I don’t know what to say or do or think. None of this makes sense, yet at the same time …
Well, some of it does make a little bit of sense. Like why the demon died when he touched me, or why the demons want me at all. If I have demon feeder in me—creatures that supply demons with power and magnify it—that would explain that part.
“Why did you bring me here, Max?” I whisper hoarsely. “Did you find a way to … feed off me?”
He continues to nuzzle his nose into the crook of my neck. “Would it matter if I did?”
“That all depends.”
“On what?”
“On what you need the extra power for.”
Instead of answering, he turns his head and places a kiss against my racing pulse. “God, you smell good. Like nothing I’ve ever smelled before.”
“Max …” I start, my voice wobbling. “Tell me what you need my power for. And why the other demons want it—”
The rest of the words are ripped from my tongue as a loud explosion booms throughout the room, vibrating the walls, bed, and the chandelier above us.
I jerk back from Max, my gaze zipping to the center of the room where a massive, rainbow-tinted portal is spinning.
“What the hell?” Max mutters, rising to his feet. He briefly stares at the portal before his fiery gaze targets me. “What did you do?”
“You think I made a portal?” I ask, then shake my head. “Newsflash, Max, I’m not as powerful as you think.”
Shaking his head, he moves in front of me. “I don’t think you opened a portal.” He crosses his arms and fixes a glare on me. “What I do know is that no one, including witches, should be able to find this location. Yet, somehow, someone’s created a portal to it.”
I think about meeting Ryleigh in the dream and how she thought she knew the location of Max’s lair. But I’m not about to tell Max this when he hasn’t told me if he’s found a way to drink my power.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, other than I didn’t do anything.” I give a nonchalant shrug. “How could I when I’ve been stuck here?”
His eyes narrow into slits. “There are other ways of communicating with someone. And considering the power you have, I’m betting—”
“Get away from her!” Hunter’s demanding voice rings through the air.
The sound causes conflicting emotions to stir inside me; hurt, anger, and elation to name a few.
I turn my head toward the portal, and my heart leaps in my chest at the sight of Hunter standing in the opening with his wand drawn and pointed at Max.
Chapter 5
Hunter is here to save me! Hunter, the guy I trust!
Or, well, used to trust.
My elation goes down a notch as I realize I might not be able to trust him anymore.
“Demon, step away from her,” he says, inching cautiously into the room.
He’s wearing the same outfit as the last time I saw him: black jeans, a matching shirt, and boots. I wonder if he’ll ever go back to dressing like the Hunter I knew before all the secrets came spilling out. Then I wonder why on earth that is the first thought that crosses my mind at this moment.
Seriously, get your head in the game, Eva!
I move to shove Max so I can run to the portal and escape, but he sidesteps out of the way.
Then I spring to my feet, ready to make a run for it. Sure, I’m not too thrilled to return to Mystic Willow Bay and deal with the truth, but being held captive in a demon’s lair by a demon who may or may not want to slurp me dry of my questionably strong power isn’t a better alternative. A demon wanting power is never a good thing.
But neither are you, Eva. You’re a demon and a succubus and a witch and demon feeder.
While I’ve never heard of such a combination, they all share one thing in common—they have a lot of power. So, if Max is telling the truth … I shudder.
What if he’s telling the truth, though? Think about the stuff you can do!
An almost violent shiver rolls through my body at the possibilities.
“Eva, go through the portal now!” Hunter cries, reaching for me.
I start to run toward the portal, but Max grabs my arm and hauls me back toward him.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he hisses, sounding very unlike the Max I’ve been talking to.
“You said you weren’t going to keep me here forever!” I cry, throwing my weight forward.
He snakes his arms around my waist, holding me against his body. “Hate to break this to you, sweetheart, but all demons lie.”
My heart thrashes inside my chest. “You were lying to me?”
“Not about everything.” He kisses the back of my ear. “Just about letting you go.” Another brush of his lips, and this time, a very not so good shiver vibrates through my body. “Like I would ever give something like you up. Besides, if you go back, you’ll be in danger.”
I laugh hollowly, feeling stupid for ever believing he’d let me go. He’s a demon!
“Like I’m safe here?”
“Safer than you are in Mystic Willow Bay,” he whispers in my ear, moving backward as Hunter runs at us with his wand poised to cast a spell. “Now that word has gotten out about you, every demon and hybrid in the underground is going to come after you.” He backs up around the bed. “There’s a reason I told you to stay away from The Illuminating Horror House of Truth. Because there are demons plotting to capture you and use your power. For what, I’m not sure. But trust me when I say it won’t be good.”
“How can they even use my power?” I make my body go limp in an attempt to get him to stop moving. “I thought it killed them?”
“It does. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a way around it. Trust me; I know.”
He knows, as in, he’s found a way?
Panic flares through me, potent and scorching.
I need to get out of here.
“Let her go!” Hunter shouts as he chases after us.
Max laughs as he continues to drag me deeper into his demon lair bedroom. “Or what?”
Hunter screeches to a stop with his wand out in front of him, the tip sparkling silver. Then he opens his mouth and starts to chant a spell. “Alofor—”
Max cuts him off as he begins to yell the incantation to a petrifying curse.
My panic doubles, knowing that if Max gets all the way through the curse, Hunter will die. Just like Ryleigh.
Wait a second. This is the second time I’ve heard Max throw a petrifying curse. It’s not a very common curse, either. Most demons use the torture spell to kill their victims.
Did Max kill my sister?
Chapter 6
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God! What if he did?
I want to ask him, demand to know the answer, but Hunter and Max are in the middle of a spell and a curse that is potentially going to lead to disaster. I need to stop them—well, Max, anyway—before he kills Hunter.
Do something, Eva! You may be mad at Hunter, but if he dies, a part of you will die, too.
I look around the room for something to grab and hit Max with, but the only thing within reach is the bed. Therefore, I do the only thing I can think of to do. I open my mouth and out comes the most bloodcurdling scream I can make. I hold the sound for as long as I can until I run out of breath. The moment the noise dies, the two of them start right back up again.
Panicking, I lean forward and lift my leg to kick Max in the shin. However, he jumps back while holding me and somehow continues on with his curse.
The tricky little demon!
I open my mouth and belt out, “Max, if you don’t …” I trail off as a figure appears in the spinning portal.
Moments later, Opal stumbles out of the circular opening and into the demon lair. She has her wings out and a don’t-fuck-with-me expression on her face. Definitely not the shy, quiet Opal I know.
Again, another lie.
But I have hardly any time to get all wounded and sulky as Opal flings her hands forward and
throws shimmering violet faerie dust all over the room, which might not sound too scary in theory, but just a handful of it carries enough power to collapse an entire house. And it also happens to be potent to demons. Which makes me wonder why it’s never done anything to me.
Strange…
As the shimmering dust showers through the air, Max lets out a string of curses, his hands falling from my waist.
“Damn faeries!” he growls as he races backward, trying to escape the faerie dust rainstorm. But a few glittery fragments land on his cheeks.
He gives me a worried look before his eyes roll into the back of his head, and then he collapses to the floor.
I step toward him. “Is he …? Is he dead?” I don’t know how I feel about the idea, but a part of me—a very disturbing, unsettling part of me—isn’t very happy about it.
“No, he’s just passed out.” Hunter moves up beside me, his arm brushing against mine.
When I glance up at him, he’s not looking at Max but at me. His eyes are wild, as if a frenzy of emotions are pouring through him. The out-of-control look throws my equilibrium off balance.
Hunter never looks out of control.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice hoarse, his eyes huge as he frantically looks me over.
I bob my head up and down. “Yeah, I’m fine—”
He crashes his lips against mine, giving me a brief but passionate kiss. When he pulls away, he appears a drop calmer. But whatever calmness I had in me goes peace out as confusion floods my body.
He kissed me.
What. The. Freakin’. Giggling. Sprites.
He carries my gaze, his eyes searching mine. “I was so worried about you. I thought we were never going to be able to find you. If it wasn’t for Ryleigh, we wouldn’t have.”
“I know.” A sudden thought comes out of nowhere and bitch slaps me across the face. “Wait, how did you communicate with her?”
“We had a telepathic expert come in and read her mind.” He laces his fingers through mine and holds on tightly. “I knew that, when Ryleigh was alive, she could dream travel. I had a hunch she might try to get into your dreams to see if you were okay.”
My lips form an O, but no words come out. He knew Ryleigh could dream travel? He knew her better than me.
“Eva, I’m so sorry we lied to you and hurt you,” he says, as if reading my mind. “But I’m just so fucking glad you’re okay. When the demon took you … I thought … Well …” Shaking his head, he leans forward and kisses me again.
Warmth and coldness simultaneously flow through my veins, scorching hot yet chillingly cold, which makes it impossible to pull away or kiss him back. Instead, I end up standing there with my heart pounding in my chest and my legs trembling.
“Hunter, stop that,” Opal’s voice slices through the moment. “You know you’re not supposed to do that while you’re on the job.”
Hunter gradually pulls back, wetting his lips with his tongue. “This is different,” he tells her without taking his eyes off me.
I feel like he’s searching for something inside me, but I don’t have a crazy, confused clue what. And adding to that confusion is the fact that he’s kissed me twice in the last minute. How can that be possible after all these years of me being in love with him, yet figuring he’d never reciprocate my feelings? Has he really wanted to kiss me all this time, but was just afraid? Or is this part of the lie, of staying close to me?
I instinctively start to decide on the latter, but then Max’s words echo through my mind.
He said I am naive about guys, like I am more desirable than I thought. He made it sound like it had more to do with my power than anything else …
Then it dawns on me.
Succubus.
Holy freak! I am a succubus!
Chapter 7
Okay, so here’s a couple of things I know about succubi. They have the power to seduce men, and they have a lot of sex. None of that makes sense to me since I’ve never seduced anyone in my life. And up until when Max kissed me in the cage at Evan’s, virgin lips graced my face.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asks worriedly. “You look flushed?”
“It’s nothing.” I shake my head, feeling my cheeks warm even more. “I’m just exhausted and overwhelmed.”
I hate lying, but what else am I supposed to say? I’m flushed because I might be a succubus. Yeah, that’s pretty much a walking contradiction.
By the look on his face, he doesn’t buy my bullshit. It’s irritating that he knows me so much better than I know him.
Opal approaches us with her wings still out, the corners fluttering against the draft blowing out from the portal. “Hunter, we need to get her out of here before the demon wakes up.”
“His name is Max,” I automatically say, then shrug when they both give me a strange look. “What? He told me it was.”
Puzzlement etches into Hunter’s features. “Eva, you know he was probably lying to you, right? Demon’s rarely tell you their real names.”
He has a point, but still …
“Is Hunter your real name?” I bite down on my tongue, regretting the words the instant I say them. I sound like a bitter Betty.
Hunter sighs sadly. “Yes, my name is really Hunter.” He leans forward, lowering his voice. “I know you don’t trust me right now, and I totally get it, but I promise you that not everything was a lie. The basic stuff I told you, and some of the more personal stuff, is completely true.”
My brain sets into a mental tug-of-war over my feelings for him. Do I hate him? Love him? Am I angry with him? Sad? Hurt? What do I feel!
When he notes my expression, he brushes the back of his hand across my cheekbone. “We’ll talk more about this later, okay? Right now, we need to get you home.” He offers me his hand.
Home. Do I even have a home?
I glance around the demon lair, remembering the story Max told me about the hybrid child. Then I think about how Hunter said that the society found me in a demon lair when I was a baby. The stories match up almost perfectly, which means that, at one point, I lived in a place like this. That also means I’m a freak of nature with a clusterfuck of creatures’ blood sloshing around in my body.
I grimace at the thought, but I do take Hunter’s hand and let him lead me toward the portal.
“I’ve never traveled through a portal before,” I admit as we near the swirling tunnel in the middle of the room.
He gives my hand a squeeze. “I know. I’ll get you through it. Just hold my hand, okay?”
I nod as Opal steps up beside me.
“What happens if my hand slips from yours?”
“Don’t let that happen,” Opal says worriedly. “You could get lost inside and never find your way out.”
I turn my head to look at her, but she won’t meet my eyes, her gaze trained on the portal. I wonder why. Does it have anything to do with feeling guilty about lying to me? Or is she just concentrating?
Hunter softly tugs on my hand, redirecting my attention to him. “Ready?”
I give an unsteady nod. “I guess so.”
Truthfully, I’m nervous. If anyone were to end up getting lost in a portal, it’d be me. Having no other choice, though, I clutch Hunter’s hand and step forward into the swirling colors and warm air, hoping upon hope that I’ll make it out.
Chapter 8
Traveling through a portal is awful. And I mean, awful. Not only do I get motion sickness, but my limbs feel like they’re going to be ripped from my body. And don’t even get me started on the hand sweat. But that’s mostly from the fact that I’m clutching Hunter’s hand for dear life.
Please let me get out of here. Please, please, please …
My feet touch solid surface, and the wind rushing and pulling at my body suddenly stops. I don’t release Hunter’s hand right away, though, gripping it as I crack open an eyelid. Then I sigh in relief as I take in the four walls and the furniture that make up the living room of the house I’m renting.
&nbs
p; “I’m home. Thank God.”
Hunter brushes his finger along the back of my hand. “You’re all right, right? No motion sickness or anything like that?”
“Not anymore.” I drape my free hand across my stomach. “While we were in there, though, I thought I was going to yack all over you.”
He chuckles, shaking his head as he stares at me in … well, shock.
“What?” I ask, feeling self-conscious. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” His lips twitch in amusement.
“Like I’ve surprised you. And that I’m amusing.”
“You’re always amusing,” he jokes, tugging on a strand of my hair. Then the humor in his eyes fizzles into seriousness. “It’s just nice to hear you sound like … well, you.”
“What else would I sound like? A crazy hybrid demon?” I ask, slightly offended.
He promptly shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant at all. I meant that you still sound like you even after I …” He pauses with confliction in his eyes.
“Admitted that you lied to me,” I finish for him.
Guilt flickers across his face, but he hastily erases it as Opal dives out of the portal and into the living room. She lands gracefully on her feet near the leather sofa, then dusts off her hands, folds up her wings, and shuts down the portal with a flick of her wrist.
“Mission accomplished.” She beams, but her smile falters as she glances at me. “Hey.” She offers me a tentative, unsure smile.
“Hey.” My tone conveys the buttload of hurt I’m feeling inside.
She must hear it, because she says, “Eva, I’m so sorry. There were so many times I wanted to tell you, but it went against protocol.”
“I understand.” Honestly, I don’t. Maybe I’m being crazy, but I’d like to think, if I were in their shoes, I’d have broken down a long time ago and confessed everything to them. Perhaps that’s because I care more about them.
Mystic Willow Bay, Witches Series: The Secret Life of a Witch Page 17
