Age of Demons

Chapter 42 - Leyla

When Leyla woke up the next day, sunlight slipped underneath the curtains and highlighted the room. She groaned and rolled over in bed. She felt heavy physically, but her mind was awake, and she knew it was futile trying to get another hour of sleep. She looked across the room at Ash's bed and saw her still curled under the covers. Jace lay beside her. He slept soundly, despite his constant thrashing and muttering throughout the night.

It must have been pretty early in the morning because the sunlight was a pale yellow, and it struggled to brighten the room. She stretched up in bed, her limbs heavy and warm.

Leyla changed and got ready in the bathroom, then she grabbed her journal and left the room.

She wasn't sure if Niko would be at the library yet, so she headed for his room first. He was on the second floor, and she was soon strolling down the familiar passageway. She'd been to his room a couple times by now. She passed by the first number of rooms and then stopped in front of the one that was labeled 207 and knocked.

A couple seconds ticked by before she heard shuffling. The door clicked open, and she found herself staring at Niko. His curly hair was messy, and he blinked slowly at her, as if he had just woken up.

"Leyla, hey." He almost jerked back in surprise to seeing Ley at his door.

"Did I wake you?"

"I had to get up anyway. Want to come in?" He stepped back, and she walked inside with him.

His room was like hers. The same furniture, a similar set up. However, there was only one bed, not two. Some of the residents had their own rooms. Niko had been a part of the safe house for a long time, and he had earned trust and respect from the commanders.

Books and journals were stacked high on his dresser, and a pen had fallen to the floor. His blankets were twisted on the bed, as if he had tossed about during the night.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I can't just want to come see you?" she asked. They faced each other. She gazed up into his golden eyes.

He grinned. "Usually you want something from me."

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"Like I'm getting this vibe that you came here to make out," Niko suggested innocently.

She snorted. "You're funny."

"Worth a try." He propped against his dresser. "So what's up?"

"I wanted to tell you something."

"About what?"

"So you know the rumors about that girl in the demon prison?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, they may be more true than I thought."

"Wait, you believe me?"

"There's a lot more to it."

He expectantly waited for her answer, his hands gripping the dresser.

"You know my friend Ashlyn?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I remember her."

"Well, she visited the girl herself." Ley paused. Niko stared at her, waiting for her to reveal what was so important. "She woke up."

Niko stiffened. "She woke up?"

"At least, that's what Ash told me. And, Niko, what I have to tell you is going to sound absolutely insane."

Niko's mouth hung open. "I never thought..."

"You might be right. About it all. That she could be the reason. From what she told Ashlyn—"

"She spoke to her?" He shook his head. He brushed his hand through his hair. "Wow." Then he looked back at Leyla. "What did she say?"

Leyla filled him in on everything Ash had told her.

"So the Deliverance Faction was right..."

"Well, I don't know about that."

"But she really was possessed by a bunch of spirits. And now they're haunting our world."

"Yes, but if all of what she said is true, she was basically tortured her whole life. They brainwashed her too. I think, somehow, she made it a reality."

Niko was absently nodding his head, lost in thought. "I'm going to go down there myself later today. I need to see this for myself." His eyes focused on her. "Care to join me?"

Leyla hated that place. It made her skin crawl and was as cold as a freezer. Her curiosity was piqued though, and now she had an excuse to go down and see what Ashlyn was talking about.

"Sure."

Niko grinned. "Great." Then he noticed Leyla's journal. "You've actually been writing in that?"

She glanced down at the journal in her hand. The cover was a dark green with etchings of flowers and leaves. Niko had given it to her two weeks earlier, saying, Now you can start your own story. And she had. She'd started at the very beginning, when she lived a normal life and still had a sister.

Leyla found herself writing in her journal all last night, since she couldn't sleep with Jace tossing and turning. She wanted to write something others could read too. Her journal would have more to say, because she already had more experience. Her best friend was Ashlyn, a new kind of possessed. She had traveled from one safe house to another and watched her home be overrun by demons. And she wrote about Sylvia, the girl who seemed to be the key to the demons.

She rotated the journal over in her hands, tracing the vines that stretched to the back cover. "Yeah, actually, I have." She looked up at Niko. "Thanks, again."

He smiled. "Of course."

She drew toward him. She couldn't block the pull she felt. She loved how sometimes his curls fell in front of his eyes, how they flashed bright in the sun, how alive he was—he never let negative emotions drag him down.

He looked at her, confused. She stretched past him and carefully set the journal on the dresser behind him.

Niko moved in. His body heat radiated off of him, and she felt herself responding to his nearness. She reached out and trailed her fingers up his arms. He sucked in a breath at the contact. He dipped his head lower and she tilted hers up. Their lips met, and readily returned the kiss. His hands found her hips, and he pulled her to him. She moved her hands through his hair, her fingers digging into his curls.

His mouth moved hungrily with hers, and she fell into the sensations saturating her body. He picked her up and moved her to his bed. She fell against the blankets as he moved on top of her. He buried his face in her hair, and she let out a gasp as she felt his lips against her neck.

But then he stopped, and she opened her eyes to see him gazing down at her.

"Ley—"

She shook her head and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him down to her. He gladly obliged and continued their kiss. She lost herself in the imprint of his hands left on her skin, his lips tracing every part of her.