Milayna (23 page)

I stood between his legs and wiped the cloth over the cut, dried the area with the gauze, and got a bandage ready. Chay rested his hands on my hips, and my hand stopped in midair. It sent chills up and down my body, and although my gut hurt where I’d been kicked, it warmed and fluttered.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus. Pressing one piece of tape on one side of the cut, I felt his thumbs graze the skin under my sweatshirt. I sucked in a breath. Goose bumps immediately spread over my body. My hands shook, and I didn’t think I’d get the second bandage on with his thumbs caressing my bare skin.

“Uh, there.”

“Thanks.” He stood and looked down at me. His fingers gripped the waistband of my jeans, and he pulled me closer. For a second, we just stared at each other, and then he tilted his head to the side and lowered it to mine.

I stepped back. Not because I didn’t want him to kiss me. Oh, I did. In the worst way. But I didn’t want an audience. I turned and looked around the room to see who noticed. It was empty.

“They went out to deal with the hobgoblins.” He pulled me gently to him. I took a step, falling into him. He put his hands on my waist to steady me before sliding his hands up my sides and cupping my face. Angling my face upward, he lowered his lips and brushed them gently over mine. Just a caress. My eyes fluttered closed, blocking out everything but him—the feel of his mouth on mine, his tongue sliding along mine, his taste, the way his muscles flexed under my hands. I was wrapped in a whirlwind of Chay. Nothing registered except him.

He lifted his head and looked at me. “Finally. A kiss that wasn’t interrupted.”

“Do it again,” I whispered.

He smiled and lowered his mouth. His lips touched mine softly, his tongue swept over my lips, and I parted them. His tongue dipped into my mouth, and I moaned. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I ran my fingers through his silky hair. I felt a trembling inside. More than just a fluttering or butterflies. No, this was deep within me. Electrical currents ran up and down my spine, and my fingers tingled where I touched him. I’d never felt anything so… beautiful.

He grabbed my hips and yanked me against him, closer, and then closer still, until every inch of me touched him. His lips moved from my lips to my neck, and I gasped at the sensation. A vase of flowers lifted from a table, flew across the room, and shattered against the floor. We broke apart, shocked.

“Whoa.” He looked at me. “Telekinesis?”

“I don’t know,” I said, breathless. I pulled him back to me. “It was ugly anyway. Don’t stop.”

Chay grazed his lips up the side of my neck. He kissed the hollow behind my ear before sucking gently on my earlobe. I sucked in a breath, breathing his name. Squeezing his biceps, I could feel the muscles under my hands flexing as he moved his hands over my shoulders and delved his fingers into my hair. He pulled it gently, guiding my head back and exposing my throat, kissing and nipping at my skin.

I let my hands move over his shoulders and down the hard planes of his chest to his waist. I hesitated briefly at his waistband before gliding my hands under the hem of his sweatshirt. He stiffened, raising his head, and his eyes locked on mine. I ran my fingernails lightly over his skin. My heart felt like it had wings fluttering in my chest when goose bumps covered his skin under my touch.

Chay ground out a curse and pulled my lips to his, kissing me hard and deep. His lips moved over mine fiercely. My hands moved from his chest to his back. He let one hand glide from my hair, over my shoulder and down my side. When he reached the hem of my sweatshirt, he slipped his hand beneath and ran his fingers along my spine.

He swallowed the moans that his touch pulled from me. My breathing was quick and shallow; his kisses went on forever. I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn’t get a breath. My chest burned, and my head started to swim. My fingers curled into his chest, and I thought that if I suffocated from kissing Chay, it was surely the best way to die.

“Well, they’re gone.” Jake stomped into the kitchen like a moose. “Whoops.” He looked between Chay and me with a grin. “I’ll tell the others we gotta go. You two just… well… yeah.” He backed out of the door, closing it hard behind him.

“I should go, too.” Chay held my hands in his, looking at them. Then he kissed the palms one at a time. I moved my hands from his and cupped his face, pulling him to me. It didn’t take much effort. He came willingly. Standing on my tiptoes, I kissed him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said when I pulled my lips from his.

“Yeah. ‘Bye, Milayna.”

“‘Bye.”

Three weeks, four days until my birthday.

So, I had demons who wanted to drag me to Hell where their leader could suck the life out of me. And somehow, Chay managed to overshadow that tiny detail when we’d had our first uninterrupted, mind-blowing, goose bump-inducing, toe-curling kiss. Possibly the best first kiss in the history of first kisses. At least in my history of kisses. Which, admittedly, wasn’t a lot of history, but still, it was a pretty damn awesome kiss.

I dreaded seeing him in chemistry class. Sitting next to him, smelling him, knowing I couldn’t tackle him and spend the rest of the day kissing him. Of course, we’d both need some Carmex when the day was done, but a small price to pay.

He slid into his seat next to me just before the bell rang. “Hey.” He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my mouth. When he pulled back, my fingers touched my bottom lip.

Oh, holy Hell’s bells, he just kissed me in front of everyone! Ha!

He gazed into my eyes. “Milayna. Move your hand.” I let my fingers fall away from my mouth, and he replaced them with his lips. This time, the kiss wasn’t so gentle. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and curled my fingers in his hair.

When he pulled back, my breath came in pants and my heart pounded so hard it hurt. “Hi.” My voice came out breathy and soft, and Chay gave me a half grin. So cocky.

I sighed and wished it were a lab day so we could spend the hour talking, but there wasn’t one scheduled. Chay reached under the table and threaded his fingers with mine as we waited for the teacher to begin his lecture. When he didn’t, I looked up and my heart lurched. It was the next best thing to having a lab—it was movie day!

As soon as the movie started playing, Chay and I scooted our chairs as close as possible and whispered throughout the entire DVD.

“Well, I hope none of that is on the next exam.” I shoved my things in my bag when class ended.

Chay chuckled. “Yeah. That’d definitely suck.” He glanced at me, and one side of his mouth tipped in a grin. “But so worth it.”

“You can be charming when you want to be.” I kissed him quickly before we walked toward calculus.

***

I’d barely gotten in the door that afternoon after school when my phone rang.

“Hey, Muriel.” I held the phone between my cheek and shoulder, lugging my school things upstairs. “I meant to ask you earlier. Where’d you take off to last night after the fight with the asshat demi-demons?” I threw my bag on the floor inside my bedroom.

“I was there.”

“I saw you at first, but you disappeared. You didn’t come inside with everyone else.”

“Yeah, I ran home to let my parents know everyone was okay. I was going to come back across the street and stay with you guys, but a hot shower and my comfy yoga pants were screaming my name.” I heard the microwave ding through the phone.

“Well, after the fight, everyone went outside to deal with the goblins except Chay and me. And he kissed me.”

“Oooh, nice.”

“Yeah, it was great. He was great. It was our first real kiss. I mean, he’d been trying for a couple of days, but something always interrupted us. This was the first real, uninterrupted, full contact, pure bliss kiss.” I flopped on my bed.

“Wow,” she said around a mouthful of whatever she was eating. Knowing Muriel, it was probably a cheese quesadilla. “Not to take the focus off Chay’s kissing prowess, but the reason I called was to tell you the goblins are in your backyard.”

“Great.” I pinched my forehead between my thumb and fingers. “Just what I need. I’ll talk to you later.” Ending the call, I braced myself to face the red imps.

I grabbed a jacket and went outside to see what the little creatures from Hell wanted. Of course, I got the same answer they always gave.

“We want to play,” the friendly one said, swinging from my mom’s clothesline.

“But this time, it isn’t going to be fun,” Scarface warned.

“Uh-oh, no fun, no fun,” the other chanted in its high-pitched, screeching voice. “No fun, no fun.”

Scarface held up a stumpy, red finger. The tip was on fire.

My stomach clenched.

Oh crap. The real fun is starting.

My head started to pound, and my vision faded in and out. My only thought was that I couldn’t have a vision. Not when they were there. Not when I was alone.

“I’m here, Milayna,” Muriel said behind me. She placed her hand on my shoulder.

Thank God for Muriel. I needed someone to watch my back. I was going to have a vision. If the pounding in my head was any indication, it was going to be a big one.

My sight flickered in and out. It was like a television alternating between a picture and static. I couldn’t see the vision, and I couldn’t hear it either. I made myself relax and concentrate, willing it to show me something.

“What’s going on?” Chay. I’d recognize his voice anywhere. He must have sensed danger. That caused sweat to bead on my forehead and the back of my neck. If Chay sensed danger, this wasn’t one of their ordinary trips to pull up my mom’s flowers.

“I think they’re trying to force a vision,” Muriel said.

“Fire,” the friendly one said. Scarface stood still, holding his finger out for us to see.

Fire. Big wheel bike. Lawn mower. Gas cans.

“He’s going to set my garage on fire,” I whispered.

Scarface held out his finger and a fireball shot from the tip, hitting the side of our detached garage. A second fireball flew through the air. The garage went up in flames.

Fire trucks. Sirens.

“I’ll call the fire department.” Muriel started toward the house.

“No! Not yet,” I yelled. “The vision isn’t gone.”

A man. Burning. Falling beam.

I could see it all. I could smell the smoke, the burning flesh of the firefighter trapped under the beam. I squeezed my eyes closed, willing the vision to leave. It was horrible. The man’s skin blistered and bubbled as the flames ran up his arms and to his face, turning the skin red and then black as it peeled away from the bone.

“They’re here,” Chay said.

Muriel turned to Chay. “Who?”

“Demi-demons.”

“Chay.” I grabbed his arm. “There are gas cans in my garage.”

“Where?”

“In the far right corner.” I wrapped my arms around my waist. My head was pounding in sync with my heart and my teeth were chattering.

Why are my teeth chattering? Does that happen when you’re in shock? Or just freaked out? Or scared?

Chay ran to the garage and pulled open the door. The air spurred the fire, and flames darted out in front of him.

“Chay!” I screamed and grabbed his shirt, pulling him back. “It’s too late.” I let go of his shirt and rubbed my temples. “It’s spreading too fast.” I shook my head. Tears zigzagged on my face.

“I need to call the fire department.” Muriel bounced on the balls of her feet.

Not yet. The man will still get hurt. We can’t call yet.

“Oh, I already did that,” Lily said.

I swung around and shoved her shoulder so hard that she stumbled backward into one of her demi-demon freak friends. “You didn’t.”

Lily looked at me with wide eyes. “Yes, I had to report a burning building. You wouldn’t want the fire to spread?”

Fire. Unbearable heat. A man. A beam. Pain. Fear. Nothingness.

I squeezed my eyes closed and rubbed my temples. “My vision hasn’t changed. There’s going to be an accident. A firefighter.” Before anyone realized what I was about to do, I raised my head, pulled back my fist, and landed a hit across Lily’s jaw. Pain radiated up my arm from the impact. I hoped that meant it was a good hit on her end.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” I screamed. My gaze darted around the group. “Do any of you realize you’ve probably just killed a man? Each and every one of you deserves to burn in Hell with Azazel.”

I could hear the sirens in the distance. They were close. My stomach churned and bile rose in my throat, burning it.

Jake and Steven ran up the drive, shouldering through Lily and Shayla and knocking them out of the way.

“What’s going on? Did someone call the fire department?” Jake looked from me to Chay.

“Yeah, but one of firefighters is going to get hurt.” I bent at the waist and rested my elbows on my thighs, my head in my hands. I was dizzy, so dizzy, the effects of the vision starting to overwhelm me. I tried to keep functioning, to keep talking and telling the others what needed to be done, what was going to happen, but the vision was strong.

Stop it. Burning. Pain. Stop it.

The images and sensations were washing over me like waves in a hurricane. Everything played behind my eyes as though it were a movie… 

The firefighter walks to the garage door. He breaks through with an ax. Something catches his eye, and he steps inside. Black smoke fills the garage. Red-and-orange flames roil across the ceiling above his head. The man looks up. He sees the ceiling… he knows. I feel his panic. He turns toward the door, but it’s already too late. The beam collapses. It hits him in the head and knocks him to the floor, landing on top of him. I feel his bones crack when the beam lands on his chest, hear his scream of pain.

“Milayna.” Chay pulled my face to him. “Open your eyes.” His voice was smooth and soft.

I opened my eyes and looked into his blue-green stare. He was blurry. Watery. I didn’t realize I’d been crying until then. “I’m okay. I can’t stop… I can’t stop shaking.” I wiped my eyes with my fingers. As soon as I closed my eyes, the vision started to play…

The heat is suffocating. I can feel it crawling down my throat and into my lungs with every breath the firefighter takes. His mask was knocked off when he fell. His arms are pinned. He can’t reach his breathing apparatus. Every breath he takes is a deadly mixture of smoke, and blistering heat burning away delicate tissue.

Pain! He kicks his feet back and forth. He’s lying in a puddle of fire. His suit isn’t on fire… but the heat… the heat is too much. He starts to feel lightheaded; the room tilts to one side and then the other. He tries to scream, but only manages a croak. He looks at the door and sees another firefighter coming to get him. He has a moment of peace… ’I’m going to be okay.’

And then the flames reach the gas cans.

The blast blows the man at the door backward. It rains fire down on the man under the beam. Pain. He screams and thrashes under the flames eating his flesh like worms boring into his skin. Pain. His hair is scorched and burned away, and the flames begin their assault on the flesh below. Pain. It crawls over him like it’s a living thing enjoying the torture it’s exacting. The man is still screaming, but his voice has long since quieted. Pain. His lips are gone. His face is bubbling and turning black as the fire continues its feast. Pain. His skin begins to flake and float away like ash. Pain. Pain. Pain. Then nothing. The man is quiet. He’s gone.

The vision ended. I sucked in a deep breath and opened my eyes. “We need to stop him from going into the garage.” I grabbed Chay’s arm. My hands trembled, and my eyes were full of tears. “He’s going to die if we don’t stop him.” Bits and pieces of the vision began replaying in my mind.

Burning flesh. Explosion. Gas cans.

“Which one?” When I didn’t answer, Chay shook me. I closed my eyes so I could concentrate. “Which one, Milayna?”

I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to find the man. “I don’t know. I… in the vision… his face… it’s burned… I can’t tell! I can’t tell! What if I can’t find him in time? What if—?”

“Listen! Focus on his face. Concentrate. What does he look like before the flames reach his face?”

“Him!” I pointed at a man with an ax.

Chay took off. He ran smack into the man who was walking, ax in hand, toward the blazing garage.

“Sir, that group of kids over there started this. We saw them in the yard just before the fire.”

“Son, tell it to the police. Move out of my way.”

“But, by the time the police get here, they’ll have taken off. Can’t you do some kind of arrest?”

“No. I’m only going to ask you one more time to move.”