by Ivy Sinclair
"That sounds lovely."
I shook a pinch of the herbs out into the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry I don't have anything for you to swallow it with. It tastes pretty horrible."
Paige didn't hesitate before knocking the herbs back into her mouth. Perhaps there was a chance for me with her yet. She grimaced, then swallowed and stuck out her tongue at me. "It tastes like I just licked the bottom of a dirty sock."
I grinned. "I warned you."
She smiled back at me. "Thank you for taking care of me, Riley."
"It is my pleasure."
CHAPTER TEN - PAIGE
After taking the medicine that Riley offered to me, I pushed back on my heels until I felt the cold, uneven wall of the cave behind me. I was relieved that Riley had managed to find the caves on his own with my rudimentary directions. I could barely see out into the woods beyond the opening, but it was enough for me to be able to place where we had entered. The even better part was that I knew where to go from there, and Riley had flashlights.
I watched as he carefully inspected the rest of the herbs and other small bottles filled with things that I didn't recognize before moving onto the items that appeared to be meant for far darker purposes. He hadn't answered me when I told him what Benjamin said or even tried to defend himself. That didn't make me feel any better at all.
Although I felt a strong attachment to Riley, I recognized that those emotions could quickly slide into another territory that I wasn't sure I was ready to explore with someone who did what he did. I felt myself questioning assumed morals and values that I figured I would share with anyone that I got close to. Killing a demon in self-defense was one thing, but torturing and killing people to retrieve information seemed savage and wrong. Doing it for payment was even worse.
I sensed that Riley knew I was studying him and turning things over in my mind. Since I couldn't be productive at all until the migraine fully receded, I had nothing but time on my hands. I could be patient. I would wait.
After awhile, Riley seemed sufficiently satisfied with the condition of his instruments. He tucked everything away and closed the kit. Then he zipped it up and rocked back on his heels. He settled back against the wall opposite of me and pulled his knees up resting his forearms across them. His look was guarded, and I saw the same look again that he had on the boat after he killed the demon.
"It's hard for me to explain what I do and why I do it," he finally said. "But I have my reasons. I think they are good ones. I know there are others who disagree with me."
So he wasn't planning to apologize for his actions. I wasn't sure what to make of that, so I kept quiet and waited for him to continue.
He saw that I wasn't going to respond, and he sighed. "In the early days, during the regular course of my work, I learned things that I wasn't supposed to know. I was just a kid stumbling around in the dark making a mess of things, and that sparked some unwanted attention by some very high-ranking officials on both sides of the fence."
I raised an eyebrow. "Which sides are those?"
"Human and creature," Riley said. "At first, I couldn't control my ability. The dead came to me screaming with their secrets and wanting help that I couldn't give them. That kind of thing can drive a person insane."
"What did you do?" I felt a wave of sympathy. Riley hadn't been born a necromancer. He had become one.
"My mother was a devout Catholic. After trying to find me help through the conventional channels, she got funneled through to some unconventional ones. That brought me to Sister Alice. She helped me control my abilities and taught me how to harness and focus it so that I only saw the spirits when I wanted to see them."
My mouth fell open in surprise. "A nun taught you how to be a necromancer?"
"I already was a necromancer. She taught me how to control it," Riley clarified. "She tried to teach me how to use those skills only to help those who truly needed help."
"That isn't what it sounds like you do now."
"I told you. I was just a kid then. A kid who no longer fit in with his friends and had a hard time paying attention in class anymore. It was a very small leap to using what amounted to a relatively small secret from one of my professor's dead parents to blackmail him for a better grade. It snowballed from there."
I tried to reconcile that with the man that sat across from me. "You figured out how to profit from someone's unreconciled business."
He shrugged, but I could tell that he was coiled tight despite the casual gesture. "Ghosts will tell you everything you wanted to know and a lot of stuff that you don’t. I was messed up, and I took advantage of the situation. Since then, I've gotten a lot better at who I chose to talk to. They can't just come to me anymore. I have to conjure them. I deal almost exclusively with the demon population, and I'm selling secrets that usually lead to more dead demons. To me, that's a win-win situation."
"That sounds very callous," I said with a shudder.
"Early on, I made a lot of enemies. I make new ones every day," Riley said with a hard edge to his voice. "People like me, humans with supernatural abilities, generally don't last long in this world. Necromancy in particular has its own inherent hazards. Information is the only real leverage I have, and it's not a good idea to leave loose ends in my line of work. I'm assuming you don't know that demons can come back."
"Come back?" I felt the throbbing starting again in my temple. "What do you mean?"
"Higher level demons prefer to inhabit human hosts. It ensures that their body remains safely hidden away somewhere in Hell and gives them a longevity that rivals an angel's. When I conjure up a demon for questioning, I'm only getting its essence that exists here on the human plane even though I might be using its human host. If I questioned it and let it go back to Hell, what do you think it’s going to do the next time it pops into another human host? Especially if the line of questioning got a bit more...invasive?"
"You're rationalizing murder by calling it self-preservation."
"Damn straight." The jut of Riley's chin told me that he had this conversation before, and it didn't go well then either.
I leaned my head back against the wall. It all was a bit too much to take in, and I wasn't ready for it yet. I knew that it was all an illusion; that I didn't have the luxury of time to learn all these new things and figure out why or how I was part of it. I had to make myself ready for it, whether I liked it or not.
The scrape of boots against the rocks told me that Riley moved, and a moment later I felt the heat of his body close to mine. I opened my eyes. He sat on his heels next to me. His face softened as he reached out a hand toward me, but then pulled it back at the last moment.
"It might not seem like it now, but I'm not the bad guy, Paige," he said softly. "I won't lie to you. I have done some pretty bad things in my time, but I wouldn't do anything bad to you. I want to help you find your answers if you let me."
It wasn't clear to me yet if I could accept what he had told me. But I kept coming back to the fact that he had done nothing to me that should sway me to believe that he would hurt me. My instincts said that I could trust him. I wanted to trust him.
Reaching out tentatively, I took his hand in mine. I took a deep breath. "I don't understand why this is happening to me. I know that I am in the middle of something big and scary and dangerous. There are a lot of things that don't make sense to me. I need time to think about what you've told me, because honestly, it scares the crap out of me. But for the last two days, you've saved my life at every turn. I would be a fool to turn away from someone who was willing to put himself in harm's way for me. I don't pretend to understand why, but I'm grateful."
Riley intertwined his fingers with mine, and I stared at our joined fist. Then his other hand reached out and this time, he did make contact as he stroked the side of my cheek. I drew my breath in as he moved closer. It was as if he waited to see if I would move away, and when I didn't, he closed the gap between us with a swiftness that took my breath away.
His l
ips touched mine tentatively, and then pressed more urgently. I didn't think, but gave over to the feelings that had been building inside of me since the first moment I looked into his jaded green eyes. I wound my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. I felt the nudge of his tongue, and I opened my lips willingly to him. Then all thoughts flew out of my head as his lips and tongue demanded an answer that I was all too happy to give him.
I lost track of time, and then Riley pulled away. I felt the absence of his lips keenly. His breath came in shallow gasps. He gave me a shy grin. "I've wanted to do that for awhile."
As I touched my swollen lips, I blushed as I remembered my enthusiasm at his touch. I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Apparently so have I."
His face grew serious then. "I meant what I said."
"So did I."
Riley nodded, and then he sat down on the ground next to me. As he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, I settled in next to him with my ear on his chest.
"You should rest for a bit and let that medicine take full effect," he said.
"Then what?" I looked up at him. "I assume you haven't forgotten that we're on the lamb from a plethora of demons. You have any ideas where we can go to hideout now? We aren't going to be able to stay in here too long."
"If you can help get us to a boat that will get us to the mainland, I've got someplace in mind," he said.
"Where?" I had been gun shy about leaving the island before I knew that there were demons out there in the world. If they were as prevalent in the world as Riley said they were, then I wondered if there was anywhere truly safe that we could go.
Riley's next words told me all I needed to know though.
"I think you'd look damn sexy in a nun’s habit."
To be continued...
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About Ivy Sinclair
Ivy Sinclair cut her romance teeth on classics like Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, and Sabrina. She is a firm believer in true love, a happily ever after ending, and the medicinal use of chocolate to cure any ailment of the heart. Ivy's guilty pleasures include sushi, endless Starbucks lattes, and wine. Readers of Ivy's stories can expect smoldering sweet stories of romance that tug at the heartstrings.
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Other titles by Ivy Sinclar:
Where My Heart Breaks
Bittersweet Junction
Grounded By You
A Heart to Rescue
Cupid’s Cupcake
The Sleepover Seduction