Dark Kiss

by Michelle Rowen

  “Bishop, no,” I whispered.

  If he found a gray to remove the rest of his soul, he might have a chance to go back to Heaven if that was all that kept a fallen angel anchored in the human world. In Heaven, he’d have his mind fully restored and he’d be able to investigate a way to restore my soul—which he’d promised me he’d do.

  However, losing his soul could also kill him outright. And then the Hollow would open up and swallow him whole.

  Natalie had returned from the Hollow, but she admitted she was an anomaly—in more ways than just her demonic hunger. There was no guarantee that Bishop could do the same. And Natalie hadn’t been killed first: she’d been shoved into the vortex still alive.

  The thought of Bishop dying was a deep pain that spread out from the center of my chest. I heard a strange, mournful sound and realized that I was sobbing at the thought of losing him. Last night was close enough.

  Kraven had suggested he find Carly to kiss.

  My hands were shaking when I dialed Carly’s house, hoping she hadn’t left for Crave yet. Even though my cell phone didn’t work, thankfully the landline still did.

  After the fifth ring, her mother answered to break the news to me that Carly wasn’t at home. She’d gone out, and I knew where.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Mrs. Kessler said. “She’s acting so strangely this week.”

  My stomach sank. “Really? Like how?”

  “She seems…different. And there’s something in her eyes—something vacant, like her mind’s a million miles away. Is she dating someone new who might have caused this? She won’t tell me anything.”

  I exhaled shakily. “I—I really don’t know what’s changed.”

  “But do you see it, too?”

  I clutched the phone tight enough to hurt my hand. “Yeah, but I’m sure it’s temporary.”

  I hated to lie. This wasn’t temporary, but I hadn’t accepted that it was permanent. I’d do anything I could to help her and make sure this didn’t get any worse.

  “I don’t know, Samantha. The look she gave me tonight when I tried to stop her from going out—well, it’s been every single night this week!—it chilled me. She won’t even tell me where she’s going or with whom. I’d hoped it was with you.”

  The kitchen counter cut into my back as I leaned my full weight against it and I just tried to breathe. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. Teenagers, well, they can change in an instant sometimes. I know that. But this…” Her voice quavered. “I hate to think my Carly’s changed forever.”

  My heart broke. “Me, too.”

  I ended the call, feeling sick inside, but at least I knew where Carly was. Crave. With Natalie. With Stephen. And with a wide selection of tantalizing teens to trigger her hunger and slipping control.

  I headed out of my house at a fast clip. I had to get to Bishop before he reached Carly—if, in fact, that was his plan. I didn’t know where else he’d go. I couldn’t lose him like this—not when he wasn’t thinking right. Not ever. I couldn’t let him kiss Carly.

  My heart also twisted for another reason entirely—jealousy. It was irrational, I knew that. This wasn’t a romantic kiss. He would be doing it because he didn’t think he had another choice.

  Bishop belongs to me.

  It was a fierce and scary thought that overcame me for a moment, stopping me in my tracks on the sidewalk.

  I’d known him less than a week.

  But that didn’t change a damn thing. He’d quickly worked his way into my heart. He was my heart.

  Maybe he was my soul, too.

  The romance-soaked thought didn’t make me roll my eyes like it might have in the past. Instead, it scared me. It was the truth—plain, bleak and heart wrenching. I’d fallen for him so hard that I’d been left shaken and bruised.

  I would save him. Even from himself.

  And if Carly even thought about kissing him, I was going to punch her in the face.

  “Beautiful star.” A voice sank through my cloudy thoughts. “She’s come out tonight to battle the world. To save us all from the darkness.”

  The homeless fallen angel stared up at me from his seat on the ground, legs splayed across the sidewalk. Dirty, ripped blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt that had seen better days completed the look. It was disconcerting how much seeing him tonight reminded me of when I’d first found Bishop. It worked just like a hand reaching in my chest and squeezing.

  “You’ve picked a different spot tonight,” I said. I was halfway to Crave.

  “I move,” he replied. “I have legs. They help.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure they do.” I frowned down at him and studied his face as if trying to find clues there to help him—help Bishop, too. “What’s your name?”

  He sighed. “I had a name a long time ago.”

  “What was it?”

  “Seth,” he said after a moment as if he had to concentrate very hard to remember it. “Rhymes with breath. Rhymes with death. Two sides of the coin, breath and death. Lose one, gain the other—a gift or a curse, but I guess that’s up to you. Or them. Or him. Or anybody.”

  I wanted to know more about him, but I didn’t have time for this right now. I had to hurry or I wouldn’t be able to stop Bishop from finding Carly. “I have to go.”

  “Your lost love walks the dark night without watching where he’s going. Another pair of lips he seeks, but he wishes they were yours.”

  A breath caught in my chest. “You know about Bishop? You can see what he plans to do?”

  Seth pressed his fingers to his temples. “I see things. Jumbled, together and apart, can’t sort through them all. Past, present, future. Don’t know what’s real and what’s false. What’s good and what’s evil. Here, black and white become gray. And the mouth is open, always hungry, feeding on everything.” He reached forward to clutch my hand, and electricity sparked up my arm. “He doesn’t want you to stop him. He’s chosen this dark path so he can end this.”

  A chill went down my spine, making the night even colder than before. “I need to stop him even if he doesn’t want me to.”

  This close to the fallen angel, I could sense his soul—now that I knew he would have one. It triggered my hunger. But there was no way I’d be tempted to kiss him, and it wasn’t just because he was dirty and old. I mean, gross.

  “The dark mouth is already open and waiting,” he said. “Just a crack, but it leaks its poison slowly, slowly. It’s changed. It’s grown. It hates as much as it loves. It’s how she returned.”

  The Hollow. It wasn’t one-way. It wasn’t endless. How did Seth know?

  I’d have to tell Bishop and the others. When I fixed this mess tonight—and I refused to think that I’d fail—I’d tell them to find Seth. Despite talking crazy, he had information that could help them.

  I had to get to Bishop. If he didn’t want me to stop him? That was too damn bad, because I was going to do it anyway.

  When I turned the next corner, something was blocking my path. Something with broad shoulders, blond hair and a sour expression.

  Kraven.

  Chapter 21

  Clouds had rolled in overhead, blocking the stars and moon. More rain was scheduled for tonight. I felt a mist start to come down, not enough to drench me, but enough that the cold sank into my skin.

  Now that Bishop had abandoned his position as leader to go off on his personal mission, his word wasn’t enough to protect me anymore if Kraven decided to start treating me like any other gray, especially now that he was in possession of that sharp dagger.

  Or maybe I was being paranoid.

  “Get out of my way,” I said as strongly as I could.

  “What? No greetings for a good friend?”

  “If I saw one, then maybe.”

  “Are you taking a stroll over to our new digs to see your boyfriend again? You need to stay away from him.”

  I hissed out a breath, but decided to change my approach. Kraven had tried to st
op Bishop earlier. Maybe, just maybe, he could help me. “I know what he’s planning to do. I want to stop him.”

  He frowned. “How do you know anything? Have you been reading my mind again?”

  There was no way he could guess how I’d know something like this. I didn’t want him to know. Bishop had warned me not to tell the others about the origins of my abilities, and this might tip him off. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not all that interested in your thoughts.”

  “Bishop’s gone AWOL. But don’t worry…I’m extending your grace period for the time being. Who knows? We might need your mojo again before all this is over.”

  “I need to find him.”

  He raised an eyebrow but didn’t budge one inch from his place in front of me. “Wow, you’re all determined. Is my angelic brother really that good a kisser? Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

  Did he honestly think that was all this was? God, he was so frustrating to be around. “Kraven, just do me a favor and step—”

  Snap!

  Bishop entered the front doors of Crave. He scanned the dark interior, his gaze moving across the sweaty faces of kids already on the dance floor, a sparkle of colored lights hitting them. Compared with other weeknights, Fridays were the busiest by far. There had to be a couple hundred teens already here. The deejay played a remix of Britney Spears’s old song “Toxic” with a bass-heavy throb.

  I couldn’t read his thoughts, but I knew he was looking for her. Looking for Carly—

  Snap!

  Back on the sidewalk, I stared at Kraven who regarded me with confusion.

  “Where did you just go?” he asked.

  “Nowhere.”

  His frown deepened. “You were here, but your mind wasn’t. Do you have more tricks up your sleeve that I don’t know about, sweetness?”

  Panic filled me. I had to get to Crave now. “I need to stop him.”

  The demon took a few steps closer to me, and his hard expression finally softened a fraction. “I know you think I’m the bad guy here, but I’m not.”

  Great, now was the time he picked to get chatty. “You’re a demon. That’s bad.”

  “Depends who I’m dealing with, really.” He blew out a breath, his attention staying fixed on me. “You really want to stop him, but getting kissed again is what he wants.”

  “He doesn’t know what he wants. He’s crazy, remember?”

  “He made his choice. You barging in is only going to complicate matters.”

  “Tough. Because I’m going to barge. Now get the hell out of my way.”

  He still didn’t move. Why would he? I wanted to stop Bishop from destroying himself. If I succeeded, Kraven wouldn’t get to be the leader and tell the others what to do.

  It was night, so I assumed the others were patrolling the city right now. I hoped so, anyway. After seeing that zombie gray last night, I knew this city needed some serious protection.

  “He doesn’t deserve your devotion,” Kraven said evenly.

  “Why? Because he used to be a ‘bad guy’ when he was human?” I watched for something in Kraven’s eyes and succeeded in getting a spark of interest from the demon.

  “Told you that, did he? Got to say, I’m shocked.”

  This was only more confirmation, and it made my stomach churn. “What did he do? What did you do? Why are you a demon and he’s an angel?”

  His lips stretched into a sinister smile. “Because he was willing to do what I never would.”

  I could barely breathe. “And what’s that?”

  His grin only grew wider. “It’s a secret, sweetness. And I’d never betray my little brother’s trust.”

  My cheeks burned with frustration. “Please move.”

  “Or what? You’ll zap me?”

  “Maybe.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You know, I still haven’t figured out your secrets. You’re a complete enigma to me.”

  “What do I have to do to get you to get out of my way?”

  He cocked his head and glanced toward the street as another car drove past. I was so close to Crave, only two more blocks to go. His gaze tracked back to me. “Angels can heal while they’re here in the human world. They can also influence minds—get humans to change their behavior in subtle ways or think differently on a subject.”

  “Why are you telling me this? I don’t care.” Still, my ears perked up.

  “Sure you do. You’re fascinated by anything to do with my little brother.” He moved even closer to me. “Demons, we’re different, of course. We can throw a bit of fire around if we’re so inclined, but it’s a major energy drain here. We can’t mess with minds, though, apart from shielding small areas from a human’s senses. Too bad, mind-messing might make this easier.”

  Kraven reached forward to brush my hair back over my shoulder and then slid his warm fingers down the side of my neck.

  I swatted his hand away. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  His eyes moved to mine again and his grin widened a little. “Maybe you don’t hate me as much as I thought you did. A slap’s not the same as a zap.”

  “You have about three seconds before I do just that.”

  “Uh-huh. Anyway, like I was saying, demons can’t influence minds. If I could, then I would stop you from chasing after him. So I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way. I learned this little trick back when I was still human. It’s very helpful sometimes.”

  He reached for my neck again and pressed hard. Before I could do anything to stop him, the world faded to black all around me.

  * * *

  I woke in an alley, staring up at the dark night sky. A raindrop splashed directly into my eye and I scrambled to get up off the damp ground, blinking hard and rubbing my face.

  “Huh,” Kraven said. He leaned against the brick wall next to a Dumpster. “You weren’t out nearly as long as I thought you’d be.”

  “How long?” my voice creaked out.

  “A couple minutes.”

  I staggered a little, feeling dizzy but mad enough to spit. Panic swept through me. “Why did you do that to me? Do you want to be the leader so bad that you have to knock me out to stop me from going after him?”

  He shrugged. “It’s better if he’s gone.”

  “How can you say that? He’s your brother. Don’t you care what happens to him?”

  He cocked his head. “Sweetness, you really don’t know a thing about us if you’re asking me that question.”

  Heartless bastard. I glared at him as I touched my throat. He’d cut off the blood to my brain to make me pass out like he was some pointy-eared character from Star Trek. Why had I let him get close enough to touch me? It wasn’t as if I even liked the jerk. He repulsed me.

  “I guess you think you’re protecting the mission by trying to stop me right now,” I said with disgust. “Got to complete it successfully if you want to stay here in Trinity and seek your redemption. That’s what you told Bishop, right?”

  “How did you—?” Surprise shot through his amber eyes before they narrowed. “Wait a minute…this is different from you reading my mind. You’re listening in on private conversations.”

  “Maybe I can do things you don’t even know about.”

  A cold smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “Tricky, gray girl. Very tricky. I think I’m finally getting it. Somehow, someway, you’re able to get in Bishop’s skull now and listen in. Is that it?” He must have seen me pale a little. I didn’t like how good he was at playing the guessing game with me. “Interesting. Can’t imagine that would be much fun, though. A demon would show you a way better time than an angel.”

  “You offering?” I asked sharply.

  He snorted. “Sorry, not tonight.”

  I gave him a withering look. “You are so incredibly—”

  Snap!

  Bishop had finally spotted Carly hidden away in a corner booth. My heart sank to see that she was kissing someone else—a guy I didn’t even recognize this time. Oh, God, what wa
s she doing? Couldn’t she stop herself anymore?

  Bishop approached her table and stood there until she saw him out of the corner of her eye. She disengaged from the boy, who then slumped back in the booth, his eyes glazed. Those strange, scary lines branched around his mouth for a second before they started to fade. She turned her black, predatory gaze on Bishop.

  Seeing her like this again chilled me to my core. Especially now that she was looking at Bishop.