Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) (18 page)

The next day, Ethan, Josh, Steven and I sat in the Jeep Wrangler headed to Layton, a suburban city outside of Chicago. Josh drove. Ethan kept a close eye on his brother whose easygoing mood had been traded for something hard, intense and troubled. He didn’t tell me who we were going to see. In fact, since he sprung the “Symbols of Death” on me, he had remained scarce.

It was Steven who came to the room to tell me to be ready to leave in forty-five minutes. At first, I just considered them to be rude, keeping me in the dark so often. But they all subscribe to that “do as I say” rigmarole. When an order was made, you followed without many questions being asked. I wasn’t use to that. You tell me to get ready and I want to know the “who, what, when, why, where and how” of the matter.

When we arrived at the building, both Josh and Ethan seemed so weighted by their thoughts, it took them a moment before they opened the door. Josh led Ethan and me through the vacant office building while Steven stayed behind. The office of Nathan Green, PA, was dark and the lobby empty, but the door leading to the offices was left slightly ajar. The fact that he was closed for the day didn’t stop Josh from heading back into the office area. Nathan, I presumed, didn’t seem surprised to see Josh as he looked up from the papers on his desk. His craggy appearance hardened, piqued by the intrusion. Cold hyacinth eyes glanced in Josh’s direction before honing in on me. At first, they held a look of inquisition, which quickly turned to revulsion, then abhorrence.

“Josh is it?” he asked, his lips turning up in contempt as he glanced back at him. “I told you over the phone that I couldn’t help you.”

Josh crossed his arms, his sharp gaze meeting Nathan’s intense glare. “I didn’t believe you then and I don’t believe you now.”

Nathan pulled his attention from Josh, directing his focus on me, where it remained. Even when I turned toward Josh, I could still feel his eyes on me. “I found this in the ‘Symbols of Death.’ It’s the Gem of Levage. I need to know what it is used for. As a necromancer, you are quite versed on the objects used for ritualistic death and the other purposes they serve. What are its purposes and why is it important to Demetrius?”

He briefly looked at the picture. “I have no answers for you,” he stated curtly as he rose to his feet. Slowly, he walked in my direction, chanting indistinct words. Taking several steps back, I tried to avert my gaze, but they remained fixed on his. Ethan stepped in front of me, but I could still feel Nathan’s eyes searing through me.

“She shouldn’t be here,” he finally stated. I got the clear impression that he didn’t mean that I just shouldn’t be here in his office—but here in existence.

Josh put his hand in front of Nathan, keeping him from advancing any further. “Tell me about the gem,” he urged in a stern voice that held a hint of threat.

“She shouldn’t be here,” Nathan stated roughly as he glared at me with acrid intensity. His body tensed, eyes lowered as he started chanting inaudible words again.

“Stop it!” Josh commanded. “She is not one of yours to command,” he stated firmly.

“I sense the presence of the lifeless upon her, yet she doesn’t respond to my call,” he stated perplexed.

“She cannot be called by you. I need to know what her relationship is to the Gem of Levage,” Josh asked again.

“Do you have the gem?” he asked. His eyes never left the place where I stood.

“No, I believe Demetrius has it.”

Nathan’s heart rate changed, fear brushed over him in a crescendo of waves. Ethan responded to it, closing the distance between them. “It will be to your best interest to start giving some answers,” Ethan cautioned.

“Why haven’t you taken her life? She should not be here!” he commanded sharply, his eyes still fixed on me.

“You have been irresponsible for allowing her to live,” he accused angrily. “Her sergence is wrong! It’s all wrong. There’s a void. She cannot be here!” Horrified by my mere existence, his anger spread like wildfire.

“Why shouldn’t I be here?” I finally blurted. I took a step toward him, but Josh shot me a look that stopped me in my tracks. I should have been afraid, running from the building screaming; Nathan sentenced me to death, but I was full of questions. And Nathan was hell-bent against answering them. I needed to know what about me could evoke such a powerful response in a necromancer. Uneasiness formed a lump in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I tried to push down the feeling, but it wouldn’t budge.

He responded by lunging at me with a knife. Ethan grabbed it from him and slammed him to the floor. Holding him firmly against the ground, “You have only two options now: answer the damn question now, or let me beat you inches from death then answer the question. Either way, you will answer the fucking question,” Ethan growled through clenched teeth, inches from his face. Ethan’s demands were met with a vacuous stare as Nathan pressed his lips firmly together—silenced. We weren’t getting any information out of this necromancer.

“Ethan, I see your skills of persuasion still leave much to desire,” stated a velvety soft female voice from behind us.

“Chris,” Ethan greeted bitterly without looking up. Standing behind us, a woman held a crossbow on Ethan and a gun on Josh. Dark brown hair tucked neatly behind her ear, drawing attention to her flawless, toasted-almond skin, heart-shaped face and pleasing features. Lethal, umber eyes veiled by a long frame of lashes were directed solely on Ethan.

“Ethan, now
you
have two choices, sweetie. You can save yourself and your brother and let me have the little wolf, or you both can die in a very painful and bloody manner—after which I will ultimately get the little wolf. Knowing you, of course you are going do the heroic thing and risk injury to yourself to save your brother and the little damsel in distress.” She rolled her eyes, as sculpted arms held surprisingly still, keeping her weapons pointed at Ethan and Josh. “It’s so textbook Ethan that it’s rather boring. Let me warn you. I’ve made upgrades for you seemingly invincible were-types.” She took several steps forward with ease of movement I didn’t think was possible in jeans that tight. Full lips curved into a smirk. She was quite impressed with herself.

“This cute little silver arrow is just long enough to travel to the spine, destroying all those wonderful vital organs in the process. When it makes contact with the tissue, it explodes into little silver shards, releasing neurotoxins that will wreak havoc on your nervous center while the silver prevents you from healing. Even Dr. Baker and his god-like talents won’t be able to save you,” she finally stated.

“That’s counting that your skills with the crossbow has improved. But it couldn’t get any worse,” his voice responded caustically. He stayed, kneeling over Nathan but his attention was focused on Chris.

She smiled. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, love. I’m pretty sure I can shoot you from this distance without a problem,” she threatened.

“This doesn’t have to end ugly. Give me Skylar and you and your brother get to leave with your lives. I will sweeten the deal by directing you to the guy who makes these handy little arrows … ”

“ … we’ve already met,” he interjected, “if you take a closer look at the arrow you’ll find that it’s not the original ones you agreed to. I had him make a few little changes before I strongly encouraged him to seek another career path. He felt the need to leave the city.”

She seemed relaxed as she took in the information but the clench of her jaw betrayed her true emotions. She shrugged. “Oh well, then I guess I will leave you to grieve the life of your brother,” she stated gripping the gun tighter. She made a slight adjustment in her aim from Josh’s chest to his head. Ethan stood, freeing Nathan from his position. With Nathan unrestrained and Josh in imminent danger, I took a few steps sideways, placing myself directly between Josh and the gun. I was sure she wasn’t willing to kill me. Okay, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but my certainty was somewhere in the high ninetieth percentile. But I was a hundred and ten percent sure that Nathan would kill me. In our current position, both Josh and Ethan could get to Nathan if he decided to attack me again.

“Oh how cute. She values your brother’s life. Isn’t she the most adorable brave wolf,” she stated with condescension dripping off her words. “Honey, I just need you alive. It doesn’t matter what condition I bring you in. I have no problem injuring you. Maybe if you were injured, you would be a little more compliant,” she said in a cloying threat, her voice promising a world of pain that she would be only too happy to deliver.

“Kill her! You have to kill her!” Nathan demanded. “Demetrius cannot have her,” he ordered, his voice quivering with rage. Once Nathan realized that she didn’t have any intentions of doing that, his steps quickened toward me.

With one swift move, Chris turned the arrow toward Nathan, shot him in the mouth as he opened it to speak. His head snapped back from the impact as blood splattered, covering Josh, Ethan and the back of my shirt. I wasn’t sure what the arrow was originally supposed to do, but once it made contact with the skull, it imploded, causing fragments of his skull to detach. Soft tissue disintegrated melting from the remaining bone. Chris glared at Ethan. “You liar! That was supposed to be my gift to you.”

He shrugged. “You can be a bitch at times, but you were never thorough. You always check just one. The one to your far left. So I left you one, to humor you. I never felt you were a threat to me and mine. Contrary to what you believe, you’ve never been a good shot with them. I am simply amazed that you were somewhat efficient this time,” he stated smoothly.

What did amaze this guy? The shot was flawless and done with such ease and precision; she had proven herself to be as deadly as any were-animal. Would he be impressed if she had made the shot blindfolded? She matched the were-animal terror for terror and he continued to antagonize her while the gun remained pointed at his brother’s head.

His insults rolled off her. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. Everything about these people was odd. “It was that bitchiness that made you fall in love with me,” she retorted in a seductive purr.

Ethan didn’t respond, instead he crossed his arms and smiled. They stared at each other seeming stuck somewhere between loathing and simmering attraction. I wasn’t sure if they wanted to attack each other in a blaze of violence or give into their carnal lust and take each other right there in front of us.
You have to be kidding me with this!

Josh let out an irritated sound. He was fuming as he walked toward her. I didn’t know if I should follow him for cover. She had no reservations about murder and I feared for his life, although he didn’t seem to possess the same level of concern. He looked at Nathan’s mutilated body; enraged, he turned toward Chris.

“Oh, Chris, just give it a break. You’re a hot woman, despite the fact you’ve just threatened to kill me and my brother. You’re a bitch, which probably means you are a great lay. I suspect that’s the only reason you and my brother lasted as long as you did,” he admitted coldly. “I don’t give a crap about you and my brother’s relationship, including the ridiculous unresolved feelings you two seem to have. What I want to know is how does a hunter become a lackey for Demetrius?” he asked, standing only inches from her gun. “It’s rather beneath you; don’t you think?” His face displayed his disgust if by any chance she missed it in his insult.

“Lackey,” she scoffed. Moving inhumanely fast, she dropped the crossbow and grabbed me from behind. Her fingers pressed firmly into the side of my neck, obstructing my carotid artery and keeping the gun aimed at Josh. Streaks of soft lights flashed across my eyes, clouds of fogginess formed in my head. Standing became a chore. She held me firmly as I staggered. She was fast, too fast to be only human—but she smelled human, and her presence seemed human. I thought I pulled at her hand but I must have imagined it because her hand was still wrapped firmly around my neck.

“She’ll be out soon. Just let me leave with her and I promise your brother will live,” she informed Ethan. Ethan took several steps toward her and she prepared to take the shot.

“Come on Ethan, it’s your brother,” it was a hollow plea because I didn’t think she cared whether or not she killed Josh. “You want me to believe that your commitment to the pack is greater than that to your only brother.”

Her hands were snatched from me and the gun knocked out of her hand. She was thrown to the floor. “Stay down,” Steven commanded her as he caught me before I hit the floor. She had obstructed the blood flow for so long that I was on the verge of passing out. Blinking erratically, I tried to force myself to stay upright.

Chris jumped up and ran toward the door, breezing past Steven. He tried to grab her, but she blocked his arm, twisted it and pushed him away. He stumbled back but managed to keep from falling to the floor bringing me down with him. Ethan ran out the door after her.