jinn 03 - vestige (5 page)

“And which friendships are those?”

His eyes were deep, dark pools. “I’m a much better friend than an enemy, kitten.”

My right fist connected with his throat, as my fingernails on my left hand sunk in just above his kidney. He tried to pull me toward him, but I fought without seeing or thinking, taking bits of flesh from him. He hit me hard. Pain shot through me as a rib snapped. I kicked him in the face, pushing him back from me. We stared at each other, crouched, ready for the next attack. Calling me kitten was a mistake.

“Get out of my house,” I growled through clenched teeth.

He shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. Until I have Thomas, you’re my new best friend.”

I scoffed. “We’ll see about that. At least get out of my bedroom. I’m taking a nap.” I sat on the bed and took my boots off. When I looked back up he was gone. I lay back in bed, but my adrenaline was going and sleep was impossible. Fucking Thomas, still causing me problems though I hadn’t seen him since he left that night. It didn’t escape my notice that he left before the fight even began. He was coward, but he was my coward to deal with. Whatever problem Corbin had with him, mine predated it.

A few restless hours later I came back out. Corbin was looking though my cell phone. I thought about shooting him again, but it seemed like a waste of a bullet. I simply plucked the phone from his hands, gathered my stuff and headed for the warehouse. If Corbin wanted to follow me there, it was his funeral.

I cleared my throat, different responses running through my mind:
It’s none of your business. That’s ridiculous. Please don’t tell.
“I’m getting help.” The lie slipped through my lips, and I closed my mouth to keep more from coming out.

Quintus studied me, and I held his gaze, hoping I looked honest, until I had to turn around to flip the girl’s sandwich.

“What exactly is your ailment?” he asked.

I sighed. “It’s a combination of things. The wound caused when they killed the angel still hurts, and I was already weakened from freeing the jinn.” I didn’t know any of this for certain, but in all my walking and thinking, it was the conclusion I had arrived at. It made the most sense.

“Keeping this from Holden isn’t fair,” Quintus said. “He loves you.”

I nodded. Despite everything that happened that was probably still true or he would have left. I scooped the grilled cheese onto a plate and cut it diagonally just like my mom used to do for me, then I set it down in front of the girl. She frowned at me, but ate the sandwich all the same. “I love him too—and that’s why he doesn’t need to know. There is nothing he can do to help me and all it will do is distract him from what he needs to focus on.”

“Mammon,” Quintus said with a nod. “But who is helping you?”

“Uriel.” I smiled at him. “I’m going to be okay.”

He let out a breath. “Fine. I will respect your wishes, but for the record, it’s not right.”

“Noted,” I said. “Now get out of here. We’ll be fine. I’m feeling much better. Thank you.”

He came forward and kissed my forehead. “Call me if you need me for anything.”

I patted his arm. “I will. Thank you.”

With that Quintus left. I sat at the small table across from the little girl who was still happily eating, and dropped my head down against the soft, worn wood. What was I doing? Of course Quintus was right. I should tell Holden. If he held back something like this from me . . . I groaned. I needed help. I needed Uriel.

The girl kicked me beneath the table and I looked up. She gave me a hesitant smile.

“Eat?” I asked, though she still had part of her sandwich left.

She shook her head.

I tilted my head and studied her. She had large, soulful eyes for a child, and her cheekbones were too defined for someone her age. They should have been chubby and rosy, but they weren’t, making her look older despite her frail body. Definitely a human, though her aura was strong, blanketing everything around her. A guardian’s job was to communicate with humans. All I had to do was speak normally and it should cross any language barriers, but when there were no language barriers to cross, what were we supposed to do? Why couldn’t I reach the child?

I held out a hand to her, watching her response.

She bit her lip and looked from me to my hand and back to me. What was she thinking? Slowly her hand came toward mine, and she touched one finger to it, studying the spot where our skin met. Then she nodded very seriously, too seriously for a little girl, and placed the rest of her sandwich in my hand.

My heart broke a little. “For me?”

She nodded. She was a smart little thing. More and more she understood what we were saying.

“Where’s Quintus?” Holden’s voice came from the doorway.

I looked over at him. “I told him to leave. I don’t mind watching her.” I waited for him to say what he was obviously thinking. Anyone else was better than me.

His face was hard, his mouth verging on a frown. He blinked a few times then nodded, looking softer somehow, but still held out his arm slightly in an invitation to the child. She happily went skipping over to him and took his hand. He glanced at the grilled cheese in my palm. “She’s right, you know. You should eat something.”

My eyebrows tugged together. “I don’t need to eat.”

He shrugged and his face went back to the way it was before. “Well, you look like shit, but you obviously know best. You always do.” He turned and left with the girl.

I snapped my mouth closed. Holden knew that I could eat or not. Guardians didn’t necessarily require food. We didn’t have bodies in the sense that humans did. I picked up the girl’s plate, placed the scraps of leftovers on it, then stood to go to the sink. Another sharp pain hit me. The plate tumbled from my hand and smashed against the concrete floor.

I can help you,
the Angel of Death said in my head, but I wasn’t in a hurry to die. That would come soon enough, even without a friendly chat.
I can ease your pain.

Um, no thanks?
I thought back.
I still have things I need to do here. I’m not ready to go.

Then you should come to me. You cannot defeat Mammon as you are. Defeating Mammon is all that matters.

I nodded.
You aren’t going to kill me?

Why would I try this hard to talk to you if I wanted you to die?

Was this a trick? Baker and Femi had warded the warehouse against most everything. It was safe, but then again, was anyone ever safe from death himself? Was Mammon? Maybe with a wave of his hand Death could clean up our entire mess.
Where?

Our Sister of Mercy Hospital.

Fine.

I headed out. Holden didn’t say a word to me as I left. The rain came down in sheets, but I couldn’t transport. I was too weak and it took too much energy. The hospital was miles away. I’d have to take a cab.

I tried to flag the first cab I saw, but it sailed by. The street was empty as I trudged forward. The rain splattered against the streets, bells at a church somewhere nearby rang, and cold crept into my bones.

Two men stepped out in front of me, their souls blacker than humanly possible—demons. The only way for a demon to come above was to possess a human body. In their true form, even the dim light of a moonless night would be too much. My heart stuttered for just a moment, but I continued forward. I was just a plain guardian now, not even a particularly strong one at the moment. They would have no reason to mess with me.

When I moved to go around them, the bigger of the two stepped in my way.

“Well, look at what we have here,” he said.

“Is it that nosy angel bitch?” the shorter one said.

“She ain’t an angel anymore,” he said with a sneer.

Well, shit. I took a couple steps back. “I don’t want any trouble.”

Two more demons walked up behind me. I blew out a breath and released my light, though it made my wound seep faster. “Guys, I really don’t feel like doing this right now.”

The little one laughed. “We just want to talk to you.” He winked and made a crude gesture. He grabbed my arm, and though his hand sizzled, he pulled me closer to him. “I hear you have a taste for the dark side.” His tongue darted out over his lips.

I grabbed his throat with my other hand and concentrated on all the energy I had in me. He screamed from deep in his gut and ash slowly spread over him in thick dark lines until he fell apart. Pain shot through me, mixing with the guilt of not saving the human. My own light flickered as the other demons attacked. Two held me, keeping my hands restrained. The big one stood in front of me, steaming with anger.

“You’re gonna regret that.”

His fist connected with my face and light shot out from beneath my eye. He hit me again and again, but I didn’t call out. I didn’t try to reach Holden, because I wasn’t going to run to him. I could have called Quintus, but I couldn’t put him in danger. No one was going to help me, but me. There was only one way out, but it was risky.

I wouldn’t be able to make it a long distance, but short was possible—I hoped. I released the hold on my body and thought of being just behind them. I struggled to pull myself back together, but when I did, I grabbed both of the demons holding me and destroyed them. It wasn’t fast or easy, but they died all the same. My light waned again and my knees wobbled.

The final demon stood in front of me. “Any time you’re ready,” I told him, panting for breath and hoping my legs didn’t give out completely.

A huge boat of a car pulled up beside me.
Please Lord don’t let there be more.

He glanced toward the car then smirked. “We’ll finish this later,” he said, then turned and walked away.

“Olivia? Are you okay?” Femi came running over to me.

I held firm until he was out of sight, and then I collapsed to the ground. I rolled to my back and put everything I had into keeping myself together. Femi seemed to be frozen with indecision as she looked from him back to me.

“Let him go.” I coughed, my entire body pulsing in pain.

She reluctantly squatted down beside me, taking in the three piles of ash. It was clear on her face. How could I have let only four demons nearly kill me? “You don’t look so good,” she finally said.

“I’m getting really sick of people telling me that.” A vampire stepped up behind her, and I scrambled to my feet. Vampires survived by taking the very life force that was leaking out of me. As draining as fighting the demons was, a vampire would be certain death.

“Relax. He’s with me.” Femi rolled her eyes.

I took another step back.

He smiled slightly as his hungry eyes went right to the wound on my chest that was obscured by my clothing. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

I glanced at Femi and she shook her head. “I have somewhere I need to be.” I nodded to them and took a couple of steps in the opposite direction, before my legs gave out again.

The vampire got to me first, catching me before I hit the ground.

“Don’t touch me.” My voice was barely a whisper.

He scooped me into his arms. “There’s gratitude for you.”

I was too weak to even struggle.

“I wouldn’t dream of ending your life, but you seem to need some assistance.”

“We should take her back to the warehouse,” Femi said.

I shook my head, though my vision was going black. I closed my eyes, just resting them for a moment.

When I reopened them, I was laying on the couch back at the warehouse.

I can wait no longer,
the Angel of Death’s voice rang clearly through my mind.

I pushed myself up to a sitting position, closing my eyes against the dizziness. When that too passed, I discovered Holden was sitting in the chair staring at me with fathomless eyes.

“Get out,” he said confusing me. Where was I supposed to go like this?

Femi came into view and squeezed my hand. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said before taking the girl and the vampire with her out of the front door and into the rain.

“What happened?” Holden’s voice rumbled through the air and over my body with a deep protective surge that squeezed my heart.