Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2) (9 page)

“Get off me, Seth!” Johnathan yelled.

“Alec, Halli, a little help here?” Seth groaned, struggling.

“Johnathan,” Halli murmured. “Let Joe finish with his questions, then you can fight me for who gets to finish him off.”

“Oh no, Hal. That pleasure will be all mine. You can crap on his remains and flush his ashes down the toilet if you want, but
I
get to kill him.” Johnathan’s voice was as cold as ice.

“Fine, just let Joe finish, first.”

Johnathan must have shown signs of giving in because Joe continued his questioning. “Trey, you seem to be forgetting that we have you incapacitated. We are in control here. Just answer my question. How were you going to give Paige her sight back?”

He seemed to speak straight to me. “Tell them, Paige. Tell them how much you want me. Tell them you want your vision back so you can gaze upon my angelic face as I make love to you. As I show you pleasure like you’ve never imagined possible. Tell them, Paige. Tell them how much you desire me. Desire my lips on yours, on your neck, on your—” He stopped short as something knocked the breath out of him.

I curled into a ball and plugged my ears as tight as I could without shoving my fingers all the way into my brain. I still heard every word. Heard him inside my very
soul
. His mind control abilities were astounding.

“Go ahead, Johnathan,” Joe growled. “Send him to the eternal fire that awaits him. He’s not going to give us any answers.”

“Finally,” he snarled.

“No, wait!” Trey’s voice rose with the first touch of fear I’d heard from him throughout this whole ordeal. “Wait. Don’t be so hasty. I’m willing to make a deal. Please. Paige, tell him to stop. Tell him you want your sight back. I’ll give you your sight back, Paige!” His voice rose in pitch and desperation as Johnathan’s footsteps advanced toward him.

“John, wait,” I whispered.

His footsteps halted.

y face burned as I realized everyone was probably looking at me now.

“I… I… don’t kill him
.
I mean… let’s see what he has to offer.”

The idea of getting my sight back was a huge carrot to dangle in front of me. I will admit, though, hearing the pleading in Trey’s magical voice was almost more than I could stand. Part of me, a part I was ashamed of, thought it would be a huge loss to erase such beauty from the earth. That part of me, however, was still under his influence.

“Paige.” Relief flooded Trey’s voice. “I knew you wouldn’t let them kill me.”

“Don’t be so sure of that. I just want to hear your deal.” The steadiness of my voice surprised me. I didn’t feel steady at all.

“Let’s hear it, then.” Johnathan’s voice shook with barely contained rage.

“I will make sure Paige’s sight is restored, if you will allow me to live.”

“No.” My heart sank at the firmness in Johnathan’s voice.

I was speechless. Halli was not. “Johnathan, how can you pass up this opportunity to fix Paige’s eyes? The eyes she gave up to save you?” Surprisingly, her words didn’t sound like an accusation. Her voice was soft.

“I’ll figure out another way to get her sight back,” Johnathan said, determined. “This Demon should not be allowed to roam the earth, preying on innocent girls and women. How could I, or any of us, live with the knowledge that he was out there somewhere, doing what he does?”

“Women
love
what I do to them… with them. They beg for it. I am not the monster you think I am Johnathan. I provide a much desired service.”

“Bullshit! You’re nothing more than a rapist! Just because you use mind tricks on them to make them think they want you, doesn’t make you any less of a predator. I’ve heard enough.” Johnathan stepped forward again.

“Johnathan,” I cried, nearly a scream. “Please, Johnathan. Please. I want to see again. I can’t remember what your face looks like. I can’t help you fight. I’m scared… all the time. You have no idea what it’s like to wake up every morning and open your eyes expecting to see—and see nothing but endless darkness. Please.” There was no stopping the tears from flowing now.

A frustrated sigh escaped his throat.

“I’ll get her sight back, right now, if you’ll allow me to live,” Trey repeated.

Joe spoke up then. “The only way we will allow you to live is if we banish you to the Netherworld. Are you willing to accept that in exchange for Paige’s sight?”

Everyone grew silent for the space of thirty seconds.

“I will concede to that stipulation. A century or so with the Fae might be interesting. Faeries are always begging for my attention.”

A flicker of hope wafted through me.
It could be a trick. We can’t trust him.
But, I wanted so badly to trust him that I shoved that thought deep down inside.

“Johnathan. Paige. I’m leaving this decision up to you two.” Joe sounded exhausted and in pain.

I stood. Johnathan came to me.

“Paige, we don’t have to give in to him. I will find a way to get your sight back.”

“No, John. It’s too dangerous. Either we let him do it, or I will just stay blind.” I choked on the last word. “I can’t let you risk yourself.”

“Paige…”

“No.” I touched his face. “No, Johnathan. This is our chance to get my sight back, today, right now. Without putting you in danger.”

“If you think making a deal with the devil isn’t dangerous, you’re crazy.” There was a desperate edge to his voice.

“This is our best option.”

Johnathan released a shaky breath. I felt his teeth grinding where my hand lay on his cheek. “Okay, Paige. Okay.” The sound of defeat in his voice hurt my heart.

“What do you need to fulfill your end of the bargain?” Joe asked, shakily.

“I will need a pentagram drawn. And a few of Paige’s hairs.”

“No,” Johnathan practically yelled. “You can’t have anything of hers.”

“I can’t do it without something from her.”

I pulled a few strands of hair from my head as I stepped toward his voice. Johnathan’s arm shot out and stopped me in my tracks. “Don’t go near him. It’s not a good idea.”

“Then you take it to him.” I handed him the strands of hair and gave him a gentle push forward.

Someone fumbled in their pack for a second before I heard the scrape of chalk on the hardwood floor as the pentagram was drawn.

“You will do this from inside the pentagram, which we will lock, so you can’t get out,” said Joe.

“Fine.” Even pouty, Trey’s voice elicited unwanted desires in me.
I wish I had some heavy duty earplugs.

“Slide him over here, boys,” Halli said from the floor in front of me. “Just make sure you lift him over the chalk line. I don’t want my perfectly drawn pentagram messed up.”

They must have taped him to a chair. It scratched along the floor for a couple of seconds until they lifted it over the circle drawn on the floor. They none-to-gently dropped Trey and the chair when they’d reached the desired spot.

“I need to be unbound to do this, you know.”

“Yeah,” Alec huffed. “We figured that much ya poop-eating pee-drinker.”

“You have such a gift for words,” Trey said.

We all lent our strength to the closing of the circle. Halli pricked her finger for a drop of blood and uttered the words to close the circle. When he was securely locked inside, Alec spoke the words that unbound the duct tape. I heard it drop to the floor.

“Maybe Paige would like to join me in the circle… now that my hands are free.”

“Shut. Up.” Johnathan growled.

“What’s wrong, Johnathan? Afraid she wants me more than she wants you?”

“She doesn’t want you,” Halli said. “She’s never wanted you. I read up on Incubi. You use a special blend of mind control and pheromone infused potions to lure your prey. It doesn’t hurt that you’re incredibly handsome or that your voice is so melodic. It draws women to you. Your mind control does the rest. Paige loves Johnathan, that’s why she’s been able to fight your powers. Now, leave my friend alone and get on with your side of the bargain.” Halli’s gentle little voice was infused with strength.

“I’m not a normal Incubus, my dear. I’ve been around for centuries, honing my skills. Most of my ‘prey’—as you call them—are more than willing participants.”

Someone shot a jolt of power into the circle; I’m pretty sure it was Halli. Trey let out a squeak of pain. “That was completely unnecessary.”

“Get on with it, Incubus.” Joe commanded. “Tell us what your plan is.”

“Fine. I will call on a favor from the Demon,
Shalbriri
. Hopefully, your circle is strong enough to hold a lesser Demon.”

“It was strong enough before, with just two of us,” Halli replied.

“Hmm. I wondered if the Demon had been the cause of your blindness. Anyway, Shalbriri owes me a favor, so there will be no bargaining. I will call it up, it will return your sight, and then I will send it back. Easy.”

The chill that ran down my spine could have been attributed to one of several things—Trey’s melodic voice; the thought of facing
Shalbriri
again; or the excitement of possibly being able to see again. I think it was mostly due to the last one, but might have been a combination of the three.

In a trance-like voice, Trey sang, “
Shalbriri from the darkness below, I seek thee for the favor you owe. Come to me, your gift bestow, then quickly return to your prison below.”

A ripping sound filled the room, followed by a
pop
. I became slightly nauseated with dread as the Demon entered our realm.

The familiar British accent of the Demon gave me chills. “Ah. Trey. Yes, yes. It’s about time you called in this favor. I don’t like owing the likes of you. Why
are
you inside the pentacle?”

“Well, as you can see, we aren’t alone here.”

The Demon made a most evil hissing sound unlike any a human could muster. “Oh. I see. A couple of them are familiar to me.”

“Shalbriri, to return the favor you owe me, you will return Paige’s sight to her.”

“Aww. Incubus, I’ve only had it for such a short amount of time. Isn’t there something else I could provide in trade?”

“No, Demon. Her sight. Now.”

“Right. Give me her hair, then. This will not be pleasant for her… I will at least get some pleasure out of it that way.”

Before I had time to contemplate the Demon’s words, a pain a hundred times worse than when he took my sight drilled into my eyes, my head. A million tiny cactuses drenched in habanero juice penetrated my eyeballs from the front, while flame-tipped razor blades dug in from behind and a circumferential vise clamped down on all sides. I wasn’t sure which would happen first—my eyeballs would burst into flames or my head would explode—but I was sure one or the other would soon occur. I longed for the explosion of my head to take place, at least then the agony would be over.

I clutched my head in my hands and rolled back and forth on the hardwood floor, screaming. I started digging at my eyes and scratching at my face. It barely registered when someone grabbed my wrists and held them tight. I continued to flail from side to side. The only sound I heard was my own screaming. The pain dragged on, minute after minute. Just when I thought it would end, it intensified to the point where I thought I’d lose my mind or my life.