Born Sinner (Se7en Sinners #1)

  “Last night. You were crying in your sleep. I didn’t want to wake you so I…” He swallows and looks back down at his coffee. So he did pull me to him. “You were reaching out…searching for someone.” Searching for me.

  I don’t know what to say or do. Do I thank him? Do I pretend like nothing happened? No words seem like the right ones so I go with, “Did I…say anything?”

  Thankfully, he shakes his head, wincing as if the movement has rattled his aching brains. I’d offer him some Advil but it wouldn’t make a difference.

  “Oh. I guess that’s good.”

  I look down at my plate. Now I’m wishing I would have continued eating just to have something to do with my mouth.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I lift my head, wondering if I heard him right. “Why?”

  “I shouldn’t have gotten drunk. It was stupid of me, especially with you in my bed.”

  “It was fine.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” he says with more force than I expect. It’s enough to make me shrink back a fraction. “I could have done something you wouldn’t have liked. Something unforgiveable.”

  “I was fine, L,” That’s the closest to his name I can get. “You didn’t hurt me. We just went to sleep.”

  “Yeah, but I could’ve. I would’ve. Don’t misunderstand, Eden. I’m a demon. My nature is evil. Just because I’ve chosen a different path, doesn’t mean I’m not prone to lust.”

  Lust.

  Legion…lusts for me?

  I take a long sip of strong coffee.

  “Eden, there’s something you need to know about me.”

  “Yes?” The word nearly gets caught in my throat.

  “When I was—”

  Before he can finish his thought, the front door bursts open, spilling darkness into the otherwise brightly lit room. Legion is on his feet within a fraction of a second, fists balled at his sides, and wedged between me and the table. I’d appreciate the fact that I have a full, up-close-and-personal view of his backside if it weren’t for the frantic shouts reverberating around the room. I move around Legion’s rock-solid frame and see…

  Blood.

  So much blood everywhere.

  On their skin. Soaking their clothes. Splattered on their heavy boots.

  That much blood means something is seriously wrong.

  That much blood means someone is dead.

  “What the fuck happened?” Legion shouts, his deep roar rattling the windows.

  “We were ambushed,” Toyol answers, hoisting up Phenex with an arm under his shoulders. Jinn is on his other side. “A dozen of them. It’s as if they knew our patrol routes.”

  Oh no, Phenex. His head lobs back as if he’s holding on to consciousness. I look on in horror as I take in the large tear in his pants, exposing a ravaged thigh. It looks as if he had been mauled by a bear. Or worse.

  “These fuckers are getting bold. Attacking during daylight? He’s getting desperate, L. They want her and they know she’s under our protection.”

  Legion’s jaw ticks as he digests his brothers’ words. “Get him in the infirmary. We need to get that wound treated before he loses too much blood. Cain, how many are still out there?”

  “We killed all but two. They got away when Phenex was hit. Shit!” I can read the rage mixed with guilt on his face. His friend was injured and two of whatever they were fighting escaped. He feels responsible.

  “Lilith,” Andras gasps, his face pale and eyes wide. Legion nods, understanding his anxiety.

  “Get her and bring her back. Cain, go with him.”

  Andras escapes for just a moment, returning to the front of the apartment armed to the teeth and dressed for battle. So different from the blonde angelic man who was just lounging on the couch, flipping through the channels and pretending not to eavesdrop.

  Legion turns towards the infirmary once the two demon warriors are out the door.

  “I can help,” I find myself saying to his back. He doesn’t turn around, but he pauses, so I continue. We don’t have time for niceties. “Sister…she’s an ER nurse. She taught me things. There looks to be arterial damage. I might be able to help.”

  He’s deathly silent for a half a heartbeat before nodding. “Come on.”

  Ignoring the deep red blood trailing from the door to the hallway, I quickly race to the infirmary, trying to keep up with Legion’s strides. Phenex is in bad shape, and barely alert, so I can’t ask for guidance. His brothers are not much help either, too stunned and angry to do more than stand there and watch him bleed, their own blood drained from their faces. There’s no way I can count on any of them, so I rack my brain, trying to remember everything Sister taught me, everything I picked up while helping her study through nursing school.

  Toyol looks up at me, his slanted eyes much wider than I’ve ever seen them. “Poison.”

  I inspect his leg. I was right. Blood spurts like a fountain, coating the white tiled floor. Whatever attacked him hit an artery.

  “Ok, we need a tourniquet and lots of gauze. L, can you adjust this table and elevate that leg? Jinn, here take this gauze and apply direct pressure. Toyol, help me tie the tourniquet,” I instruct, tossing them all latex gloves. The action seems to snap them back to reality, and we quickly spring into action. “Ok, good, above the wound, so it’s closer to the heart. Don’t make it too tight.”

  Once the leg is elevated and the blood loss has slowed from a vicious spurt to a steady trickle, I rummage through the large white cabinet containing about a thousand different vials.

  “What are you looking for?” Legion asks.

  “Adrenaline. I don’t know what type of poison is in his system but if you have some secret miracle cure lying around, I suggest you give it to me now. He’s losing too much blood. And with his elevated temp, he has minutes. Maybe seconds.”

  Legion disappears from the room, racing to some undisclosed location and leaving me to read the foreign scrawl on the tiny glass jars. Sweat covers my brow as I squint at the nonsensical characters. It all looks the same to me. I’m in way over my head, but I have to do something other than stand around with my thumb up my ass while someone bleeds out in front of me.

  “Here. The antidote,” Legion pants, suddenly beside me. I don’t have time to be stunned before he shoves a small, red container in my palm and plucks up a vial containing a clear liquid. “And adrenaline. What do you need that for?”

  “You’re about to see. Pass me the rubbing alcohol, and hold his shoulders. Jinn, you take his legs. This is going to hurt.”

  I remove the blood-soaked gauze over the nasty gash and take a deep breath before pouring it directly onto the leg. He screams out in excruciating pain, but I just try to stay focused, swallowing down the lump in my throat. I know I’m doing this all wrong, but I don’t know what else to do. All I can think about is saving Phenex’s leg…and his life.

  “Toyol, I need fresh gauze,” I say, clawing at the top of the adrenaline vial. He hands me the fresh, white cloth just as I get it open. I completely soak it before holding it directly onto the wound.

  “What are you doing?” Legion questions. He still hasn’t let go of his friend’s shoulders.

  “Boxing trick. It helps clot the wound and speed healing.”

  “Does it actually work?”

  I say a silent prayer. “I guess we’ll see.”

  The mix of the adrenaline and Phenex’s accelerated healing allow the cut to clot within minutes, and the blood slows to just a dribble. The tourniquet is no longer necessary and Phenex has stopped screaming in pain. However, he’s too still. Too pale. Too cold.

  “It’s the poison,” Toyol explains. “Their blades were coated in it. It’s deadly for our kind.”

  With great effort, I fill a large, sterile syringe with as much antivenom as it will take. It’s an odd smoky pearlescent color, nothing like I’d expect for a medical serum. But I don’t have time for second guesses. We’re losing him fast. If I don’t get this right, the Se7en wil
l become six.

  Deep breaths, Eden.

  I place my ear to his chest, hoping—praying—for a heartbeat to guide my next move. Nothing but a low hum vibrates the space where a human heart would be. I don’t have any other alternatives. I look to Legion, searching for any indication that I’m on the right path. Thankfully, he gives me a stiff nod.

  Stepping out on faith, I plunge the needle straight into his chest, piercing through flesh and bone. The sickening sounds of metal slicing through thick tissue makes my stomach roil, but I shake it off, pushing down on the plunger. I don’t think any of us breathe until Phenex gasps for air, taking in as much oxygen as his lungs can contain. His skin begins to morph from ashen to its normal smooth mahogany. And right before my astonished eyes, tendon and muscle begin to sew themselves back together. It’s working.

  I step back to give them space, knowing that I’m no longer required. Various shades of relief paint all their faces. I smile to myself. I did something…something I never thought I could. Something good for a change.

  “Hey,” Legion says, sidling up next to me, as I scrub the blood off my hands, arms and face. Luckily there’s a large basin sink and plenty of soap in the infirmary. Unluckily, there’s a deep red trail from the door, filling the enclosed space with a distinct metallic odor tinged with an odd sweetness. Like honeysuckle and sunshine.

  “Hey,” I reply, casting my gaze down to the whirls of rust trickling down the drain.

  “You…were incredible. You saved my brother’s life, and for that, I owe you a great debt.”

  I look up to find him staring at me, his piercing gaze so intense that it steals my breath. Words abandon me, leaving my lips suspended in a soundless gasp. My mind is a scattered jigsaw puzzle, the pieces not quite fitting together to form coherent thoughts. I’m searching…searching for a way to convey what I feel. But even I don’t know what it is. This man—this monster—is my would-be killer. Yet every time I touch his skin, his arms wrapped tight around my body, I never feel more alive.

  I shake my head, dispelling the insane notion. It’s adrenaline, or shock, or a mixture of both. I feel for him what he obviously feels for me. Not a damn thing.

  “It’s…nothing,” I finally reply, mimicking the revelation ringing in my mind. “You don’t owe me anything. I don’t even know what I did. We just got lucky, honestly.”

  “No. You helped him, Eden, and as a result, you helped us. You didn’t have to. You could have stood by and watched him die, and no one would have faulted you.” A frown dimples his brow as if suddenly remembering who I am and what I represent. “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrug, meaning it. “I guess…I guess I couldn’t allow someone to die, even a…demon…because of me. Because of trying to protect me.” I laugh sardonically, the sound wrong and sad to my own ears. “It wouldn’t be worth it.”

  The frown deepens, seeping into his eyes until they flash with a raging, ancient storm. He steps forward, the movements of his body so fluid…so predatory. Like the panther in my dream. Like the prowling beast from last night.

  He opens his mouth, ire on the tip of his tongue. But before he can unleash it on me, Toyol claps him on his shoulder, stealing his attention. I release a breath.

  “Hey, man. The others are on their way.” Those slanted eyes fall on me, so full of gratitude and relief. He smiles genuinely, easily, like it’s second nature. Like he’s…happy. “Thank you, Eden. You don’t know…thank you.” He bows at the waist.

  “Um, it was nothing, really. I’m glad he’ll be ok.”

  “He will be,” he says, standing upright. “Thanks to you. We’re fortunate you were here.”

  I dry my hands quickly, eager to escape the smell of honeyed blood and their overwhelming appreciation. I’m not used to it…people being pleased by my presence. From the day I was born, I was told I was a burden—a stain on what should have been a happy life. My mother never let me forget what I had ruined. It didn’t get better after she was free of me either. Not until I met Sister, did I ever feel a modicum of normalcy. And love.

  I make my way to the infirmary exit, smiling stiffly at Jinn when he nods in my direction, his eyes shining with—holy shit—tears. Phenex seems to be resting as his body heals. The wound is completely sealed, although a bit inflamed. It’s a miracle. An injury like that would have killed a mortal within minutes, even without the poison.

  I nearly burst into a sprint when I hit the hallway, and I don’t slow until I get to the bathroom in Legion’s bedroom. I need to get these blood-stained clothes off me. I need to scrub the smell of death and ruin from my skin. I can’t get the water hot enough. I can’t make the shower’s jets strong enough. I can’t escape what’s been done, and who I am, and what will happen as long as I’m alive.

  I step out of the shower, not even bothering with a towel, and swipe a hand over the steam-clouded mirror. A girl stares back me, her pain so deep that it pales her complexion.

  I don’t see an angel. I don’t even see the devil.

  I see a stranger wearing my silver hair, looking through my brown eyes, breathing my breaths as if each lungful of life belongs to her.

  She is not insignificant. Her life is not inconsequential. She is brave, strong, innovative. She saved someone’s life today. Someone who would have taken part in her own murder before last week.

  She was needed today. She was not a burden. She was not a mistake.

  This girl had chosen to be an asset rather than a victim. She would not be a martyr in the face of adversity. She would stand and fight, despite her mortal weakness. Despite her destiny. She would fight…and win.

  I take one last look at her before turning away and grabbing a towel. In my haste to get clean, I had forgotten to grab fresh clothes, so I wrap the fluffy terrycloth around my body and open the door, surrendering the solitude of steam and quiet.

  Legion sits on the bed, his stoic gaze trained on the bathroom. I yelp in surprise and clutch my chest, careful to keep the towel intact.

  “Sorry, I…” His usual scowl adorns his face, his jaw ticking with rage. Or is that frustration? Eyes of quicksilver roam my still-wet body as if he’s disgusted by the sight of my exposed flesh. I grip the towel tighter.

  Without a word, he stands in a huff, tossing a small bundle on the bed. He stalks from the room without so much as a glance over his shoulder and slams the bedroom door.

  There, sitting amongst a sea of storm clouds and satin, are my ear buds, my cell phone and the stolen fork.

  A smart person would have called 911. Maybe even called Sister and explained what had happened to me. But a realistic person knew that she’d be signing her death wish.

  I had no doubt that my phone was bugged and my activity would be closely monitored. Besides, I couldn’t drag anyone else into this. Even a trained human couldn’t stand against whatever supernatural forces were out there. And if the Se7en had tapped my phone, who’s to say an even greater evil hadn’t done the same? I could be leading their enemies—our enemies—right to their front door.

  I accept the peace offering for what it is—a small act of faith. He wants to see if he can trust me. He’s trying to prove that I’m not a prisoner. I would be a fool to screw that up by testing the limits of kindness.

  I lodge the small buds into my ears, scroll to my favorite playlist and pick up the book Lilith had lent me. I lose myself in smooth bass lines and hard-driven lyrics while delving into a fictional world full of fantastical fantasy. I don’t even blink until a creeping sensation crawls its way from the top of my shoulders to the base of my spine. I’m not alone. A mountain of unyielding muscle and a hard face carved in a permanent snarl stands less than a yard away at the foot of the bed.

  “I knocked,” Cain says before I can scream. His flat, black eyes go to the headphones dangling from my white knuckled fist, still blasting the sounds of A$AP Rocky. “Your music is too loud.”

  I swallow down my fear. “What do you want?”

  “Family me
eting in 5.”

  Brows raised, I look from side to side, as if to say, Aaaaaaaand?

  “You need to be there,” he responds, reading my expression.

  “Why?”

  Cain’s lips flatten into a thin slash across his marred face before replying, “You saved my brother’s life. You’re one of us now.” He turns and stalks out of the room before I have a chance to object.

  One of them? I don’t know if I should be flattered or insulted. Still, I can’t deny the warm feeling in my chest that wraps itself around my cold heart, smothering the dead remains of abandonment and loneliness. I’m ridiculous, I know, but…it feels good to belong. Even if it means I belong to inherent evil.

  You’re his now.

  I shake the foolish notion and climb to my feet. I’m not his. I’m not anybody’s.

  On timid feet, I enter the dining room area, finding them seated around the marble-top table. Even Phenex sits beside Legion, his reverent, golden eyes gleaming with emotion. He smiles and dips his head as I take the space across from him and beside Legion.

  I should have said no…I should have stayed hidden in the room for this reason alone. I don’t know what to say, or how to act. Graciously accepting gratitude is completely foreign to me.

  Legion pins me with his icy glare, and I can’t be sure if he’s surprised or upset that I’ve intruded on their family meeting. I wring my hands in my lap, refusing to acknowledge him. Maybe if I don’t speak, or even breathe, I’ll be invisible.

  “Before we begin,” his deep voice echoes in the otherwise silent space, “we need to address something.”

  Oh, no. No, no, no, no.

  I can feel their eyes crawling all over me, picking me apart. Silent questions of how and why ghost across my hot ears. I pull my shoulders inward, hoping they will keep the anxiety from bubbling up from my chest.

  “I fucked up,” Legion announces, drawing my eyes up to his face. He stares straight ahead, chin held high in defiance. “I should have been out there with you all this morning. It was my shift, and Phenex stepped in because I was too hungover to get my shit together. Today is on me. And I apologize.”