The Seven (Fist of Light Series) (9 page)

He grabbed a bag from the backseat, casually tossing me a credit card with my name on it while juggling the bag. Turns out, it was full of new clothes, all for me, and all ridiculously expensive. But I couldn’t accept all of this, when I had nothing of equal value in trade. Then he turned off the Mustang, flourishing the keys.

I handed him back the black credit card with great reluctance. “No.”

“No? What do you mean, no?” He looked like I had just punched his puppy and then kicked it in the face.

“I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

No one could just give out these kinds of things, not without some kind of Catch-22. I was wary for hooks and was looking for enemies everywhere.

But apparently, I was wrong. “Here.” He handed me back the card. “When the next apocalypse comes calling, I get to hide behind your skirts. I think this is small payment for anything you can do. Think of it as an investment if you want, a hedge fund. I’m just protecting my assets, covering all the bases. There’s no catch.”

He slid out of the driver’s seat and practically forced me into it. I went reluctantly. He made it seem like nothing, but my extra sense was telling me that this meant more than he was letting on. I slid behind the wheel, feeling the brutish power of the car as it turned over, holding the clutch to the floorboard. The dash panels lit up, giving GPS and music options. I clicked music and switched over to 107.7 The Bone. Oddly enough, there weren’t any commercials on, and “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner was playing. I turned it up, felt the bass buffet me from the back of the car. Presumably, there were added subs in the trunk.

Over the roar of the guitar solo, Jas yelled, handing me a piece of paper. “Oh! I almost forgot! You’re adopted. It’s official and everything!”

I immediately shut the car off, giving Jas a foul look. They were adoption papers, and they were official. Holy shit. I never thought for an instant about being adopted. There was no way with me always on the move. And, even when I stayed in one place for any amount of time, I had always managed to drive off potential families. Plus, there was a prime adoption age, and I was long past it by now. The truth was that I had never factored adoption into the equation. Sure, there had been times when I had thought about having my parents finding me, but I never wanted to be adopted. Deep down, I still harbored some hope that my parents were still alive. Surely, they could have protected themselves against a few stiffs that showed up at the door.

“This can’t be permanent, and once I’m eighteen, it’s hands-off.” I paused. “I still have some lingering hopes for my parents, and I’m not about to give up on them without a whole bunch of evidence. And, I want to know more about your family. What kind of people are they? Or rather, what kind of not-people do they happen to be?”

His relief was evident when I seemed to give in so easily to the proposition, if it was even that, since he had most certainly already bribed his way through the system. There was little possibility that I was just adopted, with no consent whatsoever, and without being conferred with. Plus, the system was so slow that the whole thing was just improbable. There was somebody with serious clout to be able to pull something like that off so quickly and easily.

Jas cleared his throat nervously, before responding, “Done, done, and done.” It seemed he had a bad case of stage fright. I would have loved to witness him make a presentation in front of a class. It was sure to be highly entertaining. “And my family’s… kind of complicated. We’re a diverse bunch, but I guess there’s one important thing you need to know.” A nervous tick started in his right eye, and he wiped at it futilely before continuing. “My father is one of the representatives of the Were Clan. It’s a coalition of the Were-people, and it’s been standing since the formation of the United States. When the colonies first set down on the east side of the Americas, the Were and the Skin Walkers met. The Were trespassed through Skin Walker territories, which were arrayed all over what is now modern America.” He gave me a keen look. “With the migration, the Were became a scattered race, powerless to stand up for themselves. So a pact was made, and the Were Clan was formed. By now, the Clan’s reach encompasses all four corners of the world.”

He was getting his feet underneath him now and his speech improved slightly, though his eyes were constantly on the move, never resting in one place for more than a few seconds. I felt a sort of mental tug on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. At first, I didn’t know what to think, but anger was starting to uncoil in the center of my stomach, a viper waiting to strike. I had no intention of being used by pompous supernatural politicians who only thought of their own interests before the good of others.

Jas cleared his throat again and his eyes flashed toward something that wasn’t visible from my vantage point. “The Were are represented by ten classes: Tiger, Cheetah, Mountain Lion, Lion, Wolf, Bear, Hawk, Eagle, Boar, and the Skin Walkers. Think of the clan leaders as the ruling body of the Were, and though they all are considered to be on equal footing, Skin Walkers have acquired the most influence, since they are considered to be of finer stock, with their inherent ability to shift into any animal. This… bribe, the adoption process, it was part of a carefully crafted plan that was set into motion by the Council after your discovery. Four wished to have you killed, but the other six thought otherwise. It was a close call.” He cleared his throat. “They thought that beneficial aspects of your continued existence might present itself, even though you have just discovered your abilities. Something’s coming down the pipe, and they wanted an ace in their back pocket.” Guilt racked his face, and it was clear who told them about me.

I looked warily over my shoulder, and all the pieces fell into the appropriate places. I was stupid not to have realized it sooner, and the meaning for the mental shoulder tap I had received earlier became obvious. Jeeves had been delivering an important message, and I hadn’t even thought twice about it. It seemed that my sixth sense wasn’t as dependable as it could have been, and my powers of deduction weren’t within miles of them.

I was mistaken about my statement regarding pompous preternatural politicians. They were much, much more than that. The easy grace of a natural born predator radiated with every sinuous step, and their bare feet upon the road made no noise. There were five men and five women visible, but my other senses were telling me that there were more concealed in the surrounding greenery. I was soon proved correct, as the flashing of multiple amber eyes was momentarily detectable before they disappeared from view once more. My anger materialized and my eyes narrowed, taking in the betrayal with instant action. I did what had become natural and started to take hold of my power.

Jas moved to put a restraining hand on my arm, though it looked like he wanted to do nothing except get far, far away from me. “Don’t. If they sense you drawing on your power, they’ll kill you. Half of them want you dead, regardless. You aren’t prepared to take them on, you’d be torn apart. And, if you don’t accept this,” he faltered, “I’ll be killed along with you.”

I stepped out of the car as the Were Clan representatives, two from each of the representative classes, eighteen sets of eyes, all surrounded the vehicle. Sleek muscle and amber eyes that glowed menacingly regarded me with the rational intelligence of a human being. I counted two unnaturally large birds as well, circling a few hundred feet above my head, ready to attack. The five men and women were possessed of a powerful grace, and they moved like dancers readying for the thrilling fight that precedes death. Most wore baggy sweatpants and jackets, presumably so that they could shift more quickly from man to beast, although I wondered if it made any real difference. Jas had slipped out of the passenger side of the car, and he quickly crossed the intervening space to stand at my side.

This time, when he put a hand on my shoulder, it contained more strength than the human body was capable of. “If you won’t do it for me, do it for yourself. We have information on The Chosen, and it is believed that they are the root of your problems. We believe that they are trying to round up all Seven and convert them to their cause. It’s possible that your parents are being held captive to be used against you as leverage.”

I released the hold on my power. The world became less sharp and in focus, the scents in the air reeked less of animals in heat. But some of my clairvoyance remained, and I was still keenly aware of my surroundings. The Were emitted a subtle glow, their power enveloping them in a colorless haze. I stared every one of them down, and then moved on to the ones who had made the change into their beastly form, portraying that I wouldn’t be so easily brought to heel. If a predator saw you in your moment of weakness, it was in their nature to rip you to shreds.

The exhalation of breath from Jas was clearly audible from his position behind me and to the right. “All right, everyone.” He hesitated when no one made a move from their respective positions. “BACK OFF, HE’S AGREED TO THE TERMS!” he shouted, his voice breaking.

I didn’t hear any terms, but thought it was wise to keep my mouth shut. The aggressive stance that the men and women had taken relaxed into something slightly more passive. Those who had been readying to shift into their animal forms backed away, dissipating like smoke into the greenery. Except, a few seconds later, we were joined by more Were. They were all roughly my age and dressed for school to boot. It was obvious from the backpacks that they probably hadn’t participated in the action, although it looked like they were raring to go. Three were girls and four were boys, and I recognized them all from school, though we hadn’t officially been introduced.

I should have known that there were more at the school. It only made sense that Jas had friends. He fit right in with these people, and his posture relaxed subtly, as if in the presence of those he trusted. They must have been keeping their distance, while Jas was on recruitment duty. I felt my anger boil over at the thought of being manipulated so thoroughly, and I punched Jas in the stomach, pivoting and putting the weight of my body behind the blow. To say the least, I wasn’t a happy camper.

“What the hell was that? All this time, you’ve just been using me, influencing me to join your little club? Was that all I was, just a hoop to be jumped through so you can move onto bigger and better things?” My anger seeped through the edges of my control, and my voice had risen to a shout.

The other kids had moved in when I threw the first punch, but remained immobile at a weak hand signal from Jas. He had landed in the street from the power of my hit, and I realized that I had unconsciously harnessed my power during the rage. I let it go slowly, gloomily, and came back to myself with a start. But I wasn’t going to apologize.

“No, I didn’t have anything to do with these plans.” His contrite face reflected the words. “But I had to. There wasn’t any choice, you have to believe me, I didn’t want to do this. They’re my family. There isn’t anything I can do, no way to refuse the commands of the Clan. Not when it really matters. I won’t lie to you. You will have different powers pulling upon you, trying to sway your decisions. Something like this was bound to happen.”

My cold voice provided a grudging response. “Family, I understand, but I’m not about to buy into all that other nonsense off the bat. We’ll talk about this more, when we have the time. We’re going to be late.” The pointed look I gave the others of the group had the desired effect, and his friends dispersed without so much as a backwards glance.

Deep in my bones, I possessed a gut feeling that pointed to another meeting. I didn’t know what to think, really. Jas had given me the impression that he was my friend before he ever knew anything about me. He was the one who enlightened me in the first place. Somehow, the information regarding my abilities had been leaked, and the Were Clan pounced on the opportunity I represented, with single-minded intensity borne of pack mentality. It seemed that was how they operated, and I thought it wise that to proceed cautiously in their presence.

I needed to reflect on what Jas had said. It was obvious that there was something going on, that something was brewing. The air tasted of death, danger, and destruction. There was a struggle coming, and every cell in my body was telling me to get as far away as possible before the world imploded. Despite that, or maybe because of it, I had to stay. There were too many unknowns, too many things that needed to be understood. I couldn’t go anywhere without knowing more about my parents, or talking to Em. There was a lingering curiosity, too about the new world I had just been dropped into, with no warning. There was a quiet allure to it, the thrill I felt when I embraced my birthright, was undeniable.

There were only two choices available in any altercation: I faced it down or didn’t get back up. The only difference in this situation was that the stakes had been raised. This time, I was sure that there were other lives that hung precariously in the balance, and it was my responsibility to get involved. My anger grew scorching when I thought about others controlling the course of my destiny. I was still bitter, too, about the way Jas had just given in to the demands of his family. I suspected that he had no choice, but still harbored resentment. That spiel about always obeying the family had to be a load of crap,
right
?

But just so there was back-up, I asked the compendium of knowledge known as Jeeves. “
What’s your take on this horseshit
?”

It looked like we were back to non-visual, mental communication, as Jeeves didn’t appear in front of me. “
The Were Clan is known to be very hierarchical, and don’t take no for an answer with much dignity. Although he may amount to something someday, this cub here didn’t have much of a chance in denying them anything
.”

That rained on my parade, as I was looking for confirmation of my vendetta, not saving grace for Jas. It looked like this just wasn’t my day, though. I finally noticed that I had just been standing in the road, muttering, and walked toward the car. I could already feel the sticky tendrils of a higher authority attempting to pull me in the direction they chose. Jas was already in the passenger seat, and I moved to join him. It seemed that the car was a bribe that wasn’t to be taken back, even if it was forced upon me. Though, they couldn’t have done much better with their choice of bribe, they must have done a check on the kinds of cars I boosted.