The Bird and the Worm
“Kat—” Blaine tried again.
“Say another word, and I swear to God, I will punch you in the mouth.”
He pinched his lips shut, seeming to consider the option. One look at me, and he knew better, silently turning over the engine.
After the longest, most awkward silent car ride home, Blaine finally pulled into his driveway. Before the car even came to a complete stop, I leapt out, racing up the front walk to my aunt’s porch.
“Hold up!”
I stopped midway on the steps, hearing him head over.
“Why are you mad at me?”
I whirled around. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t make you go outside, and I’m not the one who dragged you to the club. I asked you to stay put. I did everything I could to protect you—”
“Is anyone watching us?”
“What?”
“Are any of your boss’s cronies watching us right now?”
“Ah… No,” he said, clearly baffled. “Not that I know of.”
“Good.” I climbed back down a couple steps, looking him square in the eyes. He didn’t even have the chance to notice the blue light emanating from my arm. The air resounded with the wallop from my hand as I smacked him across the face. With my rune ignited, the simple slap had outright wrenched Blaine’s head to the side.
“Ahh!” He staggered back a step, tenderly rubbing the spot of impact as his eyes shot back up at me. “What the hell was that for?”
“You selfish, egotistical asshole!” I sneered, proceeding to pound my fists into his chest.
“Hey, hey!” Blaine finally grabbed hold of my wrists before I could strike him again. Despite my rune giving me a little extra strength, he still managed to pin my hands down. “Take it easy there, Rocky.”
“What the hell is your problem?”
“Might I ask you the same?” he challenged as I ripped free from his grip.
“What the hell have you gotten me involved in here?”
Understanding seemed to slam into him, because I watched as his beaten face phased through fifty layers of confusion…and realization.
“What? You thought I wanted that?” I actually laughed out of my own disbelief. “I fled across the country to get away from you! What would ever make you think that I’d ever want anything to do with the man who killed me?!”
He did little to suppress the crooked grin that suddenly pulled at his lips. “I brought you back.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? You ruined my life—turned me into this…monster, and that’s all you have to say for yourself?”
Biting his bottom lip, he climbed the remaining step separating us. “Well, if memory serves me correctly, I’ve saved your life more times than you claim that I’ve ‘ruined’ it. I’d think a little gratitude was in order.”
I slammed my hands against his chest, disappointed to find the effort was useless. My rune had faded, making the unaided action futile.
“Oh, come on,” Blaine teased, hooking his hands on my hips. “You can’t deny you enjoyed that back there.”
“You. Disgust. Me.” I ripped his hands off, but he grabbed my left wrist, showing me the rune stamped on top of my hand.
“Your body says otherwise.”
That rune. It was the symbol for Lust. And it was still glowing ever so slightly.
“It’s ignited, because of you,” I snapped, taking notice to the same symbol alit on his hand. “You can control my runes. Turn them on, just as you can turn them off.”
“Is that what you think?” He smirked. “You really have no idea how any of this works, do you?”
“Well, if you’re such a know-it-all, enlighten me then,” I growled.
“As your mate, my omen rune will glow to warn me if you’re in danger, and I can shut down your runes if need be. But I don’t have any power over which ones you ignite.”
I staggered back a step, nearly tripping over the next stair. “You’re lying.”
“Is that so?” That teasing grin turned into an all-out vulpine smile. “Tell me, did any of your runes go off in the past eight weeks since you ran away—that you didn’t ignite?”
He already knew the answer, so I merely scowled at him, hoping my anger would overwhelm the sheer panic boiling in my gut.
“Do you really think I didn’t use any of my own runes while you were away?”
Panic.
Panic.
Panic.
If my accusation was right, then anytime he’d ignite one, my arm should have lit up as well. But it hadn’t. Not once.
Oh God.
Was it already happening? Was… Was my body betraying me? Was this how the hex started? On some creepy subconscious level?
“Screw you,” I bit back, turning to head up the porch.
A shadow cast across the inside of the front window as someone approached the door.
“Good night,” Blaine called out in an irritatingly sugary tone, “neighbor.”
Flipping him the bird, I marched up the steps and yanked the door open, finding Officer Hernandez standing on the other side of the threshold.
He caught sight of Blaine and even prepared to address him, but I slammed the door shut before either could so much as make a pleasantry to the other.
“Your girl friend looks a little different from what I imagined,” he laughed, gesturing outside as I locked the door behind me.
“What?”
“Jenna said you were sleeping over at a girl friend’s house tonight. Gotta say, ‘she’ looks a little manly.”
I cringed.
How could I have totally forgotten about my lie to Jenna?
I decided against taking off my coat, since I could feel a rune, most likely Rage, vibrating beneath my sleeve, and I really wasn’t in the mood to explain a glowing tattoo. And like that, it hit me. With all the craziness going on, it only now just occurred to me that I was walking in at midnight—on a school night! Oh boy, was I in trouble. Antonio had the tendency to be rather fatherly, not sparing Hanna or me a lecture on appropriate teenage behavior. I took one last look at Blaine through the window beside the door, seeing him still at the bottom of the steps. That infuriating grin of his had at least subsided.
“Is Jenna asleep?” I asked nervously.
Hernandez shook his head, taking a drink from the beer bottle in his hand. “Nah, she got called back into work to cover for another bartender. Shouldn’t be back for at least another hour or so.”
“Any chance you won’t tell her about this?” I asked, desperately hopeful as I nodded to the clock beside me.
“Silent as the grave,” he chuckled.
“Really?” Well, this was new. I laughed. “You feelin’ okay?”
“Great!” he affirmed, stretching his arms out above his head blithely.
“That’s good to hear,” I sighed, both relieved and taken aback by his chipper demeanor. Then I looked over by the refrigerator, seeing a hefty number of beer bottles that had collected at the counter next to it. “Geez…well, that explains it.”
“What? One of Evermore’s finest isn’t allowed to unwind?”
“Uh, no, this just isn’t like you, that’s all.” I pulled the fridge open and took out a bottle of water.
“Pity I can’t stay like this. I’m kind of enjoying it.”
“What? Being drunk?”
He nodded merrily.
I looked back at him crossly. “You know who else says that? Alcoholics.”
“I know. Aren’t they the best?”
“Wow, oookay… Someone really needs to get some sleep.” I turned to head out of the kitchen, and that’s when I realized it.
The rune on my arm. It wasn’t from rage.
It was Naudiz. The omen rune.
My voice cracked as I added weakly, “I forgot my phone at Hannah’s. I’ll be right back.” I started backtracking towards the front door again when the officer laughed, cutting in front of me.
“Oh, what’s the rush, sweetheart? Don’t you want to spend time with your aunt’s beau?” he sneered.
I whirled around, bolting back through the kitchen to the side door.
A firm grip caught hold of my collar, and it sent me hurling backwards just as I reached for the knob. “Where do you think you’re going, dearie?”
I began pulling myself off the floor, looking up at Hernandez. He was now blocking the doorway. The officer cast me a cruel smile, blinking on cue to reveal exactly what I had suspected. Black orbs covered his eyes. He was possessed! Trying to run for either the front or patio doors would have been pointless given my heels, so I raced up the steps beside me to the second floor. Halfway up, my left foot jerked down with a violent wrench. I crashed into the stairs as Hernandez’s grip around my ankle tightened.
I kicked my free heel into his arm, and he released his grasp on me, but not a second later did he lunge forward, grabbing hold of my waist. My hands clenched onto the posts of the banister beside me, clinging on for dear life as he heaved all his weight downward. It was no use. My fingers bit into the corners of the railings, and the force proved to be too much. Hitting each step on the way down, I fell back onto the landing and was immediately pried off the floor.
“Kat!” The front door pounded with what I guessed was Blaine throwing his weight into it.
“Side door!” I managed to scream just as Hernandez yanked my disoriented frame back into the kitchen. He snatched a steak knife out from the countertop holder and pressed the blade firmly against my throat, throwing himself behind me to provide coverage.
Blaine kicked the side door open not ten seconds later.
“Well, well, well. Look who we have here,” hissed the officer. “Prince Charming.”
“You would’ve killed her already if that’s what you wanted. You need her,” said Blaine, his voice notably losing his distinguishable air of assurance as he stood on the threshold of the doorway. He couldn’t come in… “She’s no use to you dead.”
“You bring up a good point.” He slid the knife firmly up to my face, pressing the serrated steel against my cheek. “My boss does need her alive. That doesn’t mean she has to still be in one piece though. What do you think? Is a bit of maiming required?”
Blaine’s ire set his entire sleeve ablaze with every last rune as he lowered himself, his feet pivoting into a stance.
The demon clicked his tongue. “Take one step, and I carve her eye out. I’ve never done it to one of your kind, but I have a feeling even your healing properties won’t help it grow back.” His hold tightened around me. “Wouldn’t want to spoil this pretty little face now, would we?”
“I’d be more worried about your own face.” Slamming the heel of my boot into the top of the Officer’s foot, I simultaneously threw my head back, nailing the base of it in the demon’s nose. I cursed, feeling the blade drag across my cheek. “Move!” I ordered.
Blaine sidestepped from the doorway just in time as I snatched the demon by the collar, throwing him outside. The runes on my arm helped catapult him—a little farther than I intended. His body crashed against the siding of Blaine’s house, and I just as quickly reclaimed my hold on him. With my grip tightened on the front of his jacket, I used all my strength to force him right into the wall beside my door. His body nailed the brick siding, and I leapt away.
The officer looked at me, baffled, and prepared to bolt. He made it not one step before being forced to a halt. “What the hell?” He lunged again, expecting to break free, only to be knocked back on his ass. The demon sneered, dropping his gaze to the long area mat resting beneath him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned. “He said you were clever, but I’ve got to hand it to you; you’ve certainly outdone yourself here.”
“He who?”
“Why would I tell you?”
Blaine made a move towards him, but I immediately shoved him back. “Don’t,” I warned. “One step, and you’ll be stuck in there with him.”
The Mage crooked a brow at me, kneeling down to peel back a corner of the rug. It was a ratty old thing, only used to wipe off shoes if they were really dirty. Blaine laughed, observing the edge of the symbol I’d spray-painted on the underside of the mat. “Containment sigil?”
It was a trick I’d picked up from Doctor Madsen. The moment anything demonic stepped into the threshold of this painted symbol, they became trapped inside it, which sadly meant I also would get stuck. I marked areas around the house with them, just in case Blaine or one of his little friends decided to snoop around.
“Nice touch.” Blaine’s smile was of pure adoration as he rose back to his feet, but it quickly turned devious as I came up and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Take it easy there, Romeo.” I pulled out the flask from his back pocket. “Holy water?”
Blaine nodded, seeing the demon pale just as Daniel had.
“Let’s try this again,” I said, returning my attention to the officer. “And I’d be very careful with your next choice of words if I were you, because if you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’m gonna pour this entire thing down your throat before you even so much as get out another syllable. Are we clear?”
“You think I’m scared of you? Anything you’d do to me pales in comparison to what my boss is offering,” the demon spat. “Torture me all you want. I’m not telling you a thing, Blood Whore.”
“Wrong answer.”
“That’s not gonna hurt him, is it?” Blaine whispered. “I mean, the real guy? When he wakes up?”
“You don’t know?”
He almost laughed. “It’s not like I make it a habit of attacking demons. And if I do, I’m not hanging around to do a Q&A with the person after they wake up.”
I cocked a brow at him. “That almost sounds like you care.”
He shrugged. “Just curious.”
“No, it won’t hurt Hernandez a bit. But it’ll hurt like hell for him,” I confirmed, looking at the demon crumpled down on the area mat. I splashed some of the water into his eyes, causing him to scream out as I ripped the rug out from beneath him. Prying the officer’s mouth open, I dumped the entirety of the flask down his throat. The demon thrashed and shuddered about violently as I chanted the prayer Madsen had taught me. Eventually, black tendrils of smoke escaped from the Officer’s mouth and busted nose, and he stopped moving. He lay unconscious on the ground, and I pressed my fingers to his neck, checking his vitals. He was fine.
“Okay, I don’t know about you, but I’m admittedly turned on,” remarked Blaine, leaning contentedly against the opened doorway.
I shot him a look. “You wanna take a turn on the mat next?”
His soft chuckle stirred my hair as he knelt down beside me. I flinched, feeling his fingers cup my jaw as he inspected the gash on my cheek. Blaine caught a hold of my hand before I could hit him. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine.” I brushed him off, grabbing Hernandez’s unconscious frame from under his arms. My runes were still lit, letting me drag his body with next to no effort inside to the loveseat not far from the doorway. Heading back out, I repositioned the old mat, only to find Blaine blocking the door as I turned to go inside again.
“What’re you doing?”
“What does it look like?” I tried sidestepping him, but he quickly countered.
“A demon just tried to kidnap you, and you’re going back in there?”
“It’s my house—”
“No, it’s your aunt’s house, which means she could have let anybody in there. Clearly, that demon already had an invitation if he was able to get inside. There’s no knowing who else could come in. Electricians, cable repair men, plumbers, your aunt’s book club; they’re all possible risks.”
I knew exactly where this was going. “And let me take a wild guess where you think I should stay…”
“Just give me a couple hours to put up a few wards around the house,” said Blaine. “I can’t make it impenetrable like my place, seeing as how your aunt owns the property, but I can at least make it a little more challenging for any lowlife demon to come sauntering inside.”
“I don’t get it. Why would a demon even want me?”
“Your blood.”
“My…what?”
Blaine leaned against the doorway, keeping an arm pinned across the threshold, barring me passage. “You come from a powerful bloodline. Even though the fullest extent of your abilities hasn’t been unlocked yet, the power is still there nonetheless. And it gets passed down from generation to generation. Any Duke or High Lord in Hell would love to get their hands on you, even by means of kidnapping, so long as they can use you to...”
“Give them heirs?” I spat, remembering what Raelynd had mentioned in the Hideaway. But…wait. My bloodline? Not Blaine’s. Mine. “Do…Do you know who my parents are? My real parents?”
His jaw tensed.
“Are my parents…” Not human? I couldn’t bring myself to finish the question out loud, but Blaine nevertheless nodded. “Is that why you targeted me? Because of my bloodline?”
“I didn’t ‘target’ you,” he said, his lips pulling into a teasing grin. “And your heritage is hardly your finest selling point.”
Trying to ignore the innuendo, I growled, “Who. Are. They?”
“This really isn’t the time or place for that conversation, love,” he said, hooking his fingers into the front pockets of my pants. I tried yanking back, but he only pulled me closer, plucking out his house key that I had tucked in the right side, pressing it into my palm. “Go, try to get some sleep. When I’m done over here putting up the wards, I’ll come and get you.”
“Who. Are. They?” I demanded again.
“My bed’s particularly comfortable, so don’t feel shy about getting under the covers.” It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was purposely trying to annoy me—anything to get me to drop the subject.
“Don’t do that! Just tell me—”
“Trust me, you’re better off not knowing,” he said, suddenly serious. “Hell knows I was.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Another night.”
I opened my mouth to further protest when the next thing I knew, Blaine’s hands had snatched me up. In one swift motion, he had me slung over his right shoulder with my upper body dangling behind him as he held me by the waist and thighs.
“Are you kidding me?” I fussed about, hitting my fists into the middle of his back. “You son of a b—”
“Watch your language, love.” He purposely jostled me enough to make me shriek as he led us across the way to the side entrance of his place. Without even touching the door, the lock unlatched with a wave of his hand, the door swinging open a second later.
Okay, even I had to admit, it was impressive. My attempt at homing in my magic skills was like an angry gorilla throwing a temper tantrum. While Blaine’s handiwork was precise, my endeavors usually ended with something smashing, breaking, or exploding.
Carrying me to the base of the stairs, he swung me back over his shoulder, planting me on my feet. “Sleep tight.”
“I am not sleeping in your bed!” I barked.
Without another word, he turned on his heels and headed for the door.
“Blaine!”
He suddenly stopped in mid-step, looking back over at me with his lips pulled in, as if trying to hide the most curious smile.
It only pissed me off more. “What is so funny?”
He just shook his head.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just,” he sighed, ruffling a hand through his hair, “that’s the first time you’ve called me by my name since…”
Since he’d bitten me.
***
Resigning myself to the family room couch, I grabbed the blanket I’d left there earlier and curled back up into the lush cushions. Only, between the lack of sleep and being stuck in skinny jeans all day, I wanted nothing more than to change out of my clothes. I sat restlessly for over an hour, unable to relax. Worse yet, my aunt’s house could be seen right outside through the kitchen window.
I could run across the way and just grab some fresh clothes. It would only take a minute, if that. What would be the harm?
My hand reached for the door knob, but I quickly pulled it back to my side. I’d already had enough misfortunes today. And with how rotten my luck was, I’d be stupid to take a chance on something so trivial. But how much longer would I have to wait for Blaine to finish up? I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down my thighs, seeing the impressions the stiff fabric had imbedded into the skin. Twenty minutes later, and I surrendered.
No, I didn’t go outside.
I headed into the laundry room where I’d remembered seeing newly cleaned clothes folded on the dryer. Amongst the set was a long-sleeved tee that on my small frame fell down past my butt as I slipped it on. Contentedly discarding my top and pants, I headed into the family room and plopped down on the loveseat in the corner, nuzzling up with the fleece blanket once more. I told myself to merely rest my eyes. I was not going to fall asleep here. No way in hell would I ever leave myself unconscious and wholly vulnerable, knowing you-know-who could come in at any moment.
The effort apparently didn’t work though, because the next thing I knew, sunlight was pouring into my bleary eyes as the low drone of Mr. Welling’s lawnmower rumbled outside. I groaned, nestling into the cushion beneath my head.
I’d slept the entire night?!
“Rise and shine, lovely,” cooed a soft voice.
My eyes snapped back open, finding my cheek resting on what I quickly realized was not a pillow, but a warm, muscled chest that rose and fell with every breath.
“You’re adorable when you sleep,” Blaine chuckled, coaxing his fingers through the ends of my hair as he lay laxly beside me.
I outright screamed, trying to disentangle myself from the bed sheets.
Wait…bed sheets?
I wasn’t on the couch.
I was in a bed.
My bed.
With my legs still wrapped up, I wound up falling out onto the area rug.
I was in my room.
And so was Blaine!