The reality of the extent of Caleb’s obsession hit me. He saw us living as if we were some super couple, together in this otherworldly mansion, doling out death and destruction over the universe and then lying together at night in our bed of triumph. I knew he wanted me, heard everything he’d said about me being his queen, but until that moment, seeing his fucked up his and hers idea of our life, I hadn’t realized the enormity of his psychotic fixation.
Why me? Why was he so intent on having me as his queen? Caleb was impulsive, without a doubt, but he wasn’t out of his mind. He was methodical, cunning, and always had an end game, a method behind his madness. When he’d sought me out, I thought it was merely an unhealthy obsession. He was a stalker, and I was his target. I attached normal though deranged, qualities onto this highly intellectual, supernatural being, a being who manipulated others to fit precisely into his big-picture plans.
So, why me? It wasn’t my beauty or glowing personality. Caleb was base, but he wasn’t some hormonal male who thought with his penis. No, he was too smart for that, as much as I would have liked to think it was all that simple.
Then it hit me. He didn’t want me. It was my power he wanted. He knew what I’d become, what Nergal told me I’d become, and he wanted a piece of that.
Seems the only person who didn’t know what I’d become was me.
But I knew now.
And he couldn’t have it.
“That was very thoughtful of you, Caleb,” I said while turning to look at him.
His eyes locked on mine, and he took a predatory step toward me, bringing us only inches apart. “It was,” he said, his voice deep and rumbling, “but I’m only thinking about one thing right now, and it has nothing to do with you in any clothes.”
The ginormous closet suddenly became too small, closing in on me, but I stayed my ground. It was time to get this over with.
I licked my lips. He watched the movement of my tongue like a hawk watches its prey from above before it attacks.
“Then let’s not wait any longer,” I said.
I barely heard the growl he let out before he was on me, his lips crashing into mine, his tongue plunging in violently, as if it had been caged for too long and finally released. His hands were at my waist, at the back of my head, on my ass. They were everywhere, and I was so wrapped up in his crazy hungered movements, I hadn’t even realized he was working us toward the bed. In fact, I hadn’t noticed how much I was doing the same to him until I’d fallen back on the bed. Without realizing what happened, I was staring up at Caleb’s bare torso. I faintly remembered helping remove his shirt.
The monster had a great body. I couldn’t deny it. Also difficult denying how hot I’d become, and not in the kind of way I wanted. Not from him. My deepest desire was to cringe from him, break out in hives, something other than wanting more. I might not have been able to control my body’s reactions to him, but I could definitely take control in other ways.
I sat up and reached for the button on his jeans, but he snatched my hands and pushed them back.
“Oh, no, baby, your turn,” he said with a smirk. Leaning in, he grabbed the bottom of my T-shirt. He lifted it up over my head, and before I had the chance to acknowledge what was happening, my arms raised to aid in the process as if they were on autopilot.
I sat in my bra, the heat of the room doing nothing to help my nipples from straining against the material. Caleb noticed too, his eyes glowing and fixated on them.
“Take it off,” he hissed as if he were straining to keep his focus long enough to form words. I knew how he felt. I could barely breathe from the rate my heart was pounding and wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep it together. But I had to. I needed to make sure he was past the point of no return, so drugged on the lust of the moment he couldn’t think straight. The hardest part would be not falling into it myself.
Easing one arm behind me, I reached back and unclasped the bra, letting the straps slip down my arms. They hadn’t reached my elbows before Caleb let out a guttural sound and ripped it the rest of the way off me. And then I was on my back, Caleb covering me with his body, grinding his mouth against mine, in the same way his hips were between my legs. His hands were mashing and squeezing my breasts as if he couldn’t get enough of them in his hands.
His loud, long moans vibrated against my lips. I think they were all his, but I couldn’t be sure. He was hitting the right spots, and this power I seemed to have now heightened every single sense of mine tenfold. I was losing control.
“Lift up,” I said on a heavy breath as I struggled to move my hands between our bodies, trying to get at the button on his pants again.
He lowered his mouth to my neck, sending shivers down my body, but he did raise up, and I quickly undid the jean button and lowered the zipper, unsure how I was even working my fingers. As he trailed kisses down my neck toward my chest, I pushed down on his jeans enough to feel the heavy drop of his erection land between my thighs.
I took him in my hand and heard his intake of breath when he froze over me. Being honest, I had to admit, he was… impressive, his shaft thick, smooth, and very hard in my palm. I slowly stroked up and down his long length while Caleb let out his breath with an extended low groan. I knew he was almost in my control.
“Cassie,” he growled, slowly pumping himself into my hand. “Oh, yes, Cassie.”
I pulled my hand away from his erection and pushed against his waist. “Lie back on the bed,” I whispered, almost out of breath.
He looked at me, a smirk on his face. “Why? What are you going to do to me?”
I locked my gaze on his and said with a smirk of my own, “Do as I ask and you’ll find out.”
A rumble echoed from deep within his throat as he smashed his lips against mine, shed his pants, and launched himself away from me and toward the head of the bed. “I really like this new Cassie.”
Turning and facing him, on all fours, my breasts hung there for his viewing pleasure. “Then you’re going to love the new Cassie very soon, my king.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, and for a moment I was afraid I might have laid it on a bit thick, but then he gave me a lusty smile and said, “Fuck, you’re sexy. I could look at you like that for eternity.”
I could have said the same about him as he lay there in all his naked glory. I almost regretted not allowing myself to take advantage of the situation for my own pleasure.
Almost.
But something more pleasurable was headed my way.
I crawled over him, letting my eyes drink him in as I inched closer. When we were face to face, I leaned down and kissed him, pushing my tongue into his mouth and swirling it around, playing with his.
His hands went to my waist where he began pulling at the top of my jeans. “Take these off. I want to feel all of you.”
I grabbed his wrists and sat up, straddling his hips. God, how could he be even harder between my legs than before? My breathing rate increased. I didn’t know if it was from having to restrain myself from my exploding hormones or from what I was about to do, but it didn’t matter. Complete control was so close. Locking eyes with him, I pulled his hands from my waist and methodically raised them up and over him. “Not yet. First, I want to service my king properly,” I said, making sure my breasts brushed against his chest.
“Mmmm,” he groaned as I nibbled the skin near his ear and trailed my tongue down his neck. “As you wish, my queen. Service me.”
I was making my way down his chest when he said, “You better hurry it up, baby, because I’m close to throwing you beneath me and fucking the memory of Hunter out of you for good.”
The mention of Hunter froze me, sweet memories of us together invading my head. So long ago, in another lifetime.
But that’s all it was… a memory. Nothing more. I shook it away.
As I peered at Caleb from down by his waist, he looked back at me, his eyes glowing with bright possibilities. With a smile, I said, “Oh, don’t you worry about Hunter. I’
ll deal with him after I’m done with you.”
I closed my eyes and heard the sweet sound of metal clanking.
“What the fuck?” Caleb yelled.
When my eyes opened, the shackles I’d conjured up around Caleb’s wrists, and the chains accompanying them, kept him prisoner on the wall. I knew without looking I’d find the same at his ankles, those chains attached to the floor.
“That’s right, Caleb. You’re fucked. Just not in the way you had hoped. I’d love to stay and gloat over your predicament, but I have to go see an angel about a Sword. You see, I really don’t trust you. Oh, but don’t worry… I’ll come back with it… let you see it. Up close and very, very personal.”
I only caught a few of Caleb’s raging words as I grabbed my clothes, closed my eyes, and let the darkness come over me.
A darkness I chose… all by myself.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Solid ground was beneath my feet, not the lush carpeting of the bedroom, but I tapped my foot to confirm it. I’d done it. I’d transported myself. No help from any damned angels or demons. Wow. Good. Liberating.
Don’t start celebrating just yet, I told myself. I hadn’t even opened my eyes to make sure I’d poofed to the right place. No sense patting my own back if I had only moved to the bathroom of Caleb’s love lair.
“Cassie?”
Braydon’s voice hit me like the opening sonata of a melodious symphony.
Upon opening my eyes, I was standing in the middle of the same cold, dimly-lit room Caleb had brought me to earlier to witness Braydon’s caged prison. While facing that very cage now, Braydon stood against the steel bars staring back at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed. He appeared as surprised about me popping in, as I was about performing the action on my own.
He called my name again, snapping me into action. Without having time to ponder all of my newfound skills, I had to free him and get the Sword. Besides, I had no idea if or when Caleb would find a means to escape, or if he even needed to in order to thwart my plan. For all I knew he could summon his minions by using telepathy. I was strong but didn’t know if I was capable of taking on an army.
Not until I had the Sword.
I put a finger to my lips as I approached the cage, gesturing for Braydon to keep quiet. “I’m getting you out of here,” I whispered, “but we don’t have much time.”
“Where’s Caleb? Cassie, what have you done?”
“I have him… detained, but I don’t know how long that will last, so we have to hurry. You’re going to take me to the Sword, Braydon, and then we’re going to get it back to the Sanctuary where it’ll be safe. We’ll be safe.”
I eyed the bars of his cage, contemplating how to free him. Without visible locks or switches, I couldn’t see a way to break him out.
“Wait, Cassie, no,” Braydon cried out in a hurried breath.
I snapped my head up at his worried tone and spun around, thinking he was warning me of something in particular. Maybe some had joined us in the room. But the door was still closed. I looked back at him, confused.
“If we do that, we’re right back where we started. I had a deal with Caleb, one that would help us be together, lost somewhere, away from everyone. We’d finally be away from all of the distractions keeping us apart.”
“Are you delusional?” I squawked in a harsh whisper. It was all I could do not to scream at him. If I’d been in that cage with him, I might have punched him into reality. Or worse. “Did you not hear a word Caleb said before?”
“I know we still have to work out the details of how to go about this, but—”
“Dammit, Braydon. He has no intention of letting us run off into the sunset together. He’s using you to get the Sword and then he’s going to kill you with it. Are you really that naive?”
I didn’t realize I’d flushed myself up against the cage, until he came nose-to-nose with me, wrapping his fingers around mine on the bars I clenched. “No, Cassie. I would just do anything to be with you.”
His reality was clouded with love, or lust, or whatever the hell it was he had for me. He wasn’t processing right. The subtle way he’d expressed his feelings from the beginning had been replaced with deranged delusion. Jesus, he was almost as bad as Caleb. The only difference… Caleb wasn’t stupid. Sure, calculating, methodical, and patient. Braydon, on the other hand, was reactionary and reckless. That combination would only get him one thing… dead.
“That’s not going to happen,” I told him. “Not like that. Caleb wants me as his queen, Braydon. He never had any intention of letting us go after he got the Sword. He’s going to kill you and make me his queen while he plays Master of the universe. If he gets the Sword, he’ll have the power to do whatever he wants, with whomever he wants. We can’t let that happen. That’s why we have to get it first.”
“And then what? You said we’d take it back to the Sanctuary. I don’t want to go back there, Cassie. Not if it means we can’t be together.”
I was seriously considering killing him myself at that point but still needed to know where the Sword was. So, I decided the only way we were going to get anywhere anytime soon was if I played a different angle.
“Braydon,” I said. Calm and sweet gushed in my tone of voice “We’ll figure it all out when we get the Sword. I’ll find a way for us to be together, I promise. It’s you I want. I realize that now. After everything you’ve done for me, for us, how could I not?” I put my lips to his through the bars and held them there for a moment. “I’ll find a way. Trust me.”
He rubbed his fingers over mine and looked me in the eyes, all the depth of emotion he was feeling had become obvious in his green ones. “That’s all I want.”
“Then let’s do this,” I urged.
“Okay,” he said and stepped back from the bars. “But you have to get me out of here first. I can’t transport us to it unless I’m out of this cage.”
“Right.” I stepped back too and check again for a lock or mechanism. After a moment or two of searching, I realized how much of an idiot I was being. Of course, Braydon’s cage would have a mental lock on it. Everything else in this mind-fuck realm did. I closed my eyes and concentrated on seeing the door opening. When I did, I heard a pop and a clicking sound. When I opened my eyes, a portion of the cage had sprung forward and was now moving to the side, creating an opening in the cage.
I let out the breath I’d been holding and watched Braydon, realizing he hadn’t stepped out even though he was obviously free.
“How did you do that?” he asked from within the cage.
“Long story,” I replied. “C’mon, let’s go. They might catch us any minute.”
He eyed me warily for a moment. I was about to grab him out, but he finally rushed toward me. Without a word of warning, I was locked in his arms, his lips crashing into mine. Completely taken off guard by the motion, if he hadn’t pinned me to him, I think I would have fallen from the impact. The shock of the situation caused me to lose my breath when his mouth smothered mine.
“Braydon, please,” I gasped, trying to wedge my hands between us and push him back. “We have to go.”
“I’m sorry, I just—”
“Let’s get out of here,” I yelled.
His hands went up on either side of my face, and his eyes locked on mine.
I softened my gaze, guessing he was asking for some kind of reassurance we were doing the right thing. “Once we get the Sword, we’ll have all the time in the world for this.”
He slowly nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. His head angled down, placing a sweet, tender kiss on my lips, before pulling back and leaving a vacuum from the wind of his words.
“Let’s go,” he said, pulling me to his chest.
***
It was as if I’d been transported back through time. I was in a familiar forest, night was upon us with only a sliver of moonlight on the huge stone slab of wall in front of us. Vines snaked up and down the sides as if they fed upon the concrete for their nourishment to survive.
I’d stood on this very spot, possibly eons ago, in a time where I knew nothing of who I was or what I would become. It had been a time when my nightmares began to blur into reality. I knew exactly what lay beyond the concrete door in front of me. Back then, it had seemed I had somehow come home. Now, I knew I was home. Hell was where I belonged.
“Here?” I asked Braydon, confusion obvious in my tone. “The Sword is here?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s inside. I figured the angels wiped this place clean after Nergal was killed, so no one ever thinks of looking here anymore, and the demons won’t step foot around here either after being driven out. I checked it out several times in the last few weeks to make sure.”
I didn’t know what surprised me more, that he’d pick Hell, the devil’s original lair for the Sword’s hiding place, or that he and Caleb had been planning this for so long.
It didn’t matter. The Sword was here, so it was where I needed to be.
“Okay, well let’s hope no one decided to re-think that theory since we’ve been gone,” I said. It was a valid concern. I’d have checked here if only to make sure Caleb wasn’t trying to live out some sick fantasy of being Nergal and torturing me in Hell.
And so would Hunter, I thought to myself.
His name rang like a song in my head and gave my heart pause. Or was it a warning? I couldn’t tell. I closed my eyes. Images of him chained to one of the walls beyond the massive stone door flashed in my head. Then I saw myself running down the corridor, desperately searching, the Sword painfully held in my grip. I knew it was my memory of the last time we’d been here. Back then I was desperately running for love.
A sharp pain in my chest doubled me over, and I gulped in a breath. Reaching out to stable my balance, I pressed my hand against the cold stone in front of me.
“Cassie,” Braydon called out. His hands were on my back. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I was still sucking in air when the stone heated beneath my hand and the giant slab moved to the side.
Braydon grabbed me from behind and pulled me back.
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