Wow . . . jealousy. This is certainly a first.
Lucas looked at Gabrielle with surprise and embarrassment. Gabrielle tried to smile to make him feel a little better—maybe herself, too—but she bet it looked more like a grimace.
"Lucas!" the girl gushed. "I've been looking for you all day! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were avoiding me!"
Lucas's jaw tensed, and a scowl furrowed a deep channel between his brows. Gabrielle was sure she could see anger, or possibly contempt, raging in his eyes.
"If I was trying to avoid you, Mara," Lucas began, "it would require me to think about you. Which I haven't."
His demeanor suddenly became frigid. The warmth and ease he'd had earlier abandoned him. It was noticeable in the girl's reaction that it wasn't what she hoped to elicit from him.
"Ooh . . . feeling a little testy, are we? Are you having a bad day, Lucas? I can make it a lot better for you if you want me to." Mara was still very close to Lucas. As she spoke to him, she played with the collar of his shirt then traced her finger slowly up toward his ear.
Gabrielle began clenching and unclenching her fists. If she was in her true form, her color would be turning a deeper crimson the longer that girl continued to hang all over him.
Yes, this is definitely jealousy.
Gabrielle did her best not to remove Mara from Lucas. Thankfully, Lucas quickly grabbed Mara's hand, moving his head away at the same time.
He glared at Mara.
"My day was fantastic until about sixty seconds ago. Now, keep your hands off of me. You lost the right to get this close."
He was harsh in both expression and tone. Gabrielle wondered what Mara could have done to make him this angry.
"Fine," Mara said coolly. She turned and looked at Gabrielle. More like shot daggers out of her yellowish-green eyes—the eyes of a camouflaged demon. Gabrielle's breath stopped as Mara looked her up and down with a venomous smile. Gabrielle's irritation at being caught off-guard by one of the Fallen burned through her body. She finally began to feel her stomach's reaction from being so close to a demon—a reaction that should have come much sooner.
This is unacceptable.
She needed to be able to see a demon coming before they were so close. Between the Aegis Veil and a demon's, she was having difficulty knowing when they were around, especially when distracted by human sensations and thoughts. Now, she really wanted Mara to get away from Lucas.
The demon is lucky that we are in a school full of witnesses.
"Who's your new . . . friend, Lucas? She's as pretty as an angel." Mara's eyes locked with Gabrielle's. Gabrielle could do nothing to the demon unless she put a human or her own life in danger, and Mara knew it. "Are you going to be rude, or are you going to introduce us?"
Gabrielle fought the profound desire to turn this demon into ash.
Lucas looked at Mara and then at Gabrielle. He reached for Gabrielle's hand and pulled her away.
"Mara . . . I'm feeling a bit on the rude side right now." He began moving away from Mara. "I don't think I'll give you the chance to be a bitch to anyone else. At least, not around me." He hastened Gabrielle down the hall.
Gabrielle looked over her shoulder toward Mara just as they were about to turn the corner. Mara's eyes had turned solid, shiny black. Gabrielle's glare made sure Mara would be aware that things would have turned out differently if she wasn't bound by Yahuwah's laws. This wasn't the first time she'd wished she had the free will humans enjoyed, and she was beginning to think that it wouldn't even be close to the last.
Is this why I've been having visions of him? Because he's involved with a demon?
But there were a lot of humans who were unknowingly mixed up with demons. She couldn't understand why that would make him so important.
"What was that about?" Gabrielle asked.
Lucas mumbled something.
"Lucas . . . seriously. What is it with you and that girl?"
Lucas didn't answer.
Gabrielle jerked her hand away and planted her feet. Lucas stopped, turned, and as if he realized at once that he'd been inconsiderate, his expression relaxed, and he stepped toward her.
"I'm really sorry, Gabby. I hate that you were there for that, but I promise she isn't anyone to worry about. She's—"
"I'm not worried about her, Lucas," Gabrielle interrupted. "I'm just really surprised by the way you reacted to her. What happened between the two of you?"
Before he could answer, the final bell for class rang.
"There isn't time to explain right now. Just trust me on this one. Stay away from Mara. She's bad news. We'll talk more later. I have to get out of here pretty quick right after school, so I probably won't see you till tomorrow. So . . . can we talk more then?" Lucas looked a little unsure of himself, and Gabrielle found she wanted to reassure him—surprised by how the foul mood Mara caused rapidly disappeared and calm took over.
"Absolutely."
Lucas smiled. For the second time that day, he jogged away.
Gabrielle slowly made her way to her next to last class thinking about the day's events—meeting Lucas and the twins, the confusing and difficult emotions, and the oddity of being able to feel Lucas's presence. But one thing in particular kept coming back up over and over—Mara. Gabrielle needed to know more about her.
That Yesterday Page 9
