Magical Tendencies (20 page)

My foot immediately crammed down on the accelerator while my body went rigid and tense with strain. I couldn't help the way my body reacted to the sense of danger—I was in fight or flight mode—mostly flight.

Solomon had unbuckled himself and was scanning around us in a 360 degree range. He would have fit right in on the set of The Exorcist because he didn't look human in any way. In fact, his eyes were glowing bright yellow-green and his fangs were protruding from underneath his upper lip, a low growl emanating from deep within his chest. It was a bit calming in a way—it meant that he was on high alert and he wouldn't let anything hurt me. At least, not if he could help it.

My eyes flicked back in front of me as three more shapes dashed out in front of us. My body instantly reacted with a quick jerk of the wheel. Thankfully the road was dark but not wet so my reaction caused the tires to squeal and the cab of the truck to sway, but nothing more.

Solomon flashed me a quick smile as he continued to dart his eyes around the horizon. His tense muscles gave away the true opinion that he had of the situation—we were in a grave situation which meant we were in deep trouble.

My grip on the steering wheel was beginning to become painful and my mind was racing feverishly to allow my instincts to take over. My reaction time was nothing compared to Solomon but I was reaching out with my consciousness to give myself an added edge.

My vision began to sharpen and I could see a subtle purple glow appear in the cab of the truck. Pushing it away from my mind, I would not allow it to affect me. My mind was trying to protect myself and any kind of edge was worth putting up with.

Solomon's eyes flicked to me and then back to the horizon, "You're doing it again." His jaw clenched and his body edged a little closer towards me. Was he afraid that I was going to disappear and leave the truck driverless?

I snorted, "It's not what you think." I loosened my death grip on the steering wheel and adjusted my hands, flexing my fingers.

Solomon nodded just as he clipped out, "Left!" The truck lurched left as if he were driving it himself.

"Right!" The truck lurched right, avoiding a shadowy figure, moving into the roadway.

"What the heck?!" My breath caught in my throat just as the truck began to roll unexpectedly. I had done nothing that would cause it and my hands flew above me to shield my head from the roof of the truck. The rolling motion of the truck threw off my equilibrium and my stomach heaved.
Uhhhggg!

The sound of bending metal and the scraping sound of asphalt and glass were all that my ears registered before I heard Solomon yelling in the distance. His words were both curses and my name. Maybe he was cursing me for allowing this to happen. I wasn't sure what was going on. His growls sounded feral and his voice was a bit on the… desperate side.

There was silence and then I was being pulled from the truck. My body knocked the roof of the cab as I was released from my seat belt and the sound of crunching glass was all around me. I heard myself moan as I reached my hand to my face, my hand came away sticky and warm. Damn, I was bleeding.

I tried to open my eyes but everything was black and my eyes hurt. "What happened, Solomon? Are you okay?" My voice shook.

"Shhh, my sweet." The voice was smooth and dark. I could hear the drip of sexuality coming off of every syllable. My heart dropped into my stomach at the voice. "You are fine. You will be fine."

With no vision, my senses spanned out to my limbs. I could feel strong hands grasping under my back and knees. I was being lifted and the sudden sense of weightlessness made me uneasy.

The rocking motion of the stranger's steps made me quake with uneasiness. "Who are you?"

"Ahh, there will be time for that soon enough, my beautiful dove." The voice whispered next to my ear. Warm air brushed my skin from my ear down to my collarbone. Everything in me wanted to shiver. I could feel myself being pulled closer to a warm chest—definitely not Solomon.

Fingers adjusted around my knees and I felt razor-sharp tips brushing my skin through my jeans. Another desire to shiver shot through me.
No!

"Throw him in the back and let's go." The man holding me snapped out as I felt myself being pulled down and placed on a leather seat. I could feel the smooth leather slide underneath my hands while the hands that held me released me down on the seat. "Sleep my dear, you will need your energy."

There was a deep chuckle from the front of the vehicle as I heard the trunk being slammed shut.

"It's done." A gruff voice rumbled as a door in the front of the vehicle opened and the frame shook as the weight of someone huge settled down in a seat.

"Time to go, my dear." A hand brushed my hair away from my face. I jerked away from the contact as a low rumble emanated from the voice next to me, "You should be more grateful for the help we provided. You were in an accident and we are providing aid."

Another dark chuckle from the front of the vehicle made my skin prickle.

I couldn't keep myself from responding, "It is most likely that you were the cause of the accident to begin with." I straightened myself up—my vision was still dark and I couldn't figure out why. My hands drifted to my eyes as I felt the silky touch of fabric bound over my eyes.
Hmm, I couldn't feel it before.

Strong hands stopped me from removing the blindfold, clicking his tongue, "Tsk, tsk. The cloth stays where it is or you will be putting yourself in danger. No one is to know where we are based out of—our whereabouts are very secretive for our lot."

"And what lot is that?" I bristled as I checked to make sure that my shirt was pulled down. My hands felt heavy. I was injured, it appeared.

"Why, we are of the demon persuasion, my love." Silence hung in the air as I waited for him to continue with his thought. His accent was a little heavy. Sure, he spoke English flawlessly but his thick accent reeked of European influences.

"You are Italian, I would say." My mind clicked right when I opened my mouth. Why couldn't I actually think
before
I opened my mouth?

"Yes, il mio amore." He chuckled, "I am of Italian descent but… that was a very long time ago and things have changed for those of my kind. Circumstances are different and our numbers are dwindling."

My heart skipped a beat. Was this about what I thought it was about?
Oh snap!
My head began to spin, "Who
are
you?" My voice shook a miniscule amount but it was enough to make my heart sink a bit more.

There was silence as a pair of sharp claws brushed against my cheek. I fought the urge to pull away. This was not a good position to be in—at his mercy without my sight.

"All will be revealed soon enough my dear. Now sleep."

My body responded to the order which frustrated and scared me at the same time. I fought the desire to sleep as I pushed my power around me to encapsulate me in my own strength and intentions. That's when I felt it—the backlash of my body shutting down. Fear swept through me as my body slowly began to go limp even as my mind raced.
Oh hell!

31

My eyes snapped open but I kept my body still. There was no telling where I was or who was near me. I couldn't give away the fact that I was conscious to anyone that might be dangerous to me.

My eyes adjusted to the flickering light in the wood-rich room. My eyes skipped across the furnishings—older, English, rich carved walls and smells of wood polish and flowers hung thick in the air. There was also the faint smell of burning wood. My eyes flicked to the corner to take into account that there was fire burning there. I couldn't see anything of the fireplace because I hadn't allowed myself to move.

My hand flicked as I slowly felt down my body, shaky fingers assessing my clothing. Silk.
Double damn.

It felt like I was alone on a huge, feather bed. The pillow under my head adjusted to my weight and I could smell the dust of the feathers within. Slowly, ever so slowly I turned to my back, taking every minute detail into consideration.

I was alone in a cavernous room, paneled in carved wood with a roaring fire in the corner. The fireplace mantle was hand carved in images of angels and demons. The demons reached from the depths of the earth up towards the angels that flew above, smiling down with what appeared to be sadness and pity. Pity. I think that would be the last thing that I would expect to give a demon. I began to wonder why I was placed in this room.

Swinging my legs over the edge, I slipped off the bed quietly and felt the brush of a Persian rug underneath the pads of my feet. My toes spread out and felt the richness of the rug as I spun around the spot.

I looked down at the red satin, calf-length dress that I was wearing. Or was it a night gown? It didn't seem short enough to be a nightgown, and then there were those three inch red satin heels sitting directly next to the bed. I slipped a foot inside the right shoe to test the fit. Yup, it fit perfectly. I slipped my other foot into the left shoe as I took a small step backwards. The shoes fit perfectly and they felt like I wasn't wearing three inch heels at all—they were extremely pleasant to wear. The funny thing was that I hated heeled shoes except for my boots. Heels were always an opportunity to sprain an ankle or break a toe.

I continued to survey the room as I spun around on my new high heels. Noticing a full-length mirror across the room, I couldn't stop myself from walking straight to it. Curiosity really did kill the cat, I supposed. The heels clicked quietly on the wood floor as I got a good view of myself in the antique brass-framed mirror.

"Wow," The word escaped my lips as I took the full spectacle of myself in the mirror into consideration. The dress was red fitted satin with a deep plunging neckline. If the neckline stretched any further down it would be just inches from my belly button. My breasts swelled upward as if I were wearing a push-up bra and I was pretty impressed with how… perky my chest appeared. My C-cups were really rocking the dress and my waist looked trim in the delicate satin—no muffin top anywhere to be seen.
NICE!

My hair looked like it had just been done, straight and silky, parted to the side to allow a cascade of hair to sweep in front of my face until I pushed it behind my ear. My hair shone dark and rich in the light of the fireplace. Even my makeup looked like it had just been touched up. My lips were full and my eyes were done in a smoky style. It wasn't my preferred make-up but it did look sultry. I spun around to look at myself one more time—this was going to be my only chance to look this way. Why not? Just for affect, I pursed my lips together and eyed myself in the mirror as my face became distorted by the ever-popular 'duck lips', turned viral by teenaged girls posting pictures of themselves on Facebook doing the very same thing. Ahh, the beauty of the Internet.

An idea flickered as I considered snapping a shot on my iPhone. I giggled to myself as my eyes scanned the room to see if it was anywhere near. Nope, no purse, no phone… nothing. A sense of both guilt and fear hit me at the same time. What the hell was I doing when I didn't know where I was, if I was safe, and if Solomon was safe or even
alive
.

My heart dropped into my three inch heels. I dropped my head to my chest and a chill crept up my spine. Goosebumps broke out on my skin like someone opened a drafty window and the air was brushing across me in a wisp.

"My dear, you are absolutely breathtaking."

My head snapped up and I found the source of the voice directly in front of me. It was the same voice in the car. It was the same voice that I knew was to be feared—it was dangerous.

A dark shadow stood by the window on the far wall, away from the fireplace. The window was indeed open and there was a cool breeze blowing in, causing my chest to stand even more at attention.
Grrrr
.

Shaking my head, I dipped my eyes down to take one last look at myself. What could I say and not get myself into more danger than I was already?

"Thank you." I shrugged one shoulder and turned my chin towards it.

The man standing near the window took a long stride towards me, allowing the shadows to peel away and give my eyes the first glimpse at the man that had 'saved' me from the accident.

He was relatively short compared to Solomon and Von. He stood about 5'11' but it was still tall for me. His shoulders were broad and his fine smoky gray Italian suit just screamed quality and style. The collarless dress shirt underneath was black silk, opened down three buttons to allow me to see that his skin was shiny and smooth. His face was strongly European and his slicked back, rich brown hair was probably long enough to fall past the collar of his shirt but it was pulled back in a very short ponytail. As I scanned his features for details my heart skipped a beat when I finally got to his eyes.

Fierce, red eyes glowed at me from behind the frame of his face. I was instantly frightened and my body wanted to give me away. My knees became slightly weak and I could feel my dress tremble before I took a step forward to hid the shimmery movement.

The demon smiled wickedly at me when he noticed my step towards him. He must be reading my reactions incorrectly because there was no reason for me honestly to want to walk towards him. I should be running away but where would I run to? I had to play the cards I was dealt, and right now I wasn't sure if I was holding the 'dead man's hand'
or not.

Allowing my hands to drift to my sides, I began with my first tactics—assess what kind of danger I'm in. "So, you have me here. Did you have something in particular in mind that you wanted to discuss?" I was going straight to the meat of the matter. Why waste time?

A wide grin spread across the handsome face of the demon as he took another sure step towards me. "Yes, actually. But there is plenty of time for us to discuss that… over dinner." One eyebrow arched upward as he drank my appearance in from head to toe. "My dear, you are honestly delectable. An absolute feast for the eyes."

He took the few remaining steps towards me to place himself in my personal space, reaching out with one hand to brush away the hair that had escaped back into my face. His skin brushed mine, I could feel scalding heat coming from the little contact that he was making. A cold shiver ran down my spine.