Salt (21 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

“You need to counter it better,” Carter says as he flips me over his shoulder and into one of the mats across the floor. I let out a groan. “Your feet were too far apart. Pay attention. The final is in two days, and Ellore said we need this move.”

I groan again. He’s enjoying this way too much. For two hours he’s been beating the crap out of me—and telling me what I’m not doing right. Over and over again.

He reaches out a hand to help me up, and I don’t take it.

“I thought you were supposed to be
helping
me with this move,” I snap.

“I am,” he says, a smirk planted on his face.

I snort. “More like a torture session. I can see how you would get those confused.”

Carter latches onto my arm and yanks me toward him, wrapping his hands around my waist. He lowers his face to mine, smile still beaming, eyes mischievous. “Maybe it’s a form of foreplay.”

His lips press against mine. It’s almost like I meld into him, like my body fits with his and this is all I need to be happy. It’s hard to think for a moment, to even remember my own name. He pulls me tighter against him. His hands are on my hips, on my waist, trailing up my back. Chills trickle down my body. I’m pretty sure that Penelope Grey dies and is reborn in the same instant.

At least something like that must happen. Because the boy I sort of love is kissing me and then, as if it’s not even me doing it, my leg twists around his and I’m pinning him to the floor in triumph. He groans at the impact of his head against our makeshift hideaway.

“I think that’s match?” I say.

Carter stares up at me, completely confused. “You tripped me. That wasn’t fair—using your feminine wiles to distract me.”

“I believe you were the one using the wiles.”

“Men don’t have wiles, Pen. We have charisma.”

I grunt. “Well you were using it first. And besides,” I say, moving to my feet, “foreplay, remember?”

Carter laughs and the sound makes me smile as I turn away from him. That was apparently the wrong move, though. His hand grips my ankle and before I can move, he pulls me down again and rolls on top of me, smiling.

“That was a cheap shot, William Carter Prescott.”

He grins. “So punish me.” Then his lips are on mine again and with them, all the things that make me feel like someone new and beautiful and completely unlike myself. I love every second of his touch.

“Everyone decent in there?” Ric yells from the doorway.

“I’m sure they’re decent,” Maple says.

Ric mutters something to her and she laughs.

“I have snacks!” Maple yells. This is the third time he’s come over with her since Carter suggested it. Maple is nice, and I mistakenly thought she was quiet; now she likes to talk, quickly, and she and Ric have bonded over Anime.

“May not be as good as whatever you’re doing though,” Ric says.

I roll my eyes and steal another kiss from Carter. “Come in!”

He kisses me again quickly.

“Are you sure? We can come back when you’re finished.”

Carter pulls me up to my feet.

“Get in here, Norris,” Carter calls.

Ric’s got this huge, cheesy grin on his face when he comes inside. I’m pretty sure he’s never been prouder of me for kissing a boy, which is weird, but it’s reassuring that he approves.

Ric hands me an iced tea. “You look flushed,” he says. I smack his shoulder and take the tea out of his hand. He’s so subtle.

Maple pulls her hair up. “What are we starting with?”

Carter takes a swig of his soda and then sets it on the floor in the far corner. “Let’s just start where we stopped yesterday,” he says.

The four of us take a position on the mats, facing one another in a square. Yesterday—well, for the last two days—we worked on basic defense maneuvers. The Triad prepares us to fight two-on-one or one-on-one, but it hadn’t accounted for groups of demons. Aside from our first day, where all the Pairs get to have a group lesson on basic partner maneuvers, we never interact as a larger unit. Ric and I had the idea for a group session. Ellore approved, and came to the first session with Ric and Maple’s mentor. They helped us get set up, but it all has to happen in our extra time. Even though none of us are demons, the group setting has been helpful because we have to be aware of what’s going on in three directions.

That’s not a type of training the Enforcers usually get. And in the past, it’s never been an issue, but it’s not enough anymore. The Triad has kept everything quiet about what happened to me in the woods, but I know what I saw. I know what happened. The demons keep taking out our people—two witches have died since then, one each day—and that doesn’t include the number of thwarted attempts. They’re getting restless, and restless means dangerous, and the Triad isn’t doing anything.

Ric rushes toward me, swinging a fist at my head. I duck under the punch and kick, taking his legs out. I toss a smirk down at him that’s cut short when Carter moves in on my right. I block just in time to avoid his knuckles’ meeting my mouth. Maple’s somewhere on the other side with Ric. I see him trip her from the corner of my eye. Ric jumps up and charges toward me. He doesn’t make it. Carter lands a hard kick at Ric’s stomach, sending the Ric to the ground. Maple jumps in on the pile, trying to separate the boys.

I take advantage—every man for himself—and try to dash across the mats. Carter’s too quick again. He grabs my leg and yanks me toward him. I tumble to the ground and he pulls me closer, a smile on his face. I twist in his grip, but he grabs my arms and pins me down. I squirm even though I know it’s useless. He holds my arms down, my legs locked between his knees as he hovers over me. Damn him.

“You’re hot when you’re feisty,” Carter says with a cocky grin.

I raise my eyebrows as he leans closer to me. And then Carter is gone, jerked away by Ric. I’m about to let my foot become very well acquainted with Ric’s ankle for taking Carter away, but he darts off, chasing down Carter.

“No googly eyes during training,” Ric yells.

I hear Carter laugh and then Ric groans as Carter gets the advantage again. Maple attacks from behind. She’s good with those sneak attacks. Nothing’s off-limits (except guy parts and googly eyes, as Ric so eloquently said), so while they spar with each other, I conjure up my magic.

It’s a lot easier to call up now, like it’s more in tune with me. I make sure to picture it, and then send a wall of magic toward the boys and Maple. It shoots them across the floor in opposite directions. I move my hand and pin both boys against the wall where they land. Maple comes at me, and I pin her too. Their groans echo one another.

I walk slowly by Ric, enjoying my win.

“This is low, Penelope Grey. I know where you live.”

“You’re just mad because you didn’t think of it,” I say.

“Maybe,” he says.

“Let me down,” Maple says.

I shake my head and move toward Carter. His eyes have been following me across the room since I pinned him. “So, you think you’ve won?”

I cross my arms. “Oh, that’s pretty clear.”

“Magic is a low move in a spar,” Carter says softly.

“There were no rules about magic,” I say. I walk to him and stand up on my tiptoes so I’m in his face. “Besides, I like magic.”

“I like you,” he whispers, his lips touching mine. Across the room, I hear Ric gagging. I turn away from Carter and tighten my magical hold on Ric until he coughs. Then I let him go and he falls to the floor with a thud. I let Maple go with him.

I love magic. I can’t believe I didn’t have it for so long.

“You okay?” I call out to Ric, not looking over. He responds with a moan.

“You win. Make your googly eyes now. We’ll be somewhere else.”

I don’t look away from Carter, but I hear Ric’s footsteps and their muttering fades as he and Maple leave the room. Carter stares at me, his lips only seconds from mine.

“You gonna let me go now?”

I shake my head and lean into the space between us, pressing my mouth to his. All he can do is tilt his face to meet mine as I stretch up on my tiptoes. But with his lips on mine, I can’t focus on the magic. His feet touch the ground, firmly planted now, and his hands run through my hair.

He lets out a soft moan and crushes me to him. He shifts, twisting me around until my back is against the wall— which is the only thing keeping me standing. My heart is racing in my chest and the magic feels wild, loose.

“God, are they at it again?” Connie yells. When did she get here? I should’ve never told her where we practiced.

I hear Ric laugh. “Four days of this, Ric. Four. Am I that annoying with Thomas?”

“Worse. And I’ve made it a new habit to make sure they’re decent before I come into a room.”

They grow quiet and Maple yells, “I’m leaving! Bye, lovebirds!”

Carter pulls away from me slowly and I lean my forehead against his. “I’m going to kill them,” I whisper.

“We can continue later,” he says, placing a chaste kiss to my temple. God, that’s like the sexiest thing ever. “Let me grab my backpack.”

I walk into the foyer. Connie and Ric smile at me—completely large, cheesy smiling—and they both snicker. “Stop,” I say to my sister, strapping my bag on my shoulder.

She shrugs. “I didn’t do anything. Did I do anything?”

Ric’s eyes get wide, a dumbfounded expression on his face. “I didn’t see anything.”

I roll my eyes at them. “Why are you here?”

“I told you this morning: Ric said we could have lunch today. I’m here to rescue you all for food.” Right. I’d forgotten. Connie reaches out and pulls me into a hug, still all smiles.

“It’s cute to see you happy.” She actually bounces in place. If she were a dog, she’d totally be wagging her tail, and probably peeing on things.

I look around the room for Carter, but he’s turning off the lights in the back rooms. Ric looks at Connie.

“I wonder if kissing gives you endorphins? Like exercise?” Ric asks.

“Always makes me happy,” she says back. I groan.

Ric laughs. “We love that you have a boy toy. We have to mock you.”

“Especially such a hot boy toy,” my sister adds.

“Indeed,” Ric agrees, bumping shoulders with my sister. It looks a little ridiculous, since she’s so much shorter than he is. It’s more like shoulder-to-head bump. Carter comes into the room and stands between us. He obviously knows we were talking about him.

Connie clears her throat. “Lunch?”

Connie, Carter, Ric, and I walk in line across the sidewalk on our way to lunch. Ric walks next to me and gives me mocking looks as Carter explains to Connie about the life cycle of an indigenous plant he saw in Costa Rica—and she’s going on and on about the ecosystem. I’m glad that my boyfriend and sister get along. Really, it’s a dream.

Carter’s mid-sentence when he stops walking and puts out a hand to us. He looks over at me, his eyes wide. “Do you smell that?”

I take a second and sniff the air before I nod. “Sulfur.”

“Looks like we’ve got company,” Ric says. He looks at my sister. “You should go on ahead.”

Connie crosses her arms. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”

Carter looks from me to my sister and back to me. “She’s just like you.”

“Welcome to my life for the last twelve years,” Ric says.

I shrug, but really, it makes me happy. She is like me, and we’re both like Gran and Mom in how we never give up. The thought makes me pause. Emmaline Spencer seems pretty stubborn too. From what I’ve read from her, which is a lot of her caring about what her family thinks and how she doesn’t live up, she also seems unwilling to change. I guess it’s genetic.

“Follow my lead,” Carter says.

We maneuver our way through Old Town and surprisingly, it’s not that busy today. Carter leads us to the right by a cupcake shop, and when we get around the corner toward the waterfront, there’s a demon waiting for us.

No words are spoken before it launches itself at Connie. I jump between them in time to take the hit in a clumsy attack. Cold, scaly hands grab me. I flip around and it pulls me away by the throat. I knee it, kick it, try to conjure up my magic and as soon as I do Carter pushes me out of the way.

Ric throws a blast of magic at the demon, hitting it square in its maroon face. It falls with a groan. Another one—a blue one—comes out of nowhere and swings its fist in retaliation. It must have been waiting for us. Ric ducks, pulling Connie out of the way.

“Behind you,” I shout as the maroon one gets back to its feet.

The ground shakes. I press my hand against the wall so I don’t fall over, try to focus on my magic and get an image, but as soon as do, this yellow-ish demon jumps me. How many freaking demons are here? I crash to the ground. I roll off it and back to my feet, but it’s fast too. It reaches for me, a knife in one hand. A demon with a knife. Asshat.

There’s a screeching on the other end of the alley and when I look, all I see is the blue demon is exploding into bits. Connie stands beside it, her hands shielding her face, blue guts dripping off her. Go sister.

“Pen!” Carter yells.

I look up to see the knife-carrying demon lunge toward me. The magic responds quickly. I send it out toward the demon and the demon strikes the concrete hard, slumping over in the alley. I don’t waste any time saying the incantation. In seconds, all that’s left is yellow goo. It’s like a party with demon guts for confetti.

All that’s left is the maroon demon.

It moves toward Ric and I leap to my feet. I’m ending this thing. Carter’s hand squeezes around my arm.

“We can’t kill it yet,” Carter says.

I meet his gaze. He’s mentioned this to me before in the past few days, about finding a demon that might know what happened in the woods, questioning it. It may know something. That’s what he thinks, anyway. I don’t like the idea of keeping it alive, but I nod.

Carter runs toward it, magic flying from his fingertips. Watching him is sort of incredible. His feet are fast as he corners it, knocks it over, and traps it without blinking an eye. I lead Connie away; she’s staring back at Carter and the demon in confusion.

“Put up a barrier, then go to the restaurant,” I say. She hasn’t taken the tests yet; she can’t be part of this. Connie shakes her head at me, but no words come out. “Connie! Now!”