Enthrall Me (The conclusion to Enchant Me)

by Violet, Anne

  Jealously, I watched as Christian ran to join her, and I stepped into his path. If I suffocated him into unconsciousness we could carry him off without a fight. As we stared at each other I saw disbelief and shock, fade to fury. Last time we had faced off, I had dropped my shield for Alexis’s sake, but I wouldn’t do that this time. I formed a shield around him, then pulled it tight, closing off all the air I could, and waited. Any moment now he would start gasping for air then pass out. But he didn’t.

  Fear penetrated my confidence, as I felt him in my mind. My powers evaporated, and my shield fell from him. I couldn’t sense them! Had he destroyed them so easily, so quickly? With no other choice I sprinted back to the others, but they were gone; the dark fog, Tempest, Ryker, and Garron, had disappeared. Panic crashed over me. They left me? And Christian our target, behind?

  A woman jumped in front of me, with a ball of crackling fire in each hand. “Where did they take Alexis?” she demanded.

  “What?” Christian and I roared in unison. I looked around us, Alexis wasn’t among the standing, injured, or dead. In shock I stood there numbly, as they demanded answers. I couldn’t believe it. Not only had Garron changed the plan, but he’d sacrificed me to do it. Anger ripped through me at his betrayal, but it couldn’t compare to the burn of pain in my mind. White hot flames ripped at my mind, stripping me of all sense, and dignity. And then there was nothing…

  A deep throb of pain woke me up from a fitful sleep. The migraine to end all migraines. When I tried to sit up, I almost ripped my arms out of their sockets. I glanced up at the chains encircling my wrists, and then around the room. A dungeon, how fitting. I wasn’t alone though, five other people filled the room, an old man and woman, a young couple in their twenties or thirty’s, and Christian.

  “Good, you’re awake,” the older woman said stepping forward. “Unless you want to go through the same pain you went through last night, you better tell me everything I want to know.”

  Hazy memories of last night came back to haunt me. Alexis. My Grove had taken Alexis, instead of Christian.

  “Worry, regret, that’s good. Tell us what you know, so we can get her back.”

  Great an Empath. I tried to shield myself, then realized I couldn’t. I glanced over at Christian, who smirked, and tapped his head. Not again! I forced myself to remain calm. “What have you done to my powers?”

  “Thanks to Ciara, their just blocked…for the moment. If you don’t help us, I’ll put you back in a coma. And this time, I’ll burn out your powers to the point where they can never be resurrected.”

  Inside I shook. I would be of no use to my Grove without my powers, but then again, they had deserted me. “They weren’t supposed to take Alexis. They were supposed to take you,” I volunteered.

  Christian glanced at the older woman, Ciara I assumed. She nodded at him. “He’s sincere, so most likely he’s telling the truth.”

  “Why did the plan change?” he asked.

  I rocked my head back and forth against the wood platform in frustration. “I don’t know,” I shot back, just as confused and angry as him.

  “And just what were you going to do with Christian if they had taken him?” queried the Firestarter.

  “What do you think?” I said, turning to give an evil look to Christian. “I was going to kill him.”

  A fireball appeared in her hand, and with the glint in her eye, I knew it wasn’t a bluff. The guy at her side held her back. The older man stepped forward then and spoke. “Your whole Grove attacked us for one man’s revenge,” he glanced at Christian then back to me, “because of a broken heart? I don’t think so.”

  “That’s what I believed,” I lied, doing my best to keep my emotions even, I had learned some tricks living with an Empath. Uncertainty passed over her features, but she didn’t seem confident either way.

  They asked me question after question, some I could answer, and others I wouldn’t. Off and on they would let Christian play with my mind, in hopes of getting the answer they needed, but most of the time I passed out, or Ciara would stop him.

  More days passed, and they realized I had no more, or would give no more information, and they left me alone. And in this time, I figured out my Grove’s plan. I also understood why they took Alexis and left me behind. If we had just taken Christian and ordered him to help our Grove, he would’ve just refused, no matter what they did to him, but with Alexis they had leverage. Now it was up to me to deliver him. I tried to ignore the worry that crept into my mind, but couldn’t. What would they do to Alexis to bring Christian to his knees.

  I contemplated various schemes to trick Christian into coming to France, and then it clicked. I didn’t need to. They would know anything at this point would be a trap, so why hide it. Christian would do anything for Alexis, even risk his own life. No schemes were necessary, he would come on his own.

  With perfect timing, Ciara and Christian came down the stairs, primed I could tell, for another useless interrogation. They both whirled around at the sound of someone running down the stairs. A short Asian girl appeared, shaking with shock. She glanced back and forth between Ciara and Christian. “She’s at the veil, Alexis is at the veil!”

  “What?” I burst out. The other two had been shocked into silence.

  Finally Ciara spoke. “Mika, how can you sense someone so far away?” The girl named Mika became nervous, and looked away.

  “I increased her powers,” Christian announced.

  “You what?” Ciara asked in a warning tone. Christian scowled at her, and didn’t respond. “How dare you do that. She’s just a child,” she screeched at him.

  “I needed to know she’s still alive,” he roared back. Then his attention shifted to me, he hated me more than ever now. I couldn’t help but flinch in anticipation of one of his mind torture sessions.

  “Christian, no!” Ciara ordered.

  “I’ll get their location from him this time,” he ground out.

  No, he wouldn’t.

  “He’s never going to tell us. I can feel his resolve on that.”

  Frustrated and in pain from being chained down in the same position for days, with very little breaks, I yelled at both of them. “We don’t have time for this. Didn’t you hear that kid? Alexis is on the verge of death,” I studied Christian. “You already know what you need to do.”

  “It’s a trap,” Ciara said, stating the obvious.

  “Yes, but you’re going to go anyways,” I replied, looking meaningfully at Christian.

  “Mika, can you tell us anything else? Can you talk to her?” Ciara pleaded.

  Mika shook her head. “Not until she crosses over.”

  Christian and I stared each other down. “You need me Christian. I won’t help you destroy my Grove, but I will try to help you save Alexis.”

  Ciara considered me for a second. “I can sense his sincerity, at least regarding Alexis.” Christian nodded acknowledgement, he had no delusions about my feelings towards his own safety. “Come upstairs,” she commanded.

  “There’s nothing to talk about Ciara. I’m going. I don’t need your permission to leave. I will bring Alexis back,”

  “I agree, but we will still discuss the situation upstairs,” she replied through gritted teeth, and grabbing his arm, she tugged him upstairs.

  After that they left me alone in the dungeon, with nothing but my pain, and a plan.

  The next morning I was roughly woken and unchained by the red haired guy I‘d seen with the Firestarter. He slapped down a bowl of oatmeal at my feet, and then stood guard at the foot of the staircase. Everyone of my muscles seemed to be in knots from being immobile for days, and I felt like an old man when my whole body creaked as I stretched out. It felt good to be able to feed myself even if it was under the hateful eyes of my current warden.

  I had barely finished when Ciara came down and tossed my coat at me. “It’s time to go.”

  Once upstairs, they ushered me out, and into
the backseat of a car with Christian. Upfront, my warden drove while the Firestarter sat next to him, but twisted to face me in the backseat. I winked at her just to piss her off. She grasped the seat like she was about to vault over, but the redhead guy grasped her shoulder, and shoved her back into her seat. I laughed under my breath.

  Without looking, Christian shoved a plane ticket at me, reminding me that the guy I hated most in the world, sat within a foot of me, and resisting the urge to not beat the hell out of him was making me irritable. I looked down at the plane ticket for France.

  “There’s no point in trying to hide right?” he asked.

  “No,” I replied, my mood improving. “They can pick us up at the airport.”

  The Firestarter sniffed in disgust, but let it go at that.

  As I watched the Irish landscape whip by, I felt my resolve waver. If I had to make a choice, what would I sacrifice to save Alexis? Or would I sacrifice anything at all? Should I just leave them both to their fate?

  CHAPTER 10

  Even for me, this situation felt surreal. If this were a movie, the idiot hero wouldn’t know that he headed into a trap, and by the time he did know, it would be too late, and he would be thrown kicking and screaming into a cell. Instead, Ryker met us at the airport and introduced himself to Christian like he was an honored guest, even carrying his bag and stowing it in the trunk for him. Reluctantly he agreed to be blindfolded while Ryker drove us home.

  In the time we had alone together on the plane, we couldn’t come up with a plan or compromise regarding rescuing Alexis. He knew I had no intention to let him escape or harm my Grove, and I knew he didn’t trust me enough to let Alexis go without him. We agreed on only one thing, to release my powers, since neither of us wanted my Grove to know my weakness.

  When we drove into town, I surprised even myself when I smiled in pleasure at the vanilla stone buildings, and tropical gardens of my home. But then I remembered, Alexis hovered between life and death here. A feeling of guilt weaved its way into my heart. I was the one who had brought Alexis and Christian to Garron’s attention. If it hadn’t been for me she wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t be in this insane truce with my enemy.

  As we drove up I could see Garron, and the rest of my Grove, waiting outside. My eyes fell nervously on Lisette. At the moment she was my biggest threat; I couldn’t let her sense my concern for Alexis, or that Christian and I, had a secret. So lightly, I hoped it would be un-noticeable, I shielded myself. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Christian’s fingers twitch in awareness and warning, and I lowered my shield a little.

  We got out of the car, and Christian took off his blindfold, and walked straight to Garron. “I want to see Alexis, now.”

  Garron looked at him coolly. “After dinner. I’m sure you’re hungry by now.”

  Christian moved to within a foot of him. “No, now.”

  Tension rippled through our group, the triplets and Ryker took up defensive stances around Garron. Acting unconcerned, I grabbed our bags and prepared to intervene. How I didn’t know, but I couldn’t let him die, yet. It seemed appropriate that on a strange day like today, it was Tempest who stopped the potential battle. “Let him go, he’ll be much more obedient after he sees her.”

  Christian’s fists clenched with tension, but other than that he showed no reaction. Garron studied him, then eventually inclined his head. “Lead the way,” he instructed Tempest.

  While we walked through the house down to the wine cellar below, that we used as cells and torture chambers, anxiety filled me. What condition would she be in? Would I be able to hide my reaction? The desire to strengthen my shield was strong, but I knew I couldn’t risk it.

  Since Garron didn’t care for modern conveniences, the cellars were dark, with only candle light to go by, but I didn’t need light to sense Christian’s growing tension. I hoped he could hold it together. We wouldn’t be able to get her out if he got injured or killed right away. At the end of the hall, two men I didn’t recognize guarded a cell, they weren’t Druids, but I could tell little else. They didn’t move away as we stepped up, but Christian and I could both see clearly through the bars.

  On a bed in the cell, Alexis laid motionless, eyes closed, hands crossed over her chest like she was already gone. She looked thin and pale, her normally vibrant red hair, a dull curtain framing her. My control, stood on a thin ledge, about to fall off, when Lisette stepped near. I bit the inside of my mouth until I could taste blood, anything too distract myself. She turned to me. Then abruptly, Christian grabbed the sell bars and shook them. “Bring her back from the edge.”

  Garron put his hand on Christian’s shoulder, which he violently shook off. “We already did. We needed to put her in a deeper than normal Druidic sleep, to get your attention.”

  Christian shook with emotion, on the verge of exploding, so I punched him right above a kidney. He slammed hard into the cell doors with a pained groan. Garron looked at me surprised, but smiled. I turned my attention back to Christian. “She looks pretty good, for being half dead,” I quipped, and then I quickly left the cellars. One of us was about to blow our cover, and it might just end up being me.

  I couldn’t relax until I was behind the closed door of my own room, but that didn’t last long. The momentary pleasure of hitting Christian faded, and the image of Alexis comatose intruded. I didn’t think it a good sign that Garron had anyone other than our own Grove guarding her. It meant he didn’t trust us. No, more likely, he didn’t trust me when it came to Alexis. Which would make rescuing her more difficult.

  Since Garron liked us to dress formally for dinner, I took a shower and threw on a pair of slacks and a shirt, when someone knocked on my door, and swung it open. Tempest leaned against the door jamb, and watched me button up my shirt. She wore her dark hair in shining dark waves that almost reached her waist, and a slinky dress that showed more of her legs than I thought necessary for a dinner with the Grove. “I’m surprised you left them alone,” she taunted.

  I sneered at her, but didn’t make eye contact. “Its not like they can even talk to each other, she’s comatose, you know,” I replied, forcing a lightness into my tone.

  “You’re not fooling me,” she responded ominously, and left.

  I stared after her, feeling hunted within my own Grove. Wasting no time, I shoved my shirt in my slacks, and buttoned my cuffs, popping one off in my haste. I wondered if Christian and I would survive the night. Maybe I should’ve given Tempest the attention she so obviously craved.

  When I sat down in the dining room for dinner, I had to control the urge to keep from glancing around me. With more people around, especially ones I didn’t know, the higher the risk of being discovered. A feast had been laid out, and the atmosphere was definitely one of a party, with the exception of Christian, who sat in a place of honor at the end of the table. His tightly controlled expression said more than words. He didn’t acknowledge my arrival, but I knew he was analyzing and cataloguing everything he saw and heard. The others seemed to be leaving him alone, and since I saw no bruises or injuries, I assumed nothing more had happened after I had left him.

  With a light shield up, I took my seat with a smile. I briefly glanced at Sebastian who sat at my side, as usual. He gave me a weird scowling smile, and I assumed he had forgiven me for his injury. Without thinking I cuffed the kid on the back of the head affectionately, then realizing what I did, I turned back to my food, and ignored him for the rest of the meal. Oddly I had a feeling he understood me, which I liked even less.

  At the end of the meal Garron raised his glass. “Tomorrow will be a new beginning, Tomorrow we start on our path for freedom.” Our Grove roared in exhilaration, and clinked their glasses. I avoided making eye contact with Christian, not wanting to risk getting him anymore riled. I had learned the hard way not to underestimate my enemy.

  The room was filled with shared talk of how wonderful life would be soon, but I kept my thoughts to myself. As I quietly ate
, I got the feeling someone was staring at me. I looked up to find Tempest’s glacial blue eyes considering me; she glanced over at Christian then back at me. Eventually she leaned back in her chair with an enigmatic smile, but a confused look in her eyes, like she knew something was up. I leered at her until she got uncomfortable, and looked away.

  More than ready to relax, away from all the watchful eyes, I stood up to go to my room, when I overheard Christian and Ryker in a low, but heated discussion. I turned away, happy to let them go at it. Then I thought of Alexis. Was I ready to sacrifice her? I needed Christian to help save her. Angry, I whipped around, and threw a shield around him, one tight enough to have him gasping for breath. Ryker laughed, and Garron and Lisette smiled in approval.

  Christian glared at me, but we both knew he couldn’t afford to show he could overpower me. “Come on, it’s time to lock you up for the night.” I loosened the shield, and waited for him to walk in front of me, and then we left. As soon as we were out of sight and heading up the stairs, I released the shields around both of us. “You couldn’t keep it in control for a couple of hours?” I challenged. He shoved me against the wall, and the sound of my own head cracking against the stones, got me more than ready to throw down. Right now.

  He looked back at me calm, but with murder in his eyes. “You should’ve heard the threats he made towards Alexis.”

  I shoved him away from me. “What!”

  “We need to take him out,” he answered, going up the stairs.

  I followed him, and decided I didn’t need any further explanation of what was said. “If we start killing anyone in my Grove, it will be a little suspicious.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It has to be done. If you can’t do it, I will. The next time I see him.”