Page 42 of Infamous Heart

He vanished toward the back of the coffee shop. The lights blinked off, and I was left sitting in the dark. Did his stools wobble on their own? He might need to fix that before a patron fell off.

“Let’s get you home.”

He took me by the arm, guiding me toward the door. I leaned on him, struggling to keep myself upright. “You’re good people.” It was the closest thing to a compliment my brain could muster.

“You too, Griffin. You’re the best people.”

Thanks.

17

Wraith’s hissfilled my ear. “You’ll never be good enough for Sebastian.”

I couldn’t recall how I got to the bridge separating the Ward from the business district of Vanguard City. It maintained some of the older charm with black streetlamps lining the sidewalk. I couldn’t remember leaving my apartment, nor walking this far.

There were no shadows. Where the light touched, I could see the bridge, but when the light ended, so did the sidewalk, as if it couldn’t exist in the shadows. The darkness at her control had spread far enough that I couldn’t tell which direction would lead me home.

I hugged tightly to one of the lampposts, making sure I remained within its protective borders. The tendrils of black attempted to penetrate the light, smoldering each time they broke the barrier. I searched my pockets, looking for my phone. When I couldn’t find the familiar square in my pants, I went into survival mode. I just had to wait for a hero to save the day.

“You can’t make him a hero.”

The voice didn’t have an origin. The night itself spoke, stabbing at my insecurities.

“Bitch, you’re going to jail.”

“Tough words, human.”

The whites of her eyes were visible, hovering just outside the radius of light. My back pressed tightly against the lamppost. I couldn’t do anything to escape, not unless I wanted to dash into the darkness and hope I made it to the next light before she caught me.

“You can’t make him a hero,” she hissed. “He wanted Vincent to die. For you, human. He wanted him to die for you.”

“No!” I shouted.

“You can rally against the darkness.” Her face moved as close as possible before the light threatened to sear her shadowy skin. “But not when it lives in his heart.”

As she stepped forward, the skin of darkness evaporated, leaving her naked except for the pendant hanging about her neck. Even without her supernatural powers, she maintained a sinister quality, an evil that came from inside.

“He’s not evil.” The panic made my words quiver, and even I found it hard to believe.

“You can’t save the damned.” Her fingers ran along the corner of my jaw, frigid to the touch. I tried to pull away, but the lamppost refused to budge. Rebecca’s fingers traced down my chest and I watched as her nail left a trail of black.

“I can save him,” I whimpered.

She leaned forward. The black of her lipstick shimmered in the light as she placed her lips against mine. My body froze until she threw her head back, cackling at my discomfort. The same frigid sensation on my chest spread from lips, and I had no doubt she used it to infect me.

“Pathetic!” she yelled into the night. She stepped back, letting the shadows wrapped around the soft white of her skin. “He’s not coming to save you.”

I rubbed my face, trying to scrape away at whatever she did. My hands were covered in a liquid black. It spread, running along my skin as if it were alive, swallowing me one inch at a time.

My limbs surrendered, and I collapsed on the sidewalk. I couldn’t stop Wraith. I would settle for any hero to come to my rescue, but deep inside, I knew there was only one I wanted. But Wraith spread doubt even more infectious than the darkness. As she pushed back the light, the tendrils latched onto my legs. I had my confirmation.

The white eyes vanished, her voice coming from the night itself. “You’re not worth saving.”

* * *

I kicked, flailing my arms to keep the succubus at bay. In the darkness, she tightened about my legs, refusing to let go. My hand smashed something nearby, and I froze at the sound of glass breaking.

“Hello?” I wasn’t on the bridge. The fan overhead whirred, blowing cool air from the air conditioning. I reached down to my legs and found myself trapped in the twists of my sheet. I continued kicking with my legs, growing aggravated at its refusal to let go.

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