Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) (3 page)

While dark magic was innate for the
Valefar, it wasn’t for me. I needed that ring. And I wasn’t about
to blow my secret so the Martis could take it from me. No, I’d wait
until the axe dropped to use those powers—until there was no way
out, and it was my only option.

Without another thought, I took off,
running as fast as I could. I narrowly passed through two Martis
and ran out the door. Warm air blasted my face. I didn’t know where
I was or where to run. There was no time to decide. Martis pursued
me like I was an escaped convict. Shannon chased after me, yelling
for me to stop. But I didn’t. One foot slammed in front of the
other. A car almost clipped me when I ran out into traffic and the
light changed. The Martis were forced to wait or find another way
around. A parking garage was dead ahead. I ran for it, hoping to
get lost in the shadows and escape before anyone could find
me.

The cars were packed into the tiny
spaces like sardines. It was the parking garage with the best
lighting that I’d ever seen. There were no shadows to disappear
into. There was nowhere to hide. Crap!

I sprinted for the end of the row,
wedging myself between parked cars before dashing up to the next
level. When Martis poured out of the woodwork like roaches, I
realized I was screwed.

Efanotate or let them take
me.

Those were my only options. I abruptly
stopped running and turned in a slow circle, surrounded. I held my
palms up toward them in a universal sign for surrender,
breathless.

Shannon’s shoes smacked
the pavement as she ran up behind the group and shouldered her way
to me. “What’s wrong with you? When I said
don’t run
, exactly what did you
think I meant?” I glared at her. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.
You woulda never come if I told you they wanted your testimony.
It’s for your own good. Now wipe that look off your face. We’re
still doing all the stuff I said. Julia just didn’t want to risk
you running off, so she sent some Martis.”

Ironically, I ran because we were
surrounded by Martis. “It feels like you lied to me.”

She shrugged and turned away from me,
“I didn’t lie. I spoke the truth—literally. I wanted you to come
along with me and Julia will give you access to the archives. I
left out all the details and you know why. There was no way you
would have come if I told you everything.”

“
Why don’t you try it next
time and let me decide?” I glared at her.

While Martis were bound to speak the
truth, I was learning that it didn’t mean that they couldn’t lie.
There were many ways to lie without saying something that wasn’t
true. I was learning that the hard way.

Part of me wanted to strangle Shannon.
Part of me wondered what I would have done if I was her. Would I
have lied to get her on a plane if I thought it was for her own
good?

Probably.

The Martis surrounding me were tense
waiting to see what I would do. Al told me not to piss anyone off
since the prophecy was yet to be overturned. They could still kill
me and be within their legal grounds to get away with it. No doubt
that was what Julia was hoping for. She hates me. The Martis closed
in tightly and shoved Shannon and me into a waiting car.

“
That was a shitty thing
to do,” I spit through my teeth. “You should have told
me.”

“
I did,” she answered. “On
the plane. I didn’t know Julia was sending a bunch of Martis. She
only told me to make sure you stayed with me and didn’t run. And
what did you do?” She slouched back into the seat. “You’re such an
idiot sometimes.”

Anger surged through me.
“I’m an idiot? You don’t get it, do you? I’m not one of you. These
people aren’t my friends. Damn Shannon, it’d be like if I invited
you to come with me and then surrounded you with Valefar.
Saying
it’s okay, don’t run
doesn’t exactly instill confidence. You would
have done the same thing I did. Or tried to kill all of them.” My
arms were folded tightly across my chest. I stared out the tinted
window. We didn’t speak again until we arrived at the Martis
compound.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Martis villa was in an ancient
section of the city, mixed in with older buildings constructed of
aging stucco that dripped with rich vegetation in a rainbow of
colors. The front of the Martis building looked like the structures
surrounding it, but it was actually very different. It wasn’t the
large family home that it appeared to be from the street. It was a
sprawling building that went unbelievably deep and wide. The
interior of the building was impossibly large. There was no way the
vast space should be able to fit inside a tiny house, but it did.
And from the looks of it, we were in a palace, not a little
home.

We entered through the front gates.
The Martis unlocked the doors and ushered us past guards. We
stopped in the foyer. It was the grandest room I’d ever been
inside. Everything was doused in white light, making the room seem
cheerful, but its size made it intimidating. The ivory ceiling
stretched high above us with a domed recess that had a large round
opening, revealing the midday sun. It looked like a pane of glass
should have been in the circle, but I was certain that it was
empty. There was cold white stone beneath my feet, polished to a
brilliant shine. Gas lamps on ornate golden perches flickered in
the corners of the room. There were works of art that adorned every
whitewashed wall. Everything looked perfectly white, bright, and
airy. The villa was like a terrarium encased in glass, pretty and
protected.

Heels clicked against the stone floor,
echoing through the space announcing her presence before I saw her.
Julia. She looked like the personification of perfection. Her white
pencil-skirt hugged her hips and tapered delicately at her knee. A
white linen blouse with a collar that screamed designer accentuated
her ample curves. The solid white ensemble was something only
models and movie stars could pull off, but on her it looked
perfect. Her dark hair was pulled back into a chignon at the base
of her neck.

She spoke to Shannon. “We are
finishing some crucial testimony tonight. Tomorrow, you will give
your testimony to the Tribunal.” She glared at me out of the corner
of her eye. “Eventually, they will want your testimony as well. The
Tribunal will decide what you are and what to do with
you.”

“
Nice to see you too,
Julia.” I said through my teeth. “I really appreciated the
welcoming party at the airport. Did you really think that was
necessary? After I saved your butt on Long Island, how could you
possibly question whose side I was fighting for?” I heard the venom
in my voice, and didn’t try to subdue it. The woman hated me, even
though I’d helped her. It made no sense.

A plastic smile spread across her
lips. “That is for the Tribunal to decide. In the meantime, you are
not one of us and you will have an accompaniment. This is not
negotiable. If you resist or do anything out of line, the guards
have been instructed to treat you as Valefar.”

Shannon’s green eyes widened, “What?”
she screeched. “Julia, I thought she’d be a guest here. Like me.
That you just needed her to speak to the other members of the
Tribunal about the Valefar attack. There is no reason for all
this!”

I glanced at Shannon, wondering if she
really didn’t know I’d walked straight into a house arrest, or if
she was playing both sides. I bit my tongue hard so I wouldn’t
scream.

Valefar.

They would treat me like a Valefar,
not like a half-sister, even though we shared the same blood. Even
though I began my immortal life as a Martis.

Julia turned sharply
towards Shannon and arched an eyebrow. It clearly said,
You dare question me?
Okay, maybe Shannon didn’t know Julia’s plans.

“
Young Dyconisis, you will
do as you are told. I did not lie to you. The girl will have access
to the archives as I stated. But, at no time, did I ever say she
was a welcomed guest. This matter is larger than you realize. And
if you want your friend to live through it, you’ll tell her to do
as she’s told as well.”

My nails were biting into my palms. I
didn’t realize I was clutching my fists so hard. Julia stared at me
like I was an abomination—like I was the most disgusting breed of
Valefar she’d ever seen. But, I’m neither one hundred percent
Valefar or Martis.

I’m both.

I locked my hard gaze with hers when I
felt Shannon’s fingers wrap around my wrist to pull me away. “Come
on,” she said tugging me. “I’ll take you to our room.”

Julia snapped her fingers, stopping
Shannon in her tracks. Two Martis guards appeared behind Julia. She
looked at Shannon, explaining, “Ivy cannot reside in the same
section of the Villa as the Martis. She is not one of us. It isn’t
safe. She will be more comfortable in the wing by the library.” She
looked over her shoulder and addressed the guards, “Show her the
room I selected for her. Tonight she will dine in her room. She can
visit the library as agreed, but nothing else.” She turned back to
Shannon, “Come.” She snapped her fingers twice and started
walking.

Shannon glanced at me and then back at
Julia. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. Al never
treated anyone like this, Martis or otherwise. Al was Shannon’s
superior for the past year on Long Island. Al trained her and took
her into the Martis fold. I could see the shock in Shannon’s face.
She had no idea what she’d gotten us into. She mouthed “I’m sorry,”
and took off after Julia who was already half way down a long
corridor.

I glanced at the guards. They flanked
me, but said nothing. Their white uniforms had an insignia on the
chest that I hadn’t seen before. It looked like interlocking blue
circles with a feather on top. The Martis here were older. Both
guards were men who looked to be about thirty-years-old. Their
tanned skin and dark hair made their Martis mark look like it was
blazing blue. Inside the Villa walls, no one concealed their mark.
I’d not noticed until Julia appeared with her blue mark unmasked,
and then the guards.

“
So, what now?” I asked,
but they didn’t answer. One guard moved in front of me and the
other moved behind me. They began walking with me in the middle.
“Seriously? You’re not going to talk to me?” It was one hundred
percent clear—I was a prisoner.

After they deposited me in my room,
the guards moved outside the door. When I heard the scraping of
metal, I knew I’d been locked inside.

“
Great.” I punched a
pillow on the massive couch in front of me, and fell onto the
cushions. The room didn’t look like a prison, but it was clear I
didn’t have any freedom. Except the library.

Focus
. I scolded myself.
Remember why you
came here
.

It was to learn more about Kreturus
and find the entrance into the Underworld. I had to save Collin,
and this was the only place with the information. I needed to do
it. And I’d just have to deal with whatever the Martis planned to
do with me.

When I calmed down enough to think
clearly, I poked around my room. It looked like a posh hotel suite
with a nice bed covered in light linens and too many pillows. There
was a massive overstuffed sofa, and a wardrobe cabinet that looked
ancient with beautiful scrolling patterns adorning the top. I
kicked off my shoes and found a marble bathtub and a sink that took
a while to figure out how to use. There were no faucets, just a
blue basin in a white marble room. It filled with water when I
touched the blue glass. The afternoon sun spilled into the room,
illuminating the space. The light fixtures looked like lanterns,
flickering softly. I wondered where the switches were, but couldn’t
find any. While I was exploring my room, there was a light knock on
the door.

Surprised Shannon stole away so soon,
I crossed the stone floor, and opened the wooden door. A smile
slowly side across my face. “Thank God!”

Al stood there between the guards,
dressed in her black habit with her wild silver hair framing her
weathered face. “You gonna invite me in?”

I stepped out of the doorway and
nodded. “Of course,” I gestured for her to enter. The guards didn’t
move. It was like they didn’t notice she was there. Maybe they were
just that good at ignoring me. “How did you know?” She must have
learned that the Martis weren’t treating me like an ally, and that
they had other plans for me. That had to be why she came. Al was
supposed to stay in New York.

She shrugged. “Saw it. Had a vision
right after you two left.” She looked around the room and whistled.
“Pretty nice cell, isn’t it?” Her ancient eyes cut back to mine.
“So you stayed. Smart girl.”

“
I need the information in the
library. There is no other way to get it. I had to stay.” Al sat on
the sofa and I sat down on the floor in front of her. “They said
they want me to testify before the Tribunal. By the way they are
acting; testimony doesn’t sound like the right word. Interrogation
seems to be a better fit. Al, what’s going on? What’d you
see?”