Page 19 of Sleeping Redemption
“Y-you’re not real,” I declared, sure of my assessment.
The employees of the diner were all now staring at me, and I couldn’t help but think that maybe they were filled with jumper demons, too. All of them, lying in wait to destroy me over and over again.
Before that thought could linger, Atlas… or Alex…. whoever he was, got up from his seat in the booth we had shared. One slow step toward me, and I stumbled back several steps like a spooked doe. My head spun faster than an amusement park ride, blurring lights and all.
Where was my sword when I needed it? Turning, I sprinted out of the diner on shaky footing. I pushed the door open with such force it broke the closure mechanism at the top, sending it careening into the brick exterior and shattering the door’s glass.
Half jogging to the parking lot, one of the diner waitresses getting into her car caught my attention. With the opportunity presenting itself, I called out to her, “Hey! Excuse me!”
Thankfully, she paused while standing at the open door to her blue sedan. Her narrow-set brown eyes focused on me as I approached. “Is there something?—”
Grabbing her head between my hands, I swiftly jerked and tilted as I severed the connection with her cervical spine. Discarding her now lifeless body to the side, I searched for the keys she’d dropped to the ground the moment her neck snapped.
From behind me, a pair of hands grabbed my arms, hoisting me upright from my position close to the ground. Being spun around, I came face to face with the man who had brought me here.
“Shit, Kinley. Relax, angel. It’s me. Just calm down.” His words were gentle while his grip was firm. He glanced down at the woman who lay dead as a doornail at my feet. “Fuck.”
He brought his face down close to mine as he furrowed his brows together. “Please, let me help you. I can fix things.”
I jerked against his hold, finding more than human strength behind it. Trying harder, I realized that there was no part of this impersonator that was human. No wonder my persuasion hadn’t worked on him. How had I not seen it before now?
“Liar!” I stomped on his foot before headbutting him. It was the distraction I needed to finagle my way out of his hold. Summoning my unholy strength, I grabbed whoever this guy really was by the shirt and tossed him powerfully at the next car over. His body rocked the vehicle and left a massive dent in its passenger door, blowing out the corresponding window.
The imposter cursed after he hit the ground, visibly shaken and taken by surprise. Until I knew what he truly was and had my weapon on me, I didn’t dare stick around for this battle. So, I ran again before he recovered.
Damn the earthbound consequence of being a fallen angel, not having the ability to transport myself from one place to the other at will. It was a restriction that wasn’t normally such an inconvenience until this moment.
My heels slapped against the pavement loudly. Once I was around the corner and several buildings over, I was prepared to ditch the shoes entirely. Running on bare feet would be worth the cuts on my soles, as they would heal unnaturally fast.
As I tried to regain my breath, my chest heaved as I leaned back against the cool brick of the building. The only thing I could focus on was the flashing images inside my mind that were trying to erratically reconcile themselves.
“Love?” A quiet voice cut through the cool air.
I jumped at the sound of the accented voice of Rook. Stumbling away from the wall, I shook my head emphatically.
Rook stood there with a hand stretched out in front of him innocently, the black fingerless glove he wore leaving just hisfingertips exposed. His eyes remained neutral as he waited for me to speak.
Swallowing hard, I tried to find my voice for several long moments.
“I—he’s dead. I should have killed more of them. Stupid fucking toys never staying dead. All of them are whispering, I can feel the blood…” All of my seemingly random words came spilling out rapidly.
Using his cane in his other hand, he gently pressed it against my lower back to draw me in close. He placed a hand on the back of my head, guiding me to rest my face against his chest. “Sshh, love.” He kissed the top of my head, smoothing my light blonde hair down with his hand afterward.
“We can deal with all that later, hm?” He squeezed me tighter to him, allowing me to be enveloped by his musky scent.
All my racing thoughts began to slow, seemingly in sync with the thudding of Rook’s demonic heart. It wasn’t until my mind began to come down from its frenzied state that I realized how tightly my hands were clenched onto his sides. My nails dug in so hard that it had to be causing him discomfort, though he didn’t show any signs of it.
Releasing some of the tension, I let go of him despite his arms remaining securely fastened around me.
Still feeling a sense of paranoia, my eyes remained dark and darted in various directions to look at our surroundings. My date hadn’t dared to follow me, and for that, I was both grateful and annoyed.
A finger came underneath my chin, gently turning my focus back to the trickster who was solely focused on me.
“Let’s get you home.” Before I could argue, he added, “I will provide all the entertainment for the remainder of the evening.”
My interest piqued by his offer, I nodded in agreement.
Finally, he smiled at me before he leaned forward and his gravelly voice whispered into my ear. “I’ve got just the thing to get you out of that pretty little head of yours.”
