Bumble Read online

"Ashe, we'll sit down and talk when your father wakes," Adele said. Face paling at her words, Ashe nervously chewed his lip as he studied his mother's frown. "Honey, don't look like that, you're not in trouble. Not that much, anyway," Adele said, giving Ashe a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Ashe attempted to school his face; he'd been depressed all day over Transformational Arts. "Come on, let's close the store."

  Adele closed the store at six. Always. She might have made more money by staying open later, but she wanted to be home when Aedan woke every day. The store was closed every Sunday no matter what, giving Adele a day off. Ashe set to counting out money from the register and adding up checks—he loved that part of closing down the store.

  "Here, Mom. The deposit slip is filled out." Ashe handed the bank bag with the cash and checks inside to his mother. Smiling a genuine smile this time, Adele took the bag and slipped it in her purse. She made a stop at the bank every morning before opening the store for the day.

  "At least the snow melted off," Adele observed as they climbed into her old and battered Ford truck. "But that's Oklahoma; freezing in the morning, hot by afternoon."

  "Not hot," Ashe huddled into his sheepskin jacket.

  "I know, baby. But it did get into the high forties." Adele put the truck in gear and pulled out of the tiny parking area behind the store.

  Ashe and his mother kept a calendar in the kitchen that listed sunrise and sunset times, so they'd know when Aedan would wake. Thursday, March twenty-sixth listed sunset time as seven forty-six. They'd gotten home a quarter to seven and Adele set about making dinner for herself and Ashe—spaghetti with garlic bread and salad.

  Ashe chuckled softly. The old myth that vampires were allergic to garlic was just that—a myth. He and his dad had laughed many times over the vampires portrayed in movies and on television. Still, he'd never seen his father's fangs. Or the claws. His dad always said someday, when Ashe was ready. Ashe guessed that twelve-going-on-thirteen wasn't ready.

  Dinner was done at seven-thirty and Adele got Ashe seated at the table with a plate of spaghetti in front of him. "Go ahead and eat, Ashe. I'll get your father up." Ashe watched his mother as she unlocked the door into the lower level of the house and walked down the steps. The locked middle door was to protect his father while he slept during the day. Aedan was very strong and could punch right through the heavy steel door if necessary.

  * * *

  "Aedan?" Adele called softly before walking into her husband's steel and concrete bunker. Concealed below the underground portion of the house, the entrance to Aedan Evans' bunker was hidden beneath a cleverly designed trap door. Any bit of sunlight that hit Aedan's skin could cause it to blister and disintegrate within seconds. He, Nathan Anderson and Old Harold, who claimed no last name as his own, all had hidden rooms beneath their homes to protect them from sunlight. Aedan watched his wife carefully as she let herself down the ladder into his bunker.

  "What's wrong?" Aedan asked, shrugging into a shirt. He knew something was; Adele never came down to the bunker, she always waited for him to come to the top floor of the house.

  "That's exactly what I asked Ashe earlier," Adele held the envelope out to Aedan. Aedan's gray eyes flared briefly as he examined the handwritten address in near-darkness. Lifting the envelope from Adele's fingers, Aedan carefully opened the letter to read.

  Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the note began, I hesitate to place labels upon any child who studies in my school, but I cannot turn a blind eye to the status of your son. In no time during my lengthy tenure as an educator have I actually witnessed a child born of supernatural parents who had absolutely no ability. Children born to a human-supernatural mix, yes, but this—not until now. Ashe holds no ability. He has produced no sign of it during the entire year and my initial fears are now confirmed. I suggest you search for an alternative method to educate your child beginning with the fall semester, as he will not be allowed to continue at Cloud Chief Combined.

  Sincerely,

  Benjamin Billings, PhD, Principal.

  Adele backed out of the way while Aedan punched a hole through the black cinderblocks of the bunker, denting the sheet of thick steel behind.

  * * *

  "Son, why didn't you tell us you were having trouble?"

  Ashe looked into his father's gray eyes as he spoke. He'd seen them go red at times if Aedan were angry. Aedan's eyes weren't red. Breathing a sigh of relief that his father surely heard, Ashe shrugged. "Son, I realize this is embarrassing for you, but you could have said something. The last grade card we received had satisfactory on it."

  "But Dad, three of the others hadn't turned at that point. Now I'm the only one," Ashe slapped a hand over his mouth at the outburst.

  "Ashe, will you keep trying? Please?" his mother sat next to him on the sofa, placing an arm around his shoulders. His father had settled on the coffee table, facing Ashe so they could have one of their man-to-mans, as Aedan called them.

  "I always try," Ashe muttered, bowing his head. He was almost as embarrassed now as he was during Transformational Arts class. Rubbing a spot of smeared dirt on his jeans, Ashe couldn't meet his father's steady gaze.

  * * *

  Raking a hand through jet-black hair, Aedan watched his son carefully. Ashe was slight of build, although tall for his age, at five feet, four inches. Aedan was nearly six-four, so he wasn't surprised that Ashe was taller than normal. The boy would fill out in time.

  Ashe had slightly curly, light-brown hair and inquisitive blue eyes that examined the world around him, eager to learn everything he could about it. His grades were always good and his bedroom was filled with shelf upon shelf of books; Ashe loved to read.

  Aedan had decided quickly not to tell Ashe about the contents of the note and the possibility of his expulsion from Cloud Chief Combined. He had no desire to place more pressure on his son than he already bore. The summer months were coming and if Ashe failed to exhibit any ability by that time, he and Adele would talk to him then.

  "Son, all we're asking is that you keep trying. Just relax, it'll come," Aedan quirked a smile. "Any homework?"

  "No, Dad. But I think I flunked a spelling test today."

  "Perhaps you should do a little studying anyway."

  "All right." Ashe slid off the sofa and shuffled toward his room.

  * * *

  "Aedan, what if the fertilized eggs got mixed up? Sharon and Jonas O'Neill donated, but what if the clinic didn't use it?" Adele turned worried eyes on her vampire husband. "Ashe could be human, Aedan."

  "There would be no child if the egg came from a human. You should know my DNA will destroy any human element introduced into it."

  "I don't know, Aedan. What if this is an exception? What if our child is human anyway?"

  "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Aedan muttered. "We have a child. Most vampires don't ever get that. Will it matter if he isn't like us?"

  "I'd like to think it wouldn't matter to anyone, but you know the community won't see it that way. Most of them, anyway."

  "There's still time. Time for him to prove them wrong. Ashe is special. Smart. Persistent."

  "There's a part of me that might be glad if he's human. You know the Council will come calling if he shows anything special."

  "Stop worrying about that. If they follow the rules, he'll only be offered vampirism when he's older. Much older. And able to make that decision for himself. At least that's how it was explained to me when I was offered the chance to have a child. Only a few vampires were allowed to have children. Or to attempt it, at least."

  "At least Nathan's girls are safe." Adele hugged herself and turned away from Aedan. "Girls don't turn. They die. So they don't attempt it."

  "It would be foolish to do so," Aedan agreed softly. "There hasn't been a female vampire successfully turned in nearly seven hundred fifty years."

  "But what if Ashe ever shows anything exceptional, Aedan? How would the Council look at him, then?"

  "You know they have a different se
t of rules regarding enrichment of the vampire race. If they find someone that will benefit the race, they'll bring them in and make the turn, forcefully and early." Aedan looked away. Adele watched as a sadness she couldn't explain briefly crossed his features.

  "Yes. I do know that. I wish Lavonna hadn't told me." Adele sighed. "Well, it looks like we won't have to worry about it anyway. Our son may be human, despite our DNA. And we'll have to deal with it."

  * * *

  "Ben didn't bother to tell me he was sending the note," Greta Rocklin's mouth tugged into a frown as she slammed the refrigerator door harder than warranted. "Ashe tries so hard and he never says a word about having to pick up and carry for his classmates. Aedan and Adele are probably going crazy. I would if I had to send my child off to Cordell Junior High in the fall." Greta was one of thirty-eight adult werewolves in Cloud Chief. They had their own Pack—Marcus DeLuca was Packmaster; Greta's husband Micah was Marcus' Second. Greta's hair was nearly black, her eyes deep brown, while her husband's hair and eyes were black. Both were tall and lean as most werewolves were. Usually in a sunny mood when her husband came home, Greta now vibrated with unhappiness.

  "It's not werewolf business, it's shifter business," Micah reminded his wife. "Would you say anything if it were a human-shifter mix?"

  "No, but they should realize what they're doing going in. That poor child. This will cause harm, Micah. Aedan is always the first there if someone needs help. Aedan, Nathan and Old Harold rebuilt the O'Neill's barn in four nights after the tornado last year."

  "You're saying that Billings is letting his racism show. That's a serious charge, Greta."

  "I didn't say that." Greta hugged herself and walked away from Micah.

  "Good. If you didn't say it, I don't have to report it."

  Chapter 2

  "Ashe, you may go first today. Take your time; we're not in a hurry." Ashe jerked in his seat at Mrs. Rocklin's words; she never asked him to go first. Scrambling to his feet when Sali hissed at him to stand up, Ashe wavered for a second, momentarily stunned into immobility. "Don't force it, just relax," Mrs. Rocklin encouraged. Ashe tried to relax. Really. He just couldn't. Everybody was watching.

  Cheeks warm with embarrassment amid inescapable whispers, Ashe struggled with both the desire and the effort to turn. His mother always said his animal would speak to him when it was ready. Nothing spoke to Ashe. After ten minutes of exertion with no results, Mrs. Rocklin asked him to sit, moving on to other classmates who mostly met with success. Dori botched her turning, as did two others; the entire class was distracted over the beginning of spring break.

  "Dude, you don't know how to relax," Sali said over lunch. Ashe pushed his tray over so Sali could spear his uneaten carrots. Sali didn't care what the food was; he was hungry.

  "And I suppose you're going to tell me?" Ashe snapped, his voice harsher than intended toward his best friend.

  "Nope. I don't do yogurt."

  "That's Yoga, furball," Cori settled beside Ashe. "Besides, your animal is a given with two werewolves as parents. I heard Mr. Harris got a letter from Randy Smith."

  Ashe might have been less surprised if a grenade had been tossed inside the cafeteria. He and Sali jerked their heads toward Cori at her statement. "But," Sali said.

  "Yeah. That's what I said. I don't know that he would do something like that, especially after he was expelled and we had to move away. His mom and dad went to live in Santa Fe." Cori opened her milk carton and stuck a straw in it.

  Ashe watched as Cori went through the routine of lunch, but her hands shook as she placed a paper napkin in her lap and lifted her fork. The news about Randy Smith's letter upset Cori more than she was letting on.

  Ashe didn't know Randy Smith personally; he'd been five years old when Randy, the son of a human-werewolf marriage, was forced to leave their community at age thirteen and ordered to attend a human school. Children born to human and werewolf parents would never be werewolf. Barely six months later, Randy let something slip in the presence of humans regarding the hidden paranormal community and everybody had to pack their things and leave their homes in New Mexico.

  Randy's parents had also been forced to seek a home elsewhere. Now, the exiled boy would be old enough to attend college and the community was comfortably settled in Cloud Chief. Randy's name was still whispered angrily among the adults, however. None of them had forgotten their betrayal at the hands of a thirteen-year-old half-human.

  Only Randy's age had prevented the death penalty from being levied against him at the time. Revealing information on the Pack carried an automatic death sentence for any adult. Ashe's parents didn't think he knew anything about Randy Smith, but everybody did. The gossip at school was enough to give nightmares to the younger students.

  "What did Mr. Harris do? When he got the letter?" Sali chewed carrots he'd taken from Ashe's tray. Cori frowned at him for talking with food in his mouth.

  "I don't know. I just overheard the stuff about the letter when I went past Principal Billings' office. I'll bet the information is in Billings' computer, though." Cori smiled hesitantly at Ashe.

  "Don't look at me. I had scary dreams for weeks after the last time." Ashe stared at his tray—Sali had emptied it. "I dreamed Billings turned into a bull and chased me through Cloud Chief."

  "He never knew," Cori scoffed. "And all you did was get in to check grades. You didn't change anything." The year before, Ashe had hacked into the Principal's computer after Cori begged him to do so. Terrified that she wasn't passing algebra, Cori was sure her parents would ground her for a failing grade. Ashe discovered she had a low C after breaking into the Principal's computer, and Cori was satisfied with that. "I'll bet the password is still the same," Cori added, toying with her meatloaf.

  Ashe snorted a laugh at Cori's statement. He figured Billings' password was still the same, too, unimaginative as it was. BigWolf had gotten him right in the first time. Benjamin Billings was an old werewolf, born long before the peace treaty between the vampires and the werewolves. The two races now cooperated and had for the past forty-seven years. Ashe knew his father was old, too, but Aedan never talked about the times before. Neither Ashe nor his mother knew how old his father was. When he'd asked once, Aedan had carefully steered him away from the subject.

  "Come on, Billings always goes home early on Fridays. And it's the start of spring break. Everybody will be out of here in no time. We can slip into Billings' office and find out before we go home today," Cori wheedled, slipping a lock of long blonde hair behind an ear, her green eyes begging.

  "What if he locks his office?" Ashe wanted to wriggle out of sneaking into the Principal's office, although Sali was now staring at him with mischievous interest.

  "Lock's broken. Marco did that," Cori smiled maliciously at Sali. Sali's older brother had broken the lock; he and James Johnson had been sent to Principal Billings' office for disrupting class. They'd shoved each other while standing near the door, waiting for the Principal to call them in. Marco slammed into the door, breaking the lock and causing the door to swing wide. He'd gotten detention for a week over it.

  "It's still broken 'cause Billings doesn't know how to fix it," Sali muttered. "And he won't ask Dad to come fix it for him." Cori snickered at Sali's explanation. Marcus DeLuca, the werewolf Packmaster, was also a locksmith with a small office in Cordell.

  "Look, dude, everybody else is gonna be crazy to get away from here. And Old Harold won't come by to clean until eight." Sali was just as curious as Cori was. Ashe frowned at his friend; Sali wouldn't be the one in real trouble if they got caught.

  "Come on, it won't take five minutes," Cori coaxed. "How are we going to learn what really happened if you don't?"

  Shrugging his thin shoulders, Ashe gave in. "All right. If nobody is around and you agree to keep watch."

  "Great!" Cori giggled and clapped her hands.

  * * *

  "This isn't going to work," Ashe muttered to himself as he and Sali hung back while thei
r classmates raced away from the classroom. Spring break was officially started.

  "Getting cold feet?" Sali slapped Ashe on the back. As a werewolf, even a young one, Sali was stronger than he looked, nearly knocking Ashe out of his chair.

  "I had cold feet when Cori mentioned it the first time," Ashe replied, watching as Miss Campbell, their Social Studies teacher, left the room.

  "Let's go find Cori. Maybe we won't have to dawdle after that," Sali gathered his backpack and slung it over a shoulder. They'd waited ten minutes before rising to leave the classroom behind.

  "I think the others are gone." Cori found Ashe and Sali instead, right outside their classroom. Ashe blinked at Cori in near-darkness—the hall lights had already been turned off as the last teacher left the school, leaving only weak afternoon sunlight shining through the school's front doors to illuminate the hallway. Ashe knew Cori and Sali, being what they were, could see much better than he could in the dimly lit corridor.

  "I just walked past the Principal's office," Cori whispered, bringing Ashe's attention back to their intended espionage. "It's empty."

  "Come on," Sali bent over, cautiously looked both ways and darted silently to the next classroom doorway, preparing to repeat the action.

  "Dude, what are you doing?" Ashe stood in the middle of the hall, staring at Sali. Cori, standing beside Ashe, covered a smile.

  "Spy stuff," Sali said, bending over again.

  "Sali, the school is empty—I can't hear anything except us," Ashe pointed out.

  "Oh." Sali straightened. "Well, let's go, then." His athletic shoes squeaking on tile, Sali trotted off toward the Principal's office. Ashe shook his head at Cori before following Sali down the hall; the young werewolf was humming the theme from Mission: Impossible.

  "We'll be right outside," Sali shoved Ashe inside Principal Billings' office moments later and shut the door.

  Ashe stood still, staring at the closed door for precious seconds, wondering how he'd gotten involved in the mess to start with. Shaking himself mentally, he surveyed the utilitarian cube of an office before turning toward Principal Billings' desk. Built of Mahogany, the solid wood behemoth was positioned toward the back of the small space.