His Soul To Keep (Dark Knights of Heaven Book 1) (18 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rail punched the bag again, and again, and again, and he’d keep punching it until either he broke a hand or it burst. Which would eventually happen, despite it being constructed to take this kind of abuse. No matter, he had three more in the storage room. His hand would heal.

Another jab sent the heavy bag swinging.

Cassidy wasn’t talking to him and had figured out how to block their emotional link. Occasionally, her walls would slip, but more often than not he’d feel nothing more than what he referred to as ‘emotional static’ from her.

Like now.

This time, he punched with such force that a tear appeared within the Kevlar beneath his knuckles. Grumbling, Rail grabbed a roll of duct tape and wrapped a two-foot wide swath around the bag until the roll ran out. That should hold for an hour or so.

The doors to the training room swung open, and Boomer strode in looking cocky. "Eight hours," he quipped. "New personal record."

Eight hours? Boomer had to be exaggerating. He couldn’t possibly have been in the gym longer than three or four hours. Rail shook the sweat from his eyes. "So?"

"You too tired to go on patrol?" Boomer lay back on the weight bench and lifted the bar for a few presses. "You’ve been off rotation for a while now, and I thought you might want back on. We’re going to Alaska this time." He grunted between lifts.

"Kaz cool with this?" Rail changed up his routine, adding kicks and knee blocks. "Last I heard, I was grounded."

"Yeah, well, he had to do something considering how you were acting." The bar clanked back into place on the stand. "Honestly, we didn’t want to take you out into the world."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Rail caught the bag as it swung into him.

"You’ve been out of control since the incident with the Un-tar."

"How so?" When he wasn’t sleeping alone in his quarters or out on the beach, he’d been in the gym putting the equipment through its paces.

"Have you looked in a mirror in the last twenty-four hours? Hell, the last thirty-six?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Clueless, he dragged himself to the locker room to find a mirror. He wasn’t fully transformed, but he looked every bit as messed up as the Fallen Angel who stabbed Cassidy. Rail tipped forward and vomited into the sink, grasping the porcelain so tightly a web of cracks appeared. No wonder Cassidy wasn’t speaking to him, hadn’t even yelled back at him when he stood outside her bedroom door and demanded she open it.

She was afraid.

"You okay, man?" Boomer tossed him a towel.

"I will be." Looking back to the mirror, Rail watched the demon recede until only a trace glowed in his eyes. "When do we leave?"

* * *

Cassidy looked up from the computer, hearing Rail's door slam. There had been a lot of door slamming since the revelation of Lil-it’s betrayal and execution.

Since the argument in the bathroom.

She wanted to run from all that had happened, from all that Rail had said. But that wasn’t going to happen.

They needed to talk.

Next door, she found Rail in the closet selecting his weapons. Just looking at him, heat and desired flooded her. She envied the black denim hugging his thighs, cupping his tight ass. If only she wasn’t still upset with him. Her heat cooled a few degrees. Without a word, Cassidy went to the bureau and took out a black lightweight sweater, placing it next to the duffel bag on the bed.

"What’s that for?"

"Alaska," she answered quietly.

"How did you know we were going to Alaska?" Rail asked without turning to face her.

"I’m the one who gave Tam the list of possible
skratar
attacks, remember?" Cassidy shrugged. "You had the choice between Peru or Alaska."

"I remember. We chose Peru," he answered, his voice flat.

Cassidy shivered, the coldness in his voice reaching into her bones. If he had gone to Alaska instead, he wouldn’t have died. They might not have become soul mates. They might not have discovered the traitor was Lil-it. They might not have spent the last two days apart. Cassidy swallowed the lump in her throat. "Well, have a good trip."

"I didn’t mean it that way."

Cassidy let out a breath. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Rail stepped forward, blocking her path. "I was just stating a fact."

"Reading my mind again?" She stepped back to cool the heat building between them.

"Don’t need to. I can read it in your face and voice." He wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with his knuckle. "Good thing since you’ve been learning to block our link."

"I just…it’s too painful to be that close to you right now. You’ve been so angry."

"Not at you."

"Yes, at me," Cassidy took another step back, "and everyone else. I can read your emotions too, you know."

"Cassidy—"

"No," she cut him off. "No. Tell me you don’t wish things were different. That we hadn’t become soul mates. Tell me you wish we’d never met."

Rail's eyes flashed with fire. He stepped back and threw another gun into his duffel, stuffing the sweater in on top of it. "I’ve got to go. Boomer and Tam are waiting."

“Oh, no. You are not getting out of this discussion that easily.” Cassidy growled in frustration. “Tell me the truth. You wish we hadn’t met and that I hadn’t mess up your happy little bachelor warrior life with all of these changes. You think all of this is my fault, don’t you?”

Turning away from her, Rail rasped, "No, I don’t."

"Don’t lie to me!"

Rail hefted his bag onto his shoulder. "I can’t lie to you, remember?” Not giving her a chance to respond, he flashed from the room.

* * *

The cool temperature did nothing to temper his mood. Neither did the situation.

"Sorry to disappoint," Tam said, returning from his scouting trip. "Looks like it really was just a random animal attack. Took the locals two weeks to hunt the polar bear down, but they caught and killed it last night. And before you ask, yes, I checked the victims’ bodies and the bear to be sure they weren't using the bear to cover up a demon attack."

Rail wasn’t convinced. The story of a sick polar bear killing two fishermen smelled like a cover up, but who would believe the truth? "Damn." Rail stood and kicked a clod of frozen earth watching it sail into the tree line.

"Where to now? Cassidy’s latest list showed a hit in Iceland, but the statistics are on the low end of possibilities."

"I don’t…" Rail started but found his voice stolen by searing pain. Falling to his knees and screaming, he held his head, fearing it might burst.

Boomer and Tam crouched next to him, concerned but alert for an unseen attack. "What’s wrong?"

"Make it stop," he screamed.

"What’s happening?"

Abruptly, Rail's body spasmed and then went limp, his screams turning to ragged, guttural panting.

"God, Tam, he’s bleeding from his ears." Boomer knelt next to his friend, cradling his head in his lap. "His eyes and nose too."

"What should we do?"

"Home." Rail gasped, coughing up blood-tinted foam.

"We’ll have to call for another team." Tam retrieved his phone from his backpack. "Damn! The signal here is shit. We’ll have to move closer to that fishing village."

"No." Rail grabbed both men. "Can’t wait." He gulped for air like a landed fish. "Home. Now."

Before anyone could argue, they found themselves falling through a portal, moving from snow to grass.

"Where the fuck are we?" Boomer took in the suburban neighborhood surrounding them and scratched his head.

Panting heavily, Rail shook his head, just as perplexed.

Chapter Thirty-Three

"I’ll be fine, Mom." Cassidy clenched her jaw so tightly against a wave of pain, she was sure she’d crack a molar. At least her muscles stopped twitching like nervous snakes, and she could breathe without choking.

"You were vomiting blood and have a fever. Let us take you to the hospital."

"No, Mom, you can’t." She couldn’t risk the possibility of a
skratar
attack. She couldn’t—wouldn't—put more innocent lives at risk. Just being here put the neighborhood, her family, at risk.

Thunder rolled up the stairs. The house shook. Turning toward the door, Cassidy prepared to fight. Prepared to run. The movement set off a wave of pain. Until she saw him. Felt him in her very cells.

Rail
.

"Who are you?" Mrs. Long put herself between her daughter and the stranger. "Charles! Charles! Get up here."

Cassidy reached out. "It’s okay, Mom."

Mr. Long barged into the room steps behind Rail. "Who the hell are you and the two bulldogs downstairs?"

"Who’s downstairs?" Cassidy’s mother paled.

"He brought friends. Pushed their way in when I answered the door. And this one," he jerked a thumb at Rail, "bolted up the stairs like his ass was on fire without so much has a ‘how do you do?’"

Cassidy’s giggle turned into a moan.

Rail shucked his coat and climbed carefully onto the bed, gently wrapping his arms around her. "It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here."

"Dad?" a worried voice called from downstairs. "Everything okay?"

"Not sure yet, boy. You just keep that Winchester pointed at them," Mr. Long yelled back.

"You left J.J. with a gun on them?" Concern gripped Cassidy’s chest as tightly, and she gripped Rail's arms. She took a steadying breath to calm her heartbeat, unsure if the anxiety was for her brother or the two Knights.

Mrs. Long moved closer to Rail. "Oh, dear. Young man, you’re bleeding."

Cassidy gasped. She’d been so shocked by his arrival, she hadn’t noticed his condition. "Oh, my God! Rail. Where are you hurt?" Ignoring her own pain, she traced her fingers over the dried blood coating his neck. Her heart leapt into her throat, choking off her words. Tracks from bloody tears lined his face.

"I’m fine," he murmured, pulling her closer.

"Would someone please explain what is going on?" Cassidy’s mom stomped her foot, planting her fists on her hips.

"Rail and his friends have been taking care of me since the incident. They’re the good guys…honest." She held him tightly, afraid he’d vanish if she let go.

Rail tilted her face to his. "How did you get here?"

"I don’t know. Last thing I remember was going for a run. I was so angry and hurt by everything that happened, and…"

"And?" Rail prompted softly.

"I wanted my parents so bad." Her tears flowed freely. "Next thing I knew, I was on the front lawn."

"She was in terrible shape." Mrs. Long leaned into her husband, a sob escaping. "We thought we were going to watch her die."

"I felt like I was dying. I swear, my bones shattered and my muscles shredded. I could feel my insides bursting open and my blood boiling. It was as if something had grabbed me and was trying to turn me inside out." Cassidy shuddered. "The pain only just started to fade right before you walked in." Her eyes widened. "Wait…how did you know where I was?"

"I felt it. I felt everything you experienced. I thought I was under attack, dying. I had to get home. When we flashed, I guess I redirected us here. Something inside me brought me to you."

"How?" Cassidy searched his eyes for the answer, confusion coursing through her on the tail of a thousand questions.

Rail shrugged. "The bond?"

Mrs. Long relaxed her protective stance. "Enough talking. Cassie needs her rest, and it looks as if you do too." She patted Rail's arm. "Charles, get this young man a washcloth and one of your old t-shirts."

"Mom…"

"Shush. You can explain everything after you’ve rested. We’ll leave the two of you be." Her mother smiled and ushered her husband from the room. "We’ve got guests downstairs to take care of."

The door shut softly behind them, but their voices carried through the wood loud and clear.

"
Have you gone insane, Toni? We don’t know these people!
"

"
No, but Cassie does, and I trust her instincts
."

A moment later, there was a soft knock. Without waiting for a response, Cassidy’s father stepped into the room and handed Rail a damp cloth and a shirt. "If you need anything, honey, just scream."

"Thanks, Daddy. But I’m in the best hands possible." To emphasis her statement, Cassidy kissed Rail's hand.

Her father hesitated, obviously unconvinced, but finally left when his wife called for him.

As the door shut, Rail slid off the bed and stripped out of his bloody shirt, tossing it into the bedside trashcan. "I like your parents," he said, scrubbing the washcloth over his face and neck. "I see where you get your ferocity from."

"Dad’s ex-military and Mom, well Mom’s got five younger brothers. She learned early how to handle the unexpected." She yawned deeply and snuggled into the pillows. "I could sleep for a week."

Rail joined her beneath the covers. "Go ahead. I’ll be right here watching over you." He kissed her forehead and tucked her in close.

"It’s strange. Other than being really tired, I feel fine now. Not a hundred percent, but I don’t feel like I went through hell a little over an hour ago."

"That’s because I’m here."

Cassidy laughed with a bit of a sniffle. "You don’t think much of yourself, do you?"

It took Rail a second to catch her meaning before he burst out laughing, as well. "Yes, well, no. I mean we seem to be more connected than we originally thought. I know this is going to sound strange, but I think you are feeding off my energy to heal."

"How? Are you okay? Is it hurting you?" Cassidy started to sit up, but Rail gently laid her back.

Guilt hummed in his veins, mixing with Cassidy’s concern. It was humbling. After all she’d been through, her thoughts were of his well being. Swallowing the emotions tightening his chest, Rail ran his knuckles along her cheek. "I’m fine. I can still draw energy from the Source—Heaven. Now that I look at it that way, I’d say I’m acting as a conduit for you to do the same."

Cassidy relaxed some. "How is that even possible? Aren’t you cut off from Heaven?"

"We can’t return to Heaven, but they couldn’t completely break the connection. It’s just not as strong as it once was."

"So you’re okay? I’m not weakening you?"

Laughter rumbled in his chest. "I’m not even tired. Just being with you makes me stronger. But you…I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone." Rail traced his fingertips over her brow, down her cheek, and along her jaw line, memorizing every curve. "I was so afraid I’d lost you again."

"It’s becoming a bad habit, isn’t it?"

Rail nodded lightly, brushing his fingers over Cassidy’s lips.

"I still can’t believe you felt what was happening to me. I don’t remember feeling like that when you and the guys flashed me. Dizzy and a little nauseous, yes, but not like I was being simultaneously crushed and ripped apart."

Rail tensed. "Even with our bond and the power, you seem to be drawing through me, you shouldn’t be able to flash. Damn, I should have listened when Bass said he felt like you were one of us."

"Zach thinks I’m changing," she said softly.

"Excuse me?"

"I heard him questioning the guys. They think I’m becoming some sort of weird hybrid."

"They’re just guessing."

"Do you think it’s possible?"

"We don’t have enough information to determine anything." He placed a kiss on her lips. "I’m sorry for everything that’s happened. I would never do anything to intentionally cause you pain."

"You didn’t know what was going to happen. No one did." She placed a hand against his cheek.

"I meant our fight."

"Oh."

"You are my life now, Cassidy. I will do anything,
anything
, to protect you and the others." Rail watched her lip tremble. He wanted to lie to her. He wanted to tell her everything would be fine. He wished he had the answers.

"Rail—"

"Let me finish." He stopped her with a finger over her lips. If he didn’t finish now, he might never get the words out. "I had time to think while we were ignoring each other, and I should have said something when you gave me the sweater. I didn’t know what to say and got defensive. I can’t…shouldn’t expect you to simply understand and accept everything about our way of life so soon. Or ever."

Cassidy slid her fingers into his hair and pulled Rail forward. "I forgive you," she whispered against his mouth, "and I promise to learn more about your culture, but I can’t promise I won’t be judgmental."

"And I promise to work with you. We’ll learn together."

With one more kiss, Cassidy rested her head on Rail's new tattoo and let go of consciousness
.