Obsidian Souls (Soul Series) (24 page)

The only thought I had was that I needed to get out of here immediately. I was using every ounce of strength and the moment I relaxed, I’d be dead within seconds. I walked as rapidly as I could in the last direction I had sensed Jack going, and just hoped I’d find my way out. It was pitch black as I parted the sea of shadowy figures. I wanted to know what they were, but I had to keep my concentration because I wanted to get out of there much more than any curiosity I had. As I walked further, I started to feel Jack’s path and followed. I looked as another group of figures parted, and he was standing just beyond them.

“Considering you weren’t ready that wasn’t bad.”

I stared at him in all his nonchalance, thinking he was being amusing, and all I wanted to do was punch him in the face. I wanted to jump on him and maul him.

He laughed at the anger showing on my face. “Don’t forget, you still need me to get out of here.”

I hated everything about him at that moment, but I let him take my hand knowing it was my only way back.

Instantly, I felt as if my insides had turned inside out, and my whole body compressed. There was no air, no light, nothing, and then we were in the back room again, with the card playing men and the pretty blond woman.

I fell to the ground, gasping to get air into my lungs, and with not a bit of energy left in my bones.

“You asshole,” I screamed at him the second I got a deep breath.

Jack, and everybody else in the room, stared at me with gapping jaws.

“I told you what you were in for. No one forced you.”

He was right. He had told me. Why did I do that? Project my own emotions and motivations onto those around me? He had told me exactly what I was in for. He had said that I should be worried. I was the one that had decided that he wouldn’t bring me into harm and then disregarded what he was telling me. And all because I couldn’t conceive of someone putting me in harm’s way simply because it was something I would never do to them.

“You made it. I would have bet Moscow that you wouldn’t have,” the man named Gerald said.

I leaned my head against the floor, sweat pouring off me from the exertion, when I heard another enter the room, and I looked up to see it was Caden.

He looked at me on the floor, and I could see him about to blow a casket.

“What the hell did you do?” he screamed at the group.

They all shook their heads and pointed at Jack.

“You are a bastard! She wasn’t ready!”

“She made it so apparently she was. She went willingly, I didn’t force her.”

He looked at me. “I did,” I said in the smallest voice possible because I felt like a complete nitwit.

“You dumb idiot! I should leave you here with them if you’re going to do such stupid things.”

I didn’t actually fear that because he was picking me up as he said this. He was carrying me out the door when Jack yelled, “She’s only on loan.”

“Fuck you,” Caden yelled back.

“What does he mean? I’m on loan?”

He stepped briskly and we were outside. Then just as quickly, we were inside the hazy layers again. I was afraid to speak until we got back out. After what had just happened, I was worried about any kind of fog entering me. I felt like I used to when I was a kid when my brother and me would hold our breath as we drove past a cemetery so the spirits couldn’t get us. I now felt that fear might have been completely valid.

We quickly came out, and I recognized the alley behind the bar instantly.

“Well? What did he mean? Did you know who those people were?”

“Yes, I know them. And they aren’t people.”

“You know who Jack is?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure if that was who had visited you at first. I never saw him. I only had your vague description.”

“But what about after I told you his name?”

“I didn’t think it made a difference.”

“Who is he and why is he saying I’m on loan?”

“He’s a full blooded demon. He thinks he owns everyone. All the people in that room were demons. Why did you go with him when you didn’t even know what he was?”

“I don’t know. It was a spur of the moment decision. I thought he could help me find Mike.” It had been a spur of the moment choice, but I wasn’t going to explain my entire reasoning. It seemed excessively dumb in retrospect. I wanted to make my own decisions, but that didn’t mean that I had to make stupid ones.

“He helps no one but himself. Don’t ever do that again. And I already told you, I’m going to find Mike. You almost got yourself killed.”

“I figured that out on my own, thank you.”

“And you’re a wreck.”

That one hurt. He looked perfect no matter what he was doing. He actually looked better when he was working out and sweaty.

“Where was I?”

“The house is a hangout for demons and all sorts of supernatural creatures.”

“I know there are demons and vampires but there are more?”

“Yes, and anybody who is as clueless as you shouldn’t be so quick to run off to hang out with them.”

“Back to what he was saying about me being on loan, do you think he is going to want me to go back there with him?”

“It doesn’t matter what he wants. He can’t take you from my place unless you want to go willingly, which I had never anticipated being a problem.” The sarcasm was dripping with that last comment. “You aren’t to go anywhere without me. Once you are out of my building all bets are off.”

“Fine, but then you have to start taking me with you when you go wherever it is you go because I can’t sit there another day.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No,” he said almost at a shout, thinking that would subdue me. He thought wrong.

“Then I’m going to have to handle my business alone I guess.” I was completely bluffing. I’d just barely made it out alive this last time, but the thought of sitting on my hands for another month was making me desperate.

He was dead silent for a few minutes.

“Fine!” He was fuming at the capitulation I’d forced, but I was so happy I didn’t care. I just smiled up at him, and I would’ve sworn it made him even more pissed off. I had to giggle at that and he practically threw me on the couch in the apartment and stormed out.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“I’m going to go look for Mike tonight. Are you coming?”

I looked up from rereading Stephen King’s, “The Stand” to see Caden hovering over me, looking especially handsome, even if not exactly happy. I had started to doubt that he was going to honor our deal because it had been two days. I’d been, not so secretly, monitoring his every move, and if he had gone anywhere other than down the street for a coffee I was going out, even if it was stupid. I didn’t care. We had a deal.

I nodded my head yes. Of course I was coming. He knew I was stalking his every move. Did he, even for a second, think I’d say no?

“Be ready in an hour.” He walked away none too happy. He was obviously not thrilled with the new arrangement, but I didn’t care. I was getting out of here and helping get Mike out of whatever mess I’d gotten him into.

Exactly one hour later, I was sitting in the living room ready to go.

“Are the guys coming too?” I said to Caden as he walked into the room, right on time.

“No, we don’t need them.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me along after him.

“Wouldn’t it be helpful though?”

“All I need is a location which I have.”

We got outside and the Hummer was waiting for us. “Where do all these cars come from? I never see them parked in the lot?”

“See that building over there?” He pointed to a five story building diagonally across the street. “That’s where I store them.”

“What else is in there? It can’t just be your garage.”

“Offices, storage. Your apartment furniture is in there too, as well as your Mini Cooper.”

“It is? When did that happen? Why didn’t you tell me?” I felt relieved and annoyed all at once.

“I just did. I had a crew go clean out your place. They stored everything that was salvageable.”

“Do you know how high handed you are?” I asked annoyed.

“Do you realize how much you talk?” he retorted.

“Being talkative is better than being bossy. You can’t just make decisions like that for people. That was my place.”

“That you can’t go back to anyway. You should be thanking me for fixing a problem.”

“I understand that you thought you were helping, but you can’t make my decisions for me. My landlord is going to think I’m moving out and not telling him.”

“I told him already.”

“You told him that? You called my landlord?”

“I already knew him, so I just gave him a call and asked him to terminate your lease.”

“Where am I going to go? Do you know how hard it is to get an apartment in this city?” I put my face in my hands. I didn’t even have a home anymore. Every time I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.

“Why would you go? You’re one of us. There isn’t a reason to leave. There are empty apartments in my building. I can renovate one of the floors for you.”

I fell silent. I thought he had been arguing because he had wanted me to stay with him at his apartment, not on a separate floor because I was one of them. I had resented the control he had taken, but that had been tempered by the fact that I thought he had wanted me to stay with him. Now it was just plain old controlling. I was just another one of his little pack. I don’t think so, being part of his pack was far from my goal in life.

“I’ll stay for now, but I’m not living with you guys forever.” I wasn’t arguing anymore.

“Did I say something wrong?” the insensitive jerk asked, clueless to my feelings.

I stared out the window of the Hummer watching the city at night and wished could be a little less transparent just once in my life.

“I don’t like my decisions being taken over.” I’d bite my cheek bloody if that was what it took to not tell him how he made me feel. “Where are we going anyway?”

“They own an empty warehouse about twenty minutes outside the city in the projects. I picked up some activity on the satellite.”

“You have a satellite that can do that? I thought only governments had those?”

“No, I don’t, and yes, they do,” he said casually.

“How do you get to use it? Do you know someone?”

“Contrary to popular belief, not all knowledge is good. There are some things you really shouldn’t know.”

I sat back and decided not to push the issue. After this all got resolved one day, I didn’t want some crazy Jason Bourne, CIA type lunatic coming after me for knowing.

We pulled up and parked the Hummer in an abandoned alleyway. This place was definitely wasn’t what I thought of when I was longing to get out of the confines of the bar. I edged a little closer to him.

A group of men stepped out of one of the doors of the empty building across from where we had parked. There were five of them approaching, and they slowly began circling us. I was scared out of my wits, but Caden was as casual as ever. He had that weird black out trick, so I knew he’d get us out of here, but I was far from my normal comfort level. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had any type of comfort level lately. My life had become nothing but varying levels of discomfort.

I grabbed onto his arm making sure he didn’t forget me. He looked down where I had a death grip and shook his head.

“You really think I’d leave you?”

“What if you got distracted?” He sighed loudly and just shook his head again.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” He asked calm as could be. He was so unfazed that I couldn’t help but feel a bit reassured.

“Nah, you can’t, but the cute here looks like she could,” what I guessed was the group leader said. His guys all snickered. They eyed me up as if I was a nice side of beef and as quick as that, whatever calmness I had fleetingly felt, slipped away.

“No, I don’t think she can. This is my vehicle. I would appreciate it if you would look after it while I’m gone.”

The group laughed at him. If I was a man, I wouldn’t ever want to go against a man like Caden, but I guess outnumbering us five to one, they thought their odds were good. They circled in closer, and I saw one to my side eyeing me in a way that made my skin crawl.

The leader made a move in and before he could even touch Caden, he went flying ten feet back slamming into the cement wall. Then a ring of fire was encircling us. It grew wider and wider as it drove back the other men. And, that wasn’t the scary part. I looked at Caden, knowing he was causing this, and his eyes were glowing red. I let go of his arm and stumbled back from him landing on the ground still within the circle of flame. The men started crying. Begging nobody in general for forgiveness as they ran down the alley away from us. One of them stopped to help their leader, who looked like he might have peed himself, and half dragged him with them.