Page 7 of A Spark Of Revenge

“Lemon Drop? You okay?” Creed suddenly asks, and I startle at the loud sound of his voice so close by.

Who is that? Valen mouths, and I sigh in frustration.

“I heard her! Meyer? Hey babe. You really need to come out and talk with me. It's not as bad as it looks, and Nox is sorry he had Raz chase you,” Creed practically shouts through the door, his words so fast I have a hard time keeping up with them.

“No, I’m not. I told her to stay in my office. If she had listened for once in her life, she would be safe up there until I sent for her. But now, here we are. She has served her purpose,” Nox growls. “But she needs to open the DAMN DOOR! I swear if she destroys any of the evidence in there, I’ll tan her ass!”

“You are not helping!” Creed shouts back, and I hear another loud smack.

“You little—” There are grunts and curses, and I roll my eyes, knowing Nox more than likely tackled Creed for smacking him again.

Valen lets out an affronted noise, and I widen my eyes at him, warning him to keep quiet. Shock, then extreme anger, crosses his face, and his fingers tighten on the nape of my neck.

Who. Is. That? he mouths at me, his pale green eyes darkening as they slowly move from my face to the door between us and the Regalis brothers. My breath hitches as Valen’s magic flares, but it only lasts a moment before his shoulders sag once again.

Stop! I mouth at him as I pry his hands from my neck and move back to my knees to peer out at Lennox and Creed. Nox has Creed in a headlock, the Demon's size enormous compared to Creed's smaller body, and I can’t help the twinge of panic I feel at seeing Creed in possible danger.

Valen moves at my side, and I try to ignore the heavy knocking on the door as his head pops up next to mine. “They are the stooges,” I whisper into his ear, trying to keep him down when his eyes are wide with confusion. He points at the window, and I nod as he slowly looks out once more, his eyes narrowing in on Lennox, then Creed.

“Those two?” he asks, not tearing his eyes from them as he studies them closely, head cocking to the side as he takes the Regalis brothers in.

“Yeah, but the big one especially,” I mutter, anger turning in my stomach. Valen purses his lips and nods in agreement.

“Yeah, he looks like a s-stooge,” he agrees before his eyes move toward the trees, and he freezes. “Oh, shhhit!” he rasps when his eyes collide with Razar, who is still in his creepy as fuck Demon form.

“Shhh!” I hiss at him, pressing my finger to his mouth and making his eyes widen as he bobs his head in agreement.

“Shhh!” he mimics, eyes wide, as he slaps his long finger to his lips, acting even more drunk than before. Jesus, this is not helping.

“Who the fuck was that?” I hear Lennox ask, his voice eerily calm and somehow even scarier than when he’s loud and shouting.

“Great, now you’ve done it,” I whisper, tossing my hands up in the air. “Now, what are we going to do?”

“Meyer? Who the hell is in there with you?” Lennox asks, not yelling or banging on the door.

“What?” Creed asks.

“There is someone in there with her. Didn’t you hear that?” A low Demon howl echoes through the air once more, and I wince.

“We are so screwed,” I rasp, then curse and dive forward, grabbing Valen's shoulders when he almost topples to the side.

“I’ll get us out of here,” Valen murmurs in my ear, and I nod.

“Great idea. Tell me how, and I’ll help,” I whisper back. I have zero ideas, so I’m willing to try anything.

“I want to make a deal with you,” Valen hedges, his voice suddenly clearer, like he’s slightly more awake. Long fingers encase my wrist, tugging me closer to him, and I go willingly.

“Okay,” I agree in confusion as Valen places the hand not holding onto me firmly against the ground next to us. Suddenly, green magic crawls over the floorboards, winding and weaving through the grain of the wood like wild vines, inching their way toward the tree and roots that protrude from the back of the building. “What—”

“Meyer Smith,” he starts, his voice stronger than before as the green light in the room begins to grow. I gape in surprise as light glimmers in the air, looking almost as if I have stepped into some fairytale rather than the horror story I’m actually in. Valen's fingers tighten around my wrist as the sudden groan and snap of a branch comes from the other side of the church. I swing my gaze over to the large pine tree and watch in shock as the brown bark darkens, almost as if the color and life are being sucked from it. The needles on the tree morph from a dark emerald to a dusky yellow, and I have to blink my eyes a few times to make sure I’m actually seeing this and not hallucinating or something.

The light in the church brightens, casting Valen and me in a wondrous glow, and I hold my breath as it rushes around us. The church starts shaking, and I glance nervously toward the door, worried Lennox or Razar have finally broken in.

“Valen?” I whisper, leaning closer to him as warmth swirls around us. But instead of answering me, Valen stands, pulling me to my feet with a strength he didn't have moments ago. I look at the green magic cords between his hand and the now dead tree, my eyes widening in realization as I look back at his smirking face. He… he took the life from the tree and used it to support his magic! Holy shit, that's kind of… well, awesome, to be completely honest.

“In exchange for moving your physical form, I bargain the right of a…. personal favor of my choosing that I can cash in at a time designated by me,” Valen whispers after a moment, his once cloudy eyes suddenly focused on my face as warmth zings up my arm where he touches me. Wariness slowly crawls into my mind as Valen leans close. So close that our foreheads brush, and our lips are only a breath away from each other. Butterflies erupt in my belly, and I swallow hard, trying not to lose myself in my fog-induced lust.

“That's a pretty open bargain,” I rasp out, my voice is almost husky, making Valen smirk.

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