by Lyons, Rene
Perched on the sofa, hands clasped in her lap, Lex zoned out as she stared into the flames dancing in the hearth. All around her, they raged on. Raphael, however, remained silent as he sat at the table looking like warmed over shit. He’d caught hell for his part in the deception.
Leaning against the mantle, arms crossed and gaze scanning the other occupants of the hall—all save for her—Constantine blocked most of the hearth. Because of that, it was unavoidable for Lex to look at him. With every word said, his brows drew together more and more until he wore a scowl that made her wish she were anywhere but in the hall.
Lex guessed he didn’t like them lighting into her either. The only difference was, Lex kept silent and let them go on. Constantine didn’t appear to be content to do the same. As a matter of fact, he looked about ready to explode and do them all some serious harm.
When Tristan turned his attention to Constantine and pinned him with a furious glare, Lex cringed. She could almost imagine the ticking of the time bomb that was Constantine’s temper.
“And you. How the hell could you keep this from us?”
Lex’s jaw dropped when she heard Tristan yell. Tristan never yelled. She’d even begun to doubt he possessed the ability to raise his voice. Obviously she’d been wrong. Tristan could bounce it right off the walls.
She looked at Constantine for his reaction. Given his expression, he wasn’t taking it well at all. She looked back at Tristan, who cocked a brow, a silent dare for Constantine to come back with something.
Constantine pushed away from the mantle. He stepped up to Tristan. The two formidable Templars were nose to nose. “Slow your roll, Tris, and watch who the hell you’re yelling at.” There was no missing the warning in his tone and the murderous look in his eyes. “I owe you no explanations for my actions.”
Lex was about to jump up from the couch and try to calm Constantine before the situation erupted into a full-blown war. Allie motioning to her to stay where she was stilled her. Sebastian grabbed for Allie but she shook him off and squeezed herself between Constantine and Tristan. Surprisingly, the men parted, although they continued to give each other the most ferocious glares.
“C,” Allie said softly. “You have to realize that because this was kept from us, you put us all in danger. But most of all, it was Lex’s safety in jeopardy.”
An expression passed across Constantine’s face that Lex couldn’t quite place. Was it hurt? Disappointment? “Is that what you think, red?” His tone was low and laced with acid. “That I couldn’t protect her?”
No one dared counter that he couldn’t—wouldn’t—do everything to ensure her safety.
“No doubt you could, Dragon,” Sebastian interjected. “But that doesn’t make it right for you to have kept this from us and you know it.”
“The decision was Lex’s to make.” Constantine leveled them all a glare. “And before you all keep ripping into her, remember, we all know a goddamn thing or two about secrets.”
“One has nothing to do with the other.”
Constantine paid Tristan no mind. He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head in disgust. “Fucking hypocrites. The lot of you.”
“I’ve just about had it with your bloody attitude, Constantine,” Tristan warned.
Obviously Constantine wasn’t going to budge on his stance. By the hard gleam in his eyes, Lex suspected they could argue this matter for centuries and he would hold to his convictions. As much as it flattered her that he’d stand by her, she hated being the cause of this tension.
“Please don’t blame Constantine. I forced him to keep quiet,” Lex interrupted, hoping to defuse a situation rapidly nearing combustion.
Her admission of guilt worked to break the tension. Lex almost crumbled under the weight of their incredulous stares. When Sebastian let out a laugh, Allie gave him a good slap to the arm. He quieted instantly. Raphael shook his head in bemusement. He still looked like he was going to be sick. Tristan gave her a look that told her he wasn’t amused by her declaration.
“Lex, honey, do you have any idea how serious this is?”
Lex shot to her feet when Allie posed that question to her. Though generally slow to anger, the question, coupled with the condescending way it was voiced, had her livid. Fueling her anger was the fact that everyone seemed to be in the know about what was going on with her except her.
“You’re joking, right?” Lex’s glare was so cold, she was sure it rivaled even one of Constantine’s. “I don’t think you realize what it’s been like for me to have this thing—whatever it is—inside of me. I wake every morning feeling worse than the day before. There are some days when I can barely drag myself out of bed, yet at the same time I have this compulsion to be out in the sun. Sometimes I feel this energy trying to bust right out of my skin. I hear voices in my head. Yes, voices. And sometimes, they get so loud it hurts my brain. Oh, and let’s not forget this mysterious tattoo that magically appeared on my body.” Her gaze shot to each and every one of them. “So yes, I think I have some idea about how serious this all is.”
Once she was finished her tirade did she realize she’d inched her way closer to Constantine. Sometime during her rant he’d also moved toward her. When Allie walked over to them, Constantine put a protective arm around her, which made Lex feel oddly comforted.
“Back off, C. She’s my sister.”
Lex was stunned when he didn’t pull away from her. He left it to her to disentangle herself from his arm, which she thought was just about the most supportive, and possessive, thing she’d ever known a man to do.
Allie went to take her hand but dropped it quick and bared her fangs in a hiss. She’d obviously not been expecting to get hit with the energy surging through Lex. Given she was an emotional mess, it seemed to make the energy grow to a feverish height.
“Jesus Christ, Lex. You got some serious mojo going on in there.” Allie shook her hand as if it’d been burned.
Lex sighed and sank back on the sofa. Allie sat next to her. Sebastian hovered near his mate while Constantine came to stand behind the sofa. His hands settled on Lex’s shoulders, which surprised her. He was treating her like they were mated.
“Whatever this is, it hurts my bones sometimes.” A slight quiver passed over Lex as her hand went to the mark on her stomach. A short while earlier everyone had been poking at it and examining it like some weird science project gone wrong. “There are times it scares me so bad it makes me wonder if I’m dying.”
Allie grabbed her hands. She saw the way her sister fought back the need to drop them as energy, once again shot through her. Lex’s eyes glistened with tears as she stared back into Allie’s silver gaze. She felt like a walking disease.
“Of course you’re not dying!”
Lex looked over Allie’s head to Sebastian and Tristan. “Then what’s wrong with me?”
“There’s nothing wrong with you.” Allie’s soft, soothing tone didn’t fool her for a second.
When Lex stood, Allie did too. Unconsciously, Lex moved over to Constantine as he came around from behind the sofa. He threw his arm back around her and she nearly wept with relief when he didn’t even flinch as her power surged into him.
“Either you tell her, or I will,” he warned them all.
“We have to tell her.” That agreement came from Raphael. He looked a bit less green around the gills.
“This is getting ridiculous,” Lex exclaimed. “Will someone tell me something?”
When Allie came to stand before her, Constantine tightened his hold. Lex stiffened, knowing whatever it was Allie was about to say to her wasn’t going to be good. Visions of all sorts of horrible, slow deaths came to her mind. Diseases. Suffering. Hospitals. Oh God.
“Lex, sweetie,” Allie took a deep breath as if her lungs needed the air. They didn’t. She was either stalling or fortifying herself. Maybe even both. And then she spoke again and Lex’s world crashed down around her. “That’s the mark of the Daystar.”
Chapter Ele
ven
So now she knew. At least she wasn’t dying. Although, being a vessel of supernatural power ran a close second on Lex’s shit-o-meter.
This all seemed impossible and yet it explained so much—like the mysterious mark on her stomach for one. It also explained her odd connection with the sun. She wasn’t sure how the voices fit into things, though she wasn’t positive they connected to this as well. She figured there was a lot that came part and parcel with being some supernatural being. Time would tell just how much of herself was going to change now that she knew she was a creature that could give vampires nearly unstoppable power.
Suddenly, the walls of the hall closed in on her. Lex pulled away from Constantine, needing to put some space between herself and everyone else. Much to her surprise he let her go. She stepped back until she bumped into the hearth. Stepping aside so as not to catch fire, she dragged in a harsh breath and stared at the faces around her.
Every one of them, save for Constantine, wore expressions of sympathy. Constantine’s was unreadable.
Lex pinned him with a pointed look. “How long have you known?”
If he would have shrugged or grunted or did anything else very ”Constantine-like”, Lex would have lost the fragile hold she had on her emotions. Thankfully he did none of those things, and put aside his sarcasm. Lex didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
“The moment I saw the mark.”
“But you suspected even before that, didn’t you?” His silence was a betrayal and all the answer she needed. “I see.”
The cold of Lex’s voice brought Constantine back to a time when he was a boy and he’d said those same two words to his mother the day before he left Draegon Castle.
When Lex turned away from him, Constantine wanted to spin her back around and demand she wipe the cold look from her face. Instead he left her to stand stock still as she stared at the fire. In that instant, something changed in her. Something otherworldly overtook her—something far out of the Templar’s league.
Constantine noted he wasn’t the only one who watched as Lex wrapped her arms around herself. Violent tremors wracked her. From where he stood, he knew he was the only one who saw the tears glistening in her eyes. When one of those tears escaped to slip down her ashen cheek, it hurt his goddamn heart.
As much as he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her and assure her all would be well, Constantine knew nothing of comforting someone. He had known such little kindness and tenderness in his own time that he knew he’d just muck it all up if he tried.
As quickly as her tears came they were gone. Constantine sensed she’d wrapped a wall of dignity around herself. She discreetly wiped the tear from her cheek and took a deep, fortifying breath. When she turned and faced them all, Constantine was moved by her grace and pride.
Her profound gaze raked over them. “What happens now?”
Allie hurried over to her sister. She went to take Lex in her arms but hesitated. Lex moved away at Allie’s faltering. Allie sighed and walked back to Sebastian, who wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her close to his side.
“Now we do everything we can to keep you safe until we can figure this whole thing out,” Allie announced. Her determination to protect her sister rolled over Constantine like a weight pressing down on him.
“This is some deep Druid shit.” Everyone’s attention focused on Raphael when he made that announcement. “I can go to the Order and see what they have to say about it. Hell, maybe I can even have Briana get hold of the First.”
No one protested Raphael’s suggestion, not even Constantine, who was none too fond of the Order of the Rose.
Raphael was supposed to have met with Briana Kerr a month ago to discuss the Daystar, but the meeting fell through. As far as Constantine had been concerned it was for the best since involving the Order might have stirred up a shitstorm of trouble. Besides, none of them wanted to be indebted to the Order of the Rose. Although, with this turn of events, the logical road to take would, unfortunately, lead directly to the First.
Tristan’s nod caught Constantine’s attention. “You think you can get an audience with her?”
Raphael shrugged, “I don’t see why not. One mention of the Daystar and the First will come out of hiding.”
The First rarely left her fortress, which was believed to be hidden somewhere in Wiltshire, England. Yet Raphael knew for this she would. Or at least she’d better. He hated admitting it, but they needed the Druid’s help. And though it irked the shit out of him, the truth was, for Lex, he’d step aside and accept the help of Lucifer himself if needs be. She was like a sister to them all and he’d be damned twice over if he sat back and did nothing while this whole thing played out around him.
Besides, Lex was good for Constantine. The surly bastard may think he could hide it from them, but it was obvious he cared for her. And Lex, well, she wore her feelings for Constantine on her sleeve. Though he couldn’t comprehend that she’d never even kissed a man before Constantine, it somehow seemed right that she’d only known him. To Raphael’s way of thinking, Fate was whispering to them all that the two of them were meant to be.
Oh Lord, he thought, he was beginning to wax poetic. He’d better stop that shit right now or else Constantine was going to hear his thoughts and give him hell for them. The last thing he needed was for Dragon to have more reasons to taunt him.
“You don’t have to do this, Raphael,” Lex offered.
Raphael knew his pathetic attempt at a reassuring smile wasn’t fooling anyone. “She’s bound to learn about you sooner or later. Might as well make it sooner rather than later and get on her good side.”
“Can you go tonight?”
Raphael nodded to Sebastian. “I just have one stop to make and then I’ll head over to Kerr’s shack.”
The “shack” Raphael referred to was, in fact, a massive fortress disguised as a luxurious estate where the Order gathered. Owned by Briana Kerr, whom they knew came third in the hierarchy of the Order.
The stop he had to make was at Shakers, a local strip club. For the last three months he made sure to go there and check in on Cyn every night she worked. Why he felt such a connection to the human woman, he had no idea.
Unlike the rest of his brethren, Raphael didn’t steer clear of humans. Hell, he didn’t avoid much of anyone, save for renegades. He was, as Sebastian liked to say, a friendly fucker, who mingled with nearly everyone. His easy-going manner gave the other Templars fits, but since Raphael possessed a wicked sense of humor, he got off on annoying his brothers-in-arms about it and they finally began to leave him alone about his social choices. He just couldn’t see spending hundreds of years, or more, in isolation as Tristan had, or in a perpetual state of anger like Constantine.
Of all the humans he’d come across over the last seven hundred years, it was Cyn he returned to night after night. Cyn who was the one woman he didn’t allow himself to take advantage of and use to sate his sexual and blood needs. She was—different. Special. He liked being around her. She made him feel alive.
Eager to get to Shakers and then on to Briana’s estate, Raphael stood and moved to leave. He stilled when Lex strode over to him. “Thank you for doing this.”
It seemed even in the short time since Lex entered their world, she knew the severity of involving the Order. Allie must have filled her in on the details they knew about those vicious bitches.
“Anything for you, boo.” He meant that with everything he was. “Don’t worry, Lex. You’re not alone in this.”
Once Raphael had left, Lex looked to Allie. “Are we done here? I’d like to go to my room.”
Allie shook her head. “Of course, sweetheart.” Her small smile was meant to be reassuring. It fell very short of that. “Don’t worry, we’ll work through this. I promise.”
“I hope so, sis.”
As Lex left the hall all she wanted to do was crawl in bed and put this hellish day behind her. Fighting back tears, she clawed at the mark in a vain att
empt to ease the merciless itch. Only once she’d made herself bleed did she stop and don a white tee and pink pajama bottoms. She dropped onto her bed and let loose her tears.
When she heard heavy footfalls coming down the hall, she bit back her cries and dried her face. She’d not have the others see her emotionally broken.
At the knock at her door, Lex expected it to be Allie. She dragged herself up and bid her sister to enter. Much to Lex’s surprise it was Constantine who strode into her room.
For a moment he stood frozen in the center of her room and peered around at the pink haven she’d made herself. The look on his face almost made her laugh. In his black cargo pants and black tee reading Sarcasm: It beats killing people he looked out of place in such a feminine lair.
