Isis' Betrayal (6 page)

“
These are my ass-kicking boots, dammit,” Suvi said as she crouched down and kicked her left leg out.

“
Shhh,” Pema hissed and continued toward the house. They moved through the shadows to the side of the house. Suvi reached out and twisted the doorknob on the back door. None of them were surprised when the door swung open. Cele wasn’t prepared for someone tearing down her wards. She had too much faith that they were unbreakable.

“Nothing can stop us,” Suvi boasted.

I
sis followed Suvi inside and stayed tight against the wall. Isis wasn’t surprised to find the house richly decorated with valuable antiques, paintings, and rugs, much like the Vampire King had in Zeum. Unlike Zeum, however, this home didn’t have a welcome or homey feel to it. In fact, her skin crawled with a million ants, a decidedly vile sensation. Isis expanded her senses and detected one life form on the second level and one down in the basement. She detected three or four more somewhere on the property. It was hard to tell exactly how many from this distance.

“There are at least two individuals in the house. We need to make sure they aren’t guards and then check her office,” Pema whispered, echoing what Isis has sensed.

Cautiously, they made their way up to the second floor. Isis pulled out her wand and chanted a soundless spell on their shoes after Suvi’s echoed loudly on the wood flooring. They headed directly for the room where she had sensed someone, passing several empty rooms on the way. Pema snuck her head around the corner of the open doorway and waved them around. They all stood gaping at the figure lying on the bed.

Claire was semi-propped up in the middle of a large bed covered with thick, blue quilts. Drool was streaming from one corner of her mouth and her hands were curled up against her chest. Isis may believe that she had done it to herself, but it was still a sad sight.

“
Holy shit, she really is veggie-tales!” Suvi exclaimed, her eyes bouncing back and forth between the bed and them.

A
s sad as the sight was, Suvi’s statement brought a chuckle from both her and Pema. “I am so going to hell for saying this, but that is what Fate is…a fickle bitch that will leave you drooling if you cross her,” Isis added.

“
Fate and the Goddess both,” Pema added. “There is nothing we can do here.” Pema turned and they followed her back down the stairs.

T
he wood and plaster of the house gave way to stone and brick as they reached the basement level of the home. At the base of the stairs, they encountered a short hallway that had two rooms off to each side. Someone was in the room to the left. As they crept toward it, they passed the open door on the right. Peeking in, they saw it was Cele’s Dark Spell Room, located as far away as she could get from the light of the moon that witches used to enhance their light magic.

“C’mon,” Pema hissed at her. “We can check that out in a minute.”

I
sis hurried over and stood next to her sisters outside the other room. Pema once again stuck her head partially around the doorjamb. Isis saw Pema’s eyes go wide before she rushed into the room. Isis and Suvi followed hot on her heels and the three of them stopped short at the sight of the small male huddled in a large, crystal ball. The room was empty, save the odd prison. Isis gasped and raced across the room, bringing the stripling’s head up as he turned to see who had entered.

He scrambled to his knees and crossed to the side, placing his hands on the clear walls. “Help me,” he cried out, tears gathering in his frightened blue eyes. Something about his eyes was familiar to Isis, and stirred something in her chest. She was shocked at the depths to which Cele had sunk. She crossed to the stripling’s side and placed her hand against his, the glass the only barrier between them.

“
We need to break him out of there,” Isis shrieked and grabbed her sisters. At Pema’s nod they began to try and dissemble the threads of magic binding the prison.

They struggled against the intent of the spell and realized at once that it was cast using dark magic. It was thick, black, and oily, and left a residue on their souls. At once, they all pulled back. “How do we counter dark magic?” Suvi asked.

“The only way I know how is together, calling upon the light of the moon,” Pema explained.

Just as they were about to try again, a shriek echoed from outside the house. It must be Cele. She was back and probably aware that someone had broken through her layers of protection. They turned, knowing they had to leave immediately.

“Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me with the bad witch,” the boy cried.

“We will be back to get you,” Isis promised the blue-eyed male, “but you can’t tell the bad witch we were here; otherwise, she will keep us from you. I swear we won’t leave you here,” she vowed before they raced up the stairs and ducked into the nearest room. Moments later, the front door slammed shut and they all held their breath as they listened.

C
ele stormed into the house, calling out Claire’s name as she rushed up the stairs, followed by three guards. Pema motioned for them to follow her and Isis knew this was their only chance. They inched their way out of the room and headed to the back door. Before Isis and her sisters could get out of the house, Cele was storming down the stairs. Isis grabbed Pema and Suvi then ducked into a closet seconds before Cele passed their hiding spot and rushed down the stairs leading to the basement.

Once the sound of footsteps ceased, Isis scanned their immediate area. The coast was clear and they quickly made their way out of the house. Cele’s raspy voice echoed up from the basement, setting Isis’ teeth on edge. She had to shut out the way Cele was interrogating the stripling.

“
We can’t leave that poor, young male in her clutches. She is beyond evil. Did you see her Spell Room? It was full of dark magic.” Isis clawed at her shirt, trying to get air into her lungs. As they crossed the lawn to their car, every part of her was rebelling against their leaving the stripling in Cele’s clutches.

“
You dare come back to me without the information you have been tasked to obtain!” Cele shouted, her eyes flashing black with her anger. Braeden had to clench his fists to keep from striking out at her. He had been unable to garner any information aside from the fact that Isis was his Fated Mate.

The revelation had shocked, terrified, and exhilarated him all at once. He was elated that he had been blessed by the Goddess, but at the same time, he was terrified of Cele discovering this. He didn’t want the female using anything else against him. He was already between a rock and a hard place.

He had tried to elicit his mate’s help freeing his son, but was unable to get words out. He had even tried to write it down in a letter and failed. E-mail, text and messaging through TRex were all unsuccessful, too. There was no way for him to communicate about Cele and his son with his mate, or anyone else, for that matter. It looked like he was going to be forced to betray Isis and her sisters to save his son, something that didn’t sit well with him.

Every cell screamed at him to protect and shelter Isis from all harm, not cause it. But his son was an innocent stripling, who had no way to save himself. There was no way for him to win in this situation. Even if he was able to save his son, Isis would never forgive him for betraying her.

J
ust thinking of Isis cased the mating compulsion to resurface with a vengeance. It had been wreaking havoc on him for the past twenty-four hours. His cock was rock hard and ached for Isis, and his mate mark burned like a motherfucker. There was nothing short of going to her and completing the mating that he could do to relieve the discomfort.

He wanted nothing more than to be planning a mating ceremony, rather than standing in Cele’s basement. The more time he spent with Isis, the more he liked who she was. She was fun, full of life and made him laugh. Her unique view on the world was refreshing and a welcomed relief. And, she was sexy as hell. He could scarcely think of anything else. He wanted her more with each passing minute. He wanted her in his life and his bed and his shaft twitched at the thought of having her in his bed. For cambions, once they found their Fated Mate, they weren’t able to have sex with another and he was anxious at the thought of having her again.

He had already waited too long to be with her, and as a result, he had no energy. His heart was racing and he had the chills. But that dulled in comparison to what was really bothering him. He hated the idea that they were starting off on the wrong foot. There should never be lies between Fated Mates.

“
I told you that this takes time. She doesn’t trust me yet. She may have sex with me, but that doesn’t mean she is going to share her innermost secrets. The Rowans are smarter than you think,” he told her.

He stood next to his son’s prison, looking down into his shattered eyes. When he had entered the room, Cele had been screaming at Donovan. Something had happened to upset her. He had known it the moment she had called him on the phone and ordered him to come to her house immediately.

He took a deep breath, seeking a calm he didn’t feel. The faint scent of peaches teased his nostril, putting him on alert. As covertly as possible, he glanced around the room, but didn’t notice anything out of place from the last time he had been there, yet he could swear Isis had been somewhere nearby.

“
And, I told you to get the information at any cost. Maybe this will be more incentive for you,” she spat as she grabbed a small knife from a table. The jeweled handle gleamed in the dim lighting of the room. She crossed to the crystal sphere and stopped next to him. She muttered something under her breath then placed her hands together with her fingertips touching the glass. As she separated her palms, the action caused a small slit to open in the glass and she quickly thrust the hand that was holding the knife into the opening.

He knew what she intended to do and he surged toward her. He bounced off her invisible shield and fell to the floor. He jumped to his feet, pounding against it with his fists with all he had left in him. “Don’t touch him!” he screamed. He punched, kicked, and fought to get at her and the blade, but Cele just smirked at his attempts. His son back-peddled in an effort to get away from her, but he had nowhere to go.

“Get me that information. I’m not sure how much more poor Donovan can handle,” she murmured as she gently traced the weapon across his chest, slicing his shirt open. She flicked the fabric away and made an incision in the exposed flesh. Bright, red blood trickled from the injury as his son wept. With enough rage to bring down Lucifer himself, Braeden cried out to the Goddess.

Knowing he had no other choice, he turned to Cele, letting all his hatred burn through his eyes. “Fucking bitch! Leave my son alone. I will get you your information, but stop torturing my innocent baby. After I do what you ask, you will regret the day you laid eyes on me.” He felt what little strength he had, waning. He was helpless and watching the hope and faith die in Donovan’s eyes crushed something vital in him.

There was no way around betraying his mate. Cele possessed extraordinary powers, and would kill his son if he failed. He vowed his son would look at him with faith and love again, hating that the cost was going to be the faith and love of his Fated Mate.

“You have forty-eight hours. Now, go to that little witch, restore your energy, and discover her weaknesses.”

*****

Braeden needed Isis as much as he needed to breathe at this point. If he didn’t have sex with her soon, he would become the worst demon imaginable, raping and killing indiscriminately. No one, human or supernatural, would be safe from him if he lost control completely.

Rather than give himself over to the beast, he recalled the energy boost Isis had given him. A simple kiss from his mate had given him strength beyond anything he’d ever known. But on the flip-side, being away from her for only a day had come with a greater cost than he’d anticipated. He couldn’t remember the last time he was in dire straits of needing sex.

He checked his image in the rearview mirror before he hopped out of his Jeep. He looked haggard and worn, and his clothing was disheveled. Smoothing his wrinkled button-down, he shut the door of his vehicle and looked through the large picture windows of Black Moon Sabbat. Even outside the building, her sultry, peach scent teased his senses and had him hard as stone.

Isis was with her sisters, and it appeared that they were preparing for a ritual. Pema lit white candles while Suvi smudged the area with sage, and Isis marked a circle on the floor. He understood a little witchcraft, and knew he should leave them to their spell-casting, but that wasn’t an option. He needed to be near her.

As he watched, he couldn’t help but notice that his mate’s movement had an innate sensuality. She was a young immortal who had fully embraced her sexuality and he was drawn to her beyond reason. He recalled the stories Rhys, a fellow cambion, had shared about the month he spent with the witch triplets. At the time, Braeden had been envious of the Dark Warrior and his boasting, yet now he wanted to rip Rhys’ throat out for having slept with Isis. Isis belonged to him.