Emanare (Destined, #1) (22 page)

“Fine,” he said.

“Fine,” she said.

“Now please let us in. We have to talk.” Sam peered around Vicky, making sure Ann wasn’t in the room.

“I have an afternoon class, so make it fast.” Vicky opened the door, still glaring at Chase.

“Did you do something different in here?” Sam’s muscles tightened.

“Me, no. Miss Prim and Proper, yes,” Vicky miffed.

Sam couldn’t believe her eyes. Ann’s side of the room looked like a dirty, filthy, moldy, stinky bomb had hit it. Clothes were strewn everywhere. Old food wrappers, half-sandwiches, soda cans, ripped textbooks, and feathers from her down comforter were scattered haphazardly over the mattress, which was now on the floor. “When did Ann do this?” Sam asked, sliding past Vicky into the room. Chase followed close behind.

“Sometime between Biology and now.” Vicky squeezed in between Sam and Chase, sliding her fingers across his washboard abs as she passed.

“Hey—” Chase stumbled back.

“You liked it. You just wish it were Sam who was touching you.”

“Butterflies—” Sam said to Chase.

“Then tell her not to touch me.” Noticing Sam’s cut-it-out expression, Chase put his palms up.

Bringing everyone back to the natural disaster across the room, Sam confronted Vicky. “With everything going on, a
sanguis
demon being in town, me being an angeling, and Lauren disappearing, you didn’t think Ann turning her side of the room into a dumpster was a red flag to a serious problem?”

Vicky flipped her caramel highlights and stuck her skinny hip out. “Well, yeah, I noticed, but as I said earlier, the
sanguis
demon, you, Lauren’s disappearance, and Ann turning into a sewer rat are no longer any of my business. My. Job. Is. Done.” She articulated each word.

“What do you mean by Ann being a sewer rat?” Sam asked.

“You should hear her thoughts. All she thinks about is finding a sewer drain,” Vicky answered.

“And you don’t think that’s weird?” Sam stomped over to Ann’s bed frame. She plucked a map of the university out from between two coils in the mattress and pried a sticky Snicker’s bar wrapper off the crumpled paper.

“That little thief stole my map.” Vicky ripped the map from Sam’s hands. “Eww…you can have it.” She threw it back to Sam, but the paper just floated to the ground. “That is totally disgusting.” Vicky scrubbed her hands under the sink faucet with her hot pink soap. “And stop laughing in your head, animal-boy.” Vicky shot Chase the evil eye.

“Butterflies—” he responded, which made Sam chuckle. Vicky was being a royal pain in the ass.

“Has Ann thought about anything else unusual, other than finding a sewer?” Sam stepped over the mattress, to the clean side of the room. She handed the map to Chase.

“She thinks a lot about junk food. That’s probably where she is right now, raiding McDonald’s.” Vicky waggled over to her closet and removed her top, exposing her purple, C-cup lace Victoria’s Secret bra. “Keep it in your pants, shape shifter, you had your chance.” Noticing Sam’s open-mouthed expression, Vicky threw on a cream-colored sweater. “What? I told you I had a class to go to. I’ve got to get dressed.”

“In front of us?” Sam looked over at Chase, who was visibly straining to change his thoughts.

“Oh, please. When your animal-boy was kissing me in his room, he—”

Sam cut Vicky off. “TMI, we’re leaving.”

“What did you see in her?” Sam mumbled. They exited the elevator doors, reaching the dorm lobby.

“If I recall correctly, you forced me to go to dinner with her.”

“If I recall correctly, I didn’t force you to make out with her.”

“Are you jealous?” he asked smugly, exposing his dimples.

“No.” Well, maybe a little, but she wasn’t going to admit it. She was remembering Evrik more and more now, and with each memory she remembered that she loved him, and not just
loved
him, but was totally head over heels
in love
with him.
Good—ness!

“What do we do now?” Chase held the door open for Sam to step outside. The air was chilly, but the sun acted as a gigantic heating lamp, making the temperature feel less nippy.

“Do you have your car keys?”

“Yeah.” He jingled them around in the pocket of his jeans and cast Sam a sideways look.

“We’re going to McDonald’s.” She smiled.

“Why? Vicky wasn’t actually serious.” He followed Sam in the direction of the parking garage.

“Vicky said that Ann was probably raiding McDonald’s. I think that was her way of saying she heard Ann think about McDonald’s. It won’t hurt to try. If something has happened to Ann, I want to get to her before she does anything stupid.”

“What do you mean?” Chase’s remote unlocked the doors to his silver Honda Accord and opened the passenger door for Sam to get in.

“Thanks,” she said, slipping into the seat. “I think Cale or some other demon has done something to her. She’s not acting like herself. Ann doesn’t litter all over her room or sleep on the floor.”

“And she doesn’t usually watch you shower, either,” Chase added. He hopped into the driver’s seat and started the car.

 “Is that seriously all you can think about?”

“What? Can you read minds now? Is it a new angeling ability of yours?”

“No.” She smacked Chase with the back of her hand. “Just concentrate on driving. No more girl-on-girl stuff.”

“Ouch—you’re not going to be able to do that anymore, with your newfound strength. It hurts.” Taking his eyes off the road, Chase looked over at Sam. “What are you doing?”

Sam slid her phone out of her pocket.

“Calling Evrik.”

“Why?” He focused back on the road, his face expressionless.

“I want to know if Alea has found Lauren.”

“With her ‘seeing’ elixir?” he said in a deflated tone.

“Are you worried that I won’t need you if I have them?” Sam put her hand on Chase’s free hand, resting on the gear shift. He moved his head back and forth slowly, without a glance in her direction.

“I need you,” Sam said. “You’re my best friend. Promise me that whatever happens to me, you will always remember that I do love you.” She spoke with great sincerity, from a place she had been suppressing. She was scared, and the thought of losing everyone she loved was unbelievably painful.

“Why are you talking like that?” Chase shouted.

“Because I’m changing. I’m not going to be here much longer.”

“Samantha—I’m not going to let you go that easily,” he demanded, grasping her hand tightly, as if holding on to her physically would keep her with him.

“You don’t have a choice. I don’t want to leave you, but I have to.”

“I love you,” he said.

“I know.”

“You don’t know. I can’t go on without you in my life,” he continued shouting, causing Sam to push back against the seat. She blinked back the tears that had started to form in her eyes.

“There’s always Vicky.” Sam forced a smile.

“Shut up. I—It’s not funny.” Chase’s words came out fractured and vulnerable.

“Sorry.” She immediately regretted her words.

“We’re here. I don’t want to talk about it any longer. It hurts too much. Let’s just go find Ann.” He sped into a parking spot and threw the gear into park.

Sam angled herself so she faced Chase. After moments of silence, he sighed deeply and turned to face her. His beautiful blue eyes welled with tears. In one blink, they would pour over his long blond lashes. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. She held her breath, her heart galloping. She wanted so badly to turn her head and put her lips back on his, but it would be wrong. She loved Evrik. Not that losing herself completely in Chase would be so sinful. She only had weeks left on earth, if that. Who could blame her for following her instincts, her desires? She sighed loudly.

“What?” Chase whispered. She could feel his sweet breath on her cheek, making it even more difficult to pull away.

CHAPTER 26

Evrik slid a gray lightweight crew-neck sweater over his head. Sam had just called. She and Chase were on their way to McDonald’s to search for Ann. He donned his Movado watch and ran his hands through his hair. Sitting on the edge of the bed to slip on his shoes, he inhaled deeply, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Evrik shook his head. Weeks, that’s all he had left with Sam, and that was the best-case scenario.

He knew Sam was special from the first moment he saw her on campus. Ever since that night at the fraternity party, Evrik had thought of nothing but her. She made it so easy for him to fall in love with her, and now he was about to lose the love of his life…and it was a very long life. Her relationship with Chase had never threatened him, even when she’d lost her memory, but he couldn’t compete with the archangels. As he had known from the moment he saw her, she was destined for greatness.

He was finished stepping aside so that she could regain her memories and sort through her feelings. He was no longer going to wait for her to call. He would regret being passive for the rest of his almost immortal life. Like angels, Lightwarriors were immortal—powerful beings set forth by the archangels to protect. The only difference was after Sam completed her transformation, she could never be killed; he could be killed. Demons were threatened by angels because of that very fact. Angels were powerful enough to preserve the virtuous, and evil could never harm them.

For the next few weeks, Sam was a target. He would be unable to protect her; it was her purity stage. She could not be influenced by magic, but he would do his best to support her.

Evrik breathed a sigh of relief. Sam wasn’t the average angeling. She was much more powerful, a Seraph. Unfortunately, he feared the Infernus knew this.

“Good, you’re still here.” Alea appeared in Evrik’s doorway.

“Do you need something? I’m getting ready to leave.”

“I found Lauren,” she said.

“Is she okay?” He feared her answer.

“Cale will be bringing her into an old railroad tunnel that runs under the city. I saw her under 29
^th
and Sisson. I think he’s taking her to the Infernus.”

“How is he getting in and out of the tunnel?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I just saw the tunnel and a flash of the intersection of 29
^th
and Sisson. That’s how I knew exactly which tunnel they were in, but the rail line runs up to Pennsylvania, even under Tolbert. I figured he probably entered the tunnel at Tolbert, since that’s where Lauren was most likely abducted, but I could be wrong.”

“When is this going to happen, Alea?”

“Tonight,” she answered.

Evrik rose from his bed. “I’ve got to go help Sam and Chase find Ann. I’ll be back. Get Malachi and Draylan and see what else you can find out about the tunnel.” Evrik grabbed his twill jacket and left his room.

***