Beguiled (Book 2 Immortal Essence series) (7 page)

Angela nodded. As she worked I
thought
of Zar
en. He must’ve realized I
didn’t attend
the meeting with the Chans. I imagined him beside himself with worry, which filled my chest with a sliver of hope.
He’d soon discover I’d vanished.
But w
ould he think
I ran
away
?
No, more likely he’d believe I
succum
bed to the sea. Either way, he would
search for me.

I needed a distraction
, something to take my mind off my worry
. “
How long have
you work
ed
f
or Ramien?” I asked, peering at Angela
in the mirror. “You look to
o
young to work. Shouldn’t you be home with your parents?”

“Oh, it isn’t by choice.”
She
gulped, covering
her hands with her mouth. Then recovered. “Forgive my outburst. I didn’t mean it.” Tears steamed down her cheeks. “Oh, please. Don’t say anything to master. Please.”

“
Are you a prisoner?”
I sat up straighter and tried t
o catch her gaze in the mirror.
“
Speak the truth
or I’ll be forced to confront Ramien immediately.
Are
. You. A. P
risoner?
”
I spoke slowly to give her time to compose
herself
.

Angela
acted like
she
didn’t say
anything about Ramien and
had
n’t
burst into tears. She proceeded to braid my hair, and wind the length of it over the crown of my head, fastening the end behind my ear.
S
he’d done a marvelous job. Little wisps of hair flowed at varying places
, framing my face
. The style flattered without being pretentious.

Once she was finished, she said,
“I died more than a hundred years ago.
”

It occurred to
me then
she
might
not be working on all cylinders.
I spun with the chair to face
her.
“You look . . .
young for someone over a hundred.”

Angela
blanched, and
looked in
the mirror.
I rose and
watched her take in her
reflection
, as though for the first time. She wiped
fresh tears.
“This is what I looked like when I died. I drown in the Alayeahean Sea after being swept away by a wave.
My parents, my little brother
,
and I
went
to the beach for the day. A last hurrah before classes were to begin again. My brother and I jumped in the wave
s. We were laughing, having fun . . .
”

I grasped one of
her hands in mine. “Angela, if you died your soul would return
to the Creator. You wouldn’t be here. Helker is for criminals.
For those awaiting trial.
You’ve done nothing wrong. Have you?”

She shook her head.

A fearful knot twisted in my belly.
“You can’t be dead. Otherwise you wouldn’t still be on Kelari.”

She pulled out of my grasp and turned away.
“I’m sorry to be the one to
tell
you, but that isn’t true. It hasn’t been true
for
a thousand years.
Not all of it. Sure the first and second degrees of Helker are for those who’ve committed a crime, but there’s a third degree.
Ra—
” She stopped talking.
Her face turned a terrible shade of maroon. Her lips turned blue.
Gagging sounds escaped her throat.

“Angela?” I
grabbed her arms. “What’s wrong?”

Tears leaked onto her cheeks. She tried to smile. Then her eyes changed from silver to black.
What looked like
oil
began leaking from
the
sockets.
One by one her teeth fell from her mouth. When her nose fell off, I
darted
back
.

“Angela
!
”

Her body disappeared.

The door flew open and Ramien entered. He looked me over and frowned. “I’d hoped you’d wear the dress.”

“
I have no desire to wear it. I’m not here for a party.”
My words sounded fiercer than I felt.
I was still frightened by what happened to Angela.

“We’ll see,” he returned.

Clenching my hands into fists, hoping he
wouldn’t
notice they shook, I continued, “
What happened t
o Angela? She said she died a hundred
years ago.
And, where are my parents?
” I came to stand
directly in front of him.
He was as tall as Michael. His eyes were black
, and a
strange, sweet smell surrounded him.

He doesn’t possess a soul
, a voice
snarled
.

It was Tortevia. I had no reason to
identify
the voice inside my mind
as hers, but
I knew it. So, she
could
do more than lick my finger
s.

“I’ll have to punish Angela for speaking out of turn. It wasn’t her place to tell you anything.” He grabbed my arm.

“Don’t you dare put your hands on me.” I kneed him in the groin. He didn’t even blink.

Malice
tensed
his face.
Forcing me
through the doorway, and in
the dining hall, he pushed me into one of the chairs. “Michael told me you were arrogant. I like
fire in my companions
.”

“Whe
re is Michael?
”

He gasped in mock distain. “You
r
concern for my
son
is touching.”

5.
Are You
Gonna
Go My Way

“Your son?”
The air
retreated
from
my lungs.

“Oh, didn’t
Michael
tell you
?” A sly grin relaxed his face. “
Y
es, I am Michael’s father.”

“Are you
a
kelvieri?” I
peeked
at his feet, to see if he wore a pair of the kelv
ieri’s boots. At first glance I noticed
glossy
brown
loafers
, but they immediately changed into a pair of kelvieri
’s
boots. It was difficult to make out the symbols in the heels because of the way
Ramien
stood, but the latches, the sleek black material—they looked
exactly like mine. “How did you . . .
?” I
realized I didn’t care how, and
changed directions. “Y
ou
are
a kelvieri.
”
I don’t know why it was im
portant. Maybe so
I would
know what Michael was.

“It’s hard to believe you’ve been to another planet. Your view of the Universe is still so small.” As he spoke his
body changed. The once striking man was gone. In his place stood a creature.
With the head of a lion, the wings of an irrihunter,
the body of an elephant,
and
legs and feet
like mine
.

“What? How did you—”
I stopped, stumped.
I’d never seen a creature like him before, one who
was able to alter his appearance
.
“And you’re Michael’s father?” I
knew I
repeated
myself
. He already said as much
, but I
didn’t
quite believe it.

“Your preoccupation
with the parental dynamic
is very
. . .
mortal
.” He morphed back
.

I leaned forward curious about
his species
. Could
Michael
shift forms the way Ra
mien did
? “Where are you from
?”

He laughed, a hollow, joyless laugh. “
Such a curious little thing.
” He sat on the end of
my
chaise and tucked his legs beneath him,
reminding me of a young schoolboy. “I am a ferether
. I come from the planet Stiel.”

“Oh,” I uttered. I’d never heard of Stiel.
“So, why are you on Kelari, and . . .
” As with Michael on the beach, I
unexpectedly
felt a strong energy
beat
from Ramien and
push
through me
. The pulse
tugged
at my core, drawing
something
out of me. “
Wh
-what are you doing?” I
scoote
d away, but the feeling persisted.

Euphoria spread over his features followed by a questioning gaze. “You are divine. Michael has once again spoken the truth.” The tugging stopped as suddenly as it started. “
You felt that
?” Ramien asked.

“Yes. It felt as though I was being turned inside out.”

He laughed. “An excellent way to describe it
, though usually
a great deal of pain is
involved
.
I
wondered with you.
” He leaned closer, lowered his voice, and patted my hand. “
The sensation
you so aptly described
was me taking your essence inside me, tasting it, rolling it around on my tongue as I savored you.”

The innuendo laced within each word filled me with
loathing
. “You’re disgusting,” I hissed, lifting my chin, praying
my lower lip didn’t quake.

“Perhaps, my dear.
But
this is
why I’m on your planet.
For t
he es
sence of
Kelari’s
higher souls.”

“I don’t get it.
You taste a higher souls essence for what purpose?”
I pushed my
spine further into
the chair. The longer I spent in Ramien’s presence, the more
uncomfortable
I became.

“I do it because the essence of a soul feeds me,
makes me feel alive.” Ramien stood and walked over
to
a fireplace that appeared out of thin air. A roarin
g fire sprung to life, and its heat warmed my skin. Then he turned, and his vacant eyes bore into mine. “Most importantly
,
I do it because I like it.”

If I could’ve run, I would have.
I was taught Helker was an unpleasant place, but I’d believed it was a prison meant for guilty kelarians. But this .
. . Helker where Ramien dwelt
. . . My mind flashed to poor Angela. Her body fell apart
like hardened clay
and vanished. I shuddered. My parents were here, so
mewhere. I had to get them out.

“Unbelievable! D
o the gods know you’re here
? Do they know what you’re doing?”

“Your innocence amuses me.” Ramien sat on my chaise again. Then he waved a hand and the floor disappeared from beneath our feet.
A small scream escaped my throat before I could stop it. I covered my mouth with my hands
, wishing to take it back
. I needed to remain strong.

Beneath
was a
rocky
cavern with row
after row—hundreds of thousands of jars. An intensely strong
,
sweet smell, like dead flowers, immediately filled my nose. I resisted the urge to gag. Little spider-like creatures crawled all over the jars, their hairy legs clicking against the glass. Every so often one would stop and put something in its mouth. 

“What’s in the jars?” I had to ask, though I was terrified of the answer.

“I’m sure you can guess.”
He smiled though it was more of a
smirk
.

Souls
, Tortevia whispered into my mind. And I knew she was right.