"Was there ever any kind of…shift, in Aaron?" I ask. Because that's how it happens. A normal person will suddenly act entirely different.
Jaxon shrugs. "It's kind of hard to say. It's not like any of my family members walk the straight and narrow. We've always been doing sketchy stuff for my mother. But I guess…" Jaxon shakes his head. "I guess it must've happened five years or so ago. He just started getting darker. He started getting into the drugs. The constant sleeping around. I don't know how his girlfriend has put up with it for the last year, he's definitely not faithful. So, I guess then?"
It's a little hard to imagine, what Jaxon is thinking about his family right now. I've exorcised six people in my time, but I never knew a single one of them personally. This is a brother, and his mother.
We weave our way through neighborhoods, slowly working our way to the less populated part of the city. Jaxon slows as we roll up to a simple, single-story house. He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and holds it up to his ear.
"We're here," Jaxon says just a few moments later. "Meet us outside."
He hangs up and both of our eyes go to the front door. Just five seconds later, it opens, and Aaron steps out. He climbs into the backseat, behind Jaxon. His eyes immediately fix on me.
"I hear congratulations are in order?" he says. It's hard not to evaluate every single thing about him, now that I know he is possessed. The way he speaks, the way he walks. "Can't say I really understand what the point is. If you're already doing it, how does a piece of paper change anything?"
"It means I get to take half of his money if he ever cheats on me," I say teasingly as I reach across and lace my fingers through Jaxon's hair.
Aaron laughs. "Oh, I get it now. Gotta say though, there probably isn't much left now, considering the rock on your finger."
Jaxon is really enjoying this now. It's obvious from the smirk he gives me.
Yes, I get it now. All of his siblings would have known if he had bought me a fake.
I hold my hand up, flashing it in the bright light. "Guess I'll just have to stick it out for a couple of years. There will be more money coming later."
Aaron laughs. "Everyone else kept saying you picked the perfect woman. I think I have to agree, little brother."
Jaxon just smiles as he looks down the road while he drives. He reaches over and laces his fingers through mine.
They make casual conversation. They talk about jobs that Vivian has. They talk about past brawls and shootouts. It's all a distraction, but the history is real. Jaxon is trying to keep Aaron from realizing that we are leaving the city, not heading into it.
But I’m learning all kinds of things about these two during this time.
Jaxon and Aaron used to train at a boxing gym. This explains how they are both able to handle themselves so well. Aaron is the one who once trained Jaxon, just as Jaxon was doing with AJ. And apparently once, when Jaxon was still a junior in high school, before Vivian forced him to drop out, they got into a tight spot in the middle of the road on the Strip. There were fifteen shots fired. Everyone ran before the cops arrived.
I shake my head in disbelief once again.
How is Jaxon the gatekeeper?
We are fifteen minutes out into the desert when Aaron suddenly perks up, sitting straighter in his seat as he looks outside. "Where are we going?" he asks.
"New little place I heard of outside the city," Jaxon says. He lays harder on the gas, picking up the speed. The further we are outside of civilization the better.
"What are you talking about?" Aaron asks. The annoyance in his tone rises with every single word. "There's nothing out here. Are you even on a road anymore?"
Nope. We're definitely not on a road anymore. That becomes obvious from the bumps we immediately meet.
Jaxon doesn't say anything, he only lays harder on the gas again.
"Seriously? Where are we going?" Aaron asks. His tone gets angrier by the second. "Serena, what is going on?"
"It's an immersive experience," I say as I look back at him. "You just need to trust us right now. Believe me, you're going to feel a lot better after this."
His brows furrow at that. I see his hands reach for his hip, as if he's reaching for a gun, except there's nothing there right now.
"Really?" I ask incredulously with an arched eyebrow.
The engine roars as we fly out over the desert. I look through the window, searching for signs of houses behind us. Only I can't see any now. The hills block the line of sight in every direction.
"This should be good enough," I say.
And immediately, Jaxon slams on the brakes. We skid over the desert as Aaron yells and swears, his anger growing with every terrifying second.
The car has barely stopped before Jaxon throws it into park and shoves his door open fiercely. I throw myself out of the car just in time to see Jaxon burst into flames.
Aaron screams as he tries to scoot away from Jaxon when he rips the door open. His eyes are wide, absolutely terrified. And he should be. Jaxon glows brighter than the sun. His entire frame is engulfed in glowing white flames, burning so hot they nearly look blue. And his eyes… They are wild. He's been fighting against this instinct for the past twenty-four hours. Finally, he gets to let it all loose.
Jaxon grabs the front of his brother’s shirt and roughly yanks him out of the vehicle. Aaron falls, catching himself on his hands on the rough ground.
I walk around the vehicle, and my eyes widen at the beautiful sight.
Jaxon pulses hotter and brighter for just a moment. And then he drops to his knees next to his brother, and his hands dive directly into his chest.
Aaron screams loudly, fiercely. But the second Jaxon's hands slide into his chest, his screams cut off abruptly. His eyes go wide. He freezes. He stares at Jaxon with huge, stunned eyes.
Jaxon's gaze is intent and focused. With his hands wrist deep in his brothers chest, I watch him feel around. Then he stops.
And then slowly, he begins to withdraw them.
Aaron collapses to the ground as soon as Jaxon's hands are free of his chest cavity.
It's insane. The very existence of the dusk is something that boggles my mind. It isn't like some evil person. It's not even like a demon, like is often spoke about in fairytales and religion.
It's just…innocuous bad energy.
Jaxon's eyes focus intently on the swirling gray matter. He pulses brighter. He balls it between his hands and the look of concentration on his face intensifies.
Then he crushes his hands together, and the dusk shatters and evaporates.
I wait, watching Jaxon for the next few moments.
He kneels there with his eyes closed. He holds his hands in front of him, with his fists curled tightly. The flames engulf his body, and he is so brilliant, that even the desert looks a different shade right now. He's glorious, and terrifying.
This is our gatekeeper. The one we have been searching for for a century and a half. He's beautiful. He is the man that I love.
The sound of a ringing phone cuts through the silent desert. It isn't my phone.
Jaxon freezes for just a moment, and then reaches into his pocket. It's crazy how the literal and physical side of bursting into flames or shifting into a giant shadow monster works. How he doesn't burn his clothes off now, and how he isn't melting his phone, just further goes to show how being a Guardian defies all reality.