0748469001330321113 slavetoherdesires jillmyles (7 page)

His silver eyes were flat with pain. ―Tell me one thing, Olivia,‖ he said, not moving toward me. ―One thing that will convince me to destroy the friend I have stood alongside for centuries. Tell me one thing that will make me realize that he is too far gone.‖

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I had anticipated such a question, and I was ready. I took a small piece of metal and slid it across the counter, gesturing for him to pick it up.

He picked up the square and looked at the blood welling on his fingertips in surprise.

―That is a razor blade,‖ I explained. ―The razors of today‘s time are smaller than what you are familiar with. You place that inside the razor and glide it across your face. The edges are quite sharp.‖

David licked the blood off his fingers, an unconscious act that made me panic, thinking of vampires. But then he gave me a rueful smile – no fangs. ―I see that. Very sharp.‖

I picked up the razor-blade, careful to avoid the edges. ―One of Aloysius‘s favorite punishments is to make me eat them. Usually about five or six, one after the other.‖ My gaze was steady on his. ―He cannot kill me, you see. So he thinks of interesting ways to test my immortality. Swallowing razors is the one I hate the most. When they go down your throat, you feel them…slicing.‖ My hand touched my breastbone, thinking of the painful memories. ―You cough blood for hours, and your insides burn, and everything hurts worse than you can ever imagine. But the worst part of all is when it makes it to your stomach, because then you know that your options--―

―Enough,‖ he said, raising a hand. His eyes glittered as he looked at me. ―Tell me…is that truth or a lie?‖

―It is the truth,‖ I said softly, compelled to answer him.

He nodded, exhaling sharply. ―I knew it was. Yet, I hoped…‖ he shook his head and then looked at me, face grim with resolve. ―I will help you destroy him.‖

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―Thank you,‖ I said quietly. It should have felt like a victory, but it felt hollow instead.

David‘s face was bleak with pain, his normally present smile a thing of the past. My brittleness was spreading to him.

For some reason, that bothered me.

#

Noah opted to join us on our quest, determined to give us backup. I had assured the men that Aloysius was likely alone – the other vampires had tired of his violent mood swings a while back and he tended to live on the fringes of their society, spending most of his time alone or surrounded by a few worshipful humans. He had many hideouts in the city and I knew them all. I normally avoided them, but today I had to confront my fears. It was summer, the days long and the weather hot. That meant that he was spending the daylight hours in one of his many basement apartments. He had several in the city, but his favorite was under a popular city sports bar. He liked hiding under the noses of so many people – it amused him.

It was there I decided we should strike first. We went that afternoon, Noah and David disguised in jeans and casual clothing, baseball caps stuffed over their heads. They ordered beers and sat down at the bar to watch the game while I scoped out the room. I was in disguise as well

– I wore a short blonde wig over my dark hair, glasses, and a sweater-set with my jeans, all gifts of Noah‘s personal shopper who had delivered the items, questions unasked. The disguise made me look like a tall librarian with bad hair, nothing like my usual self. In the bag at my shoulder I carried blessed wooden stakes, holy water, two crosses, a butcher knife, and a flask of gasoline.

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Vampires were almost impossible to kill – ditto for Serim. When we referred to ourselves as immortal – we meant it. As a succubus, I couldn‘t be killed except by two ways – either destroy both my masters and I instantly cease to exist, or kill me by sexual starvation. Serim and vampires could also be destroyed by neglecting the needs their curses placed upon them. But if you had to take matters into your hands, it was a more involved process. Holy water and crosses would burn a vampire, and a stake (blessed by a priest) would paralyze it in place. I planned on staking Aloysius, then cutting off his head. And after that, I‘d have to burn his body to ashes, or else he‘d regenerate.

And if I couldn‘t kill my master because he commanded me otherwise, David and Noah would step in and finish it for me.

It was late afternoon, so the bar was fairly empty. It would be a few hours before any vampire awoke – the perfect time to ambush Aloysius and disable him before he could strike back at us. I looked around the bar for Aloysius‘s pet humans and blood servants – idiots that willingly served him for the promise of being turned to vampires. They didn‘t know that his promises were lies. Aloysius could no more turn a mortal into a vampire than he could turn me into a fairy princess. But they dreamed of sharing his world, and so they served him like fools, hoping that he‘d one day bestow the greatest honor they could imagine.

I didn‘t recognize any of his lackeys in the room, however. I frowned. I‘d been away for ten years, so perhaps there was an influx of new human pets to play with. That made this dangerous. If I attacked Aloysius, I might be going in blind.

The waiter put a beer in front of me, and I reached for it and deliberately knocked it over, the contents splashing into my lap. ―Oops,‖ I said loudly. ―That was stupid of me. Where‘s your restroom?‖

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The bartender pointed toward the back, and I grabbed my bag and hopped off the barstool, heading that direction. I knew perfectly well where the restroom was, of course. I passed by it without stopping in, heading to a back room instead. My spill had been a signal for Noah and David to wait a minute, and then follow me in. In the storage room, I found the familiar trap door behind a shelf and opened it. Stairs descended into darkness, and I bolstered my courage. I wish I had thought to bring a flashlight, but I knew that there was a light-switch at the base of the stairs.

I sucked in a breath and moved down the steps, painfully aware of every creak of the wooden boards in the deafening silence. Was I walking into a trap? Would I see Aloysius when I clicked the light on? What if he‘d been sleeping lightly and had already awakened? What if we timed it wrong?

When I got to the bottom, I clicked the switch and stared at the room in surprise.

It was empty.

Not just empty of people – completely empty. The room was devoid of furniture of all kinds, the scuffed wood floors bare. I remembered seeing this room covered in lush draperies, with divans for Aloysius‘s attendants to perch upon. None of that remained. Even the fixtures had been stripped – one lonely naked light bulb hung overhead from a cord.

There was a maze of rooms in the back, but I guessed they would be empty as well. I moved forward, opening the doors and checking. A lonely scrap of trash was left in the corner of one, but every door I opened showed me the same thing – an empty room.

Aloysius had picked up and left.

The last room down the hall was the one that had been mine. My skin prickled and my hand went to the doorknob. I paused, not able to bring myself to open the door without fear 55

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prickling through me. After a moment‘s hesitation, I closed my eyes and flung the door wide.

Silence. I squeezed one eye open and saw it was almost as empty as the others. A small round wooden table sat in the center of the room, and I could make out a silver oblong shape on the table. I moved forward and picked it up.

A cellphone. I didn‘t have to be a genius to realize that he‘d left it for me. It was an invitation and a mocking gesture all at once.

Aloysius knew what I was up to. He was inviting me to another level of games with him.

And fuck me, but he still had control of the situation. I picked up the phone, gripping it hard, and flicked it open. The screen lit, and the battery bar flashed. Still almost full. It hadn‘t been sitting here for long. A day or two, tops.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. My body clenched with fear and I whirled, bracing myself for the worst. That I‘d walked into a trap somehow.

But it was just David and Noah, their faces grim as they stared at the empty surroundings.

―He‘s not here,‖ I said softly and showed them the phone. ―But he knows I‘m coming after him.‖

David stared at the phone, uncomprehending what I meant. He didn‘t know what a cell-phone was.

―It‘s a message,‖ I said in a bitter voice. ―That he is expecting me to contact him. That even now, he controls the game.‖

―He controls nothing unless we let him. We should leave,‖ David said. He moved toward me, his fingers on my arms in a gentle but firm grasp. ―Get you somewhere safe, and check out his other hideaways in the city. We can find him. Surely someone has seen him.‖

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A broken laugh bubbled in my throat and I jerked away from his touch. ―We won‘t find him.‖ My fingers locked around the phone and I shook it in David‘s face. ―You don‘t get it. He knows I am looking for him. He‘s telling me that the game is played by his rules, not mine.

Somewhere safe? I‘m not safe anywhere.‖

I flung the phone down to the ground and turned away, wrapping my arms around my chest and trembling with a mixture of rage and fear. Aloysius knew. He knew I was coming after him. He‘d guessed something was up when I didn‘t come crawling back to him last night for my need.

He knew, and he was going to win. Again. And this time, when he caught me, I‘d never be able to escape. The full-on body tremble made my teeth clack together, and I clenched my jaw. I would figure something out. Somehow. Somehow.

I‘d hide myself away and starve before getting back under his control – I‘d commit suicide first.

A warm hand touched my arm and I smelled David‘s musky scent as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. I wanted to push him away and leave me to my grief and fright. It made me strong.

But I was so, so tired of being strong.

―I‘m with you, Olivia,‖ David said. ―This time, I‘m here for you. And I won‘t let him get you again.‖

―But you have to sleep,‖ I said in a low voice. ―You can‘t keep me safe at night. He‘ll guess that and change his tactics.‖

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―I know where we can take her,‖ said Noah. ―We may sleep through the night, but I know just the place that she‘ll be safe.‖ His gaze rested on David, his expression solemn. ―I think you know the place I speak of.‖

David apparently did. He nodded at Noah and then turned back to me, squeezing my arm.

―Come. Trust us. Let me take care of you.‖

―I can‘t trust anyone,‖ I said, but the order to trust him was not one I could refuse. I obeyed, as always.

#

We returned quickly to Noah‘s apartment, and my suspicions had been confirmed.

Though the alarm had not been sprung, the living room was trashed, and my clothing – the French maid outfit – was gone. Someone had come in while we were gone and knew I was with Noah Gideon. I squeezed down the vise of panic in my throat, swallowing hard. It was daylight still. Just human flunkies, looking for something to report back to Aloysius. I was still safe.

For now.

We wasted no more time, getting back into the car and driving into the mountains. Noah would not say where we were headed. David was calm, his expression peaceful. He seemed to know exactly what Noah intended, which puzzled me. Where were we going that David knew all about and I did not?

I must have been a bundle of nerves in the back seat of the car, twitching and constantly moving in my seat. At one point, David reached over and clasped my hand in his, lacing our fingers. His touch soothed my nerves and I held his hand for the rest of the drive.

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Just as the sun was setting, we turned down a long driveway nestled off of a service road in the mountains. It climbed up a ravine, and at the top of the tree-lined ravine perched a small parking lot and a very large, austere white building. I could have sworn it was a hospital done in Corinthian style, but I didn‘t see an emergency room, or any cars other than ours.

―Be right back,‖ said Noah, and parked the car up front. He got out of the vehicle and headed to the huge double-doors at the front of the building.

―Where are we?‖ I asked, the familiar nervousness churning in my gut. What if this was a trap? The Serim were not always good men. They could be self-serving—

David reached over and brushed a lock of hair from my face. The lines of his aristocratic face were perfect and beautiful in the late afternoon sunlight, and he looked at ease in the casual modern clothing that he‘d borrowed from Noah. The look was so at odds with the old-fashioned blonde curls and sideburns he still wore that it made me want to smile, even when I had nothing to smile about. ―Be calm, Olivia. I will not let anything happen to you.‖

I looked over at him uncertainly, but the resolve was written on his face. His jaw was set in granite, his expression firm.

It wasn‘t that I was weak, or needed a man to hold my hand. But having someone there, at my side – someone to tell me that it was all right? That I wasn‘t alone? That was…nice. I liked it. More than I should have. I gave him a hesitant smile. ―You know where we are, then?‖

―There is only one place that a Serim can go to and fall completely off the map,‖ David said in his smooth, effortlessly calm voice, his silver eyes focused entirely on me. ―One place where they can eschew the mortal world and have no fear of it catching up to them. It is the only place I know of where we can be absolutely certain that the walls are warded from both human and vampire alike.‖

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―And that would be…‖

―A Serim monastery. Some of our brothers decided long ago that repentance was the best way to return to the grace of God, and they spend their days in prayer and solitude.‖

―A monastery?‖ I shook my head. This sounded like an awful idea. ―How is a house full of Serim monks going to keep me safe at night?‖

―They are not monks. They just choose to live as monks do,‖ David said with a smile at me. ―And there are others that dwell in the monastery that are not Serim,‖ he told me, his gaze warm. ―They will be awake at night and will watch over you if it is needed, but I do not think it will be. Every monastery is built with powerful wards that make it impossible for a vampire to find the place. You will be safe here. I would never take you someplace you are not safe.‖