by Laney McMann
His jaw dropped, pain and anger washing his expression in harsh lines.
“See … I told you she’d understand.” The Leanaan Sidhe cooed, placing her hand on Max’s shoulder again. “She knows it’s us you really belong to. Me.” She shifted her yellow-eyed gaze in my direction and grinned with white, pointed teeth. “I’m glad you finally understand.”
I couldn’t catch my breath, speeding like a freight train. Sparks sizzled and grew in my open palms, falling to the ground. “Shut your mouth, and take your hand off of him, or I swear to god, I will torch you where you stand. Your kind can die. I remember that now.” The corner of my mouth lifted into a snarl without my control.
“Layla—” Max took a step forward, away from Ana, and leaned into my line of sight, but I paid him no attention, eyes fixed only on the Vampyre Fae. “Calm down. There’s nothing going on—I’m not one of them, and I haven’t done anything wrong. She just showed up here,” he pleaded. “Ana’s nothing more than a pawn. Would you look at me, please?”
A shift of the light at the end of the alley caused my head to turn away from him, and Benny rounded the corner toward us, seeming breathless and panicked. Her blue eyes locked instantly onto mine. “Layla … let’s go.” Her tone was coaxing, motherly—completely unlike her. “You’re not feeling well, remember?” She held her hand out and beckoned me forward, as a flash of yellow wings lit the darkness like a halo around her and died out.
Max glanced over, concern etching the contours of his face. “What are you talking about?”
Benny’s gaze remained fixed on me, as if her eyes roved every part of my body. Flashes of yellow lit up the alley again and disappeared. “She isn’t feeling … like herself.” Her gaze stayed focused, and she continued to hold her hand out, but I shook my head, my feet planted to the ground. “We can figure this out, Lay.” She took a step forward, and her eyes illuminated, a deep, dark yellow, like cat’s eyes, and she let out a low hiss. “I see you.”
A chilling crawl ran over my skin, and for a reason unknown to me, I couldn’t move—as if some foreign force was holding me in place, making my decisions. “You cannot defeat me. You will not win. The Raven is born of the Underworld,” the same odd, yet familiar voice chimed in my head.
My gaze darted to Max, the Vampyre grinning at his back.
“He’s a Fomorian, one of the Demon Gods—the enemy race,” the voice said.
Max’s jaw tightened as he stared, breathing heavily. “I am not your enemy, Layla,” his voice chimed in my head. “Talk to me.”
I traced the dark grey outline of his crystal eyes. “You were right, Max. You should have walked away from me when you saw me in the shop that day.”
His mouth tightened into a hard line. “Don’t say that.”
I dug my heel into the ground, scratched the Evil Eye Ogham on my inner arm in two with a bloody gash from my fingernail, and spun, traversing out of the alley.
Max screamed.
27
“Let her go, Max!” Benny’s shout touched my ears, right before a whip of wind, like the roar of an F5 tornado, spun around and enclosed me.
“No!” Max’s yell ricocheted around my body, vibrating the air, and an unyielding embrace wrenched me backwards. I fought against Max’s strong arms in mid-air, knowing I’d never win. Wielding the wind was his strength, not mine. He gripped my body tight against his, his drawn breath heaving in my ear, the firm hold of his arms cradling me. “Please, don’t do this.”
Unable to bear his words, the raw tenderness and pain in his voice, I drew on all the anger I could muster and shifted into the Raven, slipping from his hold.
“Goddammit, Layla! Stop!” The wind picked up fiercely, as if trying to snare me back in, but I’d already flown too high, out of his reach.
I ascended toward the storm clouds, wings tucked tight, not looking behind me, and Max fell back, just as an unexpected, yet familiar, figure took his place.
Justice.
He flew beside me without a sound, without even looking at me, simply flanking my side, black gargoyle wings wide. A soft pelting of raindrops spattered my raven wings, and I continued toward the only place I could think of that Max would never look for me.
The dilapidated building came into view in the distance, the tallest downtown, its spires pitched through the clouds. From my flying height, I spotted at least six statuesque gargoyles sitting atop the highest peaks of the cornice on the old Theatre, each monstrous creature peering down toward the street, and gripping the worn brick facade with taloned feet. White spots of light cast down the sides of the building from antique-looking lanterns, and formed large circles of illumination on the open rooftop. I landed in the center of the wide expanse of concrete, instantly shifting back into my human form.
Justice thudded down beside me. “What the hell was that about? I’m not a fan of flying in the rain.”
I walked over to a low air conditioning unit bolted into the roof and sat down, blood singing in my veins with an offbeat throb. “What do you want, Justice?” Cradling my head, I tried to force the odd thoughts that kept running through my brain away—the ones that weren’t my own. What’s wrong with me?
He shrugged and leaned against the backside of the building’s facade. “It’s been a while since we’ve gotten on each other’s nerves. Thought I could use a refresher course.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be protecting the night skies, or something like that?” Flexing my tingling hands made blood ooze down my arm from where I’d scratched the Evil Eye Ogham off.
“Not really.”
“Well, I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Maybe not, but Max won’t be happy if I leave you up here alone and unprotected.”
“Please … don’t tell me you’re afraid of him—”
He let out a drawn sigh. “You really don’t know how powerful he is, do you?”
The declaration, without any inkling of Justice’s usual sarcasm, caught me off guard.
“Why do you think the Fomore want him?” His brow knitted up. “Elethan isn’t looking for a son.” He exhaled like he was frustrated and slid down the wall until he was sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. “The Fomore want power. End of story. Why’d you fly here, of all places?” He crinkled his nose with an air of dislike.
“Because I knew Max wouldn’t look here.”
“You’re wrong about that. He’ll look everywhere for you.”
“Whatever. I’m fine, Justice. You can go.”
“Like I said, I can’t leave you unprotected. Not in my best interest.”
“What are you talking about? Like you said, the Fomore want Max. They’re not looking for me.”
“There are other—” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
I eyed him, the Ogham on my right shoulder twisting uncomfortably. The Shield—the battle Ogham. “Other what?” I sighed and dropped my pounding head in my hands. “Stop talking in code, like you hold all the secrets, or something.”
“I’m not talking ‘in code.’” He made little quote marks with his fingers. “What’s going on with you, anyway? I get you’re mad, but you’re kinda always mad. No offense. It’s your thing.” He grinned.
“What’s going on with Max and the Leanaan Sidhe?”
“Nothing.” He answered too quickly.
“You’re going to lie straight to my face? Isn’t it a sin to lie? You know, the whole Fallen angel thing.”
He laughed. “I think my sins have far outweighed lying.”
“Fighting for what you believe in isn’t a sin.” I glanced over at him.
His brow creased. “What would you know about it?”
“You can drop the act. Benny told me.”
His eyes narrowed.
“About the Uprising. I know you were an angel under The Greater Gods, or whatever.”
An odd, almost inhuman look crossed his expression before it vanished, replaced by his laid back demeanor. “What else di
d she tell you?”
“Nothing else.” I sighed, exhausted. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around what I am, so—” I rubbed my hands down my bare thighs, wishing I hadn’t worn shorts. “At least now I understand it. Why you and Max are friends, the whole Fire Born-Fallen Angel association. It seemed weird to me before, but I guess Max is all you have left. It’s still … crazy. All of this.”
Justice stared straight at me for a second, and a chill ran down my back. He turned away, the same odd expression I’d seen before crossing his face. “Her name is Ana. She and Max—a while ago, a few months probably—were … dating. I’m sure you figured that out.”
A burn rolled down the back of my throat. Like lava. Chills and heat crisscrossed all over my skin, and little sporadic fires sprung up across the rooftop.
“This is why I didn’t want to say anything,” Justice said. “This is definitely why Max didn’t tell you. I knew you’d freak. So did he.”
I had a million retorts to make, and to yell, but I didn’t dare to open my mouth, tightening my jaw like a steel trap. My nerves jumped, heart pounded, as a newfound anger erupted from the depths of my soul.
“Max didn’t realize what she was. Not until the day of the attack. None of us knew that it was Ana possessing Dena, possessing Max, helping the Fomore. Not until she walked into Max’s house with Devon at her heels that day. I mean, you noticed, right?”
“Yes …” I noticed. She’d introduced herself to me like a little housewife. Her shiny brown hair hanging to her waist. Yellow-green eyes, with hints of red bleeding through the irises, underneath long lashes. Shimmering flawless skin and pink painted lips. She’d been stunningly beautiful.
“There was no time to discuss it, obviously,” Justice said, “but Max was shocked. We all were. Hard to fathom your ex-girlfriend is a demon vampyre fae from the Underworld, who’s been pulling the strings in a situation like that.” He shook his head.
That was why Max froze when he saw her that day. Why the Leanaan Sidhe was rambling on about boyfriends and choices. The reason Max didn’t want to hurt her. Nausea rose in the back of my throat.
“Relax, Layla. Don’t go burning the building down. Max would move heaven and earth for you—hell, too, for that matter. He doesn’t care about Ana.”
How naive of me to think Max never dated anyone else. He’s seventeen.
Heat traveled through my blood like poison. “You can go, Justice.”
“Nah, I’m good.” He remained leaning against the wall.
“So, you’re going to monitor my movements until Max catches up with me? Is that your plan?” I gritted my teeth.
He pushed to his feet and brushed his hands together. “Yep.”
A thud sounded behind me, and a tremendous force of wind tore across the open rooftop, whirling my hair into a mass. I spun to my feet, and the sporadic flames I’d started scattered out across the concrete, finding purchase among the loose debris.
Max’s furious glare locked with mine. Hard lines set across the expression on his ashen face as his chest heaved. Spots of blood spattered his neck and arms, and his damp hair stuck to his neck and forehead. Dark bruises were visible through the wet material of his white T-shirt on his chest and stomach.
He gave a quick, fleeting glance toward Justice, who had already stepped off the edge of the building and soared into the sky. “What in the hell is going on with you? Since when do you just run away from me like that? I haven’t seen you in weeks! And what are you doing up here with Justice?” His tone was as sharp as a shard of glass.
“You haven’t seen me because you chose to leave! And what difference does it make who I’m with?” Drops of water splattered my face as the sprinkle turned to rain. “Shouldn’t you be hurrying off to the Underworld with Ana? Did you tell her to wait for you on the sidewalk or something this time?”
His eyes darkened, jaw muscles working. “I don’t know what happened back at The Pub, or what kind of insane thoughts you have running through your head, but there is nothing going on with me and Ana.”
“How long have you known her?” My tone bit back at him.
He dragged a hand through his damp hair and exhaled in frustration. “A while.”
“A while? A while? You dated her!” I growled, flames licking off my palms. “I saw you in a vision the night she came to your house, tearing everything apart. You didn’t know that, did you? I saw the look in your eyes. I didn’t realize it then, but now I know. It was pain. It hurt you when you found out she was helping the Fomore all along. You still have feelings for her.”
“No. I don’t, and it’s wasn’t like that.” Wind continued howling across the open rooftop.
“Justice told me!”
“Did Justice tell you it was only a few dates?” He thrust his hands out and one of the light fixtures crashed to the ground and shattered in sparks. “That I didn’t know she was damned?” He took a step forward. “Or that maybe it was shock you saw in my face and not pain? I didn’t tell you about Ana because it doesn’t matter. It didn’t mean anything!”
“It’s still a lie!” Smoke rose up in streams from where the rain was dousing the fires.
“It’s not a lie. And you dated Devon!” His eyes flared, taking another step closer. “For a long time.”
“I thought you were a hallucination!” The Ogham on my left wrist shifted, and the ground quaked, causing loose bricks to fall to the ground.
Max put his hands out, eyeing the rooftop. “Did you just do that?” He looked back at me. “Please tell me that you did not just cause this three story building to shake!” The veins in his temple jumped.
I glared at him, surprised myself, and concentrated on the ground. It rumbled again. I grinned.
“Layla, will you stop! Why are we fighting?”
“Because you left!” I took a step toward him. “Because you decided being a Fomore was more important than fighting for me—for us.” I hissed.
“You think I’m not fighting for you?” He screamed the question, drops of water spotting his face. “That’s all I do, Layla! All I’ve done. Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Just go, Max. I appreciate you having Justice track me for you, or whatever he was doing, but I’m fine now.”
His face reddened. “Track you?” He gritted his teeth. “I was worried. I am worried. You don’t … look right. You definitely don’t sound right. Tell me what’s going on!”
“Nothing’s going on. You’re always worried. Worried that you’re getting too close to me, worried that I’m not safe enough. So worried that you’d rather live your life in the Shadow Realm with a race that hates us. Hates me.”
“That’s what you think?” he asked with disbelief. “I’m afraid to get too close to you because I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t even get close to you for too long or everything shakes. I ripped a hole in your roof the last time we got carried away, or don’t you remember that?” He gave me an evil grin as if he knew I’d lost that part of the argument.
I didn’t answer him.
“And I told you I haven’t gone back to Elethan, yet. Haven’t been able to bring myself to leave Historia.” His volume rose. “That’s how selfish I really am. I can’t bear to be away from you for a day, not one goddamned day. Even when I know I’m putting you in danger by being here.” He stared up toward the dark sky, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I told your grandmother I would do right by you,” he said under his breath. “By the Tuatha Dé, that I would continue to fulfill the duty I swore an oath to, yet here I am, arguing with you in the dead of night—in the rain—because I’m too damn afraid to leave you for more than an hour. Because I don’t trust a word Elethan says.” He glanced back down at me. “I’m supposed to get leave from your grandmother. She wants Elethan’s word that he won’t touch you, or me, before she’ll hand me over to him, as she says.” He ran a hand through his wet hair again. “I’m supposed to let her know what my plans are before I return, but I’m so damn heartbroken, I ca
n’t even function—can’t even think. And you really believe I’d rather live in the Shadow Realm?”
I wanted to yell at him, but all I could get out was, “You lied to me about the Leanaan Sidhe.”
He tilted his head to the side, and yanked the collar of his soaked T-shirt down, exposing his neck. “See this? Look at it.”
My breath released in a gasp. A pattern of diagonal lines converged into a single point on the side of his neck, before they splayed out, creating a vicious looking star. Like individual spear heads. What I’d thought was a bad bruise under the shadowed light of the alley was some kind of etching. Like a carving done with a red hot iron poker.
“This is what a tracking device looks like, apparently. It’s the Fomorian Coat of Arms. The Leanaan Sidhe has been working for Elethan—just like Sam. The poison she implanted in my neck was per his order, and this is what it did. It’s the reason—the only reason—I ever had anything to do with her. Elethan did this to get me into his grasp. I was set up. I wouldn’t have given a damn about Ana without it. It was a trap.” He exhaled, long and heavy, and his shoulders slumped as if the last of his energy drained away—the wind dying with it. “She has no power over me anymore. Elethan had the poison removed.” He pointed to his neck again. “Tristan showed me this the other day. Obviously, I’m still being tracked. Otherwise, Ana wouldn’t have been able to find me tonight.”
I didn’t say anything. Who would do that to their own son? I wanted to go to him, to make sure he was okay, to remove it somehow, but I stayed where I was.
“Lay …” his voice was low and rough. “I didn’t know before—if … how—I didn’t know how you felt about me. I mean, we were best friends but only kids when I left all those years ago. You had every right to hate me for leaving then. When I saw you in the shop that day—I broke it off with Ana. Before I even talked to you, I broke it off with her.” His eyes sparkled, shadowy bruises catching the yellow spots of light. “She didn’t take it well.” He smirked. “It was a few dates. That’s all. She’s crazy.” He spun a finger around the side of his head. “If you haven’t already noticed.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a cautionary grin. “I love you. How many times do I have to say it?” He walked toward me.