Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

11

When I opened my eyes again, Peanut’s transparent face was right above mine.

“I thought you were dead,” he said.

Gasping, I shrank back into bed, away from Peanut. “Oh my God, don’t ever do that again.”

His head tilted. “Do what?”

“That!” I shrieked. “Hover over me while I sleep.”

“I do it all the time.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“Sorry. Forget I said that.” He drifted to the side, somewhere out of the line of my vision. “Glad you’re not dead.”

“Me, too.” Mouth and throat incredibly dry, I sat up and looked around. I was in my bedroom and the bedside lamp was on, casting a soft glow into the darkness. Above me, the stars on the ceiling were gleaming. “Do you really do that while I sleep?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

I thought about that. “No.”

He giggled.

Pushing the blanket down, I checked myself out. “How did I get into my pajamas?”

“Some lady cleaned you up and changed you. I think they set your clothes on fire or something. You were out cold.” Peanut floated to the center of the room. “I didn’t peek. I swear. I only peek at strangers.”

“That’s...that’s not any better.”

“Don’t judge me and my life and my choices.”

I stared at him and then I lay back down, feeling like there were no tendons between my bones and muscles. I knew the deep exhaustion had nothing to do with whatever meds Matthew’d shot me up with.

Speaking of meds... I pulled up the sleeve on my left arm. Three angry red marks stretched about four inches over my skin. The stitching was fine and neat, but that was... That was definitely going to scar.

A scar wasn’t a big deal.

What happened and why was a big deal. If it hadn’t been Clay, then it had... It had to be like what happened to my mother, and that meant I wasn’t safe here.

I wasn’t really safe anywhere.

If it had been Clay? I had no idea what that would mean. I’d defended myself, but Wardens were... Well, they were sometimes above what I believed was right and wrong.

Worse, I’d bled everywhere. If there were more Ravers nearby, or if that Upper Level demon was close, they’d turn into big, raging and ravenous bloodhounds. They’d scent that blood and come here.

Demons tended to get a wee bit...cannibalistic when they got ahold of someone like me. That was one of the reasons I was the last of my kind.

All of that was a big deal, so a scar was nothing.

I let go of my sleeve and dropped my hand to my stomach as what happened to me really sank in.

Everything was about to change.

“Someone’s coming,” Peanut said, and a second later, my door cracked open.

I rose onto my elbows, squinting. It was Thierry. “Trin?”

“I’m awake,” I croaked out.

The door opened the rest of the way, and I saw he wasn’t alone. Matthew followed, carrying what I hoped was a glass of water. I expected to see Misha right behind them, but Matthew closed the door.

That was...odd.

“How are you feeling?” Thierry asked, nearly walking through Peanut on the way to the chair at my desk.

“Okay.” I watched Peanut wave his arm in front of Thierry’s face to no avail. “Just tired.”

Matthew sat beside my legs. “Do you think you can sit up and stomach some water?”

“I would jump out of that window for some water,” I said, pushing up. The stitches tugged at my arm.

“That would be interesting,” Peanut said as Thierry rolled the chair over to the bed.

“Let’s not go that far.” Thierry reached behind me and fluffed up the pillows so that I could lean back against them. “How exhausted are you?”

Thierry knew what happened after I used my grace. There was little he didn’t know. “The same as before.”

“The nosebleed doesn’t seem as bad this time.” Matthew offered the glass.

It wasn’t. Last time, I’d bled for hours afterward.

I took the glass from Matthew and drank greedily until his fingers covered mine, tipping the glass away from my lips.

“Slowly. You don’t want to get sick.”

“And hurl all over yourself.” Peanut was behind Thierry now.

“Can you talk about what happened?” Thierry asked.

Reluctantly I lowered the almost-empty glass. “I was here, but I...I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and went to the Pit, but when I got there, I changed my mind. On the walk back, I heard someone behind me. Before I could look, I was hit on the back of my head. It stunned me.”

“You didn’t see who it was?” Thierry asked.

I finished off the rest of the water and murmured my thanks when Matthew took the glass from me. “He was wearing a mask.”

Matthew straightened, his blue-eyed gaze darting from me to Thierry. “What kind of mask?”

“A really creepy doll mask. The kind with the painted red cheeks.” I shuddered. “I never saw his face, but I know it was a Warden.” I prepared myself for the possible answer to my next question. “Was it Clay?”

“We haven’t found him yet,” Thierry answered. “He wasn’t at home or at the Pit.”

I looked between the two. “So, it could be him?”

“Could be,” Thierry said.

I didn’t know what to think. Would Clay really have attacked me because he’d gotten in trouble for what happened between us? That was horrible to even consider, but at the same time, was it better than the attacker being an unknown enemy?

“Everyone is being checked to see if we’re missing anyone,” Thierry continued as if he could read my thoughts. “We’ll know shortly who it was.”

Drawing in a shallow breath, I focused on Thierry. “I’m so sorry. I tried to stop it, and I fought back, but I was...unprepared.” Embarrassment clogged my throat. “He came at me from behind and he clawed me. I guess instinct took over. I couldn’t—”

“Stop.” Thierry covered my hand with his. “You have nothing to apologize for. You did what you needed to do to survive.”

A knot formed in the back of my throat. “But—”

“There are no buts. What happened is not your fault. If it’s anyone’s, it is the bastard who attacked you, and Misha—”

“It’s not Misha’s fault.”

“I’ve already spoken to him.” Thierry leaned back. “Misha knows he’s partly responsible. He should’ve been with you—”

“I told him I was staying in all night, and I was. He didn’t know I was going to leave,” I reasoned, not wanting Misha to be in trouble. “I thought I was safe here.”

Thierry’s jaw hardened. “His duty is not to do as you tell him or to assume that you’re going to do one thing or another, Trinity. You know that.”

“He can’t watch over me 24/7. He needs to have a life.”

“You are his life,” Thierry responded. “That might sound extreme, but it’s true.”

“She knows that, as does Misha,” Matthew interjected smoothly. “But they’re young. Both of them. Mistakes are going to happen. God knows we’ve made plenty ourselves.” He looked at Thierry. “We’ve made big ones that inevitably have led to other ones.”

I had no idea what he was referencing.

Thierry’s dark brows snapped together and he sat back. A long moment passed. “Is there anything else you can tell us about who attacked you?”

I still wanted to make sure that Misha wasn’t in a lot of trouble, but I also knew I needed to answer as many questions as I could. “He said nothing. He just snuck up on me and hit me over the back of the head. I fought back, and I think he was surprised by that. I don’t know, but all I can tell you about is the mask.”

Thierry fell quiet, and I noticed that Peanut had disappeared. I settled back against my stacked pillows. “Do you think this is like what happened...when my mother was killed?”

Matthew’s head bowed, but Thierry leaned in. “I don’t know, Trin. After what happened with your mother, we flushed out all the Wardens who were working with Ryker.”

My skin chilled at the mention of his name. It was never spoken out loud. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had heard it.

“We could’ve missed one,” Thierry said with a sigh. “That’s always possible.”

I didn’t think Clay had been close to Ryker. “If it’s someone who was following Ryker, then why now? Why come at me after all this time?”

Thierry and Matthew exchanged a long look, one that perked my curiosity like no other. It was Matthew who answered. “Someone could’ve figured out what you were. I don’t know how. We’ve been so careful.”

I was thinking that telling the DC clan leader that I could see ghosts and spirits wasn’t being all that careful, but I hadn’t been all that careful, either, when I kicked Clay through a window.

Granted, it wasn’t like Clay would’ve figured out what I was, but he had to realize something was up with me.

“I just... I don’t understand why a Warden would want to hurt me,” I said after a moment. “I didn’t understand it back then, either. I’m not a danger.”

Both men fell quiet, and it was Matthew who broke the silence again. “But you are.”

My heart skipped a beat as my gaze found his.

He smiled faintly. “Thierry and I know you would never be a danger to a Warden, but you are a weapon, Trinity, and when someone who isn’t supposed to know what you are finds out, they react in the way all of us are trained to react to a weapon that could end our lives in seconds.”

Hearing that made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Like I wasn’t a...person capable of restraining myself from caving in to wild, violent tendencies.

“That doesn’t make what Ryker did or what this Warden attempted to do okay,” Matthew continued.

Thierry rubbed a hand over his head and clasped the back of his neck. “Hopefully by morning we know who this was and who they were close to so that we can flush out anyone else who may know.”

Trepidation had never blossomed to life quicker than it did in that moment. What if there were more?

Thierry pushed back the chair and stood. “I do have some good news to share. The scouts reported back. No demons were found anywhere near the community.”

That was good news, but we weren’t in the clear. Not with me bleeding like a stuck pig.

“I want you to get some rest.” Thierry bent over and pressed a quick kiss to the center of my forehead. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I promised.

Thierry left then, closing the door, and it was just Matthew and me.

“What else is going on?” I asked. “You were all acting so weird, even before this happened. All the closed-door meetings. You let Nicolai stay in the room and were totes cool with him knowing I can see ghosts and spirits.”

He shook his head slowly as he stared at the chair Thierry had been sitting in. “Nothing is going on, Trin.”

“Really?”

Matthew leaned over, moving slowly so that I could see him coming. He smoothed his fingers through the mess of my hair, tucking the strands back. “Nicolai learning that you can see spirits and ghosts doesn’t tell him what you are. There are plenty of humans out there that can do the same thing.”

Yeah, but those humans were watered waaay down, and they just had no idea how they got their otherworldly gifts.

Matthew rose fluidly. “By the way, you have a visitor.”

“Misha?”

Matthew grinned at me. “It seems you’ve made a friend with the young Warden from the capital.”

“What?” My eyes nearly popped out of my bed.

“Yes. He’s been waiting to see you.” Matthew paused. “Out in the hallway actually. Refuses to leave until he can see for himself that you didn’t bleed to death all over him. I’m pretty sure that was his exact wording.”

Of course it was.

Matthew opened his mouth and then closed it. “Where was he when you ran into him?”

“He was coming around the interior wall, by this house. He was with Nicolai,” I answered. “Why?”

“He didn’t say what he was doing out there?”

“No. Why?” I stiffened. “You don’t think he had something to do with...with what happened to me?” It didn’t even feel right, suggesting that. “Matthew?”

“No. Not at all.” Matthew’s smile was brief. “He just had...really good timing.”

He had.

“You up to seeing him for a moment?”

I was still somewhat dumbstruck over the fact that Zayne wanted to see me, and that Thierry and Matthew were allowing it.

And that Misha wasn’t out in that hallway kicking a fit over it.

So, I nodded and hoped I looked better than I felt, and then immediately told myself how I looked honestly did not matter.

Matthew opened the door and slipped into the hall. I heard him speak, and then a second later, Zayne was standing in my doorway. He’d changed into what I swore was a pair of Thierry’s nylon workout pants and white shirt. His hair was damp and shoved back from his face.

I suddenly remembered what he’d said to me before I passed out. I feel like we’ve met before. Had he really said that? Or was that the drugs Matthew had been pumping in my veins? I wasn’t sure, but as he walked forward, not once talking his eyes off me, I knew that was what I’d been feeling all along, too.

It was like I knew him.

Zayne stopped by the foot of my bed. “Glad to see you’re not dead.”

My lips twitched. “I’m hard to kill.”

“Good to know.” He turned to the chair Thierry had occupied. “May I?”

“Sure.” I ignored the nervous little buzz in my veins as he folded into the chair. I glanced at the door, still expecting Misha to appear.

“How are you feeling?”

I looked at Zayne, and my antsy restlessness returned with a vengeance. I’d been wrong about what it was. It wasn’t nervousness. It was like taking a shot of a really potent energy drink, like the jitters from too much caffeine.

“Trinity?” His head cocked.

“Sorry.” I blinked. “I feel okay. Just a little sore.”

His gaze moved to my shoulder, where I knew only the edges of the claw marks were visible. I also knew that in a day or so, those marks would be nearly healed. “What happened to you out there?”

“I really don’t know.” And that was the truth.

Rolling the chair closer to the bed, he tipped forward, resting his elbows on his knees. A strand of damp hair fell forward, brushing against his cheek. “Thierry and Matthew didn’t tell me much, but I’m under the impression that whoever attacked you is dead?”

“He is,” I admitted.

“Good.”

I jolted in surprise.

“He was trying to hurt you.” He gestured at my arm with his chin. “He did hurt you. He got what he deserved.”

Wow.

Zayne was a little bloodthirsty.

I kind of liked it.

“And you did it? Killed a Warden?” he continued, and I didn’t answer. “How?”

I slowly shook my head.

“The blades?” he asked, and then said, “Or you’re a Hell of lot more trained than you let on.”

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Time to change the subject. “Did you really wait in the hallway this whole time?”

“With the exception of getting changed and taking a shower? Yes.” He tucked the piece of hair back behind his ear, and I hoped that Peanut hadn’t spied on him again. “Your shadow wasn’t too thrilled about that.”

“You saw Misha?”

“Briefly.” He tugged at the collar of the shirt. “Is he your...boyfriend?”

“What?” I laughed. “He’s a Warden.”

“So?”

“So?” I repeated, eyes widening. “Wardens don’t date anyone other than other Wardens.”

His brows knitted together. “That’s not true.”

“You’ve dated humans?”

“I’ve dated outside of Wardens.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to do with that information other than cuddle it really close and fantasize over it later. “Misha and I kissed once. Well, actually, I kissed him, and it was really weird since he’s like my brother—it felt supergross.” I didn’t know why I was telling him this, but he was listening. “Anyway, he really is like my brother, minus the one kiss...that felt like incest.”

Zayne pressed his lips together.

“That was an overshare moment, wasn’t it?”

“A little. I’ll add that to your list of attributes.” The grin broke free. “He was really worried about you, though.”

I glanced at the door. Where was Misha?

“I was worried about you, too.”

My gaze shot back to his. “Why?”

His brows lifted as that grin disappeared. “Are you really asking me why?”

“Yeah. Thought you found me annoying and frustrating.”

“I do.” A quick smile appeared and then disappeared. “Doesn’t mean I can’t worry.”

“Well, you can see I’m just fine.”

“No one is just fine after bleeding that much,” he commented, and, well, I couldn’t argue that point. “Thierry and Matthew reacted a little oddly to the whole blood thing.”

Crap. They should’ve thought about that before flipping out over the blood. “They are...really squeamish about blood and stuff.”

“Uh-huh.”

There wasn’t a single part him of that believed me.

“I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff. I’ve told you that before.” He paused. “Been through a lot of weird stuff.”

Well, if he’d lost a part of his soul, that would definitely be considered weird. Probably would be on the top of the list of weird stuff.

Zayne wasn’t done. “You, this clan and every damn thing that’s happened since I arrived is competing for the top spot of weirdness. We didn’t come here for the Accolade. We came for reinforcements, and Thierry demanded that we stay, which is bizarre because it’s rare that anyone is even given permission to come here, let alone stay for a while. And then there’s you.”

“Me?” I squeaked.

“You’re a human living in the regional seat of power—a human who can kill a Warden. And the whole blood thing? Yeah. This shit is bizarre to the max.”

“I have no idea what to say to that.”

“Well, get ready, because I know something else about you,” he said, and I tensed up so badly a dull burst of pain radiated down my arm. “Nicolai said you can see ghosts.”

My mouth opened and then closed. It took me a moment to speak. “He wasn’t supposed to repeat that.”

“There’s very little Nicolai doesn’t share with me,” he replied, tilting his head. “So, it’s true?”

I gave a little shake of my head as I said what Matthew had said to me. “I’m not the only person out there who can see ghosts and spirits, Zayne. A lot of people can. It’s not a big deal.”

He chuckled softly as he let his hands hang between his knees. “Only you would think that’s not a big deal. It is. I don’t know anyone else who can do that.”

“Maybe you do and they just haven’t told you.”

“Doubtful,” he murmured. “You’ve always been able to see them?”

“Yeah,” I admitted, and it was odd but nice to be talking to Zayne about what I could see. “Always.”

“What’s it like?” he asked, curiosity threading his voice.

I lifted my brows. “It’s hard to explain. I mean, ghosts and spirits are different. Did you know that?”

He shook his head.

“Yeah, ghosts haven’t moved on. They either don’t know they’re dead or refuse to accept it. They’re usually in their death states, so sometimes they can be kind of gross. Spirits have passed on, gone wherever they’re supposed to go, but are back either to check on loved ones or deliver a message.”

“And that’s what you do? Give people messages?”

“When I see spirits, yes, but I haven’t see one in ages,” I admitted, fiddling with my blanket. “When I see ghosts, I...I help them move into the light. So they can find peace.”

“That’s sounds difficult, but also...amazing,” he said, and when I lifted my gaze, I found that he was staring at me intently. “Some people would probably choose to ignore them or be afraid.”

“I couldn’t do that. They need help, and if you saw them, especially the ghosts...they’re so confused. They shouldn’t be left like that,” I told him, falling quiet as I dragged my teeth over my lower lip. “There are other things, though, that I won’t interact with.”

“Wraiths?”

Surprise shot me through me. “How did you know?”

“Unfortunately, I have experience with them.”

Wraiths were humans who’d had their souls stripped from them before they died. They couldn’t pass on, either to Heaven or Hell. They were stuck, and the longer they were stuck, the farther from human they became. “There are also...shadow people,” I said, curling my fingers around the edge of the blanket. “Have you heard of them?”

“Lower level demons,” he said, and I nodded. “They’re not ghosts or spirits.”

“I know, but they’re often mistaken for them. I’ve only seen one once. It was superfreaky.” I paused. “How do you have experience with the wraiths?”

Zayne sighed heavily and stared down at his hands. “In all the snooping you do, you didn’t hear about this?”

“I don’t snoop,” I muttered. “That much.”

His lashes lifted and a ghost of smile touched his lips. “It’s a long story.”

“We have time.”

“It’s late and you should be resting.”

“I am resting.” I gestured at myself with a flick of the wrists. “I’m in bed.” When he said nothing, my eyes narrowed. “Or is it a story you don’t think I should hear because I’m not a Warden? Because you don’t know me?”

Zayne was stubbornly quiet.

Irritation pulsed. “You ask me a ton of questions and yet refuse to answer ninety percent of mine. That’s not cool.”

He dragged his bottom lip through his teeth. “We had a Lilin in DC.”

If I had been sitting up, I would’ve toppled over. “You’re for real?”

He nodded. “There was a demon who wanted to free Lilith,” he explained, and I immediately thought of the half demon his clan had raised. Lilith’s daughter, supposedly.

“Convinced himself he was in love with her and tried to carry out this ritual to free her. His name was Paimon.”

Now my eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head. Paimon was an ancient Upper Level demon, like one of the biblically old demons. A King of Hell, he ruled over hundreds of demons. “Paimon was topside?”

“We actually get a few of the big players in DC. With all the politicians to corrupt, they’re sort of lured there,” he said. “Anyway, we thought we’d stopped him in time, but little did we know, the ritual had been completed.” His jaw hardened as a beat of silence passed. “A Lilin was created, and it unfortunately got ahold of a few humans. Some, it stripped the souls immediately. Others, it toyed with, taking a little here and a little there, which left us with wraiths to deal with.”

Processing this, I wanted to ask if that was what had happened to his soul, or if it really did have something to do with Lilith’s daughter, but I didn’t even know if it was true. And while I was impulsive and often spoke before thinking, I wasn’t so much of a jerk that I’d flat out ask someone if they’d lost a part of their soul.

So I asked instead, “How did you deal with the Lilin?”

“It wasn’t easy. Took a lot to take it down. A lot of sacrifice,” he said. “The Lilin had created an army of wraiths, and it somehow got them inside these old statues of gargoyles and they came to life. It was... It was crazy. One of them got ahold of my father. That’s how he died, fighting the Lilin. I was there, but I couldn’t get to him.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said.

“How do you know that?” That gaze met mine.

“Because I’m sure you did everything you could,” I said, and even though I hardly knew him, everything in me believed what I said. “I’m sorry, Zayne. I know that what you...you experienced wasn’t easy.”

Jaw working, he nodded. “He died fighting, but he also died to protect someone he cared very much for. Knowing that does... It does make it easier to process. To deal.”

“I’m sure it does,” I said, wishing I had something better to say, something more powerful.

“You know, you’re the first person outside of those who were there that I’ve talked to about my father,” Zayne said, shocking me yet again. A winsome smile appeared as he shook his head. “Surprises me.”

“Why? I’m easy to talk to.”

He smirked. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” I let a grin sneak through. “It’s another one of my attributes.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” he said, and I knew it didn’t matter, because he’d be leaving. “You told me something, when we were at the training center. You said your mother was killed by a Warden.”

Oh God, I really shouldn’t have said that. “She was.”

“And now, you’ve been attacked by a Warden. Are those two things related?”

I wanted to smack myself, but my head had already been through enough so I resisted. “I don’t know.”

Zayne stared at his hands again. “Can I ask you something, and you answer me honestly?”

“Yeah?” I hoped it was a question I could answer honestly, but I was betting it wasn’t.

Thick lashes lifted. “Are you safe here?”

I opened my mouth, but closed it, because I had no idea how to answer that and for some reason I...I didn’t want to lie to him.

And that was dumb, because I’d been lying to him in many ways since I’d first spoken to him.

A muscle feathered along his jaw. “If you’re not safe here, we can take you with us when we leave. Help you in any way you need.”

Shock rendered me silent as a swelling motion rose in my chest like a balloon about to float to the ceiling. “That...that is sweet of you to offer.”

“I’m not being sweet,” he replied, his gaze holding mine. “I’m serious. If you’re not safe here, we can take you someplace where you will be.”

Looking away, I focused on my bedspread, finding it hard to not be completely honest with him while meeting his gaze. “I’m all right here, but thank you.”

He fell silent for so long that I had to look at him again. He was watching me. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I repeated.

He gripped the arms of the chair and rose with the kind of inherent grace all Wardens possessed. “I should go now.”

I didn’t say anything, because I wanted him to stay.

As if he could somehow read my mind, Zayne stopped, and I don’t even know why, but my breath caught, and I was waiting again.

“What were you doing outside tonight?” I blurted out.

Zayne’s brows snapped together. “You know, it was the strangest damn thing. I’d been feeling keyed up all evening. Restless, even though I was with Dez and Nicolai, and this...this is going to sound bizarre, but I just had this sudden...urge to get some fresh air.” He coughed out a laugh. “Good timing, huh?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Perfect timing.”