Darker (18 page)

“
You never know when to give up, do you?” He towered over me, trying to look especially foreboding.

“
Get out of my way, Falon. I want to talk to Shya, and I’m not particularly in the mood to look at your face right now.” I tried to shove past him, but he blocked my way, going so far as to shove me into Jez.

His laughter pissed me off even as it made my skin crawl. “Look at the little wolf trying to be the big bad. It’s cute.”

“
I said get out of my way,” I hissed through gritted teeth as I lashed out at him with a slap of power. It was just enough to knock him aside, but I couldn’t hide my pleasure.

I let myself into the house, calling Shya’s name. Falon recovered fast. Grabbing my arm, he spun me around and backhanded me hard enough to throw me off my feet. I landed on my ass in the open foyer, momentarily stunned. My jaw throbbed and my temper flared.

Before I could get up, however, Jez’s shortened fuse snapped. She grabbed Falon’s arm and spun her body, flipping him over so he landed hard on the floor beside me. Placing a boot on his chest, she gazed at him with eyes that had gone pure wildcat.

“
Don’t fucking touch her again,” she uttered, her voice dangerously calm. “Your whore killed the woman I love tonight. Why shouldn’t I return the gesture with you?”

“
You can’t kill me, kitten,” Falon grunted as she put more weight into pinning him.

“
Let’s confirm that theory.” With a slash of claws across his throat, Jez unleashed her vengeful need.

Blood poured forth from the gaping wound she created. Falon’s eyes widened. Grasping her leg, he shoved with a supernatural strength that sent her crashing into the opposite wall.

We all bounded to our feet, braced and ready. My hands burned with the dancing blue and gold flames of raw energy flowing through me. I ached to unleash it on Falon. Maybe I couldn’t kill him, but making him suffer would be enough for me.

Then, the scent of his blood hit me, and I swooned. Goddamn, it was heavenly; no horrible pun intended. The sweetness of Falon’s blood taunted my control.

“
Alexa, how nice of you to drop by.” Shya’s voice echoed in the high ceilinged foyer.

I spun to face him, simultaneously aware of the cool vampire energy present. Shya stood there with arms crossed, his constantly amused grin perfectly in place. At his side, looking livid, was Arys.

I didn’t see him move. Just that fast he was in Falon’s face, throwing a punch the angel didn’t see coming. He followed up with another, then banged Falon’s head against the wall a few times.

Bloodlust had Arys’s pupils dilating as he too reacted to the spilled angel blood. Baring fangs, Arys snarled into the fallen angel’s face, “I don’t need to kill you to make you sorry you touched her.”

Shya watched this with glee. With his perfectly pressed suit and slick black hair in place, he looked as he always did. I was starting to see through his human façade.

Already healed from Jez’s attack, Falon’s blood ceased to flow. Angel or not, he had to have a weakness. I was determined to find it.

He stared into Arys’s angry eyes, and for just a second, I thought I saw a trace of true fear. Then, it was gone, and Falon sneered, shoving Arys away. His wings flared out behind him, massive, silver and meant to be intimidating. Arys scowled, refusing to be impressed.

“
Where’s Gabriel?” I demanded. Turning my back on the asshole angel, I let Shya feel the brunt of my anger. “You can’t expect me to believe that you need him that bad. You, oh so powerful demon, you.”

My snide tone earned me a dark glare that, truth be told, did frighten me, but I’d be damned if I’d show it. Jez sidled up to me with a deadly swagger. I was worried about her mental state. Her pain had faded to be replaced with the need to hurt something, to kill. That urge could lead her to say or do something we’d both regret.

“
Gabriel is here. He’s fine. He’s also absolutely none of your concern.” Shya narrowed his eyes in warning. “Stay out of it, Alexa.”

“
I want to see him.” I was insistent. It was hard to keep my focus intent on Shya when I wanted to snap at Arys. What the hell was he doing here?

Shya turned his attention to Jez, ignoring my demand. “I don’t believe we’ve officially met. Veryl always spoke so highly of you. I can see why. You’re a firecracker.”

“
Save it. I don’t want to hear your manipulative drivel. Because of you someone I love is dead.” Jez appeared calm, but her fangs and claws indicated otherwise. Her energy was strong with pure, venomous hatred.

“
Is that so?” Shya’s self-satisfied grin grew. “Do tell.”

“
Lilah killed my girlfriend tonight. She made me watch. You failed when you bound her power. You drove her to this. If you would have let Alexa kill her—”

“
She would have failed,” Shya interrupted, his tone short and clipped. “Alexa’s power has limits. Sure, she may have been able to send Lilah back to imprisonment, but it would have been unlikely. Risky. Too risky while Lilah still had some of her power. I wasn’t willing to lose Alexa over something so trivial.”

“
Trivial?” Jez raged, lunging forward to hiss angrily into the demon’s face. “We’re not pawns in your game of underworld chess. You don’t get to decide who lives and who dies.”

She was yelling loud enough to hurt my ears. I stood close, ready to grab her if she went for him. As entitled as she was to what she was feeling now, I couldn’t let her do something crazy.

I was dying to address Shya’s comment about being unwilling to lose me, but that wasn’t what I was here for, not this time.

“
Is that it? Are you finished?” Shya studied her, peering deep into her green eyes with his snake-like crimson ones. “Demon blood might run in your veins, but if you don’t have the power that goes with it, it doesn’t mean a thing, so watch your tongue, sweetheart. I’d hate to have to pull it out of that pretty face.”

Jez recoiled in horror. Her face fell and she backed away. Unease slid through me. Shya watched her as if she were a wounded deer. Easy pickings. I cleared my throat in an attempt to draw his gaze back to me. It didn’t work.

He stared into her with a drowning red intensity. Only when she finally dropped her gaze did he avert his. The temperature in the room seemed to rise by several degrees. Shya’s strange otherworldly vibe resonated strong and hot. It was slightly painful.

Dismissing Jez, his attention swung to Falon. With a brow raised in interest he asked, “Now, what’s this I hear about your whore? Is there something you want to tell me?”

Disappointment filled me. I was bummed out that I wasn’t the one to expose Falon’s secret. However, I was more than happy to be present for its exposure. This I wanted to see.

Falon met Shya’s gaze evenly. He was unafraid, facing the demon with a stubborn set to his jaw. “I don’t need your permission to take a lover, Shya.”

“
No, of course not. Who that lover happens to be, though, may affect your loyalties. I’m sure you’ve heard the human saying, don’t shit where you eat. Be careful, Falon.”

The two of them faced off, exchanging so much without saying a word. The tension was palpable, heavy enough to suffocate. If they didn’t stop staring at each other like that, my head was going to explode.

“
I want to see Gabriel,” I repeated, risking Shya’s wrath. “I’m not leaving until I know he’s alive.”

“
Fine.” Shya spun on his heel and motioned for me to follow. “Let’s get this over with. Once you see he’s alive and well, I expect you’ll be on your way. I’m busy.”

“
I see that.” Finally, I got my chance to shoot a questioning glance at Arys. I mouthed the words, ‘What the fuck?’

I felt him, a light touch in my mind. ‘We’ll talk about this later.’

I didn’t reply. Instead, I chose to give him my best dirty look. My night was so full of chaos and shit already, I didn’t have the capacity for more. Whatever Arys was doing here with Shya, I wasn’t going to like it.

Shya led us into the living room. It was open, attached to the kitchen. With a high ceiling and a second floor balcony overlooking, it felt much bigger than it actually was. The back walls were glass from floor to ceiling. They looked out onto the backyard with its pool and sprawling lawn.

Gabriel was out there, seated on the back patio couch. Several spellcasting items were spread on the small table before him. His back was to us. I watched as he added a sprinkle of something black and dusty to a chalice. Shya had wasted no time putting him to work.

“
There, you see? He’s fine. Happy, Alexa?” Shya’s expression all but dared me to argue.

“
I want to speak to him.” I didn’t wait for Shya’s permission. I strode to the patio doors and let myself out into the backyard.

Gabriel raised his head, surprise registering on his face. His eyes were solid black. He was filled with the dark magic he performed.

“
You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his lips curling in annoyance. “This is a delicate spell. You’re ruining it.”

“
You shouldn’t be here either. And, you sure as hell shouldn’t be messing with dark forces. It’s dangerous, Gabriel. If you get in too deep, it will never let you go.”

“
I guess you would know. Do you expect me to believe your power isn’t rooted in darkness?” He reached for a bag of what looked like dried flowers and continued preparing his spell.

“
It’s not,” I said softly. “Not all of it. My power is both dark and light. It’s the balance in between.”

I heard myself say it, but did I believe it? I still had so much to learn about what it meant to be a twin flame, not to mention what it meant to be a Hound of God. My fear of being an utter failure was deeply ingrained. But, what I feared most was becoming a monster that lived only for the kill and the thrill of the power that came with it.

“
If you say so,” he replied with a stoic nonchalance that struck me as worrisome. “Look, I get it. You feel the need to prove to yourself that you’re not like everyone else here. That you’re better than them. It’s cool. But, it doesn’t mean you have to save me. In fact, I don’t want to be saved.”

“
This is the power talking. Not you. You don’t want to stay here with a demon. Come on, Gabriel. Brogan is worried sick about you. Your mom probably is, too.”

He paused in his spellcasting. “I’m not a child. I can make my own decisions, and I choose to stay. Sorry. I don’t want to be used to make you feel better about yourself.”

Whoa. He was too far gone. Nothing I said would change his mind. The murky energy surrounding him was too thick, a possessive, manipulative entity. It had him firmly in its grasp.

“
That’s your choice.” I nodded, accepting defeat. “Tell me one thing though. Tell me what you saw when you touched me at Brogan’s shop.”

He fixed me with a strange, detached stare. A shiver ran down my spine.

“
I saw you as a vampire. And, it wasn’t pretty.”

Chapter Twelve

I stared at Gabriel, frozen in place. My mouth opened, and I muttered something unintelligible. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s not like I didn’t know that’s what my future held, after my death at Arys’s hand. If Gabriel had merely reiterated the warnings of the other witches, I could have accepted it. Instead, he was confirming something I now realized I’d hoped might not come to pass. For the first time since forming the blood bond with my twin flame, I had to ask myself, would I rather be dead than be a vampire?

“
You don’t want details,” Gabriel said. “I prefer not to give them. I’m not a walking, talking crystal ball. Things can always change. What I see isn’t written in stone.”

“
Have you ever been wrong?” I asked nervously. “Has that ever happened that you know of? A change from what you saw?”

“
Just once.” Picking up a small dagger, Gabriel pressed the blade to the inside of his palm. “You should probably leave. I’ve seen enough of your bloodlust to know I don’t want to spill any blood with you around.”

I beat a hasty retreat back into the house. The quiet lull of conversation between Arys and Jez died. Falon was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t doubt he’d run to tell Lilah their little secret had been revealed. It was time I paid the bitch a visit, too.

Shya spread his hands expectantly. “Satisfied? Gabriel and I had a little chat, and he’s more than happy to be here. Now, unless you have other business, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“
I know what you’re doing, Shya.” I closed the patio door and turned my full attention on the haughty demon. “You talk a good game. You promise people things they didn’t even know they wanted. For the most part, you’re not so bad. Until you fail to get what you want.”

“
Your point?” He did his best to appear bored.

“
Your sweet talk might work on someone as young and new to this world as Gabriel, but I see right through you. I won’t be manipulated. I’ll find out what you’re up to, and when I’m done with Lilah, I’m coming back for you.” Sure, those words put my ass on the line, but I was furious and ready to fight back.

A fiery burst of energy accompanied Shya’s laughter. My instinctive reaction was to harden myself against it. It easily burned a hole in my shields. I made a split-second decision to pull the aggressive force through me, channeling it back out and into the earth beneath the foundation under my feet. It left me feeling uncomfortably hot inside but otherwise unharmed.