Inception (The Reaping Chronicles, 1)

by Haviland, Teal

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, entranced by his mind’s wanderings. When he finally snapped out of it, he realized Som had left. The only evidence that showed Som hadn’t been something of Javan’s imaginings was a now empty bottle of whiskey and glass on the kitchen counter.

  The day drug on after Som left. It was proving difficult, as was common now, for Javan to keep Gabrielle off his mind. Maybe it was because he hadn’t allowed himself the physical distraction Cecily or Mara could offer. He’d been telling himself that he wanted to stay focused on his planning, and he didn’t want problems between the two females to interfere. The truth was that it was almost impossible to know Gabrielle was so near and not miss her more than normal. He longed to be with her again. To talk and laugh together. He’d been able to push those feelings away since falling, but that was when she was far away in a place he was forbidden to enter ever again. It was easier then. Now, she wasn’t just on Earth, she was within a few miles every day. The desire to be with her pulled him like the waters of the ocean by the moon.

  It’s just as inescapable. She’s just as inescapable … she has to feel it, too.

  Staring blankly at the brick wall of his great room, he hadn’t noticed it steadily darkening from dusk settling. He also didn’t notice another with Divine blood nearing until he heard the knock at his door. He was abruptly aware he’d been deeply lost in his thoughts again.

  Cursing himself for wasting the afternoon dwelling on something he had no control over, he opened the door to find Mara smiling broadly back at him. She walked past him without saying a word and pulled herself up on the kitchen counter, swinging her dangling legs.

  Javan pulled himself up next to her, trying to seem himself. He didn’t want her to realize something was off about him. When he looked at Mara again, she was still smiling at him, but now her smile appeared even larger, and there was an expectant look in her eyes. She seemed to become giddier by the second

  “Spit it out, Mara. You’re wasting my time.”

  As if she was simply waiting for Javan to do his usual barking of a command, and now had the all clear, she spilled the information almost quicker than Javan could keep up.

  “I know when Gabrielle is going to be away from Lucas—at least kinda!”

  Javan felt his eyes widen and a smile form. But then his brain caught up with the speed of her words, and his expression rearranged back into a scowl. “What do you mean by kinda?”

  She gracefully jumped down from the counter and sat on the arm of the chair to face him.

  “I followed the three stooges and Gabrielle to a costume store and heard Gabrielle say she had no intention of participating with them in their Halloween escapades. So she’ll be away from him.”

  Elation filled Javan. This was what he’d been waiting weeks to hear, but he still needed to hear the catch. “Fantastic. But what’s the kinda about, Mara?” He felt himself return to normal—the way he was when his love for Gabrielle wasn’t trying to take over. Mara seemed to sense a shift, too. With a much less playful demeanor, she began to fill him in.

  “She told Lucas she wouldn’t be participating, but she’d still be near him so he shouldn’t worry about his safety.”

  Javan didn’t think she’d been tipped off to his plans, so why was she or Lucas concerned about his safety? Javan was frustrated. He still couldn’t figure out how to distract Gabrielle long enough to get Lucas to New Orleans. If she was that concerned about his safety, she’d be watching him even if she wasn’t physically next to him.

  “Have you heard them talk about any specific concerns?” Javan asked.

  “They talk some about the Qalal and the Gentry.”

  “The Qalal and the Gentry. Why would she be so concerned about them? Why would his safety be at risk?”

  “I think I can answer that.”

  Javan and Mara looked toward the voice coming from the terrace. Cecily sauntered toward them—her eyes fixed on Javan. She looked stunning as usual, wearing all black, and her long auburn hair bounced past her shoulders as she moved.

  “Cecily.” Javan said, jumping off the counter and greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. He knew he was being friendlier than normal, but Cecily was hard to resist. “Where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in a week.”

  Cecily gave Mara a look of satisfaction as he stepped back from her, but when he looked at Mara, she didn’t seem to be bothered.

  “Hi, Cecily,” Mara almost cooed her greeting as if she actually liked her. But Javan knew, even if Mara was unaffected by sharing him with Cecily, she wouldn’t like her, simply because she was Qalal. Regardless of what side they seemed to be on, Mara didn’t trust them.

  Cecily nodded toward Mara and smiled. It was more an obligatory expression than one of sincerity. “Mara, you look well,” Cecily said coolly.

  She turned her attention back to Javan as she sat on the couch. Javan and Mara had to position themselves to see her. He was realizing Cecily had to feel she was in as much control of a situation as possible. He’d let her have it for a moment. When she’d settled herself comfortably and felt she had the others complete attention, she spoke.

  “Like I said, I believe I can shed some light on Gabrielle’s concern for Lucas’s safety.”

  Cecily paused and seemed to be wanting to be asked for her knowledge. Biting his tongue—to keep from biting her head off—so he could satisfy Cecily’s need for importance to be confirmed by others was going to prove to be a challenge.

  “Yes, Cecily. What is it you can tell me?”

  “While traveling, recruiting I guess you could say, I heard it was open season on a human who voluntarily made his knowledge of the Qalal known in Europe.”

  “What does that have to do with Lucas?”

  Cecily laughed snidely and cast her eyes to the ceiling. “Javan—Lucas is the human.”

  Javan’s eyes widened again, realizing Gabrielle must have taken him.

  Why would she do that?

  Was she closer to Lucas than he thought? He felt a slow, quiet growl begin to rumble deep inside of him, but another thought stopped it, and he felt the curve of a smile begin. It spread across his face as he began to laugh as one does when satisfied at another’s expense. Lucas was, in fact, in a ton of trouble and danger. When he stopped, he asked for more information.

  Cecily told them of Lucas and Gabrielle’s trip to see the Elders because of a vision Gabrielle had of an attack. When she finished the story, Javan felt much better about everything. He now knew when Gabrielle would be away from Lucas, and he knew how to make that distance, and time, grow.

  “Cecily,” he said as he sat next to her on the couch, still smiling broadly, “I have a job for you and your minions if you think they’ll help.”

  Cecily smiled back. “I have quite the little coven started, Javan. They’ll do what I ask. They know I’m going to be powerful, soon, and they want to be on my good side.”

  “Great. Tell them you’re going to need them on Halloween.”

  Chapter Seventy

  Gabrielle and Lucas ~ Doubts

  Gabrielle watched Lucas from her car as he made his way down the steps of his front porch, hitting only two of them. He jogged toward her with his hands pushed deep in his jean pockets, attempting to shield his ears from the brisk wind greeting him by lowering his head and raising his shoulders.

  She took a deep breath as he let himself in. She was going to do her best not to ruin the day with feelings of dread. She’d keep him safe, so there was no need for him to worry more. Still, she struggled with wondering if he would’ve been better off never meeting her, remaining as he was on the first day of school when they met—just a typical teenager with typical teenager concerns.

  He’s had a choice to face since birth that guaranteed he’d never be typical.

 
; Lucas leaned over and put his hand on her cheek. It was cold even though it had been in his pocket. Gabrielle placed her hand over his to warm it.

  “Hi, love,” he said as he moved closer. Their lips touched gently.

  Gabrielle felt the warmth of his kiss travel through her body. It was a sensation she longed for, and now that it was sweeping through her, she closed her eyes, settled into the feeling, and lingered there. When she opened them, Lucas was staring back at her with a crooked smile that parted his lips slightly.

  “Sorry,” she said as she sat back in her seat and put the car in drive. “I got caught up. I’m glad to have you near me again.”

  Lucas put his hand in hers as she turned the car around. “Don’t ever apologize for that, Gabby. I’m glad you’re not bored with me.”

  Gabrielle looked at him with an amused expression. “Why on Earth would I be bored with you?”

  “Let’s not forget, you’re a powerful angel. I’m just a normal human.”

  Gabrielle glanced sideways as she turned off his road, smiling at him as he caught her eye.

  “Lucas, you’re right. I am an angel, and you are human. But I believe we established weeks ago you aren’t quite normal.” She gave his hand a squeeze and snickered playfully. She tried to figure out how to tell him how much he meant to her without sounding too sappy but gave up. If she sounded sappy, that was just the way it would be.

  “Hey,” she said and waited for him to look at her. When he did, she was concerned by how sad he seemed to be. “You mean more to me than I can put into words, Lucas. I don’t think you understand how much I love you.”

  He smiled and let his eyes drop from hers.

  She tugged his hand to get him to look back at her again. “I mean it.”

  His smiled remained, but she could tell he was still unsure. Would he ever believe her? She knew from their conversation right after meeting the Elders that Lucas felt he didn’t deserve, or have anything to offer, her.

  It was frustrating.

  They loved each other. That was all she needed. Not some knight in shining armor who could come to her rescue. But feeling capable of the act was important to Lucas. She wondered how she could make him feel like her equal so he’d be as content as she was.

  She drove several blocks before she spoke again.

  “So, what do you still need to pick up?”

  Lucas, along with Nonie and Nate, had decided to go as two vampires and their victim. It was a bad joke. Nonie and Nate were the vampires; Lucas was the victim. Of course, no one but them and Gabrielle would understand the meaning behind it, but the three of them thought it fitting. Gabrielle kept her opinion to herself.

  “I still need to get the waxy stuff to put on my neck to make puncture marks, makeup to make it look like skin, and fake blood.” He spoke without looking at her, gazing out the window instead. The leaves being stripped from trees were no match for the strong autumn wind. Gabrielle knew he wasn’t as entranced with the foliage as he acted. He was avoiding her eyes, knowing she didn’t like the costumes even though she hadn’t said anything.

  She tried not to sound displeased. “So, where do you want to go to pick those up?”

  “Back to the costume shop we were at a couple of days ago. I need to pick up black capes for Nonie and Nate while we’re there also.”

  Gabrielle couldn’t help but laugh at how far into the Hollywood version of vampire attire and appearance the teens were going. Lucas looked at her with a puzzled expression.

  “It’s nothing—” she searched her thoughts for a different subject. “Where all are you guys going tonight?”

  They’d already told her, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say. He would feel belittled if she told him how silly they were being about their costumes.

  Lucas responded in a careful tone. “Just to the Halloween party at the school, then to Nonie and Nate’s afterward to watch some horror flicks. Are you at least going to come by for that?”

  Lucas didn’t like that Gabrielle wasn’t planning on spending any time with him. He didn’t understand that she needed to be watching for trouble, and the best way for her to do that was in her angelic form. Spending more time as an angel than a human, as Amaziah had urged her to do, was proving to be difficult, and it was affecting her senses while in human form more and more.

  “I don’t think I will, Lucas.” She could see her answer wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “Horror movies just aren’t my thing, you know?”

  Lucas looked back out the window. “I guess, but I was hoping you’d come so we could be together for a while.”

  “I’ll think about it. Okay? Regardless, I’ll see you when you’re back home.”

  Lucas gave her a slight nod and smile, but his disappointment wasn’t concealed.

  Normally, the quiet moments between Lucas and Gabby didn’t concern him, but she seemed to be keeping something from him, and the silence between them seemed to grow with every turn of the car’s tires. He could feel the tension pushing on him, believing it would shove him out the door and onto the ground as soon as he tried to exit the car. When it didn’t happen— when he was able to stand and walk without picking pieces of pavement out of his skin—it almost surprised him.

  Gabrielle made her way to his side faster than he thought she could have walked, and he wondered if she’d somehow manifested next to him. There was still a lot about her he hadn’t figured out, and she didn’t seem to want to show him all she could do. He’d asked her to once, but she said it wasn’t important, and she didn’t want to make a spectacle of herself—especially to him. He wondered, though, if it wasn’t more about not wanting him to feel even more inferior to her than he already did.

  Lucas laughed to himself and shook his head. He wasn’t finding actual humor in his thoughts. He was questioning, once again, what he could ever offer her. He wished he knew how she felt about Javan, if what she said she felt about the two of them even began to compare to what she had with the fallen angel, and, more importantly, if those feelings still existed. He thought back to how she’d said he made her feel things Javan never had been able to.

  Wouldn’t it also be true that Javan made her feel things I’ll never be able to, as well?

  Gabrielle moved past him toward the restroom. He watched her, feeling the distance expanding between them. It wasn’t the physical distance he was aware of, however. There was something going on between them he couldn’t explain. He wasn’t even sure who was the cause, him or her. Maybe it was simply what was to be expected. They really had no business being together. How would it ever work between them? Short term wasn’t the problem; long term realities were the issue.

  He didn’t know when it was all going to end, but it would. It was the only logical outcome for an angel and a human being in love unless the angel chose to give up their life to be a human, like his grandmother had done for his grandfather. He would never let Gabrielle do that for him. He’d feel guilty the rest of his life. The more he thought about how he felt they were growing apart, the more he was sure the reason was because he wasn’t good enough, or right, for her.

  As the shop’s employee returned to the register with what he needed, Lucas could see Gabrielle approaching in the periphery of his vision. He didn’t turn to look at her as he would normally have done, afraid of what she’d see in his eyes—believing his concerns and insecurities would be known to her right away. Even though he felt like parting ways was inevitable, he wasn’t going to encourage the conversation. He wanted to be with her as long as he could, and the things on his mind would surely bring about their separation sooner if they were made known to her.

  Gabrielle waited for him. After he’d paid, he turned toward the door, away from Gabrielle, and started to walk, wishing he could leave his thoughts behind as he moved closer to the exit. He felt her hand re
ach for his, then she laced their fingers. As soon as his eyes met hers, he felt the warmth of his love for her begin to push away the negative thoughts. He leaned down to kiss her, and when she raised her head so her lips could meet his, the desire consuming his mind and body chased away any lingering doubts—at least for now.

  Chapter Seventy-one

  Javan ~ Romeo

  Javan was pacing his usual path in front of the windows of his great room as he waited. He didn’t know how long he’d been moving from one end of the room to the other until he looked at his watch and was frustrated to see not nearly enough time had passed. All his plans were put in place, and there was little he could do but wait. He had a hard time not wishing time to hurry so that he, Mara, and Shea could leave.

  Shea was his newest pawn, and right now, the most important.

  She was Gentry, a huli jing, and Mara had recruited her only yesterday. He hoped she was as skilled with changing her appearance as she claimed. Shea said it would be risky for her to change and then turn around and do it again the next day, explaining how it took a lot of energy. She didn’t want to risk being able to transform herself convincingly twenty-four hours later.

  Javan veered off his pacing course to pour himself a drink. Just as he was about to tip the bottle and fill his glass, he stopped.

  “Fuck it.”

  Javan put the bottle to his lips and began to drink, righting it when he heard a knock. He abandoned his beverage and jogged to the door, reminding himself to calm down as he reached for the knob and opened the door.

  Through a breathy whisper, he said her name. “Gabrielle.”

  He had to remind himself to breathe, stunned by her beauty. Her hair hung in loose waves far past her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to capture all available light, giving them a sparkling effect. A fitted red sweater and jeans embellished her curves. He didn’t know what to say. Why was she there? Javan felt his hopes rise. A smile spread wide across his face. Was she coming back to him? A smile parted the lips he longed to press against his. As he was about to do what he’d wanted since he’d first seen her in this body weeks earlier, she spoke.