I didn’t know what to say—sorry hardly seemed like enough. “I can’t imagine what that must be like,” I eventually said, even though it wasn’t totally the truth. Because I could imagine what it would be like. It would be awful. And I was glad I’d never know.
Jessica gave me a knowing look. She knew I was lying.
“What’s your gift?” Pam—the one who could sense time—asked me. Her accent made it obvious she was from the Deep South. “We told you ours. It’s only fair you tell us yours.”
“I don’t know.” I lowered my eyes, using my fork to play with the food remaining on my plate.
“You can’t not know,” Valerie said. “We’re different from regular people. We’ve known it our whole lives. All of us.”
“I’m literally the world’s biggest skeptic,” I told her. “I didn’t even believe my mom could truly read tarot until I was thrown into the supernatural world earlier this month. I thought it was a hoax. Now the demons say I’m gifted but…” I trailed, shrugging in defeat. “I have no idea what my gift might be.”
The four others at the table all looked to Jessica. Clearly, they were checking to see if they should believe me or not.
“She’s telling the truth,” Jessica confirmed.
I gave her a grateful smile. I had a feeling her gift would come in handy.
“Does everyone here know what their gift is?” I asked, looking around the cafeteria. There were seven tables of six, so forty-two of us in all.
“Most of them have known forever,” Harry said, and I looked back at him, focusing on forcing down the bland boiled chicken as he spoke. “Not me. I mean, I always knew I had a talent with guns—with any item I could throw, really. But I figured it was a natural skill. Something I was good at and worked hard to perfect. I never thought there was anything supernatural involved. Finding out kinda took my pride away about what I can do, to be honest.”
“No one should ever be too proud,” Pam said. “But it’s still something you can do, gifted to you by God himself. There’s no need to be ashamed about that.”
“I guess.” He shrugged. “But once I get out of here, I don’t imagine competing will be much fun anymore. Knowing my aim is some kind of supernatural ‘gift’ doesn’t make it seem fair.”
“Be grateful you have something useful.” Valerie pursed her lips, staring him down. “And that you’re not stuck sensing angry ghosts. Trust me when I say it isn’t pleasant.”
That shut him up, since it was a good point. We were all silent for a few seconds afterward.
“Now, about your gift,” Pam broke the silence. She clasped her hands in front of her empty plate—she was one fast eater—and focused on me. “I bet you know deep down what it is, even if you don’t think you do yet.”
“I don’t,” I said. “I honestly have no idea what it is.”
“Well, do you mind if we ask you some questions?” she asked, all southern sweetness. If she were from LA, I would have thought she was being fake. But she seemed too genuine to even think about being fake. “I bet we’ll be able to figure out by lights out tonight. Well, this morning. Ten AM, to be exact. They keep us on a nocturnal schedule down here.”
Since our watches and phones had been taken away, maybe her sense of time wasn’t so useless, after all.
“Go ahead,” I said, since I had nothing to lose. “I meant it when I said I was clueless, but I suppose it’s worth a try.”
Raven
I didn’t get any closer to figuring out my gift during dinner. The others asked me tons of questions, but nothing led us anywhere. They were just as baffled as I was.
At the end of the meal, the demons checked to make sure everyone had cleaned their plate and drank all their water. I’d done as I was supposed to do and eaten everything. Firstly, because I was hungry. The food was bland, but at least it was food. And secondly, because rebelling against the demons at this point wouldn’t do me any good.
I didn’t know what sort of punishments the demons inflicted against those who broke the rules. But dealing with a punishment right now would only make it more difficult to escape later.
People who instantly reacted got attention in the moment. Long-term thinkers got what they wanted in the end. That was something I’d always reminded myself back in school, whenever I turned down invitations from friends to go out and party because I needed to stay in and study instead.
Yes, escaping a prison run by demons was going to be harder than getting to the end of the semester with a perfect GPA. But one of my favorite movie quotes said, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
I was determined to get out of this place, so that was what I was putting my mind to.
Suzanne found me once we were dismissed from dinner and gave me the tour of the bunker, as she’d promised. We could only access four areas—the sleeping quarters, dining room, gym, and bathroom. Each door had a fingerprint reader, and was programmed to only allow us to enter during certain times of the day.
As she gave me the tour, I imagined my mom everywhere. It was crazy to think she was here a few days ago.
I missed her so badly it hurt.
The bathroom and sleeping quarters were the only rooms we could access at all hours. (The bathroom was co-ed, which was definitely going to take some getting used to.) We were only allowed inside the dining hall during the three mealtimes, and were always escorted there by the demons. The gym was open between lights on and lights out. We were required to go to the gym once a day. Apparently I’d be getting a strict exercise regime from the doctor after my assessment with him tomorrow.
I never went to the gym at home. Therefore, most of the equipment inside of it looked foreign to me. I might as well have stepped onto an alien spaceship for all I’d known.
Hopefully this strict exercise regime came with detailed instructions, or I was going to be seriously lost. And I definitely planned on doing the exercises. Getting in shape fit in with my long-term plan.
I’d be more likely to get out of here—and more likely to pass the Angel Trials once I got to Avalon—if I was in better shape.
Plus, Noah and Sage would be disappointed if I slacked on my training.
When we returned to the sleeping quarters I found a basket of basic toiletries, a bath towel, and a fresh jumpsuit with the number thirty-three laid out on my bed. The towel wasn’t plush by any means, but it would do.
Suzanne had a nearly identical pile waiting for her, although her jumpsuit had her number seven, and she didn’t have a basket since she already had one stowed under our bunk.
“The demons always have a fresh jumpsuit and towel ready for us after dinner,” she explained.
“That’s nice of them.” I reached over and ran my fingers along the jumpsuit. “Why do they care if our clothes—and bodies—are clean?”
“They don’t want us to smell,” Suzanne said with a small laugh. “Along with going to the gym, we’re also required to shower and change into clean clothes each day. We suspect it’s because stinky humans bother their heightened sense of smell.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of all of this. “I haven’t seen many demons around—only four or five, at the most,” I said. “How do they make sure we’re all exercising—and showering—each day?”
“There are cameras everywhere.” She glanced up at what I’d thought was a fire sprinkler in the ceiling. “They watch everything we do.”
One more piece of knowledge to add to my growing list of things I’d learned here.
As it was, I was happy to have a shower. It had been a long day, and I wanted to wash the ick off my body that I still felt from having the demon watch me change.
There were “fire sprinklers” in the bathroom as well, so the demons were watching us in there too. But it was different than being forced to strip down in a room full of clothed strangers.
The bathroom was similar to those in college dorms, with rows of showers, toilet stalls, and sinks. I ha
d to scan my fingerprint to get the water to turn on. And just like Suzanne had warned me during the tour, there was a five-minute limit to my shower.
I made sure to shower quickly.
When I got back to the sleeping quarters, Jessica motioned me to come join her on her bunk. She had a top bunk, and she was sprawled out reading. But she closed her book when I headed her way.
The books were another thing Suzanne had filled me in on during our tour.
There was a bookshelf in the corner of the room, filled with books that had been “approved” by the demons for us to read. Pretty much all of the books were basic romances. None had any science fiction or fantasy aspects, or anything else that might give us any ideas about rebelling. No one knew why they allowed us this small pleasure. It was suspected that they wanted us to spend our extra time reading instead of talking amongst ourselves and possibly discussing ways to escape.
“What are you reading?” I asked as I climbed up to join Jessica on her bed.
She flashed me the cover. It was a man holding a woman up, rain pouring down on them as they were about to kiss. It was a famous book that I recognized instantly.
“I saw the movie,” I told her. “Never read the book.”
“You can have it once I’m done,” she said.
I nodded, even though I didn’t intend on spending time reading a mindless romance.
I needed to stay focused on escaping.
“It’s good, but it’s not why I wanted you to come over here,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What’s up?” I asked, trying to remain as casual as possible.
“I’ve been thinking about your gift,” she said, running her fingers along the edges of the book. “I know we came up pretty clueless during dinner. But when I got back here, I started thinking about what happened here earlier. When Marco had you change into your jumpsuit.”
I frowned, not wanting to think about that moment any more than I had to.
But devising an escape meant toughening up and thinking about things I didn’t want to think about. So I needed to suck it up and deal with it.
“What about it?” I asked.
“He always delivers the jumpsuits to newcomers,” she said slowly. “He watches them change every single time. He never turns around. Not for me—not for anyone. But for you, he did.”
“I asked,” I said the first explanation that popped into my mind.
“So did the others.”
“Maybe he had somewhere to be and wanted to speed up the process.”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I haven’t been here as long as some of the others, but the first time you change into your jumpsuit is part of the initiation process around here. The demons never turn around. They’re demeaning us on purpose. But you told him to turn around, and he did it. It wasn’t normal.”
“So what do you think my gift is?” I asked. “Persuasive speech?”
It reminded me of what Thomas could do with his vampire prince power of compulsion. He could convince people to do whatever he said.
I’d definitely never been able to do that.
“It would explain why you got Marco to turn around,” she said.
“I don’t know.” I ran my fingers through my hair, not convinced. “If I could do something like that, I think I’d know by now. I mean, I’m usually pretty good at getting what I want. But usually it’s because when I want something—when I really want something—I stick to my guns and don’t back down. People don’t just magically listen to me because I want them to. I have to work for it.”
“I wasn’t saying that’s for sure your gift. It’s just something to think about,” she said as the lights flicked three times above us.
I knew what that meant from my tour with Suzanne. Lights out in five minutes.
“You should probably head over to your bed,” Jessica said. “It’s rough to navigate in here in the dark. Unless you’re Kara, but as far as I’m aware, you don’t have a perfect sense of direction. Right?”
“Not even close.” I laughed and glanced up at the camera, unease rushing through my body. “So the demons are watching and listening to everything we do.” The knowledge was ridiculously unsettling.
“They’re watching,” she said. “But the cameras don’t record audio.”
“They told you that?” I asked.
“Thanks to my gift, they wouldn’t have told me anything. So I had someone else ask, and I listened in,” she said with a mischievous smile. “They told her the cameras recorded audio. It was a lie.”
I smiled, since it was the best news I’d heard all day. I liked Jessica. She was smart and cool. I could see us being friends in the real world.
But I hopped off her bed, not wanting to be stuck navigating in the dark. “Cya at breakfast tomorrow,” I said.
“Cya,” she replied. “And I hope you like oatmeal. Because we get it every morning.”
I made a face—making my feelings about oatmeal clear—and headed over to my bunk.
She was right that I had a lot to think about.
I was also more than ready for lights out. I’d been waiting for it since Suzanne had told me the schedule around here.
Because I planned on using the imprint bond to try contacting Noah.
Raven
I lay in my bunk, pulling the threadbare quilt over me and staring up at the ceiling. As expected, the lights went out five minutes after they’d flashed to warn us about bedtime.
It was pitch dark. I tried holding my hand in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t see it. The only slim bit of light came from under the door on the other side of the room.
No one said a word, and judging by the light snoring coming from a few bunks away, someone had somehow managed to fall asleep already.
It had been a long time since I’d slept last, and my eyes felt heavy. But I didn’t close them. Instead, I focused on the imprint bond—the warm connection between Noah and me that I felt with every beat of my heart.
I wasn’t sure how far the imprint bond stretched. I didn’t even know where this bunker was. How far was I from Noah right now?
All I knew was that I’d sent him messages through the imprint bond before. Whenever I’d tried, it had worked. Why shouldn’t I be able to reach him now?
I tuned into the bond between us, envisioning it as a cord connecting my heart to his. I gathered the energy of the bond and imagined my thoughts flying out toward him.
What was he doing right now?
Trying to find me, I hoped.
There was no knowing if this was working or not. I just prayed it was as I told him everything that had happened to me since being teleported away. I told him about the bunker, about it being Azazel who had taken us, that Sage wasn’t with me anymore, and that I needed help escaping.
After recounting everything that had happened since arriving here, I waited.
He didn’t reply.
My heart plummeted to the floor. Why wasn’t he replying? Had something happened to him?
Was he in an even worse situation than I was in?
If so, we needed to get in touch with each other. So I tried again, digging deeper into the imprint bond this time.
I pictured Noah, imagining him being on the receiving end of my thoughts. I focused on the pulsing warmth of the bond until it grew and grew, consuming me completely. I envisioned it reaching out to him, knowing the pulsing was our hearts beating in tandem.
Once I’d enmeshed myself totally into the bond, I went through everything in my mind again, starting from when Sage and I had been taken. The bunker. Azazel teleporting away with Sage. Needing Noah’s help.
Again, I waited.
Again, I had no reply.
Defeat hung over my head. But I pushed it away. The imprint bond had worked before. There was no reason for it not to work now.
I refused to stop trying.
And so, I focused on the imprint bond again, and reached out to Noah again. And again. And again.
Each time there was no reply, until eventually I couldn’t fight the exhaustion anymore and I drifted off to sleep.
Noah
Once Thomas ordered the equipment he needed and we pieced our plan into place, we agreed it was best to get some sleep. We needed to be ready to go when the delivery arrived tomorrow.
Amber was about to show us to our rooms when suddenly, the imprint bond around my heart heated up.
I froze in place as thoughts flashed through my mind. Raven’s voice.
Trapped in a bunker. Azazel took us. He took Sage. Help.
Her message came to me in impressions, her emotions pulsing through me. Her fear, her desire to get out of wherever she was, her determination, and through it all, her love for me.
My heart panged with how much I loved and missed her.
“Noah?” Thomas stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Is everything okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“It’s Raven.” I blinked and forced myself to focus on Thomas. “She reached out to me through the imprint bond. She’s trapped in a bunker. She says Azazel brought her there, and that he took Sage somewhere else. She needs our help.”
Thomas tilted his head, looking torn. Like he wasn’t sure whether to believe me or not. “You said we can only communicate through the imprint bond when both people are in the same room as each other,” he said. “For anything else, a mate bond is required. Raven contacting you should be impossible.”
“That’s all true,” I said. “But I know what I heard. It was Raven reaching out through the imprint bond. She’s worried about me. I need to let her know I’m okay.”
The witches said nothing through all of this. They just watched as I sat back down on the couch, glancing at each other curiously.
“Can we get you anything?” Amber asked.
“No,” I said. “Just silence, so I can focus.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the imprint bond between Raven and me. As always, I felt the warmth circling my heart—the warmth connecting me to her.
The Angel Gift (Dark World: The Angel Trials Book 4) Page 5