underworld,
instead of serving the keepers who protected humans, vampires, and warlocks.
I flexed to constrict the demon’s air flow. The burning of
the oval on my wrist spread, and the heat transferred to my chest, as if
imprinting on my heart. I greatly preferred being marked with the sphere than
lying motionless in the woods, waiting for something to happen. If it weren’t
for Ma, we’d still be there, stuck in oblivion, unable to learn how to grow.
Now the obscurity that challenged us was emotional, not physical, and I’d had
enough.
Before the tension could snap the demon’s neck, the cave
filled with a purplish mist. I inhaled and smelled lilac and lavender. The new
trespasser couldn’t be a demon from the underworld—those creatures stank like
rotten eggs and dirty socks.
A man appeared between Mira and me. He stood tall with feet
apart, arms at his sides. A blue glow swirled around his palms before
condensing into round balls of power. Holding my gaze with his purple eyes, he
lifted his chin. “The sphere is not your calling, Xander,” he whispered. “Let
the demon go.”
I hesitated, focusing on my hold. The demon would be dead in
less than a minute.
“Let him go,” his hushed voice said in my mind. My
grip loosened immediately, as if my arm listened to his request, instead of my
mind. His words seemed to penetrate my brain and analyze my thoughts.
“What’s it to you?” I said, playing the skeptic, though my
usual tone sounded less harsh.
“I know what you’re struggling with. I’ve been there.”
“And you are . . . ?” I prompted.
“I’m Eric. They call me the evil-bender.” He bent his arms
up so the blue spheres of light rested on his palms. Their electricity sizzled,
and sparks from one connected to the other. The flickers zipped outward as far
as two feet when his fingers twirled the lights. The sleeves of his turtleneck
slipped back, revealing three wavy lines on his left wrist. The water mark: the
sign of the keepers.
“Mind your own business, evil-bender,” I blurted.
I sensed Mira studying Eric. Her eyes glistened with lust.
The emitted estrogen from her body danced through the room. She hadn’t said a
word, but I knew what she was thinking. I could feel my twin’s pain, share her
happiness, and dwell on her sorrows. Our inability to control our emotions was
because we weren’t marked.
Now, her mellow eyes, accelerated pulse, and bitten lower
lip made me want to puke. She may as well have said, “Here I am. Have your way
with me.”
Women! I rolled my eyes. She’d been swayed by his
charm and style the minute he appeared. And if I killed this demon now, she
didn’t have a chance with the evil-bender. She’d be welcomed to the dark side,
while Eric was one of the good guys. They couldn’t be together. That’s what I
saw in her eyes when the evil-bender showed up: she finally had a chance to be
with someone like her.
In my heart, I knew Mira did not belong to the underworld,
and I wasn’t ready to force her that way. Yes, the decision was quick, but I
couldn’t overlook the immediate connection they’d obviously felt. A connection
I yearned for. Eric’s testosterone blended with Mira’s hormones and the cave
was rapidly becoming a pheromone heaven.
I loved my sister too much to bind her to the dark side. A
decision that affected us equally had to be made in unison. Mira wanted to join
the keepers. The choice had always been clear to her, not to me.
“How do you know who we are?” Mira asked. The question
sounded so automated I narrowed my brows and cocked my head to the side.
The evil-bender kept his eyes on me—as he should, because I
wouldn’t let him cross me. “Because I was unmarked once,” he answered. “Your
place is with the keepers, not in the underworld.”
Fury flowed through my body. Who was he to say where we
belonged? It was our decision. I tightened my grip on the demon’s neck
until he passed out, then let his body thump to the
instead of serving the keepers who protected humans, vampires, and warlocks.
I flexed to constrict the demon’s air flow. The burning of
the oval on my wrist spread, and the heat transferred to my chest, as if
imprinting on my heart. I greatly preferred being marked with the sphere than
lying motionless in the woods, waiting for something to happen. If it weren’t
for Ma, we’d still be there, stuck in oblivion, unable to learn how to grow.
Now the obscurity that challenged us was emotional, not physical, and I’d had
enough.
Before the tension could snap the demon’s neck, the cave
filled with a purplish mist. I inhaled and smelled lilac and lavender. The new
trespasser couldn’t be a demon from the underworld—those creatures stank like
rotten eggs and dirty socks.
A man appeared between Mira and me. He stood tall with feet
apart, arms at his sides. A blue glow swirled around his palms before
condensing into round balls of power. Holding my gaze with his purple eyes, he
lifted his chin. “The sphere is not your calling, Xander,” he whispered. “Let
the demon go.”
I hesitated, focusing on my hold. The demon would be dead in
less than a minute.
“Let him go,” his hushed voice said in my mind. My
grip loosened immediately, as if my arm listened to his request, instead of my
mind. His words seemed to penetrate my brain and analyze my thoughts.
“What’s it to you?” I said, playing the skeptic, though my
usual tone sounded less harsh.
“I know what you’re struggling with. I’ve been there.”
“And you are . . . ?” I prompted.
“I’m Eric. They call me the evil-bender.” He bent his arms
up so the blue spheres of light rested on his palms. Their electricity sizzled,
and sparks from one connected to the other. The flickers zipped outward as far
as two feet when his fingers twirled the lights. The sleeves of his turtleneck
slipped back, revealing three wavy lines on his left wrist. The water mark: the
sign of the keepers.
“Mind your own business, evil-bender,” I blurted.
I sensed Mira studying Eric. Her eyes glistened with lust.
The emitted estrogen from her body danced through the room. She hadn’t said a
word, but I knew what she was thinking. I could feel my twin’s pain, share her
happiness, and dwell on her sorrows. Our inability to control our emotions was
because we weren’t marked.
Now, her mellow eyes, accelerated pulse, and bitten lower
lip made me want to puke. She may as well have said, “Here I am. Have your way
with me.”
Women! I rolled my eyes. She’d been swayed by his
charm and style the minute he appeared. And if I killed this demon now, she
didn’t have a chance with the evil-bender. She’d be welcomed to the dark side,
while Eric was one of the good guys. They couldn’t be together. That’s what I
saw in her eyes when the evil-bender showed up: she finally had a chance to be
with someone like her.
In my heart, I knew Mira did not belong to the underworld,
and I wasn’t ready to force her that way. Yes, the decision was quick, but I
couldn’t overlook the immediate connection they’d obviously felt. A connection
I yearned for. Eric’s testosterone blended with Mira’s hormones and the cave
was rapidly becoming a pheromone heaven.
I loved my sister too much to bind her to the dark side. A
decision that affected us equally had to be made in unison. Mira wanted to join
the keepers. The choice had always been clear to her, not to me.
“How do you know who we are?” Mira asked. The question
sounded so automated I narrowed my brows and cocked my head to the side.
The evil-bender kept his eyes on me—as he should, because I
wouldn’t let him cross me. “Because I was unmarked once,” he answered. “Your
place is with the keepers, not in the underworld.”
Fury flowed through my body. Who was he to say where we
belonged? It was our decision. I tightened my grip on the demon’s neck
until he passed out, then let his body thump to the
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