Devil's Plaything

Prove It

Several beats of silence passed before Mira could hear Marci reiterate the message to Charlie. There was another very long pause.

"I fucking knew it!" Charlie exclaimed, shattering the quiet.

Mira grimaced, wishing she didn't have to deal with their surprise and disapproval until she was more prepared to face them.

"Can she do it?" Mira asked urgently. Noah skimmed his hand over her upper arm as if he was preparing for take-off at any moment. The heat of his touch made her realize how cold she was. She couldn't hold back a shiver that wracked down her spine. His hand gripped her arm gently, warming her.

"She's doing it," Marci said finally, her tone abruptly neutral. Then, the line went dead.

Mira squeezed her eyes shut, and her ragged breathing began to verge on hyperventilation. She felt hard warmth brush her chest and smelled a deep, piney cologne. "It's going to be unsettling," Noah told her. She didn't know whether he was referring to having to go through the summoning, or her having to face her friends. His hand touched the small of her back lightly, guiding her closer into him. He was quiet for a moment, searching for the right thing to say. "You're safe."

He sounded so convincing that she let her weight shift fully onto his frame. She rested her head on his chest and tried to focus on the quick rhythm of his heart. She kept her eyes closed. She hadn't allowed herself to be so close to him since their first meeting. It calmed and excited her all at once.

She felt pressure on her waist as he lifted her from the ground. Then, in an instant, the pressure was gone.

Suddenly, it was as though there was no physical world. She could no longer sense her hands, or heartbeat, or breath. The only thing that she could truly feel was absence.

She was alone in this place that was nowhere. She thought that maybe she should scream, or cry, or laugh. But it was as if she had forgotten how to do those things.

Feeling returned in her fingers first. Her nails were digging into Noah's smooth, hard skin. Her vision cleared, and she could see the mark she had made on his chest. It looked like it hurt, but Noah didn't seem to notice. He just watched her, his hands running up her back to her shoulder blades as if he was worried that she would fall.

Rational thought and clarity came to Mira next, and she glanced around the space they were in. She instantly recognized the new setting as her room. Marci and Charlie sat on one of the beds, and Charlie held a gun in her hand. It lay casually unbalanced on her palm and her eyes were trained on Noah. A tense minute of silence passed, and Mira felt more exposed by the second.

"I'm still mad," Charlie said sternly, waving her gun for emphasis. "But weirdly, I would watch that porn."

For a moment, Mira had no earthly idea what she meant. Then, Noah released her and removed a quilt from her bed before draping it over her shoulders. She glanced down at herself and realized that they had forgotten to put their shirts back on.

No one spoke again until Noah cleared his throat. "Thank you," he said gruffly.

Marci stared ahead blankly, seemingly trying to keep her expression neutral and failing miserably. Her lips were pursed, and she kept her gaze trained away from Mira as if actually seeing her would cause an argument to begin.

"Well," Charlie continued when no one else spoke. She still looked at Noah with suspicion. "Can I take this unexpected appearance to be a sign that you are no longer planning to kill me?"

Noah seemed to consider the question for a moment. Mira gave him a warning look which made him sigh reluctantly. "I apologize for threatening to kill you," he told Charlie evenly. Then quietly added, "even though you definitely started it."