"And how would you find this demon?" Kelly crossed her arms, not giving her an inch. The pointed question carried a little too much suspicion for Caly to brush it off without them taking notice. Her friend knew her too well.
"It's like déjà vu. I can sense her when we're close." That was as much as she was willing to share with them of her djinn. She fought daily to keep her humanity and not give into the demonic urges. She'd be damned if she'd allow her friends to learn about it now when their lives hung in the balance, and they needed her most.
"What's to prevent this demon from killing you outright?"
The muffled words came from Jarred. Even with his head stuck in the back of a cupboard as he tallied the supplies, he still paid careful attention to everything around him.
"If I die, she dies. The only danger is if we came too close. Since we both know the consequences, we can avoid-"
"Explain the danger." Kelly tilted her head and stared without blinking, the perfect lie detector, trying to ferret out what wasn't being said.
Caly knew that expression, and the trouble that came with it. "When a person meets with their djinn, it's like two magnets. You've met your other half, the best friend you didn't know you were missing. You start thinking alike, talking alike. After a time, the line between the demon and human blur. They merge. All the power. The lure of never being alone again.
"But, the human body is only meant to support one life. One soul. Some go insane. Others die." she turned and tossed away her coffee cup. "Few manage to survive a separation."
Fear surged to life as Caly met the concerned gazes of her friends. "This is beyond our normal battles. The temple depicted the destruction of a whole civilization to find this special person. Something we did resurrected the forgotten angels. Now that they are awake, they won't stop."
"Then I'll go with you." Kelly smiled, but her narrowed gaze was focused on the way David eyed the donut bag. When he reached for a second helping, Kelly slapped his hand. "Hey."
Caly smiled a little at their antics, part of her relieved they didn't dig any further.
"I need you and David to find if there are other groups out there like us. Oscar kept us isolated. Any information he had died with him. They need to be warned." The demon statue was correct in one thing: they were human, too fragile to risk.
"If they're online, I'll find them." David forgot about the donut bag, his ears all but perking up at the name of his second love. Technology.
"I doubt you'll find anything advertised."
Excitement lightened David's eyes. He rose and distractedly swiped at the crumbs as they fell from his pants, patting his pockets for a pen. "If they have a computer hooked up to the internet, I can use that to get in."
"Won't that take too long?" Kelly sounded skeptical. She picked up the donut bag and frowned when she found it empty. With a sigh, she handed David a pen.
"If there are others out there, they must monitor the news and websites like we do. I can write code to track them." David answered with only half his attention as he hurriedly scribbled his notes on the donut bag he snagged from Kelly's hands.
When no one agreed, he lifted his head and spread his arms. "I am open to other suggestions if you have anything better."
Caly looked to Kelly and Jarred. Kelly only shrugged.
"Works for me." Jarred closed his notebook and straightened from his slouched position in front of the cupboard. "I need to pick up supplies."
Kelly's triumphant smile almost sent Caly back a step. "This will be home base. We can get everything set up by nightfall."
"I'm not sure that's wise." Memories of her late night visitor came to mind - again drat his demon hide. She wasn't sure what worried her more. That her friends would learn about him, or that he wouldn't return if they stayed. "If I run into trouble, this is the first place they'll hit."
"And we'll be ready." Kelly's unrepentant, persistent attitude scared the bejesus out of her.
"Four against an army?"
Kelly shook her head so emphatically, her short hair whipped out and looked like it stood on end. "Donald, the weapons specialist at the warehouse, mentioned leaving the group. It seems he can't stand Henry either. When we said we were heading over here, he and a few of his buddies asked to tag along. We estimated there are around fourteen with all of us." Kelly sobered some. "Not an army, but we're the best of the best. If trouble comes, we can stand strong."
Both Jarred and David nodded. Caly did the only thing she could. She conceded defeat, for now, and went to her room to prepare. She couldn't breathe as her lies coated the air, their trust resting heavily against her. She wasn't sure when the situation had gotten so out of hand or how she'd ended up with an elite group of fighters under her control.
She tried to remember that it was what Oscar wanted, but it wasn't anything she ever dreamed for herself. She didn't know if she was strong enough to survive the knowledge that one bad decision could cost the lives of her friends.
Maybe that was why Oscar remained so gruff and detached from everyone. That and the guy was one tough bastard to get along with anyway. She didn't think she could be like him. She didn't want to live his sterile life. Not anymore. She wouldn't survive. As it was, she was hanging on by a string. She needed that cure.
Weapons lined the bed, ready to be tucked away on her body for easy access. She had to be careful. Too many weapons might set off alarm bells for the demons. She could hide a few, but not as many as she'd like and a lot less than what was comfortable.
The last thing she needed was to be caught. She doubted her djinn would turn her away, but she had no way of knowing. It had been years since she last saw her double. They hadn't exactly parted on the friendliest of terms.
She rubbed the scars on her wrist where Oscar had bound them, still able feel the heavy metal bracelets he'd welded to her arms like a shackles.
Despite the obstacles, they'd escaped the torture. The separation left her feeling a shell of her former self. She hoped the djinn felt the same way and was willing to help.
The plan to leave the house without a tail was tenuous at best. Her ability to blend into the background would allow her an advantage. She just had to wait for nightfall and avoid Kelly at all cost.
By dusk, her house was overrun with people. The old farmhouse was built for a large family but twenty people pushed the walls to their limits and more showed up by the hour. Kelly had underestimated the numbers. Not only did current members appeared but old ones who'd left when Oscar had passed.
It was both gratifying and terrifying. If there was ever a time she needed the old man's advice, it was now. With a passing nod to a few people, Caly slipped into the library and blessed silence. She circled the desk and dropped into the chair, mentally exhausted. The smell of black licorice surrounded her. Annoyed at the scent, she snatched up the half-filled bag of candy and shoved it into the bottom drawer.
It didn't get rid of the scent at all.
"Why do you do it?"
The question jerked her head up. She sprang to her feet, drawing her knives.
Her so-called mystery guardian had returned.
Excitement revved through her, skimming along her body. And that pissed her off more.
"I thought we had an understanding. You leave and I would let you live." She all but snarled the words, ignoring the thrill of pleasure that woke her body at his appearance. And the pathetic relief that he'd returned for her.
"I left." Unaffected by her threat, he turned and studied the bookcases lining the wall. "Nothing was said about me staying away from you." With a finger, he traced one of the spines, his eyes locked on hers over his shoulder. Goosebumps trailed down her back as if his touch trailed over her instead.
"You suffer. You struggle with each decision you make for these people. Why?" Those dark, unfathomable eyes sent a shiver of awareness through her, and she was helpless to resist being lured further. "Why do you fight a battle you cannot win?"
"What business is it of yours?" She was mindful to keep the desk between them. Any closer and she'd lose focus, forget he was the enemy. She rested on the balls of her feet, every nerve taut and ready for an attack.
He turned, crossed his arms and leaned back against the bookcase nearest the door, not a care in the world … if not for the way the corners of his eyes tightened when he looked at her.
Blast him. This meant something to him. That meant it would be all the harder to get rid of him.
"You're my salvation. I've been cursed into a guardian statue for too many centuries to count. No more. To save you is to save me. I have survived," he flinched slightly, "too many years on earth to lose my chance at redemption because of your stubbornness. You're so willing to throw your life away, my job will be all the easier.
"I don't care if you trust me. I don't care if you hate me. I am here to finish what you started at the temple. You awakened me, and you'll now give me the courtesy you give those people out there." He waved a hand toward the door and the sound of human voices. Lines bracketed his mouth, but it was the way he looked at her, with wariness, hope and that damned sexiness that twisted everything up inside her. It made it so much harder for her to tell him to get lost.