Marked By Lies: A Reverse Harem Series (The Marked Series Book 1)

by Paige Orr

  She barely looks legal to drive, fuck I’ve seen shit older than her, never mind being involved in mass slaughter. I can’t even bring myself to feel all that sorry for her, she’s still old enough to know that being involved with murder on this scale is wrong, yet it doesn’t seem to be bothering her at all.

  Lord only knows how long the cult has had their grubby little hands on her. The others took a guess that she might have grown up in the foster system, but what if one of the members gathered her, noticed her for what she is, and were the ones to foster her? This shit is so messed up, but if she’s been with them for years, then by now she’s probably completely brainwashed.

  Near the middle of the room, I find the large group of Fae, bound and gagged. Under their feet is that same fucking sigil that I can’t seem to get away from, but the most disturbing part about it this time, is the lifeless body that is lying just outside of it. The sigil has been painted in blood, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the poor, hopefully unconscious and not dead girl is the source of said blood.

  The sight has anger churning in my stomach, but unfortunately there is nothing that I can do for the girl anymore, and I can’t let my anger get the better of me if the rest of the captives are to have any hope of getting out of here. I can’t stop the bile from rising in my throat though, knowing that could have played a part in at least one death already.

  I have no idea how I’m going to be able to stop this shit, but I know that I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I can see the Fae, tears running down their faces, as they huddle against those that they know, the smell of fear permeating the air. I don’t understand how anyone could live with themselves after causing so much heartache, but the vicious looks on the cult members' faces shows just how little they care.

  I really fucking wish I had looked around for a better weapon before coming down here, because this poker won’t do shit against Harpies. The first one I encountered was hard enough to kill with bullets, never mind this flimsy thing. How am I supposed to stop this shit, when I won’t be able to even get through the guards?

  I can feel my panic rising at the hopelessness of the whole situation, but even if it costs me my life, I’m going to do everything I can to save these people. I rack my brain, trying to think of my next move, when the air beside me begins to shimmer. I look around frantically, checking to see if anyone else is seeing what I am, and let a silent breath of optimism out when I see that no one has noticed anything out of place, all too busy with their sick bullshit.

  Grey slowly comes into view, a woman looking nervous behind him, and I give him a relieved smile as I motion for them both to follow me back up the tunnel, far enough for us to be able to talk. I keep walking until I’m around the corner and peek around the corner to make sure we weren’t noticed before turning back to the two ghosts’

  “Hey Grey, I need you to try get a message to the others to let them know where we are, there’s not a lot of time left to stop this.”

  “You got it, boss lady. But first, I’ve brought a friend who might be able to help you. This is Priscilla, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted while I try to get your message to your men.”

  “They’re not my men!”

  My words fall on deaf ears though as he fades away and I turn to the shy ghost standing beside me. I try my best to give her a reassuring smile, but I’m still not used to interacting with the ghosts that surround me, so I’m not too sure about how well I did. She glides closer to me, obviously feeling uncomfortable, but I can also see the urgency in her eyes.

  “I can help you to stop them, but it would mean trusting me with your body. You have so much power inside you just waiting to be released, you just don’t know how.”

  “What do you mean I have power? Sure, I can talk to ghosts, but I’m still just human.”

  “Oh Melissa, you are far from human, in fact, you are probably the strongest person here.”

  “I don’t understand, both of my parents were human, so how could I have any sort of power inside me.”

  Priscilla gives me a sympathetic look as her ghostly fingers reach out for my shoulder. The most surprising thing though, is the fact that I can actually feel her touch. I stumble back from the shock, and I notice a twinkle in Priscilla’s eyes at my reaction.

  “You will have to trust me, Melissa. Because if I take the time to explain it to you then we won’t be able to save anyone. If it helps, your mother told me to tell you that she misses her little Mel Bel. I don’t know any other way for me to show you that you can trust me.”

  My eyes widen as things begin to click into place. I was so distracted by seeing my mother again in Adelaides that I never really paid any attention to the other ghosts that were there. But now that I’m looking closely, I recognize her from the group that was with my mother. Surely death doesn’t change someone too much, and if my mother has been with her, then I have no reason not to trust Priscilla.

  Her eyes widen when she hears something that one of the cult members says, and I know that I don’t have much time to make my decision, so bracing my shoulders, I give her a tight nod. She gives me one last look of reassurance, before rushing at me, and slamming right into my body and causing me to gasp.

  “Alright Melissa, it’s time to stop these sick bastards. Now I want you to pay close attention to what I do and what you feel when I’m doing it, that way you will be able to understand your own magic a little better.”

  It’s such a strange feeling to hear my own voice speaking to me, and as my body begins to move without my command, I can’t help but feel disorientated. This isn’t exactly how I expected being possessed to feel, but as I get used to the feeling, I realise it’s not too bad.

  I don’t know if that’s because Priscilla has experience with this type of shit or not, but I’m at least thankful that I can see exactly what she’s doing with my body. On top of that, there’s something in my gut that’s telling me that I could make her leave my body if it came to it. So instead of freaking out, I try to relax, and let her do what she needs too.

  She begins to stalk her way back towards the cavern filled with cult members, not even trying to conceal her presence. It doesn’t take long for the young Witch and the Harpy guards to notice us, and they begin to make their way towards us. I expect the cult member to turn around to see what’s causing the commotion, but they just keep chanting, seemingly in a trance like state.

  Something warm begins to build in my stomach, before shooting out, striking each of the cult members in the chest and causing them to fly backwards, hitting the wall. I don’t even get a moment to enjoy the wrench I’ve just thrown in their plans, before all three Harpies converge on me.

  I have nothing to worry about though as Priscilla expertly maneuvers me out of harm's way, bringing my hands up and blasting them with power. I’m shocked when I see the damage that my attacks are doing as we begin to dance around each other, exchanging blows. I don’t know how Priscila manages it, but she manages to make sure that none of the Harpies get their claws into me.

  I’m really fucking glad that she can dodge them so well, because I know that we can’t afford to have their poison coursing through my bloodstream, again. A strange feeling begins to tingle around my hands as Priscilla begins to mutter in a language that I don’t understand. I don’t have long to wait before I find out what she’s doing though, as a bright streak of light shoots from the palm of my hand, hitting one of the harpies in the chest, and I watch in astonishment as she hits the floor.

  Holy fucking shit! I’m pretty sure that the Harpy is dead. It would have been nice to know that I could kill the fuckers before now, but you’ll hear no complaints from me that I can do so. The others stop to look at their fallen comrades before letting out an ear piercing shriek of grief. They don’t spend long grieving for their brethren before they are spinning around towards me again and coming at me even faster than before.

  Killing their comrade has enraged the beasts, and I can feel sw
eat trickling down my spine as the fight continues. Out of the side of my eye, I see the Witch trying to sneak around behind me, and I know I have to speed this fight along. Priscilla luckily notices the girl too, and in quick succession, manages to shoot off two more bursts of light, dropping both of the remaining Harpies.

  She spins my body around to face the Witch, and I notice the gleam of her pocket knife as it races through the air towards us. Priscilla reaches my hand up, catching the knife just as it is about to hit me in the shoulder, and I grit my teeth through the pain. Hey, a little bit of respect for my body would be fucking nice, I can still bloody feel everything.

  Groans begin to reach my ears as some of the cult members begin to come to. Well, it looks like this fight is really getting interesting now!

  Chapter Thirty

  Elias

  There’s still been nothing to tell us where the cult members are and if Melissa is with them. I should never have let her walk away from us! I know that Cail is beating himself up just as much as I am, not that he would let it show to the others. I guess it’s just difficult to know that we were the ones who were responsible for Melissa’s safety, and now she’s been taken.

  I feel responsible, even though I know that I didn’t make the cult do these things. Everyone around me has always said that I’m too sensitive, but I don’t see it that way. Even though I’m a man, I don’t see what that has to do with the way I care about people. I must admit though, that toxic masculinity is a lot more prevalent in humans than it is in the Fae.

  Our kind are a lot more comfortable in their own skin, and they aren’t afraid to be more flamboyant. Humans could really take a leaf out of our book in that regard. I’m not saying that the Fae are perfect, we’re so much more manipulative than most humans, so I suppose our kinds could learn from each other.

  Most Fae don’t share the same view as I do though, they see themselves as better than humans. There are the bad and good people from each side though, and I suppose you could say the same about every race of people, whether supernatural or not.

  I just don’t see why I should judge someone for something that makes them happy. I’ve always thought that those who have to put people down for their sexuality or their race are usually so unhappy with themselves that they have to make everyone else just as miserable.

  The world would be a much better place if people concerned themselves with their own lives instead of the lives of those around them. Over the years, I’ve become used to the way that some humans look at me, but thankfully, the large majority are more accepting.

  I feel like sitting here doing nothing isn’t helping me stay calm in any way, so I decide to write a list of all the things we have managed to find out. Thankfully, this manages to keep me distracted for a while, and by the time that I’ve written everything down, I’m once again surprised by everything that Melissa discovered.

  She is really fucking good at her job. She came into this knowing nothing but a list of names, and she has managed to find out why they were taken, and even managed to catch members of the cult in the middle of setting things up for their ritual. It truly is amazing how a human woman, who’s only magic that I know of is communing with the dead, has solved something that Fae with centuries of experience couldn’t.

  We were all running around chasing our tails for over a month, and yet Melissa figured it all out in a day. I know for a fact that it couldn’t have been easy for her, what with the Harpy attack and all, but she took it all in stride and kept pushing on. She has definitely earned my respect, and once all of this is over, I will have to repay the kindness of what she has done for us.

  Well, that is if we manage to find everyone in time, including her. It’s maddening how as soon as Melissa is out of the picture, we have no idea how to handle everything. You would think with how many times that we have faced off with the cult we would understand how they work a little better.

  This time they have done things so differently, which is why it took us so long to figure out that they were behind it all. In the past, they haven’t been afraid to let us know what they were up to, but this time they have done everything possible to make sure we didn’t find them out.

  There is a first time for everything I suppose, but seeing that they have been working with a Witch is like a shock to the system. Usually they don’t care what supernatural race you are from, they would still persecute you, so what has changed their minds this time? It’s not like any of the supernaturals have changed. We all still go about our lives the same way, but then we never did give them reason in the past to come after us, and that didn’t stop them.

  Working with a Witch though has given them a whole new element of surprise. How they managed to brainwash one of them enough to help them in the endeavors though is beyond me. You would think that even a young Witch, with no connections to a coven, would realize just how dangerous these people are. From the Salem Witch trials, to many massacres that have been left out of the history books, it all leads back to the cults.

  I really fucking hope that they aren’t holding the woman captive and forcing her to do their bidding for them. In that sense though, it’s a good thing we have Annika on our side. If they have been keeping a Witch against her will, then she will be able to take her to the coven when we free her. They are far more better equipped to help her integrate back into society.

  I’m getting ahead of myself though, this is all speculation on my part. I don’t want to work on any of these assumptions of mine, because if I’m wrong, I would just be putting us into even more danger. I don’t even want to mention any of the things running through my mind to the others. They usually take a small idea like that and roll with it until it all snowballs, and I don’t want them to feel responsible for anything else that may happen. We can’t always save everybody.

  The pad of paper I have in front of me begins to move across the desk, and I just stare at it a minute, shocked. But when the pen sitting next to it begins to hover above the paper, I quickly shout on the others. I watch as I hear the others rushing towards me. The pen slowly begins to scribble across the page, as the others finally reach me, and we wait patiently for the message to be finished.

  Melissa at house.

  Shed out back.

  Underground cavern.

  Cult.

  Missing Fae.

  Ritual happening now!

  Shit! This whole time they’ve been right in fucking front of us. How the fuck did they manage to keep an underground cavern big enough to hold that many people off of the blueprints? All at once we burst into movement. If the ritual is already underway, then we have to get our asses over there, now!

  “Thanks Grey, let Melisa know we’re on our way!”

  I don’t wait to see if the ghost writes any messages, I just rush out of the house, and we all load into the car. I can’t believe that the fuckers were right under our feet the whole time. How could we miss something like this? I know the others are feeling the same way as I am, the tension in the car thick enough to cut with a knife. I look into the rearview mirror at the others sitting in the back, and I see Annika trying to hide tears.

  “Don’t you dare blame yourself for any of this Annika, you weren’t to know that they had built a secret cavern underground. If anyone is to blame here, it’s me. I should have thought to search with my magic, it would have shown me this cavern they’re hiding out in.”

  “I’m not blaming myself dude, I’m just an angry crier. I really just want to get my hands on this little Witch bitch what a true Witch who belongs to the light is capable of. This isn’t your fault either, the blueprints didn’t show this shit.“

  “That may be the case, I just hate that she was right there, and I didn’t know. But if anyone has hurt her in any way, then I swear, I’ll hurt them ten fold.”

  The car falls into silence as we continue on our journey, getting closer and closer to our destination. It won’t be long now until we know exactly what is what, and who will need us t
he most. It’s finally time for our turn on this crazy ride, I just hope we all survive the crash.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Melissa

  Before the neighbourhoods friendly fucking Witch can reach me, arms band around me, pinning my arms to my sides. At this point I’m actually glad that I’m not the one that’s in the driver's seat, although. Hopefully Priscilla knows what she’s doing or this isn’t going to end well.

  I have nothing to worry about though, as whatever magic that I have inside of me begins to build. This shit is a feeling I don’t think I'll ever be able to get used to. Most people who have any sort of magic in them are taught how to control it from a young age, so by this point in their life it’s just a part of them.

  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get to that stage though. Everything about it just feels so foreign to me. I wouldn’t say that it’s a bad feeling, but it’s certainly not something I’m enjoying either. On top of that, everything that Priscilla is doing with my magic, is all being done without saying a word.

  The only type of magic that I’ve ever seen that doesn’t need words to help guide it to what its user requires, is Fae magic, but that makes even less sense than me having magic at all. Most people would say that me having magic isn’t that far out of left field, but I should have known what was inside me all of these years.

  I feel the magic pushing to the surface of my skin, turning my body into a living fucking taser, that fires whoever has a grip on me back against the wall. I won’t lie, if I can get used to using this shit then it could be pretty damn fucking useful. If I knew it was this easy to stop people from pinning me down, then my job would have been a hell of a lot simpler.