Page 90 of Coerced

“Think of it as if she’s in a deep sleep with her eyes open. She would respond to pain or a loud noise or a shock. When you first moved closer, she responded, right? But her brain isn’t here with her body right now. Like Chance said, it’s protecting itself by shutting down.”

“What did they do to her? It must have been bad for her to react like this.” He jammed one hand through his hair with muted violence, his tone suddenly vehement. “I hate them! Human, nephilim, or Diabolical, whoever these people are, I wish I could kill them all!”

I lifted my eyes to his, surprised by the outburst. I struggled to stand, stiff from kneeling so long, and he pulled me up, his hands gentle despite the outrage burning in his eyes. I held onto his arm as I shook one leg out, then the other.

I knew I should say something to calm him down, but I couldn’t think of anything. I agreed with him too much.

“Their time is coming,” I said at last.

“Yeah, Rome and Kerry are on the way.” Spin’s grin held no humor. “And they won’t be bringing mercy with them.”

“Well, not exactly what I meant, but you’re right. Now, where is the bathroom? I need to investigate it.”

“Oh, it’s good. Nice and clean. And stocked, too. Lots of toilet paper, towels, washcloths, and stuff like that. And it’s a full bathroom, complete with a tub and shower. I tested the faucet and we’ve got hot water. Jax’s gonna work out a shower rota.”

I held up a hand and he stopped talking.

“I mean, I have to use it, Spin.” I grinned at his sheepish look. “Do you want to stay with her for a while?”

He shrugged, but dragged a stool over and sat on it, then hooked his feet into the rungs and crossed his arms over his chest. I smiled as I left him to it. Something told me he’d be content to sit there no matter how long it took for us to get out of here.

24. Slave

Rome

I didn’t feel like it, but I wanted to scope out the area before full dark. Kerry wouldn’t let me go alone, so the two of us went together. I knew I needed to walk to keep my lungs clear, but I had to use a stream of power to hold off the pain, which was exhausting.

Needless to say, I wasn’t at my best.

When we reached the edge of the motel’s crumbling parking lot, Kerry came to a dead stop and lifted his chin. His nostrils flared, and I narrowed my eyes as I looked around.

“Do you smell that?” he muttered.

I took a deep breath in through my nose and picked up the barest trace of something Diabolical.

“Faintly. Can you tell which direction it’s coming from?”

“The car over there.” He tilted his head toward the gas station across the road from them.

We started walking toward a gigantic Oldsmobile parked at the pumps. The mid-1970s car was blue with a matching interior and looked to be in pristine condition. As I watched, a girl slid out of the driver’s side and walked around the trunk of the car, her gait almost robotic, and the bright lights of the gas station illuminated the area enough for me to see her clearly.

Under a red and white bandana, her honey-blonde hair hung in two thick braids that reached nearly to her waist. Her long-sleeved gray t-shirt and threadbare jeans afforded her little protection from the freezing temperatures and little peppers of ice in the wind. Both were smeared with grease stains and dirt, as were her hands and face. The only saving grace of her outfit were the red, knee-high boots she wore.

“Go flirt with her,” I suggested.

“Do what now?” His breathing suddenly sounded labored.

“Flirt with her. It’ll distract her while I look in the car.”

“Are youinsane?” he hissed. “First, I have no idea how to do that. Second, you have a concussion and smashed ribs while I’m on fire to kill something. Third, like I just said, I’m not safe right now. I’d probably hurt her.Youflirt with her andI’lllook in the car.”

“Fine, whatever.” I rolled my eyes.

The closer I got to the car, the more I could smell the unmistakable tang of evil. The girl herself seemed oblivious to our presence. She stood there and held the handle of the nozzle and stared off into space. It wasn’t until I was two feet away that she seemed to notice me.

She was built like an athlete and taller than I’d thought, less than a head shorter than me. It was a new experience to have a girl’s eyes so close to my own. And what gorgeous eyes they were. The most unusual amber color I’d ever seen and absolutely striking.

“Hello.” I gave her a small smile. “My friend and I love old cars. Mind if we take a look?”

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