Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(86)

“Murdered you?” Surreal had taken on an entirely new definition. If what he was saying was true, then we were talking to—

“I am Abel.” He afforded me a small smile. “Until my death, there was no need for someone like me. No need for balance. The world was pure. And then, with a single violent act, it was tainted. Blackness that you cannot imagine fell across the lands. It was like a plague, infecting every living creature on earth. In an effort to restore what was lost, God gave me Cain’s soul. It was poisoned by the crime he’d committed and had soiled the world beyond repair. The best I could do was bring some sort of balance.”

I shuddered, though I wasn’t sure it was from the cold. Abel. We were standing here with Cain’s brother, Abel.

“The damage was greater than you could possibly imagine,” he continued. The leaves rattled as the wind blew. “I couldn’t wipe the slate completely clean, but I was able to take the bulk of Cain’s darkness and redistribute it. It’s why your demon feeds off the darkest human emotions. They festered inside Cain, driving him to commit the crime that corrupted the world. Now, each one of his descendants is born with a small piece of that soul. Cursed to make a choice—carry out his crime again or fight until the stain is finally wiped away. Over the years, more Tainted came. Individuals whose horrific crime blackened souls were shattered and redistributed, but Cain’s… His was the first. His was the worst.”

Jax stared, mouth open and eyes wide. I knew exactly how he felt. “If you’re Abel, then why help Jax? Technically he’s part of the man who killed you.”

Heckle laughed. The sound was more eerie than amused, though. “I’ve been a long time on this earth, Sam. What my brother did to me doesn’t matter now. All that matters is maintaining a balance. I will never allow the blackness to overtake this place again.”

“But why stop at balance?” Jax asked. “Why not tip the scales in favor of good?”

“If only it were that easy. No,” he sighed. “Those days are gone. The best we can hope for is balance.”

“But how was letting Chase walk away balance? Why strike a deal with Jax and me?”

“Because in the long run, it will bring balance. As I said, you’ve passed my test.” He smoothed his shirt and stepped forward with a smile. “You both work for me. Think of it as subcontracting. From now on, you will help me maintain and restore balance.”

That was their agreement. Heckle allowed me to come back to the land of the living, and I offered up my services—whatever the hell that meant—to his cause. It seemed innocent, but now I wasn’t so sure. “Which I still don’t get. I get recruiting Jax—he’s a freaking demon—but me? What can I do?”

“There is much more to you, Samantha Merrick, than you are aware.” Heckle winked at me. “It wasn’t Jax who created the link. It was you.”





Chapter Thirty-Nine




Jax

For three days after Chase disappeared into the night, I kept a watchful eye on Sam. That had been interesting. I’d officially moved back to town, taking up residence in Rick’s house, and had convinced Sam, for the time being at least, to move in. The place was huge and there was plenty of room. Plus, telling Kelly was fun. It was like a scene right from our high school years, complete with gasping and screaming.

Everything was quiet. Wherever Chase had gone, it wasn’t here. I was betting he’d lie low—at least for a while—but knew we hadn’t heard the last of him. Like he’d said, Zenak would never give up.

And that was fine.

But we weren’t out of the woods yet. We had a lot to deal with, including a new link, the one between us, that we knew nothing about. Heckle dropped the bombshell that the link had been Sam’s doing, then disappeared into the sunset. He’d resurface eventually, but until then, we were in uncharted territory. Again.

I pulled the car up in front of Sam’s apartment building. We were here to get the rest of her things. “This is a bad idea, Jax.”

“Things are different now,” I said. I agreed, but leaving her on her own for the time being was an even worse choice. The living situation would be hard for both of us—harder than she knew—but it was necessary. “You said it yourself. You’re different. I think until we know what that means exactly, we need to keep each other close. For now, we’re roomies.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, fiddling with the seat belt button. It felt like decades ago we were reversed—me in the passenger’s seat and Sam in the driver’s—sinking to the bottom of the river.

“About?”

“That you’re being forced to stay.” Heckle wouldn’t let me leave. The bastard said I needed to be on call and therefore had to stay within shouting distance, so to speak. I wanted to put up a fight, especially since the deal I’d made was a two-parter, and staying in town was going to make the rest of the arrangement harder, especially with this new link, but my hands were tied.

I was sweating. Clammy palms and a nervous tremble in my gut. I would have blamed the demon, but Azirak—Azi, I’d started calling it—had been different since the day in the fort, too. Not gone and definitely not peaceful—I’d needed to feed it just last night—but more a part of me now. We had the same goals. And one of those goals was keeping Sam safe and controlling the fallout from its clan.