by Shelly Crane
I felt hands on my shoulders and then I was turned. She was in my space, her rancid breath on my face. She looked up into my face because I was taller than her. "You have some amazing green eyes."
"My Eli thinks so," I answered coolly.
She smirked…I think. "I bet he does. How long has she been with you?" she asked Eli.
"Not long," he answered.
"She's in deep, Elijah." She looked at him over my shoulder. "My, my how you've reined her in quickly."
He growled, pulling me behind him again. "And when was it that you figured out who I was?"
"The second your twin came in before you and wasn't shy on the family details." She cackled again and everyone else followed suit. We had a small crowd gathered around us now, and they watched us eagerly.
""The richest, meanest, self-proclaimed kingship Devourer family walks in and you think we wouldn’t take notice?"
"I am not part of the family anymore. Isn't that what the clubs are for? Rogues?" Eli said hotly.
"Or recruits for the Horde?" someone yelled out.
"Yes. That, too," the Witch agreed. "Are you a Horde spy?"
"Why would I spy for them? I hate them. Who's leading the Horde these days? Hatch is toast."
"His second in command," she informed before sucking snot loudly into her throat and spitting it on the floor. "Reece. He's been here. He was here two days ago looking for something."
"What? Why would the Horde care what goes on in a Consumed Club?"
"The Horde is getting more and more hoity. They think they act for rebels, but have become the very thing they despise by working so diligently to rule everyone."
"You're preaching to the choir, Witch," Eli explained.
"Good," she said and everyone seemed to calm. It seemed as though they'd been waiting on a fight, but that one word diffused it. "Now. Payment. Hmmm…"
"I can offer you cash."
"This isn't a negotiation," she barked and Eli sighed as he stood quietly. Waiting. "How about she demonstrates what happens when a human consumes the smoke outright? We haven't seen anyone that crazy in a long while!" She laughed.
"Nope," Eli muttered.
"Come on, feeler," she teased me and held a brown rolled smoke out. "Take a puff. You won't remember a thing."
"If she survives," Eli growled. "I told you, she has nothing to do with it." He pulled me to his side and I looked up at him in surprise. He smirked at me and then looked blandly at them. "I like her to be clear headed. I want her to feel and remember everything when she's with me. No drugs for her."
"Boo," she complained and pouted. "You're taking all of our fun."
"I'll do anything you want, however," he said.
"Hmm," she thought. "I think a stone is worth more than that. I think a sacrifice is needed here."
Eli remained calm, though his fingers squeezed mine. I wondered if he was seeking comfort as much as he was trying to give it. "What's the offering?"
"Skin," she said and grinned.
"Skin?" he breathed and huffed.
"Yep. Skin."
He stuck is arm out and said through gritted teeth. "Let's get on with it then."
"No, no, no. Not yours." Eli shook his head before she even said the words, but it was pretty obvious what she was hinting at. And when she finally said it, Eli sagged. "Hers."
"No," he barked. "I said no." He paused, thinking. "I don't want her marred and scarred. I want her skin perfect, just like it is."
"And I want her skin under my knife," the Witch said casually. I felt my jaw drop when it finally seemed to sink in. Knife? She was going to cut off my skin?
"No," he growled.
"Then no stone."
Eli turned to leave, but I didn't let him pull me. I needed this. We needed this. If we didn't get to The Wall, then I'd never know what was wrong with me and I had no interest in staying bi-polar with headaches that crippled me. "Wait. I'll do it."
"No, you will not. Get your butt out that door," he told me harshly and argued with his eyes as I looked at him.
"Let me do it," I mouthed to him. "Please."
"No," he mouthed back to me.
"Elijah Thames, you let her offer her own sacrifice!" she said harshly. "That's not your place."
"She's mine," he rebutted just as harshly. "You can't tell me what to do with what's mine!"
"Let the girl decide," one of the Elves said as he puffed smoke into the air in rings. His long legs were perched on the table. "She seems perfectly competent."
"What do I have to do?" I interrupted.
The Witch stood and took my arm in her hands. Eli gripped my other arm tighter. I bit my lip as I realized that he may not have wanted to do this because it made it more liable for them to see the string. "Beautiful, supple skin," she murmured.
One of the Elves in the back stood and reached down into his boot, unsheathing a small silver knife. He handed it to the Witch and she gripped it delicately in her fingers. "You're offering a sacrifice of skin to me freely?"
"Yes," I answered, but quickly added, "in exchange for a stone."
She grinned. "That's a good girl."
"No," Eli said from behind me and tried to pull me back. "No!" he repeated, but it was futile. My feet were glued to the floor by some force the Witch was using. "It's the smoke, Clara. You don't really want to do it."
"I want to help," I muttered and watched in strange fascination as she waved the blade over the skin of the underside of my forearm.
She let the blade touch my skin and I jolted as the blade was freezing cold. She smiled evilly and let it touch my skin again. Then she dragged the blade in a downward motion, like taking the skin off of fruit. It hurt when she broke the skin and went deeper, but I couldn't scream. I heard Eli struggling, but he couldn’t pull me. My body just watched in horror. When she was done, she picked up the layer of skin she'd cut and eyed it like a prize. She set it on the table and looked back at me, but stopped. Her face changed. I looked down to see what she saw and gasped.
My red blood was flowing down my arm in a stream from both sides…but there was also a stream of blue. It didn't mix or mingle with my blood, they just existed separately.
Then Eli was released and he bumped into my back as if he'd been let go by someone. Enoch was there, too, and none too happy. The bond must have pulled him to me. Eli pulled me to him, but not before seeing my arm. The Witch eyed us both with accusing eyes. "What's this?"
"It looks like…" Enoch said.
"Devourer blood," she whispered. "I know. How does the feeler girl have it? It's impossible."
"I don't…know," Eli said and looked at the blood in horror. "I don't know."
"I like you, Elijah Thames." She picked up my skin and laid the slice of skin on her own forearm. "And I like you, too, feeler. You've got spunk." The skin began to merge and attach itself to hers. She smiled and closed her eyes. The skin layer grew and covered her whole arm, and then went up to cover her neck and face. She had new skin. My skin…She transformed into this young…pretty girl that you could tell something was off, but just couldn't put your finger on it. "So, I'm going to give you a head start from the Horde," she muttered as she opened her eyes. "I never liked the way the Witches' council tried to rule us either and am glad they were eradicated so long ago." She shook her head. "I don't know how you altered her the way you have, but you won't make it long. Meet my fetcher boy at the corner of Liam and Pike tomorrow at dawn. Go," she warned.
Eli wasted no time. He dragged me closely behind him. I heard a few curses as he plowed through the people. He never once looked back for Finn, but Enoch was right on our tail. We slammed out of the doors and I thought we’d call another cab, but Eli stopped and pulled me to his chest. "Hang on tight."
I did and then we were going inhumanly fast. He blurred us with Enoch following all the way back to the hotel parking lot. We stopped in the side alley next to the trash bins. The first breath I took was filled with garbage smell and I thought I'd vomit
. I clung to Eli as I fought to get my bearings.
Then I remembered what had happened. I had Devourer blood in me. How? What did it mean?
I looked up at Eli and he was looking at me with a deep frown. Enoch was already gone. I let my gaze fall to the cracked pavement below us and felt shameful for no good reason at all.
Eli lifted my arm and sighed. "We need to get this taken care of."
"Ok," I said softly and turned to go.
He sucked in a swift breath and grabbed my hand. "Wait, sweetheart." I turned to him and peeked from under my lashes. "I'm sorry," he said and I straightened. He hugged me to him. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't do anything. I tried to stop her."
"I let her to do it. We needed her to."
"You let her because of the Elf smoke. It makes you feel like you can do anything and it won't matter." He shook his head. "I'm sorry."
"I'm ok," I said and turned to go again.
"Wait. Where are you going?" he said in exasperation.
"To the room." I rubbed my temples. "I just want to sleep."
"We need to talk about this, Clara. We can't pretend that didn't just happen."
"I have Devourer blood," I said like a confession. "I don't know what that means, or what's happening, but it's my fault."
"How is it your fault?" he asked and pulled me to him once more. "Clara, come on."
"Because I was trying to be sexy or sultry or…something." I sniffed and looked up to him to see if he was making the same conclusion as I was. "That day the Horde came and you pricked your finger. I…put it in my mouth to make it feel better. Remember?"
"I'll never forget that, even if I live to be five thousand."
"That was it. I did this. I made myself sick somehow by mixing our bloods and it's all my fault."
"So, because you tried to make me feel better, you deserve to be sick. That's what you're saying?" he asked and shook his head, looking at me with love shining through his eyes.
I felt the tears come and couldn't even be embarrassed by them. It was like whatever my body felt, it just went for it and didn't worry about consequences.
He lifted me in his arms and carried me to our room. I pressed my face into his neck and cried out everything that I felt. Enoch was watching UFC on the TV when we entered. I saw him roll his eyes when we passed by. Eli took me to the bathroom and set me on the toilet lid. "Stay," he commanded softly.
I sat there and saw him rummage through my bag before coming back. He took a bottle out as he squatted in front of me and looked at it. Then he tore open a small package, spilled the peroxide on it and swiped the cotton ball across my skin. It stung, but I didn't flinch. He pressed the cloth bandage to my arm and then stood again, going into the room.
I felt my mouth fall open when I realized what he was doing. He grabbed a pillow and the snatched the comforter off the bed. He brought it back to the bathroom and laid it all out in the large tub like a bed or pallet. He shut and locked the door before kicking off his boots and then kneeling at my feet.
He lifted one foot and removed my boot gently. He watched me watch him as he removed the next one and then kissed the sole of my stocking covered foot. I felt like I should blush, but it never came. He got on both knees between mine and looked at me seriously.
"Will you sleep with me?" he asked softly, before grinning suddenly. "In the tub?"
I smiled, too, and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'd love to."
He stood, lifting me and then lowered us both into the tub on our sides, facing each other. He let his thumb run a smooth path across my cheek, taking away the wetness there that was pointless to let fall anyway.
He pressed his lips to my forehead and whispered his words against my skin. "Tomorrow, we'll go to The Wall and get this all straightened out. But for tonight, I want you all to myself with no television or brothers or noise. Just you and only you."
"And you," I whispered back.
"And me." I felt his smile, but then he gripped me tighter on my waist and sighed long and loud. "Today was…you could have been… Tomorrow won't be any better. The Wall is worse. I'm trying not to lose it, Clara, but I-"
I kissed his cheek to silence him. "Not tonight, ok? Right now, I just want to feel you."
"You can feel me can't you?" He sighed onto my cheek. "The Devourer blood is changing you."
"Maybe," I conceded and snuggled closer. "But the Devourer was already changing me."
We silently agreed to let that drop for the night. Instead I asked, "Will the Witch stay that way because of my skin?"
"No. It only lasts a day." He added wryly, "But a Witch can get a lot done in twenty four hours."
I closed my eyes and accepted his gentle caresses and kisses gratefully, loving the feel of him tucking my hair back. Then he pulled the corner of the blanket over us in a not-so-subtle command to sleep.
And I did.
Thirteen
"So when exactly are we going to get up, catch a chartered boat, and get ourselves to Arequipa to The Wall?" Finn said as I rubbed my eyes and peeked over the tub edge. How did he unlock the door? He was still wearing the same clothes as last night. I could also see Enoch leaning over from his perch on the bed to get a good view.
That made me remember what Finn had done. And then the trembling beneath me - Eli's rage - made me remember that Eli and Finn hadn't had their confrontation yet.
"Clara, watch out, sweetheart," he said carefully, not taking his eyes from Finn, as he attempted to ease me to the side to get up. "Stay here so I'm not worried about you getting hurt."
"Now, Eli, come on," Finn said and put his hands up. "I can see you're angry."
"Angry?" Eli whispered as he stepped from the tub. I watched over the rim with fearful anticipation. "You kissed the girl I love." I sucked in a startled, happy breath at his words. He peeked back at me and seemed almost shy as he watched my reaction for a moment. Then he smiled with one side of his mouth before turning back to Finn. "And you tried to overwhelm her with your lust so she'd betray me and I'd hate her. Right? So why would I be angry?" he finished sarcastically.
"But she passed the test," Finn defended vehemently. "I was just looking out for your best interests."
"And in your best interests, I suggest you run," Eli answered and took a step.
"Eli, come on, man."
"Last chance, Finn." He was at the door of the bathroom and Finn was scrambling, bumping into the bed and tripping near the bird cage.
The bird squawked, "Watch out, watch out!"
"Eli-" Finn tried once more, but Eli had reached him.
"Time's up," he said low and dangerously and then reared back with Devourer speed and hit Finn so hard in his jaw that he spun around.
I scrambled up from the tub and ran into the bedroom just in time to see Eli pick Finn up and punch him again. Finn wasn't even fighting back. Eli landed one final blow to Finn's pretty face before grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door. "It's dawn. We’re late."
Ah! The stone!
We ran where the Witch said to go. Eli's GPS on his phone said it wasn't far, thank goodness. We got there to find an Elf and a very small man leaning against the phone booth on the sidewalk. They looked peeved.
"Sorry. We got held up," Eli said and held out his hand. "The stone?"
The Elf was smoking again and it was really strong this time, even in the outside air. My throat tickled with a cough, but I tried to hold it back. I inhaled deeply, but that made it worse and I choked on it.
"Can you put that out for two seconds?" Eli barked at him.
The Elf grinned before leaning forward quickly and blowing the smoke directly in our faces. I expected a coughing fit, but what I got was a calm that seemed to settle on me. Eli's shoulders visibly relaxed and I looked at them. He had really nice shoulders. I bit my lip as he held his arm out and the muscles rippled through his shirt. I had to reach out and touch them. So I did.
Eli shuddered when I did and the Elf seemed pleased with himself. "Give him
the stone, Barkley. These two look like they want to be alone." He laughed.
The little man plopped the stone in Eli's hand and ran to catch up with the Elf. Eli turned to me and I was engulfed in the flames from his stare. He was on fire from the inside out - I know I sure was - and I could see it in his eyes.
He moved closer and looked down at me. "The smoke," he muttered, trying to grip onto sanity. "The smoke makes you do things-"
