by Emma Dawn
"You do not seem to be as bothered as I thought at the concept of being almost dead." He sat at his desk.
I shrugged. "I guess not. Everything about this seems weirdly normal to me."
"That is the magic in your blood helping you adjust," he said.
"Goody," I said. “Just what I wanted this year for Christmas, magic blood.”
His eyes, freaky and fogged over, stared across at me. "The men who will guard you can die here. I don't know if you understand what that means so I will explain so you clearly grasp the gravity of the situation. There are many levels to death, and the deeper you go, the more your soul is torn apart. Here on this plane of existence, we are ourselves. But any further injury causes us to be tossed into levels below where they could be tortured repeatedly until their soul is completely shredded. It is a place for those who have done wrong, who have done evil. But the good can fall there, too, if they are taken by surprise."
I frowned. "But they are all strong. I doubt they have to worry about it. I mean, how bad can this journey be?" A part of my brain said I probably shouldn’t have asked that last bit of question.
"They will face the trials you face, one at a time, at your side. At the end of each trial you will continue on—assuming you survive it—and thus proving you’re worthy of the Chalice. To be clear, most do not survive the first challenge. We have had only one soul make it to the end. And she failed her final trial."
I put my hands on my hips and lifted my chin.
“Why do I get the feeling there is more to proving my worth?” I asked.
His eyes fluttered to half-mast. “This is your guardians’ last journey through to the Chalice. If they cannot see you through to the end, they will be cast down to the hordes.”
I glared at him, my hackles going up in defense of the men I’d only just met. “Why the hell is that?”
His sighed and shook his head slowly, his beard swinging side to side. “Because their lives—or deaths if you prefer—must either move forward or move back. There have been too many souls that could not arrive at the Chalice that were in their care. Your soul is the last chance they have. They cannot know this. They need to treat you as if you were any other soul.”
It took me a moment to process what he was saying. “So, you’re saying if they don’t help me get to the Chalice, if I don’t get back to my life, then they could die a second time? They could be sent deeper into these death veils where they would be tortured and maybe have their souls destroyed?”
His foggy eyes locked on mine. “Yes, Rose, that is what I am saying.”
Chapter Three
Now I’m Officially Freaked Out
I stared at Vincent across his table, his answer echoing through my head. If I failed to get to the Chalice, it wouldn’t just be my life and soul on the line, but the men who were now guarding me. Make no mistake about it, I didn’t know them from Jack, but I wasn’t the kind of person who could just say “fuck it” and go about my day without giving a shit that I’d just sentenced six other souls to eternal torture and damnation because I hadn’t tried hard enough.
That behavior just wasn’t my jam.
I made myself take a breath and then another—because when I’m really concentrating, I hold my breath—and the sensation of being lightheaded passed. “Okay, so I get to the Chalice. Simple.”
“As I said, they cannot know. And,” he held up an index finger, “there is one more thing.”
“Of course, there is,” I muttered out the side of my mouth.
“You must keep your distance from them if you hope to succeed. While sex is not forbidden, it will make the trials you face harder and thus your arrival at the Chalice near impossible.” His face didn’t so much as crack a smile.
I burst out laughing. “That’s funny. I think you just implied that I might want to fuck not one, but several of them.”
“It is in your blood, Rose. Your desire and your power calls to men of . . .similar tastes. When you are fully alive once more, and the Chalice and this journey is in the past, I have no doubt you will find it takes several men to meet your needs and the power you hold.”
I held up a hand and ticked off my fingers. “One to cook, one to clean, one to rub my back, one to cuddle, one to bed.”
His face was like a stone. “You laugh now, but you will see. It is not so easy to hold onto your own harem if you do not meet their needs as well. But that is for another life, not here. Not now.”
Laughing, I couldn’t help it. “I am not going to have a harem of men of all things. That is ridiculous.” But the funny thing here—the really funny thing—was that the minute he said harem, something trickled through me, a knowing deep in my heart and soul that he was right. That was what I’d always been looking for in the men who had been in my life. The whole package. And it wasn’t possible. But with multiple men . . .an image of Jessop to one side of me and Ivan to the other made me suddenly clench my hands in my skirts.
“Yes, I do believe you are beginning to see how it could be. You can have it, Rose,” his voice softened, “but not here. You must choose to go home. That is the only way to save yourself and them.”
I made myself let go of my dress. “Can I at least have clothes more reasonable for a journey?”
“Because you are special, I will teach you one thing here. You have only to think it, and it will be so.” Vincent leaned back in his chair. “I suggest leather as there are a great deal of things that will try and grab your legs from their burrows.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Do I want to know what those things are?”
“No, you do not. But you will learn soon enough, I’m sure.”
I smoothed my hands over the skirts. Pity, I loved the color. Then again, who said I couldn’t have green leather? I made the same movement with my hand, thinking about a leather skin-tight cat suit, and the skirt seemed to glue to my legs, shifting in texture as it became a pair of pants and a snug fitting corseted top. I reached around to the laces at the back of the corset. “Well, that should do it. Will it be cold on our journey?”
“I cannot say.” Vincent’s eyes gave away nothing, freaky orbs that they were. “Go. The men are restless to begin. Especially Ivan.”
“Well, thanks. I guess.” I turned and was at the door, my hand on the knob when he spoke again.
“You are welcome. And be wary of your father. He will hunt for you here. You do not want him to gain your power.”
My back stiffened. “You said he wants to hurt me?”
“Yes. The stronger you are, the better off you will be staying safe from him, but also the more temptation he will have to try and take your strength. Do not be fooled by him. He does not love you, Rose.”
I bit back the “duh” retort on my lips. I didn’t like how Vincent’s words stung me. They shouldn’t. It wasn’t like I had a great father-daughter relationship with the man I thought had been my dad my whole life. Maybe it was good that I found out I was adopted and that my real dad was an asshole all at ones. No time for hopes and childish dreams to even start. I opened the door and walked right into Ivan’s broad back. He turned, his eyes flicking to me and then to Vincent then flying back to me and the leather.
“You changed.”
“You like it? I think it hides my curves.” I grinned up at him because the leather could not have accentuated my curves any more.
His lips didn’t twitch, though I saw a glimmer of something in his eyes. An answering spark. Oh yeah, he was going to be a tough one to break.
Wait, what the hell was I thinking? No sex! No flirting! No . . .touching? Maybe I could touch. As long as I didn’t break them, right?
Right.
I lifted a hand and patted him as non-committal as possible on top of his shoulder. “Good boy.”
His mouth dipped into a frown. “I am not a dog.”
“Dog, wolf, same manners.” I strode past him, enjoying the feeling of leather on my skin, the way my boots rode up over my knees. Yeah, I could get
used to this. I’d played a little in an S&M dungeon a few years past and I’d enjoyed both roles. Maybe a little too much. Even there, I’d not found a Dom who could handle me. I grinned just thinking about it and wondering which of the men here could play a prop Dom to me.
I didn’t really know where I was going, but Ivan quickly caught up.
“What did Vincent say?”
“Probably the same thing he says to all of your charges.” I was already regretting the implied promise I’d made to Ivan.
“He’s never spoken with any of our other charges privately. We normally are escorting victims of trauma, coma cases, back to the land of the living. There is nothing special about them.” He glanced down at me, then away. He took a left and I hurried to catch up.
“He said to be careful and that . . .” I didn’t feel like saying that my blood relative father was coming after me for my supposed power, but that was the truth and I rarely shied from that. “My real father is going to come after me here. That he wants to steal my power.”
Ivan slid to a stop. “Gavin is here?”
I shook my head. “I guess so.”
He growled something that sounded like “fucking Vincent and his fucking games” but I couldn’t be sure.
Ivan wasn’t done yet. “That’s all he said? You were in there a long time.”
I bit my lower lip considering if I told him that I wasn’t allowed to fuck any of them what he’d say. Ah well, in for a penny, in for a pound. “He suggested I not fuck any of you.”
He slid to a dead stop, turned and slowly looked at me. “Excuse me?”
I smiled up at him. “I know, crazy right? Like when exactly is that going to happen?” Until that moment, it had never occurred to me that going along, alone, with six men I didn’t know might be bad for my health. And even then, I didn’t feel unsafe. “Like, around the campfire at night, I take you each out for a spin? Ha. I think not. The timing, no showers . . .God can you imagine trying to get clean?”
Ivan said nothing, but didn’t deny the words or the potential behind them. “Ivan? You know it won’t happen, right? I mean, I might like how you look, and I might even pinch your ass if you’d let me, but I need to get home. I need to get to the Chalice.”
“Vincent has never warned us off any of our charges.” His voice was thoughtful.
I put my hands on my hips. “You yourself said no sex! Have you been fucking most of your charges? Is that what this is this time, a test of your restraint?”
“No. That has always been my rule, and it has never been an issue. But I knew the minute you came through that it would be necessary to restrain my men.” He turned and left me there staring after his rather nice, hard figure. I hurried once more to catch up.
“Ivan—”
“No, we need to get moving. If Gavin really is after you, then us dallying only allows him the opportunity to find you. The more we move, the harder it will be for you to be discovered, the faster we will get you to the Chalice.” He threw the words at me as he trotted down a set of stairs to a wooden door he ducked through.
I did not have to duck.
On the other side of the door were the remaining five men. All wore clothing that looked good to travel in. Tall boots, heavier coats, and weapons. A lot of weapons. Swords, axes, knives, and a club were just a few of the things I saw.
“Do I get something?” I grinned. “I want something dangerous too.”
Jessop tossed me something that looked like a rope until I caught it. Leather, like my clothing, and wound in a circle, the whip had a tip that was split into multiple pieces, each one tipped with metal of some sort or another. They jingled like a bracelet covered in charms.
“Use that,” he said.
“I will.” I made a move to put it on my waist, but there was no latch for it. I thought about it and smoothed the area with my finger and thumb, making a loop that had a snap clasp. Perfect. I looked up to see six pairs of mouths hanging open.
“What?”
“You shouldn’t be able to do that,” Mars said. “Even with warlock blood, that is a fae trick.”
I shrugged, not bothered in the least by the fact that I could do something they couldn’t. “Sure. Whatever. Ivan said we need to get going, so why don’t we do that?”
Once more, I seemed to have caught them off guard. They were a little slow to get moving, but finally they got their feet going and then the seven of us headed out.
I smelled the horse stable before we got there. I grimaced. “Really, horses?”
“I thought all women liked horses?” Torq moved up beside me. I looked at him.
“Not that I don’t like them so much as they don’t like me. I’ve been run over, bucked off, and kicked at. All different horses at different camps that I went to because Dominique made me.” Yeah. Me and horses were not a good connection at all. Torq leaned in close. “I’ve got your back, Rose. Keep an eye on the big vamp.”
His words sent a shiver of fear through me as I glanced at Liam. He had barely looked at me since I’d gotten here. I wanted to ask Torq what he meant, but he was gone from my side. He shot a look over his shoulder and those amber eyes were filled with concern. For me, for my safety.
“Here we go.” Kessler brought out a large black horse and handed me the reins. “Don’t worry, they are very well trained even for someone who isn’t comfortable with them.”
I dropped a hand to his arm. “Nothing smaller, I suppose? Like a compact model?”
He grinned and those green eyes lit up as if from within. “No, I’m sorry, Rose.”
His arm flexed under my fingers and I had a flash of insight, of the way his body moved and the smooth grace he held in check. I tightened my hand on his arm and breathed out just as he breathed in and for a space of those few breaths we were alone in that quiet.
I wanted to close my eyes and stay in that space where our breathing was synced, where I could feel his heart beating in time with my own. As if he knew the inner workings of my body and I knew his.
He lowered his face to press his cheek against mine. “You found this quiet easily. Do you meditate?”
“I do now,” I murmured.
He smiled—I felt his cheek lift against my own. “Tonight, we will try again with this. It’s good for centering you, for helping you find your path.”
I opened my eyes and he was so close and I almost blurted out “I’m pretty sure you’re my path.” But it wasn’t possible that I felt anything like that for him that stinking fast. No, not possible. But still, he was lovely to look at. I blinked up at him, slowly, batting my eyelashes. “I look forward to it.”
“Get her on the horse!” Ivan called out, breaking the spell once more.
Quietly, with that same smooth grace, Kessler moved to the horse’s side and motioned for me to come to him. I found myself ignoring the horse and paying close attention to the way he cupped his hands. “I’ll help you up. We don’t have small horses here. No compact models.”
I put my left boot into his cupped hand and he boosted me up. I came down hard on the saddle. His hand stayed on my calf as he adjusted the stirrup, holding my leg with those big hands of his, holding me down as if he knew that a few bumps and grinds would set my pussy on fire. This was ridiculous, my brain said so. But my body was more than happy to work with whatever Kessler would offer me.
“Heels down and don’t boot her in the ribs or she’ll take off.” He looked up at me and I couldn’t help but give him that slow burn of a smile I’d used to great effect on many a man. He swallowed hard. “Keep your hands on the horn, and the let the movement of her stride go through you.”
“Got it. Hands on the horn, go with the movement.” I blinked both eyes, like a double wink at him again. Damn it, I could not seem to help myself. I mean, I can be honest. I’d always been a flirt. But like this? When lives were on the line?
Okay, lives have never been on the line before. And probably never would be again. Still, it was a very different vibe for
me.
“Sorry.” I shook my head and looked away. “I can’t seem to help it.”
“It’s okay. The pull is on all of us,” he admitted quietly. “We’ve never taken someone to the Chalice who draws us like you. This will be a challenge all the way around.”
I leaned down and touched a hand to his face. “I’ll try to behave. I’ll try to make it worth it for you.” I meant by making sure they survived, but I’m not sure he took it that way. A flash of our bodies entwined and writhing on the bare ground set me to squirming in the saddle. This was going to be tougher than I thought.
He stared up at me, and I stared back and the space between us pulled on me. I forced myself to sit up, jerking my hand away from him. The big horse danced under me and I did as he suggested, letting the movement flow through me.
“See?” he said, his green eyes catching me again, “You’re a natural rider.”
I shook my head and forced myself to look away, even though it felt like I was literally tearing at a chord between us.
Pull it together, Rose. You need to get home. You need to get back to your life. You need to do this for them too. That was the smart voice in me; the one that made the most sense. The other voice that I was doing my best to ignore was prodding me in a different direction.
Why not enjoy this while you can? You heard Vincent. There’s a chance you won’t make it to the Chalice anyway. I think you should kiss that man while you can. Kiss that mouth and breathe him in like he’s oxygen and you’re dying for your last breath.
I carefully pulled on the reins, turning the horse so I wasn’t looking at Kessler anymore. But that meant I was facing four men on horseback, and a large gray wolf with matching gray eyes. I swallowed hard as the image in front of me burned into my mind. Like a snapshot. And right after it, a roll of fear cascaded through me. Like this would be the last time I would ever see these men like this. I made myself smile through the wash of fear.
“I’m ready.”
Jessop took the lead next to Ivan—the wolf Ivan that is—and a moment later, a second wolf with messy brown fur joined them. Kessler then, if the flash of green eyes shot my way was any indication.