Betrayed: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Book Two

by Jacklyn Daher

  When she saw an opening, she saw a stretcher at the back of the ambulance. Luxor gasped. Inez’s fragile frame lay on a stretcher being checked over by paramedics. Luxor was halted from venturing any further by a burly police officer. “Wait, I’ve got to see her.” She reached out her arm.

  “Darling,” Inez whispered, laying her hand face up, and the cop let her through.

  “What happened? Who did this?” Luxor clasped a hand gently over hers, her skin was cold and pale. Gently she pushed her hair off her sweaty face revealing a purple bump protruding at her left temple.

  A lump formed in her throat, and she ran a finger over it wanting nothing more than to erase it. A slight tear she tried to hide escaped her eye and down her cheek. Inez was always cheery and to see somebody attack a defenceless, woman made her angry.

  “Don’t cry, darling. I’ll be okay, it nothing,” she said exhaustedly.

  Luxor moved aside as the paramedic rolled the stretcher inside the back of the ambulance and attached an intravenous drip. Inez was all alone, and despite them being mere acquaintances Luxor didn’t want to leave her, everybody deserved to have at least one person by their side.

  Hunter draped his arms around her shoulders. “I promise you I’ll bring you back. We really need to go.”

  On the way back to the motorbike the familiar frame of Sherriff Darebin approached, and gestured her to move to the side. “Evening Miss...” He produced his badge.

  “Everstone. Luxor Everstone.”

  He nodded and noted down her name. “Ahh, I remember you. I’d just like to ask you a few questions.”

  “Okay.”

  “How well do you know Mrs. Custos?”

  Luxor had to think for a second, to realise he was talking about Inez. Since they’d met it was a first name basis, with an automatic easiness. “Well I spend a lot of time here, before and after school, she’s like a grandmother figure to me.”

  “Do you have any idea why anybody would hurt her?”

  The deal-takers, and all because of me.

  Luxor held her tongue. “No. She’s the sweetest lady.”

  “It looks like it was personal. The Hive was severely destroyed, furniture smashed, with a message spray painted everywhere, but no money was taken.”

  “Oh my God, who would do that?” She acted surprised but inside she was seething. The deal takers had gone too far.

  “That’s what we’re going to find out. If you can think of anything, call me.” He gave her his business card and moved on to interview witnesses.

  “Sherriff out of curiosity, what was the message?” Luxor asked.

  “I’m waiting,” he said. “And a strange symbol.”

  She furrowed her brow. “Strange? Like a cup?”

  Sherriff Darebin raise an eyebrow. “Yes, exactly. Any idea of what that could mean?”

  “No clue.”

  “But-”

  Hunter looped his arm around her waist and swooped her away and led her away down the street to an awaiting BMW. “Do I even want to know?”

  “Cane’s same old bullshit tactics,” she said, and cleared her mind to concentrate on the task on hand.

  “Let me guess, yet another service drive?” Luxor raised an eyebrow giving him a small smile.

  “I must take my job seriously, I can’t afford to get fired.”

  “Theo and Castor will make sure that won’t happen.” She pulled the seatbelt across her chest. Hunter drove at a decent speed out of sight of police cars, but once they had left the Village, he floored it. “So why is Evie in trouble? It’s Sanctum’s opening night. How do you know it’s so bad?”

  “Sanctum is a Nephilim club and for some reason they’re opening it to the public for full-blooded humans. Only the wild ones go there, mainly the dark and unrestrained.”

  “Have you been there before?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” She picked at her nails.

  Could he be one of those types?

  “Does it matter? I’m here to help you.” Hunter averted the answer. “And Evie.”

  Luxor huffed and stared out of the window trying not to jump to conclusions. He lay a hand on her knee giving it a light pinch to gain her attention. Slowly she turned towards him. Hunter took a sharp turn off the freeway and to a deserted area. The streets grew dimmer the further they drove. It was in an industrial part of town of tall, grey closed down factories with cracked windows.

  “Are you of the dark?” she asked, steering the questioning away to evoke more information.

  “No.” Hunter maneuvered the BMW down a dark alley and parked the car alongside a row of convertibles and old classic cars that would cost as much as The Chalet.

  She got out of the car and pulled out her mobile and called Evie. On the fifth ring she picked up. “Where are you?” she asked, relieved.

  “Waiting on the corner of Essex Street.” She hiccupped through sobs. “I couldn’t get in. You were right, the ID was a bad idea.”

  “Okay, wait there. I’ll be there soon. Don’t move,” Luxor told her frantically.

  “I’m sca—” The static of the line crackled on the other side.

  “I’ll stay on the line, keep talking to me,” she said hurriedly before she’d lose connection for good.

  A few minutes later Evie was found sitting on the curb outside a dingy hotel, her shoes by her side. Her hair was twisted in knots and eyeliner smudged, resembling a panda. In her hand she held a bottle of vodka, which she continued to swig.

  “Oh, I’m so stupid. I mean look at me they looked straight through it. Although the guy at the bottle shop believed me.” She held up the bottle and sculled.

  Hunter scowled, whipping the bottle from her grasp and flung it to the side where it smashed into pieces. Evie jumped. “Don’t take it personally,” he said sympathetically.

  Evie rubbed her eyes, looking from Hunter to her and then back again. “So that’s where you’ve been. You’ve hooked up with him? What about Xavier?”

  “I needed a lift, Hunter was there. End of story. Don’t look into it,” Luxor told her quickly, wrapping her arms underneath her armpits. There were more important things at stake than her newly changed relationship status. She held her nose, the fumes from the alcohol coming off strongly. Hunter helped to keep her upright on the other side.

  Evie’s head lolled forward, the waves in her hair dropping upside down, and she wobbled on her feet. She yelped, and flinched away from Luxor, dropping her jacket on the asphalt. Even in the darkness, red raw grazes with gravel and glass imbedded in her skin in the surface. It trailed from the top of her shoulder blades to her lower back where the dress had been slashed.

  “What the hell happened to your back?” Luxor screeched. She tried to compose herself, but seeing the state of Evie’s injuries was hard.

  “These shoes are a killer to walk in. I fell right on my butt.” She lifted them and showed a snapped heel to prove her point.

  “Right, you fell on your back and slid yourself back and forth by some inexplicable force,” she said sarcastically. “Was it a ghost?”

  “Just drop it okay. Let’s go now.” Her attention flitted across the road.

  Scarlett entered Sanctum on the arm of Castor. It was a no brainer on what had occurred. Hunter’s rigid stance and lethal glare confirmed he wanted to confront them just as she did, but Evie’s sluggish movement held them back and they’d need to hurry to get her into the car to catch Castor and Scarlett. Luxor walked and balanced Evie, eager to confront her but keeping Evie stable took longer than expected, and she had lost the window of opportunity.

  “Can I borrow your phone?” Luxor asked. Evie passed it over with no question whilst they lingered at the car.

  Since Luxor arrived, the phone hadn’t stopped pinging. She pressed the Facebook icon and went to the page that was put up. Recent photos and check-ins were posted. Under status she posted one of her own that loud and clear...

  GAME ON SCARLETT!!!...LUXOR

  S
he hit the send button. There was no turning back.

  The red door of Sanctum taunted Luxor like she was a bull, and she zeroed in on her destination. She gritted her teeth and ignoring the beeping from the oncoming car as she crossed the road.

  Hunter scrambled to keep up whilst supporting Evie at the same time. Just before she made it, he held her back, which in her current state wasn’t the wisest thing to do. “What are you doing?”

  “Ordering a pizza, what does it look like,” she said sarcastically.

  “Angel,” he warned.

  “No.” Luxor held up a hand. “I’m finishing this once and for all.” Adrenaline spread through her, and even facing the burly security guard wasn’t a deterrent. “Three admissions.” She reached into her satchel and retrieved her small pouch where she stashed her notes.

  The all black clad security guard was covered in highly decorated tattoos, his bulging biceps were completely inked showcasing his various tattoos, the most predominant was of a horned beast depicting Satan. His head was shaved to the scalp, the left side had the Leviathan cross, encircled with a snake leading down his neck.

  When his beady blackened iris leered absorbing Luxor’s outfit, he licked his lips, and she resisted the urge to gag. When Hunter did it, she felt sexy and attractive when this security guard did it, it was perverted and dirty.

  “Luxor, forget about her,” Evie wailed, pulling on her arm. “I want to go home.”

  “Wrist please,” Number Nine said, his snarl menacing.

  Luxor reluctantly pulled up the sleeve of her jacket expecting the stamp and dreading his touch, instead he paused and retrieved his phone from his pocket switching on the torch. “You’re not taking a pic,” she told him firmly.

  The security guard grunted and ignored her. “Remarkable,” he said covering her up again. “You need to take your contacts out.”

  “And if I don’t?” It wasn’t a threat, although by the expression he gave he seemed to think so. “You can still come in just don’t expect people not to approach you. Is she with you?” He nodded his head towards Evie.

  “Yep, and this guy.” She thumbed toward Hunter.

  “He’s fine, but you have the wrong place.”

  “Look I just need to find someone.” To beat the crap out of her. “She’s my age, brown hair. Looks like a…” she withheld the vile thoughts Scarlett evoked. “You just let her in, are you that dense?” she spat.

  He leaned in, the smell of body odour so intense that Luxor had to hold her breath and showcased a set of yellowing teeth. His breath smelt of a combination of whiskey and cigarettes. For a moment she thought he’d strike her. “I don’t think you understand what I saying, enter at the back love; it’s in the side alley.” He tilted his head to the right.

  Luxor didn’t wait around to ask why. She scampered around the corner, nearly tripping over.

  “Angel, look at me.” Hunter held her back by the arm. His other one went to the side of her face; the electric sparks surging. “You don’t realize the trouble that’s in there. I swear to you I will stick by any revenge you subject Scarlett to, but not here.”

  “Why not here?” When he didn’t answer her, she walked off.

  The guard at the second door was talking on a two-way radio when she reached him. He had the same uniform on, and even though he appeared less menacing and threatening, the sharp pangs striking her side suggested otherwise. As with the other guard he gave Luxor a suggestive leer before opening the door, and letting them through with no admittance charge.

  In an instant when Luxor stepped onto the premises her insides twisted. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying out. It was as if Castor had magnified his presence by a thousand percent. Following Hunter, she was guided upstairs which were slightly highlighted by dome lights on the walls along the way. She held onto his hand whilst Evie held onto hers in a chain link.

  Hunter led them into a U-shaped room painted in a lurid vermillion with black leather couches along the wall. Horizontal rods spanned the top of the exit, heavy velvet drapes hung down to the plush black carpeting. A couple of guys with one semi-naked girl were in there in a compromising position.

  “Leave now,” Hunter growled out. The girl gathered her clothes, her head bowed in shame whilst the guys abandoned her.

  “Where are we?” Luxor asked one they had the room to themselves.

  Hunter sealed the curtains silencing any noise and providing security. Evie reclined on the couch and rested her head the curtain. “VIP section,” he told Luxor, nervously running fingers through his hair. He paced the length of the room for a few minutes and began to pace. He finally stopped and faced her. “What’s your plan?”

  “Confront Scarlett.”

  “And...?” The determination on Luxor’s face told him the answer. “Violence isn’t the answer, it won’t solve anything. Not only will you get kicked out, but those Nephilim’s in there will hone onto your gift and want to sample it.”

  She wasn’t used to this rational Hunter and it was discerning. Unfortunately, her mood wasn’t in a logical state. “She hurt Evie,” she spoke low.

  “So, humiliate her. This isn’t the way. You’ll hurt more than Scarlett this way.”

  “Hunter’s right,” Evie slurred. She attempted to get up only to slump down again. She rested against the arm of the sofa on the verge of falling asleep.

  Luxor thought about it for a moment. Could she really let this issue lie for tonight? Her brain and the electricity in her body yelled out no. The wheels were already in motion, and there was no stopping this train. Whilst contemplating her move she had unwittingly become sandwiched between Hunter and the wall being holding her captive.

  “You have no idea what’s out there. Those Nephilim’s are siphons who feed off energy and are relentless, they won’t stop until they’ve had their fix. Humans are something to nibble on, they love those with low morality who are callous inside—example Scarlett—but if they latch onto another nephil it’s a meal. We need to leave,” Hunter desperately pleaded, holding her away from exiting into the main area. “I know how you’re feeling. Your anger is coming off you in waves it’s almost too much to bear. You are a fuckin’ five course feast for them. Please Angel, please. Don’t do it. There’s better ways to deal with it.” His hands trembled, leaning his head against hers.

  Luxor placed her palms on his chest, and a shock of emotion transferred through. The agony he was holding for her was transparent on contact. But there was fear. He wasn’t scared of them. He was scared of her.

  She stepped away. “Don’t get any closer,” she warned him, unrecognisable venom in her voice.

  Hunter clasped her shoulders as an internal fire consumed her. Closing her eyes, she envisioned him away from her. It was crystal clear in her subconscious, and as hard as she wanted him close, she wanted him gone more. He was an obstruction she didn’t need.

  The swooshing of furniture circled around causing goose bumps to form on her arms. She visualised destruction, and around her sounds of metal clanking.

  When she opened her eyes, Hunter laid splattered on the floor, his head at an unnatural angle, and the curtains hung preciously on the rods, with one of them pinning him down. The reasonable and moral part of her knew she should check on him, as he was too still. But the irrational part won over. She had been pulled under in a blanket of darkness, and her empathy had been eradicated.

  Without a second thought she left to decide her next move. Luxor had to find Scarlett but viewing Sanctum from the balcony she couldn’t see a thing except the flames flashing up from the side of the stage. She squinted her eyes and they quickly adjusted and focused clearly to give a view of the entire place.

  A metal band was up front on the stage their music booming as the drummer, bassists, guitarists were in full swing. The lead singer let out a shrill scream, his long hair covering his face as he grasped the microphone. The sheer brutality and aggressiveness had the crowd going wild, saluting him with d
evils’ horn salute.

  Luxor passed a couple and by the looks of it, it was a Nephilim and human coupling. He stopped groping the girl, and his pearl grey eyes leered. He closed his eyes and inhaled and Luxor gasped at the twinge which pinched her hip.

  He lifted his fingers up inhaling a long drag of his joint, and blew the smoke in her face. “You’re quite the treat, aren’t you princess?”

  Luxor shuddered, moving in a daze away from him but everywhere was the same. The fibres of her soul were internally being pinched and scratched at.

  At the bar through flashes of lights Luxor spotted Scarlett in a glitzy, gold sequin mini dress. She was beside Castor, yawning and swirling the bottle of beer in her hand.

  Luxor turned towards the stairs bumping into other VIP guests pushing through the throng, being tossed around from one side to the other. The jolts of the crowd had her crying out each time, eventually making her stumble to the ground. The laces of her shoes snapped off, frustrated she flicked them off dumping them behind her. Getting up off the floor she resumed her mission. It wasn’t an easy task she was barefoot and her feet were repeatedly stamped on.

  Scarlett’s head wasn’t faced her way and she yelled to get her attention but with the band continuing to assault her senses it was impossible. Closing in on her she debated a tactic in her head, something she should have done beforehand.

  Should I tap her on the shoulder or do the bump?

  In the end Luxor decided to make a statement, and do neither. She shoved Scarlett forward who tumbled onto Castor. She spun around immediately, and sneered, and when Castor whispered to in her ear, she cocked her head back, and laughed heinously.

  Luxor heard every word with perfect clarity, a bonus effect from her advanced hearing. She yanked her arm, and disconnected her from Castor and the bar. Digging her fingernails in her flesh, she dragged her away to a darkened spot. Castor intercepted and blocked her, forcing her to do her damage with a large audience.

  “I’ve been expecting you.” Scarlett rubbed her arm. “Didn’t think they’ll let you in you know with your trash status.” She looked down at her dirty, bare feet.