by J. C. Hart
"Fine, you can come. But you aren't going to be much help to me like that." She shook her head.
Noah's hand dropped from her face to her shoulder, came to rest on her hip. He could kiss her now and she wouldn't stop him. Hell she wanted him to kiss her, but he didn't.
"I know this might seem like a contradiction to what I just said, but hear me out."
"I'm listening."
"If you're okay with it, I could tap a little of your magic and it will—"
"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Melody pulled away, turned and walked a few metres downstream. She kept her back to Noah as she walked, but turned and glared at him when she stopped, afraid he might sneak up on her.
"I just want to help," he said, his words firm but gentle. There was no aggression in his stance, none in his face. And those eyes... "I told you I would never take against your will, and I mean it. If you say no, I still want to help, but if you're worried that I'm going to slow you down, or get in the way..."
Melody ground her teeth for a moment, crossed and uncrossed her arms, shifted her weight, anything to stop herself from speaking. She did need his help, he was right, and he was also right that he was more use to her healed. But she didn't want to do this, didn't want to give her power away again.
Except that it was her choice this time. Robbie had never given her that choice. In that, the two men couldn't be more different. Before she could change her mind she moved back towards him, reached her arms around his neck and kissed him.
When she finally pulled away, Noah had a dumb grin on his face.
"What's that look about?" she asked.
"I'm just glad you still want to kiss me." He was still grinning and it was infectious. She had one of her own now.
"We'll see if I still feel like that when this is all over." Melody licked her lips, nerves chewing at her insides. "I don’t want to give you any of my magic. Not right now. I need it. If you want to help, you’re going to have to find the strength in yourself to do that.”
"Of course." He reached out, grabbed one of her hands in his, giving it a squeeze while he ran one hand up her arm. Her skin prickled at his touch. She wanted more, but now wasn't the time for it. And then he raised her hand and kissed her palm.
"Are you ready?" Noah asked, letting go of her hand.
"I kind of have to be. Jake needs me."
"Us," Noah asserted.
Melody rolled her eyes at Noah and turned toward the stream. "Let's go."
Chapter Nineteen
Melody burst into the clearing, hoping that Noah wasn’t too far behind her. She didn’t have time to think about that though because Jake was slumped against the ground against a tree. Bound and gagged, dark bruises marred his face. Melody broke into a run, trying to close the distance as quickly as she could. She sank to her knees beside him and pulled his head to her chest.
"I'm so sorry, Jake. So sorry." Tears slid down her face and landed on his hair. He mumbled behind the gag, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.
"Family reunions, always so touching, aren't they?" Robbie asked. He stepped out from behind the trees and came toward them. Obviously in no hurry.
"I know what you are, and I know you can manipulate him with your magic, so why do this? Why hurt him?" Melody laid Jake back down, trying to tell him everything would be okay with her eyes, but he was frantically shaking his head. She reassured him with a smile before she turned her attention back to her ex.
"So this is what you wanted, right? Me, here with you. Now what? We're going to go home and live happily ever after?"
Robbie laughed, a condescending sound that vibrated around the clearing. "No, that's not what is going to happen."
Melody frowned. "What do you want, then?" Her shoulder sagged a little and she felt as though some of her momentum had been stolen. She was teetering on the edge now, confused and wild and sick with anger at Robbie, and fear for Jake, and it didn't feel good. Thank god Noah was out there somewhere. He wouldn't leave her hanging. She hoped.
Robbie glared at her, his good mood evaporating. "The plan was never to live with you happily ever after. I do love you, but I love what you are even more."
"Yeah, still not getting it." She felt like the dumbest girl in the world right now, but she didn't know anything about magic, didn't know what the possibilities were.
"I just needed to figure out how to drain you entirely, to take your essence into me." His eyes glimmered in the moonlight.
"And then you wouldn't need me anymore." The words left her feeling hollow.
"Precisely." He gave her a satisfied smile and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm a little sad it has to be like this, but such is life." He shrugged, smugly apologetic.
Melody kicked out at him, but missed, losing her balance and ending up on her butt. "You are such an asshole." She flung the words at him. "Do you honestly think I'm just going to stand here and let you kill me? Drain me until I drop?" She froze, realizing what she had just said. It wasn't too late to turn this around. She knew what she had to do now. She tried to check for Noah, then screamed as Robbie yanked her hair, dragging her further away. She turned her attention back to him and lashed out with her other foot.
Robbie was here, and he wanted to kill her. Well, the feeling was mutual. But she wasn’t strong, not like him. She had to be strong in other ways. Melody let loose a sob, covering her head with her arms.
"I'm sorry, Robbie. I'm so sorry. I should never have run away. I didn't want to hurt you. I was just so mad." Melody dug her nails into her palms, drawing blood, bringing tears to her eyes as she turned them up to his. She needed him to buy into this. Needed to play up to his desires, his ego.
Robbie pushed her onto her back and straddled her chest, pinning her arms to her sides. "You're mad? You have no right to be mad."
It took all her will power not to snarl back at him, instead she shoved her tongue against her jagged teeth and tried to look remorseful. "I'm sorry," she wailed, her cheek wet with tears.
"You should be. Think of all the drama you've caused your family. All that pain... It didn't have to be like this."
Melody sniffed back tears and looked him full in the eyes. "I’m such a mess. You’re right. I’ve caused everyone so much misery. I still love you. I know you have to do this, and I won't fight you anymore. I just..."
"What?" The word was harsh, but his gaze seemed to soften just a little.
"Kiss me? One last time. I don't want to die like this. I want your lips to be the last thing I remember. Please?"
Robbie didn't hesitate. He pressed his mouth against hers and kissed her, softly at first, until she deepened the kiss, feeling that familiar tingle shoot through her body. If there was a good way to die, it would be like this.
But she pushed back on that feeling, brought to mind all the fear and pain that Robbie had induced, all the power he had drawn from her, all the control he had stolen. She kissed him harder still, biting his lip. She could feel the slow draw of her power. He was taking it from her, and she had to act now, before she didn't have enough left.
But it wasn’t working. It wasn’t enough. She searched back further, back to the night when Phillip had kissed her, his hands so firm on her cheeks, holding her there, his tongue probing.
The threads of her magic snapped into place and Robbie stiffened, tried to pull away from her. But it was too late. She had him now, locked against her lips, the air from his body abandoning him. His chest heaved as he tried to gain oxygen, but there was nothing he could do to get it back.
The life went out of his body and he sagged against her, literally a dead weight. It had been different with Phillip—they'd been standing and he had crumpled to the ground—Robbie was now crushing the air out of her. Melody couldn't seem to push him off, couldn’t breathe from the weight of him. A gurgle of a laugh bubbled free at the irony. And then the body was moving, tugged aside and dumped on the ground beside her.
Noah grabbed her arms and hauled her off the ground. "You s
cared the shit out of me," he said, his voice hoarse as he hugged her. "I thought he’d killed you."
"Not this time." Melody shook her head and looked down at Robbie. His eyes were wide and vacant, his mouth open as if still hoping to find air. Tears pricked at her eyes and she turned back into Noah, burying her head against his shoulder.
"It's okay. It's over." He squeezed her tight, kissed her forehead, filled her with a little warmth.
"I didn't know what he had planned. I just thought he wanted me... I..." She pulled away and wiped her eyes, looking around for Jake.
Noah had unbound him and he stood a short distance away, looking at her with confusion in his eyes. Melody stepped towards him, but he shook his head.
"What just happened?" His voice wavered. All Melody wanted to do was run to him, to hug away the pain he was feeling and make everything okay.
"I..." She flicked her eyes to the corpse. "He was a bad man, Jake. You know that. He hurt you and he wanted to kill me. I couldn't let him. I will never let anyone hurt us again."
"He looks like Dad did. Did you..."
Melody nodded, tearing up again. "I didn't mean to. I didn't even know that I could. Mum knew that I was different, but she never told me...."
"I need a beer." Jake sat down, resting his head between his knees. Melody closed the distance between them and he let her put an arm around his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I—"
"Stop apologizing. That's all you've done since you got back. You saved my life." He finally looked up at her, tears in his eyes too.
"We need to go home. Mum's really worried."
"What about..." Jake looked over at Robbie.
"Oh yeah." Melody tongued her teeth and glanced up at Noah.
"Leave it to me. I can deal with it." Noah said. He looked...something. Like he wanted to help, like he didn't mind at all, but not quite like this was something he did every day.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, there are certain things I should probably do, because, you know..." Noah raised an eyebrow.
Melody couldn't help but chuckle. "Monster business."
"Yeah, that." Noah shrugged. "Are you guys going to be okay to get home?"
"We'll be fine," Jake said. "Thanks for helping, Noah."
"Anything for you guys," Noah replied, though he was looking directly at Melody, who blushed. "I'll see you later?"
She nodded, biting her lip. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk yet, but she would have to eventually. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which raised Jake's eyebrows, and then turned to the body.
Melody didn't give it another look, instead she looped her arm through Jake's and led him from the clearing.
"I thought you didn't have a thing for Noah," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Shut up," Melody said with a grin, punching his arm.
Chapter Twenty
Melody and Jake left the clearing, Jake leaning heavily on his sister, though she was so much smaller. Noah had to trust that after the beating they’d both taken, they would manage to get back to his car.
He fished his cell out of his pocket and called Samantha. She picked up after the first ring.
“What happened?” she demanded.
“He’s dead. Melody killed him.” He paced around Robbie’s lifeless body.
“And what are you doing?” He could literally hear the raised eyebrow in her voice.
“I’m looking for some help to dispose of the body.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone and then a deep sigh. “It just had to be me, didn’t it?”
“Well, you’re younger and fitter than Constance, but I can call her if you’d like, tell her that you suggested it be her instead of you?”
“Some days I hate you.”
He chuckled. “I’ll meet you by the roadside, just up from the bridge. You might want to shove a tarp in your boot, and an axe or something. This could get messy.”
“You sure know how to charm a girl,” Samantha drawled. She ended the call and Noah slid his phone back into his pocket.
No easy way about it. He was still battered and bruised, but he was just going to have to focus on the high-pressure shower he’d have after this was all done. Noah knelt and shouldered the weight of the body, grunting as he stood. His knees gave a little but he managed to catch himself before they both fell. The sooner this was dealt with, the better.
He only made it a few steps before he had to let the body drop. It slid from his back to the ground, breaking a branch as it landed. It didn’t really matter though. Robbie was dead, and as long as they got this over with in the next few hours, he’d stay that way.
Noah slumped beside him and reached over to Robbie’s neck. There was definitely no pulse, but there were still traces of magic. He hated to do this, to taint himself with magic from an arsehole like this guy, but that was the only way he’d be able to make it to the roadside and finish the job that Melody began. He closed his eyes and began the draw, the feel of Robbie’s lingering power swept up his arm, thick like oil, sweet and strong and still tasting of Melody.
He caught flashes of her in images from Robbie’s perspective, could tell each vision was tinged with lust for her power.
Gods, he hoped he never looked at her like that. If he did, he’d end his life because he never wanted to become what Robbie was. Never wanted Melody to feel like that again.
The corpse drained, he got to his feet and easily lifted the body. He jogged through the forest toward the road, the weight as nothing while is veins were fat on magic. He dumped the body into a bush and sat on the roadside fence.
It wasn’t too long before Samantha pulled up. She wound down the passenger side window and popped the boot. “Come on then. Let’s get this over with,” she said with a sigh, not offering to step out of the vehicle and give him a hand. She was a little more closed than normal, her attempt at being casual marred by the stiffness of her neck and voice.
Noah laughed as he retrieved the body, placing it in the boot and shutting it firmly before hopping into the car. “Head out of town. You know of any out of the way spots?”
“I’m sure I can find something.” She glanced at him before starting the engine and fixing her eyes on the road. “So what are we doing here, Noah? I mean, you didn’t make it seem like a simple burial. Hell, you didn’t even ask me to bring a shovel.”
He smacked himself on the forehead. “Totally slipped my mind. You did, didn’t you?”
“I’ve watched enough movies to know how this works.”
“Really? You seem more like the chick-flick, rom-com type.”
“The things you don’t know.” She shook her head but then the amused smile slid from her face. “Things are going to get bad, aren’t they? Constance is fading, the barrier with her. What are we going to do, Noah?”
“We’re going to use whatever we can to make the barrier strong again. We’re going to make the Bay safe for all of us, and for the gods, too.”
“Do you think this is—”
“No.” The word came out more forcefully than he’d wanted it too. He knew she was about to say Tῡ, but this was just an anomaly. Robbie was so deeply addicted to Melody’s magic that, had the barrier been at full strength, he probably still would have found a way into the town. “No,” he said, softer this time. “I think this was just a madman, but that doesn’t mean that Tῡ isn’t out there somewhere. Watching, waiting for weakness. He wants revenge on his brothers, and he’ll come for it one day. Just, not today. I hope.”
Samantha pulled down a side road not too far from the Kotahi Bay barrier and swung in behind an old farm house. Noah opened the door and paced at the back of the car. As the boot swing up, he glanced inside, his lips twisting in distaste though a glimmer of gratitude swelled in his chest. Yup, still dead.
Noah grabbed the corners of the tarp, letting Robbie crumple into the middle, and then dragged the whole thing out and dumped it on the ground before reaching back in for the a
xe and the shovel.
Samantha stood by the driver’s door, watching. He could see the keys still dangling in the ignition and the way her skin was a shade lighter than normal. “So, ah, what are we doing?” she asked.
Noah glanced down at the body and then back at her, scudding his hands through his hair. “How about you give me an hour. You don’t need to be here for this.”
“Are you sure? You don’t need to do it alone. I’m not that creeped out by this whole thing…”
Noah smiled at her. “I’m sure, Sam. Go on. I’ve got this.”
She hesitated for only a few seconds before giving him a relieved nod, slipping into the driver’s seat, and heading back down the track.
Noah turned to the body, tossed the shovel and axe onto the pile and drew the corners together again. He dragged the whole thing deeper into the woods, ignoring the bumps and knocks. The tarp was good and thick, and even if Robbie started bleeding now they were out of the Bay and his blood wouldn’t taint the place. Bad enough that he’d died there.
When he’d gone far enough, Noah spread the tarp and reached for the axe. It felt heavy in his hands, but there was no choice. His father had told him what had to be done with their kind, had schooled him in it from the time he was five. The only way to ensure they didn’t come back was to dismember them. Limb by limb. Starting with the head. He never thought he’d have to do it himself, though.
Had thought there was a better chance it would be done to him.
He gritted his teeth and raised the axe.
Chapter Twenty-One
Melody walked to Noah's.
The streets were empty, pale morning light beginning to filter through the clouds.
She made it to the middle of town and looked down the main street to where it left the town and headed into farm land. It was tempting to just keep walking that way, not that she had any gear, or cash, or anything else with which to start over. Not that she had any place better to be.
Still, it was tempting. Walk to the main road. Catch the bus to anywhere, and not have to face Noah. Noah and his monsterness, Noah and his kindness. He was just like Robbie, he'd said it himself, and yet he was nothing like the man who had manipulated her, abused her, taken advantage of her vulnerability.
