Genesis (24 page)

“
I know you’re there.” My
bold words fell against silence. Not sure how to continue, I
hesitated trying to control the trembling in my hands. Giving up, I
shoved them into my pockets. Frustration ramped up inside me until
I knew I would burst. It was here, and it was watching me. The
little hairs on the back of my neck made sure I was keenly aware of
the thing. I tried again. “You didn’t tell me your name last
night.”

Hiss. Closer this time followed by a
laugh. “You were too buussssy callliing for helllp.”

Unbelievable. The thing was mocking me.
“Do you blame me? You threw me against the frigging
wall.”

It chuckled. “You weigh leessss than I
thought.”

I? Jett had said Wraith as if they all
shared a brain. “Should I be offended by that
statement?”

It stepped out of the shadows three
feet away from me, and it took every ounce of conviction I had not
to scream. “Your choiccce.”

I scratched my itchy nose. What a time
for my allergies to act up. Didn’t they know I was in mortal
danger? “What do you want from me?”

“
Freedom would be niccce,
but I did not come for me. I already tollld you. I’m here to
proteccct.”

Since discussing things with Zach and
Luke, I had a better idea of just what he might be talking about,
but I had to ask. “From what?”

“
Danger hoversss over you,
Raayyyla. Any number of thinnngss or people could hurt
you.”

“
Why would you
care?”

Laughter. “You came to the
borderlannndsss. You helllped a friend.”

“
Cerb?” The frightening
image of my pet hellhound came into my mind. His yellow eyes with
horizontal pupils might as well have been fixed on me I could feel
him that much. “You came here because Cerb asked you?”

A nod of a scary head. “Among ottther
thinnngss.”

“
What should I call
you?”

“
We have no nammesss,
Missstresss.”

What an odd answer. “Why
not?”

The shoulders slumped. “We are
outcassstss. Who would call the monsters?” It had sounded almost
human just then.

“
That’s absurd.” I chuckled
nervously. “I mean. I’m scared of you. I won’t deny that, but
everyone should have a name.”

It inched nearer. “What would you call
me?”

Satan spawn? I doubted that would go
over very well.

Another laugh. “It hasss a certain
rinnng to it.”

Crap. It could hear my thoughts. Could
Cerb hear my thoughts too? “Is he okay?”

“
Sinnnce you healed him,
yeesss. He seenndsss his love.”

Okay this conversation was just too
weird for words. “Do you want a name?”

“
Yeesss.”

I thought for a moment. This thing
could have killed me a hundred different ways by now. “Are you
serious about protecting me?”

“
Yeesss.”

This may be the stupidest thing I ever
did in my short life, but I couldn’t deny it this. “Are you a boy
or a girl?”

Laughter. “Issn’t it
obviousss?”

Um, no. I shook my head when it didn’t
answer.

“
I am male.”

I arched a brow, staring at him with
new eyes. Something inside me constricted, tightening until I just
knew. “Then I name you Creed.”

He stiffened, and at first I thought I
offended him. Then something weird happened to his face. His skin
boiled, bubbling like a sulfur pot. I covered a choked scream. Two
orbs formed above the gaping mouth, solidifying into…eyes. What the
heck was going on?

He blinked and stared at me, shock
written on every part of him. “What power issss thisss?”

I stumbled and grabbed for the wall.
“I—I don’t know.”

When he stepped forward, I inched away.
He lurched to a halt, giving me a questioning stare. “Why did you
name me that?”

I fumbled over my words. “I…I just
thought since you were here and I was trusting you. Creed is about
faith, and we both had to have some faith in this situation.” I
swallowed hard. “I guess that’s why.” Trying not to let my horror
show too much, I grimaced. “Did you want a different
name?”

He shook his head. “I have
underessstimated you. We all have.” He dropped on one knee and
saluted me, his fist tight against his reptilian chest. “We are at
your command.”

Oh, man I was in deep. “I’ll keep that
in mind. Thank you.”

When he didn’t get up, I told him to.
“Tell me about your people. Tell me what you need.”

I spent the next few minutes listening
to how the Wraiths had been mistreated.

And they had been
mistreated.

They had agreed to dispose of
undesirables for a small patch of land in Lombarda, but soon were
called upon to settle disputes that should have been taken care of
simply. Warring factions wanted quick resolution to battles that
had been going on for, well, forever really. It wasn’t fair, and
the fae should have known better.

Once the Wraith refused to do any more
dirty work, they were banished to the borderlands. There, they
became creatures of darkness. Harnessing what power they could to
keep the fae out of their lives for good, the creatures banded
together and created alliances. Some wanted to work with the fae to
get back into good graces, while others wanted to steal their
power. Either way, I understood where they were coming from. They
had a sucky life all because they didn’t want to be
enslaved.

Did this sort of thing happen
everywhere? Why couldn’t people work together? Why couldn’t people
allow others the freedom God had given to all
originally?

I watched Creed change from a grotesque
creature to an almost man in a matter of minutes. He sat across
from me now in an unused parlor studying his new hands. He blinked
at me again, his brown eyes flashing a smile. “I never thought to
be free, my lady. How can I repay you?”

Uncomfortable didn’t begin to describe
my churning emotions. I was happy for him and sad at the same time.
I mean, he had no way of helping how he looked, so why should it
matter? “I didn’t do anything.”

He shook his head. “You have done
everything.”

“
Wait a minute.” I covered
my mouth. “I named Cerberus. Is he a man too?”

Creed laughed. “Hellhounds are among
the few creatures in the borderlands that look the same now as when
they went in.”

I studied my nails, still not willing
to swallow what he’d told me. “So it’s all true? I can’t believe
people actually want to kill me.”

He clasped his knees. “It’s not so
difficult to fathom, especially considering what you just
accomplished.”

“
Yeah,” I scoffed. “It’s so
hard to think of a name.”

He gave me a staggered look. “Names
have power.”

My teeth found my bottom lip and
chewed. “I’ve heard that before.”

“
Then take heed, my lady. I
truly am grateful to you, but what if I had come here to kill
you?”

I chuckled. “You would have had an
easier time before I took away most of your monsterly
mask.”

He cocked his head. “You like humor. I
do too, in the right circumstance, but be careful with that around
here. You do not wish to offend someone who already has your death
planned.”

I sighed. “I used to think it would be
great to have been born a princess.”

“
And now?” he asked, his
eyes sweeping over me.

“
There couldn’t be a worse
life.” He smiled at me with his new lips, and for some reason I
blushed. “What I meant to say was I know I’m not a princess, but I
think I get the pressure.”

“
I would imagine you
do.”

Time for a safer topic. “What will you
do now?”

“
I am sworn to protect you,
and I intend to do so.”

I chuckled. “I already have five men at
my service. I hardly need another bodyguard.”

He shrugged. “Maybe not, but you do
need information. I will see what I can find out about the
raiders.” He stepped to the door and peered into the
hall.

“
Creed, you still didn’t
tell me who you were protecting me from.”

He turned back to me, his face as
serious as a fatal disease. “The list is too long, Rayla. Take
care, and watch for my return.”

I leaned against the sofa and let out a
ragged breath. How was I going to answer Zach and Luke? I had
people who wanted to kill me, but Tabitha had made it clear only
the lords possessed the power to actually do the deed. Man, this
just kept getting worse and worse.

Jett found me in the hall. “Where have
you been? Luthais and Ammon came back over an hour ago. They have
been looking for you, as well. You should know better than to be
alone.”

Why weren’t they all just using their
Spidey sense? They’d tracked me before, but I was in no mood to get
into debate. “Maybe you should scold them instead of me. They were
the ones that left me in the courtyard to think.”

He paused then clenched his jaw. “They
failed to tell me that.”

“
It’s okay.” I patted his
arm. “Thanks for your concern…and for being…my friend.”

He didn’t cringe at the word like I
expected. Instead he smiled. “No matter what happens between us,
you may always count me as such.”

I gave him a side hug and headed for
the room I was supposed to sleep in—with him and three other…no,
make that four other men. Heath grinned at me from across the
space. If I thought it was hard to sleep last night, I was in for a
bad one.

He stood and waited for me to walk over
to him. His pirate smile belonged on a movie set.

“
What?” he said. “No
hugs?”

He’d had enough of me last night. Thank
you very much.

Luke chimed in. “If Rayla is giving out
hugs, I’m in.”

Heath scowled but shut up. Would
wonders ever cease?

I smiled at him. “I thought you might
be coming. What took you so long? The others have been here for
hours.”

He crossed his arms and gave me a
crooked grin. “I was taking instruction from the queen and orders
from Cassie.” He closed the slight distance between us and pulled
me into his arms. I stiffened in a show of my defiance, yet I
really wanted to mold myself to him. When he pulled away I groaned
inside. His eyes ate me up. “From her…of course.”

“
Of course,” said Zach for
me. I couldn’t say a word. I could barely breathe. “And how are
Cassie and Finn these days?”

“
Peachy,” said Heath.
“Couldn’t be better, but poor Cassie does cry most days. She misses
her best friend.”

Oh that was a low blow. “I miss her
too. Be sure to tell her when you see her again.”

He quirked a brow. “No point in that.
You’ll be with me.”

Every head in the room snapped toward
us. Silence circled me.

“
What is this about Rayla
going with you?” asked Jett.

Heath frowned. “Ignis is a stop along
our way to Lombarda, is it not?”

Jett gave a curt nod, and that was the
end of our conversation. The shouting started not long after,
though.

I settled into my pillow. We’d finally
decided on sleeping arrangements. I was surrounded by men whether I
liked it or not. Each of their beds flanked mine. I’d given up
listening to their arguing hours ago. Darkness reigned while we all
lay still and quiet. If only I could make up my mind
already.

It was past time. No one knew that
better than I did. I stayed up half the night going over things
again.

If I wanted passion, there were plenty
of options. If I wanted friendship, I thought them all capable. If
I wanted sensitivity, the same. All of them had a soft side. They
were all different, yet so similar it was hard to distinguish
between them sometimes.

Fact was: I had feelings for all of
them. There. I admitted it.

Too bad it didn’t matter one bit. I’d
been fighting for love this whole time, but I could love each of
them, in different ways, of course. The problem I faced now was my
decision was about more than a relationship with one man. It was
about freedom and power and loyalty and honor. I’d misjudged all of
these men at one time or another; and you know what, I wished there
was some way for me to take it back.

I sat up. Beds creaked around me. “You
all awake?” I asked.

Grumbled yes’s brought a smile to my
lips.

“
Good. I need to talk to
you.”

Light blasted my eyes. I covered them
from the sharp glare. My fingers made a decent shield to peer
through until the stabbing sensation lessened. “I’ve been asked to
make a decision where you all are concerned.”

Luke threw up his hands, his eyes going
huge. I waved him off.

“
I’ve also been warned that
one of you could kill me.”