by G. K. DeRosa
Duke watched me, his head cocked to the side, as I pulled the top sheet off. Before I went back into the living room, I checked his paws. Somehow he’d managed to avoid the glass. Thank goodness.
Asher was already standing by the broken glass door with a roll of masking tape. I handed him the sheet, and we got to work.
“The house is pretty stocked. Whoever lived here left in a hurry.” He held the sheet as I taped it up.
“Did you find food?”
“Not a ton, but the pantry has some bottles of water and a whole shelf of canned goods.”
“Any ramen?”
He chuckled. “That stuff is so bad for you.”
“Oh right, like that’s what’s going to kill me.”
He grunted and raked his hand over his spikey hair. “Don’t joke about dying, Liv. Not now.”
“Lighten up, Ash. We did good. We made it south, we survived looters, we gave those angels the slip, and we even found a nice place with food.”
“I don’t think we gave anyone the slip. They must’ve had better prey to hunt than us. And where there are three angels, there are surely more.”
“How about the vampires? Where do you think they are?”
His lips twisted down, and I snapped my jaw closed. I really needed to learn to keep my mouth shut.
“They come out at night,” he muttered.
I’d heard the same thing. Even though they’d found a way to keep the sun from shining, they still preferred to be out at night. I guessed the legends were true: they mostly slept during the day. The Stryx, their vampire-human hybrids, patrolled while they snoozed. They were even scarier than the vampires in my opinion. They were too humanlike. Apparently, vampires and humans had been intermingling for decades without anyone knowing. But how was it even possible? Some say the angels helped the vampires create them. Why was anyone’s guess.
I secured the last piece of tape and turned to the kitchen. “Dinner?”
“Yes, please,” he growled.
I raided the pantry and put together a scrumptious meal of cold beef stew, canned low-sodium peas and lukewarm bottled water by candlelight. It would’ve been kind of romantic in another world. We both dug in like it was a dinner at a five-star restaurant. I shoveled the stew into my mouth and had to restrain myself from groaning in pleasure.
Asher’s eyes twinkled across from me. “If I would’ve known you were such a cheap date, I would’ve asked you out a long time ago.”
I coughed, nearly choking on a mouthful of peas. “What?” I mumbled.
He shrugged, and I could’ve sworn his cheeks reddened but it was hard to tell in the dim light. “Nothing. I just wish things could’ve been different.”
Yeah, no kidding. We finished the rest of the meal in silence. My mind was racing; I couldn’t get it to quiet down. I’d known Asher practically my whole life. I’d had a crush on him for as long as I could remember, but I always thought he only considered me a kid sister. Except for right before all of this went down. Talk about bad timing.
“Go get some rest.” Asher squeezed my shoulder and ticked his head toward the bedroom.
“How about you?”
“I’ll keep watch.”
“You have to sleep too, Ash. How are you going to protect us from all those things out there if you’re too exhausted to keep your eyes open?” I took his hand and pulled him off the chair. “Duke can keep watch. Right, boy?”
Duke raised his head and whined.
Asher grinned. “Fine, but only for a few hours.”
I led him down the hall to the bedroom I’d found before. The king size bed would be a huge upgrade to the hard cots we’d been used to. I crawled into the bed and sank into the mattress. I let out a quiet moan. It felt amazing on my sore muscles.
Asher chuckled and sat on the armchair across from the bed.
I picked up my head. “What are you doing?”
“Um, trying to sleep?”
“On the chair?”
He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, this way I’ll be more alert. Just in case.”
I rolled my eyes and patted the empty side of the mattress next to me. “Come on, Ash. We’ve slept in the same bed like a million times.”
“Yeah, when we were twelve.”
I clapped my hand over my mouth so he couldn’t see my smile. I couldn’t believe I was making Asher St. John uncomfortable. “Get over here now.”
He pushed himself up from the chair and slunk over to the other side of the bed.
I rolled over to face him as he crept under the covers. “Now is that so bad?”
He stretched, reaching his arms over his head and yawned. His biceps strained against his tight t-shirt. “No, I guess not.” He turned toward me. “What are we going to do tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we stay here for a while. There’s food and decent shelter—”
“And angels and nephilim crawling all over the place,” he interrupted.
My gaze lifted to meet his. “Let’s just enjoy this one night, okay?”
His eyes darkened and something flickered to life in his irises. His arm shot around my waist, and he pulled me into his chest. My breath hitched as the air between us crackled with intensity. His lips crashed into mine, and I gasped. He parted my lips with his tongue, and a fire ignited in my core. My brain struggled to make sense of what was happening, but my heart told it to shut up. He pressed me into his torso, his hands running up and down my back. My own hands lay frozen at my sides. I think they were in shock.
Just as quickly as the kissing started, it stopped. He pulled away, and it was like a bucket of ice had been poured over my head. I looked up at him, my brows knitted together. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. “Goodnight, Liv.” He kissed the top of my head and within seconds, his breathing slowed and he was asleep.
Seriously?
Chapter 5
Asher St. John kissed me. After fifteen years of wondering what his lips tasted like, I now knew. Hope. It was cheesy, I knew, but that kiss gave me something I’d been missing for almost a year. Now he was acting like nothing had happened. I touched my lips, the memory of the kiss seared into them. No, I definitely hadn’t dreamt it.
I wrapped the towel around my chest and ran my finger over the light pink birthmark over my heart. It was shaped like a heart, and my mom had always said it made me special. Who else got to where their heart on the outside? I smiled at the memory of her words.
After a day of trekking through the woods, the shower had felt amazing, even if it was cold. I should’ve taken it last night, but I’d been way too tired. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, realizing it was the first time I’d gotten a good look at myself in months. The basement hadn’t been equipped with little luxuries like full-length mirrors. My cheeks seemed hollower, and I swore my collarbone was more pronounced than it used to be. Even my golden eyes seemed to have lost their fire, replaced by a dull hazel. A bitter laugh tumbled out as I remembered all the times I’d wanted to lose weight before. I should’ve done the one-can-of-food-a-day diet years ago.
A soft knock drew me away from my reflection.
I opened the door a crack and peeked through. Asher’s bright eyes immediately dropped to the towel hastily wrapped around my wet body.
My pulse quickened.
His eyes widened for a second before he averted them back to my face. Not that it was the first time he’d seen me in a towel, but somehow after that kiss, something had changed.
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking I’d go check out the area while there’s some light out.”
I tucked the towel tighter under my arm and nodded. “I’m going with you. Maybe there are other survivors around.”
He crossed his arms against his chest. “I should go alone, just in case. We don’t want a repeat of our run-in with those looters.”
“No way. Someone needs to watch your back in case those nephilim show up again.”
He twisted the d
oorknob around, chewing on his lower lip. “What are the chances I’ll be able to talk you out of coming with me?”
“Slim to none, so you might as well give up now.” I shot him a grin. “Now go make us breakfast so I can finish getting dressed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He turned heel, and I closed the door behind him, leaning against it. I waited for a second until my heartbeats returned to normal. This was Asher. The same guy I used to take baths with as a toddler. I couldn’t let things be weird between us. He was the only family I had left, and I wouldn’t risk what we had for anything.
I dropped the towel and pulled my black top over my head. It hung limply from my body. I ignored it and slipped on my jeans and sneakers. I’d only brought three outfits for the road so this was as good as I’d get.
I joined Asher and Duke in the kitchen. They both hovered around the counter, Ash sitting on a barstool and Duke begging for scraps. He offered me a can of fruit cocktail as I approached.
“Thanks.”
He shoveled a spoonful of it in his own mouth, not meeting my gaze.
I shifted from one foot to the other. I really wanted to talk to him about last night, but I couldn’t figure out how to bring it up.
He glanced up at me, the spoon sticking out of his mouth. “Are you sitting or what?”
I slid onto the barstool next to him and set the can on the table. This was stupid; I should just say what I wanted to say. This was Ash after all. I could talk to him about anything.
A strong gust of wind followed by a loud crash sent my heart racing, and all thoughts of romance vanished. I dropped the spoon and spun toward the backyard. The sheet that covered the sliding glass door blocked our view, but it sounded like a huge tree had fallen.
“Stay here.” Asher’s arm whipped across my chest, barring my forward motion.
I gritted my teeth but stayed put as he crept toward the back door. Two smaller windows were on either side of the wall providing a direct view of the yard. He inched toward one, keeping his back against the wall. He pushed the beige curtain aside and peered out.
“What is it?” I whisper-yelled.
“Electric pole. It toppled down a whole string of them like dominos. Damn angels.”
I gulped. The angels had already succeeded in cutting most of our power. “What’s the point of that?”
“Even if the power plants can get the generators back up and running, they’d have to rebuild the entire infrastructure this way.”
My shoulders slumped against the counter. How were we ever going to beat them?
Ash clenched his fists and marched away from the window and into the bedroom. I hurried behind him. “What are you doing?”
He pulled the gun out and stuck it into the waistband of his pants. “I’m going out there, and I’m not coming back until I find more humans.”
I shook my head back and forth as fear unfurled in my chest. I’d seen that look in his eyes before. He was so damned stubborn. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“No. I won’t.” He pushed by me and headed toward the front door.
I darted in front of him and blocked the entrance. “You’re not going out now. They’re obviously out there waiting.”
“Why would they wait? If they wanted us, they could just come in and get us. There’d be nothing to stop them. We’re powerless!”
He unlocked the deadbolt and grabbed the handle. I dug my heels into the ground, pushing all my weight against the door and narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t, Ash, please.”
He pulled and the door swung open, sending me flying forward. I stretched my arms out to avoid smacking into the wall face first, but a strong arm wrapped around my waist before I could make contact. My shoulder blades brushed against a familiar chest, and my body relaxed against Asher’s.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered in my ear.
A faint meow snapped my attention to the front porch. A scruffy old tabby pranced in front of the open door, and my heart stopped. Before I could unravel myself from Ash’s arms, Duke took off after the cat.
“Duke! No!”
I raced after him, taking the steps off the front porch two at a time. Ash shouted after me, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t lose Duke. Not now.
I sped down the sidewalk with Ash running after me. Duke and the cat had a good half block lead, but I wasn’t giving up. I pumped my arms back and forth, my breath coming hard and fast. “Duke! Stop!”
The flapping of ginormous wings exploded behind me, and my heart lodged in my throat. Ice crawled up my veins as terror seized me, slowing my pace. A gust of wind pushed me forward, and I splayed my arms out to stay on my feet. I twisted my head over my shoulder and froze. A pair of huge gray wings blotted out the dim sky above me. I couldn’t make out the angel’s face under the shadow of its immense wings, but I recognized its sleek gold body armor. He was nephilim.
I squeezed my eyes shut and said a silent prayer.
A body pummeled into me, sending me scrambling to the ground. My chin scraped the rough concrete, and I bit my tongue to keep from screaming. A hundred and seventy pounds of boy bore down on top of me, his familiar scent coating me in a protective shield.
I turned my head and caught a glance of emerald green eyes in my periphery. “Ash?”
Then he was gone.
The heavy weight flattening me to the ground vanished. The warmth cocooning my body disappeared.
The scrape of metal against asphalt rang out at my side as the gun crashed down to the earth along with my heart.
I pushed myself to my knees and searched the sky. My best friend hung limply from the clutches of a nephilim a few meters up. Huge wings flapped, taking them higher and higher.
“No!” I yelled. “Not him. Please, take me instead!” I screamed and screamed, but the monster didn’t spare me a glance.
My chest tightened, invisible hands clutching my lungs. Tears blurred my vision as I stared slack-jawed and helpless as my best friend evaporated into the murky sky.
Chapter 6
Was it possible to die of a broken heart? I was convinced I was about to. My feet dragged me to the house, everything around me a blur. I wasn’t even sure how I made it back. I inhaled and thick, stale air filled my lungs. It felt like a herd of elephants sat on my chest. Tiny needles stabbed my heart, piercing a million holes into my already failing organ. I slammed the door behind me, a part of me hoping the nephilim would hear it and come back for me.
I crumpled down to the floor and buried my head between my knees.
I lost them both.
My chest heaved and sobs wracked my entire body. My shoulders trembled as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I cried for what felt like hours. I bawled for my best friend, for my dog, for my parents and for all the people I’d lost in the past year. I was tired of being strong.
I lowered my head to the floor, the cold tile like ice against my cheek. I curled into the fetal position, pulling my knees tight against my chest. I was done fighting. It was over. There was nothing left to live for.
A warm tongue licked my face, and my eyes snapped open. Duke’s big black nose nuzzled my cheek. I pushed myself off the floor and wrapped my tired arms around him. His fur tickled my nose as I buried my face against his huge head.
“Oh Duke, you crazy dog. Do you have any idea what you did?”
He sat on his haunches and whined.
“You didn’t even catch that stupid cat, did you?”
He cocked his head to the side, his long pink tongue dangling out of his mouth.
“They took Ash, Duke. He’s gone.” Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I kept them at bay. If I started crying again, I’d never stop.
He huffed and lowered his head to the floor. His big brown eyes looked up at me sadly.
I glanced around at the dark empty room, a mirror image of what I felt like inside. How was I going to survive alone?
Duke whined.
I sighed as I stared at my only r
emaining companion. “You must be hungry, huh?”
His ears perked up when I got to my feet. He followed me to the kitchen, his tail wagging. I poured the rest of the dog food into a bowl and set it on the floor along with another bowl of fresh water. At least the water was still running.
I blankly stared at the floor as Duke chomped away at his food. My brain was still hazy, my body numb. I couldn’t give up though, not yet. My dog needed me. You’d think a hundred and twenty five pound German shepherd could take care of himself, but you’d be sorely mistaken. Duke’s hunting skills were severely lacking.
I glanced up at the kitchen counter, and my heart constricted. Ash’s half-eaten can of fruit cocktail sat on the granite countertop. My breath hitched, my lungs struggling to take in air. Ash saved me. If he hadn’t jumped on top of me, I would’ve been the one in the nephilim’s clutches, not him. Why’d he have to be so damn brave?
Now I was alone.
Duke whimpered and rubbed his head against my knee. “I know you’re here, buddy. But you can’t talk back so you’re not quite as good company as Ash.” I patted his head, and he stuck his nose back into his food.
There was one thing I was sure of; I wasn’t going to survive alone. Ash had the right idea about searching the neighborhood for other humans. There had to be someone else still here. I couldn’t be the only one left.
Images of the rifle-toting looters flashed across my mind’s eye. I pushed them down into the dark depths. There had to be some good people left.
A gust of wind blew through the sheet covering the broken glass door, and I almost peed myself. Get a grip, Liv. It’s just the wind. I tiptoed over to the door and reattached the tape that must have come off when Duke snuck back in. I put my ear against the frame.
How had I missed it? The relentless flapping of wings had stopped. It was silent outside.
I stared up at the darkening sky. The angels were gone.
For a brief moment, the weight in my chest lifted. Had they returned to their headquarters in the south? Is that where they took Ash? Adrenaline coursed through my veins. This was my chance. I had to go out there now and search for survivors.