Sweet Evil(58)

“He killed her?” I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Kaidan gave a dry laugh of contempt. “Had her killed, most likely. Wouldn’t want to exert his own self.”

I shook my head, imagining what fear the twins must face.

“Marna and Ginger both have a special talent, like you—the female thing,” Kaidan said.

“Oh, yeah? What’s theirs?”

“They can sense bonds between people when the feelings are mutual. Attraction, romantic love, commitment. Their father sees the bonds, too. That’s how they know who to go after.”

“Wow. Girl power, only in a disturbing way. Okay, so that’s three of your friends. Who’s the last one?”

“Kopano.” He said this name with a slight frown and a tone akin to annoyance. “His father is Alocer, Duke of Wrath.”

I shivered at the mention of Wrath. “Is he mean?” I asked.

Again with the dry laugh and strange tone. “No. He’s practically a celibate monk.”

“And where does he live? Kopano.” I tried out his name.

“He’s from Africa, but he’s at college here in the States now. Kope’s situation is very hush-hush. None of the demons know about this except his father, but Kopano is lucky to be alive. A few years back he turned to God and was prepared to die rather than do his father’s work. But when he told Alocer, he allowed him to live.”

“Why?”

“Alocer loves Kope, or respects him, at the very least. It’s unheard of among our kind.”

I studied Kaidan’s face. There was something wistful in his voice. Jealousy?

“Kopano is a mystery,” he stated. “Here’s the exit.”

We ended up on the Hollywood strip. I was ecstatic to see palm trees everywhere, some short and squat, some tall with skinny trunks stretching high. But my excitement faded when I caught sight of the general emotional climate of the people crowded together everywhere. There were some happy tourists, just passing through like us, but the primary sins were present in abundance, pressing in on me. I could sense the undercurrent of addiction in so many people that I found myself clutching the door handle. I gulped hard, willing the jitters to leave me.

An attractive woman passed, keeping her head down, and from a certain angle I could see that her face was not right—not natural. Her skin was tight, her lips were overly full, and her cheekbones stuck out sharply. She was dark with self-loathing. I wondered how many plastic surgeries she’d had. It was clear that underneath all of the changes, she had been a beautiful woman to begin with.

Nearly every ear had a cell phone attached to it. There were so many homeless and prostitutes. I barely saw the Chinese Theatre or the stars on the sidewalks. All I could see were the souls and emotions.

“Is it too much for you here?” Kaidan asked me.

“It’s hard,” I said. “But not because it’s Hollywood. Even Atlanta is hard for me sometimes.”

“I’ll get us out of here.”

We stopped at a red light. I shook my head and managed a small smile for the man who passed my window with a flyer offering tours of celebrity homes. When he walked away I met the eyes of a homeless woman sitting on some gray newspapers that matched her gray aura of despair. I opened my little wallet and pulled out two bills.

“You’re wasting your money,” Kaidan warned.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

She came, dragging one leg, to the window when I rolled it down and held out the money.

“God bless you,” she said. Her eyes reflected the pale green swirl of gratitude around her. She was not high or drunk, nor did she have the undercurrent of addiction running through her. I wondered what awful circumstances had forced her to live in the streets.

“Wait,” I called out. I snapped open my wallet and pulled out my entire savings, pressing it into her palm. Her lip trembled as she pulled it to her chest. Our eyes stayed locked until the light turned green and we drove away.

I realized too late that I would have to depend on Kaidan financially for the rest of the trip, not that he’d let me pay for anything so far anyway.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “That was presumptuous of me. But she—”

“What on earth are you apologizing for?” His eyes were soft, taking me by surprise. I looked back down, feeling bad.

Traffic was stop-and-go on the strip. Kaidan watched the road, lost in his thoughts.

“Legionnaire,” he said. My attention snapped to where he pointed. “Whispering to that man in the blue suit. If he comes this direction I’m going to ask you to hide. Be ready to move.”

I nodded and slunk lower in the seat. I still couldn’t see any demon, but I watched the man, walking and talking on his cell phone while his guardian angel rushed around him. He clicked the phone shut and stopped walking. He seemed to waver in indecision, looking around to see whether anyone was watching. Then he turned and, with a rush of determination, walked back to a woman standing by a light pole in a black leather dress with a faux-fur wrap. A prostitute. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it underfoot. Her colors went to a nervous light gray when he approached, changing to a soft blue relief when he passed her money in his palm. As they walked away together, a dirty cloud of guilt and apprehension spiked with yellow-orange excitement blazed around the man.