Marked By Lies: A Reverse Harem Series (The Marked Series Book 1)

by Paige Orr

  Finally, his words seem to penetrate through the red fog that is consuming us both, and I relax into Eli’s hold. I don’t know what came over me, but this shit needs to stop. We need to have each others backs.

  “He’s right, this isn’t helping anyone. I’m sorry, Morph.”

  “I’m sorry too, I usually have better control of myself than that.”

  “I think the pressure of it all is getting to us, next time we feel like killing each other though, maybe we should get some air.”

  “Yeah, that would probably be best.”

  He offers me his hand, and I grasp it in mine, giving it a firm shake. If we can manage to keep our cool, then maybe we can actually do something about this shit. Because Eli made some great points, we can’t exactly help anyone if we’re dead, all because of our fucking egos.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Melissa

  I slowly begin to come to, and I feel my head throbbing in time with my heartbeat. It takes me a few minutes to remember what happened, but when I do, I jerk forward in my seat. I don’t get very far though, as something digs into my wrists, pulling me back against the seat. I try to open my eyes, finding that I can’t see a thing, and the feeling of what smells like someone's sweaty socks sits across my eyes.

  Seriously, you would think that whoever tied me up, would have at least used a clean bit of cloth. But no, instead I’m going to have to scrub my skin with bleach when I get out of here. I have no idea how long I’ve been here, but surely the guys and Annika must be looking for me by now.

  I hear someone tutting from close by on my right side, and my body tenses. How I never noticed someone in here with me, I’ll never know. I thought they said that your other senses become heightened when another is taken from you. I listen closely as whoever it is stomps their way across the room before crouching before me and placing their sweaty hand on my shoulders.

  My heart rises into my throat, knowing that whoever has me wouldn’t be making so much noise if the others were still here. I don’t want to let my fear ride me, but the thought of facing the whole cult on my own has my stomach sinking. I guess I’m just going to hope that luck is on my side, but either way, I need to get away from this fucker and find the abducted Fae. I sure as hell ain’t leaving here without them!

  “I have to say Miss Greene, I’m rather disappointed in you.”

  I suck in a shocked breath through my teeth, recognition filling me at the sound of the same sleazy voice that sat across my desk from me when Morpheus and Zaphyr came to my office. I seethe as I address my captor with a sarcastic sneer.

  “It’s lovely to meet you again too, Mr. Sullivan. Although I must admit, I don’t usually let anyone tie me up on the second date, usually I at least wait until the third.”

  His hand comes at me out of nowhere, striking me across the cheek, and the taste of blood fills my mouth. I spit, hopefully right in the fucker's face, and give him a smile. If he thinks that shit will intimidate me, then he’s barking up the wrong tree.

  “I really should be thanking you. Without your help in retrieving the necklace from that Seelie bastard, our ritual wouldn’t even be possible.”

  My breath rushes out of me, and I feel like he’s hit me with a fucking bat. How could I be so stupid to not figure all of this shit out sooner? It will all be my fault if they are successful with their disgusting ritual. I’ll never be able to forgive myself for my part in their messed up plans, and I don’t think the guys will be able to forgive me either.

  “You know scumbag, being a power hungry ass is such a turnoff. It doesn’t surprise me you have to force people to do things for you though, it’s quite obvious that you’re a pathetic little needle dick prick.”

  Another slap connects with my right cheek. You think he would at least change it up a bit for fuck's sake. Why do the bad guys always have to be so fucking predictable? They are so focused on telling you how much smarter they are than you, that they don’t realize just how stupid they are.

  “You know Melissa, I thought a half-breed like yourself would detest those bastards just as much as we do, but it seems I was wrong about you.”

  “I’m no half-breed, you crazy fucker!”

  “We both know that’s not true, no human has such a strong affinity with the dead, don’t think I didn’t do my research before hiring you. It’s just a shame that you let yourself be influenced by the Fae.”

  I growl at him, causing him to laugh at me before making his way across the room. If he thinks I'm going to fall for his little comment, and sit here second guessing my whole life, then he's sorely mistaken. I hear the door opening, and he stops in his tracks, no doubt thinking of some cliche bullshit to say to me before leaving me here.

  “You’re too late to stop us Miss Greene, you’ll never be able to save them, not now anyway.”

  Ding, ding, ding! Ten points to Slytherin. I can’t even give him props for creativity, not that I’m all that surprised. He doesn’t strike me as the smartest man. The door slams behind him as he makes his exit, and I lean my head back, letting out a frustrated sigh.

  I know that I can’t afford to just sit here feeling sorry for myself, but I can at least beat myself up for a moment. After that moment though, I straighten up, testing my restraints. Obviously whoever tied my wrists had no fucking idea how to tie up someone who was unconscious, because there is just enough slack for me to to begin working the rope looser.

  I don’t know how long I spend sitting there twisting my wrists around to produce more slack, but it has definitely been at least five minutes when the rope finally begins to give way.

  I let out a sigh of relief as I manage to slip one wrist free from the restraints, bringing it up to remove my blindfold, quickly dropping it when I see just how disgusting the piece of cloth is. Now that I’m able to see again, I notice the fading sunlight coming in through the blinds on the window. Shit, I must have been out longer than I thought if it’s already the next night. That raises the question though, where are the others?

  I just have to hope that they didn’t stick around to look for me, I don’t exactly have time to hunt for them too. With any luck, they made it out of here without any mishaps, although, how they never found me in their search throughout the house, I’ll never know.

  Since the cult is probably thinking about killing me once they finish the ritual, I'm not all that surprised with the disgusting way they're treating me. That doesn't mean I have to like it though.

  I make quick work of the rest of my restraints now that I’m able to see, and begin to rub feeling back into my limbs. I sure as hell know that there won’t be any after care from my captor. I get to my feet, looking around the small room for any sign of my things. I don’t think that they would have been stupid enough to leave my guns so close by, but you never know with assholes like this.

  Unfortunately, I see no signs of them, and from what Mr. Sullivan said to me before leaving the room, I know that I don’t have time to go looking for them, I’ll just have to improvise to break up their little party. I tiptoe my way across the room, noticing a poker beside the fireplace. At least this baby, will be enough to bash in any skulls of the people who get too close.

  I grip the pocket tightly in my hand, making my way towards the door, and taking a deep breath. I ease the door open carefully, slipping out in to the hallway and find that the fuckers were so confident that they never even left anyone to guard the room they were keeping me in, unbe-fucking-lievable.

  I creep my way through the house, still unable to find any traces of the cult and their captives. How in the world have they managed to pull this shit off? The blueprints didn’t show anywhere else that they could be hiding, so where the fuck are they.

  I make my way downstairs, jumping at every creak below my feet. I’m not usually this all over the place, but I really would like to keep my skull in one piece, if at all possible. Although, with the fact that I’m about to face down a crazed cult, all on my lonesome, the odds aren’
t exactly stacked in my favor.

  As I reach the back of the house, I pause when a strange sound reaches my ears. So low that I’m surprised that I can even hear it. The sound of chanting comes from the back garden. Surely they aren’t performing a ritual that involves sacrifice out in the open like that, not even they are that stupid. There is no other place out there though.

  I reach the backdoor, scanning around the place for any sign of, well I don’t really know. I don’t want to stereotype, but I can’t help picturing a group of cloaked figures, all speaking in some unforgotten tongue. The thought itself causes a giggle to slip past my lips, and I quietly clear my throat, making sure I wasn’t heard.

  I make my way outside, trying to discern where the chanting is coming from, and follow the sound until I reach the shed. The voices are much louder now, leading me to believe that I’m close, but there is no way the full cult and the missing Fae could all be crammed into this tiny shed.

  I slowly open the door, stopping just as the hinges begin to creak, and just manage to slip through the gap. Once I'm inside, I ease the door shut, not wanting it to slam behind me, and turn to find an empty shed. This shit doesn’t even make sense. But I know I don’t have long to figure it out as the voices begin to gradually get louder, obviously near the crescendo of their ritual.

  I look around frantically for anything that could be where they are hiding, and just as I’m about to give up hope, my foot hits something, causing a hollow sound to reach my ears. Quickly crouching down, my heart races when I find the trap door. These bastards really have a penchant for holes in the ground. Well, I’ll make sure that their fucking graves are nice and roomy.

  I ease the door up, surprised to find hinges that are well oiled. The rest of the place made me feel like creaky hinges was their aesthetic. I slip inside the door, lowering it gently behind me, and begin to make my way through the tunnel in front of me. How they managed to get away with building their little underground bunker without any planning permission is beyond me.

  As I get closer to the end of the tunnel, the voices reverberate against the walls around, sounding like they are coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. I won’t deny that this shit is creepy, but I push through the nerves beginning to make their way through me until I come to a bend in the tunnel.

  Peeking my head around the corner, I can make out a large group of people, and I know that I’ve finally found what I’m looking for. I just wish that I could let the others know about this place. Sure, they wouldn’t be able to get here in time to help out with stopping the ritual, but it would be nice to know I had backup on the way.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Zaphyr

  We all sit around Melissa’s apartment, lost in our own thoughts, worrying about what could have happened to her. Even Annika’s spell found nothing, it just kept telling us she was still at the house. That’s impossible though, my shadows couldn’t find a damn thing, and they never miss things like that.

  We are all lost without her here. None of us have any idea where we are supposed to go from here. When we investigated things on our own, we found fuck all. The only person who has managed to solve anything in this case is the one fucking person who isn’t here. Cail and Eli should never have let her leave on her own.

  I don’t even want to think about what those bastards could be doing to her right now, because I’m pretty damn sure they aren’t sitting around having a fucking tea party. For all we know, they could have already killed her, but either way she isn’t fucking here. This has all blown up in our faces, and I don’t know what we’re supposed to do to make any of it better.

  For the first time in my life, I feel completely powerless, and It’s not a feeling that I like very much. What I do know is that I will fucking find these bastards, even if it’s the last thing I fucking do. They have been pushing me to the end of my ether for too long now, and I refuse to continue to let them walk all over me.

  I wish that I could talk to Melissa’s ghost friend; I bet he would be able to find her a lot easier than we could. I know that last night we said we can’t split ourselves apart to look for Melissa separately from our people, but now they are most likely together, so it’s only fear that’s holding us back.

  This feeling is so foreign to me, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to be acting. Should I be losing the rag and letting the anger out, or should I be using it to help me focus better. Either way, it all feels like it’s hopeless. Everything keeps going wrong for us, and I have no idea how to make it all better.

  Everyone is in a somber mood as we wait for a sign on what we should do. I’ve never seen us all so lost like this, and it's doing nothing to help the nerves that I’m feeling. I don’t know how much longer I can take, sitting around here doing nothing, It's driving me completely stir crazy!

  Annika is beating herself up the worst of us all, feeling like if she hadn’t given us the address, then Melissa would be here right now. That’s why she’s currently sitting on the floor, doing a tracking spell repeatedly. Wanting something to do so I don’t go mad with worry, I approach her to see if there is anything that I can do.

  “Hey Annika, anything I can help with?”

  “No. I just keep getting the same answer, and it doesn’t make sense. I keep tracing her back to where we last saw her, but that’s not possible!”

  “Is there anyway that the cults Witch could be messing with your spell?”

  “Yes, and no. Magic is a very complicated thing, as I’m sure you’re already aware. They could divert the spell, but there are ways to get around those types of things, and I’ve done every single one.”

  “Then is there anything else that could be stopping you from finding here?”

  “Of course, but I’m pretty positive that their little Witch isn’t strong enough for that type of shit.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Believe it or not, the spell work they have been performing to wipe auras and stuff, that’s Witch 101. Tracking and the spells that can stop pitfall under divination, which is a lot harder to do. Shit, some Witches never fully gain an understanding of it.”

  “So what your saying is, that any magic she does know is self taught after growing up without a coven. Especially if our guesses about her being brought up in the foster system are correct.”

  “Exactly! My computer is running a programme that I made myself to narrow down the suspect from the list of possible Witches that are or were in the foster system. Being a rogue Witch isn’t as simple as some might believe.”

  “When do you think that the programme will have the results ready for you?”

  “Probably another half hour to an hour. There are a lot more Witches that slip through the cracks than I thought. All that’s needed for the Witch gene to be activated is for one of the parents to have even one ancestor who had any magical ability.”

  I can see that talking things through has helped to center her a little, and I must admit that it’s cleared some of the red fog from my own mind. We just have to be patient and wait for these results. The more we know, the easier it will be to locate them.

  “Alright, let me know when you find something.”

  She absently nods her head at me and I take that as my cue to leave her alone. Heading back to my chair, I think over everything that has happened since I met Melissa. From catching her stealing from Cailean, which I thought was hilarious, to carrying her back here after she was shot.

  Which inevitably makes me think about the kiss we shared together. It may sound like some cliche bullshit, but when our lips touched, it was like electricity shot through my veins. I’ve never had such a visceral reaction to a woman before, and I don’t think I ever will again. Her body moulded against mine so fucking perfectly, and if I was any less of a gentleman, then I would have taken her right then and there against that tree.

  Well, saying that I’m a gentleman isn’t exactly true. If it was any other woman, I wouldn’t have cared about propri
ety, but I could never act like that towards her. The first time I have her, I want to spend hours getting to know every nuance of her delectable body.

  There definitely hasn’t been a dull moment since I caught sight of her standing out from the crowd at Cail’s party. It’s amazing how I feel like I’ve known her for a lifetime, and being as old as I am, that’s such a rare occurrence. After three hundred and fifty-six years alive, and between Faerie and Earth, I’ve never met anyone quite so remarkable.

  My attachment to someone that I’ve just met is beyond my comprehension. Even Morpheus had to spend years building up his trust with me. That’s something that I learned from an early age, being the only heir to the throne. You never really know who is worthy of your trust.

  I know that might seem like a harsh way to look at life and those around you, but too many things have happened to show me that it’s a smart outlook. Fae are good at getting what they want, and they never care about those that they hurt in the process.

  I shouldn’t let my mind go down that dark path though, after all these years, there are way too many people that I wish to never think of again. It was a good distraction while it lasted, but even all the horrible shit that’s happened over the years isn’t truly enough to keep my mind off of Melissa.

  There is nothing more that I can do until we know more, so I try to catch up on some work on my phone. I just hope that she’s okay.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Melissa

  I crouch down to make it harder for anyone to be able to spot me, and keeping my back to the wall, I slowly make my way down the rest of the tunnel. What I see when I reach the end of the tunnel though, has me freezing in place.

  Stationed around the room, I can see at least three Harpies standing guard over the cult members as they continue with their ritual. Leaning against the back wall is a young girl who looks bored out of her mind as she picks at her nails with a pocket knife. Since she’s not participating in the ritual itself, I can only assume that this is the Witch that they have convinced to work with them.