Juniper James and the Slayer Moon

Chapter 14 Bait

   "Why do I have to be the bait?" Skye hissed as she stood on the cobblestone side walk in Wilson Park. The moonlight trickled through the weeping willow trees she stood beneath as she glared at us.

"Because you look absolutely delicious," Chase snickered as he pulled me behind some salmon colored azalea bushes nearby.

"If I die, you better believe that when I'm not watching Ty, I'm going to be haunting you both!"

Chase just waved it off. "Act natural and distracted, they like easy targets."

Skye just rolled her eyes as she began twirling her hair with one finger and playing games on her phone.

"That's about how she usually looks," I snickered.

Chase grinned as he took my hand and our fingers intertwined. His deep honey eyes pierced into mine, sending an excited jolt through my body. I loved the way he looked at me. It was charged with desire and passion, taking every ounce of my will not to pull him into a kiss. His lips curled into his lopsided smirk as he returned his gaze to Skye, who was pounding away on the screen of her phone.

"You really think I can handle all of this?" I whispered to him as we watched.

"Juniper," he cooed in a low murmur, "When this is all said and done, you're gonna be a far stronger slayer then I could ever dream of being. You just have to have enough faith to take the first step." His gaze was gentle as it fell on me once more. "I believe in you."

The fire of anxiety raging in my heart was slowly being extinguished by his words of encouragement. The lack of faith I had in myself was compensated by the belief he had in me. He thought I could do it and that alone made me think just maybe I stood a chance.

After a few moments of just getting lost in his eyes, I finally tore my gaze away to check on Skye, but she was gone. 

"Where did she go?" I whispered urgently to Chase, who was still gazing at me. He shook himself out of it and looked around.

"Over there," he replied, pointing to Skye staggering down the cobblestone sidewalk further into the park in a trance like state.

"What is that about?" I asked, readying myself to jump and follow but Chase grabbed my arm to keep me in place.

"Wait," he whispered, "Let's follow at a distance. Something seems very off here."

I nodded, watching with an increasing worry for her safety as Skye continued into the ominous shadows of the park .

Suddenly, we heard footsteps nearby and Chase pulled me closer to him to conceal us in the bushes. We peeked through the flowered branches until we saw the owner of the footsteps. My heart jumped in anxious surprise as I saw Ty analyzing the area with a flashlight in hand. 

 His eyes were gleaming with intensity as he searched fervently. He was so on edge with not being able to figure out who was killing all those girls, that now he was searching crime scenes on his own trying to figure it out. I knew that in every one of those girls he saw me and that was his driving force. Seeing him standing there wracked with urgency suddenly made it so clear how close he was to the demons as well and without slayer powers. I felt so selfish. Here I was panicking about taking on this responsibility I was born for while he was unknowingly going after the same thing. If I continued to try to hide from this, Ty and other people would get hurt. It was like a cloud had lifted from my mind and I finally found the will to fulfill my role.