Lunacy (18 page)

I’d managed to heal my arm, but I questioned how many
of my brain cells I’d fried in the process. The thing around my
neck must have been-

“-A magical shock collar, essentially.”

I jumped at the sudden intrusion, turning to look
over my shoulder up at Enoch. He didn’t have his monster-face on,
and he almost looked pretty this way. It was weird, but I shook it
off, dismayed to see that there was still a bit of smoke rising
from my skin. “And the whole purpose of it is to keep me from doing
what, exactly? I smell like bacon, and I don’t know jack shit about
what I’m capable of.”

“And neither do we. A safety precaution for all
parties involved, Pet.”

That pissed me off. I was on my feet without even
thinking about it, physically shoving Enoch with a palm to his
chest. My eyes blazed white and he shot back a few feet, crashing
into the loveseat and tottering over backwards with it. I instantly
dropped to my knees, skull clasped in my hands to keep it from
trying to split apart from the lightning that poured through every
inch of my being.

His reaction wasn’t quite what I expected. He got up
and brushed himself off, a hole burned through his emerald green
tee shirt where my hand had touched him. A blackened handprint was
scorched into his flesh and I watched as it healed over and
disappeared like it had never been. I knelt on the floor, panting
as the pain faded once more, looking up at him disdainfully as he
walked back over to me. He reached down and cupped my face in his
long fingered hands, colder than the grave, and tilted my head
slightly to meet his gaze. Then Enoch began to laugh.

Rage coursed through me, but given the current
circumstances, I held Skadhi in check, promising to her that we
would bathe in his blood soon enough. Unhappy, but seeming to agree
with those terms, she receded and I was alone in my head for the
first time in what seemed like forever. It almost felt… lonely.

Those pretty blue eyes of his were full of mirth, and
I vowed silently to wipe that smug grin off his face permanently.
“You truly are the perfect weapon, Kacea. What better vessel to
hide such power in than the body of a beautiful young girl?” He
chuckled. “The Gods truly do have a sense of humor, given your
purity.”

I blushed, and I knew my eyes were darker when I
looked up to meet his gaze. “I’d ask how you know, but I really
don’t want to know.”

Unfortunately for me, it seemed like he was going to
share the why, regardless. He lifted me to my feet by my upper arms
as if I weighed nothing and leaned in close, inhaling deeply.
“Underneath that delicious aroma of bacon, there is a scent
possessed only by those who have been untainted. Much like the
smell of cyanide, not many can detect it. But it’s not an almond
scent. It’s more like the smell of lilies on a sunny summer
day…”

Enoch waxing poetic about how my virginity smelled
was odd, but he seemed distracted enough by it that I didn’t have
to worry about him attacking me for the moment. But honestly, he
hadn’t gone out of his way to harm me since I’d woken up. He hadn’t
struck me, and the only injury even caused in his presence that
wasn’t by my own hand was done by Alain. That meant I was worth
more to him alive than dead, and that took a bit of my fear away.
Granted, the monster in the closet was very real and standing less
than a foot away from me, sniffing me like I was a tasty entrée.
But… small victories.

“Since we’re being civilized, because me attempting
to turn you into a human torch has only resulted in me smelling
like breakfast… How long was I out and where the hell are we?” I
asked, my words bringing him from the almost trance-like state he
was in.

He blinked and his pupils began to shrink, the color
returning to the irises which had nearly been swallowed by black.
“You were asleep two days. As to our location, it is nowhere near
your little Elm Valley. That’s all you need to know.”

Two days. That meant it was Tuesday, or Monday
evening. Everyone back home must have been freaking out, by now.
“My purpose in being here?” I was going out of my way to be blunt,
all business. The last thing I needed was this creature -whatever
flavor of supernatural other he was- to get the wrong idea.

He smirked and I caught a flash of teeth so sharp
they looked like they’d been filed down. But this time it was only
his upper and lower canines and the teeth next to them, eight in
total, not an entire mouthful of the fangs of a carnivorous
predator. “That is for me to know, and you to find out, Little
Goddess.”

Frustrating, but not surprising. I assented. “Fine…
Be that way. Any chance I can get a bite to eat around here?”

"Ah, yes. You've been out for two days. You're
probably famished." I nodded emphatically. The thought of food
began to override all my instincts as to my safety. As if on cue,
my stomach growled loudly enough that I knew I wasn’t the only one
who heard its rumblings. Enoch extended his hand to me and I stared
at it for what seemed an eternity, uncertain of so readily
accepting the kindness of my captor.

“Come now, Kacea. Your body is a temple, and all
temples require a sacrifice. Right now, your temple is screaming
for food. Wouldn’t want to have to smite some locals to sate that
need, would you?”

I was quiet, drawn in by the potentially serious
statement hidden behind his joke. “I am all about some smitin’…” I
began, keeping my tone light and my mind as close to serene as
possible, “but dinner does sound pretty good, right about now.” I
placed my hand in his, shocked again by how frosty his skin
felt.

He led me from the parlor, going through a confusing
maze of hallways that had me wondering if there was going to be a
minotaur I’d have to do battle with and then butcher for dinner at
its center. I was half disappointed when there wasn’t one. There
was, however, a very tasty aroma originating from the kitchen we
were approaching. Feminine laughter wafted out with it, hollow and
humorless.

“It really is ridiculous that you’ve kept up with
your cooking skills, Jamison. What good could possibly come of a
skill which gives you no nutritional benefit?”

Enoch opened the door and finally let go of my hand.
It was like he thought I was dumb enough to try running away. After
nearly turning myself into a crispy critter, I knew better than to
even attempt escaping… For now.

With one foot inside the door to the kitchen, and
apparently connected dining room, the smell was overwhelming and I
was practically drooling. So many tasty smells… Breakfast smells.
Eggs, bacon, cheese, pancakes, syrup… And under it all there was a
cool smell like the inside of an industrial meat locker. Cold and
dead, with a hint of copper that could only be blood.

There was a woman leaning her elbows on the breakfast
nook, and she looked remarkably like Enoch. Long auburn hair, slim
build although a bit shorter, similar facial features as she turned
at our approach. But unlike Enoch, who I assumed to be her brother,
her eyes were a deep and rich brown the dark chocolate richness of
espresso.

“On the contrary, Zillah. It gives me plenty of
nutrients when it keeps my flock healthy, so I don’t have to go out
hunting on a piecemeal basis and end up inadvertently killing, and
then having the amateur problem of needing to hide a body.” The
voice of the man at the stove snapped us from staring each other
down.

“Body?” I echoed, and all their eyes turned to me.
“What the fuck are all of you?”

Zillah rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip as
she looked to Enoch. “Seriously? You couldn’t just tell the
walking, talking Happy Meal that we’re essentially what modern
society would call ‘vampires’?”

Chapter 17

My words echoed my thoughts at her ridiculous
declaration. "No way. No way in hell."

The man at the stove laughed, and it was a musical
sound that sent a chill down my spine. In a good, toe curling kind
of way. "How can you deny the existence of vampires when you so
readily accepted werewolves?"

I looked him over more closely, even though his back
was still to us. He was tall-ish. Probably a little over six feet.
His hair was dark and hung in loose ringlets that fell past his
shoulders. He was lean with broad shoulders and nice triceps, from
what I could see of them, anyway.

Within, I felt Skadhi move forward, as if there was
something about him that she liked too. Aloud I replied, "Would you
jump for joy if you discovered you weren't at the top of the food
chain anymore? I doubt it."

He paused, thinking it over as his hands worked on
whatever delicious smelling breakfast food he was making. Finally,
he nodded his assent. "I suppose that's reasonable enough logic."
He turned to look over his shoulder at me and my heart skipped a
beat as the most arresting pair of grey eyes I'd ever seen met
mine. "But everyone has to face reality some time, little goddess.
And humans haven't been the biggest predator for eons."

The woman, Zillah, rolled her eyes and tossed an
apple at the back of the cook's head. He caught it blindly and took
a bite of it. That stunned me a little. Since when could vampires
eat food?

"You're going to frighten the entree, Jamison. When
you do that, the adrenaline makes them taste bad. All stringy and
gamey."

"Whoawhoawhoa," I said, holding up my hands. "I never
said I was on the menu."

Zillah grinned at me with teeth like a piranha. "When
was the last time you asked your hamburger if it wanted to be
nommed on?"

"Fair point," I grudgingly agreed. "So is that why
you've kidnapped me, then? To drink the blood of a god and gain
some sort of power?" I looked to Enoch and his blue eyes sparkled
with mirth.

"We have much bigger plans than that, Pet." Before I
could bark a retort, he added, "Eat first, then I'll answer your
questions."

Not wanting to argue and waste more of my already
depleted energy, I followed Enoch to a small table in the adjacent
dining room and sat in the chair he'd pulled out for me.

I rested my elbows on the table and leaned in closer
to Enoch. "Mind explaining while I eat, rather than waiting and
dragging this out longer than necessary?"

He shrugged and the history lesson began. "In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth-"

"We want to give her facts, not fairy tales, Enoch."
Jamison cut him off, setting down a huge plate of food in front of
me and another at the seat beside me. He turned the chair there
backwards and straddled it.

I was staring at the plate before me, suddenly
feeling hungrier than I'd ever been in my life. Jamison watched me
salivate, leaning in close with a chuckle and nudging me with his
elbow. "Are you going to eat that food or fuck it, girl?"

I narrowed my eyes and shook the fork at him
menacingly. "Just savoring the aroma, here. Don't ruin this for
me!"

I dug in with gusto, listening as Jamison summed up
the situation and ate his own plate of breakfast. "Do any internet
search on Norse mythology, Skadhi, and Ragnarok -the doom of the
gods- and you'll get half of what's going on. Every monster you
thought might be under your bed or in your closet has some basis in
fact. The same goes for 'mythological deities.' The Norse are some
of the oldest, and most powerful.

"Skadhi wasn't even a goddess. Not really. She was a
jotunn, a giantess seeking revenge for the death of her father at
the hands of the Aesir – the gods. She demanded recompense and
ended up married to the god of the sea. Didn't work out, and
apparently she hooked up with Odin and had a few babies. She was
worshipped regardless, but her own powers are actually
minimal.”

I nodded, swallowing the large mouthful of syrup
drenched pancakes I’d stuffed into my mouth. “If the things I can
do are ‘minimal,’ then what the hell do you consider to be a big
and scary super power?”

Jamison smirked. “Moving mountains, literally.
Raising armies of bodies from the grave to fight for you.
Controlling someone’s mind from afar, or taking control of their
body by shoving your soul into them and forcing theirs out.” He
shrugged and the mere idea of being on the receiving end of any of
those things chilled me to the bone. “There are many things worse
than those. That’s just a sample for you to roll around in that
pretty head of yours.

“But here’s the kicker. I’m sure you’ve heard of
Loki, supposed son of Odin but also of jotunn parentage?” Without
waiting for a response, he charged onward. “He’s an integral part
of their Ragnarok, their big apocalypse. Because of his involvement
in the death of Baldr, the Aesir wanted him punished. They bound
him to three large stones in a cave. Skadhi was the one to place a
poisonous snake above him, and it drips its venom onto him
constantly. When it does actually burn him, he convulses so
violently that they very earth itself trembles.”

I whistled lightly, trying to take it all in. “So
she’s on the big bad mischief maker’s shit list, I take it.”

“And therefore, so are you. You and Skadhi are
essentially one and the same now.” Jamison said it with a sort of
finality that stunned me for a second.

“What part are you all playing in this? Are you
kidnapping me to protect me from these Norse gods?” I’d just
finished my meal and I suddenly felt sick inside, struggling to
keep all that delicious food down.

Enoch and Zillah shared a look, a dark secret passing
between them filled with promises of things I didn’t want to dwell
on. Jamison’s grey eyes looked almost apologetic as Enoch’s chair
made a loud scraping noise on the floor in his haste to stand.
Before I had time to react, he’d yanked me from my seat and held me
firmly in place, his arms like chains of iron wrapped around my
arms and waist. Zillah rose from her own seat, slow and stealthy
like the predator she was. I lifted my feet from the ground and
kicked over my chair in an effort to keep her away from me, the
urge to survive conquering any fear I might have been feeling.