Tooth: An Alpha Like No Other (A Song of Starlight Book 1) Read online

  Once, I glance out the window and see a girl. It is twilight and the sky is tinged red-orange. The girl wears a ragged white dress—or a dress that was once white. Now it is stained with mud and blood and her feet are chapped and dry-skinned. She looks like something dragged from a lake. My heart leaps when I see her. My instincts kick in. We have to save her! We have to get her off the street! But then I look into her eyes . . . into the sockets where her eyes used to be. And I realize that she’s a sick creation of the Horde, not a girl at all. Despite her eyeless sockets, she stares straight at me, and I slide down the wall and crawl across the floor and press Casey close to my chest.

  Did she see me?

  She returns to the house again and again, but nothing else comes.

  So we wait, and we eat canned food, and we watch and listen to Tooth as he sleeps.

  “Who is he, Auntie?” Casey asks me.

  This is the night of the fifth day, and we only have enough food for two more days. Then—what? I guess I will have to scout the surrounding apartments. I’m convinced the smell of the mold—potent and choking, only just bearable—is masking us. I don’t want to leave. Or maybe you’re just paralyzed with fear. That’s a possibility. Now that Casey is safe and my mind can wander, the enormity of events is hitting me. Things that go bump in the night are real. Legend is not legend. Stories are more than stories. Everything we fear, deep down in the recesses of our souls, is a reality. No police arrive. No reinforcements. No alarm is sounded. We are alone.

  “Auntie!” Casey hisses, thumping me in the arm. Her lips are twisted in impatience. “Who is he?”

  “That’s a good question,” I say. “I don’t know, sweetie, not really. He says he’s a demi-god.”

  “What’s a demi-god?”

  “A half-god, I think.”

  “What’s a half-god?”

  “A god who is also a man.”

  “How can a person be a god and a man?”

  “I guess he has a bit of both in him.”

  “His teeth are funny,” Casey says. “Are they sharp?”

  “Yes, they’re sharp. Don’t touch them.”

  “Is he a vampire?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why do you care about him so much?”

  I’m taken aback by the question. Casey looks at me with her innocent, questioning eyes. I pause, think about what she’s asking me. Why do I care so much? I wonder.

  “Why do you think I care?” I ask, when no answer comes to mind.

  Casey giggles. Despite the dark and the damp and the canned food and the constant fear, she’s still Casey.

  “Because of the way you look at him, Auntie,” Casey says, with the tone of somebody stating something obvious. “I see the girls at school and how they look at boys they like and that’s how you look at Mr. Tooth. You get a funny look in your eye and sometimes I think you’re going to kiss him.”

  “He told me it was starlight,” I say. “He said there was starlight inside of me and it’s connected to him.”

  “There’s always been starlight in you, Auntie.”

  Casey rests her head on my shoulder and in a fraction of a second, she’s snoring.

  I watch as Tooth’s chest rises and falls, wrapped beneath the blanket. His face is neither peaceful nor tortured, but somewhere in between, as though he can’t quite decide if his dreams should be run away from or toward.

  Outside, something cries into the night.

  “Wake up,” I whisper. “Just wake up, Tooth. I need you.”

  Starlight twists in my belly, star-winged butterflies spreading throughout me, and I feel an answering call from Tooth’s side of the room. I can’t see it, but I can feel it. My strength going out to him. My strength shrouding him. My strength calling him back from the abyss.

  Why do you care about him so much?

  “We are bound by starlight,” I mutter into the dark.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tooth

  When I wake, my eyes are welded together. My body feels heavy, my limbs wracked with aches and pains.

  With an effort, I open my eyes and glance around the room. It is nighttime and there is no light in the room except for a pinprick which slants in through the boarded-up window. I sense the Other—but do not touch it, lest I pass out for years next time—and feel the mass of the Horde running across town.

  There are few humans left, I sense. Some holed up in apartments, others in underground bunkers, and a couple in the backs of stores. But most are dead. Many are zombies, or twisted into shapes of other evils by Horde magic.

  When I see Lila and the girl, I breathe a sigh of relief. So they were not taken when I was in the god-rest. Thank you, all-father, I think. And then: But screw you for giving me godly powers and making them so costly. I watch Lila and her niece in silence. I sniff. We are in a damp apartment. The girl looks clean and well-fed. I look in the corner and see empty tins of food.

  She’s been starving herself and giving all the food to the girl, I think, with a pang of guilt. Why did I have to touch the Other? We could be gone now. Instead, I’m aching and tired, there’s Horde everywhere, and the Woman is in great danger.

  “I’m sorry, Lila,” I whisper. “Forgive me.”

  I watch her sleep for a long time. She looks peaceful, her mouth turned up in a small smile. I reach inside of her. The starlight is soothing her in her dreams. Her smile widens and I feel a twinge inside of her; somewhere, deep in her dreams, she knows I am awake.

  Now it’s my responsibility to get her out of here. And the girl. Get them far away from here where the Horde can’t get to them.

  Still, I’m awake sooner than I thought I’d be.

  It’s the Woman of Starlight, I realize. The energy inside of her not only helps me to heal quicker. It also allows for quicker recovery after touching the Other.

  She’s full of surprises.

  I lie back and close my eyes. I rest.

  Sometime later, the girl creeps across the room and kneels beside me. She has her auntie’s face, strong-willed and capable, with the same sprinkling of freckles and matching red hair. She pats me on the hand.

  “Hello, Mr. Tooth,” she says. She smiles. “I’m happy you’re awake,” she whispers. “Auntie said she didn’t know how long it would be before you were awake. I talked to you to try and get you out of your dreams. I don’t know long it’s been but I think it’s been almost seven days. That’s this many.” She holds up seven little fingers. “Auntie doesn’t know I know where we are but I do. I don’t tell her because it would upset her and she’s very stressed already and Daddy used to say you mustn’t go on to Auntie Lila because she can get very stressed.” She stops, drawing in a deep breath as children do when they’ve spoken for a long time. “Are you happy to be awake, Mr. Tooth?”

  “I am,” I say. “I am happy you’re well, Casey.”

  “Auntie says you’re a man and a god. How is that possible?” She looks at me like she’s caught me in a lie.

  I chuckle softly. “That’s a good question,” I say. “Sometimes, I don’t know myself.”

  “How old are you, then?”

  I tell her.

  She giggles. “Yeah right!”

  “Hush,” I say. “We must be quiet.”

  She nods seriously. “Yes, okay.” She pats me on the hand again. I get the feeling it’s become a habit during the time I’ve been asleep. “I just don’t think you’re really that old because I’ve seen old people before and they’re all wrinkly and they have big lines in their faces and they can’t move very fast.”

  “I’m the lucky one, then. How’s Lila?”

  “I think Auntie Lila is okay, but sometimes when she thinks I’m asleep she comes over to you and starts talking to you. She tells you to wake up and that she needs you. She talks to you like you are her best friend.” She pauses. “Are you her best friend?”

  “More than that, and less.”

  “You don’t talk sense, do you?”

/>   I shake my head. “Not at all.”

  “Are you still tired?”

  “Yes.”

  “When will you be not tired?”

  I shrug. “Days. I’m over the worst now.”

  “Did you save the school from the fire-man?”

  “I helped. Lila did most of the work.”

  “Auntie did?” Casey chirps, grinning. “That’s pretty cool. She carried you. Did you know that? She carried you into the car and then up the stairs and then in here, where it’s all smelly—but it’s not as smelly as in the living room. I asked Auntie why we couldn’t move and she said the smelliness was a good thing because the Chord can’t find us then . . . with their noses.”

  “Your Auntie is a brilliant lady, Casey. I’m sure the smell certainly has kept the Chord away.”

  Casey pats my hand for a third time.

  “Did you hold my hand when I was asleep?” I ask her.

  She beams, like I’ve just acknowledged something she’s proud of. “Yes!” she whispers fiercely. “I patted it every time I remembered because I thought if I was asleep for a long time I would want somebody to pat my hand. Did it help you wake up, Mr. Tooth?”

  “It did. It was the only reason I woke up.”

  “Wow.” Casey smiles. “And do you love Auntie Lila?”

  I think for a moment. “I’m not sure if love is the right word,” I say, after a pause. “It goes deeper than that, but it also has less to do with love. Do you know what magnets are?”

  “Of course I do,” she says, puffing her chest up. “I do science.”

  “Okay, well think of a magnet, Casey. The strongest magnet you’ve ever seen. And then think how hard that magnet pulls. That is Lila. She is a magnet. I’m just a piece of metal, drawn to her. But not just over a table; I’m drawn to her over the entire universe. Your auntie is the most important person who’s ever been born.”

  “More important than you?”

  “Much more important than me. She’s the center of the universe. Stars, all across the galaxies, call out to her. She’s my counterpart; I was half a man before I felt her echo in the Other.”

  “You talk funny,” Casey says, when she loses track of my words.

  “Yes, I suppose I do.”

  “Well, if you’re going to give me funny answers you can at least answer a different question better, can’t you? Do you think Auntie Lila’s is pretty?”

  “Yes.” That answer is simple enough. “She is very pretty.”

  “See.” Casey shakes her head. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Suddenly, she blurts: “Can I touch your teeth?”

  “I’m afraid not. They’re sharp. Sharper than the sharpest knife.”

  “I bet they’re not.”

  “They are.”

  “What, even that bit, there?” She points to the very upper part of one of my teeth, where the curve starts.

  “Even that part.”

  “Shall I wake Auntie up?”

  “No, let her sleep.”

  “But if I wake her—”

  Something stabs in the Other. Casey must see it on my face. She hops to her feet and takes a step back. Something . . . him, it’s him.

  The shield bordering the town ripples as he enters. There are already vampires here, around thirty of them, but Abraham is a dirtier mark on the Other. My chest tightens and, unable to stop myself, I begin to growl. Low, mean, angry. The growl of a man who wants revenge. The growl of a man who made the mistake of trusting a vampire.

  “Mr. Tooth,” Casey says. “You’re scaring me.”

  I clench my fists and see his face. Abraham, the Man in Black, the Nightmare Man. He’s here for Lila, the Woman of Starlight. I sense him run down the road and into the center of town. The Horde begin to converge around him. I can’t see him, not with my eyes, but I imagine him standing on top of a car, giving the Horde a little pep talk.

  I imagine them cheering: “Man in Black! Man in Black! Man in Black!”

  Rage bubbles inside of me.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lila

  I wake to the sound of Tooth growling and Casey moaning in fear.

  I go to Casey. “It’s okay, sweetie,” I tell her. “Just go back to bed and Auntie will handle this.” To bed? Ha! Do you mean the cold stone floor?

  “He was being nice and then he started doing that,” she mutters. “Is he angry with me?”

  “No.” But what is wrong with him? “Go on, now.”

  Casey does as she’s told and returns to our sleeping area. I kneel down beside Tooth. He’s propped up on his elbows, staring into space and growling from deep in his belly. It’s more intimidating than the growl of a wolf, a guttural, deathly sound. And yet I am not afraid.

  “Tooth.”

  At the sound of my voice, the growl dies and his gaze snaps to me. “I’m sorry,” he says, clicking his neck from side to side. “Old rage, centuries old, coming back to me.” He looks over my shoulder to Casey. “You’re okay, Casey. Mr. Tooth isn’t angry with you.”

  “I’m glad you’re awake.”

  Tooth nods. “Me, too.”

  “But you’re still tired.”

  “You feel it.” It’s not a question.

  I do feel it.

  “Why were you growling? Is something happening?”

  I sit down next to him. His blanket has dropped to his belly and his chest is bare. His skin is clean and smooth, not a single blemish on it. It looks like brand-new skin. That’s because it is. Healed-over skin. Fresh skin. He looks down the length of his body. “I’m naked,” he notes. “Have I been naked this entire time?”

  “You hulked out of your regular clothes. I didn’t exactly have time to go shopping under the circumstances. I barely had time to get any food. But, sure, I should’ve thought of the clothes.” I realize I’m speaking bitterly, the fear and the hunger of the last few days getting to me. “I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t,” Tooth interrupts. “You are the Woman of Starlight. You never have to apologize to me.”

  “Tooth. What is happening?”

  “An old nemesis has come to town.” Tooth sighs. “His name is Abraham. I knew him in the Civil War. I was fighting for the Union. Slavery had been around for a long time, almost as long as humanity. Almost all cultures had it at one point or another. But then this man, this kind, calm man named Lincoln decided to go to war over it. There were other reasons, too; there always are. But when he said he wanted to get rid of slavery, he wasn’t lying. So I joined up, just like I’d joined up with a thousand wars before that, and I fought, and I killed.”

  He pauses, eyes flitting to Casey. “Can I talk about this with her in the room?”

  “I don’t mind!” Casey says, bobbing up and down on the spot.

  “Maybe keep it PG-thirteen?”

  A smile flits across Tooth’s face. “Who would’ve thought that the two toughest ladies in the world would be living in a nowhere town in the States, eh?”

  “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Tooth.” But I already feel happier and more hopeful than I have in days. He is awake!

  “Anyway,” Tooth goes on. “I joined up. I fought. I won’t go into details. The point is that during the war, I noticed this one soldier who only ever came out at night. A tough soldier, almost as tough as me, who would go into enemy camp under darkness and slaughter—” He winces, looking at Casey. “And defeat them. I felt him in the Other. He was a vampire. I’d been fighting the Horde for thousands of years, and my first instinct was to . . . you know . . . but he approached me first, explained who he was—a farmer turned in the fifteenth century—and that he despised slavery. He made the offer of an alliance, and like a fool, I agreed. We fought, we won battles, and then when I needed him most, he turned coat and went over to the Southerners.

  “He killed so many Union men they started calling him the Nightmare Man. He’s still known by that name by some. Others call him the Man in Black. Whatever his name is, he’s evil. Addicted to blood, like a
ll vampires are, but evil, down to his core. He laughed, Lila, when he slaughtered and . . .” Tooth grimaces. Pain presses against his features. “I cornered him, we fought, he distracted me; he ran. This is the first time in over one-hundred years he’s been within one-hundred miles of me. During that time, he’s become a leader of the Horde, a sort of folk figure to them. If he’s here, the time for madness has passed. They’ll form a proper army now.”

  “So we leave, right?” Without thinking, I grab his hand. He interlocks his fingers with mine.

  Tooth closes his eyes. A second later, he opens them. “There are sentries posted all around the town,” he says. “And I’m nowhere near as strong as I need to be for a real fight.”

  “Then . . . what?”

  “We hide,” he says, bitter. “I don’t like it. Hiding like a rat. But it’s our only choice until I’m strong enough.” He squeezes my hand. “Betrayal, Lila, is a poison. Abraham betrayed me and our men in the worst possible way. I hate him.”

  “I know something about betrayal,” I mutter.

  “You do?” He turns to me as a man wanting somebody with whom he can share his pain. But it’s more than that. It’s like his epic years are bricked upon his shoulders. His blue-black eyes are hard and yet touched with a vulnerability that tugs at my heart. His eyes seem to say: Will you carry my worries with me, Lila? Will you help me? I’ve waited so long.

  “Yes,” I whisper. “I was betrayed by my parents. The people who were supposed to protect me. They neglected and tormented me instead. Beat my brother. Almost ruined us.” I give him a quick shortened rundown of my childhood. “So, yeah, I know a thing or two about betrayal. My whole life is tinged with it.”