Students throng the tiled corridors, rushing from class to class. Groups hang round noticeboards and friends embrace. I clench my jaw, shoving at them. Humans. Always in the bloody way. I slide between two groups of taller guys, bumped in the face by their backpacks. Keir’s taller than average figure can’t hide in the crowd, but he marches through everyone, and I need to weave in and out to keep him in sight.
Dahlia glances over her shoulder scanning faces but doesn’t spot me. I duck behind another group as Dahlia and Keir change direction, down a small flight of stone stairs toward the building’s exit. They stop outside the double doorway. I halt, then step backwards before they see me.
Their low voices travel from the other side of the doors, and I flatten myself against the wall, straining to hear.
“You told her?” I hear Keir say.
“Not everything,” replies Dahlia. “Forget that. Why won’t you tell me where you went?”
“Because I can’t. They can’t know you’re helping me.”
The conversation pauses for a few seconds, and I imagine Dahlia’s pissed off face. Now who isn’t getting the answers she wants? Ha.
“So what do we do with the soulhunter?” asks Dahlia.
“I don’t know. Whatever we do, they’ll just send another,” Keir replies.
“You could’ve disposed of her already, like the others; why the hell didn’t you?” Dahlia’s frustration is evident in her tone. “That might still be the best option, Keir.”
“Maybe we should tell Ava the whole truth. You told her half of it. She might back off then.”
My body slackens with relief. No mention from him about killing me. Yet.
“Why are you questioning this? She wants your soul!”
“She has doubts. I’ve seen it in her eyes.”
“Don’t be so bloody stupid, Keir. Ava’s trying to seduce you, like the others. She’ll say whatever it takes to get you in a weak enough position. The soulhunter won’t give up on this, because if she does, she may as well be dead. They won’t take her back if she fails.”
“You’re alive,” replies Keir quietly.
More of Dahlia’s secrets. I attempt to listen, but can’t hear anything of the low conversation that follows.
A couple push the double-doors open and a tall boy with his arm slung possessively over a smaller girl’s shoulders wanders past. The adoration in her eyes as she looks up at her boyfriend spikes my regret. This is a reminder of the loneliness of my life. The boy removes his long scarf and wraps it round the girl’s neck, pulling her to him. The girl giggles and pushes her hands into his hair as they pause for a kiss.
Stomach plummeting further, I turn away, pretending to look at the notices pinned to the wall. I ignore the rising conflict: I don’t want to grow close to anybody—they’ll die or disappear. The only person who ever managed to touch the edges of my heart was Daniel, and he was out of bounds. Now he’s dead.
Cool air blows into the hallways as the door swings open again. Hairs lift on the back of my neck at the awareness somebody stands behind.
“Ava.”
I turn almost bumping noses with Keir, whose face is centimetres from mine. I’d forgotten the impossible blue of his eyes, pulling people into his nephilim trap.
Not me.
“You cut your hair,” I say, flicking my fingers toward his head.
“And yours is a different colour.”
Memories of the night in the alley fly into my mind again. Our bodies don’t touch this time, but the strange energy flows between us. Positive there’s a desire flickering across his eyes, I close mine. Make him move away with his tricks. I take a deep breath. Wrong move because his clean scent sends more memories scattering across my mind, and heat spreads through me.
Keir’s mouth turns up at one corner. “I knew you were listening. Dahlia didn’t.”
If he’s expecting me to show surprise and yield, he can forget that. I lift my head and poke my tongue into my cheek. “So what did you decide? I think I missed the crucial part, where you decided if you were going to dispose of me, as Dahlia so delicately put it.”
“We didn’t decide anything, Ava.” Keir lifts an arm and sets his palm on the wall behind me.
Dizziness creeps in, as he winds his enchantment around and pulls me in; his lips hovering close to mine.
“If you know who I am, and why I came, why didn’t you kill me in the alley?” I ask.
“You came to take my soul, correct?” I nod like a stupid kid, the one I haven’t been since before the high angels took and trained me. “You haven’t tried yet, why?”
The fog from his proximity clouds, and I struggle for a believable answer; one which could keep me alive. Instead, the truth falls from my mouth. “Because I want to know what you’re doing. Why you’re killing demons when you’re the worst kind of demon yourself.”
“I don’t believe you. I think it’s because you haven’t had a chance to kill me yet.”
“I think you do believe me because you know I heard what you just said to Dahlia. You said you'd seen my doubts.”
Keir touches my hair and the sensation sparks across my scalp. “Your hair looks pretty this colour.”
He trails fingers toward my cheek and my stomach tightens. Stop. This is my strategy. I turn on the seduction, not the demons. Not him. I should be repulsed, but I'm far from, and I struggle as if his hold were physical.
“Do you know why I didn’t kill you that night?” he whispers, fingers settling on my lips.
I yank my head away from his touch. “No.”
Keir stops abruptly and steps back with the same look as the last time we were as close. Confusion. Desire. Anger.
“Nor do I. Next time you might not be so lucky.” He grips the handle of his rucksack, lowering his voice. “Stay away from us until you decide what to do, and then we can end this.” As he leaves, Keir pauses, hand on the door handle as he looks back. “This won’t end well for you, Ava.”
I jump as the door slams shut behind him. Spell broken, I turn away and smack my palms against the wall, holding my forehead against the cool bricks. How does he bloody do this? Silence me? Keir digs out the hidden Ava, the vulnerable girl I buried when I left the Fated and became a soulhunter.
Whenever Keir looks into my eyes, I’m transparent. Keir has the advantage and he knows.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I blow my fringe out of my eyes and glance at the clock above the tables in the corner. No way. Two hours to go? The queue grows longer as people grab coffees on the way home from work, or meet up after lectures. The working day ended for most but not me: orders backing up, machine working overtime, bored out of my skull.
My plans to snatch Keir’s soul and get the hell out of the human world is taking too long, now I’m wasting more time working as a barista to pay my way. Soulhunters never receive money to live on, and this is the first time I’ve needed to hang around this godforsaken world.
Barista. Crap job for a person with even crappier customer service skills, but I’m lucky I talked my way into the job. I agreed to take a lower wage, which pissed me off, but what choice do I have?
The café doesn’t have space or atmosphere. The gaudily painted, small establishment consists of Formica tables with red PVC bench seats, tables squeezed together, and a narrow counter with a menu chalked on a board above. The owner wanted to maximise the amount of people he could squeeze in. The cafe’s position on the high street and the cheap prices are the big draw card.
“Crap!” I spill frothed milk on my hand for the tenth time in one shift, and blow at the reddening skin. Shaking the pain away, I pull the order ticket from the board to announce the lucky recipient of the drink scalding my skin. “Zach!”
“Thanks. And no use crying over spilt milk.”
A tall guy steps from the side of the group waiting and reaches for the cup. Violet-flecked, ice blue Keir eyes, half hidden behind a long, dark fringe flopping into his face, regard me. I attempt to hid
e my shock.
He looks at my hand. “Did you burn yourself?”
“No.” His eyes. How could he have eyes like Keir’s? There was nothing in the folder about other nephilim in the area. Oh, lucky me.
“Good, thanks for the coffee.” He lifts the cup in a toast and wanders to a clean table by the window.
The guy hunches over his coffee, disguising his height, and as he takes a sip, he glances over and his mouth tips into a strange smile. The intensity of his gaze trips an uncomfortable shiver through my soul. Does he know who I am too?
I’m interrupted by Janie shoving me. “Come on, slow poke, we’re busy! Stop checking out the customers.”
“I’m not,” I mutter, and grab the next order, reading the name. “Kylie!”
Over the next couple of hours, the entire bloody city appears to pass in and out of the place: buying coffees, sitting, reading, and chatting. This whirl of activity surrounds me, but I can’t lose my nerves around Zach, who never moves, watching me.
I check the clock again. Seven o’clock. The number of customers slows to a trickle, and I surreptitiously check out Zach where he’s staring out of the fogged window.
Would I get bonus points if I brought two nephilim souls to Darius? Yeah right, like I’m succeeding with killing one, never mind two.
And here he is. With attachment. Keir holds the café door for Dahlia, who strides over to place their order.
“Two flat whites please.” Dahlia peels off her woollen gloves and studies the display of cakes as if she doesn’t know me. Our politeness around each other descended from tolerance to animosity days ago.
I scrawl the order on my pad. “To go?”
“No.”
Keir remains in the doorway, his hand on the handle. He and Zach regard each other, eyes meeting briefly.
“Hi, Keir,” I call, and lean forward, my necklace jangling on the counter.
“Yeah, hi, Ava.” He looks at me for the briefest second, before looking back to Dahlia.
Imperceptibly, Keir tilts his head toward Zach. Dahlia glances at Zach, gives Keir a single nod, and moves to a table at the opposite end of the room. Keir slides onto the bench seat opposite Dahlia, his back to me. They huddle in conversation, and Dahlia traces patterns on the smooth table. Zach’s attention remains focused on me with no sign of any interest in Dahlia or Keir, but his relentless staring freaks me out. I chew the inside of my cheek and look away.
“Well, that’s me.” Janie smiles, takes off her apron, and tosses it onto the counter. “Long shift today.”
She undoes her long dark hair from a ponytail and shakes it across her shoulders. “Man, I wish I had one of those guys waiting for me at home tonight.” She inclines her head toward Zach and Keir. “Say, you know one of those guys don’t you? The one with the girl. Tell me she’s not his girlfriend, seriously she can’t be.”
Janie indicates Dahlia, who’s eclipsed by the stunning guy she sits with. The odd couple, with his broad, tall frame hunched over her protectively. What is their deal? Jealousy spikes and I shake the feeling away. When will I get a grip on this? The sensation of his heart beating against my chest and the heat radiating between us repeats in my dreams every night, worse since the encounter in the corridor.
The intensity of my body’s reaction to Keir pisses me off, and it doesn’t help when I see the same desire flicker across his face each time we’re close. In the days since our last meeting, I’ve kept my distance, heeded his warning, and planned what the hell to do.
“No, they’re friends,” I say.
“He’s cute. You should try your luck with him before anyone else does.”
I snort. “Not my type.”
Janie laughs and elbows me in the ribs. “He’s my type! Introduce us.”
I flick a tea towel at her. “Behave. Go home, you.”
Janie waves over her shoulder as she leaves, the door swinging closed behind her. I chew my lip. Keir and Dahlia. My view of them is blocked as Zach approaches the counter.
“What can I get you?” I ask, and take the opportunity to examine his eyes again. Definitely nephilim.
“You busy later?”
“You asking me on a date?”
“Might be.” Zach shakes his fringe out of his face and smiles coyly. I push a strand of hair behind an ear. I should focus on Keir, not hook up with someone. Zach raises a brow. “Or busy with them tonight? Friends?”
“Not really. I know them but we don’t hang out much.” Or ever.
What do I do? If he is another nephilim and I take his soul instead, maybe that would be enough to get me home and dry. Keir and his mysteries can stay behind. Okay, so Zach isn’t the one in my file, but I’ve collected extra souls on missions before. I can prove to myself that nephilim can be dealt with, a practice run before Keir, as this one doesn’t seem as cocky as him.
“Sure!” I say brightly. “I finish up soon—meet you at Paddy’s Bar at nine?”
Zach’s smile widens. “Awesome, see you then.”
He slouches away, and Dahlia watches him too, sliding her tongue across her teeth as Zach leaves. I catch Dahlia’s eye and give her a little wave. I’m rewarded with a Dahlia scowl.
What is her deal? Does she have any happiness in her life? Whatever made her human must’ve ruined everything. Well, apart from hanging out with the guy who was once her enemy.
Weird.
I wipe down the counter and the bell over the door tinkles. I look up to serve the customer I hear walk in, but nobody’s here. Dahlia and Keir’s table is empty.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The wind blows stray paper around my ankles as I walk along the quiet street. Asshole. I stomp on the rubbish, wishing this were Zach’s head. I waited an hour in Paddy’s Bar; the only single girl on my own in the place. An hour wasted waiting for the flaky guy who picked me up at work and had no intention of meeting me.
Arriving on campus, I tread through the carefully swept piles of leaves, resisting the urge to kick them loose. Every new leaf on the ground is a reminder of time passing and my failure. I’ve bloody wasted time again, and I’ve lost my focus in a pointless attempt to discover who Zach is. If Zach ever has the cheek to approach me again, he won’t know what’s bloody hit him.
I round the corner towards the welcoming lights of my halls and angry voices carry from in the nearby trees. I pause. Is my mind playing tricks on me because one of the voices sounds like Keir? A strangled yell comes from their direction. Should I check this out? Keir attacked a demon last time, but if this is him, he could easily be with a human. He’s nephilim and it’s what they do; the campus is rich pickings for him.
I move into the wooded area behind the building and peer around the tree, straining my eyes in the darkness. In a small copse, lined by tall bushes, Keir lies on the floor, fighting against the weight of the guy sitting across his chest. The other guy can’t be human—he wouldn’t have the strength to hold Keir down with a dagger against his throat. I wrinkle my nose. Keir’s anger ended in a lot of pain the last time I involved myself. I back away. He can deal with his own problems this time.
“You picked the wrong side, Keir.”
I stop. Zach’s voice? “We’re growing stronger, and you’re becoming a liability.”
“Just fucking do it then, kill me,” growls Keir. “I’m not afraid.”
“I’ve already distracted that soulhunter to stop her from being here tonight. Did you know she’s close to getting your soul? Well, I think it’s time I took it. Not her.”
This is Zach. Fury blackens. Zach played me. No fucking way is he the one to take Keir’s soul. His soul is mine. I look around. The path close to the trees is quiet and I can’t hear anybody around.
Screw it. I run across the grass and grab Zach by his hair. He falls backwards, losing his grip on Keir and the knife, which spins into the grass close by. Zach immediately springs to his feet, arms out to fight back, but I’ve already launched myself at him. Slamming my side into his, I knoc
k him back to the ground and straddle his chest. Breathing heavily, I stare at his pissed off face and prepare for him to fight back.
Zach’s face contorts in anger. “Hello, little soulhunter, come to rescue your friend?”
I jab an elbow into his neck. “Don’t talk to me.”
“Ava, leave it!” shouts Keir.
Ignoring him, I grope on the ground for the weapon Zach dropped and find the handle. I grab and spin the dagger around in my hand, then hold the weapon against Zach’s throat. “I came for Keir’s soul, but yours will be an added bonus.”
“My soul? Good luck with that. I don’t have one,” sneers Zach.
I hesitate. “What?”
“Somebody already took mine.”
“But you’re alive?”
His lip curls, blue eyes intense in the dimming light. “I’m a nephilim, sweetheart, we don’t die that fucking easily.”
The rumours are true? Nephilim can walk the world soulless? Shit. I hesitate.
No. He’s a threat—a rival for Keir’s soul. The hilt of the dagger digs into my hand, and I move the blade, ready to slit his throat.
I’m stopped by Keir, twisting the dagger from my hands. “Leave it, Ava, for fuck’s sake!” He yanks me away from Zach, as if I weigh nothing, and throws me to the ground.
“What the hell?” I yell and pull myself up as Zach sits. Keir slams him back into the undergrowth and kneels on his chest.
“You can’t kill him,” Keir says not looking at me. “He’s not a demon, he’s nephilim. If you did manage to kill a nephilim, your life wouldn’t be worth living. I expect you boss didn’t mention that when he sent you to kill me.”
“You’re lying.”
Keir presses harder against Zach’s throat who chokes out, “Kill her. Kill us both. Because we both want one thing from you. Why else would she have jumped in and rescued you?”
Soulhunter Academy Page 12
