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  “I could tell you a few things,” came a familiar voice from behind me. Koda stood there, leaning against the building, hands stuffed in his pockets. Mischief crawled over his face to settle on his lips. “Miss me?”

  I might have missed his familiarity, but that evil sparkle in his eyes? Not a chance. “You know, Koda, I have about reached my quota for demon stalkers this week. Maybe try next week. I’ll see if I can pencil you in.” My snarky attitude was encouraged by the chuckle of my best friend.

  My strange relationship with Koda, if you could call it that, had undergone a metamorphosis of sorts. I suspected it was still in transition and had not yet reached its final form. Whatever that might be.

  “Maybe it’s time I tell you why I’ve been watching you,” Koda said with a deadpan, serious expression. The muscles in his forearms bulged as he crossed them over his chest. “You deserve a fighting chance.”

  The downside to having your own personal demon was having this annoying pain in the ass that knew exactly how to get under your skin because they’d invested years learning what buttons to push. I hated how much I wanted him to continue. Knowing that he wanted me to request more, I resisted.

  “Don't expect me to fall for that. Cinder is going to tell me everything anyway, and I already know enough to know you probably don’t have as much information as you think you do.” Retrieving my dropped phone, I dusted off the screen, checking for cracks.

  “Try me. You might be surprised. There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about, Spike.” That unsettling scarlet stare followed us as we walked away. It crawled all over me like a ghost hand that couldn’t be grabbed.

  As much as I wanted to know what, if anything, Koda might know, demons are known liars. I’d be an idiot to believe anything that came out of his mouth. Tightly restraining the part of me that wanted to pummel information out of him, I walked right back inside.

  “Spike,” Koda called after me but he didn’t pursue. What was with all these demons throwing me changeups lately? “There’s speculation on our side that the rebellion you lead will be against the angels. You can’t trust them.”

  It felt as if he’d just punched me in the sternum. My lungs seized, and I had to remind myself to breathe. “I can’t trust your side either.”

  “Then I guess you’re in quite the predicament. You have friends on both sides. Whether or not you want to believe it.” Knowing the type of reaction such a remark would get, Koda vanished before I could let him have it.

  Demons weren’t friends. They didn’t know the meaning of the word. They couldn’t even trust one another. If Koda’s interest in me had anything to do with the rebellion prophecy, then it was entirely self-serving.

  “Fuck him. Let’s go inside.” Hooking her arm through mine, Jett led me back to the front street entrance.

  My free hand went to my head, and I rubbed lightly at my scalp. What kind of mark had they been looking for? And what the hell would I do if I had it?

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  SPARRING WITH CINDER didn’t usually result in me landing so many blows. Either he was off his game or I was really having a great day.

  Using the hook and flick technique he himself had taught me, I parried his weapon out of his grasp. It clattered to the floor of the gym where we booked our private training sessions. No windows and no cameras. It was just about the safest place we could get for this kind of training.

  Personally, I suspected that Cinder’s shaky hand was due to the fact that he’d promised to tell me what else he knew about the rebellion prophecy. Something he’d been putting off until the tour had passed. Now I was home and I wanted to hear it all.

  “Ok, Cinder. I’d say I’ve bested you this round, but I need a break. Seeing as you’re not quite the breathless type, you can do the talking.” After an hour of high-exertion sparring, I was a dripping mess gasping for breath. Cinder had barely broken a sweat.

  Retreating to the bench where my water bottle awaited, I drank back half of it and plopped down on the seat. Patting the spot next to me, I said, “Come sit. We have to stop putting this off.”

  Cinder gathered his dropped sword and leaned it against the bench before sitting next to me. There was a fatigue in his violet eyes that I’d never seen before. That weariness didn’t belong in his gaze.

  “You’re sure you want to discuss this now?” he asked.

  “I’m pretty sure that you don’t ever want to discuss this, which makes me definitely want to discuss it right now. What is it that you don’t want to tell me?” Maybe I should’ve been nervous or afraid, but in Cinder’s presence I almost never felt those things. I’d had enough time to stew on all this. Keeping myself in the dark was stupid.

  He ran both hands over his dirty-blond hair, and it fell right back into its trendy style. “The mark those demons were looking for, it’s a mark on the head or neck that’s supposed to identify the rebel leader. However, nobody knows for sure if it’s a birthmark, a scar, or an immortal symbol. It could be anything, and it may be something the rebel leader doesn’t currently possess. Not until some time in the future.”

  I had made Jett take a solid look through my hair for any weird birthmarks on my head or anything potentially suspect. She’d found nothing, much to my relief.

  “We both know it’s me, Cinder. Let’s just call it what it is. I’m the rebel leader. I just wish I knew what it was that I’m rebelling against.” Koda’s remark about the angels had been dwelling in the back of my mind. I couldn’t imagine a scenario worse than that.

  “We can only take this one day at a time.” Lips pressed into a tight thin line, Cinder pushed to his feet like he couldn’t sit still. “Although, as things stand, I sadly wouldn’t be surprised if Koda’s theory is correct. The Brotherhood has been known to start many battles in order to carry out their own agenda. Although I’d rather not entertain the thought of what they might do that would be horrid enough to cause a rebellion.”

  The tight hunch to his shoulders and the impatience in his gait portrayed a Cinder with a secret. I could always tell when there was something he wasn’t sharing with me. I also knew that he must be working his way up to it. It didn’t make me any less nervous.

  “And why are so many demons suddenly afraid of me?” I wondered aloud, wiping the sweat from my brow with a towel. “I’ve got to say, it creeps me out.”

  “The demons are scared of you because they don’t know what to expect. Nobody does. It’s the same reason the Brotherhood is afraid of you.” Cinder managed to look disgusted despite having a face far too angelic for that kind of emotion.

  “You mean Aster is afraid of me. I wish I knew why, but I’m not too keen on going to the source on that one.” I sprinkled a few drops of water into my hand and splashed it on my face. A cool shower would be bliss right about now. “It’s got to be about more than my relationship with Arrow.”

  There was a long pause before Cinder turned to face me, anguish etched on his face. “Yeah about that... I need to tell you something. About Arrow and Rowen. It’s what confirmed to me that the prophecy really is about you.”

  I sat up straighter on the bench, fingertips clutching the edges. “Ok, now you’re freaking me out.”

  “The prophecy mentions two brothers, one light and one dark. They will both serve the rebel leader until division causes them to turn on one another, putting the entire rebellion in jeopardy.” Cinder paused to let me absorb that while he paced inside a circle painted on the gym floor.

  “Are you sure?” I barely had the drive to give voice to the words. This fucking prophecy had just confirmed one of my worst fears.

  Solemnly Cinder nodded. He was absolutely crestfallen. “I didn’t want to tell you in front of them. I thought it best that you tell them when the time feels right. Perhaps it could alter the course of what lies ahead.”

  “And if it doesn’t?” So many dark scenarios played out in my head. I couldn’t stand to run through them all.

  “It’s too soon t
o ask that question, and it’s certainly much too soon to jump to conclusions about any of this. We must be patient and we must be prepared.”

  Suddenly, I didn’t want to hear anything else about the rebellion prophecy, the Brotherhood, or anything else at all. I gathered my things quickly, needing to just be alone with my thoughts. “I’m gonna take off. This is a bit much for me. I just need some time.”

  “Of course. I won’t stop digging for more information. You’re not alone in any of this, Ember. Remember that.”

  Wasn’t I though? Because from what I’d been hearing, a whole lot of crazy was headed my way. The brothers I loved would take their rivalry as far as it could go. I had to find a way to keep that from happening.

  THE EIGHT OF US SAT around the big brown conference table in Joe’s office. Molly’s Chamber sat across from us ladies. Nobody spoke as we waited for Joe. The cryptic call that he wanted to see us in person had launched an entire night and day of worry.

  Across the table Arrow caught my eye and winked. Despite his playful nature, I could tell that he was afraid of what this might mean. Rowen wore a bitter frown, as if he had better places to be. The rest of us were stone faced.

  The sound of the door opening made half of us jump when Joe burst into the room. Right away Joe’s demeanor set the tone. Brow furrowed, mouth curved downward, our manager wasn’t happy.

  Dropping his laptop bag on the table so it hit with a resounding smack, Joe sat heavily in the leather chair at the table’s head. “I wish I could congratulate you on a successful tour run. Unfortunately, fights with both audience members and fellow musicians doesn’t look great for your first time out. Not to mention the narcotics, the social media backlash the promoter had to deal with. I know it’s rock n’ roll, guys, but you should’ve known better.”

  Clasping his hands together, Joe eyed each of us. He gave the worst of his stink eye to Jett and Arrow. Nobody said a word. I sat there with my butt clenched nervously, hoping like hell that he didn’t have anything linking us to the demise of Storm and Blue. Punishment for bad behavior I could handle.

  At least, I thought I could. Until Joe kept speaking.

  “I’m sorry but the label has decided to drop both of you.” He delivered this awful news like he recited a bad weather report. It was just business to him. “I’ll get all of the related paperwork together. You’ll still be paid for your time on tour and any royalties earned on album sales. Any questions?”

  There were murmurs among the others. Greyson asked a question about the rights to our songs. Next to me Jett hissed obscenities. I tuned out.

  At first I couldn’t decide how I felt. Crushed? Relieved? Some of each I think.

  “Fuck ’em then. We’ll stay indie.” Jett tried to reassure us when we stood outside Joe's office in the parking lot. “A lot of great bands are indie. Maybe that’s the reason they’re great. No label breathing down their neck, telling them what to do all the time.”

  I knew she was upset about it, but seeing as her little jump into the crowd to throw punches was part of the reason we got the boot, she angled for a positive way to look at the situation. Nobody in our band blamed her. We all wanted to beat the shit out of the guy Jett took on. She did get a little out of hand at times though.

  Rubi was on her way to a university degree, so the news seemed to come with some relief for her. She wasn’t the only one.

  Something about it confirmed to me what I’d already known. I would never be able to live the double life I had longed for. Maybe I didn’t even want to anymore.

  Rowen, however, didn’t seem to feel the same way. “Why can’t you ever take the high road?” he snapped at Arrow. “The label made this decision the moment they found out that you’d beat Blue to a bloody pulp.”

  “This is my fault?” Hazel eyes flashing with fury, Arrow took a menacing step toward his brother. “That sick fuck put his hands on Spike. I’d go back and do it again if I could. I’m not sorry.”

  Rowen’s head bobbed, his hands flexing into fists. “You’re not sorry? That’s not exactly breaking news. When are you ever?”

  Both Jett and I moved closer, ready to intervene. Greyson and Sam watched with mixed expressions. They were both understandably bummed out, but neither of them seemed angry. Right now Sam had bigger issues. Still they hovered close enough to help split up the fight that we all knew was going to happen.

  “Fighting it out in Joe’s parking lot isn’t going to convince him that the label made the wrong choice,” I said, trying to reason with them both. My insides twisted as Cinder’s words flitted through my head yet again. I couldn’t stand by and watch their animosity for one another grow.

  “They’re not the only ones making shit choices around here,” Rowen muttered. He yanked car keys from a pocket and stormed over to the black Dodge Charger across the lot.

  Even though that insult had been aimed at both of us, Arrow took the most offense. “It’s not like you’re such a fucking saint, Rowen. I guess your mistakes aren’t as bad as mine. That’s some pretty self-righteous shit, dude.”

  Rowen turned back long enough to flip Arrow a middle finger before unlocking his car and throwing the driver door open angrily. When Arrow started after him, Jett, Sam, and I all grabbed for him.

  “Let him go, babe. He needs time to process and cool down.” I slipped my fingers through Arrow’s and tugged him back toward the BMW.

  On the outside I projected the calm that I needed Arrow to feel. Inside I was quaking. I didn’t want to watch them turn on each other. But I was afraid it was too late for that.

  EPILOGUE

  “CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT dick hasn’t taken a call or returned a message in almost four days?” Sneering at his phone in annoyance, Arrow shoved the offending device into his back pocket.

  I sipped from a vodka and Sprite, not bothering to add that Rowen hadn’t replied to the few messages I’d sent him either. Arrow and I had slipped away to the upstairs room at The Spirit Room that occasionally served as the backstage area. It also doubled as a private party zone. Currently we had it to ourselves for what would most likely be an incredibly short few minutes.

  “Don’t let it get to you. I’m sure Rowen will come around. He’s just in need of some time alone. It will be good for him. Maybe for both of you.” It felt like a piss poor attempt at reassurance. I wondered if it sounded as empty as it felt.

  “Yeah... Maybe. I can’t help but worry about the future of the band. Despite losing our label, we’re doing better than ever. I’d hate to see Rowen throw that all away over such petty issues.” Arrow leaned back on the couch, tugging the beanie off his head to rake a hand roughly through his hair.

  To my surprise both of our bands had benefited from the social media hype. Album downloads were steady, and social media followers were growing by the day. Two weeks hadn’t been much, but it had helped put us on the rock world radar beyond this city. It was bittersweet. I wanted to enjoy it, but seeing as I apparently had a damn rebellion to lead, I didn’t let myself.

  I still hadn’t been able to bring myself to tell Arrow what Cinder had said about the two of them. How was I supposed to recognize the right time when I didn’t think there ever could be such a thing? Being the bearer of such foreboding news had left me finding it hard to sleep. The weight crushed me.

  Placing my drink on the coffee table in the center of the mismatched furniture, I tried to steer the conversation in a lighter direction. I turned to Arrow with a flirtatious grin. Right away he perked up.

  I wiggled my eyebrows playfully and slid a hand onto his thigh. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Instead let’s take advantage of the fact that we are all alone in here.”

  “Seriously? Here? You say no every time I’ve mentioned it.” When our risky public shenanigans had started, Arrow had pushed for a Spirit Room encounter. I’d resisted on account of our friends and acquaintances constantly hanging about, not to mention Rowen himself. Which was exactly what made it so appealing to Arrow
.

  But Rowen had been keeping his distance from Spirit. From all of us. Maybe it was just as well. I didn’t know what to say to him right now either.

  Glancing toward the partially closed door, I could see if anyone came up the stairs. We were still in the clear. “It feels like a good time to say yes.”

  It had been a good night to wear a little black dress. I shimmied out of my underwear and tucked them into my purse before climbing atop Arrow’s lap. Capturing his face in my hands, I kissed him long and deep. Saying all the things I still didn’t always know how to say.

  Arrow’s hands were on me, sliding beneath my skirt to grab my bare ass before his fingers slipped between my legs, sparking my excitement. Raw, hot passion poured through his kiss. My hands worked his belt. Knowing we were limited on time, I rushed to free him from his jeans.

  He pressed a condom into my hand, and I quickly sheathed him within it. Rising up high enough to take him inside me, I watched Arrow’s face as I slid down the length of him. His pupils dilated, and a gentle smirk graced his lips.

  “I fucking love you, angel girl. Never doubt it.” His words were accompanied by a soft groan. Letting his head fall back against the couch, Arrow watched me move atop him with this dopey, fascinated expression.

  I kissed him again as I took him deep into me. I loved Arrow more than I would have ever thought possible. I loved him too much to tell him that this conflict with Rowen would only get worse. And I loved him too much to keep it from him. Which put me in a painful position. I would tell Arrow. I just didn’t know when.

  His arms went around my waist, and he pulled me tight against him, pressing his face to my chest. The private intimacy of the moment was greatly contrasted with the pounding music reverberating up from below. Any second somebody could open the door and start up here. The rush of the risk encouraged my enthusiasm. Pleasure built steadily as I found the perfect rhythm for us both.