Book of Revenge (29 page)

“We already tried that question,” Jane filled him in. “It doesn’t work.” Her dry sarcasm was annoying.

The three of them were staring at me like a sick person.

“
What?”
I barked.

They just shook their heads. Navia approached with a look of concern on her face. She sidled alongside Jane. “What’s wrong with your sister?”

Was it that obvious?
I felt my teeth grind together, wanting to rip her perfect little head off. She did not belong in our group. She did not deserve to fit in with us. And most of all, she did not deserve to know my problems.

“Maybe we should go.” Wes wrapped his arm around my waist, gripping tight. I gave up and allowed myself to sink into him, though my body didn’t want to. My weeks of clean living made me more receptive to the poison of alcohol, and right now, I was feeling not only overly emotional, but easily persuaded.

I saw Jane nod in agreement. “I’m not sure she’s ready for this type of scene just yet.”

I hated her for saying that, as though I couldn’t control my actions. Then again, I couldn’t control my thoughts, either. Greg had invaded them the moment he’d arrived, and he was laughing at me.

: : :

I woke with a start, gasping for air. I sat up fast, looking to the chair in the corner of the room. My faerie wings from the party were crumpled in the seat. It was as though they’d been sat on, the chair still rocking. I’d tried to stay awake and wait for Greg to come, but that hadn’t lasted long as the beer forced my eyes closed. Now, though, I was definitely awake, and he was
definitely
here.

“Greg?” I stammered. “I know it’s you.”

The words were hard to say. Lips trembling, I cursed myself for admitting it out loud. I knew that once those words left my lips, there was no turning back.

The floor creaked, opposite from the still rocking chair. I drew in a sharp intake of breath and shot my gaze in the direction of the sound. I could barely see a thing, my eyes straining against the darkness.

“Greg?” I foolishly asked again.

The air was thick and warm, so warm that any movement encouraged perspiration. I heard another subtle rustling, like a mouse, or perhaps a figment of my imagination. I pressed myself back against the headboard, pulling the covers up to my chin. Something in the room shifted then, and the shadows began to move. My eyes had to be deceiving me, but as the warm humidity melted to a cold chill, deception turned to reality.

The shadows crept across the floor toward the foot of my bed, snaking up and over the covers. I tried to stay within the little light the moon provided, but the shadow did not seem to care about the safety of my light. It stretched endlessly toward me in billowing waves. Ringlets of cold air tickled the skin on my face, like a door left open in the middle of winter. I’d been holding my breath, my lungs now stinging. The shadow halted and I exhaled, a cloud of steam releasing from my mouth and falling upon it.

“
Who are you?”
I tried again, my voice shaking.

The smoky shadow blew away like sand in a wind storm, revealing what was hidden beneath. “Just me.” Greg had been discarded in the receding wave of sand, his mouth twisted into a wicked grin. “Did you like the entrance? I’ve been working on it for a while.”

His brows were sewn together. “I could ask you the same thing.” His footfalls echoed across the wood floor as he took a few steps back and stood straight, hands resting at his sides. I could see he was avoiding getting too close, telling me that what Max had said about my poisoned blood was definitely correct.

His icy chill crept over the comforter, falling upon me. “
Avery?
You know her?” I gasped.

Greg bounced on the mattress, leaning back on his elbows. He looked at me, his eyes amused. “Avery was almost kin to me. Of course I know her.” His sarcasm wasn’t welcome. “But now she’s my new partner in crime.” A delighted half smile spread across his olive skin. “You may know her best as sweet
Navia
.”

My mouth fell open as the name sank in. I saw her face in my mind, puzzling together the various clues to her distant attitude at lunch the other day. “Navia is…
Avery?
But…” Why hadn’t I guessed that? It suddenly made sense.

“I can’t believe you didn’t pick up on that. I thought that you were smarter.” Greg sighed long and hard. “She’s gorgeous, though, isn’t she?” He traced his finger over the pattern on my bedspread. “Though I still like you better. You’ve got a certain spark I crave.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Too bad we didn’t work out, but… luckily for you… it seems we’ll get a second chance.”

My hands felt cold and clammy. “There are no second chances with us, Greg. So leave me alone.”

He sat up, looking hurt, though I knew it was all for show. “
Aw,
don’t say that! We had great times, remember?”

Images suddenly invaded my head, images of murder, lust, and greed. The images were attached to a carnal need to be close to him, a need to feel our bodies intertwine, breath becoming one. My stomach lurched, trying to push this demon out. He was brainwashing me.

“
Leave me alone,”
I seethed through clenched teeth. I was stronger than him, and pushing hard, the images disappeared.

He laughed. “I’m impressed! You’ve grown strong.”

“Stop coming here. Stop watching me sleep!” I yelled, feeling the release of his wicked energy inside me.

He stopped laughing. “I haven’t been watching you
sleep
,” he said again, annoyed. “That’s far too cliché for me.”

“
Avery?
You think she has time to watch you when she’s busy ruining Jane? You’re not
that
important.” He laughed once. “Yeah, right.” He thought for a moment, looking infuriatingly confident. “But, listen…” his weight shifted closer to me. “I really do have to take you now.”

Greg traced his finger down my arm. The touch sizzled, making him wince. “You’re supposed to be bait. If you haven’t already guessed, Avery wants to see your sister dead. The best way to lure her in is with you, as we’ve seen before.” There was a look of envy on his face. “I guess Avery knows how to take jealousy to the next level.”

My throat was tight, and I found myself at a loss for words. I looked around the room, looking for a way to escape. Knowing Greg’s agility, however, there was no point in trying.

“I’m sorry I have to do this again, my dear.” He tilted his head and leaned into the curve of my neck, just under my ear. His breath singed the hairs that were standing there. “I promise that this time, though, I won’t let anyone take you away from me. This time, we’ll be together forever,” he whispered, the very mention of it felt like cold lead entering my ears. He brushed his nose against my skin, wincing again as he leaned back, angered by the reaction between us. Grasping the edges of my sheets, he pressed me against the backboard. “There’s something enticing in this, isn’t there? A forbidden pleasure, perhaps?” His teeth flashed and he winked, the green halo of his eyes glowing. “I must say, our connection sure has a new flash to it that it didn’t before.”

I wanted to scream, but my voice had frozen. I tried to wriggle free, but Greg only pressed harder. He was laughing softly, mockingly, the way he did when he’d forced my hand to murder.

Mustering all the strength and concentration I could, I spoke forcefully.
“Please,”
I pleaded. “Please just let me go.”

Greg wrapped the sheet around me, hands careful but fast. He tucked me into a cocoon, and just as he was about to lift me from bed, he lurched suddenly. Looking at him, I saw his eyes were wide and surprised, his arms around me releasing. I was flung from his grasp and I fell back onto the mattress. Rolling onto my side, I was quick to detangle myself from the sheets.

Breathing hard, the room was too dark to see what was happening to him, but I could hear Greg struggling. I rubbed my eyes, trying to regroup. When my eyes at last began to accept the shadows, I pieced together what darkness I could, surprised when I saw Jake’s soft veiled light floating amongst it. I drew in a sharp breath of air, the safety the light offered like a shot to the heart. The struggling continued, and sitting there, with my breath held tight, I traced the broad outline of Jake’s arched back. His hands flailed at Greg’s face, swift and silent, his ability to see in the dark far surpassing Greg’s.

“Jake!” I gasped.
What was he doing here?
How—

Jake looked at me, his eyes flashing with the toxicity of that soft, veiled light. I froze.

Jake had a look of guilt on his face, catching ever so slightly in the moonlight from the window. The room grew warm once more, and that’s when I realized what had really been the case. Jake had been my late night visitor. Jake had been the watcher as I slept—not Greg.

“
Jake,”
I whispered.

He stole a glance.
I’m sorry,
his mind read.

Greg tossed him off, seeing the opportunity. Jake fell to the side like a sack of grain, discarded with little effort. I swallowed hard, my hopes of rescue shattered because of me. Greg slowly rose from the ground, brushing himself off with an amused grin on his face.

“You’ve gotten yourself a rabid bat to protect you, I see.” Greg straightened his long black coat, smoothing his hand down one sleeve.

Jake moaned from the corner, trying to sit up. Greg approached him, eyes on me. He clenched his jaw as he kicked Jake in the stomach, getting a rise out of the horrified look on my face. Jake coughed hard, spitting blood onto the floor before slumping into it, unmoving.

“
Jake!”
I whispered harshly. I wanted to cry, but my breath caught in my throat as Greg’s arms wrapped around me, squeezing tight. I could hear him struggling against my poisonous skin, but it didn’t stop him. He balled me in his arms, my gaze trying to remain on Jake, hoping he was alright as I let Greg take me. My arms were weak, my heart tired. I knew that struggling was useless.

“
Jake...”

Max:

Sitting in the dark office of the apothecary, I tried to think of what to do. Jane didn’t want me around, but I had to be there to protect her closer than ever, preferably visibly beside her. How can I make amends with her? How can I make her see that there are more pressing problems we face, other than the simple problem of our connection? On the whole of things, Jane needed to know that danger was out there waiting for her. I could not keep her in the dark this time.

On the desk sat a bronze rose. I was again reminded of the day when I first learned of Jane, and the rose I’d bought for Avery. It had been an empty gesture of dying love, but the look on her face was pure innocence despite that. Avery had been a harmless creature, and I was having a hard time imagining her as the Shadow Pixie in Srixon’s explanation. In all the time I had known Avery, I never once saw a glimmer of that evil. Would I recognize this new, darker version of Avery if she were standing right in front of me?

Finding her was my primary task, but from what Srixon had told me, Avery hadn’t been seen in years. For all I knew she lived halfway around the world. I bit my lip. What would she do when she saw me, and what kind of danger did she pose? Did she know about this supposed foreseen future with Jane? And in what way would Jane be important to any of it? In what way would Avery?

Jane was just a girl, just a human thrown into this world as a Seoul. I sighed, knowing that wasn’t entirely true. To me she wasn’t just a girl. To me she was everything. Jane held a spark of something I’d never seen before, and that wasn’t just our soul inside her, but something larger than that. Was my purpose here not solely to find her, but to truly be the one to protect this important being whose future was bigger than any of us could even imagine? Would she finally bring peace to the war between human and magick?

I wished I knew more, and I wished I could see this Truth involving them, but it was kept hidden for a reason, and that’s what scared me the most. From what I gathered out of Srixon’s vague explanation, it wasn’t hard to see just how big of a deal this was. I had never seen him act so grave, so serious. Bottom line was I needed to watch Jane.

I needed to watch Jane.

I stood abruptly, knowing what was required only to be knocked off balance by a sharp blow to the face. I fell to the floor, startled as I looked frantically around the room, but no one was there.

Gregory.