by Gow, Kailin
Without leaving me time to argue, he ran to the forest. I took half a dozen steps after him then stopped as I felt a strong pull in the other direction.
Standing motionless, I let the sensations wrap around me; sensations of love and longing. I knew it wasn’t from Brax. It was different. It ran deeper than any of the sensations brought on by Brax. This was all consuming, like an obsession. The pull was irresistible.
Moore.
With no compass to guide me, I followed the pull that led me down the field to an outcropping of tall pines.
I saw him, contemplative as he sat on the upper branch of a distant tree. Logic hinted at the impossibility of what I saw. He was far away and obscured by branches, but I saw him nonetheless.
I ran as fast as I could over the rugged terrain, skipping over isolated shrubs, stones and saplings. My heart pounded with the need to see and touch him, to confirm his true presence.
“Moore,” I shouted as I reached the formidable tree. “Moore, it’s me… Lux.”
His gaze was intent on something in the distance, something that disturbed him.
I reached up to the lowest branch with my good hand and pulled myself up, then clambered from one strong limb to the other. “Moore,” I called again.
He closed his eyes and let out a sad sigh before gazing down at me. “Lux, what are you doing here?” His tone held a note of reproach as his gaze fell on the cast on my wrist. “You should be recovering, not climbing trees.”
“I don’t want to let you handle this alone.” I stepped up another limb.
He snorted and returned his gaze to the mountains around him. “I’m a big boy, Lux. I know what I’m getting into and I can handle it… alone. You shouldn’t have come.”
Standing on one branch and clinging to another, I looked up at him and lightly touched his calf. “I had to come, Moore. Remember, you asked me to help you and I’m here. I’m here for you.”
His gaze scanned the horizon, swept over the field and slowly came to rest on my face. “These past days have been filled with so much rage.” He swallowed and reached down to touch my hand. “I thought the demon in me had finally taken over, but it was all the frustration, all the anger I felt for what Shayne did, for my parents, for me, for what’s coming.”
He slid down the branch and faced me.
“Out here, away from you, it’s incredible how empty the darkness can be.” His gaze softened, almost smiled, though his lips remained grim. “You’re so beautiful. You make it so easy to forget how ugly this world can be.”
He kissed me and my breath caught in my throat.
“Why’d you come?”
Bleary-eyed, I looked at him, loving him more than I ever thought I could love another person. “I was worried.”
“Why, Lux?”
“Moore, I…” The words caught in my throat. I wasn’t ready to discuss my emotions… not yet. There was still too much to find out, about him… about Brax.
He stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers. “Why can’t you just say you love me?”
My tongue poked into my cheek, stubborn in its refusal to speak.
“Do you love me, Lux?” He persisted.
I nodded and was rewarded with a broad grin.
“Don’t gloat,” I warned.
“Never.” He brushed his lips over mine and then winked. “Now let’s get you down from here before you hurt yourself.”
Once on the ground, Moore took me in his arms and held me close. “Not that you don’t already know, but to make sure everything is clear… you mean so much to me. You're the only joy in my life, and you're the only thing that makes fighting this so important… so worthwhile.”
“And that’s why you can’t harm Shayne.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Harm her? I don’t want to harm her. I want to kill her.”
“Exactly, and that’s what I’m here to prevent.”
“How can you say that? She’d gladly kill you if she had the chance. Hell, she’ll probably kill me if she can.”
“Moore, think about it. If you do anything to Shayne, it’ll destroy you. You won’t be able to get past it.”
He snorted. “You don’t know me well enough. I’ll get over it just fine.”
I shook my head. “This is exactly the kind of thing that’ll push you to the demonic side. Please, trust me, Moore.” I looked at him. The determined scowl was still at his brow. “I don’t know what to do with you. Maybe you need more angelic influence to fight the dark.”
Moore chuckled. “You mean like hang with Asher more?”
“Yeah.”
“You know I’d rather be with you.”
Smiling, I pulled away and headed out of the woods. “I know.”
He fell in step beside me. “Already I feel at peace… serene like.”
I grinned. “Serene, huh?”
Gripping my shoulders, he stopped, his face no longer smiling. He turned me to him and roughly pressed his lips over mine. His kiss was hot and violent, catching me off guard. His tongue worked its way through my mouth, leaving me with a desperate desire to cling to that sensation forever. Raking his fingers through my hair, he pulled me closer, breathing in my breath, kissing me harder. I responded back, kiss for kiss, unable to get enough of him. We were no longer holding back what we felt for each other. All the longing I felt, all my worries for him, my undeniable attraction to him poured into that one kiss.
“I can do anything with you by my side.” He finally pulled back, his thumb playing on my cheeks as he gazed at me. “I love you, Lux.”
Grinning, I pulled away and continued walking. “I know.”
“Hey, I thought you said no gloating.”
“That’s not gloating, it’s just acknowledging.”
He smiled, that glorious smile that always left me so weak, but the happy moment was broken by a piercing shout that rang out from the dense forest.
“My God, Brax.” I bolted toward the open field hoping for a sign of him.
“Brax is here?”
“How do you think I got here? They came out here to find you… for me.”
“They?”
“Asher’s here, too. They care about what’s happening.” I glanced at him and caught his skeptic glare. “Well, at least they care that I care and that’s why they’re helping me.”
Out in the open, I looked at the forests that surrounded us. “Where is he?” I muttered. “And why is he shouting?”
Moore gazed toward the sound of Brax’s voice, the alarmed expression on his face giving me added cause to worry.
“He shouldn’t go into the forest.”
“Why?”
He grimaced. “Shayne. She’s gotten worse since attacking you. She’s more desperate than ever and without an angel’s soul to take, she did the unthinkable.”
The sense of dread that increased with Brax’s every shout became unbearable as I envisioned him out there… with her.
“She devoured a demon’s soul,” Moore went on.
I closed my eyes, willing him to take back his words, willing him to admit he was mistaken or lying or… anything… anything other than saying his sister was now that much closer to being a full-fledged demon.
“She’s almost like my parents.” He rubbed his eyes. “She’s not far from being completely lost.”
Tugging on his sleeve, I led him towards the sound of Brax. “We have to find him… and Asher. Please, Moore. Help me find them.”
Chapter 16
Running behind me, Moore shouted, “We’re heading straight towards her, Lux. She’s out here.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why would she come here of all places?” Pushing branches aside, I ignored the scratches on my face and hands, and rushed through the bushes.
“She’s afraid. She wanted to go where no one can see her. She’s looks like them now…demons, no longer human, and doesn’t want to be seen.”
For all the pain and suffering she caused everyone, I couldn’t help but
feel sorry for her. Surely she wouldn’t voluntarily choose to be like this.
Asher’s voice joined Brax’s and the shouts were both angry and fearful.
As we reached the foot of a cliff, I turned to head left.
“No,” Moore said, grabbing my arm and pulling me in the other direction. “Here.” He squeezed through a tight opening in the stone wall and scrambled his way up the cliff. I followed close behind, pulling my weight up by way of roots and branches.
When we arrived at the top I was stunned by the scene that greeted us. Brax, pinned to the ground by two large and dark figures, demons, struggled to get free while Asher was backed to a tree by Shayne, her demonic eyes on Asher’s soul and her decrepit claws at his throat. He clung to the Book of Angels while trying to fight her off with his free hand.
I turned my attention to the demons on Brax. With one quick and angry motion I pulled one off, cursed it to the hell it belonged to and pressed my crucifix to its brow. Moore pinned the other demon to the ground with his knee and waited for me to slay it.
“We make a pretty good team, don’t you think?”
I grinned. “Yeah, but the worse is still to come.” I turned to Shayne.
Brax got to his feet. “We gotta do something. Shayne has too much strength. Asher’s helpless against her.”
Moore offered him a grim nod. “She devoured a demon’s soul. The dark side is taking over. Soon she’ll be like one of them.”
I heard the pain and heartache in his voice and wanted to reach out to him while Brax simply shrugged his lack of sympathy.
“Ready guys?” I said.
Shayne already had one claw on Asher’s throat and was inching her lips closer to his.
Brax and Moore nodded.
“Together,” I shouted.
We rushed her from the left, pushing her off Asher and into a neighboring tree stump. Her head met the stump dead on and she fell into an ugly and vile heap.
Brax was quick to help Asher. “You okay, man?”
“Yeah, barely, but yeah. Man, when did she get so strong?”
“She’s on the verge of becoming a full fledge demon and she can’t turn back,” Moore said.
“Worse thing is, this isn’t even the end of it.” I looked at the three guys around me. “She’ll only get stronger and stronger, and more evil.”
“Despite her strength, she’ll be hunted down, just like my parents were, by stronger demons. Her hell has just begun.” Moore gazed at the ugly creature on the ground a moment longer before turning away.
“I’m so sorry, Moore.” I put my hand to his shoulder.
He shrugged and swallowed the pain of losing his sister. “She asked for it.”
“Moore,” I said softy. “That’s not fair. Demons…”
“No. Don’t explain the workings of the demonic realm to me. Shayne went out and sought power.”
Asher and Brax looked at him.
“Just before my parents were murdered…” He turned to Brax. “Before yours were taken.”
“What does Shayne have to do with my parents?”
“She was with my parents when they headed out to hunt an angel.” He looked pointedly at Brax.
“My parents?”
“Mom and Dad suspected one of your parents of being an angel, or at least of having angel blood. They captured both of them, being unsure which was truly the angel. Just as they were about to devour their souls, another demon, bigger and more powerful came along, no doubt attracted by the fresh souls, and offered them his own soul. It was to make them stronger, though they probably didn’t realize it would make the darkness in them stronger as well.”
“So what happened to my parents?”
“Somewhere in all that my parents realized what they were doing and pushed Shayne away. She thought she could avoid becoming like my parents by cleansing herself… with an angel. She tried to devour your parents, but realized they were both human, and not angels.” He turned to Brax again. “The thing is that they thought you were an angel.”
“Must be the cute blond curls I had as a kid.” He tugged his hair with a wry grin.
Unamused, Moore continued. “Shayne threatened to go after you, but your parents enlisted the help of another demon and got him to protect you. He didn’t look like a demon, but looked human, and was even attractive…he looked angelic so they thought he was an angel, but he was a demon. I think he may have been a beautiful being, but they didn’t know it then. By doing this, they became demons themselves and a curse was put on their offspring… you.”
“Damn it, Moore. Why didn’t you ever mention this before?” Brax glared at Moore in annoyance.
“He’s right.” I joined Brax in glaring at him. “You know that we’ve been trying to find out what happened to his parents. How could you hold out on us like this?” I hated to accuse him, but he knew how important this was to me.
“I didn’t know about all this until recently. I found Shayne’s diary. She left it out and it was open to the pages about that night.”
“What, was she reviewing how she came to be the witch she is?” Asher sneered.
“I don’t know. I think she might have hoped to find a hint of something that could save her.”
“So it’s all true then. I’m doomed,” Brax said.
I glanced at him. He was utterly devastated.
He turned to Moore. “I’m like you…human who is cursed…a beautiful being.”
“We’ll find a way to reverse the curse.” I went to him and put my arm around him. “Don’t worry.”
“Asher thumbed through the Book of Angels. “I think I saw something in here about such a curse.” He stopped and pointed to a sketch of angels fighting demons. Problem is this is all in Latin. Anyone know what ‘postulo angelus ut aufero doemon pestis’ means?”
“Loosely translated, it basically comes down to this; it takes angels to fight the curse of demons.”
“What a surprise,” Brax droned.
“Guess you guys will need me around.” Asher beamed with pride.
“Get your angel wings ready, Asher.” Moore was grim as he gazed past my shoulders. “Looks like my parents’ murderers are here for my sister.”
I turned to look behind me. Demons, much larger than I’d ever seen, descended on us.
Brax clenched his fists, ready to fight. “And they took my parents’ souls, leaving me with this damned curse.”
More demons emerged from the forest; smaller novice demons who made a lot of noise, but seemed ignorant in the ways of demons, and demons like I’d seen so many times before, tall, charred, with glowing red eyes and deadly sharp teeth. But what struck me, what stood out and made little sense were the two humans accompanying them.
A young woman with gorgeous red hair and clear alabaster skin charmed by a light sprinkling of innocent freckles gazed at the three guys around me with keen interest. Dressed in dark slacks and a pinstriped button down shirt, she could just as well have stepped out of the office for a bite to eat at the corner sandwich shop, but her hungry eyes told a different story. She was hungry for a fresh soul.
Beside her, a tall young attractive man with bright blue eyes and dark hair, in his late 20s, walked with arrogant pride and far too much confidence. Well dressed in an expensive suit, he had a conservative haircut, glasses and an annoying smirk.
More annoying was the nagging feeling I’d seen him before, and recently. His eyes met mine, his gaze mild and professional one moment then quickly resuming their arrogant glare.
“Didn’t I tell you to take it easy today, Miss Collins?”
I gasped and breathing was suddenly painful. “Dr. Sorensen?”
He snickered. “Didn’t recognized me without my scrubs, huh? Yeah, cool thing about those scrubs. Put them on, mutter a few medical terms and everyone thinks you're a doc.”
My good hand immediately sought the cast on my broken wrist.
He snickered again. “You're lucky I don’t do orthopedics. I would have set that
bone at a pretty nasty angle.” He roared with laughter, an odd and fearsome sound that reverberated from the bowels of darkness.
The bolt of an icy chill sped up my back. “You're a demon?”
“And a pretty handsome one at that. I’m the incubus kind.” He looked over at me, his eyes narrowed into appreciation as he appraised me in my jeans and t-shirt. “You clean up nicely, but out of all the patients I’ve seen at a hospital, you make even a hospital gown look sexy.”
I nearly choked on the vomit that threatened to come up. “You’re much too old for me.”
“And you’re much too inexperienced for me. I prefer someone who’s been around… I am a very experienced older incubus, after all.” He glanced over at Moore. “Whatever pleasure that newbie has given you, I can give you a lot more.” He flicked the lapels of his jacket and then laughed. “Of course, it would kill you, just like anyone who has experienced my kiss.”
Shaking my head, I tried to make sense of it all. “The mummified body at the hospital…”
Dr. Sorensen licked his lips and grinned. “Being a doc has its privileges. I admit it’s not my usual style, but, hey, couldn’t pass up a delicious opportunity like that. Besides, it was rather amusing to put such doubt into that scrambled little head of yours.” He pointed two fingers to Brax and Moore and mimicked a young female voice, “You did it. Or did you do it?” He glared at me with satisfaction. “Ah, what fun to watch a young beauty such as yourself blame the paramours in her life for something so awful, something so vile. You really do need to learn to trust a little more.”
“You should listen to Dr. Demon here,” the pretty girl said. “He knows a whole lot about love.” She licked her lips and draped herself over Dr. Sorensen’s shoulders.
With a cocky cluck of his tongue, he bobbed his head towards her. “Becca is responsible for the dud in the alley, just in case you planned to accuse me of that one, too. I mean alleys… really. I have my pride, you know.”
“I don’t,” Becca said. “I like nasty places. You meet so many interesting people there. Like this guy. He was a john; a horny little john who wanted a quickie… and he just wanted to pay me twenty bucks. Well, I sure gave him his money’s worth. I got my twenty bucks and he ended up dead and damned. A succubus’ work is never done.”
