Betrayed: Breaking the Darkness Series Book Two

by Felicia Starr

  "I hope it is ok, the coffee is decaffeinated. I assume you will be desiring to retire soon after we finish our dessert."

  "Perfect."

  I dug my fork into the pie. Just as it hit my lips there was something familiar and comforting about the pie.

  "This crust is so good. I love the caramelized sugar on the rim."

  "It's good, yes? It is brown sugar. And my favorite combo; cherry blueberry." He added, "I am glad it pleases your sophisticated palate." I think he almost made himself start to laugh.

  "Well, it might be my favorite now too." I felt like I was having déjà vu. This seemed like the same pie that I shared with Kaden in my dream, what were the chances?

  What did it matter? That was just a dream and this pie was delicious. I ate it with a vengeance. I would have licked the plate if I were alone, but settled for licking my fork instead.

  I looked up just before my tongue finished its trip along the prongs of the fork and found that Graven was staring at me. How long had he been watching me?

  "Please continue. I am enjoying every minute of watching you devour every last bit of that pie. I am glad your appetite has returned."

  I felt the heat on my cheeks as they flushed from embarrassment. I was eternally grateful that we were done eating so I didn't have to worry about him staring at me any longer. Not to mention I had no words to respond to his last comment.

  Chapter Three

  I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE the energy after dinner for a nice long soak in that big sexy tub Graven had in his master bath, but I couldn't muster enough energy. Not to mention, I didn't feel like asking to bathe again. Not that I thought in a million years Graven would have had a problem with it. I just wanted to decompress without having to discuss it.

  I was glad that Graven understood I needed a break before we dove into all of the "what if's" of our situation. I really was not in the mood, not that I ever would be. Besides, everything that happened and all that I had learned thus far was spinning around in my head faster than I could make sense of it.

  I did wish I still had my own house with my own things to go home to. Unfortunately that was a waste of time to even bother harping on, because that life was behind me now, whether I liked it or not. At that point, looking ahead was more than I was ready for, but there wasn't much point in looking back either.

  I was grateful that Graven purchased me enough clothing to last a few days. He wasn't sure what to buy so I was lucky to find an array of different styled under pants in the lingerie bag. I pulled out a pair of boy shorts, tossed my jeans over the rattan chair in the corner of the room and slipped into the tiny shorts.

  I jumped up into the over-sized bed. It felt even better than it looked. I wasn't sure what to enjoy first, the large fluffy pillows or the big white down comforter. I lay there immersed in a cloud of feathers. The sheets were silky soft and smelled like they were fresh out of the dryer. After the hard mattress I had been sleeping on in my dark cell sans a pillow or blanket, Graven's guest bed was more than a cozy place to lay my head. It was a glorious and luxurious escape from my harsh reality. If only I had been in the right state of mind to let go and enjoy it.

  I nestled in and pulled the comforter up over my shoulders and rubbed my face into the smoothness of the fabrics. There was no need for me to extinguish the lights. I had enough of the darkness to last a lifetime. At least with the lights on, when I closed my eyes on this occasion, I would know they were in fact closed.

  Every time I let my eyelids shut, images of the events that I experienced during my imprisonment flashed before my eyes. The faces of my captors haunted me. If I kept my eyes closed long enough, my inner-lids glowed red and Ziona's face would come into focus. I could still hear her demands echoing from the corners of my mind. Thank goodness she never found out about my ability to astral project. If she had, she might not have agreed to let me leave the compound. It was possible that after we left she discovered or saw on one of the cameras that I had developed some sort of ability to dispense bursts of energy from my hands. I am still not sure what I did back there or if they had any kind of security besides the vicious hounds.

  Now that I was not being watched, hopefully I would be able to explore what kind of connections I had to the elements. I was very ready to know how I could tap into my abilities to protect myself. The question still remained as to whether or not Patience and Phaela would be able to help me access my powers. I guess I needed to first let them know that I escaped from Ziona's compound.

  I couldn't sleep anyway, so I decided I might as well try to pop over there to let them know of my status and see if they ever managed to learn any new or useful information. Maybe one of Phaela's alleged mediums has made contact with Gram. I hoped that I would be able to find a way to contact her without the help of anyone else. I wondered if she was there with me and I didn't realize it. Did she know how bad I needed her to be with me? Not only did I need some answers, I also needed help sorting out the bits I did know. I just wished that I had her ear to sort out my thoughts and feelings.

  Now that I was free from that dark chamber of hate, the ease in which I was able to travel in astral form surprised me. I moved through the colorful mist like I was swimming through warm glitter. I arrived again in the center of Patience's kitchen. I wondered why my compass didn't bring me to a different room in the house.

  "Hello?" I called out. Hoping that Phaela was there to hear me.

  I didn't have to wait long, Phaela hollered back to me instantly, "Coming!" Just as I was about to attempt to venture out of the kitchen again, Phaela came into the room blocking my access to the doorway.

  "Kasha, dear, you just missed Patience," Phaela said as she sauntered into the kitchen like it was her own.

  My lips curled down before I twisted them over to the right and looked up as if my next move would be posted on a cue card in the air above my head. I didn't feel comfortable telling Phaela anything without telling Patience at the same time or first. It isn't that I didn't trust her, but I felt a safe connection with Patience that was missing with Phaela.

  "Oh, hmmm." Now what, think fast? "Is Axel here by any chance? I don't know if he can see me, but it would be nice to see him."

  "He is actually tied up at the moment. Has anything new happened with your amulet?" she questioned me.

  I was a little taken back by the fact that her focus was more on my amulet than on my condition.

  "No, are you expecting that something else will happen to it again? I would like to know more about it, did you or Axel find anything more about it or its origins?"

  Phaela poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher on kitchen table. "As of yet, I have no new information, but we may have found a book that mentions another text about an amulet that matches the description of the one you wore. We were going to start translating it tonight."

  Phaela lifted her glass to her lips and took a slow sip, never taking her eyes off mine. I approached the archway of the kitchen exit. Phaela took a step in the same direction and cut in front of me to place the glass in the sink.

  "If you are safe at the time being and can come back a little bit later, Patience should be back from the store in around an hour. She wanted to stay in case you returned, but she knew that you would need me to see you. She shouldn't be long."

  "Thanks, Phaela, I should get going anyway. I'll be back later." I started to make my way out and then turned back and said, "Tell her I was here? And of course that I am looking forward to that cup of coffee soon."

  "Of course, are you sure you are ok?" Phaela asked once more for good measure.

  I just nodded my head and gave a weak wave before I returned to the comfort of my fluffy new bed.

  As snuggly as being cradled in down feathers might have been, I couldn't drift off to sleep. Quite frankly I didn't even want to close my eyes, even if I did I had never been able to fall asleep with the lights on.

  I tossed and turned more times than I could have counted. I still felt like I
was being watched. Although I don't know how everything works or what was possible with different people's abilities, but I think I would have known and or seen Graven if he were hovering around checking in on me.

  I considered sneaking back into the kitchen to fix myself a snack. The only two problems were that I wasn't hungry and I didn't feel comfortable roaming around someone's home while they were sleeping. Not to mention I was taught not go into other people's refrigerators without asking.

  I also played with the idea of astral projecting myself somewhere relaxing. I wondered if I could fall asleep while I was projecting. The last thing I probably needed at that time was an out-of-body experience. I had spent enough time and energy trying to escape my body and my surroundings. I needed to rest. I finally had an opportunity to settle down in a safe place, but for now I was finding it hard to be with myself.

  Maybe I had too much rest for the day and all my body needed was a little bit of exercise. I tried that approach and did some crunches with my butt on the edge of the bed while I lifted my knees up simultaneously to my chin. After two sets of crunches my abs were burning. I wanted to do some jumping jacks, but was afraid they would make too much noise. I would hate for Graven to think something bad was happening and come charging into his guest room. That would be the epitome of awkward.

  I started wondering what he was doing. It was almost three in the morning. He was probably sound asleep. I heard him cleaning up and messing around in the kitchen for a short time, but that was a few hours ago. At this point, all I could hear were the nocturnal creatures scurrying around out in the desert brush. The crickets were singing so loud I was starting to worry one was in my room. I was pretty sure I heard a faint howl of a coyote in the distance a few times.

  There might have been a part of me that worried The Taker or Ziona would be sending someone out there to retrieve me and throw me back in that hole beneath the earth. I heard the conversation between her and Graven agreeing to let me "go", but I didn't trust her for one second. I needed to have faith that she trusted Graven at least enough for one night until we could get a plan.

  Maybe I could just check and see if he was still awake. Traveling in astral form would be a quieter way of assessing the situation. I would hate to go out there and wake him up if he was sleeping.

  I practiced disengaging only partially from my body; I wanted to remain aware of my surroundings or I was just too wound up to close my eyes. Either way I was ready to seek out some company.

  I slowly started to exit my room; I was working so hard at being discrete and quiet that I failed to pay much attention to where I was going. Just as I got into the hallway I practically slammed right into him, it.

  I froze in my tracks just outside of my door. Graven was perched in his gargoyle form. I don't think I could ever get accustomed to seeing him like that. His skin took on an ashy-grey tone. Although his face now more resembled a stone dog with horns than a human, there was no mistaking his smoky crystal grey eyes.

  "Kasha-"

  I watched as his enormous and overly defined muscles shrunk down to human size and his snout receded to show off his strong jaw line. Since he was in projection form, he didn't need to worry about his clothing being affected by his transformation. It amazed me how he was able to shift like that in this plane. I could barely keep myself clothed.

  "What are you doing out here?" I almost demanded of him.

  Graven's eyes slowly scanned my body before making eye contact and that is when I realized I did it again. I looked down at my shimmering blue body to find that I forgot to focus myself into some clothes. I centered my thoughts on a Tee and some leggings; I couldn't converse in the near buff, not with him. Not now.

  I crossed my arms in front of me and tilted my chin up. I pretended not to notice or at nothing else, that it didn't embarrass me.

  "How long have you been out here?" I continued.

  He cleared his throat, "I have been here since you resigned for the evening. While you are under my roof you are my responsibility to keep safe.

  "I grew concerned when I saw you leave. I shifted form so better to sense you, if you needed me. Even when I am projecting, my abilities are more acute and magnified when I am in my truest form."

  "Yeah, but I came back only after a few minutes, and that was almost two hours ago," I stated.

  "True, I could have followed you, but I wanted you to have your space. If you were gone too long, I would most certainly have come looking for you."

  "And what exactly do you mean by your responsibility? Because you told Ziona you would find a way to get me to transform and reveal my truest nature?"

  "You can't be serious, Kasha."

  "What? Let's not forget that I barely know you and you are creeping around outside my bedroom door."

  Graven's stance shifted into a more dominating position. "First of all, I could have been in your room watching you the whole time and you wouldn't have known the difference."

  My mouth fell open at the realization of what he was saying. He or anyone of his astral skill level could be watching me any time. A shiver chased its way down my spine.

  "Second of all, I understand why you don't trust me at this point. Why should you, because I told you to? Your selectiveness with trusting people will be something that will help keep you alive in this twisted world full of mostly what is unknown to you.

  "You will come to find the same trust in me that I think we both know your heart already possesses. I will always honor my words to you." His eyes were serious and I could feel the truth in his words.

  "At this point, you're all I have. I'm trusting in that feeling that you will honor your pledge. Hopefully the rest of what you say will follow."

  Graven's stature relaxed and he leaned against the wall behind him.

  "I still don't see why you need to be hanging around outside my door, besides, you should be sleeping, Graven."

  "What makes you think I sleep?" He tipped his head in question.

  I felt stupid; maybe gargoyles didn't need to sleep. There was so much I didn't know. "Oh, gargoyles don't sleep?" I shyly asked.

  He instantly started laughing, "Of course we do, we're not vampires."

  "There are really vampires?" My voice cracked.

  "Certainly not, at least not technically. There are some supernatural breeds that thrive and rejoice in blood and others who thrive on taking from others such as their life force or hope. But vampires such as Dracula who are often portrayed in books and movies are just silly.

  "I don't require a tremendous amount of sleep. My body is on nightclub schedule most of the time; so I occasionally drift off in the afternoon or sleep for a few hours in the morning after all my responsibilities are met at the clubs."

  I leaned against the opposing wall, kind of in a mocking reflection of Graven.

  "So..." I said

  "So..." he said.

  The start of a staring contest had us both trying to fight of the smirks.

  "So why aren't you sleeping?" Graven finally broke through the silence.

  I wanted to tell him that I was scared. That every time I closed my eyes the flashes of my most recent experiences were worse than any nightmare I could remember. I wanted to tell him that I wished I could slide into bed next to him for comfort and a sense of safety, to allow myself to get some much needed rest.

  Instead I blurted out, "I'm hungry, of course."

  "WELL, why didn't you say so." His voice was louder than I expected. If I was in my own skin I might have jumped out. I turned my head and saw where his voice was coming from.

  "You have to stop doing that! You really know how to mess with a fragile girl's head," I angrily joked.

  I turned toward his physical body approaching me from the end of the hallway. When I turned back to him he just curled his lips up into a devilish grin before his shimmery self seemingly evaporated before my eyes.

  "Are you coming?" He continued past me toward the kitchen.

  I was about to
follow and then I remembered I was still lying in bed. I zipped back to my body so fast that had I not been flat on my back already, I might have fell back with the force. I jumped up and headed for the door.

  I was turning the knob to open the door when I realized that I had no pants on. My goodness, I was about to really give this guy the wrong idea. I pivoted and grabbed the jeans I had on earlier off of the rattan chair beside the bed.

  Before I arrived in the kitchen I could smell Graven had something cooking. And it smelled good.

  "I wasn't sure you were coming. I thought maybe you finally fell asleep." He stirred something in a small pot on the stove.

  "How could I consider sleeping with you teasing my taste buds with the smells coming from your kitchen. What you got cooking over there?" I put my hand on his shoulder and stood up tall on the balls of my feet to see around him at what he was fixing.

  "One of my personal favorite late night, or should I say early morning, snacks. Black beans and fried eggs. If you could be so kind to go in the icebox and grab the jar on the door with the green stuff in it." He pointed to the proper shelf.

  I found myself grabbing a mysterious bottle with no label from the door. "What is this?" I continued to examine it as I brought it over to the counter. I grabbed one of the stools on the other side of the island.

  "That, my lovely, is mi secreto picante verde." He raised his eyebrows at me and got back to work.

  "What makes it so secret? You speak Spanish?" I asked.

  "Not so much, but I have picked up a handful of phrases in many languages over the years. Not to mention an arsenal of secret recipes."

  Graven plated up two dishes and grabbed a large bottle of water and two short glasses. He put everything on a tray. He spread out his right arm in the direction of the patio. "Care to dine outside again?"

  I hesitated at the thought of stepping out into the darkness. We were far enough that we couldn't see the light that often polluted the night skies in more populated areas, and that had the lights in the house been turned off, it would have felt as dark as the prison I'd just escaped from.