by JL Weil
For the love of God. Now what?
More snags were not what I needed.
Taking my eyes off the deceitful demon, I glanced at Angel. Her usually beautiful eyes were ringed in crimson, and a strange prickle spread down my arms, scalding hot. Tendrils of reddish smoke blanketed the ground at my feet. “Angel,” I called, tentatively.
The demon in my hands gave a creepy laugh, but he wasn’t my immediate concern. Angel’s form had started to dart in and out, a fading inky shadow. The thick smoke rose, billowing up over her as her head snapped back. Her movements were jerky, unnatural. When she lowered her head, a dark, oily substance dripped from her nose. A droplet hit her arm, which immediately caused her hand to fly to her face.
A look of pure fright shone on her face as she stared at the blotch of slick, black fluid that covered her fingers. Fear rammed inside my chest, kick-starting me into action. A fire snapped inside me. “What did you do to her?” I yelled at the demon, pure venom in my words.
A slow, sickening smirk peeled back on his black lips. “Resistance is futile.”
I welcomed the demon and the rising ride of fury building in us both. A rush of anger inched its way into my veins. “Thanks for nothing, asshole.” The muscles in my hand flexed as I cut the oxygen from his human host. “Take a message back with you. Tell my dad…I will end him.” Then I twisted, grabbing the knife from Emma’s hand, and with one quick jerk, I drove the blade home.
That was a promise I meant to keep.
The lower-demon froze, shattering into a million tiny flakes of sinister powder, and with his departure, Angel’s face turned the color of oatmeal. A moment later she collapsed.
Whirling, I caught her, cradling her in my arms. My vision clouded at seeing her fall, and for a second, I thought I might also lose myself to the darkness. It wasn’t until I separated our emotions, our bond, that I was able to halt the spinning.
“Chase?” Lexi exhaled, placing her small hand on my shoulder.
“I’m fine,” I reassured her, directing my attention to the limp girl in my arms. “I am not so sure about Angel.” Laying her softly on the bench, I sat down on the edge beside her, feeling a bundle of emotions—none good.
Lexi hovered over us, glancing down at her best friend’s pale face. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure.” And that caused pure fear to bubble in my soul. “At least not yet.” But I will find out, I vowed silently, brushing the hair from her face. “Did you take care of the girl?” I asked Lexi.
“She won’t remember a thing,” she said, looking wistful. Travis and I normally didn’t blink at using our skills, but Lexi, no matter what the circumstance, always felt regret afterwards.
It was a pain I frequently tried to spare her, which almost always made me the bad guy, but that was the way I liked it. I had a serious badass reputation to uphold.
Angel’s eyes fluttered open, thick lashes dancing alongside her upper cheeks. She squinted against the blinding sun slipping through the tree coverings. Like a dam being broken, I swam in a sea of intoxicated emotions that inundated me. Our bonds were back in full swing.
“Did I miss orientation?”
A uniform laugh of relief came from Lexi, me, and even Emma. If Angel was worried about a stupid mandatory college assembly, then she was okay. My heart hammered joyfully. “Angel,” I whispered, and then I covered her lips with mine for a quick, searing kiss.
Her face softened, and a pinch of color came back into her cheeks. “What was that for?”
“For scaring the bejesus out of me.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re demented.”
I lowered my head to hers. “It doesn’t stop you from loving me.”
Her heart beat in perfect sync with mine. “I’m seriously thinking of reexamining my sanity.”
“Too late,” I grinned, brushing our noses together. “We’re both already deemed crazy.”
“Wonderful,” she said dryly. “Are you just going to stare at me all day, or are you going to help me up?”
I laughed unsteadily, offering her my hands.
And to think, I thought college was going to be a cinch. Parties. Late nights. Sleeping in. Boy was I in for a rude awakening. Not to mention, my girlfriend was turning into…God knows what, but it didn’t matter. We were a perfect match.
~*~*~*~
“This place has the dumpiest Internet. I thought college was going to be better,” Angel grumbled, looking completely put out. She even stuck out her bottom lip in an adorable pout.
Obviously, she and I were wired into the same wavelength. Except my reasons for college sucking went way deeper than the Internet connection. “You brought your Xbox? Why am I not surprised?”
She screwed up her face. “Duh. A fat wad of good it did me. The connection here blows chunks.”
Lounging on the leather couch beside her, I peered at her under the rim of my baseball cap. “Good, ’cuz we need to talk.”
Her fingers raced over the remote control buttons, jumping from green to red to blue, all at the same time she pulled the trigger. “Shoot.”
“Can you put that thing down?” I wanted her undivided attention. Competing with her video games irked me.
Eyes glued to the TV, she replied, “Hmm. Yeah. One sec. I just need to get to a checkpoint.”
The leather rubbed against my jeans as I leaned forward. “A check-what?”
Tap. Tap. Tap. “Are you sure you aren’t half-alien?”
I gave her a dark glare.
“It’s a point in the game where it saves my progress,” she rambled on as if I really cared what a checkpoint was. “Have you ever played a video game?”
I snorted. “Let’s just say that Travis isn’t on his first gaming console.”
“You didn’t,” she said in utter outrage.
My brow lifted. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
“I should have guessed. Destruction is your answer when things don’t go your way.”
Alright. The procrastination had gone on long enough. I was onto her little games. We were going to have this discussion even if I had to force her hand. While she was preoccupied with finding a checkpoint, I moved. She didn’t notice until it was too late. “You are going to pay for that,” I said, dangling the power cord between my fingers. One quick jerk and it was game over for Angel Eyes. We’d been here before.
Suddenly, I had her undivided attention. “Gee whizz, Sergeant Buzzkill, I’m listening.”
Good grief. Why did everything have to be the hard way? “We need to talk about what happened the other day,” I said flatly, sitting back down in my seat on the couch.
“I’d rather not,” she mumbled, tucking her legs underneath her.
“Angel,” I said in exasperation, rubbing my temples. “This is serious shit. We can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”
She batted her lashes, folding her hands in her lap. “What happened?”
I squinted. “Cute.” Shifting, I turned so I faced her and laid my arm on the back of the couch, and deliberately, I softened the lines creasing my expression. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
She shrugged, avoiding my gaze. “I don’t know exactly. Hell forgot to send the instruction manual on being the keystone.”
“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” Things were shifting—changing—and I couldn’t say I liked the direction we were heading. “It’s okay if you’re scared,” I said, hoping she would trust me.
She nibbled on her lower lip like a bunny. “I feel like I am losing myself, the pieces that make me human. Something happens when there are demons close by. I feel pulled. They summon me to them.”
“It has to be Alastair.”
She nodded. “It fits, but why? What does he want from me? I already made it clear that I wasn’t interested in his job offer in Hell.”
The same thing he wanted before—chaos on Earth. He didn’t want to be chained to the underworld. But that was just a guess. Who the flip really knew wh
at went on in his manic mind? “I don’t think his motives have changed, but we’ll figure it out.”
She stared straight ahead. “And in the meantime, I’m just supposed to wait? Maybe have a few more of those gross nosebleeds, a couple blackouts here and there, and don’t forget the physical changes I’ve been ignoring, praying they would just go away.”
I flinched. The helplessness and aggravation in her voice broke something inside me. I would give my left arm to take away the uncertainty, but I didn’t know how much I should divulge. Her fears were valid, and now that we both were openly admitting that things were transforming, for the worse, I felt like we could move forward. Figure out what this was and nip it in the bud. Crush it. Destroy it. Whatever it took. I would risk anything—except her.
One step at a time and finding the source was the first stride. “Have you ever known me to be the waiting type?”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. The slightest lift materialized at the edge of her lips. “Never,” she replied, unfurling her legs.
I tucked the hair framing her face behind her ear. “Angel, I—”
The grand speech that was on the tip of my tongue ended before it had a chance to begin. Lexi came buzzing into the room like a tornado of glitter and excitement. She was wearing a bedazzled NIU shirt and more makeup than usual. “Let’s ride, lame-os. We’re going to a party.”
My cousin was going to be the death of me.
Chapter 11
“I need a wingman,” Lexi pouted upon seeing my scowl.
“Go ask Emma,” I told her. “We’re busy.”
Did that just come out of my mouth?
Oh crap. I must have drunk the crazy juice if I was suggesting Emma as a wingman.
“Oh, I can see that,” Lexi barked, hands on her hips.
“He’s kidding,” Angel quickly added.
No, I wasn’t, and she knew it, taking any opportunity to escape our caring and sharing time. To think, I thought we had been making progress.
A party was the very last place I wanted to be, but I could sense that Angel really wanted a change of scenery, something to get her overactive brain off the other stuff. She had lost interest not only in her video game, which was a big deal, but also in talking about demons. Often, it felt like that was all we ever discussed.
How to fight. How to stay alive. How to kill. A party might be what the doctor ordered, a little bit of normal, stupid, drunken fun.
“How the hell did you get invited to a party when we haven’t even started classes?” I asked, eyeing Lexi. I had to bite my tongue before I ordered her to change. Way too much leg action for my sensitive eyes.
She gave me a cheeky grin. “I have my ways.”
Who was this person? I barely recognized my cousin. Gone was the innocent girl with bouncing blonde pigtails, and in her place was a sleek, adventurous, young woman. She used to get excited over the new issue of Cosmo or the mention of shopping. Now she was boy-crazed like the rest of the female population.
Dang. Come to think of it, I don’t think she had even scoped out the mall yet. Ghastly.
Popping off the couch, but not as fast as I normally would, I pressed my hand against Lexi’s forehead.
She swatted my hand away. “What are you doing?”
I shot her a sincere look. “Making sure you’re not running a fever. I think you’re sick.”
“Sick of you hovering,” she replied, frowning.
“Is SoCalie going to be there?” Angel asked, having scooted to the end of the couch, closer to Lexi and me.
SoCal who? I didn’t like the way her voice had gone all flirtatious.
Twisting toward Angel, Lexi’s aqua eyes began to shimmer as she nodded vigorously. “He just texted me.”
I guess SoCalie was her “in” to this party. Initially, I thought she had used compulsion. SoCalie…the mysterious texter. It was past time I met this stalker. Tapping the hoop on my brow, I realized I was actually considering fraternizing with frat boys. Frightening.
“Chase,” Angel called, but not before I caught the wink she gave Lexi. “Go get your party hat on. It’s time to boogie.”
Ha. Ha. Ha.
If the two of them thought they could gang up on me, they had another thing coming. The idea of me dancing was laughable. Not in this millennium. Then again, once the idea of seeing this guy Lexi was infatuated with took root, I thought a quick interrogation might be in order. It was my stand-in brotherly duty. Before I committed to this party, I wanted to make sure this was what Angel wanted. “Are you sure you don’t want to rent a movie instead? It’s safer.”
Just as the last word rolled off my lips, in walked my daymare. “Loser,” Emma chimed with an L-shaped hand signal against her forehead.
I scowled, my body stiffening.
Emma’s smile widened, noticing the rigidness of my back. “Come on, big guy. Are you telling me you can’t handle a college party?”
Only Emma could goad me into doing something I didn’t want. If I didn’t know better, I swore my cousin set her up to do it on purpose, because the next thing I knew, I was escorting the three amigos across campus.
Christ, when had I lost the ability to make them listen to reason?
What I had wanted to say was that no, I didn’t think I could handle a college party if I had to babysit the three most troublesome, danger-seeking, hair-brain girls in the universe. But I knew that statement would blow up in my face.
And without me, let’s be real, the amount of crap they could get themselves into was scarily staggering. A half-demon, a hunter, and…there were no words to describe Angel—what an utter formula for disaster.
I let out a bear-sized sigh, which could be heard over the clopping of heels and sneakers. Each time I stepped outside during the night, a yearning pulled at the demon—the darkness. I listened, picking up the sounds of laughter, the rustle of leaves, and Lil Wayne—most importantly, no howling.
Angel looped her arm through mine. “Relax,” she whispered.
If only…
The two-story dark blue row house was pouring with college students. Some lounged on the lawn, while others hung out on the balcony or the porch. They all carried plastic cups. It was a staple, along with horrible taste in music.
This was my first, and probably my last, college party.
“So where do we find SoCalie?” Emma asked, scouring the perimeter. Some instincts were bred deep, like being paranoid. She had traded in her usual camo for white shorts and a black tank top.
Lexi’s whole face transformed. She had always looked like a fluttering humming bird to me—sweet and tiny. Seeing her light up was causing mixed emotions inside me. I didn’t know if I was going to puke or dot both of this guy’s eyes with my fists. In all honesty, I was feeling jealous and shielding. Travis and I had been the only guys in Lexi’s life—ever. Hayden didn’t count. We all had known that it wasn’t serious. Their relationship/friendship had been more out of loneliness and boredom, and possibly some pressure to date one of our own.
But this douche… He made her heart skip.
Climbing down the last few steps from the stoop was a willowy guy. He wasn’t as tall as me, and he definitely didn’t have my godly physic, but I couldn’t really expect him to compare to perfection. The stupid grin on his lips was charming and harmless. His brown eyes were only for Lexi. It sort of felt like an intrusion, the three of us standing around gawking at them.
A flop of sandy hair, a tad too long hung in his face. “Hey,” he greeted Lexi.
Eloquent.
“Hey,” Lexi replied with giddiness.
I rolled my eyes. This poor sod had no game. How he had been able to catch a splinter of Lexi’s attention was beyond me.
SoCalie (I got the reference now. He looked like he had grown up on the sandy shores of California) shoved his hands into the pockets of his khakis shorts. “You made it.”
Lex lowered her eyelashes, angling her body closer to the doofus. “You didn’t honestl
y think I would miss this?”
The nauseating feeling was starting to come back.
“Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” He reached to secure her hand.
That was my cue. I stepped between them. “Hang on…”
“Colin,” he supplied with a friendly but cautious grin. “And you are?”
Your worst nightmare, friend.
I give him points for standing his ground. He didn’t shy away, and I thought I saw a flicker of annoyance at my intrusion. That was something to think about. I felt Lexi’s eyes at my back, incinerating me with sharp, deadly daggers. I ignored her. “Chase, Lexi’s cousin.” My chest expanded, and I stood a little straighter. I found intimidation always worked best.
His brows furrowed together, until the name clicked. “Oh, right. Lexi’s talks about you all the time. It’s nice to put a face with the name.” The muscles in his athletic frame relaxed, and he held out a hand.
I left him hanging. Total dick move. “I can’t say the same.” A not so gentle pinch came from behind, digging into my side. I relented and shoved my hand into his extended one, tightening my grip just so we were clear who was the boss.
Surfer boy gave me a nod, and a look of understanding crept into his eyes. “It’s cool man. I’ve got a little sister. I would be just as untrusting, probably more.”
I doubted that, but it meant something to me knowing that he might understand a miniscule of where I was coming from. My gut reaction was to be a prick, but for Lexi’s sake, for her chance at happiness, I pushed that part of me aside—for now. I was not going to be held responsible for ruining her life as she dramatically would put it.
“You don’t know me, but I’d like to change that,” Colin added.
First impressions: Colin wasn’t another tool. He seemed genuine in his intentions toward Lexi. I mean, if he was willing to go through me to see her, that spoke volumes. I was a severe obstacle. The tension lines around my mouth softened. “Sure, I’m willing to give it a shot, for Lexi.”
Colin grinned. “Good.”
I sidestepped, allowing him to take Lexi’s hand. “He’s not what I imagined,” I mumbled, staring as Lexi went into the house with a guy other than me. Emma was trailing behind them. The fireball redhead looked over her shoulder at me. An understanding passed between us. She would keep an eye on the budding Romeo and Juliet.
