The Light of the World (18 page)

I want to punch him in the head sometimes.

"Yeah well when you watch seven women die to
save you, plain old you. One of you, for seven of them. You may
then be as choosy as you like." My voice is calm but my insides are
freaking out.

Mona looks at Michelle and scowls. She hasn’t
gotten past it either. We are taking Michelle back to school after
the church. I think it's a mistake. I feel like I need her. Not to
mention she knows what my dad looks like. I need to know why he
wants me dead before I eat all the sin.

Wyatt pulls into a motel and hops out of the
SUV.

I look at Michelle and Mona, "Thanks for
coming."

Mona looks annoyed and Michelle scowls.

I sigh, "Can we just get this out. Get it out.
Mona you're pissed. Michelle you're embarrassed. Just say it."

Mona looks at Michelle and slaps her hard across
the cheek. Michelle lowers her head and sobs quietly.

"You are a bitch. You betrayed her. For what a
uterus?"

Michelle ugly cries. I lean across the back seat
and hug her.

"You aren’t a bitch." I look at Mona, "She isn’t
a bitch. You don’t know what it's like to be something you can't
love and understand."

Mona processes it and crosses her arms.

Michelle looks at her. Mona reaches over and
hugs her. "I liked you better before. Now you look plastic."

Michelle snorts, "You're a dick."

I look at them both and dive in for a hug. It's
not one hundred percent better but it feels like it might be, one
day.

He gets back in the SUV and looks at us
funny.

He hands them a key and me a key and drives to
the far side of the motel. He gets out of the SUV and stretches. I
climb out and open the door with the number matching my key. He is
right behind me. I look back at him, "What are you doing?"

He presses himself against my back, "Sharing a
room. Open the door." I don’t even get to say goodnight to my
friends. When I open the door He pushes me in and locks it. He
slides a chair against the door and makes certain all the windows
are locked. I stand watching him.

"You can't share a room with me."

He looks back at me and grins, "Scared to be
alone with me?" He's cocky and I hate him sometimes, well, really
dislike him. My ability to hate him is diminishing. Which is
annoying.

He jumps onto the one bed and grabs the remote.
He turns on the TV and starts flicking. I look at the door and
wonder, how far I can make it if I push the chair and make a run
for it?

He watches me with one eye and football with the
other.

"Don't even think about it."

I sit on the chair in the entryway and ignore
the closed door and the man I love and the way my belly feels warm
and nervous.

A knock at the door startles my thoughts.

I look at the door and wait for something.

"Yes?" He shouts at the door.

"Wyatt where is Rayne?" Mona is outside.
"Go away Mona." He doesn’t trust Michelle.

I stand and walk to the window facing the
parking lot. I tap the double paned glass.

She comes to the window and frowns. "Open the
door."

I shake my head and point to Wyatt. I put a mock
gun up to my head and pull the trigger and roll my eyes.

She laughs.

She puts her face up to the window, "Michelle
needs you."

I frown and put my face up to the cold glass of
the window. I shout back, "Why?"

She looks at Wyatt and shouts really loud with a
shitty grin on her face, "She got her period."

My eyes are huge. I can feel the strain of them
being so wide.

Wyatt moans, "Gross, what the hell? Keep that
shit to yourself. Jesus."

I slide the chair away from the door, "I gotta
go. She's going to be freaking out."

He waves a hand at me, "Gross."

I open the door and run out. Mona grabs my hand
and pulls me to her room. Inside she slams the door and looks at
Michelle.

Michelle is on the bed with the guiltiest look
on her face, "He knows."

I look at them both and frown, "Who knows what?
About your period?"

"Where the light of the word is."

I am confused, "So no period?"

Michelle tilts her head. I shrug, "I don’t
know."

She shakes her head at me, "Anyway, I heard them
talking at their house when I was sneaking around trying to find
you. He's using you to take it. I never put two and two together
until you said something in the truck just then."

I don’t trust her. I never realized it until
now. Pitting her and Wyatt against each other is a no-brainer for
me. It's him every time. It's always going to be him. I love him.
My brain plays the devil's advocate and whispers,
'Even if he
doesn’t love you? Can't love something like you?'

I watch her face, "Where is it?"

She looks at Mona for support. Mona nods
slightly, "It's inside of someone. It's kept in a person. You have
to suck it out. You know the way you feed."

"But who?"

She swallows hard, "Your mother."

I sit on the bed and watch her face. She is in
turmoil.

"Where did they say she was?"

She shakes her head violently, "They never said.
I swear. I know you don’t trust me and I'm sorry for that. I'll
always be sorry for it."

"You are my friend. You don’t owe me anything
Michelle. You'll always be my friend." I don’t say that I trust
her. I don’t lie.

"How do you know he knows?"

She sighs and stares straight ahead, "I was
walking around the rooms, trying to find where they had hidden you.
He was at the table with them, the one in the basement. Anyway the
uncle said he needed the Light of the World to do something. He
never said what, just that he needed it. Then his mom said well
it's inside of Lillith. It always has been. All she ever had to do
was kill her mother and she would have lived, forever. Then the dad
says well take her to her mother and get her to kill her."

I feel sick. It sounds too elaborate for her to
be lying to me. But I can tell she is holding something back. "What
else?"

She presses her lips together, "Then Wyatt said
that if he killed you as the light left your mother he could take
it."

He plans on killing me. I doubted his love from
the beginning, but I have never doubted his care for me. He can't
explain it, even to himself but I know he cares.

"He could be leading them on and not planning on
hurting me."

Mona rolls her eyes, "No, you're thinking with
the va-jayjay. If he were on your side, he would have told you how
to find it. He would have told you how to kill your mother. He
would help you. Not plot against you. Besides he took you back to
their house and let them torture you."

I want to scowl at her and rage and tell her how
wrong she is. I want to run back to the room and lay on the bed
with him. I want to let him have me. I want so many things. Mostly
I want Michelle to be lying to me. I think of the many ways in
which this could be her laying a trap.

None are as convincing as him being on his
parent's side. Screw him.

I smirk at her, "I can play this game with him.
Meet me at the truck in like half an hour."

Michelle looks worried and Mona looks
excited.

I leave and walk back to the room. My insides
are burning in pain. I open the door and close it softly.

He glances at me, "She okay?"

I shake my head, "No it's bad. Blood clots and
other stuff."

He gags, "Oh my god."

"She is like peeing blood and cramping on the
toilet. It's pretty typical stuff."

He looks green, "Oh wow. I don’t need to know
this shit."

I smile inside. I climb on the bed beside him
and snuggle into him. He wraps an arm around me and kisses my
forehead. He doesn’t pay attention to it. He watches football for a
second.

I start tracing the pattern on his shirt. I
trace it and think about taking his clothes off. I notice him
adjusting his position. I lift his shirt and trace the pattern of
the writing on his side. The words feel magical. They are obviously
a part of what he is. There is no denying it. The heat coming off
them is intense. I lean forward and kiss the words.

"What do these say?"

He is lying back and enjoying my attention.

He lifts his head, "What?"

I blush, "The words?"

He looks confused and shake his head, "I don’t
know. I've just always had them. They're in Latin."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise, "You have a
tattoo and you don’t know what it is?"

He looks back at the TV and shakes his head
again. "My whole family has them. Probably something about the vow
they made to God to vanquish evil." He grins like it's a joke.

I'm not convinced.

He pulls me back into him. I continue to trace
the letters delicately.

He looks down at me. I can see fire in his eyes.
He bends and presses his lips onto my cheek.

I pull away. "No."

He looks angry, "You can trace my tats and I
can't kiss your cheek?"

I shake my head and pull his shirt back down.
His abs flex and he turns on his side. He kisses my neck and
whispers, "I think you want me Rayne. As much as I want you."

I grin and let him start something I have no
intention of finishing. His hands slide up and down my body, making
nerves stand on end. He cups my ass and pulls me up. He rolls and
I'm on top of him.

I let him have it. I suck as hard as I can.
We're kissing but really it's a battle of strength. He is blocking
and kissing and I'm sucking and kissing. He's better at it than I
am. He becomes the wind tunnel again.

I feel him grind against me. He's turned on.

I grind back, teasing him more. He moans and
cups my ass and presses me into him. I sit up, like I'm riding him
and grin.

He shakes his head, "You can push it too far
Rayne." His eyes sparkle.

I move like I want to get off but he holds me
there. His fingers dig into my legs.

"You are killing me."

I want to retort, believe me I have comebacks
for this moment. I've been plotting them since we met. Instead I
smile sweetly, like I'm clueless.

He growls and sits up. His lips meet mine with a
crash. His passion explodes and I suck. I pull from him. It's not
sweet. It's sour and gross. I pull away and cough. He frowns, "Oh
my god Rayne you have to learn how not to do that when we
kiss."

I cough and grip my belly. I roll on the bed and
moan.

He rubs my back, "Are you okay?"

I shake my head.

He lies with me and snuggles me.

"I'm sorry. I don’t mean to hurt you."

I nod and tremble. He hugs me but I can feel him
pressing himself against me. He can't stop himself.

He readjusts himself and looks at me, "You mind
if I go take a cold shower? I can't snuggle you like this."

I shake my head and curl up. I close my
eyes.

He kisses my cheek and walks to the bathroom. He
closes the door and when I hear the shower I open one eye.

I wait until I can tell the water is hitting his
body and leap from the bed. I take his keys and wallet and run out
the door.

They're already sitting at the curb.

I click the lock and we all jump in.

I start the SUV and throw it into reverse. I am
driving out of the parking lot when I see him running out in a
towel.

The priest is a friendly man. He has chubby
cheeks and a kind disposition but I still don’t trust him.

His eyes are hiding something. I don’t know what
but there is something missing from the conversation.

"So which one of you ladies is the Sin
Eater?"

Mona raises her eyebrows at him and nods. He
sighs, "You have a very long hard path ahead of you my dear.
Essentially you need to destroy the five devils and then your
parents. It will reset the evil and the balance will be
restored."

Michelle sits in the corner quietly.

He glances at her and frowns, "I can't help but
notice the evil inside of you. You're energy is a mess." He sounds
like Willow. "You are at a desperate point in your life my
dear."

She nods and swallows, "I have sinned father.
Greater than any sin possible. I betrayed someone. Someone I loved
like a sister." She looks at me and I shake my head subtly.

He takes her hands and shakes his head, "No my
child. Anyone who repents for his or her sins can be absolved.
Anyone."

She looks down and whispers, "I don’t think that
includes me. I made a deal with the devil. A deal that he still
expects payment for."

He rings a bell on his desk. A nun walks in.

"I think this young lady would like a tour of
the Cathedral. Perhaps even some tea. On the ladies side." He leads
Michelle to the nun's hand. She takes her and leaves the room with
a slight nod. Michelle is sobbing again.

He closes the door.

"She has Lucifer himself within her. We cannot
speak in front of her. I'm surprised she hasn’t betrayed either of
you yet. He holds her soul." A grave look crosses his face.

I look at Mona and nod slightly.

Mona looks at him and nods, "She has betrayed us
already. We forgave her for her betrayal, but now we kind of think
she's lying every time she opens her mouth."

"I see."

He pours a cup of tea and offers it to me and
Mona. I take it, but wait for him to pour a cup for himself. When
he does and takes a sip, I drink a sip of mine.

He watches me and smiles, "So the five devils
are not hard to get. Simply use her as bait. Starve her and they
will feel her need. They will come. When they open their mouths to
give her the sin, you cut their head off. It must be their head.
Instant death is the only way to ensure the sin goes with them to
hell. If they suffer or bleed out, the sin seeps back into the air
and then back into the earth."