Claire eyed me as if I had made a bad joke and yet again she was completely misjudging how important she was in this equation. She was everything to me and I wasn’t anything without her.
“You may wonder, but again I’m surprised by how special you are. I’ve seen a part of you that’s so pure.” Again I tried to see that crystal-clear speck of light inside of her, but without a chance. The image of her pristine soul was burnt into my heart, along with all the other memories of her which I’d placed there for eternity. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She spoke the words, but her feelings were focused on the unease I had brought upon her.
With a step back, I gave her enough space to recover and also compliment on her shirt.
“Nice. Ready?”
“For what?” She creased her forehead.
“Going back to my place.”
“Sure.” With a nod, she stepped toward me and laid her hands on my arms. I closed my eyes and brought us back to the spot by my couch where we’d taken off from.
“I’ve never thanked you for all the things you do for me,” she said and leaned against my chest.
“It’s the least I can do. It’s nothing.” She deserved so much better. A stronger protector, a life without danger. Someone who wouldn’t outlive her by eons.
“It’s what keeps us alive.”
“And Jaden’s been helping a lot. Basically, he’s always in the right place at the right time—when you need protection.” I sighed. It was hard to admit, but despite his faults, without Jaden, Claire wouldn’t even be around to be protected. “I wish I could be there in time at least once—”
Claire cringed at my words, eyes wide with horror at the image I’d put in her head. “You can’t—”
“I’m not that breakable, Claire,” I reminded her. “As you might have noticed, I’m quite strong and I can fly, and teleport. I get away—always.”
“Always? Does that mean you’ve been attacked?”
Maureen and her threats sprang to my mind, but that hadn’t been a real attack. Nothing like what she’d had to endure.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she all but screamed.
“I didn’t want to scare you more than necessary.” There was really no reason to tell her about Maureen now.
“More than necessary?” She glared at me open-mouthed. “I mean, you can go wherever you like, dangerous as it may be? But I—I have to be babysat all the time. It’s unfair.” She spoke so fast she almost stumbled on the words.
“Don’t be upset,” I tried to appease her. “I’m an angel, remember, I’m supposed to be able to take down a demon, if necessary. But you are human. You’re easy prey for them unless you have someone looking after you—which is what, apart from Jaden, I’m doing.”
Her reaction hit me right in the heart. She loved me and she wasn’t willing to lose me, not for anything in this world. It was so intense it almost broke my heart. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about.”
“I can look after myself. Just don’t worry.” I would find a way when the day came.
Hiding my insecurity, I stepped to the side and pulled a hoodie from my closet and put it on.
“Don’t want people to notice I’m indifferent to winter temperatures.” I winked at her, and almost instantly her uneasiness was gone. I’d put on a great show. And there was another topic I needed to address, uncomfortable as it may be, it would shift the focus away from me and my ability to protect her.
“There’s one more thing before we go there.”
“Whatever you want.” She was just a little bit alarmed.
Could I really bring up Sporty now? I already knew whatever had happened, it had been his fault, without a doubt.
“Spit it out,” she prompted.
“Do you promise not to be upset with me?” She would know I was jealous.
“Spill,” she demanded.
“What did you do to your friend, Gregory?”
Her reaction was a bubble of awkwardness. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“He was obviously angry at you last time I saw him, at the charity concert.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s nothing. We just had a—a little disagreement.” She kept her voice casual, downplaying the incident, but I knew what I’d seen and heard. She had almost gone to pieces there.
“That didn’t seem like nothing. He would have murdered you with his gaze if that was possible.”
“I gave him a wrong impression,” she defended herself.
“On what?”
She sighed at my persistence, finally ready to tell the truth. “On what I feel for him. I went on a date with him after you turned me down because it was too dangerous for me to know things—” she grimaced. “So, now it’s out. Come on—bawl me out.” She hunched her shoulders, preparing for my wrath. It was almost endearing how she could think I would be upset with her for something like that.
“You’re such a lovable thing.” I ran my hand through her hair. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“I don’t think you’re stupid,” she objected.
“But you thought you could hide what was going on between the two of you.” She should understand by now that it wasn’t just her who was transparent to me. Sporty was as much as all of her other friends and everyone else who crossed my path. “I sensed how Gregory was into you the first time I saw him with you. I knew it was only a matter of time until he would try his luck when I sent you away. I have to admit I counted on that a little. I thought if you had a friend who would adore you as much as he did, you would think about it twice and give him a chance after some time. I didn’t—in no way—expect that you would use him to punish me for leaving you, because that’s what you did.” I watched her eyes grow wide as she realized I was right. She shook her head at herself.
“Seems like I was the catalyst here. I set you off and you set him off, and now you’re fighting with your best friend. I’m sorry you lost him because of my naivety,” I apologized, sorry for having caused her the pain of losing a friend in addition to losing me.
She shushed me. “It’s my fault—I was the one who let him think there was a way my feelings about you would change. But, to be honest, I only lied to myself. There’s nothing that could reverse what you touched in my heart.” Her words brought back that feeling of seeing the happy Claire in front of me, the irresistible one. “And technically, I haven’t lost him. He has decided to not scream at me anymore, but tries to make it up somehow, I think.” She leaned into my arms.
“I hope you two make up.” She needed her friends as much as she needed me. They saved her in a different way. “In times like these you need all the friends you can get and he has been one of the good ones, hasn’t he?” She nodded and rested her head against my shoulder. Relief and gratitude dominated her feelings for now.
No more questions. It was time to head out if I meant what I’d said. “Shall we go then?” I scooped her up effortlessly and carried her to the car, our jackets in one hand, and waved at an amused Geoffrey who opened the door for us. At that moment, I was convinced that a night out was exactly what we needed in order to fight the looming darkness.
21
A Flash of Silver
The drive to the pool hall was considerably quiet. Claire held my hand, and I didn’t even think of winding mine out of hers. It was only when we arrived at the pool hall and had to get out of the car that we reluctantly separated our fingers.
I looked up the office building instead of engaging in the conversation Claire had with Amber, Lydia, and Richard. The pool hall was somewhere in the lower part of that building, sandwiched between floors of cubicles hosting the workforce of the city’s administrative economy.
“How’s Ian?” Claire asked while I was examining the signs at the elevator. A law firm, a newspaper, a couple of offices for stores in the neighborhood.
“Fine,” Richard answered. I pretended to listen, but my focus
was clearly on getting a good look at our environment. Escape routes. “He’s missing your big sister, though. You know, always going on about her. I think this time they could really stand a chance with each other.”
Claire’s laugh next to me caught my attention and I turned to soak up her happy face. “I hope so.”
The elevator ding-ed and the doors opened, revealing a space which was too narrow for my taste, and without a real escape. Teleporting would be an option. Always. That eased my mind a bit and I stepped in with the others, not at all ready to start the evening.
The elevator was full of emotions. There was Lydia and Richard’s authentic affection for each other. Amber was still making up her mind if she should find me hot or be upset with me for hurting her friend. Her feelings were little daggers, nagging on my conscience.
Loud music and the sound of too many people greeted us as we stepped out of the elevator. Naturally, I had noticed them even before we had entered the building, but now that we were walking into the crowd, this suddenly didn’t feel half as good an idea as I had made myself believe earlier. Every face at every pool table we passed went into my memory and my eyes kept searching the room for signs of danger. It was impossible to make out anything, even with my angel senses. There were just too many people, too many variables, too many factors. The smallest bit of relief set in when Amber chose a table at the far end of the room, where the music was lower and there were two walls shielding us, so at least I wouldn’t have to monitor the room around me in three-sixty. Lydia and Richard set out to get drinks for everyone.
As I looked around, emotions were boiling inside the pool hall, every game a little drama, every table its own dynamic of hope, frustration, loss, cheering… They were coming at me from every direction. And every malicious wish of a player that their opponent would miss the ball felt like an open threat to Claire and me. I had to level my perception so I could start filtering the important from the unimportant cues.
Claire was chatting with Amber and I joined in, trying to disguise my frantic screening.
“So, how are things going, Amber?” I asked, knowing there would be a lot of babble.
“Not bad,” she smiled at me, all eager for my attention and smug about how superior she felt to Claire. She would have kicked Claire under the bus any time if I’d shown just a bit of interest in her, I was sure of that. Maybe that’s why I’d never particularly liked her. She was a nice girl, but in the end, she only watched out for herself.
Claire’s eyes were wandering back and forth between Amber and me. She was feeling awkward next to her, like she had to compete in a hopeless contest. I laid my arm around her and pulled her close, making visible where my heart was at home.
“Did you get some feedback from one of the drama schools?” Claire asked, consoled by the knowledge that I loved her.
“Funny you should ask,” Amber went into storytelling mode. “I got my admission letter from New York.”
“Amber, that’s great.” Claire pulled out of my arm to hug her. “Congratulations.”
“Yeah, that’s actually awesome,” I agreed halfheartedly. My focus had gone back to the people in our closest environment. There were a couple of young men my age laughing about something, a serious game at the table beside us, two couples playing each other on a double date. Nothing suspicious—so far.
“Thanks,” I heard her in the background.
“What did we miss?” Lydia asked, returning with her hands full of glasses.
“Amber’s going to New York.”
“Got my admission letter today.”
Lydia and Amber squealed in excitement in some girly ritual and raised their glasses, and as Amber retold every detail of what the admission letter said, Claire took a step back. She was watching her friends with some sort of nostalgia. She was happy for them, but she also knew that she was no longer part of what they had. Her life had taken a different direction—one which included fear for her own survival on a daily basis.
She dropped onto the couch beside the table and sipped her soda absently and I followed her lead, sticking to her side, always anxious to miss any of her moods and fail to be there for her. We were in this together and I needed to do my part.
As I studied her profile, attention half on her, half on the environment, something caught my eye. A familiar shape was walking up to us, balancing in high heels, dressed in tight, black clothes and her bluish-black mane swinging with every dynamic step she took. Maureen. Instinctively, I readied my body to spring and fight. Claire noticed how tense I’d gotten from one second to the next.
“What’s wrong now?” she asked in a low voice, not even looking as if she had spoken, but my ears caught her melody in the sea of voices.
For one moment, I pondered if it would be a good idea to tell Claire that Maureen knew about me and that implied that she knew about her, too. A dark laugh escaped my lips as Maureen stopped right in front of us.
“Hello there,” she looked down at us, a false smile decorating her otherwise cold features.
I closed my eyes, hoping she would disappear, but when I blinked briefly, she was still there, still as icy and still a cloud of jealous vindictiveness enclosing her. I let my eyelids drop again, frustrated.
“Maureen.” I didn’t even know if I spoke her name or just thought it. Anyway, I felt Claire’s head turn and she must now be facing Maureen’s irritation with my choice of girlfriend. Why couldn’t she just leave us alone? The riddles she had spoken, always telling me eventually we all get what we deserve… Did she have another one to throw at me before she disappeared again?
“What do you want this time?” I asked, opening my eyes, hoping to scare her with the coldest glare I could pull. As her eyes locked on mine, all the words she’d spoken came back to me. In a different life, we could have been perfect for each other. As I looked up at her, waves of possessiveness and hunger running through her, I wondered how I could have felt sorry for her even a little bit.
“What I always want—you,” she flirted and her grin told me she knew exactly how to trigger a man’s desire. She reached out with her fingers and ran them over my hair and cheek.
Not with me. I ducked out of her reach and growled to myself. She had chosen a bad day to mess with me. My patience was already used up from my discussions with Claire. Maureen’s attempts to make me into something I wasn’t were pushing me over the edge.
“I told you a hundred times, Maureen, I don’t love you.” She knew that. She just wanted to humiliate me and hurt Claire in the process. Vengeance.
Whatever she might have meant with Now you are just an artifact of my failure, she was definitely not over it.
“See, that’s the problem, Adam—” she said innocently, as if talking to a tenth-grader, “—I do.”
“Don’t start again,” I bounced my head to both sides, “I told you, it’s over and nothing you do is going to change that.”
“It’s because of her, isn’t it?”
Why couldn’t she just let it go? Hadn’t she tried to warn me? Hadn’t she wanted me to get away from the demons? From her kind?
“I don’t understand you,” she purred before she turned to Claire. “You’re an ordinary little thing.”
Her evil side flashed through, splashing sadistic pleasure into the ether, as she watched Claire cringe from her insult.
“Leave Claire out of this,” I warned her, ready to take her down in this very room if necessary.
“Oh, worried about her, are we?” She kept freezing Claire to the spot with her venomous stare.
“It’s none of your business,” I fought hard not to jump to my feet and grab her throat. Something that even in my darkest moments, I’d never thought myself capable of.
Maureen continued staring, sweet smile in place. It was so much worse than the most frigid expression she could ever fashion.
“Can you just go, please?” I asked with a sigh, a last attempt to get rid of her before I lost control for good.
; “Is there a problem?” A new voice joined the conversation.
“Jaden,” Claire breathed, and relief streamed toward me from her side.
“Hello, Claire,” Jaden whispered to her, then to me. “Hello, Adam.”
I turned briefly and nodded at him. “Jaden.” For once, he was there at the right moment.
Maureen’s gaze grew eager as it fell on Claire’s guardian angel, hunger taking over her features. “You haven’t introduced me to your friend,” she scolded me. “How impolite of you. I’m Maureen.” She held out her hand, thirsty to make contact.
Jaden didn’t take it. “Good evening, Maureen. It’s nice to meet you,” he said instead, polite and with the perfect self-control I would expect only a true angel could exercise. But the emotions rushing from him were the opposite of his polite words. They were filled with aversion and hostility.
Maureen soaked up his velvet tone and fluttered her eyelids at him. But it wasn’t his physique she was craving, that much was clear. There was something else she saw in him, and the look on her face, disguised by tease, was a lost and desperate one. She was searching for something.
My eyes went back and forth between the two of them. Jaden didn’t blink. He didn’t change his cold face. He looked deadly and there was a certain bloodlust radiating from him that changed the way I saw him. He wasn’t just Claire’s guardian angel. He was a killer—if needed. And he wouldn’t compromise when it came to Claire’s safety. I knew the feeling from myself, and it scared me how even the purest of immortals seemed to have a dark side.
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