Stone Cold Touch

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “We’re here to help him,” I said, relieved to find that Dean had stopped howling.

  Roth stiffened, but he kept his gaze locked on her. “Everything is fine. You just need to go downstairs and start dinner. Chili dogs would be great.”

  After a tense moment, Mrs. McDaniel pulled away and left the room, once again humming Roth’s song. Letting out the breath I was holding, I turned back to Dean. He was holding his headphones.

  “Dean—”

  “Get out,” he said, and when we didn’t move, he lifted his gaze and a cold chill skated over my skin. There was something empty in his stare. “Get out.”

  Zayne held his ground. “We need—”

  “Get out!” Dean was on his feet and he cocked back his arm, throwing the headphones straight at Roth’s head. “Get out!”

  Roth’s hand snapped out, catching the headphones before they smacked his nose. The plastic was crushed in his grip and then tossed to the floor. “I seriously hate it when people throw things at my face.”

  The boy didn’t seem to care. He whirled on Zayne and charged him. Zayne must’ve seen something in his stare because he shifted. The shirt ripped right across from back and chest. Granite skin replaced human flesh. Wings unfurled, seeming to take up the whole room. Zayne caught Dean and spun him around, curling a massive bicep under his neck.

  Dean went crazy—kicking and clawing at the air as he wailed a steady stream of Latin.

  “Show off,” Roth said, rolling his eyes. “Like you needed to shift.”

  Zayne ignored him as the muscles in his arms flexed under Dean’s neck, cutting off the inhuman sound emanating from the boy. Quickly, Dean settled down, his arms and legs going lax. He was down for the count.

  Shifting back into his human form after carefully placing Dean on the bed, Zayne glanced down at his tattered shirt. “Sorry, but I don’t think we were going to get much out of him after that.”

  “We didn’t get much out of him anyway,” Roth responded, lip curling as he stared at the unconscious boy. “All he did was confirm that he came into contact with the Lilin at school.”

  “That’s something, right?” I said.

  Neither of the guys responded. As we left the McDaniels’ residence, I couldn’t help but feel a little defeated. I didn’t know what I’d expected from coming here, but I hadn’t thought I’d see Dean like that. None of us seemed to have a clue as to what Dean could be hearing.

  Once we were inside the Impala, Roth leaned forward and tapped my shoulder. “You shouldn’t have said what you did up there.”

  I caught Zayne’s frown as I twisted toward Roth. “What do you mean?”

  “When you told his mom we could help him,” he said, an oddly serious glint to his amber eyes. “You shouldn’t have said that.”

  My stomach took a little tumble. “Why?”

  “I don’t think we can help him. At all.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “I have an idea.”

  When Roth spoke those words at the beginning of Tuesday’s bio class, I was immediately prepared for any amount of cray-cray, especially after our visit with Dean.

  “Okay?”

  “Since we didn’t get anywhere with Dean yesterday, I’ve been thinking.” He lowered his head and spoke quietly. “No one’s really checked out the old gymnasium, have they?”

  “Not since that night as far as I know. So?”

  His eyes shone brightly. “Who knows what kind of evidence we’d find down there since it was where the Lilin was kind of born. Doesn’t hurt to check it out. Thought you’d be interested in scoping it out at lunch.”

  I opened my mouth, but snapped it shut. This was exactly what Zayne had asked me not to do. Granted, checking out the gymnasium in the bowels of school wasn’t exactly running off with Roth.

  “I know you don’t want to sit around and let us take care of it,” he cajoled, tilting his head to the side. “At least, the Layla I remember was more of a get-involved kind of gal, not someone who’d rather sit by the sidelines.”

  My eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re doing. You’re goading me into going with you.”

  “Is it working?”

  I sighed. “Yes.”

  “Perfect,” he replied, twisting toward the bio door. He held it open for me. “It’s a date.”

  When he laughed, I knew there was a good chance I was going to kill him and stash his body behind the bleachers.

  * * *

  Instead of going to lunch like a normal person, I left my bag in my locker and headed in the opposite direction. I’d spent the vast majority of the morning telling myself I wasn’t doing anything wrong, and as soon as I saw Zayne after school I’d tell him that we’d checked out the gymnasium.

  The hall was empty and the conversations behind closed doors muted. Overhead, the red-and-gold banner rippled softly as the heat kicked on. As I passed the computer lab, the door opened and Gareth stumbled out.

  His legs and brain seemed to not be connected. He staggered to the side, leaning into a locker. Bending at the waist, his chin dipped to his chest.

  I stopped, biting my lower lip. By no means were Gareth and I friends, and I’d been shocked that he’d even known my name when he’d invited me to watch football practice not long ago. According to Stacey, Gareth probably knew my bra size, which creeped me out a bit.

  His body shuddered as he dragged in a deep breath.

  But he was in trouble—perhaps the Lilin kind of trouble.

  Taking a quick breath, I walked over to him. “Gareth? Are you okay?”

  Gareth folded an arm across his waist and when he didn’t answer, I touched his shoulder lightly. He jerked up, knocking my hand off his shoulder. Bloodshot eyes met mine.

  I took a step back, shaken. Like with Dean, behind the red veins and hazel irises, there was something empty in there. Something gone.

  “What are you staring at, freak?” he asked, and then laughed. “Freak-a-deek-a-deek...” he mumbled, giggling as he shuffled slowly off toward the cafeteria.

  Good God...

  Hurrying to the stairwell, I leaned against the wall down there and lifted my head as I heard the door above me open. A second later, the space that was empty in front of me was filled with six-and-then-some feet of Roth. Gasping, I jerked back.

  “God! Why do you do that?” I pressed my hand to my chest. “You could’ve just used the stairs.”

  He grinned as he rocked back on the heels of his sneakers. “What fun is there in that?”

  “I don’t care. Stop popping in and out.”

  “You’re just jealous you can’t do that because you’re not a hundred percent, full-blooded awesome demon like me.”

  I rolled my eyes, but there was a little part of me that was envious of that ability. God knows it would come in handy every time I found myself in a situation I wanted to pop myself out of.

  Ignoring the comment, I focused on the important. “I think Gareth is infected.”

  “Can’t say I’m too torn up over that prospect.”

  My eyes narrowed.

  “What? Like I said before, Gareth and his daddy are well on their way to spending an eternity clawing out their eyes or some messed-up crap like that.”

  “Gareth may be a crappy person, but he doesn’t deserve to lose his soul.” When Roth looked unfazed by the statement, I sighed. “Does human life mean nothing to you?”

  “I’m a demon,” he replied. “Should it?”

  I knew better. His words may be cold and brash, but I knew Roth was more than just a demon. I wasn’t going to start that conversation again, though. I headed down the final flight of stairs. I didn’t want to hang around in the stairwell with him and end up poking memories loose. He followed behind me, quiet as a ghost.

  “The door is locked,” I said, motioning toward the chain wrapped around the handle. “You can break it?”

  Stepping forward, he grinned devilishly over his shoulder. “Easily.”

  All it took was for h
im to put two hands on the chain and pull. The metal gave way with a clank. The ease with which he broke the chain gave me pause. Roth was dangerous, something I couldn’t afford to forget.

  Musty, cold air seeped into the hallway as he pushed the heavy door open. Stepping into the abysmal darkness, he searched for a light switch while he hummed softly under his breath.

  Pressure clamped around my heart, squeezing it dry as I realized he was humming “Paradise City.” The song made my chest achy, and I wished I could plug my ears.

  Roth found a switch, and a low whirr reverberated through the room. A few large dome lights flickered along the ceiling before clicking on. The light was dull and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.

  He’d already moved forward, heading for the area near the hoopless basketball pole. All the occult and satanic stuff had long since been removed, but there was an evilness that still lingered in the cold, dank gymnasium. The place gave me the creeps.

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I trailed after Roth, noticing where the Rack demons’ claws had scored thin slices into the flooring. There had been many of them that night. The area where I’d been tied down was scorched black from the fire that had claimed Roth and Paimon. Lifting my gaze, I stared at Roth’s back, wondering if being here made him feel anything.

  He knelt, running his hand along the floor, brushing aside dirt and dust. “So...you and Stony?”

  Sighing, I edged around him and the faint white line that marked where the pentagram had been drawn. Scanning the area, it wasn’t hard to see myself there. Chilled, I took a deep breath.

  “You guys doing a movie date?” he asked, undeterred by my silence.

  I crouched down near where my arms would’ve been tied. Burnt, frayed rope remained, lying forgotten. “I’m not talking to you about Zayne.”

  “Why not?”

  Compressing my lips, I lifted my gaze and met his. He arched a brow, and I shook my head. Returning my attention to the floor, I surveyed it intensely.

  “You and Stony have been getting close, I imagine,” he continued, straightening. “Getting food together. Maybe going to the movies...”

  “We live together, Roth. Going out and grabbing food isn’t that unusual.”

  He made a clicking sound with his tongue bolt against his teeth. “Ah, but it’s more than that, isn’t it? Especially from the way Stony warned me off you—twice now.”

  “Twice?” I ran my fingers over the floor.

  “Once at the restaurant, which you were there for,” he said, his voice close. When I looked over my shoulder, he was standing behind me. I hadn’t even heard him move. “And then Saturday night. We ran into each other.”

  “I know.” I turned back to the floor, ignoring the shiver of awareness that came from how close he was.

  “Oh, so he told you?” Roth scooped up a handful of my hair, gently tugging my head back. I narrowed my gaze as I snatched my hair free. He grinned at me. “Did he tell you what he said to me?”

  “I really don’t want to know.”

  Roth knelt beside me, so close his thigh pressed into mine. “He said that I needed to stay away from you.”

  “Really,” I murmured.

  “Yes.” His breath danced over my cheek, and I stiffened. “And he also told me that you don’t belong to me.”

  My chin jerked toward him, and I found that we were face-to-face. “Well, the last time I checked, I don’t.”

  The smile kicked up a notch. “And do you know what else he said?”

  “If you tell me, will you drop the subject?”

  He dipped his chin. “Sure.”

  I didn’t believe it for one second. Leaning back, I forced myself to hold his gaze. “What, Roth?”

  “He said that you—” he tapped the edge of my nose “—belong to him.”

  My mouth dropped open as I stared at him. “I don’t believe you.”

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  “Something like that would never come out of his mouth.” Frustration spread across me like a heat rash. “Ever.”

  Roth’s lips pursed. “You can believe me or not, but I notice you’re not denying it.”

  My first inclination had been to deny it, but as we continued to stare at each other, anger took hold. “Why are we even talking about this?”

  “Just curious.” He rose fluidly, rubbing a hand across his Pink Floyd shirt. “I just think it’s...great how quickly you’ve moved on.”

  I blinked once and then twice, thinking I hadn’t heard him right, and when I realized I had, I wanted to slam my fist between his legs. “Are you serious?”

  Roth’s brows knitted. “Do I look like I’m not serious?”

  “You think it’s great that I moved on so fast. Right? From what?” I came to my feet. “What exactly am I moving on from? According to you, whatever we had didn’t matter and never would. All I was good for was easing your boredom, remember?”

  “I apologized for saying that,” he countered, eyes flashing a bright yellow. “Do you want me to apologize again?”

  “No!” I stepped forward, breathing heavily. “Let me ask you a question. Do you want to be with me, Roth?”

  His pupils dilated as he took a step back. “What?”

  “Answer the question.”

  He backed up again, away from me, his chest rising deeply. “It’s not about what I want.”

  “Whatever, Roth.” Stalking forward, I shoved my finger into his chest. “I liked you—really liked you and when you were gone and I thought you were being tortured in a fiery pit, it hurt me.”

  “Layla—”

  “I know we were never really together, but I hardly ate or slept after you left, and the only person who kept me from going crazy was Zayne and you knew that! You even said that was why you took his place. Then you come back and you tell me that everything between us never meant a damn thing to you. You even threw Zayne in my face, basically telling me to get with him and now you’re saying it’s great I moved on so fast. Well, you can go fu—”

  “Layla.”

  “What?” I shrieked.

  His eyes brightened into golden pools. “You’re sexy when you’re pissed off.”

  I gaped and reacted without thinking. Making a shrill sound, I slammed my hands into his hard chest. Caught off guard, he stumbled back. “You are so freaking annoying.”

  Roth tipped his head back, laughing loudly. When he finally settled down, the grin was slow to slip off his face. “But on a serious note, if I did want you...” He was suddenly right in front of me and his fingers spanned the sides of my face. The slight touch rooted me to where I stood. So much pent- up frustration exploded like a cannon blast, rocking me. “If I did want you, would you still want him?”

  I stared at him for a moment and then jerked away, breaking the contact between us. That question...well, it pissed me off and it also floored me, because how could I answer that? I couldn’t. It wasn’t a fair question, because I never really got to have Roth and I’d known Zayne practically my whole life. When it came to the two of them, everything was tangled up.

  “That’s so wrong to ask,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Cruel, even.”

  A fierce and stormy emotion flickered across his face and then was gone as quickly as it appeared.

  Disgusted with him and myself, I refocused, returning my attention to the floor, and found what I was searching for. The quarter-size hole. The edges were jagged, as if acid had burned straight through the floor. Kind of disturbing considering it was my blood that had done that.