Second Nature (24 page)

I tried to think of something to do, some
way to stop Nate. If the spell was making him try to kill me, the
only way to break was to get him to save me instead. It was a lot
to gamble on a theory.

Charging forward, I stayed out of reach
until I got to where Peter stood with a superior look on his face.
Taking an idea from Nate, I exploded the wall behind Dylan,
expanding the ivy roots all at once. The impact knocked Peter flat
on his back and freed the angel. Sariah lurched into motion at the
same time. Dylan tried to climb to his feet, but tumbled back
down.

I grabbed at him with tree branches, but
they burst into flames and any plants I sent at him fell to the
ground severed. Rocks exploded near him, but he didn’t give them a
glance. So I picked a couple of them up and hurled them at his head
in frustration. Deciding I needed to get up close and personal, I
kicked him in the shins and stomped on his toes. He slithered away,
confusion plain on his face. He aimed a kick at Dylan, who still
seemed to be dazed, either by the explosion or Peter’s
chokehold.

“Are you trying to beat me or just piss me
off?”

Truth be told, I wanted him furious. I
wanted him so angry he would take his best shot at me. I continued
to pummel him with rocks, quickly discovering I could use plants
and sometimes even air to pelt him. I called up the wind, but I’d
never been good at controlling it so it only whipped our hair
around. Tree roots rose to trip him as I dodged out of the way of
his poorly aimed plasma balls. Sariah and Xander were both
struggling with Nate. I willed them with my eyes to understand what
I was doing, but they just held him and watched as I squared off
with Peter. I feinted left then dashed right, flinging more debris.
This time I caught him on the side of his head, and he fell to the
ground. As he stood up, there was a different look in his eyes,
cold and calculating. He held his hands like a pitcher winding up
for the pitch. We were only going to get one shot at this so I cast
my eyes at my siblings, raising my eyebrows. They released Nate,
finally understanding, as Peter flung a large energy ball at me.
Nate lurched towards me, his hands rising up as if to continue his
attack. My stomach sank, my gamble failed. But instead of wrapping
his hands around my neck, they gripped my shoulders and shoved me
to the ground with him tumbling down on top of me. We fell in a
tangle of limbs, and his entire essence changed. The spark that had
always drawn me to him was back and the touch of his skin on mine
was like electricity—but in the right way.

Nate was yanked off me and slammed against a
tree by the angriest angel I had ever seen. But as soon as Dylan
looked in his eyes and glanced back at me, he released him.

Nate dropped clumsily to his hands and
knees, his expression lost and confused. “Wha—”

“I’ll explain later.” I stood and dusted
myself off. “For now we need to stop Peter.”

He sluggishly looked over his shoulder as
the witch scrambled away through the hole I had made in the wall.
Xander pulled Nate to his feet, his grip a little too tight. My
brother came over and grabbed my shoulders, his eyes quickly
sweeping me from head to toe. “You okay?”

My throat was on fire and I would have an
impressive bruise in the morning from where Nate’s forehead smashed
into my own. “I’m better than okay. Nate saved me and broke the
spell.”

“That’s great.” Sariah’s tone was impatient.
“You do realize Peter’s getting away, right?”

“Let’s give this punk a taste of what
happens when you mess with our family.” My smile was hard and I was
as ready as I was ever going to be.

With grim expressions my siblings flanked me
and Dylan disappeared in a beam of light as we scrambled through
the hole in the wall after the witch.

C

PETER TURNED INTO an abandoned house, nature
slowly reclaiming the ruin. As a place to make a final stand
against Gaia, it seemed to be a poor choice, but maybe he didn’t
think we were the threat. He stood in the doorway as the four of us
walked up to him. He backed inside until he stood in what had once
been someone’s living room. As we started to follow, white lines
almost glowed in the dim interior of the house. I tried to stop
Xander, but it was too late. He stepped into the symbol and what
looked like a haze shimmered in the air. He looked around a moment,
then the blue flames consumed his eyes. Peter had laid a trap and
my brother foolishly wandered right into it. There was no doubt
those lines were a symbol of protection or something meant for
encasing a demons. Pete had effectively taken Xander out of the
fight.

“One down.” Metal glinted as Peter slipped a
gun out of his pocket. He clicked off the safety and aimed at my
brother’s head. I plowed headlong into him with a war cry causing
both of us to crash to the floor. He spluttered as I hit, clawed,
and punched him, anger overwhelming me. Something grabbed me around
the waist and flung me backwards. My head struck a collapsed roof
beam and my ears rang. The world got a little fuzzy for me. Peter
faced off against Nate and my sister as I combated waves of
blackness that threatened to wash over me. Lightning stabbed down
on him, but like his wife, he seemed to use some sort of shield so
they fizzled out inches from him. The ground beneath him erupted,
and he rose hitting Nate in the chest with a smoke bubble.

“Hold your breath, Nate.” Sariah
commanded.

The smoke cleared and Nate smiled wickedly.
“I did not inhale.” His Bill Clinton impression was terrible, but
at least he was okay.

Another a plasma ball appeared behind him
and knocked him face first to the ground. Peter was left to face
off with Sariah.

“Save your wiles, demon, they don’t work on
me.”

“Aw, you kinda hurt my feelings. Do you
think I’m just another pretty face?”

Her hand elongated into claws, and she hit
Peter in the face, leaving four deep gashes pouring blood. He
jerked back out of her reach, flinging fire as he tried to regroup.
A light shone through the front door and Dylan rushed in, surveying
the scene. “Sorry I’m late. He has the house warded against magical
entry.” He surveyed the scene, then went over to where Xander was
pounding uselessly against the magical barrier. He tried to scrub
the line with his foot, but whatever Peter used wasn’t coming
up.

The ringing in my ears faded and the world
came back into focus as my brain lurched back into gear. I crawled
across the floor, somewhat dragging myself as if I was injured.
Sariah saw me, concern painting her features but I shook my head at
her and crawled on. Her brow furrowed and she turned to Peter as if
ready to take her anger out on him. He glanced my way, and I added
some whimpers and a more exaggerated pained expression. As I’d
hoped, he dismissed me thinking I wanted to escape and lick my
wounds.

Sariah charged at him again, and he placed
his hand on her forehead. He chanted something in a language I
didn’t even recognize and her eyes went wide before she collapsed
in a heap. Dylan scrubbed furiously at the line on the floor,
freeing Xander as a strange pink energy hit him hard enough to send
him flying through the wall. Peter gestured with his hand and a
golden light sealed the hole and the doors and windows. Dylan
couldn’t get back inside.

“It’s sad when angels fall. I wasn’t even
sure they were real until now. Apparently you and your demon
brethren have corrupted even the heavens. You will pay for that!”
Spittle flew from Peter’s lips as his face scrunched in an ugly
snarl.

Xander charged across the floor and
clobbered Peter, knocking him to the floor. Without standing Peter
began chanting something, but Xander kicked him in the stomach to
silence him. Peter grabbed the Djinn’s leg and pulled it out from
under him, holding his hand out flat above Xander. “Stay!” he
commanded.

Abandoning the pretense, I crawled to Nate
and healed him.. His t-shirt was beyond saving, but he was good as
new. I helped him to his feet and laced my fingers through his as
we stepped forward together. Peter stood triumphantly over Xander,
eyeing us as if we were puffed up kittens.

Roots rose out the floor, slowly winding
around his body and continuing upward faster than he could respond.
If he tried to cut them, he would cut himself as well and fire
would be just as bad. He threw an energy ball, but the air in front
of us solidified and sparks sizzled a foot away. The sky darkened
and the wind began to pick up. I pulled energy from the storm,
directing the wind to pepper Mr. Matthews with rubble from the
house. The roots had him completely immobilized. He opened his
mouth to chant something and I gagged him with a tree root, forcing
his mouth open as wide as it would go. His eyes widened with
fear.

We needed to kill him or we’d never be safe.
Looking at him, I couldn’t do it. I turned to Nate, and he seemed
to be of the same opinion.

“Keep an eye on him. Do it if you have to,”
I whispered in his ear. I went to Xander and shook him, but he
didn’t rouse. I remembered what Sariah said about how they could be
so drained of power that they wouldn’t have the strength to
recuperate. I fed a fine stream of energy into him, hoping I could
replace what Peter took with the strength of the Earth. As he
responded I fed him more and more. His eyes opened, turmoil
churning in the blue flames as he looked at me. He nodded and I
moved over, repeating the process on Sariah.

They eyed Peter, then looked at me wondering
why I hadn’t finished the job. I shrugged, struggling to put my
thoughts into words. “I know what he’s done, but I can’t bring
myself to do anything about it.” I spread my hands, begging them to
understand with my eyes. “He’s helpless now, and I have no
intention of freeing him, but I can’t kill a helpless man, no
matter how much misery he’s put me through.”

We stood debating what to do when fire
sprouted from Peter’s hand. It spread rapidly along the roots,
collapsing in on him with a whoosh. The dry wood of the house
caught fire and the whole structure engulfed in flame. We rushed
out the door, but stayed where we could see Peter through an
opening. He thrashed and screamed as his clothing, then his flesh
was consumed. I turned away, willing myself not to throw up. The
little house got so hot we were forced to back up to the street.
Dylan ran to me, taking my face in his hands to be certain I was
okay. I tried to smile but didn’t have it in me, so I nodded. He
kissed my forehead and put his arm around my shoulder. Nate’s hand
was still gripped in my own, so I gave it a squeeze. We’d made it.
We’d survived.

Without speaking, we headed back to the car.
I wondered what it would look like when they had a crime scene
analysts look at Peter’s body. I hoped the Enforcers didn’t get
involved, but if they did, it was beyond our control.

“The fire.” I’d never seen my sister look so
shaken. “That wasn’t you, was it, Xander?”

He shook his head, his eyes wide with the
shock. As we climbed into the car, I could see the black smoke in
the air and heard a siren in the distance. Knowing we didn’t want
to be anywhere nearby, we headed home.

SARIAH INTRODUCED US to the witch who would
sever our bond as summer ended. My sister joined a local witch’s
circle and waited for someone to recognize her for what she was. By
the time twenty-year-old Madison Harper showed up, we had almost
given up hope. She and Sariah struck up a friendship and over time
we came to trust her. She was so excited to be part of the ritual,
she agreed to all of our terms. During the full moon of the autumn
equinox, we gathered in my butterfly garden.

Madison set candles in a circle around us,
then lit them with a wave of her hand. She held the bizarre half
scissor over her head a moment, chanting something in an ancient
language. She used the tip to prick my finger, squeezing several
drops out onto the blade before turning to do the same to Nate. A
tear slid down my cheek though I didn’t know why, since this was
what I wanted. Madison slid her finger up my cheek, collecting the
tear and adding it to the blood. The process was repeated on Nate
as well. Then she turned and traced a line in the air above the
candles. My siblings and Dylan stood outside the circle, ready to
intervene if anything went wrong—not that there would be anything
they could do.