“Move!” Tilly shoved them away, the blade in her hand still out of her control.
“W-h-a-t d-o y-o-u w-a-n-t n-i-g-h-t-i-n-g-a-l-e”
“Nightingale?” Valor frowned.
Tilly kept her focus on the table. “We need your help. How can I summon someone’s spirit who isn’t dead?”
“C-a-n-t”
“How can I find a spirit that is lost?”
“C-a-n-t”
Tilly pounded on the table in anger. “Come on! Please!”
The table shook again, this time more violently than the last. The bowl of singed hair bounced its way over the ledge and crashed onto the floor. The candles lit around the kitchen flickered.
“Stop throwing a temper tantrum and act your fucking age, Zaza. I’m serious. I need help!”
Abruptly, the table stopped moving. Everything grew quiet. There was a light ringing in Tilly’s ears. Then her hands grew cold. As if ice water was being poured over her, the sensation glided down her arms and back. Her breath blew out in white puffs.
“Get her,” Valor growled, “We must protect her.”
She felt hands wrap around her again, warm and strong. “Don’t,” she growled. “Don’t move me.”
Tilly glared at the table and watched as a dark figure rose out of the center. Her heart slammed in her chest, her nerves going into overdrive as Zaza showed himself. He was a frightening creature. And agile, quick, and cunning to boot. He was also excellent at shapeshifting and changing his form from man to woman to this…
“Nice horns,” Tilly smirked. “They suit you.”
Bishop growled possessively behind her. She had a feeling he couldn’t see what she was looking at. Neither could Valor. But she was damned sure they could sense Zaza’s presence.
“You have nerve, Nightingale.”
“I’m a ballsy woman, what can I say.”
Zaza chuckled. Standing on the table, being as tall as he was, his head almost hit the ceiling. He crouched down and leaned in until he was only a few inches from her face. He smelled like rotten vegetation and sulfur. It was all Tilly could do to keep from crinkling her nose.
“Long time, no see.” Zaza’s forked tongue slithered out of his mouth. “We made a deal, remember?”
“Yes, and I’ve stuck to it.”
“Until today.”
“Because of our deal.” Tilly gripped her blade a little tighter, “I promised to not call you unless it was an emergency. It’s now an emergency.”
Zaza rocked his head from side to side. His long nails scraped the wood table. They stared at each other for a long minute. “You are grown,” he said. “Living to your full expectancy, I see.”
Her cheeks flushed.
“And,” he looked around the room, “You got a couple of dogs. My, my, Nightingale, your circle has grown from one to three, and then there’s me.” He dipped his head and smiled with sharp, pointed teeth. He climbed off the table and walked around the circle, toeing the salt ring with his bare foot. “You keep strange pets,” he said, “but they’re cute.”
“And they’re off limits.” Tilly positioned herself so she stood between Zaza and Bishop. The last thing Tilly wanted was for Zaza to possess one of her Hounds.
“They’re damaged. Good eats, this one,” Zaza flicked his tongue out at Bishop who still didn’t have a clue Zaza was nearly pressed against him.
“Tilly,” Bishop growled again. “What’s going on? What the fuck am I feeling right now, woman?”
Valor gripped his dagger and pushed the table out of the way. Zaza smiled, “Mmmm a ginger.”
“Not. Yours.” Tilly snapped, moving to stand in front of Valor next.
Zaza roared in fury, making the candle flames rise and flicker again. “You call me here and offer nothing. Where is your hospitality?”
“What would you like?” Tilly held her hand up, “Besides the men.”
“You protect them?” Zaza refocused on her. Stretched to his full height, he towered over everyone in the room. Long, lanky, and vicious as hell, Zaza was a force not to be reckoned with. “You suddenly have a care?”
Tilly felt her cheeks redden. “Maybe.”
“Naughty girl. Making ties when you will be severed from this life so soon.”
“Shut the fuck up,” She hated that this Loa was so blunt about things that hurt. “Please, just help me, Zaza. You can rub it in my face later.”
“I want more than gloating rights, Nightingale.”
She tried to keep her eyes locked on his. Never look down. Never look down. “What do you want then?”
“Blood.”
“Fine, but it will be mine. Not theirs. And not too much. I’m not going to die today because you can’t control your gluttony.”
Zaza laughed – it was deep, throaty, and seductive. “You make demands like you have the ability to see them followed through,” he touched her hair. “What is it you want, Nightingale? I want specifics before I decide if you’re worth it or not.”
“I need help summoning the spirit of someone who is still alive. They can astral project, I think. And I need to communicate with them.”
Zaza whistled. “Hefty favor.”
“Will you help me or not?” Tilly rounded her shoulders and prayed her nerves didn’t fray. This was a dangerous deal she was trying to make.
Zaza lifted his hand, in doing so, it compelled Tilly’s blade – which was still in her grip. The knife turned, the tip of the blade pointed down, and Tilly’s other hand went up to meet it.
“Tasty little thing,” Zaza purred. He closed in on her, scraping his talon across her chin. Next, he grabbed Tilly’s arm and forced her to bend over the table. She grunted with the force and he stood behind her, grinding against her backside.
The two Hounds were barking and gnashing their teeth. They still couldn’t see him, though. That much was made obvious now. Zaza laughed when it was confirmed who had the upper-hand. Him. It was always, always, always, him. “I could fuck you right now and they wouldn’t be able to stop it.”
“You won’t,” Tilly gritted.
He bumped her ass. “You so sure? It’s been a while for me, I’m not so picky anymore.”
“Yeah, but…” she grunted when he bumped against her ass again. “I trust you, Zaza. You wouldn’t.”
He hissed in her ear. “You aren’t a child anymore, so round and ripe now,” Zaza shoved her harder, trying to get a reaction. She refused to give him one. With a swipe of his hand, the blade moved like it was alive, and stabbed into Tilly’s arm, deeper than she anticipated.
Blood poured from the wound and she screamed in pain.
All around her, anger and danger spun. Zaza laughed as he grabbed Tilly’s arm and licked her wound. Suckling on her, his eyes pierced the two Hounds who were screaming and pounding on the barrier he’d placed between them and his meal.
The terror of Zaza’s trickery wasn’t surprising… but seeing the two Hell Hounds lose their shit because they couldn’t get to her was.
Tilly shook her head, her gaze locked on Valor. God, the fury and fear on his face right now sent a shiver down her spine. She shook her head again, trying to silently let him know there was nothing to be done. This was the price she had to pay for Zaza’s cooperation. This was the price she had to pay to get one step closer to finding the twins.
A terrible thunder rumbled. It was Bishop. His fists pounded against the barrier. The veins in his neck stuck out as he screamed at her with wild eyes and his mouth wide open as he continued to roar and claw at the barrier between them.
The sight stole her breath.
A sharp prick under her chin broke her gaze from Bishop. Zaza’s talon pierced her chin as he forced her head to shift towards him. He continued to drink. To drain. With his free hand, Zaza ran his nails down between her eyes. They locked gazes and Tilly’s world went black.
Chapter 39
“FUUUCK!” Bishop was this close to losing what little bit of sanity he fucking had left. He had
no goddamn clue what was going on, but this shit was beyond his level of coping skills.
Tilly was being rammed from behind, her body rocking against the table, and she wasn’t even fighting back. He was too lost in a haze of red to make out her words. All he could think was Save her! Protect her! Get her back! Get her back! Get her back!
The barrier came out of nowhere. It slammed up so fast, both the Hounds stumbled back from the energy they’d not been prepared to face. Jesus fucking Christ! What the hell was in there with her?
Bishop had nearly lost his head when he saw Tilly’s arm move out and the blade stab her arm. To know something so powerful had Tilly trapped and was now feasting on her goddamn blood had Bishop’s sanity going into a tailspin.
He would turn mad from this. On top of everything else in his head, this act would be what finally broke him.
Valor barked like an animal from the other side of the table. He rushed around and grabbed Bishop, tackling him to the ground. “Easy, Hound.” Valor growled in his ear, “I canna battle the two of ye at once. Ye will obey. She knows what she’s doing. We have to trust her judgement.”
Bishop thrust his hand up and clocked Valor’s nose with the base of his palm. It was enough of a stunner for Bishop to shimmy out from under his alpha and then he pounded on the barrier again. “Look at her now! Look at her Val!”
Oh my fucking god, Bishop thought. His heart beat so fast he couldn’t fucking breathe. Tilly was possessed.
Tilly. Was. Possessed.
She stared at him with black eyes and a cold calmness. Her arm still stretched out, her blood dripping down all over the table, Tilly stared at them with dead, black eyes. It triggered Bishop so fast he felt sick.
“MATILDA JANE!” he roared. Bishop used his shoulder and tried to slam his body against the barrier. It was no use though. Nothing was getting through the damned thing.
Valor ripped him away and slammed him against the far wall. “Stay back!” his alpha commanded. “Stay the fuck back, Hound!”
“But she’s—”
“On her own. As she knew she would be.” Valor grabbed Bishop by the throat and forced him to look away. “Ye canna go in there. Even if the barrier drops, ye canna go near her.”
It was because of the possession. Bishop’s heart raced and he downward spiraled into a terrible flashback - The kitchen. The table. Fuck, he could smell the spaghetti sauce and garlic bread. He heard the clinking glasses. The twins laughing…
The trigger was instant. Bishop’s flashback of getting possessed went all Technicolor chaos in his head. The rest was all imagination, because he didn’t have any idea what he did under the influence of the malanum that had taken over his body and mind that night.
Bishop gripped Valor’s arms. His fingers dug into his alpha’s flesh and he roared. So much fury pulsed in him, he felt like he was going to explode. Valor held him steady, keeping him away from Tilly and the danger she was in. It was infuriating. It was dishonorable. It was –
“Necessary,” Valor barked. “I canna lose ye, Hound.”
“And I can’t lose her!” Bishop fought against Valor’s hold to no avail.
“She’s not lost,” Val argued, “and she’s a strong one. She’s done this before, ye ken it if ye’d just look with your eyes and not your heart. Look at her. She set this up. She’s not afraid.” Valor’s grip didn’t relent. “I can see her aura, Hound. She’s calm. She trusts whatever the hell is in there with her.”
Bishop tried to jerk out of Valor’s hold, but he still wasn’t able to. In a last ditch effort – which was mostly instinct and habit – Bishop howled. He howled like an animal in need of help.
But his pack wasn’t going to come to the rescue. He was on his own. The twins weren’t going to respond. Valor was literally holding him back. And Tilly? Oh god, his sweetness was taken prisoner in her own motherfucking body. Bishop tried to catch his breath, blink past the unshed tears, and calm his motherfucking ass down, but his efforts were half-hearted and pathetic. He was too far gone for this.
There was no coming back…
Not for the twins. And not for Bishop.
Zaza smiled. “Your Hound is baying.”
“I know.” Tilly sat with Zaza in a spiritual space. It was a sandy dessert with nothing around them but sand, sand, and more sand. The wind would kick up every once in a while and the granules would sting her skin when they hit her arms. “Please let me get back to them.” She could hear their voices echoing in the vast red sky like disembodied ghosts stuck in limbo.
“Why do you care so much for them, Nightingale?”
“I… I don’t.”
“Liar.” Zaza rocked his head from side to side again, humming. “Your curse is a sweet one, it’s ripened since you last called upon me.”
“Speaking of which, now that I’ve paid you, please help me.”
“You wish to summon another?”
“Yes,” Tilly rubbed her arm. Her wound hurt like a bitch and she was bleeding all over her lap. This was the deepest he’d ever cut her. “I need to summon a spirit that’s still alive. And I need to hear him. Or have him hear me. I need to communicate with him somehow.”
“You replacing me, Nightingale?”
“Now why would I do that?”
He smiled devilishly, “Has this soul come to you before?”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve made contact already?”
“Sort of. I just see him. I didn’t even realize it was a spirit. He looks like flesh and bone to me. I thought he was a stalker.”
Zaza’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “He is cursed then, yes?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” She frowned, “Is he drawn to me because I’m cursed?”
Zaza parroted her, “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Tilly rolled her eyes. “Dick.”
“You should see how big it is,” he flirted. “You wouldn’t want to go back to those Hounds once you shared my bed. I’d have you singing, Nightingale.”
“Zaza,” she warned.
“Tell me more about this spirit.”
“I don’t know him.”
“And you’re willing to risk yourself for him anyway. You make no sense.” Zaza shook his head, “For being so brilliant, you’re very stupid. Did those dogs fuck the sense out of you?”
“Please, Zaza? This will be the last favor I ever ask for.”
He clucked his tongue at her. “You can’t make a promise like that. So long as you breathe, you may still want Zaza to come.”
“I won’t. I’ll leave you alone.”
“You’ve said those words before. Many times.”
“I mean it this time.”
“Who is it you wish to summon?”
Tilly licked her dry lips. “His name is Sebastian. He’s also a Hell Hound.”
“You know they are dangerous creatures, yes?”
“They’re not dangerous to me.”
“They told you about themselves?” Tilly nodded her head and Zaza huffed, “Strange. I thought the rules were no telling the mortals.”
“Yeah, well I’m a special case. And I’m going to be dead soon anyway so,” she shrugged and acted like the truth didn’t hurt as much as it really did.
“You know what they do, right?”
“They send evil back to Hell.”
Zaza nodded with a smile that grew wider and more crooked. “To Hell… where all the cursed ones end up.”
Tilly’s breath hitched.
“Oh yes, Nightingale. The cursed belong to Hell. And with all the naughty things you’ve done, you’ve certainly earned your cell in prison.”
A chill swept down her spine. “I… I don’t care. I’ll accept whatever my fate is.”
Zaza laughed again and it was seductive and deep. “You are a strange bird, Nightingale.”
“Stop wasting my time, Zaza. Shit or get off the pot.”
“I can tell you how to do it. But the energy it will cost may be more than you have.”
<
br /> “I don’t care.”
“It could kill you.”
Tilly’s palms grew sweaty. “I’m going to die anyway, might as well have my death be for something good.”
“Martyrs are overrated.”
“So are Ouija boards, but here we are.”
Zaza laughed again. “Okay, Nightingale. I will help you, one last time, but this is the end of the line for you and I.”
Tilly nodded and tried to ignore the odd sense of loss she suddenly felt. She and Zaza… well, there would be no more she and Zaza after today. In the grand scheme of things, Zaza was one more tie that needed to be severed anyway. They both knew it.
“I will miss you, Nightingale.”
Her chin trembled, “I’ll miss you too, Zaza.”
He laughed with his head tilted back towards the red sky. “You’re such a fucking liar.”
Valor kept his grip on Bishop. He couldn’t explain the level of torment this was. To have his Hound baying on one end, his woman trapped and alone on the other, and Valor helpless to save either of them. It was fucking agony.
He’d been in this position before. Twice, as a matter of fact, and it didn’t get any fucking easier.
Holding Bishop back, Val kept his eyes on Tilly. More specifically, her aura. He watched it swirl and pulse like a heartbeat. So long as it remained strong and steady, he would tell himself not to worry. Her eyes stayed glued to him, black orbs staring blindly right at him. This was what had him suffering chills of despair.
Another possession was occurring in his house. It was a fast pass to a flashback of him finding Bishop with black orb eyes and no mind of his own. The atrocities committed that night were still too unbearable to speak about.
Valor doubted he would ever get over it. Bishop wasn’t himself then – but the visions that haunted Valor’s nights were crisp and clear of his Hound tearing apart people they knew and cared about.
Val froze when he felt the barrier suddenly drop. It was like air getting vacuumed out of the space and his ears popped. He released Bishop and the two of them scrambled to get at their girl. She fell forward and face planted into her own blood that pooled on the kitchen table. Her eyes were back to their lovely emerald green.
Hard to Find (Hell Hounds Harem Book 4) Page 29
