Enraptured Read online

  As soon as we step through the threshold Maria is pulling things out of her handbag and chanting spells. I start to question her, but decide to just let her work. Some extra magical protection never hurt anyone. I watch as she works her magic, literally. A pang of jealousy stabs at my gut. I should be able to do most of this stuff on my own. My own mother was a witch; if she had lived maybe I would have learned more about this world. Maybe I could have protected Jake better.

  It only takes her about two minutes to cast her spells. She doesn’t look totally satisfied when she finishes, but it’s still better than what was there beforehand. The stairs up to my apartment are covered in a nasty light-blue carpet. It’s has loads of mystery stains on every step. The lack of anything bad-smelling was the only thing that kept me from walking right out of the building when I first came to view the apartment. Well, that, and the dirt-cheap rent.

  She stops me before I can unlock the door. I lean against the wall as she does some more awesome mojo outside my apartment door. When we get inside the door, she does even more stuff. By now, I seriously realize how unequipped I am at being a witch. Hunter, I’m like fairly average, but the witch stuff, I am in the dark without a light. I vaguely recognize some of the Latin she’s muttering, but it also sounds like she’s speaking Spanish. She’s using so much more than a simple protection spell and salt. She finishes up, and turns to me. Her face is expectant.

  “Oh, sorry,” I say, waving her further into the apartment. “This is home.”

  She takes in the random thrift-store furniture, the flat-screen TV, and the PS3. My laptop is on my coffee table. Bear makes his way into the room from my bedroom and makes his way to Maria.

  “Hello, handsome kitty,” she murmurs at him. He winds himself through her legs, and rubs up against her as much as possible. His immediate affection sets me at ease. Bear is a pretty good judge of character, so if Maria gets instant affection she must be okay. Not that I doubted her much, but still, she’s still a little bit of a stranger.

  “He’s beautiful,” she tells me. She lifts his heavy body off the floor and cuddles him in her arms. It’s true, he’s a stunning cat. Sleek black coat covers thick strong muscles. His eyes are green and glow with health.

  “He’s a slut,” I say. I narrow my eyes at him as he snuggles into Maria’s arms.

  “Jealous?” Maria asks with a laugh.

  “Of course, that’s my one true love, Maria,” I tell her.

  “If only men were as dependable as cats,” she agrees.

  “I don’t know; he reminds me a bit of Kade, now that I think of it.” Bear has now situated himself in Maria’s arm so that his front paws are over her shoulders and his face is nuzzled into her thick black hair. The room stops at my mention of Kade, both Maria and I take a long look at each other.

  “I suppose now is the time to tell you what I know.” She nods at my unspoken words.

  “Sit down,” I say, as I gesture to the couch, “Unless you want the rest of the tour?” There’s not much else to show. My bedroom, and the bathroom are both visible from the living room.

  “No, I’m good,” she says as I begin to speak again, “And I’m perfectly fine sleeping on the sofa.” I swear she reads minds. Although I think it might be because it’s common courtesy to offer houseguests the bed. I don’t know. I’m not used to having people stay over.

  “Come, come, sit down,” she says, taking over the role of hostess. I follow her and sit down uneasily on the edge of the couch.

  “Kade’s in trouble,” she says immediately.

  “How?” I ask, feeling like my lungs are shrinking in my chest. If she’s going to cross international borders to tell me this, then it’s not just standard trouble.

  “There’s a lot of politics in Hell,” she says. “Not unlike here, actually, but the loser down there usually meets a much worse end than just going home.”

  I nod at her, letting her know that I’m following along.

  “There’s a vacant seat on the throne. A new Prince is needed, and Kade is in the running.” Maria is blunt in her delivery. This news is soul-crushing. What would that mean for Kade? What would that mean for his soul? What would that mean for me? And the baby?

  “Is that why he hasn’t come to see me?” I ask quietly. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen Kade’s astral-self. He said he’s trapped in Hell. I just assumed it was some sort of punishment. But maybe he can’t leave because of the politics.

  “Probably,” she says.

  “How do you know this?” I question. It could be a lie. Or a half-truth, which is a lie anyway. My thoughts race. I have to get Kade out of Hell. He can’t become a Prince. I can’t have my child be fathered by a Prince of Hell. It’s bad enough that he’s an Arch.

  “I have my sources, and they are solid,” she tells me firmly.

  “Okay, so what does this mean?” I ask. I still can’t wrap my head around it.

  “It means he’ll lose his soul, it means he’ll lose you, and it means he’ll lose your child. I don’t want that for him, and I know you don’t. Even if the fool thinks it’s what he wants.”

  My blood freezes at her last words. Cold chills run down my body, and I lose my breath..

  “How did you know?” My voice is low, a whisper. My hand immediately covers my stomach, as if to shield the child from her gaze.

  “Todd told me,” she says.

  Laughter explodes from my throat. It’s harsh with betrayal, and pain. It’s hysterical in its depth of pain.

  “Oh thank god, I thought you had some sort of baby-radar,” I wheeze, “And I’m going to fucking kill Todd.” I finish my sentence in a growl. Tears spring anew in my eyes, and they aren’t from the laughter.

  “Don’t be too angry with him. He’s concerned for you. He can sense you pulling away from everyone.” Her fingers are cold when she places them over my hand. The hand that’s still covering my stomach. I expect for Maria’s emotions to overwhelm the baby, but instead I feel nothing. Nothing but the cool dry feeling of her palm where it connects with my skin. My body relaxes instantly.

  “I need your help,” my voice is strong, but low. I’ve made up my mind. I can’t let Kade lose his soul.

  Her head snaps up at my admission. She probably thought she would have to coerce me to ask her for help.

  “I need to get Kade out,” I say more firmly.

  “I can get you in and tell you how to get back out,” she nods, already moving forward with her plan. “But going into Hell has a cost,” she tells me.

  Everything has a cost.

  “Do I even want to know what the cost is?” I ask her.

  “Does it even matter?” she responds.

  “No,” it’s the truth, plain and simple.

  “I have to give you some of my darkness, Tyler. I have to make you less pure,” her voice is mourning something that doesn’t even exist. I don’t feel pure.

  “If I don’t, you won’t even survive a second down there.” She’s so apologetic.

  “Whatever it takes,” I say.

  “You understand, don’t you? You understand that Hell will change you. That your soul will be stained?” she asks. Her final nail through my heart. But my heart is already beaten, it’s already bruised, it’s already broken, and I’m still here. My shoulders pull back, and my chin raises. I’m going to Hell, and I’m going to get my demon lover back. Seriously, when did my life become a cheesy 80’s romance novel. My Demon Lover, as if. She looks startled at my newfound confidence.

  “You don’t think my soul is already stained? I fell in love with a demon and I’m carrying his child.” She already knew I would do this, no matter what the cost, so I resent her caution.

  “Is it really worth the risk?” she asks. Her hand finding my stomach again. I feel her implication; what will Hell do to my child. I don’t know, but somehow it will be okay. It has to be.

  “I don’t know, but I do know I can’t leave him. I can’t let him be broken. I won’t let him become less,
” I have to try, I tell myself. It’s on repeat in my head. I have to try. I have to do it. I have to get Kade. I have to try.

  “Maybe he wants that, Tyler,” her words are sobering. Doubt starts to leak into my heart; doubt in Kade and his love for me. Maybe that’s why his visits are fewer and farther between. “Maybe he’s ready to be reborn, better, stronger, and soulless.”

  Tears come unbidden to my eyes. Her words hurt, more than anything, because losing Kade like that will hurt 100 times more than losing Jake.

  “I have to try,” I say again, this time out loud.

  2

  A Friend in Boyfriend Clothes

  “Todd!” I yell when I walk into the bar the next day. He’s not downstairs, the only one here is Lindsay. Her head snaps up at my dramatic entrance. I’ve never been upstairs, but I’m already pulling open the door next to the bar labeled ‘Private’. My boots echo in the stairwell. It sounds hollow and angry. Hey, wouldn’t you know, I feel hollow and angry. So I guess the stairs and I have that in common. Suddenly I’m not quite so angry, my weird thoughts breaking some of my rage.

  The door at the top of the stairs flies open before I can reach my fist up there to pound on it. I lift my hand up and knock anyway. It hits Todd’s chest with enough force to startle him. All I can say is that, sometimes in life, petty wins.

  “Good, you’re home,” I say, as if he just opened to door, instead of me pounding on his chest like it’s made of wood. Actually, it was pretty firm, nice, really. It’s then that I realize that my flattened palm is still resting on his flannel shirt. Dammit. Was that Todd’s attraction to me seeping through, or are my stupid pregnancy hormones making me crazier? I don’t entertain the thought that maybe my own attraction has been there all along, and I’ve just chosen to ignore it.

  “Ty, come in,” he says and backs up to let me in his apartment. My jaw instantly hits the floor. It’s huge, and nice, and modern. It looks nothing like the dive bar below us. It’s mostly open, his kitchen and living room are all in one huge space. Unlike my cramped little kitchendininglivingroom area. There are more doors in here though. More windows too. My feet move on the floor and I can tell it’s well insulated. Soundproof, maybe. The living room has thick carpet on it. I want to lay on it and roll around.

  It’s definitely not a one-bedroom bachelor pad. I peek around his body to peer into one of the rooms, judging by the unmade bed, and the jeans on the floor I’m guessing it’s his room. The rest of the apartment is immaculate, but his bedroom is a pit. I like it. It makes Todd feel more real to me for some reason.

  “You want the tour?” he asks. I look at him and see a smirk on his face. It’s sexy as hell. Fuuuucckkk. Stupid mojo-feeling baby.

  “No,” I say harshly. I’m still mad and also turned on, but that just makes me madder. There’s music playing, something that just comes to me in this moment.

  “Hole?” My voice raises in surprise.

  “You know who Hole is?” he asks. He seems to be a mixture of surprised and impressed.

  “Get real, Todd.” Disbelief coats my voice, and I give him a playful shove. Stop flirting, Tyler.

  Now I’m staring into his eyes, deeply. It’s embarrassing as fuck.

  “You have an interesting taste in music,” he says softly. Flirting back. No. No. No. I shake my head at him, but my eyes still glance at his very messy bed. No.

  “We need to talk,” I tell him.

  The song changes, and The Presidents of the United States of America invades my ears. I cannot resist Lump. It’s my jam.

  “I hate that you like my music,” stumbles out of my mouth. Word vomit, it’s the new fad.

  “I didn’t know one person could claim Lump,” he shrugs.

  “Whatever, you suck.” I stick my tongue out at him. The look he gives me makes me feel very 20. The seven years he has on me floods over me, and I feel like a petulant child.

  “I was only trying to help you,” he says. I hate that he didn’t even wait for me to tell him why I was mad. I also love it, because obviously, Tyler Reed is not mature enough to just come out with it. Tyler Reed should also never refer to herself in the third person in her own head again.

  “I know,” my feet slide out of my boots and I sort of lazily fall onto his carpet. It’s as fucking soft as it looks.

  “You’re kind of weird, aren’t you?” Todd asks me as he lays down next to me on the floor.

  “You have no idea,” I whisper. He’s looking at me again, and I’m looking back.

  “We don’t really know each other that well, do we?” It’s the same observation I was having about him.

  “Except each other’s deepest darkest secrets,” I agree.

  “Yeah, but that’s the small shit.” He shrugs, like him being half demon and me being pregnant with a half-demon spawn is no big thing. “I’m talking important stuff, like favorite bands, first tattoos, first kisses, favorite foods. You know the stuff that makes or breaks re…friendships.”

  “Metallica, I have a coffin on my big toe, a kid named Slade, and tacos,” I answer.

  “Slipknot, a heart on my inner knee with the name Erin in it, a girl named Erin, and tacos,” he winks at me.

  “My mom named me after a Toadies song,” I keep going. I don’t know anything about her, really. Just that she was a witch and loved alternative rock.

  “I fucking love that song,” he says and goes over to his stereo and puts on Tyler. “You were born the year Rubberneck came out?”

  “Yeah, a few months after, I looked that up. Just tells me that she was impulsive. Like me,” I smile at that little fact that I managed to glean about my mom.

  “It’s a little creepy loving that song, isn’t it?” he asks.

  “Who am I to judge, I was named after it,” I laugh.

  We listen to the rest of the song, each stuck in our own heads for a bit longer. I roll over onto my back and close my eyes as I let the music crash over me. When I turn back, Todd is staring at me again. His hand tangles in my hair and he pulls me toward him. I don’t stop him when he kisses me. His lips are chapped, a little rough, but still soft. Just like Todd. At first the kiss is gentle, a peck, but when I don’t stop him immediately, it deepens. When I open my mouth to allow him to sweep his tongue inside, we both moan. Relief breaks out over my body, and I scoot my body as close to his as I can get. His warmth invades me and I wrap my leg around him.

  He breaks the kiss first, a smile on his face. I smile back at him, but inside I’m panicking. Why did I kiss him?

  “I’m going to Hell to get Kade out,” I blurt.

  “Like hell you are, Tyler,” he says firmly.

  “I have to,” I tell him. I pull myself up into a sitting position. My knees fold in front of my body, shielding myself from him. I wrap my arms around them and hug them to me.

  “You don’t have to, you want to,” he spits.

  “I have to, this is who I am, Todd. I save people,” I say.

  “No, you hunt demons,” he throws back. He’s standing up now. He’s actually standing directly over me. Like he can physically keep me from going.

  “He’s the father of my child,” my words come out with my tears. Light, timid, pathetic.

  “He’s the sperm donor. That’s all, don’t mistake that for a parent.” He walks away from me.

  “He deserves a chance, just like everyone else.” If Todd can’t see that then I don’t know what else I can say to convince him.

  “You know what’s crazy?” he asks. The look on his face a little insane.

  “What?” I ask him. I get to my feet and face him.

  “I don’t know who the demon is that seduced my mother, but I think I have a good idea. Seems like something a lust demon would do, don’t you think? Seduce a hunter, sleep with the wife of Luke Whittaker. It’d be a great fucking joke to a lust demon. A fun game.”

  It’s true, Lily Whittaker would be a lust demon’s wet dream. I get what he’s implying. It’s sick because it’s entirely possible
. To get to someone like Lily it would take more than a low-level lust demon; it’d probably take someone as powerful as an Arch. It’d take Kade.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you’re still attracted to me. I mean, I could be pregnant with your brother,” I say, shaking my head. This is unreal. An absolute nightmare.

  “Doesn’t change a damn thing, does it?” Todd asks. He grips his head between his hands. When he drops them to his side, he faces me straight on.

  “I’m…” I stop, because the truth is that I don’t know. Doubt about everything starts to seep into me. I was so sure about the course of my life, but if Kade is his father, and he abandoned him, then what does that mean for me. Kade had a soul 27 years ago.

  “I need to leave,” I say instead. Before Todd can react, I run to the door, grabbing my boots on my way out. My bare feet thud down the stairs, but they’re the only sound. When I get to the door leading to the bar, I look up in time to see Todd close the door. He’s still inside his apartment. I slip back into my boots before going back out into the bar.

  “You were in there for a while,” Lindsay coos at me from behind the bar. It’s still empty. Not even the town drunks are here. It’s depressing as fuck working a shift like this.

  “Go eat shit, Lindsay,” I say and leave the bar.

  My apartment isn’t empty when I get home. Maria is in my kitchen cooking something that smells equal parts amazing and disgusting. I hate being pregnant.

  “So did he agree to let you have some time off?” she asks. I pause, because I didn’t even ask that. I got too caught up in kissing him.

  “Yep,” I say without elaborating, “I’m gonna go take a nap though.” I shrug out of my coat, and put my boots by the front door.

  Once I’m in my room, I close the door and fall onto my bed. I pull out my old iPod and plug in my earbuds. It takes me a minute to scroll to the ‘m’s’. Once I locate Metallica, I click on it and get lost in the music. I don’t hear Bear’s knocking on the door. I don’t even notice anything until Maria opens the door to let him out. She quietly shuts it without saying a word to me. It’s nice having someone here, someone that lets me be me. She knows I’m not sleeping, yet she’s not pushing me to talk. She’s letting me be emo, and I appreciate it.