Destiny Disrupted (7 page)

I closed my eyes and fell forward onto my knees. When I opened them, Raze had flown away. I tried to stand, but pain exploded over my entire body and centered in my scarred forearm, like a razor shaving flesh from the limb.

Opening the door, I crawled into the house and collapsed on the living room floor. The
Darkness
inside me was intensifying as it fought back against the healing powers of the potion. I clutched my chest with one hand to calm the thudding that threatened to break my ribcage.

Waves of agony rocked through me. There was nothing to do, except let the tears spill over. Heat—deep and infinite, fiery and radiant—rattled beneath my ribs and coursed through my veins.

Whimpering, I pulled my knees up under my chin and hugged myself as tightly as I could. Beneath the sleeve of my hoodie, the scar throbbed. I cried out, tears rolling down my cheeks as I gritted my teeth against the pain.

The white magicks of the potion attacked the
Darkness
. A fresh burst of red-hot pain ripped through me, knocking what little precious air I had from my lungs. I held my legs tighter, curling up into a ball. The darker power surged from my pores, rushing outward in metallic ripples that swelled into mystical waves from my body.

Then the
Darkness
faded…

I stood sluggishly, cradling my ribs, and made my way across the room. At the staircase, my knees buckled and I sat down hard on the stairs. My legs were shaking too badly. I leaned my head back on the banister, and the shades surrounded me. They pawed at my legs, like puppies yearning for love. Bakaz rubbed his head against my thigh.

The pain dispersed—as though by magickal means—and I suddenly felt
different.
My limbs stopped trembling and I was able to stand. I raised my sleeve and stared at the scar. It had changed, too. The old wound faded into a whitish mark and wasn’t so red and ugly now. The darker magick, the whirls of moonlight and shadow, had reverted into swirling silver and lavender ribbons of white magick now.

The last time I’d seen my mom at Craven Manor she’d said, “
I found a way to cleanse you of the Darkness. I need a drop of angelic blood, ironically, to help reverse the effects of the demon poison...”

Guess she’d teamed up with Raze and concocted a cure.

“A heads-up would’ve been nice, Mom,” I mumbled.

Mom’s bizarre concoction had healed me. I was cured. I could sense it in my very being. Whatever mysterious drink Raze had forced down my throat was definitely medicinal. The demonic power plaguing me for years had vanished. My body and heart purified. My white magick restored. The temptation to use that darker force was finally gone. This was by far the best thing that had happened to me in months.

I was cleansed of the
Darkness
forever!

Heaving a big sigh, I locked the front door, then shuffled upstairs to my room. I dropped on the bed, wrapping the comforter around me and causing the accent pillows to tumble to the floor.

A terrible thought occurred to me and my heart skipped a beat. Since
Darkness
no longer polluted my blood, would being cured affect my relationship with Trent? What if our intense attraction was only caused by that darker power?

Now it was gone. But poor Trent still had the “evil gene” inside him.

Thinking too hard made my head hurt. Besides, I should’ve been dwelling on the upside of this whole magickal transformation.

But where did we go from here? Trent was a half-demon. And I was all white witch now.

I walked across Redwood High’s campus toward the cafeteria with my best friend Ariana Parsons and my former frenemy Brittany Lau-Witheridge, our feet crunching over the leaf-strewn walkway.

Brittany lifted her fur-lined hood over her head. “So are all the wolfy-football-jerks going to behave now?”

“As long as the boys keep guzzling the nonviolence potion Shiloh’s mom makes them drink,” Ariana replied. “Which should help them stay out of trouble.”

“One can only hope.” Brittany untangled strands of black hair caught in one of her silver necklaces. She had distinct Asian features and her slim figure was clad in a ruffled blouse, tight designer jeans, and kitten heels, all of which screamed
money.
If she sold that outfit, she could probably buy my house with the proceeds.

Beside Brittany’s slender frame, Ariana’s body seemed extra voluptuous, and a light breeze lifted her curly blond hair from her shoulders.

“I heard Carter Lampard was released from the hospital yesterday,” Ari said.

I frowned. “I wonder when he’ll return to school.”

“Who cares?” Ariana shrugged. “The guy’s a major jerkwad.”

I nodded. “I’m just glad to have the whole lycan business behind us.”

“At least it’s one less thing to worry about,” Brittany said. “Let’s hope there’s no more drama for the rest of the year.”

Ariana groaned. “Terrific. You totally jinxed us. We are
so
doomed now.”

Brittany rolled her eyes, but smiled when Ariana hooked an arm through hers.

Hanging back, I swallowed a lump stuck in my throat. Ari was right. Around Fallen Oaks, no one should ever promise a lack of drama. It was like tempting the Devil to do his worst. And I didn’t have the heart to tell them about my demon-home-invasion. No need to spoil their day. Besides, there wasn’t much they could do until I had a chance to catch Evans up on the newest supernatural crisis and get his opinion. But my mentor was still at that retreat, which majorly sucked.

I followed my friends into the warm cafeteria. They stood in the hot lunch line, eyeing the meal choices suspiciously.

“We need some girl bonding,” Ariana said, looking a little pale beneath her mass of flaxen curls. “Let’s ditch the guys and hang out this weekend.”

“Good idea. And we need to invite Kayla,” Brittany added. “Before she visits those paranormal guys who want to do zombie tests on her.”

“Will you lower your voice? Someone might hear you,” I said.

Brittany laughed. “Who cares? People already think we’re bizarre.”

Excellent point.

“Why don’t we do it next week?” I suggested. “Darrah left me a note on the frig saying she’s going on vacay with Maxwell, so I’ll have the house to myself for two weeks or so.”

“Are you okay with your aunt dating your boyfriend’s stepfather?” Brittany asked.

“Not really,” I admitted. “But Trent seems okay with it.”

“Speaking of rich, hot,
and
smart boyfriends. You lucked out with him,” Brittany said.

I smiled. “Yeah, he’s like the trifecta of awesomeness.”

Ariana’s face softened as if she was thinking about Daniel Ramirez, her werewolf sweetie. “Who’d ever thought we’d wind up with such amazing guys?”

“Yeah. Who knew?” I said.

Except mine was probably the next ruler of the Underworld. Not every Belle could turn her Beast into a prince—but damned if I wasn’t going to try and save him!

I changed the subject. I wanted to spill my guts about Raze and everything else, but it could wait. “Actually, there’s some stuff I wanna talk to you guys about, but not at school.”

“Please don’t tell me there’s another big evil brewin’ in town,” Brittany said.

Before I could answer, Daniel Ramirez—alpha to the teenage lycans—appeared behind Brittany. He was a cute Hispanic boy and the star quarterback for the Giants football team.

An arm snaked around my waist. The firm, almost possessive grip was unmistakably Trent. I turned to face him, ending up in a full-fledged hug.

“I missed you,” he said.

I kissed his unshaven cheek. “Missed you, too.”

“Ugh.” Brittany pretended to gag. “Let’s go find seats before they start making out.”

Brittany, Daniel, and Ariana grabbed their trays, and ambled to our usual lunch spot near the windows overlooking the courtyard. The table was somewhat secluded and we didn’t have to worry about eavesdroppers.

But when I went to join the others, Trent tugged me backward through the doors. Once outside, he pulled me into a vacant corner of the building and wrapped me in his strong embrace, nestling us together. He kissed me hard, like he was hungry for my touch, and I matched his every move. I pressed against him and deepened the kiss. He tasted like peppermint, and the scent of his expensive cologne struck my nose. When he pulled away, he tenderly kissed my forehead.

I sighed and snuggled closer to him. Trent was a senior and he’d be off to college next year—if he didn’t become the next Prince of Darkness. Then we’d hardly ever see each other, which sucked either way.

Trent pulled back and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been thinking…” He sighed softly. “It might be a good idea if I left Fallen Oaks for a while. Get away from the Sheol.”

My heartbeat stammered. I hugged him tighter. There was no way I was gonna let that happen. I would find a way to convince him to put his travel plans on hold.

I stared up into his eyes. “Why?”

“If I stay, I’ll only be putting you and everyone else in danger.”

I roughly pushed away from him. “That’s stupid! We’re a team, remember?”

He stared at the ground. “Yeah, but I could turn out to be a freakin’ supervillain now. Demon spawn. It’s not like I wanna leave, but the
Darkness
is getting harder to control.”

“It’s tough for me too, except you don’t hear me whining about it.” I grabbed his hand to soften my words.

“Shiloh.” Trent stared down at our interlocked fingers. “If I, you know, turned to the dark side…” His voice lowered. “Would you stop loving me?”

“Don’t be silly.” I squeezed his fingers. “Never. I love you, and you’re not going anywhere.”

Trent dropped my hand and moved away from me. The air between our bodies felt as cold and expansive as an ocean. He exhaled and stared at the cement floor for a long moment.

Everything was finally great. No misunderstandings. No drama. No fights. We’d been together for months and they’d pretty much been the most perfect of my life.

So much for that.

Trent lifted his head and stared at me intently.

I took a step back, my stomach tumbling. Could he tell the difference by simply looking at me? Did he sense that I was healed of the
Darkness
? I opened my mouth to tell him, but the words sat on my tongue until I swallowed them down.

He brushed his fingertips across my cheek. “We need to do something fun.”

My whole body relaxed. He didn’t know. I’d tell Trent in a day or two. Just not now. Not at school. I’d find a good time to tell him when we were alone. He stood there, gorgeous and smoldering and so utterly perfect. Hell. It could definitely wait a few days.

“We sure do.”

“How long has it been since we’ve gone on a real date?” he asked.

“Way before the lycan brawl.”

“That’s much too long. I’ll make plans.” He smiled. “How does that sound?”

“Sounds
very
good.”

We slipped back inside the cafeteria and Trent bought us lunch, then we sat at the table with our friends.

“Where did you two go?” Daniel asked, pulling Ariana closer to him on the bench.

“Just outside to talk,” I said, unwrapping my turkey sandwich.

Daniel smirked. “Sure you did.”

Ari jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. “Knock it off.”

“What?” Daniel snickered. “Those two can’t keep their hands off each other.”

“Why does that seem familiar?” Ariana teased.

“Stop! Now. Before I barf up my lunch,” Brittany exclaimed. “By the way, whatever happened to that hot immortal? What was his name? Rad or Rack?”

“Raze.” I narrowed my eyes. “And I wouldn’t go there if I were you.”

Trent stiffened beside me and stared straight ahead, chewing his hamburger slowly.

“Why not?” she asked. “You guys are all hooked up, which makes me the fifth wheel.”

“Kayla’s single, too,” Ariana pointed out.

Brittany rolled her eyes. “She’s a zombie. No chance in hell of her undead butt getting a boyfriend now, nor does she care. But I’m still human and I need a new boy-toy.”

“Well, I’d look elsewhere,” I said. “We still don’t know that much about him, and he could be dangerous.”

Trent picked at his French fries. “I’d listen to Shiloh, Britt.”

Brittany grunted. “A girl needs a little danger once in a while.”

“Not his kind,” I said.

“Well, I love a challenge.” Brittany flicked her hair over her shoulder and glanced pointedly at me. “You can’t keep
all
the sexy bad boys to yourself, Shiloh,” she said in an ugly tone, and I half-expected her breath to come out in little green puffs.

“What? I’m
not
. I just don’t think Raze is a good candidate.”

My phone buzzed and I checked the screen. Evans:
Need to talk with you and Ariana when I return.

Finally! I was itching to have a chat with Evans about three really big things. One, my being cured. Two, Caym questioning me about the cambion. Three, the Evil Triad visiting Fallen Oaks.

I texted back:
OK. Call U after school.

After shoving the phone back into my pocket, I touched Ariana’s arm. “Trent’s uncle wants to talk to us about something.”

Trent peeked over my shoulder and every muscle in his body tensed. “What the hell is
he
doing here?”

Slowly, I turned. Carter Lampard—a large, mountain of a guy who’d tried to murder me last month—strode toward us. Trent scowled when Carter walked by us in baggy khakis and a kelly-green Lacoste polo, but all he did was smirk. But his eyes held a lot more meaning, as if they said,
I know something you don’t
. A few steps past us, he paused and peered behind him.

“Heather! You coming?” he yelled.

Now that Brittany and her BFF, Kayla, had crossed enemy lines, Heather Keyes was my only archenemy at Redwood High. Scratch that. With Carter’s return to school, I now had two.

Heather, the leader of the
Trendies
, jumped away from Elesha Walker and scurried after Carter. Heather’s eyes, usually so big and bright, were filled with venom. She had wavy chestnut hair and heavy bangs framing her gaunt face. On the outside, she looked like a normal teen girl, but today I glimpsed something odd…a murky black aura crackled around her body.

Her best friend, Elesha, was tall with unblemished café latte skin, a pixie haircut, and an ultra-slim body. As she came closer, a sudden icy wind whipped through the caf like ghostly fingers plucking at my hair.

The doors banged open, hissing more cold air into the room. Chills went up and down my arms. I glanced at Heather and her thin lips curled into an ugly smile.

Wait…was she causing the wind somehow?

“What are those guys doing together?” Trent asked.

“Nothing good,” I replied.

Heather and Elesha didn’t even glance in our direction while they stalked past our table with their noses in the air. Heather’s aura blazed once, brilliantly dark, then faded.

I swallowed hard, gut roiling like I was riding a roller coaster on a full stomach. Something was definitely up. And I didn’t need any warnings from my former tingly scar.

Trent was texting someone on his phone and stood. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“You’re leaving in the middle of a school day?” I asked.

“I’ve got stuff to take care of,” he said, briskly striding away.

“What’s with your boy?” Brittany asked.

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

My supernatural radar switched on. My gaze lifted upward, and I caught sight of a misty black shape hovering on the ceiling. The shadow hung suspended in air, glinting like obsidian touched by moonlight, shiny and slick and sharp. Evans had warned us that the powerful magicks used to seal the Sheol’s underground prison would attract paranormals. And something evil had found its way into the school.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic—

My gaze took in the caf. Kids chatting and eating. No one seemed to be aware of the dark entity swirling above their heads and spreading like an ink stain. Within the mass, I glimpsed red eyes and a long tongue split like a serpent.

I had to protect the other kids, innocents.

Most demons I encountered tended to be of the shadow variety, substantial as a breath of sour air, like this one. That was why most of them possessed humans. Flesh and bone demons like Caym were much rarer. It was harder for them to sneak out of the Sheol and get past the strong magicks used to padlock it. A ton of supernatural power and determination was needed to escape. Which meant the paranormals who did break free were badass. Luckily, this one was an easy vanquish.

“Guys,” I whispered and pointed overhead.

Everyone gawked at the ceiling and either groaned or gasped.

Brittany gathered her stuff. “You need any help?”

“No. Just make sure you get everyone out of here quickly,” I instructed. “Before that creepy
thing
hurts anyone.”

“You got it.” Daniel stood, hauling Ari up by the arm.

“Go now.” I pushed back my chair and hurried to the wall. Not a single person glanced in my direction. Only hesitating for a second, I yanked on the fire alarm. The sprinklers gushed cold water. Everyone grabbed their lunches and rushed out the doors. Girls shrieked and covered their hair. My friends helped usher people outside to safety.

Alone and dripping wet, I raised my hand at the paranormal entity. A bolt of blue light shot from my hand and zapped the shadowy menace. It screeched and ducked into the ventilation shaft.

I glanced out the window and caught Trent staring at me. My heart sank into a dark, hard place. What was with all that stupid talk about leaving town? Maybe Evans could talk some sense into his hardheaded nephew.