by G. K. DeRosa
He exhaled a long breath and lowered his arms. “It’s done.”
Triston released my hand first, and I slumped back, my head still spinning and the blood thundering across my ears. Eight separate and distinct cords knotted around my heart. I could feel them as clearly as if I held them in my hands, each a vibrant hue.
Ryder crawled closer and pressed his palm against my lower back. “You okay?”
My head bobbed up and down as I swallowed hard. “That was some head rush.”
His hand slid up and down my spine before he finally released me. “How does everyone feel?”
A chorus of mumbled ‘okays’ and ‘goods’ filled the tense air.
Across from me, Drake’s lilac gaze caught mine. His brows were furrowed and his lips puckered. He’d been the most reluctant about this whole binding thing. I wondered if he and the others had felt what I had. None looked quite as stunned as I felt. Except for maybe Zephyr.
A shadow of a smile tugged at my lips. For the first time, I wasn’t the newbie anymore.
Chapter 15
“It’s too dangerous for her to go alone,” Ryder growled, pacing the length of Cillian’s desk. His heavy footfalls wore a path into the headmaster’s plush carpeting.
The angel drummed his fingers on his desktop, his gaze bouncing from Ryder to me and back.
I stepped closer to his desk, not above pleading with the angel. “It’s not fair. Everyone gets to go home when they want to. I haven’t been back to the human world once since I got here six months ago.” Ryder opened his mouth to object, but I cut him off with a glare. “Madison Square Garden does not count.”
Cillian cleared his throat and folded his hands together. “I’m inclined to agree with Luna, Ryder. There’s no reason to believe a visit to her home would put her in any sort of danger. The devil’s mark has been removed, and no demons have come for her in weeks. It seems Garrix’s spell worked, and whoever marked her has lost interest.”
Ryder shook his head, searing me with his impossibly obsidian eyes. “I still don’t like it.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not in charge of me,” I huffed.
He ate up the distance between us in a blur and drilled me with his sweltering gaze. His hulking shoulders and chest loomed over me. “I am in charge of your safety, and I take my duty seriously.”
I rolled my eyes, planting my hands on my hips and rising to my tiptoes. “Since when are you such the virtuous one?”
He shot me a narrowed glare, and I winced. I’d gone too far with that one.
“Enough, both of you.” Cillian rose, the screech of his chair legs against the hardwood breaking off our heated standoff. “I will grant Luna’s request for a day pass to go home tomorrow, but I’ll send Drake with her.”
“What?” Ryder and I cried out in unison.
My headmaster lifted his hand, silencing both of us. “He doesn’t have to remain by your side the whole time. I only want him in your near proximity. He won’t be as intrusive as my nephew.”
“Fine,” I huffed. Drake would be much better than my hulking demon shadow.
Ryder didn’t say a word, just seared me with his darkening gaze.
Cillian approached and placed his hands on my shoulders. “You must be back before dark, and I expect you to remain on alert. The situation has worsened since you’ve been home in the past six months. Just be cautious.”
“Will do.” I glared at Ryder before turning back to the headmaster. “And thank you, Cillian, for trusting me.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” interjected Ryder.
“Both of you out,” Cillian interrupted. “You can continue arguing on your own time.” He ushered us both out of his office, slamming the door behind him.
Darby snickered behind his desk as I marched past the foyer with Ryder on my heels. He grabbed my arm and spun me back. “I do trust you, Luna. It’s not you I’m worried about it; it’s Luxora and her demons that concern me.” He tugged on my bicep and pulled me further down the hall and away from Darby’s watchful eye. “I spoke to my father, and he’s concerned. Do you know how many times in my life I’ve heard Lucifer say that?”
I shook my head, avoiding his intense stare.
“Zero. Exactly zero times. Luxora is amassing an army, and instead of fighting my father in the Underworld, she’s taking the battle above. Because she knows that’s where he’s weakest.”
The genuine concern masked behind those dark eyes deflated the building anger in my chest. “I get it, okay? Luxora is bad news and she’s dangerous, but why would she come after me?”
His lips twisted into a frown. “I don’t know, but someone already came after you once and we never discovered who. Drake’s not strong enough… What if the dark lord that demon referred to was Luxora?”
A chill tattooed up my spine as grisly memories of the abacor demon and Ash raced across my vision. I shoved the images to the dark corners of my mind, shaking my head to dispel the unwanted thoughts. “What if it wasn’t? I can’t live my life in hiding forever, Ryder. I’m not marked anymore, and things have finally settled down a little. I need this. Don’t you understand? A little break from all the supernatural craziness and a hint of normalcy with an old friend.”
His jaw softened, the smolder in his irises dissipating.
I leaned closer and gave him my best puppy dog eyes. “I haven’t seen Jay in six months. I promise we won’t do anything risky.”
The fire suddenly returned, and his eyes widened. “Jay? Your friend is a guy?”
“Yeah, I’m sure I told you about him at some point.”
He folded his arms against his chest. “Um, no, I don’t think you did.”
My heart did a little happy dance at the annoyingly cute pucker of his lips. Was Ryder actually jealous?
“Maybe I should go with you, just in case.”
I poked my finger into his chest. “I don’t think so, buddy. Drake’s bad enough. I need some me time, and that doesn’t include a demon bodyguard. Plus now that we’re all bound and what not, if I do get into trouble, you’ll know it.”
“I don’t like testing it out for the first time like this. Not with your life at stake. You’re too important.”
I flattened my palm against his chest, the rapid beats of his heart fluttering against my skin. My own pulse picked up a notch as if attempting to keep time with his. “I’ll be fine, Ryder. I’ll be back tomorrow night, safe and sound. I promise.”
Jay’s bright auburn hair stood out from the crowd hustling up and down the marble stairs of Grand Central Station. I jumped up and waved, and he quickly descended meeting me in the center of the huge atrium.
“Hey!” I stopped myself from throwing my arms around him when he paused a few feet before reaching me.
His eyes flickered from me to Drake. He rubbed the back of his neck, a light pink flush coating his cheeks. “Hey, stranger,” he muttered.
“Sorry, this is my friend, Drake. He just hitched a ride into the city with me, but now he’s heading far, far away. Right, Drake?”
“Whatever you say, human. Just don’t go and get yourself killed on my watch.”
I shoved him toward the exit of the train station. “See you later!” Turning back to Jay, I gave him my best pout. “I know I’ve been the worst friend ever, Jay. I’m really sorry for bailing like that.”
He shoved his hands into his jeans’ pockets and turned toward the exit. “Nah, I get it. I mean, how could this”—he raised his hands at the chaotic flurry of commuters and tourists—“compare to the supernatural world?”
Jay pushed the door open, and the frenetic sounds of car horns and jackhammers thundered around us. I hadn’t lived in the city for years, not since Mrs. Hallows passed and I’d been sent to Astor Home, but still there was something about the craziness I found soothing.
“It’s not like that, Jay. There’s been so much going on; I don’t even know where to begin.” When I first left, we’d texted on and off, an
d I’d kept him somewhat up to date, but ever since I got marked and my powers started showing up, I’d pulled away.
I didn’t know how to share that insanity with my friend. If I hadn’t been living through it, I wouldn’t have believed it myself.
He stopped at the corner of East 43rd and Lexington and turned to me. “So where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. Nowhere in particular. Just not toward the west side.” I wasn’t ready to be anywhere near Madison Square Garden yet. The wounds were too fresh, and Ash’s memory too raw. “Can we walk and see where we end up?”
“Sure.” He headed south, and I quickly fell into step beside him.
After a few minutes of silence—well, silence between us anyway, the city was never quiet—I spat out the first thing that came to mind. “I have magical powers now.”
He halted midstride, and some guy in a fancy suit nearly plowed into his back. “Watch it!” the man hissed.
“Sorry, my fault,” I mumbled after the guy.
“Seriously?” Jay’s light hazel eyes widened to the size of gumballs.
A small smile lifted the corners of my lips. “Yup.”
“Like what kind of stuff can you do?”
“I can summon a protective bubble, cloak myself so I’m invisible, and sometimes I can even shoot a super powerful blast of energy from my palms.”
“That’s insane.”
Passersby began to grumble since we were blocking half the sidewalk so we started walking again as I recounted some of my coolest magical triumphs along with the epic failures.
I told him about Zeus, about the weird segregation system of the seven Houses of Azar, my classes, and finally about The Seven. I purposely left out the devil’s mark and the weirder stuff because I didn’t want to totally freak him out. I also decided to leave my biological father out of it for now. I’d already told him he was a warlock but hadn’t gone into too much detail.
“So you’re like some badass superhero now?” He smirked.
“Hardly. I’m only starting to get a handle on my powers.” I leaned in closer and whispered into his ear, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.” He drew his fingers over his lips making a zipping motion and mimed throwing away the key. Man, I’d missed Jay and his goofy ways.
“Your dad was right. The supes are getting into our world and attacking humans. It’s mostly demons from the Underworld, but they’re purposely trying to sabotage the unification. Lucifer’s daughter is heading up the movement. She wants to get back at her father for—”
I cut myself off when Jay’s jaw looked like it was about to hit the floor.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Did you say Lucifer? As in the devil?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Damn, Luna, when you go supernatural you don’t mess around, do you?”
I still hadn’t told him about my role in the supe slayer squad, and I wasn’t sure I should. “Remember I told you about my instructor, Ryder?”
“How could I forget? He was all you talked about when you made me watch Hitched.”
“So you remember he’s Lucifer’s son?”
He nodded. “Yeah, now that you mention it. I try to block most of it out.”
I smacked him in the shoulder and laughed. “Anyway, Ryder’s been working with his dad to try and stop her. The most powerful students at the academy are being trained to fight—to keep the humans safe from the Underworlders.”
“That’s some crazy shit, Luna.” He raked his hand through his deep red curls. “So you’re training to fight too?”
“Kind of.” I didn’t know why I felt compelled to lie.
“Did you hear what happened at Madison Square Garden?”
My heart staggered. I willed it to keep beating, folding my arms across my chest and rubbing circles over my failing organ. “Nope,” I finally mumbled.
“There was this huge rally on supernatural voting rights. Thousands of protestors swarmed into Manhattan and even the president showed up. After like a five-minute speech from Lazaris, all the cameras cut off and the live broadcast went dead. My dad said that rumors have been flying around the NYPD that some supes tried to attack the president, but they’ve been trying to keep it under wraps.”
I gulped. Scarlett and the vamps she’d been able to control with her necromancing skills glamoured the entire audience into believing nothing had happened. “That’s nuts,” I eventually said. Images of the demons rushing out of the portal flashed across my mind, the black goo, Ash’s vacant stare. Squeezing my eyes shut, I shoved the grisly thoughts to the darkest corners of my mind.
“You want to grab something to eat by Union Square?” Jay’s voice thankfully snapped me back to the present.
I scanned the streets, amazed we’d already walked over twenty blocks while we chatted. “Sounds good to me.”
Once we were settled into our table at Mighty Quinn’s, I dug into my barbecue pork sandwich. My taste buds went nuts, and I groaned in pleasure. It had been way too long since I’d indulged at my favorite restaurant. Barbecue really wasn’t a thing in Azar, and man, had I missed it. After devouring half of my sandwich, I finally glanced up.
Jay laughed as he watched me totally pig out. “So no decent barbecue at the academy?”
“No,” I grumbled, wiping away a dribble of sauce from my chin. “Tell me about community college. How are you liking it?”
“It’s school,” he muttered. “No flying unicorns or magical bubbles, but I guess it’s okay.”
After the initial ice was broken, Jay and I easily settled into our old friendship. Before long, we’d caught up on each other’s lives and walked half the length of Manhattan. I glanced at my watch as we passed by a seedy looking street in the Lower East Side. “I have to head back soon. I promised my headmaster I’d be back before dark.”
Jay frowned. “Already?”
We walked by a hookah bar, the chalky, smoky scent spilling onto the streets and Jay’s grimace turned upside down. “A little hookah before you go for old time’s sake?”
I shook my head, laughing. I hadn’t smoked a hookah in forever. It had been our thing back in junior year. “None for me, but I’ll keep you company. You have to be quick though—twenty minutes max.”
“Deal.”
We slid into an empty table outside, the brisk, early autumn air the perfect temperature. That was what I missed most about the human world, the changing seasons. I didn’t know how much longer I could take the never-ending Fae winter. When the lanky, dreadlocked server came by, I almost ordered a beer before remembering I wasn’t legal here. Damn it.
Jay puffed on the cherry-scented hookah, the sweet smell floating all around us. The entire day had been exactly what I needed. Perfectly boring and normal.
“Do you think I can come visit you at the academy one day?” Jay asked, peering over a cloud of white smoke.
“Sure, I don’t see why not. We’re allowed visitors one Saturday a month, unless there’s something special going on. I’ll ask Cillian when I get back what the deal is with human guests. You might need an escort or something.”
Jay grinned. “That would be really cool. I’ve missed you, Hallows.”
“Me too. It’s nice to be normal again. For so long all I wanted to do was escape my life, but I guess it’s true what they say about the grass always being greener.”
“Cheers to that.” He clinked his coke to mine, and I smiled.
Then the tiny hairs on my arms prickled, and a pit the size of a bowling ball filled my gut.
Chapter 16
Approaching footsteps turned my attention to two bulky men skulking up the street. I craned my neck to get a better look, and two pairs of glossy onyx eyes stared back at me. My pulse kicked up a notch. So they were demons? This was the Lower East Side. This was where most of the supes lived.
“What’s wrong?” Jay peered around me to see over my shoulder.
“Nothing, don’t worry about
it.”
The shuffle of footsteps grew closer, and the tension swimming through my insides intensified.
“Good evening.” The men encircled our table, the taller one cocking his head in my direction. He sniffed the air then his dark gaze turned to Jay, and his lips curled.
I seared the tall one with my most intimidating glare. “You’re kind of ruining our date, dudes. Would you mind backing off a little?”
Jay’s head snapped back at my comment, but luckily, he didn’t open his mouth.
“Our apologies,” said the other one, holding his hands up in the air. Black claws instead of nails curled from his thick fingers.
Jay gasped, and he buried his head into the hookah.
The two men lowered their hulking bodies into the table a few feet away from us. Great.
“What are they?” Jay whisper-hissed.
I pressed my finger to my lips and pointed at my ears, hoping he’d get it. All supes had super sensitive hearing. “Demons,” I mouthed.
Jay’s eyes widened, and he practically screeched, “Check, please!”
I kept my eye on the two guys as we waited for the server to cash us out. They whispered amongst themselves, and I cursed myself for not being born with supe senses. I knew a spell or two to magnify sounds, but the last thing I wanted was to draw attention.
As soon as we’d paid, I grabbed Jay’s hand and yanked him out of his chair. The streets were quiet, this part of the Lower East Side nothing like the packed touristy areas of downtown. Luckily, we weren’t too far from the subway station.
I glanced over my shoulder every few steps to make sure we weren’t being followed.
“Do you think they’re going to come after us?” Jay asked, anxiously swiveling his head back.
“No. There’d be no reason for them to.” I was being paranoid; I was sure of it. Ryder’s over-protectiveness was making me crazy. I wasn’t marked, and there was no reason for some random demons to attack us.