Stone Cold Touch

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  transparent, except...except it wasn’t normal water. I stumbled back a step, bumping into Stacey as Zayne shot forward, sweeping his arm across the man’s chest, knocking him back several feet. He whirled back to me and the horrified look creeping across his face confirmed it.

  “Oh no,” he whispered.

  My skin stung all along my forehead and across my cheeks. My vision blurred and the inside of my mouth smarted as though I’d swallowed hot sauce. Patches along my breasts and stomach started to throb. Bambi whirled around my body, escaping to my back.

  The sting quickly escalated, turning into a fierce burn that robbed the breath from my lungs as I raised my hands. Thin wisps of smoke wafted from the tips of my overly pink fingers.

  “Oh my God.” Stacey’s horrified voice reached my burning ears. “Layla...”

  The guy stumbled to his feet, the empty bottle clutched tight in his hand, and when he spoke, satisfaction dripped from his voice as he spat out two words that changed everything. “Holy water.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I was only vaguely aware of Zayne punching the Church of God’s Children guy into next week. He hit the opposite wall and slid down. The water bottle of doom rolled across the floor. My skin felt as though it was being burned off my bones. This was nothing compared to the tiny amount Roth had used when I’d been clawed by the Nightcrawler.

  Pain rippled through me like a shock wave. Doubled over at the waist, I tried to breathe through it, but it was nearly impossible. I could hear Stacey’s strained voice, but she sounded so very far away.

  “We need to go.” Zayne was closer and then he was gathering me to his side, steering me out of the hallway and through the lobby. The cool air from outside intensified the burn and I bit down on my lower lip. “I need to get this off her.”

  “Someone please tell me what’s going on?” Stacey asked, closer and clearer. “I don’t understand what just happened.”

  “I don’t have time to explain right now. Drive.” He tossed the keys at Sam and if I hadn’t been close to keeling over anyway, I would’ve done so from the fact he was letting someone drive his Impala. “Your house is closer.”

  Sam caught the keys, but he shook his head. “We can’t go to my place. My parents will freak.”

  A low growl rose from Zayne’s throat. “I need to get her in a shower now. I don’t care what your parents think—”

  “No,” I wheezed. “Take me...to Stacey’s place. It’s only a couple more blocks.”

  “Layla—”

  “She’s right. My mom isn’t home and I’m only a couple of blocks away. If you take Fifth Avenue, it might even be quicker,” Stacey said, out of breath. “But shouldn’t we take her to the hospital? Her skin is all pink. Was it acid? Oh my God, did that freak—”

  “It wasn’t acid and a hospital can’t help her.” We’d walked about half a block before Zayne cursed and scooped me up. God knew what we looked like to people around us, but I was beyond caring. I bit back a moan as he shifted me. “Sorry,” he whispered, voice hoarse.

  “I don’t understand,” Stacey repeated, her voice sounding distant again. “It was just water. It hit me, too. I don’t understand.”

  No one replied and when we finally reached the Impala, Zayne crawled into the backseat with me and tried to wipe up most of the water with an old shirt he had in the back, but it didn’t help. I needed a shower. The trip to Stacey’s house was pure Hell. I was vaguely aware of Zayne calling Nicolai and warning that we might have a possible demonic-level PR disaster on our hands. I followed the conversation enough to know that Nicolai would check out the theater, do some damage control. At some point, my vision cleared enough to make out Stacey’s stricken face.

  She stared at me as though...as though she didn’t know what she was looking at, and maybe her brain was refusing to put two and two together, but it would eventually. And I couldn’t deal with seeing her look at me like that. Closing my eyes, I kept them that way until we arrived at Stacey’s house.

  The pain deep in my core was just as bad as what was firing off across my skin. I didn’t say anything as Stacey led the way upstairs and to the bathroom she used. Sam stayed downstairs, no doubt to research how holy water could burn a person. He’d been remarkably quiet through all of this.

  “No one should be home for at least two hours.” Her voice was garbled. “Can I...can I help?”

  “Do you have anything she can wear?” She must’ve nodded, because Zayne said, “Leave it outside the door.”

  “But—”

  “We’ll explain everything.” He opened the door, ushering me in. “I promise.”

  Stacey caught the door before he could close it. “Are you okay, Layla?”

  “Yes,” I croaked out, keeping my back to where she stood. “I’ll...be okay.”

  Zayne managed to get the door shut then. He moved around me, turning on the shower. A second later, I was under an icy stream of water, gasping for breath. Drops pelted my face, ruining all the hard work with the mascara and eyeliner.

  “The clothes have to come off,” he said.

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. I turned sideways, nodding my agreement. Neither of us spoke and there was nothing sexual about the fact that I was standing in the shower, being drowned by a steady stream of cold water as Zayne stripped me down to my undies. Gone were the skintight jeans, the thin braided belt and my bra. Everything that had been touched by holy water had to come off.

  Bambi had made her way to my lower back, where she was curled into a small, protective ball as Zayne kept turning me around and around, his arms getting soaked as he made sure all the holy water was rinsed away.

  After about five years of circling the drain on the fifth circle of Hell, the burning eased off and tiny little bumps spread across my stomach as shivers coursed up and down my back. Blinking the water off my lashes, I could see that my arms, currently folded over my chest, were a lovely shade of ouch.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t stop him,” Zayne said finally, turning me around. “I should’ve stopped him. I could’ve stopped him.”

  “It’s not your fault. Who knew he...was going to throw holy water on me.”

  He looked up. “I should’ve expected something.”

  I shook my head, shivering. “It’s n-not your f-fault.”

  A look of doubt settled onto his face, making him appear older. “You’re not burning anymore.”

  “N-no.”

  When Zayne turned the water off, I couldn’t feel my face or my toes, which was probably a good thing. My skin was the kind of cold only a snowy February day could rival.

  He quickly wrapped a large fluffy towel around me, tucking it under my arms.

  “Hold this,” he said, and I grabbed the edges, knotting them together. He picked me up out of the tub and twisted. Sitting down on the rim, he pulled me into his lap and grabbed another towel, immediately soaking up the water from my icy hair. “God, you feel like an ice cube.”

  “Why did he do it there, where it was just Stacey and Sam who’d hear and see, instead of in front of a large crowd of people?” I asked, teeth chattering.

  “It was personal. It’s the only reason.” Zayne rubbed the other towel up and down my arms, chasing the chill. “How are you feeling?”

  “B-better.” I stared at the buttercup-yellow wall as Zayne got the blood going in my chilled skin. I don’t know how much time had passed before I spoke again. “What are w-we going to tell them?”

  He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gently rubbed the towel over my cheeks. “The truth, I guess.”

  “What about the r-rules?”

  He curled the towel around my bare shoulders. “Well, technically they’ve already been broken and an Alpha hasn’t landed on our heads, right? And they’re your best friends. You trust them.” He paused. “I also have no idea how to come up with a lie that’s going to make them believe anything else.”

  I tried to smile, but failed. “What if S-Stace
y hates me now or is a-afraid of me?”

  “Oh, Layla, she’s not going to hate you.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips against my forehead. “She’s not going to be afraid of you and she’s not going to think of you differently.”

  What felt like ropes circled my chest. “How c-can they not?”

  “Because they know you like I know you, that’s why.” The intensity to his words was compelling. “What you are doesn’t change who you are.”

  I nodded.

  His eyes searched mine and then he slid his arms around me, letting the towel he held fall to the floor. I folded into his tight embrace, soaking up his warmth and his acceptance. It seemed faulty, his belief in me, when I wasn’t sure it was warranted.

  But I needed to pull it together, because Stacey and Sam were waiting for us, and I couldn’t hide in the bathroom half-naked with Zayne forever.

  “I’m ready,” I said, and my heart dipped a little as I pulled free and stood.

  Zayne retrieved the clothes Stacey had left outside the bathroom. I changed into the sweats and sweater and then forced myself out of the room. He’d been leaning against the wall, waiting for me, eyes focused wearily on the ceiling. When he pushed off the wall and stepped in front of me, I wanted to push a rewind button on today.

  “Everything is going to be okay,” he assured me.

  I wasn’t that hopeful.

  Stacey and Sam were in the living room downstairs. She stood as we entered the room, her normally dark complexion pale. Sam turned to us, his expression expectant.

  “Okay,” she said, clasping her hands together. “Before we talk about anything, are you okay?”

  I nodded. My skin was a deeper pink than normal and a bit raw to the touch, but by tomorrow morning it would be fine. “I’m okay.”

  She closed her eyes and breathed out a deep sigh. “You really scared us—scared me. I thought he’d thrown acid on you or something, but I know...that’s not it. First off, you didn’t go to the hospital and your skin hasn’t peeled off your face.”

  My brows rose.

  “And the water hit Stacey,” Sam pointed out, head cocked to the side as he studied me. Not like he would if he was afraid, but more like he was genuinely curious. “Nothing happened to her.”

  “But something happened to you,” she said, drawing in another deep breath. “Something really strange happened. I saw smoke coming off your skin.”

  Well, that would definitely tell someone something was up. I glanced at Zayne and he nodded as he sat on the arm of a chair. “I don’t know where to even start.”

  “How about with the truth?” Sam said.

  That statement stung and rightfully so. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been completely honest with you two, but there are things—rules—that have prevented me from doing so.”

  “Are you like Zayne?” Stacey asked, looking at him. “Because if so, I don’t see what the big deal is.”

  “I am kind of like Zayne. I’m part Warden.” Hearing myself say these words to my friends was strange. I sat in the chair Zayne was perched on. “But I’m not like him. Not really. I...I’m also part demon. That’s why the water did what it did. It was seriously holy water.”

  Stacey opened her mouth and she blinked once, then twice. Then she laughed as she dropped in the seat next to Sam. “Okay, Layla, don’t bullshit me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Demons don’t exist,” she said, rolling her eyes. “That guy at the theater was crazy.”

  “Gargoyles don’t exist either,” Zayne said gently. “Right?”

  Stacey shook her head. “But that’s different. You guys are just another species, right? Kind of like Big Foot. You’re not this biblical mythical creature.”

  “But our kind was considered mythical at one time.” Zayne leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. “Layla is telling you the truth. She’s part demon.”

  “Demons can’t be real. They just can’t be.”

  “Do you believe in angels?” Sam asked, watching me. “Because if you do, how can you not believe in demons? After all, weren’t most of them angels at one time?”

  Part of me wasn’t surprised Sam was handling this so well, but I was shocked that he wasn’t up and poking me like a science experiment.

  “No.” Stacey shook her head again, sending her bangs flying across her face as she stared at me. “There’s no way.”

  “Okay.” I stood up. “I am part demon. And here’s the proof. Bambi?” I willed her off my body, hoping she’d listen to me and not make me look like a fool. “Off.”

  Bambi stirred along my back and then I felt her lift off my skin. A shadow of tiny dots formed beside me. Stacey jumped to her feet, her mouth working as if she was trying to say something as the dots shot together. A second later, Bambi formed and lifted her diamond shaped head, eyeing Sam and Stacey as if it was potential feeding time.

  “Don’t eat them,” I warned under my breath.

  There was a breath of silence and then Stacey screamed like a banshee, jumping up on the couch as if she was going to crawl behind Sam. “Oh my God! Oh my God! A snake! That’s a big-ass snake!” she screeched, going as white as a Warden’s soul. “Where in the Hell did that come from?”

  “Me,” I said. “She mostly stays on my skin, like a tattoo. She’s a familiar.”

  Stacey looked as if she was a second from passing out, so I called Bambi back. The snake hissed its forked tongue at me in annoyance but returned to my arm and then to my stomach.

  “Holy shit-ball storm,” Stacey whispered, slinking down the couch. “I did not just see that.”

  “Yes. Yes you did.” I sat back down.

  “How did you hide that thing all this time? It’s huge!”

  “Actually, she’s only been a recent development. Bambi is a demon familiar, but she’s not mine. Not really.”

  A look of understanding dawned on her face. “Wait—wait a sec. Roth has a snake tattoo.”

  I nodded. “Had.”

  Her eyes widened to the point I feared she’d burst a blood vessel. “Are you saying that Roth is also a demon?”

  “Full-blooded,” Zayne answered. “He’s really known as Astaroth, the Crown Prince of Hell.”

  Stacey looked at Sam, who just stared at us, and then back to me. “I...I don’t know what to even say at this moment.”

  “Whatever you think about demons, and despite what that bastard at the theater said, you should know that Layla isn’t evil. She’s good to her core,” Zayne said, and I smiled a little at the sincerity in his words. “She’s more Warden, more human, than anyone I know.”

  Stacey made a face. “Well, fucking duh. I know she’s not evil. I’ve known her for years. She’s like the equivalent of an evil baby panda or some shit like that.”

  I gaped at her while Zayne grinned at me.

  “What about Roth?” she asked. “I mean, you just said Crown Prince of...of Hell?”

  “Totally evil,” Zayne threw out.

  I sighed. “He’s not totally evil. He’s here doing something really important.”

  “Which is?” Sam asked, his gaze darting between us. “You have to tell us now.”

  Zayne nodded slowly and then I told them everything about me—what I could do and who my mother was. Zayne took over halfway, giving them the lowdown on the whole situation with the Lilin and what we suspected was going down at school. Saying both of them looked floored would be the understatement of the century.

  “But neither of you can breathe a word of this,” Zayne said, wrapping up the most epic info dump in the history of humanity and Wardenkind. “I’m serious. Our job is to keep the public from knowing that demons do exist. If you start telling people...”

  “Kind of like if I tell you this, I’m going to have to kill you?” Stacey swallowed when neither of us responded. “Holy mind blown...”

  When Stacey finally found the ability to speak again, she focused on probably the least important thing of everything we’d just
told her. “So that’s why you’ve never gone out with boys before? Because if you kiss them, you take their souls?”

  “I’d like to think that’s not the only reason,” Zayne muttered.

  I nodded. “I’m kind of a succubus—just a very rare kind.”

  “And this Lilin thing is like you? Except it can take souls by