by Cece Rose
Darren breaks, not even waiting to watch where the balls go before turning back to me. He holds the cue out, as if handing it to me. I go to take it, but the second my hand grips it, he uses the cue to pull me towards him. I crash into his chest, and he wraps an arm around me, lifting me up and sitting me on the edge of the pool table with little effort. Exactly how I’d been sitting that night.
I glance over at the bar, nervous someone may give us shit for me sitting on the table, but they don't seem to pay us any attention. Darren's finger taps my cheek, directing my gaze back towards him, making sure I’m watching as he leans down and presses his lips against mine. His kiss is hesitant, but only for a second, until I return it, my hands sliding up to rest on his chest. I feel him relax under my hands at the contact as he continues his gentle kisses. Frustration begins to build inside me, and my hands clench, clutching his shirt as if to pull him closer. Why does he have to kiss me so sweetly?
As if reading my mind, he curves an arm possessively around my waist, dragging me tighter against him and turning the heat as his lips begin to dominate mine. His other hand traces its way up my spine and back down again, his light strokes searing through my thin clothes. My hands drift up to rest on his shoulders, my nails digging in when he nips my bottom lip with his teeth.
My phone rings, the irritating tone a cold rush of water over the both of us. He steps back enough for me to slide down off the table to go answer it. The ringing cuts off just as I pull it from my coat pocket and swipe to answer the call.
Unknown number. I frown, debating whether to call it back.
“Who is it?” Darren asks, resting a hand at my waist and looking over my shoulder at my phone's screen.
“I don't know.” A voicemail alert pops up. “Well, I guess I'll find out now,” I mutter, stepping away from him as I click to check my voice messages so I can find out who called. I bite my lip as I listen to the robotic voice telling me that I have one new message received today.
Kier's voice comes through the line. “Hi, Kayla. It's me, Kier. I'm sorry for bothering you, but someone said something strange to me today, and I just wanted to call and make sure you're okay. When you get this, give me a call.” The message ends and returns to the automated voice telling me I can either delete or save the message. I hang up, cutting it off. It’ll delete itself after ten days anyway.
“What's wrong?” Darren questions, as he steps closer to me.
“I can’t do this,” I mumble, grabbing my coat before pushing past him and heading for the exit.
“Can’t do what, Kayla?” he demands, his tone tense from irritation and bewilderment, as he catches up and follows me out of the bar and onto the street.
I take a deep breath to compose myself before turning around to face him. “I can’t be here having fun with you right now, I’m sorry.”
“If you’re enjoying yourself, why do you want to leave?” His forehead furrows in confusion, and I feel yet another stab of guilt in my gut.
I was having fun, but I feel guilty for it. I can't let this change anything, right? Biting my bottom lip, I try to figure out how to respond. I can already sense a change in myself just from this short time together, but I’m not sure what to do with these feelings.
“Well?” he prompts, the annoyance clear in his expression. He's at the end of his tether, that much is obvious. I'm starting to think this one last date thing was for him rather than for me.
Maybe he's had enough of me pushing him away?
“Because there’s somewhere I have to be, something I need to do. I’m sorry. This was great, though. Really. Thank you, I had fun. I'll call you, and we can talk later,” I try to compromise with myself. Stepping forward, on impulse I go to kiss him, but freeze, feeling a whole different kind of twisting in my stomach when he turns his face away from me a little.
“You can only yank me around so much, Kayla.” He sighs, confirming my fear. He's already pulling out his phone and turning away from me when he adds, “I'll speak to you later, I guess.”
I swallow, my tongue seeming to grow thicker in my dry mouth, as I debate whether I should try and talk to him. I exhale a frustrated sigh, slumping against the side of the building and instead just watch him walk off, heading to his car and away from me.
Once he's out of sight, I drag myself upright and turn in the opposite direction. There's no point in going after him when I can't give him honest answers right now. I look down at my phone clutched tightly in my hand.
Plus, I have a bigger issue to deal with right now.
Seventeen
Guilty Conscience
Despite my heart pounding in my ears and my hands shaking, I rap my knuckles against the door a few times and wait for an answer, though a small part of me hopes I receive none.
“Go away, I'm busy,” Kier's voice yells without opening the door. Biting my lip, I knock again. “I said I'm busy!” he all but roars. I flinch, even through the door his raised voice makes me jumpy.
“It's me, uh, Kayla. The receptionist said you weren't accepting visitors, but I told her you called me, and you’d want to see me as it’s important.” I hope that he hears me through the door, despite my low volume and timid tone. I really don’t feel like shouting and drawing any more attention this way than necessary.
The door swings open, slamming into the wall behind it, and I’m stuck staring into Kier's wild eyes. His hair is tussled, and he appears ready to take a bite out of someone, his fangs showing. My newfound fear of vampires causes me to cringe and step back on instinct.
He notices, taking a deep breath before retracting his fangs. “Sorry.”
“What's going on?” I hesitate to ask, moving to step into the office now that his teeth don’t look ready to sink into my neck, but he blocks me from entering, stepping in front of me.
“I'm glad to see you're okay.” He scans his gaze over me quickly, as if making sure his words were accurate before continuing, “I know I called you, but I just received some news, and I can't do this right now. There's a situation that requires my immediate attention.”
“What's going on?” I ask again, a sense of unease flooding me as my fear over the escaped criminals begins to create all manner of horrific scenarios in my head.
“I don't really think this is your business, Kayla. I'm glad to see you're okay, but I have work to do, if you’ll excuse me,” he asserts, his hand already moving towards the door as if he plans to shut it on me.
“What happened?” I continue to press him, ignoring his dismissal and side-stepping him to enter his office, regardless of his wishes. I need to know if it's about the vampires that escaped from The Tomb. Maybe he's annoyed because he's tasked with helping catch them?
He sighs, running a hand through his already messy hair. “I shouldn't tell you this, but I suppose it's not just a professional matter, but a personal one as well for me. Someone reported seeing my father.”
There's a thick tension in the air for a moment as what he said registers in my brain. His dad was seen. His dad was in The Tomb. Because of me two people escaped The Tomb.
He couldn't... this cannot be happening...
“What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost,” Kier questions me softly, as if scared anything above that gentle tone will startle me.
“What's…what’s your father's name?” I choke out. Please don’t say Elias or Markus, please don’t say Elias or Markus…
He gives me a peculiar look, and I can almost see gears turning in his head. He stares at me, intent on my reaction as he answers. “His name is Elias Matthew Huxley.”
I try and keep my face blank, but I'm worried Kier will see straight through me and read the deceit on my face, particularly considering his occupation. Shit. How am I supposed to tell him what happened now?
“I need to get back to work,” he mutters, moving towards a large desk. “I need to find him first, so I can offer a more permanent solution this time.”
“You don't mean...” I trail off
, unable to finish the sentence. My mouth feels dry and it becomes difficult to swallow.
He turns, settling his intense gaze back on me as he responds, sombre and mechanical in his delivery, “I was younger last time, more idealistic. I thought sending him to The Tomb was enough, but all it did was allow him to torment people somewhere else. I've spent the last few years convincing myself that it's enough, that at least he's not hurting innocent people, but now I can stop him from hurting anyone ever again.”
“How do you know what The Tomb is like? Do you all know about it, working here?” I question, trying not to dwell on his impending plans for patricide. At least he'd be acting within the law, I think. Considering that other vampire that attacked me had a kill order, I'm sure his dad will have one too if what Kier told me about his crimes is true.
“After a while I got curious. Was his hell bad enough? Was he rotting? I pulled in a few favours and got the information I wanted. It's a terrible place, sure. But he's fucking thriving in it, with minions and victims aplenty. Well, he was... Not anymore, now he’s walking around free, causing trouble towards the innocent.”
“How are you going to find him? Do you have any leads?” I interrogate. I want to help him somehow. I need to help. The guilt gnaws at me, and I must be able to do something. Make this shit better somehow.
He visibly deflates. “That's the one flaw in my plan. The only reason I captured him last time was because he wasn't expecting it. He didn't know what I knew, and he didn't know about the warrant until he after was arrested. Now that he knows he's a fugitive? He'll be next to impossible to find. The sighting seems more of a taunt than a mistake... I know he wouldn't have been seen if he didn't want to be. He's strong. Strong enough to block any form of tracing we have and to send us down a million false trails. I even tried using my blood, considering our familial link. It's one of the damned strongest ways to track someone and still nothing!” he growls. He lifts a map off from the desk and holds it up for me to see. I notice the blood drops marring it, though they haven’t spread to show a link between two points as it should have. Just useless drops.
“I'm sorry.” The quiet words escape me of their own accord.
“Why are you sorry?” he asks, and I shake my head, biting my lip to prevent anymore stupid things slipping out. “Kayla, tell me what you're thinking.”
“I... I have an idea,” I reply, inspiration striking me. I could find his dad and make this right. I could fix this, I could make this up to him. If Rhydian told the truth to Lizzy about this fae artefact, I could use it to find Kier's dad.
“An idea?” he repeats, his voice bordering between curious and incredulous.
“I may have a way to find him,” I mumble, scared to oversell it in case Rhydian won't help. He's not exactly Kier's biggest fan, but this is serious, damn it!
“How do you think you could find him when I can't?” he demands, dropping the map, leaving it discarded on the floor, and stepping closer to me.
“I can't tell you.” Rhydian definitely won’t help me if I spill the beans on the secret artefact.
An unreadable look crosses Kier’s face, before it turns to fury. “You did get arrested, didn't you? And you ended up in The Tomb... but how did you escape? It's impossible,” he accuses, backing me right into the door, stopping only an inch or so away as he towers over me. Fuck, I hate being so short.
“It was actually kind of easy, but that's their fault for arresting me thinking I was some murdering shifter,” I begin, but pause, drawing in a sharp breath when his fangs descend. My heart starts an erratic thumping, blood rushes to my head, and my breathing becomes frenzied. “Too close. Fangs,” I stutter, unable to move my eyes from the pointy teeth in question. He lets out a breath and steps back, giving me some space. “Thank you.”
“Did you help him escape?” he demands, not giving me a chance to recover.
“Not on purpose. I came here to tell you everything about what happened. I just wanted to get out, I didn’t belong in that awful place. Nobody would believe me when I said they made a mistake and insisted on who I was, Kier! I asked them to call you. I asked them to check their information, but all they cared about is what that stupid fucking Magitech device said. I didn't know when or if they’d realise their mistake. What else could I do but try to rescue myself? But I am so sorry that someone else managed to get out because of me.” I stop the word vomit, sucking in shaky breaths for a few seconds before adding, “Also, you may want to suggest they ward the place from demons.”
“Demons?” His eyes go wide. “This is bad, Kayla, really bad. Please don't tell me a demon knows the location of The Tomb. They've never cared enough to seek it out but knowing where it is... they may see profit in snagging people from there. Freedom from that prison in exchange for their souls, there's people in there who would agree to that without question.”
“I know it's bad. But I tried to portal myself out of there and it wouldn't work. My portal wouldn't stabilise,” I plead with him to understand.
“It wouldn't. Portals are all but cut off down there, fae phasing too. The only thing I know that can breach it, or they thought may be able to, is a powerful demon. How did you even manage to summon one in there without the equipment? No candles, chalk, blood, summoning spells? You can't tell me you had all of that and the spells memorised.” He gives me a sceptical look.
“I already knew a demon. I did a somewhat less formal summoning. Essentially I just called on his name.”
“You know a demon? You held him in an undrawn circle?” His eyes seem to bulge.
“Err, remember my cat? That's him. I also kind of summoned him without any circle. We have an understanding of sorts...” I trail off, realising how downright crazy that sounds.
Nobody has that kind of understanding with a demon and doesn't end up in eternal servitude or dead.
“You’re telling me your cat is a demon?”
“Well, more like my demon was a cat, but he's not now. He owed me a favour and got stuck in cat form when I panicked and turned him into one,” I blurt, slamming my lips shut after. Fuck, I sound insane.
“You turned a demon into a cat?” he asks in a disbelieving voice.
“Yeah, he wasn't thrilled, but I got him back to normal, and now we have an understanding. I can't explain it, but he could have killed me or taken me multiple times and he hasn't.” I shift on my feet, uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze.
“He's playing with you. A cat toying with its food,” he declares.
“Maybe, but I'm not dinner just yet. Look, if you want to find your dad, I need to go and speak to a friend about a favour.”
“Not the demon,” he groans, looking unhappy with the very thought. I doubt he’d be any happier knowing the friend is Rhydian.
“No, not the demon, I promise. But I should go now. Every second wasted is bad, right?” I step towards the door.
“I should arrest you for aiding a criminal's escape,” he tells me seriously.
“You treated me like a criminal once when you knew I was innocent. This time give me the benefit of the doubt before you start with the charges. I will help you find him. You'll get what you want, and he won't be a danger anymore. I didn't mean for him to escape, but I was desperate to get out of there and called on a demon for help. The demon wanted something from Elias, and he used it to bargain his way out,” I appeal to him, begging him to understand.
He's silent for a moment, as if pondering what I've said. Finally, he gives a rough jerk of his head. “Fine. Go. Don't make me regret trusting you, Kayla. My instinct tells me you're a good person, and I want to believe in that.”
“Thank you. I'll make this up to you, I will. I'm so sorry,” I whisper. Turning on my heel, I leave before he can change his mind.
I can’t risk him keeping me here any longer, not when I have a faery to see about a favour.
Eighteen
A Fae Bargain
“So, what is it that you want?” Rhydian drawls as he app
ears in my living room. He could have freaking knocked on the door like a normal person.
“What makes you think I want something?” I tense up, worried he'll be annoyed once I confirm that he's right. Because I did just invite him here because I want something.
“You messaged me and asked me to come over... Somehow I'm sure that you haven't reconsidered my proposal of us sleeping together yet, so it’s safe to assume that you need something from me. It's not like you'd call me over just to chat or hang out,” he remarks, not looking at all bothered by that fact.
“You think the only reasons I'd invite you over are either for sex or if I need something from you?” I ask, feeling my forehead furrow up as I frown.
“Don't worry about it, sweetheart. Everyone wants something from me.” He runs his fingers over my forehead, as if trying to brush away my unhappy expression. His tone makes an attempt at sounding indifferent, but his eyes reflect a sadness that only makes me feel worse.
“I do want something. I'm sorry, if there was another way, I wouldn't ask,” I respond, feeling terrible as I admit it.
“What do you want, sexy witch? How may a humble man, such as myself, be of service?” His playful expression is back as he moves away and flops down onto my sofa. I snort, grateful for him returning to a lighter tone. A flirtatious and playful Rhydian I can deal with. Him looking all sad inside... That twists something inside of me. It's just so wrong.
“I need to use your magical fae locater thing,” I confess.
“Why?” he asks.
“It's complicated.”
“Tell me or you can't use it.” He raises his dark eyebrows at me in challenge, and sits back, just waiting for me to spill all my secrets.
“I need it to find a criminal I accidentally broke out of The Tomb,” I answer, albeit begrudgingly.
“Kier's father? No, out of the question,” he retorts without skipping a beat.
“Wait. How the hell did you know it was Kier's father?” I exclaim. He only smirks in answer. “You're ridiculous,” I huff, crossing my arms as I begin to pace. “He's a criminal, Rhydian. It's my fault he's free. He could be out there, hurting people, and I'm responsible for that. I need to find him and make this right. Please.”