Lycan Alpha Claim 3 (82 page)

CHAPTER 18

Everyone showed up on time. For Jonesy, that was nothing short of a miracle. Time management was not a priority with him. Scheming was—we all had our talents.

Jade walked on my left. She was absolutely mouth-watering in a pink hoodie, faded jeans with strategic holes, and pink high top All Star basketball shoes. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, the end making a black sweep in the valley of her shoulders.

I casually held her hand. I loved feeling its smallness. One of the many things I liked about Jade—other than her utter coolness—was how physically small she was. It didn't diminish her. She didn't have some complex about it. She knew who she was, and that was tight.

Jonesy had been talking the whole time since we left, and I started tuning in, even with the distraction of Jade.

The bag full of gear rattled as he walked animatedly beside John, who was between us.

“Anyway, like I was saying, I snagged the can of Aqua Net a couple of weeks ago out of my mom's separator.”

“How'd you manage the lighter?” John asked.

“My dad registered it for barbecuing.”

Lighters were like guns. Because of the fire starters, any accelerant—lighters, matches, fuel—had to be registered like guns. Pyrokenetics could use anything like that as a deadly weapon. Some really talented ones didn't need anything.
They
were the weapons.

“Being able to start fires would be the coolest!” I said wistfully.

“No way,” John said. “Think about the control and all the adults up your ass all the time. Ah... no, that would suck, dude. Big time.”

Jonesy fist-pumped. “I like it. I could think of about a million things to torch. Starting with the school!” He grinned then asked,“You're not gonna, like, make something pop out of the ground, are you, Caleb?”

I got a mental image of a Jack-in-the-Box—or a Jack-in-the-Coffin— and grinned. “Nah, that's totally not the plan.”

Jade squeezed my hand and I squeezed back.

John said, “But you just had that episode with your grandma at the cemetery.”

“You didn't need blood to, like, put her back?” Jonesy asked.

“No. I've been thinking about that. Maybe it was coincidence the blood happened to be part of it last time. Gran rose without any of that.”

But a knot of unease began to build in my chest. I wondered if there was something special I needed to do to get a corpse back to rest. Tiff had been there to help, so I had no idea how or if I could have accomplished it without her.

“Okay, so we don't have to worry about an accident?” John asked, placing stress on that last word.

Like potty-training, nice.

Jonesy hooted. “Accidental
corpse raising!”

I shook my head. “No, I don't having any corpse-raising plans today.”

Jade asked, “Why are we meeting them at the cemetery then?”

“That's
our
turf,” Jonesy said. “Caleb pulled the creep-out card there, and they'll feel all off base. Plus, the master”—he tapped his temple— “needs a proper environment.”

John's eyebrows shot up. Usually, John was the brains of the operation. Jonesy was in his element, scheming.

Jonesy said, “Hey, I know that I'm not brilliant, but I've got rockin' good ideas, and I'm rollin' with that program.”

We laughed. There was no denying he had a program.

We crested the hill, and the gates of the cemetery loomed ahead. I gave a little shudder, the sensory memory playing through my body like a discordant instrument. Jade looked a question at me, and I shook my head. Hard thing to explain. Had to be there or in her case,
not
.

The weather hadn't improved. In fact, it looked like it was working up a head of steam, a late spring storm. The clouds rolled like giant pewter boulders.

John saw where I was looking and said, “Might rain.”

Jonesy shrugged. “We'll get Carson and Brett all lit up before the sky opens.”

I checked my watch.

“What time is it?” John asked.

“Time for the ass-clowns to show,” Jonesy muttered.

Jade covered her mouth, hiding a smile.

Carson and Brett rounded the hill behind us as if conjured. Their blond heads glowed in the dim light of the overcast sky. They climbed the hill with determination, wearing dual expressions of purpose.

***

When they stopped just in front of us, Brett made a point of staring down Jade. I wondered if he had told Carson about his dad's meltdown and the gopher attack. Probably not.

The great trees inside the cemetery stood sentinel, their sweeping branches moved by invisible strings.

Jonesy shook his bag of goodies and they rattled alarmingly.

“I've got this experiment all fleshed out.” He waggled his brows. “Me and my boys tried it last year, and it turned out
cool
.”

Carson looked interested. The only reason he'd be motivated to try something connected with the three of us, was to prove how much of a mondo-stud he was.

Typical.

Carson leaned forward, trying to scope what was in the bag. Jonesy pulled it back.

“
Come on, Carson,” Brett said. “This is just some kinda game. Let's get outta here.”

I was feeling unsure about making Brett pay, but Carson... that was okay. The Js and I had decided if Carson was taught a lesson, Brett would lay off, too, following his lead. I liked it better because Carson just acted like an anus cause he had one. He didn't have worries, the dick nozzle.

Carson shook his head. “Nah, I want to see what Jonesy's got that's so special.”

“Well, c’mon,” Jonesy said.

We followed Jonesy and his bag of mayhem into the cemetery. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the buzzing of voices rose to a fever-pitch, like the droning of bees. I tried to tune it out, but there was something about actually being
in
the cemetery that seemed to make it resonate deeper.

I stalled a little and Jade slowed beside me, her eyes widening. I knew she was getting a little feedback.

She whispered, “Are those the voices?”

I nodded.

“Is it like this all the time?”

“Not always, but this close to a big nest o' corpses, oh yeah.”

Everyone turned to look at us, so we began to walk again. I let go of her hand. She didn't need the overlap, and I was straining for control. So many dead were just impossible for me to ignore. But without Jade touching me, it was a little better. She was like a radio antenna amplifying their signal, almost like Tiff.

Jonesy took out each item out for the cluster fun. It looked like a weird hodgepodge to me. If I was guessing right, he had improved on his original idea.

He was completely serious, the first clue that the whole thing was absolute bullshit. He said to Carson, “You take this tube-thingey”—he pulled out a corrugated tube that looked like something Dad had put by the foundation of our house—“and Brett holds the other end.” He held up the hairspray. “Spray this crap inside the tube.”

“Why is it duct taped on this side?” Carson asked.

Jonesy did a long, slow blink.

Carson had the IQ of a shovel.

“It's to keep the Aqua Net inside the tube, Carson,” he explained slowly.

Carson tried to save face. “Yeah, I knew that.”

John turned away and laughed into his hand while pretending to cough.

Brett glared at him. “What's the lighter for? How'd you get it?”

Jonesy smiled. “Swiped it from my dad.”

I was drowning in the voices but making a colossal effort to quiet them.

Carson asked John and me, “You guys did this, right?”

We nodded. I gritted my teeth
. Get on with it.

Then, just to sweeten the deal, I asked, “Scared?”

Carson lowered his chin like a bull before a red flag and replied through gritted teeth, “We can do anything you pussies can do.”

Resolute, his chin rose and he crossed his arms across his chest.

Going according to plan.

Jonesy handed Brett the duct-taped end of the tube. Carson grabbed the can of hairspray out of Jonesy's hand. The top spun off and became a bright pink exclamation point on top of a grave marker.

Jade watched with fascinated horror.

I knew it wouldn't end well, but it was like a piece of chocolate with mystery stuff inside. I suspected it would taste bad, but there might be something about it I liked.

Jonesy held out the lighter. A ghost of a smile formed on Carson's lips, as he leaned forward and delicately plucked the lighter out of Jonesy's fingers.

Jonesy backed away, looking a little uncertain. “So Brett holds the duct tape end and you spray a bunch of Aqua Net in there. Then, you light the lighter just as you stop the stream.”

Brett wore an expression that might have indicated some sort of thought process. Carson even looked a little hesitant.

John shrugged casually.“Look, you guys, if you're chickenshit or something, you don't have to do it. We won't hold it against you.”

We all nodded as we agreed that we would definitely not be inclined to spread crap about them in school.
Riiiggghhhttt.
I could see how John's cleverness was going to work this kink right out.

Carson looked at each one of us, lingering on Jade longest. “No, we'll do it. I can't see any of you guys not saying anything.” He pointed at me. “You just remember, we have the goods on you, Hart. We know what you are, what you can do. We know who to call.”

“Ghostbusters?” Jonesy asked.

We laughed. They glared.

Game on.

Brett held up the tube with the duct-taped end facing him, his hands circling it as if holding a steering wheel. The black exterior looked like an accordion, Carson raised the can and sprayed into the tube.

Even from a few feet away, I could see the mist and smell the awful acrid odor.
How did women wear that?
It meant something that you could set it on fire...
ah, hello?

A few seconds later, Carson brought up the lighter and pressed the ignite button just inside the tube. At first, there was nothing but a sucking noise.

Then, flames burst out of the open end in an orange tangle, licking along the sides and traveling toward Brett's hands. Just before Brett dropped the tube, Carson leaned
into
the flames.

The fire hovered all around Carson's face but left him untouched.

John and I had about exactly three seconds to exchange a look,
what the hell?

Jonesy, never one for internal dialogue asked in a panic, “What the hell is this?”

Brett backed away from Carson, who turned to us with an evil grin. Fire was still moving around his face in a wave. He held out his hand, and a small blue-centered flame swept down his arm and hovered just above his palm.

“So you were saying, Hart? You want to go chew some glass? Sounds like a good plan to me.”

Beautiful,
Carson the Comedian.

We stood speechless.

Carson was a fire starter, and Jonesy, the plan man, hadn't counted on that.

Zero contingency plan. Nada, zilch, zip.

John said, “Listen, it was just a joke. You've been up Caleb's ass since forever, and it was just a little payback. You don't need to torch us.”

Carson put on an innocent face.

Bad.

“I'm not gonna torch you guys.” He switched to an evil expression and nodded at me. “Just him.”

And with that delightful objective, he pulled his hand back, readying to throw the ball o' flame.

Jade gasped, and I gave her a hard shove to get her out of the literal line of fire.

Jonesy shrieked, “Hey!”

But John shocked me. He stepped right into Carson. The two of them collided, the fire halting mid-throw. A crazy flame floated between Carson and me, sputtering and flickering.

With a roar, Carson leaped forward, trying to recapture the flame, but John tackled him. They both went down, and the flame died.

“Get off me, Terran!” Carson roared. He grabbed John by his frizzy mass of hair and pulled.

“Hey! Let go!” John gave Carson an elbow to the nose.

Blood sprayed. Carson howled and grabbed his nose. At the same time, he kicked John right in the knee. John went down, holding his knee.

Well...
damn.

I ran over to break up the fight before the whole world figured out that something was going on besides a practical joke. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone at the entrance to the cemetery.

I turned to get a better look and realized it was Jade’s dad. His fists were clenched, the wind lifting his sweating hair off his forehead. Fists clenched as his chest rose and fell in great, swooping lungfuls. I was struck by how much he looked like Brett's dad but in a lot better shape.