Wicked Thing (C.O.A Series Book 2) (34 page)

Kayn caught up to Frost and whispered, “So, what’s the plan here? Are we really spending the night in a town full of...?”

Frost lifted one finger and pressed it against his lips, to signal that Kayn shouldn’t say what she was about to say out loud.

Chapter 19
An Echo in the Calm

T
hey got into the truck and started to drive around while scoping out the town.

Frost began to explain the job, “We’re going to go rent a cabin. Then we’re going to stop by every business in this town and make sure we tell them where we’re staying at, and that we’ll only be here for one night. They’ll come for us and when they do, we’ll show them what two Dragons are capable of.”

Lexy grinned as her eyes met with Kayn’s and she knew that the fledgling Dragon was not the slightest bit afraid of the evil that was coming for them.

Zach asked the question, “What are they? How many of them are there?”

Frost replied, “This is a demon infestation. The sign as we arrived said the population was two hundred and seven.”

Kayn couldn’t stop smiling.
Lexy understood how she was feeling.
This was going to be so much fun
.

Zach’s lips were still parted. He was stunned. He stated, “There’s no way we can kill two hundred demons, it’s impossible.”

Frost laughed and sparred, “You just survived the Testing. Nothing is impossible.”

They pulled down the long dirt road that led to the cabins the waitress had told them about. Kayn glanced at Lexy and they grinned at each other. Frost parked the vehicle and everyone got out of the truck.
Her new murder buddy appeared to be equally down for the demonic mass murder they had planned for this evening.

Frost wandered over to the office and hollered, “Wait here, you guys. I’ll be right back.” He darted into the inconspicuous looking rustic log cabin office.

There were gift shop items displayed in the window. It made her want to giggle.
They probably sold souvenirs to their guests and after they’d murdered them in their sleep they just placed them back in that window for the next sucker that came along
. Lexy inhaled the fragrant scent of the forest.
This town was the perfect place for a demon infestation, it was completely isolated. There was only one road into town and one way out.
Lexy slowly spun around, while surveying the lay of the land.
Yes, this was going to be fun
.

The branches of the trees fluttered as an icy breeze rippled its way through the branches.
Even the breeze was colder than it should be
.
This place was nothing more than a beautiful trap set for mortals
. Goosebumps prickled on the flesh of her arms. She knew it was warning her of the evil that was sure to come as soon as the sun set and the forest became lost in the shadows of the towering trees. There was always an uneasy stillness in the air before a tornado. She felt that now. It was coming and just as the brutality of those volatile winds could savagely rage their way across the land, she was capable of the same destruction. Lexy knew she could weather any storm no matter how volatile or harsh. This was her calling; she was meant to be a weapon, a method of retaliation, leaving nothing but utter devastation in her wake. She was a Dragon, and the fire of vengeance raged within her being for the two hundred and seven mortals that had their souls displaced so these foul demonic entities could use their shells. When the fight was over she would remain standing while those who threatened her clan and defiled the mortal species that she’d vowed to protect were left scattered on the ground as no more than shards of metal in a class five’s wake. The demons that had taken over this town would end up being nothing more in the end than an echo in this moment of calm.

Frost reappeared with a key dangling from two fingers. He grinned and explained, “I told them we needed some privacy. So, they’ve put us in the cabin that’s down by the water. Everyone hop back into the truck. It’s a bit of a drive.”

They all got into the vehicle and pulled out and continued to drive down the long narrow road. There wasn’t room for more than one vehicle. If they met someone coming in the opposite direction, they’d be screwed. They drove for quite a while through the lush greenery of the forest before Frost pulled down one of the numbered driveways. He parked in front of a rustic log cabin. Grey got out first and climbed into the back of the truck, unlocked the plastic storage box and hauled a case out of it. Grey leapt out of the back of the truck and lugged the case towards the door as Frost unlocked it. He glanced down at the welcome mat and lifted it up and of course there was another key under the mat.

Frost grinned, as he held up the key and stated, “So, this is how they planned on getting inside.” He strolled into the cabin and Grey followed him, hauling the obviously heavy case.

Zach was right behind Grey. He whispered, “Tell me this isn’t going to be a blood bath. Our blood bath.”

Grey grinned at Zach and stated, “We probably won’t even have to leave the cabin. Lexy and Kayn are going to enjoy this one. It’ll be a cake walk for them.” He opened the case and it was full of ten pound bags of salt and a smaller black case. He removed the smaller case and placed it on the bed beside the larger one while making a suggestion to the group, “Grab one the bags and start circling the room on the inside.”

Lily grabbed one of the bags and did her part circling the room with salt. She piped in, “Don’t worry about it Zach. This is just a small town where demonic souls have possessed the entire population. There won’t be any of those big scaly ones or any of that sedating mist involved. These are just really strong shells. We’re just going to send them back to where they came from. The Aries group will clean up after us.”

Lexy walked over the threshold and saw the smaller case that Grey had laid on the bed. She opened it, and inside of the case were half a dozen silver daggers with the symbol of Ankh etched into the blades. She noticed Kayn staring at her and stroked one of the blades appreciatively with her finger as she explained, “These daggers will send them to where they are supposed to go without having to mark them with our blood and say anything. We’re only supposed to use them when the job is as big as this one.”

The cabin reeked of bleach. This must be the routine. Somebody comes into the diner and they suggest the cabins. They came out here and were murdered in their sleep and eaten by the patrons of the diner. She really had to give these demons two thumbs up and a finger snap for creativity.

Frost came out of the bathroom and announced, “Time to go and get to know the town’s residents. We’ll drive in together and then split up. We’ll cover more ground faster that way. I’d like to come back out here and relax for a bit. It’s a beautiful lake. It’s just a shame that the whole damn town is full of cannibals.”

Zach looked at Frost and said, “What did you just say?”

Lexy elbowed Frost and he dodged his question, “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.” He quickly strolled out of the door.

As they drove back towards the small town filled with cannibalistic demons only some of them were feeling anxious, others were excited. Well, mainly the two Dragons that were sitting in the back seat. Neither of them could wipe the smiles off of their faces. They pulled over about a block from the diner where they’d eaten their sketchy breakfast and all got out of the vehicle. The three girls started walking in one direction, and the boys in the other.

Lily took a card out of her pocket and announced, “Let’s go buy some new clothes.”

Both Kayn and Lexy grimaced at the idea. Lily appeared to be seriously stoked. They entered a small trendy looking boutique and for Lexy shopping was about as exciting as having her toe nails removed one by one with pliers. Lily was a girl with a mission and she moved around the store with the skill of someone that worked there. She grabbed some jeans for Lexy and Kayn to try on and sent them to the change rooms. They found them easily while Lily loudly told the ladies that worked there all about the cabin they were staying in for the night at the gorgeous picturesque little lake. They left the store with a bag of clothes and it wasn’t nearly as painful as Lexy had thought it would be. They popped into a florist and chatted with the people in the store about where they were staying, asked directions to the pharmacy and headed out to get some toothpaste, toothbrushes and make up for them to share. Every last person appeared to be a demon with a smoky black and gray cloud, hovering around them. It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon and one by one their stomachs started a lovely chorus of, feed me ladies or I’m going to make this awkward. Lily texted the boys and told them, they were ordering take out. She asked them what they wanted and told them they were ready to go. They would need to rest up and relax before this fight. By quarter after three, their order was done. The guys showed up with no bags explaining that they’d already put them in the truck and that Zach was waiting for them there. They passed off some of their bags to Frost and Grey to lighten their load. With food in hand, they followed them out to the vehicle that was loaded with the supplies the guys had purchased. Zach beamed, and over exuberantly waved at them through the window.
What in the hell? He was blitzed. Those Morons.

Lily sighed, “Really, you guys?”

Grey chuckled, “He’s a little bit drunk. Not sick drunk, just happy drunk. Nobody is coming for us until after nightfall. It won’t be dark outside for hours.”

Lily slid into the front seat beside Zach, he stared at her until she sighed, “What do you want, Zach?”

He preened, “You’re so beautiful. I really want to touch your hair.”

She glanced into the back seat and hissed, “Greydon, I’m going to smack you for this when we get out of this truck.”

Grey grinned and sparred, “Alright, sounds good gorgeous. I’m willing to take one for the team…again.” He glanced at Frost.

He wouldn’t go from mooning over her to flirting with Lily in the same day. They hadn’t slept together.
Lexy smiled and shook her head
.

Lily rolled her eyes, turned to look at Zach and called his bluff, “Fine, go ahead.”

Zach reached over to touch her glistening silky black hair that trickled down her shoulder blades like a midnight waterfall. Zach started to laugh, “It’s a joke. I’m not drunk. Do you think I’m a moron or something?” He turned around and winked at Grey. You owe me one if that spanking’s amazing.”

Lily smoked Zach on the arm and he giggled, “Hit me harder. I can take it.”

“You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?” She sparred.

Zach teased, “I’ll be anything you want me to be, beautiful.”

Lily slowly shook her head, but she was still smiling as they pulled up to the cabin and got out of the truck. They carried everything inside and after grabbing their food she sat down and made herself comfortable on the bed next to Grey.

Grey frowned as he looked into the styrofoam container. He leaned over and sarcastically mumbled in her ear, “Fries gravy and salad…yummy.”

Lexy opened her styrofoam container, and stared at the less than appealing contents.
The first thing she was going to do when they got to a larger city was order herself a giant steak.

Lexy glanced up at the exchange between Frost and Kayn. He’d bought her hot sauce while he was in the store. Lexy stopped devouring her fries for a second as she glanced at Grey, pointed at the no name hot sauce gripped in Kayn’s hand and whispered, “That was sweet.” While she spoke, she’d paused before eating her gravy covered fry leaving it precariously dangling from her fingers, threatening to drip gravy on the bed in front of her. Grey leaned in and chomped a big bite off of the end. Lexy scowled at him as she swatted him away and scolded,” Eat your own damn fries, food thief.”
There was a time when she would have stabbed someone with a fork for stealing a French fry
. He gave her a deliberate soppy gravy lipped kiss on the cheek and she playfully swung at him again.
He was being an annoying pain in the butt on purpose.

Grey held his almost empty container up as a peace offering and courteously declared, “You can have one of mine.”

Just as Lexy reached for one, he yanked the container away.
He was being a stinker.
She rolled her eyes at him, as she got up and wandered across the room to grab their drinks after noticing they were still sitting on the counter. Lexy glanced back at him and he was still grinning at her.
God, she adored that goofy fool with everything inside of her
. Lexy grabbed their drinks and as she was about to peter back to her spot on the bed beside her shenanigan filled Handler she identified with the look on Kayn’s face, paused and said, “It sucks doesn’t it?”

Kayn grinned and countered, “Which thing?”

After smiling in response to Kayn’s witty comeback, she clarified, “Wanting something you’re not allowed to have.” Her eyes travelled to her Handler who was now full on scarfing down her fries. She contemplated walking over there and actually stabbing him in the back of his thieving hand with her plastic fork.

Kayn smiled as she gave her response, “Yes, it definitely does.”

Frost took a sip from his straw, finishing his drink with an over emphasized slurp. He rather abruptly changed the subject by pointedly directing his question at Zach, “This new girl, Molly. What’s she like? She definitely doesn’t look sixteen.”

Zach was just about to eat a fry, but he removed it from his lips to give his response, “She does look way younger, doesn’t she? I really like her a lot. She’s a sweet girl, and much tougher than she looks.”

Kayn looked in Frost’s direction and added, “She’s funny and a bit goofy. I can’t even picture her in the Testing though. I can’t wait until we take her to the in-between for the first time.”

Lexy grinned at Kayn and teased, “I couldn’t picture you in the Testing, and I have a feeling you’re going to miss out on that. She’s probably there with the rest of our clan right now. Listen, do yourself a favor and don’t get too attached. They almost never come back out of the Testing.” She gave her the token protect your heart speech and turned away.
It still felt like it was her job to guide them, but it wasn’t anymore…not really
. It was going to be difficult to follow her own advice this time with the survival of the three and the emergence of the two they’d lost to the Testing so long ago. This had caused her heart to believe that it was possible. It was going to sting if this group of Ankh didn’t make it out of the Testing.
Get with the program.
Lexy couldn’t afford to allow herself to have a squishy warm and fuzzy heart before a fight the size of the one they were facing tonight.