Page 16 of A Wicked Dance of Obsidian and Light (Echoes of Darkness #1)

“I can’t believe you still have Betsy. I also can’t believe the engine didn’t die on you when you started it,” I say incredulously from the passenger seat of Noah’s old, red Toyota pickup as I look through the window, watching the city pass by.

Oddly, I don’t feel anxious at all about being in a moving car. Maybe the motorcycle ride with Kaiden cured me of my panic attacks. At least, I hope that’s the case. Or I have just really missed Betsy and the musty smell that always seems to cling to the interior, mixing with Noah’s cologne. It smells like memories—all the times he unsuccessfully tried to teach me how to drive, our date, especially the moments after he drove me back to my aunt’s house when we made-out in the backseat. It feels like all that happened a lifetime ago.

“I put it in storage before I left. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. My mom tried to convince me to take it to the auto park numerous times and get a new car, but I’m glad I didn’t listen to her. I have too many good memories attached to it,” Noah shoots back while changing gears, snapping me out of my thoughts.

His right hand on the stick shift grazes my thigh slightly with the movement. A shiver goes down the ladder of my spine at the contact. I gulp as the car’s interior shrinks all of a sudden. So much for being cured. Claustrophobia carves a path in the lining of my stomach. It’s nothing new, but still, I mentally prepare myself in case it gets worse.

He turns his head to look at me, drawing my attention from the window. “How are you feeling? You seem to be doing better with being in a car…”

“Yeah, well, a lot of things have changed since you left. I still dread it, but it’s nothing like it used to be. I’m fine today, no panic attack on the horizon,” I reply softly.

Noah nods in response. I’m grateful he doesn’t feel the need to fill the empty space with meaningless chit-chat. That’s one of the things I missed the most about him. We ride in companionable silence until we reach the parking lot of the national park. There are no free spots, so we have to circle it a few times before we finally manage to find one.

It’s a beautiful cloudless day, the sun high in the sky, and with summer right around the corner, it isn’t a surprise the parking lot is so full, even if it is only Tuesday. The park is vastly different during the day. People are all around us as we walk on the path to Shadow Lake, jogging, taking a stroll, or sprawled on blankets where they could find a clearing, enjoying the sun while reading or eating their picnics, happy and oblivious to the true horrors of our world.

The idyllic scene is heightened by the sun rays flickering through the trees, dancing on the forest floor, and the happy trill of bird songs. The fragrant pine-scented air is warm and pleasant, without the bite mountain air usually still carries in the spring.

It takes us about thirty minutes of brisk walking to reach the lake. Since there are so many people around us, we can’t use supernatural hellseeker speed to get there faster.

“I think this is the spot where I killed the draconic ravengers,” I tell Noah as we reach the clearing where the demons were waiting for me on Friday night. The new onyx stone I’m wearing in a choker around my neck, resembling my older one, warms slightly at the remnants of demon activity that haven’t completely disappeared, the soil still holding the darkness of their goopy tar-like blood. Here and there, holes stand out in the vibrant green grass, where the earth looks scorched and dead.

“And those other flying demons came at me from the direction of the lake.” I point my finger toward the lake. “When I saw them flying at warp speed toward me, I realized I was neck deep in shit, and I started running really fast, the fastest I have ever ran in my entire life and went through those trees.” I point again with my finger, this time to the pine trees on my right.

“Lead the way,” Noah says from my back. He keeps up with me as I start retracing my failed escape route.

After fifteen minutes of walking in silence, we reach the spot where I was attacked by the umbra. Ice sloshes through my veins at the memory of how much pain I was in. Slamming my eyes shut, I breathe in and out a few times in an attempt to regain my composure.

As I turn in a circle and take in the scenery before my eyes, I can’t believe I survived something that left so much destruction in its wake. When the umbra grabbed me, I couldn’t register anything else. But now that I can see all of it…the whole perimeter surrounding us looks as if a violent forest fire ravaged the vegetation, the trees almost completely obliterated.

A flash catches my peripheral vision as I turn to my right again, and I have to blink a few times, because what I’m seeing is more than ridiculous. A transparent human-shaped form is sitting on a badly burnt branch that clearly can’t support any weight. As I get closer, the humanoid form morphs into a solid, dark-skinned, bare-chested young man, wearing only a sequined pair of golden pants, with a shaved head and a bored expression. Did Sam drug me or something? I’m going to kill her if she spiked the potion she made me drink. Noah is silent beside me, taking in the destruction before our eyes.

“Um, Noah? Do you see that? On top of that branch, there?” I tilt my head to my right, where the strange willowy guy is swinging his legs in a childish manner.

“What? I don’t see anything. What did you see?” Noah arches his eyebrow before he throws me a weird look.

“Nothing. I think I’m still a little hangover,” I mumble. “Fucking Sam,” I swear under my breath, for my ears only. When I turn my head to look at the strange guy again, he’s gone.

Great, now I’m hallucinating on top of everything.

“Iris, I have to ask. How the hell did you survive this and manage to escape? I have never seen something like this before…not even in my years working for the Kabal.” Noah’s gravelly voice and piercing gray-blue eyes snap me out of the long list of profanities I’m addressing Sam in my head.

“I honestly don’t know. I didn’t even realize it was this bad until now,” my voice trails off at the end. Of course I know. Kaiden was how I survived. Jesus, Noah is right; no Order member could have survived this, not even with the pure blood running through their veins, and I am a half-blood. How is this possible? I mean, even if Kaiden didn’t intervene and if the umbra did so much damage only by grabbing my arm, how did I not die on the spot, right then and there? Could it be possible that the umbra didn’t do this? But who could have so much power…Kaiden?

“I’m going to see how much the burnt area expands. I also need to take some videos and photos to send to the Kabal with my report. Are you coming?”

“No, go ahead. I’m just going to stay here until you finish. I, um, I need a few moments.” I gulp and snap my eyes shut, remembering the searing pain as the bony, shadowy fingers circled my throat.

“Hey, are you okay?” Noah comes closer. His fingers wrap around my shoulders.

I open my eyes and stare at his perfect face. Why does he have to be so stunningly beautiful? With his sparkling eyes, bedroom hair, and perfectly contoured pouty lips, he looks like he just stepped off a runway. It isn’t fair at all.

He’s not Kaiden, though, the nagging voice in my brain pipes out.

Shut up!

“Iris?” he asks again, and I shake my head to clear my mind.

“Yeah, I’m fine…go, I’ll wait for you here until you finish.”

“Are you sure?” A glint of worry shines in his eyes.

“One hundred, I just, I can’t believe I survived this,” I mumble.

“Yeah, it’s weird you managed to escape. If the forest looks this bad, I can’t even imagine how you looked…and you don’t even have a scratch on you.” He narrows his eyes, looking me up and down as if he’s trying to figure out whether I’m lying or not.

Great, me and my big mouth.

Why did I have to say that out loud? It’s like painting a huge red sign on my forehead that says liar in capital letters. Coming here with Noah was definitely not a smart move, but what could I have done instead? Refusing to show him the spot would have looked even more suspicious.

“I told you, Sam is an amazing witch. She brought me back to life,” I shoot back, my stomach a ball of restless energy.

Ugh. I hate lying.

“But she’s only a light witch, right?” His eyes narrow even further with his question.

“Yeah, she draws her power from earth-bound elements only,” I answer firmly, hoping my tone is sure enough to stop his string of questions.

“Hmm. Then she must be the most powerful light witch on Earth,” Noah’s voice hardens.

Maybe he believed me before, but seeing the destruction left behind, he’s starting to doubt my story. Noah is too smart. I suddenly feel like I’m being put in the hot seat, and he’s interrogating me.

My throat bobs as I swallow. “Sam comes from a very powerful coven; her ancestors are known worldwide for their healing potions. Are you going to go take those pictures? I don’t want to stay here more than necessary.” I can’t stand the pressure of having to lie any longer. I don’t like it. At all. At least I didn’t lie about Sam’s ancestors or coven, but he’s right; even if light magic is the only one able to heal, there’s no way it could have cured me. Not completely anyway.

Noah sighs, clearly unhappy with my answer, but he lets go of my shoulders, dropping the interrogation. “Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Wait right here,” he says as he puts more and more distance between us.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I shout at his back and expel a deep breath, relieved.

I don’t know what I expected from coming here. I don’t even want to think what Grayson will do when he sees the pictures and the videos. He’s definitely suspicious about my report. Maybe Noah will only send those to the Kabal and not show them to Grayson.

“I wish my life wasn’t so complicated,” I groan loudly, looking at the sky.

“At least you’re still alive, buttercup,” a chirpy voice says from beside me all of a sudden. I screech because there are no people in this area. The voice comes from the strangely dressed guy who was sitting on the tree branch earlier. He popped out of thin air exactly like Kaiden, right next to me. I didn’t even know demons could do that until Kaiden. I only thought archangels and seraphim could appear and disappear at whim. But I had never met an Elite demon before, either. However, this guy can’t be a demon because my onyx stone didn’t alert me of his presence. Maybe the strong demon activity left over from the umbra is messing with it.

I immediately take a few steps back. “What the fuck are you? And why are you half-naked and wearing sequined pants in the middle of the day?” I ask menacingly as I take the whip out of its holster and uncoil it in a swift, experienced motion.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be fun anymore, now would it?” he answers calmly, with a bored expression painting his face as he looks at his fingernails and rubs them on his naked chest. Then he snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Now focus, buttercup, ‘cause I’ve been waiting for a long time for someone to finally see me. I need your help. My friend is in danger.”

“What friend? What are you talking about?”

His mouth slants, and deep concentration draws his eyebrows together as he presses his fingers into his temples. “Fuck. It’s getting harder and harder to remember. I forgot her name. You need to help her. She’s my friend. They’re watching her, and she’s —”

Suddenly, his form starts flickering like a bad lightbulb, cutting off his sentence. When it finally settles, his demeanor does a one eighty, his face serene as if I’m talking to a different person entirely. The change is so abrupt it gives me whiplash. “Now tell me, where is that gorgeous specimen of a man that saved you on Friday night?” he demands in a sing-song.

“Who? You were there when I was attacked?” I ask, bewildered.

He disappears again and reappears closer to me. “Oh, you know. The hunk with shoulder length midnight hair, tattoos all over, delicious man candy.” He winks at me and pops off. I search for him in a circle, and he appears right in front of me again, his face a hair’s breadth away from mine while floating a few inches above the ground.

Did Sam put acid in that hungover cure?

I throw out my leg in a powerful kick, but it goes straight through him, his body rippling like water where my leg was supposed to touch him.

“Ugh, so rude. You hellseekers have no manners,” he puffs and rolls his eyes at me.

“Wait, are you…a ghost?” I can’t believe I just asked that, but there’s no other explanation for what I’m seeing. No, I’m hallucinating…it can’t be. I can’t see ghosts. I mean, what the fuck? I’m just a hellseeker. Only seers, angels, and the fallen angels of the City of Ghosts are able to see spirits. I’m definitely not part of any of those categories. “You were talking about your friend before, the one that needs help?”

He tilts his head before his eyebrows knit. “Huh? What friend? I don’t know what you’re talking about. And wipe that frown off your pretty little face, buttercup; it’s going to leave some deep wrinkles,” he scolds me as he passes right through me, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind.

Gah, that felt weird.

“And yes…I’m a ghost…unfortunately. Good thing I got rid of that awful wig and mustache I was wearing before I died. Imagine me with a fake mustache for the rest of eternity,” he sighs dramatically.

I shudder and turn on my heel to face the mysterious half-naked ghost. Nothing could have prepared me for this. I mean, am I having some sort of a lucid dream? I pinch myself for good measure . Ouch . No, no such luck. There’s only one explanation; Sam and her fucking hangover cure.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I say, “Nope, I refuse to believe you’re real. I can’t possibly see ghosts; I’m just a hellseeker. This is all happening in my head.”

“This is real, all right.” He snaps his fingers, a smug look on his face. All of a sudden, his body is covered in gruesome wounds that look like a lion mauled him, or better yet, a draconic ravenger. His neck is so threadbare that I can see the pine trees through it. It barely supports his head. And the chest is nothing more than a mangled cavernous hole where his heart should have been. Compared to everything else, the tattered sequined pants don’t even faze me.

My eyes almost bulge out of my head. “What happened to you?” I ask as I bring my fingers to my O-shaped lips.

“Oh, you know, just your friendly neighborhood wolf shifter. I was having a very fun make-out session here in the forest with a gorgeous firefighter I had just picked up at a Halloween bonfire party near the lake. I always wanted to be Freddy Mercury; hence the fabulous pants.” He shrugs and yawns dramatically.

“Who are you speaking to?” Noah’s voice startles me. I was so absorbed by the ghost/freaky hallucination—I’m still not sure which one—that I didn’t even see or feel him approach.

“No one,” I reply quickly, trying to come up with an excuse for addressing the air. “I was singing this song I can’t get out of my head,” I mumble the first thing that comes to my mind while coiling and putting the whip back in its holster.

“How rude,” the ghost, who is now back to having no wounds on his body, says while hovering in front of a completely oblivious Noah.

“Tony. Enchanté!” The specter extends his hand toward Noah, but his fingers go right through his right arm. “You are not the broody dark-haired stud I wanted to see today, but you’re not too bad yourself, pretty boy. I’m more of a tortured soul and bad boy type of a man, but you could do just fine.” The ghost/hallucination apparently named Tony is now stroking Noah’s cheek, his fingers disappearing into the side of his face.

I scowl at Tony and clear my throat loudly. “Did you find where the burnt area ends?”

“Yeah…it extends pretty far from here. I also took photos and everything I needed for my report.”

“So, can we go now?” I’m having trouble concentrating on my conversation with Noah because Tony is now trying to lick his face.

What the hell?!

It’s official. I belong in the looney bin.

“Sure.” He frowns. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?” Noah asks, raising a questioning eyebrow at me and wiping at his face with his right hand as we start making our way back to the car.

“No, you’re perfect,” I answer while I try really hard not to stare at Tony again, who is twirling like a ballerina in front of us.

“Uh, damn straight you are, pretty boy!” Tony exclaims dramatically as he pops in front of Noah and bats his eyelashes at him.

Noah smiles widely at my remark. I realize my mistake and roll my eyes, trying to play it cool. “I mean, you don’t have anything on your face. I’m just hungry. I haven’t eaten at all since I woke up.” My stomach grumbles loudly as if suddenly awakened by my words. Why does it always do this in the presence of hot guys? Heat scorches the shells of my ears.

“Smooth.” Tony nods while laughing at my expense, now floating on my left side. Noah laughs too at my awkwardness as he takes my hand in his and starts tracing circles in my palm with his thumb. The heat of his skin radiates all the way up my arm.

“Do you want to grab something to eat?” Noah asks as he walks beside me on the path, not letting go of my hand. We look like a couple taking a stroll in the park, and I know I’m giving him mixed signals by letting him hold my hand, but I just don’t have the heart to let it go. He seems so happy that I didn’t pull away, and it also feels nice.

“Um, sure,” I respond.