by Lisa Swallow
Keir’s tall figure blended into the darkness he belonged to.
Ava pulled her hair behind her, gripping it until it hurt. There was no Keir left.
Chapter 27
Ava rested her head on the table, wishing everyone would shut up. Her head pounded from lack of sleep and judging by Dahlia’s dark rimmed eyes, she hadn’t slept either. Ava expected to find perverse pleasure from hearing Dahlia on the receiving end of chastisement from Eli, but she didn’t. She shared Dahlia’s pain - they both loved Keir in different ways and they’d both been betrayed. Sitting besides Dahlia, Jack hugged her shoulders. Ava closed her eyes. The void in Dahlia’s life was gradually being refilled and Ava was alone.
“We need to act,” urged Asher.
Eli drummed his fingers on the table. “Not yet.”
“Why?” Asher’s face folded into confusion. “We know how to return the soul now, and he’s discovered that’s what we’re planning. What if he leaves?”
A small noise escaped from Dahlia’s throat.
Ava preferred the world at her angle - everything tipped sideways. Not steady anymore. She lifted her head from the table and rubbed her face. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“How do you know that?” asked Asher.
“Because he has a ready supply of souls around him. I don’t think he’ll leave until suspicion gets too great.”
“More girls,” mumbled Dahlia.
“Then it’s a good job they sent a female soul-hunter after him,” said Eli, cold gaze on Ava.
She knew what he was implying. As Keir’s predatory interest in the girls on campus increased, so did Ava’s awareness of her role. Equally attracted and repelled by him, the prospect worried her. What if she was the one seduced into failure and lost her own soul? She wasn’t fooling herself that he was her Keir, the way Dahlia had. But she couldn’t deny the way he dazzled her still.
“I don’t think we should wait,” said Ava, “he’s becoming more dangerous. His success is feeding his confidence.”
“I agree,” said Dahlia, “I’ve seen what happens when demons get too confident and he’s heading that way. If Zach thinks he’s killing too many, he’ll move him on. Then we’ll have to spend time looking for him again.”
“You don’t trust me enough to return the soul crystal to me?” said Ava.
Asher and Eli glanced at each other. “Partly.”
Ava leaned across the table to Eli. “I know you doubt me because I’m a soul-hunter, but I want him back as much as you. I can’t stand I caused this. I’m not going to run back to the Caelestia. I’ll do everything it takes to bring Keir back for you - even if it kills me.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Ava,” muttered Dahlia.
“Like you care?” she snapped back, “you’ve always wanted me dead.”
“Aww no one loves the little soul-hunter,” said Dahlia snidely.
“You have a short memory, who was it came looking for you last night?”
“Jack.”
Ava got to her feet. “Forget it then. Send Dahlia to him again. Or you go, Eli. But you know as well as me you’ll fail. I have an advantage I’m willing to use.”
The chair scraped loudly as Ava shoved it back under the table. “If you feel like giving me the crystal, let me know.”
Outside the house, Ava perched on the low wall, watching the stark branches of the tree above move in the breeze. Reminding her of the day she took Keir’s soul and created more enemies.
She was a pawn and she didn’t belong anywhere.
Asher approached and sat next to her. “I’m sorry, Ava. But you understand why we are worried? Eli and myself have been hidden for as long as Keir. Longer. We’re part of Keir’s secrets and if you take them, and his soul, back to the Caelestia we are threatened too.”
Asher emanated a calmness she’d never felt from anyone before. He had to be Caelestia. Even without the blond curls and piercing eyes, the purity of his aura radiated from him. Ava considered him and Eli, attempting to get her head around their role. The history of the division between the Caelestia and the Nephilim was sketchy but her knowledge of Keir’s actions pointed to the reasoning for the conflict. The treatment of souls by the Caelestia.
“I was helping Keir before this happened. I’d already turned away from the Caelestia and into danger. I believe in what you do,” she said.
Asher reached out and cupped her cheek. His velvet soft hands conveyed his empathy for her. “And what of your future, Ava? Exiled. Never safe again. That’s a very long way from what you wanted. You became a soul-hunter for freedom. You’ll never be free.”
“I’m not safe whatever I choose to do. I have no illusions what will happen to me if I go back. Sure, I can take his soul and secrets. It might lessen my punishment but you’re right, I’ll never be free.”
“It’s harder here. In this world.”
Ava laughed. “I know. But Keir’s in this world. And the soul you have in there is very probably tied to mine. I belong with Keir.”
Asher tipped his head slightly, hair shining gold as the sun picked out the highlights. As he regarded her, Ava shivered. His deep eyes seemed to look into her heart and soul.
“I will talk to Eli. I don’t think we have any choice unless we are prepared to lose Keir permanently.”
Asher rose and returned to the house.
Of course she’d help them, Keir was her place she belonged. If she could get him back - and if he forgave her - she’d never leave again. Where did she have to go anyway?
Chapter 28
Ava paced up and down the wide stone steps, waiting for Keir to come out of the campus library. The shadow of the clock tower blocked out the warmth of the sun, but she preferred the shade. Following her outburst, a contrite Dahlia had returned to campus with Jack, and mumbled an apology Ava was positive Dahlia had been forced to give her. They’d brought with them the crystal, and the decision to entrust it to her, but on the condition she waited for further instructions. This show of faith bolstered her, but didn’t remove the butterflies accompanying thoughts of approaching Keir. Of anxiety or desire, she’d yet to decide.
She shielded her eyes, as a couple stepped into the sunshine. Her stalking over the last few days had paid off - Keir walked down the steps his arm linked with a new girl. Ava recognized her from class. She was quieter than some of the others - petite and pretty with fewer friends. This lack of close friends had just put her in danger from the man she was looking at, with disbelief in her shining eyes. The sun bounced off her chestnut hair as they descended the stairs and sympathy flooded Ava. Why didn’t girls see through guys who looked and behaved like Keir? At the bottom of the steps, Keir lifted the girl into his arms and swung her around, planting a kiss on her head.
Pushing away her jealousy and her memories of his lips on hers, she waited for them to end their embrace. Keir noticed Ava as the girl left, and he remained at the foot of the steps, regarding her. She stared back, challenging him silently. A few minutes locked in each others gaze, he walked away without a word to her.
Ava had to be more proactive, get closer and not back off. She’d be an ex, stalking them, but at least this girl would stay alive.
The next day, Ava searched campus for them. By the end of the day, panic set in. She’d looked everywhere, attended every class and found no sign of Keir or the girl. A sick realization she’d failed hung over her, convinced Keir had killed the brown haired girl. A small part of her hoped she was wrong, certain he couldn’t kill again so soon without raising too much suspicion. Relief flooded Ava when she saw the girl hovering outside the library with two of her few friends.
The girl marched over to Ava, red rimmed eyes flaring. “You! Back off!” she yelled.
Ava arched an eyebrow. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
“He said you keep following us. That you’re obsessed by him. Said he couldn’t take it anymore.” The girl’s cheeks were wet with tears. Hopefully, he’d broken things off with her.
<
br /> “What?”
“I think he’s still hung up on you. Wants you back. He talks about you all the time, tells me how you treated him.”
Ava shook her head, dislodging the girl’s crazy words. “I don’t believe that.”
The girl ran her fingers through her brown hair, face reddening. “You know what you do when you damage guys? They can’t get close to anyone else. He told me he felt like you’d stabbed him in the heart when you left him.”
Ava suppressed a laugh and the girl’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, you don’t care, do you? You’re a weird bitch following us around when you don’t want him.”
“You don’t know Keir, you need to be careful.”
“Sure, you would say that, wouldn’t you?”
Ava sighed. “And that’s what I expected you to say. How long have you been with him? Like five minutes? Open your eyes. Guys like him don’t stick around. And he’s dangerous.”
The girl made a derisive noise. “That’s up to me. Like I said, just quit following us and let him get on with his life.”
Spinning on her heels, the girl returned to her friends and they all glared at Ava. Three girls with no idea. One stupid girl who fell for bad boys and two encouraging her. Ava crossed her arms, daring them to approach her. The girls picked up their bags and walked away, glancing back at Ava as they left.
She stood for a moment, watching them retreat.
“Making enemies?”
Ava turned to find Keir behind her and held her breath. Her heart thumped after her encounter with the girl whose name she didn’t even know, and when she caught his familiar scent blowing toward her, Ava’s heart beat faster. He knew how damn sexy he was, bordering on an arrogance which appealed to so many on campus around him. Keir had become the guy she thought she’d find the first day she looked for him - arrogant, dangerous, demon Nephilim. The disregard she had for him then had to be reignited, not her desire.
“Surely you have enough enemies?” he continued.
“Have you been listening?”
“Kind of. It was amusing. If there’s one thing they like more than an edgy guy, it’s one who’s broken and needs loving to fix them up.” He mocked wiping a tear from his eye.
Ava moved away from him, not wanting to get drawn into the sexual presence emanating from his tall figure.
“You’re a fucking psycho.”
“Your fault. You took my soul. But I hear you have it back, Ava. And I need it.”
“You said you were happy without a soul.”
“Oh I am, I don’t want the soul for me. Zach wants it. He has plans.”
“What plans?”
He leaned toward her. “I’m tired of playing games - get me the fucking thing or I’ll come after you and kill you.”
Ava snorted a laugh at his darkened features. “Loosing your cool a bit there, aren’t you?”
She turned away. She wasn’t having this conversation with him, refusing to be drawn into trickery.
Keir caught her by the arm and spun her back round to face him. She flinched at his grip. “Here’s the thing. I’m going to keep taking other souls until you give me the crystal containing mine.”
“What do you mean?”
“Anyone else who dies around here is your fault.”
Silence hung between them, stilling the afternoon air.
Keir smiled. “Do you know how many girls around here like a bad guy?” He winked at her and sauntered off before she could respond.
Ava sank onto the steps, his challenge echoing in her ears. The students streamed past, in and out of the main campus building behind her and she caught a conversation between two girls about Keir. His broken-hearted girlfriends who disappeared made no difference to his popularity, he knew how to turn the charm on. Sitting back idly wasn’t an option anymore. No way could she watch as he killed someone else just because Asher and Eli hadn’t given her the okay yet.
Chapter 29
Ava mustered her sweetest smile for the bouncer leaning against the wall. Another broad-chested man waited at the bottom of the small stairs, in front of the black door. The thud of the bass emanated from the underground building, broadcasting the location of the nightclub. The bouncer in front of Ava appraised her. She wore dark jeans and a thin black singlet, couldn’t be bothered with coats and cloakrooms - she wasn’t staying long. He stood to one side, allowing Ava past him to the second doorman, who patted her down. She arched an eyebrow at him in case his hands decided to wander.
“Okay,” he said gruffly, standing to one side and pushing hard on the door.
The heavy door opened into the thick of the nightclub, sickly smelling dry ice obscuring her vision. Strobe lights pitched across the ceiling, picking out groups dancing. Ava blinked, overwhelmed by the lights and noise after the quiet of the streets in her walk over. She surveyed the room. Barely bigger than one of her larger seminar rooms, Keir would be easy to find in the club. She pushed through people to get to the small bar, and squeezing herself between two couples, she turned and leant against the rough wooden structure. A drink could wait.
Once over ‘The Pit’ had been an exclusive underground club few knew about and fewer got entry to. The exclusivity had passed. Now the place served as a mainstream college kid hang out. The original patrons had moved on, started a new place. Now only students came, grasping onto the idea of an illicit secret that had long since been discovered.
The strobe lights flashed around the room, picking individual people out in the sea of bodies was tough. But Keir’s height put him above everyone around, including the small girl next to him. The girl with brown hair and green eyes who’d yelled at Ava several hours before. Ava didn’t want anymore blood on her hands.
The music thumped into her brain from the huge speakers designed for large venues, and not for cramming into a confined space. The sound dulled her hearing and confused her senses, whilst the moist heat assaulted her lungs. The number of bodies packed into the small nightclub had to be against fire regulations. She screwed up her face - humans came here for fun?
Keir pulled the girl onto the dance floor, and Ava watched, remembering the previous girl. The one she hadn’t saved. Today he’d lain out his intentions, challenged her. Ava suspected there was a deeper motive beyond taking the girl’s soul, linked to his desire for her own. If she stepped up to his challenge, the consequences for her were unknown. But she had to fight for the Keir who’d loved her. Bring back the Keir she’d destroyed.
Ava searched for Dahlia and Jack all afternoon but couldn’t locate them anywhere on campus. She debated calling Dahlia or even Asher to explain her intentions, but stopped herself. What if they said no, told her to keep away from Keir? Keir had practically told her to find him and stop him and that’s what Ava would do. With or without permission. The soul crystal was hers, in her room. It was time. Nobody else would die because of her.
She strode across the dance floor. Sweat covered bodies jostled her in the claustrophobia of the club and she grimaced as their perspiration touched her arms. Ava positioned herself between Keir and the girl. Keir immediately stopped dancing. Through the strobes, his features distorted in and out of her vision, but every time the light flashed across his face a knowing smile illuminated his face. He wasn’t surprised to see her.
The girl was. She tapped Ava on the shoulder and Ava turned to her. The girl tried to shout something at her above the music, but Ava couldn’t hear and didn’t care what she was saying. She watched the girl’s angry face come in and out of view, the noise of the beat pounding through Ava’s ears.
Keir leaned toward Ava, mouth touching her ear. “So… you or her?”
He stepped back and looked at her questioningly, not paying any attention to the frustrated girl behind them. Wearing his faded brown leather jacket over a light colored T-shirt, his hair was already soaked from the heat of the venue, perspiration shining on his face.
Ava moved closer and he grinned, backing up further. He hit the wall and s
he bumped into him, not expecting him to reach the bricks so soon. Their gazes locked and Keir’s eyes shone through the darkness, inviting her to confront him. She hated what he’d become but he still exuded the sexuality that drove her to distraction before. And the girl was with him, in danger. Keir’s physical pull went beyond the attraction of their souls, and she needed him.
Ava pushed Keir roughly, locking her mouth on his. He gripped the back of Ava’s head and pressed her lips to his, kissing her hungrily and crushing her against him. Ava stood on tiptoes as she deepened the kiss, tongue darting into his mouth. She yanked his T-shirt free from his jeans and slid her hands across his hard stomach, tracing the lines with her fingernails.
Keir pulled her head back, eyes dark with lust.
“Finally,” he said in her ear.
His mouth crushed into hers, as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and bit. She winced then grabbed Keir’s hair, holding his curls tight until he let go. His laughter rumbled against her chest. Air rushed in and out of Ava’s lungs in huge bursts, as she tore her mouth away and touched her lip. Keir’s eyes glinted as his hands trailed under her top and splayed across her back. He tugged her toward him and his mouth covered hers again, stubble scratching at her face.
In a deft movement, Keir spun her around against the wall, pushing himself into her. Ava’s body ignited at his touch, skin searing. Ava’s mind yelled at her, told her not to succumb. But her sexual pull to this demonic Keir was no weaker than before he lost his soul.
The strength of his muscled body as he pinned her against the wall was all that stopped her weakened legs giving way to the floor. Keir’s hand slid upwards and cupped her breasts, sliding a finger underneath the lace. She caught her breath and he laughed into her hair, sliding his hand away again. Awareness of his arousal through his jeans tugged her back to the reality of the situation, and she wriggled against him. A growl of pleasure escaped from his throat. Wrong move.