Sins of the Innocent: A Novella Read online

  I fell to my knees, my palms flat against the grass and mud, feeling the weight of more than a dozen rabid humans on my back. Seconds later, they were gone. Levi was tossing them across the yard, three or four at a time.

  I fought my way to my feet. The adrenaline of being overtaken, even for a moment, put too much force behind my fists. Thirty yards away, a man fell to the ground, lifeless. I froze, my fists at my sides, breathing hard, the rain dripping from my nose and chin.

  “Here!” Levi said, still fighting. “We’re here!”

  Michael appeared next to me, dry and unaffected by the rainstorm. “Leave this place!” he bellowed to the creatures so loud that I had to cover my ears.

  The shells shrank back in fear, withdrawing to the sea.

  Samuel appeared next to him, and then I felt an army of Archs and Cimmerians behind me, surrounding the lighthouse and filling up every square foot of earth between us and the cliffs.

  “Wait,” I said, taking a step. I looked to Michael, squinting from the rain. “They’ll leave them in the Narragansett. They’ll wake up weak in the water.”

  Michael raised an eyebrow.

  “They’ll drown,” I insisted.

  Michael frowned at the retreating shells.

  Dad, Claire, and Bex ran to where Levi and I stood.

  Moments before, we had been surrounded by hundreds of Archs. Now, we were alone in the night just as the sun broke through the clouds and the rain let up.

  “Are they following?” Claire asked.

  Levi shook his head. “They’re making sure the humans get back safely.”

  “That’s nice of them,” Claire said, surprised.

  “What was that about?” Dad said, two deep lines forming between his brows.

  Levi shook his head, unsure. “She remembers. I think it triggered something.”

  “Like wrath maybe?” Bex said, unsettled.

  “I haven’t seen that many shells since Jerusalem,” Claire said.

  Dad’s expression turned more severe as he scanned my face. “What is it?”

  “I wasn’t prepared,” I said, ashamed to admit the truth. I was still in disbelief. “They overwhelmed me.”

  Bex and Claire traded glances, and Dad continued to watch me, unhappy.

  “Well, she’s been sparring with us. We’re barely a challenge,” Bex said.

  “Speak for yourself,” Claire said.

  “Enough,” Dad snarled. He glared at Levi. “Well? What are you capable of? Can you challenge her?”

  “He held her down in the alley,” Bex said. “He can at least best her for a few seconds.”

  “More than a few,” Levi said.

  I arched an eyebrow.

  Levi noticed my expression and cleared his throat. “I was tasked with her assassination. I’m confident I can challenge her, but I don’t think …” His eyes drifted to me.

  “What? You can’t hit her?” Claire said, smirking.

  Levi clenched his teeth. “I know you can’t.”

  Claire’s grin vanished, and she took a step. Dad held the back of his hand to her chest, keeping his eye on Levi.

  “If you sparred with her, could you land a punch?” Bex asked, his question sincere.

  “Yes, but I don’t want—” Levi began.

  “It’s settled then,” I said. “I’ll train with Levi.” I looked to him, touching his chest. “It’s just safer for me in the long run, right?”

  Levi frowned, unhappy with the thought of attacking me for real. “I don’t want to do this.”

  “You’re assuming you’ll win,” I said, holding out my hand.

  He took it, and we followed my family back to the dock where the Katherine waited to take us back to Newport.

  Morgan was standing in the long line of Backdoor Burger. Its bright orange front door was nestled between two green dumpsters in an alley downtown, but they had the best BLTs in New England. I joined him, tugging on his T-shirt to let him know I’d arrived.

  The floors, walls, and ceiling were of the same type of wood. The bi-level eatery had no windows but plenty of lighting to make up for it.

  A woman at the register was closer to my mom’s age than mine. Every time I’d been in there, she had been manning the counter. Her arms were covered in tattoos, and she had a bull ring in her nose. My favorite thing about her was that she always wore T-shirts or hoodie sweatshirts that said something completely inappropriate.

  Today’s shirt had a black skull with a spatula and fork crossing beneath it and read, Culinary Badass.

  “Next!” she yelled.

  “Sorry I’m late,” I said. “I had a long night.”

  “Did you go to a party?” he asked, trying not to look wounded.

  “Of course not. I was at Levi’s.”

  “Levi’s,” Morgan deadpanned. “The guy you hate.”

  “I don’t hate him anymore.”

  We took a few small steps as the line moved forward.

  “And why is that?”

  “I’ve spent some time with him. He’s all right.”

  “So … does that mean I don’t have to hate him?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Cool. Why didn’t you bring him?”

  “Next!” the counter woman called.

  We moved forward.

  “We hung out last night. I wanted to hang out with you today, Morg.”

  Morgan grinned, appreciative of my sentiment. After ten minutes, we finally made our way to the front of the line to order, only to be given a number to take to our table.

  Morgan chose a two-seater high top in the corner, and we sipped on our sodas while we waited for our BLTs and seasoned fries. We were just two teenagers eating junk food with time to kill instead of demons. That was why I hadn’t invited Levi. Morgan was my escape. Everyone needed a break from the difficult parts of their lives even if it was just lunch once or twice a week.

  We chatted about Morgan’s summer job and his parents until the food arrived, and then we didn’t talk at all. Instead, we stuffed our mouths full of juicy goodness.

  Morgan used a napkin to wipe his mouth, smiling when I reached over to steal his leftover fries. “Just six weeks before you move into Andrews at Brown, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  Since graduation, I had thought I wouldn’t make it to college. Now, having Levi’s help while still remaining neutral, I was beginning to believe that I might stay alive long enough to have some semblance of a normal life.

  “When do you leave?”

  “Mid-August.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “I wish I could have gotten into Brown. Let’s just put it that way.”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  “You’re my only friend.”

  “For now. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be the only friend you’ll ever have.”

  Morgan looked past me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see a group of girls giggling at a table on the opposite side of the room.

  I stifled a smile, and stole another one of his fries. “College is going to be a whole new world for you, Morg. You can be anyone you want to be. It’s a clean slate.”

  “What if I’m just myself, and I still don’t have any friends? That will be confirmation that I’m a complete loser.”

  “I like you. You can’t be that bad.”

  “You don’t have any friends either.”

  “By choice.”

  “Well, it’s not a choice for me. People just naturally don’t like me. Tell me the truth, Eden. Do I have bad breath? Body odor? Do I dress like a dork? What is it about me that people don’t like?”

  I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.” I leaned forward. “But whatever it is, no one will know about it in college. High school is a cesspool, and we just happen to fall at the bottom. There is a stigma attached to that. But it has a way of disappearing in college.”

  “How do you know?”

  I shrugged again. “My mom told me. Well, she just agreed with
my aunt because I didn’t believe her. Claire was homeschooled. She’s also kind of a bitch but in the best possible way.”

  “I’ve never met your aunt.”

  “Count yourself lucky. Levi didn’t love her.”

  “Wait. We’ve been friends for years, and I’ve never met your family or been to your house. You kind of know Levi for a few weeks, and he’s already met your aunt? The one who is gone most of the time?”

  “It was a freak accident.”

  Morgan was still unhappy.

  “Morg, if it makes you feel better, come over and meet them all. Just … call first. My grandmother is a little weird about guests.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “Good.” I looked at my watch. “I’d better head out. Training.”

  “You should train with Levi. He seems like he knows his stuff.”

  I breathed out a laugh. “Yeah, maybe I should.”

  The ground was still wet, even after warming all day in the summer sun. I curled my toes in my sneakers and cracked my knuckles, standing before Levi in the courtyard. My family stood in the corners. Claire could barely contain her anticipation, Bex and Dad watched with interest, and Mom and Ryan looked concerned.

  “You ready?” I asked Levi.

  A permanent frown had taken over his beautiful face since sunrise. “I’m not comfortable with this.”

  “Why? Afraid you’ll lose?”

  “We’re equal, Eden. It will take more than strength. You’ll have to use your head.”

  “Use my head?”

  “Yes, you can’t just—”

  I reared back and head-butt him, my forehead knocking hard into his. He fell backward and then scrambled back to stand.

  “Like that?” I asked.

  Claire hopped up and down, too excited to stand still. “I told you. She’s got this.”

  Dad hushed her.

  Levi strolled around me in a wide circle. “I want to reiterate that I don’t want to do this.”

  I crouched into a defensive position. “You’re supposed to challenge me. All I hear is talk.”

  He put his hands on his hips and looked down. “This is not what I had in mind when I thought about what it would be like to see you again.” His jaw worked under his skin, and then he looked up at me.

  “Stop being a baby, and hit her!” Claire yelled.

  “This brings back memories,” Mom said quietly to Dad.

  “Just try,” I said.

  “Eden …”

  “We don’t have all day!” Claire yelled.

  “Okay then,” I said. “We’ll try this a different way.”

  I went in for the attack, throwing a punch. Levi bent back, preventing my knuckles from connecting with his face by mere centimeters. He threw a punch, and I stepped to the side. He moved past me, and I spun and kicked his back, forcing him several steps forward.

  He turned around, and I frowned.

  “You’re not trying,” I said.

  I lunged at him again, landing a punch to his mouth, and when he spun, I grabbed him, wrapping my arms around his middle. My back bent, and I let the both of us fall backward. Levi’s head crashed into the cement below. Then I grabbed his ankles before tossing him across the courtyard, and he fell back against Bex.

  Bex pushed him back, and Levi stood up, wiping blood from his lip.

  He nodded. “Pretty good.”

  Claire grabbed him, holding him against the outer wall of our house. “You saw what happened to her last night. Do you want that to happen again? What if you’re distracted? What if you can’t get to her? Do you want her to know what to do to protect herself? Or do you want her to die while she’s waiting on you to save her?”

  Levi looked back at me and then nodded to my aunt.

  He walked back to the center of the courtyard and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

  “You haven’t hit me yet,” I said.

  In a blur—faster than Bex, faster than Claire, even faster than my father—Levi attacked. His elbow met my shoulder, nearly sending me to the ground, and then he spun, ramming his foot into the back of my knee. Before I could right myself, he kicked my back, sending me to the soil.

  He gave me a moment to stand, and then I shifted my weight, all of my focus being drawn in without effort. My adrenaline replaced thoughts with instinct, and I lunged for him again. I met each of his blows with my own, sometimes taking the full force of his elbow or knee, sometimes knocking him to the ground.

  Five minutes went by, and the pace didn’t let up. After ten minutes, the intensity only amplified. Neither of us would let up. We were punching, kicking, spinning, using anything handy to throw or stab or smash.

  I stumbled back, holding myself up with my hands on my thighs, heaving.

  “Good,” Levi said, spitting a glob of blood on the ground. “That was good. Could be better, but we’ll try again tomorrow.”

  “Who taught you how to fight?” Claire asked.

  Levi stood up, stretching his back, squinting one eye with the pain. “You pick up a few things when you live among the most evil beings in existence. She’s tougher though,” he said, nodding to me.

  “I haven’t seen the”—she held up her finger and moved her arm in a circle—“thing before.”

  Levi smiled at me, still breathing hard. “She handled it.”

  “What do I”—I took in a couple of breaths—“need to work on?”

  “Speed and anticipation mostly,” Levi said. “You’ve been sparring with the same people for too long. You’re surprised too easily, and you’re not sure how to recoup.”

  I nodded, putting my hands on my hips. Levi limped over to me, letting me put my arm around his neck. We hobbled together to the house where Mom had set up a makeshift triage in the kitchen.

  Mom was more than just unhappy.

  But Grandmother was livid. “You couldn’t have spared the sixteenth-century garden bench? Did you have to splinter it across his back?”

  “Yes,” I said, grunting as I climbed onto a portable table covered with a plastic sheet.

  Levi was on the floor across the room with Dad and Bex.

  Claire poured antiseptic over a wound on my ribs, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “This will be healed by morning,” Claire said, pulling out the gauze and Ace bandages. “Let me see your arm.”

  I held it out, revealing a laceration that spanned my forearm from elbow to wrist.

  “Oh!” Mom said, looking away and holding her wrist to her nose, keeping her gloved hand sterile. “I saw bone.”

  “That might take a little longer,” Claire said.

  I leaned over, getting a better look. “It’s not that bad,” I said, watching as the blood poured from the wound onto the plastic on the floor.

  “He fileted you,” Mom said. She turned to look at Levi, who was being doctored on the other side of the kitchen.

  “Is she okay?” Levi asked.

  “I will kill you myself,” Mom seethed.

  “Mom, stop.” I held my breath as Claire worked. “We were sparring. It was a fair fight.”

  Levi’s brows pulled together, and he tried to stand. “Let me see her.”

  Dad and Bex held him down.

  “Hang on,” Dad said. “Let’s get this wound closed up before your guts spill out.”

  “What?” I said, looking over at him.

  Levi laughed once, clearly in pain. “It’s fine. He’s exaggerating.”

  “No, he’s not,” Ryan said from the doorway, his arms crossed.

  I could tell by his expression that he was telling the truth.

  “He’s not fine or Dad’s not exaggerating?” I asked.

  “Both,” Ryan said.

  I sat up.

  “Eden!” Mom yelled.

  “He’s fine!” Bex said around the strip of tape hanging from his mouth. He was working fast.

  I lay back, shaking my head. “This was a bad idea. We could have killed each other.”

  “
We wouldn’t have let it go that far,” Claire said. “We need him alive for Bex, remember?”

  “I’m not feeling the love,” Levi said.

  “You let it go pretty far,” Mom snapped at Claire.

  “We had to see her limit. I’m not sure we’ve seen it. She could have beaten him.”

  “I heard that,” Levi yelled.

  “But she needs more practice,” Claire said. “He’s right. She’s slow on the return, and she needs to work on anticipation. She’s not intercepting like she should.” She looked down at me. “But you’ll get there. I’m impressed.”

  I smiled, and Claire brushed back my sweat-saturated hair from my face.

  “Don’t get blood on the curtains!” Grandmother scolded, holding up plastic against the windows next to Levi.

  “He’s not in any shape to go home alone,” I said.

  “He won’t be alone,” Bex said.

  “They’re sending groups to attack,” I said. “Bex will need backup.”

  “He can stay here,” Mom said.

  “In whatever room is farthest away from yours,” Dad said without humor.

  Once Mom and Claire finished patching me up, Claire helped me to my feet. Dad and Bex were still working on Levi. He was lying patiently, happy to see me upright.

  “Dad?” I asked.

  “His abdomen was tricky. I would have taken him to the hospital if I wasn’t sure we’d all be arrested. I could explain a bullet wound better than something like this.”

  “He looks like he’s been in combat,” Ryan said.

  “You okay?” Claire asked, readjusting my arm around her neck. “Any flashbacks?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I’m okay.”

  “Levi will be all right,” Dad said. “Working on the smaller stuff now.”

  “C’mon, kiddo,” Claire said. “Let’s get you to bed. You need to rest.”

  “I’ll see you later,” Levi said, watching me shuffle out of the kitchen.

  Mom and Claire helped me climb the stairs one agonizing step at a time. I’d never been so injured, and I wasn’t sure the extent of Levi’s wounds. My instincts had taken over, and my memory of the entire match was hazy.