Frowning, I glanced at Maximus. I didn’t know much about Claire, but it didn’t take much to see that something was very wrong. Her chest heaved and tears ran down her cheeks.
“They have taken Alexa.”
Maximus cursed. He stood up suddenly, knocking his chair to the ground. “Alexa is Claire’s baby sister.”
2
Trevor
I opened my eyes. I’m either dead and Valcrum has decided that he will allow me to die or this was torture. I was back in Xundar. The water parted and Victoria surfaced, swimming toward me. It’s funny how every time I lose my life, or something bad happens, I end up right back here. How did Victoria bring me back to Xundar?
She had the power all along to bring me back here and she didn’t tell me.
Every time I think I couldn’t hate her more than I do, she shows me that I can.
Victoria stood over me, her eyes narrowed. “You almost got yourself killed.”
“I had it under control.” I stood up and wiped the mud off, but she shoved me back down.
“You went to earth to destroy the angels and all you’ve managed to do is get Kyra pregnant.”
My eyes narrowed on her. Victoria was more powerful than I could’ve imagined, and she was just as crazy. “You acted like a spiteful child and withheld your power from me.”
She shrugged. “You cheated on me and almost got yourself killed.”
I turned away from her. She could keep me here, in Xundar. Victoria had proven she could make my life worse than I could have ever imagined. “I had it under control. You are not afraid of death so stop your nagging.”
She waved her hands. A green ball of light came over me and I was hurled into space. When I opened my eyes, I was in Captona. My heart thudded in my chest. Victoria hated Lily and now that I had Kyra, Lily had no one.
I looked at Victoria. “What are we doing here?”
She smiled. “Oh, you don’t want to see your precious Lily. You claimed to have loved her, remember?”
A knot formed in my throat. I thought that I loved Lily. It was not until I fell in love with Kyra, that I realized what I felt for Lily didn’t compare.
“Lily deserves to know that you don’t care about her. You were not on earth for a day, before you ran out and got another woman in your life.”
My cheeks became heated. Victoria was a selfish jerk who just wanted her way. It was not like she cared about anybody but herself. When I told her that she and I were a lot alike, I really meant it.
“Trevor, I thought you were dead,” said Lily. She ran to me and threw her arms around my neck.
I stiffened in her embrace. She looked more beautiful than the last time I saw her, yet the only thing I felt for her was guilt. When she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine, my stomach churned. Pulling away from her, I stepped back.
“Lily, I cannot stay here in Xundar.” I moved away from her. This was a conversation I never thought I would have, and now, I dreaded it.
From of the corner of my eye, I saw Victoria leaning against the tree enjoying my discomfort. I should not be surprised; she brought me here. “I was told Valcrum had killed you and I wanted to make him pay. You deserved better Lily. A man better than me.”
She reached for me, but her hand dropped to her side when she saw me flinch from her touch. “You said you loved me, and now, you hold yourself back from me. What aren’t you telling me?”
Victoria laughed. “It’s about time you got a clue about the kind of guy Trevor really is.”
Lily narrowed her eyes at her. A scream tore from her throat as she rushed toward Victoria.
Grabbing Lily by the waist, I set her away from Victoria before she got herself killed. “Stop, before you are killed.”
She pushed me off her. “Why did you show up here, with her? She tried to kill you.”
“Victoria helped me go against Valcrum. We are bound together.”
Lily narrowed her eyes at Victoria. “Valcrum is a forgiving being. If he forgave you we could live here, in Captona.”
There was a time I never thought I would hear Lily say those words. The words did not bring me satisfaction now. Things were different. I was different. “I have no intentions of asking Valcrum to forgive me. I refuse to live under his rule like a critter, when I can be a king.”
Lily wiped her tears. “Are you willing to lose me? I love living here in Xundar.”
“Trevor has a girlfriend, and a baby, on planet earth. He doesn’t love you. He never did,” said Victoria.
I shoved Victoria. “Shut up.”
“Just tell her the truth. You love Kyra. You weren’t on earth twenty-four hours before you started sleeping with her.”
Lily’s hand flew to her mouth and the color fled her face. Her blue eyes became glossy with tears, as she turned from me. A ragged scream tore from her throat and she tried to run away.
“It is not true, Lily.” I held fast to her arm, but I was not sure why. This conversation was torture. The horror that washed over her face was like a machete to the gut.
“All of it is true, so stop lying to her. I could bring her to Kyra. I wonder how Kyra would feel about Lily.”
Lily slapped me. “I should’ve never trusted you. Take me to her. I want to warn her about him, like I wish someone would have warned me,” said Lily.
“I never meant to hurt you. I do have a girlfriend on earth, but this is not about her. It is about me. Your place is here, in Xundar, and my place is on earth.”
Lily snatched away from me, pacing back and forth. “You are now dead to me. I will never shed another tear for you. My place was on earth, but you killed me, now that I am here in Xundar, you have abandoned me.
My cheek felt hot, but I knew I deserved that slap. Lily’s eyes looked like she wanted to gut me. I never meant to cause her pain, and if Victoria would have shut up, Lily would never have known about Kyra. Why did Victoria have to destroy Lily?
Victoria shrugged. “It might be interesting to see who would win the fight. My money is on Lily. I hate Kyra.”
I stalked away from Lily. She hated me and there was nothing I could do about it. This was not the time to go back. I’m going forward toward my future. My future is with Kyra and my kids.
Victoria looked happy. I longed to kill her, but if I do, I die as well. This was the first problem that I had to solve. My plan failed because I relied on Victoria’s help. She was the reason that I am in this position right now.
“You got what you wanted. We need to go, before Valcrum kills us both.”
I thought I would never be happy to be on earth, but I cannot deny the surge of excitement flowing through me. I needed to see Kyra and make sure she was alright. I am a father now, and I wanted to see my daughter and my son. Twins. Kyra had given me a son. She had given me something I never thought that I would have. Looking at Victoria, I frowned.
“Why are you still here?” Balling my fist, I walked through the streets of Jonesboro.
She shot an amber orb at the vampire running toward her. The vampire turned to ash in place. “I’m not done with you Trevor. Finish your plan. Have the DAOs rule earth when you have a big enough army, then, we will take the battle to Valcrum.”
“Victoria, leave me. The sight of you makes my blood hot.” Stepping over the dead bodies, I walked forward looking through the night trying to find my house.
“You can plan to get rid of me all you want. There is no escaping the arrangement that we made. I doubt you want to die now that you have two ugly brats on this crappy planet.”
There was mass looting going on. The vampires were fighting each other in the street. I smiled. The peace treaty was broken and now everything was in chaos. It would be easy for me to assume power and rule these people here. They will bow before me or die.
Ignoring Victoria, I rushed inside the house. My heart leapt out of my chest when I saw Kyra lying on the couch. She was not moving and there was a bright red aura around her.
Victoria pushed
me out the way and shot a bright golden orb at Kyra.
“No!” I tried to move but I was frozen in place levitating off the ground. Victoria had me immobile. I couldn’t summon any powers. I was as helpless as a human.
Victoria rolled her eyes. “She must die. You are too weak and distracted around her. It’s for the best.”
The golden orb evaporated, and the roof lifted off the house. A bright light flashed at Victoria and she was swept back up to the sky.
As soon as Victoria was gone, I fell to the ground. Scrambling to my feet, I rushed over to her. “Kyra, say something.”
Her eyes opened. “Who was that chick? This is the second time she’s tried to kill me. She sat up and held my son tight to her breast. He didn’t stop feeding off her.
“Victoria. I’m going to take care of her.” I got up and walked to the pink crib in the corner. I leaned over and almost fell to my knees.
“Where is our daughter?”
Kyra stumbled to her feet. “She was in the crib. She can’t be gone.”
My eyes closed. Victoria had taken our daughter.
What the hell am I going to do?
3
Arianna
This was a fate worse than death. He was crazy. Why would he save me from death so that he could torture, rape me, and then kill me? It makes more sense to just let me die in the first place. I need to think but hanging upside down with my hands and legs bound behind me didn’t inspire motivation.
I’m in a cave. It looked like I was deep in a cave high in the mountains. This was the perfect place for someone to be killed. There was no chance of anyone coming and saving me. It was too late to regret running off alone, but I did. It looked like for the second time; I was going to die. Shaking my head, I refused to accept my death. There must be something I could do. If not for me, what about for my niece and nephew. I must get through this.
“Why didn’t you just let me die? Why go through all this trouble just to kill me anyway?” I resisted the urge to swing about trying to loosen the hold of the ropes against my arms.
He sat near the blazing fire sharpening a large machete. “A quick death is too good for you.”
I forced my eyes away from the machete. Looking at it shine in the light as he sharpened it, made my body tremble. My heart raced in my chest and I forced my mind to think of a solution.
“I don’t understand your part in all of this. Did you knowingly become one of Derrick’s pawns or had your father forced you?”
He laid the machete down and pulled out a serrated blade from his pocket. “You still don’t get it. You’re about to die and you have no clue what’s been going on right underneath your nose.”
Stalking over to me, he grasped my shirt in both of his hands and tore the fabric from my body. I wiggled and tried to put some distance between us, but it was no use. He took the blade and made a deep cut on my right side. The blood poured out and I screamed in pain.
“I’m going to enjoy this, but you won’t.” He placed the blade against my skin and made another deep cut. Wiping the blade on a piece of my shirt he leaned against the wall.
“Derrick was supposed to make super soldiers for my father and me. He lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing when he focused on killing the vampires.”
I opened my eyes. The pain was unbearable. I’m no expert with torture but torturing people is usually for gaining information, or so I thought. Deep down in the depths of my soul, I knew he tortured me because he wanted to. He liked the pain that darkened my eyes and the screams that tore from my lips.
“Why did you need super soldiers? We aren’t at war or anything. There was no threat.”
He rolled his eyes. “Once we had the super soldiers, we could rule the world. We would have the ultimate power.”
I drew a shaky breath. “Why do you think you’re the strongest if Derrick created you, like he did the others? He’s not stupid enough to give you more power than he has.”
A genuine smile curved his lips. “You assume that Derrick gave me my powers.”
My eyes narrowed at him. I opened my mouth, but everything blurred before my eyes as he ran the blade over my left leg. A reluctant scream tore from my throat. My eyes closed as I tried to breathe through the pain. It felt like my body was engulfed in lava. The way I was losing blood I wouldn’t live much longer, and I still didn’t have a plan.
My muscles felt like sludge as my strength left me. “Why did you protect Derrick, if he didn’t give you the super soldiers that you demanded from him? It’s only a matter of time before he’ll kill you.”
I had more pressing matters than Derrick Mayor’s death. Here I was, bleeding to death, and all I could think of was Derrick’s death. He started all of this, and he almost killed my niece and nephew. It didn’t seem fair that he should live while the rest of us suffer.
Glancing up at him, I saw him sitting back down near the fire, sharpening the machete again. I guess that was the instrument that he would use to end my life. The machete somehow didn’t look as scary as it did before the torture started. I’m losing too much blood for competent, cognitive thought.
“Derrick is a coward. I kept him alive because there was something, I needed from him.”
This lunatic who was about to end my life was just a sorry excuse for a man hungry for power. I’m not sure why some people were power hungry, but he was one of them. It seemed that man was destined to repeat history despite having some intelligence. What was it that he needed from Derrick? The mutagens. This idiot thought he could get the mutagens from Derrick. I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.
“Derrick will never give you control of the mutagens. He wants power, and now that Jimmy is the dictator, Derrick will be desperate to take back control from Jimmy. You will never get to rule.”
Placing the machete down on the rock beside him he stood up. “You won’t live long enough to see that, now will you?”
A smile curved my lip as I closed my eyes. “I don’t have to. Your plan will fail. Derrick will never give you the mutagens and as soon as you turn your back, he will betray you. You’re as good as dead already.”
My eyes popped open when his strong hands wrapped around my jaw squeezing it together. Pain shot through my jaw as my eyes met his.
“I’m tempted to let you live long enough to see me kill Derrick and take the mutagen army.”
A flash of hope made my eyes open wide before I could snuff it out. I shouldn’t long for Derrick’s death, but I did. I hoped that Valcrum would have pity on me for my thoughts. I know I’m wrong, but I can’t help feeling that Derrick shouldn’t be allowed to live while he has caused so many others to die.
He dropped his hand from my jaw and dug his fingernails into the cut next to his fingers. “Why do you hate him so?”
My teeth dug into my lower lip to keep from screaming. I closed my eyes trying to pant through the pain, but It was getting harder and harder to breathe.
“You think to deny me your screams. You are in no position to deny me anything. Your throat will be sore with the screams that are torn from you, as my blade dances all over your body.”
I struggled against him. A surge of anger made my blood hot, and I tried to head butt him. “Do your worst!”
He smiled and slapped my cheek. “I’m so happy you’re a fighter. I like it when they fight, so don’t disappoint me later.”
My jaw clenched as he walked off. He continued to whistle a tune to himself as he walked deeper into the cave. When he was out of sight, I struggled against the ropes. I swung back and forth hoping to rub the ropes on the side of the cave. All I managed to do was rub my arms raw, and the ropes hadn’t loosened even a little.
I don’t know how long I was unconscious before I woke, but I’m assuming he’s had me for at least a day. It seemed unlikely that I would be rescued. I was not in any shape to run, even if I could get the ropes off.
A movement to the right had me angling my neck awkwardly. I was sure I saw som
ething move. I was also sure that it wasn’t the man that had been torturing me. A sliver of hope bubbled inside me as I angled my body trying to get a better look.
Squinting, I looked again. His face came into view as he rushed inside the cave, and my heart sank. Derrick. Of all the people I wanted to see, it was the one man I hoped to never see again.
He sauntered up to me. “Well, well, well. Look what we have here.”
I tried to headbutt him, but he dodged out of the way and punched me in the stomach.
“I’m only going to ask you this once and then I’m going to kill you. Where is Kyra’s baby?”
I felt the color drain from my face. He must be delusional if he thought I would tell him that, even if I knew. I’m so glad in this moment that my not knowing is the one thing that is keeping them safe.
“Rot in hell.”
Derrick took the blade out and placed it to my neck. The blade cut into my flesh drawing fresh blood trickling down my clavicle, and I closed my eyes.
His stale breath flowed over my ear. “Any last words?”
My heart hammered in my chest. I swiftly said my prayers to Valcrum. I had a lot for him to forgive but I had run out of time and opted for thanking him for the life that I had. I felt Derricks hand grab the zipper on my jeans and I tensed.
“No.” I struggled again forgetting about finishing up my prayers.
A scream tore from my lips. He thrusted the blade in my side, and I crumpled in the ropes. I tried to lock my limbs, but I felt his strong hands prying my legs apart, enough for him to be in between my legs.
Blood rushed to my ears as I bobbed, trying to dislodge the knife in my side. Each of my movements caused more blood to gush out of the wound and lightheadedness clouded my vision. I felt his cold hands on my bare stomach as he ripped the knife out and tossed it to the floor.
“Your death is such a waste. I’m going to find the kids anyway, and when I do, I will rule once again.” He slowly unbuckled his belt and dropped his pants to the floor.
The Pact Between Angels and Witches Page 2
