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  “I said be quiet!”

  I rammed myself into her harder and the desk almost moved to the wall from the force. Looking down, there were deep scratch marks on the desk from where her fingernails had turned into claws.

  Three hard slams, two more barbs from Nemesio’s tail and the desk hit the door as I finished. I pulsed in her, my hands pulling her hips as close to me as I could get. Still stuck deep inside her, she rocked her pelvis causing a shiver to run along my spine. She was right. I did need what she offered. I could actually feel strength sweep over my muscles. The film was removed from my eyes and I could focus again. If it's true that a man’s brain is in his dick, I'd just cleared my mind.

  I pulled out to see bruising on her ass and hips.

  “Clean yourself up and get the fuck out!” I pushed her to the floor as she cowered into a ball. “What? I warned you. Next time, it will be in the ass so think before you open that door.”

  I pushed my desk back in place as she started to stand. Her gait, like a newborn colt, was sloppy and falling. I hated to see her go out like that. She wouldn’t make it till morning if others smelled her weakened.

  “Wait. I may need to wet your lips with my cum. Sit on the couch until I demand it.”

  She cowered to the edge of the couch and sat there, still shocked. Yes, we'd played tit-for-tat before. A few claw marks were the worst of it. She was jockeying to be by my side. A helper wasn’t what I needed, especially one whose only use was a hole to release my frustration in, but then again…

  A helper. If I trained the bantlings that were about to go out into the world to help with the emersions, maybe I could reduce the numbers that were dying.

  I looked at the map with last month’s risings. I still had two hundred thirty seven days until the closing of this shit hole. That meant I had over four hundred demons I'd be accountable for. Four hundred chances to fuck up and receive a visit from his-royal-pain-in-my-ass. I could feel another headache coming on.

  * * * *

  Kiriana

  The landmarks were flying by me. Each car we passed, I prayed for someone to be looking so I could try to show them I was in danger. Maybe they could call in the plate before I got too far away, but no one even glanced in my direction. I wondered if this was how all those women felt when they were with my dad.

  The large, black man driving the truck had striking features. If fear wasn't my main emotion, I'd still be staring at him. The line of his jaw and the way his muscles were flexed, poised for action, were mesmerizing. He had to be at least six-six and his skin was almost obsidian it was so black.

  When his head turned so he could jump in and out of traffic, the large muscles in his neck and back flexed then released. And his voice had a simple tone to it. Although it was deep, the way his dialect rolled off his tongue made me think he wasn’t from some hard motorcycle gang, but instead, a simple, pastoral life. Then again, I doubted there was a real street gang within four hours of here. Chicago and St. Louis, sure, but the Quad Cities, nah. Whatever the hell that girl and he were, I couldn’t imagine Mt. Pleasant was fraught with gang violence…then again I doubted it had much violence at all.

  My body slammed up against the passenger door as he turned a hard left into what I could only assume was his barn. I saw a flash of a trailer set up outside, mint green and white swirling in my mind. It was little more than a rusty metal building.

  Calculating which was greater, the pain in my leg versus the approximate distance back to civilization, I knew I only had a few seconds to decide what to do.

  As soon as the truck shifted into park, I reached for the door handle and jumped out, only to realize the cold in my leg was more than numbing. It rendered me completely useless. I crumpled to the ground and screamed out in pain. My leg felt as if a hot poker was stuck in my femur causing a burning to tear through my skin, and the bone felt shattered with the pieces trying to splinter their way through my flesh. Through my held-back tears I looked up and saw him towering over me. Even if I somehow got out of this, what the hell was I going to do without a leg?

  “If you wanna die, town is that way, ‘k? If you want to live, you’re gonna have to come with me.”

  The pain in my leg caused me to tear up, bite my lip, close my eyes, and nod yes.

  Leaning down, the large man scooped me up like a fallen animal. He was gentle, trying to maneuver so my leg wouldn't have to move too much, but he was quick in his execution. He walked to the back of the barn and as he reached his hand out to a wood board, I heard what sounded like a copy machine or scanner, then a click. The back barn doors slid open to show a huge entryway, as if the barn was just a large foyer. The cherry wood floor had an accent pattern with a lighter wood creating a box design. Blond wood interchanged with the reddish cherry, each forming a smaller and smaller square. To the left was a staircase with paintings of the man that was carrying me, the woman with the arrow, and a dozen other people in different states of repose. In his portrait, he was dressed as a gentleman from the eighteen hundreds sitting on a porch.

  A loud bang came from behind us and I peered around his bicep to see the woman, the one I thought he called Dee, coming through the door, her face full of rage.

  “You’re cleaning my fuckin’ truck, Nye. And I swear to God if there's one dent from a rock, I’m killin’ you myself.”

  I detected an eastern European accent.

  “D, language,” he barked. “Get the arrivals chamber set up. The less she sees of us the better. I’ll meet you in the healing allowance.”

  “You’re responsible. I’m not. Do it yourself. Listen, just let her die. No offense. She’s dying anyway.”

  Nye looked at me and I was stunned. How did this random woman know my status?

  “You’re a bitch.”

  “Nye, language,” she mocked, then crossed her arms. “I’m a realist. You know the implications if Gabriel finds out.”

  Dee stormed off. I felt a low growl come from the warm chest holding me tight. Nye’s jaw clenched and a feeling of foreboding came over me. It was almost as if his skin was turning to ice starting from his heart. The clean, fresh smell that came off him disappeared as the cold crept in.

  Nye walked me into a room with carvings along the crown molding. The angels circling the room reminded me of when I'd go to church with my mother. In the center was a table with a large, gray marble slab for a top. Along the walls were shelves with books, jars of miscellaneous items I couldn’t identify, and shiny objects that appeared to be surgical in nature.

  He set me on the table and I finally looked at my right leg which now had black streaks below my knee. I had no idea when the shaking started, but I was trying my best to get it to stop.

  Nye removed a strange knife from a sheath on his chest and placed it on the counter. I'd never seen anything like it. The knife was about seven inches long and had six sides to the blade that came to a point. The knife would make a star-like pattern if it was inserted and removed.

  The handle appeared to be made of crystal, laced with deep etches and a small, glowing object bounced around inside the handle. Unfortunately, it was just outside my reach and I was sure Nye was aware of where it was at all times anyway.

  “Nye? That’s your name?”

  The man nodded as the glowing object seemed to press against the crystal. If I hadn’t known better, I would have said it was looking at me. All of the sudden it bounced to the opposite side and back and the knife moved a little causing Nye’s right hand to immediately wrap around the handle. His whole body seemed to freeze in place as his head rose and he stared straight ahead. He seemed scared.

  Only one woman had ever survived my father. I struggled to remember how she said she gained his trust.

  “I’m Kiriana. KK. KK because of my last name…”

  “Stop,” Nye placed the knife in front of him, blocking it from my view. “I told you I won’t hurt you. I know you’re human. I know you’re scared and I know you think if you connect with me in s
ome way, I won’t kill you. Kiri, I won’t hurt you. Right now I need to focus.”

  Nye started pulling down jars from the shelf to his right. He was flipping through the yellowed pages of a large book as if he were searching for something. His index finger traced fluidly down the page.

  “It’s just…”

  “Focus,” he barked, then turned to me. “No, let’s do it your way. Keep talkin’, I’ll get some tea and biscuits. I’ll know all about you. Well, what you can tell me before you start screaming in pain. See those streaks? They’re just the beginning. I give it an hour before it spreads farther. You know what happens when it hits the middle of your chest?”

  I shook my head no, too afraid to speak.

  “First, you’ll feel like you’re breathing through a pillow, then your heart will start to burn and cramp. You know what most people call it when your heart cramps?”

  “Heart attack.”

  “Yep. Now, I don’t keep the antidote on hand because, well, normal people don’t usually get in our way. I can make it, but you know how medicine has the power to kill as well as heal?”

  I nodded. His condescending tone was getting on my nerves. Since I’d probably die if he didn’t save me, I bit my tongue that wanted to snap at him.

  “It’s a thin line with normal medicine. With this, you need an electron microscope to see the line. Ya got me? I swear I’m not trying to kill you, but I need silence.”

  His voice was strained but not with annoyance.

  “Can we have tea after I’ve healed?” I eked.

  His head cocked to the side and I swore the left side of his lip curled up. He turned back around and started measuring powders. He needed to put on his shirt if I was ever going to focus and be on guard.

  With his back turned to me, I noticed large welts, as if he'd been beaten. The obsidian skin was somehow darker over these scars that crisscrossed his back. The longest was from his right shoulder all the way to his left hip.

  Nye walked to a wall and depressed a panel and as the wall rose, I had to cover my eyes from the intense light. Heat lamps were hanging over a dozen terrariums containing a myriad of snakes. The low hissing sent a chill down my spine as Nye reached his hand in to take out a red snake with golden rings on its skin.

  My hands gripped hard to the marble slab as I tried to pull myself back, only to feel the edge of the tabletop and remembered I couldn’t walk.

  Holding the snake over a small jar, Nye pierced a rubber skin lid with the snake’s fangs and white liquid dripped into the vessel. When Nye removed the snake’s fangs, he looked it in the eyes and whispered.

  “Dankie vir jou diens en mag jou lewe vir ewig geseënd wees.”

  He gently placed the serpent back into its cage and returned to the table. Nye poured the milk into a mortar, added some plant leaves and seeds, and used a pestle to crush it all together.

  I was mesmerized by the way he moved, the focus and care he was taking. I was in pain, but fear was stopping my brain from registering it. I looked at my leg and touched it lightly with my index finger. The cold coming off my thigh was like nothing I'd ever felt.

  “Stop,” Nye snapped. “Just lay still. How is your pain?”

  I was afraid to respond.

  “Do you want a pain killer?”

  “I…I-I…don’t know what…What's happening?”

  “The less you know the better.”

  “Why? If you tell me, will you have to kill me?”

  “Not in this case. Um…yeah, I shouldn’t have to.”

  Nye tore at the vacusealed wrapping of a syringe and snapped off the plastic tip and placed a needle on the end and drew up the thick, orange liquid carefully into the syringe before his finger flicked the syringe lightly to get the bubbles to the end so he could push excess air out of the solution through the needle.

  I suddenly felt a stabbing pain on my right side. I curled into it and screamed. Nye yanked up my shirt. The black streaks were creeping up the side of my body.

  “What’s happening?” I screamed, shaking as I lost control of my body. Nye pushed me down and tried to hold me still.

  “Damn it,” Nye said. “I’m sorry about this.”

  With lightning-fast hands, he stabbed the syringe into my stomach. The pain was worse than anything I had ever known. The mixture burned like a hot poker going through my stomach, straight to my back.

  * * * *

  Nye

  I'd never been so scared in my life. I didn’t know why I wanted to protect this woman, but something primordial was causing a desire to save her no matter the cost. Stabbing her in the stomach was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew the poison had to be stopped. Luckily we had another snake that could give me another dose to apply directly to the wound, but the poison had ripped through this woman’s system as if she had nothing to stop it.

  The screams from her pouty lips tore through me like she was using a machete. I could feel myself wanting to take her place. My stomach pulled in on itself in disgust. Maybe D was right. I should have let her die on the side of the road. The poison would have coursed through her blood quickly and ended her suffering in less than an hour.

  “Oh my God!” Kiri screamed and I watched as her back arched and her abdomen jutted in the air as the back of her head smashed into the marble. The shrieking was more than I could bear. My need to take away her pain and take it on myself had me seconds from calling on Gabriel for help. She’d live and I’d be…oh hell no, I could save her myself. Save her and get her out of here as quickly as possible.

  “It will pass soon.” My hand went under her back so I could catch her as her body fell back. “I have to give you another shot. I’m sorry.”

  “Fuck you,” she spat at me.

  Her body twisted and turned. The pain had to be immense. She clawed and grabbed hard at my chin.

  “What did you do?” she cried.

  “I’m sorry, Kiri. I’m so sorry.”

  What else could I say? Her breath caught then her eyes rolled back.

  “Stay with me, Kiri. Please don’t go.”

  The thought she wouldn't be in the world seemed like a loss I couldn't live with. White foam came out of the side of her mouth.

  “Kiri. Kiri,” I yelped, but her body went limp in my arms. “No. Come on, Kiri. Don’t die. Please don’t die.” My finger went to her throat. Her pulse was weak.

  Chapter 3

  An hour later Kiri was still passed out. I had added a little Demerol to her second dose of anti-venom. I hoped that would lessen her pain, even if only a little. The color returning to her leg eased my guilt over it.

  “Nye.” Kiyoshi’s voice startled me.

  I turned to see him standing in a blue polo and jeans, not his usual in-house attire. He must have just come back from going out.

  “Yes,” I replied, assuming I was going to get the same lecture D had given me about the simplicity of allowing her to die. My hands clutched the edge of the black granite table she was still lying on. I wasn’t in the mood.

  “Would you like help moving her? She could go in the arrivals room. We have a full house. It’s not like a new one would be coming any time soon.”

  “Thank you.” I sighed. “I figured you to be comin’ to yell at me about savin’ her.”

  “I’m sure my other has already handled that for me. Being on the other end of a Frozen’s kindness, you will see I’m more forgiving.”

  I scooped Kiri into my arms. Her head rested on my chest while her fingers locked on to my shirt. I was glad I had actually left her alone for a few minutes to change into a new one.

  Walking into the arrival’s room, I saw Kiyoshi had the bed made up with feminine sheeting, chocolate-colored satin sheets with a teal and chocolate duvet. The duvet was also satin and appeared to be filled with thick goose down. This would keep her warm. I was worried about her leg having permanent damage from the cold.

  Kiyoshi pulled back the duvet, and I placed Kiri gently on to the sheets. He then pa
ssed me a heated water bottle wrapped in a cotton towel.

  “I’d place it under her leg,” Kiyoshi suggested. “The heat will draw her blood to the area.”

  Kiri’s hair was loose now and it fanned around her face. I went to the attached bathroom for a washcloth and ran water over my fingers until it felt warm enough. I wrung the washcloth out once, and walked back to Kiri. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I began to wipe off some of the road dust that still coated her face.

  “She’s beautiful,” Kiyoshi observed.

  “She’s asleep. Everyone looks beautiful when they’re asleep.”

  “You’ve obviously never caught Lars catnapping in the garden.”

  “Never had the displeasure.” I snickered as I wiped Kiri’s forehead.

  “Why are you cleaning her?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “I just think she’d want to be clean.”

  “I heard you needed a shirt.”

  “It’s not a need. I was just agitated by Dilana. You may love her. I only have to tolerate her.”

  “But you’d take a bullet for her.”

  “Yeah. In a heartbeat. She’s a good woman,” I said as I set down the cloth and turned toward Kiyoshi.

  “Are you sure about the shirt? I could use a drive to Chicago.”

  “I know you want to get out, but I’d appreciate if you watched Kiri until we came back. She may need another dose of Demerol. Hell, I’m not sure how her leg’s going to fare. The toxin spread all the way to her stomach.”

  “I’ll check with Laney, see if she added extra to her arrowheads. She’s been known to do that.”

  “Thank you. I know she is putting us all in jeopardy.”

  “No more than me running to the store.”

  I wished he were telling the truth. Any interaction with a normal could cause us all to be compromised and if a demon were to be in the same location…an unarmed other would be like a lamb to the slaughter. I feared when any of us left the compound, especially the unarmed Kyoshi. Sadly I don’t know if letting Kiri die on the side of the road would have been a worse punishment on D than me. What was I thinking bringing a normal into the compound?