Hillcrest Academy

by Cassie Pierce

  Either C.J. believes her, or whatever they are holding over her head is worth more to her than I am, because we start moving again, and this time we don’t stop. I know I need to warn Jaxon. I need to call to him through our bond, but whatever they gave me makes that impossible. I can barely breathe...can barely move. Still, I have to try. He will blame himself for this, just like he blames himself for everything.

  “JAX!”

  I shout the word into my mind, praying that he will hear me...

  That he will feel me....

  That he will save me, because I am too tired to save myself.

  Then there is nothing.

  Nothing but fear and darkness as I am dragged into unconsciousness.

  ∞

  The first thing that I register as reality slams me awake is pain. An intense pain that starts at the top of my head and works its way all the way to the very tips of my sore toes. My muscles scream in protest as I attempt to move. A burning deep inside my bones ignites, causing me to bite down on my tongue so hard that the coppery taste of blood fills my mouth.

  Yuck. Those vampire books got it all wrong. Blood does not taste good, not even remotely. It tastes like rusted ass.

  Not that I have ever eaten ass, but....you get the point.

  The second thing that I register is that I can’t see. Like at all! So...it is either pitch black in here, or I am blind. I blink my eyes a few times, panicking when nothing happens.

  Ok. It’s cool. I’ve got this. It is just dark. I am not afraid of the dark.

  I pick my hand up, attempting to study it to assess my vision, but the movement is halted before it reaches my face. Pain bites into my wrist, causing me to lower it. Metal clinks against metal, and for the first time I feel the chains that wrap tightly against my skin.

  A door opens behind me, momentarily allowing in a sliver of light, before slamming closed. I swallow a relieved sigh, thankful that at least I now know I’m not blind.

  Footsteps approach me from behind, and even though I can’t see through the veil of darkness that keeps me prisoner I strain my eyes to see. The steps are light and sure as they approach me, and I swallow my fear as they stop close to where I am.

  I can hear the mysterious visitor breathing in the silence that filters through the room. Cue the scary music, because nothing is creepier than someone standing over you silently in the dark.

  “I can hear you. Who are you? Where am I?” I demand, with way more authority than I know that I currently have, but hey....fake it till you make it. Besides, I just got kidnapped by princess bitch and my not-so best friend.

  I wonder if the J in her name stands for Judas? I will have to ask the traitor....if I ever get out of here.

  A sharp crack across my cheek bone comes out of nowhere, as the force of the unexpected blow snaps my head back. The base of my skull connects with a wall that I didn’t know was there as more of the rusty red copper tinged blood fills my mouth.

  Son of a ..... that hurt!

  I guess my new friend doesn’t like talking. Well too damn bad for him, because I love to talk. If these assholes think that they can just kidnap me, and I am going to make it easy on them, then they obviously did not do their homework.

  I am a pain in the ass on a good day, and judging by the now monster headache that I have from being sucker punched...I am going to say today is not a good day for me.

  What’s that saying? Ahhh...yes. Misery loves company, and you picked the wrong company. My mood right now basically sucks.

  “Thank you sir,” I say in my sweetest voice. “May I have another?” I laugh.

  I can hear a rumbling curse across from me, and I smile to myself. It seems I have my captor’s attention.

  “I will do the talking,” a smooth British accent says in a low rumble. I laugh, because apparently, I do have a death wish.

  “Sorry, but that won’t work for me. I talk....a lot!” His hand whips out, striking my other cheek with just as much brutality as before, and I fight to suppress the scream that I want to let free. I have never really been hit before. I must say, my first time...not so fun.

  “Please,” he growls, this time closer to me and quieter than before. There is an urgency in his voice that wasn’t there before. “He is watching,” he whispers before stepping away from me.

  My eyes scan the room, but I am again met by only darkness. Who is watching? Is it King Xavier? It would make sense. His crazy daughters kidnapped me.

  Why does this guy sound like he cares? That doesn’t add up. Maybe I have a concussion.....

  “Now girl,” he sneers, walking to the corner of the room. At least, I think it’s the corner. “Tell us which brother you are bonded to, so that we may end this senseless violence.”

  They don’t know, but that can’t be right. Jaxon has not exactly made a secret out of spending time with me. Hell, he practically marked me in the middle of school yesterday. Which means guessing isn’t enough! They need me to say it!

  The Fallen have to have absolute proof before attacking a prince, and they want me to give it to them! These evil assholes really think that I am weaker than them. Well...think again!

  “I would rather bleed,” I spit. Inside I am terrified, but my outer layer has always been made of steel. I won’t break because of a little blood and pain.

  A light flips on in the room, and I squish my eyes closed as it momentarily blinds me. I quickly open them, knowing that every detail is going to be vital in helping me escape. The chains that circle my wrist are a black shiny material that glows a soft red where it touches my skin. My feet are free, and I appear to be shackled to a rusty bed frame.

  I cringe as I take note of the various stains on the uncovered mattress. Yep. Pretty sure I am going to need the world’s longest shower after this. My school uniform is ripped at the sleeve, and little dots of blood splash from my nose onto the once white shirt.

  The man in the room with me looks nothing like what I had envisioned. I always thought boys that hit girls would look like their souls.... ugly. The mystery stranger with the unforgiving fist is far from that.

  I would dare to call him good looking, if he hadn’t beaten the shit out of me a few minutes ago. His brown hair is cropped short on the sides and long on top. I am surprised to see that he is my age. Maybe a few years older, but not much. He is dressed in worn out jeans and a band t-shirt that looks like it has seen better days. His eyes are the strangest thing about him. They are a soft lilac. I never thought that purple would be a good eye color for a boy, but he wears it well.

  Too bad he’s an asshole. A good looking one, but still an asshole. One who Jaxon is going to kill for touching me.

  He opens his mouth and takes a small step forward. His shoulders tense as his eyes cut to the door. He looks like he wants to say something, but the clicking of the lock clamps his mouth shut.

  The door swings inward, and in walks a man who I can only assume is King Xavier. That, or a psych patient who likes to wear golden crowns has escaped and locked me in his basement.

  King Xavier looks exactly like a king should. Fat from being greedy with his food. Short, but cocky enough that no one notices. Oh...did I mention that he is wearing a mother-flipping-gold crown! He has more hair on his beard than his head, and his eyes are as black as his non-existent soul. To sum it up... He looks kind of like a Viking king from the middle ages.

  The boy in the room with me cast his eyes to the floor before lowering to one knee. The king stops in front of me, raising an eyebrow at me expectantly.

  “I bow for no one,” I laugh, knowing that he will hate my attitude. Plus....it is hard to bow when you are tied to a bed!

  He doesn’t say anything. Not at first. He just assesses me with those cold eyes. He lingers a little too long on my legs for my liking, but I make no effort to show my discomfort. I will not show them any weakness they can exploit. I just have to survive until Jaxon finds me.

  He will find me. I know it! I can already feel whatever drug
they gave me wearing out of my system. When it does, they are all going to die! He smiles a dirty smile that I hate as he looks in the direction of the door.

  “Talon,” he says to the boy who just used me as a punching bag. “Our guest says she would rather bleed than talk. You don’t want to deny our guest, do you boy?”

  Talon. So, the douche has a name.

  Talon’s lilac eyes show a hint of something, but he quickly tucks it away. His face goes blank as he steps forward. His eyes cut to the king, who smiles a knowing smile at him.

  “Your wish is my command sire.”

  The king laughs as Talon charges me. His warm hands wrapping around my neck and squeezing off my precious air. It’s funny. You don’t realize how much you love breathing, until you can’t.

  My throat catches fire as I try to scream, but nothing will pass the barrier of his hold on my neck. Not sound, and certainly not oxygen. Black spots dance across my fading vision, and for once I am thankful for the sweet reprieve that the darkness will bring.

  Just as I am about to fade away, King Xavier’s voice filters through the fogginess that tries to pull me under. “She said bleed boy, not suffocate. Make her bleed, and with each strike remind her who’s house she is in. If you do not, I will punish my daughter one strike for every one that you spare the half-breed,” he sneers, his cold eyes so full of hate that it stuns me.

  Then the door clicks shut, sealing my fate. Talon’s hands release me, and I do not have a chance to celebrate the return of my precious oxygen before his fist connects with the tender side of my already sore cheek. The hit a brutal one, that would knock me down if I weren’t already strapped to the floor.

  “Stop,” I cry, no longer giving a damn about my pride. This shit hurts!

  Talon’s eyes flash with a hint of emotion, but he shudders before locking his jaw and looking at the floor. He takes deep, heaving breaths, like he is fighting for control. When he looks at me, I see the brokenness hidden behind the coldness on his handsome face. Maybe it takes someone broken to recognize it in others, but I see Talon for who he is.

  Someone who hates himself. I know the feeling well.

  “Please,” I beg, hoping that he will see through me as well. That he will hear the desperation behind the word. That he will understand that begging is hard for me....

  “I must,” he whispers sadly. “I cannot let him hurt her. I love her.....” he cuts off.

  Her? Ah...yes. The king told him that for every blow he spared me, he would give to his daughter. So which daughter is the dark and mysterious Talon willing to sacrifice me to protect? Something tells me it isn’t Bianca. That bitch is too mean to love anyone but herself. Which leaves C.J.

  That would explain why my one and only friend basically kidnapped me. If Talon is important to C.J., and the king controls him somehow, what kind of awful things would my new BFF do to save him?

  It isn’t like we have known each other for long, and Talon said love. He loves C.J.

  Yep....I am going to die.

  “Forgive me,” he whispers before his fist connects, this time breaking my nose. Christ! I always wanted a nose job, but damn...just damn! That hurt! The pain so intense that I fold in on myself, curling into a ball as tears fall freely from my already swelling eyes.

  “You will submit to King Xavier,” Talon says, hitting me again and again. His hits landing everywhere. I feel a bone crack in my ribs, but I make no attempt to move. Everywhere hurts, but deep down I know it could be worse. Talon is a big guy. He is easily six three and a solid two hundred pounds. If he wanted to kill me, I would already be dead. He is holding back, but not nearly enough.

  “SUBMIT!” he roars, and I wonder if submitting will actually save me, or if this is just a game to the evil king?

  “Screw you,” I laugh.

  A partially nasty kick cracks something vital in my chest, and pain explodes inside of me. My entire body lights on fire as my power flares to life. My skin heats to a boiling point, and I wonder if it’s possible to spontaneously combust? Just when I feel like I am going to pass out, either from the pain or the magic that consumes me...I hear it.

  His voice is like coming home after being lost at sea. A light in the darkness. A warm blanket on a cold night. It is rough and soft, and packed with so much damn emotion that if I ever doubted Jaxon’s feelings for me, I never will again.

  “Princess?” he whispers, and I try my hardest to hold on to the sound of his voice. He said he could find me anywhere. That he always would, and in this moment, I pray that is true. I want to go home.

  “Jax....” I think I say it out loud, but I’m not sure. All I know is that I call out to him, begging for him to save me.

  The brutal assault on my body stops, and I can feel as Talon leans over my crouched form. His breath is warm on my neck, and I shiver in revulsion. He is way too close to me. “Jaxon? Can he hear you?” he pleads, and something in his voice sounds different. An urgency that I don’t understand.

  I bite my lip, refusing to answer. That is why I am here. So that they can get proof against my prince. Well....they are going to have to kill me first.

  Which judging by the very broken state of my body, should not take much longer. I must say, I am a little disappointed. I always thought that I would die doing something epic. Not like this! Never like this!

  “Maci!” Talon shouts, shaking me roughly by the shoulders. “Can they hear you?” he growls.

  In the background of my mind I can hear Jaxon going crazy. Threating to rip off the arms that shake me. He is almost primal in his rage, and when Talon repeats his question, Jaxon’s voice whips through my mind.

  “You tell that mother......”

  His words are cut off by Talon’s urgent message. “If you can hear me, know that I am sorry. He has my love, and this fate cannot be hers. King Xavier has always enjoyed the view of the mountains from his home here.”

  What the....

  What does that mean?

  I don’t have time to question anything else as Talon’s booted foot comes up, connecting with my face.

  Finally....darkness.

  ∞

  ~ Chapter 15 ~

  “I am so sorry,” she cries as tender hands dab at the cuts on my face. “I am going to fix this. I swear it.”

  I try to call out to her, but the darkness refuses to let me go. C.J. came back for me, and by the shock in her voice she did not expect me to look like this. Then her soft cries give way to silence as I am left alone once again.

  Time passes slowly here, and though I have yet to open my eyes I can hear the others as they move around me. Talking...whispering.....yelling.

  I try to find Jaxon in the darkness, but I am alone here.

  I tense as fighting breaks out around me. The sounds of flesh hitting bone bringing me back to my time alone with Talon. A scream rips from my dry throat without my permission, and I try to take it back. If they know that I am awake, they will hurt me. A whimper escapes against my will as a shadow falls over me. I curl into myself even more, flinching against the pain that I know is coming.

  “Shhhhh,” a voice whispers, and it sounds familiar, but my head hurts too bad to place it. “I’ve got you. Baby......I am so sorry. So damn sorry,” the voice says as the sound of metal hitting the floor filters in. The burning in my bones dulls slightly as the chains fall from my raw and bleeding wrist. Strong arms lift me, and my survival instincts flare to life.

  My eyes snap open, but I don’t see anything but the darkness as I kick and hit at the arms that hold me in an attempt to make them let me go. My movements are frantic, and I am slightly satisfied when my fist connects with flesh.

  He grunts but does not release me as he shifts me in his arms. He squeezes me tighter, pulling me into his body. “Princess stop. It’s me,” he growls, and the sound of his voice causes me to stop fighting.

  Jaxon! My Jaxon is here! How in the world did I not know his voice? My eyes finally focus on his face, and tears fall as I take hi
m in. His thunder-storm eyes are a mixture of relief and fury as they lock on mine. He doesn’t move as I reach up, gently touching the planes of his face. A shudder works its way through him and into me as I move closer to him, burying my head into the safety of his chest and inhaling his wintergreen scent. For the first time since this nightmare began, I feel safe. Jaxon is safe. No one will hurt me with him here.

  He came for me! He saved me! Flashes of my time with Talon run through my head, along with the memory of Jaxon’s voice. He found me, just like he promised. A promise that I was starting to think he wasn’t going to keep.

  “What did they do to you?” he whispers brokenly, just as Braxton appears over his shoulder. His blue eyes get large as they take in my no doubt broken face.

  “Jesus!” he exclaims, reaching for me, but stopping himself last minute. He clenches his fists tightly at his sides as a muscle ticks along his jaw. He looks away.

  “Guys. What is the hold up? I can only hold the illusion for a few more.....” Ryker starts, but his words die the moment that his eyes take me in. Something changes on his face, as a cold fury replaces my normally laid-back friend.

  “They didn’t,” he seethes, taking a step closer to me, but stopping when I all but crawl into Jaxon to stop him from touching me. His eyes flash with hurt, but he quickly tucks it away.

  “I am going to kill them. Each and every single one,” Jaxon whispers, and for some reason it is scarier than a shout. It promises death and pain, a promise that I know he plans to keep.

  Braxton surprises me by saying, “I agree brother, but right now we need to get home. We can come back and kill them. I swear.”

  The tight set of Jaxon’s body tells me that he wants to argue, but a muffled curse and a soft kiss to my forehead lets me know that he won’t. Like always, I am his number one priority. So....even though he wants to kill the entire Fallen race for making me bleed, I know he will walk away.

  Jax nods slowly, pulling me closer to him and turning to his brothers. “What illusion did you cast?” he asks Ryker.

  Ry laughs, a soft chuckle that is equal parts arrogant and scary. He smiles, a dimple popping to life on one side as he answers lazily. “Oh you know me brother....nothing too bad. I just made them a little paranoid. Seems the Fallen have trust issues. I didn’t even have to do anything to get them to start attacking each other. It’s kind of disappointing really.”