Night Kissed (Chosen Vampire Slayer #1) - Mila Young Page 0,65

she thought I was going to void my bargain with Orion for her sake, she was quite wrong. But I had never been a strong advocate of baseless cruelty. She could, as far as I was concerned, do whatever she wanted. Provided that she stayed out of my way.

She walked beside me in complicated silence for half a minute before speaking up again. “I don’t understand you, Logan.”

“I am sure that’s true,” I agreed. “Our kind is rare.”

She twisted a bright lock of hair around her finger. “Forgive me if this is an insensitive thing to ask, but how is it that you become…what you are?”

When was the last time someone—anyone—had asked me for forgiveness? Against my better judgment, I felt myself warming to her. “What do you know about angels?” The question was sincere, and slightly playful.

She smiled a little. “I admit there is a lot I don’t know. Even the ones who are, um…pre-fall.”

I carried with me the spirit of exile, a lonely shadow. The mark of no true belonging.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Don’t talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m just interested.”

I cast her a sidelong glance. She kept her gaze fixed directly ahead, avoiding mine. The apples of her cheeks glowed with the hint of a blush. In my very soul, I knew I could be removed for following in Seth’s footsteps with regard to Veronica. There was no need at all to make my own life immeasurably more difficult.

Yet the creeping tendrils of temptation threatened to take root. Had we not been steps from the edge of a murder scene, I might have been in trouble. But the trees were beginning to thin out in the preamble to a small clearing the backed onto a residential street. My mind’s eye showed me the dead in various states of repose. Their blood coated the surrounding vegetation in dark, rusty splashes.

“Here,” I said to Veronica, our previous conversation all but forgotten. It was a word of warning.

She stopped and sucked in her breath, locking the air into her lungs for a long time. When she finally exhaled, it was with a single word. “Wow.”

The far side of the clearing crawled with uniformed officers. A series of searingly bright flashbulbs detonated in the night, illuminating the carnage strewn across the frosted ground. The light reflected off of dull, dead eyes, splayed hands and fingers, wounds ripped into torsos. Some of the men were more stoic than I might have anticipated—others, not so much. One patrolman staggered off into the opposite line of woods. I saw him bend over with his hands on his knees, retching.

“Is it what you expected?” I asked Veronica softly, leaning in closer to her.

“I don’t know.” Her voice was flat, drained of nuance. “What happened?” Once more, she pivoted toward me. “I don’t believe you’re totally clueless about this, Logan. And honestly, I’m not going to push you on your reasons, because I am telling the truth when I say I’m only here to help. Okay? So it would be incredibly generous of you to clue me in on what you do know.” Her eyes were earnest and imploring. “Maybe I can help you, too. With whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.”

I smiled at her, tucking that stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t say that if I were you.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “I take back some of what I said before. You do have some common ground with the other two; you’re all dramatic.” Her gaze shifted from me back to the activity in the clearing, impatiently surveying our surroundings. “I wish there was a way to get closer.”

Her resolve impressed me. Other than a fleeting moment of shock and awe, this woman had displayed no reluctance to investigate, no fear. If anything, she seemed annoyed by the continuing presence of the police. That surprised me.

“That would be difficult at present. I suspect they’d have questions for you.”

“I know.” She pressed her lips together. “Damn it. I should have waited. I don’t even know what I’ll be able to find over there. Maybe this one is out of my depth.” The frustration was written large on her pretty face. She folded her arms over her chest and huffed quietly.

I’m not sure what made me do it, but I was suddenly possessed by an almost visceral urge to aid her. She was straining to reach beyond her boundaries and into uncharted territory. Was that what I admired about her?