Awakening

by Melainie Nilles

  "Did you see that?" Danni leaned close enough for a blue streak among her brown hair to brush Lilly's shoulder. "He's mine, ladies. I saw him first." She squeezed out from behind the table and leaned over. "Order me a toxicola. I'll be back with company." In her tight, thigh-length dress, Danni hurried away.

  "We won't see her again." Wilsa rolled her eyes but smirked in the direction their friend had disappeared into the swaying mass of bodies.

  Lilly grinned, grateful that her friends had forgiven her so readily.

  "One down." Trisha gave a sideways glance to Lilly.

  Lilly didn't like that look. It hinted of a hidden agenda. Trisha had been eager to get out, despite the chance to stay home with her boyfriend. She had been the one to say that Lilly needed to move on and had been a cheerleader of pushing her out into the public again.

  "Ladies."

  Lilly turned to a waitress in tight pants and low-cut top, her arm laden with a rainbow assortment of mixed drinks in what looked like lab test tubes.

  "What can I get for you?"

  They each took a shot and paid the waitress, who grinned and moved on to the next group to make a sale for the club.

  "To a return of the old ways." Wilsa lifted a vial of cloudy yellow over clear orange.

  "Tren." Trisha's eyes sparkled when she said the name and raised her red vial. She already missed him. Then she should understand how Lilly felt. It had only been two cycles since the breakup.

  "To moving on," Lilly said.

  "Here. Here," Trisha said.

  They clanged their tubes and downed their drinks.

  It burned, but Lilly gulped it down to avoid tasting it, and it settled heavily into her stomach.

  Trisha leaned close. "About time you joined us again."

  "I know. I'm sorry." Trisha had found a way to balance friends and her beau. Lilly regretted not doing the same and wished she could feel optimistic. She studied the vial with its couple drops of orange liquor pooled at the bottom and rolled it across the table to clink with the others in the center.

  A feeling of power warmed through her from her middle to her extremities. The initial hit of alcohol; the real effect would come later.

  "Hey, ladies."

  Lilly looked up.

  Her breath caught in her chest. The strong jaw on a face that could have been etched by an artist belonged with that head of thick black hair. His eyes fixed on her with an intensity that trapped her in them, drawing her into a shadow of something dark and enticing. His roguish smile made her insides flip. Maybe life wasn't so bad. She could forget daemons when she saw a face like that.

  "Hey, good-looking!" Wilsa slid over and patted the seat next to her.

  The stranger gave it only a glance before his eyes fixed on Lilly. "Can I have a dance or buy you a drink?" The rich, mellow voice drowned out the music and filled her with a desire to be close.

  She studied his physique beneath the tight shirt and wondered how any man so perfect could be interested in her. But then, he was probably one of those who charmed a woman to bed and left without a word. She didn't want that, but she was there to enjoy herself for a few hours.

  A nudge at her side made her blink.

  "Go dance!" Trisha pushed her away.

  Lilly frowned at her and looked back to the stranger.

  He offered a hand. "Dance or drink? Or maybe both?"

  Lilly warmed, but not from the alcohol. "Well, not at the same time, I hope." She reached up and took his hand, which clasped around hers with a firm but gentle touch that stole her misgivings. This could be fun. She slid from the booth and let him pull her to her feet.

  Her pulse raced when he put a hand on her back to guide her through the crowds to the dance floor.

  When they found a place, the thick of the crowds pressed them close. She smiled, caught up in the beat of the music and the smoothness of his movements.

  After a couple songs with moments of closeness to him, he made it more permanent and wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her hips next to his. The musky scent of his body set off sparks of desire throughout their swaying with the beat of the music.

  Lost in the pounding of her heart in time with the music and the sway of his body next to hers, Lilly moved with him. Each sway, each step, she noticed something else about him, an aura that struck deep inside with the feeling that together they were one, that she had found what she sought. The songs changed, but the beat went on with his hand slipping lower down her body.

  With her lips near his ear, she asked, "What's your name?"

  His warm breath blew on her neck. "Darrac."

  "Lilly." She twined her fingers through the thick black hair at the back of his neck and held him close.

  When the music slowed, she caught her breath and let a rational head catch up with her lust. She took a deep breath; it was the alcohol. It messed with her head. She needed a breather to regain her senses.

  "How about that drink, Darrac?" She could honestly say she was thirsty. And sitting down with a drink would give her a chance to learn more about him. She couldn't make it too easy for him.

  A disarming smile spread across his face. He nodded and offered his hand.

  She took it, welcoming the ripple of pleasure through her from his touch. That contact erased the pain of her heart. Whether something happened between her and Darrac or not, she knew now that she could move on.

  From the table, Wilsa and Trisha waved to her.

  Lilly slid her chair close to Trisha, making room for Darrac on her other side, but he didn't sit.

  "What'll you have?" he asked.

  She turned to him standing over her shoulder and that charming smile that made her heart flutter. For a moment, a sense of fear flashed through her like in the alley the other day and again last night when the daemon had appeared. Lilly shivered but pushed it aside. She didn't need that now. "An Isan Moonrise. Thanks."

  He gave a nod and disappeared through the crowds. She watched him go, admiring the view from behind. She hoped he returned and wasn't using the drink as an excuse to leave.

  "Go for it."

  What? Lilly turned to a smug grin on Trisha's face and a sparkle in her blue eyes.

  "Take a chance. You'll never win if you don't play."

  "But I barely know him."

  Trisha fanned herself. "You two were steaming up the dance floor. I'd say the chemistry is right."

  Chemistry. Was that what it was? She'd never been so attracted to a man before, but she had other goals, long-term. "I'm not looking for a one-night stand."

  Trisha shrugged and took a swallow from the glass in front of her. "You need to loosen up, Lil." Before she could object, Trisha fixed her eyes on her. "And forget about Rian. I thought that's why you called."

  "I did." Sort of, she wanted to add but didn't.

  "So, why not?"

  "I'm not ready for that."

  "No commitment..."

  "That's just it. I want a commitment, Trish. I want someone I can trust and love, who loves me back. I was so in love—" Feelings resurfaced, pouring from within to burn her eyes into tears. Lilly wiped them away before they could fall. Darrac couldn't see. "It'll take time."

  Trisha shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to push. But this guy is hot."

  A smile tugged at Lilly's lips. "There's more to a relationship than looks, and his name is Darrac."

  "What?" Wilsa asked. "You mean you want all that trouble?"

  Trisha elbowed Wilsa. "Well, Darrac is hot," she said. "And you deserve someone who can make you look like you just had the best sex of your life. Hopefully he's as good in bed as he is on the dance floor."

  Lilly warmed unexpectedly. She was attracted to him and the urge to be him had been strong. Now it had faded with his departure. He sparked things in her she never thought possible with her inhibitions. After all, Rian had been her first serious relationship and the only man she had given herself to in every way. Making love to him had been easy, natural, and a bonding
experience.

  She wanted that intimacy, not a hormonal lustfest.

  No. If Darrac really was interested, he would have to get to know her before she would go that far.

  "Speaking of which..."

  Lilly followed Wilsa's gaze through the throng of people. Darrac carried a drink in each hand, a smile on his handsome face. The silvery drink in his right hand he set in front of her.

  "Thanks." Lilly took a sip of the minty mixed drink, and he took a seat next to her, his arm around the back of her chair. She should be insulted that he would act so comfortable after just meeting her, but the part of her that longed for someone to hold her let it pass.

  "So...Darrac..."

  Lilly cringed at Trisha's leading statement, afraid her friends would push him away with prying questions.

  "What do you do for a living?"

  Lilly caught his glance at her a moment before he spoke. "I'm...career military."

  Wilsa and Trisha met each other's eyes and nodded. Lilly knew what they thought—Peacekeeper, a tough job but well-compensated.

  Lilly turned to him, glad for the start of a conversation and relieved that Trisha hadn't pried too deeply. That would be hers—Lilly's—task in spending more time with him, if she didn't bore him away. She'd been lucky to find Rian.

  Despite the grilling by three women, he stayed close to Lilly, his eyes often meeting hers. She saw in them an intensity directed only at her. When he smiled, her heart skipped a beat with excitement. Something sparked in her, especially when he leaned over and asked if they could move on to a table where they could be alone.

  "Excuse us, ladies." Lilly winked at Trisha, who lifted her glass in salute.

  "Don't have too much fun," Wilsa said.

  Lilly slid out of her chair and took Darrac's hand, her drink occupying the other. Like a school girl with her first crush, she walked on air, following him through the crowds to a small table where they could sit and talk.

  After she sat, he pushed her chair in for her. On his way around her, his hand slid across her shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. Her insides squirmed. She wanted more of his touch, of the feeling of wholeness that he inspired inside her. This wasn't an effect of the alcohol or her imagination. It was real.

  He pulled his chair near hers and sat back, relaxed and confident. Part of her didn't like that. It sent off warning bells. Shouldn't he be at least a little worried about impressing her, or did their dancing give him that confidence?

  He took a swallow of his drink as she did hers. The sweet liquor landed hard in her stomach on anxieties about not messing up.

  "Where'd you learn to dance?" she asked.

  "All over."

  "In the military?"

  He chuckled and told her stories about learning to dance. Lilly listened, her head growing fuzzy with the drink so she had to work to concentrate. It also loosened her tension and she found herself smiling and laughing with him and sharing her own stories of awkward situations without caring what came out of her mouth.

  "But then came Rian." The full brunt of her words hitting her emotions clamped her mouth on saying anything more.

  When he put his hand on hers on the table, she stared at it, her vision blurring with unshed tears. She tried to hold them back, but had to wipe them away. "Sorry. It wasn't that long ago."

  "On the rebound?" Sympathy deepened his voice.

  She nodded and sniffed back the rest that threatened to flow. "Yeah. I'm sorry. Maybe this isn't right."

  He squeezed her hand and the pain of her emotions subsided. Darrac's company helped. Whether he was only a rebound guy or not, at least he seemed interested.

  "Give it a chance," he said. "Please? You might find I'm more than a good dancer."

  Could he be real? A hot guy who liked her and wanted a relationship? Someone had to be toying with her. It would be a cruel trick if that's all this was.

  And yet, in his eyes, she saw something sincere.

  For a second, she thought his eyes took on a faint redness. However, the moment passed, a trick of the lights reflecting off the retinas. A tingle of fright passed through her and vanished. "All right. Thanks, Darrac."

  He squeezed her hand and smiled. "How about another dance, and maybe your code, so I can apologize if I offend you?"

  Lilly giggled. The alcohol had gone to her head. He couldn't have said what she thought she heard. "I don't think that would happen, but here…" She pulled a pen from her small purse and wrote her comm code on a corner of a napkin.

  He tucked it into his shirt pocket and patted it. "Close to my heart."

  "I think we better go dance. You're digging yourself a hole."

  He chuckled and offered his hand. She clasped it firmly in hers, and her heart lightened, despite the shadow hanging over it.

  This time she danced carefree, laughing and smiling, and finding herself free to enjoy the closeness of a slow dance. Not just a stranger out to seduce her, he had shown her he could be more. She wanted him to be more and snuggled close to him to sway to the slow beat, barely moving.

  Chapter 8

  Mychel felt the connection that had led him to the busy club and let it guide him through the crowds. In close proximity, the light of the luriel shone brightly. This one had a natural feel for her gift. But that hadn't been the case a while ago, when it had blinked out from his connection.

  If Jaz had answered her comm unit when he tried to reach her earlier, after he arrived back in Noren City, she might have been able to tell him what was going on. He had no idea if she had ascended or if something sinister had happened.

  He had reached the apartment registered to a Lilly Lowreth to find her gone and no sign of Jaz. After a brief meditation, he had followed the connection to this part of the city. Shortly after, her presence had blinked out, and he feared the daemon had completed its mission. When it revived, relief had poured into him and he continued his search. Once in this neighborhood, he had narrowed her presence to this club. Having seen her in person once before, he knew what she looked like.

  But he hadn't expected a slender woman in a tight black dress with dark curls caressing her shoulders. Leaving work the other day, she had been in everyday clothes, like most of the public. Here she was dressed up, and it had worked. On the dance floor within the arms of a man, she swayed with a gentle rhythm.

  Did he dare disturb her? Had Jaz met her, or even told her about him? Would Lilly run like she had the other day?

  He didn't want to alarm her, but he had to contact her. No more of this missing her and letting the daemons get close. The daemon could be anywhere, even in that club. Unfortunately, it masked its presence. Unlike the celemae, who "broadcast" their strength because of their seeking to form a connection to the Shadow Realm to ascend, daemons hid. Only when they actively used their powers could the celemae feel their presence in that realm.

  Mychel hated that. Daemons had the perfect camouflage, until they chose to act. By then it could be too late.

  He had to interrupt her.

  She'd hate him, he would bet, but it didn't matter; he had to do it. He had hated finding out the truth around the same age and having to give up things he loved in that world in order to free his mind and form the connection with the Shadow Realm. Now, although he missed his favorite sports teams playing and the pleasures money could buy in their world, he could live without them and had found a greater purpose to his life in bringing new celemae to Enlightenment and preparing for Ascension himself.

  Lilly would discover the joy and learn in time that everything else was only a distraction.

  Mychel watched and waited.

  When the slow dance ended and the two looked at each other, he swallowed the guilt rising in his throat. It would pass, but it always hit when he had to confront a fledgling celemae and break up their relationships holding them to that realm.

  Now or never. Mychel brushed past other dancers to come up behind her. "Lilly Lowreth?"

  She turned; her eyes widened
and she backed into the man with her. "You! How did you—What do you want from me?"

  The man with her frowned and pulled her close, a challenge in his expression and posture that could prove dangerous given his build. Convincing Lilly would be difficult enough without a boyfriend to interfere. This could take some time. Time they didn't have.

  "My name is Mychel."

  "You're Mychel?" Her face tightened and her eyes narrowed. "You attacked me on the street!"

  He clamped his teeth on a grimace and nodded. "I wasn't attacking you. I was protecting you."

  "Protecting me?! You were stalking me, like you are now!"

  He didn't need this here. Others turned to watch. "Can we discuss this somewhere else?"

  "No! Leave me alone."

  He had feared this would happen. Now, he had to be extra nice to convince her of his good intentions. "Have you seen Jaz?"

  "Hey!" The deep voice drew his gaze up to the man, who stood with a hand on the young woman's shoulder. Something dark passed through Mychel when he met this man's eyes; the man made his threat clear. But Mychel refused to back down in spite of his size disadvantage—he had his sword if necessary.

  "Leave the lady alone," the man said over the thumping bass of a new song.

  "This isn't about you." Mychel looked down at Lilly again. "Look! Just tell me if you met a woman named Jazmin?"

  Her head bobbed in a slow nod and her eyes dropped. "Yeah. I'm sorry but she...She's gone."

  Then Jaz had ascended. He would miss her, especially her gentle wisdom, but they would see each other again someday. "When?"

  "After she told me some stuff, while we were waiting for you."

  He looked up, a spark of hope brightening on his grief. "Then she's with the others."

  "I suppose. Look, just leave me alone and I won't call the Peacekeepers. I'm…busy." She twisted to look up at the man with her, who smiled and caressed her cheek.

  This would be far harder than Mychel had anticipated. "I can't do that. There's a second daemon after you."

  "Second?" Her eyes snapped back to him and her face drained of color.