Chapter 10
10
Flurries fell from the thick clouds above and a fine coating of snow dusted the roofs of the buildings. Dusk was slowly invading the city, and down below, streetlamps were flickering on, along with the white Christmas lights that had been strung along the trees.
As I stood near the ledge and stared down, watching humans hurry along or stopping to hail a cab, I thought if I could capture this moment with a camera, it would almost look like the perfect holiday greeting card.
There was something calming about the fact that millions of people were going about their lives, completely unaware of the very real darkness threatening their city. After all this time, I finally got it—why the Alphas demanded that humans remain clueless when it came to the existence of demons. It had to do with more than just the desire for faith in a higher power. It was also about protection, allowing the humans to live their lives every day, because if they did know the truth, the world would be irrevocably changed, damaged beyond merely the careless way humans treated other humans.
Warmth beat back the cold as Roth came to stand behind me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and rested his chin atop my head. There was no stiffness in his embrace or in my reaction to it. Although this was all new to both of us, this openness about our feelings, there was none of that awkwardness that I imagined most couples faced.
We weren’t on the same building as earlier. Now we were near the federal district, waiting for members of my clan. Out of habit, I had texted Zayne a short message, telling him not to trust Elijah, that if they saw him, it wasn’t the Warden they knew. Minutes had gone by before he’d responded, proving that he hadn’t been asleep, encased in stone, like he should’ve been at that time. He’d requested a meeting, and so now we were waiting. Nerves formed a tangle in the pit of my stomach. I was going to see Zayne again, and that was going to be tough enough, but worse still, I figured I would also see other clan members. Maybe even Abbot, and I was nothing but a ball of anxious dread.
Roth hadn’t been too thrilled about any of this, which explained why Bambi was once again curled around my waist and Cayman was also here, along with Edward. They stood on the corners of the building like two sentries.
Really well-dressed sentries.
Both were in dark trousers and a white shirt, donning polished leather shoes. I had no idea why. Maybe they had left ballroom dancing classes or something. I could totally see Cayman doing that.
“How’s your back?” Roth asked after a few moments.
I hadn’t mentioned that my back ached from where Elijah had gripped my wing, but Roth was careful to avoid the area and not irritate the dull pulse. “It doesn’t hurt that bad, but I think he might’ve broken something.”
The muscles along his arm bunched. “When we get home, I want to check it out if shifting doesn’t hurt you too badly.”
Home. Home was with Roth. That was so right I didn’t even need to question it. We stood in silence for a handful of seconds, and then I blurted out, “I get it.”
His hand flattened along my stomach, just above my navel as he lifted his chin. Bambi moved on my skin, stretching out and shifting closer to him. “You get what?” he asked quietly.
“Why the Alphas demand that the humans don’t know the truth,” I explained, resting my head back against his chest. “I used to think that it was so stupid. How did knowing the truth really hurt anything? They’d know there really was a Heaven and Hell and everything in between. Maybe people would act right then.”
“Maybe,” he murmured, his arm tightening as he shifted us slightly.
“But that’s the thing. People probably would act right, but only because they wouldn’t live, not in the moment.” The wind picked up, and I smiled a little when I realized that Roth had moved to block it. “They would be petrified. That’s why they can’t know. Or at least part of the reason.”
“Makes sense, I guess. It’s hard for me to understand, being that I came into creation knowing, well, everything.” He chuckled when I rolled my eyes even though there was no way he could’ve seen that. “So, what? You want to protect them now?”
I frowned slightly as I stared down at the city. “I’ve always wanted to protect them.”
His chest rose against my back. “You’re more than that, Layla. Don’t you want a life outside of tagging demons?”
“I don’t know about that anymore. You know that.” I twisted around and tilted my head back, facing him. He was staring down, his head cocked in the way he did whenever he was trying to understand some kind of human emotion he just couldn’t grasp. “And I do want more.”
“Like what?” he challenged. “What do you want to do when this is over?”
When what was over? The fight with the Lilin? Reclaiming Sam’s soul? The war between the Wardens and demons? I had no idea if or when any of this would be over, but I had to hang on to hope that it would be. That both of us would still be standing, as would all those I cherished. I couldn’t allow myself to even briefly consider the idea that there wouldn’t be an after.
“I think… I think I’d like to go to college,” I told him. “Well, that means I have to finish high school first. That makes sense.”
His lips twitched. “That’s your big plan?”
I thought back to all those applications I had lining my old bedroom floor back at the compound and I nodded. “Yeah, and I… I want to travel first. I want to see places outside of this city.”
“Like where?” he asked, raising his hand and tracing the line of my jaw with his fingers. “I’m still banking on Hawaii.”
I grinned. “That would be nice. So, yeah, put that on the list.”
“Need other places to make a list, Shortie.”
“Okay. I want to see New York City—Dez says it’s amazing. And Miami. I want to walk on a beach.” Getting into it, I started ticking off places. “I want to stroll the French Quarter in New Orleans, and I want to visit Galveston—”
“Galveston… Texas? Why?”
“Read a book once that took place there. It doesn’t matter. I want to see Dallas, like real cowboys and stuff.”
He laughed as he tucked a strand of my hair back. “Real cowboys are kind of hard to find.”
“We’ll find them. I’m positive. And then I want to see the Hollywood sign and maybe even Portland. It rains there a lot, right? Not sure I’d want to stay there long, but I think I’d actually like to see Mount Rushmore— Oh, and Canada. I can keep going,” I said. “But I think that’s a good start.”
His eyes had that hooded quality that brought a flush to my cheeks. “That’s a great list.”
“What about you?” I asked. “What do you want to do when this is all over?”
“For real?” When I nodded, he lowered his head, dropping a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. “I can’t believe you even have to ask that. I plan to be wherever you are.”
My lips immediately curved into one of those big, funny-looking smiles as my heart swelled in my chest like an old-school cartoon character’s. I was waiting for my eyes to turn into exaggerated hearts that popped out. “That is…that is the perfect answer.”
“That’s because I am perfect.”
“Well, that wasn’t the perfect answer,” I said drily.
Cayman’s warning cut off Roth’s answering laugh. “They’re coming.”
We turned to where he gestured. Off in the distance, they looked like great birds parting the clouds. My stomach dropped as they dipped low, coming in for a landing. Zayne was definitely there; he was in the middle of the bunch, and even in his true form, I knew that it was him.
Three other Wardens were with him, and as they neared the rooftop, I recognized them as Nicolai and Dez. A bit of the unease, not all of it, lessened. Dez was from the New York clan and he’d first visited DC with his mate, Jasmine. While he’d been unsure of me at first, he’d quickly seemed to like me. I suppose it was because we were both outsiders, in our way. Nicolai had always had a soft spot for me, and I for him. He wasn’t that much older than Zayne when he’d lost his mate and child. Nicolai rarely smiled, but when he did, he could take your breath away.
The fourth member of their crew shocked me.
It had to be Danika.
“Interesting,” Roth said, unfolding his arm from around me. He didn’t move away, though.
Interesting didn’t really sum it up. Wardens didn’t allow their females out much, preferring to keep them in gilded cages. It was one of the many things I’d hated about our kind. Granted, I understood that the Warden population was dwindling and females were prime targets for Upper Level demons, but still, the idea of being kept sequestered made me want to punch something.
Just like I knew it drove Danika nuts.
Danika was a lot wilder and crazier than her older sister, Jasmine, and I’d spent the better part of my formative years hating on her for no other reason than the fact that she liked Zayne and would be able to monopolize all his time with a flick of her glossy black hair.
Cayman and Edward didn’t move from their perches with the exception of facing the direction the Wardens were coming from. The crew of four landed on the rooftop, their impact cracking like thunder. Then Cayman glanced at Roth, who nodded. Both Cayman and Edward disappeared, as if they were never there, but I could still feel them. They were nearby, monitoring the situation, and if I could feel them, so could the Wardens.
Zayne strode forward, his chin bent low and his wings tucked back. My stomach flopped unsteadily as my gaze swerved to Nicolai and then to Danika. They were blocking her, keeping her behind them.
Something she clearly wasn’t too thrilled about.
Charging forward, she brushed past Zayne, who cast his gaze to the sky, a muscle throbbing along his jaw. She shifted into human form as she headed straight for where Roth and I stood, her gray skin giving way to flawless alabaster. Dez muttered something under his breath while Nicolai followed after her, a look of concern pulling at the corners of his lips.
Without looking back at the males, she threw her hand up in their direction and all she said was, “Don’t even try to stop me.”
Nicolai skidded to a stop, his brows raised.
I stiffened, as did Roth.
Absolutely fearless, Danika stalked right up to us and before I could blink an eye, she’d thrown her arms around me and squeezed. A fruity scent, like apples, surrounded me as Bambi slithered onto my back, away from her. Danika was as strong as a linebacker, and I swallowed a squeak as I was pressed against her hard chest. The dull ache flared into a sharp throbbing sensation on either side of my spine, reinforcing my paranoid belief that Elijah might have broken one of my wings—one of my feathered wings.
“Careful,” Roth advised, only loud enough for us to hear. “She’s been hurt.”
“Oh God! I’m sorry.” Danika immediately released me, and I would’ve stumbled back if Roth hadn’t been there to steady me. “What happened? What’s—”
“I’m all right,” I assured her, caught off guard by her welcome. I still wasn’t used to our new friendship.
She glanced at Roth warily and it was obvious she didn’t 100 percent trust him. He smiled back at her, tight-lipped and daring. “I’ve been so worried,” she continued, taking a small step back as she ran her hands along her denim-clad hips.
“When Zayne said you reached out because something happened and they were coming to meet you, I had to come. I needed to say I’m sorry.”
“Danika,” Nicolai called gently.
“Sorry for what?” I asked, looking toward the other Wardens. Zayne was now eyeballing Roth like he wanted to toss him off the roof. Dez didn’t look entirely surprised, but Nicolai—-well, he looked like he wanted to scoop her up and fly off, which was… That was odd.
“For what they did to you,” she said, her cheeks flushing pink. “This clan. It wasn’t right, and I wanted to kick Abbot in the balls.”
“Apologies are given out far too often to mean anything, but I like you,” murmured Roth. “I really do.”
Her gaze darted from him to me, and she then took another step back while Nicolai moved in closer. “Anyway, it was wrong. You would never purposely hurt Zayne or anyone else.”
Well, the thing was, I had hurt Zayne, even if not physically, and there was no mistaking that. I had to believe that she knew. When I glanced at him again, he still hadn’t looked in my direction. Feeling icky about that, I refocused. “Thank you, Danika, I…um, I appreciate that.” I turned to Nicolai and Dez. “And I owe you guys everything, too. Thank you for finding Roth and helping me get out of that warehouse. You all helped save my life.”
And that was true.
Because of them, I was standing today. Instead of going along with Abbot, they had found Roth and stood against their own clan at great personal risk to save me.
“It’s good to see that you’re recovered,” Dez said, and I smiled.
“I second that. I’ve known you most of your life, little one, and I never once believed you were responsible for what was happening at the compound or outside of it,” Nicolai added, and I got warm and fuzzy on the inside. “You might be glad to know that the place is hardly trouble-free with you gone. We still haven’t managed to exorcise Petr’s wraith. Whenever we try, he senses it and leaves the house.”
“He’s proving to be as much of a jackass as he was in real life,” Dez commented, proving that Elijah’s son, my half brother, had not been well liked. He paused. “Jasmine says hi, by the way.”
“Tell her hi from me,” I replied lamely, and like an idiot, I raised my hand and wiggled my fingers.
Dez grinned as he looked away, something he often did around me. I sort of wanted to jab myself in the eyes with my jazz fingers.
“What happened?” Zayne finally spoke, and when he did, my gaze swung to him. He was staring at Roth, and that made my stomach twist painfully. “The text said there was an incident with Elijah and not to trust him?”
Nicolai crossed his arms along his chest as he tucked his wings back. Remaining in his Warden form, like the other two, he was an impressive sight. “We have never trusted Elijah.” His eyes were focused on me. “His beliefs and actions have always been a source of discontent among us.”
“Well.” Roth drew the word out. “Elijah isn’t going to be a source of much of anything anymore.”
All the Wardens’ gazes shot to him, and his tight-lipped grin spread. “Details would be nice,” Zayne demanded, the cool breeze tossing fair strands around his dark horns.
I waded in before the conversation went downhill. “Elijah is…he’s no more,” I explained, and then rushed on when I heard Dez’s sharp curse. “We didn’t kill him.”
“Not that we didn’t try,” Roth amended, and when I shot him a look, he shrugged. “Why lie, Shortie? We were out searching for the Lilin—”
“We are handling that,” Zayne cut in, his chin rising.
“Sure you are,” Roth replied, and although that was a taunt, I knew he was capable of far more when it came to being an asshole to Zayne. This was watered down. “And how’s that going for you all?”
Zayne’s jaw worked as if he were going to grind down every one of his teeth. When there was no immediate response, Roth threw out, “Any leads? Nope. Didn’t think so.”
I shifted my weight from foot to foot while Dez narrowed his eyes and Danika started staring at the floor of the rooftop.
“Anyway, as I was saying, we were out searching for the Lilin when Layla saw Elijah. He and three other clan members were tracking us from the rooftops. We confronted them and they attacked.”
“He still wants me dead,” I explained. “Nothing new there.”
Zayne glanced in my direction, but didn’t make eye contact. “So what happened?”
“Well, Bambi ate one of the Wardens. So kind of not sorry about that,” Roth went on, and Bambi flicked her tail along my hip, as if she was happy at the shout-out. I squeezed my eyes shut briefly. “I sort of put another out of commission. Permanently. Self-defense. I swear.”
“I’m sure of that,” Nicolai murmured as he moved to stand slightly in front of Danika.
She didn’t appear all that bothered. “If they were from his clan, they won’t be missed.”
“Danika,” Dez admonished.
“What?” She threw her hands up. “It’s the truth. They’re all jackasses. We all know that.”
Nicolai’s lips twitched. “What happened to the third Warden?”
“He was taking a nap on the rooftop when we left him. Not sure if he’s woken up or some demon has come along and done bad, bad things to him.” Roth shrugged again. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
“And Elijah?” Zayne asked, his voice tight.
I drew in a deep breath as I reached up, pushing the loose hair back from my face. “I was fighting him—”
“You were fighting Elijah?” Nicolai’s brows flew up.
“Uh. Yeah?”
Danika smiled broadly. “Awesome.”
I shook my head. “The Lilin showed up and got between us. It took Elijah’s soul—it consumed it. There was no wraith. Nothing left, and then the Lilin changed its appearance.”
“It looks like Elijah now,” Roth tacked on. “That’s why Layla thought it would be a smart idea to warn you. The other Warden that was with him, if that Warden is still alive, was out cold when the Lilin took Elijah’s soul. He would have no idea that isn’t the real Elijah if the Lilin goes back to the clan.”
“Damn,” muttered Dez. “I’m not sure if we know where they are holed up here to warn them. Perhaps Geoff knows.”
Nicolai’s expression turned thoughtful. “If not, I have a feeling Abbot might have an idea.”
I cringed inwardly at the mention of Abbot’s name, but forged on. “Like I said, we wanted to warn you all, just in case it tries to go to the compound.” The next part was the worst. “Based on how the Lilin was able to pull off a Sam impersonation so convincingly, I think the Lilin gets the person’s memories when it consumes the soul.”
“That makes sense,” Danika said, glancing back at the males. “The soul is the essence, the very core of our beings. It would hold everything.”
Nicolai exhaled roughly. “If that’s the case, then the Lilin would know a lot.”
“Too much,” Zayne stated, and started to turn, his deep gray wings unfurling. “We need to talk to my father and the others.”
Dez and Nicolai agreed with the statement. Danika lingered, glancing between Roth and me. “Don’t be a stranger,” she said, voice low. “Okay? We all need to work together if we’re going to stop that thing.”
I nodded, feeling weird as I watched them. It was hard to think of a time when Zayne was leaving somewhere, and I wasn’t going with him. As the Wardens turned, I stepped forward. Although deep down I knew I should just let them go—let him go—I couldn’t stop myself. There were too many years between us to simply pretend we were strangers.
“Zayne?” I called out.
He was at the ledge when I spoke his name, and I thought I saw his shoulders bunch, but he knelt, and then launched himself into the sky without looking back.
Without acknowledging me.