Chapter Seventeen

Every thought was jumbled up in her head. The thought of being a helpless victim where it didn’t matter what she did, she still couldn’t win her freedom was taking her breath away. It was bouncing against the memory of Deja slowly flapping her wings and hovering in the air. Then there was the thought of Jessie being a fairy. She’d probably look cute with all that black hair. Okay, and what was Fire?

She walked back into the bedroom and started taking off her clothes. This called for a soak in the tub. It was where she did some of her best thinking. Nothing around except lots of beautiful water and the smell of something exotic.

Once her sanity had returned, she would finish exploring and then make a special treat. Feeling better she grabbed a fluffy towel and some bubble bath before she turned on the tap to fill the tub.

The smell made her think of a beautiful garden. The bubble bath was rose scented another one that she loved. Turning off the tap, she settled her body in the hot water allowing the tension to flow away.

She laid back in the tub and Deja appeared before her again. This time she saw more than a hybrid human. Deja looked at her mate with love then she looked at her son, the expression on her face made Sage’s heart break. Whatever Deja was she wasn’t some inhuman freak.

This wasn’t about any of them. It was about her and the movement she felt in her body like she was still possessed with the shadows. At times, she wanted to claw her skin off, but it wasn’t the same feeling, but something inside of her was alive.

I’m in you. The alien in her head spoke.

Then why didn’t you protect me from the shadow?

I did. That’s why you’re still alive and still sane.

Do you know what the shadow was?

It’s an ancient enemy, one that I had hoped we destroyed.

We?

Our kind. You will understand soon, but not until the other.

What’s the other? Who is the other? Well… Well!

The alien in her head stopped talking, but at least she finally got a look at her. She looked almost normal if it wasn’t for those eyes that screamed not human. Who was she to judge others when she was dealing with an alien of her own? Her mind drifted to Caden and his kisses that reached her soul. Before the first time, he kissed her; she thought there was nothing special about her. After he kissed her, she knew that someone, God, must have blessed her, making her special.

He was also right she couldn’t live the rest of her life hiding, but she was tempted. She stood up allowing the water to pour off her as she looked into the mirror. She was bad ass even naked. With a stupid grin, she got out. It was time to find that club.

She had several changes of clothes it made her feel like she was part of this family, this compound. After she dried off, she got dressed and looked at herself the way Caden looked at her. All she really needed was some lipstick and earrings.

Grabbing her phone, she went to put it in her pocket when it rang. Her body stilled who had this number? She was in the habit of changing her phone every month to avoid Jim finding out her number, but she didn’t have time for that this month.

She slid her finger over the button to answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Sage I’m glad you answered it’s easier this way.”

“Who is this?” It wasn’t Jim that much she was sure of. He had a certain tone to his voice that he could never get rid of no matter how much he tried.

“Let’s not exchange names.”

“But you already know mine.” He chuckled, and dread walked up her spine.

“True, maybe if you're good, I’ll introduce myself later.”

“I’m not a child, and unless you get to the point, I will hang up.”

“Then Rose will die.”

That stopped her. She knew Rose although it had almost been two years since she last saw her. Rose hated Jim and wanted her to leave him. She thought he was shady long before Sage had ever seen it. Jim hated Rose and swore that one day she would go missing. That should have been Sage’s warning, but she was sure he was her one chance at happiness. Instead of listening to her friend, she chased her away. Not because Rose wanted Jim. Sage did it because she was scared for Rose’s life, it was better to lose a friend and know that she was among the living, rather than having to visit a dead friend at her grave.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I won’t play along.”

“She doesn’t believe I have you. Say something to her.”

“Sage he’s a maniac stay far away from me,” Rose screamed into the phone before she screamed in pain.

“Leave her alone. What do you want?”

“I only want you, but if you bring a friend, I’ll slit her throat before you get out of the car.”

“I don’t have a car.”

“Not my problem.” He gave her an address and forty-five minutes to get here. “Don’t be late or she dies.”

What was she going to do? She could take a cab after she left the compound. How was she supposed to leave the compound without being seen? Who called where they lived a compound? Thoughts of Jim Jones and the massacre at his compound went through her head. He was so charismatic and loving that no one saw it coming. She shivered wondering what was happening to her life.

She walked into the living room to see a pair of keys lying on the end table. Those were Xander’s keys. She picked them up whispering a quiet apology and then went to the garage next to the house. There was a side door to get in, so she didn’t have to open the garage door until she was in the Jeep.

She climbed in and turned the key before she hit the button to open the garage.

“Please don’t let them see me.” She drove out and down the street slowly. A few people waved at her, and she waved back at them with what she hoped was an innocent smile. Her breath caught in her throat as she went through the barrier, once on the other side she stopped to ask for directions. She knew where the warehouse section of town was, but it wasn’t her stomping grounds.

Why did it always seem quiet in large abandoned areas?

Because they are abandoned? Her sense of humor tried to make her smile; it failed.

She parked the Jeep wishing she had told Caden where she was going even though he couldn’t come with her. The door closed softly behind her not advertising her presence.

She checked the number on the building with the number she had written down, 2411. The four was lopsided, but this was the building. The side door was cracked; she went in that way.

There was a cold breeze inside the building. The air conditioner was on, but it wasn’t warm enough for it. The walls had been painted black as if to scare whoever came inside. Her hands were fisted at her side and her nails were digging into her palms, but it was helping to keep her sane. Moving cautiously, she walked further into the room.

The first floor was large and open, but the darkness kept her from seeing clearly. She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight. A scream was torn from her. The first thing she saw was a woman in the middle of the room hanging from a hook. Her red hair covered her face, but there was no way she was alive.

Her feet took her backward moving toward the door she used to come in.

“If you leave your friend dies.” A disembodied voice echoed through the building.

Sage stopped wanting nothing more than to run.

We have to leave, fear whispered knowing they were going to die.

There were times when fear had saved her life. So, it seemed expedient to listen to her. Her shoulders went back because running wasn’t an option anymore. She would face whatever was happening head on and find a way to stop it.

Lifting the phone, she swept the room looking for more dead bodies or shadows that would try to attack her.

“I knew there was fire inside of you.” The voice spoke again chuckling at its own joke.

Making a wide berth around the dead woman she walked the floor looking for anything suspicious. She found a circle like the one in Jim’s apartment on the floor where the body was hanging and one on the wall. Could Jim have done this? He wasn’t the same man she used to know, but this didn’t feel like his work. He wanted her dead, not others. There was no way he would have chased her for so long if another could take her place.

There was a staircase in the corner one she knew she had to climb. The sound of her heart beating so loud made her stumble. She caught herself and started to climb the stairs. There was something sticky under her feet.

Don’t look down she whispered to herself. She knew better but couldn’t help it. It was a river of blood. She grabbed the banister hanging over it as she threw up.

“Such a weak stomach, that’s alright it can take a while to get used to the pleasant aroma of blood.”

She searched the room again looking for a hidden figure watching her, but she didn’t anyone. Maybe there were camera’s, she looked and couldn’t spot those either.

“Keep walking we don’t have all night.”

Fear walked down her spine, but she did what the voice told her to do. This is for Rose; she told herself, but she was wondering if Rose was even alive at this point. When she came to the next floor, it wasn’t open. It was filled with offices and cubicles. Ignoring the first two doors, she went to the third. I was partially cracked like I was calling to her.

Her finger touched the door, she listened to it creak as it opened. Her hand blindly went to the wall looking for a light switch, clicking it nothing happened.

“Why me,” she whispered aloud. Did she attract lunatics?

Raising her phone, she swept the office. On the desk that was centered in the middle of the room was a woman who was naked. All she could see was her white skin that was graying and the red hair on her head and her exposed pussy.

“She was a natural red head.”

The voice sounded like it was coming from right behind her. She turned and screamed. There was a shadow reflected on the wall, but it wasn’t moving. It looked like it had been painted there.

“You still haven’t found Rose she doesn’t have much time left.”

She ran down the hall until she found a door leading to a stairwell. She walked up ignoring all the exits. She didn’t want to see what was on display on the other floors. When she got to the sixth floor, she stopped, it was the top floor of the building. She opened the door and walked in.

There was a narrow hallway that opened up into a larger room. She walked in further, enough so that the hallway was behind her, and she could see all the way into the room. Rose was sitting on a chair tied up. She was dripping blood, she had been hit and cut.

“And you thought she was dead. I don’t lie, most of the time. There would be no fun in that.”

Rose was a red head just like her. “Why are you doing this?”

“You’re important Sage. Your life is important.”

“My life was meant for more than to be a sacrifice for Jim, you, or anyone else.”

“You still don’t understand. Only you can open the doorway. Better get her before she dies.” She ran across the room, there was a net hanging over Rose’s head with arrows pointing at her body, it was unraveling. She tackled her moving the chair as they both fell to the floor.

In that moment, she realized there was no shame in asking for help. She reached for her mate hoping he could hear her.