Bound by Legend: A Bound Novel

by A. D. Trosper

  He nodded. “See you around?”

  “I’ll be around. You going to be at the park this evening?”

  Jake blew out a cloud of smoke. “Probably.”

  “Then I probably will be, too.” She adjusted the stocking cap on her head and pulled her hood up. “See ya, Jake.”

  Morgan stepped into the alley for the second time that morning. Lucy stopped beside her, waiting to see where they would go next. By that evening she would circle to the park if she could and spend time with Jake before moving on again.

  Morgan loved the evenings spent with Jake in the park. As long as she kept the times she showed up there irregular, the demons didn’t seem to realize she visited there often. Of course, if her demon radar even hinted at one nearby when she got close to the park, she wouldn’t set foot there.

  The falling snow had tapered off to nothing more than flurries. With no destination in mind, Morgan started off. She would find someplace sheltered from the wind and they would have a couple of the cheeseburgers in her pocket.

  LUCIAN SAT AT Isobel and Damien’s kitchen table two weeks after his arrival at their house. The search for Morgan had been frustratingly futile. They checked the soup kitchen at the church every evening, but she was keeping herself scarce. He figured either the nun or Jake had tipped her off that she was being looked for and for whatever reason, she didn’t want to be found. A friend of Damien’s checked the police records and there were no warrants for her or anything so he couldn’t imagine why she wanted to remain hidden.

  The only thing that had gone right was the search for a house. Isobel had proved quite proficient and located a house one block down from theirs. Lucian had closed on it earlier that morning. It made sense that house hunting went better than Morgan hunting. The damn houses were stationary objects.

  He glanced at the clock on the wall. Damien and Isobel would be back from the store soon and it would be time to visit the soup kitchen again. Maybe she would be there. Or maybe Jake, who had been suspiciously absent since that first night. Lucian was determined that this time, he would answer some questions. The safety of his channel was in question, Lucian should be able to use compulsion on the guy.

  The front door swung open as Isobel and Damien came in, their hands full of sacks. Lucian immediately moved to help them with the load. Glancing in one he saw towels and a shower curtain. “What’s all of this? Are you two redecorating or something?”

  “Or something,” Damien said, looking pointedly at Isobel.

  “What?” She looked at him with wide eyed innocence. The kind of look a woman wore when she was guilty as hell.

  Lucian frowned. “What’s the ‘or something?’ What did you do, Isobel?”

  “Oh honestly, Lucian. How do you ever survive without a channel?” She dropped her bags on the couch and tossed her purse in a corner.

  “I survive just fine. What’s all of this about?”

  Isobel propped her hands on her hips. “I’m assuming you plan to move into your new house.”

  “Of course I am. What’s your point?” What was she going on about?

  Damien set the bags in his hands down. “Isobel has decided you can’t possibly move in with nothing. She dragged me to a furniture store and outfitted your entire house. They will be delivering it this evening. All of this,” he waved to the bags, “is Isobel’s domestic side coming out. She even called Elizabeth to tell her you’d bought a house here so she could seek her mother’s advice on the best stuff to buy.”

  “Mom has impeccable taste, trust me, you won’t be disappointed. I sent her pictures of everything on my phone and we talked before I put anything in the carts.”

  “Carts?” Lucian stared at Isobel.

  She nodded. “There’s more in the car.”

  “A lot more.” Damien sent him a look that warned him to beware.

  Lucian took a deep breath. “I have no doubt everything will be great, but I can’t be there when the furniture comes. I have to go back out looking for Morgan.”

  “That’s fine. I bought a few things for this house and as soon as I sort them out of these bags I intend to drive over to your house. I will be there for the furniture delivery and to get everything situated. Don’t worry; I will have it all ready for you,” she said as she began looking through bags and removing a few things.

  “So anxious to be rid of me.” He smiled when she straightened with a startled look.

  “Oh, Lucian, I never meant it to sound that way. You’re welcome here for as long as you want.”

  Chuckling, he pulled her into a hug. “I know you didn’t, still couldn’t help poking at you.”

  She shoved him away. “Go away Lucian and do something useful.”

  She gave Damien a quick kiss and then obviously mentally dismissed them both as she went back to her task.

  Damien shrugged. “Might as well get going, Isobel is on a mission and the Higher Powers forbid I get in her way.”

  They headed out the door to the Lucian’s car and within minutes were on the road. The weather had warmed in the last few days for which Lucian was thankful. It meant there was less chance of Morgan freezing to death before he could find her.

  The now familiar smells of the soup kitchen assailed his nose when they stepped through the door. Even from across the noisy room, Lucian’s superior hearing caught Sister Becky’s exasperated sigh. Each evening she’d given him the same answer. His eyes swept the room. Jake sat at a long table near the far end with a wary sort of alertness clinging to him.

  Lucian walked over and sat next to the man. “Good evening.”

  “Get lost.” Jake didn’t even raise his eyes from the food in front of him.

  Lucian ground his teeth but kept his voice level and calm when he said, “I know you were lying to me the other night. You know Morgan.”

  Jake raised his eyes, his expression devoid of any emotion. “Man, you just don’t know when to give up do you? Like I said, get lost. Morgan doesn’t want to be found.”

  “You won’t help me? She’s in a lot of danger.”

  Jake’s eyes widened. “No shit? Wow! Young woman living on the streets. Why, I had no fucking idea that there could be any danger at all to her.” Sarcasm dripped from his every word. “Morgan can take care of herself.”

  This man wasn’t going to help him willingly. Lucian stared into Jake’s eyes, feeling the ability to compel rise. He silently thanked the Higher Powers for their assistance as Jake’s face took on a dazed look. “Where is Morgan?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Shit, the man was telling the truth. Jake would be unable to lie under compulsion. “Where are the possible places she might be?”

  “Morgan keeps to herself. I know don’t where she is as at any given time. You might see if she’s dumpster diving at the nearby restaurants.”

  Lucian sensed the man trying to hold back and put more power into the compulsion. “Where else?”

  “Sometimes she goes to the tower if the weather’s bad,” Jake answered, his eyes blank.

  “What is the tower and how to I find it?”

  “Old industrial building.”

  Lucian waited until Jake had given him the location before releasing him from the compulsion with no memory of the conversation.

  Jake blinked up at him. “Are you deaf? I told you to get lost.”

  “So you did. Thank you for your time.” Lucian tossed a hundred on the table in front of the man and stood. Damien waited near the door. Lucian gave him a brief nod to let him know he’d gotten the information then left the kitchen with his friend behind him.

  “I’m going to spend some nights monitoring this tower place. I’ll drop you back off with Isobel. I may not be home for a few days.”

  Once they were back in the car and on the street Damien said, “You have your phone on you. Keep in touch so we know what’s going on. You know how Isobel gets when she worries.”

  Lucian snorted. “Yes, I know. Make her worry too much and she’ll fin
d some upper-level demon trapped in something and decide it needs to die.”

  “Don’t remind me. Thinking about that still scares the hell out of me.” Damien sighed. “Good luck with your search. I hope once Morgan realizes who is looking for her, she will be more receptive to being found.”

  “I hope so, too. I’ve never had a channel actively try to avoid me. This should be interesting.”

  THREE WEEKS AFTER the snow storm, Morgan glared at the heavy clouds moving in. Damn it. It was too warm for snow, this would be rain, and quite a bit by the look of the clouds. She would have to venture into the tower again for the day. It was the best bet for staying dry and getting soaking wet wasn’t an option she was willing to accept. She could hang at the tracks under the overpass, but if the wind picked up even a little it would get uncomfortable. Plus, with the weather warming, there would be a lot more people gathered there. Fewer would be at the tower.

  She turned and headed for the old industrial building, using the tracks as she often did as a highway between different neighborhoods. The area the tower was in was located in between two large sets of tracks, it made things convenient. Hopefully, the storm would pass before night fell. If not, it wasn’t so cold she needed to stay near the barrels. She would find someplace she could sleep by herself.

  Lucy padded along beside her. Morgan had removed the dog’s blanket two days ago. Lucy was thinner than she would have liked, but at least her ribs weren’t showing. She would have to find more food for the dog soon. As it was, Morgan had given her everything she’d found over the last two days. Her stomach tightened at the thought of food, she ignored it. She was used to being hungry.

  The wind picked up as she neared the tower and she jogged the last block, holding Lucy’s blanket close. The first drops began to fall and thunder rolled across the sky when she entered the alley. They made it inside just before the storm really let loose. Jake was already there.

  He waved and walked over. “That guy was back at the soup kitchen last night looking for you.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told him to get lost.” Jake studied her for a moment. “When was the last time you ate anything?”

  “A couple of days ago.” Morgan gave Lucy’s head a pat.

  “I see you have a couple of lovely new bruises on your face. Everything okay?”

  She shrugged. “A couple of guys tried to jump me early this morning. I guess they thought I was an easy mark.”

  Jake laughed, though concern flickered in his gray eyes. “I hope you changed their minds.”

  “Of course I did. You taught me well.” Morgan smiled. “Seriously, they barely hurt. The guys couldn’t hit worth a damn. A couple of punks who thought they were tough. Probably slumming. The way they went down I can tell you they wouldn’t survive long if they actually had to live around here.”

  Jake dug into his duffle bag and pulled out part of a sandwich and a hot dog minus its bun. “Take these and promise me you will split it with Lucy and not give it all to her.”

  “I promise…mostly.” She quirked a grin at him and took the offered food.

  Thunder rumbled beyond the cement walls. Morgan heaved a sigh. They would be there for a while. “I’m going to go sit by myself for a while. Thanks for the food Jake.”

  “No problem. Since you have to stay away from the soup kitchen and the other places we can easily get food, I figured you could use it.” He gave Lucy a pat on the head and walked away.

  Morgan found the rusted metal stairs on the far side of the open space and climbed them to the second floor. There too, thick sheets of weathered plywood covered the front windows. On the side of the building opposite of where people entered below, large window holes gaped like empty eyes at the solid brick wall of the neighboring building across a narrow alley.

  She crossed the floor littered with dirt, leaves and trash. Graffiti covered the walls, scrawled in every possible color of spray paint. Some was fairly artistic, most of it was either swear words in sloppy print or gang signs.

  It was a relief to find the second floor empty. The gang signs put her on edge and twisted an uneasy knot in her stomach. She went to great lengths to avoid people associated with gangs. She had no interest in that lifestyle and here lately they were infested more and more with lower-level demons.

  If the tower had started housing gangs at times, she would have to find somewhere else to seek shelter. Denver was a big city, there were other places. The tower was just closer to the areas she preferred to haunt. In all likelihood, the gangs had tagged it and left. She hadn’t seen any of them here over the winter.

  Taking a seat in one of the sills of the empty windows, she leaned against one edge and propped her feet in front of her, knees bent. She dropped her coats and Lucy’s blanket on the floor beside her so the dog would have something softer to lay on. Watching the rain was soothing so long as she wasn’t getting soaked by it. The wide window sill provided shelter and it helped that the wind came from the other direction.

  Morgan tossed the tuna sandwich to Lucy who had settled on her blanket next to the window. Then she broke the hot dog in half and tossed the larger half to the dog before shoving the remaining portion into her own mouth. She chewed it quickly and swallowed as she pulled a cigarette from the pack. Still a few left. It would last her for a couple more days if she was careful.

  It took her three tries to get her lighter to work. She would have to either find one or steal one soon. Taking a long, deep drag, she leaned back and watched the rain pour down as the air around her subtly shifted. Like her ability to sense demons, she could also sense dark angels. Shit.

  “Morgan Brooks? I’m Lucian Da Costa. I’m your new–”

  “I know what you are.” She glanced at him, raking her gaze over his golden hair, tawny eyes, broad shoulders underneath a black t-shirt, and lean hips encased in blue jeans. He looked like Thor. Gorgeous, like all of them. She turned her attention back to the rain.

  “Then why have you been so determined to avoid me?” He sounded impatient.

  Smiling slightly, she took her time taking another drag off the cigarette. “That’s my business. Shame you couldn’t take the hint.”

  “Damn it, Morgan, you aren’t safe out here. I have a house where you’d be safe. I can help you with the influx of demons that seems to be taking place in this city.”

  Taking another drag, she shot him a dismissive glance. “Go away, Lucian.”

  “Morgan, I can’t leave now that I’ve found you. You know that. And you can’t stay out here like this.”

  She snorted, blowing smoke through her nose. “Since when does a dark angel think he can boss his channel around? You have no control over me. Likewise, I have no control over you. Leave if you want, I don’t need you. Or stand around if you want. Either way, I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do. Just stay out of my way. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  Lucian sighed and ran a hand through his shoulder length hair. He’d never had a channel that acted like this. What was he supposed to do with her? “I’m not a babysitter and you know it. You’ve had a dark angel before. We’re supposed to work as a team.”

  “I’ve tried that, Lucian. It didn’t work out. Like I said, do what you want. Just leave me alone and out of it.” She refused to even entertain the idea of them working as a team.

  LUCIAN STARED AT her, completely at a loss. Her brown hair hung in a dirty, tangled mess around her bruised face. Even so, she was beautiful. Something tugged at his heart at the sight of her too thin frame.

  What the hell? He’d always cared for his channels, even been good friends with them. He’d never felt this. The closest he could compare it to was how he’d felt about La Pucelle. But Joan of Arc had been a woman everyone loved and no one touched. Like everyone else, he’d loved her from afar. This felt something like that only stronger, like his very soul recognized hers.

  Lucian closed his eyes at the implications. The Higher Powers had to be playing a trick on him.
He’d been fine without one for too many centuries and lives to count. And now, they chose to put this woman in his path. The Higher Powers help him if Morgan was indeed supposed to be his sodales in aeternum—his forever soulmate. He shook his head, there was no way.

  “Morgan,” he gentled his tone. “Please, let me do what I’m supposed to.”

  Morgan took the last drag off her cigarette and flicked the butt out the window. It soared through the rain, falling between the two buildings and landing in a puddle below. Damn, he was persistent. Then again, Arabrim would have been too if she’d tried to push him away like she was Lucian.

  She’d been relieved when Arabrim had found her and taken her off the streets. To find someone she could depend on, someone who would never hurt her, even if he hadn’t understood her, had been a treasure. A treasure she’d had to watch die. Everyone around her eventually died. She couldn’t let Lucian in, for his own safety and for her sanity.

  “Look, Lucian. I appreciate you going to all of this effort to find me and trying to help.” She turned on the window sill and swung her legs inside so that she faced him. “Really, I do. But you need to go. It has to be this way and I’m sorry if messes up your mission or whatever. Frankly, I’m too tired to give a crap anymore. So please, just go find another channel to protect and demon hunt with. I can handle myself.”

  Lucian kept his gaze steady on her face. “I can see that. Come by those bruises naturally did you?”

  She laughed, oh good grief, he was worried about a few bruises. “Nope, got them in a fight where I was the winner. These two,” she pointed at the new ones, “I got last night kicking a couple of guys’ asses. Like I said, I can handle myself.”

  “Against humans, yes. What about when you come up against an upper-level demon with several lower-level demons helping him?” Lucian narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if she could see reason or if she had lost her mind. The sudden sadness in her eyes surprised him.

  Morgan looked away from him and stared out the window at the rain. “Been there, done that. It got my dark angel killed.”