Lizzy Ford (37 page)

Tears made the rainbow double. Jessi carefully placed Ashley’s project in a corner of the box, praying her cousin was alive to finish it one day. She grabbed a handful of beads and dumped them into the bin, stopping when the flash of red caught her attention.

Jessi dug out the round, flat red crystal. She pulled Xanders’s from around her neck and compared them. Side-by-side, they didn’t look much alike: his was a deep, rich ruby hue with a faint glow. Ashley’s bead was lighter red in color, its surface glazed to give it a subtle reflecting quality. Their sizes were similar, though.

Jessi’s eyes went to the box again. Struck by an idea, she piled all the beads into the box before unfastening the clasp on Xander’s necklace. She pushed his crystal into the bottom of the container then strung Ashley’s crystal onto the cord. Replacing it around her neck, she tucked it into her shirt.

No one who knew the crystal would fall for it, but maybe it would buy her time to figure out a better plan.

She purposely didn’t think about what Xander was going to do when he realized the phone she gave him wasn’t the correct one. Or that she’d taken off the gem. Or that she was asking Jonny to come get her.

Xander made love to her like she was the only one in his world of disposable girls. Knowing what he was, why did the thought of betraying him hurt her?

Jessi tucked the box under the bed and sat nervously, waiting for Jonny. At last, he texted.

On my way.

She almost sighed. With a nervous glance at the locked door, she began to realize this was probably not a day she’d live to see the end of. If she was able to save Ashley, though …

If.

Jonny materialized a few seconds later. Almost instantly, the door bucked, as if Jenn was trying to get in. He held out his hand to Jessi, and she took it. Snapping her eyes closed, she held her breath, until the Black God released her.

She stood in the center of what looked like a ski lodge with one massive wall of windows overlooking the mountains. A large, iron chandelier hung from the rafters of an A-frame roof high above. The foyer extended from the front door to the windows, with multiple hallways and a stairway running deeper into the place.

The unmistakable red eyes of vampires made her gasp. There were five in the foyer, men whose eyes glowed red like Xander’s. Jonny left her in front of the windows and strode towards one hallway.

“Where’s Ashley?” she called after him.

“Safe. Come on.”

The vampires nearest her were growling. Jessi hurried after the Black God, following him into a narrow hallway and what looked like an operations center of some sort. Rows of computers and monitors lined the room. He pointed for her to stay where she was in the doorway then motioned someone over.

A vamp approached with the type of wand security personnel at airports used.

“Checking to see if Xander GPS-tagged you,” Jonny said, standing aside.

The vamp waved it over her, and the tool lit up over her pocket. He reached into it roughly and yanked out her phone, tossing it to Jonny. The device lit up once more at her feet.

“Shoes off,” Jonny ordered.

Jessi obeyed. Her fear was growing.

“Take these somewhere far from here,” Jonny told the vamp, handing over the shoes and cell.

She watched the creature take her only hope of being found by Xander away. Jonny gripped her arm, and she barely closed her eyes before his familiar fire flew through her. This time, when he released her, she didn’t know where she was.

The warehouse was empty. Concrete floors were cool beneath her bare feet, and the perimeter was lit by dim lighting.

“How did you know he tagged me?” she asked uneasily.

“I learned a few things from him,” Jonny replied. “Ashley’s here.”

Jessi’s pulse surged, and she trotted after him. He led her out of the open bay into an office area. A television played somewhere, and light outlined the frame of one door. Jonny opened it to reveal a comfortable looking room with a plush couch set, rugs to cover the concrete floors, and television lighting the room. A door in one wall was open to reveal the white porcelain sink of a bathroom, and the wall opposite the TV held a kitchenette.

Jessi went to the couch, expecting to see her cousin lying there watching TV, as she did at home.

Ashley wasn’t in the room, though Jessi recognized some of her cousin’s things: a pink cell phone charger, a backpack that yawned open to reveal clothes, the stack of colorful beaded bracelets on the arm of the couch.

Jonny closed the door behind her and locked it.

“What’s going on?” Jessi asked uneasily. “Where’s Ashley?”

“She’s nearby,” he answered vaguely. “You have the stone?”

“I’m wearing it.”

“Okay. Hand it over.”

“Um, I don’t think you want me to do that.”

He looked at her hard.

“I’m not being difficult,” she rushed on. “Xander said only he and I can touch it. I guess it has some sort of spell on it that will um, kinda kill anyone else.”

Jonny studied her for a long minute. “Can you activate it?”

“I have no idea how to do that.”

He frowned, thoughtful. “I take it Xander does.”

“I assume so.” She studied him apprehensively, reminded of her cousins, when they were caught up in some sort of drama. She had long since learned that trying to talk them down didn’t really work. “So … do you have a plan or are you just winging this whole thing? Because I pissed him off, and I know he’s coming to get his necklace back.”

Jonny’s eyes dropped from her to the crystal at her chest.

“I don’t think removing my GPS tracking will dissuade him for long.”

“Fuck.” The Black God began pacing. “I need that gem!”

“Can I see Ashley while you figure this out?”

He hesitated.

“I promise not to run or anything,” she added. “I mean, I can’t really go anywhere anyway.”

His eyes were on the crystal.

Absolute power,
Xander had said. She understood why Jonny might want it but not why he seemed so uncertain. At least he wasn’t calling her bluff.

Yet.

“I’ll bring her here,” he replied.

Without another word, he disappeared.

Jessi looked around for a phone or window. The room held neither. She went to the door quickly, terrified he would return and think she meant to escape. The door was locked from the outside, bolted shut. She didn’t know where she was, not even what state.

Retreating to the center of the room, she tried to think instead of outright panicking. First things first: her feet were freezing. She rifled through Ashley’s backpack, aware the teen never went anywhere overnight without three pairs of shoes. A pair of ballet flats caught her attention, and Jessi pulled them on.

Her attention shifted to the room again. There was no way out and no way to contact anyone. Of course, she no longer had anyone to contact, now that Xander was out to make her number seven.

Her pacing ceased, her throat tightening at the thought of spurning him.

She didn’t want to fail his test. She wanted a chance with him.

Jessi rubbed her face. A relationship with a vampire? It wasn’t something that could ever be. He didn’t tolerate betrayal, and she’d walked out on him.

You made the hardest choice. The rest we’ll handle together.

The memory of the words and how sweet he was last night made her ache, as much because she turned her back on him as it was because she wanted to feel his naked body against hers.

“You are nearly impossible to find.”

She turned at the voice. The man with translucent skin and purple eyes – the one Jonny hadn’t exactly greeted with open arms – stood a few feet away.

“Jonny’s coming back,” she heard herself saying, uncertain how the teen god with a penchant for breaking arms was less of a threat than this man.

Others,
she recalled. Creatures no one she’d met yet spoke well of.

“Then we better leave now.”

The response chilled her. Jessi retreated, putting the couch between them.

“I’m, um, kind of waiting for someone,” she hedged.

“Xander is part of my plan.”

“What do you mean?”

“The gem unlocks his power. He who holds the gem will control the Vamp. With his magic intact, he can destroy a world.”

“He left that part out of our discussion,” she said, startled. He hadn’t just handed over his treasured possession; he’d handed over control of
him.
“Does he know that?”

“Of course. All the Originals do. Or did, at one time.”

“You’re an Original.”

“I am.”

Shit.
It was one thing when she knew he was giving her the gem, which she thought only held great power. It was quite another to realize the weapon was
him
and the gem was merely the key to access it.

Jessi wasn’t certain how, but she felt even worse about walking away from Xander. He trusted her. His ultimate test was one that could destroy him, and she was failing miserably.

But there was something else at stake: Ashley.

I’ll get her back.

Confused, Jessi began to wonder how she was going to rescue Ashley after all.

“How did you wrest it from him?” the Other asked, circling the couch.

Jessi moved to keep it between them.

“Didn’t have to,” she answered truthfully. “He gave it to me.”

The creature paused. “Interesting. He’s claimed you.”

“Um, until I sort of betrayed him. Don’t think he’s too happy with me right now.”

“Good. He’ll have more motivation to find you.”

She paled. “I’m not sure it’s a good thing.”

“Not for you, no.”

Jessi’s thoughts flew to the night she spent with him. Xander had been nothing but tender, even knowing she was probably going to betray him. There was a part of her that didn’t think him capable of hating her and another that prayed he was upset enough to stay away.

“For me, you’ve become a bargaining tool. It’s a good thing. I planned on killing you.”

“Someone has to handle the gem,” she said quickly. “You can’t, can you?”

The Other disappeared.

Jessi looked around wildly. She felt his touch a second before the sensation of Traveling descended over her. She gasped, discouraged to find herself somewhere else entirely. Another building, this one with less light. It smelled damp, like a cellar.

“No,” the Other said. “I can’t. You can, until Xander gets here.”

Visually exploring the interior of the stone cellar, she was unable to find any sign of windows in the wall. A single bulb dangled from the ceiling, lighting up a wide area but not the entire space. She wasn’t able to see what lay beyond the ring of light. The stone beneath her feet was uneven and worn, old. The air was chilly and still. She shivered.

“You don’t know him that well. You think he’ll just … surrender?” she asked.

“I think if he claimed you, he’ll do what he must to keep you safe.”

“I hope you have a back-up plan.”

The Other chuckled. “He is no threat to me. We Originals are forbidden from fighting one another. But I can do what I wish to you.”

Not liking that part.
She glanced in his direction, only to find him gone again.

Jessi froze, listening for him. She hadn’t been paying attention; did he sink into the darkness or disappear? After a moment, she ventured into the dark with her hands in front of her, to keep from running into a wall.

She tripped over something, caught herself, and continued, not wanting to be there when the Other returned. She had a feeling Jonny didn’t know she was gone and probably didn’t want her to be gone. Praying he didn’t take it out on Ashley, Jessi cursed the teen silently for taking her phone.

After inching her way through the dark, her trembling hands reached a rough, stone wall. She flattened them against the cool rock and began making her way around the edges.

“Girl.”

She froze. The Other had returned. A peek over her shoulder revealed him standing in the middle of the room, under the light. He was staring into the dark, though not in her direction.

For the first time since meeting Jonny, she prayed everyone was right about the strange skill she had to remain invisible to them. She held her breath. Her heartbeat seemed too loud in her ears, and she hoped he wasn’t able to hear as well as Xander seemed to. After a moment, he winked out of existence in a purple flash.

She waited another second then continued around the edge of the room. The wall met another, and she quickened her step, scouring the area above her for some sign of a window. A few steps down the second wall, the stone turned to wood.

Door.

She trailed her fingers across it until she felt the cool metal doorknob. She twisted it, almost squealing when it gave.

Jessi walked out of the strange cellar. She tripped over a stair and landed hard. Swallowing a cry of pain, she pushed herself up and stretched out her arms above her head, expecting the feel of a second set of wooden doors, if she really was in a cellar. After four steps, she felt them and grimaced, a rough edge piercing one finger. She stuck it in her mouth and then pulled it free.

Blood. The first night in his house, Xander reacted strongly to her slicing her finger. No one could sense her, but he would be able to smell her blood.

Jessi squeezed her finger, until she felt the warm blood. She bent and wiped it on the cement stair, not at all certain it was enough to tip him off. She then focused on how to get out of the cellar. Two metal handles – one on each door – were cold beneath her fingers. She gripped one and pushed it upward. A gust of cold, night air swept past her, and she hurried out.

Jessi hesitated, orienting herself. Moon and stars were bright overhead. She smelled the ocean on the air and was surprised to see the strange stone cottage perched in the middle of a field hedged by a stone wall.

Wherever she was, it wasn’t California. It had been afternoon when she left the West Coast, and it was clearly in the middle of the night here. The cottage was dark, but she saw the lights of another house on down a long stretch of road that hugged a massive hill.