His gaze was tender as he stood. “Yes. You are.” He pulled her to her feet and kissed her nose. “Two minutes, Abby. If you’re not upstairs by then, I’m coming out after you.”
“Okay.” She patted his ass as he walked away from her, earning a startled laugh. “Good night, angel-man.”
Abby rarely left the house alone. There had been no new incidents in the last couple of weeks, so Detective Jarvis believed his theory of juvenile vandals had been vindicated. Bill couldn’t get the guy to budge, and neither could the captain.
Maybe it was for the best. Could a human police detective do anything against a fairy-tale monster?
She opened the glass door, the cold air a smack in the face. She grabbed the hose and began coiling it. How had he managed to...
Abby sniffed. What was that? She stood straight, gazing into the tree line behind her house. Something smelled off, and it wasn’t the lingering scent of subway.
The acrid scent of smoke filled the night air.
She rushed to the edge of her deck. Flames shot out of the back of Seth’s house. The sound of sirens shattered the night’s quiet. Someone had already called the fire department. She’d turned to go back inside and get Seth when she felt cold metal against the back of her neck.
“Well. How convenient. I rather hoped the fire would draw you out, but I hardly expected to find you alone. Where’s your guardian angel, Abby?”
Abby froze. She recognized that voice. “Asleep upstairs,” she lied. Seth would be coming for her, and the least she could do was give him the element of surprise.
“Ah. Makes my job a little bit easier. Maybe after you’re gone, I’ll make a play for him. What do you think of that? Shall I steal your man once you’re dead?” The Shem sounded viciously cheerful.
“He’ll find out it was you. You can’t get away. The police and the fire department are right outside. You try to take me away at gunpoint and they’re going to notice something’s wrong.”
“Not to mention, the sound of the sirens might wake up your angel, right? We wouldn’t want that.”
Abby turned to face Diana. “Why are you doing this?”
Diana smiled. It was soft and friendly, but her eyes were full of rage. “Let me show you.” She carefully pulled out a locket from underneath her shirt.
Abby recognized it immediately. She’d once owned a similar one. It was currently in the possession of the New Castle police department.
Diana took the locket off and showed Abby the back. Barely legible in the dim moonlight were the words For you, my love.
Abby glanced back at Diana’s face and read death there. She decided to stall for time, hoping the sirens would, indeed, wake Seth up. “How did I not recognize you?”
Diana laughed softly. “Your angel didn’t explain it?” Diana shrugged. “I’m Shemyaza.” Right before Abby’s eyes she morphed into Doug, and it was all Abby could do not to scream. Diana grabbed Abby’s arm in a grip so tight it hurt. “I think it’s time we left, don’t you? We wouldn’t want our little party to be interrupted.”
She even had Doug’s inflections perfect. Nothing was out of place, not his hair, his voice, even the tiny mole at the corner of his upper lip. It was uncanny.
Looking at Diana, all Abby saw was her ex.
She changed back into Diana and pushed Abby. “Get moving, Abby. It’s time I finished this.”
Abby took her time going down the stairs. The grass at the bottom felt cold against her bare feet. Diana pressed the gun against her back and Abby moved as slowly as she dared. She peeked briefly back at the town house, but could see only the lights she herself had turned on. There was no sign of movement. With a growing sense of dread, Abby allowed herself to be pushed and prodded into the woods.
The debris was a lot less pleasant here than the grass had been. Abby kept her eyes on the ground, trying not to step on any broken bottles or twigs that might cut into her bare feet.
“I was his first, you know.”
Diana’s voice startled her. “His first what?”
“His first girl. His first Shemyaza.” She sniffed. “He was a by-blow, always curious about what we were, what we could do. Why our powers had skipped him.”
“He used you.”
Diana shoved Abby hard enough to make her stumble. “You’re wrong. He was mine.”
Abby gulped. She had to buy some time. Seth would find her, would take Diana down, but Abby needed to survive until then. “You went to a lot of trouble to stalk me.”
“Before you, he always came back. No matter what else happened with other women, Doug always came back to me. Except once.” Anger seeped into her voice. “He met you. He dated you. He even gave you my locket.”
Shit. Diana was insane. She should try and make a break for it before they reached Diana’s car. What was it the self-defense people told you? Never let yourself be taken to a secondary location? Once they were in the car, Abby would be helpless.
Abby was done with being helpless.
“He came home with red hair on his shirt and I knew he was seeing someone else. He’d been with other women before, but they meant nothing to him. Nothing. None of them got the locket. Except you.”
The gun pushed hard into Abby’s back, but she kept walking. She had to keep Diana talking and watch for her chance to get away. “I didn’t know about you at all.”
“I know.” Diana was practically growling. “I didn’t care if he played with toys. In fact, he’d tell me if one was particularly delicious, and I’d get to eat when he was done.”
Abby swallowed hard. “So he helped you hunt.” They were moving along the back of Abby’s development, hidden from sight by the row of trees she’d loved because of the privacy and now cursed. It wouldn’t be much longer before they hit a secluded part of the parking lot.
“He did. He was good at it. And with his ties to real estate, I got some wonderful meals.”
“Ew.”
Diana shoved her again. “Except you. I wasn’t allowed near you.”
Thank God. She’d survived what Doug did to her. She’d hate to think what would have happened had he handed her over to Diana.
“Still, it’s been years since I’ve been with Doug. Why do this now?”
Diana chuckled darkly. “It took me a little time to set things up. I had to become a beautician, make friends. I had to build my whole Diana Martin identity.”
Oh, God. “What happened to the real Diana Martin?”
“You’re a clever girl. She had an unfortunate accident about four and a half years ago.” Diana giggled, the sound full of joy and so familiar Abby wanted to puke. “She tasted so good at the end.”
“That seems like an awful lot of trouble for one of Doug’s toys.”
“You weren’t one of his toys.” The joy had leeched out of Diana’s voice, leaving behind only rage. “You got the locket. You got his hair in the locket. He had your names engraved in it. And I knew, I knew, he was going to leave me for you.”
“But he didn’t, because I broke up with him.”
Abby heard Diana take a deep breath. “You made him angry. He tried to kill you, and I wish he’d succeeded. But he didn’t. Instead, you sent him to jail. You took him away from me.”
“Did you help him escape?” No sound of wings, no brilliant blue light. Where the hell was Seth? She was pretty sure her two minutes were up by now.
Abby could see lights. They were nearing the end of the woods. Diana’s car wouldn’t be far away. “We should have gone away together. But all he could talk about was you, and how he had to get back to you. He wanted to finish what he’d started. He wanted you dead. He said you’d belong to him forever.”
“That’s why you killed him, isn’t it? Because he wanted to be with me.”
The lights were getting stronger, and Abby was able to make out more of what was around her. They were getting close to the highway, too close. It was now or never. If Seth was coming, she didn’t sense him.
She wa
s on her own.
She stopped walking and turned to face Diana. “You killed him because he loved me instead of you.”
Something shimmered around Diana, something that seemed as foul as the stuff Seth had washed off on the deck. “He loved me. He was obsessed with you, but he loved me. He’d loved me since grade school, damn it. We were going to be married.” Abby watched as Diana threw her head back and screamed, the sound tearing through her like a physical blow. “You promised, you bastard! You promised me!”
Abby dove for the gun. She grabbed a hold of Diana’s wrist and bit down as hard as she could. Diana jerked her hand out of Abby’s grasp.
Abby didn’t wait for Diana to point the gun at her. She drove a punch right into Diana’s stomach, and Diana doubled over with a groan. Abby followed up with an uppercut to Diana’s jaw, and winced as she heard something crack.
Diana growled. “Fucking whore.”
Abby knew no one would hear Diana over the sounds of the sirens. She had to get the gun out of Diana’s hands. She began shaking Diana’s hand, pressing her fingers into Diana’s wrist, digging her nails in hard enough to draw blood. Diana began to fight back, shoving at Abby with unnatural strength. Abby almost lost her footing but managed to stop herself from falling by hanging onto Diana’s arm with all her might.
Diana, her nose bleeding a viscous green, smashed her forehead into Abby’s. Abby reeled, losing her grip.
Diana’s arm was free. Diana, breathing hard, began to bring the gun to bear on Abby once more, and Abby decided on the better part of valor. She turned and ran as fast as she could over the rough ground. But instead of running toward the light, she ran parallel to it.
She heard the first shot go off, and instinctively ducked. She ran faster, knowing that Diana would hear her progress. She was hoping that the sirens, having masked their fight, would also mask her progress through the woods. If she could get enough of a head start, she might get away.
The twigs and roots carpeting the woods slowed her down. She could barely hear Diana moving around behind her and prayed Diana couldn’t hear her. At this rate she was going to get twisted up in a root and break her ankle. It was more of a risk, but if she could watch her step, make as little noise as possible, maybe she could lose Diana. Abby began watching where she placed her feet, but it was so dark she could barely see where she was going.
If Diana lost her, she’d either head for her car to make her getaway or back toward the town house. So Abby couldn’t go that way, no matter how safe it seemed. Go toward the light? Diana might see her if she did that, and get a clear shot...
But Abby might be able to flag down some help...
Keep going. Keep paralleling the light, and see what happens. If it looks like it opens up in a well-lit, empty area, start edging around that. I’ll play ring-around-the-rosy all night with her if I have to.
Seth will find me. I know he’ll find me.
* * *
“Abby?” Seth stepped out onto the deck with a frown. The hose was still there, half-coiled. There was no sign of his lover anywhere. When he stepped to the stairway leading to the backyard, a flash of light caught his eye. He stared, astonished, at his burning town house.
Seth raced down the steps and toward his home. Abby must’ve gone to check it out, but why wouldn’t she come and get him up first? He stopped halfway between their houses and nearly howled.
She wouldn’t have gone to his house, not without him.
It was a distraction. Someone had set fire to his house and taken Abby during the fuss. They couldn’t have gone far. Seth stepped into the shadows and pulled off his T-shirt. He grabbed the sword he’d left by the back door and strapped it to his back. His wings burst from his back as he pulled out his cell phone. Seth dialed the brother who lived closest to them. “Dante. Call the cavalry. The Chameleon has Abby.”
“I’m on my way.” Dante didn’t wait for an answer, and his brother sounded pissed.
Seth cloaked himself from human sight and took to the air. If they had slipped into the woods, it would be harder to find them. The Shem had a head start, and he had no idea what powers he had.
The sound of the Shem’s scream nearly shook Seth from the air. It was the cry of a woman scorned with the power of a Shemyaza behind it.
Obsession. It wasn’t uncommon in Chameleons, and whatever had triggered this one to go after Abby had reached its apex.
The Shem was ready to feed.
“Abby? Where are you, Abby?”
The sweet singsong voice of the Shem pulled Seth toward the highway. Abby must’ve managed to get away. He prayed he found her before the Shem did.
“You’re very clever, Abby. But how long can you survive? How do you think your angel will feel when he finds your cold, dead corpse and knows he couldn’t protect you? Knowing that you died naked in the dark, cold and alone? Do you think he’ll suffer? Maybe I can console him. What do you think?”
When hell froze over.
Seth continued to fly over the woods, listening for the sound of the Shem’s voice. It wasn’t long in coming.
“When I find you, bitch, you’re going to pay for what you did to my arm and my nose.”
Good. His girl had fought back. It was the rare human who could blood a Shem and get away with it. He was closer now, the sound of the Shem’s voice louder as she taunted Abby. Then he heard something that made his blood run cold.
“Gotcha.”
* * *
She could not, could not be seeing this. It had to be a bad dream, right? Diana had transformed into some kind of monster. Her lips had turned dark, her skin pale and blotchy. Oversized fangs filled her mouth, dripping some kind of icky ooze, stretching her mouth wider than humanly possible. She even smelled like that stuff Seth had been covered with. The only thing that remained the same was the perfect blond hair on her head. Abby held back a scream, afraid if she made a single sound, the creature in front of her would attack.
Just as she thought that maybe a branch had fallen on her head and she was seeing things, Seth flew through the trees and knocked Diana to the ground. The gun flew out of her hand, skittering away into the underbrush. Seth decked Diana, but Diana shook it, and him, off. Seth got to his feet and spread his wings, pulling a sword from between them. Somewhere he’d ditched his T-shirt, his wings stretching wide behind him.
“Time to die, Shem.” Seth’s grip on the blade tightened as he took some kind of battle stance.
“You first, Neph.”
Seth began to glow, his beautiful light shining on the hideous monster Diana had become. “Nice job, hiding from me.”
Diana shrugged, her bloodshot gaze darting around. “It’s a gift.” She dove for where the gun had disappeared, but Seth was there before her, blocking her way.
Abby backed up. She had no place in this fight. All she could do was watch...and pray.
Diana tried the old woman’s stand-by, lifting her knee with all of her might, but Seth managed to dodge out of the way. He grabbed her knee with his free hand as it came up and slammed her back into the ground. Diana landed with a rush of air, and Seth’s blade flashed down. Diana rolled out of the way and got to her feet as Seth swung again.
The two danced around each other, Diana taking swipes at Seth with...
Were those claws?
They were—six inches long and blacker than night. They gleamed in the glow of Seth’s powers, raked far too close to the white feathers. The dull clang of the sword against them made her jump.
Seth’s sword didn’t even make a scratch in them. They were stronger than they appeared.
The Shem screamed and Seth staggered back. Abby covered her ears. This was no ordinary scream. It was full of primal rage, and the Shem took advantage of Seth’s momentary distraction to lunge.
Seth got his sword up at the last minute, blocking the blow and drawing blood on Diana’s forearm. Diana howled again, but this time it was in pain, with no power behind it.
Seth’s glow intensi
fied until she could barely see him. He was a blur of blue light dancing around Diana’s darkness. His sword reflected his glow, becoming its own distraction.
He landed another blow, this time on her wrist, and she screeched in response. His wings flared upward, his arm drawn back for the death blow.
Diana screeched again, putting power behind it, and Seth’s wings folded around him. Abby heard him gasp, saw bright blood fall as Diana’s claws scored a hit on his wing.
Oh, no. Bitch is not going to damage my man’s wings. “Doug fucked me.”
That got Diana’s attention. She turned on Abby with a snarl.
God, she hoped Seth forgave her. “Remember that thing he used to do with his tongue?” Diana swiped at her, those wicked claws close to connecting with Abby’s thinly covered stomach. Abby dodged, barely. “How about the way he’d—whoa!” Diana’s claws tore through the cloth, leaving scratches behind.
“Going to kill you for touching what was mine.” Saliva dripped down Diana’s black lips.
“Ugh. That’s attractive.” Seth had better come up with something fast.
“Megan!”
Diana swiveled around, and Abby, seeing where Seth had his blade, pushed.
Seth plunged his sword into Diana’s chest.
Diana gasped, blood dripping from her mouth in a torrent. She dropped to her knees, her claws covering the slim, deadly wound. She toppled over and was still.
Seth turned to Abby, panting lightly, his glow dimming until she could once again see his features. He had scratches on his face and arms, and the wound on his chest bled sluggishly. He stalked toward Abby and took her by the shoulders. “What the hell happened?”
“I heard something, and when I went to check it out I smelled smoke. I walked to the edge of the deck without thinking and Diana snatched me.”
He shook her slightly, and his voice began to rise. “Do you know what could have happened to you tonight?”
Abby winced. “Yes, Seth.” She wasn’t going to mention he’d been right inside. She could hear the fear etched in his voice. He was glowing so brightly, she was surprised they hadn’t been found by a human yet.
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