Lost Girl: Hidden Book One

by Vanderlinden, Colleen

  We laid there in silence for a long time, his body cocooning mine, his scent surrounding me.

  “I don’t want to fight with you, Molly,” he murmured against my hair as he buried his face into it. “I love you. I trust you. I’m sorry I’m an asshole. Believe it or not, I am trying not to be.”

  I felt tears sting my eyes. I felt myself strengthening, felt more alive just from being near him. Partly because of the weird connection we had, the way he could feed me with his ever-present anger. But mostly because I loved him. He infuriated me. He made me crazy. All I knew was that things seemed less nightmarish with him at my side.

  I ran my fingertips over his forearms, and he held me tighter, as if he couldn’t get close enough.

  “This will all be over soon,” he said after a while.

  “And then we get our happily ever after,” I said. I felt my eyelids getting heavy. “We should find a nice little secluded cabin in the woods. Somewhere with a little lake nearby. We can skinny dip whenever we want, and fall asleep in front of a roaring fire. And we can just stay there forever.” I yawned, and he kissed my shoulder.

  “That sounds as close to heaven as I’m ever going to get,” Nain said.

  I smiled and finally drifted off to sleep.

  When I woke up, I was alone in bed. But I smelled coffee and bacon, and I heard the oldies station playing on the kitchen radio. Nain had an affinity for Motown stuff from the 50s and 60s. I smiled. Couldn’t fault his taste in music.

  I got up, dressed in jeans and a long sleeved black top. I brushed my hair out, but left it down. I wanted to feel Nain’s fingers running through it, and I knew I would. He couldn’t resist doing that.

  I was strong, strengthened from spending the night next to him, feeding and healing. My leg was a little sore still, but I was sure now that it would heal completely. I tried not to think about how it had happened. I’d had one nightmare about it the night before, a dream in which Brennan came after me again and again, broke so many bones that I was unable to move at all anymore. I woke with a start as he transformed into a bear and was about to tear into my throat. Nain had pulled me closer to him, murmured that it was okay, he was there, and we’d both drifted back off to sleep.

  I went downstairs, strolled into the kitchen. He was plating up bacon and eggs, toast. He smiled at me when he saw me, and I walked over and kissed him, slow and soft. Desire flooded him, me. I bit his lower lip, gently, before drawing away, and felt a spike of need from him.

  “You like it when I bite you,” I said, laughing.

  He groaned a little, tweaked my hip as I walked past him. I sat down and he placed a plate in front of me, poured a cup of coffee and added plenty of cream and sugar, just the way I liked it. We sat down and ate in companionable silence, listening to the morning DJs banter with each other between music by the Four Tops and the Jackson 5. I sensed for him. He was tense, as always. Undercurrent of rage that was just Nain, even when he was happy. Demon. Nervous. A little sad.

  I glanced up at him. “How are you holding up?”

  He shook his head. “I still can’t really believe she’s gone. She came to me when she was fifteen, scrawny little kid terrified of herself. Ada was thrilled to have a girl to raise, finally. And then George came to me, and they were inseparable. I can’t believe George…” he shook his head again. “I never knew losing someone was this hard. I don’t think I really was able to feel a lot of this shit until you came into my life.”

  “We seem to have changed each other quite a bit, then,” I said, meeting his eyes.

  He was silent for a while. Then, “I think we should do the marriage ritual again.”

  I raised my eyebrow. “Once was not enough?”

  “It was. But I want….I want to feel more of you in me.” He swallowed, and I got a sense from him. Mourning.

  “You’re thinking of George and Veronica again.”

  He didn’t answer.

  I stood up, pulled up my sleeve. I grabbed one of my knives from the counter. Then I rifled through the old first aid kit I kept under the sink, came up with an ace bandage.

  I walked over to Nain, nudged him, and he pushed his chair back from the table. Once we had room, I straddled his lap, sat down and felt his legs, strong and solid under mine. I met his eyes, slashed my right wrist in one quick movement. He did the same, and we joined the wounds together, just as we had on our wedding night. We wrapped our wrists, sat there, rested our foreheads against each other. I felt his blood flow into me, and contentment flowed through him as my blood entered his body. Shivers went up my spine.

  Our hearts beat in unison. His blood, his emotions coursed through me. His thoughts were an open book, and every thought he had was for me, how much he loved me, needed me. How afraid he was of losing me. He belonged to me, entirely, in that moment.

  Do you feel that? You can feel, you can hear, how much I love you.

  I nodded, my forehead still resting against his. Tears stung my eyes.

  Know how much I love you, Molly. Know that I would never intentionally hurt you. Know that I am going to ask you to do things that you’re going to hate me for. I ask them because I don’t have any other choice.

  Tell me.

  This is ending. We both know it’s only a matter of time. You killed his lover, his mate. He bonded to her, just as you are to me. He will not let that go. He may have promised you to someone else, but he’ll be after blood now. He’s in mourning. Imagine what it would feel like to have this bond broken.

  That will never happen.

  Well. Imagine how you would feel. He’s feeling that. You’d want to destroy anyone who broke our bond, wouldn’t you?

  I nodded.

  He won’t wait any more. He won’t be hiding. He will come after you with everything he has. You need to destroy him.

  I am stronger than him.

  But he is more skilled. He knows tricks you haven’t even thought of. Brute force will be necessary to take him out. It’s your only chance.

  I have that.

  I felt humor from him. Molly smash.

  We just sat, absorbing each other, for a minute. He continued. You’ll need more. You need to be so powerful he won’t stand a chance. And you know how to become more powerful.

  Mind flaying.

  I know you hate it. I know you don’t want to use those powers. But you need to do this, baby. He’ll always be surrounded by others with power. It’s how he is. Makes him feel like some kind of little king to have an entourage of the powerful. Use them. Take everything you can. Make yourself fucking invincible.

  I felt sick, but I nodded.

  And when I give the order, take him out. Don’t second-guess me. Don’t hesitate. Just do what I tell you to do.

  Is this why you got so pissed off with me over that whole George thing?

  I need to know that you’ll take an order when it matters. I am sorry I did that to you. It was wrong, and I’m glad you put me in my place. But this time, I need to know you’ll do what I tell you to do. Just this once.

  I didn’t answer for a minute. Our wounds had closed, his blood racing through my veins. I promise. Just this once, Bael.

  I felt relief flood through him. Then he kissed me, long, slow, gently. We held hands, fingers entwined.

  I heard the Supremes’ “Someday We’ll Be Together” start playing on the radio.

  “Dance with me, Molly,” he murmured against my lips. I nodded, and we stood up, still bound at the wrist. He wrapped his free arm around me, and I rested my cheek against his chest. I listened to his heart beat, strong and steady; felt his chest rise and fall with each breath he took. Reveled in the sensation of his blood flowing even more strongly through my body. We swayed, barely moving, not at all in tempo with the music. It didn’t matter. The morning sun streamed in through the kitchen window, and I felt warm, safe, and loved. I could have stayed that way forever with him. His fingers tangled lazily in the ends of my hair, and I smiled against him.

  The s
ong ended, and Bashiok and Dahael appeared in the doorway. “Mistress, demon. Lower demon was here. Left a package.” His face twisted in disgust as he handed over a cardboard box.

  Ashes. With a note.

  “You can have Georgie boy back now. You’re next.”

  Nain and I looked at each other. I felt his rage and guilt wash over me. “It would have been better for him if you’d done what I wanted you to do,” he said.

  “Don’t even. Let’s not do this again,” I said.

  He took a deep breath. Dahael and Bash had retreated after they’d delivered the package, and we were alone again. The kitchen, which had seemed so warm and safe just moments before, felt empty now. My stomach churned with anger, guilt. I’d never liked George, but he didn’t deserve the terrible end he’d undoubtedly met.

  Nain held the box of George’s ashes in his hands. I held the note. He was about to say something, when I felt the presence of one of the Guardians. It was unmistakable, a tidal wave of power that felt strong enough to knock me over. I’d felt them at Veronica’s funeral, and it wasn’t a sensation that was easily forgotten. Within seconds, she seemed to appear out of nowhere, swooping into the kitchen and landing silently, gracefully, near where Nain and I stood.

  It was the same Guardian who had stopped and studied me on that night. While they looked similar to one another, there were differences. This one’s hair was curlier, wilder. Her nails were blood-red, instead of black. And, of course, she was the only of the Guardians who deigned to notice the existence of the Earth-bound among us.

  She looked up at me with her glowing red eyes, cocked her head to the side. Her glance went to the box Nain was holding.

  “His soul has been freed,” she said, in a voice that carried the weight of time, yet still sounded innocent, somehow. “My sisters transported him as the sun rose.”

  I nodded. Nain just stared. “Thank you, Guardian,” I murmured, bowing my head toward her, just a little. It seemed like the right thing to do.

  “You may call me by my name. I am Eunomia,” she said, watching me. Again, I was reminded of a particularly deadly, but beautiful, bird.

  “Eunomia,” I repeated. “Thank you.”

  “Evil times, demon girl,” she said.

  I nodded. “I am hoping to end some of it, very soon.”

  “Sooner, rather than later,” she said. “I am not supposed to interfere. Your friends have been ambushed by the one you hunt. He seeks to draw you out. An army lies in wait. Your imps will appear, momentarily, with the same message.”

  I stared, dread settling over me. Sure enough, within an instant, two of my imps arrived in the kitchen.

  “Mistress. Old master snuck up on wild man, witch, strongman when they were chasing a werewolf pack. Big trouble.”

  Nain was already pulling his shoes on. I stuffed my knife, the note, into my pockets. “Where?”

  “Abandoned factory. Crumbled building,” he said.

  “The Packard plant,” I said to Nain, able to picture what the imp was trying to tell me. He gave me a terse nod.

  I glanced at the Guardian. “Thank you.”

  She nodded, and winked out of sight. Nain and I ran outside, got into my car, and I gunned it toward the area in which the crumbling old factory sat. I drove fast, careening through streets that were, thankfully, mostly empty at this time of morning on a Sunday. My hands gripped the steering wheel, and all I could do was hope that I wouldn’t be too late.

  “Molly, slow down a little.”

  “Are you kidding? He could be killing them right goddamned now! Why the hell would they go out like this, without telling us first?”

  “They want to feel better. You understand that. Slow down, just a little. I want to exchange blood again.”

  I glanced at him. “You’re thinking of something like this now? We just did this, less than an hour ago? Remember?”

  Irritation. “Yes, darling,” he said through clenched teeth. “Of course I remember. We should do it again. Now, before we get there.”

  I shook my head.

  “Humor me, Molly.”

  “I do not believe this,” I muttered. I dug in my pocket for my knife, left the cutting and binding to him so I could keep driving. I barely felt it when he sliced my wrist open. Within seconds, we were again bound, wrist to wrist. I slowed down. Focusing completely on driving was nearly impossible.

  I wouldn’t admit it to him, but it soothed me, feeling his blood flow into me again. “You are making this a habit, Nain,” I murmured.

  “I’ve told you that you’re addictive,” he said, holding our wrists together with his other hand. Our pulses raced, and as his blood flowed into me, I felt connected to him, strengthened. I felt nearly invincible.

  “I am so ready to kick some demon ass,” I said.

  Nain snorted. “My blood is good for that.”

  I glanced at him. “It is good, period.”

  He gave me a small smile, and brought my wrist, now healed, to his lips. He pressed his lips to the area he’d sliced open, and I shivered at the sensation.

  “I love you,” he said quietly. “I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much.”

  I tangled my fingers in his as I kept steering through the streets. “I love you, too.”

  “When we get there, start feeding. Start flaying. Take everything you can, from anyone you can. No mercy. Do not hold back,” he said, and his voice was a little hoarse. I glanced over at him. He continued. “I’ll feel it when you’re filled. When you can’t take anymore. I’ll keep Astaroth busy until you’ve reached that point. When you do, when I feel it, I’ll make sure he’s distracted, and I’ll give the order. Destroy him. Do not hesitate. Do not listen to anything he tries to say. Just do what you promised me you’d do.”

  The factory was just ahead. I stopped the car and turned to him. I brought his hand to my lips, kissed his knuckles. “I promise. I trust you. Trust me to do what I said I would.”

  “I do,” he murmured, leaning over and kissing me, just the barest fluttering of his lips on mine.

  “You can do better than that,” I said, pulling him closer and pressing my lips to his.

  He groaned and kissed me once, firmly. He was nervous, tense. angry. So angry. “Let’s get this over with,” he said, pulling away and opening the car door. I followed.

  I could feel how much energy was being thrown around in the factory as we approached it. I could feel Brennan there, Ada, Stone. Lots of other beings I didn’t want anywhere near my friends.

  “He’s got plenty of bad with him today,” Nain said as we ran, reaffirming what I was already feeling. “Like I said: take everything you can. Time to become as scary as I always knew you could be.”

  I nodded, and we ran into the factory, and found ourselves in the middle of a war zone.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The first super we ran past had the ability to cut her enemies using nothing more than her mind, I realized after a large gash appeared on my thigh out of nowhere.

  Handy.

  I turned to her and smiled. I forced my way into her mind. Found what I was looking for, took what I wanted.

  So easy. Candy from a baby. I felt her power singing alongside my own, the fire I’d taken from the pyro. Strengthened, fed.

  “Next,” I said, running toward where I saw Brennan, Ada, and Stone fighting, back to back, in the middle of the chaos.

  My main focus was on reaching Ada, Brennan, and Stone. I saw Nain barrel in a different direction, easily figured out who his focus was.

  A demon stood off to the side, flanked by other demons, a few other beings. He was not exceptionally tall. He wore his demonic form: dark grayish-blue skin. Two small horns at the top of his head. Eyes that glowed a malevolent red as they settled on his old enemy.

  I heard Ada grunt, and tore my attention away from the two demons. I ran toward my friends. Ada was pushing herself to the limit, doing her best to hold a shield that would protect herself and Stone and Brennan fro
m the barrage of attacks being leveled at them. She was doing an amazing job, but a shield that strong takes a crazy amount of power. She wouldn’t be able to hold it much longer under that level of stress.

  Time to remove some of the stress, I thought to myself. I easily cut down a couple of lower demons who kept hitting at the shield with crude axes. There was a pyro here. I already had one, but why not add another to my collection. I entered her mind, stole her powers, and left an empty husk behind.

  Well, that got their attention.

  Most of the assholes attacking my friends turned and came toward me. Some were nothing more than human thugs, attracted by Astaroth’s slick words and promises. Those, I knocked out easily by going into their heads and shutting them down.

  That left a few more demons, a guy who had just displayed a power I badly wanted (the ability to leap far and fast when he needed to) and a chick who was throwing chunks of concrete around with nothing but her mind. I’d take that, too.

  The demons charged me, and I fought them off with a combination of fists and fire. I glanced to the side, and happened to see Bashiok and Dahael destroying a demon with tiny knives I’d never even known they had. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves.

  As I tossed fire at the final demon in front of me, I also ripped the power from the telekinetic. I was feeling it now, all of this power singing in me, coursing through me along with my connection to Nain.

  I felt invincible.

  I ripped powers from a few more supers (Astaroth seemed to have a thing for those with some kind of fire power. I took it all.) and then practiced with them, destroying the demons that were still bashing at Ada’s shield. It did not take long, and the relief I felt from Ada was palpable.

  I looked around. A crowd had gathered around Astaroth and Nain, who were going at it with fists. Both bloody, both angry.