Page 31

THIRTY-ONE

Ashley

The only thing I could think to do at the moment was try and play cool. I sat and ate my scrambled eggs as calmly as I could, Isaac’s greeting about the underworld reverberating through my head. I paused, fork mid-air, when Isaac flicked a hand toward a small bowl that then shot across the table. He lifted the cover from the container and used a small spoon to sprinkle what I assumed was salt over his breakfast.

“Don’t worry, you’ll receive special treatment,” Isaac was saying. “As long as you’re compliant.” He covered the dish and flashed me a smile.

A cacophony of noise resounded in my head, and I shook, attempting to stop the ringing and buzzing. I felt like the stupid girl in one of my scary movies, where the heroine foolishly turns to the killer for help while I’m sitting there screaming at the screen telling her to run the other way.

I’d honestly thought I could handle all of this on my own. I’d never heard back from Della, it seemed I’d worked for serial killers, I was surrounded by supernatural beings and Della, well, she was obviously fine, wasn’t she?

I was on my own and despite the unwanted turn of events, I’d honestly thought I’d made the best choice when I saw Samuel. Other than the unwanted kiss, he’d been kind to me until now.

Now that he had me where he wanted me.

“Was this your plan all along? You were conveniently located at a gala near me,” I said with a small, sarcastic laugh, trying to keep my voice light. My fork shook slightly in my hand as I lifted it to my mouth.

The food in Hell was absolutely delicious. I never would’ve thought that; had I ever given it any consideration.

Samuel placed his utensil on the side of his plate and patted his mouth with a napkin. “No, it was not. But yes, you presented me with an opportunity. You’re a wanted woman.”

My heart leaped in my chest. “What do you mean? Who wants me? I was already bought.”

“One more week and you’re fair game.”

The contract between Micha and Matthew. “I do get a choice, though.”

He lifted a steaming cup to his lips. “And you already made it. You came to me; not anyone else. I’d think one would exercise a bit more caution.” He smirked before taking a sip.

“That’s not how choice works. I didn’t choose you,” I retorted. Not to stay with him for eternity, I didn’t.

“I’ll extend some grace seeing as you are unfamiliar with our ways.” He set his drink down carefully, wiping invisible crumbs from the tablecloth. “I have some use for you and human women are prized; for reasons I’ve divulged to you before.”

“What reasons. I don’t remember that.” He already had a housekeeper; plus, he had the weird spirits or whatever they were that haunted his paintings and screwed around in the guest room. “What do you want me for?”

“Clout. You’ve seen our women,” he gave me a pointed glance and I remembered the disfigured beauties I’d seen on our way to the bar. “And it seems some associates of yours murdered one of our leaders. A soul for a soul, and all that.”

The blood drained from my face. “So, you want to keep me for a week and then hand me over to someone else... so they can kill me?”

He appeared thoughtful. “When you put it that way, it sounds so violent.” He glanced up at me. “I like you, and I think we can come to an agreement. I won’t let them kill you.”

He lifted his hand, and the waiter reappeared to pour him a glass of red liquid.

“So, they’ll try?”

“You can always fight your way out. I’ll do what I can to help you.” His lips curled. “I told you life was difficult here. Did you not take that into consideration before you requested my assistance?”

Mandy walked in the same time I pushed my chair from the table and stood up. I needed to go back to the room, think, find a coat, and get ready to leave.

The housekeeper got sucked out of the room and the doors slammed shut. I didn’t think—I ran.

Curling my fingers around the seam of the panels, I did my best to pry them apart as a breeze stirred my hair. I whirled around and Samuel was slowly crossing the space, heading directly my way.

I ran to the other side, catching my foot against a chair and stumbling to the ground. When I pushed myself back up, a rush of wind sent my hair flying into my face and I headed for a window. I traced the lines for a hidden mechanism when I couldn’t see anything that would unlock the massive sheets of glass.

Samuel came around the table, confident he had all the time in the world. Quickly, I grabbed the salt dish and hurled it at the glass. It bounced back, remaining whole and unbroken, and rolled across the floor leaving a white trail. The little spoon dinged against the floor.

He’d almost reached me, and I swiveled my head, trying to decide which way to go. There was another door on the other side of the table, and I shot across the room, intent on reaching it. On my way around the dining set, I tore the chairs away, flinging them to the ground best I could.

They were heavy and unwieldy, and I suddenly felt incredibly stupid as Samuel followed me. He wasn’t even chasing me. I was destroying the room for no reason as he could’ve grabbed me any time he wanted to. It was like a toddler throwing a tantrum, my histrionics.

I was going to have to figure another way out.

“Why would you give me up for death? If you want me, I mean?” Blinking, I straightened my shirt and took a couple deep breaths.

I’d been almost purely survival focused since the minute I’d arrived, letting my head cloud with fear and worry, not really taking in my surroundings under any other lens. As I let the environment sink in, I felt a hollow sense of void. There was an absence, deep and profound, of life. It almost felt like the basement of an old house, the kind of place that terrorized one as a child where only spiders and the creatures of one’s imagination lived.

My skin prickled and my breathing shallowed as the man came to a stop in front of me. It was on the tip of my tongue to apologize for the mess, but I refrained. He stood before me, his eyes glowing with a thin orange ring around his pupils. It looked like lava, his gaze, the fiery colors twisting and turning in a ring.

“I have to answer to a higher power. We all do. But I’m sure we can come to an arrangement.” He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer, the heat of his palm sinking through the material of my shirt. His hot breath caressed the skin of my neck, and I heard him inhale as a strange sensation coursed through me.

Warmth wound through me as I felt a light tug. He was feeding from me, I realized, but it was different than a vampire. It was relaxing, and I wavered on my feet before grabbing his forearm. But hadn’t Micha done this, too?

“Stop,” I pushed at him, trying to use enough force to make it end without insulting him. I was going to have to be careful how I acted if I were ever to be free.

His long hair dragged against the side of my face as he pulled away. “It will take a while to get rid of him. You’re thoroughly infected. I hadn’t realized it’d be so bad with a crossbreed.” He let out a sardonic laugh. “We have our work cut out for us.”

He glanced down at me. “You didn’t know, did you? Your lover, though he may live as a vampire, is half demon. Oh, you didn’t know. How amusing.”

My back hit the edge of the table, and I held the ledge.

“You ran away from him, yet I can see you love him. He can see it too, thanks to his mixed blood. Now you have two powerful beings in pursuit of you. You don’t stand a chance out there on your own.”

Quietly, I said, “He lied to me.”

“Can you blame him?” Samuel turned his head toward the door and Mandy came in, scowling at me before she began cleaning up the mess. “You’ve been claimed by him and now marked by me. Your options have been obliterated.”

“What did you do to my neck?” He’d moved to leave and for lack of anything better to do, I followed.

Casting a glance over his shoulder he answered, “Feeding. The human spirit fortifies us.”

“I didn’t say you could have that.” Could he kill me that way? I was assuming so.

He whirled on me and opened his mouth before seizing me by the shoulders and inhaling. “Your anxiety is a delicacy.” His irises widened, a fire storm raging and brightening his pupils.

My heart was thumping in panic, and I tried to force it to slow down by shutting my mouth and inhaling deep breaths through my nostrils. It helped, slightly, as I swallowed.

Whispering, I asked, “What are you going to do to me?”

“We’ll be friends,” he declared. “You sought me out, remember? You would’ve run from me in the woods the first night you met me if you didn’t want me to be a part of your life.”

“I didn’t know what you were, and I thought I was dreaming.”

“They always do,” he mused.

This time, the artwork on the walls didn’t come alive. I eyed them, waiting for a limb to spring out from the canvas, an eyeball to wink at me, but nothing happened. I relaxed a bit and tried to focus on placing on foot in front of the other when we came to the guest room.

Samuel held the door open for me. “Get changed, we have an appointment to keep.”

Mandy was waiting for me, standing by a closet. “If you don’t choose a gown, one will be chosen for you,” she said, staring down her nose at me. She was shorter than me, but she still managed to glare at me with her yellow, bloodshot eyes and peeling lips curling in permanent distaste.

Curious about her, I asked, “Do you have family here?”

“I’m your family, now.” She slapped her hands together. “Chop, chop.”

The closet contained multiple options that were absent when I explored it last night, further evidence of Samuel’s plans. There was no way he hadn’t been organizing this long before I ran into him at the gala, I decided. This was too convenient.

Rich, jewel tone fabrics hung from the hangers in front of me and I picked a golden creation of soft, diaphanous material. It was a bit see-through in spots but there was enough that with the right undergarments, it would work. The other options appeared to be even more scandalous.

“This is the style? Show everything?” I asked, more to myself than Mandy.

She clicked her tongue. “Your sense of modesty is useless here; you might as well toss it in the bin.”

I glanced at her, surprised at the lower level of venom in her voice. “It's fine, I’ve seen some of the women. It'll be good to blend in.” She leveled a gaze. “I mean fashion-wise.”

I hadn’t meant to insult her people. I wasn’t bad looking by any means, but neither was I a supermodel. With makeup on, I could be considered pretty. Other’s opinions of my appearance had always seemed to be a matter of personal taste. To some, I was gorgeous. But to others, merely average and ordinary.

Here, in the Second Realm, I’d definitely be a super model.

My hands shook as I removed the dress from the hanger and laid it on the bed. “Do you know where I’m going?”

Mandy was rifling through the top drawer of one of the dressers. She pulled out a G-string that matched the dress and I realized, belatedly, it’d be impossible to wear a bra with the thing.

She handed me the scrap of fabric. “To Court. You’ll meet the Collective. Samuel will present you and then the two of you will go from there.”

“You said he’s a Lord; can’t he decide my fate. I mean, to a degree?”

She snickered. “Yes, to a degree. His word carries some weight.” She glanced at me. “You must be someone important, if they’re going to all this trouble for you.”

Shaking my head, I replied, “I’m not. I’m just a woman who made a lot of dumb choices and got caught up in some bullshit.”

She appeared thoughtful, for a moment, tilting her head and looking me over. “They’re not all bad, you know. If you’re obedient and kind, compliant, you could have a good life.”

My heart twinged in my chest and my eyes smarted. “Is that so?”

“Your heart is elsewhere,” Mandy stated.

Hope filled me over the possibility of an ally. “It is. It was. He lied to me, tricked me, and I killed him.”

Horror stretched across her features. “I’m not your friend, keep that in mind. What Samuel requires of me is what I do, whatever that may be.” She gave me another look. “Don’t trust anyone.”

Making a mental note not to bring up homicide at court, I said “Thanks for the tip.”

“I didn’t give you any tips, I gave you facts. Get dressed, Lord Samuel does not bear waiting or tardiness.”

Working at Angels shed any shred of modesty I may have had prior, and I stripped right there in the center of the room. Mandy lifted the dress, holding the fabric loosely, and placed it over my head. The fabric swung down around me, weightlessly caressing my skin.

To my amazement, the dress molded to my figure, hugging my hips and supporting my breasts. “Wow. Is this dress magic?” I was only half serious.

“Yes, it's in the fabric. Stop fussing with it.” I dropped my hands. “Into the bathroom. I’ll do your hair and makeup.”

I followed her into the ensuite. “I can do my own hair,” I told her. “It’s curly.”

She motioned for me to sit on a stool she pulled out from under a counter. “Don’t question my abilities.”

I wanted to smack her with the hairbrush sitting on the counter. “Just don’t use a brush.”

She gripped the top of my head with her fingers and yanked me into the position she wanted as I winced.

Mandy poked and prodded, sprayed and twisted, with the assistance of the wraiths. I didn’t see them, but I sure as hell felt them. My skin tingled and prickled, my hair lifting in places she was nowhere nearby. When she was finished, I stepped up to the mirror that stretched across the wall.

My skin glowed with a golden luminescence and my curls tumbled over my shoulders, each one smoothed into submission and sparkling under the harsh lighting. I looked fantastic.

Mandy stood back, a self-satisfied smile on her face. “I did well. You clean up pretty nice, Samuel will be pleased.”

“Thank you,” I replied to the backhanded compliment. She left me admiring my gaze in the mirror and I exited shortly after.

We’d be going to what I guessed was a state building, if we were meeting with leaders, and that meant we’d be going outside. There should be opportunities to escape. I kept that in mind as I selected a pair of shoes, settling on something with a low heel.

I’d just slipped my feet into the satin-wrapped sandals when Samuel walked in.

“Oh, don’t you look delicious my dear.”