6 Under The Final Moon (16 page)

Something like excitement shot through me, and I grinned, mimicking the ladies’ slightly bent knees, bouncy stance, holding my hands in front of my chest the way Aikiko and Yuu did.

Aikiko lunged and Yuu smoothly blocked her advance with a move that looked like she was dancing.

“Hold your hands up like this,” Melody sang. “This is going to be your first block, the basic block. See how Yuu does it? Smooth. It’s very, very smooth.”

I told my arms to do the exact same thing as Yuu was doing, but I couldn’t make the command reach the muscles and my arms went sputtering like windmills. Then Melody popped me in the forehead.

“Hey!” I said, rubbing at the warm spot her fingers had left.

“Smooth,” Melody said, drawing out the word. “Watch Aikiko and Yuu. Show her again, ladies.”

I think I did a pretty decent impression and was even able to block Melody’s thin, advancing arms. I was feeling pretty good when I blocked three in a row.

“Good, good, Sophie!” Melody said, clapping her elfin hands. “Okay, let’s switch it up a little bit.”

Yuu stepped in front of Melody, and Aikiko stepped in front of me.

“Okay,” I said with a half-laugh. “It’s just my first day, so go easy on me.”

Aikiko smiled serenely and took her fighting stance, and I took mine, my mind ticking through the advances and blocks that I had just learned. I was running through the most basic one, trying to get my feet to unwind when Aikiko advanced on me like a shot. I wasn’t able to process anything that happened before I realized I was lying on the floor, cheek pressed up against the sweaty blue mat. Aikiko was on top of me and everything was hurting.

“Great job, Aikiko!” Melody hopped on her tiny sneakered feet and clapped, and I decided right then and there that I hated her.

After class, I hopped on the bus and headed toward the Fillmore District, thinking the overly friendly thoughts that good weather brings. Once there, I picked up a huge bouquet of smiling sunflowers and an armload of celebrity tabloids to appease Nina, and tossed in a few comics featuring chicks with half-exposed huge boobs for Vlad.

I was feeling generous and hopeful even though I had been made to eat mat by a geriatric Japanese lady who went home with my dignity and an Ikebana sculpture in her reusable grocery bag.

I took a seat at a tiny, white-clothed table set outside of a little cafe. The waitress came and filled my water glass, mentioned something about specials, and deposited a basket of warm bread.

“Treating yourself today?” she asked.

“How could I not? This weather is incredible.” I dropped my head back, relishing the sun on my cheeks.

“And they say this heat stroke is going to go on until the end of the week.”

“Heaven.” I grinned.

“Anyway, my name is Luna, and I’ll be back to take your order in just a few minutes.”

I was sipping my water and making my way through the bread basket when a shadow fell across my table. I looked up.

“Alex.”

His face broke into one of his knee-weakening grins, and the sunlight made him even more frustratingly appealing. He sat down across from me.

“Hey, what are you doing out here, Lawson?”

“Having lunch. You?” Before Alex could open his mouth I held up my hand. “Wait. If you’re about to tell me you’re on a case, investigating this place for supernatural rats, or I’m in mortal danger, I don’t want to know.”

“You wouldn’t want to know if you’re in mortal danger?”

“Not today.”

“Okay.” Alex dug into my near-empty bread basket and tore into a sourdough roll. “But I’m not here for any of that. Good bread.”

I snatched my bread basket back. “My bread.”

“Grabby.” He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. The action made his biceps flex, and I shoved a piece of bread in my mouth to catch the drool.

“Well, hi there. Can I get you a place set up?” Luna was beaming at Alex.

“I’m just going to have an iced tea.” Alex eyed Luna for a beat too long and I was stabbed with a pang of jealousy.
You and Alex aren’t dating,
I reminded myself.
You’re a woman in hot demand! You slept with another man!

I should have stopped while I was ahead.

I felt the heat wash over me. Embarrassment. Shame. Was he reading my mind?

It was possible. Alex could read minds. As far as I know he’d stopped reading mine when I’d claimed it was truly unfair that I couldn’t read his or smite him back with some supernatural power of my own. He’d referred to my (bad) cooking and the whole thing had devolved from there.

“Lawson? Earth to Sophie Lawson?” Alex’s rich voice snapped me back to the here and now. I—and my nipples—sprang to guilty attention when Alex focused on me, the cobalt of his eyes catching the sparkle from the sun.

“BLT, please!” I didn’t realize I’d shouted it until Luna stepped back, Alex dug a finger in his ear, and every other diner in the establishment turned to glare at me. “Sorry,” I whispered. “And an iced tea.”

“So you never did tell me why you’re here.”

He shrugged, and slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses. I expected to immediately miss those gorgeous eyes of his, but instead I leaned forward on my elbows, suddenly loving Alex’s “bad boy” look.

“It’s a nice day. Thought I’d go for a stroll.”

“Oh. Me, too.”

There was an awkward pause, and I sipped my water to avoiding breaking the awkwardness with something downright inappropriate. Luna came back with our drinks, and Alex and I made inconsequential small talk until he finished his tea.

“Oh,” Luna said, rushing back to our table. “Can I get you more tea?”

“No thanks, I’m going to get going.”

She seemed downright sad, and when she returned with my BLT, she all but threw it at me. “Pleasant lady,” I said.

Alex grinned and pushed his chair back. “Well, nice to talk to you, Lawson.” He paused, still smiling. “I missed this.”

My eyebrows went up. “You missed what?”

“This.” Alex drew an invisible line from me to him and back again. “Hanging out. Random banter.”

I shrank down in my chair, glee oozing out of every pore. “Well, if you want to hang out more, you can call me.” I applauded myself for my grownup lady bravado. “You don’t have to be on the trail of a murderer to come over for a pizza.”

Alex bobbed his head. “Good to know.”

He started down the sidewalk, and I nibbled on my sandwich, my stomach rolling over itself and taking my hunger with it.

“Can I get a box, please?”

Luna looped her way to every other table and filled up a half dozen water glasses before returning to my Alex-less table with my box. I could have sworn she looked mournfully at his empty chair.

I boxed my sandwich, left some cash, and headed onto the sidewalk. I didn’t intend to follow Alex; it was just that there were some great stores in the direction he was headed.

“Hey, miss? Miss?”

I swung around when I heard Luna’s voice. She was still in her apron, but now out on the sidewalk, waving the black leatherette case my bill had come in. I took a step toward her, but she trotted toward me—at the exact same time a car decided to whip around a stalled Muni bus. The squeal of the tires vibrated through the street, and when the two wheels of the Nissan Sentra rolled up onto the sidewalk, Luna grabbed me and I pulled her down. We both rolled into the alleyway, and while I was sitting on my butt huffing and gawking after the car that had no idea it had very nearly hood-ornamented us, Luna was already standing and walking deeper into the alley.

“My God, that was close—hey.” I craned my neck. “What are you doing?”

Luna seemed to be following something. She was taking dainty steps, her head slightly cocked as she walked deeper into the alley, into the part that was shadowed and hard to see from the street.

Having spent my fair share of time in alleyways being shot at and such, my stomach sank. This was not good. Luna was about to be swallowed by something unholy or raped by a wino with a hook for a hand. I pushed myself up and ran after her.

“Luna, what are you looking for? You should come out of there. We should go back to the—”

But my breath was cut off my a choking gasp, and before I could figure out what was going on, I felt my shoulder blades slap against the brick of the alley wall, my head smacking hard against a protruding brick.

“What are you—”

Luna’s eyes were wild with an electricity I hadn’t noticed before. She was gripping my throat and pressing me against the wall. I tried to wriggle, to struggle, to kick away, but she was ready for my every move and was able to dodge and weave without loosening her hold on my neck.

“I’ve been waiting all day for you, Sophie Lawson.”

“What?”

The absolute joy of her actions was apparent in Luna’s face, rolled off her in waves. I tried my best to breathe.

“I wasn’t sure it was you at first. But then I saw your little angel and I knew.”

“Alex.” It was barely a breath and my eyelids were feeling heavy, my head feeling light. “What do you want from me? Money?”

I gagged when Luna squeezed harder. “I don’t want your money,” she spat. “I know who you are. I know
what
you are.” She narrowed her eyes, lasering them on mine. Her focus was chilling.

“Son of a bitch! You, too?”

I could feel each one of Luna’s fingers digging into my throat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The term “trickster” spun in what remained of my consciousness.

“Why are you doing this? I don’t know what or who you think I am, but I’m not . . . that. Please let me go!”

“Don’t play dumb, Sophie.”

I sucked in a shallow breath, feeling myself begin to tremble even as I was pressed against the wall. Luna was about my height. I had a good ten pounds on her. She didn’t have a weapon.

Luna’s other hand rose and I was blinded by the glint of the enormous blade she was wielding. It was attached to a heavy black handle, the whole thing wrapped with what looked like golden twine. My eyes widened and my legs went rogue; I slipped down the wall before Luna realized it. The hand that was around my throat was now tangled in my hair, and the knife was shoved snugly in the crumbling mortar between two bricks. I chanced a glance up just in time to see the absolute rage on Luna’s face. She was working to free her knife. I gave her a swift kick to the shin, hard as I could muster, then clawed at the ground, trying to get my bearings, to get back on my feet.

“Damn it!” Luna yelled, leaning over to cradle her knee.

I started to run, started to will my legs to move forward, but I felt like I was dream running—legs going, but body going nowhere.

“You’re fucking dead, Sophie Lawson! You’ll never get away from us!”

I was sprinting—finally feeling like I was making headway—and looking over my shoulder at Luna’s anger stained face when I ran smack into Alex’s hard chest.

“Oaf!”

It was like running into a brick wall, and the back of my head throbbed while my lungs burned. Alex snaked his arms around my waist and held me hard and firm.

“Are you okay?” he asked, staring down at me.

“The waitress.” I pushed against Alex until he was forced to take a step back, me Velcroed to him. “She wants to kill me.”

Alex looked over my head. I didn’t see what he saw, but he broke our embrace immediately and sprinted into the alley. I spun on my heel and reached out for him, Lifetime
-
movie style, without actually moving. “She’s going to get you, too!”

My words bounced off the concrete walls of the narrow alley and sprung back at me. Alex was examining the darkened spot where Luna had been looking before I’d so innocently followed her. “It’s a trap!”

Alex didn’t seem to hear me so I sighed, steeled my courage and jogged into the alley. My heart thundered with each step I took as I neared the spot where Luna pinned me.

Alex turned quickly and held out a hand. “Stay back,” he said.

I opened my mouth—either to protest or to hardily agree, I couldn’t be sure—at the same moment a flash of light cracked. It was like a camera flash times a thousand and the sheer magnitude seemed to push against my chest, seemed to pick me up and shove me back.

I don’t know when I scrunched my eyes shut, but when I opened them, I was flat on my back on the sidewalk just in front of the alley. A couple slowed, looked down at me silently, and then continued on their way.

By the time Alex trotted out to me, I was breathing heavily, terror infecting my every pore. “What the hell was that?” My body started to shake and my teeth started to chatter. I clamped my knees against a bladder that threatened to betray me and my new Victoria’s Secret underwear.

Alex was looking at me hard. “Are you okay?”

“No!” I shouted. “Did you not see that? Someone tried to kill me. Again! And before you say something smart-assed like you’d think I would be used to it by now, don’t bother, because I will kick you so hard in the balls.”

Alex closed his mouth, working hard not to grin. “Really?”

Anger seemed to eat away at my primal fear. It was better than crying. “What was that? Another goddamn Grigori? They’re everywhere, Alex! They’re waitresses and bartenders—they’re like cockroaches but with weapons and a major chip on their shoulder.”

Alex sat down next to me on the cement and blew out a sigh. I looked at him, terrified. “Oh, don’t do that. Don’t sigh. Don’t sit down. Sitting down and sighing means you’re not going to say that that was a raving band of LARPers or a rogue group of Dungeons and Dragoners. Sitting down and sighing means this is more than the Grigori. Who is it now? Who else have I pissed off just by virtue of being?”

“I’m sorry, Lawson.”

The tears started then. Big, earnest, hopeless. They rolled down my cheeks and plopped onto the cement. “Who?” I asked.

“There’s every indication that this attack was also Grigori-based.”

“Grigori-based?” I sniffled. “I can’t do this anymore, Alex. I can’t. I can’t live this way. Either I’m running for my life or I’m fighting for it.”

Alex wagged his head, but his eyes were sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Lawson. They want you dead.”

My lower lip started to tremble. It wasn’t the first time I’d learned that someone wanted me dead. Heck, to be completely honest about it, my being dead would be a boon to Alex—he could restore his grace. But really, I was getting pretty tired of it.

“You know what?” I spat. “You know what would be really nice? Some sort of mortal enemies list. A little something that came along with those damn angels’ decision to shove this stupid Vessel in my body. Just so I would know how many people—or who, like my dentist, my gynecologist—are trying to kill me. Was that really a routine pap smear? Or is Dr. Harlow trying to kill me? That would be really nice.” Rage was coursing through my veins again, cold and hard. I felt my nostrils flare and I fisted my hands, my fingernails digging half-moons in my palms. I didn’t care about the pain. Try to kill me once? Shame on you. Try and kill me four times? Well then, I’m really going to get pissed.

“There’s a lot of people who think that the Vessel itself is evil.”

His eyes flashed when mine widened.

“Not that you’re evil. Not at all. Some people—beings—think the Vessel of Souls is just something that perpetuates the whole good and evil thing.”

I paused, chewing the inside of my lip. “So what do you think?”

“I don’t think anything about the Vessel, Lawson.” Alex fixed me with a stare, his eyes the clearest, most crystal blue I had ever seen. His fingers found mine and very gently laced through. “All I think about is you.”

A zing went through me. Something that wasn’t just physical, but spiritual as well. I felt whole. I felt whole like I never had before, like I, Sophie Lawson, was all there. Not like I was Sophie Lawson, the holder of something else.

“If you take the Vessel, you can return to grace, Alex. You wouldn’t have to walk the mortal plane anymore. And I . . . I wouldn’t have to run from it. Will would be free. This, this kind of stuff wouldn’t happen anymore.”