by Kristie Cook
“Looks like you could use this,” Kaylee said from beside me. I hadn’t seen her come up, but she held out the red plastic cup filled with more hunch punch. I took it gratefully and swallowed what tasted like nectar of the gods. Or maybe of Elizabeth’s goddesses. I knew I’d eventually regret it, but for now, I had no respect for what tomorrow would bring. At the moment, this was where I belonged. In this moment. Living life right now because who knew what tomorrow or the next day would bring.
By the time Leni and Jeric showed up later in the afternoon with their friends Brock and Asia, I had a pleasant buzz going. I’d been a little worried some people might be rude to them, but not because they were outsiders. More than one person had brought a new significant other I’d never met before—lovers they’d met at college or while traveling—and they fit in just fine. In fact, you couldn’t help but accept them because they were such perfect fits for our friends. They seemed to have the kind of love I wanted so badly.
Being outsiders was only a small part of my concern. There was Jeric with his pierced eyebrow and sleeves of tats and Asia with her silvery-purple hair, heavily lined eyes, and combat boots with her black miniskirt. I’d been given enough flak when I’d pierced my nose and added more ink than any girl in town had, but I still “belonged.” My concerns were unwarranted, though. Apparently, word had gotten around that Leni loved cowboy boots as much as any of us and could ride the mechanical bull better than any guy here, and Jeric … well, he was a former UFC fighter. Enough said in a circle of rednecks. Especially when he’d just helped one of our own win his first semi-pro fight.
Like the newly paired lovebirds, they had no troubles fitting in.
Brock and Asia were a little more reserved, though, and tended to stay on the fringes of the group, their gazes constantly sweeping over us, as if they were looking for something. Or watching over us. I somehow felt that comforting when I probably should have found it weird. Maybe because I’d had plenty to drink.
Late afternoon turned into dusk and as darkness fell, some people called it a day and left, but most of us stayed for the bonfire, a traditional part of a K-bomb. The fire blazed, the smell of hunch punch and a country night and burning oak filled my head, and the music wrapped around me.
“Come on, girl,” Leni said after her second cup of punch, “let’s dance.”
She jumped up on Ty’s tailgate and reached down and grabbed my hand. A strange shock traveled through me, kind of like when Mason had first touched me, but different. I looked up at her, confused, but my vision swirled. Eyes. So many different eyes sliding in and out of focus before me. Gray, blue, brown. Light green. Hazel. Back to green. A different green, though, like pictures I’d seen of southern seas. Leni’s eyes. Her entire face came back into focus, and I blinked away the blurriness. Damn. How much had I had to drink? She pulled up on my hand and I jumped, joining her in the bed. I immediately forgot about the odd visions and let the music take command of my body.
The headlights on the truck across the way turned on, spotlighting us as we danced, and many catcalls and wolf-whistles rang through the air. Leni was a much better dancer than me, but I could almost keep up. After the second song ended, Jeric retrieved her, and Ty climbed up and danced with me. I’d forgotten what a good dancer he was.
The more the alcohol flowed, the rowdier the party became, but it was all in good fun.
At least until I went into the trees to pee and felt like someone was watching me. As I pulled my shorts back up and turned to look behind me, eyes stared back. They didn’t look quite human, though.
“Hey!” I said, trying to scare off whatever kind of animal it was, although my heart beat so loud, my fear could probably be heard. What sounded like a million pairs of little wings flapped against the branches before some kind of flock of black birds rose into the night sky. I couldn’t help the scream.
“You okay?” Ty yelled as he ran for me while I stumbled out of the trees. He swept me into his arms and held me tightly as he peered into the darkness.
“Yeah. Just some birds,” I panted against him, my heart still racing.
He released one arm from me, but kept the other firmly around my waist as we slowly walked back for the party.
“Damn. Talk about a buzz kill.”
Ty chuckled, and I giggled. Well, maybe my buzz wasn’t completely gone.
“It’s good to see you havin’ so much fun,” he said.
I slid my arm around his waist and gave him a squeeze. “Thanks for it all.”
He pulled me closer, and our steps slowed. “Are you ready to tell me how right I am?”
“About what?”
“About you belonging here.”
I stopped walking, and he did, too. We turned toward each other, and he stared at me expectantly, the distant firelight shining in his eyes. Laughter and music carried over the air, but right here around us was completely silent except for the sound of my heartbeat rushing in my ears. The night had grown a little cooler and goose bumps rose on my arms. Or did the chill come from the look in Ty’s hazel eyes that had gone from expectancy to desire? No, wait. I’d seen desire in many a man’s eyes, and this was different. More emotional. And what I saw in Ty’s eyes was what I’d wanted so badly for as long as I could remember. Or, at least, for as long as I could remember since discovering boys weren’t so icky after all. The moment Ty had shown me that years ago. And here he was, showing me even more, and with just a simple look of adoration. Of love.
I pushed up onto my toes, placed my hands on each side of his face, softly because I didn’t want to hurt him, and answered him so only the two of us could hear. “You were right, Ty. This is where I belong. Right here. With you.”
His eyes searched my face for a long moment before his face broke into that huge grin that made my knees weak. Who was I to deny it? Ty Daniels had had my heart for as long as I could remember.
He scooped me into his arms and ran as he carried me to his truck. Quietly, trying not to alert anyone else that we were there, he opened the door and placed me inside. I scooted backwards on the seat until I hit the passenger door as he climbed in over me, pulling the door shut behind him. One of his legs was on the truck floor, the other between me and the seat back. He braced himself with his hands on each side of me, holding himself above me as he waited for confirmation.
“Are you gonna kiss me or what?” I asked, and I didn’t have to say it twice.
His mouth crashed down on mine, retaking what was once his, and I was instantly reminded of how much I loved kissing him. Our lips moved like long-lost lovers, slowly but passionately, immediately recalling the exact way the other liked to be stroked and nipped. Memories of kissing him in this very truck, out here in this field or under the big oak on the other side of the lake or even in the school parking lot, flooded through me, bringing tears. My only memories of true happiness were when I was with Ty. My only memories of feeling safe were when I was in his arms. And I felt it all now—happiness, security, and dare I say it, love.
I parted my lips and let his tongue claim me. He lowered himself gently against me, and the full weight of his body pressed against mine as the kiss deepened. I pushed his hat off and ran my hands over his short hair, then down his neck and to his muscular back, feeling the tightness of his shoulders under my fingertips.
“Fuck, Bethany, I’ve missed you so bad,” he murmured against my lips as we both took a breath before I pulled the tank over his head and we dove in again.
He kissed me until my whole body burned and ached for his touch. One of his arms held him up slightly, his hand cradling my head. The other hand hadn’t moved from my waist, his fingers digging into my hips as his thumb moved up along my skin to just under my halter, then down, to just below my waistband, making my belly quiver. I shifted underneath him, and without breaking contact because I couldn’t stand the thought of missi
ng out on one more second of kissing him, I unbuttoned my halter and opened it enough to feel his skin against mine but not enough for anyone who tried to peek through the window to see anything. Ty pulled back and studied me.
“Are you sure, boo? About this?” he asked, his voice husky and heavy with the same need that pulsed through my veins, throughout my body.
No, I wasn’t sure. Not deep down inside. But every part of me ached for him so badly that I knew the only way to find out if I was sure was to do it.
“I need you, Ty,” I said breathlessly. “I need to feel you to know.”
I didn’t know if he understood because he hesitated for another moment until I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist and pulled him down so he crashed onto me. The weight of him, his hardness between us, pressed against the center seam of my jean shorts, rubbing the sweet spot that made me whimper. He apparently liked that because he smiled as he moved his hips, grinding against me again. I moaned louder. He did it once more, making my back arch, but then he held still, except to lean down and kiss me crazy. When he seemed too busy with my mouth and then my neck to do it again, I lifted my hips and stroked against him. Now he moaned. We rocked against each other several times, until he lifted himself again to look at me, as if to ask to go further.
I was about to beg for more, when more eyes slid across my vision. Not like in the woods when I peed, but when Leni had touched me. Beautiful eyes of different colors sliding in and out of focus. They once again settled on green, but not Leni’s green, and not Ty’s hazel that was more brown than green.
Mason.
The light color had to be his. The sick feeling of guilt pitted in my stomach.
But before I could focus on any other thought, someone pounded on the window.
“Ty, you and Bex need to get out of here.” Was that Jeric’s voice? Why did he sound so … panicked?
For the first time, I noticed the commotion outside.
“Get out of here!” a male’s voice yelled. Not Jeric’s this time. Was it Brock’s?
“Hurry!” Jeric yelled from right outside the truck again.
Ty and I shared a look, and then I quickly buttoned up my halter as he pushed himself off of me. We couldn’t see anything through the steamed-up windows, but the sounds coming from outside made little sense. And also raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Screeching and snapping and the cracking of things breaking.
Ty finally threw the door open. “What the hell?”
I tried to look out but only saw streaks of dark shapes flying by.
“Get Bex home,” Jeric yelled. “We got this, Ty, but you two need to get out of here.”
“I ain’t—” Ty was shoved back into the pickup.
“GO!” Brock yelled. “She’s not safe here.”
Ty’s head snapped toward me, his eyes wide. I scurried over to the passenger side, about to open the door to see for myself, but he already had the engine turned over and was slamming the truck into gear. With one hand on the wheel, he grabbed his shirt with the other and wiped the windshield enough for him to see. It was already starting to clear, though, and I could see blurred shapes of trucks driving away, leaving only Jeric, Leni, Brock, and Asia, who fought some people in black pants and black hoodies. Like those guys who were always hanging out in the truck stop parking lot after Sullivan’s had closed.
“We can’t leave them to fight those guys!” I said.
“It’s their fight,” Ty said, “and you heard them. It’s not safe for you.”
“Like it’s safe for them?”
He glanced in his rearview mirror, and I looked over my shoulder. The window had cleared enough to see the field now far behind us.
“Jeric and Brock are fighters,” Ty said, “and those two girls are holding their own, too.”
“Who are they?” I asked, but I didn’t really expect an answer. Watching them now, they barely seemed human the way they moved. And I meant the people we knew as much as those we didn’t.
A dark shape streaked toward us. A heavy blackness slammed through me. A Darkness like I’d never felt before. As the figure crashed into the back window and exploded into nothing but a mist, the word “demon” came to mind right before I blacked out.
Chapter 14
“Leni, get Bex and Ty! They’re in the truck,” Asia yelled at me before swinging her fist at a Shadowman’s throat.
Jeric and Brock were closer to Ty’s black truck than I was, though, and Jeric banged on the window. I sprinted after the Shadowman about to attack him. My shoulder plowed into the Lakari’s side, and we rolled head over feet for about ten yards. I jumped up at the same time he did, and he lunged at me. I grabbed his forearm with both hands, gripped tightly, and swung him over my head, twisting my body around with the momentum. He grunted on impact when his back slammed into the ground, but didn’t burst into pieces or smoke. His hands clawed at mine, his long, sharp fingernails that belonged on a beast, not a human, digging into my skin. I kicked him in the head. His grip loosened. I stomped on his chest. He disintegrated.
Ty’s truck threw two fountains of mud and grass up as he took off out of the field. I watched the taillights for a moment, glad to see they escaped, hoping they weren’t followed. They were the last to leave besides us Guardians.
“Leni!” Jeric yelled.
I spun toward him, but it was too late. A Shadowman’s fist drove into my temple. Stars shot across my eyes. My vision went sideways as I stumbled and almost fell. I caught his next swing, my hand blocking the blow, but he lifted his knee at the same time, and it nailed me in the ribs. The air flew out of me. I didn’t have time to pause, though. Another fist headed for my face. I blocked it with my forearm and swung around to kick him in the kidneys—or whatever they had in their lower backs. It was a tender spot, I knew from past experience. The impact pushed him off-balance. He stumbled, tripped, slowly went down to his knees. I thrust the heel of my hand upwards into his nose. He exploded into dust that sprayed all over me before swirling together and rising to the sky.
There were still six more Shadowmen on the ground, and a cloud of Darkness churning overhead. My body lurched forward as I tried to run to help fight, but I couldn’t catch my breath. A sharp pain tore through my side every time I inhaled, like a stitch but much worse. I pressed a hand to the place right below my left boob—damn, did it hurt. I took a few more steps as the others still fought, but my vision wavered in and out of focus. If I could only breathe …
“Jeric, you guys project,” Brock yelled. “We’ll cover you!”
Jeric ran for me, his eyes filled with horror, his arms reaching out for me. He caught me just as my knees buckled. We both went to the ground.
“Come on, babe, let’s do this the fun way,” he said, and we both projected from our bodies.
The light from our souls lit up the field like a spotlight. We soared for the Shadowmen on the ground, making Brock and Asia’s job of protecting our bodies easier. Our Light burst holes through them, and their pieces scattered before rising to the others. Once the ones in human form were gone, we flew upwards toward the Dark cloud. We split into two tines, encircling the cloud until we met on the other side, then squeezed inward like a noose. The Dark souls screamed like sirens as we demolished them.
Once they were gone, Jeric’s soul filled every nook and cranny of mine, the feeling better than any pain meds human doctors could prescribe.
“You’re hurt, aren’t you?” His words swirled through us.
“I’ll be okay. Just give me a little more time like this.”
While Jeric’s soul removed the pain, the Bonding would help me heal faster than normal. We watched Brock and Asia carry our bodies to their Camaro. They must have known I was hurt, too, and knew what I needed. They placed me in the back and Asia crawled in with me, then Brock put
Jeric in the front passenger seat. They drove us through town and toward the RV park. Jeric and I stayed in our soul forms, letting our bodies tug us along. As we floated through the night, we remained alert for any Lakari. None were nearby, but if they were really interested in someone in Lake Haven, more would be back very soon. We dropped into our bodies right before Brock parked next to my truck so they wouldn’t have to carry us again.
“Ow,” I gasped as soon as I tried to suck in a deep breath. The pain in my side was no longer like a pick lodged into my ribs as it had been before, but I had a feeling I had more than bad bruises. “I think my rib’s broken.”
“Let’s get you inside, and you two can spend the rest of the night Bonding,” Asia said. “You’ll feel tons better in the morning, I promise.”
Jeric helped me out of the car and wrapped his arm around me, trying to take most of my weight.
“That hurts more,” I said, pushing away from him. “I can walk.”
He didn’t leave my side, though, his arm out, ready to catch me if I fell.
“Come in, guys,” I said to Brock and Asia while Jeric unlocked the camper. “We need to talk.”
“We can talk about it in the morning,” Asia said. “You need to rest.”
“I won’t be able to until I know what the hell happened.” I stepped inside and fell to the futon. The jolt made me gasp again.
Jeric moved some pillows around to prop me up better, and then sat down next to me. Asia sat on the other side of the little dining table so she could see us, and Brock was barely inside, leaning against the cabinet that held the microwave and refrigerator, his arms crossed over his broad chest. The four of us in here at once made my little camper feel like a tin of anchovies.