Bladed Wings (50 page)

              “She’ll keep doing it. Won’t she?”

              “She’s a demon, in every sense. She’ll fight until she has a body that can sustain her. She’ll need a nascent for that, someone who’ll become a demon.” Cyrus shook his head. Grinning, he looked like he thought the whole thing was some cosmic joke. “They’re cruel and brutal. They destroy everything in their paths. The Alliance has reason to hunt them so ferociously.”

              “They’re all like that?”

              “Every one,” he said, his shoulders forward. “If you spend time with a demon, you will get burned. It’s in their nature. They will go insane. Insane by our standards anyway, and they’ll wreck everyone around them. They are fiends dedicated to their own pleasures and ambitions. Nothing else.”

              “If she wants me,” Kayla didn’t want to finish the sentence.

              “If she wants you,” he said, “she thinks you’re a demon. Crazy, right? You couldn’t be a demon. That’s just impossible. Completely insane. Jumping bodies must’ve warped her perceptions. Maybe she can’t smell out nascent demons anymore.” He paused, his eyes on her like he wanted to gauge her response. “Unless she’s not. But you couldn’t be a demon, could you?”

“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

John 3:20

Worries nagged at Kayla through that night. Alone under her covers, she should’ve been safe. She should’ve savored the heat and gentle touch of her blankets, her pillow, the bed beneath her, but she couldn’t escape the same circled thought. Sasha wanted her.

              Up and out the door before anyone else was up, Kayla decided to walk to school. Alone on the street, she could tell if anyone tried following. She kept glancing back, but the cars were always different. At the same time, she bit back the fear that the Alliance had some way to go invisible or maybe they could track her phone even when it was off.

              Too many conspiracy theory movies, Kayla thought and hoped she was wrong.

              Seth’s house wasn’t what she’d expect. He gave her his address in case she ever needed someplace to run. It looked like a normal place. There was his car in the driveway. It was clean and well maintained like the lawn, two bushes and tree that jutted up from the backyard. There wasn’t any indication that someone different lived here.

              Kayla went to the door, took a long breath, held it, and knocked. Without the distraction of her breathing, she could feel every heartbeat, but she didn’t want to let it go. Probably stupid, but holding her lungs tight gave her something else to think about.

              He kissed her. That thought made her smile. Trying to think about anything else, she rolled back on her heels, wondering what he’d look like in the morning. This was his house. This is where Seth wasn’t the same Seth as at school or when he met her anywhere else.

              The door opened. “Kayla?” It was more than an hour before school, and he was dressed, hair combed, everything prepared like he always went out that early. “What are you doing here?” He leaned out and scanned the street like he thought someone might have followed her.

              “I found some more out about Sasha. You were right.” She didn’t know if he’d motion her inside. He might’ve wanted to protect his privacy. After all, he never talked about his family. Every teen had to have some guardian somewhere. Then again, he had his abilities and those could force any adult to forget about permission slips or proof of residence.

              He opened the door wider and waved for her to come inside. Kayla was glad of that because of more than just the cold. She wanted to know him. It was girly, but she wanted to see who he was when he wasn’t with her. She wanted to know as much as she could. A voice that sounded a lot like Erin’s whispered in her head that she might’ve been in love with him, but Kayla wouldn’t push it that far. She couldn’t. Not yet.

              “How’d you find out about her?”

              “I spoke with Cyrus.”

              “The mercenary who wants to recruit you.” It wasn’t a question.
              “Yeah. He said that she was a demon.”

              “If you believe in that sort of thing.”

              “You think they’re all wrong?”

              “I think that the Alliance has been working some very old assumptions for a very long time. Remember, they came up with these labels long before anyone knew about genetics or even cells.”

              “If the name fits,” Kayla said as she looked around the living room. At a glance, she could tell it was tinged with something sad. She didn’t see any pictures. Just like his car, it was clean and blank. This place could’ve been a show house for some real estate agent. There was the big screen TV, flat panel and HD. There was the new couch. The floors were laminate and probably cold beneath her feet. It took her a second to notice the one picture. It was small, faded, and had four people. Kayla didn’t want to stare, so she just saw the two adults, a younger Seth who was maybe ten, and another girl, probably seven or eight. It was dusty except for two thumbprints.

              “So she’s looking for a body.”

              “And she’s a demon.” That was the part Kayla didn’t want to think about.

              “So?”

              “A demon needs a nascent’s body to start over. A nascent demon.”

              Seth stared at her for a second like it didn’t mean anything. Finally, he shook his head, “Don’t think like that. Don’t ever think like that.”

              “What if I’m a demon?”

              “You’re not.”

              “But she thinks I am. She said she could smell it on me.” That was the first time she said it out loud. Last night exhaustion kept any of that from hitting her. She might be broken. There could be something dead or cruel or wrong inside of her. Worse, if she died, that part might take over. All of her faith and hope and effort might break away into nothing, dust on a wind.

              When she looked up, Seth was in front of her, his face set and serious, his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me, it doesn’t matter what they call you. It doesn’t matter what they say. You are Kayla Knack. You’re the same person today you were yesterday and in the last sixteen years. You’re the girl who chews her mechanical pencils, the girl who stays up late making cookies for Key Club bake sales, and the girl who is going to go on and make the world a much better place.”

              “But what if I change?”

              “You won’t.”

              “That’s not an answer and you know it,” she said.

              “Do you believe in me?”

              Kayla stopped. No matter what she learned about herself, she’d still trust him. “Yes.”

              “Then trust me on this. Sasha is wrong. She is dead wrong. Even if you have something she needs, that doesn’t mean you’re the same. You can’t listen to her. You can’t think like that. Not ever.”

              “Why not?”

              “Because you don’t deserve it. Some people deserve guilt and damnation. You’re not one of them.” He let her go.

That’s when Kayla glanced over at the desk by the front door. There were flowers there, crisp and fresh. “Where are you going?” she asked. That might’ve been prying, but she just told him that she thought she could be a demon. If he was like anyone else, he would’ve run from a secret like that. Maybe he’d trust her a little bit as much as she trusted him.

“I’m not going to school. Not today.” He exhaled like he needed those extra seconds to find the right words. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe from her as long as you’re with other people. Sasha might be a monster, but she doesn’t want to get caught. She won’t risk exposing herself or her position in the Alliance. She wouldn’t want Vigo coming after her again.”

“I’m not worried about myself.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I’m always okay,” he said. Kayla knew he didn’t expect her to believe it.

              “Do you want some company?”

              “No.” That didn’t surprise her.

              “Do you mean that?”

              This time Seth turned back to her. He looked wounded, like something hurt too much for even sounds. It was the same hurt he always carried, that part of his life he hid from her. But this time he did surprise her. “No, I don’t mean that.”

              Kayla stepped closer. When he tried to pull away, she took his wrist and leaned up and touched her lips to his. “I’m here for you. I’m always here for you.”

              This was one of those few moments where they didn’t speak. Kayla sensed he wanted to tell her, but she’d wait. She wouldn’t try to pry it before he was ready. Instead, she watched the world go by. Houses blurred to restaurants to sidewalks and finally to the walls and trees along the side of the freeway. They headed east. After that, he could’ve planned on driving them three thousand miles to New York. If that was their destination, Kayla was pretty sure she wouldn’t have gotten out.

              Seth glanced over at her, “What are you thinking?”

              “Nothing.”

              “That is pretty annoying,” he said.

              “Now you know how I feel.”

              They settled back into their comfortable quiet. The road curved up as they hit the hills past Loomis. Kayla pulled her arms over her stomach and rubbed her hands together. As if on cue, Seth reached over and turned the heater on.

              “You didn’t have to do that.”

              “I did.” He smiled back at her.

              Kayla started to notice the elevation signs. In twenty minutes, they cleared a thousand feet. Another thirty minutes and they were at four thousand. The freeway collapsed from five lanes down to four, three, then finally two. Around them, cars slowed down against gravity, but Seth stuck to the left lane at the same speed. The towns started to fade away as sub-developments gave way to trees. Everything turned to forest and eventually snow.

              They cleared Auburn and kept going. It wouldn’t be long before they crossed the border into Nevada. Almost an hour had passed. When Kayla looked at the clock, she thought about where she would’ve been in school. First period would end in a few seconds. She’d probably miss a test or two and could feel the homework in her backpack that wouldn’t get turned in. The tests, the grades, and all of the paperwork didn’t mean anything if Seth needed her help.

              A few minutes after Auburn, the warm air and steady rhythm of the engine and tires over the road, Kayla felt herself start to fall asleep. It wasn’t long before darkness hit her and she faded into a dream. Nothing concrete, she was warm and safe. There was just one sensation, the feel of Seth’s strong arms around her.

              They pulled to a stop and Kayla heard Seth pull his key from the ignition. She rubbed her eyes and pushed herself. “We’re here?” she asked without any of idea where there might be. Outside, the sky was still gray and white in clouds. The street was empty. The only color was the green of the lawn set against the granite gravestones. They were on the street, parked in front of a cemetery. Seth opened the door, but Kayla didn’t follow him at first. He gave a quick nod, and she scrambled out too.

              “Truckee,” he said.

              It was a small town about eighty miles east of Sacramento, a place where people went to ski and throw snowballs. She’d spent some time there with her family on one of those weekends when they were still happy at home.

              Seth held the flowers down, pointed at the ground like a blade. He walked like someone on his way to a death sentence or just a battle he knew he could never win. Seth would fight anyway. Walking beside him, Kayla couldn’t do anything but stay there. She wouldn’t leave him alone. She wouldn’t make him face this alone, no matter what this happened to be.

              Seth maneuvered through the different sections, lawns, and like he’d been there a thousand times. At night, this place would’ve been creepy with elongated shadows and skeletal tree branches blown with the wind. Now it was just bleak. Their sneakers squished against the wet grass.

              Somewhere toward the middle of the cemetery around a hundred yards from the front gates, Seth slowed. Kayla stayed a few feet back, because she didn’t want to intrude.

              With careful deference, Seth reached down and placed the flowers in front of the gravestone. The engraved writing read, “Sergeant Marshal Garcia. Son. Husband. Father. Missed Every Single Day.”

              “I come here a lot.”

              “Did you know him?”

              “A little,” Seth told her. “Just a few minutes.”

              “But those were an important few minutes.”

              “For him more than me,” he said, his lips pulled in a dark smirk. “We met.” He bit down and his voice almost cracked. Seth blinked, his eyes shining as he tried to hold something back, “Something bad happened. It was my fault.”

              Kayla didn’t know what she was supposed to say. She didn’t know what words would be the right ones to say. That’s why she just put her palm to his shoulder. When he didn’t shrug her free, she squeezed a little tighter, a silent promise she’d stay no matter what.

              “Do you want to be left alone?”

              “It doesn’t matter.” He kneeled down, his forehead planted against his knee. “I’m sorry. I say it every time. It still doesn’t mean anything, but know that I’m keeping my promise. I’ll take care of her. I’ll keep her safe. She’ll never want for anything money can provide. I know it’s nothing. It doesn’t matter and it can’t make anything even close to right. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He didn’t move, but he didn’t speak either. Kayla watched, her eyes moist. More than anything, she wanted to reach out and heal him. She wanted to make that pain go away, the way he was always there to help her, to help her escape everything that happened.

              When he stood again, he didn’t say anything. He looked at her for a moment like he was waiting for something, a question, an attack, something, anything. When Kayla didn’t speak, he headed back for the car.

              “Are you okay?” she asked.