Enticed (18 page)

Showtime.

I half raised my hand. „Actual y, before you do that, I need to tell you something," I confessed, taking a deep breath.

„What do you mean, Violet?" Griffin asked.

„I mean. There"s more. I … I know who"s after the Scriptures."

I saw Lincoln take a tiny step towards me and then move back to his place as if he wasn"t sure what to do – or what he
wanted
to do.

I bit down on my lip.
Stay strong.

„Phoenix is back."

„
What?!
" Lincoln snapped. His eyes narrowed and zeroed in on me.

I knew it was big news, but it still shocked me to see him look at me like that.

„He was at Hades the other night. When we got there," I shook my head, angry that I had allowed this much to happen. „I could sense an exile and I checked him out but he wasn"t causing any trouble and Dapper reminded me that we"d promised not to fight in his place.

The exile from the warehouse last night – the one who got away – was also at Hades, working for Phoenix."

„Are you sure? How do you know?" Griffin asked, urgently.

„He used his abilities on me … and Spence." I looked down. „He …"

„He made you kiss Spence," Lincoln answered for me. I looked up and could see the anger drain away as understanding dawned on his face. „Violet, Phoenix did that?"

„Did you real y think I"d just throw myself at her so easily?" Spence jumped in, feigning offence, trying to lighten a moment that couldn"t be.

Zoe punched him in the arm.

Lincoln"s gaze didn"t shift. His green eyes glistened as he continued to stare at me from the other side of the room. I could see the agony in them. And the fear. But now was not the time.

I"ve got more to tell.

„He wanted to show me that even though our emotional influence me and other Grigori.

He was giving a display of how powerful he really is. When I confronted him, he showed me something else as well."

„You spoke to him?" Lincoln asked, now taking that tentative step in my direction.

I braced myself to say it. „He stil has some kind of hold over me."

„Do you want me to explain?" Spence offered, sensing the tension in the room, Lincoln shot Spence a look from beneath a furrowed brow. Spence actually seemed to shrink in size.

„No. Even
you
don"t know everything," I replied, keeping my focus on Griffin. It was easier that way. „When Phoenix healed me, he bonded our life forces. The other night, he … he took the healing away. It was as if Onyx had just stabbed me again."

„He reproduced old wounds?" Nyla asked.

Lincoln didn"t say anything and when I chanced a quick glance, I couldn"t work out if he looked more livid or petrified.

„This is very serious, Violet."

„I don"t need you to tell me that, Griffin," I snapped.

Griffin nodded. „You"re right. But Phoenix has capabilities we are not fully aware of yet."

He turned to everyone else. „For the benefit of those who do not know, Phoenix is something of an anomaly. He is the son of an ancient dark exile, Lilith, and also …" he looked down, worried, „he is the son of man."

„Doesn"t that make him like a Nephilm?" Zoe asked. Nephilm were the result of exile and human breeding. Often they just produced a normal human and sometimes something more, but not as powerful as an exile and general y not as destructive. They weren"t common and not usually viewed as a major threat.

Griffin rubbed his eyes. „No. Phoenix was conceived prior to original sin, before mortality.

When he was made, man was of similar power to angel. He was acknowledged by angels as one of their own and existed in their realm before he was cast out. So Phoenix can blend like a human, can almost completely shut off the senses and has a very capable handle on his ability to influence and control emotion." Griffin looked at me sternly. „You should"ve told me the moment he surfaced."

I nodded and hated that I"d let him down.

„It was pretty bad. Blood everywhere. I can confidently say we all thought she was going to … you know … right there on the floor," Zoe confirmed. She sounded so blasé but she couldn"t hide the heavy gulp that followed. Nyla gave her a look that stopped any further contribution.

„When he left, I healed … but … Phoenix is tied to me, physically. If we return him …" I sucked in another breath, struggling to deliver the finale. „If his physical form dies …"

„It wil kil you, too," Lincoln said, the blankest expression on his pale face.

„Yes."

The room was soundless. Everyone had a question, something to say – but no one dared. All eyes darted between Lincoln and me. They could feel the energy leaping between the two of us.

Final y, I said, „I think I know where he is – where they all are."

„Where?" Griffin and Nyla asked simultaneously.

„The airport." I shifted my leg and a shooting pain flew up my thigh. I tried to hide the gasp and wondered if there was some glass left in the wound. „Don"t ask me how, I just know."

„Was that what you were trying to sense last night?" Rudyard asked.

„And why you then lied about it," Griffin concluded, less impressed.

I just nodded to both. „Kind of. I sensed something at the airport the other day that I can"t explain – I just knew it wasn"t the exile that we later … questioned." I tried and failed not to gulp at the memory. „He was at Hades the other night, just before Phoenix. He must"ve told Phoenix I was there. Anyway, after seeing him at the farmhouse I knew it was too convenient that they were so close to the airport. Phoenix must"ve had then hiding out there.

I think that was also why they targeted me."

„What do you mean “targeted” you?" Lincoln asked, increasingly upset by his lack of knowledge.

I felt a bit defensive and was about to say something when Griffin jumped in.

“I tried to call you last night to explain, Linc, but you didn"t answer." Griffin didn"t wait for his response and instead turned back to me, absorbing everything I was telling them. „It makes sense, since you"re someone he"s fixated on. He would have told them to try and play on your fears. Violet – do we need to know what they showed you? Is this all somehow tied into a fear you have?"

I thought about the question. Thought it made me want to curl into a ball, it was fair enough. Everything else seemed to be connected.

But how could they know my innermost fear when even
I
didn"t fully until the moment it
was revealed?

„No. it was just a game, it wasn"t about the actual fear," I said, confident I was right.

„Get out!" Lincoln said loudly – bordering on crazy – startling the whole room. He ran his hands through his hair, angrily, as everyone looked at him, frozen.

„Leave!" he marched up to the door and aggressively pul ed it open. „This is my home, I"m happy to have you all here, using it for your needs, but right now … Get out!"

Griffin and I, who knew Lincoln the best, stood. Griffin motioned for everyone else to do the same. One by one, people removed themselves from their seats and made for the door.

Griffin paused when he passed Lincoln.

„Take the time you need, Linc. But we need to strategise. We need you on board. We"l continue this meeting at six tonight at Hades. Come and join us when you"re ready."

I started walking towards the door after Griffin left.

„Not you!" Lincoln snapped and when I flinched he quickly apologised. „Sorry. I"m sorry,"

he said, softening his tone, his hand wavering mid-air as if he wanted to reach out to me. „I didn"t mean to … we need to talk."

I nodded. I was way too tired to argue, so I collapsed onto the sofa and put my aching legs up to rest. If he wanted to yell at me, I was at least going to be comfortable.

Lincoln closed the door after I"d given Steph a reassuring nod and went straight to the kitchen. I didn"t bother getting up.

He returned a few minutes later with a bowl of water and some cloths, which he placed on the ground, and handed me a glass of water.

„Thanks," I said, unsure what else to say.

I sat up a little and as I did he slipped a couple of pillows under my head to hold me up.

„Where are you hurt?" He stared at my legs, not looking at my face. I thought I"d done a good job of covering up the pain. Until that point, I didn"t think he"d noticed.

My hands hovered over my knees. Lincoln started from the bottom of my baggy sweats, gently rolling them up.

„Is this okay?" he checked, stil not looking at my face.

„Yeah."

As he got to the area around my left knee, I tried to hide the intake of breath that meant pain. He slowed down, gently holding out the fabric, moving it up and over the joint, only stopping when he was halfway up my thigh, well clear of the injuries.

„The other one?" he asked, looking at my other leg.

I gave another small nod. He let out a heavy breath through his nose and proceeded to do the same thing, moving the leg of my pants up tenderly until the entire wound was uncovered. When his hand reached the top of my thigh, his fingers grazed the skin and my stomach lurched.

Is it wrong that I can let him still have that effect on me in any situation?
Probably.

„Why didn"t you come to me?" he asked.

„It was late and I was too tired, Linc."

„Too tired to deal with me? Is that why you didn"t tell me about Phoenix?"

„I would have told you if I"d seen you, I tried yesterday, but you were out with Magda again. You"re never around anymore," I said, trying to hold back the tears.

„Just relax while I fix these," he said, as he concentrated on drawing on his healing power.

I noticed he didn"t suggest we try doing it together.

No surprise, I suppose. But it still hurt.

I closed my eyes and leaned back into the soft pillows. I was sure, given half the chance, I"d just fall asleep.

Lincoln"s power worked its way through me, seeking out the problem and finding it in my legs. His warm hands were at once strong and gently as he moved them slowly from my ankle, up my leg before stopping beneath my knees. Everything in me tingled, and it wasn"t because of our powers.

I felt the swelling subside and the wounds close over. I sighed with the almost-instant relief, like somehow his healing had submerged my body in a bath of warm creamy honey and I wanted to sink deeper and deeper.

Finished with its work on my legs, Lincoln"s power seemed to assess me again, looking for more injuries to fix. I felt it work its way up through my body and wrap around my heart before melting away.

Could it sense the pain in my heart? Could he?

With my eyes stil closed, I felt Lincoln"s warm hands leave my legs and a moment later his fingertips brushed the hair off my forehead and slid down my cheek. They were trembling until they cupped the side of my face. I didn"t want to open my eyes. I wanted to stay like that forever, feeling the way his hands pressed against my face just enough that somehow, in that one touch, he told me more than he would ever say aloud.

But I had to open my eyes. Had to see him. He was so close I think my heart skipped a few beats.

„Better?" he asked. His green eyes seemed to glow as they took me in and I wondered if it were me sinking into his eyes or him sinking into mine. Either way, it felt a terrible torment to pull my gaze away from him.

I cleared my throat. „Yeah. Thanks."

He moved back a little and I resisted the urge to reach out to him, instead looking down at my knees. The wounds were still there but they looked like they were weeks old now. It hadn"t been a terrible injury overall – he had almost healed me completely.

„I haven"t been there for you. I should have known you wouldn"t have …"

He reached down to the bowl beside his knees and dunked a cloth, wringing it out, before running it softly over my legs, cleaning away the blood. The water was perfectly warm.

„When I was you on that dance floor with Spence it just looked so …" He shook his head.

„I couldn"t go through watching someone else … not again."

I didn"t know what to say. Al I could think was that Onyx had been right. I was never going to be able to fix the damage I had caused to Lincoln by spending that time with Phoenix.

„You know – I"m feeling much better," I said awkwardly, standing up. „Since it"s just you and me here now, how about some training?" I mustered a small smile. „Believe it or not, with all the extra help, I feel like I get less done these days," I carried on, desperate to do anything other than have this talk.

Lincoln, seeing my point or maybe feeling the same way, looked hopeful. „Are you sure you"re up to it?"

I nodded, jumping up and down a couple of times, testing my legs. „Yep, all goo."

„Okay, then."

We moved into the big open space and after turning on some music, Zoe"s sparring mux, we didn"t waste time getting into it. I was surprised to realise that I had managed to pick up a few things, mostly from watching Spence in action, and I enjoyed trying out a few moves that Lincoln hadn"t taught me. I actual y caught him by surprise a couple of times.

„New tricks," he said.

But like all good competitors, he didn"t just take it. He came back at me, reminding me how strong he really is, how fast and capable in any fight.

„You need to move higher with that kick, take it from your hip," he instructed me on the move.

I nodded and tried the same move, this time better.

He gave a small nod or approval and we kept going, both of us in our element. Fighting and training – we did that well. I revelled in the simplicity of it.

Lincoln moved like Nyla, tactically superb. In the years to come he would become such a master warrior, it would be near impossible for any lone exile to challenge him. I was glad of that. Glad for me … sad for me.

At that, other thoughts started breaking through my barriers. How could I ever expect him to explore possibility that we could be together? If I was the cause of weakening his power, taking away his strength, how would he defend himself so easily? How could he ever forgive me for taking that chance?