Dark Spirits (18 page)

I paused. “What about the ‘old one’?”

“He’s in town, but he’s waiting.”

I leaned closer to him, my face inches from his. I could smell the fear and marijuana leaking out of his pores–a salty sweet, pungent skunk smell. “Waiting for what?”

He sucked in a wet sob. “I . . . I. . . . don’t know.”

On that note, I began chanting. He writhed under my grip, screeching until his spirit vacated the body. In the same manner as the other two, I tossed him near their bodies. I noticed Brayden had Ameerah pinned to a tree with his hand clamped around her neck. He raised his other hand. I could hear Ameerah whimpering. In a flash, I hurled Brayden from her. He flew across the road into a ditch.

“Get out of here,” I said to Ameerah.

Her hand fluttered to her throat, her violet eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry. I don’t know when I’ll see you two again.”

“I understand,” I said, watching Brayden roll onto his side and rise to his feet. “But you need to get out of here.” Without another word, she turned and disappeared into the trees.

“You mother--” Brayden took off, heading straight for me, a tracer streaking across the street.

“Stop, Brayden!” Anwar commanded. Out of nowhere, he appeared in front of me, right when I was about to get some sweet justice. To my surprise, Brayden stopped. “Go home.”

The red in Brayden’s face deepened, and his hands balled into fists. He glanced at the truck. “What about Paige?”

Anwar laid his hands on Brayden’s shoulders. “Nathaniel will take care of Paige.”

“What?” Brayden seethed through gritted teeth, the muscles in his jaw flexing.

I couldn’t see Anwar’s face, but his fingers were pinching Brayden’s shoulders. Brayden closed his eyes, his chest heaving.

“Go home,” Anwar told him again. Brayden opened his eyes and stared at Anwar for a long moment. Something silent was spoken between them because Brayden’s green eyes yielded to whatever it was. And then he took off down the road, vanishing.

Something was definitely not right, and the way I figured it, I had three choices. First choice: I could play along as if I hadn’t noticed something was amiss with Anwar and Brayden, but that wouldn’t work. Anwar knew me well enough and wouldn’t fall for it. Besides, he could see auras. So I cancelled the first choice. Second choice: I could ignore it and welcome him back into my life and act like nothing ever happened, including when he withheld information from Paige and me. But that wasn’t going to happen. So I was left with the third choice: confront him and go from there.

I rounded on him. “What’s going on between Brayden and you, and how did you two know we were going to be here?”

A placating smile formed on Anwar’s face, which pissed me off. “I know Brayden’s mentor, Cassondra. But you already knew dat.” He patted my shoulder, but when I looked at his hand and then at him, he removed it and sighed. “Brayden wants me to teach him what I know, and I agreed on the condition dat he listens to me.”
Lies.
“And we knew where you were because I had heard Volac’s intentions toward Paige and had been keeping a close eye on him. I discovered after they had left for Gnat Creek, dat you and Paige were meeting Ameerah here, and you know the rest.”

I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. I could tell he was twisting truths with lies, and it was no use acting like I didn’t. And frankly, at this point, I didn’t give a shit what he thought. The trust I’d had in him was lost months ago, and now he confirmed it. Paige would always be my top priority, and I knew now I had to keep him away from her. I thought about Zeruel’s warning and Anwar’s behavior since I came into Paige’s life. My mind did a quick comparison to how Anwar used to be and how he was now. It was obvious, and Zeruel was right–Anwar had gone to the dark side, but how far?

I glanced around. Behind the trees, concealed in darkness, three bodies were scattered a few feet away from each other. I could hear hearts beating and wondered if Brayden had a problem with killing a soulless human. I then spotted the vessel Volac had possessed. The body was half hidden in the shadows of the trees, the moonlight capturing the backs of two legs clad in black jeans and the dirty soles of his biker boots. His heart was beating as well.

Anwar’s eyes followed mine. “He will not be bothering Paige for a while.”

Although he did us a favor, I refused to thank him.

“Dat’s okay. You do not need to show your gratitude. The look on your face is thanks enough,” he said, his tone drenched in sarcasm, which was all I needed to say what I had to say.

“You and I both know what you did wasn’t just for Paige. And you acting like it is and taking me for a fool is further proof I cannot trust you.” I could feel the anger boiling beneath my skin, the heat burning the collar of my T-shirt. My hands clenched into fists. But the awareness of the late night and getting Paige safely home kept it at bay.

“What I do, Nathaniel, is not meant to hurt you or Paige. It is for the common good,” he said in a matter-a-fact way, like one plus one equals two, which to me was condescending.

A laugh barked out of me, my expression turning to disgust. “I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re not the same Anwar I knew years ago.” I made an up and down gesture in front of him. “This Anwar, I can never trust and want nothing to do with. So stay out of my house and life.”

Anwar nodded. “I am sorry to hear dat, but I will honor your wish.” He paused and then smirked. “But you cannot speak for Ms. Paige.”

A rocket of rage went off inside me, and I shoved him. He flew across the street, his back smacking against a tree. In half a second I was on him, my hands around his neck. He lifted his arms and rammed them against my forearms, breaking my grip. Then he was on top of me, his hand now around my throat, choking me. I kicked my legs up and looped them around his neck. He let go and grabbed my ankles. He rolled onto his knees, and I released him. We both jumped up, rubbing our necks.

“I do not wish to fight you,” Anwar said. “You are my brother.”

I leaned forward and pointed at him. “
Was
your brother. You broke that bond the day I entered Paige’s life.”

Anwar coughed, rubbing his throat again. “I cannot tell you everything because I am bound--”

“Yeah,” I said. “To the ‘old one.’” As soon as the words spilled out of my mouth, pride entered his eyes. So it
was
true. I suddenly felt nauseous and thought I was going to be sick. I took a deep breath and rested my palm on my forehead. “Of course, now it makes perfect sense.”

“Nathaniel, the ‘old one’ is very wise, and he has a logical plan to make this world the way it should be.”

I could taste the rankness rising in my throat. I leaned my hands on a tree and hung my head, taking more deep breaths. All I could think about was betrayal, betrayal, betrayal. I wondered how many more immortals were on the “old one’s” side, and what was going to happen to Paige? I retched.

“The ‘old one,’ Ayperos, nor I want to hurt Paige,” Anwar gently said.

“Not until they get what they want from her,” I managed to say between dry heaves. “Do you even know
who
the ‘old one’ is? Do you even know his real
name
?”

“The ‘old one’ is the oldest of their kind,” he said, bypassing my first comment. My stomach tensed, and my coughing became loud and hard until I violently spewed tonight’s supper onto the ground. “I do not know his name,” Anwar continued. “But I suspect Ayperos does.”

I spat a couple times to get the sickness out of my mouth. “Ayperos doesn’t like you.”

Anwar snorted. “Both he and the ‘old one’ do not like my connection with you, and Ayperos is afraid I will eventually outrank him. But at least the ‘old one’ knows where my true loyalty lies.”

I wiped my eyes to get the water out of them. “And where’s that?”

He laid a palm on his chest. “With myself and beliefs, which are the same beliefs as the ‘old one’s.’”

“To take over the world.” I ran a hand across my mouth. “Brilliant. To have complete control over the dark spirits and be their puppet master. Then do what he desires to the human race. I mean, with that much power, he could be inventive and do things not even you can imagine.” I shook my head. “Nobody should have such power.”

Anwar leveled his eyes with mine. “You are right, but what would you say if I were to tell you dat the power could be split between several people?”

“I’d say you’re insane and a fool to think the ‘old one’ would do such a thing.” I couldn’t believe this was the same Anwar I had befriended back before I became immortal. The same one who rescued my brother from a horrible death. The same one I had looked up to and trusted.

“Well,” he said, looking away. “You are entitled to your opinion.” His gaze fell heavy on me. “But you misjudge the ‘old one’ and your Boy Scout ways have clouded your vision. You know nothing of what is truly going on. However, if you join us, I would be happy to fill you in.”

I was through with this conversation and with him. I leaned forward.
“Never,”
I said, and then stepped around him. I stopped and half turned at the same time he did. “You called me your brother, and I once considered us as such, but this Boy Scout”–I thumped my finger against my chest– “no longer has a brother. Darkness took him from me. The person I’m looking at now. I don’t know who he is. So stay out of our life. I don’t want to fight you, but I will if I have to.” Anwar gave me a short nod, his expression unreadable. I turned and went to the truck.

Paige was still curled on the front seat, undisturbed. I wondered how long she would be like this and heard Volac’s disturbing words in my head:
You might have done me a favor because she may never return again.

 “Please come back to me, baby,” I said, kissing her forehead. “It’s a lot worse than we thought.”

Chapter Eighteen

Paige

I awoke cocooned in soft tan cotton sheets and a teal-colored comforter. They smelled like wood smoke with a lingering hint of Downey. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked around.

Nathan’s house.

I wondered how long I’d been here. The last thing I remembered was being in the forest with Nathan and Ameerah and feeling very tired.

Nathan’s room was rustic, just like the rest of his A-frame cabin. I loved his house. The energy in it whispered of intellect, coziness, and half remembered ancient fairy tales.

Bleary-eyed, I blinked a couple times. My eyes settled on an 8 by10 black and white photo in a silver frame. It stood on top of his wooden bureau across the room. The picture was of Nathan and me at my graduation party. He had rented The Lion’s Den, knowing it was my favorite dance club and where we first met. We were both looking at each other and smiling. I loved the way the picture captured the intimacy and friendship we shared.

On his night stand was another photo of just me, in a silver frame as well but oval shaped. I was leaning against a tree, wearing my white sun dress, barefooted. A warm smile played on my lips. My dark green eyes looked shy, yet alluring. I wondered if they were really that expressive. If so, I wasn’t sure if I liked it. I mean, I remembered when Nathan had taken the picture and how I felt in that moment. He told me how beautiful I was, which embarrassed me. And then he gave me his lopsided sexy grin, which always made my heart skip a couple beats. So my discomfort plus the allurement of Nathan’s smile was the formula to get the results expressed on my face, I thought.

My stomach growled, and I wondered what day it was. Heavy wooden blinds covered the windows so I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. The digital alarm clock on his night stand said 1:42, but I didn’t know if it was a.m. or p.m. I wondered where Nathan was and decided to hone in my keen sense of hearing. I’d been so used to tuning superfluous sounds out that I had to literally focus on what I wanted to hear.

I rolled on my back and closed my eyes. I could hear the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of a clock, but no beating hearts in the house. I listened some more.

Wait.

I did hear heartbeats, but they sounded like they were–underground?

“Tree, you need to find the quickest and most economical solution to the problem you would be dealing with. You need to be quick because if you hesitate or second guess yourself, you’ll lessen the chance of success. Now, heel-of-the-hand blows to th--” Nathan paused when I whispered his name.

“What is it?” I heard Carrie say.

“Paige is awake. I’ll be right back.” I heard the tinny sound of anxious feet going up metal stairs. Something lifted off the floor and then thunked when it made contact. The sound came from the kitchen. The next thing I knew, the bed dipped and creaked beside me, and Nathan was looking at me, worried.

I smiled. “Hi.” He was wearing a black T-shirt that hugged his muscular frame just right. When he reached to cup the side of my face, the muscles in his biceps flexed. They were pumped. He must have been bench pressing. I bit my bottom lip and lowered my eyes in an attempt to stave off desirable thoughts.

“Thank God.” His thumb caressed my cheek, and I sighed beneath his touch, feeling all warm and gooey inside. “How are you feeling?”

My stomach growled again. Flushing, I slapped a hand over it and looked down.

 “It’s time for you to eat,” he said. “I think we can all eat something as well.” He kissed my forehead and rose.

“Is it daytime?” I threw the covers off, surprised to see I was in my red flannel pajama bottoms and a black tank top. I then remembered I kept a change of clothes here. I ran my hand over the soft fabric before I sat up, swinging my legs over to the side of the bed.

Watching me closely, Nathan extended his hand.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked, taking his hand. I was in serious need of some coffee.

“It’s daytime, and you’ve been out of it for almost fifty-nine hours.” He gently pulled me up, still watching to make sure I was all right. The wood floor felt cold beneath my bare feet. I made a mental note to get a rug for this side of the bed.

“That’s a long time,” I said distractedly, looking around for some shoes. “What have you been doing?”

“What are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for some shoes and socks.”

He pointed to the floor beneath the bed. “I put your Skechers and socks there.”

I slipped them on, feeling a little lightheaded but kept it to myself. “Thanks.” I pushed my hair out of my face and pulled the bottom of my tank down. “I need some coffee.”

“I’ll make us some,” Nathan said as we headed to the kitchen. “Tree and Carrie are here. I’m sure they’ll want some.”

“Were you guys underground?” The words sounded silly coming out of my mouth, but even now I could hear Carrie and Tree carrying on beneath the floor.

When we entered the U-shaped kitchen I saw a wooden lid attached to the floor flipped backwards. There was a dark gaping hole in front of it. I realized once the lid was closed over the hole, it would magically appear like a regular wood floor. I was impressed, but a little hurt he never shared this with me. I immediately thought of one of those underground bunkers I heard of some people having just in case the end of the world happened.

I inclined my head toward it. “Does Anwar know about this?”

 “No. Only you three,” Nathan replied. “And, so you know, I changed the locks and had a security system installed.” His voice sounded tight, which made me wonder what I had missed while in my slumber. I raised a questioning eyebrow. “Let me make you some coffee.” He got busy making it and then told me everything.

I sat at the kitchen table and held my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe Anwar had taken the “old one’s” side and wondered how long Anwar had been the “old one’s” ally. And then there was Brayden. What was Brayden thinking? Did Anwar really expect us to believe Brayden would listen to him because he wanted Anwar to give him further training? What a load of crap. Could it be possible Brayden was on the “old one’s” side as well? My stomach clenched.

“Are you okay?”

I dropped my hands and looked up. Nathan’s eyes were searching my face for an answer. I tucked my hair behind my ears and sighed. I could hear something being punched down below and Carrie laughing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell him how I felt, but I knew I had to be truthful because I’d want the same from him as well.

“I’m worried about Brayden.” There. I’d said it, and to my surprise, the concerned look on his face didn’t falter. I took a sip of my coffee, waiting for his reply.

“Brayden has been texting you, and when he didn’t get an answer, he called Tree.” His chair scraped against the floor when he stood up, and he ran his hand through his hair. He stared at his feet for a long moment, then peeked at me. “I understand you’re worried about him, and you love him.” I opened my mouth to assure him he was who I wanted, but he raised a hand. “I know you’re in love with me,” he went on. “But Brayden is in love with you, and his desperation to be with you is what’s causing him to make poor decisions.” He sighed. “I know you want to help him, but right now your priorities should be on you and what we can do to outwit the dark spirits and now Anwar.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “Brayden is a big boy and can take care of himself.”

Blood oath

“What’s a blood oath?”

Nathan poured more coffee into my mug and got some cream out of the refrigerator. “It’s an ancient ritual binding the parties to their oaths,” he answered while adding cream to my coffee. “They have to fulfill their oaths. If one doesn’t then he or she becomes the other party’s slave.”

I swallowed hard and broke out in chills. I wrapped my arms around myself, hoping to God Brayden wasn’t stupid enough to do a blood oath with the “old one” or anybody for that matter.

“But . . . but.” I took a deep breath to collect myself, trying not to think about blood or Brayden becoming a dark spirit’s slave. Nathan stood there, patiently waiting for me to finish what I had to say. “What do they do in the ritual?” The raspy part of my voice cracked, but I continued as if it never happened. “I thought most of the ancient magic was dormant. I mean, I know some of it is still available, if you know how to use it, but . . .”

“Right,” Nathan said. “However, a blood oath is black magic the dark spirits have managed to sustain in this world because it derives from them, if that makes any sense.” I must have looked a bit confused because he went on to explain it further. “A blood oath is commonly done by them; therefore, it remains a constant in this world. Not to mention, the energy on earth is less positive and more negative, which black magic thrives on.”

“But what do they do in the ritual?” I asked again.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ve heard stories that would make your skin crawl and--” He paused, mid-sentence, staring at me. He must have seen me shiver and noticed the horror on my face. “You know,” he said, waving it off with a slight gesture of his hand. “We can talk about this some other time.”

“Yeah, okay.” I rubbed the back of my neck to ease the tension. “But do you think Anwar took a blood oath?”

Nathan stared past me, lost in thought, then fixed his eyes on mine. They looked haunted. “I don’t know.”

“Hey! Are you two ever going to come down here?” we heard Carrie say. “I know you can hear me,” she added. I heard a slap. “Stop it, Tree.” She laughed.

Nathan’s gaze fell on the floor, and then he half turned to the counter behind him, placing his hand on a loaf of dark rye bread. “I was going to make us some sandwiches.”

I hopped up (the caffeine definitely helped), anxious to see his bunker, or whatever it was and not think about the blood oath or Anwar. “I think I’m fine right now.”

Nathan dug into a drawer and pulled out a granola bar. “It would make me feel better if you ate this.” He held the end of the wrapper between his thumb and index finger, bouncing it in the air in front of me with a hard to resist smile.

I took it. “Thanks.” I made a move to kiss him but then ran my tongue along my teeth and realized I hadn’t brushed them in days. I took a step back right when Nathan went to embrace me and laid my hand on his chest. “I need to brush my teeth before I kiss you,” I quickly explained when a look of surprise and confusion crossed his face.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Well then, you should go do that.” He took my wrist and pulled me to him, encircling his arms around my waist. “Because I don’t know how long I can wait.” He paused long enough to give me an intimate stare. My breath hitched in my throat. “What do you think?”

I tossed the granola bar on the table and zipped to the bathroom. After I brushed my teeth, I went back into the kitchen and threw my arms around his neck. Of course, I had to stand on my tiptoes to do it. Nathan’s arms curled around my shoulders, bringing me closer to him. I pressed my lips against his, parting them enough to free my tongue. His lips were hot, and his tongue flicked against mine. Our breaths came out in a huff as our kiss grew deeper.

Heat pulsed beneath my skin.

I ached for him.

I wanted him.

However, I could hear Carrie and Tree talking below us, wondering if they should come up. So for now, I had to settle for this, but thought it wouldn’t hurt to give into it just a little.

I kissed him harder and bit his bottom lip. He groaned and lifted me onto the wide pine counter. I parted my legs, and he leaned between them, pushing me down. His hand slipped beneath my tank, smoothly gliding up my soft skin. His lips wandered to my neck, and his breaths were short and heavy in my ear. I softly moaned, arching my back when the fingers of his other hand slipped beneath the elastic of my flannel pants. But then I heard feet climbing the stairs.

Damn.

I bolted upright, causing Nathan to step back. He latched onto the counter beside me, catching his breath. He peeked at me, his dark blue eyes bright and filled with desire.

“What are you two doing?” Carrie’s head popped out of the gaping hole. Her gaze swept over me sitting on the counter, Nathan’s hands bracing it and our heaving chest. With a shadow of a smile, she looked at me. “So I take it you’re feeling okay?”

I bit the corner of my lip in favor of answering her.

Nathan’s eyes lingered on my mouth. “Are you and Tree hungry?” he asked, his voice deep and husky.

“Um, yeah.” Carrie cleared her throat and looked away as if she just witnessed something forbidden and didn’t want to get caught. “But we want to show you what we’ve been practicing first.”

I gave Nathan a coy smile. “We’ll have to resume this later.” His eyes were steady on mine–still bright, and he slowly nodded. I jumped down. “I want to see what you were doing.”

Nathan picked up the granola bar and handed it to me. I followed Carrie down the metal stairs, into a huge room the same length as the house. The fluorescent lights gave off a low humming noise that I immediately blocked out. The room reminded me of a gym. A balancing beam stood in the center of the room. There was a red punching bag suspended by a chain from the ceiling, a weight bench with weights and a wall covered with mirrors. There were also red and blue mats scattered on the brown carpeted floor and one, two, three, four, dummies. One of the life size dummies was braced against a black metal stand to keep him upright. Tree stood beside the dummy. He was wearing black jeans and a Sex Pistols T-shirt, his Mohawk still in perfect order. I swear he used a can of hairspray a day just to get it to stand up like that.