by Kay, Sharon
She forced her expression to become neutral and walked across the room to retrieve her blades. “I’m doing fine.”
“I don’t know about that.”
She rolled her eyes. “I only missed the last one because you walked in and surprised me.”
“Aw, do I distract you, Sprite?”
“Yes. No! I mean…” She gritted her teeth, all pretense of neutrality gone. God, how he irritated her. Especially with that ridiculous nickname he had given her after comparing her to a water sprite.
He lounged against the wall, smirking, a mountain of muscles. Uncapping his water bottle, he took a long drink and tossed the cap into the garbage. He swirled the bottle with lazy circles of his wrist.
“Seriously, Brooke, getting caught off guard can mean death.”
“I understand that.”
“Want to throw again? I can give you some pointers.”
“No, I’m done. Brenin will be down here soon anyway.” Returning to the weapons table, she laid each blade down gently.
“So, what are you going to do until he’s done with breakfast? Which was great, by the way.”
“Thank you.” At least he knew how to be polite when he wanted to. “I’m going to hit the bags.”
“Wanna punch me instead?”
“No.”
“Sparring can be—”
“Go away, Kai.”
“Are you sure—”
Brooke huffed out an exasperated breath. She had reached the limit of her patience with the cocky, sarcastic demon.
Pinning him with an icy stare, she lowered her gaze to his water bottle. With a burst of energy from her mind, she sent the water shooting up into his face. She packed so much force into the blast that some of it flew into the air above him, so she mentally grabbed the stray drops and brought them down on his blond hair, making sure he was soaked.
His eyes, which had closed at the onslaught, opened to look at her from beneath spiky, wet lashes. He blinked and shook water from his head, his expression unreadable.
She folded her arms over her chest and smirked. “Getting caught off guard can mean death.”
“Touché, Sprite.” He turned and walked out of the room.
CHAPTER 2
KAI’S POWERFUL FORM RETREATED INTO the hall, his footsteps echoing on the stairs that led to the kitchen. That broad back…she had seen it bare once before. A nasty scar of two vertical lines ran down one shoulder blade, marring the rippling perfection of his muscles. She didn’t understand how he got it, because the Lash demons, as well as other supernatural creatures like her, had enhanced healing abilities. All the fighting they did, all the wounds they incurred, and the others would show up with maybe a bruise that healed by lunchtime. Certainly no visible scars.
Her mind wandered back to another morning here at Demon Central, the day she met Kai. She had been in the kitchen and turned to see him in the doorway, watching her. His short blond hair was tousled, like he had dragged a hand through it after a rough night. She looked into arresting eyes whose color flickered between dark whiskey and chocolate brown.
The sensual tan-gold of his skin was prominently displayed, since he wore only a pair of button-fly jeans. He left the top button undone, and they hung perilously low on his narrow hips. Fine gold hair dusted his sinewy chest, and she had to force herself not to let her eyes follow the trail of gold down to where it disappeared into his jeans. Brown eyes usually made her think of puppies, but Kai’s eyes stole her breath and seared her with undisguised heat. He managed to look both boyish and dangerously sexy, like a prom king turned underwear model. She was so flustered that she couldn’t form a coherent sentence; she had only stuttered something moronic.
Then he had opened his mouth. And asked—no, ordered—her to make him breakfast. In a split second her racing thoughts slowed, her flushed skin cooled, and she refused him. Disbelief flared in his eyes as he prowled toward her. She didn’t know what would have happened had Brenin not walked in and defused the situation. Kai had turned and stalked away.
Every word he’d uttered to her since then was sarcastic or insulting. When she walked into a room, he walked out. She didn’t know what she’d done to earn his animosity, other than not follow his rude, ridiculous order.
She rolled her eyes. His loss.
Too bad her body seemed to disagree with her mind on that point. Every time she met his gaze, she felt a spark of…something. Excitement? Awareness? Annoyance? She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she didn’t like it.
She turned to the nearest punching bag and slugged the thing so hard it made her hand sting.
“Easy girl, it hurts the bag when you unleash that right hook of yours.” Brenin’s warm chuckle filled the room. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.”
“I gotta warn you, I’ve got energy to burn, thanks to that apple thing you cooked. I probably won’t have to eat for the next three days.”
Brooke grinned. A tough workout was exactly what she needed to clear her mind of another tall blond demon. “Bring it.”
For the next two hours she and Brenin worked with different types of blades. She was comfortable with short knives, less so when he moved on to swords. The weight of the katanas and sabers was manageable to her untrained wrist. The claymores and broadswords, not so much. They were stunningly heavy, and she had a new appreciation for warriors of old who hefted them with ease.
She grunted as he handed her the biggest sword in the room. “How do I even hold this?”
He replaced the smaller one she had just worked with and turned to her. “With two hands on the hilt.”
She complied and raised the burnished metal. Damn, this has to weigh ten pounds.
As if reading her thoughts, Brenin said, “You need to work on your upper body strength before you can wield it properly. Pick it up once every couple days, work with it in short intense bursts. That’ll help you get a feel for it.”
“Why would I ever have to use it?”
“You need to be prepared for anything, Brooke. Yeah, you probably won’t charge into battle holding that.” He nodded at the huge sword. “But your opponent may use one. If that’s the only weapon available, you need to know how to handle it. How to defend yourself.”
“From what?” She took a clumsy swing. She and Nicole had been shocked to learn that demons walked among them, as well as fairies, witches, and other creatures that were supposed to be myths. Most lived on Torth, but some slipped into the human population, with no one the wiser.
“From whatever’s out there.” Brenin’s blue eyes were serious as he appraised her work. “Hell, your arms are shaking. Okay, enough with the swords. I want to work on some of the demon-specific weapons.”
Brooke let out a huge sigh and her shoulders sagged. “Thank goodness.” She returned the sword and took a long drink from her water bottle.
Brenin picked up a wicked-looking curved blade and turned it over, letting the light gleam off the shining silver surface.
“What’s that for?”
“Carving the heart out of a Neshi demon.”
Brooke gulped. “Can’t you use your demonfire instead?”
His eyes locked with hers. “I can, but you can’t. The thing about Neshis is their skin burns slowly, like rubber. It takes a while for the fire to cause serious damage, so this is faster.”
“It’ll keep fighting, even if it’s on fire?”
“Yep.”
Brooke grimaced and nodded at the blade. “So, what do you do with that?”
Brenin proceeded to show her how to angle the point so that it would slide in between a Neshi’s ribs, then twist with the long handle. “I hope I never have to use this,” she muttered.
“Neshis have scaly, orange-reddish skin and four arms, so they probably won’t visit Earth anytime soon. They’re too distinct.”
“That didn’t stop Maeron,” Brooke said with a shudder. The seven-foot-tall, gray-skinned, yellow-eyed monster had orchestra
ted the stabbings of hundreds of humans throughout Chicago a month ago, before the Lash demons had put a fiery end to his sorry life.
“Maeron was insane. You never know what could be out there.”
Brenin sat the curved blade down and moved on, discussing the uses for the variety of unique weapons on the table. Just when Brooke’s head started to spin from memorizing each blade with its intended foe, her stomach rumbled.
Brenin turned at the sound, and his eyes twinkled with realization. “You didn’t eat with us.”
She shook her head.
“Then it’s time for a break. But I don’t know if there’s any food le—”
He laughed as Brooke darted around him and beat him out the door. “Nicole saved me a piece! You guys are bottomless pits,” she called over her shoulder as she dashed up the stairs in search of her sister.
Seated at the island a few minutes later, Brooke sank her teeth into the last piece of apple pancake, which Nicole claimed she had to hide in her bedroom. The cinnamon-dusted dough melted in her mouth, contrasting nicely with the slightly crunchy apple slices. She closed her eyes, let her body fully relax, and sighed, “Mmm.”
She opened her eyes to spear another bite with her fork, and found Kai staring at her. Her skin prickled under the heat of his stare, but she held his gaze. She thought about asking him why he was there. Or telling him to leave. Or explaining that she hadn’t eaten yet. But she didn’t say anything. Why should I? I’m not going to let him ruin my lunch. She raised her fork and ate a second bite.
His eyes left hers, only to drop to her mouth. Which brought her attention to his mouth. When his lips weren’t pulled into a sneer, they looked full and soft and tempting. She wondered what they would feel like against her own. What if they had a few flecks of cinnamon left from when he had eaten…
Her body flushed and she squeezed her eyes shut. He was the rudest person she had ever met. She may not have had a boyfriend for a while, but she wasn’t desperate. Not even looking.
She spun on her bar stool to face the window, then took another bite. I’m going to enjoy my food, dammit. “I see you dried off.”
“It wasn’t that much water,” he said, pacing the room to stop in front of her. “It was kind of like when a drinking fountain gets you the wrong way.”
A drinking fountain? Her anger rose, despite her efforts to remain unaffected. She was tired of him trivializing her gift. Her muscles, totally relaxed one minute ago, now pulled as taut as a bow. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Nope.” He leaned back against the counter near the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. They rippled with muscle, and standing that way only accentuated his size. She blinked and looked away, but not before the edge of his mouth twitched and she swore he tried to hide a smug grin.
“That’s too bad,” she said.
“Oh?”
“I’m not sharing this last, delicious piece of pancake.”
“I don’t care about the damn— ” His grumble cut off as Nicole bounced into the room.
“Hey, guys! Brooke, ready to throw some ice knives?”
“Yes!” Brooke’s blood pressure dropped back to normal at the thought of getting to work outside with her sister. And getting away from Kai. “Let me finish this and I’ll be right there.”
“Take your time. Rilan’s not downstairs yet,” Nicole said, referring to the group’s Elder, whose gift of discernment had unraveled the mystery of the sisters’ true species.
Nicole perched on a stool next to Brooke. “How’d it go this morning?”
“I learned how to use the Neshi knife.”
“Ugh, I know which blade you’re talking about. I hope we never meet one of those things,” Nicole said with a shudder.
“Damn straight.” Kai’s voice held a trace of bitterness.
Brooke stole another glance at him as she devoured her last bite. She knew he was close to two hundred years old, even though he didn’t look older than thirty. He must have fought Neshi demons at some point. And obviously, he had done just fine.
She stood up and crossed the room to set her empty plate in the sink. Kai didn’t bother to move. Though he leaned in a casual posture, coiled strength radiated from his body. She had never stood this close to him—no surprise—since he made a habit of not being in the same room with her.
Her arm grazed his elbow as she reached into the sink, and a searing charge of energy zinged through her. A spark, like warm static electricity, shot from her arm all the way to her toes. She took a breath. He smelled like soap and leather and…cinnamon. Damn!
She jerked away from him and turned to Nicole with a smile that she hoped looked sincere. “I’m ready.” She marched toward the door that led to the large backyard.
Brooke walked outside into the bright, crisp fall day and took a deep breath, glad to clear her lungs of Kai’s irritatingly delicious scent. It was the end of September in Chicago, the days holding the warmth of the sun, but the nights quickening with autumn’s chill.
Despite her morning workout, her body hummed with restless energy. She felt the urge to run a few laps around the yard, but then Nicole would know something was bothering her. She didn’t know if her sister had picked up on the simmering tension between her and Kai. Even though they shared everything, she wanted to keep this to herself until she figured it out.
Reaching her arms above her head, she stretched her shoulders and triceps. She moved into mountain pose to begin a series of sun salutations. The familiar yoga routine helped her relax and focus.
Her sister walked outside to join her, pinning her with a look. “What was that all about?”
So much for thinking Nicole hadn’t noticed. Brooke straightened up from her second pose. “What?”
Nicole raised an eyebrow. “In the kitchen?”
Brooke’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know.” She looked at the tall oaks on the other side of the yard. “He’s so rude.”
“Kai? He’s hardly ever here when you’re around.”
“Exactly. I think he does it on purpose. And when he is here, he acts like an ass.”
Nicole opened her mouth to say something, but Brooke stopped her with a raised hand. “I don’t want to talk about it. About him. Not right now, anyway.”
Nicole studied her for a few seconds, then said, “Okay.” She didn’t push, just joined her in the warm-up. “It feels so good to stretch like this. Only one more month of sun before we get gray November skies.”
“And cold air. Hey, do you think you can raise the air temperature enough to boil water?”
“Hmm, maybe. But if it’s really cold, the drops might cool down by the time they splash the thugs.” They shifted to the next pose in their routine.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Brooke murmured. Heating water would be the opposite of their “ice knife” trick. She’d fling some of the water into the air, and Nicole would chill the temperature around it. At the same time, Brooke would coax the water droplets into jagged shapes, and then Nicole would use a gust of wind to send them flying into the eyes of Chicago’s worst criminals. They stopped the crime, and the weapons melted away. Perfect.
Their vigilante routine had alerted the Lash demons to their existence. Not sure if she could trust them at first, Brooke grew to appreciate her massive new friends. She’d better, since one of them had become her brother-in-law.
And one of them was a royal pain in her ass. She shoved the errant thought from her mind, smiling as she straightened from her forward fold pose to see Rilan exiting the house.
Short for a Lash demon, he stood only about five-and-a-half feet tall. He had a mop of wavy brown hair that he never seemed to comb. Brooke and Nicole didn’t know his age—no one did—but rumor had it that he was over a thousand years old. Yet he appeared to be about forty. His skills included discernment, spells, and supernatural lore, so he helped the sisters hone their abilities.
Rilan carried a large mixing bowl and a water bottle. “My two fa
vorite students,” he said as he approached.
“Hey, Rilan,” Nicole said. “Can we throw some ice today?”
The Elder made a tsking sound, and a wry smile tugged at his mouth. “Nihja, that trick is too easy. Today I want you both to work on multitasking.”
Brooke nodded and exchanged grins with her sister. Rilan’s definition of multitasking differed from that of busy office workers across the planet. The sisters both needed to use their talents to manipulate their elements in different ways at the same time.
“Nicole, I want you to push those trees toward the house.” He pointed to the row of oaks on one side of the lawn. “And push those away from it.” He indicated the cluster of birch at the rear of the yard.
“Brooke, let’s fill this bowl and then part the water.” He added a splash to the mixing bowl, and with a flick of her mind Brooke turned the few drops into a full bowl. She then repeated her effort from this morning’s bath, dividing the water and pushing the two sides apart. Only this time, she didn’t have to worry about splashing over the edge. She barely thought about it.
Rialn nodded and sighed. “This is too easy for you. Here.” He plucked a few blades of grass from the lush lawn. “Remove the water from this grass.”
Brooke raised her eyebrows. “That grass is dry.”
“On the outside, yes. I want you to pull the water from inside.”
“From inside? Inside its cells?” Brooke asked.
“Exactly. You can do even more than that. One day you will split the water on a molecular level.”
“What?” Brooke gaped at him as images of high school chemistry class flashed through her head. Little red and yellow balls attached to one another with white bars, representing hydrogen and oxygen molecules. I can do that?
“Well, maybe not today. I’m getting ahead of myself.” Rilan smiled. “You both have so much potential. I think you can do whatever you put your minds to.”
Brooke held the grass, stared at it, and focused her energy. At first, nothing happened. She frowned at Rilan. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, Brooke. You’ve grown up surrounded by water, so you’re accustomed to its abundance. You need to access the water that’s not readily available.”
