Deadly Secrets: Paranormal Reverse Harem (Dark Realms Book 1)

by Abby James

  Cregan spoke between mouthfuls. “No doubt where she’s heading.”

  Sargon couldn’t argue with him there, although the thought sat heavy in his gut. “She the only female?”

  “And the girl three guys down on my side. Louis headed south, says he’s got more girls than guys.”

  Sargon scanned farther along the table for the other girl swept up in the harvest. The two of them looked ripe for Madame Lorraine. It was best they were left with their mothers, but Sargon had no say in matters to do with population redistribution.

  “Louis is heading to Fortescue?”

  “Nah, he lucked out. Has to spend more time in shitholes like this, resettling those he’s gathered from the southern villages, bringing them farther east. No doubt the council would be interested to learn that Rayce’s boy made it to Fortescue.”

  Sargon nodded without a word, as his gaze wandered back to the boy and his sister. He might have no say in population redistribution, but he could do something for Rayce’s kids. With the boy in the military, he could protect him easily enough until he was capable of protecting himself, but the girl…she’d be valuable and beyond his help if she ended up at Madame Lorraine’s. He’d have to call in a favor with Miss Tule.

  Chapter 6

  We drove for what seemed like hours. I’d never dreamed the land could stretch on for miles without a blip on the horizon. Dry, baking heat punished the vegetation and scorched the earth. Nothing but the toughest could survive out here.

  After having spent the night lying on my back and staring at the black ceiling, I was exhausted and not just from the lack of sleep. I’d been existing with an undercurrent of anxiety since first spotting the line of dust in the distance from Parky Hill. When I’d first woken this morning, my mind had taken time to catch up with the events of yesterday. I’d felt relaxed, if not tired. One look around my crammed room at the place we’d spent the night and the memories came flooding back. Within seconds the slow creep of adrenaline inched through me again. But now, the long drive, the constant rumble of the vehicle and the cool air conditioning lulled me to sleep.

  When I next opened my eyes, the scenery had changed. As we sped by, I no longer saw a sea of dunes and sandy plains. Vegetation higher than my knees found a home in the richer soil, no longer dusty red. Farther still, the trees grew higher, taller than the vehicle, taller than me, with thick bases disappearing into a mass of branches and leaves. I forgot everything, who was in the car with me, what was happening to me, lost as I was in the beauty that unfolded around me. Not only trees, there was now a diversity of green, the taller canopy and the undergrowth.

  The soldier sitting opposite me twisted around and tapped the driver on the shoulder. He leaned over to say something in his ear. When he sat back, he looked my way, but with his sunglasses, I couldn’t be sure. I flicked my attention back out the window.

  Soon the vehicle slowed and pulled over to the side of the road. The driver lowered his window and signaled for the utility following to continue on by. We waited inside until it had passed, then the soldier opposite opened the door. My adrenaline, which had slipped away during our endless journey, lurched, firing my heart. What the hell was happening? I glanced at Norella and for the first time felt something akin to unity. As much as I would never have chosen her, we were in this together, for now.

  The two sitting in the back with us got out either door, but the driver seemed content to remain. Was their exit something we were expected to copy? Norella and I exchanged looks, but the soldier who’d sat opposite me leaned in. “Come on. You’ll like this.” He offered his hand. He was deluding himself if he thought I would take it. The smile on his face threw me. It appeared genuine and warm. Norella was quick to accept the supposed show of kindness and returned her own demure smile.

  I had little choice but to follow the two of them as they headed toward the front of the vehicle.

  Jesus. Ahead, dropping down into a valley, was the sea. Cool and inviting. My water was the brown of the well, not something so vast it had no end or so blue that the sky appeared drained of color. Crowding the shore was a city, greedily spreading the distance north and south of the coast. Fortescue. The air was cooler, moisture in the breeze. The air smelt fresh, clear of the dust that clogged your nose and scratched the back of your throat. Between us and the city lay another ocean, a vast canopy of green. And I’d spent my life staring at a vast swathe of brown.

  “Not a sight you girls would’ve seen before.”

  “No.” Norella’s voice sounded full of awe. At least I thought that at first, until I looked at her and realized she was staring at the solider who’d escorted her out of the car. Maybe it wasn’t awe but coyness I heard in her voice. He must’ve felt her gaze in his periphery, because he glanced down at her and a slow smile spread across his face.

  The other soldier—who missed their quiet interlude, which was churning my gut—disturbed them both by saying, “We still have another hour’s drive before we reach home.” And headed back to the car.

  “Your home, you mean,” I said, even though he was out of earshot.

  Drawing his eyes from Norella, whom he suddenly seemed to find fascinating, the other soldier said, “A little advice, you’re best to start thinking of it as your home as well, or the journey for you will be long.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Take it how you like, sweetcakes.”

  Norella turned into an obedient puppet and dutifully followed her solider back to the vehicle. It took effort to draw myself away from the view. I walked back to the open door and the other soldier waiting alongside.

  What would home be?

  We wound down to the valley floor, through a lush green. At the foot of the ridge, homes sprouted out off the forest, big, two stories high, with more windows than our town hall. A few homes dotted here and there, but as we drove closer to Fortescue, the trees thinned and the houses grew.

  I sat forward on my seat, lowered the window and inhaled the view as well as the wind, as if both were the most incredible scent in the world. The streets were now littered with people, a vibrant mesh of color. I glanced down at my clothes, the useful browns and sturdy shoes. There was little point dressing in anything beyond the natural tones. Color such as these would turn the red of the desert within a day’s wear, never to be removed.

  The streets were long and straight and clogged with traffic but wide enough to accommodate all. The buildings were tall, standing like sentinels in rows, everything neat and clean. Farther in, the streets thinned and began to wind. The buildings lost their space and huddled together, grew old. None here reached up to the sky, but their charm was in their architecture. This was perhaps the original hub of the city. The older quarter preserved against time because the people here appreciated the charm and their history.

  As we drove closer to the ocean, the air changed. At home there was the ever-present smell of dust lining your throat. At night, the water would run red down the plug hole as I washed the day’s film away. Here the air was clear and fresh. My lungs forced big breaths to wipe twenty-one years clean.

  The vehicle left the road and drove under an arch into a large, cobbled courtyard. In front of us, a multitude of windows covering the side of the tower building caught the sunlight. With the utility’s back window down, my eyes were no longer protected from the dark tint. I was forced to shield my eyes and look away.

  The driver drove half the circumference of the courtyard, around a large fountain before coming to a stop next to the harvest truck. My heart jigged a rapid beat when I spied Seb amongst the other village boys. The soldiers who’d escorted the harvest truck were lining the boys up as a group of people gathered around and watched.

  I climbed out about to head over, when one of the soldiers who’d traveled in the utility with me grabbed my arm. “Not for you, sweetheart.”

  “But—”

  “You’re to wait here.” He pointed a finger to the spot where he stood, then
pointed at me. Confident I would comply, he headed over to the lineup. By now the group that had been waiting around for our arrival was marching up and down the line, their eyes raking over what they saw in front of them. It reminded me of buying meat at the market; they were looking for the best cut.

  All the gawkers were drawn to Seb, one or two indicating that he should step forward out of the line. One even swirled his hand in a circle to show he wanted Seb to turn around for him. Seb stared down at him without twitching, and for the first time in a long time, I was proud of my brother.

  He was rescued from the fast-growing awkwardness of the situation by the solider who’d ordered me to stay put. “Boy, come here.” He waved Seb over.

  “You’re coming with me. Get your things from the truck.”

  That one command straightened Seb to his full height, which put him almost eye to eye with the soldier. No longer was I staring at my brother the farm boy. In the space between those uttered words and Seb’s next move, he’d transformed into a soldier.

  Before he made it halfway to the truck, Seb spied me and headed over. But he managed two strides when the solider barked, “Where do you think you’re going, kid? This is not a family gathering.”

  “Can’t I say goodbye to my sister?”

  “As of now, your time is not your own.”

  Seb stared at him.

  “Don’t you understand my language?” The threat in his words was ill disguised. “Get your things and wait next to the vehicle on the far side of the courtyard.”

  Seb glanced at me. I gave him a small shake of my head. Now was not the time to test the soldier’s patience. He gave me one last lingering look, which said everything he would’ve said to me had he been able to speak, everything like, I’m sorry you were taken too, but I’m where I want to be.

  In my mind, I said goodbye to my brother as I watched him walk away toward the vehicle waiting on the other side of the courtyard. His strides were long and purposeful. This was the moment he’d been waiting for all his life; this was a juncture, at which point he would finally become who he was meant to be. My cry for him to stop stalled on my lips. How could he be so happy? How could he be willing to be one of the people who drove harvest trucks out into the desert and ripped families apart? I wouldn’t ask him these questions, because in Seb’s eyes it wasn’t about ripping families apart. It was about giving people a better opportunity, even if they didn’t want it.

  While the people picked over the rest of the boys, a long white car entered the courtyard. It, too, did a circumference, as if giving the spectators plenty to ogle at before coming to a stop on the other side of the utility. A man dressed impeccably in black climbed out and rushed around to open the passenger door. The lateness of the car’s arrival made everyone stop and watch as a tall woman slid out.

  A few years back, when one of the supply trucks came to the village, Myles had bought his wife and daughter a pair of ridiculous shoes that tapered to the front in a point and had heels too high for walking. They tottered around for days before the shoes were never seen again. This woman made the whole affair of walking in impossibly high heels look like an elegant dance.

  Her dress flowed like wafting smoke around her ankles as she strode toward Norella and me. Not once did her eyes divert to the line of boys, making it clear who she’d come to see. In the presence of a woman so impeccably dressed, Norella straightened and began to pat her hair. She glanced at her clothes—jeans and a shirt, tainted with a fine film of dust that never seemed to disappear no matter how many wash cycles the clothes went through—then up at the lady with a look of apology.

  The woman glided to an elegant stop in front of us. Up close, the age on her face became evident, even below the meticulously applied makeup. Despite this, her beauty shone. Shacks once said to me that just looking at me brought him to his knees. I’d laughed in his face because I couldn’t take him seriously, mainly because he was trying to slip his hands down my pants at the same time, but also because Shacks had been born in Ladec, which meant he had no idea what beauty meant. As I stared at the beautiful woman before me, the only thought I could think was how many men must have fallen to their knees to be noticed by her.

  Her sharp eyes walked over Norella first and then me. A twinge of a smile played with the corners of her lips as she strolled around us, taking in the view from the back as much as the front. When she came back around to the front, I asked, “Miss Tule?”

  I suspected the hypnotic lure of her eyes lay in the heavy layer of black, lining the rim of her eyes, both top and bottom, and the dusting of browns and beiges that made her eyelids sparkle. She didn’t like my question, because she favored me with a glare rather than an answer. Or maybe that was her answer.

  The other people who’d gathered had made their selection of the boys and were now waiting at the back of the harvest truck for them to gather what little they’d brought with them. One of the soldiers separated himself and marched toward us. The closer he came, the bigger his smile grew.

  “Madame Lorraine, I trust you are pleased.” He glanced at Norella and me with a wink.

  “Sergeant Spintner.” Madame Lorraine inclined her head in a delicate bow. “I think I may be able to do something with these two.” Her voice was a strange combination of liquid silk darkened with a hint of authority.

  “Something,” he scoffed. “It’s been a while since we managed to find the likes.”

  Her eyes roved over the two of us again. “Hmm…there is potential.”

  Another car entered the courtyard. This one did not match the leisurely pace of Madame Lorraine’s car, nor the grandeur. Instead, it squealed the wheels as it rounded the fountain in the center and came to a stop close by.

  A woman wearing tailored pants and a shirt climbed out with athletic grace and strode toward us. “It appears I’m just in time. Although I would’ve appreciated a little more warning.” She glared at the sergeant, who flicked a look to Madame Lorraine, as if in apology for the rude intrusion.

  “Fortunae, always late to the grand events, as usual,” Miss Lorraine said.

  Fortunae ignored her and came toward us, her head skimming the top of mine by mere centimeters. Although short, she spoke and moved with a force of will I was sure few could withstand. While Madame Lorraine was tall and lithe, Fortunae was short and sturdy. She’d allowed her hair to age the natural way with a strong peppering of gray amongst the dark. It was pulled back in a no-nonsense bun, which drew attention to the hard angles of her cheekbones. The two were as different as any women could be, but Fortunae held an attractiveness of her own that age had yet to touch.

  Norella and I were subjected to more scrutinizing. Fortunae, though, didn’t bother with a back view. She stepped away, gave Norella one last glance, before saying, “I’ll take the one on the right.”

  “I have already made my selection. The sergeant and I both agreed the girls would come with me,” Madame Lorraine said.

  “If the sergeant had bothered to inform me of the arrival of fresh blood, I would’ve been here on time to make my selection. But it seems he chose to keep things quiet, which makes your selection void. You know the rules, Vail.”

  Vail drew herself up to her elegant height. “Very well, but the girl will be wasted.”

  Fortunae snorted, then waved at me. “Come.”

  Without waiting to see if I would follow, she strode toward her car. I scrambled after her. “My things, I left them in the utility.”

  She halted and spun. “Forget them. You are not that girl anymore and the sooner you learn that, the better for all.”

  She continued her march, but I found myself unable to continue. Norella was being led away by Madame Lorraine, who rested a hand around her back as she spoke to her. The look on Norella’s face said she was drinking in every word.

  A voice clearing snapped me out of my reverie. Fortunae was standing by her car, arms folded across her chest. “You’re wasting my time.”

  My only choice wa
s to follow her. My feet took me toward her car despite my heart tugging to go the other way.

  Once there, I halted at the passenger door she’d opened. “I’m sorry, Fortunae, but—”

  “You will call me Miss Tule. And nothing else. And don’t ever presume to be so familiar with me.”

  Chapter 7

  Sargon crossed under the portico and out of the heat of the sun. He wanted to get this over with, knowing his visit was a waste of time, but he had no choice. Military decisions usually needed council agreement first, but in times of crisis, the commander-in-chief was able to leap-frog the council. Although they were not in a crisis, crisis was coming and Sargon was not about to wait around for the council to deliberate over tea. The deployment of scout groups to the north was a minor tactic and would not look like a snub at policy, but many in the council were touchy about control.

  The guards swung the door wide and Sargon entered the House of Council without breaking stride. Chamber staff bustled into activity on his appearance, and before he made it halfway across the entrance hall to the stairs, a chamber maid cut him off with a tray of refreshments. “Sir, you look exhausted. A refreshment?” She held his eyes while offering the drink on the tray. Sargon returned the look, taking in her plump cheeks and rounded lips. He glanced down at the tray hovering level with her breasts, an opportune position, by her choosing. She squared her shoulders and the effect on her breasts was pleasing.

  He took the drink, quirine, a popular drink amongst the wealthy. Extracted from the fruits of the quern tree, which was hard to grow in these parts. The cold ran down his throat, refreshing both the inside and out, creating an instant fire flaming in his belly. He replaced the glass and gave the woman a smile. Hers broadened, but she seemed unsure of what else she could do to keep him with her, now that the drink was empty. He nodded and moved past without looking back.