Page 18

EIGHTEEN

Ashley

He was the last person I expected to see, but here was Samuel and I was most certainly awake and at work. Due to the odd things that’d been happening to me lately, I’d come to anticipate almost anything, though I couldn’t say for sure this event was one of them.

“Samuel?” I asked. He nodded and slid from the booth, holding his arm out, motioning me to join him.

Keeping a careful eye on the man, I positioned myself on the seat behind the table. “What would you like to drink?” he asked. “Order whatever you want.”

“Water would be fine for now, thank you,” I replied.

Samuel flicked a glance at a passing server and requested the beverage. “We still have a walking date, if you remember,” he mused. “You promised.”

Reconciling the couple of dreams, I’d had with being actual events hurt my head. Yes, I’d accepted many other things as being true—such as supernatural creatures living, walking, and talking among us. But this, this , felt like too much.

My hand trembled as I lifted the water to my lips, causing some to drip down my chin. Samuel snatched up a napkin and delicately wiped away the errant liquid.

“Thank you,” I acknowledged the act. “This is going to take me a minute,” I said, replacing the glass.

The only reason I’d agreed to go for a hike with the man was because I thought I was dreaming. I had no idea I’d spent time with a living, breathing...demon?

“What are you?” I demanded.

He shoved his hair back over his shoulder. “You already know. Don’t give me that look; you’re a smart girl.”

I sighed. “There’s been a lot to take in lately. I feel like the entire world changed suddenly.”

“For you, I suppose it did.” He leaned back and looked at me, his eyes trailing up and down. “Where’s your Keeper? Did he desert you?”

There was that word again. “I don’t have one and I’ve never had one. Why do you think I do?”

He tilted his head my way, his nostrils flaring. “I can smell him on you. He’s a part of you and he’s fed from you. Will you deny being a vampire’s pet?”

I cleared my throat. “I won’t confirm or deny anything other than to say I’m a free woman.”

A twinge in my chest had me questioning my words. I still missed the man Samuel was obviously referring to, although it was crazy of me to do so. And there was no way I was going to go against Josiah’s orders to not speak a word of my time at Ipomoea, no matter how much I wanted to get it off my chest.

Micha scared me, and perplexingly, all I wanted was to run back to him. His stony, eerie silences, and his habit of lurking about had become fixtures in my life over many months. He was always there. There to torment and harass me, but also there like a possessive lover holding doors open and glaring at anyone who came near me. With the vampire around all the time, the only thing I’d had to worry about was the creature himself.

Samuel appeared satisfied with my feedback, and with what he saw. He looked away and sipped on his water silently, seeming transfixed by the milling crowd.

Patiently, I waited for him to make any requests of me, with my hands folded in my lap, and joined him with perusing the scene spread out before us. After several moments, he reached under the table and grabbed my hands. The sudden contact startling, but I expertly covered up my reaction. We were supposed to be malleable and pleasant, according to Matthew, so our guests felt welcome and had a positive visit. None of the slapping or smacking I’d resorted to with Micha.

“I think tonight is a beautiful evening for a walk through the forest. I can’t wait to show it to you.”

“What do you mean?” I gazed up at him. “Would you like me to go to sleep?”

“No, my dear, that would be very unnecessary,” he assured me, switching his grip on my wrists. He pulled me onto his lap and then everything went black, the sound of rushing wind in my ears. My eyes squeezed shut as he gently held me.

My feet hit the ground, and he kept a grip on me while my head spun at the instant change of location. When he said we were going on a hike, he’d really meant right that very instant.

“How?” I asked, blinking my eyes. “What is this?”

Even though I’d asked, I knew we were back in the woods where we’d first met. This was the same exact spot, evidenced by the slight widening of the path and the oversized oak with long, climbable branches. I’d noted the mammoth tree the last time, but I’d been distracted by the hooded blond and forgotten.

“Where are we?” I asked, gazing in the direction of the massive home I’d been in before and not seeing it. “How is this possible?” The latter question, I murmured to myself as I spun to face Samuel. This was clearly a real place and not an imaginary dreamscape.

“Come,” he said. He began down the path and I followed closely though I doubted he’d let me get lost.

The empty atmosphere, devoid of the hum of vehicles and drone of sirens assured me we were nowhere near New York City. The hyper-detailed dual moons hanging in the sky were another clue this no place I’d ever been in waking life.

“Did you drug my water?”

Samuel shot me a glance. “There’s no need for me to do so.”

“Okay. You would if there was a need?”

His arm snaked behind and snagged me by my forearm, tugging me forward. “Of course, but I don’t poison people unless it's necessary and I have no need at the moment.” I scoffed, shocked at his honesty.

Soon, the path was wide enough I could put some space between us, and I hugged myself, hoping to keep my limbs out of his way. “Why do you want my company? Where are we going?”

“I find you intriguing and I decided to treat myself to the pleasure of your company. There’s no false pretense here. You’re cute, you’re sweet, and spirited, and I thought you’d enjoy a change of venue.”

“But you’re a demon; you people always have an ulterior motive.”

“Self-proclaimed expert on demonology, are we?”

He smirked right as I was about to come back at him. He was joking with me.

“I’ve had some negative experiences with men in the past,” I told him. “Forgive me for not giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

I glanced up at him and he grinned. “Just enjoy the adventure,” he said.

“You forgot to tell me where we’re going,” I said. The trail grew even wider, and I could see a break in the brush ahead, trees framing an exit with lanterns hanging around what appeared to be an ancient road.

He flipped his hood up before answering. “There’s a village just up ahead, we’re going to a bar there for food and drink.”

Once we passed the trees, I took in the small town. At first, it reminded me of a cobblestone area of the Village, a section of lower Manhattan. One of the differences was not only was the road formed of stone, but the sidewalks were as well. With my narrow heels on, I had to lean on Samuel for support.

As buildings came into view, they reminded me of an amusement park attraction modeled after a Gothic fairytale, with their gargoyles, dark and gray stone, soaring jagged spirals, and shuttered windows. It was like walking onto a movie set and I almost expected fire-breathing dragons to land on one of the parapets hundreds of feet above us.

Bay windows and steel-enforced doors graced the storefronts of the medieval style village, and I felt drastically underdressed until a couple women sauntered by wearing even less clothing than I. While their bodies were beautiful, the rest of their features were a stark contrast to what I’d come to expect when in the company of a man such as Samuel. All the men were beyond attractive in their own ways.

“Our women are under a curse. They have been for thousands of years, hexed to have facial flaws. Some female babies escape it, but many do not.” He’d noticed my gawking. “Many have tried to reverse it, but all attempts have failed.”

“What about plastic surgery?”

He shook his head. “They are too prideful for that and those that have undergone procedures find the surgery doesn’t last. It reverts back.”

I couldn’t imagine how awful that would be and immediately felt horrible for the women. “That’s crazy, and so evil. Why would anyone curse someone like that?”

“Unrequited love.” Samuel came to a stop in front of a door. “Love makes one go to extreme lengths and demons aren’t known for their empathy or lack of vindictiveness.”

Confused, I glanced up at him. “I’ve heard demons are incapable of true love so how does that work?” It was one of the warnings Matthew gave us when discussing sponsorship opportunities. Naturally, vampires were the preferred candidates for a lasting, mutual relationship.

“There are different races of demons, clans. But yes, that is true for many.”

He held the door open for me and I entered the noisy space. It was like being transported in a time warp, with the roughhewn wooden tables and booths, sloshing canteens and mugs of beer. I even saw a man stereotypically slap the rear of a buxom server like one would expect in a period movie.

A couple mice scurried by on the floor littered with random strands of hay and there was a cat curled up next to a roaring fire with a black kettle suspended over the flames.

“This is insane,” I said. I had to raise my voice over the laughter and shouting. “Did we fall through a black hole?” He didn’t answer and headed toward the back of the room.

Following Samuel to a table and dodging drunken bodies, I was starting to get a bit excited about the more relaxed atmosphere compared to Angels. It felt like anything could happen at any time and I almost expected knights in armor to burst through the doors. He motioned for me to slide onto a bench seat, and I did, scooting toward the wall.

A woman approached the table, holding a jug in one hand and a filthy rag in the other. “Samuel, haven’t seen you in here in a while. How are you?” She was clearly fond of my companion, a beautiful, wide smile splitting her face that distracted from the twisting, bulbous end of her nose.

“It's been a while, Suzy, I’m glad to be back. This is Ashley,” he greeted her and introduced me.

With a sharp dip of her head, her mouth stretched, and I returned the grin. “Evana is in the back, if you’d like your usual girl.”

“No thank you, give her my regards, please. Bring us some wine and roast?” he asked. “Put it on my card.”

“You got it,” she said, before leaning in closer. “There’s been talk of some scouts in the area. Some big shots stirring up trouble.”

“Oh yeah?”

She was practically swallowing his head now; she was so close. “Yeah, a hitman and an executive are missing in the Third. Watch your back.”

“Thanks for the tip, love.”

She cast a furtive glance at me and then bent to whisper in Samuel’s ear. When she backed away, he let out a low, long, laugh. “Just doing my part,” she said.

After Suzy left, I asked, “What is she talking about? Are you in trouble? Maybe you should bring me back.” Eyeing her as she disappeared into the crowd, I asked another question. “What is the Third?”

“My kind gets into all kinds of trouble, but things have been unstable for a while. I’m not in trouble, you don’t have to worry about that. Just stay close and don’t wander off. Wouldn’t want anyone taking you away from me.”

Was that a possibility? Suddenly, I felt very out of my depth.

Samuel continued, “The Third is where you’re from. This is the Second. They’re Realms; or other dimensions is what they’re generally known as. Demons originate here and humans come from your world.”

“Oh. Okay.” My mind spun. This had always been science fiction or fantasy to me. “So, how’d I get here in my sleep?”

Suzy chose that moment to come back with our food and drinks and Samuel leaned forward for his glass of wine. “There are four ways you can get here. One way is your spirit leaves your body during sleep and finds its way here or to another Realm. The second is someone transports you, such as I did. The other two are either consciously willed or you’ve died, and your soul resides in this Realm. The latter is rare as you’re more likely to end up in the Fourth or Fifth.”

“What are those like?”

“The Fourth and Fifth? The Fourth is most similar to yours and its citizens are varied. It's pretty much an exact replica of the Third, only its more preserved, more natural. The colors are brighter and the air much clearer. The Fifth is... I’m not sure how to explain it but it's more of a hyper-reality than the Fourth. Very few go there; it can be a prison of sorts.”

I took a sip of my wine, mulling over the deluge of information he’d just given me. “The first night I found myself here, I didn’t leave the house. And I saw someone I know there in the room with me. I don’t remember dreaming of this place before. Do you think it's possible I just forgot?”

Samuel cut a chunk out of his steak and ate it, wiping his mouth with a napkin after he swallowed. Suzy came back and topped off our glasses before he spoke again. “It's possible you don’t remember. I’ve seen some strange things, humans thinking they can fly and whatnot. Most likely someone just took you, like I did.”

He shook his head, and I only could only imagine what he was remembering. “Are you important to the person you saw?”

That was a loaded question. What he was suggesting was sobering. Why would Micha go to all the trouble to take my out of my body, bring me to another Realm, and chomp on my boobs? The guy hated me for what he thought happened, right?

“I... I don’t know.”

He gave me a guarded look. “I think you do, and I think it was your Keeper.”

I slammed my glass down. “What is it with this whole Keeper business—no one’s keeping me. I don’t even know what that means.”

“I think the lady protests too much,” he smirked. “I can help you forget about him, if you’d let me.”

Samuel’s hand landed on my bare thigh, and it didn’t feel bad, but then again—it didn’t feel right. Which was ridiculous because me and Micha most definitely did not have a relationship together. Ever.

Regardless, the thought of letting anyone touch me intimately other than him was repulsive.

Gently, I removed his hand, giving him a small smile. He seemed nice enough, and he was handsome, but I wasn’t ready for whatever he had in mind, and I wasn’t sure I ever would be. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think I can take that step right now.”

“You’re going to break my heart.”

“Do you even have one?”

He placed his hands on his chest. “What are you suggesting?” He winked.

I couldn’t stop the giggle. Either he was pretty charming, or this was some incredible wine. “You’re a demon, so...” My voice trailed off.

Samuel cleared his throat before giving me a curious look. “While our version of love is different than yours, we still have strong feelings.” He cut into his steak and lifted a juicy chunk, popping it into his mouth.

My food was almost gone, and I took the last piece and swirled it through the juice and spices on my plate. “What do you mean?”

“We don’t have a conscience; not like you’d understand it. Oh, we know right from wrong, but we don’t have the same barriers against doing something we know would hurt someone else. That means the chances of hurting someone we may say we love are quite high. But loyalty goes a long way. Empires have fallen to retain a woman that belongs to a man.”

“That sounds like selfish love.” You don’t hurt those you love, no matter what. That was my general outlook on the subject.

Andy and I had loved each other—just not the right way. At least not in a way that would keep us in a romantic relationship. The chemistry needed was missing, or something else. Neither of us could figure out what the problem was, but I knew he hadn’t wanted to let go of me at first. He’d never, ever let himself admit defeat a day in his life so the issue may have just been his pride.

Previous to Andy, I’d dated a man that I’d fallen head over heels for, but he turned out to be a serial cheater while professing undying love for me. It’d seemed like he’d loved me. He was supportive, we had tons of fun together, he was there at the drop of a hat whenever I needed him. But he just couldn’t keep it in his pants.

It’d screwed with my head so bad I didn’t date for several years after that one. Andy had felt safe, but then he’d turned out to be too safe. So much so it was easy not to get too romantically attached.

Samuel moved his plate to the side and lifted his glass. “Some women will trade the heart connection for loyalty and security. Both those attributes are useful here, in this harsh environment.”

“Harsh environment?”

“Kill or be killed. There are areas of beauty, but water can be scarce, the ground infertile. There are horrendous storms and much of this land is barren. Clans from the west raid our villages and cities and kill our children.”

“Oh. Children. I guess I never thought of demons as having kids.” A nervous laugh escaped. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t think of that, you had to have come from somewhere.”

“Children are rare, very rare. It makes them extremely valuable, and hence, targets.”

After draining my wine, I said, “That’s why loyalty is so important then, you want a partnership that ensures you survive. That makes sense.” I set my glass down. Suzy came over and cleared our dishes before giving me a smile and walking away.

I almost felt like I was making excuses for a being that’d declared he was incapable of love, but I was enjoying his company and didn’t want him to think I was put off. At the same time, shouldn’t I respect his admission? He was an entirely different species than me. I couldn’t expect him to be the same.

Samuel stood up and held his hand out to me and I grasped it, coming out from behind the table. “See? You get it,” he said.

After I straightened my skirt he said, “Do you want to get back? People might be looking for you.”

“What?” My eyes darted up to meet his.

He tilted his head and looked at me. “Time works differently here; just like in your dreams.” All my blood rushed to my feet when I realized what he was saying.

“Do you want to head back?” A shit-eating grin spread across his face.