Flicker (Defying Death Book 1)

by Courtney Houston

  “There is no Lust, and for that, we should be eternally thankful,” Telor said. “However, Denny has a certain flair for the dramatic. This is right up his alley.”

  He continued to move and sway us, the feel of his body against mine a high I was unaccustomed to.

  “You’re a horrible dancer.” He nipped at my ear a little harder than he had before, making my previously choppy dance moves even worse and my already weak knees even weaker.

  The rest of the club seemed oblivious to us. The dancers closest to us waved their arms in the air with abandon, shimmying and grinding their bodies together. They were so caught up in the music, they wouldn’t have noticed if the world ended. What I wouldn’t have given for an hour of their apparent bliss.

  My mind and body were beyond forgetting why we were here or where we were. I turned in his arms, wanting to see if the playfulness that he spoke with was as obvious on his face. It took me a minute to focus on him through the flashing lights. My breath caught as warm need spread through my stomach. The way the lights and shadows fought over him made him look like an angel—a dangerous, mischievous angel. As his spell released me, I realized how close our faces actually were. Just a few more centimeters, and I could take his mouth with mine. As if he could read my mind, he pulled me tighter, and my breasts pressed against his solid, gray-covered chest. His eyes bored into mine, and the desire that shone back at me mirrored my own.

  Roaming my hands over his shoulders, I stood on my tiptoes and rubbed the front of my body against his, making my intentions glaringly obvious.

  Too impatient to wait on him, I pulled him down to me, meeting him halfway, eager to feel him against me. Our lips moved together perfectly in sync. A low moaning came from his throat and he started to retreat.

  “Lina,” he warned in the brief moment he was able to break away.

  The sir doth protest too much, I thought to myself, allowing the smile it brought to stretch across my lips.

  “Shut up, Telor,” I said, and took his face in my hands, pulling his lips back to mine. Roughly nipping his bottom lip with my teeth. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

  He stopped protesting quickly. His hands found the crook of my knee, wrapping my legs around his waist and spinning us so his back was to the crowd, shielding me from would-be prying eyes. He pressed my back against the pole and moved one hand to the nape of my neck while the other trailed up my thigh, pushing my dress toward my hips. The little bit of my wits I had left went out the door. The only thing I could think of was the feel of his hands on me.

  I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. Getting frustrated with the last four, I just ripped it open, the buttons flying off into the crowd. A low groan rumbled from his chest as I slipped my hand inside the ruined fabric and ran my palm up the smooth contours of his chest. Was this Heaven or Hell? I didn’t care. I’d take it.

  Telor’s hands had all but disappeared under my dress as he ran them back and forth across my hips. I loved his touch. I wanted more. And he seemed ready to give it, his lips trailing from my lips to my jaw then my neck and my collarbone. The heady combination of his hands, his lips, and the beat of the music flooded my senses. In that moment, I was blissfully unaware of the thrumming bodies around us.

  "I can come back," an amplified male voice broke through our bubble.

  I jumped, pulling slightly back from Telor, my gaze darting to the man over his shoulder. His chin-length blond hair hung in artful waves around his face.

  He smiled at us, a friendly, if not a little smug, grin. “I mean, that is if you two wanted to finish whatever this little stunt is.”

  Telor 29

  Like ants to honey. I knew Denny couldn’t resist showing up if we were right here on his turf. Destiny was far too curious of a creature to ignore something right in front of him. I just hoped that he was forthcoming with information, that he even had something for us, or this little excursion was for nothing. Given his lack of communication, it had crossed my mind that maybe I was wrong about his involvement. A half smile tilted the corner of my lips and I looked down at Lina. Well, maybe not nothing.

  Catalina’s burning hot face was buried in my chest; she was using my open shirt to hide her embarrassment. I realized that I still had her back against the pole and her top bunched around her hips. Thank God for her leggings or Denny and his Weavers would have gotten an eyeful. Not that I much appreciated the longing in any of their eyes at the moment, regardless.

  “Am I staying? Leaving?” Denny asked, cocking his head to the side. “Am I correct in thinking that this little production was to garner my attention?”

  “Yeah, that’s correct.” With every ounce of strength I had, I put her down and started to close the remaining buttons on my shirt.

  “Well played,” he said and started for the stairs. “We should probably do this somewhere more private. Wouldn’t want the Other World gossips to go spouting off any more information than they already have. Eh, Guide?”

  If I didn’t need his help, I’d have punched him. Maybe this was a bad idea. I was keeping the worst of my suspicions to myself for a reason. I didn’t need Denny here to go telling her everything. But as fate would have it—pun intended, how very fitting— it was too late to leave. Especially without a shit ton of explanations.

  Wordlessly, we followed him to the staircase. Catalina clutched my hand tightly. Her nervousness had turned to fear again. The gentlemen escorting us weren’t giving off you’re safe vibes either. What exactly did Denny do here that he required bodyguards, and when did he start taking buff, military-grade souls on as Weavers? Positioning myself between her and them on the way up the stairs, I wrapped my arms around her waist.

  “Calm down, Cariad,” I whispered in her ear. “Everything is fine.”

  “I know,” she said. Liar.

  Ushering Catalina in front of me, I kept a firm hand on her waist as we ascended the steps with Denny and his guards.

  The balcony was decorated similarly to the apartment. Clean lines, all black, white, and silver. Couches, chaise lounges, and glass-top tables were arranged around the room. Denny took a seat in the middle of a plush white sofa, while Lina and I took a seat together on an identical one across from him. Folding his fingers and tapping them against his mouth, Denny appraised us for a long moment before speaking.

  “You’re even more amazing than I imagined,” he said.

  “Care to elaborate?” I asked, wrapping my arms around Lina and pulling her close to me. She had been uncharacteristically quiet, and I knew it was because she was nervous and even scared. The high of our little dance earlier had faded, but it still seemed a little out of sorts for her to have not said anything yet.

  “First, I want you guys to try something.” He moved so his elbows were resting on his knees. “Smell her hair.”

  “Smell her hair?” I scoffed. That was a weird request. When Denny nodded, I obligingly ducked my head and buried my nose in her loose, wavy hair and inhaled a deep breath.

  “Okay?” I asked him, confused as to what he hoped that would accomplish. “What was the point of that?”

  “You did it wrong,” he said, agitated and growing impatient. Served him right. “Lina, sit on his lap.”

  Denny waved his hand from her to my lap. A shy, sexy little smile quirked the side of her lips as she slid into my lap. She ducked her head, her eyes flashing to mine in silent question. I slid my arm around her waist and squeezed gently, reassuring her that it was okay. That I at least thought it was okay.

  “Calm down,” I whispered, hopefully low enough for only her ears. The worried gleam of her eyes showed her apprehension.

  With the arm around her waist, I pulled her closer, and pressed my lips to hers. A promise that we could do this. A small whimper escaped her as she kissed me back.

  “We get it, you’re in love. Save the hormones for when you are behind closed doors, or at least, not behind my door.”

  Again, I inhaled deeply. This time, I think I did it rig
ht.

  It smelled like honey, lemon, and vanilla. A little bit like tea. Visions of climbing a large tree with big cream-colored flowers danced through my mind, and I saw a secret handshake and felt smooth bark under my skin. It made me feel young and free. Happy.

  “What…?” I said to Denny over Catalina’s shoulder.

  “What did you see?” he asked, eager.

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Whatever it was, I’ve never seen it before.”

  “What did you see?” Catalina asked, speaking up for the first time.

  “I can’t explain it. Your hair smelled like honey, vanilla, and lemon. But it reminded me of climbing a tree and having a secret handshake. Though, I can promise you I’ve never climbed a tree in my life, nor have I ever had a secret handshake with anyone.”

  “Never climbed a tree?” she asked then giggled. “My hair smells like rosemary and mint. That smell was the tree. It’s a magnolia tree. Ollie and I used to climb it. And that’s where we made our secret handshake when I was six, I think.”

  She explained my vision to me so calmly, too calmly, that it made me wonder.

  “This has happened to you before? You’ve seen one of my memories?” I asked, and she nodded her head. “When? What did you see?”

  “The day you brought me lunch.” She was all nerves, like I was going to get angry with what she told me. “Fancy your biscuits in the closet, love?”

  “Ah, that makes sense.” I momentarily thought back to my childhood. “My mother was a seamstress, and I used to hang out with her at work after school. I played in the closet, pretending it was a fort. She would slide a plate of cookies to me.”

  It was supposed to be a happy memory, and it shouldn’t have hurt me the way it did. It should have made me smile and remember what great parents I had. Except it didn’t. It left me bitter and angry. Angry that I was gone, and bitter that I’d never see them again. I rubbed the bracelet around my wrist as a means to calm myself. We had other things to worry about. I didn’t have the time or the luxury to worry about things that had already passed.

  Lina 30

  Telor was going to rub his wrist raw if he didn’t stop it. I shouldn’t have told him what I saw when I knew it would upset him. If these were the kinds of games Denny was going to play, we’d get answers elsewhere.

  “What exactly was the point of that?” I asked angrily. “Or was that simply to see if you could rattle us?”

  I expected him to respond to my anger with anger, but instead, he flashed a cocky smile.

  “My intent was to point out a connection,” he said, taking a rocks glass from a tray. “Care for a little liquid courage before this conversation gets heavy?”

  “Yes,” I said at the same time Telor said, “No.” He wasn’t looking at me, he was staring at the ceiling, and when the waiter handed me a glass of honey-colored liquid, I took a quick sniff. Southern Comfort, just my speed. I drank it all in one gulp.

  “So, you pointed out a connection,” Telor said, coming back from his mind. “Is that it? Are those the only answers you have for us?”

  “No. In case you haven’t noticed, darling Catalina here has basically put herself between us and looks as though she is going to rip my throat out. Simmer down, child.”

  I hadn’t even realized that I had, indeed, scooted to the front of the couch, ready to strangle him if he kept it up. His use of the term child rubbed me the wrong way. While I knew he was much older than I was, he didn’t look it. He looked as though he’d stepped off the pages of a Pac Sun catalog, with his chin-length blond hair and tan skin in the middle of winter. Still shooting daggers at him, I relaxed into the crook of Telor’s arm.

  “Make your point,” I ground out.

  “So, if I’m correct in my thinking, which I usually am, you guys want to know why Catalina is here, instead of in the other world with Tori,” he said. When I nodded, he continued, “Do you know what my job is?”

  “Um, to determine people’s lives?” I asked, looking to Telor for confirmation. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

  “More or less. I take into account their previous lives and give them the opportunity to atone for their wrongdoings in the next. I also make sure that they have proper people in their lives to help them; I try to lead them down the right paths,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong: everyone ultimately makes their own choices, but I am there to nudge them in the right direction.”

  “I thought the concept of fate was that everything was predetermined?”

  “The future is an ever-changing novel. We write the outline, you write your own book,” he answered with a wisdom that didn’t fit his devil-may-care appearance.

  “What does that have to do with me? I mean, am I going down the wrong path?” I asked. If that were the case, I couldn’t imagine what exactly I had been doing wrong.

  “No, you were following your path relatively well, though you technically should be dead. This is all the result of years of careful and tedious planning on my part,” he announced triumphantly. My confusion must have shown on my face because he continued, “Are you familiar with the concept of Twin Flames?”

  “No, I don’t believe I am,” I said, and Telor shook his head.

  “In layman’s terms, it’s the concept of soul mates. They’re rare. People are always attracted to souls who complement their own—dark blue souls are attracted to light blue souls, etc.—but true Twin Flames are few and far between. I come across one or two pairs in a century. Usually, I am alerted to them before either soul is sent to earth so I can prepare from there to make sure that they are always on the same cycle. But, in this case, I have missed out for a long time; you have always been on a separate cycle from your soul mate,” he said, bouncing in his seat slightly with excitement, like a small boy who was just told he could have anything he wanted from the toy store.

  “So…I survived because my soul mate is still alive and I need to find him?” I asked, still confused. Denny seemed to be telling us a lot and nothing at all. Maybe I was a little too dense to catch on to his meaning. Though, Telor appeared as puzzled as I was.

  “Yes and no. You are alive because you have already found your soul mate. He, on the other hand, is not alive. Not really, at least…”

  Comprehension seemed to dawn on Telor and me at the same time. We turned toward each other, both seeking some type of confirmation from the other. Gazing into his eyes, I knew that Denny was right. I felt like I could see my whole life there, and nothing else really mattered.

  “So you see, Telor is your soul mate,” he said, a wide smile breaking across his face. “I’ve been trying to finagle your paths to cross for almost a century. I’ll admit that I exceeded my own expectations.”

  “No offense, but wouldn’t it have been easier to let me die?” If he’d let me die, then we would be dead together.

  “No, because Telor would be cycled back to earth—or at least, he is supposed to be—while you were in the review phase,” Denny explained, eager to reveal his master plan to us. “Trust me, I’ve been working on this for a long time. I’ve become desperate. There have been some…difficult factors to contend with. Not that I expect them to go away. Unfortunately.”

  “But how will I stay here?” Telor asked. “Technically, both of our souls belong to Death; she won’t just roll over and let it be.”

  “Semantics.” Denny waved his hand as if it was no big deal. “I didn’t get that far in my planning. The fact that you are indeed here speaks volumes for the power of your souls’ connection. Though, it has brought on other issues I did not foresee.”

  “What issues?” We were getting more questions from this visit than answers. We should’ve left, before it was too late.

  “Well, first of all, the balance between life and death is now slightly disturbed. I can’t find the Scale, so I don’t know how off. Only slightly, though. But enough to bring attention that you don’t want,” he said calmly.

  “The Scale?” I asked.

&
nbsp; “He’s a physical manifestation of the balance between Life and Death. Usually, he appears normal and healthy. If the balance were leading toward Life, he gets manic and full of energy. When the balance is in Death’s favor, he appears sickly,” Denny explained. “The other issue is, now that you are together, your souls are visible. They shine like suns wherever you go. In case you haven’t noticed, Lina has already attracted attention.”

  I had? I hadn’t noticed anything. Telor, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable and refused to meet my gaze. He gave Denny a hard look, his jaw clenching a little, his hand starting to worry the bracelet around his wrist again. The skin underneath was becoming red and irritated, causing his star tattoo to stand out against his red skin.

  “Oh, I’ve noticed,” he said. “I had it under control for a while.”

  “You didn’t so much control it as you did monitor it. However, do you agree with me that, at the moment, you do not have it under control?” Denny asked, both of them seeming to have forgotten that I was here.

  “What is he talking about, Telor?” I turned his face so he had to look at me. Guilt was the flavor in the air.

  “Guides have been…collecting around you. None of them get close enough for me to take action, but they do get close enough for me to worry,” he said, as if it hurt to admit it out loud. “I was on top of it for a while, but now they’re coming on so strong. I have a friend who has been helping me out.”

  “Let me see the ring, Telor,” Denny asked, holding out his hand. Reluctantly, Telor pulled my ring from his pocket, broken chain and all. He had the decency to look apologetic about it, but that didn’t seem to quell my anger and the betrayal that rushed through me. He knew how much that ring meant to me, and he’d had it this whole time.

  “You had it this whole time? I specifically asked you if you had it or saw it and you said no,” I said to Telor. “Why would you keep that from me?”

  “Oh dear, Telor, you haven’t told her?” Denny tsked at him.