Revenant (10 page)

It was true Jacob didn’t seem to have the
same hard edge, the same streak of violence his brother did. But he worked for
Gage. Both Jacob and Caleb eagerly bowed to Gage’s commands. How dark and
twisted were their hearts and souls to follow such a madman? But it was true
that so far, Jacob hadn’t shown the same propensity for physical violence as
his brother.

“Caleb hates me.”
And I have no idea why
.

She gave me a cautious look.

“Do
you
know why?” I demanded.

She paused a long time before finally
answering. “Their family followed Macaven. You killed their mother and some of
their cousins that night in the ballroom.”

I looked at her, horrified, not sure what to
say.

“Jacob doesn’t blame you for their deaths,
but Caleb does.” Wendy’s eyes met mine. “You need to be careful around Caleb.
He
really
wants to see you dead.”

She’s
right,
he does
.
I could see it in his eyes every time he looked at me. “Gage would never let
him hurt me.”

“Gage is not always around,” she answered softly.

“I’m safe as long as I’m doing what Gage
wants.” I could tell by her expression that she didn’t believe me. I didn’t
know if I believed it myself. “We will get out of
here.
” I said it with more certainty than I felt. I wanted
desperately to believe it.

I suddenly swayed on my feet and reached out
to put my hand on the wall for support. I forgot my hunger as exhaustion
set in
. Both physically and mentally tired, I
desperately needed sleep. I had to be ready for whatever crazy ordeal tomorrow
would bring. “Sonja promised clean sheets. You think she delivered on that, too?”
I didn’t wait for Wendy’s answer. I tucked the tin of crackers under my arm and
made my way slowly out of the kitchen and down the hall.

I opened one of the doors at the end of the
hallway. The room was clean. There was a wrought iron bed with a small wooden
nightstand
to one side. A lit candle sat on top.
On the other side of the room stood a tall, black wooden dresser that took up
most of one wall. The furniture was old-fashioned, but the white-and-pink-striped
bed covering and pillowcases looked brand new.

Wendy was behind me. She took a few steps
down the hall and opened another door. I followed after her. That bedroom
looked similar except this one had a large mirrored dresser in one corner.

I looked toward the main room. “I guess it’s
too much to hope that they would bring Luke back here.”

Wendy said in a quiet voice, “I watched Caleb
and Jacob escort him out of the party. Don’t worry, Colina—they won’t
hurt him. He’s their insurance policy.”

“They know I’ll do whatever they want as long
as they keep him safe.”

“Yes,” she answered.

“You…know what I’ve been doing?”

She nodded her head.

I walked into the bedroom and
sank down
on the bed. My hands came up and
covered my face.

Wendy sat down next to me. “I know you think
you don’t have a choice.”

Think?
I
know
I don’t
.

We sat there in silence for a long time
before I finally asked, “Would you do it?”

“Would I do anything asked of me, no matter
how vile, to save someone I love?” She was silent a while. Then she whispered, “I
don’t know. I’ve never loved anyone.”

“You love your parents.”

“I barely know my parents.”

“What about sisters or brothers?”

“No. What family I do have, I am not
interested in
speaking to
. They abandoned
me—I’ve spent the last few years in asylums.”

That’s where I’d met her, in an asylum. What
a lonely life she must’ve led. I’d once had a family that loved me. I’d once
had a happy life. But if my family could see me now… If anyone from my clan
found out what I was up to, I knew they would
imprison
me immediately. Or maybe worse.

It seemed like so long ago that I was a
healer. So long since I’d stumbled into the magic shop. It was then that I
first locked eyes with Luke. He was not happy to see me. I smiled at the
memory. My hands went to my lips, remembering the first night he’d kissed me. I
missed him so much. I wrapped my arms around myself.
I want him here with me so desperately
. Tears started to slide down
my face.

When I looked up again, Wendy had gone and
shut the door behind her. I lay on the bed and cried until I couldn’t cry
anymore.

* * *

When I
woke,
it was dark. The candle had burned out. I
’d fallen asleep still wearing
my dress.
If I’m going to change into
something more comfortable, I need light.
I got up and gingerly made my way from
the bed to the door in the dark. Opening it, I could see
light
shining down the hall from the kitchen.

I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a
glass from
the shelf.
I dipped the glass
into
a bucket
of well water sitting on the
stove. The fire in the stove had long since died, and the water was lukewarm. I
took a sip.

I looked at the candle burning in a
glass-topped lantern on the table. The wax
was
almost completely burned
down. I’d seen more candles and matches in the
cupboard when we’d been rummaging for food. I put the glass of water down and
took a step toward the cupboard.

Hands grabbed me from behind.

I started to cry out in surprise when a palm
pushed hard against my mouth, silencing me. I bit down and heard a grunt of pain,
but the hand didn’t budge. I struggled to get free, but whoever had me was much
bigger and
stronger
and was dragging me
out of the kitchen. Then
the door
opened,
and I felt a breeze on my face.
We’re
leaving the house
, I realized. Soon I would be out of range of Wendy or any
hope of rescue. I struggled harder. I
kicked
and swung, but whatever contact I made seemed to make little difference.

I
was thrown
to the
ground,
and my head hit the dirt
hard. Dazed, I lost the ability to struggle as I was
picked
back up and carried. My abductor finally dropped me on the
far side of the yard. I started to scramble away, but a thick cluster of trees
surrounded me. I remembered seeing trees in the distance when I was getting
water from the well—they were quite a ways from the house, which meant
we
were quite a ways from the house. My
heart froze in fear, thinking of what else might be out there, beyond the house—
hellhounds
.

They
won’t hurt you if you stay close to the
house
,
Sonja had said. The creatures were out here
somewhere.

I had only moved a few feet on my hands and
knees when someone grabbed my hair and yanked me back. Rough hands forced me to
my feet, spun me around, and slammed me against a tree. My cheek scraped
against the bark as an arm wrapped around my waist and a hand clamped over my
mouth. Then I saw them. Two pairs of red eyes watching me from the darkness. I
stopped struggling.

“As long as you stay close to me, they won’t
hurt you.” It was Caleb’s voice.

I watched the hellhounds begin to move toward
us. My heart pounded hard.

“I’m going to take my hand away, but if you
scream,
they’ll attack. If you scream, I won’t
be able to stop them. Do you understand me?”

I nodded my head.

He took his hand from my mouth.

I sucked in a mouthful of cold air. “Let me go,”
I hissed.

“Not until I get a little payback.” I could
feel his
breath
on my neck. “My mother
was a follower of Macaven,” he whispered in my ear. “She worshipped that man.
Did his bidding for years. She was at the party. The one where
you
let a demon free.” His arm tightened
around me. “She meant everything to Jacob and me. She was our whole world until
you
took her away!”

“You can’t hurt
me—
Gage would never allow it.” I struggled against him,
trying to break free of his grasp. Even as I fought, my eyes never left the
hellhounds. They came slowly out of the shadows and moved into the clearing.
Dark wisps of smoke trailed after them. They moved closer and I could see dark red
flames flickering all over their skin. More flames flared brightly in their
eyes. They were predators on the hunt, and we were their prey. Those bright red
eyes were shining with anticipation and excitement. The creatures were moving toward
us, and as they walked, the tall green grass darkened and died at their feet.
The smell of sulfur and ash filled the air. The hellhounds raised their heads
in unison, sniffing the air as they approached. Low growls rolled from their
mouths, echoing in the air.

Caleb’s rough hands grabbed me and pushed me tighter
against the tree trunk. His face was inches from mine. He whispered, “If Gage
finds out I laid hands on you, he
would
have my head. But we know you won’t be telling him about that. No, you’ll keep
quiet.” Before I could say anything, Caleb’s fingers reached down and started
pulling at my dress.

I desperately pushed his hands away, and in
response he shoved me harder against the tree. He put one hand in the center of
my chest and leaned his weight against me painfully, grinding my back into the
rough bark and pinning me there. Then he moved until the full length of his
body pressed against mine.

The long fingers of his right hand came up
and rested at the base of my throat. He squeezed ever so slightly, and memories
of the first ritual and of Weatherton’s spirit looming over me blazed across my
mind.
He’s going to strangle me.
A
paralyzing panic filled me. I stood, pinned and gasping for breath, as he once
again pulled at my dress with his left hand. I felt the wind on my bare legs. I
struggled fruitlessly against his horrible strength, but my efforts only seemed
to amuse him. He laughed cruelly, enjoying my fear. He was reveling in my terror,
and like the hellhounds, anticipation filled his eyes. Then his grip loosened
from my throat, and he moved his hand in front of my face. I watched it burst into
flame. Dark orange fire slid
across
his
fingers and down the skin of his palm.

Luke had once created blue flame that burned
along
his fingers, but his flame was not a true
fire. It had no warmth.

Caleb’s did. I could feel the waves of heat
against my cheeks.

“One of my powers. I can bring forth fire,”
Caleb said. The flames flickered around his skin.
“The fire is cool against my skin, but I’m afraid you aren’t so lucky.”

He moved his fingers slowly toward my face,
and the heat was all I could think
of
.
He’s going to burn me
. I turned my face
away and started to squeeze my eyes shut, but the flames suddenly died away. He
grabbed my chin and forced me to face him again.

“No. You will watch every
moment,
or the punishment will be much worse. I
intend for you to see every second of what’s been coming to you.” His eyes had
a glassy, half-mad gleam.

He moved his body ever so slightly back, and
I could finally find enough breath to speak. “What’s the plan? Rape and burn me
and leave me for the hellhounds?” My voice trembled. “That doesn’t sound like
something Gage will forgive.” I struggled to make my tired mind work
, to find a way out of this situation without drawing
on enough power to get Luke killed. How close was he being held? Would the
collar kill him outright? Or would Gage punish me for killing his favorite
lackey by hurting the ones I cared about? Could I risk it?

Caleb again smiled his cruel grin, moving
close and leaning his full body against me—this time in an obscenely
intimate way. “Tempting, but I might be the only man in this place who doesn’t
want you.” He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Besides, if you’re dead, I
can’t hurt you anymore.”

His cold fingers were on the outside of my
thigh, and then I felt it—the burning.

I started to scream, but he covered my mouth.
“No screaming. If those things attack, we’re both dead. They’ll tear us both to
shreds.”

And then I heard it, a howl on the wind.
My spirit pack
.

“Easy now. You use any of your magic
tonight,
and Luke dies. He’s close enough for
the collar to crush his windpipe. Do you want to see your boyfriend killed?”

I tried to calm my pounding heart against the
rising pain. If my spirit pack attacked, Luke would die. I forced myself to
calm down. It wasn’t easy—
the burning on
my thigh became more and more intense.
The smell of scorched flesh
filled the air. I forced myself to take one deep breath after another. The
pounding of my heart slowed, until I no longer heard the cries of wolves. There
were no glimpses of animal spirits gliding through the air. My pack had backed
off.