Devil Inside (16 page)

She took a deep breath and pushed away the memories of her childhood.  She had tried hard to forget them and recent events were stirring up the past in ways that made her angry and sad.  She jumped when the screened door of the porch banged closed.  She hadn’t even heard Levi open it.  Wordlessly, he sat next to her on the swing and together they watched the day die and night come alive.  He only wore jeans and Harley couldn’t help but sneak glances at his bare chest.  The chill in the air had raised goose pimples down his arms and his nipples were hard.  She was definitely tempted to bend over and run her tongue around one—knowing he would take her shirt off and return the favor.  A shiver rippled up her spine but it wasn’t from the night air.  She fought against the urge, recognizing that her body had realized that sex was a good way to distract herself from all things unpleasant.

“Do you want to talk about it?” his voice was deep but soft, breaking her train of thought.

Harley was silent for a minute.  “Is there any sort of record of Ignis?  I mean—any way to tell if someone who died a long time ago was Ignis?” she asked, ignoring his question.

Levi frowned thoughtfully and a bit bewildered, “Not really.  We keep records when we know them.  But like I said before, any really old records are very unreliable.  More modern ones are better kept—in the last 100 years or so.  But even then, there is no way for us to be 100% accurate and complete.  So, I guess that is a complicated answer for maybe—but not likely.  Why?”

Harley debated on telling him about her mother and father.  Finally, she decided against it.  She suspected that a part of her might be hopeful that her mom had been Ignis.  At least then she would know that—even if a bad mother—her Mom wasn’t just naturally evil.  She suspected that she was reaching for some shred of understanding.  Regardless, she didn’t want Levi’s pity either.  She shook her head.  “I was just wondering.”  She was sure Levi suspected there was more to the story, but he let it go recognizing she didn’t want to talk about it.

“So,” Harley began, taking a deep breath.  “What now?”

Levi stretched his long legs bracing them against the porch and pushing the swing back enough to require Harley to grab onto the railing to stop herself from falling out of the swing.  He stretched his arms back over his head and groaned, finally coming fully awake and stretching his muscles to shake off the last bits of sleep.

“Well, I’ve already had the motorcycle shipped back to the Den—what we call headquarters.  But I still need to pick up a bag of things from the house I was renting.  Then we will need to head to the Den and you need to meet with Nya.  That’s near Washington, D. C., so it’s about an eight hour drive from here.  If we hurry we might get there before dawn.”

Harley stammered, “Why—What—I mean, why do I have to meet with the General?”

“I told you.  Not everyone can be Nocte.  Think of it as a kind of…interview.”

Harley’s heart beat picked up its pace.  “Um…what?”

“Don’t worry,” Levi quickly assured her.  “It will be fine.  Nya will approve you.  And besides, she’s the one who will initiate your bond.”

“How can you be so sure she will approve?”  Harley’s mind raced and her annoyance showed on her face.  All this internal debate and decision could end up being completely moot.  If the General didn’t agree then it was all for nothing.

“Because, I told you.  I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure you could handle it.”  He paused, taking one of his conversation breaks as he often did, staring out into the night.  “Considering I’ve never brought anyone to be changed before, Nya is already intrigued.”

“You’ve already told her about me?”  Harley hated the squeak that broke her voice.

“Last night, that was one of the calls I made.  They are expecting us.”  He chuckled.  Nya is a talker, so I’m pretty sure the whole Den is in an uproar that I’m bringing someone back.”  He found this much more amusing that Harley did.  Her hands were clammy and her heart still beat against her ribs.  She had no idea what to expect and her brain was already trying to devise a plan.

“What kind of interview?  Is it like an audition?  A test of what?”

“It’s different for different people,” Levi shrugged.

Harley growled in frustration.  “A little more information would be helpful.”

Levi turned to her and cupped her face between his hands.  “Don’t worry,” he looked into her eyes intently his blue eyes steady and reassuring, “I am confident that you will be fine.  Nya will agree with me.”

“What if she doesn’t,” Harley asked, trying not to panic.

Levi looked sideways at her.  “Then we wipe your memory and assign you to clean up duty.”

He laughed at the stricken look on her face.  “I’m kidding! Everything will be fine,” he said again.

Harley wondered how much of that was a joke but didn’t continue to argue.  She decided to take Levi’s word for it.  Worrying about one more thing wasn’t going to help her.  And besides, worrying about a thing that she couldn’t even envision would only drive her crazy. 
Crazier?
  Harley pulled her face from Levi’s hands.

“Fine.  OK.  What’s first?  I would like to take a shower before we leave.”

“Me too,” Levi replied wiggling his eye brows at her mischievously.  Harley rolled her eyes. 

“So you think you can distract me with sex?” she asked, trying not to smile.

  “Absolutely,” he stated without cracking a smile.  “But first, I’m going to make sure that you can shoot a gun.”

“Huh?” Harley’s brain fought to change gears.

“Go put on shoes.  I’ll quickly run over the basics of shooting a gun.  In case we run into any trouble between here and the Den and it’ll be your first ‘Ignis fighting lesson.’”

Harley hesitated.  She knew a little about guns, and one of her foster brothers had let her shoot his once.  But guns still kind of freaked her out.  The idea of an inanimate object that had the potential to end life was daunting and she didn’t relish the idea of having to be in control over that object.  She knew that she needed to be able to use one though, so she clamped down on her nerves.  “OK,” she agreed finally.

--------------------------

Fifteen minutes later she was standing behind the cabin with Levi pressed against her back.  She was dressed in one of the tee-shirts that he had brought her and jeans and boots with a dark green hoodie to keep warm against the chill.  Levi was dressed similarly.  Harley wiped the sweat off her hands on her jeans and tried to look less nervous than she was.  Levi had just explained how to load and hold the gun and how to aim properly.  She raised the gun into position and he talked to her softly, easing away the discomfort of holding a deadly weapon in her hands. 

Finally, when he thought she was ready, Levi directed her, “When you are ready, pull the trigger.”

Harley took several more deep breaths and measured the target—the empty
Jack Daniels
bottle perched on a stump about twenty feet away.  Even though night had fallen she didn’t have any trouble making out the bottle.  There was enough moonlight and light from the house that once her eyes adjusted, she could see fine.  She held the gun steadily.  The nice thing about the shotgun was not having to aim perfectly.  The spray from the shell would give her a lot more room for error than a handgun would.  This fact was why Levi had brought a shotgun for her. Finally, releasing a deep breath she forced her eyes open wide and she pulled the trigger.  The kick rocked her back and even though she was in a reinforced, shooting stance.  Her planted back leg absorbed most of the recoil but she still bumped into Levi, her back thumping into his chest.  Simultaneously, the bottle shattered, spraying broken glass around the stump.  A healthy amount of wood splinters were also kicked up as well.  So, while she may not have made a direct hit, she was close enough to get the job done.

Levi smiled down at her and she felt the adrenaline pick up as her heart lurched in her chest.  The power of the gun in her hands was exciting and it wasn’t as scary once she knew how to use it.  She continued to practice to get comfortable and more proficient with the gun.  They used other bottles, soup cans and even some dishes.  Soon the ground was littered with debris.  They practiced until she didn’t need Levi to stand behind her anymore.  They practiced situations as well.  Such as having her turn and fire at the target or once even making her run around the cabin several times and then having to find the target that Levi had hid, and shoot it as quick as possible on her last lap.  When Harley found the target, hiding underneath the low-hanging branches of a tree, and exploded it, she declared herself done.  She was out of breath, her shoulders ached and her ears were ringing.  Her arms vibrated from the repeated shock of the shotgun fire.  She felt powerful and had, surprisingly, enjoyed herself.  She felt good knowing how to use the gun and the blast and destruction she wrought eased even more of the brimming chaos inside her.  She didn’t feel so exposed and at the mercy of things stronger than her.  The gun had equaled things out—even if only a little.  Now she felt like she had a chance if she came face to face with a Burner.

Levi had been watching her from near the door of the cabin.  “Yeah, I think you are comfortable enough with the gun now.”  His eyes glinted as he watched her walk towards him.  His arms were crossed over his chest and he wore a small smile.  He looked distinctly proud of the advancements Harley had made with the gun.  Even though it wasn’t loaded she carried it pointed towards the ground like he showed her.  Without a word he took the gun from her and entered the cabin.  Harley followed him shaking her arms and hands to work out the muscle soreness.  Her limbs felt rubbery and worthless.  Levi laid the gun on the table and without a word turned to Harley.

He grabbed her roughly pressed her against the wall.  She barely had time to catch her breath before his mouth covered hers. 
Obviously someone enjoyed watching me make things explode
, she chuckled to herself.  She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist.  He pushed away from the wall and carried her to the bathroom kissing her neck and twisting his hands in her hair as they went.  Something about being so close to danger—both the shotgun and the thought and preparation for fighting made them both aware of the present moment.  It made them reach out to seek life and distraction from the now.

The shower took considerably longer than necessary.  However, they were washed, packed, dressed and on the road less than three hours after having gotten out of bed.  It was looking like wishful thinking that they would be able to make the drive to the Den in one night.  As they loaded the supplies into the truck Levi tossed the keys to Harley.

Off guard, she barely caught them.  “You’re letting me drive?” 

“Yeah.  If something happens I can deal with it better if I’m not driving.  Plus it will be quicker for me to hop out and run into the house this way.”

“Humpf,” Harley replied, raising her eyebrows.  But she didn’t argue and was glad to drive.  She was always impressed when guys were willing to not argue about driving.

They piled into the SUV and she adjusted the seat as Levi programmed the address into the GPS.  She pulled away from the cabin as Levi got comfortable on the passenger’s side.  Traffic picked up as they headed west into Lexington and Harley noticed Levi checking the mirrors to make sure they hadn’t drawn any attention or was being followed.  As they made their way back into town Harley realized that they had not driven as far as it seem when fleeing the night she was attacked.  They were only about 30 minutes outside of Lexington.

Watching Levi monitor traffic she asked, “Do you really think they will find us?  Just suddenly pop out when we’ve been gone for days?”

Levi looked at her steadily, “It’s possible.  I’m sure they are still on the lookout for us.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.”  Harley didn’t disagree.  She just kept following the GPS’s directions to Levi’s house. 

Harley pulled into the driveway.  It wasn’t particularly late, but this late into the year it was dark early and the street was quiet.  Only a few houses had lights on. 

“Is this really necessary,” she asked.  As quiet as the street was, she couldn’t help but feel as if they were too exposed—sitting ducks.

“Unfortunately—yes.  I still have a lot of weapons here.  I can’t leave them.  Humans finding a bag of untraceable silver weapons would be a bad thing.  It might raise an alarm or two, right?  Not to mention, I’d rather not have the Burners get their hands on them.”  As Levi got out he moved the shotgun from the floorboard in the back to the front seat.  He rested it grip facing Harley.  “Just in case,” he cautioned her.  “If you see any Burners—drive away.”  He laid a cellphone on the console between the seats.  “I’ll call you when it’s clear.”

“Ppftt—” Harley started to protest. 

Levi narrowed his eyes at her, “This is NOT the time to be stubborn.  Please just do as I ask.”

“But I have—”

“Yes, you have the gun.  But it won’t put up that much of a fight.  It’s just the best thing I have for you to fight with at the moment.  Your best bet is still to run unless you have no other choice.”

Harley narrowed her eyes at him and didn’t answer, but she slumped back in the seat in resignation, crossing her arms over her chest.  Levi shook his head at her but didn’t argue further.  He shut the door quietly and moved quickly into the house peering into the shadows as he went.  He didn’t turn any lights on inside the house but Harley wasn’t surprised.  She assumed he could see pretty well in the dark.