Discern (Discern Saga, Book #1)

by Samantha Shakespeare

  “You want us to wait for you out in the parking lot?” the taller lady asked.

  “No. I’ll be fine,” I smiled.

  They both hurried to their cars. I walked over to the alarm keypad and pulled the folded piece of paper out of my jeans pocket. I scanned over the note and chuckled as I read the last part. Ryan had begged once more for me to call him with any questions or concerns. I lightly padded my other pocket. A quick rush of adrenaline shot through my body as I realized I had forgotten my phone at home. ‘Great,’ I thought to myself.

  Quickly pressing the numbers on the keypad, I heard the sound of the front door chime. I immediately looked up.

  “Did you forget something?” I asked.

  Three men wearing dark pants and long jackets stood glaring in my direction.

  “We’re closed,” I said nervously.

  A fourth man walked inside. I shook my head furiously. “What can I help you with, Mr. Mitchell?”

  “I think you can help quite a bit,” Mr. Mitchell answered flatly.

  “How’s that?” I asked. I began slowly moving toward the front desk.

  “I wouldn’t bother,” Mr. Mitchell said, shaking his head. “We’re the authorities, and this is official business we’re conducting.” His voice was harsh.

  “I’m not sure I understand,” I said, watching all of them closely.

  Mr. Mitchell slowly walked closer. “Where is he?” he asked irritated.

  “Where is who?”

  “Mr. Alexander,” he said, gritting his teeth.

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  “When will he be back?” His voice was growing angrier.

  “He didn’t say,” I lied.

  “Haley, please don’t waste my time,” he snarled.

  “I’m not.”

  “Where did he tell you he would be this weekend?” He continued to interrogate.

  “He was supposed to be on a mission.”

  “What kind of mission?”

  “For the government,” I answered, wondering if I was breaking any rules by answering truthfully.

  “How much about his government involvement do you know?”

  “Not much,” I lied.

  “Will you be truthful if I ask you a personal question?” he asked uneasily.

  “Not sure.”

  “Does he force you to be with him?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve known you for years, why would you choose to be with someone so dangerous?” His voice softened subtly.

  “He isn’t dangerous.” My voice cracked.

  “Yes, he is, Haley. You can’t even imagine the sights we’ve witnessed. His brother, or whatever he may be, and he are ruthless hunters of humans. What they do to our kind is horrible,” he said, sickened by his own recollections.

  “If he’s so dangerous, then why do you work along side him?” I challenged.

  “They do help with certain tasks that no human could complete,” he explained. “But you—you don’t have to be around their kind. It’s our job to work along side them, but you have a choice.” His voice wavered from concern to irritation.

  “You’re aware of what he is?” The tallest of the men asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What has he told you about their kind?” Mr. Mitchell stepped a little closer.

  This was one question I could not answer truthfully. “I know they aren’t human, but they have no real purpose.” I swallowed hard, trying to lie convincingly.

  “You’re comfortable being around a demon?” Mr. Mitchell scoffed.

  “He isn’t a demon,” I replied angrily.

  “He’ll kill you once he’s done with you.” He gritted his teeth in anger. “I’ve seen it many times. They both entertain themselves with human woman…pretending to have relationships with them…and when they no longer fulfill their needs, they simply suck the life right out of them,” he said disgusted.

  Andrew spoke of never hurting his female companions. “Andrew isn’t like that.” I shook my head.

  “Haley, this is a game to them. They feed off human love and desire. It fuels them. They aren’t capable of caring for anyone beside themselves. I’ve seen it, and I won’t allow them to destroy you this way.” His voice was dark and decided.

  He gestured for the three men to head in our direction. I tried to squeeze out from between the wall and Mr. Mitchell’s body, but his strength far surpassed mine.

  “Stop!” I screamed, feeling the hands of the other men grab my arm and pull me toward the door.

  “Haley, this is for your own good,” Mr. Mitchell said as one of the men put his hand over my mouth.

  “Grab the key from her pocket, so I can lock up,” Mr. Mitchell ordered.

  One of the men dug around in my pocket and retrieved the key. He ripped the piece of paper from my hand and gave it to Mr. Mitchell. “Put her in the car. I’ll be there in a minute,” he said.

  Two men escorted me from the building while the third opened the door. They pushed me inside the backseat of an unmarked, dark blue car.

  “Sit there and shut up,” the shortest of the three men snarled.

  The door slammed in my face. I watched as two of them walked to another car and drove off. The third man slid into the driver’s seat. He looked in the rearview mirror as he watched me carefully.

  “They really are disgusting demons,” he said.

  “They aren’t,” I said angrily.

  “I don’t know why you’re so special that we have to save you from them, but you’ll appreciate this one day.”

  “I’m not sure you’ll be alive to be thanked,” I muttered.

  “What did you say?” he asked angrily.

  “Nothing.”

  A dark figure appeared at the window. I had hoped it was Andrew, but to my dismay, it was only Mr. Mitchell. He opened the car door and slid in the back seat beside me.

  “I’m sorry, Haley, but you’ll thank me one day,” he sighed heavily.

  “I won’t,” I huffed.

  He dabbed a clear substance on a piece of white cloth. “I’m only doing this so they won’t be able to locate you,” he said.

  He grabbed my arm and placed the white cloth over my mouth.

  “He’ll come for me,” I mumbled. Everything went black.

  I awoke to a dark, cold room. The walls were constructed from cement blocks and mortar and painted gray, which made the room even darker. It was musty smelling, so I figured I was in a basement. There was one small window, at least fifteen feet above my head, allowing very little light into the room.

  I sat straight up, but quickly laid back down as my head felt heavy and the room began to spin. Whatever had been placed over my mouth had certainty left me feeling dizzy. I was too cockeyed to be angry.

  “You cool over there?” an unfamiliar male voice shouted out.

  “No,” I mumbled.

  “What did you say?” he asked with a heavy, Brooklyn accent.

  “No!” I shouted, and my head seemed to vibrate violently.

  “What do you need?” His voice grew closer.

  “Aspirin,” I grumbled.

  I faintly heard the sound of his footsteps trailing off toward the other end of the room. The slamming of a door let me know that he had left the room completely. The echo from the door rang in my head. I had never been much of a drinker, and I would never use any illegal drugs, so I wasn’t sure if this was the feeling of a hangover.

  I listened and waited for the Brooklyn fellow to return. The door squeaked as it came open, and I heard footsteps drawing near.

  “Here you go, Haley.” Not the man’s voice I was expecting.

  He placed three round pills in my hand and sat down beside me on the bed. “I have a glass of water to wash those down,” Mr. Mitchell said softly.

  “I can’t sit up. It hurts too badly,” I moaned.

  He placed his hand behind my head, lifting me up slightly so I could swallow the pills. “These are aspirin, right?” I asked, concerne
d this might be a trick.

  “Yes,” he said softly.

  I swallowed the pills. He gently removed his hand and my head softly hit the pillow.

  “I didn’t want this to happen,” he said.

  “What? That I would get a headache from being drugged or the fact that you kidnapped me?” I groaned in pain.

  “Both,” he sighed. “I’m really doing this for your own safety.”

  “I know you believe that, but I fear you’re the one in danger now,” I warned.

  “He can only do so much harm to us in the agency.”

  “Do you really believe that?” I asked shocked.

  “Yes, he would’ve already destroyed me if he cared that much for you.” His voice was dark and cynical.

  I refused to say more afraid I would give too much away. “I can’t change your mind,” I said defeated.

  “He’ll soon forget about you and move on to some other unsuspecting young woman, but I can’t save everyone. You’re an exception, Haley. You have to understand that. No matter what happened between you and Braden, I’ll always think of you as family.” His voice returned to a soft whisper.

  “It wasn’t so long ago that I believed the same.”

  “Braden feels terrible for his actions, but I won’t speak on his behalf. He’s his own man, and when you’re ready to hear him out, then that’s when he’ll get his chance.”

  “That’ll be never,” I muttered.

  “In time, I believe the two of you will continue where you left off,” he said smugly.

  “So is this why you kidnapped me, so I wouldn’t move on with my life?” I hissed.

  “No. I kidnapped you so you wouldn’t die,” he hissed back.

  “I don’t have any answers for you. I’m as baffled as you as to where Andrew is,” I relented.

  “This is unusual behavior for him.” His voice trailed off.

  “Is it?” I asked curiously.

  “Yes, very peculiar. He has always shown up for his missions. Never once has he disappeared like this. And he left you alive, which was one of my main concerns.”

  “You thought I was dead?” I croaked.

  “I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t seen you out and about. I checked your house and his house, but there was no sign of either one of you. I was a little worried, but I didn’t want to alarm your father yet. I knew he was out of town and wouldn’t have any answers.”

  “Wow, I didn’t realize you were stalking me.”

  Haley, take this seriously,” he demanded loudly.

  “Sorry,” I said, cringing as his voice rang in my ears.

  “So I went by the shelter and spoke with Ms. Scott. She told me you were closing up that night, and Ryan was running the key over to you later. So I followed him, and I saw you were at home. I figured Andrew would have been with you, but to my surprise, he wasn’t.” He continued to explain. “So strange,” he mumbled.

  “Why’s it strange?”

  “He has always informed us on his decision to change locations, and he would’ve never left a witness to his true identity alive,” he said, his face troubled.

  “I told you that he wouldn’t hurt me,” I said, more confident in Andrew’s love.

  “He didn’t pack up any of his things, so he’s coming back—whether to end his time in Boulder or kill you in the process isn’t known, yet.” His voice was stern.

  “He won’t hurt me.”

  “He will. But for now, you’re safe,” he sighed. “What would you like to eat?” He asked changing the subject.

  “I don’t care, anything will do,” I said, still feeling a little dizzy.

  “There’s pizza upstairs, I’ll grab you a couple of pieces.”

  “Wait!” I gasped and sat straight up.

  My head felt like a ton of bricks, and I started to hear ringing.

  “Not to your liking?” he asked, slightly surprised.

  “No!” I shrieked. “Where’s Alec?”

  “He’ll be here soon to report for duty,” he said. “Why?”

  “Well, wouldn’t he know where Andrew was?” I asked eagerly.

  “Even if he knew Andrew’s whereabouts, he’d never tell us,” he said sternly. “They don’t turn their backs on one another.”

  He definitely didn’t know them as well as he believed. Their kind was always betraying one another, but this was something I could not discuss.

  “I see,” I said defeated. I had no intention of being further investigated.

  “I’ll get you that pizza. And soda?” he asked.

  “Yes, please,” I said, softly laying my head back on the pillow.

  “Those pills will kick in soon.” His voice trailed off.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  I looked up to the small, high window realizing that it was daylight, but I had no clue as to what day or what time it was. If it was Sunday, I had another whole day before Andrew’s and my father’s return. If Andrew somehow didn’t return on Monday, I wasn’t sure if they would let me go on my father’s behalf.

  Alec was my only hope, and that didn’t seem very promising. We weren’t exactly friends. I had always shown him courtesy, but then again there was one little fact that would keep him from saving me—if he touched me, he would start on fire. I might be trapped in this musty old basement for days, or maybe even weeks.

  I heard the door slam again and footsteps growing near. “Here you go,” he said softly, setting the pizza box on top of the small table beside the bed.

  “Thanks.”

  “Haley, it won’t be long before you’ll be living your life again.”

  “How long is that?”

  “A few days, it doesn’t take long for them to move on.” He seemed confident.

  “What day is it?” I asked curiously.

  “It’s Sunday afternoon.”

  He twisted the top off the soda bottle and handed it to me. “Can you sit up yet?”

  “I think so,” I sighed, slowly lifting my head and shoulders up.

  “How do you feel?”

  “A little better. What are you going to tell my dad?”

  “I’ll speak with him when he returns and tell him the truth,” he said.

  “What?!” I gasped.

  “I have to. He needs to know the danger you’re in.” His voice was stern.

  “So you’re going to tell him Andrew is an immortal creature that feeds off humans?” I asked shocked.

  “No, not that part, but I’ll reveal that he is a psychopath, and we have to keep you safe.”

  “Will I get to see my dad?”

  “No. That would put your father’s life in danger, just in case Andrew does try to find you…which I highly doubt,” he said snidely.

  I wanted to scream and shout that Andrew would come for me and that they all would be dead soon. I wasn’t just some girl that he had chosen to play around with, but this would make my time trapped in here that much longer.

  “I see.”

  “Haley, you must’ve known that he wasn’t interested in a long term relationship. You’re a bright, young woman that has morals and goals. It’s hard to believe that you would just give in to his charm,” he said in disbelief.

  “I didn’t do anything immoral,” I huffed.

  “Haley, they don’t hang out with human women to play checkers.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t exploit my virtue,” I hissed.

  “You didn’t?”

  “If I wouldn’t succumb to those desires with a man I’d been with for two years, why in the hell would I do that for someone I’d just recently started seeing?” I rolled my eyes, disgusted by his implications.

  His face was confused as he digested my words. “Then what in the hell did you guys do?”

  “We talked a lot.”

  “He never tried to touch you?”

  “No, never.”

  “Hmm,” he murmured. “Why did he tell you what he was?” he asked with one brow arche
d.

  “I figured it out.”

  “How?”

  “He was different,” I shrugged.

  “And he just divulged this information willingly?”

  “Yes. I had to promise not to tell, but that was it,” I said, remembering back to that evening—how frightened, yet intrigued I had been.

  “Did he threaten you if you spoke of it?”

  “Yes, there were consequences if I told anyone.”

  “That sounds about right,” he smirked. “Alec will be here soon, so I have to go greet him, but remember, Haley, there are consequences if you speak about this program, too. Alec has the same powers as Andrew, and he can erase things from your memory. He’s also a little more compliant than Andrew, so I’m just warning you,” he said sternly.

  “I understand,” I said, relieved that Mr. Mitchell had no clue of my ability to defend myself against these creatures.

  “I’ll be back later. Barry will be in here with you if you need anything,” he explained, swiftly walking away.

  The door opened, and I saw a large figure appear and take a seat at the desk that was a few feet away from where I laid. I opened up the pizza box and retrieved a piece. It tasted more like cardboard than pizza, but I couldn’t exactly complain to anyone. So I figured the faster I ate, the better it would be for my taste buds.

  “You mind if I have a piece?” the man, I assumed was Barry, asked.

  “Sure,” I said, gesturing to the open pizza box.

  The large figure grew close. He pulled out a piece of pizza from the box. He casually took a seat on the bed with me. I was instantly shocked by this gesture.

  “You’re a pretty girl,” he breathed.

  “Thanks,” I muttered uncomfortably.

  “Why they got you in here?”

  “My boyfriend’s a maniac,” I answered nervously.

  “You like the bad boys, huh?” he asked, while chomping down loudly on a piece of pizza.

  “Not really,” I said uneasily.

  He placed his hand on my thigh. “I can be a maniac, too.”

  “Please, I don’t need any more trouble.”

  “They won’t be back for awhile, so we have plenty of time to get acquainted,” he grinned widely.

  “I’m really not interested,” I said politely.

  “Well, I am,” he continued grinning.

  He ripped my hands from my sides and pulled my body closer to his.