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.I look at Frannie as she reaches for the door handle, the tangy citrus scent of her terror replaced with the spicy-sweet of clove and currant—her soul, ready for the taking.My hand shoots out involuntarily and grabs her wrist.She tries to pull away, but I shake my head, pleading with my eyes.“There’s no choice, Luc,” she says, her expression calm, resigned.She tugs her arm away and I let her, my mind racing.Pushing open the door, she looks back at me one last time before climbing out and standing next to Avaira.With a burst of brimstone, Belias is standing next to her, slamming Frannie’s door.I pull slowly forward and watch in the rearview mirror as Belias takes Frannie’s wrist and starts to drag her across the road, toward the woods.As he moves, I can see he’s weak.The crucifix did more damage than he let on.He shouldn’t need Avaira, but she’s following behind for backup, her glowing fist targeting the back of the Shelby.And then I drop the Shelby into reverse and floor it, sending Riley and Taylor to the floor in the backseat.I duck as Avaira’s blast takes out the back window.Belias drops Frannie’s wrist and lifts his fist just as I slam into him at full speed.He goes careening over the car and onto the dirt road in front of me, but I don’t wait to see if he stays down.I throw it into first and push open the passenger door, slowing as I reach Frannie.She throws herself into the seat, and I floor it, door still open, running over Belias on our way to the main road.She pulls herself the rest of the way into the car, slams the door, and looks out the shattered back window at the lump in the dirt—Belias.Avaira is nowhere in sight.“Is he.dead?”“Unfortunately, it’d take a lot more than a 1968 Shelby Cobra to kill him, but he’ll feel it for a while.” I can hear the shake in my voice.“Truth is, your crucifix to his eye probably did more long-term damage.That’s going to set him back a bit.” I grab her hand.“Are you okay?”“I think so,” she says, checking herself over as we pull out onto the main road.I feel her shake as I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her close.This is as far from me as she’s ever going to get.19Dance with the DevilLUCFrannie straightens Riley’s legs and sits next to her friends on my bed.“Are they gonna be okay?”“Yeah.It’ll take a little while for them to come around.Demon possession can knock the Hell out of you.”“You can just jump into other people’s bodies whenever you want?”I nearly gag thinking about it, but then I remember being in Frannie—how incredible it was.“If they’re tagged for Heaven they’re off limits, but otherwise, yeah.It’s usually pretty uncomfortable.It’s cramped.and sort of sticky and slimy.”“How does it work? Are you, like, both in there at the same time?”“Pretty much.It takes a very strong mortal to hold his own against a demon who is trying to control him, so it’s usually like the mortal’s not even there, aside from taking up space.But it’s not always like that.” I think about dancing with Frannie again and feel a tingle work through me, making me shudder.She looks at Taylor and Riley on the bed.“Will they remember anything about Belias and Avaira?”“Probably not.When a mortal is possessed it’s almost like they go dormant.They won’t remember, and it’s probably best if they don’t know what happened.”She stands up, meanders over, and wraps her arms around me.“How did you know?”And that’s the problem.I didn’t until it was almost too late.I shake my head.“My sixth sense was buzzing when we got out of the car.It never occurred to me that Belias and Avaira would resort to possession.I figured when you left with Taylor and Riley, Belias would make a move to follow and I could take him down.But as soon as you pulled out of the parking lot, the buzz stopped.I’m embarrassed to say it took me a few minutes to figure it out, and, when I did, it was almost too late.I knew which direction you went.and then I remembered the quarry.Belias was there that night.”“What does he want with me?”“The same thing I did.” My heart aches.I know how hard this is for her to hear.But she needs to understand that they won’t give up until she’s tagged—one way or the other.“They’ll keep coming for you.”She stiffens.“I hate this.Why is this happening to me?”I hold her tighter.“I don’t know,” I say, wishing I did.She sighs and presses her face into my chest.“So it’s always going to be like this.” A tear slips over her lashes, and I wipe it away.“I just want a normal life.”I want to hold her and tell her it’s all going to be okay, but I’m not going to lie to Frannie anymore.“I think you gave up normal when you fell for a demon.” And maybe an angel.The thought sits like a stone in my core, weighing me down.I kiss the top of her head and sigh, “But I don’t see them stopping until they have you.”“There’s nothing we can do?”“We can try running, but I’m not sure there’s anywhere we could go that they wouldn’t find us.”Her expression is suddenly determined.“I’m going to live my life.Otherwise what’s the point of fighting? I may as well just let them tag me now.”I pull her closer, wishing it could be that easy.“There’s your Sway, Frannie.”“What do you mean?”“Your Sway.If it’s strong enough to change me, you should at least be able to use it to defend yourself.”“How does it work?”“That’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourself, but once you learn to control it, it should be some protection.”She looks up at me, and I see the fear and trepidation in her eyes.“What was Belias gonna do?”“Belias is a creature of lust, an incubus, so his technique usually involves seduction and soul sucking.But that’s only with mortals who are already tagged—I think.” I remember my conversation with Belias under Frannie’s tree.“He did say the rules were changing.” I feel her shudder in my arms.“This sucks,” she says, looking back at Riley and Taylor on the bed.And just then, Taylor’s eyes snap open.Taylor gasps and sits up.“What the hell.?”“Hey, Tay,” Frannie says, walking over and sitting next to her.Riley groans and opens her eyes, still looking groggy [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]