Dark Confusion

by J Thompson

  The sheet that covered her stopped just above her breasts, the skin that was visible was covered in bruises so dark they could have been mistaken for tattoos. Callum brushed his fingers over Helena’s bare scalp, gently removing the sticky pads and wires that were attached and then removed the ones on her neck before he went to lift the sheet.

  “Don’t touch her,” the doctor’s squeaky voice called out. Callum lifted his eyes to glare at him before he looked down at his mate’s naked body. The sheet had hidden the worst of the damage done to her. It made Callum sick to his stomach that someone would inflict harm on another being like this piece of shit had done to his woman.

  Like her shoulders, Helena’s entire body was bruised, clear finger and hand marks could be seen, along with long, deep scratches obviously made with scalpels and other sharp objects. Her fingers were distorted; clearly broken, and missing all fingernails. Callum sucked in a breath as he looked at her swollen stomach, swollen from the large incision bisecting it, red and inflamed.

  “Did you do this?” Callum looked up and caught the eye of the doctor as he placed the sheet back over his bonded. Rage like nothing he had ever felt before welled up inside of him, ready to burst free at any moment.

  “Did you?” he repeated as his hands flexed. He wanted to snap the neck of the male in front of him, break him like he had done to Helena.

  “You will fucking die for what you have done, you and those that serve you.” Callum stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the small human male. His hands clenched and unclenched. The room had become deathly quiet. The guards had quickly fallen to the skill of his brothers and none remained alive. None deserved to be.

  They had given the right to mercy up the moment they had become a part of the evil that had taken place here. Before Callum had realised, he had his hand fixed around the doctor’s throat. He could feel his heartbeat as it thundered against his hand. With every beat, Callum tightened his grip, eager to see the doctor’s life slip away.

  “Callum, stop, we will deal with this, with all of it. Your bonded needs you.”

  Callum slowly pulled his gaze away from the male to that of Sebastian. Understanding, not pity, peered back at him. Rage still burned through him, egging him on, that voice in the back of his mind telling him to exact revenge on the creature that had harmed the one thing that was good in his life: his pure, beautiful mate. But another part of him agreed with Sebastian. This wasn't his task. His task was now to look after Helena, heal her and bring her home. Callum nodded to his brother. “You will do this for me, Sebastian? You will make this right?”

  “Yes, I swear it,” Sebastian replied, right hand clenched into a fist, pressed to his heart. Callum nodded again, acknowledging the promise and bond Sebastian had just made. He released his hand from around the doctor’s throat and turned, not giving him another glance. Everyone else in the room was forgotten as he pulled his dagger from under his jacket. Swiftly, he pressed the blade to his lower lip, creating a small gash in the flesh, letting the blood run freely before he bent over Helena. Slipping a hand under her head, he lifted and pressed his now bloody lips to her own, forcing her mouth open and, in turn, forcing the blood into her mouth.

  What he was doing was against all succubi traditions. He was, in essence, forcing a bond with Helena, but it was the only thing he could think of to try and save her. His own life force would be joined to hers. He would feel her pain and hopefully, she would draw from his strength as a mate should.

  Callum dreaded finding out what had been done to her. He dreaded the anger that would threaten to take over when he did find out.

  He kept his lips against hers, letting his life force bond with hers before he felt that tug on his soul. Faster than he expected, Helena stirred. He felt, as well as heard, her whispered moan as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She gently licked at his lips and inside Callum celebrated a small victory as she recognised her soulmate. Keeping her covered by the sheet, he lifted her into his arms, shocked at how light and fragile she felt; her weight nearly halved by her incarceration. Without a backward glance, Callum stalked out of the exam room and passed the carnage his brothers and himself had done. Carnage that had been deserved.

  It was time to get his mate home where she belonged.

  12

  Let the healing begin.

  It had taken little time to travel back to the portal that would lead Callum home. He would ignore succubi ruling and take Helena straight to his own rooms, housed in a separate wing of the palace the succubi council and royal family used. The enforcers were the warrior force of the race and had to be housed together, as well as close to those they protected.

  Since the immortal races had decided to hide themselves away from the mortals, they had been obligated to come to a truce. Being in such close proximity to creatures like vampyres, dark fey and demons of different lineage made for interesting neighbourly battles.

  Each had been gifted with an area specifically for their race, there were boundaries and rules had been made. Each were also in charge of their own portals that were spaced out over London, hidden beneath every church. They could also open up in any city around the world, depending on the immortal’s choice.

  The succubi portal was based under the church at Whitechapel. The stunning white building shone in the street lights and called Callum home. He walked down the few stairs at the back of the church and approached the non-descript door. Holding Helena a little closer, looking again at her face, she had settled into a deep sleep after he had given her his blood, her heartbeat now steady and strong compared to the weak flutter it had been.

  “Aperio” His deep voice echoed through the night, the old Latin word for open flowed off his tongue. The wooden door dissolved, leaving only a shimmering portal, one that rippled like the surface of a pond. After a quick check around, Callum confirmed he was alone before he stepped through and into the immortal realm. The sky above remained a deep blue, never changing, unlike the mortal realm. Shimmering in its depths were what looked like stars when, in fact, they were celestial beings that chose this realm to occupy. Always constant, never changing, a little like the immortal races themselves.

  “We are home, baby,” Callum bent his head and whispered to her, not sure if she would hear him or if he was just talking to himself. He would do whatever it took to bring her back.

  Callum nodded to the guard that stood sentry over the gates to the palace and headed towards the enforcers wing. He would get Helena settled before he told the council she had been found.

  Although the sky remained the same, it was classed as the middle of the night in their realm, so most would be asleep. For this he was grateful. He didn't want them asking what had happened to Helena, how had she survived. These were questions he wasn't ready to answer. He wanted answers himself, but that would take time.

  She needed to heal and only the gods knew how long that would take.

  Callum made it through the enforcer’s wing with no one to stop him. Once he made it to his room, he quickly entered and made a beeline for the bed.

  Holding her light form with one arm, he stripped back the bed before he laid her gently down. Every time he looked upon her face, his heart ached. His blood, although powerful, had brought the colour to her cheeks and had reduced the swelling to her face, but the other cuts, bruises and wounds would take a lot more to heal.

  Callum brushed his fingertips gently down her cheek before he pulled the duvet up to her chin, tucking it tightly around her. Once done he walked back to his door, locking it and pressing the ring button on the intercom.

  A tired but deep voice answered within two rings, “Albert speaking.”

  “Al, sorry it's…” Callum stopped, was it early or late?

  “Callum, your back. Did you…?”

  “Yeah, she's here. It's bad, Al. I'm going to need your help with this.”

  “How bad, what have you done so far?”

  Callum could hear the enforcers’ healer get dressed as h
e talked, could hear as he packed his bag. Albert had been the healer for hundreds of years and took zero shit from any of them, even the high council. Callum would trust no one else with the welfare of his mate and, if he was honest, he was reluctant to let even him see her in her current state.

  He wasn't ashamed of her - that was the furthest thing from his mind. But every time he looked at the damage that had been done, he felt a sense of overwhelming guilt - that it was his fault this had been done.

  “Callum!” Albert shouted over the intercom. “How bad is it?”

  “Just get here and see for yourself.”

  Callum ended the call and walked back to the bed. How would he start to even contemplate healing her? How does one come back from this kind of torture, and if he was successful, would she still want him?

  He sure as hell wouldn't blame her hating him. After all, it was his fault for putting her in the situation in the first place.

  Pulling her hand from underneath the covers, he stroked her battered skin before he placed a kiss to each finger, wincing when he saw every single nail had been removed.

  The pain she must have endured was mind numbing. Most enforcers would have broken under the strain.

  “Helena, please forgive me,” Callum whispered. “I'm sorry.”

  13

  Choice! What choice?

  The loud , reverberating knock at the door pulled Callum from his thoughts of guilt. Tucking Helena’s hand back under the covers, he went to the door. Opening it, he expected to see Albert, only to be met by the furious face of Helena’s minder, Mirium.

  “Mirium.”

  “So, you’re back then,” she said angrily and pushed into the room, before she rushed to Helena’s bedside.

  “Oh, my sweet, sweet angel. What did they do to you?” she cried out.

  Leaving the door unlocked but shut, Callum walked over to the bed.

  “Are they dead, warrior?” It took Callum a moment to realise what the minder was asking, a moment she wasn’t willing to give. “Well, did you avenge Helena or did you leave them alive to perform this atrocity to someone else? Are you the warrior I believed you to be?”

  Her words cut deep but also brought anger back to the forefront of his mind. She was a minder, who was she to question him as a warrior, as a mate?

  “How dare you.” Callum walked around the bed, growling as he went.

  “How dare I?” Mirium growled back. “I dare alright, look at her, Callum!”

  “I have looked, do you think I wouldn’t? Do you think I don’t care?” He started to shout, his own feelings bursting free. “I wanted to rip that doctor apart, piece by piece. I wanted to take pleasure in causing him as much pain as he had caused her.”

  Callum sat on the bed and again took Helena’s hand, stroking the knuckles with such gentleness, it felt foreign.

  “And?” the minder asked, “Did you?”

  “No,” he answered honestly, “I didn’t, I left that task and honour to Sebastian and immediately brought her home.” He paused, his eyes never leaving her sleeping face. “She is more important to me then my vengeance.”

  “Good.” The minder nodded and bent over Helena, tears welling in her eyes. “Sebastian will make good on his word, you know how he feels.”

  Callum nodded in agreement, “Yes.”

  Silence filled the room as Callum sat and focused upon the feel of his fingers as they slid against the skin of Helena’s knuckles. As much as he begrudged Mirium’s presence, it would have been wrong of him to have kept her in the dark about Helena’s rescue. The woman was like a one person spy team, she knew everything even before it happened. But she had given Helena a home and brought her up as her own.

  “Callum.” Her voice serious and no longer emotional called to him. He lifted his head and met her gaze.

  “Why is there dried blood on her lips?” she asked, and Callum answered honestly.

  “That’s my blood, Mirium.” He stood, he needed to be active and maybe giving Helena a bath would help his sudden irritability.

  “Your blood,” she gasped. “Do you know what you have done, what you have possibly started?”

  “I had no choice,” Callum fired back. “She was dying. I did what I had to, to save her life.”

  “Dying… What did they do to her?”

  “I would like to know that, too, trust me. I am well aware I have forced a bond with her but I would rather that than the alternative.”

  “I understand, Callum, but if you have sent her into her maturity before you are officially bonded then you run the risk of her rejecting you. If she doesn't accept you or your bond then she could become dangerous.”

  “I know, but I don’t know if they…” Callum couldn’t say it.

  “Raped her,” Mirium finished. “If they did then the bond will be all the more difficult to cement in place.”

  Callum left the minder watching over his mate and moved to the bathroom. Turning the taps on, he started filling the tub, mindful not to make it too hot so as not to shock her system. He grabbed soaps from the cupboard and soft towels. If anything, he would make sure she was clean. He also wanted to see how bad the damage actually was. What if she had been raped? She wouldn’t let him near her if that was the case, and then they wouldn’t ever be bonded. If there was no bond and Helena became the monster most feared, then it would be up to him to put her down.

  Could he do it, though? Could he kill the one person he loved? In the time she had been missing, Callum had realised once and for all that he loved Helena more than life itself. She was the air he breathed, his sun. Dammit, she owned his heart and soul, so to kill her would be to sentence himself to death.

  He would take the afterlife, anyway. As long as it was by her side.

  14

  Healers know it all. Or do they?

  “Callum,” Albert’s voice called out to him, drawing him from his internal musings. His mind had drifted. It couldn’t be helped, not with the current situation. He walked out of the bathroom quickly, to the healer who had just arrived. Only to find a standoff was taking place, a standoff between Albert and Mirium.

  “What is she doing here?” Albert growled out, his voice irritable as their gazes clashed and held. The atmosphere felt thick and tense. In any other situation, it would have lightened Callum’s current mood. Whatever was going on, there was certainly a long back story.

  “What do you mean, what am I doing here? I have more bloody right to be here than you do.” Mirium huffed and folded her arms across her chest, planting her feet in front on the bed, refusing to move.

  “I couldn’t give a shit what you think, but you need to move, woman, so I can do my gods be damned job,” Albert fired back.

  Callum was unsure what had caused their ongoing rift, but he wouldn't put it past it being Albert’s fault entirely. The ex-enforcer had a tendency to put his foot well and truly in it. "Mirium, he’s here to check on Helena, I asked him to," Callum explained, which only garnered him a sharp glare, before she reluctantly stepped to the side and allowed Albert to pass her. "Fine," she snapped before a tense silence filled the room. Albert made a point of ignoring her as Mirium shot daggers into his back and Callum stood looking at both of them, wondering if they knew how silly they both actually looked. You could like it to school yard antics and this wasn't the time for it. Helena’s wellbeing came first, above whatever petty differences they had with each other. "Mirium," Callum said, his voice was stern but he didn't have time for her to be stomping around, acting like she had been deliberately put out. "What?" she snapped and finally turned from watching Albert. Callum didn't respond and only looked at her, her bad attitude wasn't going to help Helena and she knew it. "Fine," she huffed and walked towards the door. "I will go prepare some food." Mirium nodded to herself and reached for the door handle. Before she opened the door, she looked at Callum. "Thank you, warrior, for bringing her home." Tears shone in the dim light of the room as Mirium smiled sadly, looking fondly on at Helena as the doc w
as examining her hands. Then she opened the door and left. Instead of the expected slam, Mirium closed the door quietly, surprising them both. "One day, old man, you will have to tell me what you did to piss her off." "Ha! That story would take far too long and I am far too sober to retell it." "That bad, eh?" Callum questioned, only receiving a smile in return. In that easy smile, Callum could see the playboy and rogue the healer had been known to be. Rumours had flown around, warning many a female to keep clear. "Blessed goddess!" Albert hissed out. He had slowly removed the duvet covering Helena’s body and had now revealed the damage that had been done. With the gentlest of touches, he reached over and took her chin, moving her head from side to side before he started to test the small burn wounds that had been caused at her temples. He probed the raw and oozing skin before he moved to check the other raw wounds. Every now and again, Helena’s brow would furrow and a small moan would erupt from her lips, but she didn't wake. "What caused those?" Callum asked, not liking the burns and shaved head on his mate. Her face looked so pale and gaunt compared to how she used to look. "Shock therapy. The humans used to be fond of that kind of therapy for the insane back in the 1900's." Albert shook his head, taking in each and every bruise and cut Helena had. "These will all need to be documented. I just hope your brothers didn't destroy everything." Callum frowned, why would anyone want to keep anything from that hellhole of a place? He hoped Sebastian had burned it to he ground. "I hope they wiped it off the face of the earth." "You may say that now, Callum, but inside that place may be evidence of what exactly they were doing. What they found out." "I couldn't care less. We know what they were doing, Helena is proof that. They were evil and needed destroying." Callum found himself filled with rage all over again. He growled out loud as Albert moved his examination down Helena’s emaciated body. She was his mate, only he should be allowed to gaze at her unclothed. "Callum, I suggest you either leave or get a grip, you know there is nothing I enjoy about this exam." The healer was right, but that didn't stop every protective urge coming to life and wanting an outlet. "Sorry," he mumbled and moved around to the opposite side of the bed, needing to be close to Helena but far enough away from Albert that he wouldn't throttle him. "Callum, grab my bag from by the door, please?" Albert asked. Callum quickly did his bidding, placing the bag by his side and peered over his shoulder. The large wound across Helena’s stomach was bright red in colour, the skin swollen. Each staple that had been placed to keep the flesh together now had a yellowish puss that oozed. Every time Albert palpated the area, more seeped out of the holes made by the staples and the smell of rot filled the room. "Pass me the pliers that are in the side pocket and fetch a towel. I’m also going to need hot water, too." "I’ve run a bath, will that help?" Callum asked as he dug out the pliers as requested and waited for the healer to answer. "Yes, that may help. Ok, before that we are going to have to remove these staples and I’m going to have to deal with the infection. This is going to hurt her, Callum, so be prepared." Callum nodded and moved towards Helena’s head. Taking her bruised and battered hands in his own, he kissed each finger. As soon as Albert started to pull on the staples, Helena’s body thrashed, her back bowed and she screamed out. She still remained unconscious, as though she was trapped in whatever dream she was having at the time. "You are going to have to hold her down," Albert said. Callum nodded and moved quickly. Sliding a hand under Helena, he moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her arms and chest. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he whispered in her ear. "Shh, baby, it’s ok. I’ve got you." Her body slowly calmed, surprising both of them, so Callum continued to talk to her, all the while he watched the healer remove each staple. "Don't stop, old man," Callum pushed as the healer paused. "This is going to hurt her, Callum, I won’t lie. The wound seems to be necrotising. The only reason she isn't dead from septicaemia is because you gave her your blood." The healer used the towel to wipe away the putrid smelling fluids that had erupted from the wound as soon as he had removed the first few staples. "Just do it," Callum grated out. Helena’s body had started to shake and a fine layer of sweat covered her skin. From Callum’s new view point, he could see every single piece of damage that had been done, including the bruises that were obviously handprints. Her breasts were purple and had one large print across the right one. His rage rolled in his gut, the need to cause harm to those that had harmed his angel became almost unbearable. "No one will ever hurt you again, baby. This, I vow."