“Stay with Rune. He won’t let anything happen to you. I will be back soon and we will get what we came for and leave this place.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Sebastian had other plans. He kissed me. Taken aback I didn’t move. In fact I froze in place. When the words came from him yet his mouth still kissed me like there was no tomorrow, I found that he had other secrets he’d held from me.
Trust me Kayla. We will find Flynn. I need you to do something for me in the meantime. Use your skillful other half and convince Rune he doesn’t want me. He was speaking in my head.
Sebastian disengaged our one-sided kiss. My back had been to Rune. He wouldn’t have been aware that the kiss was a shock to me. I also realize that unlike our one and only other kiss, he hadn’t gifted me any of his power. He was probably trying to conserve power for a possible escape. I could only hope that this misguided half feeling of trust I still held for him wouldn’t be foolish.
Sebastian nodded at Rune. “Take care of my girl and I’ll be back.” Then Sebastian blinked out of our existence and I reluctantly turned to face a boy I would now have to place my faith in.
Rune smiled at me in a way that showed he was just as uncomfortable as I was. I had no idea what Sebastian expected me to do about Rune. I certainly wasn’t one to try to convince people of who they should love. My love life was a mess as it was.
Rune held out a hand and I just looked at it as I held myself instead. “My name is Rune if you hadn’t guessed. And you are Kayla.”
Nodding, I slowly let my right hand leave the comfort of my own body. It seemed he was doing the customary human thing with his greeting and I would be a poor example of my mother’s upbringing if I didn’t shake his hand.
“Yes, I’m Kayla.” I said and took his proffered hand. It was warm and inviting. I shook it with one pump of my hand and tried to let go. But he didn’t. He raised my fingers to his lips and with a slight bow, kissed my hand.
“It is my pleasure to meet you,” he answered. His eyes continued to appraise me. If I hadn’t seen the display between him and Sebastian, I might have mistaken his actions as flirting. But it had been made very clear to me in a shocking way that his interest was with the boy playing my boyfriend, at the moment.
Totally off balance with Sebastian’s kiss and Rune not letting go of my hand, I stumbled a bit when Rune tugged me forward in the same direction as the Mistress had gone. We walked a bit through the great room before entering the hallway that lead who knew where. I noticed a staircase on the left hidden from the view of the great room that must have led to the upstairs balcony and possible another hallway. But we didn’t go that way. We walked past with a view of the interior courtyard that from what I could see was enclosed on all sides. I was also able to make out another corridor or building that stretched parallel to this one on my left. It appeared this multilevel building was in the shape of a rectangle with an open area in the middle. The sun didn’t shine through the windows. In fact, this hallway was covered in shadows. I felt drawn to the light like it was my safety. But Rune still held my hand firmly, kept me at his side away from the windows.
All was incredibly quiet for a school with classes going on. It was also very strange because today was Sunday. I wouldn’t think classes would be held. I guess I was being stupid for thinking like a human. I had no idea what the customs would be for a demon school.
When he reached the end of the hall we ascended a stairway. I was deep in confusion that I didn’t realize until now that Rune wasn’t being much of a guide. He hadn’t once pointed anything out to me. We walked in utter silence. The hallway up here was just as empty as the other one we just left. This place was huge and I had no idea where everyone was. It was like a ghost town. Maybe there were other buildings. The markings and posters on the doors we passed however made it look like a dorm area. But it was way too quiet for that.
When Rune stopped, my eyes had been focused everywhere but what was in front of me. I ran right into the back of him but without too much force because we hadn’t been walking very fast. He let go of my hand and flashed me a quick smile. I would be blind not to admit just how cute he was but cute boys were none of my concern. I needed to find Flynn and get the heck out of here.
The door he opened led into a small room. Upon closer inspection, it must have been his dorm room. Inside and to the right was a twin sized bed perched high with drawers underneath. To the left was a wall that ended with a desk to the left of a small window. The window was covered with short thick drapes that left the room shrouded in darkness. Rune closed the door behind us. Before I could protest, he flicked on an overhead light.
“Sit,” Rune commanded. For once I was in the mood to argue. I didn’t feel entirely safe. It wasn’t Rune who made me uncomfortable. It was this place and the fact the Mistress made reference to me, I was certain of it. He had been told to show me around but we were in his room. Something wasn’t right.
With arms folded, I said, “Somehow I doubt Mistress Talya meant that your room was the highlight of my tour of this place.”
He laughed. Boy did I hate being laughed at. I wasn’t some silly girl. “This is exactly what she wanted,” he said. “Sebastian may have brought you here, but she doesn’t know you at all. You are to wait here until after they have spoken. So you might as well get comfortable.”
I didn’t acquiesce. I stepped back to the wall to lean on it with my arms crossed. The frown on my face felt appropriate and I would stay that way no matter what. It probably wasn’t going to be helpful in Sebastian’s plan for me to convince Rune of whatever. But I didn’t care. I should call out to Nina and hope she heard me. I should have her whisk me away and contact David about his son. Thinking all of that, I did nothing but stare.
Rune shrugged and pulled out his desk chair and sat. His long legs stretched out as he leaned back with his arms folded behind his head. He looked a little too cocky and it reminded me of Flynn. He hadn’t seemed like that earlier but it was all in his stance.
“Why don’t we pass the time and you tell me about yourself?” he inquired.
I was in a mood, one that was mingled with fear and stubbornness. I didn’t know where it came from at least the stubbornness, but I was going to go with the flow. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on between you and Sebastian?” I asked, like I was really his girlfriend.
His smile faltered a bit and I felt victorious to crack his overconfident demeanor. When he looked away, I almost felt sorry for him. Boy was this guy throwing out mixed messages. Was he nice or arrogant?
Finally he turned his gaze back to me and all the smugness was gone. “How long have you two been a couple?”
“I asked first,” I said, feeling like I had control of this conversation. He’d backed down too quickly. It was clearer now more than ever that the arrogance hadn’t been his true nature. He had been playing a role he wasn’t good at.
His eyes cast down. “Nothing,” he answered in a near whisper. “There is absolutely nothing going on between us.”
Okay, now I felt like a total bitch. I’d been playing a role here too. I let my hands fall but I didn’t move from the wall. “Am I a prisoner here?” I questioned. I needed to get back on track. Flynn was my priority, so I needed to work the conversation around.
He looked up shocked I was sure by my sudden switch of topics. “No,” he said.
Pushing off the wall, I moved towards the door. I needed to get out of here then. My time was being wasted and I felt the longer I stayed here, surely I would be found out for who I really was.
In a lightning move, without the amazing light show Mistress Talya displayed, Rune was standing in front of the door impeding my path. “You’re not necessarily a prisoner, but it wouldn’t bode well for either of us if you were to leave here. Sebastian will be here soon. Please wait.”
He’d made it clear without expressly saying it that he would be punished if I was to be found lurking the halls. I backed away knowing I hadn’t the f
irst clue to finding Flynn. It wasn’t like I could knock on doors. Who or what would be behind them? Did I honestly think there would be demons that would want to help me? It seemed wrong to think they were all bad. But something told me in this situation a little more caution was in order.
“Fine, then tell me, what kind of demon are you?” I asked. If I was stuck in the room with this guy, I might as well know what I was dealing with.
Relaxing his pose again, he looked away. Gosh, I’d really missed it. He was ashamed. The downcast eyes and looking away gave away his shame. What demon possessed such emotions? Sebastian’s eyes never gave anything away when they stared vacantly back at me. This guy’s eyes, hunter green, held too much emotion.
“Well,” I pressed for an answer. When his eyes snapped back to me, I realized the bitchy tone to my voice hadn’t left. But I couldn’t be sorry for it. I was the one in a strange place with a stranger who wouldn’t let me leave.
“Vampire,” he said and cocked a self-satisfied grin that exposed his fangs. Stumbling back into the wall, I was shocked by the truth of their existence. Boy the tables had turned. His eyes narrowed on mine. “What kind of witch are you? You look at me as if you were surprised we even existed.”
Holy Moly, I’d made my first mistake and may have broken cover. I had to think quickly. “Um, that’s why Sebastian brought me. I don’t know much and he saw potential in me.” Okay, I think that sounded good and was mostly the truth without saying much.
He nodded. Letting out a silent breath, I’d hoped he’d bought it. A flash later with me pressed against the wall and a hand around my neck, I realized just how wrong I was. “Your blood betrays you.” He pulled back and I wanted to shove him away. He was in my personal space and it was just freaking me out more.
“Betrays what?” I gasp. I could only hope that my fear would keep the succubus at bay. He was male and breathing and she didn’t have a conscious.
He let go of my neck. Sucking in air, he folded his arms over his chest. His demeanor was again one that held command. I started to wonder if demons could be bi-polar. “Your blood raced long before I came close to you. What is your real name and why did Sebastian really bring you here?”
My brain was swirling with thoughts of what to say and what not to say. Was he some sort of guard? I mean he and his little crew had been the first on the scene. Was he playing me in some twisted good cop bad cop by showing some vulnerability? I just didn’t know. So it was best to stick closer to the truth.
“My name is Kayla and I’m here for my brother,” I said, surprisingly steady. Taking a full step away from me, I felt relief.
“Has he been brought to the stables?” he asked, as if I should know what that meant. Reading the expression of absolute ignorance I felt on my face, he added. “Has he been brought by the human authorities to our little school for delinquents?”
Horror filled my mind. I’d forgotten Sebastian mentioned that. Why was this demon school pretending to be a school for wayward youths? What did they do with the humans?
“Is he a full demon then, little half-breed?” he asked. Double crap, did he know I was not the witch Sebastian portrayed me to be?
Standing there like a doe in headlights, I couldn’t think of anything to say. I wasn’t used to this kind of suspicion. “Look, Sebastian is helping me out because my step-brother came here to hook up with a girl. Our parents will be pissed if they come home and he’s not there. He’s in enough trouble as it is.”
Again, bits of the truth were thrown together. I hoped it sounded good because I was really going to kill Flynn for putting me in this danger when I got my hands on him.
His smile grew pensive. “Why would Sebastian lie?” he said thoughtfully. “Are you really Sebastian’s girlfriend or was that a ruse to get me to think it so?”
“You sound like you’re jealous,” I spit out. “Now what do you know about my brother?” I asked.
Anger flared in his eyes. “You first,” he said.
Apparently, we were not going to get anywhere unless this topic was discussed. So I would give him what he wanted and hoped he would reciprocate. “It’s complicated,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. “You’ve still told me nothing.”
“You know,” I started, trying to figure something to say. “He’s a bit of a mystery.” He nodded in agreement. “I’m not sure I can trust him. Now it’s your turn to admit what’s going on between the two of you.”
Ignoring my question, he said, “If your brother is the shining new toy the girls have been fawning over, I may have an idea where he is.”
I found myself moving towards him. “Please tell me,” I said. A flutter of hope passed through me. Where had that come from? My heart had lifted when I felt like I would find Flynn. I shook my head trying to clear the confusion over my concern. Of course I was worried. He was my friend as odd as that sounded. We had become friends despite his betrayal. I would be lost if something bad happened to him. That line of thought only brought my other friends predicaments closer to the forefront. There was nothing I could do for any of them at the moment. Fate would be their jailer or rescuer. Luke. Luke’s fate also hung in the balance, but I had no idea how I could help him. Flynn was the only one I could conceivably help at the moment.
He wasn’t moved by my request no matter how sweetly it had left my lips. “Our movements would be too conspicuous at the present time. We have to wait for class to begin at nightfall,” he said.
Narrowing my eyes, I said, “But I thought classes were going on now?” I questioned because that is what the Mistress had stated.
“Human classes,” he said. “Right now, everyone else is resting. We would be caught roaming the halls and it would be reported. Then the Mistress would start asking questions you aren’t ready to answer, like what you really are.”
I turned away and headed for the window. Wanting to look out I stood on my tiptoe and reached for the heavy drapes. I didn’t hear his movement only felt his hand as he wrenched me from the window and tossed me to his bed. My head hit the wall with a loud thump and before I could cry out in pain and a resounding thump echoed from the other side of the wall.
Turning to him, he lifted a finger over his lips. “Sorry, Dep,” he cried out speaking to the occupant of the next room.
Then turning his attention back to me, he said, “It is evident you know nothing about our world.”
The jig was up so to speak so I nodded in agreement. “Well, let me give you a hint. Don’t open the drapes during sunrise in a vampire’s room.”
Curiosity took over at this point. Despite the noise, my head didn’t hurt that bad. So I pushed on to learn what I could. There were many things I should be asking, but how often do you find yourself trapped in a room with a vampire. “So it’s true, you can’t walk in the daylight?” He nodded. “But you feel warm not cold like a stiff,” I commented.
He chuckled still standing in front of the bed looking down at me. I moved to sit with a little more dignity. “Explain,” I said. “I mean we have time to pass.”
“I could be resting,” he said looking at me and the bed. I didn’t quite understand his meaning. Did he really mean sleep? I mean, he was into Sebastian not me.
“Honestly, I doubt I could sleep,” I said.
He nodded. After a long sigh, he sank back into the desk chair that had moved further in the room when he tossed me so easily on the bed. “Vampires aren’t dead. A misconception passed through the ages. We’re not luminous in the sunlight either. We burn. Wouldn’t the human population be extinct if we could walk the earth at any time of day? Humans wouldn’t have a chance, even half breeds like you.”
My tongue let loose as if I harbored no control over it. “Do you survive on blood?”
“Yes. But don’t worry your pretty head, that’s what the stables are for.”
“Stables?” I asked.
He exhaled a short clipped breath. “It’s where the little human delinquents are housed and where
people like me get human to feed on. Mostly vampires, because we don’t have any incubi here. We only have Sophia.”
Humans are treated like cattle or sheep. And what had he meant about people like him? And was Sophie a succubus? If so, how did that make me feel? A part of me wanted to seek her out thinking she may have the answers I desperately needed.
“Your brother,” he said quirking up an eyebrow. “Has caused quite the stir around here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the females so riled up except when Sebastian is around.”
Gosh, what a buzz kill. The information was intoxicating but once I knew that Flynn was the hottest guy on campus even here, I wanted to gag. Man it was so annoying. The last thing I needed was a demon girl fawning all over him as if his ego wasn’t big enough. Adding to it, Sebastian was the man around here. I had to wonder amongst all the perfection I’d seen thus far, what made Flynn and Sebastian the cream of the crop. I felt like a shaggy dog. I could only imagine that the population of demons here would also be stunners. Wouldn’t they need to be in order to appeal to their prey? “Yeah, that sounds like Flynn,” I admitted.
Waiting for Mercy (Cambions) Page 23