Burn

CHAPTER 16

"What was that?"

Ryu was propped against a brick wall, gaze cool and assessing, effortlessly casual-which was infuriating, because this was Carter's place, the warehouse he'd hidden out in as a kid. He'd brought Ryu here for a bit of familiar ground, for a sense of control-and of course, Ryu still managed to command the situation, all sharp edges and too-bright eyes.

It was enough to make Carter scream.

"What," he repeated through gritted teeth, "was that?"

Ryu hesitated, bit his lip, hesitated again.

And that really made Carter want to scream.

"Please," he begged, dismayed to find his voice breaking, "just tell me. Please. I need to know what happened...I need to know if I'm dangerous-"

"Carter, stop."

Ryu moved so quickly he was by the wall one heartbeat and directly before Carter in the next, hands hovering over his shoulders. Tension married his brow as those taloned fingers clenched and unfurled, indecision warring across his face.

Finally, he sighed and dropped his hands to his sides.

"You're not dangerous, Carter."

"What?" Carter blinked stupidly, mouth slightly agape; relief was swamping him in waves so palpable he could barely stand. "I'm not?"

"You're not." Again, that hesitation, lingering just beneath that demonic face. "...I am."

Carter didn't mean to. He laughed.

"Of course you are!" He blurted, and god, he'd been through so much emotional turmoil in the last hour it must have turned him hysterical. "You're a demon, for fuck's sake!"

But Ryu's expression remained solemn, and in the face of his clenched jaw and furrowed brow, the laughter quickly died on Carter's lips.

"Ryu...?"

"Do you know why demons make contracts with mortals, Carter?" Ryu asked suddenly.

"For...many different reasons?" Carter tentatively supplied. It was suddenly hard to swallow past the tightness in his throat.

"To control them." Meeting Ryu's gaze was hard, but the demon was unrelenting, those eyes seeming to pin Carter in place as effectively as if he were physically restrained. "When you make prolonged contact with a demon, they can...act through you. Like a conduit.

"They don't have permanent physical forms in this realm, Carter," Ryu continued, and his voice began to quicken, panic bleeding into his voice, "they latch onto mortals like, like parasites, because they can't independently sustain themselves, because they're-we're-evil and cruel, and-"

"You're telling me," Carter broke in, his voice too-quiet, too soft in the aftermath of Ryu's revelation, "that you've had the ability to act through me this entire time?"

Ryu nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again, all in rapid succession. "In small bits-its incredibly taxing, but...yeah, I guess, in a manner of speaking." He ran a shaky taloned hand through his thick dark hair, and Carter had never seen him so disturbed.

"And you used it today?" Carter prompted, still in that dead voice. "For the first time?"

Ryu's expression crumbled. "I'm so sorry, Carter-I lost control, I was just so angry on your behalf, and I wanted him to hurt, I wanted-"

"Ryu."

Carter could feel how blank his face was. Could see the uncertainty in Ryu's gaze, mirrored by the thumping of his own heart. Heat ran in small rivulets up each individual finger as he cupped Ryu's face, palms resting flat against each cheekbone.

"Carter," Ryu said, neither statement nor question, just a mortal name on his demon tongue.

It sounded like a prayer. Like worship. Reverence and holiness. Heaven and Hell. Death and life.

It burned like flame in Carter's gut.

But Ryu's kiss burned brighter.

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