by Mary Martel
"Honey," I whispered in a raw voice. Something flickered to life in her eyes and started moving. She was in there, damn it. I just needed to draw her out. "You shouldn't be here. You should go back to your room and forget you were ever here. Please, Annabell, go back to your room."
Adrian grabbed hold of my wrist and dragged me backwards. I didn't even try to fight him. Marcus had been right, I shouldn't have even tried.
The pressure on my wrist increased to the point of unbearable pain as Adrian yanked it down. With a small cry, my legs buckled and I followed my arm down into the bathtub. My knees hit the porcelain and blood sloshed all around me. My wrist would be bruised later, but I no longer felt it after my knees hit the bottom of the tub.
There would be no rescuing anyone from this. I had started it, and everything that happened from here on out would be on my shoulders and be my burden to bear. Annabell was so far from innocent, but she didn't deserve whatever was going to happen here, this I knew for certain.
"What happens next?" I asked Adrian in a calm, confident voice that I absolutely did not feel. Adrian watched me shrewdly, the lust finally gone from his eyes, thank Christ. "Why is she here? I think you should know by now that she and I aren't exactly friends, and I don't want her here for this if it can be helped. This doesn't exactly fill me up with joy on the inside, ya know?"
He knew. They all knew.
God damn it.
In that moment, I hated them all more than I ever thought possible.
"What happens next?" Adrian questioned me in a hushed voice. "Why don't I show you as opposed to telling you? Wouldn't that work better? I know it would for me."
The knife from earlier, the one he'd used to slice his arm open, came into view, and my eyes about bugged out of my head. The bleeding part appeared to be over, there was no longer a need for any kind of sharp object.
Annabell stood unmoving at the foot of the tub, her eyes never leaving me, and a sick feeling filled my gut.
Adrian stepped up close to her side, raised his arm up high, and slashed the knife across Annabell's throat. She didn't so much as flinch as the blade dug in deep and slashed her throat open wide. Her eyes stayed glued to me, and I swear I saw her mouth the words, "Do right by all of us girls, we're counting on you."
Adrian grabbed her by her hair at the back of her head and bent her forward, holding her up and over the foot of the tub. She didn't fight him and her arms hung limply at her sides. Blood gushed out of her throat and sprayed the insides of the bathtub and me inside of it.
Hooded figures stepped up beside Annabell on either side of her. Her arms were lifted straight in front of her and sliced open, much the same as everyone else's had been.
The only difference was, to my horror, Annabell's wounds weren’t healing.
They weren't freaking healing.
Sacrifice.
Oh my God, Adrian... What had he said about a sacrifice? I couldn't think straight to remember. This shit was not right.
"Stop this," I croaked out in a voice that didn't want to work right. "Please, Adrian, stop this."
I tried to stand but slipped on the blood and fell back into the tub. The back of my head cracked against the tub, and if it hurt I didn't feel it. All I was capable of feeling was horror and dread.
And remorse.
So much remorse.
A hand landed gently on my shoulder, making me jump. Hot air wafted across my ear as someone breathed on me. Normally, I would have told them to move back, to get away from me, but I felt frozen, rooted to where I lay sprawled in the tub, and I couldn't risk moving and taking my eyes off Annabell.
Her body hung limp between the men holding her and the blood flowing out of her throat had slowed down greatly. As did her arms. And they still weren't healing.
Just how much blood did she have left in her body? How long had she been bleeding for? I wasn't so sure, because my head felt fuzzy and I thought I might have hit it a lot harder than I'd originally thought.
"Stop trying to help her," Marcus whispered harshly in my ear. "Better her bleeding out than you. Stop fighting it and think about your own damn self for once."
I sucked in a lungful of air and my chest expanded. My entire body shuddered when I blew it out. Marcus had known this was going to happen and he hadn't tried to warn me or stop it in any way. He'd simply sat back with the rest and watched as he allowed it all to happen.
In that moment, I think I kind of hated Marcus Cole. Like, seriously hated his guts. He certainly wasn't the man I thought him to be, that was for damned sure.
The people holding Annabell's arms released her and moved back, bleeding into the shadows in their dark robes. With his hand still fisted in her hair, Adrian gave Annabell one last rough shake before he stepped back and let go.
Annabell flopped lifelessly to the floor. Her body bounced off the front lip of the bathtub. She landed on the floor with a loud smack and the room filled with an eerie silence.
She was Annabell the Destroyer no more. She was simply Annabell the Dead.
Because she was dead.
Dead.
Because of me.
The tears started falling free uncontrollably. I made no sound as they fell and there was no stopping them once they started.
Callously, Adrian waved a hand down at Annabell's prone body and clipped out, "Someone please remove the body before it offends Ariel more than it already has."
He turned his beady eyes on me and they were bizarrely earnest. "Don't you worry too much about her, dear. You had just told me yourself that you weren't friends with the sad creature and that you didn't want her here. If you look at it in that regard, I did you a favor. Besides, we've tried everything with her and she wasn't fertile. She didn't care to use her magic for anything worthwhile anymore and she could not bear children. That made her more of a burden on the rest of us here than anything else. Now there's no more burden."
He swiped his hands together, palms brushing against palms as if he were wiping the dirt off of them.
The words I'd seen her mouth flashed across my mind. Do right by all of us girls, we're counting on you.
The tears stopped falling and I sat up straight in the tub. I shrugged Marcus off and stared Adrian in the eyes, making sure the rage I felt coursing through me, eating me up inside, wasn't right there on the surface for him to see.
Yeah.
Fuck yeah.
I might have not liked Annabell, but that was nothing in comparison to what I now felt toward this man. Unadulterated hatred and so, so much more.
We're counting on you.
Oh yeah.
Adrian was going down. No matter what or how long it took, I'd see it done.
One of the robed men stepped up and took hold of one of Annabell's limp arms. He didn't even bother to pick her up all the way. He just dragged her by her arm, with her face scraping along the floor, right out of the room.
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, so hard I immediately tasted copper, to keep my mouth shut so I didn't stand up and scream at him for being such a callous bastard.
"Don't fight it," Marcus whispered in my ear and I flinched. I'd forgotten he was so close to me.
"Fuck," I bit out, not liking the sound of this at all. I had thought the worst was already over and now I was learning I had more to fear.
Adrian knelt beside the tub, and to my absolute horror the rest of the robed figures did the same, and the tub with my naked ass inside of it was completely surrounded.
I felt trapped, and the fight or flight instincts ingrained in everyone really hit me. I didn't want to fight anymore and was all about the flight part. I wanted to get up and run. Run as far and as fast as my feet would carry me away from these sick as fuck men.
We're counting on you.
Yeah, and they weren't the only ones either.
I gritted my teeth so hard I feared one of them might crack. My hands in my lap fisted tightly and I forced myself to remain stock-still and stoic.
<
br /> "Good girl," Marcus whispered proudly.
Not turning around and clawing his face up with my fingernails was one of the hardest things I had ever done in my life. But somehow I managed it. Barely.
"Now," Adrian purred as he leaned over the tub. "Usually we've always taken things a little further and always have someone to take care of our needs, because things can get a little exciting. But with you here..." He trailed off as he molested me once again with his eyes.
Marcus's hand on my shoulder stiffened to the point of pain. Good fucking God. If what Adrian was saying was true, then Marcus must have participated in some weird Council gang bang. Or had they all just fucked each other?
I didn't want to know.
And there was no fucking way I would be participating in any kind of sexual activities with these sick as fuck people.
No fucking way.
I had to draw the line somewhere and this was it. The line was being drawn in the sand here and now.
Adrian's eyes shifted between my face and Marcus's hand on my bare shoulder. A look of pure jealousy flashed through his eyes and his lips peeled back as he bared his teeth in a terrifying smile.
"Since you're here, Ariel, perhaps you'd enjoy being the one to—"
I cut him off and snapped, "No." That one word said it all, and I knew I hid absolutely nothing from Adrian. He was too busy sneering at Marcus to notice.
"That's fine," Marcus said urgently. "There's another girl that Adrian has waiting in the next room over to come in when the time is right." He hesitated for a brief moment before gritting out through clenched teeth, "There are a couple men he has in there too, waiting to satisfy your needs if you so wish it."
My mood shifted instantly, the anger slid clean out of me and I turned to look at Marcus over my shoulder, gaping at him. My mouth hung open and words failed me completely.
"Very well then," Adrian muttered, sounding outraged and a bit disgusted. "We'll get to that after. You're a bit of a prude, Ariel. With time, hopefully you'll come out of your shell and open up a bit more. You're going to give yourself premature wrinkles being this uptight all the time. Good Christ."
He'd called me a prude. I'd heard that before.
Men were dicks.
He huffed out indignantly and gestured to the side with his chubby hand. An ornate gold goblet ringed in jewels was handed to him from the person beside him. Adrian took it without offering up thanks.
I slithered back in the tub and pulled my knees high up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as he dunked the goblet into the bloody bathtub and filled it up. He put the overflowing cup to his lips and tipped his head back. I shuddered in disgust as he drained the cup dry. Blood spilled down past his lips, dribbling down his chin sloppily. He passed the cup off to the man sitting beside him without bothering to look at him, such was his arrogance that he just knew the man would reach out and take it away from him. And he did just that.
The cup got passed around the circle, and one by one they filled it full with the blood in the tub and drank it dry. The whole thing made me sick, and I wondered if I threw up in the tub if they'd still drink the blood or if they'd start the bleeding out process all over again after draining and cleaning out the tub. I couldn't go through that again. It would break me. Not again.
When Adrian passed me the cup, I reached for it with numb hands. It slipped through my cold, shaking fingers and I wondered briefly if I might be slipping into shock. I kept seeing Annabell and the fight in her eyes as she struggled against whatever they'd doused her with. I could feel the warm, wet blood of hers as it sprayed across my face and I'd done nothing to stop it.
Yes, I thought, as the cup pressed up against my lips biting into my flesh there. I drank woodenly without tasting anything and I knew I was right about the shock.
The cup fell away and I sat unmoving, frozen, as hands reached around me and into the tub. Handfuls of blood were scooped up into cradled hands. Adrian brought his hands to his face and smeared our mixed blood all over himself.
He giggled hysterically, almost manically, and the sound was so undeniably gleeful that the hair on the back of my neck rose to attention in fear. He was covered in blood, and he acted like he'd gotten high off of it. In fact, they were all acting twitchy and wired.
I didn't feel anything but extreme cold. Everything else had completely shut down. Maybe I was high off it too and just didn't notice because I couldn't feel anything.
Adrian rolled around on the ground, still laughing his ass off, and his robe tangled up between his legs. His hips and groin area were once again fully exposed and on display.
I made an angry noise in the back of my throat as my eyes narrowed on his flaccid dick and saggy ball sack. I huffed angrily and hissed, "For fuck's sake, Adrian, put your junk away. I don't need to see anymore of it."
Not that there was actually much more to see.
Adrian just laughed harder, louder, like it was all a fun joke to him. And he wasn't the only one laughing.
I stood up in a rush. My body swayed from side to side as a bout of lightheadedness struck me.
Shit. Fuck.
Marcus grabbed hold of my elbow, steadying me. I cringed at the physical contact. Anybody but him.
Marcus guided me over the side of the tub and out. My wet feet slipped on the floor and his hold on my elbow tightened as he steadied me. On anyone else I might have appreciated the gesture and kindness. Now it just churned my stomach with sick unease. But I didn't pull away from him. I didn't trust myself to stand on my own without my knees giving out on me.
"She's done for the night," Marcus growled down at Adrian as we walked past him. "You've got more than enough of what you wanted from her. Now she needs a break to rest and clean herself up a bit before she's paraded around like your little pet in front of the others. What she's not going to do is sit around in here and watch you all get your dicks wet. It's beneath her, goddamn it."
I didn't want to even think about anyone's dick getting "wet" or how that would come about. And I definitely did not need Marcus Cole trying to be my white knight or protector. It was far too late for all of that.
"Yes. Yes." Adrian giggled while waving his hand blithely in the air above him. "Take the little princess out of here before the debauchery really begins. You're not fooling anyone with your actions. We all know you want to fuck her, you're not doing a very good job of hiding it."
I gasped and automatically jerked out of Marcus's hold. I didn't care if Adrian was a liar or not, standing so close to Marcus after hearing those vile words didn't sit right with me.
"Oh, and, Ariel," Adrian called out cheerfully. I paused to look back at him over my shoulder. "Welcome to the Council. What's ours is now yours. Enjoy it. Eat what you want. Drink what you want. Fuck whoever you want. No one will protest and we'll all give you everything you want. I'll see you at the party, lovely. Enjoy yourself."
I shivered in disgust as I paused at my small pile of clothing. Whoever had undressed me, Marcus I think, had taken the time to fold my clothes up neatly and stack them in a pile. I scooped the pile up into my arms and didn't even try to hide the fact I ran out of there and away from the other members of the Council.
Marcus walked out with me, but he refused to look me in the eyes. I couldn't bring myself to care about that. Not when I was finally free and could get down to business.
Romero was out there somewhere waiting for me and I had a promise to keep.
Everything else could wait until later. Much, much later. Or maybe even never, if I was lucky.
Ignoring Marcus entirely, I dressed in awkward silence and pretended he did not exist. When he opened his mouth to speak to me, I shot him a nasty look and shook my head viciously.
He didn't try to stop me when I walked away from him.
He once could have been a father to me.
Now he was a stranger I didn't want to know. A stranger I couldn't get away from fast enough.
Chapter Eighteen
And His Hair
You're only looking with your eyes, a voice whispered in the dark. Open up your mind and see what's really right in front of you. You're a witch, see with more than just your eyes.
Heart pounding out of control inside my chest, eyes stinging with unshed tears that wanted to be set free, I whipped around, searching for the owner of that voice. There was no one there.
I was all alone out here, lost in the dark woods I'd never been in before. And now I heard voices inside my head, a voice that had never been there before, but was oddly familiar to me. A comforting voice that eased something inside my soul.
Close your eyes, open your mind, and see what's right in front of you.
My chest heaved as I sucked in one ragged breath after the next. Who was she and why did the sound of her voice hurt my heart so much to hear?
I squeezed my eyes shut tight, doing as she bid. My heartbeat slowed down to a crawl as I forced my body to relax.
Voices came from somewhere in the dark behind me as someone crashed loudly through the woods. They were looking for me, coming to my aid, not knowing that I'd willingly wandered off into the woods on my own. Likely they thought me a dumb girl too stupid for her own good who'd wandered off in the dark and needed a male to come to her rescue and save her. Maybe at one time I'd been that girl, but no more. Those days were long since over. It hadn't happened when Vivian had died. It hadn't even happened when Rain came into my life. But somewhere along the way I'd learned to stand on my own two feet and how to fight back. I had a feeling it had a lot to do with my coven believing in me. Their faith meant everything.
I opened my eyes and looked around, seeing things in a new light.
Behind the vines covering the big, old tree in front of me, an opening appeared beside the tree. I pressed forward, shoving vines out of my way, careful not to trip over any of the giant roots sticking out of the ground. Several trees were clumped together and covered in long vines. I walked up to the opening and swept the hanging vines out of the way.