Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1) (11 page)

When they reached the second chamber, he
repeated, “Choose a path.”

She pointed to the left again. They continued
through the passage, humid stone walls surrounding them, closing in
the deeper they went. She clutched the waist of his pants.

“Your nervousness is unnecessary. Oracles are
not dangerous. They are keepers of the past and the future.”

“Like historians?”

He nodded, before remembering that her night
vision was not like his. “In part, yes. Although historians are a
pale comparison at best, and not simply because they are human.
Oracles are more than record keepers. They are magical beings.
These catacombs help harness that magic and create visions like the
one you saw.”

“I didn’t see one.” Her tone was harsh in its
defensiveness, making him wonder all the more what she’d seen.

“Perhaps you will see something before we
depart. Though the visions are more commonly of the past, they can
also be of the future.”

She whimpered.

“You must learn how to hide your emotions
better, Addison. Especially now. You blocked me once before;
therefore, it is possible you can do it again. You should learn how
to shield.”

“You mean from mind readers?”

“Among others. Angels and demons could easily
sense what you are if you do not have a strong shield. Although
everything could function differently because of what you are.”

“I’m not anything.”

“Not even human?” he asked.

“Are you always this condescending?” When he
didn’t answer, she mumbled, “Another question we need
answered.”

He enjoyed hearing her repeat his words.
Particularly when he remembered when he’d used them.

As the cave narrowed, he ducked his head.
Addison clung to him, her breath shallower, her heat increasing
against his bare skin.

“I told you that you have nothing to be
afraid of.”

“And it didn’t help at all. What am I
supposed to say to her?”

“Nothing. You remain silent until she asks
you a question. Then you respond to only that point. No more, no
less. What you do here can change things, but you will never know
if it is for the better or for the worse. That is the only danger
here.” When they reached the third chamber, he stopped. “Choose a
path.”

“Jeez, how many of these are there?”

“This is the last.”

“We should’ve left breadcrumbs.” She pointed
to the one on the right. “That one.” He’d already known which she
would choose—the opposite of what he would have, as were the prior
two.

“Walk in front,” he said. “I will keep you
from stumbling.”

“Wow, how chivalrous of you. For the final
leg of the trip, you make the human go first.”

He could have corrected her again, told her
that she was no more human than he was, but he let it go. She would
know soon enough. “We are here to learn about you, so you must pick
each path. Now you must go first. If you do not, then we will not
see the oracle.”

“So you’re totally unnecessary here?”

“I am merely a mode of transportation.”

She went through the door on the right. “Too
bad I can’t park you in a bad part of town with the key in the
ignition and your motor running.”

He chuckled, his hands on her hips to guide
her through the darkness. “Believe me, Addison, my motor
is
running.”

~ ~ ~

Logan, a seer & Noah, a
seer-turned-werewolf

“You don’t
have
to move out, you
know.” Logan leaned against the truck and watched his friend work
for a while. It had been a very long couple of nights/days and they
hadn’t ended yet.

“All our neighbors look at me like I’m the
enemy now,” Noah said, shaking his head. “I don’t want to make
anybody uncomfortable.”

“Fuck ’em. They’ll get used to it.”

“Really? I’m not sure
I
will.” Over
the past month, Noah had developed the habit of rubbing his
shoulder where he’d been bit. No teeth marks or scar, because a
were’s bite changed a lot of things, including creating
faster-than-human healing abilities. Ironic for a healer who’d
accidentally gotten bit while fixing up a couple members of the
local were pack.

“Think if I switch deodorants, seers won’t be
able to smell the dog in me? I should try it.” His smile tightened.
“You know, whenever the alpha lets me come back.”

“This is messed up, Noah. They can’t ship you
off like this.”

“They can do whatever they want.”

“Not anymore. You’re not a seer anymore.”

“
They
can’t, but the lead alpha can,
and he’s not exactly my biggest supporter.”

“Do you know how long you’ll be gone, at
least?”

Noah hefted another box into the storage
unit, his increased strength making it look like he was stacking
tissue boxes. “Not a clue.”

“They must have told you something.”

“Oh yeah, they were extremely helpful.” His
sarcasm was obvious, even without the eye rolling or the hugely
exaggerated enthusiasm. “I think it went something like, ‘Welcome
to a modified version of hell where you get to turn into a mutt
once a month. But not around here because you couldn’t
possibly
want to go through the Big Change with any kind of
support system around you.
No
, we’re sending you to
Nowhere-Ville where you’ll get to hang out with No-One-You-Know for
we’re-not-going-to-tell-you-how-many weeks. Have fun. Don’t
write.’”

“It sounds like fun.” And, honestly, Noah was
taking it better than Logan imagined anyone could.

Noah laughed. “It sounds they left a couple
things out for a reason no one wants to share.”

It didn’t make sense to Logan, either. He’d
picked up a bit about how the pack system worked from his were
clients, but nothing about Noah’s turning was in line with what he
knew. Packs were tight, took care of each other. Most were
families, but a lone wolf could join a pack if he was strong enough
to fight his way in. Since Noah’s first moon, he’d been jumped a
bunch of times and always won. But they still wouldn’t accept
him.

“I hear Utah’s nice,” Logan said. “Can I
visit?”

“Why would you want to?” Noah asked quietly,
stacking a box onto a tall line of similar boxes.

“Because I can’t get enough of hanging out
with assholes who feel sorry for themselves.”

“Fuck you, man,” he said with a laugh. “Do
you have any idea how often I hear you bitch about your uniform?”
Or lack thereof. But Logan knew Noah was joking. Because Logan
never talked about anything to do with work. In fact, there was
nothing Logan liked less than
thinking
about what he did for
a— Could he even
call
it a ‘living’? Thankfully, that would
all change once he was out of the box.

He grabbed a couple pillows and tossed them
in. “So now that you’re a super…”

“Yes, Logan. I get to go to all the cool
parties and sit at the grownup’s table. And yes, I will take you to
the next big party as my plus-one. But only if you fetch me snacks,
keep your hands to yourself, and don’t wear yellow.”

“I’m supposed to fetch things for
you
?
Do you know how many dog jokes I’m holding in right now?” He looked
down at his t-shirt. “And why can’t I wear yellow? I look good in
yellow.”

“Who told you that?”

He shrugged. “People.”

“They were lying. You look like shit in...
Well, in basically everything.”

“Are you trying to tell me you think I look
good naked? Because that’s gonna do nothing but make me
uncomfortable.”

“Remind me again why I’m sad to be moving
out?”

“Because you’re going to miss waking up to my
singing, the way I burn toast, and all my dog jokes.” He stacked a
box on another rapidly growing pile.

“I could make plenty of jokes about how you
follow Addison around. Like an adorable little puppy.”

“Addison?” Did he? News to him. “I don’t
think you’re one to be lecturing me about women.” Logan would miss
joking around with the idiot. They’d been doing it since they were
ten. “Even as a wolf, you have terrible taste in women.”

“As a wolf, I have
worse
than terrible
taste in women. But present screw-up aside, I think you and I are
pretty even on that front.”

Logan didn’t correct him—the guy had enough
to freak out about.

After shoving the last batch of crap into the
storage unit, Noah took a deep breath. “That’s my whole fucking
life, Loge. My whole fucking life fits in a six-by-six foot space.
And it’s not even full. That’s not right. It’s not…” He looked
confused, overwhelmed, and nervous. Completely understandable.

“The alpha is just pissed at you right now.
In a few weeks, he’ll get over it and tell you to come back to
enjoy the perks of being a super.”

“You’re probably right.” He didn’t look
convinced. “And I plan on taking advantage of all of them.”

“Except one.”

“Which one?”

“If for some reason I’m still in the box when
you get back, I’m not gonna fuck you and you’re
definitely
not fucking me. So don’t even let the question form on your
lips.”

As soon as Noah turned to him, wide-eyed and
panicky, Logan regretted saying anything.
That
was why he
didn’t bring up his job—so he didn’t have to see that look on
anyone’s face.

“Loge, I would—Now that I’m a super, maybe I
can do something. Get you—”

“Dude, I’m almost out.” Out of the box, not
out of the profession. Because to switch jobs, Logan made a deal
with one of his clients. She wasn’t the Devil, but she was pretty
close. And she had enough money and clout to buy his contract from
the box he worked in—something Noah would never have. No one needed
to know about that, though, or he’d have a lot more pity to turn
away from.

“Feel sorry for yourself, not me.” He slugged
his friend in the arm and then closed the storage unit’s door.
“I’ll be…fine.”

Addison hummed to cover the silence and
distract herself from Rhyse’s grip as it slowly lowered and
tightened like the ceiling and walls were. If the oracle was much
farther, nothing good would happen. Well, it would probably be
really
good, but it wouldn’t be smart.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered,
“Stop moving like that.”

“Like what?”

“Your fidgeting is manifesting itself in your
hips. If you do not desist”—his lips brushed softly along her
neck—“I may be unable to stop myself from giving into
temptation.”

When she stiffened, he laughed, the sound
echoing down the tunnel, making it sound as if a whole crowd was
mocking her. “Do I speak of sliding my fangs into your neck? No,
because we now know that is not a viable option, it cannot be that.
Which means what? What could I be tempted to do?” His breath warmed
her ear. “Would you like me to tell you?”

She couldn’t think of the right word. Her
mind was screaming ‘yes,’ but she couldn’t say that. She had to
find that other word, the one that was the complete opposite of
yes. What was the word again?

“The temptation of your blood is nothing
compared to my desire to rip off those horrible pants and sink my
cock so deeply inside you, you forget everyone who has been there
before me.”

Too late. She’d already forgotten.

“Unfortunately, we do not have enough time
for what I have planned. Therefore, if you would contain your
fidgets to another area of your body—your hands perhaps—I would
greatly appreciate it. Do you understand?” Damn, she wished he was
joking, but he sounded dead serious. He didn’t even
have
a
sense of humor. Or a sense of shame.

She felt his lips on her earlobe. “Um…”

“Shall I take that as a sign of
agreement?”

She cleared her throat, stepping to the side
so there was a little air between them. “Keep it all above the
belt. Got it.”

A short time later, he cupped her hipbones
and pulled her to a stop.

“I’m trying not to fidget!” His threat
weighed heavily on her and was messing with her already-screwed-up
thinking.

“Do you see the dead end directly in front of
you?”

“Oh.” She peered into the darkness and saw
the wall. “Shit.” She’d picked the wrong way. “What now?”

~ ~ ~

“Hold onto me tightly, or we will be
separated.” And they would end up in different locations with
different oracles. Not only would it be unhelpful, Addison would be
stranded in a foreign place without the ability to return to the
regular world. “You must hold onto me.” Rhyse didn’t understand her
hesitation, nor did he have patience for it, so he turned and swung
her into his arms. “Do you ever listen?”

They were very close, uncomfortably so. He
felt his body react, knew it would take the smallest of movements
to have her lips.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered.

As she did so, her mouth neared his.
Infinitesimally. Reaching for him, through her fear or maybe
because of it. A human need to be comforted. He would have no
objection to being with her, whatever her reasons, but not here.
And not now. So with a deep sigh, he stepped forward and through
the wall.

As soon as they’d broken through, he opened
his eyes. Addison’s brow and temples were wrinkled from squeezing
her eyes shut so tightly. He could see how she might look as she
aged, when she had grandchildren. She was so very beautiful. How
unfortunate that she would never have children or grandchildren…or
even another week of life.

He held her tighter, knowing she’d have more
than that. Knowing he would make sure she did.

No
. That wasn’t correct. Damn it. A
few drops of her blood and a vision from his human life would not
distract him from his goal. He couldn’t allow it. His desire to
keep her was due to her blood, nothing more. Yet it was powerful,
and it would have to be dealt with soon. Because desire was, and
always would be, secondary to survival—his own and that of all
supernaturals.