Hold Tight (The Embrace Series) (25 page)

The snow came down heavier the further I drove, but it wasn’t sticking to the road. I kept hearing Kaylee’s, Josh’s, and Isaac’s voices in my mind until I finally ripped my hemp bracelet from my wrist. I spent the entire drive contemplating what a life was worth. How many years would it take to let Chase grow up? I’d find out soon enough.

A dilapidated red barn stood watch over the barren countryside, announcing I’d reached my destination. I pulled off the dirt road and then rifled through Josh’s glove compartment; he didn’t have anything in there I could use to dig in the damp dirt. I rummaged around the trunk next, deciding the tire iron would work well enough. I wrapped my school ID and a few strands of hair inside an orange rag Josh had obviously used to wipe grease off his hands.

“Here’s hoping demons aren’t as judgmental about the items used to summon them as faeries are.”

The wind picked up, sending snowflakes whirling around me with no real direction. I walked straight to the center of the intersection and started to dig. The soil wasn’t as solid as I would have expected. About four or five inches down, I discovered a dingy red scarf already buried there. When I pulled it out and unwrapped it, I found a picture of a black man in his twenties, a clear plastic baggie of dark hair, a dried sprig with dark purple flowers, bones from a small animal, and a tiny jar of deep black dirt.

I’d been right. Deals were struck at this crossroad. It also let me know I had come short of a few items. I added the dried flowers, bones, and dirt to my things and placed them in the hole. Next, I pushed the loose soil over everything and stood waiting.

“Come on,” I said, not sure what to do next. With my arms crossed over my chest to ward off the chill, I anxiously turned every second or so.

“You are one of the last people I ever expected to see here,” a smooth voice said from behind me.

I spun to find Caden standing about ten feet away from me. My jaw dropped at seeing him. He had on his dark green pea coat, and his hair was disheveled. He looked exactly like I remembered him, except his eyes now burned bright red.

Looking into a demon’s gaze—even if he was someone who had been in my house—was unnerving. I needed to get this over with, but anxiety had my mouth spilling my thoughts instead of sticking to why I was there. “I knew there was something off about you, but this—” I waved a hand up and down in awe. I had expected the crossroad demon to be a crotchety old man with scarred skin, red horns, and possibly a spiked tail. I’d seen Caden’s ass—no way was there a tail tucked inside his jeans. “Do crossroad demons always stalk the local high school scene, and are they all as good-looking as you?”

The corners of his mouth tugged upward. “You know, flattery isn’t necessary. I’d stick around even if you were a foul-mouthed wench who hadn’t bathed in days.”

I was too dumbstruck by what he was to think of an appropriate quip.

He went on. “And I do what I must to keep an eye on my business associates.”

I thought about that a moment. “Ben made a deal with you?”

“His brother did. Even threw in a few extra years if I’d stop by and make sure Ben stayed on the straight and narrow.” He shrugged. “I’m always around anyway.”

“Dan sold his soul to become one of Gloucester High’s best jocks?”

“And for a full ride to a top-notch college.”

“What did it cost him?” I asked, needing to know what the average improve-your-life deal went for.

“His soul, plus twenty-three years off the top. That means he lives a shorter life than he would have had he not made the deal.”

I swallowed. One of the reasons witches worked so hard not to use negative emotions to fuel their magic was so that they wouldn’t taint their souls, and here I was, ready to give mine away plus twenty years.

I hid my trembling hands in the deep pockets of Josh’s jacket.

Caden sauntered closer, stopping a foot in front of me. I could feel the heat of his body as if he were his own sun. His eyes narrowed. “What I’m itching to know is since when does a witch need to make a deal with the devil?”

“You know what I am?” With my fists still stuffed in the pockets of the jacket, I pulled it tighter around me as if exposed with nothing else to cover me.

“I can smell your powers. Your friends’ too.”

“Are you really
the
devil?” I stammered.

He laughed. “No. He’s not as charismatic as I am, but if you’d like, I could see if he can break away from torturing souls to meet you.”

“No. That’s okay.”

I was glad the demon that faced me didn’t look evil, and his statement the other day—
‘even I have a code of honor I live by’
—made more sense now than it had then. For crossroad demons, it was all about the deal. At least that’s what I’d read, and that’s the knowledge I clung to as I stood in the middle of the intersection with snow flurries drifting down around me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Can we get down to business?”

He inclined his head. “Please do tell what brings a witch calling upon my services.”

I wet my lips. “It’s my brother. We were in a car accident, and the doctors can’t help him. He’d be dead right now if it weren’t for Isaac. He’s managing to keep Chase alive, but barely.” I took a deep breath to stifle my rambling and asked, “Can you stop death?”

He grinned. “I’m always happy to deny heaven a soul, even if I’m only delaying its arrival. Cheating death is expensive business, though.”

I prayed my knees wouldn’t give out on me. I shook so badly, I was sure Caden could see what a wreck I was.

“You realize you’d be condemning your soul to an eternity in hell?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Hell for a pure-of-heart is a million times worse than it is for the corrupt. And you, a witch whose powers are fueled by good, will not find the stay a pleasant one.”

As if he had to tell me that.

He ran his fingers over his lips thoughtfully. “A witch’s soul is worth a lot where I come from.”

“Then you wouldn’t want to pass up this opportunity,” I said, hoping to push him into making the deal before I lost my nerve.

“Aren’t you going to ask the price?”

Confused, I replied, “My soul and twenty years off the top.”

He walked around me, stopping behind me.

“That’s the price for a petty deal like a scholarship to a school one can’t afford.” His words moved my hair. “What you’re asking for requires more effort. The price is your soul and I give you three years to get your affairs in order before I come to collect.”

My gaze jerked sideways so I could see him. “Three years? What type of deal is that?”

“It’s two more years than some demons offer.”

“Thirty years,” I countered.

He chuckled and stepped in front of me again. “I’ll tell you what, because I like you, I’ll give you ten.”

Counting on a witch’s soul being an extremely hot commodity in hell, I said, “Thirty’s as low as I’m willing to go.”

“Then you’ll want to hurry back to the hospital so you can spend some time with Chase before he dies.” Caden turned and walked away.

Guilt over having put Chase in ICU in the first place gnawed at my conscience as my heart crumbled with grief.

“Wait. Twenty. Please.” Even as I begged, I tried to convince myself that it would be okay. I’d still have plenty of time to graduate high school and college and figure out what I wanted to be as an adult. I was doing a poor job of fooling myself, though. I’d only be thirty-six when my debt came due.

Caden faced me, a coy smirk etched into his features. “Deal.”

“Is my brother better?” I asked, not sure how it all worked.

“All deals have to be sealed.”

“Do I sign something or do we shake on it?” I held out my trembling hand for good measure.

He strolled closer. “I’ll accept a handshake from a guy, but when it’s a pretty girl such as you, I prefer something more intimate.”

Ignoring my outstretched hand, he put his fingers under my chin, tilting my head up. For a demon, he had a soft touch. I wanted to protest, but my voice seemed to have left my body. His lips met mine, and shame flooded me as I let it happen.

This is a business transaction
, I silently reminded myself.

Caden wrapped an arm around my back, yanking me closer as his tongue coaxed my lips apart. Snowflakes hit our skin and melted immediately. His smoky scent was intoxicating.

I will not enjoy this
.

But even as I thought it, my mouth moved with his. I did not just think Caden smelled nice; I liked the feel of his lips. It had been so long since I’d been this intimate with a guy without the threat of being shocked. I missed not having to focus on my powers. I missed being able to get lost in a kiss.

A tear ran down my temple and forged a path past my ear. If it was out of pleasure or betrayal, I wasn’t sure—because, despite his elevated temperature, his touch froze every muscle in my body. No way would I tell Isaac that
this
was how I had sealed the deal with the crossroad demon.

As abruptly as Caden had held me tighter, he broke our kiss and stumbled backward.

I dragged the back of my fingers over my mouth as if I could erase the memory of his lips on mine. Caden didn’t seem to notice.

“Deal’s off,” he said, taking another step back as if I had the plague.

“What?” I did
not
just kiss another guy for nothing.

“Your soul—it’s not yours to give.” Wonder oozed from his words. “Someone else holds its title. No soul, no deal.”

“No one
holds
its title,” I snapped. But that wasn’t entirely true—not if I’d bound myself to Isaac to keep Reed from being able to feed off my aura. “Omigod.”

My whole world crashed down on me, forcing me to my knees. I buried my face in my hands and cried.

As unexpected as my mom’s death was, it hadn’t been sudden. I’d had time to realize that she was slowly fading from my life. That this person I loved and needed would soon be gone. Time to realize she would never sing and cook again, and she would no longer be there when I got home from school to listen to me ramble on and on about my day. But Chase…this was happening too fast. The little brat who’d wormed his way into my heart with a contagious laugh and silly smile wasn’t going to sit at our kitchen table ever again. The kid who had Mom’s eyes, who reminded me every time I looked at him that although she was gone, Mom had given Dad and me something very special to remember her by. I was losing that gift.

Caden bent down and dried my cheeks with his thumb. “Things happen for a reason, Madison. You’re not meant to make this deal.”

I continued to weep.

“A broken heart mends. You’ll mend,” he added.

A life lesson from a sympathetic demon. Never would I have believed a creature of hell could display such a human trait if I hadn’t seen it myself.

Caden’s eyes were no longer red but the dark chocolate brown I was used to. He bit his lip and glanced away. A moment later he said, “I shouldn’t do this, but I like you. You’ve got fire.”

I sniffed, waiting for him to go on.

“I’ll heal your brother in exchange for your services, no questions asked. Plus, when I ask you a direct question, you will tell me the truth. No more lies.”

I didn’t remember ever lying to him. Wiping my nose with the sleeve of my top, I asked, “What will I have to do?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” he replied. “But having a witch at my beck and call will come in handy.”

“I won’t kill for you,” I said. I wanted my brother back, but that didn’t mean I could take another person’s life.

“I can do my own slaughtering.”

“And my brother will be his old carefree self?”

“He’ll be as good as new. Do we have a deal?”

Being at his beck and call was a better deal than my soul and twenty short years to live no matter how you looked at it. “Yes.”

“I want to hear you promise.”

As if I would double-cross a demon. But he knew what I was, which stood to reason that he knew that one little word held more weight for me than it did for the average person.

“I promise.”

This time when his lips touched mine, it was tender and for less than a heartbeat.

“I’ll be in contact,” he said.

I pushed myself to my feet. “When will Chase be better?”

Silence answered me. I spun around. Caden had vanished.

With him gone, there was nothing providing relief from winter’s chilly grip. My teeth chattered, and my body shivered. It was eerily quiet, leaving me with the feeling I may not have gotten off as easily as I’d thought.

Chapter 22

Miracles

I ran into my brother’s hospital room, stopping short of his bed. My hand flew to my mouth as tears of joy flowed like the Nile.

“Hi, Maddie. Why you crying?” he asked. Hearing his voice dissolved the growing lump in my throat.