White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)(27)
Author: J. Lynn

“Layla,” Abbot called out, and I stopped at the door. “Just one last thing.”

My stomach tumbled. “Okay.”

Abbot smiled tightly. “Where did you get the clothes you’re wearing?”

* * *

Hours later, my stomach still churned. Between the sickness that brewed after tasting a soul and the fact that I knew I was so busted, I didn’t venture far from the bathroom.

The clothing—holy crap—how could I have forgotten that? How could Roth not have caught that? The too-big sweatpants and the shirt with some ’80s hair band emblazed across the front were so obviously not mine.

And what had I told Abbot? That they were old gym clothes I had in my backpack? What kind of lame-o lie was that? Why would I have men’s clothing in my book bag, and why would I’ve changed into the clothes, but left my bag in the tree house?

I wanted to smack myself.

Hopefully, Abbot chalked it up to me being traumatized, but I doubted it. He wasn’t stupid. The way he’d smiled and the knowing gleam in his eyes told me he knew better. So why didn’t he call me out? Waiting for him to do so was worse.

Ten minutes later, I was gripping the sides of the toilet and emptying out what Jasmine had managed to get me to eat after checking me over. “Jesus,” I gasped as another cramp rolled through me. Dry heaves racked my body until my eyes watered.

Then the soul came up.

Slicing its way up my throat, it dug in with tiny hooks, refusing to let go. My stomach clenched, doubling me over. Finally, white smoke expelled from my mouth. As the last of Petr’s soul left my body, I shuddered, collapsing against the bathroom wall.

Petr’s soul floated in the air above me, a sad and twisted thing. Like a dark cloud before a violent storm, it swirled and churned. I could see neatly stacked yellow towels behind it, the little baskets I kept my makeup in. The soul’s mere presence tainted the walls.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered hoarsely, pulling my knees to my chest. As much as I hated Petr, I didn’t want this for him. What he had turned into after I’d taken his soul was something straight out of nightmares, and without his soul there was no chance for him to ever find peace in Heaven. Humans turned into wraiths. I had no idea what happened to Wardens who died without their souls.

Soaked with sweat, I flushed the toilet and stood on weak legs. Leaning over, I turned on the shower. Steam filled the bathroom, breaking the black mass up. It evaporated in the hot mist, like it had never been there. I stripped off my clothes and took my second shower of the day. Glancing down, I stared at the ring on my finger. Part of me still wanted to get rid of the thing—throw it away or hide it.

With wet fingers, I tried to slide the ring off. It wouldn’t budge. Wiggling it didn’t work, either. Holding it in the steady stream did nothing. Nothing I did would get the ring off my finger. It was strange, because it wasn’t like it was too tight. I could move it around, but just couldn’t get it off.

Great. I’d probably somehow set the incantation into motion by putting the damn ring on, and now my finger would have to be chopped off.

I stayed in the shower until my skin wrinkled, but the taint still lingered.

The chills would be next.

I’d just finished pulling on my pajamas when there was a knock on my bedroom door. Tugging my wet hair out from underneath my shirt, I sat on my bed. “Come in.”

Zayne stepped in, a blur of white at first. When his essence faded, I saw the strands of blond hair shielding his face as he shut the door behind him. A light blue sweater stretched over his chest, nearly matching the color of his eyes.

When he looked up and saw me, he stilled. “You look like crap.”

I laughed, the sound of it raspy. “Thanks.”

“Here’s your phone. It works fine and I…I cleaned it up,” he said, placing it on the nightstand. He sat beside me on the bed. I shied away, putting some distance between us. He caught my movement, his shoulders stiffening.

“Layla,” he pleaded.

“I’m just tired after everything.” I busied myself with getting my legs under the blanket. “Maybe I’m getting the flu or—”

Zayne grabbed my hand. “Layla, you didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t.”

I pulled my hand free. “No! No. I’m just coming down with something and I’m tired. It’s been a long night and day.”

He pressed forward, trapping me between his body and the headboard. “You need to tell me if you did, Layla. If you took someone’s soul last night, even Petr’s, I need to know.”

“No,” I whispered, curling my fingers into the blanket.

His eyes searched mine intently and then he lowered his head. A soft sigh escaped his tightly pressed lips. “You’d tell me the truth, wouldn’t you?”

I shivered. “Yes.”

Zayne lifted his head, his steady gaze meeting mine once more. “And you trust me? You know I’d never turn you over to the Alphas, that I’d never do that to you. So please don’t lie to me now. Please promise me you’re not lying to me.”

“I promise.” The lie felt sour in my mouth. I looked away, unable to hold his gaze. I recognized that there was a good chance that Zayne knew, just like he knew when I’d done it before.

He let out a breath as he stared at his hand, fisted around the comforter. “Do you need anything?”

Shaking my head, I shifted down on my back and shivered. “I’ll be okay.”

Zayne fell silent for several minutes. When he spoke I could feel his eyes on me. “I talked to Jasmine.”

I cringed.

He swallowed. “She said you were pretty bruised up.”

Jasmine had gasped and murmured something unintelligible after she’d helped me strip out of my clothes and seen the smorgasbord of bruises.

“She told me the claw marks shouldn’t scar, though.” His voice carried a tide of anger. “I’m glad Petr is dead. I just wish I had been the one to kill him.”

I looked at him sharply. “You don’t really mean that.”

“Yes. I do.” His eyes flared a startling teal color. “The only thing I wish more is that you never had to experience what you did.”

Having no idea what the appropriate response to that was, I sat back and said nothing while wanting to say everything.

Silence stretched out and then he said, “I’m sorry about Saturday morning.”

“Zayne, you don’t—”

“No, let me finish. It was a terrible move on my part. I could’ve called you—I should’ve answered the phone when you called yesterday—and it wasn’t my place to suggest you stop tagging.”

“I’m not tagging anymore.” The possessed human pretty much sealed that deal.

“That doesn’t matter. I know how much tagging meant to you.”

I rolled onto my side, nudging him with my covered elbow. “Yeah, but I was being a total bitch. You were just worried I’d get myself killed or something.”

Zayne ran a hand through his hair, clasping the back of his neck. Muscles flexed and rolled under his shirt. Then he reached down, brushing strands of damp hair off my cheek. “You sure you don’t need anything? Juice or some fruit?”

“No.” It was too late for that. I snuggled down, chilled to my very bones. I couldn’t remember how long it had lasted the time before. Two days? More? I squeezed my eyes shut, praying it would only be a day or so. I wanted to talk to him about Hell and Lilith, but I couldn’t figure out a way to do so that wouldn’t be tantamount to throwing myself in front of a loaded bus.

“Do…do you have to leave?” I asked, even though I couldn’t tell him a thing.

He smiled for the first time since he’d walked into the room. “Scoot over.”

I wiggled around, giving him room. Zayne kept enough space between us, but I pulled the edge of the covers up, hiding my mouth. He gave me his lopsided grin and I recalled what Roth had said. That Zayne liked me. For a second, I didn’t feel like I was burning and freezing all at once. “So what did the Alphas want?”

Zayne stretched on his side, propping his head up with his arm. “Apparently there’s been an increase in Upper Level demon movement in D.C. and the surrounding cities.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, scrunching up his face. “More than the Alphas have seen in centuries.”

I stopped fidgeting with the blankets. I may have stopped breathing for a few seconds.

“It’s nothing for you to really worry about,” he reassured me quickly, misjudging my reaction. “They’re our problem, one we will take care of.”

“But…why would they be coming topside? Why so many?” A different kind of coldness seeped through my veins.

Zayne rolled onto his side, facing me. “The Alphas think they’re planning something. Possibly another rebellion, but no one is sure. All of us are to be on the lookout for them. Like my father had ordered after the possessed human attacked you and Morris, we’ve been ordered to question them first before we send them back to Hell.”

My throat dried. What if they caught Roth? I pulled my hand out from under the blanket, running it over my forehead. Dampness clung to my skin. Abbot had told me about the last rebellion when I was a little kid. It occurred during the Spanish Influenza. No one really knew how many people had died from the flu or from demonic possession. Was this what some of the demons wanted? For the Lilin to be reborn and another rebellion to occur?

“Hey,” Zayne said, inching closer. “It’s okay. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Huh?”

“You’re so pale, Layla.” He reached over, pulling the blankets around my shoulders.

“Oh. I told you I’m tired.” I rolled onto my back, stretching out the sudden cramping in my legs.

“Maybe you should stay home from school tomorrow,” he suggested.

Sounded like a plan. “Maybe.”

He didn’t respond for a while. “Layla?”

I turned my head, meeting his steady gaze. I tried to smile, but it came off more like a grimace. “Yeppers?”

“I know this is more than you being tired or what Petr did.”

The air fled my lungs.

Leaning on his elbow, he placed his hand on my cheek. “I know that what you probably did was done because you were defending yourself. Or maybe it was afterward because of what Petr did. And I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it is for you, but I know you’re stronger than this. And I know you don’t want to live like this. You’re not a demon, Layla. You’re a Warden. You’re better than this.”

I felt my lower lip begin to tremble. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. My voice came out broken and small. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just wanted him to stop and—”

“Shh…” Zayne closed his eyes and a muscle popped in his jaw. “I know. It’s okay.”

Tears burned my eyes. “I won’t do it again. I promise. I’m just so sorry.”

Zayne pressed his lips against my forehead. “I know.” He pulled away, turning off the bedside lamp and settling back now. “Get some rest. I’ll stay here until I have to leave.”

I curled onto my side again, reaching for his hand blindly. He took it, threading his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry,” I whispered again. Sorry for yelling at him, sorry for taking Petr’s soul and, most of all, sorry for all the lies.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I stayed home Tuesday, spending most of the day in bed. By the time school started on Wednesday, the worst of the bruises on my face had faded and the hardest part of the sickness had passed.

Stacey was waiting for me at my locker. Her mouth dropped open when she saw me. “Okay. I know you said you were in a car accident on Friday, but you look like you need to see a doctor.”

Apparently I still looked like crap.

I kicked my locker door shut and followed her into bio. Roth was a no-show, and by the time lunch rolled around, he was still MIA. Between feeling like I was crawling out of my skin and wondering where Roth was, all I wanted to do was go back to hiding in my bed. The Wardens had been given orders to hunt down the Upper Level demons invading the city. Had they caught Roth? My breath stalled out every time I considered that.

I reasoned that my concern was only rooted in the fact that he was the only one who knew that Hell was after me and why. I needed Roth alive and whole. That was the only reason why I was concerned. Yeah. Right.

At lunch, Stacey’s thoughts mirrored my own. “I wonder where Roth has been. He hasn’t been to school since Friday, either.”

I said nothing.

“At first, I thought that maybe you caved to the wild lust between you two and ran off with him and eloped.”

I almost choked on my half-frozen pizza. “You are insane.”

Stacey shrugged. “What? You can’t tell me that if you were alone with him you wouldn’t jump his bones.”