Darkened Soul (When Watchers Fall) Page 5

  “My goddess,” Hex says.

  “Why are you leaving me notes?” I look around in case he’s lurking.

  “You wouldn’t give me your number.” He pauses, and I hear the smirk as he adds, “But now, I have it and can hear your voice anytime I like.”

  Still not seeing him anywhere, I turn the key in the ignition. If he hasn’t made his presence known by now, he’s long gone.

  “Is there a point to this call?”

  Dirt kicks up behind my car as I fly down the long driveway. I glance at the phone vibrating in my cupholder. Seeing a message from Kai, I almost smile—almost because I’m still talking to the ex from hell, but Kai’s name on the screen is a welcome relief. He went MIA on me for a few days but resurfaced last night, texting to explain he’d been buried in work and promising to make it up to me.

  I had panicked when he stopped calling and didn’t come by the coffee shop, thinking he’d finally gotten sick of taking it slow. Not that I could blame him if he had bailed. I’ve made him wait for weeks even though Chaz was inside me without knowing my name. To be fair, the bathroom sex was a one-off. Fantasy fulfillment fueled by nerves, liquid courage, and a cut jaw and chin dimple I never saw coming.

  “I’m just checking in,” Hex says. “On you. On Nyla.”

  The way he tacks my sister’s name on so casually at the end reminds me of all the reasons I loathe him.

  “Fuck you,” I bite at him. “You don’t get to say her name. Not after what you did.”

  He sighs dramatically, like he does. “Oh, Nyxie. One day, you’ll forgive me for all that, you know.”

  “Not in this life.”

  “Well, here’s to the next one then. And hey!” His tone turns mocking for the last two syllables. “We might not even have to wait very long to find out if you can’t get your shit together.”

  “That sounds like a threat,” I say, turning onto the highway.

  “Did it now? Because it was meant as a warning.” Hex drops his voice low, the real reason for the call finally on the surface. “It’s time to quit screwing around, love. Get him in the open and alone. And soon. I might be a heartless bastard, but at least I’d feel a little bad about killing you. Boss man, though, is on a completely different level, and if you don’t deliver, you can bet—”

  The rest of the wager is lost to the wind when I throw the burner phone out the window. I don’t need Hex to remind me what’s at stake, and I sure as hell don’t need him to tell me I’m out of time.

  The nurse already did both.

  Last-minute convention out of town, I text Kai. Gone a few days at least.

  No worries, bro. We’ll do something stupid when you get back to celebrate our reunion.

  I snort at his text. Our reunion would come a hell of a lot faster if he’d end things with Nyx already.

  Of course, he hasn’t exactly been seeing her either. A deadline had him locked in his room with his laptop for the past four days. He did little but code. Avery convinced him to eat a few times, but even then, he kept typing away on his keyboard while he chewed. He stopped all outside contact too, reading texts but not responding. Which meant I could text him every day, asking him to hang out to keep up appearances without worrying about him taking me up on the offer.

  He finished in the middle of the night and texted me saying he was alive. I waited until now to answer since, after sending a few more texts, he crashed for fourteen hours. So did I until Avery got up and went to her classes. With him working twenty hours a day, I’d follow her all day and then keep tabs on him most of the night. Probably not necessary, but I’ve felt an even stronger need to watch him closely since the dream. I guess the guilt of letting dream-Kai die carried over, too—and lasted a lot longer than the hard-on.

  I’m in my car outside the daycare, watching him through the palm stone while Avery works. Right after he answers me, he calls someone. I use the incantation to hear, so I know what to expect from my night. Now that he’s free from his corporate chains, he’ll be itching to do something stupid before I get back from my fake trip.

  “Tell me you have a race tonight,” he says. A few seconds later, he grins. “Asher, I never want kids, but if I ever get a dog, I’m naming him after you.”

  So, racing it is. I’m about to hit the mystical mute again, but then he dials someone else. He tosses his phone on the bed, leaving it on speaker. And then Nyx answers. Four days of no sightings or erased moments in hallways or dreams. The last probably because of the lack of sleep, but still. Just like that, she’s back. Her voice fills my car, crawls into my ears, implants in my brain.

  “We still on for tonight?” he asks, dragging off the shirt he’s worn for three days straight.

  “Still on,” she says.

  Great. They already made plans. She must have been his other messages last night or earlier when he woke up and immediately reached for his phone.

  “I’ll pick you up around nine. The first race starts at ten.”

  “And you’re sure we can’t do something sane?” Nyx sounds unimpressed with the night’s festivities. “I mean, if this is our official first date as a couple, shouldn’t we do something in which the boyfriend doesn’t chance wrecking and dying?”

  Fucking what? What’s with this couple shit? Nyx is supposed to be on her way out, not digging herself further in. And how the hell did they go from not talking for days to dating in a few text messages?

  I blow out a breath, resting my head on the back of the seat.

  “Trust me, baby, I’m not going anywhere.” Kai drags a towel out of the laundry basket of clean clothes on his floor. “We’ll hit the track for a quick race and then come back here. You’re still staying, right?”

  And now, they apparently have sleepovers.

  I wait for her response, white-knuckling the steering wheel.

  “Yeah,” she says, her voice higher than normal. “I can’t wait.”

  I stop listening. I quit watching for a while too. I need to take advantage while I can because, in a few hours, I won’t have any choice but to watch them. Together.

  And then later, I’ll feel them.

  I hover behind a collapsing metal shed, ducked in a shadow with the hood of my sweatshirt pulled up. We’ve been here often enough that I know the layout and can stalk around without being seen. I won’t call it a racetrack. It’s a field with something that resembles a dirt track in the middle. Broken bleachers on one side even though most people sit on the hoods of their cars. A few dilapidated buildings are scattered around, adding to the charm.

  Just like at the hotel, with Kai’s first step out of his car, an inkling of light appears dead center in my chest. Kai runs around to shut Nyx’s door and hooks his arm around her. They dodge a piece of farm equipment and then disappear behind one of the buildings.

  Once they have a solid head start, I pull out the amulet. Ever since the breakthrough last week, I can’t stop messing with it. Sometimes, I get a burst of energy, sometimes not, but I have no idea what makes the difference. My own personal sword in the stone—the bullshit version anyway.

  Am I worthy, Samy?

  When I cast the spell, I get enough of a light boost to drop to the corner Kai and Nyx walked around. Works when I’m too lazy to walk a hundred feet—check.

  Thirty seconds later, I’m trailing them through the cars parked farther out in the field. They stop to chat with someone selling beer out of a cooler. Nyx shakes her head, holding on to Kai’s arm and nervously looking around. Not quite her cup of tea, if I had to guess. Seriously, why the fuck are they still seeing each other?

  The way the tight black jeans undoubtedly hug the curves of her ass is hidden beneath the bottom of a baggy top. And that only shows her collarbone and from her elbow down. Still sexy as fuck, but at least she’s mostly covered. Kai must have warned her about the asshats out here. Probably worse than the ones on fight night. Drinking in the middle of nowhere really brings out the creep in some people.

  They make th
eir way over to the car Kai will drive—the owner loves the money he makes from betting on the races but is terrified to drive himself. I watch through the palm stone rather than step out of the shadows, staying away from the tall light pole on this end of the track. A matching one illuminates the other end to keep at least most of the place visible. The last thing they want is some drunk chick wandering off, tripping in a hole, and getting left out here all night.

  Since Kai can’t keep tabs on Nyx and drive, he’ll need to find a babysitter. Oh, the prospects. He nods at a stocky guy who used to drive. Rex? Or Ned? Who am I kidding? I don’t fucking care.

  Ned slaps Kai on the back and scans Nyx. When he pauses on her well-covered tits, I consider dropping in and laying him out. A quick punch, wipe a few memories, and then we can all go about our night. I catch her grasping on to Kai with her other hand. He turns to her with a smile and tucks her hair back.

  I know I’m supposed to be invisible and not caring and shit, but I flip on the sound.

  “One race, and then we’ll get the hell out of here. Go on a real first date instead of some field.”

  She nods, smiling. “You’re sure I can’t talk you into leaving now?” Her hand slides from his arm to his stomach and then up his chest. “You can take advantage of some of those boyfriend privileges.”

  He groans at her suggestion and kisses her. Not a cutesy peck this time. He’s kissing her the way I’ve kissed her, his hands roaming over her where mine have been. For someone who doesn’t care, I sure am ready to tear my own charge’s lips off his face. A man can live without lips. I shove the stone in my pocket, a tic developing in my jaw. There’s not a chance in hell I’ll watch that shit.

  Kai revs the engine of the car before peeling out toward the others parked in the infield of the track. His racing requires my focus. With his adrenaline-junkie ways, I’ve learned to sense the slight differences in light. The shift to real danger is minimal, but I can pick up on it as long as I’m waiting for it.

  The drivers all gather, going over the same rules as every other race. The light hums through me, and I don’t need a boost from the amulet to effortlessly drop to a shaded spot close to the track.

  Before the race starts, I check on Avery. My perfect charge is at the apartment, snuggled up on the couch with a cup of tea and a book. Wild Saturday night. God, I adore that girl.

  All the drivers head back for their vehicles, everyone clearing the track. There are a few seconds of calm while a breeze rustles the grass around me—warm for October in Colorado.

  I close my eyes and breathe deep, enjoying the light pumping through my veins. The power. For a second, I almost forget what it’s like to not feel this way.

  The roar of engines takes over, the energy tingling from my fingertips. The cars all redline at the same time as their drivers tear off from the starting line. I don’t watch because what happens out there doesn’t matter, just the heat and light.

  Footsteps swish in the grass, louder and louder until they force me to look. I barely have time to duck out of sight behind the wooden shed.

  “See,” a guy says, “I told you the view of the track is unbeatable from here.”

  His girl giggles. “You sure that’s why you brought me over here?”

  And then they start making out. Nope, sorry, kids. Uncle Chaz has more important things to do than listen to you dry-hump against the building. I step around the corner to suggest they leave, but as my eyes skim over to the bleachers, they lock on to Nyx, who’s off to the side. Ned’s arm is around her waist, urging her away from the crowd. She tries to stand her ground, and he all but drags her along with him.

  Without thinking, I drop. The couple that had been a few feet away never even noticed me. I land on dirt, in the shadow of the bleachers. I’m not there long, though.

  “Get off me,” Nyx hisses, shoving at him.

  “Hey now, don’t be like that.” The dude’s not even being subtle anymore. His hand covers her mouth as I come out from the darkness.

  “Hey, fuckbag.”

  Ned’s head turns toward me, and my fist connects with his jaw, satisfying the urge I had earlier. The hold on Nyx immediately releases, him hitting the ground at her feet. She looks down at him in shock before she looks at me. Her shoulders are heaving, face attempting to mask the panic her eyes give away the moment they reach mine.

  And I almost miss it.

  The thrum of heat and power inside me falls out of rhythm—an extra heartbeat.

  I look to the track. To Kai. He comes into the turn low, but the driver behind him turns too early and is about to catch his rear driver’s side. I can’t waste time getting back into the shadows, so I drop from where I am. Right in front of Nyx.

  Car accidents are tricky. All about timing. Kai’s already been nosed into a spin when I appear in the passenger seat beside him. No matter how he steers, the car will roll, so I click the button to unfasten his seatbelt, and as the first tire loses contact with the track, I grab on to him.

  We drop to the opposite side of the track, away from the crowd and out of reach from the lights. The car flips for the first time, off the track to the infield. My fists in Kai’s shirt help him find his balance. Once he gains his footing, the glow from my palms reaches his terror-stricken face. Part of me wants him to remember how this feels so he’ll tone down his shit, but I need to cover. I latch on to his face, letting the light seep into him until he relaxes.

  “You’re one lucky son of a bitch, Kai Benson. You won’t remember anything after that asshole caught your back end other than rolling. Not me, not leaving the car. Just getting hit and rolling.”

  I wait for him to nod and then glance up just as the car completes its final rotation and lands right side up. So, not all bad.

  “All right,” I tell him, moving my hold back to his shirt. “Sorry about this.”

  Then I drop us back into the car in the same position we left. I still have enough light to move at full angel speed and re-buckle his seatbelt in the time it takes the car to stop rocking. And now, for the part I apologized for. I grab the back of his head and bash his forehead into the steering wheel. Only hard enough to split open the skin without causing any damage—I would know with the danger gauge and all—but enough to look like he was in the wreck.

  I vanish from the passenger side before any humans can see me.

  When I get back to the bleachers, Nyx is cupping her mouth, staring at the track.

  “Oh my God,” she murmurs.

  She starts to take a step like she’s going to Kai, but I grab her wrist from behind and spin her around to me. She comes flush to my chest, and her eyes slowly rise. They reach mine, wide and filled with disbelief.

  “You…” She shakes her head, and I think she might laugh. “You disappeared.”

  “I did,” I say.

  The light is mostly gone. Kai’s not in danger, and I told him he doesn’t remember anything, so he’s not worked up over the accident. A little lingers from the adrenaline still clearing his system but not enough that I can alter her memories. Not on my own.

  Now am I worthy, asshole?

  Nyx stares up at me. Each of her ragged breaths rises against me. “And you can dematerialize because…”

  “I’m a magician.” My hands creep up to her neck. “Or an alien. Take your pick.”

  As my palms reach her cheeks, I chant the spell for the amulet under my breath. More heat pours out of my palms as Nyx relaxes into my chest. Her eyes soften. Her melty fucking eyes that nearly distracted me from the only reason I’m here. The only thing that matters. Eyes that could have cost me my eternity and Kai his life.

  And there it is—we’ve reached life or death.

  I can’t wait for this to run its course. Nyx needs to leave and not come back.

  “You won’t remember seeing me here tonight,” I tell her, keeping my voice low and soothing.

  She nods and waits for whatever I say next. I hesitate, doubting if I should take away what happened
between us in the bar too. But the amulet continues to work, so I guess my intentions are acceptable by whatever morals it operates by. Knowing Samy, that’s enough for me.

  “You’ve decided things aren’t working with Kai, not even as friends.”

  “We have nothing in common,” she says.

  I force a half-smile. “You want to end things with him tomorrow. Even if he wants to work it out, you’ll say goodbye and not contact him again.” I pause until she nods again and then put the final nail in the Nyx coffin. “The first time we met was at Kai’s apartment. We saw each other at the bar, the same night you saw Kai, but we never interacted.”

  “Did you want to?” she asks.

  Fuck. I hate when the mind spits out questions instead of just adjusting, but sometimes, it needs more information to fill in gaps.

  My thumbs sweep over her cheeks, and I shake my head. “No,” I tell her. “You’re not at all my type.”

  Kai refused to get checked over at the emergency room after the wreck. He claimed out of all the crashes he’d been in, he never walked away with more than a few bumps and bruises.

  “I’m just lucky,” he said.

  Call me crazy, but I doubt luck has anything to do with it.

  Tonight was so fucked from what I’d imagined. We were supposed to go back to his place, so I could make up for the extended just talking stage, but I asked for a rain check. I just wanted to go home.

  Well, here.

  Her worn eyes crease at the corners when she sees me in the doorway. It’s the only part of her that smiles anymore. She hasn’t spoken a word in months either. An effect of whatever disease is eating away at her or a choice—with her, I never know.

  I cross the room to the bed and sit on the mattress. Her hand stays limp when I lift it, examining the lines and the veins beneath the skin.