Crimson Mist

by Rachel Jonas

  Instead, I locked my arms across my chest again and held his gaze. “Ok, then. I’ll bite. Which of your many offenses are you sorry for?”

  “All of them.” The answer came without any hesitation as he humbly lowered his head.

  I was, admittedly, confused. And maybe a little impressed he’d been able to lie so smoothly.

  “I acted brashly,” he continued, “and while I don’t have words to explain my reasoning, I do believe there’s something I can show you that might help you understand.”

  His tone turned soft and my brain hadn’t quite figured out how to process this foreign demeanor. He’d only ever been a callous brute toward me, unlike the tamed gentleman who stood before me today. The one who allowed me to get away with the satisfying slap from which my palm still hadn’t recovered.

  “I know I haven’t shown myself as someone who asks permission, or opts to take the gentlest approach,” he said warmly, “but so many things about our world aren’t what they seem.”

  He peered up then, meeting my gaze and that part of me that felt weak toward him faltered just a little.

  “It’s my hope that, one day, you’ll realize I’m not the monster you’ve made me out to be.”

  “The monster I’ve made you out to be? You’ve built this image all on your own,” I reminded him. “I seem to recall being pinned to the ground while you fed on me, and then injected me with some type of drug. Remember that?”

  His lids lowered when I finished, but there was no anger present when he opened them.

  “Trust me. That is one night I will never forget, nor one I will ever live down,” he conceded. “Which is why I’m eager to fix things, eager to change your mind.” His hand lifted slowly, with his palm facing upward in expectation. “Can I show you something?”

  Being asked instead of forced was something altogether new and unexpected when it came to him. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to react. I studied him from head to toe—the tension in his brow as he awaited my response—and asked myself what choice I really had. I’d seen too many times how he took what he wanted. At least this time he pretended I had options.

  “Fine,” I answered with a scowl, side-eyeing him. “But I’m not holding your hand.”

  The slightest hint of a sting hit his gaze with the rejection, but I made myself ignore the guilt that nagged me seeing it.

  He didn’t say a word when he turned, fishing the key from his pocket. The lock clicked and then unlatched. The moment we were free from the cell, Aaric lifted his lantern from the hook and we began our trek down the tight hallway.

  “This doesn’t mean I trust you,” I reiterated. “I’m only willingly following because I know you’ll only force me if I don’t.”

  He passed a quick glance over his shoulder when I finished, and I didn’t miss the faint smile he wore.

  “Noted,” he said with a nod. “But be aware; your trust is something I fully intend to earn.”

  Chapter Four

  Silas

  Even before we swam across the frigid channel, we could tell something wasn’t right. Soaked and on edge, my brothers and I, along with Elle, stood outside Blackthorn perplexed.

  To start, we’d been allowed to approach the front entrance without so much as a siren sounding off. And now, taking a closer look, the doors had been left wide open, following the mass exodus Aaric and his people had made.

  Frustration marked Julian and Levi’s expressions, matching my own. We’d driven all night, only to have hit another dead end.

  “Well, so much for my hunch,” Levi conceded.

  “It was a good idea.” My reassurance seemed to go in one ear and out the other as he cursed softly to himself.

  “Si’s right,” Julian spoke up. “In my opinion, only the guilty run. They may have taken off because they knew we’d come for her.”

  I nodded, agreeing. “I’m now certain we’re at least on the right path. That counts for something.”

  Elle peered up the broad side of the building. Dark windows and aged brick stared back.

  “He’s claimed her, so I wonder if this has less to do with some wicked plan and more to do with his growing need to be near her,” she piped.

  None of us said a word in response to her chipper analysis.

  “I mean, he’s got to feel something for her, right?” she deduced. “And to me, that at least means she’s in no real danger. After all, none of you would ever let harm come to her, so maybe … it’s the same for Aaric?”

  Levi sighed and cast a look her way. “For Pete’s sake, Elle. Whose bloody side are you on?”

  Peering out across the property, I laughed despite myself. The reaction may have been due in part to the delirium of having chased our own tails for so many hours.

  “The difference is none of us are sadistic psychopaths.” When Julian chimed in again, there was no missing that he found no humor in Elle’s rationale.

  “I only meant to suggest that Mistress Corina might at least be well cared for until we’re able to get to her,” Elle explained before falling silent again.

  Julian seemed to regret snapping at her, but only sighed to himself instead of apologizing.

  “Maybe it would be best if you headed back to the car, Elle. One of us should be there to make sure we’re not ambushed when we return,” he suggested.

  Keenly aware of having been dismissed, Elle sighed heavily, and then turned to dive back into the frigid bay.

  Julian—still frustrated by our A.I. companion’s evaluation of things—rolled the damp sleeves of what had once been a pristine, formal shirt to his elbows.

  “I don’t even know where to go from here,” he admitted.

  “I wish I could at least say I’d heard his men mention something about another headquarters, but they were intentionally tightlipped around us,” Levi offered.

  Julian let out a sigh and lifted both arms to lock them behind his neck while he paced.

  “He had to have left some sort of paper trail. Some sort of hint as to where he’d hide out if not here,” I reasoned.

  While going inside to have a look held little promise, it still seemed worth suggesting. However, footsteps trekking through the asylum’s foyer had us all turning toward the facility.

  “You gentlemen look lost,” came a gruff voice.

  Flanking the one who stood before us clad in leather, were three at either side in similar attire. Another thing they had in common was that each held a weapon in hand. It didn’t take long to realize these weren’t the refined Ianites with whom we were used to dealing. These were Roamers—vile, rogue, unpredictable.

  They took steps forward and their gazes stayed locked on ours.

  “We were just looking for a friend,” Levi spoke up.

  “Oh yeah?” The one who seemed to be the leader shot back with a grin. “This friend got a name?”

  Levi held his ground when answering. “Aaric. Any chance you’ve seen him?”

  The stranger took casual strides closer, resting a smooth, wooden bat over his shoulder. “Nope, doesn’t ring a bell.”

  He was too close for comfort now.

  “Well, perhaps you know where the people who were holed up in this place went when they left?”

  The man donned a menacing smile now. His gaze swept over Levi, stalling on the ring resting on his finger, boasting a large ruby at its center.

  “I suppose that’s information I could be persuaded to share,” the burly Roamer said with a widening grin.

  Levi didn’t seem surprised. “What’s your price?”

  He was scanned again. “Let’s just say this might be my lucky day. It isn’t often a man can say he had the good fortune of running into three princes in the middle of nowhere.”

  Levi’s brow quirked. “How lucky?”

  “For starters, hand over the ring and whatever other goodies you’ve got, and I’ll let you know.”

  “We shed our wallets and watches before crossing the channel,” Julian muttered, growing more impa
tient by the minute. “That ring is the only thing of value we have to offer between the three of us.”

  That answer clearly wasn’t what the guy wanted to hear, judging by the scowl that darkened his expression. “Then, it seems we have ourselves a bit of a problem, gentlemen.”

  Levi’s shoulders squared and I felt this run-in taking a turn. “Apparently, we do.”

  The leader of the brood passed a glance over his shoulder, nodding at the band of rebels who followed him out to greet us. Then, as if he’d been prepared and waiting for an incident like this to jump off, he put two fingers in his mouth and released a loud whistle. My brothers and I moved closer on instinct. Even before we heard them.

  Hellhounds.

  The brood clad in leather got a hearty laugh out before receding back into the house and shutting themselves safely inside.

  “Have fun boys,” he called out through an open window.

  “How many do you think there are?” I asked, already focused on our surroundings as I waited to catch the first glimpse of the pack.

  Their hungry snarls could already be heard.

  “A dozen? More?” Julian answered.

  With my back to my brothers, we braced ourselves.

  They lunged out of nowhere, coming from all angles. Sharp teeth dragged through my forearm when I tossed it up, just in time to block my face from the eager canine hellbent on taking a chunk out of my jaw. It yelped when I shook it to the ground and plunged the heel of my shoe into its underbelly.

  Levi, using his quadrant’s abilities, caught one midair with the power of his mind, tossing the beast over the cliff and into the treacherous waters below. Julian, with his quadrant’s heightened strength, managed to catch two by their throats before tossing both several yards to the asylum. Upon impact, the skulls of both made a sickening crack against the brick.

  We were nearly down to half a dozen and Levi flung two more over the edge. With him only able to focus on so many at once, Julian and I were still on high alert, defending ourselves.

  “To your left!” Julian called out. I spun just in time to send an elbow deep into the ribs of a hound who seemed a beat quicker than the others.

  The impact knocked it to the grass, but hellhounds’ recovery time was freakishly fast. Hence the reason I barely had time to brace myself before it sprang to its feet again. The vicious snarling and snapping of its muzzle was deafening in my ear, but the sound faded out. Luckily, the tight grip I had on its throat took effect, and either dead or unconscious, its body went lifeless and I flung it toward the bay.

  The last of the pack took hold of Julian’s thigh, tearing through his pantleg until its nasty teeth broke skin. A viciously pained growl left my brother’s mouth, but he regained control in mere seconds. A surprisingly pup-like yelp squealed out of the hellhound, as its large body was lifted into the air, and was then promptly sent over the cliff. A faint splash made it clear the moment it joined its drowning pack in the bay.

  In the clear, my gaze shifted back toward the house. Behind the glass of a dirty window, the brood who cowered inside stared out at us. Some laughed, others seemed shocked that we survived without fleeing by tossing ourselves into the raging waters below.

  Levi’s fury was brimming over when he took a step toward the facility.

  Julian placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve got better things to do with our time,” he grumbled.

  “We can’t just let them get away with this,” Levi countered, clearly aching for revenge.

  As if they heard the threat in his tone, one of the Roamers flicked the switch of a lighter in one hand, while holding a half-full bottle of liquor in the other. Spotting the swatch of fabric partially stuffed into the neck, I guessed they had a plan should we barge through the doors.

  The odds that we could defend ourselves against Molotov cocktails was pretty close to zero. Plus, any time spent wasted on these rejects, was time we should’ve been searching for Corina.

  “Some other time,” Julian countered. “If you really want them that badly, we know where they lay their heads at night.” He cast a dark gaze up the height of the asylum after speaking. It was as though he went over whatever plans he made in his thoughts, spitting blood into the grass beside him.

  “Let’s go before I change my mind,” Levi conceded, glancing back over his shoulders several times as we departed.

  Dead ends seemed to be all we could manage to find, and meanwhile, our mate was somewhere out there, likely in the grasp of the sadistic monster she feared the most.

  Somehow, we had to get to her. Even if it meant fighting our way through a thousand enemies, or … whatever hell might await us in the shadows.

  Chapter Five

  Corina

  Nothing made sense.

  For starters, the monster I knew to lie dormant in Aaric had yet to show itself, and he’d been unnervingly polite as he led the way.

  We walked silently through the stone corridor from the cell, stopping outside an unremarkable closed door. It wasn’t until he pushed it open, flipped a light switch and stood aside that I realized it was a washroom.

  “I’ll be just outside this door if you need anything. No one will disturb you.” His tone had completely leveled off now. You would’ve thought I was dealing with a rational being, but I knew better.

  Did he not realize the only ‘someone’ I truly feared in this scenario was him?

  When I didn’t respond, a smile ghosted on his lips. One that, ironically enough, could only be classified as warm. The sight of it was unsettling. Did he mean to confuse me with a false sense of security?

  “I just thought you might need to use the facilities after being cooped up in that cell all night,” he explained, pointing toward a small shelf. On it, fresh clothing and a few toiletries had been left. For me, I presumed.

  Our eyes met again, and I couldn’t hold my tongue despite knowing I probably should have.

  “What is this? You’re not … whoever this is you’re trying to be,” I snapped.

  To my surprise, the comment didn’t send him into a rage like I half-expected.

  “There’s a lot to discuss,” was the only response he gave, and I gathered he believed that answer ought to pacify me. That wasn’t the case, but I didn’t push the limits.

  Slowly, I stepped inside the small space. The door shut behind me and I felt extremely claustrophobic. I picked up the clothes and took a closer look—a pair of jeans that would hit well above my ankles, and a t-shirt that boasted the logo of a blood distributor located in the north quadrant.

  “Nice,” I muttered to myself. “Force the human to be a walking billboard for your blood pedaling.”

  Realizing I was at Aaric’s mercy, I took a moment to clean up, using the sponge and lightly scented soap that rested on the edge of the sink. It wasn’t quite what my stay at Julian’s home had gotten me accustomed to, but it did the trick. A brush and rubber band had been left beneath the clothes and I used both to secure a bun at the nape of my neck, winding the length of my hair until it was tucked in and out of the way.

  With a sigh, I rolled the bottoms of the tight jeans a couple inches, so it’d look like more of a fashion statement than being forced to wear highwaters. A pair of gym shoes I hadn’t noticed before then were arranged neatly beneath a full-length mirror. They were too close to my actual size to complain, so I slipped them on. My reflection in the mirror showed a slightly less tousled version of myself than the one that first arrived.

  Being flown through the air at high-speed, in the rain was hard on a girl’s look.

  Dressed and ready for wherever our next stop was, I gripped the doorknob. Rhythmic hammering in the center of my chest made me pause. I wasn’t keen on returning to my captor. However, a quick scan of the space made it clear there weren’t any large vents I missed the first time I checked. As far as escape routes went, there weren’t any.

  Fast, like ripping off a band-aid, I rejoined Aaric in the corridor. The moment I crossed the threshol
d, he peered up from where he leaned casually against the wall. A look sliced through me—deep, penetrating. The cool centers of his eyes scanned me slowly, and it reminded me of how I often caught the princes staring. Like their need for me had taken root in their very souls.

  A breath hitched in my throat and, for a moment, I nearly forgot what this was. Nearly forgot who I was dealing with.

  I wanted to tear my gaze from his, wanted to pretend not to notice the unmistakably heady reaction my body experienced being in his presence … lust.

  The hem of a tight-fitting, black t-shirt rested over the waistband of dark jeans. His hands were shoved into the pockets and I noticed the black, leather bracelet on his wrist. He looked like the lead singer from some band that left millions of girls heartbroken.

  It took me clearing my throat and squeezing my eyes shut to refocus.

  “I um … I’m ready if you are,” I choked out awkwardly. “Where are we going anyway?”

  He flashed that heartbreaker smile again. “I’d rather show you,” he explained, not offering anything other than that.

  Pushing off from the stones that propped him up, he grabbed his lantern and led the way again.

  We ascended a flight of stairs and came to a stop. Confused, I peered around the hallway where our journey came to an unexpected end. At the apex of the long staircase I scanned my surroundings. To my surprise, this wasn’t some forsaken facility. It was a house.

  A huge house. One so big every step we took echoed through the vast, open spaces, ricocheting off the lofty rafters and marble floors.

  “Where … are we?” I asked.

  Aaric passed a coy grin my way before dropping his gaze to the marbled tile beneath our feet. With both hands still tucked inside his pockets, he took slow steps while I could only guess at what this place was.

  “The short answer is ‘home’,” he offered.

  Tilting my chin up, I took it all in—the wrought-iron railing that curved with the staircase and flowed seamlessly into the upstairs hallway, overlooking the vestibule. My gaze shifted to the vaulted ceilings that stretched a few stories high. At its center, a large, gothic chandelier hung in all its ominous glory. It reminded me of some I’d seen in the ruins left where churches once stood. Most had crashed to the floor when the age-worn beams they dangled from eventually gave way, but this space was anything but neglected.