Veined (A Guardian of the Angels Novel) (18 page)

“Attic’s on his way. We’ll follow,” Albelin said to Cordelia, and they both rushed out of the kitchen. I wondered if Toby would jump up, too, but he seemed happy lounging on the chair.

Would Attic be okay? I focused on the empty glass in Toby’s hand, and forced myself to think of something else. “Is it difficult, your ability?”

“Hell no. The little visions just pop up on their own. Gives me a helluva thirst though.”

Wow. “So you see the future?”

He frowned at me. “No, there’s only one Angel that can do that. Guardians with my ability see when demons rise into the world, and when they do we have a flash of their intentions. Where they’re headed and a very broad estimate when. It’s not a perfect science, if you could even call it that at all.” Toby waltzed into the kitchen and put his cup into the dishwasher. “I can only see the Outbreaks within a 25
mile radius, and although Guardians like me are strategically placed over the world, demons still Outbreak in the cracks. And they can cause some nasty trouble before they’re found out, turning humans into demons, torturing them and sucking out their emotions.” Toby’s voice trailed off and he shuddered. I didn’t want to imagine what went through his mind right now. I was still freaked out enough by my own encounter with them.

“Can you fight?” I asked, at the same time wondering if I should offer to help Albelin and Cordelia. The newspaper articles I’d read on Foxtin’s newest gang threat flashed befo
re me. Thank God the police had no idea what it really was. Those demons were ruthless and if they were lethal to Guardians . . . The image of the black deflated Vein stamped my brain.  How safe were Albelin and Cordelia?
Attic?
My thoughts dissolved when I looked at Toby’s expression.

“Of
course
I can fight. All Guardians can,” Toby said.

“Sorry, I—”

“Forget it,” he said. “I
can
fight, but they don’t like me to. The information I give them is too valuable to risk losing me.”

I didn’t know what to say and was thankful when he sidled out of the room, leaving me alone. I sighed and weighed up whether I should eat another hamburger patty or not. But I wasn’t really hungry anymore, that was just my nerves speaking.

I sat in the empty room, hoping the fight would be over quickly. I drummed my fingers on the table while waiting, staring into space. When it passed midnight I started to get anxious.
Which is silly. They’ll all be fine.
They’ve been out fighting plenty of times before and you’ve never worried this much.

I stormed off to my room, forced myself into bed and jammed my eyes shut. But I didn’t sleep.

CHAPTER 16

I WOKE WITH A START,
the morning sun hitting my face through the crack in the curtain
.
I hadn’t drifted off until Attic’s voice trailed from the parking lot at four. I checked the time. Shit. I couldn’t wait until I only needed three hours sleep a night.

Scrambling out of bed, I grabbed the nearest clothing I could find in the wardrobe. Something short and black. That would have to do. Now, if I left out breakfast, I’d get to the gym on time without having to endure extra grueling exercises just because I was late.

I slammed into Toby as I rounded the corner leading to the gym. “Crap. Sorry.”

“No harm, no foul.” He winked. I flashed him a smile, glad he’d gotten over last night, and continued my sprint.

I crashed through the gym doors and sighed in relief.
Thank goodness.
I was the first one here. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked down. Nuts. What I’d mistaken for a T-shirt was a plunging V neck. How could I not have noticed that? Jeez. I stuffed a hand into the pocket of my training pants, searching for a hair tie. Zilch. What a wreck.

I zigzagged around the vault, bars, beam, and the pit full of foam to study my reflection in the pane of glass in the door leading to the changing room. Running my fingers through my hair, I pulled out the knots.
Could look worse.

I heard the sound of a throat being cleared, the obvious ‘
I’m watching and waiting
’ throat clearing. As I turned around, I ground my teeth together, refusing to let myself blush. Attic stood balanced on the beam. In the light of the gym his now bleached blond hair framed his head like a halo, accentuating his brilliant blue eyes.

“You skipped breakfast.” Attic blinked. “And
what
are you wearing? This is training, not a beauty pageant.”

I hel
d my arm up over the plunging V-neck.

“And how are you supposed to fight like that?” His voice sounded amused, and a grin quirked his lips. “On the other hand, you might not always be dressed for a fight. Perhaps you should wear some stilettos and a short skirt. Then we can practice real world scenarios.”

“Maybe I could help you on your next fight?” I said. “That would be practicing real world scenarios.”

He stilled. “I won’t let you fight out there. Not for as long as I can help it.”

One part of me was absolutely thrilled I didn’t have to actually use the skills I’d been learning, but the other part was offended. I’d been busting my ass with all these trainings and still I wasn’t good enough?
But I still hadn’t made the decision to become a Guardian. Had I?

Attic jumped off the beam over the pit, his face softer.

“And to think I wanted to apologize,” I mumbled, stuffing the ‘to be or not to be’ debate away. Again.

“Apologize? Whatever for?”

Attic looked so surprised I couldn’t help but explain. “Well for being a bit of a—for getting so angry at you yesterday.”

He laughed, soft and sweet, and my Vein hummed with it. “It’s no problem,” he said. “I think I understand it.”

I
had no idea what it was, yet
he
understood it? I felt my temper rising again. “You want to tell me what it is then if you think you know it all?”

Attic clasped my shoulder and then ran his fingers down my arm until he held my hand. “No. I think you should figure that out on your own.”

His words sang circles in my head until I’d lost every fight, had barely thrown my knives into the target and only managed to knock down two immobile tin cans off a close range branch. Thankfully, Attic seemed to be in a forgiving mood, although he forced me to eat all the lunch he’d brought to the tree house, where we had our breaks. And I had a suspicion he was going to do it now, with dinner, too.

As I waited for Attic to portal our dinner, I watched the darkening sky. Lovely. Comforting.

My mind drifted to the second day of training.

“Did you build this tree house?” I’d asked.

Attic nodded. “Fifty or so years ago.”

“Yeah, it looks about that old.”

“Shut up and eat your food, Lark,” he replied, his cheeks crinkling from a large smile.

“Why do you like coming up here so much?” I asked through a mouthful of apple.

“Because I can see so much of the sky from here. It’s beautiful.” He gave me a shy look. “And I can think much better in the open air.”

I snapped out of the memory at Attic’s arrival.

“Come,” he said. “Eat while it’s hot, Lark.” I shuffled to the bowl of steaming stew he’d brought me and placed on the table. Attic ripped some bread and dunked it in his bowl. “Something wrong with it?”

“Yes. No.” I rested my fork on the table and started to twist my hair to the side. What was I doing, acting like a nervous wreck? “I guess I’m just too excited to eat. Tonight is Twirp, and, by the way, I’m going, whether you officially allow me to or not.” I glared at him and continued, “I’ve already arranged everything with Maddy, Marcus and Jason
, and I won’t let you stop me from going, even if—even though—I’ve sucked at training today. And believe me, if you try to stop me, it will be a fight you’ll lose.”

The corners of Attic’s mouth rose. “One part you definitely got right. You couldn’t have sucked much harder at training today unless you tried. Or was that trying?” He laughed. “As for the other part, it never crossed my mind not to let you go.”

Okay. Now I was just plain embarrassed I’d gotten all worked up. Jeez, something was nagging me bad.

“You’re not going to finish that, are you?” Attic pointed at dinner. I shook my head. “Thought so. Right then.”

Attic came to my side and before I could comprehend what was happening, he draped me over his shoulder, climbed down the tree and raced me through the woods. He dropped me in the parking lot.

“I’m fast enough to run through the woods now, you know,” I said.

“Go get ready,” he said, his voice rough. Just as I turned to leave he grabbed my hand. “And you’ve done great. Maybe today wasn’t a good example of it, but for just a week of training, you’ve learnt how to wield your power quite well.”

The compliment came so unexpectedly, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I twiddled my fingers. “Then why were you so against the idea of letting me fight?”

Attic looked at me as if I should already know the answer. When I continued to stare, he said finally, “There are demons out there who can smell your power. You’re a threat to them that they need to cut down fast. Although you’ve learnt fast and it’s a good start, unprecedented even, there are things out there you’re not able to deal with. And I wouldn’t see you get hurt by chancing you’d be fine.”

The softness of his tone stirred the small amount of stew I’d managed to eat.
He wouldn’t see me get hurt.

Attic gave me a crooked grin and raised a brow.

“Thanks, for training me.” I bolted up the stairs and across the balcony.

Either my hearing had improved or I imagined it, but Attic’s soft whisper drifted toward me. “You’re very welcome.”

When I got to room fourteen, I moved the full length mirror from the bathroom and set it up on a chair in the main room. With careful deliberation, I selected a pouffy black skirt and gold sparkly top that, in combination, would look pretty good for Twirp. Well, it was the best I could do considering I’d not managed to buy a dress. I laid the items on the bed with two shoe options. Gold strappy things that would go with my top, or comfortable black ballet slippers that weren’t nearly as nice.

Jason
. I’d talked to him on the phone a couple of times since the movie, but I felt guilty at how much he’d slipped out of my mind. It definitely said something about us that I didn’t think about him more often.

I bit my bottom lip.
But let’s have a nice evening tonight.
I’d think about it more tomorrow.

I weighed up my shoe decision while I showered, put on some makeup and blow dried my hair until it shone. I’d wear the gold ones.

Tucking the towel firmly around my middle, I opened the door and scooted to the bed. Where were my clothes? I scanned the room. My black skirt and gold top were unceremoniously heaped in the corner, and on the desk lay a box.

I shuffled over to it. Just a plain white box with some tissue paper poking out the sides. I ripped off the lid and stared at the silky material.
Attic, you sly thing.
Gently, I pulled the dress out. It was midnight blue, the same color as my eyes. My breath caught.

And not at the beauty of the dress.

My towel dropped to the floor and I slipped into the sleek material. It had a high back—of course Attic had known to buy me something that would cover my Vein—and a plunging neckline with crystals rimming the bust and forming a pattern in the middle. I looked at the dress in the mirror and gasped. The pattern was interlocking spirals, exactly like those on my Vein.

He must have had this made for me.

“Do you like it?”

I turned round to meet Attic elegantly dressed in a black tux. God, he looked gorgeous. “
Like
it?” I said, not sure my smile could get any larger. “I love it. It’s wonderful.”

Within the blink of an eye, Attic stood directly in front of me. My breath shook as I let it out. His eyes measured me and he smiled, content. “
You’ll knock even the girls off their feet.
”

I bit my lip as he repeated what I’d said to Maddy. He’d remembered?

My shock must’ve been big, because I hadn’t even noticed my mental shield wasn’t in place.

“I remember everything you say.”

My gaze locked with his and fire surged through my Vein, painful and addictive. I could feel Attic’s heat as if it were drawn to my own like a magnet. A honeysuckle sweetness swirled in the air. I sighed with pleasure. My breath trembled when I noticed it was coming from me. Threads of gold sparkled in Attic eyes as he breathed it in. His heat grew stronger and it was all I could do not to step into it. The scent changed, becoming even more irresistible. A rich fresh rain mixed with the honeysuckle like they belonged together.

I swallowed, wanting so much to know what it felt like to be entirely wrapped up in his arms, in his heat. I leaned toward him and our forearms touched. My skin exploded in shivers. Quickly, I drew away from him, running a hand through my hair as if nothing had happened. But I wasn’t fool enough to think he hadn’t noticed.

Attic was still staring at me and I knew I was blushing. I turned away from him, discreetly trying to cool my cheeks with my hands. There was no point in it, every part of me still felt as hot as embers. I seriously needed to change the topic.

“So, when did you get the dress?”

“Admit you wanted to kiss me.” His tone was a blunt, direct,
‘Don’t you dare try and get off track.’

I knew better than to ignore it, but that’s what I did. I didn’t know what else to say. “I’m so glad the slit comes just under my scar. I’d hate anyone to see that ugly thing.”

Attic grabbed my thigh at the top of the slit and squeezed hard. I held back a gasp. “Your skitteryness already confirms it. Now I want to hear you say it. Did you want to kiss me?” His hand climbed up my leg and traced the outline of my scar.

“I’m going out with Jason.”

“Dammit, Lark. I don’t give a damn about Jason. He’s a human, if it makes it easier for you to be honest with yourself, I’ll Lethe him out of your life.”

“You can’t just go solving all problems by Lething people,” I snapped. “It’s almost a sport to you.”

Attic’s jaw twitched and I tried to move my gaze away from his face, but he wouldn’t let me. He held my chin in his gloved palm.

“A sport to me, huh?”

“Yes.” I gripped my bare neck, wishing for my necklace. Attic’s eyes followed my movement and he dropped his hand.

“You’re wrong, you know.”

“If you can tell me even
one
time you’ve ever felt bad about Lething somebody I’ll answer your question.”

Attic strode into the bathroom. “Your entire family,” he said when he came out, holding my necklace in his hands.

I twisted my hair to one side and took the necklace. “What do you mean?” I tried to clasp the chain around my neck but the stupid lock was stiff. Or my hands were too clammy to grip it right.

Attic whipped it right back and tried it for himself. I was tempted to get uptight about it, but considering the fact that I had just wanted him to wrap himself around me, and he knew it, he’d have a field day if I pretended to reject him.

“Because I saw how much they loved you. Especially your brother.” Attic’s voice was full of regret. “When I saw him hugging you. He’d been so scared, when you were sleeping, that you’d fallen into a coma again.”

I remembered that clearly, Jeffrey had been so sweet—“Attic, how did you know about that?” The image of him climbing the tree outside my window so gracefully hit me as soon as I said it. I knew he was watching out for me, but I didn’t think that meant—“
Spying.
You were spying on me? How often?”