above ground: chapter 12

Chapter 12

Al’s hand shot up and smacked Rae on the face, an open-handed slap that sent her tumbling to the side. When he spoke, his voice was cold. “Remember your place.”

It seemed that violence was second nature to most of the weres. The thought came with a flashback of Dylan, of the ragged, torn flesh on his neck. Lilith swallowed hard, forcibly reminded that despite their outward appearance, these people around her were infected. Her history teacher had been right; the infected were uncivilized. She’d have to be careful.

Rae sat up, looking sullen. She kept her eyes on the ground in front of her and her shoulders hunched inwardly. There was no blood on her face, but her left cheek was red.

Al seemed satisfied and refocused his attention on Lilith. She flinched, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Please state your terms,” he said, as if nothing had happened.

“I…”  Her voice came out quieter than she expected. She cleared her throat and started again. “I’m not a witch.”

“You’re not?” Al looked perplexed. “Maybe you should explain how Silver and you met.”

She narrated the events at the theatre and their subsequent arrival in the city, glossing over her capture by the trackers and Bryan’s advice. Hearing the words aloud made the events seem oddly distant, as if they had occurred to a stranger instead of to her. A small part of her marvelled at how quickly she had adapted. Perhaps it was all due to the Advanced Youth Programme she’d attended over the summer, although life above ground made everything that they had put her through pale in comparison.

“You’re tougher than you look,” Al remarked wryly, echoing her thoughts, a comment which made her muscles ache as if in protest. She tried not to let the weakness show.  “I’ll speak to Silver when he wakes up and make a decision then. Until then, you’re welcome amongst us.”

“Thanks.” Her voice sounded dubious even to her own ears, and her eyes flicked over involuntarily to glance at Rae.

Al noticed. “Don’t worry. You’re safe with us. You have my word.”

His promise seemed to release a tight knot inside of her. It was Rae she was more afraid of, and Rae was afraid of Al. Lilith was suddenly—overwhelmingly—tired to the bone. She smiled gratefully. “Thanks.” She sounded more genuine this time around.

Rae scowled. “Don’t let her get too comfortable, Al. She doesn’t belong here.”

“She is Silver’s, and he is one of ours.” Al stood up, towered over both of them. “Until I say otherwise, she is pack.” His tone brooked no argument.

Rae and Lilith both stood at the same time. Rae looked distinctly unhappy, and loped off in the direction of a group of three weres, amongst which was Scar. The looks the two men shot Lilith were openly hostile, whilst the other woman in the group kept her face half-hidden under a long brown fringe.

Lilith hovered awkwardly until Al shooed her off in Silver’s direction, away from Rae, thankfully. She made her way over to Silver’s side, a little annoyed to realize that the woman from before was still sitting near him, stroking his cheek gently with her left hand. The woman was clearly taking advantage of Silver’s unconscious state. There was no way he’d let her touch him like that otherwise.  He hadn’t let Lilith touch him, after all.

Then Lilith hesitated, feeling suddenly insecure.  Of course Silver had been distant. They barely knew each other. They belonged to two entirely different worlds, and Lilith would do well to remember it. She didn’t even belong in this camp, surrounded by weres, all of whom were eying her so suspiciously.

Just as she was toying with the idea of sneaking away, of heading downstream to the Guild by herself, the woman by Silver’s side lifted her head and beckoned her over. Lilith trudged over reluctantly and sank down cross-legged to the left of Silver. She’d come this far to see him, after all.

He was asleep. His eyes were closed, pale eyelashes pressed firmly together, and his chest rose and fell steadily. His short blond hair was untidily ruffled, and looked so soft Lilith wanted to run her fingers through it. But his face did not have the youthful relaxation of sleep. His brow was furrowed, his cheeks a little gaunt. The last few hours had taken their toll, and Lilith couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“He’ll be fine,” the woman finally said, breaking Lilith’s train of thought. She nodded down at Silver, her curly hair bouncing with the movement. “There’s not a scratch on him. He’s just tired.”

She’d been so intent on examining Silver that she’d forgotten there was someone across from her. “Sorry.  I was just worried about him.”

And she still was, a little bit, because she had to take this woman for her word. After all, she couldn’t check Silver’s body for injuries; most of it was hidden underneath her cloak. Then Lilith’s cheeks warmed as she remembered his nakedness, the sight of him in the clearing. But that hadn’t been the first time; in the hotel he’d been naked as well, completely comfortable in his own skin. Her mind filled with images that were both tantalizing and embarrassing.

“That’s alright.” The woman ran her fingers idly through Silver’s hair. “A friend of Silver’s is a friend of mine.”

Lilith felt herself bristling angrily without knowing why. “And who are you?”

“Oh! I’m Amber.” Her friendly smile was guilt-inducing. Lilith introduced herself and they shook hands.

She made an attempt at chitchat. “Do many werewolves have colour names?”

Amber laughed. “It’s often the easiest choice. It’s the colour of my fur when I change.” She nodded down at Silver. “Same with him.”
“Are you all named after your appearance?” Lilith asked, interested despite herself. Weren’t naming traditions an indication of culture? Perhaps the humanoid infected were cultured, or at least more so than the others.

Amber nodded. “Our chosen names often are. Our birth names are the ones our mother gave to us, same as anyone else I guess.”

Lilith frowned, confused. “So Amber is your chosen name?” When the were nodded, she asked another question: “What’s your birth name, then?”

A flat male voice interrupted the conversation. “None of your business.”

They both looked down at the were between them. Silver had cracked open one eye and was looking at Lilith with a sour expression on his face.

“Now, Silver, don’t be rude.” Amber wagged a finger at him. “Lilith here was very worried about you.”

“I’m sure,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling downwards.

“And I’m sure the two of you have things to talk about.” Amber touched Silver’s hand, then stood. “I’m going for a run.  See you in a bit.” She nodded at both of them. When she left, Lilith noticed that Amber made a point of steering clear of Rae’s group.

Lilith looked back down, only to find Silver staring at her intently. He said nothing, so neither did she. The silence grew in length until it was an awkward, bumbling companion, hanging over their heads. This wasn’t her place, Lilith realized.  She didn’t belong. She was filled with a homesickness so sharp that her heart ached heavily.

“I’ll just go now.” She put her hand on the ground between them to push herself off up.

Silver sat up quickly and grabbed her wrist, the cloak sliding down his chest to pool in his lap. She could feel his warm breath against her neck, couldn’t help but shudder at the sensation. She turned her head to the side, only to find his sharp grey eyes scant inches from her own. Lilith held her breath. Silver’s eyes darkened, his head tilted down towards hers. She dropped her eyes to his lips. He was smirking faintly.

Then the smirk slid off of Silver’s face. “What’s on your wrist?”

Lilith frowned, confused, and drew back. “What do you mean?”

Silver pushed up her sleeve, looking furious. The cut on her wrist, the one the Snake had given her, still looked raw and red around the edges of the scab. She’d need to bandage it.

Silver moved her arm, held it in front of her face. “Well?”

She tried to tug her arm free, but failed. “Well what?”

“You made a deal with a snake?  What kind of an idiot are you?”

“He helped me,” she protested.

“And you might as well have paid for that help with your life.”

Lilith felt all her anger and fear of the past few days surge forward. “How was I supposed to know what to do?” she retorted heatedly. “You left me!  I was chased and shot at and mind-raped!”

Silver dropped her arm as if burned. “It’s my fault.” Lilith felt a brief spasm of gloating triumph, until Silver added darkly, “I shouldn’t have taken you with me in the first place.”

“If you just wanted me dead you could’ve said so ages ago.” He opened his mouth to reply, but she continued before he could interrupt. “I would’ve gone straight to the Guild instead of wasting my time here!”

He stilled. “The Guild? What do you know of the Guild?”

“Mind rape, remember?” She crossed her arms.  “I met a telepath. He said the Guild would help me.”

“That explains things.” Silver wrapped her cloak properly around him and stood. Then, without another word, he walked away, leaving her gaping like a child at his back.