Chapter 15
Cain
Cloaked under coverof the night, I armored my body with the shadows, ensuring I blended into the campus park’s trees.I hope I’m masking my presence from Malachi.
Ever since yesterday, I’d contemplated my next move. I didn’t want Malachi getting to Phoebe first for several reasons, and the one irritating me most was worry for the girl instead of concern for completing the Lucian’s assignment.
Get it together, Cain.
Did I really think she and I could have a future together? Me, a reject of humanity. Never allowed to defend myself or tell my side of the story. Weak and pathetic as a human. Untouchable and unwanted by both humans and angels alike.
Besides, if Phoebe knew my past and the things I’d done to get to where I’m at, she’d run screaming.When I’d tried to resist the darkness, I’d failed.
An unwelcomed image of dark, carmine blood sliding out of the side of my brother’s mouth as he lay on the ground slithered into my mind. His eyes, bluer than gray had pleaded with me. I could almost feel his warm, slippery lifeforce as it slid around my fingers.
“Abel, why would you be so stupid?”I’d cried, grabbing his shoulder and giving it a shake.
A silent scream built inside my chest to scorch its way up my throat, demanding release. Black tendrils of power slid down my legs and to the ground, creeping over the short grass, fingers searching for something lost. I needed to destroy, to hurt, tokill. The urge beat desperately through my body, threatening to drown me under its pressure, a force boxing me in and demanding release.
If I don’t get my emotions under control, I’ll never complete this mission.With tremendous willpower, I wrestled with that ancient, angry part of me and banished the old, agonizing memories. Tightening the hold on my power, I yanked it into my blood and bones. Drops of sweat slid down my spine, cooling my heated temperature in the night breeze.
Once I delivered Phoebe to Lucian with the information he sought, all this doubt and pain would be cast aside. Nothing else would matter except vengeance. And oh, how I looked forward to that day. Soon, so soon.
Just need to play my part with Phoebe, make sure Malachi doesn’t get to her first, then I’ll be finished with this confusing mess.
The squeal of tires on pavement broke the quiet of the night, and I drew in a deep breath, feeling more in control.
A line of vehicles pulled to the front of the library to drop off costumed partygoers, while a separate lane split off into the parking lot to allow others to park their cars.
A giggle sounded from two girls, one dressed in white wings, the other with black, as they waltzed toward the throng of students funneling through the double doors of the building.
I sucked in a breath.The one in white is Phoebe.
Though I couldn’t see her face, I knew without a shadow of doubt it was her. I could feel her light pulling at me, beckoning me,enticingme. The urge, almost as strong as my earlier need for rage and destruction, jerked my attention to her shapely body. Her dress, stopping midway at the back of her thighs, revealed toned hamstrings tapering to defined calves.
Her friend playfully smacked Phoebe’s upper arm then whispered something, and Phoebe chortled. Its sound floated in the air, beating a breathy, husky pitch into my ears and brushing against my heart like the delicate wings of butterflies.
Breath hitched in my chest, and for a moment, I struggled for dominance of the shadows and power hiding my body. With that one laugh, she’d managed to captivate my full attention. What would it be like to hear such joy every day, to be the one who made her giggle with delight?
I have no time for this. She’s an assignment, a job. In a matter of days, she’ll be nothing more than a soul to exchange for my redemption.
Until then, I had a task to perform, and it entailed gaining her trust and teasing out information before Malachi ruined everything.
