“I know you’ll claim you’re fine even if you’re not, so until I actually see, I’m not dropping it.”
Milk splashed out of her bowl as she plunked her spoon into it. “Fine. I just want you to know that you’re the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”
He grinned like she’d given him a compliment, then came around the table. He thought she was hiding because the cuts were bad. In reality, she didn’t want him to see how fast she healed.
Persephone pulled up her sleeve.
Jax peeled back her bandage. His brow furrowed and he leaned closer. “I can’t believe how good it looks. You said you heal fast, but I thought…How?”
Demon blood did have a few advantages. No way she was going to tell him that, though, so she fudged the details. “Athena blessed Sentries with healing powers to help us with our task.”
“So that’s how you’re able to handle the dagger. I always wondered how she’d done it.”
Persephone didn’t correct him. Let him think that was all it took.
“Well, you’re lucky. Those cuts would take most people out for a long time.” He put his hand on the back of her chair. “I’m glad you’re okay, and even though you heal fast, let’s not push it.”
“Actually, my training’s gotten a little lax, so I was thinking we should do some together.”
“Before we even think about that, we should work to reinforce the house. I looked into alarm systems and—”
“An alarm system isn’t going to keep demons out,” Persephone said. “That’s what the wards are for. I keep telling you that if they come near, all they’ll see is the projection of an empty lot.”
“But how do you even know the spell works?”
Because having demon blood running through me makes it hard to find my own house. The entire structure flickered in and out of view, so she had to really concentrate to see through the projection. Even then, she’d tripped up the steps a few times. So she’d gotten used to counting how many paces it took to get to them, then to get to the door. Once inside, her vision cleared.
She couldn’t tell him any of that, though. “I’ve seen it work. My business is guarding the dagger, and trust me, I take it very seriously. But I also take the fact that demons are out there killing innocent people seriously. It’s our job to protect them, and I think we should start going out there and slaying as many of the bastards as we can.”
“Slaying demons and protecting people is my job. But right now, keeping you safe is more important.”
She’d known it was going to be a hard sell, but she couldn’t let it go. The more she thought about it, the more determined she became. “Protecting me protects the rest of the humans, right? That’s the basic theory?”
He narrowed his gaze, a suspicious glint in his eye. “Riiight.”
“But if we let them all die, we’re just as bad as the demons. I’m strong, and last night, yeah I was scared, but once I started fighting, I felt strong. I felt in control of my life for the first time.”
Not only that, she needed to fight them. Fighting them meant she wasn’t on their side—wasn’t one of them. She grabbed his hand. “You know I can help. You saw what I could do, unarmed and everything.”
Jax sighed. “And it was impressive, it really was, but I can’t take you out there and put you in danger every night. It’s counterintuitive to my main objective, and it’s not happening.” He straightened, apparently thinking this discussion was over.
Persephone stood, so she wouldn’t have to crane her neck so much to talk to him. “I’ll tell you why I’m right about this. Together we can take out more demons, which means I’m safer in the first place, and because I’m out there fighting with you, you’ll be more protected, which means I’ve still got my protector at the end of the night.”
She locked eyes with him. “You really think we can live like this for years, you never letting me breathe, me hiding out, all while the demon problem is getting worse and worse? And wouldn’t you feel better knowing I’ve had the training I need to defend myself, no matter what comes at me?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. His eyebrows drew together, and she could tell she’d gotten to him.
Before he could over think it, she nudged a little more. “Wouldn’t fighting demons together be easier than fighting each other all day every day?”
A smile played on the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know. Fighting with you is kind of fun sometimes. Plus, you’re cuter than most demons.”
She smacked his arm. “Most?!”
He laughed and rubbed his arm. “All, okay, all.” He shook his head. “You win. We’ll do some training. And we’re going to have to do a lot of it before we can go out and start kicking some demon ass.”
Excitement bubbled up in her and she threw her arms around him. “You’ll see, we’re going to be awesome together.”
He put his hand on the side of her face and ran his thumb across her cheek bone. “Yeah, I think we are.”
Warmth radiated from his touch, and her pulse picked up speed. A warning went off in her head, and she pulled back. “I’ll go get ready.”
She turned and walked toward her bedroom, hoping that sparring would help take care of the annoying tug she felt in her heart every time she looked into those blue eyes.
***
As usual, a slightly sweaty, plasticky smell filled the air of the martial arts studio. Jax had saved the owner from a couple of muggers one night—a welcome change from fighting demons—and the guy had said to come by whenever.
Jax looked across the room at Persephone. “I know your shoulder is like super healed or whatever, but I still think that—”
“I swear, if you tell me I should ‘take it easy’ one more time, I’m going to do the opposite, and show you just how healed I am.”
He clamped his lips together, fighting a smile. He couldn’t believe that much stubborn fit into such a tiny body. He switched his wooden training sword to his left hand. “Fine, we’ll go lefty today then.”
He didn’t want to be sparring. He’d rather go back to earlier, when they’d been in the kitchen and she’d put her arms around him. He wondered if she knew how hard it was for him to think clearly when she was that close. She must. She’d stuck out those pouty lips and somehow talked him into training her so she could go out and slay demons. The plan was to draw out the training as long as possible. He only hoped that once she figured out he was stalling, he’d be able to resist those eyes and lips—there was no way in hell he could let her put herself at risk like that, no matter how angry she got about it.
Persephone rolled her head from one side to the other and then lifted her training sword. “Are we going to do this, or what?”
Jax raised his sword. “Ladies first.”
All his years of training—starting when he was five years old—should’ve made it easy to keep Persephone at bay, but they were pretty evenly matched. Every time he thought he’d gotten her, she’d surprise him. Then he’d get the upper hand. It never lasted long, though.
By the end of their third round, he found himself on his back, Persephone pinning him, just like she had the night they met. Only this time, he hadn’t been trying to stop her from fighting, he’d been giving it his all.
Yeah, he could get free if he tried, but he was worn out, and he kind of liked the view. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest rose and fell with her rapid breath, and she had a triumphant grin on her lips that lit up her whole face. “You give up?”
His pride wouldn’t let his mouth form those words. He rested his head on the floor, acting all put out.
Then rolled.
He would’ve grabbed her wrists, but he was still worried about her shoulder, even if she wasn’t. It didn’t matter, though—he was heavy enough to keep her pinned to the floor.
She scowled at him. “That was such a cheap move, pretending you were about to give in.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. But if I did, I’d say t
hat this is a good example of why you should never drop your guard.”
She shook her head, but she was smiling. Then her eyes lifted to his and his heart rate steadily increased. He was going to go for it. He was going to kiss her. She’d probably punch him or something, but it’d be worth it.
He leaned closer, his gaze on her full lips.
“Jax?”
“Uh-huh?”
“You know what you said about letting your guard down?” She jerked up her legs and pushed her feet into him.
He flew backward, hitting the mat with a thud.
Before he could recover, Persephone had picked up her wooden sword and had it aimed at his throat. “Just so there’s no confusion, I won this round.”
Yeah, right now, lying on his back, while the girl he’d been trying to make a move on aimed a sword at his throat, he definitely felt like a loser.
Chapter Ten
Persephone sank into the couch, clicked on the TV, and propped her feet on the coffee table. After two days of training and sparring with Jax, every muscle in her body burned and all her cares seemed like distant memories. The weekend had gone by way too fast, and she wasn’t looking forward to getting back to school tomorrow. Before it had been where she felt normal and safe, but compared to spending time with Jax—time when she could actually feel normal being herself—it was going to be restrictive and boring.
Turtle curled up beside her. Persephone ran her hands through his long fur as she flipped through the channels, trying to find something worth watching.
The bathroom door opened, and Jax stepped into the hall. His hair was damp from his shower, his blond waves more defined. He flashed her a smile as he entered the room, then stepped over her legs and sat on the other side of her.
He draped his arm over the top of the couch and kicked his feet up, right next to hers. They looked huge. So did his legs. So did he.
“You’re, like, massive,” she said.
Amusement flickered through his eyes as they met hers. “Well you’re, like, tiny. That’s why it’s so surprising you can keep up with me when we spar.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Keep up?”
“Hey, I’m trying to maintain some of my manhood here.”
“Oh. Right. You’re manhood. How rude of me.” Batting her eyes, she threw a hand over her heart. “You’re ever so manly, oh please save me, you big, strong man.”
A grin spread across his face. “Now that’s more like it.”
“Yeah, if you want an ego boost, you’ve come to the wrong girl.”
“You don’t say,” he dead-panned.
For some reason she cared what he thought, and his implication hit a nerve. “I’m not some cold, unsympathetic person. I didn’t used to be anyway.”
He twisted toward her. “Hey, I was just teasing you. I don’t think that about you at all.”
“Yes you do.” She gave her best I-don’t-care shrug. “Most people do. People who don’t really know me, and even then…” She picked at a piece of lint on the couch. “That night the demons came and killed my family, it wasn’t only my parents. It was my aunts, uncles, cousins. My world came crashing down. But at least, after the scary trip here, I had Gran.”
A huge lump formed in her throat and she blinked back tears. “When she died, I wanted to shut down, but all my life I’d been told how important it was to stay strong, no matter what, because as Sentries, we have a sacred duty.” Persephone wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks, hating that she couldn’t keep them back. “So I forced my way through the pain and locked all my emotions away, knowing if I let them out…” She sniffed. “Well, look at me. I was just trying to prove I’m not cold, and now I’m a crying mess.”
Feeling like she might die of embarrassment, she dropped her head in her hands. Jax’s arms encircled her, drawing her to him, which only made her cry harder. She buried her face in his shirt, willing the ache to go away so she could stop crying already.
Jax ran his hand down her hair. “Everything I think about saying sounds wrong, so all I can say is I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
Without looking up, she said, “You don’t have to say anything. In fact, I’d rather pretend this never happened. I’ve tried so hard to be strong, but I’m not strong enough to do it. I don’t think I can do this for the rest of my life. It’s too much.”
Jax put his hand under her chin and tilted her face toward his. “You can do it. And I’ll help you. You don’t have to do it all by yourself.”
“I do, though. It’s my responsibility, and it’s too dangerous to involve anyone else. I know you think you need to protect me, but I’ll be fine. You should go before it ruins your life, too. Because that’s what the dagger does. It ruins lives.”
“You think I’m scared?”
She shook her head. “No. But I think you should be.”
“You and I are more alike than you think. I used to feel like I had to do it all, like I had to always be strong, no matter what. It’s how I was trained. My cousins, aunts and uncles, my mom and dad—my entire family going back generations—are all Warriors, and they wear that title with pride. Whenever we get together, everyone tells demon slaying stories, bragging about numbers. I knew what I was destined to do with my life ever since I can remember.”
He placed his hand on her knee. “So I thought I needed to hold everything in, no matter what, and I did for a long time. But then my mom…” One of the corners of his mouth twisted up. “That’s right, I’m a momma’s boy. Anyway, she told me that bottling our emotions doesn’t make us strong, putting them out there and using them for good—to fight the evil in the world—is what makes us strong.”
Strong sounded a lot nicer than emotional mess, which is what Persephone felt like. But Jax was smiling at her, and he did seem to understand.
I made a fool of myself, and I actually feel better. Maybe I should open up more often.
“That’s what sets us apart,” Jax continued. “We’re not mindless creatures like demons. We’re better than they are.”
If he hadn’t added that last part, his speech would’ve been perfect. As understanding as he was, she could tell by the way he spat out the word demons, she could never tell him the truth about herself.
Persephone wiped her tears and took a deep breath. “Thanks for the pep talk. I feel better now.”
“No problem.”
So there were things she still had to hold back, but she trusted Jax. She knew no matter what, he’d make the right decision when it came to the dagger. There was no evil in him, tugging at him, showing him the allure and power of Hell. And she needed that in her life right now. With any luck, Jax would keep her on the right path. “You wanna see it? The dagger?”
His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
He seemed so excited, which was the opposite of how she felt any time she looked at the thing that had cost so many human lives, including the lives of all her family members.
She led him back to her bedroom. She opened her closet, dropped to her knees, then reached in the back and slid open the false wall she’d put in.
“Dévoiler,” she said as she waved her hand over the opening. The air glimmered and then the black box holding the dagger appeared.
“Whoa,” Jax said, mouth hanging open. “How’d you do that?”
“With the help of a very talented voodoo priestess.” Persephone took out the box. She started to pull the lid off, then glanced over her shoulder at Jax. “You can’t touch it, of course.”
“So it really sears the skin off, just like the legend says?”
“Unless you’ve got the devastating privilege of being a Sentry.” Persephone lifted the lid and peered at the clear case inside.
A large black veve—a hexagram with triple acorns, the symbol for protection from evil doers—was engraved on top. Underneath the black lines, was the dagger that almost put an end to humankind. Twelve inches of jagged-edged killing power formed in the depths of Hell. A hollow line ran dow
n the center of the translucent blade.
As Persephone stared at it, she remembered the times her parents had shown it to her and told her the history of how it came to be. “Hades found a rare medal he called allazium. It contained mystical properties that had the ability to change people, to withstand their weaknesses. He took every bit of it and used it to form the dagger.”
Jax moved closer and studied it. He pointed at the three-headed dog adorning the obsidian handle. Six rubies glinted where the dog’s eyes would be. “Cerberus. Guard dog of the Underworld.” His voice held a sort of awed reverence. “I never thought I’d actually see it. Most of our people don’t even believe Hades Dagger is real anymore.”
“You know how it works?”
“When plunged into a human’s heart, it filled with the blood from the victim, and then…” Jax looked at her, a grim expression on his face. “The demons plunged the blood-filled dagger into their own hearts. From then on, they were able to walk in the daylight.”
“Demons of the sun. They no longer had to wait until night to come out. Their healing powers sealed the human blood into the heart, and that, combined with the powers of the allazium, took away their weakness. The sun no longer burned their skin. They still didn’t handle the sun’s rays very well, though. It turned them into zombie-like demons with flesh peeling off them.” Persephone shuddered as the image popped into her head. “As if they aren’t ugly enough.”
“And with the ability to walk in the sun, they killed more and more, not even bothering to project themselves as human anymore, wiping out half the people in Europe.”
“The Black Death. Not a strain of bubonic plague at all. Just Hades trying to take over the world like he always has, and always will. And he came close to doing it then. If Athena hadn’t stepped in…” Persephone didn’t like to think about what the world would be like now. Probably no humans would be around to see it. “And now it’s up to me to keep it out of the demons’ hands, so that never happens again. No pressure, right?”
“Can’t you destroy it?” Jax asked. “Like burn it or something?”
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