Chapter Two

            Layla had been driving for over ten hours and the exhaustion of constantly watching the road was giving her a headache and her eyes were beginning to burn from the strain. Glancing over in Damien’s direction Layla slowly began to realize he was wide awake. “Damien could you drive for a little while, please? I’m about ready to fall asleep,” Layla asked groggily.

            Damien gazed at Layla as if she were crazy. “Angels don’t know how to drive and those that do are much older than I am. The way they know how to drive is because we obtain all of the vessel’s thoughts and memories when we possess. That’s why I was going to go into Jayson’s body, but this guy hasn’t even begun to learn how to drive yet. So you’re at a loss.”

            Layla groaned audibly, “Okay then, we're going to stop for the night.” She didn’t look at Damien for a while after that but when she dozed off and she heard him scream her name… Layla jolted awake and had to swerve to the left to avoid an oncoming car.

            Both of their breathing came in quick gasps. Layla pulled to the side of the road and put the car in park then turned it off. Staring blankly forward, Layla and Damien then looked at each other, their eyes as wide as golf balls. “Did you?”  Layla asked, wondering if he had helped at all.

            “Yeah.  Are you alright?”

            “I’ll be fine, just a little freaked out at the moment,” Layla replied as she took in a big gulp of air.  Damien nodded in response and Layla turned the car back on and pulled back onto the road. She turned off at the next exit and drove to find a cheap hotel. As she was searching, memories of past arguments with Jayson came to her mind. Layla had always wanted to stay in the fancier hotels and Jayson had always just wanted to lay low. Now as she remembered he'd been right and Layla just wanted to stay somewhere better.  She wanted luxury but now all she wanted was her brother back.

            Damien could tell Layla was lost in her thoughts and he was very conscious of how much she missed her brother. “He loves you very much, Layla, don’t ever forget that.”

            Layla glanced over in Damien’s direction and replied, “I know he does. There wasn’t a day that went by he didn’t tell me.” As she finished her sentence, Layla saw the type of hotel she was looking for.  The sign that read, “Ye Olde Homestead Inn”. The name was a dead ringer for a cheap motel. Neon lights flickered on the bottom of the sign that read, “Vacancy”. There were plenty of trees and flowers around the motel; at least the landscaping was tasteful. Luckily it was back in the forest, which gave it a sense of it being hidden from the rest of the world, secluded. Turning the car to the right, Layla drove into the parking lot. There was only a ground floor of rooms and each one had an assigned parking spot. Neon lights flickered over the main part of the building that read, “Open” and “Check In”. Sighing inside, Layla gazed at the disgusting yellow color the building was painted, along with the rusted orange color that highlighted corners and tried to make the inn more appealing. It seemed as if the architect had been trying too hard to make the building appear appealing. He also had used way too much neon lights, it looked like he had placed them anywhere and everywhere that he could get away with. Parking by the front doors, Layla said, “Wait here.” She stepped out, took a deep breath and walked inside. As she entered, her nostrils were overcome with cigar smoke, alcohol, and sweaty socks. Breathing as best as she could out of her mouth, Layla stepped up to the front desk and dinged the bell that was set on top and waited. While she waited impatiently, she found herself staring at the orange yellow walls, with vomit green accents against different shaped panels.

She heard a door open and almost threw up her lunch from the repulsive smell that came with it.  Looking up sharply, her eyes stinging from the putrid smell, Layla found herself staring at a man in a white tank top that was yellow around the armpits and a cigar in his mouth. As he approached, Layla figured out the horrid smell was coming from the room and him. She smiled as best as she could without cringing and he grinned back. His teeth were yellow from all the smoking and he had sores on his unshaven jaw. His belly hung over the edge of his belted up pants. Layla had come up with two things that, that man needed to bathe and she now understood why Jayson always went in to book the room.

He stopped at the edge of the desk and asked, “What can I do for you pretty lady?”

Layla almost keeled over from the rancid smell of alcohol on his breath. She coughed once before she said, “My friend and I would like a room please.”

A sly look came into the man’s eyes, “Are you entertaining?”

Shock came into Layla’s eyes as she answered quickly, “Most certainly not!  What room is open?”

“You can take room three it has two full sized beds, sweet cheeks.”

Layla glared, “Thanks.” She turned on her heel and stocked out of there as fast as she possibly could. Layla got back into the car and said, “We have room three, two full sized beds inside.” When Damien didn’t answer, Layla turned her head to the side to face him. As she gazed at the empty seat, Layla slowly began to feel panic constricting her chest. He wasn’t there.

Layla had no idea where Damien could've disappeared to and she began to fear the same people who took her brother had snagged Damien as well. How was she going to get trained without Damien? There was no possible way she could make it on her own. As all of these questions bounced around in her mind a knock suddenly came to her window and Layla jumped from fright.  Then her eyes met the hazel green ones through the window, Layla recognized them and she sighed in relief. Once she had fully calmed herself, Layla sighed, “Damien.”

A confused expression covered Damien’s face, as he asked, “What are you doing, Layla? Weren’t you going to drive the car and park it in front of the hotel room?”

Layla’s jaw dropped in shock and slowly a grin sneaked onto her face. Shaking her head, she turned on the car and began to drive. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Damien smile at her.

Once the car was parked in front of the room, Layla got out and closed the door. As she turned around, she bumped right into Damien. She began to fall back, when Damien's hands gripped the top of her arms and pulled her up against him. Their eyes connected and Layla found she couldn't draw a breath.  His hazel green eyes held hers for a moment, before he released her arms, leaned down and took the room key from her back pocket. He stepped away, a strange cautious look in his eyes. Layla was confused for a moment and she found herself wondering what she had expected to happen. Frankly, Layla didn’t want to admit it especially since Damien most likely heard it while he had leaned toward her.

Realizing she was still gazing into his eyes dreamily, Layla averted her gaze. Nodding her head to no one in particular, Layla strode with unnatural gracefulness to the hotel room. Knowing the whole time she walked, Damien was watching her hips sway. J 

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was drawn to her in a way he had never been with anyone else. Damien wasn’t going to tell her though; he wasn’t going to allow his feelings to get in the way of what he was here for. All the other angels up in heaven thought Layla was an abomination but Damien saw her as one of them, she didn’t seem to have any demon blood in her. Except when he would do certain things and she would react the way a demon would to him. Other than that, she seemed a normal angel to him; then again, he hadn’t seen her lose her temper yet.

Layla reached in her back pocket for the key and then she remembered Damien had taken it.  Turning on her heel, she said, “Damien, you have the key.”

“Oh right,” Damien answered coming out of his revere. He glided up to her side but he didn’t turn to open the door. He just stood there gazing at Layla, like he was trying to figure her out or something.

Layla gave him a quizzical look before she asked, “What? Is there something on my face?”

Damien shook his head then turned and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he stared at the wallpaper. “Wow!”

Layla entered after him and said, “Yup! Revolting wallpaper as usual and matching carpet, bedding and everything. Amazing.” Sarcasm dripped from the corners of Layla’s words.

Damien gave her an odd look. “What was that for?”

“It’s just I’ve never liked these kind of hotels. Staying in them is very difficult, because they are so terribly decorated,” Layla replied. Not looking at him, she made her way to her bed and set her bag on top of it. It was the one right next to the window with a desk next to it.  The one bed she always took.

Damien followed her and said, “I’m going to take the window bed, Layla.”

Layla turned on him, fire in her eyes, “I always take this one, Damien, and I’m not about to change that because you have suddenly appeared in my life exactly at the time I needed you. No I won’t.” As Layla’s frustration began to grow, her eyes turned entirely white.

Damien took a step away, suddenly frightened. He had finally seen the demon side of her, except her eyes were white not black. Damien knew he had to find a way to calm her down before she hurt him or herself.  “I’m sorry Layla. You may take the bed, I just wanted to keep you safe in case those things came and got you.”

“Why should I trust you anyways, Damien? You haven’t even told me what’s after me. As a matter of fact you are keeping lots of secrets from me. If you are to train me, as you claim, then I have to be able to trust you. What’s coming after us, Damien?!” Layla was beginning to shout and her skin was turning a dangerous red and her veins were turning black, standing out against her skin.

Damien put his hands up, “I understand your frustration, Layla. You’ve lost your brother and now you don’t know exactly what's going on. I thought when I first told you, you were taking everything a lot better than I first thought. You have to trust me Layla; it’s the only way for you to survive this and to save Jayson.”

At the mention of her brother, Layla’s eyes turned back to their sapphire color, her skin turned back to the olive tone and the black lines disappeared. Her hands turned back to their original color. She collapsed onto the ground and began to cry. She just sobbed into the floor. Wondering why this all had to happen to her.

Damien watched the dramatic change that happened at just the mention of her brother. As she cried, Damien wondered what to do. He felt an instinct inside of him and decided to act on it. Striding carefully to her side, he knelt down and proceeded to wrap his arms around her. As soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she turned into his arms and cried into his shoulder. They sat side by side until Layla’s whimpers became silent and the sniffles had seized. “Are you okay?”

“For the moment. Damien, what happened there? I totally lost control. I’ve never been that angry and frustrated before. What’s happening to me?” She was terrified and missed her brother terribly; missed his comforting aura, she missed everything about him. Never before in her life had Layla been so angry and the power that surged through her intoxicated her senses entirely. It frightened her and then again, she thrived in it, loved it. That's what scared her the most, the part of her that enjoyed the pounding sensation of being angry.

Damien hesitantly put his hand on top of her head and slowly ran his fingers through her hair as he said, “The anger and power you felt comes from her father. It’s from the demon blood in you. Are you telling me you have never lost your temper before?”

Layla shook her head, “Not from what I remember. Jayson was very good at keeping me calm and content. Now though, I feel the calmness was gone. I'm frightened, I don't like the way it made me feel and yet I did like it too..."

“I can explain that, your demon half thrives in anger and chaos, while your angel half is calm and collected. They contradict each other. No matter what side you use, one part of you will shy away from it while the other will thrive. Missing your brother I cannot even sympathize with you, because I have never been in a situation like it,” Damien said, sharing a piece of him with her. Finally realizing she was really in his arms and she hadn’t moved away, Damien began to panic. This was not part of his mission. Having feelings for her wasn’t right; there was a fair chance she may not make it at all through all of this.

Burying her head deeper into the crook of Damien’s neck, Layla suddenly flinched away from him and stood up inhumanly fast. She shook her head and dashed out of the hotel room. Once outside, she kept running. This couldn’t be happening, she didn’t know why she had run, but something had scared her. The way she felt in his arms scared her, while part of her enjoyed it and wanted to stay there forever. All these conflicting feelings were confusing, Layla, and she didn't know what to do about it because she had never felt that way before. As she entered the woods, Layla blindly made her way through the foliage. She didn’t care if she got lost; all she wanted was to clear her mind.

After several minutes of running, Layla tripped over a branch and fell onto her face. Groaning, she tried to rise but her muscles were shaking terribly. Layla lay in the dirt for a couple more minutes before she was able to get up. As she slowly straightened up, she found herself staring into two bottomless black pits. Gasping, she stepped back and fell on her back. She had tripped over the branch again. “What’s the matter princess? Don’t you recognize me?” the man flashed his teeth and his eyes stayed that completely bottomless black color.

“Where would I know you from?” she whimpered.

The man grinned and Layla winced away from him. She didn’t know who this man was, and then he said, “I’m your uncle, Layla. Your father was my brother. We’ve been the ones after you. The demon pack and I. Now if you would be a good little girl and come with us, we would be most obliged to you.”

Layla scrambled away from him as more demons showed up around the clearing. She could sense most of them more than see them. Anger was building up again and she didn’t want to explode like she had almost done with Damien. She was about to stand up when she heard Damien, “Layla!”

Her uncle’s head snapped up and his nose wrinkled as he hissed through his teeth, “An angel.” The rest of the pack finally stepped out of the trees and Layla was terrified. “Grab her,” he ordered to the demon by his side. Layla screamed as she was lifted from her feet and thrown over the demon’s shoulder. Damien was too far away to reach her and by the time he would reach the clearing where she actually was, Layla would be gone.

Layla was about to scream out Damien’s name before someone gagged her roughly. Heat began to burn in her hands and her eyes turned white again. The black lines reappeared on her face and arms and Layla began to struggle. Her uncle turned just in time to see her and he said, “Someone cool her off before she blows us to heaven!” A demon with blood red eyes stepped forward and placed her fingertips on Layla’s temples, before Layla knew it… Her world went black and any hopes of seeing Damien again seemed to be dissipating.