The Spirit Seducer

Chapter 11

I woke, alone and shivering.

"Zeke?"

I sat up and flinched as my battered skin flexed and pulled.

Layla stuck her head in. Her eyes were dark with concern. Dried tear tracks limned her cheeks. Once she caught my eyes, she walked in, settling on the edge of the bed.

"How you feeling, E?"

"Where's Zeke?"

"In the other room."

I closed my eyes as shame washed over me. I was too needy. Clearly, he couldn't wait to leave. I must have imagined that caress. I curled onto my side. Images danced through my mind and my eyes sprang open.

"What time is it?"

"Early afternoon. Zeke thinks something's going to happen by dusk."

"Want to tell me why you left me yesterday?" I asked. "Coyote knocked me down, but you'd already let go of my hand, Layla."

She walked into the bathroom and came back with the brush. She sat on the edge of the bed and began to work out the tangles from my long hair.

"I know you're angry, E."

I slapped the brush from her hand. It flew across the room and thudded against the door. "This isn't girlie time. You left me there. I was tossed between Jaguar and Coyote like the spoils of war. They wanted to rape me."

Layla turned back to me, her shoulders stiff, and her chin quivering. "But you weren't. There's an enormous difference."

"With no help from you," I gritted.

"You're safe. Zeke saved you," Layla said, her eyes dark swirls of molten silver. "He always does."

"One time he won't get there in time, Layla. And, unlike you, I don't have any training. I don't know how to protect myself from gods."

Layla laughed, but it was an ugly, hateful sound. "You think I knew how to fight when I needed to?" She slashed her hand through the air. "I learned afterward. When it no longer mattered. Not really."

"Screw you." I shoved her. Layla, caught off guard, slid from the edge of the bed and sprawled on the floor. She bounded up faster than I could blink, her eyes narrowed, anger dripping from her every pore.

"I didn't leave you there," she snapped.

"I'm totally calling BS. You did. You let go of me."

"No, I didn't. Not on purpose, like you're thinking."

"You're right. I'm thinking you wanted to leave me there."

"That's because have no idea what's going on!"

"Because you won't tell me," I yelled back. It felt great to yell. I pushed up on my knees and met her eyes. "You lied to me." I let all my emotions into that one.

"I never did. Not once," she ground out. One of the most irritating things about Layla was her ability to get quieter when she was angry. I wanted to rage and break things and she got coolly logical.

Silence, thick and full of accusation, settled around us.

"You think this is about trust?" Layla scoffed.

I sat back on my heels and shoved her shoulder. "What else would it be about, Layla? You betrayed me."

"No," she shook her head in an emphatic gesture. Conviction fueled her movements, brightened her eyes. "You want to hear about betrayal?"