The Calling (Darkness Rising 2)

"Resurrecting extinct supernatural types isn't a public service," Sam said. "The St. Clouds run a business. They hire supernaturals and that's how they get the advantage on human corporations, though they still have to compete with the other Cabals."

Daniel nodded. "The guy who left a message on Mina Lee's answering machine said something about double-crossing a Cabal and paying the price. So that's what these corporations are called?"

Sam didn't respond.

"Right," I said. "So it's a big secret and you're not going to confirm. Now move on."

"There's no secret, I guess," Sam said slowly. "Only..." She turned to face us. "You guys probably feel like you got ripped off. Lied to. Betrayed. But I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. Imagine being four years old and moving to a new town, being told that now you have a new last name and you can't tell anyone the old one. Then you're five and you're moving again, and you have another name, and the other kids go to school, but you can't. Then you're six and you move, and you're talking to a nice lady at the park and she calls you by your old name and you forget you aren't supposed to answer to it. She tries to take you, but your parents stop her, then your dad goes after her, and you aren't sure what he did to her, but you're pretty sure it was bad. And that night you're in a hotel, with all your toys left behind, and you hear your mom crying about how they almost lost you, and you know you can't ever, ever slip up again."

She surveyed our faces. "Try living like that, and I bet you'd become really careful about everything you say, too. I bet you'll think that maybe, just maybe, growing up in a nice town, with everything you ever wanted, isn't such a terrible thing. Maybe you'll think the lies weren't so bad."

She stalked off ahead. Daniel shrugged at me, then went back to collect Corey and Hayley. I caught up to Sam.

"Don't," she said. "Just don't, okay?"

"I was only going to say that we need to head that way." I pointed.

&

nbsp; "Right." A soft, choked laugh. "Kind of ruins the dramatic effect if I'm storming off in the wrong direction, doesn't it?" She shook her head, then waited with me for the others to reach us.

SEVENTEEN

DARKNESS WAS FALLING. THERE'D been no sign of our pursuers, so we finally surrendered to exhaustion and found a sheltered grove of trees for the night.

We couldn't risk building a fire, but our clothing was long dried, and the night was warm, with the trees blocking the wind. Kenjii stretched out against my back, which was as good as a fire, and I should have dropped into an exhausted sleep. I didn't.

About a half hour passed before I heard Daniel get up. He tried to pad silently across our sleeping area, until he stopped by my head and hunkered down.

"Yes, I can't sleep either," I whispered.

He motioned me up. Kenjii rolled to her feet and silently followed us. He didn't need me to take the lead. It was a three-quarter moon in a cloudless sky.

He kept checking over his shoulder, making sure I was still there. Every time he looked ahead, again I'd watch him and remember what Sam said about Nicole. I imagined how he'd react and that crushed any concern I had about not telling him the truth.

He'd blame himself, wonder what he'd done to encourage Nicole, when the truth was that he hadn't encouraged her. Just being himself was enough. Nicole fell for Daniel for the same reasons almost every girl at Salmon Creek had, at one time or another. He wasn't hard to look at--wavy blond hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders, gorgeous smile... It was the smile that did it the most, because it wasn't calculated or flirtatious--it was open and it was friendly and it told you this was, as Sam said, a good guy. A really good guy. That's why girls fell for Daniel. He could no more stop that than he could stop the sun from coming up.

So what did he get for being a decent guy? An obsessed classmate who'd apparently killed his girlfriend, and was trying to do the same to his best friend because now she'd decided I was the one keeping them apart.

Well, unless we encountered Nicole again, he wasn't going to find out about that. The obsessed classmate would remain a tragically kidnapped friend. The dead girlfriend would remain the victim of a freak accident no one could have foreseen. And the best friend had just panicked or been attacked by some underwater creature.

We reached an outcropping of rock far enough from the others that we could talk without disturbing them. We stretched out on our backs. Kenjii nestled down by our feet.

For a few minutes we lay in comfortable silence, enjoying the warm fall night and the star-dotted sky.

"I'm sorry about Nicole," he said finally.

That startled me so much I pushed up onto my elbows.

"Were you drifting off?"

"No. Just--You mean about leaving her behind? Don't be sorry."

Really, don't be sorry.

"You were right," I continued. "I was acting on emotion; you were using your head. I'm sure she's on the mainland by now. A long way from here." At least, I hope she is.

"I feel awful about leaving her behind."