Soul Bound (17 page)

As much as he craved her heat, Jace found the willpower to yank his hand away. He didn’t have the right to touch her. She was pure light, and he was nothing but darkness. A creature born of sin, whose mere existence was a slap in God’s face.

He couldn’t remember if he’d ever believed in God. Something told him he hadn’t. Having faith would’ve implied admitting that God had forsaken him. There was only so much rejection a man could take and, according to Cal, he’d had more than his fair share.

“You’re a loose cannon, Cutler.” Disapproval gave Marcus a sharp, feral look that didn’t match his picture-perfect features. “You’ve got a truckload of untapped power inside you. If you don’t learn to control it, you could cause some serious damage. We can help you hone your abilities, show you the ropes, so to speak.”

“Why? What’s in it for you?” There was no goddamn way these guys didn’t have an angle. Everyone had an angle. He didn’t need his memories—or his soul—to know that.

“In case you haven’t guessed,” Marcus answered, “we’re in the middle of a war. The Kleptopsychs are growing their numbers so fast, we can barely keep up. The Hybrids are a rare breed. We need all the manpower we can get.”

A cold bucket of understanding doused Jace. “Are you trying to enlist me? Is that what this is about? Am I being drafted?”

“We are the Watchers.” Cal’s words resonated with unmistakable pride. “We watch over humankind, keep the corruption under control. Without us, the disease would spread at unimaginable speed. All of humanity is at risk.”

“You two are a real ray of sunshine, you know that?”

Neither of them seemed amused, particularly Cal. “Is this a joke to you, Mr. Cutler? Do you find our endeavor to keep humanity from obliterating itself funny?” An eerie shadow fell to paint his face gray. His expression grew pensive, distant and smoky. “Thousands of years ago, a terrible wrong was committed because God’s soldiers chose to be something they weren’t, and people are still paying the price.” Fierceness washed over him. Conviction thinned his mouth. “Dark days are coming. The Watchers—what’s left of us—are all that stands in the way.”

Everything became clear then. Cal was one of those manic-obsessive personalities who spun conspiracy theories centered on Armageddon, then recruited a bunch of mindless losers to fight a war that didn’t exist, thus fulfilling his own misguided prophecy.

“And if I refuse to join you?” He studied the layout of the room, wondered how quick he’d have to be to get Lia out of there before Cal and Marcus had a chance to react. Maybe he could plant a suggestion and hold them off for a minute or two. He wasn’t sure if he could take them both on at once, and what about the army of steroid-fed puppets roaming the halls? Would they pounce at the first sign of trouble?

“We won’t stop you if you choose to leave,” Cal reassured him. “But it would be a mistake.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” Jace was done listening to this bullshit. He needed to get out of here, to fill his lungs with sweet-smelling air, to forget this condemned place and these so-called Watchers with their talk of angels and monsters.

“This is where you belong. The world out there”—Marcus nodded toward the door—“it’s no place for you anymore. Never really was.”

“How ’bout Lia?” Jace stabbed Marcus with a pointed look. “Does she belong here, too?”

“She can’t stay,” Cal answered, his tone laced with regret. “There’s too much negative energy on these grounds. No matter how strong a soul she is, eventually it will wear her down. I’ve seen it happen, and I wouldn’t wish that kind of fate on anyone.”

“So you expect me to send her out there alone, while you guys
train
me?”

Cal stood and walked to the window, where night had fallen like a black curtain to shroud the sky. “We’ll make sure she’s safe. I can mask her light, keep her out of the Kleptopsychs’ direct line of vision.”

“No fucking way.” The ground shuddered as Jace’s fury threatened to rage out of control again.

Marcus’s hands curled into fists, his body bent forward, every tendon rippling with the promise of violence. “Watch how you talk to him.”

“Or what? You and I will go another round?” Rocketing to his feet, Jace cocked his head in silent challenge. “Just remember who won last time.”

Cal turned away from the window and quickly went to stand between them. “Fighting among us is pointless. We’re all on the same side.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Jace grabbed Lia by the hand and yanked her to her feet. “I’m on no one’s side but my own. If any of you come anywhere near me or Lia again, things will get ugly. That’s a promise.” With Lia safe at his side, he headed for the door.

“You don’t get it, do you, asshole?” Marcus really knew how to sweet-talk a guy. “You have no idea the shitload of danger you’re both in. They’re going to come after you.”

“Then I’ll fight them. Every last goddamned one of them.”

“Jace, please—” The broken look in Lia’s eyes was like a hook to the gut. He hardly knew her, yet he’d walk through hell and back for her. There were some things a man simply didn’t question, and this was one of them.

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” he confessed in a muted tone. “I think you know that. But if I do what they want, if I join these vigilantes or whatever the hell they are, I’ll be painting a nice big bull’s-eye on the back of both our heads. I won’t do it. I won’t put you at risk.”

“It’s too late for that,” Marcus spat at them from across the room. Jace’s voice had barely risen above a whisper, yet the jerk had heard. “You’re already a target. It’s just a matter of time before she is, too. If they figure out what she has inside her—” He shook his head, let the sentence hang unfinished.

Marcus was probably right. Diane had already tried to kill him twice. But there was no way he’d leave Lia out there to fend for herself. Especially if there was a chance his enemies could uncover her connection to him.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. It’s been a real blast.” He was about to push Lia out of the conference room and into the hall when the two heavy oak doors bracketing the entrance slammed shut, sealing them in.

“Let them go, Marcus.” Cal’s order rang clear and non-negotiable.

“We can’t just let him leave. Not after all the trouble we went through to get him here. You know as well as I do, if he walks out those doors, he’s as good as dead.”

“Free will,” Cal reminded his buddy. “Right or wrong, every creature has the right to choose his or her own path. It’s God’s way.”

Marcus didn’t like it, but one thing was obvious, the guy sure knew how to take an order. Barely a second later, a click resounded and the doors swung open.

The tension in Jace’s shoulders melted away. “Amen to that.” His fingers secured around Lia’s, he hastened out of the room.

Marcus followed them into the corridor. He reached into his pocket and withdrew what looked like a vial of blood. “Something tells me you’re going to need this.” He tossed the vial their way. In one fluid movement, Jace caught it. “It’s angel’s blood, one of the few things that can cut down our kind. Make sure it doesn’t come in contact with your skin. And whatever you do, don’t let the Kleptopsychs get their hands on it.”

For a second, Jace’s resolve faltered. Maybe Marcus wasn’t the jackass he’d made him out to be. Maybe the guy really was trying to help.

There was no way to know for sure. Jace needed time. Time to think. Time to process everything he’d just learned.

“Nearest town is seven miles down the road,” Marcus flung over his shoulder before rejoining Cal in the conference room.

Chapter Sixteen

“Seven miles?” Lia took in the deserted landscape surrounding them outside the Watchers’ facility. Cliffs, beach and an impenetrable expanse of forest stretched as far as she could see. “How are we supposed to walk seven miles?” The wind picked up, an eerie chime that slipped past her thin white lab coat to raise goose bumps on her flesh.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have us there in minutes.”

She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill. Jace reached out to touch her, hesitated. She sensed a change in him. The cockiness was gone, as was the flirtatious charm. The man who stood beside her was distant and guarded, plagued by heavy thoughts and questions, many of which she could probably answer. If only she could get a handle on this twin soul thing.

“Did you drive here?”

He shook his head. “Still haven’t figured out if I own a car. Or where I left it.”

“Then how?”

His lips twitched but stopped short of a smile. “I’m going to run.”

She waited for the punch line, a hint that he was joking. When none came, she released a long-suffering sigh. “And I thought this night couldn’t get any weirder.”

A startled cry tore loose from her throat as his arms swept under her and lifted her off her feet. His strength amazed her, his heat cradled her, his musky scent seduced her. He smelled of the earth, of the ocean and the woods. When he took off at a sprint, he reminded her of a black stallion—graceful, powerful, one with the night. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled close, her face nestled beneath his chin.

His nearness pierced the thin veil that separated them, and she briefly grasped his thoughts—dark, agonizing images that flashed through his brain at impossible speed. He believed he was wicked, that he was corrupting her simply by touching her. Lia couldn’t understand how anything as beautiful as Jace could be evil, and yet she could all too easily accept that he was born of angels.

“You heard what Marcus said,” he suddenly rasped. “I’m no hero.”

“So now you’re reading my thoughts.”

At the foot of the cliff, a dirt road uncurled, then disappeared into the dense forest. “It’s only fair. You’re reading mine.”

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to. You’re practically broadcasting them.”

“That’s only because you’re tuned to the right channel.”

“Not my fault I’ve got a direct link to your lost soul.”

The shadows were so deep, she couldn’t see his face. Then again, she didn’t need to. She knew what he was feeling, and it made her heart ache.

“At least the damned thing’s still alive.” She wasn’t sure if it was relief or regret that roughened his voice. “If I could’ve given it to anybody, it would’ve been you.” This time, the words were wrapped in coarse silk, a gruff whisper that brushed her skin and made it come alive.

“I’ll keep it safe. I promise.”

Silence engulfed them, as thick as the night. “Problem is, who’s gonna keep you safe?”

She wanted to tell him she could take care of herself, that she wasn’t afraid of things that went bump in the night, but it would’ve been a lie, and she respected him too much to be anything less than honest. To think that two short months ago she’d encouraged her sister to dump him, and now here she was, hanging from his neck, feeling his very essence fill her.

The guilt returned, cold and greasy, to slither through her. How was she going to tell Cassie that Jace was her soul mate? She could barely accept it herself. Everything she’d ever believed had been turned on its head, and her entire world had tumbled into chaos. Yet strangely enough, she felt more anchored than she’d ever felt before. In the midst of madness, she’d found meaning, completeness.

Jace’s muscles hardened beneath her. If he’d sensed her thoughts, he didn’t say so, but the sudden tension in his limbs led her to suspect that maybe he had. Cal’s words sliced through her mind:
“A kiss is all it takes to steal a human’s light.”

What exactly had he meant by that?

“It means if I kiss you, I’ll end up killing you.” His tone was flat, resigned.

Lia shuddered in his arms. “Will you stop doing that? It’s starting to seriously creep me out.”

“Sorry. Usually I get impressions of people, these blurry images in my head. But with you, it’s like you’re screaming your thoughts in my ear. It started last night when you crawled into bed beside me. Now I can’t shut it off.”

They reached a steel barrier, at which point the dirt lane they followed became blocked off to the public. Asphalt paved the road ahead, and streetlights cut a dusty patch through the gloom. The thin strip of road eventually opened up to the 101, where Jace picked up speed.

“How can you run so fast, with me in your arms, no less?”

Light glanced off his face. “I’m full of hidden talents.” Despite the grin yanking at his mouth, his answer dripped with bitterness.

“It doesn’t have to be a bad thing—what’s happened to you. You’re strong. You’re fast. You heal at unbelievable speed. God knows what else you can do.”

“I can kill at will. How’s that for talent?”

Lia didn’t reply. She was far too busy processing what he’d just admitted.

“That’s right, Lia. I’m like the grim reaper without the corny outfit. All I have to do is think about death and I make it happen. Then I feed off the carnage. I swallow people’s life-forces, get high on them. It’s the most mind-blowing buzz.”

Traffic began to hum around them as they approached civilization. A sign for Devil’s Lake loomed ahead. Lia’s flesh crawled. It seemed almost prophetic.

“You know what the devil was before he fell?” Jace said, probably tapping into her thoughts again. “A goddamn angel. How screwed up is that? All that stands between heaven and hell is one short fall. Or in my case, a knife wound.”

He stopped on a small commercial street in front of a motel called Devil’s Lake Inn and deposited her on the ground. Then he made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “After you.”

She studied the Romanesque mansion with its stone walls and pointed arches, its small windows and imposing towers, and something icy crept down her back. “I’m not staying there.”

“Didn’t think you were the superstitious type.”

Lia fought the urge to squirm. “I’m not. But after everything that’s happened tonight—” She shook her head.

This time, Jace’s smile looked genuine. “If the devil really was here, I doubt he’d advertise.”

He was right, of course. She was being an idiot.

“You’re cold. I felt you shivering the whole way here. I’m not sure when we’ll come across another motel—”