Seers (33 page)

“You had a choice,” I told him.

He nodded once. “True. I did. And so do you. Choose better than I did.” He swallowed hard, and then began to explain everything. “Romero needs you to—”

He stopped speaking. His eyes grew wide, and then he slumped against the car, gasping once against the window, fogging the glass briefly. I watched in horror as he slid against the car, and then fell to the ground.

I was staring at a short man with a black aura. He held a knife that glinted softly under the yellow street lights, sharply contrast-ing the silver metal and the streaks of blood that now spotted it.

This new Demon was staring into the car in confusion, but it was a cold and heartless gaze. He was wondering why I existed, wondering how he could most easily kill me—the witness to his crime.

I was frozen. I knew the keys were in the ignition. I knew I should jerk them, start the car, drive away from this place as quickly as possible. But I couldn’t. I was caught in a terrible stare that I couldn’t break, no matter how hard I tried.

The murdering Demon regarded me for a short while, and then he stooped toward the dead Demon’s body. I assumed he was cleaning the knife, but I didn’t care what he was doing. I felt completely sick, but at least I was free of his gaze.

I twisted the key, and the car roared to life. I was about to shift into gear when I heard Patrick’s yell.

“Kate!”

I looked up quickly, saw him jogging toward the car, just crossing the street. He was focused on me—he didn’t know about the Demon ducked on the other side of the car.

“Patrick!” I yelled in warning, grabbing for the door handle. I couldn’t explain the sudden urgency that had me needing to be at 252 K • • •

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his side, but I could feel the tears building up against my eyes and I didn’t care about logic.

The lock was still in place, though, preventing me from running to the safety of his arms. Without thought, I slammed the button I needed, and suddenly all the doors were unlocked.

I opened mine instantly, practically falling out of the car. But I heard the passenger door open a split second behind me, and the car shifted as the Demon climbed inside. I screamed instinctively—I heard Patrick’s footfalls quicken, though it might have just been my heartbeat. I tried to stumble out of the car, but my foot caught against the lip of the door and my face fell toward the asphalt.

The Demon caught my swinging arm—which had wildly brushed his skin first—stopping my fall. But he was trying to drag me back inside. It only took a split second for me to realize what he wanted: to pull me back into the car and lock the doors, effectively isolating me from Patrick.

I wasn’t going to let that happen. I turned on the Demon, clawed at his face—flinching when I realized how close he was.

His head was near my slumped shoulder—he was practically on top of me.

He yelled in pain and anger, and I watched in sick fascina-tion as every cut I managed to inflict healed instantly. The torn skin barely had time to sting before it was smooth again. That more than anything made me scream again. It was so unnatural—

so wrong. I was trying to stop an immortal being. What was the point?

I was gasping for breath, on the verge of hyperventilating.

And then Patrick was there. He grabbed my arms, my shoulders, yanking me out of the car and out from under my attacker. I could feel the bruises his hard fingers created against my skin, but strangely I didn’t feel any pain.

My feet slammed against the pavement, finally free of the car, and one of Patrick’s arms snaked around my waist, supporting me.

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His other hand pulled a knife from his belt, holding it toward the Demon, who was lying awkwardly across the front seats.

Patrick was breathing hard and rotating me to the side of his body, trying to shield me from whatever would happen next.

“Get out of the car.” Patrick ordered the Demon, menace in his hissing voice. “Now.”

The Demon stared at Patrick, obviously murderously angry at the sudden turn of events. He too was breathing hard, but despite his anger he was smiling. It was a cold, awful smile. I shuddered at the sight, but couldn’t pinch my eyes closed.

The Demon slowly shifted his body until he was back in the passenger seat. And then he was slipping out of the car, straightening on the other side. Once the car was between us, he bolted down the sidewalk, darting into an alley—confident in the knowledge that Patrick wouldn’t leave me to go after him.

“I’ll get him!” Toni yelled suddenly from somewhere behind us. I jumped at the unexpected voice, and Patrick’s arm tightened dramatically around me.

Toni darted past us, his head slightly ducked in an effort to gain more speed. In seconds he’d bolted past the car and was pounding into the dark alley, vanishing from view.

I was still struggling to breathe and the unshed tears were frozen in my eyes. My heart was pounding, my body shaking despite my Guardian’s secure hold. Patrick shoved the dagger into his belt, and then he twisted me to face him, hands running up and down my arms.

“Kate?” He asked breathlessly, his blue eyes deep with emotion. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” I shook my head, but with all my trembling I didn’t know how believable it looked.

“What happened?” He demanded.

It took more effort than I thought it would to form words. I had to force each sound out, and even then it was hard to understand—even for me. “I was in the car. And then he came—the 254 K • • •

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Demon from the mall. He wanted me to open the car. I wouldn’t.

He showed me his aura.” I ducked my head, trying to get control of myself. “There was so much pain. But I couldn’t let him in.” I looked up, gasping through the tears that had finally decided to fall. “That Demon—he killed him. He was trying to tell me something, and then he just killed him.” My voice broke, and I couldn’t say anything else.

Patrick gathered me into his arms, pulling me tightly against his body. “It’s okay,” he whispered soothingly into my hair. “I’m here now. You’re perfectly safe.” I clutched at his stiff shirt, buried my head deeply into his chest. Still, the images of death and pain didn’t disappear. Maybe they never would. “I could have saved him,” I mumbled tearfully.

“I should have let him in. He was so afraid . . .”

“Shh, you did exactly what you should have,” he assured me, one hand rubbing up and down my back. His head lifted until his chin was resting on top of my head, as if that could help reduce my shaking. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” He swallowed hard, and I could feel the pounding of his heart. I knew he was only pretending to be calm—his body was definitely telling a different story.

But I let him pretend, because I needed the security his calm offered.

And so Patrick held me while I cried, and for the first time I began to wonder if I really had what it took to be a Seer—even for a little while.

s

Jack came strolling out of the club minutes after Patrick and I had stopped talking. He must have noticed my tear-stained face, but he wisely didn’t comment on it as he approached.

A young man with large glasses trailed behind Jack, and I guessed that was the Seer. He appeared to be in his early twenties—maybe twenty-two.

Jack informed Patrick that the Demons had fled, and then he

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thanked us for a great time. I didn’t say anything, and Patrick’s voice was low when he asked Jack if he could dispose of a body.

“Happy to,” he said easily. He nodded to me. “Hope to see you again sometime, miss.”

Patrick told him where he could find the Demon body, and I was sure to keep my eyes closed until I heard the sound of Jack and his Seer driving away.

Patrick ran a hand over my hair, smoothing it down. “Come on,” he whispered. “You should sit down.” He helped me into the car—the back seat, thankfully. I didn’t want to be anywhere near the front of the car right now.

He slid in next to me, closing the door behind him. And then he gathered me back into his arms and held me tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered in the thick silence, his breath falling against my neck. “That was the last thing I wanted you to see.”

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I breathed thinly.

He was quiet. His fingers lightly traced comforting patterns on my back, but he didn’t say anything. I focused on the circles he traced, and slowly my breathing became more even.

“He said my sisters are in danger,” I said at last.

His answer was low and instant. “I’ll have Toni start following them at school.”

In my mind, I kept seeing the Demon’s wide eyes, slowly going lifeless as he slumped against the car. The last puff of breath against the glass.

“What happened inside?” I asked, desperately needing the distraction.

He seemed to debate for a short moment, but thankfully he started talking. “Jason—the Seer—helped us through a back window. I told them we were looking for a Demon named Romero.

We split up, and wandered the crowd. Luckily the lights were so bright and colorful, I don’t think any Seer could have picked us out as Guardians.

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“Toni spotted him, sitting at a table in the corner, surrounded by people. I didn’t want to approach him, because I didn’t want to have to just walk away—like what happened with Selena Avalos.

I wanted to end this. So I waited, and then the moment came.

Romero was talking with Bill, the Demon from the mall. Money changed hands, and then Bill was dismissed. I thought about going after him, but then moved closer to Romero instead.” Patrick’s shoulders shrugged around me. “And then we were seen. Romero’s men attacked us, and he slipped away. I’m sorry.”

“What do we do now?” I asked softly.

His arms flexed around me, pulling me even closer. “Now I’m going to keep you safe. Maybe we scared Romero tonight, maybe we didn’t. But Toni and I are going to keep a constant watch over you and your family. We’ll never be far.” I closed my eyes, leaning my head against him, wondering if that would be enough to keep my world from spinning.

I’d composed myself by the time Toni returned. I mean, I wasn’t happy and smiling, but I wasn’t an emotional wreck either.

I’d seen a man murdered—I had a feeling I wasn’t going to by myself for a while yet.

Toni got into the driver’s seat, looking a little surprised that it was already running. He glanced back at us, focusing on me. “You all right?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

I nodded a little, still wrapped tightly in Patrick’s arms.

I was grateful that Patrick didn’t ask Toni if his hunt had been successful—I knew just by looking at Toni that he had been.

I didn’t want to hear about it. My stomach felt sick, and I just wanted to go home.

s

Patrick drove my car home from the grocery store, and Toni followed us to my house. Patrick walked me to the door, and I didn’t care if anyone saw—I needed his support.

“You should be safe tonight,” Patrick whispered, as we stepped

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up to the porch. “But if it would make you feel better, I can stay.

No one would see me.”

But I just shook my head, my eyes not quite on his. “Thank you. For everything. But I think I need to be alone. I need to pretend that everything is normal.”

He nodded once, respecting my wish. But before he released me, he set his hands gently on either side of my face, softly forcing me to meet his gaze. “Call if you need anything, Kate. Please.” My eyes focused on his, and I felt some of the tenseness drain out of my body. It was like his empathy was a living force, and could actually take away some of my fear and pain. And maybe he had that ability. He was a Guardian. He wasn’t normal. Was anything in my life normal right now?

“Thank you,” I whispered again. And then I pulled away and entered my dark house, shutting the door behind me—on Patrick, on the horrible night I’d had, on everything.

If only it really could hold everything back.

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Twenty-nine

“Are you okay?” Lee asked, watching my face carefully.

I’d just dropped the twins off—getting a thumbs up from an invisible Toni who’d arrived earlier. It did help put my mind at ease, knowing that the twins wouldn’t be alone. But still, just the fact that they needed an invisible immortal watching over them made my skin crawl.

I pulled back onto the street, heading for the High School.

Lee was still patiently waiting.

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” I finally told her. It was the truth. Maybe it wasn’t all the reasons, but it was true nonetheless.

“You look sick,” Lee told me gently.

I nodded. “I know. I looked in a mirror.”

“Really?” She tried to act surprised. I barely cracked a smile and she sighed, regarding me carefully. “You know, I may not understand everything about you, but I know enough. And you may not tell me everything that’s going on, but I’ve seen enough.

There’s something you’re not telling me, and it’s killing you.” I wanted to confide in her about everything—I really did. But I didn’t know where to start—I wasn’t even sure if I’d be doing her a favor by telling her. Besides, we were almost to school. There was no time. And so I told her the only thing I could think of—the thing I’d been dying to tell her since it had happened.

“I kissed Patrick.”

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She stared at me, blinking rapidly. “Wow. That was fast. How did it go?”

I sighed. “Too good. It was . . . perfect.”

“What are you going to do about Aaron?”

“I don’t know yet.”

She nodded once in understanding, and then she laid a hand on mine, balanced on the gearshift. “I’m here for you, Kate. Whatever you need. Remember that, okay?”

“Thanks. I will. You’re the best.”

“I know I am,” she smiled.

s

Surprisingly, school went pretty well. I mean, I was still freaked out and exhausted, but I felt better after admitting to Lee about cheating on my boyfriend. It was kind of like that drama gave me something to focus on, instead of everything else that was happening around me.