Trials (The Forever Series, Book 6) (20 page)

He pushes his hand into my hair and moans, “Oh, Dawn.” I
pull back like I have been slapped. He sits upright suddenly blinking at me as
I yell, “Dawn?” at him and he says, “What?”

I gaze furiously at him as I say, “I was sucking you off and
you called me Dawn! I have no problem if you are fucking her but at least have
the decency to get our names straight.”

“What?” he asks again in a daze. “I called you Dawn?” he
says in horror as he finally comes to enough for that to sink in. “No, no baby.
I’m not fucking her, I swear. I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry. I’m
sorry,” he says desperately and I frown at him. He sounds so sincere I can tell
he isn’t lying to me.

“Were you dreaming of her?” I ask.

“Maybe, I don’t remember,” he says, looking away. Oh I see,
he was dreaming about her.

“Cole,” I say sternly. “You don’t need to lie to me.”

“All right, yes,” he snaps at me. “I was dreaming about her.
Happy?” He pulls the sheets up over himself and flops back down.

I stifle a small smile and crawl over him.

“Tell me about it,” I say slyly.

He glares at me. “It’s not like that. It’s all your fault,”
he grumps.

“Oh? Why is that then?”

“I’m hungry so I was dreaming I was feeding on her. Then she
dropped to her knees and took me in her mouth, clearly because you did. She
just happened to be in my dream at the time.”

“Oh baby. It’s okay. I really don’t mind.”

“Liv. Don’t start.”

“What? I’m not starting anything. She fancies you, if you
want to take her, take her.”

“I don’t want to take her.”

“Not even just once?”

“Liv! I said stop it.” He is getting annoyed with me so I
can it.

“Do you want to take me?” I ask.

“Always,” he says, humor restored as he flips me over and
rams into me without further ado.

Friday brings Devon’s day and I have specific plans for him.
I tell Cole about them as I watch him get ready to leave for work and he is
surprised. “Really? I thought you were against it?”

“Not anymore.” I shrug.

“Well, good. I’m glad,” he says as he bends down to kiss me.
“Wish him luck for me.”

“I will. I love you. Say hi to Dawn for me,” I say with a
wicked wink and he glowers at me.

“I would tell you to where to go but I don’t fancy a beating
this early in the morning.”

“How about later?”

“Hm, now that might fit nicely into my plans. You will be
around tonight?” he asks casually.

“Yes.”

He smiles then, happy. “Good, I will see you later then. Let
me know how it goes. I love you.”

“Bye baby.”

He leaves me then and I flop back to the bed. Alone. I’m not
happy about being alone. I jump quickly into the shower and head down to Devon
and Jess’s suite within minutes. It isn’t even 6 AM yet so they will no doubt
be fast asleep. I Astral in, we have no secrets (well, not many, anyway) and
call quietly for him. It is dark in here. Really, really dark. Blackout blinds
on curtains pulled tight so no sunlight comes in.

“Hey,” he says, coming out of the bedroom. “You okay?” He
gives me a quick cuddle.

“Yeah, sort of. I need to talk to you. Is Jess asleep?”

“No, she’s up, in the shower. She prefers to sleep during
the day as much as she can. You know, makes it easier to cope.”

I nod, “That’s what I want to talk to you about. It’s time,
Dev.”

“Time for what?” he asks, sitting on the sofa.

“Time for you to do your sire duty by her.”

He looks askance. “You mean…” he holds his left thumb up.

I nod, “Yes. We all need to be on the same page here with
what is coming and it is just too difficult, especially with her trying to do
her job as well.”

“So I have to go and sort her out? Why can’t you go? You
said you’d take responsibility,” he sulks at me.

“I’m not her sire, my love. You are.”

“You are Queen. Just go and ask them for one and they will
give it to you.”

“I can’t do that, sweetie. How would that look?”

“Bad,” he admits. “What about the disc? I still have my
ring, can’t we just give that to her?” He rubs his finger over the spot where
the disc is under his skin.

“Works the same, my love. It’s yours and only yours.”

He sighs, “Fine, can you tell me anything about it?”

“It is a trial that is specifically for you. There is
nothing I can tell you about it.”

“Humph,” he says rudely. “Where do we go? How long will it
take? What if I fail?” He is starting to panic a bit now but I grab his hand to
reassure him.

“I am going to try and call Corinne here and she can tell us
more. It will take a couple of hours or so and you won’t fail. I promise you.
You are strong and smart and you will pass because you want her life to be
easier.”

“Easy as that?”

I nod, “Advice from a sire to a sire. I know you don’t have
the bond but you said yourself you like her and I know you feel bad she is
suffering.”

“What about her punishment though?”

“I think she realizes that she made a mistake and has to
live with you not having a bond with her for eternity. I think that is
punishment enough,” I say quietly.

“Yeah, I guess so. Well I suppose I will go and get ready.”

“Wear casual clothes you don’t mind getting ruined,” I call
after him, much to his horror.

Chapter 10

I wait patiently for him and Jess comes to sit with me.
“Where are you taking him?” she asks.

“Nowhere you need concern yourself with just yet.”

“I know it is Friday and you are taking him away. I want to
know where,” she says boldly.

“I am taking him somewhere away from here. It doesn’t
concern you yet,” I snap at her and she backs down. “Look, I know this hard for
you, us being together today, but it is the way he wants it. It is his choice.”

“I know. I am trying to understand. Trying to learn but it’s
hard.”

“I know. I remember,” I say quietly.

Devon returns then dressed as casually as he can. I shake my
head at him and he says, “What? This is the worst outfit I have.” He indicates
his designer jeans and t-shirt.

“Fine. At least you can afford to buy more,” I chuckle.

“How do we do this?”

I shrug, “No clue. I have been trying to call her for
months. Xane just bellowed out her name and she turned up.” I frown as I
remember that with a flash of annoyance.

“So you are just going to call her?”

“Not out loud,” I say mysteriously. “Say your goodbyes,
please. I want to get this show on the road.”

He turns to Jess and embraces her and she clings to him. I
look away, not really wanting to see it. They kiss and he turns to me.

“Right, let’s do this.”

I take his hands and close my eyes. I concentrate, thinking
of Corinne, trying to call her to me. I feel a wave go over us and I open my
eyes. We have changed locations but we didn’t Astral here, it was something
different. I turn around and note Corinne sitting behind a massive mahogany
desk in what appears to be a library very much like CK’s at
Ponte
.

“Aefre?” she looks up in surprise. “What on earth are you
doing here?”

“Err, sorry, Corinne. I was trying to call you. Seems I
inadvertently came to you instead,” I apologize as we have clearly landed in on
her at home. She is dressed casually in pants and a shirt, her hair loose.
Every other time I have seen her she has been in long flowing gowns with her
upswept dark hair and perfect make-up.

“It’s fine. I am just surprised. This castle is heavily
warded. I am surprised you got through. Although,” she chuckles, “you are
Queen, I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised. Seems your Powers are growing,
Your Majesty.”

Humph, not quick enough, clearly.

“Corinne, my love, what happened?” Ahmed strides into the
room, face full of concern until he sees us. “Oh, Aefre. How nice to see you.”
He bows.

“And you, Ahmed. So sorry to barge in unannounced, it wasn’t
my intention to come to you. I was trying to call Corinne to come to me.”

“Is everything all right?” he inquires.

“Yes, we just need help with Devon’s sire trials. I don’t
know of anywhere to go near where we are staying.”

“Sire trials? You have chosen to allow the girl a reduced
punishment?” Corinne asks.

Now how did she know it was a punishment?

“Yes,” I answer with narrowed eyes and she looks abashed.

“Sorry, the records, we know the history.”

“Oh. Well can you please help us?”

“Of course. In fact, I will take you myself, Devon.” She
acknowledges him for the first time and he looks like he would rather she had
carried on ignoring him.

“No, Corinne, don’t go to any trouble, just point us in the
right direction,” I say to her.

“It’s no trouble, My Queen,” she says. “Ahmed, please see
that Her Majesty is comfortable in our absence.”

“Of course, my dear,” he says to her and bends down from his
seven feet in height to her five to kiss her lightly on the lips. Such an
unlikely couple.

“Dev.” I take his hands and he grimaces at me. “You will do
great.” I pull him to me for a light kiss and then say, “When you return I will
take you to home to L.A.”

He cheers up at that and takes Corinne’s proffered hand. She
Teleports them to wherever it is they are going and I turn to the sofa to sit
and wait.

“Can I get you anything?” Ahmed asks.

I shake my head, too nervous for anything. He sits next to
me and the only sound is the clock ticking away on the mantelpiece. I wonder
vaguely where we are. Corinne said the castle was heavily warded, which is
probably why no one could find Ahmed, if he was here behind them. I suppose
that does make it noteworthy that I managed to pop through them. I cheer up a
bit at that. Maybe this Thirteen character should be more afraid of me than I
think it is--which in my humble opinion is zero.

“He will be fine.” Ahmed breaks the silence.

“I hope so.”

“He is stronger than he thinks. Plus, there is no way he
will let you down.”

“Me? His concern should be for Jess.”

“He has no bond with her. His only concern is making you
proud of him,” he states.

“Oh,” I say dumbly.

“Is there anything you want to ask me, while we wait?”

“About what?” I ask.

“Anything.” He shrugs.

I turn my full attention to him then and he smiles at me as
I ask, “You will answer?”

“If I can,” he says.

“What do you know of The Thirteen?”

He looks only mildly surprised by my question and answers,
“Probably the same as what you know. Serena is very knowledgeable.”

Yeah, so I keep hearing.

“You don’t know anything else? That might be useful to get
rid of It?”

“Is there a reason you want to get rid of It?”

I stare at him. “I thought you knew everything,” I say with
a half-smile. “It is…bothering me.”

He sits upright then and asks, “By ‘bothering’ do you mean
coming after you?”

“Yes. It is messing with my dreams and has appeared a couple
of times.”

“Appeared?”

“As someone who has crossed over.”

“It’s back then,” he says with a sigh. “We feared it one day
would. You must defeat It, my child.”

Erm, duh.

“I don’t know how, hence why I asked.”

“Corinne and I will look into it further. Come back on
Sunday and we may have some help for you,” he says decisively.

“Should I go and ask my mother?”

“Uhm, no need to bother her with this. You are quite capable
of getting rid of It yourself.”

“It’s quite powerful,” I insist.

“So are you,” he says with a pointed look. “Believe in
yourself child. Embrace the Powers your mother gave to you.”

I nod with a gulp. He keeps calling me child and a very
random question enters my head, “Erm, Ahmed. I have never even thought to ask
this before, but if Tiamat is my mother, who is my father?”

It sounds bizarre that I never thought of it but when you
haven’t had parents for over a millennium it isn’t the first thing you think
of.

He looks shifty and clears his throat, “That is something
you will have to ask of your mother.”

“Do you know?” I press.

“I…do not,” he says but I don’t quite believe him somehow.

I drop it as he clearly isn’t going to tell me anything. I
must remember to ask Tiamat next time I see her.

We resume our silence and Devon and Corinne return shortly
thereafter. He is disheveled and dirty, his hair all mussed, and his t-shirt
ripped. He looks like he’s been ten rounds with Lincoln in Wolf form. He beams
at me and I clap my hands excitedly. “You got it then.”

“I did.” He shows me the box.

“I knew you would, my clever boy,” I praise him and he
glows. “Let me see.” I am curious as to what it is he got for her.

He holds out the box and I open it. Inside is a small flat
disc exactly the same as the one I got for him and Cole last year to ensure
that Cole could withstand the light when he has to take his ring off.

“No ring?” I ask slyly and he shakes his head.

“I don’t want her getting the wrong idea,” he says firmly.
“This is just fine.”

“Just the one?” I ask casually.

“Oh hell yes. There is no way I am turning anyone, ever
again,” he says with more force than necessary. He turns to Corinne and thanks
her and she bobs her head in response.

“Thank you,” I say to her and I turn to Ahmed, “I will see
you again soon.”

“I hope that we have something that will help you,” he says
as Devon and Corinne look at us curiously. “I will fill Corinne in now.”

“Good.” I take Devon’s hand and say, “Let’s go. We have some
celebrating to do.”

“Bye, Aefre,” Corinne says and I wave at her as we Astral
off home.

“Home, Sweet, Home,” he says as we land in his bedroom.
“Just the two of us. Makes a nice change.”