"Yeah, Haniel has always been a rule follower. Believe me, his secrets have bit us all in the ass at one time or another," Robert stated.
"Rules are fine, but not when Jordyn's safety is in question, that's not cool," Emrys said, sounding pissed.
"Awww, you're like my own knight in shining armor," I teased, touched over his misplaced anger. His protectiveness was sweet though unnecessary.
"Can you please help me feel like a man and at least pretend I can protect you?" he grumbled.
"Oh, my, I do believe that's a bee over there. Be still, my scared beating heart. I need my big strong manly man to kill it for me," I said in the weakest Southern accent ever.
Robert and Lynn busted out laughing as Emrys reached over to mush my hair. "You're a regular old jester," he growled in my ear before dropping a kiss on my neck that instantly sent my pulse racing.
"Jester, what are you, seventy?" I teased.
"Give or take a few years," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.
"Gross. I can't crush on an old man," I said, gagging like I was disgusted.
"Crushing?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"That can be construed in many different ways. I could be saying that it'd be wrong to crush an old man."
"Is she always this cocky?" he asked Lynn and Robert.
"Every second of every day," Lynn answered dryly.
"Yeah, we'd gang up on her and give her a dose of humbleness, but she'd most likely kick all of our asses without breaking a nail," Robert griped good-naturedly.
"Hey, it's what I do. Don't hate on the awesomesauce of my abilities," I joked, blowing on my nails.
Lynn snorted at my words. "Awesomesauce? Where do you come up with this stuff?"
"What? That word is oh-so-popular with the crowd from my school. Matter of fact, it's starting to grow on me. I think everything is going to be awesomesauce."
"I'd like to see a little humblesauce," Robert quipped, turning the car into the theater parking lot.
"Envysauce makes you look like babysauce," I teased, climbing from the vehicle.
"OMG, enough with the sauce," Lynn complained, slamming her car door.
"Babe, angrysauce won't earn you any Goobers," Robert teased.
"Say goodbye to sexysauce if I hear it again," she threatened.
"Ooooh, Robert. You better stay down for the count. You just got knocked cold," I laughed.
"And you. There are other ways to get you. You're not always awake," she threatened me before turning back around to grab Robert's hand.
"Grumpysauce," I whispered to an amused Emrys whose shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.
"You're a nut," he said when he was finally able to talk.
"Truth," I answered, grabbing his hand as we bought our tickets for the movie. The moment felt so normal I couldn't help grinning. Looking at us, you would've thought we were human. Lynn and Robert were already at the concession stand ordering when we joined them.
"What can I get you?" the perky concession clerk asked.
"What's your poison?" Emrys asked, pointing to the soda machine.
"Coke, please."
"What size?" she asked, still smiling like her life depended on it.
"Um, medium," I answered, eyeing the ginormous cups.
"For twenty-five cents more you can get a large," she chirped, holding up a cup that was big enough to swim in.
"Um, that's okay."
"It is only a quarter," Emrys said, smiling at me.
"Medium is fine," I clarified. "And a nachos."
"With nachosauce," Emrys and I both said loudly at the same time. Robert burst out laughing as Lynn glared at all of us.
"All of you are immaturesauce," she said, before turning around, heading for the theater.
The perky girl behind the counter lost her smile and looked at us like we had just escaped a mental facility when the three of us trailed behind Lynn, howling with laughter until we entered the packed theater. There was no way in hell we were going to find seats together.
"This is what we get for showing up five minutes before the movie is supposed to start," I griped, looking around at the sporadic single seats that were available.
"This blows," Robert grumbled. "Maybe we should see the later show."
"Where do you guys normally like to sit?" Emrys asked.
"Back row, center, but that's completely full," I answered, pointing to my favorite seats. In my opinion, ,that section was the only way to go. No annoying person behind you kicking your seat, no jerkoff trying to put their feet on the back of your seat, and being in the center of the row allowed you the best view of the screen.
"Well, let's go then," Emrys said, continuing up the steps.
"Um, the exit is that way," I said bewildered.
Emrys ignored my words as he continued climbing the stairs. Lynn, Robert, and I watched his back, confused. "You do know you actually needed a seat to see the movie?" I said as he continued onward. Deciding it was my doleful job as his date to not allow him to look like a freak, I climbed the stairs after him. Much to my astonishment, the moment Emrys reached the last row, the four people who were sitting in those seats abruptly got up, separated, and moved to the remaining single seats available.
Lynn and Robert trotted up the stairs looking as dumbfounded as I was.
"Holy shit, you bent someone's mind for seats," I asked, sitting down next to him. "What if they suffer brain damage over your bending, all so we could watch some superhero movie on the big screen?"
"They'll be fine. Besides, I only compelled them to believe these seats were suddenly uncomfortable and that the new ones they're sitting in are a hundred times better. At the moment, they're all relieved the new seats they found were available so they could still see their movie on opening night," he whispered into my ear. "So, chill. Here, have some nachos," he continued, patting my knee reassuringly.
Peering at one of the guys he'd persuaded to move, I could see he was right. The poor bastard looked overly pleased to be sitting in his new seat. "That may be, but I'm pretty sure your gifts are intended for purposes other than securing us choice seats in a theater," I whispered back as the house lights began to dim.
"Don't sweat it," Lynn whispered on my other side, looking pleased with our seating arrangement.
I let any further arguments drop. If she was fine with it, who was I to gripe? It was a proven fact that the Guide's moral conscious was higher than everyone else's. If she was okay with it, then I wasn't going to argue. Sitting back in my seat, I turned my focus to the previews on the screen in front of me and began to munch on nachos. When the rest of the house lights went out with the start of the movie, my senses became heightened. Suddenly, I was hyperaware of Emrys sitting right beside me with his hand on my knee. All the times in the last forty-eight hours that I'd thought of his hands on me, and here we were again. Trying to keep my breathing normal was an issue as the heat of his hand burned through my jeans. I shifted slightly in my seat, wishing we were anywhere right now but the movie. I wanted to pick up where we'd left off on the beach, feeling his lips on mine with his hands free to explore. Not stuck in a crowded theater.
No longer hungry, I handed the nachos over to Robert who I knew would happily polish them off. I tried to focus on the opening credits as Emrys's hand slowly began to caress my knee. I willed myself not to look, although he was slowly driving me insane.
As if he sensed my inner dilemma, Emrys looked down at my lap. His hand tightened on my knee in a reflex action before slowly creeping up to my thigh. The movie became a mindless blur of noise as all I could think about was his hand moving where I wanted it to go. This was ridiculous. Emrys had somehow managed to turn me into a sappy lovestruck girl. I should be decking him in the throat, not panting like a lovesick dog. Finally unable to take it any longer, I settled my hand firmly on top of his, stalling his advance.
"God," I sighed to myself. What a freaking chore that was.
"A little hot in the
kitchen for you?" Emrys breathed into my ear, making my body tingle even more.
"Shut it," I mumbled out the side of my mouth that was twitching to a smile.
He flipped his palm over so our fingers were finally laced together. Of course, not one to be good, he used the opportunity to run his thumb lightly across my inner wrist, making me quiver. I gave up any attempt of watching the rest of the movie. Instead, my focus remained fixated on our clasped hands in my lap.
"That was way better than the old Spiderman movies," Robert said enthused when the house lights finally came up. "Don't you think so?" he asked us.
"It was enlightening," Emrys answered, smiling at me. "What did you think?" he asked me.
I gritted my teeth. That rat knew I had missed the entire movie with my fascination with his damn hands. "It was fair. I've seen better," I answered, shrugging my shoulders while I grinned wickedly at Emrys before turning my back and heading down the aisle.
"Seen better?" he growled, dragging me in hard against his chest.
"Sure," I teased as he slid his arms around my midriff while we descended the stairs together.
"I thought it was pretty fabulous," he breathed in my ear. I leaned back into his arms, enjoying the feel of him wrapped all around me like a ribbon on a package.
"I'm starved," Robert complained, rubbing his stomach for emphasis as he started through the lobby.
"Even after Jordyn's nachos and the large popcorn you downed?" Lynn teased, knowing her husband's appetite well.
"Do you mind if we grab some dinner?" I asked Emrys, worried he'd be bored watching us chow down.
"That's cool. I'm not ready for the night to end yet," he added for my ears only.
I agreed with him by nodding my head. I wasn't ready for the night to end either. It felt good to be able to see him without worrying that I was disappointing or angering someone.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The drive to the small beachside diner passed with Robert listing his favorite highlights from the movie, which pretty much seemed to be every scene.
"Robert, I didn't know you were so in love with Stan Lee. When's the wedding?" I mocked, climbing out of the backseat. Emrys chuckled behind me.
"December. I don't want to be sweating during the ceremony," Robert deadpanned.
"Truth. Lace and sweat don't mix," I added, walking through the door to Mags's Chowder House.
The dining room of the small beachside seafood restaurant was relatively empty when we entered, laughing. Several sets of eyes swung around in our direction, eyeing us critically.
"Why'd you pick this place?" I asked, taking in the older-than-sixty crowd that made up the majority of the diners.
"They have a wicked clam chowder that will make you weep," Robert answered, heading toward the rear of the dining room without waiting for the hostess to seat us. "Hey, Mags," he added to a blue-haired stout woman who had just exited from the swinging doors at the back of the restaurant. She had startling blue eyes that almost matched her hair.
"Don't 'hi' me young man. You leave me for months on end, and then stroll in all willy-nilly like nothing," she chastised, taking a swipe at him with the dish towel she held in her hand.
"It's not my fault," he defended himself, cutting his eyes at Lynn in an obvious attempt to blame her for his poor attendance.
"Oh come on, like it could ever be my sweet innocent girl's fault," Mags said, surprising me by enveloping Lynn in a big hug. I didn't know what floored me more, having Lynn called sweet and innocent, or her participating in the over-exuberant hug. I finally decided on the hug since it was acceptable to think that Lynn had hoodwinked the woman into thinking she was sweet, the hug was a different story. Lynn had admitted to me not long ago that hugging Robert came naturally, but with everyone else, her natural reflex was to stiffen up. Watching her not only accept the hug, but also embrace it, made wonder exactly who this woman was.
"Sorry, Mags. We were away on a business trip for a couple weeks, and then had to babysit some brat when we got home," Robert clarified, winking at me.
I countered his ribbing by kicking him under the table when I slid into the booth across from him. "Oops, I'm sorry, was that your leg?" I asked unsympathetically as he grimaced.
"Hmmph," was Mags's only response before she finally cracked a smile. "What can I get you to drink?" she asked, not bothering with a notepad.
"Coke," I piped in.
"Same," Lynn and Robert answered at the same time.
"Nothing for me," Emrys answered.
Mags looked at him shrewdly before turning back to my friends. "I've missed you two. Next time leave those demons to someone else," she stated before sauntering back to the kitchen.
"What the hell was that?" I demanded. It was a law that we couldn't speak about our involvement with the supernatural world with outsiders.
"Take a chill pill, Jordyn, she was obviously talking about whoever we were babysitting," Lynn reassured me.
"Oh, duh, I'm such a diphead."
"You just have Daemons on the brain twenty-four-seven," Lynn teased.
"Truth," I admitted as Mags returned with our drink order.
"What can I get you kids to eat?" she asked, placing the filled cups on the table.
"Um," I answered, picking up the menu for the first time.
"We'll take three bowls of clam chowder and a basket of your cheesy bread," Robert answered, plucking the menu out of my hands.
"Got it," Mags said, placing the stack of menus under her arm before heading back through the swinging doors.
"Hey, what if I didn't want chowder?" I gripped.
"We'd have to make you walk home if you ordered something other than the chowder."
"That's not much of a punishment for her anymore," Emrys answered for me.
"Ha-ha-ha, truth. I'd totally beat you guys home," I chortled.
"Gee, just what we needed. You with yet another gift," Robert said dryly.
My rebuttal was put on hold when Mags placed the three steaming bowls of clam chowder on the table. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the delicious mouthwatering scent wafting up from the bowls.
"You sure you don't want anything, hun?" she asked Emrys, placing the napkin-lined basket heaped with bread in the center of the table.
"I ate a big lunch," he answered, rubbing his flat stomach for emphasis.
She nodded, still looking skeptical.
"She's gonna think you're some kind of weirdo," Lynn chimed in, dipping her spoon into her soup.
"That's nothing new," Emrys stated, winking at me.
My retort froze in my throat when the air around me sparked to life with anticipation. Everything inside me centered into high alert as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my pulse thrummed through my body. Lynn and I whipped around at the same time, both of us sensing the Daemons at the same exact moment.
"What is it?" Robert asked, instantly on edge by the sudden tension radiating off his Guide.
"Daemons," I answered for her, standing up without hesitation. The others climbed from the booth with me as we stood facing the three hijacked humans that had just entered the diner. "What the eff are they doing out in the open like this?" I asked. Daemons were sneaky bastards that preyed on humans in the dark. They didn't stroll into a lit-up restaurant with human bodies they had hijacked. Judging by their well-cut business suits, the Daemons had obviously snagged their human hosts from one of the bars downtown. They could have been triplets if not for their different hair color and skin tone.
"I don't know, but this isn't right," Lynn muttered, looking worried for the other patrons scattered around the restaurant. The strangers may have been dressed like humans, but their stature and menacing glares had doused the entire room with sudden unease.
Glancing at Lynn, I could tell she was trying to calm the emotions of everyone in the room. That was her job. To help humans when they were put to the test. Judging by the strained look on Lynn's face, it was obvious she had her hands full
. Emrys stepped in, sweeping his eyes across the room of diners. Without sparing us a glance, they abruptly stood up and left the restaurant.
"Thanks," Lynn told him, breathing a sigh of relief.
"You guys lost?" I asked nonchalantly, carefully picking my way between the tables.
"Are you Jordyn?" the stranger standing in front snarled.
"Sure am," I answered, smiling confidently.
"Then we're not lost," he replied.
"You're making a mistake," Emrys said, approaching them with his palms up.
I smiled, liking that Emrys had confidence in my talents.
"Hey, as long as they're here…" I said, letting my voice trail off gleefully.
"Back off, Soul Trader. There won't be anything left for you to take this time," the Daemon growled.
"Did I miss the army you brought with you?" I mocked, making a show of looking behind them.
"We won't need any army."
"Riiiiiiiiight," I answered, stealing Emrys's favorite word.
If nothing else, Daemons were predictable and never lacked confidence. I had to give them that. Their attack came head-on and would have been well executed if I had not already worked out in my head how I would take him out. The first Daemon's own momentum worked against him. His wide undisciplined swing left him vulnerable to a strike to the temple. The force of my blow instantly knocked out the human host he was using. I stood over him as he crashed to the floor. Within moments, the Daemon appeared from his host, wrapping his massive arms around my shoulders. Not hesitating, I thrust my elbows up, releasing me from his hold. Before the Daemon could counter, I had already circled to his rear and reached up, gripping the horns on his head in my hands. With a twist of my body, I pulled down, using the torque I had generated to rip his head from his shoulders.
I dropped the head to the floor as the Daemon's remains disappeared in a ball of fire. I spared a glance at the human host on the floor. He'd have a hell of a headache and a bruise in the morning, but he'd have no recollection of the events that had transpired this evening. Turning from his prone body, I appraised the situation in front of me. Emrys had joined Robert in trying to incapacitate the other two Daemons. Robert seemed to have the upper hand in his battle, but Emrys was struggling more than I liked to see. He took a blow to the cheek, causing a rage-filled eruption in my head. Without hesitation, I vaulted over one of the tables that stood between us, passing Robert along the way. I paused only long enough to eliminate his Daemon which was in the process of leaving his host when I approached from behind. I grabbed his head between my hands, leaving the Daemon engulfed in flames, screaming in agony. He was just an obstacle that was separating me from the most important thing to me—Emrys.