Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1)

by McKenzie Hunter

  He nodded, stepping back from the door, giving me space.

  I wasn’t in the room long before I felt his presence near me. Sebastian sensed it as well, he turned and their eyes locked. I held my breath in anticipation of what would become of this moment. Ethan brought his hand to his chest and extended it in nonverbal apology.

  Sebastian shook his head as if to say an apology was not necessary. “If the roles were reversed, I would look to you to save me from myself,” he responded in understanding.

  Winter had missed the whole exchange as she closely watched Pala. Her look of scrutiny turned to clear suspicion as she looked at Pala and Josh, who was now starting to look sickly.

  “Something’s wrong!” she shouted as she lunged at Pala.

  “He’s strong; I couldn’t resist having him for myself,” she admitted, making little effort to hide her pleasure. Pala held Josh’s hand firmly even after Winter grabbed her. Pala’s free hand took hold of Winter’s wrist. The room dimmed, and Winter’s face became a series of grimaces and suppressions of pain before she was thrown back crashing into the door. A dark smile covered Pala’s face, finding pleasure in the pain—in Winter’s pain.

  As she continued smiling, darkness emanated off her in waves, stifling the air. All Josh needed was to use the magic, and I had the ability to hold magic. I grabbed the knife that lay a few feet from her and whip it across my hand. Blood welled in the palm of my hand just before I grabbed Pala’s and held it tightly in mine. I recited the same words that Josh had when he was bound to me at Caleb’s and a few days when we practiced the protective fields. As soon as the last word fell from my lips, the surge of magic ripped through. It was nothing like Josh’s magic; it was rough and bleak, chilling me to the core. Pala bucked under me, screaming out as I tugged at her magic, pulling it toward me.

  Torrents of darkness flooded me, submerging me, binding me to this tenebrous world of dark magic. Pala refused to be divested of her power and fought for it ruthlessly. She tugged with violent jerks, but it was in vain. The magic migrated toward me then latched on as though it were where it belonged—as though it were part of me.

  Unwilling to give into defeat, in her final act of vigilance, she called to her Master. The name Ethos slipped from her mouth with immense reverence.

  True darkness arrived, bringing its host, its master. Molten heat and obscurity surrounded me, announcing his arrival. I knew that face; it was one I would never forget. At Gloria’s home, I was presented with a diminutive version. Now I felt him—potent, dark and evil. Its power and presence could never be ignored because it was darkness in its purest and rawest form.

  He didn’t pull; he drew it toward him effortlessly. I pulled back. He drew harder and I wrenched back with everything I had because Josh needed this and I refused to fail.

  I gave one more powerful pull that left me nearly drained. I won.

  But I hadn’t won. He conceded. Staring at me with delighted curiosity, his portentous gaze held mine. I had piqued his interest, gotten his attention and made my presence known. This wouldn’t be the last time we met.

  With a pithy smile, he relinquished a burst of his magic. Flooding me in darkness, I was submerged into its swamp. Suffocating, I tried claw my way to safety, anchor myself to something familiar where I could breathe and find comfort away from the darkness. I thought, this was how I was going to die, when someone grabbed my hand. Josh. The comfort of his magic, neutral, cool and placid enveloped me. He whispered an incantation and I was dragged away from that place of comfort right back into darkness, back into infinite midnight, but it was different now. The obscurity was illuminated by embers of light that flickered around us.

  Our bodies were somewhere safe in the retreat; our minds were forced into darkness as we looked for the elusive Gem of Levage. We roamed around in the bowels of darkness as cold air whipped about; gusts of wind pushed us, urging us away.

  I wasn’t sure what I expected but it wasn’t this. There weren’t rooms, closets or even small spaces that enclosed the hidden items. As we traveled through the abysmal space, the closer we came to a space, various objects revealed themselves. Slowly its surroundings were disclosed, giving you a clue where it could be found in our world.

  In front of me was a lock box. As I neared it, a stone was revealed; it wasn’t the Gem of Levage, yet I got the feeling it was just a dangerous. I started to grab it. “No,” Josh’s voice ordered sternly, “just the Gem of Levage.” Was this a one-shot deal? Once we found our desired object, were we forced out?

  I took several steps away from it and continued my search.

  Thick mist filled the space, further separating me from Josh. The air roughly hit against us shuffling us about. We weren’t wanted on this side of the realm. We weren’t supposed to be here, and it was doing everything possible to let us know this.

  When I turned to my left, a closet opened revealing an illuminated orb. Next to it was framed art, unique sculptures and delicately designed vases. The orb was in a gallery not very different from the one Josh took me to. But I didn’t reach for the item this time. Instead, I stared at the art, imprinting all the unique things to memory for future reference if I ever needed to find this gallery and the object in question.

  Turning in full circle, I took several steps and encountered a man or something very manlike. Bronze skin, liquid gold eyes, thin lips curved slightly into an inviting smile. He stood, his sleek thin frame motionless, but he was alive. I took a few steps closer, trying to see what landscape would be exposed, revealing his location. But nothing was revealed. Slowly I walked around him and he followed, turning to keep a watchful eye on me. He wasn’t what I would consider beautiful; he was strangely awe-striking, enchanting. “You’re very warm,” he stated softly. Inching closer to me, he reached out to touch me, and I was yanked back hard before he could place a finger on me. “Don’t let him touch you—ever. And once outside this realm, if you see him or anything like him—you don’t touch him or let him touch you. You don’t go near him. The only thing you do is run like hell,” Josh snapped.

  I needed to get out of there. We were in a house of devastation, dark and evil. Josh was calm during the search but since the encounter with the bronze man, he wanted out fast. His search was more erratic, moving throughout the abysmal space at such a speed, he was giving me a headache.

  As I searched, I found swords, talismans, gems and charms. I am sure they all could be found in the “Symbols of Death” or worse. I wanted to take them and destroy them for no other reason that they existed when they shouldn’t. But every time I considered it, Josh was there discouraging me. We had been in this place too long. It seemed like hours; perhaps it had been days. Finally, when I thought we would never find it here, Josh’s excited voice blasted through the dank space that he had found it.

  “Get us out of here! Unbind us now.” He urged and I could feel the panic in him. I whispered the words Josh had before to unbind me but nothing happened. I did it again. Nothing . Josh could feel my anxiety, and when I said the words again, he said them with me. Within seconds, we were pushed—no we were violently expelled, expunged from there.

  Although we were free of that place, I was still holding on to dark magic. No longer connected to Josh, it came back with a vengeance. I couldn’t breathe. This magic was nothing like his. It consumed you, drowning you in its power, in its effort to take over. You don’t control dark magic; it controls you, subdues you and only allows you to live in order for you to serve its purposes. I screamed but it went unheard as though I hadn’t opened my mouth. My words were swallowed by its power.

  Instead of pulling it toward me, like I had done before, I pushed. Lying on the floor, my heart raced at an erratic rate. I tried to force the magic out of me. If this didn’t kill me, the heart attack would. Glass crashed and broke over me, wood splintered, things swirled across my face, metal smashed into my body. The magic clung to me, refusing to be cast out.

  Josh, help me. I tried to bring up a pr
otective field to shelter me from the things that were uncontrollably whipping against and crashing into me. Then warm fingers linked with mine, a firm body lay over me. The five o’clock shadow felt rough and bristled over my skin as he pressed his face against me. Darkness faded. Midnight melted into a pewter then faded slowly into something not quite white but translucent. Everything settled to a calm.

  I opened my eyes to find Josh’s face, relaxed with sinfully playful eyes, staring at me, the weight of his body pinning me against the floor. He stayed there for several minutes watching me, intrigue and curiosity covering his face. I was so sick of getting that look. I let my head drop to the side, absorbing the feeling of being away from the darkness and in a familiar place, comfortable, soothing.

  Josh didn’t move; his body pressed firmly against me. “Um … I think you can get off me now.” He grinned, moving just a smidge, giving me barely enough room to slide from under him.

  I was alive. I was here. I wasn’t darkness, death or obliteration. Just when I was about to do my happy dance, fully accompanied with jazz hands, I got a view of the infirmary.

  I had survived but the room hadn’t: six of the hospital beds where upside down, the medicine cabinet was smashed to pieces, the room dividers were crumpled and lying against the wall. One of the double doors had survived but the other was hanging off the hinges. Anything that was glass had shattered to pieces. Broken plaster continued to crumble and fall from the wall where someone or something had crashed into it.

  “I did this?”

  Josh nodded slowly. Of course I had; that’s why Ethan, Sebastian, Winter, Dr. Baker and Steven were standing across the room looking as though they had just watched the devil give birth to twins.

  I had cuts on my arms, my shirt was torn, and I was drenched in sweat. I gave the room another quick glance, said something about needing a shower and promised Dr. Baker I would clean up. I made a mad dash out of the room I had just annihilated, while they gave me the What-the-hell-was-that? look.

  I showered twice, trying to rid myself of the scent of dark magic. Its aura, though subtle, was present, clinging to me, and I couldn’t stand it. Even the overly floral body wash didn’t drive that dank, crisp feeling away. The more I thought about what I subjected myself to, the more panicked I became. I laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, forcing a serenity that I so desperately needed.

  “You continue to astound me,” Josh admitted with a small smile as he walked into the room.

  “Maybe you should raise your standards―you are far too easily impressed,” I stated, keeping my eyes on the ceiling.

  “And you don’t give yourself enough credit. If it weren’t for your quick thinking, I would have met a less-than-desirable fate. You saved my life.”

  “I don’t like dark magic,” I admitted, sitting up.

  Josh’s eyes were dancing somewhere between interest, confusion and apprehension. “You don’t have to tell me. We were there for your handiwork,” he stated with a grin. He knelt in front of me, his expression one of avid interest. “I can’t control dark magic, so you converted it, allowing me to control it and prevent you from injuring anybody during your rampage. I don’t know anyone who can do that. ”

  “I can tell by the grin on you face that you think this is a good thing?”

  “It’s a very good thing. I can’t begin to imagine the possibilities,” he stated enthusiastically.

  “Where was the gem?” I asked abruptly. Josh needed to be redirected off this magic trail. It intrigued him more than I could possibly understand, and the very mention of something new and exciting made him easily forget the task at hand. For nearly three weeks, we’ve been looking for this elusive gem, and it was effortlessly placed on the back burner when his attention became focused on my odd effect on magic.

  He blinked, remembering the purpose for everything. He chuckled, “It was in the seethe’s home.”

  I shook my head briskly. “No, it couldn’t be. I looked throughout the house in every place it could possibly be hidden.”

  “It was hidden using a glamour.”

  “But you could see it?”

  He nodded. “Do you remember seeing a bible on Demetrius’s nightstand?”

  I remembered seeing it and thinking how odd it was that Demetrius owned a bible because he was as soulless as the devil himself. I hadn’t missed the irony of the situation.

  “Demetrius has a rather disturbing sense of humor and a very strong contempt for symbols of religion.” Josh stated.

  I walked past the gem and even stared at it with weird curiosity, never once seeing it for what it was. At that moment, I agreed with Ethan, I hated magic too. It was too perfidious for my liking. The thought that this could have ended weeks ago didn’t sit well with me.

  We were quiet once again. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but I thought about the night’s events. “Why did Pala attack your magic that way? It’s not like she could use it,” I asked.

  “Most of it she wouldn’t be able to use but there is a small part of dark and natural magic that are respicts. It is magic that has no boundaries and can be done by both holders of dark and natural magic. If she had taken any of my magic, it would have just enhanced the respict magic and killed me. The only way an exchange of magic can be made permanent is that the donor must die. Pala’s pretty strong; we don’t want her stronger. She wants more power than Ethos will allow her to have.”

  Josh looked at me with the same eyes I vaguely remembered from our first meeting. They hadn’t looked like that in so long, I had forgotten how welcoming and gentle they were. “Skylar, you are able to do some really cool things with magic. I think we should explore your effects on it more.” He finally stated.

  “No thanks,” I stated firmly, directing my attention elsewhere. I didn’t want to give any hints or misinterpreted messages that I had any interest in what he was suggesting.

  He jerked as though I had slapped him, and if he continued suggesting such foolishness, I may just have to. “No. Why? Aren’t you the least bit curious about what you are capable of?”

  “No. Not really. If the Tréase showed me an inkling of the truth—even if there were some deceit, I have a connection with Ethos and some very dark things. I don’t want any part of it. Did you ever stop to think that the reason I can affect dark magic is because I am strangely connected to it? No. I don’t want to explore it. I don’t want to unlock any potential gates to that world and find out I am something horrible—evil,” I admitted.

  “She showed you a version of the truth,” he stated sternly.

  “Really? Josh, I was the one there,” I stated. “I experienced it. I don’t want to be your science project or some type of magician’s apprentice,” I stated harsher than intended. But I needed to get my point across. I was scared. I didn’t voice it, but he had to sense it and chose to ignore it. He was excited and I was terrified.

  He stood up, staring at me intently, his hand brushing over my shoulder lightly. The dark magic was gone—I think, but its remnants remained, an aftergloom I felt it and I was sure Josh felt it too. It was easy to see that magic liked magic, it was drawn to it, found pleasure in it and was ensorcelled by it.

  He leaned down, his face so close to mine that his lips brushed against me. Soft hands cupped under my jaw, cradling my face. Although I didn’t want to ever go near it again—I don’t think Josh felt the same way. He seemed to be drawn to it. His curiosity and intense intrigue couldn’t be overlooked. He was attracted to it, for no other reason that it was intense, enticing and strong.

  When he spoke, I could feel his breath a warm breeze against my lips. “Okay. But I think one day you will want to explore it; and when you do, know that I am here to help you.”

  “What part of her ‘no’ did you not understand, Josh? Don’t pressure her into dealing with things that she really should avoid,” Ethan’s stern voice urged as he walked into the room. His gaze fell to Josh’s hands where it remained until he’d dropped them from
my face and it followed Josh until he had backed away toward the door. Ethan’s gaze moved in my direction, then cruised over to his brother and found its way back to me. “Thank you for saving Josh’s life.”

  “No one in this pack should ever thank me for anything. I am still alive because of you all,” I admitted.

  “We did not intervene to protect you,” he stated honestly. “If you were just a person that Demetrius desired, we would have never intervened. I wish I were ashamed, but it is our truth. Your death would have given them power that we could not allow them to have. That is the only reason we protected you.”

  “I know. Despite the reason, it was my life that you protected. For that, I feel deeply obligated,” I admitted. If they hadn’t intervened, I surely would not have lasted this long against the vampires.

  “An obligation is a debt, Skylar,” Ethan acknowledged in a neutral voice.

  I shrugged. “I am indebted to your pack.”

  “Choose your words carefully,” he warned.

  I tried to decipher the meaning behind them. His face was blank and indiscernible, Josh’s appearance was similar. I had missed something. Any other time, I would have made a greater effort to figure it out, but I was too tired to try. “Should I not appreciate what you all have done? I would have died a torturous death if it weren’t for your pack. Is it wrong that I feel that I owe the pack a great deal?” I asked, unable to hide my confusion.