Amy Blankenship - Tainted Blood

“Envy,” he whispered. “I love you.”

It was then that he heard her flee to her room.

*****

Jason sat down on a stone bench that had been placed in front of one of the larger crypts to take a breather. He hadn't run into anything or anyone for the last three minutes and that was a record for the night so far.

Tapping the ring, he hoped the thing would somehow turn back on. His stomach was twisted in knots not knowing where Tiara was and if she was really okay. Lowering his head a little, he mentally berated himself for not being able to get her out of the mausoleum. Some protector he’d turned out to be. She’d even had to ask a demon for help.

“You might want to look behind you,” a voice suddenly said from the surrounding silence.

Jason’s eyes snapped up seeing a man with long dark hair standing only a short distance away. He blinked when what the man said finally sunk in.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and Jason shot forward a few steps before doing a one-eighty to see what was behind him. Four skitters stared back at him from only a couple of feet away with their lipless mouths pulled back showing every one of their sharp teeth.

“Oh come on!” Jason yelled, feeling a small rush of anger. He was bored with fighting these things. “Haven’t you morons figured it out yet? If you live in a graveyard you’re supposed to be dead.”

Angelica smirked having caught up with Syn just in time to hear Jason’s tantrum. “Hey Jason, wanna see something cool?” she asked stepping up beside him and raising her hands in front of her. She opened her mouth and started whispering a spell that was supposed to make them implode. To her dismay, the Skitters suddenly backed away before turning and fleeing into the darkness.

“Neat,” Jason said thinking that had been the spell.

“Damn it, if you’d quit scaring the hell out of them, maybe I could have made a decent kill tonight.” Angelica snapped as she turned around finding Syn right behind her. “You’re like demon repellant.”

Jason smirked when he caught on to what she was ranting about. “Black Flag for demons,” he muttered but quickly shut his mouth when Angelica’s glare turned on him. “I mean… right. You are so right.” When in doubt, always agree with the women.

Syn laughed softly, “I did nothing but walk up behind you, my dear. I can’t help it if the Spinnan fear me. Maybe they were just cowards. Shall we go in search of braver monsters?” He was rewarded when Angelica rolled her eyes and smiled. She was warming up to him quite nicely.

Jason’s shoulders slumped realizing this was the man he’d been warned about when he’d started asking questions about the beautiful Angelica. Deciding that path was hopeless, he sighed and returned his attention to the ring.

“This stupid thing is worthless… the damn GPS is broke or something.” He growled and attempted to take the ring off. He pulled for a moment but decided to stop when he felt his finger pop at the joint. He stared at it again for a moment and tilted his head to the side. Maybe it was a good thing it couldn’t come off, because if it did… he’d probably throw it at the damn Skitters.

“How can I protect Tiara if I don’t know where the hell she is?” he ranted at the ring. “This isn’t the time to be taking a nap for crying out loud.”

“Can I see that?” Angelica requested, holding her hand out so Jason could lay his hand in hers. She recognized the ring from the memories that Zachary had shared with her and was curious as to its power.

Jason couldn’t help himself as he watched Angelica with wide moon eyes. She was gently cradling his hand and examining the ring with a critical eye. The softness of her skin was very soothing against his… though he did flinch when Syn decided that was a good moment to laugh.

He glanced up and saw Syn out of the corner of his eye. That laugh had been just a little too creepy. The run in with Kane last night had scared him but this guy… he was probably the one Satan searched for under his bed or in the closet before daring to call it a night.

Syn watched patiently as Angelica held her other palm about an inch above the ring. Seeing her bite her lower lip in concentration was his undoing. Reaching out, he laid his hand over hers and slowly interlocked their fingers. Bringing his head down next to hers, he brushed his cheek against her soft hair while reaching around with his other hand to gently hold her against him.

Angelica blinked suddenly feeling what she’d been searching for. “That’s cheating,” she whispered but quickly searched the aura of the ring while she was so tapped into it. She felt two paths coming from the right… one light and one dark. Out of morbid curiosity, she began following the dark one to see where it led.

“That’s enough,” Syn said softly and pulled her hand away from the ring’s power. “Not only is it linked to the girl but also to the demon’s mind. We must be careful not to summon him accidentally.”

Angelica swallowed and nodded knowing he was right. She’d felt it, the power of the demon inside the ring. She let her hair fall forward to hide her eyes as she gazed at their hands still linked together. It was intimate and sexual at the same time, such a simple gesture that left her mind reeling.

“He’s still alive?” Jason gritted his teeth and held his hand away from himself imagining a demon exploding from it. If what Nile had said about Deth was true, then that was one demon he really didn’t want to just pop out of the ring like a Genie. “Like I really needed another reason to want rid of this thing right now.”

“The girl is unconscious,” Syn informed him but narrowed his eyes not liking the aura of the ring. He’d felt the demon turn to look at him but cut the link before his image was stable. If that creature returned to earth there was no telling what darkness he would bring with him.

“Unconscious? That’s even more of a reason to find her,” Jason said, forgetting his fear of the ring. “There’s no telling how much trouble she could be in. With her missing and Zachary down for the count…”

“Down for the count? What are you talking about?” Angelica demanded as her temper spiked making her jerk her hand from Syn’s.

“I thought you knew,” Jason frowned, “I thought everyone on the team knew by now.”

“Knew what?” Angelica asked in frustration.

“Zachary went ballistic when that demon ran off with Tiara and he blew up the main nest all of these things were coming from. The demon breeding them all went up in flames along with it. Zachary passed out in the fire right after the explosion.”

Seeing the shock on her face Jason quickly continued, “Its okay, Ren got him out of there and vanished… we haven’t seen him since. Storm would probably know where they went because he was there when it happened.”

“And Tiara was kidnapped by a demon?” Angelica felt her heartbeat racing. No wonder Zachary had gone ballistic.

“Not exactly,” Jason hedged. “It’s hard to explain. The point is she passed out as she was leaving with the other demon and until this thing starts working again, I don’t even know if she’s okay, much less where to start looking.” He smacked the ring with his other hand in frustration trying again to kick start it into working.

Without another word, Angelica took off toward the entrance of the graveyard while mentally kicking herself for her selfishness. She’d been so busy with Syn and the monsters that she hadn't been there to watch Zachary’s back… the one time that he needed her.

Her vision blurred with tears and she angrily swiped at them only to run right into a brick wall named Syn. His arms went around her to steady her but before she could stop herself, she started to struggle against him. She hit his chest with her small fists, knowing it wouldn’t do any good but her first instinct was to remove whatever had gotten in the way of finding her best friend.