The Circle

by Stella Berkley

  Devin picked me up and wrapped me in the duvet. “Let’s get out of here and we’ll figure this out, I promise.”

  We emerged into the night out of a door at the back of the building. Air, heavy with dew, added to the moisture on my face and carried the scent of pine. Devin scanned the darkness before he trotted down the steps with ease, as if I weighed no more than an empty shirt.

  Why had he done that? Were we not supposed to leave?

  He transferred me to rest over his shoulder as we neared a black sedan with dark tinted windows. After opening the passenger side door, he deposited me on the seat.

  “Where are you going, Brother?” Malachi appeared behind Devin. Both of us jumped.

  Devin shut the door, sealing me inside, before turning to his sovereign. My eternal husband spoke softly, but I strained to listen. “I told you I’d return her Friday evening after she’s had time to recover.”

  “She must remain here where we can guard her. Why are you resisting this? You know it’s for the good of our kind.” Malachi’s flaming eyes darted to me and back to Devin.

  “She is mine, and I will guard her. I will discuss this with you no further.” Devin disappeared and flashed into existence inside the car beside me. A tiny scream made it up my throat at his sudden movement and the blue light that shone beneath his skin again. The engine roared to life. We sped away from the building.

  I must have been holding my breath because my next inhale came as a gulping cough. Cold wrapped my spine. “Tell me what’s going on. Why did he want me to stay there?”

  Devin gripped the steering wheel until his fingers turned white.

  “Devin?” I leaned toward him and grabbed his arm. “Tell me what’s going on!”

  He pounded a fist against the wheel. “You are part of the Circle now, so he is your sovereign, too, and must be obeyed. He doesn’t— He believes I’m not strong enough to push you beyond your limits. He wants you to take us higher.”

  I pulled the blanket away from my shoulders, a sense of suffocation settling over me. “It’s because I resisted your commands that night, isn’t it?”

  Devin nodded. “Partly. He demands to have you in his private chamber once you’re recovered. Without me.” A growl filled the car, and we sped faster down the wooded road.

  My hand latched onto the door handle for support. “But…you won’t let him, right?” Even as I said it, I knew Devin didn’t have a choice any more than I did. “I won’t go, not without you. Let’s go away together, somewhere he won’t find us.” My pathetic pleading came out sounding like a child begging to stay home from school.

  “Don’t you think I’d do that if it was possible?” His rage-filled tone sliced me to the core. “All of the immortals in the Circle are metaphysically linked to our sovereign. He need only think about me and could teleport to my location at will. The same goes for you since he’s indulged in your…delicacies.”

  “Are you saying you’re just going to hand me over to him to…do what exactly? You said push me beyond my limits. Does that mean he’s going to hurt me?” I shook my head, thoughts crashing around my mind. I pounded a fist against his shoulder. “I trusted you!”

  “I’m sorry.” His apologetic tone did nothing to comfort me.

  Silence fell over us except for my sporadic sobs.

  Chapter Eleven

  The city lights faded behind us as we drove along route eighty-one. Dark forest lined both sides of the road, crowding around the car. The seclusion and silence made me tighten my hand around the door handle.

  I glanced at Devin, his knuckles pale where they wrapped around the steering wheel. Red lights from the dash painted his features with eerie shadows. A shiver ripped through me.

  A few minutes passed like an eternity before he pulled into an unmarked driveway. We snaked through evergreens that stabbed into the starry night. Tension snuck into my shoulders, and I fidgeted in the leather seat as we approached a ranch-style bungalow in a clearing.

  Once we stopped, Devin turned off the car, disappeared, and popped up outside my window. My heart gave a wild thump against my ribs as he opened the door and offered his hand. I climbed out without his help, even the hurt in his eyes unable to overpower my assembling thoughts.

  I’d rather have died than be left alone with Malachi. Somehow I needed to make Devin understand that. What if I enjoyed what Malachi did to me? What if I didn’t and he wouldn’t stop? I didn’t know which frightened me more.

  A dew-laden breeze teased strands of my hair into my face. Crickets joined the creaking trees, but the sound didn’t soothe my frustration, only amplified the void growing between us.

  As he started toward the front door, I stayed by the car.

  “Why don’t you tell him no?” My words blurted out. “Why do you let him push you around? I’m supposed to be yours, and you’re just stepping aside when he snaps his fingers. Are you a coward?”

  Devin halted, his shoulders heaving up as his fingers tightened to fists at his sides. He turned his head slowly until his flaming eyes met mine. The distortion flickering around him intensified into a black mist. “Perhaps my sovereign was right. I’m beginning to see that I have been too lenient with you.”

  He blinked out.

  My pulse quickened as I scanned the darkness for him. Would he leave me there in the middle of nowhere?

  His arms wrapped around me from behind, startling a scream out of me. I tried to pry my fingers from beneath his, but they didn’t move.

  “I am not a coward.” His outraged tone stole the air from my lungs. “No human will dictate what I do. You are mine, and you will do as I say whether you like it or not.” Devin looped his free arm around my waist and carried me into the house.

  My legs flailed but had no effect.

  Devin hauled me into a bedroom and threw me down on the bed hard enough I bounced on the mattress. He flipped me, gripped my wrists, and pressed them into the soft bedding. His fangs extended past his upper lip.

  I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side in the grips of a full body tremor. My chest heaved. Oh, God, please, please, please.

  The tips of Devin’s teeth grazed my throat, but he paused, a growl trickling from his lips.

  Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes as I whimpered in his shadow.

  His weight disappeared from me. The door clicked shut. A slam of the outer entrance followed a moment later.

  I remained still for a while before opening my eyes to confirm he’d gone, even though his mental presence no longer caressed my mind as if he’d somehow severed our link. The loss crumpled me into a ball. I clutched my stomach as the sobs burst free, pain gripping my chest and putting a squeeze on my heart and lungs.

  How could he have changed from the one who’d radiated such love and longing into a crazed animal I barely recognized? Realization settled around my shoulders like a ten ton weight. I’d known him for only two weeks, although it seemed like much more. He’d said he was an immortal, cousin to the vampire. No matter how much he wished otherwise, he was no less a monster beneath his polished exterior.

  I needed a way out. If I could find my way to a church, maybe I’d be okay. Devin was still one of the undead, still damned. I could only hope the old legends about his inability to walk on sacred ground were true. Until I knew otherwise, I’d stick to that plan.

  Wiping tears from my eyes, I climbed off the bed and pushed a toe against the hardwood to test it for squeaking.

  What would I do even if I managed to escape someone who could sense my whereabouts? I had no apartment to go back to, no access to money. After meeting Devin, those issues seemed trivial. The bigger needle in my heart was how could I go back to being alone?

  Thoughts of a life without him tore a wound in my soul. For a moment, I wondered if I should give in and endure whatever Malachi had in store for me to see Devin look at me the way he used to once more.

  The ice coating my veins disagreed. Had his affection been a lie? An illusion to gai
n my compliance? If Devin loved me, he’d find a way to keep me safe like he promised. Wouldn’t he?

  No. This human had to get away.

  I moved to the window and peered out through the blackout curtains. Still dark. Could immortals take direct sunlight? He’d come to Mother’s publishing house in the afternoon, but the room had been windowless, and the windows on his car were tinted darker than any limo I’d ever seen. Maybe he could take the rays if he covered his skin? Either way, I’d wait until the sun came up before making my move.

  I was Katharine Merrick, strong like the heroines in my book, not some prissy woman from the ‘burbs. Numbness swept the pain into the background behind the monumental task before me. There’d be time for tears later.

  I awoke to something tapping the outside of the window.

  Shit! I rubbed the back of my hand across my face. When had I fallen asleep?

  I crept from the bed to the window, where a breeze sent the branches of a maple tree clicking against the glass. Bright sunlight stung my eyes. I stepped back, blinking past the bright spots lingering in my vision.

  I told myself to keep it together. It was now or never.

  A few deep breaths calmed the frantic pace of my heart as I tiptoed to the door. I gripped the knob, turned, and gave a gentle tug. The tiny squeak it made rattled in my head like a scream. I froze and waited, but no sound came from the next room. Devin’s mental presence hadn’t returned either. If he’d heard me, he’d have reacted. At least that’s what I wanted to believe.

  I pulled the door open enough to poke my head through the crack. An antique grandfather clock ticked in the corner. The beige sofas stood empty. Other than Devin’s lingering scent, I found nothing else in the sparse living room.

  Eyes darting left and right, I edged into the space. A glance out the window confirmed Devin’s car remained in the driveway.

  He was still here. Why couldn’t he hear what I was thinking? I berated myself to stop stalling and get going!

  I considered looking for some clothes to wear instead of the robe, but the risk outweighed the gain. Employing the same care as I had exiting the bedroom, I opened the front door and peered out. Dense forest surrounded the bungalow except for the laneway. I sprinted down the steps and crouched by the car, afraid the thudding of my heart would awaken even a sleeping immortal. When no sound came from the house or the woods, I stood enough to peek through the car window.

  No keys. Dammit!

  Left with one option, I rushed into the woods in my bare feet. In my haste, I tripped and stumbled over the uneven ground, fallen logs, and tangled brush as I paralleled the laneway. A stiff twig pierced my sole and radiated pain up my legs, but I pressed on until I reached the main road.

  I continued forward, certain Devin would emerge from the trees at any moment and beat the hell out of me. More than physical pain, I feared the disappointment and hurt in his eyes, even after all he’d done.

  A car approached behind me. I turned and waved my arms, but the driver swerved wide and kept going.

  “Please!” I shook my hands out, the tension worsening with every second that passed. A semi-truck whooshed by, whipping Devin’s robe around my legs.

  A glance behind revealed spots of blood my feet had left on the pavement, though they registered no more than a dull burn. It gave me something to concentrate on other than the ache in my heart and the hard journey that lay before me. The urge to collapse and close my eyes almost overwhelmed me, but I plodded on, one footstep after another. Wetness dripped off my chin from the steady stream of tears.

  A car pulled up alongside me. The window rolled down, but I kept walking.

  “Katharine?”

  The familiar voice halted my forward motion. I leaned down. “Rolf?” I hadn’t seen him since the night of the fundraiser where I’d met Devin. Rolf had tipped his platinum hair with bright red.

  “For the love of God, what happened to you?” He leaned over and opened the passenger side door. “Get in, get in. I’ll take you home.”

  Home. I had no home. I had nothing.

  I glanced at the tree line again to confirm Devin wasn’t about to pounce before I climbed in.

  Rolf sped us down the road, to where, I had no idea. The distance growing between Devin and me should have eased my discomfort, but the tightness in my chest only worsened. My stomach knotted, and my soul hurt as if a tether linking me to my beautiful immortal stretched the farther I went from him.

  “Lordy, you’re shaking like a leaf.” A flick of Rolf’s fingers turned up the heat, and he did a double take at my feet. “You’re bleeding!” The engine roared louder. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

  “No!” I turned to him and pleaded with my eyes. “Just take me back to the city and drop me off…” Where could I go that wouldn’t raise more questions? Rolf had been Mother’s event coordinator for years. I didn’t need her calling the police to look for me, if she even cared. There was a United church three blocks from my condo. It’d have to do. “Just drop me off at the condo. I’ll be fine.”

  His sculpted brows shot up. “Katharine!”

  “Please! I don’t want to talk about it, and they’re only scratches. I just— I had a bit too much to drink and got lost in the woods. Don’t make more of this.” I glanced at the silk robe and considered the prying eyes on my street. I didn’t need my state of undress to be plastered across the newspaper with some ridiculous headline attached. “Do you have any clothes you could lend me?”

  * * * * *

  A half hour later, I stood on the sidewalk outside my condo while Rolf drove away. It had taken some convincing to get him to leave me and not call Mother, but he’d given me his word.

  Despite the heat, I shivered and tugged up the hood of Rolf’s black sweater over my tangled hair. I took a last glance at the place I’d once considered home, though sadness didn’t grip me like I’d expected it to. It didn’t feel like home, not after Devin. I’d found more home in his presence than any building I’d ever lived in, including the one where I grew up.

  I plodded along the sidewalk, wincing as the sandals I’d borrowed grated against my wounds. Rolf’s gym shorts kept sliding down my hips, so I stopped and cinched the cord at the front tighter before continuing on.

  The burning in my feet grew into a flaming agony as I approached the giant stone building on Denver Street. The steeple poked into the blue expanse above, the bell in the tower reflecting light as it swayed in the gentle breeze.

  Would anyone be inside on a weekday? I hadn’t considered how I’d get in, but the urgency in my mind forced me to continue. If avoiding Malachi meant breaking into a church, then I’d do it.

  A low murmur met my ears before I rounded the building. I sidled up to the wall and peeked into the alley separating the house next door from the church. Two men carried chairs from a white cube van into an open door along the stone wall. I counted in my head when they disappeared into the building until they reemerged for another load. Forty-five seconds. If I timed it right, I could sneak in and find a place to hide before they could see me.

  A tall gangly man belted out a laugh before he and the shorter man entered the building again with loaded arms. Heart thundering, I took a quick glance around to make sure nobody watched before sprinting along the alley and scanning the area beyond the door.

  It was all clear.

  The two men’s chatting voices came from a stair leading up to the left, so I ducked inside and descended another stairwell to the right. At the bottom, the narrow hall opened into a large, rectangular room with a kitchen at one end. Dampness and the scent of mothballs hung in the stagnant air.

  After opening several doors along the white wall and finding only shelves full of teacups and other serving items, I located a large, walk-in closet. I slipped inside and shut the door and waded through the musty winter coats and plastic-covered robes to the back. Listening for any hints that someone had heard me, I slid my back along the wall until my butt met with the cold
tile floor. I tucked my knees up to my chest and hugged them.

  With nothing left to do but wait until the sun went down, I sank the rest of the way to the floor, my body wracking with sobs. Part of me wanted Devin to burst through the door and take my pain away, to make everything okay with us again.

  My weakness sickened me.

  The price was too high.

  I broke out of a dead sleep. My body ached, both from spending a restless night shivering under someone’s old, smelly coat, and from Devin’s absence. Every muscle, every cell cried out for his touch. If it got any worse, I wouldn’t be able to function.

  Pushing aside my growing fear, I stood and crept to the closet door. A glance through the crack confirmed the basement remained empty. After listening at the door for several seconds and hearing nothing more than a mouse skittering through the walls, I stepped out and stretched my kinked limbs.

  Devin hadn’t found me. He hadn’t even reached out to me through the connection we’d made.

  My heart plummeted.

  Had I insulted and hurt him so badly he didn’t want me anymore? I gritted my teeth and pressed palms over my eyes. Why did I even care? I’d come to the church hoping he wouldn’t find me, hadn’t I? I needed to get over the urge to run back and grovel at his feet, knowing what he’d expect of me in return for his forgiveness. I was stronger than that.

  I located a first aid kit in the bathroom and cleaned the scrapes on my feet. Wrapped in gauze, I slipped them into Rolf’s sandals and ascended the stairs. A gray, depressing sky greeted me, beneath which I spent the day walking the streets in a daze.

  How long could I stay hidden at the church? Even if I managed to evade the immortals until after Friday’s deadline, they’d still try to get me back to the Circle.

  If I wanted to keep myself safe, I needed some supplies.

  From the drop-off bin behind the Salvation Army, I rummaged around in a bag someone had left and withdrew some clothes. I moved on to the row of restaurants on First Avenue, wondering what Mother would say if she knew I was about to go dumpster-diving for food. A hysterical laugh burst out of me, but it faded too soon.