Souls of the Damned (Kat Redding) (21 page)

Levi howled and the invisible bonds that held me vanished. I crumbled to the ground, surprised at the sudden release. My hand landed atop the bloody knife.

Levi spun in a circle and tried to yank Chris from his back. He was bleeding, yet somehow it didn’t look like real blood. It was too red, too bright. It was what a child might think blood looked like.

Finally, he regained some of his composure and he stopped spinning. With a snarl he threw both his hands into the air. Chris flew from his back and slammed into Levi’s pickup truck as if an invisible hand had plucked him from the angel and had thrown him as far as it could. He was on his feet in an instant, but before he could leap, Levi used his magic to stop him.

Chris snarled, suspended in air. Levi held up a hand, palm open and upward.

And then he closed it with an audible snap.

Chris
exploded
as if crushed by pressures too powerful for his body to handle. Blood and gore splattered everywhere. It rained down upon us in chunks.

I snatched up the knife. I was right beside Eilene. This was my only chance.

“I’m so, so sorry,” I said as tears marred my cheeks.

Eilene smiled. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes and tipped her head backward.

Levi turned just as I swept the knife blade across her exposed throat.

“No!” Levi shouted. His voice boomed, echoing off of the trees. All illusion was gone. Wings spread at his back and a radiant, burning light emanated from him. He pressed the full force of his power against me, causing me to stagger back.

Blood bubbled as Eilene tried to laugh. It covered her shirt, poured down her frail frame in gushes. It was hard to believe so much blood could come from someone so small.

The light from her eyes began to dim.

“Good-bye,” I whispered to her as Levi
flew
toward me. His wings beat at his back, lifting him off of the ground. Power scorched the road as it flickered from him in violent whips.

His hold on me broke. I turned and ran, fighting off his groping control. I could feel his power flare over me, but it slid to the side as if he could no longer touch me. Strength flashed through my body, caused me to run far faster than I’d ever run before.

Levi screamed as I threw myself toward the shimmer that was the border between realms. His fingers brushed my back, tugging on the fabric of my shirt, but it was too late. I burst through the bubble that kept him trapped within Delai and hit the ground on the other side with a jolt that sent agony spearing through me.

I rolled over and watched as the angel roared in rage. His white wings were spread. They seemed to reach forever.

Behind him, the light faded completely from Eilene’s eyes. Her head sank slowly to the pavement.

With a flash that sent me skidding across the road to slam up against the side of a parked car, Delai imploded upon itself. The world fell silent.

Levi was gone.

“Do you need me to get you anything?”

Jonathan hovered over me like he had been for the last hour. No matter how many times I told him I was okay, he remained nearby with a worried expression on his face.

I hurt everywhere, including places I didn’t know existed. I’d managed to scrape up my elbow pretty badly sometime during my encounter with Levi, though I’m not sure when. Doctor Lei had cleaned it up—which hurt like hell, by the way—and bandaged it with heavy gauze since I kept bumping it against things.

“I’m fine,” I said. I sat up from where I’d been lying on the couch. Pain immediately rocked me back and I clutched at my head. Lei’s medicines had helped with the headache that had exploded the moment Delai had vanished, but it still lingered there, right behind my eyes. Every time I moved too fast, my head felt like it would split in two.

But it wasn’t the physical pain that hurt the most. I kept seeing the light fade from Eilene’s eyes as her life bled away. Her death was on my hands. I’d gone so damn long without having to kill anyone, and yet when I finally was forced to, it had to be someone I cared about.

I had to force myself to stop grinding my teeth. I was pissed off and hurting and it was only making my head hurt worse.

My gaze moved to the window. The street was empty of all but a few cars. None of the people of Delai had magically appeared as far as I knew. Unless they’d popped into existence where they’d first stepped into the mystical town, I doubted they’d ever be heard from again.

“I really should go.” I slowly made my way to my feet. Jonathan put a hand on my elbow to help me up. He did it in a way that told me if I were to ask him to leave me alone, he would quickly back off. I think he expected me to.

His hand felt good on the little bit of flesh that wasn’t scraped or bruised. I don’t even remember how I got that beat up. It was a good thing a car hadn’t been coming when I’d burst through the barrier between realms or I’d be in a far worse way than I was now.

“You could always stay here and rest,” Jonathan said. “I called Jeremy like you asked. He knows you are back and safe. He can take care of things at your place for a few more hours. They don’t need you just yet.”

As good as curling up in Jonathan’s arms sounded, I didn’t want to wait. The longer I remained in Sienna’s body, the more I got used to it. It was already going to be hard enough going back to the body tainted with vampire blood. I didn’t want to risk making it impossible.

“No,” I said, resting my head against his arm for a heartbeat before pulling away. “I really should go.”

“Here.” Doctor Lei handed me a plastic bag filled with bottles of pain meds. “Make sure to take them regularly. And make sure the other girl does so as well when you . . . switch.” She made a face as if she still didn’t believe it was possible to swap souls.

“Thanks,” I said. I was glad for the pills. It was going to be hard enough to explain to Sienna how I beat up her body so much. It seemed like every time I borrowed something, I broke it.

But this wasn’t Jeremy’s car. This was Sienna’s body and life I’d broken. I might have saved her from ever having to go back to Levi, but I’d cost her so much more.

Doctor Lei stood there a moment, seemingly unsure what to do or say, before she gave me a lopsided smile and walked away.

“Come back soon,” Keira said from where she stood by the window. “Don’t be a stranger.” She smiled. “At least, no more than you already are.”

I actually managed a laugh. “I’ll be me the next time. I promise.”

Nathan grunted from the dining room like he didn’t think me being back in my old body was such a good thing. When I looked over at him, he gave me a slight nod and winked. I returned the nod, surprised, and then headed for the front door.

“At least let me drive you home,” Jonathan said. “I won’t be happy unless you do.”

“Sure,” I said. “I’d like that.”

We got into Jeremy’s car. It was still parked where I’d left it. Thankfully, I hadn’t gotten a ticket and vandals hadn’t come and spray painted it pink or something. I had a feeling Keira and Nathan made sure no one bothered it while I was gone.

Jonathan started the engine, but didn’t start driving right away. He sat there, hands on the wheel, looking straight ahead. He looked like he wanted to say something. He glanced at me, sighed, and then put the car in gear.

We rode in silence. Jonathan could have grilled me about what had happened in Delai, but he didn’t. I wasn’t sure if it was because he could sense my reluctance to talk about it or if he wasn’t sure what exactly to ask. Either way, I was thankful. His silence earned him a few more brownie points in my book.

I pressed my face against the warm glass of the car window, soaking in the sun for what would probably be the last time of my life. I closed my eyes and let it wash over me. In a few hours, I wouldn’t be able to do this anymore. All too soon, it would be little more than a memory.

The thought hurt. So much had happened in such a short span of time, it was hard to believe it would all be gone soon. No more sun, no more nights where I could actually sleep.

No more Jonathan.

I sniffed back tears and sat up straighter. I would not cry over this. I’d lived most of my life without these things and I could do so again.

It just wouldn’t be easy.

“I’ll be glad when you are you again,” Jonathan said. “This body has freed you from some of your restraints, but I miss the old you.”

“I don’t see why.”

He glanced at me as he turned into my driveway. “You can be stubborn and your anger sometimes takes you over, but there was always a strength to you, a drive. It kept you alive, kept you fighting when anyone else would have given up. I’m afraid that if you spent too much time in a body like this, you’d lose that.” He hesitated. “I’d lose you.”

I looked at him. His face was impassive, but I could tell he meant what he’d said. Why he cared about me when I so often treated him and everyone around him like shit, I would never know. I guess love truly is blind, if that was what this was.

My stomach clenched at the thought. I shouldn’t allow myself to love anybody. I shouldn’t allow them to love me. It would only make it that much harder when the monsters finally caught up with me. This couldn’t work.

Jonathan parked the car outside the garage. He shut off the engine, removed the keys, and handed them to me.

“Do you want to come in?” I asked, fingering the keys. I might believe that it couldn’t work out between us, but I was reluctant to let him go.

He thought about it a moment before shaking his head. “I can’t watch you do this. I need a little more time.”

“You could check on Jeremy. I’m sure he’d like to see you.”

“Maybe next time.”

We both got out of the car. Jonathan scanned the area, squinting into the sun. He looked uncomfortable. I’d forgotten how little he was out during the day.

“How are you going to get home?” I asked, not sure I was ready to part from him. This very well might be the last truly peaceful moment we got together.

“I’ll run,” he said. “It’s been too long since I let myself go.”

“Oh.” What else was there to say?

Jonathan turned and made as if to lope off. A sudden fear gripped me that if he left now, I would never see him again. I rushed forward and called after him to wait.

He turned back to me just as I reached him. My hand rose of its own accord and I gently stroked his cheek. This felt so wrong, but damn it, it was what I wanted. I was tired of denying myself things just because I didn’t believe I deserved to be happy.

I leaned forward and kissed him. He hesitated a moment before returning the kiss. His arms wrapped around me and for what was probably going to be the last and only time ever, we embraced under the sun, visible to anyone who might be watching.

He broke the kiss and stepped back. “I should . . .” He shook his head. “I’ll see you soon.” He turned and walked away.

I couldn’t watch him leave. It felt too final. I headed for the front door, refusing to look back. I started to reach for the fingerprint reader, but stopped myself just before using it. It wouldn’t work while I was in this body. It was becoming too easy to forget I wasn’t me anymore.

I knocked on the door instead. Jeremy answered almost immediately. He was grinning.

“Good to have you home,” he said. His gaze flickered to where Jonathan and I had been a moment before, telling me he’d been watching.

“It’s good to be back,” I said, stepping past him.

Ethan stood by the stairs as I entered. His arms were crossed and he was frowning. He looked as if he hadn’t showered in days.

“Did you . . . ?” he started. “I mean, is it . . . ?”

“Yeah,” I said before he could ramble some more. “It’s over.”

Ethan sagged against the wall. “Now what?” he asked, eyeing me up and down. His gaze lingered on my bandaged arm and his frown returned.

“Now I give Sienna her body back.”

It was as if that was exactly what he’d been waiting to hear. He turned and led the way down the stairs, into his lab. I followed him down, Jeremy behind me. No words were necessary for this. I could explain what happened later.

Sienna looked terrible in her cage. She eyed Ethan hungrily as he walked over to his desk. He stopped and stared down at the desktop, shoulders tense. The briefcase I’d taken from a Left Hand member months ago sat there, open.

“I see you’ve thought about this,” I said. I glanced at where Sienna crouched in her cell. “She hasn’t gotten any better?”

“No.”

“How did you feed her?”

Ethan didn’t answer, so I looked at Jeremy instead. He only nodded his head in Ethan’s direction. It took me a moment to realize what he meant.

“You let her feed off of you?”

Ethan shrugged. “It was the only way. She didn’t like the donated blood.”

I felt sick. This wasn’t what I wanted. Ethan was giving himself up to a vampire when there were alternatives. She might not have liked the taste of the bagged blood, but she would have eaten it if she’d gotten hungry enough. I knew finding a blood donor wasn’t easy, not unless you were willing to attack someone on the streets and take it by force, but I hadn’t been gone that long. She would have survived.

Ethan sighed and removed a syringe and a glass vial from the briefcase. He filled the syringe with the concoction the Left Hand used to pacify their victims before turning to the cage.

“Sienna,” he said, speaking softly and gently, as he might to a child. “This is going to make you sleep for a little bit. We need you calm so we can give you your body back.”

She bared her fangs at him, but nodded. She was struggling horribly with the hunger and anger that drove nearly every vampire and werewolf to the breaking point. Like Ethan, she hadn’t showered since I’d left. It only made her look wilder.

But despite her near-feral state, when Ethan reached the cage, she slipped an arm through the bars. Ethan took her hand, kissed the knuckles one by one, before pressing the needle into the skin.

And then we waited. The silver wouldn’t work on her thanks to what Adrian had done to me, but the knockout component would. I probably should have warned them about it just in case Sienna fought through the effects, but thankfully, I didn’t have to. She dragged herself to the back of the cage, where she slumped over, blinking slowly, until her eyes finally closed. We gave her a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t faking it before Jeremy unlocked the cage and entered. He knelt beside her and checked her pulse.

“It’s safe,” he said. Ethan entered and helped lift Sienna from the floor. Together, they carried her out and into the circle. They set her gently into the chair.

“Kat.” Ethan glanced at me as they stepped out of the circle. “It’s your turn.”

I took a deep breath and then entered the circle. My heart was pounding so hard, it was making me woozy. What would I do if Beligral refused to change us back? The demon was under no obligation to do so. He could simply laugh in our faces and vanish, leaving me trapped in a body that wouldn’t be able to handle everything Baset and the other monsters might throw at me.

Ethan went about summoning the demon. I didn’t want to be crouched or kneeling when Beligral emerged, but I wanted to be holding Sienna. I reached down and clasped her hand. It was awkward, but her touch made me feel just a little better.

Beligral stepped through the tear, bringing heat with him. He was grinning, but it faltered when he saw Sienna and I waiting for him.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked, almost carefully, like he fully expected not to like the answer.

“Turn them back the way they were,” Ethan said before I could speak. “Now.”

The demon glanced at him, an amused look on his face. “And why should I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, this will be the last time you ever see the inside of this room.” Ethan’s tone surprised me. He sounded hard, like a man with nothing to lose. It was then I realized he would rather die than to see Sienna suffer any longer.

Beligral huffed and turned toward me. “Is this what you truly want?”

“I do.”

He sighed. “You don’t get it, do you? The power you could hold while in that body far surpasses anything you could achieve in your old one.” He nodded toward the unconscious Sienna. “This is a blessing I have given you and you are going to throw it away for what? To save her soul?” He scoffed.

“Yeah, well, I’m done playing human,” I said. “I want my old body back.”

“And if I refuse?”

I shrugged, feigning a calm I didn’t feel. “You heard Ethan. He sounded pretty serious to me.”

Beligral’s face went dark. “You have always craved your humanity,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “I have given you what you wanted.”

“No,” I said. “I never wanted this.” I squeezed Sienna’s hand.

“There is so much potential in you, yet you allow yourself to be restrained by your shell.”

“Will you hurry up and get this over with?” I put as much disdain in my voice as I could. “I’m tired of standing here. I’ve had a long day.”

Beligral closed his eyes and heaved another sigh. “Fine,” he said. “You know how this goes. Ready yourself.”