‘You passed out,’ he said, trying to help me.
I swayed as I sat against the wall. The world vibrated around me. The ringing in my ears forced me to hold my head and lie back down.
‘He’s drugged me,’ I muttered.
‘Do you remember, Pisces?’
The voice over the speakers made me squeeze my eyes shut. ‘You were cruel.’
The chuckle echoed around us but I was losing consciousness again. I didn’t want to go back to another lifetime. I now knew why we suffered amnesia when we were born.
‘Hold me, Daniel,’ I begged as the darkness enveloped me again.
Chapter Fourteen
‘You don’t love me?’ I whispered.
He looked down at me, his face blank. I had always seen love in his eyes but now I couldn’t see through the invisible brick wall he had put around himself.
‘You’re only eighteen,’ he replied, staring off toward the fields.
The easy companionship was gone. We were best friends. We had grown up together, chased each other and played happy families. I had always been the mother and he had been the father. Now he was distant and cold. It made me want to cry.
‘You’re only twenty-one. I thought you loved me.’ I couldn’t stop the tears that threatened. I had been in love with him since the day he had arrived, ten years ago. His dark hair and tanned skin had fascinated me.
‘I do love you but not like that.’
‘Wait, don’t go,’ I cried, grabbing his hand as he turned from me.
He froze, unable to look at me, but also unable to move away. He had travelled around the world. I had missed him with all my heart. When he had returned, I was determined to let him know how I felt.
‘I’m courting Angelina.’ He shrugged me off.
I glanced down at my corseted dress. The hem of the blue material touched the light brown mud.
‘Do you love her?’
It was a bold question but I had to know how he felt. I thought he would confess his undying love for me and ask me to be his wife.
‘I don’t know.’
He stormed off and I let him go. I knew him well enough to know that he would need time to process my words. He loved me, I was sure of it. Why was he fighting?
‘Are you okay?’
The voice belonged to our neighbour. He was a tall man with a thickset neck and heavy hands. His grey eyes were a little weird but he was kind enough. He had shown interest in me for a while. I had been so wrapped up with my love, I hadn’t allowed him to court me.
‘Not really. Will you take me to the dance tomorrow?’
His face split into a grin and it made me feel better. At least someone wanted me. If my love wasn’t interested, I would let my neighbour court me.
The next day at the dance, I watched as the man I loved held Angelina. They swayed to the music so I grabbed my neighbour’s hand and let him lead me to the dance floor. My beloved watched the whole time. His eyes darted toward us so I put on a show.
‘Can I speak to you?’ he said, dragging me away as the dance ended. ‘What are you doing?’ he hissed into my face when we were out of sight.
‘You don’t love me so I’m finding someone that will.’
‘That won’t make you happy. I’m sorry I can’t love you the way you want me to but please don’t be stupid because of me.’ He took my hand and looked into my eyes.
The tears flowed down my cheeks at his words. I had been so convinced that he’d loved me. For ten years, I had bided my time to confess my feelings.
‘Please don’t…’ he whispered. ‘I have to leave.’
‘No, I’ll go.’ I took my hand away from him.
‘I meant, I have to leave the village.’
I froze in mid retreat. ‘Why?’
He shook his head and ran a hand over his hair. ‘I don’t want to cause you pain.’
I wiped my cheeks and slowly walked away from him. He caused me pain; I couldn’t deny it. For the last two years, he had flirted and strung me along with lingering looks. A part of me wanted him to go so the pain would fade. I wasn’t aware at the time that no matter where he was, I would love him.
*
‘Don’t you love the pattern?’
I opened my eyes. My head protested as light flooded into my pupils.
‘This dance between the three of us has been going on for many lifetimes.’
Nick’s face came into focus. His creepy grey eyes were trained on me. There had been two lifetimes in my dream. He had managed to separate me from my soulmate in both of them.
‘Why are you being less subtle now?’
I sat and leant against the wall. Daniel was curled up in the corner of the room, his back to us as he snored.
‘You remember what you’re here for this time so I have to stop you in other ways.’
He sat on a folding stool with the door open behind him. Stone steps led up from the cellar.
‘Will you kill him?’ I asked, gesturing towards Daniel.
I wanted Daniel to wake up and look at me. A weird feeling made my stomach roll. I needed to see his eyes again.
My captor put his head to the side as he watched me. I moved my hair out of my face as my foggy head started to clear.
‘I may do.’
He got up.
‘Don’t go. I was just about to ask you an important question.’
He paused and sat down. ‘Go ahead.’
‘Why?’
His back straightened as he rubbed his grisly chin. He hadn’t shaved for a couple of days. The greying stubble made me feel itchy.
‘Keeping you from your soulmate is my mission as much as uniting with him is yours. We don’t need more love or contented people on the planet.’
He stood and folded the chair. I lunged at him and managed to wrap myself around his legs.
‘Daniel, run!’ I cried.
The man on the ground grunted awake at the same time Nick fell to the floor. I expected him to run straight for the door and up the stairs. If he was my twin flame, he would leave and raise the alarm. Nick wrestled with me. Flipping me over, he pinned me to the floor. Daniel hovered over us. What was he doing? Why hadn’t he taken the opportunity to run?
‘I’m sorry,’ he murmured.
My whole world deflated as Nick clambered up. He grinned and I knew I was in trouble. Daniel wasn’t my soulmate. Why hadn’t I listened to my gut instinct?
‘We tricked you. It was so easy. You’re so sensitive. You closed up emotionally when you were young. You believed that love could be with anyone. You never once used your own intuition, which I’m actually quite jealous of, by the way.’ Nick started to back away from me. I didn’t want to give up but there was no point fighting them both.
‘You fell for Daniel’s charm, instead of feeling his energy. Your innocence worked well for my plans and now you’ll never be with your soulmate.’ Nick’s laugh resounded around me as I covered my ears.
‘You stay here,’ he ordered Daniel.
‘But, why…?’
Nick didn’t reply but my intuition knew what he was doing. He told me I should listen to it so I was going to start. He wanted me to fall in love with Daniel. It was an idiotic plan but Daniel grinned suddenly. I knew I had to get out of there. If I stayed, my mission would never end. I was sick of the merry-go-round.
‘Okay, you win.’
The simple words made Nick stop in his tracks. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I don’t want this stupid mission. I just want to experience love. I don’t care who it’s with.’ I looked at Daniel from under my eyelashes. Nick laughed as he left, locking the door behind him. Daniel sat next to me and grabbed my hand. He pulled me to him and crushed me in his arms. I fought the urge to fight him. I wanted to kick, scream and yank his hair.
‘Do you like me?’
He nodded, his whiskers grazing my cheek. When he tilted my head back by pulling my hair, a tiny part of me wanted him to do what he planned. It would be so muc
h easier to give in and just have a normal love. Something that wasn’t intense and all consuming.
‘You’re hot,’ he whispered before kissing me.
It was the same hard kiss as before and I almost pushed him away. I needed him on my side. I needed to convince him that I liked him. My brain screamed at me to get away from him. He was violating my mouth but he would help me escape eventually.
‘You don’t need to be quite so…’ Nick’s voice came over the speakers.
‘What’s the matter, Nick? Jealous…?’ I shouted, grabbing the back of Daniel’s head and deepening the kiss.
‘That’s enough!’ he snapped.
Daniel reared back. What had Nick done to persuade him to work alongside him? It seemed he was scared of the grey-eyed man. Reliving my past lives had made me less afraid. I wasn’t scared of dying. I wasn’t afraid of anything. If I didn’t complete my mission this time, I would just come back and try again.
Chapter Fifteen
Rough hands grabbed me, jolting me awake. My body bounced. It took me a moment to realise I was being carried over someone’s shoulder. As I tensed my muscles, I opened my eyes.
‘Will you relax? You’re going to live a happy life with Daniel.’ Nick’s muffled voice came through the bag over my head. I could hear the sound of his footsteps on the concrete steps.
‘Where are you taking me?’ I spluttered when the rough canvas sucked into my mouth.
My body shifted. I wasn't expecting the sudden change of position. Pain shot through my legs when I landed hard on my feet. The bag was ripped off my head, which made me cringe. I was standing in the middle of a kitchen.
‘Why put a bag over my head to carry me up a flight of steps?’
Nick grinned as he backed away from me. ‘I’ve been carrying you for ten minutes.’
He must have taken me to another house. My muscles shook as I looked around. Someone had put my coat on me. How had I stayed asleep?
‘I put a slight sedative in your food,’ he said as I frowned at him.
‘Where’s Daniel?’
‘Hi, honey, I’m home,’ Daniel called, coming into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist. He dripped water on the floor and for some reason it irritated me. I gritted my teeth and glared at Nick.
‘What’s going on?’
‘You might think I’m cruel but I can’t just keep you locked up in a basement for the rest of your life. You’ll live here with Daniel and play housewife. You won’t be able to leave but you can have free rein of the house.’
‘I’ll go to work like a good husband,’ Daniel said, smiling broadly at Nick.
I clenched my fists at my side. They had kept me locked up for a week. I had managed to deflect Daniel’s more probing advances. At first I had been prepared to try and get him on side but any gentle questioning had led me to realise that he would never betray Nick.
‘Am I supposed to be grateful?’
The edge of my threshold loomed. I needed to keep my cool. If I could have free rein of the house, maybe I could escape. Or I could get someone’s attention through a window or something. A quick glance confirmed that the glass was blacked out.
A noise above made us look up at the ceiling. Nick’s cheeks flashed red. I wondered what was happening. He ran out of the room, shouting at Daniel to take me down to the basement.
‘Come on,’ Daniel said.
It was my chance. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to escape. Whatever was going on upstairs, it was the perfect distraction. I could at least try to get out of this mess. My mind had only just stayed sane for the last week. A part of me wanted to die, rather than spend another day cuddled up with Daniel.
‘No chance,’ I said under my breath as he came forward.
Reaching out to him, I pretended I was going to welcome him into my arms. I placed my hands on his shoulders and kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. His towel fell to the floor and he went with it.
‘Pisces…?’
The shout from above had me running towards the door. The muffled voice wasn’t recognisable but I could tell it wasn’t Nick.
‘Down here!’ I screamed, running through the kitchen door and up the stairs.
I heard a grunt as I came to the top. Down the hall, Aries had rushed forward and pinned Nick to the wall.
‘Pisces…! Antony…?’
‘I’m here!’ Antony shouted as he flew towards me.
He tripped but managed to keep upright. I ran down the landing towards Aries. He struggled to keep hold of Nick. Red mist covered my eyes. The skin on my arms heated when I caught sight of the grey eyes that had tormented me for many lifetimes. I ran forward and threw my fist into Nick’s face.
‘Okay, we need to get you out of here,’ Antony said.
A pair of hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me. Antony spun and ran towards the door, holding me as if I weighed nothing.
‘Hurry…!’ Aries called.
Why did he struggle to hold onto Nick? The man was half his size. An explosion echoed around us and we were thrown out of the open door. I scrambled to my feet as soon as I landed on the concrete pavement. I spun towards the house and breathed a sigh of relief when Aries came out of the front door.
‘What happened? I thought that—’
‘It was an energy blast. Nick’s gone. You need to get out of here.’
Antony was behind me but I didn’t look at him. My brother had rescued me. I blinked back the tears that tried to force their way out.
‘Let’s go.’ Antony took hold of my hand.
An electric shock vibrated up my arm. I yanked away from him. Our gaze met. It was broken when Aries shot past and shouted for us to follow.
‘He has reinforcements!’ Leo’s shout made me jump as he joined us.
I didn’t recognise the street we were in. My legs were weak from misuse and as the adrenaline wore off, I found myself slowing down.
‘Let me help you.’ Antony put his arm around my waist.
Something made me want to push away from him. I had no idea why I reacted to him so negatively but I didn’t want to be near him right now.
‘The bus is coming,’ Leo said, winking at me when he caught my eye.
We were too busy trying to get away. I wanted to grab his face and kiss his cheek. I hadn’t realised quite how much I missed my brothers and sisters.
The Post Office van screeched up next to us. Scorpio was behind the wheel, with Cancer at his side.
‘Get in you gorgeous bunch!’ he called.
Antony picked me up and threw me onto the back seat when Leo opened the door. I landed with my legs and arms caught under me and my hair over my face. Something landed softly over me as the doors slammed shut and the tyres burned rubber on the concrete as we sped away.
‘Leo and Aries will sort them out. That fireball was impressive,’ I heard Cancer say. The others had stayed behind? Why had they not jumped in with us? I struggled to get free of the blanket that concealed me but the touch of a hand on my back made me go still.
‘Stop moving, we need to keep you hidden.’
Antony’s words sunk into me. I let my muscles relax as well as I could considering the circumstances.
‘I love how Aries and Leo can do that with fire. They’re going to floor those men!’
I smiled at Cancer’s commentary but I worried that the two left behind would get hurt. Leo rarely used his power, but when he did, he was formidable. Leo might have a bit of a harsh temper occasionally but Aries was a blazing fireball when he got angry.
‘I can’t see them now!’ Cancer whined.
‘We have to get Pisces home,’ Scorpio said.
‘I know. It’s fine. I just wanted to make sure they were okay.’
I closed my eyes and realised that Antony stroked my back. The sudden concentration made the feel of him ultra-sensitive. The smooth rub of his hand over the blanket was strong enough to make me shiver.
‘Pisces, I’ve missed you!’ Cancer
shouted as the van came to a stop and I heard the doors open.
The gentle touch stopped and I was lifted out.
‘Let me take her, mate,’ Scorpio offered.
I tried to shake the blanket away from my head but a hand grabbed it and covered me up.
‘No, I’ve got her,’ Antony said.
He held me in a fireman’s carry again. I couldn’t help but snuggle against his chest. He wasn’t as big as Scorpio but he was strong enough to take me inside. As soon as the front door closed, a mass of voices exploded around me. I wanted to cover my ears but I was cocooned.
‘Leave her alone,’ Antony shouted, striding through them.
I tried to wiggle free but he held me tight.
The voices faded. I heard the sound of the door as it closed. I was lowered onto a bed. The blanket dropped away to reveal Antony staring down at me. We were in my bedroom. I was glad I had a lock on the door. I pointed, not saying anything. Understanding my meaning, Antony moved to lock it. I couldn’t be bombarded by my siblings yet.
‘Are you all right?’ he whispered when he came back over to me.
I sat up slowly and looked down at myself. I stank. I hadn’t been allowed to shower in a whole week. Luckily, Nick had let me wash and clean my teeth. Opening my mouth, I blinked when nothing came out. Antony knelt in front of me and took my hands. When I looked into his eyes, I broke down.
Choked sobs escaped from my throat as I cried. He sat on the bed and lifted me onto his lap. My head lay against his shoulder as my tears absorbed into his T-shirt. Images of us from different lifetimes flashed into my mind as he rocked me gently and rubbed my back.
For so long we had tried to unite. Nick had successfully kept us apart back then. Being in Antony’s arms after a week of being locked up, felt better than any other time.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered.
Pulling back, I looked into his eyes. His cheeks were wet. I wiped away his tears. My heart beat faster than it ever had. My man cried with me.
‘Why are you sorry?’ I whispered back.
Pisces: Book 1 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) Page 11
