"Sorry, sweetheart. Can I kiss something and make it better?" he asked, clearly showing off for his friends.
"Is there a problem?" Sam asked, coming up to stand beside me.
"Only problem, sweet stuff, is that you need to keep your friend here on a tighter leash," he replied, glaring at me. He stepped closer with his chest puffed up. The idiot was obviously used to being able to use intimidation to get his way.
"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," Sam, the forever diplomat, said, holding up her hand.
I could see she was debating whether or not she needed to use her gifts to alleviate the situation.
"Fuck your misunderstanding," he said, taking a step closer.
"Look, there's no reason to be a jerk," Sam said in a calm voice. It was evident now that she was trying to control the situation.
"Maybe we can work it out," he said switching gears, making me think Sam's gifts were doing their job, but the confused look on Sam's face clued me that something wasn't quite right.
"How about we go to my car?" he said, trailing the back of his hand deliberately across her chest.
Without thinking, my hand reached out and grasped his finger. Pushing it backward, I felt it snap in my hand, making the football jerk land on his knees at my feet.
"You stupid bitch, you broke my finger," he snarled, cradling his finger against his chest.
All sound around me evaporated, and in one fluid movement I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He tried to stand, but the more he fought, the more my grip tightened around his neck, cutting off his air supply.
"Just think how easy it would be for me to break your neck too," I breathed into his ear so only he could hear my threat. He grabbed at my arm with his good hand and I tightened my hold to the point that his face began to change colors. "You're seriously not tempting me, are you?" I asked. Unable to answer, his eyes began to bulge. "Next time you'll employ a few manners and show the world that you're not a complete dick, right?" I asked, finally loosening my hold. He dropped down in front me on all fours gasping for breath as he began to heave. I moved away from him as sound rushed again into my head, crowding my senses. I felt Sam pulling on me, and could hear the jock's friends talking excitedly.
"Damn, did you see that shit?" I heard one of them ask as Sam dragged me around the corner of the building.
"Jordyn, what the hell was that?" Sam screamed, clearly disgusted.
"What? The guy was a freaking jerk!"
"You can't just drop a guy like that without consequences. You were going to break his neck because he knocked into you and touched me. This isn't training. That wasn't some Daemon you were fighting there. That was a human. You know, people we're supposed to protect!" Sam said, shaking with shock. "I'm going to go do some damage control. You go to the car," she demanded, stomping away.
All my fury seemed to dissipate in a rush and suddenly I was the one having trouble breathing as I thought about what I had just done. Sam was right. I fought that guy much like I would have a Daemon. I'd let my anger dictate my actions and compromised our family secret by doing so. Despair filled me, and I walked away from the side of the building, but instead of heading toward my car, I headed to the empty field behind the theater. I wanted to get away. I needed to get away.
The farther I walked from the theater, the easier it became for me to be able to breathe. Finally, I stopped in the middle of the open field and looked up at the stars, letting the rest of the adrenaline slowly seep from my body.
"Out for a nighttime stroll, huh?" a voice asked behind me.
"Emrys," I said, not turning around even though my pulse sped up into a high gear.
"Where's your bodyguard?" he asked, stepping up close behind me.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon," I answered, finally turning around and silently begging him with my eyes to keep his promise from earlier.
"You want to get out of here?" he asked huskily.
"Yes, please," I said as I heard Sam yelling my name behind me.
He held out his hand, and without hesitating, I reached out and grasped his hand just as Haniel appeared at my side.
"Jordyn, no!" he said, realizing he was too late.
CHAPTER FIVE
Haniel, Sam, and the weeds around my ankles disappeared instantly and were replaced by a steel platform beneath me. Taking a moment to get my bearings, I turned around slowly, trying to figure out where we were. We seemed to be standing on top of some kind of structure. The breeze was crisp, causing me to shiver slightly, and I could hear the faint sounds of traffic below. I stepped closer to the edge to see if I recognized anything. Looking down, I gasped when I saw the ant-sized vehicles buzzing around from what seemed like miles away. Maybe it was the unexpected shock from realizing how high we were, but my head began to spin, and I swayed uncertainly on the edge of the metal platform.
"Whoa, careful, Wonder Woman," Emrys said, gripping my hand and pulling me backward. "I'm pretty sure your superpowers don't include flying, right?" he added.