Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
Kimberly
knocks at the door and Keely assures her that everything is fine. She stalks into her bathroom an
d sets the shower on hot. S
tares at her trembling reflection in the mirror.
“You are so weak,” she spits at the girl staring back at her. “Everyone is getting hurt because of you.” She pulls the cabinet open and retrieves her pills. She fumbles with the lid that refuses to budge. Keely screams out in frustration and throws the bottle against the wall. The lid flies in one direction, the bottle in the other. The small pills scatter over the floor. She slams the cabinet door shut and the mirror cracks diagonally.
Keely laughs without humor.
Perfect.
Stepping into the shower, the water scalds her skin. She ignores the pain as she soaps her loofah and scrubs her skin raw. Satisfied that all of Bryon’s blood is washed from her skin, she shampoos her hair quickly. That was probably one of the worst panic
attacks she has ever had. She’
s
b
eginning to feel guilty. Nick’
s probably worried about her. She should call him right away. Keely turns the water off and wraps a towel around her securely.
Asmoday is sitting on t
he floor,
legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. His a
rms are folded across his chest
and his head rests back against the wall. There are dark circles around his eyes, Keely notices.
“Hey,
”
she whispers.
“I
was sitting there, waiting for you to come back from the bathroom, and
trying to ignore your Guardian
,
when I was hit with an urgent desire to kill myself. It took me several minutes before I realized these were not my feelings.” He plucks a pill from the floor and examines it before looking up at her sadly. “Why?”
Keely steps over him
in
to her bedroom. He’
s in front of her before she can make it to her closet. “Why
,” he pleads.
“I’m all right now,”
she says
,
focusing on the curtains as they billow in and out. “Can’t you just let it go?”
“Let it go?” He repeats her words slowly. She walks around him and digs through her closet.
“No. I can’
t let it go.” He grabs her shoulder and turns her around. “
Do you know what will
happen to y
ou if you commit suicide? Do you not
remember
what
happened to my mother? I cannot
protect you in Purgatory.” His eyes flash with concern and he grips her tightly.
“I didn’t do it. It was
just a passing thought.”
“I know it was more than that.”
Keely pulls away from him. “I freaked out for a minute. All these bad things keep happening to people I care about because of m
e. For a moment I considered whether
they would be better off without me.”
“They would not. All you would accomplish is trapping yourself with the Demon King until your debt of punishment was paid in full. F
or most, that is eternity.
I left that life, Keely. I cannot go back. He would never allow it. You would be alone. The things they would do to you…” He shakes his head. “I need you. I do not know who I would be without you.”
Keely meets his eyes. They are so incredibly sad. Guilt pulls at her heart. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. She didn’t realize how
close she had come to doing something so stupid. So, so stupid. It wouldn’t have even done any good. She would have given herself over to
her father
. She would have brought even more misery to the people she loves.
“I’m
sorry. I didn’t
think it through. I am just really
tired of causing so much pain.”
“You would cause a great
deal more if you were not here,
”
Asmoday says softly.
She nods. “Damnation.”
He
cups her face in his hands. “Yes, there is that as well.”
Keely is still as his fingers move gently over her jaw. She becomes very aware she is only in a towel. His fingertips slip from her face to her neck, light as a feather over her bruises. Trace across her collar bones. “I want to kiss you.” His fingers continue onto her shoulders. “I want to kiss you more than I have ever wanted anything else in my life.” Fingers caress the smooth skin of her arms. Find her hands
. He pulls
her into him.
His breath is sweet and cool on her heated skin. With a shudder, she closes her eyes. His hands slide around her, press into the small of h
er back. She tilts her head up
and her
new
cell phone rings loudly. She jumps guiltily and stares at it.
“I should,” she begins. She clears her throat.
Tries again.
“I should answer that.”
It hurts to let go of her, but he does. He watches her, unwilling or unable to take his eyes off of her. He follows the drops of water as they drip from her tangled
hair. Eyes sweep over the
towel that hugs her body.
“Hello?”
“Keely? Are you all right? Where are you?”
“I’m fine, Nick. I’m home. I should have told you I was leaving. I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure you’re o.k.?”
“Yes. I promise. I was just a little upset. I went to see Dustin. He wasn’t real thrilled to see me though. I just needed to get out of there.”
“It’s fine,” he sighs.
“
I’m on my way over.”
“Oh. Asmoday’s here right now.” She bites her lip and stares at the floor.
“You have to be with one of us, and seeing as he is not one of us, and Bryon’s in the hospital
,
and Lila is here with Bryon, I am coming over.”
“Oh. O.k. I’ll see you in a little bit then.” The call ends before Keely can say goodbye.
Asmoday takes the phone from her hand and drops it onto her bed. “Perhaps you should get dressed?”
Keely laughs nervously. “Yeah, probably.” She grabs clothes and goes to her bathroom to change. Pulls a brush through her hair and brushes her teeth. She steps on something as she rinses her tooth brush. One of her pills. She drops to her knees and sweeps them into a pile with her hands. Drops them into the toilet and flushes them.
Tosses the container in
the trash.
Back in her room, Asmoday waits for her in the same place he was before she left. Their eyes meet, locking on
to one another. He nods at her
and she i
s overcome with adoration. He s
ends his affection through the cord so intensely
,
it knocks out every other thought and feeling she had.
He drifts over to stand in front of her as if she pulled h
im to her. His strong hands draw her
body
against
his
. “You do not realize
the power you have over me,” Asmoday says quietly. He
brushes the hair from her shoulders.
Keely’s body goes rigid. “What do you m
ean?” She doesn’t want power over
anybody.
“You could so easily destroy me,” he says matter-of-factly.
“I would never. I could never des
troy you. I know I’m a Doyenne
or whatever, but I don’t have any plans to hurt anybody.”
“Why can you not understand?” He bends his knees, coming face to face with her. “You hold my heart in your beautiful delicate hands.” He grips her fingers with his. “I have never given my heart to anybody. I didn’t know I had one. But I gave it
to you. That makes me vulnerable. I am at your mercy.” He smiles at her. “Which is not a bad place to be. I am in love with you.”
She diverts her eyes quickly. She can’
t look at hi
m a second more or she will lose her self control.
“I need to know, Keely. Can you ever love me?
Truly love me as I love you?
”
“Don’t ask me that.”
“Why?”
She pulls away from him. “Because it doesn’t matter. I’m with Nick.”
“It matters to me.”
“What good will knowing do?”
“I suppose none if the answer
is no, b
ut if it is yes, you will make me extremely happy.” He grins at her.
Keely laugh
s despite her attempt not to
, but sobers quickly
. “I can’t go there right now.”
“You have not said no.”
When Keely turns away
again
without a response, Asmoday
drags her back to him quickly
. Arms encircle her firmly. “That is enough for me.” He kisses her forehead. A caress of his lips.
He turns his head
, his mouth in her hair
. “Your Guardian is here.”
With a smile, he lets
his lips drag across her ear
. “I’ll be back later to sleep with you. Until then,” he murmurs as his teeth graze gently
along
he
r
ear
lobe.
He leaves Keely with a rush of warmth. She is flustered and confused. It takes Nick a moment to get past Kimberly and Keely has just enough time to recover before he is there, embracing her. His arms wrapping around
her
as Asmoday’s did just seconds before.
Thirty-Six
:
Before Nick has time to question Keely about leaving the hospital, the doorbell chimes. They both listen quietly as Kimberly answers the door.
“
May we speak with your family
?” Keely recognizes the voice. Kind, but full of authority.
The pretty woman with the built in lie detector.
“Ambriel?
” Nick looks at Keely, confusion and concern crinkle his eyes. “Why is she here?”
“Of course. Please, come in,” Kimberly says. Keely picks up the nerves hidden in her mother’s voice. She shrugs at Nick and heads downstairs.
“Princess. How are you this evening?” Ambriel is flanked by Michael, Coach, and two others that Keely doesn’t recognize. Nick nods at them. “Guardian Wallace.”
“Is something wrong?” Keely plays with the hem of her shirt nervously.
“Keely. Don’t be rude,” Kimberly says quietly.
“It’s all right. Showing up here unannounced, I can understand your worry,” Coach says.
“We decided, in light of recent circumstances
, it’s best for your
team’s replacements to begin,” Ambriel says. She gestures at Coach. “Muriel will sit in for
Watcher Hill
until he is able to resume his duties.” She places her hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Michael has been kind enough to volunteer himself. He will take lead.”
Ambriel’s eyes lock onto Nick. “From this moment, he is in charge.”
Nick nods. “I understand.”
“Princess, I need you to go pack your belongings while I speak with your parents.” When Keely doesn’t budge, just stands there looking c
onfused, Ambriel adds, “You
will be living at the Academy until further notice. It is the safest place for you.”
Asmoday’s words flash through her head.
That school, the Academy, it has the same spell around its grounds. I could not enter there either.
“No. I don’t want to live there. This is my home.”
“It’s for
your protection, Keely. You’
ve had too many close calls,” Coach says.
“I know this must be hard,” Ambriel says. “B
ut right now is not the time for self pity. You need to be strong. There is too much at stake
.”
Keely translates that easily.
Quit being a whiny little brat and do as I say before you get yourself kidnapped and end the world.
“You’re right
. I’m sorry.” She turns away and hurries upstairs.
As she packs her clothes, Keely realizes she misses Asmoday already. He will never be able to
visit her while she’s there a
nd she doubts she’ll
ever be allowed to leave. E
ven if she were, the day
s of their private moments are g
one. He will never again sleep in her room with her. When she’s upset, he won’t be able to come to her. No more conversations about their feelings for each other. No more teasing comments. No more almost kisses.
She picks up her pillow and searches it for his scent. Inhaling deeply, she relaxes. Adds the pillow to her suitcase.