Vala Eminence Read online

  Lucien would find out and kill me anyway. Zes is her acceptable boy-toy. I'm untouchable. And Denver didn't want to love Persephone. He wanted to love Cheyenne.

  Carefully, he untangled himself from underneath her. “You don't have to believe me. Go ahead and think whatever you want to. Just let me spell it out for you one more time so you can have all of the facts straight up, okay? I want you. Man do I want you. In fact, I'm probably going to regret this in about five minutes after I leave here. The thing is, you're important enough to me to give you more. That love thing I have such a hard time with? I've got some things I need to settle with it before I can give myself to you like that. And I want to actually give myself. Not just take from you like I did everyone else. Give. So you can accept it, or get all ticked off.”

  “I'm going to get ticked off.” She folded her arms in front of her.

  Yeah, not my Chey. Grumbling quietly, he got off the couch and made his way to the door. He grabbed his coat on the way out and threw it on over his shoulders. Briefly, he glanced back at Cheyenne sitting on the couch. She still had her arms in front and a pout like a toddler on her face. He opened his mouth, but she didn't even let him talk.

  “Let me guess, you'll call me later?”

  He shrugged, anger boiling inside of him. It's not her, he had to remind himself. “More like, when you're ready to see how stupid you're being, just know I'll forgive you for it.”

  “Ugh, whatever.”

  Denver left her room, slamming the door behind him. It's not her, it's not her, it's not her, but I sure feel like what's left of my heart is snapping in two.

  Chapter Twelve

  Denver made sure to avoid Cheyenne throughout the weekend. He was pretty sure she'd called him a few times, but he never answered his phone or checked his caller ID. There was too much on his mind to deal with making up with her. He needed to know how to make things better with her. About the only solution he could come up with was killing Lucien. Without his powers, Denver had very little chance at surviving a full on fight against the demon.

  “Crap.” He grunted and slammed his fist onto his desktop. It's like I'm doomed before I can even start! I can't get my powers and fight Lucien because my Dad is trapped in a dungeon and can't give them to me. If I don't fight, then Lucien wins and everything gets five million times worse. Groaning he put a hand to his head.

  “Sometimes I miss being evil and not caring.”

  Caving, Denver picked up his phone and saw three missed calls from Cheyenne and two from Zes. “Interesting…” There were a number of text messages too.

  “Please talk to me. I don't know what's going on.” Was the last one he'd received from Cheyenne.

  Quickly, he typed back. “Busy. See you in class tomorrow. Talk at lunch/dinner.” And hopefully he'd have some kind of an idea what to even tell her. “Okay, so what did Zes want…”

  None of the text messages were from Zes, thankfully. Just one voicemail was in his inbox.

  “So that thing you tried on me worked better than I thought,” Zes said. Then his voice got extremely quiet to the point where Denver could barely hear him. “It's starting to go away. I'm not sure how to describe it, but the picture is… different. I'll show you next time I see you. Soon? Because some of the side effects aren't so great.”

  At least I have some good news for the day. My girlfriend doesn't hate my guts anymore and is back to being her normal self, and I actually did something right for a change. Denver would take what he could get. He replied with a text to the number Zes had called him with. Talking on the phone was for girls. Just about anyone who ever left him a voicemail or actually attempted to talk to him had always been a girl. Jewl called him for business, Cheyenne called him to be schmoopy, and other girls from his past who had his number did it for their own personal reasons. The only one of those situations he liked was Cheyenne.

  His phone vibrated and he frowned as he read the message he got back. “Delivery failure? Really? What kind of person doesn't have texting on their cellphone plan now?” He growled quietly as he copied the number down so he could call it. “This is a school land line. Seriously, it's like being in the Stone Age or something.”

  While he listened to his phone dial the number, he paced. The phone rang a couple of times before someone picked up.

  “This is Anj.”

  Crap. Clearing his throat, Denver lowered the tone of his voice some, hoping it wouldn't be recognizable. “Is Zes there, I need to talk to him about a… project.” That sounded like something nerdy and appropriate. Denver didn't know what the guy's hobbies were but they couldn't have been many.

  “O-o-kay,” Anj said. A muffled, “Zes, phone!” Could be heard shortly after.

  Denver fidgeted his hands while he waited longer than he would have preferred. Knowing Anj was in the same room as his brother put Denver on edge. Talking in code was not something he did well, and Zes didn't come across as a great liar either.

  “Someone is on the phone for you,” Anj said, his voice muffled.

  “Yeah, I heard you the first time,” Zes said.

  “Hurry up and take it so they're not waiting much longer. Mom's supposed to call tonight. She'll freak if I don't answer it.”

  “Got it.” A few seconds later Zes's voice rang clearly through the phone. “Hello?”

  “'Sup?” Denver said, hoping the guy was as good at voice identification as his blind brother.

  “Oh, hey,” Zes said and the apprehension in his tone suggested he did in fact recognize it was Denver without having it spelled out for him.

  “I got your message.”

  “I'm gathering that.”

  “So when do you want to do this?”

  “I have time now. Just need to take the dog out for a walk.”

  “Perfect. We can meet in the same place as last time.”

  Zes sighed. “Works for me. Guy loves the gym track.”

  “Be there in ten,” Denver said before hanging up the phone.

  He put on his coat and walked out the door, running into Ceete whose hand was raised as if she were about to knock. Caught off guard, he plowed her over, landing on top of her.

  Laughter, no girlish giggling, tinkled from her lips. It was far too sweet and innocent of a sound for her. “My lord,” she said in between chuckles. “I'm aware I am quite the beauty, but remember what I said about mating with my kin.”

  “I tripped,” he snapped and stood up.

  “Which is why your hands were so tender on my waist.”

  “Were not,” he muttered. Though, he wasn't quite sure where he had put his hands in the whole debacle. Maybe he had touched her hips when he was trying to brace himself. He couldn't tell.

  She rolled away from him. “You were, but I won't mention it again.”

  “Good, and if they were, it was probably just because I'm a nice guy and didn't want to crush you. Now what do you want, because I got some place to be.”

  “The one you call Johnathan Orinda is now back in town,” she said, nodding. “You had told me to let you know the moment I felt his presence in town. He is currently at a bar, flirting with a woman who is not his wife. Would you like for me to retrieve him for you? Perhaps punish him for his unfaithfulness?”

  When Denver gazed into her eyes, he saw a glitter of something resembling hope, like she wanted to be the one to exact punishment on the guy. Then again, she is a demon. She probably gets a kick out of hurting other people. I certainly do.

  All the same, he found himself shaking his head. “Nah, if he wants to be a moron, that's his thing. You know? I'm not the judge of behavior.”

  “You are for those who are dead,” she said.

  “Well he's not dead, now is he? Just leave him alone and tell me when he's on campus. If I didn't have somewhere else to be right now, I'd be all for blocking him from having an affair.” Denver was pretty sure it wouldn't be the guy's first adulterous encounter. It's not my business.

  Ceete shrugged. “And where are
you going, my lord, that is more important than learning about your heritage?”

  “Freeing one of Lucien's slaves.”

  “I suppose that's also important. Are you going to claim him or her as your own?”

  “What? No, I don't want a slave. That's such a waste of time, and boring. Who wants someone to do everything for them all of the time?”

  Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed slightly. “You are not quite the dark lord I was expecting you to be.”

  “So?” Denver shifted under the weight of her gaze. If he'd displeased her, he could have just lost an important ally. After all, it wouldn't take much for her to be able to kill him.

  A small smile spread across her lips. “You are so much like your father, it is pleasing.”

  “Huh?”

  “I was leary of you at first, Denver. You were raised by Lucien to be just as evil as him, but somehow you've found a way around his training. Anything that will upset him makes me happy. And this will upset him a lot.”

  Denver laughed nervously. “You really hate him.”

  “He did lock me in the dungeon,” she stated. “In a cell so deep I wished I was dead. Even a demon can be tortured.”

  “Good to know for future reference.” I'd certainly like to torture Lucien some before I end his sorry existence.

  Ceete grinned. “And you still have the dark fire in you. You will make an excellent and just ruler.”

  “We'll worry about that later. Anything else you need to bug me with? Or did you just come here to tell me about John?” He shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “I also came to tell you I acquired the map of the underworld dungeon, should you like to use it. There are also a number of demons lurking around. Some of them might be assassins. I would be careful.”

  He shrugged. “I took care of you just fine.”

  “You were lucky with me. I hold allegiance to you first. These other demons will not care who you are.”

  “Then be a good bodyguard and be near without being seen.”

  “Yes my lord. I look forward to the challenge.” Her grin widened.

  Denver waved. “Seriously, need to go now.”

  “Of course, I will not keep you any longer. Go, I will follow, at a distance of course. You won't even know I'm around.” She bowed.

  “Whatever.” He pushed his way past her, already knowing he was going to be late to meet Zes. Not like it would be a big deal, but he hated when other people were late. The sooner they could get the visit over with, the better.

  Denver walked out of the dorm, shivering instantly at the dry, cold air, stinging his face. He ran through the courtyard and into the forest. The sun would be setting in an hour. He forgot about how quick the sky got dark in the wintertime. Normally, it didn't bother him much, but if he were going to be attacked by another demon assassin, night would be the perfect time.

  When he entered the gazebo, Zes was already there inspecting the columns, no doubt looking for the secret switch. His brother's seeing eye dog was with him, sitting dutifully at his side. Oddly, the animal didn't bark. Usually, Denver got a growl, a whimper, or at least some kind of vocal greeting from any animal he met. All he got from the twin's black Labrador was a sneeze.

  Without saying a word, Denver walked across the building and pressed the button. “Sorry I'm late.”

  Zes glanced over at him. “I didn't notice.”

  “Then I won't feel too bad about it.”

  “Not like you would anyway.”

  “Yeah, true that.” Denver started down the stairs, not even waiting for them to finish forming in the stairwell.

  The dog barked, the sound echoing throughout the cave as Denver waited for Zes to join him at the bottom.

  Zes soon came stumbling down the stairs as the dog half-dragged him down. “Calm down, Guy. It's okay.”

  Cautiously, Denver held out his hand to the dog, offering him a smell. “Don't bite my hand off, I'm just saying hello.”

  The dog, Guy, gave Denver a good sniff before moving on to something else more interesting — the mouth of the cave. Whimpering and tugging on the leash, the dog kept trying to move forward into the darkness.

  “Oh come on, you don't really wanna go in there do you? I mean, I'm curious too, but now is not the time,” Zes protested. With a bark, the dog pulled his leash from Zes's grasp and ran into the dark tunnel. “Crap, Anj is going to kill me if I lose him.”

  Denver put the palm of his hand against his forehead and shook his head. “Just let him go, he can't hurt himself. I'll show you where he ran off to when we're done here. Now tell me what's up.”

  His gaze falling to the floor, Zes exhaled slowly. “I've been feeling better in some ways and worse in others. And the picture is changing.”

  “What do you mean the picture is changing? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.”

  Zes took off his coat, revealing a sleeveless T-shirt. At least he came prepared. He pointed to the brand. “It’s different than the last time I actually took a close look at it.”

  Slowly, Denver stepped closer and examined the brand on Zes's arm. There was something different about it. The outside dragon skull was tilted upward as if it were howling in agony. The rest of the body was different as well. Before the dragon had been plump, even in skeletal form, it was now thin as if it were starving. Pink, inflamed, skin surrounded the burn.

  “Did you show the infirmary?” Denver asked.

  Scoffing, Zes drew away from him. “They couldn't figure it out before. They're definitely not going to be able to do so now. Besides, I don't trust the staff to be honest with me. You're a lot of things, but not a liar, and it only got this way because of whatever you did to me.”

  “What other side effects are there?”

  “It burns worse when I'm closer to other people, and I'm more irritable than usual. So tell me what's up, Doc.”

  “Don't know, but I can keep trying to fix it since you said whatever I did was making you better.”

  Zes ran a hand through his hair. “I was more hoping you'd tell me what was going on first. What you're doing is still a big mystery to me.”

  “It was a mystery to me too,” Denver admitted. “Basically, I sucked the bad stuff out of it. I can only get so much at once, but if I keep at it, it'll finish up eventually, right? Then we can all pretend it never happened.” And I can get you guys out of my life finally.

  “Sucked the bad stuff out. Gotcha.”

  “I never claimed to be a scientist.”

  “I'd be surprised if you ever did try.”

  Denver laughed. “Snarky you is much more interesting than weak, wussy you. Are you sure you want me to fix you some more? You're less boring than you were before.”

  Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Zes sighed heavily. “I don't like feeling frustrated, on edge, and on my own. Thus, why I'm so grumpy all of the time, right now. And some of the thoughts I'm having are scary.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Zes glanced at Denver and briefly their gazes met. “My brain keeps telling me to do bad things and to hurt other people just for the sake of hurting other people. I don't like it.”

  “Are you sure you're not just overly stressed out?”

  “Yes!”

  “So what do you want me to do?”

  Moving both of his hands into the air, Zes shrugged. “I don't know. What I do know is that all of this started after you touched me.”

  “I broke it, so I should fix it,” Denver mumbled. “But I don't believe you're broken. You said it yourself, you're starting to get better. Let's see what I can do.” He focused his attention onto the burn and touched two of his fingers against Zes's skin. The instant he made contact, a jolt shocked Denver, causing him to pull away. Black sparks flew from his fingertips.

  Zes howled. “Youch! What was that?”

  “I don't know.”

  “I can't believe I trusted you. Clearly, you're a black magic user, and those are always bad news. For
get it, I don't want your help. This is getting too scary, and there's too much I don't understand.”

  Denver closed his eyes. “Lucien just wants to use you for your magic and he's doing it through that brand. Whatever I did broke it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's starting to lash out in an effort to survive. Like it's alive, or something.”

  “It's just a brand.”

  “That you got from demons and has magic in it. Don't kid yourself by trying to pretend it doesn't mean anything.”

  Zes shook his head. “How do you know he wants to use me for my magic anyway? It's not like it's anything all that special. He only marked me because—”

  “Of Cheyenne. He marked you so she could control you to do what she wanted, and ultimately to use you for his big grand scheme. Wake up! The guy is evil. Would he seriously keep you around just because?”

  Closing his eyes, fists clenched, Zes went into the dark tunnel. “Guy, come on, we need to go.” After a moment, he tried again. “Guy, I can't chase after you right now. It's dark in here. Please, come.”

  A distant bark was the reply and Denver was pretty sure he also heard the splash of water as well. Groaning, he pulled out his lighter and moved ahead of Zes. “I'll get him, stay here.”

  Zes's gaze was already fixed on the bits of the mural now visible in the darkness. He stepped forward, eyes wide and transfixed on what was around him. With one hand he reached out to touch the tile of the tunnel.

  “What is this place?” he asked. “I thought it was just a creepy cave, but this is… art?”

  “I'm not sure what this place is, exactly, but I think it has something to do with me. And Cheyenne.”

  “You're keeping things from me.” Zes grabbed Denver by the arm, forcing him to stop.

  Rolling his eyes, hoping Zes could see it; Denver wrenched himself free of the grasp. “A lot of people do. I'm not an evil super villain for it. There's a reason I haven't said everything and that's because I'm still trying to find answers. A lot is happening at the same time and a lot of it I don't get.”