The Space Beyond (The Book of Phoenix) (12 page)

Chapter 11

I stood outside Sullivan’s, waiting in the dark parking lot for my girl and watching the Shadowmen who leaned against an unlit lamppost at the edge of the lot, near the highway. Pretty much in the same place where they’d jumped me when I’d been carrying Leni out of the bar the first time I saw her dance the bull. When they took human shapes like this pair did at the moment, my mind reverted to calling the Lakari the name Jacey had coined and we had used before we knew exactly what they were. These Shadowmen had an unnatural interest in both the truck stop and the RV and trailer park, always around, at least at night. Sometimes others joined them, but when they sensed Leni and me, and Brock and Asia not far off, they scattered, leaving only these two.

However, the group never left the area. There were at least twelve watching over the town at any given time. Or one divided into twelve human shapes. The Lakari could combine and split like that because they weren’t really separate entities. The Dark spirits, controlled by Enyxa, took human form to blend into this world called Earth when they had to. They hadn’t attacked anyone yet and hadn’t even challenged us Guardians, so my guess was they were weaker than they wanted us to know—so probably fewer in number than they wanted us to know, as well.

“Always here, aren’t they?” Leni’s voice came from the back door of Sullivan’s before her sexy body emerged into the pool of light provided by the security lamp.

“Who the hell are they and what do they want?” Bex asked, stepping outside behind Leni and turning to lock the door. “They’re creepy as hell.”

“Stuff of nightmares,” Leni agreed as she crossed her arms across her stomach, her eyes never leaving the Shadowmen who hadn’t budged from their post.

I moved out of the shadows over to the girls. “Exactly why I’ll be walking the two of you home.”

Leni knew of my presence—we always knew where each other was at any given time—but Bex jumped.

“Ohmagosh, you scared the shit out of me,” she exclaimed in her Southern accent that at one time would have been the icing on the cake of the entire hot little package she had to offer. But since Leni, I couldn’t even think of another girl like that. It never occurred to me except when I noticed just how much I’d changed. “Good heavens. Liz’beth’s got me all worked up and jumpin’ at a June bug’s shadow.”

“I like to think I’m more threatening than a June bug,” I said, taking my position between the two girls and sliding my arm around Leni’s waist as we began the short journey home.

“I don’t know. You ever have one of those massive suckers fly right in your face?” Leni shuddered. “They smack right into you like they’re flying drunk.”

“I hate those things! But Jeric, trust me, ya’ll are worse. You
and
that friend of yours,” Bex said, referring to Brock. He and Asia had come into the bar earlier to keep me company while Leni worked. They’d been making occasional appearances, allowing the locals to get used to them being around … and the Lakari, too. “And Ty’s told me all about your fightin’. Do you really have to train him? You’re just encouragin’ him.”

“It’s what he wants,” I said with a shrug. “I need a job. Besides he’s good.”

We stopped at the highway to wait for a car to pass. Movement in the corner of my eye came from the place where the Shadowmen had been standing. I looked over my shoulder, where they still stood, but no longer like a couple of loser loiterers. They were in a more attentive stance now, feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind their backs, shoulders squared. Hoods covered their eyes, but I could feel their glares on me. If it remained just the two of them and Leni didn’t have to get involved, I would have said to bring it on and taunted them into a fight. I could have used the chance to release some pressure. But I didn’t know how close their friends were, and Leni would insist on getting involved. Or, they’d do what they did when Brock and I approached them to ask what they wanted: they disintegrated into smoke without a word. So I simply made sure they knew I knew of their presence, then turned back as we began to cross.

“Is he really?” Bex asked. “Good, I mean? Because I feel like he’s tryin’ to prove somethin’ in the stupidest way possible.”

“I wouldn’t waste my time or his neck if I didn’t think he had a real chance,” I said. “He’s good, Bex. Better than most at his level. Don’t worry your pretty little head over it. That’s my job, and I’m honestly not all that worried.”

“You better not let anything happen to him,” she warned, and although she didn’t look physically threatening, I took her seriously.

Ty had told me enough about Southern girls’ tempers, especially when it came to protecting their own. They could be sweet as pie and offering up all kinds of Southern hospitality one minute, but as soon as they felt they or someone they love was threatened—as soon as you heard that, “Oh, hell no!”—don’t be surprised to find a shotgun in their hands. And they were trained to use them. Leni had a touch of Southern in her from her mama, and I had firsthand experience facing the barrel of her shotgun. Luckily, she didn’t shoot me. I didn’t know if that luck would hold out with anyone else. I might be a former fighter and a current warrior, but I did not want to piss Bex off.

“It’s his choice to get in that cage, and after that, there’s not a lot I can do. But when he’s not in the fight cage, I’ll take good care of him,” I promised, and I meant more than ensuring he trained smartly and stayed out of trouble.

Although Leni felt the pull to Bex and was almost sure she was Rebethannah, that didn’t mean the Lakari were there for her. They could just as easily be there for Ty, whose unrequited love could be leading him to dark places. Or a number of the people in town who suffered from depression, anxiety, and other ailments that affected the soul … or could come about because of a Dark soul. This town seemed to have more than its share per capita of tragedy and hard times—quite the attraction for the Lakari. Plenty of tainted souls for them to hunt.

Brock, Asia, Leni, and I discussed the Lakari a lot more than I preferred. We couldn’t figure out why they hadn’t acted yet. We could only guess that they must have been waiting for something. Like a Bonding between soul mates, a re-Bonding of Twin Flames, or, on the flip side and what seemed more likely, the soul they wanted reaching the peak of its hopelessness and doing something irreversibly stupid, like murder or suicide. Since they never attacked, we couldn’t figure out who they hunted, if anyone specifically. For now, they seemed content to watch and wait, basking in the bleak mood that hung over the town.

We took advantage of their foot-dragging, learning as much as we could about the people by becoming a part of their community. Maybe our presence kept the Lakari from acting—I could at least hope. If that were the case, I’d be perfectly fine with hanging out in Lake Haven until we all became old and gray and the Lakari grew bored shitless. Not likely, I knew, but I wouldn’t have complained.

“So I guess he talked all ya’ll into going to your first K-bomb,” Bex said as we strode across the sandy area between the highway and the paved path of the RV park.

“K-bomb?” Leni asked curiously. I knew what Bex meant, but kept my mouth shut.

“What we call the big parties on the lake in old Mr. K’s field,” Bex explained. “They’ve been having parties there for decades, ever since they closed off the real Lake Haven.”

“There’s an actual Lake Haven, as in a lake?” Leni asked, her surprise and curiosity leaking over me. We hadn’t heard that yet.

“Well, yeah, that’s what the town’s named after. But it’s all shrunk down to a pond and only that because it’s spring-fed. They closed it off years ago because at least once every generation, someone died there and always of mysterious causes. It’s like the town’s skeleton in the closet. Nobody even talks about it anymore.” She paused to draw in a breath and waved her hand in the air, dismissing the subject. “So, anyway, Ty said ya’ll were goin’ to the party Saturday?”

Leni threw me a questioning look, and I cringed. I hadn’t brought this up with her yet. She narrowed her eyes.

“I was going to talk to you about it tonight,” I said, trying to cover my own ass. She lifted her chin in that
don’t you forget it
look girls do.

“Hey, ya’ll’s camper’s that way,” Bex said, tossing her head to our right.

“I said I was walking you home. All the way home.”

She pointed to a mobile home about sixty yards away. “I live right there. Think I can find my way.”

I glanced over my shoulder. The Shadowmen were no longer in the parking lot. I didn’t know where they disappeared to, but I did know they hadn’t gone far.

“I got it from here,” said a male voice in front of us. Ty stepped out of the shadows of trees that separated the RV side of the park from the permanent trailer side.

Bex’s breath had caught again, and she blew it out angrily. “Cripes! Ya’ll need to stop scaring the damn bejesus outta me.”

Ty placed his hand on Bex’s back and nodded a thanks to me before he and Bex headed for her place. Leni and I didn’t move, though, until we were sure both made it safely inside.

“So what’s this about a K-bomb?” she asked once we were home in her camper.

I stuffed my hands into my jeans pockets and leaned back on my heels. “Like Bex said, a party. Ty was telling me about it and asked if we wanted to go. Says it’s the best time we’ll find around here.”

Leni placed her fists on her hips and lifted a brow. “And you really think we need to be looking for a good time?”

I smiled and sauntered over to her. She backed up as far as she could go, and I pinned her with a hand on the counter on each side of her hips. I leaned down and with my lips barely touching her ear, I whispered, “I don’t think it would hurt anything. Could be fun.”

Her hand slid between us and pressed on my chest. She pushed me away, and her tone came harshly. “We’re not here to party, Jeric.”

I cocked my head, not expecting this kind of reaction. I thought she’d be a little upset for not discussing it with her first, but angry? Didn’t see that coming.

“No shit. I know what we’re here for, as much as I hate it. But we’re supposed to blend in, get to know the people, find our target. What better way is there than at a party where everyone under thirty will be?”

She glared at me with sharp sea-green eyes. “Why is that important?”

I grinned with a bit of pride at my cleverness. “Because if the Lakari show up, then we know they’re after someone young, narrowing our choices down to someone severely depressed, terminally ill … or a pair of Twin Flames. Should be easy to pick out in a young crowd, right? And if they don’t show, we’ve eliminated half the town’s population.”

She still stared at me, but her eyes softened.

“Besides, people will be drinking and letting their guards down and in a more private place than the bar,” I added before she could protest any more. “We can get the scoop on probably anyone we want.”

Her head tilted to the side. When she spoke, her tone had lightened, but still held an undertone I didn’t quite trust. “So you want to go because you think it will help the mission? Not because you want to party?”

I dropped my chin and looked up at her through my lashes with a slight smile while lowering my own voice. “Is there anything wrong with having a little fun while we’re there? Don’t we deserve it?”

She blew out an exasperated breath and threw her hands in the air. “I knew it!”

I lifted my head and sighed as well. “You knew what? What’s your problem, Leni?”

“My problem,” she said as she stepped right up to me and pressed a finger into my chest, “is that you’re more worried about having a good time and getting wasted than you are about our mission. And I won’t even mention Rebethannah!”

Except she did just mention her. Why do girls do that?

My jaw clenched and my nostrils flared as I kept my temper in check. This was a stupid fight, but I didn’t like her accusation.

“What I’m worried about is you and us,” I ground out. “You. Us. That’s my priority. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and keep us—our souls—intact, and if that means being by your side in this mission, then that’s where I’ll be. And I’m not thinking about getting wasted. I’m thinking about the best and
safest
way for us to find what we’re looking for without getting people worked up. And especially without getting the Lakari worked up. A harmless field party sounds like a damn good way to do that. If we happen to enjoy ourselves, so much the better.”

She stared at me for a long moment as if she wasn’t sure to believe me, which was ridiculous because she could practically read my mind. At the very least, she could feel my emotions, and she had to be feeling my sincerity.

“Will Bex be there?” she asked.

“I think so. Ty’s working on it. I know he’ll be there for sure. Brock and Asia, too.”

She lifted a brow. “Brock and Asia knew about this party before I did?”

I held my hands up, palms out. She seemed to be coming around, and I didn’t want her temper flaring again. When I’d finally convinced her to let go and not be afraid to show her emotions, I’d basically freed a wild lion out of its cage—and I’d never get it back in again. She’d rein it in for others, but didn’t have to for me. She had a lot more Southern in her than most people knew.

“Let me rephrase that,” I said. “Brock was going to talk to Asia about it tonight just like I was going to talk to you. I wasn’t lying when I said that. Brock was at the gym with us when Ty was talking about it so he invited them, too.”

Her eyes narrowed as she once again studied me. “All right. Fine. I guess we go. Maybe I can finally find out more about Bex.”