“Drink it up. You look wasted.”
Corbin did as he was ordered, then got down to business. “Strix can turn into their totem, but when they fight, they never lose their human form completely.”
“So the giant bird overhead, the one I saw in the parking lot…”
“An owl, grotesque in appearance, I take it. Probably wouldn't have put up much of a fight in that form. Spying, most likely.”
Stu shivered as he remembered the enormous winged bird hovering in the night sky.
“Sunlight doesn't harm them, and they have no weaknesses except to one simple mineral.” Corbin paused for effect. “Salt.”
Stu walked back to the kitchen and picked up the saltshaker from the counter. He lifted the glass container in his hand and peered at the white crystals. “How does it hurt them?”
“It draws out their life force and makes them weak. It doesn't kill them, but it slows them down enough to do damage. They're incredibly hard to kill.”
“So we arm ourselves with saltshakers?” Stu scoffed at the absurd image of them defending themselves with huge shakers of table salt.
Corbin chuckled, but his laughter did not reach his eyes. “That, and a stake.”
“A stake will be enough?”
“If we hit him precisely through that beating organ, yeah.
Best to find his lair and attack after dawn. Strix feed at night before they rest. They're more sluggish when the sun rises.” Corbin brushed his pants with his long fingers, then arched in a catlike stretch. He leaned forward and propped his elbows on this knees, lightly resting his chin in his hands. “Let Aric know about the salt and have him carry it with him at all times. At least that will give him a chance to escape if necessary.”
“Why hasn't the strix taken him?”
“Not sure.” Corbin wet his lips with his tongue. “For some reason, it seems he doesn't want him dead.” His gaze probed Stu's face. “Maybe he wants to fuck him again.”
“What?” Stu dropped the shaker on the counter. It bounced a few times and rolled off. He kicked it away.
“Chill, man.
He seems to be waiting in the wings. Until Aric turns. It's as if he doesn't want to hurt him. Just scare him a little. Let him know he's being watched.” Corbin's mouth flattened. “What's going on between you and Aric? Did he do something to you?”
His brother's arrogant tone made Stu's pulse spike. “He didn't rape me, asshole.”
“You're not gay like me.”
Stu's jaw tightened. “No, I'm
not
you. And you don't know how I feel.”
“He's a beautiful boy…very beautiful. Soft, delicate features…incredible hazel eyes…a slender, almost-feminine body, but I bet hard too, and extremely exciting to touch…” Corbin paused, gazing sternly at Stu. “I'm sure he attracts all sorts of curious straight men who want the experience of one night with him.”
“It's not like that.” Stu fell into the nearest chair and propped his feet on the coffee table. Unlike his brother, he drooped in a perfectly inelegant slouch. He picked at this thumbnail.
“Leave him be, Stu. He's dangerous.”
“So are we.”
“We?”
Corbin's eyes narrowed. “I'll take care of things. You stay out of it.”
“No. It's my oath, my problem, my choice.” As soon as the words escaped Stu's mouth, he knew he'd spoken the absolute truth.
Corbin clutched the armrest. “You're not one of us.”
“Only because Mom fought me on it.
I know you want to protect me, especially since Dad's… But I make my own decisions now.” He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes downcast. “I can't explain it…I can't run away from it.” He looked up. “Dad always said it was a foolish man who believed he could outrun fate.”
“You don't have what it takes.”
“I'm as strong as you, maybe stronger.”
“It takes more than strength. It takes a temperament of coldhearted determination. You're too…kind, good. I fight so you can stay the way you are.”
“You're not my protector. I admire—”
“Don't…” Corbin held up his hand. “There's nothing to admire about a killer.”
A growl rose from Stu's throat. He was tired of being put off. “Either you let me help you, or I go it alone,” he said, firm and determined. “I don't plan on letting you have all the fun.”
Corbin sighed, shaking his head. “Stubborn ass. This isn't a game. It can get you killed, and what would Mom say if I had to bring her
that
kind of news?”
“You aren't invincible either.”
“She can live with my death, but if something happened to you, she'd die inside.”
“How can you say that? She loves you.”
Corbin fluffed a throw pillow and played with its fringe. He stared hard at Stu. “She also would die if she thought you were like me.”
“You got it wrong. She doesn't blame you.”
“If it weren't for my arrogance, Dad would be alive, and you know it.” The bitterness emanated from Corbin.
Stu wished he could wipe away that horrible night of their father's death, their mother screaming at Corbin, Corbin leaving. Once his brother had walked out the front door, he'd never returned. “You're both too stubborn to talk things through. How can you make up when you never come home?”
Corbin aimed and tossed the pillow at Stu, who batted it aside with ease. Stu sensed him shutting down—his heart, his emotions, his anger.
“Piss off,” Corbin warned. “We need to find the strix, and it'll be damn hard if we don't get Aric to cooperate. How much does he know?”
“I told him the truth. That we're Kresniks, vampire slayers.”
“Does he know why you're so damn good at catching those high-flying footballs?”
Stu bit a hangnail, drawing blood. So he forgot to mention his ability to use the talents of his animal spirit when in human form. “Why should I tell him
that
?”
Corbin rose and went to the fridge. He opened the door and rummaged through the contents, then took out two beers and twisted open the caps. He took a swig from the longneck bottle and left the other beer on the counter.
Stu sighed and forced himself from the chair. He retrieved the bottle and drank down the cold brew. Once he'd finished, he slammed the bottle on the counter, catching Corbin's attention. The beer did little to relax him.
“Tell me what's really on your mind,” Stu said. “I know you have something more to say to me. Go ahead; lay it on.”
“I don't want to see you get hurt.”
“By screwing Aric?
That's rich coming from you. A guy in every port.”
“I've never known you to be attracted to any of your teammates or your male friends.”
“Nor have I been head over heels in love with a girl.”
“You're twenty-two. You're a long way off from needing a steady girlfriend.”
Stu grumbled beneath his breath as Corbin mimicked the posture of their father—thinned lips, hands on hips, back ramrod straight, face shut down but for the fire igniting his eyes. Tension gathered into a hard knot at the back of Stu's neck. The grinding of his teeth forced his voice to come out as a hiss. “Who I choose to spend my time with is my business.”
“Have you thought about Aric's feelings? He's gay, Stu. He can fall in love with you. Then what?”
“Look. We were together one time. We're far from announcing our nuptials. I'm willing to take it as it comes.”
“Did he come on to you?”
“You saw him run out of here. I seduced
him
. And would do it again in a heartbeat.” Even though Aric had said it had been a big mistake.
Corbin's shoulders drooped. “You drive me insane. Just promise me you won't jump into this…this affair without realizing the consequences.”
“Fine, let's drop it. Anyway, Aric isn't exactly forthcoming.” Stu couldn't help the timbre of disappointment in his voice. “He doesn't want to get involved.”
“Smart guy.”
Corbin sighed in exaggeration. “Okay, I'll forget about you and that lothario for now. You better tell him what I found out. And about the salt. In case the vampire's hovering nearby. I'll be keeping tabs on the strix. When I find his lair, we'll sweep in and kill him.”
Stu hurried down the Life Sciences Building's hallway while glancing over his shoulder. A weird sensation tingled at the back of his neck. He felt the strix's gaze on him, but whenever he turned around, nothing and no one was in sight. Picking up his pace, he rounded the corner, exhaling a sigh as he approached the lab door. He rushed inside and locked the door behind him. He turned on all the lights and then pulled the heavy curtains shut.
Johan seemed satisfied with biding his time, waiting until Aric transformed. But
why
is what ate at Stu. What was the strix's motive? Thankfully he found Aric safely hiding behind his glass tubes and apparatuses, penciling in a notebook. A glare from the overhead lights flashed on Aric's lenses. Stu smiled at his deep concentration. He hadn't bothered to look up or comment on the full set of lights now beaming down on the counter.
Stu sat on the edge of a desk, in full view of Aric. “I thought I'd find you here. The strix—”
“I sensed him.” Aric kept writing, keeping his head down. “I'm busy. What is it?”
“Aren't you worried?”
Aric looked up from his notebook and slipped his pencil behind his ear. He wore his hair tied back, and his chin jutted out, his eyes flashing beneath the overhead lights. The quintessential nerd made Stu's heart hopscotch across his chest. Maybe liking a guy was strange, but he did want Aric. More than lust, more than desire, this need went deeper, even though he didn't have a name for it.
Aric's voice dripped with heavy sarcasm. “Why should I be, when I have two slayers watching my back? I know you guys have been following me. Johan too. I can smell all of you a mile away.” He slipped off his glasses and placed them next to his notebook. He looked straight at Stu. “Why are you here?”
Stu lifted the bottom of his shirt and gave it a good sniff, hiding his smile. “Hey, this was freshly laundered just yesterday.” Laughing, he dropped the hem and shrugged. “Come on, man. It's been two days since we've talked. I was worried.”
Aric poked his pencil tip back to the paper. “Leave already. I don't need you sitting here breaking my concentration.”
“You admit I'm a distraction.”
“A distraction that's costing me time.”
Stu breezily ignored him. “You need to eat. I'll bet you've been hiding in here all day and haven't eaten a thing, let alone taken a break.”
“I'm not hungry.”