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Authors: Jus Accardo
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called Malphi,” Jax responded. “Any idea why?”
More silence. I wasn’t sure if it scared me or made me angrier. Considering the simmering vibes I was getting from Jax through the link, I was leaning toward pissed. “What’s a Pure?”
If I hadn’t been staring right at him, I would have missed it. A flash of surprise, there and gone, in his eyes.
“You have ten seconds to start answering questions.” There was ice in Jax’s voice, and if the twitching fingers and tense set of his jaw were any indication, he was fast approaching the point of no return. “Tell me how to get this thing off her.”
“You can’t.” Heckle finally lifted his gaze from the cuff and fixed his attention on me. “If Chase put it there, I’m fairly certain he’s the only one who can remove it. Personally, or by his death. Since killing him isn’t an option, you have one choice. Do as he says.”
“Because Chase is a man of his word, right?” I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. “Do either of you really believe he’s going to remove this thing if we hold up our end of the deal? This is a trap!”
Heckle sighed. “Yes. I imagine that it is.”
Jax took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were rimmed with black. “Enough of the cryptic bullshit.”
I grabbed his hand as he reached for Heckle. “Please. You have to give us something.” Desperation found its way into my voice, and I dropped Jax’s hand in favor of Heckle’s. Squeezing tight, I said, “He told us you owed us. If that’s even a tiny bit true, then help us. Please.”
He pulled away, and with a sigh said, “Maintaining a balance between good and evil is not an easy task. There are millions of variables, and, of course, free will to contend with. I try my hardest, but the scales have been tipped, this time by my own foolish choices. I am truly sorry, Sam.”
“Sorry?” Jax slammed his hand against the dashboard. “Sorry about what? What are you not telling us?”
“When I agreed to bring you back after dying in order to sever the link with Chase, I didn’t know what would happen.”
An arctic chill invaded the car. I shivered. His words felt like the barrel of a gun, pointed right between my eyes. Fully loaded, safety off, and an itching finger caressing the trigger. “That what would happen?”
“I knew what you were. A Pure. I knew the rules—that once a Pure’s soul is separated from the body, its power becomes active. Claimable by anyone able to grasp their power. What I didn’t know was the ramifications of returning that soul to a body. I thought you would return to an inactive state, but you retained the power you gained in death. In fact it made you stronger and, much worse, visible to anyone with a supernatural eye.” He turned to Jax. “You must see it when you look at her. That she has sort of a glow?”
Jax turned his gaze on me. Squinting, he shrugged. “She’s always had a sort of glow. Nothing looks different to me.”
“Hmmm. I don’t understand that, but in truth, it’s not important.” Heckle’s lips pressed in a firm line and, with his eyes cast downward, he sighed. “I’m truly sorry, Sam. I’ve painted a permanent neon target on your head.”
Chapter Seven
Jax
“A target,” Sam repeated, shifting in the seat. I could taste her mounting anger—not fear of the danger she was in but rage, tangible fury over Heckle’s admission. “A target for who?”
“For everyone,” he replied. “Your kind is hidden for good reason, and I have jeopardized things.”
“Malphi knows about Sam,” I said, a small—very small—bit of last night’s chaos coming together. “Some of its demons came last night to deliver a message. It wants me to return to the clan with Sam.”
“Malphi is a force to be reckoned with. A major player. If it knows Sam is a Pure, it will stop at nothing to possess her. If you were to remove it from the playing field—”
“So you’re
More silence. I wasn’t sure if it scared me or made me angrier. Considering the simmering vibes I was getting from Jax through the link, I was leaning toward pissed. “What’s a Pure?”
If I hadn’t been staring right at him, I would have missed it. A flash of surprise, there and gone, in his eyes.
“You have ten seconds to start answering questions.” There was ice in Jax’s voice, and if the twitching fingers and tense set of his jaw were any indication, he was fast approaching the point of no return. “Tell me how to get this thing off her.”
“You can’t.” Heckle finally lifted his gaze from the cuff and fixed his attention on me. “If Chase put it there, I’m fairly certain he’s the only one who can remove it. Personally, or by his death. Since killing him isn’t an option, you have one choice. Do as he says.”
“Because Chase is a man of his word, right?” I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. “Do either of you really believe he’s going to remove this thing if we hold up our end of the deal? This is a trap!”
Heckle sighed. “Yes. I imagine that it is.”
Jax took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were rimmed with black. “Enough of the cryptic bullshit.”
I grabbed his hand as he reached for Heckle. “Please. You have to give us something.” Desperation found its way into my voice, and I dropped Jax’s hand in favor of Heckle’s. Squeezing tight, I said, “He told us you owed us. If that’s even a tiny bit true, then help us. Please.”
He pulled away, and with a sigh said, “Maintaining a balance between good and evil is not an easy task. There are millions of variables, and, of course, free will to contend with. I try my hardest, but the scales have been tipped, this time by my own foolish choices. I am truly sorry, Sam.”
“Sorry?” Jax slammed his hand against the dashboard. “Sorry about what? What are you not telling us?”
“When I agreed to bring you back after dying in order to sever the link with Chase, I didn’t know what would happen.”
An arctic chill invaded the car. I shivered. His words felt like the barrel of a gun, pointed right between my eyes. Fully loaded, safety off, and an itching finger caressing the trigger. “That what would happen?”
“I knew what you were. A Pure. I knew the rules—that once a Pure’s soul is separated from the body, its power becomes active. Claimable by anyone able to grasp their power. What I didn’t know was the ramifications of returning that soul to a body. I thought you would return to an inactive state, but you retained the power you gained in death. In fact it made you stronger and, much worse, visible to anyone with a supernatural eye.” He turned to Jax. “You must see it when you look at her. That she has sort of a glow?”
Jax turned his gaze on me. Squinting, he shrugged. “She’s always had a sort of glow. Nothing looks different to me.”
“Hmmm. I don’t understand that, but in truth, it’s not important.” Heckle’s lips pressed in a firm line and, with his eyes cast downward, he sighed. “I’m truly sorry, Sam. I’ve painted a permanent neon target on your head.”
Chapter Seven
Jax
“A target,” Sam repeated, shifting in the seat. I could taste her mounting anger—not fear of the danger she was in but rage, tangible fury over Heckle’s admission. “A target for who?”
“For everyone,” he replied. “Your kind is hidden for good reason, and I have jeopardized things.”
“Malphi knows about Sam,” I said, a small—very small—bit of last night’s chaos coming together. “Some of its demons came last night to deliver a message. It wants me to return to the clan with Sam.”
“Malphi is a force to be reckoned with. A major player. If it knows Sam is a Pure, it will stop at nothing to possess her. If you were to remove it from the playing field—”
“So you’re
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