Torment (18 page)

“Hey, Keira,” Lucian said.

All of them turned to look at me.

“How are you feeling?” Jake asked me.

“I’m OK, just really tired.”

“What did she do to you?” Tyler asked carefully.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“OK,” Lily said. “Do you want a drink or something to eat?”

“No, I’m fine thanks. I need to go and see Lilith.”

“Oh, OK then.”

“See you later.”

Eligos wrapped his arm around my waist and we went to the Palace. Lilith was waiting in a small room off the main hallway. When I walked in she came over and hugged me, before checking to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

“Eligos healed me,” I told her.

“I knew he would,” she said, looking at him. “Is Crystal definitely dead?”

“Yeah, your daughter got her revenge,” Eligos said.

“Good, I’m glad, although part of me wishes you had brought her here.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I would have shown her the real meaning of pain,” she said nastily. “She would have begged for death.”

“She didn’t let her go peacefully,” Eligos told her, smirking. “She was in a lot of pain before your sweet little daughter decapitated her.”

“Good!” Lilith smiled. “Right, as long as you’re OK I’ll let you go. No doubt you’re tired and your friends will want to be with you.”

“I’m fine, I’ll see you soon.”

She hugged me again and then me and Eligos left the Palace. He wanted to go to his place to get changed and pick a few things up. I sat down in his living room while he gathered his things, then he came to join me.

“You know for the first time in my life I was actually really scared,” he told me as he sat down.

“Were you?”

“I thought I’d lost you. I was trying my best not to show my fear, so the guys wouldn’t worry more than they already were. But on the inside I just wanted you in my arms. I wanted you to look me in the eyes and smile at me.”

“Well, thanks to you,” I said, moving so I was sitting on his knee, “I am OK.”

“If it would have been left to me to deal with Crystal, I still would have been torturing her.”

“You know, I can’t say that I wasn’t in pain because I was, but it was nothing compared to how I felt when she told me she had killed you,” I said, stroking the side of his face. “She said the last words you said were “Lilith, tell Keira I love her”. I felt like my heart had been ripped out. I just wanted to die.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t; I couldn’t have lived without you.”

“You lived without me for a long time.”

“Yes I did. But I honestly don't know how. I don't want to be without you.”

“You never will be.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Romance

More than two weeks had passed since Crystal had taken me, and everything had been quiet. Eligos had stayed with me every night since; he was still worried in case someone else tried to get me. He would lie on top of the duvet and hold me in his arms all night. Whenever I told him to get in he would shake his head and tell me we hadn't been together long enough, and that he didn’t trust himself with me. I tried to tell him I didn’t mind, but he shut me up each time. Lily thought it was really sweet but I didn’t; I actually wanted him to get in with me, but I never seemed to get my own way with him. That was something I would have to start working on.

Eligos had started teaching the guys how to use some of the weapons he got from Hell – swords, maces, spears and many more obscure things I’d never seen before. All of them were doing really well, especially Danny; he spent hours messing around with everything. If we weren’t doing anything exciting, he would go into the garden and practice some more. Sometimes Eligos would go out with him and fight him, obviously not properly. Eligos was an incredible fighter and a lot stronger than Danny, so he had to hold back a lot. It brought the two of them closer though, which was really nice. Jake had always gotten along with Eligos. Lucian was pleasant with him and Tyler, well,
he
was however he felt like being on the day. But Eligos liked Danny; they had the same outlook on things, and Danny wanted to learn as much as he could from him. While they were playing around I would see how Lily was getting on with her new power. She was doing really well and she was learning how to fight properly with it.

Lily and Jake had closed the shop and had it on the market. Neither of them liked it anymore and they didn’t want to be at work if something happened. They spent most of their time keeping fit now; they would go out in the morning and run about six miles, then they would go out for a long walk in the evening. We turned one of the spare rooms on the first floor into a gym, which all of us used, but they were in there more than anyone else. We had had all the guys’ parents round for dinner again and this time we had a really nice night. I was nervous all the way through the night though, just in case something happened, Eligos and Tyler noticed and tried to keep my mind off what happened in the past. Their parents seemed to like Eligos too, and he didn’t hide himself from them. They asked what happened and he didn’t mind telling them. Melanie, Jake’s mom, got really annoyed for him, and said she hoped one day he could get his own back on the bastard who did it to him.

Soon after that I went out with Lily. We went shopping and bought a few new tops and CDs. We went for a walk along the harbor and had lunch in the café where we first went when we arrived in Salem. We didn’t get home till around seven and we were both starving. Lily was about to cook us something when Eligos walked into the kitchen.

“Don't cook her anything, Lily,” he told her.

“Why not?” she asked.

“I’m taking her out.”

“Where?” I asked him.

“Do you like Italian?”

“I do, yes.”

“Good, because that’s where we’re going. Now go and get changed; if you’re hungry we can go now.”

“Give me ten minutes,” I said, walking upstairs.

I changed into a nice, sexy black dress. I put all my hair down and even wore high-heeled strappy shoes, which wasn’t like me. When I walked down the stairs I saw Eligos in the hall waiting for me.

“Wow!” we both said at the same time. Both of us laughed.

He looked amazing. He had jet-black jeans on, a black silk shirt and a red tie; he had really smart black shoes on and a thigh-length black coat. His hair fell perfectly, slightly over his left eye, exactly the way it was the first day I met him. When I walked closer to him I saw he had cast the spell on his face; he said he wasn’t in the mood to be stared at. He wanted to have a nice night with me. We told Lily not to wait up and that we would see her tomorrow.

He drove us to the restaurant in town. He opened all the doors for me and wouldn’t let me pay for anything. We sat at a table next to the window and ordered our food.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” I smiled.

“Well, we haven’t done anything together except fight, and I think we need a bit of normality in this relationship, don't you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“We haven’t even been on a date, so I thought we deserved one.”

“How did you know about this place?” I asked him.

“I asked Danny. I don't know the town and told him I wanted to take you out. He said this was the nicest restaurant in town.”

“It is, but it’s also the most expensive.”

“Don't worry about the cost, just enjoy yourself. Money isn’t a problem,” he told me as he poured me a glass of wine. “You can’t put a price on happiness.”

“You know when I first met you, I wouldn’t have thought you had a romantic bone in your body.”

“Part of me didn’t want you to like me, so I tried to be as sarcastic as possible instead of nice.”

“That didn’t last long though, did it?” I said, smirking.

“I couldn’t help myself.”

“I remember telling Lily that I had to stop thinking about you and liking you. I told her I’d never get to be close to you and that you didn’t like me in a romantic way.”

“What did she say?”

“She said it was obvious that you did, and that one day I would see it for myself. I used to moan to her constantly,” I confessed.

“About me?”

“Yeah, I kept telling her how much I wanted you and how you never got close to me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching over the table and holding my hand.

“I’ve got you now, that’s all that matters.”

The waitress came over with our food and lit a few candles on the table.

“I used to go home, look in the mirror and shout at myself,” he told me. “I’d stand there shouting, “You idiot, she will never want you” and “Show her what you are, let her be disgusted and then get over her”. But I didn’t want to get over you; I wanted to be with you so much.”

“I understand why you thought you had to hide, and I won’t ever hold it against you.”

We enjoyed our meal and then went for a slow walk along the harbor. It was a beautiful clear night and the moon was full; the light from it reflecting off the sea. We had our arms around each other as we walked and talked about everything. When we reached the end of the deck we sat down for a while, looking out across the ocean.

“You know, Crystal said she wanted to stay here. She said it was so beautiful compared to Hell,” I said.

“I can understand her in a way, but it’s no excuse for what they are doing. They can come here whenever they want, and stay as long as they want. As long as they don't cause harm and they don't expose themselves, nobody would care,” he said.

“They wouldn’t be able to stay in the same place too long though, would they?”

“No, I think people would question why they didn’t age.”

“Did you spend a lot of time here before you met me?”

“No, not really. I’d come every now and again, just to see how the times were changing. Other than that, I was OK where I was.”

“Didn’t you ever get fed up of being alone?”

“I did, but not very often. If I had nothing to do and I was just at home, then I would think “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to come home to”. But other than that I was OK; I’d gotten used to it. Like I’ve said, I’d never been interested in anyone anyway. I thought I was meant to do my job and that was it.”

“Well, you do know you’re stuck with
me
now, don't you?”

“I hope so.”

We stayed out another hour or so before heading home. When we pulled in the drive we saw the house was dark. Lily and Jake must have gone to bed early. We walked in and locked up.

“Do you want me to stay like this?” he asked me as we curled up on the sofa in the living room.

“No I don't.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do I have to slap you?” I smirked.

“I just wondered that's all; you may have wanted a nice face to look at.”

“Right, that’s it.”

I grabbed one of the cushions and hit him with it repeatedly. It turned into full-scale war. I ran out and he chased me down the hallway and into my room. I grabbed one of my pillows and threw it at him, then tried to run into the bathroom before he could get me back. Just as I got to the doorway he grabbed me and started tickling me. I tried to break free from him but I had no strength through laughing. He picked me up and threw me on the bed. He ended the spell and his face went natural as he stood at the end of the bed and stared at me. I sat up, grabbed his tie and used it to pull him down on to the bed. He lay over me, looking me in my eyes and stroking the side of my face. I pulled myself up and kissed him. The kiss became more and more passionate as he ran his hand down the side of my body. My stomach did a somersault as I realized I was finally going to get my own way with him.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Point Reyes Station

I woke up around eleven the next morning, which was unusual for me; normally I’m up at the crack of dawn. I was lying on my side with Eligos snuggled up behind me; his arm was wrapped around me and his head was resting against the back of mine. I lay there for a while stroking his arm and smiling to myself; I’d always wanted to be like this with him and now, finally, I was. Last night was amazing; every time I thought about it I got butterflies in my stomach. I was in a world of my own when he lifted his head and saw that I was awake.

“Good morning,” he said, squeezing me and kissing my shoulder. “How long have you been awake?”

“Only about ten minutes.”

I turned around so I was facing him, and we wrapped our arms around each other. Even though he had just woken up, he still looked gorgeous. His eyes were closed but he knew I was staring at him, and he smiled slightly.

“What are you smiling at?” I asked.

“I know you’re watching me; I can feel your eyes burning through my head.”

“I wasn’t actually.”

“Liar.”

“Oh well, maybe I was, I can’t help it.”

He opened his eyes and stared at me for a moment.

“Do we have to get up today?” he asked, smirking.

“Not re…”

I was interrupted by Lily banging on my bedroom door.

“Keira, hey, wake up!” she shouted.

“I am awake.”

“I’m coming in, Eligos isn’t …” she started to say as she walked in the room.

“I’m not what?” he asked her.

“…up walking around or in your room,” she said, a big grin appearing on her face. “Hmmmm, have a good night did we?”

“Very,” he told her.

“Good, well you can be happy about it later; there’s something you both need to see,” she said as the grin left her face.

“Can’t you just tell us?” I groaned.

“No, you really need to come down.”

She had turned serious now, and that meant something wasn’t right. She walked out of the room while we got washed and dressed, then we reluctantly made our way downstairs.

When we walked in the living room Jake and Lily were waiting for us. We didn’t have to ask them what the problem was; they had the news channel on. The anchor man said:

“Relatives of the residents of Point Reyes Station, California are at a loss as to what to do next. Jonathan Tanner was the first to notice there was something wrong in the small town when he went to surprise visit his aunt yesterday morning. Our correspondent Clare Williams is on location with Mr Tanner.”