“It’s your lucky night. Looks like I’ll be taking you with me,” the siren said, climbing out the window.
Helena followed her. Mentally fighting the control the siren had on her, she remained incapable of breaking it.
When they rounded the building, the patrons rushed outside through multiple entrances, screaming and stampeding over one another. Helena looked away from the horrid sight. These people didn’t deserve to get hurt because of her, and Maya shouldn’t have been stabbed.
A black sedan pulled up, and the siren clambered inside. As Helena stood in place, a prick of an injection on her arm made her wince. She was shoved into the car, and, as minutes ticked by, her vision turned fuzzy and the hold on her consciousness slipped.
Helena awoke in a cosy bedroom. She covered her face with her arm and sat up. Scanning the room, she found a camera on the ceiling, pointed at her.
Goosebumps covered her arms from the chilly air. She rubbed them away and closed her eyes to concentrate on the link with Lucious. Every time she tried to send a message to him, it seemed to be blocked by a wall of some kind that was beyond this room.
A female voice, full of static, broke through the speaker under the camera. “Good morning. It is good to see no lasting damage was done after Nico took care of you. I’m sorry about that. I have not mastered lasting mind control yet. It takes time. Papa told me to master it, but when I get emotional, I—” She paused and talked to someone in German before returning to English. “My apologies. Take the door on your left. I will meet with you in the tea room. It’s straight down the hall.”
Helena rose from the bed. As she made her way across the room, she thought back to the events at the opera house. She had lost her weapon there, rendering her defenceless against the siren and her men. Her heart quickened its pitter-patter. She opened the door and followed a deep-green corridor to a white door. Next to it, a broad-shouldered, tall man stood with his face covered in tribal tattoos.
He glared at her, and Helena balled her hands at her sides, trying her best to keep her composure as he opened the door for her.
Taking that as an invitation, she marched past him into the candlelit room. Helena was certain the siren said it was morning, yet the view stayed dark beyond the windowpanes.
The girl from earlier sat at a round table with a cup of steaming tea in her hand. To her right, a large male doll in a tuxedo was placed in a chair with a cup prepared for it, too.
“Tea?” the girl asked in an overly excited voice.
Helena shook her head and scanned the room for a way out.
“You can’t escape.” The girl sipped her drink. “Nico will hurt you if you try anything.”
Cautiously, Helena stole a glance at Nico. He seemed to be in his thirties. Why does he serve some teenager?
Nico closed the door and stood behind Helena. His hot breath against her skin brought out a shudder from her.
“Join me,” the girl said. “You too, Nico.”
“Nora, it’s not the time to be having a tea party. Your father—”
“Papa is right here. Do not talk about him as if he is not!” Nora shouted, slamming her teacup down and making the amber liquid splash the pearlescent table cloth.
Nico sighed and pushed Helena into a seat across from Nora. He poured himself a drink by the window and joined them at the table.
Helena studied the girl warily. It was hard to tell what was going on inside her head. At the Staatsoper, she seemed like a doll. Here, she was throwing around orders as if she was Reaver.
It can’t be… “You’re Reaver, aren’t you?”
Nora’s expression fell. “Papa had an accident while searching for Arthemis. Since then, I had to bind Papa’s soul to a soul-crystal and keep him with me.” She looked lovingly at the doll sitting next to her.
“You keep your father’s soul trapped in that doll? Is that what he would have wanted?” Helena asked, appalled.
Nora sat back in her seat and dipped her finger into the puddle of spilt tea, drawing patterns on the table. “Papa said he wanted us to always be together. I did what he asked, and I will continue to do what he did. Once I find the pretty relics this world has and stock our vault with them, Papa will know I did well. Right, Nico?”
Nico scratched his trimmed beard. “When do you wish to initiate the spell, Nora?”
“What spell?” Helena asked, her voice shaking with uncertainty.
“I didn’t get a chance to read your mind fully when we were at the Staatsoper, therefore, I will do it here. It is laborious on the mind. Try to relax.”
Helena jumped out of her seat and backed away from them. “No! I’m not going through that again.”
Nora sighed. “Nico, bind her.”
“As you wish,” Nico replied and chanted a melodious rhyme.
Helena closed her ears, but the strange energy orbited her, prickling her skin and, soon, she was unable to move her limbs. She glared at the man who nonchalantly mumbled the spell. When he was finished, he reclined in his seat with a cup of tea.
Nora almost skipped to where Helena stood. The siren placed her hands on Helena’s temples and smirked. “Don’t look so frightened. It will be over soon.”
Before Helena could muster a reply, a shiver ran through her and pain exploded in her head once images of the past flooded her psyche. She helplessly watched her life fleeting by like a movie on fast-forward.
The further Nora took her, the stronger the headache became until Helena felt something running along her lips and neck.
“You must rest her. She won’t last,” Nico’s voice broke through the quiet.
“But it’s so interesting,” Nora whined.
Helena heard a chair screeching against the parquet. “She will die.”
“Alright, take her to her room,” Nora said, her voice dripping with disappointment. “I already know where the saint is and why they needed the blade so desperately.”
Nico muttered something in German, and Helena collapsed.
Sluggishly, she pushed her body into a sitting position and wiped at the tickling sensation under her nose. When she finished, her hand came away stained with blood. “Why are you doing this?”
Nora raised a brow. “I thought I made that clear. Somewhere out there is a way to bring Papa back. A saint may know of a way, if not, I will keep looking. But you, you are not as human as you think. A human-turned-witch that doesn’t know what sleeps within. Everyone tells you what you are, and you are too blind to see it.” She rubbed her hands together in delight. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill you. You will simply become a part of our collection until I find a use for you.” Nora burst into laughter. “I bet this is what they call destiny.”
Nico lifted Helena off the parquet and carried her out of the tea room and back to her windowless prison.
In the barren wasteland, stormy swirling clouds clustered above her head. She had been here before, and she shivered but not from the cold. There was no wind in this world for it was devoid of Human Realm’s beauty and vitality.
In a distance, a figure ran towards her at full speed.
Helena squinted, trying to make out who it was, and was surprised to find barefoot and battered Nadine closing in.
A minute passed, and Nadine stopped in front of her. When she looked at Helena, her eyes were blazing with blame.
“You did this to me. You betrayed my trust,” Nadine hissed.
“I had no choice. A siren read my mind.”
“What do you see my life as? Isn’t it as important as your own? I thought we could be friends when you told me the truth, but I was mistaken. You should be swallowed up by the demon spawn.”
Helena reached out, and Nadine backed away.
“Nadine, please,” Helena said, uncertain of what she could add to make the situation better.
“Do not touch me with your filthy hands.”
Helena looked at her hands. They were stained crimson. Blood dripped onto the dirt with soft plops, and she gasped
. The lives she had taken. Is Maya alive? She had been so preoccupied with the situation she was in, she had forgotten about hurting the hunter.
Her hands wrapped around something and her fingers dug into soft flesh. She blinked a few times, confused by the sensation. A second later, she was squeezing Nadine’s slender neck.
Nadine gasped for air. Her face changed to an unnatural shade of red. Blood vessels burst in her eyes, painting the whites scarlet. Helena kept squeezing, taking pleasure in the process.
“This is not who you are,” the doppelgangers voice rang in her mind, breaking Helena out of the strange control she was under.
She let go of Nadine and stumbled backwards, tripping over her feet and landing on the dry dirt. “I’m so sorry…”
Nadine coughed and grinned with a sharp-toothed smile. “No need to apologise. I was only showing you the real you. The ‘you’ who pretends to care and be nice when, in reality, you want to kill.”
“No! That’s not what I want.” Her eyes narrowed on Nadine. “Lazarus…”
“I am pleased you’ve remembered me, my flower. Don’t forget that I am always with you.” He pointed to her shoulder. “I know what you’re trying to do. The dagger won’t work, but you will try anyway, won’t you? Killing is in your nature.”
Lazarus shed Nadine’s form and morphed back to his original shape. He bent down, securing her face between his sharp black claws. “We will see each other again. For now, you have to rid yourself of the siren or she will claim your life before me.”
Helena jerked into a sitting position. Her heart hammered against her chest, and she wrapped her arms around her middle. The wet material of her dress clung to her skin. Slowly, she lifted the hand with the bracelets. They were black, and she had nothing to purify the stones with.
A flutter of wings drew her attention to a tiny creature hovering above her. Elongated limbs protruded from beneath a tiny grey dress. The purple-skinned creature studied her through two sets of black eyes and spoke in a high-pitched tone, “I broughteth food.”
Helena rubbed her eyes. Has the nightmare Lazarus showed me affected my perception of reality? When the creature did not disappear, she scrambled to the edge of the bed to get away from it.
“What are you?”
“A pixie, Miss. I serveth the Reaver family,” the creature replied.
“Aren’t pixies supposed to look more human-like?”
The pixie tilted her head to one side. “We never lookedeth different, Miss, but I am merely three-hundred-and-fourteen.”
Helena’s brows jumped at the number. “Do you have a name?”
The pixie’s lips parted into a smile, revealing tiny, pointed teeth. “Kalirotheth.”
“Kaliro— Can I call you Kali?”
The pixie seemed thoughtful and smiled again. “Yes, Miss.”
Static spilt into the room through the speakers, and Nora’s voice ruined Helena’s moment of peace. “Kaliroth, you’re finished with your delivery. Return to your duties at the mansion. The barrier needs maintenance.”
Helena’s gaze flicked to the camera. Nora was still watching her. She must have seen her having a nightmare, too.
Kali flew out of the room and the door closed behind her, locking in place. Helena guessed it had an automatic mechanism since the pixie didn’t look strong enough to close the door.
She studied the sandwich resting on a paper plate and orange juice in a plastic cup. Did they not trust her with cutlery and ceramics? She sighed. Nora seemed to know more about her after watching her memories than Helena did, and with Lazarus able to find her anywhere, she was running out of time.
Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the link once more. It was steady. Not a single emotion or thought passed through. With another heavy sigh, she took a bite out of the crusty sandwich as she mulled over what to do next.
14
Unstable
Lucious watched Helena running after the siren and out of sight. He cursed inwardly and lunged forwards, but one of Reaver’s guards stepped in, no longer protecting the vampire in the chair. Instead, they seemed to be covering for the witch, and the link between the Reaver-substitute and the siren finally fell into place.
The female hunter ran past them.
At least, Helena won’t be alone.
While Alexander struggled to take the gun away from the shooting vampire, a loose bullet grazed Lucious’ side. He ignored the burning sensation and grasped the vampire blocking him by the throat. With the other hand, he gripped the man’s wrist and squeezed it until he heard the bones cracking.
The young vampire let out a pained cry, and the thirst Lucious deemed to be under control reared its ugly head, urging him to tear this vampire limb from limb and drink his blood.
No. It can’t be. He had overcome the thirst. Why was it tearing at his sanity and at a time such as this?
Lucious’ fingers dug into the vampire’s throat until he grasped the trachea and yanked it out. Blood sprayed his tuxedo, driving him closer to the edge.
A few droplets landed near his mouth, and Lucious struggled not to lick them off. He shook his head, willing the thirst to subside before looking ahead at the doorway across the room.
“Alexander, keep an eye on things here. I have to find her,” Lucious said, searching the vampire for his gun.
“Do as you like. I’m almost done here, and the hunter seems to have captured Reaver,” Alexander replied.
Lucious let out a silent growl. “That is not Reaver.” He fleeted out of the room, letting the link guide him to the floor below. Nearing the only opened door on that floor, an overwhelming scent of blood tickled his throat. His eyes lit like beacons. He stalked into the room to find the female hunter resting against the wall and clutching her stomach.
“Where is she?” Lucious demanded.
The hunter glared at him. “Gone, along with…the girl.”
Lucious didn’t need another word. He climbed out of the window. On the street, he fisted his hands and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the link. It was dead.
The siren must have done something.
He punched a nearby wall, sending the plaster and brick raining onto the pavement. “Damn it!”
The hunter’s partner rushed into the room and assessed the situation. A second later, he was kneeling on the ground next to Maya and yelled to Lucious, “We need your blood to heal her.”
Lucious snorted as he climbed back inside. “Not a chance.”
The hunter’s jaw worked overtime, and Lucious heard his teeth grinding. “Your human wouldn’t be happy to hear that.”
“Ben, It’s…fine,” Maya forced out and coughed. “Just got…a punctured liver. I’ll…heal…eventually. Maybe with…surgery.”
Lucious rolled his eyes and strode over to the duo. Helena was, indeed, his weakness. A weakness he couldn’t refuse even if she was not in the room.
He bit into his wrist, offering it to the female hunter. “Drink.”
“How nice…of you,” Maya grumbled between coughs.
The male gently bopped her on the head and opened her mouth to let Lucious’ blood flow in. Red droplets ran down her throat, and she coughed again.
Lucious’ hands clenched at the sight of blood. His knuckles grew pale. He wanted to feed, and the delicious scent this wounded hunter was giving off caused his thirst to push him to his limits.
Standing abruptly, he jerked the sleeve of his jacket down, covering his wound and the blood. “She should be fine with that amount.”
“How did you get over your descent so quickly?” Ben inquired with narrowed eyes.
Alexander ambled into the room, gripping the neck of the Reaver-substitute who groaned in pain. “We don’t have time for chit-chat, the police will arrive soon. I told my driver to collect us around the corner.” He took a quick note of the three people present. “Wait, where’s Helena?”
Lucious looked at the window, his body radiating his irritation. “She’s gone. Let us leave f
or now. I will question the vampire.”
Ben helped his wounded partner up. “I will do the questioning. I’m trained for that kind of thing.”
“I will do it!” Lucious snapped and grabbed the captured vampire by the upper arm, forcing him out of the window. Briefly, he took note of the bullet holes the vampire was suffering from. There were two in the left thigh and one in a right shoulder. Soon, he would use them to get the truth out. That was the only thing he could do for her.
The others climbed out the window, and the limousine arrived around the corner as the police cars pulled up.
Lucious stole glances at the female hunter who fought to remain unemotional. He could see the stress around her eyes. She was brave, and fools like her died early. He bit back a curse, recalling the last time Helena was separated from him. She had a tendency to get into trouble. For some reason, that did not deter him from wishing to hold her in his arms again. He contemplated taking her away when this ordeal with the demon was completed and locking Helena in a cushy cell—where no one could touch her.
Alexander ended his phone call. “Since the real Reaver most likely knows about our current accommodation, I’ve made arrangements to stay elsewhere.”
“It would be best to have a room with soundproofed walls,” Lucious replied.
“None of that at a Porsche garage, but there is a basement you could use.”
Throughout the rest of the journey, Lucious tested the link. At first, her presence was on and off as if it was toying with him. But, once they reached the other side of the city, the soul-bond showed no signs of life.
The instant the car stopped, Lucious grabbed the grumbling vampire and shoved him outside. He grasped him by the collar and made his way towards the warehouse with floor-to-ceiling windows.
“You’ll regret this. I am part of a much bigger group!” the vampire shouted and added a lot of words in German which Lucious took as an insult.
Too much time had been wasted on the journey. His patience was wearing thin. With a cold expression, Lucious paused and grabbed the vampire’s wounded shoulder, digging his fingers into his raw flesh.
Demon Gates (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 2) Page 19