Inception (The Marked Book 1) (32 page)

42. THE AWFUL TRUTH

The moonlight silvered the abandoned church, making it appear bigger than it was. From the limousine window, I noted the endless rows of boarded up windows peppering the front of the run-down structure as it cast its depraved shadow over us. It was a side of the Hollow Hills Cemetery I’d only heard of but never actually seen before, and didn’t look particularly safe for human occupation.

“Shall we, ladies?” 

Taylor exited the limousine without even batting an eyelash. She was completely out of her mind and it was hardly her fault, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to wring her pretty little neck. And I totally intended to...if we ever got out of this thing alive.

“Come on, angel,” said Dominic when I didn’t move from my seat. “You know very well you aren’t going to let her go off without you.”

He was right. I was here for one reason; to protect Taylor from Dominic, and the only way I could do that was by ignoring every fiber in my body as it screamed for me to save myself and run. I climbed out of the limo, my fists balled up at my sides as I tried to resist the urge to attack him right then and there. What good would it do? He was stronger than me—faster. And I had Taylor to carry. Fighting him would prove futile. I needed another way. I needed to outsmart him somehow.

But first I needed to figure out what he had planned.

“So is this the part where you pretend to be all nice and
human
and then attack us when we least expect it?” I wanted to sound flippant, unafraid of what would come next. All the while, my hands were trembling and the air around me seemed to be thinning, making it harder and harder for me to fill my lungs.  

“No, love. We already played that game.” He turned to me with a smirk as we walked through the cemetery gates and trudged towards the old, condemned church. “I’m sure you remember it quite well,” he said, holding the door open for us.

It was sickening the way he took pleasure in other people’s pain. “You’re depraved.”

“Indeed, I am,” he agreed easily. “And I have no qualms about it.” He stopped in the middle of the room and glanced around as though searching for something he’d misplaced.

I shuddered as my eyes moved around the empty space. The alter and church pews were missing, and whatever else remained was either damaged by the rain or covered in black soot, the remnants of a fire that took out the church and half the surrounding cemetery decades ago. Through the shattered windows, I could see the leftover tombstones leering over at us like a corps of spectators, fog swirling around their feet, beckoning us to join them in their final dance.

I shuddered again as the hairs on my body stood tall. “All this because someone dusted your vampire plaything.”

His face hardened. “Watch it, angel.”

I perked up inside knowing I’d hit a nerve. “Well, it’s true, isn’t it? You’re mad at the world because she’s gone and there’s nothing you can do about it, so you use that as an excuse to wreak havoc on everything and everyone around you.”

Anger flooded his expression.

“It’s pathetic if you ask me.”

“No one asked you.” The ice in his voice was unmistakable.

“No one ever does,” I mumbled bitterly. Avoiding eye contact, I tightened my arms across my chest and rubbed them for warmth. “So what’s your plan anyway? To lure my sister and Gabriel here so that you can annoy them with your revenge games?” I needed to keep pushing his buttons.

He clamped a hand around Taylor’s wrist and began towing her away. She followed clumsily behind him.

“They aren’t going to come,” I baited, following him through the dank room. “They have better things to do than play your little high school games.”

“Good.” A dark grin spread over his face. “What I have planned neither requires them nor concerns them.”

Okay, now I was confused. I thought this was about getting revenge on Tessa and Gabriel for vanquishing the Rev he loved. If it wasn’t about that, then what the heck were we doing here?

He came to a stop in front of what looked like an old ministry room. The walls were slick with mold and the stain-glass windows were fogged with a thick veneer of ash and grime. “Do not leave this room,” said Dominic as he shoved Taylor through the threshold and closed the door behind her.

“You’re not leaving her in there!” I tried to get around him but he quickly put his arm out and blocked my path.

“Believe me, angel, she’s far safer in there then she would be out here with us. Now walk,” he ordered. “We have business to tend to.”

I felt a cold rush zip down my spine but I knew he was right. At least she’d be out of his reach. And besides, with his mind control, she was a total liability at this point.

“Fine. Anywhere in particular?” I asked, working hard to keep the fear from showing up in my voice.

“Right there,” he ticked his chin to a lone chair placed near the front of the room. “Sit.”

“I don’t
do
commands.”

“And I don’t do petulant children.”

“Well, I don’t do—”

“Sit. Down. Now.”

I flopped down onto the chair with my arms crossed over my chest as I waited for him to make his big reveal.

The only way I could even begin to think of a way out of here was if I knew what I was doing here in the first place. Unfortunately, Dominic seemed intent on keeping a tight lid on everything and it was starting to get on my nerves.

“Any day now,” I said when he didn’t say anything.

Dominic dropped his hands on the armrests and leaned into me. “You have quite a mouth on you, angel. You ought to learn when to shut it as you’re making it far too tempting for me to do it for you.”

I swallowed hard, my bravado dissipating into dust.

“That’s better,” he said with a stony smile before straightening out. He looked down at me again; his eyes sharp as knives, expression hard and chiseled to the bone. “You truly are an infuriating creature.”

I wanted to tell him the feeling was more than mutual but pressed my lips together instead, afraid of what else would come bubbling out if I didn’t.

“As much as I long to purge you, I find myself equally desiring to possess you—to
break
you in and own you.”

Purge me
?
Own me
? My mind flatlined. I didn’t know which part of that to process first.

“I may have underestimated the degree of distraction you would pose,” he went on, undaunted. “It’s not something I’m prepared to deal with.”

“What are you talking about? Are you threatening me?” 

A crooked half-grin flashed. “It just means you should tread lightly.”

“Or what?”

“You have something I want,” he explained, ignoring my question as he walked around my chair with his hands crossed behind his back. “And I intend to have it.”

“
Me
? I thought this was about Tessa and Gabriel?”

He laughed dryly. “Your first mistake was assuming you understood my motives. My reasons for returning here had nothing to do with my past paramours or my desire for revenge. Both pale in comparison to what I truly desire.” His eyebrows ticked with a brand of arrogant mischief that was uniquely his. 

“Then what is it you
desire
?” I was almost too afraid to ask, but I had to know.

“Power.” He smiled at my confusion. “Which leads me to your second mistake.”

“And that is?”

“Coming here.”

The danger hit me like a freight train. With terror permeating inside me, I jumped up from my chair and tried to make a run for the door but he quickly snagged my waist and pulled me hard into his chest.

“Let me go!” I yelled as I fought to break free.

“Sit down, angel. We’re not done,” he said, pressing his mouth to my ear. “That is, unless you’d like me to mail you your friend's heart in a box tomorrow morning.”

My stomach retched. God, what had I done? What had I gotten myself into?

“The Amulet, love.” He spun me around and pushed me back into my chair. “You have it. And I want it.”

“What Amulet? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied, doing my best to appear confused—innocent.

“I’m going to say it one more time, and then I’m going to bring your friend out here and drain a pint of her blood every time you answer incorrectly.” His steely eyes were darker than night. “The Amulet. Now.”

My heart pounded hard in my chest as I struggled to form a cohesive thought. I didn’t know what to say—what to do. I knew he couldn’t hurt me as long as I was wearing the necklace; my sister made sure of the fact. But what about Taylor? What would stop him from draining her to death?

“Dominic, please—”

“I warned you, angel.” He was at the door within seconds, pulling Taylor out from her makeshift prison. He lugged her back to me by her arm, his expression unmoved—unflinching. In an instant, he was before me, crooking her head to the side. His long, pointed fangs piercing through his wicked grin.

“Hold it,” shouted a familiar voice.

I turned to see Trace standing at the doorway still wearing his perfectly tailored tuxedo and a matching frown. He looked calm and in control as he strode over to us.

“Let her go.”

“That’s not going to happen, Romeo.” Dominic seemed amused by the interruption, excited even. It was almost as though he preferred doing this in front of an audience. “I’m leaving here with the Amulet one way or another. This one’s pulse, on the other hand, is optional.”

“You’re bluffing,” baited Trace.

“Care to test that theory? I’ve already orchestrated two attacks. Albeit failed attacks.” He narrowed his eyes accusingly to Trace. “I’m sure you remember. You were there.”

It was Dominic all along. He was the one who sent the Rev and those demonic Runners after me. He was heartless; soulless. He would take Taylor’s life and wouldn’t think twice of it, and Trace would be next. Morgan’s premonition made that clear.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” I said, trying to hide the fear emanating from my voice. How could he be so stupid? How could he put his life at risk like this? It only brought him closer to destiny; closer to his gruesome end.

“I had to.” His expression was one of powerless defeat. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he hurt you.”

Dominic laughed, an evil grin curling across his lips. “You’re a little late, Romeo. We’ve already sailed that boat weeks ago. Though, if my memory serves me right, there was a lot more pleasure involved than pain.”

“What are you talking about?” Trace’s eyes reduced to slits as realization set in. “You bit her? He bit you? When—” He didn’t bother waiting for a confirmation. He charged into Dominic like a missile, knocking him off his feet and landing several paces back.

“Trace! Don’t!”

I tried to stop him—tried to jolt him out of his rage-fueled onslaught, but it was too late. They were already entangled in a web of fists and hate-filled expletives. Trace was playing right into the vision and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

Fists pounded against bone, and flesh tore open, spewing blood all over the concrete floor like an exploding volcano. I scrambled forward, pulling Taylor out of the way as I screamed out Trace’s name. But he couldn’t hear me.

Or he was choosing not to.

He rammed into Dominic over and over again, like a bull shark with a taste for blood. Dominic absorbed each of Trace’s hits with a grin. A sick, masochistic grin that made the bile in my stomach churn. I didn’t know how much Dominic could withstand or the kind of damage he was capable of inflicting, and not knowing only pulled me deeper into my nightmare without end.

“Is that the best you can do?” laughed Dominic.

Trace’s back stiffened. Fury and vengeance collided over his face and then exploded through his clenched fists. He hammered down onto Dominic harder, faster, his fists moving at the speed of light until Dominic’s arrogant smile tapered into a line of nothingness.

Hope ignited in me as I watched Trace gain the upper hand, pinning Dominic under a torrent of front-knuckle punches.

The structure trembled with each of his hits, spitting out debris from the cracked ceiling above us like victory confetti.

“Get him, Trace! Rip his head off!” I hardly recognized the murderous scream as my own.

Dominic growled in response, a deep, unnatural roar that was neither animal nor human. His form suddenly began flickering, vibrating as a thick opaque blackness overtook his arms, legs, and face, making it impossible for Trace to land a hit. It was as though he were melting away or—

“Shit!” said Trace, jumping off Dominic.

“Oh my God!” My mouth fell open as the soldering picture became clear.

Dominic was morphing—
shifting
right before our bulging eyes. Within seconds, a black wolf-like creature emerged from the dark miasma. His eyes sharp as knives, his mouth a hostile snarl, baring his teeth like a promise of death.