Rival Demons (20 page)

Jackson shifted on the bed, turning to me with
eyes so clear and focused, it took my breath away. "I have never
loved her. Harper, I swear, you are the only one I have ever
loved."

His words hit me with the weight of the weeks
I'd spent alone down here, and I was helpless to even respond. Did
he still love me? I wanted to ask, but was too afraid to know.

"I am not marrying Lea," he said. "She knows
that, but the demons down here see us as the future of their
kingdom. If I had come down here telling them the truth about you
and me, they would have hated you, trusted you even less. They
would have seen you as an enemy to their own hopes. I couldn't let
that happen."

He took my hands in his.

"But I also knew this was the place where you
would be safest," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the
truth, but I needed you to believe things were over between us. One
look or touch at the wrong time would have been disastrous. Harper,
I need you to understand that I never stopped loving you."

All the doubt and fear I'd been holding onto
released in that moment. I choked on a sob, unable to stop my
emotions from pouring forth.

"Don't go," he said, glancing at my packed bag
on the floor. He moved down to his knees in front of me on the
floor, clutching tight to my hands. "Not a moment goes by that I
don't think of you and long to be with you, kissing you, sharing
everything with you. It's been torture being apart from you, but as
long as you were safe, I knew I was doing the right thing. When I
sensed your pain at the dinner tonight, it broke my heart."

Tears filled his eyes and I had never seen
anything so beautiful in my life. I had thought all hope of his
love was gone, but with him on his knees before me now, I knew I'd
been so wrong.

"Stay," he said. "I'll find a way to make them
understand, I promise. I can't live without you, Harper. Please,
stay."

I searched his clear green eyes, hardly
believing this could be real.

My breath came in short gasps, my heart breaking
and mending in the same moment. Relief and wonder flooded through
me. I lost my ability to hear. I could only see him there before
me. This whole time, he'd still loved me. Wanted to be with me. At
night as I lay in bed, missing him with every fiber of my being, he
had been just steps away, feeling the same loneliness and pain.

I pulled my hands from his and placed them on
either side of his face, our souls locked in a gaze. No more words
between us. Only love.

He lifted his mouth to mine, softly at first,
the taste of our tears mingled on our quivering lips. His hands
reached up to grab hold of me, his fingers tightening around my
forearms. I opened my mouth slightly, speaking to him with my kiss,
telling him that if he wanted me, I would never leave.

I slid from the edge of the bed, my body
pressing tight against his as his arms circled around me. Our kiss
became a conversation, a confession, a collision of two souls left
divided far too long.

I poured myself into him, deeper and stronger
with each touch of our lips. My hands ran through his hair, down
his back, my fingers fumbling with each button on his shirt,
wanting nothing but to know the warmth of his skin and rippling
strength of his muscles.

Jackson slowed his kiss, then pulled back to
stare at me. The expression of love on his face so pure and true, I
became lost in it. He lifted his hand to my cheek, a single finger
trailing through the path of my tears. My arms broke out in
shivering goosebumps and my breath came in quick, shallow bursts.
He ran his fingertips from my face to my neck and down to my
collarbone. With aching slowness, he slid the straps of my tank top
off my shoulders, exploring my skin in a way no one ever had
before.

I responded with the tips of my fingers on his
chest, then down his side, running my hand along the scar that
marked the only spot of imperfection on his entire form.

I gasped as I touched the scar, pulling my hand
away as if I'd been burned by it.

"What?" he whispered.

A flash of battle ran through my mind. "She did
this to you?" I asked. "The tiger I killed when we first came
through the portal?"

Jackson nodded. "How did you know?"

"I saw her when I touched you," I said,
wondering if her death somehow connected us. Hesitating, I touched
the scar again, feeling a piece of the pain he'd experienced when
it happened. How long ago must that have been? I'd first seen the
scar back in Peachville months ago. "There's so much I still don't
know about you."

His stomach quivered at my soft touch and his
chest rose and fell with each jagged breath.

"You've never completely let down your walls
around me," I said.

"I've only ever wanted to protect you," he
said.

"Your secrets hurt me," I said. I touched his
face and he placed his hand over mine so lovingly, regret in his
eyes. "Promise me that you won't ever keep anything from me again.
If you want to be with me, then I have to be your partner. Your
equal. Not some fragile little girl you're afraid to break. I'm
stronger than you think I am, Jackson"

His eyes searched mine and a smile tugged at the
corner of his lips. "I think I'm finally understanding that."

He leaned in for another kiss, but before our
lips met, a loud knock brought us both our feet.

The sound was frantic. Pounding.

Worry stabbed at my heart. Something terrible
had happened. I felt it with absolute certainty in my heart.

Jackson rushed to the door and flung it open to
find Essex standing there, out of breath, eyes wild with fear.

"What is it?" he said.

Essex leaned against the door frame, catching
his breath. "A hunter," he said. Then, he looked up at me. "A
hunter has gotten inside the Underground."

Jackson turned to me, panic in his eyes. "We
have to get you out of here," he said. He grabbed his shirt from
where it had fallen on the floor.

Essex looked from Jackson to me, then back
again. I was guessing a lot of things were starting to make sense
to him all of a sudden.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "I can't let
innocent shadow demons die when the hunter is obviously here for
me."

"Many have already been killed," Essex said, his
hands shaking. "The hunter has also taken a hostage."

"Who?" Jackson said.

"The daughter of Andros and Ourelia."

I cried out, cut to the core at this news.
"Sasha?"

Essex nodded. "The hunter is saying she will
execute the child if Andros does not hand you over to the
Order."

I grabbed Jackson's arm. "We have to do
something," I said. "We can't let this happen."

Jackson kicked the wall with startling force.
"Dammit," he yelled. "Where are all the soldiers? The entire
Resistance army should be able to handle one lousy hunter."

Essex sucked in a ragged breath. "No," he said.
"The Resistance is locked inside the training room. A special
practice was called for the evening and somehow the doors to the
training area were sealed shut. No one can go in or out."

"How the hell did a hunter get inside anyway? I
thought Andros said there was no way."

My mouth went dry. "No, he said the only way was
if someone on the council let the hunter in," I said, dizziness
washing over me. "Who would do this?"

Essex and Jackson stared at me looking
confused.

"I can't believe that," Jackson said. "No one on
the council would do this."

"Well, the hunter got in somehow," I said. "But
that's not important now. What matters is that demons have died
tonight because of me. I won't let Sasha die too."

I pushed past Essex, headed toward the Grand
Hall.

Jackson reached for me, pulling me back to him.
"You can't," he said. "It's too dangerous."

I gestured to all of the drawings on his wall.
"I don't die today," I said. "Not here. Not like this. I'll be
okay."

He shook his head, not loosening his grip on my
arm.

"If you really want to prove that you believe in
me and you see my strength, then you'll let me go," I said,
standing up straighter. "You'll stand by my side and support me, no
matter the danger."

Jackson let his hand slide down my arm, taking
my hand and squeezing it tight.

"It's the right thing to do," I said. "We can
save her."

He nodded and together we walked toward the
marketplace where the hunter was waiting.

The feel of evil engulfed me the moment I
stepped into the marketplace. It oozed throughout the room like the
smell of something badly burned. I didn't even have to ask where I
could find the thing. A darkness circled the front staircase.

"Go back to the suite," I told Essex. "You don't
need to be here for this. Is Mary Anne there?"

He nodded. "Yes. She was wanting to come to your
aid, but I talked her into staying inside the room for safety."

"Good," I said. "Go back in there and lock the
door. Hide and don't come out until you're sure the hunter is
gone."

"I will do this," he said. "I will keep her safe
for you."

I gave him a sad smile, then turned my attention
toward the cries and commotion in the front of the hall. Jackson's
hand was still clasped to mine. "Well, it's possible I'm going to
get a chance to show you some of what I learned in the training
sessions," I said with a nervous laugh.

He didn't find it funny at all. He kissed my
forehead, his lips lingering for a long moment.

"Come on," I said.

My first few steps were weak with nerves. Did I
really know what I was getting myself into here? I'd never faced a
hunter before. How could I be so sure I could handle her? One thing
I had on my side was that I knew the hunter hadn't come here to
kill me. The Order would never have wanted that. They still had a
ritual to complete, and they needed me alive in Peachville to pull
that off.

Still, I wasn't looking forward to whatever pain
and torture this hunter would be allowed to dish out.

I just had to make sure she didn't have a chance
to capture me.

I set my jaw and lifted my chin higher in the
air. I could do this. I was strong. I was ready.

Slowly, my steps became more and more confident.
By the time we reached the hunter, I had given myself the pep talk
of all pep talks, and I was prepared for whatever she was going to
throw at me.

But when we turned the corner and the evil being
came into view, I choked back a scream. She was a thing of
nightmares. A horror of a human being. While her body took the
basic form of a woman, her skin had grown transparent and
ghostlike, a grayish green haze surrounding her. Cold radiated from
her like a blizzard. She wore a long black gown, the bottom of
which rose several feet off the ground. She must have sensed my
presence, because her head snapped toward me. Her eyes were
completely black, even where the whites of her eyes should have
been showing.

She smiled at me, her lips curling up around
rotten, pointed teeth. "She comes."

The small crowd of demons that had gathered
followed her gaze and the tension grew even thicker. I let my eyes
pass across the spectators, settling on the worried faces of Andros
and his wife. Andros turned, his eyes meeting mine. He took several
long strides to reach me.

"I don't know what happened," he explained, his
words directed at Jackson. "One minute we were at the party and the
next we heard this awful screaming."

"Is anyone working to release the soldiers?"
Jackson asked. "I heard they were locked inside the training
room."

Andros wrung his hands and nodded. "I have
Jericho working on it, but he can't seem to figure out what's
holding it closed."

Jackson looked around as if trying to find a way
out of this mess.

"Where's Sasha?" I asked.

Andros seemed to really see me for the first
time. He studied me, his eyes lingering on my hand entwined with
Jackson's. "She's... she's behind that thing," he stuttered.

"She's going to be okay," I said. I knew it
wasn't something I had any right to promise, but somehow I knew it
in my heart.

He studied my face, but didn't seem to believe
me. "What are we going to do?"

Again, he addressed Jackson. Everyone always
took me for granted, believing I was powerless and weak. Maybe it
was time I showed them a different side to myself.

I just hoped that in the end I looked brave
instead of stupid. Or dead.

I pulled my hand from Jackson's grip and stepped
forward, so close to the hunter I could smell the stench of decay
dripping from her every pore.

"I'm the one you've come for," I said. "Release
the girl and I'll offer you a deal."

The hunter's head fell back and she cackled,
high and piercing and so loud the ground beneath me shook. "Who are
you to think you can offer me a deal?" she asked. Her voice had a
strange echo to it, as if several voices were crammed into her
body. "All you have to offer me is your life, and I could take that
at any moment without your permission."

It was my turn to laugh. I was relieved that my
voice sounded much more confident than I felt inside. "You may not
need my permission, but that doesn't mean you are allowed to kill
me," I said. "Let's not lie to each other. We both know who you
work for."

The decaying witch narrowed her black eyes at me
and she flew toward me, her face coming so close to mine I almost
gagged on the stench. Behind her, I caught a glimpse of the child.
She was caught in some type of dark netting. Tears ran down her
tiny cheeks. My stomach twisted. I swallowed and pulled my shit
together.