My frenzied hands stilled as my gaze drifted up the length of Trace’s body, slow and greedy, before settling on those panty-dropping blue eyes of his. He was leaning his shoulder against the locker beside mine, his eyebrows drawn into a frown and no sign of a smile anywhere on his lips.
My heart went a little haywire, despite my trying to keep an emotional distance from him.
I cleared my throat. “What was the question?”
He lowered himself, leaning his elbows on his bended knees for support. “My note,” he said, his face only a few inches away from mine now.
“Right.” I swallowed hard, doing my damn best to keep my gaze somewhere around his forehead and not on his eyes or mouth or dimples. “Do you think I could get back to you on that?”
“So, there is a reason then,” he surmised.
Shit. That was so not what I meant to imply. The truth was, I didn’t have any answers for him at the moment, but I also wasn’t comfortable with boldface lying to his face—at least not until I knew what was actually going on with him.
“That’s not what I meant. I just can’t talk right now,” I said and zipped up my school bag before quickly straightening out. I hadn’t even finished packing up my homework, but this was a code-red situation and I needed to get the hell out of dodge. “I’m actually really late, but we can definitely talk about this tomorrow or something. Cool?” I didn’t bother waiting for a response. “Okay, awesome! I’ll see you later!”
I spun on my heal and bolted, leaving him alone by my locker with his mouth partially opened and his eyebrows high, looking utterly gorgeous and hopelessly confused.
I hadn’t even been back in my old life for one full day and already I was itching for an outlet. I needed to vanquish—to hunt something—to feel in control of my life again and do something useful.
I wasn’t sure if Dominic had managed to get in touch with his necromancer contact or not, but since it was still daylight out, I knew we couldn’t do anything about it even if he had. Refusing to just sit around and wait, I made my way over to the newly rebuilt Temple to meet with the Senior Magister and see about taking on any extra jobs he may have had laying around.
I was surprised to find that the building had been completely rebuilt from the ground up and looked more or less the same as the old one with the exception of a few enhancements to the landscaping and a completely renovated interior. The layout, however, was pretty much the same as before, making it easy enough for me to find my way around.
I didn’t get a chance to do any exploring, though, since William Thompson was already waiting for me in the main atrium as soon as I made it through the security scanners.
If this were six months ago, I would’ve been terrified to my core of walking into this building alone, and I would’ve had plenty of reasons to feel that way. After all, it was no secret that the Council had tried to eradicate my apparent threat to them on more than one occasion. Luckily, they’d finally reached the same conclusion as I had—the one that happened to be responsible for my absolute lack of fear.
I was indestructible.
Between the Immortal Amulet and the Sword of Angelus, I was a walking nuclear bomb with the ability to detonate everything around me, yet still come out shinning like a newly minted coin. That was the kind of power that made even the most powerful of men quake in their tighty whities.
“Jemma, my dear.” He nodded his greeting to me, topping it off with his signature kindly smile. “I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have you back home with us.”
There was that word again. I supposed Hollow Hills was as close to a home as I would get at this point, so I didn’t bother to object (even though I was pretty much homeless and crashing at Dominic’s).
“What you did at All Saints—” He trailed off as though at a loss for words. “You saved a lot of people that night, and at the expense of your own heart.”
I swallowed around the knot that had formed at the back of my throat. The one that always seemed to appear when I remembered that night. Hence why I didn’t like thinking about it in the first place.
“You are quickly turning into the Slayer we always hoped you would be,” he went on, his eyes glowing with admiration. “I couldn’t be any prouder of your progress if you were my very own daughter.”
I wasn’t sure how to take his comment.
Obviously, on the exterior it was a compliment. In his eyes, I’d done good. I’d done exactly what was needed to be done and I was getting closer to becoming the Slayer they’d envisioned me to be.
But what did that mean for me? Wasn’t I giving in to exactly the life I never wanted? Becoming the thing I had hoped I’d never become?
The thought unsettled me, so I didn’t push myself to dig any deeper for the answer.
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” I said instead, gesturing with my chin to the familiar artifacts still lining the atrium walls like the priceless jewels on a royal crown.
“Yes, we were able to salvage much of the relics due to a protection spell from our High Casters.”
Too bad the same couldn’t be said for all the people that were lost in the Hellfire started by Lucifer—namely my uncle. As strained as our relationship had become towards the end, mostly due to his involvement in trying to have me offed, he was still the only family I had left besides my sister.
“And the Necropolis?” I asked, referring to the underground cemetery where my mother had been buried for most of my life. I’d asked Tessa about it plenty of times over the summer, but she couldn’t have been bothered to get an actual straight answer from the Council.
“The Hellfire never reached that far down.”
That was breaking news to me. “So, she’s still down there then?” I asked, knowing he knew exactly who I was referring to since my mother was the only body I was actually concerned with.
Up until now, I had avoided having this conversation with anyone, including my sister, but enough time had passed to let the dust settle over everyone’s wounds. He needed to know that, unlike Tessa and my uncle, I wasn’t planning on letting them keep my mother down there to rot for the rest of eternity.
He paused, assessing me for a moment. “Your mother has been let go, Jemma,” he informed cautiously, as though he were anxious of what my reaction might be. “Permanently. I thought you’d been informed.”
Permanently let go?
What the hell did that even mean?!
I schooled my features. “Is that another way of saying you vanquished her?” I asked, my tone low and even despite the torrent of emotions I was feeling on the inside. “Because we’re going to have a serious problem if it is.”
“No, no, of course not,” he quickly answered, his hands out to calm me. “I mean to say, we’ve released her from the Necropolis. Her sentence has been lifted. Partially as a sign of good faith to you.”
“To me? Why?” I asked, confused and somewhat suspicious. The Council never did anything nice without a reason.
“Well, to make amends, of course,” he answered simply. “To show you that we are all on the same side now.”
My focus drifted away from him as I tried to process what he’d just told me.
My mother was free. She was out there in the world, living her life without restraints, without fear of being hunted or persecuted, living her life without…me.
Well, shit. That part kind of stung. She hadn’t even tried to get in touch with me or Tessa. At least not as far as I knew. Then again, this whole thing could have happened as recently as yesterday. Maybe she hadn’t had a chance to reach out yet. Maybe she was working her way up to it.
“When did this all happen?” I asked, needing to know the exact timeline. Needing to quiet that little voice of doubt at the back of my head that was telling me I didn’t matter enough to her.
“Oh, shortly after the fire,” he said and then furrowed his brows as he thought on it. “It couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks.”
Anot
her hit to my stomach. She’d been free for over three months and she hadn’t even bothered to get in touch with me once. Having literally no words, I pressed my mouth shut and clenched my jaw. Un-freaking-believable. She obviously didn’t give a single flying fuck about me, though I had no idea why I was even surprised. I should’ve been used to the disappointment by now.
And yet… “Do you have any idea where she is now?” I asked for reasons unknown to me. Apparently, I was a total glutton for punishment.
“We’re no longer tracking her whereabouts, my dear. I assumed you…” He trailed off realizing he’d assumed wrong. “She hasn’t been in contact with you,” he said softly, and it wasn’t a question. It was a statement and it was laced with pity.
I squared my shoulders and fixed my expression. So, my mother didn’t reach out. She didn’t come looking for me. Big shit. I didn’t need her anyway. I didn’t need anyone. Not her, not a family or a home, and definitely not his pity.
“So, about that job?” I asked, steeling myself and my heart once again.
He nodded, understanding that our conversation about her had come to a swift end. “Walk with me,” he requested, extending his arm to lead the way.
Eager to get on with it, I quickly fell into line with him.
“You mentioned on the telephone that you wanted keep busy while finishing up your studies, is that right?” he verified, as though my request had gotten lost in translation through the phone line.
“Pretty much,” I said without meeting his eyes. Despite my soured mood, I needed to put my mother out of my mind and focus on my own life—on the here and now. So that’s what I did. “I was on the road with Tessa for months and it felt good. But now…I don’t know. It feels strange being back here and not hunting. I feel…off.”
“Oh, yes, that’s quite understandable; common even.” He looked forward and then crossed his hands behind his back. “And you’re certain you wouldn’t prefer to simply concentrate on your studies? None of this is going anywhere, after all. You certainly wouldn’t be the first or last to take a break.”
“Why would I want to do that? I already know there’s no college or career for me after high school,” I answered without a lick of emotion. “This is my life, and I don’t want to be rusty by the time I graduate.”
He paused to study me for a moment. “You’ve come a long way, Jemma.”
I nodded, knowing that I had. Who I was three months ago was ions away from who I was now. It wasn’t always noticeable, you couldn’t always see it on the outside, because for the most part, I looked and talked and dressed the same…but inside I was changed. I’d hardened. I’d grown stronger.
And I’d resigned myself.
“You can start me off with something small if you need to evaluate my abilities first,” I offered, having no problem showing them what I could do with a wooden stake and a room full of Revenants.
“That won’t be necessary. Tessa kept us updated on your progress throughout the summer.”
Yeah, no surprise there. She was a total mole like that.
“Great.” I stopped walking and turned to face him. “So, where should I start? Demons? A Revenant hive? Another Hell Gate? Give me everything you got. I can handle it.” Good grief. I hadn’t realized how antsy I was to get started until I was standing there talking with him about it. I felt like an addict looking for her next fix.
The corners of his mouth pushed up into his cheeks as he looked down at me fondly. Something about the way his eyes lit up told me he knew that feeling well—remembered it from his good ol’ days.
“Actually,” he said after a short pause, his smile slipping into a frown. “I have something else for you. A special case I’d like your help with.”
“Okay…” I dragged the word out. “How special are we talking? Rogue Gargoyle special, or like, Apocalypse Now special?” My eyes thinned in anticipation as I waited for him to elaborate.
“This is big, my dear. Far bigger than anything we’ve encountered thus far.”
My eyebrows drew together in skepticism. “Bigger than Lucifer?” I highly doubted that.
He nodded circularly as though he couldn’t decide which way to go with it. “Different, but just as impervious. We’ve been tracking this thing for weeks now and could use a fresh set of eyes.”
Alright, he got me. I was hella intrigued. Like foaming at the mouth intrigued. “So, what is it?”
He pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes, though he never bothered to produce an answer to my question.
My eye widened in surprise. “That bad?”
Again, he didn’t answer. Instead he said, “The Council is meeting tomorrow to discuss our next move. Meet with us and we’ll fill you in on what you need to know.”
For the faintest of seconds, a pang of trepidation slashed through my belly. I mean, let’s face it. This could easily be another trick. A setup. They’ve certainly done it before. The question was, would they be stupid enough to try it again?
I searched his face for any signs of deceit but found nothing but comradery. It was a far cry from the way he used to look at me—extraordinary yet expendable, like a dangerous fire that needed to be extinguished permanently.
Of course, we both knew they couldn’t put me down even if they wanted to. I was indestructible and everybody knew it. Including me.
“Perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
8. TALK OF THE DEAD
The sun had already begun its slow descent into the balmy sky as I left Temple shortly after my meeting with William. Climbing into the front seat of my car, I put the car in drive and headed across town to the Huntington Manor to meet Dominic. I hadn’t spoken to him all day, so I had no idea if he’d reached his contact or not, but I was staying optimistic. Dominic almost always came through for me when I needed him to, a fact that was never far from my mind.
I turned the radio up and tried not to think about my meeting with William or the bombshell he’d dropped on me about my mother since I could only deal with one life-altering catastrophe at a time.
Instead, I thought back to better days—to hunting demons with my sister and to Dominic teaching me how to drive over the summer. The man couldn’t fathom how I’d made it to seventeen years of life without bothering to learn how to drive. It was then that I’d opened up to him about the year leading up to my arrival in Hollow Hills.
About losing my father.
About my stint in the hospital.
About everything in between.
And I hadn’t been afraid to tell him any of it. Then again, I rarely ever was with him. Talking to Dominic was always easy for me—it felt natural and freeing in a way I’d never felt with anyone else. He never judged me. He never looked down on me or thought less of me. Probably because he had his own set-in-stone ideas about who I was: that I was untouchable; a walking enigma; perfection personified. And there wasn’t a single thing anyone—including myself—could tell him that would change his mind about me.
It was a blessing and a curse all in one.
By the time I made it to the Manor, the sun had completely dissolved into the horizon. I grabbed my schoolbag from the passenger seat, locked the doors and hurried up the front steps. It was only when I opened the door that I realized how excited I was to see him again. Over the last few months, I’d grown accustomed to not seeing him for days on end, sometimes even weeks, and as hard as it was to not have that daily dose of him or all the deliciously sinful things he did to my body, I managed to find a way to make it without that, too.
“Honey, I’m home,” I called teasingly as I slammed the front door shut and kicked off my shoes.
“Be still my heart,” he said as he walked out of the den and met me in the hallway. He was wearing his usual pressed black slacks and a matching button up shirt paired with a swoon-worthy grin on his face.
I eagerly closed the gap and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I hope you have good news for me.” I dropped back onto the heels of my feet
and tried to take a step back, but he quickly snaked his arm around my waist to keep me from retreating.
“Have I ever let you down before?” he asked, caressing my cheek with the back of his hand.
I pretended to think about it. “That depends. How far back are we going?”
He slapped his hand against his heart as though I’d wounded him, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You up for a road trip, love?”
I couldn’t suppress my smile even if I’d tried to, which I didn’t. “I am if there’s a necromancer at the end of it.”
“We’ll take my car then,” he said and dropped a kiss on my forehead.
My heart galloped wildly in my chest as gratitude rippled out from every pore in my body. I couldn’t believe he’d actually pulled it off. Was there anything this guy couldn’t do? “I seriously owe you big time for this.”
“Indeed, you do. And you can thank me later,” he said, smiling crookedly.
“In blood and flesh, I assume?”
“Is there any other way?” he asked and then caressed the apple of my cheek again.
Certainly none that I cared to entertain.
Two and a half hours into the trip and my ass had lost all feeling. I’d contemplating telling Dominic to pull over to stretch our legs, but that would only prolong the time it would take to get to the meeting and I already felt like I was running out of time as it was.
“So, I stopped by Temple today,” I said conversationally as I watched a row of lit up shops outside my window.
“What for?” he asked, his tone flat. If he disapproved of it, he wasn’t showing it.
“I need something to keep myself busy.” I flexed my hands, trying to shake that unwavering itch to slay something—to be useful in the only way I knew how to be anymore.
“Well, I could’ve helped you with that, angel.” I could hear the smile behind his words.
I met his eyes and quirked my brow at him. “How? By turning me down every single time we’re together?”
Incarnate: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Saga Book 5) Page 7