Inception (The Reaping Chronicles, 1) (46 page)

Chapter Seventy-two

Gabrielle ~ Dark Vision

G
abrielle dropped Lucas off at his home after they left the costume shop. She could tell he was a little off with his affection and hoped it was only because he was disappointed she wasn’t going to join their festivities—aware that she was ignoring the nagging impression that there was more to it. She sighed and tried to push the thoughts out of her mind the way she pushed air out of her body.

It didn’t work.

She couldn’t help but think about what was happening to Lucas—to them. Even now, when out of the restraints of her human form, the thoughts were still there. She’d hoped at least one benefit of being away from Lucas, and in her Divine form, was that her thoughts would be less focused on their problems. But in the early stages of tonight’s watch, she was finding absolutely no reprieve from the panic she was beginning to feel about their relationship.

She still hadn’t told Lucas about the decision he’d have to make and wondered if that’s part of why she felt distance growing. She figured that was part of it but certainly not the entire reason. The most troublesome thing to her about not telling him was not understanding what her motivation was for keeping the truth to herself. In the beginning, she didn’t know how to tell him. But since weeks had passed, she wondered if her fear of losing him was more involved. If that was the real reason, it’d be the first time she had acted so selfishly. She felt the truth in that, and shame followed on the realization’s heels. She decided she would tell Lucas as soon as she was alone with him again—whether or not the time was right.

There will never be a right time.

The simple act of making the decision brought relief she’d not expected. She realized what a burden the secret had been.

I should have told him right away.

For now, though, she had to get him through the night safely so she’d have the opportunity to tell him. In order to do that, she was going to have to concentrate on what was going on in their surroundings and stop obsessing on their relationship.

Gabrielle spent the next part of the evening scanning Shadow World and Underworld energies flitting about in the night. Nothing in particular caught her attention. The Gentry’s activity was more than normal, but that was expected. She’d also not been surprised by the number of spirits moving in and out of the human realm or that the activity seemed to be so prominent in the Nashville area.

The only thing she kept focusing on was a group of Qalal just over the border in Kentucky. She wasn’t too concerned about them. They seemed to be moving slowly north. But with the danger Lucas was in from their kind, she would keep a close eye on any in, or near, the city. The number of Qalal she’d originally tallied in Tennessee and its bordering states had stayed roughly the same, and she was glad for that.

Lucas, Nonie, and Nate had been at the school Halloween party for a little less than an hour, and she knew they were planning on staying until about ten before they made their way back to the Daniels’ home. She was amazed by how realistic Nonie had made the bite marks and blood on Lucas’s neck appear, and her reaction had convinced her that she did the right thing by staying to herself. Having to look at Lucas all night with realistic signs of a Qalal attack would’ve made her more edgy.

Lately, she found herself feeling increasingly angry at the three of them, especially Lucas. They seemed to be aloof about the dangers they knew existed for them. It was as if they thought making light of the situation would make it go away when, in fact, all it would do is make them more vulnerable. She definitely thought Lucas was slipping into denial, and there was a possibility that his denial was one of the reasons for the coolness she felt from him. If he was pushing away the reality of Shadow World and Underworld beings, it would also mean denying angels.

At least for a few hours, she felt the three were safe enough for her to do her job without watching them constantly. It lessened her concern with them around so many other people. No Shadow Worlder would dare do anything when Lucas was around so many humans, and that meant Nonie and Nate would be safe, too. Those who lived outside of human’s perceived reality would know they would be hunted down and killed for something as brazen as attacking a human with scores of witnesses. They would be an immediate target of those with Divine blood and any who feel the need to live only in people’s imaginings.

Gabrielle relaxed for a minute and took in the night.

It was a chilly evening. The moon was taking its time rising, still hugging the horizon that partially framed a cloudless sky. Sporadic outbursts of laughter were carried up to her by the light breeze that accompanied the evening. They were mostly the contagious giggles of children, but occasionally, she’d pick out deeper adult tones. She’d heard someone say earlier that they wished it felt more like spring than autumn, like the last few Halloween’s had.

She would love to know what spring felt like, imagining how the new blooms would smell and how welcome the scent would be the first time the grass was cut. The warm temperatures and breeze that brought the spring scents would feel more like summer than a mild day after the cold winter months as everyone pulled out shorts and tank-tops and made their way to the nearest park.

It probably feels like their skin has just been released from some kind of cloth prison.

It was only a dream. She wouldn’t be on Earth in the spring. She wouldn’t get to experience that transition, know those smells, or have those sensations in a human body. She would have enjoyed the experience though, and she let out a frustrated sigh.

Two more months.

Thoughts of how much she might enjoy spring were abruptly replaced with darker ones, with her …
without
Lucas. As the vision in her mind appeared, sadness pushed through every part of her mind and body, heart and soul. She couldn’t tell if it was because he wasn’t in her life or something worse …

Is he dead?

Gabrielle felt her energy shudder as the vision continued.

Now the image was just …
dark
. But she knew she was in that darkness somewhere. A shadow would have been no easier for her to make out wherever she was than a human trying to pick out their idea of a ghost in a thick fog. She was alone—alone and scared. And more than a little angry. She felt something she never had, and it sent terror screaming through her body and mind.

I’m powerless! How could that be? What could render me powerless? Why did I feel so utterly alone?

The vision didn’t bode well for her or any of her brethren or allies, either.

Or Lucas.

She hoped it wasn’t a premonition at all. Just her imagination getting the better of her.

As she was trying to clear her dark thoughts, a bright flicker of energy in the north caught her attention. The energy was Qalal. As she watched for a few more moments, her mind began to race with the realization that it was the group she’d dismissed earlier. They were no longer moving slowly north; they were moving south—with a quickness. Toward Nashville.

Toward Lucas.

Chapter Seventy-three

Javan ~ The Human

Javan made his move as soon as Cecily called. He was situated close enough to Lucas to get to him quickly, but far enough away that Gabrielle wouldn’t be alerted to their proximity.

The anticipation that had been steadily increasing in him all day was absent now. He was so focused on his goal that he felt nothing but his limbs moving, his mind methodically working through every step of his plan. All he had to do was convince Lucas that Gabrielle’s life was in his hands and that all Lucas would have to do to save her was obtain a simple little book. After that, he would let Gabrielle go.

He smiled wickedly at the next part—Lucas experiencing more than one type of pain before his death.

After arriving at the school, he let Mara take the driver’s seat so she and Shea could get in position while he lured Lucas outside. Before he made his way into the gym, Javan took a look around to make sure Gabrielle was out of the area. Once he was satisfied, he swiftly covered the remaining twenty yards to the doors. He would have enjoyed the attention from the teenage girls as he passed, but he had no time tonight to delight in young human flesh.

Once inside, Javan scanned the large rectangular room for his target. All the teens behind makeup and masks might have been a hindrance if Mara hadn’t known what Lucas and his friends were dressing up as. Javan had found quite a bit of humor in their selection.

Javan spotted Lucas within seconds. Even if he hadn’t known what to look for, Lucas’s regular clothes, with only puncture wounds and blood for makeup, made him easy to spot. Javan made his way through the clusters of high school cliques. Even in costume, you could tell who hung out together, all dressed in their group’s chosen theme.

How pathetic.

They were so ready to follow anyone who showed an ounce of leadership. Those leaders would be just as worthless but have overblown egos and an ability to delude a more simple-minded group of people that they were worthy of being followed. He loathed them, and the thought inflated his desire to acquire the Book of Barabbadon.

Lucas was turned toward Nonie and Nate, so he didn’t see Javan approaching. But Nate spotted him, and he must have seen something about Javan that made it known his demeanor and appearance weren’t part of any costume. Nonie noticed her brother stiffen, and her head snapped in the direction of Nate’s gaze.

I could have fun with her.

Lucas was quick to notice his two friends’ abrupt change and followed their eyes. When his met Javan’s, he looked like a deer transfixed by a spotlight in the deep black of night.

Javan didn’t slow and came upon Lucas so fast that Lucas stumbled. Javan stood, staring into Lucas’s blue eyes with his own black ones. Lucas’s brows pulled together, but he seemed too stunned to speak.

Javan studied his face as a sneer pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“I’m going to have a hard time refraining from putting my hand through your chest and ripping your heart out,
human
, just so I can feel life leave you with its last beat.” He had to fight that urge, especially when he saw the look of terror grow in Lucas’s eyes. But he knew he’d have even more fun with Lucas later. He moved closer and whispered. “If you want to save Gabrielle, I suggest you come with me—
now
.” Javan waited for his response, but Nate spoke.

“I don’t think so, man. He’s not going anywhere with you.”

Javan turned his hostility toward Nate, growling. It was a long and grumbling warning. He contorted his face as he’d done with the policeman weeks before but didn’t unleash the full force of it. Javan didn’t need an audience, only for Nate and Nonie to fear for their own lives enough to give him time to get Lucas away. Nate stumbled back until he hit the wall. Nonie went to his side. He was dazed, but Javan knew he would snap out of it soon enough.

Javan looked back to Lucas who was about to say something. He let out another low growl in warning and put his hand firmly around Lucas’s arm. Lucas winced from the pressure as Javan turned him toward the side door a dozen feet away.

He led Lucas to the exit as swiftly as he could without anyone noticing. Luckily, the music was loud and had changed to something that was apparently popular just as he had reached the threesome . Most everyone was dancing or bobbing their heads as they watched the mob of high schoolers thrash about on the dance floor. As he pushed through the side door into the night air, turning to shut it again, he felt something stop it from closing.

The now angry, red-faced blond stepped into the night, letting the door close behind her. She spread her feet apart as if she was bracing for an attack, her hands pulled into fists next to her hips.

Javan smirked, amused by the girl’s bold show of guardian instinct, but he didn’t have time to test how far she’d go. She opened her mouth and took half a step toward Javan; he sent her against the brick wall. Nonie hit her head so hard that Javan and Lucas heard the thud. She fell in a heap, moving only slightly after she landed.

Lucas gasped, but Javan squeezed his arm harder, making sure pain ripped through Lucas’s thoughts so he could think of nothing but feeling like his bone was about to break.

Javan hissed a warning in Lucas’s ear. “Your little friend is fine, just taking a nap. I think you need to be more concerned about your precious
Gabby
. If you don’t concentrate on her, I can assure you that she won’t live to see the rise of tomorrow’s sun.”

Javan spun him toward the black car idling before them. Lucas watched the rear window drop slowly to reveal something that he was sure the human would have never thought he’d see.