Ascension

by Felicity Heaton

  “Actually.” She stood and walked over to him, leaving her dark red coat on the back of the black couch. It would be hot today with the sun out. “I was thinking about you.”

  He paused and his frown lifted. “Do tell.”

  Her smile widened when she remembered more.

  “I was thinking about old times.” She went to the door and opened it. Taig followed her out into the hall and locked the door behind them. They walked down the bright cream corridor together while she thought about him and the things they had done. “I was thinking about when we used to sunbathe on the roof of your old building.”

  His eyes brightened, red seeping in around the edges of his irises. His eyebrows rose. “Oh.”

  That was about the reaction she had expected. She could still picture Taig’s body, bronzed by the sun, muscles taut and exuding power. He had looked incredible in the small black denim shorts he had chosen to wear the few times they had tried to sunbathe. Too incredible. The body of a god, broad and strong, sculpted to perfection, mixed with the face of a devil, handsome and seductive. The combination was too good to resist. Normally they only managed thirty minutes of sunbathing and then things had turned heated. And normally she had been the one to make a move on him.

  Taig stopped. Lealandra turned to look at him. All of the black in his irises was gone. He flexed his fingers and moved over to her. Her heart started at a pace, gaining speed with each inch closer he got.

  His pupils widened and his gaze fell to her lips. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one remembering sunbathing now. She had always worn a black bikini and he had always ripped it off her.

  She gasped when he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, roughly enough that she slammed into him. Desire shone in his eyes. His chest pressed against hers with each deep breath he took and she leaned into him, loving the feel of his strong grip and the hot hard steel of his body. It stirred passion within her. The fire he had started inside her six years ago had remained as embers, waiting for his touch to stoke it back into life, and it burned now, threatening to consume her, an inferno only he could tame.

  His arm snaked around her back, fingers caressing the bare patch of skin between her dark purple corset and her black skirt. She trembled from the light touch and stared into his eyes, lost and waiting, silently pleading him to kiss her and put her out of her misery. She needed him more than air, needed him to breathe life into her again. Needed him.

  She shivered when he brushed his thumb across her lower lip, his fingers caressing her jaw and neck, and closed her eyes. Her power rose at the smell of his blood and she sighed.

  “You’re still hungry,” he husked and she murmured her agreement. Her power sought his, desiring the strength it held, and she reached for it too, wanting the soothing effect and the control it gave her. His fingers skimmed down over her throat. Her nipples tightened when he rested his palm on her left breast and then moved it over her heart. “Not just the magic… he did a real number on you.”

  Lealandra opened her eyes and stared into Taig’s. She couldn’t form a denial. Charlie had failed to give her what she needed, but it wasn’t just his fault that she was hungry. She was responsible too. After all, she had chosen to leave Taig, even though she had known deep inside that she would be alone even with Charlie around.

  She would always want Taig, and would never stop loving him.

  Understanding dawned in Taig’s eyes but uncertainty laced it. He drew her closer.

  “You said you didn’t belong to anyone.” His soft voice sent shivers through her and she melted into him, relaxing in his strong embrace. His right arm tightened around her, holding her up and bringing her flush against him. “You meant that you haven’t belonged to anyone in a long time.”

  She managed a nod. Now he was getting it. She hoped his bitter games would stop now. They cut her deep and she couldn’t bear the pain. She never had been able to when it came to Taig. She was defenceless against him, her heart always partly open and always vulnerable.

  “Charlie was only your Counter-Balance, wasn’t he? You were forbidden to take blood, and yet you didn’t give your power the other thing it would crave in the absence of blood… sex. Why?” His red eyes searched hers and she fully opened her heart to him, letting him all the way in. He needed to see why, even when she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She loved him. She didn’t want anyone else. “Did you even kiss him?”

  Lealandra shook her head and her cheeks coloured when he brushed the backs of his fingers across them and smiled at her. A genuine smile. Her silent confession had made him happy.

  The colour drained from his eyes and he frowned for a moment before relaxing again.

  “Did you ever belong to me?” Those whispered words were laden with danger and emotion. She didn’t want to hurt him. It would leave her even more open to him hurting her, but she would confess this one thing, and hope that he wouldn’t throw it back in her face or use it against her.

  She nodded.

  She had back then.

  And she still did now.

  Her heart had belonged to him all this time and it would be his until the end of eternity.

  Lealandra closed her eyes when he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. His breath was cool against her face, soft and comforting. She raised her hands and cupped both of his cheeks, holding him in place so he couldn’t shatter this moment of calm and peace between them. She needed it to go on a little longer, had to absorb how it felt.

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead and his hand left her back. He took hold of one of hers and brought it away from his face, but didn’t relinquish it.

  “We’re causing a scene,” he whispered and her power spiked when she grew aware of the people in the hall with them.

  She smiled and drew away from him. “Didn’t we always?”

  Taig grinned and tucked her hair behind her ear. She smelt the blood on his palm and her magic reached for him again. The tiny amount he had given her wasn’t enough. It had only reawakened the craving for his blood. Just as his touch had reawakened her craving for him.

  The couple in the hall were the same people who had given her disgusted looks the other night. She stared at the woman, tempted to unleash her power a fraction so her eyes changed to red and scare the living daylights out of her. Who was she to look at Taig and her like that? Taig had every right to live in this building. He earned his money by risking his life. This couple looked as though they had been born into theirs.

  Lealandra didn’t break her staring competition with the woman until she had looked away and turned towards her partner. The man looked at her when the woman whispered something. Lealandra stared at him and then relaxed when Taig slung his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close, making her stumble into him, and squeezed her shoulder. She looked up at him and he smirked at her.

  Not a cocky smirk this time.

  Or amused.

  In fact, it was more of a smile, but she had never really seen him smile so broadly without it either being cocky or amused. Was this the happy side of Taig?

  “So you were saving yourself for me then?” His smile turned into a devious grin.

  She sighed. Perhaps it was more pride than happiness.

  Smug bastard.

  Lealandra smiled right back at him and put her arm around his waist, playing along. Let him think that she had been saving herself for him. It was easier than having to admit the truth of it.

  She had been.

  They took the elevator down and walked to her car. She drove this time, leaving Taig to constantly flick through the rock stations on the radio and drum along to the songs he liked. She had missed him. Being back with him made her realise just how much and just how different her life had been. The coven had felt stifling and uncomfortable at times. This felt normal. This was where she belonged.

  She drove deep into the north of the city, past areas that were undergoing heavy redevelopment and neighbourhoods that catered to demons. Taig looked at
her when they passed the area in which he used to live and then leaned one arm on the door and stared out of the window at the buildings. She had liked it here with him.

  It hadn’t felt dangerous, not with Taig around to protect her. She kept going, through to the next neighbourhood and then the one beyond that. It was as rough as the one where Taig had used to live, but this time it was humans who caused the trouble, and that frightened Lealandra, but not for her sake. She didn’t like the fact that the people they were going to see had chosen to live in this area. She wished they lived somewhere better and she had been saving money in order to make that happen. That money was now Taig’s, if he would take it as payment for protecting her. She hoped that he would. It felt as though they had made enough progress that he would change his mind and accept her offer of payment rather than insisting on his.

  Taig looked at her again when she parked the car in a quiet street. She put some money in the meter, enough to last the whole day, and then started walking. Taig followed. A wave of power swept through her and she knew that he was checking out their surroundings with his senses, ensuring her safety. He moved up to walk beside her and she smiled at him. It was a long walk to her contact. She had parked the car around a mile away so the coven couldn’t track her. She didn’t want them finding the woman she was going to meet.

  She glanced at Taig.

  How was he going to react to the person she was bringing him to see?

  CHAPTER 12

  Lealandra tensed the moment they reached the quiet familiar street and the old brick building came into view. Wedged between stores that had seen better days, the shop front looked exactly as it had done when she had last visited two years ago. Nothing had changed, not even in any of the grocery, pharmacy or local stores around it. The old couple running the grocery store still stood on the street surrounded by the boxes of their brightly coloured wares and trying to sell them to disinterested people as they passed. She crossed the road and smiled at the old man as he spotted her and nodded, and then looked past them to the store next door.

  The round purple sign that stuck out into the street caught her eye, the crescent moon and stars on it glittering in the sunlight. Surrounding the stars was the name of the shop and then symbols that only a true witch would understand. It offered supplies, books, and other necessities. Things that would turn a human’s stomach and things they didn’t know existed.

  Taig stepped closer to her and then past her. He pushed the brightly painted purple door open and held it. She walked inside, her footsteps loud on the old dark wooden floor. The smell of herbs filled her senses and she smiled. It always smelt the same. Sandalwood, rosemary, lavender and spices, all things that humans thought went into love spells and magic. Lealandra walked forwards, past the rows of candles and pentagrams. The circular racks of gothic clothing in the middle of the room were new. They were branching out.

  “Hocus pocus,” Taig muttered and Lealandra bit her tongue to stop her from agreeing. She didn’t want the woman hearing her saying such things. It would only upset her and she was impossible to deal with when upset.

  “Welcome, welcome!” A woman’s voice reached out from behind a set of black velvet curtains. Some of the silver stars stitched onto the material had seen better days and were beginning to come undone, their points flapping down.

  The curtains parted and the woman stepped out, wearing a black corseted dress and with her equally dark hair pulled up into a bun. Her grey eyes widened, smoothing the lines that edged them, and her lips drew wide into a smile.

  Her arms instantly opened and she bustled towards them.

  “Lea!” the woman said, her voice full of happiness that Lealandra could feel in her. Her power reached out to the woman’s and a wave of comfort swept through her as they connected, chasing away all of her doubts and fears.

  Lealandra closed her eyes and embraced her. “Mother.”

  Taig noticeably tensed. The change in his power marked it. It went from a calm ebbing and flowing within her to a raging storm.

  “Mother?” he said and she heard him step back.

  “By the gods, you’ve brought a man home! I have to tell your father,” her mother said and Lealandra grabbed her to stop her from going and doing just that. She held her tight, not letting her escape, and wondered if she was going to have to do the same to Taig too. He took another step back towards the door.

  “Don’t make a scene.” Her grip on her mother’s arm tightened in a silent threat.

  Her mother smiled and then her gaze drifted to Taig. “And who do we have here and why is he calling me mother?”

  Lealandra looked at Taig. He frowned at her mother.

  “It was a question, not a statement.” Taig’s power rose another notch.

  Her mother froze. Her eyes slid to Lealandra. “A demon?”

  Taig went to leave.

  “Damn it, mother,” Lealandra muttered and went after him. She caught him at the door and stopped him by slipping her fingers into his and pressing their palms together. Her power latched on to his. It was strong and steady, ready for a fight. She didn’t want him to leave. She needed him here with her to help her through this. Taig looked over his shoulder at her and she whispered, “Stay.”

  For a moment, he looked as though he was going to leave, but then he turned to face her. He placed his other hand against their joined ones. Sensing her power? He was reading her. She opened herself and her magic to him, letting him in so he would see that she needed him because she was frightened of what her ascension path might say.

  “A little touchy for a demon,” her mother said.

  Lealandra cringed. “Stay out of this, mother.”

  She held Taig’s gaze, hoping her mother would keep quiet. Normally her mother was more relaxed about demons. Maybe it was seeing her daughter with one that had her reacting.

  “Stay,” Lealandra said again. “It won’t take long.”

  Taig nodded, barely moving his head. His reluctance to stay wasn’t just about the fact that her mother had mentioned his demonic status. It was because it was her mother. Maybe she should have warned him about who they were going to see. It wasn’t as though she had brought him here to meet her parents. This wasn’t anything like that.

  “A demon!”

  Lealandra grimaced at the sound of her father’s voice. He sounded decidedly excited about it and that meant trouble. Her father wouldn’t realise that he was doing anything wrong but he was bound to ask too many questions and stick his nose in Taig’s business too much. She didn’t want Taig to blow a fuse and she didn’t want him to feel persecuted by her family.

  “Lea has brought a man home, or a demon. I’m not sure which he is. Seems fairly human but there’s a definite undercurrent of demon power in him.” Her mother turned to face her father as he came forwards from the back of the store, the tails of his black frock coat flapping as he walked. Lealandra didn’t like it. It always made her father look like a beanpole but he insisted on wearing it while at work.

  When had her parents lives become nothing but theatrics? They had been two of the most powerful witches once and now they ran a store. They should have been teaching other young witches how to use their powers, not pandering to humans and their hungers for love spells and phoney magic. She supposed they were at least supplying the witch community with everything they needed for their day-to-day lives, but it still didn’t feel right to Lealandra. She had wanted more for her parents. Things had never been the same since her mother had ascended. Lealandra hoped her life wouldn’t turn out like this. She didn’t want to hide away if she survived the ascension, fearful of what might happen if she used her magic. She wanted to make use of her power and do some good with it.

  Taig’s power jumped up another notch and his fingers twitched against hers. He was gearing up for a fight.

  “Perhaps a mixed breed? I haven’t met a mixed breed before. I wonder if he would tell us about himself… do you think he would, Lea?”

  Leala
ndra tensed. Her temper reached boiling point and she turned on her parents.

  “Stop talking about Taig as though he’s an animal or a science project!”

  Both of her parents’ eyebrows shot up. Her father was the first to change. His expression became stern, his dark eyes penetrating hers. She stood her ground. She wasn’t a child anymore. He couldn’t tell her off for talking back when he was the one being rude about their guest.

  “Taig?” he said instead, surprising her.

  Her mother stepped forwards, scrutinising Taig, taking all of him in as though committing him to memory or looking for a weak spot. Her father stroked the greying goatee that Lealandra knew he only had so he looked the part in their occultist shop. It didn’t suit him. She had laughed her backside off when she had first seen it two years ago. It was greyer now, marking the passing years and reminding her that none of them were getting any younger.

  “The Taig?” her mother said.

  Lealandra swallowed and then found the courage to nod.

  “The Taig!” Her father grinned, causing deep wrinkles beside his eyes. “The first man you bring home is the man who broke your heart… I say, Lea, sometimes you are a muddled little thing. Come on through for tea… do demons drink tea? She never mentioned you were a demon, you know… half demon… it is half demon, isn’t it?”

  Taig nodded dumbly. He looked as shocked as she felt. Why did her father have to be at the shop today? Most days he lectured small classes on occult history over at the university. Everything would have gone a lot smoother without his presence. There was no way she could stop the combined power of both her parents. They were going to question Taig whether she liked it or not. She only hoped that he would play nice and humour them rather than losing his temper.

  When her parents had gone into the back, she let go of Taig’s hand and went to follow. Taig’s fingers closed around her wrist and she looked back at him. He still looked lost. She often felt that way around her parents.

  “Broke your heart?” Taig searched her eyes and Lealandra hesitated under his dark gaze. It wasn’t her parents’ insane rambling that had him confused.