Obsidian Souls (Soul Series) (12 page)

             
“I’m good.”

             
“Call me if you need me,” he said as he left the room shutting my door on his way out.

             
I tried to get my shirt off and realize I couldn’t lift my arms to pull it off. Sitting on the floor I tried to wriggle my way out of it by crawling through the neck, but got stuck again. I was ready to start crying in frustration when I heard Caden knock on the door.

             
“Lex?”

             
“Yes?” I sounded winded from exertion and the fact that I couldn’t take a deep breath.

             
He opened the door to find me lying on the floor, my sweater stuck stretched partially over my one shoulder.

             
“What are you doing?”

             
“I can’t get it off. It hurts too badly when I raise my arms.” I was starting to tear up. I’d been attacked in an alley way by a thug three times my size but this sweater was going to break me. The idea made me even more frustrated and I actually felt tears now roll down my cheeks.

             
He kneeled down and helped me sit up, as it was hard to move my arms with the sweater partially down.

             
I looked in his face and saw a tell tale smirk. “Don’t laugh.”

             
“I’m sorry, I won’t laugh. Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

             
He returned with a scissor.

             
“Don’t cut my sweater! I love this sweater!”

             
“I can’t do this without cutting it or it will hurt too much. I promise I’ll get you a replacement by tomorrow.”

             
Sitting on the floor next to me, he started cutting his way up the center of the sweater. Now that I had calmed down slightly I realized quickly that this was going to be a bit awkward. I was wearing undergarments that had been picked out by Mike and they were just as risqué as the clothes. He finished cutting up the shirt, and my naturally full breasts were sitting there, looking quite perky in their burgundy lace push up bra. It barely concealed my nipples that were now hardened knowing that an attractive male was appreciating them. I decided to tell myself it was the chill in the apartment and that it had nothing to do with Caden.

             
He helped me stand again and stood in front of me sliding the sweater down my arms. It was taking a little longer than it should have, and I looked up at him unconsciously wetting my lips. His hands were resting on my arms, standing not even an inch away. I just stared at him frozen, waiting. He leaned down ever so slightly and I tilted my head back watching close that last couple of inches, then stepped away and broke the contact completely.

             
He reached into my closet and pulling out a robe. He helped me into it from behind and it seemed like he was now avoiding touching my skin at all. Once it was on my shoulders he made a quick exit from my room, making me wonder if I had even read the situation correctly.

             
What a day. I was exhausted. My head hit the pillow and I was just falling into that wonderful limbo between consciousness and dreaming when I felt a hand graze my hurt ribs.

             
“Caden?” I turned, thinking it was him checking up on me. Instead, I was looking into a pair of gleaming black eyes. Black hair flowed down from a gorgeous face that looked to be about forty. I instantly thought it was one of Carl’s group and I screamed as loud as I could and he smiled and disappeared.

             
“What! What happened?” I looked up at Caden standing in my door scanning my room.

             
“There was a man right here.” I pointed with shaky hands to the side of my bed.

             
“Where did he go?”

             
“He just vanished in front of my eyes. I was looking right at him and then he was gone.”

             
Caden was the one that seemed to collapse this time, right onto my bed as if all the strength had completely left him and his normally bronze skin had an ashen appearance all of a sudden.

             
“What did he look like?”

             
“He was about forty with long black hair and black eyes, attractive.”

             
He was shaking his head, scowling his forehead.

             
“Well? Who or what was it?” I asked impatiently.

             
“There is only a few that could get in here. What did he say?”

             
“Nothing. I was half-asleep when I felt a hand on my side. I looked, thinking it was going to be you, and he was there bending over me.”

             
“Where did he touch you? Show me the spot.”

             
There was urgency in his voice that made me nauseous with anxiety.

             
“Do you think he did something bad to me?”

             
“It’s possible. I’ll know as soon as I see.”

             
“Here,” I said as I lifted my shirt over where he had touched. “He touched the same spot Carl’s guy got me.”

             
Caden reached over and gently ran his fingers across the area.

             
“Wasn’t there a bruise here before?”

             
“There is. It’s a huge, big black and purple mess. How do you not see it?”

             
He said nothing. I got up and looked in the mirror and saw it was gone. I tentatively took a deep breath to see what would happen waiting for the stabbing pain, but nothing came.

             
“Am I okay? Did he do something?” I asked in a panic.

             
“You’re fine. I don’t feel anything coming off of it. A full demon can cause a rotting disease with their touch if they choose. He didn’t do that. I would’ve picked up on the vibration of it. It also would leave an instant mark. The rotting starts almost instantaneously. The receiver only has about a week left after that.”

             
“My lungs don’t hurt anymore,” I said as I took another deep breathe still slightly disbelieving. You don’t appreciate the ability of being able to take a nice deep breath until you can’t anymore. “Do you know who it was?”

             
“Not sure.”

             
“Do you know any of them? Do you know your demon parent?”

             
“I know quite a few demons. Most Drauths don’t. Some demons find Drauths an interesting novelty, but most don’t really care that they’ve created a child. It’s a fluke when they create one, and I don’t believe intentional at all when it happens. Compared to them, a Drauth’s lifespan and abilities are nothing. A Drauth’s lifespan is a blink of an eye in a demons timeline.”

             
“How do you know the full blooded demons?”

             
“I’ve been around for a long time.”

             
“How long will I live? Do you know?”

             
“I’m not even completely sure what you are. How long you’ll live or what you’ll be able to do is a mystery to me.”

             
“How old are you?”

             
“Very old.”

             
I didn’t press. If he didn’t want to tell me, it wasn’t any of my business anyway. 

             
“Can you do stuff? You know, like….weird stuff?”

             
“Yes. Every one of us is different with different potential and capabilities.”

             
He didn’t expand and I realized he wasn’t going to. I guess Drauths liked to keep their demon stuff secret.

             
“Caden, do you think he’ll come back tonight?”

             
“You can have my bed if you want. I was just looking over some documents; I’ll stay in there with you. I’m done sleeping.”

             
“When did you sleep?”

             
“I don’t need much.”

             
Hmmm, well that was something to look forward to because right now I needed a solid nine and a half hours a night. There were going to be some perks to this lifestyle, I decided. Plus, looking at Caden and his men, I’d hopefully age very well. No Botox for this girl.

             
“I don’t think you need to worry. Whoever came tonight might have just been curious. If he had meant to harm you, he would have done it and easily.”

             
“Was that supposed to reassure me?”

             
“Yes, didn’t it?” He looked to me questioningly.

             
“You’re really not very good at this.” I just shook my head as I followed him into his room and crawled into his massive bed alone. How could you be as old as he was not have learned some of these basic people skills?

             
“I don’t normally have to do it. My guys are pretty tough.”

I hated when he answered questions I didn’t ask out loud.

“I’m going out to a friend’s place tomorrow. I’d like you to come. He might be able to give us some answers.”

             
“I’m in. Any knowledge is good knowledge in my book.”

             
“Tomorrow it is then.”

Chapter Fourteen

             
He swerved to avoid the ditches as we pulled up the dirt road which led to our destination. We’d been driving for about an hour, and my thoughts were spinning so quickly I didn’t even notice the time.

             
“Charles likes everything wild and unfettered, including his thirty acres. It’s a surprise we could even make it up the hill to the cabin today. It’s why we took the Hummer. Every time I come here, I’m always a bit in shock at how large a cabin can be. It wasn’t Charles that had wanted a super sized five bedroom cabin, but his late wife Greta. She had refused to live in the middle of the wilderness in a one-room cabin. ‘Barbaric,’ she’d say all the time. She would carry on about how lucky Charles was that she had saved him from becoming a complete rustic. It’s tough on him now.”

             
“Was she part demon?”

             
“No, she was completely human. There aren’t any female Drauths.”

             
“How is that possible if I’m one?”

             
“That’s one of the biggest questions I have.”

             
“And Charles’s wife, she was comfortable? With the whole demon thing that is?”

             
“Sometimes things just happen.”
             

             
“Margie his housekeeper stays here with him now. She’s been with him for twenty-five years.”

             
“And does she know?”

             
“Very few people who aren’t directly involved know, but yes, she does.”

             
We parked in front of the massive cabin, and I tried not to get stuck in all the mud created form the melting snow. Caden lifted his hand to rap on the door but before his hand even hit the wood a voice from inside called him in by name.
             

             
Caden smiled. “The old man still has it.”

             
“What’s old by your standards?” I asked. This should be interesting I thought.

             
“I’m in the den Caden, and tell your friend there I’ll be 7562 years old next month.”

             
Wow, that was old. I now knew what old meant in their world.

             
Stepping into the room, I saw this gruff looking old man who was whittling some wood by the fireplace. He had ridiculously thick white hair with an almost equally full beard. He looked like Santa! What kind of twisted joke made Santa part demon? “Been expecting you.” He looked up and smiled at us, complete with a twinkle in his eye. “Lexie?”

             
“Yes, nice to meet you.”

             
“Have a seat! Get comfortable!”

             
I sat on the padded bench across from him by the fireplace.

             
“So this is the little gal,” Charles said in a friendly way. “Yeah, you’ve got something unusual going on, that’s for sure.” He nodded his head in my direction.