“But we have to get it off of me,” I whispered.
“I know.” He cursed. “But I fear we need your father’s journal.”
“My father died when I was four.”
“But he left a journal with instructions.”
I frowned. “Oh, maybe in the Lancaster library?”
He narrowed his eyes on me. “The bookstore your family owns? Where I found you?”
I nodded.
“I don’t think so. I would’ve felt your father’s magic and I’ve been in there many, many times.” He rolled his neck and put his hands on his hips. Then he looked up at me and light shimmered around him. His black shirt and black boots reappeared. “But I suppose it’s a good place to start looking.”
“At the very least maybe it’ll help us think of where to look next.”
Please let it be there.
Chapter Thirteen
Chloe
This time when the darkness wrapped around me I wasn’t afraid. I just held on tight to Malachi and waited for it to end. When my feet hit solid ground and cold air slammed into my bare legs, I pulled back and found The Red Rose bookstore just behind his black smoky wings.
I glanced left and right, eyeing the pavements and neighboring flats, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Just me, my guardian angel, and his pet hellhound. “I’m surprised you chose to risk landing right in the middle of the street.”
He shrugged and walked backwards towards the store. “It’s three in the morning. You Oxford lot aren’t night owls.”
I frowned and hurried to follow him. “What if someone saw us, though?”
“Human minds will explain away what they can’t understand.” He grinned. “And if they don’t, then I’ll make them.”
My steps faltered. “That’s not bloody unsettling at all.”
He chuckled and it was full of mischief.
I shook my head and skipped up to the doorway to get out of the cold breeze. It wasn’t until I was standing in front of the door that I realized I didn’t have my stuff. I cursed. “I don’t have my keys. We can’t get in. We’ll have to go to my—"
He grabbed my hand and electricity shot up my arm. He pressed it to the doorknob and held. There was a loud click and then the door swung open all on its own.
My breath left me in a rush. “What…how?”
His fingers were still holding mine. His face hovered just above my ear. “This space was a safe haven for Lancasters for centuries. It will recognize your magic now that it’s back.”
The rumble of his voice that close to my ear sent little vibrations through my body that made me shiver. Heat rushed to my face. Keep your head straight, Chlo. You don’t have knickers on. I smiled up at him and stepped inside. A strong sense of deja-vu came over me as I made my way over to the light switch. It’d been a crazy twenty-four hours. Seemed like days ago that I stumbled in here and destroyed half the — oh bugger. It’s going to be a bloody mess.
I braced myself and then flipped the switch. Bright light filled the room.
My jaw dropped. It was perfectly clean. Like I’d never been in there today at all.
Malachi cleared his throat behind me. “I cleaned it all up after you went through the painting.”
I gasped and spun to face him. “You cleaned all of it?”
He shrugged. “Spot helped.”
Spot perked his ears up and rumbled.
“Well…thank you. Both of you.” I turned to face the rest of the store, ignoring the moving paintings on the walls. “All right, so, we start…somewhere?”
“IF it’s here, it would be in a section that is not open to the public.”
“The restricted section. Right. Good thinking, Hermione. Follow me.” I waved for them to follow me as I walked down the main aisle.
“Hermione Granger,” Malachi grumbled.
I made a sharp left turn, then glanced over my shoulder at him. “You have at least seen Harry Potter, right?”
He scoffed. “Chloe, I am seven hundred and twenty years old—”
I gasped and spun around. “What—"
He’d been following behind me closer than I realized so he crashed into me and we stumbled backwards. His arms wrapped around my body, his hands pressing into my hips as he caught me. He stood straight and sat me on my feet. “You all right?”
“Did you say—”
“Seven hundred and twenty, yes.” He slid his hands off of my hips and grinned. “I was born in the year 1298.”
“That’s before the war started.”
“They knew it was coming… just like they know another is coming now.”
I shivered and pushed that thought away. Then I turned back and resumed walking. “You look good for being so ancient.”
He chuckled. “Thank you.”
“But that didn’t answer my question—”
“Chloe, I’m over seven centuries old, I’m immortal, and I’ve been waiting for the locket to awaken…of course I’ve seen Harry Potter. Read the books too.”
“Good. Hate to have to end our friendship so soon,” I said from the top step, then grinned and winked. I skipped down the steps to the bottom then slammed into his chest, his hands gripped my hips to steady me. Again. I gasped and looked up to find his eyes twinkling down at me. He’d done that teleporting thing of his again. “Cheeky.”
“Too soon?” He chuckled. His hands tightened on my hips for a second but it was just long enough to send my pulse into a tailspin. He stepped aside. “After you.”
With heat pouring from my face, I slipped around him and led the way to the far corner of the store where a set of wooden French doors separated a section of the store from the rest. Spot ran up and down the aisles of the bookstore, but I wasn’t going to ask why.
I opened the French doors and walked in. The smell of old books washed over me. I smiled and inhaled the scent like it was the oxygen I needed to live. “This is the Lancaster collection. The restricted section for Lancasters only. Most of these are either old first editions, collector’s editions, or similar.”
He nodded and walked up the first aisle, running his fingers over the spines. I had no idea where to start or even what I was looking for, but Malachi did. He apparently had seen my father’s mysterious journal. Something told me it wasn’t here, yet we were going to look anyways. This section was only a ten foot by ten foot sized room with four aisles filled to almost the ceiling with books.
Since he’d taken the first row, I hurried over to the last and started my search. “So what does it look like?”
“A little red leather-bound notebook with leather straps. Might be about the size of your hand, give or take.”
I frowned and glanced left and right, right to left. “Nothing looks even remotely like that in here.”
“You’re going to feel it before you see it.”
I groaned. My magic was too new. I hadn’t conquered the whole feeling it part. But I went through the motions. I copied his moves and ran my fingers over the spines as I moved up and down the aisles. I’d worked my way to the far wall without running across a single book that fit the description.
Malachi was halfway down the back wall of books, holding one open. He flipped through a few pages, each one prompting a new holographic image to pop out – though I knew he wasn’t seeing that. His brow was furrowed low over his golden eyes. It was adorable.
I walked over and leaned against the wall of books beside him, careful not to be in his way. “Any luck?”
He shook his head and slid the book in his hand back onto the shelf directly behind my head. “I don’t feel it, but I’m hoping he put spells on it to protect it. Otherwise—”
“Otherwise, what?”
He stepped right in front of me, the tips of our boots grazing. He reached up and gripped the spine of the book right beside my face…and then he just stared. At me. I bit my lip and stared back. We said nothing. Neither of us moved. The heat and electricity between us was palpable. Dust from the books rained
down around us, swirling like glitter in the air.
His gaze dropped to my mouth. His eyes flared.
My heart pounded in my chest.
And then he licked his lips and I snapped.
I fisted his shirt and dragged him toward me until our bodies were chest-to-chest. That smoky scent was everywhere all at once. My breath came in shaky gulps. But his face was mere inches from mine. He pressed his forehead into mine and our noses brushed. Butterflies bounced in my stomach. I licked my lips and pushed up on my tip-toes — sharp pain laced through my chest.
I choked on a scream as searing hot pain ripped down my spine and into my stomach. Bright blue glowing light shot out from Lilith’s pendant, shining a blue crescent moon onto Malachi’s chest.
“Demons,” Malachi growled. He gently eased me to the floor, then took my chin between his fingers and lifted my face. “Breathe through it. Stay here.”
And then he was gone, leaving me in a cloud of pain and black smoke. I pressed my hands to my chest and tried to do as he said but that was difficult knowing there were demons outside of this room. A dark object flew through the air in front of the doors and then Spot dashed by after it.
I couldn’t see Malachi.
All I heard were Spot’s growls.
The smell of maple syrup filled the room.
I needed to help but the pain was too much, so I flopped down on all fours and crawled across the floor. The pain wasn’t getting any better, which meant the demons hadn’t died yet. I finally got over to the door and I gasped. Massive basilisk-looking snakes the length of my entire body swarmed the lower level of the store. More dropped over the edge of the balcony above. My stomach turned. Spot zipped around, jumping from one demon to the next and eating them.
Malachi leapt out from behind a bookshelf and charged at two of the demon-snakes. He pulled a sword from seemingly out of nowhere and swung it through some demon-snakes’ backs. But there were five going right for him from behind and he didn’t even see. I needed to help. This was my fight too. I couldn’t let them hurt him.
I scrambled to my feet and then shoved the French door open. My steps faltered and I crashed into one of the bookshelves. The blue light from the necklace bobbled and pulsed. I groaned and threw myself into the main aisle. Come and get me.
The demon-snakes snapped in response. They looked back and then charged for me.
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.”
I scurried back, crashing into a bookshelf. The demon-snakes were mere inches away from me when black smoke exploded all around. The demon-snakes vanished. I looked up and found Malachi with his arms out wide and a look of pure terror on his face.
His heavy gold gaze swept over my face, then slid all the way down my body. He looked back up and met my stare. “What were you doing?”
I threw my hands up. “They were sneaking up on you!”
“I was letting them.”
“What?” I shook my head. “Why?”
Spot growled low in his throat but it sounded more like a whine.
Malachi pointed to his hellhound. “So Spot could have them.”
I opened my mouth but then shut it. My heart sank. I hadn’t meant to steal the dog’s food. “Oh no. I’m so sorry, Spot. I thought…I thought…”
Mal shook his head. “Chloe, I appreciate what you were doing, but I am Lucifer’s son. I cannot die. Please, for the love of God, do not use yourself as bait.”
I shrugged. “Oh…I thought I could be a good distraction.”
He stomped over, grabbed me by the jaw, and dragged me towards him. “Trust me,” he said with a hungry growl. He looked down at my legs for a long, long moment then looked back up at me. “You are.”
I blushed. Heat filled my veins. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
He grinned and cupped my face with both hands, then slowly lowered his face down to mine. Our noses brushed. His lips grazed over mine—
Spot barked so loud the bookshelves rattled.
I gasped and leapt back.
“All right, fair.” Malachi let his hands fall. He shook his head. “Come on, let’s go find this journal—"
“Wait!” A crazy, completely unrelated idea came to me. But I couldn’t handle the devastated expression of poor Spot’s face so I had to do something. I grinned and hobbled towards the back exit door. “Come here, Spot.”
He jumped up and sprinted to my side with his big black ears perked up in excitement. I stopped and pulled the door open and then skipped out into the alley. Now that the demons were gone, the pain was vanishing with every step. I rubbed my chest as I led Spot across the alley to where a stack of boxes sat at the back door to the butcher’s shop.
I pointed at them. “Go ahead, check out what’s inside, Spot.”
Spot cocked his head to the side then stuck his nose out and sniffed — then dove for the box. His tail swished back and forth like windshield wipers, little swirls of black smoke and shadow flicking out of his tail. He buried his face in the box all the way up to his shoulders. I bit my lip and waited, praying I hadn’t led him to a mean tease. But then he jumped back with three massive bones in his mouth, sticking out on both sides. I didn’t know what animal they came from and I didn’t want to know. Manny was a butcher. That was enough info for me.
He pranced and bounced before lying down to chew on his bone.
I giggled. “Guess hellhounds are just hounds. Bone is a bone, right?”
Spot was definitely a happy, happy Spot.
I glanced over my shoulder to Malachi and found him watching me with wide eyes that glistened in the moonlight. He didn’t say anything, but there was something in his stare that made my heart flutter and chest fill with warmth.
“So um, I don’t think my father’s journal is in there.”
He blinked and shook himself. “I don’t either. Though it was worth a shot. He left the journal with you, Chloe. He told me he did. He said it had instructions for the locket. It has to be somewhere more significant.”
I frowned. “I have never seen this journal, I don’t even have anything from back then – wait. I’m so stupid. I have a few of his books, but they’re not journals?”
“Maybe they had magic on them to conceal them? He would have done that.” He walked over to where I stood in the middle of the alley. “Where do you have these books?”
“In my flat here at Oxford.”
He grinned and held his hand out to me. “Let’s go then.”
I started to take his hand then froze. “Wait.” I spun and leapt over to where the boxes of bones sat and yanked the lid off.
“What are you doing?”
“Well I robbed him of demon snacks, so I need to supplement.” I reached down to grab a few, even though they all still had chunks of meat attached to them and smelled rank as hell.
“Don’t.”
I froze. “Why not?”
He reached down and picked up the entire box, then slid the lid back on. With a strange smile on his face and blush in his cheeks, he whistled to Spot and then held his hand out to me. “Shall we?”
Chapter Fourteen
Chloe
It was strange to be back in my flat after the day I’d had.
It was strange that only a day had gone by.
It was strange that I had on neither trousers or knickers.
What a day.
But it was only when Malachi’s shadows vanished and we found ourselves just inside the front door of my flat that I realized I’d never told him where I lived. I must’ve made a face because he frowned.
“What?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I didn’t tell you where I lived.”
“Oh…” he grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I never watched you or anything. It was just important for me to know where you lived, worked, went to school…just so I’d be able to track the locket quickly when it was awoken.”
That should have creeped me out, instead it filled me with butterflies and warmth. I smiled.
“Brilliant. That makes sense. Thank you?”
Spot whined and nudged the box of bones in Malachi’s hand.
He chuckled and sat it on the floor. “Have at it, bud.” When he looked back at me his gaze crept over my bare legs.
I bit my lip and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt that I’d borrowed. “So…”
“So…” he walked over and stopped right in front of me, then tucked my hair behind my ears. “Your father’s journal. Where do you think it could be?”
He was too close for my thoughts to stay smooth. My entire body was on fire. It was like someone flipped the fire alarm switch and my neurosystem was on lockdown. “They’d be…I mean, it could be…”
If he didn’t kiss me soon — wait. Why wait for him? Girl power. Spice Girls style. I’d almost done it before, no reason I couldn’t right now. Just like in the bookstore, I fisted his shirt and dragged him down to me. He gripped my hips and pulled me flush against his body. His mouth came down to mine, our lips almost touching—
Spot snarled and lunged for the door.
We jumped apart and spun just as the smoke flicked out of Spot’s body. He growled so loud the floor rumbled under my feet and the glass windows rattled. He barked and drool slid onto the floor under him, instantly eating away at the wood floor. I gasped and braced myself for pain from the locket.
Malachi stepped up beside his dog and put his hand on his head. Black smoke coiled around his other hand. “It’s not a demon.”
“Thank God.” I sighed with relief, sagging into the wall beside me. Then I frowned. “Wait, then what —”
Something heavy slammed into the door. I jumped.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
“Someone’s knocking?” I heard myself whisper. “Who the bugger could that be at three in the morning?”
Malachi scowled at the door.
“CHLOE?” Rolland shouted from the other side. “Chlo, you there?”
I cursed and pushed my hands into my hair. “Christ on a biscuit. That’s Rolland.”
Malachi’s scowl deepened. He turned toward me. “The cheating boy—” His eyes widened. His gaze flicked down and stayed there. He dragged his teeth over his bottom lip and swallowed roughly. But then he shook himself and his gaze shot to the ceiling. His cheeks flushed a brilliant pink. He cleared his throat but still wouldn’t look at me. “The cheating boyfriend?”
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