Catching Temptation (In Darkness She Fades (Book 1) (7 page)

My blood surges. I will myself to
breathe.

Goblins pop their massive heads
out from behind thorny bushes and trees. Curvy sneers and bat-like ears poke
out from around the edges of their skeleton masks. The goblins surround us,
blocking our only exit. Chevy bounds over the hill and then skids to a halt on
my other side. He grabs my arm and wraps his other arm around my waist. His
features are still normal. “The Goblin King is coming. If you think the goblins
are frightening, they’re nothing compared to their king. Listen to us,
Temptation.” He leans forward until our noses stop an inch of each other. “If
you tell anyone what you’ve seen here, we’ll be forced to hand you over to the
goblins along with the people you told.”

“You don’t want to be the cause
of someone else’s death.” Herald stokes my arm like a child stroking a pet’s
hair. “Especially after your parents’ deaths are already your fault.”

Herald’s words sting my heart. I
put some space between us. Smothering the urge to lash out at him, I say, “Let
me go.”

“You heard the young lady,
Jenkins.”

The looming figure of the Goblin
King stands twenty feet away. A tremor of fright courses through my veins and I
release a terrified scream. The king’s face looks like a hyena’s face stretched
over a humans’ bone structure. His horribly disfigured body leaves me wondering
how he even manages to keep himself upright. The exposed skin of his face and
hands mimic the color of mottled bronze.

“Ah…if it isn’t the conquered
king.” Herald sneers at the deformed creature twenty feet in front of him.
“Tell me, do you even scare yourself when you look in the mirror?”

The Goblin King cocks a crooked
smile. “Looks aren’t everything, Jenkins.”

“So the reason you’re without a queen
has nothing to do with your handicapped physique?” Herald’s cocky laugh causes
the surrounding goblins to react like bloodhounds when they catch the scent of
their prey. “I don’t think Victoria would agree with you.”

Chevy snickers and squints at the
king’s crooked body.

“I haven’t found a woman worthy
enough for the honor. Yet.”

As Herald exposes his jagged
teeth, I expect to see fangs like in the movies, but instead I see a mouthful
of serrated teeth in the shade of chrome.

The grip of their hands loosens
on my numb arms.

The Goblin King’s pitch-black
eyes meet my own. He motions for me to glance back. Herald and Chevy, still
laughing hysterically, never spot the exchange. Peering over my shoulder, I
notice the goblins left a gap in the road leading out of their kingdom. If I
can free myself from the two, I might be able to run for it.

The king smiles.

“Don’t even think about it.”
Herald tightens his hold on my arm. “She belongs to me.”

He speaks of me as if I am a toy.
Regardless of my fears, I refuse to let anyone treat me like a possession. “No,
I don’t–”

“Quiet! You obey me.” Herald
shakes me and the surrounding goblins shriek in anger.

I want to believe Herald is a
better choice to ally with, but I am starting to doubt my own judgments. Though
the goblins and their king act as if they have my best interests in mind, I
still know never to trust a monster.

“I thought you were involved with
Victoria, Jenkins. She won’t be very happy with your decision.” The king frowns
in father-like disapproval.

“She’s not a threat anymore, so
it doesn’t matter if she’s happy or not. She can’t change her mind now.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

“Why did you come here, Jenkins?”

Shuddering at the coldness
creeping out of the king’s voice, I know the conversation is becoming more
dangerous the longer I remain.

“To show Temptation why she
should abandon her curiosity in goblins. I don’t think she likes the idea of
becoming a goblin’s wife.” Herald says down at my drained face.

I do not return his gaze. The
mention of becoming a goblin’s wife terrifies me. The king’s face holds no hint
of truth or lies.

“You see, Temptation,” Herald
tilts my chin, “if you step one foot into this world without us, you’ll be a
slave to these goblins–”

“We do not mistreat our women!”
The Goblin King flexes his clawed hands. “If Temptation understood what you are
really going to do to her, I don’t think she would find us so repulsive. You
would be wise to watch your back, Jenkins. I’ll be freed one day and when I
am...you will die.”

The boys throw back their heads
in laughter; slackening their grip on my arms, once again.

I react.

Jerking my arms out of their
grasp, I jab my elbows in their sides, and then sprint back down the road
leading out of the goblins’ kingdom. The little sky I can see turns dark and
the wind picks up. A roar of anger erupts from Herald, while an insane laugh
from the Goblin King fills the forest. My legs move faster, while my boots
pound against the cool ground, sending the aroma of dirt up my nostrils. I can
see the wall.

Cackles encircle me and before I
can blink, goblins in skeleton masks block the exit.

“Get away from me!” In a dark
part of the forest, I notice a section vacant of life.

“Get back here or we’ll give your
cousins to the goblins!”

I vaguely register Herald’s
threat. I am unable to process anything else.

Chevy lunges in my direction.

I scream.

Clawing a handful of dirt and
dried pine needles from the ground, I throw it in Chevy’s eyes, and dash into
the strange part of the woods. The wind howls above me, bending the huge trees
inward. Animalistic eyes pop out of the bushes and stalk my every move. The
wall materializes into view again, but the trees and shrubs close in on me.
Stomps and snapping twigs echo from behind. An army of goblins is pursuing me a
few yards away. These ones are wearing actual metal body armor. The ground
falls away from my feet and I shriek as I descend a steep hill. The small twigs
poke me while the pointed leaves crunch underneath the weight of my bruised
body. I slam into a cedar log at the base of the hill. With a light groan, I
stagger to my feet and sway. The world spins around. I reach out for a tree
limb to steady my spinning head.

“Girlie, yer not ta make it outta
here.”

A goblin pokes his ugly head out
from behind the old maple. I push my body away from the maple tree and stumble.
The grim creature acts like a dog on full alert.

“What do you want from me?”

The old goblin ambles forward.
His heart shaped head appears massive compared to his body. Leathery brown skin
glistens in the dying light. A long bony finger points at my face. “Ya’ve got
somethin’ we want. Somethin’ the demons will try ta stop ya from usin’. If ya
don’t come with us goblins, ye’ll end up like that brat Victoria. She was
special like ya once, but even with ‘er havin’ the Gift, my king wouldn’t pick
ah spoiled brat like ‘er.”

I know my eyebrows are scrunching
together. “You don’t make any sense. None of this makes any sense. Why won’t
you tell me what it is the Goblin King wants? Why do you talk in riddles?”
Gripping my hair, I expel a scream of frustration.

“It be our way, Girlie. What fun
would it be ter tell ya everythin’? Why – ya’d never learn nothin’!”

A screeching howl snaps through
the trees overhead. Before I can comprehend my next move, a pair of arms seizes
my waist.

“Stay away from her, Goblin.”
Herald’s voice echoes in my ear. In a heart-dropping lurch, he pulls me into
the trees, and then bolts through the forest. I grasp his arms for dear life,
spotting the archway up ahead. Black veins underneath his pale skin, spread out
across his body; mimicking a tribal tattoo. Thick wings, black as the devil’s
eyes, have grown from Herald’s back, and beat against the air. With the angry
growl from the Goblin King, we pass over the wall and burst through the trees –
returning to the human world. Landing next to the motorcycles, glistening in the
rays of the dying sun, Chevy stands waiting for us.

Chevy snatches my waist, while
Herald steps in front of me. His powder-white hand whips across my left cheek.
The deafening slap causes a few birds from the nearby trees to fly off in
alarm.

Pain shoots out across my face
and neck. I raise a tattooed hand to my sore cheek.

“Don’t you
ever
try to disobey me again!” Herald’s skin and teeth slowly return to its human
form. His red eyes, however, still retain a feral threat.

A tear rolls down my cheek. “Why
did you bring me here? To scare me or use me to tease that king? I don’t belong
to you! You can’t treat me like–”

Herald shakes my arms. “Yes, you
do and yes, I can! Everyone in Rosewood obeys me. Everyone. And you’ll learn to
obey me, too.” The calm assurance in his voice disturbs me worse than his
inhuman features.

“Fine, I’ll leave Rosewood–”

“You can’t leave Rosewood,”
Herald says. “When my brother and I imprisoned the goblins behind the wall, we
also made it so whoever enters Rosewood could never leave without our
permission. The only people allowed to leave are our recruiters. They draw
people here, because you see...Rosewood doesn’t exist on maps. Even if you were
to escape, you could never find us again. You have to be invited in. So, in a
way, you and your family don’t exist anymore to the outside world. But if you
don’t believe me, try to leave Rosewood. I’ll not stop you.”

His black wings shrink
and become transparent.

“What kind of twisted demon are
you?”

Herald tilts his head as if
regarding my emotional strength. He smirks. “I guess you could consider me a
demon angel.” He hops on his motorcycle. “Get on. I’ll take you home.”

“Thanks, but I’ll walk.”

Chevy releases my arms. He mounts
the other motorcycle, and, in a flurry of dust, they abandon me with only my
shattered hopes to keep me company on the long walk back into Rosewood. My
prison.

****

I make it home by eight. Ignoring
my aunt and cousins eating dinner, I immediately go up to my room. Back against
the door, I press my palms against my forehead, where a headache pounds.
Ambling over to the vanity, I slump down in the cushion seat, and drop my
hands, knocking over my locket from the car crash. As I stare at my exhausted
reflection, I ask, “What’s wrong with this town?” The platinum part of my hair
trails across my shoulders and down the front of my shirt. With all my efforts
to try to hide from the monsters – to escape – it has all been in vain. They
found me anyway.

Suppressing a sob, I caress my
beautiful white hair. Herald is cruel and nothing frightens him, except for the
Goblin King.

Serious trouble found a way to
suck me in.

Chapter Six

Friends & Enemies

           
“Maybe you should invest in some mace laced with garlic,” Karma says.

           
I laugh. “Believe me, I’ve thought about it.”

           
“Did you see the monster from your dream in the forest, too?”

           
“No, but then again, I didn’t look for him.”

           
Karma allows silence for a moment. “Will you go back into the forest?”

           
I tap a polished nail against the cell phone. I asked myself the same question
all night long. It is driving me even more insane. “I haven’t decided yet.”

           
“Be careful if you do and you better bring a list of questions with you.
Otherwise I doubt you’ll remember them.”

           
Aunt Sally pulls up in front of the high school. I exit the car in a hurry.
“Sorry, Karma. I have to go.”

“You better not forget to call
the next time you decide to go sneaking off. Later.”

A circle of students play with a
hacky-sack, while a group of skaters and outcasts send text messages to each
other, despite the fact they are right next to one another. I keep my gaze on
the pavement. Today, I crave invisibility. I never expected to confront my
nightmares from the past year in Rosewood. The memory of the previous day
injects a high dose of fear into my very bones. Despite the warm morning, my
teeth chatter. Using my hair as a black veil, I drape it around my shoulders.

“Freak…. Orphan girl!”

On top of the concrete headstone
with the engraving
Rosewood High
sits Victoria. A few of her unpleasant
friends imitate fashion models as they pose against the slick stone.

“Heard you’re having more
hallucinations. Maybe the accident screwed your brain up. You should get out of
Rosewood and seek mental help.” The crowds of onlookers are snickering. “By the
way...if I hear of you flirting with my boyfriend again,” she leans forward as
if to whisper a frightening secret, “I’ll rip your throat out.”

The anger in Victoria’s eyes
confirms the reality of her threat. I saw it last night in Herald’s eyes, which
makes me question Victoria’s humanity.

“Hey, Babe.” Herald rubs his
hands down Victoria’s thighs, but his gaze locks on mine. His fingernails grow
into arched claws.

“What’s going on?” Jerald struts
to the front of the crowd.

“Your brother’s play toy is
jealous. Maybe you ought to help him learn how to put her in check.” The
priceless shock on the twins’ faces and the outrage on Victoria’s face sends a
ripple of pleasure through me. “Oh, and don’t worry, Victoria. Like I said, I
don’t date vermin-loving-maggots.” Abandoning the speechless students, I sashay
up the steps leading into the school, filled with a new emotion.

Bravery.

Unfortunately, acts of bravery
usually sprout from stupidity, and I fear the rebuttal that will arise from my
actions.

The bell tolls overhead. Students
wade through the crowds, but the deadly glares of the twins follow me.

In English class, I flop down in
the back seat. The other students ignore my presence, making me feel invisible.
A welcome feeling I have craved since the start of school. The bell tolls
again. Demon or not, I refuse to take abuse from anyone. I am not afraid to
die…again.

“–I’m Mr. Dredfield. First thing
we’ll do today is have the new stud–”

The door reopens and a scraggly
boy with puffy hair which best resembles a dead Pomeranian enters the
classroom. I recognize him as the skater boy who helped me on the first day of
school.

“Whelan, class started two
minutes ago, and I believe you missed the second day of school–”

“Dude, was that yesterday? I
totally didn’t know.” His bloodshot eyes scan the room.

A stoner. At least not everyone
in school is so uptight.

“You’re telling me you didn’t
notice the lack of children in town yesterday or the day before?” Mr.
Dredfield’s brushy mustache twitches. “Let me guess, you think there’s a
conspiracy going on to keep you out of school?”

“Nah, didn’t get up till
like...five o’clock. But little people were running around my bedroom last
night. Totally kept me up.”

The students erupt into a fit of
giggles.

“Settle down!” Mr. Dredfield
rakes his stubby fingers though his thinning hair. He points to the vacant seat
next to me. “Sit down in the back row, Whelan. The sooner we finish, the sooner
you can go ‘hit the peace pipe’ or whatever you new age hippies call it.”

Whelan acts oblivious to the fact
that the entire class is mocking him. I cannot help but giggle a little as I
realize he is walking like Shaggy from my favorite cartoon show.

“What’s up?”

Displaying a genuine smile, I
say, “Nothing much. I’m Temptation.”

“Oh yeah, you’re that rebel chick
who told the Jenkins twins off, huh? I thought I recognized you; you’re the
same chick who almost got into it with Kayla on the first day of school. She
was pissed. Totally crazy, but do you really think Herald is breaking up with
Victoria?”

“Umm…I’m not sure. Why would you
care though?”

“Cus, that Victoria chick is
sexy,” Whelan says a little too loud, causing Mr. Dredfield to stop his lecture,
and drop his marker. “Have you
seen
her ass?”

“Mr. Coldwell and Miss Falls, I
would appreciate it if you could both pay attention to me, and discuss the
hotness of your fellow student’s body parts, later.”

Snickers fill the classroom
again.

“Sorry, Mr. Dredfield.” Whelan
reclines back with his scrawny arms cradling his fuzzy head.

“Thank you. I want you newer
students to sign up for our Halloween Masquerade Ball. You have to participate
in some way, whether you want to bring snacks, or try out for the lead singer.
This is a town-wide event, and you’re all required to attend. This means no
sleeping in Mr. Coldwell!”

Peering over at Whelan, I notice
his zoned out expression. A tiny drop of drool escapes his mouth. I kick his
foot.

“
What
– Oh yeah, that Ball
thing. Got it.” He drops his head again and dozes off.

The teacher sighs, rolls his
eyes, and then continues with our daily assignments.

I end up zoning out after the
first ten minutes of Mr. Dredfield’s lecture. A knock at the door startles half
of the class. A timid girl sticks her head through the door. “I have a note for
you Mr. Dredfield.” She takes a few steps into the room, passes a yellow piece
of paper to the teacher, and leaves.

He frowns. “Miss Falls, you’re
needed at the principal’s office.”

Whispers break out. “She’s gonna
get it!”

“Did you hear what she did this
morning?”

Snatching up my Indy bag, I exit
the classroom. The principal’s interest in my personal life calculates as just
weird. Bet Victoria is partly behind it. Mrs. Peters’ words reverberate in my
head, “The Jenkins twins are the descendants of the founder of Rosewood.” I
wonder how many people know their dark secret.

Down the main hallway, I cease
walking as the lights flicker and then extinguish. Vacant of windows, a small
amount of light seeps in through the cracks of the classroom doors, and
highlights the pitch-black hallway.

The lockers creak.

A low breathing tickles my
sensitive ears. The image of a hand shoots out of the darkness and encloses my
neck, slamming me against the metal lockers.

“I thought I made it clear,
yesterday, you’re not to disobey me?” The faint light outlines Herald’s
transformed face. “I guess you need a little taste of what I could do to you.”

Yanking on my arm, he extends it
out, and strokes his claws against my bare flesh. The ugly points trace my
thumping veins. “Did you know if I bite
deep
into your arm, you would
die?” Razor teeth exposed, he rests them on my wrist.

I gasp. The points of his teeth,
like scalpels touching my skin, cut through it like tissue paper. Tiny beads of
blood trickled down my wrist and burn like flecks of hot bacon grease. “Wait –
all right! I’m listening. What do you want from me?”

Herald retracts his teeth and
licks the crimson blood from my wrist. He smiles as if he won a child’s game.
“You’ll do what I tell you without question. And if you try and degrade me or
Jerald again, I’ll make an example out of you.” He caresses a lock of my hair.
“I don’t think you understood my intentions yesterday. You see, goblins are
attracted to broken humans...and you’re a walking tragedy. If Jerald and I were
to leave you alone, they’d find a way to lure you into the woods and kill you.”

“And why would you care if I died
or not?” I tilt my eyes to capture his. “You obviously wouldn’t have a problem
with killing me.”

“I like you, Temptation;
you’re…special to me. Believe me, my desire is not to kill you. I care about
everyone in Rosewood. This is my town.”

“But don’t you kill people, too?
I mean isn’t it how demons stay alive–”

Herald snorts. “Demons are immortal.
We won’t die if we don’t feed, but we’ll be as weak as a normal human. We do
treat ourselves to the occasional human, but we only kill those who have broken
the laws of Rosewood.”

“You mean people like me?” I ask.
My internal alarm shrieks for me to abandon Rosewood. I want to escape from the
dark hallway; to walk in the sunlight. “You know there’s something that’s
really been bothering me, how can you and Jerald walk in the daylight? Isn’t it
supposed to hurt you?”

“Temptation, you really shouldn’t
believe all the rubbish written by humans.” Herald releases my neck; I bet it
started bruising already. “Don’t forget I was once part-human. But if I did
transform in the sunlight, it would injure me.” He stares down into my plum
contact lenses. “Are you going to give me anymore trouble?”

I twist the tips of my hair
between my fingers. “I’m not promising to obey you, but if you keep Victoria
away from me, I’ll mind my own business.”

“Don’t worry about Victoria.”
Herald narrows his scarlet eyes. “She’s already been taken care of.” The
cruelness in Herald’s voice almost makes me feel sorry for Victoria.

Almost.

“I don’t know what you two are
doing to this town, but I want no part in it. I’ll leave the goblins alone.
They’re not an interest for me. But don’t you ever threaten to hurt my family
again. I’ll make
you
regret it.”

I expect him to get angry again
or maybe bite me and finish it. Part of me still hopes for death. What I do not
expect, are his arms pulling me to his chest. I can feel him fondling my hair and
his lips dip down to meet mine.

“Hold on.” Using all the strength
I can muster, I ram Herald away from me. “I’ll do what you ask, but I’m not
signing up as your play thing.”

Releasing me, he retreats into
the darkened hallway. “You can’t resist me forever, Temptation.”

A second later, the lights
flicker back to life. I blink, but as my eyes adjust to the brightness, the
bell rings.

The narrow hallway crowds with
warm bodies. I wonder what he did to Victoria.

I do not have to wait long before
I find out. Victoria sits in silence with her friends at lunch and keeps part
of her chocolate hair covering her face. I am willing to bet my soul Victoria
has a black eye.

****

Herald kept his promise. Victoria
did indeed avoid me. A few times, Victoria ambled in the opposite direction of
her classroom to evade brushing past me in the hallway. A week passes with no
verbal or physical confrontations.

Not looking forward to Speech
class, I meet up with Whelan in-between our classes. For the past week, we have
hung out every day. A few people suspect a relationship brewing between the two
of us. “So what’s on your agenda today?”

“Ditchin’ class and smokin’
myself stupid.”

I playfully flutter my eyelashes
at Whelan. “But you’re already stupid.”

“I see how it is.” He locks my
head in his arm. A childish move, but I enjoyed it.

“Seriously though, are you for
real, ditching?”

“Wanna come with? We could
totally get lit together.” Slackening his chokehold on me, he drapes his arm
over my shoulders.

“Where?”

“I know a quiet place in the
cemetery. Come on.” He leads me out of the school.

Normally Karma knows when things
are wrong before I ever have time to notice, but this time awareness grasps me.
A tugging sensation in my gut indicates a spy surveys me from a distance.

Whelan pulls me under a weeping
willow.

“Mr. Coldwell. Miss Falls. What
are you two doing in the parking lot?” Mr. Dredfield emerges from behind the
tree.

I cling to Whelan’s hand. He
gives me a slight squeeze of reassurance.