by Mary Martel
"Please, girl." I hung my head and groaned. "Just go and leave me here to myself." Her constant blathering about shit I did not understand was giving me a headache, and I was already in enough pain. I didn't need her adding more to the pile.
"I can't leave you."
I closed my eyes and wished her away. The problem was that she was the dream walker here and in control of everything. I had never been able to dream walk and wouldn't be able to learn now even if I wanted to, because I'd given my magic away for my son so he wouldn't ever have to be alone with the evil we'd both lived with for so long.
I still didn't know if it had been worth it or not, and likely would never find out.
My son was to be forever lost to me. I just hoped the cat served its purpose and Dash never found out where it came from. Or whom.
"Why the hell not?" I asked before I could stop myself. I knew she'd answer me, the girl clearly enjoyed talking. Fuck it, it wasn’t like I had anything else to do with my time. I'd play along with the Council's new game for now. Until I got bored with it and had enough.
"I don't know how to find you yet."
Now that, that had to be the most least unexpected thing that could have come out of her mouth.
"Obviously, you know how to find me or you wouldn't be here."
Was I the crazy one here or was she?
She stepped closer to the bars but was smart enough not to get close enough to touch them. How had I not noticed before that the door had not been left open?
"Why are you on the other side of the bars?" I asked curiously.
"Why would I be on the inside of them?" She raised a hand and slowly trailed it along the bars, just out of reach. "Do you know what it is exactly that they do? I imagine they give off some sort of electrical charge. Have you touched them before or have you been chained up and out of reach this whole time?"
So many fucking questions.
"You're supposed to be on this side and on your knees. Not running your damn mouth like a schoolgirl. Get over here, girl, and put that mouth to good use. Maybe it will even work this time. Hell, you're pretty enough, I don't even mind the scar. It adds character, makes you seem dangerous and mysterious all at the same time."
Her lower lip wobbled and she started blinking rapidly, as if she was trying to stop more tears from being unleashed. Christ, this girl was so fucking weird.
"Are you gonna cry again? Cuz that's not really going to get me in the mood."
"Stop," she whispered thickly. "Please, just stop it. I don't want you to hate yourself for this conversation later when you find out who I really am."
My lip curled up in disgust and I sneered at her. Yeah, in the end she really was no different from the rest.
"I already know who you are. You're a bitch, just like all the rest. That's about all I need to know about you."
"My name is Ariel Kimber," she said, and I shook my head, not interested. I had just told her I didn't give a fuck about who the hell she was. So she told me her name? This girl was simply too much for me.
A determined look crossed her face before she reached out and stupidly grabbed hold of the bars with both hands. The bars flamed brightly with a light blue light and the girl whimpered. The lock on the door clicked and the light faded quickly, dying out entirely. The door swung open and she finally let go of her hold on the bars. She held up her hands for inspection and stared down at her skin that had turned an ugly shade of black.
"What the..." She muttered. "Do you think this will follow me back to the real world? I don't want everyone to know I've been here and wearing gloves will make me look like a freak."
Jesus. This bitch. What was she going on about gloves now for? Could you say psycho?
"I think you should head back on home now like a good girl and find out. And once you're gone, stay that way. I don't need you coming back and hanging around like an unwanted disease I can't get rid of."
I'd kill for an ice-cold glass of water right now even though I knew I didn't need it. The Council had done something to me when they’d put me down here and chained me up. My bodily functions had ceased. My hair continued to grow but I hadn't lost or gained any weight, and hunger pains had left me entirely. It didn't stop me from craving certain things. Like coffee. It had been so long since I'd spoken, and I definitely hadn't spoken this much since I got here and I felt like I should have needed a glass of water to drink for my throat and cracked lips.
But I didn't have water and I had no need for it. And this bitch just kept right on not listening to me.
She walked through the open door and into my cell. Why I even needed to be inside a cell when I was chained to the fucking wall was something I'd never understand. They knew I'd given my magic away for my son, I had no way to attack them.
The door clanged shut loudly behind the girl and I flinched at the noise. The chains keeping me held in place against the wall rattled at my slight movement. There was zero give for me, I hadn't moved so much as an inch in years. When the chains rattled my torture always began anew.
I looked over the girl’s shoulder, waiting for a robed monster to come around the corner and rush at my cell. Nothing happened and I forgot again that this was a dream. Her dream. Mine. At this point it didn't matter.
The girl stopped less than a foot away from me. She scanned my face and her eyes dropped lower. Her face flushed and her eyes jerked back up, wide and startled. It was like she hadn't even noticed I'd been chained up and naked this whole time.
Innocent. This one still had a semblance of her innocence left. Likely not a virgin, but not entirely defiled yet either. Maybe I'd been wrong about her. Huh.
"Tell me where we are," she insisted. I shook my head. In truth, I didn't entirely know. "You have to tell me so that we can come and get you. I can't leave until you tell me where you are."
She was a persistent little thing, I'd give her that much.
"You mentioned women coming down here, were they witches like us? Who else has been down here with you? You have to give me something here. Dash thinks you've been dead all his time."
My heart froze inside my chest before stopping altogether.
Sounding as if the words were being ripped from my very soul, I ground out, "What did you just say to me?"
In all my time spent down here, not one person had ever uttered my son's name. It had been a source of torture all in itself.
"Dash," the girl said slowly. "He's one of my boyfriends and a member of my coven. He thinks you've been dead all this time. I don't want him to know about you yet until I talk to the others and we know for sure we are coming to get you. I have to talk to Quinton first, he'll know what to do, and he'll make sure that no matter what Dash will be okay. That's kind of his job, but mine now too since I'm their female witch and Dash is one of my boyfriends."
She didn't just like to talk, but seemed to be one of those obnoxious nervous talkers. If what she said was truth then...
Wait a damn minute, did she say...
"Alexander?"
I hoped she didn't mean Quinton Alexander. That poor kid had a monster for a father who was way worse than Dash's mother and grandmother could have ever dreamed of being. And that kid, Jesus, that fucking kid, he'd been put through hell and back. His dad was real tight with the Council and liked to volunteer his son to be experimented on, and more often than not, if rumors were to be believed, he was the one who originally came up with the ideas behind the experiments.
In a sad way it would make sense that those two damaged boys ended up together and with this scarred up girl standing in front of me.
Jesus, my boy.
If what she said was true and I said all of those fucked up things to her... I would never be able to forgive myself.
She looked at me expectantly, as if she was waiting for me to do something. Or say something.
Ah yes, she'd asked me several questions. I thought back before answering her, hoping my messed up brain didn't jack up her questions and I got them ri
ght. If she really was a part of my son’s life, and an important one at that, then she deserved me at least attempting to give a shit about her.
If this was all a lie and she was fucking with me, then I'd kill her. I didn't care what I had to do to accomplish it, but I would kill her for bringing my son into it.
"The Council," I told her, as I stared into her haunted green eyes. Her eyes ate at me. She'd been through some shit, it was written in her eyes for all to see. "A man named Adrian and another named Daniel. Have you heard of them before?"
Every witch not in hiding knew who the fuck they were. They ruled over the covens with a tight fist while doing absolutely whatever the hell they wanted on the sidelines.
The girl grimaced as she looked away. "I know them. Adrian better than the other. Daniel is actually dead."
For the first time in longer than I could remember, I smiled. An actual honest to goodness smile. I wasn’t sure if she could actually see it past my beard, but the sucker was there.
The girl sucked in a sharp breath as she looked down at her feet in horror.
"No. No. No."
I followed her eyes and watched as fog began to swirl around her feet and slowly climbed its way up the rest of her body.
Damn, this really had been a dream after all. I hoped like hell that meant she'd been telling the truth about everything else too.
"Fuck," she hissed, sounding frantic.
She swiped the palm of her hand over the belly on her camisole again and again. She pulled her hand away from her body and looked down at it.
"Fuck it," she mumbled. "Good enough. If I get some weird, fucked up infection then so be it."
Her hand went out and to the rough brick wall behind me. No dirt there, you couldn't bolt the chains to dirt and have them stick.
She whimpered as she dug in and slid her palm along the bricks. The scent of copper hit the air.
Before I could blink she shoved three of her fingers roughly into my open mouth, making me choke.
"Swallow," she commanded. "I need to get my blood inside you. Just do it."
I licked her bleeding fingers and swallowed as much blood as I could possibly get down my throat. I really could have used that glass of water right about now.
"I'll be back for you," she swore fiercely. "Make no mistake, Romero Flynn, I'm coming for you."
Christ, I fucking hoped so.
I really, truly did.
I had never wanted anything more in my life.
I racked my messed up brain for anything useful I could give her before she disappeared.
"A motel," I shouted as she started to fade away. Her green eyes snapped to mine and she grinned triumphantly. Her eyes lit with something feral, and this time it was me who shivered. "They had a motel they bought in secret and hide—"
And she was gone.
She either came back for me or she didn't. I had tried, for my son, and that was worth everything.
Chapter Six
I Can Prove It To You
I sat up and sucked in a sharp breath. The air underground had been heavy, and breathing down there was almost painful. I sucked in as much air as I could possibly get before my lungs would explode and leaned forward to rest my head between my legs.
I slid off the couch, landing hard on my hip and elbow on the floor.
"Ow," I whined pathetically, as I sat up and clutched my elbow to my chest protectively. My hip stung but my elbow felt worse. My funny bone was broken, it had to be, and I didn't find anything funny about it.
"You've been a busy girl. A naughty girl."
I shrieked as I jumped up to my feet. My hand went to my heart and I pressed, trying to hold it in place when it wanted to jump out and run away from me.
"What the heck are you doing in here, Quinton? Were you watching me sleep? Just so you know, that's not cute in the slightest, it's just straight up creepy and I don't want you to do it anymore. I'm serious, Quinton. There's got to be something better for you to do with your time."
His hands, which were hanging at his sides, clenched and unclenched into tight fists. His entire body visibly shook and his dark brown eyes burned with rage.
Out of self-preservation, I stepped back from him and the rage radiating off of him in waves of blistering heat. The hair on my arms stood up straight. He'd never looked at me this way before, and though I wasn't afraid of him, I was afraid of whatever had gotten him to this point.
The backs of my knees bumped up against the couch and I skirted to the side. It'd be easier to escape him if we had a regular couch instead of a giant-sized sectional I had to maneuver my way around.
He stalked me as if I were his prey, never taking his blazing eyes off of me. With each step he took, he got closer and closer. I moved faster and faster, becoming more reckless with each step I took backwards.
Screw it, I thought, as I turned to run from him.
"Don't you dare run from me," he shouted after me as his feet thundered down the hallway behind me. "Where the hell do you even think you're going to hide from me? There's nowhere for you to go in here. The door to take you downstairs is back the other way."
All valid points.
My feet slapped against the hardwood while I made a break for my bedroom. The door stood open invitingly. Behind me, I heard Quinton slowing down. He thought he'd won. I sprinted past the open door and Quinton cursed under his breath.
The door to Dash's bedroom was also wide open and inviting. I ran through and slammed the door shut right in Quinton's angry, pissed off face. I locked the door using my mind and slowly backed away from it.
The door shook violently in its frame as I imagined his entire body slamming into it from the other side.
"Ariel," he roared, and kicked at the bottom of the door.
I hoped for his sake he had his boots on or he might seriously injure himself if he kept this up.
I shouldn't have run from him, I knew it had been a mistake as soon as I’d started, but I couldn't stop myself. I was far too stubborn for my own good, but the bigger part of me absolutely was not ready to share with him what I had discovered.
What had he said when I'd first woken up? Something about me being a busy girl? He'd known something had happened and likely even knew that I'd gone somewhere and he obviously wasn't happy about it. He'd likely been on edge since Adrian's visit, and who could blame him? I’m sure we all were, but Quinton probably more than most.
The sudden quiet from the other side of the door caught my attention.
"Shit," I cursed viciously, and spun around. I'd forgotten about the stupid closet and the stupid bathroom I wasn't entirely used to sharing with Dash yet.
The closet door was the closest, so I ran through that open door. Dash was a weirdo and always left all the doors between us wide open. The only person who ever closed them was me and that usually only happened when one of the other guys slept in my bed beside me. The guys never mentioned the door being open or even attempted to close it. I always did it for Dash's sake, though I didn't think he cared all that much. One big happy family and all that.
Now his open door crap was going to screw me over big time.
The closet Dash and I shared was quiet as I crept through to my bedroom.
From the open door of my side of the closet, my bedroom appeared to be empty except for Binx who lounged on my bed blinking sedately at me like he'd just woken up from a long nap. That makes two of us, buddy.
I turned away from the cat and focused on my room. I couldn't even handle looking at him after my conversation with Romero. Just thinking about the man hurt my damn heart.
A hand fisted in the back of my tank top and my entire body was dragged backwards. I yelped in surprise but didn't try to fight him or run away again. I'd been stupid to have tried in the first place.
My back slammed into the closet door after the hand in my shirt let me go and his hand went into my chest, holding me in place and against the door.
"You ran from me." His voice came out
low and dangerous, sending shivers down my spine. "I told you not to do that."
He had. But he should know by now that I didn’t listen very well. Especially not to him. This time I had good reason though, or so I’d thought.
"Look at me," he demanded harshly. When I didn't, the hand in my chest slid up my throat. He gripped my chin and tilted my head up where he wanted it to be, aimed right at him. I kept my eyes from him, though, and lowered my lids, hiding myself from him.
I couldn't face him just yet, I wasn't ready to tell him. I'd left a small piece from inside myself back in that cell with Romero. I wasn't exactly sure which part of me it was, but I knew it was vital to my being, and if I didn't get it back I'd never be normal again.
Quinton would see right through me, he always did.
"Fucking look at me, Ariel," he snapped impatiently.
I did no such thing. I closed my eyes and relaxed back against the closet door. He could snarl and rage all he wanted at me, that was okay. He'd never hurt me and I would never be afraid of him.
"You left," he accused, and relaxation became a memory as my body immediately stiffened. "I felt you leave. I came up to check on you because I knew your ass wasn't stupid enough to leave when we all should be on lock down until we can figure out what the Council is going to do next. I found your body here but your mind missing. You went into someone else's dream when you should have remained here where you're safe. I want you to explain yourself to me. Now."
See, here was where Quinton and I always got our wires crossed and things went sideways. He tried to control me and boss me around, so I rebelled and pushed back. It got us nowhere and just pissed us both off. I knew he came from a good place, but I couldn’t help but chafe at any type of authority since Vivian's death.
How many daddies had my bodyguards accused me of having? Here was another one.
"Where did you go, Ariel?"
He'd never let it go until he got what he wanted out of me. I caved because I needed to be honest with him anyway. I needed his help to find Romero and I couldn't do it on my own.
