Cruel Mercy (Book 2)

by Lola StVil

  I fire at the nearest demon, pleased to see a large chunk of his head fly into the air before he sizzles out of existence.

  His friends don’t take too kindly to what I’ve just done, and three of them are on me instantly. I feel a laser of dark green slime brush across my shoulder. It burns where it touches. The pain spurs me on, and I fire quickly at the slime-producing demon and he’s gone. I move on to the other two and make short work of them.

  Lucas is ducking and jumping at my side, avoiding being hit by any demon powers and firing into the writhing mass of demons before us. He has a narrow escape as a huge chunk of concrete whizzes past his face, narrowly avoiding decapitating him.

  I can see the blood spilling from a wound above Lucas’s eyebrow, but if it bothers him, he doesn’t show it.

  We are hugely outnumbered, but I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, and I fire again and again, taking out demons. I’m still fired up from the game and my anger at Lucas and his blindness to what’s going on, and I feel invincible. We’re gaining ground on the demons, and most have them have fled the scene, seeing that we aren’t the easy targets they mistook us for.

  A powerball whacks into my chest, launching me into the air and showing me that I was wrong. I’m not even close to invincible. I slam down hard on the concrete below me, and I lie still for a second, momentarily dazed by my hard landing.

  The demon who hit me closes the gap between us in seconds and he towers over me. I raise my hand, ready to fire, when his head explodes, showering me in a warm spurt of thick black demon blood.

  I see Lucas spin away from where he took the demon out. Only one demon remains and before I have a chance to react or get up, he disappears in a flash of light. Nikki stands at the end of the alley.

  She runs to Lucas.

  “Are you okay?” she asks.

  “Yeah,” he says. “What are you doing out here?”

  She grins. “I told you, you only had five minutes.”

  Lucas looks at Nikki and I can see the love he has for her written all over his face. I know in that moment what I must do. It won’t be pleasant, and Lucas will hate me for it, but it has to be done. I have to make sure he never sees Summit again, and if hurting him is the only way to do it, then I will hurt him.

  It’s a small price to pay to keep the great evil at bay.

  I push myself up into a sitting position. Lucas steps over to me and reaches down a hand to pull me to my feet. I ignore it. I can’t accept his help and then screw him over like this.

  Nikki frowns when I reject his helping hand. Lucas glowers at me, all of the anger back now the danger has passed.

  “What’s going on?” Nikki asks.

  Neither of us answer.

  “Nix, what did Lucas do to you?” she asks.

  I silently send up a wish that one day, Lucas will forgive me for what I say next.

  “It’s not what he’s done to me, Nikki. It’s what he’s doing to you. He’s watching Summit Case, and it’s pretty clear he’d like to do more than watch her if you get my drift.”

  I feel awful as I watch Nikki’s face crumple.

  “Is it true?” she asks Lucas, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

  “I…” he starts.

  It’s not enough. He’s been caught out and he knows it. Nikki can read it all over his face just like I can.

  She turns and runs away from us.

  “You bastard,” Lucas spits at me, his face contorted with anger and regret. “How could you do that? I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  He rushes after Nikki, calling her name and begging her to stop.

  I feel empty. Ashamed. I wish I could have told him why I had to do what I did. It’s better I break his heart than someone else harm him to contain the threat.

  I know he’ll never see Summit again, because he’ll do anything for Nikki.

  So why do I have a feeling this is far from over?

  I walk along the deserted corridor to my locker. I don’t need anything from it, but going there means I don’t have to face anyone. Normally, Runner Ball practice is my favorite part of the day, but not today. Today it was like torture. I could feel Lucas’s eyes boring into me, his hatred written all over his face. And from the sidelines, I could see Nikki giving Lucas the same look. Because of me.

  The coach couldn’t understand what was wrong. After yesterday’s victory, we should have all been on a high. How would we have even begun to explain to him that Lucas hates me because I made Nikki, and by extension the rest of the cheerleading squad, hate him?

  The atmosphere got so bad that the coach called the practice to an early end, something he never does. He claimed it was a reward for our big win, but I think it was more to do with the fact he didn’t want to try and work out what was up with us.

  Although the rest of the team have no idea what happened between Lucas and me, they could see that something was simmering between us, and they all kept their distance.

  I can’t help but think again how badly I screwed up yesterday. It wasn’t meant to be like that. I meant to tell Lucas to leave Summit alone. If he had just agreed, that would have been the end of it.

  But no, that was too easy for Lucas. He had to be stubborn. Had to refuse to listen. I had to do something. Something big. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

  I can feel my anger rising again as I reach my locker. Anger at Lucas for forcing my hand, and anger at myself for letting things get so out of control that I risked ruining his relationship with Nikki. I as good as told her he was cheating on her.

  I pull my fist back and slam it into my locker. The shock of pain flies through my knuckles and up my arm, and I feel calmer.

  A classroom door behind me slams open.

  “What the hell?” demands a voice. Then softer, “Nix?”

  I turn, and Parker stands in the doorway.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks.

  I shrug.

  “Why would you think anything’s wrong?” I ask.

  She raises an eyebrow.

  “Well, you’re here later than you have to be for one. And that for two.”

  She nods down to my hand and I see the blood dripping from my knuckles. I quickly wipe it away on my sleeve.

  “Long story,” I say.

  “I have a long time,” she answers, stepping back from the door.

  I wanted nothing more than to forget about what happened, but suddenly, I need to talk about it. Parker’s a pretty good listener, and maybe she’ll even agree that I did what I had to do.

  I step into the classroom and she closes the door behind us.

  “Why are you even here?” I ask.

  She raises an eyebrow, surprised I even had to ask.

  “I want to study in peace,” she says.

  “Oh, if you’re busy, then I can go.”

  “It can wait. Tell me what’s going on with you.”

  I sit in the nearest chair and Parker perches on the desk in front of me, waiting for me to talk.

  “I did something,” I start.

  “I’m gonna need more,” she answers softly.

  “I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I’m not so sure. I think I broke Nikki and Lucas up.”

  Her eyebrows shoot up, this time from shock.

  “You better explain,” she says.

  “Lucas has been watching Summit Case,” I start.

  “How do you know?” Parker interrupts.

  That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Should I tell her everything?

  Something tells me the Shadow and Serpent have to be kept a secret, even from her. And I don’t want to tell her how I met Amelie. I don’t want her to think that my classmates’ opinions bother me.

  “It doesn’t matter how I know, I just do,” I say.

  I can see the questions flying across her face. She knows there’s a story behind this, but she doesn’t push it and for that, at least, I’m grateful. I know it’s only temporary thou
gh. She’ll ask me about this again.

  “He claims that he hasn’t made any contact with her, and that he’s not putting us at any risk, but he’s playing with fire, Parker,” I go on.

  She nods. “You’re right. We have to find a way to stop him.”

  “I already did,” I tell her. “That’s the awful thing I did. I tried to talk to him, but he brushed me off, telling me it was harmless and I should let it go. But I couldn’t. You understand that, don’t you?”

  Suddenly, I need her to understand. I need her to see that I only did what I did because it was necessary.

  She nods again.

  “When he wouldn’t listen to me, I knew I had to find a way to make sure the whole Summit thing ended. Now. So I told Nikki Lucas was watching Summit. You can imagine his reaction.”

  “Wow,” Parker breathed.

  I’ve never seen her lost for words before, and I feel my stomach roll.

  Have I just lost another friend?

  I need her to understand that I’m not proud of what I did.

  “I had no choice. He just wouldn’t listen, and I had to do something. If Summit finds out somehow who Lucas is, well you know how that one goes down. And how can she not notice someone like Lucas following her, watching her?”

  “I understand,” Parker says.

  I look at her as relief washes over me.

  “You did what you had to do.”

  I nod. I did.

  But I’m not so quick to let myself off the hook.

  “So why do I hate myself for it?” I ask quietly.

  “Doing the right thing is never easy,” Parker says.

  “Did you read that in a self-help book?” I tease her with a smirk.

  “Something like that.” She laughs.

  I feel the grin fade from my face as Lucas’s look of anger flashes before my eyes again. I stand up and begin to pace in front of Parker.

  “He’ll never forgive me. He even said so.”

  “He will in time. He’ll see that you only did what you had to do. You know Lucas. His temper flares and then he calms down and thinks logically.”

  “I think this time will be different. You didn’t see the way he looked at me when he told me he’d never forgive me. I saw how much he really hated me.”

  Parker stands up from the desk and blocks my path so I can’t pace any more.

  “Listen to me,” she says. “Really listen. Lucas doesn’t hate you. He’s your brother. Sure he’s mad at you, but it won’t last forever. You did the right thing.”

  “So why do I feel like shit?”

  She steps closer to me and stands up on her toes slightly. She reaches out with one hand and gently strokes my face. She looks me deep in the eye.

  “Because you’re a good person, Nix, and you don’t like to hurt people. Even when it’s the only way.”

  Before I have a chance to digest her words, she moves closer to me and her lips brush mine. I pull back, shocked at what she’s just done. Her face crumples and she turns and runs from the room without another word. The door slamming behind her pulls me into action. I run out after her. I just see her disappearing around the corner behind the lockers. I chase her down.

  “Parker! Parker, wait! I’m sorry,” I shout after her.

  “Just leave me alone,” she shouts back.

  I’m surprised to hear the tears in her voice. Anything I say now will only make things worse.

  I lean back against the wall and slide down it, coming to rest with my face in my hands. Somehow, I’ve just alienated another person I care about.

  Why did I react like that? I might as well have spit on her the way I reacted. Why can’t I just learn to say and do the right thing? I sigh. I need to get away for a while. It’s the day before the full moon, and there’s only one place to go to forget who you are for a day at this time of the month. Ko Pha Ngan. I walk outside and spread my wings without looking back.

  I was right to come to Thailand for the Full Moon party. The beach is crammed full of sweaty tourists who writhe to the hard dance music blasting over the sand, lost in their own moments.

  The drinks are flowing, and I suspect at least half of them are high too. People dance, splash in the sea, and laugh. But best of all, none of them pay me any attention. I’m just another drunken tourist here to have a night of drinking and dancing under the stars.

  I’m not the bastard who ruined his brother’s life and broke his best friend’s heart. I’m just another drunk guy weaving my way through the crowds and occasionally downing a shot. Okay, so it’s a bit more than occasionally, but hey, it’s a party, right?

  I can feel myself starting to sway slightly to the music as the Coy shots take effect. I’m not grossly drunk like the girl passed out at the edge of the crowd, nor am I crazy drunk like the group doing body shots off one of the many human bars. But I’m just on the edge. The place where your troubles melt away in the moment and you feel kind of good. I blend in, becoming one with the crowd, and yet remain separate enough that no one bothers me, or questions me. I feel a hand on my hip and I grin to myself as I feel a female body grinding against me from behind. Her hand moves lower and I swallow.

  The fingers poke into the top of my pocket and I know this isn’t a come-on. It’s a robbery. I spin around and grab the wrist that now pulls away from me, stopping the girl from escaping. Why am I not surprised to find myself looking into the face of Fish, the best-known thief in the Angel world? It is just my luck that even here, in Thailand, I will run into someone I know. Her face registers her surprise as she recognizes me too.

  “Well, look who we have here,” she says, her tone cocky. “What brings you to a place like this?”

  “The usual,” I say. I don’t need to ask why she’s here. The drunken crowd is like Heaven on a plate for a girl like Fish, and I can’t even imagine how many treasures she will have scored by the end of the night.

  “Same.” She winks, going to walk away.

  I tighten my grip on her wrist, stopping her.

  “Let’s see your haul then,” I say.

  I don’t know why I ask to see what she’s got. I don’t care. It’s like someone else is speaking through my mouth.

  She digs into a pocket with her free hand and pulls out an assortment of potions and a couple of angel feathers.

  “I’m just warming up,” she says.

  Something about her makes me angry, and I can feel all the resentments I came here to get away from bubbling up again, but this time, they are all directed at Fish. Who does she think she is stealing from angels?

  “Well you better start going cold, because I’m taking you straight to my father,” I tell her.

  Surely that will prove to Lucas and everyone else that I’m trying to do the right thing here.

  Her face falls.

  “You wouldn’t,” she says.

  “Wanna bet?” I fire back.

  I start to walk towards the edge of the crowd, and Fish has no choice but to follow me. She could appeal to the crowd around us, try to convince someone to help her, but it’s getting late and everyone is drunk now. No one will even understand what she’s saying, let alone get involved, and she knows it.

  I just need to get far enough away from the crowd that I can fly without anyone noticing. It shouldn’t be too hard; the crowd is thinning now as we head further down the sand.

  “You know what? Screw you,” Fish says from my side, her quiet acceptance replaced by indignation. “It’s all right for you. You wouldn’t know a problem if one jumped up and smacked you in your perfect little face. Being the son of the king sure doesn’t make you a decent person, though, does it?”

  She can’t know that her comment would feel like being kicked in the stomach.

  “All I have are problems,” I say. “And turning over a thief hardly means I’m not a decent person.”

  “You just don’t get it. You don’t need to steal because your perfect life is mapped out before you and everything is handed to you on a p
late. You say all you have are problems? You don’t know the first thing about problems.”

  “You have no idea,” I say.

  “What’s your idea of a problem?” she snaps. “Did daddy buy you the wrong brand of designer jeans?”

  “How about my brother is doing something so stupid that it could lead to the end of the human world while throwing the Angel world into a war, and the only way I could stop him was by making him hate me?” I dare.

  She considers my words.

  “Not bad. I’ll raise you a couple. How about if I don’t manage to get enough angel feathers tonight, the demon who sent me here will remove my eyeballs and keep them as trophies?”

  “I guess we’re about even then,” I snap.

  She blurts out a laugh.

  “Not even close. I get my eyeballs removed and you get into a fight with your brother.”

  That kind of puts it into perspective.

  “How many more feathers do you need?” I ask.

  “Three,” she says.

  I start walking again, pulling her along behind me. She goes silent, obviously thinking her words are having no effect.

  I duck down into a small cove I’ve spotted, pulling Fish behind me. I check and see we’re totally out of sight of the party. I can still hear the music and the odd whoop from the people over there, but it’s like we’ve stepped into a different place.

  I unfurl my wings and see Fish brace herself for takeoff. I drop her wrist.

  “Take them,” I say.

  Her guard is instantly up.

  “So you can tell your father I stole from you?” she asks warily.

  “No. So I don’t have you being blinded on my conscience,” I reply. “Take them, before I change my mind.”

  She doesn’t need telling twice; my wings twitch slightly as she deftly plucks three small feathers.

  “Thank you,” she says quietly.

  She seems genuinely moved that someone would help her, and it occurs to me that on some level, she’s right. I do have problems. Big problems. But they don’t compare to hers. She has no one to turn to, no one that will tell her everything’s okay.

  I do. Or at least I did until I ruined that too.

  I fold my wings back down and sit down on the sandy ground, looking out towards the ocean. I expect Fish to leave, but she surprises me when she settles down next to me.