by Mandi Casey
The smile on his face almost undid me. It was torture fighting the desire he fueled. I wanted more than anything to go back into his arms and finish what we started. Knowing he was right there and more than willing to be with me, mind, body, and soul, was almost impossible to resist.
But it came with a price.
A big one.
A vision flashed before my eyes of him taking me from behind while watching us together in the bathroom mirror. My body broke out into a hot sweat. I needed to put some distance between us, because if I didn’t, we wouldn’t be going anywhere. For everyone’s sake, Blake and I needed to stay away from each other. How was it I was the only one who could see the reasoning in that?
“Okay, but we need to go downstairs. Now.”
I whipped the door open and was planning on storming out of the bathroom before he could grab me.
Brianna stood in the doorway with her hand raised to knock again. She glanced from me to Blake and then back to me. Her grin deepened and her cheeks reddened.
“Yes, let’s go.”
I pushed past her to go down the steps into the kitchen. I didn’t need to see the knowing look on her face, or the big smile, and I didn’t want to watch while Brianna and Blake shared a conspiratorial, possibly victorious, glance between them.
Brianna could just go ahead thinking what she was thinking. It wasn’t going to happen; it couldn’t. I almost hated to wait until the day arrived that I would be able to tell her what was really going on, then I wouldn’t have to deal with her trying to help Blake play mind games with my heart.
Aunt Judith was in the kitchen reading one of the many old books from the library Grandma Maria left to us. My aunt was a practicing Wiccan, even though she wouldn’t admit it outright, not even to me.
Michael followed Brianna into the kitchen with Blake not far behind.
Brianna smiled awkwardly. We all said our goodbyes to Aunt Judith and left.
Blake insisted on driving us in his Audi. It amazed me that a werewolf would have such good taste in cars. I would have pegged him for a guy who would drive a big pickup truck with a lifted suspension and oversized tires.
Chapter 6
We all got out of the car where Blake had parked down the street from the club. The snow falling all around us was beautiful, but it wouldn’t last. Spring was quickly approaching. I loved summer in Wisconsin. The grass and trees had a rich color of green, and the smell of freshly cut lawns was unbeatable. Well, that, and the smell of newly blooming lilac bushes.
I let Blake help me up onto the curb in fear that I would slip on the clear ice in my high-heeled black suede boots. I know, who wears suede when the ground was covered in snow and salt? Me, that’s who. I had seriously invested in protecting my favorite footwear with water-resistant spray.
Blake took a step back once he righted me on the sidewalk. Why was he playing all distant from me? Ugh, I could never figure men out. And they say women are complicated creatures. I thought it was just the opposite, personally. Maybe he was giving me space, knowing I was warring with myself when it came to him. But that didn’t make any sense, not when he was so insistent on us being together. With his knowing that I was on the verge of losing control and giving in to my primal instincts, now would be the perfect time for him to pounce.
Strobe lights filled the air, making the people on the dance floor appear as if they were moving in segmented motions. The bass of the music beat so deeply throughout the building that it went through my entire body. The music was exhilarating.
Blake touched my elbow and motioned toward the bar, signaling for drinks. Nodding for him to get me one, I watched as he slowly made his way over to the far side of the club. No matter how much I tried, there was no way I could ignore the fact that Blake was the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.
As he walked toward the bar, before being swallowed up from view by the club-goers, I watched the women’s heads turn to appreciate the view he was giving despite it being obvious he wasn’t trying to gain anyone’s attention. He seemed focused on going straight to the bar. But he did gain attention. A lot of attention.
I didn’t like the way those women were looking at him, openly ogling his body and giggling with their friends as they shared lustful thoughts about Blake. My neck spasmed from the tension of having to watch them watch him. The jealousy raging inside of me surprised me. I didn’t want to think about why that was. I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what was going on in their heads. They were thinking about what it would be like to have sex with him.
To my dismay, their disgusting leers burned me, and my temper was rising. Blake wasn’t my boyfriend. I didn’t have a right to get jealous, but that was exactly what was happening. Normally, I wasn’t the jealous type. Because of Blake, I was experiencing a primitive instinct to go and rip the hair out of those women’s heads for daring to think about him in such ways.
I had no right.
I seriously needed that drink, and I could use a cold shower, too. What was wrong with me? I’d never before in my whole life thought of inflicting harm on another human, or non-human being, especially not over a man. I needed to get a grip.
Blake would so use my jealousy against me. He’d say something like, ‘See, I told you we were meant to be together. No one gets that uptight over a woman flirting with a man unless they were mated.’
Yeah, I’d rather go through a tortuous, headache-inducing day without coffee before I’d let him know how I really felt. Blake said he didn’t need me to verbally express my feelings for him; he already knew. His werewolf super-senses let him know a lot of things. Things I didn’t want him to know.
Max’s was packed as usual for a Friday night. People everywhere bounced off one another, moving to the music, and I tried to stay out of their way in fear of being knocked to the ground.
I turned toward the dance floor so I didn’t have to watch any more reactions Blake instilled in the women hoping for a good night. The less I saw, the better.
When I thought about it as I watched all the happy-go-lucky bar patrons dancing their cares away, I realized it didn’t matter if I saw it or not. Blake would have that reaction anywhere he went, no matter who was with him. Would those sex-crazed, lustful women care if he had a wedding ring on his finger? Probably not.
Brianna grabbed Michael’s arm and dragged him to the dance floor, leaving me alone in the crowd.
I soaked in the club. I was taking in the high energy of the club revelers when a bright light flashed in my line of sight, bringing forth the sensation of an ice pick stabbing me in the skull. I put my arms up over my face to avoid further damage to my retinas. Whatever it was, the flash was going to leave a blurry glare in my vision for a while.
My eyes burned so much my teeth ached. Once the pain began to fade and my eyes stopped watering enough to allow me to see what was going on, I let my arms down and took a glimpse of my surroundings.
All the people in the club had vanished.
Brianna, Michael, and Blake were gone.
No more thumping music. No strobe lights.
No drunken women rudely drooling over Blake.
I was alone.
Chapter 7
This wasn’t the club, I realized.
A high-pitched whining sound erupted from around the corner, bringing me to the here and now. Except, I didn’t know where the here and now was. The sound hurt my ears. I covered my ears with my hands, trying to muffle out the sound so I could think. Who the heck was causing that obnoxious noise?
The walls lining the room where I stood were made of cement blocks. Familiar cement blocks. Inspecting them closer, there was a pattern of dark brown spots splattered along the length of the far wall. My gut twisted from painful memories. It wasn’t my first time being there. I could smell the stale stench of blood and other body
fluids caking the creases of the cell. Hot bile rose in my chest as I fought the urge to vomit. I had smelled it before.
Peeking around the corner of the room’s doorway into the next, a staircase stood before me. The horrible sound was coming from the next room, on the other side of the staircase. Slowly creeping up to the doorway while holding my hands tightly over my ears, I peered in to find out what or who was causing that awful noise.
What was taking place before my eyes shocked me into momentary paralysis. My lungs felt like heavy cinder blocks in my chest. It was difficult to breathe as dust from the cement clouded the air.
The room was full of a white powder, making it hard to see exactly what was going on. But I was able to make out enough.
Rogue vampires and werewolves circled a stone base covered with cryptic symbols carved into the sides and top. The rogues knelt on the floor, each holding a knife and a cup in their hands.
The whining noise stopped when the only rogue standing withdrew the blade of a chainsaw from the stone, which sat in the center of the room. When he spoke, his voice boomed, echoing against the cement walls.
“It is ready. Set him free.”
The kneeling rogues stood one by one, each taking their turn pouring the contents of their cups into the crevices created by the symbols until the last rogue left stood.
The liquid they were pouring into the lines carved into the stone was dark in color, close to black. I took a deep breath and got a whiff of the liquid. It was unmistakable, like what you smell from meat when it sits out too long.
Blood.
The last rogue’s face was covered by a large hood connected to the indigo robe he wore. He didn’t pour the contents of the cup into the creased lines of the base like the other rogues. He poured the contents of his cup directly into the cut in the stone just made from the chainsaw.
A bright white light flashed, blinding me.
A deep thumping bass pounded against my body as my sight cleared.
I felt a very warm set of hands on my arms, shaking me roughly.
“Sydney! What is going on? Are you all right?”
Blake kneeled before me as I opened my eyes. I put my hands up when he tightened his grip, ready to give me another good shaking.
Did I just get a new Selected power?
“Blake, I’m okay. I think I need to get out of here.” My stomach began to churn as my body felt flushed. I needed some fresh air. Once I got outside I was sure I would feel better.
Blake grabbed my arm to help me up from the floor where I must have fallen during the flash. He leaned in close and nuzzled my neck, rubbing his rough jaw gently against my skin. Even through the pounding pain in my head from whatever had just happened, a streak of desire warmed my entire body. The pain lessened from my having physical contact with Blake.
How the heck was a girl supposed to fight off that kind of response from her own body to a man? Sometimes, life was just so unfair. I didn’t fight having direct contact with his body. Somehow, Blake’s touch was soothing the aching pain in my head and the soreness traveling along my body. Did I get hurt when I fell? It sure felt like I took a serious tumble. Or was it the after-effects of being near so many rogues, even though they weren’t actually in my presence?
I turned around to face Blake. I wanted to feel the warmth and comfort only he could provide.
The hairs on my arms rose.
Thick tendrils of icy fingers crawled up my spine, colder than anything I’ve ever felt by a presence of a rogue vampire until that moment. Pain began to creep up my legs until it made its way to my torso, then into my chest. Despite the cold feeling, my body broke out into a sweat from the pain. The urge to vomit wrapped its nauseating grip around my throat. I leaned heavier against Blake for support, not wanting to pass out in the middle of the nightclub, again.
“Blake, I’m pretty sure a rogue vampire just walked into the club. We need to leave.”
Even before I finished my sentence, his eyes turned into the golden-bronzed color they did when he was angry, or turned on.
“Sydney, I’ll take care of the rogue. Get Michael and Brianna and leave.”
“I’m not going without you!” It was hard not to shout in his ear, but I had to make sure he heard me over the music.
Blake growled in frustration, his inner beast threatening to come out in the middle of the club. His protective instincts were kicking into high gear. Those instincts were telling him to go fight the bad guy because he felt my safety was threatened. I could see it in his face as his mouth tightened.
Blake didn’t know what to do. He knew we were in danger from the rogue, but he also knew I wasn’t going anywhere unless he went with us.
Another flash of white light blinded me. I was no longer in the club, again.
“Yes, Master, it will be as you wish.” A rogue vampire, hunched on his knees, bowed his head in submission to the lightning demon from Hell.
I shook my head to try and clear my vision. What the heck was happening to me? Without warning, I felt myself somehow being flung from one reality to the next. There was no gradual pull on my body like when I left the vision the last time. This time was more like a quick snap of the fingers, one that made my lungs feel like they were deflated like a popped balloon. I seriously had to get a hold of these Selected powers.
“I want that vile being out of the way. Someday I will have her under my thumb. If you play your cards right, you will be generously rewarded. If you fail me, I will make sure every single rogue in this place will suffer a long, excruciating death.”
I could tell Andras was ticked. It wasn’t good to have a lightning demon, infamous for taking pleasure in creating chaos and pain, upset about anything.
The rogue vampire didn’t budge. Vampires were known for keeping their emotions and thoughts from their facial expression. Despite that fun fact Grandma continued to express through her writing, this one couldn’t completely hide that he was scared for his life. His bottom lip quivered in fear against the bloodstained fangs poking out over his lip.
Maybe he hadn’t been a vampire for very long. Hopefully Kieran would be willing to tell me the stages of vampiredom the next time I had the chance to ask him about them. Did they go through a vamp puberty of sorts?
The rogue, with his guilty little fangs hanging over his lip, didn’t appear too confident, compared to the majority of vampires that belonged to Kieran’s coven. They seemed older, more in control than this one did.
“You will not be disappointed, Master. When we have fully summoned The One, everything will be set, and your plans can go forth as you wish. You will be pleased. I swear it.” The rogue bent his head down in a show of submission, exposing the skin on his neck. Scorch marks seared his skin in thick, puckered welts. Andras hurt his servants? I’d figure that would be counterproductive in getting done what you wanted.
There was so much in my newfound life I didn’t understand. Each different band of bad guys seemed to have their own way of doing things, and how they treated each other. It was like they each had their own unique culture; some were similar to each other, and some were vastly different. Why would a rogue vampire choose to work for a vindictive demon lord who hurt them instead of hanging out with the covens and enjoying the posh parties they seemed to hold for every possible event imaginable?
A gentle breeze swayed Andras’ long white hair. From my viewpoint around the corner of the compound’s library, I didn’t feel any wind blowing through the room, and there were no open windows. Was I between realms? How was I able to see them? Blake didn’t say my body had disappeared. But then again, there wasn’t much time for chitchat before being sucked into this next vision, or whatever the heck it was.
The smell of old blood was everywhere. I looked down at my feet. I could see right through them to the floor. There was no blood on
the carpeted floor anywhere around me. I put my hand up to the dark-stained, wooden doorframe of the library. My hand didn’t touch the wood.
It went through it.
I could feel the presence of the mass that made up the doorway, but it didn’t stop my hand like it would have in the real world. I didn’t even know what the real world was anymore. My instincts told me that what I was seeing in the visions was really happening, but I couldn’t tell if it had already happened, was happening, or was going to happen. Nothing in the visions told the timing of the events. There were no clues like the local newspaper lying around on a coffee table with the date handily printed on the top header like you see in the mystery movies.
The rogue and demon couldn’t see me. I took a silent step over the threshold of the doorway. Neither Andras nor the rogue paid me any attention. They had no idea I was standing there, even though I could see them clear as day. I must be in some sort of alternate universe, maybe some type of shadow world?
My shoes didn’t make a sound as they landed on the carpet with each step. I entered the room they occupied, hoping to find some sort of indication as to their plans.
Who was The One they wanted so badly to have come out of that hole in the cement base covered with all those symbols? It had to be some type of dark magic they used. Nothing good could come out of having to use blood to bring forth some kind of being.
I lifted my hand out in front of me. My skin wasn’t solid. Wiggling my fingers, the light from the lamp on the desk went right through them, giving them a pink iridescent hue. That’s when my translucent arm began to waver right before my eyes. A vacuum pulled at me, my body slowly became a whirl in the air, and then I was gone from the library.
I felt like I had a rock inside my gut. Nausea began to curl tendril-like extensions up my chest, reaching toward my collarbones, and I was sure I was going to yak.
