"You evil little twit, tell me what you did or I will rip your throat out." He growled, his mouth dangerously close to her face. He shook her, her feet dangling her remaining shoe falling to the floor. She fought, her nails clawing at his face, but he easily avoided her, his teeth lengthening even more.
"I didn't do anything!" She screamed, trying to kick him away from her, his fingers digging into her arm, cracking the delicate bones beneath.
"You did something. That was why you were sent, to get close to her. Why?" He pressed harder, his hands like steel bands around her biceps enjoying the sound of her bones splintering.
"I don't know what you're talking about! I didn't do anything!" she screamed and tears rolled down her cheeks. He stared into her bulging eyes and repeated his question, this time through clenched teeth. He banged her head against the wall again, sending more expensive, pretty things crashing to the floor and cracking the wall in the process. The lights shook and there was a rumble behind him, people coming into the room, he assumed, but Lilith had his full attention.
"What did you do? Why are you here? You can answer or you can die, either outcome is fine by me. Why did they send you?" He growled.
"I never did anything to her! I didn't do anything! I don't know what you're talking about!" She stared at him, her lips trembling, her breathing harsh gasps, pain running through her broken shoulders. When she didn't answer, he lowered his mouth, his teeth sinking into the delicate white flesh of her throat. It hurt, stinging like hot blades being sunken into tender flesh. He twisted, making sure she felt every ounce of pain. He widened his mouth until his bottom teeth pushed on the gentle bones of her larynx.
She could feel the pressure of his jaws closing in on her and breathing became harder, her mouth filling with the taste of her own blood. He was crushing her, pushing his body into hers until she could feel her ribs cracking one by one, her thin frame nearly hidden by him. She couldn't move, she couldn't breath and the terror left her whimpering helplessly, unable to fight against him. There was a startled gasp from someone at his back, but Karim was not going to stop until she either confessed or died. Blood, thick, dark cloying and smelling of sulfur rolled down her skin, staining her top and dripping onto the floor; the pain was unbearable, and he could feel her heart rate triple.
"The mark!" She screeched. "She wanted to know if she had the mark! That's all! I wasn't to touch her, I wasn't to hurt her and I didn't. All she wanted to know was whether or not she had the mark!"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
When Karim released her, Lilith had fallen to the floor in a bloody and broken heap like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Cowering in the corner, she watched the vampire with wide, terrified eyes. He looked truly horrifying, his thick dark hair hanging in his face, shielding his malevolent glowing eyes, his blood stained fangs still exposed as if he were ready to attack her again. He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand and stalked away from her as if he were unable to look at her without attacking.
Arbor placed a calming hand on his chest, her eyes meeting his in silent understanding, and then she stepped aside so that he could follow Lisette to Celeste's room. There was not much discussion while Jonas and Gaston silently righted the room and Arbor spoke to house staff in hushed tones. They practically ignored the crushed girl in the corner, until Gaston gingerly gathered her in his arms and followed his mother and father to a second floor guest room.
***
"I didn't do anything to her." Lilith croaked then flinched. "I didn't do anything that would hurt her." Arbor glanced back at her, giving her a tight smile but said nothing. Gaston placed her on the bed, carefully arranging her so that she sat with her back against the white headboard, her feet, one still missing a shoe, on top of the navy and white striped comforter. He looked at her, his face completely void of any emotion, his deep brown eyes on her bloodied neck. He met her eyes, staring long enough to make her uncomfortable before smirking and leaving the room. Jonas was speaking to Arbor in a corner, quiet and serious. She kissed his cheek, nodding her agreement to something Lilith had not heard, and then he too left the room.
Lilith hurt all over, her arms, back and neck were bruised a deep purple, blood had caked on her healing neck wound and her head throbbed from being slammed into the wall. She swallowed, feeling the burn in her raw throat, still tasting blood and smelling of sulfur.
"You were sent here to spy on Celeste." Arbor said matter-of-factly, "I knew you were here for something. I just wasn't sure what, but it makes sense now. The Queen wants to know if the prophecy is true, correct?"
Lilith would have shrugged if her bones had mended, but they had not, not yet anyway. She tried to shift her body, but flinched when she awoke the pain that had settled over her like a warm ache.
"Okay, so why did you stay? You know she has the mark, you could have taken that information and gone on, yet you continued to come around. Why did you come back, Lilith? Why would you continue to stay around my family once your task was complete?" Arbor asked, standing at the foot of the bed, her eyes doing a mental inventory of Lilith's wounds.
"Because ... you made me feel like I belonged. Like you liked me. I never had that; I wanted to stay around a family that actually likes one another. She said no harm would come to Celeste, she just wanted to know. She wanted to know if she was as beautiful as rumored, if she was as fierce a fighter. That's all." Tears began streaming down her cheeks and Arbor softened. She came to sit at Lilith's bedside, gently easing onto the mattress in an effort not to jostle her. She took one pale, limp hand in her own warm tawny one, her brown eyes meeting white and smiled.
"I understand dear," she said, her voice hypnotic and melodious. Lilith saw something then; a pallor fell over Arbor's sun kissed skin, washing her out. She looked sick, then it passed and she was smiling again, her smile as warm and welcoming as always and Lilith relaxed, her pain ebbing.
"You are welcome here, sweetheart. Just like the rest of my children. I will look after you. I will send someone up to help you get cleaned up and to make sure you are comfortable. Don't fret, you will be fine." She stroked Lilith's cheek, before rising and slowly crossing the room, her steps forced, stilted like she was unsure. She stopped at the door, turning to give Lilith a curious look before closing the door behind her.
Once the click of Arbor's heels faded down the hall, Lilith waited for a tick more until she was sure no one else was coming to this seascape explosion of a room. When she was satisfied, she rose and stretched, rolling her shoulders with ease. Her bones made soft clicking noises as they snapped painlessly back into place. She kicked off her remaining shoe and went to inspect her reflection in the mirror.
Karim had done a job on her alright, she was black and blue, her neck a red raw mess where he'd chewed on her, but the punctures were healing nicely. Her hair, she sighed, her poor beautiful hair was a mess and her top was ruined. Demon blood not only stained, it burned and she could see the scorched path of her blood on the Kelly green cotton.
She hadn't known how Celeste had read her mind, or what the hell had happened to her. The seizures were terrifying and she had been scared that maybe their precious goddess was dead. She had been for a little while- if only she'd stayed that way. But then Celeste never made anything easy. She ran a hand over her rat's nest of a hairdo before turning away to look at the small room she'd been sequestered in; it wasn't bad. It wasn't like the other Kent siblings’ suites, but it was pretty enough and she could deal with the nautical theme. For now.
She touched her bruised arms and shoulder and thought of the vampire. He had been in full on animal rage, his restraint barely holding as he throttled her. She had known he cared for Celeste, but to see him so viciously protective of her, his muscled body tense with fury was very telling. She wondered if he were that passionate in his lovemaking. No matter, Celeste's time was ending as lady of the manor; it would soon be Lilith's turn to pick up the mantel. Celeste had survived whatever had happened to her
, but that was fine.
It didn't really matter anyway; her plan had worked, after all. Arbor drank the tea and soon Lilith would be established as the center of the Kent family. She would be a better daughter to Arbor than Celeste ever was and Arbor would adore her. The potion she'd slipped into her tea when she'd added the honey had already taken affect. She could see the subtle changes in Arbor when she looked at her. It wouldn’t be long now.
She heard footsteps getting louder on the marble floor of the hallway outside of her room and returned to her position on the bed. She had managed to look acceptably pitiful by the time two youngish women in white entered, looking at her with large pitying eyes. They silently moved about the room, preparing a bath and inspecting her wounds. She managed to produce the winces and flinches needed as they undressed her, tears rolling from dry eyes. They would share looks of pity over her head with the discovery of each new bruise. Sympathy had always been one of her weapons; appearing tiny and frail always helped with the impression of helplessness.
Lilith Prince Kent. No, Lilith Kent, She thought as the women moved her from the bed, careful of her broken arms and bruised body, slowly walking her to the small bathroom within the suite. Why give her father any claim to her, she was leaving that behind her, just as he'd left her. She could go the Celeste route and use Arbor's Americanized human name, Lilith Keegan Kent, heir to the High Regent of the Collective. Yes, she decided, that had a very nice ring to it indeed.
***
Celeste moaned, and rolled onto her side feeling as if she were going to be sick. Her stomach rumbled and her head felt ready to explode. She could hear voices, hushed and anxious, from somewhere nearby and tried to force her eyes open. The lights, though low, made her eyes burn and she groaned, rolling onto her stomach so that she could cover her head with a pillow.
"It lives,” Lisette teased. She sat on the bed, her hand on Celeste's back.
"Turn off the lights," she mumbled through her pillow. There was some movement and a tap on her back letting her know that the lights had been dimmed. She rolled onto her side and felt her stomach protest and her head pound. Lisette held out a juice glass filled with something dark. Celeste frowned, not wanting to drink anything; her stomach was bound to revolt.
"Take it," her sister insisted. She struggled to sit up and took the glass reluctantly; her expression would have mirrored her annoyance, if her head didn't feel like a parade had just high stepped across her brain. The glass, she realized at once, was full of fresh, warm blood. Her stomach may have been enacting a revolt, but her mouth watered at the smell. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent, then brought it to her lips and drank. Suddenly, she had a monstrous thirst, draining the glass in one gulp.
"More," she breathed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"More? Okay." Lisette silently took the empty glass, her perfectly arched brows lifting in amusement, and went to ring the kitchen for more. When she rose from the bed, Celeste looked at the others in the room. Gaston and Arbor were in her sitting area, their heads close together as they talked. The curtains were drawn so she couldn't tell the time of day, but by the heat that radiated from the windows on one side of the room, she figured it was late afternoon. Her bedroom faced the east and the sun was always on this side of the house at that time of day. She looked around the room; nothing was out of place, everything was clean and neat but something was wrong. She looked to her left and noted the clear outline of a body, and caught the faint hints of the ocean.
"Where's Karim?" she asked, clearing her throat. Her voice sounded rusty to her own ears. Arbor looked at her, a smile on her face as usual. She moved across the room, but even in her groggy state, Celeste could tell that something was wrong. Arbor was a glider, she moved with an effortless grace that made it seem like she floated on air. Today, she was struggling. She looked thinner, her normal perfection off. Celeste supposed it was the strain of Remy being missing and of course, her little, incident, which she could only partially recall.
"He's in a safe room, down the hall. We had to make him sleep and feed. He's been beside himself with worry. He's resting now," Arbor assured. "You've been asleep for four days."
Celeste was astonished. Four days?
"I don't know what you did to him, but that boy has it bad. He stayed at your bedside like a whipped puppy and refused to even shower until you woke up," Gaston teased, tossing a robe to her. She snatched it out of the air, sighing and shaking her head.
"I know exactly what she did to him," Lisette said with a wink. "And I approve." Celeste slipped the silky robe on and prepared to stand when Arbor placed a hand on her shoulder. She was going to find Karim and lay with him in the safe room to make sure he knew that she was okay. Even in his death-like sleep, he would know she was there.
"No you don't. You need rest. You nearly died, Celeste." Arbor's perfect face, for the first time ever, was showing lines of age. Her hair, normally thick chestnut, seemed thinner, her eyes had faded to the color of whiskey instead of the rich chocolate they had been before. Celeste reached up and stroked a cheek that was surprisingly cold and dry.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. From the corner of her eye she saw Lisette stiffen. Gaston also managed to look relaxed and tense at once, his eyes hooded. Of course, Celeste thought, she was worried. Her little stunt had only added to Arbor's anxiety.
"Have you heard from Remy? What about Nicky? What happened to me? Lilith." She snarled the demon's name, her headache singing to life as the memories of Lilith came back to her. She remembered watching her while they discussed Remy being AWOL; she remembered the tea that was brought in and someone invading her mind. Not just invading, taking over completely, screaming into her until she thought her head would split open from the volume and intensity.
"We haven't heard from Nicky or Remy. Nicky still isn't returning calls, being a diva I guess. Jonas is commanding the Grey in your absence; he has that Briar tracking Remy. He's very dedicated." Celeste nodded and smiled. She had no idea just how dedicated Briar was, but Celeste had the feeling Jonas did.
"We have people looking, but..." Arbor shrugged, her eyes filling with tears. She inhaled and tried to smile. It was strained and tight and made her look even older and somehow, frail. The worry over her children was taking its toll, the errant Remy and the psychotic Celeste, what a pair they made, she thought.
"What happened?" she asked when no one said anything. Lisette sighed and looked at the other two before she spoke. She replayed the night's events to her, ignoring Celeste's horrified gasps at the knowledge that she had nearly died. Her body had lain lifeless on the floor until Frederick saved the day.
"I always knew Frederick was a freakin’ super hero," she sighed.
"Then, once he carried you away, your male went absolutely ape-shit on Lilith. I thought he was going to shove her through the wall and rip her throat out if she didn’t talk." Gaston said rather admiringly. Karim had managed to impress two stone faced critics in Lisette and Gaston.
"Did she?" She hadn't realized that she was clutching her robe in a knot at her chest.
"She did," Arbor nodded. "She was sent by the Dark Queen to report about your mark." Celeste absently touched her neck, feeling the raised flesh there. It was sore, but not pained, not really, not anymore.
"And?" Celeste asked
"And nothing. That was all she did," Arbor said, brushing a stray curl off of Celeste's face.
"But the bigger question is," Lisette sat next to Arbor on the bed, "what happened to you?" That was the question indeed. Celeste rubbed her forehead and tried to recall what had triggered the voices.
"It was a voice," she said. “In my head, like a siren. It got louder and louder, splitting my skull in half. Then it was everyone, all of this noise, hundreds of voices all at once, these thoughts echoing in my brain until - I don't know what happened." She rubbed her eyes. "I couldn't see or hear anything other than these hundreds of voices, but that one...the one that was so loud it bloc
ked out everything else." She held her head, remembering the fear, the cold terror that washed over her.
"You kept yelling about tea, do you remember that?" Gaston had drifted closer. She shook her head and immediately wished that she hadn't. She groaned and lay back on her pillow, her arm across her eyes.
"Tea? Weren't we drinking tea?" She asked, trying to force a memory, any memory after the voices began. She could only remember the voices and then something odd popped into her head. She moved her arm and stared at the faces of the family members in the room, and Lilith watching Arbor with an intensity that bordered on obsessive.
"I think Lilith did something to the tea," she said, "Did you drink it? Did any of you drink the tea?" She sat up, ignoring her headache and new nausea that rolled through her. She knew that Gaston and Lisette had not, she wasn't concerned with them. She stared at Arbor, waiting for a response. There was a moment when Celeste received a clear picture of Arbor's thought patterns and found it to be gone. It was as if someone had drawn a shade, and there was a void. It wasn't like Lisette who telegraphed broken thoughts, bits that crept through or Gaston who's thinking was completely linear. It wasn't even emotion based like Karim, it was just a void. Even when she didn't get clear thought from those around her, she always had some sort of empathic connection. She rubbed the mark on her neck, hoping to generate some sort of motor in her head like she had the other night, when everyone's thoughts bled together in a cacophony of sounds and images. But there was nothing, just a blank, emotionless emptiness that she would have never associated with the warm, gentle heart of the woman who had, for all intents and purposes, been her mother for nearly a millennium.
Arbor smiled; it was bright and beautiful, lighting her face and for a moment she was herself again. She tucked strands of hair behind Celeste's ear.
Mark of the Fallen: A Fallen Novel Page 22