I made one mistake with her.
Her power is enchantments and charms. She enchanted me and enticed me into sleeping with her. A thing I could have gotten fucking fired for. Inmates can have relationships with each other. Guards and inmates? Fuck no.
That was eight months ago when I was at my lowest. I allowed myself to be tempted because I wanted to be.
I’ve been here at the prison the longest of my trio that are planning to break the fae out.
My mother has a link to The Hallowed, a circle of rebels formed together centuries ago who snap into action when things go wrong. Basically, when it looks like we can no longer trust those in charge.
That’s what’s happening now. Something is brewing and we don’t know what it is. We don’t know what the plans are. We all just know that the dark side, the enemy have been looking for the chosen girl with the powers of the ancient gods.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that anyone evil who wants godlike powers can’t have any good intentions. Gods create and destroy, the banish and they redeem. They have unimaginable amounts of power.
In the wrong hands the powers are dangerous. I was sent here to help the girl escape the moment foreseen by the oracle of The Hallowed that would change things for bad. I was told that I’d know things would be happening when I found my brother. My long lost brother who I’d be able to identify when he told me three simple words. It’s the fae.
That is how I knew Heath was my brother. That was seven months ago.
I know the danger that lies ahead so I can’t allow myself to be distracted by this vampire woman. Beautiful as she is, and no matter how much I want her.
She’s looking at me now and as she moves toward me I turn and walk in the other direction.
I get to the end of the corridor by the cafeteria and she appears before me, purposely bumping into me.
“Whoops,” she smiles with a seductive glint in her eyes.
I seethe and stare her down. She doesn’t want to get me angry. It would not be good for her. Or, me.
“What do you want?” I snap.
She has the balls to step forward and run a finger over my chest. her violet eyes sparkle making her look more beautiful.
“You.” She nods.
I don’t have time for this shit.
I don’t have time for her or her games. “Selene. Drop this. Fucking drop this. I can’t. We will not happen again.”
She steps closer and I wish to all the gods I could resist the lure of attraction that draws me to her. She lifts a lock of my long blond hair and we both watch it curl about her finger.
“Why? You want me and I want you. Who cares about anything else,” she taunts me.
Anything else?
“You charmed me to sleep with you. Screwed with my head. It’s enough to care about.”
“Victor, the charm only works on those who are already tempted. They’re lost on what they desire most. I was merely helping you out.” She smiles.
All I can do is stare as infuriation takes me whole. I’m an embarrassment to my people, allowing a charm from a vampire to take me and give into something that could blow my damn cover.
I can’t answer her. I don’t want to.
She looks on with anticipation and smiles even though I step away from her.
“Can’t say no to me forever, you know,” she teases.
“Watch me.” I call over my shoulder and continue my procession down the corridor.
The thing about her aside from the fact that she could blow my whole mission is I can’t trust her.
Someone who is untrustworthy, vampire, elf or otherwise is dangerous to me.
Chapter Two
Selene
He doesn’t trust me.
He’s right not to.
I hate myself right now for playing double agent but Roth threatened to kill me and my family if I don’t help him.
I’ll sacrifice myself any day, but am I selfish for trying to protect the people I love?
That day eight months ago when Victor and I were together was the best night of my life. I charmed him indeed but like I said it only worked because he wanted me the same way I wanted him.
I come from a coven of vampires who are highly magical. My ability is charms and enchantments. I can enchant most beings and make them do whatever I want. Beings that rank the same powers as me. Not people like Roth or anyone of that level of power.
The spell Victor thinks I put on him is indeed something I can do, and have done to men I’ve wanted in the past. But I couldn’t do that to him.
My feelings for him forbade me.
We went into the mines, into a little cavern and we spent the whole night together. I had the man of my dreams for one night only.
By morning the shit hit the fan.
Not only did he realize I charmed him and was pissed about it, but Roth … he knew we were together.
He suspects Victor of not being who he says he is. He things he’s a spy and I’m inclined to think the same. I didn’t have any proof of sorts but I just know.
He always has this calculative look like he’s up to something and he’s always with the Lycan and the mage, Heath and Phoebe. It’s not normal for guards to associate themselves with inmates the way he has.
Although to be fair he is the only one of the guards here at the prison who is different.
That difference affords him some leeway, but still there’s a limit on what is acceptable and what is not. It’s worse when your enemies know your weakness.
Roth knew we were together and worked it to his advantage. He’s doing it now.
I want Victor but not like this, but if Roth doesn’t see me trying to work my way in with Victor somehow I’m scared he’ll do something to my parents.
The little beeper on my wrist buzzes. That’s him summoning me to his office now.
I sigh and make my way up to him.
This is the part that grates me. How people use me. I’ve been used all my life.
It’s how I ended up here in this fucking God forsaken prison I can’t even contemplate escaping.
I trusted too easily and took the hit for my best friend’s crimes. He set me up. my best friend set me up. He killed a human and arranged for me to be at the wrong place, wrong time. By the time I realized what happened I had mercenaries after me. they were tracking him and they found me. no matter how much I pled not guilty it never helped. Besides I know Roth wants me here because he’s interested in my powers. I’m useful to him.
I get to the office, knock on the door and the guard opens it. I step in and see the girl who just arrived. She’s sitting in a chair opposite Roth who looks a sight for his appearance. Dark elves are normally beautiful to look at. The dark skin against the platinum hair is normally striking, except on him it looks a nightmare.
My mother always told me it’s assign of evil.
Beautiful creatures who start looking bad suddenly is a dead giveaway that all is not well with them. It’s the soul’s way of expressing itself. A tell that it’s been tainted. That is how Roth looks. Tainted.
The girl’s dainty features and her little pixie ears suggests she’s of the fae folk.
Victors ears are more defined and district standard to most elves.
The girl looks at me. Her bright purple hair and pale skin are the first things to notice about her along with her violet eyes. The same color as mine.
“Wonderful,” Roth booms and smiles a sickly smile that makes my skin crawl. I know he can read thoughts so while I’m around him I try to contain what floats into my mind. “Selene this is Leora. She is a very special inmate here. Her powers were similar to yours. She can enchant.”
I look at the girl and then back to him. That can’t be all he thinks she can do. the power I sense in her off her is off the radar.
“That’s great.” I smile.
He laughs. “She can enchant and do many other things. She just wants us to think otherwise. Don’t you darling?”
She looks to me and fear washes over me. I can’t move. Someone so powerful couldn’t have just been captured by the dark elves bounty hunters and brought to Galatia. She must have allowed it. I’ve never heard of anyone being powerful enough to do what she just did to Roth.
She stands up and moves to me. “Please, we don’t have much time,” she says quickly and touches my cheek. As she does I’m sucked into a bright purple light and then I’m in a meadow.
A meadow on earth. A meadow on earth in bright sunlight and I’m alive. I’m a normal vampire. I can go into the shadows of day but not bright sunlight like this. I scream waiting for the sun to take me but it doesn’t.
It’s not affecting me.
“Where are we?” I gasp.
“Selene, you must stop helping him. He’s plotting your death as we speak. Victor is not an enemy. He’s supposed to help me and I need you too,” she blurts, pleading.
Her words speak directly to my soul and draw me in. “Help you? how do you know Victor?”
She just got here, to Galatia. She couldn’t know what she’s saying.
“I’m her. The Chosen,” she declares and my heart stills within my chest.
“Chosen? The Chosen as in the girl with the powers of the gods?
“Yes. I’m in danger. I need your help. But I have to be able to trust you. I need your help or this will all go very wrong.”
I shouldn’t be trusted and not by her. “If you’re her you know his threats to me. He’ll kill my family. You cannot trust me.” I shake my head. “There’s so much going on here. He’s evil. Can’t you just end this. End him? Can’t you just fix everything?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. My powers don’t work that way. They are fickle and unstable. I can tap into them on a minimal level but anything more than that is dangerous, dangerous until they settle.”
“Then what happens?” Goosebumps line my arms.
“Then they mature and I can be used for good or evil. Create and destroy worlds. Nobody knows what the other side are planning but my powers were given in sacrifice to hold the realms together.”
Two gods of old sacrificed themselves after the war in heaven nearly ended all existence. They sacrificed themselves to seal the veil that separates realms and hell from breaking loose. In doing so, they gave their natural powers. I’ve grown up on the story. Everyone has. It only surfaced recently when a necromancer and the sorceress Balmora tried to break the hell god Razul out of the prison holding him in the darkest corners of hell. It did something, something that signified the world was in trouble and the whispers have it that that something unlocked her powers. The powers of the gods.
“I need your help Selene. You must assure me I can trust you. Help me and you will not have to worry about your family,” She promises.
I gaze into her eyes and believe her. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want to awaken your power, taken it to its full potential. I need you to tell Victor that he needs to take this to The Hallowed.” She takes a vial out of her pocket and holds it out to me. It’s filled with the purple light.
“What is it?”
“The key. The key to unlock me. When I give this to you I will be weak, but with this away from me my powers are safe until they stabilize. After they stabilize it won’t matter that the keys aren’t with me. This is all I can do now to protect them from Roth and others who want to use me for evil. Give this to Victor.”
“He won’t believe me.”
She nods her head at me. “He will, show this to him. He will believe you then.” She steps forward and touches the side of my face. As she does I see myself in a meadow like this and I’m with Victor. I look different. I’m human. My eyes are brown, the same color as my hair. Victor looks the same. Three little girls run up to him. two look just like me, one like him with white blond hair. My mouth drops as I realize they’re our kids.
They run down to the stream to play with our dog and Victor turns to me and takes me into his arms.
When he touches me the vision fades and Leora is standing before me as she was.
“What? Was that?”
“A possible future you could have. That is why you must do this. Show the vision to him and he will help you. Victor will believe you and forgive you.”
She would never know how much it means to me to hear her say that. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“I know, and he will know too. Victor, Heath and Phoebe are all here to rescue me, but I have to stay here. You must tell them to leave this place by tonight, before midnight. Do not stay a minute longer because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The Hallowed must get the key. Take the key and give it to the leader. Whatever happens , whatever anyone says, I’m staying here in Galatia. You are all to leave me here.”
“That makes no sense, you should be leaving too,” I protest, my voice quivers with a rasp.
Again she shakes her head. “No, I have to stay. There’s someone else destined to come here and I have to stay to meet them. They will need my help to defeat Roth. I have to be here to help them do that. Please do this. Time is going.”
I put out my hand to take the vial and when I touch it a blast of energy washes over me. it sweeps over my body and I feel awakened. I feel alive for the first time.
Everything fades around us as I slip it into my pocket and the scene returns to the way it was before, as if it unfroze. Leora is sitting before Roth and his energy blast hits her.
It hits her and she glances over to me before she faints.
“Awwww what a pity. I’m going to enjoy this game,” Roth laughs. “Guards,” he calls out.
The door opens behind me and the guards come in.
“Take her down to the dungeon. There’s more than one way to get her to talk, there’s more than a million ways to test and probe to see what she can do. Let her suppress her powers all she wants,” Roth chants.
I stare horrified. The guards take her, take her limp body and a shudder runs through me.
“What are you going to do to her?” I ask him.
“That is none of your concern. I allowed you to see that to shake you up. The portents are never wrong. She is The Chosen. I will do what I will with her. You will obey me. Go to Victor and seduce the fuck out of him if you must. There’s something going on here and I will find out what it is. Or, I’ll feed you to the hollows myself.” He laughs and his spindly teeth frighten me.
“Okay…” I answer.
I leave him and walk out.
This is going to be one hard task, but I know what Leora awakened in me. I know what I can do. It’s what I could always do it’s just more enhanced.
She trusted me and I won’t let her down. That means I have to come clean to Victor.
Chapter Three
Victor
It’s just gone eight. I’ve been looking over the shipping logs all day. It helps to stay distracted. I didn’t want to fan the flames of suspicion even more by speaking to Heath more than necessary.
I’m in charge of the mines and the hangar with the larger space ships. I usually end the night in the mines. More so when I realized that was the location for Heath’s astral pocket.
I head there now to take my position on the platform. From up there I can see the inmates on the other side of the mine and in the tunnel because of the height.
This was where Selene got me.
The cavern we were in is just behind me.
I make my way up the steps and when I get there I notice the guard who I’m supposed to relieve is just standing there looking at me, like he’s in some kind of daze.
“Patrick?” I say.
Like Roth he’s a dark elf, except for his dark skin and lighter hair he looks more like me. He’s one of the only others I speak to here. he doesn’t answer me.
As I step closer I see why.
Selene steps out from the cavern with a tentative expression on her face.
She walks up to Patrick and he moves his head to her, acknowledging her.
“You will go back to the hangar and prepare one of the larger ships. Fill it with supplies and enough fuel,” she tells him.
I’m shocked to shit when Patrick nods and walks away under her spell.
My gaze snaps to her and I shake my head. “Don’t. Don’t do that to me.” Now is the worse time for her games. With the fae here I need to be a hundred percent.
I step back to move away from her but she’s fast. Faster than me which is unbelievable.
She moves to me quicker than I can blink my eyes and places her hand at my temple. When her fingers brush over my skin the scenery shifts before us and we’re outside in bright sunlight, during the daytime in the meadow. On Earth.
My first instinct is to put up a shield over her to protect her from the sun but I realize she’s not burning.
Her eyes … look different. They’re brown and so is her hair.
There are three little girls playing by the stream with a Labrador. When they see us they all run to me and as they do I know these are my kids.
“Father, look at what I made,” The tallest one says holding up a bracelet of violet flowers. She looks just like Selene but she has my eyes.
“Maribelle, that’s beautiful,” I say and I don’t know how I know her name, but it is hers.
“Thank you, Father.”
The littlest one who looks like my mother right from the blonde hair on her head to the ice blue eyes tugs on my leg.
“Elena… I—” she fades from me as does the meadows, the sunlight, everything, and Selene and I are back on the platform at the mine.
I’m staring at her and she’s trembling. Her eyes are violet again and her hair jet black.
If not for the feeling in my heart that tells me what I just saw was completely real I’d think she was playing games with me.
She wasn’t this time. I know too from the same feeling that the previous charm wasn’t done with any ill will either.
Hexes and Handcuffs: A Limited Edition Collection of Supernatural Prison Stories Page 47
