22. Erin
Chapter twenty-two
Erin
I shook the thought from my mind as I stood, being careful to not disturb Seth. I stretched, working out the kinks in my joints; my back ached from the hardwood floor. I quietly padded across the living room and down the hallway to the guest room, softly pushing the door open. I stepped inside, holding my breath as I clicked the door shut.
I scanned the room. Clothes, presumably Derik and Libby’s, were strewn around the floor and on top of the birch wood dresser Seth kept in the room. I tossed my hair into a poor excuse of a messy bun and began picking up different shirts, skirts, pants; folding and separating them into their own piles. The clothes that looked like Libby’s I sat on the bed, and Derik’s I placed on top of the dresser, organizing them by type of clothing. Once their clothes were neatly folded and arranged, I picked through my own pile, grabbing out some joggers and a baggy T-shirt before going to town organizing mine as well.
Once it all was put away, I clapped my hands together. Satisfied with my temporary room and deemed it livable. I threw on a pair of running shoes and a hoodie then quietly made my way back out to the main area. Libby and Derik were still in the same spot asleep. Seth had rolled onto his back, mouth hanging open, snoring loudly, surprisingly not waking the others
What a dork.
I snickered as I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and headed out the front door, locking it behind me. I twisted the cap off and gulped down half of the bottle, then stuck my keys and cellphone in the zipper pocket of my joggers, galloped down the steps, and started on a run. The upside of not getting hungover, I could go for a run first thing in the morning.
Point: me.
I ran the opposite direction of town, keeping a steady pace. Sweat beaded on my forehead and neck, loose hair stuck to my skin. Birds chirped, leaves rustled, and a light mist cloaked the sidewalk. I inhaled the morning air, a calmness settled over me.
Perfect.
A truly perfect way to shake off another nightmare.
Trees grew closer together and the sidewalk widened as I neared one of the larger parks that bordered the woods on the outskirts of town. I slowed to a walk, taking it all in. Maple trees lined the walkway, various shades of reds, yellows, and oranges painted on their leaves. Fresh dew rested atop the recently trimmed grass. Little sprouts of wildflowers slowly danced in the morning breeze. It was peaceful, quiet.
I stopped at a bench half a mile into the park. I sat down, pulled my knees to my chest, and stretched the fabric of my hoodie over them; folding my arms over the top of my hoodie. I rested my chin on them, closed my eyes, and breathed in the world around me.
I needed this.
It could’ve been mere minutes but felt like an eternity—in the best way possible. Being out in nature always had that effect on me. It centered me.
My mind drifted to the past few weeks. I allowed myself to feel all the emotions: the draining stress, lack of sleep, Seth dropping the ‘I’m this supernatural being called a Nephilim’ thing on me; Demons, Angels, and that my life—at least part of it—had been a lie.
Nothing will ever be the same.
Everything I had worked so hard for…taken from me.
And now…all I can do…is control the controllable.
This isn’t how things were supposed to go.
I had a rough childhood. That was supposed to stop.
I’m an adult now. Things are supposed to be easier. Better.
Less life-threatening.
Less surviving and more thriving. Or at least managing.
I let the image of the Demons play in my mind. I attempted to picture Erebus and what he did to me, and there was a mental barrier. Nothing but a memory fog.
Huh. That didn’t seem to be a problem when I had that flashback yesterday.
Imagine that.
How convenient.
And there goes my whole ‘control the controllable’ spiel.
Those last words that had rang in my ears before I’d gone unconscious pranced at the edge of my memory, Erebus’s bone-chilling voice echoed but nothing more. I grew frustrated and moved onto the nightmare from the night before. Processing the mountains of bodies.
What did it mean?
A chill ran down my spine. I missed something. I repeated the dream over and over, picking at every minute detail.
My phone rang, my eyes popped open. I wrangled around in my hoodie to slip my hand in and unzip my jogger pocket. By the time I pulled it out it’d stopped ringing, so I checked the call log and saw it was from an unknown number.
My phone beeped, a text floated onto the screen.
Running alone this early in the day, Madam?
Would you be open to some company?
I swiveled my head in search of whoever could’ve been out there watching me. Panic welled in my stomach. I shoved it down and stood up, speed-walking back the way I’d come. I scanned the park for any signs of movement. My phone rang again, and I picked it up, hissing.
“Alright, creep. Who the hell are you and why the fuck are you following me?”
“Miss Snow, is that anyway to say good morning?” Josh.
Son of a fucking bitch.
“Considering I don’t have your number and you’re apparently stalking me, I’d say I can speak to you how I very well please, Josh. ” Venom laced my words, making my point clear.
Fuck dude. I know I clumsily felt you up last night but it was an accident.
That’d be obvious even to me.
“My apologies, Miss Snow. I should’ve prefaced my message with informing you that it was me reaching out.”
“You can shove your ‘apologies’ right up your ass. You didn’t answer my question as to why you’re following me.”
A slick black car pulled up next to me, the tinted windows slid down. Josh bent forward in the driver’s seat and flashed a tight smile. “Why don’t you get in? I have a few errands I need to run.”
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to get into a car with strangers?” I huffed, staring him down.
“For starters, Miss Snow, we are not strangers. Secondly, I arrived in this life far before motor vehicles came into existence.”
“You sound ancient when you speak, you realize that? No one calls cars ‘motor vehicles’ anymore.”
“Call it a habit, then,” he reached over the middle console and pushed the door open. “Given the weather calls for rain, humor me, Miss Snow. I won’t bite.” I looked up, planning on calling bullshit. Unfortunately, the sky had indeed darkened since I’d ran out there.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, whatever,” I stepped into the front seat and made a show of slamming the door closed. “Only because I don’t want to run back to Seth’s place completely drenched.”
Asshole.
“Of course, Miss Snow.” Josh put the car in gear and drove off. Out of the corner of my eye I scanned the dashboard and interior of his car—black suede. The dashboard was some type of cherry-red leather and the windows were borderline dangerously tinted.
“Okay, seriously what do you do outside of this superhero stuff?” I snapped.
Josh let out a low chuckle, the sound sent a jolt down my spine. “I’m a businessman. And a good one at that.”
Explains the car…man I really did not get a good look at this thing when he dropped me off last night.
Even I know a luxury car when I see one.
“How do you have time for it? I don’t even know how I’m supposed to balance the Nephilim stuff and school. Let alone my job.” A headache pressed at the front of my skull.
The husked tone of his voice slivered across my skin, goosebumps left in its wake. “Years of practice, Miss Snow,” Josh flipped his turn signal on and turned left down one of the main intersections in town. “You work at the library, correct?”
I stiffened, venom spat from me. “Yes. How did you know that?” I tracked his every move as he drove.
Did Seth tell him?
“Miss Snow, as I mentioned, I am a businessman. With my position, I keep tabs on each individual that myself or any colleagues associate with. And given that we are now colleagues, in addition to the familial relationship you had with Seth, I began keeping tabs on you the moment you two reunited a few years back.”
A punch in the gut, my lips pressed together.
Familial Relationship.
Ouch.
Not wrong.
But ouch.
“Got it, so you’re Captain Creepy?” I jabbed, slightly unnerved by his admission.
What else does he know about me?
As if reading my mind Josh responded, “No need to worry, Miss Snow. Unless a criminal record is found, I do not delve into my colleagues’ pasts. That is none of my concern.”
I looked him over. His button-up a solid black with the sleeves rolled neatly to the elbow; a suit jacket hung on the headrest of his seat. His suit pants matched, held together by a slim black-leather belt. The tendons in his forearms were relaxed but defined. Not a hair out of place.
He’s so… immaculate.
I… I don’t know if I trust that.
We drove in silence as Josh weaved through the road map of streets as we neared campus, then to the outskirts, leaving the city.
“Where are we going?” I finally asked.
This is like the start of a slasher film.
“As I mentioned, I have a business matter to attend to. Thought it would be beneficial for you to accompany me.”
“You said errands. Not business,” I clipped.
“Miss Snow, any errand of mine falls under that category.”
“That sounds awfully boring and mundane,” I said, watching as the trees flew by. I stole a quick glance at the dash, eyeing the speedometer as it slowly crept into the triple digits. “You, uh, want to slow down?” Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed speeding as much as the next person but given the fact that we barely knew each other—well I barely knew him, at least—it made me uneasy. Butterflies jostled around in my stomach, threatening to crawl their way up my throat.
Josh let his foot off the gas, bringing the speed to a saner pace. Barely. “When you’re near immortal, the little nuances of human frailties, such as the fear of perishing in a motor vehicle, are of no concern or consequence.”
Well isn’t someone cocky.
“Okay, I get that to an extent, but I’m new to all of this so if you could maybe not drive like a maniac that would be absolutely fantastic. And you know, take into consideration that it might be drastically more difficult for you to get killed or injured, but the humans who share the road are very mortal and not indestructible.”
“Careful, Miss Snow. Wearing your heart on one’s sleeve is quite dangerous in the world. If you allow your enemy to see what you hold dear, that may be the very thing they use to break you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Captain Creepy. Just a damn ray of sunshine.”
“I prefer to consider myself realistic,” Josh retorted, the corner of his lip twitched
“I prefer to consider you annoying,” I mumbled.
“Two different perspectives. Although mine is the correct one.”
I rolled my head in his direction, shooting him a dirty look, and flipped him off.
“You may deem me annoying, Miss Snow, but you’ve entered into a whole new realm that you know very little about. Which is particularly why I sought you out this morning.”
So, you were following me then. Creep.
I ignored him as he pulled into a vast parking garage attached to one of the largest buildings along the cityscape. We’d been in his car for well over an hour and the closest city to my little college town was Charshire. I pulled up the GPS on my phone to verify if that’s where we were, lo and behold the little blue dot in the center of my screen pinpointed us in the heart of downtown. With no way to hightail it back to Seth’s on my own, I was stuck following Prissy Pants around until he either got bored of me or finished his ‘errands.’
Josh parked in the spot closest to the walkway that led into the building. I peered at the sign through the windshield, Reserved barely visible. I leaned forward in an attempt to make out the text below.
The passenger door swung open, and I jumped. I grumbled a thanks, grabbing Josh’s hand as he helped me out of the car. He shut the door, considerably more graceful than when I’d slammed it earlier.
“Wouldn’t want you to break the door off of its hinges, Miss Snow, with your developing and untrained strength.”
“Wouldn’t want to hurt your ego,” I clipped. Twirling on my heel, I rolled my shoulders back, stuck my chest out, and lifted my chin, sashaying in the direction of the walkway. My messy bun thumping against the nap of my neck, loose hairs fanning out to the side of my head. I thanked the gods that the toe of my running shoes hadn’t caught on the curb leading up and sent me face planting right into the concrete.
Looks like someone might be on my side, for the moment.
Josh followed silently behind me. Until I remembered I had no clue where we were going. I forced myself to fall back so that I was in step with Josh.
The heel of his Oxfords clacked against the porcelain-tiled floor as we strode through the lobby and into the elevator encased in frosted glass on the side opposite from where we entered. The ride up remained silent as well, to the seventy-eighth floor. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
I followed Josh out. We were greeted by double-wide glass doors, windows on either side of them spanned the entirety of the floor. I kept my expression neutral as I took in the white floors, polished so intensely that I could see our reflections. The walls and ceiling matched, both beautiful and sterile. Through the glass doors stood a single large reception desk; the sides an equally blinding pearl with a slab of grey granite rested on top.
We passed by the empty reception area and down a hallway lined with abstract paintings of various shades of blues and reds, greens and yellows, morphed wing-like shapes.
I halted. A piece near the end of the hall caught my attention. The background had been painted a deep purple that faded into a charcoal on the outer edges of the canvas. Merlot splattered in the center outlining a body, wings spread from its back. Each feather meticulously painted. I peered closer. Within the body, was the shadow of a long sword slit through its center, a black pit puddling at its knees.
“Haunting, isn’t it?” Josh said, his breath tickling my ear, causing me to jump.
“That’s uh, one way to put it.” I shivered. A thought crossed my mind, curious if it were based on reality.
I wonder where it came from, who the artist is.
Josh led me to the end of the hall, framed by two mahogany doors spanning the entirety of the wall. It stood wildly out of place from the remaining parts of the office. He pulled a wrought iron key the size of his hand from his pants pocket, inserting it into the lock and twisting it.
How in the hell did he hide that thing in there?
It’s massive.
I quirked my eyebrow as the door creaked open. The room was covered in shadow. A single overhead light illuminated the center of the room, casting a spotlight. A lonely metal chair stood within it.
And in that chair, sat a Demon.