Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) (34 page)

Ethan opened the door and entered first. I was surprised; as with Caleb’s home, it was beautifully decorated. I expected the typical tacky gothic décor I had seen on the Web or the dark creepy vampire lair in the campy horror flicks. The urban chic décor, complete with dark contemporary straight lined furniture, went far beyond my expectations. The home even had a fully furnished kitchen with stainless steel appliances. I had no idea why— perhaps their garden members needed to eat and maybe. at times, the vampires themselves had a hankering for a sandwich.

Standing in the foyer of the house, I closed my eyes and concentrated, anticipating that same pull that led me to the “Symbols of Death” would soon take over. When I didn’t feel anything, I stepped in further. The scents of the house were distinctive, just like the were-animals’ retreat. I expected the house wouldn’t have a scent because they weren’t alive; but it did indeed. It was an odd smell, a cross between fresh linen and blood. I crept up the stairs with Ethan walking obnoxiously close.

I pushed the slightly ajar door further open, entering a dark room with light filtering blinds that smothered out even the slightest hint of light from the moon. I expected a coffin or something coffin-like, but instead, there was a sumptuous king-size bed decorated with richly colored pillows and a duvet. The room was meticulously neat, preposterously spacious and everything I didn’t expect.

I continued through the house. A distinctive scent caught my attention and I followed it to the far end of the hall to a bedroom that I was sure belonged to Demetrius. Everything about it seemed to exude him and the presence I felt during my vision. The walls were painted in rich cinnamon with light accents. Decorated with tasteful artifacts, mahogany-textured furniture and unique wall art, the room had an exotic feel. Demetrius’s scent, I assumed, overwhelmed the room, but Chris’s scent was heavily enmeshed throughout as well. Obviously, Ethan sensed it as well because his breathing stopped for a short period and his face twisted in revulsion before he backed out of it. I stayed behind, trying to get a feel of it. If the gem were anywhere, it had to be here.

When it wasn’t easily found, frustration took over my search. I began rummaging through the drawers, looking under the bed and through the closets. With each failed attempt, I closed the doors harder. Eventually my pursuit became nothing more than me opening and slamming drawers and doors.

“Skylar, we are not here for that,” Ethan stated coolly as he stood at the door.

Sensing my frustration, he placed a hand lightly on my shoulder, “Demetrius is smart, I doubt he’s hid it in his underwear drawer,” he stated in a low, controlled voice. “Just do what we came to do, okay.”

I walked out of the room and went into the other six rooms, sensing nothing.
Oh, come on
, I thought desperately. I closed my eyes, waiting for that enigmatic pull that would lead me to the very thing that would end this madness. As I walked through the living room, kitchen and dining room, I searched through any nearby drawers and closets, when Ethan wasn’t looking. I was resigned to the idea that I wasn’t leaving without the Gem of Levage in my possession—I couldn’t.

I started toward the stairs to search the basement when Ethan’s ears pricked: he turned his head slightly. “We need to leave,” he whispered. I hesitated, desperately wanting to continue the search.

“Now,” he urged, pulling me toward the front door.

“Unexpected guests,” stated an expressionless man with a northeastern dialect, leaning against the wall. His lips curved slightly into a forced smile. When he turned toward me, his smile vanished. His peculiar, verdigris green eyes shone so brightly it was like staring into fluorescent lights. They stared back at me intently.

He pushed himself up from the wall, his face void of all human expression. He kept a keen focus in my direction. He wasn’t breathing, but I could hear a faint heartbeat. What the hell was he doing with a heartbeat? When his lips turned up again at another attempt at a smile, he exposed his fangs. Okay, he was definitely a vampire—I think. Well, he was definitely not human—I think. He wasn’t quite human, but didn’t seem to be a true vampire either. A creature stuck in a place of in-between. I had no idea what he was, but unless he had the gem in his possession, I didn’t much care.

Standing poised, he held the confidence of one who knew that he could defeat his opponent if necessary. His gaze shifted back and forth between me and Ethan before staying fixed on me. “It’s her. The one that our Master desires,” he stated in a low whisper. With his flat affect, indiscernible heartbeat and absent breath sounds, I couldn’t tell how he felt about
her
.

Steven moved quickly behind him, grabbing the in-between in a chokehold.

“Steven, release him.” Ethan requested calmly, keeping his eyes on the questionable vampire.

“Take Skylar to the Tahoe; I will be there in a moment. I need to talk to … ” he raised his eyebrow, waiting for a name. `

“They call me Quella Perduta, Quell for short,” he stated, forcing an Italian accent with the pronunciation of his name as he rubbed his hand across his neck. Intrigued and bewildered, I couldn’t bring myself to stop looking at his oddly colored eyes.

“They call you “the lost one.” I dare not ask why,” Ethan responded smoothly.

A mischievous smile crept on Quell’s face. “Good, because I dare not answer,” he admitted, his voice just as smooth as Ethan’s. Quella Perduta looked like a porcelain doll. His features were so perfect that you couldn’t help but stare, while you played “look for the flaw” in your head. His short, wavy, deep-brown hair complimented his strong jaw line and striking good looks. He should have been appealing, but instead, he just looked—odd. His unnaturally astounding beauty made him more disturbing than alluring. Perfection was his flaw.

“What were you called before?”

“It doesn’t matter because he no longer exists. Since my creation, I have been Quella Perduta.” His expression was a desolate well. He made an attempt at a smile again, but it seemed like more effort than he was capable of. “I may indeed be considered the lost one, but they value my existence tremendously. My mistress and master will be quite saddened if it were taken. I guarantee revenge will be sought.” His face was a plain mask, showing little movement and no emotions as he spoke. The thing that stood before us was just a shadow of a person—a heartbeat without a life. Was it strange that I felt sorry for him? He didn’t seem to belong in this world any more than I did.

“You should have no fear of that. I dare not attack you in your home without cause. You refrain from violence against me and I will do the same,” Ethan stated diplomatically.

“Very well, then how may I be of service to you?” he asked eloquently.

“I need you to relay a message to your Master.” He looked over to Steven and nodded his head in the direction of the truck. “I will find my way back to the house,” Ethan informed Steven. Steven led me out the door. Once the door closed behind us, I ran toward the back of the house with Steven close behind me. When I reached for the door, he pulled me away. “What are you doing?” he hissed in a low voice.

“I need to go to the basement,” I stated anxiously.

“No. We need to leave,” he responded decisively through clenched teeth as he tugged at me.

“Steven, if it’s there, then this all ends tonight. Please.”

He pulled air in deeply through his teeth making an annoying hissing sound as he weighed in on the idea. Looking around, he inhaled the area thoroughly, assessing for other vampires.

“Okay,” he reluctantly conceded. I walked down into the dark room. Absorbing the energy in the room, it felt familiar to me. Perhaps it was because it was the location of my future murder—if the vampires had their way. I took a couple of steps, bumping into something hard. I ran my hands across it as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a coffin. A plain, wooden coffin with three locks attached to it.

“It’s for punishing their own. They drive them to madness locked in it, depriving them of all stimulation, food and interaction. Then they kill them by taking them apart, piece by piece. They are horrible creatures with few rules; if by chance you violate them, the punishment is quite severe,” he whispered in my ear. He handed me a small flashlight. I roamed it over the obstacle. I leaned my ear toward the coffin; I heard movement. Someone was in there. How horrible was this creature in the coffin that even vampires deemed it bad enough to punish.

I knelt down, trying to get a sense of the gem. But there was nothing. Would they hide it in here with the punished? I considered breaking the locks to open it, but Steven shot me an angry look that quickly deterred me.

Several ritualistic drawings and runes were on the walls of the relatively empty basement. They were prepared for my arrival. I rubbed my hand over the drawing, slowly walking through the area. Still I felt nothing. Damn. This is where I would be murdered. The exact chains were attached to the wall. My heart started to beat fast against my chest. I didn’t want to give up. A certain level of relief came over me as we started this adventure, hoping that after tonight it would all be over. Frantically I searched throughout the basement once again looking in, over and under everything.

Frustrated and discouraged, I walked over to the wall with the runes. Pricking my finger with my teeth, I went to touch it hoping that I could establish some type of bond that would lead me to the gem.

Steven growled as he wrenched me roughly from the wall, “What the hell are you doing? We are not trying any of that weird shit here. You have no clue how it works and how to control it. Come on, we are out of here,” he commanded, pulling me toward the door.

“Steven, we may never have another chance,” I argued. “Please. If this works, then it all ends tonight.”

“And if it doesn’t and you bind yourself to magic you have no control over, then we are screwed! It wasn’t even forty-eight hours ago that you bound yourself to that thing. Did you forget the feeling that soon? Where is your head?” he stated agitated.

I was so desperate for this to end that I was behaving recklessly. The taste of defeat was acerbic against my tongue. We were so close yet so far away, and I just couldn’t walk away empty-handed without doing everything possible to find the gem. There was that line, however thin, between reckless and tenacious. I wasn’t sure where it crossed, but I wanted to get as close as I could so that even if I failed, I knew I did what I could.

I considered ignoring Steven and spilling blood over the runes. But if I made things worse, once again opened the gates of hell and fell into an abyss that I couldn’t get out of, then I would have crossed the line. I would have been reckless and put others in harm because of it. I couldn’t do that.

“Sorry,” I whispered, following him as he led me to the door. When we finally got to the car, Steven’s face had softened some, but I was still looking at icy green eyes as he glared at me.

He let out a frustrated sigh. “I know you were just trying to help, but stop playing with magic for now. You don’t know what you’re doing, and playing these binding tricks is only going to get you in trouble,” he stated, his face grim with anger.

“Well, tell magic to stop playing with me,” I mumbled under my breath.

As we sat in the back seat, Josh listened to our back and forth, and gathered the gist of what had occurred. He looked at me, unable to mask his frustration with me or the situation. I couldn’t tell which. “It’s here. I feel the presence of dark magic,” he breathed out. We sat in silence in front of the house. As strong as Josh had proven to be, he was limited when it came to dark magic. Josh looked at the house once more before he started the car. “It was too big of a risk. We shouldn’t have come here,” he finally acknowledged. I didn’t like the tenor of his voice; it held fear, and the withdrawn look on his face didn’t do much to improve things.

I sat in the living room, my legs bouncing nervously against the sofa as I gnawed at my nails. Watching the door, I waited impatiently for Ethan to return from vampires’ house. As a vaguely familiar scent approached me, I tensed. I heard a hard step pattern descending the stairs. I stood up at his approach and found myself face to face with Gavin.

His lips curled slightly to form something that should have been a smile if it didn’t hold such an air of disdain. Dark, piercing, almond-shaped eyes with a distinct shimmer of malice stared back at me. His midnight-black hair was pulled back with a tie, while stragglers from the binding hung down to his neck brushing against his deep tawny-colored skin, hollow cheeks and broad features. He was slim, built perfect for agility and stealth, comparable to that of a swimmer. He stepped closer, invading my personal space, siphoning out the air and replacing it with his indignation and strife. The look on his face displayed his contempt and his overwhelming desire to wrap his hands around my neck and squeeze. I imagined him watching me struggle minute by minute, second by second as he pressed the last breath out of me.