The Haunting (15 page)

I reached to tug at my shirt, only finding the tight dress. I pressed my hands there instead. “Sure,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “That would be nice, yes.”

Perhaps it was my calm voice or because I wasn’t taking her bait that pissed her off.

Neive took a step toward me again, her body poised the same way it had been when she knocked me on my ass.

I could
feel
him. He was a chill in the air, a consistent heavy presence that invaded the room.

“Enough.”

Neive stopped and looked back at Damien in surprise. He stood near the piano. His eyes roamed cautiously around the room before focusing solely on his protégé. Something flashed between them, a hostility that I didn’t understand.

After a few heartbeats, Neive’s expression softened.

Holy shit,
I thought.
My sister is in love with him.

It felt like a weight pressed on top of my head, making it hard to breathe, to think, or even to move. How could this have happened?

One picture in the house. That’s all she got because it was too painful to look. Mom and Dad were torn for years. I watched their relationship dwindle to something perverse. They needed each other but at the same time hated what they’d become. It all began with this girl’s death. This girl who didn’t give a shit about them.

If they knew she was alive, I couldn’t imagine how happy they’d be. But would Neive regard them with the same apathy? It would kill them. I knew it would.

Neive shook her head as if to shake a thought loose and finally turned her dark eyes to look at me, but now I found I couldn’t look at her. I kept her in my peripheral vision instead.

“This is all about me becoming a Neophyte?” I demanded, though I still felt the numbness edging in to protect me. “If you become the Neophyte,” Neive said angrily, “he’d have to drain you of your power first.”

“What?” I glanced between them. Damien remained stationary, watching.

Neive shrugged, her smug smile evident. “It could kill you just to do it.”

“What are you talking about? Why are you happy about that?” I demanded, my voice rising.

“You know why you shouldn’t be here,” Neive snapped.

Damien slapped the wall, making Neive and me jump. “It won’t kill her,” he corrected, silencing our argument.

From the sound of Neive’s snort, she hadn’t seemed so sure.

“Drain me?” I whispered, prodding for the warmth that wasn’t coming.

Neive spoke first, much to Damien’s dismay. “The ritual is very intricate. One mistake and…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes averted with false sympathy. “If he can get your friends to hand you over, it will make some matters of the ritual simpler.”

“Why?”

“You’d be a sacrifice,” she answered.

I froze. “Like you?”

Neive canted her head. “I wasn’t a willing one, at first.”

I began pacing the room to ignore the looks passing between them, heels clicking on the floor. It was an empowering sound somehow as I digested Neive’s words. “What if I gave myself over willingly? I mean, Damien got here somehow, right?”

Neive blinked in surprise.

“I mean, I’d negotiate getting my friends out of here first. And in return…”

“Believe it or not,” Damien interrupted, “that would make you a willing sacrifice. Doesn’t work as well.” His black eyes snapped to Neive. “And you shouldn’t be telling her all this.”

Neive moved away, shrinking back. While my red heels snapped against the hardwood, Neive must have been wearing slippers.

I stepped forward with a confident
click
. “I have a right—”

“I’m not negotiating with you,” Damien said. His midnight eyes never flickered from Neive.

I glanced back at my sister as her face hardened, the emotions detaching until she was cold and frightening to look at.

“Why not?” I demanded. “Because you need a replacement? Wouldn’t finding another demon work? We aren’t strong enough.”

Damien corrected, “
She
isn’t.”

I threw up my hands. “She got me away from you, didn’t she?”

“After requesting to see you. I had no idea it was to betray confidences,” he growled.

The tension in the room thrummed in my muscles. “I need to ask about Phoebe.”

“What about her?”

“She’s dying.”

Damien stared at me, unmoving, saying everything without speaking.

“I want her back alive,” I said. At Damien’s level, silent stare, I blurted, “And Robin, I need to know she’s okay.”

“What about Aidan?” Damien asked.

“And him,” I said softer.

Something flashed in his dark eyes, something hateful and frightening. I braced myself for anger, but he remained still.

Behind me, I hear Neive whisper, “Don’t…”

I wasn’t sure if she spoke to Damien or me.

Damien’s piercing gaze twitched, focusing on me for the first time since entering the room. I immediately wished it had stayed on Neive. Hit with it, I felt the impact. I felt oppressed, my thoughts scantily clad. At the same time, I was stifled, like someone tossed a heavy blanket over me. I wasn’t sure if it was his powers or just in my head.

He was absurdly talented at intimidating me when he wanted to.

“What about Phoebe?”

Neive said from behind me, “She was your protector at the time. He can’t have you…mmMMm!”

I gaped at my sister as her lips sealed shut. They didn’t melt like Claire’s, thankfully; they just wouldn’t open. It was as if Damien had locked her jaw in place.

“Don’t. Please,” I said, turning to Damien. His eyes sparked obsidian flames. “She didn’t mean anything by it,” I begged. “Who’s my protector now?” I asked, desperate to take his attentions away from Neive.

He didn’t answer, and Neive, though I knew that she
knew
, couldn’t answer.

Damien had kept Phoebe around to help keep me alive in the Challenge? I thought it was every man for himself. He needed me, I realized. I had leverage over him finally. I took a breath as I realized I had a card to play. Unfortunately, that card was me.

“I need to be getting back,” I said, eager to get away from them as they glowered at one another.

“So soon?” Damien’s voice froze my pace mid-step. I didn’t bother looking over my shoulder at him. I knew he was watching.

A green glow sparked beside me.

I ducked instinctively, expecting the worst. Turning towards the light, I saw a small baseball-sized green ball. Floating a few feet away, it hovered, spraying a green tinge to the walls just as the lantern beside Neive went out.

Neive disappeared from the room, leaving me alone with Damien.

“Where’d she go?” I asked.

The lime green ball pulsated, and I was instantly reminded of the bomb in the first Challenge. The explosion hadn’t been huge, but it would be enough to kill me from this close. I backed away instinctively.

Damien said, “It won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not supposed to trust you,” I blurted before I could stop myself.

“But you’ll believe the girl who’d rather drain you of your energy just to rule here?”

I peered over my shoulder at him. He cast an eerie, quivering shadow against the wall as he approached slowly, silently, taking his time. He nodded towards the light. “It wasn’t my idea to lure you here. In the beginning, I mean.”

“I gathered that from Neive’s confession. What is that?” I asked and pointed to the ball of floating light that draped Neive’s grand hall in greens and yellows. Damien nodded toward it. “Don’t offend it.”

I flinched. “I…what?”

“It has offered to show you where your missing friends are.”

“It…is alive?” I took a step back from the light, bumping into Damien.

“Of course it is,” he said as if it were the only natural assumption. His hands came out around my shoulders to steady me, but he didn’t touch me.

I was uncomfortably aware of how close we were. If I turned, I could look at his eyes. Wasn’t it said that eyes were windows to the soul? Could a demon have a soul? If not, then what about me?

I wondered if Neive was right, if every shock I’d felt whenever I saw him was just something primal like lust, or maybe something more. I’d never been much of a romantic. It was a pleasant idea as a fourteen year old, but it faded fast when it came to teenage boys wanting little more than to cop a feel. Romance died a hard death. I suppose that was what Neive and I had in common. But what if we were wrong?

Just turn around
, the voice in my head urged.

Instead, I stepped closer to the light, pretending to inspect it rather than letting him know that his proximity bothered me. “Does it understand me?” I asked. “I thought you were the only thing here in the Grave.”

“I am,” he answered. “But the Demon’s Grave is merely a gateway. Everything passes through, Sanctioned and Transgressors alike.” I didn’t miss the edge to his voice when he said
transgressors
. “This little creature is a Fury. Though often unyielding and erratic in other worlds, it’s calm here in the Darkness.”

“From the Brenhenos province?” I asked.

“That was technological.” The corner of his mouth quirked. “This is more physiological. Less controllable.”

“And it has agreed to show me my friends?”

Damien nodded. “At my request. So you know they’re not like Phoebe.”

I glanced back at him, my eyebrows furrowed. “Should I be saying thank you?”

He smiled slowly at this, as if he didn’t want to.

Turning back toward the little ball of light, my eyes narrowed.

I saw Robin. She was laid flat on a long wooden table, looking more like a kid with her size. Straps held down her ankles and her wrists. She’d lifted her head, face wet with tears.

The monster held an axe in hand. He appeared to be speaking, though his lips barely moved.

I couldn’t hear noises in Robin’s nightmare.

Robin’s table began to tilt up. White electricity streaked up a cone-like structure in the background. I could see her hair beginning to stand on end from the static electricity that coursed through the air.

“She has time?” I asked Damien, still staring as the image gradually faded.

“Yes, she has time.”

“How long?” I felt the fear in the two small words. How long until she was cut into pieces?

When he didn’t answer, I started to look at him, but a new image came into focus.

It was fuzzy at first, but I could make out someone running. I could hear the panting breath and the sneakers slapping on a hard surface, like stone.

I leaned closer, my hand unconsciously cupping the little ball of light without touching it.
Is it him?
I wondered, a painful hope sticking in my throat.

As it took shape before me, I realized I’d been holding my breath. Letting it out, I watched intently as Aidan ran down the cobblestone hallways. He kept looking over his shoulder. But there was only emptiness. It looked similar to where we’d met Frankenstein’s monster. Flamed torches roared past his roan-colored hair as he sprinted past them.

I wanted to let him know I hadn’t given up on him.

All it took was a single blink when my fingertips touched the edge of the green glow. The surface of the ball was crystal smooth. Within the briefest darkness, I was abruptly thrown off balance. Staggering, I hit the ivory wall and heard the thundering footfalls to my left.

Twisting my head, I saw Aidan flying toward me.

Arms swishing against his sides, legs pumping and breath short, he barreled down the hallway as if his life were in the balance. The moment his pale blue eyes locked with mine, he bellowed, “Run, run, run!”

Just seeing him sent a sharp thrill through my heart. Glancing back and forth, I saw the light had gone missing and so had Damien. A small part of me was disappointed.

Twisting to my right, I started to run and realized I was still in red heels and the red dress. Kicking off the shoes, I shouted over my shoulder, “Follow me!” The niche had to be around here somewhere.

Gaining in speed, Aidan still caught up to me, breathing heavily only a few feet behind me. Reaching forward, he caught my hand. Despite the warmth I could feel from his body, his fingers were icy.

We veered around the first corner, then the next. The rain pattered against the window louder than our staggered breaths. I listened for heavy footsteps or growls and realized there were none.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Aidan, but nothing was chasing us.

“What’s that?” Aidan gasped and pointed ahead.

Twisting my head, I saw the niche at last and jerked Aidan’s hand hard enough to pull him with me.

Together, we crashed into the closed space and scrambled into the library where I’d found Phoebe and her ring.

The library was dimly lit, and the desks were untouched, though a few bookshelves near the back had been toppled over. Books and splintered wood were strewn across the floor.

Aidan slammed the door shut. “Help me push that desk in front of the door.”

I hesitated for a second, still shocked to even see him here, before I ran for the desk and pushed. With Aidan at my side, we shoved the heavy wooden desk across the stone floor. The shrill sound echoed off the stone walls. Whatever was chasing him surely wouldn’t have missed it.

My socks weren’t gripping well on the stone floor. I curled my toes, and I felt the edge of the desk digging painfully into my palms as it started to shift.

My nose tickled as the dust hidden beneath the desk kicked up.

We pushed the desk against the door with a thud, and together, we dropped to the floor, exhausted.

Before I could stop myself, I sneezed, covering my mouth with the crook of my arm. My eyes watering, I sniffled the last of the tickle from my nose and leaned against the desk.

Safe at last, I breathed deeply. I wondered what would happen to everyone else now that I was here. It would give Damien more room to turn them against me. I wondered if my touching the green ball of light had been a good idea after all. I hadn’t known it would
transport
me.

Aidan touched his forehead, brushing the wild roan-colored hair away from his gaunt features. He looked skinnier to me. The dark circles beneath his eyes were deeper, darker, making his eerily pale blue eyes shine brighter than usual.

“Hi,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

Sitting beside me, leaning his back against the desk, he chuckled. That familiar sound filled me with warmth.

Aidan tapped the back of his head against the desk, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. After a few seconds of silence he finally rasped, “Hey.”

We began to snicker, stifling the sound with our hands so we wouldn’t be heard outside the door.

Aidan caught my arm in his hand and asked, still grinning, “Are you even real?”

“Very real,” I said, smiling and touching his forearm with my fingertips.

The simple motion froze both of us, and suddenly it was serious.

“Prove it,” he said, his smile faltering and his pale eyes heavy. His eyes roamed up and down the red dress. “You didn’t leave our world in that.”

“How do I prove it, Aidan?” I whispered.

Touching him in this world was different than in ours. I didn’t feel the hum or the shock when touching him.

Lowering his eyes, Aidan sagged against the desk. “I thought you forgot about me—” he started, when I grabbed his face.

Maybe it had been the question in his eye. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was the thrill of seeing him again. If I hadn’t seen him, I thought I’d never be able to do this.

Anticipating my motion, he leaned forward, and his lips touched mine.

His lips were cool, not cold but pleasant against my overheated system.

Passion whispered beyond his mouth, sending my heart into urgent flutters that I couldn’t choke away.

My hands fumbled for his shirt, pulling on him for leverage.

It was as if the entire world around us had disappeared. We weren’t in the Demon’s Grave anymore. It was just us.

Twisting onto my knees, I swung one leg to straddle him. He drew me closer, wrapping warm arms around me. Each arch, twist, and turn of our bodies heated with each caress.

His lips aroused every forbidden itch. This wasn’t the right time, but I didn’t want it to end.

Desperately, I didn’t want to be drawn back into the world outside of the kiss. I’d rather stay here, with him.

Moaning, I straightened as his mouth trailed kisses down my jawline and delicately down my throat.

“
Damien
.” I whispered the name before even realizing what I’d said.

The kisses stopped, and my words were a gong, ricocheting back in my own head.

Holy shit.

Leaning back, away from him, I opened my eyes and found myself staring into black eyes instead of blue.

I let go of his shirt and looked away.

In the same instant, I realized I was in his lap.

Legs full of jelly, I grabbed the desk to help me stand. I’d been so absorbed in the moment I must have been delusional. How could I say his name? How come I didn’t wonder why his damn lips were cool?

My anger was just as ignitable as my desperation to keep Damien there. I hated that I wanted him there. A shame blossomed within my anger, and the warmth in my stomach unfurled.

Behind me, the tiny green ball spun a foot away as if affronted or afraid.

“Was that even him at first?” I asked. “Was it all a trick?”

The warmth tingled to my fingertips and toes, and I wasn’t sure if it was the power or the lingering need to grab him again. So help me, I wanted to crawl back into his lap.

The ball of light twirled faster and lowered itself to my ankle height.

The green tinge glowed against Damien’s face, and I thought I saw something astounding. He either had the balls to look hurt or he was confused.

“Why’d you do that?” I asked, my cupped hand nearing my mouth. I could still feel it. I could still feel his lips. I was a damnable person for this.

He blinked at me as if the answer were either too obvious or too vague to put into words. Finally, he shook his head. “You’re offended.”

“I didn’t want you to do it like that! You tricked me into thinking you were Aidan.” Just saying his name made my guts twist.

Did I just say,
I didn’t want him to do it like that
? I wondered and tried to reverse the conversation through my memory. I realized I had been waiting for him to do it, and my reaction was far from what I imagined it to be.

“He thinks we forgot him, doesn’t he?” I said slowly, uneasily. My thundering heart started to ease in my ears.

Damien didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

“Did you tell him that?” I asked, hearing the flames in my tone.

His silence was his own confession, at least in my mind.

Within the ball of light, a growl emanated. It was so forceful I almost mistook it to be near me instead of within it.

Stepping closer, I could see Aidan again. He was in the library, scrambling to his feet, shouting my name. It was strange to stare into a room while being in the identical room, but Aidan wasn’t in this one. He was alone in the one I’d left.

Before he could run the other way, a clawed pale hand caught his shoulder, flipping him around.

Aidan’s eyes met mine, but he wasn’t looking at me. I peered through the eyes of his monster when he cried out. His body slowly began to sag, his will breaking down.

“No,” I whispered. “He can’t give up,” I said out loud. “Damien!” I realized I was shouting.

I heard a voice from the ball say, “Nora?”

Before I could look to see if Aidan had heard me, the picture went blank. Only the green tinge reflected back at me. “Did he hear me?” I demanded.