Fear (2 page)

He laughs. ―I can‘t wait to watch you squirm, Campbell . You and Raine Marsden will

scream and scream and we‘ll all watch it like it‘s a Steven Spielberg movie.‖

―I‘ll bring the popcorn,‖ another guard laughs.

They bring us back to the room I was staying in and open the door, pushing us inside. It slams shut and I hear the sound of bolts locking into place.

Raine looks around at the furniture, then wrinkles her nose in distaste. ―Nice bachelor pad.‖

Nat puts her hand on my arm again, and I suddenly remember how much I‘ve missed her.

But a split second later, I remember that she lied to me about Brody. And that she‘s here with Raine.

―Cam, did they hurt you?‖ Natalia asks.

―Not too bad,‖ I say, moving away from her.

Raine walks to the small mini bar and opens it.

―How can you be in the mood to drink at a time like this?‖ Nat says, rolling her eyes.

―Honey,‖ Raine says, rifling through the fridge. ―If there were ever a time to drink, this is it.‖

I walk over to the couch and sit down.

Nat is watching me. ―You okay?‖

―I don‘t know,‖ I say, wiping some sweat from my forehead. ―That dude Reed was

putting a spell on me when you guys busted in on us. He was about to kill me.‖ My head feels a little woozy, and my heart is racing. ―Maybe there‘s some sort of lingering effect.‖

Raine is mixing herself a Jack and Coke. ―It‘s probably got nothing to do with that,‖ she says cheerful y. ―It‘s probably because of me.‖

Nat‘s startled. ―Because of you?‖

Raine takes a big gulp of her drink. ―Yeah. Cam and I are bonded, Natalia.

Remember? That‘s the whole point of this thing. The ceremony to break our bond hasn‘t happened yet, so Cam is still …‖

―Under your spell ?‖ Nat asks.

Raine shrugs. Maybe she‘s embarrassed. Maybe she doesn‘t give a shit. She drinks some more of her Jack and Coke.

Natalia sits next to me and puts a cool hand on my face. ―I‘m real y glad you‘re okay,‖

she tell s me.

―I was an idiot to trust Hadley. Everything these people say is a lie.‖ I turn on the couch and look at her. ―Speaking of lies, where‘s Brody?‖

Nat ‗s face reddens. ―I have no idea.‖ She shrugs.

―And I don‘t think it‘s smart to waste time fighting about that at a time like this.‖

―What better time than the present to let the truth come out?‖ I counter, even though she‘s right.

She sighs, then rests her head against the back of the couch. ―Maybe I should have a drink, too.‖

Suddenly there‘s the sound of a bolt sliding across the door, and then it opens.

I stand up, ready to face a dozen armed guards.

But there‘s only one person standing there. Reed.

I consider running at him and knocking him on his ass, then grabbing Natalia and pulling her down the hall way until I find an exit. Reed glances at me and draws himself up, like he can sense my little fantasy and is more than ready for me to try.

―Hey, everyone,‖ he says, like we‘re all old friends.

―How are you?

Comfortable, I hope?‖ His dark eyes flit to Natalia and stay there.

Raine nods and holds up her drink. ―We found the mini bar.‖

Reed chuckles. ―Good. That‘s what it‘s there for.‖ He seems reluctant to step over the threshold.

―Natalia…I hate to interrupt the, ah, festivities…‖

―Is something wrong?‖ she asks. I reach out and take her hand.

―No. I was just hoping to have a word with you.

Privately.‖ He smiles, but it never touches his eyes, which dart to me again as if daring me to try and stop him.

―No,‖ I say, shaking my head emphatically y. ―You‘re not going anywhere with him.‖ I tighten my grip on Nat‘s hand.

Reed laughs, like he can‘t believe I‘m being such a baby, and he wasn‘t just trying to kill me a few minutes ago. ―I promise I‘ll bring her back safe and sound, Campbell . It will only take a few minutes.‖

―What do you need to talk to her about?‖ I ask.

―What‘s the big secret?‖

Reed‘s smile is more forced now. ―No big secret.

You and I had our chance to talk—―

―Oh, right, when you tried to kill me just a few minutes back.‖

―--We had our chance to talk and now I‘d like to take the opportunity to speak with

Natalia.‖ He gives her a smile, and a shiver runs up my spine.

―What am I, chopped liver?‖ Raine says. Then she shakes her head. ―Never mind. I know exactly what I am to you.‖ She takes another swig of her drink.

―Nat, this guy‘s a snake,‖ I say, pulling her closer to me on the couch and watching Reed out of the corner of my eye. ―Tel him you don‘t want to go with him.‖

Reed smirks at me. ―Cam, it‘s real y sweet that you want to protect her. But the truth of the matter is that Natalia is much, much stronger than you. She might not want you to know it, she might not even believe it yet herself, but you‘re like…hmmm, how do I say this delicately?‖

He sighs, like he hates to be the one to break it to me. ―Cam, you‘re like a little fly trying to stand up for a tigress.‖

―Now, now, boys,‖ Raine says, tut-tutting us with a finger. ―Play nice.‖

―Fuck you,‖ I say to Reed, but he just stands there, seemingly unaffected.

Nat puts a hand on my arm. She leans in and whispers. ―I‘ll be fine,‖ she says.

―Don‘t let him get to you.‖

But as I glare at him and he looks back at me with smug satisfaction, I vow that at some point I‘m going to knock him on his ass. It might be five minutes from now, it might be a year.

But he‘s going to find out that what he thought was a fly was actual y the nastiest pit bull he‘s ever come across.

***

After Natalia leaves the room, it‘s just me and Raine.

Alone.

I was so worried about Natalia that I didn‘t think about what that would be like.

It‘s kind of weird. That warm feeling I always get when I‘m around Raine is back,

stronger than ever.

My head is buzzing, and I move to the mini bar and grab a water out of the side door.

Raine doesn‘t appear to be aware of the effect she has on me. She strolls around the room with a drink in her hand, sipping it and making asinine comments about how the room‘s decorated. Half of it I can‘t real y fol ow, although I pretend to by nodding and agreeing in all the right places.

―That guy, Reed?‖ she says final y. ―You‘re right about him, Cam. He is a snake.‖ She crosses the room to the bed and lies down, propping herself up on one elbow.

―Doesn‘t surprise me,‖ I tell her, although my mouth is feeling numb, like I‘ve had ten shots of Novocain.

―You think he‘ll hurt Nat?‖

Raine sits up and puts a finger on her chin.

―Hmmm…honestly? Probably not.

At least, not right away. He‘ll try and make her like him. Charm her a little. When she starts to believe in him, that‘s when he‘ll hurt her.‖

The idea of Reed charming Nat gets my blood boiling, and the anger seems to burn off some of the strange spell that Raine has on me. I open the fridge again and find a wrapped up chicken salad sandwich.

―So why are you here, Raine?‖ I say, walking to the couch and starting to unwrap the sandwich. I sniff it. It smells okay, and so I take a bite.

―I‘m giving up,‖ she replies, raising her eyebrows as if daring me to disbelieve her.

―Right,‖ I say. ―Good try, but you‘ve never given up on anything in your life.‖

―I‘m done,‖ she says. ―I‘m so over this cloak and dagger bull shit.‖

I take another bite of my sandwich. ―And this ceremony,‖ I say in between bites,

―the one that‘s going to end the bond we have—is it dangerous?‖

Raine shrugs. Her smile is gone and she looks tired.

The puffiness on her face has faded a little since yesterday, and the dark bruises are turning shades of green and purple. ―Under the best circumstances it would be dangerous to try and break the kind of spell I put you under, Cam. I used all of my power to bond us together for eternity.‖

―Great. So what kind of odds are we talking here?‖

―Odds?‖

―Yeah. That the ceremony will work. Fifty-fifty?

Seventy-thirty?‖

She just laughs, a hollow sound without humor. ―I don‘t know,‖ she says, ―But I

wouldn‘t bet much on it.

Especial y not since Reed seems to have taken a liking to Natalia.‖

I stare at her to see if she‘s trying to jerk my chain, but Raine is dead serious.

And that‘s when I realize we‘re in even bigger trouble than I first thought.

Chapter Three

Natalia

I‘m expecting Reed to take me somewhere private, like an office or maybe a secret room.

Somewhere we‘ll be able to talk alone. I mean, everything about this place and this situation has been weird and secretive. I take a deep breath and finger my butterfly necklace, determined not to let him see how scared I am.

He shuts the door of the room Cam and Raine are in, and then turns a key in the lock.

―You‘re locking them in?‖ I ask.

―Yes.‖ He says it calmly and matter-of-factly, like him locking my boyfriend in a room with the girl who wanted to drain his soul is no big deal.

―Why?‖

―For their own safety.‖

―You think it‘s safe to leave Cam and Raine alone?‖

―She‘s not going to hurt Campbell ,‖ he says, and slides the key into his pocket.

―They‘re both safer if they‘re together, and if we know where they are.‖

―I don‘t see how that can be,‖ I say. I‘m scared of him, but like I said, I‘m trying not to show it. And part of not showing my fear is questioning everything he says.

―Campbell seems like he‘s very excitable,‖ Reed says. ―And if he tried to escape, we‘d have no choice but to go after him.‖

―You mean kill him.‖

―I mean do what it takes to keep everyone safe.‖

―How is kill ing Cam keeping everyone safe?‖

―Let‘s go for a walk,‖ he says.

―No.‖

―No?‖ He smiles and looks at me, amused.

―No.‖ I cross my arms over my chest. ―Not unless you tell me how killing Cam would

keep everyone safe.‖

―Walk with me,‖ he says, ―And I‘ll tell you.‖

But I stand my ground. ―No,‖ I say, ―Tel me now.‖

―And then you‘ll walk with me?‖

I hesitate, not wanting to go with him, but sensing he‘s not the type that will give me information unless I promise him something in return. So final y, I nod.

―Cam and Raine have a bond,‖ he says, ―A bond that‘s very dangerous. My job is to keep the world safe. So if Raine is able to use Cam to become more powerful, then I would obviously do anything in my power to stop that from happening.‖

―Kill one to save many.‖

He nods, then smiles again. ―But I‘d rather keep him alive, of course. And not only

because it would make you happy, Natalia. But because I don‘t believe in killing innocent people.‖

We stand there for a moment. I‘m looking right into his eyes, trying to figure him out. I know he‘s supposed to be on the good side, my side, but I‘m still not sure I can trust him completely. It‘s dangerous, looking right at him like this, because if he wants to control me, it will make it easier. But I don‘t feel him using any kind of power on me, even though if he wanted to, I‘m sure he could. And he was honest with me about Cam, saying he would kill him if it meant saving the world.

―Okay,‖ I say final y, nodding at him. ―Let‘s walk.‖

***

We walk down the hall way together, side by side, our shoes making squeaking noises on the shiny marble floors. We must be going out a different way than Raine and I came in, since here there are cathedral ceilings and long floor-to-ceiling windows that let the light shine in. Gold ceiling fans twirl lazily overhead, and the air feels fresh and clean, even though we‘re inside.

When we get to the double doors that lead to the outside, Reed pushes a button and the doors slide open. He puts his arm out, indicating that I should walk first.

I move through, out into the sunlight, and he follows me. Once I‘m outside, I raise my face to the sun for a moment, feeling it on my face. It feels good, and I gulp in the fresh air.

Reed starts moving down the steps.

―Where are we going?‖ I ask, not moving any further.

He turns, a grin playing on his lips. ―Do you always ask this many questions?‖

―Are you seriously asking me that?‖

―That‘s another question.‖

―Sorry,‖ I say and cross my arms over my chest. ―But when I‘m at some kind of creepy witch compound, yeah, I tend to be a little inquisitive.‖

―Well ,‖ he says, sounding amused. ―Don‘t worry, Nancy Drew. I‘m just taking you on a tour of the compound.‖

―A tour?‖ He expects me to believe that? That after almost killing Cam, he just wants to take me on a tour of this place?

―Yes,‖ he says, ―A tour. You‘ve heard of tours before, right? It‘s when someone shows you around.‖

―Why should I believe you?‖ I ask, ignoring his sarcastic comment. I don‘t want to give him the satisfaction.

―Why shouldn‘t you?‖

―You real y want to get into that?‖ I sit down on the steps, like I‘m settling in for a nice long conversation.

―Because we total y can. Although I should let you know that I have to be home

tomorrow, or my mom‘s going to freak out and send the cops, so we‘ll have to make it quick.‖

He laughs, throwing his head back. ―You are a trip, aren‘t you?‖ He climbs the steps and sits down next to me, his leg touching mine.

―Look,‖ he says. He holds his hands up in surrender, and his tone is serious. ―I want to show you around.

That‘s it. I thought you might like to see part of the compound.‖

―Why?‖

―Why?‖

―Yeah, why would I want to see part of the compound?‖

―Natalia,‖ he says, softly, ―someday, all of this…all of this is going to be yours.‖

―Why?‖

―Because you were chosen,‖ he says simply. ―You‘re our queen.‖

I don‘t say anything, just look down at the ground.

Suddenly, the wave of emotion I‘ve been trying to hold back, washes over me, and before I know it, my eyes are filling with tears. It‘s all too much. I miss Cam. I miss my mom. I miss my old life, my old school, my old everything. Right now, in this moment, it all feels like too much, and I would give anything to go back to the way things were. The stuff I worried about before – the girls at my old school being mean to me, Derrick being creepy and starting rumors about me – all of that stuff seems like nothing compared to the shit I‘m dealing with now.