Elegy

“That’s Harper’s car!” Alex shouted, and when they rounded another bend, they were right behind her. “How’d we catch up to them?”

“Because Harper’s driving. Even in a life-or-death situation, do you think she disobeyed a single traffic law?” Marcy asked.

“Probably not,” Alex said. Being in a car accident when she was a kid made Harper kinda OCD about driving. “But where’s Liv? She flew out of the dance like a bat out of hell.”

“She’s probably already at the house, trying to lay some kind of trap for Gemma.”

Alex was just about to agree with Marcy, when the roof of the car came crushing in on top of them, sending the windows shattering outward.

FORTY-TWO Ensnared

The convertible was still running when Daniel got out and walked into the house. No candles were lit this time, and it was rather dark inside, but he could see well enough to walk into the kitchen.

Penn came in a few seconds later and flicked on the overhead light while Daniel opened the cabinets near the fridge until he found the one containing alcohol. He grabbed a bottle of brandy and a large glass tumbler and proceeded to fill it.

“Sure, make yourself at home,” Penn said dryly. She pulled off the black stilettos she’d been wearing and tossed them absently on the couch before walking into the kitchen.

Daniel didn’t respond to her. He just downed the glass in one long gulp and slammed it down on the counter. Grimacing at the taste, he shook his head. Beer was usually his choice of alcohol, and he’d never been that much of a drinker.

Growing up with an alcoholic father and older brother had made him leery of substances, but since he was about to throw his life away to be a siren, he figured why the hell not get a little smashed first? It would probably make the whole experience go a lot easier if he didn’t know what he was doing or couldn’t remember having sex with Penn.

“Why tonight, Penn? We had a deal. Everything was all set.”

“You changed the date twice.” She put her hands on the counter and leaned forward. “It was my turn to change it.”

“The first time I changed it was because Lexi tried to kill me, and the second time was because Liv did kill someone. So these things sound like your fault,” Daniel pointed out as he poured himself another drink. “You’re the one who delayed the proceedings.”

“I’m sensing some hostility, Daniel.”

“No shit.” He drank this glass much slower, sipping it more than chugging it. “It was because I was happy, wasn’t it? You saw me with Harper and couldn’t stand it.”

“Well, obviously, that pissed me off.” She switched her tone from angry to sultry and kittenish. “You’re supposed to belong to me now.”

“I don’t belong to anybody. All right?” He’d finished the drink, so he set it down on the table and walked around the island, meaning to confront Penn more directly. “Not to Harper, not to you. Not now, not ever.”

She smiled, undeterred by his anger. “You’re really gonna have to change that attitude if you want me to sleep with you.”

Penn put her hands on his chest, and, gently, she pushed him back against the island. Then she slid her hands down, running them across his abdomen. He turned his head, looking away from her, so she put her arms around his neck, and she leaned in, pressing her lips against his neck.

Either the alcohol hadn’t hit him yet, or it wasn’t working. As soon as she touched him, he cringed. The thought of being with her only made him livid and sick.

“No. I can’t do this.” Pushing her off him took some strength, but he managed. He stepped away from her and wiped his neck, trying to get her saliva off him. “I’m giving you my life, Penn. Do you really understand what that means? And all I asked for in return is a few more days.”

“No. That’s not all you asked for.” She followed him, unrelenting. “You want me to keep your girlfriend safe and Gemma safe and these people safe and blah blah blah. All you do is make demands, Daniel! And you have yet to give me the one thing I want from you!”

“Fine. You wanna have sex? Let’s do it.” He started loosening his tie, but then decided that wasn’t good enough. He turned around and swept his arm across the island, knocking off the glass, the brandy, and the few small appliances and dishes that sat on it, and they all clattered loudly to the floor. “Right here, right now.”

“Not sex, you idiot!” Penn shouted. “I want you to love me!”

He sighed in exasperation. “You can’t bully me into loving you, Penn.”

“I’m not. I will give you anything you want, everything you’ve imagined. Immortality, power, money.” She tried to sound softer, imploring him, nearly begging him, as she put her hands on his chest and stared up into his eyes. “Any earthly pleasure you could ever possibly desire, I will give to you. I will make your life heaven on earth, and all I ask is that you love me for all of eternity.”

“I will do what you say. I will be as obedient as I can,” Daniel contended. “But I can’t love you.”

“You don’t know that. You haven’t even tried.”

She kissed him, and it was hungrier than it had been before. Her patience was wearing thin, and there was an overt desperation in the way her lips moved against his. He let her kiss him, though, and he even tried to kiss her back.

She was unbuttoning his shirt, and he put his hands on her arms, trying to be romantic in even the slightest way. When he felt her fingers, warm and smooth but with sharp nails, running along his bare skin, he instinctively pulled away.

“You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?” Penn asked, growling.

“No. This isn’t about anyone else. It’s just…” He moved away from her and shook his head. “This is abrupt, and I need to get my head in it.”

“It’s not your head that I’m interested in right now.”

When she went to him, he let her kiss him, and again, he tried to go along with it. But she was too aggressive, and her hand sliding down his pants bordered on painful.

“Penn.”

He grabbed her wrist, preventing her from going any farther. When she tried to pull it away, he gripped it tighter, and she laughed. He grabbed her other wrist, holding them as tightly as he could, and he knew that if he’d gripped Harper this way, she’d have bruises. But with Penn, it probably barely even hurt.

“You want it rough then, Daniel?” She smiled wider. “I’ll show you rough.”

Still smiling up at him, he heard a strange cracking sound. He had no idea what it was until he saw her wings spreading out from her back. Pure black, they stretched out to the length of the room when she fully extended them.

“That might be a little too rough,” Daniel said, and that just made her laugh again.

He let go of her wrists, so she grabbed him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Then she flapped her wings, and, with startling speed, she flew up, carrying him out of the kitchen and over the railing into the loft bedroom.

She hovered above the floor for a few seconds, and then half dropped, half threw him down. Daniel hit the bedroom floor rather painfully, then she landed, much more gracefully, on her feet.

With her wings still out, she climbed on top of him and tore off his shirt.

“You know, I never could decide which would be more fun: fucking you or eating your heart.” Then she kissed him fervently, and he felt her fangs scrape against his lips and her claws dig into the bare skin of his back.