Boaz closed the drawer and opened another one. It was filled with gold and silver rings, all of which were adorned with the same exotic jewels. “These belong to you. I bought them to show my devotion.”
Boaz moved to open a third drawer, but I stopped him. “I don’t want all of this, Boaz. It’s too much.”
He laced his fingers through mine. “It’s not enough. You deserve more.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept them.” I let go of his hand and stepped away.
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he said, “Then earn it.”
“What?”
“Let me teach you to use your powers.”
My shoulders sagged. I’d let my guard down. Boaz was just like my parents and wouldn’t quit until magic was a part of me. “I know how, but I don’t want to. Don’t you understand?”
“But this is what I want in return for all that I give you. I want to help you become the greatest witch the world has ever seen.”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because I can’t stand to see your potential wasted. You’re like a thoroughbred stallion that’s never ran a race. I must know what you’re capable of.”
“I’m not a dog trying to learn a trick.” I moved to the bed and sat down, exhausted. It hurt to even think.
“Learn from me, Eve. I beg you.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. Anything but that.”
“Now it’s my turn to ask—why?”
“I don’t like the way it makes me feel or what it does to the world around me. Everything goes dark.”
Boaz knelt in front of me on one knee. “Did you ever consider that the world might naturally be dark?”
“Then why don’t I see darkness now, when I’m not using magic?”
He pursed his lips and then said, “How about if I help you to control magic so you can do small things like controlling fire, moving objects, and growing flowers? You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not, love. Just learn a few things that will protect you and others if need be. It won’t change the world around you, I promise. Besides, you’ve already used your abilities, so what does it matter?”
Crap. He was right. Or maybe I was just tired. “I don’t know.”
“We’ll start out slow. If you feel it’s too much, then we’ll stop.”
It sounded harmless enough. Before vowing not to use magic, I would sometimes use it. It still had the same bad side effects, but I managed to keep it under control then. Why couldn’t I do it again, especially with the help of someone? Someone who wouldn’t force me to use it.
“Fine, but you must promise to stop when I say.”
“Deal.” Boaz held out his hand for me to shake.
I moved to accept it, but stopped. Something inside whispered that I was making a pact with the devil. I searched his eyes, but they revealed nothing.
He sensed my reluctance. “I promise, love, everything will be fine.”
I reached out, but when my fingers touched his open palm, dark images flashed through my mind like a lightning storm. They were of torn bodies, decayed flesh—shocking violent visions beyond anything I could ever imagine. Recoiling in fear, I tore my hand away and scrambled back to the bed, no longer caring about hurting the dress.
“What is it?” Boaz’s eyebrows raised in what looked like genuine concern.
He took a step toward me, but his movements only made me scurry farther away until my back hit the thick headboard.
“Eve, please. Tell me what’s wrong.”
I couldn’t answer as I was holding my breath, hoping it would keep me from screaming.
“I’m afraid I’ve been inconsiderate,” he said. “You’ve had a rough day, and here I am pestering you. I apologize if it seemed like I was rushing you to use magic. We’ll take it at your pace, all right?”
I nodded weakly, finally taking in some air. The graphic images slowly faded. Looking at Boaz now, at his kind expression, I wondered if all the recent events had finally taken their toll. I relaxed and forced a smile. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s just been a long day.”
Boaz moved to be near me at the front of the bed. He reached out and smoothed my tussled hair away from my face. This time when he touched me, I saw nothing.
“Get some rest and sleep in if you would like. In my home, you can do as you please,” he said.
“Why are you being so kind?”
Boaz stopped caressing my hair and let his hand drop to my bare shoulder. His fingers gently traced the length of my arm. His eyes met mine, and they burned with an intensity that made me stop breathing again. He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. His eyes said it all, yet I struggled to understand.
My lips parted, and my body tingled. I breathed in air that suddenly felt electric. An indescribable pleasure coursed through my body. Boaz’s eyes glazed over as he, too, seemed to be experiencing the same exhilarating high.
He inhaled deeply. “Do you feel the power between us? Isn’t it amazing?”
I could feel it. My whole body felt light, almost as if any moment I would float away. Without warning, Boaz let go of my hand; the connection dropped. I tried to hide my frustration, but Boaz grinned.
“That’s just a taste of what you are going to experience with me, love.”
He turned and left the room.
9
The next day, I didn’t sleep in as Boaz had suggested. I was too excited to explore the home and the grounds beyond. It felt strange to be in a place where I had no restrictions. I dressed quickly in the simplest clothes I could find from the dresser drawers: a pair of jeans and a black silky shirt.
I left the bedroom and headed down the long hallway toward the stairs, stopping to peek at every room along the way. They were all similar to mine: ornate wooden furniture, richly colored walls, crown molding, and chandeliers except for one room at the end of the hallway. It was a library filled with books. I slipped in and scanned the shelves, reading the titles.
“Would you care for some breakfast?”
I jumped. Mariel stood in the doorway looking as worn out as she had the night before.
“You startled me, Mariel.”
“I apologize.” She bowed her head.
“It’s all right. I would love some breakfast. Can I help you in the kitchen?”
Mariel’s head snapped up at my suggestion. “No Miss, that wouldn’t be proper. I will prepare whatever you like.”
“All right then. I will have eggs and toast, if that wouldn’t be too much of a burden.”
“Not at all,” she said and turned to leave.
“Mariel, is Boaz here?” I tried to sound casual, but even I could hear the anticipation in my voice.
“He will appear when he’s ready, Miss,” Mariel said, her voice hard and back still turned to me.
Oookay, I mouthed as I continued out of the room. Our short conversation reminded me I didn’t want to be in this world with all of its formalities and rules. I wanted to be normal. No special abilities, no wealth, no expectations. With Boaz, that could never happen.
I shook my head and returned to the books, stopping only when I found one titled “Tender is the Night”. I removed it from the shelf and headed downstairs to find the dining room. The downstairs was even larger than the upstairs and took me going through several rooms, including discovering a locked door, before I finally found Mariel.
“Mariel, what’s behind the locked door in the west wing?” I asked when I entered the dining room off of the kitchen.
Mariel placed eggs and toast in front of me. “That is the master’s area. We are forbidden to go there.”
Master? Odd title, even for our kind. I took a bite. “Who cleans it then?”
Mariel shrugged and left the room.
I ate by myself. Other than Mariel, I’d come across two other servants who were cleaning rooms downstairs. Neither of the younger girls had spoken to me even after I had said hel
lo. To anyone else, this might’ve been upsetting, but I was used to it.
When I finished eating, I headed straight for the back door, but took one step outside and then turned back to retrieve a coat. Dark-edged clouds had congregated as if to discuss their desire to snow.
With my long wool coat wrapped tightly around me, I roamed the gardens, taking in the smell of roses that stubbornly clung to the air. A light mist blanketed the ground; it seemed to be halting nature’s natural death process. Plants were still green and flowers in bloom. I regretted leaving my hair down as the wind whipped it back and forth, and I constantly had to wipe the blowing strands away from my face. But when I reached the edge of the forest, the wind died down, and my hair returned to its rightful place.
The forest, not far from the home, had also been meticulously maintained. There were no fallen branches or overgrown bushes, allowing me to move in and out of the trees with ease, but after a short time, the temperature dropped even further, forcing me to turn back. I was about to cross to the paved path leading to the house when I noticed Boaz riding on a huge black stallion with Hunwald trailing behind. My heart quickened.
Boaz attempted to stop the horse directly in front of me, but with little success. The animal stomped and snorted as if it had never been ridden before. Boaz was struggling to keep it still.
“Come with me. I want to show you something,” he said.
“Good morning to you, too.”
Boaz grinned and pulled on the reigns, forcing the horse to face me. The black stallion reared up. “A little help here?”
I laughed. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Surely your parents taught you a calming spell of some kind. It should be an easy task for you to perform on an animal.” The horse reared up again, nearly throwing him off.
I did remember Sable saying something about how to calm an angry animal—or had it been a person? Regardless, I didn’t want to start using magic so soon.
“Please, love. I’m dying here,” Boaz said while the horse repeatedly turned its head to nip at his thigh.
Boaz looked so helpless I just couldn’t say no. One little spell wouldn’t hurt, right?
“Very well, but I’m doing it for the horse’s sake,” I said. “He looks extremely uncomfortable.”
“He looks uncomfortable?”
My smile widened, and I closed my eyes. After a deep breath, I tried to think of something I hated as that was the only way I knew to call upon my abilities. Immediately, an image of a black widow spider appeared. Erik had once used the spiders on me when I was twelve. I’d remained as still as possible while they climbed up my legs, but one of them still bit me. Erik finally removed them when I’d passed out from the poison, making me incapable of using magic even if I’d wanted to. That’s when my hatred for spiders had first begun. I used that hate now to do as Boaz asked.
Like always, the negative emotion made using my abilities possible. My feet tingled as if they were asleep and, slowly, I let the energy crawl up my legs, careful to keep it under control. I approached the excited horse and placed my hand upon its neck. In my mind, over the image of crawling black spiders, I pictured an open pasture full of white daisies. At the far end of the field, a herd of wild horses ran free. Peace, I thought, and transferred the calming image to the horse. Beneath my hand, the bulging neck muscles of the stallion relaxed. The horse stomped a few times before it finally lowered its head. Its eyes glazed over, and it stilled.
Once again, the use of magic gave me an incredible feeling of power. It made me lightheaded but in an enjoyable way. I almost didn’t want to let go of the hate that allowed the power to remain, but the horrible smell it produced forced me to push away the images of the black widows. I didn’t think I would ever get used to the smell.
“Thank you, love, much better,” Boaz said. “Now that I don’t have a horse trying to kill me, I can be more polite. Have you enjoyed your morning?”
“It’s been wonderful. You have an amazing home and grounds to match. I could spend days exploring.”
“I’m glad you find it satisfactory. If you didn’t, I would have to change it all.”
I laughed. “You would do that for me?”
“In a heartbeat.”
When I realized he was serious, I said, “Boaz, this is all fabulous”—I gestured around with my hand—“and so much like a beautiful fairytale, but I must confess, it’s not what I want.”
“And what do you want?”
I glanced past him. In the distance, the morning sun crested the tops of the trees, bathing them in a warm glow. “To be free from our world. To live among the humans as one of them.” I paused. “And I want answers. I have so many questions about myself, my parents, and even you.”
“I will answer what I can. But first, come with me. I want to show you something.” He offered his hand.
I glanced at his open palm, wondering if the creased lines could tell me something about his past.
“Don’t you trust me?” he asked.
I met his gaze high up on the horse. “No, I don’t.”
“If I wanted to hurt you, than I wouldn’t have saved you. Now please, let’s go before it begins to snow.”
He had a point. Despite my conflicting feelings toward him, he had been nothing but kind to me. I lifted my hand. Boaz took hold of it and effortlessly lifted me onto the back of the horse. I wrapped my arms around his solid torso and hung on tightly. A growing buzzing sensation vibrated my skin in a pleasurable way, much to my dismay. I wondered if Boaz felt it, too, but wasn’t about to ask.
Alternating between a fast gallop and a slow walk, we rode the horse for what seemed like a long time over rough terrain through the dark forest. The area was hilly here, and in some spots the horse struggled to maintain its footing on the rocky path. Boaz only stopped when we approached a fast-moving river.
“This place is amazing,” I said, slipping off the stallion. Enormous, moss-covered boulders held the river in its place, and in between their deep crevices, colorful flowers grew. The sharp contrast of greens against reds, yellows, and blues was breathtaking. I walked around in awe, careful to avoid the slippery moss.
“I thought you would like it,” Boaz said. “I imagined this place to be right out of one of your books.”
“Oh no, it’s so much better. How do the flowers stay in bloom with such cold weather?”
“It’s the mystery of the river.”
“It’s beautiful.”
I moved up the river toward the roaring of a waterfall. The clouds above had dissipated, deciding against snowfall. Their lack of commitment gave the sunlight a chance to dance upon the waters. It was almost hypnotizing the way the light fractured and twinkled, sparking like lit matches.
“Are you coming?” I asked Boaz over my shoulder, unable to contain my excitement.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He smiled warmly and climbed after me. He didn’t struggle along the boulders as I did. It was as if his feet only skimmed their slippery surface.
When I slipped, Boaz caught me. “Careful, love.”
He took my hand and guided me the rest of the way. Once again, my skin tingled at his touch. The sensation spread to the rest of my body, and my smile grew.
After several minutes of walking upriver, we finally reached the waterfall. It must’ve been at least thirty feet high, and its mist filled the air, dampening my face.
“Do you mind getting wet?” Boaz shouted over the loud downpour.
I glanced down at the swirling, turbulent water below us. “You can’t possibly mean—”
“Follow me,” he said and half-carried me toward the side of the waterfall.
As we drew closer, I noticed the rock face disappear behind the falls. Boaz walked into the opening, dipping under a spray of water. I stumbled behind him and yelped when the cold water poured onto my head. With my free hand, I smoothed my wet hair away from my face.
Boaz said nothing but continued to pull me forward
into what looked like a never-ending cave. The roaring of the water grew more distant the farther we walked. He stopped only when it became too dark to navigate.
“Would you mind providing some light?” he asked. “I forgot how dark it was in here.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And how would you suggest I do that?”
“Use your imagination.”
“No more magic. I need a break.”
“You’ll be fine. Using your abilities is like using a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger you become.”
“I said no.”
“I’m only asking you to use a little—just enough to see in front of us.”
“I already helped you out once today, remember?”
“I remember.” He cupped my hand with both of his. The power between us jumped, and I sucked in air. “You’ve been so good to me. If you really don’t want to, then I’ll understand.”
He moved to take his hand away, but I gripped it tight, unable to let go of the high. “I’ll do it, but only because you asked nicely.” With my free hand, I felt the damp walls around us.
“What are you doing?” Boaz asked.
“We’re surrounded by rock.”
“Nothing gets by you,” he said with a hint of playfulness in his voice.
“What do you have on you?”
Boaz squeezed my hand. “Mmm, I like this game. I’m wearing a rugged brown coat, tight fitting riding pants, and snake-skin boots. Your turn. What are you wearing?”
I stifled a laugh. “Be serious. Do you have anything small I can use, something with glass?”
He let go of my hand and patted his clothing until he found something in his right jacket pocket. “I have a pocket watch. Will it work?”
I took it in my hand and rubbed it. “I think so.”
I closed my eyes and began the process all over again, using my animosity for the black widows again. The smell was just as bad, but I ignored it and focused on lighting up the face of the watch. It took only a moment before a brilliant light burst forth, filling the area around us.
“Excellent,” he said.
I glanced around. The cavern we stood in was smaller than I expected. Other than a gaping hole in the floor just to my right, the place was bare.
The Devil's Fool (Devil Series Book One) Page 6