Chapter 15

Dark Warning

When I agreed to let Nekoy help us find answers, it was hasty, but not against my better judgement. I'd already tried multiple times to see him how Paul and the others did, but my beliefs remained unchanged. I just couldn't see him that way. Nor could I see him as trying to come between me and Paul.

I now hoped that he would come through with information useful enough for us to discover who and why, and then the pack could eliminate the threat. It was a tall order, but if he could pull it off, it would prove his innocence. Despite needing to keep another serious secret, I made a personal promise to resolve it soon. Nekoy would either be able to get information or not, and I would make myself tell Paul about it, regardless.

The only aspect of the phone call nagging me was not asking him more questions about his gift when he was on the line.

I retrieved the crumpled napkin that held his cell-phone number from my bag, tempted to call him now that I had home privacy but instantly got second thoughts. Silences and sounds were too difficult to decipher, so questioning him about his gift over the phone might not give accurate results. I'd rather talk to him in person, looking him in the eye if I were to embark on such an important conversation. I re-wrote the number on a notepad, tore it off, and tucked it away in a compartment in my wallet.

A car door slammed. A moment later, Paul entered the house when he should have been at work.

"Good, you're back already. How was your brunch with Bethany?"

"Great, but short. What are you doing home?"

"Home? Love that," he said. "Took the rest of the day off." He leaped on me, attacking me with playful kisses, sweeping me off of my feet, and taking me down to the carpet. "Since I have to go for parts tomorrow, let's spend the night in Seattle tonight. Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, Jacob, Raven, Elijah and Clover are all going."

"Oh? Why?"

"Sam and Emily have fantastic news to share."

I squealed out in excitement. "She's pregnant!"

"Yep. Sam shouldn't have told us until she told you all but he couldn't help himself."

I wrinkled my brow. "Don't they want to be alone?"

He snickered. "For what? She's already knocked up."

I slapped him on the chest and giggled.

"Seriously," he said, nibbling at my neck, "Everyone's been so wound up lately. Sam thought it would be a great idea if we all escaped for a night. He wants to take Emily out but doesn't feel comfortable leaving the rest of us holding the bag."

"That's ridiculous." I was relishing his sweet nibbling and fondling while thinking about what he said and suddenly felt insulted. I snapped my eyes, drenching my voice in sarcasm. "Let me guess. I'm the bag."

He burst with laughter. "You know what I mean."

I grinned. "I do. Still don't think we should intrude, though." I rolled on top, straddling him. "I'm sure you could handle holding the bag yourself. Sam needs to forget about everything else for a night and concentrate on Emily."

"We tried to tell him that. He wouldn't take no for an answer. I know he thinks he'll miss out on something if he doesn't stay close by you. He said he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself because he'd worry about what's happening here."

I grimaced, irritated at being in the way of one of the most precious times in Sam and Emily's lives.

He grunted. "Jeezus … don't look like that, babe. Sam promised us Emily will have his full attention as long as he knows we're close by, and he could be there should something happen. The plan is to have dinner together and then everyone one can split up if we want. He said Emily's the one who invited us to celebrate with them. It was her idea."

"I don't believe that for one minute. What if the vampires show up here while we're gone? Murphy's Law says anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

"We thought of that. Everyone else will patrol tonight with Leah in command. They got home yesterday."

"Please, don't tell me they came home early because of me?"

"Okay, I won't tell you that." He ignored my eye roll. "Should be enough to deter anybody away from La Push. If they do show, we doubt they'll stick around when they realize they can't reach you."

"Unless it's not me they're coming for."

He scowled and grumbled. "I really don't want to get into this conversation again, babe … Look, I could tell Sam you said no, and they'll probably end up not going either. Do you really want to do that to them?"

I frowned when my stubbornness reflected at me from his disappointed expression. "Sorry for being a pain about it. I just hate feeling like such a burden."

"You're not. So, don't," he insisted with his glower. He rolled back on top of me and hopped up, pulling me up with him. "Now promise me you'll stop thinking like that and just have a good time."

"I will." I couldn't rid the poutines from my voice.

"Then smile … a real one."

I gave him a genuine grin when I recognized another more attractive side of a trip to Seattle. Shopping! "You're right. It'll be great to get out of La Push." I sauntered into the bedroom to pack, tickling with glee from the puzzled gaze Paul returned at my sudden change of heart.

Jacob and Raven rode with Jared and Kim. Elijah and Clover drove with Sam and Emily. Since Paul had a large load of supplies to transport, we were driving by ourselves in the truck.

The afternoon weather was ugly. Chilly wind and rain darkened the sky. I leaned against Paul's warm body and relaxed my head against his shoulder. The windshield wipers swayed back and forth, putting me in a trance as I watched the flailing rain and listened to the radio, letting my eyes fall closed.

I was scrambling through a blanket of knee-deep snow, frantic to get away from presences stalking me. Sub-zero wind had frozen my ears, my lungs burned, and my red, runny nostrils were sticking with every inhalation.

Although I was experiencing the situation, I was also watching myself in a black and white movie on an aged-old cracked movie screen. As the viewer, I watched her, me, looking behind her, but the camera direction didn't shift toward my pursuers. As the doer, looking back, I saw nothing through my frosty lashes and the hair blowing across my face.

I struggled through the brush, branches hitting and scratching my frozen skin, lost and desperate for Nekoy.

A quick jerk followed by a high-pitched roar shook me back to consciousness. A Semi had whizzed past us, way too fast and way too close for comfort. "Holy piss!" Paul growled.

I straightened up and stretched my heavy eyes open. Paul asked, "Do you have your seatbelt on?" He clutched at the band across my lap and yanked at it. "Better yet. Slide over and put the shoulder harness on. These effing semis don't know how in the hell to slow down. It's raining too hard out to be driving that damn fast!"

I slid over and strapped the other seatbelt on, now wide-awake.

"Do you want me to turn up the heat?"

"No. I'm fine."

The hard pouring rain made the drive slower than usual, and I started feeling like we'd never get to Seattle.

I began running my recent conversation with Nekoy through my mind, the image of him on the beach, and the gift he said he had. Astro projection, more than likely, but what about the safe state I felt with him and the dreams I kept having? There was so much I wanted to ask him. "Paul, do you think vampires can have more than one exceptional gift?"

He glanced at me. "Are you thinking about your dreams?"

I nodded. "Sorry."

"That's all right. I wondered the same thing. At first, we thought he influenced your feelings. Now we're wondering if he can somehow influence your dreams. Jake asked Carlisle. Carlisle said he never came across a vampire with two powerful gifts, but that doesn't mean it's impossible."

"He knows? What did you tell him?"

"Who… Jake or Carlisle?"

"Carlisle … and Jake, too, I guess."

"Jake knows what I know, of course. That you have bizarre dreams about him. That's all. They don't know why they're bizarre. I just showed them how upset you were when I came to you that night and told them they affect you badly. Carlisle knows nothing. Jake asked but didn't go in to any details. Carlisle is too polite to pry. Bella would have dragged it out of him, given the chance."

"I'm sure she would have."

I pondered whether it would be possible to have three powerful gifts. I knew for a fact that he could put himself in two places because I saw him on the beach. However, I still needed to fully rule out the theories of him manipulating my feelings or causing my dreams.

"You look troubled. Want to slide back over here?"

"Like you don't already know." I immediately edged myself as close to him as possible.

By the time we checked into the hotel, the sky had lightened up with parting clouds and the rain had subsided. Everyone went their separate ways, planning to meet up after a brief rest and go from there.

After dinner together, we walked around the Seattle Center taking in the various sites. To my surprise, Emily and Sam stayed with us throughout the evening. It turned out that Emily wanted to do a bunch of things she couldn't do a few more months from now. Sam looked out of his mind with worry over her every move already, and she was only seven weeks along. I hated to see what he'd be like when she started showing.

I might have guessed we'd end up stuck in the Fun Forest Amusement Park. The guys were a bunch of big over grown kids after all. I guess we all were because we were having a blast on the rides, playing laser tag, and enjoying the video game arcade. Emily wanted to ride a few of the milder ones, and I thought Sam was going to die of a heart attack when she insisted they get on the Ferris-wheel. He barely even let her play a round of miniature golf and flat out drew the line at the mere sight of the bumper cars.

When we took a break to snack on some expensive junk food, Jacob asked, "Did anyone see that bowling alley on the way here? The sign said extreme cosmic bowling tonight."

"Oh, yeah?" Paul asked. "I like extreme bowling. It's been a long time since I've done any bowling. Extreme bowling is the best."

"Same," Elijah said. "I don't think I've done it since, well … since before the change. I wonder how that will affect my game." He laughed.

"I never tried it before, so can we do it?" Raven asked.

Sam and Emily called it an evening and headed back to the hotel. Everyone else was eager to bowl, so we left to the bowling alley. We were close to the facility when we saw a group of ten or more people. They were wearing mostly black clothes and had black, red, or purple hair. They also had thick strange make-up on their very pale faces. Similarly dressed teenagers and young adults filled the parking lot.

As we neared, we heard music and felt a palpable surge of heightened party-energy.

"Looks like a place a bloodsucker might hang out, doesn't it?" Jared remarked as we approached the large loitering crowd.

Paul, Jacob, and Elijah cracked up, nodding their heads.

"Wouldn't that be wild to find one, right here where we least expect it?" Elijah said.

It occurred to me that Nekoy was in Seattle. He didn't say that, but he said Tony met the girl in Seattle, posing as a student. Where else would he look for her? Murphy's Law came to mind again. I couldn't help but think that I should have warned him we'd be in the area. What were the odds?

"Right. Looks like a bunch of bloodsucker wannabes," Jacob said.

"Too much television, books, and movies," Raven said, "making them all glamorous and hot looking."

All the guys snapped their heads toward her in unison. Her eyes widened. "I mean, if you're into that sort of thing," came stumbling out of her mouth. She giggled. "Which I'm for sure not."

"It's pretty freaky to me." Kim shivered, pushing herself closer to Jared and squeezing his arm tighter.

The crowd seemed to part like the Red Sea when we walked through them, because of the sheer size of our men. We generated just as many stares as we were giving. As we passed through the entranceway, the guys inhaled through their nostrils simultaneously. The coast was clear. "Oh well, maybe one will show up later," Elijah mumbled.

We proceeded to the hectic looking payment and shoe rental line.

"Does anyone have to go to the restroom?" I asked the girls. They shook their heads.

"I'll go with you," Paul said. We zigzagged our way to the restrooms. Thank goodness there was no annoying line. I ended up all alone in the two-stall grungy looking bathroom. That's when I decided on giving Nekoy a call to make sure Murphy's Law didn't slap me pointblank in the face.

Upon answering, he blurted, "It hasn't even been a day. I need more time than this."

"I know. That's not why I'm calling," I said, speaking low and fast. "We're in Seattle tonight and I wanted to make sure we didn't bump into each other. We're hanging out in a place where a vampire could blend in easily. I thought I should warn you just in case it was a real vampire haunt."

"Where?" he asked, his amusement clear.

"It's a bowling alley by the Seattle Center. We have hotel rooms near here. Where are you?"

"I'm across town. Incidentally, I located the girl. We'll be getting together tomorrow afternoon."

The door opened and a couple of girls came inside. "Getting together? Like what, a date?" The question came out sounding somewhat sarcastic.

"No! Well, perhaps. She's not going tell me the story of her existence just because I will it. This will take finesse and maybe more time."

"You have 4 days. That's it. I've gotta go. Paul's waiting. I'll call you Monday after your date."

He chuckled.

"And no calling me unless it's an emergency. No, not even then. Text me. And please stay away from this part of town tonight." I clicked off, stuffed my phone into my bag, and hurried back to Paul. He was playing a pinball machine, placed along the wall by the restrooms. I got the feeling he hardly knew I was gone.

On our way back to the shoe rental, we spotted one empty table sticking out like an oasis amidst the chaos.

"Grab that table. I'll tell Jacob to get our shoes for us," Paul said, walking away complaining, "damn-it doesn't look like that line moved an inch."

He came back and told me they were getting close to the counter, but they were worried they wouldn't have their shoe sizes.

Less than ten minutes went by when I spotted what I didn't want to see. What I attempted to stop altogether by calling him. Our group was up at the counter, and standing a few feet away from Jacob, Jared, and Elijah was Nekoy. He saw me recognize him, tipped his chin at me, and darned a small smile.

Heat flushed through my face, my temper risen. What the hell is thinking? They knew what he looked like even if they couldn't smell him, and Kim was over there, too.

He waved two fingers up by his temple in what looked like a subtle salute.

Jacob, Elijah, and Jared were visiting with no clue that the person they were searching for was standing only a few people away from them, not in line. I suppose there was some humor in that. If I wasn't so pissed off at the moment, seeing them all together might have been entertaining. Nekoy pointed at Jacob mouthing something that may have been, "Are these them?"

I narrowed my eyes and glared while attempting a subtle point toward the door, hoping he'd get the hint and leave. His smile seemed to broaden.

"What's wrong?" Paul asked, startling me. He stretched his neck up and peered in Nekoy's direction. "You look like you want to rip someone's head off."

I lifted my chair and turned it, facing myself opposite Nekoy. Just so I didn't have to see him anymore. "Nothing. Kim's right. Some of these people are freaking me out. It's so crowded. I don't want do this anymore."

The lights went down; the music went up, and the neon and black lights made people, their makeup, and objects glow.

"Here they come with the shoes. It's starting now. We might as well stay and bowl for a little while."

I huffed a breath then agreed, sneaking a peek toward Nekoy again, and feeling a little relief not to see him still there.

"It seemed like we were in that bowling alley forever," I said as I sunk into the steamy hot, brown sugar & fig scented bubble bath with Paul. "I swear it felt like we were there for months."

A sentiment related to the over stressful conditions Nekoy placed me in by showing his face when I specifically asked him to stay away.

"I don't know. I thought the evening went by a little fast," Paul said. "It would have been nice to beat Jacob and Raven's score at least once before we left. I doubt she never bowled before." He began massaging the back of my neck and shoulders with his thumbs. "You felt tense all night."

I shrugged. "I think she meant she never tried extreme bowling. We had the second highest scores because of my college bowling class. Thank you. I was just concentrating."

I think what I was doing though, was taking all of my frustrations out on the bowling pins.

"Second place is just the first loser."

"Oh … poor baby," I teased, turning my head back over my shoulder to see his face.

He grinned and pressed his lips against my forehead. "Jacob just irks me, especially when he's winning."

"I didn't think he was gloating."

"Not out-loud, but I know all his tells."

Freshly bathed, we poured ourselves into bed for some real fun.

"Mommy, how many dreams will we have?" my six-year-old self asked as we set the table for dinner.

"Life times of them, Sweetie."

"Will they ever stop coming?"

"I don't think so. Now run along and call your brother and sister for dinner."

I ran to the door and stopped, reluctant to take another step forward for fear that if I went out the door, I'd never see her again. I turned around, taking her in with my eyes. She was so beautiful. "I love you, Mom," my grown-up self uttered.

She lifted her head and smiled. "I love you too, baby." As I stepped outside, she said, "Remember, Rachel. Watch for the real danger."

I was standing in the middle of the woods. It was dark out. So dark, I could hardly see the path before my eyes. A hawk cried out, disrupting the eerie silence. I shivered, took another step, and heard my foot crunching twigs and dry foliage beneath it. "Jacob! Rebecca! Where are you?"

"Over here," Jacob yelled.

I cut through the trees toward the sound of his voice when the image of a woman's form came into view, freezing me where I stood. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted, and I instinctively knew not to take another step or make another sound. I watched the menacing figure hovering over some kind of animal.

A slithering sensation crawled across the skin of my ankle, causing me to jump. I cupped my hand over my mouth to hold in my shriek. She whipped around, letting out a shrill hiss and held me motionless with her eyes, her evil, savage eyes.

Long black hair was in severe contrast to the pallid skin of her indistinct features. I saw dark liquid oozing down her chin.

My focus fell to the animal broken below her on the forest bed, a large russet wolf. I screamed out in horror, spotting another and another and another. My legs gave way, and I crumpled to the ground, swelling with sorrow. I landed on the hollow body of my dark-silver Paul. His fur coated flesh torn and matted with blood, no life left in the glazed-over sunken eyes that stared back at me.

Crushed with grief, my tear-filled eyes flew open, hearing my mom's voice again as clear as if she were speaking right into my ear.

"Remember, Rachel. Watch for the real danger. It's coming."