Souljacker (12 page)

I groan. “No, I’m really not.” Okay maybe.
Depending on how receptive he is when he sees me. I’ll at least ask
for a do-over date and hope he agrees. And this time, I’ll initiate
the touching. My face warms at the thought.

“Aw, Luce! You’re gonna give Iofiel a second
chance?”

“If he’ll give me one. But he’s not here and
I haven’t seen him in a week or so. I’m kinda scared I chased him
off and…” I look to Sync. She’s the only one who knows Iofiel is a
cyborg the only one who knows he’s Freak. She was there when that
big hound attacked him and she was the one I told my suspicions
to.

“We’ll find him, Lucy,” Caddie says, taking a
swig of coffee and mm’ing at the taste. “Even if we have to
gallivant through the city at all hours of the night, shouting his
name from the rooftops and buying miles of neon tube lighting to
write your love letter.”

Sync and I roll our eyes.

The night rolls on, the band winding down.
They’re playing acoustic love songs now, the singer an interesting
looking guy with a long nose and floppy brown hair, crooning about
how he’ll find his soul mate in the heat of the Indian summer. It’s
just him and the guitar; the other band members have packed up and
are having coffee.

The Portal’s been flashing on and off for an
hour now. It’s getting later and people are headed home, so I’ve
been ignoring it, but as I turn my head, I see a pair of shoulders
in a very familiar leather jacket. My heart hitches into my throat
and I stand up. “I’ll be right back, guys.” And dart towards
him.

As I get closer, I can see the natural spike
to his dark hair, the way his shoulders angle down and the way his
thumbs are hooked through the belt loops. My heart’s thundering
like a freight train and I clear my throat. Our eyes lock for an
earth-shattering minute. Then he turns and strides through the
Portal with the grace of a gazelle; here one minute, gone the
next.

For a moment I just stand there, dumbfounded.
Did he really just see me and take off? I glance down at myself, to
the satiny red dress that accentuates my curves, to the knee-high
black boots buckled up the sides.

I’d expected his jaw to drop. If not that,
for him to at least give me a once-over and smile. Instead he
turned away, like I was a stranger to him. Anger and confusion roil
in my gut and with one last glance over my shoulder to my friends
in a silent apology for ditching, I push through the Portal
myself.

Chapter 13:

Lucy

I slam through the door of the old Cosmo and
out into the damp summer air. I cut a glance down the street, to
descending shadows sliding away from me, and take off after them. I
curse my boots for clicking with each step. There goes the element
of surprise.

I feel a shimmer of magic trickle from the
alley and I duck down after it. The shadow goes from two legged to
four legged, solidifying what I’d only thought was true, and I’m
running now, taking flight after the massive black hound sprinting
down the street.

My breaths catch in my throat and I push
faster, because he’s slipping away with each stride, his muscles
bunching and billowing, long legs pumping and kicking up gravel. We
skirt around town and I nearly get hit by a wayward hover car, the
driver laying on the horn. I’ve got a stitch in my side and I can
practically feel the blisters growing on my heel, but I can’t slow
down.

The farther we get from the city, the darker
it gets, no city lights to illuminate the way. Iofiel swings a hard
left, careening into the forest. He can’t make this easy on me, can
he? I puff after him, wishing I’d participated more in Phys Ed. My
legs are burning with each step and I’m slowing down. My feet crash
over underbrush and fallen leaves and…

I’ve lost him.

“Damnit!” I groan, bending over, hands on my
knees as I gasp for breath. My lungs are burning and the muscles in
my legs are twitching and hot. I feel like an overrun racehorse and
sweat drips down the back of my neck and trickles between my
breasts.

My breathing stills as I strain my ears,
listening to the night sounds echo through the trees. There’s a
soft crunch to my right and I tilt my head. Noise is a good thing.
At least I know it’s not a Wraith coming to eat me. “Iofiel, I know
you’re out there!” I announce, my voice carrying through the
darkness.

Another crunch, closer. And I see the dim
glow of red between the branches. He’s practically invisible in the
darkness, solid black and standing there, but I can make out the
beam of his cyborg eye casting light across his metal snout. “Lead
me on some wild freaking goose chase, and for what? I dress up and
get all pretty so when I see you, I can ask for a second chance,
and you look at me and run? What the hell?”

The hound makes a soft sound. Is he laughing
at me? And then the air shimmers, a wave of magic and heat, and
Iofiel steps out from between the trees. I let out a breath and
cross both arms over my chest, fixing him with a glare.

“Come with me,” he says, his voice low enough
to send a chill down my spine. He turns and I really have no other
choice. I want to talk to him and if he’s decided to quit running,
well then. Here we go.

I don’t go lightly. I stomp over limbs and
twigs, making a riot of sound before he looks at me over his
shoulder. “It’s called being quiet. I don’t want to get caught, and
you don’t either.”

I sigh and hurry after him. He leads me
through the woods to a winding path that used to be a railway. The
tracks are long and slatted and rusted from disuse. Up ahead is the
station and Iofiel looks both ways before reaching for my hand.
Then he seems to think better of it and backs up, but opens the
door to the station, a gentleman though I’m hardly a lady.

A single, yellowed bulb swings from the
ceiling, casting the floor in a dim glow. He shuts the door and the
lock clicks and I feel a flicker of nerves bubble at my throat. Oh
great, he’s some sort of serial killer and he’s planning my murder.
But then he sinks against the door, as if to barricade it from
intruders, and stares at me with such a mournful look on his
face.

“How…did you know?”

“Last week. At the fight. That big cyberhound
turned into a freaking man and I just put two and two together, I
guess. Why did you run from me? I’ve been wanting to talk to you
all week. I’ve stalked your usual haunts.”

“I’m not supposed to see you, Lucy. I’m not
even supposed to look at you. I’m on a tight leash and one slip up
and I’m done for.” He pretends to slit his throat with his finger.
“The Fae will…well, I don’t know what they’ll do, but I’ve seen my
Pack handle traitors before and it’s messy. Real messy.”

So that’s it? He’s just gonna dump me by the
wayside? I feel a lump form in my throat, one part anger, one part
selfishness, and I try and swallow it back down. “So…what does that
mean? For us?”

He lifts a brow. “There’s an ‘us’ now?”

“…No. I guess not. I kind of screwed that up,
didn’t I?”

He stares at me for a minute, calculating,
curious.

“What?”

“What are you?”

Alarm beats in rapid succession in my head. I
blink at him, wanting to shrug it off, wanting to act nonchalant,
but isn’t this about coming clean? “Just about as human as you
are.”

He smiles the barest hint of a smile. “I
thought not.” He doesn’t dig, doesn’t ask. Just stands there, hands
in his pockets, slouched a little. Is it bad that I just want to
tear his mask off and stare at his face, at the exposed technology
beneath the leather, to see Iofiel for who he truly is?

I shake my head. “I was afraid of hurting
you,” I admit softly. “I can touch someone and take their soul.”
His eyes widen and I shake my head. “Not their spirit, but
like…energy. Life force. I’m a vampire without the fangs.”

I offer a weak smile. His expression doesn’t
change. “I feel a roaring Need, a clenching hunger, and I can’t
stop myself. Once I’ve touched someone, it’s hard to stop.” I drop
my gaze. “I’ve hurt people. Killed people. I couldn’t let you
become just another number.”

“But what
are
you?”

“I don’t know.” But I’m not the only one.
Caddie’s one too, a freak, a mutant, but I don’t say anything, I
just look at him. My heart flips and I step forwards, pulling my
skirt down where it’s riding up on one thigh.

I memorize the bulge and flow of his robotic
arm, perfectly modeled, like muscles without the skin. “I want to
see your face.”

“Lucy.”

“You know my secret. I want to see yours.” My
voice drops low, husky around the edges, and Iofiel visibly
shudders. He takes a deep breath in through his nose, then slowly
peels away the tooled leather mask hiding his face from me. It
flutters to the ground and I stare into his eyes—both eyes, one
perfectly human and the other perfectly not. The left side of his
face is hollowed out, a mass of metal and wires and circuits
interconnecting from his forehead to his chin. My heart skips a
beat.

I step closer.

It’s scary, in a way…but oddly beautiful in
others. I’m close enough to touch him now and I reach out,
half-expecting him to flinch away, maybe be afraid of me because of
my killing touch. But the Need is peaceful and my fingertips brush
against warm metal. I slowly cup his cheeks in my hands. I can feel
his breath on my face, our noses inches apart. All it would take is
to lean up and…

My gut reaction is to back away, but instead
I close the distance in one fell swoop. Our lips connect, melting
together like chocolate and peanut butter. His breath, his mouth,
is sweeter than that and my fingers slide around his neck, twining
in his hair, dragging him—or maybe myself—closer.

His kiss is harder now, more driven, his
teeth grazing my lip. His human hand slides down my side, fingers
dragging fabric across my skin and I feel myself quake beneath his
touch.

I break away, heart hammering, head swimming.
Holy slag. I swallow and try and remember how to breathe. His lips
twist slowly into a smile, wide and beaming. “How the hell am I
going to stay away from you, Lucifer Swift?” he asks, his own voice
thick with want.

“You aren’t.” Mine is wavering and excited
and firm all at once. This is foolish. I’ll get us both killed, and
for what? Selfish pleasure? “You can’t. Not now.”

“Not now,” he agrees, hands still lingering
on my hips. “Has anyone ever told you you’re gorgeous?”

I can’t help the warmth that comes with the
grin. Nobody’s ever made me feel like this: Giddy, excited,
breathless. Alive.

“Only you.”

Chapter 14:

Iofiel

This is insane,
my mind is screaming.
I’m dead, so dead. I need to turn away, to cup her beautiful face
in my hands and place one final kiss on those lips and tell her I
can’t. This isn’t me, will never be me. I can never be what she
needs. I can’t do this.

I can’t
not
do this. This is all I
ever wanted. This is what I was made for, cyberhound law or not. My
heart is so full it aches, literally throbs with each pounding beat
of my pulse. I can still taste her, lingering on my lips, making
them tingle and buzz with want for another kiss. I can feel warmth
radiating out of her, my own personal furnace.

I’m greedy, giddy, drunk with Lucy.

I take a step back and look at her, tipping
my head to the side. She’s watching me, those too-blue eyes
flickering with excitement and nerves and maybe a twinge of fear.
But she’s not afraid of
me
. Not afraid of the wires lacing
through me like blue and red veins, not afraid of the clawed tips
of my robotic fingers. She’s afraid of the situation. Of getting
close and getting hurt. Of the threat of Lylan.

I should be. God, I should but, but I’m
not.

I outstretch my cyborg hand to her, palm up,
waiting. She doesn’t hesitate, her fingers clasping around mine.
The sensors tell me how much pressure I’m using as I squeeze her
hand for a moment, then tug her away from the door. “Come with me.”
I walk through the station and she follows, my loyal puppy dog.
Ironic, since I’m the one who can turn furry and four-legged.

“I should tell you to forget you ever met
me,” I say softly as we walk, our steps scuffling on cement. “But
I’m selfish. I’m so selfish, Lucy. I’ve come too far to let you
walk away.”

“I don’t
want
to walk away.” Stubborn,
beautiful girl.

I grin. “Good. But I meant it earlier, when I
said we can’t get caught. My hard ass dad? He’s actually my Alpha.
He’s not only in charge of the cyberhound Pack in this district,
but he’s the top dog. All four Packs submit to him. I’m disobeying
a direct order just to be here right now.”

“The jerk who tackled you?” She bunches her
shoulders, as if warding off a chill. I nod and she wrinkles her
nose. “Creep.”

“Agreed, but creep or not, he’s got his
finger on the trigger. One push, and I’m... Done. He’ll turn me
over to the Unseelie and I’d really like to avoid being sliced and
diced. Wait.” I pull away from her, hurry to her other side and
then lace my human fingers through hers. I give a sheepish smile at
her curious look. “I want to cherish my time spent with you. I
don’t know how long we’ll have before—”

“We just won’t get caught.” Her chin juts
out, sudden anger gleaming in her eyes. If only she knew what a
risk we were both taking… “I won’t let you get yourself killed for
some girl.”

I chuckle. “You’re not just any girl. You’re
special. Different.”

“Different equals weird. A freak of nature,”
she interjects. “You’re pretty lonely if you think I’m
special.”

I don’t let her continue to put herself
down—the way she sees herself and the way I see her are two totally
different things. “So why didn’t you suck me dry when we kissed?”
My eyes flick to hers and lock there.