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

by Abby James

  I wasn’t prepared for the metaphorical slap. “Are you abandoning me?”

  He closed his eyes, which said everything. “Not completely. But it’s necessary for now.”

  He let me go and turned back to the car. With his approach, the other three climbed in. I could do nothing but remain on the sidewalk, while an empty hollow channeled through me. The car drove away, receding into the distance. The car got smaller and so did I as they left me behind.

  Tears pricked my eyes. Dammit. The bastard. He’d made a promise to protect me. They all had. Okay, so none of them made the promise to my face, but why spend over a week training me? Why take me places, show me around the city, chat, flirt, act like they enjoyed my company, make me enjoy theirs, but most of all, make me desire them? God dammit, and now I was going to cry. No, that was not going to happen. I was going to force Sargon and the rest of his bunch to tell me what the hell was going on. Why had Picard and Chett started fighting? Why had everyone run like I was contagious?

  I looked over my shoulder at the open door, then back down the street. They were not shutting me out.

  I hurried down the sidewalk, skimming along before Miss Tule came and reeled me back. I’d traveled enough times from the academy to the Arena to know the way. Besides, it was a massive monolith that should come into view long before I reached it.

  The sun was receding and the street quiet. At least at this end of town. That was likely the reason I noticed the car crawling along the curb a short distance behind me. Not that it meant anything. People probably did that all the time here. With what had happened the other night and everyone spouting ill omens, I was getting a little jumpy. All the same, I picked up my pace. And so did the car, which couldn’t be a coincidence.

  I had a long way to walk to reach the end of the street, and if I turned back, it would mean walking past the car. But perhaps that was my best option. Instead, I picked up my pace, while every fibre in my body zinged with alarm.

  Finally I couldn’t take the wild thoughts and angst anymore. I’d felt flung loose from sanity when I first started this mad hike so wasn’t acting with my best judgement. That’s why I stopped and faced the car, which slowly pulled up beside me. The driver’s door opened and a man got out.

  “Are you following me?” I jammed my hands on my hips.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re coming along behind me very slowly.”

  He shut his door and came around the car. “I’m looking for an address.”

  There was nothing sinister about him, just an average guy whom I wouldn’t look twice at on the street. His face was pleasant, harmless, and when he smiled, a dimple dipped in each cheek.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything.”

  He came over with his hand out. He wore his shirt sleeve rolled up, revealing an interesting tattoo on his forearm. It wound like a snake down his arm onto the back of his hand, then down in long filaments to each finger. People in Ladec never wore tattoos. No one knew how to do them, nor did anyone possess the right sort of equipment. But I’d seen a few since arriving in Fortescue.

  “Names Jacklas.”

  That was a name? I took his hand. “Malachi. I’m new around here, so I can’t help if you’re lost.”

  “That’s all right. I think I’ve found what I’ve been looking for.”

  He kept looking at me as he said that and a thread of something sickly invaded my stomach.

  “Lucky for you.” I went to take my hand back, but Jacklas squeezed it tight.

  He jerked me toward him and at the same time spun me around so when we collided he was at my back. “Very lucky for me.” He spoke into my ear. “But not for you.”

  I struggled but felt vised in his grip. He was strong despite being only inches taller than me. I managed one scream when he smashed a cloth over my mouth. I inhaled acrid fumes that dried my mouth and irritated my throat. With my hands strapped tight to my body, I had no way of fighting free. And besides, my muscles were losing their strength and my consciousness was slipping. Not even the wild beat of my heart could keep me awake.

  Chapter 27

  My neck ached and my stomach churned, threatening to empty its contents. I rolled my head to the side and smacked my nose against something solid, which snapped me awake. The dank smell reminded me of the dungeons under the Arena as did the dim light.

  My head punished me for my sudden movement and acid from my stomach burned up my throat. Metal bars formed the wall in front of me, outside of which came the mysterious light, just like the orbs in the Arena dungeons. But if this was under the Arena, it was in a part I’d never been in before.

  The stone bench proved an uncomfortable place to lie and my body joined my head, protesting when I attempted to right myself. I tried to stretch my neck, then gave up and hunched forward, staring ahead at the bars. This looked every bit a cell, with me locked on the wrong side. There was no doubt I was underground, but this was not the Arena. I was in the other dungeons.

  Like I’d aged fifty years since being kidnapped, I eased up from the stone bench. Halfway up, I was forced to give myself a few resting breaths as the acid once again coated my throat with fire. My moans felt fitting, but they didn’t improve my situation.

  Think, Malachi. Who would want to lock me away in the dungeons? I was a threat to no one—I didn’t even know anyone—and how could I have annoyed someone in the short time I’d been in Fortescue? Which left the person who’d tried to eliminate Seb and me when we were young. But if that were true, why not just kill me? Because being locked down here for life was a greater punishment.

  The metal grate was cool under my fingers. “Hello?”

  I pressed my cheek hard against the bars, trying to see as far down the tunnel as I could. The soft light shone off the stone wall on the far side of the tunnel, casting a shallow glow, which disappeared around a bend. Like a spiral. Like the Arena, but the dungeons of the Arena did not look like this. Perhaps both dungeons had been built at the same time using a similar plan. All good to know, but it didn’t help me out of my predicament.

  I slumped against the bars, while the silence of the dungeon echoed back my desolation. Where were the other prisoners? Wasn’t that what Maya hinted at when she said Picard might find himself in the other dungeons? That these dungeons were used as a prison?

  The distant clank jerked me off the bars. My cheeks were pressed back against the metal, and a faint wind brushed my face. A door had opened somewhere up ahead. Someone was coming. “Hello,” I shouted, then held my breath, waiting to hear footsteps.

  Nothing. Maybe there were other directions to go, other tunnels to wander down. I wrapped my arms around my waist when a shiver ran the length of my spine. I was wearing the regulatory inmate’s jumpsuit, which failed to keep me warm down here, or maybe the shiver had more to do with the prickle that now ran along my skin. Eerie silence aside, a sixth sense or an overactive imagination was tuning me to high alert. Maybe I didn’t want to know who was moving around down here.

  I swallowed my heart back down when a low, rumbling growl rolled down the tunnel to my cell. Did they use dogs as guards? I backed up from the bars as a shadow danced across the far wall. It rippled and warped off the jagged rocks but was unmistakable. Sizable fangs dripped like stalactites from its sizable snout. The shadow grew as it wound around the bend, pacing closer with loping strides.

  I backed up farther until the backs of my thighs hit the stone bench. The animal came into view, releasing a snarl of putrid breath, which reached me across my small cell. My legs threatened to drop me to the stone as a cold wash descended over me, constricting my throat to an inch thick.

  In the dim light, I saw little difference between the animal on the other side of the bars and the animal that had attacked Picard the other night. Not the same wolf, surely? And what was it doing down here?

  My heartbeat exploded when the bars separating me from the wolf began to creak and grind aside. I clambered onto the ben
ch, which placed me more in line with its head. In a rectangular cell with one bench, there was nowhere I could hide.

  As the wolf prowled inside, I snapped my head around, searching for holds on the uneven rock wall. Anything to raise myself higher. I’d climbed the side of the Arena once, hardly enough schooling to make me proficient, but with all this adrenaline, I could fly up the cell wall.

  The wolf let off another threatening snarl, which sounded a lot closer, but I wasn’t going to be distracted by turning around to have a look. A jut of rock just above my head formed a decent handhold and perhaps another smaller outcrop farther up was within reach once I made it to the first. What about my feet? I couldn’t second-guess, but I needed to succeed the first time or I’d be strips in seconds.

  With the next warning grumble from behind, I launched myself up, reaching for the first hold. My hand caught on the small jut as something large pounded into my back. I smashed against the rock, lost my handhold and crumbled to the bench on my knees, rolled backward and smacked my head on the stone floor. Dizziness wavered my vision, as a wet glob hit my chin and ran down my throat. A warm wind brushed my face, bringing the stench of death. I opened my eyes to a large row of yellowed fangs and whimpered before I could stop myself. Fear stole my response. Another drizzle of saliva stretched from its gums in a long line toward my nose.

  “I guess you’re feeling like the dog’s dinner right about now.”

  I inched my head to the side, frightened any sudden movements would trigger a snap. Jacklas stood in the entrance, thumbs hooked in his jeans.

  “You bastard. Call it off,” I whispered.

  “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

  I swallowed.

  “Oh, you want me to release you.”

  I nodded slowly, not wanting to entice the wolf to have a taste.

  “Depends on how willing you are to listen.”

  Was he going to force me to have a conversation with the wolf’s snout inches above my face? He came into my cell. “Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against you. I don’t even know you.” He crouched down next to my head. “But I’m being paid a lot to complete this little task.”

  “To get rid of me?”

  “Oh, no, to scare you. Well…to start with. Then later…” He stood. “I’ve got a lot of tricks planned. With the help of my friend here—” He went to pat the wolf, but its growl froze his hand before it reached his fur. “He can be a little touchy.”

  He rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out, then crouched again and wiped the saliva from my face. “See, I’m not as heartless as you think.”

  “I’m listening.”

  He snorted a laugh. “I bet you are. I don’t have much of a speech. I’m more a do-it kind of guy. But I’ve been given a wide latitude when it comes to what I am to do with you.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I’m trusted, I guess.”

  Bloody idiot. “Why do this?”

  “You must’ve annoyed someone important.”

  “You know who they are.” With the wolf so close, I hardly sounded threatening.

  “And I’m being paid good money to keep it to myself.”

  He smirked. “You feeling a little uncomfortable? Can’t say I blame you. I shat myself when I first saw one of these. But the secret is in knowing how to handle them.”

  Whoever was paying him was responsible for the wolf. Interesting bit of intel, but it didn’t help me now, nor did it shine a light on who was responsible.

  “But that’s enough play. I’m getting bored.” He straightened again, going for the other pocket this time, and produced a small, thin metal device that looked like a pencil. He raised it to his lips and blew, but no sound came out. At least nothing I heard, but the wolf reacted by shaking its head, then cowering backward and whining. Jacklas smiled. “Works every time.”

  He held out his hand. Now I no longer had a canine snout in the way, I stared past his hand to his face. Did he really think I would want to touch him?

  “Suit yourself.” He withdrew his offer of help.

  I eased myself to sitting, keeping the wolf in my periphery. Once sitting, I gave it a glance. It responded by peeling back its lips to expose its fangs.

  “You better stand. It’s not wise to mess with this puppy.”

  Jacklas raised the device to his lips and the wolf ducked, backing a few more paces.

  “You got to know how to treat a bitch,” he said and peeled back his own lips to reveal a row of white teeth. Not threatening, but I did want to punch them down his throat. If I’d had more tuition with the three, perhaps that would’ve been an option. As it was, I was powerless.

  His gaze roamed along my body. “It’s a shame, you know.”

  I stared at him, not entering into his game.

  “You look tasty. It’s always a shame to lose someone tasty.”

  I held his eyes, savoring thoughts of using one of the blades on the chamber wall to slice the smile from his face. But I was useless. I didn’t even know any handy defensive moves that might have stood me a chance of getting out of this mess. Or maybe not, since I would have to get past the wolf as well.

  “Are we going to stand in this cell all night?”

  “Whoa, easy girl, you may not like where we’re going next.”

  “Do I get to meet the person who is paying you to deal with me?”

  “Nah, it’s a private matter to be carried out swiftly with minimal fuss. The party doesn’t want to be involved.”

  “So they can’t be linked to the crime. Were you the one who released the wolf the other night?”

  “There was a previous attempt? Can’t say I knew about that one. They obviously messed up given you’re with me now. Guess it means I get double the bounty.” His grin spilt his face.

  All I needed to do was separate him from his metal device, then I could set him on his ass and control the wolf, but I didn’t even know how to give a good punch.

  “Come on, babe, I’ve got more fun in store for you. Oh, sorry, I mean fun for me. You, on the other hand, may think otherwise.”

  He grabbed my elbow and yanked me forward. This excited the wolf, which in turn leaped a few feet and snapped the air I’d just vacated. Jacklas was quick with the device again and the wolf cowered back. The device was his assurance he got out of this without a scratch. If I struggled with him for the device and risked him accidentally dropping it, we would both be in trouble. Going with him was the better option at the moment, so I allowed him to pull me along. Besides, I didn’t want to be left bringing up the rear with the wolf licking at my heels.

  Much like the underground of the Arena, chambers were carved either side of the tunnel. The entrance to each chamber was sealed with metal bars, but there was no one inside. Bad lighting and our pace meant I didn’t get a good look inside, but the silence was a giveaway. Any occupants were either dead or too scared to show their faces as we passed; the wolf was enough to make anyone cower in the shadows.

  The dark maze twisted into a jumble of knotted passages, but I could make out our upward ascent. As we climbed our way out, the air dried and warmed. A fresh breeze touched my lips, and I looked past Jacklas for the source. He stopped behind a giant metal door, fumbling and clanking at the lock. Soon he pushed through and I stepped out into the night, inhaling a lungful as I passed him.

  “Smells good, doesn’t it? Fresh air.”

  He slammed the door shut and I turned to notice the wolf had gone. Had he locked it in? His eyes followed mine. “Oh, did you want it to ride in the back with you?”

  “Ride?”

  Without replying, he grabbed my elbow again and dragged me toward the car I’d seen crawling the curb behind me. I had minimal time to look around me, but there was little to see in the moonlight. I wasn’t even sure if we were in the city still as I’d expected to see lights from surrounding buildings, but the dark of the night hugged us like a cloak.

  “How long have I been unconscious?”r />
  “All day. You haven’t missed much.”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “I got this assignment on short notice, so I needed time to prepare. As you can probably guess, we’re on the outskirts of Fortescue. But I suppose you already guessed that.”

  “Why would I have?”

  “The dungeon. You didn’t know about the dungeons.”

  “Only the Arena dungeons.”

  “You new to this area?”

  “They told you nothing about me?”

  “There’s not much I need to know, especially if my target turns out to be as harmless as you.”

  I despised that truth.

  At the backseat door, he paused long enough to pull a knife from the back of his belt. One flick and he launched it into the air to tumble hilt over blade twice before he caught it handle first. “Almost forgot, don’t try to be cute. It will cost you your head. The wolf was a deterrent for any stupid thoughts, but don’t think now you’re minus Mr. Furry you’re home free. This here blade”—he held it up to my face so that the metal glinted in the moonlight—“is sharper than the wolf’s fangs, and more deadly.” He scraped the tip down my throat. The sharp sting was his lesson to me, as was the wet trail that followed down to the collar of my shirt.

  “Now get in. The fun is about to start.”

  Chapter 28

  Jacklas tied my hands behind my back before he pushed me inside the back of the car. My face smashed against the backseat, and I inhaled leather. Once inside, he wasted no time reversing the car in a wild backward spin before shooting forward with the sound of spraying gravel.

  The bumpy drive made it difficult for me to sit up given I had no hands to help me. Trees whizzed past as we sped along the asphalt road. The only light came from the headlights of the car, but through the flicker of trees on my right, I caught the city glow in the distance. We seemed to be skirting the perimeter of Fortescue.

  “Have you been in Fortescue all your life?” I said. I welcomed conversation with him as much as I welcomed a smack on the head, but I was hoping to gain some information. Maybe I would never get out of this alive to use the information, but a part of me refused to accept I would die. Hopefully I could trick him into slipping some vital clues that would help me. Either that or I could soften him up enough he would show me a little mercy.