Page 22 of Crimson Promises
Humans would never outwardly relate catastrophe to a supernatural occurrence. I peeked at the car to make sure Aurora was still in place. Wishing I could have just remained beside her instead of dealing with this clusterfuck. But my duty was to protect her and protect her, I would.
I retraced my steps to the other side of the road where she had initially spun out. A hole the size of my fist was concaved into the edge of the guardrail and the white road lines. That thing must have stepped out from the night and pushed the car. The damn demon was strong—it had taken everything I had to hold it in place earlier. Otherwise, it would be feasting on me right now. I grimaced. It would be a long while until I got the feel of its slippery innards out of my head.
Placing my hands on my hips, I followed the skid marks that formed a clock from the donuts it had made to the other side of the road. Glass cracked under my shoes with each step. Green pus and black puddles—the creature’s only remnants—laid in a pile in front of the vehicle. Next to the car was a forest.
I hopped over the guardrail to the surrounding forest and shot up to break a branch off a Pacific Madrone tree. Then I snapped it in half again over my leg. It echoed like a thunderclap in the beats of silence between the approaching ambulance. Gripping one end of the branch, I used its leaves like a broom to scatter the creature’s blood. Luckily, the acidic saliva that reached the ground had sizzled and evaporated.
I haphazardly laid the other branch across the hood of the car. Aurora’s body jumped, but her eyes remained closed. I hated risking waking her, but I needed this to look realistic. I didn’t have the luxury of time to alter the crime scene as thoroughly as I’d like.
I needed something else. Reasonably, she would have had to hit something to make her spin out unless she was drunk or high. She was neither of those. I took to the skies as quickly as possible—I had maybe another two minutes, at best.I couldn’t see anything over the dense blanket of the foliage. The road backed onto monitored hunting grounds. Perhaps I could spot something already dead and drag it onto the road. Shooting back down to the pavement, I ran my hand through my hair as I searched.
A rustling in the forest caught my attention. Antlers popped between the spaces of the trees, followed by a whine. The awful sound belonged to a moose with half of its intestines trailing behind it. Either it had been shot for sport or had been attacked by another predator of the forest. It didn’t move as I approached, likely too exhausted to care about a human’s presence. While I wasn’t Azrael, I knew just as well—the animal hung on death’s doorstep. The moose didn’t have long, and neither did I. Retrieving the dagger from my pocket, I looked the poor animal in the eye. It was an innocent living thing, after all. I rubbed the fur between its eyes, and it leaned into my touch for a millisecond. Offering what little comfort I could, I plunged the object into its heart, heaved the dead body onto my back, and flew to the crash site.
I dragged it until it was a few feet from where Aurora remained unconscious in the car, in the same spot where the vehicle initially began spinning. Returning to survey my work, it seemed plausible that a moose headed onto the road, and Aurora couldn’t have seen it approach. She tried to swerve in the other direction but hit it nonetheless. The ambulance was rounding the s-turn. My time was up.
Questions remained: what the fuck was that creature? What did it want with Aurora? And how did it find her?
* * *
Raucous laughter pulled me back to the present, and I remembered the sound of shattering. A quick survey ensured that a vase was the only thing that had been broken. I headed toward the living room.
Groups of friends were chatting in small pockets. There was a couple on the couch, a girl sitting on top of a guy’s lap. You could see their tongues clashing as they both rocked into each other. An image of how Aurora’s lean body would feel cradled against mine instantly assaulted my thoughts. My dick throbbed at the idea.Jesus fuck.The last thing I needed right now was a boner. She was business, certainly not pleasure. If Michael found out I was having any of these thoughts...I won’t even go there because I amnotthinking about her.
I dragged my eyes around the room and focused on a miniature cactus on the windowsill. Imagine being poked by that right now.Focus on how much it would hurt to be stabbed insensitiveareas with thatbecausethat’s what would happen if I crossed the line with Aurora.She doesn’t even know I exist anyway.
Hopefully, Aurora wouldn’t stay too late. I needed to blow off steam and put some space between us. Once she was safely back in bed, I’d find release. Something or someone to take my mind off ofher.
Making my way through the living room, the bond flared to life. It tugged until I could see the top of her fawn hair. Her back was to me. She had her head tipped back as Angelfucker whispered in her ear. I inched closer, giving in momentarily to the lure of the bond until I heard her giggle. I turned in the opposite direction and headed through the open sliding door to the house’s back patio.
The brisk evening air was a refreshing change from inside. Out here, I felt like I could breathe again. Think clear, rational thoughts. I took one last peek through the back door. She had moved away from Riley. Her hip pressed against the counter, giving her a close-up view of the gyrating couple. Aurora’s eyes scanned the crowd and locked on mine.Did she feel the bond, too?I tore my gaze away and stumbled back a few steps.
My butt hit something hard and plastic.
“Hey man, watch it!”
I twisted around. I’d walked right into a rectangular plastic table, interrupting a game of beer pong. Only one cup was left standing, while the other had five one had rolled off the ledge.
Holding up both hands in the air, I said, “My bad. Didn’t see where I was going.”
Sidestepping the table, I walked to the side to watch the two teams finish up the game.It’s not like I have anything better to do.
Once they wrapped up the game, the guy who had spoken to me acknowledged my presence with a nod while clearing the used cups. He had won the last round, and his partner headed down the deck’s steps. “You up for playing a game?” he said.
“Yeah, sure.” I nodded. Pushing myself off the railing, I stood beside him.
“You’ve played before, right?” He eyed me suspiciously. “Because I’m on a streak right now, and I’m not interested in losing. Especially if you’re a noob. No offense.”
“Naw, man, I get it. Don’t worry, I got you.” I flicked my hand to the empty side of the table. “No offenseto your expertise, but shouldn’t there be another team to play.”
He snickered. “Fair point.” He extended his hand towards me. “I’m Connor.”
“Ben,” I gripped his hand a tad harder than usual.
“Ah, that’s quite the handshake you got there.”
I suppressed a smirk. “So, who are we gonna play?”
That was all the encouragement Connor needed. He leaped onto the plastic table, making it sway under his weight. Cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice like a megaphone, he announced, “Good evening, everyone. On this fine nightfall, my comrade Ben and I are looking for challengers in an epic battle of wits, coordination, and strategy. An intense game of pong of the beer awaits. Do we have any fine challengers brave enough to participate in this duel of honor?”
