Desire: #4 Brightest Kind of Darkness (28 page)

I know they’re doing everything they can, but I still just want to scream, “Help her!”

Ethan

My heart aches as I watch Nara sitting with her legs tucked under her on the floor next to her great aunt. She’s trembling and looks so pale. I tried to go to her, but her father showed up with the paramedics and police, and they pretty much pushed me out of her Gran’s apartment. So I hover in the doorway, hoping Nara will look my way again and see my sympathy and regret for what’s happened.

All because of me. Of the secret she was trying to protect.

But she doesn’t look my way, not really. I wait. I’m patient. I want her to know I’m here.

Her father steps in front of me, blocking Nara from my line of sight. “I think you should go. You’ve done enough.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

He looks behind him at the policeman who’s walking over to talk to Nara and shoves something in my hand. “I found this jammed in that dead woman’s chest.”

As I glance down at the Corvus broach I’d given Nara to give to her Gran, her father’s voice moves closer and he grates in my ear, “I don’t know what kind of dangerous shit you’re part of, but I don’t want my daughter mixed up in it. Take that with you. I know it’s yours, and I don’t want it traced back to Inara.”

When he straightens, worry rages, but I remain calm. “Traced back? I don’t understand.”

His gaze slits and he pulls me out into the hall away from the door. “I knew something was off with you, so when I couldn’t find that raven symbol anywhere on the web, I used my contacts and went to the police station to look through their database of gang related symbols and tattoos. The last thing I expected was to run across this same raven symbol listed in a recent unsolved murder.”

I frown and shake my head. “What murder? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Someone had tagged the cement with that symbol not far from where they found the drowned body of a teenage girl named Harper Dabney. The police also found demon worship stuff at her house, so they think her death was some kind of sacrifice. The girl went to your school. Does the name Harper ring any bells?”

Shit, Harper. The demon that killed Harper must’ve left the symbol behind out of spite.
I don’t let the recognition show on my face. “No, it doesn’t. I don’t know anything about a murder. That symbol
is
one for protection, not demon worshiping, sir.”

Mr. Collins shakes his head in a fast jerk. He doesn’t believe a word I’m saying. “I don’t know what Inferi are—” he pauses when my gaze hardens. I know Nara never told him the name Inferi.

Her father folds his arms, a stubborn look on his face. “Once I saw the partial sword tattoo on your back, I cloned Nara’s phone. I heard her conversation with you earlier. That’s how the police, ambulance, and I got here when you did. It’s also how I know Corda’s life was threatened over some damned book.”

I’m amazed at how calm I’m remaining in the face of her father’s fury. I can feel the Corvus in me pacing and seething. “I’d like to speak to Nara when she’s able to talk.”

“Do you want Inara to be next?” Brackets of anger form around his mouth, his tone low but furious. “I want you to stay the hell away from my daughter. Don’t make me file a restraining order. You know I’ve got the connections to make it stick.”

Her father turns away and walks back into the room to talk to the police. I move to the doorway and scan over the paramedics still working on her great aunt, and then to Nara, who looks like she’s about to collapse as she watches the medical team buzzing all around.

Tell him to fuck off. Go in there!
The Corvus pushes my foot forward. He wants me to rail at her father and defend myself, but I grab the doorjamb and stay firmly in place. It won’t matter if I tell him the truth.

I never went to the graveyard. I came straight here. By now the demon has the book. He got what he wants and now Nara will finally be safe. No more demons will be hunting her or stalking her family. She has a clean slate. I can give her that at least.

I stare at her fingers clutched together. As far as I’m concerned, Nara did the job Michael expected of her. She convinced me that the Master Corvus has forgotten who he is, and now it’s up to me to make sure he remembers.

I want to walk in there and hold her, to kiss her one last time and say goodbye, but maybe it’s best this way.

You can’t leave her. You must stay. She is everything to you.

She is everything. I love her enough to stop being so selfish. I feel my body tensing; I can sense the Corvus trying to control me and push me forward, but I lock my jaw and hold steady.

I won’t leave her!
he thunders in my head.

My gut clenches. He just said
I
. I’d been right to worry. My Corvus has attached to Nara.
And now you can’t put her in danger anymore either, Corvus.

No! You can’t do this. She is so rare. You can’t walk away!

You chose this vessel. Get used to it!

While I look at Nara one last time, hoping to soak in her features and commit them to memory, one of the paramedics says to the other, “Her heart has stopped. Get the defibrillator.”

“I’m so sorry, Nara. For everything,” I say quietly.

Nara

When the redheaded paramedic grabs the defibrillator, my thumping heart jumps into overdrive and tears roll down my cheeks. Why couldn’t I expel that demon? Why could I save David, but not Gran?

While the machine makes its high-pitched charging sound, I dig my fingers into my thighs and glance to the doorway for Ethan, seeing him for the first time. His face is tense, his hand clenched on the doorjamb. He looks as worried as I feel.

My father squeezes my shoulder and says, “You have to be strong, Nari.” His touch distracts me, drawing my attention to Gran once more. When Gran’s body jerks with the defibrillator’s shock, I swallow a sob and look back for Ethan, hoping for a signal from him that the book is safe. That he’ll confirm that Clara’s sacrifice and my Gran’s life draining before my eyes aren’t for nothing.

But he’s gone.

Thank you for following Ethan and Nara’s journey.

Stay tuned for BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS Book 5!

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Glossary of Terms

Celestial realm
– Heaven

Mortal realm
– Earth

Under realm
- Hell

Veil
- a safety zone around the Mortal realm where angels constantly fight demons to keep them from breaking through the veil and entering the Mortal realm

Inferi
- a demon who followed Lucifer when he was cast from the Celestial realm, ie a Lucifer demon

Inferni
- plural of Inferi

Furia
- a lower demon created if a Corvus kills a human who is fully possessed (corrupted) by an Inferi.

Furiae
- plural of Furia

Corvus
- a human who has been chosen to host a piece of the Master Corvus ’ spirit. The Corvus’ sole purpose is to maintain balance between good and evil in the Mortal realm by fighting demons who possess humans. The Corvus expels the demon from the human, sending it back to Under (if it’s a Inferi demon) or killing it for good (if it’s a Furia demon).

Master Corvus
- a powerful spirit who creates Corvus.

Order
- A secret organization that oversees finding newly formed Corvus and assigning a Paladin to help the human adjust to the physical and mental changes he/ she will experience as a Corvus.

Paladin
- a human , with his/ her own special ability, who has dedicated his/ her life to the Order to help the Corvus. A Paladin gives the Corvus moral support through a human connection who understands their purpose. The Paladin’s goal is to help the Corvus stay grounded to the human world so that the Corvus won’t go dark from the demonic evil he/ she has to fight on a constant basis.

Archangel
– The highest-ranking angel