Burn (25 page)

“We’re back to
Gage
.” Logan gives a huff of a laugh and motions for me to take a seat next to him on a patch of pine needles.

I lean up against him for support.

“Your uncle says I need vitamins. I know my mom has some floating around the house.” Correction, she’s got an entire pharmacy floating around the house.

We lay down on the ground, resting our heads next to one another facing the opposite direction. I snuggle into Logan’s shoulder as a pillow. I could easily fall asleep like this.

It’s nice. It feels like the old Logan and
Skyla
.

I look over and see Logan’s eyes gleam like melted pools of liquid sunshine.

“I thought he’d back off.” He pants the words, still out of breath from our workout.

“He’s not going to. Should I?” I throw it out there. I don’t know what I would do if Logan said yes.

“No. I know you have strong feelings for him.” He exudes a heavy sadness. “And I want to be sure that if you choose me in the end, that you and Gage…that you know, you’re over.”

How could I ever be over Gage? I roll the thought around in my mind.

“What do you think of his prophecy? About me marrying him? How could that be possible if I feel so strongly connected to you?”

“It’s more than possible—part of the reason I backed off.”

“So you don’t think we’re meant to be together?”

“I do.” He reaches over and picks up my hand. “That’s what I find so wildly confusing about this.”

“I think you’re turning this into some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. Is that possible?” Or maybe it’s Gage who’s doing that?

“I don’t think so, but even if it were, how could we test the theory?”

Marshall’s face blinks through my mind.

“You’re probably right.” I try to fuzz out the thought of me kissing Dudley for a glimpse of the future. I won’t do that again…unless of course I want to test the theory. “Hey…” I turn to look at him. “You never really mentioned that book of Counts. Anyone we know in there?”

“Brielle, Ellis, Natalie.” His eyes widen unexpectedly.

“Yeah,” I bite down on my lip and consider it. “I’d like the names of those leaders who OK’d the killing of the
Celestras
.”

 
“What for?”

“I just want to know.”

“I highly advise you don’t go around trying to off anybody. Especially since the other factions agreed to stay out of it for now.”

“It’s my holy war.”

“Civil war,” he leans over and mitigates me with a soft penetrating grin. “Ours. Yours and mine.”

“Well, war and death go hand in hand. Don’t you watch the news?”

“Yes, I realize that, and no, I don’t watch the news. Say you kill a few Counts, then what? What if they come after you—your family? Nicholas
Havar
was right—the risk outweighs the benefit.”

“They killed my father.” The words float out like a morbid song. “I want the names, Logan. I want to know who they are and what kind of lives they live. I’m just curious, that’s all. At least let me educate myself on what I’m up against.”

“OK.” He looks down introspectively. “My uncle was forwarded the names of those who were killed and their locations—we’ll work from there in figuring out who was responsible—for educational purposes.” He looks mournfully at me before staring off into the ever-darkening sky masked with a veil of precipitation.

A comfortable silence wraps itself around us. The light is swallowed in shadows and the temperature drops, sharpening the air into icy bites.

“I never should have sent you to, Gage,” he whispers with his eyes wide open as though he were sharing a private thought. “I really fucked things up.”

I place my arm across his chest and hold back tears.
 

“There was no other way, you couldn’t have kept me away from you.”
 

 
“I don’t know about that. I can be pretty creative if I have to.” He rolls over and wraps his arm around my shoulders. I can see the hard edge of his jaw clench with frustration. “But it’s too late for that. This is how it’s going down. You’re going to marry Gage, and I drove you right to him.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Tutor Time
   
 
  
 
 

After school on Thursday, my mother drives me straight to Mr. Dudley’s house for a tutoring session. I’m shocked to see Michelle walking a horse back to the barn.

“I stopped seeing her. I didn’t fire her.” Marshall comes near the window. “You think I’d keep her around for kicks then
unemploy
her because she’s no longer capable of satisfying me? That’s Draconian.”

“You should marry her. Make an honest woman out of her.” Too bad she’s wicked. Come to think of it, he’s not too far off the mark. “What’s this?” I walk over to a silver blade suspended over the fireplace. It has the same metal handle fashioned to look like a rope—it’s a twin to the one that stabbed me.

He picks it up and fondles it briefly before presenting it to me.

“Special issue from the King of Glory.”

“What does special issue mean?”

“It means not everyone in the celestial sphere is running around with one of these.” He points to the back of the handle, at the symbol of a hand. “Tap it, just once, and think about igniting it.”

I do, and the knife glows a soft shade of blue.

“Wow. I hate to break it to you, but they sell these things at the mall. I think Drake has a light up sword in his room.” In fact, I’m fairly certain.

“Satan is the great imitator isn’t he? This isn’t light,
Skyla
—it’s power.”

“Like a laser beam or something?”

“Like a fry you from the inside out, or something,” he mimics. “It’s made for spiritual warfare not humans, but works either way.
Disempowers
a spirit for days—it’s fatal when it comes to people.” He takes the dagger from me. “Only the original set contains this power. It’s a spirit sword.” He places it back over the fireplace.
 

“What if you accidentally touch it the wrong way and it goes off and kills you?”

“It won’t. First, you have to know it’s there and use it intentionally. It’s a living thing. The spirit sword won’t kill
you
—its aim is the enemy.”

“Is it a painful death?”

“Quick and complete. Almost instant.”

“You fight in a lot of wars?”

“Everyday is a different battle,
Skyla
. I’m fighting one right now.” He arches his brows at me.

“You won’t win. Gage wins.” I continue to gaze up at the dagger.

“How do you know Gage isn’t telling you stories?” He steps in front of me, too close for comfort.

I hadn’t thought of that before. What if this whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing is something conceived by his imagination? Doubtful.

“Are you ready to see your dress?” His eyes reduce to smoldering slits.

“I can’t go to homecoming. Tad says so.”

“You’ll be there.” He motions for me to follow him up the wide sweeping staircase. A set of double doors off the main hall leads to an enormous room with a giant bed. The furniture is black and heavily lacquered.

I fall onto his bed backwards as he disappears deep inside the closet. Stretching my arms out, I fan them, making an impression of angel wings on the soft brown comforter. Brielle and Michelle have both been up here—so weird. It feels strange being in a teacher’s room, even if he is a Sector.

“I was going to have you try on the dress, but looks like you have a much better idea in mind.” He lands hard next to me.

There’s a light knock at the door, and Michelle steps in looking like she got in a fight with a bale of hay. Her hair is frazzled, and her clothes are covered with pale yellow and green sticks. The look really completes that bat-shit crazy attitude of hers.

“I thought maybe I could use the shower.” She just stands there looking as though I had slapped her from all the way across the room.

“That would be inappropriate,” Marshall snips. “Would you mind shutting the door? We’re a bit busy.”

She whips out the room, quick as a poltergeist, doesn’t bother shutting the door.

“Doesn’t follow directions well, does she?” He muses.

“You’re brutal.”

He lays the dress over me like a blanket and I think I could fall asleep.

“Save a dance for me,” he whispers.

“Don’t you think it’ll look bad? You dancing with a student?”

“Nonsense, I’ll be dancing with students all night. You’ll simply be one of many.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Well then, there’s always hell to pay.”

***

My mother comes into my room in the morning as I’m getting dressed. I’ve barely had time to pull on my jeans. I snatch the scarf off my bed and fling it around my neck, and hide my swollen hand behind me to ensure no hospital visit lies in my future. I can hardly move my fingers today.

“Morning.” She comes in, closes the door behind her. “Just wanted to apologize. Everyone is under so much stress these days, and it’s hard when you’re trying to have a baby and things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like.”

“Does everyone include Tad?”

“Yes,” she whispers as if it were a well-kept secret before sitting on the bed. “I know how hard it’s been for you, and I know you were really looking forward to homecoming. First year at a new school, great boyfriend, new job… a lot of things are changing for you right now.”

She’s going to cave! A spike of adrenaline bursts through me.

“I swear if you let me go, I’ll never ditch school again. Honest.” I hold my hand out like I’m making a pledge.

“I’m sorry, Honey. Tad is firm on this.”

“What about you? Are you firm on this?”

“You left school without permission.” She shrugs. “You hurt yourself,
Skyla
.” She motions towards my hand. “And what were you and Gage doing anyway? Were the two of you having sex?” Her head tilts to the side as she presses me with those petal green eyes.

Oh my, God.

 
I’d rather die than have this conversation.

“No.” My voice hikes up higher than it needs to. “I’ve never even done anything. Believe me, I’m as innocent as you can get.”

 
“I don’t need details. I just want to make sure you’re using protection.” Her eyes narrow into mine.

“Geez.” I throw my hands up over my ears and close my eyes. “I said I’m not doing it. I don’t need protection because there’s nothing to protect me from.” The only thing I need protection from is
Fems
, and blood sucking Counts, but that’s a different story.