by C. R. Jane
"We need to get in there," Alaric started, “How do we get in there?” gripping the metal bars tighter in his hands, which reminded me of the key from the scroll case I'd stuffed into my pocket earlier.
"Maybe this key has more than one purpose," I said, gaining everyone's attention. They crowded around me, watching as I inserted the key while holding my breath.
Please let this work, please.
A single drop of sweat rolled down my spine as I wanted this so badly that I was ready to cry. I'd had enough of being everyone's target practice, of always having others beat me down.
This had to work.
I pushed the key in deeper and turned. When the lock clicked open, I exhaled so loudly; I surprised myself. "You did it," Keon announced, his hand on my lower back. He reached in front of me and tugged on the gate. And we all stepped back as it swung open with a moan. Then as one, we stepped inside.
A loud clapping sound came from behind us suddenly, and I whirled around, unsure what was going on.
Nova stood in the doorway to the room, a shoulder leaning against the doorframe, and clapping like a villain.
"What are you doing here? Did you follow us?" I asked while Alaric and Seth stepped toward her, their shoulders bunched up, tension permeating the air.
She lowered her arms to her sides, shadows dancing beneath her eyes, and suddenly the person standing before us wasn't Nova. Well, it was... but her demeanor had changed; it belonged to someone else.
"You are so gullible, Selena," she said. Then moved in a flash right past us like she was made of the wind itself. When I spun around, she was standing beside the treasure chest, the lid open.
And she was clutching a glowing green stone the size of my fist.
She had the Cintamani Stone!
Chapter 13
Selena
"Nova!" I cried out. "What are you doing?" But I knew better... of course I did. I just didn't want to face the truth. She’d been lying to me this whole time. Using me. The pain that bloomed in my chest telling me it was the only explanation for her behavior. My perpetual need for love and friendship would inevitably always lead to my downfall.
It was Seth who stepped forward first, while Alaric shut the gate, locking us all in with her.
"Who are you?" Seth asked, tilting his head to the side, his gaze piercing Nova like he saw something none of us did.
"How are you feeling, lover-boy?" she replied, smirking. "I did you a favor, helping to eliminate the pain after your beatings."
"And for that I am thankful. Now hand over the stone, and no one will hurt you." He stuck his hand out, palm facing up, his fingers unfurling outward.
“I think I’m going to keep it.” Nova was tossing the stone up and down in her hand. My heart stopped every time she did that, feeling like she played with my very life each time she threw it into the air.
"Why are you here doing this?" I asked, stepping forward. "I thought we were friends."
"You call it friends, I call it keeping my enemy close,” she sneered.
Her words confused me, and I blinked at her, unsure what she was talking about. There was something seriously wrong with her. I could see it in her eyes. They were darker than normal, and the facial expression twisted into one of a permanent frown. She was definitely not the Nova I knew.
"Why the enemy?" Keon asked. "What has she done? Or have you finally decided to eliminate Selena and collect the bounty the Warden promised?"
Nova was shaking her head. "Pffff, as if. I could have taken her out already if that was the case. Nope, she was dumb enough for me to use for something else I needed." Her gaze fell to the stone in her hand, the green glowing under the faint light from Keon's flashlight.
I swallowed hard at her words. She'd used me this whole time to get the stone? But that didn’t make sense. So many things didn’t add up. "I don't understand? When we first met, it was a pure coincidence."
"Was it?"
My stomach rolled at hearing those words, and a wave of sickness rose to the back of my throat. "Who the fuck are you?" I demanded.
"Five against one," Laz butted in. “Speak up because my patience is close to snapping.”
We were facing her in a semi-circle, but I'd seen her power, and by the cocky expression on her face, the threat didn’t frighten her.
Suddenly the air in the room dropped several degrees, and a shiver ripped down my spine. My quickening exhales came out as mist, and before us, Nova was twitching.
A flash of white came from her eyes, then in a heartbeat, something white slid from the side of her as if she were splitting in two. Except that wasn’t right… something was stepping out of her… Nova slumped forward, her shoulders curled, her face pale as death as if she was so close to the end, she barely clung to life.
Next to her stood the ghost who'd been trying to kill me, to take me over. It stood before us. Are you fucking kidding me? I seethed and my hands curled into fists as everything started to make sense. She set me up, pretending to be my friend… just to get close to me. She hated me for exorcising her out of my body, and her last words stayed with me.
You’ll pay for this.
She’d taken over this poor woman to come after me, to make me pay. The ghost was a psychopathic stalker.
Her skin was a shimmering, barely translucent silver, just like before, as was her black hair pulled back into a bun and parted down the middle. She wore her Gothic black Victorian dress again, and the tightness in her grin sent shivers down my arms.
"Are you serious?" I practically screamed as frustration tore through me. "What is your problem with me?"
In a flash, she shoved herself back into Nova, who stumbled on her feet and gasped back to life. It didn't take her long for her to regain her posture and for color to blossom back into her cheeks. I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
"We kill her now!" Alaric growled.
"You touch me, and I'll destroy the stone," Nova stated, gripping the green stone in her hands, and lifting it over her head, ready to smash it to the ground. “Then how will you save your little Selena?”
I sucked in a sharp breath with the terrifying realization that she knew about the Cintamani Stone. Getting that stone was the only way to protect myself against the Warden... and Julian.
"What do you want?" I asked reluctantly, when my first instinct was to tell Alaric to rip her apart.
"You," she snapped back. "Give yourself willingly to me. That's all I ask."
"Like fuck she will," Keon roared.
Laz bristled beside me. "Do you think any of us will stand by and let you do that?"
Nova smirked. "I don’t care what the rest of you want."
Seth was surprisingly quiet. He watched Nova as a predator studied his prey. And I couldn't figure out what he was thinking or planning. All the guys' expressions were tight and flared with rage.
Keon cleared his throat, drawing her attention. "Let's come to another arrangement," Keon suggested, staring at her with a calm demeanor, which was the opposite of him. "You take me however you want in exchange for the stone. I'm not talking about a one-time deal either."
I stared at Keon; he had to be kidding. He wouldn't do that, right? My heart lurched into my throat at the thought of him with her for my sake. I couldn't bear the image of him touching anyone else when my heart had already claimed him.
She stared at me, seeming uninterested in Keon’s offer. So, the act in her prison cell, was that just fake?
As much as the cold, dark evil of this ghost wanted to hurt me, I had to figure out why she wanted me...and it clearly wasn’t for Keon. "It's me you’re after not the stone, so tell me what you really want?"
She half laughed. "What we all do, Selena. Freedom. You want out of this prison, and I want to be free of needing a host's body. I want to move with free will, and I think you can offer me that. I sense the power in you, I feel it when I’ve touched you. There’s something powerful inside you, and if I can just get a hold of it-"
"She wants to possess you again," Seth spoke up, his voice firm. "To drain you, just as she's doing to Nova, and will then kill you. I won't allow it."
"You won't allow it," she reiterated it, louder, then began chuckling. "Such a shame. I mean, you are a dead girl walking Selena. The bounty on your head will get you killed, and if not, I hear your vampire keeper will complete the job. So, why not let me join forces with you for a short while to ensure you get revenge against everyone who's wronged you?"
"Are you insane?" I blurted.
"I've had enough of this fucking bitch." Laz grunted as he reached her side so fast I didn't see him move until his hand snatched Nova by the throat. A savage roar tore from his chest, but in that same second, he flew across the room and slammed into the metal gates. He dropped to the ground with an aching grunt.
With a flick of her hand, all the guys suddenly flew backward, hitting the walls and gate, their moans piercing my soul. But my gaze never left Nova. Hard and harsh, her stare grated over me.
A newfound terror came at me, savagely ripping at my insides. She grinned wickedly, and her whispers floated in the air. "You and I could be unstoppable. We could kill so many. It will be unmerciful."
"Are you mad? That will never happen," I said, my voice trembling from how furious she’d made me. "I've fought for freedom my whole life, so do you really think I’d give up so easily? Especially now that I have found four men who I love? You are crazier than I thought if you think I don't cherish my life to fight until my very last breath."
Her nose wrinkled and brow pinched as her lips peeled back in a show of anger…in a threat. "Then your last breath it will be."
Still fisting the stone, she came at me, silent words falling from my moving lips, words of magic.
The word, run, repeated in my mind, but there was no escape. And I’d had enough of running. I'd lived with hate my whole life, but it ended now.
The air hummed with magic.
My instincts kicked in, and when Nova reached me, I hurled my fist right into her face, having had enough of every damn thing. A horrible pain shot up my arm from the hit, and I shook my arm out, stepping back. "Get the hell out of my life."
She groaned, taken aback from my attack, and swayed on her feet. When she glanced up, fire burned in her eyes as blood trickled from her nose, running across her upper lip and around the edge of her mouth. "You fucking bitch."
That time, she seemed to grow in size, and fear ricocheted within me. I didn't want to be here, not in prison, and definitely not facing a crazy-ass ghost. Something rushed right past me as I was blown back when an explosion of air struck me. I fell into Keon’s arms. He’d caught me, and was holding me tight. But my eyes never left Nova.
Seth towered over her, his palm pressed flat against her chest. He drove her up against the wall. Her breaths rushed out of her mouth like Seth pressed the life force out of her body.
Nova writhed and thrashed, scratching at him. But it only took seconds for her to go from screaming in rage to screaming in terror. Her entire body shook... in fact, the entire room trembled. Dust cascaded from the ceiling and the gate groaned as if it were bending from the sheer energy in the air.
Keon held me tighter, but I couldn't take my gaze from Seth. His power commanded my attention as sparks of white energy rippled outward from his hand on Nova’s chest.
I stiffened, staring at the agony across her face. Just as fast as it began, Seth stepped back, releasing her.
Nova collapsed to the ground in a heap. Her arm sprawled outward and her fingers unfurled. The bright green stone rolled from her palm.
I shrank in against Keon, my heart thundering in my chest.
She didn't move, didn't seem to breathe.
We all moved, staring down at her. I had no idea what to expect... my chest rose and fell hard, but Nova's never did.
"Is she..." I couldn't say the word. I never really knew Nova. It had all been a lie. The ghost had taken this woman's body and controlled her.
"She didn't survive," Seth told us, sorrow darkening his voice. "The spirit had drained her, and the girl had been too weak to fight back."
I might not have known the real Nova, but the agony of her losing her life had my chest tightening. She lost her life because of me.
“And the ghost?” I asked, my voice strangled.
Seth closed the distance between us, and he took my hands in his. There was no power in his touch, not like I'd seen him use on Nova.
"The irony is that her spell not only stopped the pain and helped to heal me, but it gave me back some of my abilities. She energized me without even knowing it. So, I sent the ghost girl into the darkest and deadliest forests in my home realm. She will never find her way out of them to ever harm anyone ever again.”
I looked at Nova's body, the blood smeared across her cheek. There wasn’t a flicker of life in her, even though I wished she’d awaken. It felt like hours had passed since we stepped into this room. Though it had been only minutes. I blinked back the tears for her loss.
One soul taken, another banished.
I should be happy that we found the stone. Instead, hurt and vulnerability enveloped me.
My four men surrounded me, their eyes only for me. "You are all mine," I said, desperate to feel their warmth, to stop the guilt chewing me up from the inside out.
Their eyes met mine, and they agreed. There was no jealousy, no competition between them. The trials we'd faced brought death and terror, but it also made us one.
I fell into Seth's arms. "Please, just hold me."
My four men did just that, and their love ignited a flicker of life and hope in my heart that maybe things might finally turn in our favor.
Chapter 14
Selena
After a while, we shifted our attention to what we’d come for, the Cintamani Stone. We just stood there, staring at it. I finally reached down and picked it up, and squeaked as a rush of power slid up my arm. This thing was powerful. Probably the most powerful thing I'd ever held in my life. No wonder the Warden wanted it so badly. The stone had what seemed like a glowing mist inside of it that swirled and changed from a glowing jade to a lime color and back again.
"It's Buddha's stone, so should we try to tickle its belly?" Keon asked. I was the only one who snorted. Not because it was funny, but because it was so terrible. I guess you couldn't count on a serial killer to have a sense of humor.
That thought made me laugh, though.
"Should we try it out? Make sure it's actually what we've been looking for?" Seth asked, eyeing the stone doubtfully.
"It's the right stone," answered Alaric firmly, confidence radiating in his voice.
"Fuck this. If it is the right stone, let's just use it to get out of here. Cut out the middleman," growled Laz. Of course, that sounded like a great idea, but I had a feeling that the Warden would have expected that.
"I'll try it out," Laz volunteered, grabbing the stone out of my hands. "Get the five of us out of Nightmare Penitentiary," he ordered.
Nothing happened.
"Remove Selena from the prison.”
Nothing.
"Take us to the Warden."
Something was happening to Lazarus with every desperate order he gave. A grayness appeared to his skin, his eyes grew bloodshot, and his breath came out in frantic gasps.
"Stop," I cried, ripping the stone from his grip. "It's killing you."
Laz would have collapsed to the ground were it not for Keon catching him. Keon gently set him down so that he was lying on the stone floor. Laz began to shiver and moan softly to himself. "I'm so weak," he gasped.
"What just happened?" I screeched, practically throwing the stone at Alaric as I went to Laz's side. His skin was icy cold like the stone had leached something from him with every demand.
"I'm thinking the same wards that prevent prisoners from just shifting in and out of here, also contain the stone's power," said Alaric thoughtfully.
"I'm thinking that stone does
n't give away its powers for free," hissed Seth, taking a step away from it.
"I'm thinking that as well," said Keon.
"So, what do we do?" mused Alaric.
Laz gave a hacking cough that left him wheezing just then, that scared me to death.
"Maybe we just give the stone to the Warden and he'll end up getting all his power drained," I murmured as I stroked Laz’s hair.
"That would only be a temporary solution," said Alaric, shaking his head. "I'm sure that Laz's strength will replenish once his healing power kicks in. And there's no guarantee that the Warden would have the same reaction. He's unlike anything I've come across. His power is immense."
Laz shot him a glare at the insinuation that the Warden was stronger than him, which made me feel better. If he was up to a dick-measuring contest, then maybe he wasn't as bad off as I'd thought.
Sure enough, in about an hour, Laz was strong enough to stand up. In that time, Keon had taken Nova’s body to the doctor and called in finding her dead. Laz was still incredibly weak, but at least the guys wouldn't have to drag him all the way out of the pit. We'd spent the hour brainstorming, and we hadn't come up with much.
Except we all agreed that we couldn't trust the Warden to live up to his agreement with Alaric.
"There're no wards in the Warden's office," Keon suddenly said, making me jump as his words echoed around the stone hallway. "I bet the stone works in there."
"I can create something to mimic the stone. Hopefully, he won't be able to read the magical signature, and we can use the actual stone while he's distracted by the fake one."
"You can do that?" I asked Seth in amazement.
He smiled at me shyly. "Like I said, some of my powers seem to be coming back with the use of Nova’s healing magic and the longer that I'm with you," he admitted.
"It's because she's your mate," said Alaric reluctantly. We both stared at him in amazement, but he just shrugged. "It makes sense. If the rest of us are your mates, then I doubt he's the odd man out. And everyone knows that a fae's mate increases their powers. It sure as hell is not increasing because of his daily beatings."