by Trina M. Lee
With black wings flared wide to block our access to the lobby, Koda shook his head and held out a hand. “I know you have the throwing star, Spike. I need you to give it to me.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I looked the demon right in the eye and lied. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I watched you take it from Nova.” Koda sounded dreadfully calm.
“You’ve been following me?” My mind raced. Had he been on my tail all night? “Are you the one who crashed Jett’s car?”
He lifted a dark brow in confusion. “What? No, of course not. I would never do that. I stayed at the Black Market after you left, until about two minutes ago.”
“You fucking liar,” Arrow accused, stepping closer to me on one side. Rowen mirrored him on the other. “You can’t have Spike for yourself, so you were all too happy to take her out like Dash told you to.”
Koda’s gaze flashed with fury, brightening with the surge of emotion. “Dash handles his business his way. He knows I would never be part of something like that, which is why I didn’t even know about it.”
“Bullshit,” Arrow muttered for no other reason that to piss the demon off further.
Dismissing Arrow with a glare, Koda reached toward me. “Your death is something I would never be part of. Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. It’s the truth.”
“Go away, Koda.” Worn out and annoyed, I tried to shove by him, slapping his reaching arm aside.
With one of those huge wings he pushed me back. “Give me the star and I’ll leave. This doesn’t have to end badly.”
Koda and Cinder had recently come to blows. There was no way in hell I was giving Koda something that would weaken Cinder.
“You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands,” I said, feeling neither brave nor confident, just fed up.
Koda’s expression went through several changes in a matter of seconds: irritation to sullen discouragement to outrage. “As you wish.” With a flick of his wrist, he sent Rowen and Arrow flying. Then he lunged at me.
As I threw my hands up, he crashed into me. A fireball exploded in his face, and he gave an angry shriek before throwing himself back, too late, in an attempt to retreat.
I stumbled and landed on the sidewalk hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. Knowing Koda’s manic bipolar mood swings were unpredictable, I forced myself to get up.
With a frustrated cry I launched several fireballs in a row, each one smaller than the last as my energy waned. I’d burned pretty much all I had in the fight with Nova. The bounce back time was much longer for us half-human types.
The first two attacks pushed Koda back. The last two were frozen as he hit them with ice, causing them to shatter on impact against the frozen concrete.
Bent over with my hands on my knees, panting from overexertion, I watched as the brothers came at the demon. Shadows snaked around Koda’s limbs, binding him like shackles. A blast of light from Rowen in the center of his chest had him seizing in pain as he fought the shadowed restraints.
“Spike, go,” Rowen shouted. “Get inside.”
It took a few seconds for my body to catch up with my brain as it tried to listen to him. Though I was reluctant to leave them, they could handle themselves. After retrieving my keys from where they’d fallen on the sidewalk, I bolted for the door.
My first attempt at jamming the main door key in the lock resulted in me having the key upside down. “Shit,” I hissed, turning the key around.
I made it inside and onto the stairs in two strides, but I only made it halfway up before Koda appeared at the top. With a racket behind me, the guys caught the door before it closed and scrambled inside.
“You know you can’t win this fight,” Koda said, staring down at me from the top stair. “You’re just too damn tired. Your aura is weak. Give up. I’d rather not hurt you.”
“I’m not tired,” Arrow piped up with a crack of his knuckles. “And I’m pretty sure you’re cool with hurting me.”
Koda spared him a glower that could melt glass. “Much to the horror of your ego, Arrow, I don’t really give a rat’s ass about you either way. You’re just another of Dash’s whipping boys. But if you want a beat down to satisfy your need for atonement, I’ll be happy to oblige.”
A strange energy descended, making the atmosphere heavy with contempt. Koda and Arrow might be part of the same demon coven, but that didn’t make them family or even friends. It barely made them allies. Demons formed attachments out of necessity, but they could never trust one another. I was pretty sure, for the most part, they didn’t even like one another. There was certainly no love lost between Koda and Arrow.
“You won’t lay a beating on me though, will you?” The words cut through the demonic haze. Climbing the stairs, gaze level on the demon, Rowen issued the challenge with a smooth delivery. “Because Dash would be pissed if you inadvertently kill me. And for some reason, you guys need me.”
I recalled what Koda had said about Dash and him, their desire to replace Rhine in their evil triad. Rowen was probably right in that Koda wouldn’t kill him, but pain and suffering remained a definite possibility.
Koda watched the advancing nephilim with disdain. He wasn’t easily bullied. Not by Dash, so sure as hell not by a nephilim.
“Actually, Dash needs you. I don’t share his enthusiasm for Rhine’s second son.” Raising a hand, Koda hit both brothers with an energy shot that threw them down the stairs.
His words left me confused. As part of the triad, wouldn’t Koda also want to fill the missing link? He didn’t give me a chance to ask.
Koda moved fast. In a blink he lurched behind me, an arm around my neck and a blade to my throat. He jerked me back against the stair railing and lowered his mouth to my ear. “I really don’t want to do this,” he said. “You give me no choice. I want that star.”
“Then why didn’t you take it from Nova yourself?” I spat back.
“I didn’t even know he had it until I followed you tonight. Now all I have to do is take it from you.” The blade bit deeper into my skin as Koda turned me to face the guys. “Try anything and Spike bleeds. Got it?”
Rowen stayed back, hands up in surrender. Arrow shifted his weight from foot to foot, like he was sizing up the situation, preparing to make a move. Rowen watched his brother, ready to pounce if he did anything that would result in Koda slicing my throat.
“You won’t do it.” Arrow shook his head and took a step forward. “You love her in some fucked up way. You’re not going to kill her, and really, over a friggin’ throwing star? Get real.”
Sassing the demon who held a Hell-forged blade to my throat was not smart. However, Arrow himself typically acted first and thought eventually, if at all. Rowen elbowed him in the ribs, but Arrow slipped out of reach.
“Says the dark nephilim who came to her aid back at the Black Market.” Koda’s laugh rumbled in his chest behind my head. “Is it really because she’s your brother’s girl, or is there a little more to it?”
Demon games. Koda sought to create a crack in the solid foundation of the brothers’ bond. It wouldn’t work. Not for a moment would I suspect Arrow felt anything more for me than alternating irritation and reluctant friendship.
The skepticism on Rowen’s face said he didn’t believe it either. “Let her go, Koda. Fight me. If you can kick my ass, we’ll give you the star.”
“Why would I bother with that when I can just take it?” Koda’s grip tightened. Between clenched teeth he said, “Hand it over, Spike. Nice and slow. I’ll give you to the count of three.”
My first recovery mission couldn’t end in failure. I’d fought Nova so hard, given it all I had. Only to have Koda steal my prize? Discouraging, to say the least.
What could I do? Was I willing to die for this throwing star?
When the first trickle of blood slid down my neck, I knew I had no choice. Slowly I reached for my purse. Feeling like a screw up, I slipped my hand inside and fumbled for my wallet.
“No, Spike, don’t give it to him.” Arrow’s encouragement was lost amid the noise of my inner voice that screamed at me to do anything it took to survive.
Rowen stood stiff, looking as lost and helpless as I felt. Was this what it meant to be light? To stand in the face of darkness and cower? No, there had to be more than that. We were the good guys.
Just as my hand closed on my wallet, in the moment when I accepted defeat, a bright, blinding light filled the lobby. Cinder appeared one step above us. He grabbed Koda’s knife hand and wrenched it away from me in a swift move that resulted in an audible pop followed by a pained grunt.
Cinder didn’t stop there. He jerked on that arm twisted behind Koda’s back, using it to haul him off his feet. Slamming the demon into the stairs, Cinder recited something in that old language of angels and demons. It must have been a prayer or benediction of sorts because it had Koda shrieking. Smoke rose up from his body as he struggled against the angel.
Gripping the railing I ascended the steps backward, my gaze locked on the two of them. Cinder in action, something I seldom saw, left me awestruck. Even limited as he was in a public place and in a human form, he gave Koda a holy beat down that made me want to cheer.
In the right time and place, Koda could have put up a better fight. Still, one on one, he would never beat Cinder. No wonder he wanted the star.
The stench of sulfur filled the lobby. Koda’s smoking flesh began to blacken. In a guttural voice he cursed at Cinder in both English and their otherworldly language.
Unable to breathe, I turned and fled up the stairs with Rowen and Arrow hot on my heels. Cinder didn’t need us.
Once inside the safe confines of my apartment, I could breathe again.
“Well, that was eye opening,” Arrow remarked, kicking his boots off and heading for the fridge. “Note to self. Never fuck with Cinder.”
“You could just join the light,” Rowen suggested. “Then you’ll never have to worry about it.”
Arrow scowled and popped the cap off a bottle of beer. “Don’t even go there, bro. I’m not up for that argument again.”
Again? I raised a brow and glanced at Rowen who shrugged and shook his head. Interesting.
The warmth of the apartment comforted me, but it also made me realize just how cold I’d become. Deep in my bones, I felt the chill. I longed for a hot shower, but knowing Cinder would pop in any minute, I changed into warm, fleece-lined pants and a robe instead. The coffee maker called my name. The promise of a hot latte drew me to the kitchen where I busied myself making a cup.
Arrow sprawled across the couch with beer in hand while Rowen stuffed a hand towel with ice cubes. This was starting to become far too regular a thing for my liking. Now that my body was adjusting to the warmth, my nose was beginning to throb with greater intensity. Son of a bitch that hurt.
“You need to sit down and put this on your face.” Rowen shoved the ice-packed towel at me and scrutinized the small cut on my neck.
“Do I look worse than Arrow?” I asked. “Because if so, I’m not leaving the house until it heals.”
“How badly are you hurt? I mean, other than your face.” The concern etched in Rowen’s fine features tugged on my heartstrings.
I opened my robe and lifted my shirt to show him the small cuts I’d sustained from Nova’s ice shards. “Could be worse.”
A shadow crossed Rowen’s face, and foreboding crept up my spine. “You could’ve been killed, Spike. Several times tonight in fact. This shit is getting too dangerous.”
“Well it’s kind of what we signed on for, right?” I tried for a smile, hoping to ease his mind.
So used to taking care of Arrow, Rowen felt that he had to take care of me too. And although it made me fall even more in love with him, it also created a need to prove that I could take care of myself. I realized that he wanted so badly to protect those he loved that he was willing to put his soul on the line to do that. I couldn’t let that happen.
“No, it’s not. You signed on to fight for what’s right, not to die because of me.” He grabbed my hand, stopping it mid-motion as I stirred sugar into my latte. The fire in his eyes blazed with desperate disquiet. “We can’t wait around to see what Dash tries next. I have to do something.”
I froze. A sick feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach. “What does that mean?”
In my peripheral vision I saw Arrow sit up on the couch and look our way. My chest tightened. Rowen thought he had to save us both from Dash. I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t want to hear it.
“I don’t know.” With a deep sigh, Rowen released my hand and leaned heavily against the counter. “Maybe I should go see Dash. I think it’s time for us to talk.”
“No!” Arrow and I shouted in unison.
“Dude, get that thought out of your damn head right now,” Arrow growled vehemently. “That is exactly what he wants you to do. Don’t you see that? You cannot play right into his hands, no matter what he does to me or to Spike. I’m sure she agrees with me.”
Wrapping my chilled hands around the hot coffee mug, I reveled in the heat, but my stomach continued to flip. “Most definitely. You have to stay away from him, Rowen. If you go to him, he wins.”
“And what about you two? How am I supposed to live with it if he keeps going after you guys? There’s got to be something I can do.” Scrubbing a hand over his face, Rowen muttered several F-bombs beneath his breath.
Stifling a few of my own, I reached to run a hand over the back of his neck, massaging gently. “Please, don’t let emotion make your decisions for you. Dealing with demons has to be a matter of calm logic. Dash is manipulating your emotions. It’s the only reason he’s doing the shit he’s done. Just be patient. Think it through, and then think it through again. Ok?”
Rowen leaned into my touch. Eyes closed, his breath came out in a rush followed by a strangled groan. “Ok. You’re right. I need to sleep on it.”
I exchanged a look with Arrow, who appeared pretty damn freaked out right then. Despite being dark, he didn’t want that for Rowen, though it hadn’t always been that way. In spite of himself, Arrow was evolving into someone almost respectable.
Cinder materialized in the dining area between the kitchen and living room. His dirty-blond hair stood in disarray, and a satisfied smile graced his lips. A mischievous sparkle lit his violet eyes, which I didn’t see often.
“Maybe Cinder can convince Rowen to stay away from Dash.” Arrow used his beer bottle to point accusingly at his brother.
Cinder’s smile faded as he surveyed the three of us. “What did I miss?”
Before I could open my mouth and downplay my many near death experiences, Arrow kept on yapping. It wasn’t that I wanted to hide it from Cinder. I’d wanted to speak with him alone, when Rowen wasn’t around. So much for that.
“Dash tried to kill her and Jett. He ran their car off the road. I may have somewhat saved the day.” Like the arrogant piece of work that he was, Arrow rubbed his fingernails on his jacket in an I’m a big shot kind of gesture.
“Ember? What happened?” Cinder pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, motioning for me to join him.
Grabbing Rowen’s hand, I pulled him along with me. Sitting down seemed like a really great idea. Hell, I was ready to hit the sack, but that wasn’t going to happen just yet.
I recounted the events of my evening, starting with the visit to the Black Market. As I spoke I could see Cinder growing tense. That was when it hit me, the severity of the situation. Cinder’s seal of protection over me wasn’t enough anymore. Dash had decided risking his wrath was worth it if it put Rowen right where he wanted him.
“I had thought it would take Dash longer to reach this point,” Cinder said. “His desire to replace Rhine has become an obsession.”
“Can’t you just go kick his ass or something?” Arrow had resumed his usual position, sprawled on the couch. Lazily lifting the bottle to his lips, he drained it dry and then held the empty out as if
he expected me to jump up and get him another.
Cinder turned to him with a frown. “What would that accomplish? You saw what I did to Koda. All it did was force him back to the other side where he will recover and grow in his rage until he returns. There is no death for demons. Rash actions only breed more of the same.”
“I’m sure there’s something you can do,” Arrow insisted. “You’re an angel. Doesn’t that give you some kind of superiority you can lord over him?”
“Arrow, there is so much you don’t understand. Sure, I could put Dash on a leash and parade him around like a dog, but that would only reduce me to his level. That is not how this war will be won.” Patient and kind, Cinder spoke to Arrow in a way that Dash probably never had. Like he had the potential to be more than he was if only he would try.
“I need to do something before someone I love ends up dead.” Rowen spoke, drawing Cinder’s attention. “If Dash hurts Arrow or Spike—I mean really hurts them—I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life. And I can’t. I just can’t. Not if I can do anything to stop it.”
Cinder regarded Rowen with calm understanding. “Your determination to protect others will take you to many great places. However, you must follow what you know to be right, which is not always what it may seem. Trust where your heart leads you, but question its motives.”
Rowen laughed, a short harsh sound. His eyes were bloodshot with dark circles of fatigue beneath them. “That’s the problem. I can’t stop questioning it, but the answer is the same. Every time.”
The two of them shared a look. They seemed to communicate without a word, leaving me to wonder what I was missing here. Rowen was obviously having an attack of conscience. I wished I could make him see that it wasn’t his job to save us. In fact, as far as I knew, it was mine. If only I knew how I was supposed to do that.
Maybe it was time for me to back off. Giving in to Dash’s demands wasn’t what I wanted, but if it would keep everyone safe, perhaps it would be for the best.
“Try not to take on more burdens than you can safely bear,” Cinder said with an encouraging smile. “There is a reason you’re called to work together as a team.”
