A Lady of the Realm (18 page)

“What do my boys see in you?” he asked.

He rabbit punched me on my left side. The pain made me double over but I regained my balance quickly and squared up before he could attack again. Red dots began to float in my vision.

“Leave them out of it,” I said back, angrily. His boys. He liked to call Sasha and Malachi his boys because they were former pupils. All star students. The crème of the crème of Realm society.

“Wait till we get to Court. Ladies with better pedigrees than you throw themselves at them. They know how to play the game.” His lips twitched up in a nasty grin.

“Shut up,” I hissed as the red dots in my vision became bigger. He didn’t shut up. If anything, I just fueled his determination to piss me off.

“You…you don’t even act properly for a DeDe witch. If I hadn't tasted your blood after the many beatings I gave you, I’d deny your claim.” He popped behind me, and kicked me in the middle of my back. I fell forward, my jaw clicking audibly in the morning silence.

“You dress like a peasant, speak like a whore, and have the education of an animal. I propose we draw a new bill that wouldn’t allow poorly reared heirs to claim anything.”

I was back on my feet facing Sig. He laughed and slapped me across the face twice. My blood boiled from the sting of his words.

“I’m warning you, Sig,” I said. The red dots started connecting, obscuring Sig’s angelic face. Every word he spoke was louder, enunciated with feeling.

“Sasha told me he actually enjoyed your crude excuse for lovemaking. I’m curious, have you ever felt his carnal energies? DeDe’s were renowned to have the best psychic abilities. After they fucked their prey, they could tune in to every thought.”

He kicked out towards my left knee. I dodged his leg and stopped breathing all together. My vision was completely red; I could smell the sulfur coming of my skin. I could smell the blood in the air.

“Stop it!” I screamed.

A tingling sensation started climbing my spine. It numbed my skin as it raced up into my head, encircling my red vision. It raced down my arms and into my suddenly hot, sweaty palms. Sig stood up, smiling.

“I’ve been on the hunt with my boys in previous years. It takes hours for Sasha to finish. Imagine feeling his emotions as he slides in and out of another woman’s thighs, the tension building in his stomach, the need to explode into someone else…”

The blast that shot out of my hands was unexpected. I didn't make a sound my rage was so great. My vision was unadulterated red as I stalked towards Sig where he lay a good ten yards away. I felt hands on my arms and blasted a wave of intense energy over my body. They quickly fell away. The red energy raced through my veins making movement easy. I was beyond listening to anyone or anything. My target goal was that no—good demon.

I was going to kill Sig if I could get to him. I lifted my hand and another bolt of lightning erupted from it. Sig shifted before it hit him; I spun around ready for him. He was quicker. He grabbed my waist and hauled me to the ground. I fell back and rolled, coming on all fours as I raised my right hand in Sig’s direction. A bolt of lightning shot out, hitting him on the shoulder instead of his head. Damn it, I almost had him.

Sig’s blue eyes were red, his expression triumphant as I concentrated on the next attack.

“Bethany … snap out of it. Bethany!”

I heard Malachi’s voice drift through the red haze of my mind. I turned my eyes upon him. He was a yard away, his eyes vivid with astonishment. Caleb stood next to him, his arms covered in a bizarre looking tattoo, which throbbed in the morning light.

“Bethany … it’s okay. Calm down, duckie. Breathe deeply. That a girl.”

Malachi’s voice was low. I was still on all fours contemplating sending another wave of energy towards Sig. Maybe if I pretended to calm down, I could take him out.

“Well done, young one. Now … regain control. Seize your charm, Beth,” Sig said as I began to breathe in and out.

My head swung back around as Sig positively beamed at me. I waited for a second contemplating. Those were the first encouraging words he’d ever said to me. Maybe killing him wasn't a good idea. Sasha did say I needed him for a while. I grabbed a hold of the sapphire on my choker. It was ice cold.

“Think of controlling your urges. It's a matter of you controlling it as opposed to it using you,” Sig said quietly as he began to stand up.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down. I kept count of my heartbeat. It was racing, nearly a hundred-fifty beats per minutes. I hummed a nursery rhyme silently and counted the heartbeats. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed while I crouched on the ground clutching my gemstone. The next thing I was aware of was the men talking.

“It’s always been both,” Sig was saying.

“Do you want me to inform Sasha?” Caleb’s clipped words floated in the air.

Sig’s derisive snort seemed loud. “He already knows.”

My mind couldn’t make heads or tails about the snatch of the conversation I heard. I began to stand up. Sig was suddenly beside me, smiling from ear to ear. I forgot what I wanted to know when I made contact with Sig’s eyes.

“You can harvest lightning,” he said proudly, pointing out his scorched suit. I was aghast. The suit cost more than I had in my bank account.

“I'll pay for it,” I said, stumbling forward.

“This old thing? I'll bill Sasha, don't worry," Sig said happily as he escorted me into the house.

“Maybe you should get different clothes, Sigmund,” Malachi sniggered, following behind.

“The thought never crossed my mind. I shudder to think of dressing like a commoner.”

Caleb laughed as he rounded up Peaches who had taken refuge from my insane actions somewhere in the woods.

Chapter Twenty-Two
:
Registration

“You belong here. Every step you take must exude the sentiment,” exclaimed Sig from just behind me in a whisper as I entered the building. My first impression of the place was … wow. It looked like a very expensive and extremely exclusive resort. The kind of ritzy, posh place that I never dreamed of staying in a mere year ago. Money and power radiated from the pores of the stucco walls.

Sig guided me swiftly through a set of double glass doors adorned with gold filigree vines along the edges. Inside the massive castle—like structure was a modern, aristocratic looking lobby. There was no one lounging about waiting to see or be seen as if you would expect at normal stylish resorts. It was cool inside the building and dimly lit compared to the glare from the sunshine blazing outside. Behind a massive, black granite-like counter with sparkles of glimmering gold awaited a beautiful woman with a huge smile upon her face.

She immediately picked up a phone when she spotted Sig behind me. Her smile slipped by an immeasurable degree when her eyes slid past me once more with a look of speculation. Sig tugged discretely on my elbow, and I leaned my head down so that he could speak. I secretly thought it was a wasted effort seeing as most non-humans, if not all, had supersonic hearing.

“Wait here until I have our room keys and attendance registered. Caleb went directly to Sasha to report our arrival, so I’m sure he’ll be here any minute. Malachi will be in shortly; he was delayed. Don’t make eye contact with anyone.”

I nodded carefully, aware of the receptionist’s gaze on us. Sig strolled forward as he fished for a cigarette
from his jacket pocket. I played with the new ring on my left hand.

Caleb was a master of all trades. Sig wanted me to have my gem closer to my palms; it helped me concentrate on my powers. Caleb fashioned a ring I could swing easily around my middle finger. It felt comfortable in any position. I left it with the gem on the inside and gazed around the room.

The lobby was big. The muted tones of ivory and cream intertwined with gold made it seem bigger. The plush black and gold couches with matching settees strewn carefully around the area were coordinated in such a way that it gave every seating arrangement a semblance of privacy. The heavy crystal chandeliers, five that I could count from where I stood, hanging in the room were enormous. I was wondering how one keeps those things sparkling and clean when the entrance of another party made me look away.

Now I remembered what Sig had said. No eye contact. Keep myself as inconspicuous as possible. Make no moves that would be remarked upon. So forth and so on. I glanced towards the desk and sighed. Sig was still busy getting our rooms situated. Keeping my head down, I leaned against the nearest pillar and focused my attention on counting the tiles on the floor.

It was more difficult to stay put and pretend I noticed nothing and no one than I could’ve imagined. The new visitor was in a foul mood judging from his tirade. He wasn’t a fairy or an elf. I could spot them a mile away. Nor was he a vampire because he was deeply tanned, from what I could see, and he came in from the glaring sunlight in a tank top, shorts and flip-flops. He wasn’t a chiseled specimen of masculine perfection. Far from it in fact. He was kind of effeminate in his bearings even though he was clearly over 6 feet tall and about 200 pounds.

“No, no, no! This is all wrong. I told you all that I wanted my matching valise and bags in the rooms before I arrived. Can you beasts do nothing right?” The man bellowed as he came in with two men at his side and a woman, a very young woman who was clearly bruised and afraid, slinking behind and flinching with every word uttered.

“I’m sorry, m’lord. Your bags arrived as requested, but I’m afraid the instructions we received on this end weren’t clear. Your rooms are ready, as you like them. Your servants are awaiting you as we speak, and the special accommodations for your property is in place,” The gentleman in the blue blazer said as he looked at his clipboard. He looked up towards the beach bum and gave him a thin smile.

“If there’s anything else we can do for you, please contact me personally. This is a direct number,” he said as he handed beach bum a business card, “my name is Daegan, and I’m in charge of this establishment.”

Beach bum grunted something in the affirmative, and Daegan nodded slightly as he moved away. Daegan looked my way. I was certain he had more human than freak blood running through his veins. He didn’t give me the absolute creeps like beach bum did. Daegan smiled briefly as he headed in the direction of Sig, who was visibly becoming irritated with the receptionist at the front desk. Sig turned towards him, and he immediately thawed out.

Back behind me, beach bum was continuing his tirade to the only person who couldn’t escape his foul mood, the helpless young woman who cowered at his every word.

“You better be prepared to entertain my guest as I see fit you useless wench. I want no hesitation from you or your minions do you hear me?” He said loudly enough that I couldn’t help but look towards him.

“Yes, my Lord.” I heard the young girl’s soft whisper float across the lobby. Beach bum bristled for no good reason that I could see. He yanked up the young girl by her auburn hair. I couldn’t believe the degree of fear that glowed from her hazel eyes.

“So that I know you understand, undress now, and follow me like the bitch you were bred to be.” He said softly into the girl’s pale face. He placed her back on the floor, his gaze pinning her to the spot.

I struggled with indignation. Red spots appeared in my vision as I looked towards beach bum, and the girl he continued to degrade. The poor thing looked around helplessly and found my gaze, giving away my up until then, concealed position. Beach bum turned around towards me, nodded once, and quickly turned again towards the girl who must’ve not moved fast enough. She sank to the floor after a vicious slap.

He proceeded to tear the clothes off the girl’s back as I stood and watched. My back began to tingle as it had before when I spared with Sig in Manchac. We had spent the last two days honing my abilities. I was still having problems controlling it once I lost my temper. I knew the warning signals.

Calm. I needed to stay calm. Mellow. Oh, who the hell was I kidding? No way was I letting this asshole get away without saying something.

“What are you doing?” Damn it. I knew my instructions. Sig wouldn’t be happy.

Beach bum turned around and actually smiled at me. Smiled. Which sent my blood boiling close to the edge I was supposed to maintain. He extended his hand out for a handshake as he tried to introduce himself.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. Lord Jack to you.” He sniffed the air around me and dropped his hand. “Are you here for a position?” he asked tilting his head in confusion.

“No. Why are you treating that young lady like a dog. No, I take that back. Dogs are better treated.” I said through clenched teeth.

He sniffed again and stared at me. “Tell me, who’s your master? I have enough money to purchase you,” he said with such confidence that the red dots in my vision became bigger.

“I’m not for sale. If you want to negotiate, tell me how much for the girl.”

“Sorry, not for sale. She’s a favorite with the rams.” He laughed loudly, and the girl shivered but didn’t stir.

“Young one,” Sig said from my shoulder. I turned with a deep breath, shaking my head. The Lord caught me by the upper arm and hauled me close to him. His breath caressed my cheek as he spoke.

“I’ll have you before the end of the convention. Mark my words.” He then grabbed my left nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pinching so hard pain shot straight down my body. I heard Sig from far away but couldn’t focus on his words. No, I couldn’t focus on much beyond the cruel sneer from Lord Jack.

My hand came up in the age-old ritual of female offense. I struck at his face. A simple slap was what it should’ve been. Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing that happened. I had forgotten the rage, the red haze in my vision, the tingling down the spine. A lightning bolt shot out from
my palm, striking beach bum and leaving a red, oozing welt on his cheek.

He was surprised for one split second, and then he began to morph right before my eyes. Shapeshifters were fast becoming my least favorite group. According to my parent’s archives, Lord Jack’s morphing into the iconic figure of Ra was a bad thing. Beach bum’s face contorted and elongated swiftly. His distorted head sprouting feathers as his mouth changed into a hard golden beak. Sig was glowing blue as he pulled me behind him. All of a sudden, the lobby was no longer deserted but full of people all trying to see what was going on.