Nova: Daughters of Darkness (7 page)

Rían, who had been quiet since Branna's outburst, stood up from the table. "Being that it is my duty to protect you all, I can assure you that we will find your sister and we will defeat Drake. That is my promise to you."

Chapter 12

It had been three days since Nova had been taken, and she was starting to wonder if Drake would ever show his face. So far, she had only seen Clack when he came and dropped off food and drinks for her three times a day, able to pass through the electrified door without issue. She was starting to get really pissed and wanted to be able to take out her anger on the one person who deserved it. Walking around the room, she once again devised multiple ways she would maim his beautiful body once he marched it through her door. Each pass around the room managed to work her anger up another notch. If only he would come face her like a man. Another pass around the room and she was ready to explode, she couldn't take anymore. Kicking her door, she received a zap for her troubles. "Drake! You dirty, rotten, son of a bitch. You can't keep me here!"

"Oh, but I can, and I will be sure to tell my mother you think so highly of her should I ever see her again."

Startled, Nova whirled to face the door, and there he stood, every sexy male inch of him. Instinctively, she tried to call her elements, only remembering they weren't accessible due to the shield on the castle. Frustrated and disgusted with the whole situation, Nova turned away from him, her hands clenched into fists.

He gave her a sardonic look. "I see your time here has done nothing to cool your rage."

Spinning back to face him, she laughed bitterly. "Oh, you have no idea. You're not ready for the kind of rage I have for you. When my sisters find me..."

"They will not!" He yelled, interrupting her tirade. "You are far from them, and there is no amount of magic that can break the shield on this castle. Consider this your home until I decide I no longer want you here."

"I will consider nothing but how long it will take me to rip your dead, black heart from your chest once I get my powers back."

Drake laughed and shook his head. "My beautiful Nova, there is no heart within my chest, black or otherwise. It looks like you will have to aim elsewhere."

"No problem, I'll just aim...lower," she said, smiling sweetly; looking pointedly at his crotch.

Drake advance on Nova, and gripped her upper arms, giving her a small shake. "You have tested my patience long enough tonight witch, I grow tired of this verbal sparring." Releasing her abruptly, he turned to leave, before reaching the door he stopped and looked back. "Sleep well, Nova. It may be your last night of peace."

As he closed the door, she thought she saw regret flash in his eyes but dismissed it. A man like Drake, a demon she reminded herself, did not feel regret. He killed and tortured without remorse; so why could she not stop herself from wishing he could be different?

The next morning Nova woke up to the sounds of Clack bringing her tray in.

"My lady, I am glad to see you slept well."

"That makes two of us, Clack." she said with a yawn.

"Come, you must eat quickly. Master has plans for you today, and you must be ready."

Eyeing him warily, she asked, "What kind of plans?"

"I do not know. I was only instructed to have you brought to him once you are ready."

Getting out of bed with a sigh, Nova walked over to the table and picked up the cup of tea from the tray. Should she refuse to go or satisfy her curiosity and find out what he was up to? Deciding to go with her gut instinct, she said, "Fine, give me a few minutes to eat and I will be ready."

"As you wish. I will return shortly."

Nova watched Clack go and, not for the first time, wished she had a change of clothes. Oh well, she thought, Drake put her in this position, he would have to deal with her dirty, smelly self.

Clack returned for Nova and led her out into the hall. She couldn't help but admire the intricate stonework all around her. Someone probably spent years carving the beautiful designs within each stone.

"Actually no, they were hewn in by magic." Clack replied, and Nova realized she must have thought aloud.

"It's beautiful. Even with magic, that kind of beauty requires a great deal of skill."

"Mmm, yes it does." he responded, sounding bored and a little snooty.

They walked through hallway after hallway before arriving at a beautiful grand staircase that swept down and bowed out onto a marble foyer. Turning at the bottom, they went through a stunning archway into a sitting room. Nova took in the sight of Drake, standing in front of a massive stone fireplace; his hands clasped at his waist, stance wide, with the look of the devil in his eyes.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"I needed leverage if I am to get through the next few weeks without you and your sisters trying to destroy me."

"You think this will stop us from destroying you? Ha! You are sadly mistaken."

"Oh, I think you will want to hear me out before you make any rash judgments witch."

"Nothing you say will change my opinion of you. I have seen and heard enough to know that you are a lost cause."

"A lost cause I may be, but I am still the keeper of your freedom and that of your sisters as well. If I killed you right now, they would no longer posses the strength to defeat me; it takes all of your powers combined to make you strong enough."

Nova gave a very unladylike snort, standing there with her arms crossed. "Seriously? That's the best you got? Listen," she said, walking toward him, "I am not some simpering child hiding in a corner. I'm right here, ready and willing to take you on at any time. So bring it, powers or no powers, I will kick your ass." Nova was mad and she'd had enough. Being locked up and the constant wondering had left her with a bitter taste in her mouth where Drake was concerned.

Drake was stunned into silence by how beautiful she looked standing there with her eyes swirling with unreleased power, her body quivering with rage. He did the only thing he could think to do, he grabbed her by the shoulders, hauled her against him and ravished her surprised mouth. For a moment, Nova allowed him to kiss her, excited by the feel of his lips on hers. When his tongue touched her lips, the sensation jolted her into action. Realizing she was kissing the enemy, Nova struggled to be released. Tearing her mouth free from his assault, she pushed away from him.

"You have some nerve, attacking my family, holding me prisoner, threatening my life, and now kissing me? Are you insane?" She was screaming, her face contorted with anger and, Drake was pretty sure, desire.

"I assure you, I am not insane. My mind is perfectly healthy, as well as my body, as you can so obviously tell." He said with a Cheshire cat grin.

Nova blushed furiously, looking away from the obvious bulge below his belt. "Don't ever touch me again." she said quietly, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. "You can hold me and my powers prisoner, you can threaten my family, and you can destroy the world around us, but me," turning to face him, Drake could almost see the water churning in her eyes, "I'm off limits. So I repeat; Don't. Ever. Touch. Me. Again." Walking out the door with her head high, Nova steeled herself not to run away. It took every ounce of her self-control, but she made it out the door and down the hallway before she broke into an all-out run. Looking behind her to see if he had followed her out of the room, she saw no one. Rounding the corner of the next hallway, she realized that she had no idea where she was going. Deciding the unknown was better than being a prisoner, she kept going until she found a door that appeared to lead outside. Yanking it open, she turned one last time to be sure she wasn't being followed and ran straight into a very solid wall of chest.

"Oomph, ugh. What the? Well, hey." Said a deep male voice.

Nova looked up into the wall's eyes and quickly backed away. "Um, I'm sorry. I was rushing because I'm, um, I didn't see you there." She didn't know why, but this guy made her nervous. Oh, he was gorgeous and very solidly male, but something about his eyes seemed cold and ruthless. He grinned and Nova saw he had a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Clearly, he was nobody to mess with.

"Nova, my love, I see you have met Felken." Startled, Nova jumped and spun to face Drake who had come up behind her. But not before she had seen the hatred flash in Felken's eyes.

"Ah, um, yeah. I guess I have. If you will excuse me," she said, attempting to go out the door again.

"I believe Clack is waiting to escort you above stairs." Drake said softly.

Nova froze with her hand on the door. "Of course he is." She responded through clenched teeth. Deciding this was better tried another time, she gave up her pursuit of freedom...for now.

Chapter 13

Branna was waiting when Rían returned from taking her Granda to Rían's fathers castle. Although she was anxious to find her sister, she wanted to make sure all was well with Granda. He was very important to them. She stood as Rían entered the cottage. "Did he get settled okay?"

"Branna, you didn't have to wait up for me to return." Rían said with a smirk.

"I wasn't waiting for
you
, I was waiting to hear that Granda settled in okay in your strange world." Branna snapped sarcastically.

"Decklin is fine." Rían said with a defeated sigh. Fighting with Branna was exhausting, it seemed to be the only way she knew how to communicate. "He and my father are old friends, and have battled evil together before. Decklin has been to my
strange world
many times." Walking toward the stairs, he managed a tired good night and ascended toward Decklin's room for some rest.

Kyna poked her head out of her room on his way by and gave him an apologetic smile. "She really means well, behind all the anger and sass is a heart that loves beyond measure." she said, now leaning in the doorway. Rían gave her a skeptical look, shook his head, as if to say
it's all too much,
and continued down the hall. Kyna figured she better go see what Branna was doing; she needed to rest, too.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she heard Branna call to her from the kitchen. There were books and crystals everywhere when she entered. "What are you doing, Bran?"

"I'm trying to see if I can find a spell to help us get through whatever shield Drake has over their location. Then maybe you will be able to feel where she is." Branna replied, never looking up from the book she was frantically taking notes from.

"That makes sense, I guess. But can't we just try to combine our powers again and reach out to her? Maybe through spirit, we can at least see her and get an idea of where she is located."

Branna blew out a frustrated breath. "You know what, I don't know. It's been three weeks, and we haven't been able to find her. This is ridiculous and frustrating, and I'm tired of failing." Throwing the paper she had been writing on to the floor, Branna jumped up from her chair and leaned on the table, palms flat, shoulders hunched.

Kyna walked over and stooped to pick up the paper Branna had thrown. Standing back up, she laid Branna's paper back on the table. "We aren't failing, we are all doing the best we can. Maybe after a good night's rest, we will see everything more clearly."

"Rest? You think Nova would rest for even one minute if one of us was trapped with some demon freak from Hell? Kyna, she would move Heaven and Earth to get to us, and she would never rest, or stop, or give up." Pacing now, Branna's hands flailed as she made her point. Spinning back to the table, she snatched her paper up, sat down and began writing again.

"You're right," Kyna walked around behind Branna, watching over her shoulder as she wrote furiously. "She also wouldn't want us working past the point of exhaustion to where we end up getting sloppy. Nova is strong, Bran, the strongest of all of us. If anyone can survive this and come out on top, it's her." Kyna put her hand on Branna's shoulder and gave a light tug. "Now, come on. One night's rest won't change anything. We can regroup in the morning."

Branna stopped writing and shoved her hands in her hair. Realizing that her sister was right, she stood up and followed her up the stairs. She needed to get some rest and get her wits together. Tomorrow they would go back at it with a renewed vengeance.

Nova lay staring at the ceiling, cursing whatever fate had prevented her from sleeping all night. Apparently, even that little escape was too much to ask. She listened to the sounds of the old castle, wondering if she was the only one awake at this hour. Climbing from her bed, she walked over to the balcony doors and looked out into the dawning day. Even with all that was going on, it never hurt to stop and enjoy a beautiful sunrise. That's when she realized that she couldn't hear the low buzz that had been constant background noise since she had arrived. Slowly reaching out her hand, she tested the door to see if she still got an electric shock. Finding that she could touch the door, she gripped both handles firmly and turned them, opening the doors. Stepping out onto the balcony, she relished the sun on her face and looked out over the water. She inhaled the fresh air like someone starved for oxygen. Allowing the breeze to whip through her hair, she enjoyed the feeling of having it wave around her face. Smiling, she turned in a circle with her arms raised and without even thinking began to chant her morning greeting spell to the universe.