by Julie Hall
“See,” he said after clearing his throat a minute later. “I told you it would be good.”
“Yeah, ah.” We ate in silence, eyes focused on our food. My mind focused on everything but my food.
“It happened the day I was rescued.”
“What?” I looked up. Logan’s gaze was still locked on the remaining egg he pushed around his plate.
“The shocks, the electricity, whatever it is. It happened for the first time while I was still captive. Morgan had been released because he’d chosen his side. His new skills at manipulating shadows were developing quickly. He’d come to visit me instead of the demons, talking about how amazing it was, how freeing it was to experience his new existence. How much more things made sense to him now. Whatever he could say to make it appear he’d made the right decision and I should give in, too.”
My hands lay limply in my lap as I silently encouraged him to continue. Logan’s eyes lifted and held my gaze hostage.
“It was so hard,” he admitted. “It was so attractive. I was in so much pain, physically and mentally. Every shield had been stripped in the weeks we’d been held captive. And I watched as Morgan grew stronger while I grew weaker. My prayers had gone unanswered, and the thread I was hanging onto frayed a little more each day. I was angry.”
“That’s understandable. I’d be angry at the people who had been torturing me as well.”
“No,” Logan tensed. “I wasn’t angry at them, I was angry at God. Angry at Him for leaving me there. Angry for letting so much happen to me. Angry He’d let Morgan turn sides. I honestly don’t know how I resisted them. Through my anger, I should have caved as easily as Morgan did.”
“But you didn’t.” A statement, not a question.
“No, not fully, but I must have cracked at least a little, because the last day of my captivity I gained a power I shouldn’t have. One that still shows itself on Earth.”
“So, you can electrocute things. Or something like that. Why couldn’t that be from God?”
“Do you see any other hunters walking around with abilities like it?”
“Do you see any other hunters walking around with flaming swords?”
He smiled a little. “Touché.”
“So, why couldn’t your new ability be something God gave you? Why do you believe it’s from Satan?”
“Because that’s how it works. Once your heart changes, you get new skills. Other skills, things we don’t get in our realm. Morgan started the same way. His skill with shadows started in that dank basement as well. The only difference was I escaped that very day.”
“How?”
Logan’s hands clenched and unclenched on the table in between us. I don’t even think he was aware of the motion. “Morgan untied me. I was so weak and he was so strong he knew I wasn’t a threat. I think he was trying to work the ‘good cop’ angle. Anyway, I was out of my chains and shackles and struggling to even sit upright on the dirty floor. Morgan was spouting some platitudes I wasn’t even listening to, and I became so enraged about my situation—and then it just happened.”
Logan stopped talking then. The sound of my own heartbeat drummed in my ears as I waited for him to continue. It was several beats more until he did, picking up the story exactly where he’d left off.
“He grabbed my arm because he didn’t think I was listening to him, which I wasn’t, and the power shot out of me before I even knew what was going on.” Logan shoved a hand in his hair and fisted it. “It threw Morgan across the room, but he was still conscious. In fact, he was elated. He knew what it meant as surely as I did.
“When he ran from the room to report it, I saw my first real chance to escape.” His hand slid from his hair and landed with a thud on the table. Vacant eyes stared at nothing. “I somehow found the strength to pull myself up the basement steps and out of the house. I had to use my power on two demons before I was ultimately rescued.
His eyes refocused on me. “Once I left the house I showed back up on the radar, and a team was immediately dispatched to retrieve me. I’ve never told anyone about the energy, though. I do my best not to use it in battle, but sometimes when I get too emotional it leaks out. I think that’s why I keep shocking you.”
“I make you emotional?”
“Frustration is an emotion.”
“Har har.” The corners of Logan’s lips lifted while I turned the information over in my head.
“Do you feel . . . I don’t know, evil, or darkness when you use it?”
“No. I feel powerful.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“It’s where the power’s coming from that concerns me. For a long time I expected, or hoped, it would just go away on its own. But that’s obviously not going to happen.”
“Why haven’t you talked to anyone else about this?”
Logan shifted his gaze somewhere over my left shoulder. His breaths were strong and steady, but despite appearances, he waged an internal fight. I’d become too accustomed to his tells to miss it. His eyes locked back on my own, and I braced for his answer.
“Fear.”
My eyebrows bunched. “Of what?”
His casual shrug was anything but. After a while I realized he wasn’t going to elaborate.
“Why are you telling me this then?”
“Because I want you to know.”
“But why? There are lots of people you are closer to.”
“Aren’t there things you want me to know, Audrey?”
The use of my name was like a defibrillator to my heart. I wasn’t sure why. “No,” I answered too quickly.
He gave a sad, hollow smile and placed his forearms on the table in front of him. His body shifted slightly toward me. Not enough to make contact, but enough to remind me of how close he was.
“You don’t have any secrets you want to share with me?”
There was actually a growing list of things I didn’t want him to know. Things I had been lying to myself about, let alone being truthful with him. I had a strong suspicion my list was filled with some of the same secrets he referred to.
I swallowed.
“That’s a hard ‘No,’ Logan,” I managed in an even, if slightly breathy, tone.
He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest with a satisfied smile. “I’ll take that as a soft ‘Yes,’ then.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His eyes narrowed shrewdly. “Oh, I believe you have at least an idea. But we’ll leave this for another time.” He pushed back his chair and stood up. The wood scraping against concrete woke Bear, whose paws scrambled for purchase on the smooth floor before he jumped to attention. “Sorry, buddy,” Logan said in Bear’s direction. “Done with your dinner?” he asked me.
I gaped at him. He winked and collected my plate without permission.
Is he flirting with me? Again?
“I think we should get some rest for the night. Wouldn’t you agree?”
I stared at his back as he cleaned and rinsed off our plates. His hair was getting distractingly long. I would take scissors to it myself if he didn’t trim it up soon. It was in danger of reaching man-bun length.
“I guess so?”
“You don’t sound so sure.”
I gave myself a mental shake to clear the cobwebs. “What I meant to say is, what about my family? Shouldn’t one of us stay up and watch the house?”
“Your family is in for the night. This place is here for hunters to rest. So, rest.”
After drying and putting the dishes away, he turned back to me and leaned up against the counter. One foot crossed over the other and his arms folded over his chest. Something about that pose made my pulse pound a little harder.
Feeling at a disadvantage, I stood and brought our drinking glasses to the sink. He blocked part of the way. I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows, shaking the glasses gently to indicate I needed him to move. He stood there like a frozen centurion.
I rolled
my eyes and leaned around him to set the glasses in the sink. If he wouldn’t move, then I wouldn’t bother washing them. I was about to pull back when Logan leaned down and inhaled deeply.
I think he just smelled my hair.
It was a moment before I thought to step away, and in that time Logan shifted, placing his hands on the counter on either side of me, but no part of our bodies touched. My synapses flared.
It was my turn to freeze. Logan’s head lowered further until his face was practically buried in my dark mane of hair. I prayed it was still brown and not some random rainbow color.
Why aren’t I moving? I thought to myself. I should definitely be moving. I know how to take him down eight different ways from this position.
His lips grazed my earlobe and created an involuntary shiver. “You’re supposed to be stopping me,” he whispered, warm breath fanning the sensitive skin beneath my ear . . . but his words were a bucket of ice. The stupid hormone-charged man-child had taken up residence in Logan once again, and of course it was somehow my fault.
I jerked my elbow into his gut and stepped on his left foot with the heel of my own. He faltered a half-step, leaving just enough space for me to turn and use the heel of my hand to strike him in the throat, followed by a knee directly in the stomach.
Logan stumbled back and caught himself on the small table where we’d just shared a meal, doubled over and coughing. I walked by him and chose the small bed on the right. Bear looked back and forth between us before trotting to my side, a seeming smile on his face to mirror my own.
That had felt good.
I climbed into bed facing the wall. “Thanks for the reminder,” I threw over my shoulder before settling and pulling up the covers. I didn’t expect the wheezing laugh from him in return. It was followed by an indiscernible mumble.
What? Did he just call me adorable?
“I guess I had that coming.” His voice strained with the effort it took to talk.
“You think?” I answered. I wiggled in the bed, unable to find a comfortable position.
The springs on the opposite bed groaned. Too close. My imagination conjured the heat of his body burning into my back. It was probably just the death stare he was surely giving me.
After a moment, the rustle of bedding told me he was settling in. When movement stopped, I forced myself not to sneak a peek behind me. I had a sudden sick need to know whether he faced the wall or me. My answer came a moment later when his words washed over me, too loud for him to be facing the opposite direction.
“Sweet dreams, Audrey. And just for the record, I think the hues of pink are lovely on you, but I’m not too manly to admit red and black are a little scary.”
I groaned in silence.
“Lights off,” he said, and the room blackened.
12
No More Fun and Games
“—up now!”
I jerked awake with a scream in my throat and just enough time to see Logan book it out the shed . . . without me. Bear was hot on his heels.
“What the . . . ” I flew out of bed and snatched my sword off the wall, its weight a comfort rather than a hindrance. Thank goodness I’d slept in my body armor. Gritty-eyed but fully awake, I pushed the door open and chased after the two of them.
A sheet of cold water slapped me the moment I exited the shed. The rain hissed and dissolved into steam when it hit the flames running up and down the blade of my sword. I pumped my arms to catch up. The downpour was so torrential I could barely make out Logan in the distance as he skirted my house. My unbound hair plastered to my face and neck as I slogged through wet grass and mud, both seemingly determined to slow my hurried steps.
A deafening roar shook the ground beneath my feet. I took a giant step off course to steady myself and then pushed ahead. I had a wild fear I knew exactly what I’d see when I rounded the corner.
I skidded to a halt when I cleared the house.
It was worse.
The dragon and rider I’d expected, but not the additional demons that paced and shifted in front of the property line. One of them dragged its claws over the slick pavement, sparks shooting off in its wake, as if sharpening them before the attack. We were two hunters against five demons. I didn’t like that equation at all. But it wasn’t the dark creatures that made the blood pumping through my veins turn to ice. It was the red beast and its rider, towering over everyone.
Morgan’s features were obscured by the sheets of rain separating us, but I saw his head working on a slow swivel back and forth, most likely searching for what couldn’t be seen . . . us.
Logan stood precariously close to the very barrier that made us invisible. One outstretched hand would be enough to give away his location. With only his back in sight, I recognized the tension in his body. His sword was drawn and ready for use. Similarly, Bear had readied himself for the battle in the only way he could. His body crouched low to the ground, hackles raised and teeth bared. These were vicious looks I’d never seen on my precious companion before.
I stood in the middle of the yard in front of the house, facing the threat. I was momentarily confused by the stalemate until the garage door groaned and slowly lifted. My eyes tracked the movement until my family came into view.
Another roar from the red dragon, and the ground shook once again.
The gasp that left my mother’s lips couldn’t be heard, but I saw it. I sprinted toward them, my mind’s eye seeing clearly the horrifying scene to come but not knowing how to stop it.
Mom laid a hand on her chest and laughed off her discomfort. “Well, that was an angry clap of thunder.”
Dad planted a kiss on her forehead before moving to the driver’s side of their small SUV. “It can’t be too bad, hon. We haven’t even seen any lightning. This rain’s bark is worse than its bite.”
He was so very wrong.
“James!” my father called. “I’ve grown a few more gray hairs waiting for you. Let’s get moving.”
My brother jogged out the door connecting the house to the garage. “Don’t worry,” he quipped, “they’ll just make you look more distinguished.” With a cocky smile and fake salute he hopped in the back seat.
It was just a car—but with a dragon and a small squadron of demons waiting just outside, it was a potential death machine.
Dad shook his head at Mom over the roof of the car. “Just wait until he reaches my age. Is it bad I’m kind of hoping he has some premature hair loss? Not like the whole head or anything, but maybe some thinning up top to give him some healthy respect for my hair?”
“Dean! You don’t mean that.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I want the boy to be good-looking enough to snag the right girl someday, but a little character building wouldn’t hurt.”
“And hair loss is the way you want him to build character?”
He shrugged, a giant grin on his face. “Character for him, amusement for me, win-win.”
“You guys know I can hear you, right?”
Mom laughed as they both slid into their respective seats. They were going to pull out. God wasn’t stopping them. No one was stopping them.
No, this was not happening. This was seriously not happening right now. They were laughing. And soon they might be crashing. I had little doubt as to the enemy’s intent. Where were the other hunters? The ones I’d seen yesterday, who had been guarding my family for weeks? Where had they disappeared to?
The engine turned over as the car came to life. I threw a stricken look over my shoulder at Logan, whose body was angled toward me. Determination punched through his blurred features. I’m sure my own face broadcasted the horror churning inside like a belly full of soured milk.
As the silver car began to slowly roll backward, I did the only thing I could think to do to get it to stop. I kicked it. Hard. Hard enough that it came to a sudden stop, and my dad’s door opened and his head popped out.
“Yeah, I felt it too. Did either of you leave anything behind the car last night? James, if I just
hit your skateboard, you’re using your own money to buy a new one and fix the damages.”
The car was halfway out the garage, but still somewhat protected from the rain by the raised door. My father came around the car to inspect the damage. I’d kicked it hard enough to leave a small dent in the passenger’s-side bumper.
“What in the world?” he said to himself.
“What was it?” Mom yelled over the deluge, her window rolled down and head poking out to see my dad.
He lifted his gaze and shrugged, his eyebrows drawn. “There’s a small dent,” he leaned over to brush the spot with his fingers, “but there’s nothing here I could have hit.”
I missed what my mom said next because a piercing shrill rent the air. I swung around. Logan had passed the barrier and attacked a demon.
It was noble. But with four others, an ex-hunter, and a freaking dragon looking to join the fight, he didn’t stand a chance.
I sprinted to the other end of the line of demons. Perhaps I could draw some of their attention away? The one I headed toward made creepy chirping noises as if encouraging his companions. It was the smallest of the group and its body the most humanoid. Blackened like the rest, with a birdlike beak filled with rows of serrated shark teeth, it had four appendages protruding from the trunk of its body that somewhat resembled human arms and legs. That is, if fingers and toes were long sharp knives instead of flesh.
It didn’t have time to be surprised when I burst past the property line and severed its top half from its bottom. Its newly separated halves hit the ground before dissolving into black smoke and ash.
The first kill was so silent I wounded the next demon before it became aware of my presence. I stabbed my sword deep into its shoulder. Having missed anything of true importance, the demon turned on me with a vengeance. The charred hole in its shoulder did nothing to stop it. I should have tried to sever one of its limbs instead. That might have at least slowed it down. Stupid move.
