Tainted (Netherworld Book II)

by Christie Rich

  With a sigh, she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Brock said my dad wants to see me.”

  I still have not been able to locate her father. As much as I hate to admit it, her going to him might be our best hope of finding out what he wants, not to mention learning the level of threat he poses to both Amelia and my people. “Did he suggest a meeting place?”

  She huffs. “I didn’t let him get that far. To be honest, I wanted to throttle him the minute he even mentioned my so-called dad, but I managed to keep my cool.”

  I hide my smile with a deep breath. “What are your thoughts about meeting with him?”

  Her groan rattles the air. “You want me to, don’t you?”

  I’d love to give her a different answer, but I can’t. “It would be the straightest course to finding out more about your origins and the people who have a vested interest in your life.”

  Her body stiffens. “What if I don’t want to?”

  It takes more effort than it should to keep my tone level. “Then, we shall find another way.”

  In periphery, I get a glimpse of her smile. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

  I shift to watch her more closely. “It is nearly tomorrow.”

  Her beautiful eyes widen. “Already? It couldn’t have been that many hours since I left your place.”

  “I’m afraid it has been. You’ve already handled enough. I don’t want to exhaust you.”

  She makes a face. “I’m okay. I’d rather see what’s going on with everyone at headquarters than wait for another time to deal with things.”

  Relieved, I say, “Good. We have much still to do, and I’m hoping you can help me sort out Kelsby.”

  Worry etches her face. “You really think there’s something wrong with him?”

  I shrug. “He’s not acting like himself. I can’t really describe the difference, but there is something.”

  She squeezes my hand. “I’ve wanted to visit him anyway. It’s Peter I don’t want to see.”

  Such an odd statement. “Why ever not?”

  Her head hangs, causing her hair to veil her face. “I ran, Seth. I was supposed to help him, and I ran.”

  When my fingers move to cup her cheek, she flinches. I pull away, but she clasps my hand to place it against her skin. The electricity between us intensifies until my breath comes in rapid bursts. “This is all so very new to you. I haven’t done a good enough job of sheltering you. My team expects too much from you; I expect too much from you.” I wipe the tears from under her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Her jaw clenches tight. “No. I was raised to be stronger than this.”

  A deep sadness washes over me. How can she belittle herself? “Strength is not in holding back tears, Amelia. True strength is working your way through them.”

  A mischievous smile twitches on her lips, but the doubt still lingers. “Sometimes you’re super scary.”

  My brows furrow. “Is that a good thing?”

  She shakes her head. “You look so young I forget how old you really are.”

  At her statement, my breath catches. “I do not hold your youth against you; in turn, I hope you will not hold my advanced years against me.”

  She laughs, and the buoyancy of the sound sooths me. “I wasn’t saying you’re an old geezer or anything. You just have a lot of wisdom, and it’s easy for me to forget you’ve earned it.”

  I am not the only one who has earned a bit of wisdom. “I should hope so, but it doesn’t matter how long I live, I’ll still make mistakes. We all do.”

  She shoves my shoulder, followed by a distinct giggle. “Damn. There goes that theory.”

  My smile turns into laughter. Relief fills me until I’m able to breathe easier. “You will likely have a different experience than I have.”

  Mock seriousness covers her features. “Man, I sure hope so!”

  I laugh while still attempting to frown. “Thanks.”

  She screws up her face. Her tone reflects humor, but there is truth behind her words. “Dude, your life sucks. I may be a loner, but I don’t want to have to be.”

  I lift my brows, intending to charm her . . . intending to reassure her. “All the more reason for me to be enamored by you.”

  She scoffs, folding her arms. “I could be butt ugly and you’d still be into me.”

  I nearly choke on my saliva. She has to be joking, but I am not sure. “Not true.”

  She laughs again. “Come on, Seth. You haven’t had human contact in centuries. Tell me you’d deny yourself companionship if I wasn’t totally hot.”

  I fold my arms. “Your humility is overwhelming.”

  She gives me a nonchalant shrug which is not reflected in her eyes. “A girl has to know what her assets are. Mine happen to be mostly superficial.”

  Anger flares inside me. “What?”

  Deep seeded hurt spirals through her tone. “I’m not brilliant, but I’m nice to look at, or so I’ve been told.”

  I could ask her who gave her this false impression of herself, but it wouldn’t help to remedy the situation. “I happen to disagree.”

  Her false bravado is still in full force. She laughs as if covering hidden tears. “Well, that’s gonna complicate things.”

  I frown, curious where she is going with this. “How so?”

  Despite her tone, her words betray her real hurt. “No wonder I haven’t been able to seduce you.”

  Seth’s gone green. I haven’t laughed this hard in ages. My insides hurt, making me double over. I hold onto my stomach, trying to ease the pain.

  He scowls. “What is so funny?”

  I laugh harder.

  He lifts me until I’m standing upright. “You cannot say such things. First, you are not a dimwit. Second, I could never tell you just how hard it is to keep myself from you. You are everything—”

  I press my fingers to his lips. I’m so sick of this dance we keep having. It’s time to lay it out for him. “I know. I’m your sun, your moon . . . your starlit sky. One of these days, you’re going to show me how much you’re into me, not just tell me, or I might find a way out of here just to spite you.”

  Seth’s fidgety when he answers. He should be. “Amelia, please don’t say such things about yourself. I do not make a point of lying to anyone, especially not you. If there were any way for us to be together without ruining any chance we have of escape, we would not be having this conversation.”

  Excuses. The curse is all he’s worried about. We may never find the rest of the key. For all we know, the only way out of his realm is through the Metaspace link and the Erobos, but he’ll never see it. There’s no point in arguing about something he doesn’t intend to fix. We don’t have time for this right now anyway. The buildings up ahead look familiar. If I’m not mistaken, we’re almost to headquarters, and I don’t even know the plan. Seth’s so worried about hurting me, or my low self-esteem, or whatever’s distracting him to notice. I pat his hand. “Yeah, lover boy, I get it. So what do we need to do first?”

  His eyes drift from me to the tower standing a few floors shorter than the others. His face pales, and his lips purse together. “I’d like you to visit Kelsby without me. Even with your limited experience with him, I am hoping your other abilities will aid you. I need your insight into his thought process and mood.”

  The guy has been through a lot. “Why? Maybe he’s just still recovering.”

  Seth tilts his head to the side and glances at the sky as if he’s checking on the weather. “He should still be recovering, yet he acts as though he’s got more energy than he’s had in years. He’s rather convincing. I almost gave in and let him return to duty, but . . . I don’t know. Something is amiss.”

  The security guard tips his hat as we pass. “Good to see you back, Miss Amelia. We’ve all been so worried for you.”

  “Thanks,” I say, uncomfortable with all the attention. “I appreciate your concern.”

  Seth rushes us into the building, but I manage to hear the guard say, “We’re
happy to have you here.”

  I smile over my shoulder, and the guy beams. “What’s his name again?”

  “Brian.”

  “He’s nice.”

  Seth frowns. “Yes. He is.”

  I hide a secret smile. His jealousy is at least something. “So . . . I’ll meet you in your office?”

  He leans in to pecks my lips. “Be careful.”

  He’s already moving for the stairwell before I can say, “It’s Kelsby we’re talking about here.”

  With a twist of his neck, he stares at me. “I know. As I said, be careful.”

  Sometimes I don’t like being at headquarters with Seth. He’s so stinking serious. I know he has a lot to think about and all, but, man, it would be nice to have him chill for once.

  I take the elevator because there’s no way I’m trudging up that many stairs. When I reach Kelsby’s floor, a slight shiver washes over me. I take a mental note to slap Seth a good one for freaking me out. Then I walk down the hallway toward what sounds like an argument. All the doors are shut but one. I peek into the room. There’s a huge TV with Larry, Mo, and Curly doing battle.

  “Hey, Kel,” I say, eyeing the weird contraption he’s suspended in. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand how his body works or what sort of world he came from. I bet the birds were awesome.

  “Amelia!” He springs forward, but one of his legs catches on the big hammock, making him flip back with the cloth.

  “Kelsby!” I rush to his side, untangling him from the fabric, only to catch him smiling.

  “Forgive my excitement, dear girl.” His arms wrap around me, crushing me to his mushy body. I’ve been in this position before, so at the last moment, I angle my head until I can at least breathe. I give him as much of a squeeze as I can before pushing away.

  He lets go to study me. His voice is the same upbeat tenor he had before we left on our mission. “No worse for the wear?”

  I smile, hoping it looks real. “I’m fine. You?”

  “Never better.” His expression brightens. “Thanks to you. I’m thrilled to see you. I’ve been going mad here alone, and there’s only so much surveillance a man can handle.”

  He motions to the two monitors on the adjacent wall. Each shows a dreamer’s world. In one, a dark forest looms ahead with no sign of life. The other couldn’t be more opposite. The bright light halos a whole bunch of people, who seem to be celebrating something. I smile, taking in the laughter. A sense of unfulfilled dreams reaches inside my heart. I always wanted a family — to be part of something big and great and more than myself. When I turn my attention back to Kelsby, he’s got a funny expression going. He quickly glances away.

  I keep myself calm, trying not to get too far into my own head. “I’m surprised you’re doing this well. From what I’ve heard you shouldn’t be.”

  He walks toward the monitor with the shiny, happy people. “You’ve been speaking with Seth, I see. Don’t let him sway you. I’m well, and I need to get back to work.”

  On the surface, Kelsby seems great. His chipper attitude isn’t really that different from how he was on our mission to the volcano, but something is wrong. It’s not anything I can name, but he won’t look me in the eyes for more than a few seconds.

  Before, when I first met him, he stared at me with an unwavering gaze. This is something else. He’s acting the same in most ways, so why won’t he look at me.

  I keep my tone light. “You’ll be back before you know it. Seth just wants to make sure you really are up to leaving.”

  “You’re here,” he says, deadpan.

  He’s got a point, but I didn’t have Eros inside me. All they did was ride the surface of my body. When I don’t respond right away, he glances at me.

  That’s when I see it — the dark spiral circling his irises. Keeping my freak out to myself, I look away and walk toward the TV. “I didn’t know you liked the stooges.”

  “They make me laugh, and I can use more laughter in my life right now.”

  The suppressed desperation in his tone makes me pause to take another look at him. “Yeah, I know the feeling. Do you mind if I watch with you?”

  His chest visibly deflates with his exhale. “Not at all.”

  He wants me here. Why? Is it because he knows he still has an Eros inside or because he feels wrong and can’t tell why?

  I plant myself on the floor to lean up against the wall before I extend my legs in front of me. “So, which is your favorite episode?”

  He takes his spot on the hammock again, which makes the heaviness in my chest lessen a bit. With as slow as he moves, I could be to the stairwell before he’d be out of his slingshot.

  He taps his face where a chin should be, but it’s merely a fold of skin circling his non-neck. “I can’t say I have a favorite.”

  I shrug because I can’t think of anything else to say. After a few moments of horrendous silence, I change the subject. “What else have you been doing?”

  “Nothing until a few hours ago. Seth agreed to let me monitor a couple worlds, but as you can see, they are pretty docile.” Kelsby’s expression falls with his tone. “He doesn’t trust me.”

  I shake my head, tempted to move closer . . . to comfort him. I can’t risk it. Instead, I let my expression show my concern for him. “He’s only worried about everyone else. It’s best to make sure we’re both okay before we do anything in the Dreamscape.”

  He frowns. “I suppose you’re right. I realize there’s not much I can do, but I could at least socialize with the others.”

  Just barely, I keep myself from cringing with an Eros floating around in the head next to mine. I’m beginning to wonder if he even knows. “So you really feel back to normal? No adverse effects?”

  His hammock stops swinging, and a serious line sets his lips. “In all honesty, I’m not sure. I have moments when I wonder where I’ve been.”

  I frown, my heart skipping a few beats. “What do you mean?”

  He glances out the window. At what, I’m not sure. All I can see is sky. “I’ll wake up covered in sweat. My dreams are…unsettling.” Now I’m sure he doesn’t know what’s going on inside him. He continues before I can comment. “I keep thinking if I can get back into the swing of life, my dreams will settle down.”

  I know the feeling. I’m afraid to dream for real. Seeing Volos again isn’t exactly appealing. “Do you want to talk about them?”

  His tongue darts out and swipes his mouth like a toad going for a fly. I swallow uncomfortably and look away.

  Frustration fills his tone, which gets my insides churning. He’s more disturbed than he’s letting on. “My dreams only stay with me for a few moments after waking. I can’t quite hold onto the images. The truth is I don’t remember enough to be able to discuss them with you.”

  My brows draw together as I ask, “Is this normal for you?

  His teeth clamp together, and his fists squeeze the hammock until his skin blanches. “Quite the opposite. Normally, my recall is rather vivid.”

  A rumble of unease quivers through me. What exactly has Kelsby been doing in his sleep?

  Peter slumps in his chair, his pain clear in the tense set of his shoulders. Seeing my brother so withered stirs anger in my soul. I should have never let things get to this point. I should have forced him to talk to me. We still have much to settle, but my only desire at this time is to see him restored to the vibrant man he’s meant to be.

  Maybell moves with the sluggish tiredness of one exhausted. She gives me a slow nod before she glances at Peter again. I walk to her side and take her hands. A slight tremor vibrates between us. She gazes down at me, doubt and worry evident in every part of her.

  “Nothing?” I ask.

  She darts a look at Peter before she whispers, “The rest won’t come out.”

  His head snaps up, and he rises to come stand by the bars. “I can still hear you, Maybell. There’s no sense in trying to conceal the truth from me.”

  Her hands drop from mine
, as if a taut rope has been severed. Frustration and fear raise the pitch of her voice. “I’ve done everything I can think of. I haven’t got anything else to try.”

  I reach up to place a hand on her shoulder. Her yellow skin has paled considerably, making her pasty. “Thank you for your efforts. I’ll take over.”

  A few moments pass before she finally nods. “Come get me if you need me.” I smile, and she leaves without further comment. She doesn’t once glance at Peter.

  Alone now, I’m not sure how to begin the conversation. I pull a chair to the cell and sit. Peter studies me, revealing no hint of emotion.

  His voice is as bland as his face. “You seem happy.” I scoff. At last, a hint of interest. “No. I’m serious. There’s something different about you. Have you performed the union?”

  I shake my head. My brothers don’t know the true depth of my curse; they don’t understand what would happen if I gave in to my cravings for Amelia. “There is too much uncertainty to risk it.”

  Unexpected anger hints in his voice. “She’s special, Seth. She can handle more than you think. Waiting will only give the Erobos more time to take her from you.”

  The sincerity of his statement sends a sense of peace through me. “You’re not angry?”

  He takes a deep breath, his eyes hazel eyes steady on mine. “I forgave you a long time ago. Allowing myself to see you is another thing entirely. I wasn’t sure how to mend our relationship.”

  I glance away from my brother, unable to hold his gaze. “Thank you, Peter.”

  He sighs, slumping against the black metal bars. “We were all seduced by Rhea. I was just the first. I’ve been trying to blame you for years, but I was obsessed with her. Sometimes I wonder if I pushed her away by being so possessive.”

  “She was on a mission, Peter. Nothing you could have done would have resulted in a different outcome.” Since we’re being honest, I reveal my biggest worry. “Zed thinks Amelia may be Orphic.”

  Peter shakes his head. “Rhea was not turned because she was Orphic. She turned because she loves darkness.”

  I can barely get my next words out. “Deagan said Rhea is nearly used up. Volos is looking for another companion.”