Awaken (Divine Hunter Series)

by L. J. Sealey

  “What’s with those two anyway?” He reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

  “He’s her ex-husband.” She saw his eyebrow rise.

  “You’re kidding me? Those two?”

  She nodded. “They seem to have a bit of a love/hate relationship. I think Jaret still has a thing for her.”

  “Well, he’s a brave man. I can’t imagine it’s easy being married to someone like−”

  “Actually,” a voice said from over by the house. Lacy noticed Michael’s eyes widen as they flicked passed her shoulder. She whipped her head around to see Alethia stepping out from the back door, “it’s more like the other way around. You ever dated an Incubus?”

  Michael straightened as Alethia stepped towards them. Lacy flicked her gaze between them both and the awkward look on his face made Lacy smile.

  He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean−”

  “That’s ok,” the deity interrupted, “I understand why you would say it and the answer is no, it’s not easy being married to me, what with the powerful, all-seeing parents and all. . . But I can assure you, it was no picnic being married to a half man/half demon hybrid with an attitude problem and a severe sex addiction.”

  Michael laughed. “Fair enough.”

  “I just came to tell you that I’ll be leaving for Asirus as soon as I’ve helped Jaret find a place to stay.”

  “He’s welcome to stay at my apartment at the university.” Michael offered.

  Alethia looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “Are you sure?”

  He smiled at her. “Consider it my apology. Least I can do.”

  “I’ll tell him. Thank you, Michael.”

  “No need to thank me. I appreciate what he did. Anyway, I won’t be there.” he reached for Lacy’s hand. “I’m not leaving Lacy here on her own.”

  Lacy beamed at the thought of Michael wanting to protect her. It meant more to her now that she knew how he felt about her. And she was eager for them to be alone. After everything that had happened today she was pretty exhausted, plus she wanted to help take Michael’s mind off things by finishing what they’d started a few moments ago.

  “I think that’s wise. Look after your woman.” Alethia replied with a knowing grin as her eyes flicked between the two of them. Your woman, Lacy thought. She liked the sound of that. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have any information.”

  “Appreciate it,” Michael said. “And Alethia, thanks for all that you’re doing.”

  “No need to thank me. Evo’s my friend too. I feel partly responsible for what’s happened to him.” Her eyes dropped to the floor for a second and then she straightened and turned to leave.

  “Oh, and yes. . . Jaret does still want me,” she said over her shoulder and glanced back with a smirk before disappearing inside.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  After Alethia and Jaret had left, Lacy had made food and she and Michael had enjoyed it with a small glass of wine. The normality of sitting with him, eating pizza and laughing and joking was nice. It filled her with hope that they’d somehow be ok. She tried not to let him think too much about Evo, talking about her time back in England and telling him how she’d love to go and visit one day, and it seemed to have worked. She’d even had him smiling.

  Lacy had finished filling the dishwasher after she’d quickly tidied up the rest of the kitchen, and was wiping around the sink when she glanced up at the window and saw someone standing in her back yard. No, wait! Not in her backyard. . . She turned her head to see the figure of a young man, dressed in casual jeans and a black and white high school jacket, standing in front of the kitchen door. Her breath caught and she blinked a couple of times hoping that it would just go away. He reached one arm out towards her and mouthed something that looked like the word “leave” before dropping his arm again.

  Since her experience with the woman at the warehouse, she was glad of the explanation as to why she’d been seeing things, glad she wasn’t actually crazy and knew that it was something she was going to have to learn to live with. But they were still going to scare the shit out of her, even though she knew they weren’t a threat.

  From this moment on, I’m not going to let them faze me. She shivered, straightened her shoulders and whispered, “You leave,” before she put her hand right through his body and opened the door.

  He disappeared.

  She felt a little proud of herself for not freaking out, but decided not to mention it, determined not to let anything disturb their night.

  She joined Michael who was sat on the sofa with his laptop on his knee. Lacy had grabbed the leftover wine on her way out of the kitchen and topped up his glass which was on the sideboard next to where he was sat and joined him on the sofa.

  He glanced up at her. “Thanks.”

  She leaned back, glass in hand and pulled her legs up next to her. She placed her head on Michael’s shoulder and he kissed the top of it through her hair. It was crazy how close they’d become. She felt like she’d known him all her life and was amazed at how comfortable they both were at showing their affections to one another.

  If only things were different.

  She glanced at the computer screen which had lots of tabs open, the one on the screen now had different pictures of ancient looking rings, all with different types of jewels in them, as Michael scrolled up the page.

  “Found anything?” Lacy asked.

  “Nothing yet. I’ve been scrolling through this lot for the past ten minutes and nothing looks the same as the ring Evo had. I honestly don’t think it’s going to turn up anywhere on the internet. Our only hope is Alethia, but if her father still refuses to talk to her. . . ” he huffed, “then I don’t know what we’ll do.”

  “I hope she manages to sway him, but he was quite insistent. Alethia told me earlier that he’d ordered her not to get involved because anything she did would reflect on the gods as a whole. But I don’t think she’s listening.” Lacy yawned and then took a sip of wine.

  Michael closed the lid on his laptop and placed it on the floor. “You’re tired. You should get some rest. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day.” He lifted his arm to invite her under it and took her glass with his free hand, reaching over and placing it down next to his. She snuggled into him, her arm resting over his stomach. She thought she felt him sniff her hair and the simple gesture seemed to ignite that familiar heat inside her from earlier. There was no way she was going to sleep without spending some much needed time with him first.

  “I’m not interested in sleep yet,” she said as she sat up a little and brought her face to his.

  Michael pierced her with his icy blue gaze. He smiled at her, eyes narrowing as he lowered them to her mouth. She guessed he knew what she meant as he moved towards her and claimed her with his soft lips. This is what she’d been waiting for, and now they were alone there was no time to waste. She kissed him back and before she knew it Michael had scooped her up and was now lowering her down on the sofa. He followed, removing his navy sweater and dropping it to the floor as he continued to caress her mouth with his. He laid his body on top of hers and, once again, she melted into him, losing herself into his fervent kisses.

  Hands were everywhere: his stroking down her sides, hers in his hair, then he slid one of his up her top and stroked up her stomach before cupping her breast. He kissed her neck, her ear, every inch of her skin with that same desperate hunger that she’d felt from him outside.

  He pushed her top up and she helped him lift it over her head and heard it drop to the floor. Her skin prickled at the feel of his warm body touching hers and she ran her hands all over his hard, muscled back.

  Last time they’d made love, she thought it would be their last so right now, she would savor every touch, every kiss, every whisper from him until their troubles temporarily melted away leaving only the two of them enjoying each other, embracing the moments they had together because who knows what was waiting around the corner.
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  The demons, the monsters, they could all wait. Right now was only for her and Michael.

  * * *

  As the hot water ran down her body, Lacy closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh. It was hard to stay away from Michael right now, especially knowing he was lying in her bed naked, but she’d forced herself away from him to grab a quick shower. Somehow, even after everything that had happened over the last few weeks, she felt happy. Though her world had changed drastically and she’d survived a kidnapping from an evil demon, she couldn’t stop smiling as she thought about the gorgeous man that was across the hall waiting for her to return.

  She rinsed the last of the conditioner from her hair and turned the water off. She leaned over and grabbed the towel from the hook on the wall, wrapped it around her body and tucked the corner in under her arm. She towel dried her hair and picked up her brush from the counter. The mirror had steamed up so she went and opened the small window on the other side of the room. When she stood back in front of the mirror, she leaned across and wiped the condensation away with her hand and began to brush her hair.

  She couldn’t help thinking about poor Evo and hoped to God he was ok. When Alethia had first mentioned what the ring could do, she didn’t really think about it properly because she was too busy worrying about him and Evo using it. But now that she was, she really feared for Evo. And knew that if anything happened to him, Michael would be ruined. She really hoped Alethia could find out where he would have gone, or at least some information that would help lead Michael to him.

  She finished with her hair and decided to brush her teeth. She pulled out the drawer from the sideboard next to her and grabbed her toothpaste and brush and as her gaze returned to the mirror she was shocked to see someone standing behind her in the reflection. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

  Not again! Honestly. . . Isn’t there some kind of signal you can give me instead of scaring me half to death?

  Lacy spun around but there was no one there. She turned back to the mirror where the blond haired woman was still standing behind her.

  Then she suddenly remembered the dream she’d had, or was it a dream? This same woman had tried to communicate with her last night while she’d slept.

  Lacy didn’t panic. Even though her heart was pounding like it was about to leave her chest, she knew the spirit wasn’t there to harm her. Just like her encounter earlier in the kitchen, she wasn’t scared.

  “Who are you?” Lacy asked in a soft voice.

  From what she could see the woman was dressed in a long sleeve top with a navy colored neck scarf, both were torn just like in her dream. Her hair was scruffy, her skin pasty with a nasty looking bruise at the side of her mouth. Her head was lowered and her mouth began to move.

  She was trying to say something but Lacy couldn’t make it out. “What do you want? What are you trying to tell me?” The woman’s mouth was moving but there was no sound. Lacy stared through the mirror. “I can’t understand you. What is it?”

  The woman began to look distressed and lifted her arm and pointed at Lacy. She was still trying to say something; it looked like she was mouthing one word over and over. Her hands lifted to her head and she grabbed her hair either side with her fists, her mouth opening wider.

  Now Lacy began to feel scared. She started to back away from the mirror but the woman carried on, desperately trying to communicate with her.

  Lacy couldn’t believe what happened next. Her own hand began to move on its own. She tried to stop but had no control over what was happening. The more she fought against whatever it was that was moving her hand the harder it became. She watched as she picked up the tube of toothpaste from the side of the sink.

  What’s happening to me?

  Looking at her own arm rising toward the mirror when she wasn’t doing it, Lacy held her breath. The woman was still beside her in the reflection but her mouth was now closed and her stare was wide. She was no longer trying to speak; instead she was using another way to communicate with her.

  Lacy’s hand squeezed the tube and after swallowing hard in an attempt to lubricate her throat which had dried out through fear, she watched herself write, spelling something out in white toothpaste. But when her hand fell back down as though the ghost had let go of her arm, she was immediately filled with dread as she read the word that she’d unwillingly spelled out:

  RUN.

  Lacy inhaled sharply and the woman on the other side of the glass disappeared.

  Another memory from last night’s dream flashed through her mind: HE’S COMING.

  She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and began to tremble. She didn’t want to turn her head to see what it was because she knew, down to the pit of her stomach that something bad was about to happen. She forced herself to move her head and saw a thick black mist coming through the window.

  She froze.

  The mist flew towards her and she saw some kind of face in it. “Michael!” she shouted.

  She grabbed the door handle but when she went to turn it, it was locked. She hadn’t locked the door. How was it locked?

  “Michael! HELP ME!” she cried as she continued to frantically twist the door knob, but it was no use. It wasn’t budging.

  She watched in horror as the mist began to climb up her leg. It twisted around her thigh and slowly crawled up her stomach. Oh, God!

  What was happening? She went to shout again but her voice was suddenly cut off as she felt pressure around her throat as though someone had their hands around it, choking the air from her lungs.

  Her hands went to her throat, feeling for whatever it was that was constricting her airways. There was nothing there. She couldn’t breathe. NO! I’m going to die right here in my own bathroom. And Michael. . .

  She stumbled backwards, falling against the wall. Her hands still rubbed at her throat trying to find what was suffocating her. Her arms began to flail with panic.

  She heard Michael’s voice on the other side of the door. “Lacy what’s wrong?”

  The door handle twisted back and forth as Michael tried to open the door.

  She tried to shout “Help” but it was no use. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  Next minute the mist began to crawl inside her mouth and before she could do anything else her vision began to flash and fade like what happened to the reel of tape in a projector when it had reached the end. That was all she remembered before she blacked out.

  * * *

  “Lacy! Lacy!”

  Michael threw his whole weight at the bathroom door but it didn’t budge. Lacy had gone quiet on the other side and he feared that something terrible had happened to her.

  Fuck! What the hell was going on?

  “LACY!” he called out as he wiggled the handle and pounded the door again.

  Nothing.

  “Jesus Christ. Lacy! Are you ok?”

  That familiar heat began to rise up through his body as he threw his shoulder into the door again. He looked around for something he could use to break it down but couldn’t see anything, so he thought taking a run at it might do the trick. He was terrified of what he might find on the other side of the door but had to get in there somehow.

  He was just backing away when the handle moved. He froze. Lacy’s voice sounded from the other side.

  “Michael! Michael. . . I can’t open the door, Michael.”

  His breath rushed from his lungs with the relief of hearing her voice. Thank God.

  “Hang on. I’m just going to try and−”

  The door opened. Though, how she’d managed it he had no idea. What the fuck? There was no way that door was opening a minute ago so how in the hell did she just. . . ?

  Lacy stepped out from the bathroom. She looked. . . She looked fine.

  Michael’s brows pulled tight. “Jesus! Lacy. . . are you ok?” He took hold of her shoulders and bent to look at her, checking for any injuries. “I thought something terrible had happened.” In fact, he was
convinced of it. Her cries for help had made his blood run cold but yet, here she was, calm as anything.

  She blinked and looked at him briefly before her gaze drifted past his shoulder. “I’m fine now. I just panicked because I got locked in.”

  What?

  “You just panicked?” Michael couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. All of that was just her panicking. Fucking hell. “I thought you were being attacked or something.”

  She shook her head ever so slightly. “No. Just panicked. I need to lie down. I’m tired.”

  He watched in stunned silence as she walked past him towards her bedroom and he followed her inside, still very confused about what had just happened. As he walked behind her, she lowered her towel and let it slide down her body until it hit the floor. She walked naked over to the bed, pulled back the covers and climbed inside. She lay down on her side facing the window, pulled the covers up over her shoulders and closed her eyes.

  Michael walked to the other side of the bed and climbed in beside her. “Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked again, wondering why she hadn’t even dried her hair. She seemed distant. But he’d seen her have a panic attack before and it wasn’t pleasant. Perhaps it had taken a lot out of her, or maybe she felt embarrassed. He was sure she’d be fine in the morning.

  “Yes. I just want to sleep,” she replied softly.

  He lay on his side next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. For a moment he thought he felt her body tense up, but ignored it. He lifted his head and gently kissed her shoulder. “Goodnight, Lacy.”

  She didn’t answer.

  * * *

  Michael awoke to bright sun shining on his face. The drapes were open and with his eyes squinted, he saw that the covers were pulled back and there was an empty space where Lacy had been. She must have opened the drapes when she’d got up, but couldn’t figure why she would if he was still sleeping.

  He stretched his arm above his head and rolled onto his back. He’d just started to yawn when it was cut off as he jumped out of his skin.