Page 21 of Contract Marked (Interdimensional Beings #1)
Chapter Twenty-One
Erin
O ur landing was far from pretty. Fortunately, with our added weight, we didn’t soar high enough in the air for Lucy to break her legs upon landing, but her aim could have been better. We fell through a canopy of trees, closest to the arena where I first spotted Lucy.
Thickets of branches and leaves pelted us, adding to my collection of cuts and bruises, as we fell to the forest floor. Lucy cushioned my fall as we landed with a thump. She cried out in pain, but aside from a few scrapes on her hand and the wind temporarily knocked out of her, she seemed relatively okay. Better than me was who would soon die from blood loss, lightheadedness creeping in.
Lucy noticed, too, and started to panic. I gave her the silver coin and, using the rest of my energy, told her how to get us back to Dez’s house before I passed out.
Voices buzzed around me, but I was too tired to open my eyes. At least I laid on something soft, and the pain had blissfully gone away. Maybe I did die.
“What the fuck happened?” It sounded like Dez, but exhaustion tugged at me, making my thoughts sluggish.
Someone was crying, loud and shrill. Another voice, softer but distinctly feminine, consoled the one crying.
“I was gone for just a moment, and now I have the Council, Tatianna, and Cal on my ass. What. Did. She. Do?”
“I told you, I don’t know!” A hiccup. “But she saved my life. You … you should’ve been there!”
The softer voice hushed the crying woman, sending her a quiet warning.
The room went silent to the point I thought I’d drifted off again.
“You’re right,” the deep voice finally said. “I forgot you didn’t have the same protection. I should’ve been more careful with you.”
“I almost died!”
“I told you it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine here, Lucille. I hope you learned your lesson from tonight’s disaster.” He sighed. “Leave us. I’ll piece together this mess before the Council shows up.”
A shuffle of feet echoed before a door gently shut.
I fell back to sleep.
Light flickered in front of my eyelids, and I stirred. Someone was holding my arm, dressing it in what felt like gauze. I still didn’t feel any pain, but I knew that was the arm the lion’s fang had gouged.
I licked my lips; my mouth felt so dry.
“Here, some water.”
I managed to open my eyes to see Saya at my bedside, a glass of water in hand. She brought it to my lips, and I drank as if I hadn’t drunk for weeks.
“What … what happened?” We were in a different bedroom, but it didn’t belong to Dez or the girls. Blood-stained towels covered the white marble floor, the walls a plain gray with no notable artwork. From my angle on the bed, I couldn’t see much except the starry night sky outside the windows.
Saya sat in a chair that she pulled over by the bed, a first aid kit opened in her lap. She wore a simple blue dress, her short black hair tucked behind her ears. “I should be asking you that. Master is furious and Lucille has been crying on and off. I think she’s in shock.”
I grimaced. At least Dez wasn’t here so I had a chance to think before he came asking questions. Cal, Tatianna, and the whole damn arena saw me with crazy powers I’m sure no other human is supposed to have. But only Cal and Tatianna had been close enough to see me with the silver coin and possibly put two and two together.
The coin. Shit, Lucy still has it.
“Where’s Lucy? Is she okay?”
Saya nodded. “She’s in her room, I believe. She refuses to speak to Master, not that he’s been around much. It sounds like whatever happened got the Council’s attention, and they’ve been asking him a lot of questions.”
“I bet.” I picked up my arm, seeing it wrapped in bandages and clean of blood. “I take it I have you to thank for patching me up?”
Saya blushed. “Actually, it was Master. There was … a lot of blood. I don’t think I’d ever seen him so panicked before, and your old bedroom … well, it’s no longer suitable for guests. We were all worried.”
Most likely, Dez was just worried I’d die before telling him what Cal wanted to know. I wouldn’t trust that bastard as far as I could throw him. If only I’d taken Saya’s warning more seriously.
“What happened, Erin?” I could tell curiosity was eating away at Saya, but should I tell her the truth? That coin could grant a human with powers almost equivalent to Dez. It was also my only ticket to get me and Megan back home to Earth. It was already a big enough risk that Lucy now knew too. I hoped I could get it back without too much of a fight.
I sighed. “It’s … a long story. I’ll tell you later.” Saya frowned, but I didn’t let that guilt me. “Did Lucy say anything about the party? She was acting strange like she wasn’t fully herself.”
Saya’s brows pinched, and she glanced out the window. Moonlight grazed across her petite face, notable bags beneath her eyes. How long had I been out?
“Master said it had something to do with the energy at the party. Humans can fall prey to the … atmosphere, he said. Since Lucy didn’t have anything binding her to The Higher Realms, like a contract mark, it was as if she had been drugged. Or drank a whole cellar of wine like we almost did that night on the sailboat.” She smiled, then as if remembering the full night—with Rowan—her smile vanished.
There were so many things I needed to write down to remember. Speaking of, where was my purse? I didn’t see a gold purse anywhere on the ground. It must’ve snapped off when I went into superhero mode.
“Do you mind asking Lucy to visit when she can?” I tried to hide the urgency in my voice, but I needed that coin back as soon as possible. I needed to get to that room and burn everything before Dez wrung the truth out of me. Not that Cal would be too happy with me either after the situation I left him in, but I’ll take my chances right now. After all, Cal had to let me see Megan.
I tried to sit up, but Saya gently pushed my chest back down. “Don’t push yourself. Master’s powers and the healers can only do so much. After all, we’re still human.” Her eyes glazed over as if remembering her time with her previous contractor. “I’ll let Lucy know to come visit you.”
The room shook. The bedside lamp was knocked over with a crash, making both of us flinch.
“What’s going on?” Dez’s house had never shaken before. And something told me it wasn’t an earthquake.
Saya had a syringe in her hand, and before I could pull my arm back, she was injecting a clear liquid into my upper arm. “What … what are … you doing?” My words turned sluggish and her eyes had gone hollow, as if she had done this a million times before.
“I’m sorry, Master’s orders. I’ll be back soon. Get some rest.”
Darkness cradled me once again.
My consciousness stirred awake, but I couldn’t shake the grogginess, hovering in an odd state of limbo between reality and sleep. A door opened, and it was as if someone had sat on my chest. Like I was sinking into the ocean, the pressure rising as I suffocated.
Vanilla and sandalwood teased my senses, and I imagined bubbles of air being sent to my sinking body, allowing me to breathe once more.
Dez’s voice echoed next to me. “My esteemed Council members, welcome back. Here is the lady you’ve been searching for.”
The Council? Welcome back? The Council had already been here? I tried to raise my hand and call out to them. If I could ask about Megan’s contract now, I wouldn’t need to wait for the meeting date, but my body wouldn’t move .
A multitude of voices murmured, almost like a choir singing the same chorus, with one standing out more than the others. I couldn’t tell if one person was speaking or if all of them were talking together. “They’re just a Lower Realms’ being. They shouldn’t have access to realm manipulation. Was she holding anything at the moment realm manipulation had been used?”
Shit . Did they know?
“With all due respect, I wasn’t present for … the incident that took place, and as you can see, the lady in question is currently not in a state to speak.” Dez’s voice was unusually soft spoken, almost persuasive. “Caliphiste was there when it all happened. He would have more details.”
Tatianna was there too, but did he omit that on purpose, or did he not know?
“We have been in contact. Realm manipulation had been used, but it is unclear by who.”
“From my understanding, it isn’t against our laws for a Lower Realms’ being to utilize realm manipulation, as long as they’re in compliance, like the rest of us. The tools to acquire this ability have been outlawed, but the act itself isn’t against our laws. You’re free to search her if you wish.”
Tools? Were there other ways humans could gain powers?
More murmurs. The room shook, but it also could’ve been just me. With my eyes still sealed, it was hard to tell. No hands touched me, but a shiver radiated across every inch of my skin as if I had been scanned.
“You’re correct. The act itself is in compliance and no illegal tools have been found on the being in question. Your perspective will be a great addition when you take the Council member chair,” the choir spoke.
Dez’s tone was careful but stern. “Apologies, but as I’ve said before, I will not be accepting that position.”
That was news to me. Did his so-called friends know?
“We have eternity at our feet. It is only a matter of when, Dezmandaro, that you join us.”
Dez didn’t respond.
“As you say, we will review this incident with careful scrutiny and redefine the boundaries of the Laws of the Higher Realms. For the safety of all, and to be in balance with the universe.”
“For the safety of all,” Dez murmured.
The pressure evaporated, and I could breathe easily again
Had Dez drugged me so I would be unable to incriminate myself? Or was it to prevent me from incriminating him? Before Tatianna’s bizarre party, I would’ve believed Dez had done this to protect me. But now I knew better.
He did this to protect himself.