by Diem, J. C.
“Because she broke up with me.” I couldn’t hide my surprise and the dimple in his left cheek made an appearance from his joy. “I’m a free man.”
“No you’re not,” I replied. “You’re mine.”
“Am I?” he asked and his expression grew serious. “Then prove it.”
He tugged my hand and I left my seat to sit sideways across his lap. I could almost feel Leo’s eyes boring into my back as I kissed Zach. It was only meant to be a single brush of my mouth against his, but he pulled me to him and my ability to think disappeared.
He shifted me so I was straddling his legs and our bodies were pressed together. His hands were on my waist and mine were clutching his shoulders. “I want you,” he whispered into my ear after a while, making me shiver in reaction.
“I want you, too,” I replied. He could see the yearning in my eyes, but speaking the words was enough to break the spell. “But not here and not now.”
He sighed in regret and sat back just in time to avoid a container of cold water that splashed down from above. Some still spilled onto him, but I caught the brunt of it. “Get a room!” a familiar voice shouted from two floors above us.
I glared upwards to see Leo’s head poking out a window. He grinned cheekily and pulled back inside. He’d teleported in and out so fast that the occupants probably hadn’t even known he was there.
Zach unsuccessfully tried to hold back his laugh and I stood up, dripping wet. “I’m going to kill that kid,” I muttered. It was hard not to think of Leo as a teenager when he looked so young and innocent.
Taking my seat again, I squeezed as much of the water out of my hair as I could. Zach was still grinning and I didn’t have the heart to be mad at him. “How did you meet Sam?” he asked.
“I ran across him in a dark, creepy alley. He seemed kind of lost, so I talked to him for a while. He’d run into trouble and was on his own, so I offered to take him to Sophia’s place. She agreed to let him stay with us.”
“That was kind of her.”
I could tell he was disturbed that he had a possible rival. “It’s nice to have someone my own age around. Now I know what it feels like to have a brother.”
I saw his relief when I clarified my relationship to Sam. “Then I’m glad Sophia is so generous. I wish I could meet her, too.”
“Maybe one day I can introduce you all,” I said wistfully. “After this is all over.”
“After all what is over?”
I hadn’t meant to let that slip out and I scrambled for an explanation. “I mean once the cops figure out that I had nothing to do with the disappearances of two women and realize I didn’t kill my Mom.”
“Why do they think you killed those women?”
“I was in the area when they were taken. They’re so desperate for a scapegoat that they pointed the finger at me after a witness saw me near where they went missing.” It was close enough to the truth that I didn’t feel guilty.
Checking his watch, he sighed. “I’d better get back before my Dad notices that I’m missing.”
“Has he said anything to you about me?”
“Nope. He knows I rarely watch the news. He probably assumes that I have no idea you’re in the city.”
I could have told him that his father had known I’d been arrested and had kept it from him, but I couldn’t be that mean. His dad was a control freak and I didn’t want Zach to argue with him. Zach would probably be sent to a boarding school somewhere far away if his father ever found out that we were still seeing each other.
We had one last kiss goodbye then he broke into a jog. I watched him as he ran back up the ramp and out through the gate.
Leo teleported to my side once he was gone and I turned to him. “You didn’t have to dump that water on us. I had myself under control.”
His brows rose in disbelief. “If that was you in control, I would hate to see it when you lose it. It looked like you two were going to devour each other.”
“I might have been distracted for a few moments, but I got it together in the end.”
“You were kissing him for ten minutes.”
“Really?” It hadn’t felt that long to me. “Maybe you should throw the water on me a bit sooner next time.”
“I would be delighted to. It was the highlight of my day,” he said soberly.
“Let’s head back to the store. Brie is probably driving the others nuts trying to badger them into telling her where we are.”
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Where were you?” Brie demanded when she saw that we’d returned. She stood with her hands on her hips glaring at us both.
My reply was blunt. “We were on private business that has nothing to do with you.”
“Where did you take her?” she said to Leo, expecting him to cave under the pressure.
“What part of ‘private business that has nothing to do with you’ do you find difficult to understand?” he asked.
A snigger floated all the way from the living room down the stairs and echoed in the kitchen. Brie glared at the ceiling as if Sam could somehow see her ire. “Let me guess, some catastrophe happened and Nathan had to heal her yet again and you escorted her somewhere to burn off his essence.”
“Do I look as though my grace has been depleted?” Nathan said evenly. He was usually left weak and shaky after he’d given me an infusion. Instead, he was as strong and gorgeous as always.
“Have you found the next portal that leads to hell?” she asked me.
“Sure,” I replied brightly. “Sam and I are there right now, you’re talking to an optical illusion.”
Another snigger floated downwards and was joined by Leo’s laughter. Nathan’s lips twitched in a tense smile and even Sophia looked amused.
“I do not know why I put up with you,” Brie muttered. “How can the savior of the world be so endlessly childish?”
“You’re just lucky I guess.” Brushing past her, I headed for the kitchen.
Sophia joined me and watched me take the lid off the jar where she kept the cookies. She’d baked a fresh batch just hours ago. I’d gotten used to making my own food while she’d been gone, although she was a far better cook than I was. “Would you like some tea?” I queried.
“Do you even need to ask?”
Making tea was a ritual that I was long used to. My mother had also been fond of the brew. She and Sophia had a lot in common. Both had been stripped of their essence and had become permanently trapped in their vessels. It killed me to know that they’d both been taken captive and had been abused by demons wearing human bodies. I’d promised Sophia that I’d restore her grace to her. So far, I’d learned nothing useful.
“I have a new client coming in an hour,” Sophia said as we waited for the kettle to boil.
“How do your clients find you?” I asked then took a bite of the cookie. I’d rather eat it standing in the kitchen than to choke it down beneath Brie’s glower at the table.
“Usually by word of mouth. Her mother is one of my clients and now her daughter is interested in having her future foretold.”
“We’ll leave the store before she gets here,” I offered once I’d forced down the chewed lump of chocolate chip cookie.
“That will not be necessary. Merely remaining out of sight will suffice.” Her customers preferred privacy when they visited her store. She flicked a glance over her shoulder then leaned in close. “I have a request.”
“Name it.” She’d done so much for me that I’d never be able to fully repay her.
“I would like you to construct a silencing rune in the living room. If Brie is going to remain here for the afternoon, it is almost a forgone conclusion that an argument will break out. I would prefer it if my new client was not frightened away by the ruckus.”
I wrinkled my nose, knowing that I was the one who was most likely to be involved in the argument. “No problem. I’ll start as soon as I finish eating.”
“Thank you. You will find
some demon blood in the fridge.”
I shook my head with a faint smile. “I never thought I’d be using it to draw runes in here.”
The kettle began to boil and I finished eating my cookie while I poured us both tea. Instead of heading into the front room to drink it, I took one of the several containers of demon blood out of the fridge then ambled upstairs.
Sam came to attention when he saw I was holding the plastic container full of thick dark liquid. “Have you found another portal?” he said in trepidation. Neither of us looked forward to our visits to hell.
Putting my tea on the coffee table, I put a finger to my lips to motion him to keep it down and moved closer to him. “Sophia wants me to cast the silence spell up here,” I whispered.
“Why?” he whispered back then looked guilty. “Is the television too loud?”
Trust him to think he was at fault. Four centuries of being abused and bullied by his demon master had ingrained a streak of unworthiness in him. “No. She has a new client and she’d prefer us to stay here rather than wander around the city. The spell is to make sure her new customer doesn’t hear us if we start bickering.”
“Oh.” He contemplated the idea then shrugged. “Do you need any help?”
“Nope. You just sit there being pretty.”
“We both know I am far from pretty,” he said in a sour tone.
“I think you’re going to be cute once you’re a human again.” I spoke in a normal tone now that we were on safe ground. Hopefully, I could finish drawing the rune before Brie discovered what I was doing. It was doubtful that she’d be very happy with me practicing what she considered to be evil right in front of her. Then again, she had consented to using a demonic rune to locate other angels.
“Do you really think so?” Sam said in pathetic hope. He couldn’t bring himself to look into a mirror, so he hadn’t seen the changes that were becoming more and more noticeable to me.
“Yep. You’re going to be hot.”
“That would be nice,” he said wistfully. “But I would settle for just being less hideous.”
“You already are. You could probably get away with not hiding beneath your cap in another couple of months.” That still wasn’t a good idea right now, but at the rate he was transforming, it would be a distinct possibility.
Crossing the hall to my room, I found a paintbrush in the top drawer of my nightstand. Cracking the lid of the container open, I didn’t gag at the smell of the demon’s blood. It was muted and not as gross as usual, thanks to the dulling of my senses.
Dredging up the rune from my memory, I entered the living room, chose a spot on the wall and started painting. I’d only used this symbol once before. We’d lured demons into a trap so I could work on my fighting skills. It didn’t take me long to recreate it. Making a small cut on my palm, I pressed my hand against the rune and it flared to life. “We should test it out,” I said to Sam. “I’m going to step outside.”
He nodded and I left the room and closed the door. I waited for a few seconds for him to say something, but I didn’t hear a thing. He opened the door and grinned. “I take it you did not hear me tell you to knock three times?” he said.
“Nope. I guess it worked.” I held up my hand and he obliged me with a high five.
Sam went back to watching TV and I glanced at my bedroom door. There were times when a little privacy would be a very good thing and I had the means to make it possible sitting in my hands.
Crossing the hall again, I casually strolled into my bedroom. As quickly as I could, I duplicated the rune on my door and activated it. Going on a hunch, I pulled my dagger out of its sheath and scraped it across the edge of the rune. The scarlet light instantly died. Using the brush again, I painted over the scrape mark and pressed my still bleeding palm on the symbol. It dutifully came to life again. Another scrape of my dagger deactivated it.
It seemed I could leave a rune mostly intact and activate it with a small amount of blood and very little effort. “That’s good to know,” I murmured to myself and headed for the bathroom so I could prepare the rune for activation there as well. You never knew when a little quiet time might come in handy.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After I’d painted the rune on the bathroom door, I headed downstairs. Angels and humans couldn’t see the symbols when they weren’t active. Only someone with demon blood could see them in their dormant stage. Once they flared to life, then they became noticeable. I had no idea if angel spells worked the same way. I didn’t have enough angelic grace left inside me to be able to see them.
Putting the container of blood back in the fridge, I stepped over to the sink. There was only a small amount of blood on my dagger, but I washed it off anyway. Turning around, I came face to face with Nathan. His eyes dropped to my hand and he frowned. “You are bleeding,” he said in concern.
“It’s just a small cut. I’m fine.”
I could see his need to heal me in his eyes and felt the same longing for him in return. We stared at each other for a long moment then he took a step back when Brie entered the room. “What have you been doing?” she asked me suspiciously.
“Creating demonic spells that will fry your brains the next time you annoy me,” I replied facetiously. If she was going to keep harping at me incessantly then I would be just as nasty to her.
“What were you really doing?” Leo asked. He stood in the doorway, watching us in amusement.
“I was testing a spell.”
“What spell?” Brie queried.
She wouldn’t be happy until I told her what she wanted to know. Sitting at the table in the front room, Sophia came to my rescue and spoke. “I asked Violet to cast a silence spell for when my new client arrives.”
Brie pushed past Leo to confront her. “You would allow her to use demonic spells in your home?” Her tone was bordering on insulting. “You are all becoming just as corrupt as she is.”
I heard Sam’s feet thumping on the stairs a few moments later. His face was thunderous as he stormed past me and entered the front room. My wrath was frightening, but his anger was something to behold as well. Maybe because it was so rare. He marched up to Brie and thrust his face into hers. “How dare you insult Sophia after all she has done for us?” She opened her mouth to retaliate, but he wasn’t done. “She is the kindest, most patient being that I have ever met. She does not deserve to suffer through your childish tantrums.”
“I am not childish,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You could have fooled me,” I said.
Leo nodded in support. “Sophia has been our friend for tens of thousands of years. Why are you turning on her now?”
“I am not turning on her. I am merely concerned that Hellscourge’s evil is spreading to you all.”
“I am not evil!” I shouted at her and everyone flinched at the rage in my voice.
“Um, that was not very convincing,” Sam said timidly.
“Sorry,” I took a deep breath to calm myself down. “I’m just sick and tired of being branded as the bad guy when all I’m trying to do is save the world.”
“Are you?” Brie said in contempt. “It would seem to me that you are not trying very hard at all lately.”
Checking her watch, Sophia stood. “My client will be here soon. I would like you all to retire to the living room and to remain there until she leaves. I asked Violet to create the silence spell because I feared that an argument might erupt. It would appear that my foresight was accurate.”
She sent a cool glance at Brie and the teen had the grace to look apologetic. She ruined it a moment later when she spoke. “I will not willingly enter a room that has been tainted by demonic runes. I will return later this afternoon.”
“Don’t feel like you have to hurry back,” I said and waved sarcastically. She glared at me then disappeared. “She has no sense of humor,” I muttered.
“Thank you for defending me, Samuel,” Sophia said. “But it could be dangero
us for you to confront Briathos like that.”
“What is the worst that she could do to me?” he shrugged. “I am an imp. I will just heal any damage that she deals out.”
“She wouldn’t dare hurt you,” I pointed out. “She knows how important you are to my cause.”
“I do not think that would stop her if she lost her temper,” Leo said. “She is growing surlier by the day. She is not the same person that I once knew.”
“Hagith and Orifiel have not been a good influence on her,” Nathan advised us. “They have her convinced that we are rebels and that Violet is our ringleader.”
“I’m seventeen,” I complained. “I’m hardly ringleader material.”
“Your age has no bearing on your status as Hellscourge,” Leo said. “You are not meek and subservient as they expect, therefore you are a rebel.”
“I’ve always been rebellious,” I mused. “I hate being told what to do.”
“We have noticed,” Sam said dryly then glanced up at the ceiling. He was no doubt missing one of his favorite programs.
Sophia walked behind the counter to retrieve the purple tablecloth that she always used when her clients were coming. Taking the hint, we traipsed upstairs. The living room door was open and I jumped when I stepped inside and noise from the TV surrounded me. Stepping back out again, the sound cut off. The silence spell worked even when the door was open.
“What are you doing?” Leo asked in amusement.
“I’m testing the limits of the spell,” I replied and turned to Sam. “How did you know Brie was insulting Sophia?”
“I could hear your conversation,” he said. Stepping past me, he trudged over to his favorite spot on the couch and sat down.
Leo and Nathan were standing in the hall, waiting for me to move aside to let them in. “Say something to each other,” I ordered them. Stepping into the room, I motioned for them to speak when they both just stood there.
“Has she always been this bossy?” Leo asked Nathan.