Wingless (14 page)

Luke takes the Demon around the neck and looks over at me with waiting eyes. He's holding the Demon still. For a second, before my brain kicks in, I think that the Demon has died. "Finish the job," Luke says, his eyes unwavering from mine, their intensity searing into me.

"Rem allows this?" I ask, surprised. Angels aren't allowed to kill Demons or humans without Rem's permission. It's kind of lame, because if there was a real threat, we wouldn't be able to kill in the Veil. But here, I guess anything goes.

"We don't let someone as controlling as Rem rule us. He doesn't allow Nephalem in his world, I don't let him in mine." I nod in understanding, weighing my options. I'm scared to kill someone—Demon or not. On the other hand, this is what I've been waiting for, training for. "Do you have what it takes?" he sneers my way, and his silent dare is all it takes to solidify my decision.

"Yes." I step forward, closing the space between the Demon, Luke, and I. I place on hand on the Demon's head and another under his chin. I can do this. I can kill a Demon. In one swift motion, I snap his neck, twisting it to the left and pulling upwards. I'm not sure I've done it correctly until his body falls lifelessly in a heap to the ground.
 

Luke wrings his hands, dusting his pants off as he composes himself. He has no care for the Demon on the ground. He nearly kicks the dead Demon in the head as he steps over the body towards me.
 

I don't know what I'd call what I'm feeling. I should be scared and traumatized or guilty. But oddly, I'm not. I feel fulfilled and strong and confident. I kind of love it. It's liberating. I've killed my first Demon, and I crave more.

"You were surprisingly good," Luke says as he stops in front of me. My chest heaves, and I'm not sure if it's from the adrenaline spike or his close proximity to my body.
 

 
I can't hide my glee. "It feels amazing." A smile rises from my lips to my eyes out of my control. He raises his hand and I high five it, laughing out loud.

"I think we have a new hunter in our midst," he proclaims, and the other guys all clap for me. I think I just found my new purpose on Earth.
 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Victory

Despite the fact that the other hunters are in the midst of decapitating Demons, Luke whisks me into his arms with a wide smile on his face. I can't help but giggle as I'm lifted high into the air like I weigh nothing at all.
 

"Now what?" I ask as I'm placed back on solid ground. I try to straighten out my shirt and compose myself, but I'm beyond flustered.
 

"What do you want to do?" he asks me back.
 

"Show me your world."
 

Instead of answering, he nods and wraps his hand around mine, our fingers interlacing. My body ignites from his touch. We leave the hunters, behind and when I turn to say goodbye, I notice a large fire spiraling up from where the Demon's body was on the ground.
 

Luke must see the question in my eyes because he says, "To cover our tracks." I guess that makes sense. I let him lead me around the city. He points out various landmarks along the way, which I guess I missed the first time when I followed Luke around. He never drops my hand, even when I try to pull away, because I'm scared my hand is sweaty.

In fact when I try to un-join our hands, he squeezes it harder, as if promising not to let go. I look up into his eyes, and they smile down at me. He's beautiful. He's the only person who I feel comfortable with down her, and I kind of like him.

Too soon, we make it back to the sanctuary.
 

Luke drops my hand as we step up to the purple and green archway. He reaches forward and grabs the door handle, tugging it open for me to step through. I go first, and wait in the front room for him to follow.

He leads me to the elevator, and we step in side by side. It's shockingly silent between us, and I feel the need to break it. "So do you like it?" I ask him.
 

"Like what, Angel?"
 

I roll my eyes at the word Angel, but let it slide. "You know. Killing," I try to explain.

" I think it's necessary."

"I didn't ask that." I frown at him since it feels like he's dodging my question. "Do you like it? Do you like the thrill, the killing?"
 

He pauses, looking down at me with an oddly vacant stare. "I love it," he answers just as the red doors slide open. He holds out his hand to me, palm face up, and I take it. Then he steps onto the recreational floor we visited briefly before. The fact that he loves killing should scare me and shoot off red flags, but it almost has the opposite effect on me.
 

I'm bombarded by my senses as we walk farther and farther into the floor. There's a mixture of different scents from various food, and they're jumbled into one big mix of an aroma bomb. There are tons of people walking and sitting around the room. I feel very out of place in this smelly, crowded room.
 

"I'm guessing since you've only been here a short period of time, you haven't experienced much food." Luke glances around the room as if making sure that everyone is doing what they're supposed to.

"Wrong," I tell him, smiling at his falsity.

"You've experimented?" he asks back, stopping us and facing me.

"A little. I love food. Especially, milk."
 

"Milk?" I nod.
"Stay here. I'm going to take your true food virginity," he mutters, a sly grin on his face. My face immediately freezes. I hate the way I can't hide my blatant embarrassment. He brushes his finger along my chin, and then retreats into the sea of people. I lose sight of him fairly fast.

Instead of standing awkwardly near the door, I walk deeper into the throng of Nephalem. Nobody really notices me, or pays me much attention. Instead I'm like a ghost, a silent bystander, observing everything.
 

"It's the Angel," a deep voice interrupts my blissful silence. Hare comes over to me and smiles widely, like we're old friends. "Hey there," he says, striding up next to me.

"Hi," I tentatively say back.

"Are you going to hang around here now?" he asks leaning against a stone pillar. Before I can answer, I look up, and his sister is waltzing towards us. "Uh oh…" Hare mutters under his breath, suddenly amused.

"Hare, what are you doing?" Hannah asks as she stops right in front of me.
 

"I'm talking to the Angel," Hare says back, rolling his eyes at his sister. I start to object to the title, but his sister speaks over me.
 

"Why?" There's toughness to her tone, similar to what I heard yesterday when they saved me.

"Hannah, why don't you leave me alone? Go hang out with your friends or something. You don't always have to be near me." Hare lashes out at his sister, and I feel more awkward standing here than before. I don't think I should be hearing their argument. That's private.

"Geeze, Hare. Try relaxing a little." She looks over at me. Her eyes trail up and down my body and then stop at my nose. "I'm Hannah: Hare's better half."
 

"You're siblings, right?" I ask. I guess I just assumed, since they're very similar looking, but I want to confirm it now. Both have dark hair and light eyes. Both are tall and thin. I guess their snark and the way they talk to each other made me think that, too.
 

"Twins," Hare answers, hip checking her.

"Oh, cool." I answer, unsure of what to say.
 

"I guess I'll see you around," she says in leaving, as her brother has made it painfully clear that she's not welcome here.
 

"Sure," I answer, shrugging my shoulders.

"Sorry 'bout her. She's a jerk sometimes." Hare sways from side to side uncertainly. "I heard you guys took down a Demon. That's awesome."

"My first time."

"How old are you?" he asks.

"I'm eighteen," I tell him. I'm not sure why I feel the need to lie. I keep replaying Micha's words in my head. Despite the fact that I trust the Nephalem, I want to be safe at all costs. So I guess I'm eighteen to everyone now.
 

"Me too. They just let me start hunting a few months ago. I've already taken down five Demons, though," he claims, proud. His chest puffs out a little and he stands a little taller, more confident.

"That's pretty impressive." Luckily, Luke comes over to us and breaks the awkwardness between Hare and I. Don't get me wrong, he's super nice and the first person to talk to me, but I don't know what to say to him.

"You met Hare?" Luke asks, looking between the two of us.

"Re-met him." I clarify.

"Come, I've made you a surprise," Luke says, taking me by the elbow and steering me around. I look over my shoulder at Hare and smile at him. He waves and then goes in the other direction, towards where I'm guessing his sister is.

As Luke and I walk around the room, I try to take it all in. I idly wonder how everyone who's hanging around can afford to just relax out all day. Micha said most people work. But I decide to save the question for another day.

"So, I spoke with the chef in the cafeteria and asked to make me a sampling of all the best foods," he tells me as he pushes open a set of doors. Immediately, a smell wafts into my nose. I actually have this weird urge to sneeze. "And here they are." He lets me walk in first, and I just look between all of the full plates.

"Where do we even start?" I ask him.

He smiles down at me. "Not we. You."
 

"I'm eating all of this?" I ask him again.

"Yes, and I'm going to watch." Luke walks over to the table and sits in the black chair. He scoots in and rests his arms on the tabletop. I take a spot across from him, where at least five overfilled plates sit, begging to be eaten.

"Which first?" I ask him as my mouth starts to salivate involuntarily. Since being on Earth, I've tried a few things, but nothing on the table looks familiar so I'm at a loss as to what I'm about to eat.

"Why don't you try that?" He leans across the table and points to a weird yellow and red and orange looking triangle. I lift it up with one hand and a trickle of something wet—like water, only orange tinted and slippery—slides down my arm. I frown, but continue to move the thing towards my mouth.

The first bite is euphoric. It's not sweet at all—purely the opposite. It's salty and hard, yet chewy. After the first bite is all in my mouth, I put the slice down and really savor everything I taste. I shut my eyes and attempt to differentiate the smells and tastes. With just one bite, my stomach feels full, bloated.

"Wow, that was really good," I say to Luke as I finish chewing. I moan and shut my eyes as I continue to taste more and more with each bite. I can't stop, and I don't ever want to. I just hope my stomach can keep up with me.

"Keep making that noise and you're in big trouble," Luke says, grinning across the table at me. I smile, but really I can hardly focus on his words. The amazing taste in my mouth is too much to handle. But I'm nowhere close to done. "Now this," Luke says, pushing a plate of something green towards me.

I try food after food after food and luckily my stomach lets me. I eat salad and chocolate and banana and pie and banana pie. I drink soda and orange juice and a milkshake—which is my favorite of the night. Luke constantly feeds me until I've tried at least a bite of everything in the room.

"You're quite impressive," he tells me, his eyes smoldering. He looks behind me and snaps his fingers twice. My eyes droop with tiredness, my body exhausted. A man in an apron comes out from the kitchen and starts to clear the table of my mess. I smile at the man for helping us, but his eyes never leave the table. He's like a slave—Domineer.
 

"Now what are we going to do?" I ask Luke, feeling sleepier than ever before.
 

"I have work to do for the night, and I can't entertain you. Unfortunately." He pauses and looks around the room. "But, you're welcome to stay. I'm sure you can show yourself around."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable staying yet. Maybe I'll go home." I shrug my shoulders.

"I'll only let you leave if you promise to come back," Luke says, suddenly serious.
 

"What are you going to do? Force me here?" I laugh, trying to joke with him.

"Of course not, Angel." He jokes back—that stupid name coming up again. "But I like you, and I'd hate to never see you again because I have to do work."

"I'll be back tomorrow," I promise, smiling at the fact that he wants to see me again. We both stand up from the table at the same time. My legs wobble beneath me from sitting for so long, and I feel like I'm gained a lot of weight. Luke takes my hand in his and leads me back towards the elevator. It's now very dark on the recreational floor, the lights dim.

Most of the people who were hanging out before are now gone. Some of the rooms have a little stream of light coming from under the doors but they're shut so I can't see much. I prefer it like this.
 

We stop just outside of the red elevator doors. Luke drops my hand. I suddenly feel cold, instantly feeling the loss. I stand, unable to move, because it oddly is like a goodbye. A more permanent one, I mean.
 

"So, you'll come back?" Luke asks me, turning so we're face to face. He touches my shoulders and holds me in front of him. The heat comes back, and I love it.

"Yes," I breathlessly say. My voice is almost foreign to me.

"I don't want to be forward, but I really would like to kiss you." My heart springs to life in my chest, like it's been zapped. It pumps extra blood through my veins, making my body hot. I don't know what to say to that. I've only been kissed by Tab before. It's not like we're still dating, so I don't see the harm.