Page 32

32

The Presence

JEDIDIAH

W hy don’t you stop obsessing over me?

I don’t need you.

Her words played over and over in my mind, torturing me. Yeah, maybe I was beating a dead horse when it came to her. All she ever did was push me away.

But I was the fool everyone sang about rushing in. I wouldn’t give up on her. Even if she’d given up on herself.

For now, though, I needed to let off some steam.

This beach house was losing its relevance. Especially now that the power had gone out. I’d tried fucking with the fuse but nothing worked. All the houses lining the beach had gone dark, so obviously the grid was down.

I’d lost my fucking portal globe jumping off the Sun & Moon, and now being this far outside of the city was nothing but a hindrance. I wouldn’t be back here after tonight, so I made sure to collect all my important things. Luckily, they could all fit in the inside pockets of my leather jacket. A few daggers, a pistol with wooden bullets—I even had a fucking grenade. My magic would always be my greatest weapon, but you never knew when you’d need to stab a heart or blow something up.

I stood in the mirror, staring at myself in the candlelight. Tonight, I’d be visiting the bowels of the city where the vermin played. I’d come to learn all their favorite spots. Dive bars and speakeasys, the odd degenerate nightclub. Anywhere with dark lighting, alcohol, and a seedy crowd.

It was perfect for me. My glamour never threw anyone off in settings like that.

I stared into my own eyes as I willed my face to change. The skull face that Nyx had painted on me emerged over my skin. I’d saved it in my mind, using it each time I hunted. Gradually, the gray and black lines and shading took their place, and I became Death.

I would go on being a ghost.

All I needed now was one last thing. I opened the top drawer of the dresser, rooted underneath all the lingerie until my fingers brushed cold steel. I pulled out the blade, my heart instantly connecting with its dark power. The thing was old and ominous, the curved blade made of bone and nearly a foot long, with a faded steel handle covered in carved runes. I’d found it in the vampire’s leather jacket, tucked inside the literal lining, sewn shut to be hidden. I’d known right away that it was a dark object. It took forever to figure out what its power was. Since I didn’t have access to any grimoires right now, I had to resort to the internet. The dark web, to be precise. There, I found the translation for the runes.

It was a soul-trapping blade.

Whoever was stabbed with this wouldn’t just die. Their soul would be trapped in their own personal hell loop with no hope of escape.

For this thing to land in my hands—it was divine. I knew exactly what to do with this. Perhaps Nyx’s Goddess was real after all.

I tucked the weapon into my jacket, then I left behind the bedroom where I’d cracked myself open and poured myself dry in front of the girl I loved.

“Fuck this place,” I muttered.

I thought about lighting it on fire before I left. Then I had a little chuckle thinking about the reactions of the mortals when they returned from New Zealand and found their basement full of dead vampires.

I decided to leave it. No point in drawing any attention to this place right now.

I went into the garage and flicked on the lights. The classic car sat pretty, waiting for me. I’d been into cars and bikes a bit as a teenager before I Emerged and had my portal globe made. I used to rip around on whatever I could get my hands on. Motorbikes, muscle cars—anything fast and loud. I hadn’t driven anything since I started at Veneficus, though, and I found myself giddy as I admired the well loved beauty before me.

Classic Monte Carlo, shiny red like Nyx’s lips.

Fucking hell . There was no escaping the reminders of her, was there?

The garage was huge and clean. I rounded the car, taking in all the immaculate detail. I grinned when I found a motorbike by the wall, all wrapped like a present just for me. I slid the cover off and whistled with approval. Between this and the car, I couldn’t decide which one to take.

The bike would be faster and more convenient to get into the city. But…for hunting, I would need the car.

The bloody thing was unlocked . I scoffed aloud, shaking my head. I hopped inside and fished around, finding the keys waiting for me under the driver’s side mirror. “Bold,” I muttered to myself.

The Monte Carlo purred to life, rumbling deliciously while it warmed up. I revved the engine a few times. I chuckled, admiring the glossy interior. Yes, this would do just fine.

I reached into my jacket and pulled out the small, clear vile. Opened the top and dumped a small amount of the whitish pink powder onto the top of my hand. Leaned down and snorted it.

A burning rush scorched my brain, spiked my blood, and heightened my senses. I sniffed a couple of times and rubbed the remaining amount onto my gums.

Time to hunt some fucking demons .

I peeled backward, the garage door opening like a giant mouth. I wouldn’t exactly miss this place, but there was a sullenness in my chest as I pulled out onto the street. Considering some things that happened inside. I took one last glance at the place, remembering.

Suddenly a shadow fell from the sky and landed on the roof.

My stomach dropped. “What the fuck?”

The tall, imposing figure moved against the night. The frame of those unmistakable wings made my blood turn to ice. He hopped down out of sight before my brain even processed what was happening.

I reefed the stick shift and put the car in park on instinct, hardly shutting off the engine before launching out and running to the back of the house.

He should have been on the deck, but it was empty. My heavy boots crunched over the smashed glass that was once the sliding back door.

So, he’d come to finish this, then.

Fucking perfect.

My pulse roared in my ears as I found him standing in the middle of the great room, his back to me so all I could see were his wings. I growled low in my throat, curling my fingers inward so the ground shook to announce my presence.

He whirled around to face me, and the sky fell on my head.

The frail, curled-up creature in his arms could not be—

My mouth hung open, but no words came out. My eyes darted from him to her, trying to piece things together.

The silence that passed between us held the same density as the final seconds before a bomb went off. The bomb was me.

“WHAT DID YOU DO.” I rushed him, seeing fucking red.

He whirled away from me with supernatural speed. Unlatched one of his arms from around my girl and used it to swipe all the contents off of the kitchen island. Shit went flying and crashing to the ground. He placed her limp body onto the surface and unraveled the dark cloak from around her.

“Heal her. Now.”

All my senses crashed, my mind warping into a TV on loud static. I hardly felt my own body as I shot forward and went to stand over her, taking it in.

Words evaded me.

Solaris breathed hard. “She was shot. Seven times. I removed the bullets and applied a healing salve. I realized too late that the bullets were coated in dark ichor.”

“ What ? Who the fuck shot her?”

“The details are not important right now! Heal her!”

“Get the fuck away from us!” I roared, shoving him back. Turning back down to face Nyx, I forced myself to get it together and focus. Explosive instincts to fight Solaris made it nearly impossible. The ground shook, rattling the walls.

I waved my hand sharply, casting every single candle in the house alight.

He lingered over my shoulder while I took in the severity of her condition. Seven gnarly holes in her beautiful skin, the wounds an angry blackish-red. Demonically infected and worsening by the minute.

“Fuck sakes.” The words slid between my lips with quiet venom. I brought my hands up over her body, palms flat and facing down.

The ground fell still.

My chest still heaved, my vision lined with red. I couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not. Her naked chest lay still and silent. Her face was pale and expressionless, those big black eyes closed. “Nyx. It’s me. I’m gonna fix you up, baby. You hear me? It’s okay.”

Letting my eyes fall closed, I found the will to slow down and tap into that quiet, benevolent thread that existed inside my chest. A power I’d hardly ever reached for and wasn’t even sure if I could. Not everyone possessed healing abilities. Mostly earth and water elementals, but I hadn’t felt like an earthling in a while. The dominant element raging through my veins was now fire, and fire wasn’t known for healing. Fire was destruction—divine or otherwise.

But I could feel it—deep down, hidden under the rubble of my soul. A muted thrum. Faint, but there.

I brought that tiny pulse up my chest and through my veins until I could feel it in my arms. Exhaling, the warm tingle spread, finding its way to my palms. With another sharp inhale, the power grew, the inside of my mind shining with a light green hue.

When I opened my eyes, that pale green glow was emitting from my hands. It shone over her small torn-up body, weaving slowly around her wounds. Solaris breathed behind me with a heavy chest. Useless fucking prick.

The green weaves of light whirled and kissed her flesh, chasing some of the blackness away.

But the infection…it was too severe.

I could feel it in the pit of my gut.

“Solaris.” His name escaped begrudgingly through my clenched teeth. “This isn’t enough.”

“It has to be,” he hissed, his tone like nails down a fucking chalkboard.

“Who did this to her.”

“A mortal. He is dead, of course. She killed him.”

The fucker who did this was dead already? Fuck my fucking life. I would have no one to destroy for this. That only made shit ten times worse.

“Tell me about it,” Solaris muttered, apparently reading my thoughts like a creep.

“A mortal ?” I snapped. That made no sense. “What mortal would have dark ichor?”

“An Enlightened one. Now focus!” he snapped. “Your distraction is interfering with your magic.”

I growled in frustration. He was right. Shutting my eyes, I blocked everything out. Zeroed in my focus on nothing but the girl on the table. I had to start over. I used my breath to gather the magic inside me, forming a ball of light in my chest. From there, I cleared my mind completely and gripped the etheric reins to harbor full control. Then I let it spread. An ice-hot thrill rushed through my veins, writhing until the force found its way to my palms.

“That’s it,” he urged.

“Fucking shut up.”

Solaris reached out to brush a lock of hair from her face. The sleeves of his cloak slipped back, revealing the gnarly manacles, which were now—

Cracked.

My heart stuttered, along with my focus.

I gasped, mortified. I was losing my grip on the tiny thread of healing magic. I gritted my teeth and tried with all my might to keep it in my etheric grasp, but it was sand through my fingers. When I opened my eyes, her wounds were slightly better, but nowhere close to healed. “No! Come on!” The light from my palms waned.

“No!” Solaris echoed me.

Nyx coughed up blood. Her eyes didn’t open.

The green light burned out completely.

“NO!” our voices boomed together.

Then, silence.

She looked so tiny like this. Frail. Mortally wounded with two useless pieces of shit gawking at her desperately.

“Her coven,” Solaris suggested, voice breathy. “Get some Luna Academy girls over here now. Gods, what’s up with your face?”

I deigned to flash him a dark glare. “I’m dead, fucker. Remember? I can’t just go calling up the Luna girls.”

“You’ll do it for her.”

“What the fuck happened to your manacles?”

His face revealed nothing. Until he looked back down at her, and then his features twisted with pain.

Instinctively, I grabbed the cloak and tucked it over her naked body, hiding it from his undeserving eyes.

He scoffed under his breath. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

My arm slung back and snapped forward so my fist cracked him in the fucking face. His head jerked to the side, he stumbled a bit. But he took the hit, not giving me a charged reaction.

“We can fight to the death after she’s healed, Groundshaker,” he promised.

I bared my teeth. “Yeah. We will.”

His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on my own. He regarded me severely before making a sound of disgust. “No wonder you’re useless. You’re flying.”

“Oh, I’m useless?” I snapped a harsh laugh. “That’s rich, buddy. You’re the one in handcuffs with not a drop of fucking magic to spare.”

“And you’re high on drugs, unable to access basic healing magic long enough to—” He cut off, which was perfect since I didn’t give a shit about anything he had to say, but then I felt it.

The presence.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, the aroma of smoke tickling the inside of my nose.

A burning set of fathomless blue eyes watched us from outside the window.

And then a vision emerged in my mind’s eye like a body rising to the surface of dark water. It was vague at first but became clearer after a few seconds. The vision was of me . Grabbing a knife and slicing it through my palm, then offering the bleeding wound to Nyx. To feed her my blood…

The vision vanished.

There was nothing outside the window except darkness.

I turned to glare at Solaris accusingly as if this were some trick. But the raw, incredulous expression on his face humbled me. He had no magic. He couldn’t have done that.

He held my gaze for a moment. “Do it.”

“You saw it, too?”

“Do it, Jedidiah.”

If Nyx didn’t look like the epitome of death, I would have fought this. Who was I to trust a mysterious vision in my head? But the girl laying before me was clinging to life by a thread, and fuck if I wouldn’t rip my own heart out to stop the light leaving her completely.

I grabbed a knife from the drawer and slit a deep line over my palm. I winced at the sting, blood instantly dripping from my skin. My heart thrashed like crazy. I knew this was mad, but I put my bleeding palm over her dry mouth.

At first, nothing happened.

Heavy seconds tolled by, both Solaris and I breathing hard.

Then her teeth sank into me with a sharpness that made me hiss.

My knees gave out. I sank into her, all my weight and tension going up in smoke. Nothing mattered anymore. This was heaven, paradise. Heat tingled all over as my blood rushed into her sweet, sweet mouth.

It was fucking euphoric .

A groan rumbled from deep in my chest, my eyes rolling back. She drank and drank, until my mind teetered on the edge of consciousness.

I would give her everything. I would bleed out right here and die a content, satiated man who was blessed to spend his last moments worshipping at the altar of a goddess.

“Jedidiah,” a wistful voice coaxed. For once, the sound of it did not make me want to commit murder. “Look.”

I opened my eyes. Fireworks exploded in my soul.

Her wounds…they were healing . Closing, shrinking, fading.

Her heart was beating loud enough that I could hear it. Her tattoos were literally glowing.

And then her eyes shot open, triggering an arcane boom that made the power come back on.

Bright, reptilian eyes met mine, sending my pulse further into overdrive. Her hand flew up to grip my arm and press my palm harder against fanged teeth. The flesh of her hands had turned black, claws scraping against my skin as she drank from me.

Her lips remained on my skin, though she no longer drank.

“Nyx.” I whispered her name, my eyes flashing with disbelief, seeing her as if for the first time.

Her bright eyes danced between me and the winged creature at my side. She took in the way we both hovered over her, shattered and terrified and desperate to see her healed. Emotion lined her new eyes with silver, a grin tugging the edge of her blood-stained lips, revealing her fangs in full glory.

She…she was…

“Drakiana.” Solaris breathed the word like a prayer.

As her fathomless gaze glided back and forth between us, something burning and nameless ignited in my soul. It collapsed my entire world. Rearranged it in ways I never thought possible.

“How do you feel?” Solaris asked her. I stole a glance at him, curious. Fear changed him. Somehow, he wasn’t as sharp. His eyes, the lines in his cheeks, they’d softened under the threat of losing her. I’d never seen him look so…human.

“Better,” she whispered. “You should see your faces.” Then she laughed a delirious laugh. Her madness was contagious, seeping deep into my bones as the dragon in her waned.