Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It’s becoming clear to me that Boston isn’t a city meant for walking. Between the winding cobblestone streets and the oppressive summer heat, I’m sweating by the time we step outside the motel, having packed up, checked out, and paid cash. Silas was right, though; the one saving grace is that we’re near the airport which should minimise the amount of time we spend wandering the roads of the city. Still, I’m on edge. Every person we pass is a potential threat, and I find myself holding my breath every time we round a corner, half expecting an Academy representative to spring out at me. The area on the waterfront is sketchy and rundown, not unlike the neighbourhood where I ended up after running away from my last foster home, although at least this time I have more people on my side.

We’re clustered together on the narrow sidewalk, Hazel, Ruby, and Xander in the front of the group while the guys and I walk drag. Silas and Shade are talking, their hands in their pockets -- it’s nice to see them getting along in spite of their bickering. Hunter trails behind them, looking pensive, while Landon and I bring up the rear, squinting against the bright sunlight. Slowly we make our way west, looking about as conspicuous as can be, considering where we are, but mercifully, we don’t run into any Academy agents.

After reaching the wharf, we cross a bridge leading to the downtown area, but my anxiety only increases; we’re heading back into the eye of the storm, and if we do run into any of Hawthorne’s people, it’s bound to be around here. Across the water, I can still make out the ruins of the convention centre. The fire has been put out, but search and rescue efforts are ongoing, and there’s a crush of people watching the commotion.

“You’d think the interest would have faded by now,” Landon remarks, as if reading my mind.

“I don’t like how many eyes are on this,” I reply in a low voice. “I know most of them are probably just innocent bystanders, but still…”

“There’s no real way of knowing,” the siren shifter finishes for me. “We just have to keep our heads down until we’re out of the country.”

“And then what?” I ask, unable to help myself. “We can’t just go underground for the rest of our lives.”

“No, we can’t,” Landon agrees as we turn right and head north toward the harbour. “I wish I knew what to do, Boots, but I’m not much of the planning type. You probably ought to talk to Silas about that.”

“Talk to me about what?” the dragon shifter asks over his shoulder.

“Damn,” Landon remarks. “Your hearing is something else, Aconite.”

Silas smiles, but there’s not much humour in it. “Got it from my mother, but that’s not the point. Since when am I in charge?”

“You just seem to be the most decisive out of all of us,” Landon replies. “And you have the most experience with… Well…” He stops mid-sentence, seemingly realising his mistake as Silas’ expression hardens.

“I’m not a test case, okay?” the dragon shifter says. His tone is gentle, but there’s hurt behind it that makes my heart ache. “I know the Academy thinks so, but I’d appreciate it if you thought of me as more than just a lab rat.”

“I’m sorry,” Landon says glumly. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You just seem to know the most about the unrest, considering your parents.” Wisely, he doesn’t go into the specifics - namely, the convenient disappearance of Silas’ parents before they could take action against the humans. No sense in opening up that wound again.

Silas shakes his head. “I’m good at making decisions, but I’m not a leader.” He turns and nods in my direction as we cross the street. “Boots should be the one in charge.”

“What?” I exclaim, eyes wide. “Why the hell should I be in charge? I can barely get dressed in the morning, let alone keep you g-” I stop, blushing a little, and backtrack. “Let alone keep people from getting hurt.”

“Look, we don’t want to dump this all on you Millie,” Silas replies quietly, “but you’re at the heart of this. Hell, you’re the only thing connecting the rest of us. If it weren’t for you, we never would have even met.”

“But that’s…” I begin and then trail off. It’s the truth, and there’s no arguing it.

“Besides,” Shade puts in, surprising me with the pensiveness in his voice, “you’re the most powerful of all of us, Boots. You’re the hybrid.”

I snort, shaking my head self-deprecatingly. “Yeah, well, I’ll get back to you on that once I’m able to hold a form for more than a minute at a time.”

Shade’s grey eyes flash up at me, making me feel taken aback. “Don’t say that shit, Boots. Seriously. You’re worth more than you think.”

That stokes a fire in my chest, and I can’t help but give him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Shade.”

“Don’t mention it,” he says, adding with a cheeky grin, “Seriously. People will think I’m going soft.”

“We don’t want that,” I reply, chuckling as the wolf shifter bumps me with his shoulder.

We lapse back into silence once more, each of us lost in our own thoughts, and continue to make our way through the Boston morning until we arrive at the harbour. Hazel and Xander run to a nearby ATM to get cash and tickets while the rest of us wait anxiously, looking around for any signs of followers, but there are none. It’s all just tourists and businesspeople, and that only puts me more on edge.

“I don’t like this,” I announce, hugging myself.

“What do you mean?” asks Ruby, coming to stand with the rest of us.

“Where are all the Academy people?” I ask, gesturing around at the plaza. “The convention centre was crawling with them. Hell, the whole city was crawling with them. After what happened yesterday, I’d be expecting more. It’s almost like…”

“Like it’s too peaceful,” Hunter says, pressing his lips together. “I know what you mean.”

“Do you think they’re planning something?” I ask, watching as Hazel and Xander turn around, clutching our ferry tickets.

“Do you really even need to ask that question?” Silas asks glumly. “Let’s just hope that whatever it is, we can get the hell out of here before it happens.”

“That does raise a good question, actually,” Hazel says as she comes to a stop and passes out our tickets. “We need to figure out a plan. A more specific plan, I mean.”

We start to make our way over to the docks, and I realise that everyone in the group has their eyes on me, waiting for my call. Guess this leader thing is happening whether I want it to or not, I think grimly. “We can’t go back to the island, that much is obvious,” I say, keeping my voice low as I shuffle up to the attendant and hand him my ticket. “We’ll get eaten alive. The trouble is, they’re going to have people on us back in the U.K. It would be foolish to think that they won’t.”

“So what do we do?” asks Shade.

“We’ll need to find somewhere to lie low,” I reply, running a hand through my hair. “Except I don’t know…” I stop then, my eyes going wide as we mount the gangplank and come to sit on one of the benches on the ferry. It’s almost the top of the hour, and the dock workers are getting ready to shove off. Good. I’ve had enough of this city to last a lifetime. I snap my head around to look at Silas, who’s taken a seat on my other side. “You said you and your family lived in a shifter community, right?”

“Technically, yeah,” the dragon shifter replies. “Although I wouldn’t feel safe going back there, considering what the humans did to my parents. I don’t even know if anyone is still there.”

“But there are others like it, though, right?” I persist. “I mean, that’s what they said about the Boston Academy -- there are shifter neighbourhoods all over the place around here. Maybe we can find one back home… the suburbs, maybe? Or somewhere in the countryside?”

“We’re more likely to find one in one of the big cities,” replies Hunter, crossing his arms. “London, Birmingham, Edinburgh… Where, though, I don’t know. Maybe if I can talk to my dad…”

“No way,” Xander says urgently. “The Academy’s going to be monitoring communications, especially with faculty members. They’ll be on us in no time.”

“You’re right,” says Hunter, sounding crestfallen. “I just… worry about him. And my sister. That’s all.”

Instinctively, I reach out and put a hand on his arm; I feel him relax a little under my touch. I don’t have to say anything, but he shoots me a grateful look. None of us are having an easy go of it right now.

“Well, it sounds like we have a starting point, then,” I say as the ferry begins to move out onto the water. “We’ll just have to hope we can afford same-day flights to the other side of the planet.”

No one has anything to say about that, and as we bob and lurch over the murky blue water, I’m left to concentrate on not getting seasick. Boats have never sat well with me, and the stress I’m under isn’t helping things. My churning stomach has me going pale in the face, clenching my hands in my lap. Silas, seemingly noticing my discomfort, slides an arm around my shoulders, pulling me comfortingly against his side.

Out of the corner of my eye, I don’t miss the odd look that crosses Hunter’s face, but the vampire shifter doesn’t say anything.

Somehow, I make it the rest of the way across the water without losing my breakfast, and hurry down the gangplank on legs that are still unsteady. I’m so preoccupied with getting on solid ground again that I don’t even pay attention to the airport ahead of us, and I nearly trip over my own feet when a hand flies out and grabs mine. “What-” I begin, glancing up to see Hazel staring at the terminal with wide eyes.

“Bad,” she says in a low, tense voice. “Twelve o’clock, by the entrance.”

My brow furrows as I follow her gaze, and for a moment I don’t understand what the fuss is about… but then I see it, and my heart sinks. “Shit.”

“Yeah,” Shade agrees, coming to a stop beside us. “Shit is right.”

“Is that…?” asks Landon.

“One of Russo’s,” Ruby replies, looking around. “Two, actually. No, wait, three. The guy on the left is a dragon shifter. I’m not sure about the others, but I know they aren’t human.”

“What are they doing here?” Xander asks.

“Three guesses,” Shade fires back.

“So that’s where the Academy people have gone,” says Hunter, and as I look around, I can see that he’s right: the airport is surrounded by familiar faces, none of them on our side. They might not all be shifters, but they’re sure as hell not here to help us, and they seem to be waiting for something.

Us.

“They must have figured we would try to escape,” mutters Hazel. “They’ve got the whole damn place blocked off.”

“Well, there goes that plan,” gripes Landon. “And here I was thinking we could just catch a ride out of this fucking place.”

“Can’t we sneak past them?” protests Hunter.

“With this many?” Silas asks incredulously. “Doubtful. And they’ve probably got humans ID’ing people on the inside. Deep pockets, and all that.”

“Fuck,” Shade says, throwing his hands up and raking them through his sandy hair. “Now what?”

I can feel the others watching me again, waiting for direction, and the answer comes to me in an instant. I square my shoulders and take out my phone. “I think I have an idea.”