by Anne Hope
Lia ambled outside, lost in thought, squinting as the waning day made a last attempt at brightness. Soon the sun would set and dusk would paint the world gray. But for now everything sparkled. When she gazed up at the startling blue sky, it was hard to believe darkness existed at all. Talk of evil giants and fallen angels seemed more like the tall tales people told around the soft glow of a campfire in the middle of the night.
This was her reality. The things she could touch and see and hear—the hard pavement beneath her feet, the whoosh of the ocean in the distance, the blue-green mesh of trees and sky. Yet somehow, she’d been plucked from this reality and tossed into a world where ungodly creatures ruled and myth became truth.
Worst of all, she’d fallen for one of them, and right now he was nowhere in sight. The silver Buick they’d rented squatted across the street, the driver’s seat empty.
Where could Jace have gone? But more importantly, why had he left? He’d been so intent on guarding her, nothing short of an explosion would’ve dislodged him. Whatever had drawn him away had to be bad. Real bad.
The peaceful afternoon suddenly felt unnaturally sinister. From behind the closed library doors, angry voices boomed. The sound of something shattering shook the air. Lia hastened across the street to the car, praying Jace had forgotten to lock it. Then she remembered the keyless entry system. The doors would’ve locked automatically when Jace walked off.
A student hastily stumbled out of the library. Blood leaked from his nose, and an angry bruise was just beginning to form around his eye. Lia’s first instinct was to run back to help him, but he sprinted down the street before she could reach him.
An unsettling ripple of energy disturbed the air, and a hollow feeling came upon her. The fleeting sun continued to flash its deceptive smile, yet her flesh grew icy. Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the trees, followed by a second and a third.
Their eyes fastened on to her, black and bottomless, glittering with hunger.
Fear gathered in a tight knot beneath her heart. She wanted to believe they were human, their minds simply addled by Jace’s prolonged presence, but she knew better. Their height and chilling expressions gave them away.
Lia backed away until the cold steel of the car pressed against her.
The three giants advanced on her. “I want your light,” the biggest of the three growled. “I need it.”
The other two seemed too enthralled to speak. They watched her as if she were a juicy steak on a silver platter, smothered with their favorite sauce.
Lia wondered if all three could feast on her soul at once. From the looks of it, they could, but the greed on their faces told her they’d prefer not to.
The urge to run seized her, but she tamped it down.
No sudden moves. You can’t outrun them.
But she could stall them.
“I know what you’re after,” she said. “But my essence is too powerful. You can’t take it by force.”
Her words bounced off their hulking forms, unheard.
“Trust me when I tell you someone already tried and failed. I’m immune, you see. So you’re wasting your time.” Her fingers crept into her purse, where the vial of angel’s blood sat safely tucked. She’d tossed it in there after coating Jace’s switchblade. “Ever hear of a twin soul? Well, that’s me.”
Interest sparked in the leader’s eyes, as did avarice. He walked ahead of the others toward her. “This one’s mine,” he growled. “You can have the ones inside.”
His companions refused to comply. They took a few steps forward, their intentions alarmingly clear.
“I said back off!” Without turning to face them, the giant raised his hand in warning.
“We always share the feast,” one of them spat. “That’s the deal.”
“Not today.” The leader’s tone was resolute.
“We’re taking our cut. You can’t stop us.”
The look that washed over the leader’s face sent ice splinters racing through Lia. It was calm, composed, and so frighteningly lethal, her pulse stumbled and crashed. A heartbeat later, the ground rumbled, then the blacktop ruptured and water bled from the earth. It rose in crashing swells and rolled down the street. Before they had a chance to scream, both creatures were swept away by the violent current.
The giant must have raised an invisible wall, because the water stopped short of him and Lia, as though held back by a transparent dam. He lowered his arm, and the flood trickled down to a thin, glistening stream.
“Now where were we?” In a flash he stood in front of her, his head hanging above hers, dropping fast…
Time to act.
Lia withdrew the vial, snapped off the cap with her thumb, and splashed its contents on her attacker’s face. His agonized scream sliced through the air. Smoke sizzled from his skin as blisters rose to cover his cheeks and forehead. He palmed his burning flesh, plunked to his knees.
A horde of people spilled from the library to see what all the commotion was about.
“Looks like a water main broke,” one of them said.
“The street’s a mess.”
They caught sight of the mammoth of a man wriggling at her feet and ran to assist him.
“Don’t—” Lia warned, but it was too late. The instant one of the patrons knelt beside the creature, it gripped him by the collar of his shirt and emptied him. Lia had never seen anything like it. The man atrophied before her eyes. All that remained was a dry shell. If she’d had to estimate the time of death, she would have declared the man dead for months, perhaps years. A collective gasp rose from the crowd, right before everyone scattered.
Lia should’ve run, but she was too riveted by the creature’s miraculous recovery. The moment he ingested the soul, the nasty blisters receded and his skin became as smooth as a baby’s.
With renewed purpose, he stood and rounded on her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jace dove headfirst into the bristly grass. The air blasted from his lungs as a heavy weight immobilized him on the ground. Before he could react, a fist plowed into his ribs. The pain that split his side felt vaguely familiar, as if he’d gotten the daylights pummeled out of him before, more than once. The good news was he was stronger now. Unfortunately, so was whatever had attacked him.
Jace had an advantage, though. He could mold someone’s mind to his will. But first he had to turn around and make eye contact.
The damn thing hissed, rammed Jace’s face in the damp earth. This was going to be harder than he’d thought. He struggled to get free, twisted his body around to no avail.
“What are you?” the creature whispered next to Jace’s ear.
“Funny, I was just about to ask you that question.”
“Whose rule do you follow?”
“My own,” Jace answered honestly.
His attacker’s grip slackened. Jace pounced on the opportunity, prying himself loose and spinning around on his back. The thing that had jumped him looked like an exceptionally big man, but there was nothing human about him. The cold, avaricious sheen in his eyes told Jace he was dealing with a different animal altogether.
Before he could decide exactly what kind of threat he faced, a redhead tore a strip through the trees. She came out of nowhere and buried a long, blood-smeared blade in the creature’s neck. The guy shriveled, his skin blistering as black smoke gushed from his pores. Bright light cleaved the day—an assembly of partially ingested souls. The souls angled toward Jace, attracted by the darkness inside him, but the redhead raised her hand, repelling them.
Kicking the carcass off him, Jace focused his gaze on the woman who’d taken it out. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her. Amber eyes met and held his.
“I’d say thanks,” he quipped, “if I wasn’t lying flat on my back with you standing over me dangling that kickass sword.”
She reached out to assist him, and he noticed she bore the same strange scar on her wrist as Marcus. It came to him then, where he’d seen her before.
She’d been the one at the Watchers’ complex who’d stood by the door staring at him after Cal had ordered everyone to leave.
Ignoring her outstretched hand, he clambered to his feet on his own.
“You’re not very good at accepting help, are you?” Her voice was smooth and lyrical. Something inside him responded to it, as if he’d heard it before, long ago. The feeling was muted, though, a vague recollection of a past that no longer belonged to him.
“I’ve been having some trust issues lately. With good reason.” He gestured to the symbol on her wrist. “You’re a Watcher. Did Cal send you? Are you my bodyguard?”
“Cal doesn’t know I’m here. He’d be pretty pissed if he found out.”
“Then why are you following me?” It was her energy he’d sensed at the house. He recognized it, like he would a familiar song.
“Because I knew sooner or later you’d do something stupid and get yourself killed.”
“So? What’s it to you?”
She didn’t answer. A smile curled her mouth, but the humor failed to reach her eyes.
He indicated the corpse with his toe. “What the hell was this thing? Another one of Athanatos’s hit men?”
The Watcher shook her head. “A Rogue.”
Jace gave her a puzzled stare.
“A Rogue is a Kleptopsych or a Hybrid who’s fallen off the wagon,” she explained. “Judging from his size, I’d say this one’s a pureblood. I wonder where the others are.”
“Others?”
“Rogues usually travel in packs. Sort of like gangs.”
Lia’s fear suddenly struck him like a fist to the gut. He’d been too distracted to notice it before, but now it screamed through him, chilling his blood. “Shit.”
Muttering a string of oaths, he bulleted through the sparse woods toward the library.
The giant wedged Lia between his towering body and the metal husk of the car. She’d expected his breath to be foul, but it was minty as it swept across her mouth. The man-like beast trapped a fistful of her hair in an iron grip. Pain made tears spring from her eyes. With a spine-tingling growl, he yanked her head back. Crimson sunbeams knifed through the clouds to drench her attacker in red light. Right there and then, he did look like a fallen angel…or the devil.
Lia closed her lids. She didn’t want to see her life flash before her, didn’t want to look into those bottomless eyes as he drained her. There was comfort in darkness. Soon she’d belong to it, unless she was right and she truly was immune to the Nephilim’s deadly kiss.
He parted her mouth, sucked the air from her lungs until they ached. His rough lips crushed hers with bruising force, and she gagged from the nauseating taste of mint trickling down her throat. She could feel her lungs shrinking, violently contracting, her ribs fighting not to collapse beneath the assault.
The shimmering energy inside her fought back, expanded to repel him. The creature sucked harder. Lia gagged from lack of oxygen. Panic laced cold fingers beneath her breastbone, swelled until her ribcage could no longer contain it. A blast shook the air, and the beast of a man went catapulting backward. Another fissure formed in the street where he landed.
Undeterred, he stood and plowed toward her again. She would’ve thought her odd display of power would’ve discouraged him. Instead, he seemed more determined than ever to possess what was hers.
Lia succumbed to fear and ran.
She didn’t get far. He caught up to her, rammed her hard into the pavement. Stars flecked her vision when he knocked her head on the ground. Blackness clawed at the edges of her consciousness, threatening to claim her. She battled against it, afraid that if she surrendered to its seductive pull she’d be lost in it forever.
Minty freshness washed over her face again, then the creature’s mouth crushed hers. A sob rose to clog her throat. If this thing succeeded and stole her soul, what would happen to Jace? Would he be consumed by blackness, too?
She thought she was dreaming when she saw him leap from the forest and streak across the street to rip her assailant off her. The two of them went rolling down the wet pavement in a fury of grunts and growls. They clambered to their feet and faced each other, hands fisted, legs spread apart to keep from losing their balance. Lia scrambled to her knees, watched in horror as the enraged hulk took a swing at Jace. Jace averted the blow, flicked open his switchblade and deftly buried it in the creature’s heart. Judging from the position of the handle, he’d most likely punctured the aorta. The beast hollered and bled black smoke, then collapsed onto the glistening road.
Jace disengaged himself from the shrunken remains of her attacker and ran to yank her into his arms. His strength wrapped her in a blanket of warmth, only heightening the weakness snaking through her limbs, and the sob she’d been tamping down broke free.
“Are you okay? What did the bastard do to you?” Fear trembled in his voice.
“I’m fine,” she managed to squeeze out. “He tried— He couldn’t.”
With a sharp sigh, Jace pressed her to him. “Thank God—” Words failed him, so he just held her. Held her so tight, she felt the tremor that coursed through his body.
She clung to him, drawing solace from the comfort he offered, until her heartbeat eased and her tears dried. In Jace’s protective embrace, horror faded and peace settled over her.
“Nice work,” said an unfamiliar female voice.
Lia stiffened, gripping Jace’s biceps in warning.
“It’s okay,” he reassured her. “I think she’s on our side.”
The redhead continued to inspect the creature’s remains. “Best place to stab one of these things is in the neck or heart.” She kicked the cadaver as if testing it. “More likely to stay dead that way.”
“I thought angel’s blood was lethal to them—to us.” Jace pulled Lia to her feet while continuing to anchor her with his body.
“It is. Unless the victim manages to ingest a soul before the poison stops his heart. Then it can go either way.”
Lia studied the stranger. Why did she have the unshakable feeling that she’d seen her before? “I know you.”
“She’s one of Cal’s groupies,” Jace told her. “You must’ve seen her when they were holding you prisoner.”
One corner of the woman’s mouth quirked. “I prefer to think of her as our guest.”
Jace gripped Lia’s wrist, showed the redhead the bruises that still marked her skin. “Is this how you treat your guests?”
The woman shrugged. “An unfortunate necessity. Cal needed to ensure she really was your twin soul. He figured if you two truly were connected, you’d feel her discomfort, maybe even suffer some bruising yourself. You gotta understand, our experience with this sort of thing is limited. She’s the first Diplopsych any of us have come across in ages. Until now we all believed twin souls were extinct.”
Jace shoved Lia behind him, shielding her with his body. “Yeah, well I don’t take too kindly to you using Lia as your guinea pig.”
In the distance, backlit by the setting sun, two shadowy figures lined the horizon. They were big, built like raging bulls, and they quickly approached.
The second they came into the light, Lia recognized them. “Uh, guys, we’ve got a problem.”
Jace and the woman both pivoted to face the oncoming threat.
“It’s them. They were with him.” Lia gestured to the shriveled remains of their leader. “I thought he drowned them.”
“Obviously not,” the redhead muttered, right before she withdrew her sword and vanished.
Like some famous illusionist, she materialized at the edge of the street, where shadows ruled and the creatures’ heavy footsteps pounded the blacktop. With a few fancy moves, she took them both out, while Jace and Lia stood motionless, watching the scene with a sordid sense of fascination.
The redhead gripped the carcasses by their collars and dragged them close to their leader. “Time to take out the trash.” A grin ghosted over her pink lips. “Help me dump them in the sea,” she ordered J
ace. “Can’t just leave them here in plain sight to be discovered.” She walked over to the unfortunate man the giant had drained. “What happened to him?”
“The big guy emptied him.” A tremble coursed through Lia at the memory. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Were there witnesses?”
Lia nodded. “Several.”
The redhead cursed. “That’s the problem with Rogues. They’re so damn conspicuous.” She hooked one of her arms around the corpse and lifted him effortlessly. “Sorry about this,” she told the lifeless man. “Can’t leave any evidence behind.” She selected one of the Rogues and hauled him up as well.
Jace tossed the two remaining bodies over his shoulders and trekked toward the ocean in silence. After a lengthy walk, he aimed a sideways look at the redhead. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?”
“The Watchers. Taught me everything I know.” The woman lugged her own load through the woods, while Lia trailed behind. “I can train you,” she offered. “Just say the word.”
They emerged from the forest to be greeted by a fine carpet of sand. To their left, where the thankfully deserted beach curled toward the sea, jagged rocks formed a low precipice over the water.
“Not if it means joining the Watchers.”
A conspiratorial look swept across the redhead’s face. “They don’t need to know. It’ll be our little secret.” She scaled the small cliff, unloading her burden into the Pacific.
Following her lead, Jace joined her at the top of the bluff and dumped the bodies he carried into the churning mouth of the sea. Lia labored to keep up. She wasn’t as quick or as agile as they were, but eventually she made her way to Jace’s side again.
“You’d do that?” he asked. “Why? What’s in it for you?”
The Watcher shrugged evasively. “I’ve got my reasons. Trust me.”
“Why should I? You haven’t even told me who you are.” In the distance, clouds gathered, gray and smoky as the sea raged below. Wave after wave collapsed onto the shore, frothing at the tips. Her gaze riveted on his face, the woman extended her hand. “The name’s Regan.”
