by Trina M. Lee
A small cry broke free of my lips.
Koda stared at me with wide eyes. He fell forward face first to the stone floor. And then he was gone. His body disappeared, as he’d been forced back to the other side. Demons didn’t die. But they could suffer. Sometimes that meant more in the grand scheme of things.
Looking quite pleased with himself, Wren turned to me with a smirk. “I know females among our kind are rare and highly sought after, but you must be something special to have Koda wrapped around your little finger. I’ve never known him to get attached. But of course, I haven’t been around for a while.” Bloody dagger in hand, he advanced on me.
Rather than move away, I moved toward him. Flaring my wings wide I unleashed the fire. My wings burst into flames that burned bright in the gloomy cavern.
Somehow this managed to gain a reaction from the smirking asshole. He assessed me with a new sense of wonder. “Now I see. Kai’s daughter.”
“That’s right. So would you like to talk about it, or can we commence with the ass kicking?” I didn’t want a response and didn’t give him a chance to form one.
I’d come to rely on the Midnight Star when fighting demons. So I felt a little out of my element without it. Yet sending him to the other side was not what I wanted. What I wanted was the dagger in his hand. Ruthless.
A sudden surge of strength filled me. I seemed to be at my strongest when my wings were alight with fire. With both hands I directed the flames. Aiming for both his head and his feet, I let him have it.
The fire engulfed him, and of course he immediately tried to extinguish it with water. If Wren didn’t know I was a replicant, he was about to find out. Thrusting a hand toward Rowen, I grasped the fingertips he extended my way and stole a piece of him.
While Wren tapped his water element, I hit him with the electrical impulse swiped from Rowen. As science had taught me, water and electricity still proved to be a volatile combination. Wren’s whole body seized. Knowing better than to touch him directly, I rushed forward and kicked the dagger out of his hand.
It hit the floor with a clatter. I dove for it. Wren recovered too fast and clotheslined me with an outstretched arm. My wings kept me upright, but I was momentarily disoriented.
“A thief. Just like your father. Of course. It makes sense now.” Mouth twisted in thought Wren dragged me close. “That’s why they want to kill you. I couldn’t understand why they all stood back and let me have at you. Now I see.”
I didn’t have to ask; he referred to the angels. The same sector of angels that had wanted me dead upon my birth.
A headbutt in the face shut Wren up for a second. It also seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and threw me down on the floor, following up with a kick to my ribs. I rolled away from him, trying to protect my organs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Arrow move closer to Rowen and Cinder. Protecting them instead of me. Which was just what I’d have wanted him to do.
Wren left me gasping for breath. Studying the brothers he twirled the dagger. “Brothers separated by light and dark. See, now I’m tempted to let you both live just so I can see how that plays out. Because you know that can’t end well.”
“We’re not all like you.” Arrow angled himself to take any hit that might come.
A bizarre little smile played about Wren’s face as he sized Arrow up. Finding something he’d been searching for, Wren nodded. “You already are.”
Without warning Wren swung the dagger. Arrow threw up a hand to defend himself, and the blade slashed across his forearm. His shadow dragon burst into life once again, fending Wren off momentarily.
Rowen was quick to defend his brother. A gust of wind blew the demon back and fed the dragon’s flames. Because the son of a bitch was a real force to be reckoned with, Wren came back at them with enough power to take them both down.
As my lungs once again filled with air, I was able to stand.
Together Arrow and Rowen faced off with the demon. After each attack they would draw back close to one another, ready to defend. They kept Wren busy, steering him further away from Cinder. They worked as a team, having each other’s backs. It was a relief to see them move together in battle like a well-oiled unit just as they did on stage. They knew each other so well they anticipated the other’s next action.
No matter what happened here today, I knew I could never come between that. They already had enough standing against them by being on opposing sides. They didn’t need me to screw that up even more.
Adrenaline helped me to see through the pain. I joined the brothers in their attack. The three of us were able to keep Wren moving, always reacting and defending. That didn’t stop him from landing enough offensive blows to wear us down. Though Wren had taken enough to weaken him as well, we couldn’t match his staying power.
He was simply too powerful.
Mortal as we were, our limitations were quickly being met. I racked my brain, trying to find a way out of this, trying to see an outcome where we didn’t die.
Cinder spoke my name in a low, broken tone. He held out a hand to me.
When Arrow stepped in front of me to take the next psi attack, I whirled to all but throw myself at Cinder’s feet. On his knees he struggled for each breath. Why he’d insisted on holding out so long I didn’t know. Nothing trapped him here.
“Take it.” He grabbed my hand, his grip stronger than I’d expected. “Strip his power. It’s the only way.”
Take it? His power? I shook my head. “Cinder, I can’t. You’re barely hanging on here.”
“Do it. Strip all of it, Ember. Now.” That final command rang with authority that would not be challenged. Violet eyes shone with steel. Cinder might be weakened, but he was never beaten.
Knowing I had mere seconds before Wren put a stop to the exchange, I did as I’d been ordered. Cinder’s angelic essence sang within him. The source of his power came from a place far beyond any of us. Beyond the battered physical self he wore.
It was spirit. Deep and pure. It called to me, knowing my name.
And I stole it. Pulling it into me and making it my own. The sudden swell of power knocked me back, wrenching my hand from Cinder’s. Before my eyes he disappeared, forced to the place where angels go to find healing. I didn’t know exactly what he meant by stripping Wren’s power, but I was about to figure it out.
A boom shook the underground space. Wren threw the brothers aside with a piercing blast that left my ears ringing.
I rose to meet him. Wings ablaze and thrumming with angelic power, I threw myself at Wren. With my good hand I caught hold of his, clutching so tight I felt his fingers crack in my grasp. Feeling the well of darkness within him, I stole it too. But I didn’t stop at just a swipe. I reached for more, all of it. I would take everything until he had nothing left.
Once I started pulling on his power, it flowed with ease. Cinder’s angelic essence gave me a boost even Wren couldn’t stand against. He tried to shake me off. Flustered and irate, he swung his whole arm, trying to beat me against the nearest wall like a snake that had latched on.
I wasn’t letting go. Hard and fast I pulled, certain there was no other way to do it. Wren gave a frustrated cry. He weakened fast. So much so that his next effort to shake me off was near pathetic.
Cinder was no longer there for him to torment with my death. But that didn’t stop Wren from trying to kill me anyway.
I saw the dagger coming and tried to twist away. Now it was he who struggled to hold tight to my hand. I pulled free of him, but it was too late. The blade had already found its way into my side.
My scream echoed in the cavern.
Wren scrambled away, like he might run. Blood oozed from the wound in my side, but I jerked the blade free anyway. If I was dying in here, Wren would be staying here to watch my corpse rot.
The fire in my wings went out. I lurched after him, unsteady and poorly coordinated. Yet he was weak. With another cry I fell upon him and used the force I’d stolen from him to guide me in plunging Ruthless i
nto his chest.
“His hands,” I panted. “Secure his hands.”
Rowen and Arrow took over, dragging Wren to where Cinder had been bound. With my head throbbing and blood dripping from my nose and side, I slumped over on the cold stone.
As Wren was locked into place, the dagger trapping him in his body, I held his hateful gaze. Maybe he’d killed me, but I had still won.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Are you sure you’re good? I can grab you another pill. Tea. Vodka. Whatever you want.” Jett smirked, knowing damn well I couldn’t have vodka. Not with the painkillers I’d taken.
“No, I’m good. Just make sure Seth has some fresh water if you don’t mind.” Curled up on the couch with my favorite tiger-striped fuzzy blanket, I rested my head on a mountain of pillows and waited for the codeine to kick in.
After spending way too much time in the hospital, I was comfortably at home and on the mend. The dagger wound in my side was minor overall. The blade had thankfully missed any vital organs. A relatively clean wound, it was easily stitched, and I was sent home with a handful of instructions and things to watch for.
Arrow had also been treated for his dagger wound. The gash in his arm had been deep, and the doctor wasn’t sure how much long-term damage there might be to the tendons and ligaments. Time would tell.
But we were okay and that’s what mattered.
After I’d plunged the blade into Wren’s chest, the guys had restrained him in Cinder’s chains. Showing good judgment, they’d searched him and found Cinder’s stolen feather. Rowen had stood watch over the demon until the angels Cinder sent arrived. Arrow then rushed me to the hospital in Jett’s car.
Jett had recovered quickly once she regained full consciousness. A mild concussion was easily tolerated by someone with her supernatural healing abilities. She didn’t dare step foot in a place where human doctors could study her too closely. Other than a bit of a headache, she seemed fine today. I couldn’t help but envy her just a little bit.
The two of us were at my apartment. We’d gotten a few hours of rest, though probably not nearly as many as we should have. Rowen and Arrow had gone to their respective homes for the day. It had been a long night, and we would all need some time to bounce back from this.
“Now tell me all about sexy times with Arrow before your drugs kick in and you’re too high to make any sense.” With a mug of coffee in hand, Jett sat down in my favorite easy chair, facing me eagerly.
I groaned. “Do we have to do this right now?”
“Hell yeah. I want to hear the dirty details. We’ve dealt with the demon trouble, and now it’s story time. So start talking.” She leaned forward and quirked her eyebrows at me.
I laughed and then yelped in pain. “There were sexy times. Nothing more to tell.”
That kind of explanation didn’t fly with Jett. “Bullshit. I know a bite mark when I see one, Spike. Tell me everything and don’t leave out a single sordid detail.”
Carefully readjusting on the couch to get as comfortable as possible with a stitched-up gash in my side, I found myself blushing. “It wasn’t sordid. Just a little scandalous.”
She threw several questions and comments at me as I summarized my night with Arrow. The girl talk was welcome. I needed it. As the painkiller kicked in, I began to feel a little foggy. Kind of high in a not so good, heavy narcotic way. But my pain faded, so that was something.
“He totally rocked your world, huh? I suspected he’d know his way around a woman’s body.” A sly smile lit up Jett’s face. “So which brother is better? Be honest.”
“Jett.” My tongue felt heavy and thick. “No. Just no.”
“Hey, just be glad I didn’t ask who’s bigger. Tell me. Light or dark. Who made you come harder?” She snickered, enjoying my unease.
My cheeks flamed. Propped against the pillows, I tried to focus on her smirking face. My head felt foggy. “Don’t go there, dude. I’m not comparing. They’re both different. In pretty much every way.”
She studied me, leaning closer, peering into my eyes. “My God, Spike, are you in love with both of them? I mean, I knew you had feelings for each of them, but damn.”
It took a few moments for me to form the right words. Holding up a finger to ward her off, I mustered, “I am not able to answer that question while under the influence of prescription drugs.”
“Ok, so that confirms it. So are you and Arrow a thing, or is this one of those fuck in private, friends in public kind of deals?” Jett sipped her coffee but eyed me over the rim.
Uncomfortable under her scrutiny I made my fingers into a gun and pointed it at her. “There ya go.”
Her laughter was as musical as her voice. In my drug haze it lit up my cells, infusing them with beauty.
A buzz from the door startled me. The euphoric fog temporarily scattered.
Jett went to answer it, seeing as I wasn’t going anywhere for a while. “Speak of the devil. It’s Arrow. Do I let him in? Of course I let him in. He’s coming up.”
“Aww, Jett, no. I must look totally wacked out.” I glanced down at my attire, wondering if I should attempt to change out of my fuzzy, heart-covered PJ pants.
“You are wacked out. So what? Do I need to remind you again what I said about the guy who shows up? He’s really scoring points here.” She slipped her boots on and pulled keys from a pocket. “I’m going to take off so you two can talk. I’ll be back later.”
I tried to call after her, but she was gone. I heard voices in the hall as she passed Arrow. When he walked in, my drug addled brain still fired off a spark at the sight of him that managed to reach my groin.
Black beanie hat tucked onto the back of his head, in a black Slayer hoodie and jeans, Arrow was mobile and alert. In far better shape than me. A few bruises marred his eyebrow and jaw from the fight. He looked tired though.
“Hey, angel girl.” He ambled over to the chair Jett had just vacated. “How are you doing?”
“I’m alive, so I guess I’m doing pretty damn good.” A dumb smile crossed my face. It refused to obey my orders to calm the hell down.
“High as a kite. They gave you the good shit. No such luck for me, although I have my own good shit.” He tugged a sleeve up to show me his bandaged forearm. “You took that blade like a champ. I couldn’t believe you still went after him.”
I shrugged. At least I tried to. I wasn’t sure if the thought made it to my shoulders. “I had to. And I’m not that high. Just a little… floaty.”
He chuckled, a sexy sound that I wanted to reach out and touch. “Right. Too floaty to talk about yesterday?”
His expression revealed nothing. This talk had to happen sooner or later, before we were all back at Spirit with Rowen. Maybe being high on painkillers was the best way to do it, especially if he was about to say something that hurt. Because in that moment I found myself fearing that he was about to tell me that I’d been nothing but a one-night stand.
“What about it?” I didn’t have to try too hard to appear calm. I was calm as fuck.
Arrow leaned against the arm of the chair, favoring his bad arm. His hazel gaze darted about before settling on me. Was he nervous? This had to be some kind of record. Arrow Lynch without his chill? Never thought I’d see the day. “Is that something you’d want to do again in the future? Or should we just forget it ever happened?”
“What do you want, Arrow? Do you still want to touch me without wondering if it’s ok? And call me at four am and have it not be weird?” My dumb smile faded. In its place was genuine curiosity. Part of me wondered if this was some kind of drug-induced hallucination.
“Yeah, I do.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw, seeming to search himself for the right words. “But I know it’s not always that simple. We can’t just slap a label on whatever this is between us and pretend that’s all there is to it. I’m still not even sure what it is. I just know that I like it.”
Despite the brain fog I saw so clearly where we stood. Funny considering I couldn’t
any other time. At some point during the last couple of months, we’d fallen for each other. And there was nothing simple about that. I had trust issues, more so now than ever. He was a womanizer who’d never been serious with anyone from what I knew. And then there was Rowen. Not to mention the fact that we weren’t supposed to be together. Light and dark.
“No labels then,” I said. “No definitions. Just whatever we want it to be whenever we want it to be.”
Arrow nodded and his shoulders slumped, like he’d been more tense than he’d let on. “We shouldn’t go public. Not right now. It could be dangerous.”
We both knew that wasn’t our biggest concern, though perhaps it should’ve been. Since I couldn’t bring myself to speak Rowen’s name though we were both thinking of him, I merely nodded.
“Do you still want to be here in my bed when you wake up?” I asked, wincing as my stitches tugged when I tried to sit up straighter.
“Come on now, Spike. I know I’m a fucking god in the sack, but I really don’t think you’re up for it.” A cocky but teasing grin lit up his face.
“Shut up.” My attempt to throw one of my pillows at him was pitiful at best. The pillow tumbled off the couch, gaining no clearance at all. Another stitch tug made me yelp.
Arrow leaped up and came to me, hands out like he thought I might fall off the couch myself. “As much as I love how feisty you are, you’ve gotta take it easy. I don’t want to have to drive you back to the hospital to patch you up.”
Feeling like I moved in slow motion, I touched a bruise on his face. “Do you have somewhere to be?”
He leaned into my touch. “Wherever you want me to be.”
“Lay with me?” I nodded toward the bedroom.
Carefully he slid one arm around me, the other under my legs. “I don’t want to hurt you. Let me know if I do.”
“Arrow, no. You can’t carry me. Your arm. I can walk. Slowly. You can help me.”
Ignoring my protest, he scooped me up. “It’s cool. Just a flesh wound.”
