Wicked Kiss
Page 38
Snap!
The night’s cold, so cold I can see my breath. My hand shakes as I clutch the torch.
“I can help,” I insist, feeling useless just standing here.
“No, you stay up there,” James says. “You can’t see a damn thing, anyway.”
“Go to hell.” I glare at him, but have to admit the outline of my brother’s familiar form is blurry—only his golden hair is recognizable to me, lit up like a halo from the torchlight. Dark and light—that’s what Kara calls us. Total opposites.
I’d never admit that what the doc told me yesterday has put a deep, shaking fear into me—so much that I couldn’t sleep a wink last night. If I go blind I’ll be useless to anyone, especially myself.
It doesn’t take James long before he finds the body. It’s a fresh grave. At this time of the year, it’s best to get to them quickly or the ground freezes up, making it impossible to snatch anything until the spring thaw.
I throw the torch to the side and help him pull the coffin from the ground, ignoring his protests. It’s hard work and both of us are sweating buckets by the time we’re finished. I grab the crowbar and get to work on the lid. The woman was rich and insisted on being buried wearing her jewelry. How stupid. Can’t take it with you—that’s what Kara says. But we’d be more than happy to take it from you.
“Damn. Look at that rock,” I say, squinting at the egg-size jewel on her necklace.
“I know. She knew how to live.”
“And now she knows how to die. Paper says she choked to death on some fancy food at a party.” I peel the jewels from her wrists, fingers and neck, and toss them in my canvas bag. “What about the body?”
James twists the small gold cross at his throat, his expression turning thoughtful. “We’re taking it, too.”
I hate this part the most. Stealing jewelry is fine. Stealing bodies...I’d never get used to it. “Let’s leave her this time.”
“Leave her?” James frowns. “You know Kara will be furious if we don’t do exactly what she says.”
“Do we always have to do what Kara says?”
Frown forgotten, a typical grin creeps across my brother’s face. “You always do, kid. Anything she asks and then you beg for more. Why should this be any different?”
“Ass.” His comment earns him another glare, even if it’s true. I hated when he called me kid. I’m fifteen now, just turned. At sixteen, my brother thinks he knows everything.
Stealing bodies to sell to the medical school is the least that Kara asks of us in her grand schemes. Her goals have grown much darker now that she’s joined that new club of hers. She claims it’s going to give her all the power she ever wanted—by tapping into the occult.
I don’t believe any of that. I’m too busy to waste my time chasing fairy tales. I’d leave that kind of nonsense to her.
She isn’t with us tonight. She’s with her new friend as they attempt to summon a spirit from the beyond.
What a waste of time.
Fingers of dread crawl over my flesh as I look down at the dead woman’s face. I hate graveyards. And tonight feels worse than normal.
“Something wrong?” James asks.
“I don’t trust her.”
“Who, Kara? That makes two of us.” James’s grin holds. “Don’t worry, kid. We’re in this together, you and me. Till the end.”
I nod, reassured. “Till the end.”
“She gets the body, we get the jewels. We’ll scrape together enough to get your eyes fixed or get the best goddamned pair of specs in the whole—”
Snap!
Bishop got to his feet and staggered back from me across my bedroom until he hit the wall.
“What—?” he began, his brows drawn tightly together. “What did you just do?”
I didn’t get up from the floor. Instead, I stared at him, my eyes wide. “I don’t know.”
And I didn’t. When I normally had my mind melds with Bishop, I saw through his eyes—but I was still me. This time, it was different. I wasn’t me. I wasn’t there. It was all Bishop—his thoughts, his emotions, his everything.
“What did you see?” he asked quietly.
I had no idea what it would have felt like for him. He didn’t usually realize when I had my “normal” peeks into his daily life. But this time he did.
“You and Kraven...” My breath came quicker. “You were grave robbers. A woman, her body—you were going to sell it to a medical school. She had some jewelry, too, you were going to sell. You were fifteen, and your eyes...I think you were going blind.”
His face paled. “You saw my memories.”
I stared at him, then nodded. Silence stretched between us. All I could hear was the sound of my heart hammering in my chest as I slumped back on my heels. The throw rug was my only protection from the cold wood floor.
“That is a very dangerous talent you have, Samantha.” He said it softly, but I’d never heard him say anything with more of a dangerous edge to it. It made goose bumps break out over my arms. “Don’t do that again.”
“I wasn’t trying to do it. It just happened.” I swallowed hard and looked down at my hands until I summoned my courage again. “Who’s Kara?”
The night’s cold, so cold I can see my breath. My hand shakes as I clutch the torch.
“I can help,” I insist, feeling useless just standing here.
“No, you stay up there,” James says. “You can’t see a damn thing, anyway.”
“Go to hell.” I glare at him, but have to admit the outline of my brother’s familiar form is blurry—only his golden hair is recognizable to me, lit up like a halo from the torchlight. Dark and light—that’s what Kara calls us. Total opposites.
I’d never admit that what the doc told me yesterday has put a deep, shaking fear into me—so much that I couldn’t sleep a wink last night. If I go blind I’ll be useless to anyone, especially myself.
It doesn’t take James long before he finds the body. It’s a fresh grave. At this time of the year, it’s best to get to them quickly or the ground freezes up, making it impossible to snatch anything until the spring thaw.
I throw the torch to the side and help him pull the coffin from the ground, ignoring his protests. It’s hard work and both of us are sweating buckets by the time we’re finished. I grab the crowbar and get to work on the lid. The woman was rich and insisted on being buried wearing her jewelry. How stupid. Can’t take it with you—that’s what Kara says. But we’d be more than happy to take it from you.
“Damn. Look at that rock,” I say, squinting at the egg-size jewel on her necklace.
“I know. She knew how to live.”
“And now she knows how to die. Paper says she choked to death on some fancy food at a party.” I peel the jewels from her wrists, fingers and neck, and toss them in my canvas bag. “What about the body?”
James twists the small gold cross at his throat, his expression turning thoughtful. “We’re taking it, too.”
I hate this part the most. Stealing jewelry is fine. Stealing bodies...I’d never get used to it. “Let’s leave her this time.”
“Leave her?” James frowns. “You know Kara will be furious if we don’t do exactly what she says.”
“Do we always have to do what Kara says?”
Frown forgotten, a typical grin creeps across my brother’s face. “You always do, kid. Anything she asks and then you beg for more. Why should this be any different?”
“Ass.” His comment earns him another glare, even if it’s true. I hated when he called me kid. I’m fifteen now, just turned. At sixteen, my brother thinks he knows everything.
Stealing bodies to sell to the medical school is the least that Kara asks of us in her grand schemes. Her goals have grown much darker now that she’s joined that new club of hers. She claims it’s going to give her all the power she ever wanted—by tapping into the occult.
I don’t believe any of that. I’m too busy to waste my time chasing fairy tales. I’d leave that kind of nonsense to her.
She isn’t with us tonight. She’s with her new friend as they attempt to summon a spirit from the beyond.
What a waste of time.
Fingers of dread crawl over my flesh as I look down at the dead woman’s face. I hate graveyards. And tonight feels worse than normal.
“Something wrong?” James asks.
“I don’t trust her.”
“Who, Kara? That makes two of us.” James’s grin holds. “Don’t worry, kid. We’re in this together, you and me. Till the end.”
I nod, reassured. “Till the end.”
“She gets the body, we get the jewels. We’ll scrape together enough to get your eyes fixed or get the best goddamned pair of specs in the whole—”
Snap!
Bishop got to his feet and staggered back from me across my bedroom until he hit the wall.
“What—?” he began, his brows drawn tightly together. “What did you just do?”
I didn’t get up from the floor. Instead, I stared at him, my eyes wide. “I don’t know.”
And I didn’t. When I normally had my mind melds with Bishop, I saw through his eyes—but I was still me. This time, it was different. I wasn’t me. I wasn’t there. It was all Bishop—his thoughts, his emotions, his everything.
“What did you see?” he asked quietly.
I had no idea what it would have felt like for him. He didn’t usually realize when I had my “normal” peeks into his daily life. But this time he did.
“You and Kraven...” My breath came quicker. “You were grave robbers. A woman, her body—you were going to sell it to a medical school. She had some jewelry, too, you were going to sell. You were fifteen, and your eyes...I think you were going blind.”
His face paled. “You saw my memories.”
I stared at him, then nodded. Silence stretched between us. All I could hear was the sound of my heart hammering in my chest as I slumped back on my heels. The throw rug was my only protection from the cold wood floor.
“That is a very dangerous talent you have, Samantha.” He said it softly, but I’d never heard him say anything with more of a dangerous edge to it. It made goose bumps break out over my arms. “Don’t do that again.”
“I wasn’t trying to do it. It just happened.” I swallowed hard and looked down at my hands until I summoned my courage again. “Who’s Kara?”
