Secret Worlds (289 page)

He wrinkled his nose. “Kids kill themselves all over the country all the time. How do you plan on finding the next person?”

I shrugged. “Maybe my article will help reach those who need to know they do have a way out. That they aren’t doomed.”

James’s words rang in the back of my head and tickled at my thoughts. Hadn’t there been a daimon of doom? My power wasn’t the only thing to become rusty while away from my family. I’m have to check my books again when I had a chance.

“So now you plan on writing an inspirational piece?” He sneered. “What happened to reporting the truth?”

Like anyone knew what that was anymore. “It can be both. We don’t need to report all horror without giving a little hope.”

I snorted. Another insidious evil that was released from the Pandora’s jar, maybe the most of all. Hope pushed man past his limits. It allowed him to toil and suffer with some misguided belief that things would get better. But, because of hope, we endured this long.

“Anyway,” I said. “Did you talk to her ex-boyfriend?”

He smirked. “For all the good it did. He’s kind of a dick. I don’t think he even cares she’s dead.”

“What’s his name?”

Marty raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so interested in Tessa? She and James didn’t know each other.”

“I’m probably going to have to mention her death in my story,” I said. “I just wanted to know the facts.”

“Then give the story to me,” he said. “I can make a nice tie-in and everything.”

“If I did, how much would you bug me?” I asked. “I’m not really up for talking about what happened.”

“I’ll be gentle,” he said. “Only what you want to tell me.”

I studied him with narrowed eyes. “Somehow, I don’t believe you.”

He held his hand up with his palm in my direction. “God’s honest.”

“Tell me the name of Tessa’s ex and we have a deal.”

“Why are so interested?”

“Because you won’t tell me.” I kept my voice light and casual.

He shrugged and pulled out a tape recorder. “Fine. So, let’s get started. When did you notice what was happening?”

My heart thudded as Mercer’s face, so close to mine, flashed in my mind. “I heard screams and headed in that direction. James was on top of the roof. Everyone was just standing around and gaping at him.”

“So, you decided to do something?”

I nodded. “Mercer Chaplin, too. We headed upstairs.”

“Where was everyone else? The classes?”

I kept my face blank and shrugged. “I wasn’t really paying attention. My friend was in danger. I needed to get to him.”

“Wasn’t he your ex?”

I flinched as my stomach squeezed. “Yeah, but it didn’t matter at the time. He needed help.”

“So what happened on the roof?”

I stared past him at the clock ticking down the seconds on the wall, but not really seeing it, either. James stood in front of me on that ledge instead. Then he disappeared.

I cleared my throat and rubbed my eyes. “We were too far away and not fast enough.”

Marty raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? No epic speech?”

“He said something about not being worth anything.” I sighed. “If I had been quicker …”

Quicker at figuring things out, at least.

Marty shut off the tape recorder. “Well, it’s not great, but it gives me a reason to talk to Mercer. His name always brings in sales.”

Good luck with that, I thought. “Well?” I asked. “I think you’re forgetting something.” “Hmmm?” Marty raised an eyebrow.

“The name. You promised me the name of Tessa’s ex in exchange for the interview.”

“Oh, right.” He chuckled. “Marcus Baxter. He’s a business major.”

A chill ran up my spine. Sheridan had mentioned her attacker had been named Marcus. I didn’t know how many business majors there were named Marcus, but something told me this wasn’t a coincidence. I had found my daimon. I stood, said my thanks to Marty, and headed out the door. With a few hard punches, this could be all over tonight.

I knocked on Marcus’s dorm room and waited with my arms crossed and foot tapping. I felt kind of stupid trying to talk to the boy who attacked Sheridan alone in his room, but if he really was a daimon, I didn’t need witnesses. A boy with sandy blond hair walked toward me with a basket full of wadded up clothes and nodded. He stopped in front of the door and looked me up and down.

“Hey there,” he said.

“Are you Marcus?” I asked.

“Maybe.” He grinned. “For such a pretty girl, I might be.”

My temple twitched, and I gave a long sigh. “Can we talk somewhere private?”

“Sure, come on in.”

He turned the handle and pushed the door open with his butt as I slid past the plastic basket and stepped into the room. Clothes lay lettered across the floor, the two beds, and the small desk in the corner. He dropped the basket in the closet and slammed the door shut with his foot. I stood in the center of the room with my arms crossed, trying to ignore the way his gaze lingered on my breasts. I could see why he caught Sheridan’s attention. His t-shirt stretched across a good expanse of muscles, and his biceps flexed when he crossed his arms.

“So, you know my name, but I don’t know yours,” he said.

“Cassi.”

His white teeth flashed against his tanned skin when he smiled at me. “My reputation has to proceed me if you’re coming to my door.”

“That’s one way to say it,” I muttered. “I came here to ask about you ex-girlfriend, Tessa.”

His smile disappeared. “Again? I thought people were over that.”

“What?” I frowned. “It’s barely been a month.”

He sighed. “Look. You’re a reporter, right? Come sniffing around again? Like I told the nerd with the glasses. We were through before summer break started. If she was upset, it wasn’t over me.”

“Do you even care?” I glanced down at my wrist and felt nothing.

His lips twisted in a sneer. “It sucks she died, but I’m not losing sleep over it.”

I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at him. He may not be a daimon, but he was still an asshole. He stood there with that smirk on his face, and his eyes returned to my breasts. He’d barely looked me in the face during our whole conversation. My hands tightened into fists as the heat rose and settled in my chest and face.

“What about Sheridan?” I asked softly. “Are you losing any sleep over her?”

His eyes rose to meet mine and he scowled. “What?”

“I know what you did to her last night.”

“That bitch is lying. She better not be spreading any rumors.”

“Or what?” I took a step forward.

He glared down at me with his mouth working into a scowl. “So, you came here to throw your little accusations around?”

“I came to learn the truth.”

“What truth? The bitch is lying.”

“It’s funny how you say she’s lying and you don’t even know what she said.”

“Fuck you. You print one word saying I did something, I’ll take it out of your ass.” He stepped forward and poked his finger in my shoulder.

“Get your finger away from me.”

A sly look replaced his grimace. His hand moved up and gripped my shoulder. I grabbed his wrist and pressed my thumb into the tendon in between his two bones. He gave a surprised yelp as I twisted his arm and pulled him forward. I slammed my knee up into his face.

“I’m not Sheridan,” I said. “Did you think I’d be stupid enough to come here alone and not know how to defend myself?”

He straightened up as he backed away with his hand trying to hold back the red tide flowing from his nose. I raised my fists up in a defensive position and met his glare with a determined gaze.

“You bitch,” he said in a muffled voice.

He was quick on his feet and came at me with a low punch. I stepped to the side and sucked my stomach in so his hand flew by me. I grabbed his arm and jabbed my knuckles into the soft spot just under the inside of his elbow. His shoulder went limp, and his body fell forward, putting all his weight on his front foot. I jammed my heel into the back of his knee cap and brought him to the ground.

“You turned out not to be what I was looking for,” I said. “But how can I pass up the chance to teach you a lesson?”

He groaned. I leaned in close to meet his gaze.

“You need to rethink the way you treat women.”

The palm of Marcus’s hand jabbed into my abdomen and sent me staggering back a few steps. I wheezed and hacked as the blow sent my insides rumbling. Marcus got to his feet with a small grin on his face.

“You got the drop on me, but not again.”

I coughed and stood straight as the adrenaline coursed through my body. “You should quit before you get hurt.”

He came in for another punch aimed at my face. He should have tried something different. I stepped to the side, pushed his arm away with my right hand, and came in for a quick strike to his neck. The hard part of my palm connected to a spot on his throat.

His eyes widened, and he gave a gurgling choke before he collapsed on the ground and lay still. I leaned over him and placed two fingers on his neck. I hit hard enough to knock him out, but that same pressure point could cause death if struck harder.

His pulse beat against my fingertips, and I let out a sigh of relief. “You’re going to wake up feeling like shit, but you deserve it”

I stood and headed out the door.

That lead had dried up to nothing. Time was ticking away, and I had no idea who the daimon was or who he was possessing. My best bet was to figure out Mercer and decide if he could be an ally or not. Even at that thought, my Aunt’s voice echoed in my mind.

They were all enemies.

My fellow students milled around the auditorium and filled the room with a nervous buzz of conversation. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes with a sigh.

Today was the first meeting since the project had come off of its pause since James’s death two weeks ago. Almost a week had passed, and I still hadn’t found the daimon, nor had I found a way to confront Mercer. He’d remained conspicuously busy trying to get Proprius back on track. The only positive thing had been Sheridan’s return to normalcy. She’d dove back into her classes and responsibility as organizer so easily that I almost believed nothing had happened.

That look in her eyes flashed in my mind, and a chill settled in the pit of my stomach. My wrist tingled right before the seat beside me shifted and gave a small squeak as Serenity sat beside me. She stared forward with a faraway look and her arms crossed.

“Are you sure there’s something here and not just normal human tragedy?” she asked.

I raised a brow at her. “You can’t sense it? What kind of god are you?”

“Who said I was a god?” She sighed ran a hand through her hair. “This is just really frustrating, and being on Sheridan watch is getting tedious.”

“I’m sure Mercer is happy you’re around more. And yes, they’re here, just lying low,” I said. “Mercer as much admitted something was here, too.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a known liar.”

I sat up straighter as that little tidbit snapped the puzzle into focus. How could I have been so stupid? “Of course.”

She shifted a narrowed gaze at me and smirked. “Figured it out?”

“Maybe.”

Sheridan stepped in from the back and moved to the podium with a thick red portfolio under her arm. Her hair was pulled up into a French braid, and once again she was dressed in the pencil skirt along with a red cashmere sweater. Despite the together secretary look she’d taken, her face held a stiff neutral look and there was tightness around the corners of her eyes.

“How has she been?” I asked.

“Busting her ass. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s just to block out what happened or if she’s really over it.”

I stood and walked to the podium. “Hey, Sheridan.”

She tensed, but didn’t look up from her papers. “What is it?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing after everything.”

“I’m fine. You can call off your guard dog.” She nodded to Serenity.

“Look, if you want to talk, we’re here for you.”

“I said I’m fine.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and set her jaw before meeting my gaze. “Unless you have something to ask about the meeting, can you take your seat? I have a lot to look over.”

A prickling spread across my tattoo, and I stiffened. Mercer walked toward us with his hands in the pockets of his open jacket. His green eyes flashed in my direction, causing a wave of heat to flow through me as they traveled the length of my body. His jaw tightened, and he focused on Sheridan with a taut smile.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She slammed the stack of papers down and stared up at the back of the auditorium, giving a soft chuckle. “I really wish people would stop asking me that today.”

His gaze slid to me, and I shrugged, not meeting his eyes again. I was still struggling with the raw need he’d just elicited from me with one look. I didn’t need to make it worse by staring at the peak of his pectoral muscles at his open collar.

“So,” he ventured. “Who are we meeting with today?”

She cleared her throat and looked down at her paperwork again. “Both the software and hardware teams. The first to discuss the sensory immersion issue.”

He nodded. “Our most important roadblock. It’ll either make us or break us.”

“Yeah, well, software hasn’t picked a new lead since James.” Sheridan’s voice softened. “I’m assuming it will be Serenity.”

“That’s up to them.” He glanced at me. “You ready to witness history being made?”

I gave him a secretive smile. “I’m sure you know all about making history, Messenger.”

Sheridan gave me a look as though I lost my mind, but I paid it little attention as I focused on Mercer. Every muscle in his body froze, and his face became a mask of fake pleasantry. His eyes, however, flashed at me like an emerald fire. His hand shot out and grabbed my elbow.

“Excuse us,” he said.

He pulled me through to door on the lower level, down the hall, and into an empty lecture room. Mercer seemed to like confrontations in classrooms. Then again, he didn’t want the mortals to overhear the truth. I gasped as something tickled in the back of my mind.

“You figured it out.” Mercer’s voice broke my train of thought into a million pieces. “For a pandoran, I was expected you to figure it out sooner. You’re not so good at this game.”