Ominous Love (13 page)

Punishment?
I cover my face with my hands and
try to clear my head. But there's no place to go, and even if I managed to
escape, how would I get home? I'd need a plane to get me off this godforsaken mountain.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I realise I have to resign myself to a life
with a handsome monster, or die a horrible death. I pout. I must have done
something really bad to deserve this misery, but I can't think of what. Was falling
for Seal that bad? Closing my eyes, I wonder if I should just fight Devlin to
the death, after all, dying would be better than living with him. But how can I
stand up to this brute? I'm just a girl and he's a huge and powerful young man.

A knock at the door drags me from my
thoughts. “Yes?”

“Are you ready?”

“Nearly,” I lie. I'll never be ready for him,
not ever.

I brush my hair and pile it on top of my
head, then hold it in place with a shiny gold comb from the dresser. When I
look around for the veil, I gasp. It's hanging on a hat stand, but the lace
isn't white, it's black.
Holy cow.

He knocks again. “Eloise!”

“I'm coming,” I say impatiently. “You want me
to look nice, don't you?”

“Okay,” he says. “But please hurry.”

I search for a pair of shoes, but can't find
any. That'd be right. Devlin obviously wants me bare-foot and helpless. Oh
shit, and probably pregnant. No! I can’t bare thinking about it, so I shove it
from my mind.

With no other option, I place the black veil
on my head and look in the mirror. It falls in swirls down my back. Great, I look
like I'm going to a funeral instead of my own wedding. Well, maybe I am, but
hopefully Devlin's, not mine.

As I pick up the bouquet of red roses from
the table, I prick my thumb. “Ouch.” I quickly shove it in my mouth and suck
hard so I don't have to see the blood. I can't afford to pass out again. Jeez.
Who knows what he'd do to me.

My wedding day should be a happy day, but
instead, I'm forced to marry a boy I don't love—a boy I don’t even know—a boy
who threatens to punish me if I don't obey him, or worse. Holding the flowers
for comfort, I inhale their sweet perfume, then I close my eyes and imagine
myself in a pretty white gown and veil, and though I'm only sixteen, I'm marrying
Seal, the boy I really love. I picture myself walking down the aisle with my
father. Brooke and Ruby are my bridesmaids and my mother is crying tears of joy
as she sits in the front pew.

I drop the bouquet on the floor and rip the
veil off. I can't marry Devlin, I just can't. I'm not marrying a cruel weirdo
with blood feathers for back hairs. He needs a good wax. I've always wanted
someone to love me, but not someone evil like Devlin. It's is a fate worse than
death. Maybe I should just sit here and let him kill me because there's no way he's
having his wicked way with me. I march over to the door and lock it,
then
I sit in the chair and cross my arms.

Chapter Fifteen

I cover my face with my hands. How can this be
happening to me? Why didn't Devlin kidnap Francesca? She would have loved him,
and she's much prettier than me. Then I remember he admitted to stalking me.
How creepy. I knew someone was in our garden, and he would have seen Seal
kissing me. The thought of Devlin spying on me and eavesdropping at my window
sends shivers down my spine.

I start pacing the floor as I nervously wring
my hands. Devlin will be furious with me, and as good-looking as he is, there's
no way I'm marrying him.

Suddenly he bangs on the door, startling the
life out of me. I gulp. What am I going to do?

He rattles the knob. “Come on, Eloise, what's
taking you so long?”

My pulse racing, I back up against the wall
and wait for his outburst.

“Eloise?”

The fury in his voice sends adrenalin through
my blood and I run to the window, but as I suspected, it's locked and barred
from the outside.

Knocking again, he hollers through the crack.
“If you don't open this door, I'll break it down. And believe me; you don't
want to make me angry. I've already warned you, Eloise.”

Crap. What's he going to do, kill me?

There's an almighty crash and the door flies
open.
Holy smoke.
He sure looks angry.

“Eloise,” he snaps, standing with his hands
on his hips.

I look him up and down. He may look cool in
his black designer label suit and crimson silk shirt, but his brow is covered
in sweat and his face is practically purple. Weaving around him, I scoot to the
other side of the room.

“Now, you're really starting to piss me off.”
He strides towards me and grabs my arm. “I'll give you one last chance to get
your butt down that aisle.”

I pull away from him. “Why, what will happen
if I don't?”

He arches a brow. “You want to find out?”

I cross my arms. “No, but I don't want to marry
you either. I don't love …”

“Shut up, Eloise!” He grabs my wrist, hauls
me through the door,
then
drags me into the church.

“Ouch, let go of me,” I scream, trying to prize
his hand away.

“Okay, you asked for it.” He lets go of my
wrist, lifts me up and throws me over his left shoulder, then he marches up the
aisle towards the altar.

“Whoa.” Hanging upside down, I grab onto his hips.
“Please, Devlin. Put me down. I'm scared of heights and I feel sick.”

“You should have thought about that before
you disobeyed me.”

“I beg of you, please let me go home. If you
really love me, you will.”

He gives my backside two sharp smacks with
his open right hand. “This is your home, Eloise, so quit moaning.”

Awww!
That
freaking hurt, especially through the thin silk of the gown. What'll he do
next?

As he sits me on the altar, our eyes meet. He
grins wickedly. “That shut you up for once, didn't it?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “How dare you spank
me like a child?”

He lifts my chin with a finger. “Don’t act
like one, then.”

“Devlin, please take me home,” I beg. “What's
the point in marrying someone who doesn't love …?”

He presses his hand over my mouth. “Be quiet
for once, Eloise, and just think about it, we can be so happy here if only
you'd resign yourself to it. Now, be a good girl and do as I say. And don't embarrass
me in front of Father Luke, or the next time I spank you, you won't be able to
sit down for a week.”

Heat rises from my neck to my face and I
squint at him. “You're just a bully and I’ll never be happy with you. I'd
rather die.”

Though he smiles with his mouth, his eyes
give his hurt away. “You're forgetting what I threatened, Eloise.”

I frown. “What? That you'll beat me? Go
ahead.”

“I never said I would beat you, so don't
exaggerate. And that's not what I'm talking about.”

The door behind the altar bursts open and a
middle-aged man walks out. Shoot
.
He
must be the priest, but I bet he's bad if he's connected to Devlin.

Picking his teeth with a toothpick, the
priest leans against the wall and leers at me with menacing black eyes. “So
this is your bride.” He grins wickedly, a gold molar glinting in his mouth. “You
selected wisely, my son.”

His son?
Gulping, I stare at him—the remnants
of a once good-looking man. He's wearing a shabby black suit that could've once
graced the floor as a designer outfit, and though his hair and sideburns are
thick and dark, they're peppered with grey.

Giving me
a
once-over, he oils his way across the floor towards me, his dark eyes flashing
with a spark of red. Then he smiles and strokes my cheek. “You're even more
beautiful close up, my dear, but haven't you forgotten something?”

A chill runs down my whole body and I shiver
with a horrible feeling of impending doom. This man is even creepier than
Devlin, and a lot more sinister.

He pulls the black veil from his pocket and places
it on my head,
then
he positions the lace over my
face. “Good, now let's get this ceremony going.”

Devlin lifts me from the altar and puts me on
the floor next to him. And as the priest lights the black candles, I turn and
glance at the open door, wondering if I can somehow escape.

Grabbing my wrist, Devlin leans over me and
whispers, “You didn't listen to my threat, did you?”

Scowling at him, I try to pull my hand away.

He grins. “Well, I've kidnapped Seal and if
you don't marry me today, I'll kill him.”

My body freezes. No! No! Not Seal. Adrenalin
pumps into my veins. Could he have managed to kidnap Seal? I guess he could
because he kidnapped me, and I know he's been stalking us. Though Devlin might
be lying just to get me to marry him, I can't take the chance with Seal's life.
My heart skips a beat knowing Seal might be somewhere in the castle. It gives
me hope of escaping, and if Father Luke isn’t really a priest, the marriage
won't be legal and I can get it annulled.

Taking a deep breath, I stand on my tiptoes
and whisper in Devlin's ear, “Okay, I'll marry you, but
please
don't hurt Seal.”

Smiling, he kisses my hand. “You won't regret
it, Eloise.”

The priest taps on the altar. “Are you two ready,
then? We're running late.”

Devlin takes the rings out of his pocket and holds
my hands. “We're ready.”

“Good.” As the priest looks at Devlin, I
swallow a big lump in my throat and try not to cry. This is just too awful and
not what I envisioned for my wedding day. And Devlin didn't even pick up my
flowers. He just left them to rot on the floor. He'll probably do the same with
me when he's bored.

The priest clears his throat. “Do you, Devlin
Sulphurous, take Eloise O’Connor to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to
hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in
sickness or in health, to love and to cherish for all of eternity?”

Devlin beams, his eyes sparkling. “I do.”

What? What's he mean, all of eternity? I
swallow hard. That can't be right.

“Your pledge?” says the priest.

“My beautiful Eloise, I hereto pledge you my
faithfulness and my love until the end of time.”

The priest turns at me. “Do you, Eloise
O'Connor, take Devlin Sulphurous to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and
to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,
in sickness or in health, to love honour and obey for all of eternity?”

I frown. Not only has he changed the words
from 'death do us part' to 'eternity', but now I have to vow I'll 'honour and
obey'. I don't want to obey Devlin and I don't want to make a pledge. My lip
quivers. If I don't say those horrible words, these two monsters will kill Seal.

As if urging me to hurry up, Devlin places
the ring on the tip of my finger and squeezes my hand. I open my mouth to say
the vows, but before I get a word out, a blaze of lightning flashes in the sky
outside of the window and I jump with fright.

Devlin nudges me. “It's just a storm. Keep
going,” he demands.

I don't get a chance before a loud thunderbolt
cracks above the church. The walls vibrate noisily, shattering the plate glass windows.
I scream as fragments of tinted crystal explode all over us. Devlin wraps his
arms around me and drags me away from the window.

Lightning strikes again, flashing in the sky
and zigzagging through the dark, ominous clouds. Trembling, I cover my head
with my hands.

Devlin shakes me. “Eloise, say your vows,
now!”

I try to speak, but thunder pounds again,
roaring like a freight train as hail blows through the broken windows and wind
howls through the open doors. Shivering with cold and fear, my knees buckle and
I drop to the floor, breaking away from Devlin's hold. As I look around for
somewhere to hide, I scream as a gigantic silver bird zooms in through the open
doors and scoops me up with its talons.

“Father, do something!” yells Devlin. “I
can't lose her, not now.”

As I kick and scream, the bird circles the
altar, then turns and glides towards the entrance. Devlin runs below me, his arms
stretched out as he reaches for my legs. “Eloise!”

As I glide with the bird under the mezzanine
floor, lightning strikes a window. A blazing fire billows out, sending flames
and sparks in every direction. To escape the heat, I cover my face with my
hands and hold my breath, and though I'm terrified of burning to death or
inhaling the smoke, I don't want to be caught by Devlin either. Resigning
myself to my fate, I close my eyes and pray.

Ice-cold winds blow on my face, taking my
breath away. I'm in the claws of a gigantic bird and its flying away with me, I
open my eyes.
Holy Crap.
We're soaring through the
clouds and heading right into a thunderstorm. I figure I'll either be eaten by
the bird, or struck by lightning, and though either fate is better than being
married to Devlin, I don't want to die, but there's no way out—no way to escape.
No wonder I've been having ominous feelings of impending doom. I'm a goner—and
now, I won't be able to help Seal. Tears of sorrow cloud my eyes,
then
freeze on my cheeks. The thought of never seeing Seal
again terrifies me, and as we ascend into the black clouds, all the blood
drains from my head.
Holy heaven.
I'm about to black
out.