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Chapter 31
"What about Shorzin? And River, and Siena?" I asked uneasily as we headed closer and closer to the college's campus. Well, the part of it that hadn't been destroyed.
"I'll deal with them."
It was the way he said it, so assured and strong, that sent a chill down my spine. I was uneasy enough when human Adriel talked like that, but with angel/demon Adriel, it was a whole other ball game. The tone wasn't directed at me, but I still felt that sharp bite of fear. I didn't need to ask to know what he meant by 'deal with them'. It was already implied.
He didn't have to go looking for those crazy psychos though. By the time we cleared the chaos and reached the courtyard of the campus, Shorzin and his group were waiting, minus River and Siena. Jess still stood awkwardly behind their 'leader', though she looked both relieved and nervous at the sight of us. The professor did not look happy.
"Well, this is... unexpected." Shorzin's voice carried uneasily across the destruction of the mountain as Adriel pulled us to a stop a few safe yards away. Like before, he maneuvered me easily behind his back.
"I told you this wouldn't end well for you, Jemison." The way Dri talked, with that raspy old accent, carried around the entire courtyard. No one spoke against him, as if fear itself held their tongues. I didn't blame them.
"I had not realized she could wake you."
"She's not an idiot."
I stood a little taller as Adriel defended me but had to suck down my pride when I realized it was so not the time to be sassy.
"Look, yes, dramatic measures were taken, but you can not blame us. The town has been in peace for five hundred years, we could not risk that." I could sense when someone was trying to back themselves out of a corner, and Shorzin was trying hard. Suck ass, moron.
"You tried to kill my girl."
"The lock is the key. We could not let her wake you, though that obviously didn't go so well."
There was a brief pause between the two of them, though the tension strumming in the air was undeniable. "Close your eyes, Larkin." The second those words left his lips, Shorzin's group scattered. Like little rats running from the big bad cat, his group ran with all their might.
"No, Adriel, wait." I grabbed onto his arm as he took a slow step forward, like he wasn't at all concerned about the runners.
He glanced over his shoulder, one dark eyebrow raised in question as I ignored how nice his bicep felt. "They locked me up for five hundred years and tried to kill you—again."
"I know, I just—don't hurt Jess."
Both eyebrows raised at that, and his voice took on a scoffing incredulous tone. "The psychic?"
I nodded and let go of his arm to step behind him once again. "She's the only reason I knew how to wake you. I heard her, in my head."
Those dark blue eyes gazed over me curiously before softening. "Alright, I will not hurt her. You should still close your eyes." I knew better than to ignore him.
A part of me knew I should have stopped him, begged him not to hurt anyone, but another part wanted them gone just as badly. Shorzin killed me once and tried to again. Hell, I didn't even know how many times the guy's killed me, especially if Jess was right about that Angel of Death dude sending me back a lot.
'He knew the only way to really get my attention was for a soul to call to every part of my own—the dark and all.'
Then again, maybe I just wanted them gone.
I kept my eyes closed the entire time and had little idea what was going on. I was expecting to hear screams, shouts, something, but it was nearly silent. The only thing out of the ordinary was that pulsing dark power that streamed off demon Adriel. It seemed to surge through the air, wrap around my skin and sink into my brain. Then it slipped just as easily away.
I had no idea what Adriel did to Shorzin, or his group, but when he finally told me to open my eyes everyone was gone. Everyone except a horror-stricken Jess who was bent over and throwing up the contents of her stomach. Sympathy immediately racked through my chest, and I went to go help her, but demon/not-demon Dri gripped onto my wrist and stopped me.
I glanced over at him as those familiar blue eyes flickered from her to me. "She's still one of them. I don't want you near her."
I ripped my arm away and glared at his stupid handsome face. "She basically saved me, and you. I don't think she would have if she wanted me dead." I turned on my heel and walked over to the small girl. He didn't stop me.
"Hey, it's okay." I tried to sound soothing as I rubbed my hand awkwardly down her thin back. She had stopped vomiting but was still bent over dry heaving.
"He is... not good." Jess breathed heavily as her hands pressed against her knees. I frowned but stayed silent. I wasn't sure what to say. No, I didn't think he was good. They wouldn't have locked him up for centuries if he was ending wars and striving for world peace, but that didn't mean I could stop loving the guy either. Or demon, or whatever the fuck he was.
"It's alright." Were the only soothing words I could think to say as she stood back up and wiped at her mouth with the back of her sleeve. Those bright green eyes darted to Adriel standing a few yards away, watching us intently.
"You must know," She started softly, even though neither of us pretended like he couldn't hear, "I would have given anything to keep him locked away. If there was another choice, I would never have told you how to wake him."
"Why did you?"
Jess brought those creepy green eyes back to mine, and there was no denying the fear shining there. "You have more yet to do. I could not allow you to die."
I swallowed and tried to shove down the unpleasant shiver her words sent down my spine. Why couldn't I just live my life? Why was there always some bullshit legend and creepy psychics telling me I had more to do? It also didn't help that my boyfriend was a crazy fallen angel who created vampires.
"I will leave now." Jess straightened completely, her eyes flickering uneasily to Adriel before at the desolate space around us. College kids were streaming out of the buildings now, though more than half of them didn't seemed surprised at the chaos. It made me wonder how much of the town actually knew all of this was real, and how many weren't human at all.
"There is much I need to discuss with what remains of the council."
A dark grumble sounded behind us, and I looked over my shoulder to see a dark, determined expression take over Adriel's face. I gulped and looked away. "Um, I wouldn't talk about that around him. He doesn't seem to like it."
Jess nodded, her face just as sickly pale as when I first walked up to her. "Noted."
She was barely a few feet away when Adriel was suddenly beside me, his dark eyes watching every step the psychic took. "That will have to be fixed." I had no doubt he planned on doing to the rest of the 'council' what he did to Shorzin.
"You can't kill everyone, Adriel."
"Sure, I can."
"I don't want you to." That had him grumbling quietly to himself and made that strong jaw tick shut. "You promised me you wouldn't go all psycho again, that you didn't want to. Prove it."
There was no mistaking that dark look that passed over those blue eyes. Then they softened and he let out a small sigh. "You're right. I don't want that anymore. I'll behave, I promise."
I wish I could believe him.
-&-
I knew what I had to do, and I knew he was not going to like it.
It had only been two days since everything happened, and even though we unload the SUV, all my stuff still sat packed in my room. Rafael wasn't there anymore, and when I asked Adriel about it, he just said she disappeared when they killed his human form. I tried not to show how badly that tore me apart.
We hadn't spoken much since then. He was always off 'handling situations' as he called them, and I sat all alone in that house thinking over everything.
Which wasn't a good idea on his part.
I sat waiting for him at the bottom of the manor's staircase, my last suitcase waiting beside me. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to say, despite having rehearsed the words over and over again. I needed time to think, away from him. Even if I went somewhere else in Deshua, he would still be there, hovering over me. I had to get away. My world had been flipped completely upside down, nothing was real anymore. I needed time.
My stomach twisted in nerves the second the front door opened, and I stood shakily to my feet. "Hey, why are there a bunch of boxes in your car—" Adriel's words died on his tongue when those blue eyes landed on me, and my hand on my suitcases lever.
"No."
"I need time, Adriel."
He slammed the front door shut so hard the entire wall trembled. He shook his head, his now shaggy dark hair lying messy against his forehead. Adriel, my Adriel, the human one, hadn't morphed back into that ginormous demon since the day he collapsed the mountain. It only made this twice as hard.
"No. You're not leaving." His voice held that strong commanding tone he used to always use whenever he wanted me to do something, the tone that always made obey. I wouldn't let it now. I couldn't.
"It's too much. I need to think." I tried to keep my voice unwavering as I gazed over at those blue eyes, but it only sounded as strong as my heart—and that broke two days ago.
"Think here!" He took a step towards me, anger brewing behind that dark gaze. "I can even go away for a few days if that's what you want!"
"I—"
"Is this about Rafael? I can bring her back. I can give you anything you want, Larkin." He was pacing now, his human sized body walking back and forth in the large foyer.
My chest clenched at the mention of Raffie, and at how miserable he looked. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt him, but things were different now. We were different. I fell in love with a man that doesn't exist, no matter how much he tried to convince it was still him. And even if it was, I couldn't just look the other way and pretend I was okay with all of this.
"It's everything, not just Raffie. I can't be here. I can't be in this town, around all those freaks. I—I can't be near you right now, Adriel."
He stopped pacing then and turned to face me. The look on his face almost had me changing my mind. Almost. "You can't leave me." I didn't flinch away when he walked over and gripped at my upper arms, though the hard look passing over his eyes was a little frightening. "You're everything, Larkin. You can't leave me."
I let out a shaky breath and tried to steady myself. I hated upsetting him, I always have. He was the one person that could put me on top of the world and drag me under it just as fast. "You promised if this was what I wanted you would let me go." His hands tightened at my words, and even though he opened his mouth to say something, nothing came out. "It's what I want, Dri."
His jaw clenched shut but he refused to tear that dark gaze away from mine.
"I love you." Adriel's words were so soft, and sad that they actually brought tears to my eyes, tears I tried to shove away as best as I could. I was always strong, nothing growing up could phase me, but this whole experience tore down all those walls. I was weak.
"I can't do this right now. I need to leave."
For a moment, one, long, scary moment, I actually thought he would lock me in this house with some crazy demon magic and never let me leave. But then his hands loosened, and he let reluctantly go. "If that... is what you want." His words were hard, clipped, and those blue eyes would no longer look into mine.
"Thank you." It took everything inside me not to sigh in relief. I wouldn't be gone forever, just until I sorted out everything raging through my head. Just a little while.
I leaned up, pressed a soft lingering kiss to his cheek, and pulled away. It's not for forever. I tried to 'scream' in my head so he could hear, but he let out no indication that he did.
I grabbed tightly onto the handle of my suitcase and rolled it around him. Adriel didn't move, not one inch. Not even when I opened the door and carried the suitcase down those stone steps and into my car. I waited just outside my driver's door, convinced he would come out and try to stop me, but he didn't.
It felt like someone took that gardening shovel I had left in the flowerbed what felt like so long ago and tried to dig my heart out of my chest. A large part of me wanted to stay, to forget everything that has happened in the pass week, curl up in his arms and never leave.
He could make that happen too. I had no doubt he could wipe my memories if I asked, but I couldn't hide behind a façade. I loved him, with all my heart, and I probably always would. I just needed to sort everything out.
I was nearly out of Deshua, the middle of nowhere town disappearing in my rearview mirror, when something strange happened. I soon as I passed the city limit sign, I was suddenly driving through town square again. I had to slam on my breaks to keep from hitting a group of pedestrians crossing the walkway.
They all shouted at me and raised their hands angrily as I sat wide eyed, staring in disbelief. "What the fuck...?"
What the hell was that?
I tried to leave again, but the same thing happened when I reached that sign. Then I tried again, and again, by the fourth time I was fed up, and I had a pretty good idea who the fuck was causing it.
I stopped just before the city limit sign, the town a mile or so at my back, with open country stretching in front of me. I slammed open my car, stepped out into the middle of the deserted road and turned towards the town. There he was, standing only a few feet away, his hands resting casually in his jacket pockets even though he looked more ready to fight than have a conversation.
"What the actual fuck, Adriel?" My voice was more of a snap than a genuine question and anger licked at the back of my neck.
"You're not leaving."
My breath hitched at how serious he sounded, at how deadpanned hard his voice was. "You promised."
His jaw grit shut, and those blue eyes flashed black. I could almost feel ice grow on my lungs as that dark energy surged through the air. "If you love me you wouldn't leave."
"If you love me you will let me go!"
He looked away at that, his hard jaw grinding together as if he were trying to reign in the anger so desperately wanting to escape. Then he was right in front of me, moving faster than I could blink, and his arms were caging me tightly to his chest.
"I don't—I don't understand, Larkin." He had backed me up against my car, his body nearly absorbing mine into him as his face pressed into my neck. "Why do you want to leave me?" His voice was so sad and heartbroken that I felt those tears from before enter my eyes. I closed them and sucked in a shaky breath.
"I have to." I whispered softly since I didn't think I could speak any louder. "It's the only way I can figure everything out."
Water officially fell down my cheeks when Adriel's hands wrapped in my hair and he pressed his forehead against mine. The black of his eyes had disappeared, but the white surrounding those blues had turned a veiny red. I had never seen him cry before, never, and he wasn't exactly shedding tears right then, but I knew what that red meant.
"I love you." He murmured against me, his eyes never leaving mine. "More than anything."
"I-I love you." My voice cracked as it came out, but he didn't care. His lips pressed against mine in a hungry lingering kiss that I didn't push away. I leaned into him, my fingers curling into his jacket as I kissed him back with just as much intensity.
"Come back to me." Adriel whispered softly against my lips when I finally pulled away. I didn't answer him, I couldn't. He was my everything, and I was leaving that all behind. I had to.
He didn't stop me from pulling away and getting back into my car. I sat there quietly for a minute, my hands like iron as they gripped tightly onto the steering wheel. Then I let out a shaky breath, buckled my seat belt, and drove pass the city limit sign. He didn't stop me.
I glanced in the rearview mirror when I was about a mile away, but Adriel was still standing there, watching. He stayed until Deshua, and that sign, disappeared in the distance.
The End of Book 1
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So, that's the end of the first book! I know a lot of you probably aren't happy at the moment, but don't worry! There will be a book 2! Yippee!
However, I only have the first chapter of Enticing Darkness (Book 2) written, and I don't want to post it until I have the time to write more. BUT I can post that if you guys know that it will be awhile before I post anything else. I also want to pay some attention to HFR for the poor readers desperately hanging onto that story.
Alright, so, that's what? 10 chapters in 10 days? My brain is fried. I'll be taking a week or so off, going to visit some friends. I'll be back to writing soon!
Also, please remember to try and avoid spoiling the story for others in the comment section. There's only so much I can go through and delete, and I really don't want to waste time having to comb through every single chapter. Please just be courteous to others :D
I hope you enjoyed this crazy ride!