by Elise Marion
“Get down and stay down,” she said to her teacher. He clearly wasn’t cut out for fighting.
Eyes even wider, he backed away, finding refuge behind a large cement pot holding a flowering bush. On her other side, Micah had brandished his knives and wielded them with his usual skill, splattering his chest and arms with demon blood as he hacked through them.
“You guys good down here?” she asked. “I’m going up.”
Micah grunted in response. Jack fired at another demon, then turned to acknowledge her.
“Knock ’em dead,” he said before going back into the fray.
Holding her arms out to either side, she ascended, joining Reniel and the others in the air. A demon the size of a grown man flew at her, black wings spread wide, sharp talons outstretched. She lifted her pistol and fired a shot, taking him out in a burst of white light. Two others came at her from opposite directions and she quickly threw her shield up, then fired at them both from within. Going higher, she picked off as many of them as she could along the way as Reniel circled overhead, notching golden arrows to his bow and firing three of them in the time it took her to get off a single shot.
Spying Astaroth a few feet away, she propelled herself toward him, determination clenching her teeth and steeling her resolve. He wheeled his draconic beast around to face her, and she came face to face with a creature that had to embody Hell itself. Its beady eyes glowed red and seemed to sear her to her very soul. Its body was as long as a city bus, its tail even longer and spiked along its back, with one long, wicked-looking barb on its end. Sharp talons as long as her forearms curved from its feet, and when it opened its mouth, she felt as if she stared into the lake of fire itself. Heat scorched her face, and the odor of sulfur grew even stronger, causing her to gag. The teeth looked razor-sharp, framing a jaw that appeared like the gateway into the bowels of Hell. The back of the beast’s throat glowed as if it had swallowed a mouthful of hot coals, brimming with the promise of what awaited anything it swallowed.
Separate him from the beast, and you stand a chance.
Derek’s words came back to her and she curled one hand into a fist. Seated on the animal’s back, Astaroth appeared a pitiful little thing, no more threatening than the lesser demons fighting her friends below. Pulling her shield up, she flew at it as fast she could dare, raising her gun. Before she could get a shot off, it swung its tail, batting her through the air. She held her hands out and halted herself, straightening just in time. It bore down on her, jaws snapping and closing around her force field. Growling in annoyance, it gave her a little shake and tried to bite through the orb of white light surrounding her.
“It’s impermeable, you nimrod,” she muttered.
Spreading her palms, she focused her power outward. She threw it at the beast on a powerful wave, to be rewarded with a shattering sound and an agonized scream as it let her go and careened backward. Bits of tooth showered down to the ground below, having been broken away from its jaw.
“You can forget your dinner plans, you ugly little monster,” she snarled, going in pursuit as it recovered from her attack. The last thing she wanted was to be eaten alive by the thing.
With another spine-tingling screech, it flew forward to meet her. It spread its jaws wide, and the glowing ember within became a sparkling firecracker, ready to blow and char anything in its path.
Raising her gun, she closed one eye and aimed it straight at the source of the heat and light. Giving the trigger a quick squeeze, she watched as the beam of light raced toward its target. The inside of the beast’s mouth went from orange to white as the light obliterated its hellfire and rushed down its throat. Astaroth cried out in rage, falling from the creature’s back as the light tore it apart, sending bits of armored scales scattering to the plaza below and its blood rushing down like a shower of rain.
Dropping her shield, she extended one hand and caught the demon up in her telepathy. Bringing him back up to face her, she studied this so-called prince up close. She didn’t know what kind of human form he would take, but in his true body, he proved a pitiful sight. And a sniveling coward, she soon learned.
“Wait!” he cried, squirming to get away, but helpless with the power of the ring infusing with her own. “Don’t send me back! I’ll give you anything! What do you want? Money? Power? Fame? With the legions at my command, I could make you goddess!”
She smirked, inclining her head at Astaroth. “At least, your brother, Mammon, offered me millions of dollars. A goddess? Dude, you could do better than that.”
He smiled, thinking she’d taken the bait.
“Oh, I can,” he said, rubbing his scaly hands together. “Do you like men?”
He glanced down into the fray, and she followed his gaze, finding Jack and Micah fighting back to back.
“Ah, I see. You could have them both, you know. With the power I would give you, you could have them eating from the palm of your hand.”
She shook her head, disgust curling her upper lip. “You really are pitiful, all of you. The more I learn about this world, the less afraid I become. It doesn’t matter if they’re big like Mammon, or smart like Lilith … underneath it all, they’re as weak and powerless as you. The only power you possess is the power I give you, and there’s no chance of that. Now …” She reached into her shirt and clutched the ring, allowing her inner light to switch on. “Back into the pit you go, you vile little worm.”
“No, no!” Astaroth bellowed even as she closed her eyes and let the light take him.
It surrounded him just as it had Mammon and Nybbas, and she was able to release him, letting it do its work. She remained in midair, watching as he disappeared with another bellow of rage and flash of light. His scroll appeared in the midst of his remains, and she reached out to grab it before it fell. Closing her eyes, she sparked heat in her palm, smiling as she produced a flame for the first time. Elian had told her she had the power of hellfire, but she’d never learned how to use it. Using her various powers came more naturally to her the longer she did this. The scroll curled and burned, turning into flakes of charred ash floating away on the breeze.
The glow of the ring subsided and she floated back down, finding the plaza far quieter than it had been when she’d ascended. The Guardians were picking off what remained of the demons, and Reniel joined her on the ground, quickly transforming back to his human form.
Jack reached her side in an instant, the front of his shirt splattered with demon blood, but no more worse for wear. Micah sheathed his knives at his back and joined them, a bit scraped up, but otherwise fine, as well.
“Three down, seven to go,” Jack said with a nod. “You did good.”
She shrugged. “I know I shouldn’t get cocky, but that was shockingly easy. Astaroth wasn’t as hard to get rid of as I’d thought.”
“Seems squirrely to me,” Micah mumbled. “Could have been a setup. He took the fall to distract you from some bigger plan.”
“Whatever gets the count down,” Jack retorted. “We’ll worry about the rest later.”
“I need a drink,” he replied. “I’m goin’ home. See you guys later.”
Without waiting for a response, Micah turned and left them, his heavy footsteps echoing over the path leading out of the plaza. Jack frowned, watching him go with curiosity in his stare.
“Weird,” he murmured. “He’s been acting funny all day.”
Addison let him take her hand and they followed at a much slower pace. He seemed content to linger a bit, ensuring that everything was well in hand before they left the plaza.
“The last couple of months have been hard on him,” she ventured. “Losing you devastated him. I think you were the only thing holding him together. You know … without Tracy and all.”
He nodded. “Makes sense. He’ll be okay, I think. When Micah gets like that, it’s best to just leave him be. He’ll let me know what’s up when he’s ready.”
I highly doubt that, she thought.
Yet, she didn’t say t
he words burning in the back of her throat, much like Astaroth’s beast’s hellfire. No matter how badly they needed to be said, they just wouldn’t come out. The truth was proving harder to tell than she’d thought.
The opportunity presented itself at last, not long after they’d returned to the apartment. She’d been fighting back nausea the entire walk home, hands shaking as she clenched and unclenched them, searching for the courage to do what had to be done, no matter how much it would hurt. They’d been home less than an hour, leaving Micah in his usual place in the living room—knocking back hooch in his chair, cowboy hat low over his eyes, mason jar rested on his thigh.
In Jack’s bedroom, she sat on the couch after showering the remnants of the fight with Astaroth from her skin. She’d just finished combing through her hair and piling it on top of her head for bed when Jack entered, fresh from the shower himself. The scent of his body wash filled the room and the sight of him, bare-chested in only his sweatpants, stole her senses for a moment.
How easy it would be to forget everything else when he fixed that silvery gaze of his on her and smiled.
“Finally,” he murmured, closing the door behind him and crossing the room in three quick strides. “I’ve been waiting for this all day.”
Before she could reply, he’d yanked her to her feet and into his arms. He cut off her attempt at talking, pressing his lips to hers and kissing her with four months’ worth of longing and need. She sighed, melting into him, realizing how easy it would be to let life go on as usual. This man loved her … actually loved her. She’d never had that before and didn’t want to lose it. Micah had been right to not want to hurt him … hadn’t he? He seemed so happy now, a different man from the one who’d died. She almost envied him the chance to be reborn and start over.
Yet, even as he reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off over her head, Addison knew better. As badly as she wanted happily ever after with Jack, she knew she couldn’t allow it to be built on a lie. Placing her hands against his chest, she pushed him away, halting him before he could snatch down her shorts.
“Jack, wait. We need to talk.”
He grasped her hips and pulled her back against him, pressing the evidence of his arousal against her belly. He bent his head and captured her earlobe between his teeth.
“You can talk all you want,” he whispered, kissing her just beneath her ear and tracing a path lower, down the side of her neck to her shoulder. “You can tell me all the things you want me to do to you. Or whether you want me to go fast or slow. And you can tell me how it feels when I do this.” He went lower, closing his lips around her nipple through the fabric of her bra. “Or this,” he added, punctuating it with a gentle nip of his teeth.
Addison fought against desire with all her might.
“Please,” she said, firmer this time. “You have to stop that, because if you keep going, I won’t be able to tell you this. And I have to tell you this. I need you to know the truth.”
Bewilderment creased his brow, but he backed away, dropping is hands to his sides. “Okay. What’s wrong?”
Bending, she retrieved her shirt and put it on. Covering her eyes with one hand, she sighed.
“I want to start by telling you I love you,” she said, dropping her hand and forcing herself to look him in the eye. “So much.”
He smiled. “I love you, too, Addie.”
“I know,” she replied, her heart sinking as she realized this might be the last time she heard him say those three sweet words. “That’s why I can’t lie to you about what went on when you were … gone. Things were really hard, Jack. Micah and I … we had a difficult time getting on without you.”
He sank onto the bed, patting the mattress beside him. She sat down next to him, turning a bit to face him. He reached out and took her hand.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he said. “I fought to get back as fast as I could.”
“I know you did. I just … you were dead, Jack. Not missing, or vanished, but actually dead. I saw your body; your blood was on my hands. I stood there with your family and watched them lower your casket into the ground. I thought I’d lost you forever, and every day that you were gone, I wished I could die, too, because then, at least, I would get to be with you. And Micah … he was even worse. We were both a mess, but then … well, we kind of found a friendship of sorts. We relied on each other. He was there for me, even when he was being a jackass.”
Jack laughed. “That sounds like Micah. I know you guys didn’t get off to the best start, but I have to tell you, knowing you were able to be there for each other while I was gone is a relief. That you two can be friends makes me happy, because you’re the two most important people in my life.”
Addison cringed. Did he have to make this even harder? God help her.
“That’s just it. Things changed over time. I don’t know how it happened, Jack. I think I was just … I was so lonely without you … and Micah was here … we didn’t mean for it to happen.”
Jack stiffened, his hand tightening around hers until she was afraid he might break it. The warmth in his eyes melted away, and a gaze like cold steel fixed on her.
“You and Micah?”
She swallowed past the lump of anxiety in her throat and nodded. “Yes. Jack, I—”
“You and Micah … what? Kissed? Had sex? Fell in love? What are you telling me, Addison?”
She took a deep, shaky breath, her heart thundering in her chest. “We … we slept together. Once.”
He’d been holding his breath while waiting for her answer, but released it now on a ragged sigh, lowering his head into his hands.
The pain in that sound tore through her, causing an ache deep in her chest. She was hurting him. With every confession, she wounded him more and more.
“You had sex with Micah once,” he parroted, almost as if repeating the words helped him accept it. “When?”
“Jack, I don’t think—”
His head whipped up suddenly, his narrowed gaze fixed on her once again. He gritted his teeth, his hands clenching into fists in his lap. She’d never seen him this way, so angry that it stole all the warmth from his entire being.
“It matters!” he snapped. “I want to know. How long was I gone before you spread your legs for my best friend?”
Hurt mixed with anger in her gut, causing her blood to run hot. She clenched the comforter to keep from reaching out to slap him. He’d only lashed out because she’d hurt him first.
“It just happened, right before we knew you were back.”
He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I guess you deserve a bit of credit for waiting that long. Why, Addison? Why would you … with Micah, of all people!”
“I don’t know,” she confessed. “You were gone! I didn’t think I could ever recover from that.”
“Right, I’m sure he was just too happy to step in and fill my shoes.”
“That’s not fair. It wasn’t like that. You know Micah.”
Brushing past her, he made a beeline for the bedroom door, the muscles in his back as hard and unrelenting as the rest of him.
“Yeah, I do know him. All too well, that son of a bitch.”
Scrambling after him, Addison reached out to stop him. “Jack, don’t!”
He shrugged her hand off his shoulder, ignoring her as he stormed into the living room. Micah had been reclining in his chair, but he jerked upright as Jack came toward him, hands balled up at his sides. He grimaced, setting his half-empty jar aside. It only took one look at Jack for him to understand what was happening.
“Damn it, cher,” he grumbled, running a hand over his mussed hair.
“Get up,” Jack growled, standing over Micah. “Get up right now, you piece of shit.”
Micah merely sat there, staring up at his friend, elbows braced on his knees. “Listen, podna—”
Jack shoved him, throwing him against the back of the recliner. “Don’t call me that. We are not partners, or brothers ... you’
re nothing to me now. What the hell kind of friend screws his buddy’s girl as soon as he’s dead, huh? I said get up!”
Micah shook his head. “I know you’re mad, and you got a right to be, but it wasn’t like that.”
Jack laughed, the sound cold, hard, and devoid of all humor. “Seriously? When is it not like that with you?”
“Guys, come on,” Addison interjected. “Calm down before you say something you’ll regret, both of you.”
Micah slowly rose to his feet, towering a whole head over Jack. He narrowed his gaze and his jaw jutted out in that stubborn way of his, and she knew it was over. She couldn’t stop this if she tried.
“’Just like me?’” he repeated with a shake of his head. “That’s what you think of me? The guy who messes around with your girl just for the hell of it?”
Jack shrugged. “Am I wrong? I was barely gone four months and you did what you always do—make a messy situation messier. She was grieving! You took advantage of that, and for what? So you could say you’d screwed a demon? Or that you’d had something that was mine first?”
Micah shoved Jack this time, nearly throwing him off his feet. Jack staggered backward but managed to recover, chest swelling as his breath became uneven and short.
“Get over yourself, Jack,” Micah countered, pursuing him across the room. Jack stepped up to face him and the two squared off like boxers circling each other in the ring. “What happened had nothing to do with you. Though, I’m sure that’s hard for you to understand, you self-absorbed prick.”
“Better a self-absorbed prick than a good-for-nothing redneck!”
“Hey!” Addison cried, trying to wedge herself between them. “That’s enough! You two need to stop!”
Micah pushed her aside, steadily advancing on Jack, his face flushing and his eyes going wide and wild. He certainly wouldn’t be the one to back down.
“Right, I’m a good-for-nothing redneck, which means I’m not good enough for anything that you have, including Addison. Because she couldn’t possibly have slept with me because she wanted to, or because she has feelings for me. No, it can only be because I’m a bastard who stole her out from under a dead man because that’s what kind of man I am.”