Chapter 7
I’m very annoyed with whatever show this is supposed to be. Fortunately, there seems to be a marathon of it.
That sounds like two odd sentences to press together, doesn’t it?
While I can apparently toss grown men around when in panicked, protective mode, I still can’t put any pressure on a TV remote to change the channel.
There were a lot more zombies when this show started. I’m quite confused by this entire second season. Admittedly I’m only watching because one of the side characters is actually a very badass woman.
Keyla saves these people time and time again, yet gets zero respect. It’s like they take her for granted.
I sort of like the blood and gore though, so I continue to watch, learning a little about fighting for survival. These people do impossible things when their lives or other lives depend on it.
I suppose that gives me a kindred sort of feeling, especially with poor, underappreciated Keyla.
I had a very busy night, but I’ve still managed to watch this in between bouts of psychotic men who wanted to kill the boys while they slept.
Not that they’d ever believe such a thing. After all, the bodies seemed to disappear shortly after their deaths.
Either the guys will think I’m making it up to get them to like me—I’m not that pathetic, thank you very much—or they’ll consider me even more of a threat for being able to achieve such heinous things.
I’ll just keep it to myself.
The door beside me flies open, and I startle a little.
Usually they try to sneak in with stealth.
My eyes dart to it to see a haggard looking Harold as he collapses inside, his veins black, much like that one man who I knocked into that sword.
I’m on my feet and moving toward him, wondering if he’s the one who dosed their bottle of liquor last night. It doesn’t look like it, since it seems as though someone wants him dead as well.
His eyes fall on me, but I can tell he doesn’t see me as he shakes his head, struggling to get up.
Leaning over, I stroke his arm, trying to comfort him, since it looks as though he’ll be dying like that other fellow who disappeared.
His muscles strain as he curses, and the veins throb as he fights so hard to beat this poison. Whatever it may be.
Stroking his arm is silly, since he can’t be comforted by my non-existent touch. But I feel like I know him, since they’ve been visiting him for years, and I can’t just let him die alone.
Little by little, the black in his veins seems to lessen as he continues to fight it somehow. So Jude might have survived? Doubtful.
They’ve said Harold is very important and powerful numerous times, though I have no idea what exactly that means. Most of the time, they speak in what sounds like code, and until recently, I couldn’t ask them to explain what that code meant.
And now they talk in even more code since learning of my existence.
Harold sits up suddenly, the black still present but not as fiercely roaming his veins as before. Struggling back up to his feet, I hear him shout a curse so loud the whole house nearly quakes.
I’d like to help him up the stairs, but you can’t use a crutch you can’t touch, so I follow him instead. As soon as he rounds the top of stairs, I hear a door fly open, and I decide my job with Harold is done.
I’d like to go finish my show if they’re going to take care of him.
“Harold?” I hear Gage ask in confusion.
“You’re alive,” Harold says in sweet relief, collapsing. “Thank fuck for that. Where’re your brothers? Are you the only one?”
I hear a lot of scurrying after that, and Gage shouting at them. They’re all fine. I’ve kept a close watch on everyone during the night.
I take my seat on the couch, as Jude and Gage begin helping Harold back down the stairs.
Why isn’t there any romance in this show? That’s what’s missing. A good ol’ fashioned romance where the girl can only be rejected by one guy she’s fantasized about instead of four.
Why do I know that’s ol’ fashioned romance? Hell if I know. It’s just one of those things that is pointless for me to know, so I know it.
“What the hell happened to you?” Ezekiel asks as they get Harold situated in a chair near me.
Gage darts a suspicious glance at me, but I pretend not to notice as my attention seemingly stays fixed on the screen.
“Manella,” Harold bites out.
I just keep hearing this Manella fellow’s name. I think I’d like to kill him if he’s the one behind this.
“Lamar came to the shop last night, stuck a Decay Dagger in my gut, and took over my identity long enough to pass you along some tainted spirits.”
Jude goes to the kitchen, which is next to us and easy to see. He snatches the open bottle of liquor that left them so vulnerable and sniffs it.
“This is why I slept so hard,” he growls.
“I’ve never slept as hard as I did last night, but it was like I was locked in a nightmare and couldn’t escape. What the fuck is it?” Ezekiel asks him.
“It’s noctem root found only in Purgatory. But’s it’s hard to find,” Harold says, snarling. “I had to watch Lamar put it into my spirit drinks. That dagger left me paralyzed. Then Lamar shifted to look like me, and you dicks didn’t know the difference.”
Kai takes a seat on the end of the couch, far away from me, as he faces Harold. “You’re in neutral territory. You’re supposed to be untouchable by law. We never thought we had to question if it was you,” Kai points out.
“Apparently Manella isn’t concerned with law right now. Whatever is going on, he wants you four out of the trials. Those questions you’ve been asking are definitely getting more interesting. How are you even alive right now? I had to listen to him call in a hit to any being with the balls to come after you. Once I managed to get that dagger out of my chest, I learned of at least seven who took the opportunity.”
Eleven men tried to cash in on that hit, to be exact. But who’s counting?
I feel the weight of four very intense stares swing toward me, but I pretend as though I find my nails to be fascinating.
“What are you looking at?” Harold asks, confusion in his tone.
“Nothing,” Kai grumbles, which digs that little knife of theirs a little deeper into my gut.
I spent my night killing men to save their lives, but I’m nothing.
Awesome guys I’ve somehow been tied to, huh?
Pricks.
“No one managed to kill us,” Gage states vaguely.
“Then I guess you were lucky, since you didn’t drink the root,” Harold says in a relieved breath, even though he knows they were lucky because they’re not dead. “I’ve spent the night trying to get that damn dagger free from my chest. I’m sure Lamar expected it to kill me on this plane.”
Jude lowers himself to a chair right beside me, his eyes raking over me. I continue to pretend as though I’m aloof and uninterested in their attention, my eyes lifting to watch the show again when the commercial break is over.
Ezekiel takes a seat on the couch, his body almost touching mine. But I never lift my gaze from the TV, though I now have no clue what’s going on.
“What do you two keep looking at?” Harold asks.
“If Manella is getting this desperate, then we need to do something about our security. Clearly the protection spell surrounding this place has been drained,” Kai says to his brothers.
Even his gaze flicks to me momentarily, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of looking his way.
“I need something to suck the last of this poison out of me. I’ve fought it all I can,” Harold says on a weary breath.
“Shit. Of course,” Gage says as he leaps to his feet and moves through the house.
I hear cupboards banging for a minute before he returns with something. I can’t see it from my peripheral, and I’m still making a concentrated effort not to look at them.
As he gives Harold whatever it is, I stand, my eyes averting all of them, even as they all watch me.
I pass through the couch, moving toward the stairs. They’ll be leaving for the gauntlet soon, and I’d like to hitch a ride this time, so I’m staying close so as not to get left behind again. I’ll hide in the weapons closet, since they aren’t wearing their weapons yet.
“I need to call Dominic. He needs to hear about this,” Harold says. “Lamar will face consequences for touching an Elder on neutral ground, though I doubt he’ll point a finger at Manella. But you boys need to be careful today. They’ll come for you in there. Very few survive the gauntlet, and no one will think about it.”
“I’ll get you a ride,” I hear Kai telling him.
They continue to talk about conspiracy theories, as I pass into the weapons closet and wait.
No more than ten minutes later, I hear, “Get out here, nameless girl. We need to speak to you.”
Kai doesn’t sound overly pleased to be summoning me, and I don’t particularly like being summoned. So I stay in my place.
“Where the fuck did she go?” Gage asks, sounding as though he’s in the hallway.
“She can pass through walls, so who fucking knows?” Jude growls.
“Come out…We really need a name to call her,” Ezekiel states.
Why give me a name when they simply plan to pretend I don’t exist?
“She looks like a Mary,” Jude deadpans.
The word virgin seems to accompany that name, and it doesn’t sound quite like me, since I don’t plan on being a virgin when I’m whole.
“Something a little edgier would better suit her if she’s killing assassins in our sleep,” Kai tells him, and I tilt my head, a little more interested.
The prospect of having a name does make my heart beat a little faster.
“Keyla,” Ezekiel says suddenly, and my heart all but sputters.
“Why that name?” Kai asks.
“Because of that show she was watching. Keyla is the one who is constantly fending off the worst of the attacks. Maybe our little haunter considers herself our protector. Not a scratch is on us after someone drugged us and left us to die. The protection spell has been drained, leaving us vulnerable in such a condition. We should be dead if Manella dropped a hit.”
It sounds like they’re moving closer to me.
“If she can’t touch things, as she claims, then how did she fend off seven highly trained assassins?” Jude asks skeptically.
Eleven, I silently amend. But again, who’s counting?
“She kept saying she ‘leveled up’ after saving me that first night,” Gage answers. “Maybe the same thing happened last night.”
“It’s doubtful Manella has anything to do with her being here if he just sacrificed Lamar’s life to set up this hit on us. Last time he sent one man, and that man died. This time, he sent a small army and attacked an elder on neutral ground. He wouldn’t have done that and then asked her to save us, knowing what his failure will cost him. Lamar is his lover as well as his most trusted man.”
Well, that’s downright intriguing drama. I lean forward, interested in this conversation.
“Maybe so, but her timing is still undeniably suspicious,” Kai reminds them.
They move away from the dark romance and back to the subject at hand. I lose interest again, for the most part.
“Regardless, we should at least ask her about the men who came here last night,” Ezekiel says quietly. “Keyla! We have you a name,” he yells, like he’s trying to make sure I hear him throughout the massive home.
Rolling my eyes, I stay hidden, even though I do like having a name now.
“She only has ten minutes where she doesn’t have to see us,” Kai points out.
My smile spreads. It’s been over ten minutes since I laid eyes on them, but I’m still not in pain or desperate to peek out. Just their presence being so close seems to sate my need for them.
How did I not notice sooner?
In fact, it was like that all night, but I didn’t notice then either, since I was sort of distracted. Maybe I did level up, just not the way I thought I would. Well, clearly I leveled up with the weird ways the assassins seemed to die, but I’m talking about a personal level-up.
“Well, then, where the hell is she? Because it’s been at least twenty minutes since I saw her last,” Jude states, frustrated.
When I see the handle of the weapons closet start to turn, I step through the back, passing through that wall, and end up in Ezekiel’s bedroom.
Staring at the wall, I continue to listen as the door opens, waiting for my chance to dive through and trail their siphon.
“Found her,” comes a voice far too close to my back, causing me to jump and whirl around.
Ezekiel is smirking as he stares down at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
His hair is the lightest, a rich blond hue that highlights his tan. His eyes sparkle with that gold hue that happened when I passed through him.
His broad shoulders lead down to a very impressive chest, and all that leads down to a tapered waist full of ab muscles. Which are easy to count, since he’s shirtless.
Why did he take off his shirt?
Before I can slap myself back to my senses—which I can’t literally do—three other shirted men are in here with us, fortunately covering up their distracting bodies.
“What happened last night?” Kai asks me seriously, skipping pleasantries.
“You drank some spiked rum; I watched some TV and killed some men. Other than that, not much,” I say with a shrug, averting my gaze.
A hand passes through me when Jude tries to grab me. He curses as those wonderful little tingles slither over my body. Funny how none of that happened with the numerous men I passed through last night.
“What happened?” Gage asks me this time, his gaze on my face.
“I just told you,” I say with a tight smile. “But just so you have the facts, it was eleven men. Not seven.”
I act like I’m counting my fingers, then lift only middle ones when I give them a cruel smile. Gage’s lips do that twitching thing they do when he’s trying to suppress a smile.
“You killed eleven men yet claim to have no ability to—”
“Just stop there. I’ve already heard these discussions,” I state dryly, holding a hand up in front of Kai’s face. “For whatever reason, my protective instincts are on overdrive with you four. Things I can’t do normally come a little too easily when I’m saving your lives.”
I take a step back, almost passing through the wall again, and they all four crowd my space like they can stop me.
“Here’s the new arrangement,” I say to them, crossing my arms over my chest. “You don’t leave without me. It fucking hurts when you do,” I tell them, certain that will still be an issue if their presence is gone. “Or I’ll let the next team of ruthless assassins kill you while you dream of ponies or whatever it is you dream of. You need to give me a reason to want to save you.”
“You supposedly need us,” Ezekiel reminds me.
“Yes, but what’s the point in existing if it’s just to feel like an unwanted burden? I need a reason to want to keep from fading into nothing, because honestly? Nothingness is sounding better than this hell you four are putting me through.”
They exchange a look, and Jude’s jaw tightens as he looks back at me and speaks. “We’ll have a new spell up by nightfall. I’m not sure that it won’t evict you as well.”
“You can try. I’m sure you’re dying to get rid of me even as I save your ungrateful lives over and over,” I tell him as I pass through the wall.
They appear in the room just as I finish, and I barely stop myself from making some embarrassing noise of surprise.
Jude’s eyes darken as his smirk forms. He likes scaring the shit out of me, it seems. He’s the one who has cut me the deepest, so I look over to Ezekiel, breaking up the eye contact.
Ezekiel steps closer, his eyes wandering over me. “What in hell are you wearing?” he asks incredulously.
I look down at my warrior princess outfit. It’s leather, a little sexy, and downright awesome. It also has the illusion of a bunch of weapons strapped to me, even though they’re not real.
“Something a badass wears when she’s saving lives all night and about to go to a gauntlet of unforetold dangers,” I deadpan.
“Is so much cleavage necessary?” Kai asks, his eyes a little distracted as they continue to trail down.
“And does the leather have to be so tight?” Jude asks from behind me, sending chills throughout me when his hand passes over my ass.
“I prefer to feel pretty when killing. Not sure why, but it seemed to be ideal last night,” I state as I look around. “By the way, my terms also include the four of you not ignoring me and not being cruel to me anymore. Either fake being nice and treat me better, or I’ll take a spectator’s seat the next time men with enchanted swords try to drain you, cut off your heads, stab you, or cut off your junk.” They all give me an incredulous look, so I add, “Yes, a lot happened last night.”
Jude adjusts his cock in his pants as he arches an eyebrow at me.
“You’re asking us to trust you, acting as though we owe it to you. Surely you understand our reservations,” Gage tells me, regarding me warily.
Something cold and detached washes over me as I drop my hands to my sides.
“I told you all my story. I explained I’ve spent five years able to do nothing but watch you. Without you, I faded. Without you, I didn’t exist. Only in your presence did I seem to have a purpose. I exposed a vein when I cut open so many vulnerable details of my very lonely existence, laid it all out there for you like my most precious secret. Naively, I expected you all to welcome me with open arms, telling me I was no longer alone. Yet none of you could spare a second to put yourself in my shoes. None of you had an ounce of concern for the fact that I’ve held on by a thin thread all these years, not knowing anything about anyone else but the four of you—I didn’t even know myself, but I knew you. You’ve been all I’ve had.”
My gaze flicks from one set of eyes to another as they all stay quiet.
“Not one of you bothered to tell me good night, or even good morning,” I go on, admittedly getting just a little choked up, much to my chagrin.
A few surprised and very bewildered expressions don their faces, but I clear my throat and go on.
“The only thing you’re concerned about is how my presence affects you, while I’ve spent my entire existence thinking of nothing but the four of you. Not one of you could spare me a single thought.”
Again, I’m forced to clear my throat of any emotion, refusing to let these assholes see me do my ghostly cry.
“Not everything is about the four of you. I exist too. Now you can see me. In fact, you’re the only ones who seem to be able to, mostly. And you treat me like shit. So, no, I can’t be bothered to understand your reservations if you can’t spare a single minute to view me as an actual person instead of a thing you don’t trust.”
They say nothing, and I grow tired of the intense silence.
“Who’s taking me to the gauntlet?” I ask, looking at the four of them. “With any luck, I’ll be able to stop someone from killing you when your backs are turned today. And then you can all bypass any gratitude and start wondering how I benefit from that as well.”
Ezekiel blows out a breath before he grabs a weapon from the closet, since we’re back in the weapons room. Then he steps into me, and I feel the tug of the siphon.
When we reappear, we’re in the middle of a huge, gorgeous room full of elegantly dressed people. Meanwhile, I’m next to a shirtless barbarian by comparison.
The other three boys appear around us, and they all start walking.
When I’m certain eyes aren’t landing on me or noticing my presence, I follow close behind them.
Today, I learn what the hell a gauntlet is.