Above The Flames (The Flames Trilogy #1) (24 page)

Chapter 29

Double Standards

Jasmine

Jasmine grabbed hold of the driver’s side door and pulled herself out of the seat. She wished she had a cane right now. Her muscles felt like sponges, squishy and toneless. She fought an epic battle with her eyelids, one that she wasn’t sure she could keep winning, as they grew heavier and heavier.

What they’d done to the demons tonight had been amazing, and her stomach still had butterflies just thinking about it. But it had taken its toll on her. She’d never used that kind of power before, and now that she had, she wasn’t sure she wanted to again, no matter how much easier it had been to kill a demon.

Jasmine yawned as she drug her feet along the driveway. When she got to the steps, it took everything in her to lift her heavy legs and climb the stairs.

“Jasmine, are you okay?” Cole asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.” Her eyes watered. “Just tired.”

Gemma came next to Jasmine. “Me too.”

The porch light flicked on, then off, then on and off again. Finally, it turned on and stayed that way.

“What the…” Jasmine trailed off as the door opened.

“Well, that’s not a good look for him.” Cole laughed nervously. “Is it?”

Jasmine shook her head as she took in Amon, standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed over his chest and his nostrils flared. He glared and his eyes seemed to protrude from his face as he looked at Jasmine.

“Where. Have. You. Been?” Each word was clipped, the last one ending in a growl as his jaw clamped together.

Jasmine took a step back. “We went to try to help Cole’s parents.”

Cole stepped in front of Jasmine. “I’m sorry. It was my fault. But we couldn’t find you guys, and we couldn’t wait—”

Amon fixed Cole with a pointed stare. “I don’t believe I was talking to you.” His voice shook. “Gemma. Cole. Please go inside. There is a meeting. Now.”

Cole and Gemma walked inside, slinking past Amon. He didn’t move, just widened his stance after they’d passed.

“Do you have any idea—?”

Jasmine put her palm out. “Just save it, okay. There’s a meeting, remember?”

Amon breathed heavily. Then he turned without a word and stalked away. Jasmine sighed and then followed him into the family room.

Everyone was there. Lamia and Beau sat on the sofa, while Amon and Caim stood at the front of the room. She’d passed Azzy leaning against the archway entrance. She squeezed in between Gemma and Cole on the floor. The only person she didn’t see was Bub.

“I’ve called this meeting because tonight we’ve had some reckless behavior. The kind of recklessness that could have gotten someone killed.” Amon clenched his hands at his sides. “We need to set some rules.”

Jasmine remained quiet, but her pulse sped up.

Caim smiled and peered at Jasmine’s group on the floor. “Now, it isn’t that what you did tonight was wrong—”

Amon raised his voice. “It was wrong. And it shouldn’t have happened.”

Jasmine pressed her lips together and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Caim raised his eyebrows toward Amon. “I think you might want to calm down a little bit.”

Amon laughed, long and hard. “Me? Calm down? Sorry, that’s not going to happen any time soon.”

Lamia stood and moved to the front of the room and narrowed her eyes at Jasmine. “And he shouldn’t calm down. Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?”

That did it. Jasmine hopped to her feet and put her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t thinking of myself at all. I was trying to help a friend.”

“You were trying to help yourself!” Lamia yelled. “Just like you always do.”

“Give me a break. You haven’t made any attempt to get to know the person I am. Who the hell are you to judge me?” Jasmine fired back.

“I’m an angel—”

Jasmine’s hands trembled. “No, you aren’t. You haven’t been for a long time. You’re fallen, which puts you in a whole different category.”

Lamia pursed her lips and scrunched her forehead. “How dare you.”

Azzy came forward, stopping in the middle of the room by the coffee table. “Ladies, I think we are getting off topic.”

“Yeah. Why don’t we all just take a deep breath,” Beau said.

Amon’s eyes softened as he looked at Lamia. “Lamia. That is enough. Your personal attacks are unfounded. This isn’t personal. It’s about what could have happened tonight.”

Lamia opened her eyes wider. “Of course it’s personal! She’s stolen you right out from under me, and you can’t even see the hold she has on you. If anybody else would have gone out by themselves tonight, there would be no meeting. But because it was
her
,
everyone has to suffer.”

Amon frowned. “You are wrong. I would have called a meeting for anyone. In fact, I did, because Gemma and Cole were involved in this as well.”

“If it was just them, you wouldn’t care like you do. It’s disgusting!” Lamia spat. “She’s a human, Amon. There’s no future there.”

Amon’s face turned dark. “That is enough of this! You are out of line!”

“But—”

“Listen to me, Lamia. I suggest you sit down before you hear something that might hurt your feelings. This isn’t the time for this conversation. When there is time, we will talk, but do not hold your breath for it will be quite some time before this conversation takes place.”

Lamia scowled, but smartly kept her mouth shut as she took the few steps to the couch and slumped into a seat.

“Now, Jasmine. What were you thinking going off by yourself?” Amon asked.

“I was thinking I didn’t have a choice.” Jasmine raised her voice. “You guys were gone. Nobody knew where you were, and Cole had a vision. So we had to take care of things ourselves. And why is it any different than you guys going off on your own? Where were you?” She angled her chin down and placed her hands on her hips.

Amon avoided eye contact. “That isn’t the same thing—”

Caim grinned. “It is the same thing, Amon.” He laughed. “The exact same thing.”

Amon cleared his throat. “I don’t think this is a joke, Caim.”

“Neither do I, boss. But if you want to make rules, we all have to follow them.” Caim gestured toward Jasmine’s group. “Not just them.”

Amon’s cheeks reddened. “You do have a point. But this will not happen again.”

“Why not? We kicked butt out there.” Gemma stood. “You should have seen Jasmine.”

“Tell me,” Amon said.

Jasmine crossed her arms. “Cole, Gemma, and I joined our powers and killed four demons.”

Amon’s jaw dropped open.

Azzy smiled. “That’s amazing. Are you serious?”

Jasmine nodded. “Yeah, it was intense. I don’t know how we did it, but when we joined hands, it kind of just happened.”

“We pumped our power into Jasmine’s, and it combined. The white and yellow color of my and Gemma’s powers mixed with Jasmine’s blue and it all turned green and zapped the demons even more. We were so stunned nobody saw the demon hiding at our side, until he scratched me.” Cole chuckled. “Crazy, huh?”

Amon’s hands clenched at his sides, and then opened, only to squeeze together again. “What do you mean, ‘until he scratched you’? Are you saying you’ve been scratched by a demon’s claw? Cole, do you have any idea what that means?”

Cole exchanged a knowing look with Jasmine. “Well, yeah. I thought I was a goner. Dead on arrival and all that. But Gemma healed me.”

Jasmine pressed her lips together as a dazed look passed over Amon’s face. He brought his hands up to his chest. “Where were you scratched?”

Cole pointed to his chest, where his shirt was ripped. “It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?”

Amon shuffled forward and lifted Cole’s shirt. The skin underneath was smooth, not even a scar shining back at them. “Unbelievable. It can’t be.”

“It’s impossible, but somehow it still worked,” Jasmine whispered.

“I see this. Okay, meeting adjourned for now. I need some answers before we continue,” Amon said, and everyone rushed from the room. “Jasmine, stay a moment, please.”

Amon sat down on the sofa, and Jasmine joined him. She pushed herself into the corner, leaving as much space as possible. “What’s up?”

Amon turned to her, leaning closer. “Jasmine, you must start thinking before you react.”

Jasmine moaned. “Really? That’s all I do is think.”

“No, you act rashly and rush into situations with no plans.”

“Glad to know what you think of me. Thanks for clearing that up.” Jasmine rolled her eyes. “Because
you
never do that, do you?”

Amon narrowed his eyes. “And it helps tremendously when you react with sarcasm. It doesn’t anger me at all.”

Jasmine gasped. “You just reacted with sarcasm! Hello? Why is it okay for you to do the things you tell everyone else not to? Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘lead by example’? It’s time for you to take some of your own advice.”

“I have been alive a lot longer than you and—”

Jasmine put her hand up in a stopping gesture. “No. I don’t want to hear any more of this.” Her tone was loud, even to her own ears. “You need to think about what I said, and I need to think myself.”

She got up and stormed out of the room. In the hallway leading to the kitchen, she passed Bub.

“Hey,” Bub said.

“How about that walk?” she asked.

Bub’s features lit up. “Yeah, all right. Sounds pretty good. Just let me grab my jacket. It’s a little chilly out there.”

Jasmine raised her eyebrows, but didn’t question him. She continued down the hallway and out the back door, where she sat in a patio chair waiting.
How dare Amon. It’s okay for him to boss everyone around, but never have any rules for himself. Or, if he does, he just breaks them. Ugh!

She wished she could scream.
He’s just so frustrating.

The door clicked shut, and Jasmine gazed over. Bub wore a bulky black jacket, and how he could she had no idea. It was actually warm for being so early in the morning.

When she arrived back at the house, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Now it was high, beaming down on her. Warming her skin.

Jasmine opened the gate, held it for Bub, and released it as she joined his side. “So, how long were you listening this time?”

Bub put his hands on his chest. “Me? I wasn’t listening.”

She gave him a pointed stare. “Come on. I know you. You weren’t just hanging out in the boring, empty hallway for no reason.”

They continued walking, entering the woods and ducking around branches. Jasmine watched her footing, careful not to step in any groundhog holes. With her luck, she might just break her ankle, and then what good would she be?

Bub remained quiet for a few more moments. Finally, he said, “I don’t think Amon is right. I agree with what you said. He needs to practice what he preaches. That dude…he gives me a bad feeling.”

Jasmine scrunched her nose. “What do you mean?”

Bub stopped and grabbed her elbow, pulling her to face him. “I don’t know. I just get a bad vibe, ya know? Like he’s got a lot of secrets.”

Jasmine laughed. “I’m sure he does, but he’s been alive forever. Well, not alive, but you know…sort of alive. He was human once. When he died, he became an angel, then fell to become a fallen angel living among demons in Hell. So, yeah, he does kind of know what he’s talking about.”

Why are you defending him now? You were just mad at him. Stop being so wishy-washy, Jasmine.

Bub stepped forward, and Jasmine fell in line behind him. Silence stretched around them, letting her take in the birds chirping as they flew from tree to tree. She looked up. The sun streaked through the treetops, highlighting dirt and dust flying through the air. Bluebirds frolicked here and there, almost as if they were playing a game of tag.

She’d been so focused on what was going on above her, she hadn’t noticed what had happened on the ground. Bub leaned against a tree behind her, a smug look planted on his face.

“What are you doing?” Her heart sped up. “Did you want to go back to the house?”

Bub shook his head. “I want to ask you a question. Why do you go for these guys who will never love you like I do?”

Jasmine frowned. “Wow. Have you turned into a girl or something? That sounds like something a woman would say.”

Beau narrowed his eyes. “Funny. But, no. I’m still all male.” He cupped himself between the legs.

Jasmine turned her head and cringed. “Come on, Bub. Can you just stop this crap? We can be friends. That’s it. That’s all there ever will be again.”

The soles of his shoes crunched the leaves as he moved behind her. She froze, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.