by Kailin Gow
I shook it off and shrugged at my fate. There was no way I was about to let him know the effect he was having on me. “Well, beggars can’t be choosers, or in this case, the new kid at school can’t be too picky about the company she keeps.” I shot him an analytical gaze. “I guess I could do worst. You could have been a puss infected ogre who has to be slain for impersonating an Adonis. But you really do appear to be what you are; a boy.”
He cocked his head to the side then rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Whatever. Come on.”
The tour around the school was pleasant enough. Every floor shined, every wall immaculate and every window glistened. We poked our heads into a few of the classes, which were small, both in size and the number of students.
“They like to keep the ratio small. I think the biggest class we have is twenty-two students and that’s the drama class.”
“Cool,” I muttered, my attention less on class ratio and more on the peculiar-looking student roaming the halls.
“Teachers here are really hands on, taking the time to sit and talk things through with students on an individual basis.”
“Uh-huh.” My gaze followed the movements of the lost student, picking up on…
“What’s your average?”
“My what?” I said softly.
“Hey, are you even listening to…?”
I didn’t give him the chance to finish. The strange student turned the corner and I shot off after him the moment he was out of my sight. Darn it, I thought. This was my very first day. Couldn’t I at least get a break?
Rounding up the corner, I sprinted to him, grabbed him by the collar and shoved his face to the wall.
“What the…?” He muttered.
His hair, jet black and falling in thick sheets just above the collar of his jacket, smelled sweet, musky and masculine. No, I thought, this is not the average, run of the mill student. Taking a firm hold of his leather jacket, I spun him around.
Through his initial spark of annoyance he grinned, the most seductive, wicked grin I had ever seen. His jade green eyes, narrow and amused, looked down at me with curiosity.
“I take it you're new here,” he said, his sultry lips never losing their amused curve. “First days nerves… it can make you do nutty things sometimes.”
“I… I thought you were…” I backed away and released him, taken aback by my error.
“In this neck of the woods, we usually settle for a congenial handshake and a brief, but impressive introduction, the likes of, hello, my name is so-and-so and I’m from such and such institution.” He cradled his chin between his thumb and index finger. “Although, I have to admit, there’s something uniquely charming in your approach.”
“Sorry, I really thought you were something… um someone…”
“No apologies needed. In fact, I really wouldn’t mind starting again.”
I backed away. “You were so…” My gaze traveled over his strong shoulders before clearing the top of his head and looking for signs of something different.
Squishing his nose and tightening his gaze, he looked above him. “Do I have something gnarly in my hair or what?”
“You’re human,” I murmured to myself.
“Say what?” After a perplexed moment, he chuckled. “Oh you must be confused by my animal magnetism. But, yes, I assure you, I am human.”
“You don’t say,” I droned and walked away.
“Hey.” He was suddenly serious as he walked up and kept stride with me. “You weren’t kidding, huh?”
“About what?”
“Me being human.”
“Forget about it. Like you said, first day jitters.”
“No.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “You're Lux, aren’t you?”
Alarmed, it took me a moment to realized he’d read my name off my schedule. “Yeah. What of it?”
“It means light, right?” His chuckle was edged with nervous energy. His grip on my arm tightened as he pulled me closer. “Look, I had a weird dream last night. Aside from the strange sense of being elsewhere, I don’t really remember much, except the light, a startlingly bright light.”
“That’s nice, but I’m not a dream interpreter.” I turned to walk away, but he maintained his hold.
“Something strange has been happening to me lately. I’ve been strange lately. You saw it. Whatever it is that you saw, it wasn’t your imagination.”
My gaze met his, my dark eyes connecting with his eyes, strange eyes that were the deepest green surrounded by a ring of pure blue. He was looking at me earnestly, and I thought I saw vulnerability in those sure, cocky eyes for a moment.
“Beautiful,” he whispered as his eyes shifted away.
“What do you mean?” I asked, wanting more.
Behind me I heard Braxton’s footfall and instantly saw the protective veil that shadowed the green eyes before me. “Beautiful,” he whispered again before walking away.
“Okay, so I get it,” Braxton groaned, “You don’t want to tour the school with me.” Coming up beside me, he shot a look of disapproval at the green-eyed stranger.
“Who is he?” I asked, keeping a cap on the interest level I divulged.
“Just our school bum. You know, the bad boy, the trouble maker, maybe even a juvenile delinquent.
“Does bad boy have a name?”
“Asher, or, as some of the kids sometimes call him, Thrasher, Slasher or, the favorite among the girls, Dasher.”
“Cute.”
“I see you’ve already fallen under his spell.”
“Oh, please,” I said as I waved his silliness away and turned down the hall. “I don’t fall for the ridiculous spells you guys pull on girls.”
“You sure looked spell bound.” He kept up with me, his grin betraying a hint of jealousy.
Had I dented his ego?
“I don’t have time to be dazzled by some guy’s gorgeous green eyes.” I turned to look straight into Braxton’s eyes. “Or pretty hazel ones, for that matter.”
Pleased, he grinned like a little boy, proud of his first homerun.
“Well, you're the first. Every girl, and I mean, every single girl here, has fallen for that guy. You were kind of looking at him with intense interest.”
“Don’t get all ruffled, Brax. You're a pretty cute guy, yourself.”
“Gee,” he said with a note of sarcasm. “Thanks?”
I giggled, something I was not in the habit of doing. He really was cute, not only his eyes, his smile, his hair, but the charm he exuded. I wanted to know more about him, more about that strange connection we’d share as I’d passed by his home.
“You know.” He leaned in close over my shoulder. “Something about you seems familiar.”
About to respond, the flash of a dark shadow crossed the perpendicular corridor at the end of the hall. Without hesitation, I bolted, once again leaving Braxton behind. I wasn’t mistaken this time, the shadow was dark, treacherous and ugly.
Caught in the narrow stairwell, it turned to face me. “I’ll get you, Lux. Be filled with fear.”
“I won’t.” I bared my bejeweled crucifix and ran after the furtive figure. Before he could fight me, I sprang quickly sprang on him saying, “I cast you out, Demon!” I grunted as I shoved the cross to his forehead. “Leave now.”
He fought, twisted away from my hold and tried to grab my wrist. Though fast, as demons are apt to be, he wasn’t fast enough. I caught him and pressed the crucifix to this brow, maintaining a firm grip. “I bind your powers,” I shouted into the void. “Be gone!”
After an ugly gurgle, it vanished.
Chapter 3
The morning’s first class was about to let out and students would soon be rushing through the halls on their way from one class to another. I was flushed from the brief battle and wanted to collect my thoughts before making my way to my own first class of the day.
“You're making a nasty habit of running out on me,” Braxton said as he found me.
“S
orry.”
“What were you chasing?”
“Nothing.”
“You always just go off running for no reason?”
Shrugging, I glanced at my schedule to find my first class of the day, but it was impossible to concentrate. My energy had been zapped by the early morning battle. “Restless legs, I guess.”
“Come on, you can tell me.”
Telling him was exactly what I couldn’t do. My father had done so much to get me into St. James and I loathed the thought of moving again. No, I couldn’t get into trouble here.
He brushed his hand across my cheek. “You're red. You're hot,” he whispered. “Are you sure you're okay?”
The heat of exertion remained with me, leaving me weak. “Maybe I should make a stop at the ladies’ room before the first class lets out.”
“Sure thing,” Braxton said, his voice surprisingly filled with concern. “Here, I’ll show you the way.”
Showing himself to be a true gentleman, he led me to the restroom and nodded his promise to wait for me.
I hurried inside and made my way to the sink to get a good look at myself. A sudden chill enveloped me and, as my gaze met my eyes, I felt drained. It was more than just the tangle with the demon, I thought. Fighting always took its toll on me, but this was different. My gut tightened with discomfort, a sense of unease that refused to be shrugged off.
Asher, I thought. Beware of the beautiful beings, he’d said.
Beyond the demon, this was at the heart of what was troubling me. His statement had been made with such sincerity, even urgency, yet it was vague.
Beautiful beings; they were all around me. The students I’d passed in the hall, the few teachers I’d seen, even Miss Bright was attractive.
I looked at my reflection. Would people here think I was beautiful? My brown eyes could easily be considered plain, yet I’d often been complimented on the depth and soulfulness of my gaze. My dark brown hair lacked any kind of glamorous highlight or streak, yet guys had often told me how sexy it was. In every school I’d attended I’d been told how pretty I was, as peculiar and odd as my conduct might have been.
But here, the students were beyond beautiful. I thought of the tall blond I’d bumped shoulders with on entering the school. High cheekbones, captivating blue eyes and luscious blond hair that cascaded down her back.
As I’d prepared to enter Miss Bright’s office, a striking redhead with emerald eyes had strutted by, her gait magnificent, her body statuesque.
And Braxton, so unbelievably attractive and perfect in every way.
They could all easily be models, obtain million dollar contracts with the nation’s leading agencies. And the school was full of students just like them.
So what did Asher mean? They were all beautiful here. Was I to seriously take them all as a possible threat?
Closing my eyes on my reflection, I suddenly felt old and weary. Perhaps this time Lothario had expected too much of me. All these years of battling had drained me too much, aging me before my time.
How long had I been at this?
Sam had been the first angel to visit me. Though I was only two years old I’d understood his prophetic message; I was to be a warrior of God and my gift of sight would greatly help me. Only three years later, my eyes had been opened to the spiritual world. Thinking back to that time, I was awed by the calm and serenity of that five year old little girl who’d entered this new world with such a brave and hopeful heart; a world in which angels and demons walked among mortals.
I had been honored to perform an exorcism two years after that. Despite my diminutive size, the family of Hilda Wigglesworth had welcomed me with open arms, quickly rushing me off to the room of the possessed woman.
Working to rid the world of demons seemed to be an endless task, and while I’d always been proud, even eager to do my part, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would ever truly succeed in ridding the world of the evil that filled it.
Opening my eyes, I faced the young woman I’d become and thought of Lothario. His late night appearance led me to believe there was so much more work ahead of me. Five years earlier, he’d come to me. His message had been clear. The gates of hell were yielding under the pressure of so many demons. No one knew how much longer they could be held back, and, should they be unleashed, the world would suffer as it had never suffered before. I had to find others like me, he’d warned, to build an army of fighters. Together we would beat the demons.
Wishful thinking, I thought as I turned the faucet and splashed cold water into my face. Finding such fighters had turned out to be a little more difficult than expected. My army was little more than a pitiful gathering.
Shaking off my frustrations and fears, I straightened my shoulders and stood back. If only I could get through the next few months and graduate, then I could put all my time and energy into fending off the demons of the world without worrying about the effects on my education.
I walked out and slapped on the most convincing grin I could muster.
“Feeling better?” Braxton asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Sorry about all that. I must be a lot more jittery about this first day than I’d expected.”
Chapter 4
“Cool,” Braxton said as he glanced over my shoulder to read my schedule. “We have three classes together - science, English and history… our next class.”
The rest of the morning sped by and soon Braxton was guiding me to one of the small and intimate dining rooms. Wooden tables, beat up with history, were surrounded by solid wood straight back chairs that surely came from the days of the convent.
Pale blue walls gave the small room a sense of relaxation, augmented by the beautiful view of the fountain in the courtyard outside the row of palladium windows.
“What a beautiful place to have lunch,” I said as I followed him to the last table at the far end of the room. Adding to the beauty of the room were the startling beautiful students seated at the table. Among them, a blonde boy and girl, both with riveting lime colored eyes.
Beyond anything I’d seen that morning, their beauty had an ethereal, unworldly quality. Their gazes, bordering on hypnotic, held mine.
“Who’s the new kid on the block?” The girl with long blond hair neatly styled and emerald green eyes offered me a reserved smile.
“Her name is Lux, Shayne, and stop giving her the evil eye.”
She returned her gaze to her soup. “I’m just taking a passing glance, Brax, hardly an evil eye.”
“I’ve been showing her around,” Braxton said as he reached for my hand and gave me a quick squeeze. “We even have three classes together.”
The young man seemed oblivious of Braxton and continued to hold my gaze with interest, a move that appeared to cause Braxton’s jaw to tighten. Could the green-eyed dream boy be a rival? Braxton made no move to introduce us, leaving me to the task.
“We just moved from Seattle.” I extended my hand which he greedily took in his.
“How lucky for us.”
His grin was intoxicating, taking my breath away and sending my blood rushing to parts of me I didn’t even know I had.
“I’m Moore, by the way… so much more.”
“We’ll have to see about that.” I dared a wink as I took my seat.
“Lux… that’s an absolutely beautiful name, a name that suits you to a tee.” He shoved his half eaten sandwich aside, leaned forward and intensified his gaze. “And what brings a Seattle girl to San Fran?”
“If you must know,” Braxton cut in as he squeezed in beside me. “Her father is the new chair at the antiquities department at the university.”
Moore smirked at Braxton. “How convenient. Guess that’s how you weaseled your way to such an exquisite creature so quickly.” He turned his eyes to me. “I can’t say I blame him. I would jump at the chance to spend my days escorting you from one class to another.”
He was unabashedly flirting with me, despite Braxton’s fierce and possessive glare. I felt
the blush rush to my cheeks and cast my gaze to my salad.
When I chanced another glance at him, I melted under his unwavering gaze. Startled by my reaction to him, so violent, so deep, and so strong, I couldn’t help but wonder what spell he was weaving. A slow and heated tingle worked its way over my skin, luring me closer to him, and leaving me with the heartfelt desire to feel his touch.
He smiled, a smile meant only for me, and I was lost in the pools of green bliss. Though I sat across the table from him, I felt the warmth of his touch, his face close to mine as we danced together in a fragrant rose garden. His gaze pulled me into another world, a world of love, passion and desire so strong, I felt dizzy.
My eyes dipped down to his hands, powerful yet gentle hands capable of wicked and wild embraces. Every breath was shallow and difficult as his fingers traced a line between the nape of my neck and my spine. Keeping my eyes open became impossible.
“You gonna eat anything?” Braxton said as he tapped my elbow with his.
I shook the heated images from my head and noticed that Moore still stared at me, hungry and captivating, a knowing grin on his sensual lips.
“How cute,” Shayne groaned, her gaze cold and unwelcoming. “It certainly didn’t take you long to make an impression on my brother.”
I should have known. “You're siblings?”
“Twins, actually.” She pressed a sweet smile, but bitterness oozed through her lips. “Fraternal.”
“Oh.” For some reason, I felt relieved… for what? For not being a rival for Moore?
“Moore is a little older than me.” She rolled her eyes towards him. “Though you’d never know it by watching the way he acts sometimes.”
“Don’t mind them,” Braxton shot in, his hand once again coming to brush over mine. “They’re just a couple of millionaire brats who have little adult supervision. Their favorite pastime is playing with people’s head. Don’t get caught up in it.”
Shayne picked up a stick of celery and chomped loudly on it. “Considering what we’ve been through, I think we’re doing a pretty good job of raising ourselves, Brax. Our parents might have left us a huge mansion to roam around in, but we didn’t have the luxury of an extended family to help us.”
