“It isn’t personal. You are just a means to an end,” he says simply. Like kidnapping and torturing people is an everyday thing for him. Who knows though? It could be.
“I am going to have to disagree.”
“I tried to help you. I did. I gave you all of the tools that you needed to activate the prophecy. All you had to do was fulfill your destiny! Everything was going according to plan, but that boy messed it up!”
Michael is full on yelling now, his chair long forgotten as he starts to pace. He looks almost possessed as he keeps talking. The words pouring from him with reckless abandon.
This can’t be good. A bad guy does not reveal his master plan, unless he knows I won’t be living to tell it.
“He had to complete the triad to unlock the gate.” He rants, and something clicks into place for me.
“The gate to Paradise. You are trying to go back?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Michael hates humans. He sees them as beneath him. Spending his immortal life here is probably his equivalent of hell.
“YES! Yes! I have to go back, and your blood is going to get me there,” he says, pulling on the chain around my wrist. I let out a pained cry as he tugs me to my feet.
“Why now? If this has always been your plan? Why not take me sooner. Before anyone would look for me?”
He sighs, his shoulders slumping as a pained look crosses his face. “I was a good soldier Maci. The best, but Jahar was my responsibility. She died because of me.”
“She didn’t die Michael,” I interject, pointing to my heart. The movement pulls on the chains, but I keep talking through the pain. He needs to hear this. Maybe I can stop this— whatever this is.
“BUT SHE DID!” he roars. “She died to save you, which makes me think that you are important. You had to be. She wouldn’t have sacrificed herself otherwise. So I did some digging. It turns out that your blood is the key to opening the gate. Both gates!”
That sounds reassuring. I am like an angelic juice box! Can this day get any worse?
“I won’t do it,” I argue. I try to sound brave and sure, but in reality, I probably just sound like I feel. Scared.
“You don’t have a choice,” he says sadly.
“If what you say is true, why not just tell the Creator. He could help you.” I try, going for reason.
“I did,” he snaps, his eyes taking on a hardness that scares me. “He laughed! Laughed at me! His bravest soldier, and he laughed. The simple truth is.....the Creator told me to kill you before the Fallen king found out about the power you hold.”
“Let me guess,” I say, holding up my chained hands. “You had a better idea?”
“Smart girl,” he remarks, grinning at me. Ok. That is it. My sperm donor is officially creepy as hell.
“I told Xavier of the power in your blood, and a plan was born.”
That plan being kidnapping me for who knows what.
“What do you have to gain by Xavier opening the gate?” I ask. “He is the Fallen king. The Creator is never going to let him in. If you help him...he won’t let you in either.”
“Ahhh...but he will. You see sweet Maci. I am not going to ask the Creator for permission to enter. We are going to open the demonic gate, and use the demons to build our army. We are going to take Paradise. If the Creator gets in the way....we will kill him.”
Oh god! This is worse than I thought! I have to do something! Demons cannot be let loose to wreak havoc on the world.
“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt. All I need from you is your blood,” he says simply. Like he is asking me for a Kleenex or a piece of gum. Yeah...not happening.
Noise sounds from the back of the cave, and Ashlee steps from the shadows. My eyes widen as she walks up to Michael, planting a steamy kiss to his lips.
Ewwww....gross! Did she seriously just kiss my semi-dad?
“Sorry love,” she purrs, and I want to vomit. This...this girl in front of me now is not my best friend. “He was harder to transfer than I expected.”
A snarl rips from behind her, and I notice for the first time that she holds a set of glowing red chains in her hand as well. She wears gloves, which I am guessing is how she is keeping them from burning her. My eyes follow the chains, widening when I see the boy they are attached to.
I just thought that I had it rough. Talon stands before me, his eyes red and wild and his fangs elongated as he clutches at the chain that is wrapped tightly around his neck.
Blood drips from where the chains touch him, sizzling against the metal. Pain contorts every inch of his face, and I take a step forward. A sudden pulling sensation stops me, and I snarl as I watch Michael wrap the end of my chain around his hand.
“You’re hurting him!” I exclaim, pointing to Talon. Talon’s eyes snap to mine at the sound of my voice, like he is just seeing me. His widen in horror and something heavier.
“No!” he shouts, turning away from me and hiding his face.
“Do you know what happens when you cut an angel? Even a half-breed Maci?” Michael asks, but it must be a rhetorical question because he doesn’t give me time to answer. He just keeps talking.
“They heal. There is no way that we can drain you completely before that happens. So Ashlee here came up with a better solution.” Michael says, smiling at Ashlee like she baked him a cake or something.
“We drain you slowly,” she says, proud of herself. “The only problem was we needed a way to control how much we take. You see... it takes months to open the gate. It requires fresh blood daily for months. That would be fine if all we needed was your blood, but to open Hell’s gate we also need one more thing.”
She draws it out like a punch line to a joke that I don’t get. I glare at her impatiently. Just spit it out.
“We need to drain your soul. That is where Talon comes in. A two for one special if you will. Did you know that about vampires? That when they feed, they take more than your blood. They take a piece of your soul.”
“He wouldn’t...” I start, but my mind quickly flashes back to all the ways that Talon hurt me before. I have a very... very, bad feeling that he will. I just don’t think that he will want to.
“How long has it been since you let him feed my dear?” Michael asks, turning to Ashlee with a gleeful expression.
“I believe it has been two weeks,” she laughs. Michael’s hand whips out, a long blade appearing out of nowhere and raking across the skin below my ear. My hand comes up slightly, barely reaching due to the chains that still bind me. Something wet and sticky coats my fingers as I pull them away.
Blood.....
Ashlee snaps the chain free from Talon, and he is on me before I have a chance to process what is happening. His teeth sink into me violently as he starts to tug on my blood. Black spot swim in my vision as an icy coldness takes over my numb limbs.
Then my world fades away..
Into sweet nothingness.
~ The End~
~ About the Author ~
Cassie Pierce is the author of the thrilling fantasy romance series Destined for Darkness. She lives in a small Alabama town, much like the one that you just read about. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart and together they have two beautiful children.
Critical care nurse by day, and writer by night, Cassie’s mind is always searching for the next great story. Her hobbies include talking...talking...and more talking. No seriously, she speaks fluent sarcasm, and loves to get to know everyone’s story. So much so that she invented her own world to give her real friends a break.
Her writing is packed with action and adventure, wrapped in romance and seduction, and delivered with a punch. Her theory is that if she can’t see it coming, then neither will you. Which makes for an ending that will leave you craving more. To get your copy of the Destined Series order today at www.amazon.com.
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Also, thank you to each and every reader. You guys make all of this possible.
r /> Cassie Pierce, Hillcrest Academy
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