Coven (17 page)

“What’s wrong?” I asked, fearing I would
long regret encouraging him to continue.

“Nothing,” he replied shortly.

“Obviously something is, because now you’ve
turned into some dang moody . . . girl.” It really was an
insult to girls everywhere, but I couldn’t think of anything
better.

“Why don’t you like me?” he asked, moving
straight to the point.

“Hmm. Let’s see. You have been a jerk since
we first met. You challenged me in front of everybody and when I
showed up to accept your challenge you proceeded to humiliate me by
throwing the fight. It’s not like you threw the welcome mat out for
me.”

“That’s exactly what I did.”

“What?” I was confused to which thing he was
referring to.

“I threw the welcome mat out for you.”

Seriously? Oh, this ought to be good.
“Please enlighten me then, because I missed it.”

“By challenging you to a fight, I basically
got every single person in this school to pay attention to you and
want to know who you are. By throwing the fight, I pretty much
raised you to celebrity status here at school—all at the expense of
my own reputation, I might add. How many friend request have you
gotten on Facebook since then?”

A lot. It had been a lot. My jaw was gaping
and I couldn’t seem to close it or find any words to say.

“What’s the matter, darlin’?” he drawled
out. “Cat got your tongue?”

I was pretty sure I looked like a fish
making that ever constant “O” shape with my mouth. “And what about
all the times you’ve spoken out against Seth?”

“What the hell are you talking about? I
never talk bad about Seth. He’s my bro.”

“You’re constantly trying to convince me not
to be with him.” Glancing out the window, I grew puzzled. “Wait!
Where the hell are you going? This isn’t the way to the
school!”

“You and I need to clear the air between us,
so I figured a field trip was in order.”

“Excuse me, but I have class. I can’t afford
to be pissing off all my teachers at the beginning of the year. You
may not care about school, but I do.”

Immediately his phone appeared in his hand
and he hit a number on speed dial. I heard a woman’s voice pick up
on the other end, but couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“Yes, this is Vance Mangum,” Jett said, his
voice matching the sound of my dad’s exactly. It was uncanny. “My
daughter, Kenna, has a doctor’s appointment after lunch and will be
late back to school.”

The woman on the other end responded and
Jett smiled. “Thank you so much!” he added in my dad’s voice,
glancing over at me as he slid his phone back into his pocket.
“There you go. It’s all taken care of.”

“You sounded exactly like my dad,” I said,
completely in awe.

He shrugged. “It’s one of my abilities. I
can mimic anyone I want.”

Unable to help myself, I smiled. “Show me
someone else.”

“Like who, little lady?” he said, as John
Wayne.

I couldn’t help laughing. “Do me,” I said
excitedly, and his eyes instantly grew heated and roved over me
before returning to the road.

“I’d do you in a heartbeat,” he replied,
sounding exactly like me and I blushed, hearing words that sounded
so sexy and seductive.

“I should’ve known you’d twist my words all
around. You’re the master of deception.”

Laughing, he winked at me. “I’ll take that
as a compliment.”

“You would. When did you know you could do
that?” I asked, silently kicking myself for keeping the
conversation rolling between us.

“What? The voice thing?”

I nodded.

He shrugged. “Maybe a couple years ago. It
was right after my powers manifested.”

“When did yours manifest?” I asked, curious,
knowing most witches came into their power around their sixteenth
birthday. That’s the way it had been for my mom, though my dad had
manifested at the age of five and I had at birth, something my
relatives had never heard of before.

“Same as everyone, when I turned sixteen,”
he answered.

“Hmmm.” I hesitated telling him my
story.

“Why?”

“No reason. I just know others who’ve
manifested at different ages.”

“Really? Like who?” He seemed genuinely
interested.

“My dad for one. He came into his powers
when he was five. My grandma cut herself badly with a knife while
she was washing dishes. My dad saw all the blood and covered her
hands and healed her.”

“So he’s a healer witch, too? That’s
amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone getting their
powers that early.”

“I did, too,” I added, deciding to just
spill the beans.

“You got them when you were five?” He
sounded surprised.

“No. I mean I manifested early. I had my
powers before I was born.”

He looked at me skeptically. “And how could
you possibly know that?”

“My dad and I—we have a mental connection—we
can communicate through thoughts, without speaking. While my mom
was pregnant with me, my dad could hear her thoughts, too. They
were channeling through me. When I was born, I burst into flames
while my dad was holding me. He says the smell of my blood caught
him off guard and I was protecting myself from him. I don’t
actually remember any of that.”

“Wow. That must’ve been strange to have a
magical infant.”

Sighing, I nodded. “Hence the reason I’ve
been raised basically alone out in the middle of an ancient forest.
And it’s also the reason I begged to move here. I wanted to meet
people and interact with kids my own age. So thanks for making that
transition real nice and easy for me.”

“Well, when you put it that way, I sound
like a complete dick,” he muttered.

“You are, so that’s okay,” I teased.

Jett turned onto a dirt road that lead who
knew where. For some reason, though, I didn’t feel
threatened—merely curious.

“Where you taking me?” I asked, admiring the
beautiful foliage as we drove. The trees, a mixture of leafy green
sycamores, elm, and red oak, indigenous to this area, were
absolutely gorgeous this time of year. I imagined it would look
fairly bleak during the winter, once all the trees had lost their
leaves.

“Out to a place where some of us like to go
party on occasion.”

“Are we having a party? I don’t drink. Well,
I don’t know if I don’t actually drink, or if I’ve just never had
the occasion to.” Might as well be honest.

“Oh, you and I are definitely going to
party; but we don’t need alcohol.”

“Do I need a Taser to protect myself from
you?” A girl could never be too prepared. I may not have an actual
Taser, but I had magic that could do far worse, if needed.

“You never need to protect yourself from
me.”

“Says the guy constantly antagonizing me in
one form or another—not to mention a secret desire to be a demon.
That, right there, is enough to give me pause.”

Visibly stiffening, his white-knuckled grip
was obvious on the steering wheel. “I’m going to have to remember
to shut Seth’s mouth for him.”

“Why? It’s not like I have no clue about
demons. Hello? Live with one, remember?”

He didn’t respond, but I could see the tic
in his jaw. I’d definitely hit a touchy subject.

“Can I ask why you want them to change you?
What about it appeals to you? I ask because my dad hates it with a
passion. He’d give anything to get rid of it.”

“My family comes from a line of demons. It’s
what I know. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be the only
different one?”

“I do. My dad’s a demon and my mom is a
witch turned demon, turned human. I am the only one like me in my
immediate family.”

“What about the rest of your family? Are any
of them demons?”

“No, none that are living anymore, anyway.
My dad’s family was primarily demonic, as far as we know. His dad
started his conversion and his grandparents finished it. Most of my
parents’ early relationship was spent trying to get away from those
people. They were evil, Jett. Evil to the core.”

“And is your dad that way?” he
countered.

“He’s not, but he’s the exception to the
rule. Did you know that some witches and warlocks get turned and
they can’t survive the change? They go crazy—like over the top
insane. They can’t tolerate the switch and they have to be put
down. It happened to my mom. If my dad hadn’t performed a demon
kiss on her and sucked her magic away, she would’ve never survived.
What’s so wonderful about demons that it’s worth risking all
that?”

“I see a completely different side. For as
far back as we have kept track, the majority of my family has been
demonic.” Pulling off the road into a clearing, he parked the car
and turned it off. “Their powers are much stronger than mine
. . . more enhanced, and they have the ability to
assimilate more.”

“Yeah, if they kill or steal the powers of
another witch. Is that really what you want to do? Prey on the
innocent?”

“No one is ever innocent,” Jett grumbled,
opening his door and signaling the end of this conversation. “Come
on.”

Reluctantly, I followed him from the
vehicle, crossing the meadow until we were standing in the middle
with the high natural grasses up to our knees. “Now what?” I asked,
wondering why he brought me out here.

“Now you’re going to kick my ass,” he
replied with a laugh.

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t have heard that
right.

Stepping closer, he lifted a strand of my
long dark hair, rubbing it lightly between his fingers. “You seem
to be hung up on the fact that I threw that fight, so here’s your
chance to get even with me. Show me what you got.”

I sighed heavily. “What if I’m not in the
mood to fight you anymore?”

“That’s okay, too. I can think of several
things I’d rather do besides fighting.” Before his words could even
register, he closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to
mine.

Chapter Fifteen

“What the hell?” I asked, pressing my hands
against his chest and shoving him backward. “If I’d known you were
just bringing me out here to molest me, I would’ve thrown myself
out of the car!” Turning, I walked away in a huff, trying
desperately to ignore the fact that my lips were tingling where his
had touched mine—tingling in a really good way—in a way they
shouldn’t be tingling.

“Kenna, don’t be like this.” Coming up
behind me, he slipped his hand over my shoulders and turned me back
to face him. “I like you. What else do I need to do to prove
it?”

I gave a half-laugh. “Is there no sense of
loyalty in your body whatsoever? I’m dating the guy you claim is
your best friend on the planet. Your ‘bro’. Do you really want to
stab him in the back this way? He trusted my care to you and this
is how you repay him?”

“He trusted me with you because he already
knows I feel the same way about you. He knows I’d never let
anything happen to you.”

“You
are
what is happening to me,
though. You
are
the danger. I don’t think he realizes that.
I can’t imagine he’d agree to you giving me a ride if he knew you
were going to kidnap me and try to seduce me in the
wilderness!”

Jett laughed. “So dramatic. I like it.”

“Stop it.”

“Come on. Admit it. You like me.”

“I like
him
,” I stressed.

Amusement still etched on his face, he
continued to goad me. “Liar, liar, pants on fire,” he chanted, eyes
drifting wantonly over me. “You know it’s true. Just admit it.”

Glaring at him, I centered my attention on
the bottom of his jeans and set them on fire. “Now whose pants are
on fire?” I asked, feeling a bit of wicked glee shoot through
me.

“Shit!” he hollered, quickly bending to slap
out the flames on his pants before they could do any real damage.
Straightening, he glared. “What the hell was that for?”

“You aren’t listening to me, so I had to do
something to get your attention.”

“I
am
listening to you. I just want
you to admit the truth. Is that too much to ask?” He sounded
frustrated.

“Do you realize how nice he’s been to me?”
Ignoring his comment, I continued to spout Seth’s accolades. “From
the first moment he saw me, he bent over backward to help me out
and tried to introduce me to new people.”

“I’ve done the same.” Jett held my gaze and
I could see the sincerity in his eyes. It boggled my mind that he
actually believed what he was saying.

“Whether or not that comment is accurate,
it’s beside the point.”

“Which is what?”

“Which is the fact that Seth and I already
had a camaraderie going before you even met me. He was first. And
because of that, he deserves my loyalty.”

“Oh, so you have no problem being attracted
to me? You simply believe because fate introduced the two of you
first, that you belong with him. Do you have any idea how stupid
that sounds?”

It did sound kind of stupid when he said it
that way. “I never said I was attracted to you.”

“Then give me five minutes.”

“Five minutes for what?”

“Five minutes to prove what is happening
between us.”

“Again, there is no ‘us,’ remember?”

He stepped toward me and I felt my heart
rate pick up. I was totally hovering between fight or flight
mode.

“Kenna,” he said, his voice low and calming
as he moved, eyes never leaving mine. “All I’m asking for is five
minutes of your time. Five minutes. That’s it. If you still feel
the same way afterward, I’ll walk away and never bother you
again.”

Sighing, I considered his words carefully,
the appeal of him disappearing for good being almost too much for
me to handle. “Fine—five minutes, and not a second longer. Set a
timer or something.”

Something changed in his eyes and in the way
he looked at me that made me a little scared. It was like he knew
what I looked like without my clothes on. Of course, after Seth had
described his particular power earlier, I realized he probably
did.