Part 1 (2/2)

”Home, Diablo.”

I pause outside the cabin, half-hoping Tatiana is in her room busy making a potion or casting a spell...anything that'll prevent her from seeing me and giving me a hard time about my night.

”Greetings, Lucky. May I presume you stopped by the Bar on your way home?” Tatiana asks as I walk through the door. I roll my eyes and sigh. Of course she's waiting for me...when is she not?

But I play it cool. I walk over and give her a pat on her back. Five inches shorter than me, older by who knows how many years, and sitting on the floor in the lotus position with her eyes closed, my beloved guardian looks no more threatening than an ordinary housefly. But I know better. Tatiana is one of, if not the, most powerful witches around. A mere utterance from her lips, or a well-designed potion of her making can cause effects even I can't believe a mere mortal can create.

”Sorry, had to talk to Bones.” I give her shoulder a light squeeze.

”May I presume Liora will be needing some of my remedy when she wakes up?” she asks, opening one opaque eye to fixate it firmly on me. Although she's completely blind, Tatiana has a way of seeing things. Too many things.

”She might need a few sips,” I admit, not guiltily. Why should I feel bad about who I am and what I need? It's not my fault my human half can't handle it.

”Any particular reason you drank so close to sunup?” Tatiana asks, this time with both eyes open.

I avoid her gaze and head to my room. ”I had a nasty encounter with a Lazerine earlier,” I call out over my shoulder. ”Didn't realize she had several friends with her. Took a lot of energy to take them all out and then put a forgetting spell on all the Sapies there. Was kind of a pain, actually.”

Tatiana doesn't respond, and I let out a deep breath. Good. Maybe she won't be angry with me. Perching myself on the edge of Liora's four-poster bed, I carefully remove my steel-tipped boots, then stand to peel off my tan leather pants, noticing some ash marks left by one of the Lazerine demons.

I sigh and brush them away, annoyed with myself. This is what happens when I get distracted-I get sloppy. Their attack had caught me off guard. Fortunately, I was able to rip out their power sources and reduce them all to dust, but not before freaking out a whole throng of witnesses. Not exactly how I planned my night to go. But it's hard to stay focused when I'm worried.

Where is Kieron? Why hasn't he returned by now?

As the familiar blackness creeps in around me, my last conscious thought is that I'll never see him again. And I gave up my only opportunity to fix my broken soul for nothing.

Chapter 2. Liora.

Aww, man, she did it again.

My head spins as I struggle to sit up, and I wrap the blanket around my s.h.i.+vering, aching body. ”Tattie?”

The moment the weak cry leaves my mouth, I notice the pink-tinged water concoction beside my bed. Thank you, Tat, I silently praise my guardian. I reach over and eagerly gulp it down, grateful not to have to suffer the consequences of another one of Lucky's late-night drinking binges.

As I empty the gla.s.s, my body eases back to normal and my mind clears. Instantly, my thoughts return to him.

Kieron.

My heart brightens, but my mouth falls into a frown. Will today be the day he comes back? As much as I desperately hope so, a bigger part of me feels I'm setting myself up for more disappointment. If Kieron doesn't come back to me today, then this will be day sixty-three of his absence. Sixty-three long, painfully lonely, confusing, and heart-wrenching days. It feels like sixty-three years.

”Good morning, Liora dear. How did you sleep?” Tatiana greets me as I amble out for breakfast. I ignore the plate of blueberry pancakes she's set out and head straight for the pot of freshly-brewed coffee. Although her remedy worked wonders, as usual, my stomach is still uncomfortably clenched.

”Fine,” I mumble and sip the piping hot beverage. There's been an uneasy truce between me and my demon half lately, and I know Tatiana is grateful for this. I'd hate to burden her with any more of my problems.

I force myself to go through the morning routine one step at a time, like everything else these days. The thought of facing a whole day without seeing Kieron is downright unbearable, so I just concentrate on one minute at a time. After a quick shower and a lazy brush through my long hair, I give Tatiana a kiss goodbye and head out. I hate that I can't stop from automatically glancing around to see if by any miracle, Kieron is out front by his s.h.i.+ny black truck waiting for me.

Nothing.

Of course not. Why should today be any different than yesterday? Or the day before? Or the day before that?

By now I should know better than to expect miracles, but I can't stop the rush of disappointment that floods my heart.

Where is he?

I stroll through the woods wondering, as I do every day, just what is taking him so long to return. The last time I saw him, I told him I loved him. The last thing he whispered in my ear as he leaned in to give me my final kiss was that he loved me, too.

So where is he?

The bitter morning air slaps across my face, and I shove my frozen hands into my jacket pockets. I wish it would get colder...so cold it would numb my entire body, and I wouldn't have to feel this aching abandonment any longer.

And that is the truth I have to face, no matter how painful. Kieron has abandoned me. He's abandoned us. Can't say I really blame him, though. One doesn't have to be Dr. Phil to see why Kieron would get the h.e.l.l out of Dodge and as far away from me as possible. Who in their right mind would want to be with me, anyway? A broken Dark-angel with a fractured soul. I don't get to love. Why can't I get this through my thick skull?

Maybe it's because of Lucky. Maybe she's still hanging on to the delusion that he's coming back for us. She'll just have to find someone else, and hopefully soon. Maybe there's another demion out there that will turn her on.

Not for me, though. I'm done. Of course, I've met other demions since becoming human, and I hated every single one of them. They're nothing but evil pretenders hiding beneath their human facades like lying little cowards.

But Kieron...he wasn't like them. He seemed so real...so pure...so loving. I shake my head. Just another evil pretender.

I have to find something...anything...to fill this aching void left in my soul. But what? I only have one sort-of friend, Corrine. No one else likes me, or even really talks to me if they don't have to. I've turned down social invitations for so long they never come my way anymore.

When I had Kieron- even just knowing he was nearby-everything seemed better somehow. With him, my life had become not just tolerable, but actually pleasurable. More pleasurable than I'd ever dreamed possible.

But now it feels worse...so much worse. The poet Tennyson famously wrote, ”It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.” But he was so totally full of c.r.a.p. It's way better when you don't know what you're missing, than to be constantly tortured with the memory of how good it once was.

I sigh and kick some rocks out of my path as I trudge forward, and resign myself to the fact that I'll never be able to enjoy that part of my life ever again.

I force myself not to look around the parking lot as I arrive at Dove Creek High School. Thankfully, I spot Corrine by the entrance and run to greet her, grateful for the distraction.

”Hey, Liora. So Kieron's still not back yet, huh?” she asks.

I shrug and look down at the cracked sidewalk. Corrine doesn't know the truth about him...that he's half-demon just like I am. Of course, she doesn't know the truth about me, either. If she did, there'd go my one and only friend.

”Nah, I guess he's still away visiting his relatives.”

We head down the hall toward our lockers. Corrine chats in my ear, but I don't hear what she's saying. I just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, and try to remember my locker combination.

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