by Arreyn Grey
Elise knew what she had to do to get his attention away from Alex. Taking a deep breath, she reached for her power. She may be a raw beginner, she thought, but there was something she'd done successfully without even thinking about it, years before she ever knew what she was. Elise wrapped her power around herself like an embrace, the vision Alex had shown her of the Queen-- that day on his bed what felt like a lifetime ago-- bright in her mind's eye.
“Rashid,” she called softly, and heard her voice echo in the bare rafters and dank corners of the warehouse. In the dimness, she saw his eyes widen. “Come see me.” She held out a hand, and didn't have to look to know that the gesture was impossibly graceful.
Languidly, as if he were suddenly dreaming, Rashid straightened almost imperceptibly and came toward her. “Yes, kitten?” His normally aloof tone was just a little rough.
“I want to talk about our relationship, dear,” she purred, calling on the half-forgotten habits she'd pushed aside when she came to Willowdale. The part of her mind that flinched, that remembered and screamed and cried, she shoved deeper inside than ever before, locked in an impenetrable vault with no key-- playing this role would require her to be open to him, and she couldn't allow him to catch the slightest hint of hesitation.
“I thought you wanted our relationship to be strictly professional,” Rashid murmured as he came nearer. Behind him, she could see that Alex was staring at her as well, his jaw open-- beyond him, she caught the barest hint of Sarah, frozen as well. That wouldn't do-- Elise needed her to work, and work fast. Swallowing hard, she concentrated, narrowing the cone of her focus until it rested sharply on Rashid. By the time he was beside her, she saw a hunger burning in his eyes that she had incited there.
“So did I,” she whispered seductively, making him lean toward her to hear. “But the future is beginning to look long, and a little cold.” She felt his mind pressing against hers and opened to him the part of her, so long hidden, that wanted to be held, to be touched, to be admired and loved. “What are you going to do about that?”
He reached out, stroking a hand across her shoulder and down her side, and she willed that her shiver was one of desire. His dark-honey eyes bored into hers as his hands met at the small of her back and traced up her spine, pulling her close-- and she gasped, barely holding onto her power when he gripped her hair tightly. “Let me show you,” he sighed, using her hair to drag her head back so the words breathed across the skin of her throat. She couldn't stop the pulse of fear that shot through the core of her power when he bent her back, but she chased it instantly with a shot of lust that tightened her body and his.
Her hands lifted, almost of their own accord, to comb through his long hair, pulling it from his ponytail and tangling in the strands as his lips brushed against her throat. Elise let out a sharp cry, gripping his hair tightly when she felt his teeth close on the meat of her neck, and she shuddered in his arms, riding the sensation as it edged the line between pain and pleasure. Suddenly, it wasn't difficult to keep her focus sharpened on Rashid-- she forgot anyone else was even in the room. A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered a forgotten lesson that her power was a double-edged sword.
"We'll make a good pair, you and I," Rashid murmured into her hair, the bass in his voice vibrating through her.
Elise all but purred under his skilled touch, highly aware of every inch of her skin as his fingers moved across her body. “Mmmm,” she replied sensuously, going limp in his arms.
“But you're going to have to do better than this,” his voice was still rough, but it was sharper, his hands on her body suddenly restraining. She froze, chilled to the bone by the fear that shot through her-- he'd broken her control. “You are so very, very potent,” he whispered hotly as his arms tightened around her, becoming painful. Elise whimpered, struggling helplessly against his punishing grasp. “But you have so much to learn.” Her feet left the ground as he straightened up, pulling her with him. She kicked at him ineffectively, opening her mouth to scream-- this wasn't part of the plan.
And then she was falling, an animal's growling roar echoing in her ears as Rashid was torn from her embrace.
It took a second for Elise's mind to grasp what had happened. By that point, Gregory had already caught her, and was pulling her out of harm's way, deeper into the shadows beside one of the piles of crates. Elise stumbled before she found her balance, leaning on his arms as she recollected herself and looked around.
The chair where Alex had been tied lay on its side, twisted and warped, with the ropes that had bound him in tatters beside it. A few steps away, he and Sarah wrestled with Rashid, who was roaring his fury as he swiped at them. It was immediately clear that despite fighting together, Sarah and Alex were outmatched. “It's because of your exchange with Rashid,” Gregory muttered distractedly, not really paying attention as he answered her thought. “He's on a high right now. And he sucked Alexander nearly dry while he waited for you-- Sarah had to feed Alexander just to get him on his feet.”
Rashid's increased power was demonstrated just then as he moved faster than Elise had ever seen. One second, Sarah was raining blows on his face and abdomen, her own movements so rapid they blurred before Elise's eyes, and the next second, Rashid had caught Sarah's left arm mid-punch. She heard Sarah let out a harsh grunt, and a moment later, heard a sickening, wet crack. Gregory tensed, and Elise had to fight the urge to be sick as she saw Sarah's arm fall to her side at a twisted, unnatural angle.
But while Rashid was occupied with Sarah, Alex had circled around behind him, and now locked his arm around Rashid's throat, bowing the other man backward as they grappled. Elise gaped at Sarah as she seemed to ignore her ruined limb and pursued the pair, taking advantage of Rashid's predicament to land a solid kick in his abdomen, and then another. Rashid crumpled in on himself, putting more pressure on his throat, and for a moment Elise thought that would be it. Her heart was in her throat and butterflies stirred up a tornado in her stomach as she watched.
And then Rashid, still doubled over and struggling against Alex's grip, jerked and twisted and rolled his body-- and sent Alex flying over his shoulder, straight into Sarah. The latter let out a hoarse cry as Alex landed on top of her, but in an instant, Alex was back on his feet. Sarah was slower getting up, and Elise didn't want to think about the blood that was trailing onto the floor behind her as the two of them circled the grinning Rashid. The tension was nauseating, and she watched through eyes the size of saucers as Alex and Sarah closed in on their adversary again.
Elise could see the disadvantage Sarah was at, fighting with only one arm-- so could Rashid, who focused on her with singular fury. Rashid threw an elbow into Alex's face, sending him reeling, and then ignored him as he pummeled Sarah's face and bad shoulder. Sarah tried to defend herself, ducking out of the way and raising her good arm, but in a few seconds Rashid caught her with a blow to the chin that sent her sprawling several feet away. This time, she didn't rise.
“We have to do something!” Elise cried, struggling against Gregory's suddenly restraining grip, but as tense as he was-- she could feel the palpable force of his desire to go to his sister-- he held her tightly.
“We can't,” he hissed, shaking her slightly to keep her attention. “If Sarah can't fight him, neither of us stands a chance. And you can't distract Rashid without catching Alexander as well.” Elise bit her lip until she tasted blood, knowing he was right but hating the feeling of helplessness that swept over her.
Another low growl brought her attention swiftly to Alex, who had ducked under a wild swing from Rashid to bring his fist up into the other man's gut. Rashid responded with a short jab to Alex's temple that left him stumbling-- he followed it with a knee to Alex's stomach that made Elise flinch. Rashid grabbed Alex by his shoulders, forcing him to stay on his feet while he delivered a vicious head-butt, sending Alex staggering into a stack of pallets hard enough to shatter the wood. Alex fell heavily into the splintery pile, and once again Gregory had to tighten his arms
to keep Elise from running to him.
But then-- Elise barely saw him move-- Alex was on his feet again, something clutched in his hand. Elise gasped sharply.
She saw it in slow motion-- the jagged bit of pipe in Alex's hand, Rashid's arm coming up defensively-- and she suddenly knew with absolute surety that one of them was going to die in this fight. This was too personal, and too long-coming, for it to end any other way. In an instant of clarity, Elise knew that she couldn't let either of them perish tonight-- and yet she was powerless to stop it.
Powerless...
Not now! She thought desperately. But the memories pressed against her consciousness, fighting her grip on her own mind. She was shocked to realize, however, that she wasn't resisting memories of her own past-- it was the story of the other, unnamed omnivore Alex and Gregory had told her about weeks ago, the one who had died in a struggle to control him. Helpless, impotent rage swept through her-- for all her supposed strength, Elise was just like him, just a pawn.
No, she told herself fiercely. She whispered it aloud: “No.” And suddenly, it was true, just as it had been true in Allison Springs a month ago-- she wasn't powerless.
The little ball of energy in her chest exploded, filling her with radiant fury. Elise shrugged Gregory off effortlessly and stood. “Enough,” she snapped in the voice of an avenging angel. The word echoed in the broken rafters, and with it swept a wave of her power, which shoved Rashid and Alex apart as easily as if they were toys, pressing them back against stacks of crates more than ten feet apart. “That's enough,” she repeated, stepping forward until she was nearly between them. Her hands shook with the force of her anger at them all for making her feel this helpless; she could feel her rage trembling through her energy, making her veins hum. From the corner of her eye, she saw Gregory all but fly to his sister's side; she ignored him.
To her left, Rashid began to struggle against her power; Elise wasn't sure whether she was relieved or concerned that Alex seemed compliant, but she'd worry about him in a minute. She turned to Rashid. “Stop that,” she chastised, scowling at the writhing man as she pressed him harder into the rough wooden crates. After a moment, he gave in, glaring death at her as he subsided into stillness; she pulled back enough that he could breathe easily, but kept herself very carefully shielded from him. After her discovery of his duplicity in stealing her hair, what little trust she'd developed in him had evaporated. “Now, listen.” Elise planted her hands on her hips, thinking hard-- what did she want to say to him, beyond the fact that she refused to let him die? And why wouldn't she let him die, exactly? The crystal-clear memory of Alex's bloody clothes and vacant expression begged the question, revitalized the rage that threatened to drain away from her.
“You're right,” she sighed simply. Rashid's eyes widened as he watched her speak. “The world is out of balance-- once you pointed it out to me, I could feel it.” She shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “But I meant what I said about looking the Queen in the eyes; I'm going to do that, and see a good deal more of the world, before I make up my mind what I'd like to do about it.” Elise held up a hand when Rashid opened his mouth to argue. “I'm aware that I may not have a lot of time to decide; I watch the news, I know that there are more than a few wealthy and powerful countries edging toward another world war. But I will not be pressured or blackmailed into acting rashly.” She took a deep breath and continued firmly. “You will have your answer in a year. I am finishing my senior year of high school, taking the summer to tour as much of the world as I can, and then starting college. If-- if-- at the end of next October, I have decided to go along with your plan, we will make arrangements to act upon it.”
Rashid's eyes were narrowed furiously as he considered her words. Elise watched him carefully, because although she still held him in place, his mind was closed to her; she couldn't tell what he was thinking. But she watched as his rage all but abated in favor of blatant avarice that was tinged with awe. “Hearing about it is one thing,” he breathed, so quietly she barely caught the words. “But it is another thing entirely to witness the extent of your power.”
Elise didn't even want to think about what he meant by hearing about her, but she couldn't suppress a dry, choked laugh. “You haven't yet,” she told him. “You haven't seen all that I can do. So do you still want me by your side, knowing that I could turn on you like this, that at any moment I can overpower you?”
Rashid looked her dead in the eye, his own gaze dark and unreadable. Elise could feel him gathering power, but couldn't tell quite what he was doing-- and then suddenly, she felt her grip slipping off of him as if he was made of glass. She stumbled a little as her power slid to his side, and he straightened up, smiling wryly. “We will work on that,” he chuckled, much less condescendingly than Elise would have expected. She felt a cold prickle of fear at the base of her skull as she faced him on even ground, stripped of allies and distractions. Clenching her damp hands into fists, Elise forced herself not to take a step back, to face him down from less than five feet away and make him understand that she was not to be trifled with.
“Yes,” she replied coolly. “I certainly will.” She put her hands on her hips once more, making her posture dominant but trying to keep away from aggression-- she didn't want to antagonize him, only make him agree with her. “One year,” she reiterated. He cocked an eyebrow at her arrogantly, which served only to irritate her. “Look, Rashid, I can't make an informed decision right now. If you continue to press me, you won't like my answer.”
Anger flashed through his eyes again. “I will give you your time, child,” he snapped, seeming out of patience. “But what precisely is going to hold you to this? You have just showed me that there are few depths to which you will not sink to deceive me.” A chill swept through Elise as she understood what he was talking about, remembered what had just happened between them as she tried desperately to distract him from Alex. A flash of memory-- his powerful arms holding her, pressing her against his hard body, and his beard scratching across the skin of her throat as his lips and teeth teased at her senses-- made her breathe in sharply, her body tightening. Across the few feet between them, Rashid grinned, leaving her no doubt that he was responsible for her abrupt and vivid recollection. Grinding her teeth, she deliberately reinforced her shield, pushing him away from her mind.
“You're going to have to trust me,” Elise said firmly. “You want me to trust that if I allow you into my life again next year, that you won't hurt me or the people I care about. So I require this time as a show of good faith.”
Rashid gave a snort, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the crates behind him. “You expect me to accept on faith that you will not reveal all of this when you go before the Queen? That you will somehow find a way to deceive her about your intentions, to keep her from locking you up in her Court so I can never get to you?”
Elise looked at him sidelong, trying to decide if he was just manipulating her again. She didn't want to believe that such a thing could happen, and yet, there had to be a reason that Alex and Gregory were so reluctant for her to go to the Court to begin with-- allowing Rashid to walk away without rejecting him outright couldn't possibly help her position. She bit her lip, swallowing hard so she could speak. “Yes. I expect you to believe that I will find a way. Understand, I don't like to lie; I don't enjoy doing it. But I am ruthless, and when people put me in a corner, I will do what I have to do. Let this be a lesson.”
He studied her intently, looking hard into her eyes; aware that the rest of her life could ride on this moment, Elise refused to blink, wouldn't let herself look away. The only sounds in the dark warehouse were ragged breathing; in the quiet, Elise could hear her own heart thundering. If he doesn't believe that I can do this, he could take me with him now, and I don't think there's anything I could do to stop him, she thought frantically. And yet... If I can't stop him, will I be able to fool the Queen? If she's really as powerful as everyone says, what chance do I stand? I'
m just a girl... Images flashed through her mind again, visions that would never truly leave her: being held down, helpless, forced; sitting silently in a hospital gown as people talked about her like she wasn't even there; sitting with her hands folded in the uncomfortable courtroom chair, listening to her friends tell lie after lie about her. Empty boxes littering the floor around her as she threw away everything from her old life, preparing to leave herself behind forever, to move to a new town where people wouldn't look at her, wouldn't blame her, wouldn't know. Locking herself away from people, from the world. No, she told herself for the second time that night, her mental voice firm and furious. I am through being the good girl and sitting quietly while other people decide my fate for me. I will make Rashid leave without me, and I will not let the Queen lock me away. Her back straightened, her chin lifted, and she met Rashid's stare with intense purpose.
“You have grown, even since I met you,” he said finally, his deep, accented voice neutral.
Elise narrowed her eyes. “I'm only getting started.”
Rashid nodded once, decisively. “Good.” Abruptly, he was moving toward her, but Elise stood her ground. When he reached her, he extended his hand.
“The first of November,” Rashid's voice sounded like a warning.
After a loaded moment, Elise shook his hand firmly. Rashid's dark-honey eyes bored into hers for a second longer, his warm, calloused hand encompassing hers. Elise knew she would never forget the intensity of his face in that instant.
And then he released her hand, and she felt the rush of air on her face. He was gone.
Elise whirled around at the sound of Alex's groan, turning just in time to see him sink to the floor. She rushed to his side and pulled his arm over her shoulders, slipping her own arm around his back to support his weight. “Alex, Alex I'm here,” she gasped frantically, but his eyes were closed and sweat shone on his pasty skin. Elise pressed the inside of her wrist against his clammy forehead; it was ice-cold.