by JL Weil
He grimaced. “You’re serious about this?”
I twisted in his arms until he loosened his hold. “I am. Do you need another demonstration of my seriousness?”
“In an hour, you might be wishing you’d never thrown that hit.”
“Maybe. But it’s my choice. I’ll deal with the consequences.”
He gently flicked the end of my nose, and I could see the surrender in his eyes. “Speed, stamina, and quick wits will save your life. You still have the knife I gave you?”
Swallowing, I nodded.
“Good.”
“So, I’ll be learning how to use it?”
“Yes, against my better judgment, and because we’re working with daggers, you’ll have to get up close and personal to render a demon extinct. You have to be prepared for anything, always. Demons are not only fast, but devious. You ready?”
“Yes,” I replied.
Putting a few feet of space between us, he eyed me up and down, making me feel like a bug under a microscope. “Okay. Come at me.”
It took me a moment to register what he’d said. This was what I wanted, but now I was feeling self-conscious and silly. “How do—?”
“You’ve done it before,” he said, grinning.
Yes, but never with the intent to actually hurt him. My expression was pinched with concentration as I figured out what to do next. The idea of fighting was much easier in my head. Did I lead with my right foot or left? Did I tuck my thumb under or cross it over the others? I was totally overthinking each action.
“Don’t think. Just act. Pretend I’m the jerk you wanted to punch when we first met.”
“That won’t be hard to do,” I mumbled.
His silver-studded brow went up.
But it did help to think about the strife he frequently stirred inside me. We did the whole song and dance, me on the offence and Chase on the defense. He was patient, encouraging, and didn’t make me feel like a ninny.
“There you go.” Chase nodded as he deflected one of my blows. “Use your speed, and move with purpose. You want to use your small frame to your advantage.”
I knew he wasn’t trying to insult me, but I hated being called small. Wiping the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand, I motioned for him to come at me again.
He didn’t hesitate.
Chase launched himself at me, and this time I blocked his jab, but just barely. He didn’t even give me a second to gloat over my small triumph. God, he could move that body like a ninja. Even with my enhanced skills, I still wasn’t as fast or precise in my movements. With more practice, I might be able to defend myself, but actually besting Chase? I wasn’t sure I would ever acquire that ability.
“You’re holding back,” I hurled. “Don’t.”
“Angel, I—”
“Don’t,” I emphasized. “A demon wouldn’t think twice about ending me. Don’t go easy on me. How else am I going to stay alive?”
He straightened. “That’s why you have me. There is no need to push so hard, not yet.”
My response was to throw a right hook straight for his pretty-boy face. I got nothing but air, but he could see my determination, and that was when my training really started, when it no longer became a game for him.
I couldn’t even block most of Chase’s attacks. He went through several more techniques, but I was starting to realize how much I had to learn. It would be a miracle if I managed to kill two demons, let alone one.
“Watch me.” He swung out, the heel of his hand slipped past my arms and into the side of my gut. The impact sent me sprawling on my butt with a sharp spike of pain followed by throbbing. I was momentarily robbed of air, and when I finally inhaled, I slowly breathed through the agony.
Chase was crouched in front of me. “You okay?” he asked, concern flickering over his face.
I clenched my teeth, looking up at the sky. “Yeah.” All I wanted to do was not move from this spot. My body ached; even my armpits ached.
He looked down at me, doubtful. “We’re done for the day. I won’t mar your skin. It will break me to see the bruises I caused, even if only for a short time. I won’t hurt you, Angel.”
I sat up, grabbing his forearm. “I’m fine. It just startled me.” Then because I’d seen the conflict in his eyes and I could feel the inner turmoil causing a ruckus inside of him, I used both hands and tugged.
He came toppling down on top of me.
{Chase}
I could have caught myself, but where would the fun be in that? And after the last hour of sweating and grueling paces, we needed a little entertainment. Cheeks red with exertion, she let out a squeal of laughter. Real laughter. Her resilience and persistence impressed me. It was impossible to deny that Angel Eyes had the heart of a fighter.
Grabbing ahold of her wrist, I trapped her with my body, pinning her to the ground. Her laughter proved to be infectious, and I reveled in the sound. I reached over, prying her fingers loose and brought her injured knuckles to my lips. I kissed each one. “I should have taught you how to survive in my world a long time ago.” My arm tightened around her.
Her smile spread, lighting up her eyes as her gaze settled on me. “Are you admitting I was right?”
I pushed the hair out of her face. Large eyes, framed by dark lashes were beaming, and her cheeks were pinked by the sun, the wind, and the fight. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I stared at her for a long while. “Have I ever told you that I think you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met?”
She angled her head. “I don’t think so, but you can try.”
“You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met,” I said.
She grinned, amused. “Not true, but I like the sound of it.”
“We’re going to get through this.” I brushed pieces of her dark hair off her forehead. “That’s what people do. They mend.”
“I guess,” she agreed, sounding anything but convinced. A shadow cast in her violet eyes.
“And sometimes you end up stronger at the broken places.”
“Do you know what I want?”
“I could guess.” I pressed my lips to hers.
She placed her hands on my chest. “So much for reading my mind. I might not be Wonder Woman, but I can do things that make you wonder.”
Unable to deny myself the pleasure, I meshed my lips against hers, my tongue slipping between her teeth. The kiss was slow at first, but like everything with us, it sped into something wild.
Somehow, my worries vanished and her hand inched up my shirt, her nails embedding in my skin. I couldn’t get close enough to her. Couldn’t get enough of her. Would it always be like this? I could go on just kissing her for an eternity, but of course something always intervened.
This time it was a someone.
“Is that all you guys do? You’re worse than bunnies,” interrupted a voice.
I closed my eyes and groaned. “Please tell me I’m hearing things.”
Angel buried her face in my shoulder and giggled. Her heart thumped crazily, a mimic of mine.
I popped my jaw. “What are you doing here, Emma? Don’t you have a home?”
She shot me a dirty look. “Lexi was worried, so Travis and I got conned into a search party. Looks like my tracking skills are better.”
Rolling over, the softness of the grass absorbed my weight. “Your timing sucks.”
Emma grinned. “I know.”
Sitting up, Angel inhaled, a blank expression crossing her face.
My heart sunk. Terror burned in my chest like a fistful of acid. “Angel?” I called.
She didn’t respond, her skin paling.
No. No. No.
Emma’s body stiffened, her shoulders squaring. “I thought you said she was better,” she murmured.
“She is.” So I kept telling myself.
“Really? Then what’s wrong with her?” Emma asked with a tremor.
“Nothing,” I demanded. “She needs time to heal. You better than anyone should know what
it’s like being held against your will.” The fear radiating inside me made me snappy, but Emma’s feelings weren’t my first priority.
Emma took a step backward. “I get it. She’s fragile.”
Angel got to her feet, that glassy, faraway look still in her eyes. “I’m not fragile!” she shouted.
Just as I leapt up, her arm swung out, fingers extended. I thought she was going to bitch slap Emma across the mouth, but to my great surprise, a ball of fire shot from her fingertips.
What the…?
For a moment, I was mesmerized as I watched the flickering flame move through the air. Suspended in time, I waited for someone to yell code red, because this couldn’t possibly be real.
Emma ducked, and she barely missed being incinerated. Unfortunately the tree behind her wasn’t so lucky. “Umm, Chase. That was not normal.”
Okay. Fine. She wasn’t a fragile human. Point taken. Angel’s spirit had never been weak. She had always been brave, sharp, and reckless. And now her fingers spit embers of havoc. I’d known there would be consequences due to the transformations Angel’s body and soul had undergone. I just never imagined this.
Before she could set off another round of fireballs, I flashed in front of her. Sparks of gold twinkled in her violet irises as I stared at her face. “You don’t want to do this, Angel Eyes.”
The shock of what she had done must have brought her to her senses. Her hands shook as she intently studied her fingers. “What did I just do?” Her voice quivered and the cloudiness cleared from her eyes.
“It’s okay,” I assured tenderly, reaching for her.
In an instant, horror transpired in her face. Horror and fear. “No,” she shouted, backing away from me. “No. It’s not.” She widened the distance between us. “St-stay away from me. You have to stay away.”
I moved toward her, determined. “Angel,” I said, latching onto her arm.
With a quick jerk, she wiggled out of my grasp. “Don’t touch me!” she hissed. “Just let me go. Please.”
My hands fell to my sides.
All I could do was stare as she took off, running toward the tree line at the back of the house. Let her go? No…Yes…No! It took a great amount of willpower to not go after her. Every cell in my body woke up when I lost sight of her, stretching to reach out to her, desperate to make things better for her.
Except I didn’t know how. Nothing I could say or do would make it better. I had barely processed what I witnessed.
“What did I miss?” Lexi asked, suddenly appearing at my side. Her aqua eyes narrowed. “Where’s Angel going?”
Emma came to stand beside her, the three of us all staring at the spot where Angel had disappeared into the woods. “You missed me nearly pissing my pants,” Emma said.
Lexi’s gaze slid sideways. “I would have paid to see that.”
“I need to find her,” I declared. She might not want me to follow her, but it was too risky allowing her to go off on her own, especially in the woods.
Lexi placed a hand on my arm before I had the chance to speed off. “Let me. You look like you could use a few minutes to calm down.”
She was right. I tangled my fingers in my hair, pushing out a breath, and nodded. This whole day seemed surreal, from Angel harassing me to teach her to fight to her fingers spitting fire. I let Lexi go. In the meantime, there was something I needed to take care of as well. And I was dreading it.
Chapter 18
{Chase}
As reluctant as I was to leave, it was more important than ever that I had this little sit-down. Yet, it didn’t stop a seed of guilt from sprouting in my gut. Angel wasn’t the only one keeping secrets. I wanted to tell her where I was going and why, but divulging any information at this point would only suck her in deeper, the very last thing I wanted to do. The whole point was to get her as far removed from Hell as possible.
And where I was going was as close as walking through the gates of Hell.
The door jingled over my head as I strolled into the Village Diner. A quick scan of the nearly empty restaurant and she was easy to pick out.
She had a type.
Slut.
I slide into the corner booth across from Kira in her new human form. This one was no less beautiful and probably left most men drooling in her wake. I only drooled over one girl.
“Well, isn’t this quaint?” she said, her dark crimson eyes roaming over the homey café. “Can a girl at least get a decent martini?”
“Hardly. Try the coffee.” Under the table, I carefully extracted my blade, lying it in my lap. “You look like you could use a cup.”
She pouted, and it was an expression I’d seen countless times on Lexi. I flexed my fists on top of the table, hating that this demon had any part in my cousins’ existence. “That was a dirty trick you pulled on me.”
Having Kira so close to home, so close to Lexi and Travis, made my muscles tighten. I stretched out a hand on the table. “Really? I thought it was one of my finer moments.”
She twirled her fork between her fingers. “It’s reckless to anger a demon, especially one as old as I am.” The spears of the fork came down on the table right in between my index and middle fingers. The wood splintered under impact.
I sat back in my seat, my free hand resting over the back of the booth. “I’m not impressed. Seriously? The almost stabbing me with a fork is all you’ve got? I know all about enraging demons. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
“But I bet this is the first time you’ve ever found yourself indebted to one.”
I saw fury. “You got me there. Unless you count the time I bargained with death.” I scratched at the stubble sprouting on my chin.” You know, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not entirely sure what I traded in that deal. My soul? Pretty damn sure I lost that a long time ago.”
“Souls are overrated, unless you’re dead.” Repositioning herself on the worn-out leather seat, Kira ran a hand down her long champagne colored hair, smoothing it into place. “I assume you took my advice and it was successful?”
I hesitated, not comfortable with divulging information I considered none of her business, but it wasn’t like I could hide Angel away. Angel would definitely not go for that. “I did what I needed to.”
“So Chase Winters, why did you summon me then? Or did you just want to hang out with your aunt Kira and have a heart-to-heart?”
“You demented witch.” Ripping the fork from the table, I sent it flying across the booth. I had damn good aim. If I had wanted to hit her heart, I wouldn’t have missed. My intent had not been to wound her, but to send a warning.
She gave a throaty laugh. “Come on now.” She yanked, pulling the fork out of the meaty flesh of her shoulder. “You know there is no such thing as witches. I’m a demon, honey. Not a witch. God’s honest truth.”
Hilarious. I fought not to be amused. “Oh, I can think of many things to call you, and not a single one of them will ever be family.”
“Whether you like it or not, I’m not going anywhere.”
I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth. “Maybe not, but Alastair is.”
“A vacation perhaps?”
“I was thinking of something a little bit more permanent.”
She arched a brow. “What did you have in mind?”
“That’s why I called you,” I replied.
There was no denying the intrigue in her gaze. “You already know I don’t give away that kind of information for free.”
I wasn’t sure she had any information to give, and the idea of owing this particular demon another “favor” made me want to lash out. My frown deepened. “Can it be done?”
“There has always been talk. War? Grace? Final death? You name it. There’s been some kind of whisper surrounding what demons desire and fear most. Of course most of it is utter crap.”
That wasn’t deflating. “You aren’t making this deal very tempting.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t have information that might b
e of value. With age comes wisdom, and I am very, very old.”
“It shows.”
“And you claim I’m the wicked one. Does your precious Angel know where you are?” she sneered.
Anger bubbled up inside me. There was an underlying threat in her tone, and it made me go King Kong protective. “Don’t say her name.”
“You’re more fun when you’re angry.” She looked at me through lower lashes as she took a sip of her watered-down drink. “I didn’t want her to get bored while we had all the fun, so I sent her a gift. I hope she isn’t afraid of dogs.”
Vision blurring in a haze of murderous red, I slammed my fist onto the table, knocking a glass on the floor. I wanted to litter the restaurant with her body parts with no concern for who witnessed.
“You should calm down. We wouldn’t want to make a scene,” she mocked.
Calm? Calm! I. Utterly. Exploded.
Launching myself at the demon, I grabbed ahold of her neck, forcing her to look at me. “If a single hair is harmed on her head, I’ll end you,” I seethed, venom dripping from my threat. And I meant every word.
I loved to make scenes.
With or without Kira’s help, I would find a way to destroy the soul of a demon, and Kira had just been bumped up to number two on my dead list.
{Angel}
I wasn’t sure how far I expected to get, but after a minute of running, I realized he wasn’t going to come after me, and I wasn’t sure if I was feeling relief or trepidation.
Get it together, Morgan.
My limbs trembled as I walked aimlessly, no real destination, as long as no one was near me. I stared at my hands, seeing smudges of black soot on my nails. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head.
Holy flamethrower.
Fire? Fire! It literally erupted from my fingers. There was still a warm prickle vibrating just under the skin.
I felt dizzy thinking about it. What was wrong with me? What had I been thinking, fighting with Chase, getting him to give me a few lessons how not to get killed? Bad idea all around. I’d barely begun to deal with the lingering darkness.