by Jasmine Walt
That scene too evaporated, replaced by more. Scenes of Jax and me fighting side by side, ridding the streets of Demonkin and liberating innocents from the demons who tortured them. Her celestial weapon was a flaming purple sword that she wielded with deadly precision. She did all the close-quarter fighting, while I stood on rooftops or behind open windows and took down targets from afar. We were a perfect pair.
That was, until Lucas came along.
My heart swelled and twisted, pulled and pushed with equal parts hate and longing, as this next memory flashed into my mind. It was of Lucas and me standing in a darkened hall in the Watchtower, necking. His blond head was bent as he nibbled on my earlobe, and a flash of arousal, unwanted, lit me up from the inside. Jax was watching from around the corner, staring at us in profile, as his hand slid up my denim-clad flank and began to coax its way up my shirt. She’d been looking for me—we were at the end of our shift, and we had paperwork to fill out before she could go home.
“Hey,” she snapped, finally walking around the corner. I watched myself stiffen, but Lucas didn’t move.
Those lips trailed lower, down my neck, that hand snaking around to my back, and the arousal in my lower belly suddenly turned to anger. What the fuck? Why was he being so disrespectful?
“I’ve been looking for you!”
“Sorry,” I said in a husky voice, pushing Lucas away. He frowned, but backed off, turning those icy-blue eyes toward Jax. There was such contempt in that gaze as it met Jax’s that I wanted to punch him in his too-perfect face. What the hell was his problem?
“What the hell is your problem?” Jax asked, echoing my thoughts. She brushed past Lucas as if he didn’t exist, going straight for me. “You were supposed to meet me in the bullpen half an hour ago.”
“I was going to,” I insisted, looking both guilty and annoyed. “But I ended up in a conversation with the captain, and then—”
“That is bullshit,” Jax growled, jabbing her finger into my chest. “You weren’t talking with the captain, because I was talking with him. You were up here, making out with Mr. Douchebag!”
“Excuse me,” Lucas said in a voice like ice. He grabbed Jax’s arm, sending a jolt of surprised anger through her, and to me through the bond. “If you have a problem with Arabella, you can take it up with me. It’s me you’re angry with, right? For monopolizing Arabella’s time?”
Jax whirled around, slamming her fist into Lucas’s face with lightning speed. Bone crunched beneath her knuckles, and blood sprayed through the air as he staggered back. His eyes were wide with surprise and outrage, and his face turned an ugly red.
“Oh, I’m angry with you all right, but I’m also angry with Arabella,” Jax spat. “I don’t need to ‘go through you’ to have a conversation with my partner, Moranius. She’s a grown woman who can take responsibility for her own actions. And just because you’re a superior officer doesn’t mean you can get away with this shit forever.” She grabbed my elbow. “Let’s go, Bells.”
“Don’t grab me like that!” I snapped, yanking my arm from her grip. I gave her a venomous glare of my own, then glanced over her shoulder toward Lucas. I hated the way my face softened with apology. “Don’t worry about Jax. She’s just over-protective. I’ll see you later, babe.”
“I look forward to it,” Lucas said, his voice silky with promise. I didn’t see his expression, though, because Jax stalked off down the hall, fury riding at her heels. She was sick of Lucas’s manipulative nature, sick of my flakiness and lies. She just wanted her best friend back, and I couldn’t blame her.
17
Arabella
“Bells? You listening?”
“Not really,” I muttered, my eyes closed. The three of us were back in Brodie’s rental car, heading for Los Angeles. Or as Brodie liked to call it, the City of Angels. The place where I’d been born, raised, and trained to fight demons. The place where I’d fallen in love with a traitor, and thrown away everything important to me for him. Everything Brodie and Lucas had been telling me was true—Jax’s memories confirmed it. There was no running away from it.
There was only going forward.
“Oh. Well, I was telling you that I bet your father’s going to be thrilled to see you.” Jax’s voice was bubbling with excitement. “I know things didn’t exactly end well, but he misses you. A lot of us do. Three years doesn’t erase friendships and camaraderie.”
Three years. It had been three years since I’d “died”. Three years until Lucas had somehow figured out I was still alive and came looking for me. I remembered everything now, even if those memories were filtered through Jax’s brain instead of mine. The official story surrounding my death was that Lucas had tried to convince me to steal the Infinity Key from my parents, and that he’d murdered me when I defied him. That was what Jax and everyone had been told.
But surely there was more. After all, I was still alive, wasn’t I? And Lucas thought I had the Infinity Key, or at least knew where it was. He wasn’t going after my parents, who by all rights should still be in possession of it. I shuddered at the thought of that thing being loose in the world. The Infinity Key was one of five such keys in existence—it was a door between worlds, specifically the door that separated Hell from Earth. If Lucas got his hands on the key, he could bring any demon he wanted across the threshold, no matter how powerful. There were spells that could be used to entrap them in objects or people, and bind them to a person’s will. He could amass himself a demonic army that could be used to conquer the earth. And no one would be able to stop them.
“I’m going to be really happy to see him too, Jax,” I said in a hollow voice.
There was a pause, and I could imagine Jax frowning, even though she was sitting in the backseat and I couldn’t see her. After I’d come out of the trance, I’d demanded she take us to the Watchtower, which she’d readily agreed to. Much to Brodie’s consternation, she’d elected to return her own rental car and ride in ours, instead of using up two cars worth of gas on a single trip.
“You don’t sound too happy,” she finally said. “Are you nervous?”
“I haven’t seen him in three years. Who wouldn’t be nervous?” But it was more than simple anxiety. I was worried that my father wouldn’t welcome me—that, in fact, he’d be angry with me. My father wasn’t just any old Sentinel—I’d learned from Jax’s memories that he was the Watchtower Commander. How could a man in his position not be ashamed of a daughter like me? After all, I’d slept with a traitor to our kind. What if I’d been complicit in Lucas’s wrongdoings? What if I’d been his partner in crime? Oh God, no wonder that deranged bastard thought I’d be happy to stand at his side.
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why I’d acted the way I’d seen myself in the vision. I’d been like some love-sick sophomore, necking in the hallways and flaunting authority, turning my back on my partner and my best friend. And for what? A man who had turned out to be the enemy? Why had I been afflicted with such bad judgment? What was wrong with me? If I was really that selfish and vapid, would my father even want to see me?
Stop thinking that way, I scolded myself. It would do no good to dwell on has-beens or could-have-beens. What mattered was who I was now, and what I was going to do about all this. I needed to keep my head up, stay positive.
I spent the rest of the car ride sifting through Jax’s memories, trying to learn as much as I could. They’d all hit me at once, like a pack of cards being flashed before my eyes, with only a few glimpses to hold onto at first. Going through them one by one was time-consuming, and the task wasn’t made any easier by Brodie and Jax’s constant bickering. Which radio station to play. Which rock band was the best. Whether we should stop for a bathroom break.
“Jesus, can the two of you act like adults already?” I exclaimed as Jax leaned past me to change the radio station again. I slapped her hand away and gave Brodie a glare that could melt rock. “Why don’t we just stop at the nearest gas station? We need to fill up the tank, and I
could use some food.”
“Aye, that’s true enough,” Brodie said, a wary look in his eyes. He glanced at the gas gauge. “We’re close to runnin’ on empty.”
“We wouldn’t be if you’d filled up before we left,” Jax pointed out smugly. “Like I told you to.”
“We were three quarters of a tank full!” Brodie snapped, and I groaned. “There was no need.”
The two continued to argue as we pulled into a gas station on the side of the highway, and I could not get out of the car fast enough. After relieving myself and buying a hot dog, I trekked around the side of the station and into the woods. We were at one of those off-road gas stations that butted up against a forest, away from any actual cities. I needed to get away from those two for a while, to clear my head enough to actually think.
“Jesus,” I muttered as my boots crunched through the thicket. A chill wind blew through the trees, and I tucked my hands beneath my armpits to keep warm. It figured that the two most important people in my life had to be at such odds with each other. My life was never easy. I wished they would learn to get along, at least for my sake.
They’re just protective of you, I reminded myself. Both were strong-willed alphas who weren’t used to sharing.
I let out a breath. Yeah, that was true. And as I was continuously telling myself, Brodie was selflessly putting himself on the line for me. I could cut him some slack here, even if I didn’t totally understand his reasoning. And Jax had thought I was dead until just a few hours ago. She deserved some credit for staying as calm as she had, especially since her memories told me she was a spirited hothead who tended to shoot first and ask questions later.
I was just starting to relax when a dark, sinuous presence brushed up against my head, exactly the way it had back in the motel room before those demon-possessed men had attacked. I stiffened, recognizing the feeling for what it was. I’d learned from Jax’s memories that all Watchers had the ability to demon-sense—to detect a demon when it was nearby. Usually within ten yards, though some Sentinels had much more heightened abilities and were utilized as trackers. Fear seized me as I realized I was a good fifty yards past the tree line—far from Brodie and Jax. They wouldn’t be able to get here in time to save me.
I realized I didn’t need saving as the brand on my chest began to burn again. That same tingle from before spread down my arm, and I curled my fingers inward, envisioning them gripping a glowing bow. The air hummed with power as my celestial weapon materialized, and I nocked an arrow and pivoted simultaneously at the sound of an inhuman growl. A man with glowing red eyes burst from the thicket, ropes of green saliva hanging from his grotesque open jaw, and I screamed in terror even as I loosed an arrow. The bolt struck true, straight between the eyes, and the demon-possessed man dropped to the ground, screaming and writhing as the monster within his flesh was purified.
“Bravo, my darling,” Lucas drawled from behind me, and I spun around to see him standing just a few feet away. He clapped slowly as I nocked another arrow, then smiled enigmatically when I aimed it at his heart. “So glad I finally got you alone. We have a lot to talk about.”
18
Brodie
I was just returning the gas hose to its perch when I heard the lass’s scream. My heart shot into my throat at the sound of her terror, and I whipped around, scanning for her. What the bloody hell was going on? I’d thought she was just taking her time in the loo, but judging by the direction of the sound, she’d gone for a walk in the forest.
“Dammit!” I snarled, charging for the tree line. Couldn’t she have informed one of us before she decided to go traipsing about the woods on her own?
“Hey!” Jax, who’d been inside the convenience store, came running after me. “Where the hell are you going?”
“After the lass!” I snapped, not looking at her as we burst into the thick woods. The ground was all uphill, the trees close together, so we were forced to slow our pace. “She’s somewhere in here. I heard her scream.”
“Demons!” Jax hissed, throwing her hand out to the side. A flaming purple sword materialized in her grip, and she brandished it. “They’re just ahead.”
“Are ye sure?” I demanded, summoning my own magic. My hands glowed green with the earth’s power, though it wouldn’t be enough to defeat these unholy bastards. No, it took powerful magic for a Druid to exorcise a demon. Only Sentinels had the strength to do it with a single strike of their celestial weapons.
“Of course I am. Can’t you feel it?”
I opened my mouth to say something when a dark presence brushed along the edges of my mind. Dammit, they were here. I’d been half-hoping that Arabella had simply seen a large spider, or tripped over a rock. I could sense evil just fine, and I hadn’t noticed the demons. But they must have been out of my range—Sentinels had a stronger sense for this than Druids, thanks to their angelic blood.
A war cry echoed from the trees a moment before four demons charged forward. I stomped on the ground, shouting a spell in Gaelic, and the earth rippled outward, knocking our enemies off their feet. Jax darted forward, swinging that blazing sword, fury burning in her eyes as she cut through the demons even as they sprang back to their feet with inhuman speed. More screams lit the air, unearthly sounds that raised the hairs on my arms, as the demons were exorcised from their human hosts, but Jax wasn’t fast enough, and one of them managed to get behind her. Ropes of green goo hung from its teeth as it opened its maw wide, preparing to clamp down on her shoulder with relish.
“Get back, ye filthy hell spawn!” I roared, darting forward. I grabbed the demon by his neck and smashed his head into the nearest tree trunk. The bastard crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll, and I resisted the urge to spit on him. After all, the man himself wasn’t at fault—he had no choice when the demon overtook his body. As I stared down at him, at the trickle of blood leaking out from his hairline, guilt rose to choke me. Gods alive, I hoped I hadn’t killed the poor fellow.
“Thanks,” Jax said from behind me, breathing hard. I turned to see she’d finished dispatching the other demons—the rest of the men were writhing and moaning on the forest floor, still recovering from the effects of the glowing sword in her hand. She glanced down at the unconscious man, then slashed at his chest with her weapon. His back immediately arched, and a chill shot down my spine as he started screaming despite his unconscious state.
“No need to thank me,” I said roughly, turning away from the thrashing man. “I wouldna let that vicious thing poison ye, even if ye weren’t Arabella’s friend.”
Jax gave me a crooked smile. “Guess you’re not so bad after all. Now let’s go find our friend.”
She turned around and began to charge up the hill, and that was when another demon jumped down from the trees and onto her back.
19
Arabella
I fired at Lucas, once, twice, three times in quick succession. Firing my celestial weapon was even easier than using a real bow, because I didn’t have to pull arrows from a quiver. They just appeared in my hand, one after the other, deadly bolts of energy that crackled through the air as they hurtled toward my enemy.
But though the bolts struck Lucas, they didn’t harm him. They simply passed through his chest as if they were nothing. As if I hadn’t just used them to exorcise the demon from the man writhing on the ground near him.
“Darling,” he drawled, sounding both amused and annoyed, “Don’t waste your arrows. I’m not a Demonkin, nor am I possessed, so they won’t work on me.”
They wouldn’t? I froze, halfway toward nocking another arrow. “You sure?” I said, trying to look as if his proclamation hadn’t knocked me off balance. “You’ve got enough evil in you; I’m sure your heart would have rotted into a demon by now.”
Lucas rolled his eyes. “Such melodrama. Evil is in the eye of the beholder. And I would never want to take a filthy demon into my body—that would simply weaken me, making me vulnerable to Sentinel weapons.”
My mouth dropped,
and as the last of my conviction faltered, my weapon fizzled out of existence. “You… you don’t want to become Demonkin?” I was so confused. “I thought that was why you left the Sentinels! To join the other side.”
Lucas laughed. “Is that what Jax told you? God, but she really is an idiot. But then again, that’s why I chose you, not her.” His voice lowered into a sensual caress, and he took a step forward. “Come on, Arabella. If you remember this much, then surely you remember how things once were between us. We can be like that again, if only you’ll let me in.”
I stepped back as those same confusing emotions bombarded me—the lust and the hate, all intertwined until I couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. “Get away from me,” I said, my voice trembling. I reached for the hunting knife strapped to my belt, the one Brodie had given me. Celestial weapons might not work on this guy, but I didn’t see why good old-fashioned carbon steel wouldn’t. “You’re wrong. My memories haven’t come back—Jax just let me borrow hers. And from what I can see through her, you’re a real dick.”
“Oh yes, and Jax is such an unbiased source of information.” Lucas drew a little closer, then stopped, just out of arm’s reach. Tingles raced across my body, activating some buried instinct, and it took all my strength to back up against the tree and keep myself from reaching for him. I wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with me that I had to fight to keep from touching this repulsive man, but I hated it. Was this what the old me had dealt with? Was I drawn to Lucas by some unseen force?
