I grazed my toes across the surface of the water. Slightly cool, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Carefully, I waded in until my feet could no longer touch the bottom. I curved, diving under, and swam. The water felt so freeing. Nothing was holding me back. I resurfaced close to the falls, letting the water pour over my face. Raising my arms, I let out a squeal of delight. For the first time since I’d woken from that awful hospital I felt like I might have some hope in this mess. I made a few more laps around the water before sitting at the side beside the basket of articles Lavarus had given me.
I pulled out a bottle of shampoo and squirted a generous amount in my palm. I massaged it into my scalp, making my nails remove days of dirt and oil. Next, I found a bath cloth and a bar of soap. I held it at my nose, breathing it in. Apples. I lathered it until it looked like a huge snowball in my hand and covered my body in it. Dipping into the water, I washed away all the soap, and felt like a new woman. Who knew bathing could feel this good? The towel was soft and warm against my skin. I found a brush and began work on my hair. It was a tedious project. The bun I put it in when I’d left the hospital had fallen and in its wake left a mess of tangles. Finally, after a very painful experience, my hair was silky and smooth.
I picked up my clothes, planning to walk back in just the towel since I was the only one awake. The silence was broken. I stood; scared to move a muscle, even blink. Someone was singing. I pushed closer to the source, through the trees, and stopped. There was a hammock swinging back and forth. Harley had the guitar lying across his chest, his fingers moved effortlessly across the strings as he sang. It was beautiful. I could feel every bit of emotion the words portrayed in the song, like he was singing them just to me. That was a stupid thing to think. He didn’t even know I was back here, watching him like a creep waiting to pounce.
No. Harley was definitely attractive, but why would he want me? He knew what I was. He saw it first hand. Sure, he had been nice to me, but that’s all it was. He was a polite guy. Besides, even if he did, how would I ever be able to be with someone like him? I couldn’t. Not until this thing inside me was gone. There was no way I could live with myself if I got him hurt. Then that thought triggered something. Like it wasn’t the first time I’d thought that. But I had the feeling it wasn’t about Harley. That set an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I inched back, carefully letting the limbs bend back into place without a hint of sound. Once I was at a safe distance I broke out into a run. My feet thudded against the ground as I jogged back to my room. Breathless, I threw the towel to the side and slipped on a shirt I found. I crawled under the blanket. It was slightly itchy, but it still felt safe, that was all that mattered now.
***
“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!” Lavarus’s overly cheerful voice made me inwardly groan. No one should be that happy in the mornings. It should be illegal or something. Drag them off and put them in some type of camp away from normal people. I rolled over, pulling the pillow over my face to avoid his chirpy tone. “No, no, no. I don’t think so. We need to get started early this morning. I put some fruit over on the table. Eat and meet me in the temple in thirty minutes.” It wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order. After I heard his footsteps fade I made myself move. Bitterly, I rolled up, cursing every second along the way.
I found the fruit he’d left and picked at it, forcing myself to eat while slipping some clothes on he had left for me. Black pants hung to my hips, my midsection exposed from the tight razorback shirt. I pulled on a worn pair of sneakers, popped one last grape into my mouth, and walked out.
“Excuse me.” I stopped a girl balancing a basket on the top of her head. She stopped, cocking her head to the side, studying me. I rolled my eyes annoyed by her expression. “Can you tell me where the temple is?”
Her eyes widened. “Temple?” She smiled when I nodded. She muttered off some other words I didn’t understand but pointed in the direction of a large stone building. “Temple.”
“Thank you.” I dipped in between people busy working, pushing toward the structure. The closer I got the more I could see without hanging greenery blocking my view. It was a beautiful structure. One large rectangle with rounded columns on each side. My feet padded against the old steps, climbing to an archway. I walked though to find Lavarus sitting cross-legged in the front. I meagerly took a few steps, stopped, and leaned against a fountain. I locked my arms together, swaying side to side, observing him. He seemed so in tune with what he was doing, away from this place.
“Reese.” I jumped at the sound of my name, my shoulders tightening. He slowly turned in my direction and motioned me to join him.
My chin dipped closer to my chest as I approached, avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t mean to spy on you.” He didn’t respond only shut his eyes. I collapsed beside him, mimicking his form.
“Time to learn who you really are, Reese Salt.”
Chapter Sixteen
Harley
Our little village was in full swing tonight. Every so often the people who’d made this place their home celebrated with a festival. It made them feel not so closed off from the outside world. It was one of the things I loved about the place and people. Even if I wasn’t human, I had lived in the human world for years now and had grown accustomed to things here, especially things of the south. I would kill for a glass of sweet tea.
“Duuuuudddddeeeee,” Zeke said, stoned as usual. I rotated in my chair to cut him a sideways glance. I knew it was better to knowledge him even though what he was going to say was totally pointless. If I didn’t, well he would never leave me alone. “Do you see the nipples on that guy?” He pointed into the crowd at a guy laughing as he shook his lower half to the sick beat of the congas. “They are the size of grapefruits.”
I shook my head, seeing nothing of the sort. Sure, they were a little large, but nowhere near grapefruits. But there was no arguing with him when he got on one of his mindless rants. “Mmmhmm,” I said, trying to tune him out and enjoy the music.
“That’s some huge nipples. It’s like that’s the nipples they used to create Clooney’s Batman costume. Did you see the nipples on that costume?” It was like he was trying to see how many times he could say the word in a single breath. From the sound of his voice he was also including people walking by.
“What’s up?” Freeman asked. Thank you. Someone else to take the brunt of this ramble.
As if on cue, Zeke started in on him. “Check out those nipples.”
Silence followed as Freeman obviously pinpointed his line of sight. “What the fuck! When you tell me to check out some nipples they better be on a hot chick not a person with testicles like me. No one wants to look at that, and the fact that you’re so infatuated with them makes me wonder about you.” I turned to see Freemen stroking his beard in a loving caress. “You see this,” he said referring to his beard. “You see this?” He pointed to the rest of his body. “I’m a man. I don’t check out other dudes, damn it.”
I couldn’t hold back the laughter, so I covered my face with my hand. They were still going at it behind me when I caught a glimpse of blond hair breeze effortlessly through the crowd with such grace it couldn’t be imitated. I jumped to my feet with them calling out to me, but I ignored them. Their conversation was entertaining, but I had a feeling I could enjoy this a lot more. I walked a few feet behind her, letting the people separate us. I wasn’t sure what I was doing. Something about her was drawing me in. From the moment I saw her in the woods, I knew she was the one I had dreamed about all this time. I had a slight assumption in Jackson, but I wasn’t sure until now. She made me feel things I never had before. I wanted to run in terror. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let her go. Countless other emotions flooded me, but in that moment all I could do was drop to my knees. I was honored to be in her presence. I had found her after all this time. But right now, well, I felt like a stalker, actually. I was about to turn around when she disappeared. I looked to the right and lef
t, pushing people to the side to no avail. She was gone, disappeared into thin air.
“Why are you following me?” I turned to find her standing behind me. Her icy blue eyes piercing through me as she crossed her arms. I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t expecting her to sneak up on me.
“I was trying to catch up to you, but you disappeared,” I lied.
She narrowed her eyes, sucking her bottom lip in. I couldn’t help but stare at her mouth. “You’re lying. Did you think I was trying to make a run for it or something? News flash, I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Several people stopped and stared in our direction. I smiled, shaking my head, and motioned them to continue by.
“I didn’t think you were trying to run. I was just seeing what you were doing, I guess.” A blush stained her cheeks, as she seemed to accept that being a more plausible answer. “Are you hungry? The food here is really good.” She nodded so I led the way to a group of ladies working a table. We pushed past a few men milling around, making small talk, and I ordered us food. After a few minutes of awkward silence, the lady returned with two bowls of steamed rice and fried chicken. Reese followed me to a near-by table under a tree, and I placed our bowls down.
She studied the food for a moment before giving me a sexy smile. “This looks amazing,” she purred. Her smile was breathtaking and made me forget what I was doing. I blinked a few times, trying to dislodge myself from the chimera she cast over me. “Sure beats what I was having to eat trying to get here. I wouldn’t mind never having to go through that again.”
“It was that bad, huh?” She stared off for a few moments, chewing, her eyes pained as if reliving the past. I felt guilty for bringing it up. “Sorry,” I mumbled, looking down at my own food, suddenly losing my appetite.
“It’s fine. I guess it was tougher than I thought.” Her face was void of all emotions, making me wonder what she had to do to get here. We should have been there to meet her. This should have been better organized for her arrival. If only we would have known when she was coming, but everything had been so vague.
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” She looked back at me, watching me for a minute in a curious manner, like she was trying to figure me out. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said, sheepishly, poking her food with a pair of chopsticks. The band started back up, drowning the chatter and laughter of people walking by. She looked toward the players, slightly bobbing her head in synch with the timing. It was a perfect opportunity to steal glances at her. Her eyes lit up as she watched those around us dance and twirl as the corners of her mouth turned up delicately.
I leaned in close to her ear, a wisp of hair brushing across my cheek. Fighting the urge to bury my nose deeper into her scent, I managed to ask, “Do you want to dance?”
She jumped back at my nearness, causing the bowl in front of her to chatter against the table with a bang. “Why would you think I’d want to dance?” Her eyes zeroed in on me. All right, getting too close right now was a bad mistake. She obviously didn’t trust me.
I lifted a shoulder. “The way you were looking them …” I pulled my head back in the direction of the dancers. Her frowned deepened. It was pointless. She hated me. I dropped my eyes to the ground, slumping over to bury my face under my hand.
“Feeling okay?” Hollywood asked. I jerked up to find I was alone at the table. My heartbeat felt sluggish as a momentary sense of vertigo set in. “Dude?”
“Yeah. I’m good. Just got a little lightheaded.” It was a crappy excuse, but it was the only one I could come up with.
“Good. I thought you was gonna tell me the food was making you sick. The last thing I need is some explosive diarrhea.” He walked off toward the food table. I forced myself up, and walked aimlessly away from the crowd to my hammock. This wasn’t the way I pictured finding her to be. Somehow I needed to change things.
***
A few days later, Lavarus called us to his room. He paced in front of the others as I entered. Mutely, I swiftly turned a chair around backwards and sat, waiting for whatever had him on edge. He stopped, looking up at the roof, then started back pacing. Freeman and I exchanged looks when he finally opened his mouth. “She isn’t responding to anything I’ve been trying to unlock her memories. Without her remembering anything she has no reason to even want to train. All she wants is to get rid of the darkness inside her.” His hand clenched and released repeatedly, turning his knuckles white. “She doesn’t even know how to fight.”
“We don’t have time for her to act like a dumbass,” Hollywood said.
“You don’t know what that girl’s been through,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
His eyes shifted to me. “Like you do?”
“No, but I can tell whatever it is isn’t easy for her to deal with.”
“You’re right, Harley. It isn’t easy for her to deal with.” Lavarus put a finger to his mouth, tapping it a few times before continuing. “She’s killed people. They weren’t good people, but she still feels remorse for it. It’s eating away at her.” He told us everything he’d learned about her trip here. No wonder she was on edge. Alone and afraid. I wanted to leave the room, find her, and tell her everything would be okay. But that was absurd. I was a stranger to her. And since we were dealing with the darkness, I didn’t know if everything would be okay.
“So what are we gonna do?” Freeman asked, once again rubbing his beard like it would give us an answer.
“I have an idea, but it’s a little … barbaric,” Lavarus said.
“I like where this is going,” Hollywood said. For the first time in all the years I’d known him, I wanted to beat his ass. His heartless nature came in handy on the battlefield, and up until now his comments didn’t bother me. Of course, his comments never involved her.
“We scare her into remembering. Give her a fight or flight scenario with no option for flight.”
“I like it,” Zeke said.
I tilted my head toward the ceiling, letting out a heavy sigh. “She already doesn’t trust us. Do you honestly think this is going to help the situation?”
“We don’t have another choice. We don’t have a lot of time,” Lavarus said. I was alone here. Defeated. I sat numbly listening to their plan, feeling sick. She would hate us even more after this.
Well after dark the four of us were dressed in ratty street clothes that smelled of body odor. The black mask itched my face while pushing into the ball of hair at the crown of my head. The only reason I agreed to come was to make sure nothing happened to Reese that was too over the top. These guys were born to fight, destroy, and kill. Anything could happen in the heat of the moment.
Lavarus told her to meet him in the woods for a special training. She would be alone and scared once she saw she was being attacked. He hoped this would unlock her sense of fighting. I leaned back until my shoulder rested against a tree. My skin felt damp as my body temperature rose. I wanted this to be over and done. I hated waiting and not knowing how this was going to play out.
The leaves scrunched, sparking my interest. The footsteps were slow and apprehensive, I could tell from the pace. Reese came into view. Her arms were locked around her body, hugging a sweater tightly. Her blond hair draped across her shoulders as she looked from right to left every few seconds. “Lavarus?” Her soft voice cracked, almost sounding as if she wanted to cry.
“Well, hello there,” Hollywood said. His voice sounded ragged, muffled. He stepped out from the shadows as she passed his position, toying with a large blade. She stopped, looking straight ahead as if silently praying. In one fluid motion she ran. Freeman jumped out from his position, causing her to dig her heels into the ground. She darted to the side, but was stopped short by Zeke. Her chest heaved as her eyes darted between the three of them closing in on her. I was supposed to be there with them, but I couldn’t make my feet move. They were concreted to this position.
“Please,” she begged. “Let me go.” She dropped to her knees, rocking while tears
streamed down her face.
“Perfect angle to suck my dick,” Hollywood said, slowly approaching her. He gripped a handful of hair, yanking her head back with a snap. He ran the blade along her neck, slicing into the flesh. Red stained her skin as the fresh wound bled. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I needed to stop this. I ran toward them while ripping the mask from my face and chunking it to the ground.
Reese closed her eyes. Her cries fell silent. Hollywood lifted his hand and brought it across her face. “I like it when you cry, bitch.” Freeman and Zeke grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her in the air so her feet dangled across the ground. The moon caught her skin, now snaked with black lines.
“Get away from her,” I yelled. Her onyx eyes snapped open, burning into Hollywood. Fire ignited from her palms, causing Zeke and Freeman to reel back. She crouched on her feet, her eyes never leaving Hollywood. Never to be one to back away from a fight, he brought the blade down, slicing her sweater. The palm of her hand shot forward as she lunged at him. She obliterated his nose, before sweeping around him. He doubled over, dropping the blade.
Zeke darted forward, using Hollywood’s back to slide across. Reese took a lurching step in his direction while swinging an elbow. Zeke disappeared, leaving her hitting black mist. A split second later he appeared behind her and locked his arms around her neck. Her face started to redden as he increased pressure, cutting off her wind.
“You’re going to kill her. Stop!” I choked out.
Hollywood shoved my shoulder. “Look at what she is. We can’t trust her to fight against Dermetheus. She’s one of them!” He turned in her direction again. “We have to kill her.”
“This wasn’t the plan. She can beat this,” I tried to reason. He shook his head, picking up the blade. He stalked in her direction disengaging from the conversation. He had one thing on his mind. To end Reese’s life. He stopped a foot from her as Zeke let go of her and took two steps back. Blue flames burned brighter as she prepared to defend herself against him. Hollywood cocked his head a second before he charged her, the blade pulling back. Before I had time to logically reason with myself, I leapt in between the two of them, taking the blade deep into my back. It made a sucking sound as he pulled it out. Fresh ripples of pain animated my senses. Reese’s hands went under the sides of my face. The familiar blue eyes watering as she blinked. I dropped to my knees and she followed me. She looked down at the wound, placing her hand over it.
Torment Page 14
