Torn From the Shadows (24 page)

I nodded and followed her lead through the labyrinth of brick tunnels until we reached the gaping hole we’d entered. It took my eyes a while to adjust from the dark to the glare of the overcast sky, but by the time they did we’d already arrived back at the car.

“I’m not getting in the car smelling like this,” I said like a stubborn kid. My Ford Fairlane might be old and stand out like a powder-blue sore thumb, but my grandfather had taken good care of it and I’d carried on the tradition. The interior was still immaculate—in spite of making some very dangerous runs involving blood—and that was how I wanted to keep it.

Lavie rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll clean up first.” She pulled the backpack off her shoulders and placed it gently on the car’s bonnet. A few gasps and cute cries echoed from inside. She unzipped the front pocket and pulled out a small glass vial, which reminded me of the holy water bottles I’d crushed with my hands while battling vampires. “Here, use this.”

I took it from her extended hand, staring at the smoky contents. “What is it?”
 

“It’ll clean everything.”

“Ah, okay. How?”

“Like this.” She pulled out another of the vials and stepped away from the car. She threw the smoky bottle on the ground near her feet. The glass shattered on the concrete and smoke emerged like a hazy cloud over her shoes, dress and head. When it cleared, Lavie was dry and smelled like roses. “Go ahead—do it!”

I shrugged and followed her lead, inhaling some of the scentless smoke before it dissipated and I was left clean as a whistle and smelling like rose perfume. “That’s amazing. Where’d you get it?”

“It’s a potion my aunty makes,” she said with a grin. “She can make all kinds of things. Maybe we can get her to make something to subdue the demon out of Gareth.”

“Unless that means we’ll be exorcising it out of him, no.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Lavie pouted, grabbing her backpack off the bonnet. “Do you know how much valuable information we’d be able to get from it if we extracted the demonic entity from him instead of banishing it?”

I opened my door. “Lavie, he’s a person—a cop.” I climbed in and leaned over the seat to unlock her side. Yeah, there was no central locking, air-conditioning, or GPS in this vehicle.

“I know, but imagine what we could learn about Legion.”

“It’s not going to happen,” I said before she could add anything else. It didn’t matter that things had become uncomfortable with Gareth lately, because I now knew why. He was still a friend, we’d been through a lot together and I wasn’t going to let this demon destroy him like it had Jonathan. As horrible as it was to admit, I was kinda glad the demon was the one pushing him to act creepy. It meant my friend was still in there somewhere. He wasn’t as far gone as Jonathan, not yet. I’d seen Gareth’s shock and remorse after I’d stabbed him.

“Sierra, are you still with me?”

I glanced at her before turning the key in the ignition and putting it into gear. “Yeah, but you better give me directions. I don’t know where we’re going.”

Twenty minutes later, we reached the parking lot in front of Ebony’s building.

“Why did you tell me to drive to Eb’s building?”

“You’ll see,” Lavie said with a smirk. “Let’s go.”

I stepped out of the Fairlane, locked it up and followed close. “So he’s one of her neighbors?”

“Not exactly…”

“What then?”

“Why don’t I just show you?” Lavie avoided my eyes as she led me to my friend’s floor and stopped in front of Ebony’s apartment.

“Okay, now I’m confused. What are we doing at Eb’s door?” I asked.

Lavie stuck a key into the lock and pushed the door open.

I didn’t know what was going on but as soon as we entered, the noises echoing from the other side of the apartment made me pause.
 

“Are Ebony and this guy together?” I whispered.

Lavie shook her head, biting her bottom lip. “Not as far as I know…” She actually looked more concerned than surprised.

As much as I hated catching my best friend in the act with this demon guy, we were standing in the living room like idiots. I took the initiative and made my way into the equally darkened corridor, past her empty bedroom and bathroom. The action had to be happening in the kitchen.
Maybe I should stop now.
It wasn’t too late to turn around and leave before anyone noticed we were here. I was about to backtrack when Ebony murmured a name that made my stomach twist into a thousand knots.

“What’s going on?” Lavie sidled up beside me.

I wasn’t sure if she’d heard what I had but I continued forward, trying to either get there first or block her from seeing what I suspected—I wasn’t sure which. As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I stopped. The blinds had been pulled shut and there were enough candles lit on the counters, windowsill and table to showcase exactly what was going on.

At first, they didn’t notice us—too caught up in what they were doing.

“Oh, I think I can finally feel it,” Ebony said, licking her lips. She had her eyes closed and was leaning over the kitchen counter while someone moved behind her. “I think it’s going to happen now.”

“We have to do this together,” he said. “Very slowly…” I couldn’t see him, but his pale hands slid out from beneath her top, and settled over her breasts. “Now!”

Ebony and Oren moaned at the same time.

I’m going to be sick.

“Oren, I think it worked!” Ebony called.

“Oops.” Lavie raised a hand in front of her face. “Sorry guys.”

Ebony opened her eyes. “Lavie! Sierra? What the fuck are you two doing here?”

“We’re looking for Saul,” I managed to say.

Oren leaned forward, his gaze locking on mine. He dropped his grip on Ebony, took a step back and struggled to buckle his pants.

I was glad the kitchen counter was between us.

“Well, he’s not here!” Ebony straightened and made her way around the counter while pushing down her miniskirt.

“I can’t believe this,” I said. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

“Yeah, it’s
that
obvious,” Ebony said. “How did you two get in?”

Lavie held up the key. “Saul lent it to me. Remember you said it was okay?”

That detail didn’t matter, because I had one too.

“Sierra, I can explain.” Oren kicked the toe of his shoe against the floor, as if he was swiping something away.

“I don’t want your explanations.” I swiveled around so fast the room spun, but I didn’t care. No one should have to see their biological grandfather having sex with one of their best friends. This was sick and twisted, on so many levels.

I rushed out of the corridor and headed for the front door.

“Wait!” Oren’s cold fingers wrapped around my arm and I could feel them through my sweater. He grabbed me with so much force I actually spun around. His eyes were shiny and pink. “I can explain.”

“I can explain it too,” I spat, glaring at him. “You were fucking my friend. Someone who is
so
much younger than you! What the hell were you thinking?”

Oren’s eyes flashed back to icy blue and his grip tightened on my arm. “That’s not what was going on.”

“Oh right, so you weren’t having sex in the kitchen?”

He looked away for a second. “Yes, we were engaging in sexual intercourse but—”

“That’s all I need to hear.” I yanked my arm from his grasp. “I’ve opened up my home to you, let you into my life…I fucking trust you with my life, and you repay me by doing this?”

His stony glare hardened. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to pay you back—”

“That’s not what I mean,” I said, pushing the loose strands of hair behind my ears. “I don’t expect payment from you or anyone else. You’ve been good to me. Oren, if it wasn’t for the knowledge you’ve passed on to me I probably would’ve been dead the first time those freaks came knocking. But
this
…I don’t know what to say about this, how to deal with it.” I sighed. “She’s only twenty-two and going through so much. Why would you take advantage of that?”
 

“I’m not taking advantage of Ebony. What we are doing is consensual.”

Then I remembered the conversation I’d had with Sally and Lavie. According to them Oren might have loved my grandma, but it didn’t stop him from getting around. “I guess you just enjoy having sex with everyone, huh? After all, you’ve even had sex with Sally and Jacinta—”

“That’s enough!” Oren yelled so loud some of the clutter on the coffee table rattled. “I know what you walked into isn’t something a grandchild wants to see, and I didn’t intend on you finding out this way. But it’s got nothing to do with you.”

“So, you two are dating now?” The chuckle that left my mouth actually scraped my throat.

“No, we’re not dating. I’m trying to help Ebony get back on track. She’s doing really well with Roe’s help but there’s still a vital piece missing from her life. Having Conrad erased from her memory has left a gaping hole in her life she desperately wants to fill. The only way to reconnect with it is to try and find those memories.”

“And that’s what you were doing? You’re here to fill in the gaping hole, while trying to re-enact her sexual experiences with Conrad?”
 

Oren stepped closer, but I took a step back and he sighed. “No. We were engaging in a form of very strong sex magic, which has a lot of valuable qualities. Mental healing is one of those benefits.” He looked me in the eye. “I’m hoping to help her reconnect with those lost memories by engaging in a cycle of sex specifically designed for it. I know I can help her. But if this bothers you so much, I’ll stop.”

I turned away from him and crossed my arms over my stomach. “So you’re not taking advantage of her vulnerability? Or using her for sex?”

“What would I gain by doing that?” He stepped up behind me. “You might not want to hear this but I’m going to say it anyway. Yes, I’m an old man, probably older than you even think, but I’m still a man with urges. However, I don’t need to take advantage of anyone. I can have sex with whomever I choose, without conning them into it. Ebony might be young but she’s not a child. We’re two consenting adults doing something that will benefit both of us.”

I turned to face him. “What do you get out of this?”

The look he gave me made me feel like an idiot. “I don’t think I need to answer, do I? Ebony’s a beautiful woman. Any man would consider himself lucky to be with her.”

“She’s had a crush on you for a while.”

He shrugged. “So we both get to fulfill a fantasy while helping her cope. Is that really so bad, Sierra? I don’t want to upset you, and like I said before I will stop if you want me to, but I think Ebony needs this.”

I didn’t know what to say, because as gross as this was and as much as I wanted to scrub away the images of them together from my brain, at the end of the day he was right—this wasn’t my business. I couldn’t tell either of them who to sleep with, though it explained why they kept sneaking off together.

If this did work and Ebony miraculously remembered Conrad, would finding out the cost affect his desire to be with her? The situation was too complicated to dwell on.

“She really wants to remember him,” Oren whispered, as if he’d been listening to my thoughts.

“Fine, whatever you two do is your business. I’ll just have to pray the image of you together doesn’t haunt me for the rest of my life.”

“Thank you, Sierra. This means a lot to Ebony.” Oren smiled. “And as far as sleeping with Sally and Jacinta…I had a fling with Jacinta long before meeting Pepita. Sally happened once, after your grandmother left me. I was lonely, we both missed her, and she was willing.”

“Okay, stop. That’s as much as I can take about your sex life.”

A rueful smile stretched across his lips.

“Why didn’t you tell me Jacinta is Willow’s grandmother?”

“What are you talking about?”

I frowned. “When Papan found out about Jacinta Mills he told me she was Eli’s grandmother, turns out she was his mother.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Sally told me.”

A frown darkened his face and he looked thoughtful for a few seconds. “That would explain a lot, actually. Why didn’t I work this out? She must have changed the records.”

“Why would she do that?”

He met my gaze. “Jacinta always does things for a reason. She probably didn’t want anyone to know the truth.”

I opened my mouth to ask him about the mysterious Duff when the front door opened, cutting me off. I swiveled around to find a tallish man with shaggy dark hair and shiny blue eyes standing in the doorway. He was lanky, wore a dress shirt unbuttoned to his chest and jeans. He was very nice-looking, and those eyes seemed to glow with an inner light. The cigarette smoke in front of his face gave him an air of mystery that suited him.

“Ah…I’m in the right place, right?” He looked behind him to double check the number on the door. “I could’ve sworn I was staying here.”

“You are,” I said. This had to be the elusive Saul. He didn’t look much like a demon to me—more like a model, actor or stripper.

“Saul!” Lavie literally ran into the living room and walked right up to him like some sort of fan—or groupie. “I’ve got the imps for you.”