“I don’t know,” I lied.
She scoffed before tossing her shining hair over her shoulder. A hostile gleam radiated in her eyes when they raked me from head to toe. I had no idea why, but dislike was the biggest understatement for what this woman felt for me. More than loathing radiated from her but also some jealousy. How well did she know Kobal?
I hated the guy, he’d made me far more familiar with dirt than I’d ever wanted to be in my life, but my stomach threatened to heave its contents up at the idea of him with another woman. I watched her as she turned and walked over to sit at a table with some other soldiers.
“I’m glad you came with us,” Carrie said, drawing my attention back to her.
“Why?” I asked.
Carrie bit into her chicken before answering. “You’re another familiar face in a crowd of so many unfamiliar ones. We may not be friends, but it’s nice to know I can talk about home with someone and have them understand.”
“Me too,” I said before finishing off my lunch. “It is good to know someone else who can recall the scent of the ocean.”
“It was amazing.” A nostalgic smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“It was,” I agreed. “I saw you volunteer. Your mother didn’t know you were going to do it.”
“She would have tried to stop me if she had, but we were sinking and she needed more help than I could give her with my brothers.”
“Brave of you, considering you didn’t know what you were signing up for.”
“I would have been signing up to watch them go hungry more often than not if I’d stayed. Maybe cowardice made me run away from that.”
I decided I liked this girl, and without thinking, I reached over and rested my hand on hers. “I have two brothers I took care of before coming here. What you did was brave.”
A dull blush slid across her cheeks, but she was saved from having to respond when Mac stepped in the cafeteria and barked, “Yellow Team, fall out!”
Yellow had become my least favorite color since arriving here. As far as I could tell, there were fifteen different groups of colors at the moment, with a new one cropping up every day. Reluctantly, I pulled my butt away from the rubber cushion.
Better than a cloud, I decided as I lifted my tray and stepped away from the bench. Balancing the tray in one hand, I bent and retrieved the cushion.
“Thank you,” I said and held the cushion out to Carrie.
She gestured toward a side room. “They’re stashed in there.”
“That would have been good to know on day two,” I muttered.
She giggled. “I discovered it yesterday. I think they purposely kept it hidden from the newcomers.”
“Probably,” I agreed.
The blonde-headed soldier who had been questioning me moments ago gave me a scathing look when I passed by her. I smiled in return. Carrie followed me to the tray return area and then the storage room on the side before heading for the door. For the first time, I noticed people stopped talking when we walked by. I tried not to pay them any attention as we stepped back into the warmth of the midday sun, but I didn’t like being the main topic of their conversation.
My gaze went to the field in the distance and the line of demons standing there, waiting to teach us some more fighting moves. My shoulders sagged in resignation, but I couldn’t deny the little flutter in my heart when my eyes fell on Kobal in the center. It was impossible to miss him as he towered over the others surrounding him. I found my body didn’t ache quite so much, and my heartbeat quickened as we strode across the field toward them.
I stood in the center of the group of eighty-three volunteers who had arrived with me on the first night. Across from us stood Kobal and five other demons who resided within the tents on the hill. Over the past two weeks, I’d learned who each of them were and that these five were closer to Kobal than any of the other demons in the camp. I’d come to learn they’d all arrived in camp again only a couple of weeks before I had.
Bale was the beautiful red-haired demon. Corson stood at about six-four and was the friendliest of the demons. He had pointed, almost elf-like ears. He usually had sparkly earrings hanging from the tips, but right now, they were free of any jewelry. He had a lean, whipcord build that flowed with easy grace when he moved.
Corson stood next to Shax, the most human looking of them all. The most demon-like part of him was his sunflower-colored eyes and they were beautiful. His blond hair fell around his ears and he flashed a grin that caused some of the girls in the front to smile and wave their hands at their faces. At six-one, he was the shortest of the male demons but looked like he could lift a house and flip it over with one hand tied behind his back.
Morax stood beside Shax and was an inch taller than him. The sun glinted off his leaf-green, lizard-like skin. Pine shades of green color were etched throughout his flesh, giving it the appearance of scales. It looked as if his skin would be rigid to the touch, but I’d brushed up against him before and knew it was actually silken. His tail, resting on the ground behind him, was a good foot in diameter and as long as he was tall. He had orange, snake-like eyes with two sets of eyelids that blinked at the same time. From the top of his bald head, two black horns, at least six inches in length, curved toward each other and nearly touched in the center of his head.
Verin stood beside him, her rounded hip stuck out to the side with one of her hands resting on it. Hair the color of the sun tumbled to her waist; her eyes were the same color as her hair. Sexuality oozed from her pores, and every time I saw her, all I could think of were the sirens who lured sailors to their deaths, or maybe a succubus. I imagined humans who could see between the dimensions had gotten a glimpse of this woman and spun her tale quite successfully.
No matter how beautiful she was, and how all the men tripped over themselves when she walked by, I’d come to realize she and Morax were together. I didn’t know exactly how it worked with demons, but they were rarely apart from each other and both of them had bite marks on their necks.
Somehow, I instinctively knew the bites were their way of marking their relationship with each other. Those bites caused something to stir in me, something I didn’t understand but craved. I glanced at Kobal before hastily looking away and focusing on all of the demons before us once more.
They all wore loose-fitting linen pants in a variety of earth colors. A hole had been cut into the back of Morax’s pants to let his tail through. Their shirts were also made of linen and matched the colors of their pants. They looked perfectly natural in the clothes, but I had a feeling this wasn’t their normal attire. They’d simply donned the outfits in order to fit into our world better. I still wasn’t sure who made Kobal’s clothes, but I didn’t envy them the task.
Behind the demons, an assortment of weapons glinted in the sun. Targets had been set up and pads lay on the ground behind the swords, knives, katanas, and other assorted blades within the box. I hadn’t believed it possible, but I’d actually become decent with a katana and I enjoyed the weapons part of our training. Unfortunately, thanks to Kobal, I was going to find myself lying on the ground more often than not for the next hour or so before I could get my hands on one again.
“Let’s begin,” Kobal declared.
His deep, baritone voice caused odd little flutters in my belly that I forced myself to ignore. Getting distracted by the Hell beast would only result in me meeting the ground faster than normal.
We’d been doing this for long enough that we automatically separated into our assigned groups. I stretched my legs, hoping to loosen my muscles a little before we started. Kobal strode purposely over to my group, his black eyes surveying me as he moved.
Despite my dislike of him, my pulse picked up as he approached. The way the sun caressed his muscles and the clothing hung on his massive frame was enough to make my mouth water. I hated being tossed around like a rag doll, but I savored feeling his hands on me and those muscles moving against me when he took me down.
This
place, and his presence, were turning me into a masochist.
Four soldiers walked over to join us. I stood, waiting for my turn to go through the moves. They’d been teaching us a combination of karate, krav maga, jujitsu, and something Kobal liked to call demon dirty, which pretty much meant anything goes if your life was on the line.
Kobal stepped in front of me and I silently questioned if my tailbone would still be in one piece after this. “Time to warm up,” he said as he held his palms up toward me.
Still wouldn’t do me any good, we both knew I’d be staring at the sky often over the next hour. I delivered a series of loose punches and palm-heel strikes to his hands before stretching my calf and thigh muscles by delivering a series of easy kicks to his palms.
My muscles felt looser as I danced away from him. “Ready?” he inquired.
No. “Yes,” I replied instead.
He stepped forward, and before I had a chance to move, his leg swept out and knocked me off my feet. One second ago, I’d still been dancing around, getting ready for whatever he would throw at me. The next, I was on my back, watching a puffy white cloud float by and laboring to catch my breath. His shadow fell across me as he stepped alongside my sore body to peer down at me. Thankfully, he didn’t smirk, but I saw the amusement dancing in the obsidian pools of his eyes before he thrust his hand out to me.
I waved his hand away and shoved myself back to my feet. I didn’t bother to wipe the dirt from my backside. The first time I’d done that, I’d hit the ground again so fast I’d nearly blacked out from it. Always pay attention, he’d told me, and I’d learned my lesson.
I danced back and forth, trying to avoid him as he moved around me again. Going at him head-on had never worked for me; I’d learned avoidance was the best way to save my skin, bones, and pride. I’d almost completed a full circle out of his reach when he charged at me suddenly.
Prepared for the move, I darted to the side and swung my leg out in a roundhouse kick that would have leveled a human. He seized hold of my foot and flipped me through the air so fast I was dizzy by the time my chest slammed into the ground.
My breath exploded out of me; an acute pang seared through my side when something gave way in my chest. Stars burst before my eyes, dirt clogged my nostrils, and I struggled not to pass out. I felt him beside me before his fingers rested on the ground next to my head.
Placing my hands beneath me, I wheezed as I pushed myself into a seated position. The motion caused fresh agony to lance through my body, but I refused to give into it. Wiping the dirt from my nostrils didn’t help me to breathe much better.
He held his hand out to me again, but I shook my head. “No.”
He dropped his hand. “Who’s next?” he inquired of the others when he rose to his feet.
“I am,” I grated through my teeth before I spit out the dirt I’d inhaled on impact.
“You’re bleeding,” Kobal said. “Your injuries must be taken care of first.”
I wiped away the blood I now felt trickling down my forehead. “Fixed.”
The corner of his mouth quirked into a rare smile. I pushed myself to my feet and took a staggering step back as a wave of dizziness assailed me. Bending over, I rested my hands on my knees as I waited for it to pass and labored to get more air into my lungs.
When I was certain I wasn’t going to fall over, I righted myself and brushed away the blood trickling into my right eye. I felt like a broken porcelain doll as something literally grated together within my chest, but pride and anger refused to let me back down. If I didn’t breathe too deeply, it didn’t hurt all that bad, I told myself. It was a lie, but I’d had enough of this.
“I don’t know if you’re more stubborn or stupid,” he said.
“Both,” I murmured.
“Ready?” he inquired.
Releasing my wounded side, I nodded to him. My feet weren’t anywhere near as fast when we started again. I somehow managed to keep out of his range as I tried to figure out which way this would go.
Then, the sensation of icy fingers running up my spine slid over my skin and enclosed on the base of my skull. The fingers slid toward my brain as the strange feeling that came over me when I would see something or know something gripped me. I forgot about my inability to take a deep breath. Images fired through my brain, and before he started moving, I knew what he was going to do.
He danced toward me like liquid mercury, all elegance and supple grace as he moved with a fluidity I wouldn’t have believed possible for someone of his size. I threw my forearm up, blocking the first blow coming toward me before slapping aside both hands that swung at me and would have grazed across my skin.
Over the weeks, I’d been on the ground more times than not, but he’d never hit me hard enough with his hands to leave a bruise on my flesh. He’d always moved so fast I’d never been able to stop the glancing taps he delivered. Now, I saw each one of those blows coming at me, seconds before he actually made the move, and they didn’t land on me as I deflected them.
The scene continued to play out in advance in my mind, and when he swept his leg toward me next, I jumped over it. He leapt up and came at me again with a roundhouse kick I knocked back. This time, when his hands rapidly came at me, looking to land on me in some way, my forearms flew up to block him.
I felt as if I stood outside of myself, watching this faster and more competent me blocking his moves with an ease I’d never dreamed possible. Was I really moving so fast and keeping up with a demon? Was it really me who kept slapping his hands away or breaking his attack plan before he could fully unleash it.
I almost couldn’t believe it, but it was me. I could feel his hands on my body and see the black pools of his eyes. It was all strangely mesmerizing and astonishing. I’d never felt so powerful before, so competent, so me. I didn’t know where the sensation came from, but it felt as if I’d finally started to discover who I was and I loved it.
I blocked a blow that would have caught me in the stomach. Slapping his arms down, I drove my hand forward in a heel strike that hit him dead center in his chest. The blow didn’t cause him to take a step back, but it was the first one I’d ever managed to land on him. Pride filled me as his head tilted down to where my hand still rested against his rock hard chest.
The icy tendrils retreated from my brain as gasps from the crowd who had followed us across the field filled the air. I hadn’t realized we’d moved so far from our starting point until now.
CHAPTER 16
Kobal
River’s shoulders slumped forward, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stood before me. Looking at her now, I saw her eyes were a lighter shade of violet than the normally deep, amethyst hue I’d come to know so well. The difference in color was so subtle, I didn’t think a human would have been able to detect it, but I knew something had just happened to her.
I stared at the hand she’d hit me with as it slid down my chest. My heart accelerated when her fingers brushed over my stomach before falling back to her side. The heat of her touch had burned through my shirt to become a fiery brand on my skin. I barely managed to refrain from grabbing it and flattening it against me once more.
Her eyes slowly returned to their normal hue as she stepped further away from me.
I had to know what had just happened. No human had ever landed a hit against me, and only a handful of demons had ever managed to do so. Only one creature had ever landed a blow on me more than once, and I would see him dead by the time all of this was finished.
Granted, I hadn’t been going at her full force, but by the end of our skirmish, I’d been near full speed and she’d still been deflecting me. I could easily overpower her, but there were many demons who wouldn’t be able to do so, many who were smaller and slower than she just was.
The inhalation of breaths around us alerted me that the others had all been watching and following us. I glanced at Bale and Corson; their eyes were riveted on River as she stood before me unmoving. The three of us
had been working together long enough for me to know they were thinking the same thing as me…
If River wasn’t the progeny we sought, there was still something different about her. She had an ability of some sort that we may be able to use to our advantage.
I was struck with a brief second of uncertainty as to whether I wanted to use her in any way, before quickly shaking off the ridiculous notion. Of course she would be used. The whole reason she was here to begin with was because there was a possibility she could aid us in this war. I would make sure she did what had to be done if she was the progeny.
River blinked and her gaze slid over the crowd creeping toward us before coming back to me. Before I could say or do anything, her eyes rolled back in her head, all the color drained from her face, and her knees buckled. Leaping forward, I caught her in my arms before she hit the ground.
People surged forward around me. A young girl with short blonde hair hovered at her side before Mac pushed her out of the way to get to River. She felt so small in my arms as she lifelessly slumped against my chest with her eyes closed and her hands dangling at her sides.
Human. Mortal. I had no idea why, but my fangs pricked and a rumble of discontent slid through my chest at how fragile and precarious her life was compared to mine. The impulse to make it less so caused my hands to tremble against her slender frame.
Mac took hold of River’s wrist before resting two of his fingers against her neck. Leaning over her, he pressed his ear to her lips. “We have to get her to the infirmary, now.”
“What’s wrong with her?” I demanded.
“I think she has a punctured lung.”
Not waiting to hear anything more he had to say, I shoved through the crowd gathered around and ran as fast as I could across the field. Wind whipped my hair back, tore at my clothes, and whistled through my ears as the world sped by in a blur. I ignored the startled looks of the people within the town as I bolted past them toward the small medical clinic that had always been a part of this town.
I smashed through the doors and ran across the blindingly bright tile lining the floor. “You!” I barked at the first person I saw. “I need help.”
Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) Page 12