The Pendant

She continued leaping building tops until she reached the familiar skylight. She looked down and saw Liam talking with a man she did not recognize. He wore thick heeled black leather boots, khaki cargo pants, a blue turtle neck, and a waist length leather jacket. She could not see his face from where she was but she could see a mount of bleach white curls on the top of his head.



She eased open the window and dropped on to the table below. Liam screamed and grabbed his chest, his breathing heavy with panic. The other man however had not made a sound but rather just looked at her. Her eyes met with his and she could not find the strength to pull away. Looking into his eyes was like seeing into his soul, they were the clearest blue she had ever seen.



“Good you’re here, get off my table.” Liam barked causing Jade to smirk. Reluctantly she pulled her eyes from the stranger and looked at him in amusement.



“You should be use to it by now Liam.” She snickered and turned her attention to the new comer avoiding his eyes.



She looked over his body. His was thin yet muscular. He was broad in the shoulders and narrow at the waist with what appeared to be well defined muscles hidden under his cloths. His arms were crossed over his chest, giving off an air of arrogance. He stood a little less than six foot when she saw the heels of his boots. She allowed her eyes to wander to his face. He had a squared jaw and full lips. He had some of the most exquisite and well defined cheekbones she had ever seen on a man. Underneath his brown eyebrows was the most appealing part of his face, long lashes framed the bluest eyes she had ever seen.



“You on the other hand had every reason to jump and scream like a little girl and you didn’t, why?”



“I was tracking you with a homing device that I attached to your coat while you were asleep.” Her eyebrow shot up in irritated shock and anger danced in her eyes as he started laughing. “Actually I heard the window click open and then the tails of your coat when you jumped. It gave me enough warning to not make a complete ass of myself. I’m James.” He held out his right hand, his left hand still tucked under his right arm.



Jade jumped off the table and shook his hand, “Jade.” She slid her swords off and set them on the table next to her large canvas bag. As she went to sit down her hand went to her waist and she gasped.



James turned to her, concern in his eyes, “You ok?”



“No. I left my Bo at home. I have to go back; I’m not doing anything without it.”



“A Bo, like a six foot wooden pole? How did you just now realize you didn’t have it?” James asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice a smirk graced his lips.



“It’s metal not wood. I’ll be back.” Without another word Jade jumped up on the table and out the skylight with ease. She ran full speed back to her apartment cursing her ignorance the whole way. How could she have forgotten her favorite weapon? Her head just wasn’t in this mission and that was dangerous. She needed to get focused or she was risking her lift as well as her teams.



She landed on her balcony moments later and slid the glass door open. As she did her senses were bombarded with the heavy smell and metallic taste of blood. It was so strong that her demon emerged on its own free will causing her to growl deep within her chest. She turned her head to try and breathe some of the night air to clear her senses but her body was in over drive, her mouth watering in a way that disgusted her. She shook her head in an attempt to push the demon back down but it was no use. She took one more large gulp of cool night air and pushed into the apartment.



Her knees gave out as she surveyed the room and she crumpled into a heap by the balcony door. Blood was smeared on the white walls and covered the floor. It was fresh and she could smell the warmth. Her eyes darted around the room barely able to see the sight before her. She pushed herself off the ground, panic setting in. Her eyes scanned the bedroom until they came to rest on the bed.



Blood pooled in the center of the bed and dripped onto the floor. Lying in the center of the large pool of blood was Chris. His body was beaten and mangled almost beyond recognition. His neck and wrists had thick gashes in them running so deep she could see the white of his bones.



She staggered backwards and back out onto the balcony, she body shaking. She could feel the burn of bile rising in her throat. She gripped the railing and heaved. The cool air blew her hair from her face as she empted the contents of her stomach onto the street below.



She continued to heave even when there was nothing left. Her body shook and for the second time that evening her knees gave out. She braced herself against the railing and cried. She cried so hard that her entire body was racked with sobs. Her eyes stung from tears and her lips felt numb. Her head throbbed and her nose felt swollen from the inside but she kept crying. Her sobs seemed to echo in the empty streets below.



Slowly she started to gain her composure. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Liam. It barely had a chance to ring before he answered. “Liam I need a clean up crew at the apartment.” She managed to say before she started to cry again.



“Jade what’s happened, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Jade?!” She could barely hear Liam as he begged for answers. She let the phone slip from her fingers and fall to the ground. She tried to calm herself down but her body would not let her. She felt raw and exposed. She needed to get control before the team got here.



She pulled herself to a standing position as she shoved her cell phone back in her duster pocket. She braced herself on the railing, tears still streaming down her face. She walked back into the apartment and went right for her weapons chest, her eyes avoiding the sight on the bed.



She dug around the chest for a moment before she pulled out a metallic cylinder. It was about as long as a marker and as thick as a silver dollar. She clipped it on to the top of her pants and went back out onto the balcony to wait for Liam.



She heard a car squeal to a halt in front of her building. James and Liam jumped from the car, running full speed towards the apartment building. Jade walked numbly through the apartment and opened the door. She stood waiting for the two men to get there.



James was the first to reach the doors. He was breathing hard and his face was red. Jade had deduced that he must have used the stairs instead of the elevator. As he neared her she lowered her face and turned from him, just pointing inside the apartment.



James dashed in and Jade could hear him going from room to room until he got to the bedroom. She heard him gasp then he came back to her.



“There is nothing I can do. Liam brought me along for the muscle. I am so sorry Jade.” Jade lifted her head, cocked an eyebrow, and looked into James’s ocean blue eyes. They were filled with sorrow that quickly shifted to confusion. “Your face?”



She turned from him. Her body shivered in both disgust and shame. She had not wanted him to see her this way. She wanted him to know her before he met her demon. She did not want him to know her this way. She pulled her arms around herself and leaned against the doorframe making sure that she kept her back to him.



He placed his hand on her arm and turned her body towards his. “I’m sorry I was caught off guard. Many I touch it I mean your face?”



“Yeah.” His fingers gently ran along the ridges of her eyebrows and nose tracing down to the side of her right eye. His azure eyes studying her face like it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. His fingers traced further down until they reached her lips. He let his thumb run over her smooth lips feeling the lumps caused by her fangs behind her soft flesh.



“There you are.” He tilted his head down a little and gave her a soft smile as he dropped his hand to his side.



Jade’s hand when right to her face, her human face. Since she had opened the door from the balcony she had not been able to suppress the demon. How was this mortal man able to send her demon away with a simple touch of his hand? Chris had not even been able to do that. When she could not find the strength to hold the demon at bay Chris would have to leave or she would leave until the demon subsided.



“Sorry.”



“What are you sorry for?” She cocked an eyebrow at him again and tilted her head to the side. Her lips were set in a sort of scowl. “Never be sorry for who you are Jade.”



The bing of the elevator door pulled them from the moment they were having. Liam walked quickly towards them. He seemed to be searching their faces for answers to an unspoken question.



“Just need a cleanup. There were no bad guys left to play with Liam. Took you long enough to get up here man.”



“The elevator is ridiculous. It took forever to get downstairs and even longer to get up. How do you live like this?”



“I use the window.”



“I guess that makes sense. Have you ever used the elevator?”



“No. I did use the front door the night we moved in.”



“The Night?” James asked confusion filled his voice. “Don’t most people move in during the day?”



“Sun allergy,” Jade answered with a complete lack of emotion. “Chris explained to our neighbors that I had a sun allergy and they assisted us in moving in.” Tears welled up in her green eyes at the memory.



Liam placed a hand on her shoulder and entered the apartment. She could hear him walking around the apartment. He was walking carefully; she assumed he was examining the areas of the apartment that may lend to an idea of who may have done this.



She heard him take a breath in and then run to the bathroom. She could hear him gagging and the fluids of his stomach splash into the toilet. She felt bad for him. She was meant to see these things, he was not, although, this situation was even beyond her.



She leaned against the wall and slid down. She let her head rest against the cool plaster. She did not need them but she took several deep breaths. She kept seeing the images of Chris in their bed, his blood pooling and dripping. The look on his dead face was burned into her memory. His dead eyes stared at the ceiling, blood splattered across his beautiful face, all of it painted a painful picture of mortality for her.



“Jade? Are you ok? Do you need me to get you anything?” James asked as he squatted next to her. “Do you need me to go in there and get your Bo?”



“I have it.” She answered his question without looking at him. She stared blankly ahead at the wall of the hallway.



“You do?” She reached to her side and unclipped her Bo from its holster. She reached out and dropped it in his hand. “This is it?” He shifted it around in his hands looking at the medicine bottle sized object. He heard a click and confusion washed over his face. The ends of the cylinder sprang out. The one end embedded itself into the wall right next to Jade’s head.



“You can give that back to me now.” James nodded and pulled the Bo out of the wall. He found the small latch and pressed it again. The Bo retracted and he passed it back to Jade. “Thanks. Interesting isn’t it?”



“I have never seen anything like that before. Where did you get it?”



“And you never will again. Chris had it made for me for an anniversary gift.” She clipped the Bo back in its holster. She continued to stare at the wall. “Liam is coming back.”



Moments later Liam entered the hallway. He had a sheen of sweat on his face and his skin tone had taken on a grey color. He took several deep breaths and cleared his throat. He dabbed a handkerchief on his forehead and then on his mouth.



“My God Jade what happened?” Before he got an answer her pulled out his cell phone and walked away. She could hear him telling someone about Chris. He made several agreeing sounds before he hung up.



Liam came back over to Jade and James. “We need to get back to the office. There are things that we need to go over before the two of you leave. Jade are you feeling up to this? I’ll drive that way we can discuss this and other situations that are yet to come. Please let’s go. The cleanup crew will be here soon.”



“Liam we can wait until they get here. Let her square with what’s going on. That man means the world to her.”



“James we don’t have time for this. There is still so much to do before the night is over. We have done everything we can here. There is nothing left but to move forward.”



“Liam we just can’t…”



“James he’s right. I want to stay and cry and fade away but we can’t. I can’t. I have this feeling Timothy is behind this, I feel like he knows I am going to try to stop him. This is all the more reason why I have to keep fighting. Meet me back at the building.”



“Where are you going?”



“I need to go kill something first James. If not I am no good to anyone.”





A/N



I wanted to thank Gslinger and Speachestx for their Kind words and for everyone else who has read this story since I have started updating again. It really means so much to me that you take the time to read the strange and twisted thoughts that run around in my head.