“It’s Romeo Lovejoy in a dress,” I finished for her, and she yelped with both surprise and terror. “Yeah, I know. Not only are we facing off against a sadistic Head of House who wants to drain me dry to cause a revolt with the vampires. But it also looks like he's hired Florin, a vampire who murdered your friend, to do his dirty work. And he's in cahoots with Romeo, a vampire who raped and murdered several women while having his killer of a temper tantrum.” I let out a defeated sigh. “We’re knee deep in trouble, and I don’t know how we’re going to get the hell out of it.”
A sob broke from where Vienna was tied up and the guilt hit me. If I’d never touched her, Florin would have most likely left her alone. She was in this mess with the sadistic vampires, all because of me.
“I’m sorry, Vienna. I should never have dragged you into this,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“It’s n-not your fault.” She tried to pull herself back on track. “I should have told someone in the first place. I should never have let him have such power over me … but Parris … he’s powerful. And not a vampire you would w-want to cross.”
“He’s deluded more like.” I tried to make an assessment of my surroundings to see if there was anything I could use to get us out of this place before they came back. “Any idea where they went?”
“They’re not too far away. I think it’s a cabin of some kind, and we’re in a stable at the back. Florin spoke about heading back to the cabin earlier. Then I heard them drive away.”
“They have cabins on Darkwood lands?”
“I’m not sure. I’m just a hive vampire, remember?” She sniffed. “I’m only used to visiting the places that are sanctioned. Or I was until Daia.” She broke into tears again at the thought of her dead friend, and my anger at Florin unfolded. The three idiots, Parris, Romeo and Florin, had obviously gotten their heads together to carry out this stupid plan. And it looked like Vienna, Bernard and little, old me were to be collateral damage. But then again, they weren’t the only idiots around here. I was one, too. I’d readily walked into their trap with only my charmed necklace and watch comms for company.
“Wait a minute,” I said, bending my leg to feel if my watch comms was still there. It was, and elation filled my chest. “Engage comms,” I ordered, and the relief was heady when I felt its vibration against my skin. I spoke as quickly as I could. “Transmission. Call 54323.” Cole’s transmission code rang out, with each ring I longed to hear his voice, but nothing came. No answer. Ending the transmission, I tried the agency instead. “Transmission. Call 76200.”
After three rings, one of the Enforcer Administrators, Doreen, answered. “Portiside City Agency. How can I help?”
“Oh crap. Doreen …” I rushed on, not sure what to tell her. Nothing had come through from the request order so legally I wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place. I’d come under the ruse of Bernard’s wife and lied to them all. Shit was going to hit the fan on the political front. But then again, I had been kidnapped by these idiots. Thoughts rattled my brain and so I said, “Doreen, it’s Agent Vane. Is Chief Cipher at the agency?”
“No dear. I’m afraid not. He took all available agents with him to track down a suspect in an investigation. They’ve not yet returned.”
My heart rattled against my chest. That wasn’t good. I knew it was a bit of a trek from The Mutuari’s to the Barrier of Barth portal, but come on. Couldn’t fate give us a little break?
“Anything else I can help you with, dear?” Doreen asked, and I did all I could at that moment. “No, Doreen. I’ll try again later.”
“All right. Speak to you soon.”
She rang off and I sat there, numb and frustrated. Who else could I call? There was no point asking for an open channel to all agents if they were out running with Cole. And there was no way in hell I could drag Mayra or my stepdad into this. Knowing them, they would come running in and throw themselves right into danger. That’s if they managed to get past the guards first. The only people who could help us were currently on the scent of the escaped prisoners and off the grid.
Ground Patrol was no good as the usual backup. There was no way they had jurisdiction over here, and they wouldn’t come running into Darkwood, weapons blazing, either. That left me with no one. Not with my partner in his sick bed unable to do a damn thing.
The thought of Kaleb had me thinking though. If I told him what was happening, he could keep trying to call Cole. He could update him on the facts, and it also meant I could say goodbye to my friend should the worst happen. He also could tell my stepdad …
I stopped thinking about that as the hurt burrowed its way deep into my soul. No. I wasn’t going there. I couldn’t.
“Transmission. Call 62793,” I said, dialing Kaleb’s code before I could stop myself. Vienna watched on in silence as I grasped at our one chance at survival.
After three rings, Kaleb answered, and my heart banged hard at my chest. “Kaleb? Oh thank goodness. Listen. I just need you to listen to me, okay?”
“Terra? Is that you?”
“Yes, yes it’s me. Listen. I don’t have much time. I went to Darkwood and got kidnapped by this psychotic vampire called Parris Avar and his minions, Florin Thorne and Romeo Lovejoy. They’ve also kidnapped Vienna Lysa, and Bernard has been badly hurt. He’s not moving. He’s chained up with us in a barn of some kind on Darkwood lands. I can’t tell you much else. But I need—”
“Terra. Terra, slow down …” Kaleb cut across me. “What the hell do you mean you’ve been kidnapped?”
“Uh,” I growled out in frustration. “Kaleb. I’m on Darkwood lands somewhere. We’re in danger from three psychotic vampires, and I’m chained up. I can’t get Cole. He must still be out tracking with all other available agents. But please can you keep trying him? I still have my watch comms on me. He can track me using that when they get in. Keep trying him for me, okay? Please?”
“I’m coming to get you,” he said quickly, and the exertion in his voice had me in panic overload.
“No. You stay there. Damn it, Kaleb, you’re hurt. I only called you because I was out of options. And you’re no good to me anyway if you can barely walk. Stay there. Keep calling Cole. He should answer at some point. Then let him come running.” I took a deep breath as the thought of hearing his voice for potentially one last time hurt like hell. “Please, Kaleb? Just keep trying Cole. And if I don’t get out of this, tell my dad I love him. And Rosie. And Mayra …” Tears fell down my cheek, one after the other after the other, then I whispered “And you.”
“Terra,” Kaleb growled. “Just … just hang tight, okay. You’re coming home. I’ll make sure of it. Sit tight—”
“I’ve got to go. Don’t contact me because they’ll find the comms. I need to go in case they come back. Cole will need the comms to track me. Keep calling him. Disengage Comms.”
The line went dead as I disconnected the transmission with those two simple words. My head fell back against the cold wall behind me.
“Do you think they’ll come?” Vienna asked. And I could hear the hope reflected in her words.
“I hope so, Vienna. I really do.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“ROMEO HAS BEEN sent back to enjoy the party at the House of Strigoi,” Parris said when he came back into the barn. His presence jolted me into high alert. “We may as well get started before we join him.” Florin was at his heels, and my skin tingled from the painful memory of his fists pummeling into my face.
The pain had settled into a numb ache around my eye and jaw, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to rip his goddamn head off. I also noticed that Parris had donned his black leather gloves again. That didn’t sit well with me.
“What about Bernard?” I asked Parris, forced to look up as he walked closer to where I was tied. Each step he took was purposeful. Each move taken as if he wanted to cherish it. He was like a cat on the hunt. And I was his prey.
“Bernard can stay there and rot for all I care,” Parris
shrugged. “It may teach him to keep his nose out of where it’s not wanted.”
“Vienna and Bernard have nothing to do with this. They’re nothing to you. Just let them go.”
Florin growled as he stood next to Vienna, some form of a weapon in his hand. He twirled it in his palm when he noticed my eyes on it. Suddenly realising what it was, my eyes widened in horror. It was a wooden stake, shaped and polished to a dangerous point. My heart raced faster, and my palms were sweating. This was all becoming a little too real now. And it was really starting to piss me off that this so-called ‘higher species’ was inclined to always chain up their prey in order to get the advantage.
“Valiant to the end,” Parris said, dragging my eyes back to him. “But Vienna is payment to Florin for him helping me. I figured it was such a small price to pay.”
“Why?” I asked through gritted teeth, trying to buy us some time. “Why is he helping you?”
“You really like to know all the facts, don’t you?” he sighed. “But if that’s the price to pay to get you to shut up then …” He glanced at Florin before bringing his attention back to me. “Florin has been a follower of my regime for some time now. He’s helped me in trying to bring some of the other vampires in Sanguis on board. But when you came and started talking to Vienna … let’s say he got a little worried.”
Vienna whimpered from the corner as Florin stepped closer to her. “Wait!” I shouted, doing all I could to distract him. “Vienna told me nothing. I swear it. I had a vision when I touched her. That’s all. And when I tried to ask her about it, she denied everything. She told me nothing!”
“I don’t care,” Florin sneered. “I’ve been wanting to do away with her for some time now.” His breathing was heavy, labored, as if he was gearing himself up for the kill. “It was too risky with Daia disappearing. A note to say she’d moved in with her human boyfriend in the Victorian Quarter was enough to cover her absence. But two vampires, who were friends, doing the same thing? That would have raised suspicion. But not now. Now it doesn’t matter, because we can say you killed her. We can blame you.”
“Then let her at least fight back, you sadistic prick!” I shouted, fighting against my own restraints. “Do you really need to chain her up like an animal to kill her?”
“Who said I was going to kill her straight away?” he told me, and even from where I was sitting I could see the red glint in his eyes. “We’re going to have some fun first.”
He walked toward Vienna, and I fought against my restraints. I fought hard, but Parris laughed cruelly. Then the screams came. I never knew anger like this, as it erupted within me from the sound of Vienna’s screams. Florin’s back was to me so I couldn’t see what he was doing. But Vienna was in pain, and the noise was like a dagger to my heart.
“I’ll let you do what you want with me,” I urged Parris, begging him in any way possible to try and save her life. “Please. Please make him let her go. I’ll do anything. Please!”
“So much concern for a vampire you’ve only known for a few days. Such a wonder.”
Blocking my line of sight to where Vienna was being tortured, Parris leaned forward and wiped the tears away. Tears that I didn’t even know had fallen. He stared at me, as if trying to lure me into his gaze, but I snatched my head away. He yanked my face back around and tried again.
The draw to him I felt from his stare was minor. But those dark-rimmed eyes continued to penetrate mine all the same. The darkness in him, the danger, it was coaxing. But I could see past it. I could see and sense the evil. I reared away from the death it promised.
“You can’t be charmed,” he exclaimed in disbelief after the third try. “That’s not possible.”
The anger on his face was evident, and I used the distraction to kick him hard on the shoulder. He fell back onto the ground, humiliation on his face at being blindsided. But he was quick to recover. Within seconds, he was back in front of me, sitting on my legs so I couldn’t strike him a second time.
Forcing my eyes on his, he tugged on my hair to snatch my head back. He assessed me, as if he was trying to find an answer to his lack of results. Then he noticed it. Hanging from my neck, the crystal necklace reflected in his irises. “What do we have here?” he sang triumphantly. He snatched it off in haste, burning my skin. Terror filled me at the thought of having no barrier from what this vampire could take from me—what he could coerce me into doing. Nausea whirled in my stomach as every part of me reared in resistance.
All I could do was sit here and accept my fate, knowing I was in the hands of a man who could literally do anything he wanted to me. I daren’t drop my shields to try and reach out to him like I’d done with the rogue shifter before. Back then I’d panicked, hovering between life and death as I let all my shields drop. My gift had reached out to the energy of the shifter and taken control of his body for a short time, affording me the salvation I needed. But that had been a fluke, surely. And rogue shifters were linked more to their animal; their cognitive process basic. Would it even work on a vampire? Would it even work again?
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t risk dropping my shields. They were my last chance at resistance, and I hoped they would strengthen my resolve and protect me against Parris’ power.
I tried with all my might to sense my shields around me; to be reassured they were there. I held them in my mind as Parris pushed his weight harder against my legs, forcing me to keep still.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” he asked in a way that wasn’t really asking. The glint in his eyes was treacherous to his outer calm as the excitement built within him. Squeezing my eyes tight, he chuckled.
“Florin!” Parris shouted. “Stop what you’re doing and hover a stake over Bernard’s chest. Terra,” he whispered, “if you don’t open your eyes, I will tell Florin to plough that stake home. And Bernard is old enough that his death will mean ash. Is that what you want?”
I opened one eye, and I couldn’t hold the sob of despair choking out of my mouth when I saw where Florin was standing.
“Good girl,” Parris said as I opened my other eye. Vienna’s screams continued into the night. And then I was lost. I couldn’t stop myself as I fell into the bottomless pit of my captor’s eyes, my body losing every notion of who it belonged to.
“Now, you will listen to me,” I heard him say, and everything in me responded to his voice. Of course I would listen. I had no choice. He was my master.
He was mine. And I would do anything he asked of me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
MY LOVER WAS sweet. Kind. Gentle. I felt like I could love him forever as he sucked on my neck, taking all that I could give.
There was nowhere else in the world I would rather be. The delight made me want to fly. Hope and love filled my heart so much that I thought I would burst from it.
Fingers caressed my cheek as my lover sucked on me, and there was little pain as the happiness took hold. The metal bonds he chained me up in for my own protection fell away as he lowered me to the floor. And excitement fluttered in my chest at the hope and desire for more of him.
Rubbing himself up against me, my groan of need echoed his. I wanted more of him. I wanted him to drink and drink until he could drink no more. And then we could be together. Happy.
My heart raced against my chest as my body pulsed with contentment. I didn’t want this moment to end, and my hand drifted up of its own accord to pull my lover closer.
A mist started to settle around me, but I ignored it. I wanted it to go away, to leave me alone. But it wouldn’t. It continued to hover, waiting to wrap its misty blanket around my shoulders, as if its intention was to warm me up from the freezing cold. But I wasn’t freezing. I was warm. Oh so warm. And I mentally tried to shrug off the mist so I could focus purely on my lover’s kiss.
Something yanked at my arm. Then on the other arm. I shrugged it off like an irritant fly, not happy that it was trying to stop something that felt so wonderful. So amazing. But then everything changed
.
A sharp pain stabbed at my neck, and the mist began to clear. The kiss, that was so comforting and probing before, suddenly felt hard and painful. The sucking of my neck no longer incited lust, only pain. And when the mist disappeared completely, the room and the memories of where I’d been kept prisoner hit me hard.
Blood escaped my body. I could feel it, flowing out of my neck and taking my life force with it. A heavy weight pressed against me, holding me in place, at the same time the reality of my surroundings became crystal clear.
Parris was on top of me, biting into my neck and sucking at my blood. He’d charmed me. He’d pulled me in. But something had saved me and woken me from the dream-like slumber. It had been my gift.
Whatever it had done, it had reacted to the intrusion and broken through the spell. It was doing all sorts of crazy stuff lately, and this was another one added to the trail of confusion it evoked. But I wasn’t complaining.
Parris had latched onto my neck; sucking on me as if starved. And I had no fight left in me as the energy drained away.
My eyes blurred as my head lolled to the side. It no longer had the energy to hold itself up to aid Parris in his feast.
The new position allowed me a new view, and I saw Florin standing over Vienna. Her screams had quieted, and a tear escaped me as I acknowledged her silence. I could see Bernard in the corner, still not moving. And hopelessness threatened to weave it’s way in. But no way was I going out like this. Lying there like a redundant blood bag. How dare he? How dare Parris think he could use me in this way?
He was just like Rudolf, the cheetah shifter who thought he could go around hurting and killing people with no comeuppance. He bore the same egotistical opinion that he was above everyone else. And I’d been unlucky enough to walk straight into the both of them in the span of only a few weeks. I was damn near sick of being treated like their weak prey, of waking up in chains, being bitten and attacked and treated like a goddamn puppet!
Death be Charmed Page 22