Demon of Darkness (The Hellbound Hellion #2) - Tansey Morgan Page 0,4
but most of our fun came from working out or playing games. We all got pretty good at poker.”
“Pretty good? You would’ve cleaned me out if I hadn’t won the last hand.”
Zephon smiled a warm smile. “I would not have kept it.”
I shook my head. “No, if you win it, you keep it—those are the rules, remember?”
“I don’t think those rules apply among friends.”
I lowered my eyes and smiled at him, a rush of warmth rising into my cheeks. “Zephon… are we friends?”
“I like to think that we are. Unless I’m mistaken?”
“No, it’s just nice to hear it. I don’t have… friends. I’m not sure I ever have.”
Zephon snatched a piece of chocolate from the table and stuffed it into his mouth. “You have a some now.”
My eyes widened. “Did you just steal a piece of my rightful winnings?”
“I did. You are a terrible influence, Carilyss.”
I grabbed a piece of candy and ate it, amused at the grin on the Guardian angel’s face. Even though he was still sometimes just as stern-faced as he’d been the first time I’d laid eyes on him, he had come a long way from when we first met. I wasn’t exactly corrupting him, but I felt like I was helping him let loose a little bit, and not be so serious all the time.
That was something.
A shudder worked its way down my spine, and I stiffened up as prickles started to spread across my shoulders and arms. The gorgon had stopped. I felt it as easily as I could feel the wind against my face, or taste Arael’s musk on the air. I crawled over to the cabin and stared out at the open road ahead of us.
Arael turned his head, giving me a side-long, green-eyed glance. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“She’s not moving anymore,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “Do you know how far away she is? Can we catch her?”
“I’m not sure how far she is, but we’re catching up.”
“At this rate we’ll end up in Seattle.”
We had already passed San Francisco, had crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and were continuing to head up north. For all we knew, the gorgon was trying to make it to Canada. If that was the case, the chances were we’d lose her, because none of us except Jericho had a means of getting over the border without attracting attention.
“Can we keep going?” Arael asked.
“I don’t know that we can,” Jericho said. “We might have a problem.”
Glancing over at him I couldn’t help but notice all the flashing lights on the dashboard. I didn’t know what they meant, but I knew that many of them couldn’t be good. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Remember when you found me, I was making repairs?” Jericho said.
“I remember.”
“Well, I wasn’t all the way done. I think I called it too early.”
“Is the van broken?”
“Yes and no. Yes, she’ll keep running for a while if I push her, but I really think we should stop. If I can make the repairs I need to make, we shouldn’t have to stop again.”
I nodded. “Okay, well… let’s see if we can find an exit or something. She’s stopped, so I guess we can, too.”
“Are we gaining on her?” Arael asked.
“We are. I know we are. I wish I knew where she was going, though, or why she was in such a hurry to get there.”
“We won’t know until we ask her.”
“That’s if she wants to talk. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s always treat them like they’re potentially hostile… unless it’s a man.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” Jericho said.
I reached for the back of his neck with my fingers and lightly ran them across the skin. He shuddered, and I felt a little tinge of excitement surge through me. It was like a jolt of electricity that made me tingle all over, leaving me a little more awake, and refreshed, than I had maybe been a moment ago.
“Okay, p-point taken,” he said. “How do you do that, anyway?”
I pulled my fingers away from his skin. I didn’t want to break him. “Guess I just have the touch. See if you can find us a place to stay for the night, okay?”
Jericho nodded. “On it.”
Arael leaned a little closer. “We should talk about training him how to fight,” he whispered. “I can sense he’s ready, but he’s never wielded a sword before.”
“I don’t know if I want him to,” I said.
“He has to. He’s the only one who can use the sword safely.”