“Can I see them? Please?”
He looked around the room carefully and finally nodded his head, just once. “They should be upstairs. You have fifteen minutes before I come looking for you. And you will not leave my side again tonight. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly.”
I bounded up the stairs and walked straight into chaos. There was no other description for the complete bedlam happening upstairs. Women ran back and forth from room to room while twenty-one year old girls screamed out outrageous commands and impossible instructions. Makeup and hair products scattered every surface; clothes piled up on the floor and hung from door frames and bed posts. A food table remained completely untouched; accessories and shoes made dangerous obstacles if you were not paying attention to where you were walking.
My heel tangled in a discarded diamond choker that looked vintage and I heard a sickening crack as I reclaimed my pointed shoe.
Oops.
I peeked in room after room, searching for Anaxandra and Evaleen. I kept meeting girls I’d never seen before. They looked me over with a competitive sneer and went back to their primping.
I could tell these girls had no idea what they were in for tonight. An air of excitement ignited the atmosphere; most of them demanded the best of everything, while anticipating the auction and wanting to be sold for a good price.
Ana and Eva were just like these girls not six weeks ago. And then Nix had sent them into the real world and they’d come back broken, damaged and inconsolable. These girls had no idea the hell that awaited them on the other side of the auction.
Didn’t they want a choice to whom they gave this gift? Didn’t they want something that came with love, or at least affection? How about mutual respect?
I thought about my first time… I thought about Ryder and what it would be like. There was love at the foundation, there was respect and consideration. He would do everything to make me feel comfortable, to make me feel safe and secure. We would treat the experience with reverence and amazement. He would respect me and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I could trust him.
At the very least I knew he would never buy that experience.
If we ever… er… if it ever happened it would be a mutual decision.
And then I thought about what it would be like if I didn’t escape and that night was spent with Nix. My entire body went cold and I had to fight away the panic before it consumed me. I couldn’t even imagine what horror awaited me behind those closed doors. Humiliation. Domination. Cruelty. No consideration for me. Possibly pain. Possibly a lot of pain. No respect. No trust. No sweetness or happiness. Just the one thing that was mine and only mine being ripped away from me by a sadistic man that would use me one night and then find someone else the next night.
I walked into the master bedroom, the last room the girls could possibly be in. This room was as disheveled as every other. Thalia was going to be pissed.
I heard sound coming from the bathroom, so I quietly walked over and poked my head in.
“Ana, you have to stop crying,” Exie soothed her sister. “I’m never going to get your makeup on if you don’t stop crying.”
My friends worked with their older sisters in an attempt to beautify them for the auction. They were gorgeous girls… it shouldn’t take anything to make them the bombshells Nix required. But, Ana was still covered in bruises. Her eyes were still swollen and black and blue; her jaw had turned a sickly shade of yellow. Her throat bore the telltale fingerprint marks as if he had branded them into her skin. She was shaking and silently crying, completely wretched.
Evaleen on the other hand didn’t even appear to be alive. She looked like a made-up corpse. Her white Grecian wrap dress, something all the girls were forced to wear, hung over her shoulders attractively and hugged her thin frame like it was supposed to. Her makeup had been done perfectly: smoky eyes, bronzed cheek bones, glossy pink lips that pouted prettily. Her hair had been braided over her pale shoulder with lots of smaller braids and flowers woven through the rest. She was perfection personified. Except that her eyes had no life, her shoulders drooped with some invisible weight that physically pushed her down and I would bet my freedom that if I touched her skin it would be ice cold.
Sloane put some finishing touches on Eva’s hair and frowned down at her older sister. Sloane’s own fingers shook and I could feel her fear from here as if it were a tangible force in the room.
I tapped my fingers on the marble countertop and drew their attention. “Hi, ladies.”
“Make her stop crying, Ives. I can’t do her makeup like this. She can’t go down there if we don’t… if she doesn’t…” Exie’s own tears slid down her cheeks and the makeup brush dropped from her trembling hands and clattered to the floor.
“It doesn’t matter what I look like,” Anaxandra sobbed. “He’s already promised to bid on me no matter what.”
My soul split down the middle with her revelation. I felt my insides shake and tremble with the truth of tonight’s proceedings. I was a building earthquake, a rumbling volcano, a swirling tornado. I would not let this happen to them. I would not let Nix get away with destroying their lives.
I had powers.
The Fates had promised me powers. Eryn had spoken against them. I had seen them in action. I put Sam in an accident that destroyed his life.
I pulled out my credit card and thrust it at Anaxandra.
She looked down at the simple black card and back up at me with wide eyes. “What’s this?’
“Not much.” I took a breath and then gave them my makeshift plan. “There’s three thousand on there. But it’s not going to last long. Nix will be able to find you as soon as you use it, but hopefully you’ll get a head start.”
Anaxandra shook her head at me, blonde curls swinging wildly. “Ivy… I can’t-”
I shut the door to the bathroom and cut off her argument. “Listen to me.” Everyone leaned in, even Evaleen. “I saw the program on the way over. You two are first. You’ll go through the auction but then Crete and Ky will sit through the rest of the program. That will be your chance. Maybe steal a car? Or do you have a car here?”
“My mom does,” Sloane offered.
“Take her car and drive. I think it’s too risky to fly out of Omaha. Get cash as soon as you can or that card might be shut down. Use your powers. Trade in the car, get more money. Do whatever you have to in order to get as far from here as you can. Go somewhere crowded and busy. Stick to the big cities. Leave your cell phones, but take this number.” I scribbled Ryder’s number on a piece of discarded makeup packaging with eyeliner. “Memorize it. Don’t lose it. That’s how you can tell us where you are. That’s a safe number, I promise. Get as far from here as possible and disappear. In two weeks, I’ll have my trust. Keep calling that number for updates. I’ll send for you as soon as I have the money. We’ll all go away together. We’ll be safe.”
Hope bloomed in the four pairs of eyes that watched me with fascinated horror. They wanted to believe this would work as much as I did, but we all knew the chances… we all knew what was at stake.
“If they catch us?” Eva asked.
“Don’t let them. No matter what you do, don’t let them catch you.”
“How will we leave? Nix has guards here tonight. He has people watching every exit,” Anaxandra offered practically.
I sucked in a quick breath, “I’ll create a diversion.”
Sloane’s eyebrows flew up into her hairline. “What kind of diversion?”
“I’ll… I’ll sing.” A shudder racked my body and my hands tingled from nerves. I had never sung in my life. Not one bar of melody or even a few words with a song on the radio. Ever since I could remember I had been explicitly forbidden from singing. There were things Nix wanted from me, power, control, and manipulation. Those things could be gained simply by my presence, more so if I upped my charm. But singing was like… was like asking for major trouble. It wasn’t something that pulled at men’s attention; it d
emanded it, sharp and forcefully. Addictively. It was death, destruction and despair. It was a Fury’s vengeance, or the Fate’s cutting their string. It was as bad as anything and all it took was a few little notes of song. I had never heard of recent events in which a Siren had used her voice. Nothing as dangerous had happened in the last few thousand years. But the legend stuck with us and we were all raised to keep our mouths shut.
It confused me how the power that Nix, the Fates and my mom waited for from me was different than a song. I wondered if they even knew. They looked at an isolated accident as proof that our powers would be restored, but yet we didn’t use the one power that never left us.
I guess we were all about to find out.
I leveled them with a grave stare. “Whatever happens when I start singing, get the hell out of here. It’s our only chance. And stay hidden. Even if you starve for the next two weeks and live on the street, it’s only temporary, I swear. We will meet again.”
Exie dug around in her purse and pulled out two credit cards of her own. “Use these, too. Do what Ivy said, get cash. Get out. Change cars as soon as you can. Even if you have to steal it.”
“We can’t do this,” Anaxandra argued. “They will kill us.”
“We’re already dead,” Evaleen stood up and seemed stronger than she had in weeks. Tears wet my eyes when I saw her spirit return. “If I don’t do this, I’m dead no matter what. Ana, look at what he did to you. Do you think you’ll survive the night? It’s now or never.”
Anaxandra stood up and stopped crying. This was the first time I’d seen her with dry eyes since before the cocktail party in which I’d first been introduced to Hades and Ares. Light returned to those crystal blue eyes and she took a steadying breath.
“Your right,” she whispered lowly. “We’re dead no matter what.”
Ana passed one of the cards to Eva and the girls tucked them into their bras. In the old days it was rumored the slaves were auctioned naked. I was never more thankful for those gaudy white dresses and the pushup bras they wore underneath.
The girls wrapped their arms around their sisters and whispered frantic goodbyes and promises to see each other soon. I stood watching them, hardly believing this was actually happening.
My entire life had circled the drain of this cult, waiting for the day I would be washed down the pipes into another tragic oblivion like all the girls before me. Nobody left. Nobody got out. We just got older and more deeply imbedded in the sickness and poison. I had planned to escape my entire life but until this moment had never done a single thing to make that happen. When Sam crashed and I watched his entire world crumble, all I did was throw a fit and have a breakdown. I didn’t try to fix my situation. I didn’t try to leave.
Sure, now I was making plans. But that was because I had Ryder to motivate me. If he wasn’t constantly the voice of reason in my world of chaos, I didn’t know what I would be like now… or if I would have had the strength to push Ana and Eva out the door.
I had thrown this plan together in all of two minutes. I didn’t know if it would work. And I didn’t have enough optimism left in me to believe that all of us could be free one day very soon. But we had to try. We had to do whatever it took to get them out of this; because like Eva said, they were already dead.
If they stayed, they wouldn’t survive the night.
I looked at Anaxandra with her battered body. That was Ky’s idea of foreplay. He would beat her to death tonight.
I watched Eva squeeze her sister in a tight hug. Her sad eyes, her broken spirit… she wouldn’t survive either. Crete would suck away her soul until she was a gaping black hole of despair. He was the god of the underworld. Maybe he wouldn’t even wait for her to fade before he took her back to whatever hell he inhabited.
Ana walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me. She was crying again, but these were happier tears. “Thank you, Ivy. Thank you for everything. You should hate me… us. You should want the worst for us after everything that’s happened.”
“No! No, I could never hate you. I just want you safe, Ana. I just want you out of this. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I see that now,” she hugged me tighter. “We’ll see you in a couple weeks though, alright? Promise me, you won’t ever give up getting out. No matter what happens please get out. Please get free.”
Emotion clogged my throat. “I promise.”
She left me to go back to Exie and Eva stepped up next. She wrapped me in a much gentler hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. Tears hit my bare shoulder as her relief leaked from her eyes. “Thank you for setting me free.”
“It hasn’t happened yet,” I forced myself to remind her.
She pulled back and gave me the full force of her dark brown eyes. “It doesn’t matter what happens, I know I will be free again. You reminded me of that. You’ve given me the gift of freedom no matter what happens.”
My chin quivered as I struggled to hold back my own tears. There was a meaning to her words I couldn’t make myself comprehend. It hovered on the edges of my understanding just out of reach. It felt important but impossible to realize at the same time. I felt the weight of her words. I felt the heaviness and honesty she spoke with
We were doing this. And no matter what happened. I felt victory that Anaxandra and Evaleen agreed to this crazy plan. They hadn’t given up hope. Even if they lost their way for a little while they realized they needed and deserved a better life.
I let that feeling wrap around me and expand the small flame of hope that burned in my soul. If they could do it, so could I. Just a few more weeks and we would all be free.
Chapter Eighteen
We said a real goodbye after that. Exie, Sloane and I dried our tears, freshened up our makeup and left Eva and Ana to finish getting ready. We walked downstairs and into the backyard where the auction would take place.
I left my friends so that we wouldn’t draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves and found Nix and my mom immediately. Nix wrapped an arm around my waist and held me against his body.
Perspiration beaded along my forehead and I struggled not to break out into a full-fledged disheveled mess. The end-of July heat thickened the heavy air and the torches lining the perimeter of Sloane’s landscaped stone patio only intensified the heat. Nix’s body radiated warmth and sickly heat and added with the crushing nervousness I felt; my entire body was in danger of becoming a fountain of sweat and anxiety.
I pulled back a little and rose up on my tiptoes so I could survey the party. I needed some space from Nix but I was also playing the pliant card. I let loose whatever stores of charm and seduction I usually tried to oppress and smiled winningly at him. He gave me a curious look but eventually turned back to his conversation with Isadora.
I noticed that all three Fates seemed to hover close by. They hadn’t acknowledged me yet, but not one of them was beyond an arm’s reach. They seemed to be watching the party as intently as I was. Their scrutinizing gazes cut through the guests like laser beams. They had reason to be wary though. This was a veritable feast of debauchery and evil.
There was a heavy mixture of men and women although I knew the women would not be bidding. Still, all of the mothers of the auction candidates were here along with two of the goddesses that had joined Nix’s coup. Ananke, who was called Nan in today’s modern world. She was the goddess of compulsion. And Aphrodite, the goddess of love and pleasure, who was now called Aria. Both women milled about with cocktails in their hands with their ancient beauty on full display.
The male gods had come out in full force tonight as well. Dionysus, also known as Eli, stood by the bar making sure everyone had their fill of libations. This made sense since he was the god of wine. Erebus, who now went by Evo, and his son Hypnos, who was now called Leith, stood talking with Eros, the god of desire. Evo was the god of desire and his son Leith, the god of sleep. Moros was also here; the god of doom had not changed his name to fit into modern civilization. Neither had Chaos, the god of w
ell, chaos. And then there was Thanatos, the god of death who now went by Daemon.
There was a host of other men. I didn’t know if they were all part of the Pantheon or just invited guests with cash to spend, but they seemed as comfortable mingling with these people as anyone else so I wondered if they weren’t demigods or other mythical creatures.
The girls had been right about all the exits. They were guarded by extremely tall, muscled men that carried big guns and looked seconds away from ripping someone’s head off. The Gigantes. I had only ever heard rumors of their existence… I’d never actually seen them in the flesh before.
But all the rumors were true. They were as scary, ugly and big as all the legends.
I swallowed back my blooming fear. I could do this. I had to do this.
This might come at a terrible price, but I knew Nix would not kill me. I knew I would still have a chance to escape in a couple weeks. The pain and punishment would be temporary. And I could live through it.
I’d lived through it this far.
“I’m running the auction,” Nix leaned into my ear as if he was an actual date and he felt the need to be considerate.
I stifled the eye roll.
“Okay,” I told him. That actually worked better for me. If he wasn’t near me I would have precious more moments to execute the plan.
“I want you to stay with Isadora. She will watch over you while I step away.” His palm pressed into the small of my back possessively. Each of his fingers spread out on my skin like a searing brand and the tone in his voice made alarm bells clang together in my head.
“I told you I would cooperate tonight,” I snapped. I didn’t really feel that much irritation, but I wanted an explanation for why I needed a babysitter.
He leaned down and brushed a slow kiss against my cheek. “For once Ivy, these precautions have nothing to do with what I’m afraid you will do.” And then he left. I clasped my hands together in front of me to keep from wiping at the kiss that still burned like acid against my cheek. I gripped my fingers so tightly they soon lost feeling.
The Fall (The Siren Series) Page 20