Avenge (Hillcrest Book 2)

by Cassie Pierce

  Thank God! The way he was staring I was afraid I might have grown a uni-boob or something.

  Zane is shaking his head, pushing himself up off of the bed and walking away before I can ask another question. Oh man. This must be bad.

  “Nope....no way. This one is on Jaxon. I am not going there. He already wants to kill me....” he fades off, just as the door flies open.

  “I’ve got it from here,” Jaxon booms, like just mentioning his name conjured him or something. A look of tension passes between the boys that did not exist this morning. Me? I have a million more questions, and no answers.

  What exactly happened when I was asleep? And why is Jaxon looking at Zane like he wants to break his kneecaps? And why in the hell is my back hurting?

  Jaxon must hear my inner monologue, because he momentarily ignores his death stare match with Zane and turns to me. His long legs eat up the distance between us quickly, and he pulls me into a heated kiss.

  I would normally totally be up for a little one on one lip time with Jaxon, but something about this particular kiss feels forced.

  Like it is more for show than anything else. Wait a minute.....is this all a show.....for Zane? Some ass backwards way of marking his territory.

  I push the thought through the bond at the same moment that I push him away. Angry that I have to wake up to this. Angry that instead of talking to me, like I need him to, he is trying to stake a claim.

  A totally unnecessary claim.

  My heart...my heart is already his. There is no need to claim something that you already own. There is however, a need to take care of it. Right now...Jaxon isn’t doing the best job of that.

  “Someone talk,” I growl, and even I am impressed by how badass my voice sounds.

  No one talks.....they just keep looking at each other like they are going to commit murder. Frustrated with the entire situation, I decide that I am done. If they want to act like babies, then so be it.

  I am going to find some kind of chocolate. Three days without carbs or sugar has got me feeling level nine hundred bitchy.

  I throw the blankets back, totally intent on storming out like the badass that I think that I am. That is not what happens. I make it to the door, before some invisible force pulls me back. I gasp as I am literally yanked back three steps.

  “What the....” I shout, turning to the boys with a fury that I have never felt before. “Who used their power on me?!” I shout, so angry that my hands shake as I try to clench them into fists at my sides.

  Jaxon smirks....actually smirks, as he crosses his arms over his chest and turns to Zane. “Would you like to tell Maci what you did?”

  My head whips in Zane’s direction so fast that I almost fall over. His eyes shine with that same worry that was present when I first woke up, but now it is magnified. He looks a little sick actually.

  “I didn’t mean to....” he starts, but Jaxon, being Jaxon, interrupts him.

  “But you did! Tell her! Tell her what you did!”

  Jaxon is yelling now, his face a shade of red that I have never quite seen on a person before. I hold up a hand, stopping whatever is about to come out of Zane’s mouth.

  I need to sit down. Bad news hurts a little less sitting down. Not Zane too. He is the only one. The absolute only one who hasn’t lied to me. My heart...my heart can’t take it if he ends up letting me down too.

  Once I am seated, I force myself to look at him. His amber eyes shine with worry as he walks closer to me. Jaxon lets out a growl as Zane sits beside me on the bed, but if Zane cares he doesn’t let on. His large hand takes my much smaller one, and I try to prepare myself for whatever is coming.

  “You were lost to the void. Your spirit was growing weaker by the day. I tried to help you back, but only witches can truly navigate the spiritual plane. I need you to understand, that doing nothing meant letting you die and I.....I wasn’t ok with that,” Zane says, squeezing my hand as he searches my eyes.

  “I don’t think anyone would have been ok with that,” he says a little firmer this time. His hard eyes settle on Jaxon, who nods stiffly.

  “Ooookkkk.....” I hedge, knowing that there is more. “So what did you do? Did you break some witchy rule or something?” I joke, trying to cut some of the tension in the room.

  “No....he broke the witchy rule,” Jaxon cuts in, sounding pissed. The way he emphasizes the word the has a ball of nerves exploding in my stomach.

  “I used a spell. A dark one. To pull you from the void you needed an anchor,” Zane explains softly, waiting on me to get it.

  “Your magic! I felt it! I saw it! I followed it back! The anchor was your magic?” I guess, not knowing what is so bad about that.

  “Is that a no-no or something?” I tease, bumping my shoulder into his when he doesn’t answer me.

  “All magic has a price Princess,” Jaxon says, walking to the bed and sitting on the other side of me. At any other time, I would find being sandwiched between these two hot, but I am thinking that nothing sexy is going to come from this.

  I do a quick scan of my mental wall, praying that right now Jaxon is not in my head. Somehow, I don’t think that he would find the idea of a Zane, Maci, Jaxon sandwich quite as sexy.

  Wait....

  “What was the price?” I ask, already knowing that the answer is going to suck for me. Doesn’t it always?

  “Magic has a twisted sense of humor. The spell was only meant to anchor us in the void, but it transferred to this realm.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask, feeling panicked and a whole lot of lost.

  “It means that you are now anchored to me.....at least physically. Where I am.....you must be. We have been bound.” Zane says, but I stop hearing anything after the first sentence.

  Anchored? Bound? Ahhh hell no! I already have a dysfunctional soul mate. I do not need another one.

  At least now I know why Jaxon looks like he wants to kill him. Strangely, I don’t feel the same. I’m not thrilled about it, but he did what he did to save me. He didn’t lie to me or try to hide the truth. How could I be mad?

  “Like how I am bound with Jax?” I question, looking at the sexy brooding angel beside me.

  “Hell no!” Jax explodes, leaning forward and cupping my face. “He can’t hear you like I do Princess. He can’t feel you like I can. This....this is just a temporary complication. That is all. Thankfully, witch boy says the anchor effects will fade in a few hours. You will never be bound to Zane, Maci. You belong to me.”

  “She belongs to no one,” Zane whispers.

  I can feel the anger flash through our bond, and even though Zane is right I can’t let them fight. Not over me. Not like this.

  I opt for a distraction.

  “What’s wrong with my back?” I moan, adding a little extra whine in there to diffuse some of Jaxon’s anger. I pull the back of my shirt up, turning it toward Jaxon. I am careful to make sure that my skin stays hidden from Zane.

  Zane who is laughing at me with his eyes.

  “No!!!!! Jaxon roars, shooting to his feet. I don’t even get a word out before he shimmers from sight.

  “Was it something I said?” I joke, fighting the tears that want so badly to break free. Zane doesn’t say anything, he just motions with his finger for me to turn around.

  I slowly turn my back in his direction, but unlike Jax....Zane doesn’t run. His fingers trace my lower back slowly as he lets out a pained sigh.

  “Oh Maci,” he whispers sadly.

  “What? Did I grow a tail or something?” I stick with sarcasm, because she never steers me wrong.

  “Or something. It’s your mark. The rune for sacrifice is complete.”

  “And that made him react that way?” I fume, angry at Jaxon for acting like such a baby.

  “No Angel. I think he reacted that way because there is a new mark there. One that shouldn’t be,” he whispers sadly.

  “What mark Zane? What is it?”

  “An infinity knot. The wiccan symbol of love
and protection,” Zane whispers almost reverently.

  Well hell.....

  ∞

  ~ Chapter 9~

  It is official. My life is a mess. A big ugly mess! It wasn’t enough that my dad is an evil angel, and who I thought was my very human mom turned out to be a not-so—evil demon. Nope. Fate had to make my soul mate an angel prince who the council would rather kill then let love me. You would think that would be enough, but fate wasn’t done with me.

  They had to throw in Zane. Zane who I am now tied to in some physical way that I don’t understand. Then the topping on my shit sundae is they marked me with yet another tattoo that I didn’t ask for.

  A tattoo that I have a very bad feeling means way more than what Zane is telling me if Jaxon’s reaction and the goofy grin on Zane’s face are any indication.

  “I am guessing by Jaxon’s reaction that this infinity knot is a big deal?” I sigh, pushing myself up and walking to the mirror in the corner of the room.

  “You could say that,” Zane laughs, his eyes tracing my movements as I pull up my shirt to get a look at this mark. I twist my body, gasping when the mark comes into view.

  It’s.....beautiful, in an ancient and mysterious sort of way. The three loops from the angelic runes are still present. The love rune a deep purple like before, and now beside it the rune for sacrifice is colored a soft aqua. The sexuality rune is the only one that remains empty.

  Below the angelic rune, an infinity symbol has appeared, looping through the angelic design so that it looks more like one giant tattoo instead of two. It is black, and the loops of it are also empty.

  “Wait,” I say suddenly, whipping my head in Zane’s direction. “No one is going to try to kill me over this are they? Because I.....”

  I am in the middle of my rant when Zane appears, laughing as he clamps a hand over my mouth to stop the madness. I don’t know if I should be grateful or pissed.

  “No one will ever harm you again,” he says, his voice taking on a dangerous note that I have never heard from him before.

  My eyes are lost in his honey gaze, and I know that I should pull away. Zane is wonderful, but he isn’t for me. I should take a step away, before I do something really stupid.

  Like kiss him.

  “Maci, I need to tell you....” he starts, but a blaring alarm shatters whatever he was about to say. The door flies open behind us, and Braxton and Ryker enter. Their eyes scan the room, a look of relief crossing their faces when they see me.

  “Oh thank god!” Ry exclaims, barging into the room and grabbing me by the hand. He all but hauls me to the door, mumbling under his breath the entire way about always having to save my ass.

  “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” I question, as the blaring alarm continues to grow louder. I resist the urge to cover my ears as I follow Ryker down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  C.J. and Talon are already there when we enter, and the moment my feet cross the threshold the little ball of southern twang wraps herself around me like a crazy baby octopus.

  “You gotta stop trying to die on me! I swear Maci! Being your friend is giving me wrinkles!” C.J. whispers, pulling back to get a look at me.

  “Sorry,” I laugh, but she just shakes her head. Her smile grows as she leans closer. “Wanna tell me what you did to piss off Jaxon? That boy stormed outta here like his britches were on fire.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” I start to say, but stop. That isn’t entirely true. I did, but not by choice. My other choice was dying.

  “Uh huh,” she giggles, cutting her eyes to Zane.

  “It isn’t like that,” I am quick to defend, already knowing where she is going with this.

  “It might not be for you, but that boy don’t know it,” she says. My eyes go back to Zane, who makes no effort to hide the fact that he was totally checking me out.

  I swallow roughly. Could C.J. be right?

  “Yes he does. He is my friend. That is all.” I say finally, deciding to focus on the bigger issue. Like why Braxton and Ryker look like they are prepping for battle suddenly.

  “Friends don’t look at friends that way. That is all I’m saying,” she says with a shrug. She goes to turn around, but I grab her arm.

  “What way?” I whisper, turning her back around so that I can see her face.

  “Like.... well....like you would look at a naked Jaxon eating chocolate cake.”

  Her words sit heavily in my mind as the others move around me. She is wrong. She has to be wrong. Zane doesn’t look at me like that. He doesn’t look at me at all. He only talks to me because we share a weird connection.

  Yep. I am going with that. Mostly, because anything else is just too much to deal with.

  “Will someone please tell me what that sound is?” I demand, needing to focus on something else.

  “The wards Princess,” Jaxon says, appearing out of nowhere and scaring the bejesus out of me. “The wards have been tripped. There is a demon on campus.”

  “My mother?” I ask, sounding hopeful. That would be the simple explanation.

  “No,” Jaxon says, shaking his head. “Both your mother and you have been spelled by a wiccan line to hide your demonic blood. That is why you did not trip our wards before. This...this is someone else.”

  “What are the chances that it is a nice demon?” I ask, my voice sounding way more hopeful than I feel.

  “About as good as you and Bianca becoming BFF’s,” Ryker cuts in, tossing me a very sharp blade. I somehow manage to catch it without losing a finger.

  “Ummmmm? What is this for?” I ask, holding up the knife.

  “It’s a knife Cherry,” Ryker laughs, using that god-awful nickname for me again. “You cut and stab things with it,” he says using a slow voice.

  I roll my eyes. I am about to cut and stab him. “I know that smartass! Why are you giving it to me?”

  “Consider it field training,” Braxton cuts in. “Since you haven’t actually made it to class.”

  Ok. So not my fault! I was busy, trying not to die and all. A fact that I am fully prepared to argue, but fate has other plans.

  A wave of dizziness slams into me, so severe that I am falling before I realize it. A cool mist appears from nowhere, coating my skin and freezing me in place. The room, and my friends all start to disappear as a voice floats into my mind.

  “Hey bestie. Miss me?”

  ∞

  That would be a hard no. I did not miss her. Not a single bit.

  One minute I am standing in the kitchen arguing with Ryker about my knife wielding skills and the next I am here. Standing face to face with my psycho ex-bestie.

  My body feels strange as I try to take stock of just where here is. My eyes scan the room, confusion slamming into me as the same kitchen that I was in moments before comes into focus. Just minus the people.

  “How?” I start, but Ashlee’s sharp voice cuts me off. There is an urgency to it that I haven’t heard from her before.

  “I know you have questions. You always do,” she laughs, and my heart clenches at the sound because that laugh sound like my Ashlee. The one from before.

  “I want to tell you so much, but M...I don’t have time. This is the void. I pulled you here. I am trapped here. I need you to free me.”

  Trapped? How can she be trapped in the void? Only people who.....

  “Did you die again? Like for real this time? Because you know that is what happens when you keep bad company.” I mumble the words, but something on her face makes me stop talking.

  She is.....she is crying. Big fat tears that roll down the planes of her golden cheeks and tug at the strings of my heart. I have always hated seeing her cry. It seems that even now that hasn’t changed.

  “Ash? What is it? Tell me?” I say, taking a step closer this time. She flinches away from me, and the sudden movement makes her entire body blur.

  Every part of me freezes. My eyes widen as I look at her. Really look at her for the first time. Her blond hair is perfec
t as always, and her eyes are the same, but her skin is paler than before. Translucent.

  Even that I could probably file away with some rational explanation, but it is her clothes that take my breath.

  Her dark skinny jeans and leopard wedges that she begged me to let her borrow that night. The white ripped tank that still carries the stain of her blood. I would know that outfit anywhere. It is an image that is buried into my mind.

  She was wearing it the night of our accident. The night that I thought she died.

  “What is this? You have done some sick shit to me since turning team evil, but this!!!! I grieved you Ash! I still grieve you! Does that mean nothing to you? Did I mean nothing to you?” I demand, shaking I am so angry.

  She shakes her head, big alligator tears that remind me so much of when Parker broke her heart flood her cheeks. “Maci. You don’t understand! I didn’t do those things! I have been here since your birthday! Since she......since she stole my body! I did die Maci, just not in the way you thought.”

  “Stole your body?” I question, gasping as a tugging sensation that I recognize as Zane’s magic begins to pull me back. I fight against it. I can’t go. Not yet. Everything about this feels important.

  “Yes. The Ashlee from the last few months isn’t me. I am in the void. Something happened during the transition. I was supposed to wake up back at the academy. Get a new assignment. A new life, but that didn’t happen. She...she was waiting for me. I am trapped. She stole my soul. I need your help. It is too late to save me, but you can’t leave me here. The things that live here....they are evil Maci. Pure evil! Please.....” she cries, just as Zane tugs again, harder this time.

  I fight him, at least long enough to get out one more thing. I owe her that much.

  “I will. I swear I will find you. Just...just hold on. I love you Ash.”

  A smile, so much like the one that I have missed for months floods her cheeks as she brings a cold hand up so close to my face. Almost touching, but not quite. A secret part of me wonders if her hand would pass right through me. Her voice is soft and her eyes sparkle with a faint flicker of hope as her words reach me.