“Dax, bring her back,” a hidden woman says in a commanding voice. I recognize that voice from the reverie. A shiver runs through me as I remember how she hit me, and looked at me like I was a snack.
Dax, the creepy guy, grabs my arm and pulls me to where Rhenata’s voice came from. His hand is so cold, like he just walked out of a walk-in freezer. I gag as my skin crawls again, like thousands of spiders crawling over me.
I do my best to ignore Seth’s anger and the press of leather attached to my leg. I can’t use it yet. I need to play the part to free my family.
Rhenata comes into view as we turn the corner to a hidden hallway. Her curly red hair contrasts against the porcelain-like tone of her skin and the darkness of the hallway. She turns to me and smiles. I see the resemblance between her and Avan now, their faces are the same shape, same smile, but the difference is in the eyes, I notice as Dax pulls me to stand directly in front of her. Avan has a rich chocolate color that’s near black, but he has kind eyes. Rhenata has honey colored eyes, with a hint of red and black flecks, making her look as evil as I know she is.
I swallow and try clearing my throat. “May I see them?”
“You may,” she says and points to the door to her left.
Dax re-grips my arm and tugs me through the door as Rhenata’s eyes follow my movement. The door leads into an empty room that has two doors. He takes a deep breath and winks at me before shoving me through a door and slamming it behind me.
Its pitch black and something, or someone, whimpers. My mouth goes dry and I try to back up, but I’m too afraid to move. The light flickers on and I see them, still taped in the same position as in the photo. Tears of relief gather in my eyes, and Seth reminds me to stay on task as he brushes my mind like a healing balm. I run over and hug them both before carefully peeling back the tape on their mouths.
“I love you, I’m so sorry,” I say, as my tears leak down my face.
“What happened? How are you here?” My mom rushes. “Where are we?”
I ignore her questions and untie them. Then I pick up Alex, he looks fine, a little scared, but he’s happy to see me. I feel his pants, they’re completely dry.
“A redhead came in every hour, she took care of us, but didn’t at the same time,” she mumbles noticing my inspection of Alex. “It’s always the same woman,” she whispers and bites her lip as she rubs at her wrist. “What is going on?”
I ignore her and give her a one-armed hug. “I’m just so glad you’re okay. I feared the worst,” I say as I squeeze her. I lean in real close to her head. “Henry and Leland will probably explain everything to you. There’s something that I have to take care of. I’m giving you something that’ll take you to Fane. I’ll be just f-fine, Mom.” I give Alex back to her and kiss Alex’s adorably chubby cheeks. I pull out the money for her from my pocket. “I had to take a taxi here, so since you don’t have anything, use this.” I enforce my words slightly as I press a small wad of cash into her hand.
She stuffs it in the top of her bra and nods. “What is this all about? Why aren’t you leaving with me?”
“I’ll be back shortly. I just gotta take care of something first,” I say and pray with all my might that it’s not a lie. Seth’s presence in my mind is reassuring, I’ll bank on that.
The door swings open. “They are allowed to leave, but you need to come with me,” Rhenata says, pointing at me.
I nod, hug my mom and Alex one more time as I say a silent prayer that the charmed money works and they can leave safely. The next thing I know. Mom walks away, Dax follows like a good little pet, and Rhenata is filing her nails with an emery board she pulls out of thin air. ‘Kass and Fionn will follow them until they’re safe before returning to you,’ Seth says. I mentally glare at him for speaking in Rhenata’s presence. We’re not supposed to let on that we can freely communicate, and Rhenata is sensitive since she’s sorceress and devuxen.
I wait until I hear the outer door creak before speaking to Rhenata. “Thank you for treating them decently.”
“It isn’t them we want.” She shrugs. “No sense in dragging innocents into all this. They were a pawn to get you and it worked.” She smiles evilly. “Tell my brother I do miss his tricks.” She slants her eyes at me and presses her pointer finger on the gemstone on my bracelet.
Icy tentacles enter my bloodstream from my wrist. I yell out as my body begins to shake uncontrollably and my bracelet clangs to the floor. My breath comes in short bursts as I slowly feel warmth travel back into me.
She laughs. “Much better,” she says then she touches my forehead. My vision gets cloudy as black tentacles swim in my eyes.
“I wouldn’t do that Rhenata. She’s mine,” Derik growls. My vision returns to normal, and Seth swears. I bite my tongue to keep from releasing my sarcastic comment.
She rolls her eyes and steps away from me. “She’s no longer protected by my brother, do as you wish,” she says flatly and shoves me in his direction. “Tell your father to come see me when he’s done here,” she looks in my direction with disgust. “He better not keep me waiting.” She turns heel and walks out.
‘Tell Avan she just left,’ I tell Seth.
‘Done. Bo is with him, and Caine is following until they catch up.’
‘But, I need him here!’
‘He’ll circle back. Don’t worry about a thing.’
“I’m glad you followed my instructions but you see my father and our Clan wanted more of a fight,” he taps his chin, and my eyes widen. “Don’t worry.” He waves my expression off. “You’re mine, they won’t have you… At least, not until I’m done,” he says and laughs an ear grating laugh, and I ignore Seth’s threats as much as I can.
“I am not your anything,” I say laced with hatred.
He smirks, and walks across the room to open another hidden door. Two guys walk in, and I recognize one of them from school, Steve.
“You remember Steve, don’t you?” Derik laughs for some unknown reason. “This is Justin.” He claps the shoulder of a tall sickly-looking guy. “They’re just gonna hang out with you while I run out for a bite.” He winks at me, and my stomach begins to climb my esophagus. “I don’t want to accidentally drain a certain someone.” His eyes travel up and down my body, and my stomach inches higher. “Don’t let her leave, you know she’s mine.” Derik glares at his buddies before walking out the door.
I look between the two and my mouth goes dry, my stomach bottoms out, and I have that instant urge to run again. But I have nowhere to go. I’m trapped in a small room, with one exit, and two demons that are staring at me and practically drooling. You can see it in their eyes, the hunger, the want, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
“Relax, Jaz. Since Derik staked his claim on you, we can’t touch you,” Steve’s eyes rake over my body, and Seth swears again. “No matter how bad we want to,” he says and gives me a toothy grin with a wink.
I literally bite my tongue to keep the bile and string of sarcasm at bay. I decide ignoring the comment is best and take a calming breath. “Could one of you guys grab me a chair?”
“We aren’t your slaves,” Justin sneers. “You want to sit? Then sit on the floor.” I look down to the floor. Dust, trash, and what looks like mouse droppings litter the floor. I’m sure they can plainly see the disgust all over my face.
“So, you guys are what? My babysitters?” I snort and glance around the room. There’s a table along the far wall and boxes are strewn across the floor. My stomach flutters at the sight of two windows to my left, unfortunately they’re too high for me to reach them if I wanted to and are so filmy I can’t see out of them.
“Being devuxen isn’t as bad as you think,” Steve says as he walks over to me. I just look at him like he’s crazy, and wonder if all demons are just as delusional.
‘In a way, they’re the same as humans. Some are crazier than others.’ Seth chuckles. ‘If they had some mental issues as a human, I’d guess they’d have mental issues as a d
emon, too.’
“I just don’t see how anyone would choose that lifestyle,” I shrug. “Did you know what you needed to do in order to survive when Derik turned you?” My lip curls in disgust.
He shrugs. “No different than killing a cow to make burgers and steaks.”
Disgust and outrage fills me, and it’s more than likely plain to see on my face.
He just compared someone’s sweet old grandma to a happy meal!?
Justin moves and in a blur, he’s standing right in front of me, closer than close. He’s so close I can feel the chill radiating off his body, crashing into me like icy ocean waves, smothering around me.
He presses his middle to my chest. “I believe Derik was right when he said how stupid you were,” he glares down at me.
“Dude, she’s Derik’s,” Steve moves to stand next to us. “Back off.”
Justin grins at Steve. “He’s not here. What do you say we have some fun?”
“What do you mean?” I choke a little.
“We can’t damage your soul,” he says and strokes my cheek. I flinch away from him. “But we can still have some fun.”
I cringe, and Seth growls out another string of interesting curses. “Won’t Derik be back soon?” I ask shakily, and try to back away. Too bad I’m already standing against the wall.
Steve’s lips are moving, but all I hear is Seth.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. ‘Seth, I need you to calm down,’ I plead. Just as I open my eyes, a cold hand lands on my hip, and Justin’s fingers dig into my skin through my clothes. The growling and swearing continue, and it takes everything in me to not wince or scream. I bring my knee up quickly, and it bangs into Justin’s crotch. He backs away from me, thankfully. Steve starts laughing at Justin, who gives me the death stare.
“You like it rough, huh?” He spits.
The door bangs open, and I jump.
“Thanks fellas, I’m good to go. You can leave, now,” Derik says and crosses his arms over his chest.
Justin straightens his stance and glares at me before turning to leave.
“See ya later, Jaz. You’re gonna be great,” Steve says with a smile.
It’s strange to feel relief with Derik’s arrival, but honestly he couldn’t have shown up at a better time. My breathing comes slightly easier, but I’m too panicked to breathe easy.
“Did you miss me?” Derik asks as he closes the door.
I bite back my snort. “No,” I say honestly. “But I am glad you came back when you did,” I say. “Your friends are a little too welcoming.”
I push off the wall and accidently close some of the distance between us, but staying against the wall is not an option.
He nods. “Their actions won’t go unpunished. After the ceremony, you can deal with that how you wish.”
“What ceremony?” I ask stupidly.
He laughs. “You’re mine. There’s only one thing left to do now.”
“I’ll never be yours, Derik. Don’t you understand that?” I ask in exasperation. I’m so tired of repeating myself to him. Seth brushes my mind gently, warning me to be careful now.
‘Be careful, love.’
Derik closes the distance between us quicker than I thought possible. “Sweet, stupid, Jasmine,” he says in a way that contradicts his words. “Once you walked through those doors, you became mine,” he strokes my cheek. “I know exactly what to do, don’t worry, this won’t hurt at all.” He leans forward as if to kiss me. I bring my knee up and hit him in the groin. He hunches and falls to the floor.
I dart towards the door after he drops, but as soon as I open it, I see four sets of hungry eyes. Shit.
‘Caine is back, waiting for the signal.’
“That’s not playing nice.” Derik grabs my arms and pulls me back into the room, while kicking the door shut. This is not good. I have nowhere to go. ‘What do I do?’
‘Don’t let him touch you,’ he growls.
“Your little boyfriend won’t know what happened to you.” Little does he know, Seth already knows. “Your guard dogs can’t even save you here.”
‘My mom is taking your mom and Alex home right now. They’re safe and were not followed. Also, she seems pretty relaxed. But she hasn’t seen Leland or Henry, yet.’
I let out a sigh of relief. “They don’t know where I am,” I lie. “I was supposed to be in my room.” Make him believe I snuck out, and that there’s no chance he won’t be disturbed. That’s the plan. But all I want to do is get out of here, leave and hope he just goes away.
“That’s a good girl,” he croons and strokes my cheek with his cold hand again.
I want to gag.
As a last ditch effort to get out of here without the fight I feel is coming, I decide to plead sense with him. “If you let me go, I won’t tell anyone,” I whisper. “I’ll do whatever you want, just let me go home.” I let the locked away tears flow. He drops his hand from my cheek and closes his fist.
“You won’t leave here, human,” he says through his teeth.
The tears are real tears of panic now. “Please,” I plead one more time. He punches me in the jaw, and I fall back. I ignore Seth’s outrage, and stand.
“You are mine!” He yells.
‘Fane says to just agree for now. He seems crazier than normal. Who knows what he’s capable of?’ Seth warns me.
I mentally groan. Fine, placate the psycho.
“Okay.” I answer both of them. “What do I have to do?” I ask Derik, when all I really want is to call him a deranged lunatic or a psychotic moron.
Chapter 23
Demonic Playground
His eyes flash with something I can’t name. Want? Lust? “I can make you happy. I know I can,” he says, and licks his lips. “I’ve never gotten a complaint before.”
I shift nervously. “What’s so special about me? Why’d you go to such lengths to get me?”
He sighs. “Don’t you know how special you are?” He whispers and strokes my cheek again.
“I’ve been told that before, but what I don’t understand is that I’ve never shown interest in you, and you really haven’t either.” I shrug, mostly to try and bump his hand away from me.
“You’re the savior of our race. You’re my savior from being damned to hell. You’re the start of a war with deeper meaning than you’ll ever know. You’re the one to end the world. Do we need to name exactly how special you are? What’s important is that you’re finally mine,” he rolls his eyes.
‘They’re demons. They’re all going to be sitting next to Hades, trying to make friends.’
I mentally laugh and try to keep a smile on my face, to show I’m playing along. “What do I need to do?”
“You need to accept your fate. As long as you truly want me, you’ll live,” he pets my hair.
My eyes widen. “And if I don’t?” I whisper.
“Don’t what?” He raises a brow as he looks down to me.
I swallow and force the words out my closing throat. “What happens if I don’t want you?”
“You’ll die,” he smiles.
This is the situation Charlotte was talking about. If this goes much further, we’ll be walking on thinner ice to keep me from that fading and confused line. It’s going to take a fight, I know that. But it’s more than just a fight for my life. It’s a fight for my soul and my soul mate.
He clears his throat. “I used the wraiths against you to try and flush you to my side sooner. Had I known I only needed to take your mom and cousin, I would’ve done it sooner,” he shrugs.
I suck in a quick breath and my ribs scream for the thousandth time today. “The dreams,” I say quietly. He nods. They actually have a name? Of course they do, everything has a name, a place, a fate – destiny.
‘The shifters are almost in position,’ Seth yells.
I just need to reach my dagger. If I can, I can hopefully take care of Derik once and for all. The only thing I can think to do to get to my dagger is to piss him off.
‘Be careful,’ Seth says.
‘Careful won’t get the results I need,’ I respond.
“Are you ready to stand at my side?” He asks and holds his elbow out in a gentlemanly fashion.
I take a deep breath and tense up in preparation for pain. “I will never be ready for that,” I spit.
He growls and his face becomes a vicious mask of the Derik I saw in the reverie. His movement is so fast, I don’t see it. His hand connects with my face, and I crash into the wall behind me. I slide down the wall, holding my cheek, trying to catch my breath, and his foot connects with my side. I buckle over and scream out. He’s hit the same damn side again. From this position, I can reach my dagger without him seeing, but my vision is spotty, so I hesitate.
‘Do it, I’ll push the Aerial’s forward,’ Seth shouts into my mind. I slide out my dagger, holding it behind my thigh, and slowly stand, using the wall for support.
Derik laughs at my weak attempt to stand. “If you wanted to die, why didn’t you just say so?” He screeches then reaches for my hair.
In a kneejerk reaction, my hand rises to stop him, and that sends the blade into his side. He gasps, and the putrid smell of burnt flesh fills my nostrils. It’s like he’s burning from the inside out. He opens his mouth in a silent scream. Pain and rage mar his features as he stumbles away from me.
I killed him?
I choke on a sob and bring my free hand up to my nose and mouth to shield the smell. I’m a murderer.
‘Calm down. He was a demon. He wasn’t just anyone.’ Seth sends me peace with his words.
Derik’s body collapses to the floor as smoke and light fill the room.
I killed a person. My breath comes in rasps, harsher than normal. He’s dead.
‘Jaz, listen to me.’ I hear faintly in my mind.
Derik’s eyes are dim, lifeless. I feel nothing.
‘Jasmine!’ Seth shouts.
I swallow. “I did it,” I say out loud.
‘I know, but please calm down.’
The smoke acts like an alarm, two of Derik’s buddies barge into the room, looking murderously at me.
‘Um, Seth, can you tell the Aerial’s I could use some help right about now?’ I screech through my mind to his.
True Connection (The Soul Mate Series) Page 30
