Corruption of the Heart (The Corruption Series Book 1)

by Jessica Manson

  “Dammmnnn… someone is in trouble? Cal said.

  “Shut up Cal,” I snapped back at him.

  Once the guys were gone she turned on me, “What the actual fuck Odin? What were you thinking?”

  “I’m sorry I just needed you to understand how sexy and beautiful you actually are.”

  “And you think the best way to prove that is for me to stand on display for all of your friends?”

  “I didn’t mean…” she held up her hand cutting me off.

  “If you needed to prove to me how sexy I am then maybe you should have just shown me. You had no right to treat me like I am some kind of exhibit for everyone to stand around and judge. How will I ever look at them again knowing that every single one of them has thought about me being naked. I’ll never be able to look them in the eye again.”

  “Lilith I….”

  “And do you know what the worst part is? Even though I haven’t known them that long I think of every single one of them as my brothers. And now you have embarrassed me to the point to where I can’t even be in the same room as them.”

  She walked to the door but before she opened it she looked back at me, “I’ll see myself out.”

  “What? Where are you going?” She didn’t answer. She just slammed the door in my face. “Lilith wait,” I called after her as she made her way to the front door. “Lilith stop, please.”

  “Why should I?” she turned and looked at me. Tears filled her eyes and I finally realized the severity of what I had done to her.

  “Lilith I am sorry. I didn’t mean for you to feel that way. I didn’t think that…”

  “That’s just it, Odin, you didn’t think. I asked you not to do it. Yet you did.” By now everyone was listening in the living room. No one said anything but because they were so quiet I knew they were listening.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you. Please don’t go,” I begged. “I was an ass and I should have never done that.”

  “As much as I love you I can’t stand to be around you right now.”

  “Where will you go? You can’t go in that house. It will kill you.”

  “I’ve transformed already there is nothing for the spell to stop. I should be fine.”

  “I won’t chance it.”

  “You don’t have a say Odin. You lost that right when you put me on display.”

  “Please stay here. You can have my room. I’ll make sure no one bothers you in there.”

  “And who is going to make sure you don’t bother me?”

  “I will,” Tristian said, as he walked into the foyer. I knew they were listening. I also wondered if he had ulterior motives.

  She looked at Tristian and I could tell she was considering his offer. Finally, she spoke. “Fine. I’ll stay here and Tristian, please keep him away from me.”

  “I promise,” he said with too much enthusiasm. I glared at him. She pushed past me without another word.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I cannot believe Odin would do something so humiliating to me. What was he thinking? Having all of the guys say openly that I was sexy made me so embarrassed. And Cal. His words made me feel dirty and naked even though I was wearing Odin’s clothes. He made me feel cheap. Tristian was the only one that said I was beautiful instead of sexy. I couldn’t help but blush at his words. Did he really think I was beautiful? My mom used to say that if a guy says you are cute he likes your face. If he says you are sexy he likes your body, but if he says you are beautiful he likes your heart. I couldn’t help but wonder how Tristian felt about me.

  I locked myself in Odin’s room still stewing about what he had done. He didn’t have a television so to say I was bored was an understatement. I could hear movement outside the door and couldn’t help but wonder what everyone was doing out there. Nosiness got the best of me and I peeked out the door. To my surprise Tristian was sitting outside the door in a chair from the kitchen.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Keeping Odin out of your hair,” he said, sounding pleased with himself.

  “Tristian when I said keep him out, I didn’t mean for you to stand guard outside the door.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “You are going to get bored out here by yourself.”

  “I brought toys,” he said, pointing to some magazines and his iPod.

  “Can I borrow a magazine?”

  “You bored too?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t think things through when I said I would stay here. Odin doesn’t have a TV or books to read. I’m going stir crazy in here. And the silence is making my ears ring.” He looked at me with the biggest grin I have ever seen on him. He usually just smiled shyly. This was new, and I liked it. It was also contagious.

  He stuck his hand out and said, “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Just trust me.”

  “Tristian, I don’t want to see Odin. If we leave he will see us. And will try anything to get me to talk to him.”

  “Lilith. Trust me.” I couldn’t help but take his hand. He pulled me behind him. “Stay close.” Never letting go of my hand he led us out of the hallway into the kitchen. He peeked around the corner to make sure no one was in the foyer. When he was comfortable no one would see us, he continued pulling me toward the front door. Just when I thought we were going to head outside he quickly turned right and headed for the stairs.

  “Where are we going?” I whispered. He put a finger over his mouth to quiet me before he pointed up toward the ceiling. Once we were at the top of the stairs he pulled me toward a hallway with four closed doors, two on each side of the hallway. He led me to the last door on the left side and opened the door. We stepped in and he closed the door. The room was pitch black. Just when I thought I couldn’t see anything my eyes focused and everything came into view. Suddenly Tristian turned the light on causing me to squint until I adjusted. “Turn the light off please.” I wanted to check out the night vision again. He didn’t say anything he just looked at me funny before turning it back off.

  “This is amazing,” I said after my eyes focused again.

  “What is?”

  “I can see everything.”

  “Oh, you mean like how your eyes adjust after you turned off a light?” he asked sarcastically.

  “No, I mean as in night vision.”

  “No way you can see that good? I mean vampires have extremely good eyesight even in the dark but there are still limits to how good we can see.”

  “Can you see me?” I asked curious as to how well he could see in the dark.

  “I can see a figure of you and I can see that you are wearing a white shirt.”

  “Well I can see that you just rolled your eyes. Can you see how many fingers I am holding up?”

  “Yes, two but that is because you are holding your head right in front of your white shirt.”

  “Fine. Now how many fingers am I holding up?” I asked, this time holding my hand into the darkness away from me.

  “No, I can’t see them.”

  “You try me this time?”

  “Two.” He switched the number of fingers he was holding up. “Three. Four. One. Ten.”

  “Ok. If you can see that well let’s try it faster.”

  “Eight, six, ten, five, nine, two, eight, three.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing.”

  “I can completely see you and everything else in your room. speaking of, you should clean it.”

  “What does it look like?”

  “Like I am wearing night vision goggles.”

  “That’s so cool.”

  “Yeah, I guess it is, isn’t it? Okay you can turn the light on now.” This time I closed my eyes and waited a minute before opening them. This time it didn’t hurt as much when the light hit my eyes. “So why did you bring me up here?” Without saying a word, he pointed to a TV. He walked over to the entertainment center and held up a copy of Mortal Combat.
That’s when I noticed his XBOX one. “It’s on,” I said letting the excitement of a battle take over.

  We sat in his room and played Mortal Combat for the next hour. I won all rounds but two. “How are you so good at this game?”

  “I will not reveal my secrets with you until I am sure you are ready to handle the truth.”

  “Oh, wise one, please share your wisdom,” he said, with his hand over his chest. We both bust out laughing. He then did an impression from the other day of Cal being a sore loser when I beat him at Mortal Combat. His impression caused me to laugh harder. I snorted which caused us to laugh even harder.

  A knock on the door caused us to stop laughing instantly. Tristian walked over and opened the door only a crack to keep me from view. “How may I help you Odin?” he glanced over at me then he bent over and pretending to pick something up off of the floor but putting a finger over his lips to tell me to keep quiet.

  “I thought you were watching Lilith?’

  “Are you planning to bother her?” Tristian asked.

  “No. I know I need to give her space. I really messed up, didn’t I?”

  “I’m sure she will forgive you eventually. Just give her time to cool down.”

  “Do you really think she will? I mean I was a complete ass.” His pleading tone broke my heart. I know he was sorry, but I wasn’t ready to cave just yet. I knew I had to let him sweat a little for him to learn his lesson.

  “Of course. Lilith loves you. Like I said, just give her space. She would appreciate that.” I guess Odin started to walk off because Tristian called after him. “Odin?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What did you need?”

  “Oh, we are ordering take out, want anything?”

  “Sure. I’ll go ask Lilith and let you know.” Tristian closed the door and said, “So want take out?”

  “Yes. I’m starving.”

  He opened the door quickly and yelled at Odin. “Hey Odin! Lilith wants take out.” He immediately closed the door back and locked it. A few seconds later someone knocked again.

  “Let him look inside, you know he will try anyways,” I said. “You know he will need to see if I am safe.”

  After Tristian unlocked the door he was suddenly pushed out of the way. “What are you doing in Tristian’s room?” Odin asked me with fury in his eyes. I didn’t answer.

  “Spaceman, space,” Tristian said, as he placed a hand on Odin’s shoulder.

  “You were supposed to stay in my room.” He sounded hurt, but what was I supposed to do in there? Surely, he wasn’t mad that I am actually having fun.

  “No, I am supposed to be away from you. I said I would take your room, not that I would be staying in it bored to death.”

  “If you are bored I will entertain you. You should not be alone in a guy’s room with just the two of you.”

  “What exactly are you implying Odin? First of all, I was put on fucking display for all of your friends to gawk at me and now you are making it sound like we are up here having sex behind your back. You make it sound like I am some sort of slut.”

  “Lilith that’s not what I was saying,” Odin pleaded.

  “Leave me alone Odin. Please just leave me alone.”

  “Come on man. Give her some space.” Without another word Odin left the room. Once the door was shut Tristian came over and sat next to me, “I’m sorry about that.”

  “It isn’t your fault. You didn’t make Odin act like a complete ass.”

  “I know but I was supposed to make sure he didn’t bother you.”

  “Yes, but I told you to let him see me. He probably would have knocked your door down if you didn’t.”

  “So, what now?”

  “I don’t know. What else you do have to do around here?”

  “How good are you at Skip-Bo?”

  “Not that good. I’ve played a couple of times.” He walked over to his closet and pulled out the card game. We got comfortable sitting in the floor in front of each other. It was really quiet while he dealt the cards and it was becoming awkward. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On what you want to know?”

  I was probably stepping on dangerous territory, but I needed to know. “Why did you say I was beautiful instead of sexy?”

  “How did I know that’s what you wanted to ask?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Will you tell me?”

  “Don’t get me wrong Lilith, I do think you are sexy, but your beauty outweighs that. Beauty is based on what’s on the inside. Your heart, your soul is pure. Beauty isn’t about having a pretty shell. It’s about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and a pretty soul. Those are traits that you have. And that is what makes you beautiful.”

  “Oh.” That was all I could say. What do you say to a guy when he tells you something like that?

  We sat in silence for the next two hours playing Skip-Bo. “I thought you said you have only played a couple of times?”

  “Another power of mine.”

  “What would that be?”

  “My poker face,” we laughed. “Can I ask you another question?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We have been playing this game for two hours, where is our food? I’m starving.”

  “Want me to go check?”

  “No, we can go check.” We got up and made our way downstairs. There was laughter coming from the living room. We stepped inside, and the laughter stopped and everyone looked at me.

  Geez, I didn’t mean to ruin the fun for everyone.

  “I thought we were getting food?” Tristian said, more as a question.

  “We are. Odin went out a while ago to get it,” Ambi said.

  “How long is a while ago?” I asked worried.

  “Chill out. You would know if you weren’t locked in the room with Tristian all night,” she snapped back at me.

  “What is your problem?” I asked with attitude.

  “You. You are my problem.” She was in my face from the couch in a matter of seconds.

  “Whoa, chill,” Tristian said, trying to stand in between us.

  “No, I will not chill.” She looked at me with so much hate and disgust it made my insides turn. “Here you are sitting in Odin’s house locked in a room for hours with another guy while your fiancé is down here kicking the shit out of himself. And God knows what went on up there. And for what? Just because he made you feel a little uncomfortable.”

  “Ambi, you have no idea….”

  Cutting me off she said, “You have some nerve coming in here being a bitch to Odin and then spreading your legs for the next dick in your line of vision.”

  That was it. All hell broke loose. I lunged into her causing us both to crash to the ground. She rolled me over landing on top of me. She punched me so hard in the face I nearly blacked out. My anger only grew from there. And the witch side of me took over and I began chanting.

  Strength of day,

  Strength of night,

  Give me strength beyond my sight.

  Strength of day,

  Strength of night,

  Give me strength beyond my sight.

  Once my strength kicked in I rolled us over, so I was on top of her. I punched her one time in the face. She lay still for about three seconds. I had enough time to get up before she was back on her feet and gunning for me. Someone grabbed me trying to hold me back, but they were no match for my new strength. I easily slipped out of their hold and shoved Ambi sending her flying through the wall into the kitchen.

  “What the fuck? Look at her eyes,” Calder said to no one specific. My rage boiled over and I wanted to kill her. I wanted her dead. I flicked my wrist sending her crashing into the wall right in front of me. The guys were trying to get my attention, but I was too far gone. They couldn’t reach me; the witch had taken over. Another chant left my lips and I knew this would be that one to gr
ant my wish.

  I call upon my mana well,

  I summon the flames from the pits of hell,

  Let them erupt from my palm,

  Burning my enemies until they’re gone.

  I call upon my mana well,

  I summon the flames from the pits of hell…

  I was suddenly knocked down causing me to hit my head on the floor. A loud ringing filled my ears. It took me a few minutes to come around. The hit really knocked me for a loop. Once my mind cleared I heard Odin yelling. “What the fuck happened?”

  “Ambi was in Lilith’s face yelling at her. Lilith was only defending herself,” I heard Tristian say. “After that all hell broke loose.”

  I heard Odin checking on Ambi. Why hadn’t he come to check on me? Next thing I knew Tristian was at my side. “Are you okay?” he asked sounding really concerned.

  “Yeah. My head hurts though. Who knocked me down?”

  “Come on I’ll take you to lay down in Odin’s room.”

  “What happened to Ambi?” he looked away and what looked like dread filed his face. “What’s wrong Tristian? What did I do?”

  “I’m not sure. But I don’t think she will be okay.”

  “I can help her.”

  “I think you have helped enough for one night.”

  “Tristian, I can help her. Just take me to where she is.” Once I saw Ambi laying on the floor limp I knew I had done something horrible to her. “Tristian, I need cinnamon.” He didn’t move. Instead he looked at me like I was crazy.

  “Did she just say cinnamon?” I heard Gunner ask someone from behind me.

  “Tristian, cinnamon, now!” I yelled. I sat down in front of Ambi’s crippled body and grabbed her hand. I had to feel for a pulse. Thank God she had one, yet faint. I would lose it if I had killed her. When Tristian returned with the cinnamon I sprinkled it over Ambi’s body and started chanting.

  Herb for healing,

  Herb for hope,