I opened my mouth to answer, but she continued, “Since it’s so late…do you want to come to the game with me? Or do you need me to drop you off at your house?”
I smiled gently. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to come to the game.”
“Really?” She glimpsed at me while stopping at a red light.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. This was great. Maybe Gabriel’s plan would work and she and Max would start dating or something like that. That would be awesome. At least Claire would have some fun in her life. “Do you normally go to the games?”
I watched her blonde head bob. “Haven’t missed one yet.” Claire made a sharp right turn. “Though, I’m warning you…I’m one of those dorky people who actually sits in the stands and watches the game. I’m a huge fan of football. Used to go every week with my dad.”
“It’s good that you’re still going to them. He’s with you in spirit.” I spoke slowly, “You’ll have to teach me all about it, because I don’t get it.”
If you aren’t busy talking to Max, that is, I wanted to say. But I didn’t. I held off. Barely.
“What’s not to get?”
“The whole thing, actually.”
“All right. I will. And, just so you know, I’m also one of those people who stand during the fourth quarter, especially if it’s a close game. I scream, I applaud, I yell to the referees. I get into it. I’m like those parents who sit right behind you and all you want to do is turn around and yell shut up!” Claire peeked at me. “Really. I’m not kidding.”
Wow. As we stood in line to buy tickets, I blinked. Of course I blinked, but I blinked at the game. At the amount of people who were there. At the blindingly bright lights. At the cheerleaders who were already on the field, cheering.
From what I’d seen, this game had a lot more people than the last one I went to, which was just fine to me. I needed some normal time. Some normal, teenage time to goof off and have fun.
When was the last time I had some time like that? Oh, yeah. Never.
After we bought our tickets and handed our stubs to some guy who collected them, we walked around and headed to the bleachers. My eyes spotted Gabriel and Max, who sat in the stands, like the nerds they were. Claire would get along with them. Me, I couldn’t care less about actually watching the game. I’d much rather be standing and talking to my friends.
The only problem was that I didn’t exactly have any friends.
Gabriel motioned for us to come up, so I turned to Claire and said, “Come on.” I ran up the steps and went all the way up the bleachers, soon sitting next to Gabriel. And that left only one place for Claire to sit: next to Max. Perfect.
Claire’s eyes fell to the nonexistent spot next to me before saying “I guess I’ll go sit…” She glanced to Max. “Over there.” She stumbled over Gabriel’s legs and sat clumsily by him. “Hey,” I heard her voice get soft. “Excited for the game?”
Max shoved his glasses farther up his nose, replying, “Well…I’ve never been to one of these before…”
“What?” Claire seemed taken aback. “How have you never been to one of these before? A football game? What kind of guy are you?”
Gabriel turned to me, a giant smile plastered all over his silly face. “Aren’t they just so adorable? Like two peas in a pod.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I can’t believe you said two peas in a pod. Who says that?”
“Me, that’s who.” Gabriel’s blue eyes were lit up from the intense spotlights that were centered on the field. “Raphael was wondering where you were. He wanted to come and kick your butt, but I told him that’d be very inappropriate.”
“Did he really say that?”
“No, but he did have that look in his eyes. You know. Pretty much the look he always gives you, I guess.”
“Screw him.” My hand flew up in the air, making a big show of pushing the idea of Raphael aside. Noticing the expression on Gabriel’s face, I said quickly, “Not literally. God. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“You’re right,” he pretended to think, “because if there’s going to be any of that being done…it’s going to be between you and me.”
“Is that so?” An unbelieving smile entered my face.
“Yeah. And don’t deny it. You know it’s true.” Gabriel faked a yawn and put his arm around me, staring at me all the while, making it completely obvious that he was going to do that. It was the oldest trick in the book.
He tilted his head, asking, “Is it?”
“Is it what?” I questioned as I picked his hand up and off my shoulder and placed it in his own lap.
“Is it the oldest trick in the book?” Gabriel had a stupid smile on his face. Soon that stupid smile turned into a very serious face. His mouth was open slightly, letting me see that his teeth were brilliantly white.
Underneath these lights, everything looked a little different. Not that I meant that his teeth were normally gross and yellow. They’re white. But now they looked movie-star white.
The smile appeared on his face once more, making me realize that he could read my mind. My mind that just wandered off, thinking about his teeth. How embarrassing. So, I decided that it would be best if I suddenly stood up and said, “I’m going to get some food. Be right back.”
Gabriel didn’t respond. All he did was lean back and continue smiling, like he knew something I didn’t.
I shook my head and walked down the stairs. What food was I going to buy? Or, I guessed the better question was…what food did I have enough money for? I remembered how expensive all their crappy food was the last time I was here. Last time I brought no extra money with me. Let’s just say I didn’t make that mistake twice.
As my feet landed on the gravel and I began walking towards the food stand, I stopped. My breath was short. I felt a gust of wind blow me into the desert.
I looked around. It was daytime, and super sunny. As I shielded my eyes, I noticed I stood in front of the tent and the oasis. Shoulders slumping, I figured I’d better get it over with and go in.
The woman sat on her throne. Her dark eyes looked through me, making me realize that someone was behind me. I flipped and stood, glaring at Crixis. If only I could get my hands on him…I’d try strangling him.
He’d definitely kill me within seconds. But at least I’d know I tried.
“Crixis,” she spoke, sliding the word off her serpent-like tongue. She whipped her long, straight black hair aside. “You were successful?”
Crixis bent down to his knees, golden armor clunking. “Yes, my Queen.”
But he was lying. Crixis was lying to his Queen. Because I saw it. I saw him kill everyone except the boy. Why would he do that? Unless…unless he planned on betraying her eventually. Which would make a lot of sense, because how else would he ever get out of her command?
She tipped her head, swaying the golden headband’s diamond to the side. “Are you truthful?” Crixis did not answer, did not move. He stayed silent, staring at the ground. She flashed near him and picked him up in one, swift motion. She held his eyes level as she demanded, “Are you truthful?” Her ruby lips dripped with hatred.
It took me a moment, but I grasped the fact that she was using her manipulation on him. That was new. I had no idea a Daywalker could compel another Daywalker like that.
Crixis spoke with equal hatred in his voice, “Yes, my Queen.”
Crixis did not give into her compulsion. I didn’t know that was possible, either.
She took her slender hand off his face and cut her wrist. Soon it dripped a vast amount of maroon blood. Crixis knelt in front of her and she slowly brought her wrist to his mouth. I could hear him biting into her skin, even though I was a few feet away. It was one of the most disgusting sounds I ever heard in my life.
“Good,” she stroked his head, like he was her pet. Quickly she ripped his face off and threw him across the tent. “Now get out of my sight.” She just used him up. For sex, for killing whole towns and wiping out entire s
pecies of Demons.
Was there anything she didn’t use him for?
Chapter Twenty-Four – Vincent
My eyes scanned the pages of the diary. This was all about the man she saw in church. Talk about obsessed. But my mind was curious. I needed to know every piece of the puzzle. And in order to do that, I needed to read this whole thing. I forced my eyes to continue.
Today I met him in the rose gardens. We strolled for a time, simply talking about our lives. Of course, I didn’t indulge what had happened to me a few years ago, but I told him everything else.
However, his story was much more somber. His life hadn’t been perfect, like I had imagined. His mother had died during his birth and his father was a farmer. I asked him how he became so distinguished, taking into consideration his background.
He looked at me and answered, with a perfect smile on his face: ‘I am here because of my background, my love.’ My breath flew away. He stopped walking, noticing that I had paused and said: ‘What is wrong?’
After getting my breathing under control, I told him: ‘You…said…’ But he stopped me short as he stepped closer. His green eyes were so vibrant and full of life. His voice was low: ‘I am aware of what I said. Do you wish me to take it back?’
‘No’ I whispered to him, suddenly gazing to the small pool of water that was near us, for it had rained strenuously the day before last. A small, bashful smile came on my face as I said: ‘Say it again.’
But instead of saying it again, like I so wished him to, he laughed, held out his arm and replied: ‘Let us continue. I fear rain will once again strike this lovely city.’ I hooked my arm in his and as we started to walk once more asked him: ‘In your stories, you never mentioned where you are from.’
His head nodded. ‘You are correct.’ I asked, eyes pleading with him: ‘Why don’t you say?’ The man that was beyond captivating me looked down at me and said: ‘Perhaps I shall tell you…but it is another story for another time.’
‘When?’ I put a playful tone in my voice, for I never wanted this man to leave my side. If only the full moon was tonight and not yesterday. He told me: ‘Do not fret. I shall meet you tomorrow if it pleases you.’ I did not wait for him to continue. I said: ‘Of course it pleases me!’
Around this man I feel wonderful. I feel alive. I feel like I should have felt with him. The other man. The one who did this to me. I was a fool back then, I had no idea what real love was. But now I do. And this man will stay with me forever. I love this man. I’ve only known him for a few weeks and I have fallen hard.
Chapter Twenty-Five – Kass
For a few moments I stood staring at the stadium’s pebbly ground. I made it past the first set of bleachers, where Gabriel, Max and Claire sat, waiting for me to come back from my food quest, and now I was trying to walk past the second.
The last obstacle between me and the food stand. But I was sucked into another vision. Except when I came back to reality, my breath was still short. It didn’t come back to me like it normally did. Something was wrong.
Time seemed to slow down as I looked all around me. Kids were playing their own game of football on the grass next to the second bleacher, acting like they were pros. Parents were walking back to the stands with loads of food in their hands, gabbing happily about the last play. Teenagers were huddled around the fence, trying to get as close as they could to the game itself.
Time came and slapped me in the face as I turned my head to the right, at the person who leaned against the concrete sides of the second bleacher, resting one foot on the ground and one on the side, hands stuck in his pocket. Like he was the biggest, most awesome person that ever walked this city.
He gazed toward the blackened sky, his shaggy black hair falling in his face, covering his bright green eyes. As I continued to stop and stare, he slowly brought his head down and flicked his eyes over to me. A handsome smile entered his perfect face.
I blinked and my courage caught up with me. I took a couple steps to him, saying, “What are you doing here?”
“What,” he replied, his voice low, “aren’t you glad to see me again?”
“Considering that every time we’ve met you’ve tried to kill me, I can honestly say,” I paused, “no. I’m not glad to see you, Crixis.”
Yes. The man leaning before me was Crixis. I was surprised I had the bravery to talk to him since he’d almost succeeded in killing me twice. And also because I knew what he could really do. It really was a miracle that I wasn’t dead.
The first time I met him, three years ago, he had beaten me so bad that I went into a comatose state for days afterwards. I had thought him just another Nightwalker. Little did I know that he was a Daywalker.
The next time we met he told me he was the reason why the Hyena Demon had targeted me. Why it had known about the Osiris ritual. He told me he wanted me to die in an interesting way, and then he tried killing me again. Why? Only because I survived our first encounter. If Rain hadn’t come…he probably would have succeeded in killing me that time.
This was the Daywalker with red eyes. This was him. Crixis was Red Eyes.
I wanted to run, but I forced myself to stay still and watch him laugh. “I hear you’ve been having visions about me.” Crixis tilted his head. “Tell me, what did you see?”
Gulping, I said, “More than I wanted to, trust me.”
He laughed again as he got off the wall. “Really? Well, I bet you still haven’t seen half of it.”
My blood began pumping faster as he came closer to me. “I doubt that.” The woman. The Shifter. The dead town. The nakedness. Yeah, I’d definitely seen more than half, I would say. I shook my uneasy feelings off, saying, “Why are you here?”
“Why do you think?” Crixis countered, his green eyes staring down at me. A sinister half grin entered his face. Bad guys always did the smirking thing. It’s like it was in the bad guy handbook. A bad guy wasn’t complete without his malicious half grin.
I ignored the urge I had to yell for Gabriel and Max. That would have been the smart thing to do, but it would also have created a scene in this public setting. I knew he could slaughter an entire town; I didn’t need a repeat here. Instead I said, faking a confidence that I didn’t have, “No. There’s too many people here.”
Usually he liked to find me in the emptiest places, like the graveyard in the middle of the night.
“You know as well as I do that I could kill everyone here in a matter of seconds. But,” he maintained his half grin, “that’s not what I’m here to do. Not yet.”
“Then what do you want?” I glared at him, clenching my fists. Just looking at this guy pissed me off. I wanted to lunge at his face and tear it off. Just because I didn’t know how to purify him didn’t mean that I couldn’t inflict a lot of pain.
“I just want to talk, that’s all,” he slipped his hands out of his pockets and held them up, implying that it wasn’t a big deal.
But it was. Oh, it was a super big deal. “Then talk. And leave,” I ordered him. “Before I make you.” Well, sometimes threats just slipped out. Even though, I reminded myself, I couldn’t exactly go through with the threat, because he’d kick my butt in a matter of minutes.
“We both know that you couldn’t make me do anything. But I would like to see you try,” Crixis smiled, egging me on. When I didn’t answer, he carried on, “What have I done to deserve such contempt from you?”
“Oh, I wonder,” I mocked him deliberately. “It couldn’t possibly be because I’ve seen what you can do to whole towns without looking back. To what you can do to entire species. The way you murder and maim innocent people. How you deceive everyone you meet.”
“I love the way you describe me. You do it so,” Crixis licked his lips, “perfectly.” His eyes glanced to the ground, making me suddenly realize that he was less than a foot away from me. Rapidly I felt my courage melting down into a little puddle. His voice fell to a whisper, “You have no idea, do you? Why did Raphael lie to you?”
My breath came out in a rush. “How do you know about that?”
Crixis didn’t answer right away. He was silent and looked me up and down, circling me and making me feel very uncomfortable. I was frozen. I couldn’t move. I felt the exhalation of his breath on my neck. I could feel his face, not even an inch away. He was right there. He placed his chin on my shoulder, murmuring, “The people you love are hiding things from you. They have terrible secrets.”
My eyebrows went together. What was he talking about? I knew Raphael must be hiding something from me, but he said people, not person. And how did he know Raphael’s name?
He removed his chin and rested it on my other shoulder, whispering into my ear, “You should ask them. Find out what they’re hiding before it comes and bites you someplace private…” Crixis put a hand on my butt, squeezing gently. “…and you pay the ultimate price,” he finished with a devilish half grin on his face. In a flash, an inhuman flash, his hand was gone. And so was he.
My skin burned where he touched me, and I wanted to ram myself into the concrete wall.
What was going on?
“Where is the food you went off to buy?” Gabriel demanded as I gradually made my way up to him, taking my time as I sat down next to him. “Kass.” He saw the look on my face, changing his tone instantly, “What’s wrong?”
Keeping my mind focused on the football game, I said, “Nothing.” But it came out shaky. Well, that was a dead giveaway. “I just…remembered I have no money.”
“You’re lying.” Gabriel put his hand on mine, in my lap. I concentrated on the game too hard to react. “Why?” His voice was earnest, and it utterly made me give in.
I stared into his deep blue eyes. Why couldn’t I have a normal life? Why did I have to be a Purifier? Why did I have to always be in danger, in life and death situations? Why did Crixis want me dead?
The Nightwalkers Saga: Books 1 - 7 Page 42
