PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “Who is Avan?” I whisper to Seth, glad to have a distraction from the mess in my head.

  Seth ignores my question and asks one of his own. “Why would Avan help us? He doesn’t know Jaz.”

  “Rhenata,” Fane answers.

  One name. That’s this Avan guy’s reason for helping us. Rhenata. Who is she?

  My brow furrows in confusion. I glance up to Seth, and take in his shocked expression. He’s heard the name before.

  “Are you sure?” Luke asks.

  “She’s left her mark,” Fane shrugs.

  “What mark?” Claire demands as she stands over me, inspecting my skin.

  “A scent,” Fionn says, looking out the glass door.

  Silence blankets the room. I look up to Seth, and he looks down at me with a pained expression.

  “Seth?” I whisper and touch my hand to his cheek.

  “I . . . ” he starts.

  “Did you see Rhenata in the reverie?” Claire asks. Seth groans and closes his eyes.

  I frown. “Who is Rhenata?”

  “The unwanted-redheaded-demon-bitch,” Barry spits out, and Skeeter flings a cork coaster at his head.

  “She was Avan’s sister,” she says. “But she had a run-in with some devuxen . . . ”

  “They turned her, and she chose it,” Fionn says, still not taking his eyes away from the lake.

  “How did she mark me? Why would I have seen her? I don’t know her,” I stammer in my confusion.

  “She had to have been present in the reverie,” Claire says.

  “So she’s the one who . . . ” I trail off. I don’t say how she tossed me against the door, how she hit me while being across the room, or how Derik seemed to be able to control her to an extent.

  Seth stiffens beside me. I don’t look at him or seek out the bond. I know he picked up those thoughts.

  “We picked up her mark, because she used to be a Sorceress,” Fane says. “She and Avan were a powerful duo. When he met his lifemate, Rhenata went off the grid. When she surfaced, she was into dark dealings, and when Avan got to her, she was already turned.”

  I swallow. Avan is a Sorcerer. Rhenata, the evil woman from that attack, the one who wants to make me part of her “family,” is a devux and sorceress.

  Fane sits at the table with his head in his hands. He looks tired. Barry stands with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Fionn and me. Seth walks over to Fane and Barry, and begins talking to them.

  Henry comes over, grabbing my attention. “Things are getting weirder right? It’s not just me?” he whispers.

  I let out a painful chuckle and hold my side. “Don’t make me laugh,” I wheeze. “I have to agree with you on the weird scale. We’re going to meet a Sorcerer,” I whisper. “Behave yourself around that Avan guy when he gets here. I’ve heard you shouldn’t piss off a sorcerer.”

  He looks at me with a wounded expression. “Behaving is what I do best,” he says in mock innocence.

  I can’t hold my laugh and it makes me want to smack him.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, remembering how furious he was and how he took off.

  He slowly nods. “Er . . . Yea. I’m just worried about you and shocked I found my wolf.”

  My eyes go wide. “You . . . What?” I stutter.

  “Yeah.” He nods. “I couldn’t stay. It would’ve been bad, and no good for you. I’m surprised my growling and howling didn’t wake everyone up,” he shrugs.

  “You can shift?”

  He nods again. “My wolf isn’t as big as Barry’s, but I can bulk out some.” He beams. “I can’t control when I shift yet, that’s going to take some time to get used to.” He shakes his head. “Barry and Fane helped me a lot.” We both glance over to the other side of the kitchen, where Seth is still talking with them. I sigh, and Henry grunts like he agrees with what they’re saying. I can tell they’re talking, but I can’t make it out.

  I squint at Henry, “You have super-ears, too, don’t you?”

  He grins and winks. I’ll take that as a yes.

  His smile falters as his eyes focus on my cheek again. “Are you okay?” He asks me. I nod. “You need anything? Talk?” he asks through clenched teeth. I’m not sure if he’s more affected by me not talking about it, or what Derik actually did. I shake my head. I’m not ready to talk yet.

  I can’t remember everything that was said and done, but what I do remember, I’d rather forget.

  Sing-song taunts filter through the halls. Following me, stalking me, and teasing me. I escape through a door and get knocked down. I recover from the redhead’s kick and stand. I have to escape this hell. As soon as I’m free from these walls, I can get a hold of Henry, or Seth, or Barry. With traitor tears making tracks down my face, I shove past the redhead in a last ditch effort of escaping. She shoves me into the cement wall, and Derik, with his shrieking laugh, stops the redhead and helps me up. He grabs me by the face and licks the tears from my cheeks as he releases a pleasure-filled moan.

  Henry bumps my shoulder, bringing me back to the present. I wipe my face. “So, Skeeter crashed with you tonight? How’d that go?”

  His eyes travel to the floor and he shrugs. “She fell asleep on the couch waiting for you, I couldn’t just leave her. So, I told Barry to wait for you, and I took her to my room,” he looks back up to my face. “Before you say anything, I was a complete gentleman. She was under the covers, I wasn’t, and I made sure our hands were touching,” he yawns. “I actually kept waking up to make sure my hand didn’t slip,” he grins. “She talks in her sleep though,” he says, and looks over at Skeeter with a smile.

  I wonder what she said. “You like her, don’t you?”

  He shoots me a dirty look. “She’s our friend. Of course, I like her.”

  “Uh, huh.” I fight a smile. I know when my brother is hiding something from me.

  A white light flashes through the room. I use my hand to shield my eyes, but it lasts barely longer than a camera flash, but a whole lot brighter. When I move my hand away from my eyes, a man and a woman are standing on the deck, and Fionn is sliding the door open.

  The man is on the shorter side. Well, he’s shorter than the guys here, and he has olive toned skin with shaggy black hair that falls into his face. He wears form-fitting clothes that show off his muscle. Not at all what I expected. I suppose it’s stereotyping on my part, but honestly, the only exposure I’ve had was in books and movies.

  This guy is not an old wrinkly man with a long white beard and a staff that could be used as a cane. Or is that a wizard? What’s the difference?

  Fionn steps out of the way and they enter my house, allowing me to see the woman that the sorcerer guy brought with him.

  She’s my height with strawberry-blonde hair that hangs to her hips, a rainbow hippy wrap on part of her bangs that just reach her jaw. Her long sleeved white dress with gold accents fits her body like a glove.

  They each bow to Fane, and the woman’s eyes fly to mine.

  I take a step back and bump into someone. I can’t look away from the woman’s eyes to see who it is.

  Her amber eyes begin to glow, and I watch, in fascination, as her eyes change to a lovely shade of blue.

  My blue.

  My dad’s blue.

  Memories break through an imaginary barrier in my mind.

  The first day of school, meeting Skeeter, Seth, and Derik, and the argument with Derik in the lunch hall.

  I take a shallow breath.

  Every nasty look, snide remark or argument I’ve had with Derik in school run rampant in my mind like a raging bull.

  I try to look away but I’m paralyzed.

  Every tingly touch with Seth, every sweet word, every moment we’ve shared rolls through my mind like a twister in a valley.

  I clutch my side.

  Every joke, tease, and annoyance from the guys, dance and wiggle in the front of my mind.

  I begin to panic, I can’t move and I know what’s coming and I don’t want to relive
it.

  Every attack that I thought were just dreams, replays in my mind, and I can almost feel every gut wrenching second.

  I pant and feel tears stream down my face.

  I’m locked in the bathroom at my party again. I can hear him pounding on the door. I hear every threat all over again.

  I want it to end.

  I’m standing in the empty school, alone and afraid. I run through the halls only to have voices sing eerily, and lead me to the brightly lit gym with Derik and Rhenata. I hear every blood curdling laugh, every word that grates against nerves like nails to a chalkboard. I feel every slap, punch, and kick. I feel Derik’s tongue on my cheek as he licked the tears from face. I feel the cold pain and loss of Seth. I hear them repeat that I’m special, that I need to be in their family. And I feel the despair and acceptance when I stopped reacting. I laid there on the hard floor and waited for them to end me or change me. That’s when I woke up.

  I gasp, clutching my side and the person behind me, so I don’t fall. The woman’s eyes stop glowing and have gone back to normal.

  “I am so sorry,” she breathes out as she clutches her gut and leans into the man.

  A tingling sensation travels up my arm. I turn to him, and he lightly wraps his arms around me. I breathe in his spicy scent and rest my head against his chest.

  That woman with the freaky eyes can leave me the hell the alone. What was that? What is she? Who are these people?

  I glare over to a very irritated looking Fane and Fionn. Damn them for “helping.” That so did not help.

  The couple starts moving towards me, and I can’t help but cringe. If the woman did that to me, I can’t imagine what the guy is going to do.

  Seth rubs my arms lightly, in a calming way. “Avan,” he says, and I feel him nod.

  “I’m not going to do anything, Jasmine. I come bearing gifts,” he says, and then they both bow to me. I’m not royalty. Why bow to me?

  “It’s a customary greeting,” Avan says looking directly into my eyes.

  My breathing and heart completely stop, as my eyes bulge and mouth pops open.

  “Please forgive me, my name is Avan, and this is my lifemate, Charlotte. We haven’t been around new people in so long, that it seems I have forgotten my manners.”

  I recover on the slow side. “Please call me Jaz. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say calmer than I feel.

  Fane gets their attention, and they walk to him.

  “He’s a mind reader,” Seth whispers after they’re across the room. My eyes fly to Avan, steering away from Charlotte’s. No wonder he answered a question that I didn’t ask out loud.

  I stay silent, standing in my bubble of comfort in Seth’s arms, and next to my brother. The beating of Seth’s heart is all I care to listen to at the moment, so it’s easy to block everything else out. Unfortunately, the reprieve wasn’t long enough, as Avan moves to stand in front of me again.

  “Jasmine, I have something for you,” Avan says, as he reaches in the pocket of his jacket. “This is a Painite stone, embedded in silver,” he says spinning the cuff bracelet so I can see it. “You must wear this, at all times. Do not take it off for any reason. The symbols are a protection spell,” he points to etchings marked along the silver. “You will be safe to sleep, even on your own, but the added protection of your mate will be beneficial,” his eyes shift between Seth and I before placing the bracelet on my wrist. It heats with contact to my skin. At first, the warmth feels nice, but soon the warmth turns into a searing burn that I feel into my bones. The cuff glows, and I squeal.

  Barry and Henry both growl.

  Seth bristles. “What’s that thing doing to her?” He demands.

  I glance around in shock.

  “It’s recognizing her, so it knows what to protect from. It has recognized that she has a mate, so it will not protect her from your connection. It does not allow me to rummage through her mind. I can only receive current thoughts from her. It is protecting her already,” Avan says calmly.

  I grab Seth’s hand. “I’m okay,” I say. He only nods as he eyes the bracelet. I look down to it as well. The gem is a reddish brown. It’s pretty but not something I would have picked on my own. “This will prevent the attacks?” I ask, skeptically.

  “Yes. This will protect you from any attack from the devuxen, the exception being physical,” he glances to Fane and Seth before continuing. “You should practice defensive moves. They will be useless on the supernatural, until the Ichor develops you, but it might help you to deflect another hit to your face,” he says eyeing my cheek.

  I suck in a breath and turn away from Avan. I glance to Henry and see him watching Skeeter. She’s been awfully quiet all night. She’s sitting next to her grandpa, eyeing Avan and Charlotte. She doesn’t seem to trust them.

  Charlotte moves to the spot that Avan has vacated. “Would it be alright if we meet tomorrow? I’d like to have the opportunity to talk with you,” she smiles shyly.

  My brows furrow. “Um, okay?” I blow out a breath. “I’ll probably be with Seth, where would you like to talk?”

  “If you guys will be at the house, Avan, Charlotte, you are more than welcome in our home,” Luke offers.

  She smiles brightly. “I will see you there.”

  I have no clue what we will talk about. I hope she has something in particular to say to me, or else we might just be listening to crickets.

  I yawn, and Seth tells Fane he’s taking me up to bed.

  Fionn comes over to me. “Feelin’ okay, girseach?” He asks and motions to my ribs.

  I nod. “Fionn, what do you keep calling me?”

  He smiles. “Girseach? Jus some Gaelic dat’s tuck wit me. It means girl.” He nods when I smile, and then walks away.

  Seth waits in my room while I take a shower. It feels good to scrub myself clean, but I still feel grimy. No way to scrub your memories though. Skeeter comes in when I shut off the water to help rewrap my ribs. She doesn’t say much, other than telling me that we’ll talk in the morning. I give her a hug and thank her for everything before retreating to my room.

  Sleep would be nice, but I have a feeling Seth wants to talk. I just don’t know what he’ll want to talk about now. Love or demon attacks? I’m not sure which one I feel like talking about. I’ll go with neither, and talk to him about Henry.

  With a plan formed, I push my door open, and suck in a breath when I see the shirtless, perfectly sculpted body lying on my bed. My eyes linger on his sun kissed abs, all six of them. There’s six alright, I know this because even from across the room, I can see and count them. I peel my eyes from his body to his face, and feel my cheeks heat. He caught me ogling him.

  I gulp and climb in bed beside him. He opens his arms to me, and I sink into his light embrace.

  Chapter 18

  Elementary Style

  I begin to doze off, listening to the beat of Seth’s heart, and his breathing. He sighs heavily, pulling me from almost sleep. I raise my head to see his face, and raise my brow when he glances my way.

  “What were you thinking before the reverie?” He finally asks me.

  I grimace. “Did you see Henry watching Skeeter all night?” I ask, changing the subject.

  He smirks. “I did notice. No, I don’t think anything will happen between them. You’re not getting out of this by switching topics.”

  “Fine,” I glare at him. “I thought about you, my dad, what happened in the bathroom, and tried to figure out a way to end this, without anyone getting hurt.” He nods and looks away, lost in thought I assume. I don’t want him to be so inside his head. “When you think about the future, what do you see?”

  His eyes find mine and he smiles. “You,” he says and kisses my nose. “I see us, getting through college, and finding careers . . . ” he drifts off. “What do you see when you think about the future?”

  “Oh, well, I see going to college, and joining a sorority, finding frat brothers to have a little fun with at some wild parties,” he
starts to tickle me, and I laugh through the pain. “Ow! I give! Uncle! Uncle!”

  He glares. “I know it’s cheating since you’re handicapped,” he says, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I won’t tickle anymore if you tell me,” he says with twitchy fingers that make me squirm. “Tell me,” he whispers.

  I gaze into his eyes, fighting the giggle from his light tickling, and unsure if I should tell him all my hopes for our future. I settle on telling him part of it. “Okay, I see us staying in a crappy apartment because we can’t find our perfect house.” I close my eyes. “We love that little apartment though. It has everything we need, and it’s decorated just how we like it. I can see moving to a new area, a new state, and having our variety of companions follow. I can see going to our niece and nephew’s Christenings. I can see disagreements and bickering, romantic evenings, and lazy days.” I keep my eyes closed and rest my head on his chest, with a small smile.

  “Look at me please,” he whispers. Slowly, I tilt my head and open my eyes to his smiling face. “A crappy apartment?” He laughs and kisses my lips. Just as I’m relaxing into him, he pulls back suddenly.

  “So, is it Sam or Henry that make us Aunt and Uncle first?” He laughs, and I try desperately not to.

  ***

  In the morning, Seth sneaks out the window, again, so Skeeter and I can get our girl time in.

  Skeeter and I sit at the table and look at the mini-mountain of gifts. I have no energy to open them, let alone write “thank you” more than a dozen times.

  “Hey! Starbucks gift card!” Skeeter shouts as she opens an envelope.

  “Score!” I snatch it from her and slip it in my pocket. “How was Grave Stalkers last night with the guys?”

  She groans. “Don’t ask.”

  “You know I’m going to, just tell me,” I say, as I write thank you inside the card with a short message.

  “Things were fine, at first. I sat between Henry and Barry, and I was surrounded with warmth and junk food and pop,” she spits like that’s the worst fate anyone could have. I chew on my cheek to keep from smiling or laughing, as she dumps the contents of a gift bag on the table. “I was overstuffed and totally warm and comfy, I passed out on Henry’s shoulder.”