DARK SOULS (Dark Souls Series) (15 page)

Danger.

I really needed to figure out how to find Derek.  

“See you tomorrow?” Macy asked as she slung her book-bag over her shoulder. Liz and Amanda had already headed off without a good-bye. Typical. “I’ll stop by Cream, bother you for a bit before I go off and play matchmaker.”

I shot her a warning look, which of course she ignored.

“Look Chaucer, if you aren’t gonna talk to him, I’m gonna talk to him for you.” Her eyes narrowed as she stood over me. “And you know I mean it.”

She swayed her head to the right and looked over to where Asher was still sitting. “Oh, how convenient! He’s alone…”

I sighed.

“Oh, come on. You’ve been acting weird ever since you met the guy. Don’t you at least want to satisfy your curiosity?”

She had a point, though it was for reasons she couldn’t even fathom. “You’re right, I guess.”

“Jeez, talking to a hot guy. There can’t be anything worse than that.” She patted the top of my head like a toddler. “Good girl.”

“Alright, alright!” I laughed. “I’ll do it. But not with you staring out through the bushes. Go to class.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, smiling. “But you better text me later.”

“Obviously.”

I stood up and watched her leave before looking over to Asher. The park was crowded, with couples and students trying to find a spot on the grass or a bench to enjoy the cool evening air. I saw a few Cream
cups in hand as I walked to the stone promenade that framed the park, my stroll deliberately slow as I walked toward him. As I walked, I observed the people in the park, children laughing as they ran under the blankets that their parents rose up into the air before settling them on the grassy floor, and a group of older adults rifling through their picnic basket as they playfully bickered with each other. Families coming together.

Distracted by my deep yearning, my defenses were lowered, allowing the heat to snap within me as I came closer to Asher, warnings fighting with the allure, curiosity mixing with danger. I craved all of it.

What would his soul taste like
…?

My eyes widened in horror as soon as I registered where my thoughts were going. What the heat inside me was doing.
Stop
, I thought to myself.
Stop this right now.

Asher rested against the sycamore tree, his torso leaning back as he rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on his curled hand.

Danger.

Shut up
, I felt the flames stirring within me.
I’m not hurting anyone else.

The dark flame unfurled inside me, twisting, mocking. I pushed back. It wasn’t driving this body today, so it would just have to sit pretty for a while.

“Asher?”

Even though I was super awkward—sounding like I didn’t know who he was when of course I knew who the hell he was—I felt pleasure at saying his name.

He startled, only now just realizing someone had snuck up on him.

“Emily.” He raised his face to me and smiled, but I saw the distraction in it.

I stood in front of him for a moment, awkward, not sure if I should sit down next to him or just run away. It was stupid for me to approach him, really stupid. What was I going to say? What was I going to do? He made me feel different. His face was so angelic, but I couldn’t get behind it. And I wanted to, badly. He scared me, but he lured me. 

I convinced myself to sit down beside him, but not close enough to touch. I might have been feeling bolder, but I wasn’t going to be entirely stupid when it came to my unknowable forces. I needed to know more before I started truly playing with fire. I smiled a little at the irony.

“I come here to think all the time,” I said. I knew there was a very good chance I’d start babbling, but it was so much better than silence. My skin was literally vibrating sitting next to him, and I prayed it didn’t show in my voice. “There’s something so innocent about this place. All these kids, all the fresh air...the view.”

I cringed a little when I finished speaking. Out loud, I really did sound lame. But I didn’t want to leave. Why didn’t I want to leave?
 

Asher didn’t seem to think I was too lame, because he nodded slowly in agreement. “Do you ever get answers, when you’re here thinking?”

I hadn’t quite considered that he’d answer back just as cryptically. So far, this conversation had gone from awkward to ambiguous. I wasn’t sure how great that was. I rubbed my lips together in thought, tasting Macy’s pomegranate lip balm that she insisted I try as I continued to focus my gaze on the surrounding buildings, watching as the lowering sun glittered across the rows of windows, checkerboards against the darkening sky.  

“Not always. But it helps to think things through at least. To try and understand.”

He turned and looked at me then, and this time it wasn’t as sharp as he tended to look at me. His stare was softer, more open. In that moment, I saw him as vulnerable. My lips parted, but I could not think of anything else to say. I was caught up in his stare, I was caught up in him, and with that came confusion. Never before had I felt this way about anyone, much less a stranger, and it was scaring me.  

Danger. His soul comes with risk. But I want it. Oh, I want it
.

Shut. Up,
I told the whispering voice inside me, her words swirling in my head, tempting my mouth to open, to consume.
Enough.

Distracted, my gaze on him went on too long, and his eyes shuttered as he turned away, going back to the cold, calculating stare that I’d become so familiar with, even if this time it was directed at the Washington Arch.

“This city’s trouble,” he said, his eyes settling on the carved marble sloping over our horizon.

“No.”  I was unsure where he was going with that statement, but I decided to go with it, remembering his exposed look only seconds ago. “This city saved me.”

There it was. His perfectly executed sharp gaze, centered right back at me. “This city can’t save anyone.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I looked down at my hands.

I stopped speaking, shocked at my open honesty with him. I don’t know if it was my need to defend this city that had been responsible for turning my world back on its axis; a city where I’d finally found my center, my being, my right to live, or if it was just my plain need to get through to this person who seemed so dark and conflicted.

Sensing my vulnerability now, Asher leaned forward, considering me.  

I squirmed beneath his gaze. I wasn’t sure I liked this ambiguous game anymore.

Was he able to see through my golden exterior? Could he get past this glowing skin, sapphire eyes and cashmere-soft hair? It seemed like no one else could lately. But as I felt his eyes on me, I was almost sure he could spot the real me underneath. The uncomfortable, awkward, lost little me, who once again couldn’t find her place in the world. 

He laughed then, softly. “I’m not wrong.”

He was looking at me as though he was seeing me for the first time, so many questions flitting across his face. I wished he would voice them. I wanted nothing more than to continue talking to him. Screw demon-fighting, or soul-feasting, or whatever Derek wanted to call it. I wanted to stay here, to stay within his gaze.

Kill him,
the voice whispered. Laughter mocked me.
Weakling.

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration.

“It seems like you’ve got some conflict as well.”

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it.”

“We all have our issues,” he said before seeming to catch himself.

I nodded at him in amused understanding. “That’s for sure.” 

When he straightened, I knew then that the conversation was finished, and could barely cover my disappointment as he started to get up and leave.

“I have to go but…it was nice to actually talk to you,” he said before giving me that trademark half-smile. “When neither of us are in the middle of running away from something.” He tried to look bashful. “I’m always apologizing to you, but I’m sorry about what happened in the coffee shop.”

“Oh, no I mean, it’s fine. Already forgotten.” I looked up at him. “Thanks for…trying to save me?”

His gaze hardened again, but I didn’t understand why. My jokes weren’t
that
bad. Too late, he tried to cover it up. “Yeah well, flying coffee cups are no joke.”

I didn’t push the issue. What could I say, anyway? “Well, You know where to find me. I’ll probably be in this park. Contemplating.”

He laughed at that, and this time it was genuine.

“I’ll see you soon, Emily,” he said as he turned towards the Arch. I watched until he crossed the street and receded into the shadows of the towering buildings.

I knew I was reading too much into this, that it was stupid to even think about the idea
of him.

But I was pulled to him. I was pushed away from him. I liked
him. But why? I mean, I literally had a visceral reaction whenever he was near enough to touch. Yet…there was something else inside me, something resting alongside these instincts. Wanting. Needing.

I held onto those feelings, because at this moment, I had to hold onto something as I tumbled deeper and deeper into a treacherous realm that I couldn’t even begin to understand.

That reminded me. I stood up, stretching my body a little as the hot flames pumped like a river inside me. It was time to go find my Sensei. Even though I still didn’t know how. Finding a person in this city without the help of social media was next to impossible. Actually, I didn’t know if Derek even knew what social media was.

The flame tingled at the back of my head.

Listen…

My ears perked up at the sound of the swirling whisper inside me.

It was time to learn what I could do.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I stood up, the large sycamore tree my backdrop as I surveyed the evening crowd in the park. Laughter surrounded me, shouts of surprise and slaps of companionship combining into one wave of sound washing over me. A light breeze had kicked up, blowing my hair around my face, feeling cool against my skin. Piano music began to play, and I noticed a man sitting under the Arch, his fingers gliding across a baby grand piano that he’d rolled here, his music flowing into the life of the park.

How do I find him?

So many people surrounded me, so many buildings framed this place. Homes, offices, hotel rooms, sidewalks… he could be anywhere.

Reach down…inside…to me…

The whisper floated up, surrounding me and blanketing over all other sounds. I remained standing, unnoticed, as I closed my eyes, my palms facing outwards, mentally reaching down to that spot inside me. That place where the whispers lived.

The sound of one long breath escaping reached my ears, and I wasn’t sure if it was me or the quiet voice inside, but once it escaped, I felt heat growing in my center, like a hot water bottle had just been placed on my chest. At first, it was isolated heat, only growing on my chest, hotter, boiling. I placed my hand over my heart and was nearly scalded through my shirt. Gasping, my eyes shot open.

There.

I felt it.

I felt him moving in one corner of the city, lithe and smooth as he glided within the crowds of tourists. Broadway, he’s walking down Broadway.

Come to me…

I felt him stiffen at the sound. I couldn’t see him, but I could feel
the soul of him moving among others, but I’d zeroed in on him alone.

Come…

He did. I felt him change pace, turn sharply to the left, and then disappear.

The heat at my center dissipated, the whisper growing quiet. The job was done. He was coming over. I fell against the tree, feeling like I’d just woken up from a long, satisfying nap.

“You’re a wily one, little demon,” he said once he was within earshot. I opened my eyes and found him standing beside me. I didn’t even hear him wander toward me. “I’ve been looking for you for quite some time.”

“Maybe next time you can actually tell me where to meet you.”

“Right, right. Well, it looks like I don’t have to communicate like a human with you after all.” He shivered, like he was visibly shaking off a spell. “Nice trick.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I slid down the tree trunk until I was back sitting, as Derek had already taken the seat that Asher had so recently vacated.

“You’ve got to stop doing that,” I said once I registered his movements. “It makes me uncomfortable, how you can so silently sneak around me like that.”

Derek shrugged, clearly amused. “It won’t be long until you can track my every move. I’ll have trouble escaping, I’m sure.”

I couldn’t tell if he was serious or simply patronizing me for his own enjoyment. Irritated, I said, “Enough with the cryptic talk. I need you to be straight with me. I need you to help me figure this out, and then you can be on your merry way and never have to deal with me again.”

Unperturbed, Derek watched me lazily as I sizzled with annoyance.

“All right, fine.” He sat back, making himself comfortable. “To answer your first question, demons don’t usually have to tell each other where we’ll be in order to find one another. I figured—rightly—that you marked me yesterday, and thus could sense me and therefore track me. It’s automatic, instinctual almost, for demons like you.”

My legs bobbed up and down with furious energy. “I’m having trouble controlling it. I don’t even know what I’m doing or how I’ve done things half the time. How’d I even do that? Mark you, I mean.”

Derek remained quiet for some time before he said, “In all seriousness, I’m trying very hard to figure out what exactly you are. You perplex me to no end. I usually know everything there is to know about our realm...” he trailed off, deep in thought again. “I’ve been doing some digging, incognito asking around so as to not draw any unwanted attention to you. But I’ve come up with nothing. No demon knows what you are. There isn’t even a text that I’ve read describing the kinds of powers you display.”