Darkness Fair (The Dark Cycle Book 2) (4 page)

“I realize that,” Sid says. “Perhaps one of us can call the doctor tomorrow to be safe. But I don’t think that’s what this is.”

“What the hell else could it be?” Connor asks.

“I can’t be sure, not yet.” We just keep glaring at Sid, so he adds, “I believe the blood may be a signal that the spell I put on her in order to awaken your powers, Aidan—it could be . . . weakening. When I reversed the curse her father placed over her, things had the potential to fail. If that first curse was too strong, then my casting to flip it could have initially missed the mark, so to speak. And I do recall a stigmata-type manifestation being mentioned in the text as a possible sign of that.” His posture sinks, making him seem smaller. “I thought any signs like this would have come earlier, but perhaps not . . . If I’m right, there must be a way to repair the damage.”

“There better be,” Connor says. “In the meantime, I’m not waiting to call the doctor.” He turns and heads into the office.

“This is just great.” I rub my temple to keep from grabbing Sid by the throat. I’ve told him again and again how lame his plan to awaken my power was, how his use of Kara was twisted and wrong. Ever since the beginning, his logic has been majorly sideways. And now, if Kara is sick because Sid fucked with her soul for the sake of my destiny . . .

“I’ll fix it,” Sid whispers, fear in his eyes. Fear of me, or for Kara, it doesn’t matter, as long as it puts a fire under his ass.

“Yes, you will,” I say through my teeth and head into the office after Connor.

FIVE

Aidan

When I get back to Kara’s room, she’s sitting at the edge of her bed, cleaning her cheeks with the wet rag Jax brought up.

Her gaze finds mine and my chest constricts. Vulnerability and fear linger right on the surface. I feel the fear inside me, too, but she can’t know. I can’t let her see that the terror nearly swallowed me whole the second I saw her so pale and bloody.

“How’re you feeling?” I ask, sitting next to her. My memory flashes back to our kiss the first week that I got here, after Rebecca’s party, the way we were both so desperate, so wrapped up in each other, even when I was fairly sure we didn’t even
like
each other. I don’t feel the buzz in my skin when we touch anymore—she was right, it faded soon after my Awakening. But I still want her. And not because of a spell or a curse, just because of my normal human heart.

She smirks at me. “Considering I was bleeding out of my eyes a little while ago, I feel surprisingly good.” She leans over, poking me in the side with her elbow. “Don’t look so glum, Mr. Frown. I’m fine.”

“Very funny.”

“What did Sid say? I know you guys had a secret meeting just now. Are you planning the funeral?”

“Stop it, Kara.” Despite her mirth, my throat goes tight. I can’t even . . .

“Man, this has you freaked. I really do feel fine, Aidan. Now that I’m fully awake, the headache is even fading a bit.” She reaches out and turns my face toward her, then kisses the corner of my mouth. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

I nod because I can’t speak. My mom, my sister, and now Kara. And it could all be due to me. Because I was born and the spiritual world tipped on its head.

But maybe she’s right, maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’ll be fine since she’s feeling okay now. Connor reached the doctor who Sid uses for basic care, and he’s coming over to check her out tomorrow.

I hold on to the hope that nothing else will happen and swallow the fear. Too many emotions today as it is, and I can’t let the torrent take me. I can’t let it win.

“So, tell me what Sid said.” She moves away a little to look at me.

I clear my throat and hold her hand to help me feel more grounded. “Connor got you an appointment with Doctor Brander for tomorrow morning. And when we googled the symptoms—”

She interrupts, waving me off. “No, what did
Sid
say?”

I hesitate for a few seconds. “He’s wondering if it’s the counter spell he put on you to reverse your father’s curse. It’s possible that the protections could be slipping.”

She blinks, her breath quickening. “Sid’s spell might be failing?” I feel the pulse under her skin now. “Not totally, though, right? I mean, I didn’t think that could happen. But maybe Sid could just do it over? My dad’s curse won’t come back all the way, will it?”

I squeeze her hand, trying to comfort her. She’s been through so much with all this shit already. If the horror of what her father did to her—making her a target to attract all those men to her, taking away her control—if that comes back . . . I don’t want to think about what that would mean. “He’s not sure, Kara. It might not even have anything to do with the curse. It could be related to something completely separate.”

“Right,” she says, like she’s trying to convince herself as much as me. “Because it could be something totally different than the spell. Like something I picked up on a job. It could be some kind of residual muck from that loony-bin shoot I’ve been working on with Jax and Connor.”

“Sure, that’s possible.” Though I have no idea how. “Or it might be a side effect from your concussion.” Connor really did go on WebDoc and read that a head injury that didn’t heal correctly could cause the ears and eyes to bleed.

She’s quiet for a few seconds, then she turns and looks at me intently. “I’m going to be all right.”

She seems to almost be wishing it into being, like a spell.

Then she whispers, “I’m yours now, so I’ll be all right,” making a small sound of resignation before she’s suddenly moving, leaning in, grabbing my shirt in her fist, and kissing me full on the mouth.

It takes me a second to react and get my bearings. But then she’s pressing into me, deepening the connection and pushing me back onto the bed. I let her, even though it’s not what I expected, even though it’s not a good idea.

Since when has that mattered between us?

But this isn’t the PG vibe I’ve been feeling recently between us. Her skin is hot to the touch, the air around her vibrating. And she’s holding on to me like her life depends on it, like she did before my Awakening when our connection was a force all its own.

I’m yours
seems to tickle my ears as we kiss, the odd tone in her voice.

I know I should stop, that something isn’t right, but I can’t help it. I’ve missed this. I get lost in my own need, trying to show her how much I want her in the way I grip her hips, how I pull her closer.

We move in sync as we find each other in that space where no words are needed and neither of us will ever be alone again. She’s shaped against my side as my hands slide up her back and I wish that I could touch more of her skin, wish that her shirt was anywhere but between us.

I pull aside her neckline, kissing along her shoulder. She sighs and shifts her body over mine, her hair tickling my face.

The position heightens everything, including my surprise, and that sense of unease grows to a roar in my ears even as my body urges me on.

But just as I’m about to pull away, to stop the spiral, she goes still, her palms on my shoulders. She makes a sound in the back of her throat, a kind of surprised breath, and the air turns from a lustful buzz to a frigid tundra in three seconds. She looks down at me, but she’s not seeing me. Her eyes are glazed over, liquid white blue like the summer sky.

A shiver runs over my skin. “Kara?”

She stares through me.

Something moves, but it’s not me and it’s not her. It’s something more. Her energy, her soul, it cracks open, a blossom of secrets baring itself, sliding over her chest and shoulders, down her arms like water made of blue light, hypnotic and lovely. It spreads out between us, stronger than I’ve ever felt it.

Then it spills onto my chest.

A surge of emotions—pain, sorrow, hope—jars my senses when her energy touches me. Breathing is impossible. There’s nothing inside of me but her. And I know everything. Her past horror, her weakness, her hurt, her hunger for escape. Everything. It’s now my own.

Her eyes close and she sinks down to rest her head on my chest, pressing her body against mine again. She lies there, silent, and I’m still with shock until she whispers, “Something is changing inside of me, Aidan, and I don’t want it to stop. I’m not afraid anymore. Of us, of this.” Her fingers slide under my shirt and roam over my belly. The air’s gone back to a form of normal. Her heartbeat is comfortable and steady. “I can’t let anything take that away from me.”

I stare wide-eyed at the ceiling, trying to catch my breath. Does she realize that a piece of her—her spirit or her soul, maybe both—went into me? I can still feel the blue energy spreading through my body, like it’s in my veins now.

And it’s making my chest hurt like hell.

“I want you to come to me tonight,” she says, sounding tired. “I want to be with you. For real this time.”

“You need to rest,” I manage to say. My voice sounds far away, like it’s not really mine. “We still don’t know if you’re okay.”

“I feel better now.” There’s a quiet satisfaction in her voice, like she’s perfectly relaxed. “All I needed was a kiss from you, a real kiss. It’s like magic.”

The block on the house has never been able to keep our connection hidden. From the beginning, our link’s been too strong. But whatever just happened was far beyond anything else I’ve ever experienced. Like the subtle web that ties our souls together just became iron cables.

“You still need to rest,” I say.
And I need to make sure things aren’t falling apart again
.

“But I want you to be mine,” she whispers. “All of you.”

“I am,” I say. I lean closer and kiss her forehead, my muscles protesting the movement as if I’ve run a hundred miles. I shift out from under her and settle her comfortably into her sheets again. “Always.”

She snuggles into her pillow, breathing out in contentment, half-asleep already. “Always.”

I move off the bed and go to the mirror above her dresser, taking off my shirt and looking at my reflection. My normally bronzed skin is a little dull and there are dark circles under my eyes. But that’s how I’ve looked for several weeks now.

My gaze locks on my chest where a blue glow still pulses over my seal of Awakening.

My heart beats faster as I watch the glow sink in, melting into the burnt circular pattern I still don’t understand.

I look back at Kara, her quiet form so peaceful now. I can still feel the weight of her pain, but now it’s in my own skin. Her heavy energy settles into my body, as if she just transferred all her troubles to me.

I walk over to the window and look out to the perfectly blue California sky. I pull the Star of David from my pocket and grip it tightly in my fist, finding myself praying—pleading, really.
Please, let us be all right, please keep us safe, protect us, protect all of us
. Over and over. Because I can’t, I just can’t lose anyone else.

SIX

Rebecca

I sit on my bed and stare down at the cell phone in my lap, willing it to ring or ding with a new text from Aidan. But it just looks back at me, a black screen, silent. Why didn’t he let me know he wasn’t going to be at the coffee shop yesterday? Why didn’t he show? It doesn’t make any sense; it isn’t like him not to at least call.

I need to see him. Okay, I always
feel
like I need to see him, but this time I
really
need
to. Especially after that thing I drew last night . . . the cave with the skulls. All those skulls. And Aidan standing alone in the middle of it all. After I finished the drawing, I got a horrible feeling, looking at it. Something is really wrong. And I know he’s the only one who’ll be able to make sense of the image.

Dad thinks I’m PMSing because he saw me moping around yesterday when I got home from the non-coffee. I know it wasn’t a date or anything, but it felt like I’d just been dumped. And I’m so pathetic that I actually called Samantha to complain about it. She promptly christened Aidan a dillweed and offered to fix me up with another one of her brother’s friends—the last one she threw at me had a crazy obsession with feet and actually caressed my ankle at the end of the date. Um, no thanks.

I run my finger over the bumpy line on the inside of my arm. The scar is still bright pink and stings every now and then from the skin trying to twist back into place.

People think that I did this to myself, that I was trying to get attention, because of my brother, Charlie. They think I tried to kill myself because I was lonely. And sad. Which I was, but . . . I didn’t slit my wrist.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door. “Emery, are you going to be ready soon?”

“Come in,” I say, shoving my silent phone in my bag with my clothes, like it’s offended me. Because it has.

My dad opens the door a crack and peeks in, cautiously. We’ve spent a lot of time together lately, but he’s still worried I’m on the edge. “You finished packing already?” Do I want to admit that I finished packing yesterday morning, ten minutes after he told me I was going to Samantha’s? Because that’s the same time I decided I was actually going to Aidan’s.

Now I’m second-guessing that decision. “Maybe I should just stay home, Dad.”

His wide brow scrunches up. “Alone?” He opens the door the rest of the way. “I don’t like that plan. I called and worked things out specifically so you wouldn’t have to be home by yourself again.”

“I know, I’m just feeling unsure about staying with Samantha.”

Dad leans on the doorjamb and folds his arms over his chest. He’s dressed in a nice grey V-neck sweater and slacks. He just had his hair color touched up so the silver is a little less noticeable at the temples, the brown more solid and rich. He’s a straightlaced guy, all business usually. Nothing like Charlie was, nothing like me. At least, I hope I’m not like him. Not that I don’t love him, but he shuts himself off. He’s left me feeling alone even when we’re both in the same room. I never want to do that to anyone I care about.

“I thought you
wanted
to stay with her,” he says. “You always have so much fun together. And she knows what you’ve been through. I may have to be in New York for a few weeks. I’m not comfortable with you staying here alone for that long.”

“You never cared before,” I mumble, then feel guilt spike my throat.

He takes a breath in and releases it. “I was wrong to leave you before. I told you that. I’m sorry, sweetie, really. If that Aidan boy hadn’t been with you the day it happened—” His words cut off.

I’m sure he wouldn’t talk about Aidan so nicely if he knew the real story. My dad trusts the LA Paranormal crew, in a way, because he doesn’t know that I stayed at the house with them that whole week he was gone. He certainly doesn’t know that a possessed boy who lived there sliced my wrist open. Or that it was apparently Aidan’s fault. If my dad knew all of that, there’s no way I’d be seeing Aidan again. Ever.

So, I lied. I said that I was wandering the streets after a party that night and Sid found me, took me in. He let me sleep there at the house, and the next morning—even though the people there had tried to talk to me and help me—I decided I couldn’t live anymore.

I had to lie. I couldn’t exactly tell him there’s this whole hidden world parallel to our own, where demons roam, or that one of those demons was chasing after me. Then he’d definitely put down a deposit on a padded room.

And now I’m going to lie again. I’m going to pretend that I’m staying with Samantha and her parents, but then I’m going to take a cab to Aidan’s place. Samantha’s busy with summer dance competitions, and her mom is a medicated harpy. Not to mention her stepfather.

I shiver, thinking about the last time I was in touching distance of that pervert.

For now, I only have the summer program at the arts academy to keep me busy while dad is gone. At least if I’m at the LA Paranormal house, I won’t be bored. I can be close to Aidan and learn more about his world. And I won’t have to fend off step-pervs.

“It’s okay, Dad,” I say, rising from the bed and walking over to him.

We haven’t been apart since the “incident,” and I’m actually going to miss our quiet breakfasts and evenings watching
What Not To Wear
together while he’s gone. He’s learned a lot about matching versus coordinating, if I do say so myself.

I plant a kiss on his nose and wrap my arms around his neck, resting my head on his chest. I wish we could just be poor so he’d never have to go anywhere. Then maybe I wouldn’t lie. Maybe we’d be a family again, like when Charlie was here. “I’m taking my anxiety medication and I’ll be fine. I’ll stay with Samantha, and I’ll try to be cheery. You don’t have to worry.”

He kisses the top of my head and hugs me tighter. “I’ll come back as soon as the merger’s solid. I swear. I won’t be gone a second longer than I have to be.”

“I know.”