by Trina M. Lee
Nova chuckled despite the blood that trickled from the corner of his mouth. “Well played. I kind of like you.”
Holding out a hand, the throwing star rested on his palm. I snatched it quickly, careful of the sharp blades. Then I jerked the sword free, and Nova fell back, disappearing before he hit the ground.
My lungs heaved. Adrenaline had me both numb and shaking. A glance at my companions revealed shared relief. Except for Arrow who seemed disappointed that the fight ended so fast.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, sliding the Midnight Star back into its sheath.
Without acknowledging the demons who watched us, I gathered Jett’s tattered clothing and turned to go. I was done with the demon marketplace, yet somehow I doubted that this would be my last visit.
“Where do you think you’re going, traitor?” A goat-headed demon with a cat-like tail stepped in front of Arrow.
The dark nephilim stood his ground, unflinching in the face of such evil. “I think I’m going to snort a line and order some takeout. Got a problem with that?”
“Arrow,” Rowen said, an unspoken warning in his tone.
The demon crossed arms over a massively muscled chest. “You’re one of Dash’s, aren’t you? Since he’s doing a shit job, I’m going to show you what happens to traitors.”
Most of the demon activity continued as those involved couldn’t be bothered with something as lowly as nephilim. A few, however, lingered, eager to see Arrow get his ass kicked.
Arrow, unable to take a threat and keep his mouth shut, threw his hands up in invitation. “Bring it on, shithead. I’m not afraid of you.”
Before either of them could make a move, a commanding but lyrical voice rang through the night.
“That’s enough, Saber. Let them go.”
The possessor of the beautiful voice was the lady demon with the platinum hair. She stood at the top of the stairs near the church door, gazing down upon us all. Her expression stayed stone cold and unreadable.
Saber shot her an ugly glare made even more hideous by his goat-like face. “I didn’t ask for your opinion, Lore. Go back inside.”
“Do not make me come down there.” She never moved but simply stood there, staring at Saber. Blatant contempt transformed Lore’s face from unreadable to malicious.
Shoulders hunched, expression pinched, Saber thrust a finger in Arrow’s face. “Next time you don’t get to walk away.”
Rowen gave Arrow a shove before he could reply. I glanced at Lore, intrigued by the demoness who could instill fear in another so easily. Her gaze swept over me, lingering for just a moment before she turned and went back inside the church.
We continued on to the front of the building where we slipped through the fence into the small parking lot. Nobody followed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I fished the Mustang keys out of the pocket of Jett’s ruined jeans. After letting her in the backseat, I turned to Rowen who lingered beside the car. He pulled me into a hug, and I clung tight to him, finding comfort in his warmth.
“Are you ok?” He murmured against my ear, sighing when I nodded. “We came as soon as I saw your message.”
“Thank you.” I pressed my lips to his earlobe. It was so cold that, as the adrenaline faded, the frigid temperature took hold. “Jett and I did pretty good, all things considered. But you showed up at just the right time.”
Rowen pulled back, taking his heat with him. Casting a glare at the church grounds, he scowled. “What a fucking circus. So, what now?”
“I’m going to take Jett home.” A glance at the car revealed a wolf on the backseat with violence in her eyes. She was going to be riled up for a while.
“We’ll follow you there. Then you can jump in with us, and I’ll take you back to your place.” Rowen ignored Arrow who made an impatient gesture from where he stood next to the BMW.
With a nod I reluctantly let him go. The inside of the Mustang was chilly, and I hurried to start the engine. The wolf in the back made a noise of displeasure low in her throat. I met her gaze through the rearview mirror.
“Are you going to shift back?” I asked. “I sure hope you still have extra clothes stashed in here somewhere.”
She huffed and moved awkwardly on the seat, trying to settle herself. I didn’t have a clue how shapeshifting worked. All I knew was that she had control over it for the most part, except for full moon nights when the wolf insisted on running free.
After slipping the throwing star into my wallet, I warmed my hands with a small fireball clasped between my palms before I put the car in gear and left the demon marketplace behind. Good riddance.
Overall the roads remained in decent shape. But at this time of night with these temperatures, the occasional icy patch gleamed in the headlights. I drove carefully, maneuvering the muscle car with great care. I just wanted to get home where it was safe and warm. Also, part of me wouldn’t be able to relax until I’d given this star to Cinder.
We entered the city, leaving the demon church behind. No wonder it was located outside of town. That kind of activity would never go unnoticed inside the city. The seat heater under my rear end brought blissful warmth. My old beater didn’t have such features, so I enjoyed it while I could.
“That fucking demon almost knocked me out.” Jett’s voice from the backseat startled me. “Crank the heat up a bit higher, would you? I’m naked back here.”
“I’m aware. Are you alright? No serious injuries or anything?”
She dug around in the back, pulling the lever that popped open the backseat so she could reach inside the trunk. After pulling on a hoodie and sweatpants she clambered over the seat into the front passenger side.
“A few bruises mostly. Nothing worth crying over.” With a pained groan she put on her seatbelt and turned to glance back at the BMW behind us. “Don’t tell him I said this, but Arrow’s timing couldn’t have been better.”
I made a pinched face, hating that she was right. “I know. That kind of thing isn’t going to help his situation with Dash though.”
“He obviously doesn’t give a shit. I think it’s the only respectable thing about him.” Finger combing her hair, Jett pulled down the visor mirror to scrutinize her face. Considering she’d fought a demon, she looked pretty damn good.
“Can’t argue there,” I muttered.
My muscles ached. A pounding started in my skull, increasing in strength with each throb. Overall I’d come out with minor injuries. The cuts from Nova’s ice shards were shallow and scabbed over. I didn’t doubt that I was littered with bruises too, but after facing someone of Nova’s caliber, I was feeling pretty good about the results.
I slowed down to take a corner so we could head toward the downtown district when the car suddenly shook with a tremor that jerked the wheel in my hands. “What the fuck?”
Gripping the wheel hard, I fought to regain control of the steering. As I wrestled with it, the engine roared and shot ahead as if I’d stomped on the gas pedal though I’d barely touched it.
“What’s going on?” Jett’s voice rose, and she grabbed the dash in front of her.
“I don’t know. It’s like it’s driving itself.” Panic seized me. The more I tried to control the Mustang, the more it seemed to rebel.
In an effort to control the car, I hit the brakes. Nothing happened. The dash lights began to blink on and off. An urgent alarm dinged as the car tried to tell me something was wrong.
“Stop the car.” Jett’s voice took on a tone I’d never heard: fear.
“I’m trying,” I said, gearing down in the hopes that it would help slow the car. “We have no brakes.”
The Mustang listed to the right, and I managed to jerk the wheel the opposite way seconds before we wiped out a bus bench on the sidewalk. Mouth dry and palms sweaty, I searched the street ahead for any potential hazards. There was a red light ahead.
In answer to the question I had yet to ask, the overpowering stench of sulfur filled the car. Demon. It had to be Dash
. Many things could be said about the demon, but making empty threats wasn’t one of them. He wanted to attack me while Rowen watched, helpless.
I didn’t know what to do. In open-mouthed horror, I could only watch as we flew through the red light. By some miracle the intersection was empty. Due to the late hour I could only hope that, however this ended, it wouldn’t involve innocent casualties. Dash didn’t give a damn about that.
“Holy shit. Holy shit.” Jett glanced down at the emergency brake between our seats.
“No, don’t,” I shouted. “We’re going too fast. That could be suicide.”
Gearing down the transmission proved ineffective. The car was under demon control now. Nothing I did would make a difference. If Dash intended to kill us, he just might succeed.
“We need to bail out, Spike.” With a hand on the door, Jett prepared to make the jump. She had a much better chance of surviving such a thing.
The more I tried to gain control, the more the car swerved and sped up. Watching the speedometer climb higher, I grew certain that my demise grew near. Jett shouldn’t have to suffer because Dash had a problem with me. It was wrong. It shouldn’t have to be this way.
We flew through a second red light, this time narrowly missing a car whose driver honked and most likely flipped us off. Every second this nightmare continued, my panic grew until I was a shaky jumble of nerves and confusion.
“I don’t know what to do,” I cried.
The next intersection ahead was a busy one. Even at this time of night, it wouldn’t be empty due to its location near the many downtown nightclubs. We shot past the turn off to Jett’s apartment, headed right for that busy intersection on Jasper Avenue.
My options were limited. My gaze landed on the mostly empty grocery store parking lot across the street from The Wicked Kiss. It was our only chance to avoid flying through another intersection.
“Cock sucking, motherfucking demon. Piece of unholy garbage.” Jett’s frantic tirade sounded far away, muffled by my own terror and desperate desire to get the car off the road.
“Hold on,” I said. My mind threw images together, telling me what I had to do. I had no time to second guess anything.
“Please don’t crash my car. Fuck. We’re totally crashing the car, aren’t we?” Her words came in a rush. Claws bit into the dash as she sought to brace herself. No bracing would help this.
The roar of blood in my ears sounded loud, thundering white noise. Surely my heart would burst at the rate it was going. Not that it would matter in a few seconds.
Without another thought I acted on blind faith because it was all that I had in what could be my final moment. I cranked the wheel hard, fighting to get the car to respond. My heart hesitated as, for a second, the car continued on its path to destruction. Then, with a loud thump from behind us, it careened off the road, jumping the curb as it headed for the parking lot.
Right toward the light standard in the middle. We were going to die.
Then, with another bump, the Mustang jerked into a spin with such violent force I was thrown into the steering wheel hard enough that my nose crunched, possibly broken. Jett and I shrieked in unison. It took a few seconds for me to realize we weren’t moving. The revving car hung there, suspended a foot off the ground as it balanced on the partition between the street and the parking lot.
“Jett, get out!” I shouted. “Get out now.”
Without wasting another moment I threw the door open and flung myself out of the car. Ducking my head and hitting the ground with my shoulder first, I rolled across the hard frozen earth of the partition before landing on the sidewalk with a jarring thud.
Arrow had just saved my ass. Again.
Jett recovered faster, instinct causing her to roll and spring onto her feet. We both watched as the Mustang launched back into motion. Though, thanks to Arrow’s efforts from the BMW behind us, the Mustang moved at a much slower pace. It rolled into the light standard with a crunch of metal that tore a small cry from Jett. But other than a messed up bumper, it was fine. And so were we.
The BMW shot by like a shadow in the night, headed for the parking lot entry. I pushed myself up and, with Jett, approached the Mustang. I was wary. Was Dash done with us for tonight, or was he just getting started?
“Oh man,” Jett moaned. “My fucking car. There’s no explaining this to the insurance company. I doubt they get a lot of demon vandalism claims.”
“At least we got out when we did. That could’ve been so much worse than it was.” My voice trembled. My hands vibrated. So much adrenaline had pumped through my veins tonight, I was sure I had sucked my reserves dry.
Arrow’s BMW pulled to a stop beside the Mustang, and both brothers got out. Much to my surprise Arrow’s usual arrogant expression had been replaced by something resembling genuine concern. He didn’t look at either Jett or me, his hazel gaze fixed on the bright-red muscle car.
“Are you guys ok?” Rowen ran his hands down my arms, over my torso, searching for any sign of injury.
“Fine,” I said. “Thanks to Arrow.”
The dark nephilim glanced up when I said his name. Our eyes met, and I was shocked by the guilt that burned in his gaze.
How could he think this was his fault? Dash deserved all the blame.
After ensuring Jett and I were both fine, Rowen gave her car a once over. He declared it drivable, but seeing as nobody wanted to take that risk, a tow truck was called to haul it over to his shop.
As we stood there in the winter cold, I felt nothing but the mind-numbing horror of having narrowly escaped death. I held tight to Rowen, listening with gut-wrenching sadness as he whispered, “This is because of me. You could have died because of me.”
“Don’t say that. Dash did this. Not you.” I brushed back the long piece of blue hawk that fell in his eyes. “What you’re feeling right now, that’s what Dash wants. Please, don’t let him win this battle.”
Rowen closed his eyes and shook his head, pulling me closer. There was nothing I could say to change his mind. We all knew this was because of Dash’s obsession with him. What could I say? What could I do? Staring at Rowen’s crestfallen face, I ached inside.
The tow truck arrived, and with a watchful werewolf standing over him, the driver hooked up Jett’s car. A few minutes later a white SUV pulled in. Hanna, the Doghead Alpha female, waved Jett over.
“Sorry, guys,” Jett said. “I’m not too keen on getting into another vehicle with any of you tonight. Don’t take it personally.”
How could I possibly take it personally that she’d texted Hanna for a ride? The three of us were dangerous. I almost wished I’d never asked Jett to come along tonight. We’d painted a bigger target on her back, something I never wanted.
The ride back to my apartment stayed tense. Arrow drove staring straight ahead, speaking not a word to either of us. Fingers tapping a nervous beat on the window, Rowen stared out at the city. Every few minutes he would turn to me with the cutest wrinkle in his brow and ask if I felt ok.
No. It was impossible to be ok after a demon tried to end one’s life in a mess of twisted metal and automotive fluids. But I didn’t say that. I mustered a smile and nodded because Rowen kept beating himself up; I could see it every time his eyes of fire landed on me.
My face hurt. With every passing moment the pain intensified until I was counting the blocks, praying we’d get to my place safely so I could stuff myself with painkillers. The bruise from Arrow’s bottle felt like it had been pounded with a brick. The bridge of my nose seemed to be at least twice its usual size, and my eyes watered.
We had just turned onto my street when my phone buzzed in my purse. Afraid it might be Jett, I grabbed for it right away. The call ID said it was Tash, but she certainly hadn’t sent it. A photo of Tash filled the screen. Red hair spread across a white pillowcase, eyes closed, she was asleep.
Which meant that Dash was in her room. Right now. Sending a photo while Tash was completely helpless.
My hand flew
to my mouth as I smothered a gasp. Rowen spun in his seat to find me in frozen horror.
“Spike, what is it?”
Shaking my head I passed him the phone. “It’s Tash. He’s in her house. Sending me another message, because a near death experience wasn’t enough.”
“Should I go over there?” Arrow spoke for the first time since we got into the car.
“No.” Rowen passed the phone back to me and opened his door. “We’re staying here. Both of us. Tash will be fine. He won’t hurt her. Not if he’s playing this game the way I think he is.” His certainty had a foreboding air that set my teeth on edge.
Arrow gaped at Rowen, his hand hovering over the ignition. “We’re both staying? Is that really necessary? I’ve been fine for almost twenty-four hours. You guys don’t need to go all Mom and Dad on me.”
“Arrow.” There was no room for argument in Rowen’s tone. He sounded tired, weary, bordering on the edge of wrath.
“Fine.” With exaggerated actions Arrow turned off the car and flung his door open.
I scrambled out behind them, searching the night around us. Dash had done a good job of ensuring I no longer felt safe anywhere, especially my own home. Despite the wards on my apartment that kept demons out, it didn’t stop them from accessing the building, the grounds, the neighborhood. Maybe that was Dash’s goal. To terrorize me to the point of never leaving my apartment.
“Don’t let him steal your peace.” Rowen’s hand felt warm when he grabbed mine. “That’s what he wants, Spike. Don’t give it to him.”
“Can we hurry the hell up and get inside? It’s fucking cold out here.” Arrow ushered us along to the front door.
I pulled my keys out, eager to get out of the cold. When Koda stepped out of the shadows to block my path, I wasn’t surprised, just exasperated.
“Look, Koda, I’m tired. Can we do this another time?” Was I expecting that to work? Not really but a girl can hope.