by KC Bellinger
“Whit, please don’t go. I’m sorry.” He reached for my arm but missed. “I’m really sorry.”
In the past, when we’d fought, I’d never hesitated to run back into his waiting arms. Not this time.
I looked back at him, my friend, my first love, and I knew it was the last intimate moment we would ever share. “Goodbye, Jaiten. It’s over.”
“No,” his voice trembled. “Don’t tell me there’s no hope for us.”
I’d never heard him cry before, but when I started the engine of the car, I heard an ear-piercing scream being washed out to sea.
Chapter 13
I knew Rhys would send somebody but I didn’t expect it to be her. She had one stiletto propped against the wall of the cathedral grounds. Her tight leather pants glistened in the full moon. Nothing much had changed since I first saw her except her lips, eyes, and hair were now painted a violent velvet blue. She had a knife in her back pocket. I couldn’t see it; I just knew it was there. I’d had the cloak on for hours now and I felt if I took it off, I’d feel naked. Not to mention vulnerable. Things had become clearer to me wearing the relic.
It didn’t hurt so badly, leaving Jaiten. I wondered if I hadn’t had it on if I would have had the strength to leave him. I didn’t know. I knew it was dangerous to wear it too long, so as soon as I finished my inevitable conversation with Arwyn I’d take it off. I had a long day ahead of me searching the catacombs in the morning and I was welcoming the sleepy sensation tugging at my eyes.
“Walk with me,” Arwyn called, passing me by. She slithered a finger over her shoulder, beckoning me to obey her.
I followed the tapping of her feet into a dark meadow deep in the campus grounds. I thought for sure her pencil-thin heels would sink in the soft grass but they didn’t.
“I’ve been watching you.”
“Yeah. Did you see anything you like?” I taunted her.
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Arwyn curved her upper lip into a flirtatious sneer. “Your demon is quite the looker.”
“You can have him.”
“I know, and I will,” she said, fluffing her hair. She seemed to study her reflection in a puddle with only the moon for light.
“So, what brings you here, Arwyn?” I crossed my arms defensively. Even though I was done with Jaiten, thinking of him with someone else was unbearable.
Arwyn walked toward me and drew the switchblade knife from her pocket. She flipped it open and the silver shined from a recent sharpening. Bringing the tip of the blade to my neck, she flipped my hair off my shoulder and traced the fresh mark from Jaiten. “This needs to be removed.”
I couldn’t have agreed more, but I wasn’t excited about the pain, let alone being cut by her. “I know. Did Rhys send you?” my voice rose and my face reddened.
Arwyn stepped back and studied my face. She was a pretty girl under the layers of makeup and dye. “His name rolls off your tongue.”
“What’s with the two of you anyway?” I probably shouldn’t have asked, but I needed to know.
“Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” she purred. ”But since I am here to help you—you and only you. Know he is not mine.”
“Then why are you helping me?” A surge of relief ran through me and I knew I was blushing.
“Humph,” she grunted. “He protects what is mine and I must return the favor.”
“But aren’t you just a demon?”
“A demon?” she squealed. “No, that I am not!” Arwyn threw her arms high above her head and then her body followed. We were standing in a cluster of aspen trees, and Arwyn jumped up to one of the highest branches. She balanced on the point of her black patin toes as the branch bent in protest. She reached over and snapped a smaller branch off the trunk then hurled it at me.
Catching the stick in one quick swipe, I asked, “What’s this for?”
“So it doesn’t hurt so badly.” Arwyn arched her back like a bored cat. “So I don’t have to hear you scream.”
“Oh.” The stick was perfectly round, thick enough to bite into without cracking.
Arwyn scratched her long nails into the tree then pulled a few blue strands of hair from her head and hung them on the splintered wood.
“What are you doing?”
“Marking my territory.” She snickered.
“What are you? A shapeshifter?” I’d read about them in a comic book. Could they really exist? She had feline tendencies …
“If that’s what you want to call me.” She leaped out of the tree and landed beside me with unbelievable grace. “Are you ready?”
I shrugged.
“Take the cloak off first.”
“No. The cloak stays on!” I refused her subtle gesture to hold it.
“Suit yourself, but I’m telling you, your blood will be on it. And just because those demons can’t smell you now—just wait,” she said, playing with the blade.
“Fine, but I’m holding it.” I pulled off the cloak and my stomach wrenched forward. If there was anything in my stomach, it would have been all over Arwyn’s shoes. Luckily for her, I couldn’t remember the last time I ate.
“Did he not warn you about the cloak?” Arwyn looked concerned.
“Yes, he did.” I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just get this over with, okay.” I pulled my hair away, exposing my neck.
“Hey, look,” Arwyn rubbed my shaky shoulder. I didn’t even realize I was trembling. “It’ll be quick, okay?”
I nodded. She placed the stick in my mouth like a retrieving dog, I bit hard in anticipation. The sharp penetration of metal to skin hurt like hell, but she tore at the flesh hard and fast and was done quicker than I imagined. She fished out a small thread and needle then stitched the gash closed. Where did she find room in those pockets to hold anything? She took the gauze that held her sewing kit together and taped it to the wound.
“Thank you.” I put the cloak back on. It had become a safety blanket for me, and the nausea and shaking stopped almost immediately.
“Really, girl, you need to hang up that cloak for a few days. You are slowly becoming a junky.”
“Tomorrow,” I promised. “I’ll be in the confines of the cathedral all day. I won’t have to wear it to be safe.”
“Good. I would hate Sabarhys to get angry with me because I didn’t warn you,” she paused. “Again.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Your angel, The Protector?” Arwyn kept looking at me. “Oh, I see. He didn’t tell you his real name. He’s afraid you’d still want to run back to your demon.” Arwyn played with the blade of the knife. “Can’t say I blame him. Jaiten is hot. I’d go back to that any day.”
“What are you talking about? The Protector told me his name.” Well ... not his full name. I looked at her quizzically.
She dangled the freshly sliced flesh from the tip of the knife.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“Dispose of it.” She brought the bloody epidermis to her lips.
“What are you thinking?” I gagged at the thought of her devouring my flesh. “Are you going to eat it?” I shook my head when she grinned.
“Well, then, down the hatch,” she said as she swallowed it like an oyster.
“That’s wrong.”
“No, what’s wrong is that you fell in love with a demon.” She licked her lips. “Sabarhys is safe with his secrets, and I can tell I can trust you.”
“You got all that from my flesh?”
“Whatever gets under your skin, I can taste.” She grinned. Her eyes turned from crimson to an amazing shade of milk chocolate then melted into a brilliantly bright green. Her pupils were slits and the structure of her eyes became almond-shaped. She looked like a cat, a dangerous one, but a feline nonetheless.
“Where did you come from?” I asked rudely.
“I escaped when all Hell broke loose.” She cackled, then disappeared.
Chapter 14
I expected the sour taste every time I gagged. I even expected the ch
ills to rattle my teeth and every hair on my body to ache. The thing I couldn’t possibly imagine was the pincushion my heart had become. Thousands of tiny needles scuttled around my chest, reminding me exactly what I gave away. My body was detoxifying from the cloak but nothing was going to heal my broken heart.
It stared at me from the closet. The smooth fur beckoning me, the promises of a healing warmth radiated through my mind. I was so cold; the fire died before I left earlier with Jaiten, and I didn’t have the energy to make a new one.
The thought of him launched me to the floor and bile flowed out of my mouth into my wash pan. I tried to think of Rhys, but the voices in my head erased his face from my memory, and any time my mind tried to search for him it stumbled over Jaiten. Again, my stomach twisted and heaved bile that burned up my throat. It was the cloak—it had found my weakness and painted my thoughts with his boyish charm and adorable dimples.
I crawled to the closet and yanked the cloak down. It fell to the floor like discarded lingerie, so light and pretty. I couldn’t believe I ever took it off. I slid my hand over the velvet coat and, for the first time in hours, I could breathe and swallow without wanting to vomit. I wouldn’t put it on, but I needed to touch it. My eyes grew heavy and the pain wavered, leaving me hollow but functional. I threw the cloak on the bed and tucked it in between me and the wall. I curled up against it and a sleeve draped over my shoulder stroked me into a peaceful slumber.
***
“Whitney?”
I opened my eyes to face two well-worn running shoes.
”Oh my God. Are you okay?”
Yeah, I feel great, I said to myself, but why am I talking to a pair of shoes?
“Whitney, wake up!”
Something shook me violently by the shoulder. I couldn’t see past the shoes or the hood of the cloak. Shit. I must have put the cloak back on sometime in the early morning hours.
I lifted my head and stared down at the wooden floor. I was wrapped in the cloak and very little else. Two hands slipped under my arms till I was standing, but as soon as they dropped, I fell. Lucky for me the bed caught my limp body.
“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to drop you.”
The hood fell off my head, and then a blurry Justin was leaning over me, offering me his hand. I couldn’t reach for him—the cloak had me pinned inside of it.
“Justin.” I gulped, words were difficult and I couldn’t even hear myself. “Please help me.” I felt the bed shiver beneath me and I knew he was leaning in closer so he could hear. “Take off the cloak,” I whispered slowly.
“Are you sure? I don’t know if you are wearing anything underneath it.”
I pleaded with my eyes because my voice had abandoned me.
With care, he eased my arms out of the sleeves, and it felt like he was ripping the flesh from my bones. I cringed but no sound escaped my lips. He untied the laced hood and flipped me over, tugging the cloak from my unwilling body. I heard it fall to the floor with an angry thump. I started to shake wildly and every pore in my body opened and drained hot drops of sweat.
“I’ll go get somebody,” Justin said.
His hand grazed mine and I latched tightly to his wrist.
“No.” My teeth were chattering so loudly I didn’t think he could hear me. “Don’t go.”
He reached over and pulled the quilt up to cover my mostly naked body.
“No, it hurts and it’s too hot.”
“What can I do?” He freed his hand from mine and stroked my back lovingly. The coolness of his skin felt good and took away the sting.
“Hold me, you’re so cold.”
He laid next to me and held me close. His clothes were rough but I could feel the coolness lowering my fever. I pressed my cheek next to his and sighed.
“Better?” he asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“We are going to be in deep shit if someone catches us like this.” He grinned.
I looked down at my body cradled beneath his and all I had on was a pair of underwear.
“I’m sorry you have to see me this way.”
Justin didn’t reply and I was betting he wasn’t sorry, now that I wasn’t draining fluid all over him.
His face reddened. “Believe it or not, this wasn’t what I had in mind for us today.” He got up and turned around, holding the quilt behind his back so I could cover myself.
I took it and shuddered. He was back on the bed after a small cry escaped my mouth. The sweating started again, so he placed both hands on my face.
“You know you have a fever; I should go get someone.”
Justin blew the hair from his face since his hands were occupied with me. “Do you have the flu?”
“No, I have an addiction I’m trying to fight off.”
Justin’s posture dropped but his hands stayed fixed on my cheeks.
“Don’t worry I will never put that damn thing on again.”
“The cloak? You are addicted to a cloak?” disbelief filled his voice.
“Yes, it’s a long story and one I will share with you if you do me a favor.”
“Anything. What can I do for you?”
“I need to get into the catacombs today. I heard there are tunnels under the church. There is something I must find.” I thought about asking Father Bucheli but it would probably seem more natural if two kids were caught in the tunnels instead of a priest and a teenaged girl.
“I know them well.” He regained his posture and slid his hands from my face. I had stopped shaking. “Are you okay if I’m not touching you?”
“I think so, but maybe don’t go quite yet.”
He nodded and scooted further onto the bed. He propped himself against the wall and pulled me near. If someone were to walk in with me all bundled in the quilt it wouldn’t look suspicious.
“My sister and I used to sneak down there when we were kids. There are all kinds of passageways that lead to nowhere, and some go out to the ocean. What are you looking for down there?”
“It really is a long story, but I promise I will tell you. I guess you can say your sister was right about our family being different.” I studied his face, but he didn’t seem shocked. “We are not witches but something along those lines. We are here to help, not hurt, the human race.”
“You aren’t human?” He chuckled.
“Do I feel human?” I asked and took his hand.
Justin blushed and I realized that probably wasn’t the question I should have asked.
“Yes, I am, but there is more to me than flesh and blood.”
“I know, Julia told me you would change my life.”
“She did, huh?” I tried to search for his eyes but he had purposefully concealed them. “I hope I don’t hurt you or worse.”
“I don’t think you can.” He smiled, squeezing my hand.
Bells rang, alerting us there was a gathering inside the church. A faint sound of the choir vibrated through the walls.
“You came to get me for mass, didn’t you?”
“Yes, and now it looks like we’re going to be late. Do you feel okay to go?”
“You go on; I think I’ll rest up a bit. Can we go this afternoon; say around lunch?”
Justin stood and fluffed my flat pillow. “Get some sleep and I’ll be back with food and then, if you are up to it, we can go. This is my afternoon off and I’d love to spend it with you.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek; his lips felt warm. “Looks like we broke that fever of yours.” He kicked the cloak under the bed. “I’ll check on you after mass.”
***
I woke with a nagging feeling deep in my chest. The pain of losing Jaiten was gone and I was bone dry from sweating. The only discomfort I had was the dull ache in my head from dehydration. I peered out the window, it appeared the church was now empty. I must have slept longer than I expected. Justin would be returning soon.
I got up and dressed, washed my face, and packed the cloak into the backpack I brought for school. I no longer desired it, but there w
as still something pulling at me. I was forgetting something. Retrieving the books from the top shelf triggered my memory of Rhys asking me to place a protective ward on the church. Was that only last night?
I flipped through the ancient artifact, skimming over Dustyn’s incantation to bind a demon to the earth. I knew it by heart—she’d made me recite it on a weekly basis. There were other spells, but none so powerful or as important to her. I came across one she’d used to protect the house from uninvited demons. It was an easy spell and one that only needed a few words and a lit candle.
Behind the cabin, I performed the ward and buried the wick in the ground. The anxiety I had subsided but I’d need to do a more complex spell later.
“Are you ready?” Justin called, pushing the cabin door open.
I was packing a canteen of water and a few candles alongside the cloak. “Don’t you knock anymore?” I taunted him.
“I don’t think you can show me something I haven’t seen,” he teased, stepping into the cabin and shutting it behind him.
“You, my friend, have no idea.”
We both laughed.
“You seem to be feeling better. When I checked on you after church you were sleeping soundly. Did you know you talk in your sleep?”
“I do not!” I smacked him playfully on the arm.
“Believe what you want to,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“What did I say?”
Justin didn’t answer but his face flushed and I could only imagine what he heard. But it wasn’t him I was dreaming about. I had a faint recollection of black eyes and a sultry voice enticing me to sleep longer.
“Yum, something smells great. What did you bring?”
We talked over fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I filled him in on what was happening with me.
“So, let me get this straight. You are being hunted by a demon clan and the Strongs are the leaders?”
