Twisted Sister of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) (12 page)

"Wait. Walk." I tried to move my arms. They responded feebly.

Shelton leaned over to plant me on my feet. My knees wobbled but somehow held, probably because he slung my arm over his shoulder.

"Man, you're gonna need more clothes." He looked me in the eyes. "You ok to stand?"

I nodded even though every inch of my body hurt. "How long?"

"Were you out?" He mused the question for a moment. "Twenty minutes, maybe." He pointed ahead to the dorms. "Let's get inside, get you cleaned up. We gotta talk."

After drinking copious amounts of water and taking a shower, I felt somewhat better. My back was healing on its own, though slower than its usual speedy rate. I had a nasty feeling the vampling virus had something to do with it. As I slid on sweat pants and a T-shirt Shelton had pilfered from the laundry room, someone knocked on the door. He answered it and took delivery of a pizza.

I grabbed a piece and gobbled it, hardly pausing to breathe. Even as my food stomach filled, my demonic appetite made itself more apparent with a clawing sensation inside my belly.

"So, about the robot," Shelton said, taking a piece of pizza and blowing on it, "the one that attacked us ain't the same one from the entrance."

I paused mid-bite and raised an eyebrow. "Not the same one? But it looked—"

"Identical, I know." His phone projected a three-dimensional holographic image of the killer robot. Even though the missiles had blown it open, I noticed the torso was devoid of electronics or mechanical gear necessary for a robot to function.

"Um, where's the sciencey stuff?"

"For one thing, this wasn't a robot."

I paused in the middle of another bite and spoke with my mouth full from the last one. "It wasn't?"

"Nope." He displayed the image of one of the half-melted guns from the arm. "This was a golem someone went through a lot of trouble to make look like a robot. Specifically like the one at the entrance."

"A golem?" It seemed inconceivable anyone would go through the trouble. Then again, I probably didn't understand the meaning of the word. So many inconceivable things had happened to me over the last few months, I spent more time trying to figure out the next improbable way someone could kill me than I did choosing which cereal I wanted from the grocery store.

"Those gray men who tried to kill you are only one form of golem," Shelton said. "Hell, you can animate just about anything into a golem—stick figures, rocks, clay."

"Yeah, but why make it look like a robot?"

Shelton magnified the image on the gun, revealing an array of splintered sticks inside. "Those are wands, each one specifically spelled to cast death curses."

"But they looked like lasers."

"Death curses come in lots of forms." He went to an image of a missile. "These were basically charmed like flying brooms with potion bombs in the tips."

I peered at the missile, recognizing it as the one that had fizzled out. Greenish liquid dripped from the tip. "Potions—like witches brew?"

He nodded. "More or less. It's a form of magic people with less inherent power like to pursue, but whoever made these, was a master. I've never seen such a tiny amount of potion do so much damage."

"Why did that missile not explode?"

"That's a damned good question." Shelton braced his chin with a hand and pondered it for a moment. "You put up a barrier of some kind, but it wasn't physical. It could be you somehow threw up some kind of energy that defused the spell, or maybe we just got plain lucky."

"Well, since luck is never with us, I'd almost say it was my barrier, but knowing how terrible my magic skills are, it makes me want to say it was luck."

He laughed. "Well, it saved my ass."

I polished off my fourth—or was it fifth?—piece of pizza, and my stomach growled. "I need to feed."

Shelton turned off his phone and leaned back in his chair. "I was afraid you might need to."

Times like this really made Elyssa's absence painful. She understood my need to feed because she needed blood for her dhampyr side, although she could easily get blood packs, while I couldn't just as easily obtain bottled soul essence.

In other words, I needed a woman. Feeding off males was nearly impossible for me unless they were in a specific frame of mind. Women, on the other hand, could be doing laundry and still give me enough of an emotional vibe to feed on.

"Well, good thing we know someone," Shelton said. He checked the time on his phone.

I wrinkled my brow. "We do?"

He nodded. "Well, I don't personally know her, but I put in a call to Bella, and she said she knew someone going to school here who could help you out."

"Good thinking," I said.

He nodded and tapped his temple. "Brains. Not just for zombies anymore."

I laughed, even though the thought of Bella choosing someone to help me was a bit worrying. "So, uh, who—"

A knuckle rapped against the door.

"Come in," Shelton said.

The door opened, and a woman in a short purple skirt with a tight white T-shirt stepped inside. Her skin was the color of caramel, and her hair fell in long black waves over her shoulders. Chocolate brown eyes looked over an aquiline nose. She was every bit as lovely as the last time I'd seen her.

"Hello, Justin," Lina Romero said with a smile.

Chapter 12

Lina crossed the space before I could respond, squeezing me in a hug that sent pain racing up my ravaged back. I made a sound between a grunt and a whimper and feebly returned the hug. She felt very warm, very soft, and very curvy against my body. I jerked away as the demon in my pants took notice.

Lina gave me a knowing smile. "So, you are in trouble again?"

"It's a habit with this guy," Shelton said, trying to act nonchalant, though his roaming eyes and smirk told me he was enjoying the sight of the pretty girl.

"A golem robot thingy tried to blow us up," I said.

"Shrapnel in the back," Shelton added.

Lina's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no. I must look." Before I could protest, she was tugging the T-shirt off my back. She gasped. "Justin, this is terrible!" Her Colombian accent was lighter than the last time I'd heard it, but thickened with her distress. "It is so good I came to you."

"Why are you here at the academy?" I asked, still a bit off balance by her appearance.

"I'm attending A.U." She smiled. "I'm finally a college girl."

Shelton leaned back in his chair, still munching on pizza. "Well, she's here and willing. Go ahead and do what you need to do."

I liked Lina. She was smart, pretty, and feisty. But she'd also wanted to be more than friends when we first met. At the time, Elyssa had lost her memories of me, and I'd all but given up on her ever remembering me or loving me again. Lina had helped me out quite a bit in my time of need—and no, not in the naughty way either. But she'd wanted more than I could give. My heart belonged to Elyssa then and now.

"You're concerned about what happened last time," she said, giving me a sober look.

Shelton leaned forward. "And what was that?"

"Uh—" I started, unsure what to say, if anything.

Lina smiled. "I had a crush on Justin."

"Bah." Shelton leaned back in his chair. "Man, I thought it'd be something interesting, not high school romance."

She rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her face. "Bella told me about you, Harry. Maybe you should look into this high school romance stuff a little more. She could probably teach you something."

He chuckled. "Man, I'll bet she could teach me things that would—" He cut off abruptly, giving us each uncomfortable glances. "Ah, forget it. Just feed already, I'm sick of hearing the kid groan."

Lina brown eyes met mine. "It's okay, Justin. No more girly crushes."

I took a deep breath and regarded her for a moment before deciding I was just too damned hungry to care. I extended my incubus senses, and Lina's halo, a glowing nimbus around her body, flared to life. I latched a tendril of my essence into her gently swirling aura. Emotions flooded through the connection, but I filtered the noise and evened out my own emotional state to match the ones that were most benign. I was constantly improving my technique, though to any older Daemos, I probably looked like a toddler with applesauce smeared all over his mouth and cake in his hair.

Energy trickled down the connection and into my psythus—the spiritual belly which housed the energy my demonic side used for many of my supernatural abilities.

Lina sighed. "It is so fascinating being connected like this."

Shelton leaned forward again. "Does it feel sexual?"

I blew out a breath. "Don't be a perv, man."

"I'm not." He gave me a wounded look. "You're a friggin incubus, so naturally I'd think it's sexual."

"It's more of a pleasant sensation, like when you drink a glass of wine and have a fuzzy glow," Lina said. "Or like enjoying time with a good book while curled up next to a fire."

"I'm focusing on those pleasant emotions," I said. "If I didn't, it would naturally gravitate to sexual."

She pursed her full lips and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you saying that you could make any woman want sex?"

I shrugged. "Well, like Shelton said, I am an incubus."

"Hmm." Her accent gave a sultry flavor to the sound. "How interesting."

Shelton shook his head. "Man, oh, man, what fun it would be to have that ability."

"And yet, he saves his love for one woman." Lina sighed. "How sweet."

"I guess I'm a romantic at heart." I thought back to the opportunities I'd had when first discovering my abilities and how many temptations I'd forced myself to overcome, including Katie Johnson, my crush at the time. But I'd wanted my first time to be special, and boy had it! I thought of that time with Elyssa, her questing lips, her heaving breasts, the way her hips—

"Oh, my!" Lina said with a little gasp, dropped into a chair, her face glowing red. "Justin, what are you thinking about?" Her breathing grew heavy, and she bit her lip as a little moan escaped.

"Holy crap!" I jerked back from reminiscing about Elyssa and forced my emotional state back down to non-naughty levels. "Lina, I'm really sorry. Guess I got to thinking about—"

"Elyssa." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

I nodded.

Lina grabbed a bottle of water from her purse and took a long gulp. She paced for a moment. "You are a dangerous man, Justin Slade."

Shelton rocked back with laughter.

A knock sounded on the door. Shelton's laugh died, and we exchanged worried glances.

"Expecting someone else?" I asked.

He shook his head as he pulled out his wand. He waved it through a pattern, and a ball of energy glowed at the end. Lina stood, muttered something under her breath, and twin balls of white flame formed in her hands.

I jumped back. "Whoa, when did you learn to do that?"

Shelton gave her a confused look. "Wait, how are you—ah, the bracelets."

I noticed the way the jewels on her bracelets had folded into the palms of her hands, forming a focus for her magic to work through. Lina gave Shelton a grin. "It is a trick Bella taught me."

Another knock sounded on the door, followed by a calm voice. "Justin, I forgot to identify myself after the first knock. Many apologies. This is Cinder. Please do not destroy me."

"Who is Cinder?" Lina asked, the spheres of energy in her hands casting an eerie glow on her face.

The light at the end of Shelton's wand winked out. "Ah, he's mostly harmless."

I opened the door. A man in a gray suit stood outside. He looked ordinary, aside from his unnaturally gray skin, although there was something different about his appearance from the last time I'd seen him.

"Hello, Justin," he said in a nearly monotone voice. "It is good to see you again."

I held out my hand. He took mine and shook it. "You're getting better," I said, motioning him inside. "Something about you is different."

"Hey, you dyed your hair black," Shelton said, slapping the golem on the back. "I like it."

Cinder paused, no doubt uncertain how to respond, before saying, "I believe it makes me look more human than the silver color." He tilted his head. "Was the strike on the back an act of aggression or one of fondness?"

Shelton groaned. "Man, you have a lot to learn."

"I don't mean to be rude," Lina said, "but what's wrong with your skin?"

"He's a golem," I replied.

"A golem?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "But, he looks so…real."

"Maximus's top Arcane, Dash Armstrong, was experimenting on gray men." I briefly explained about the gray men, how they'd attacked me and Elyssa, and that we suspected another angel I'd nicknamed Mr. Gray was the creator of the things. "Somehow, Cinder became a free man," I finished.

"He's not just an automaton anymore?" Lina walked around the golem, touching his skin. "My goodness, he feels so real."

"Thank you," Cinder said in his gentle tone. "I am working on improving all aspects of my appearance and texture."

"He wants to be a real boy," Shelton said.

Lina covered her mouth with a hand, and a sad look came into her eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Justin, you meet the most interesting…people."

"Why are you here, Cinder?" I asked as my mind finally got over the surprise of seeing him.

"As you know, I wish to improve myself." He looked around the room in a slightly robotic manner, probably in an attempt to mimic human expressions like making eye contact. "Since Science Academy and Arcane University deal in advanced applications of robotics and golems, I decided it would be an ideal location to seek out answers and meaning."

"Sounds reasonable," Shelton said. "But don't you have problems with professors wanting to take you apart to see how you work?"

Cinder nodded, and his mouth stretched into a plastic smile. "Indeed. One professor attempted to kidnap me."

"What did you do?" Lina asked.

"I ran."

Shelton snickered, covering his mouth with his hand in a vain attempt to cover it up.

Cinder tilted his head like a curious puppy. "I appear to have made a joke without realizing it, Harry. Would you explain what is funny so I may have the information for future reference?"