Hidden (Her Immortal Guardians Book 1)

by Bella Edwards

  Chapter Thirty-One

  CHAPTER

  Caleb and Scarlet.

  Lorelei shuddered, fearing what he might do to her best friend, and furious with him for screwing with both her and Scarlet.

  Perched on the edge of her bed, she tried to form a plan. The waves of emotion rolled through prevented logical thinking. Gabe, Caleb, Scarlet—on this night everything in both of her worlds collided head-on. And she sat in the middle, her life now in carnage.

  Gabe had gone, and a strong instinct told her she wouldn't see him soon.

  If Gabe didn't come back in the next few hours, then she was lost. Maybe this was why he warned against giving in to his human side—the exact time Gabe should've been there to stop something, he was lost within himself elsewhere.

  Scarlet. Scarlet was still safe. She could stop her being dragged any further into Lorelei's car crash of a life. Lorelei sank back onto her bed and looked up at the cheap light-shade hanging above her, wondering how normalities like that still existed.

  The battle was over.

  What do you wear to the end of the world? Because that was where Lorelei headed. To the end of hers, anyway. Lorelei pulled off her costume and dragged a jumper over her head, climbing into an old pair of jeans. Her stomach turned over, nausea spreading through her in waves as she fastened her shoes with trembling hands.

  An hour had passed, and Gabe hadn’t returned.

  She pushed her phone and purse into her jacket pocket and left the room carrying the jacket over her arm.

  In the flat, die-hard partygoers slumped on the floor and across furniture, some still awake and chatting, others asleep or passed out. Noise from others still came from the hallway, and the music’s bass continued the relentless thumping in the flat downstairs. Lorelei studied some of the surrounding faces, trying to pick out who Caleb's friends were. She recognised most of those she saw, nobody looked suspicious. Had he lied to trick her? Unable to locate Caleb, she headed downstairs.

  In the other flat, several identically costumed men dressed in black with white masquerade masks mingled with the more attractive female guests. Lorelei shuddered. New people. Caleb hadn't lied. Where was he? Because Scarlet was missing too.

  A thought struck her. No. She ran upstairs and banged on Scarlet's bedroom door.

  "Scarlet? Are you okay?"

  Muffled voices filtered through the door—one of them male. A few moments later the door opened, and Caleb appeared, buttoning up his shirt as he closed the door behind him. Lorelei drew her eyes away from his chest, gritting her teeth. With hair mussed and eyes bright, he smiled at her.

  "Ready?" he asked

  "What have you been doing?"

  He raised an eyebrow. “I didn't hurt Scarlet if that’s what you're asking. To be honest, she’s not my type. I was helping her to bed because she was drunk.”

  "If you’ve assaulted her—" she began.

  Caleb touched his chest in mock indigence. “Me? I’m a gentleman around ladies—you know that. I didn't want anybody taking advantage of her.”

  She snorted. “Sure, you are.” But something in his expression suggested he told the truth. “You have a weird moral compass, Caleb.”

  Caleb grinned. "I'd rather have seen your bedroom."

  "Why do you do that?" she snapped.

  "Do what?"

  Quieter now in the flat, their conversation became more audible, to each other and those around them. A girl turned and looked at them curiously.

  "You flirt with me when you have no idea how much you disgust me. Look at what you've done to my friend. You’re using her."

  His sexy smile pulled his mouth up at one corner. "I can't help it if she finds me irresistible."

  With a noise of exasperation, Lorelei stomped ahead of him down the stairs.

  "Aren't they coming?" asked Lorelei, gesturing at the men in masks watching them.

  "No, they're waiting until I know you won't run."

  "I said I wouldn't."

  "I don't believe you. There's still a chance you will." Caleb arched an eyebrow.

  "Promise me no-one gets hurt."

  He nodded. "If you promise to co-operate with me."

  "Isn't that what I'm doing?" She stalked off.

  Jumping down the stairs behind Lorelei, Caleb then ushered her out of the front door, and her eyes rested on the spot where she'd stood with Gabe, with a heat running through her as she remembered herself entwined with him.

  Lorelei hitched on her jacket and zipped it. "Where are we going?"

  Caleb said nothing, walking towards the road close to the building. Lorelei followed carefully on the icy pavement. After a few hundred metres Caleb stopped and glanced around.

  "Lorelei, I'm sorry about this," he said softly, reaching a cool hand to touch her cheek.

  The shock from his fingers ran through her. "About what?"

  Caleb shrugged, and his features pulled into an apologetic expression. Someone hit Lorelei hard on the back of the head, and she collapsed into darkness.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  A dim light shone through the outline of the van doors. Lorelei lay on a blanket, shaking with the movement as the vehicle drove along. Her head ached, and she pushed to sit and rest her head against the cold metal. Why had Caleb knocked her unconscious? She'd agreed to leave with him. Lorelei swore, calling Caleb colourful names under her breath.

  The van journeyed along a straight road, travelling at high speed—a motorway. What could she do? The vehicle moved too quickly, so she couldn't jump out, and the doors were probably locked. If she banged and screamed who would hear apart from the driver? Propping herself against one side of the van she waited, cursing Gabe too.

  The monotonous movement lulled her, but Lorelei managed to pull herself back to consciousness away from the exhaustion threatening to send her to sleep. She leaned against the van's cold metal walls and huddled under the blanket she’d woken covered b.

  Scenes from the evening played over and over in her mind, the mind-blowing kiss with Gabe foremost. Twinges of guilt followed—she should be worrying about Scarlet.

  She mulled over Gabe's words before he ran—what did he mean? Did he want to possess her power too? But the way he looked at her, the encompassing sensation which flowed between them, the connection to him through their minds—surely something more existed than Watcher and Host.

  The van changed course onto a meandering road, the side-to-side movement and her exhaustion worked together to send Lorelei to asleep.

  When the van stopped abruptly, she snapped awake, immediately ready to defend herself from the voices outside. Caleb. Who else was with him? The van doors opened, and revealing Caleb flanked by two impossibly tall men. If they were men—in the dawn light, she could hardly make out their features.

  Ridiculously, still dressed as a pirate, Caleb held his hands out in an apologetic manner.

  "I'm sorry Lorelei, I'm not a hundred percent sure where Gabe is, but I didn't want him knowing where you were. If you'd been conscious, or able to see the route, he would find us more easily. Please excuse the unfortunate use of force."

  Lorelei glowered at him and refused to move from the van floor. He held a hand out to help her climb from the van, and she ignored him, instead pulling herself up before jumping down.

  They stood in front of a grey stone-built house, imposing and isolated in the midst of flat land stretching as far as she could see. The ground around was frozen and covered by large rocks interspersed with vibrant patches of heather. Eerily quiet, there was no birdsong to accompany the oncoming dawn. Lorelei gazed around her at the bleak landscape. A narrow lane disappeared into the distance away from the house. There was nowhere for her to run.

  "Please, come inside," said Caleb, opening the front door.

  "Don't talk to me like I'm a guest," she snapped, following him in.

  Walking into a large hallway, tiled by maroon and white diamond tiles, Caleb pushed open another heavy wooden door on their left,
indicating she should go inside.

  She stepped through into a vast, high ceilinged room with large windows along the whole of one side. Candles burned and the floor was clear of furniture apart from a small table and chairs in one corner. Chalked in the middle of the floor, a large circle of runes, reminding Lorelei of Erin's spell. The day Lorelei thought she'd never have to deal with this again. What was Caleb about to do to her?

  Lorelei backed out of the room, but Caleb stood behind, and as soon as she touched him, she jumped forward again, not wanting contact.

  "Don't be nervous; we're not staying in the room. I need to make a few more preparations."

  The fear inside grew—she had no idea where she was or what would happen. Or if she'd survive.

  He took her arm. "This way."

  They climbed stairs. At the top, a tall window stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The panoramic view of the moors brought home to her the isolation of the place—flat, barren countryside stretched for miles behind the house too. No roads or buildings were visible. Caleb steered Lorelei past the window towards an open bedroom door.

  The room they entered fitted the gothic setting perfectly. A canopy surrounded a wrought iron bedstead, which rested against the flocked maroon and white wallpapered wall. Heavy curtains hung either side of a large window with a day seat beneath. The noise of the growing wind outside made Lorelei feel as if she'd stepped onto the pages of Wuthering Heights.

  "Please, sit down," said Caleb.

  Lorelei didn't move from the doorway. "Are you going to lock me in this room?"

  "Probably, but only for a couple of hours."

  "And where do you think I’ll go if I leave this house?”

  "I don’t know, but I can't take any chances."

  Lorelei sat on the edge of the bed. "Then, what do we do now?"

  "Now? Now we wait for Gabe."

  "Gabe?"

  "He'll be here; he needs to be."

  "Needs to?" Lorelei rubbed her forehead. Why would he want Gabe here? "You told me you didn't want him to know where I was."

  "No, I needed a head start, to prepare myself. Gabe will always find you. Just as I always will."

  Lorelei took a deep breath and looked at her hands.

  "Gabe chose a great time to confront his humanity, didn't he?” Caleb laughed at his sarcasm. “I could see what was happening, even if he couldn't." Caleb stepped towards her. "If I were Gabe, I wouldn't wait so long. You wouldn't need to struggle for my affections."

  Heat flushed through Lorelei’s face, and she looked away. “That would never happen.”

  Caleb chuckled. "Lorelei, I saw how you looked at me when we met the first time. I felt your desire... If only you'd let me talk to you then—we could’ve settled this before Gabe made an appearance and told you lies."

  She stared back at his darkening eyes. "Instead you attacked me—not the most attractive attribute in a man."

  "What can I say? I'm not used to someone refusing me. and I was rather upset.”

  Lorelei's heart rate picked up, her fear increased by the undertone of his words, as Caleb walked over to the window and looked out at the dawn light spreading across the moors.

  "You must be very tired, Lorelei. I think you should get a few hours of sleep while we wait for Gabe. Let me know if there is anything I can get for you."

  “A ride home, perhaps?” she asked and met his eyes in defiance.

  Caleb didn’t respond. She turned her head, and a key turned in the lock with a click as the door closed.

  Lorelei stood and pulled her phone from her jacket. She sighed. As expected, there was no signal. No way out.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Gabe ran, his body more alive than he'd ever experienced, but his mind numb with horror. He had the answer he'd searched for—the answer to why he ached to be with Lorelei. His obsession with her was more than Host of the Key. The Key’s energy had altered somehow and contained something beyond its original purpose. Something mind-blowingly powerful.

  Many years had passed since he and Caleb worked together as they craved the same freedom. But Gabe managed to stop himself taking the step into the unredeemable. Caleb took that step, and they both paid the price. The kiss clarified everything—Gabe’s desire to use the power he once had in his grasp never left him.

  Kissing Lorelei, touching her, the sensations which surged through him and brought his human body to life felt right. Until he saw the light inside her, and then his desire wasn't about her anymore. All he wanted to do was consume the power she held, devour it and take her into his soul. He was no better than Caleb. It wasn't Lorelei he wanted. What he desired was dangerous.

  Why hadn’t he seen this before? Using pure human lust and emotions as the explanation for his feelings made sense—until now.

  Gabe paused and looked around the darkened city streets. Where was he? He'd run too far, and fast, and couldn't orientate himself. He cursed beneath his breath. He needed to return to her. And what then? Closing his eyes, Gabe tried to locate Caleb—was he close to Lorelei now? Had his stupidity given Caleb the chance he'd waited for?

  Gabe’s eyes snapped open. Caleb's and Lorelei's presences were at the same location. He'd already failed.

  Gabe looked in confusion at the location in front of him. Afternoon light faded into evening, and the grey skies grew black as the wind blew hair from his face. Large drops of rain splattered the hard ground in front of him, heralding a storm. The Gateway could be created anywhere, as long as somebody held the key. Why would Caleb choose an unremarkable stone house when he favoured outlandish gestures? There wasn’t any presence apart from Lorelei and Caleb. No hint of supernatural allies to assist.

  Magic surrounded the grounds of the house. Small painted symbols glowed white against the brickwork and painted around the doorway. The place was magically locked down, and he couldn't use any powers once he entered. Neither could Caleb.

  What could he do? March in there are drag Lorelei out? And do what? He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering holding her and the surging need inside — his desire to possess what she held. Lorelei was no safer with him. She had never been, and he'd denied it.

  The front door unlocked, he walked into the hallway. Pausing, he listened. Movement from the corner of his eye drew his attention, and Caleb walked down the stairs towards him. Gabe’s fury rose as he looked into his old friend’s face, at how far Caleb had betrayed him for his selfish ambition. Caleb regarded him steadily with no hint of emotion.

  "Where’s Lorelei?" growled Gabe.

  "Safe."

  Gabe looked around, sensing her nearby. "You haven’t used the Key yet."

  Caleb snorted at him. "Well, obviously. I wanted to wait for you and see if you'll do the same things as the last time I had the Key." A sly smile hinted around Caleb's mouth. “I still can’t decide if you will or not.”

  The urge to punch Caleb washed over him, but Gabe pushed his hands in his pockets instead. He needed to keep control if he had a hope of changing the situation.

  "She's a bit awkward, isn't she?" Caleb said. “Your beloved.”

  "Awkward?"

  "Lorelei. Not the most co-operative of people. She still thinks she has control over her life. I'm not sure if that’s denial or bravado."

  Gabe smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. "She's unique."

  Caleb moved towards him and tipped his head to one side. "I caught something from you then—tell me. What did I just see? Why is she unique?"

  Gabe ignored him. "Where is she?"

  Caleb snorted. “Fine. Don’t tell me what she is, but I’ll find out. I always do. And don’t worry—I haven't hurt her. She's waiting for us." Caleb gestured towards the stairs.

  Gabe followed. How easy would it be to attack Caleb, take Lorelei and run? But that was unfair. If he didn’t end this tonight, Lorelei would continue her life looking over a shoulder and waiting for this inevitable moment. Caleb would never stop his pursuit.

  And Gabe was tired
. Exhausted with fighting—fighting with Caleb, himself, and the situation. He had to accept this was the end too.

  Caleb stopped at the end of the hallway, pulled out a key and unlocked a door. Humming to himself, he yanked down the handle and pushed the door open.

  Gabe stepped back in alarm as Caleb cried out in pain then stumbled forward and held his head as he doubled over.

  Lorelei stood in the doorway with a wooden chair in her raised hands, looking at Gabe in astonishment. She lowered the chair to the floor, glancing at Caleb.

  Caleb straightened and reached out for Lorelei, eyes flashing with anger, and Gabe grabbed Caleb by the back of his shirt. "Don't touch her."

  "What was the point in that exactly?" he growled at Lorelei, touching the side of his head. An impressive bruise began to spread, and Gabe smiled to himself. What a shame Caleb wasn’t physically weaker and Lorelei able to hurt him more than she had.

  "You said you couldn't use magic here. I thought I could get away..."

  Lorelei continued to look at Gabe, eyes wide in disbelief.

  "‘Get away’ where?" spat Caleb. "Lost on the moors? As soon as I step foot out of this place, I have power and followers in equal measures. You wouldn't get far."

  "Well, I could at least try rather than sit here waiting to die."

  "But here's your knight in shining armour," Caleb said with a sneer.

  Gabe didn't move. His eyes betrayed nothing. There was no sign of the person who'd kissed her. "Hardly," he muttered, darkly.

  Gabe followed Caleb into the room he'd shown Lorelei previously. Dirt smeared the row of windows that stretched across one side of the room, and black iron bars bolted them to the walls outside. Marks scratched the polished wood floor from years of use, and in the centre of the room, someone had scrawled a chalked circle of runes. Each window had a sill big enough to sit on. Lorelei walked over to sit under the window closest to the door.