Above The Flames (The Flames Trilogy #1) (10 page)

Amon nodded. “I’m afraid I am very serious. Now, they will do anything in their power to take this world as their own. In order to do that, they will have to wipe out the humans who reside here. Otherwise it will never be their own.”

Jasmine’s heartbeat quickened. “What about the angels? Can’t they stop this?”

“They were just defeated by the demons, Jasmine. Fighting is probably beyond their abilities at the moment, but I haven’t spoken to an angel in a long time, so I could be wrong. We will see if any show up.”

“So what can we do, then? How do we stop them?” Gemma asked, taking a step forward.

“We do the only thing we can do. We fight the demons. Try to stop them.”

“What if we can’t?” Jasmine asked, her voice breaking.

“I don’t know how to fight. I’ve never even thrown a punch,” Gemma said loudly.

“That is where we come in. You all have powers, which is why Bael wanted to use you. We will train you, one on one, to make sure you know how to fight. We will also try to help you learn your powers,” Amon said. “We will pair up. Jasmine, you are with me.”

Beau stiffened beside her.

“Cole, Caim will help you. Beau, you are paired with Lamia, and Gemma with Azzy. Any questions?”

Beau stood up. “This girl is going to train me to fight? Sorry, but I don’t think she can teach me what I need to learn.”

Lamia moved so quick Jasmine didn’t see her until she had Beau pressed against the wall, her hand around his throat. Lamia lifted him off the ground until his feet dangled above it. He brought his hands up, trying to loosen Lamia’s grip, but it didn’t move an inch. Beau’s face turned beet red.

“This
girl
knows a lot of things that your infant brain hasn’t even begun to understand yet. I would advise you learn to keep your mouth shut. Also, perhaps you shouldn’t be so judgmental.”

Beau moved his head up and down quickly, still pulling at Lamia’s hands. She released him and he slid down the wall. Then he bent over, grasping his knees, breathing heavily.

“We will begin training now. Everyone pair up.”

Jasmine moved to stand beside Amon. When he started walking away, she followed him out the back door, ready to start her first lesson. Hopefully it would be a good one.

Chapter 11

Training

The morning sun shone high in the sky as they entered the humongous backyard. A white fence surrounded it, blocking off the view from the neighbors. Jasmine had spent many a day lounging with Beau on the tile patio, reading a book by the fire pit. Unfortunately, today was not a day for lounging. The yard would be a perfect place to train, the grass providing a natural cushion underneath them.

Jasmine stopped a moment. “So where do we train, boss?”

“We don’t need to pick a spot yet.” Amon turned to address the whole group. “Fallen angels, you can pick what direction you’d like to take your training sessions. Just make sure that your student knows the basics of fighting by the end. Spread out. There’s plenty of room back here.”

Jasmine raised her eyebrows. “So, why don’t we need a spot again?”

“Because,” Amon leaned down and smiled, “we will be doing some warm up exercises first.”

Amon guided Jasmine by the small of her back, his hand spearing heat through her shirt. She shivered, then moved away from him, not at all comfortable with him touching her yet. He didn’t seem bothered, he kept moving until they were at the back of the fence, then he sat down on the grass.

“We will stretch,” Amon said.

Jasmine flopped down to join him, sticking one leg out and bending her body the length of it to touch her toes. The back of her knee burned, indicating just how long it’d been since she’d stretched. Life had seemed to take over, leaving little time to exercise. Which wasn’t an excuse, only a reason. The burn intensified until she couldn’t take it anymore, so she switched legs. After that, she put both legs together, leaning to reach the end. Now both of her knees were burning, as well as her thighs.

Amon stood, and she followed, grabbing hold of her foot and bending it up, pulling as she did. Amon followed suit, mimicking exactly what Jasmine did with each different stretch. She found that strange, since he was supposed to be the trainer. Maybe he wasn’t the boss after all.

“Now,” Amon said, “we run.”

“Run? That’s the big bad training you have in store?”

“Run the length of this yard. Your stamina has to be at its best if you want to beat a demon. They will be stronger and faster than you. And they won’t tire as easily. So, go.”

Jasmine placed her hands on her hips. “And you get to stand here and do nothing? Sounds fair.”

Amon smiled. “No, I will chase you. That way you can practice outrunning your enemy.”

“Fan-fricking-tastic,” Jasmine said, scratching her head as she stared at his long legs. She took off, the wet grass causing the rubber soles of her sneakers to squeak.

The warm air seemed to wrap around her as she pumped her arms. Loud footsteps pounded the ground right behind her, so she dug down and pushed harder, forcing her legs to go quicker. A burn in her lungs had her panting, so she took deep breaths, making sure to blow each one out. It had been a while, but she remembered when she used to run in track, breathing was very important. The smell of fresh cut grass hit her hard as she risked a look behind her. Amon’s arms pumped up and down as he tried to catch her. Which wouldn’t be hard, considering he was already right on her tail.

“Slow down,” she yelled back.

“Turn around and focus,” Amon said with no strain in his voice.

I can’t let him catch me. I have to run faster.

The corner of the fence came fast and abruptly, and she flew around it, past Lamia and Beau. Soon after, she passed Caim and Cole, sitting on the ground with their legs crossed, looking as if they were meditating. She did a double take, and sure enough, what she’d seen had been right.

That was when Amon caught her. He started grabbing at the bottom of her t-shirt, yanking her back. Then he’d release it, let her gain a little ground, and he was back at it again, his fingers pulling at her shirt, her feet slowing.

He laughed. “If I were actually a demon, you’d be on the ground by now.”

“Good thing you’re not, then,” Jasmine mumbled.

She was going as fast as she could, though. Already she felt like she might tumble forward at any minute; her legs were moving faster than her brain could register. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take either, since her legs were turning into Jell-O. She was sure of it.

“Come on. You aren’t even giving me a chance. It’s not my fault your legs are so long,” Jasmine said breathlessly.

Jasmine rounded another corner of the fence, her thighs screaming for her to stop. The burning in her lungs had turned to a never-ending fire that threatened to explode. She stopped, bent over, and grabbed her knees with her palms. “Just hang on. I’m out of shape.”

“What do you think a demon would do if you asked for a moment to collect yourself?” Amon asked, stopping beside her.

“Maybe he’d give me his number and we’d end up being besties!” Jasmine exclaimed in her most cheerful, high-pitched voice.

Amon frowned. “What is a bestie?”

“You know, best friend’s forever.” Jasmine sighed. She’d forgotten that he wasn’t from this time. “Just forget it, okay?”

Her heart pounded hard, and she swore she could find a pulse anywhere on her body. But she focused on her breathing, and soon enough she didn’t feel like a truck was sitting on top of her anymore. Progress.

“Jasmine, sit down before you fall over,” Amon said.

“What am I? A dog?” Jasmine asked.

Amon sat gracefully, his legs folding beneath him. “Just sit. Please.”

Jasmine did, but not before she narrowed her eyes.

She didn’t like being ordered around. Never had.
Who the hell is this guy to tell me what to do?

They faced each other on the grass. Jasmine stared, probably too openly. Amon had a high forehead and laugh lines around his mouth. Jasmine found herself wondering how long it had been since he’d really laughed. He must have been fairly happy before, at some point in his life. What had happened to change that? Sure, he’d laughed since she’d met him, but it never seemed to come from inside. It was more of a practiced move. Something he’d thought was the right thing to do at the time. One day, she wanted to see him actually happy.

“I can see thoughts moving through your eyes. What are you thinking about?”

Jasmine’s cheeks heated instantly. She couldn’t tell him she’d been thinking about him. That would be too embarrassing. She met his gaze, and found herself looking into his honey brown eyes, so light a brown they seemed to almost mesmerize her.

Amon raised his eyebrows.

Her cheeks were so hot she could fry an egg on them. She had to think of something, and quick.

“Just thinking about the demons, and how sitting on the ground is going to help me fight them,” Jasmine replied tartly.
There, that’s good. He’ll never know now.

“Are you always so pleasant to everyone you meet, or is it just me who has that pleasure?” Amon’s grin was flat.

“It’s only for you.”

Amon wore a black tank top, which fit him snug enough to show off his bulging arms and muscular chest. He had a pair of Adidas sports shorts on, showing off lean legs. “Nice clothes. Very modern. Where’d you get them?”

Amon shrugged. “I found them.” He looked up at the sky for a moment, as if searching for something. Guidance, maybe? “Tell me about your power.”

“It’s…I don’t know how to tell you about it. What do you want to know?”

“How do you summon it?”

“I guess I just tell it to come out. And when I want it to go away, I turn a key and lock it back up. Simple as that.”

“So why do you hesitate to use it?”

Jasmine opened her mouth to refuse, but Amon said, “Don’t tell me you don’t. I’ve seen you wait until the last moment to bring it forth. Why is that?”

“I can’t control it, that’s why. It has a mind of its own, and even if I tell it to do something specific, it does what it wants. I have no idea how to make it do what I want. It always tries to go bigger. Harder. More harmful.”

“Have you killed anyone with it?”

Jasmine looked at the ground and picked at the dandelions growing through the grass, popping the heads off. A game she used to play as a child. Mama had a baby and her head popped off. Pretty morbid now that she was older and actually thought about the meaning of that phrase.

“Well. It is time for honestly. If I am to help you, you must be truthful with me.”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t killed anyone with it. But I’ve hurt someone, when I was little. That’s all you need to know.”

“Ah. Then it makes sense that you are reluctant to give your power free reign. In order for you to be comfortable using it, you must have control. I will make sure that happens.”

Jasmine opened her eyes wide, hopeful. “Do you think I can learn to control it?”

Amon shrugged. “I am not sure. I don’t know you well enough to say. I will say this, though. You definitely need to work on your stamina, so we will be running at the start of every training.”

Jasmine chuckled. “So you don’t know me well enough to tell me if I can control my power, but you know me well enough to tell me I’m not in shape? Contradict yourself much?”

“I have seen you run. You slowed not long after you first began. I never said you were not in shape, I said you need to work on your stamina. But, the truth is, your power will help you more than your ability to run long distances. So, perhaps working on control will be more beneficial.” Amon grasped his chin. “I just don’t know yet. But together we will figure it out.”

“Okay, boss. But how about
you
figure it out. Your thinking out loud is giving me a headache.”

“Tell me something.” Amon glared. “When you lock your power back up, what happens?”

“That’s usually when I lose control.” Jasmine stood and turned her back to him, wrapping her arms around her chest.

“And why do you think that is?” Amon got up as well, moving in front of her.

“I’m not sure.”

“It doesn’t want to be caged. Any power is formed based on the person, so it is a lot like you. It wants freedom and the ability to control you. But it will obey if you can learn to control it. If you can successfully lock it up, then you will be able to control it anytime. Are you ready to try?”

Jasmine gulped, goosebumps breaking out over her arms. Amon’s speech was actually inspiring. She nodded in answer. Now was as good of a time as any. It was better to learn before she had to facedown an entire demon army.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Amon backed up a step. Then another, until there was a gap between them.

“I think I am.” She reached inside and unlocked the box. Her power slithered through her body, warming her from the inside out. Her heart sped up as excitement moved through her. There was hope after all. All these years, her power had been something she feared. But it was a part of her. It made her come to life in a way she’d never been before. And something that made her feel like that had to be worth the risk, right?

Acceptance, though it came late, was liberating. She couldn’t wait to get it under control, and learn exactly what she could do with her gift.

Jasmine grinned at Amon, who had his own mischievous smile plastered on his face. He bent his knees and threw his arms forward, and then he pounced.