"We are not diseased,” I said, my voice barely breaking a whisper. “Humans are not infected. They are tagged, which is more like attaching a homing beacon for a new soul to follow than any kind of contagion."
"Fine, tagged. So ‘tagging’ is something that can only happen when a shifter is in mid-form—somewhere between pure-human and pure-animal? When your claw are out, aren't you in mid-form?"
"One, I didn't attack anyone. And two, I don't—didn't shift to use my claws.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn't pouty, really. Or at least, not much. “My claws extended while I was in human form. That's not the same as being in mid-form."
"Still,” Gil said, wringing her hands together. “That ability puts you at the top of the suspects list. Is there anyone else besides Nathanial that you've used your claws on?"
I opened my mouth and closed it again. I did not want to answer that question. The first time my claws extended I'd needed and used them. But it was self defense. I hadn't shifted, so I couldn't have tagged the street thugs who'd jumped me. Still, it was probably best not to mention the incident. I was supposed to be proving my innocence, not incriminating myself.
Nathanial moved closer to me, and his hand brushed against mine. “Is that all it takes to turn someone into a shifter? Clawing them while you are in mid-form?"
Gil studied him. “I thought you pleaded in her defense. You said you had a look in her mind and hadn't seen anything indicating she'd tagged a human."
"I was unaware creating a shifter was so simplistic. Creating a vampire requires intent. I assumed creating a shifter would as well."
Gil pulled a scroll out of the air and jotted down a note. Not a good sign.
Nathanial frowned at her. “Tell me, have there been any reports of the rogue shifting into a specific type of cat? A house cat? If the rogue is not a house cat, would that not prove her innocence?"
I frowned at him. “Why would you think my animal would have to be his?” My mouth snapped shut. Because he isn't a shifter. “Tagging doesn't work that way. The rogue's beast could be anything—no matter who tagged him."
Nathanial started to ask something else, but a rapidly approaching train screeched to a stop, hiding his words. It was the train we were waiting for, and since other passengers were scattered around the car, none of us felt safe resuming our conversation. I was happy for that. Nathanial might have been trying to help, but so far he'd only dug my hole deeper.
Chapter 5
Saint Mary's Hospital was a couple blocks from the subway line, and the tension in the air as we walked down the street was almost tangible. I shoved my hands deep in my pockets and fidgeted with a loose button I'd found. It had been firmly ingrained in me that, when in the human world, one should stay away from doctors and scientists. Gil tugged on her sleeves again and I wondered if our presence or our destination made her nervous. Perhaps all supernaturals avoided hospitals.
Hugging my arms across my chest, I pulled my coat tighter. “It's colder than it was."
Nathanial turned to me and in one swift movement caught my chin in his hand. Scanning my face, he pressed his lips into a tight line. “Your blood supply is low. You need to feed."
"I'm fine.” I jerked away.
I expected him to press the subject, but he let it drop. That surprised me, and I wasn't sure why. He was a relative stranger, but I felt like I'd known him a long time. It must have been a vampire trick, or maybe it had just been a very long night. Trudging ahead, I tried to put as much space as possible between me and my companions. Really, we were each alone in our little company. Well, that was how I wanted to see it, but both Bobby and Nathanial stubbornly kept pace with me, one on either side. They tossed less-than-friendly looks at each other over my head.
Bobby halted abruptly and grabbed my shoulder. I started to pull away, but stopped when I saw his face. He wasn't paying attention to me. He was scenting the wind, which had changed direction.
I tilted my head back, searching, but the sense of smell on which I'd relied all my life was suddenly no longer sharp. “Hunter?"
He nodded.
With a rogue on the loose, no stray like me would be left unmolested. The hunter I'd evaded yesterday would have alerted the rest to my presence. If hunters caught me, they would detain me until the next full moon, when the gate to Firth opened and they could drag me in front of the elders. There was no way I could find the rogue from a hunter's safe house. I'd be a sitting duck when the judge returned.
"Plans?” I asked.
Bobby frowned. He didn't think fast.
"What's wrong?” Gil asked, catching up to us.
"Hunter,” Bobby said, still scenting the air. “He isn't too close, but the wind keeps shifting, so I don't know if he's caught our scent or not."
"We are not far from the hospital. Is he that close?” Nathanial pointed to a large building towering over the buildings surrounding it. It wasn't more than a block or two away.
Bobby's forehead creased, but he shook his head. After a moment he said, “If he is tracking us, he's not actually following Kita. Her scent has changed. But your scent is what hers should be. You have to leave. You'll draw them right to us."
Nathanial raised an eyebrow and Bobby stood straighter, interpreting the response as a challenge. Nathanial ignored him. “Which direction is the hunter?"
After consulting the wind again, Bobby pointed to our right. Nathanial nodded, then turned and gave me a small smile.
He ran two fingers down my cheek. “I will meet you in the hospital lobby."
I startled, pulling back, and his smile turned smaller. He stepped out of the circle of light from the streetlamp, and then vanished. I gaped, scanning the darkness. Shadows hid nothing from my newly acquired vampire eyes, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Gil made a surprised sound before pulling out her scroll and jotting something down.
"He plans to divert the hunter's attention?” Bobby asked, scanning the street, wide-eyed.
I shrugged.
He frowned at me. “The hunter could still track my scent. You and Gil go ahead. I'll catch up."
Gil started forward.
I looked between her retreating back and Bobby. He nodded me forward, then turned and backtracked the way we'd come. I frowned after him.
Wasn't I supposed to be in charge of this group?
Grumbling under my breath, I ran to catch up with Gil. “Let's get this over with. Do you know where the survivor is in there?” I nodded at the looming glass-and-brick building in front of us.
"I think I have a pretty good idea."
The harsh florescent lights bleached the color from the lobby; not that the cold, white walls and soft, pastel paintings had much color to spare. The astringent smell of antiseptic burned my nose. This is where sick humans go to recover? On the odd occasion a shifter fell sick, we—they—needed sunlight, fresh air, trees.
A pair of orderlies passed us, speaking in hushed tones, and a man dragged in a screaming child, a woman following with red-rimmed eyes. How could anyone improve in such a morbid place?
Bobby joined us a few minutes after we arrived, but Nathanial was nowhere to be seen. Of course, we hadn't exactly ‘seen’ him leave, but shouldn't he have made it back by now? I wandered into the small gift shop.
Only the lights around the coffee bar were on; the rest of the store was dark and deserted. A sleepy-looking woman sat behind the counter reading a book, drinking her wares, and paying no attention to me at all. She didn't say anything as I walked past her into the darkened store. Small stuffed animals and large flower bouquets lined the shelves. Somber ‘In Sympathy’ cards sat next to bright colored ‘It's a Girl’ cards, the contrast cruel. As I rounded a display case labeled ‘For Long-term Illness,’ Nathanial cruised through the sliding glass doors of the lobby. About time.
The sales clerk glanced up as I rushed past. “You have to pay for that, Miss."
She rounded her counter, hands on her hips.
Pay for ... crap. I stared at the pink bear wearing a ‘Keep Fighting’ shirt. I didn't even remember picking it up.
"Sorry,” I mumbled, handing the bear to her. Her eyes flared, but she grabbed the bear and stormed back into her shop.
As I hurried into the lobby Gil shook her head, her lips pursed, and jotted another note in her scroll. This night got better and better.
Bobby studied Nathanial through narrowed eyes as I approached the two of them. As soon as I drew closer, I realized why.
"You smell different,” I whispered to Nathanial, tilting my head back, my nostrils flaring. This close a scent was unmistakable. He hadn't had a scent earlier, or at least not to me, since he had stolen mine. But now he smelled of cinnamon and cotton, which couldn't be me. I stepped closer. It was under his skin, not on it. How was that possible?
Bobby was leaning toward him too, sniffing and frowning. I lost the scent, sniffed harder, moving within arm's length of him. My olfactory failed me—another thing that shouldn't happen. Further proof I'll never shift again? I stepped close enough to feel the heat rising from Nathanial's body, but I couldn't catch the new scent again.
Nathanial cleared his throat, and I realized Bobby and I had moved closer to him than social norms allowed. Humans typically didn't stand around sniffing each other. I stepped back, glancing at the other people in the nearly deserted lobby. No one was staring at the three of us—yet.
"This isn't possible.” Bobby circled to Nathanial's back, his nostrils still flaring, his steps taking him closer to the vampire.
I shuffled my feet as heat from Bobby's beast radiated off him. Agitation? Fear? I wasn't sure, but it felt like he was gearing up for a fight. He rounded back in front of Nathanial, the space between them too close to be anything but intimate or violent.
Unbothered, Nathanial removed his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth from his pocket.