Devil Inside (34 page)

Nya and Harley left the training room.  Harley was still fuming when they rounded a corner heading towards the kitchen.  As usual, when you needed them—they never were around.  When you didn’t need them—there they were.  Just to ruin your day.  She had been happy that he hadn’t watched this fight, and she had really hoped that he was gone for the night but Rafe was walking towards them.  When he caught site of Harley his face split into a smirk that stiffened Harley’s back in preparation for a confrontation.

“Well, well, well,” he said giving Harley an exaggerated head-to-toe look.   “Good evening—or well, I guess by the look of you it’s not such a good evening.”

Harley knew she looked like hell.  Everett had just broken her nose twice and she was sure that blood was still crusted on her face.  “Fuck off,” she said simply.  She was in no mood for Rafe tonight.

“Oh,” Raft grabbed his chest mockingly.  “That hurts.  It really does.”

Harley continued to glare at him.  Nya stood off to the side watching them.  Harley’s Nocte growled and braced herself—desperate to be released.

“Come now, Love.  How’s about a shower?  With me.  I promise, I’ll make it all better,” he leered at her.

“Not a chance,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Ah, well,” Rafe shrugged.  “Can’t blame a guy for trying.  Eventually you will realize that you should jump on this while you have the chance.  I’m not going to wait around forever, you know,” he chuckled finding himself entirely too amusing.

Harley had reached “You are disgusting.  I wouldn’t have sex with you if my life depended on it.”

“Well, now.  You might want to reconsider,” he raised an eyebrow.  “You should stay on my good side.  At the rate things are going you’re going to need to make sure that you have someone who can watch your back.  If you never finish the bond and Levi is always off running around—you can always hang out with me,” he laughed harder.  “I’ll make sure no Burners get you.”

Harley’s veins turned to ice and fury flared raged through her.  She could handle Rafe constantly hitting on her and as violently angry as it made her—she could deal with his mocking her fighting.  She knew that he was just being a pig.  But he had hit a raw nerve.  She didn’t even think before grabbing the plain wooden chair that had been propped against the wall next to her.  It was yet another piece that had been placed without real thought or intent.  But it found a purpose when Harley snatched it up and flung it at Rafe’s head.

In slow motion she watched the chair fly through the air toward the man that Harley had found infuriating for months now.  She felt relief and glee bubble up from somewhere deep inside as she waited for the chair to reach its target.  She couldn’t figure why Rafe wasn’t moving.  He was just standing there stupidly as the chair soared towards him.  Finally, with a satisfying, splintering crack, the chair exploded against his face.  The chair came at him so fast he had barely had time to raise his arm to deflect the blow so most of it slammed into his head instead of his arm.  He stumbled backwards into the wall and Harley stood panting with a wicked grin on her face and a giggle in her throat.

“Holy shit,” Rafe gasped as he caught himself against the wall.  The chair hadn’t moved in slow motion Harley realized.  It had just moved so faster than Rafe had been able to follow.

Harley looked to Nya.  She waited to see if her mentor was going to be pissed at her for attacking another Praesidio.  Nya kept her face blank and Harley began to grow nervous.  Now that she had vented the anger that had been building up inside her, she was wary as to what the repercussions were going to be.  She ran her tongue over her gums.  She could feel the sharp pain of her fangs trying to push through her skin.  When Nya still didn’t react she returned to Rafe.

“Fucking oversensitive bitch,” he growled wiping blood away from his hairline where the chair rolled over his arm and skimmed the top of his head.  He made several stalking steps towards Harley.  Harley braced herself for the confrontation.  Harley could smell the blood that dripped from his head and like everyone else’s blood she had encountered while fighting, it didn’t spark her appetite in the least.  Apparently, Levi’s was the only Nocte blood she wanted.  Harley could feel the heat of Rafe’s anger flowing from him as he closed the distance between them.

Nya stepped swiftly in between them effectively cutting off Rafe’s advance.  “Walk away,” she said calmly.  “Take it up in training.”

Rafe gave Harley one last glower and turned and swiftly made his exit.  Rafe may be an excellent fighter.  But everyone respected Nya.  No one questioned her authority.

Nya turned towards Harley and she braced herself for whatever was coming.  Harley had never really seen Nya angry and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be pretty.  She stepped back when she saw the look on Nya’s face.  The older Nocte was smiling.

“I think I found the solution.”

“Huh,” Harley asked trying to catch up to Nya’s thoughts.

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow night you’ll fight Rafe.”

That wasn’t what Harley expected.  Nya had suggested it before, but Harley had always refused.  “Oh, come on!  Anyone but that asshole.”

Nya laughed.  “No.  You need the anger that he brings out in you.”

Harley looked at her, exasperated and desperate for Nya to change her mind.

“Your eyes just turned as black as I’ve ever seen them,” Nya informed her.  She had her burning maniacal look again.

Harley froze.  “My eyes blacked out?!”

“Not completely.  But damn close,” she grinned wickedly.  “I think your Nocte is about fed up with being locked down.

_______________

After cleaning up Harley made her way outside to her favorite spot.  Turmoil still rolled though her.  She wanted the bonding process done, and on some level she was sure that Nya was right.  Fighting Rafe was probably a good idea, as much as Harley hated to admit it.  She found herself outside again, searching for some peace and relaxation.  Her hope was that being outside would help calm her down and enable her to focus on her meditation.  Maybe if she could finish the bond on her own she wouldn’t have to fight the one Nocte that she hated.  When she stepped into the cool night air Harley took a deep breath.  The air was heavy with the scent of dew, dirt, flowers and the musky odor of foraging animals.  She sat on the bench and took another deep calming breath.  She folded her legs under her and rested her hands in her lap.  Harley forced herself to focus inward.

Harley could feel her Nocte writhing in frustration inside her.  She took another deep and concentrated on her Nocte.  Every time she had tried to reach out and connect with her, Harley’s consciousness involuntarily shuddered away.  This time was no different—except—Harley tried again.   While she felt herself jerk back she also realized that the Nocte herself shied away as well.  “Are you kidding me?” Harley exclaimed out loud.  She felt her Nocte’s frustration rise up along with her own.  “If you are fighting this too, how are we ever going to finish this bond?”  Harley hadn’t really been expecting an answer.  And all she got was more frustration.

Harley sighed and closed her eyes again.  She took another deep breath and let it out slowly.  As she did so she heard the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.  The sound was soothing as it rustled the leaves and she focused on that sound and stopped fighting with her inner demons.  Instead, she concentrated on the sound of the breeze as it pushed through the branches and swept through the grass.  Each breath that she released she imagined that she was pushing her anxiety and frustration and fear out as well.  She didn’t seek any goal or end result other than decreasing the anxiety that she felt.

Finally, after having sat in the same position for who knows how long, Harley opened her eyes.  She wasn’t bonded any more than she had been when she first came outside.  However, she did feel calmer and more relaxed and that was a start.  She tried not to let her spirits sag too much as she went back into the house.  She may still not have a complete bond, but she had renewed her hope that it would happen.  Releasing some of her (and her Nocte’s) anxiety had cleared their minds and release then tension that they had both been carrying.

Harley stood near the back of the sparring floor glaring at Rafe.  She was purposefully ignoring Nya who stood off to the side smiling that smile of hers that heated her eyes. 
Well, if I’m going to be humiliated worse than ever before—at least Nya’s going to get a laugh out of it.
  Harley could feel her Nocte thrash expectantly and impatiently.  She fought for release harder than ever and Harley wanted to let her out more than ever.  She had to be almost there, Nya had said that her eyes started to black out yesterday.  She just needed to figure out how to—finally—fully let her walls down.  She tried to push aside her frustration and concentrate on “letting go.”  But, staring into Rafe’s arrogant face made it difficult to concentrate on anything other than her desire to beat that ridiculous grin off his face.

Rafe swung his arms to stretch them out and did a little skip in place—he obviously wasn’t taking this seriously.  Harley felt the burning anger inside of her and struggled to focus it on what was important. 
Beating the shit out of Rafe
. 
Wait—No—I mean letting go.  Letting my walls down and my Nocte out.  Which means, I will then be able to beat the shit out of Rafe.
  Harley swiveled her neck around enjoying the sounds of it popping and cracking.  Her limbs felt as loose as her insides felt coiled.  Any more preening wasn’t going to change the outcome of the fight and she decided to put an end to Rafe’s show and get down to business.  She blew out a lungful of air and stepped to the middle of the floor.  Rafe stepped up to meet her, winking at her as he did so.

Harley ignored the gesture.  She knew he was just trying to throw her off and rile her up.  She met his leering gaze with a cold glare and they began circling each other.  Harley was determined to make him make the first move.  Her best chance was to let his confidence increase until he became sloppy.  By then she hoped that she would have a good enough handle on his style that she might find a crack in his defenses.  She knew that she wouldn’t be as strong as he was and probably not as fast either.  From the corner of her eye she saw Evie and Cassandra join Nya on the sidelines. 
Fuck, I really didn’t need any more of an audience.

The split second that Harley’s eyes had shifted to the sidelines opened the tiniest window of opportunity for Rafe and he took it.  He swung hard with his left fist and she just barely had time to dodge it.  She felt the wind brush by her face as she spun away from the punch.  She gritted her teeth and braced herself for his follow up.  But he skipped backwards laughing as he went.  The anger that had built up inside of her glowed white hot.  She knew that she had to calm down and maintain her focus.  If she wasn’t able to get control over herself she would not be able to maintain a defense—let alone construct an offense.

The fight dragged on slowly.  Rafe would lunge at Harley and she would deflect his blow.  He would laugh and offer banter designed to dig in where it would be most effective.  Harley had done a good job of avoiding his attacks.  She had even been able to land the first blow of the match.  It wasn’t much, but it had been a solid kick to Rafe’s ribs that he had spun out of and stumbled to his knees before popping back up and shooting a patronizing compliment to her.

Every time Harley felt her frustration flare up she forced it down with a deep calming breath.  The more she concentrated on the way that Rafe moved, the more she started to see his pattern.  That’s why she noticed the change just after she landed her first kick.  He must have twisted or pulled something when he stumbled, because instead of leading with his right leg—as he had been doing thus far—he had switched to his left.  He wasn’t putting as much weight on the right leg as he was before.  Harley knew this was her opportunity.  A grin stretched her face and she could feel her Nocte’s glee as she rushed forward, finally on the offensive.  She landed three swift kicks to Rafe’s left leg before he had a chance to block her.  He grunted in pain and darted away from her attack, but she followed him—not willing to give him an inch.  He was no longer smiling and he looked angry.  She landed two solid kicks to his right leg.  If she kept her attack up and didn’t give him a chance to heal, she just may be able to make some leeway in the fight if she took his legs out from underneath him.

In Harley’s excitement she let her right shoulder drop and Rafe took advantage of that.  Even as she landed the last blow to his leg he landed a heavy punch on her jaw.  Her vision went blurry for a second and her Nocte roared at her mistake.  She quickly blocked Rafe’s follow up and landed her own punch.  Harley stopped overthinking and just concentrated predicting Rafe’s next move.  She watched for the second that he left an opening and she concentrated on the satisfaction she felt when her fist or foot connected with Rafe’s body.   They continued to trade blows, neither of them fully getting the upper hand but neither of them was clearly on the bottom either.  For once Harley felt like she was managing to hold her own.  Harley pushed aside the hope that was beginning to build up in her stomach.  Rafe was certainly no slouch.  She wasn’t doing this well because he wasn’t as good a fighter as the others she had fought.  She was doing well because she had something very obvious to push aside and clear away—to let go of so to speak.