Violet Midnight (Violet Night Trilogy) (4 page)

Jake had finally found someone who was different, like him, and she just marched out the door. And after having kissed him with a passion he’d never experienced.

Ever.

He strode to the door, ready to track her down.

“Whoa. Hey.” Dylan grabbed Jake’s forearm. “What’s happening?”

“Nothing, man. Let me go after her.” Jake shrugged from his friend’s firm grip. He had to find Emma before she left. He didn’t have a phone number or even a last name. How would he find her again?

“Chill, buddy. She only went to change.”

“No she didn’t. She’s gonna bolt.” Jake marched into the hallway. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“To your right. At least, on this floor.”

Jake stomped past three closed doors to the last one on the right. It was cracked open. “Emma?”

Nothing.

“Where is she?” Dylan asked. “She’s got to be freezing in those wet clothes.”

Jake cracked the door open and leaned in. “Hello?”

Only the sound of his voice echoing off the tile-lined walls answered him. He gripped the handle so hard he swore it creaked beneath the pressure. “Damn it.”

“What’d you do, man?”

Jake trudged out, working to catch his breath. “Please tell me you know her.”

“Sure don’t. Just that Ava she was with.” Dylan tossed a shirt at Jake. “Put this on before you scare someone. Jeez. You going for the strongest man on earth title or what?”

Jake smoothed his hand over his bare chest. He’d bulked up like a body builder over the past couple of years, despite not eating anymore. Just more of the strange in his life. “So, who’s this Ava? I need to find Emma.”

Dylan turned and Jake followed him five steps to the railing overlooking the party. Sweet and salty scents of soda and chips wafted up. A hint of strawberry mingled with the air as well.
Emma.
He’d smelled that scent before, too, when he’d nearly gotten to her on the dance floor.

“I don’t see Ava or Emma. I bet Cynthia knows.”

“Knows what, love?” Cynthia rounded the corner of the door and ambled toward Dylan, a smile filling her face.

“On cue, as always.” Dylan welcomed her into his arms and kissed her cheek. “We must find out who this Emma is. Seems she’s entranced our friend here.”

Entranced?
Sometimes Dylan and Cynthia seemed to be in their own world with their intimate glances at one another and sometimes, unique language.

“Then why’d you try and drown her?” Cynthia laughed. “Sorry. I’m kidding. I’ll find her for you. ”

“Thanks.”

“So, what’s up with the tat on your shoulder?” Dylan hitched his hip against the railing, still holding Cynthia close.

Jake covered the mark with his hand, despite it now being covered by a fresh shirt. “Oh. That. Nothing, really.”

Dylan jutted out his chin. “Pretty intricate. You get that in Minnesota?”

“Yeah. A couple of years ago.” Jake moved to pass by the couple. He needed to go find Emma. “I better get going.”

“Curious.” Dylan planted a fist in Jake’s shoulder. The one with the mark. “Pretty dark thing to have on a preppy guy like yourself.”

“Dark?” Jake stopped, two feet from the door leading downstairs. He’d searched for the meaning of the symbol more than a few times, but it kept leading to the same, freaky, satanic websites. The Mark of Chaos hadn’t sounded very promising to begin with, let alone the weirdness it led to while researching. “What do you mean, dark?”

“Chaos. Not many people choose to put
that
kind of mark on their skin.”

“You know what it means?” Jake faced them. “How?”

Dylan thumbed toward Cynthia. “Fine Arts degree. English. Languages, remember? You should see some of the crazy things she’s researched for papers. I’ve seen it in her books before.”

Cynthia’s amber eyes, which nearly matched the thick bangs resting on her forehead, flickered with excitement. “You have Chaos on you?”

To hear it worded that way pretty much matched his thoughts about how it came to be on his skin. And since then, things had been…chaotic. Different.

Dark.

“Can I see?” She eased out from beneath the shelter of Dylan’s arm. “Roll up your sleeve.”

Jake cranked up the fabric and pivoted at the waist. Might they know something that’d help him? To meet Emma, someone different like him, then to meet someone who might know more about what was up with the mark would be too good to be true.

Cynthia looked at Dylan as her slender finger grazed over the mark. A sugary-sweet scent wafted into Jake’s nostrils, triggering a waterfall in his mouth.

She whispered a word Jake didn’t understand and pinned her bright-eyed gaze on him.

“What did you say?”

She stepped toward Dylan, severing her connection with Jake. “Sorry. It’s—it means
beautiful.
”

“You think this is beautiful?” Jake stepped away, looking at Dylan, and rolled the cotton sleeve over the morbid design. “It’s pretty dark, actually, like Dylan said.”

“Look past that, Jake. The artistry is magnificent.” She smiled. “Arrows shooting out from the smaller circle. The small becoming bigger, better. Getting out from the one enclosing it.”

Her explanation sounded much better than the ones he’d found online. Spreading chaos. Death. But he couldn’t deny Cynthia’s points, either. He was becoming better. Stronger.

“You’re so smart, love,” Dylan said to his girl.

“And now our friend has found a girl. She’s very beautiful. She’d fit by your side very well.” Cynthia’s slender arm wove around Dylan’s waist. “Wouldn’t she, Dylan?”

He held her gaze for a long breath, then his eyes went wide, and he nodded. “Oh. You’re right. She would.” He stood straight. “Come on, Cyn, let’s track her down for him.”

The already strange evening had morphed into Twilight-Zone-strange, the way his two friend’s eyed one another as if speaking telepathically. He edged toward the door. They waved their goodbyes and headed down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Somehow, that interaction didn’t sit well in Jake’s stomach. The chill from his soaked jeans sent a shiver rattling up his spine.

Screw waiting for Dylan and Cynthia to track Ava down to find Emma. He needed to leave. Emma was different, like him, and he had to find her. Had to touch her, kiss her again. And soon. His body perked to life at the thought of her pressed against him like she’d been earlier.

Good thing he didn’t need to sleep anymore because he planned on searching until he found her, even if it took all night.

Emma pumped her arms, propelling herself forward. She pushed through the burning thighs and lungs. Fifty more feet, and she could stop sprinting. Nothing like a gut-blazing run to bust through the haze Jake’s kiss and admissions caused.

Ever since Gabriel’s death, she’d wondered if she would ever find someone to trust. Someone to love. She never thought she’d find anyone who actually might be like her, a Hunter. Did Jake have special abilities, too? He didn’t seem to know much or understand the thugs she fought were Vamps. But maybe he was being cautious like she was. Constantly on guard.

To be able to talk to someone about the Vamps, the fighting, and not have to do a mind-wipe like she had to do with Ava all the time, would be amazing. They could cover for each other, maybe even fight the Vamps together. The bloodsuckers obviously came back with a plan. Two attacks, in packs of three no less, in one night.

Emma’s heart thrashed. The finish line came into sight. A sign, actually.
The Church.
Emma always smiled when she saw that sign. It meant a couple of her favorite places were near. The Church, and the spot of green grass around the corner of the building. They had a supernatural calmness about them.

She’d never quite figured it out, but she went with it. Spent tons of time at each spot considering she had twenty-four hours a day to pass.

Emma slowed her pace as she neared the weathered, wooden sign. She gripped the corner and leaned over to suck in two, long, cleansing breaths. Strength eased back into her depleted muscles, and the ache receded like the tide.

A hint of the morning sun exerted its force over the pitch sky, casting it into a canvas of grays and muted blacks. Soon the violet rays of the sun cresting would decorate the horizon.

Perfect time to relax.

She strode to the massive, oak doors and gripped the steel handle. One solid yank opened the door enough for Emma to sneak in. She eased it shut and padded across the tiled floor into the main auditorium. Thankfully, this place stayed open all hours of the night for those “seeking comfort” as one pastor had once described it.

But it was only her at this time of morning. She made her way into the auditorium and to the back row. Same spot every time. She eased into the third chair from the end and settled into the plush padding, eyeing the plain, wooden cross at the front of the stage. Always illuminated and always there. Like a salve to her frayed soul.

She drew in a deep breath, letting its power wrap around her and take her into a quiet, restful darkness. This was the closest she ever got to sleeping. Somehow, the calmness of this place refueled her as much as each breath of air she took. It hugged her soul like her mom had once hugged her.

Unconditionally and completely.

Exactly the solitude she needed to figure out what to do about Jake and the Vamps encroaching the campus after three months of silence.

A slamming door sliced through her peaceful meditation. She bolted to her feet.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” A young man with shaggy blond hair dusting his forehead wheeled a cart of chairs into the auditorium.

Sun spliced through the stained glass windows lining the upper thirds of two of the towering walls. She checked her watch. Ninety minutes had passed as if it had been only a few.

“Everything okay?” The guy stopped several rows down.

“Fine. Thanks.” From the aisle, Emma regarded the cross once more. Her time of seclusion had confirmed her choice to seek out Jake. If the Vamps were coming back in droves, she’d need all the help she could get.

Not to mention the fact he was a great kisser.

Five long strides brought her to the massive door. It burst open, letting in streams of sunlight and laughter.

“Oh. Sorry.” A group of twenty-something girls scurried in, talking on about how they had to hurry up and get ready for the music.

Emma let them pass, then hurried out into the early morning, but rammed shoulders with some unsuspecting person. Jeez. This was a happening place to be so early.

“I’m sorry.” She reached for her victim, and her hands met a pair of blazing forearms. She jerked away and looked up.

“Emma,” Jake whispered. “I’ve finally found you.”

Wide, almost panic-stricken, violet eyes stared up at Jake. Emma stood frozen, mouth partially open and hands out to the side.

Red running shorts stopped mid-thigh, revealing slender, toned legs. She wore another tank top, white this time, but just as snug in all the right places. Workout clothes to church?

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked, glancing around. “This is so weird.”

“What?”

“Nothing. What’s going on?” She moved onto the grass beside the sidewalk, out of the way of an oncoming couple headed into the church.

The sun spilled over her, igniting a personal fireworks show in her violet eyes. God she was beautiful.

“You coming to church?” She tipped her head toward the building.

“No.” He’d saved this place for last, hoping he wouldn’t find her here like Greg said he might. But sure as shit, he was right. Jake wondered exactly how close Greg and Emma really were, or had been, since he knew where Emma hung out.

Jake didn’t like the jealousy chording its way through his gut at the thought.

She shifted her weight, crossed her arms over her chest, and pinned Jake with a stare.

He stepped closer. “I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you more about last night. Can I take you to breakfast or something?”

“No thanks.”

“After you’re done with church, I could take you to lunch.”

“No. That’s okay. You don’t have to.” She chewed her bottom lip.

After a kiss like last night’s, she was going to turn him down for a date? “Come on. You need to eat sometime. Why not with me?”

“It’s not you, Jake.” Emma glanced around and leaned forward. “I don’t
need
to eat.” She cleared her throat and inched back. “Ever.”

“As in, never? Nothing?” Holy shit, she really
was
like him. It took every bit of his restraint not to sweep her up into his arms and kiss her breathless. Finally, he’d found someone who truly understood. “Drinking?”

She slowly turned her head from side to side, but kept her focus on him as if waiting for him to do something. React. Call her a liar. She must have been burned before. Or, like him, never told anyone.

He moved toward her, mentally telling himself to not yank her to him. Slowly. She seemed so strong, yet tentative. Guarded. “It’s okay, Emma. I don’t eat or drink, either. Nothing.”

She let out a long breath, and he caught a hint of a smile curving her full lips. “Good. I’m glad I won’t have to mind-wipe you.” She turned on her heel and started walking further out onto the patch of grass toward the corner of the building. “Come on. We should probably talk.”

Jake followed. “Mind-wipe?”

She led on in silence across the lawn in front of the church and rounded the corner. The sun had finally cleared the nearby trees and splashed its bright rays over the stone wall. It stretched toward the few clouds littering the bright, blue sky.

The campus church. Why’d he have to find her
here
of all places?

He scratched at his shoulder. “So, you come to church here?”

“When I need to chill out. Mostly when it’s empty. Clears my head.”

“Like meditation?”

She nodded.

That
he could relate to. True to his mark’s meaning, his mind often fell into a chaotic mess of thoughts and memories, and meditation was the best medicine. The techniques he’d learned throughout his psychology degree sure helped.

“Where are you taking me?”

They rounded the back corner of the church. Fifty feet ahead of him lay another world. Somehow, in the desert, there was a small field of lush, green grass. A narrow stream rippled through it, and a quaint bridge closed the gap between the two banks, even though Jake could have easily hopped over the water to the other side.

Emma slowed to a stroll. “This is one of the places I go when I need some privacy. Figured we could talk here since neither of us are inclined to eat.”

The corners of her mouth turned upward, and Jake was rewarded with a full-faced smile.

“I hang out here a lot. Surprisingly, it’s never busy. Almost like no one knows it’s here or something. I sit on that boulder over there for hours watching the stars.”

“Bet the sunrises are pretty amazing here, too.”

“Let me guess—you don’t sleep either?”

“Give the stunning lady a prize.” Jake pointed to the boulder propped about thirty feet from the start of the tiny bridge. “Come on. There’s room for two of us on there.”

A line of trees on the other side of the stream fenced in the plush getaway. The sound of trickling water topped off the dream-like setting. It was like the scene had been ripped out of a fairy tale. Hell, discovering Emma was a fairy tale as far as he was concerned.

Within minutes, they sat shoulder-to-shoulder on top of the massive boulder, feet dangling over the side.

Jake took in the sight of Emma facing skyward and said, “Start talking.”

She smiled again. “Not sure where to start.”

“Your eyes. Tell me about them.”

“They were once brown.” She looked at him sideways, then returned her focus to the sky. “Along with the ink on my wrist, I woke up with new eyes. Not just a new color, either. Better vision. You?”

“Mine were once brown. But they went black. Can’t see better, though. And my ink…mine’s pretty different than yours.”

She sat straight and turned, pulling her knee to her chest. With a sigh, she rested her chin atop her bent knee and asked, “What’s it mean? Do you know?”

“Nothing good. It’s the Mark of Chaos from what I’ve found on the internet and in some books I’ve read.” Jake shook his head. “It’s dark, Em. Really dark.”

“You call me Em,” she whispered.

“Not okay?” Sure felt right. Comfortable.

She hugged her leg tighter. “I like how it sounds coming from you.”

He brushed his knuckles down the side of her face. “You feel so cold.”

“Yet you feel so hot to me.” She palmed the back of his hand, keeping his against her cheek. Frigid fingers melded with his. “Tell me more.”

“I’ll show you.” He peeled out from her embrace and leaned to the side to reach into his pocket.

She watched with sparkling eyes as he retrieved a small knife from his pocket. One click later, the blade was out. He pressed the silver tip to his inner forearm, but Emma grabbed his hand.

“No. It’s okay. Watch.”

She kept hold for two long breaths, then released him.

He pressed the metal to his skin. Knowing nothing would happen, he watched for Emma’s reaction. Her mouth opened, but she said nothing. He felt the pressure, but no pain. Nothing sliced through.

Cool fingers stroked his skin near the blade. “But your skin feels so soft. So warm. So fragile.”

He clicked the blade shut and slipped the weapon back to its resting place. “Looks can be deceiving, can’t they?”

“I’ll say.” She flicked her gaze out ahead of her, and her shoulders sagged. The weight of the big secrets slid off his shoulders at his confession, but now it seemed to weigh her down.

He burrowed his hand beneath her hair and caressed the nape of her neck. “What?”

“There are still a few more things you should probably know about me. Nothing like impenetrable skin, but hopefully it won’t freak you out too much.”

He inched forward and claimed her chilled mouth. She pulled in a sharp breath but leaned in, deepening the kiss. He eased back and rested his forehead to hers. “I want to know everything.”