Second Nature (16 page)

My shoulders ached from Nate’s weight, but I
refused to acknowledge it while she was watching me so intently.
''Why would Peter trust
you
, you’re part of what he
hates?”

She wagged one long finger at me, the nail
painted in deep red. “Ah, but he has no idea. He thinks I'm an
ordinary human girl. I’m pretty tough and like to kick ass, but
those are traits he’s okay with.” She smiled and it was one of the
coldest, cruelest smiles I've ever seen. “He'll learn soon enough I
can’t be leashed.” She leaned forward, her voice taking on a
conspiratorial whisper. “See, he's not my only employer.”

“Are you part of the drug manufacturer?”

“I just procure the necessary supplies.
That’s how Peter found me. I got in some trouble over your
brother's escape. Word got around. How was I supposed to know your
little family flies in the face of convention?” She took a step
forward, anger showing on her face. “I was nursing my sorrows with
some tequila, when this guy approaches me. Tells me an interesting
story about a family of ‘demons’ he's hunting. Says he would give
anything to see them dead.” She shrugged, her bright lips pursing
in a perfect pout. “I wanted revenge for all the trouble you
caused, so I didn’t take much convincing. I agreed before I even
knew the demons were nesting with a bonded Gaia. How could it be
any easier?” The malice of her expression made me take an
involuntary step back. “See, the benefits of being a Librarian is
reading obscure texts, including an interesting one about your
pesky life bond. It seems a semi-nuts witch did some experiments
with bonds and discovered some interesting things. Did you know
there's a way out of the bond? Other than dying of course.”

My eyebrows shot up, and Nate looked as
shocked as I felt. The idea of being free of the bond overwhelmed
me, but I was skeptical of anything she said. It seemed
odd—everything about this woman was deliberate, yet this speech
seemed contrived and wordy. Something was up. And where were Xander
and Sariah?

“Ah, I see I got your attention. The bond
works kind of like a magnet. And like a magnet, when you start
shifting things around, things get... interesting. The two of you
are so easy, all angst and fear. I must admit the living apart
stumped me at first, but it's been so much fun watching you two
bicker. Since I invited little Nathanial over for my party, the
bond has become so distorted I don't know if it can be fixed. The
damage is done and there may be no going back.”

''Oh, it looks like the wheels are turning
in your pretty little head. You really are a self-involved little
minx, aren't you? Gallivanting around with another boy while I had
sweet widdle Nate.” She clucked her tongue at me. “When you didn't
make a move after two days, I knew I needed to up the ante. I
figured that over-proactive big brother of yours would be here with
you, but it seems the cavalry is
under
whelming.” She turned
her hand, admiring her nails. “Leave it to a demon to abandon a
girl just as she jumps into the fire.” She pursed her lips in
thought. “Ah well, the reward was for you, Amelia Hoffman, and when
Peter gets here, he’ll pay me handsomely.”

Where were Xander and Sariah? If they were
going to make a move, now would be the time. Nate and I were
helpless. We were sitting ducks waiting for someone to come along
and pluck us. Xander taught me how to throw a punch, but I couldn’t
take even one of the Fumes.

Screeching and struggling behind me made me
whip around. Coming from the shadows were four more of the goons
who carried a very unwilling creature between them. It took me a
few heartbeats to realize it was my sister in her true form. I’d
always wondered if she had one. She still had the perfect blond
hair, but her face was vastly different. Her cheekbones were high
and sharp, the hallows beneath so narrow they seemed sunken. Her
chin was pointy and her broad forehead had a bony ridge with
prominent points, almost horns. She fought like a hellion, kicking
and writhing, but they held her in an iron grip. Shouldn't her
strength be enough to break their grasp? Fear for Xander turned my
guts to water. He had been with me in the office, hadn't he?

“This must be the infamous Sariah. Not quite
the knockout I’d heard you were.” She gave a menacing laugh as she
forced my sister’s chin to one side, then the other. “It's amazing
the way a demon’s body works. So much strength and power! And the
only way to kill them is to take a little off the top.” She dragged
her finger across her throat to make sure we got the point. “But
they have a weakness. Demons were created in the fires of Hell so
their blood runs hot. All you have to do is inject them with Freon,
and it's like watching Superman with kryptonite. Injected into
their veins it knocks them out altogether. But a little blast in
their arm with a simple inoculation gun and poof! Pesky superpowers
gone. Makes my job so much easier. I imagine this is kind of how
Lex Luther felt.”

The men dumped Sariah next to me and joined
the ranks of the others. My sister turned away, tears in her solid
black eyes. I hugged her, knowing I was out of tricks. This place
was chosen so Nate couldn't use his powers, nor I mine. Now we were
down one Succubus, and we had a Djinn missing in action. My eyes
closed and I swallowed. Gathering my internal strength, I bluffed.
I squared my shoulder and turned back with an indifferent
expression.

“So are you gonna do something or talk us to
death?” I asked.

She opened her mouth to speak but was
interrupted by a familiar masculine voice from the back of the
warehouse. “No, she stalled you until I showed up.” Peter walked up
to us, dragging an oddly stiff Xander with him. “And then there
were four.” He shoved my brother, who lurched into the rest of us.
My insides quivered at the cold, calculating malice in his
eyes.

I ALMOST DIDN'T recognize Mr. Matthews. His
streaked blond hair was longer, but he still combed it to the side.
He was a little thinner and had lot more lines around his eyes. But
it was more the way he held his face that made him unrecognizable.
There was anger and hatred in every line, clashing with the kind,
jovial man of my memories. I remembered him pushing Evelyn and me
on the swings, taking us to the pool at the Rec, and sleeping in a
chair next to Evey's bed every night in the hospital after she
nearly died from pneumonia. It didn't mesh with the man standing in
front of me.

''I believe this belongs to you?” he said,
motioning towards my brother. Peter surveyed each of us in turn,
his features unreadable. He did a double take when he saw Sariah.
Her pure black eyes glowed green like a cat's in the low lighting.
I didn't want to admit it, but even in her true state, my sister
was pretty,

“You have no idea how much trouble you three
have given me,” Peter rolled up his sleeves, pulled a box of chalk
out of his pocket, and calmly began drawing a symbol on the floor.
My stomach dropped. The symbol would render us as helpless as
kittens. Though it seemed we already were.

The Librarian came up behind him and rolled
her eyes. “Crude, but effective,” she nodded, her tone
condescending.

Peter turned to look at her, impatience
shining in his hard eyes. “Do you mind?”

“No, by all means, continue to waste your
time.” She held up her hands and backed away.

Peter stood. I wasn't sure if the woman
realized how much danger she was in, but it didn't show in her body
language if she did. Every ounce of him screamed barely repressed
anger that bordered on maniacal. They stood so close their noses
almost touched in a staring match. “You think you know more about
hunting than me, girl?” His voice was saturated with condescension.
“I've been hunting demons since before you were born.”

“You closed-minded fool. One’s age has no
bearing on their content of knowledge. Of
course
, I know
more than you. Among other things, only two of them are demons. The
other two are Gaia. It's like saying all animals are tigers when
you actually have a tiger, a grizzly and two beagles.”

“Oh, please, enlighten me with the vast
wisdom of your experience.”

Her red lips pressed into a hard line, and
her eyes narrowed. “You simplistic moron! If you are going to be a
prick about it, pay me and I'll be on my way.”

“Not without telling me how to do my job, I
hope.” His voice dripped with sarcasm and disdain.

“Pay me.” Her jaw was set and every line of
her body tensed for action.

“And what if I don't? You gonna sick your
drooling imbeciles on me?”

“See, that's you're first mistake. Thinking
I need them to protect me.” Suddenly there was a blade in each of
her hands, and she stood in a fighting pose, one foot back, leading
with her left arm.

Peter laughed. “You brought a knife to a gun
fight.” He held his hand palm up and watched something like a soap
bubble fill with black smoke just above it. She cocked an eyebrow,
and he frowned. “Last chance, Leslie. If you're not with me, you're
against me. And I won't leave anyone who’s against me
standing.''

“Listen to yourself, you old fool! Idiots
like you are trying to ship us back into the dark ages. And I, for
one, happen to like the new world.”

Peter sighed, his shoulders drooping a bit.
He threw the bubble at her, but she raised the blades to cross in
front of her. The bubble burst with a tiny popping noise and the
black smoke drifted out, but it coiled around her as if there was
some invisible force field. It surrounded one of her goons who
slumped to ground.

“Handy, aren't they?” She struck the two
blades together which gave off blue sparks. “They belonged to
Miguel de Morillo, Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. One of
the many interesting details left out of the historical
records.”

“Is this a fight or a history lesson?” Peter
dropped his hands to his side, where they glowed and sparked.

“Pay me, and it won’t become either.”

“I have no intention of paying you. You
think I don't know you're one of them? You might be able to fool
others, but you can't fool me. I only tolerated you because you
served a purpose, but you’re no longer useful to me.”

“Very well. Where do you want to be buried,
old man?”

She gestured and the fumes charged in.
Sparks flew as Peter sent balls of energy flying. One fume fell
twitching but another filled the gap as Peter disappeared in a
crowd of mindless muscle heads. Pandemonium broke out, and I didn’t
plan to wait around to see who won. With one arm around my mate’s
waist and the other holding his hand over my shoulder, I navigated
through the chaos. My siblings still stood in shell shock. I
whistled, and Sariah’s eyes scanned the chaos before landing on me.
The hopeless expression faded as she grabbed Xander's hand and
yanked him along. Crossing the warehouse was slow going as we
danced between fume bodies and plasma balls.

I wished it was as simple as just walking
out the doors, but when we did get there, a burly guy stood with
his arms across his chest. His eyes didn’t have the vacant look of
the Fumes, so I assumed he was hired muscle. The question was who
hired him? Putting all my frustration into it, I delivered a
perfect right hook to his jawbone. He staggered and looked at me in
surprise. But he rebounded fast and stepped menacingly towards me,
I figured I was about to get a serious beating. He loomed over for
a moment before dropping, his hands clutched to the crotch Sariah
had just kicked. I smiled at her as we rushed out the door to
freedom. Spying Xander's Mustang at the curb, I thought we were
home free. I let myself breathe as we got closer, but then I saw
her. Leaning against the car, Leslie's lips were curled up in a
sadistic smile.

“This doesn't make us friends.” She spoke
before I could say anything. “I'm helping you escape because that
bastard double crossed me. If someone pays me to, I will take you
out.” “You can try.” I opened the door and stood with it between
us, meeting her golden brown eyes.

“I hope we meet again.” She gave me a lazy
half smile. “Maybe even on the same side.”

“Something tells me we won't ever end up on
the same side.”

“You never know, young Gaia. But for today,
you need to go before Peter realizes you're gone.”

I climbed in the car, my mind whirling. Talk
about an enigma wrapped in black vinyl.