate. The breadth of a continent would be between us, taking away any chance I had to get to know him as more than the embodiment of a fairytale nightmare and understand what I had committed myself to practically before it began.
No one was in the hall when I left the apartment, though I could see someone’s booted foot and jean-clad leg sticking out, barely visible in the doorway leading to the foyer and outside. Whoever was on night watch was sprawled at the front desk.
I headed up the stairs, quietly padding my way to the third floor. The door leading into Royce’s quarters was ajar, light spilling out through the crack. I nudged the door open a bit and poked my head in, glancing around for the vampire.
He wasn’t in the main room with all its intimidating open space and eclectic collection of statuary. For some reason, I felt the need to tiptoe across the hardwood floors, my bare feet not making a sound as I made my way to Royce’s bedroom.
The vampire was there, as I had suspected, though I was not expecting to see him seated on the edge of the futon with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. His voice, when it came, startled me.
“I don’t think I have had so many of my plans go awry in centuries. Why is it that whatever you involve yourself in always takes so many unexpected turns?”
I bit my lip, hesitating in the doorway before settling down next to him. He lifted his head and folded his arms against his knees, glancing at me.
“One of the others has arranged to give you a cell phone to use to stay in touch with me while you are with Clyde. He would not have been my first choice, but there’s little help for it now. If anything goes wrong, call me immediately.”
I swallowed around the growing lump in my throat. “You expect things to go wrong? Why are you sending us to stay with him if you don’t trust him?”
“He is one of the most powerful allies I have who was amenable to the idea of harboring you two while I make other arrangements,” he replied. “It isn’t ideal, but his debts to me are significant enough that he should make an effort to keep you safe.”
That wasn’t terribly reassuring. It wasn’t until Royce ran his thumb under one of my eyes that I realized I was crying again. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do any more of that, but so many things were going to hell just when I’d thought I was getting a handle on life again that I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to leave New York. I didn’t want to leave my friends and family behind.