Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1)(52)

Nearly every ear had a cell phone attached to it. There were so many homeless and prostitutes. I barely saw the Chinese Theatre or the stars on the sidewalks. All I could see were the souls and emotions.

“Is it too much for you here?” Kaidan asked me.

“It’s hard,” I said. “But not because it’s Hollywood. Even Atlanta is hard for me sometimes.”

“I’ll get us out of here.”

We stopped at a red light. I shook my head and managed a small smile for the man who passed my window with a flyer offering tours of celebrity homes. When he walked away I met the eyes of a homeless woman sitting on some gray newspapers that matched her gray aura of despair. I opened my little wallet and pulled out two bills.

“You’re wasting your money,” Kaidan warned.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

She came, dragging one leg, to the window when I rolled it down and held out the money.

“God bless you,” she said. Her eyes reflected the pale green swirl of gratitude around her. She was not high or drunk, nor did she have the undercurrent of addiction running through her. I wondered what awful circumstances had forced her to live in the streets.

“Wait,” I called out. I snapped open my wallet and pulled out my entire savings, pressing it into her palm. Her lip trembled as she pulled it to her chest. Our eyes stayed locked until the light turned green and we drove away.

I realized too late that I would have to depend on Kaidan financially for the rest of the trip, not that he’d let me pay for anything so far anyway.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “That was presumptuous of me. But she—”

“What on earth are you apologizing for?” His eyes were soft, taking me by surprise. I looked back down, feeling bad.

Traffic was stop-and-go on the strip. Kaidan watched the road, lost in his thoughts.

“Legionnaire,” he said. My attention snapped to where he pointed. “Whispering to that man in the blue suit. If he comes this direction I’m going to ask you to hide. Be ready to move.”

I nodded and slunk lower in the seat. I still couldn’t see any demon, but I watched the man, walking and talking on his cell phone while his guardian angel rushed around him. He clicked the phone shut and stopped walking. He seemed to waver in indecision, looking around to see whether anyone was watching. Then he turned and, with a rush of determination, walked back to a woman standing by a light pole in a black leather dress with a faux-fur wrap. A prostitute. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it underfoot. Her colors went to a nervous light gray when he approached, changing to a soft blue relief when he passed her money in his palm. As they walked away together, a dirty cloud of guilt and apprehension spiked with yellow-orange excitement blazed around the man.

“Father would be satisfied to see the success of one of his whisperers,” Kaidan said with disdain. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

I tore my eyes from the people now, and instead watched Kaidan’s hand on the steering wheel, and his long legs on the pedals. This kept me busy until we were out of the city, back on the highway, where I could stare out at the city lights. Kaidan handed me his cell phone, since Patti would be calling soon.

I talked with her while he got us checked in at the hotel.

“You sound sad, honey,” Patti said.

“We just drove down the Hollywood strip. There was a lot of suffering. But I don’t want to think about that. Today was a good day.”

I told her about the Native American reservation and the Mexican restaurant. She loved every detail. I was glad to hear the strain gone from her voice.

“Be strong tomorrow, Anna. Everything will be fine. I just know it.”

“I miss you,” I told her. “I wish I could have one of your hugs right now.”

“I miss you, too, so much. Here’s a hug.” She made a mmnnn sound, like she was squeezing, and I giggled. “We’ll talk at this same time tomorrow?”

“Yes,” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie.”

We lay on our separate beds, contemplating what to do. We weren’t tired, even though we’d both changed into pajamas. I’d been surprised when Kaidan changed, but I didn’t mention it.

“We could go for a swim,” he suggested.

“Can’t,” I said. “Didn’t bring a bathing suit.” On purpose.

I sat up against the tower of pillows on my bed. I wanted to keep him talking for as long as possible, in case he planned to go out.

“Kaidan, what happened to all of the Nephilim? Why are there so few of us now?”

He came over and sat on my bed, a respectful distance away. He rubbed his face, as if weary, then began.

“All right.” He sighed. “Over a hundred years ago there were thousands of Neph and their descendants on earth. The offspring down the line had full powers, just like us. It started getting difficult for the Dukes to keep track of them and control them. A few Neph were using their abilities to rise to power among humans, taking high places of leadership, starting wars, committing genocides, in general bringing too much attention to themselves. The Dukes want Neph to be like them, influencing humans to cause chaos, but not taking starring roles. So they decided on the Great Purge. All Neph were hunted down and killed, whether they’d defied the Dukes or not. Within several years they were all gone.”