Authors: Nia Shay
I staggered back a step, swallowing my gorge with an effort. "What happened to his...?"
But I didn't need to finish the sentence. I'd seen. My brain just hadn't wanted to process it. A plum-sized lump of dark red tissue rested on Kevin's tee-shirt-clad stomach. His heart. Or part of it, anyway.
"He
ate
it!" Sara wailed from between her arms.
Aghast, I looked back at Brax. He smiled slowly, baring his teeth for the first time since we'd arrived. Small, neat triangular teeth, like little white knife tips all in a row. "What can I say? We've been waiting on you for hours. I got hungry."
Understanding hit me like a Mack truck. A mystery man who hung out in dreams and incited lust. He could snap spines and splinter ribs with his bare hands, and bring young women in and out of trances with a word and a touch. He wore the face of an angel with teeth like a shark's, and he snacked on human flesh.
"You're an incubus!" I gasped.
That sharp smile grew wider still. "Guilty as charged."
"Holy shit." The world seemed to swim before my eyes, its colors bleeding away in long ribbons until everything looked gray. I sank down heavily on the corner of the mattress and bowed my head, breathing shallowly to keep from adding my share to the mess on the floor.
"Jandra?" Zeph's voice seemed muffled by the blood roaring in my ears. I tracked his approaching feet across the room. He came close enough to see the ruined body, let out his breath in a sharp hiss, and turned away again.
"Settle down, now," Brax was saying, his voice smooth and sweet as honey. "I did it for you, Sara. Didn't you say this was exactly what he deserved?"
"Leave her alone," I croaked.
He heaved a sigh. "Oh, fine." The mattress shifted beneath me. I glanced over to find him crouched at the edge of the bed, looking down on his handiwork. "No one ever appreciates the ones with enough courage to do what everyone else is only thinking," he lamented.
I ignored him. "Sara, go to Zeph. Right now."
She sat up quickly, thank goodness, and scrambled down from the bed with only a little difficulty. Once she reached him, she threw her arms around him and clung. His support seemed to give her strength--her heaving breaths began to slow, and her trembling to subside.
I watched them for a moment, then glanced sidelong at Brax. Something was nagging at me. "Okay, what am I missing here?" I wondered aloud. "If
he's
there--" I gestured to the floor, "--and
you're
there--" I pointed at him, "--then who the hell kidnapped
her
?"
"Mr. Lange did the legwork, at my request," Brax explained. "I didn't think Miss Sara would get into a car with a complete stranger, and he was frighteningly easy to manipulate." He winked at Sara, though she wasn't looking at him. "Once the three of us had a chance to get acquainted and the kids discussed their differences, Sara and I decided he needed to be punished."
I pursed my lips against another wave of nausea. "Silenced, you mean."
He shrugged. "If you prefer."
"Don't you dare try to pin this on her!
You're
the one who killed him. No matter what she said in anger, she didn't know you were actually going to follow through with it."
Sara raised her head from Zeph's chest. "I...I want to go home now."
Brax glanced over my shoulder to wave at her. "Goodbye, sweet Sara. It was a pleasure meeting you. Say hello to your sister for me, won't you?"
"I told you to leave her alone." When he just smiled and shrugged, I arched an eyebrow at him. "So you're really going to give up your hostage just like that?"
"She was never a hostage, dear heart, more of a reluctant guest. And I gave my word, didn't I?"
"Yeah. So you did." Squeezing my eyes shut, I drew in a deep breath for courage--bad idea, the stench of death came with it. "Take her downstairs, Zeph. Call Cara to come pick her up."
"Of course," he replied, his tone wary. "But you're coming, too."
I shook my head. "I'll be down in a minute."
"I wouldn't bother with the phone, either," Brax added. "Just get her the hell out of here. Time's wasting."
"Here. She can take my car." I dug the keys out of my pocket and tossed them to Zeph. "Show her where we parked."
"I'm not leaving you alone with him!" he bellowed.
"Oh, don't worry. He's not going to hurt me." I frowned at Brax's self-satisfied chuckle. "He's just going to answer a few questions for me. Aren't you?"
"If it pleases you, sweetness."
"A simple 'yes' would have done just fine," I grumbled. I turned back to face Zeph with pleading in my gaze. I didn't especially like the idea either, but my impulse was, at least, logical. I'd be able to get a lot more information out of Brax without Zeph's constant accusations. A bit of persuasive charm might come in handy, too, and I couldn't pull that off with an audience. "I'm not asking you to trust him, Zeph. Trust
me.
"
"I do," he protested. "But...."
"Then
go
." I put every bit of authority I could muster into the word. "Sara needs your help."
She sniffled. "But what about you, Jade?"
I forced a smile for her concern despite of my mounting frustration. "I'll be fine, sweetie. Listen, you get at least ten miles away, then find a phone and call your sister. She'll tell you where she is--meet her there. Do
not
go home."
Sara gave a feeble nod and burst into tears again. That finally motivated Zeph to lead her out of the room, though he looked daggers over his shoulder the entire way. I waited until their footsteps faded on the stairs before I faced Brax down.
"Alone at last." He flashed a wicked smile. "Are you sure you want to pass the time talking?"
"Knock it the hell off." Damn it! The words were out of my mouth before I could call them back. Scolding him hadn't been part of my game plan. I looked away before his goading grin could touch off my temper in earnest. "Thank you, by the way. For letting her go."
"You're most welcome," he replied easily. "Such a lovely girl. It would've been a shame to see her hurt."
"If you didn't want to hurt her, did you really have to involve her in
that?"
I gestured vaguely toward Kevin's corpse. "She's going to be scarred for life."
"Oh, she didn't even watch. Though admittedly it was a little noisy." He snickered. "And anyway, I thought she'd be pleased. I don't usually eat heart--too chewy for my liking--but she was very specific."
"Oh God," I muttered, looking away.
"The lungs, however, are delectable. Subtle, yet rich in flavor, and fun to eat too. Like sponge cake." He captured me again with those beautiful blue eyes. Somehow he'd inched closer than I remembered him being a moment ago. "Would you like to split one?" he offered. "I'm sure they're still good."
"What? No!" Appalled, I shoved him away from me, putting all my weight into it. As he scrabbled to keep from falling off the bed, I shot to my feet and retreated to the doorway.
His smile returned as he rose to match me, seeming unperturbed by my outburst, though a keen, searching look had come into in his eyes. "Hmm," he mused at length. "You're just full of surprises, dear heart."
"Did you actually expect me to say yes?" I cried. "I don't eat people!
I'm
not a demon!"
He crooked an eyebrow at me. "Can you say that for certain?"
"Yes I can," I retorted, despite the nagging doubt he'd raised in my mind. Damn, what a sly bastard. With just one comment he'd managed to shake me, and to remind me of my purpose in staying behind.
But he could get rattled, too--I'd seen it firsthand. I just had to throw him off balance somehow and gain control of the situation. I'd start with the unexpected, then. Though I'd pretty much blown my chance at believable flirting, I lowered my gaze in a way I hoped looked demure.
"So. Why were you so hot to hold hands with me?"
"Because I happen to enjoy touching you," he replied, that devious note coloring his tone. "You're right, you know. This
is
the first time we've ever met quite this directly. Not that I don't thoroughly enjoy sweetening your dreams as well, but this has been a singular evening for us, dear heart. In many ways."
I looked back up, surprised to find him just within arm's reach again. The man moved like a ghost. "Have you really been protecting me since I left Zeph?" I asked. I didn't believe the "protecting" bit for a minute, but I'd stroke his ego anyway.
"I'd rather you stroke me elsewhere."
Ah, hell!
I'd let myself forget, again, that he could read my mind like a billboard. He winked at me, but grew serious again. "And you still won't trust me. That complicates things."
I scowled at him. "Give me one good reason why I
should
trust you."
"If you assume I'm lying to you, I'm not sure how I can. But think about it, sweetness. If your fall from the nephilim's graces really broke your mind as badly as you think, why
haven't
you been plagued with nightmares all this time?"
"Just lucky, I guess."
"If you mean lucky to have someone looking out for you, you're right. That was my assignment, at first--to protect your mind, and to keep that pesky psychic link as clouded and useless as possible, so
he
couldn't control you."
He'd flinched almost imperceptibly as he said that last bit, and I smiled, sensing a sore spot. "Didn't do so hot at that, did you?"
"Oh, plans have gone a bit off track." He waved a dismissive hand. "I was getting bored, so I decided to shake things up a little. Some of the results have been...unexpected."
"Yeah? Like getting me killed?"
Now his mouth turned down. "I'm still hoping to avoid that. Which would be easier if you'd come away with me right now, but I don't suppose you will."
Like hell. "Tell me why you went after Zeph in the first place."
"Boss's orders, I'm afraid." He shrugged, a nonchalant gesture, though his tone suggested something far more personal. "It could have been one of my more boring assignments, but I found ways to make it fun."
I blinked. "You weren't getting all hot and heavy in his dreams too, were you?"
I'd expected him to take offense at the question, but inexplicably, he laughed. "I prefer female flesh, but one partakes of what one must."
That had to be the world's first quintuple entendre. I ignored it, planting my hands on my hips. "That's right. Torment, kidnapping, murder...it doesn't mean anything to you, does it? This is all just an 'assignment.'"
"Oh, no. Not at all." He glided another step closer, grinning widely enough to expose his teeth again. "It's a game, dear heart, one I fully intend to win. And once I've claimed my prize--" the heat in his gaze left no doubt as to which "prize" he referred, "--I look forward to savoring it thoroughly."
I fell back as he advanced. "You're gonna eat me too, huh?"
"My darling, I will devour you for hours. Night after night after night."
In the blink of an eye he stood toe-to-toe with me. One arm slid around the small of my back. "Don't!" I cried, bracing my hands against his chest. But he moved too quickly. I never had a chance to push him away before he'd lifted me off my feet, drawing me in tight against his body. With my arms pinned in between us, I could only thrash and kick. "Put me down, damn you!"
"Stop that, now. You're being childish." He swung me around to one side.
"No! Let go of m...!"
I shrieked again as he set me back on my feet just as abruptly as he'd grabbed me. I landed off balance thanks to my squirming. I staggered, clinging reflexively to his shoulders. His hands lingered on my back to keep me upright.
"I'd suggest you learn to look where you're going," he reproved, with a meaningful glance at the spot where I'd stood a moment before. I'd backed right out of the bedroom and onto the landing, about three steps away from the balustrade. At the rate I'd been moving I might have toppled right over it.
That was the last straw. Helpless tears stung my eyes, and I fought to keep them from spilling. I'd been running in emotional overdrive for the last twenty-four hours straight, and now this latest burst of adrenaline had nowhere to go--no danger to escape, no battle to be fought. The bad guy had just saved my ass. And was still holding me, tenderly, as if I were a china doll. Nothing made sense anymore.
"Let go of me," I said again, my voice trembling as hard as the rest of me.
"Step away," he countered. "I won't stop you."
I should have, even if it meant falling down in a heap when my knees inevitably buckled. But my legs wouldn't obey the command. Survival instinct ruled, and that primitive part of me wouldn't be moved from away his solidity, the sense of safety he offered. God, he was right. My body
did
recognize him. And it was responding.
"Yes," he whispered, triumph gleaming in the depths of those baby blues. "I told you. I'm not the bad guy."
"Then who are you?"
His free hand brushed my cheek, framing it. "I'm yours." Another echo, from another dream. His gaze fixed on my lips, going soft and unfocused. "Let me kiss you, sweetness."
My breath hitched in my throat as hot tingles erupted all over my body. No, no, no, this wasn't right. "This is hardly the time or place," I protested weakly.
One corner of his mouth curved upward as he bent his head toward mine. "I'm not hearing 'no.'"
"I didn't say yes...."
The words had barely passed my lips before he covered them with his own. His fingers slid along my cheek, circling around to cradle the nape of my neck. Those hands that had ended a life, that mouth that had torn a body apart touched me so softly it stole the strength from my limbs. I sagged in his arms, near to swooning. Damn it all. I was as powerless against him here in the real world as I had been in our dreams.
He broke the kiss with a short laugh. "Powerless?" he repeated, incredulous. "Don't you see yet? You hold all the power over me."