Souls of the Damned (Kat Redding)

by E. S. Moore

  “Because if you don’t, I will kill someone.” Adrian glanced around the bar. “Perhaps it will be someone here. Maybe the barkeep. I could skin him slowly while he screamed. Even the strong ones scream in the end.”

  Damn it, I knew he would do it. As much as I’d love to shove it in Adrian’s face and tell him to fuck off, I knew he would act on his threats. When he said something, the fucking wolf meant it. He didn’t care who he hurt, just as long as he got what he wanted. Hell, I’d killed quite a few of his wolves and he barely showed much more than mild irritation. Killing someone he didn’t know? Well, let’s just say I doubted he’d show the slightest ounce of remorse.

  “Fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “What do you want me to say?”

  “I need you to contact the Denmaster. Tell him I have a place for him at my side. Any and all of his werewolves or surviving Cultists would be welcome. They would not be subservient to me in any way. They would be an arm of my House. They could share space with me, keep an eye on me if they so chose, and in doing so, would reap the benefits of all I have achieved.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. Hard. “And why should he believe you?” I asked, really hoping Jonathan wouldn’t even consider such a thing. If he moved in with Adrian, I’d never talk to him again.

  “Because his power base has been shattered. Because he is alone. He could use someone to pick him back up and help him achieve the power he once had.” I think he very nearly smiled at that.

  I really wanted to tell Adrian to shove his offer up his ass, but kept my mouth in check. See, I was getting better at keeping my anger at bay.

  “If and when I talk to him, I’ll tell him,” I said. “He hasn’t exactly been rushing to talk to me.”

  “You’ll find a way,” Adrian said.

  “And what if he refuses your offer?” I asked. “I seriously doubt he’d take you seriously considering everything you’ve done to him.”

  Adrian shrugged. “Then I will leave him to die on his own. If he refuses to join me, I care nothing of what happens to him. I am simply giving him a chance to save those he cares about most.”

  “But you won’t hurt him?” I needed to hear him say it.

  Adrian’s eyes gleamed. “As long as you do your part, I will not.”

  Davin stood and walked around the table. He stopped beside me and leaned down so our faces were near one another. He whispered so low, I could just barely hear him, though I was pretty sure Adrian heard every word.

  “Things are never as they seem,” he said before giggling madly.

  “I will await your word.” Adrian rose. “Don’t take too long.” He turned and walked away.

  Davin gave me a finger wave before following after him. “Ta-ta,” he said.

  A moment later, they were gone.

  10

  The house was strangely quiet when I got home. I tossed my weapons on the table in case Ethan wanted to look at them, though I hadn’t gotten into a fight, and headed upstairs. All I wanted was a nice hot bath overflowing with scented bubbles. It would not only be relaxing, but it would get Baset’s stink off of me.

  My bedroom door was open a crack. I moved toward it, hoping Sienna wasn’t asleep inside. She wouldn’t mind if I used my own bathroom, I was sure, but I didn’t want to disturb her.

  A floorboard creaked underfoot and a sudden scrambling sound came from inside my bedroom. I stiffened as the door flew the rest of the way open and Ethan practically tumbled out into the hall beside me.

  “I . . . I was just . . .” he sputtered before glancing back into the bedroom. “Sienna is in the bath,” he said. “The door’s closed. I was just watching her. No . . .” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was watching to make sure she didn’t try to run. Did I mention the door was closed?”

  “You did,” I said with a grin.

  “She’s okay.” Ethan’s face was bright red. “There’ve been no attacks since you’ve been gone. She’s just resting.” He frowned. “What’s that smell?”

  “I need a shower,” I said. “I’m using yours.” I headed for the boys’ bathroom, pausing to say, “Keep an eye on her,” before heading inside.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in the spare bathroom. It had been before Jeremy had moved in, a long time before. I fully expected to find underwear hanging off the showerhead, used towels that hadn’t been changed in months, and dirt so ground in, you’d need dynamite to remove it.

  Instead, I found a tidy little bathroom that was much cleaner than my own. The towels hung where they were supposed to, the sink shone as if it had recently been wiped clean, and there wasn’t an article of dirty clothing anywhere in sight.

  “Jeremy,” I said with a chuckle. There was no way Ethan could keep a room clean like this. I’d seen his bedroom.

  I considered the tub, and decided against a bath. As clean as the room might be, I felt like an invader. This wasn’t my space anymore; it never really was. Shower it was.

  I made quick work of washing, using the men’s products, knowing it would make me smell masculine, but that was far better than smelling like a rotting corpse. I did allow myself a few minutes of letting the hot water blast into the back of my neck. It was the closest thing to a massage I was likely to get.

  Steam fogged the mirror as I stepped out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around my hair and chest, I gathered my clothes and carried them down the hall to my room. Ethan took one look at me and just about broke his neck looking away. Sienna was done with her bath and was sitting beside him, about as far away as she could get and still be on the same bed. She looked just as embarrassed as he did.

  “This will take just a sec,” I said with a grin.

  “No, really, I’ve gotta go.” Ethan was up and out the door so fast, I was worried he might hurt himself. The poor guy had never been comfortable around women and two of them, freshly washed, was more than he could handle.

  “You okay?” I asked Sienna as soon as he was gone.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Ethan showed me around the house some today. I like it here.”

  “I’m glad.” I didn’t know what else to say to that.

  “It feels so . . . comfortable.”

  I gave her a smile before tossing my dirty clothes into the leathers hamper and grabbing some clothes to wear. “Be right back,” I told her as I headed for the bathroom to get dressed.

  The smile stayed on my face as I slipped on my T-shirt. It was quite clear Ethan had a crush and I was pretty sure Sienna felt the same way about him. It was actually kind of cute, really. After a lifetime of hardships, both of them deserved a chance to be happy. He might be a little older than her, but really, that didn’t matter much. These days, you needed to take what you could get when you could get it. You never knew when everything you cared about would be ripped from you.

  Fully dressed, I headed back out into the bedroom to find Sienna sitting in the same place I’d left her. She looked up at me, smiled, and then her face crumpled as she burst into tears.

  I was at her side in an instant. I almost called out to Ethan, knowing he’d handle this far better than I would, but instead, cradled her in my arms. She felt frail, so tiny and small, that I was afraid I might break her if I squeezed too hard. How could Levi hurt a girl so fragile?

  “I can’t go back,” she said, sobbing into me. “I just can’t.”

  “You won’t have to.”

  She lifted her head. “But I can feel him out there. I’m so scared. I don’t want to go back there to him.” I didn’t have to ask to know who she was talking about.

  I shushed her. “I won’t let him have you. I swear.”

  Sienna cried for a good ten minutes. By the time she was done, she was half asleep in my lap. I ran my fingers down her head, smoothing her soft, silky hair. Fighting Levi’s call must be grueling.

  “Go ahead and get some sleep,” I told her. She nodded and moved to rest her head on the pillow. I covered her up and quietly slipped out of the room.r />
  Jeremy was waiting for me just inside the doorway to his own bedroom. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “Can you stand watch for a few minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  I hurried downstairs in the hopes of talking to Ethan, but my weapons were gone from the table, meaning he was safely tucked away in his lab. I wasn’t sure if he was working on making sure everything was clean and functional or if he was dealing with Beligral down there. I wasn’t about to go down and find out.

  Instead, I headed into the kitchen to find the fridge well stocked—something it had never been when it had been just Ethan and me. I grabbed a slice of ham and a bottled water and leaned against the counter. I ate my meal standing up.

  I wasn’t sure what bothered me most: Baset or Adrian. Both thought they controlled me. Both, in a way, did. I was pretty sure Baset would be the biggest problem if I didn’t do what she wanted, but I could at least touch her if it came down to a fight. If Adrian decided he was done fooling with me, there was nothing I could do to keep him from killing everyone I knew.

  The food tasted like ashes in my mouth. I took a big swig of water and tossed the rest of the ham in the trash, no longer hungry. Couldn’t I just have one week when someone didn’t try to control me in some way?

  I needed to see Jonathan.

  It was more than the fact I had to pass on Adrian’s message. I needed to tell him what was going on. He would know what to say. I, of course, wouldn’t like it, but it would help me get through this without making too big of a mistake. I’d made enough mistakes in my lifetime.

  With a sigh, I pushed away from the counter. There was no seeing Jonathan tonight. I wasn’t going to even call him. Adrian hadn’t given me a time frame in which I needed to pass on his message. He could just wait like everyone else. I needed to take care of one problem at a time.

  And the current problem was Sienna.

  She needed my help, but there was little I could do at the moment. I wasn’t about do what Beligral had suggested, but was running out of ideas. If I couldn’t come up with some other way to save her, would I eventually give in and do what the demon wanted?

  I left the kitchen and went to the back door. I stood there a moment, unsure I wanted to leave Sienna in the house alone. Jeremy was watching her and I’d only asked for him to stay for a few minutes, yet I wasn’t ready to go upstairs to start my own vigil.

  The door made hardly a sound as I opened it. Jeremy would understand. He’d watch Sienna as long as I needed him to.

  The night was cool on my skin as I stepped outside. I breathed it in, let it seep into my pores in the hopes it would help clear my mind. It had been far too long since I’d taken some time to myself to simply relax.

  The path was just barely visible in the dark. I was still struggling to see at night, which was starting to worry me. I’d never been as good as a werewolf at seeing in the dark, but I used to be a lot better than this. I really hoped there wasn’t something wrong with me on top of everything else.

  It didn’t take long to reach my destination. I could just barely see the lights from the house through the trees. If something were to happen, I’d be able to hear Jeremy’s call.

  I knelt in front of the plain stone beneath the tree and rested my hand upon it. It felt cold, lifeless. I shivered.

  “What should I do?” I asked Thomas’s grave. “I don’t want to mess this up.”

  A rustle in the trees brought my head up, but I couldn’t see anything. I listened for a long moment before returning my gaze to the stone.

  I’d gotten better at suppressing the guilt over my brother’s death over the last few months. He wouldn’t have wanted to live as the monster he’d become. This was better.

  Still . . . I’d been the one to kill him. Could he ever forgive me for something like that, even if he might have wanted it? I had to believe he would.

  “Watch over me, okay?” I asked, speaking under my breath. “I need that right about now.”

  I felt a tingle on the back of my neck and stood. There was another faint rustle. It could have been the breeze rattling the leaves or it could have been a small animal hopping from one branch to another.

  Or it could be someone trying to sneak up on me.

  There were eyes on me; I was sure of it. I couldn’t tell if they were humanoid or not. There was no way I was going to head deeper into the woods to find out, especially with how poorly I was able to see.

  Besides, I told myself as I hurried back to the house, you don’t have your weapons; they’re inside.

  I slipped into the house, my entire body crawling with the knowledge that something was out there. I closed the door behind me. It locked automatically, thanks to Ethan’s adjustments.

  I stood by the door for a good long minute, scanning the trees for any hint of movement. It wasn’t like me to get spooked so easily, but I was positive I hadn’t been out there alone.

  Nothing had come barreling out of the trees at me, so I had to assume I’d either freaked myself out over nothing or whoever or whatever was out there was content to watch. I turned and headed upstairs to find Jeremy leaning against the wall just outside my bedroom door.

  “You can take my room . . .” He trailed off and frowned when he saw me. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure.” The feeling of being watched had faded when I’d moved away from the door. “I think someone might be outside.”

  Jeremy straightened. “Did you see them?”

  “No,” I admitted. “I felt them.”

  “I’ll go look.”

  I nodded, knowing he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He’d taken it as his job to keep the property clear of would-be watchers. I wasn’t about to take that away from him.

  I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest and waited. I was almost positive I’d hear Jeremy cry out and then a dozen well-armed wolves would burst in, but the minutes passed and I heard nothing.

  Eventually Ethan came upstairs. He looked exhausted, his hair a mussed mess. He gave me a muttered “Good night” before heading into his room to collapse.

  Jeremy came up a few minutes later smelling of grass and leaves. “Nothing,” he said. “If they’re out there, they’re keeping well out of sight.” He yawned. “I’ll check again when I get up. Right now, I’m beat.”

  I nodded, unsettled that he found nothing.

  “You sure you don’t want to get some rest?” he asked.

  “I’m okay. I’ll sit out here tonight. Not sure I could settle in anyway.”

  He studied me a moment before heading into his room.

  And then I was alone.

  I slid slowly down the wall, arms still crossed, until I was sitting on the hall floor, legs stretched so that my feet were pressed up against the wall. They were dirty from where I’d gone outside in my bare feet, but not so bad I thought it would ruin the paint. I leaned back with a sigh, ready to wait out the long day with no one but myself for company.

  11

  The attack came at midday.

  I was sitting on the floor, back pressed against the wall in an effort to ease the ache that had settled in my bones. Ethan and Jeremy were sound asleep down the hall, comfortable in their beds. If Sienna was going to stay, we’d have to come up with better living arrangements because I wasn’t about to spend my nights on the floor.

  The only sounds in the house were my grunts of discomfort and Ethan’s snores coming through his bedroom door. I’d heard a few birds earlier, but they’d fallen silent as if the watcher I’d felt at night was moving around, disturbing them.

  I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I felt weak from the sun, though it couldn’t reach me while I was in the hall. It crept halfway up the stairs from where it shone in from the dining room door. A vague part of me wanted to move down the hall and reach out to touch it, though I knew that was just my tired mind looking for something to do.

  I was about to get up and start stret
ching to work out the kinks that had formed from my hours in the hall when a scream tore through the house.

  I was on my feet in an instant, though I had to use the wall to keep steady. Both knees popped in protest. My head was spinning from the sudden movement, but I didn’t have time to shake off the cobwebs. Something was wrong.

  “Sienna?” I called, reaching for the door. It had been her voice. “Are you okay?”

  The door flew open just as my fingers brushed against it. I staggered forward, nearly falling face-first into the room. I was so off balance, there was little I could do when Sienna came barreling out of the room. She slammed into my chest and actually managed to knock me flat on my ass before I could so much as think to grab her. She was past me and headed for the stairs in a blink.

  “Jeremy!” I screamed, scrambling to my feet. If she got out the door, she would be gone for good.

  Despite my body’s aches, I was up and down the hall just as Jeremy opened his bedroom door. His eyes were wide, his hair mussed, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. My mind oddly focused on the brief glimpse I had of the knot of scar tissue where his arm had once connected to his shoulder as I ran past, calling out behind me as I took the stairs.

  “Sienna’s running!”

  He burst into movement behind me. A crash told me Ethan was up and moving as well.

  Sienna hit the lower level and turned toward the front door just as I started down the stairs. She screamed again, clutching at her head as she staggered sideways. She was hurting and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it but hold her and try to comfort her until it stopped.

  That was, if I could catch her first.

  I reached the bottom of the stairs a heartbeat before Jeremy. He was practically running on my heels. Ethan was screaming Sienna’s name from the top of the stairs, clearly still sleepy and confused. I took a step toward her as she righted herself and made for the door once more.

  And that’s when the sun hit me.

  It didn’t register at first. There was a faint uncomfortable feeling that spread across my body the moment I’d started down the stairs. Light poured in through the back door and the kitchen window. The curtains had been left open, as they usually were during the day. I never bothered coming downstairs when it was light out, so no one had ever bothered closing them.