Thief: X

by E. I. Jennings,

“I thought you’d never ask.”

  Dorian headed for the living room, while I made the coffee. I poured a very large shot of whiskey in mine and headed back,

  “So why were you lurking?” I handed him his coffee and I sat on the sofa, curling my legs around me,

  “I was waiting for you. I heard about your driving mishap.”

  “I don’t call having Betty’s brakes cut a ‘mishap’. Someone was trying to kill us. I see you managed to get to your tailor.”

  “And a fine suit it is. It’s not exactly custom but one can’t expect a perfect suit to be made in a couple of hours. Have you ever thought about us?” Where the hell had that just come from?

  “In what way?”

  “You know after our brief affair.”

  “Oh get over yourself Dorian. It wasn’t an ‘affair’. It was sex, and if I remember correctly, you did a runner. I woke up and you’d gone. Vanished. Not even a goodbye note.”

  “And I’ll be eternally sorry for that. Business suddenly came up and I had to be somewhere else pretty sharpish.”

  “Doesn’t really excuse your behaviour though does it? You’d chased me for weeks and when I finally thought there could be something more between us you vanished. That isn’t a relationship Dorian, it’s a one night stand and I won’t complicate my life with either anymore.”

  “I assure you it was more than a one night stand to me. It was one of the reasons I came back. I needed to see how you were and I couldn’t find the right words to say sorry.”

  “Are you sorry?”

  “Of course I am. I wouldn’t be here now if I wasn’t.”

  “There’s always a motive behind your actions. I don’t think you’ll ever change and that’s why I can’t trust you.” I sighed and took a sip of coffee. The burn of the alcohol hit my throat and I coughed,

  “Are you ok?” Dorian put his mug down and looked at me concerned,

  “Just choking on nothing. It’s my speciality.” I smiled,

  “You need to unwind, take some time out for yourself…”

  “The problem is, I’m running out of time.”

  “How about I give you one of my famous shoulder rubs. I bet you’re all tense and knotted up?” I did have the weight of the world on my shoulders,

  “The last time you touched me we ended up in bed together.”

  “Would that be so bad?

  “I can’t cope with anymore drama Dorian, seriously.”

  “We could be friends with benefits? No emotional strings, just two adults enjoying each other’s company and getting pleasure from each other in the process.”

  “I dunno. Things are a little manic and I don’t want to start something…” He looked at me and took the mug from my hand, placing it on the table,

  “At least let me rub those shoulders for you.” He turned me around until my back faced him and started to knead the aching muscles.

  He was right, this week had taken its toll on my body and my muscles melted under his hands. For once my brain wasn’t processing things a mile a minute and I sank into the oblivion that was Dorian. I hadn’t even noticed when his lips started to kiss my neck but I was now locked in his sexual thrall. I was so used to the pain in my body, the contrasting pleasure always made me want to run away but this time I wanted the escape. Maybe friends with benefits could work?

  I didn’t stop him as he slipped off my clothes and I definitely didn’t stop him from stripping. Dorian’s body could have been sculpted out of marble, a work of art that was meant to be looked at and admired. He was athletic with just the right amount of muscle to define every ab. This was a man that literally made women weak at the knees and he was standing in front of me. There was nothing as sexy as a man fully aroused who wanted you. My libido kicked in full force. The stress of everything that had happened had suddenly turned into a different type of energy as we crashed into the sofa. Hands, lips and bodies coaxing out as much pleasure as we could from each other. Dorian was definitely a man of experience and I was melting from the heat.

  Each thrust of his body had me teetering on the edge of oblivion and I wanted to give in and fall. He was perfect in every way, so why couldn’t I get Marshall out of my head? He was the complete opposite of Dorian. Rough around the edges and a soul as bright as the sun. He was too good for me to corrupt him, even though I’d started to want him even more. The second he realised I was no good for him he’d leave. There was no point even trying anyway, there was no way I was going to be the ‘other woman’ in a marriage, although the thought of rope, Stetsons and Marshall was a little too much to handle.

  My body broke apart as my orgasm hit. Adram had been right; I really had needed to get laid. I was lying in utter bliss as my body pulsed with pleasure. Marshall had become a distant memory in the haze but the bliss was soon obliterated by a shattering pain in my chest. I opened my eyes to see Dorian panting over me with his sword exposed from his cane and stabbed through my heart,

  “I’m so sorry Xan, they have my portrait…”

  “You son of a bitch!” I yelled trying to move but his sword had gone through me, my sofa and wedged itself in the floor. Dorian scrambled off me obviously trying to comprehend why I wasn’t dead. He was back to his soulless self in an instant and pulled a small dagger from the hilt of the sword, stabbing it hard through my eye.

  “Just stay dead Xan. It’s better for everyone.” This time I did.

  Chapter Twenty One

  It was at this point in death a soul would be waiting for Death to appear to judge their life and send them wherever he saw fit. Unfortunately this never, ever happened to me. I’d died so many times over the years that I was used to the darkness that greeted me. After my first death, I’d been stabbed, shot, blown up, and drowned to name a few and still the darkness never cleared. Sin eaters healed practically instantly but this, this darkness was thanks to Cain. I could feel it in my gut that he was responsible for my lack of judgement. I was never really sure if I was corporeal here because I couldn’t feel anything. No emotion, no pain, nothing at all. Maybe I did belong here? Maybe it had nothing to do with Cain after all? One thing I did know was that I wouldn’t be here long. It felt like forever thanks to the darkness but I was thankful it wasn’t. The only reason I was here now was because I’d been stabbed in the head. Any injury like that made me end up in this dump.

  There was also the problem that no one knew what had happened. My mom was still out and my brother wouldn’t exactly leave his room. That left Marshall and the Scooby gang to find me. Urgh, the thought of them finding me naked made me cringe,

  “Pull the eye one out first!” Here I go, that was definitely Adram. The second that stupid knife was pulled out my eye I felt myself rush back into my body.

  Marshall was looking over me and was a shade between green and white. I felt my eye repairing itself and the light it made shone in Marshall’s eyes. I blinked and sighed in relief that I could see,

  “What the hell?”

  “Oh, didn’t she tell you about the whole immortal thing? Yeah, the healing is a by-product of being a sin eater. She heals fast but if there’s a lot of damage to heal, the wound glows like a Christmas tree on Acid.”

  “That explains why she wasn’t bleeding.”

  “Yeah, technically she doesn’t.”

  “Err guys, if you wouldn’t mind I’m feeling a little bit like a kebab.” I pointed to the sword that was poking out my chest,

  “Sorry.” Adram wrapped his furry, green hands around the hilt and pulled. It hurt like a bitch. A naked bitch being dragged over razor blades and then falling into a vat full of vinegar. I screamed. Even the healing hurt because my heart had to kick start itself,

  “I don’t get it,” I don’t think Marshall could take anymore. I got up to find my scattered clothes because I was still naked,

  “Look…” Adram stabbed me in the shoulder with the knife, “…and when I remove it…” he pulled it out and it glowed until the wound had healed, “…strobe effect�
��.”

  “I still don’t get it.” Marshal said, still staring at me and trying not to look at my fried egg breasts.

  Adram did it again and again until I whacked his hand away,

  “Do you mind? I’m not a pin cushion!” I glared at Adram trying to scold him,

  “Well, I’m only trying to do a little show and tell. You can be so grumpy sometimes.”

  “Adram, if you haven’t noticed I’ve just been murdered.”

  “And by the looks of it, got a bit in the process.” He wagged his eyebrows at me,

  “I’m going to find Dorian and kill him.”

  “He did this?” Marshall demanded. I saw the fury tint his emerald eyes,

  “Who else do you know that walks around with a cane that has a sword in it?”

  “I’ll kill him myself!” He rumbled and marched towards the door. Strangely I felt overwhelmed that my death had such an impact on him.

  I stumbled towards him but fell flat on my arse at his feet,

  “Are you ok?”

  “Silly question.” Adram muttered and I shot him dead eyes,

  “I’m exhausted. It takes a lot to come back.”

  “She needs to rest, idiot.” Adram got daggers from Marshall this time.

  I tried to get up but my legs felt like jelly. I was rolling around the floor like a drunk because my limbs decided they didn’t want to work. I was about to have a tantrum when Marshall lifted me into his arm. My mouth opened to thank him but no words came out,

  “Great fish impression Xan.” Adram laughed. I flipped him the bird as Marshall turned around and headed up the stairs.

  I was still stark naked in his arms but I felt completely safe. I flushed at the thought of what I’d done with Dorian, but soon it wouldn’t matter because I’d be holding his heart in my hand as I crushed it. He pulled back the covers on my bed with one hand and then lowered me. I quickly covered myself as he turned to leave,

  “Stay.” He looked at me, “its ok I’m not going to jump on you. I…I just don’t want to be alone.” I wasn’t that much of a brazen hussy,

  “Do you think it’s such a good idea?”

  “I’m not gonna rape you if that’s what you mean. I feel abused Marshall. Stay as a friend. Please.” The truth was, for the first time in years I felt vulnerable. I’d let someone else in and in return they’d stabbed me in the heart, literally.

  I thought he was going to leave when he sat on the other side of the bed and took his boots off. The next thing he did shocked me so hard I thought my heart had stopped again. He pulled me closer until my head was in the nook of his shoulder and his arm was around me.

  “Is this ok?” He mumbled,

  “Erm, I…yes.”

  “If I stay will you answer some questions? Even if you don’t want to talk about it?”

  “Ok.” Why did I feel so comfy lying next to him? I think I’d died one too many times and my brain had finally fried. Although the second he started rubbing at my wrist I knew how the questions would start,

  “So the scars? I don’t get them. I’ve just watched as a sword was pulled from your chest and you don’t have a mark on you, but you have these.” I sighed and bit my lip. It was a part of my life I didn’t like talking about,

  “I was fifteen and a hormonal teenager. Thanks to Adram, I knew I wasn’t normal. I couldn’t be the daughter my parents wanted. I was trouble. I couldn’t help the things I did because it was my sin eater side. Sin was like a drug in the early years. It made me feel powerful and that was something too huge for a fifteen year old to deal with. I was in and out of youth detention centres, not that I was in there for longer than a week because of my dad’s lawyers but the guilt started building. Then the dreams of Cain started and the Church excommunicated me. It got to the point when I wanted it all to stop, so I made it. My mom found me in my bedroom covered in blood, a kitchen knife on the floor. For those few glorious minutes I was officially dead. Waiting in the void for Death to judge me, that was until he took one look at Cain’s mark and pushed me back. I healed, but the cuts scarred. It was my first death.” I wasn’t proud of what I did all those years ago but at the time I just wanted everything to stop,

  “You killed yourself? Ok, I kinda get it but what about Cain?”

  “Cain?” I laughed, “You’ve seen me naked so, you’ve seen my ‘birthmark’. You can’t exactly miss something that looks like someone’s drawn a cross on you with a Sharpie.” I felt Marshall’s silent laugh,

  “Yeah I noticed it.”

  “It’s the mark of Cain. You know as in Cain and Abel, the first murderer? The Cain that God cursed to walk the earth for eternity. It’s my curse too, thanks to that ginger headed twat and now he wants me to lead his army.” I sighed. I don’t think I’d ever told anyone this much before,

  “But why you? You wouldn’t exactly be my first choice, sorry.”

  “Because my stupid parents made a deal with him before I was born.”

  “What could they possible want? I mean they seem to have everything.”

  “Me. Money can’t buy everything and my mom was getting older and wanted a baby. They’d tried everything and still nothing, until Cain. Of course they didn’t know it was Cain and my dad thought he would have to give up his Bentley when Cain came to collect but it had always been me. Nine months later I was born. Cain had sparked my life and my parents waited for him to return.”

  “I take it he didn’t?”

  “That’s the funny part. Death caught up with him, and now he’s locked up for something he did, but according to him he’ll be out soon and the first thing he’ll do is come for me.”

  “Wait, so he’s dead? I thought he was immortal?” This was why I hadn’t explained it before, too bloody complicated,

  “Death is real, as in the personification, the Arch Angel. According to Adram, Death caught him the night my parents saw him and he’s been in Death’s prison ever since. I’m on borrowed time.”

  “You really are weird,”

  “Don’t I know it? Cain did something to me, which resulted in me being able to change my molecules into whatever I touched. Then there’s the whole immortality thing. Sin eaters heal fast, but they can be killed. A shot to the heart usually does it or decapitation but I’m only going by what Adram knows. The fact I’m still alive is thanks to Cain messing with my DNA.”

  “Adram can’t be that reliable, surely?”

  “Don’t let his looks fool you. He’s a demon through and through and would eat a baby with no remorse. He used to hate babysitting me but I think he grew to like me. Not that he would ever admit that of course. The Devil owed Cain a favour and unfortunately Adram annoyed him one too many times and ended up with me.” I smiled. Adram was a pain in the arse most of the time but he was still here,

  “You’re such an enigma…” I looked up at him and for the first time noticed his ears were pointed,

  “So you believed me?” Even after the anger he’d believed me,

  “Hard not too really. Plus there’s this…” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and showed me a picture with him and his parents, “…I don’t think it’s possible for two brown eyed parents to have a green eyed child.” He sighed, “The second I realised, pop. You were right; the illusion just melted away. It’s just weird I never noticed before.”

  “You weren’t looking before.” I yawned. My energy levels were dropping and I seriously needed to sleep soon. I tried to push past the exhaustion because there was a massive chance as soon as I nodded off Cain would be waiting for me. “I’m sure your wife wouldn’t like you in bed with me like this.” This time the yawn was more like a mewl and I felt my eyes closing,

  “Yeah about that…” He started but was cut off,

  “I really don’t like that cowboy. Why don’t you suck out all his sin and put him out of his misery?” I was in a burning field with Cain smirking at me,

  “Can’t I get any peace? I’ve just been stabbed to death and could do with some s
leep.”

  “You are asleep.” He walked around me as if he was assessing me. I looked down and realised I was still naked. I screamed and tried to cover my modesty, “Oh please, I’ve seen it all before.”

  “You’re a pervert!”

  “Like you didn’t know?” He laughed,

  “So you’re back to torturing me in my sleep again? I think I preferred the little snap shots of my impending doom.”

  “They were fun weren’t they? I think you need to kill Dorian.”

  “Always to the point as usual. He’s on my list don’t worry.”

  “Good because he deserves to die.”

  “Are you giving me a contract to assassinate him?”

  “Do you want one?” Now he was just being an arsehole,

  “Do you have any money?” I was being deadly serious but apparently he thought I was joking because he was laughing hysterically,

  “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in a long time and I’ve only known you for three decades.”

  “This conversation is pointless!” I turned to walk away but he was in front of me in an instant,

  “Now, now Alexandra. I have big plans for you and your skills.”

  “Well, I want nothing to do with them. Just let me sleep please."

  “You need to sort out Clockwork.”

  “No shit. Everyone keeps telling me that. I know that. Can you not keep repeating yourself?”

  “You need to sort out Clockwork. Nope, apparently not.”

  “You’re not funny. I’m trying to sort it, if you haven’t noticed. I’m sure you do this to annoy me.”

  “Of course I do. Although it looks like you’re about to get your chance at Clockwork after all.”

  “What?”

  “Time to wake up!” He poked me in the head and I startled awake to a hand across my mouth.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  I was about to kick and scream when I saw it was Marshall. He put his finger over his mouth to tell me to be quiet and I nodded. I clambered for my clothes and couldn’t find anything other than my Eeyore onesie that was sitting in a crumpled heap on the floor. Great, just great. Once I wasn’t naked, I grabbed my spare Glock from my nightstand. Marshall already had his gun out and was waiting by the door. I checked my mom’s room, who was about to yell at me for not knocking when she saw Marshall and my gun. I didn’t need to tell her anything and she nodded. Cam was just coming out of the bathroom when I turned and poked my gun in his face. I mouthed sorry and shoved him in the room with mom. I was so going to hear about that later.