Sweet Reckoning

CHAPTER TWO AND SO IT BEGINS

I let myself into Jay’s house and found him and Veronica sitting apart in his room—her in his computer chair, and him on the bed against his headboard. Both wore auras of navy blue sadness, with a fizzle of gray nervousness in Veronica’s. I knew from the distance between them and the tension in the air that they weren’t together anymore.

“Hey,” Veronica said.

I sat on the edge of the bed. “Hey.”

Jay raised his eyebrows at Veronica. “You wanna tell her?”

She bit her lip. “So, I got this really cool opportunity. I didn’t tell anyone ’cause I wasn’t sure at first if I’d take it, but I decided to do it. I’m going to Spain to study abroad this semester.”

“Spain!” I couldn’t help but smile. That was so awesome. I could totally picture Veronica there. And then I saw the lack of joy on Jay’s face, and my excitement waned. “Oh . . .”

Silence.

“I guess it’d be hard to keep a long-distance relationship, huh?” I asked.

“There’s the time difference,” Veronica explained. “With Jay working nights, and me probably busy with school stuff. . . .”

I knew it was more than just the time and distance issues. All signs had been pointing to breakup for months now. Neither of them seemed surprised or angry. Just sad.

“You guys are both okay, though?”

Jay picked at his jeans. “It’s a good opportunity, you know? She shouldn’t pass it up.”

I looked at Veronica and a stream of light-gray guilt swam around her before dispersing.

The breakup was mutual, but they both looked so sad. I patted the spot on the bed across from Jay and me, and Veronica came over on shaky legs to sit with us. We sat in a semicircle facing one another. Being closer lightened Jay’s aura.

“I love you guys,” I said quietly.

Veronica kept biting at her lip. “You’re not mad at me about school? I know we were going to room together. . . .”

“No, I’m not mad.” This was terrible timing, but I had to tell them now. “Actually, I kind of have some big news, too.”

They stared at me, waiting.

“I’m not going to Georgia Tech after all. My dad is moving to Washington, D.C., and we want to live closer, so he pulled some strings and got me into Virginia Tech. Patti and I are both moving.”

Their eyes bulged. Jay said, “What?” just as Veronica said, “Wow!”

“I know. It all happened so fast, but I think I need a change. My dad, too.”

“Dude, this is crazy.” Jay’s eyes glassed over for a second. “You’re both leaving me.”

At the same time Veronica and I leaned forward and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around us. Our last group hug.

When we pulled away, there was a strange shift between us—a change stemming from knowing we’d never get the old us back. We could either embrace the inevitable and work to stay friends through the changes, or we could let go, and allow time and miles to slide between us. Jay gripped my hand hard, and I knew he’d never leave me. Not in the ways that counted. Veronica, on the other hand . . . her eyes were already kind of far away. I could never hold it against her. She was excited for her future and ready to fly.

I wiped the corners of my eyes, and Veronica leaned over to poke my shoulder.

“So,” she said. “Are you and Kaidan really together? Like, really really?”

The change of subject lifted some of the awkward tension in the room. I tried to reign in a smile. I’d forgotten I texted Jay and Veronica from L.A. in a drunken state to tell them.

“I know, right?” Jay sat up, suddenly animated. Orange sliced through the darkness of his aura. “How did this happen? I didn’t even know you were going to L.A.”

“It was crazy.” I pulled my feet in and sat cross-legged. They thought my dad lived in California, and as much as I hated telling them half-truths, sometimes that was just what it came down to. “My dad flew me out for a visit, and I went to see Blake, but Kai was there, too.”

They were both gaping at me.

“And?” Veronica asked.

“And at first we were fighting, because we needed to clear the air, and he was jealous because I’d kissed Kopano—”

“What?” they both hollered.

Whoops.

“When did you guys kiss?” Veronica was practically in my lap now, trying to yank all the details from me.

“Over Christmas break.”

In a closet in Australia when we were there to talk Flynn into being an ally. The memory of the whole extraordinary experience was tainted now by Flynn’s death.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this!” Veronica crossed her arms, a shot of dark anger shooting out from her aura, but when I eyed her, reminding her she’d withheld the possibility of Spain from me, she uncrossed her arms and guilty gray seeped around her.

“I felt bad,” I admitted. “He was just a friend, and I didn’t mean for it to happen. I kind of messed things up. Plus, I knew Kaidan would be pissed if he found out.”

“Bro drama,” Jay said. But he looked rapt.

I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. Majorly. But when Kai and I finally made ourselves talk . . . I don’t know . . . I guess we both decided we were tired of being scared.”

“And now you’re together,” Veronica said, her voice sounding distant.

We all got quiet. Now Kai and I were together, but Jay and Veronica were not.

Her cell phone chimed, and she groaned.

“It’s my dad. I have to go. He’s having people from his work over for dinner, and the whole family has to be there.”

Her father. A major reason she’d want to be far away from home.

“Call me later,” I whispered.

“I will. And I want every detail.”

She turned to Jay, both again showing navy auras of sadness tinged with anxious gray. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah. Course.”

A slow beat passed before Veronica turned and left.

“You okay?” I whispered to Jay. He looked beat.

“I don’t know. I mean, I knew we probably wouldn’t last forever, but it still sucks.”

I could feel the steady pain of loss pushing out from his aura, and I wanted to cheer him.

“Kaidan gave me a joke for you.”

This lightened Jay’s colors real quick. He watched with interest as I told the joke. At the punch line he blinked, straight-faced. “He should really stick to looking good and leave jokes to the normal guys like me.”

I fell sideways on the bed laughing, and Jay laughed with me.

“Man, I’m so glad there’s something he’s not good at,” Jay said as I pulled myself together.

I didn’t want to leave him yet. “Wanna go get a pizza or something?” Patti was making dinner, but I was sure if I called her she’d understand.

“Dude, I wish, but I can’t. I’m supposed to mow the lawn. You don’t need to worry about me, ’kay? I’ll be all right.”

He gave me a playful shove.

“I’ll call you later, then?” I asked.

“Yep.” He stood and pushed his feet into some old tennis shoes. Then he grabbed his faded Braves hat and slipped it on his head. He stuck out his fist and I bumped it before hugging him good-bye.

On the drive home I thought of the good days Veronica and Jay had had together. I recalled Veronica showing me pictures on her phone last summer, and when she got to one she screamed and pulled the phone close, a burst of hot gray embarrassment blasting from her aura.

Yeah . . . for one split second I’d seen a whole lot of Veronica skin. I’d never seen her blush like that.

“Oh, my gosh. I totally thought I deleted all those,” she said.

“Uh . . . why do you have . . . Wait . . . did you send pictures to Jay?”

“It’s not like. . . I mean . . . we were just playing around. He’s my boyfriend!”

I started giggling first, and then we were both laughing, killing the shock and tension.

Veronica had obviously trusted Jay, and I wondered. Could I do something flirty like that to surprise Kai?

I was still thinking about it as I walked from my car up the concrete stairs of our apartment complex. Patti’s car wasn’t there. She was probably out getting boxes for the move.

I stopped at our door and got a weird prickly sensation. The thought of a demon whisperer caused my heart to pound and my eyes to search all around me, but nothing was there. I glanced down the stairs. Nothing.

With a shaking hand I slid my key into the bolt lock, only to find it already unlocked. Weird. Patti never forgot to lock the door. My heart rate jacked up as I reached into the pocket of my shorts for the small switchblade I kept there. My other hand went into my purse and wrapped around the leather-clad Sword of Righteousness hilt. I pushed the door open and stood in the doorway without going in. Scents from the Crock-Pot drifted out.

“Anyone home?” I called out sweetly.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary. I gripped the knife handle and peeked around the corner. All clear. I went in and closed the door behind me, then moved in slow steps around the apartment—kitchen, balcony, bathroom, coat closet—all clear. It wasn’t until I stepped into my bedroom that a surge of panic burst through my system.

My laundry hamper was lying on the floor with dirty clothes spilled out. My body went into some sort of protective mode, clearing my mind in preparation for fight. It still came as a shock when a short-haired man in all black tore out from behind the door, and months of training prompted me into action.

I lunged forward, lowering myself so that his balance was thrown off when he hit me. My purse with the hilt inside hit the wall. I managed to keep on my feet as he rolled to the floor and kicked himself up with grace that depleted a bit of my confidence. I swiped my knife through the air, and the blade sliced his bicep. He hissed, and I tried not to think about the fact that I’d just drawn blood from another human being for the first time in my life.

His foot kicked up with lightning speed and I yanked back, but his boot still caught my fingers, forcing me to release the knife with a sharp, searing pain. And now I was mad. Instead of retreating, I pushed forward, taking him by surprise as my shoulder and head rammed the soft part of his torso beneath his ribs. He groaned and grabbed at my waist, but I moved fast, wrapping my arms around his knee and yanking him onto the floor.

He caught my wrist in his strong hand and I went crazy, kicking and stomping anywhere I could—his groin, chest, knees, hips. He moved around, grunting, and we were both too filled with adrenaline to stop. But one hard kick to his armpit made him drop my wrist and cry out. I turned to run, but he grabbed my ankle and I fell onto my elbows. In a split second he was on my back. I tried to buck and throw him off, but he used every bit of his body to control mine.

“Get off!” I ground out, my face in the dirty clothes.

“Stay still, you stupid girl!”

His accent was something European. I spotted my knife, so close, only a few feet away. And then I saw feet rushing in through the doorway. My attacker must have seen, too, because I felt his body weight lift and heard a sound of protest escape just before a reverberating WHAP!

He rolled off me, grabbing at his head and yelling in pain. I looked up and gaped at Patti standing above us, a frying pan in one hand, and a gun in the other. When the heck did Patti get a gun?

She dropped the pan and pulled me up with her free hand, then used both hands to point the gun at the guy. Her hands trembled, but her face was deadly.

“Is he one of you?” Patti whispered to me under her breath.

I looked him over. No supernatural badge at his sternum to signify a demon or Neph. I shook my head. “He’s definitely not from around here, though.”

“Call the cops,” she said.

I did as she asked. While we waited, the guy began to murmur. He was a mess, bleeding from his arm, with a purpling lump on the side of his head. Patti shifted her stance, appearing as uneasy with the sight as I was.

“Please,” he whimpered. “Don’t turn me in. He’ll kill me.”

My pulse, which had finally started to settle, went wild again.

“Who?” I asked.

I wanted to naively believe this was a random break-in.

“He’ll kill me!” he said again.

The door to the apartment opened and I heard footsteps.

“Mrs. Whitt?” a man called. “It’s the police.”

“Please,” the perpetrator begged.

“Back here!” Patti yelled. And to the man on the floor she said, “It’s too late.”

The police took him away and spent over an hour questioning us and examining the apartment. The bolt lock was not broken, so he’d somehow picked it. A definite professional.

“And you have no idea why this man would break in and attack you?” he asked. Again.

“No,” I said, and it was the truth. I was baffled. He hadn’t been trying to kill me; of that I felt certain. It was as if I’d taken him by surprise and forced him to attack. He’d been there for something, but it wasn’t me.

Just as the officer was putting away his pad of paper, another cop walked in and approached. He held out a plastic bag with a small, pink wad of cloth inside. It looked vaguely familiar.

“I think we figured out why our perp broke in,” said the cop. “Panty thief.”

Gah! My freaking underwear!

Patti gasped, and the interviewing officer sighed, shaking his head. “Well, you two gals sure put a hurtin’ on him. I don’t usually suggest that people fight intruders if they can avoid it, but I commend you both.”

“Thank you, officers,” Patti said.

After they left, we stood there in the silence staring at each other, her curly strawberry blond hair askew. I was glad we’d be moving soon, because our home was now tainted. Everything about the place felt violated and unsafe.

Where did you get the gun? I asked her, using my hands to sign in case any Dukes or enemy Neph were listening nearby.

Your dad.

Well, that figured. I was glad she had it, though.

Who sent this man? The second she finished signing the question, my stomach dropped, and I knew.

In slow letters I spelled out, Pharzuph.

The Duke of Lust, my boyfriend’s father, was behind this. He was checking to see if we’d followed through with the lie Dad had told them at the New Year summit seven months ago. Pharzuph wanted to know if I was still a virgin, a state of being that was unheard of for a Nephilim of my age. Only Pharzuph would have the ability to smell someone’s virginity in such a way. A disgusted shiver raked up my back. I shook it off and stood up straight.

All right Dukes, I thought. It’s on.