by Helen Scott
Stained Minds
The Salsang Chronicles III
Serena Akeroyd
Helen Scott
Copyright © 2019 by Serena Akeroyd
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Also by Serena Akeroyd
Also by Helen Scott
Chapter One
Marcella
It had been a week since I sealed my bond with Gideon. A week since I’d seen him smile at me, watched his tattoos glow and ripple on his skin, since he’d marked me with a special rune, since my powers had practically doubled when I finalized my bond with my brotherhood.
He had been unconscious since the bank robbery we’d foiled. Nothing I had done to wake him, to heal him, had helped. Occasionally he would twitch and groan as though he was in pain, but there was nothing I could do to help, and it was driving me insane.
I had barely been sleeping, and when I’d finally drifted off, nightmares had haunted me until Keir, my dream walker mate, had stepped in and soothed my dreams or put a halt to them completely. Was it guilt or fear that paralyzed me? I couldn’t say, but a part of me couldn’t help but think this was my fault. If I hadn’t darkened the bank’s foyer with shadow, hadn’t woven an illusion of my hellcat to terrorize the robbers, the human who’d attacked Gideon, the guy who was now a mummy in the basement, wouldn’t have used that cursed knife on my beloved salsang.
Another of my mates—Cade, the time walker—had also been injured when we stopped the bank robbery. Cade who, in another botched attempt of mine to use my shadow weaving capabilities as a weapon, had been struck unconscious, and the only bright spark on the distant horizon was that he was no longer drifting in and out of awareness. He’d slept longer than I wanted, he’d been out for a few days, but he had come out of it eventually, and I just had to hope that Gid would do the same.
Cade’s injury was my fault though, and there was no denying that. Apparently staring up at the moon or sun to activate his powers meant actually staring up at the real moon or sun, not just an illusion of it. The ball of energy I’d summoned had been as accurate and life-like as I could make it, but it mustn’t have been giving off the same power, or at the very least reflecting the right energy, so when Cade tried to mess with time, his brain short-circuited, and he’d passed out. I felt like an asshole. A smug, over-confident asshole who’d put her mates in danger because she’d started thinking above her station.
My powers made me feel like I’d been plugged into the grid, but that didn’t mean I was as powerful as the sun.
Stupid, stupid bitch.
I’d paid for my idiocy though. I couldn’t say what had happened after Cade passed out since I’d been fried too. The next time I woke up, it was back at the house. I was in bed with Barclay, my shifter mate, with his furry wolf curled around me as though he could protect me from everything bad in the world with his mere presence. My brain still stalled out when I thought about those next few hours.
Seeing Cade and Gid unconscious and helpless like that shook me to my core, and now, days later, it made me feel shaky deep inside. Like a plant whose roots had been attacked and was barely clinging on to life. I hadn’t left their sides for a moment, hadn’t slept a wink until Darius, Raven, and Keiran all decided to work together to force me to rest. It wasn’t just from guilt and shame at letting them down, but the intrinsic and instinctual need that filled me to be with them. To help them heal.
After my other mates had forced me to sleep, the second I processed that I was alive and well, and with one of my mates, my mind had checked on the bonds I had with the two downed brothers, hoping they’d awoken as I had. But I’d found no connection. A panic like no other had taken over me—I never wanted to relive those horrendous moments again. Dashing into their bedrooms to see them sleeping, but alive, had made me break down in tears that not even Keiran, with his comforting presence, or Barclay with his constant touch, had managed to quench.
Shrugging off those horrible memories that were far too recent for me to bear, I reached out and brushed the hair away from Gid’s face. He almost had a full-on beard at this point, and no one was prepared to try and shave him, least of all me. I did keep him moving around as much as I could to prevent bed sores or his muscles from completely seizing up. We also tried to keep him as clean as we could. But it was like he was stuck in some weird kind of stasis, his body functioning, but not at a normal level, and I was worried that the little function it did have was slowly degrading because there was a pallor to his skin that struck me as wrong.
He wasn’t a healthy pink, but an ill gray. That didn’t bode well. Was he dying?
“Please, get better soon, sweetheart,” I whispered, and this time, I dipped my head and brushed a kiss to his temple. I wanted nothing more than for him to wake up and wrestle me onto the mattress, but he made a mannequin look energetic, so that wasn’t happening any time soon.
Fear tried to drown me, but I blew out a breath as I walked away from Gid’s still form and headed for my other injured mate.
Cade was resting, but I could feel our connection slowly growing in strength, even though he’d seemed off since the whole incident. Not wanting to disturb him, though the craving to climb into bed with him was intense, I stretched my senses, reaching out to see where the others were, and found, just as I suspected, that Raven and Darius were down in the basement with our captives. Barclay was hovering nearby, not that I minded since the man, in wolfie form, had been my biggest source of strength for the last few days. Keir was on patrol outside, something he’d been doing more frequently since that fucked up day.
My pursang was scratching at me, just under the surface like a trapped animal, only I was the cage. If I let up on my death grip of control, even a little, then I had the potential to spin out again, for all hell to break loose, and that wasn’t going to help anyone but myself.
I’d been selfish enough. I needed to think of Gideon and Cade, as well as my other mates.
But even though I didn’t want to cause them stress, I knew I had to do something. My pursang wouldn’t allow me just to sit around and snuggle. I needed to act, to hurt those who’d hurt men who were mine.
Feeling shaky from the pursang’s insistence, I steadied myself with a deep inhalation before I opened the door, casting an illusion as I did to prevent Barclay from noticing anything, or he’d be on me in a second. They were all trying to keep me away from the cellar, and the heinous crimes that were going on in the lowest level of the house that belonged to my most powerful mate, Darius—like I was too naïve or innocent to understand what my males were doing down there.
I wasn’t sure whether to be touched or aggravated.
Having never been cared for before, loved, it seemed churlish to be pissed when they were trying to look after me. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do whatever the fuck I wanted, though.
Within moments I’d passed Barc, leaving him to believe I was still in the bedroom with Cade, and I was standing in front of the basement steps. The beast within me was getting harder and harder to control, but with each step, she was purring with satisfaction at my complia
nce.
We both needed this.
I didn’t want to accept that I was as much an animal as the pursang beast within me where protecting my mates was concerned.
We needed answers, and whatever Raven and Darius were doing wasn’t enough. Besides, the two of them had been running themselves ragged these last few days trying to get the three pieces of scum we’d captured to talk.
The fourth man, the one I’d punished for slicing up Gideon, was in a semi-mummified state—drained of life but still on the brink of death—and was incapable of talking. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t playing a part in the fun and games.
My guys didn’t realize it, but on my first sneaky trip down there, I’d moved the mummy to the center of the room, somewhere the prisoners’ focus would be on him all the time, and I’d cast an illusion over it so that my mates couldn’t see it and wouldn’t trip up over the living corpse. It was the elephant in the room, except my creation was impossible to avoid.
Now, I needed to get Darius and Raven out of there, but they wouldn’t leave if they thought I was going to interrogate the assailants. If I wanted answers though, then I’d need them to leave me alone and let me work. Leaving me alone in situations that could prove dangerous was something that was beyond them, at least with Darius it was. Raven wasn’t much better, but I knew the fact that my bond with Darius wasn’t fully formed worked against me.
If they didn’t, though, then we wouldn’t find out what was on that damn knife that hurt Gideon, nor would we find out more about why they were robbing the bank, or who their Kronos dealer was.
We’d only found out about the robbery because of a combination of what Elizabeth—Darius’s squire-in-training—told us, and the visions the guys had experienced. One of the guys that had been leading the robbery was Elizabeth’s boyfriend and dealer, Lucian. I was sure at least Raven and Darius knew which one was the boyfriend, not that they’d shared that information with me yet. Getting angry was no use, though. I needed a clear head for what I was about to do.
I was loud going down the stairs. My footfalls weren’t muffled, and I cleared my throat at least once, all to let them know I was coming. They might not want me down there for whatever reason, but that didn’t mean I was going to follow their orders. We were all equal in this. The only difference right now was that I was in more pain than any of them could understand.
There was only so long a person could be in pain before it started to impact their mental health. Guilt, despair, and grief were flowing through me like waterfalls and had been ever since I woke up. It had to stop, and I was tired of waiting on the men I loved to fix the problem when I knew I could fix it myself.
“Mate, go back upstairs,” Darius ordered, meeting me at the bottom step. There were lines of fatigue scored into his brow that told me he hadn’t fed in a while, but his eyes were soft as they brushed over me. He looked at me as though I made the sun rise and set, and while that should have been overwhelming, it wasn’t.
I just wanted to burrow into his arms, find my peace there, but I couldn’t.
Not yet.
“No,” I replied, as I crossed my arms over my chest—it was either that or launch myself at him and snuggle against him. “I’ve come to check on both of you. You’ve been down here too long.” I scowled at Darius. “You need to feed.”
My pursang mate gave me his most intimidating stare, one which would make anyone else quake with fear. He wouldn’t hurt me though, wouldn’t lay a finger on me if I forbade it, his pursang wouldn’t allow it.
To the beast that lived within every Vampire, the mate bond was beyond sacred and was to be preserved at all costs, no matter what. The only time it came in second was if the female mate was the one inflicting damage or pain, then, and only then, would a male pursang act in his own defense. That gave me pretty much carte blanche where he was concerned, and I had to admit, that knowledge had me purring inwardly.
With a deep, disgruntled sigh, my mate stepped to the side and gestured with his arm for me to go ahead while he called out, “Gentlemen, we have a guest.” But as I headed down the final step, he grabbed a tight hold of my ass and dragged me against him. The move stunned me. Fuck, it floored me because he’d never done anything like that before. As he hauled me into him, he dipped his chin, then in my ear murmured, “You keep putting yourself in danger, ocelle, and my pursang isn’t going to be happy.”
My Vampire purred in response to his aggression. “No danger here, Mate.”
“No?” He shifted back so I could see his disdainful expression then, quick as lightning, he was back where he’d been seconds before and my earlobe was between his teeth. He nipped me there, making me jolt and whispered, “Be careful. If you’re not, I may have to teach you a lesson you might not enjoy.”
Heart beating way too fast and pussy melting, I nodded, delighted by his warning, but even happier when he gave me enough rope to hang myself. I just had to make sure I didn’t take things too far…
I walked around the corner to what had once contained a laundry room and was now a torture chamber. Grim but true. Our prisoners were still tied up, strapped to chairs, gags in place, and an IV bag of blood dripping at the slowest rate possible to keep them alive. None of them deserved to be alive. My eyes flicked to the mummified guy’s location. There was no change. He was still breathing, his heart was still pumping, and he was exactly where I’d left him, which was good. How I was keeping him alive while sucking the life out of him was a mystery to me. I knew it was stupid to mess with powers I didn’t understand, but my pursang and I were in complete agreement on this.
The bastard had to suffer, and suffer he did.
“Rav, you okay?” I asked, as I made my way over to my mind walker.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good, sweetheart,” he answered, before rubbing the back of his neck and stretching his arms and shoulders.
“No, you’re not. You look exhausted.” I ran my hand down the side of his face and stared into his dark eyes, before running my fingers through his silky hair. It was like looking into the night sky and being overwhelmed by the beauty there. If I stared at Raven’s hair too long, I started to get hair envy, and that wasn’t good for anyone.
Touching him was a delight, one that calmed my inner beast, but as much as I wanted to cosset Raven, I wanted blood more.
I wanted to hurt someone. Wanted to make someone feel what I was feeling.
Tutting as I rubbed my thumb over his bottom lip, I stared deep into his eyes and tried to imbue him with a sense of peace. “I can guard them for a while, why don’t you two go and get some food or some rest, or at least take a shower,” I suggested, sniffing and frowning in Darius’s direction. I wouldn’t describe either of them as vain men, but Darius discretely tried to smell his armpit, and Raven yawned as though the idea of rest had only just occurred to him.
I wasn’t sure how these guys had coped without me. Men were gross without direction.
“You don’t need to guard them. They are secured and not going anywhere so you could come and nap with me.” Rav waggled his eyebrows, then as he stood and stretched, he yawned. His t-shirt rode up over his abs with the movement, and I couldn’t help but lick my lips at the sight of them. The V-shaped lines that disappeared into his jeans were as tempting as a glass of ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer’s day. I wanted nothing more than to ‘rest’ with him, but I had a plan I needed to act upon first.
“Okay,” I replied and started to follow them upstairs. Before we made it out of the basement, I said, “I’m going to go check on Gid.” Casting an illusion these days was as easy as breathing now I’d bound myself to my brotherhood, and I effortlessly duplicated myself and sent the illusion en route to Gideon’s room. So long as neither Rav, nor Darius, tried to talk to the illusion-me, then I would be fine and as tired as they looked, I knew they were going to pass out pretty quickly.
Taking advantage of their fatigue, I disappeared back toward the men I intended to question, making sure no one heard
my footsteps or suspected what I was about to do.
When I sat down in the chair that Rav had been occupying, I let the illusion that was cloaking me drop and their eyes went wide. One of them began to struggle to get away from me, but there was nowhere for him to go.
This was something else I could conjure.
The Marcella my men knew and the Marcella that was all pursang. I couldn’t catalog the differences, but I knew that whenever I did this, the men’s response was outright terror.
I smiled at them, letting my fangs, and too many other teeth show. It was not a nice smile. It was one that I hoped spoke of how fucking done I was with their bullshit.
“Now, I suggest you tell me what I want to know, or I’m going to rip those IVs out of your arms and drain you dry, understood?” I inquired, the words lisping slightly as I spoke around my fangs.
The three of them nodded frantically.
“Oh, and if you try and scream or make a ruckus, then I’ll eat you with my shadow demon, just like I did with your friend over here,” I warned, as I looked down at the mummified guy.
I thought back to when I’d done this. Perpetrated something that went against nature itself. I should have just killed him back at the bank, but I’d been so surprised by how real my demon cat was that I got distracted.
The feel of its fur, like silk on my fingers, had only given me more control over it. As though its realness, its tangibility infused me with more power. My mind had been swamped with the feeling of it feeding on the man who had hurt Gid, draining and sucking every ounce of moisture from the asshole’s body as he gnawed at him like a kitty treat until there was almost nothing left.
The memories had my mind racing with excitement as I turned back to the guys who were still able to talk. I needed to focus on them and not what I’d done to their friend. More than that, I wanted them to speak so I removed their gags, well aware that their fear of me would keep them from screaming.