18
The smile on that bastard’s face and the menacing tone of his laughter instantly had me on edge. What did he mean I was too late? That wasn’t the kind of hero I wanted to be. The story fucking sucked when the hero didn’t get to save the girl. No happy ending, that was just an empty pit in your stomach as you walked out of the theater.
If I wanted to feel that way again, I’d just sit down and watch Requiem for a Dream. You want something to show in schools that might make kids think twice about taking their experimentations with drugs to the next level? Well, that movie is the one.
“What do you mean I’m too late?” I managed to shout across the room, barely holding onto the rage I felt simmering in my belly.
The cold-hearted bastard stopped laughing and took a sip from his drink as if all was right in the world. “Simply that, Bozley Green. I’ve tossed our mutual acquaintance to the wolves, as they say.”
The gun was in my hand and the shot fired before I knew what I was doing. Balthazar spun around as blood splattered the wall behind the bar. I could hear someone screaming as I walked forward, but I didn’t realize that it was me until I tried to speak. “Fuck you! You’ve gone too far this time. This is where our relationship comes to an end.”
The gun was pointed in front of me again, this time towards the head of the sniveling mess curled up below me. His eyes met mine, and they radiated fear and hatred in equal measures.
He held up his hands as if he could ward off the next shot I planned to fire. “You might still be able to save her if you hurry.”
“You’re fucking lying.” I pressed the barrel to his head and watched him cringe back against the bar in fear. “This ends now.” My finger was on the trigger as he started to speak again.
“No, it’s true. I swear it.” He stopped trying to cover himself with his hands and looked me in the eyes. “You only have time to do one thing, Bozley, you can turn around and save her or you can satisfy your need for revenge.”
With a scream of pure rage, I brought the gun down on the side of his head. Hopefully, the smug little fuck would be there when I got back. Without a further thought, I turned and ran for the door. If there was a chance to save Rain, I had to take it. She wasn’t going to be in there alone, and I was going to need help.
Gideon, I need you now more than ever, I quickly thought to him, my internal voice reflecting rage and impatience I was feeling.
When you say things like that, I get all warm and fuzzy inside, the angel responded.
You’re kidding, right?
I thought you might appreciate the humor. Also, I am very impressed with your weapon. What is it you would say? I need to get me some of that.
I smiled and shook my head. I’m not sure that’s something I would say, but I’m picking up what you’re putting down.
New energy filled me as I ran down the hallway. Every step was almost three or four of my natural stride. I hit the door at the end of the right side of the hall, and it blew inwards, sliding across the ground until it came to a skidding halt six feet away. I had to blink to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, but they were still there.
Three things made out of solid shadow were advancing on Rain. The gun seemed to rise up of its own volition, but this time, I felt Gideon behind the movement. Bullets erupted from the end of the muzzle sending flashes of light through the dark spaces. Rain screamed, and the shadows burst apart as the bullets tore through them.
The time for being subtle ended when I put a bullet through Balthazar’s right shoulder. If these beings were made of shadow, then only light could dispel them. The gun was empty, so I tossed it to the floor.
The shadows were reforming, bent on their mission to rip Rain limb from limb. Their clawed hands were reaching out as I cut my left palm with the folding knife. I let the blood splatter to the ground in a circle. Then focusing on the circle of blood I screamed. “Illumino!”
The room burst into brilliant white light. I sensed more than I heard the shadows screaming as the light destroyed their very essence. Rain was still on the ground rocking back and forth, trying to scream, but her voice had finally given out. Darkness started to settle back over the room, and I hoped that the shadows wouldn’t be returning with it. I ran to her just as the darkness consumed us.
My knees hit the ground hard as I pulled her into my arms. She screamed in fright and pounded her fist against my back. “It’s ok; I’ve got you.”
She tried to pull away, but the pounding of her fists against my back grew weaker. “He said you wouldn’t come, that you had forsaken me to the dark.”
Rain’s head fell against my chest, and all of the fight went out of her. She started sobbing there, and I just pulled her tighter against me. “I’d never let anything happen to you.”
Her body stiffened, and she pulled away from me. “Why? You don’t care about me. You said as much when you sent me away.”
Quickly, I took a quarter from my pocket and flipped it into the air. “Illumino.” This time, the effect was much less powerful. The quarter hung in the air above us, shining just enough light down upon us that we could see each other’s faces through the dark. “It was wrong of me to do that. I can see that now.”
She slapped my chest with her hand. “Not just wrong, but stupid.” She motioned down at her body. “Have you seen me?”
“Yes, actually.” I stopped as she hit me again. “I’m just saying.”
She smiled up at me as the light started to dim. “You can be a real asshole sometimes, Bozley.”
Rain leaned forward her lips parting slightly. There wasn’t really a choice for me to make. I’d wanted this since I had seen her in the kitchen. David wasn’t here to stop us this time. I leaned in and kissed her. As we broke apart, I couldn’t help but thinking she tasted like cherries. It was wonderful.
Standing, I helped her back to her feet. “Thank you for noticing.”
“Huh?” She looked confused as we headed towards the door.
“The level of my assholeishness. I mean, I had to work hard to get there. It took a lot of time and effort to pass everyday asshole and move right up to epically-bad-decision-making asshole.”
This time a smile cracked at the corners of her mouth. “Well, saving my ass only gets you a one time pass.”
“Good thing I saved your ass twice then.”
She hit me in the chest. “I can see you’re going to need to build up a surplus of get out of jail free cards if this is going to work.”
“If I need extra get out of jail free cards, then we should really talk about the three guys I took out at your house.”
“You better not have gotten any blood on my carpet,” she said as she smacked my arm again.
“I guess we might have to call that one even then.”
“Asshole,” she said.
I smiled. “Now you’re catching on.”
She just grunted in acknowledgment as we walked past the stairs and back into Balthazar’s library. His body was gone. There was a trail of blood leading towards one of the walls, and then it disappeared. Finding the secret panel and disabling his wards would make chasing him a moot point. There was no way that his secret passage wasn’t full of nasty surprises, and I’d already had enough of those for one day.
I was so focused on the blood on the ground, when Rain let out a startled gasp, I spun around to face the door of the library. Nothing was there. Slowly, I turned back towards Rain to see if she was ok. Rain had one hand up, and it was pointed towards the wall behind the bar.
Scrolled in Balthazar’s own blood was a message. “Until next time.”
I should have finished the demonic bastard when I had the chance. One or two more bullets might have done the trick. Instead, I let him get into my head with his mumbo-jumbo and ran straight for Rain. I would have still been in time to save her even after I filled him with lead.
Now, he would never stop coming after me and those that I loved until one of us was dead. That was the kind of thing
that lent itself to a lot of sleepless nights.
“What are we going to do?” Rain asked, searching my eyes.
This was one of those questions that I didn’t have the answer for, so I decided to try and buy myself a little time. I leaned in for another kiss, running my hands through her dark hair and then dropping them to her back. It was a perfect fucking back.
Our kiss broke apart, and our eyes met again. “I can think of a few things.”
“I just bet you can.” She smiled and pulled my hand into hers.
We stood there for a moment in silence just looking at the note Balthazar had left and then back at each other. We still had to find a way out of here and get back to my car. It had seemed like such a trivial thing to do while I had been hunting for Rain, but there were still eight-armed guards out there.
I felt Gideon smile inside of my head. Seven guards now. It seems as though a few of the zombies survived your little trick.
I grabbed Rain’s hand and pulled her towards the stairs. “We have to go now, while they're distracted.
“How do you know the men outside are distracted?” she asked.
“Great question.” I continued to tug her along behind me. “Let’s just say the angel on my shoulder told me.”
Rain didn’t say anything, but she did pull her hand free. I looked back once and saw the determination in her eyes. She wanted to do this, to get out, but she wanted to do it on her terms. That was something I could appreciate. Sometimes you had to do things for yourself, especially if you wanted to survive and be successful. That was just the way the world worked.
We exited the cabin at a run. Rain looked worried, but I was following the heads-up display Gideon was providing me. Thankfully, she never faltered or stopped to ask me how I knew where to go as I ran through the compound.
We made it to the wall, and I grabbed her around the hips. I was tempted to pull her back in for a kiss. “Fuck it.” I pulled her tightly against me, and when she returned the gesture, I leaned in for the kiss. Not the greatest idea I’d ever had, but it sure was worth it.
“You know, that’s no way to talk to a lady,” she whispered as we broke apart.
“Thankfully, I was talking to you when I said it.” I smiled brightly. “It was just the kind of pep talk I needed to go in for another kiss while we were still in danger.”
She laughed and lifted her foot up indicating that I should give her a leg up with my hands. She placed her foot in the cup I made and then I lifted her up. I hadn’t actually thought through her entire plan before, but I was doing it now.
Ok to be fair all thinking had actually stopped as I lifted her higher and her shirt pulled up revealing her flat belly in line with my mouth. Rain still couldn’t reach the top of the wall from this position, and my thoughts were moving towards impurity like a SpaceX rocket breaking through the atmosphere. I couldn’t help myself any longer, my lips parted, and I gave her stomach a little kiss.
“Kiss this,” she said lifting her other leg and stepping onto my shoulder. Rain used the wall to help her balance as she moved her other foot into position. I felt like I was at the gym doing the worlds lightest squat set.
“I’m not really all that into feet, but if you want to bring that belly button back down here, I’d be happy to help,” I said, looking at her boots resting on my shoulders.
“So, no boot licking in the future. That’s a good thing to know up front. A couple has to have some boundaries,” Rain said.
I felt her flex for a moment, and I braced myself as she jumped from my shoulders to grab the top of the wall. She looked down at me once she was sitting comfortably on top.
Rain looked a little worried as she asked. “How are you going to get up here?”
“Oh, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.” I turned my thoughts inward. Gideon, a little help.
My knees bent, and I sprang upwards. Just like last time, I soared over the wall, my arms pinwheeling in all directions before I landed flat on my chest on the other side. Climbing back to my feet and trying to casually brush off my shirt, I whispered to my silent partner. “I didn’t know angels worked for the ministry of cock blocking.”
“What’d you say?” Rain shouted down from the top of the wall.
“Oh, just that the landing was a real bitch.”
“Yeah, next time you should really try and stick the landing. I’d give that a four out of ten. Great trick, but lots of negative points for the fall.”
“Just hang off the edge, and I’ll help you down.” I moved towards the wall as her feet dangled over the side. This time, I just thought of what I wanted to say to Gideon. Next time, try and remember you’re on my side.
I thought an embarrassing fall would help to preserve the lady’s virtue for a little longer, he responded.
“Hate to break it to you, Gideon, but I have a feeling that ship has already sailed.”
“Did you say something?” Rain asked as she wiggled over the wall.
“Nope, still just grumbling about the dirt on my clothes.” Now that Rain had reached the other side, she was shimmying down the wall. She stopped when she was hanging from both arms, patiently waiting for me to help her down the rest of the way.
I realized that I was just looking up at her and not moving. Her shirt had hitched up a little, exposing her lower back just above her hip hugger jeans. Something about that little bit of exposed flesh had me fascinated.
Forcing myself back into action, I moved towards the wall. As I reached up I made sure to run my hands along the outside of her legs until it took a firm hold of her hips. She let go of the wall, and I eased her back to the ground. When her feet touched the ground, I felt her shift and then we both flew backwards. She landed on top of me, and all the air whooshed out of my lungs.
Rain climbed to her feet. “That’s for feeling me up.” She held out a hand as she smirked down at me. “Now, let’s get out of here so I can teach you how to do it properly.
It felt like I flew back to my feet, but I knew it really wasn’t that graceful. “Now, you’re talking a language I can understand.”
I started to jog into the forest, heading in the direction of my car. I only looked back once to make sure Rain was following me. She was easily matching me step for step. How could I have ever thought she needed to be protected? What she really needed was the weapons to defend herself.
That was something I could help with.
We got back to the caddy five minutes later. I was out of breath. Rain looked like she could have kept going all day. Just what was this lady built out of, cupcakes and bullets? With a wave of my hand I lifted the spell on the car, and we slipped inside.
“I thought you didn’t drive,” she smirked.
“Special occasion,” I said, putting the car in drive and hitting the gas. We spun around in a quick U-turn, and then I floored it. “A damsel in distress rates high enough on my list that I like to drive to the rescue myself.”
Rain smiled, and I hit the button on the dash to make a call. “Benny Benitez.”
It only rang a couple times before there was an answer.
“Benny, I’ve got...” I started.
“Jesus Christ, Bozz,” Benny interrupted. “Haven’t you dumped enough shit on my doorstep for one day? I’m wading around ankle deep already. If you flush a few more loads, I might not be able to make it out of that girl’s house before I drown.”
“That girl is right here,” Rain said.
The line went quiet for a moment. “Thank fucking Christ you found her. From the look of her place, I thought she was a goner for sure,” Benny said never missing a beat.
“What in the hell happened to my place?” Rain asked.
“You’re going to have to ask lover boy about that,” Benny quipped.
Rain glared daggers at me.
My eyes widened a bit at her look. “What? I didn’t do anything to your place, I promise.”
I turned away from her and focused on the road ahead. Seemed slightly s
afer that way. If I kept looking at Rain, I was either going to have to kiss her, or she was going to hit me because she was steaming mad, and she didn’t even know about all the appliances she would have to replace yet.
Deciding to keep that bit to myself a little while longer, I continued my conversation with Benny. “Benny, you’ve got to send some guys up to the cabin. There is enough up there to get Balthazar out of our hair for good.”
“And what do I owe you for this one?” Benny muttered sarcastically.
“Benny we’re friends, so you don’t owe me anything,” I said turning on the sweetness.
“I won’t hold my breath until you call me for another favor.”
“Probably a good idea. I don’t want you to turn purple or anything. The family might not recognize you.”
There was a heavy sigh from his side. “Did I mention how much I hate you, Bozz?”
“Only every time we meet, but you always say it with a smile, so I thought it was a term of endearment.”
“You just keep on thinking that then,” Benny said, and the line went dead.
I just looked over at Rain and shrugged. “He does that sometimes.”
“Well, you do tend to bulldoze your way into people’s lives.” She patted me on the arm. “Not that that’s a bad thing. At least, it wasn’t with me.”
I hit a button on my steering wheel, and Nirvana started to blare out of the speakers. What else could I say? Some things just never got old.
19
We pulled into the driveway and came to a stop in front of the house. David came running out the door looking frantic as we stepped out of the car. When he saw Rain, David came skidding to a stop and folded his arms over his chest. I wasn’t the best at reading people, but I knew enough about David to know he just shifted from worried to pissed off in about three seconds.
“Damn it, boss. I was freaking out, and you were off doing what, playing hide the sausage? That’s fucking unbelievable,” David said with a full head of steam.
“Whoa, standing right here,” Rain said with a mischievous grin.
Possessed (Bozley Green Chronicles Book 1) Page 18