Catching Temptation (In Darkness She Fades (Book 1)

by Sarah Erber

  I swish my white hair so that it drapes over the necklace. Jenkins encages me better, and using his free hand, he yanks my hair away.

  All I can do is scream as he tugs on the necklace.

  Then a force tackles me on my side, knocking Jenkins and me to the slimy cavern floor. Jenkins trundles over the rats.

  “Think I’m too afraid to disobey you! Let’s see how you like this play toy,” Victoria says. Her mascara smears down her cheeks.

  Withdrawing from Jenkins, I give Victoria free reign. She sprints forward and rams a knife into Jenkins shoulder. Thanking whatever luck follows me tonight; I run and seize the crimson crystal.

  “NO!” Jenkins shouts, but before he can get up, Victoria strikes. She sinks her teeth into Jenkins arm and rips off a chunk of flesh.

  The Cyclops rats attack Victoria.

  “Dammit, Temptation, get moving,” Victoria, commands. She sinks her teeth back into Jenkins shoulder.

  I cringe. Victoria is making such an effort to help me; it seems dishonorable to leave her behind. However, I am not a demon and my aiding Victoria will not help either one, so I say, “thank you,” and disappear up the stairs. Jenkins animalistic roars, and Victoria’s painful cries, fade from my sensitive ears. As I pocket the crystal, I reach the top of the staircase, and retrace my footsteps with the help of the idols. At the corner of the balcony, I slam into a cool body. “Whelan! Thank the Gods you’re–” I pause. “You’re a demon.”

  Whelan’s face mirrors the biker gangs own faces. Black eyes with white in their centers and beautiful pearl white skin transforms his shaggy appearance to a regal visage. Jenkins did not make Whelan.

  “Where’s Victoria?” Whelan shakes me. Hard.

  “She’s fighting Jenkins in the cave – but I think it’s too late!” I shout after Whelan. He ignores me and dashes out of sight. My gut clenches. I cannot help Whelan. I do not have time. Glancing at a sun idol, I say, “Don’t let him find the entrance to the cave. He’ll die if he goes down there.”

  Loud shrieks fill my ears. Over the balcony, the townspeople surround the captured humans. Craven and the rest of the biker gang guard my cousins and bare their needlepoint fangs at the imposing townspeople. Mr. and Mrs. Peters also guard the human prisoners.

  They will not be able to fight everyone! I jog to the end of the balcony. I thought I saw a box of fireworks. Rounding another corner of the balcony, my heart skips a beat. I pray this will work. In the box, I discover a few large fireworks. Unsure what each one did, I grab the lighter in the box. Choosing a long firework resembling a dynamite stick, I light the string, and toss it high. The firework hits the grand chandelier. It bursts, raining droplets of glittering crystal on the demented townspeople. Lamplights flicker furiously, imitating the effect of a strobe light. The panicking townspeople below, twist their deformed faces up in search of their tormentor. I select a large square, which holds a few rows of fireworks. I light it.

  “Hey! Here’s a gift from your queen.” Every eye turns in my direction. I toss the box over the balcony and yell, “Craven, get them out of here!” He grins before a parade of smoke and sparks cover the ballroom. A couple drapes catch fire. It is the best I can do. Panic rising, I gather my lengthy dress and sprint back down the labyrinth of corridors. Sweat drips off my face, hidden beneath the mask. Part of my dress falls from my hand as I yank the mask off. I clutch it tightly in my henna-tattooed hand. I maneuver my way through the hallways with the idols’ help and finally find the corridor leading into Mrs. Peters’ house. The lady sun, Adora, shrieks in delight as the idols cheer.

  Even the old moon breaks into praise. “Knew ya had it in ya!”

  I exit the mansion, jump off the porch, and stop at the biker gangs’ motorcycles parked in front of the theater. Hoping the keys are still in the ignition, I straddle the nearest bike. Thank the Gods! The motorcycle roars to life.

  The theater doors bang open.

  The guards spy me. Before they can say anything, I speed out, and head toward the forbidden woods at the edge of Rosewood.

  Chapter Eleven

  Stricken

  The coldness of the night caresses my skin, while the noise of the forest deafens my pounding heartbeats. I kill the engine on the side of the highway. I am close to the stone archway. I can sense the goblins’ anticipation. The bike falls to the ground, as I head into the blinding thicket. Leaves, painted a decayed shade of death, fall from the tops of the maples and oaks. The faint roar of impending motorcycles teases my eardrums. The Demon King’s guards hunt me at this very moment. I wonder if Jenkins escaped from Victoria or if Victoria even made it out alive. Whelan never trusted me enough with his secret. It hurts that he kept it from me for all this time.

  The questions torment me, but I cannot turn back. I curse those stupid doctors.

  The crimson crystal in my tattooed hand glows in the dark forest. I caress the slick surface. The shedding trees part overhead. A sliver of the moon highlights the stone wall. I spy goblin eyes peering through the archway and over the wall.

  A cloaked figure stands in the center of the archway, waiting for my gift.

  My movements cease at the cursed entrance into the goblins’ world. I examine the disfigured face of the Goblin King. He is two heads higher than me. Our last encounter a few weeks ago causes me to blush and turn my face away. I regret not listening to his warnings. I feel like a traitor.

  He smiles at my shyness. “If you wish to free me, you must step through the archway, and hand me the crystal.”

  “H-How do I know you and your goblins won’t attack me after I help you?”

  The motorcycles halt in the short distance to the road. The screechy roars of the demon guards cause the goblins to bare their sharpened claws and chrome teeth. Their bronze bodies glisten in the moonlight.

  “Temptation, I give you my word, as a king, my goblins will not harm you.” The Goblin King’s patient voice comforts me, but his eyes express the urgency of our situation. “I’ll also need the crystal filled with Jenkins’ blood.”

  I reveal the other crystal from my dress pocket. Crap. I am gambling with my life. As I cradle the two spheres, the king’s eyes become bleak. I wonder what it must be like to live for the last one hundred and fifty years, desiring and wishing for the two objects I have in my possession. To have freedom an arm’s length away and not be able to grab it must be the worst kind of torture.

  “Temptation, stop, they’ll destroy everyone!” The guards jog through the woods. They are only a few yards away.

  I lock my eyes onto the Goblin King. The hope disappears from his demeanor and he bows before me. The surrounding goblins stare bug-eyed at their proud king on his knees. I share in their shock.

  “Please, Temptation.” He tilts his lump of a deformed head up. “Set me free.”

  Unable to refuse the pitiful sight, I take the last step forward, and enter the goblins’ kingdom. The king rises. The shouts from the demon guards increase. I place the two crimson crystals in the Goblin King’s awaiting hands. The crystals crack and the king places them to his parting lips.

  The crimson glow disappears into his crooked mouth.

  The only light in the woods comes from the moon, which shines through the skeletal branches of a dead maple tree. In a split second, the ground begins to shake. The goblins snarl at the demons. Fear etches on the demon guards’ faces. The stone wall cracks. The sound echoes throughout the forest like thunder.

  Remorse yanks me out of danger from the archway as it crumbles to the ground. The rocks clack together, reminding me of the sound of balls smashing together in a game of pool. “We be in yer debt Girlie, so ya can’t go dyin’ on us, can ye?”

  I open my mouth to reply, but it is too late. The goblins race over the mounds of rock left from the destroyed wall. The guards flee to their motorcycles, while the goblins chase them like bloodthirsty pit bulls. As more goblins rush past, I sense the king creeping up. Twirling to face him, my mouth drops open. The king’s face
no longer resembles a mutated hyena. Instead, he looks human. Except for a very sharp bone structure, which he inherited from his goblin ancestors. The black cloak falls at his feet. With his humpback form gone, he has no need to cover up his body. His bronze skin displays black tattoo veins covering his muscular arms and naked torso. His chrome teeth appear a great deal sharper than Jenkins’ teeth. I nervously rub the metal necklace protecting my skin. The sharp angle of his thick eyebrows makes him look fierce and powerful.

  Realization dawns on me. “You’re the one who was in my bedroom the day I first came to Rosewood. The one who’s been stopping my suicide attempts.” I shake my head. “What happened to you? You look so barbaric. Yet you look human too.”

  Pointy ears poke out of his sleek hair. The Goblin King chuckles and cocks his head sideways. Never blinking, he says, “When Jenkins took my magic, he really took most of my soul. He wanted to imprison me because I kept taking his victims. He feared women who could see goblins, like you, because he believed they would help me based on my appearance. So, he took my very identity and bestowed upon me a gruesome body.” The amusement in his voice holds no anger. I would be angry if someone made me look as hideous as a harpy. “But since I have his blood in me, I look slightly different than I did a hundred and fifty years ago. As for my human features, my ancestors had a thing for Native American women. And it would seem I also like dark skinned women.”

  I blush until his previous words sink in. “Do you mean Jenkins is over a hundred and fifty years old and he still acts like a teenager?”

  The king grins. “Jenkins became a demon when he was a teenager, so his mentality will always be that of a teenager. But he never understood humans, anyway. He believes they only care for beautiful things. He underestimates them, just like he underestimated you.” He circles me. A bizarre kind of pulsing vibe flows off him.

  Perhaps it is magic.

  “He believed you to be broken from the tragic accident with your parents, and therefore never took you as a serious threat. Yes. You would be a challenge for him to control, but I believe he thought threatening to kill your only remaining family members would drive you to be submissive to him.”

  At the mention of my family, I snap out of my trance. “Goblin King–”

  “My name is Silus, Temptation. It’s about time you used it.”

  “Right. Silus. Remorse told me you’re in my debt for freeing you and your goblins.”

  Silus presents a teasing smile and folds his strong arms across his chest. “Is that a question or do you have a request of me?” The muscles along his torso bulge. The last goblins run past and a terrifying scream echoes in the distance.

  My hair whips past my face, causing it to reflect the moonlight. “I want you to save my family. I know I can leave Rosewood, but I want my family to leave, too. I’m afraid Jenkins has already killed them because of what I’ve done. Craven and the rest of the bikers are trying to protect them, along with the Peters. I helped them before I came here. I don’t know if it gave them the time they needed. I also saw my friend, Whelan. Did you know he is a demon?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is he working for you too?”

  “He agreed to protect you where I could not. In exchange, I agreed to help him to save his Victoria.”

  Eyebrows rising, I ask, “His Victoria?”

  “Whelan was already…involved with Victoria before she came to Rosewood. Her family was lured here by recruiters. It took him a while to enter Rosewood, because–”

  “Only those who are invited to Rosewood can find it,” I finish.

  “Exactly. Victoria had already been bitten by the time he arrived.”

  “This is horrible!”

  Silus frowns. “Are you in love with Whelan?”

  “What? No! It’s Victoria.”

  “You like women?”

  “No! She was fighting Jenkins in the cave. I’m not sure she survived. Whelan ran after her, but I told the golden statues not to let him find the cave.”

  “Whelan will be fine. He is a rare kind of demon.”

  A silence stretches between us.

  “Will you save my family?”

  “Consider it done.”

  Relief sweeps through me, but the predatory glare Silus is giving me, makes me retreat a few steps.

  “And since this evens us up, I’m unbound to you.” Silus unfolds his arms. His nails grow an inch. The antifreeze colored liquid, drips from the points of his chrome teeth.

  “No! We’re not even yet, because you haven’t saved my family. They’re still at the theater house and the more time we waste here, the more likely it is Jenkins has already done something to them.”

  Silus rumbles out a throaty chuckle. “Don’t worry, Temptation, I’ve already instructed your family’s safety is our first priority. However, I do need to get into town. I’ve waited a long time to kill Jenkins, so let’s be quick about this.”

  I stumble backward over the fallen stones. “You told me you wouldn’t hurt me after I freed you. You lied to me!”

  “No. I told you my goblins wouldn’t hurt you. I never said I wouldn’t hurt you.” Silus lurches forward.

  I spin on the spot and dash toward the road highlighted by the moonlight. The wind swirls my hair in the air. The breeze swishes over my necklace. I sense Silus’ ascension and sprint harder toward the road. I snap my head to my right. Silus is running next to me, replicating my strides. He does not even break a sweat. He is teasing me. I spy the motorcycle ahead.

  “Gotcha,” he whispers.

  Warm arms encircle my waist and reject me from taking the last few yards to the motorcycle. Voice shrill, I aim a kick and make contact with his stiff legs.

  He grunts and then chuckles. He spins me and we stand so close the tips of our noses touch.

  I intend to kick him in a better place this time, but he twists my arms. I cry out in pain. Silus pushes me backward and I stagger. The bark of an oak tree grazes the naked flesh on my back. As his body pushes against mine, he pins me to the dry tree. A few leaves glide to the forest floor.

  A couple of tears escape my eyes. “Y-You’re going to kill me?”

  Silus cocks his head sideways. His black eyes penetrate my own. “I thought it’s what you’ve wanted most in the world since the death of your parents. The one thing I’ve barred you from over the past year. Are you telling me, when you’re about to have your deepest wish come true, you don’t want to die?”

  I consider Silus’ words. I have longed for death over the past year. “I wanted to escape my memories. Death seemed like the easiest choice at the time, but I have a new family. I’ll find a way to deal with my past. Besides…” I shift my head to rest more comfortably on Silus’ large arms. “My aunt and uncle love me–”

  Silus snorts and relaxes his grip on my wrists. “You know your aunt only tolerates you. I used the white mask in your home to watch the way your family treated you. I saw what she did to you the first night you came to the theater.”

  The anger in Silus’ voice causes me to falter in my thinking. “Why would you care? You want to kill me?”

  Silus displays another sinister smile. “Do I?” The lime-green liquid leaks out of the points of his teeth once again. “I will never be dishonest to you, Temptation. This is going to be sharp and unpleasant.” He seizes a fistful of my hair and yanks my head sideways. His clawed hands grasp the necklace. It shatters like glass.

  I scream. It is all I can do. Powerful jaws lock on my neck and bite down, causing the points of his teeth to dig deeper into skin and muscle. I stop screaming and gasp for air. He is not sucking my blood. The veins all over my body are on fire. Using my free hand to grab a handful of Silus’ hair, I try to yank him away from my throbbing neck.

  He compresses harder, releases my hair, and captures my hand. Untangling it from his own hair, he pulls me into a tighter embrace.

  A spiking fever makes my eyes water. My legs go limp and Silus gently lowers me to the cold ground. No
longer able to lift my arms, he arches back, and gaze upon me; apparently pleased with my frailness. “Y-You going to watch me die?”

  Silus leans forward and places a light kiss on my lips. My eyelids flutter in alarm. “Whether you live or die is your choice, Temptation. I’m grateful to you for freeing me. Even if I did have to bow to you.” He chuckles and strokes my cheek. “You are an amazing woman. I hope you decide to stay alive. Goodbye.”

  In an instant, he vanishes. As my vision blurs and I close my eyes. I listen to the tree branches knocking together like battle drums overhead. The combating demons and goblins growl in the distance. I try to embrace the final sounds I will ever hear.

  Reopening my burning eyes, I am at the theater house, staring up at the roof. I fly in the air and land on the balcony rooftop. Turning, I stare down into the crowded street. Goblins and demons battle below; their black blood splatters the buildings and street signs. A few lampposts on the Peterses’ front lawn are destroyed. Shards of glistening glass cuts into a few of the goblins’ feet. Their cries of pain cause my anger to grow toward the zombie demons.

  Over the edge, I spot my family huddled together in front of the Peterses’ front door. The Peters, the biker gang, and to my surprise, Victoria and Whelan battle the other demons in front of the theater.

  Whelan saved Victoria.

  He constantly glances at Victoria, while fending off the other demons. Victoria belongs to him.

  Craven stands closest to my family. I turn to my right and realize I stand next to one of the stone gargoyles. I stretch out my hand and rest it on the gargoyle’s ugly head. My fingers are unnaturally long. They look like a giant bronze spider on the stone statue. Then, Silus’ voice fills the air.

  “Awaken!”

  I watch in horrified fascination. The statue cracks and stone, thin as glass, falls from the gargoyle’s leathery skin.