The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Nine

"Nikki," Josh breathed, his jaw tensing with the effort it took to stay in control.

At the sound of his voice the butterflies in Nikki's stomach erupted into flight; the thrill of hearing her name whispered so seductively disarming her. She closed her eyes and yielded to him willingly, waiting for him to cover her mouth with his.

But his kiss never came. Instead he dipped down and rested his forehead to hers.

Josh knew he had to say something but his hesitancy to speak was borne from doubt – a doubt that would not be silenced. The moment he told Nikki she would crumble and he wasn't ready to piece her back together, he couldn't trust himself not to act on this reoccurring impulse.

The silence dragged on.

You're still being selfish. Josh thought with a bitterness cultivated by decades of loss. She's right; she can't fight without knowing who her enemies are...

"Fine," he conceded both to himself and to her. "The other worlds are full of misery, deceit and death. The demons that come from them will use any means necessary to get to you - and there are hundreds of thousands of them. They come in every shape and form you can imagine, some – like the one tonight – can change their appearance, so you can't trust anyone. They use humans like animals, to feed on, to do leg work, for sport." He turned his head, stood to his full height and pulled her into a loose embrace. "That's all I can tell you right now. But I will tell you more, as soon as it's safe."

Nikki allowed her body to rest against him as his words resonated through her anaesthetised mind. Sadness shrouded her but she was unsure as to what upset her the most - his words or his lack of actions.

Through the confusion, she was certain of two things - firstly, she was being hunted and the things hunting her wanted her dead. And secondly, her body was not coupled to her brain when it came to Josh.

The enormity of her situation was overwhelming, and try as she might she couldn't stop her body from sagging. Danger surrounded her. It seemed that her untimely death was inevitable so where then, was the point in anything?

She pushed away from Josh and turned her back. The second his arms left her body she regretted her actions. She was cold and longing to feel his warmth wrapped around her but she knew that if she remained close to him, she would end up doing something they would both regret.

Her feet took her further under the canopy of trees, bringing her to a large oak that stood proudly amongst the younger vegetation. The bottom branch curved outwards before it rose up to the sky, offering her a welcomed seat. She sank onto the scratchy bark and hid in the shadows to contemplate her options.

She could run, but run where? These things were everywhere and she couldn't even recognise them, chances are she wouldn't get far.

She could fight. But how was she supposed to fight the unseen danger that surrounded her when she had no idea what it was? She suddenly felt very small and despite Josh's nearby presence, very alone.

"What's the point? Why are we trying to play a game we can't win?" She swung her legs, kicking at the weed littered floor. "As far as I can see I might as well go crazy for what little time I have left and actually enjoy myself."

As her words drifted across to him, Josh's heart constricted. A small part of him understood her defeat but he quickly dismissed it. His keen eyes found her face, despite the gloom of the trees blanketing her, and held her listless stare.

Her reaction was common and he'd been expecting it, what concerned him the most was his own response to her surrender. The thought of losing her shredded his ability to think clearly and he fought with the dread trying to consume him as visions of her lifeless body drifted through his mind.