Simon gripped my arm tighter. Once again his mouth moved rapidly against my ear but the lilting chant grew louder and I couldn’t hear him. It was such an alluring sound. Not thinking about what I was doing, I took another step.
“Stop!” A voice called from far away.
I ignored the voice and took another step.
“Evie stop!”
This time I did stop. I knew that voice. How did I know that voice? My mind wouldn’t work. I turned around. The dark forms began to come into focus and the giant hole sputtered out little crackles of bright blue light, glowing brighter as their voices grew stronger.
And then, something happened. The voices that seemed so alluring moments before turned and instead of curious, I was terrified at what I might see if I moved any closer.
Spinning around, I looked for a way out.
There was none.
I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I didn’t want to see or hear them any longer. There was something unholy about them, something scary and dark. Somehow, I knew if I went any closer nothing good would come of it. Fear wound itself around me making me immobile. I felt like I was sinking in quicksand. I had to get away but I didn’t know how.
The doors to the library swung open and banged loudly against the wall. Cold gusts of air blew directly inside. Books upended off the shelves and went flying in the air.
“Get off of her—Bastard!” Barnaby lunged forward and slammed into Simon’s back.
Simon lost his hold.
I was set free.
Blind to the darkness, I ran forward and then just as suddenly my flight for freedom ended with jarring force as the darkness laid claim to me and pulled me back into its embrace.
48-WICKED IS AS WICKED DOES
Simon raced to the foyer but he was too late. Dythius had the girl, which meant Sybarite was not too far behind. Dythius shook the girl again and Simon knew from experience that either he would tire of the girl and drop her to the ground, which would probably break her neck, or he would keep shaking her, break her neck, and then drop her to the ground. And if he, Simon, was going to keep the girl alive he had to get her away from Dythius and away from Sybarite, but how? Now, that was the million dollar question. He was strong but not as strong as either of them and if he tried to get her now she would definitely die. If he did nothing she may die too, so he did the only thing he could do, he watched helplessly from the sidelines, waiting.
“Don’t!” he warned as he lifted his arms out to stop the humans from entering the room.
“I don’t have to take orders from you.” Barnaby pushed his arm out of the way.
“Go on then.” Simon stepped to the side.
Barnaby looked at his would-be opponent and his momentary bravado disappeared.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Simon muttered.
“Who is that?” Barnaby whispered.
“No one you want to piss off,” Simon said. “Now take this so I can try to save your little friend.” He pushed the book out.
“I’m not your bitch,” Barnaby snapped.
“You will be if you don’t watch that mouth of yours,” Simon snapped back.
Barnaby flinched.
“I’ll take it.” Chance stepped up and took the book. He shoved it under his shirt. The book thumped loudly to the ground.
Simon glared at him.
“Sorry,” Chance muttered and kicked the book into the library.
Feeling a familiar push, Simon looked up. Hidden in the shadows at the top of the stairs were Alistair and Adriane. Simon lifted his chin in acknowledgement and had to repress the urge to roll his eyes.
“Idiots,” Sybarite seethed. She took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way up the stairs behind the cluster of lowlings that had gathered in the doorway.
“Move your asses,” she hissed at them as she pushed her way past. The lowlings whimpered and moved out of her way. She gave them another warning glare before she finally walked inside. Again, confusion ensued behind her and she cut them another glaring look.
The lowlings crowded outside the door as their too-wide mouths opened and slammed shut.
Sybarite lifted a pale hand to her brow and worked the crease that gathered between her eyes. She looked to her left at a bunch of lowly humans gathered in the corner.
“Damn you,” she swore, realizing who they were standing beside. “Centurion?” she groaned as though it pained her. “Who woke you up?” she said with unconcealed irritation as anger flashed in her sea-green eyes.
Simon jerked his head around. Oh, come on. “I take it wasn’t you then.” He forced a smile.
“No.” Her brow creased. “Why ever would I do something like that?” Perplexed, a crease of confusion marred her stone-smooth features.
“You missed me.” Simon shrugged indifferently.
“Oh, Centurion, are we back to this?” she hissed. “You were never one to learn the lessons taught to you.” She made a tsk-tsking sound.
“Whatever do you mean?” he questioned a little too innocently.
Sybarite stared him down with lethal intent. “One would have thought you’d learned something of a lesson the last time we met.” She brought her hands together.
“Why ever would I do that?” Simon answered, flippantly.
“Yes, why would you?” She narrowed her eyes. “Unless…” she paused and scraped a long fingernail down her arm. A red welt rose on her bare skin. “Are you the only one?”
Simon looked around the vast room. Again, he shrugged. “I’m guessing so.”
Sybarite’s eyes flashed. “Why do I not believe you?”
“Got me,” Simon said. “I guess you have some trust issues.”
She cackled. “Still have your sense of humor I see. Perhaps you need to be taught another lesson. Hmmm?” She lifted her hand. “My goodness, what a pity to,” she exhaled. Turning toward the door she motioned to the lowlings. “Come…come,” she said and waved them forward.
“Wait!” Simon gnashed his teeth, hating what he was about to do.
“Yes?” Sybarite held up her hand and the lowlings halted.
“It’s been a while and I seem to have forgotten my place,” Simon muttered.
“Come again.” She lifted her hand to her ear. “I can’t hear you.”
Simon bent over and flourished his arm, like a subject to a royal at court would.
A glimmer of satisfaction entered her eyes. She lifted her hand and pushed outward. The lowlings slunk back. “Do my ears deceive me, or is this some trick?”
“Not at all,” he assured her and gave her a flirtatious smile. “I see time has been your friend,” he said with all the charm he was capable of.
Sybarite visibly preened. “Are you trying to wile me with your charms, Centurion?” She pulled a piece of hair over her shoulder and toyed with the end. “How interesting and… unexpected.” A lone moth flew by. She snatched it from the air and examined it. “You may rise.” It was a command but her voice had seemed to soften a bit from his words of praise.
Simon stood back up.
“Where is your partner?” She pressed a long fingernail down on the thorax of the moth.
“Ah…” Simon hedged.
“Who’s the hot babe?” Colton walked up beside Simon, oblivious to the danger.
Sybarite popped the bug into her mouth. Her sharp teeth pierced the body and yellow juice slipped down over her full red lips. She wiped the excess juice away, and ran her tongue over the tip of her finger.
“What the hell?” Colton gagged.
“Shut up!” Simon railed in hushed tones.
“Who is that behind you?” Sybarite asked. “Have they come to bestow praise on me as well?”
Colton pushed past Simon and froze. His eyes widened when he saw the huge guy. He was well over six feet tall. His long dark, almost black hair hung down over his broad shoulders. The dude was a massive beast. He wondered what he benched to get so big. Colton was no stranger to lifting, so he was in aw
e of the guy, until he caught sight of all the rings on his fingers. “Who’s the Pansy?” Colton muttered out of the side of his mouth.
“You want to get killed?” Simon snapped.
Colton widened his eyes. No! He didn’t want to be killed. Who says that shit? “What the…? Are they a gang or something?” Reflexively he stepped back when the dude cut his gaze in his direction. What he saw made his blood run cold. A tremor of fear tore through him…he was about to turn but then he remembered his dad’s warnings:
“Son, never let your enemy know your fear. Look them dead-on and show them that you are not afraid.”
Colton tried that. He pushed his fear back and stood straight and tall, and stared him dead in the eye.
More warnings bubbled forth:
“Always make yourself look big,” his dad would say, “but never look them straight in the eye.”
Quickly he cast his gaze to the floor, the checkered tiles blurred together. The warnings were for techniques his dad used while hunting big game on safari in Africa—were they the same? Oh shit, he didn’t know. Obviously, they worked for his dad—he had a room full of trophies at their lake house to attest to that, including bear, mountain lion, even a jaguar, and a secret room full of weaponry. He wasn’t too sure about his dad’s so-called “techniques” but he could certainly use some of his weapons right now.
49-BAD TASTED IN YOUR MOUTH
Barnaby waffled on the threshold of the library. He felt like the worst kind of coward but he couldn’t get his feet to move. A terrible sound came from outside and it was getting louder.
Up on the second level he caught a movement. Hidden in the shadows just beyond the banister, he could see the guy Evie had been with earlier, watching…his body still as a statue. Something in his brain clicked into place and all the stuff his mom had said about gargoyles…
He scrubbed his hands over his face. When he lowered them, the strange woman was looking pointedly at him. In that moment, he knew she was not a normal human being. No, she was something else…something dark and scary.
“Moriah, stop acting stupid,” Heather said and leapt forward, making a grab for her arm.
“I told you not to touch me,” Moriah warned and jerked her arm out of reach.
“Fine,” Heather said. “Go ahead then. Don’t let me stop you.” She crossed her arms and stepped to the side.
Moriah looked worriedly out into the foyer. “What about Evie?”
“What about her?” Heather sighed. “Listen, I just don’t want you to do something stupid that would result in us all getting eaten by the crazy red-headed bitch and her giant pimp boyfriend, okay?” She tried to reason with her. “You saw what she did to that poor bug. I mean, who does that shit? She has to be out of her freaking mind.”
“Well someone has to do something?” Moriah argued.
“He is doing something.” Heather pointed at Simon’s back. “Give him some time…okay,” she pleaded.
“Five minutes.” Moriah jutted out her chin. “I’ll give him five minutes.”
“Okay.” Heather released the breath she had been holding. “In five minutes I will help you if he doesn’t let her go.” She shook her head. What in the hell was she making promises for? She didn’t even like Evie, and Moriah…come on, she liked her even less. And yet, she knew when the time came she would do her part. Or would she?
50-WITCHY WOMAN
Sybarite gave Simon a pointed look. The yellow slits in place of irises grew in size. “Where is your companion?” she asked again.
“I can’t say,” Simon hedged.
“What do you mean, you can’t say?” She jerked her head to the side.
“When I awoke, he was not with me.” He shrugged indifferently. “I guess he ran off.”
“Ran off?” she asked. “Why would he do that?”
Simon shrugged again.
“Words eluding you Centurion?” she asked and narrowed her eyes. “What happened to that sharp tongue of yours?” She smiled and revealed a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
“I can’t read his mind.” Simon shifted.
“Right…” Sybarite said slowly, clearly distracted. “I seem to have forgotten. He is the reader. You are the charmer.” She laughed suddenly as though her words were amusing to her alone. “Come, Centurion. Tell me again of my beauty,” she wheedled throatily.
“Watch your tongue, woman,” Dythius warned gruffly. “It is I who will be between your thighs this eve, not some lowly Centurion.”
“Find the other Centurion,” she commanded as she turned toward the lowlings.
The lowlings grunted eagerly, their stout legs and arms moved frantically as they each fought to do her bidding, but they ended up fighting with each other instead. Guttural whining and hissing ensued as they started an all-out battle with one another.
“Idiots,” Sybarite seethed. “Dythius do something.”
Dythius set the girl down, reluctantly, and stood fully once more. When he turned he gave Sybarite a winning smile and his sharp teeth flashed under the lights. He strode past her to the front door. He shook out his arms and cracked his neck from side to side and then opened his mouth. A terrible high-pitched noise split the air bringing everyone to their knees, including Simon.
The sound of car trunks, slamming repeatedly closed, is what finally woke me and I recoiled from the noise. It reminded me of the onetime my mom and dad had taken me to Alligator Adventure. It had stunk horribly but that wasn’t what scared me…no, it was the sound the alligators made when they were being fed. It sounded like hundreds of car trunks were being slammed shut simultaneously. I opened my eyes and instantly wished I hadn’t—ghastly creatures filled the foyer.
The prizefighter was back and thumped wildly against my ribcage as I stared down at the hideous, stout-legged creatures having a free-for-all in the foyer. Hunks of gray flesh were on the ground and a rancid odor filled the air. I gagged. The smell was the same as the one I had smelled last night.
Ohmigod! What are they? For some reason my flight mode wasn’t working, and neither was my fight mode. I guessed I was too stunned to move or I had turned into a complete idiot. My gaze drifted to the woman standing in the center of all the chaos. She was utterly beautiful…and then I blinked. When I looked at the woman again, a surge of terror shot through me.
The woman was not beautiful at all. She was a monster. Each strand of the woman’s hair lifted away from her head and moved of its own accord. Instantly, I thought of the mythological creature Medusa. Feeling sick, I shut my eyes again and then reopened them. It wasn’t to block out what I was seeing, but rather to elucidate what I was seeing. Each time I blinked, I saw something different. One moment actual snakes were encircling the woman’s head and then, when I blinked again, the woman looked beautiful—magnificent, ethereal.
Blinking furiously now, the image switched each time, from a glorious goddess then into a gruesome monster. It was like those freaky anime trading cards…one moment the characters look all hot and innocent and then you flick it another way and the character turns into a scary monster. Forget this.
It didn’t matter what otherworldly hokie crap was going on. I needed to move. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I backed slowly up the stairs.
Somehow, even moving as slow as I was, I actually made it to the top of the stairs. Ducking behind the huge column, I looked down through the open banister. The crazy creatures were still there. I looked for a way out. I had two choices, well three, but three was not an option. To my right was a long hall with several closed doors which led…well I couldn’t see that far, but it may be a dead end. Or I could go up another flight of stairs to the next level and take my chances in either direction. At least that way I would be one floor higher than I was now. Yep. No contest. The higher I went the further I would get from the monster squad. Preparing to do just that, I turned….
Something touched my back. Pulling back my fist, I spun around, ready to fight…
“Evi
e, it’s me.” Adriane held up his hands.
“Ohmigod!” I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face against the familiar softness of his shirt as tears of relief ran freely from my eyes as he fiercely hugged me back.
“It’s okay.” His arms tightened around me as he stroked my back.
“Wh…” I had a million questions I wanted to ask him.
Adriane lifted his finger to his lips, gesturing for me to stay quiet. I wasn’t going to argue, I was just glad he was here, safe…with me…
“Move,” a harsh voice cut like a knife from behind. That one word had so much venom attached…it made me shiver. I turned around and my breath caught. A tall dark haired guy was standing in the shadows, his penetrating gaze unsettling as he stared down at me. He lifted his brow at me like he was daring me to do something. Recoiling from the harsh look, I leaned back.
“We have got to get out of here.” Adriane shook me slightly. “Thank you my friend, I will never forget this,” he said sincerely as he looked at the guy behind us both.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “It’s not over.” Then he softened his tone. “See you on the other side.”
“Yeah, I will see you soon. Thank Simon for me as well.”
“Done,” he said. “Now go!”
“What about my friends?” I suddenly found my voice. I didn’t want to leave them. If I did I had a feeling I would never see them again.
“Alistair will look after them,” Adriane assured me.
“Are you sure?” My gaze drifted back towards the other guy and shivered. He didn’t look like he wanted to look after anyone—actually he looked like he was ready to kill someone and if I wasn’t mistaken that someone was me.
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