CHAPTER 11
Isabel was dead tired. It was approaching four AM; she had been stuck in the same position for hours now. She rose to her feet, cursing under her breath, as her legs seemed to have fallen asleep. When she peered out of the window, all she saw was the blue dark seeping into the room. “I think we should call it a day,” she said finally.
“I think so, too,” Ava said, rising to her feet as well. “I’m gonna go out for a walk right now, anyone wanna join me?”
“I do,” Abeo said, getting up on his elbows and bouncing to his feet. Solange followed, and so did Abigail. One by one, the rest of them began pouring out of the room, flashing Oz a coy smile as they did so.
“Well, I guess that just leaves the three of us,” Presten said, cocking his head towards Isabel. She smiled at him and averted her gaze to Oz, who had finally settled in one place. At one point during the night Isabel began to wonder if he would dig a hole in the ground just pacing back and forth. Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge come over her. She could see Presten out of the corner of her eye; he was gawking at her, following her every move. The bed looked tempting despite the spotted sheets and she could see herself crawling under the covers with not one, but both of them. Silence settled in the air; Isabel knew something was going to happen. She said to herself that she wouldn’t even try to stop it.
“Well, what do you feel like doing?” Oz asked, his eyes fixated on Isabel. He didn’t even look at Presten; it was like he wasn’t even there.
“What do you feel like doing?” she asked, her eyes darting from Oz, to Presten, and then to Oz again. The two men couldn’t even stand being in the same room together, let alone the same bed, with the same girl. Oz was so protective over Isabel, but then again, so was Presten. They had both grown so fond of her, that it was difficult, almost impossible, for her to imagine them allowing her fantasy to come true.
“You tell us what you’d like us to do, and we’ll do it,” Presten said boldly. He eyed Isabel with such lust, such passion, that she felt the need to be fucked by him, right then and there. But not only him… Oz was just standing there, gawking at them, biting his bottom lip and then clenching his jaw. He couldn’t stand the idea of another man being with her, but the thought of fucking her with Presten around was so compelling. He wanted to blow her mind, to make her wish she never even considered another man in the first place. He could see it in her eyes, how much she wanted to be fucked by him. And he could see it in Presten’s eyes, too. He wasn’t all that competitive. In fact, he didn’t love Isabel half as much as Oz did. Oz just wanted him to be a bystander, to show him that nothing and nobody could make Isabel feel the way she did when she was with him.
“I’m hungry,” Isabel said, her lips barely moving. The words slipped out of her mouth like dark confessions and when she raised her eyes to Oz, he was already smiling. He had been waiting to hear her say these words.
“And what do you want us to do about that?” Oz asked, stepping in closer to her. His hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his jacket, and when he came close enough, Isabel went ahead and kissed him. She felt his lips caress hers softly at first, and as her hunger grew, her hand wrapped around the back of his head and Oz’s hands grasped her waist as their kiss intensified.
Presten watched the couple with a small smile on his face, but deep down, he knew there was no way he could just sit back and watch. The scene in front of him was mesmerizing and when Oz’s hands slid Isabel’s robe off her body, her naked curves on full display, Presten felt his cock instantly grow hard in his pants. He got up, slowly, calmly, straining to maintain his control as he walked up behind Isabel and rested a hand on the small of her back.
Isabel broke the kiss and looked back at Presten. A part of her longed for him, while the rest of her body itched for Oz. She remembered the last time she had been between two men, when Gavin had shared her with the angel, but something told her that this would be different. She could feel it with every goose bump that broke out across her skin.
Presten pushed up against her, his hardness nestled against her cheeks as Oz brought her face back to him and kissed her again. Her hands quickly stripped him of his shirt and as she was about to remove his pants, she felt herself being turned around forcefully to face Presten.
She gazed into his eyes and the smile on his face reflected exactly what he was thinking. He knew how hungry she was and exactly how far she was willing to go to quench that feeling. With a strong hand on her shoulder, he pushed her down onto her knees in front of him. He slid his pants down, revealing himself to her and she wrapped a hand around his thigh as she let her tongue slide up and down his shaft. She heard a sharp intake of breath from above her and she smiled seductively before taking him into her mouth. Her lips wrapped around him, sliding him in as far as she could take him.
There was a flutter of clothes behind her and she slipped Presten’s cock out of her mouth to turn and look at the chiseled nakedness of Oz. She felt herself get instantly wet at the thought of running her hands across his skin, the feel of his muscles at the tips of her fingers. She wrapped a hand around his cock, bringing him closer, and swallowed him into her mouth. Isabel looked up at the angel and she could see the challenging smile he shot at Presten.
She alternated between the two, hungrily attacking them, a feeling of unbridled sexual desire racing through her. She made her mind up quickly as she watched the reactions on their faces, the mix of smile and desire, the tension that was building up. She was going to have them both, right here, right now.
Isabel stood up, quickly jumping to her feet as she pushed Oz back and onto the couch. She wasted no time straddling him and with a quick motion guided his cock to her pussy and slid him in. He entered her easily, effortlessly, penetrating deep inside her as she moaned in pleasure. She looked back at Presten and gestured to him and when he was close enough, pulled him onto the couch beside Oz as she began to ride the cock inside her.
Isabel bent down, taking Presten’s cock into her mouth as her hips moved against Oz. Her pace quickened, the fever and lust inside of her growing at the feeling of both men inside her and she felt a tingle race up and down her spine. She hadn’t expected how much pleasure this would give her and despite her conflicting feelings for Oz and her hunger to be satisfied by both men, she found herself reveling in the rush of emotions coursing through her.
Presten suddenly stood up, his cock sliding out of Isabel’s mouth, and he moved behind her. She looked over her shoulder, knowing fully what he intended to do as her hips bounced up and down on Oz. She met his eyes and as he positioned himself directly behind her, she pushed a hand against his chest and slowed her pace.
“Slowly,” she said, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling. She felt Oz’s lips wrap around one of her nipples and suck hard, and she closed her eyes against the needed distraction. She waited, losing herself in the attention Oz was giving her breasts, and inhaled sharply as she felt Presten push against her from behind.
Slowly, carefully, he slid inside, and she clenched her teeth against the pain of being stretched in places she had never been stretched before. Presten’s hands squeezed her cheeks as he continued to enter her. Fire shot up from her asshole and through her body and she wrapped her arms tight around Oz’s neck.
Then Presten stopped. She waited for the pain to subside and Presten was patient enough to give her the few seconds she needed to get accustomed to his cock inside her. She opened her eyes and gazed into Oz’s and he gave her a reassuring smile.
“You’re okay,” he said, brushing the hair from her face.
Isabel nodded, and Presten began to pull out slowly, and then push back in. He took it slow, and after a few strokes, the pain had subsided and all Isabel could feel was the pleasure that came with his movements. She began to move her hips against him and gasped at the dual feeling of both Oz and Presten inside her. Presten picked up the pace, reacting to her movements, knowing that she no longer needed the gentle treatment.
Isabel pushed up against Oz’s shoulder, staring down at him, their eyes locked as she moaned in pleasure. A mix of emotions raced through her then. For some reason, she was almost glad she couldn’t see Presten. She was loving every inch of them inside her, the feeling she was getting as both man slammed against her, faster and harder. Yet, she could only see Oz, and it was almost as if this fulfillment was an intimate feeling between the two of them alone.
Presten began to slam harder against her and Isabel knew it was more a way of reinforcing his presence than sexual desire. She let him have his way with her and soon she was screaming in orgasm, both cocks sliding in and out of her and sending bolts of electricity shooting through her.
She looked down at Oz, his eyes rolling in their sockets, and knew he was close. She picked up the pace, and Presten picked up his, and with a few more grinds, Oz grabbed her by the waist and exploded inside her. She felt Presten bulge, as if growing in size, and soon he too was coming hard, thrusting deep as he emptied himself. Isabel felt another wave of orgasms course through her, and she collapsed on top of Oz just as Presten pulled out of her.
“What do you say we move this somewhere a little more comfortable?” Presten asked.
Isabel looked at Oz, his chest beaded with sweat, his breaths coming in deep inhales and exhales.
“Still hungry?” he asked her.
Isabel smiled and licked her lips. “Always.”
***
“Today’s the big day,” Isabel said, climbing out of bed, slipping into her robe and preparing to step out into the world again. Presten had already left a few hours ago and she was alone with Oz, who had been cuddled up beside her. He got up and looked at her, a triumphant smile on his face.
“I have a feeling we’ll be okay,” he said. “We’ve already spent a whole night planning… I know what I’m going to say, you know what you’re going to say. Our thoughts are in order. What could possibly go wrong, right?”
“You know what happened the last time a man said that?” she asked with a smirk on her face.
“He died?” Oz asked, putting his shoes back on. Isabel smiled and nodded at him. She got up, dusted herself off and took his hand, leading the way out of the room. They made out a little in the hallway, until Abeo appeared around the corner.
“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said, his lips curving to a smile.
“No, no,” Oz said, shaking his head frantically. “We’ve got to go now, all of us. We need to start making our way to the council.” It took a couple of minutes to assemble everyone out in the courtyard, and once Isabel had made sure everyone was present, she led the way to the bus station again. They got on the bus and immediately retreated into their own little bubble of silence. They knew better than to speak of their lives in public. Isabel was lost in her own little world, her eyes growing more accustomed to the surrounding landscape. She told herself that, as soon as they get that visit to the council over with, she would reward herself with a day on the beach.
“Let’s get off here,” she said, getting up. “Alright, you guys, we’ve still got a long hike ahead of us, so before we start up the hill, I suggest we have a coffee here,” she pointed to a small coffee shop nested under the trees at the bottom of the hill.
“I’m dying for some coffee,” Abeo said, practically sprinting to the shop.
“I’m gonna go stand in line,” Isabel said, making a beeline for the cashier. She got on her tiptoes and peered at the people standing in queue. “That’s a long ass line,” she said to herself. Suddenly she felt like something was tugging at her robe, so she turned around, and, realizing it was only a little girl, she smiled and ignored it. Wait, what the fuck? A pair of bloody eyes stared back at her; Isabel didn’t know whether to run or ask the mother if her child was okay. She almost resembled a porcelain doll in the way her curly hair fell down her back. Her eyes were glazed over, her lips were slightly parted and her skin was the palest Isabel had ever seen. Something told her to get away, to ditch the breakfast while she still could. Suddenly her eyes darted to the mother; there was nothing comforting about watching her, either. Isabel felt a strange sense of recognition towards them, like she had seen them somewhere before, in another dimension, perhaps. But there was something unsettling about the way they stared at everyone, how they seemed to be gawking at the people in line like predators stalking their prey.
“Isabel, you’re taking too long!” she heard a voice say. She recognized it as Abeo’s, who was probably just joking with her.
“I’m coming!” she said after a long pause. She poked out of the line like a splinter and walked back to them, a worried look on her face. “Guys,” she started.
“Alright, I think that’s all of us,” Oz said, not paying any attention to Isabel. It looked to her like no one could hear her cries for help. It was like she had just come in contact with the devil, like she was forced to be in his presence for what felt to her like an eternity. Nothing had ever made her more uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. As they exited the coffee shop and started walking and she found herself peering behind herself every couple of seconds, trying to make sure that no one was following them.
“Hey, are you okay?” Presten asked, worried. His eyebrows were knitted together, and he looked at Isabel like her water had just broke. “Isabel, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said after a long while of staring out into the distance.
“Isabel, you seem distracted,” Oz said, glancing at her briefly before he led the pack to a large patch of shade at the very bottom of the hill. His eyes darted from one person to the other, as if counting all the kids at a field trip. “On our way up, please be careful,” he said, his hands clasped behind his back. “We’re here to make our presence known, but that doesn’t mean we should cause a racket on our way up.”
The rest nodded at him like soldiers ready to go to war. A cold war, that is. They started up the hill, their boots sinking into piles of crunchy leaves as they walked. Isabel clutched her stomach, trying to stop herself from hurling. “You don’t look okay,” Presten said, staring at her. “What did you see over there?”
“I saw this lady standing in line… she had her daughter with her. Presten, I’m pretty sure they were—” she paused for a second, as if caught in a trance. The truth was, she had a hard time trying to remember exactly what they were. The pictures that were popping up in her head were nothing but ashen faces resembling egg heads, and they were staring at her. She could’ve sworn the mother had a red blotch at the corner of her mouth, but then she re-visualized the cherry lemonade she had in her hand.
“They were what?” Presten asked, concerned. Isabel could already feel the incline of the hill taking its toll on her calf muscles. She felt drained, like something had sucked the life out of her.
“I don’t know, it’s not important,” she breathed, her eyes fixated on the ground underneath her. It was muddier than last time; Isabel concluded it had rained heavily overnight. Her feet sank into the mud like quicksand and she could feel the strain on her ankles as she wrestled with the ground for her shoe.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Presten said, peering at Isabel through the corner of his eyes. “You didn’t even get your coffee.”
“I’m just paranoid,” she said, looking behind her. Oz lingered at the back of the pack, which was now sandwiched from both sides by their protectors. The council was still quite a way up; Isabel almost imagined it to be nested amongst the clouds. She hated to admit it, but she was growing tired. It felt like her legs would give way and she would fall face first into the mud. “Superhuman strength, my ass,” she murmured, rather to herself. She could still feel Presten’s eyes on her, but she didn’t mind. On the contrary, a part of her wondered what she did to deserve him in the first place. He was so patient with her, despite her love for Oz and her mood swings that could rattle oceans. He loved her despite herself and she couldn’t help but feel grateful for it.
“Anyone tired back there?” Presten asked, turning to look at them. They ducked down and shook their heads, but Presten could tell they were panting like dogs. “We’re almost there,” he lied. Oz was giving him orders telepathically; telling him where to go, where to turn and which routes to avoid. He was like a compass, the directing force guiding them all throughout. Finally, Isabel caught a glimpse of something, something other than trees and rocks and gravel. She caught a signal from Oz telling her that was it: the vampire’s council.
“Alright,” she said. “From this point onwards, I’m going to ask you guys to be careful, to watch your step and, most importantly, to keep an eye on what’s around you.” The pack trekked carefully through the woods. What was once a hiking trail eventually levelled out into even ground and Isabel found herself able to breathe again. She focused on staying confident, on putting on a brave face. This wasn’t a break in. This wasn’t an invasion. This was court.
The gang reached the gates and didn’t hesitate once before going in. The guards looked at them through heavy-lidded eyes; Isabel knew right then and there they were expecting them. They stood in one line with their hands brought together and their eyes darting sideways, as if contemplating whether or not to open up the gates of hell to those asking for it. One of them flashed Isabel a wry grin; he knew her, he knew she was the chosen one. He was staring at her so hard, Isabel didn’t know if he would welcome her in or throw her out. But he didn’t do either. He looked at the one beside him, but his body didn’t move. He blinked at him once, and instantly, as if triggered by some telepathic force, he swung the doors open, and they parted with a loud creak. Isabel didn’t hesitate. She stepped inside, watching as the shadows danced on the walls. Oz went up next to her. He could feel the guard's’ eyes on them, but he wouldn’t dare do anything stupid. Presten stood to Isabel’s right, his eyes bouncing between the seemingly endless set of stairs and the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling like nooses.
Suddenly he sensed some sort of movement. A black mass was coming down the stairs, followed by another black mass, followed by another. They reached the bottom of the stairs and just stood there, their ashen faces not moving. Isabel didn’t recognize any of them, except one woman she was sure she had seen at the mansion before. She visualized her standing in the hallway with Gavin, the two of them looking as though they would burn the place down. She stared at her with such contempt, such intolerance that Isabel thought she would grab at her throat at any second. The silence leaked into the air and it wasn’t long before Isabel saw something that made her gasp. Standing at the very end of the line was the little girl she had seen at the coffee shop; she had a smile plastered to her face, much like the one Isabel had seen that morning. There was no way she could have mistaken that girl for somebody else. Her mother wasn’t there but she was, and for some strange reason, Isabel didn’t feel that intimidated by her. It wasn’t because she was young, but because there was something about her: something warm that Isabel couldn’t really see in the light of day. Only in this darkness, the darkness of the mansion, could Isabel feel the warmth shining through that girl, and the truth was she had a good feeling about her. She looked over at the rest and they were gawking at her like hawks. Now, they were intimidating.
“Good evening,” Oz said solemnly. “I suppose you know why we’re here.”
“Oh, do we, now?” one of the vampires, a seemingly ageing woman with sparkling silver hair, said. “Consider us ignorant. Tell me, young man, why are you here?”
“We’re here because we want to reach some kind of agreement; in the past, we have tried to do that, but unfortunately, when all else failed, we had to resort to extreme measures,” he said.
“Extreme measures? And what would those be?” the woman asked, peering at her mates through the corner of her eye. She had a smile plastered to her face; Isabel knew she had something up her sleeve. “Speak, for I want to know!”
“Gavin’s with us,” Isabel hissed. The house fell silent again. The vampires were exchanging weird looks, looks that even Isabel couldn’t understand. It was like they were speaking in some sort of secret language governed by brief glances of sheer suspicion.
“Oh, is he, now?” the woman asked, rather sarcastically. She tilted her head and stared at Oz, her grey eyes boring into his. He opened his mouth but no words came out and when Isabel turned to look at him, he knew he had to say something. He was their orator, the person they were depending on the most. How could he just let them down like that?
“Yes, he is,” he said again. It was like he was trying to speak but his words were barely finding their way out of his mouth. They rolled off his tongue like alphabet soup, and Oz found himself almost blabbering. “He, along with some other hostages from your pack, are with us at the rebel mansion. They’re being watched over, monitored by our guards, and in order to let them out, some conditions need to be met.”
“And what would those be?” the silver-haired woman asked, folding both arms across her chest. Her hands were veiny: just the sight of them was freaking Isabel out.
“The council needs to drop all intention of starting a war,” Oz said, rather confidently this time. “They need to make peace with the angels and they need to stop recruiting people for their own wicked deeds.”
“What else?”
“They need to evacuate the old mansion… as that was never their home to begin with… and lastly, they need to acknowledge the power of the succubi and incubi as the leading powers of the supernatural world.”
“Wow, that’s a lot you got there,” she said, raising an eyebrow at Oz. She then pursed her lips, turning to the vampires standing next to her. There must’ve been at least seven of them and when Oz was done presenting his case, they all just glared at him, as if offended he had even opened his mouth at all. Suddenly the woman started laughing. “Tell me, Oz, why are you here?”
“I think I’ve already provided a sufficient answer,” he said, his lips barely moving.
“No, seriously, tell me why you’re really here,” she said again.
“Listen, we’re not here to play around,” Isabel snapped, stepping out from the line. The woman looked amused, almost pleased, to have heard her said that. She eyed her up and down condescendingly; nothing bothered Isabel more than when people underestimated her. “We’re here to negotiate, and if you’re not willing to do that, then I guess we’re going to have to make a choice for you.”
“And what choice is that?”
“We’re going to have to kill Gavin and the rest of the hostages.”
The silence fell again. Judging by the look on the woman’s face, Isabel could tell she had made a horrible mistake. “Guards, lock them up.”
“What, no,” Oz said, his eyes darting back and forth frantically. “No!”
Suddenly, Isabel felt herself being hauled off the ground. The room was spinning and she could hear nothing but the sound of the guards’ heels clicking against the hardwood floor. She tried to look down but couldn’t; she could barely even move her neck. She could hear Oz’s screams in the distance. And Abeo’s. And Solange’s. Isabel felt like her body was shooting through the air, like she had no control over it. Suddenly she felt like she was being carried down a set of stairs. Oh, no, not again! That old musty dungeon. She couldn’t bear the thought of going back there. “Let me go, let me go!” she yelled. A rattling sound could be heard and Isabel concluded they were unlocking the gates to the cells. That sound haunted her; she couldn’t believe she was going back there again and that Oz was too. Nothing made sense to her anymore. She felt like, no matter what she did, she would still end up defeated, and nothing frustrated her more.
“You thought you could get away with this?” the woman snarled, leaning in close to Isabel. Her breath was sour; Isabel couldn’t help but squirm away. She hugged her knees to her chest and watched as the ashen faced woman disappeared behind the cells.