Infinity Chronicles Book Two Read online

  “They’re over here.” I tag along behind Dante. Keeping my eyes on his back as he makes his way over to a corner table. It’s a long picnic style table that looks rather full. It’s clear this is where they usually sit, and there isn’t any space for me. I shuffle my feet wondering why they thought this was a good idea.

  “Hey, took you guys long enough.” Milo jumps up, pulling his legs out from under the table. “Here sit.” He motions for me to sit down in the spot he just vacated. Not wanting to stand any longer I slide in next to Ollie. Milo puts one leg under the table before ordering the other side to, “Scoot down a little.” His voice is rough, almost a yell as he makes the demand from the other end of the table.

  Dante takes the seat across from me. When I meet his eyes, he shrugs, tilting his head toward the right. It’s then I see Delaney in the spot next to him. I want to reach over and pull him to our side of the table, but when Milo places his hand on my arm, I stop myself from making a scene.

  “I grabbed a few things from the hot line,” Ollie pipes up, setting a tray of crunchy tater tots in front of me. My mouth waters just thinking about them. I qualify for free lunch, always have. But I rarely ate in the cafeteria, so it’s not often I would get anything other than the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I would bring, but I love the school’s tater tots. I’ve tried to recreate them at home several times, baking them and even frying them. But I can’t manage to get the crunch right, just like the school convection oven can.

  I peer up at Ollie, wondering how he knew. He gives me a cheeky wink but says nothing. Milo drops my turkey sandwich next. Suddenly, the noise at the table picks up, I hadn’t even realized it had quieted with our approach, but now everyone is talking again, including Delaney.

  “Are you still coming over tonight?” Delaney questions Dante. She has the straw to her coke poised at her lips.

  Dante, digging into the turkey sandwich Milo just gave him too, huffs but nods his head. “We really need to get everything finished up this week. I have other things I need to be doing.” He looks up, catching my eye, but looks away quickly.

  “There’s just a few more things to take care of,” Delaney answers noncommittally. I pop a tot in my mouth and glance around. I’m trying not to focus too much on Dante and Delaney across from me, but I have to admit my jealousy has me paying way more attention to her than I should.

  Milo and Ollie lean past me a few times, talking about little stuff. I tune them out as I pick up a can of Hawaii punch to my right. I’ve grown used to sharing with the guys. All of them have offered me drinks from their cups at one point or another so I think nothing about reaching out and taking a drink. The girl on Delaney’s right leans over and whispers something in her ear with her eyes on me. I wipe my face with a rough white napkin, knowing they’re talking about me, but unsure what I’ve done this time to warrant their whispers.

  The lunch period seems to last way longer than usual since I’m crammed into the table with everyone else. I hope we can go back to eating in the stairway tomorrow. This sucks, I can’t even enjoy my tater tots. I feel like everyone is staring at me.

  Breaking away from the guys when lunch finally ends, I hustle to my next hour where I’m happily ignored.

  Dante meets me in the hall on the way to art. “Hey,” I offer as I walk up to him, waiting a few steps out of my last class.

  He gives me a chin jerk and starts walking. With anyone else I might think they were mad at me, or maybe even didn’t like me. But I’ve come to realize it’s just his way. Right before we make it to the art room door, he turns and faces me. “I’ll show you tonight.” I tilt my head, I’m sure he can read the confusion on my face. “After you get off work, I can show you.” Dante shrugs. “The rest of me.”

  Realization dawns, he means he’ll shift, that I can finally see his power. I hop on my toes, excited at the idea. “Really, you don’t have to, but I… I want you to.” I stammer over the words. I hope I’m not being too demanding.

  Dante lets out a low chuckle, “I didn’t know you even wanted to. I thought it might freak you out.”

  I give him a light smack to his arm with the back of my hand. “Why would you think that?” I’m not really expecting an answer, so when he does, I’m a little surprised at the seriousness of his tone.

  “It’s not a common power, neither is Ares’s ability, but with mine it scares some people.”

  I grab Dante’s hand, linking our fingers together even though I know I shouldn’t, not at school. “It’s still you right? So it doesn’t bother me.” I hope my words carry the truth because it really doesn’t bother me. He squeezes my fingers back and doesn’t release me until we’re about to enter class.

  Now I have a whole new reason to be excited when I get off work tonight.

  We’ve fallen into a routine for the nights I work. Ares usually shows up a little after the dinner rush. Sometimes he helps me fold napkins and fill the salt and pepper shakers, sometimes he just sits and chats with Maggie. Either way, I feel so much more comfortable with him there.

  Tonight when he comes in, he’s dressed as casually as I’ve ever seen him other than at home. His black t-shirt is just tight enough that I can see the definition of his upper chest. My mind immediately wanders back to this morning when all that perfect skin was on display. I bite the corner of my lip, Ares has this ability to steal my entire focus when we’re alone together. He makes me forget I still have customers who want refills and their checks.

  Heat fills my cheeks when he saunters over. His head tilted to the side as he gazes at me, much in the same way I imagine I’m staring at him. “Ciao Cara,” Ares purrs when he’s just inches away from touching me. “Mi sei mancato.” Over the last few days he’s taken to greeting me in Italian. I don’t understand what he’s saying, but he could recite a textbook in that language and I’d probably be a puddle at his feet.

  “Hi Ares.” My voice is a little breathy. He doesn’t seem to mind though, leaning in to give me a slow kiss on my temple. I reach out for him, fisting the material of his shirt.

  “You missed me too,” he mutters to himself. I nod anyway, I do miss him. Every day, when we’re at school I feel his absence like a sore tooth, an ache that doesn’t disappear. “What can I do?” he offers when I don’t release his shirt.

  I want to drop my head to his chest, to soak in the comfort he surrounds me in, but I know I can’t do that right now. “You could come to school with me, or maybe I could graduate early, but then that would leave me without the guys so…” My thoughts trail off as I think of a solution.

  Ares places his hand on my shoulder and his thumb traces up my throat. “I meant what can I do to help you with work, so we can get you out of here.” His words are light, a small grin plays at his lips.

  My face goes hot all the way to my ears. I back away from him, feeling very exposed and a bit foolish. “We’ve been pretty slow tonight. I’ve been keeping up.” I adopt the cool tone I reserve for crabby customers. Smoothing my apron over my hips as I take a few more steps away from him. “I think Maggie wanted to talk to you.” It’s a complete lie, but it doesn’t matter, Maggie always wants to chat with Ares. My eyes scan the few customers in their booths, there’s one couple who has their plates pushed away, just the escape I needed. I don’t say anything else to him as I make my way over to their table, a fake smile plastered on my face. I can feel the weight of his stare on my back.

  About an hour has passed since I first talked to Ares, I’ve done just about anything I can to keep myself busy while he sits at the counter, nursing the coffee Maggie poured for him after he first sat down. It must be cold by now, but occasionally, I see him lift it to his lips and take a sip. I’m done for the night, the only thing holding me back is my pride. I’m embarrassed he might laugh at me for what I’d said earlier. I know my reprieve won’t last much longer because Maggie has looked at me a few times, then around the diner. I think she knows I’m stalling.

  Ares, the sneaky bugger,
comes up behind me as I’m wiping down the same table for the third time. “Ready?” he says, but I jump at the sound of his voice.

  “Gah,” I groan as the bleach towel in my hand goes flying.

  “Maggie still wants the surface on this table for tomorrow, so I figured I better stop you now before it’s gone.” His tone is flat, bored even.

  Collecting the towel, I hang it over the side of the sink. Maggie gives me a wave and a smile. She knew he was coming to get me, so it’s time to go. When I turn, Ares is waiting with his eyebrow cocked up like he thinks I might make an excuse to stay longer. Untying my apron, I pocket the cash then roll up the fabric with the coins still inside, I’ll sort through those another time.

  “See you tomorrow,” Maggie calls as Ares leads me out the door. I’m being a brat, but I feel stupid.

  “See you,” I mumble back.

  He walks me to the passenger side but doesn’t open the door. “Laura.” My back stiffens. The flat tone is gone, replaced with what sounds like a trace of sadness.

  “Yeah.” I don’t turn to look at him, but he has my full attention.

  “I wish I could be with you all day. There are times when I want to drop what I’m doing and go to you just so I can see you, to feel you close to me.” I look down at the ground, my lips in a tight line. Ares steps up closer and his front molds to my back. “It makes me happy you feel that way too,” he whispers, his chin resting on my head.

  “I thought you were making fun of me,” I confess, feeling even more like a brat for avoiding him.

  Ares sighs. “I wish you knew that I would never make fun of you, especially for something like that. Now, if you manage to trip up the stairs again…” He lets the words hang, lightening the conversation.

  Jutting my elbow back I connect with his side, he grunts but I know I didn’t hurt him. He’s teasing me. Wrapping his arms around my upper chest he rocks us back and forth. “As much as I’d like to keep you to myself for a little while, Dante told me you asked to see him shift?” I nod, Ares’s chin, still on the top of my head, follows along with the movement. “All right, I told him we’d meet him out near the house.” A bubble of excitement flares to life in my stomach. I’ve been curious about what Dante shifts into from the moment I actually believed any of this was possible.

  The car ride home seems to take longer than usual, I know it’s from anticipation. “What does he shift into? What’s it like? Does it hurt?” The questions burst from me as we get closer.

  Ares turns his head, gazing at me. “You don’t know? Why didn’t you ask him?” His tone is full of curiosity.

  “Well, he seemed so secretive about it, it felt like I shouldn’t pry.”

  Ares chuckles. “This might be fun,” he mutters under his breath before adding, “I’m not going to ruin the surprise.”

  Huffing, I cross my arms over my chest. “How come your gifts are so different? It seems like since you guys are real brothers your abilities would be the same.”

  Ares nods his head a little. “We aren’t as different as you might think. I have an ability to shift, but I don’t become something else. I’m able to shift with the shadows. I can even shadow walk, but it uses a lot of energy, and I have to know the place I’m going very well. If I can’t create an image up here,” Ares takes his hand from the wheel and points to the side of his head, “I can’t get there. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  Curious about his last statement I ask him, “What happened when you tried?”

  “It just didn’t work, no matter how hard I tried.” He doesn’t seem bothered by the limitation, if you could call it that. “We’re here.” Ares stops the car, but leaves it running. When I reach for the door handle, he stills me by taking hold of my arm.

  “Shifting to an animal form isn’t very common, even in our world.” I let my back rest against the seat, it seems like he has more to say. Ares runs his hand through the front of his hair. “Some people have a hard time reconciling the fact that Dante is the animal, and the animal is Dante.” Scrunching up my nose I remember Dante saying something similar. “He wouldn’t hurt you anymore in one form than the other.” I feel a pang of sadness, why does he feel like he needs to tell me this, is he afraid of my reaction? Or is he thinking about the way someone else reacted to Dante?

  “Ares,” I say, getting his attention. When he looks over at me, I continue, “I can tell you’re worried about him, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Dante either.”

  “You might not mean to.” His voice is pitched low as he looks at me from under his brow. “Just don’t be afraid of him. It would kill him if he thought you were afraid of him.” If I’m being honest, the warning frightens me a little. What could he turn into that would scare me? A snake? A giant spider?

  My face goes white. “Oh my God, he doesn’t turn into Aragog does he?” I can’t keep the horror from my voice.

  Ares head jerks back. “What the fuck is an Aragog?”

  “It’s the giant spider in Harry Potter.” My arms go wide. “Like as big as your truck big.” I can feel the panic coming. “Please don’t tell me he’s some kind of bug.”

  “Christ no, he’s not a bug. And let’s not tell him you ever thought he might be,” Ares mumbles under his breath as he turns off the car and opens his door.

  I’m much more hesitant to get out, the nerves of excitement have morphed into something more akin to trepidation now.

  Ares comes around to my side and he waits for me patiently, standing at my side. “You’re staying with me?”

  “For now,” he answers cryptically. Seconds later I hear the crunch of leaves and sticks. I take a moment to actually look around. We’re near the entrance of the woods.

  The headlights of the SUV turn off, plunging us into darkness. Reaching out I wrap my hands around Ares’s arm. It has little to do with actual fear, more the possibility of what the darkness carries with it.

  More footsteps and rustling of leaves. As my eyes adjust, I can make out a lightness near the ground several feet in front of me. Releasing my death grip on Ares, I take a step forward as my eyes try to focus. The animal slinks forward more. Head low, but still high enough to reach my hip. Squinting, I can’t quite make out what it is, but it moves with a supple grace.

  Clearing the edge of the woods, I get my first clear look at a huge tiger. I step back, my instincts telling me to run, but my foot gets caught and I end up on my butt. I sit there, eyes wide as the animal freezes, one bulky paw poised mid-air. “Dante,” I say in a wonder filled whisper.

  Ares leans his rump against the car, he couldn’t seem more blasé if he tried. The gigantic cat takes another step forward. Getting my legs back underneath me, I sit up on my knees with my hand outstretched. Slowly he lumbers over, his massive paws eating the distance between us. He stops a few feet away of me. I can just make out the tufts of fur on the sides of his face. Holy shit, he’s a tiger, a huge ass beautiful tiger. “Dante, you’re gorgeous.” The words fall from me with no filter.

  Walking on my knees I draw closer. The enormous cat freezes, his head held low, but his eyes remain locked on mine. One look and I know it really is Dante behind the amber irises. “Can I…?” My hand reaches out, fingertips brushing against his fur. The animal doesn’t move or make a sound, so I look back at Ares waiting for an answer.

  “I don’t think he’ll mind.” Ares waves a hand at the docile beast before me. With his permission I sink my hand into his rough fur, not taking my eyes off Dante as I do.

  “Oh wow.” I lick my dry lips, my thoughts swirling with amazement as I bring my other hand up to delve into the fur around his face and neck. Dropping his rear end, he sits and lets me run my hands all over him. I can’t help but be fascinated with his ears. They’re thick, and the fur is short and silky compared to the rest of him. When my hand runs down his side, he squirms under my touch and makes a chuffing sound.

  I pull my hands back, thinking I’ve done something wrong, but he falls to the ground and rolls against
my legs. Looking up at Ares to make sure it’s okay, I run my hand down his side where his fur goes white. The hairs are a little shorter here, and the texture is finer, he rolls completely over on his back exposing his belly to me.

  “Really?” Ares pipes up, stepping away from the truck. I look up at him, but he’s staring down at the big cat under my hands. Dante, in cat form, opens his mouth in a wide yawn. Four huge canine teeth on full display as he makes a final chuff noise and rolls away from me before standing on four paws again.

  He pushes his side against Ares, it’s enough to make Ares takes a step back from the weight. Returning to me, he nuzzles his face against my ear. I giggle as his whiskers trail over my cheek, tickling me. “All right, you over grown house cat, Laura still needs to eat, and I’m ready to get home. You going to meet us there?” Dante lifts his head, and I swear he gives Ares a nod before giving me a quick lick along my neck and the side of my face with his rough tongue, bounding away in the next second.

  Ares walks over, and placing his hand under my arm, he lifts me until I’m standing in the same spot, staring after Dante.

  Back in the car I finally manage to say, “He’s a freaking tiger. A big ole sweetie tiger that likes tummy rubs.” I look over at Ares, still half in shock.

  “I think you’d find there aren’t many of us who wouldn’t like a good tummy rub, as you call it.”

  I snort, “That’s hardly the same. It’s not like I would reach over and start stroking your stomach.”

  “Tell me, how is it different? That’s still my little brother under all the fur, the bastard. And just so we’re clear, you’re welcome to stroke any part of me you’d like.”

  “Ares,” I admonish, but now I’m left wondering if it really is the same as me rubbing one of their stomachs.

  “Just saying,” he responds and I slap my hand over my forehead. Now my mind has gone to a completely different place.

  Chapter 3