Personal Demons 2 - Original Sin (20 page)

There are two large stained mattresses on the floor, taking up most of the room. Six or seven bodies, all female and some naked, are strewn across them. A few of them stir and lift their heads as I shine the light around the room. None have pink hair. No Taylor.

Part of me thanks God while another part growls in frustration.

I move deeper into the room and crouch next to the mattress, setting the lamp down next to me. I shake one of them—a pretty blonde who looks Maggie's age—by the shoulder. She barely stirs.

“Are you okay?” I say, to no response.

I stand and turn for the door to find Andrus standing there, blocking me in, a hint of wild threat in his expression. Before I can react, he's closed the distance between us and stands only a few inches from me. He loops a hot hand behind my neck and tips my face up. “You'd make a lovely addition,” he says, motioning to the girls with a tip of his head.

“What did you do to them?” I growl.

His lips pull into a depraved grin. “Stick around and you'll find out.”

“You wouldn't want me,” I say, pushing the thought with my mind.

For just a second, his face goes flat; then he shakes his head and chuckles. “Mmm…that's very good. King Lucifer will be pleased that you've been practicing.” He grabs my face in his other hand and crushes his mouth into mine, grinding my lips against his fangs. I'm surprised by his strength.

I gasp and push away, tasting blood, and trip over the lamp and tangle of clothes on the floor behind me, ending up on my butt.

He chuckles again and holds out his hand for me. “I had to get that in before you changed my mind.”

I pull myself up and throw a punch at his face, but he catches my wrist and holds it.
“Where is Taylor?”
I say, yanking my arm away.

“I don't know,” he says after a long pause.

“She's not here?”

He hesitates, and something feral flashes in his eyes. I drop into fighting stance, thinking he's gonna grab me again. But instead, he smiles down at me almost tenderly. “No, she's not. We have what we needed from her.”

I toss one more desperate glance back at the girls and push past Andrus at a run. I head straight for my car, my heart pounding in my throat. When I get to it, I floor the accelerator and tear out of the city, afraid to look back.

On the way back to Haden, I call the police and tell them about the girls. Then I call Taylor every two seconds—still no answer.
Come home, Taylor.
I say it out loud over and over.

And Lili. What was she doing with Marc?

Luc

Lili stands in my door, looking different—more confident, somehow. Her pale skin contrasts sharply with her dark hair, which is pulled back in a tight ponytail. She brushes her bangs out of her face with the back of her wrist, giving me a clear view of those intense green eyes, and smiles up at me. “Hey, Luc. Frannie around?”

I look away and swing the door open. “She's coming by after work. You can wait here if you want. Shouldn't be too long.”

She slides by me, brushing against my arm, and I'm startled as some deep need rolls through me. I shake it off as she passes. She wanders to my CD rack, runs a finger along the titles, and pulls one out. “Can I put this in?” she asks.

“Be my guest.”

She does, then eases into a kitchen chair, curling one leg under her.

“You want some coffee?” I ask, pouring myself a cup.

“Not much of a coffee drinker, thanks. So, you're sure Frannie's coming over?”

“Yep.”

“When?”

“Soon, I think.”

I join her at the table, and she looks me in the eye from under her long, dark eyelashes. “So, what's the deal with you and Frannie, anyway?”

Her question takes me by surprise. “In what way?”

“I don't know. How long have you been…together?”

“Technically…a few months.”

“What does that mean—‘technically'?”

“Our relationship was a little…complicated…at first.” I feel the smile pull at my lips, and I let it spread into a grin.

She cocks an eyebrow and smiles back. “How so?”

I lean forward, elbows on the table, and wrap my hands around my steaming coffee mug, staring into its depths. “Doesn't matter. Ancient history.”

“So, is she your ideal? You know, your perfect girl?”

My eyes flick to her sly little smirk. I draw a long swallow from my mug, feeling the coffee burn on its way down. “Pretty damn close.”

“That's not a yes. What would you change about her if you could change one thing?”

“Wow…” That's a tough one, because my first reaction is to say I wish she didn't have Sway—Hell wouldn't be after her and she'd be safe. But it's her Sway that made me what I am—who I am—and I wouldn't trade what I have with Frannie for anything. I picture her face, and a shudder works through me. “Nothing. I'm revising my answer to just plain
yes.
She
is
my perfect girl.”

She raises her eyebrows and reaches across the table to touch my hand where it rests on my coffee mug. Her voice is soft, hypnotizing. “Really—?”

For a second, the room seems to shimmer in and out of focus, shapes and sounds blurring together. The last thing I see clearly before my head starts to spin is Lili, leaning toward me, with her elbows on the table and her hand on mine, smiling.

I pull my hand off the mug, plant my elbow on the table, and close my eyes, waiting for the vertigo to pass. But it doesn't. If anything, it intensifies. I hear a faint voice as if from a great distance. At first I think it's still Lili, but then I realize it's Frannie. She's calling my name. And then I feel her touch on my face. My head starts to clear and I look up.

Frannie is there, standing next to my chair. I stand, pulling her to me. The world blurs again as her lips touch mine. A light-headed rush sends my senses whirring, and I breathe deep to keep my bearings. Frannie's in my arms, pulling me closer. She crushes me in another kiss, deeper, grinding her teeth into mine in her urgency.

Tiny bits of bliss surge through me as she pushes me backward toward the bed. She looks up at me with wicked ideas dancing in her sparkling sapphire eyes. And when she rips my T-shirt off in one hard yank, leaving it in shreds, primal lust flares in me. My need to be with her is suddenly overwhelming and insatiable. Her own gravitational field pulls me to her and I moan as our bodies collide.

“Frannie,” I growl as I twist my fingers into her hair and yank her mouth to mine, crushing her with my kiss.

She bites my lip and I taste blood, heightening my lust—pure animal need. She pushes me hard and I stagger back onto the bed. She climbs on top of me as everything starts to spin into a black fog.

“You're mine,” she says before devouring me with a kiss.

Frannie

I call for Matt when I get to the house, and he's there in a heartbeat, appearing near the window in my bedroom.

“We need to find Taylor.” I sound out of breath, which I pretty much am, since I haven't been able to breathe since I left Marc's.

“I might be able to help you with that, but there's nothing I can do about her tag.”

I couldn't have heard him right. “What?”

His eyes widen then drop to the floor. “I thought Luc told you.”

My legs waver and I manage to make it to the bed before they give way. I drop onto the edge of it. “Taylor's…tag?”

When he doesn't answer, I look up at him. “What's going on, Matt?”

“Taylor's soul is tagged for Hell, Frannie. She crossed the line with Marc. There's nothing you can do.”

A groan rolls up from my chest. “Luc…?” My throat is so tight, I can't find air. Stars spark, bright then dim then bright again, in my eyes. “He knew?”

“I…” I hear him hesitate and wonder why he's even considering defending Luc. He hates him. He finally gives up. “Yes.”

I stand and storm out of the room, ignoring my mom's calls as I blast through the family room and right out the front door. When I peel out of the driveway, I hear Matt in my ear. “What are you doing, Frannie?”

I just stare straight out the windshield, unable to find words through the cold steel of my rage.

I can't even remember the drive as I twist my key in Luc's lock and fling the door open, ready to lay into him.

From the stereo, the pounding rhythm of Depeche Mode tells me everything is “Wrong.”

And as I look around the room, I know they're right.

The first thing I notice is the black lace bra hanging from the headboard, where the red bra I gave Luc as a talisman has always hung.

And two bodies move together under the comforter.

The blood drains from my face, and everything turns cold as I take in the scene: clothes piled on the floor—Luc's, and some definitely more feminine—the wash of long dark hair across the pillow, the subtle hint of sweet vanilla and citrus, mixing with the heavier musk of warm bodies.

And I can't breathe.

The periphery of my vision blurs and I feel light-headed. As if in a trance, I move forward. In four steps, I'm at the bed, and my heart squeezes tight in my chest as I hear Luc's sigh.

I grab the comforter, tear it back, and can't stop the wounded moan that escapes my throat. It's everything I can do not to double over as my gut clenches into a painful knot.

Lili.

“Oh, God.” The words catch in my throat.

I stumble back into Matt, who stands transfixed by the scene in the bed. He catches me and his fingers dig into my upper arms, deeper and deeper, till the pain of his grasp snaps me out of my stupor.

Luc seems totally unaware that they have an audience, completely lost in her. But Lili spares me a sidelong glance as the hint of a smile pulls at her lips. Her hands reach for Luc's face and pull it back to hers.

“No!” I scream, only half-aware that I've done it. I turn to Matt as myriad emotions assault me. I plunge my face into his shoulder and find him shaking. When I pull back and look him in the face, I see fury.

He shoves me aside and charges the bed, pulling Luc away from Lili. “Get off her, you bastard!”

Luc blinks and looks like he's having trouble focusing, as if waking from a dream—not quite able to get his bearings. He looks from Lili to Matt.

“Get up, you son of a bitch!” Matt yells.

Luc rolls away from Lili and he blinks again as his brow creases.

Matt tears Luc from the bed by his hair. “Get away from her!”

As my mind processes what's happening, I suddenly realize that Matt is fighting for Lili, not defending me. “Matt?”

His only response is to throw Luc to the ground and jump on top of him, whaling on Luc's face with his fists. Luc barely raises an arm to defend himself, too stunned to fight back.

Finally, Luc seems to get his bearings. He lands a punch that snaps Matt's head back, and takes the opportunity to shove Matt off. He pulls himself to his feet, his lip bleeding and his cheek starting to swell. He stares at me, his mouth open and his eyes wide—a look of utter shock. I'm obviously early. He didn't expect to get caught. Then he looks back at the bed. At Lili.

Luc

I fight for control of my senses as the illusion flickers and fades. Then it's Lili, not Frannie, lying in my bed.

Satan save me.

I'm dizzy and completely disoriented, but through the fog, I realize what I've done. An agonized cry of despair erupts from my core. “No!”

I swing back to Frannie. She stands, still as stone, supporting herself with a hand splayed flat on the kitchen table, her face twisted in pain. A tear trickles slowly down her cheek, and my heart contracts into a hard ball. I tug my jeans on as she shakes her head in disbelief. “How could you?” It's barely a whisper.

I take a step forward and hold out my hand to her. “Frannie…I didn't…” But there's nothing I can say to make this right. I rake my hand through my hair and try to think.

How did this happen?

I search my mind, but there's nothing. Everything is a black fog.

I look back at Lili, on the bed, and to the coffee mug next to Frannie on the table. Tiny scraps of memory tease me: Lili asking about Frannie, touching my hand. Then black lust. Animal need. The certainty that if I didn't have Frannie right that instant, I'd die.

Pure, unadulterated lust.

It hits me like a wrecking ball.

I can hardly breathe as I wheel on Lili, sitting on the edge of my bed. “You! What are you?”

She cringes back from me, pulling the sheets tighter around her, and tears well in her stunned eyes. Suddenly, I'm confused. I want to blame this on Lili, but…

I spin back to Frannie, who's retreating toward the door. “No. Frannie, please…”

She turns and runs just as Matt takes me back down to the ground, yelling like a Banshee. “I knew it! I'm going to kill you!”

He grabs a handful of hair and slams my head into the floor with it, and I feel his power surge. My hair stands on end as static electricity crackles between us. I throw him off and pull myself to my feet, ignoring the throb in my head.

Matt is on his feet, his glow nearly blinding. Through it, I see licks of white lightning dance over the surface of his skin, and the smell of ozone suddenly hangs sharp in the air. I spin and run for the door. When I hear his tortured cry from behind me, I brace myself for the impact of his lightning bolt hitting my back. But it doesn't happen.

White light erupts in the room, and for a moment, I'm blind. I squint against the glare, lifting my arm to shield my eyes. As they adjust, two figures, shadows in the radiance, converge on Matt.

Unholy Hell. Avenging angels.

It's no myth. They
are
beautiful—angelic, with celestial magnificence that makes it impossible to pull my eyes away. But also terrible in the most beautifully horrible sense—their singular purpose is to destroy.

I've seen them before, of course, but I still can't help the terror that springs to life in my core as I realize why they're here.

Their feathered wings spread wide, glorious, they descend quickly on Matt, where he stands near the bed. His face is set in a grimace, his eyes still locked on me. The sudden, overpowering urge to protect him from the avengers makes me take a few steps into the room. But their cold heat burns, forcing me back.

Matt raises his hand, and lightning crackles over the surface of his palm, building to critical mass. “You won't touch Lili again,” he growls, his focus still on me.

Just as he unleashes the blast, he turns his gaze to the angel that's descending in front of him, and his eyes pull wide. The blast of lightning from Matt's palm is absorbed into the intense glow of the angel, eaten alive. The next second, Matt screams as he's also absorbed into that glow.

Through Matt's scream, I hear the sickening crunch of snapping bone as his wings are torn from his body, and as much as I want to, I can't turn away. A blast of charged air hits me as if a bomb went off, and I stagger back into the hall. Then, as fast as it came, the light is gone and Matt lies bleeding on the floor.

I turn and run down the hall after Frannie without a backward glance.

Matt

I feel as though I'm waking from a dream, and find Lili kneeling over me, wrapped in a sheet. I moan as her fingers stroke my face, and when she leans in to kiss me, I explode in a burst of bliss. I pull her to me, kissing her deeper, lost in the feel of her next to me.

She showers my face with kisses. “Are you okay?”

I smile up at her and feel the tug of disappointment at my inability to remember what just happened. We were obviously together—she's naked under the sheet, but…

And that's when I realize I'm not. I'm in my jeans and T-shirt. I glance at our surroundings and see we're in Luc's apartment, not Lili's.

I squint up at Lili, fighting to remember. “What—?”

Her eyes cloud as she pulls back from my embrace. “I didn't want to.”

An image flashes. Lili. In Luc's bed.

Another. My fist connecting with Luc's face.

I pull myself off the floor. As I stand here, my legs shake. I can't quite get my head straight. My senses feel dulled, my vision blurry. And then I feel a hot trickle down my back. And pain—a deep stinging ache. I press my hand to the T-shirt on my back and gasp when it comes away wet—and red.

Blood?

That's impossible. Angels don't bleed.

I look back at Lili. She's still kneeling, chocolate brown hair strewn across her shoulders. Hot rage—but also hot lust—dulls the pain in my back. All I feel is the crushing pain in my heart as the memory, like a flash flood, hits me full force.

“Lili?”

She stands, pulling the sheet with her. “I didn't want him, Matt, but I had no choice….” A tear trails down her cheek as she gazes at me with wounded eyes.

Cold rage cuts through me. I move to where she stands, not sure whether I want to hit her or kiss her, and she throws herself around me.

“Please, Matt. I'm so sorry.”

Slowly, I lift my shaking hands and lay them on her hips. I'm acutely aware of her body under the thin sheet—the only thing separating us—as she sobs into my shoulder. She looks up at me with those beautiful green eyes, and desire explodes through me. I hear my own moan, animal in its need, as I crush my lips to hers. But then the image of her in bed with Luc assaults my mind again, and I push her away.

“You slept with him.”

“I didn't want to. You have to believe me. He made me.” Her face is all pain and desperation, and my need to protect her is suddenly overwhelming.

I pull her back to me, crushing her into the curve of my body. “Lili,” I whisper into her hair.

She nuzzles into my neck. “I don't want to be like this.” She pulls back, but her eyes hold me mesmerized. “Promise you'll stay with me.”

“I'll stay with you,” I say, unable to say anything else.

“Forever,” she whispers into my lips.

“Forever,” I repeat, pressing my lips back to hers.

I feel the sting where her hand touches my back, and in my mind, something screams in warning. But I can't focus on that with Lili so close. Her lips trace a soft, warm path to my ear, where she whispers, “It's going to be so much better now. You're my angel.” She kisses me, slow, soft, then releases me. “It's time to go.”

Images dance in the periphery of my consciousness. They're fuzzy, and I'm having trouble making sense of them, but suddenly I'm sure they're important.

“Where?” I ask, trying to get a grip on the reason for the panic that's rising from my core. I close my eyes, trying harder to remember, and feel her press into me again. When I open my eyes, her face is an inch from mine.

“You promised you'd stay with me.”

Alarms are ringing louder in my head. “Where are we going?”

Every part of me screams as she pulls herself away from me and sighs. “You have two choices now, Matt. You can walk powerless among them—” She waves an arm vaguely at the world. “—or you can stay with me. Pledge your fealty to King Lucifer, and we can have everything. Your power will grow to be stronger, unhindered by those quaint celestial notions of right and wrong. You'll be free to exact revenge on anyone you choose. Anyone who has wronged you.”

The image of Luc—what he did to Lili—solidifies in my head, and I know that's what I want. Vengeance. But…“Angels don't pledge fealty to anyone but the Almighty.”

She reaches around and presses her hand into my back. She brings it to my face, dripping blood. “You can't go back. No wings.”

And then the rest of the image comes clear—white light, burning me with cold heat. The wet crunch of breaking bone, and searing pain shooting through my whole body.

Avengers.

That's when it hits me. When the meaning of her words, the avengers, the blood, and the rage and lust that seem to be consuming me all come together in one coherent thought.

I've fallen.

I stagger back a step as guilt, dread, and terror overwhelm me.

No wings.

I expected it when I first kissed Lili, and again after I slept with her. I knew I was playing with fire, so why am I surprised?

But I'm beyond surprised. My insides collapse as the horror of it dawns.

I can't go back.

Her sheet drops away as she glides back into my arms. “I need you,” she whispers, eyes pleading. “Come with me, Matt. Pledge your fealty to my Lord, and we can have it all.”

In that instant, sickening despair twists through me as understanding dawns. “When you said
he
made you do it, you didn't mean Luc, did you?”