Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5) (16 page)

“They…um…” Her voice was shaking. “Sometimes I think I see them flicker.”

“
You goddamn mother-fucker!”
I screamed in rage and unbelievable pain, and the entire room shook furiously as I started to glow dimly. In a flurry of hysterical energy, I instantly straightened, turned, and threw an arm out, shooting stars’ fire in a blinding white flash of flames at the bedroom wall. The wall exploded exquisitely, the explosion pausing in midair when I flicked my glowing wrist. I breathed out stars…and every little blasted piece of wall disintegrated with a small puff of white smoke. The suite was no longer really a suite since the front room and bedroom now connected.

I dropped my hand, shaking it at my side to keep from tearing up the entire fucking room. My teeth clenched and I shrieked again. I instantly started to pace in the silence that was so profound it would have unnerved me—if I was in the right frame of mind. I growled at them all, slashing my glowing hands in the air, utterly violent. But there was an agony inside my gut like I hadn’t known before—betrayal. “You all should have told me this before!”

King Collins’s eyes were enormous on his face as he stared where the wall used to be. His attention turned to me, his jaw hanging. He spoke in the softest tone. “Caro, you need to calm down.”

“I. Am. Pissed.” My nostrils flared, and I inhaled heavily, slashing another glowing hand through the air. “You have no clue what the fuck is going on here.” I growled quietly. “What a fucking fool I—” No, that wasn’t completely right. “We’ve all been taken for.”

Dawning comprehension resonated in the silence.

Cool, frosty words from King Collins as his lids hooded. “Please elaborate.”

“I can’t,” I hissed. I paced again, running my trembling hands through my hair, still glowing dimly as my emotions continued to spiral. “Dammit, I can’t elaborate.” My feet ate up the floor until I stopped dead in my tracks, running a hand over my face. I was trying to think past the chaos controlling my mind. “I’m going to need…fuck, what was it?”

I snarled, pissed at myself. “Dammit, think!”

I stared blankly at King Collins’s chest, zoning in to the memory of my short schooling at the Temple. Everyone stared, mercifully quiet, as I breathed in great gulps of air for an indefinite amount of time. Until it came to me. Again, a choked sob of the betrayal tried to escape, but I pushed it down and let rational thoughts reign over the fury.

With one more shaky inhale, I pulled the cool solace of white nothingness over myself, and I slowly lifted my eyes to King Collins, stating in a void voice, “The less people in here right now, the better. I want to speak only with the most powerful, and the rest need to leave the lodge immediately, but discreetly. No one can speak one word aloud of what happened in here until they are far away.” I paused. “You need to trust me on this one without questions, for everyone’s safety.”

Chapter Fifteen

King Collins had trusted me.

Elder Farrar, Elder Zeller, Elder Merrick, King Zeller, King Collins, and Brann were the only ones left in the suite with me. They watched as I paced. The others were going directly to the private airport, staying there until we arrived later tonight.

“Okay.” I exhaled heavily. “I can’t explain in detail, but I think it’s safe to say the people you’ve met aren’t who they appear to be.”

“How is that possible?” Elder Zeller asked, clearly disbelieving me. “No Shifter once picked up a
lie
on their identity.”

My lips pinched, and I stopped pacing to rest a hip against the arm of the couch next to King Zeller. I stared at his dad. “Everything I’m going to say will be cryptic, so you’ll have to work with me here.” My head teetered back and forth in thought. “They are who they say they are.” I sighed. “But not.”

Elder Zeller’s dark eyes stared unflinchingly, and he stated dryly, “That is so very helpful.”

“You are not being helpful,” I muttered, running a hand over my face and glancing at King Collins. I flicked a finger at Elder Zeller. “I’m not sure we need him. It’s obvious he doesn’t trust a damn thing I’m saying, and right now I need the fucking trust to work through this.”

Surprising me, it was Elder Farrar who answered. “He apologizes.” Golden eyebrows lifted to Elder Zeller. “Don’t you?”

Elder Zeller’s jaw clenched as he stared at Elder Farrar, some type of private communication being spoken with their eyes. Elder Zeller stated, “Yes, I apologize.” Dark eyes to me. “I do. I am only…” His Vampire growled quietly under his breath. “I’m frustrated we may have been duped. It’s possible I’m trying to find a way that we may not have all been complete fools.”

“I’m not lying.” My chin trembled for the barest moment before I could hide it. There was a very heavy beat of silence before I flicked a finger at Elder Farrar. I asked as calmly as I could, “Can you please run a hand over me to see what type of spells may have been placed on me, and kindly remove them?” If we were dealing with what I thought, there could be any number of spells on me to keep me from seeing clearly. It was a monstrous person we were dealing with, and a disgusting level scarcely anyone in the history of the world had sunk to.

Elder Farrar cleared his throat delicately. “Yes.” He moved forward, placing a hand on the back of my dipped head. He glowed a pure golden. I instantly heard a quick intake of air from him, and his voice was dreamy. “Protection, which I can’t remove. It’s too powerful.” Another intake of breath. “Oh God, Caro. I’m so sorry.”

I whispered on a shaky breath, “Just remove it.”

Kind, soft words. “I will.”

I jerked when I felt the touch of time and spells infuse my entire being, and the uncomfortable rush of a Mage’s power against mine choked me. I grabbed onto the couch for support.

He stated tenderly, “Sorry, just a moment more. It’s deeply embedded.” He paused with a slow exhale, then he cleared his throat. “There’s…” Another clearing of his throat and with tentative words. “Prepare yourself. It’s a spelled sexual experience.”

Oh my God. “Rip it the fuck out.”

He whispered compassionately, “It may be confusing for you. You’ll still remember what you thought happened, and also what really happened.”

“Tear the fucking blinders away, Elder Farrar.”

The next second, I jolted as time and spells suffused my entire being.

Elder Farrar was lucky he was through, taking his hand away, because as the memory, the real one, flooded my mind, I gagged, jerking off the couch.

I barely made it to a trash can before I spewed, crying silently. Disgust and fury and humiliation swirled in my stomach, making it clench over and over again.

I saw how my first time having sex with a man really happened.

Or, for that matter, didn’t actually happen.

King Collins had at one point moved, holding my hair back as I lost it. He was rubbing gently at my back, murmuring softly, even though there was a slight commotion with the others. Brann was shouting obscenities, and from the sound of it, they were having a hell of a time keeping him inside the room. At my last heave, I jerked back when King Zeller’s body blew through the room, smashing against a wall. I went perfectly still as a deep growl reverberated throughout the room.

Elder Farrar whispered, “I had to Brann. You need to calm down.”

Wiping my mouth as King Zeller muttered a curse and picked himself up from the floor, I turned my head slowly. My bloodshot eyes shot wide. “Oh…fuck.”

“I’m not sure if this is an improvement,” Elder Zeller hissed harshly next to Elder Farrar.

There was an enormous black wolf, at least the size of a regular tiger, growling furiously and baring his teeth at Elder Farrar and Elder Zeller. Expensive, ripped clothing dangled from his soft fur. He crouched into a pouncing stance.

“Brann…” I stated softly, staring at him in shock—and yeah, a little terror—but his growl cut off for a beat, amber eyes flicking to me. I grabbed King Collins’s hand, using him to stand to my feet, and very slowly with deliberately soft footsteps, I moved toward the gigantic wolf, arms outstretched in supplication, speaking in a soothing tone. “Elder Farrar’s right. You need to calm down.”

He huffed, sniffing in my direction before he swung his eyes back to the Elders, growling at them for a long moment. But a second later, a huge black cloud whooshed out around his four-legged form, only to fly back at him.

I jerked to a stop, my eyes growing large on my face before I quickly slapped a hand over them. Brann now stood on two very thick muscled legs. I twirled my back to him, mumbling a bit stupidly, “Naked Brann, naked Brann, naked Brann.”

“Don’t you ever do that to me again.” His voice roared, eliciting a squeak from me in his wrath.

“I had to,” Elder Farrar stated slowly. “You had just thrown King Zeller across the room.”

“He sucker punched me in the damn kidney,” Brann growled, still furious. “And besides, I didn’t hurt him.”

“Yes, well…” Elder Farrar cleared his throat. “You needed to calm down.”

A wolf’s growl deep in his chest. “Oh, fuck off. That asshole deserves to die, and everyone here knows it.” He grunted. “The sooner the better.”

Dry words by the Elder Mage. “I believe Caro was going to tell us how.” There was a long silence. “Caro? We’re waiting.”

“Oh.” I realized my hand was still over my eyes, and everyone was probably staring at my back. I quickly dropped it to point vaguely behind me. “He’s naked.”

Slow words from Brann. “Felon, I am a Shifter.”

“Well…” My hand fluttered beside me, still flustered by the flesh I had seen. “I’m not, so somebody give him something to put on.”

King Zeller next to me muttered a curse, but he took off his velvet robe, tossing it to him. “I doubt it’ll fit right since you have a few inches on me, but try wrapping it around your waist.”

Brann’s wolf growled, but the fabric rustled. “You owe me five grand for that outfit.”

A snort from Elder Farrar. “Bill me.”

I waited a moment, ignoring Brann’s curse, then I asked, “Done?”

More rustling, then came a gruff, “Yes.”

“All right.” I ever so gradually turned around and very judiciously kept my eyes away from the bare-chested Brann, rolling my head on my shoulders. “First, I need someone to buy diamonds and have them ground into powder.”

Without even blinking this time, Elder Zeller asked, “How many?”

Inhaling slowly, I kept my emotions at bay the best I could. Again having to be cryptic, I ‘skipped’ his question. “Second, I’ll need someone to arrange a private dinner for just us and them.” My white eyebrows lifted. “And make sure their meals get the extra garnishment.” That wasn’t technically giving spirit information away.

A black brow lifted. “You want them to ingest it?”

Again, I ‘skipped’ his question, running my gaze over them. “Third, make sure you stretch your muscles before dinner, but not your powers.”

King Collins’s eyebrows furrowed. “We can’t use our powers?”

I stared, blinking at him while keeping my mouth shut, not moving on.

The room was quiet.

King Zeller snapped his fingers. “They won’t be able to use their powers once they ingest the ground up diamonds.” He grinned when my lips twitched, apparently enjoying himself a bit. “This is like charades, but verbalized.”

My tone was far past derisive. “Try to remember, this is my life. And it’s not a game.” My brows quirked at him. “And fourth, when the chaos is flat on its stomach…” My head teetered in thought. I finally shrugged, stating bluntly, “It’ll be me who has to end it.”

Brann hissed, “You mean, you have to kill them.” A grunting huff. “We can’t do it?”

I whistled quietly, tapping a toe.

“Dammit,” he muttered. “Wait, she did say loosen up our muscles.” Quiet, and then a very slow, evil chuckle. “At least we’ll get to bash their faces in.”

“She said she has to be the one to kill them,” Elder Farrar stated patiently. “Do try to remember not to rip off any body parts.”

I lifted a finger. “There’s one other thing, but I think you would all appreciate it if I brushed my teeth first.” I stared at an amused Elder Farrar. I waggled my fingers, pushing my own mental pain aside for now. “Can you magically—” I stopped, my head cocking when he lifted a non-glowing hand—apparently, no real power needed—and suddenly a toothbrush and toothpaste appeared on his palm. “Perfect.” I lifted them from his hand. “Just give me a second.” I stalled on my way to the bathroom, glancing back at him. Evaluated his expression, his intelligent eyes. “Did you know all of this in advance?” He was Elder Farrar after all.

His lips pinched the slightest bit.

My gaze ran over his face. “You couldn’t say anything, either, could you?”

He shook his head once. “I can’t alter time or events—other than my normal involvement.”

I nodded once. “I understand…and I’m sorry.”

His lips quirked on one side. “I really do like you, Caro.”

My own lips quirked. “Let’s see how much you like me after tonight.” With that, I turned and went to brush my teeth. When I exited the bathroom, I could tell they were all watching me cautiously. “It won’t be that bad, and honestly, I probably should have done this in the first place when they arrived.”

King Collins asked, “What is it?”

“I can’t say.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Just trust me. You’ll need it to keep anyone from watching the pre-show.”

“Protection,” Brann stated instantly.

I smiled as much as I could, my stomach still churning. “Who wants to go first?”

I swear, they all shot toward me at once. Except for Elder Merrick.

That Elder was silent, standing with his back to a window, perfectly happy to watch.

King Collins stood first in the line—a literal line—the others had formed. “What do you need to do?”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Just don’t tell a certain someone about this, please.” I raised my hands, grabbing fistfuls of his blue hair, and yanked his face down to mine. “Open your mouth.”

Startled brown eyes stared directly into mine. He jerked away, actually flustered. “Caro…”

Elder Farrar chuckled quietly and stepped forward, bending to place his face in front of mine. “Do your worst, young spirit Elemental.”