by C. M. Owens
I don’t know or care what she’s talking about. I’m too busy trying to bust out.
It’s not working, even though I’m not just a damn anointed now. “Where are the kids?” I ask again, giving up the endeavor to break the bars.
She looks over her shoulder then back at me. “They won’t be here. Victor would have them at the secondary warehouse uptown. My great grandmother bought numerous properties in Pine Shore a long time ago.”
“Why?” I ask, leaning up closer as I curl my fingers around the bars separating us. She’s chained against the other bars, so she can’t come any closer.
“Pine Shore has always been a hot spot for paranormal activity, even though most of the paranormals aren’t even aware of it.”
Paranaormals… What will she think of me…?
“I’m not sure exactly how long ago, but at least twenty years ago or a little more, we all felt it. The day our bloodline was restored. So many generations had handed down stories that sounded like nothing more than grim fairytales and horror stories. But many of our kind believed in those stories, including my grandmother. I wasn’t a believer until the day one revealed himself to me…”
Her words break off and she clears her throat as I lean in even closer to the bars.
“When his eyes changed, something inside me started burning bright, and the light spilled over, consuming me. Somehow, I killed him before he could hurt me, but I don’t even know how I did it. After that, I moved back home just as your mother started having nightmares. Nightmares about our kind… Our world.”
“You lied. You and Mom both said you were sisters, yet Victor…”
I can’t even say what all Victor told me, because the taste of the words are too foul.
Her eyes sadden, and she nods. “I know,” she says weakly. “Your mother and I didn’t know your father was dead. We just knew he’d left. Saying we were sisters was easier than telling you the truth.”
“Mom wasn’t crazy,” I quickly point out. “And you let her rot in that asylum until she died.”
Her lips tighten, and she breathes in through her nose. “She couldn’t handle the truth, Leah. I never would have thought she was one of us, but she was. I pushed your mother into seeing the truth about who she was when she told me of her nightmares. She knew things only we could know. Her fragile mind couldn’t handle it, and she broke. She tried killing herself so many times. It drove her mad, made her too paranoid, and she eventually couldn’t separate her hallucinations from reality. One day, she swore you had glowing blue eyes, and she tried to kill you. She couldn’t see as I can, so I knew it was in her head and not real.”
I don’t remember any of that…
Her eyes narrow on mine. “Maybe she was just seeing the future.”
I swallow hard, picking up on what she’s insinuating.
“Be glad they can’t see it,” she goes on, not looking the least bit threatened by me, even though she apparently knows the truth.
“Victor said he killed my father.”
She nods slowly. “Victor is insane, but he couldn’t have killed your father. He just takes credit when he can. However, I know your father is dead. He never would have left me with Victor otherwise.
“I never knew how insane Victor is until it was too late. He taunts me with how naïve I was to trust him, and the only reason I’m alive is because of all the properties in my name. I refuse to sign them over, no matter what he does to me. You’d be surprised how valuable ownership is in this life. It’s the anchor to survival.”
“Why did he lock you up?”
“Because I turned on him when I figured out who he really is. Most of them are terrified of him, but no one will turn on him. This is what happens when you do.”
My chains rattle, and I curse when they refuse to break. I thought this part would be easier. Damn it!
“Why are they terrified? Because he’s crazy? They outnumber him,” I growl.
Freaking cowards.
“Victor’s family have been archivists for centuries,” she says on a sigh. “He never went to school, just like all of his family before him. He knows every trick and truth about this world. He’s also the only one who knows how to forge anointed weapons. That alone makes him indispensable. Which is why he hoards the coveted information and refuses to share. It’s his power chip, and it keeps him in charge. Leah, he knows more about the paranormals than they know about themselves.”
That’s sure as hell not comforting.
A door in the distance slams, and a few more lights flick on. Heavy footfalls taunt the silence, echoing and resounding like an executioner’s foreboding warning. As more lights come on, I take in the fact there are several cells around us. What the hell is this place?
As a silhouette slowly comes into view, my heart hammers in my chest. Victor leads five men into our little prison, and his lips twist into a scary grin when he sees me.
“Glad to see you two have reunited,” he says coldly. “You’ll have a little while longer to speak.”
He turns and heads into a cell in the corner, and my heart sinks to my toes when he picks up a bucket of water and throws it on a limp body that is shackled to the floor. I hadn’t even noticed her when I came in.
The water splashes hard against her, and I hear a sharp intake of breath as she tries to jump up, but is restrained and held to the floor.
“Kya,” I whisper aloud.
Her head snaps up and her eyes glow a scary red as she growls at Victor.
“Glad to see you’re awake,” Victor snarls. “Now, shall we pick up where we left off, or are you ready to talk?”
She spits blood out, and I realize there’s blood all around her. It looks like they’ve beaten the hell out of her. One of her eyes is bruised and swollen, and her mouth is bleeding like they’ve delivered one blow after another until they beat her unconscious. Her clothes are ripped and tattered, and bruises mar flesh that I thought was indestructible.
I’ve seen Kya fight five men like it was nothing. Well, four. The fifth ran away. Victor has her chained up like she never posed any threat at all.
“Go to hell,” she mumbles weakly.
“Either you tell me where to find him, or I continue to make this as painful as possible until he shows up on his own.”
She laughs bitterly while shaking her head.
“He won’t come. He’s too smart for that. I don’t know where he is. He likes to stay mobile. But I really do hope you find him. I wish I could be around to see him tear you apart like shreds of paper.”
Victor slams his fist into her face, and I hear a sickening crunch as her head jerks around from the impact. She slowly turns back to look at him with more blood oozing from her mouth.
“He’ll come for you,” Victor murmurs, grabbing a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the blood off his hands. “Then I’ll take my time to pay him back for what he did to me.”
She laughs while looking at his face, and I feel like I’m missing part of the story.
“Believe me, dumbass, if Slade had been the one to find you, you would have lost more than your fucking eye. It. Wasn’t. Him.”
She bites out those last three words as though she’s sick of repeating herself or something, and he hands a pair of brass knuckles to one of the men behind him while walking out of the cell.
They lock her back up, and Victor glances my way. “They’ll all come for the two of you. Stay alive until then.”
Kya’s eyes dart to mine, and surprise fills her gaze. Only one of her eyes is actually visible, considering the other looks like it has swollen shut. She looks like she’s lost a fight that went a lot worse than the one I had with Slade.
“Ah,” Victor says, chuckling. “So you do know each other. Funny how you also lied about that the way you continue to lie about your boyfriend,” Victor gloats.
Kya cuts her gaze toward him, and her jaw ticks. “Slade isn’t my boyfriend. He won’t come. But your ass is about to be ripped into a million fucking
pieces. You have no idea what you’ve just done.” A deadly, sinister, almost psychotic smile crawls across her lips as Victor watches her. “I. Can’t. Wait.”
My brow furrows in confusion, and Victor snorts out a laugh.
“I can promise you he won’t surprise me this time,” Victor says with a dark smile before walking away.
His minions follow him, and one turns to wink at Kya. She spits out another mouthful of blood as they disappear from the room. The second the door shuts, Kya turns to me again.
“You’re so fucking stupid.”
I roll my eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“What the hell are you doing in here? Don’t you know this is exactly what they wanted?”
“I know. They wanted me to join their damn flock, but I plan to—”
“No,” she interrupts, still pinned to the floor. Only her head can move. “They don’t want you with them, Leah. The only reason you’re alive is because live bait works better than dead bait.”
So I’m not just being paranoid. They really do want me dead.
My eyebrows pinch together, and she blows out a breath. “They’ve been watching us. All of us. They hacked the town surveillance cameras. These guys have seen you with Zee. They’ve seen you with Ella. They’ve seen you with me—the night I saved you. They’re fucking using you just like they’re using me. They think I’m with Slade, and Victor stupidly thinks Slade is the one who left him missing an eye.”
She’s talking gibberish. That’s what it sounds like.
She must see my confusion, because she rolls her one good eye.
“A few months ago,” my aunt says, drawing my attention to her, “Victor came in bleeding and cursing. He’d already locked me away by then. He was killing humans. That isn’t what I signed on for,” she says sadly, looking away.
“No, you signed up to kill anything with a heartbeat if it was different from you,” Kya seethes.
“Monsters have killed my people as much as my people have killed monsters,” Aunt Masie growls.
Cats and dogs come to mind.
“What about his damn eye?” I groan.
“It wasn’t Slade,” Kya answers. “We were together when we were freed from the rings. He saved the princess, took her to a cabin we squatted in, and left her there to heal. Never once did we run into any anointed soldiers.”
“Then why does he…” My words trail off as I realize the answer. “Slade’s twin,” I grumble. I forgot there were two of those cold bastards out there.
“Slade won’t come. None of my people will. But—”
“Slade was here with me. He said I was useless and he was going to find someone useful.”
Kya’s mouth hangs open for a second like she’s stunned, but then she clears her throat and looks away. “If he’s smart, he’ll stay the hell away.” Her eyes come back to mine. “But we both know one person stupid enough to barge in, Leah. And we both know something Victor doesn’t.”
She narrows her eyes at me like she can see through me. Karma couldn’t see it, but Kya and Karma are completely different. I know she can tell what I’ve turned into, but I’m not sure what she’s trying to say exactly.
“We’re not their ultimate targets. The children will become test subjects,” she goes on. “Once Zee comes, he’ll obliterate everyone in here if he’s as crazed as I heard he got the last time.”
“Zee?” Aunt Masie asks in a rasp, reminding me she’s in here. I really want to wrap my arms around her and hug her right now, promise her everything is going to be okay.
But I’ve seen Zee out of control.
I really hope it isn’t a repeat of last time. He might do something he regrets.
“Zee doesn’t know where I went, and I’ve worked really damn hard not to panic. Don’t make me start now. He can track that.”
Kya gestures to the room, using her head. “This place is warded against every magic there is… Except anointed magic. I guess we’ll find out how your bonds work now.”
“What does that mean?” Aunt Masie snaps, apparently as confused as I am.
Kya looks at her, glaring at her with her one good eye, but she turns back to me.
“In theory, you can do all he can, and he can do all you can. You two are definitely unique, so… hypotheticals are all we’ve come up with.”
“We? As in you and Slade?” I ask, so damn confused. “Last time I saw you, he was knocking you out.”
“Sleeper spell. I really have to build up a better defense to that,” she sighs. This is too normal to her.
“So you just forgave him?”
She looks at me like I’m stupid. “It’s our world, Leah. We fight. We survive. We move forward. Humans are the ones who spend too much time on the things that don’t matter. No weakness means nothing can hold you back.”
There’s no sadness or hurt in her eyes. No hesitation or confusion. It makes me question what kind of world I’ve stumbled into.
She blows out a breath while lying her head on the ground. I hate the defeated way she turns away, no longer looking at me. She once told me she’d kill herself before being caged again.
“Kya, I swear I’ll get us out of here. Slade said to ask you how to break the seals.”
She doesn’t answer me, and I turn to Aunt Masie.
“If I die, the seals will automatically break. All the anchors will have to be reset to adhere to my wishes.”
“You’re not dying, because I still have to kick your ass then hug you. So tell me another way to do it.”
Her lips twitch, and she curses her chains when she can’t move closer.
“There’s possibly one way, but it’s a long shot. We have to find the seals and let me spill my blood on them.”
“If we can get free,” Kya says, struggling in vain, “that shouldn’t be hard. Seals have to be at the doorways.”
“Not ours,” Aunt Masie says. “He could have it hidden anywhere. Our seals are far more powerful than anything the paranormals can use. Our seals rewrite the laws of magic. In fact, they fucking banish magic from any spot of land I own. Do you understand? These chains aren’t confining your magic; they’re restraining your strength. Everything I own is warded and halts magic from being used. It’s more powerful because I’m an Aquarius. Hence the reason I’m breathing. I’m still useful.”
“I knew it was blocking outside magic, but… no magic at all inside?” Kya hisses. “We’re fucked if they can’t use anything. The anointed have bullets we won’t be able to stop.”
“It’ll be a massacre,” Aunt Masie confirms, causing my stomach to sink lower.
“Then we’re dead next,” Kya says, looking over at me. “We’ll have served our purpose.”
I’m not worried about me. Zee… He’ll barge in and won’t be prepared for what they’re doing. Maybe the seal will keep him out. I really freaking hope it will.
“If I could kill myself and destroy the seals that way, I would,” Aunt Masie whispers.
“Don’t talk like that. You’re going to survive this,” I say, struggling with no luck to break the chains off me.
“The second curse of the Aquarius is true?” Kya says, looking at Aunt Masie with a curious gaze.
“No suicide and no tears,” Aunt Masie whispers, looking away as guilt floods her. “No way to mourn the ones you can’t save.”
Whistles start sounding out, and Aunt Masie curses again.
“Someone is here.”
Kya slowly turns to face me. “Looks like we’re about to find out what Zee is made of,” she says regretfully, and my heart thunders in my chest.
“There’s no way to warn them,” Aunt Masie says with fear etched in her eyes.
Please don’t come in here.
Chapter 31
ZEE
“Maybe he’s more of a Spike,” Dice says, infuriating me more every time he opens his mouth. “Spike was far more determined to be with Buffy than Angel. Angel only pushed her away, and he did turn all soulless when h
e got off with her. Obviously getting off in Leah is Zee’s happy place, not his downfall. Angeles and Zee have something in common too, though—batshit fucking crazy. Angel was a brooder too,” he goes on. “Spike was a little more humorous and not so serious. I know! Zee is Spike and Angel’s little spawn… A mixture of the two. Those lads always did seem to have a little bromance going on, if you know what I mean.”
“He’s just trying to distract you and keep your temper down,” Thad tells me when my fists light up with orbs.
“He’s only making my temper worse.”
“On the contrary,” Dice states, being the eavesdropping asshole he is, “I’m giving you a thorn-in-the-side sort of irritation. Not the burning fury that has you in black eyes and destroying the world. Hashtag, you’re welcome.”
Ella comes up beside me. “I called Dad. He said to wait until he got here. It might take him a few hours. He’s pretty far away, and he’s driving as fast as he can. He has several reinforcements coming to join us.”
“How the hell are we even going to get in? You know they have to have it sealed up,” Gage says, running a hand through his hair. “And Leah ran straight to them, so they have to know we’re coming.”
My jaw tenses, and I barely rein in my temper.
“You’re undoing all my bloody good work,” Dice tells Gage.
The warehouse comes into view, and Gage disappears from sight. A few seconds later, he reappears, and his jaw is tight.
“There’s a way in,” he says, looking over at me. “They’ve left one side open and weak. That has ‘trap’ written all over it.”
“I can feel the presence of the seals from here,” Ella says, frowning down at the warehouse.
I can’t feel a damn thing. And it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out why.
“I think I know what it means to be bound by Leah,” I say as I start walking toward the warehouse.
Gage hisses my name, but I ignore him. Dice leaps in front of me, pushing back against my chest.
“Where’s the weakness?” I ask Gage.