by Wendy Knight
We sat silently, watching while they sludged slowly to the surface. My army paced the sand below, some of them randomly swinging weapons. This was new. We'd never seen the asuwangs have so much trouble before. As the sky lightened, most of my army was practice fighting with each other, which amused me. I'd have to mention this to Death.
Elizabeth looked to the east, where the sun's first rays were penetrating the darkness. "We should go down there. I see their claws in the sand."
I nodded and jumped off the wall, landing in a crouch, my swords already in my hands. It was odd not sprinting across the beach to throw myself into battle. "I feel that they are testing us. Again." Elizabeth swung her swords nervously while we stood shoulder to shoulder, watching them come. The first wave of demons escaped the water and crawled toward us, but even then they didn't seem to be in a hurry—usually when they attacked, they moved slowly at first but faster and faster until their speed is almost blinding.
Luckily, my army and I are even faster still.
But this time, they just moseyed on up to us, almost falling on our swords. I swirled my blades through the hair, slicing the thick necks of two at once. Elizabeth shot into the horde of demons, her swords catching the moonlight and humming viciously. The ghosts were barely a mist they moved so quickly, falling on the demons and devouring them. Jesse and another ghost—he had a name and I couldn't remember it—were tugging dead bodies out of the way as fast as they could and still my army was leaving piles of dead asuwangs beneath them. I paused, panting, to brush black blood off my cheek, and realized that the second wave of demons was retreating.
"We scared them off!" one ghost squealed. I frowned, glanced at the sun—which wasn't even entirely up yet—and back to the water. I couldn't see them anymore. They'd retreated much faster than they'd come.
"They're definitely testing us. But for what?" I murmured as Elizabeth wafted to my side. Since they were ghosts, they never got icky black acidic blood on them. She was as clean as she had been before.
"I will ponder it while I am haunting today." Elizabeth smiled grimly as we clambered up the huge rock wall. By we, I of course mean me, and she politely floated next to me. The rest of my army were slowly sinking through the sand and back to their cages. If I didn't hurry, I'd have to walk all the way home instead of running.
"What do you do all day, anyway?" I asked as I jumped over the other side and landed in the sand.
"I wander. I visit relatives. I learn." She shrugged delicately. "Pretty much the same thing you do."
I opened my mouth to object, but I had no words. I did wander. And visit relatives. And learn. She laughed quietly, one ghostly finger brushing across my open jaw like she was trying to push my mouth closed. "Go home, Navi. We will fight another day."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Alec
"Dude…" Bryson stumbled out of his bedroom, holding his head. I tried not to glare at him. He'd made a total ass of himself the night before and Navi didn't deserve that.
Like I know what Navi deserves.
Already, after one short conversation in the dark, one short car ride, and a few short text messages, I was protective of her. She's mine.
But she isn't.
Not yet.
But after last night, I was determined that she would be.
"What happened?" he mumbled, squinting at me. His hair stuck up all over his head and his eyes were bloodshot. If Navi could see him now, she'd never let him kiss her again. I thought briefly of taking a picture for her, but my hands were full of empty beer bottles and red plastic cups.
"Next time we have a party, you're cleaning up on your own. It wasn't even my stupid party and I've been cleaning up since I got home from work." Lucky me getting to work a half shift on a Saturday and then coming home to clean up the party I hadn't even wanted to have.
Except that now I was so grateful we'd had it, I would gladly clean up for the rest of the day.
"Did Navi kiss me?" Bryson completely ignored the mess and peered at me blearily.
I gritted my teeth and swore under my breath. "No. You attacked her and then passed out at her feet. I would have left you in a heap on the floor but she's more compassionate than I am. What's the matter with you? Do you have any idea how stupid you are? Do you know what you're pushing away?"
Navi. You're pushing away the one girl I'd give anything to have another chance with.
"She—oh shit." He turned and ran to the bathroom, worshiping the porcelain god as he deserved. I dug my phone out of my pocket, finally letting myself text her. I'd held off all morning, hoping she'd write me first.
She hadn't.
Bryson is sufficiently embarrassed about last night and he's paying for his idiocy.
There. That didn't sound desperate. Why hadn't she written me? I'd long since given up on trying to pretend I wasn't…in the light of day it was harder to admit to what I'd realized last night. But I definitely didn't hate her. I never had, which was clear by the fact that my resolve had melted the second she'd walked through my door last night and I'd pretty much thrown myself at her feet. At least I hadn't passed out at them like Bryson had.
My phone buzzed and my heart leapt. Glad that there was no one around to see my hands shaking, I dug my phone out of my pocket.
Good. Maybe he'll stop drinking so much. How are you?
An idiotic grin spread across my face as I re-read her message. "Does she hate me?" Bryson asked, staggering into the kitchen for coffee. He was in really bad shape. I almost felt bad for him, until I remembered that he'd kissed Navi last night.
And I hadn't.
"No, she doesn't hate you. But I told you she doesn't like alcohol," I answered, distracted because I was trying to think of something clever to respond with. I'm good. How'd you sleep?
Oh yeah, that was clever.
I ran a hand over my face and stared at the ceiling. What did this girl do to me? Four years later and she still made me a complete moron with one text message. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't sleep. It was like I was falling for her after just one night.
That, of course, was ridiculous. No one fell after one night. Unless they'd never unfallen…
Which I'm fairly positive I had determined last night was the case.
Yeah. You alternate between watching her die and watching her live in your dreams every night. That's perfectly normal for a guy who ever got over her. I shut up my inner critic as my phone buzzed again.
I just got up. Got called into work early this morning and didn't get back 'til about two hours ago. U?
I remembered how tired she'd been the night before. And she'd had to go to work. No wonder she hadn't written me yet. My heart thumped in my chest like it was celebrating.
Bryson slumped down on the barstool with his head in his hands, staring bleakly at the counter top. "I really like her," he mumbled. "I don't remember… I kept thinking she wanted someone else…"
Me.
I grinned again and stuffed the garbage in the recycle bin, but couldn't for the life of me figure out how to answer him.
Navi was mine. She might not know it yet, but I'd convince her. Sounds like you need someone to take you to breakfast. I'll be there in ten minutes.
"You should try to sleep off that hangover, man. It looks pretty wicked." I smacked him on the shoulder, grabbed my jacket and shoved my wallet into my back pocket. He groaned as his head sank onto the counter, and I allowed myself a wicked grin.
I had my keys in my hand and was halfway out the door when she wrote me back but I ignored it. I knew what she'd say—she'd just got up and she looked like crap. But I couldn't wait. I'd waited all morning to see her again, and each second had seemed like an eternity. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't stay away from her.
I leaned against her door frame, waiting for someone to answer. I knew they'd heard my knock, because there'd been squealing and panicked footsteps on the other side. My lips quirked in a grin even as my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest. If she
didn't open the door soon, I'd have to break it down.
I was that desperate to see her.
The door swung open and her dark, dark brown eyes slowly traveled up my chest to my face and finally met my gaze. She sucked in a breath and forced a shaky smile. "You ignored me, didn't you?"
I pretended to be wounded by her words, pretending too that I didn't feel my heart speed up and pretended that the blood roaring in my ears wasn't damn near deafening. I tried to take in every detail of her like I'd been drowning and she was my angel pulling me free.
Save me.
"Never," I said, my smile widening as she raised a skeptical eyebrow. Her long, thick curls were piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and as adorable as she looked right then, I wanted to tug it loose and let the silky strands free so I could run my hands through them. Her hair had always been my undoing. We used to watch TV while she laid her head in my lap and I would wind the curls around my fingers.
She was in yoga pants and a tank top. My breath caught and held in my throat and I couldn't swallow. She had absolutely no business being so damn gorgeous when she'd only gotten two hours of sleep. "You're gonna freeze if you go out like that," I told her.
"I haven't even brushed my teeth yet," she objected. My eyes dipped to her lips. Bad move. All I wanted to do was pull her into the hallway and kiss her until she forgot we'd ever broken up. Until she forgot every guy she'd been with since me.
I forced myself back to her eyes, which I could drown in, but at least I could control myself. Had it been like this when we were together? This insane, overwhelming need to see her, hold her, touch her? I couldn't remember. I know I'd been obsessed with her, but I think it had been possible to have a conversation without wanting to devour her. I do know that no one had affected me the way she had since. Not even close.
A mischievous smile played around her lips as she stepped back and swung open the door. "Navi!" Terrie squealed as she leaped off the couch and raced into the hall, holding her head.
Navi snickered.
"She's doing about as well as Bryson," I said as I followed her inside. It felt so wrong to be this close and not touch her. Like the last four years hadn't happened and we'd never broken up.
"Yeah. It's entertaining." She grinned over her shoulder at me as she led the way over to the couch. I stopped next to her, closer than I should have but not close enough. It was near enough that I could feel the warmth of her skin against mine without actually touching her. And I really wanted to touch her. Just run my knuckles across her cheek bone. Or my thumb against the back of her hand. Or my fingers through her hair…
"Sit." She pushed me backward until the backs of my legs hit the couch and I sat. "I'll brush my teeth and we can go." My chest felt scalded where she'd put her hands and it took everything I had not to pull her down with me.
I was a mess.
She disappeared before I could, and Konstanz rounded the corner, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "You're here early," she mumbled. Her hair was a tangle of waves and her mascara was sleep-smeared under her eyes so she looked way more exhausted than she probably felt.
I glanced at my watch. "It's ten o'clock."
She gave me an impish smile. "Yeah. Like… six whole hours since you've seen her last."
I opened my mouth. And then closed it. Then opened it again. She sat next to me on the couch, completely delighted. "I can't help it," I said, my voice low. I'm pretty sure I sounded tortured. "Six hours was too long."
"Wow." Konstanz nodded slowly, eying me through rapidly brightening eyes. "You've got it bad."
I swallowed, staring at the coffee table, the floor, the blank TV screen. Apparently these girls were gamers—there were at least three different video game platforms on the entertainment center. "I've missed her."
"If I recall…" Konstanz tipped her head to the side, finger-combing her wild hair. "You said you hated her and you never wanted to see her again. I guess that only counted when you could actually still see her every day."
I thought back to those torturous months of high school. We'd broken up right before we'd graduated, and every single day was a fight with myself to stay away from her. How could you hate someone so much and want them at the same time? We still had classes together. She started skipping school to get away from me. I started dating as many girls as I could to forget about her. And it had been hell. "She hurt me, Konstanz."
Konstanz shrugged. "You hurt her, too. A lot. You have no idea what she went through after you guys broke up." Her words were like a sword to the stomach—sharp, fierce, and sudden. Before I could respond, she leaned close, her eyes sparkling. "She was talking about you in her sleep last night."
The agonizing wound in my stomach healed as my heart sped up for the eight thousandth time in ten minutes. She leaped to her feet and danced away, laughing softly. If Navi was talking about me in her sleep, that meant she was dreaming about me. Before my heart could decide what to do with that new, exciting information, she came around the corner, tugging a hoodie over her head.
It was a good thing, because I think my blood pressure had already skyrocketed to dangerous levels and her in a tank top was more than I could handle for any extended period of time. "Teeth brushed. K, have you seen my wallet?"
She'd called Konstanz K when we'd been in high school. Hearing it again, so casually, sent a jolt through my system like I was being dragged back in time. Back to her. "You don't need your wallet." My voice sounded strangled, even to my own ears. She gave me an odd look. I cleared my throat several times before I trusted myself to speak. "I'm dragging you out of the house. The least I can do is pay."
She shook her head. "That's not fair. I can pay. I just gotta find…" Konstanz appeared next to her, holding the sparkling pink wallet with little skulls all over it. "Oh. Thank you."
"If you pay for yourself, it's not a date," I said as she came toward me. She stumbled a little and her eyes widened, those perfect pink lips opening in a silent O.
"This—this is a date?"
I reached out, pried the wallet from her hand, and tossed it back to Konstanz, who stood grinning behind the couch. "I would like it to be."
She blinked, long lashes brushing her cheek as if in slow motion. "Oh—okay."
I had to summon a hell of a lot of courage to take her hand and wind her fingers through my own. In doing that, I knew she could feel me shaking, and she'd know in those first seconds that I was pretending to be way more calm than I really was. "Ready?" I asked quietly.
She nodded, a faint smile playing around her lips.
"Bye!" Konstanz called cheerfully as we left the apartment.
"She can't sleep when I'm gone at night," Navi said as I led her down the hall and out the door. It was raining steadily, but Navi, unlike any girl I've ever known, raised her head into the rain and spread her arms, smiling.
If I hadn't been consumed with thoughts of her before, that image of her in the rain would have taken over completely.
And then she dropped her arms, laughing, and ran to my truck. It was so right for her to be there, in the passenger seat. She belonged in my truck.
She belonged with me.
"So," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't falling so fast I didn't even have time to be scared, "Any requests?"
She leaned back, buckling her seat belt before she glanced at me, biting her lip. She shouldn't have done that.
My eyes dipped to her mouth and I couldn't look away. I wanted to tug her lip free with my mouth, smooth my tongue over the soft, pink skin.
She sucked in a breath and I finally, finally forced myself to look up at her. I want to kiss you. I need to kiss you, Navi.
"The Chicken Coop?" she asked softly, her cheeks coloring under my stare. I needed to chill out or she'd run screaming from my truck. "Do you feel like bacon and eggs?"
I nodded, starting the truck. "The Chicken Coop it is."
CHAPTER EIGHT
Navi
I couldn't breathe. If he looked at
my mouth one more time, I was going to launch myself across that truck seat at him. I wasn't sure exactly what would come after that, but I was sure it wasn't something that required advanced planning.
My hands twitched, like they were hoping desperately if they caused a commotion, Alec might notice and hold them again. They'd taken on a life of their own.
I watched him sneakily through my hair. He looked like a Greek god, all strong jaw and straight Roman nose and those eyes. It was insane how gorgeous his eyes were. I'd loved them before, but now, when they looked at me, they made me want to throw myself at his feet and beg for mercy.
Last night—in the middle of a battle with demons who wanted to sneak into society and eat us for a midnight snack—I kept finding myself thinking about him. It was a dangerous little habit that could probably get me killed.
And this morning. As soon as my eyes had opened, I'd reached for my phone. To write him. Because he was the first thing I thought of when coherency found me. Waking up to his text had sent butterflies into fits of chaos everywhere.
He reached over and snapped the radio on as he drove us easily through the light traffic. "You're awfully far away," he said softly, tugging gently on the edge of my hoodie. Holy crap, he wanted me closer to him? I could barely think straight as it was.
But my body had a will of its own. As soon as he stopped for the next stoplight, I undid my seat belt and slid over, buckling myself into the middle seat before the light changed again. "That's better," he said, glancing over, those eyes tracing my face, my throat, my mouth. Again. Did he have any idea what he was doing to me? My entire body felt like I'd had about eight thousand cups of coffee. It was buzzing. Positively buzzing.