Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(24)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I stood, taking Hev with me and walked to where we left our stuff.

“I can walk,” she said, turning her face to look at me. She seemed alert.

I set her down, keeping an arm around her waist. “We need to go.”

I grabbed up her dress and pulled it over her head and as she finished dressing, I pulled on my T-shirt. I gathered the towels, slinging them over my shoulder, and reached for Heven’s hand.

“I’m okay, Sam.”

“I’m taking you to get something hot for that throat.”

She stopped, seeming to just remember that our Mindbond enabled me to feel her pain. “Oh, Sam. How much of that did you feel?”

She wrapped her arms around me, to comfort me, but I didn’t want it. I deserved to feel this way—to carry this memory with me. Hopefully, it would make me more cautious in the future. And I was going to need that caution.

That demon was unlike anything I had faced.

That was saying something because, over the past few weeks, I had faced-off against a lot of evil and vile creatures. But this one was different. More powerful. I know most people would assume that because this demon had no shape, it was weak. How could it be strong when it wasn’t even capable of holding its own form? But it was just the opposite. Only a truly strong demon could attack—could take a life like that—and not hold its shape. It had to have taken effort to appear so unrecognizable. It had effectively made itself unidentifiable to me whenever I should come across it again.

And I would.

Of that I was absolutely certain.

There wasn’t one attribute that I could commit to memory about it. I had been so completely focused on getting Heven out of that water that I scarcely had time to look at it, let alone look for something that would make its identity known.

Well, there wasn’t a physical attribute.

Mentally—I think I would recognize it anywhere. It was dark. Darker than anything I had encountered.

“This isn’t your fault,” Heven said, pulling away to stare up at me.

I cut off the noise that rose in the back of my throat and cupped her face in my hands. “I’m glad you’re okay.” The truck was parked beneath a nearby tree. I was glad that this is where we came, to a spot on the lake that no one ever swam at because there wasn’t much of a shore to sit on. I helped Heven into the cab despite her protests and made sure the seat belt was strapped firmly around her. I wasn’t taking any more chances today.

I drove down the dirt road toward the area of the beach where everyone else swam, but just before we got there, movement caught my eye and I slammed on the brakes. My hand shot out and pressed Heven back to keep her from jerking forward. Yes, she was wearing a seatbelt, but it was a reflex that I didn’t bother to stop.

“What?” Heven gasped, but I was busy staring out the windshield.

There was a woman standing in the middle of road.

She was strapped from head to toe with weapons. Very old, deadly looking weapons. But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was that I recognized her.

“She doesn’t have an aura,” Heven murmured.

What could she possibly want and why was she here? I opened up the door and Heven slid across the seats to follow. “Stay in the truck,” I ordered before closing my door in her face.

I will not! she declared, opening the door and climbing out.

Mentally, I sighed. I got that she didn’t want to take orders from me, but you would think that, after almost drowning, she might be willing to let me handle this. Haven’t you been through enough today?

Who is that?

“What are you doing here?” I called.

“You know her?” Heven asked.

It’s the woman I got your bracelet from.

She looked down at her empty wrist. I was glad she hadn’t worn it today. The last time she almost drowned, she was wearing it and I had to search the sandy bottom of the lake for it.

“She can’t have it back,” Heven said.

The woman laughed. It was a strong laugh, the laugh of a warrior. Heven and I both turned to face her. “We meet again,” she said.

“What do you want?” I asked, suspicion welling inside me.

“I’m not an enemy.”

I didn’t respond. I simply stood and waited for her to tell me what she wanted.

“I’m here to offer my assistance.” As she spoke she walked closer.

I angled my body in front of Heven’s because I didn’t trust her. Just because I recognized her, didn’t mean that I knew her. Heven stepped out around me to stand beside me, rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. My lips twitched at her display of annoyance at being protected. She was strong. I couldn’t complain because, if she wasn’t, she would probably be dead.

I looked back at the woman. She had the hair of women on shampoo commercials, glossy and thick. It was a deep, rich shade of brown, so dark it was almost black. She had a heart shaped face with wide, high cheek bones, full, pink lips and wide gray eyes. Her skin was creamy and unblemished. What balanced out all that perfection was the way that she carried herself. She walked like a warrior, with self-confidence and awareness, with grace but purpose, ease but meaning. It made her more than beautiful. It made her interesting and arresting.

You bought my bracelet from her? Heven’s voice entered my mind.

Yeah.

“You have a Mindbond,” the woman said.

I stiffened, but Heven seemed curious and even a little drawn to her. “How did you know that?”

“Heven,” I warned, she shouldn’t draw attention to herself.

She isn’t here to hurt us. She told me.

How do you know? You can’t see her aura.

I just know.

Echoing Heven’s silent words she said, “I mean you no harm. As I said before, I’m here to offer my assistance.”

“Assistance for what?” I asked.

“I saw what happened earlier, with the demon.”

My eyes narrowed. What did she have to do with that demon? “So?”

“They are getting braver, tougher. Word is out that she has protection of a hellhound.”

“You know what he is?” Heven gasped.

My head was reeling because it was exactly what I had been thinking too—that demon was stronger than any of the others I had faced up until now.

She smiled, full lips drawing back to reveal perfectly straight white teeth. She turned to Heven to say, “I know everything.”

“Who the hell are you?” I asked. I should’ve known when she sold me that bracelet that she wasn’t just a sales lady.