Runaway Mortal (15 page)

“I’m not sure what I’m saying at all,” I said quite honestly, looking over at Anna for some sort of reassurance.

“It’s completely normal to still have those feelings. You loved him.” Anna gave me a sympathetic smile and stroked my back like a mother would. “Try not to think about it too hard. You already have so much to deal with; I think Talon coming back into your life would be a big mistake.”

I nodded in agreement and decided to drop the Talon thing. He wasn’t a priority. I had bigger things to on my plate; things that were far more important.

“So, have you had any luck figuring out the prophecy?” I dropped my voice to a whisper just in case Loire was listening in. “Did you find any leads?”

“I’ve found a few references to Hallowed Scorn, but not an exact definition.” It was obvious that this really bugged Anna. “It seems to be a term that was used after a major event took place in Heaven.”

“What kind of an event?” I asked.

“I’m really not sure,” Anna admitted, “but it was something that changed the dynamics of the three worlds.”

“What if we never find the Mortal Blade?” My breath caught in my throat as the worst scenario possible played out in my head. “What if I’m imprisoned for life?”

“We will find something,” Anna reassured me in a firm tone. “You have to keep telling yourself that.”

“I know, but I just wish something had come up by now.
Anything
.”

“Good things come to those who wait,” she said wisely.

“Yeah, except me,” I said, my voice filled with disdain. “If I wait, I get to face Parlum. And, we all know if that ever happens, you can pretty much guarantee they’ll find me guilty. Parla Hampton will make sure of it.”

Anna stiffened beside me. “That’s not true. Parla Hampton is an angel. He will do the right thing.”

“His idea of ‘the right thing’ is to imprison me so that I’m out of the way. So I don’t cause any more trouble,” I reminded her.

A thick silence hung between us as Anna contemplated my words. I knew it was hard for her to understand that an angel would wish harm upon anyone, but it was a reality she had to face. Not all angels had the same agenda. A sense of doing right was purely subjective. Anna’s idea of doing the right thing was to prove my innocence; the Parla’s was to imprison me. Their sense of justice functioned on different levels.

When Anna finally spoke there was a conviction in her voice that surprised me. “Don’t worry, Kat. We will find a way to save you. I promise.”

In that moment, I saw the resolve and determination in her eyes and truly believed that everything was going to be alright.

“This has turned into a really morbid conversation,” Misha said, jumping up and walking over to her wardrobe. “I think we should focus on tomorrow night. Kat, did you decide on any of the dresses I picked out for you?”

Misha’s parents had had five different dress selections for prom delivered to her a few days ago and since I hadn’t had time to even think about prom, Misha had kindly offered me one of hers.

“Uh.” I totally hadn’t and Misha could tell from the look on my face.

“Let’s do something normal for once,” she said, pulling each of the options out of her wardrobe. “We never have fun anymore.”

For once, I agreed with her and was perfectly fine with pretending, just for a little while, that we were normal, teenage girls.

Chapter Fifteen

When Misha, Tyrone, and I entered the hall, I had to admit that I was a more than a little impressed.

The hall was decked out with strobe lights and colourful streamers, giving off the initial impression of a normal, high school prom. That’s where any pretence of normalcy ended and the supernatural began.

An average prom didn’t have demons conjuring arches of fire and water over the heads the students. An average prom didn’t have a crackling orb of electricity in the centre of the ceiling, like a chandelier, that shot out sparks every so often. And I knew an average prom definitely didn’t have rain falling from the ceiling that magically stopped inches above your head.

The demon entertainers stood against the back wall of the hall looking imposing. Every once in a while you would see them twitch or flick their wrist as they focused on whatever magic they were creating. In the dark, their elemental markings glowed on whatever part of their body they had it on, like neon tattoos.

Misha clutched my arm in excitement as the three of us hovered at the entrance, taking everything in. She was dressed in a sexy, red dress that was so short and tight that it didn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. Add in some killer, gold heels and expensive jewelry, and you got one hot demon.

On the other hand, my dress was short and white, emphasizing my tan complexion. It was backless with some beading detail on the top half and tight on the bottom half. Misha’s dresses fit me perfectly, so I was glad she was always happy to share. 

The shoes were mine though—glittery, silver stilettos that put me at a soaring height. I’d kept my hair down, straight and sleek. One hot mortal—check.

Misha squealed as ice and electric magic met mid-air, right above our heads, and burst into raindrops that glistened like yellow fairy lights before disappearing into thin air. I had to hand it to them; the school had gone all out this year on the special effects.

“I’ll be over there if you need me,” Tyrone said, nodding over to the back wall where I noticed Veritas was standing.

“And here I thought you could be my date,” I said, playfully.

“I’m pretty sure a certain
someone
would kill me if I did that.” Tyrone winked at me before he walked away. He didn’t need to elaborate for me to know who he was talking about. He was still giving me a hard time about Loire.

When I turned back to Misha, she was giving me this annoying, knowing grin, like she knew exactly who Tyrone had been referring to.

“Hey, guys,” a soft voice said from behind us.

We both spun around and stared in surprise between Anna and her date. My mouth dropped open. I glanced at Misha who seemed just as stunned as I felt.

Anna’s date was a demon. It was Greggy.

“What. The. Hell.” Misha’s voice was strained as she stared between her brother and her best friend. Considering the circumstances, she was handling it pretty well. For now.

Anna’s face turned red and Greggy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. It took a lot of guts coming here together, especially when the rest of the students weren’t so open-minded.

Without thinking, I gave Anna a quick hug. “I’m so proud of you,” I whispered into Anna’s ear. “And you look amazing.”

She really did. Her gorgeous hair was swept up in an elegant bun, her make-up was light and gave her a natural look, and she was wearing a beautiful, blue dress with lace at the top and layers of tulle at the bottom. She looked like a princess.

When I released her, Anna seemed confused, and Misha was livid with rage. Her fists were clenched so tightly that I was worried if she released them she might self-destruct.

“WHAT is wrong with you?” she said, turning to me furiously.

Several lines of defense were running through my head, and I was about to use one, except a tall, good looking guy suddenly grabbed Misha around the waist and wrapped her in a bear hug.

Misha squealed and turned to her date in outrage. “You almost ruined my hair, Sander!”

Yep. Misha’s date was Sander—the guy she’d been spending so much alone time with. I really couldn’t believe how low her standards had dropped.

“Sorry, babe, but you look so sexy.” His eyes raked up and down her body slowly. “It’s going to be hard containing myself tonight.”

Ugh. I nearly throw up at that, and exchanged a disapproving look with Anna. Neither of us were Sander’s biggest fans. For example, he was now looking at me like I was a piece of meat. Thankfully, he quickly became distracted by something else.

“What’s going on here?’ he asked Misha, nodding towards Anna and Greggy.

I rolled my eyes. “If the obvious hasn’t already pierced your Neanderthal brain, they’re here together. It’s called a date. That’s what you do when you go to the prom with someone.”

“Considering you don’t have a date, I wouldn’t expect you to know what that means,” a sickly sweet voice said from somewhere behind me.

I didn’t need to turn around to know that Cedee was standing behind me, but I did anyway. I hated to admit it, but she looked beautiful. She was wearing a long, green dress that hugged her figure in all the right ways. Her bouncy curls had been flattened by a straightening iron and were now hanging loose around her shoulders. An expensive diamond necklace shone from around her neck, reminding everyone how wealthy she was.

What ruined her entire look was that Oompa Loompa tan and the expression on her face—the one girls had when they thought they were the hottest person in the room. She may have been the best dressed girl here, but I would take Anna’s simple, ethereal beauty over Cedee’s over-the-top one any day.

Talon appeared beside her, looking extremely uncomfortable. It didn’t surprise me that he’d run back to her after I’d rejected him. I tried to ignore him, but it was kind of hard when he was so close to me. His presence was one I could never shake. If he was in the same room as me, I could always feel it.

I plastered a look of devastation across my face as I faced her. “Oh, no. My life is over now because I don’t have a date. How will I ever manage to open a door by myself or pull out my own chair?”

There were a few scattered laughs, which I was thankful for. I still had an arsenal of comebacks.

I had to admit, despite her temper, Misha was a great friend. Putting aside whatever had transpired between us moments earlier, she immediately jumped to my defense.

“That’s a really nice purse,” she said, pointing to the clutch Cedee held in her hand. “What’s it made out of? Your nose hair?”

A few people snickered, and Cedee’s bottom lip curled as she leaned closer towards Misha. “You used to be cool before you started hanging out with them.” Her eyes flickered to me and Anna. “Rat is a complete loser, and your brother came with an angel to the prom.
So disgusting
.”

Anger surged through me, and I pushed in front of Misha so I was inches away from Cedee’s face. “Leave them alone or I’ll make you.”

Cedee fluttered her eyelashes at me. “It’s such a shame you couldn’t find a date. I wish you could be as happy as some of us are.” She rubbed up against Talon like a cat—a slutty cat. “People like you will never fit in with us. You’re disposable.”

Just as I was about to punch her in the face and break her teeth, someone grabbed me firmly around the waist. My back hit a taut, well-muscled chest and my heart leapt into my throat. That body was achingly familiar, and I immediately knew who it belonged to.

“There you are,” Loire said, clasping my fist with his hand before it could make contact with Cedee’s face. “Sorry I was late. I take it your friends kept you company?”

I turned my head to look up at him, ignoring the stunned expression on everyone’s faces. Loire wore black dress pants and a black jacket over a well-fitted, cyan shirt that outlined the muscles on his body and brought out the blue in his eyes. I had never seen him dressed so formally before, but it suited him. There was nothing he could look bad in.

“Um, it’s okay.” I stared at him in confusion, not really sure what to say. Being so close to him messed with my train of thought.

“Let’s go dance,” he said, dipping his head towards the dance floor.

He might as well have smacked me across the face; that’s how off keel I was. Loire, dancing? The very idea was difficult to grasp. He put on such a huge act of being all tough and cool that doing something fun seemed out of his league.

Trying to contain my surprise, I turned back to my friends. “Uh, I’ll catch up with you later,” I managed to say.

Anna and Misha simply gaped at me. Their expressions were replicated on everyone’s faces, including Cedee and her friends. Loire was pretty hot, so it made sense why they were all staring at me like that.

As I turned to follow him onto the dance floor, I caught sight of Talon. I had never seen him look so angry before. It filled me with warmth knowing I could still get to him. After hooking up with Cedee, he deserved it.

Putting Talon out of my mind, I focused on the roughness of Loire’s callused hand as he pulled me along. Sometimes he didn’t make sense. He could be such a jerk and say the most insensitive things, but then he went and did something like this and confused the hell out of me. I was still trying to decide how I felt about him.

We stopped amongst a sea of writhing bodies as Loire gingerly placed his hands on my waist like he was afraid to touch me. Since I was wearing heels, he was only a few inches taller than me.

Smiling, I looped my arms around his neck, drawing him closer. “Don’t worry, I’ve had all my shots. I’m not contagious.”

Loire looked down at me and snorted. “I’m more worried that you’ll break my face with that right hook you were about to lay on that demon.”

I wrinkled my nose at him and laid my head against his shoulder, wanting to enjoy myself. Loire tensed against me, but began to relax as we did a weird two-step. We both sucked at the dancing part, but I was glad he had stepped in before I got into a fight with Cedee. I was already in a lot of trouble and didn’t need another strike on my record. An alleged murder was enough.

Anna and Greggy were dancing nearby while half the people in the room ogled them. I couldn’t help but feel bad for them, but I was also glad they were being brave. It couldn’t be easy going out in the open like that. Hopefully, they didn’t get into any trouble. They weren’t acting inappropriately; they were only dancing.

In fact, they didn’t seem very lovey-dovey or hands on. I was really starting to wonder if Misha and I just had overactive imaginations and were thinking too much about what was going on between them. They really did just seem to be friends.

Misha and Sander, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. I wondered if the two of them were making out somewhere, or if Misha simply couldn’t bear to see Anna and Greggy together. I really needed to talk some sense into her.

“That girl really has it in for you, doesn’t she?” Loire was asking me, rousing me from my thoughts.

“Huh?” I snapped out of my reverie and raised my head to look at his handsome face. Can you imagine? I was in Loire’s arms and I wasn’t even enjoying the moment. “Oh, Cedee. Yeah, she’s a troll as you saw from yesterday’s encounter.”

“Cedee?” Loire snorted, releasing me so that I could twirl under his arm. He held me close again and I breathed in the scent of his sandalwood cologne. “That passes as a name these days?”

“Well, it’s Cadence,” I explained. “She never looked at me twice until she started dating my ex.”

Loire spun me around again. “That’s interesting considering she tried to proposition me yesterday.”

“No way!” His words surprised me. “But she makes such a show of being with Talon.”

“Hey, can you blame her?” A smile played around his mouth. “I would hit on myself if I could.”

Narrowing my eyes, I punched him hard on the arm. My right hook was pretty good, but Loire barely flinched. Instead, he laughed deeply and pulled me into his muscular arms again. His hand spanned the small of my back, sending tingles running across my skin, before resting on my lower half. I wanted to rub up against him like a purring cat. I resisted the urge because it would be inappropriate and a little weird.

“So, why’d you pretend to be my date, anyway? I thought you would have loved watching my public humiliation.” I looked up at him, waiting for him to tell me how wrong I was.

“I’m not that bad, am I?” There was an intense look in his stormy eyes that made me weak at the knees. He licked his lips before shrugging. “I figured having a guy like me on your arm would do wonders for your reputation.”

I laughed, despite myself, and let him lift me up in a small spin. He swung me around like I was weightless before effortlessly placing me back on my feet. There were a few envious looks from a group of girls who were standing nearby. I wriggled my fingers at them and they quickly averted their gazes.

Maybe Loire was right. Maybe it would improve my reputation being seen with him at prom. It had been such a long time since I had actually blended in with the other students without feeling like a social parasite.

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I realized something else. I didn’t
care
what anyone thought of me. I didn’t care who they saw me with. The only people who mattered to me were my friends.