Ink (38 page)

Odin stepped forward, tugging Karsen’s jaw up. “Your name.”

Karsen hesitated. “Um… Annabelle.” She choked back amusement. But Odin accepted this and released her jaw from his fingertips. Odin offered Karsen over to Slade. Slade fingered her tresses, running his hand down to her halter top. My stomach grew ill. What was happening?

Odin began the chant yet again.

Femme de la nuit.

Le ofrecemos este sacrificio.

envahir.

Prise ce que vous

Nosotros de usted este sacrificio

But this time Slade pulled Karsen toward him. He was going in for a kiss. I bit down on my tongue hard, ready to cry. Slade ran a hand all the way through her hair and left it at that. An immense smirk on his face as Odin offered up more of his finger. Apparently consuming blood from some sickly looking freak was all the rage around these parts, I thought bitterly.

Karsen kneeled as Samantha had done. Slade petted her hair like she was some lavish pet. I tried my best to keep it together. Telling myself we were in over our heads and one off beat move might make for an even shoddier condition.

The hairless guy started up a new incense, bending down to ignite another blaze. I waited for something to happen. Slade crossed his arms, watching tentatively. And then the fire died. Slade’s face showed huge displeasure as he helped Karsen to her feet, still ignorant he had just made out with my friend. My heart sped up as Karsen passed by me making modest eye contact. I knew she was even more bothered now.

“
Annabelle,” I called out. She twisted back to me, the man’s hand at her back. “This isn’t it,” I pleaded. Karsen gave me an obstinate nod and vanished past the gate.

I knew it was stupid to prevent Karsen from letting someone know what was happening. But it wasn’t like something terrible went down. Karsen was free, most likely booking it for the nearest way out. And all I needed to do was lick a bleeding finger and maybe make out with Slade. Well, I could do that. No problem.

The larger dilemma would be explaining to Karsen why Slade, the guy I was into, was out making out with random strangers and doing crazy rituals. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of that.

I wiped at my brow, perspiration covering my fingers. And I waited. It was only me and the other girl. I gave her a quick look. Her lengthy chestnut brown hair mingled with her own perspiration. She wore a long black skirt down to her ankles and a tight fitting camisole. Each of her fingers bore a silver band. She did her best to gain all their interest as they approached. I pulled some hair against my face, shielding my eyes away from Slade’s sight. Scared he would know who I was. But he didn’t. He walked around the two of us.

“
This one,” he said, thumbing in my direction.

I took Odin’s hand, allowing him to lead me to the circle. He stood before me. “Your name.”

I stared at the ground. “Leigh,” I said, because that was the first name that came to mind. I was pretty sure I had a cousin name Leigh.

Odin touched his dry palm to my forehead, the warmth of his skin heating up my own skin. I flinched, pulling away. Odin scanned my eyes. Slade stood on the side, watching Odin work his magic, literally.

“
I think this is a good sign, Slade,” Odin said, breaking character. He no longer seemed all mystical and captivating. Now he seemed like an everyday guy. I kept my eyes locked on the ground staring at Odin’s black boots.

“
If I could only get so fortunate,” Slade commented back.

I watched his recognizable black boots, the ones with the russet stitching around the soles, come to a stand in front of me. I closed my eyes. I hadn’t an inkling what to do next. So I permitted his fingers to raise my chin. I prayed the makeup and wig was sufficient enough to keep him from knowing who I was. But I wasn’t sure.

I instantly shifted my stare past him, not making any eye contact. He slipped his fingers to the back of my skull, pulling me in. His scent bringing to the surface warmhearted memories of our intimate moments together. I squeezed my lids tightly shut so he couldn’t get a look, and received his kiss, feeling his tongue move past my unenthusiastic lips.

Well, I wasn’t going to eagerly kiss a guy that was doing bizarre things behind Henry Park. Even if I liked him.

He stayed attached, breathing me in for a few seconds before he released me.

I immediately put my head back down, watching the shoes, only fixed on the boots. A third set stepped into the circle and, instead of lighting a fire, it seemed they were all conversing. They were discussing something. I stayed motionless, waiting to catch any part of this exchange.

“
I think this may be it,” Odin said. I knew it was him. He was the only one with such a harmonious voice.

“
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’d like to think it was that easy. But how long have we been doing this? Just light that shit,” Slade said.

Odin’s feet were by me now, his black boots touching my exposed toes. He cleared his throat. “I need you to look up.”

I nodded, bringing my gaze to him. I caught a peek of Slade out of the corner of my eye. There he stood, anxiously waiting. Arms crossed. Odin brought the blade to a spanking new finger, slicing through the skin with the jagged edge, his expression showing no indication of pain. He squeezed, letting a few drops fall before extending his arm toward me. I swallowed down the sick feeling and opened my mouth. My heart racing in my chest. It sickened me to think I had to agree to his blood. But I didn’t want to screw this up.

Odin’s finger touched my lips. The blood hot, the pungent flavor of copper mixing with my saliva. My mouth immediately watered. I felt sick. I ran my tongue along my bottom lip, wishing the experience away. My blood pumping away in my ears. And then a sluggish, magnetic calm hurried through my skin. Through my mind. I felt prickly. I felt warmer than I already was.

My body gave in and I found myself kneeling before Odin. Something I hadn’t even intentionally done. But now it was happening. There I was, kneeling. I had this odd feeling coursing my veins and something grating at my mind, making me believe I would do anything that Odin wanted.

Intense light appeared all around me. They had lit the stones. I waited, closing my eyes. I concentrated on the ominous feeling washing over me. My skin heated even more, making me ever more uncomfortable. My knees ached from the pose I was fixed in. What was happening? What happened to the breeze? All was still and I felt like I was roasting.

I opened my eyes to find myself enclosed by flames taller than the fence I had entered to get into this place. I screamed, falling backward. Both Odin and the bald guy held my hands behind my back not willing to let me go like all the other girls.

“
Please!” I screamed, struggling to get free. I looked at Slade. His face was pleased. Was he enjoying my misery?

Odin put a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down. You’re the one.”

“
The one what?” I yelled. “I just want to go home. Let me go home like all the rest!” This was not the day I wanted to be the victor of anything.

“
The chosen one. She has picked you,” Odin explained, brandishing the silver blade.

I screamed, jamming a knee into his hand, the blade falling to the earth. I yanked my hand away from the bald guy, falling forward right on my face. I rolled over, kicking my legs to keep them away from me. I couldn’t run anywhere. We were enclosed in a sweltering hellhole.

“
Slade, you do the honors,” Odin said, turning over the knife.

Slade tucked it into the back of his pants. Both men cornering me again. I crawled away, staying near to the ground, the sand clinging to every part of my body as I scrambled away from them.

“
How long does this take?” Slade asked, following me around the circle. He was waiting for something. What, I wasn’t sure. I screamed, kicking at Odin as he tried to take hold of me all over again.

He waved the bald man over. “Hold her down, its time,” he ordered. I screamed one last time as the bald man pinned me to ground, his knee pressing into my upper body.

“
My name is Hope!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. I pulled my arm free, yanking the wig off of my head.

The bald man ignored my frantic rant and pinned my arms above my head. “Have at it, Slade.”

My eyes went wild, searching for anything that could free me of this agony. Slade pulled the blade from his jeans, gripping it securely. I locked eyes with him.

“
Let her go,” Slade ordered finally. His face changing from liberation to upset once he knew that it was me. He kneeled down. “Hope.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“
Slade, this is it. What are you waiting for?” Odin asked, lifting Slade’s arm that held the blade in the direction of me. Coaxing him to do whatever he had intended.

“
No. I can’t do this.” Slade dropped the blade in the sand.

I sat up, thankful he couldn’t, because I didn’t want to know how that would have turned out.

“
Let her go,” Slade said, standing back up. He kicked the blade clear out of the circle. The fire immediately died down to nothing but glowing ashes. At last some clean air surged around all of us. My head felt light and my brain barely had a handle on what just occurred.

“
Slade says you can go,” Odin said, shaking his head in disbelief.

I pulled away from the bald man. It seemed I rained on everyone’s parade.

“
What is going on?” I asked Slade. I wasn’t leaving without an answer.

He kept his back to me. Sweat gleaming off his skin.

“
What is going on, Slade?” I asked again, moving toward him. I rested a hand on his back, my fingers wet from the contact. “What just happened? And why did you stop it?”

Slade exhaled, his body expanding and then falling quickly. “Something really horrific,” was all he said.

“
Can you please clarify a little? Were you and these weird people about to hurt me?” I waited for a response from him, but he seemed too mortified to say anything.

Odin stepped forward. “A sacrifice.” As if I would accept that and everything would be okay.

Slade whipped around, facing me, rage overflowing his features. “Get the hell out of here, Odin.”

Odin swiftly scurried away.

I swallowed, baffled. A sacrifice. I knew the connotation, but that didn’t mean I understood.

“
Ezra. She needed a means. Someone she would be eager to reside in. It’s an old sacrament. You locate a source and imprison the departed spirit. Once the spirit inhabits the body, the body is destroyed as a result, destroying the spirit along with it.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Was he saying he was about to end me for the sake of doing away with of his ex girlfriend? I was pretty confident that he was. And only because he realized it was me he had stopped. Refused to go forward with it. But if I hadn’t been me some poor girl would have lost her life, and that disturbed me.

I took off running as fast as my feet could carry me through the gates. The only place I wanted to be was in my bedroom and away from such perverse, sick darkness.

I
came to a stop outside of the gates of Henry Park vowing I would never step foot in there again. I took a quick glance back before I took off across the sand. I had to find Karsen.

It was late. Really late. And I knew Dad would be close to calling the cops if I failed to show my mug soon. I didn’t know if Karsen would go back to my house after what she had just been through. I was certain of very little actually.

I tore past a group of drunken men, jumped over a huge log and then shimmied in between the boulders. My lack of clothing making it effortless to slip right through. As soon as my feet hit the sand on the other side, I screamed. And so did Karsen. She was curled up by the boulders.

“
What are you doing?” I asked, helping her up.

“
I didn’t want to go back to your house without you. So I stayed here and waited. I thought you were dead,” she panted, looking me over. Her wig was at her feet, no longer of any kind of importance to her.

“
Well, I’m not dead,” I pointed out, waving a hand at her. Her expression was dark and bothered. It showed all over her face just how upset she was. Her eyebrows were drawn together and her eyes were full of tears.

“
You need to explain to me what you got yourself into,” she told me.

I half expected something like this to be coming out of her mouth. I was just scared of how to handle it. If I knew how to handle such a thing I probably wouldn’t have any problem. But I didn’t.

“
I’m not into anything. That’s the very last time I will ever step foot over there again. Believe me.” I stared off, hoping that was enough to suit Karsen. Hoping she would just leave it alone. She took hold of my shoulder, tugging me back to her. Dragging my mind away from the ocean and back to her face.

“
What do you want me to say, Karsen?” I grumbled, letting out a loud sigh. Any way I saw it, I looked like the biggest idiot.

“
I want you to tell me what’s going on. What do you know?” She scaled one of the boulders, I followed after her. The breeze wafting off the ocean, making me chilly. I was sitting outside with hardly any clothes on. I brought my knees up, hugging them in place.