Before I know it, both of his hands are sliding through my hair and I have my hands on his chest, his jacket bunched up in my fists. I pull my lips from his only when the need to breathe overrides my need for Matt.
I don’t move an inch of my body except to open my eyes. I inhale sharply to catch my breath. I see Matt’s face so close to mine, his eyes hooded with the same hunger I feel in my own depths. I feel his heart pounding beneath his jacket that I’m still holding, as hard as my own.
Wow, I think.
“Wow,” he says out loud.
“My thoughts exactly.”
● 22 ●
Darius
“Are you sure?” the demon asks his Victus soldier.
“Y-y-yes. Ahem, I’m positive,” Julius replies. “I followed up with Blue in New Orleans, and he sent me everything the person at the library said. The questions the girl was asking about the building matches the description of the library in Portland, Oregon.”
“And how the fuck would this person know what a library in Oregon looks like?” Darius has no tolerance to be hampered by yet another dead end.
“Apparently the guy is some sort of historian or something. I don’t know exactly, but I thought it was worth telling you and having someone check out.”
Darius raises his eyebrows at this unusually confident reply from such a typically timid, little man.
“I see,” the ancient man says. “And who do you propose we send on this field trip? Hmm?”
At this Julius returns to the stuttering wimp Darius is used to. “Uh, well I-I-I don’t know. I could go if you want, boss. Or I-I-I could send someone there.”
Darius considers his options. He turns away from his Victus as his eyes scan the room. They land again on Damon who is still hanging around the pool table.
“Go over to that man, Julius,” Darius says his stare fixed on Damon. “Tell him I’d like to discuss a “business opportunity” with him.”
Julius follows his boss’s gaze and scurries over after a quiet, “Yes, sir.”
Darius watches as Julius goes over and taps Damon on the shoulder. The former footballer turns around holding the pool cue across his body with both hands. Julius gestures back toward the end of the bar, but Darius can tell he’s having trouble convincing the man to come over. His arm movements become more frantic, and Darius feels his chest fill with ire at the obvious incompetence of his number three.
He gives it another minute before Damon pushes Julius away, possibly breaking the cue over his head. Darius would let him too, except Julius is the one who has most of the connections throughout the pipeline of parole officers across the country. That pipeline is vital to Darius getting information and getting it fast.
When Julius grabs Damon by the arm, the stumpy man gets shoved away, falling to the floor. Darius internally debates how involved he wants to get in the ass-kicking that’s about to come Julius’s way. The demon sees his Victus stand up and shove Damon back. It’s clear by how far Damon flies and how hard he hits the wall behind him, that Julius used his telekinesis power. The tall bald man’s friends are too shocked by what they just saw to come to Damon’s aide.
Damon stays flat against the wall as Julius walks up to him. He must explain himself this time in a way that gets through to the muscular man. Damon glances over to where Darius is sitting and nods. Julius turns around and begins walking back to his boss, Damon following behind him.
About time he grew a fucking set of balls, Darius thinks.
“Boss,” Julius says as he approaches the end corner of the bar top. “This is Damon. I believe he is ready now to hear your proposition.”
Darius claps Julius on the shoulder and gives him a short nod. It’s the most approval the Victus has ever gotten and it makes him stand a little taller, satisfied with himself.
“Hello, Damon,” Darius says, reaching out a hand for a shake while taking a sip of his whiskey. Damon grips it and shakes it once before letting go. “It’s a bit loud in here, how about we move to a quieter spot?”
“I’m not a fucking idiot,” Damon fires back. “This fatass said you got a job offer for me, and I’m not going anywhere with you until I hear it.”
Julius steps in. “This fatass just laid you flat against a wall, and he,” he quirks his head toward the demon “can do worse. So why don’t you just shut up and listen.”
Darius can see the anger start to rise in Damon’s eyes. “Alright listen,” he says stepping in. “Let’s just go outside and talk. I guarantee what I’m about to offer you, Damon, no has ever been able to before. If it makes you feel better, you can bring your friends over there with you. You don’t like what I have to say, you walk away. Sound good?”
Damon looks at his linebacker buddies who are intently staring at him, then back to the two men standing to his left and right. He sizes them up and thinks five against two gives him good odds. He waves his buddies over.
“Okay,” Damon says. “I’ll hear what you gotta say.”
“Excellent,” Darius says with a flat affect. “Let’s all of us go out to the alley in the back, and you and I can discuss what I have to offer.”
Darius leads the way through the kitchen and out the back door. He has a nefarious grin on his face as he thinks, It’s so easy to lure these dumb humans into a false sense of security.
Although still early in April, the warm night hints at the hot Georgia summer to come. Darius walks halfway down the alley, resuming the same spot he stood before when destroying the beer crates. He hears the five humans file out, and the slam of the door as Julius closes it. He waves Damon over to him so they can continue talking.
“So, my friend,” the demon begins. “This job I have for you requires you to travel a little and gather some information for me. You’ll be going with Julius. You know, the man who shoved you into the wall inside? You have a very specific and simple task that should you fail, it will make me very disappointed.”
“Seriously?” Damon scoffs. “That’s it? That’s the opportunity no one else has ever given me?”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Darius waves a finger. “Don’t get ahead of yourself now, son.”
Darius takes a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, takes one out and puts it in his mouth. The tip of the index finger on his right hand glows a bright amber color. When Darius touches his finger to the cigarette, it lights.
Damon’s eyes bulge. He’s definitely never seen anything like this before. He tries to hide his surprise and recover his previous unflustered demeanor.
“Nice trick,” he says nervously. “Now tell me something that I haven’t heard before, or I’m outta here.”
Darius looks over Damon’s shoulder at his long-time soldier, Julius. A silent communication passes between them and the Victus moves away from the four men standing by the door.
Darius returns his eyes to the man in front of him. His voice drops an octave as he growls out, “How about I show you instead?”
Before Damon has a chance to understand what’s happening, both of Darius’s hands shine with white light. With two flicks of each wrist, four spheres of fire shoot from his fingertips and slam into Damon’s comrades. The men are devoured by enormous flames; reduced to skeletons in three seconds, piles of smoking ash in five.
Damon, unable to fully understand what just happened, falls to his knees in shock. He breathes heavily before retching. Darius kneels and flicks some ash from his cigarette into the puddle of bile on the ground.
“Now,” the demon says. “Normally, I would charm you, possibly trick you into giving me what I need. But you see, I am running low on patience. Very low. In fact, I’d say I might even be out of it entirely. So, would you like to end up like your friends over there, or will you be traveling with Julius to Portland?”
Damon turns his head to look at the man kneeling next to him, his breath still coming in gasps as he finally understands that he just witnessed four of his friends be killed. His stomach heaves again making him empty all of
what’s left in it.
“Prove to me that you are worth more than that,” Darius says flicking his cigarette toward one of the steaming piles of ash. “You come back with something useful, and I will give you power like you’ve never dreamed of, and money you’ve never seen before.”
Darius stands and brushes off his pant leg. He walks to the door that leads into the kitchen of the bar. Before opening it, he turns back around to Julius and says, “Leave first thing in the morning. Go to New Orleans and meet with Blue. Have him take you to whoever he spoke with before. Then fly to San Francisco and rent a car and drive up. If she is in Portland, I don’t want you to use any magic or potions that could possibly alert her. You’ve got a week to bring me something.”
Darius yanks open the door to the bar. “Don’t disappoint me boys,” he calls out down the alley before stepping inside. “You’ve both see what will happen if you do.”
PART
TWO
● 23 ●
“Alexa”
Waking up this morning, I can’t be sure if I had dreamt last night or if it actually happened. With my luck, it was probably a dream, so I want to stay in bed as long as possible and relive it over and over. I’m pulling the covers back over my head to try and lull myself back to sleep when I hear a knock at my bedroom door.
“Yeah?” My voice is groggy and doesn’t carry. I clear my throat and try again, “Come in.”
The door opens but I don’t have my glasses on and can only see a blurry outline. By the dark hair I realize it’s Mickey standing there.
“I’m making eggs,” she says. “Do you want some?”
“Definitely. Thanks.” I sit up and put my glasses on.
“Where’s Milo?” I ask after not seeing him at the foot of my bed.
“Oh, he’s in the living room,” Mickey replies. “He must have heard me when I got up a couple hours ago. He was whining at your door, so I let him out. We just got back from a walk, actually.”
“Thank you for that,” I say. “I’m surprised I didn’t hear him. Or that he didn’t wake me up himself. What time is it anyway?”
“It’s almost ten. I told him to let his mommy sleep,” Cali says coming in and plopping herself down next to me on my bed. “After all, you had a big night last night.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at me.
So it wasn’t a dream, I think. Thank god.
I can feel my neck and cheeks warming as I blush. I’m saved from having to answer Cali by Milo trotting in and jumping onto me. His momentum and weight knock me down onto my back, and he promptly lays down across my chest.
“Cali, leave her alone,” Mickey says from her place still in my doorway.
“Why? She asked me all about our first kiss, said something about how it’s her right as the roommate to know. So,” Cali then turns to me with her chin in her hand, index finger vertical against her lips, a serious expression on her face. “How was it?”
I hug Milo and bury my face in his fur trying to hide the enormous smile on my face. “It was,” I pause wanting to pick the right word. “It was wow.”
“Wow?” Mickey asks. She comes and sits at the foot of my bed.
“Yes, definitely wow.” I tap Milo’s paw and he instinctively knows I want him to move off of me. He shifts himself and is now laying in between Cali and myself. “It’s what I was thinking, and what he said.”
Cali squeals with excitement, but Mickeys beats her to the next question, “Did he initiate or you?”
“I did.” I tell them how as we were walking, whenever he looked at me his eyes went to my lips. “I don’t know where this surge of confidence came from, but I stopped walking and kissed him.” I sigh as I relive the tentative first touch of our lips and then Matt’s more desire filled kiss. “It was just a light kiss, but then he kissed me a second time, harder.”
“And that was the wow?” Cali asks.
“It was all wow,” I say.
**********
I didn’t have a chance for the rest of the morning to grab the box under my mattress and reread the letter from my mother like I wanted to. After the three of us ate the eggs Mickey made (the fluffiest I think I’ve ever had), I told them I had some laundry to do, hoping that would give me a window. But Cali chimed in that it reminded her she had a ton of laundry to do too and that she’d join me. Mickey had to go to her studio to do payroll and expenses and to prepare for her afternoon classes and sessions.
So now I am sitting in the row of chairs across the back wall of the laundromat, with Milo at my feet — same arrangement as Roast, dogs are not usually allowed but Milo is the exception. Cali is at one of the tables nearby sorting the mountain of laundry she brought. We’re the only two people here, which is surprising since it’s a Saturday.
I have a red leather notebook in my lap and I’m trying to jot down what I remember from the stories I was told as a child:
The demon was cursed to wait until he defeats his magical equal to fully open the portal; his powers are similar to the princess, but not exactly the same, the heir should have at least two he doesn’t; he has Victus, she has Extensios — both get telekinesis; he has to recover after creating a Victus, princess does not; he can force humans into being Victus; if he dies, his Victus die also except for the Forced; if the princess dies, her Extensios revert back to human. She can use her projection power to heal herself, he has to rest and wait to heal naturally…
I have about five pages worth of notes about the princess and the demon. I’m reading them over to see if I forgot anything when I feel a detergent packet bounce off my forehead and land in my lap. I glance up surprised and see a nervous look on Cali’s face.
“Whoops,” she says. “I was trying to juggle, and one got away. Sorry.”
I look at the floor around Cali and there are six other packets on the floor. I laugh and say, “I think a few got away.” I toss the pod back to her.
Cali shrugs and starts picking up the rest of the detergent packs. As she stands up, the wash cycle for my clothes ends. I stand up to change the load to the dryer.
I give a command to my dog before moving, “Milo, watch.” Milo will stand guard now over me and everything I left on the chair, not allowing anyone near either.
I’m leaning into the machine to get the last of my clothes at the bottom when I hear Milo let out a growl. I spring back upright and whip around to see what’s going on. My mood instantly sours as I see that Tyler Pentz has walked into the laundromat. He doesn’t have any laundry with him and no other clothes are being washed, which means he must’ve seen us in here and came in.
Cali and I make eye contact. She turns her back to him and sticks a finger in her mouth while rolling her eyes up into her head.
“Ladies,” I hear him say. Ugh, even the sound of his voice turns my stomach.
“Tyler,” I say back, but my eye is on Milo who has slowly moved away from the chairs, placing himself as a physical barrier between Tyler and Cali and myself.
“Milo, back,” I command. Milo backs up, even slower than he approached. As much as I don’t like Tyler, it’s obvious Milo likes him even less. I may think Tyler is worse than the scum on a garbage truck, but I do not feel physically threatened by him, so I don’t want or need Milo to be in protection mode ready to strike.
I pick up my basket of wet clothes and move around to the chain of dryers. From here I don’t have a clear view of the room, but I don’t need one to know that Tyler has come over to me; I can smell his overwhelmingly noxious cologne trying to mask the fact that he hasn’t showered in a few days before I hear him speak, plus Milo has tracked me and is again by my side.
“Hey, Lex,” he drawls. Tyler braces himself with one arm against the dryer next to mine, he’s aiming for suave but as usual, comes off as piggish.
I don’t look at him as I load my clothes into the dryer, but again say, “Tyler.”
“Listen,” he says as he runs his hand through his grimy, unwashed hair. “I was thinking that you and
me should go out sometime.”
Yeah, that is never going to happen, I think.
“Umm, no,” I say, trying to keep the disgust off my face. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Come on,” he presses. “We’ll get some drinks, go back to my place, and then I’ll show you a real good time.”
My nose scrunches up at the thought of spending another second near this creep. I clear my throat and say, “Tyler, that’s not going to happen. I’m seeing someone. And even if I wasn’t, I am completely not interested.”
Tyler’s features immediately change as anger settles onto his face at being rejected. “Now, that’s a mistake.” He takes a step closer to me. With Milo pressed to my leg, the only thing separating us now is the door to the dryer.
My Name Is Not Alexa Pearce Page 13