Hexes and Handcuffs: A Limited Edition Collection of Supernatural Prison Stories

by Margo Bond Collins

  I wasn’t sure if I believed him. Yes, I believed that he was Wesling’s toy, but I didn’t know how deeply his loyalties ran. He could easily pretend to be sympathetic to my cause so that he could spy on me.

  I shook my head. “Nope. You’re on your own.”

  He pulled off his black tie and unbuttoned his shirt.

  Confused, I didn’t know what he was doing until he leaned forward to kiss me.

  “Wait. What are you doing?” I pushed him away and threw his tie at him.

  Looking up at me through his long lashes, he gulped. “I will do anything you want, Ceyla.”

  A cold tremor ran through me. He was offering to be my plaything in exchange for his freedom.

  I held my hand up to stop him. “Kayden, I don’t want sexual favors. I want loyalty. The Headmistress will do anything to stop a rebellion, so I need people who won’t submit when things get hard. Once we’re free, everyone can go their separate ways, but inside these walls, we need to have each other’s backs no matter what.”

  Kayden retied his tie and glanced at the door. “My loyalty belongs to anyone who can help me. I understand your reluctance, Ceyla, and I know how much you despise my kind. Just know that I can’t take much more of this.”

  I thought about his fight in the blood room. “What were you trying to prove with Isabella? Were you testing Wesling’s willingness to protect you?”

  He shook his head as his haunted eyes silently pleaded with me. “I was trying to die.”

  Stunned, I sat with my mouth open, contemplating his situation. Here I thought he had it easy, yet he was actively trying to end his life. Unsure of what to do, I stared at him until he nodded and stood up. He knocked on the door and quietly slipped out of the cell.

  In the darkness, I thought about everything he had said and couldn’t say. I imagined what Welsing was doing to him that would make him suicidal. I despised this place, yet I wasn’t ready to give up my life even though I had no future ahead of me.

  I thought about the blank look on Kayden’s face when Isabella was threatening him. Was he praying for a quick death or was he so happy to escape that he didn’t care what happened to him?

  My breath caught in my throat when I realized that Adriel had stolen away Kayden’s decision to die and forced him to keep on living. Wesling was controlling Kayden’s life and death to the point where his life was literally not his own.

  I felt terrible for Kayden and sympathized with his plight, but I didn’t know if I could trust him.

  Chapter Four

  Over the next few hours, I thought about Kayden’s words and wondered who else was desperate enough to wage a war against Wesling. I knew how to get revenge on her, but without the right people, it would be the shortest rebellion in history.

  The door swung open again, but this time there was no handsome face to greet me. Instead, Adriel’s fist hit my face, breaking my nose. “I don’t think you will be reviving any covens today, Ceyla.”

  He dragged me from my cell and cuffed me.

  Paraded through the hallways during the change of class to ensure that everyone saw me beaten and chained, Adriel made a good show of slapping me and humiliating me. Whereas most in my position would cry or beg for mercy, I started laughing. Not the kind of laughter that made others join in, but the kind that made others nervous and move away from you in public.

  Every time he hit me, I shouted random phrases to prove that I hadn’t been broken. “We will not be forgotten.” “The Mielcarek will remember our names.” “Do not lose hope for our destiny is in our hands.” I didn’t actually believe anything I was saying, but it didn’t matter. Everyone else needed to believe that I was rebelling against the Mielcareks.

  Normally, everyone stepped out of Adriel’s way and averted their eyes when a student was dragged through the hallway, but this time, I had everyone’s attention and not just because of the blood dripping from my nose. Some vamps laughed at my misfortune and some clearly thought that I had lost my mind, but a few were genuinely curious to see what I would do.

  Adriel, too, noticed the looks of intrigue. “This traitor will be silenced along with any who follow her. Get to your classes.”

  Laughing maniacally, I shouted, “One can be silenced, but many can roar loud enough to shake the foundation of this very building. Do not let them take away your voice!”

  Adriel grumbled and tossed me on my face in front of Wesling’s desk. Rolling onto my back, I spat out the blood pooling in my throat from my broken nose.

  “Ceyla, as requested, Headmistress.” Adriel looked exasperated, which made me smile.

  Getting to my feet, I stood up to see Wesling sitting with her hands folded. Her expression was unreadable, which worried me. I wasn’t sure if the decision to end my life had been made or if she was still debating her options.

  She cleared her throat and sat forward. “The Sabourin Coven is dead, Ceyla. There will be no more talk about resurrecting it. This charade ends now.” The crinkles in the corners of her mouth were deeper than I’d ever seen them. She was definitely pissed, but my head wasn’t on the chopping block yet.

  “You didn’t give me much choice when you decided to keep me indefinitely. What did you expect me to do? Did you believe I would think of all the ways I should strive to please you?” I tried my best not to laugh at the thought of submitting to her.

  Wesling sighed. “I suppose my decision was rash. Taking away your hope of leaving has invigorated you. I thought you would rebel for a while, until you settled into hopelessness, but honestly, I’m grateful for this turn of events. I like a challenge, Ceyla. Keeping everyone in this school under control is my job, but quelling rebellions looks good in the eyes of the coven. If you are foolish enough to continue this ridiculous pursuit, it will lead to your destruction. I will gladly remove your head if needed, but I’m hoping you will choose a different path.”

  Confused, I frowned at her. I had expected a full on battle, but she was giving me a warning and enough leeway to put my own head on the chopping block. I wasn’t sure how to feel about her unwillingness to fight me.

  I silently nodded and wiped my nose with the sleeve of my blazer. Adriel stepped forward to grab my arm, but Wesling held up her hand to stop him. She smiled at me and motioned to the door. It appeared that I was free to go.

  I turned around and walked into the hallway. Twirling the ends of my hair, I thought about my options now that Wesling had bowed out of the fight. Should I rabble rouse or slink back to my bunk and wait out my days?

  Feeling a hand on my elbow, my heart sank when I thought that Wesling had changed her mind and sent Adriel to fetch me. I looked up to see Landon step into my side and push me into one of the men’s dorm rooms.

  “Get off.” I dug my elbow into his side, but he didn’t stop until we were in the middle of the room.

  “What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you stay out of trouble?” He hissed as he let go of my arm and started pacing between the row of bunks.

  Disturbed by his sudden concern for me, I flipped him off and turned to leave, but his massive chest was in my way before I could move.

  “Leave me alone, Landon. I’m still not sleeping with you.” I shoved him hard enough that he rocked back on his heels.

  He moved one step backwards and gently placed his hand on my arm. “Wait, please listen to me.”

  Hearing one of the toughest guys I’d ever met say the word please made me curious. “Talk fast.”

  He glanced around to make sure we were alone and leaned closer. “It’s not safe here for you anymore.”

  Blinking, I wet my lips and frowned. “No shit, Landon. Did you just figure this out?”

  He shook his head. “You don’t understand, Ceyla. Wesling is furious and damned near unhinged. Don’t let that polite act she uses fool you. She is smart and vicious. I don’t know what she said to you in there, but don’t believe any of it. You’re in real danger.”

  I laughed at his warning. “If you believe tha
t scaring me will somehow grant you access to my panties, you’re delusional.”

  I waved my hand to dismiss his ridiculous lies and headed out the door. Was he kidding? He certainly wasn’t the first person to offer me protection only to screw me and walk away. I’d learned many a hard lesson when it came to men tricking me into believing that they had all the answers. Yes, I was pretty and yes, I was damaged. Apparently, it made me even more attractive to a certain kind of guy. Well, no more. I wasn’t falling for anyone’s bullshit about being my savior. No one was capable of whisking me off to a safe place where the covens could never find me. The only place they took me was to the nearest dark corner or bathroom where they would tell me how wonderful and amazing I was before they got off and walked away forever.

  Snickering at my own stupidity, I went to the blood room to appease the cramps in my stomach to quell the rising pain of loneliness and humiliation.

  Chapter Five

  Sequestered in my corner, I sipped on my blood bag and tried to relax but my eyes kept scanning the room. Nothing unusual was happening, but the hair on my arms was standing up. Something was off. The air was thick as if a fight was about to start, yet no one was squabbling. Taking a closer look, I noticed that a number of people were sitting on the edge of their benches and glancing around the room. A few people snuck a peak at me and quickly looked away when I caught them.

  I set my blood bag down on the table and stood up. “If we’re really going to do this let’s not play games. I have better things to do.”

  Three different tables flew into the air and crashed into mine. I ducked under my broken table and ripped free a piece of the metal leg. I slammed the metal shard through Ferko’s foot as he reached under the table to grab me. He fell to the ground next to me and I threw my elbow into his nose, nullifying one of the Mielcarek’s loyalists.

  “Someone kill her!” Ferko howled in pain, but I didn’t have time to care about him as two vamps lifted me off my feet by my shirt and blazer.

  Gazsi and Xenon threw me across the room and ran to pick me up again as I skidded across the floor.

  Throwing out my arms to stop myself, I lifted my legs and slammed the heels of my feet into their kneecaps. They both growled and slumped to the ground. Sitting up, I extended my fangs and tore into Gazsi’s arm while clawing Xenon’s neck.

  “Bitch.” Gazsi grabbed his arm to stop the bleeding.

  “Hey, you attacked me, asshole.” I kneed him in the face and turned to kick Xenon in the balls.

  Xenon thought about getting up, but decided it wasn’t worth his time to keep fighting.

  An angry yell behind me drew my attention to Silas, who was charging straight at me. With nowhere to go, I braced myself as his shoulder knocked the air out of me. I felt my body lifted into the air and thrown down on top of a table.

  I heard Silas’ laugh long before my eyes focused on his snarling face hovering over me.

  “I’m going to enjoy drinking Sabourin blood.” He hissed through his teeth and slowly opened his mouth to release his fangs.

  Pinned down by his body, I had nowhere to go. I looked to my left and found Declan passively watching the fight as if none of this concerned him. Glaring at him, I let out a battle cry and punched Silas in the side of the throat. When he gasped, I dug my fangs into his throat and twisted my head to rip away a chunk of his flesh.

  He gasped and slid off me until his ass hit the ground.

  I sat up on the table to catch my breath until I saw three more vamps ready to jump into the fight.

  Standing on the bench, I raised my arms. “Stop kissing the asses of the Mielcareks! They don’t care about you. All they care about is power and control. Each of you is here because you didn’t follow their orders. Your own people are punishing you, yet you still fight for them. Let me clue you into the biggest lie. There is no freedom for us. Even if the coven allows you to return, they will continue to use you without any concern for what you want. The Mielcareks treat you like servants, bending you to their will. Why would you want to return to them? Why don’t you want more for yourself? Join me and you’ll receive your fresh start.”

  When no one cheered, I reassessed the general mood of the room. Gulping, I realized quickly that no one was looking at my face, but at my torn shirt and blazer. My black bra and pale stomach were on display for the sex-starved men.

  I pulled what was left of my blazer around my chest to cover myself, but a number of guys had taken a step closer, their eyes still on my boobs.

  Fighting a few guys was manageable, but I wouldn’t survive if they all joined forces against me.

  I calculated how fast I needed to reach the hallway before someone grabbed me and took a deep breath. Leaping to the next table, I kicked the first vamp who grabbed my leg. I dodged two more sets of arms and scrambled to reach the next table.

  The braver men who were more interested in fulfilling their sick desires pursued me across the room, pushing vamps and tables out of their way to get to me.

  I was still far enough away from the hallway to be in serious trouble, so I searched the room for allies, but came up short.

  Noticeably missing were the teachers who stood guard at the doors. Apparently, Landon had been right to warn me, though even he couldn’t have anticipated my worsening problems.

  I leapt across two more tables until Silas cut off my retreat.

  “She dies!” He threw out his hand to stop the horde of lust-filled vamps, claiming me as his own. Few were crazy enough to defy the psychopath, so the vamps stopped dead in their tracks.

  I stared at the blood trickling from his wound. A simple bite wouldn’t be enough to stop Silas for long. If I wanted to incapacitate him, I needed a weapon.

  Crouching down, I wracked my brain for some way out of this.

  Silas’ hand came at my throat, but I never felt him touch me. Behind Silas, I heard a deep snarl and watched as Silas sailed through the air and landed at the far end of the room.

  Looking to where Silas had stood, I found Landon with his hand extended to me. “He won’t stay down for long, Ceyla. Hurry.”

  The fear on Landon’s face matched the fear I felt in my chest. We’d both be in danger once Silas recovered.

  Knowing what I was ultimately agreeing to, I took Landon’s hand and ran to the hallway with him. I followed him through the school and down the stairs to the punishment room. I rushed into the room and heard the door slam behind me. Landon quickly slid one of the metal tables in front of the door and barricaded us inside.

  It was a temporary solution to hide until everyone calmed down, but it wouldn’t deter Adriel for long, once he decided to step in. At least I wouldn’t have to go too far for my punishment.

  Panting, I looked up at Landon and waited for him to turn around to face me. I swallowed harshly and stared numbly at the ground. My shaking hands went to the remnants of my shirt and blazer. Slipping out of them, I dropped them to the ground. I bit my lip and tried to keep the tears from forming in my eyes.

  “What are you doing?” He took a step closer and waved to the pile of clothes.

  “I accepted your help, which means I owe you payment. I understand the rules. I know what you want.” My pulse sped up, which he would easily hear. I prayed that it didn’t send him into a frenzy of hunger and lust.

  “Ceyla, look at me.” He lifted my chin with one finger until I met his dark eyes.

  “How do you want me?” I couldn’t keep the fear and anger out of my voice. I was pissed that I had accepted his help, but I didn’t have any other choice.

  “Stop this.” He took a step back and crossed his arms. “I didn’t help you in exchange for sex, despite what I may have said in the past. I’m not going to hurt you and I don’t want anything from you.”

  I thought about all the times he had clearly stated his intentions. “You didn’t help me because it was the right thing to do. So, why risk your life for me?”

  He let out a breath. “I helped you because Silas wou
ld have killed you. I do want to be with you, Ceyla, more than you know, but not for the reasons you think.” He slowly unbuttoned his white shirt and shrugged off his blazer. He exposed his muscled chest to me and turned to show me his shoulder.

  My mouth fell open when I found the mark of the Sabourin Coven burned into his arm. It had been slashed through, just like mine, but unlike my arm, his bore the crest of the Mielcarek below it. The bastard had disavowed the Sabourin Coven to join the Mielcareks. Though I knew he belonged to their coven, I had no idea that he had once been a Sabourin.

  “Traitor.” I hissed and turned my back on him.

  He spun me around to face him. “You need to listen. I have always been loyal to the Sabourin Coven. My father served your family for generations.”

  I shook my head, refusing to believe him. This was just another attempt to manipulate me. “You’re just like every other man who promised to help me. I commend your creativity, but your lies won’t work on me.” I stepped around him to pull the table away. At least I knew what kind of people were waiting for me on the other side of the door. I couldn’t stand to listen to any more liars.

  Landon lightly touched the back of my hand and pulled me around. “I was young when the Mielcareks destroyed my family. Their soldiers captured my father and wounded my mother and me, leaving us to die. I swore to my mother that I would find my father and release him from the Mielcareks, but by the time I found him he was dead.” He placed my hand over the gruesome scar on his chest. Someone had tried to stake him with a large piece of wood, but had missed his heart.

  I frowned. “If you wanted revenge against the Mielcareks, why join them?”

  “After my father’s death, I was directionless and alone in the world. When word came that you had survived, I felt a renewed sense of purpose. You became my reason for living. I join the Mielcareks to protect you, Ceyla.” The pain in his voice and the hopeful look in his eyes made my stomach clench. Though I couldn’t detect a lie in his statement, I couldn’t let myself believe that I had an ally on my side without proof.