Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) (38 page)

But I cared.

“Talk to me, Samantha.” Bishop dropped his dagger and kneeled
in front of me, holding my face between his hands.

“I can feel it,” I managed. “The energy from the Hollow, it’s
so dark. Even worse than I thought it would be, but I guess it makes sense.” I
cried out as another wave of pain descended. I could feel the branching lines
move up onto my face now like icy, cold fingers scraping over my skin.

Close—very close now. I’d chosen this and it was the right
thing to do.

Still, I was so scared. My bravery only went so far.

“Damn it,” he growled. “Why did you do this? Why did you want
to sacrifice yourself like this?”

I knew the answer to this one. It was a test I definitely
wouldn’t fail.

It was something that occurred to me when Nathan was busy
telling me how unnatural I was. How unwanted. How unloved.

That was exactly how I’d felt for ages, ever since my parents
separated. My father barely emailed anymore, too busy over in England with his
new girlfriend to spare more than a thought toward me. I hated him for that,
feeling abandoned, just like I felt abandoned by my mother working so hard at
her job that she was barely around. They made me feel like they’d never wanted
me.

But I now knew they adopted me because they couldn’t have their
own biological child. That meant they wanted me—me, in particular.

And my father didn’t stay in touch lately because the last time
I spoke with him I told him I never wanted to see him again.

Funny how we forget that every story has two sides, even when
one of those sides is our own.

My mother had never abandoned me, she’d just been trying to
keep busy while nursing a broken heart. My father hadn’t abandoned me, either.
He was giving me space until I got over my deep-seated feelings of betrayal
about the choices he’d made to try to find his own happiness.

But they still loved me. They still wanted me. And they had
from the very beginning.

I’d never realized how lucky I was.

Until now.

“Why, Samantha?” Bishop asked again. “Why sacrifice
yourself?”

For family, for friendship, even for people I couldn’t stand
the sight of. For movies about zombies, especially the really bad ones. For
sunrises and sunsets. For the possibility of acing a test and going to my
first-choice college and maybe becoming a writer or something equally awesome.
For my mother’s ability to order Chinese food like a champ. For sandboxes, and
swimming pools, and kissing frogs hoping they might turn into princes.

For real love—the kind that lasted forever.

“Because,” I whispered, “some things are worth dying for.”

He held on to me tightly as my life ebbed away. “I couldn’t
agree more.”

Then he drew closer and pressed his lips against mine.

A last kiss. I thought that was a nice touch. To kiss the boy I
loved before I died.

But I quickly realized it wasn’t that kind of a kiss.

I gripped the material of his shirt and forced my mouth away
from his. “What are you doing?”

“I told you I still had the ability to heal—a little left. I’m
using it to heal you.” Then he crushed his mouth against mine again.

I tried to stop him, to tear myself away, but he held me too
tightly.

He couldn’t do this. To heal me while in his condition,
burdened with a soul which dampened all of his celestial abilities—it would take
every last bit of life energy he had left.

It would kill him.

And he knew it.

Tears slipped down my cheeks as he kept me locked in this
bruisingly hard kiss, and I felt that healing energy move through me, burning
away the parts that had been damaged from taking Nathan’s power away.

Then Bishop finally drew back, still holding my face between
his hands, which continued to channel the healing into me. His eyes glowed
bright blue before the light doused from them completely and he slumped forward
against me.

He’d healed me. The dark and deadly energy I’d taken from
Nathan was gone as if it had never been here. The pain was only a bad memory.
Physically, I felt better than I had in ages.

And Bishop was dying in my arms.

Kraven loomed over us, his expression filled with every emotion
I could name—fury, confusion, hate, anguish. All of it directed not at me, but
at Bishop.

“This can’t happen,” he growled. “Not now. I won’t let it.”

“What can you do?” I choked out.

“The barrier’s what’s trapping him here. And there’s only two
things left keeping that barrier in place.” He turned from us and I saw that he
now had the dagger in his grip.

Carly and Stephen. He was going to kill them to complete the
mission.

“Sam,” Bishop whispered. “Take this. Be normal again, I know
it’s what you want.”

He yanked the chain from around his neck and handed me back the
locket I’d given him only last night.

Then his eyes closed and he went still in my arms.

I stared at him, unblinking, squeezing the locket so tightly
that it would hurt if I could feel anything other than cold shock.

Be normal again.

“You think it’s that easy?” My words trembled as I eased him
down to the ground and stroked the dark hair back from his forehead. “Well, it’s
not. I need you, Bishop. Please, don’t leave me. Not yet.”

It was supposed to be the dagger that killed a demon or an
angel, not this. Not because he saved my life. It wasn’t fair.

“Both of you are dead,” Kraven snarled, moving toward Carly and
Stephen.

“No!” I leaped up from the ground and ran over to block
them.

“Get out of my way.”

“Not a chance.”

His eyes blazed bright red. “You don’t think I’ll use this on
you, too?”

I had no doubt he would if he had to. None at all. “I
knew
you still cared about your brother. This is
proof.”

“And now he’s dead. Still not too late—the Hollow didn’t take
his body. Still a chance to make this right, but the barrier needs to go. This
mission needs to end.”

“I agree.” I turned to face Carly and Stephen.

“Sam, do something! Help me!” Tears streamed down Carly’s
cheeks.

“Kill me,” Stephen said, his expression stone.

“No!” Jordan shrieked. “Don’t—please don’t!”

He didn’t look at her, instead his gaze moved to me. “I deserve
to die after what I’ve done to Jordan, to you. To...other people—so many other
people. I can’t take any of it back.”

“You’re right,” I said. “You can’t take it back. But death’s
not an option. Not tonight. And not for anybody else.”

Please let this work.

I slid my fingernail into the locket and opened it up. There
was something inside, something that shimmered like a translucent ribbon. I
pulled it out to see that it was so long and so wide to be able to fit into
something so small. I held it in my hand, mesmerized by its beauty and
warmth.

My soul.

Be normal again, I know it’s what you
want.

“Not anymore, Bishop,” I said aloud. “Not without you.”

Not wasting another second, I tore the soul into two pieces and
shoved them each into Carly’s and Stephen’s mouths. They gasped and choked as if
I was making them swallow something large and unpleasant.

Please work. Please.

Both gasped, inhaling sharply. The halved soul disappeared into
the two grays.

Then there was another tremor—although this one felt more like
a lightning strike.

“Don’t know how,” Kraven muttered. “But you did it, sweetness.
Congrats.”

Connor and Roth looked at each other with shock as they both
let go of Carly and Stephen at the exact same time. I spun around to see Bishop
lying so still on the ground. Not moving. Not breathing.

Then the sky flashed with bright, white light and another
thunderclap shook the world beneath my feet. The flash of light momentarily
blinded me and I shielded my eyes from its glare. The skies darkened again an
instant later and I looked around, stunned.

Bishop was gone, a scorch mark where he’d been lying the only
evidence he’d ever been here.

Same for Kraven, Connor and Roth.

They were gone.

It had worked. The last of the grays were gone and the barrier
had disappeared immediately. The team had been pulled back to Heaven and
Hell.

A sob rose in my throat.

Someone grabbed me, pulling me to them and hugging me hard. It
was Jordan.

“I thought— Oh, God. You’re alive. You’re, like, seriously the
most bizarre person I’ve ever met in my life, but you’re alive. And I’m alive.
And...Stephen...”

Stephen and Carly had fallen to the ground, both
unconscious.

I rushed toward my friend as she started to come to. Jordan
limped over to where Stephen lay and gripped his shoulders as he blinked up at
her.

“What...?” he began. “Where am I?”

Carly pushed up from the ground. “Uh, what happened? Why was I
lying on my back in a parking lot?”

“What do you remember?” I asked tentatively.

“Crave. We went there to confront Stephen about being a total
dick to you. You met up with that hot guy named Bishop and totally blew me off.
Nice, by the way. And now I’m here.” She glanced to her left and made a face.
“Hey, the total dick’s here, too. Oh, and Jordan Fitzpatrick. Awesome.”

Jordan and I exchanged a glance.

“What about you?” Jordan asked Stephen. “What do you
remember?”

He rubbed his forehead. “I also remember being at Crave. I’d
come back to visit you. University sucked and...I don’t know. Nothing’s working
out the way I wanted it to, except, well, I needed to see you.” He frowned
deeply. “That’s it. That’s all I remember...and now I’m here.”

They didn’t remember being grays and they didn’t remember
losing their souls.

They had no idea I’d given my soul to save their lives.

And Bishop had sacrificed his existence to save mine.

“You fixed them. You did it.” Jordan’s voice was hoarse. She
reached out and pulled me into another tight hug. “And for the record, I
remember. I remember everything, okay? You’re not alone.”

I was glad to hear it. But all I could do right now was nod as
the tears streamed down my cheeks.

Chapter 37

I guess you could say life went back to normal after
that night.

Normal, however, was a relative term now.

Carly and Stephen didn’t remember anything about being grays.
It was for the best, especially for Stephen. He’d unquestionably done some bad
things. To have to live with that now that he understood what he’d done wrong
when his morals had been unnaturally off balance, well...I wouldn’t wish that on
my worst enemy. Which Stephen actually was for a short time.

Carly, admittedly, had to deal with everyone who thought she’d
run away from home with some random guy and had now come crawling back. She was
understandably confused, but couldn’t account for the missing time. Therefore,
she decided that that’s exactly what must have happened. She’d had a romantic
adventure and then—she figured—hit her head and got temporary amnesia.

If she believed such a fantastical explanation, I wasn’t going
to try to convince her otherwise. Bottom line, I was just happy beyond words to
have my best friend back.

And speaking of friends, I now counted Jordan Fitzpatrick, my
former nemesis and tormenter, among them, as crazy as that sounded. But I guess
it didn’t sound all that crazy. What we’d experienced together...well, it
changed us forever. Both of us.

Jordan knew things about me that nobody else knew. And if she
tried to tell anybody, they’d think she was nuts. For the foundation of a new
friendship, that was about as solid as it got. She could still be a total bitch
from hell, though. Now I preferred to think of it as part of her charm.

She was still seeing Stephen. Even if he didn’t remember the
bad stuff that had happened, she remembered the good stuff—that even when he’d
been turned into a super-gray, he still loved her. They were kind of meant for
each other if you asked me.

My mother returned from Hawaii with a fantastic tan and a
digital camera full of pictures. She was as relaxed and happy as I ever
remembered her being. And, total bonus, she’d met a man while away, one who
lived in a city only a couple hours’ drive from Trinity.

She didn’t understand why I was being extra nice to her, more
talkative, more interested in what she was doing. I just told her I’d missed
her. And I said the same thing in an email to my father in England. I missed
him, and I hoped he’d visit me again soon.

He replied only a half hour later telling me that he’d be here
for Christmas and was so happy to hear from me it had brought tears to his eyes.
And that he loved me very much.

The email made me cry, too. Happy tears. All this time, I
thought he was the one ignoring me, but it was actually the other way
around.

I went to school every day. No sick days permitted for someone
who died one night and came literally a breath away from death the next.

Colin had happily transferred his current crush to someone
else, someone who was able to completely return it. Someone who didn’t give him
mixed signals due to hungers, which were now an unpleasant memory.

It was his ability to deal with only a partial soul that had
made me realize Carly and Stephen could survive with the same. It was a
hypothesis. Luckily, one that had worked.

So, yeah, I was still a nexus. Still one that would forever
hunger for supernatural energy, but all in all, I was doing pretty darn good,
thank you very much.

Even though I thought about him every day. Every night. Every
moment in between.

He’d given everything he had left to save my life and I’d
failed to return the favor.

“I’d like to introduce a new student,” Mr. Saunders announced
at the beginning of English class on Friday. I scribbled in my binder randomly,
a sketch of wings in black ink that covered the entire page of a previously
graded test. “If you could all help him catch up this late in the semester, that
would be much appreciated. Please introduce yourself, young man.”

“My name’s Adam. Adam Bishop.”

My pen froze and my gaze shot up from the page.

Bishop stood at the front of the classroom.

“Where do you hail from, Adam?” Mr. Saunders asked.

“All over the place. But I’ll be staying in Trinity for a
while.”

“Well, welcome. Please take a seat.”

He took an empty seat near the door at the front of class
without looking at me.

Bishop was here.

Here in my English class.

What was going on?

Seven days had passed. Seven horrible days since the whole team
had disappeared, leaving no trace except for the scorch marks that I’d visited
three more times since. I’d hoped they might come back—all of them, any of
them.

Now Bishop had just strolled into class like he was any other
transfer student starting school in a new city.

It was impossible to pay attention to a single thing Mr.
Saunders said as I counted down the minutes until the end of class. When the
bell rang, Bishop stood up and was one of the first out of the room. I threaded
my way through the crowd, keeping him locked in my sights. I trailed after him
through the halls, past my locker and out the exit, practically tripping down
the stairs in my effort to keep up with his long legs.

“Bishop!” I shouted after him when he reached the pathway
leading toward the parking lot.

He stopped and turned to glance back at me.

I’d had time to figure this out. An hour to work over every
possibility in my head.

He was dead, lost to me. He’d given his last bit of energy to
heal me.

If he’d somehow been resurrected by Heaven, I would bet that,
just like Carly and Stephen, he now had no clue who I was. He had amnesia!

However, he was alive.

I could work with amnesia.

“I know this is going to sound crazy...” My words tripped over
each other in their race to leave my mouth. “But you already know me. I’m
Samantha. You were here before and some bad things happened. I—I thought you
were dead! You were dead, but I guess you’re not anymore. You’re here. And you
must be here for a reason. Bishop, this is wonderful. You have to remember me,
we went through so much together. You have to!”

Bishop cocked his head to the side, a smile curling the corner
of his mouth. “Oh, don’t worry, Samantha. I remember everything.”

I gaped at him. “You do?”

“And for the record, I wasn’t totally dead. Just mostly dead.”
He swept his gaze over the area lined with trees that had lost almost all their
leaves this late in the fall. “I’m glad you followed me. I needed to speak with
you alone.”

I stared at him. “How can you act so ‘whatever’ about this? You
nearly died! You were pulled back to Heaven and...it’s no big deal?”

“You’re angry.”

“Furious. Seven days, Bishop! I’ve been grieving you for seven
days. I thought I’d lost you and...and you just randomly start going to my
school? Why are you back?”

“I would have contacted you before, but I couldn’t.” He raised
an eyebrow. “Sounds like you missed me.”

I crossed my arms, glaring at him even though my previously
shattered heart was now pounding with sheer joy. “Less and less each moment that
passes and you don’t tell me what happened.”

This made him laugh, and for the first time, there wasn’t an
edge of insanity to it that I could hear.

“You’re fixed?” I asked, breathless. “The soul you had...”

He nodded. “Gone. They tried to fix me and they did a good job.
However, it couldn’t all be reversed. I guess I’ll always be a little unhinged.”
He crossed his arms and regarded me carefully. “You’re still a nexus. You gave
your soul away to save Carly and Stephen.”

I tensed. “I had no choice. If I didn’t, they’d be dead.”

His expression turned serious again. “Heaven and Hell aren’t
big fans of nexi.”

“So I’ve heard.” I took a deep breath. “So, what now? Are you
back as a new student of McCarthy High, or an angel of death to take care of a
little problem named Samantha Day?”

“Both. Heaven knows what you did, Samantha. What you were
willing to do to save the world from your father, to save your friends. It’s
earned you some respect. But you’re still a nexus, which means you need to be
watched.”

“Watched,” I said tentatively. “Not killed.”

“No, not killed. So that’s why I’m here. I requested this new
mission personally. Consider me your brand-new guardian angel.” He gave me a
wicked grin. “If that’s okay with you?”

This was the last thing I expected. I had no words to reply—not
right away. It was all too incredible.

Again, he sobered. “I mean, if you want them to assign someone
else...I know Connor could handle it and...”

“No,” I said quickly, not able to repress my smile a moment
longer. “I’m more than okay with this arrangement.”

His grin returned. “Well, good. And by the way, the future’s
not set. As a nexus, you have the powers of both Heaven and Hell inside you and
with your special status in the eyes of Heaven, you have the opportunity to be
transitioned to fully angel if you choose to be.”

“Angel?” I said, startled. “Me? Are you serious?”

“Very serious.” He drew closer, until we were almost touching.
“I think you’d make an amazing angel, Samantha.”

“Nah,” another familiar voice said nearby. “She’d make a way
cooler demon.”

My gaze shot to the left to see Kraven approach.

The demon grinned at me. “For the record, I remember everything
just fine and dandy, too, and I have my entire mental faculties intact, unlike
ninety-eight percent over here.”

Bishop’s jaw tightened. “I thought you were going to let me
talk to her on my own first.”

“I lied. Deal with it.” Kraven walked a slow circle around me,
his gaze sweeping the length of my body. “So, sweetness, I’m back. Don’t throw
yourself into my arms and embarrass yourself. We got plenty of time for
that.”

I knew he was joking, but at this very moment, I kind of felt
like giving the demon a huge hug since I was genuinely delighted to see him.
Instead, I restrained myself and tried to act blasé. “You’re here, too?
Why?”

“Balance. Duh.” He shrugged. “Heaven sent someone to keep an
eye on the potentially dangerous little nexus. Hell had to ante up, as well. And
I’m the one they sent. Shocker, right?”

“Total shocker.” Of course. The balance, couldn’t forget about
that. Heaven and Hell working together yet again, and I was the reason for it
this time. I was both amused and a little disconcerted that they thought I might
be that much of a threat someday. For now, anyway, I felt as close to normal as
I ever could, even with the supernatural energy emanating off both boys now
nudging my inherited hunger back to life.

“Roth gives his regards,” Kraven said. “Back to his regular
routine. Hopefully he’ll forget all about that angel.”

“You think that’s possible?”

“Not a chance. Anyway, don’t be too disappointed, but I gotta
skedaddle. Things to do, places to go, gorgeous women to meet. I’m sure my
little brother will keep a close eye on you and he won’t mind me slacking a bit.
Right, kid?”

“Don’t call me kid,” Bishop said.

“Remember my offer on the demon thing, sweetness,” Kraven said.
“Infernal transitions don’t always go smoothly, but there’s never a dull day.
But for now I’ll leave you two alone. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Without another word, he strolled away down the path. I watched
him leave, shaking my head with disbelief.

“So you two are...reconciled?” I ventured.

“Let’s just say, it’s an interesting work in progress. I guess
we’re going to have lots of time to spend with each other to see what happens.”
He curled his hand around mine. Touching him was pure bliss, something I never
thought I’d experience again.

Then he let out a low snort of laughter.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Nothing, it’s just—it seems that the inconvenient addiction of
mine, the moth to the flame...hasn’t gone anywhere, after all. I guess it was
more than that all along.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “I knew it.”

“You did?”

“Well, I knew it for
me.
” I shook
my head, looking up at him, still stunned this was real. “So we’re just two
unsouled supernatural beings now who go to high school together and are kind of
crazy about each other, huh?”

His blue-eyed gaze met mine and held. “Pretty much, with
varying degrees of crazy. Does that work for you?”

I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him. “It works just
fine.”

Bishop was back. He was my guardian angel. And just like
rebuilding his relationship with his brother, we now had plenty of time to see
what might happen next.

I honestly couldn’t wait.

* * * * *