MySoultoSave (22 page)

The ride home was mostly silent. When they started into her
neighborhood, Tex snuck a glance at her and said, “If you’re going to puke,
open the window, okay? It’s easier to clean the outside of the car.”

She laughed, surprising herself. “Sorry I haven’t been the
best company tonight. First I yell at you, then I ignore you. Some friend,
huh?”

“Actually, you’re doing better than I thought.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m a rock of confidence.” She sighed and stared
through the windshield. “Eight thousand people. Somehow, I don’t think the old
imagine-them-naked trick is going to work.”

“You’ve been doing that?”

“No. But I was thinking about starting.”

“Not the best idea. Eight thousand naked people doesn’t
sound like an inspiring sight. I don’t know about you, but it’d scare the crap
out of me.” Smiling, Tex flicked on the signal and slowed the car, and Logan
realized they’d already reached the house. He swung into the driveway and eased
the gear into park. “If I leave you here, do you promise not to change your
name and move to Canada?”

“Way to ruin my plans, counselor.” She smirked as she
unbuckled the seatbelt. “Fine. I guess I won’t, since you’re on to me.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow night for practice.”

They said goodbye and she climbed out of the car and took
her time walking to the porch, to make sure Tex was out of sight before she
opened the door. After he drove away, she went inside—and found Jaeryth pacing
back and forth behind the couch.

“Logan,” he said with obvious relief. He reached her almost
before she got the door closed and swept her into a crushing embrace. “You’re
home.”

Most of her resolve melted away on the spot and she hugged
him back. Being in his arms felt unbelievably right. “Wow. I must’ve been gone
for an hour and a half. That’s the same as forever.” She smiled up at him. “I
missed you too.”

“I can promise you that I’ve missed you more.” He eased
back, but only a little. “Is…everything all right?”

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

His expression sharpened. “What happened?”

“Whoa. Everything’s fine.” Damn. His concern was going to
make things that much harder. How was she supposed to be suspicious of him when
she was falling for him more every minute? They had to talk—but not here. The
bedroom was way too close. “How about we go for a walk and I’ll tell you all
about it?”

“Yes. A walk.” He reached past her and pulled the door open.
“I like this idea.”

She frowned. “Kind of in a hurry, aren’t you?”

“I—” He stiffened, and then relaxed visibly, as if he’d
forced himself into it. “It was wonderful to walk with you last night. I’d
enjoy doing it again.”

“So would I.” She suspected there was more to his reaction,
but they could discuss it later. Right along with why he didn’t have a job, or
friends, or a last name.

On impulse, she headed them in the opposite direction from
the Wawa, toward the more residential sections of town. She realized she wanted
to avoid the familiar. Hopefully, there would be fewer distractions this way.

“Okay, I promised to tell you what happened,” she said. “So
here goes.”

She explained about the club show selling out and moving to
the riverside, and the huge crowd they expected. “It’s an amazing opportunity
for the band,” she said. “It’s everything I ever wanted. And…I’m terrified.”

He frowned. “You’re afraid to take what you want?”

“Yeah. Crazy, right?” She watched the sidewalk. “I feel like
I’m going to disappoint everyone. Let them down. Like I’m not what they’re
coming to hear.”

“I see.” Jaeryth went quiet for a minute. “These people who
are buying the tickets. Have they never listened to Ruined Soul?”

“Sure they have.”

“So they’ve never heard you, then.”

“Well…I guess they have. The YouTube stuff seems to be
spreading and there were all those people at the Pelican last night.”

“Ah. So you believe they’re all spending money on something
they have no interest in. Perhaps they’re attending the concert because they enjoy
being trampled in a crowd.”

She tried not to laugh, but it burst out anyway. “Either
that, or they like stale vendor pretzels and overpriced blow-up guitars.”

“Logan. Don’t you see?” His fingers brushed her arm, filling
her with electric warmth. “You
are
what they want. They’re buying
tickets to hear Logan Frost sing with Ruined Soul. You shouldn’t fear the
crowd—you should embrace it. If they didn’t want to hear your music, they would
not be there.”

Something shifted and shattered inside her, an invisible
weight she hadn’t even known she was carrying.
You are what they want.
Could it really be that simple? Her eyes stung and she swallowed past the catch
in her throat.

She wasn’t afraid any more.

“Holy shit.” Smiling, she reached out and took his hand. “I
think you just cured me of my stage fright. Thank you.”

“You are most welcome.”

They walked for a few minutes without talking, and Logan
tried to figure out a casual way to work in some of her questions. She’d
started to think maybe she didn’t need to know everything. She trusted him—and
for her, that was saying a lot.

Gradually, she realized that they’d wandered into a part of
town she’d never been to before, and it didn’t seem like the best part. She’d
been caught up in conversation and failed to notice that the quality of the
houses had declined. There was a lot of peeling paint and empty weed-choked
lots, plenty of graffiti and busted windows. Ahead of them, a pair of battered
sneakers tied at the laces hung listlessly from the power lines. And the street
was far too quiet.

“Jaeryth,” she said slowly. “I think we should go back.”

He cast her a puzzled glance, but he nodded. “All right.”

They turned around. At the end of the block stood a
shambling house with weathered, unpainted board walls and plywood nailed
clumsily over all but two of the windows. The small yard surrounding it was
bare, hard-packed dirt and the middle of the sagging wooden steps leading to
the front door had broken in half. When they neared it, a faint and sickening
odor invaded Logan’s nostrils—ammonia and sulfur. She knew that stench. The
place was a meth lab.

And the door was opening.

“Come on,” she whispered urgently, picking up the pace. “We
really don’t want to be here.”

Jaeryth glanced toward the house. “What—”

“Hey!” The door slammed open and a man in a ratty coat and a
filthy baseball cap stumbled out. “Hey, you. You!”

“Oh, Jesus.” Logan shuddered. “He’s tweaking.”

Then she noticed the misshapen lump on his back and realized
what it was. One of the freaks, riding the man like some demented child playing
piggyback. Its fingers curled around the tweaker’s shoulders and dug into his
coat, and it wore a horrific grin as it whispered constantly into the man’s
ear.

Logan tried to shout, to warn Jaeryth. But she choked on the
words when first one, then a dozen or more black-clad figures surged from the
house and started toward them—coming out the door,
through
the walls and
the boarded windows. More and more joined in, until it seemed there had to be a
hundred of them. Their rasping voices rose and fell, barely audible, but she
made out two words that kept repeating, over and over.

Kill her.

“Hey. You.”

The tweaker shoved a hand inside his grease-stained coat.
And pulled out a gun.

* * * * *

Without a second’s hesitation, Jaeryth launched himself at
the man with the weapon.

The gun thundered as they went down, deafening him. A
painful, high-pitched whine filled his ears and blocked all sound. He ignored
it to concentrate on disarming the man—not an easy task, as the human bucked
and twisted violently beneath him, still trying to aim at Logan.

He caught the man’s wrist and slammed it against the ground.
The grip didn’t ease. He did it again, and a third time. Finally, the gun
shifted loose. Jaeryth grabbed it and threw it as far as he could.

The man howled like a wounded animal—and increased his
struggles to break free. “Kill her,” he snarled through the spittle bubbling on
his lips. “Kill her, kill her!” He wrenched an arm loose and managed to land a
stinging blow to Jaeryth’s face.

As Jaeryth grappled with the man, attempting to force him to
stay down, the Tempters swarmed over them and smothered his vision in darkness.

But the human could still see.

“Jaeryth!”

Logan’s voice was muffled through his still-ringing ears. He
swiveled blindly toward the sound, intending to call out to her, tell her to
run.

A hand clamped on to his throat, with a grip like iron.

He lashed out with his fists, missing as often as striking,
the blows weakening as his breath ran out. His body lifted slowly as the man
rose beneath him. How could this human possess such strength?

“Get away from him!”

The instant Logan screamed, some of the pressure on his
throat eased. He grabbed the man’s arm in both hands and forced it down,
gasping in air while he still could. With his hearing damaged and his vision
obliterated, he couldn’t even defend himself, much less fight back.

Then a collective cry rose from the Tempters, and jags of
brilliant golden light streaked through the blackness. The light spread,
swallowing everything around him.

It vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. And the Tempters
were gone.

Jaeryth found himself kneeling on the attacker. Snarling, he
drew back for a blow—but he hesitated when he realized the man had stopped
struggling. He lay slack and still, staring up with glassy eyes and foam drying
on his lips.

He flinched when someone touched his shoulder, but the sound
of Logan’s voice kept him from striking.

“Jaeryth,” she whispered. “He tried to kill me.”

The pain behind those words sliced at him. He got to his
feet, turned and drew her into his arms. “Yes. But he failed.”

“You…you saved my life.” Logan shuddered all over and leaned
into him. “Oh God. Those
things
…why are they after me?” A wrenching sob
escaped her, and she buried her face in his chest.

He rubbed her back until she stopped trembling, wishing he
knew what to say. Finally, she eased back and sniffled once, then looked around
him to where the attacker still presumably lay. “I should call 911,” she said.
“Maybe they can save him. I think he’s still breathing.”

Jaeryth’s jaw loosened in shock. “You want to help him?
Logan, he nearly shot you!”

“It wasn’t his fault.” She sent a sad glance at the man, and
then produced her phone. “It’s the drugs. And those freaks were obviously
controlling him. I’ll just be a minute.” She moved reluctantly back from him
and turned away to make the call.

Jaeryth closed his eyes. He’d taken a pounding at the mad
human’s hands, but that pain was nothing compared to the anguish coursing
through him at nearly losing Logan. Ronwe had found her once. He would do so
again. Every demon and Tempter in the area would be looking for her now. The
incredible power she’d displayed to banish them would protect her—but only if
she understood what they were and why she had the ability to stop them.

The only way to keep her safe was to tell her the truth. All
of it. He had to make her believe it absolutely, because if she did not, she’d
never see them coming. And once he’d confessed, his fate would be sealed. He
may as well turn himself over to Samael.

But he was willing to accept an eternity of torment if it
meant that Logan would live.

“It’s done.” Logan turned back, tucking the phone away. “I
didn’t give my name. But we should get out of here. This place is going to be
mobbed with cops soon.”

“Agreed.” Jaeryth summoned a smile he didn’t feel. “Let’s
get you home. You’ve been through enough tonight.”

“I like this idea.”

She took his hand and Jaeryth allowed her to lead the way.
He savored the warmth of her skin against his and the way the night accentuated
her beauty. These were likely his last moments with her. Once he told her he
was a demon sent to corrupt her soul, she’d want nothing to do with him—and he
could not blame her.

He had failed completely. And now he’d lose everything.

Chapter Nineteen

For the first time since Logan had moved in, the house
actually felt like home. Relief flooded her when she walked inside with Jaeryth
close behind her, and switched on the living room light. She still didn’t
understand exactly what had happened back there, where all that light had come
from, why the freaks went away. But she wasn’t going to question it right now.

If Jaeryth hadn’t been there, she would’ve died. Suddenly,
knowing his last name didn’t matter any more.

She turned to him and her relief died at the sight of the
absolute misery etched into his face. “What is it?”

He stared at her with haunted eyes. “We need to talk.”

“Okay. Should we sit down?”

“Yes.”

Something told her that whatever it was, she didn’t want to
hear it. But she crossed the room and settled on the couch. After a moment,
Jaeryth approached like a convict headed for the gas chamber. He sat down
slowly, not looking at her, and drew in a shaking breath. “I’d hoped it would
never come to this,” he said. “But I won’t let you die. I have to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

He bowed his head. “I know what they are.”

“The freaks?” Her blood ran cold. “You
know
?”

“Yes.” The word barely left his lips. “They’re called
Tempters. They are minor demons, tasked with influencing humans to sin and
commit evil acts.”

“Demons,” Logan repeated. “Okay, I’m starting to think you
are actually crazy. If I hadn’t seen them myself—”

“I’m not crazy, and they are demons.” Jaeryth’s head came up
slowly and he faced her with reluctance. “I know this because I was in charge
of them.”