“Oh dear God!”
“What's wrong Caroline?” I ask, snapping my head around to look at her.
“Cal, you're draining the room.” She whisper hisses at me. I frown and look around again. The group that were dancing just seconds before have slowed down, one of them have actually sat down. Other people around us start to yawn and one girl falls asleep.
“Am I going to kill them?”
“We won't let you. Just tell us when you feel regenerated and we will leave pronto.” Caroline says as she walks off towards the sleeping girl. I watch in amazement as she simply touches the girl before a small pink glow surrounds them. Then Caroline blinks and grins over at me. I am guessing she just fed. “Well, I have never fed from an innocent before, glad I did this time though. That girl right there, killed her sisters new puppy on purpose.” My mouth drops open.
“How horrible.” I'd never do anything to purposely upset Ana. Ah, Analeese. My six year old sister. I wonder how she is doing.
“Calissa. How do you feel?” Edward asks me after I finish my two other drinks.
“Buzzing.” I say honestly. I don't think I am buzzing from the booze either. “Sleepy too. Is that normal?”
“No. But you haven't slept in a while and have pretty much drained an entire bar. Let's get you back to the hotel so you can sleep it off.” Edward leads me out of the bar with Caroline in tow. We walk up the street until we come up outside a Subway. “Going to grab us some food. Caroline, take Calissa back to the room. She might start hallucinating but it is perfectly normal.” He lets go of me and walks into the restaurant. Caroline takes me by the arm and pulls me to the hotel. I don't think I am hurting her anymore. I think me draining the bar must have put my body back into control.
There aren't many people out now. Maybe one or two. They still stare at me as if I walk on water. Well, news flash, I am not Jesus people! I am a demon! Okay, half angel too but still! I feel more evil than good right now.
In fact, I kind of want to rip someones clothes off.
Is that normal? Yes.
The voice in my head makes me jump and Caroline looks at me confused. I laugh. “I have a voice in my head that tells me off.” I cackle. She rolls her eyes before pushing me towards the hotel doors but I stop when I see something in the corner of my eye. Green eyes stare back at me. I cannot see a body but I know those green eyes. I pull out of Caroline's grasp and stumble over to them. I get about a yard away when I am thrown backwards with such force, I crash through a glass window of a shop and my vision goes blurry and I see stars. The alarm goes off around me and it makes me wince.
“Cally!” Someone screeches.
“Oh my gosh! Is she okay?” Someone else asks.
“What happened Caroline?!” A blokes voice demands. I blink a few times before trying to pull myself up but I can't. Nothing feels broken but I just can't physically move. I know I haven't broken my back or anything. Something is pinning me down. I know this feeling. I felt this before. In Paris. He's here. Not physically but I can feel him. I squeeze my eyes shut and mentally feel for him. I can feel him. He's here. Kind of.
“Edward, it all happened so fast. We were walking towards the doors and she turned and stormed over there and then next thing I know she is soaring through the air.”
“What? Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
“Right. Get these people away. I have to get her up.” I hear crunching of glass before someone touches my arm. “Calissa? Can you hear me?”
“Jaxon?” I say.
“No. It's Edward. Can you move?”
“No. Something is pinning me down.” I whisper. He doesn't respond for a while and since I can't see him, I start to think he has left.
“Open your wings Cally.” I frown at the words. Wings? As if on cue, my back starts to tingle. “Come on. You can do it.” I concentrate on the tingle in my back and feel myself lift up slightly from the ground. “Good girl. Can you move your arms now?” I try and find that I can. “Now, open your eyes darling.” I pry open my eyes and see his aged face smiling down at me. Wow. He really does look like Jaxon. “There we go. Come on, we have to go before the police arrive.” I nod and let him help me up to my feet. My legs feel like jelly but I push past it and stagger out of the shop through the broken window out onto the now empty street.
“Where is everyone?”
“Caroline led them away. Being a mara has its benefits.” Edward says with a grin. I blink and follow him to the hotel and into mine and Caroline's room. I pull off my shoes and flop down on the bed but grimace as I do. “You might need to rinse off the shards of glass before you sleep. Your body will heal even faster now you have fed for the first time. You don't want to heal around the glass it will cause a lot of discomfort.” I nod and head into the bathroom after grabbing some pyjamas that Caroline bought me. Once showered and changed, I emerge back into the room and see Caroline and Edward looking at me expectantly. I take a deep breath.
“Jaxon was there.”
“No honey. You were hallucinating.” Caroline soothes.
“No Caroline. He was really there. I saw his eyes. It was him. Then I could feel him after I went through that window. He was pinning me down. He's done it before when I ran from the demons to Paris. He might not have known where I was physically but he managed to get to me somehow in my sleep and pin me down. He called it entertainment.” I smile at the memory.
“Did you manage to get proper feel of him?” I look at Edwards hopeful face and nod. His eyes light up. “Where is he? Is he near by?”
“I don't know. I couldn't focus.” I bite my lip and look down.
“Hmm... Might just be a hallucination. We will try and see if you can reach out to him after you have slept a bit. You will feel normal then.”
“I wasn't hallucinating!” I all but shout at him causing him to look at me in shock. “I know what I saw and I know what I felt.” Edward doesn't look convinced. “Whatever. Don't believe me then. I am going to sleep. So if you don't mind.” I point to the door and he gets the hint. He says goodnight before leaving me with Caroline. “You can stay Caz. I don't want to be alone.” I tell her. She nods and goes into the bathroom. Soon I hear the shower running and I settle down under the covers of the hard bed.
I wasn't hallucinating, was I? I am almost certain I did see his eyes and then felt him near me. Maybe you should ditch Caroline and Edward and do your own mission to find Jaxon. No, that wouldn't be a good idea. I need them. I wasn't lying when I told Caroline I didn't want to be alone. Sighing I close my eyes and try to turn off my brain. Sooner than I thought, sleep takes me.
THIRTY-FOUR
Dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, an off the shoulder t-shirt and the hi-tops Caroline bought, I sit outside a Vegan café the next morning sipping a banana and strawberry smoothie. Caroline nurses a cup of coffee while Edward disappeared somewhere to fill his Range Rover with fuel. Neither of them have mentioned last night to me. I know it does sound far-fetched, me seeing Edwards dead son but I know it was real.
I thought that maybe after a nights sleep, I would think differently but nope. I slept for six hours straight and still believe Jaxon was there.
“This smoothie is doing nothing to help my hunger this morning.” I tell Caroline. She smirks. “I could murder a sausage sandwich right now.” I lean across the table to whisper to her and she snorts.
“Come on then. These veg-heads freak me out anyway and this coffee is disgusting.” She pulls a face and we both laugh before walking away from the café. It feels good to laugh. It doesn't feel forced either. The two of us head over to a proper café and my mouth is watering the second I step inside. Mmm! Bacon! Eggs! Sausages! Mmm!
I order a bacon, egg, sausage and cheese toasted sandwich and practically devour the entire thing when it gets handed to me. This makes Caroline laugh. She ordered herself a bacon sandwich as well as Edward one too.
We leave the café and wait where Edward left us. “You spoken to Aeron
since we left?” I ask her as I wipe my mouth from brown sauce.
“Yeah, this morning actually. He is having a field day with your mum and Lorraine.” My heart seizes up at the mention of the two main women in my life, names. “She misses you Cal. You going to ring her?”
“I want to. But what do I say? Sorry I turned into a raging lunatic and tried to purposely kill my best friend who happened to shoot the love of my life. Sorry I left you to deal with Tessa. Sorry for leaving without a word. Sorry for not bringing my phone.” I huff out a laugh at the last bit. Caroline gives me a sympathetic look that makes me feel absolutely pathetic. “I will ring her later. Promise.”
“Good. So, about finding Jaxon and his mother. I think we have been going about finding him all wrong. Edward has over a thousand demons working for him and yet in the past four days we haven’t called upon a single on to help us. Maybe we should get them to help.” I ponder this thought for a moment. It does sound better than searching aimlessly around East England. “I also want to know why Edward refuses to give us her name. Surely there must be a way to find this out?”
“I could ask my mum? She and Edward have um, history.” I twist my lips as I grimace.
“If you think I am bothered about him being with other women, don’t worry. I am not. I happen to have met someone anyway but that’s a story for another day.” Curiosity picks at me and I am tempted to beg her to tell me who but know that now isn't the time. “So anyway, before Edward comes, ring your mum. Please?” I groan and hold out my hand for her phone, she grins as she passes it to me. I dial my mums number and wait for it to ring. It rings four times before she answers.
“Hey Caroline, Aeron is still asleep right now but I can wake him if you want to spe-”
“Mum, it's me.” I cut in. I hear her gasp.
“Calissa! Oh baby! Are you okay? When are you coming home?”
“Mum, calm down. I am okay, just numb. Not sure when we will be home yet. I'm not giving up the search for him mum. I can't give up.” I whisper the last bit.
“I don't expect you too honey.”
“Anyway, I need to ask you something.” The silence on the other side of the line tells me she is waiting patiently for my question. “Jaxon's birth mother. Do you know her name?” More silence. “Mum, you there?”
“Um, yeah, I am here darling.”
“So?”
“I do know her name. I gather Edward didn't give you her name then?” My small huff is the answer she needs. “Didn't think he would. Before I tell you her name, I need to tell you something else first.”
“What?”
“Remember when Jaxon told you not to give Crillin your real name?” I 'hmm' in response. “Well that is because most demons can pick up a non-demons whereabouts just by their name. Neither Jaxon nor Crillin knew you didn't have human blood in your system.”
“So... what has that got to do with this?”
“Join the dots Cally.” I frown as I work it out. Oh!
“He thinks that me knowing her name will end up in me finding her? We are looking for her. Why would he with-hold that information? But she is a demon though. Or a vampire at least.”
“No. She was turned into one, not born one. She is also dream walker. So she has human blood in her system.” My mouth forms an 'o'. “Benefits of you being a succubus. You'll be able to find her. Incubus can't do this.” She snorts and I smile.
“Okay, how will I find her then? Will my body automatically be able to do it?”
“Caroline will help you. Right, her name. Ready?”
“Yep.”
“Tiffany Munro. I have to go now babe. Check in again later okay? Call if you need me.” I say goodbye and hang up before turning to Caroline who smiles at me expectantly. I open my mouth to tell her what my mum said but the sound of Edwards car pulling up stops me. I give her a look to say 'later' and we climb into the large vehicle.
THIRTY-FIVE
Caroline and I sit quietly as Edward drives us around Essex. We stop in Southend for something to eat and a rest after around six hours of driving and him telling us he cannot feel Jaxon in the areas we pass. Since I don't know how to do the inner searching thing, I bite my tongue and let Edward lead us to no-where. While Edward is using the men’s toilets in a restaurant, I quickly ask Caroline how to do the searching thing my mum mentioned.
“Close your eyes and focus on the name. It is easier with a face but since we only have a name, it will have to do. Similar to what you did to find Edward the other day.” I do as she says; thinking the name Tiffany Munro over and over again. When nothing happens, I am just about to give up when I feel a pull on my chest. It causes my eyes to spring open and instead of seeing the dimly lit restaurant around me, I see a faint picture of a warehouse and then a dark haired women with pale skin and blue eyes comes into view. She doesn't look happy. She looks sad. Like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. The picture fades away as Edward walks back over to the table. I blink a few times and turn to Caroline. I give her a nervous smile and a subtle nod before faking a smile at Edward when he sits down.
After we eat, we get back into the car but this time, I ask if I can drive. Edward hesitates but lets me anyway. I hop into the front seat with Edward in the back and I drive to where I felt the vision came from.
Two and a half hours later, we are in Portsmouth and ignoring Edwards request to head back to Eastern England, I follow my instinct to a desolate road filled with abandoned warehouses. When I see the one from my vision, I stop to a halt and jump out, Caroline in tow.
“What the hell are we doing here?” Edward growls. I spin on my heels and snarl at him.
“Finding your son.” I turn back around and walk up to the large grey, steel building. I barely make it three steps before Edward grabs my arm and hauls me back.
“Listen to me Calissa. If you go in there, you will die.” I frown and he sighs. “A seer I know said that if you actually find Jaxon, you will die. Are you willing to take that step? Because I am not going to risk your life after everything.”
“I have to find him Edward. I have to.” I close my eyes and dip my chin as a lone tear runs down my cheek. I hear him groan and I look back up.
“Fine. But we need reinforcements.” He pulls out his phone and walks off to speak to whoever it is on the phone. I ache to walk into the warehouse with or without him. But I'd rather find Jaxon and not die. Caroline approaches me and places an arm around my shoulder.
“Is this definitely the place?” I nod. “Okay. Well, try not to lose control if things get out of hand.” I nod again.
“Right. Reinforcements are on their way. Let's go in.” Nervousness takes over as we sneak up to the closest door. I reach out to open it when I hear a low growl come from somewhere. My eyes widen and I look around to find where it came from. I almost scream when a fur covered creature comes running towards me. Just as it nears, a flash of light blinds me before Mike stands directly in front of me.
“Hey Cal.” He breathes.
“Mike!” I exclaim. “What are you doing here? Oh by the way, you scared the shit out of me!” I place my hands on my hips and he chuckles.
“Question is, what are you doing here? I have been following you for two days! I can't find Tessa anywhere, thought she'd be with you but you haven't stopped to stake out somewhere at all until now. So what are you doing here? And who's he?” He points to Edward.
“Enough of the questions wolf. I need you. Tessa killed Jaxon, well I think anyway,” I take a deep breath to steady myself. That was so hard to say. “He vanished into thin air and we are here because this is where I followed the vision of Jaxon's birth mother who might very well be hiding him. We need you to mask our scents and get us in just in case there are other demons in there.” I tell him shakily.
“Shit.” He hisses. “Okay. Let me change form and I'll stake out the place first.” I nod and he closes his eyes. I watch as he starts convulsing and then falls to his hands and knees. He growls out and th
en fur starts growing all over his body. His straight nose grows along with his mouth and becomes a snout and his brown eyes turn a light shade of yellow. He is a wolf. It looked almost painless going from wolf to human.
“Wow. Can you still hear me?” The wolf nods its head up and down and turns around and runs off around the side of the building. “Where the hell did he go?” I ask Edward who looks just as baffled as I feel.
“No idea but that was by far the weirdest thing I have ever seen.”
“Wait, you've been alive for over a century and never seen that before?” He shakes his head and it is my turn to be mystified.
Mike comes bounding around the corner again and stops in front of us. “Coast clear?” I ask him. The wolf nods again and we go up to the closest door and walk in.
The warehouse is dark when we enter, I inhale deeply to see if I have smell Jaxon anywhere considering I am supposed to have awesome smelling senses and all that jazz. I pick up a faint smell of burning wood and I follow the direction of the smell while Edward, Caroline and my new wolf friend trail after me.
I can't see very well but I manage to come lead the four of us to a small room at the far back of the warehouse.
I open the door and prepare myself for the worst. However, I am not prepared to see what I do. Jaxon laying on an army cot being cradled by a tear streaked woman.
“Tiffany.” Edward growls. The woman from my vision jumps up to her feet at the sight of me and she stands protectively in front of the unconscious guy behind her.
“Keep her away from me.” She squeaks, pointing at me.
Demonic Angel (A Touch Of Magic) Page 24