The Watchers (Twisted Sisters #1)

by Lacy LeRoch

  “What’s the matter, Lucy, can’t you breathe? That’s such a shame. Mmm… let me tell you something, I enjoyed every minute of that.” She chuckles, maniacally.

  Mom lets go of my throat and I fall to the floor, coughing and wheezing. I can’t catch my breath and my body starts to burn with a vengeance. A red haze takes over my sight and I welcome it with open arms. I will not die this day, not by the hand of someone I thought had loved me.

  “Come forward, Nix, please,” I beg her, with everything I have in me.

  Mom stalks over to where I’m lying on the ground. She reaches down, grabs my hair in her hands, and slams my face into the chest of drawers beside us. Pain bursts behind my eyes. I feel warmth run down the side of my face and realize that I’m bleeding.

  “I’m trying to come forward… but something’s blocking me. The bitch has done something to stop me from being able to help,” Nix snaps angrily.

  Nix pushes forward with a violence that would scare me if I wasn’t in danger. I feel the burn run over my skin, through my bones. But nothing. She can’t come forward. Nix’s emotions become my own, as I feel her frustration and anger at not being able to help.

  Mom slams my face over and over into the drawers, never once giving me a chance to move or breathe. Her insane laughter grows louder, hit after hit she throws her head back and cackles. She tells me how good it feels to hurt me and how much she hates us girls. I don’t know how long she keeps this up as I’ve lost track of time. My primary focus is to keep breathing and to focus on Nix. Why can’t she come forward?

  I scream as loud as I can, “Daddy, help me. Daddy, Daddy!”

  Mom throws her head back and laughs as if I just told her the funniest thing ever. “Oh, now you’re making me laugh. I had to stay with that male for years and pretend everything was perfect. That I loved him and you brats.” She slaps me hard across the face.

  “If she touches you again, I’ll fucking kill her,” Nix growls.

  I try sending a thought back to Nix, but I’m growing weaker with every second. “It’s okay Nix.” I don’t get a reply, so I try again. “I need you, Nix. Come forward.”

  Crap, I just said that aloud.

  “Oh, how sweet, the bond between you and your bird has started. How fantastic, well for me anyway. But I have a little secret, you can forget about her coming to your aid. I’ve made sure over the last two days to slowly poison you… and here is the best part of all. Are you ready?” Mom slaps her hands together cheering. She brings her right hand back and slaps me across the face once more. My head bounces off the floor with the impact of her blow. She pulls me to my feet and reaches out as she takes hold of my shoulders and rams me into the wall.

  I hit it with a hard crunch. Bending down at the waist, I grab hold of my face. I’m dizzy, I want to be sick. Mom raises her knee and brings it up with all of her strength. I’m in too much pain to avoid the blow to my ribs when the wind is knocked out of me. I can’t breathe, she doesn’t stop, again and again, she kicks me until I hear something snap. I scream a bloodcurdling cry, pain shoots from my chest to my head. Tunnel vision starts to take effect and I can’t keep my eyes open. The pain is too much and I feel myself listing to the side.

  “Awake Lu, stay awake. We can’t go to sleep. If we sleep, we might never wake up. Stay awake, Lu, fight back. Use my strength. I’m not giving up on you, I won’t stop trying to come out,” Nix huffs.

  Laughing, that’s all I can hear from the rushing in my ears. Mom is laughing at me. I’ve never felt pain this bad before, and I never want to again. My entire body aches and throbs and she has the hide to laugh at me.

  “Oh dear, dear Lucy, Mommy loves you so much.”

  She brings her knee up into my ribs again. When she hears a crack echo around the room, she laughs with glee.

  “Daddy, please help me,” I beg.

  “Oh, did I forget to mention the little fact that your dear Daddy…” she snarls the word and continues to gloat, “…is no longer in the land of the living, Lucy. I took care of that disgusting worthless Watcher before I came in here. He was easy, he came home and wanted some attention. So I slit his throat while I rode him. Do you want to know what his final words were? He wanted me to leave you girls alone. He’s nothing… nothing but a weak and pathetic excuse for a Watcher.” Mom smiles from ear to ear when she notices the devastation on my face.

  “No… no… you couldn’t have,” I cough out. “You liar, you wouldn’t do that.” The haze is all I can see. “I am sorry Nix. I need to sleep. Please forgive me.”

  I’ve lost, there’s nothing I can do now to save myself. My stepmother, who I thought loved me, will kill me tonight. She sent away my sister, and now she’s killed my father. What have I got left?

  I just need to sleep, just for a while. The left side of my face feels like a brick has smacked into it over and over. I can hardly see out of my left eye. Dizzy and disorientated, I vomit all over my bedroom floor. Simply rolling onto my side, I start to dry heave. Mom starts yelling at me, but I can’t make out what she’s trying to say. I don’t think I want to know anyway. My vision flashes from a hazy red, to clear, then hazy again. I’m too weak to go on, so I lay my head down on the carpet and close my eyes.

  Just as I’m about to pass out, I hear Nix talking to me, “I swear on the last beat of my heart, I will avenge you. But for now, sleep my little sister. I will keep you safe. Trust me.”

  Chapter Eight

  “What the fuck do you mean you can’t find her?” I scream, running at the level four Watcher. I’m ready to rip him apart, limb from limb. “It was your fucking job to go and check in with Markus. Now he’s dead, and my Lyian is missing. Why don’t you explain to me how that’s even possible? My Lyian was to be protected at all costs.”

  My anger is getting the better of me. I know he isn’t the only one to blame, but I can’t help it. I let her down, I left her alone and now… Goddess Lylian, I can’t even think about it. My hands shake violently at my sides. I want to kill everyone in this small fucking room.

  Fuck me. If anything has happened to my girl, I swear on Goddess Lylian, I will slaughter anyone who was even connected to this in any way.

  “Fuuuck…” My scream echoes in the great meeting room, shaking the stained glass windows, almost shattering them from their gold frames that hold them in place.

  The level four Watcher blanches as white as a ghost and tries to back out of the hall. He knows better than to turn his back on a member of the Judadic Council.

  “Good, get the fuck out of my sight and don’t make me hurt you,” I mumble under my breath.

  The Watcher is just a child at one hundred and twenty years old, but fuck me, if he did his job, none of this would have happened. Who am I kidding, if I didn’t leave her alone…? I have no one else to blame but myself.

  “I want the Warrior Dragons on alert, and I want to see the wolf pack, now!”

  How the fuck could this happen? I’ve failed her in the worst way. It’s my job to keep her safe, and I couldn’t even do that. Why the hell did I leave her alone?

  “Umm, Rafe?”

  I feel someone grab hold of my arm. Who would dare touch me? I turn around to face the table of Lords and Leaders, ready to attack whoever put their hands on me. Clenching my fists at my side, I grit my teeth. I’m brought to a halt when I notice the hand on my arm belongs to Eliza. Oh great, this is just what I need.

  Eliza hasn’t spoken two words to me since she found out that I was to be mated to Lucy. Eliza is the sister of one of the level four Watchers. She works for the council doing small jobs. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes a female is born as a pure breed Watcher. It automatically puts her on the council table. Much to my disgust. The Judadic Council is a male government run system, and I’m the first to admit, I don’t like women in this room. I don’t think there’s any need for it. Everything about Eliza rubs me the wrong way. The girl is a clinger, and I don’t need that in my life right now. Correction—not now
nor ever.

  “What do you want, Eliza? And remove your arm, before I remove it from your body.”

  Eliza smirks at my threat. Narrowing my eyes, I make a move to remove her hand from my arm. She looks down at her hand, let’s go of my arm and bows her head.

  “You know better than to touch a High Lord, Eliza. Some of the other High Lords might allow it, but I do not. Don’t touch me again, understood,” I snap harshly.

  Eliza nods briefly and takes a step back, smart girl. She looks around the table, then cuts her gaze back to mine. “Rafe, I was just going to say…” Eliza releases a deep breath and continues, “…is this girl really worth all the hassle? I mean, in all honesty, who’s to say she wasn’t the one to kill Markus, then do a runner?”

  Owen leaps from the table grabbing Eliza around the waist, he drags her out of the room kicking and screaming. That woman must have a serious death wish. Does she honestly think that any of the other Watchers will help her?

  She’s beautiful with a slight frame, standing at just under six foot, brown eyes and long chestnut hair that rests on the small of her back. But all the beauty in the world, won’t make that girl smart. She just proved that she doesn’t have a smart bone in her body. My wings start to ache with the need to be free. They fly out from my back and I spin around to address the Lords and Leaders at the meeting table.

  “If any of you allow that stupid woman back in this room, I will remove her fucking head. She just broke two of our rules and you are all aware of it.” I glare at every council member sitting at the table, making sure that I include the guards as well. They need to know the trouble that Eliza just caused. She touched a High Lord without permission, then not only second guessed my judgment and rule, but she also went as far as to insult my Lyian. I will never stand for that.

  “Understood, she had no right to do that,” McKinley says, always the first to speak up. “Rafe, sit, so we can discuss what it’s going to happen now. The pack will be here soon. We need to talk about our plans to get your Lyian back. We won’t rest until she’s here, safe and sound.” He rises from his seat and indicates for me to take my place at the meeting table.

  The Watchers know how important having a Lyian is. The fact that Lucy is not only a Lyian, but a Phoenix shifter, that’s a different ballgame altogether. I stride back over to the table and take my seat sitting at the right-hand side of the Grand High Lord. He is our lawmaker, our final hand that rules. So he holds the head chair. I may be second-in-command, but everything comes down to the decisions that he makes. Whether I agree with it or not, I have to obey every order given. If he doesn’t make the right decision now, I won’t hesitate to take him out. Not when the life of my Lyian is at stake.

  He bangs his fist on the table, gaining everyone’s attention. “Right, first things first, anyone who is level three or lower leave the great hall, right now.” This clears out half the room, including the Dragon guards who line the walls. He must have a plan and a serious one at that. Level one and two Watchers are the highest in our ranks and it takes a lot to get where we are. It doesn’t just take hard work, it takes into account our bloodlines as well. To be a level one Watcher, you need to be of pure blood, born and raised in Devilice, and not have any outside contamination. The only other way to land a seat on the council is to never, and I mean never, say no to anything that is asked of you. You might not like it, but if you want in on the council, you’ll do what is expected and ordered.

  Out of one hundred Watchers on Devilice, there are only ten who are level one. We are the oldest of our bloodline, and in reality, we are the most brutal. The things we’ve had to do to protect our kind definitely hasn’t been all fairies and unicorns. I’ve never thought twice about the things I’ve done, and I will bring every one of those skills front and center if anyone has hurt my Lyian.

  “Right, now as you are all aware, Markus was killed in his bed chamber. His wife Sarah, and daughter Lucy are missing. Lucy is not only Rafe’s proven Lyian, but she’s also a Phoenix.” He takes a deep breath and looks around the table. “I believe that she has made contact with her Phoenix.”

  Wait, what did the Grand High Lord say? The council starts to murmur and whisper among themselves. He brings his fist down hard on the table, making his curly red hair bounce from the impact. “Silence!” he yells, narrowing his blue eyes, staring us all down. “Enough, and aye you heard me right.” He turns to face me, concern and worry etched in his eyes. “Rafe, I need to know… are the both of you bonded?”

  Narrowing my eyes at the male sitting next to me, I can’t believe he’d ask that in front of my brothers—in front of the fucking council. What kind of game is he playing at?

  “McKinley,” I growl dropping his status, looking around the table at my smirking brothers. Oh yeah, live it up asses, your time will come.

  He stifles a laugh. “You know this isn’t about disrespect, you should know I meant no ill effect. It’s important that you answer me.”

  I groan in frustration and look him dead in the eyes. While avoiding the looks from my fellow brothers. I answer truthfully, “No McKinley, we are not completely bonded. We haven’t had sex if that’s what you’re asking. And as far I knew, I didn’t think her Phoenix was that strong, but it wouldn’t surprise me. The girl was showing her gifts before I even realized she was mine.”

  The Grand High Lord gnaws at his bottom lip, deep in thought. He shakes his head, doubt lacing his voice. “Rafe, you spent the night with your Lyian, and you never had sex with her? You didn’t touch her? Is that what you are telling me? How were you able to fight the bond?”

  Goddess Lylian, I want to reach over and smack him in the face. He’s being a complete ass. Let’s just talk about all the ways I failed, shall we? If I’d given in to my urges, she would be bonded to me. She would be completely mine and this wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve been able to sense her danger. Doesn’t he know how badly I want to rip my own throat out, for failing my girl? I mean seriously, talk about an epic fuck up.

  “McKinley, it wasn’t like that. I mean…” I give my black hair a hard pull and look around the table. Shit, talk about an embarrassing conversation. “I wanted her more than anything, the heat was there. God, was the heat there. But a small part of me understood she’s too young, and that she had other needs that needed to be met. I knew her Phoenix was close to the surface, but I didn’t think much of it. I could feel the heat on her skin, and see the haze in her eyes but she had control of it.”

  Laron snickers from across the table. “By small part of you, we are talking about your cock, right?”

  The brothers start laughing at Laron’s attempt to lighten up the situation. I reach down into my cloak, open it up and take hold of my cock in my hand, giving it a hard squeeze.

  “Laron, if you want to see it, all you had to do was ask. But promise me, when I flop it out you won’t fall in love with it.”

  Owen reaches over and high fives Laron. Oh really, I will have the last laugh here. I move my hand, lowering my zipper. My brothers start yelling out a mix of “No,” “Dear God,” and “Keep that monster away.”

  Everyone in the room erupts into laughter, even Jay and McKinley can’t control themselves. Once we are all sobered up, we get back to the matter at hand. My unruly black locks tangle around my face. I pull the black ribbon I stole from Lucy out of my pocket and pull my hair back out of my eyes. I look over at McKinley urging him to continue, but what surprises me the most is it isn’t him to answer me.

  “The question is, you had control of your urges right, Rafe? Did she have control of hers? Or was the Phoenix more at the surface than any of us think?” I turn my head to the deep Cajun voice.

  Jay isn’t like most Cajuns you would meet. His skin tone is light and has long blond hair that he always wears pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck with a strand of ribbon. He actually reminds me of a pirate. Some say he has the looks of his mother, she was one of the very first Phoenix shifters, and had al
l the beauty of one too. No one knows anything about his mother. I don’t even think that Jay knows much himself.

  I laugh aloud, my random thoughts need to be controlled. I shake my head to clear the thought. Owen and Jay stare at me confused.

  Goddess, they must think I have completely lost my mind. Maybe I have, maybe that’s what happens when one has their Lyian taken away from them.

  “I’m not sure, Jay, I knew her for not even two days before I got called back here to plan for her arrival.”

  He stretches his arms out over the back of the chairs on either side of him. Looks like he’s done with the Q&A session for now.

  “Wait, what I’m not understanding is that little woman. You know her for two days, oui? But you both go into the heat so strong,” Philli comments, from the other end of the table. His green eyes focus hard on my face. Nice try ass, but I won’t let you into my mind. He just grins, relaxing his stare on my forehead.

  “Yes Philli, I met her the morning you told us that Markus had sent the call out, asking for help with young Lacy, as she was stuck in dreamscape. I cannot explain my reaction to her either, we both went into the heat at the same time. Neither of us really knew what was going on? I might have accidentally sent my thoughts into her mind, not realizing what I’d done at the time,” I answer him with all honesty.

  If anyone knows what’s going on it would be the Prince. He’s the oldest at the table at one thousand two hundred years old and is our computer tech, he also happens to be a French dragon shifter and Prince and Leader of the Warrior Dragons. His geek looks trick all the ladies, with his pale brown hair that he wears styled and spiked. But he’s as tough as nails and build like a linebacker. The real sight is when Philli shifts, he’s the biggest Dragon on Devilice. He stands over forty-foot-tall, and if I were to guess at his wingspan, I’d be wrong.