Relentless (11 page)

Roland wrinkled his nose. “Ugh! You know there is a remedy for that. Pete and me can take care of them for you.”

I shook my head. “I know they’re a bit of a nuisance and no one likes them, but they’re not so bad once you get used to them. They love blueberry muffins so I leave them a few treats every now and then and they leave my stuff alone. They’re great at catching rats too.”

Brendan coughed into his hand.

Peter’s brows drew together. “I’ve never heard of imps infesting a human home. Is that normal, Uncle Brendan?”

Brendan shook his head. “No, but then how many human homes have you checked for imps? Guess it had to happen eventually with towns and cities growing and all.”

Maxwell looked pensive. “You say you’ve known about our world for a long time. How long, exactly?”

My fingers gripped the edge of the counter behind my back. The only person I’d ever told this to was Remy but there was something about my fierce friend that made it easy to tell him my troubles. Telling people who were like family to me was a different matter.

“I’ve known ever since my dad was killed and I saw… what they did to him.” I swallowed hard. “No human could have done that no matter what the police said. It took me a few years to figure it out.”

“Vampire,” Peter said and the word hung in the air between us.

Roland straightened. “Jesus, Sara. I had no idea.”

“No one did.” I toyed with the hem of my borrowed sweater. “It’s not like I could tell Nate or the police. Who would believe it?”

Maxwell rubbed his fingers through his beard. “We suspected. We have friends on the Portland PD so we know there were several suspicious deaths around that time. You were so young, I had no idea you saw it or that you knew the truth.”

A chair scraped the floor and I found myself in Judith’s warm embrace. “You brave girl. I can’t believe you had to deal with this alone all these years.”

I had not been hugged so much since before my father died. I wanted to pull away but that seemed rude somehow so I let her hold me.

She stepped back and cleared her throat. “I think I need some tea. Anyone else?”

I moved aside so she could fill the kettle. “Is that true that werewolves hunt vampires?” I asked Maxwell who nodded.

“I can’t believe I never caught on to what you are.” All the days I’d spent out here, all the sleepovers with Peter and Roland and dinners with the family and I had never seen a single clue that they were different in any way. I certainly never would have pegged them as vampire hunters.

Maxwell smiled for the first time. “We’re very good at keeping our secrets. I’d be very put out if we couldn’t hide them from one little girl.”

Roland snorted and his uncle shot him a dark look. “You won’t find it as funny when you are running drills for the next month.”

Roland’s face fell and I almost laughed at his pitiful expression. To save him from Maxwell’s glare, I said, “So is that how you know that guy, Nikolas? What is his story anyway?”

“The Mohiri are a warrior race of vampire hunters who have been around probably as long as there have been vampires. They are very secretive and they hardly ever communicate with other hunters though our people cross paths with them sometimes. We don’t care for them and they don’t like us, but we’re on the same side so they leave us alone.”

“Why don’t you like each other?”

Brendan had been quiet since I came downstairs and he spoke up now. “The Mohiri don’t only hunt vampires. They hunt anything that is a threat to humans. A long time ago, our kind was not as… civilized as we are now so they were hunted too. We changed over time but every now and then there is an incident. The Mohiri don’t trust us and there are still some hard feelings among werewolves for them.”

The kettle began to whistle and Judith lifted it from the burner and poured hot water over teabags in two mugs. The scent of jasmine wafted toward me as she slid one of the mugs across the counter to me then carried her own cup to the table. I let mine steep for a minute before taking a sip. I loved Judith’s teas; she grew and dried the plants herself and stuffed the dried leaves in little mesh bags she bought at an Asian market in Portland. She always seemed to know the best tea for a situation.

“You didn’t answer my question about why Roland and Peter didn’t start hunting until a few years ago,” I reminded Maxwell.

“We don’t get the urge to hunt until sometime after puberty starts,” he explained. “It’s different for everyone.”

“Yeah and we also have to train… a lot,” Peter added.

I looked at my friends, still finding it hard to believe they could become the terrifying creature I saw tonight. “Have you ever hunted vampires?”

Roland shook his head. “Not until we’re eighteen.” A satisfied gleam entered his eyes. “Not many of us get to tangle with one before our first vampire hunt.”

Maxwell shot him a withering look. “It’s nothing for you to crow over. If that Mohiri hadn’t been there we might be having a different conversation right now.”

The kitchen grew quiet as the weight of Maxwell’s words hit us. If Nikolas had not shown up when he did, Eli would have taken me away before Roland and Peter knew I was in any danger. No one would ever have known what had happened to me, just like those other missing girls. And Eli had left no doubt about the horrors he planned for me in the last hours of my life.

Pain and guilt crossed my friends’ faces. I couldn’t tell them the things Eli had promised to do to me or how close I had come to never seeing them again. They already blamed themselves; I would not add to it. And if there was one thing I was good at, it was keeping secrets.

“Sara, you seem to be handling this well, all things considered,” Judith observed.

I blew on my tea. “You didn’t see me two hours ago.”

Maxwell turned to Brendan. “We’ll have to call a meeting in the morning. It looks like we’re not done in Portland after all.”

Brendan nodded grimly. “Wish we knew what’s keeping the suckers there. They’re brazen bastards to go after a girl with two pack members and a couple of hunters nearby.”

I thought about Eli’s determination to have me even at risk to his own life. Could he really have become obsessed just because I rejected his advances and I could not be compelled? That raised another question: why couldn’t he compel me? Did it have something to do with my power? Maybe there wasn’t enough room in my head for the vampire with the beast already lurking there.

“Whatever their reason, I won’t tolerate them in my territory any longer. We’ll add more patrols here around town and send a team to go over every inch of the city. They’ll leave or die.” Maxwell’s voice rumbled with authority unlike anything I’d ever heard from him and I shivered in spite of the cup of hot tea in my hands. I stole a glance at him, expecting to see glowing amber eyes but his face was unchanged.

“I think this discussion can wait until tomorrow,” Judith said firmly, obviously not in the least intimidated by her alpha brother. “Sara, why don’t you stay at our place tonight? You still look too shaken up to face Nate.”

I almost said no to her offer because all I wanted was my own room and my own bed. But she was right about me not being ready to see Nate. One look at him and I’d probably dissolve in tears and there would be no hiding it from him then.

I looked over at Roland who nodded, his eyes hopeful. I could tell he was afraid tonight had changed how I felt about them and I wanted to reassure him that nothing would ever come between us.

“I’d like that, thanks.” I told Judith. Roland smiled.

Judith stood and went to rinse her cup.  She took mine and washed it too. “Alright, I think it’s time we head home and let you get some sleep. You must be exhausted.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.” I knew that as soon as I closed my eyes I’d see Eli’s face.

“Then we’ll keep each other company,” Roland said, following us.

Peter caught up to us. “Me too.”

Judith turned around to confront them. “This is not a slumber party. Sara’s been through a lot and she doesn’t need you two keeping her up all night, no matter what she says.”

“You boys can stay here tonight if you want,” Brendan offered and Roland’s smile faltered. It wasn’t hard to read his emotions because I was sure the three of us felt the same thing. After going through such an ordeal together, none of us wanted to be separated from each other right now.

“I’d feel better if they came with us,” I said, unable to keep the slight quiver out of my voice. Judith gave me a concerned look and I hoped she wasn’t going to hug me again because I was afraid I might get weepy this time. I’d cried enough tonight.

Judith smiled in understanding and I thought for the thousandth time how lucky Roland was to have her for a mom. “Okay. Roland you can drive.”

Roland reached out and squeezed my hand as we headed for the door. “
Later,”
he mouthed to me, tilting his head towards his mother. I gave him a small nod back. When we used to have sleepovers, he’d wait until his mother went to bed then come get me. All we did was hang out in his room and watch movies or talk until one of us started to fall asleep, but it was always the best part of my stay.

I suddenly longed for those days when the monsters were still faceless things I’d only heard about. Thanks to Eli, I’d probably never feel safe again and I fervently hoped that Nikolas and his friend had tracked the vampire down and sent him straight to hell where he belonged.

“
Remy, please stop
glaring at me like that. You’re scarier than the vampires when you make that face.”

“This not funny,” he scolded, pacing the mouth of the small cave we had claimed as ours years ago. His tone was angry but I could see the worry in his eyes. “You almost die. Why you not tell me you going to city?”

I turned away from him to stare at the waves crashing against the rocks below. We both knew why I hadn’t told him. He would have fussed and made me promise not to go and it’s hard to say no to a troll when he sets his mind to something.

Trolls don’t fear vampires or much else for that matter, but Remy worried about me a lot. I had some amazing supe friends and the power to heal things, but I was still just a human. I had never felt more mortal than when I thought I was going to die in that alley.

I’d been tempted to not tell Remy what happened because I knew exactly how he would react. I forgot that my troll friend had the nose of a bloodhound and he smelled the vampire on me as soon as he got within a few feet of me. The knowledge that after three days, I still carried any scent of that monster made me want to jump into the ocean and scrub it away.

But the ocean couldn’t clean the images from my mind or the memory of those cold claws pressed against my throat. I saw them whenever I closed my eyes and at least once a night I woke in a cold sweat, still seeing Eli’s snarling face and hearing his parting words,
I will have you!

Other times I dreamed of falling, only to be caught by a dark haired man with granite eyes. He never smiled and his eyes were cold but I felt safe in his arms. I woke from those dreams feeling oddly bereft, but they were infinitely better than the nightmares.

The hardest part was hiding everything from Nate. I stayed upstairs most of the weekend, coming down to eat and do my usual housework chores. I felt Nate’s questioning stares when we ate together but thankfully he didn’t bring it up. Roland texted me a few times to see if I wanted to do something but I just wanted to hide in my room and lick my wounds. The animals seemed to sense my distress and made it their mission to keep me company. The cat, who I’d named Oscar, took every opportunity to snuggle up next to me, purring like a little motor boat. Daisy left Nate alone and spent the weekend sleeping at the foot of my bed. Even the imps were oddly subdued. Usually I could hear them shuffling behind the walls, but for the last two days they had been quiet except for an occasional chirrup.

After so much time alone with my thoughts, I had looked forward to getting back to school today but I found it almost impossible to focus on classes. School seemed trivial compared to what I’d been through and I didn’t feel like the same person who had walked out of school on Friday. How do you go to back to everyday life after experiencing something so life altering?

“You know city not safe. Best to stay here with uncle.”

Remy hated the idea of me leaving New Hastings, but someday I’d have to if I ever wanted to go to college or see the world. Or find the truth about my father.

“I had to go. If there’s a chance of learning more about my dad, I have to take it.” I still didn’t know why NightWatcher hadn’t shown up at the Attic and he hadn’t been online since then either. Wulfman said it didn’t sound like his friend and he’d see what he could find out. I did tell Wulfman that two vampires had been seen at the Attic so he could warn others but I asked him not to quote me as his source. His post had shown up last night and caused quite the stir. PixieGirl was not mentioned.

“Knowledge not bring father back. It not make you less sad.”

I picked up a pebble and tossed it into the waves. “I need to know, Remy. He was everything to me.” I looked up at him. “What would you do if it had been your mother or father?”

Remy came over to sit beside me, his longer legs dangling beside mine. “I not lose anyone yet so I not know how you feel,” he admitted. “It different with us. Humans alone but trolls always stay together. If one killed, all trolls rise up and find killer. Protect our own.”

The thought of a horde of angry trolls made me quail inside. There is a good reason why everyone fears trolls. It all started about five hundred years ago. Trolls and vampires hated each other because trolls mined silver and silver can kill vampires. One day a vampire hunting party came upon four troll children unprotected in the woods and they slaughtered all but one who escaped. The trolls went on a bloody rampage and literally destroyed every vampire within two hundred miles. Since then no vampire will mess with a troll.

“Promise you not go back to city,” he implored.

I watched a gull dive toward the water and rise up with a wriggling fish in its beak. “You know I can’t promise I won’t ever leave here. But I will promise to stay away from Portland for a while. The werewolves are hunting the vampires now and they said the city will be safe again soon.”

Remy nodded. “Werewolves not as strong as trolls but they good hunters. Good you have werewolf friends.”

“Oh yeah, about that.” I faced him. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? And don’t say you didn’t know because you must have smelled them on me.”

“Not my place to tell,” he said unapologetically. “Trolls respect other Peoples. Other Peoples respect trolls.”

“Does that mean my friends know about you?”

“No. Werewolves know trolls live here but keep distance.” He gave me a shark grin. “You braver than pack.”

I laughed and he joined in. I wondered how Roland and Peter would react if they ever came face-to-face with a troll. What would they say if they knew about me and Remy? Maybe someday I could bring them all together and find out. That would be something to see.

I glanced at my watch and got to my feet. “I’d better head home. It’s my turn to make dinner.” Which meant we were having tacos. I could make three meals well: tacos, spaghetti and hamburgers. It was a good thing Nate liked to cook or it would have been ground beef every night.

Remy stood and patted his shoulder. I climbed on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. The cave was halfway down the face of a one hundred foot cliff and partially obscured by a couple of sturdy little trees growing out of a crevice in the rock. You could climb down to it if you were brave enough and knew where all the hand holds were. But the fastest way was on the back of a very strong troll. Remy started bringing me here when we first met and it was one of our favorite hangouts because no one could see us here. This was also the ideal place to hide the troll bile because it was too dangerous to keep it at my place. At that moment we had three small vials tucked away in a hidden crevice at the back of the cave. Even if someone managed to stumble on the cave, they would not find the bile.

My stomach did a little flip when Remy grabbed a jutting rock and swung us out over the boiling waves. It always felt like this would be the time he lost his grip and sent us falling to our deaths. But he quickly scaled the cliff, never faltering once.

At the top, I slid off his back and picked up my bike helmet which I’d tucked under a lone stunted pine tree. We crossed a small meadow and entered the woods to start the short trek to where I’d hidden my bike. Neither of us needed a trail to find our way to the road. Remy and I had explored every inch of the woods and cliffs south of town and we probably knew the area better than anyone.

“Sara! Sara!” a high voice thrilled as we trekked through the woods. I stopped and peered through the trees because I knew that voice. Suddenly a small body landed on my back and a pair of thin arms slid around my neck.

I reached up to swing the little troll around into a hug. “Hey Minka, what are you doing out here alone?” The trolls lived in a network of underground caverns somewhere south of here and they did not allow their young ones to go far from the clan. That rule did not contain some of the more adventurous young trolls like Minka. Remy had been just like her at that age.

Remy’s little cousin gave me a sweet smile that would one day make grown men quiver with fear. “I not alone. You here.”

“Minka, you not allowed out here,” Remy scolded. “You go home now.”

Her lip quivered and tears welled in her round eyes. “Not yet Remy please. Sara fix Nog first.”

I gave Remy a questioning look. “What’s a nog?”

He made a face that suggested he didn’t care much for it, whatever it was. “Nog is his name. He one of the People.”

One of the People?
Curiosity overcame me. “If he’s hurt we should help him, shouldn’t we?”

Remy sighed heavily and nodded. “Show us,” he said to his cousin.

Minka slid down from my arms and ran ahead of us. “This way!” she cried. “Not far.”

It was only a few minutes before we heard voices up ahead. We came to a small clearing where we found Minka’s brother Haba and their cousins Creah and Sinah. The three little trolls were gathered around someone huddled on the ground.

“I got Sara!” Minka yelled happily and the others cheered and ran over to greet me. I was pretty sure the elders would not be happy to know the youngsters were this familiar with me.

Strong little hands grabbed mine and pulled me forward. “You fix Nog?” Sinah asked.

I smiled down at him. “I’ll try.”

“Oh!” I stared at their friend, Nog. The creature on the ground was about two feet tall with walnut colored skin and wild yellow hair that came to his shoulders. His face was long with owlish eyes, a long nose and a mouth that was turned down either a scowl or in pain, I couldn’t tell. On either side of his head, a pointed ear stuck straight out. He wore a crude vest and short pants made of some kind of animal hide.

He was not happy to see me. As soon as I approached him he started thrashing and making a screeching sound that hurt my ears. I backed up a few feet into Remy.

“Remy, is that what I think it is?” I turned to him. “Is that a gobel?”

Remy nodded and I held back a gasp. Gobels – or goblins as they are commonly called – were rumored to have died out a long time ago. Horrid creatures, they stole, liked to torment children and were known to eat any small animal they could catch, especially cats.

“I thought there were none left,” I said over the screeching.

Remy shrugged. “Not all gone. Nog live here many years. He stay away from most other People. They not like him.”

I rubbed my ears. “Gee, I wonder why. Is his name really Nog?” It seemed more fitting for a Disney character than a real life goblin.

“His real name too long to say in human tongue.”

“Oh. Nog it is then.”

Remy stepped past me and spoke to the goblin in what I assumed was Nog’s language. He gestured toward the goblin’s leg and then pointed at me, which only set the creature off again. Then Remy raised his voice, something I rarely heard him do, and spoke very forcefully. Watching the goblin suddenly calm down and glower at me sullenly, I was reminded of how Remy had talked to Fren that day in the old house. Very few could stand up to a determined troll.

“Come,” Remy said. I followed him cautiously, not wanting to upset Nog again. Remy pointed at the goblin’s leg and I saw blood around his calf. “He caught in trap. Little ones free him but his leg hurt.”

I gave Nog what I hoped was a comforting smile and knelt beside his legs. “I’ll need to touch his leg.”

Remy spoke to the goblin again and then said “Fix now.”

I reached out tentatively and pulled the pants leg up over the wounded leg. The cut wasn’t as bad as I had expected but there was a lot of swelling and I suspected the bone was broken. When I laid a hand gently across the swelling, Nog made a growling sound and bared his teeth at me.
Of course he had to have a mouthful of needle sharp teeth.

“Is he going to bite me?”

“No,” was Remy’s response. I trusted him so I set to healing the goblin’s leg. The heat filled my hands and quickly found the fractured bone. I heard the creature gasp as my power did its work, fusing the bone together until it was whole again. Soon after, the swelling shrunk and the last of the heat seeped out of my hands.

I sank back on my heels. “All fixed,” I said and the younger trolls cheered.

“I knew you fix him,” Minka said, running over to give me a rib-crushing hug.

Remy spoke to Nog and the goblin got to his feet slowly, testing out the leg. He peered at me for a long moment then said something to me that I could not understand. I looked to Remy for help.

“He say you smell bad and now he smell bad like you for days.”

“Not big on gratitude, is he?” I retorted and Remy grinned. I turned back to the goblin who had already started walking away. “Next time you get caught in a trap I hope a bear eats you,” I called after him.

“Gobels not know how to say thank you,” Remy explained. “This just their way.”

I let him pull me to my feet. “It’s no wonder they almost went extinct.”

Remy chuckled. He ordered his little cousins to go home then we resumed our walk to my bike. We took our time so I could regain my energy. Strangely, I didn’t feel as drained as I normally did after mending a broken bone.

“So what is Nog’s story? Does he have family here?”

“No family. He like to live alone. Gobels not like other People much.”