Sweet Evil

by Wendy Higgins

  I handed over the money to Trevor, feeling saucy. “No change.”

  As the Four Horsemen hit my bloodstream, I had to wonder whether I’d just consumed more than three official drinks. Come to think of it, he’d definitely filled the glasses higher than my dad did. I felt myself listing sideways up against the boy next to me.

  “Whoa, there, girl,” he said, helping me right myself. I giggled.

  “This is more like it,” the demon purred.

  “Show’s not over yet,” I told it. I wanted to be sure its report back to whoever left no doubt I was working.

  “Time to dance,” I said to Marna. I patted the bar and she nodded, on board with the idea. She leaned down to pull off her heels, and I did the same. Then we climbed up on the stool and onto the bar, helped by the hands of strangers. The place went wild. Trevor and the other bartender rushed around removing empty glasses and bottles and drying the bar top.

  “You’d better get up here, too!” I told the two other girls.

  Marna and I grabbed their hands and helped pull them up, laughing at our own unsteadiness. We urged other girls to join the fun, pulling people up left and right. Soon there were eight of us dancing with our hands in the air, moving our hips to the beat of the music. With the strength of the alcohol in my system, it was a wonder I stayed upright on the bar.

  I looked down at Trevor, who stood right behind me, half smiling up at us, enjoying the view. He’d helped me more than he knew tonight. A rush of affection overcame me, and I squatted down, putting my hands on his face and placing a light kiss on his lips. I started to pull away, but he hauled me to him and kissed me for real, invading my senses. When the kiss ended, he grinned and took my hands to help me stand back up and dance again. My legs were not cooperating one hundred percent. It must have shown, because Marna wrapped her hand around my hip.

  By the end of the song, a hotel manager was signaling for us to climb down, and berating the bartenders, who put up their hands like they had no control over the crazy girls who’d taken over the bar top. As we rushed to get down, a short, thin guy held out his arms to me. I leaned down, holding his shoulders, and squealed as his hands grasped my hips and I fell into his arms. He was stronger than he looked. For a moment the room spun.

  “Dance with me?” he said against my ear, and I managed to nod.

  Walking proved to be difficult, as my brain seemed to have stopped sending messages to my legs that they should move forward in an orderly fashion. Luckily the guy was happy to help hold me up. He had the high-and-tight haircut and clean-shaven face of a military man.

  When we got to the dance floor he lifted my arms around his neck and supported me around my waist. He held a mixed drink in one hand. It was a slow song, so I let my head flop onto his shoulder.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Anna,” I mumbled.

  “I’m Ned. You thirsty? Captain and Coke?”

  I lifted my heavy head to examine what he offered. I leaned down and took a long drink from the straw. When I looked back up at him, everything was fuzzy, and I got that warm feeling of affection again, thinking about this brave soldier willing to put his life on the line. I pulled him down and gave him a sloppy kiss, though he didn’t seem to mind. He chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist.

  “Girl, you’re even more wasted than I thought. You’d better take it easy.”

  “Nah, I’m gooood.” I reached for the drink in his hand, but he lifted it way up high, and I jumped for it, wobbling. His free hand still held me around the waist. His laughter was playful, but I was serious about wanting to down the rest of his drink. The fact that he wouldn’t hand it over was ticking me off, and he seemed to think it was terribly cute.

  I heard a familiar sound while we haggled over the drink. A whistle. It was the same intonation my dad used during training, but it wasn’t his pitch. I peered around the room in what felt like slow motion.

  There went the whistle again!

  My slow eyes found Kope standing against the wall, sleeves still rolled up to his elbows. When he knew I saw him, he held up a glass of water.

  Ned was swaying us back and forth, trying to dance.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I told him. Well, that was what I meant to say, but it was slurred, so I hoped he got the gist of it as I disengaged from his arms and stumbled in Kope’s direction, bumping into people along the way. I finally got to him, and he held out the water and inclined his head to a chair. I took the water, but didn’t sit. He spoke to me in that maddening calm, gentle way of his.

  “Have a rest. The Legionnaire has gone.”

  Hallelujah. Now all I needed was another drink. I’d have to be sneaky, since Kope was trying to sober me up. Hey, come to think of it...

  “You whistled,” I said, pointing at him. He nodded but did not look at me, and I wondered whether he was ashamed of me. That thought made me clutch my stomach, saying, “I really need to go to the bathroom.”

  I staggered to the side, and Kope took my arm to steady me. He lifted my chin without saying a single word. I watched his hazel eyes, feeling his thumb move back and forth across my jaw, his way of saying he thought no less of me. I gathered strength from his strong gaze, knowing I wouldn’t be getting another drink after all. I gave him a single nod.

  When he dropped his hand from my chin, I walked away from him, dizzy, trailing a hand against the wall until I got to the nearest exit. I went to the hall with the bathroom but stopped in the entryway. Why was it so dark? Oh, wait. This wasn’t right. It was some utility hall, where two people were making out.

  My body locked up with the shock of recognition. Looking away would have been the smart thing to do. But my feet were weighted down by some terrible charm as I took in the sight of Kai’s lean back and strong shoulders. Manicured fingernails roamed over the short hair on the back of his head as he kissed her hard. They were fully dressed, but might as well have been naked, the way his hips ground against hers. She lifted a knee, hiking her dress up to her hips and revealing red panties. She pulled his blue dress shirt out of his waistband and put her hands in, touching his back. I knew exactly how silky his skin would feel.

  I finally got enough sense to back out of that hall. I rounded the corner and came nose-to-nose with Ginger, who grabbed my upper arm in a death grip. She peeked around the corner to confirm that I’d gotten an eyeful, then pulled me down the hall away from them.

  “What the hell are you thinking?” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Leave him alone while he’s working!”

  “I was looking for the bathroom.” I tried to pull my arm from her strong grasp.

  “Likely,” she spit.

  “You don’t have to talk to me like that! And freaking let me go!”

  She flung my arm down, getting in my face again. I hoped Pharzuph wasn’t camped out somewhere nearby listening, because Ginger obviously wasn’t worried about throwing me under the bus.

  “I watched you tonight, Anna. You enjoyed yourself, didn’t you? You loved the attention of that bartender and the eyes of the men on you while you danced for them. Admit it. You loved it.”

  I wanted to deny it. All my life I’d been invisible. I’d been too good to be noteworthy. Tonight I felt accepted by the crowd, and in spite of the horrid spirit trailing me, I’d managed to have fun along the way.

  “All of those guys giving you attention?” she continued. “Yeah, they wanted to get laid. That bartender? He’s engaged. I’d scouted him out before you even got here. And did you happen to notice all of the girls who were wildly envious as their boyfriends tried to get a glimpse up your dress while you danced on the bar? Because that’s what was happening while you were enjoying yourself.”

  “Stop. That’s not fair.”

  “Fair.” She snorted, scoffing at the notion. “You’re no better than the rest of us.”

  “I never thought I was.”

  As I stared into Ginger’s eyes the room began to spin again. Someone wa
s coming up behind us, talking to us. I worked hard to focus. It was Blake. He stuck out his knuckles at me, and with great effort I finally bumped his with mine.

  “You know it’s a good night when you lose your shoes.” He laughed. We looked down at my bare feet, toenails painted sparkly red. “Who knew you’d be the kissing bandit after a few drinks, huh?”

  The Four Horsemen began galloping in my belly, turning into a rodeo. I slapped a hand over my mouth and pushed past them, dropping the glass of water that Kopano had given me. Ginger screamed as it splashed up on her. I ran for the bathroom, flinging open the door and falling into the last stall just in time.

  One by one I lost each drink, then I flushed the toilet and slid down the wall until I was sitting on the remarkably clean tiled floor, knees up to my chest. Someone else was getting sick at the other end of the bathroom. I leaned down and saw under the stalls that it was the two girls from the bar. The one I’d pressured was heaving and crying while her friend stood behind her. I sat back up and squeezed my eyes shut. After a few minutes they finished, leaving me alone in the restroom.

  The room continued to spin, and as the image from that dark utility hall made an appearance, I closed my eyes and fought the urge to be sick again.

  I heard a scuffle outside the bathroom, two people arguing, and then the door opened.

  “Anna?” Oh, no. “Ann?” My heart compressed with pain at the sound of his voice.

  “I’m fine, Kai.” My throat was raspy.

  Footsteps echoed off the high ceilings until shiny black shoes showed under my stall door.

  “You’re sick. Let me in.”

  “No. I’m fine now.”

  “Shall I send Marna, then?”

  “No. I just want to be alone. Go away in case the spirits come back.”

  There was a long pause and I prayed he would hurry and leave, because the emotions I’d kept at bay all night were surfacing. I knew that when they made it to the top I was going to have an ugly, slobbering cry that needed no witnesses. Please don’t say another word....

  “You did... well tonight.” The reluctant sentiment in his voice was like a hammer busting me wide open.

  “Go,” I said thickly. “I want to be alone. Please just go away!”

  There was a weird chanting sound coming from the people outside, and as I strained to listen, still unable to use my extra senses, I realized they were counting down. Cheers erupted and party horns trilled.

  “Happy New Year.” His feet turned to leave, and the moment the door clicked shut behind him I dropped my head to my forearms and wept.

  “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.”

  —William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  SOME BY VIRTUE FALL

  Someone knocked on my apartment door at six thirty the next morning. Six thirty! I shuffled down the hall, unable to stand straight. My stomach was still upset, and my head pounded as I spied my dad through the peephole. I opened the door and he walked right past me, heading for the kitchen.

  “Help yourself,” I told him.

  “Mornin’ to you, too, grumpy.” He poured himself a glass of tea and threw together a sandwich. I stared, bleary-eyed.

  “You got sick last night.”

  How could he tell? Did I smell bad? He took a bite, frowning at me.

  “I forgot to drink water,” I mumbled.

  “Or it could have been the Four Horsemen shot,” he suggested.

  “How did you... ?” I began, then figured it out. “You were nearby the whole time!” He nodded. “Well, what was I supposed to do with that spirit breathing down my neck? He said he’d leave me alone if I gave him a show. I couldn’t exactly say no to the shot.”

  “Don’t ever give a bartender free rein. Order only what you can handle.”

  I sighed and dropped onto the couch, pressing my temples. It was way too early.

  “We’ll talk about it on the plane. Get up and get ready. We’re going to New York City.”

  Flying first class was nice. Too bad I couldn’t enjoy it. My gut was wrecked and my head was splitting. I chugged water and tried to eat a croissant.

  The Dukes had called an emergency summit, and all Nephilim were required to attend. Neph from all over the world had left the night before to begin the trek. My friends were flying in on Pharzuph’s personal jet.

  On the way to the airport I’d asked my dad why the Neph had to go. He said Neph were invited to summits only when one of them was in trouble. A strange sense of numbness had crept over me at that point. He’d sent a few of his trusted whisperers out to hunt down information, but all they learned was that a female Nephilim was not working up to par and would be dealt with as a reminder to all. We’d been silent the rest of the way to the airport, but my brain worked overtime.

  It was too much of a coincidence that the Dukes would call an emergency meeting hours after I’d been tested. The unyielding tension on my dad’s face told me more than he was willing to say.

  “Someone whistled last night,” my father said during the flight. The plane hummed with white noise from the engines. Nobody sat next to us.

  “It was Kopano.”

  “Did you tell him about that?” he asked.

  I bit my lip and shook my head.

  “So he listened in on your training.” He sucked air through his front teeth. “Ballsy.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  He lifted a shoulder and let it drop as if it made no difference. Then he raised the issue of the summit again, and my insides constricted.

  “Sit as far away from the Dukes as you can tonight,” he instructed. “Neph don’t talk at summits. Don’t speak out, no matter what happens. If there’s a problem, I’ll take care of it. And don’t pull out that damn sword unless I tell you to. It’s our absolute last resort. Once that cat’s out of the bag there’s no going back.”

  Together we’d rigged up a holster for the hilt around my ankle. He’d found a leather pouch to hold it so my bare skin wouldn’t be zapped. I was wearing black pants that flared enough at the bottom to hide it. He hadn’t thought metal detectors would be able to sense the celestial material, and he’d been right. I made it through airport security without notice.

  The most terrifying thing about the summit was not knowing what to expect. I needed to prepare for the worst.

  Ridicule. Torture. Pain. Death. Hell.

  A tremor of terror racked me at the thought of eternal damnation. At the same time the plane hit a pocket of differing air pressure and the cabin dropped, shaking. I gripped the armrest. Not eternal, I told myself. It would be only temporary; I could make it. I closed my eyes in meditation. And then another horrific thought surfaced. What if Kaidan or Kopano tried to stop the Dukes from hurting me during the summit? They’d cause themselves to be subjected to punishment, too. The idea of anyone intervening was too much. A tear trickled out.

  My father reached over and wiped it away before taking my hand. I kept my head back, eyes closed.

  “It might not be about you,” he reassured me. But it might.

  From the small rounded window I could see the speck of another plane passing in the distance. We would be passing Patti somewhere in the sky that morning as she returned home. I closed my eyes and pictured her face, hearing her encourage me to be strong. I couldn’t think about how she would handle tonight’s news. My dad had said it was too dangerous to call, so I’d left her a letter. It was not a sufficient good-bye.

  A bell chimed overhead and we looked at each other. Our initial descent into New York City had begun. We had no information and no plan.

  “When we get there I’ll check you into a hotel. Stay in the room until it’s time to go. I’ll send someone to come get you.”

  That night, as I stepped up from the NYC subway with my five Nephilim friends, we were swallowed up by a torrent of partygoers headed toward Times Square in the freezing cold. Everyone was bundled up in thick coats, gloves, scarves, and woolly
hats. I’d never seen so many people.

  If it was this crazy on New Year’s Day, I couldn’t imagine what it’d been like the night before, when the ball dropped. Since New Year’s Eve fell on a Friday this year, everyone was making a weekend of it.

  I grabbed the fabric on the back of Marna’s coat so I wouldn’t lose her as I stared up at the massive billboards and flashing displays across buildings. I shoved my other frozen hand into my jacket pocket. Everything here was supersized: giant buildings, screens, stores, all crammed together into a barrage of images and sounds. There was no way to take it all in; you simply had to let it envelop you. Get lost in it.

  I envied the cool expressions worn by the other Neph, as if nothing were amiss. Would I have been able to share in their confident swaggers if I’d been trained to reveal nothing under pressure? I concentrated on not allowing my forehead to furrow.

  We were well hidden in the large, exuberant crowd. There was a mix of national and international faces, visitors who’d come from all over for the Big Apple holiday. Thousands of sheer guardian angels bobbed along with their charges. Everyone was talking and shouting their laughter. The general atmosphere was euphoric, and many auras were blurry from the influence of substances.

  After walking fifteen minutes through the masses, we turned down a less busy street. It was still active, but we had more elbow room and the crowd was thinning out ahead. We were close, mere blocks away. Kaidan must have felt it, too, because he fell back next to me as he walked, continuing to look straight ahead. Being close to him made me feel better, and I reveled in the occasional brush of his arm against mine. Even through our coats I felt the electric pull between us.

  A large group exited a club and filtered out, crowding the sidewalk. In a moment of boldness I caught Kaidan’s pinkie with mine, knowing nobody would be able to see. I felt his hand go stiff, and then we were suddenly moving to the side. He led me by the little finger, weaving between people until we ducked down a set of narrow stairs into a dark cellar doorway, hidden by shadows. Euphoria exploded inside me at our nearness.