Omens (The Dark in You #6) - Suzanne Wright Page 0,79
skull and brain, and blistered, battered bodies—many of which were leaking slushy brain matter out of their noses, mouths, and ears.
The front door flew open, and Keenan rushed inside with several others hot on his heels. He went to grab Khloé, but one look at her injuries made him halt. “Jesus, fuck,” he bit out.
Khloé peered down at the ugly wounds. “I’ve had worse. The hellfire isn’t eating at my skin anymore.” The pain was still unreal, though. “If Enoch popped his shield up around my house, he couldn’t have been far away.”
“Which is why I have several members of my Force searching the area,” said Jolene, her eyes scanning the space. Power rippled through the air. The windows rattled. The walls shook. Vibrations hummed through the ground.
“Grams, please don’t huff and puff and blow my house down,” said Khloé.
Her grandmother turned to her and exhaled heavily; the disturbance slowly eased off. She strode toward Khloé, her face creased in concern. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
“No, she’s fucking not,” Keenan snapped. His gaze, so cold and hard, swept over the remains of the corpses. “It’s a good thing you’re so damn powerful, because the bastard sent a small goddamn army. Were the corpses already here when I first telepathed you?” His unnaturally calm voice was coated in so much ice she was surprised the air didn’t fog.
What, he thought she’d tried battling them herself for a short while? “No. They burst through the door after I finished in the bathroom. I telepathed you mere moments later. But thanks for assuming I broke my promise.”
He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “I didn’t assume that, I just—”
“Forget it, it’s not important right now. Grams, I don’t recognize any of these people. Do you?”
“No, none.” Jolene licked her lower lip. “You know, I’m glad Enoch’s not easy to kill. Because it will be glorious to hurt him badly over and over and over … and not have to worry that he’ll die too soon. Don’t you agree?”
Khloé pursed her lips. “Actually, I kind of do.”
Since no one could stand the putrid stench a moment longer, they all got the hell out of there and walked to Jolene’s house. They gathered around the Prime’s kitchen island as she barked orders down the phone to her sentinels. Ciaran, Beck, and a few others soon arrived.
Khloé almost fell off her stool when Harper, Knox, and Levi showed up. Apparently, Keenan had telepathically filled them in on what had happened—something he hadn’t cared to share with the rest of the class. She shot him a glare, but he only stared at her, his jaw clenched so tightly shut she figured he had to be in pain.
He was being uncharacteristically quiet, which was a tell-tale sign that his black temper was riding him hard. He never trusted himself to speak when he was so exponentially pissed.
Knox and Levi kept flicking him looks, as if waiting for him to blow, while Harper launched into an “Enoch needs to die” tirade. The whole time, the sphinx patted Khloé’s back gently … like she was traumatized or something.
Khloé batted her hand away. “I’m fine.”
Harper glowered at her. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
Khloé rolled her eyes. “All my injuries are healing, so stop stressing.”
“Did anyone think to try stabbing Enoch’s shield with the blade?” Knox asked no one in particular.
Having ended her call, Jolene said, “I tried. It didn’t work. Are you sure it will permanently kill him?”
“Absolutely positive,” replied Knox.
“But it’s useless to us if he won’t surface,” Ciaran pointed out.
Beck began handing out steaming mugs of coffee. “He’s going to keep coming after you, Khloé. And he’ll probably send even more corpses next time.”
“Maybe,” she said, cradling a hot cup with both hands. “I challenged him to come at me directly.”
“He won’t do that,” said Beck. “Using corpses is a low-risk method of attack for him—he’ll keep on doing it until you’re dead.”
“You shouldn’t be alone at your house anymore, Khloé,” said Ciaran. “He’s attacked you there twice now. Either I move in with you, or you move in with me.”
Not going to happen. “We’d kill each other within forty-eight hours. You know that. And I’m not staying with anyone else either. I can think of something better.”
Harper folded her arms across her chest. “Such as?”
“Staying in one of the Underground hotels.” Khloé sipped at her coffee. “Enoch doesn’t seem willing to come after me in person. If he sends corpses to the Underground, they’ll