Somehow, I’ve made it halfway across the space separating us without realizing what I was doing. When Peter’s face contorts again, I cover my ears as he screams.
“We have to help him!” I yell.
She grunts and flips another switch. “I’m working on it. You will not be involved if I can help it.”
The screams die to whimpers, pulling my attention back to Peter. I turn to Maybell and ask, “How can he handle this? I would have passed out hours ago.”
A horrible thought hits me. Maybe the Eros are keeping him from losing consciousness. I walk nearer, but stop about five feet away . . . definitely out of arm’s reach.
She huffs, making me feel stupid for asking. “He is Oneiroi, Amelia. They have a high threshold for pain.”
I shoot a look over my shoulder, but she isn’t paying attention. “Well, that sure is comforting, Maybell. Thanks for trying to keep me out of this.”
She shakes her head. “Decontamination isn’t the worst thing Peter has had to face. Isn’t that right, lover?”
Peter laughs. “Don’t bring it up, Bell.”
Lover? I look at one then the other and back again. “What was the worst thing you’ve been through?”
Peter shrugs before his face clenches with pain. This time he doesn’t scream.
I pull up a chair and stare at him, waiting for him to continue. His hazel eyes are quite unique. They are mainly green, but they have a ragged line of gold around the pupil, but it barely shows through with the shadows dancing there.
His lips twist on a curse, and he grips the bars tighter, making the veins in his forearms stand out from his already strained muscles.
“Go ahead and scream,” I tell him.
His head shakes as his eyes clamp shut. He pulls his upper lip into his mouth and bites down. After a few moments his face relaxes. “Won’t give them the satisfaction. Keep talking, girl.”
“Amelia.” When he stares some more, I say, “My name is Amelia.”
“I don’t care if your name is Mumboto; just keep talking!”
I jut out my chin. “Okay. Anger much?”
He glares.
I blurt out the first thing I think. “Yeah, so what was the worst thing you’ve been through?”
His eyes sharpen and pin me where I sit. “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”
I stare back. “The only time people say something like that is when they know denying the information will make the other person crazy.” My hands find my hips. “I do want to know.”
His smile only holds a slight edge of pain. “You’re so sure, yet you have no idea how my story could affect you.”
I groan. “You’re gonna tell me about that girl, aren’t you?”
His lips tighten, showing a white line around them. “That girl happened to be my recruit. She was supposed to be my mate.”
Giving him a solid pfft, I say, “From what Seth told me, she was one major ho-bag. What kind of girl wants to seduce so many guys?”
Peter laughs. “The kind of girl who knows the power of the beauty she wields.”
I frown. “You make it sound like beauty’s a weapon.”
His expression turns serious. “There have been none mightier. Women hold the power of the universe.”
My eyes widen. He believes the garbage he’s saying. “Right. So what did miss haughty pants do to you?”
He cocks his head, suddenly more interested. “Besides break my heart?”
I glance away from his intense stare a few times because keeping it is too much. “Yeah, I already sort of know about you being jilted by her, but was that it?”
His gaze floats over me. “You sound as if you’ve never experienced the loss of a loved one.”
For whatever reason anxiety creeps up inside me. He’s totally right. Apart from a crazy family, I’ve kept myself from ever having to feel something due to another person.
When I don’t answer him, he chuffs. “One day you will taste the bile of lost love, Amelia. It happens to everyone.”
My spine stiffens as I straighten in the chair and curl my feet around the legs. “Look. I know you hate Seth, but I didn’t do anything to you. I certainly don’t deserve your little hex or whatever you just did.”
Without warning, he spins around and bangs the back of his head against the bars. His fingers curl along a horizontal ridge of his cage. Again and again, his head thumps against the metal until I think I’ll scream. He speaks, but it is barely above a whisper. “Tell me something nice. Please.”
My voice comes out small. “I’m sorry she hurt you. I don’t know what kind of woman gets off on messing with so many guys, but we’re not all like her. You’re right. I haven’t been in love before…” Can I say it? Can I tell him I love Seth? If I do, will his prediction come true? Will Seth hurt me? It doesn’t matter. The truth is the truth. “Seth,” I finish. How long it’s taken me to get his name out, I have no idea. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what love feels like. It doesn’t mean I don’t realize what I’m risking by saying it, either. Love takes work. That’s what Justine used to say.”
Peter turns back around, staring me down. A thin line of blood travels from behind his ear over his shoulder and beneath his shirt. “Seth, it seems, has chosen well.” I smile, and he laughs. “Who is Justine?” asks Peter after a moment of silence.
At her mention, my heart rips a little. “My awesome grandma. I lost her a few months ago, but she taught me what it means to love.”
His expression softens with his tone. “You’re a lucky girl, Amelia.”
There’s such sadness on his face I have to look away. When I glance back at her, Maybell gives me a thumbs-up.
Tension lines her big eyes as she looks over at Peter. “Are you ready?”
He nods.
“Wait,” I say. “What’s the plan? What are you going to do?”
“You tell her,” says Peter, avoiding my gaze.
“Look at his cage, Amelia. What do you see?”
The bars blur out of focus as I study the ceiling and floor. “Metal?”
She smiles, giving a nod. “Do you remember what Seth told you about Oneiroi portals?”
Where is she going with this? Tension stiffens my muscles. “They’re conduits?”
“Oneiroi essence is energy.” I nod, remembering what Seth said. “To separate Peter from the Eros, we must heighten his energetic signature.”
This does not sound good. “How?”
One word comes out of her, but it’s enough to make me gasp.
“Electricity.”
With Richard beside me, it’s easier to focus. He’s made sure I’ve seen him fingering his blade every so often. It’s been difficult to keep a smile off my face, but I’ve managed.
We’re nearly to Gregory’s world. Only one more jump, and we will be there.
I take a moment to compose myself before we enter the gateway. Richard stares up at me, apparently assessing whether I need to be stabbed to keep me on task.
With a little humph, he takes his hand off his belt. “What’s the plan?”
“I’ll go in first. You wait ten minutes, then follow. We need to catalogue the landscape and main characteristics. Take note of the types of beings occupying your zone. Meet back here in…twenty minutes. It’s an in and out. Do not engage the locals; just observe. Understand?”
“Sure, boss, but what if I do run into Erobos?”
The thought tightens my throat. “Should the untoward happen, leave this world.”
He nods, but the hard set of his shoulders fails to comfort me. “Okay.”
“What is bothering you, lad?”
His hesitation seeps into his shaky tone. “I’m not sure we should do this.”
I frown. “Why?”
He shrugs. “I just have a bad feeling.”
He’s right to trust his instincts. “I wish I could tell you we could skip this mission.” Guilt presses in on me. “You don’t have to go, Richard. I can do it without yo
u.”
His jaw juts to rise a notch. “Someone’s got to keep you safe. I’m goin’ in if you are.”
“Just be careful,” I tell him.
With a defiant tilt to his head, he crosses his arms at his chest. “Always am.”
“See you in there, then,” I say and step through the barrier.
Darkness hits me immediately. Gregory Finch no longer has control of his dream world. Fortunately for him, the foundation is still intact. If I can locate him soon enough, I might have a chance to reverse the Erobos influence.
I can’t lose another soul to them.
Taking one last look at the sooty smoke rising around me, I walk into the fog.
Once I’m past the initial barrier things clear out quite nicely. In the distance is a small settlement. It takes me a while, but I finally reach the outskirts. This world is simple in layout. The old-west town only stretches, maybe, four blocks. Wide dirt roads crisscross in a few intersections, but the countryside beyond the sanctuary is breathtaking with its rolling hills and trees so green I’m blinded by the color. The dense forest I traversed is meant to keep visitors out, and the wide open expanse before the town is ideal to alert inhabitants of invaders.
I can only imagine where this man grew up; I can only imagine the love of a good mother and father, perhaps brothers and sisters sharing and enjoying each other’s company. It would take something extraordinary to create such a rich environment. Even though he has fallen under Erobos influence, most of the town remains vivid. My breath eases as I travel deeper into the sanctuary.
The inhabitants hardly notice me as I mosey by them, but a few turn to stare. Those, I must watch out for.
The main street is wider than the others and provides watering troughs and hitching posts for horses. Each building hosts an awning for shade, and I would guess to foster window shopping. My boots slap against the pine planks as I step up to the walkway. A couple up ahead peeks inside the jewelry shop where two rows of wedding rings are easily visible.
The man looks up at me when I pass and dips his scruffy chin. I tip my hat and continue. The majority of the shops are clean and maintained. Since everything looks all right here, I move to the outer roads. With each step away from the center of town, neglect comes into view.
Buildings in this section show signs of wear. The muted paint is cracked and pealing and windows are broken here and there. Many of the structures are log with sparse chinking. It certainly isn’t the worst I’ve seen, yet it isn’t the best, either.
A loud screech reaches me from an unknown source, followed by a scream. I bolt forward, hoping to catch another sound. When none comes, I stop to listen. The eerie stillness raises the hairs on my neck.
They attack from the east. At least twenty Erobos rush me. Faces I should not care about come into view, twisted and gnarled from long hours of torture.
Some I no longer recognize.
Unlike Daegan and his crew, they are not protected from the worst side effects the Eros cause. Decay is only the first of many outward manifestation of an inward carcinogen.
The screaming comes again, which sends a rush of adrenaline through me. I call my blade and slice through the front line of oncoming Erobos, only to have more attack.
The man in front of me snarls as I hack his head from his shoulders. The body writhes and coils as if to spring at me. Thick, black goo seeps over the edge of the wound and down the torso.
Lifting my leg high, I kick out, sending the body sprawling into the Erobos behind it. The head sits at my feet. Not wanting to get bitten, I launch it at a few more of the creatures. Not wasting another moment, I attack. My blade slices easily through flesh until I’m through the line.
When the scream comes again, I’m sure it’s Richard. Panic infuses my veins with acid. Why did I bring him here? The moment I make it around the corner, I stop short. Daegan holds the young boy by his neck. Richard’s legs dangle as he claws ineffectually at his captor’s hand. At least he’s not gasping for air. I’ve already taught him the dream body needs no sustenance. As long as he can keep his head, he’ll be all right.
The worst Richard will suffer today is he will lose part of his soul to Daegan. Even so, I will do all in my power to keep it from happening.
“I warned you, Sephethus,” says Daegan. His voice holds no emotion, yet his cold eyes chill me.
“Put the boy down,” I demand. “He is not who you are here for.”
Daegan laughs, a rich sound reverberating against the brick wall behind him. “How would you know why I am here? It makes no difference for the lad. One way or another, he will be mine.”
Before I can process what he’s doing, he snaps Richard’s neck. The body falls to the ground in a pile of limbs, the head veered at an unnatural angle. Rage floods into me, yet it is unquenchable. There is no way to recover this part of the boy’s soul without his body being physically here or me being physically in the mortal realm.
When I look at him, Daegan regards me casually, as if we are meeting for drinks. I shake my head. “How could one so valiant turn into this?”
He answers with cool indifference. “I am the same person I’ve always been. You are the one who changed.”
Maybell can’t be serious. She’s going to electrocute Peter to get the Eros to leave him? Even though I want to yell at her for even thinking about such a thing, I ask, “How does it work?”
Peter’s eyebrow lifts a fraction, but Maybell doesn’t even blink. “Eros don’t like electricity. If we zap them enough, they will leave the host.”
“But what will happen to Peter?”
“It will hurt,” he says, deadpan.
I roll my eyes at him, forcing myself to detach from the situation. If he doesn’t care, why should I?
Maybell continues to work at the panel with all the lit buttons. Standing here doing nothing makes me crazy. I’m not sure I want to see Peter get toasted.
He sets into another scream, which decides things for me. Toasted is better than tortured.
A horrible thought strikes me. What are we going to do with the Eros once they’re out of him? When I ask Maybell, she shrugs.
I gape at her, which elicits a burst of laughter. She points at a lever on the panel. “Once they’re out, I’ll hit this, and they will be sucked into the Metaspace.”
Skeptical, I frown. “How can you have a portal to the Metaspace at headquarters?”
“We have many defenses here. Don’t underestimate the power of desperation, Amelia. Anything can happen if you want it badly enough.”
My thoughts follow a dark path. She’s wrong. People don’t come back alive by wishing they would or from going absolutely hysterical over losing them. Somehow, my mouth won’t say the words, and the moment to comment passes. With nothing else to do, I glance at Peter again.
Sweat drenches his dark hair, making small tufts stick to his forehead. How much more of this he can take is anyone’s guess. He’s an Oneiroi, after all. It’s not like he can die, but something Seth told me sticks in my brain. Oneiroi feel everything a human does. I wonder if the Erobos feel, too, or have they somehow learned to overcome emotion? Sounds good right about now.
Taking my chair once again, I lean forward until I catch Peter’s attention. He asked me to talk to him before; and for some reason, I want to now.
“Is there anything I can get you? Would you like some water?”
His eyes widen before his brows pucker. “Sure, but something stronger would be better.”
I nod. The room isn’t that large, and I’m pretty sure there’s no refrigerator around. I make another sweep of the room, looking under the tables and in the corners just to be certain. Finally giving up, I ask Maybell. “Hey, where can I get Peter a drink?”
She gives me an incredulous huff and keeps working. Whatever. With no direction from her, I make my way down the hall only to grit my teeth when Peter screams again. She sure seems to be taking her time. I wonder how she would feel if she were the one stuck in the
cage?
The first few rooms I enter are empty of anything useful, but they’re chock full of dust bunnies and grime. Like the one I just came from, they don’t offer any light from windows. Why Seth has a place so gloomy is beyond me. He’s got a lot to deal with, so I really shouldn’t judge, but why have rooms you don’t use?
The minute I think about him, my heart lurches. Something inside me stirs, and I nearly trip over my own feet to steady myself against the dingy wall.
Something’s wrong. Peter will have to wait for a drink.
I crash through the door, and Maybell spins around. In an instant she’s got fangs poking over her bottom lip, and her eyes have elongated to feline proportions. I’ve only seen her like this once before, when Daegan ambushed us in Nabeel’s world. The feral snarl coming out of her makes me stop short, my arms windmilling to keep from tipping over.
“Where’s Seth?” I ask.
To my surprise, Peter stands; his sharp stare penetrates me. “What’s wrong, Amelia?”
I shake my head. “I wish I knew. I just feel this ache in my chest, and I can’t get the feeling he’s hurting out of my head.”
His voice thickens, puffing out a quick sentence before he grits his teeth as another shot of electricity blasts through him. “And you’ve not mated?”
My ears burn, and my cheeks heat. I stiffen, but I can’t keep his gaze. “How is that any of your business?”
The stilted words are hard to make out. “It’s only a question.” He grunts and slams a palm against the cage. “Hurry up, Maybell.”
She growls out a string of curses. “Do you think I’m not?”
I move closer. “What can I do to help?”
She tilts her head to the side. Even though her tone is mocking, the sincerity of her words ring true. “You could step into the cage with Peter. I’m sure the Eros would love another shot at—”
“No,” says Peter before she can finish her sentence. “Amelia has already lost too much of her light.”
He’s only verbalized my fears, but hearing it sends a slug to my stomach. “It’s that noticeable, huh?”
“Stop talking,” says Maybell just before she presses a button.
Tainted (Netherworld Book II) Page 6
