Above The Flames (The Flames Trilogy #1) (11 page)

Chapter 12

Chaos

Jasmine wasn’t expecting Amon to come at her, so it was a reflex to shove her hands out in front of her. Of course, she’d already brought her power out, which made her hands shine neon blue. Amon kept moving forward, his face determined. He smacked right into her palms, and instantly flew backward through the air, shaking like he’d been electrocuted. The momentum made Jasmine stumble as well, and she landed hard on the ground. When she looked up, Amon was flat on his back.

She got up quickly, barely finding her footing before she rushed to his side. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Amon sat up. He brought his knees up and draped his arms over them. Then he focused on her and laughed. “Wow. Wasn’t expecting that.”

“Yeah, I come with quite a punch,” she said, her voice filled with laughter.

Amon lifted the front of his shirt up, and on his chest were too small marks. They were red, but seemed to be fading quickly.

“At first I thought you’d killed me. The jolt that went through my body caused my breath to disappear. But the effects fade fast.”

Jasmine swallowed, not really hearing what he’d said. When he’d lifted his shirt, she’d locked on to those lean ab muscles. But she was acting foolish. She had a boyfriend, and didn’t need to be ogling her trainer. She gave herself a mental slap and tore her eyes away from the muscles, making herself focus on his face.

“Huh?” she asked as he waited for an answer.

“I said the effects fade fast. At least on me. Perhaps your power isn’t as strong as you think it is. Have you practiced using it over the years?”

Jasmine shook her head. “No. Not really. Since I was young, I decided it was better locked away.”

“Why?” Amon asked.

“I’m not really sure. But the day my dad died, the demon who was after us…well, after me that is…” Jasmine cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the ball that had formed. “Well, the demon wouldn’t have been after me if it wasn’t for my power, so my power is the reason my dad died. It’s my fault.” Jasmine covered her mouth with her hand.

Amon’s thick eyebrows shot up.

Jasmine’s stomach twisted. “I shouldn’t have told you that. I don’t know why I did.”

“I told you I’m a good listener, remember?” Amon leaned forward and turned his head so his ear was in her line of sight.

Jasmine laughed at his awkward attempt at humor.

“Tell me what happened with the demon. How long ago was this?” Amon asked.

“Two years ago,” Jasmine said.

Amon’s eyebrows furrowed. “It can’t be. How did a demon escape two years go? The gates were still in place then.”

Jasmine shrugged. “Beats me. But he was here with orders to find me. He was supposed to drag me back to Hell, but my power got the best of him and he exploded.” Jasmine paused, running the blade of grass along her jaw line. “It was a long time ago. And I don’t really want to relive it any more than I have to. Even though I had to relive it when I came face to face with him when I was kidnapped by Bael. He was the one who killed Grizzles.”

“Well, we killed him. He is dead now.”

Jasmine nodded, then dropped the grass and gazed at him. “Anyway, you’ve told me absolutely nothing. So, why don’t we start with this one: how did you, who was once an angel, end up in Hell?”

Amon’s nostrils flared once. His cheeks turned red as a beet, and then he exhaled loudly. “That is not something I will discuss.”

“Why not? I told you my sob story. Why can’t you?”

Amon stood in one fluid motion, and before Jasmine could get to her feet he was already walking away. More like sprinting away. “I have to go check around the house. Demons may have followed us. We can’t be too careful right now,” he mumbled through what sounded like clenched teeth.

Jasmine got to her feet and rushed after him. “Now hold on. You’re acting like a child. It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about what happened. Trust me, I know all about keeping things bottled up inside. But sometimes it’s better when you do talk to someone. It’s like a weight off your shoulders.”

He stopped for a moment, turning to her. “The weight will always be on my shoulders. So, no, I don’t think talking about it will help. Nothing will. It’s too late. Now, I’m going to check around and make sure Bael and his crew haven’t found us yet. Okay?”

Jasmine nodded at him, but kept her lips pressed together. Amon preached about how he was a good listener and he needed the truth about everything, but he couldn’t return the favor. And now that he’d refused to answer her question, she wanted to know what happened more than anything. Hopefully her curiosity wouldn’t get the best of her.

On her way to the back door, Beau jogged to her side. “Trouble in paradise?” His bushy blond eyebrows raised, then lowered.

Jasmine dropped her forehead into her hand. “If you have something to say, just say it. I’m not sure what your eyebrows are doing there, but I know you well enough to know it means something so out with it.” She sighed, not having the energy to deal with his jealous crap again.

Beau clamped his lips tightly. A flash of anger popped into his blue eyes, but he quickly smiled, trying to hide it. “It’s nothing. Forget it. Just me being an idiot.” He winked. “I guess I tend to do that a little too often.”

Silence followed, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it reminded Jasmine exactly why she loved Beau so much. No matter how bad things were, or how much needed to be said, he was good at waiting until she was ready to talk. He was good at comfortable silence, and she cherished that about him, even though she knew sometimes she took him for granted.

“You’re pretty great. Even when it looks like your head might explode from your neck and leave little Beau chunks spread across the grass.” She fake laughed. “Which would be disgusting and…wow, I don’t even know where that came from.”

Beau scrunched his face. “That is pretty sick. And you call yourself a lady.” They laughed together, shoulder to shoulder.

“You remember when we used to come out here and scream as loud as we could, just to hear our words come back to us?” Beau asked.

Jasmine grinned. “I do. We acted like such kids.”

His arm snaked around her and he pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. “The good old days. Before chaos found me.” She exhaled deeply. “Let’s go inside.”

Together they walked through the back door and straight to the living room. Once snuggled on the sofa, Jasmine reached over and grabbed the remote. She stared at it a moment, and bit the inside of her lip, remembering Amon trying to figure it out, then she turned the TV on. Eventually, she fell asleep feeling comfortable and safe wrapped up in the scent of citrus.

***

Caim exploded into the living room. “Guys. Wake up. We have to go. Now!”

Jasmine jumped to her feet before she fully woke up. She rubbed her eyes, which were blurry from sleep. “What? Did something happen?” Drool dripped from the corner of her mouth and the back of her hand shot up to catch it before it fell.
How embarrassing. I hope nobody saw that.

“We have to go. The demons are attacking the town,” Caim said, pacing the room.

Jasmine held her hands in front of her, waving them back and forth. “Wait. Slow down. How do you know this?”

“I had a vision. Of demons and blood. And death. Lots of death. We have to hurry. Have you seen Amon?”

Beau stepped behind her and his arms hovered around her sides. He shook his head. “No, not since earlier.”

Caim’s eyes searched her own. “You?”

“No. He said he was going to check around the house. Make sure the demons hadn’t found us. That was the last I saw him. But we did fall asleep.”

Caim raised one eyebrow. “So I noticed.” He put a finger in each side of his mouth and whistled loudly. Jasmine covered her ears. Caim yelled, “Everyone! Get down here!”

Jasmine’s heart raced as she thought of Ma and Pa. “How do your visions work?” She’d finally woken up enough to realize what Caim was saying. “Are they of the future? Things that will happen? Or have they already happened?”

Caim shrugged. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell. I see things often that have already come to pass. Things that I can’t change. But occasionally I see future events. There are rules, though. We are never allowed to alter what will be.”

“Are Cole’s visions the same as yours?” Jasmine asked.

At that moment, Cole shuffled into the room with Gemma at his side. “Yup. Caim’s teaching me how to touch something and get a vision right now. It’s pretty cool. I think it will really be helpful once I figure it all out.”

Jasmine nodded, then turned at the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs. Azzy and Lamia stopped at the doorway.

“Have you guys seen Amon?” Jasmine asked.

“No. Why?” Lamia asked, glaring. Maybe she wasn’t glaring, but was just tired.

“What did he do now?” Azzy asked.

“Caim had a vision. The demons may have already attacked. We have to go and try to help.” Jasmine turned to Caim. “I’ll go find Amon.

She zoomed out the front door. She searched the porch. She followed the outside of the house. “Amon!” She screamed his name over and over. About to give up and leave without him, she turned and ran to the front of the house again, then climbed the steps.

“Looking for me?” Amon asked, a smirk on his face.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes as she saw Amon sitting on the porch swing. “Where the hell were you?” She clenched her fists at her sides. “We need to go. What the hell were you thinking?” Amon’s mouth moved to speak, but Jasmine wasn’t having it. “No. Just stop. Not. In. The. Mood. Get the others and let’s go.”

Amon raised his eyebrows. “I understand you want to leave now, but you have no idea what you’re up against. You’ve had a taste of the demons, sure, but not a full meal. You aren’t ready for this kind of battle.”

Jasmine’s mouth dropped open. Then she balled her hands at her sides. “You have no right to tell me what I’m ready for. My grandparents live in town, and I might be able to save them. I have to try.”

“Then go. But I won’t watch you put yourself in danger. I will stay here and guard the house. Take the others and go.”

What is wrong with him?

A hand gently grabbed hers and squeezed. “Jasmine. Are you okay?” Gemma asked in a soft voice.

Jasmine nodded, swallowing around a lump in her throat. “Y-yeah. I just want to leave.”

Gemma pressed her lips together. “I know. Let’s head to the car,” she said, guiding Jasmine.

Once everyone was in the Escalade, Beau took off, leaving a sulking Amon sitting by himself on the porch.

***

Beau sped through the darkened streets outside the town of Island Park, but Jasmine sat forward, her head inches from the dash. She gripped the underside of the leather seats, her nails digging into it so hard they bent slightly at the tips. Somehow she reminded herself to blink. No cars drove anywhere near them, the streets completely void of any and all life. Her heart beat so loudly she was surprised that nobody said anything.

They passed an upside down car. A long, pale arm hung out the window, lying across the grass. “Wait, there’s a person back there. We need to see if they’re alive,” Jasmine said.

“They aren’t. Didn’t you see the blood?” Caim asked.

She shook her head and looked out her window again. Garbage cans were on their sides in the middle of the street. Beau weaved around the obstacles.

“Hurry,” she whispered.

Beau used the rearview mirror to meet her eyes briefly. “I’m going as fast as I can.”

“I know.”

Her dry throat made her voice raspy, so she stopped talking. Cole wouldn’t meet her eyes. In fact, everyone in the car looked at their laps. Her face heated, so she rolled her window down and let the cool evening air hit it.

Beau stopped the car at the one stoplight. Before he popped the gear into park, Jasmine opened the door and jumped out. Her legs wanted to move. The minute she stood, though, dizziness came over her. She placed her hands on the hood of the car until her head cleared.

“Are you okay?” Beau asked, his hands rubbing her shoulders.

She nodded, not trusting her voice. She squared her shoulders, and then stepped toward the sidewalk in front of a hardware store. She focused on the windows of the small shop. Red streaks splattered the clear glass. She hit something with her foot, falling forward. Strong arms caught her. They were Caim’s.
She looked down to see what she tripped over.
Oh my God!
It was a body. Lifeless eyes stared up at her.

Jasmine shuffled backward. “We’re too late.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She took a shaky breath and smelled metal.

“Focus. We have to keep going. Check the bodies, and if you find anyone alive, let them know we’re here to help,” Caim said from behind her.