Fallen Angels (9 page)

“You’re fifteen Abby. You are still that little girl I brought home, and you always will be. It’s nice to see you missed me.”

Abby shook her head. “I thought you were dead, Ravyn.”

“Dead? No one told you what happened after the night we rescued Kara?”

“I heard you were back, but nobody ever talked about you, and the last time I said your name Mom, I mean Kara, almost destroyed the house with her witchy powers. Then Devlin came back and got all cozy with her, then he told me you were dead but no one else could know, because it would destroy Kara,” Abby explained in a worried whisper.

“Devlin told you that?” I replied in disbelief.

“Yes, he did. Wait, if you were alive why didn’t you come home?” Abby asked. It was the question I wished she would overlook.

“It’s complicated. I was working through my own shit after everything that happened. I wanted to come see you. I just wasn’t ready.” It wasn’t a lie, but she didn’t buy it.

“You could have called or sent me a text message. Hell, you could have written me a goddamn letter! How could you just leave me and Mom hanging like that?” Abby shouted.

I didn’t miss the fact that she had referred to Kara as Mom twice now, and that her hands began trembling when her anger grew. Her trembling hands could mean many things, but I had seen her do this before. The anger, the trembling, her hand constantly sliding through her hair. The same things she experienced after I rescued her from the demon bar, where they used every bit of her. I had to tread carefully in order to keep her trust. “I thought you knew Abby. Nebiros, Angela, Devlin, they all knew. Even Kara knew. Hell, she visited a couple months ago, and I saw her last night. Why would Devlin tell you such a lie?”

She looked up at me like I was an idiot. “Because he wants Mom to himself.”

Abby confirmed my hunch, but Devlin would have to wait. “I’ll take care of it. What’s going on with you? I mean, come on Abby. This isn’t you.”

“Isn’t me? Why, because it’s not your vision of me? You taught me to be strong, you taught me how to kill. Then you died on me, or so I thought. You hurt everyone, Ravyn. You don’t get to walk back into my life and tell me how to live it,” Abby said, her anger mixed with sadness.

She was right; I destroyed everyone by giving into the beast within me. “I can’t change what I’ve done. I’m here now, and I swear I will never hurt you again. I thought I was making things better by going away. Turns out I was very wrong.” I finally admitted the truth I had known all along.

Abby finished her cigarette and lit another, chain-smoking like me while studying my eyes. I knew what she was searching for. I also knew she would find it. I was being completely honest with her; I never meant to hurt them. Abby meant as much to me as Kara did. She was special, and I hated seeing her like this.

She shook her head and looked at her iPhone; a tiny grin tugged at her lips. “I have to go. Do you need a lift back to the house or are you not going back?” she said.

“Where are you going?”

“Out. You want a ride or not?”

I looked around the diner, trying to choose my next meal quickly. The waitress would have to do. “Yeah, just give me a minute.”

I moved to the sickly waitress in her thirties, quickly letting my power of suggestion persuade her to join me in the restroom. Closing the door behind us, I immediately plunged my fangs into her thick neck. Drinking her bitter blood was a sacrifice I had to make; I couldn’t take any chances around Kara or Abby. Leaving the woman in the bathroom I quickly joined Abby, who was on her way out.

“Hey! I asked you to give me a fucking minute,” I barked, catching up to her.

“I did. Your minute was up. I don’t have time for your games, Ravyn,” Abby said with a devilish grin.

“Fine, go and have fun. No one can know I am here. Do you understand?” I said, blocking her path to the car door.

“What? Are you telling me that you haven’t talked to Mom yet?” Abby almost growled with anger.

“Of course. You and Kara are the only ones who have seen me, and I’d like it to stay this way until I say otherwise.” Even though I knew my demon friends had sensed me in the house last night and definitely heard my activities with Kara.  

“I don’t understand you at all,” she replied, her voice laden with sadness.

Cupping her face in my hands, I kissed her forehead, “You don’t have to. See you soon, okay?”

Abby nodded and slid past me into the car, looking at me with hesitation before she drove off. I stood in the parking lot, wondering if I was doing more harm than good by coming back. I should have just stayed gone, stayed dead in their minds. Being here was only digging up harbored anger and disappointment.

Now that I was back, I had to try and repair this horrible damage I had caused. I was shocked that I didn’t have any urge to run away like Kara said I did all the time. I only felt a need to be here, with those I loved and cared about.

My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. Jeanie was calling to remind me about my other life and its more enjoyable activities. It was Friday, which meant I had a fight. “How’s it going, Jeanie?” I answered.

“You didn’t call, I’ve been worried sick! Is Kara all right?” Jeanie asked.

“She is fine, thank you. I’m going to have to stay another week, but I will be back for the fight next weekend. I have to go, I’ll talk to you later.” I watched Devlin pull into the diner parking lot, glaring at me while he slowly passed by.

Two things danced in my mind when he drove past me. First, is he here to try and kill me? Second, should I just kill him now and be done? My second question sounded very appealing. When he got out of his car and started toward me, I strode to him and without hesitation tore his head off and spiked it to the ground like a football. Too bad my vision was only a blissful daydream.

“Ravyn my dear, I never thought I would see you again,” he said cheerfully.

Another act by my old friend. I think the correct greeting would be he wished he’d never see me again. I had to ride this game out and see where it led me. “Well, here I am,” I replied with a smile.

He immediately wrapped his big arms around me, embracing me tightly. His lips brushed over my ear. “We need to talk about Abby.”

His voice was almost panicked, and I gently shoved him away, just enough to create some space between our angry bodies. “What is it about her that you would like to discuss?”

“She told me you were here. She thought you were dead and you just show up like this! Do you have any idea how this can damage her?”

“You were the one who told her I was dead.” I paused to light a smoke, inhaling deeply. “It’s funny because she seems to think you had a motive for hiding the truth,” I said, exhaling the smoke with a smile.

“What motive?”

“Kara is not yours, Devlin.”

“You don’t deserve her! She deserves someone who’s not afraid to love her,” he growled.

“I am back now, Devlin, so watch your step,” I warned before turning my back to him. I didn’t even make it a step away when Devlin replied by pressing a knife to the back of my neck. I smiled widely and I slowly turned to face him, letting his blade cut into my skin as it slid over my neck. “My apologies, old friend,” I said softly. Fear hazed over his eyes.

“For what?” Devlin asked.

My hand flew up to the knife, snatching it from his hand with ease and shoving it in the side of his neck. “For that.” A giddy giggle escaped me while I stared at his blood. Reining in my emotions I slowly backed away. “Watch your step old friend. Last warning.”

Chapter Eight

Kara

Demons

After my night with Ravyn the day dragged on at a snail’s pace. All I could do was wait, and when the sun began to set my excitement grew. The problem was, I couldn’t feel Ravyn loitering near the house. I silently prayed that I hadn’t pushed her away. My brain was clogged with arguments of how I treated her, how I used her last night. I felt bad for treating her like I did, but good, because she got a taste of what she put me through. My actions were unsettling, and I desperately needed her to come back.

Finally it was Chloe’s bedtime. It took longer than normal to get her to fall asleep. Kissing her forehead I rushed into my room and opened the window, inviting Ravyn in again. She appeared on the window ledge almost immediately, making my heart jump. “You would think I would be used to you appearing out of nowhere,” I joked while her hand brushed against my cheek.

“Do you not want me here?” she asked.

Her curious look was always mystifying. How could someone so dangerous look so innocent at times? “Of course I want you here.” It was so easy to get lost in my love for her. The world and all of its scary creatures melted away when she was next to me. Still, I had to constantly remind myself that Ravyn was one of those scary creatures.

“I saw Abby today. What happened to her? She looks like a gothic whore straight out of a rock video.”

“She’s had it rough, and you disappearing didn’t help. I’m hoping it’s just a phase. I can’t tell her what to do or she will only get worse,” I explained. Maybe Ravyn would have some helpful advice on the subject, because I didn’t know how to help Abby. When she didn’t say anything I motioned her to come in, then reached around her to close the window. Her hands captured my waist, pulling me closer.

“I want to be here with you. I want to watch over Abby. Let me stay with you,” she whispered, her bright green eyes staring into mine.

I wanted to give in, but I would always worry about Chloe being so close to Ravyn. “You can’t erase everything after one night Ravyn. I can’t have you around Chloe yet. You have to understand my decision, please tell me you do.”

“I do. Just tell me how to fix this. I’ll do anything.” Her lips were so close to mine as she spoke.

“Don’t…disappear…ever again,” I said between kisses, and then pulled her to the bed. I didn’t fail to notice the hesitation in her step, so I let her go and took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?”

“Does that include business trips?” she asked softly.

“Trips to see Jeanie?” I rolled my eyes and flopped back onto the bed with a huff. How many times would she crush my heart? I felt her sit on the bed next to me. Her hand quickly found its way under my shirt, following the line of my scar up to my chest. I didn’t bother pushing her away; instead, I looked at her in anger. “Stop playing with my scar.”

“Jeanie has nothing I want. I’m here because I want you, Kara. I’m building a very profitable business, and I have to check on it. I can leave Friday morning and be back by Sunday night. That gives me all week with you and Abby, maybe even Chloe eventually,” she explained while her hand explored my breast, making it hard to concentrate.

She sounded sincere, and it couldn’t hurt to come to a mutual agreement. Removing her hand from my breast and shooing it from under my shirt, I looked at her for a brief moment, taking note of the disappointment in her eyes. “Fine, but you have to stay in this room, no wandering around the house, and stay away from Chloe. You answer my calls, and you don’t keep secrets. If you don’t return when you say you are going to, and I don’t hear from you with a very good explanation, then you won’t be welcome here anymore. Deal?”

“Deal. I should probably tell you that we open in two weeks,” she said, cringing.

“What does that mean?” I asked. I began to pace and chew on my nails, worrying that she was going to void everything she just told me.

“It means I will be gone for a week. I’ll be back though, I just have to make sure everything is running smoothly.”

I appreciated her honesty and advanced notice, but it didn’t change the fact Ravyn would be staying with Jeanie all that time. “Fine,” I replied with a shrug.

Ravyn didn’t bring it up again. She did return to my window every night while she was in town, holding me and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. She never tried to feed from me, nor did she make any moves toward sex. She was different, extremely calm and caring. I loved my new Ravyn as much as I feared the ticking time bomb hiding beneath her calm exterior.

The months passed quickly with Ravyn back in my life. It was easy and natural having her around, but it was becoming harder and harder to let her go for the weekends. I couldn’t say anything though. She had kept up her end of the deal, so I had no right in breaking my part.

After almost a year Ravyn had still never laid eyes on Chloe. Spending so many nights with Ravyn holding me, it was a war of “to trust or not to trust.” I did everything I could to push her buttons, trying to get that temper of hers going. The bitchier I was the calmer she became, and she obeyed my every word. I even kicked her out several times, just to get a violent reaction. All she would do is leave quietly and return the next day to sooth my worries.

Her actions were annoying at first, and then they were sweet and sincere. My trust in her was coming back. I was still unsure about letting her meet Chloe, even though deep down I knew if she wanted to hurt Chloe, she would have done it already.

I watched Chloe grow at nearly three times the rate of a human child. Not only was her physical body growing, but her mind and powers were developing at an accelerated rate. She was smart, sometimes too smart for her own good.

Ravyn occasionally asked about her, and I could tell it was more out of curiosity by the innocent look on her face when she did. I kept it brief and to the point. I explained that Chloe needed blood, supernatural blood to be specific. Ravyn didn’t seem worried about it, she just smiled. I didn’t know what her smile meant, and for some reason it didn’t worry me at all.

Ravyn told me about another long business trip, something about new entertainment. The week quickly approached and my anxiety grew. Surprisingly, it wasn’t because I didn’t trust her while she was away. I actually didn’t worry about Jeanie anymore; Ravyn was coming home to me and was always happy to see me. It was because she would be gone for nine days.

I watched Ravyn lay out her clothes and weapons for her morning flight. “Why do you always take your weapons?” I asked before sliding into bed.