House of Slide Hybrid

by Juliann Whicker

  Lewis pulled blankets around me, tucking me in with gentleness that belied the trembling in his hands.

  “Do I get to keep the ring?” I asked as I fought back the exhaustion.

  “Forever,” he whispered as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  After a long night of tossing and turning, I woke up to light streaming through the open front door, pooling on the floor like gold on the cream stone and the dark wood. It was such a strange house with the stone lattice around the bed and the dining table, pieced together with odds and ends, but it felt like me.

  I pushed up from the bed, standing on shaky legs, then took my first real, alone steps, a whole two of them before I crumpled onto the floor. I stayed there for a moment, fighting to breathe then crawled over to the stairs. I wore an oversize light blue pinstripe button down shirt, and the long tails kept tripping me, but at least I wasn’t naked. I forced myself to stop thinking about clothes and who had dressed me as I struggled up each impossible step.

  At the top of the stairs I lay there, breathing, trying to make my lungs work when they wanted to shut down. I pushed open the door, letting in the sunshine and the top of the cliff. I sat there, in the doorway until I was rested enough that I could force myself to stand. Once on my feet I moved quickly so it was five steps before my legs went out, far enough that I could look over the cliff edge and see some of the woods below.

  I sat, hunched over my knees as I took in the black branches stretching up to the sky, trees that looked dead and empty, but in the distance I could see green leaves tossing in the breeze like waves, beautiful mottled life that was out of reach, beyond the dead aching of the woods around me. I’d done this? I reached my hand up, smoothing down my skull and over the runes. I stared motionless at the life I’d stunted. I had to get the walls up. I had to keep the walls up. I had to…I had no idea. I did this, so I had to fix it, but how could I fix something that I had no idea how I’d messed up?

  I ran a shaky hand over my scalp once more, shivering as the sensation of touch passed through the metal runes down to bone. Before I had runes, before I had Lewis’s mists, I’d been dangerous, blowing things up, masking people in shadows, but now… I could kill someone. I could destroy someone’s mind on accident. I had no idea what else I could do, none. But then again, if I could do this—keep the trees from waking, what else could I do?

  I sat up a little bit straighter, biting my lip as my hand traced the runes at the base of my skull. I could protect him. I really had the raw power, but without training, I was a danger to everyone, particularly Lewis. There was only one thing to do.

  I lay on my back, staring into the sky, organizing my thoughts into nice symmetrical rows while I plotted as due my Wild heritage. I didn’t move as I heard the footsteps pounding against the stone as Lewis hurried to me. I felt his worry, the intensity of his relief as he came out and saw me safe, even if I looked like a corpse.

  “Hey,” he said quietly as he came into sight. I looked up at him, the shadows of his face as he stepped between me and the sun. I saw his smile, but there was worry in his eyes.

  I gave my own smile as I looked up, feeling almost okay from my time spent outside, in the sun, wind and sky. “I’m fine,” I said quietly, reaching for his hand.

  The feel of his skin against mine, smooth, a little bit warmer than me, was better than the sun even attached to the bond ache. He dropped on his knees beside me, pressing his lips to the back of my hand. The sunshine brought out the fire in his hair, blown lazily by the wind across his cheek. I brushed the hair away from his face, feeling a calm that radiated from my soul.

  “You’re different,” he whispered, forgetting to smile as he studied my face.

  “Where is a knife? It’s time to finish this.”

  Chapter 23

  He stared at me, his eyes holding a world of emotion that I could barely scratch the surface of.

  “In the sun shine. I need to be out here while we complete the bond. I don’t want to do it in the dark. Do you have the knife?”

  He slowly took out a blade, the nondescript one from the first time he’d slit his arm open. I held my hand out, but he took his time giving it to me.

  “Are you certain?”

  “Oh, I’m sure.” I ignored the gnawing at the base of my skull, the demons that struggled feebly against the sunshine. “If you died before we became bound, I’d become a monster like my mother.”

  He frowned. “No. Your soul is not hers. Your choices are your own.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “It’s a disease, Lewis. People don’t choose voices in their heads.”

  He smiled as he took a step towards me, allowing the weight of the knife to fill my palm.

  “You forgive me for not allowing you to die?”

  I felt a moment of pain, memories of torment that I shoved down. “I did the same to Grim and would do the same to you. You saved my life. Life is beautiful and precious. It’s to be lived and enjoyed as much as possible. Anyway, I couldn’t die because of my tattoos. Who knows how long I would have stayed there not dead. What if the demon mistress had dragged me off and brought me back to life in some way I do not want to even consider? You’ve saved me repeatedly from death and life without a soul. I’m sorry that I haven’t been grateful. The darkness feeds the demons. The fear and pain don’t help either.” I gripped the handle until it felt comfortable. “Where should I cut you?”

  He sighed and wrapped his hand around mine. “It kills me to mar your flesh,” he whispered as he twitched the blade, slicing the skin from my elbow to wrist, the only limb I’d had that wasn’t scarred from the wreck. I swallowed down horror but didn’t have time for anything else because the smell of his blood filled the air, overpowering and heady before he pressed his arm against mine, identical cuts allowing our blood to mingle without any consumption.

  I blinked as the bond roared in my throat and the world filled with a rosy haze. When he cut his shoulder to neck, I leaned forward, ignoring the demons screams as I drowned in his blood.

  The air split around us, shivering and flowing as lines of energy wrapped around us, lines I hadn’t been able to see while the demons flowed through my veins. His soul flared to life in my arms, bleeding into mine as we dissolved and became one.

  The burning began.

  I would have pulled away from him, but our arms seemed fused together. He was a blood worker. I had no idea what he was doing. What if he was killing me? What if this had been his plan all along, that I’d fallen for because he was so beautiful and perfect, and evil?

  I forced myself to drink his blood while the demons snarled, whispered, screamed until I felt the piercing of my own shoulder, a cut through a badly healing scab before Lewis took my blood.

  We sank to the ground, the demons disappearing while my body trembled in ecstasy from so much Nether blood. The rapture of it swept me away from all pain, fear, and darkness until I felt untouchable.

  The trees began to sink, a song of life and joy that twined around us, wrapping us in their lives, their energy. Our hearts beat in time to that song, a song of life and love, happiness and unending bliss.

  When I’d drunk my fill and pulled away for a breath, he kissed me fiercely. His hand slid up my leg, over my hip and to my waist beneath the shirt that probably belonged to him.

  “Tell me to be gentle,” he whispered as he pulled me against him.

  I wrapped my arms around him, glad that he could forget about my delicate health and bald head.

  “I love you, Lewis,” I whispered against his ear, tasting his lips, blood and skin.

  He burrowed his head into my shoulder, inhaling deeply. “It’s more than I deserve.”

  “It seems like you’ve paid for it in blood,” I whispered, licking his shoulder where his blood still oozed. “Are you all right?” I asked, realizing what I’d just done and pulled away. He stopped me, holding my face to his shoulder while he sank to the ground until I lay on top of him.

  “Drink me
dry,” he whispered against my ear. “My blood is your blood, your blood is mine. My life belongs to you, my breath, my knives.”

  “Your paintbrushes,” I whispered back with a giddy smile, feeling a wave of euphoria that had everything to do with Lewis.

  He smoothed my head, sending sparks shooting down my spine alone the elaborate net of metal he’d embroidered into me.

  “My garage,” he added.

  “And you can have my Axel painting. It’s very valuable.”

  “Ah, that’s why I wanted you, for your painting,” he growled, nuzzling my still bloody shoulder.

  I gasped as I smoothed his hair, curling around him, our hands still clasped, arms aligned as though wrapped in iron.

  “Are we bound?” I asked, feeling a vague concern eating on the edge of so much contentment.

  He sighed and stopped kissing my neck.

  “I feel your fear. I feel you love. It’s almost like having your soul again,” he murmured.

  “You feel me? Like leaning?”

  He laughed, a low horribly wonderful sound that sent shivers over my whole body. “Like being bound. One flesh, one soul, two parts made whole. I’m emotionally vulnerable to you. You can feel my deepest emotions.”

  I swallowed as I searched my feelings. I just felt so incredibly good! But there was something, fear that hovered around the edges, eating away at the contentment.

  I searched his beautiful hazel eyes. “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m afraid that I’ll hurt you,” he said in a quiet voice. “Worst of all is the fear that I won’t be in control, that I’ll act without conscience and those around me will suffer. Do you know where my paintings are?”

  I frowned, puzzled by the shift of conversation. “My Axel is in my room.”

  “The other ones,” he said, brushing my cheek gently with his fingers. “Slide took care of them, but I’m concerned that they won’t be protected. They are dangerous.”

  I smiled a little bit. “So am I. After I’m trained, after we find out what is going on with the demons and take out the demon mistress, we’ll go get your paintings. Then we can retire while we live in a lighthouse.”

  “A lighthouse?” he asked with a smile. “I’ve heard they’re usually drafty. I guess we’ll have to take care of that.”

  He pressed a kiss to my neck, sending a shock wave through the rest of me.

  Eventually we made our way down to the room, the bed beckoning powerfully to me. I felt a wave of uncertainty. My children would be vulnerable to taint? I shook off the thought.

  “I love you,” I said, sliding my hands around his shoulders before I kissed him. He didn’t kiss me back as carelessly as he had outside. I pulled back frowning.

  “What is it?”

  He smiled, his soft mouth brushing my shoulder. “You’re still injured. I’m trying not to cause more damage than I need to. You’re very delicate.”

  “Have you been to Louisiana?” I asked trying to focus while his breath sent shivers across my skin.

  I saw a bright flare of silver flame, not in his eyes, but in his soul at the same time I heard his quick inhale while his arm tightened around me. “What’s in Louisiana,” Lewis asked, but I felt his fear.

  “Besides mosquitos, humidity, alligators…” Aiden added from the shadows.

  I pulled back and took a deep breath before I put my arm back around Lewis’s waist. I stared at Aiden, daring him to disapprove of me. He looked grumpy as he looked up from the table where he’d been bandaging his arm.

  “What happened to you?” I demanded, stepping away from Lewis, only Lewis came with me when I staggered.

  “Had a little run in with a group of grouchy Hybrids and demons. That energy you were putting off was like a beacon, drawing anyone who could read soul. It’s good that you fixed the trees, I guess,” he grumbled.

  “Where are they?” Lewis demanded, suddenly strong and hard as he gripped my waist a little tighter.

  “West and North are closing in fast. The other directions are a little less crowded.”

  South and East. South. I nodded as I gripped Lewis’s arm. “Louisiana. I’m going to Carve for answers.”

  “He was your trainer. What makes you think he’s going to open up?” Lewis asked.

  I took his knife out of his sheath, hefting it carefully. “Either he opens up or I open him up. I can’t live my life without knowing who I am and what Devlin wanted,” I said quietly as I let Lewis take back his knife.

  “Bold plan. I always liked alligators,” Aiden said with a crazy grin.

  I shook my head. “No. I want you to draw them off to the East while we escape to the south on Pisces.” I licked my lips and glanced up at Lewis. “If you think he’d let me ride him.”

  Lewis tried to hide his surprise before he nodded. “I think that Pisces wouldn’t eat you, but Carve? I understand that you need answers, but you’re not capable of taking him on, not in your condition, and sadly, neither am I. We need to get you somewhere safe, somewhere that you can recover and I won’t have to protect you.”

  I lifted my chin. “Demons attacked Sanders, kidnapped me from there. No one expects me to go to my Trainer’s House. I have this feeling. Like, if I do go back to Sanders, she’ll destroy it to get to me. If I’m not there, she won’t hurt my friends and family.”

  “Good plan,” Aiden said, nodding.

  His agreement made me hesitate. What were the odds that a plan I made would turn out well? I bit my lip as I wrapped my arms around Lewis’s neck.

  “Tell me. Is this a stupid idea? If it is, we’ll do something else. I’ve made some irrational choices in my short time with a soul.”

  Lewis sighed as he bent his head and kissed me, soft, delicate kisses that barely brushed my lips.

  “Carve is powerful enough to protect you. No one and nothing can get through his jungle without his permission. He knew your mother. He knows more about the darkness than most others. It makes sense, if you trust him. Do you?”

  I looked into my soul mate’s eyes, soft, warm, worried.

  I nodded.

  Lewis wrapped his arms around me, leaning his forehead against mine. “We’ll go south. Aiden will go towards Sanders to throw off those who hunt us. We should go now.”

  I nodded although I could barely stay upright.

  I knew I had to leave, but I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t even walk up stairs without help. How was I supposed to make it to Matthew’s House? Lewis held me tight and I let his strength flow into me, strength that I would protect with all of my heart.

  His mouth was on mine before I could say another word, his heart beating against me while our souls touched. It was a brief taste of him, a shock that drowned out everything else, everything in that bright moment when we were one.

  Too soon he was away from me, staring at me with that look, the utter devotion that had convinced me he loved me at my party.

  “You love me,” I whispered.

  He smiled, kind of a sad smile. “I’ve never been good at keeping that a secret. It’s been a long time since I considered any possibility other than belonging to you for the rest of my life. I have to warn you, Dari,” he said, tugging on my hand to get my attention. He was very serious. “I’m not going to live forever. I’ve lived longer than I ever expected to live.”

  A piercing scream shattered the moment. Lewis shook himself, and I found myself wiping my eyes with my fingers. When had I been crying? It didn’t matter though, and it didn’t matter that my finger burned.

  It mattered when Lewis took my hand, when we stepped out of the house towards our future.

  *

  First of all, thanks goes out to you, my readers. Thank you for reading, sharing and reviewing my books. I'm so grateful for all that you do for all the indie readers out there.

  I would like to thank all those who helped me create House of Slide: Hybrid. This book seemed a little lonelier in its development, but Angie and Jamie still hung around waiting for Lewis. Thank
s so much for your continued support. Jamie, without your editing expertise the commas would be twice as bewildering. Thanks to Hannah in this new edition for her helpful input.

  My sweet husband, John, you're my hero and the best live-in editor/formatter I could hope for. Thanks for reading what I write and liking it.

  To my God who makes all things possible.

  Juliann was born and raised in South Central Utah-the desert-and currently lives in the beautiful city of St. Louis. She studied, among more than a few other things, Creative Writing and Fine Art at the University of Utah. She also enjoys gardening, sewing, painting, fabric sculpture, and whatever else shiny crafty you can think of.

  Hang out with her online:

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  Read on for a look at Watergirl, Juliann Whicker's modern mermaid fairytale.

  It started like so many of my dreams, underwater. Everyone moved slowly through the halls of school, shadows of blue and green shading faces of people I knew so they looked different, special. I didn’t notice the water we all moved through, didn’t think anything about it until someone dropped a notebook and the papers fell up, spreading around me like a whirlpool had caught them. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t breathe. I batted the papers away from me when they clung to my face and arms, covering my nose and mouth as though the water wasn’t enough.

  When I gasped myself awake in my bed, still tangled in my daisy printed sheet and my night-shirt while I struggled to breathe, I counted to ten then started over when my heart wouldn’t stop pounding, lungs straining to catch any oxygen they could. I didn’t have asthma, nothing except a not entirely irrational fear of water and drowning.

  It sucked that the nightmare woke me up so early on one of the last few mornings that I could sleep in before school started. Summer was winding down, but it didn’t act like it with record highs hitting our small town in rural Ohio, damp heat competing with the rattling air conditioner that tried so hard to pump the cold upstairs where we slept.