Incipient: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Book 6)

by Bianca Scardoni

  I peered around the almost empty Quad and then rolled my eyes at her before stalking to the bench and plopping down onto it. “Happy?”

  “Thrilled.” She shut her phone off and slipped it into her purse before angling her body toward me. “By the way, what’s going on with you and Trace? He looks really pissed off today.”

  I skewed my face at her. “None of your damn business. I thought you had something important to tell me?”

  “You know he’s one of my best friends, so it kind of is my business. If something happened—”

  “I’m leaving in three seconds,” I warned.

  “Jeez, so touchy,” she said, irritated, as though I were being the nosy one. Crossing her legs under her pleaded skirt, she met my eyes and announced, “I’ve been having visions again.”

  “And?” I replied, unimpressed, because, well, she was a Seer. Having visions was what she was supposed to do.

  “I’ve been having visions about Nikki,” she amended and then glanced around the courtyard to make sure we were alone before dropping her voice. “I’m pretty sure she’s…with child, if you catch my meaning.”

  I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to act surprised or whether it was better to just come out and tell her that I’d already heard the good news. I didn’t see the harm in telling the truth…if for no other reason than it being one less person to keep all my lies straight with. Not to mention, she was Nikki’s best friend. If anyone had the ability to get close enough to talk some sense into her, it was her best friend. “I’m already aware of Nikki’s status.”

  “So, it’s true?!” Her eyes rounded out as though this was brand-new info, like I was the one who had just made the big reveal. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I kept seeing the same thing over and over again,” she said, shaking her head and looking positively distraught about it.

  I guessed I would be too if I just found out my best-friend was in the middle of a teenage pregnancy crisis. “Oh, it’s definitely true, but that’s not even the best part.”

  Morgan’s eyebrows puckered with apprehension. “What’s the best part?”

  “She’s somehow managed to convince her crazy self that it’s Trace’s baby.”

  Morgan thought about it for a moment and then asked, “How do you know it’s not?”

  “Well, the timeline doesn’t match for one,” I said, but decided to leave out the part about the Four Horseman. The less people that knew another apocalypse was upon us, the better. “Not to mention, Lucifer was in total control of Trace’s body when she slept with him. Trace had nothing to do with any of it.”

  It was no different than when a possessing demon mated with a human. The resulting offspring was a demonborn child—half human, half demon. It didn’t matter one bit that the demon was possessing a human at the time.

  Morgan nodded knowingly. “How far along is she?”

  “How should I know?” I said and made a face at her. “She hasn’t exactly invited me to her checkups. My guess is she’s a few months along since it had to have happened right before the summer break.”

  Her expression turned sad. “Does he know she’s pregnant?”

  “Trace?” I shook my head as a heaviness pressed in over my heart. “I don’t think so.” I mean, if he did, he sure as heck hadn’t shared it with me.

  “Oh, shit. Not again,” she said suddenly, her voice laced with panic.

  “Huh?”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, her head veered toward the forest, her gaze distant and forlorn as a whiteish-gray film settled over her eyes, removing all traces of color and making them look almost corpse-like and hollow. I shoved away from her, unsure of what was going on before realizing she was having some kind of vision.

  I stared in disbelief, half expecting her to start convulsing and speaking in some foreign language, but it seemed to end just as quickly as it had started.

  Blinking several times, she turned to meet my gaze, her own eyes back to their usual emerald green. “She’s going to tell him it’s his. And he’s going to believe her.”

  Still leaning away from her as though frozen in that position, I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, “Did you just see that? Like in a vision?”

  “Yes.” She nodded regretfully. “They’ve been happening a lot more often lately.”

  I relaxed in my seat and studied her for a moment. “Maybe it’s not too late.”

  “For what?”

  “To stop Nikki from telling him.”

  The fact of the matter was, Trace had no idea that Lucifer had ever been inside his body let alone that he died because of it, so how exactly was I going to convince him that this wasn’t his child without triggering the time bomb in his head? This whole thing had the potential to go wrong in so many ways that it was making my head spin. My only hope was that Nikki would come to her senses and shut her damn trap.

  Though I really wasn’t counting on that.

  “Nikki doesn’t listen to anyone, and especially not me,” she said matter-of-factly.

  But that wasn’t good enough. “Then you need to make her listen.”

  “And how do I do that? This is Nikki we’re talking about.”

  “I don’t know, but you better think of something and quick,” I warned, weary of not letting too much slip out. “She can’t have Lucifer’s child, Morgan. They won’t let her,” I said, looking over my shoulder, half expecting the Senior Magister to come waltzing in and drag me away for insubordination.

  Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Are you saying they’ll try to kill her if she keeps the baby?”

  “Keep it?” I half laughed, though there was nothing funny about this. “At this point, I don’t think they’re even going to let her have it. As far as they’re concerned, this isn’t a baby. It’s not human. It’s evil incarnate.”

  “But they can’t know that. It hasn’t even been born yet,” she argued, but she was barking up the wrong tree.

  “You’re speaking to the choir, Morgan. They’re not willing to take that risk,” I said, remembering War’s chilling words when we’d spoken about it. As far as they were concerned, this whole thing had already been mapped out in a prophesy and that was as good as gold to them.

  “You’re the only hope we have right now. You have to convince her that she’s too young to have a baby. That she’s making a mistake and needs to end this pregnancy—”

  “It won’t work,” she interrupted quietly as she looked up and meet my gaze again. “She’s going to have this baby, Jemma. Whether we like it or not, it will be born.”

  The lump in my throat made it impossible to swallow. “How do you know?”

  “Because,” she said and then shook her head. “I’ve already seen it.”

  13. RUSSIAN ROULETTE

  Needless to say, I spent the remainder of the day in a daze. Getting Morgan to convince Nikki to end the pregnancy was my one and only hope of stopping this entire thing before it even started, but her vision had made it clear that there was no chance in that happening. Nikki was going to have this child, and she was going to claim it as Trace’s.

  My entire body tensed at the thought of it.

  What would she do once she found out the Council was coming for her? That they had no intention on allowing this child to live? And would Trace protect her believing the baby was his? The whole thing was making my stomach turn.

  And if that wasn’t enough, I had Dominic’s compulsion fluttering around in the back of my mind like an imminent warrant on my life. I hadn’t mentioned anything to Trace last night, because duh, and hoped that once I’d slept on it, I’d have a clear plan of what to do about it, but unfortunately I was just as stumped as I was the night before.

  Dusk was quickly approaching, and I knew that the moment the sun went down, Dominic’s command to come find him would overtake me whether I was ready for it or not. I could certainly try to fight it—hope and pray that I was strong enough to resist it, but chances were, I would fail miserably and end up heading strai
ght to the Huntington Manor, completely unprepared for whatever he had planned the very moment the sun set.

  I so could not have that.

  For all I knew I was walking into a vampire-infested trap with Dominic and his Sire-bitch Pricilla waiting in the wings to watch me get ripped to pieces. Then again, he could also be calling for me for nothing more than to inflict some more sexual torture on me. Either way, I wanted no part of it. I had to do something.

  I could, of course, reach out to Trace for help, but after what happened last night and then this morning, it was clear that I needed to keep my distance and give him some space from me. It didn’t matter how badly I wanted him. The fact was, I couldn’t have him right now and I needed to accept that and stop messing with his emotions, however unintentional it may have been.

  That really only left me with one option.

  As soon as the final bell rang, I headed up the stairwell to the second floor in search of Ben. He was after all my friend, as well as a Shifter. Surely, he would be able to provide me with the kind of assistance I required in the small matter of restraining my damn self.

  “I need a favor,” I said as I approached him at his locker. There was a cute blonde talking his ear off, but he didn’t seem all that interested in what she had to say. I fixed her with a look and said, “Disappear.”

  Her eyes widened as though I was the wicked witch of the west before she turned on her heel and scurried away.

  “Thanks for that,” he said bashfully as he finished packing up his bag and then straightened so that we were at eye level. “So, what’s this favor you speak of?”

  “Say you had a really strong animal that you needed to restrain for a specific amount of time—”

  “Why would I need to restrain an animal for a specific amount of time?” he asked, cutting in, though his eyebrows were raised with interest. “And what amount of time are we talking about here anyway?”

  “It’s a rhetorical, Ben. Hush.”

  “Alright.” He pretended to zip his mouth shut and lock it with a key.

  “Where might one restrain such an animal in this type of hypothetical situation? And what sort of restraints might one use to accomplish said…restraining?” Gosh, I was confusing myself with that one.

  He looked at me like I’d sprouted a third eye. “What’s this really about, Jem?”

  I blew out a breath of air, causing a strand of my hair to flutter away from my face. Apparently, I wasn’t very good at the whole hypothetical thing. “There’s something I have to do tonight that I don’t want to do and I’m looking for a way to physically stop myself from doing it.”

  “Why don’t you just not do it,” he suggested lamely and then grinned as though he’d just cracked the case.

  “Don’t you think I would if that were possible?” Now it was my turn to look at him like he was an idiot. “I don’t have a choice in the matter,” I explained pointedly. “My feet are going to start moving whether I want them to or not.”

  “Woah. Dominic compelled you?” His eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and intrigue.

  I wasn’t even sure why I was surprised he’d figured out who the compeller was. I mean, it’s not like there was many other options. Gabriel couldn’t compel a fly to leave the house and I wouldn’t let any other vampire close enough to me to even have the chance.

  “Can you help me or not?” I asked, dodging his question even though we both knew the answer.

  “Yeah, I think so,” he said and appeared to be thinking of it. “I have a cellar in my basement. Shouldn’t be a problem to get the old chains and cuffs out.” He shrugged like that was the best he could do.

  It was a hell of a lot better than anything I’d come up with, which was nothing.

  “What about your parents?” I imagined the whole ordeal could get quite loud, possibly even painful for me. Truth was, I’ve never fought off a compulsion before, so I had no real idea what I was in for.

  “Business trip.” The way he said it made it sound like they were always away on a business trip. “I have the house to myself so that won’t be a problem.”

  I flashed him a grateful smile. “I owe you big time for this,” I said as I started to walk backward. “So, I’ll meet you there around seven o’clock. Is that okay?”

  “No problem. Should I let Trace know what’s up?”

  “No!” I said far louder than necessary to get my point across. “I don’t want him involved in this, okay? You have to promise me that this stays between us.”

  “But what if you break out of the restraints?” he asked nervously. “I don’t think I can hold you off on my own.”

  “Then make sure the restraints don’t break,” I said and then turned back toward the stairway I’d come from.

  The rain was falling in sheets by the time I pulled out of the school parking lot and made my way over to Temple. I hadn’t heard any news from William since I’d left him with our prized Horsemen and while I was enjoying the fact that they were taking the reins on this whole Lucifer baby thing for once, not knowing what the plan was also wasn’t sitting well with me. Especially after what Morgan had said about seeing Nikki have this baby. I couldn’t help but worry that the Council was leaving me in the dark intentionally, like they knew I wouldn’t approve of whatever it was they had planned.

  “Jemma. What a nice surprise,” said William as he greeted me in the atrium. “What brings you to Temple today?”

  “I just figured I’d stop by on my way home. You know, see what kind of progress you made with the two Horseman.”

  “Three,” he corrected with an upbeat flick of his eyebrows.

  “Death showed up?” Okay, that sounded really weird coming out of my mouth.

  “Indeed, he did. Just this morning as a matter of fact.” He put his arm out, signaling for me to walk with him.

  “Wow. So, what now?” I asked as I fell into step with him. “What’s the plan?”

  He pursed his lips as he glanced at the marble floor before meeting my eyes again. “I’m sure you’re already aware that it is one of our own that is carrying Lucifer’s successor.”

  Strange choice of words, I thought. Probably trying to avoid calling it a baby. “I’m aware.”

  He nodded his head knowingly. “It’s been made very clear to the Order that this pregnancy cannot be allowed to reach full-term.”

  I stopped and whipped around to gawk at him. “And how exactly do you plan on making sure that doesn’t happen? I’ve already spoken to Nikki. She’s sure as hell not going to agree to an abortion.”

  He bowed his head. “I’m aware of that. Unfortunately, it is past that point. We can no longer afford to give her the courtesy of consent.”

  My head jerked back as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Meaning what?”

  “Please.” He extended his arm again, motioning for me to continue walking with him to which I hesitantly obliged. “Do you remember all those months ago when I came to you with a request that nearly turned your entire world upside down?” He met my eyes briefly and then continued. “I asked you to make a sacrifice. To sacrifice one for the greater good of many.”

  As if I could ever forget.

  “Is that what you’re doing now? Are you going to sacrifice her?” I could barely hide the revulsion from my voice.

  “It’s far more complicated than that. This is a threat to all of us—”

  “A threat that must be eliminated, right?” I challenged, knowing that old song on a personal level. “At least have the guts to come out and say it. You’re going to have her killed, right? An innocent seventeen-year-old girl, no less.” Okay, so innocent was a stretch. The girl was a total bitch, but she didn’t deserve this, did she? This was insanity.

  “I understand how difficult it is for you to hear this. That is precisely why I have not tasked you with this—”

  “With all due respect, sir, this is way beyond ‘difficult to hear’. You’re talking about killing a pregnant teenager and her unborn baby.
Doesn’t that strike you in the least bit as wrong? Immoral even, or are we way past the point of morality now?”

  “For goodness sake, Jemma,” he snapped as though I were being the irritational psychopath here. “What would you have us do instead? This baby is not human. It is the offspring of Lucifer himself! It cannot be allowed to exist.”

  I stopped walking again, his words hitting a little too close to home. “You once said the same thing about me.”

  “Yes, but that was different. It was before—”

  “Before you bothered to know who I was?” I cut in, not bothering to let him finish. “And now you’re doing the same thing to this baby. You’re not giving it a chance to choose its path.”

  “There is no path for it to choose. It is a pureblood of Lucifer. Its path has been set long before its conception,” he said and shook his head despondently. “Can’t you see that? Can’t you see that allowing it even one day to live will be catastrophic to the balance of power? The balance between good and evil.”

  “No. I suppose I don’t see that all,” I said and then shook my head in disgust.

  All I saw was a bunch of scared men rushing to judgement in order to eliminate that which was different from them. That which had the potential to be more powerful than them. Just like they did with me.

  “I think you’re making a big mistake here and I refuse to support this,” I said as I backed away from him. There was no way I was going to take part in a scheme to murder an innocent girl and her unborn baby, regardless of who’s spawn it was or who she was so desperately trying to pin it on. “This isn’t what I signed up for.”

  This whole thing was so far beyond the line I was willing to cross, I couldn’t even see the line anymore.

  “I respect your decision, Jemma, I do. But I think in time you will come to see that you are on the wrong side of this. I just hope when that happens, it won’t be too late. For all of us.”

  14. RUNNING UP THAT HILL