by Zoey Marcel
She lowered her eyes in misery, wishing so much that she could without losing their favor. Her breath caught when his palm snaked around her neck to cup her nape and he ground his knuckles into her scalp as he tugged her head back lightly by her hair to enforce the eye contact she dreaded in this telling moment.
“Who…the fuck…is Rochelle?” Joaquin enunciated his words slowly and deliberately, but there was no mistaking the warning in his tone if she failed to submit to him this time.
Claire gulped, closing her eyes briefly, pleased when he failed to upbraid her for hiding from him. Perhaps he knew she was about to confide in him and was willing to give her the tiny refuge she needed while opening up to them.
“Back in high school Rochelle was my best friend. Even after we graduated we were almost inseparable. She was really religious and didn’t know what I was. We were supposed to meet up at a small party at a friend’s house. She showed up a little bit late with her boyfriend, Brock. He looked pretty smug, but she seemed…high to me. I knew she didn’t do drugs, but I overheard Brock telling one of his friends how he slipped a date-rape drug into her drink and slept with her. I knew Rochelle wanted to save herself for marriage, and she would have if he hadn’t drugged her. I confronted him when he was alone and cussed him out for it.”
The men listened silently and attentively as she spoke. While tragic, this wasn’t the part of the story that would forever alter their good opinion of her.
Nex sat near the cage and held her hand through the bars, rubbing it tenderly in consolation.
Claire continued, somehow strengthened by the comforting warmth of her mate’s touch. “Later as the night wore on, everyone got drunker, myself included, and decided to play Spin the Bottle. I wanted to help Rochelle through the remorse I knew she would feel once she discovered she’d lost her virginity, but I planned on telling her what Brock did to her, so she would know it wasn’t her fault. But I figured that wasn’t a good time since people were around and she was high and I was drunk. Anyway, we were all playing Spin the Bottle and at one point Rochelle spun it and it pointed at me. She wasn’t a lesbian by any means, but being under the influence…” Her eyes closed in sorrow. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”
Nex soothed her with his stroking thumb on the top of her hand. “Take your time, lass. We have all night.”
“We will not think any less of you,” Dakarai assured her. “We’re soulless, remember?”
Only Joaquin said nothing, but his eyes remained fixed on her as he waited for her to finish the story.
Claire drew in a shaky breath, knowing they must hear this even as it killed her to relay the awful truth to them. “We kissed. Normally when I fed off people’s souls it was when I was around them and I never harmed them, except maybe for draining them of energy during my times of need. But when I kissed her I tapped into her soul to a much greater depth than I had previously and it empowered the devourer in me. Maybe I lost control because I was drunk. I don’t know. I had no idea soul vampires could literally suck the soul out of someone and kill them.”
“Is that what happened to Rochelle?” Dakarai asked.
Claire squeezed her eyes shut as they welled and nodded. “At first we thought she had just passed out from being intoxicated, but after an hour I started to worry, especially when I couldn’t sense any life coming from her. Brock didn’t want anyone taking her to the hospital. The bastard was probably worried about them discovering drugs in her system, but I took her anyway. They found drugs in her system but didn’t think she’d died from them. They couldn’t find any other possible cause of death, so they wrote it off as drug overdose or a bad batch, and they never knew what happened to her, but I knew.”
Nex squeezed her hand in sympathy. His eyes only harbored compassion and empathy. The judgment she’d waited for was strangely absent from them.
Claire sniffled. “I felt horrible for what I did to Rochelle. I started trying to learn all I could about what I was really capable of. Apparently, when soul devourers suck the soul from a person to the extent of bringing about the individual’s death, the person’s soul remains trapped inside the vampire’s body for a few days or a week, after which the soul is freed and passes on to heaven or hell. Even though I hated myself for what I did to her, I was glad that at least within a week’s time she could pass on to heaven and be with David.”
“Who’s David?” Joaquin asked.
“He was Rochelle’s fiancé. They were madly in love. He died in a car accident a week before they were to get married,” Claire recalled despondently. “It destroyed her. She completely withdrew and eventually started associating with different people than before. I think she wanted a change. She blamed god for the loss. She eventually started to date that asshole, Brock. I warned her that he was a perverted loser, but I think at that point she was so devastated over losing David that she didn’t care about anything anymore. I don’t even think she cared whether she lived or died. She just missed him so much.”
Nex scooted closer so he leaned up against the bars, trying to get closer to her. His sweetness touched her.
Claire went on. “A week came and went and Rochelle’s soul never left my body. Her being inside of me enabled me to see into the very depths of her soul and she into mine. I think she knew the second I did that she was trapped in my body and wasn’t getting out. She figured out from my memories what Brock did to her, giving her the date-rape drug and stealing her innocence. One night I woke up in an alley with a bloody knife in my hand. It scared me so bad, and it wasn’t until later when I saw the news and started to have flashbacks that I realized what happened.”
Any closer and Nex would be molded into the bars as a permanent ornament. He looked so damned good with his bare chest exposed and the thin, fuzzy trail to heaven running just below his navel and dipping into his boxers.
Claire continued. “I asked Rochelle about it in my dream and she confessed that she made me sleepwalk over to Brock’s place. I must have been so out of it. I didn’t even know what was happening. She had me…castrate him and then kiss him so I would suck the soul out of him and kill him. He was only trapped inside my body for two days before he passed on to hell, but during those two days Rochelle tortured the crap out of him. I saw what she did to him in my dreams. I heard his screams for mercy. He deserved what he got, but I couldn’t believe what she was capable of. She never would have considered such things before. I don’t know if losing David and being raped by Brock and then accidentally killed by her best friend was just too much and she snapped or if being trapped in the body of a demon made her evil like me.”
Dakarai looked at her seriously. “I have seen evil, Claire, and you are not it.”
Claire smiled sadly. “I am, though. My human soul may help keep me grounded, but I’m still more demon than human, and I corrupted Rochelle. On the worst night of her life, I should have been there for her, but instead I killed her and corrupted her.”
Nex was practically smashed up against the bars when she buried her face in her palm as the tears ran down her cheeks. “Claire, listen to me. What happened wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. You couldn’t have known.”
“But I should have. I should have found out more about what I really was sooner and then she would still be alive today.”
“How long has she been trapped inside of your body?” Joaquin asked.
“Two years.”
“Is that why she wanted you to go to the church that one time—to seek help from a spiritual leader?” Dakarai queried.
Claire nodded. “I’ve tried everything, but they either think I’m insane, drunk, or a liar. Especially when I explain to them that I’m part demon and want to cast a human soul out of my body rather than the other way around. They could help me then, but this way is more like reverse exorcism. I don’t even know if that’s possible.”
“Have you tried black magic of any sort?” Dakarai asked.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t know what to
do, but I don’t really want to expose Rochelle to any more evil and darkness than I already have. No offense to anybody.”
Nex grinned and Dakarai managed a mildly humored smile, but Joaquin appeared serious and contemplative. He was a thinker.
“You think the longer she’s inside of you, the more you two rub off on each other?” he questioned her.
She nodded. “I’ve seen it. That’s why aside from oral sex, make outs and hands jobs I was still a virgin when I came here, because I knew she would want me to be pure. Likewise, she seems to grow increasingly bitter and heartless the more time goes on. We’re becoming more like our opposing natures day by day.”
Nex brought her hand up to the space between the bars and kissed it. “She still has no right to try to hurt you or take your life.”
“Can you blame her? If not for me, she might have lived a good life and eventually died a natural death and gone to heaven to be with the love of her life, but instead she’s stuck inside the body of something she despises almost as much as the devil. Her resentment is merited.”
“Regardless, we cannot allow you to suffer any longer,” Dakarai objected.
Joaquin spoke to Dakarai while holding Claire’s vulnerable gaze. “Do you have the witch’s number?”
“Hilary should be in the member directory. I will check.” Dakarai stood and ruffled her hair through one of the spaces in the top of the cage. “Everything is going to be all right, peanut. We will take care of you.”
* * * *
Dakarai looked up Hilary’s number and called her, but she, Callie and Cameron were apparently on vacation in Arizona, visiting the Grand Canyon, and wouldn’t be back for five days. She said she’d be more than happy to assist them when she got back but would have to do thorough research, so now wasn’t plausible since she didn’t know of a spell to help Claire offhand and didn’t have her books with her.
Joaquin was put out over the delay, but they didn’t have a choice. Claire assured them that if they gave her a sedative before she went to sleep at night, locked her in the cage and chained her to it they should all be fine and Rochelle would be inhibited.
Dakarai called Cory Taylor to have him fill in for Claire that night so she could have the night off to relax, but Cory said he couldn’t because Hilary and Cameron had appointed him to open and close the magic shop for them while they were away.
Dakarai was thrilled to know they would at least have access to the spell books in the magic shop while they waited for Hilary. While waiting for her return would likely be more effective, they didn’t want Claire to be in danger for another minute. She deserved peace.
They sent Nex over to get Cory and find the right book to end the entrapment. Cory closed the store for his lunch break and came over to the club with Nex to help them.
“Okay, so I don’t have a clue what any of this says or even what language it is, but one of the side notes is written in English and it sounds like what you’re looking for,” Cory told them.
“Is any other part of the text in English?” Dakarai asked.
“No, of course not.” Cory rolled his eyes with a saucy smile. “That would just be too easy. Okay. You ready, Claire?”
She nodded, standing in the center of the room while he held the thick, ancient-looking book in his arms.
“Well, here goes nothing.” He tried to sound the letters out, but it sounded as though he butchered them. “I don’t know what any of this shit means.”
“Perhaps we should wait for Hilary,” Nex suggested.
“Wait.” Joaquin held up his hand. “Look at her eyes.”
They all turned to see her eyes were completely white now and she seemed possessed.
“Keep going, Cory,” Dakarai urged. “I think it’s working.”
He hoped it was. It seemed to be.
Cory continued to disgrace the ancient dialect from the sound of it as he read aloud, but the spell seemed to be working. “Ah hell, this word doesn’t even have any vowels in it.”
“Sound it out,” Joaquin encouraged.
“How?” Cory snorted. “Pthbwfths.”
The men looked at him, mildly humored by his weak attempts.
“I’m sure that is not how you say it,” Dakarai told him.
“Well, that’s what it looks like, though this font is pretty hard to read.”
“Keep trying,” Nex urged, watching Claire anxiously.
“Askon bethesdane pu.” Cory read. “Ah, now what the fuck is this? It’s not even a word. It looks like a hieroglyphic.”
“Is it?” Dakarai asked hopefully.
“No. I think it just looks like one.”
“Don’t skip it. It may be important.”
“What?” Cory sputtered. “How in the hell am I supposed to read a picture?”
“Cory!” Joaquin growled.
“Okay, okay. Chubby birdie.”
Dakarai shook his head, trying not to chuckle. He seriously doubted the text said chubby birdie. He took it from Cory and looked it over. It was probably some kind of demonic dialect. Dakarai was fluent in several, but there were nearly as many languages as there were different breeds of demons. For all he knew it could even be a forgotten human language or the ancient dialect of some other species he hadn’t ever learned.
He handed the book back to Cory. “Keep going. You are doing a wonderful job.”
He tried to be encouraging, but the words sounded forced even to him.
“Wow, the enthusiasm,” Cory teased. “Zindrevko elay contasque…uh, um. Those aren’t even letters in the English alphabet! Oh my god, and here’s another picture. What’s with all the cute, fat, little animal doodles in here? This one looks like an angry pig.”
Nex looked thoughtful. “What did the first one look like?”
Cory shrugged. “A chubby bird with a little do on his head.”
“Like a quail?”
“Yeah, why?”
“That symbolizes the spirit being set free. The fat pig with horns and tusks symbolizes greed and the bondage holding the spirit captive,” Nex explained.
The men turned to look at him incredulously.
“Wait a minute. How did you know the pig has tusks and horns?” Cory asked. “Do you know this language?”
“Why the fuck didn’t you say something sooner?” Joaquin demanded.
“I don’t know the words he’s using,” Nex admitted, “but the two signs he spoke of are familiar to me.”
Dakarai took the book from Cory and shoved it at Nex. “Read the pictures then.”
“Etsvrandez kumei,” Nex read, watching as the white in Claire’s eyes flashed with fury and she hissed. “Sincopoly brevinchoplut tankyldrun monsorei.”
Claire screamed and lunged for them, knocking Cory to the ground so she could reach Nex without hindrance. Dakarai pulled her off as Nex finished his sentence. The two symbols in the book glowed with the brilliance of the sun and he placed a finger on each picture, gritting his teeth as it seemed to burn him slightly before he removed his digits from the page.
A tormented shriek sounded and a light shot out from Claire’s body and disappeared into the wall. Her eyes returned to their normal baby-blue and she fell to the floor. They all surrounded her and carefully helped her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” They kept asking.
Claire nodded shakily. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Did it work?” Cory asked.
“I think it did,” she said happily, seeming overwhelmed to finally be free of her tormentor. “I don’t feel her anymore and I have peace. I can’t believe I’m finally free. Thank you, guys, so much.”
They thanked Cory repeatedly and then he left to go grab some lunch before he had to return to the magic shop to work.
None of the three men could seem to stop hugging and petting Claire, and she appeared to revel in the pampering. Dakarai felt a swell of hope rising in his chest. Maybe now that the whole Rochelle issue had been dealt with they could focus more on Claire’s train
ing and perhaps after the show was over she would want to stay with them…possibly forever.
* * * *
Claire felt rejuvenated from the absence of Rochelle’s spirit harassing her for her life choices. She wanted to take advantage of it by bedding her men, but after the night Joaquin had sat with her on the balcony and told her she couldn’t stay because his bloodlust was too strong, she felt skittish and reluctant to initiate any sack sessions unless they started it. She needed them to crave it like she did, and more than that she needed Joaquin to want her to stay with him as badly as Nex and Dakarai did.
She decided a luxurious bubble bath would be relaxing and make her feel pampered and girly. She made herself a strawberry margarita first to take with her while she bathed. If one was going to soak in a gloriously large, sunk-in tub, one might as well do so in style with a drink in her hand and little candles all along the edge to provide a cozy, romantic atmosphere.
Nex leaned over the bar counter and fondly watched her pour the pink concoction into a glass.
“I can make you one,” she offered. “What kind would you like?”
“A green one.”
“One kiwi margarita coming up.”
Dakarai came into the room. “I would like a blue margarita, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure. I may as well make one for Joaquin too. What kind would he like?”
“A peach margarita.”
She snickered. “Of course you all want different ones.”
Claire mixed the drinks, salted the glass rims and stuck a lime wedge on the rim of each glass. They really did make an eye-appealing display on the counter and the rich diversity of colors beckoned to be captured on camera. She snapped a picture of the four margaritas, one pink, one kiwi green, one light blue, and a pale-peach colored one. She loved taking pictures of some of the drinks she made. They made pleasing pictures and would make for a decorative calendar. Moreover, it would be a good idea to construct a portfolio of her work to add to her resume to make it that much easier to find another job after she left here.
