by Mary Martel
"The thing was, though, we'd lived in that house since before I was born and my father had practically been raised there. He'd gone to high school with the man who claimed to have been that little girl’s father. If they were reapers and in town because they were looking for a coven of witches, well, then they'd been there for my family and my father's coven. But the man had never even looked at my father or my family with a sideways glance. They were relatively normal, boring even."
He sucked in a sharp breath as the SUV slowed down, and the sound of the turn signal he switched on was the only noise in the vehicle. I looked around and spotted the old gas station a few miles away from the motel. There was nothing else around for miles and miles.
Raven pulled up to the gas pump and shut the SUV down.
"Is this place even open?" I asked, needing a distraction from the horror I knew was yet to come out of Raven's mouth. The story was far from over, I just knew it.
Raven unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around to face me. His eyes practically glowed with the hatred he tried to hide inside.
He ignored my idiotic question.
"They butchered her entire family. After they tortured them for information none of them had because they weren't reapers. My father investigated their lives. They were every day, normal folks. Somewhere way back in their family tree they must have had an ancestor with magic, and those genes had skipped every single generation until the little girl had been born."
Liam unhooked his seatbelt so he could turn around and watch me while his “fearless leader” talked.
"They murdered an entire family, an innocent family, and they were unapologetic about the whole thing, claiming their lies were truth. Even after proof had been brought to light."
Honestly, I wasn't surprised by anything that he'd said so far. I imagined the Council had done much worse things and often. If this was the worst Raven had to offer, then he'd seen nothing yet. One dead family was like a drop in the bucket for the Council. I suspected they had bodies buried all over the place. Hell, they probably tortured babies and kittens on the daily just to get their rocks off.
"When my father demanded to know what they'd done with the girl, the Council got angry. They didn't like being questioned and having their authority challenged." He swallowed thickly and turned away from me.
Interesting.
It would appear the story had taken on a more personal, uncomfortable edge for Raven. As if things hadn't already been uncomfortable before now.
"That's when shit started for my father. His warehouse burned down. The store that had been in his family for years was burglarized and the insurance refused to pay for the damages. My mother got sick, cancer, and it was terminal. Every single person in my father's coven experienced a great deal of misfortune in a very short period of time. It distracted my father from asking any more questions about the missing girl and then my mother died. The business didn’t pick up again for a long, long time, but for that long, long time our lives were completely and utterly destroyed."
If what he said was true, then Raven would make the perfect person to unload all of my burdens and secrets on.
Liam watched me carefully while Raven refused to turn back around and face me.
"What about you?" I asked Liam. "You gonna share your tragic past with me now too?"
I had been spending way too much time around Quinton. His brashness was starting to rub off on me. Not a good habit to have picked up.
Liam's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Not so different after all, I see."
He wasn't wrong, I was acting like a total bitch.
I sighed, sat back in the supple leather of the seat, and closed my eyes tight.
"The Council is keeping secrets, big ones," I whispered in a tired voice. "The kind that destroys lives. One of those secrets has to do with someone I care very much about, and I'm doing this to see if I can set it back to rights."
I frowned.
No, that wasn't right. There would be no possible way to right that particular wrong. The past couldn't be changed, the future was the only direction I needed to be focused on right now. I could change the outcome of that.
"They have a person locked up and hidden away somewhere on their property, and I intend to find him so I can free him. This was my only shot at being able to search for him, and it's important I find him. I'm doing this all for him... and my coven."
Raven whipped around in his seat. The sudden noise of the leather creaking against his sharp movements had my eyes flying open.
"What about you?" he asked in a quiet, serious voice.
I frowned at him. "What about me?" What the hell was he talking about?
An uneasy look crossed Raven's face before his eyes left mine and shifted to Liam. "Told you she was different. Now do you see what I'm talking about here?"
"Yeah, I'm beginning to see it. It's practically fucking blinding."
Whatever.
I closed my eyes to escape their probing, questioning stares and confusing remarks.
An extreme tiredness seeped into my bones as emotional exhaustion took over.
"Are you hungry?" Liam asked in a quiet, sweet voice.
I shook my head, having no idea where in the hell that question had come from.
My stomach was in knots and I didn't think I'd be able to keep anything down even if I were starving. Eventually, I'd have to eat in order to have enough energy to be able to use my magic without keeling over and croaking.
"Alright, honey," Raven murmured in that gentle voice of his. "Let's get this show on the road."
It was time, but all I really wanted to do was go back home and crawl into my bed so I could sleep for the next forty-five years without waking up.
Chapter Fifteen
I Don’t Like You, Ariel Kimber
Surprisingly, and something that made me feel incredibly grateful, they were not standing in a line outside the motel waiting for me and gloating gleefully that they were finally getting what they wanted. Everything Adrian wanted from me, I was here to hand over by throwing myself down on my own stupid sword.
If Adrian had been out here to gloat, that would have been too much for me to take and I probably would have turned right around and ran my ass down the dirt road to get as far away from here as quickly as possible. Which wouldn't have been very fast and I probably wouldn't have made it very far.
Liam and Raven got out of the SUV first. Liam came to my door and opened it for me. I allowed this and just barely refrained from rolling my eyes so as not to offend him. I grabbed my bag and stepped down from the SUV. The moment the door closed behind me, Raven reached and plucked the bag right out of my fingers. This I did not bother to protest because I knew it would get me absolutely nowhere and be an utter waste of my time. It was about respect, and the simple fact I had a vagina and magic. I had a feeling that was all it took for a guy like Raven normally, but he kept calling me different and meaning it in a good way, so that might have been all it took for a guy like Raven, but it was also a whole lot more.
No, I certainly did not need to make any more friends, but it felt really good to know that I just might have made one with this man. And even if it hadn't gotten quite that far yet, just the potential that it might one day get there was more than good enough for me. He was good people, I knew that for certain now, and this place could use as many of those as it could get. However, the jury was still out on Liam, and I wasn't quite certain what kind of people he was yet. My guess was on the part asshole kind. Who knew what the rest of him was made up of.
Raven switched hands with my duffle and slung it over his shoulder farthest away from me. His free hand went to the small of my back, his palm flat, and I felt what I usually felt every time one of my guys touched me. Heat. A wonderful, delicious warmth that only a male witch could give off where I was concerned. It wasn't exactly the same, though, because that heat stayed where his hand remained and didn't travel down further to my nether regions and give me a jolt of excitement.
Thank goodness for that.
He put pressure on my back, very gently pushing me forward. I moved forward reluctantly, and to my surprise his hand didn't fall away. Instead he got closer and crowded me, invading my space, making my entire body get tense.
His mouth came close to my ear and he whispered, "We'll help. My coven and me, we'll help you while you're here. Just say the word. We'll also keep watch over you. You can trust me to have your back through this."
I nodded, my throat too clogged with emotion to speak. I didn't think it to be wise of him to take my back here when it would be putting him against the Council, but I'd take all the help I could get. Lord knew I needed it.
He moved away slightly, but his hand remained where he'd placed it against the small of my back. I knew the gesture was innocent enough on his behalf, but I also knew if Quinton were to see it, he would have been pretty unhappy with the whole thing. And he probably wouldn't have been the only one.
Still, I did not tell him to step back or to remove his hand. That would be rude given what he'd just shared with me.
His body went weirdly tense and something very unpleasant rolled off of him in waves. The feeling was so intense, so hideous, that I instantly tried to step away from him out of self-preservation.
"Fuck," Liam hissed under his breath angrily, and his pissed off vibe rolled into me from the side opposite of where Raven stood.
"Be cool, Liam," Raven advised quietly. His hand slid up my back, stopping at the nape of my neck. He gave me a gentle squeeze before his arm fell away, but he still remained weirdly close to my person. "Don't say shit to her. I know you're pissed, but you need to shut it down. We knew there was a chance we'd be forced to endure her presence. Now that time has come and we've got to eat that shit. Don't make it any worse than it's already going to be."
I knew I wasn't the her he'd spoken of. There was only one woman I could think of where most men I knew would say they had to endure her presence.
Annabell the Hoochy Koochy.
Oh goody.
They wouldn't be the only ones forced to eat that shit until I got to escape her presence. I'd be eating that shit right along with them.
I looked up toward the stairs off the side to see not simply one female descending upon us, but two.
Annabell and Rachel.
Double trouble on the straight up hussy side.
Annabell, of course, was no longer the beauty she'd once been. Not that I'd seen her before she'd earned her scars, only after. She had lovely auburn hair that had been plaited into two fat French braids that hung down on each side of her head. She'd put on a bit of weight since the last time I'd seen her and she now looked almost healthy.
Though, in all fairness, I'd put on more weight than she had. But she'd also been a whole lot skinnier than I had been, scarily enough.
Half her face had been melted away, and today she did not try to hide it with magic, but left it on display for all to see. Which didn't sit well with me because she usually used magic to help hide that part of her so most people still saw the once pretty part of her.
Now the gruesome sight of her half melted face was so hideous there'd never be any need for a mask on Halloween again.
She wore a long, flimsy white dress that was so see-through her dusky, pointy nipples were very visible through the material. As was the pubic hair between her legs. There were long slits up the sides of the dress going almost all the way to her hips. With every step she took down the steps her long, bare legs showed indecently. I said indecent because she clearly wasn't wearing any undergarments, and one misstep would be putting her privates on display for all to see.
Since I'd seen it all before, I had more than my share of witnessing Annabell's wares. I did not wish to see it again, ever. And I knew the men around me just plain ole never wanted to see Annabell again, ever. A bad combination, if you asked me.
There was no smirk or any arrogance to the woman at all. Her eyes remained lowered to her feet, watching each step carefully as she slowly made her way down. Her mouth was pinched unhappily on the good side of her face.
Hmm...
That was a new look for her.
Seemed something might have changed for Annabell. I would not feel sorry for her. I absolutely would not.
Damn it all to hell and back.
Rachel was a different story altogether.
She had bright blue eyes that practically glowed with happiness and something that looked a whole lot like crazy.
She, unlike Annabell, was just flat out seriously freaking pretty. Her white-blonde hair hung all the way down to her hips in heavy sheets that swished around her body with every step she took, almost as if each strand was a living creature with a mind all of its own.
She was incredibly short but wide in a way where she wasn't what you'd consider big or fat, but simply luscious and voluptuous. I envied her for her curves because I was naturally thin in a way I knew there'd never be curves like that for me. Never in my life.
Rachel's dress was the mirror image of Annabell's, except it was blood red instead of white.
Both women were barefoot.
They stopped at the foot of the steps, patiently waiting for our approach.
I wanted to reach out and take hold of Raven's hand, offer him any form of comfort I could. That was what a friend would do, right?
I did no such thing.
Neither one of us could afford to show such weakness in front of the vultures. We'd end up eaten alive and shredded to pieces.
Annabell finally looked up at me. The look in her dead eyes stirred uneasiness in my gut. Rachel didn't even bother looking at me at all. She only had eyes for my companions. No surprise there.
"Adrian has instructed us to show you to the room he's had set up for you," Annabell spoke in a voice that matched her eyes. "He wants you to get settled in and washed up. Dinner will be sent to your room because he doesn’t want to overwhelm you with all the people who are here to see you. Then, around midnight, you will be sent for, and there's a ceremony you'll need to participate in. There'll be an outfit set aside in your room for you to wear. Something Adrian has personally picked out for you and deemed appropriate for your attire. Now," she stepped aside and with jerky movements, waved her arm up toward the stairs, "please come along and we will show you to your room."
Honestly, I had no desire to go anywhere with her, but for once I didn't think she had it out for me. She looked like she didn't really feel much of anything. So much so I wondered if she was on drugs.
I would not feel sorry for her.
Rachel whipped her head to the side, her long hair flying out all around her, and she glared dangerously at Annabell.
Eyes blazing, she snapped, "You didn't need to share all of that with her. Adrian told you to take her up to her room and that someone else would be along to fill her in. That someone wasn't meant to be you."
Apparently in her time with the Council, Rachel had not taken it upon herself to become BFFs with the only other female—that we knew of—here. And given the fact they both seemed like they were assholes, thus they had a good deal in common, I had wrongly assumed they would have been instant bosom buddies.
I would find out just how wrong I was in thinking that.
Annabell turned on Rachel, and the good half of her face morphed into an angry snarl. Finally some emotions. Right on time.
Annabell raised her hand and lashed out. The palm of her hand cracked loudly against Rachel's cheek. Rachel cried out and stumbled back several steps. She raised her hand to her injured cheek, cupping it protectively. Her big baby blues welled with tears and her bottom lip quivered pathetically.
Pathetic indeed if all it took to make the lady cry was one little smack to the face from another woman.
Rachel's voice trembled when she whispered, "You're going to pay for that, you ungrateful brat. Mark my words, you're gonna pay for it."
The corner of Annabell's mouth, the good side, curled up into
a half sneer. "You're not gonna do shit to me and we both know it. So why don't you shut your stupid mouth, turn around, and walk your fat ass back up the stairs. Go sit on some cock and tattle on me to that fat man who owns you. You're not needed here."
Rachel gasped in shock while still covering her now red cheek. Her eyes swung toward us, seeking either assistance or a protector. She found neither. I didn't need to look at the others to know they offered her no help whatsoever.
She turned on her bare feet, lifted her dress with her free hand, bunching it tighter in her fist, and fled up the stairs she had so recently come down. She raced across the balcony, her bare feet slapping loudly against the wood. She stopped in front of a door, released her hold on her dress, and wrenched open the door. She disappeared inside and the door slammed shut behind her.
Annabell's head had twisted around as far as it could go and was tipped back so she could watch Rachel's departure.
"Friendly welcome," I joked, and her head whipped back around so fast it looked like she might have given herself a severe case of whiplash.
Never did I dream there'd come a day where I'd find myself standing around joking with Annabell.
Color me surprised.
"I don't like you, Ariel Kimber. I'm not ever going to like you. But I'm not going to be a bitch to you anymore."
I crossed my arms over my chest, cocked my head to the side, and studied her carefully. She appeared sincere enough, but that was by no means trustworthy. She had proved time and time again that she was a liar, a cheat, and an incredibly deceitful person.
Beside me, Liam snorted.
Annabell didn't so much as spare him a glance. "Everyone knows why you are here. You've decided to join the Council's ranks as the first female to ever do so. You're proof that there's hope for the few of us who are out there. This is big, not just for you, but for the entire female population. For that reason I'll no longer be your enemy. This puts us on the same side, the same team even."
She was right, but she was also grossly wrong.