Destiny Disrupted (22 page)

Trent lifted his head to look at me. “Either you’re with me or not. Make a choice.”

“You mean, rule over the Underworld with you?”

“I don’t have time for games, Shiloh. Pick a side,” Trent demanded.

“Don’t ask me to do that! I can’t!” I got to my feet and smoothed my clothes.

Tension snapped around us and the overhead light blinked violently. The mirror hanging on the wall behind Trent unexpectedly fractured and I glimpsed my distorted reflection in the glass. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if Trent had caused the disturbance or me.

I walked toward the front door on wobbly legs.

“Get back here,” he commanded.

I turned and ran out of the mansion. The sun was setting, a fiery red orb slowly sinking beneath the horizon. Shadows lengthened and fog swathed the estate.

Near the Jeep, a chill slid down my back. I whipped around and my heart rocketed into my throat. Caym advanced on me with a murderous gleam in his eyes.

“Hello again, Thirteenth Daughter,” Caym said.

I swiped at the tears streaming down my face and sniffled. “What do you want?”

Caym’s eyes narrowed. “What are
you
doing here?”

“Having a chat with my boyfriend. What do you care?”

“I happen to care very much.” His expression hardened. “The Nocturnes have a prince, and I do not need you interfering.
Nothing
is going to stop us now.”

“Oh, yeah? I wouldn’t bet on that. My coven and I will find a way—”

“Highly unlikely, unless you’d like to start finding the bodies of all your friends.”

My vision clouded with swarms of dark red. “Don’t you dare threaten them!”

“Then I suggest you all move very, very far away from here.”

Two more demons, Leith and the new Thug Two, suddenly materialized beside Caym.

My hand flew to my heart. Recovering from my jolt, I asked, “Where did you two come from?”

Leith jerked at the collar of his robe. “Upper Level demons can move instantly from one place to another through dark magick called,
shimmering.
And you call yourself a demon hunter?”

“I’m still learning the ropes, douchebag.”

“Quiet!” Caym ordered. He clasped his hands in front of him and glanced around. “I am curious about something. Are your guardians nearby?”

I snapped my fingers. Bakaz, Kasha, and Zrekam coalesced from the shadows and stood beside me, with their heads hung low against my legs.

Caym raised his brow. “Charming little beasts.”

“You have no idea.” Absently, one of my hands scratched behind Zrekam’s pointy ears.

“Shades are ordinarily the companions of a dark sorceress, or warlock. Odd that they’ve stuck by you now that the
Darkness
has been cleansed from your blood.”

An arctic quiver rippled through me. Oh, god. What if the shades deserted me now, too?

“Oh, um, I didn’t know that,” I said, glancing at my little demonic buddies.

“There’s an awful lot you still don’t know.” Caym yanked at the cuffs of his long black robe. “You have the heart of a lion, unlike your birthmother. Too bad you are so concerned for the mortals inhabiting this place.”

My stomach knotted, but I forced as much bravado into my voice as possible. “They’re innocents.”

“Not all. Yet you have it in your power to save them.”

Leith and Thug Two moved to stand on either side of Caym. Leith crossed his arms over his chest, the long sleeves of his robe sliding down to reveal the scaly skin on his forearms. The shades snarled at the bigger demons. Kasha raked her nails in the dirt, her red eyes glowing.

I put one hand on my hip. “And all I have to do is relinquish my white magick? Then turn to the dark side, right?”

“You can keep your magick, although it wouldn’t stay
white
for long,” Caym said. “If you crossover, then you have my word that no harm will come to you or the ones you love.”

I grunted. “No thanks. What makes you think I’d accept an offer like that?”

“Because it may very well save the lives of everyone in this town.”

My legs trembled, and the shades scooted closer. “Is this some sort of trick?”

Bakaz growled and stood on his hind-legs, his head brushing my thigh. “Do not listen, Shiloh.”

Leith’s shoulders stiffened. “Why are we wasting our time on this witch? I highly doubt luring her into using her powers for evil, that she will join our ranks.”

Caym nodded. “But that’s even better than killing her, which of course, we can still do.”

I might be outnumbered and somewhat intimidated by the Triad, but it had been one helluva a craptastic day. I was tired of being scared. Now I was just pissed off.

Flaring my nostrils, I stomped forward and got right into Caym’s repulsive, lizard face. “Let’s just get a few things straight…one, I’m not joining up with you guys. Two, I
will
figure out a way to stop you. And three, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you start an apocalypse.”

The shades flanked me and stretched their sharp claws. Kasha hungrily stared at Leith and the new Thug Two, her pink tongue darting out to lick her lips. Shades usually only dined on intense human emotions, slurping up rage, sorrow, or fear. Maybe on occasion they were carnivores, too. Who knew?

Caym didn’t even flinch, but he did smile. Those creepy reptilian lips curled up into a malevolent grin. “I like you. I do. That’s why you are not dead yet, but let’s not push your luck.”

I took several steps back, putting some distance between us again. More than ever, I wanted to run screaming for the hills and never look back. Or zap him with a magickal ball of energy, but my hand stayed limp. I couldn’t kill him.

What if Caym was the only one who could break Trent’s contract?

The front door banged opened, then shut. “What the hell’s going on?” Trent shouted from the veranda. He took the steps two at a time and marched toward us.

The shades turned in Trent’s direction, growled low in their throats, then took off into the shadows.

Gee, thanks for sticking around.

“Merely having a friendly chat with Shiloh,” Caym said.

When he said my actual name, a skin-crawly feeling crept over my flesh. I inched back toward the Jeep. Maybe the shades had the right idea. It was past time to get my butt outta here and somewhere safer, away from Trent and his new BFFs.

“She knows everything, dammit.” Trent faced Caym and ran a hand roughly through his hair. “I can’t do this now. Not if it means losing her—”

“You walked through a one way door, my prince,” Caym said. “You cannot back out now. But if you’re even
thinking
about trying to work both sides or deceive us, then you risk the Underworld rising up against you.”

Stepping forward, Leith sneered. “All this fuss over a human witch? If he is conflicted, then I shall take the throne.”

Sheesh. Demons were such greedy, power-hungry bastards who easily turned on each other.

Trent turned his back on the Evil Triad and moved to stand beside me. “Trust me,” he whispered.

The pain in my chest eased when I gazed into Trent’s green eyes. “I’m trying.”

“There are other women, my liege. Other female demons that could take her place,” Caym said, casting a sideways glance at me.

Trent faced the demons again. “No thank you. I’m more of a one woman demon.”

Leith snorted. “Your destiny is to become our ruler. It may not include a bride—”

“My destiny is to be with Shiloh.”
Darkness
radiated from Trent in midnight waves around his body and it gave his voice a steel edge.

“Very well.” Caym put a hand on Leith’s chest and pushed him back. “You made a blood oath and you were branded. The only way to break the contract is your death.”

“That can be arranged.” Leith lifted one hand and produced a fireball in his palm.

Trent shoved me behind him. I stumbled back a step and my spine bumped the side of the Jeep.

“He’s just a boy.” Leith’s voice was deep and powerful as he breathed heavily. “His love for the witch will only make him weak, like I have been saying—”

Quick as a flash, Caym created a fireball and launched it at Leith. The demon erupted into flames, screaming before he exploded in a puff of smoke.

“That shut him up.” Shaking his head, Caym rubbed his hands together to extinguish the blaze. “Now I will need to find another demon willing to replace his seat on the counsel.”

I narrowed my eyes at Caym and his silent demon buddy. I should really start remembering to carry vanquishing potions around with me. They could come in handy. Like now.

“Leave us,” Trent ordered.

Caym backed away from us, and the other demon followed. “As you wish, my liege,” he said, his head slightly bowed.

Their bodies shimmered, then dissolved into a swarm of vapor-like particles floating in mid-air before blending with the shadows from the oaks.

Trent sighed. “You okay?” I nodded, and he added, “Are you going to tell Evans and the others?”

“You haven’t told your uncle your dumbass plan?”

“No. Not yet anyway.” Trent stepped back, the hurt plainly displayed in his eyes. “This is all messed up. How’d it get so effed up? You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed...”

“No one asked you to, Trent,” I said quietly. There was a stretch of silence before either of us spoke again. “There’s no point in arguing.” My voice cracked. “I don’t want to start fighting again.”

“I don’t either.” He leaned in closer to gently brush hair behind my ear. “But you’re extremely sexy when you’re mad.”

I backed away. “Great. My anger turns on demons. Just what I always wanted.”

“Don’t get snarky,” he said softly. “We still need to talk.”

I shook my head. “We’re done talking.”

He gritted his teeth and each word came out low and demanding. “I
said
we need to talk about this, Shiloh.”

“Go to hell!”

“I was just there. And it’s much too warm this time of year.”

“How can you be so flippant about this, Trent?”

“Who said I was?”

“I can’t believe you! You’re making jokes? This is all a big joke to you?” My body twitched. I just wanted to reach out and grab him. Slap him as hard as I could.

“No! C’mon, Shiloh. I was just trying to lighten the mood,” he said in a low voice.

“
Ugh!
There’s nothing left to discuss.”

I stamped to the Jeep and got in. I peered out the windshield at Trent. He stayed near the porch for a moment, gazing at me with a miserable expression before he turned and went back inside the manor.

I would go home and gather the troops. Call an emergency coven meeting and discover a way to put a stop to the Triad’s insidious plans.

But before I could drive off, Thug Two appeared beside the driver’s side door. He wrenched it open, yanked me out by my arm, and covered my mouth with his scaly hand.

Thug Two grabbed my wrist with his free hand, did some weird shimmering thing, which must be an Upper Level demon method of teleportation, and we vanished from Craven Manor. It seemed as if we simply flickered back into existence inside a castle, dark and creepy—and about twenty degrees warmer than the air back home.

I stumbled away from the demon. “Where are we?”

“Welcome to the Underworld, witch. We hope you enjoy your stay,” Thug Two said like some freaky hotel manager. He shimmered again, his shadowy form blinking out.

I turned in a slow circle and took in my creeptastic surroundings.

The high walls were slimy gray stone and the barred windows only allowed minor shafts of light to enter the cell. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought I had time traveled back to the Dark Ages. Even a medieval looking set of cuffs linked to chains were bolted into the wall. A cot with a thin mattress and blanket was pushed up against the opposite side of the room. No other furniture. Several lighted torches were attached to the walls in the passageway across from my chamber. It was really, really warm in here. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about freezing to death.

I stood on the makeshift bed and peered out a window. My heart thudded louder and louder. The world outside was a vast barren wasteland, like a post-apocalyptic city, with a dried up river. A morbid gloom bathed the skies and coated everything it touched in a greenish haze. No stars. No sun or moon. The subterranean realm had another towering fortress across the desiccated canal with its drawbridge lowered to admit demonic creatures. The stench of brimstone choked the air and the cries of vulture-like beasts echoed throughout the valley.

This could not be real. I wasn’t actually standing in the room of a centuries-old castle inside the Underworld. It felt like I’d just stepped into a zombie novel and had taken over as the doomed apocalypse heroine.

Though I fought against falling into the hope that I might be rescued by Trent or my friends, the grim possibility of dying in this dark place lurked in the depths of my mind. I hated feeling powerless. I had to stay strong. The torchlight blurred.

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry…

If my objective in life was to avoid going totally batshit crazy, this dungeon definitely wouldn’t help me reach that goal. The horror of the situation hit me full force, and a violent shudder racked my body.

Beyond a row of rusty iron bars on one side of my chamber, a shadowy figure stood in the passageway. “Hello again, Thirteenth Daughter.” His black robes rustled when he moved. “You are now a guest in my home.”

I hopped down from the cot. “Do you usually keep guests imprisoned in creepy dungeons?”

Caym chuckled menacingly. “I do apologize for the rather drab accommodations. However, you will not be allowed to leave until the cambion ascends the throne. And only you can decide if you’ll be leaving here dead or alive...”

“Take me home.
Now
,” I demanded.

“All in due time…” Caym tilted his head and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After a few minutes passed in silence, he blew out a breath and said, “Did you know that the Forsaken rounded us up like cattle and forced us to do their bidding? Killed those who refused. When we banded together in a vain attempt to free ourselves, the Forsaken joined forces with a coven and trapped us in the Sheol. It wasn’t until that dark sorceress, Darrah, summoned Esael that we experienced our first glimmer of hope.”

“If you’re hoping I’ll feel sorry for you—I
don’t
,” I said through my teeth. “You slaughtered innocent people. Okay, well, not that those witches were exactly innocent. I mean, they did summon a demon and offer up their firstborn children. So that
does
make them kinda evil and deserving of a good ass-kicking, but not murder.” I blew out a breath and stopped rambling. “Can’t you guys just forgive and forget?”

Caym looked away, a muscle twitching in his face. “Certainly not.”

“I get it. You were wronged and you’re pissed. Who wouldn’t be? But starting an end-of-the-world war isn’t going to make you feel any better.”

“You are a wise and compassionate girl.” Caym clasped his hands behind his back. “Nevertheless, sometimes vengeance is justified. And I don’t think you appreciate the truth of the situation. Unlike those other witches who recently freed myself and a few of my brethren from the Sheol.”

Knots formed in my belly. “Who would do something stupid like that?”

He grinned as if he knew something I didn’t, and I wanted to slap the condescending smirk off his face.

“There are more than two covens, yours and the Blood Rose Circle, in Fallen Oaks,” he said.

Holy crap. Heather’s coven had summoned the Triad. Just what Fallen Oaks needed, more evil witches. Why were those idiotic girls messing around with the dark arts?

I gritted my teeth. “When Trent finds out what you’ve done to me, he’s going to be pissed. And you’re gonna wish for death!”

“By the time anyone figures out that you’ve disappeared, the prince will have embraced his demonic power and the
Darkness
within him will only grow stronger. Why not be a smart girl and join him? It’s obvious the cambion is infatuated with you.”

A short, hoarse laugh escaped me. “I’m more of a do-gooder. Sorry.”

He clucked his tongue. “If only that egotistical angel hadn’t intervened and eradicated Esael’s blood from your system. You were turning evil all on your own.”

Raze!
He’d said after I drank the potion that he could find me anywhere. Had he only meant on Earth? Maybe not in the Underworld.

I fanned myself with one hand. “It’s super hot down here.”

“The heat is the least of your problems, witch.”

Too true. Even if I managed to somehow escape, how would I find my way out of this dank place? I couldn’t shimmer like the Upper Level demons and I didn’t have any of my grimoire to cast a spell.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Caym said, “Your white magick won’t work in this chamber. It has been forged to incarcerate even the most powerful magickal beings.”

My heart sank. I was so beyond screwed. I dropped onto the bed and the springs of the mattress poked my bottom. “How long will I have to be locked in here? When is Trent’s coronation?”

“Not long from now.” Rocking on his heels, he said conversationally, “There are things about Trent that your mentor has not told you. Now, it’s only a rough translation from the
Crowley’s Demon Index
, so you will have to forgive the doggerel.” Clearing his throat, Caym recited, “In the dead of night with no moon, glimpsing a passionate desire too soon, pardoning the darkness’s greatest threat, the debt shall finally be met.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Dr. Seuss writes prophecies now?”

He scowled, his eyes piercing and the only somewhat human thing about him. “It states that my brethren shall be freed from the Sheol. And that Esael left his son a legacy.”

“More like a legacy of death,” I muttered.

“That is one way to regard it, I suppose.” He picked lint off the shoulder of his monk robe. “Last chance. Will you not consent to forming an alliance with the Nocturne? Stand at our prince’s side as his consort?”

Consort. Did he mean wife or lover? And did it really matter?

I shot to my feet. “That would be a big fat—
no
.”

“Most unfortunate. Then again, we have ways of changing your mind, witch.” He shook his head. “The Underworld will not tolerate a leader who’s conflicted by any sign of weakness. And whatever will keep him content, I shall provide. Even a pretty distraction such as you.”

Every internal alarm I had went off in a wild frenzy. My slight grip on keeping it together tumbled like a cement barrier being smashed by a wrecking ball, and then utterly crumbling. I couldn’t join the side of evil. Not for Trent. Not even to save my own life.

I straightened and mustered all the courage I had left. “Bring on the torture and pain.”

“As you wish. However, know this…we do not want to hurt you, but we will extort forceful measures if it will get you to join our side. Do you understand?” I dully nodded, and he continued, “You may not believe it just now, but we hope you will come to sympathize with us and even respect our ways. The Nocturne are not your enemy.”

“Kind of hard to believe anything you say while I’m locked in a dungeon.” Pressing my palms against my eyelids, I exhaled. “Will you feed me? It only takes three days to die from dehydration, you know.”

“You will receive food and water two times a day.” Caym turned, his long robe rustling as he strode down the corridor.

Once he was gone, my legs gave out, and my knees cracked on the stone floor. I was left alone in a dungeon with no real hope of ever seeing the sun again. My head hung down, tears filling my eyes.

My brain didn’t want to process any of this. I was a hostage. Sealed away in an underground prison. My friends…oh, my god, my mom had to be going completely insane with worry. Ariana would be freaking out when I didn’t return home. She’d think Trent was to blame.

Time to get out of here. Now.

I got to my feet and closed my eyes. Summoning my white magick should’ve been a no-brainer, but there wasn’t a spark or a burst of adrenaline, or even a tingling of supernatural power over my skin.

Nothing. Zilch. My attempt at some badassery was an epic fail.

Maybe all demonic creatures could shimmer into the Underworld. If I couldn’t use magick to get me out of this cell, I could try a summoning invocation to get some long-range help.

Leaning back against the side of the cot, I said, “
Magick forces of shadow and light, reaching out through space and night, be they far or be they near, bring my demonic guardians here.
”

The shadows shifted in one corner and the shades materialized. Kasha, Bakaz, and Zrekam jumped onto the bed and put their stubby arms around me. I hugged them close and cried on their little demon shoulders.

“Boy, am I happy to see you guys,” I whispered.

Bakaz patted my arm. “You okay?”

I sighed. “Nope.”

Kasha blinked her big puppy-dog eyes. “Sorry, we not able to shimmer you out. Not powerful enough.”

“It’s okay. The dungeon’s like my damned
Kryptonite.
But maybe you guys could get a message to Ariana—”

“Hey, can you hear me?” asked, a ragged voice from what I imagined was the cell next to mine. An arm snaked through a small crack in the stone wall and the person wiggled their fingers. “Over here.”

The shades hopped on the floor and sniffed the air.

I got to my feet and wandered to the far wall. “Are you a prisoner, too?”

A light blue eye appeared in the opening. “I’ve been stuck here for months.”

“Months?” I swallowed. “Oh, god.”

On tiptoes, I peered through the gap and caught sight of a teenaged girl on the other side of the wall. A chill of recognition went down my spine. The girl looked so much like my mom that I gasped. The same dark, wavy hair and pale eyes. She had my mother’s figure too, slender yet athletic. She was dressed in a tattered, light blue cotton dress with some type of flat shoes.

Suddenly, I was spinning and falling, spinning and falling, right down into an endless void. No way. It couldn’t be the same girl who’d mysteriously vanished almost three years ago.

I swallowed hard. It
had
to be Sutton, my fraternal twin. My chest tightened. This whole time, I’d assumed that she’d been kidnapped and presumed dead. Like my mom had told me…

I rubbed my fingers over my temple, my stomach pitching. This had never, ever occurred to me. But it was true.

Esael must’ve taken Sutton like the other kids who were firstborn children of the Blood Rose Circle.