Wicked Thing (C.O.A Series Book 2)

by Kim Cormack

  Lily sighed, “Really, you guys?”

  Grey chuckled, “He’s a little bit drunk. Not sick drunk, just happy drunk. Nobody is coming for us until after nightfall. It won’t be dark outside for hours.”

  Lily slid into the front seat beside Zach, he stared at her until she sighed, “What do you want, Zach?”

  He preened, “You’re so beautiful. I really want to touch your hair.”

  She glanced into the back seat and hissed, “Greydon, I’m going to smack you for this when we get out of this truck.”

  Grey grinned and sparred, “Alright, sounds good gorgeous. I’m willing to take one for the team…again.” He glanced at Frost.

  He wouldn’t go from mooning over her to flirting with Lily in the same day. They hadn’t slept together. Lexy smiled and shook her head.

  Lily rolled her eyes, turned to look at Zach and called his bluff, “Fine, go ahead.”

  Zach reached over to touch her glistening silky black hair that trickled down her shoulder blades like a midnight waterfall. Zach started to laugh, “It’s a joke. I’m not drunk. Do you think I’m a moron or something?” He turned around and winked at Grey. You owe me one if that spanking’s amazing.”

  Lily smoked Zach on the arm and he giggled, “Hit me harder. I can take it.”

  “You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?” She sparred.

  Zach teased, “I’ll be anything you want me to be, beautiful.”

  Lily slowly shook her head, but she was still smiling as they pulled up to the cabin and got out of the truck. They carried everything inside and after grabbing their food she sat down and made herself comfortable on the bed next to Grey.

  Grey frowned as he looked into the styrofoam container. He leaned over and sarcastically mumbled in her ear, “Fries gravy and salad…yummy.”

  Lexy opened her styrofoam container, and stared at the less than appealing contents. The first thing she was going to do when they got to a larger city was order herself a giant steak.

  Lexy glanced up at the exchange between Frost and Kayn. He’d bought her hot sauce while he was in the store. Lexy stopped devouring her fries for a second as she glanced at Grey, pointed at the no name hot sauce gripped in Kayn’s hand and whispered, “That was sweet.” While she spoke, she’d paused before eating her gravy covered fry leaving it precariously dangling from her fingers, threatening to drip gravy on the bed in front of her. Grey leaned in and chomped a big bite off of the end. Lexy scowled at him as she swatted him away and scolded,” Eat your own damn fries, food thief.” There was a time when she would have stabbed someone with a fork for stealing a French fry. He gave her a deliberate soppy gravy lipped kiss on the cheek and she playfully swung at him again. He was being an annoying pain in the butt on purpose.

  Grey held his almost empty container up as a peace offering and courteously declared, “You can have one of mine.”

  Just as Lexy reached for one, he yanked the container away. He was being a stinker. She rolled her eyes at him, as she got up and wandered across the room to grab their drinks after noticing they were still sitting on the counter. Lexy glanced back at him and he was still grinning at her. God, she adored that goofy fool with everything inside of her. Lexy grabbed their drinks and as she was about to peter back to her spot on the bed beside her shenanigan filled Handler she identified with the look on Kayn’s face, paused and said, “It sucks doesn’t it?”

  Kayn grinned and countered, “Which thing?”

  After smiling in response to Kayn’s witty comeback, she clarified, “Wanting something you’re not allowed to have.” Her eyes travelled to her Handler who was now full on scarfing down her fries. She contemplated walking over there and actually stabbing him in the back of his thieving hand with her plastic fork.

  Kayn smiled as she gave her response, “Yes, it definitely does.”

  Frost took a sip from his straw, finishing his drink with an over emphasized slurp. He rather abruptly changed the subject by pointedly directing his question at Zach, “This new girl, Molly. What’s she like? She definitely doesn’t look sixteen.”

  Zach was just about to eat a fry, but he removed it from his lips to give his response, “She does look way younger, doesn’t she? I really like her a lot. She’s a sweet girl, and much tougher than she looks.”

  Kayn looked in Frost’s direction and added, “She’s funny and a bit goofy. I can’t even picture her in the Testing though. I can’t wait until we take her to the in-between for the first time.”

  Lexy grinned at Kayn and teased, “I couldn’t picture you in the Testing, and I have a feeling you’re going to miss out on that. She’s probably there with the rest of our clan right now. Listen, do yourself a favor and don’t get too attached. They almost never come back out of the Testing.” She gave her the token protect your heart speech and turned away. It still felt like it was her job to guide them, but it wasn’t anymore…not really. It was going to be difficult to follow her own advice this time with the survival of the three and the emergence of the two they’d lost to the Testing so long ago. This had caused her heart to believe that it was possible. It was going to sting if this group of Ankh didn’t make it out of the Testing. Get with the program. Lexy couldn’t afford to allow herself to have a squishy warm and fuzzy heart before a fight the size of the one they were facing tonight.

  Grey wandered up behind her and whispered, “Don’t be so negative.” He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and playfully kissed her on the neck. It tickled. Lexy squirmed out of his arms and swatted him away. Her Handler was not being helpful.

  Zach and Kayn left the cabin as Lexy started to mechanically tidy up the room. Why was she bothering?

  Grey took the empty pop can out of her hand, placed it on the counter and asserted, “Leave the cleaning. We’ll have all night to do it. Let’s go outside and take a look around.”

  She smiled at him, following Grey as he strolled out of the wide open cabin door into the lush vivid greenery of the landscape. They strolled around to the back of the small rustically quaint cabin in silence. There was a large perfectly stacked wood pile out back. She grabbed a small fireplace sized log off of the top of it and the wood bugs scattered. When she was younger she used to play with them at one of her foster homes. That was one of her earliest memories. She picked up one of the gray oval backed little bugs and placed it in the palm of her hand. It scampered around on its ticklish little legs and she grinned. It was odd timing for a childhood memory.

  Grey teased, “Having a moment?”

  He was watching her intently when she peered up and said, “I used to play with these bugs at one of my foster homes when I was a little girl.” She placed her hand close to the top of the wood pile and rested her finger tips flush with it and the little gray bug scurried back onto the lumber and vanished.

  Grey quietly responded, “I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned that memory.”

  “Honestly, I don’t remember much about my life before…” Lexy didn’t want to finish the sentence because she avoided thinking about that place at all costs. She closed her eyes as horrific flashes of the dark farm flooded her mind and when she opened them, Grey was gone. Where in the hell did he go? She heard the sound of a woodpecker and gazed up the tree’s intertwining branches towards the steady rat ta tat tatting sound. A tree branch snapped close to the ground in the bushes beside her. She noticed the red material of his shirt right away. It was Grey. He was probably hiding there so he could jump out and try to scare her.

  Lexy sweetly sang, “Grey, I know you’re over there, I can see your red shirt. Go and change, that red shirt is like wearing a target in the bushes.”

  He stood up and complained, “You’re no fun and it will be dark out by the time they show up.” He plowed his way through the brush towards her and sighed, “All right, go and plot your mass murder. I’m not changing my shirt. I’m wearing red just in case I have to fight tonight. It’s preemptive blood stain avoidance tactic.”


  That was a great idea. She should have bought something red.

  He started to toss out ideas for a plan and Lexy just listened and nodded every once in a while as she always did. She usually let her Handler think there was a plan but did exactly what she wanted. Things always ran a little smoother in their relationship if she gave him an opportunity to act like he was an actual part of her decision making process once in a while. In reality she operated solely on instinct while in Dragon mode. She thought of Kayn and knew she’d have to hold on to a tiny part of her humanity in order to try to direct her before the real fighting began. She’d take the front of the house and direct Kayn to the back.

  Grey added, “I’m going to join the other cabin dwellers.”

  “I’ll be right there,” she called after him as he sauntered away. He wasn’t even going to have to leave that cabin. None of them were. She noted that there were no visible trail openings behind the cabin. If they came through the bushes, they’d make more than enough noise to give Kayn plenty of warning. Lexy strolled over to the thick looking brush and saw that there was indeed a trail and it was only overgrown at the opening. Instinct told her Kayn could handle it. This would just be a faster fight with fewer obstacles. The quicker they advanced upon the cabin the faster they’d snuff them out. Why was she standing here surveying the area? When the sun set it wouldn’t matter what she had planned. She would be on Dragon fueled autopilot and so would Kayn. Lexy meandered around to the front of the cabin. They weren’t there. Lexy continued toward the shore and in seconds she saw the group of them quietly observing Zach and Kayn as they skipped rocks on the clear glassy peaceful looking surface of the lake. She walked up to stand beside Grey and he placed his arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. Lexy was instantly irritated because it wasn’t the time for her Handler to keep her close, it was now that he had to release the reigns on her heart so she could do her job while void of emotion. She hadn’t been paying attention to the time but she could tell by the placement of sun and the colors in the sky that dusk was almost upon them. The new Dragon and Handler were embracing. Zach had to let his hold on her go too, so she could become what she needed to be. Kayn and Zach’s touching Dragon Handler bonding moment was cut short by Lexy’s booming voice, “This is not the time for that mushy crap. It’s almost time to shut your emotions down. Come over here and take some of my energy. We should feed your Conduit ability by topping up the Healing ability within you. We have a plan and we are running out of daylight.” There… she’d vocalized the plan she planned to ignore so the others would be happy. The new Dragon and Handler pair released each other from the embrace and turned to face the Ankh.

  Lexy held her hands out towards Kayn. She strolled towards her and took them. Kayn’s hands gradually warmed until Lexy felt her healing energy travel a heated trail up her arms and out of her body. She couldn’t allow her to take too much. Lexy yanked her hands away, purposely severing the connection between them.

  Grey strolled up and announced, “We have a plan here, but first we need to run a test and see how many abilities you can hold at once. Take some of mine. I’m not sure what will happen. My fire-starting ability has been stifled by the third tiers but it’s still there.”

  Kayn took Grey’s hands and after a few moments of connection she shrieked in agony, as her knees buckled. She landed on her knees on the pebbly shore but still managed to keep her grip on him. Grey yanked his hands away and Kayn remained there for a minute on her knees.

  Lily tossed a knife in at her fellow Dragon before she’d even attempted to move from that spot and as it sailed through the air towards her, Kayn lifted one hand, and caught the blade in midair by its handle.

  Lexy grinned as she directed the fledgling Dragon, “Now cut your hand.”

  Kayn took the knife and dragged it across the center of her palm without flinching. The blood didn’t even have a chance to pool along the slice before it closed up. It had healed instantly. She was impressed. When it came to her own healing ability she knew how quickly she healed was based on her energy level.

  Frost offered Lexy some of his energy as a replacement for what she’d given to Kayn. She took his hands and felt the luxuriously euphoric sensation of the warmth as it travelled up her arms and into her chest. She hadn’t even had the opportunity to thank him when a log on the beach exploded into raging flames. Well, Kayn had obviously figured out how to use Grey’s ability. So, she could absorb, store and access multiple abilities. This was good to know. Her stomach curdled as the sun descended in the horizon. Lexy knew she had one more thing to do before she left Grey. She walked over, stood beside him, and took his hand as they silently observed the smoldering flames that Kayn had created with his ability. Lexy used the connection between them to give him a touch of energy back just in case he needed it later. Grey squeezed and then tenderly stroked the side of her hand with his thumb. He didn’t have to say a word. She understood what that meant. He was saying goodbye to this version of her and asking her, without words to come back to him when this fight was over. He’d never needed to fear this for she would always return to him. Her abdomen twisted again with pleasurable pain and she glanced up at the others and knew by the grimaces and scowls on their faces that they were all feeling the same thing. The demons…were on their way…

  Chapter 20

  Demon Fight Club

  Lexy had been standing there staring at the mountain’s peak for a while, when the final rays from the sun slipped away, and the forest was left in shadows. It was time to explain the ground rules. Lexy grinned as she began her speech, “First things first.” She grabbed an object out of her pocket and dropped it on the ground, directly in front of Kayn. “I’m sure you remember what this is, but just in case you’ve forgotten, this object is used to block spiritual energy. It will also keep all of the demons trapped within the confines of the town. So, we have a controlled circumstance in which to send each and every last one of those abominations back to hell where they belong.”

  Grey chuckled, “The first rule of demon fight club is…you must always clean up the evidence after demon fight club.”

  Frost laughed aloud and then disputed, “No, the first rule of demon fight club is you must stay the hell in the cabin while the Dragons fight. Get it right, Greydon.” He turned to look at Zach and said, “That’s your cue. Run back to the cabin, toss our Dragons a few of those Ankh swords and get the hell inside.”

  Grey made another revision to the list of demon slaying dos and don’ts, “Okay, then that’s the second rule. The third is, “Do not break that line of salt at the front door of the cabin while you’re running through it, make sure you jump over it.”

  Zach leapt over the line of salt, disappeared into the cabin and returned with a couple of demon slaying daggers in his hand. He tossed one at Lexy and she caught it mid-flight and then he tossed the other one to Kayn, who did the same. Zach yelled, “What happens if they drop them?”

  Frost looked directly at Kayn as he added, “Fun fact. The Demons can’t even touch those blades, not even with gloves on. The slightest graze and the demons will drop to the ground and be expelled from those shells.”

  “We’re all going to go inside now, to find our seats, so we can watch the show. This is where we find out what you two are truly capable of together. You take out every demon that has the balls to show up here,” Frost said as everyone, but the two Dragons strolled back towards the cabin. A few seconds later Frost appeared in the doorway and cast more daggers into the dirt at the bottom of the stairs in front of the cabin. They each picked up the spare daggers, dusted them off and found creative places to conceal them.

  Lexy motioned for Kayn to follow her around the side of the cabin and they waited in the shadows.

  “What are we doing?” Kayn asked.

  Lexy glanced at her fellow Dragon and whispered, “We’re going to let them walk their cannibalistic ass’s right into our trap. They’ve probably sent in a few scouts. We’ll take these fir
st ones out quickly and easily.”

  Lexy’s stomach clenched in warning and she tried to stop the upwards curve of her lips by pressing them firmly together. Suddenly, loud eighties rock began to blare from within the cabin’s walls and this time Lexy couldn’t stop the smile on her face from forming.

  Lexy noticed Kayn’s scowl, grinned and explained, “He knows I like to listen to eighties rock while I’m fighting. It’s one of our things. Got to love those ass kicking anthems.” Lexy tugged the fingerless glove off of her hand, and tossed it into the dirt. There was no need for pretense when you were dealing with supernatural beings. This was a death match and there would be no escape for these dark abominations from hell, for she’d been created to be the judge and jury of all blasphemous creatures. Just as they were about to step out of the shadows, a half dozen shells appeared from the brush. Make that a half dozen scouts. Lexy paused for a second, glanced back at Kayn and said, “Allow me to show you how easy this is going to be. I bet you I can take all six without even breaking a sweat. Watch and learn.” She strolled out of the shadows with her dagger in hand, and ran directly at the demons, before they even had a chance to know she was coming. In one swift movement she slashed one of them just above his collar line. The shell clutched his throat, and staggered around as blood spurted from the severed artery in his neck. A cloud of smoke spewed out of his mouth and dissipated into the ground. Lexy spun around in a circle grazing the arms of the others and the same thing happened to them. The fifth assailant ran at her wielding a blade of his own. She kicked him in the chest and he landed on his back with a thud. Lexy didn’t finish him off while he was on the ground struggling to catch his breath. She stood there and allowed him the opportunity to scramble to his feet. While she was using her fight etiquette, someone stabbed her in back with a blade. She could feel the warmth of her life essence as it soaked into her light colored shirt. She yanked the blade out of her back. Well, that was really frigging rude. The Ankh symbol on her hand lit up in the darkness as the heat from her healing ability worked its magic, and in that second, the game changed. The demons that remained froze in place as Lexy lifted her shirt to show them that the wound was no longer. The monster Lexy had kicked to the ground fled into the bushes as she finished off the fifth demonic assailant with a slash of her blade. Kayn sprinted out of the shadows and gave chase. Lexy followed to make sure than Kayn had the situation under control. She pursued the fledgling Dragon as she maneuvered the uneven terrain of the woods with the agility of a mountain lion seconds away from subduing its prey. The shell was quick, but nowhere near as fast as she was, while free to be in her supernatural second tier form. Lexy held back and watched as Kayn leapt into the air and knocked her victim down, she raised her blade and thrust it into his back. A black cloud of smoke funnelled out of its mouth and disappeared into the forest floor. Another foul being grabbed Kayn by her throat and yarded her off of the creature she’d just subdued. Kayn flipped it over her shoulder in one stealth movement and spun around to see how many of them were left and laughed aloud. She was surrounded by fifty, maybe sixty demons adorned in human flesh. Kayn yanked out her concealed second blade, clutched one in either hand and hissed, “Bring it on, demon bitches!”