The Accidental Kiss (The Kiss Book 1) (35 page)

“Amen!”

A frenzied energy crackled in the air. The people were hungry for blood.
My blood
and it was only a matter of time before the sacrifice begun. In the audience, I spotted a man who looked strangely a lot like Daemon. A hat was pulled low over his eyes but their builds were similar. The man’s chin tipped upwards and my breath caught in my throat.

It was Daemon.

He weaved through the crowd toward the stage. What was Daemon up to? He was supposed to simply act as a buffer and let me handle the voodoo priest. Just then, shapes of blackness came barging into the greenhouse. They floated above looking for their mortal bodies. A woman screamed when the man next to her got a mouthful of soul. The voodoo priest stopped in the middle of his speech, stupefied at the turn of events. Magenta came running in as chaos erupted. People jostled her this way and that while they surged toward the exit.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Daemon’s hand slipped into his boot and uncovered a metal blade. Revenge darkened his gaze. “How does it feel to have your dreams go up in smoke?”

The voodoo priest swung his sights over to Daemon. “Well, look who it is.”

Daemon hopped onto the stage and faced the man who had taken away his freedom. In contrast, the voodoo priest grinned as if it was a jovial reunion between father and son. Magenta peered from below, unsure whether to run or stick by her man. Unsurprisingly, she spun around on her heels and hightailed it out of the greenhouse. Guess she’d had enough crazy.

Daemon palmed the knife. “Funny running into you here.”

“I would say the same but we both know you were responsible for this little mishap,” the voodoo priest said.

Little mishap?

My gaze took in the scene spread out before me. People were screaming, souls darkened the glass ceiling, and the zombies were slowly catching on to what was happening. Instead of running like the rest, they stood amongst the chaos; mouths opened and ready to welcome their humanity back.

“Jesus, Sky. What did you do to your wrist?” Lucy’s voice sounded from behind me. She carefully undid the knot to not irritate my skin further.

I twisted my neck around and peered at her with gratitude. “You did it. You really undid the jar of souls.”

“I did.”

My binds fell away, leaving red welts on my skin, which I hardly noticed.
Daemon was free.

“But Sky there is something you need to know.” Remorse sounded in her voice.

I looked at Lucy expectedly, dreading the worst when a war cry pierced the air.

Our gazes pivoted to the right. Daemon was charging the voodoo priest, knife out with malice in his eyes.

This really wasn’t part of the plan
.

At the last second, the voodoo priest dodged out of Daemon’s way and escaped death. “A silly knife won’t kill me,” he taunted. “I am invincible.”

Daemon’s upper lip twitched as he let out a low growl. We had discussed how the voodoo priest was encased in magic. Why did he think a knife would kill him? Rhodium was the zombie’s weakness; the red potion was for the voodoo priest, not the other way around. Vengeance was making Daemon stupid. I had to help him before things went further south. Palming the potion, a deep breath shuddered through my body.

I turned to Lucy. “Do you have that small dagger Daemon gave you?”

She removed the weapon from her belt and gave it to me. I slid the blade across my hand; ruby red blood bloomed at the seams.

“Thanks,” I said.

Lucy tucked it back into her belt, “Be careful.”

“I will.”

It was now or never.

“
Hey asshole,” I yelled at the voodoo priest. “Don’t you want this?” I held my hand above my head as blood dripped down my arm.

The voodoo priest’s gaze pivoted in my direction. At the sight of the very thing he longed for, his eyes lit up with eagerness.

“Come and get it,” I jibed.

“You’re wasting precious blood,” the voodoo priest cried at the same time Daemon cursed, “Don’t you fucking dare.”

The voodoo priest broke into a hazed induced run as Daemon followed close on his heels. With the potion ready to strike, I steadied myself but before the voodoo priest could get within firing range, Daemon tackled him.

“Daemon, stop,” I bellowed.

My plea went unnoticed. They wrestled to the ground, a mess of limbs and arms. The voodoo priest kicked the weapon out of Daemon’s hand.

He counterattacked with a blow to the cheek. “That’s for taking my existence away.” Followed by another strike. “And that’s for every evil thing you made me commit.”

The voodoo priest spit a tooth out of his mouth and blood splattered across the stage. Uncorking the potion, I came around to his side and splashed the red liquid into his face. He clawed at his complexion as it sizzled. Daemon pushed him off and heaved a sigh. The smell of burning skin wafted in the air. Sinking into a ball, the voodoo priest’s spells broke and revealed his true self: a hunchbacked old man without an ounce of power behind his name. He was nothing.

Daemon’s expression grew dire as he struggled to his feet. “Sky, look out!”

I jerked my gaze away from the pitiful human that used to be the voodoo priest and spun around. The faceless man’s eyes glowed green with hostility. He stalked toward me with one purpose in mind. To fulfill the mission the voodoo priest failed at.

“You ready to die, little girl?” he asked telepathically.

“When pigs fly.”

Unarmed, I made a mad dash for Daemon’s discarded knife but my speed was unmatched compared to his. The faceless man kicked me in the back, sending me to my knees. He grabbed a fistful of hair and tugged. It was as if a thousand tiny fire ants were dancing on my scalp and I bit back a scream. From the corner of my eye, Lucy came rushing to my rescue. The faceless man swung out his arm and knocked her to the side. Her body went limp like a rag doll.

You do not mess with my friends and get away with it.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I stood up and swung my leg backwards into the faceless man’s chest. A lungful of air escaped his throat while he stumbled. I closed my hand around the tilt of the knife and circled around.

The man’s eyes narrowed on the weapon with a smug smile. “You think you can kill me like you killed Parker? I’m stronger and a better fighter than he.”

“Prove it.”

At the challenge presented, he turned into a streak of light. I zeroed my focus onto the supernatural being coming at me and said a prayer. Thrusting the knife into what I hoped was his heart; the blade twisted deeper. The faceless man shimmered back to his natural form, eyes wide with shock. Crimson dripped from his mouth.

“Rhodium,” he whispered.

I let go of the knife and watched as he returned to the place he belonged. Hell. With the fight over, my eyes surveyed the stage. Lucy was slowly coming to as she shook off the grogginess, but Daemon was flat on his back, lifeless. An alarm blared in my head. Tripping over my feet, I made my way to him. Daemon’s emerald green eyes stared lifelessly at the twinkling stars above.

“Oh God! Daemon!” I cradled his head in my lap. “You can’t leave me.” Tears stained my cheeks. “Please.”

Daemon stirred as he spoke. “We did it. He’s gone.”

“Thanks to you.”

His unsettled gaze locked onto my face and I knew this was the end of Daemon and me. Our love story, while short, would span decades. “I love you, Sky. Forever and always.”

A heartbreaking scream tore free of my lips. “No,” I whimpered.

Daemon’s complexion grew pale as he succumbed to death. I rocked back and forth as grief slashed me to pieces, leaving me raw and broken.

A hand squeezed my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Sky, but there wasn’t a soul left in Daemon’s jar. I tried.” Lucy said.

I placed my hand over hers and hung my head. The endless love I felt for Daemon was poured into one final kiss. Our lips touched. His past and present memories collided in my vision. From when he was a young child, riding around on his bike, to when we first met at school, to a vision that hadn’t happened yet.

Daemon stood in the middle of a field, basking in the sun, laughing. He turned toward me and gave one of his signature smiles. “We are free, Sky!” His hand beckoned me to follow him. “Free!”

The apparition melted like a set of crayons. Daemon’s lips grew warm and my eyes snapped open.

“Holy shit,” Lucy murmured.

It couldn’t be. I threw my hand over his chest where his heart belonged. A faint reassuring beat thumped against my palm. My eyes grew wide.

Daemon was human again.

NICOLE SIMONE WORKS in digital media by day and at night, pen’s character driven romance novels that will make your mama blush. She lives in Seattle, WA where inspiration is endless like the rain.

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