by Weil, J. L.
Travis walked into the room seeing his sister and Emma grinning at each other. His heart skipped a beat. That had been too close.
Her brows furrowed together. “He’s different,” Emma said quietly.
Travis stiffened in the doorway.
He knew there would be questions; however, he just wasn’t yet ready for the consequences.
Lexi pursed her lips, and Emma knew she had hit a sore spot. That hadn’t been her intention. She wasn’t quite certain why she had even blurted that out. Sure it had been stamped on her mind, but maybe she should have bitten her tongue. The last thing she wanted was for Lexi to dislike her or offend her in anyway, and that was exactly how she felt right now, like she might have upset her.
You have no idea, Lexi thought to herself. “I should probably let Travis–”
They both turned their heads at the deep voice clearing his throat from the archway.
Chapter 11
“Travis,” Emma breathed in relief.
Lexi took that as her cue to leave, slipping from the room she didn’t envy her brother or what questions he would be fired with. Emma seemed like a smart girl who wouldn’t be easy to brushed-off. There was always persuasion, but she didn’t think that Travis would steep to his usually tactics. Something told her that Emma was different, and her brother wouldn’t be able to bring himself to do anything that would deceive her.
Watching him saunter into the room, the chills for the first time began to slowly dissipate. She could count on Travis to warm her blood. Even with the confusion she was feeling about him not being normal, her body still responded to his presence. She couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Did it really matter?
The heart wanted what the heart wanted.
Her eyes clung to the sight of him as a million uncertainties tumbled into her head. One thing was certain, Travis like Lexi looked angelic beside firelight. Ambers flickered, catching a glimmer of a glow in his eyes.
She knew that there was more under the surface than meets the eye. Bracing herself for the unexpected, she figured she was in for a shock.
“You look better,” he said, thinking how blue and limp she had been in his arms. Never had he been so scared and out of his mind before.
Her lips upturned at the corners. “No thanks to you.” Casting her eyes down, she fingered the fleece blanket draped over her. “What you did–”
“Em, I–” he ran a hand through his blond hair, tousling it.
She wasn’t ever sure she had seen Travis unnerved before and didn’t think she liked it. His carefree confidence was just a part of him.
Taking a deep breath he knew he had to tell her the truth. He had flirted with the idea of making her forget, but now looking into her large emerald eyes he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She was too important. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Her heart lurched at his stress. Putting a hand on his, she sought to comfort him. “Travis you’re different, I can feel it.”
He nodded his head. “I am. I’m just afraid that when I tell you it will change how you see me.”
She angled her head waiting for him to explain.
“You are the first person I’ve met who isn’t afraid of me. You have no idea what that means. My whole life people besides other Divisa’s can hardly stand to be near me.”
“Divisa’s?” she interrupted, confused by the word.
He realized he was divulging right into the heart of the matter without really explaining himself. “Sorry,” he smiled timidly. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Divisa is what we call ourselves, people like me. Half-humans, half-demons.” He paused and lifted his eyes to hers.
They widened into giant green saucers. But she didn’t run from the room screaming or shrink away from him. That alone allowed him to start breathing again.
Emma thought she was having trouble hearing him. Did he just say that he was part demon? Like in hell and the devil? How could that be? Travis wasn’t demonic. She didn’t believe it.
“I’m sorry did you just say demon?”
He watched the array of emotions cross her face as understanding started to seep in. “I did. I know it’s a lot to take in, and I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t trust you. No one can know.”
He had to be joking. She almost felt like she was drowning again. The ache in her chest made it hard to breath. God she hoped her expression wasn’t as overwhelmed as she was inside. She sucked at poker faces. Her Travis was part demon. If she thought her parents would have a cow about her dating, she couldn’t imagine how they would react to a half-demon.
She didn’t know what that really meant. “What does that mean, being half-demon?” She practically choked on the word.
He leaned back against the couch assured now she wouldn’t run. In reality, it didn’t matter. He would catch her before she reached the doorway. “It means that I am cursed. My veins are filled with demon blood. There is a part of me that isn’t human. It’s evil.”
Emma studied him. She couldn’t fathom it. Travis evil. It just didn’t make sense. He had saved her life and here he was telling her that he was evil. “If what you are saying is true, how did it happen?”
“I promise you. What I say is true. I won’t lie to you. It is not a condition that you are infected with. I was born with it. My dad was compelled by a demon – a female demon. When Lexi and I were born she dumped us on our dad’s doorstep. He didn’t have the first clue what he was dealing with let alone how to raise two children.”
She sucked in a sharp breath at the image of two tiny babies being abandoned. All she could see was Abi’s chubby cheeks and couldn’t possible begin to understand how a mother could do that. Demon or not.
“Not precisely mother of the year, but truthful she did us a favor. Demons often destroy their hybrid offspring. And if they aren’t trying to kill us off, the hunters are. Lucky for Lexi and I, our mother doesn’t seem to give two shits and leaves us alone. But Chase, well he isn’t so lucky.”
“So there are more like you?” she asked. Lexi like Travis was harder to except. There wasn’t a deceitful bone in her body. She couldn’t see her hurting anything. Now Chase. That was a whole different story. He out of all of them was easily the most convincing. That boy looked like a menace to society.
He nodded. “Besides Lexi, Chase and I…yes. I have no idea how many, but in Spring Valley there are others.”
Oookay. There was a whole lot about this world she didn’t understand. And it seemed that things just got a whole lot messier. Wait. Did that mean she actually bought his story? Travis. A half-demon?
What choice did she really have? She trusted him above anything, and he had never lied to her before. But the real question was how she felt about it.
After the near death experience she couldn’t even began to explore her feelings. Right now all she felt was numbness. And that was just dandy with her.
“So this being half-demon allows you to run in vampire-speed. What else can you do?” She wanted to understand.
“Mostly its heightened senses, faster speeds, quicker reflexes, increased strength and mind control. Those are the upsides, but the downsides outweigh any positives.”
She lifted a perfect arched brow. Downside? Right he had said he was cursed.
“I have a demon half. A side of me that calls to chaos, destruction, and evil. It can be controlled, but more often than not the demon breaks through.”
His admission made her think about his eyes. “Does that have anything to do with the way your eyes change color?”
“Yeah. When the demon begins to surface, the eyes turn yellow. Once the eyes are entirely yellow, its complete possession, more demon than human. And that is highly dangerous and unpredictable.”
She swallowed hard. Emma was started to get the impression that he was trying to frighten her. She wasn’t sure why?
“I know it may seem like I’m normal, but I swear I am anything but. And truthfully you would better off without me in your
life. There is nothing but devastation, pain, and danger at every corner. That is no way to live, and I won’t mix you up in it.”
She wasn’t sure she liked where this was going. “What are you saying?”
He rubbed a hand over his face. What was he saying? There was no way on earth he wanted to let her go. No matter how much that made him a selfish bastard. The thought of living without her in his life was unbearable.
Bleak.
Sunless.
Empty.
A pitiful life.
Yeah that wasn’t an option. So what was he going to do? “I don’t know.”
She hated to hear the defeat in his voice. It was gut-retching. Laying a hand on his cheek, she sought to give him solace.
“I guess I just want you to know what you are getting into, and I’m giving you out. No hard feelings, no obligation. I can’t promise that it will be easy, but I promise to not let anything hurt you. Ever.”
There was a long pause. And then it hit her. He was talking about ending what they had just started. She could barely process that he was half-demon, and now he was giving her an out. What was going on? “I don’t want an out,” she replied over the crackling of a fire log.
He didn’t seem to hear her. “Look I understand you are scared and afraid,” he rambled.
“I don’t care what you are!” she said, forcefully. It seemed to be the only way to pierce through his thick skull. “I’m not afraid of you,” she continued, softer after she finally got his attention.
“Em, I know you think–”
“You don’t know what I am thinking.” She realized that what she said was true. Even after everything she learned, she wasn’t afraid of Travis.
He studied her. There was no fear in her crystal glass bottle eyes. His heart skipped. “Good, ‘cuz I am too selfish to let you go.”
She was suddenly in his arms.
This was going to take some getting used to. Her eyes couldn’t follow his suddenly blinding movements.
Then his warm lips were on hers. All thoughts disappeared except how incredibly edible Travis tasted. Her core burned from the inside out like the roasting logs. Coaxing her mouth open everything about him was gentle and sweet.
It didn’t matter that he was different. It didn’t matter what the world thought, or the problems that would surely arise.
All that matter was now.
Entwining her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer. He nuzzled the side of her neck with butterfly kisses. When his mouth returned to hers, he kissed her ravenously. She had become his lifeline. Her scent, like daisies was faint but drugged him regardless.
With just the last thread of sanity he pulled away ever so slowly. What she needed was comfort not debauchery after all she had gone through today.
She saw the glint in his eyes, and her pulse raced.
“Let’s get you home,” he regrettable said. He wasn’t ready to let her go and wasn’t sure he ever would be. What he felt for her had spiked a hundred degrees. Letting her see the real him had done something inside. He felt freer, lighter and for the first time he felt like he belonged.
Belonged with Emma.
Chase was going to kick his ass from here to kingdom come.
Chapter 12
After he saw Emma home safely, he knew what he must do, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dreading the bejesus out it.
He had to tell Chase that Em knew their secret.
God he was going to chop his head clear off.
Travis knew where to find him. When his cousin was blowing off steam so to speak, he headed for the fields. Not his choice of solitude but to each his own.
Walking into the tall dead stalks of wheat, Travis had his senses on full alert and his guard up. If Chase was out here, it was for a very good reason.
His demon.
Treading cautiously on the on the snowy ground, he listened for the sounds to led him in the right direction. He was sure Chase had already heard him, which meant he had to be one step ahead of him, nearly impossible with Chase.
Maybe luck would be on his side. Snow crunched lightly underfoot. If his day was any indication, he was royally screwed.
Moving silently, he just at the nick of time braced himself before Chase was on him. Shit, he was fast. He would give his cousin that. No one moved or fought like a Chase. He was like a freaking admonition of even his own kind. Talk about a double whammy.
His back hit the frozen ground with a thug, right before Chase hammered him in the stomach with a fist made of steel. Christ he was moody, but lucky for Chase, after the day he had, so was he.
Time to give as good as he was getting. Or at least attempt to.
This was a little ass backwards. He had kind of expected Chase to hand him his ass after he told him about Emma, not before. Leave it to Chase to never do things as expected.
Dodging a bullet fist aimed at his face, he used the momentum to toss Chase to the side. Crouching on his feet, he was ready when Chase threw a strike at him again. He caught the punch in his hand, keeping Chase level with him while warding him off.
“Chase,” he growled low between clenched teeth in concentration. One wrong move and his butt would be grass.
There was just the tiniest flicker in his cosmic glowing eyes. Travis just needed to tap into that small glimmer of humanity, it was all he needed.
“Chase! It’s me man. Snap out of it before I have to hurt you.” He knew if there was anything that would reach his cousin it would be his own inflated ego. Chase’s head was the size of blimp when it came to self-arrogance. Truthfully, he could use someone to flatten that overstuffed pigheadedness.
Someday Chase Winters was going to be knocked on his behind by someone who wouldn’t take his shit. Travis hoped he would be there to see it all, snickering the whole way.
Gradually he felt Chase’s muscle began to lax. Keeping his grip firm and solid, he waited until he could see mostly the silver of his eyes.
“You must be either stupid or have a death wish,” Chase grumbled as the demon slowly dissolved from within. He pushed him a bay, and it wasn’t without strenuous effort.
Travis sat across from him in wet snow grinning like a fool.
Yep. Definitely stupid.
Those dimples were always trouble. “Come on cuz. Is that anyway to greet family?” Travis taunted.
Chase rumbled in his throat.
Travis snickered. He loved getting a rise out of Chase; he made it just so damn fun. “Neither. I just wanted to have a little entertainment before we talk.”
“You have a warped sense of fun, you know that?”
Yada. Yada. Yada.
Chase narrowed his eyes. “What did you want to talk about that you willing risked your neck for?”
So he hadn’t fooled him, now onto the brutal stuff. He braced himself on the cold floor for what he was sure to come.
Another thrashing from Mr. Hothead.
His cousin was anything but unpredictable.
Travis eyes clouded with seriousness, and he averted his gaze. Dammit. He hated the look of disappoint he was sure to see reflecting in Chase’s eyes. He might be a year older than his cousin but he had a way of making him feel younger. Taking a breath of the cold air to steady his nerves, Travis began to blurt out what he came here to say. No pussyfooting around. The sooner he got it off his chest, the better. “Emma knows.”
Chase just blinked. “Umm. Excuse me. Did you just say–”
“I did,” he replied, cutting off a stunned Chase.
“You have got to be dumber than I thought.” He sounded exasperated.
“I didn’t have a choice. She would have died had I not done something.” Travis defended.
“And by something, you mean exposing us? Jesus Travis. Did you even think about Lexi?”
Truthfully had hadn’t been able to think at all. Now his mind was overflowed with worries.
Emma.
Lexi.
Chase.
He dropped h
is head in both of his hands, feeding his fingers roughly through his hair. “It all happened so fast. I didn’t have time to think.
Watching the torment in his cousin face, Chase knew that he was struggling heavily with guilt. He also knew that Travis expected him to flip out, and truthfully he probably would have if he didn’t already see Travis punishing himself so hard.
He sighed. “Well what’s done is done. Tell me what happened.”
Travis lifted his head. He almost couldn’t believe that was all. This had to be a trick, but when he looked into Chase’s silver eyes there wasn’t a trace of deceit. Quickly he rehashed the events, ending with his admission to Emma. “She – she took it well considering. And I trust her. She won’t tell anyone.”
Hmm. Chase thought. He would make sure of that. His cousin was too emotional involved to see any potential harm. There was no way he was going to let a little slip of girl endanger his family. Not while he was alive.
Burying the need to seek her out this instant, he focused his attention back to Travis. “What’s done is done. We just need to make sure that no finds out she knows. The less people involved the better chance we have at keeping everyone safe.”
“Agreed.” He paused, biting his lip. “Thanks for not going all ballistic.”
Chase’s eyes twinkled. “The night is still young.”
Then on cue they both heard the unmistakable sound of howling. It rang over the wintery night chilling Travis’s blood.
Hellhound.
Lord this night was going down the crapper, Chase thought to himself. At least his demon would be jumping for joy. All day it had be grinding on him to be free. Pesky bugger.
“You better get back and keep an eye on the house and Lexi,” Chase advised in his no-non-sense tone.
It wasn’t a bad idea. As much as he disliked leaving Chase to defend himself on his own, no matter that he preferred it that way, he had an undying itch to phone Emma. He needed to hear that she was okay.
“Fine, I’ll go. But you don’t always have to be the hero you know. Just once I’d like a shot,” Travis said, grinning.
Chase’s smirk was dark and dangerous. “And miss all the fun. Not a chance.”
