It's not life without the Twists and the Turns! Chapter 10, a hush, hush fanfic

It's not life without the Twists and the Turns!

Hey guys, I hope you enjoy my story, I have lots of ideas for it. So, this is about Nora from HUSH HUSH, but here she is called Nora Monowara Grey, she is currently 16, and she has 2 brothers, Donny Anthony Grey is 18 and Max Edward Grey is 14. Enjoy.

Chapter 10

AUTHOR NOTE: (PLEASE READ!)

I PROMISE YOU GUYS THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS, THERE WILL BE SOME DRAMA AND MYSTERY, THAT'S WHEN THE BEST PART OF THE STORY BEGINS!

SO CARRY ON READING.

AND CARRY ON WITH THE STORY!

PATCH'S POV

I left the motel and jogged over to the jeep. I turned the engine on and went to turn on the heater. I didn't want my angel to catch a cold.

But what she had told me about Dabria really ticked me off. How dare she think that she can just come into my life like that again? Didn't she get the message, we weren't even serious, we only made out like... 5 times. If she lays even one finger on my angel, i swear she would regret being born.

I had to calm down.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER

I had picked up my angel and dropped her off at her house. First, making sure that everything was alright. Can't be too careful. Especially if it has to do with my angel. Can't be too careful.

I decided that i would go and scout out the area. Looking for Dabria. And when i find her...Let's just say, that it won't be pretty and that she would wish that she was never born.

After a little while later, i got this tingling feeling. As if something was could it be? Maybe Dabria was close by. Yeah that's it. Then, i got this thumping feeling in my heart. As if something big was going to happen. Something that would affect me dearly. What could it be? ... My angel. Nothing would affect my more than seeing my angel hurt. Or the loss of my angel. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.

I put the jeep into gear and sped off towards my angel's place. I walked in - ok, more like ran, but walk works too, so yeah - and the first things i noticed was, the place was trashed, the banister was broken and was still breaking and that the place was on fire. My angel was anemic, I had to find her. And quick. I ran through all the rooms, looking frantically for my angel. No sight of her. Or even Dabria. I can always do something about her later. I decided to go upstairs. But slow. I didn't want to scare her, and if Dabria was here, i didn't want to alert her of my presence.

S o walked slowly up the stairs. I decided i would check on her mum's and her brother's rooms. Not there. I even checked the bathroom. Nope. Last chance, i headed to my angel's room, not counting on her being there. I walked into the room and surveyed it. No sight. I sighed and was about to leave, when i heard something topple over. Boxes? The noise came from the wardrobe. This was either my angel or Dabria. I walked slowly towards the wardrobe, that's when i heard shifting inside. Please let this be my angel. I opened the door, only to be attacked by a shoe. Good aim. This was soo my angel. I grabbed her and pulled her to my chest. Burying my head in her hair. She relaxed after a little while, and hugged my back. This just made my day. This shows that my angel does care for me.

"Are you okay?" I murmured in my ear. I was so glad that i had managed to find her before Dabria had. I knw what she's capable of. Trust me, it's not pretty.

"Dabria's here," she said, she trembled at the thought. Her knees trembled, and I guess i was the only thing holding her up. "She's burning down the house."

I handed her my keys and watched as her hands curled around them. "My Jeep's parked on the street. Get in, lock the doors, drive to Delphic, and wait for me." I tipped her chin up to face me. I kissed her softly. And this time she did respond. It felt so good. But i had to pull back, I had to find Dabria.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Take care of Dabria."

"How?"

I slid her a look that said, Do you really want details?

The sound of sirens wailed in the distance.

I looked to the window. "You called the police?"

"I thought you were Dabria."

I was already out the door, pulling my angel with me. "I'll go after Dabria. Drive the Jeep to Delphic and wait for me."

"What about the fire?"

"The police will handle it."

I watched as my angel pulled out of the drive way. I had to find Dabria. But something told me that, my angel was not gonna go to Delphic. But i would sort that out later.

Right now, i had to find Dabria. I had a hunch, that she was somewhere in the woods nearby. So i went with it. And by god's grace i was right. There i found Dabria, sitting on a rock, facing me. She stood up, and opened her mouth.

"How could you do this to me? I loved you. Then you went and started snogging the accident prone." She spat at me, anger in her eyes.

That was it, I wasn't going to stand here and let her insult my angel like that. "What do you mean? You never loved me. We only went out for ... what? ... 2 weeks. And i never said i loved you, i never made you love me. And don't you dare say something about my angel. And anyways, i was wandering how you would get back to heaven. I mean, they'll just rip your wings out, if the Arch Angel's find out"

"They're not going to find out though." With that, she took off, speeding towards another part of the forest. Or more like making her way to heaven. I ran after her. We both knew that i was faster. I ran with all my might. This is for you angel. I snagged hold of her wings. They were starting to de - feather anyway. I yanked with all my might. It ripped off and then disappeared from sight. The other one also disappeared. However, there were a couple of feathers, that fell onto the ground. I grabbed a couple and stuffed them in my pocket. They might come into use in the future.

She just looked at me, sweared vengeance on my angel and disappeared. Back to heaven presumably. To report me. Not like the other angel's would do anything to me.

Now time to find my angel.

And i think i have a good idea as to where she might be.

NORA POV!

IT WAS THE SUNDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE START OF SPRING break, and the movie theater was packed. I got in the ticket line, continually looking around for signs that I'd been followed. Nothing alarming so far, and the press of bodies offered good cover. I told myself Patch would take care of Dabria and that I had nothing to worry about, but it didn't hurt to be vigilant. Of course, deep inside, I knew Dabria wasn't my biggest worry. Sooner or later Patch was going to figure out I wasn't at Delphic. Based on past experience, I didn't have any illusions about being able to hide longterm from him. He would find me. And then I'd be forced to confront him with the question I was dreading. More specifically, I dreaded his answer. Because there was a shadow of doubt at the back of my mind, whispering that Dabria had been telling the truth about what it would take for Patch to get a human body. If that was true, i wouldn't let him do that without a fight.

I stepped up to the ticket window. The ninethirty movies were just starting.

"One for The Sacrifice," I said without thinking. Immediately I found the title eerily ironic. Not wanting to reflect further on it, I fished in my pockets and pushed a tenner.

"Jeez," the teller said, as if she's frustrated with looking at tenner's all the time. I recognized her from school. She was a senior, and I was pretty sure her name was Kaylie or Kylie. "Thanks a lot," she said. "You just had t give a tenner."

Everyone behind me muttered a collective expletive.

"course i did," I said, attempting sarcasm.

"No kidding. Do you know how hard it is to find change in this place?" she asked, expelling a drawnout sigh as she pushed the coins into groups of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.

"No need."

"Whatever. I don't get paid enough for this." She swept the money into the cash drawer and slid my ticket under the window. "There are these things called credit cards… ."

I grabbed the ticket. "Did you happen to see Vee Sky come in tonight?"

"Bee who?"

"Vee Sky. She's a sophomore. She was with Elliot Saunders."

Kaylie or Kylie's eyes bugged out. "Does it look like a slow night? Does it look like I've just been sitting here, memorizing every face that walks past?"

"Never mind," I breathed, heading for the doors leading inside.

Coldwater's movie theater has two screens, behind doors on either side of a concession counter. As soon as the ticket guy ripped my ticket in half, I tugged on the door to theater number two and ducked inside to darkness. The movie had started.

The theater was almost full, except for a few isolated seats. I walked down the aisle, looking for Vee. At the bottom of the aisle I turned and walked across the front of the theater. It was hard to distinguish faces in the darkness, but I was pretty sure Vee wasn't here.

I exited the theater and walked over to the show next door. It wasn't as crowded. I did another walk through, but again, I didn't see Vee. Damn, i really thought she would be a seat near the back, I tried to settle my mind. This whole night felt like a dark fairy tale I'd strayed into and couldn't find my way back out of. A fairy tale with fallen angels, human hybrids, and sacrificial killings. I rubbed my thumb over my birthmark. I especially didn't want to think about the possibility that I was descended from one of the Nephilim. I pulled out the emergency cell phone and checked for missed calls. None. I was tucking the phone in my pocket when a carton of popcorn materialized beside me.

"Hungry?" asked a voice from just over my shoulder. The voice was quiet and not especially happy. I tried to keep my breathing calm. "Stand up and walk out of the theater," Patch said. "I'll be right behind you."

I didn't move. I aint takin' orders from him.

"Walk out," he repeated. "We need to talk." He didn't sound angry, hmm.

"About how you need to sacrifice me to get a human body?" I asked, my tone light, my insides feeling leaden. I can't believe that he would actually try and do that to me, even after he told me that he cared about me and that he would never do that to me. As if.

"That might be cute if you thought it was true."

"It is true!" Damn, i had said a little too loud. But the same thought kept returning—if Patch wanted to kill me, why hadn't he already?

"Shh!" said the guy next to me.

Patch said, "Walk out, or I'll carry you out."

I flipped around. "Excuse me?" Don't he dare touch me.

"Shh!" the guy beside me hissed again.

"Blame him," I told the guy, pointing at Patch.

The guy craned his neck back. "Listen," he said, facing me again. "If you don't quiet down, I'll get security."

"Fine, go get security. Tell them to take him away," I said, again signaling Patch. "Tell them he wants to kill me."

"I want to kill you," hissed the guy's girlfriend, leaning around him to address me. Wow, bitchy much.

"Who wants to kill you?" the guy asked. He was still looking over his shoulder, but his expression was puzzled.

"There's nobody there," the girlfriend told me.

"You're making them think they can't see you, aren't you?" I said to Patch, awed by his power even as I despised his use of it.

Patch smiled, but it was pinched at the corners. H e was enjoying this.

"Oh, jeez!" said the girlfriend, throwing her hands in the air. She rolled her eyes furiously at her boyfriend and said, "Do something!" Bitch.

"I need you to stop talking," the guy told me. He gestured at the screen. "Watch the show. Here—have my soda." I am not a TRAMP! And i aint a little kid, a soda aint gonna calm me .

I swung into the aisle, angry. I felt Patch move behind me, unsettlingly close, not quite touching. He stayed that way until we were out of the theater.

On the other side of the door, Patch hooked my arm and guided me across the foyer to the ladies' room.

"What is it with you and girls' bathrooms?" I said.

He steered me through the door, locked it, and leaned back against it. His eyes were all over me. And they showed every sign of wanting to rattle me to death. Shit. I'm pretty sure that he's capable of that.

I was backed up against the counter, my palms digging into the edge. So i hoisted my self up and i sat on the edge. "You're mad because I didn't go to Delphic." I glared at him. "Why Delphic, Patch? It's Sunday night. Delphic will be closing soon. Any special reason you wanted me to drive to a dark, soontobe deserted amusement park?"

He walked toward me until he was standing close enough that I could see his black eyes beneath his ball cap. Why does he always wear that ball cap? He looks better without it.

"Dabria told me you have to sacrifice me to get a human body," I said. Patch was quiet a moment. Good. "And you think I'd go through with it?"

I swallowed. "Then it's true?"

Our eyes locked. "It has to be an intentional sacrifice. Simply killing you won't do it."

"Are you the only person who can do this to me?"

"No, but I'm probably the only person who knows the end result, and the only person who would attempt it. It's the reason I came to school. I had to get close to you. I needed you. It's the reason I walked into your life."

"Dabria told me you fell for a girl." I hated myself for experiencing irrational pangs of jealousy. This wasn't supposed to be about me. This was supposed to be an interrogation. "What happened?"

I desperately wanted Patch to give away some clue to his thoughts, but his eyes were a cool black, emotions tucked out of sight. "She grew old and died."

"That must have been hard for you," I snapped. Little too harsh.

He waited a few counts before answering. His tone was so low, I shivered. "You want me to come clean, I will. I'll tell you everything. Who I am and what I've done. Every last detail. I'll dig it all up, but you have to ask. You have to want it. You can see who I was, or you can see who I am now. I'm not good,"

he said, piercing me with eyes that absorbed all light but reflected none, "but I was worse."

I ignored the roll in my stomach and said, "Tell me."

"The first time I saw her, I was still an angel. It was an instant, possessive lust. It drove me crazy. I didn't know anything about her, except that I would do whatever it took to get close to her. I watched her for a while, and then I got it in my head that if I went down to Earth and possessed a human body, I would be cast out of heaven and become human. The thing is, I didn't know about Cheshvan. I came down on a night in August, but I couldn't possess the body. On my way back to heaven, a host of avenging angels stopped me and ripped out my wings. They tossed me out of the sky. Right away I knew something was wrong. When I looked at humans, all I could feel was an insatiable craving to be inside their bodies. All my powers were stripped, and I was this weak, pathetic thing. I wasn't human. I was fallen. I'd realized I'd given it all up, just like that. All this time I've hated myself for it. I thought I'd given it up for nothing." His eyes focused singularly on me, leaving me feeling transparent. "But if I hadn't fallen, I wouldn't have met you."

My conflicting emotions weighed so heavily inside my chest, I thought they might suffocate me. I forged ahead. "Dabria said my birthmark means I'm related to Chauncey. Is that true?"

"Do you want me to answer that?"

I didn't know what I wanted. My whole world felt like a joke, and I was the last one to get the punch line. I wasn't Nora Grey, hyper girl anymore. I was the descendant of someone who wasn't even human. And my heart was smashing itself to pieces over another nonhuman. A dark angel. "Which side of my family?" I said at last.

"Your dad's."

"Where's Chauncey now?" Even though we were related, I liked the idea of him being far away. Very far away. Far enough that the link between us might not feel as real. His boots were flush with the toes of my tennis shoes. "I'm not going to kill you, Nora. I don't kill people who are important to me. And you top the list."

My heart did a nervous flip. My hands were pressed against his stomach, which was so hard even his skin didn't give. I was keeping a pointless safeguard between us, since not even a towering electrical fence would make me feel secure from him.

"Listen, everyone's got a little bubble of private space and you're standing in mine. You mind?" I said, inching backwards on the counter

Patch gave a barelythere smile. "bubble?."

I tucked a few stray hairs behind my ears and took one sizable step sideways, skirting the sink. "You're crowding me. I need— room." No kidding, being anemic means that I'm also claustrophobic. What I needed were boundaries. I needed willpower. I needed to be caged up, since yet again I was proving I couldn't be trusted in Patch's presence. I should have been bolting for the door, and yet … I wasn't. I tried convincing myself I was staying because I needed answers, but that was only part of it. It was the other part I didn't want to think about. The emotional part. The part that was pointless fighting.

"Are you keeping anything else from me?" I wanted to know. I had a right.

"I'm keeping a lot of things from you."

My insides took a steep dive. "Like?"

"Like the way I feel about being locked up in here with you." Patch braced one hand against the mirror behind me, his weight tipping toward me. "You have no idea what you do to me."

I shook my head. "I don't think so. This isn't a good idea. This isn't right."

"There's all kinds of right," he murmured. "On the spectrum, we're still in the safe zone."

I was pretty sure the selfpreserving half of my brain was screaming, KICK HIM IN THE BALLZ! Unfortunately, blood roared in my ears, and I wasn't hearing straight. Obviously I wasn't thinking straight either.

"Definitely right. Usually right," Patch continued. "Mostly right. Maybe right."

"Maybe not right now." I sucked in some air. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a fire alarm drilled into the wall. It was ten, maybe fifteen feet away. If I was fast, I could cross the room and pull it before Patch stopped me. Security would come running. I'd be safe. And that's what I wanted … wasn't it?

"Not a good idea," Patch said with a soft shake of his head, also noticing the drill.

I bolted for the fire alarm anyway. My fingers closed on the lever and I pulled down to sound the alarm. Only, the lever didn't budge. As hard as I tried, I couldn't get it to move. And then I recognized Patch's familiar presence in my head, and I knew it was a mind game.

I swiveled around to face him. "Get out of my head." I stormed back and shoved hard against his chest. Patch took a step back, steadying himself. Ha. I unbalanced him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For this whole night." For making me crazy about him when I knew it was wrong. He was the worst kind of wrong. He was so wrong it felt right, and that made me feel completely out of control. Why did i always fall for the bad guys? I might have been tempted to hit him square in the jaw had he not taken me by the shoulders and pinned me against the wall. There was hardly any space left between us, just a thin boundary of air, but Patch managed to eliminate it.

"Let's be honest, Nora. You've got it bad for me." His eyes held a lot of depth. "And I've got it bad for you." He leaned into me and put his mouth on mine. I couldn't help but response. He was a damn good kisser too, shit. Focus Nora. A lot of him was on me, actually. We touched base at several strategic locations down our bodies, and it took all my willpower to break away. I pulled back. "I'm not finished. What happened to Dabria?"

"All taken care of."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"She wasn't going to keep her wings after plotting to kill you. The moment she tried to get back into heaven, the avenging angels would have stripped them. She had it coming sooner or later. I just sped things up."

"So you just—tore them off?" Ouch.

"They were deteriorating; the feathers were broken and thin. If she stayed on Earth much longer, it was a signal to every other fallen angel who saw her that she'd fallen. If I didn't do it, one of them would have."

I dodged another one of his advances. "Is she going to make another unwanted appearance in my life?"

"Hard to say."

Lightning quick, Patch caught hold of the hem of my sweater. He reeled me into him. His knuckles brushed the skin of my navel. Heat and ice shot through me simultaneously. "You could take her, Angel," he said. "I've seen both of you in action, and my bet's on you. You don't need me for that."

"What do I need you for?" I smiled at that, and i knew he would too.

He laughed. Not abruptly, but with a certain low desire. His eyes had lost their edge and were focused wholly on me. His smile was all fox … but softer. Something just behind my navel danced, then coiled lower.

"Door's locked," he said. "And we have unfinished business."

My body seemed to have swept aside the logical part of my brain. Smothered it, in fact. I slid my hands up his chest and looped my arms around his neck. Patch lifted me at the hips, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. My pulse pounded, but I didn't mind one little bit. I crushed my mouth to his, soaking up the ecstasy of his mouth on mine, his hands on me, feeling on the verge of bursting out of my skin—

We just stood like that kissing each other hungrily. He was a VERY good kisser.

The cell phone in my pocket rang to life. I pulled away from Patch, breathing heavily, and the phone rang a second time.

"Voice mail," Patch said, gruffly. So he enjoyed the kiss to did he? I smiled at that.

Deep in the recesses of my consciousness, I knew answering my phone was important. I couldn't remember why; kissing Patch had made every last harbored worry evaporate. I untangled myself from him, turning away so he wouldn't see how worked up ten seconds of kissing him had made me. Internally I was welling with joy.

"Hello?" I answered, walking up to the mirror, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at my smeared lip gloss. "Where are you?"

Patch just leaned against the counter, lazily, looking at me. I gave him a look ' Don't try anything'. He just smirked.

"Where are you? Are you still with Elliot and Jules?" I flattened a hand against my free ear to hear better.

"I'm at school. We broke in," she said in a voice that was naughty to perfection. "We want to play hide and seek but don't have enough people for two teams. So … do you know of a fourth person who could come play with us?"

An incoherent voice mumbled in the background.

"Elliot wants me to tell you that if you don't come be his partner—hang on—what?" Vee said into the background.

Elliot's voice came on. "Nora? Come play with us. Otherwise, there's a tree in the common area with Vee's name on it."

Pure ice flowed through me.

"Hello?" I said, worried. "Elliot? Vee? Are you there?"

But the connection was dead.

Shit.

PATCH'S POV

She swung into the aisle, angry. I moved behind her, close, but not close enough for my liking. But i didn't want her to get pissed anymore than she already is. We stayed that way until we were out of the theater.

On the other side of the door, I hooked her arm and guided her across the foyer to the ladies' room, without saying a word.

"What is it with you and girls' bathrooms?" she said. I ignored that comment.

I steered her through the door, locked it, and leaned back against it. My eyes were all over her. If i didn't love this girl, i'm sure that i would have strangled her. Fortunately for her, I love her.

She was backed up against the counter, her palms digging into the edge. She looked behind her and hoisted herself on to the edge of the counter. "You're mad because I didn't go to Delphic." I glared at him. "Why Delphic, Patch? It's Sunday night. Delphic will be closing soon. Any special reason you wanted me to drive to a dark, soontobe deserted amusement park?"

I walked towards her until I was standing close enough that she could see that i wasn't that angry and that i was willing to forgive her. But... a kiss or two may be needed for that.

"Dabria told me you have to sacrifice me to get a human body," she said. I was quiet a moment. Not anymore nagel, not anymore. "And you think I'd go through with it?"

She swallowed. "Then it's true?"

Our eyes locked. "It has to be an intentional sacrifice. Simply killing you won't do it." That was the truth.

"Are you the only person who can do this to me?"

"Dabria told me you fell for a girl." Jealous are we? She looked sexy when she was jealous. I liked that. "What happened?"

She looked at me as if she was looking for any emotion. "She grew old and died."

"That must have been hard for you," she snapped.

I waited a few counts before answering. My tone was so low, She shivered. "You want me to come clean, I will. I'll tell you everything. Who I am and what I've done. Every last detail. I'll dig it all up, but you have to ask. You have to want it. You can see who I was, or you can see who I am now. I'm not good,"

I said, piercing her with my black orbed eyes, "but I was worse."

"Tell me."

I started to explain.

She looked slightly guilty. "Dabria said my birthmark means I'm related to Chauncey. Is that true?"

"Do you want me to answer that?"

She thought for a moment.

"Which side of my family?" she said at last.

"Your dad's."

"Where's Chauncey now?" I chuckled at that. I guess she was kind of scared of him. My boots were flush with the toes of her tennis shoes. "I'm not going to kill you, Nora. I don't kill people who are important to me. And you top the list."

She put her hands between us.

"Listen, everyone's got a little bubble of private space and you're standing in mine. You mind?" she said, inching backwards on the counter

I gave her a barelythere smile. "bubble?." It was cute. She was beautiful. And her body was sexy. Focus Patch, this is slightly serious.

She tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears and took one sizable step sideways, skirting the sink. "You're crowding me. I need— room." No kidding, I mean she was anemic.

"Are you keeping anything else from me?" She wanted to know. She had a right.

"I'm keeping a lot of things from you."

She got a curious look on her face."Like?"

"Like the way I feel about being locked up in here with you." I braced one hand against the mirror behind me, my weight tipping towards her. "You have no idea what you do to me."

She shook my head. "I don't think so. This isn't a good idea. This isn't right."

"There's all kinds of right," I murmured. "On the spectrum, we're still in the safe zone."

She obviously still didn't trust me.

"Definitely right. Usually right," I continued. "Mostly right. Maybe right."

"Maybe not right now." she sucked in some air. I noticed her eyes drifted to the fire drill.

"Not a good idea," I said with a soft shake of my head, also noticing the drill.

She bolted for the fire alarm anyway, like i knew she would. Her fingers closed on the lever and she pulled down to sound the alarm. Only, the lever didn't budge. She tried, until she got angry and realized this was another mind game. Sorry angel.

She swiveled around to face me. "Get out of my head." She stormed back and shoved hard against my chest. I took a step back, steadying myself. She looked triumphant at that.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"For this whole night." I couldn't help myself. She was so sexy. She might have been tempted to hit me square in the jaw had I not taken her by the shoulders and pinned her against the wall. There was hardly any space left between us, just a thin boundary of air, but I managed to eliminate it. Good.

"Let's be honest, Nora. You've got it bad for me." I looked at her with care "And I've got it bad for you." I leaned into her and put my mouth on hers. She was still for a moment and then she responded. She was a VERY good kisser. Sucking on my bottom lip. I had to stop my self from moaning out loud. A lot of me was on her. We touched base at several strategic locations down our bodies. She pulled back. "I'm not finished. What happened to Dabria?"

"All taken care of."

"What exactly does that mean?" Angel, i haven't finished kissing that curvaceous mouth of yours.

"So you just—tore them off?" Pretty much, yep.

I leaned into her again for another sexy kiss, but she dodged it. I groaned inside. Angel. "Is she going to make another unwanted appearance in my life?"

"Hard to say."

Lightning quick, I caught hold of the hem of her sweater. I reeled her into me. My knuckles brushed the skin of her navel. Metal, has she got her stomach pierced? I'll care about that later, right now, my mind was on other things. "You could take her, Angel," I said truthfully. "I've seen both of you in action, and my bet's on you. You don't need me for that." I have seen her fight with her brother's for a couple of slices of pizza.

"What do I need you for?" She smiled at that.

I laughed, it was filled with desire.

"Door's locked," I said. "And we have unfinished business." Damn right we do.

She slid her hands up my chest and looped her arms around my neck. That felt really good. I lifted her at the hips, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I could get used to this. My pulse pounded. She crushed her mouth to mine, Mmmmm. I was soaking up the ecstasy of her mouth on mine, my hands on her.

We just stood like that kissing each other hungrily. She was a VERY good kisser. She did that thing again, sucking on my lip again. This time i did moan. But it was low, so i'm pretty sure my angel didn't hear it.

The cell phone in her pocket rang to life. She pulled away from me, both of us breathing heavily, and the phone rang a second time.

"Voice mail," Patch said, gruffly. That kiss was great.

She untangled her self from em and went to the mirror.

"Hello?" she answered, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at her smeared lip gloss. "Where are you?" I smiled, I had been thee cause of that

I just leaned against the counter, lazily, looking at her. She gave me a look ' Don't try anything'. I just smirked. She had just read my mind. But i respected her request and didn't do anything, there's time for that later.

"Where are you? Are you still with Elliot and Jules?" She flattened a hand against her free ear to hear better.

"I'm at school. We broke in," Vee said in a voice that was naughty to perfection. "We want to play hide and seek but don't have enough people for two teams. So … do you know of a fourth person who could come play with us?"

An incoherent voice mumbled in the background.

"Elliot wants me to tell you that if you don't come be his partner—hang on—what?" Vee said into the background.

Preppy boy's voice came on. "Nora? Come play with us. Otherwise, there's a tree in the common area with Vee's name on it."

Pure ice flowed through me. Preppy boy. Damn you. Cuz of you, i was interpreted, from a 10 outta 10 snog.

"Hello?" she said, worried. "Elliot? Vee? Are you there?"

But the connection was dead.

She looked at me.

NORA POV!

WHO WAS THAT?" PATCH ASKED.

My whole body was ringing. It took me a moment to answer. "Vee broke into the high school with Elliot and Jules. They want me to meet them. I think Elliot's going to hurt Vee if I don't go." I looked up at Patch. "I think he's going to hurt her if I do."

He folded his arms, frowning. "Elliot?"

"Last week at the library I found an article that said he was questioned in a murder investigation at his old school, Kinghorn Prep. He walked into the computer lab and saw me reading it. Ever since that night, I've gotten a bad vibe from him. A really bad vibe. I think he even broke into my bedroom to steal the article back."

"Anything else I should know?"

"The girl who was murdered was Elliot's girlfriend. She was hanged from a tree. Just now on the phone he said, 'If you don't come, there's a tree in the common area with Vee's name on it.'"

"I've seen Elliot. He seems cocky and a little aggressive, but he doesn't strike me as a killer." He dipped into my front pocket and extracted the Jeep's keys. "I'll drive over and check things out. I won't be long."

"I think we should call the police."

He shook his head. "You'll send Vee to juvie for destruction of property and B and E. One more thing. Jules. Who is this guy?"

"Elliot's friend. He was at the arcade the night we saw you."

His frown deepened. "If there was another guy, I would remember."

He opened the door and I followed him out. A janitor wearing black slacks and a workissue maroon shirt was sweeping bits of popcorn in the lobby. He did a double take at the sight of Patch exiting the ladies' room. I recognized him from school. Brandt Christensen. We had English together. Last semester I'd helped him write a paper.

"Elliot is expecting me, not you," I told Patch. "If I don't show up, who knows what will happen to Vee? That's a risk I'm not going to take."

"If I let you come, you'll listen to my instructions and follow them carefully?"

"Yes."

"If I tell you to jump?"

"I'll jump."

"If I tell you to stay in the car?"

"I'll stay in the car." It was mostly true.

Out in the parking lot of the theater, Patch aimed his key fob at the Jeep, and the headlights blinked. Suddenly he came to a halt and swore under his breath.

"What's wrong?" I said.

"Tires."

I dropped my gaze and sure enough, both tires on the driver's side were flat. "I can't believe it!" I said.

"I drove over two nails?"

Patch crouched by the front tire, running his hand around the circumference. "Screwdriver. This was an intentional attack."

For a moment I thought maybe this was another mind trick. Maybe Patch had his reasons for not wanting me to go to the high school. His feelings about Vee were no secret, after all. But something was missing. I couldn't feel Patch anywhere inside my head. If he was altering my thoughts, he'd found a new way to accomplish it, because as far as I could tell, what I was seeing was real.

"Who would do that?"

He rose to his full height. "The list is long."

"Are you trying to tell me you have a lot of enemies?"

"I've upset a few people. A lot of folks place bets they can't win. Then they blame me for walking off with their car, or more."

Patch walked one space over to a coupe, opened the driver's side door, and took a seat behind the steering wheel. Reaching under it, his hand disappeared.

"What are you doing?" I asked, standing in the open doorway. It was a waste of breath since I was well aware of what he was doing.

"Looking for the spare key." Patch's hand reappeared, holding two blue wires. With some skill, he removed the ends of the wires and tapped them together. The engine turned over, and Patch looked out at me. "Seat belt."

"I'm not stealing a car."

He shrugged. "We need it now. They don't."

"It's stealing. It's wrong."

Patch didn't look the least bit troubled. In fact, he looked a little too relaxed in the driver's seat. This isn't the first time he's done this, I thought.

"First rule of auto theft," he said on a smile. "Try not to hang around the crime scene longer than necessary."

"Hang on one minute," I said, holding up a finger.

I jogged back to the theater. On my way inside, the glass doors reflected the parking lot behind me, and I saw Patch swing out of the coupe.

"Hi, Brandt," I said to the boy still flicking popcorn into a longhandled dustpan. Brandt looked up at me, but his attention was quickly drawn over my shoulder. I heard the theater doors open and sensed Patch move behind me. His approach wasn't all that different from a cloud eclipsing the sun, subtly darkening the landscape, hinting of a storm.

"How's it going?" Brandt said uncertainly.

"I'm having car trouble," I said, biting my lip and trying on a sympathetic face. "I know I'm putting you in an awkward position, but since I helped you with that Shakespeare paper last semester …"

"You want to borrow my car."

"Actually … yes."

"It's a piece of junk. It's no Jeep Commander." He looked right at Patch like he was apologizing.

"Does it run?" I asked.

"If by run you mean do the wheels roll, yeah, it runs. But it's not for loan."

Patch opened his wallet and handed over what looked like three crisp hundreddollar bills. Reining in my surprise, I decided the best thing to do was play along.

"I changed my mind," Brandt said, eyes wide, pocketing the money. He fished in his pockets and underhanded Patch a pair of keys.

"What's the make and color?" Patch asked, catching the keys.

"Hard to tell. Part Volkswagen, part Chevette. It used to be blue. That was before it corroded to orange. You'll fill the tank up before you return it?" Brandt said, sounding like he had his fingers crossed behind his back, pressing his luck.

Patch peeled out another twenty. "Just in case we forget," he said, stuffing it into the front pocket of Brandt's uniform.

Outside, I told Patch, "I could have talked him into giving me his keys. I just needed a little more time. And by the way, why do you bus tables at the Borderline if you're loaded?"

"I'm not. I won the money off a pool game a couple nights back." He pushed Brandt's key in the lock and opened the passengerside door for me. "The bank is officially closed."

Patch drove across town on dark, quiet streets. It didn't take long to arrive at the high school. He rolled Brandt's car to a stop on the east side of the building and killed the engine. The campus was wooded, the branches twisted and bleak and holding up nothing but a damp fog. Behind them loomed Coldwater High.

The original part of the building had been constructed in the late nineteenth century, and after sunset it looked very much like a cathedral. Gray and foreboding. Very dark. Very abandoned.

"I just got a really bad feeling," I said, eyeing the school's black voids for windows.

"Stay in the car and keep out of sight," Patch told me, passing over the keys. "If anybody comes out of the building, take off." He got out. He was wearing a fitted black crewneck tee, dark Levi's, and boots. With his black hair and dusky skin, it was hard to distinguish him from the background. He crossed the street and, in a matter of moments, blended completely into the night.

FIVE MINUTES CAME AND WENT. TEN MINUTES stretched to twenty. I struggled to ignore the hairraising feeling that I was under surveillance. I peered into the shadows ringing the school. What was taking Patch so long? I shuffled through a few theories, feeling more uneasy by the moment. What if Patch couldn't find Vee? What would happen when Patch found Elliot? I didn't think Elliot could overpower Patch, but there was always a chance—if Elliot had the element of surprise. The phone in my pocket rang, and I jumped out of my skin.

"I see you," Elliot said when I answered. "Sitting out there in the car."

"Where are you?"

"Watching you from a secondstory window. We're playing inside."

"I don't want to play."

He ended the call.

With my heart in my throat, I got out of the car. I looked up at the dark windows of the school. I didn't think Elliot knew Patch was inside. His voice came across impatient, not angry or irritated. My only hope was that Patch had a plan and would make sure nothing happened to me or Vee. The moon was clouded over, and under a shadow of fear I walked up to the east door. I stepped into semidarkness. My eyes took several seconds to make something of the shaft of streetlight falling through the window encased in the top half of the door. The floor tiles reflected a waxy gleam. Lockers were lined up on either side of the hallway like sleeping robotic soldiers. Instead of a peaceful, quiet feeling, the halls radiated hidden menace.

The outside lights illuminated the first several feet into the hallway, but after that, I could see nothing. Just inside the door was a panel of light switches, and I flipped them on. Nothing happened. Since the power was working outside, I knew the electricity inside had been shut off by hand. I wondered if this was part of Elliot's plan. I couldn't see him, and I couldn't see Vee. I also couldn't see Patch. I was going to have to feel my way through each room in the school, playing a slow game of elimination until I found him. Together we would find Vee.

Using the wall as my guide, I crept forward. On any given weekday, I passed down this stretch of hall several times, but in the darkness it suddenly seemed foreign. And longer. Much longer. At the first intersection I mentally assessed my surroundings. Turning left would lead to the band and orchestra rooms and the cafeteria. Turning right would lead to administrative offices, as well as a double staircase. I continued straight, heading deeper into the school, toward the classrooms. My foot caught on something, and before I could react, I went sprawling to the floor. Hazy gray light filtered through a skylight directly overhead as the moon broke between clouds, illuminating the features of the body I'd tripped on. Jules was on his back, his expression fixed in a blank stare. His long blond hair was tangled over his face, his hands slack at his sides.

I pushed back on my knees and covered my mouth, panting air. My legs trembled with adrenaline. Very slowly, I rested my palm on Jules's chest. He wasn't breathing. He was dead. I jumped to my feet and choked on a scream. I wanted to call out for Patch, but that would give my location away to Elliot—if he didn't already know it. I realized with a start that he could be standing feet away, watching me as his twisted game unfolded.

The overhead light faded, and I made a frantic survey of the hall. More endless hallway stretched ahead. The library was up a short flight of stairs to my left. Classrooms started on the right. On a split moment's decision, I chose the library, groping through the blackening halls to get away from Jules's body. My nose dripped, and I realized I was crying soundlessly. Why was Jules dead? Who killed him?

If Jules was dead, was Vee also?

The library doors were unlocked, and I fumbled my way inside. Past the bookshelves, at the far end of the library, were three small study rooms. They were soundproof; if Elliot wanted to isolate Vee, the rooms were an ideal place to put her.

I was just about to start toward them when a masculine groan carried through the library. I came to a halt.

The lights out in the hall powered to life, illuminating the darkness of the library. Elliot's body lay a few feet away, his mouth parted, his skin ashen. His eyes rolled my way, and he reached an arm out to me. A piercing scream escaped me. Whirling around, I ran for the library doors, shoving and kicking chairs out of my way. Run! I ordered myself. Get to an exit!

I staggered out the door, and that's when the lights in the hall died, plunging everything once again to black.

"Patch!" I tried to scream. But my voice caught, and I choked on his name. Jules was dead. Elliot was almost dead. Who had killed them? Who was left? I tried to make sense of what was happening, but all reason had left me.

A shove to my back threw me off balance. Another shove sent me flying sideways. My head smashed against a locker, stunning me.

A narrow beam of light swept across my vision, and a pair of dark eyes behind a ski mask swirled into focus. The light came from a miner's headlamp secured over the mask. I pushed up and tried to run. One of his arms shot out, cutting off my escape. He brought up his other arm, trapping me against the locker.

"Did you think I was dead?" I could hear the gloating, icy smile in his voice. "I couldn't pass up one last chance to play with you. Humor me. Who did you think the bad guy was? Elliot? Or did it cross your mind that your best friend could do this? I'm getting warm, aren't I? That's the thing about fear. It brings out the worst in us."

"It's you." My voice rattled.

Jules ripped off the headlamp and ski mask. "In the flesh."

"How did you do it?" I asked, my voice still trembling. "I saw you. You weren't breathing. You were dead."

"You're giving me too much credit. It was all you, Nora. If your mind wasn't so weak, I couldn't have done a thing. Am I making you feel bad? Is it discouraging to know that out of all the minds I've invaded, yours tops the list as easiest? And most fun."

I licked my lips. My mouth tasted a strange combination of dry and sticky. I could smell the fear on my breath. "Where's Vee?"

He slapped my cheek. "Don't change the subject. You really should learn to control your fear. Fear undermines logic and opens up all sorts of opportunities for people like me."

This was a side of Jules I'd never seen. He'd always been so quiet, so sullen, radiating a complete lack of interest in everyone around him. He stayed in the background, drawing little attention, little suspicion. Very clever of him, I thought.

He grabbed my arm and jerked me after him.

I clawed at him and twisted away, and he drove his fist into my stomach. I stumbled backward, gasping for air that did not come. My shoulder dragged down a locker until I sat crumpled on the floor. A ribbon of air slipped down my throat, and I choked on it.

Jules touched the tracks my nails had carved in his forearm. "That's going to cost you."

"Why did you bring me here? What do you want?" I couldn't keep the hysteria from my voice. He yanked me up by my arm and dragged me farther down the hall. Kicking a door open, he thrust me inside and I went down, my palms colliding with the hard floor. The door slammed behind me. The only light came from the headlamp, which Jules held.

The air held the familiar odors of chalk dust and stale chemicals. Posters of the human body and cross

sections of human cells decorated the walls. A long black granite counter with a sink stood at the front of the room. It faced rows of matching granite lab tables. We were inside Coach McConaughy's biology room.

A flash of metal caught my eye. A scalpel lay on the floor, tucked against the wastebasket. It must have been overlooked by both Coach and the janitor. I slid it into the waistband of my jeans just as Jules hauled me to my feet.

"I had to cut the electricity," he said, setting the headlamp on the nearest table. "You can't play hide

andseek in the light."

Scraping two chairs across the floor, he positioned them facing each other. "Have a seat." It didn't sound like an invitation.

My eyes darted to the panel of windows spanning the far wall. I wondered if I could crank one open and escape before Jules caught me. Amid a thousand other selfpreserving thoughts, I told myself not to appear frightened. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that advice from a selfdefense class I'd taken with Mom after my dad died. Make eye contact … look confident … use common sense

… all easier said than done.

Jules pushed down on my shoulders, forcing me into a chair. The cold metal seeped through my jeans.

"Give me your cell phone," he ordered, hand held out for it.

"I left it in the car."

He breathed a laugh. "Do you really want to play games with me? I've got your best friend locked somewhere in the building. If you play games with me, she's going to feel left out. I'll have to think up an extraspecial game to make it up to her."

I dug out the phone and passed it over.

With superhuman strength, he bent it in half. "Now it's just the two of us." He sank into the chair facing mine and stretched his legs out luxuriously. One arm dangled off the seat back. "Let's talk, Nora."

I bolted from the chair. Jules hooked me around the waist before I'd made it four steps and shoved me back into the chair.

"I used to own horses," he said. "A long time ago in France, I had a stable of beautiful horses. The Spanish horses were my favorite. They were caught wild and brought directly to me. Within weeks I had them subdued. But there was always the rare horse that refused to be broken. Do you know what I did with a horse that refused to be broken?"

I shuddered for an answer.

"Cooperate, and you have nothing to fear," he said.

I didn't for one moment believe him. The gleam in his eyes wasn't sincere.

"I saw Elliot in the library." I was surprised by the waver in my voice. I didn't like or trust Elliot, but he didn't deserve to die slowly and in pain. "Did you hurt him?"

He scooted closer, as if to share a secret. "If you're going to commit a crime, never leave evidence. Elliot's been an integral part of everything. He knows too much."

"Is that why I'm here? Because of the article I found about Kjirsten Halverson?"

Jules smiled. "Elliot failed to mention that you know about Kjirsten."

"Did Elliot kill her … or did you?" I asked on a cold snap of inspiration.

"I had to test Elliot's loyalty. I took away what was most important. Elliot was at Kinghorn on scholarship, and nobody let him forget it. Until me. I was his benefactor. In the end, it came down to choosing me or Kjirsten. More succinctly, choosing money or love. Apparently there's no pleasure in being a pauper among princes. I bought him off, and that's when I knew I could rely on him when it came time to dealing with you."

"Why me?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" The light highlighted the ruthlessness in his face and created the illusion that his eyes had turned the color of molten silver. "I've been toying with you. Dangling you by a string. Using you as a proxy, because the person I really want to harm can't be harmed. Do you know who that person is?"

All the knots in my body seemed to come undone. My eyes moved out of focus. Jules's face was like an Impressionist painting—blurred around the edges, lacking detail. Blood drained from my head, and I felt myself start to slip off the chair. I'd felt this way enough times before to know I needed iron. Soon. He slapped my cheek again. "Focus. Who am I talking about?"

"I don't know." I couldn't push my voice above a whisper.

"Do you know why he can't be hurt? Because he doesn't have a human body. His body lacks physical sensation. If I locked him up and tortured him, it wouldn't do any good. He can't feel. Not an ounce of pain. Surely you've got a guess by now? You've been spending a lot of time with this person. Why so silent, Nora? Can't figure it out?"

A trickle of sweat crept down my back.

"Every year at the start of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, he takes control of my body. Two whole weeks. That's how long I forfeit control. No freedom, no choice. I don't get the luxury of escaping during those two weeks, loaning my body out, then coming back when it's all over. Then I might be able to convince myself it wasn't really happening. No. I'm still in there, a prisoner inside my own body, living every moment of it," he said in a grinding tone. "Do you know what that feels like? Do you?" he shouted.

I kept my mouth shut, knowing that to talk would be dangerous. Jules laughed, a rush of air through his teeth. It sounded more sinister than anything I'd ever heard.

He said, "I swore an oath allowing him to take possession of my body during Cheshvan. I was sixteen years old." He shrugged, but it was a rigid movement. "He tricked me into the oath by torturing me. After, he told me I wasn't human. Can you believe it? Not human. He told me my mother, a human, slept with a fallen angel." He grinned odiously, sweat sprinkling his forehead. "Did I mention I inherited a few traits from my father? Just like him, I'm a deceiver. I make you see lies. I make you hear voices."

Just like this. Can you hear me, Nora? Are you frightened yet?

He tapped my forehead. "What's going on in there, Nora? Awfully quiet."

Jules was Chauncey. He was Nephilim. I remembered my birthmark, and what Dabria had told me. Jules and I shared the same blood. In my veins was the blood of a monster. I shut my eyes, and a tear slid out.

"Remember the night we first met? I jumped in front of the car you were driving. It was dark and there was fog. You were already on edge, which made it that much easier to deceive you. I enjoyed scaring you. That first night gave me a taste for it."

"I would have noticed it was you," I whispered. "There aren't many people as tall as you."

"You're not listening. I can make you see whatever I want. Do you really think I'd overlook a detail as condemning as my height? You saw what I wanted you to see. You saw a nondescript man in a black ski mask."

I sat there, feeling a tiny crack in my terror. I wasn't crazy. Jules was behind all of it. He was the crazy one. He could create mind games because his father was a fallen angel and he'd inherited the power.

"You didn't really ransack my bedroom," I said. " You just made me think you did. That's why it was still in order when the police arrived."

He applauded slowly and deliberately. "Do you want to know the best part? You could have blocked me out. I couldn't have touched your mind without your permission. I reached in, and you never resisted. You were weak. You were easy."

It all made sense, and instead of feeling a brief moment of relief, I realized how susceptible I was. I was stripped wide open. There was nothing stopping Jules from sucking me into his mind games, unless I learned to block him out.

"Imagine yourself in my place," said Jules. "Your body violated year after year. Imagine a hatred so hard, nothing but revenge will cure it. Imagine expending large sums of energy and resources to keep a close eye on the object of your revenge, waiting patiently for the moment when fate presented you an opportunity not just to get even, but to tip the scales in your favor." His eyes locked on mine. "You're that opportunity. If I hurt you, I hurt Patch."

"You're overestimating my value to Patch," I said, cold sweat breaking out along my hairline.

"I've been keeping a close eye on Patch for centuries. Last summer he made his first trip to your house, though you didn't notice. He followed you shopping a few times. Every now and then, he made a special trip out of his way to find you. Then he enrolled at your school. I couldn't help but ask myself, what was so special about you? I made an effort to find out. I've been watching you for a while now."

Nothing short of dread gripped me. Right then, I knew it was never my dad's presence I'd felt, following me like a phantom guardian. It was Jules. I felt the same icecold, unearthly presence now, only amplified a hundred times.

"I didn't want to draw Patch's suspicion and backed off," he continued. "That's when Elliot stepped forward, and it didn't take him long to tell me what I'd already guessed. Patch is in love with you."

It all clicked into place. Jules hadn't been sick the night he disappeared into the men's room at Delphic. And he hadn't been sick the night we went to the Borderline. All along it was the simple fact that he had to remain invisible to Patch. The moment Patch saw him, it would all be over. Patch would know Jules—Chauncey— was up to something. Elliot was Jules's eyes and ears, feeding information back to him.

"The plan was to kill you on the camping trip, but Elliot failed to convince you to come," Jules said.

"Earlier today, I followed you out of Blind Joe's and shot you. Imagine my surprise when I found I'd killed a bag lady dressed in your coat. But it all worked out." His tone relaxed. "Here we are."

I shifted in my seat, and the scalpel slid deeper into my jeans. If I wasn't careful, it would slip out of reach. If Jules forced me to stand, it might slide all the way down my pant leg. And that would be the end of that.

"Let me guess what you're thinking," said Jules, rising to his feet and sauntering to the front of the room. "You're starting to wish you'd never met Patch. You wish he'd never fallen in love with you. Go on. Laugh at the position he's put you in. Laugh at your own bad choice."

Hearing Jules talk about Patch's love filled me with irrational hope. I fumbled the scalpel out of my jeans and jumped from my seat. "Don't come near me! I'll stab you. I swear I will!"

Jules made a guttural sound and flung his arm across the counter at the front of the room. Glass beakers shattered against the chalkboard, papers fluttering down. He strode toward me. In a panic, I brought the scalpel up as hard as I could. It met his palm, slicing through skin. Jules hissed and drew back.

Not waiting, I plunged the scalpel down into his thigh.

Jules gaped at the metal protruding from his leg. He jerked it out using both hands, his face contorting in pain. He opened his hands, and the scalpel fell with a clatter.

He took a faltering step toward me.

I shrieked and dodged away, but my hip clipped the edge of a table; I lost my footing and tumbled down. The scalpel lay several feet away.

Jules flipped me on my stomach and straddled me from behind. He pressed my face into the floor, crushing my nose and muffling my screams.

"Valiant attempt," he grunted. "But that won't kill me. I'm Nephilim. I'm immortal."

I grabbed for the scalpel, digging my toes into the floor to stretch those last, vital inches. My fingers fumbled over it. I was so close, and then Jules was dragging me back. I brought my heel up hard between his legs; he groaned and went limp off to one side. I scrambled to my feet, but Jules rolled to the door, kneeling between me and it.

His hair hung in his eyes. Beads of sweat trickled down his face. His mouth was lopsided, one half curled up in pain.

Every muscle in my body was coiled, ready to spring into action.

"Good luck trying to escape," he said with a cynical smile that seemed to require a lot of effort. "You'll see what I mean." Then he sank to the ground.

Hey guys, sorry i took some time with this chapter.

I'll hurry with the next one.

So how do you like the story so far? Please review and add this story to your favourite's.

Cya soon

Fabmickey

Peace Out!