Have No Mercy (9 page)

Alone, I had nothing but time to
take in the large room. Other than the wardrobe, there was a large bed, white
covers with a small bench at the end and a night table. There was nothing else
in the expansive room except for the creepy three-dimensional sculptures that
appeared as if they were trying to free themselves from the wall. It reminded
me of hell. Even though I hadn’t seen any details of tortured faces or bodies
writhing my time there, I’d felt it. And as mouths on the art opened with
unreleased screams, it sure seemed like an accurate representation. So much for
sleeping.

I finally let my arms fall,
releasing the dress to gravity because I was tired of holding it. It puddled to
the floor in a whoosh of fabric. I stepped outside of the ring it made, and
headed to grab the only thing in the closet except for the clothes I’d worn
here. I’d deposited them immediately after closing the door on the retreating
form of the servant.

The nightgown was cotton and of
course lacked all color. It wasn’t pristine white; it was dingier if anything
but I didn’t care. It smelled clean, so I pulled it over my head. Dressed, I
picked up the gown from the carpeted floor. Off of me, it felt like it weighed
a ton.

In front of the mostly bare
wardrobe, I deliberated what to do next. There were shelves on one side and a
rod to hang things on the other. With no hanger in sight and not wanting to
take the time to fold the gown, I dropped it to the bottom of the empty side. I
might have cared more about the thing if Madeline hadn’t basically forced me to
wear it. It had been gorgeous.

Nothing else to do, I padded over
to the bed and flung myself on it. It turned out to be rather soft, which was a
positive. I lay back and stared at the ceiling, which was flat and free of the
creepy art.

My eyes drifted closed more
easily than I thought. When I opened them again, I was standing on the top of a
mountain overlooking the ocean as the sun warmed my skin.

“Mercy.”

I turned towards the voice and
was greeted by the sight of my grandfather. His ash blonde hair was a bit spiky
like my Mom’s. He wore a white tank with an image of the grim reaper on it with
legs clad in black leather pants. He appears as though he were going on stage
at any second. When I looked down at myself, he said, “Do you like your tank
and shorts, love? I like pink on you. You don’t wear it often enough.”

I didn’t allow him to distract me
with compliments. Demons couldn’t be trusted. Hadn’t I learned that from him?
“Ryck.”

He laughed. “So now I’m Ryck and
not Grandfather.”

I frowned not liking being drawn
into a dream without my permission especially by him. “You made things pretty
clear when you said I had to buy honesty from you.”

“Touché.”

He walked over to me where I
stood soaking in the sun. The sunlight wasn’t any more real than in Fairy, but
in the dreamscape felt a hundred times better. 

I studied him as he got closer
because there was something different about him. Then, I realized I could see
fine lines on his face as if he’d aged since the last time I saw him.

He cupped my cheek and for a
second I allowed myself to nuzzle into the warmth of his hand. “Ah, little one,
there are so many things you deserve to know.”

His words only reminded me of how
in the dark I still was. Irritation leaped like hives to the surface of my
skin. I pushed his hand away, frustrated by all the secrets. “Then tell me,” I
shouted.

His eyes lacked the vibrancy of
life. They were dull and sad around the edges and created pity I didn’t want to
feel. “I deserve that.”

I wanted more than anything to
believe in him. Perhaps the idea of having a grandfather like normal people was
a bit of a fantasy for me. But I knew better. “Are you going to tell me
something or let me out of this nightmare?”

“Mercy,” he whispered with such
remorse, I didn’t know if it was my name or the word he uttered.

“Did you bring me here to torcher
me?”

Sadly, he shook his head no. “I’m
the one’s that being tortured, love.” He closed his eyes tight, before focusing
his gaze back on me. “And there isn’t time for you to berate me about my
tactics. You need to know—”

Suddenly, the ocean view
disappeared, and darkness overtook everything. Ryck was no longer the handsome
rock star. Instead, he diminished before my eyes into a glowing ember that
resembled humanoid shape.

A crushing weight pressed on me,
forcing me to my knees. The pain of loss made my eyes burn, but no tears came
to cool the fire. I pulled at my hair trying to stop the ache deep in my chest
that made me want to slit my wrist to stop the pain. Luke’s dull eyes turned
from summer blue to black as a vision filled my head. NO, I screamed over and
over for what felt like eternity.

“Mercy, Go!” Ryck yelled.

I was barely able to turn my head
with grief like a tangible force. Ryck lifted his hand as he moaned out his
personal agony. And I saw him. Sebastian. I shot up in bed gasping for air.

The door crashed opened, and
Flynn jogged in. I jumped off the bed and flung myself in at him. His hands
were slow to take me in. I didn’t care. I clung onto him making him my anchor.

“What. Happened. Now? I heard
screaming.”

I burrowed in tighter not saying
anything yet. Had I been in hell? It sure felt like it.

“Ryck,” I stammered. “My
grandfather. He… he was trying to tell me something.”

“Okay,” Flynn said, not sounding
at all convinced I should be so freaked out.

“I think he took me to hell.”

“Mercy,” Flynn sighed.

“No, I mean it. He dreamwalked
me. But there was something different about him. He wasn’t as young as he was
the last time I saw him,” I babbled.

“The guy’s like ancient.”

I couldn’t see his expression,
but I heard his skepticism. Miming climbing a tree with Flynn being the
Redwood, I continued to keep hold of him like I might end up back in hell if I
let go.

“No, but demons are like the Fey.
There perfect on the outside. And he wasn’t. Then we weren’t at the beach house
anymore. We were in hell. And I felt it. I was there,” I implored, trying to
get him to believe me.

He tried to pry me off of him but
locked my arms around his neck in a near choke hold. “Mercy, how can he
dreamwalk you to hell? It’s a dream.” His doubt was tangible.

“You don’t believe me… do you?”
It hurt. At that moment, I knew I always assumed he’d believe in me. And
something broke inside when he didn’t. I let him go and stepped back. And there
was definitely cynicism in his expression. His lips were pursed as if ready to
give me another reason why I couldn’t be right.

He held up his hands. “It’s not
that I don’t believe you, but maybe you were just dreaming.”

I felt my features hardened as I
tried to repair the damage to my heart with my detachment. Flatly, I said, “I
saw Sebastian.”

That got his attention. “Where?
When?” Then he added, “Just now?”

I nodded. “He was in hell. That’s
how I know. His eyes. His dead eyes.” I shuttered. “Do you think it’s possible
they’re using my grandfather to bring me there?” I cursed my mom and my lack of
knowledge.

“I don’t know,” he said. He
pushed a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. But maybe you shouldn’t go back
to sleep right away. We should probably check this place out.”

I looked down at what I was
wearing. I held the sides of the oversized nightshirt that reminded me of what
Ebenezer Scrooge wore in Christmas Carol. “I can’t go like this.”

His eyes slid from my face down
my body, and I shivered letting go of the gown in favor of crossing my arms to
hold my elbows. He only took his time perusing me on the way back up.

“It could work,” he said as if he
hadn’t just looked at me the way he had. “You’ll look less like a threat
dressed like that. If we get caught, we can say you had the munchies.”

I gave him my best yeah right
expression. “What about you?” He still wore the long jacket and pants cropped
at the knee with socks all the way up his calf. He should have looked
ridiculous in the medieval garb, but he only looked ridiculously hot. Damn him.

He shrugged. “I’m a guy.”

I rolled my eyes praying for strength.
I wanted to hit him on the back of his head. “You say some dumb things
sometimes.”

“It worked didn’t it. You’re not
thinking about what happened.” He grinned as if proud of himself.

I shook my head with narrow eyes.
He was right. I wanted to hate him for it. Although, it wasn’t his words so
much as carnal way he looked at me that had made me completely forget about
hell long enough to where I wasn’t reliving the experience. Short time as it
was, it was enough time to detach from the living memory. And he believed me.

“Let’s go,” he said with a back
to business tone and headed to the door.

Skulking wasn’t exactly what we
were doing. I was checking corners and behind me but Flynn was walking around
like he owned the place. Then again, I was the only one not dressed
appropriately. I hadn’t mentioned to him that there wasn’t anything between me
and the shirt. He would have said some pervy remark, and we would have just
ended up fighting. So there I was feeling exposed even though the fabric wasn’t
thick, it also wasn’t see through.

Walking while glancing backward,
I nearly ran into Flynn’s hand as he signaled to stop. Then as if I played Call
of Duty like he did all the time, he started with some hand signals. In rapid
succession, I think he told me to hold and be silent because there were two
people ahead.

Well, that turned out easier than
I thought to interpret. I crept up behind him, hoping to get a peek over his
shoulder. When I touched his back, he jumped up and gave me an angry face. I
frowned because it wasn’t my fault he was jumpy. He rolled his eyes and turned
back to have another look around the corner.

I stood not knowing what to do
when he whorled around and pressed me flat to the wall. His lips covered mine,
and he kissed me. I fisted my hands. I didn’t think it was a
I want you so
bad
kiss. But I forgot my name for a second. Steps slowed then continued on
without comment. When he pulled back, I was breathless. I stared at him
clueless what to say.

He acted like he hadn’t done it,
only gestured for me to follow. I did wondering why I was the only one
affected. The next thing I knew, he stopped again and I barreled into his back.
He didn’t miss a beat. He took my wrist and pulled me at a jog around another
corner.

“Larrison, you must be patient.
The plan will come together.” I recognized Madeline’s voice.

“And what if it doesn’t.” I
wanted to laugh. Larrison sounded like a spoiled child, and not the wanna be
King he acted like in my presence.

“You are too negative. We’re
halfway there.”

“I want him gone.”

Madeline clucked her tongue. “You
sound jealous Larrison. And what would you possibly have to be jealous of. You
are my son.”

The way she said it, it sounded
as if she meant just the opposite. Feet stomped in our direction.

Flynn took my hand again, and we
were off. Silently running back the way we came. We made it to my room, and he
noiselessly closed the door then began to laugh.

“What’s funny?” I was really
curious.

“That guy is weak.”

“He didn’t seem weak when he
showed up at my door,” I muttered more to myself. I turned to sit on the bed
when Flynn caught my arm and spun me around.

“He what?”

Anger blazed hot in him.
“Nothing. It was nothing,” I said, hoping he would calm down. He looked like he
wanted a reason to confront the guy.

“What did he do?” His grip
tightened on my arm. I flinched and stared where his fingers dug into my skin.
Realizing he was hurting me, he let go. “Tell me Mercy. We’re a team, and you
can’t keep stuff from me. This isn’t a game.”

Pissed that he would suggest I
thought this was a game, I spilled. “He said you gave me up. You didn’t love me
enough.”

“He what? What the hell does he
know?” He turned away.

I was afraid to know the answer
myself, so I tried to calm him down. “It’s nothing. He just wants me to accept
his offer.”

His head snapped back in my
direction. “What offer?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know…” Then
I backtracked. “You know, to be with him.”

His fury raged forward. “If he
thinks—”

“Just let it go. We should talk
about what we heard.”

He nodded but said nothing. His
eyes drifted off as if I were in his own head.

I needed him to focus. “What plan
do you think there talking about?”

He mirrored my move with a shrug,
but he wasn’t really paying attention to me.

“Why don’t you ask your new
girlfriend?”

And why did I say that? At least
it had the desired effect. I had the full weight of his glare.

“Mercy, don’t start,” he growled.

Holding up my hands for peace, I
said, “Sorry, I’m tired. But you should talk to her anyway. Maybe she’ll give
you some information.” I tried to sound nonchalant. When he didn’t start to
fight, I assumed it worked. “I’m going to bed.”

His eyes soften losing some of
the intensity from moments before. “Maybe you shouldn’t sleep.”

I couldn’t say that I was eager
for sleep. “I can’t stay up forever. I’m not built that way.”

As his anger dispelled, he looked
more and more about the boy I couldn’t help falling for.  “Fine, I’ll stay with
you.”

I paused because I just assumed.
“You have a different room?”

“Yeah. I’m a couple of doors down
the hall.”

“Oh.”

He began to take his jacket off.
Once he was free of it, he glanced around. “You know this room is kind of
freaky.” He pointed to the wall. “No wonder you have weird dreams. That shit on
the walls looks like something out of a horror movie.”

I left his comment about dreams
go. It wasn’t a dream. My grandfather had contacted me. I knew it. But I was
too tired, and a bit freaked out. I wanted Flynn to stay. So I kept my mouth
shut. I could analyze our trust issues in the morning. I tucked myself under
the covers as Flynn shed his clothes dropping them on the bench. Facing away
from him, I allowed my brain to go a little wild about how far he would take
the undressing.

The rustle of the sheets made my
heart sped up. His heat hit me before he wrapped an arm about my waist. He
didn’t pull me flush to him, and I was partly disappointed. It was for the
best.

“Get some sleep. I won’t let
anything happen to you.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I closed my
eyes and hoped like hell he could keep me safe.