“That’s some freaky stuff you’re man is dealing with,” she whistled. “You may want to take the opportunity and run from him, while he’s down.”
I blew out air and moved my hand away. The lines scattered off in different directions.
What are they?
When he woke up, he was going to give me answers.
No more avoiding the subject.
The vampire crept over to me. I slipped my hand in Wiz’s jacket, grasped one of the handles of his daggers, and clutched it.
I
hoped it was the silver one. Vampires didn’t heal from silver wounds. Magical creatures that lived on the street tended to be opportunity seizers. Here I was defenseless with a passed out guy in front of me, she was either going to rob me for my blood to take down to the Blood Factory for money or help in order to get something out of the deal. I’d lived on the street enough to not trust vampires without a connection to a gang. Those were the most desperate. “Thank you but, I don’t need any help.”
“Yes, you do.” She bent over and sniffed. “The streets are quiet now, but they’ll be crowded soon. People see this and
when they spot you with your crazy skin, they’ll attack.”
Wiz’s birds flew away. Their bellies full of human carcass. I wondered where they would go and what would happen to them.
Wiz told me once that they were birds he pulled from another realm. That the amber stones and his spell served as a gateway to let them in, and after five minutes or so they went back to wherever they came from. Part of me, thought it made sense, but the other part of me, the one who hated to see him suffer, didn’t understand how he possessed the ability to call them.
“
If you aren’t going to leave, then let me help. I can move him somewhere for you. I’m fast.” She kicked off her smudged-tipped shoes and stretched her legs. “You couldn’t even hold him up when he was doing his dark magic.”
“It’s not dark.”
“It ain’t light. Nothing good comes from rocks turning into flesh-eating birds.” She glanced over her shoulders. “You both smell pretty bad too. Your blood smells poisonous, his like death.”
“Thanks
, you must have a bachelor’s degree in complimenting.” I stood up and walked over to the back of the limo. The trunk’s hood was folded back. The wheelbarrow we kept inside it was now shards of wood and cracked metal.
I need a shopping cart or something to move him.
I searched the area and saw none.
“I just wanted you to know you both smell bad
, so you won’t think I’ll bite you,” she assured me.
“You’re not the first vamp I’ve met. I know I’m not tasty to you.” I shifted my weight to one foot. “What do you want if you carry him for me?”
“Money.”
“I don’t have any. What about blood? I could get you some.”
“I would need a liter’s worth to carry him wherever you wanted him to go.” She scratched her neck. A prominent Adam’s apple protruded from it, more sizeable than the average female’s. Stubble existed on her chin. Her hands seemed big, but that didn’t mean much. Many of my female mimics possessed huge hands. Her breasts were nonexistent, but I didn’t have much of a rack either.
Who was I to judge?
“Are you a guy?” I stepped closer to get a better look.
“You’re rude.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I’m not a guy.”
“Were you born a boy?”
“Why?”
“I like to know who I’m dealing with before I work with them.” I shrugged.
Her teeth caught her bottom lip. Her fangs dug into the skin a little, but didn’t pierce it. “Yes. I was born a boy.”
“Okay.”
For some reason the answer made me trust her. Maybe because I understood wanting to be something I was not.
I tested the vamp by flicking my scales back and forth. The movement sounded like a shaken maraca. She didn’t flinch in disgust like most people. Instead, she met my slitted eyes with a questioning look.
“Deal.” I headed over to Wiz. “
Like I said before, I don’t have much money but I do have access to blood. I can give you a hundred dollars worth, if you carry him for me. But if he wakes up before we get there, I need you to run away—”
“What?”
“If he wakes up, you should run as fast as you can.”
“Then when would I get my blood.”
“We can meet behind Cinnamon’s Meat Shack. I’m always there around twelve. I’ll give you blood there.” I held up my hands. “I’m doing this for your safety. Wiz is afraid of vamps.”
Once he told me that, a man he lived with used to lock him in a dark closet with an old vamp that rented the space during the day. Although vamps
barely moved when the sun was up, the older ones could move a little. This one had been really old. He’d managed to grab Wiz a few times, and although he never drunk Wiz’s blood due to it being disgusting to him, apparently he’d done other things, stuff that Wiz never wanted to talk about.
“
If he sees you, he’ll try to kill you first without even asking who you are,” I said.
She looked down at Goatee’s hollow chest and cringed. “Okay
, but I’ve got your scent down so don’t try any crap with me. You can’t hide.”
As if anyone can even hide in a caged city.
“Fine.” I shrugged.
“
Name’s Sasha.”
“
I’m Cameo.” I turned in the other direction and spotted several cars’ lights moving toward us at a fast speed. I remembered what Wiz said earlier about someone coming that he didn’t want me involved with. I had no idea who this Bearded Dragon guy was, but if Wiz didn’t like me meeting him, I would listen for now and then research the person later.
We need to get out of here, fast.
“You know where Haven is?” I asked.
“Of course.
”
I raced over to Wiz. “
Get him out of here quickly. We can meet at the center of Haven next to Cinnamon’s Meat Shack. Just hide in the dumpster in the alley next to it. It has a black W spray painted on the front.”
“Dumpster?” Her almond face wrinkled in horror.
“Trust me. I swear it’s safe and clean. Hurry, please.”
“I want my blood.”
“You’ll get it. Please hurry.”
Sasha rushed over to Wiz, slung him over her chest in a blur, and sped off without a verbal answer.
Well, at least she listens.
I
eased to the front of the limo and moved slower than my usual pace. Shattered glass cracked under my feet, but couldn’t pierce my scales. Due to the earlier crash, my brick-climbers jutted out of the passenger seat’s cushion. I yanked the two 3-foot long poles out and hurried to the nearest alley. My gown dragged on the ground. My chest burned. The poles clanked against each other in my hands as I rounded the corner and entered a dark alley.
Tires screeched. I peeked around the corner. Several cars parked near the scene. Big guys jumped out of the vehicle
s dressed in flaming orange shirts with a dragon’s tail on each sleeve. Various brands stuck on their heads—from witch to shifter and even a few mixbreeds. Yet, purebloods outnumbered the mixbreeds. I wouldn’t be able to beat anyone if necessary.
Tonight just gets better and better.
I turned back, placed the bottoms of the brick-climbers to the wall. Each pole had a rectangle rope at the end with red and green buttons on the handle. The rope was made out of troll hair, some of the stickiest and strongest in the world. I pushed the red button. The ropes attached to the bricks in front of me, adjusted to fit their size, and stuck on as if they’d been nailed. I strained and stepped up on the wall. The poles helped me balance. The bricks hard surface dug into the scales under my feet. The muscles in my arms and legs burned. On one pole, I pushed the green button. Its rope released the brick. I pulled the pole away, placed the rope a foot up the wall, and pressed the red button.
If I hadn’t mimicked twice
then I could have raced up the wall in less than a minute. My brick-climbers were the best on the street and had been designed by the original creator of the invention. She’d been a cage punk like me that chose to sleep on the roofs instead of down on the street where anybody could take advantage of her in the middle of the night. Others witnessed her scaling buildings night after night and begged her to make them some. After a few years, she’d made hundreds and had a little alley shop off in Shango District. I’d just bought these brick-climbers from her last week and cut down by climb time by minutes.
And now when I need to go up fast, I’m too freaking tired to do it.
Instead of rushing up like usual, I eased up foot by painstaking foot. Stick and release. Red button. Green button. Strain and pull. Sweat trickled from my forehead to my ears and irritated my scales. They shifted around and flicked the drops off.
A hammering metal noise sounded around the corner.
My body trembled as I quickened my pace until I arrived at the rooftop, climbed over the ledge, and squatted down in a shadowed corner.
I should
’ve just run off like Wiz told me too.
But I couldn’t. Although
, Wiz and I hung out all the time and shared our dreams and interests, we never exchanged information about our past. I just had to know who this Bearded Dragon was and why Wiz didn’t want me around him so I took a quick peek.
M
en tore the limo apart with their bare hands and slung metal all over the place.
What are they looking for?
Another car pulled up. A woman jumped out, ran to the back door, and opened it. A man stepped out. The streetlights hit his X brand. He adjusted his jacket as he walked further into the light. I gasped. Large crimson scales
, at least three inches long, jutted out of his jaw, around his mouth, and all over his chin. They resembled a jagged beard. Besides the scales, he had pale white skin and long blond hair. Men surrounded the guy and frantically talked as they moved their arms around. He lifted his head as if to inhale the air and held one finger to his lips. They all paused.
And then the man’s face turned in my direction and pointed directly to me.
Chapter 4
My h
eart slammed into my chest. I ducked, hiding behind the ledge, and scanned the area. Many tall building with rooftops I could leap on surrounded me. Unless this scale-beard guy employed street punks, he wouldn’t catch me.
“You might as well reveal yourself!” A deep voice thundered. “I can’t grab Theo or you tonight, but I do want you to give him a message.”
No one knew Wiz’s real name but a set of twins and myself. I rose just enough for my head to peek over the ledge but not expose my whole body.
“There you
are.” The man now stood on the sidewalk near the building. “Has Theo ever told you about me, the Bearded Dragon?”
What type of weirdo names themselves that
?
I blinked, k
ept my mouth shut, and counted the other guys around him as they crept his way.
Ten guys.
They didn’t hold brick-climbers so they couldn’t get up on the roof in time to grab me. My heart’s pounding decreased to a steady pace. I rose a little more to get a better view.
The man’s eyes met mine.
And as soon as I looked into them, his pupils flared like tiny balls of fire. They seared my body into place. I gritted my teeth and gripped the bricks in front of me tighter. I tried to escape his glare, but I couldn’t move.
Where is Theo?
The man’s threatening voice ripped through my head.
Where is the Shadow?
My temples throbbed in agony. I couldn’t even move my fingers.
Wait a minute. Come down here.
His voice wrapped around my psyche.
Come to me, little one.
Scorching hot power sank into me. I smelled burnt hair. Intense heat lapped at my bones. He rummaged through my thoughts. I remained stuck in place—helpless and unable to budge as he pulled out my memories, analyzed them, and slammed them back into my brain.
Come to me
!
His voice drummed against my skull.
Climb down to me or you’ll regret it.
He terrorized me with my nightmares—my mother’s knife scrapping away the scales on my arm, a flooded dumpster full of rats, a roof collapsing under my weight.
“No!”
Tears leaked from my eyes. I quivered. With all my energy I forced my teeth to glide against my tongue and slice through the tip. I concentrated on the sting and the metallic taste of my blood as I pushed the foreign power out of my head.
Get out! Get out!
I screamed over and over in my mind until more tears fell and warm blood filled my mouth.
Get out!
The ghostly fingers retreated inch by inch until nothing remained, but my own fear. I te
sted my fingers. They moved. I turned and raced away without glancing back into those eyes. He laughed as I fled. It came out loud and followed me. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
How did he get in my head like that?
I lifted my dress with one hand and gripped my brick-climbers with the other. The man’s scent lingered in my hair and on my tongue.
“Tell Theo
not to think twice about canceling out the blood promise. It expires soon and then I can come for what I want!” the man roared. “I’ll take my Shadow like we promised!”
He’s no longer in my head. He must need to look into my eyes in order to do it.
I was exhausted, but horror helped me keep my pace.
I’m cool as long as I don’t run out of rooftops.
Ahead of me, hundreds of tall colorful buildings extended up from the city’s foundation. The city of Santeria was divided into four districts. Each was named after a popular Santeria god or goddess and themed in that god’s colors, powers, and favorite things. I raced on Yemaya’s azure and cobalt buildings, so blue they mimicked the ocean that the goddess ruled. The moon’s light bathed the caged city and helped me figure out which direction I needed to hop to. I frantically searched for orange buildings that resembled Shango the god of fire.
Yes
.
On my far right, a glass tower stood, dyed like the
color of a carrot.
The Enchanted Works plant.
I headed that way. Relief surged inside me. Haven was near the plant. Cars honked at each other and streetlights blurred below as I increased my pace and prayed I wouldn’t pass out. Yemaya’s high-end restaurants and exclusive condos gave way to Shango’s slumlord paradise and infamous one-hour hotels.
A
half an hour later, the five rooftops of Haven silhouetted against the moonlight. Fire torches bordered the roofs. The younger street kids slept together on the roof closest to me covered in blankets and huddled next to each other. Drying sheets and clothes hung on wires connected to each building and dripped water down on the hustlers and prostitutes that strolled below. A band on the center roof slammed their drums, shook bells, and strummed guitars.
The leader sang,
“The reaping is coming today!”
Teenage bodies either swayed in a trance or danced around like their lives depended on it.
The party’s crowd sang back,
“The reaping is coming today!”
Some of the older kids near my age prowled the ledge of their assigned buildings. Their hands clasped on to metal tubes of acid. No one climbed a building or hopped a roof in Haven without our permission. Last year, habbies tried to climb up and had acid poured down on them.
The bandleader sang,
“Lock your doors. Bar your windows.”
Everyone yelled back,
“The reaping is coming today!”
The five building owners surrendered their top floors to us. Many thought Wiz spelled them into the agreement, but only I knew that
Wiz didn’t have that power. Instead, we paid a rental fee to use the top floors’ rooms and rooftops—a fee that mainly Wiz and I took care of during our jobs.
“And we’ll steal, until we’re fed. And we’ll kill, until you’re dead.”
The kids in the crowd yelled back,
“Lock your doors. Bar your windows. The reaping is coming today!”
S
avory smoke hit my nostrils. My stomach growled. I clanked my brick-climbers hard to get the Alpha Omega tribe’s attention. Tribes were pretty much like regular street gangs, but us cage punks called them tribes to give us all a sense of family.
“Who are you?”
A kid flashed a light my way.
“Cameo.”
“What do you want?”
Goodness gracious.
“To come to your roof of course.”
“Lean forward a little.”
I did.
Another picked up a hose
and sprayed me with dirty water. It splashed onto me and irritated my scales. Everyone recognized me due to my scales, but it was better for people to know for sure who was coming onto their roofs. Any person could buy a charm that concealed their identity. A natural element like dirt shredded the charm away and revealed the person’s true form, which was why I dripped of muddy water. The kid sprayed me again and giggled.
“Really?” I wiped the water off my face.
“Spray me again and I’m coming for you.”
“Come on over!” a bald headed girl with a light voice yelled.
Most girls had haircuts like guys to blend in and not bring too much attraction to the fact that they were female. Lots of older men prowled the streets and lurked in shadows, hoping a young homeless girl would stroll their way.
I hopped over with ease
and searched all the campfires on the roof for where that yummy smoke had drifted.
“Wow!” the girl asked. “Where you get the fancy dress from and where is Wiz?”
Looking closer, I realized the bald girl was Fin.
Just who I wanted to see.
“It’s a long story,” I said. “But I’m glad I saw you first. I need you to get some blood for me.”
“How much and
what type?” Fin stepped up on the ledge. When she did grow hair on her head, it was a silky blonde. She’d hoped the bald head would stop the guys in the different tribes from trying to date her. Instead, the shaved head gave her beautiful face more definition and caused her to gain lots more attention. Thick grease coated her pale face and arms, making her impossible to get a grip on her in a fight. She yanked out a notepad from one of the pockets on her black tank top and pulled out a pencil from one of the pockets of her shorts.
“I need a hundred dollars worth o
f blood.” I looked behind her and spotted a huge campfire with a rack of old car antennas covered in meat and vegetables. “Get any type of blood that will give me a lot of it. Just deliver it to my room as soon as you can.”
She held her hand in front of me and rubbed her fingers against themselves. “Money?”
I hopped down on the roof and headed for the fire. “You know I’m good for it. If not, then put it on Wiz’s tab.”
“And where is Wiz?” she asked behind me. “You are always putting stuff on his tab. If you stopped wasting your money by renting a freaking room you would have some—”
“I like my room.”
“It’s a waste of money.”
“Then why are you always there?”
“Because y
ou think you’re better than us, so I come to remind you that you’re not.”
“While you eat my food and watch my TV?”
“Yes. So where’s Wiz? Is he going to be giving me my money within the hour?”
“Wiz will be here soon. Come on. I always get you your money within twenty-four hours. Stop bothering me.” I pointed to the meat. “What are they cooking over there?”
“Rat, onions, and potatoes.” Fin came to my side, stuffed the pad and pencil back in her pockets, and then took out the flashlight from a hip pocket.
If a person didn’t live in Haven
, then they had to pay for food.
Fin huffed, “I suppose you want me to buy you some meat sticks and put it on Wiz’s tab
too?”
“Naw
, put it on my tab,” Rich said behind us.
We faced him. His dark skin shined in the moonlight. Black braids hung past his shoulders. He centered his gray eyes on Fin. “Why aren’t you already at the campfire, grabbing Cameo food?”
Fin stomped off.
I held in my laughter and shook my head. “You only have a few more days to boss
Fin around. Are you trying to get in as many orders as you can?”
“Definitely.” He flashed me a wide smile and slipped the machete he was holding back into a black leather sheath that matched the black jeans and shirt he wore. His huge biceps bulged with the movement. “Once my sister promotes her to tribe leader, I won’t be able to tell Fin nothing. I have to enjoy it while I can. Where’s Wiz?”
“Goodness.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Why is everybody asking me that? Wiz is wherever he is.”
“The only time you’re in Haven without him is when you both are in trouble.”
“I doubt that,” I said as Fin headed over with two antennas full of seared rat meat and potatoes. Tan brown sauce dripped from them. I licked my lips and took both sticks. Eating would give me an energy boost, but soon I would have to collapse on my bed and sleep on my floor for a day or two. “Thanks for buying the food, Rich.”
“I can have several liters of blood at your door in two hours.” Fin handed me a rag to be used as a napkin. “
And I want my money in twenty-four hours.”
I bit a large chunk of meat. S
weet mustard sauce hit my tongue. The bitter protein broke apart easily as if they’d been slowly roasting it for days.
Thank you, goddess.
“What do you need so much blood for?” Rich asked as Fin left.
“None of your business,” I replied. Sauce trickled down my chin. Rich seized it with his thumb before I could lick it away. I stepped back and wiped my mouth with the rag as he sucked on
his sauce covered finger.
“Love the food?” he asked
. “We’ve got a new runaway in our tribe. His dad is a chef up in Yemaya somewhere. The boy knows how to cook doesn’t he?”
“Your tribe got two new kids in a row?
Wow! Isn’t that out of order?” I finished one antenna kabob and attacked the other. “Half Moon hasn’t received any new kids yet. Your tribe is bigger than everybody else’s. They’re going to start complaining.”
“Half Moon already argued with us and tried to attack. Wiz intercepted and approved the new additions.”
I swallowed the meat and giggled. “Intercepted and approved, huh? Pretty big words.”
He leaned in and whispered, “I know
, right? I impress myself every day. Thanks again for those reading lessons.”
“Thank you for being an excellent student. Maybe you can convince some of the others to learn how to read.” I finished
my last bit of food and licked the antenna.
“I’m not
a god, Cameo. Some things are out of my hand.” He snatched the empty antennas from me and handed them to a young kid near him. “Go put them in the kitchen.”
I wiped my hands on my dress and hopped back on the ledge. An image of the
pale-faced man with red scales flashed in my head. He’d called Wiz by his real name. Theo. Only Rich, his twin sister, and me knew Wiz’s real name.