Or should I say, the moment Gabriel proposed it.
It was dust in the wind, essentially. Over the millennia, I’d grown accustomed to receiving such hate and abhorrence. It was a daily occurrence.
I wanted one thing, and one thing only: to annihilate her just as she did me. However, one question remained: what was I going to want after we defeated Sephira?
Chapter Twenty-Two – Kass
Her light blue eyes opened slowly, and I knew from my own personal coma experience that those same eyes felt heavier than stone. It pained her to breathe, and it was equally hard to speak. It didn’t help that her mouth was covered in blood.
“Claire,” Max was the first of us to talk. He gripped her pale hand and squeezed, saying, “It’s okay, you’re fine now. You’re safe.” I recognized the glint in his eyes; it was the same one Gabriel had when looking at me.
“What—” Claire froze when her tongue licked her lips. She was up in an instant, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
Steven and I glanced to each other.
“What is this?” Her face gradually regained her normal color. “What happened? Whose blood is this?” Claire was lively and full of questions. The second was anticipated, but the lively part? That blew me away.
“Crixis fed you some of his blood,” I began to explain, but was soon cut off by a cross Claire.
“Crixis?” Her voice rose, startling the three other people in the room. Claire herself seemed to be the only one who thought her behavior was normal for someone who had been comatose for the last twenty-four hours. “You let him feed me his blood? What’s wrong with you?”
“Claire,” Steven took up his uncle persona, “that was the only way we could get you back, otherwise…” He stopped. He had no idea how to finish that sentence. But I did.
“Otherwise you’d be a brainless Nightwalker,” I tried speaking lightly.
Claire’s blue-eyed gaze fell to her lap when she muttered, “You should have let me go.”
I shook my head in disbelief as Max replied, “Why would you say something like that?”
Her scrutiny was back on me when she answered, “Because now we’re in cahoots with the Devil. We’re his right hand. We’re on his side now, and who knows what he wants in exchange for my life?” Claire dug her bloodied face in her similarly bloodied hands. “It would have been easier for you to just let me go—”
“It wouldn’t have been easier for me,” Max threw back his retort.
“Me neither,” Steven agreed, setting a comforting hand on her foot. “I have a duty to—”
“Protect me,” Claire interrupted, sounding even more upset. Great. This wasn’t how I pictured this going. “I know. You made a promise to Anna on her deathbed that you’d protect me from the dangers of the world,” her voice became high pitched.
Was she trying to imitate this Anna girl? If so, she was failing and sounding like she was going to cry. Not that I blamed her. She was right when she said we were in cahoots with the Devil.
What did I do?
Steven did nothing but hug her and whisper, “And I plan on keeping that promise until the day I die.”
Claire responded by pushing him away and staring squarely at me. “What do we have to do?” Amazing how she was smart enough to know that we had to make a deal with Crixis to save her. Seriously. If I was her, I would have been oblivious.
Steven and Max both looked to me for the answer.
I opened my mouth, not wanting to explain how we had to team up with Crixis to take his evil maker down.
“How do you plan on taking this Sephira down?” Michael was furious at the Daywalker, just like everyone else in the room. “You must have some idea!” He heatedly tore off his glasses and started to clean them.
“We,” Crixis corrected him, “must stop the Witch before she succeeds in awakening her.”
Gabriel narrowed his icy eyes at him. “And how are we going to do that? You don’t even know who this Witch is.”
“That is exactly why we must go out tonight.” Crixis flicked his green eyes to me before saying, “There is a club where Witches gather. I hope to gather some clues as to who she is there.”
“Why do we have to go?” Gabriel crossed his arms, touching me with his elbow.
“We don’t,” Crixis growled to the blonde boy. “All I need is Kass.”
Taiton shook his head, saying, “I will not allow you to take her out of my sight.”
“Then you will all die” was what Crixis chose to say next. For such a charming monster, he needed to learn some manners. Not that I thought anyone could teach him, because after thousands of years, his intimidating attitude was a habit that couldn’t be broken.
Rain set his ankle on his knee, speaking up, “Sounds like she’s after you, not us. What have we got to worry about?” His dark eyes rested on Crixis.
Crixis’s lips drew taught. Not a good look. “Sephira cannot kill me. She may not know you personally, but she will destroy this entire city searching for me, and if she doesn’t find me, then she will wipe out every place she goes until she does.”
“Sounds like you’re out of luck,” Gabriel shrugged, as if it was that simple.
Alyssa breathed in, getting ready to speak. The old Alyssa would never have spoken to an entire group of people. She was always quiet and shy. What happened to her to make her so outgoing? “Why don’t you just give yourself to her if you know she’s on a warpath?”
“Because,” he took up a nasty tone, “a true warrior fights until death. She turned me over two thousand years ago and obliterated my village; I plan on fighting until she meets death. It is in your best interests to aid me. She will have no mercy for those who oppose her, and she will slay anyone you’ve ever cared about.”
Funny how he said my village and not my family. Was he attempting to forget them?
“I’ll do it,” I cautiously said, knowing that would raise many objections. “I’ll go with you.”
“Then I’m going with you,” Gabriel told us while placing an arm around my shoulders.
Crixis shook his head, saying, “No. It must be Kass and I.”
“Preposterous,” Taiton yelled, temper rising. “Kass isn’t going anywhere with you—”
“This isn’t up for discussion,” I increased my voice to make sure everyone in the living room heard it. I probably broke Gabriel’s ear drums, but too bad. I just wanted to get this thing over with, and if they didn’t agree then it’s too bad. “We promised we’d help him, and I’m going to keep my word.”
No one was happy. But no one spoke in objection.
I kept going, “If this Witch succeeds in bringing her back to life, then we’re going to be the ones who are out of luck, and I don’t want that. I’m going along with Crixis’s plan, so I’m going with him tonight to this club. I’ll be fine.”
Michael was the one who spoke up first, “No. I will not allow you to go. I don’t want you in any more danger—”
“Michael!” I shouted his name, stopping him instantly. “Do you see who’s in our house?” Since Gabriel’s arm was firmly locked on my shoulders, I pointed to Crixis. “And besides, I’m always in danger. What makes this any different?”
The stubborn Englishman started, “But—” The moment Liz squeezed his hand he halted in his tracks. The powerful one in that relationship? That would be Liz.
“She’s not a child, Michael,” Liz’s accent was thick. “She’s almost an adult, and soon you won’t be their Guardian. They’ll be on their own, have to make their own decisions.”
Michael was caught off guard by the things she said. The day I legally turned eighteen was going to be the day Michael stopped being my Guardian? Was he only watching Gabriel and I because I wasn’t of age yet?
Did Purifiers usually make it that long?
Clearing his throat, Michael finally said, “And they’ll make their fair share of mistakes as well. As of now, I’m still their Guardian. I still make the decisions here, and I say Kass i
sn’t going.” His dark eyes dug holes into me. “End of discussion.”
“No,” I argued, “it’s not the end of discussion. Michael, whether you like it or not, I’m going. If I’m the only one who decides to help Crixis and keep my word, then so be it. I don’t care if I’m the only one.” Finally managing to struggle free from Gabriel’s secure arm, I jumped up and stared down the people on the couches.
Raphael said, “I’m with you, Kass.”
I shot him a thank-you-so-freaking-much look before I dragged my eyes along the rest of the people. They were silent and stared straight back at me. Were none of them going to stand by me besides Raphael?
After about thirty more seconds of awkward silence, I gave up and stormed out of the room. I had better things to do than stand there and let them disagree with me using their eyes.
Staring at the black dress I wore to Claire’s father’s funeral, I thought, no.
The next dress was almost five years old, and the style of it was outdated. Another no.
Following those were more negatives. And after those rejections were more rejections. Why was it that I always had trouble finding the right outfit when I had an enormous closet?
I didn’t want to go to the club. I didn’t want to go anywhere with Crixis. The only thing I wanted to do with him was stab him in the face. Repeatedly. Because that’s what he deserved. But I promised that I’d help him if he cured Claire, and he did, so here I was.
Sighing, I fell to my floor and looked at the shrapnel of clothes around me. Not one wearable thing. What was up with that?
A creak in my door broke my contemplation. I raised my eyes to Gabriel, who had a small, red dress in his hands. “Here.” He offered no further explanation as he proceeded to hand the dress to me.
Within seconds of touching the fabric, I knew it was an expensive dress. There were just some things that the stores in the mall/Target/Kohls couldn’t do, and make a dress that felt like this was one of them.
Holding the ruby red dress, I glanced up at the silent blonde boy and asked, “What is this?”
He turned and began to walk out, muttering, “A dress. What’s it look like?”
“Gabriel,” I spoke his name forcefully, stopping him in his anger-ridden tracks. I was extra careful to set the precious outfit on my dresser (that was now back in its rightful place) before running to him. “Where did that dress come from?”
He diverted his blue eyes to the nearby wall, replying, “Liz gave it to me to give to you. She’s the only one who thinks you should do what you want.”
There was a pain in his face that I could not overlook, causing me to say, “And what do you think?” I didn’t know why I was so interested in his opinions, because I knew they would go something like this: I think you’re being really stupid and you’re pissing me off.
“I think,” he paused as he brought his hands to my face, “that Crixis can’t be trusted. Seriously, though. I don’t think you should do this, but I know I couldn’t stop you if I tried. You’re too stubborn, Kass. Sometimes I think you’d be better off tied up in my room.”
My face immediately twisted.
“And as you already know,” his tattooed hands slowly slid off, “I meant that to be as dirty as possible.” A handsome smile drew out his dimples when I smacked his chest. “Just so you know, if something happens to you tonight, I will become obsessed with revenge and not stop until anyone who touched you is dead. That said, I think you’ll look completely sexy in that dress, and I hate the fact that you’ll be with Crixis while wearing it.”
“That’s comforting, and thanks. Now get out so I can get changed.” Using my arms and legs uniformly, I pushed the six-foot blonde out of my room and shut the door. I had to hold myself back from slapping him again when he said something very inappropriate.
Seeking to stop wondering why I wanted Gabriel to keep talking, I focused on the red dress and the necklace I was going to double it with. It was the necklace that the blonde boy himself had given me all those weeks ago, on his birthday. The same one that he bought three years ago with Michael’s stolen credit card.
That was a story I’d never get tired of reimagining.
After undressing, I struggled to get my wide hips through the small dress. It may be true that I had a flat stomach and I had hardly an ounce of fat on me, but that didn’t change the fact that I had wide hips that made it hard to slip into a size three dress. Liz was more rail-thin than I was.
I stretched my arms as far back as they would go, hoping to zip up the skintight dress. There were some minor, unimportant, trivial problems with that. Okay, just one: I couldn’t reach the zipper. At all.
“It appears to me that you need help,” a voice behind me said.
I jumped a little when I saw the reflection in the mirror. His bright green eyes were on my bare back; I could see it in the mirror. “How did you get in here?” I demanded of Crixis after throwing a glimpse to my door. Still closed.
“There are many things of which you don’t know about me.” He laid a hand on my lower back, asking, “Shall I?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I bit my lip when his fingers slowly made their way up with the zipper. I focused on the anger I felt, on wanting to punch him in the face repeatedly. I refused to focus on the coolness of his hands on my bare back.
His hand brushed my shoulder as he reached for the thousand dollar necklace. Not knowing what else to do, I lifted up my hair. Once the jewelry was latched, I breathed out easily, knowing this close encounter was almost over. Besides the dream, this was the longest and closest I’d been to him without simultaneously getting bruises.
And internal injuries.
Spinning to face him, I finally grasped the fact of how close he really was. Too close. Too.. Close. Since he was so close, I decided that leaning back against my dresser would put more space between us. And it did. Thank God.
Know what else I did? I said the first thing on my mind. Kind of. “Never come into my dreams again. Never.”
“Why?” Crixis inched closer, just what I didn’t want him doing. “Did it make you uneasy?”
I feigned a laugh, sounding completely fake. Whoops. “No. I would just like my dreams to be the way they’re supposed to, without any interference from you or anyone else.”
His black hair fell over his eyes as his cocked his head, stepped closer, and asked, “So you weren’t uneasy?”
“That’s not—” I stuttered as he stepped closer. That space I worked so hard to put between us? He took it back, and then some. My chest touched his stomach.
Talk about that awkward feeling you get when your boobs are touching the monster that murdered your mother and father…oh. You’ve never had that particular awkward feeling? Count yourself lucky, then.
“I only control some aspects of the dream.” Crixis brought his head down to mine, touching his nose with mine. The same way he did in my dream. “You control everything else. Subconsciously, of course.”
“What does that mean?” Whatever it meant, I knew I didn’t like it.
“It means—” His lips smirked. “—that you could have stopped the kiss. You could have woken up sooner. You could’ve struggled, just like you could be struggling now.”
I decided to act like his closeness and stiff body weren’t getting to me. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You like it when they struggle,” I hissed in his face, glowering. “And I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction.”
“Actually, you don’t have to struggle to satisfy me.”
Knowing something was going on where it shouldn’t be, I manned up and shoved him off, saying, “Get the frick off of me.” Only I didn’t say frick.
Crixis’s body shook with laughter as he took a step back.
What was with me and psychopathic, murdering, insane Daywalkers? I was like a magnet.
Chapter Twenty-Three - Liz
I sat on the edge of Michael’s bed, watching as he paced the room. He did seem very concerned about Kass, and I com
pletely understood why. Crixis was the reason Taiton and I came; working with him was the last thing I expected.
Although Crixis was one of the worst murderers of all time, Kass wanted to keep her promise. I found that very commendable. Sadly, I seemed to be the only one who thought that was admirable, for everyone else was content to go back on their word and deceive the Vampire who, I was convinced, could see through it.
“Michael,” I began, setting my hands on my lap and crossing my ankles, “she’ll be fine. Stop worrying. They left over an hour ago; they’re probably not there yet.”
“I know, I know. I just…worry about her.” He buried his thin face in his hands, rubbing his tired eyes between his glasses.
A warm smile formed on my lips. It was so refreshing to see this kind of Guardian-Purifier relationship. In all my years, I had never seen a Guardian care this much about his or her Purifier. Of course, they did care, but they tended to limit it because Purifiers usually did not live past their eighteenth year.
Patting the bed, I said, “You need to relax. Lucky for you, I know just what you need.”
His eyebrows rose, just like they always did when I hinted at such things. Michael was definitely a quirky man, but I loved him all the same.
Did I truly mean that? I believed so.
As he slowly made his way to the bed, I giggled and pulled down his sheets. Something under his pillow caught my eye, so I dug my hands beneath it and extracted a black laptop. If I hadn’t yanked the sheets, I never would have noticed.
Odd how chance could change everything.
“What is this?” I set the small computer on my lap and looked to Michael, who stood before me with a flustered expression on his face.
“That—” He took the laptop from me. “—is my laptop. I forgot I put it there.” Michael said not another word as he stood on his tiptoes to place it on his tall armoire. “Now…where were we?”
The Nightwalkers Saga: Books 1 - 7 Page 98