Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) (22 page)

“I’m the future. Your future.” He looked at her. “You called me
a monster before, but I’m way better than that.”

She gaped at him. “You can take someone’s soul by—by
kissing
them?”

“That’s right.”

Her shocked expression soured. “That sounds
really
lame.”

He gave her a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ll
change your mind.”

Stephen was still in love with Jordan. Don’t ask me how or why,
but he was. I’d seen it at the mall. That was my confirmation. Even though he’d
gone through stasis, there was still something there when it came to his
feelings toward the redhead.

She had a soul. She was close to him right now, trapped and
vulnerable. And yet, he didn’t make a move to feed on her because it would kill
her if he did.

That meant something very important to me.

“Stop this, Stephen.” He still held me effortlessly against the
wall as if I weighed no more than a teacup Chihuahua. With his increased
strength, he could break my spine with the smallest twist. And he could do the
same—or worse—to Jordan.

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to stop. This is it, Samantha.
This is what I’ve been waiting for all my life. My reason to exist.”

“And what reason is that? You’re stuck in this city like all
the others. You’re trapped as much as I am in this room.”

He cocked his head. “Natalie said that you have the power to
cut a hole in the barrier with your boyfriend’s dagger.”

My stomach clenched. I’d hoped he’d forgotten about that little
hypothesis, my aunt’s quest to escape from Trinity so she could spread her evil
far and wide. “She was fooling herself. I can’t do that.”

Stephen glanced at Jordan again, who hadn’t gotten up from the
ground yet. “Samantha’s the daughter of a demon and an angel. That gives her
special powers that I need.”

“Shut up.” Any mention of what I was put me into immediate
panic mode as if the words themselves had power.

He grinned. “It’s a secret, though, so shh. Don’t tell
anyone.”

Jordan’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Are you serious?”

My gaze shot to her. “Don’t listen to him. He’s a liar.”

Her face was so pale her freckles stood out more than they
normally did. “Demons and angels...but those things don’t really exist.”

“Wrong,” Stephen said. “They’re prowling the city right now, on
a hunt for things like me. Although, I’m pretty hard to kill now. Nearly
impossible, really.” He raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t come to rescue
you
yet, have they, Samantha? Thought they’d taken you
as a pet.”

Bishop had found me when Kraven was forced to kiss me. But his
tracking ability wasn’t reliable anymore.

Did he even know I’d been missing for a day? Had Cassandra
noticed the house was empty, or had she thought I’d gone to bed early again last
night and left first thing this morning?

I’d told Bishop I wanted nothing to do with them, and with him.
And he’d agreed to give me my space. To say I regretted our last conversation
would be a monumental understatement.

I did need him. And I wished desperately he was here.

Mostly so he could kick Stephen’s ass and introduce him to that
handy golden dagger of his.

My empathy toward Stephen Keyes was at an end.

“What do you want with us?” I demanded, trying my best to
remain calm when I felt anything but. “Or did you just want to talk to us all
day?”

He looked over his shoulder at Jordan again, who was finally
pushing back up to her feet. “Every soul I take makes me stronger. Strength
means power. Power means I can have anything I want—become a true leader,
respected and feared. But the others like us...they bore me. Most are too weak
to survive stasis, anyway.”

I glared at him while holding my injured wrist protectively
against my chest. “Too bad. You can have everything, but you’re all alone. Boo
hoo. Maybe you should buy a goldfish to keep you company.”

Jordan reached for something on the ground—a loose brick I
hadn’t noticed before—and slowly crept up behind Stephen. My breath caught as
she swung it forward to bash him in the head, but he turned just in time and
yanked the brick out of her grip. Then he grabbed her throat and slammed her up
against the wall directly beside me.

Too close. I couldn’t be this close to someone with a soul
right now. From the claustrophobia, to the pain, I’d become too weak. Hunger
crashed over me and I literally whimpered.

Stephen’s expression shifted to one of victory.

“See, Samantha? You can pretend to be all high and mighty and
above these earthly needs, like someone worthy of hanging around with Heaven and
Hell’s best. But at your core, you’re exactly like me. And it won’t be long
before you change to something much more interesting. We’ll get along better
then.”

“What?” Jordan choked. “Samantha’s not...”

Stephen smiled. “Yes, she is. I made her myself. I took her
soul in a kiss that she was begging me to give her. She’s wanted me since she
wasn’t much more than a kid. Right, Samantha?”

“And now I want to kill you,” I growled.

He laughed at this and the sound sent a shiver racing down my
spine. “I took her soul because her demon aunt asked me to. I actually felt bad
about it at the time. Just a kid.”

I tried to kick him, but his grip increased on my throat.
Jordan’s, too, since she let out a hoarse scream.

“Don’t hurt her,” I managed.

He didn’t loosen his grip on either of us. “You want to know my
plan? It’s this. I’m going to leave you two alone for a while. It won’t be very
much longer before you can’t hold back, Samantha. You’ll take Jordan’s soul, and
you’ll take it all.”

“What?” My throat closed with horror at the suggestion.

His cheeks tightened. “If I did it myself, I’d kill her. And I
want her to live. I want her to be...improved. There’s room for both of you at
my side in the new world if you survive stasis.”

He flung both of us to the side and went to the door. “I’ll
check on you later.”

He left.

I scrambled to the far corner of the room, which still wasn’t
far enough away from Jordan to help clear my head.

I thought Jordan was crying for a moment, but when she pulled
her hands away from her face, she looked mad as hell.

“Explain to me right now what the hell is going on here!” she
demanded.

I tried to breathe shallowly as possible as I gave her a bleak
look. “What part don’t you understand?”

“All of it!”

I studied her for a moment, her furious expression, the
sparking anger in her eyes. “I think you understand more than you realize.”

“What does this have to do with Julie’s suicide?”

“Honestly?” I thought about it. “Nothing, directly. But in a
way, everything bizarre that’s going on in this city is related.”

If Connor had been right in his hypothesis about the new demon
in town, everything bad going on in Trinity was related to the Hollow and how it
had become a two-way swinging door, rather than Heaven and Hell’s dumping
ground. It had a case of bulimia now, purging what it had once swallowed
down.

Jordan raked a shaky hand through her long, tangled red hair.
“I thought I was going crazy, but it’s all true. Stephen’s a monster. And
you’re...you’re a monster, too. Was he lying about that?”

I swallowed hard. “Depends on your definition of monster.”

She glared at me. “You’re one of these things that can steal a
soul with a kiss.”

My chest tightened. “Afraid so.”

“And Stephen’s the one who changed you into one of these
things.”

“Yes.”

She inhaled shakily. “He kissed you, but he won’t kiss me.”

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t sound so disappointed. Believe me,
this is
not
something you want. It’s horrible. This
hunger, it’s...the worst thing I’ve ever dealt with.”

I’d already given in to it three times. It couldn’t happen
again or I knew I’d lose myself completely.

She hesitated. “But you’re something else, too. Your
parents...”

“My
birth
parents, you mean.” I
chewed my bottom lip. She knew, so there was no reason for me to try to keep
denying it. “I didn’t know the truth about myself until very recently.”

“What does it mean?”

“Only that I’m more confused about my personal identity than
ever before.”

She paced in small lines, back and forth, her arms crossed over
her chest. “Doesn’t that trump the whole gray thing? Isn’t that some sort of
power that you can draw from to help you?”

I wished it was that simple. I really did. “What I am
underneath, it’s got nothing to do with this. It’s like they’re separate things.
Who my real parents are isn’t going to make anything easier.”

Her skin had paled to a ghostly white. “And now Stephen wants
you to infect me.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest and started to rock myself. My
mind flashed back to kissing Colin in the hall, how I’d had zero control then
when I’d always been able to stop myself before. What happened to Stephen—it was
going to happen to me. Soon. Or I was going to drop dead like that woman in the
street the other night who’d disintegrated before my very eyes.

“I don’t know how long I can deal with this, Jordan. I’m losing
it. It’s scaring the hell out of me.”

She got to her feet and took a couple steps closer to me.
Before I knew it I’d risen to my feet as well, unconsciously drawn to her
soul.

“You’re
not
kissing me,” she said
uneasily, holding up her hands to try to keep me back.

“Trust me, Jordan, you’re the last
person on earth I’d ever want to kiss. And it’s not just because you’re
a girl. I’m sure Stephen would rather change you himself, but if he kisses you
he’ll—” I swallowed hard. “He’ll kill you.”

“Stephen...” she whispered, then shuddered. “Have you kissed
anyone?”

I nodded. “Two.”

“And did you kill them?” she asked breathlessly.

“Not yet.”

She started to tremble. “Oh, my God. This isn’t happening.”

My vision was narrowing by the second. Jordan had stepped away
from me, but the scent of her soul was driving me crazy. I watched her like a
wolf might watch a small, scared rabbit in the forest.

She attempted to look brave and assured. “Just...try to control
yourself. You’re stronger than this!”

My thoughts were spinning away from me like the tornado in
The Wizard of Oz.
I tried to grasp onto them
before they all blew away. Then something important occurred to me. “Wait. I
wasn’t hungry when I was unconscious. It’s only when I’m awake.”

Her eyes were wild, panicked. “You want me to knock you
out?”

I nodded crazily. “Do it.”

And then Jordan disappeared and all I could see was her
soul—shiny and tempting. The cure to my pain, the answer to my hunger. She
scrambled for something as I drew closer, closer. Then I grabbed her shoulder,
my right hand still useless, and pulled her closer.

She screamed, and swung something toward me.

Sharp pain slammed through my head as she successfully rendered
me unconscious.

* * *

My head was screaming when I woke up this time. But
along with the pain, a shaky clarity had returned.

My hunger, however, hadn’t gone anywhere.

“If I hit you again you’re going to get a concussion,” Jordan
warned. “A fractured skull. Or a clot. Or an aneurism. Or...something really
bad!”

I groaned, and looked across the room at her crouched in the
opposite corner, clutching the brick tightly. “Or maybe I’ll get amnesia and
forget all about this.”

The pinprick of light through the tiny window told me it was
still day—but the sunlight was fading. I hadn’t been out for long this time. One
of the fluorescent lights set into the ceiling flickered now, as if ready to go
out completely. It cast spooky shadows through the room.

“He hasn’t checked on us again,” she said, casting a furtive
glance at the door.

“He will.”

“When?”

“When it’s done. When you’re changed. When I’ve...fed.” The
words tasted as bad as they sounded. There was a security camera up in the far
corner I hadn’t noticed before. I gestured at it. “He’s watching us.”

Jordan moved into the camera’s line of sight and gave it the
finger. “Screw you, Stephen! I hate you for this!”

“Ditto,” I murmured, then cringed. “Ow, my head.”

Her expression now was fierce and determined. Her anger toward
Stephen had given her some extra strength. “Stay right where you are. I’ll use
this again.”

I flicked a wary glance at her and her brick. “Feel free. But
that’s only a temporary answer. My hunger...it’s worse than ever. I need to
feed.”

“Not on me.”

“I don’t think there’s going to be a choice soon. If I go into
stasis here...a brick’s not going to stop me.” I fought to come up with a plan
of action, but I was tired and weary, hungry and in pain. I didn’t want to give
up, but I was worried my strength wouldn’t last much longer.

“What about those angels and demons Stephen mentioned? You know
them?”

“You could say that.”

“Where are they?”

“Not here.”

I longed for Bishop to come bursting in here in a blaze of
glory. I’d never been the damsel in distress type, the girl who dreamed of a guy
sweeping in to save her in the nick of time like they did in corny movies.
Besides, if I looked at this objectively, I
wasn’t
the damsel in distress in this situation—Jordan was. I was the scary thing
hiding in the shadows ready to leap out and devour her.

“I always knew,” Jordan whispered.

I stayed in the opposite corner to her, a good ten feet away
from the orbit, wishing it would make things easier. “Knew what?”

“That there were things bigger than me in this city.
Supernatural things. I always believed.” She actually smiled, a pained, scared
expression. “My mom, she likes to go to psychics for readings. Does it every
week. I think she does it instead of going to a shrink. With a psychic, she can
blame all of her problems on otherworldly activity. But I don’t think she really
knows it’s all real.”