Souls of the Damned (Kat Redding) (14 page)

In all the time I’d lived with Levi and his family, I never once saw Sienna’s room. She’d always kept the door closed, even when she wanted to give me something. She would slip in and out through an opening just barely large enough for her to pass to get what she wanted. I never questioned it, figuring it was typical of a girl who didn’t want others to see the mess of her room.

When I entered Sienna’s bedroom after my shower, I was struck dumb by how sparse and depressing it was. The walls were a faded white, the carpet pale blue and dirty. There was no TV in the room, no radio. A small shelf held a handful of well-read books, all of them as bland as you could get if the titles were any indication. The bed was small and held only a basic comforter and pillow. There were no stuffed animals, no posters, no personality at all within the tiny space.

I stood in the doorway for a good five minutes, just staring. Even a guest room held more life than Sienna’s room. Hell, I’d seen pictures of prisons where the cells had more amenities than here. How Sienna could ever have survived in this pathetic space without getting horribly depressed, I will never know.

Then again, why else would she have left if not for depression? It couldn’t have all been about Levi, a creature she’d thought of as nothing more her controlling stepfather.

Once the initial shock of seeing the room wore off, I stepped the rest of the way into the room, flipped on a light, and closed the door. It was just starting to get dark outside. My stomach grumbled, telling me it was nearly time to eat, but was unsure if I’d actually be able to keep anything down. Between being back in Delai in another woman’s body, and seeing the bleakness of Sienna’s old life firsthand, I wasn’t feeling too hot.

I crossed the room and stopped in front of Sienna’s dresser. Guilt swept over me as my hand hovered over the drawers. These were
her
things; not mine. Just because there was so little to the room, didn’t mean the sparse furnishings didn’t mean anything to her. There could be a diary hidden away somewhere, a favorite sweater. I had no right to go through her stuff.

But if I wanted Levi and Eilene to believe I was their stepdaughter, I had to act like her. I might have seen the face Sienna put on in front of me, but often, people acted differently when they were around family and friends than when they were alone. If Sienna had a tendency to sing in the shower, I really should know so I could do the same.

I slid open the top drawer of her dresser and found a few pairs of socks and balled-up underwear. The next drawer down held a couple pairs of jeans and below that were a handful of folded sweaters. I went through the rest of the drawers and found nothing of interest, just enough basic clothing for her to get by.

The closet was much the same. It appeared she had only two pairs of shoes, and that was counting the ones I was wearing now. A few shirts hung on hangers, but they were all just your run of the mill T’s that gave no hint at what her personality might be. The top shelf of the closet held a few blankets and a spare pillow. I rifled through them in the hopes of finding something telling hidden away, but there was nothing there.

“Now this really is depressing,” I grumbled, closing the closet door.

I went through the rest of the room, checked under the bed, beneath the mattress, but found nothing. If Sienna had kept a journal, she must have taken it with her or hidden it somewhere outside the house. I couldn’t see her leaving something like that anywhere Levi might find it.

Of course, if I lived with Levi, I wouldn’t want a record of my thoughts lying around where he might find it and read it. She might not have known exactly what he was, but I was pretty sure she realized he wasn’t the normal man he pretended to be.

Examination of the room done, I went ahead and changed my clothes. The ones I was wearing still smelled faintly of Jonathan and I really didn’t want Levi sniffing that out. I shoved the dirty clothes into the hamper by the door and then threw a couple of clean shirts on top to hide them. I doubted the angel would check, let alone do the laundry and find them, but hey, you can’t be too safe.

On went a pair of shorts and a plain blue T-shirt, and then I waited.

There was no telling when I’d be called downstairs for dinner. Both Levi and Eilene were mad at Sienna for different reasons, but I imagined both of them would want to punish her in some way. Did that mean spending the rest of the night in her room, waiting until sleep overtook me? Or would I get a firm reprimand from each of them in turn, followed by reassurance and hugs?

I really wasn’t good with this sort of thing and I sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to it.

The books on the shelves didn’t interest me, though there really wasn’t much else to do. I picked one up, cracked the cover, and then put it down again without reading a word. I didn’t need to be wasting time like this. I needed to come up with a plan so that when the opportunity came, I could put an end to Levi and get back home so that Beligral could put my soul back in my own body.

It wasn’t easy to come up with much of anything just yet. Until I learned Levi’s routine better, I’d have to be careful at how I approached this. If I wanted to go through Levi’s room, I needed to know when he normally wasn’t around and how long he was usually gone. And with Eilene never leaving the house, I’d have to time it for when she was asleep.

The front door opened and slammed closed. I sat up straighter, heart pounding. I didn’t have to look out the window to know Levi was home.

His muffled voice came through the door. I couldn’t tell if he was angry, irritated, or if he was in a good mood now that he thought Sienna was safely back home. I could have gotten up and opened the door so I could hear better, but somehow, I knew that was something Sienna wouldn’t have done. If he caught me trying to eavesdrop on him, there was no telling what he’d do.

So, I continued to sit on the bed and wait. He spoke to Eilene for about five minutes, or at least I thought it was her. I couldn’t hear another voice, though Levi did pause every now and again as if listening to a response. As soon as he finished his conversation, he walked heavily up the stairs, almost as if giving me warning he was coming. He paused just outside the bedroom door. I could picture him standing there, hairy arms crossed over his chest as he tried to listen to see what I might be up to.

Finally, he knocked gently on the door. “Sienna?” he called. “Can I come in a moment?”

Denying him was out of the question and he knew it. Even before I could answer, he was already turning the knob. He pushed the door open, but didn’t come in right away. His entire bulk stood framed in the doorway, looking both imposing and comforting at the same time. Deep down, I knew it was all an illusion, but I felt eased nonetheless. I assumed the feelings came with the glamour.

Levi smiled and held out his arms like he wanted me to run to him for a giant bear hug. There was no way in hell I was going to do that and I expected Sienna wouldn’t have either. Was it a test? Did he suspect something wasn’t quite right? Or was he trying to show me that he wasn’t as pissed as he’d appeared earlier?

Either way, I wasn’t going for it. I crossed my arms and remained seated, hoping I looked like a petulant teenager.

“Ah, come on now, Sienna,” he said, striding into the room. He sat down on the bed next to me without asking for permission. “Don’t be like that.”

I didn’t respond.

Levi sighed and rested his hand on my back. It took all my self-control not to flinch away from his touch.

“Where did you go when you left?” he asked. “Did something happen to you while you were gone?”

My mind raced. How could I answer that without getting myself into trouble? I was pretty sure he’d know if I gave him too much of a lie, but maybe if I was vague enough, he wouldn’t ask any more questions. Besides, didn’t they say that the best lies held some element of truth?

“I thought I’d try to find Kat,” I said, knowing how he’d take it.

His shoulders tensed, as did his hand on my back, but the smile never left his face. “Now, why would you do such a thing?”

“I missed her,” I said. “I liked her.”

Levi’s sigh sounded almost consoling. “I did too,” he said. “But she wasn’t good for us. She tried to tear you away from me, planted lies in your head without you realizing she was doing it. Her life consists only of death and violence. I tried to help her, but deep down, she didn’t want to be helped.”

“I know,” I said, knowing that was what he wanted me to say. “But I still wanted to know where she’d gone.”

“And did you find her?”

I hesitated. How to answer that one correctly? “I tried,” I said after a moment. “I didn’t know where to look.”

He studied me for a long time. The way his gaze crept over my face started to get me worried. Who knew how much his eyes saw? He’d been able to tell I’d dealt with Beligral before by simply looking deep into my eyes. Could he do the same now with Sienna? Could he tell that the girl he knew wasn’t looking back at him? I averted my eyes, just in case.

His hand fell away from my back as he stood. “Well, you’re back now,” he said. “I guess that’ll have to be good enough for me.” He walked to the door, stopped, and then looked back. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

He left the room, leaving the door cracked open behind him. He walked down the hall and back down the stairs where he said a few things to Eilene. I could just make out her rasping voice now. She sounded almost pleading, though I still couldn’t tell what either of them said. The front door opened, but didn’t close right away. I assumed that meant Levi had gone out to his truck to get something.

A few minutes later, Levi returned. He was carrying what looked to be an old-style doctor’s bag. He set it down on the bed next to me. There was a faint clink of glass from within.

“My supply was running low,” he said. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, but I need to restock before I can continue my work. I know you understand?” He made the last a question.

I nodded, though I had no idea what in the hell he was talking about. There was a look in his eye that scared me. It was the same sort of look I remembered when he’d cut Ronnie’s hand to tempt me into attacking during the full moon all those months ago.

Levi opened the case and removed an empty syringe. He set it down next to me before pulling out another two. He lined them up next to each other and then regarded me with a smile.

“Hold out your arm,” he said. “Just like always.”

The urge to fight him off was strong, but I did as he said. As I was now, I was at his mercy. To fight back would be to give myself away and my entire reason for being there would be at risk.

Levi took my arm and without bothering to pop the vein, he jammed a syringe into the crook of my elbow. He must have hit it dead on because when he pulled the plunger back, it filled with blood.

I barely breathed as he filled all three syringes. I felt lightheaded by the time he was done, but otherwise was unharmed. I was afraid he’d inject me with something afterward, but all he did was slap a bandage over the single hole he’d left and then patted me on the head.

“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” he said. “You’ll want to make sure to fill up. You’re looking a little peaked.”

I nodded absently as Levi carefully capped the syringes and returned them to his bag. What did he need Sienna’s blood for? Was he running tests on the girl? Beligral
had
said she was special. Was it natural, or was Levi’s experiments doing something to her?

Once everything was packed away, Levi left the room. This time, he closed the door behind him.

I sagged back into the bed, feeling weaker than I ever had before. If this kept up, there was no way I was going to find Levi’s summoner and kill him. Instead, I’d be useless, trapped here in a body that wasn’t my own, in a house with a monster who didn’t seem to care who he hurt, as long as he got what he wanted.

It was just the three of us at dinner that night. I wondered where Ronnie was, but didn’t ask. Levi had no problem bleeding the other man for the benefit of his “cure,” but would he go so far as to kill the guy? I guess it was possible an accident had happened while I’d been away and one of Levi’s supes had gotten to Ronnie, but if it had, no one mentioned it.

I took Sienna’s usual seat and kept my head down, trying my best to act like I always remembered her when she’d come to the table. I could feel Eilene’s eyes on me, but wouldn’t look up to meet her gaze. I didn’t want to see the disappointment there.

“It’s good to have you home, Sienna,” Levi said. He sat at his usual spot at the table. I glanced up to see him smiling at me and I returned it with a crooked smile of my own before returning my eyes back to the top of the table.

“Well.” Levi clapped his hands together, causing me to jump. “In honor of your return, I’ve decided we’ll be having something of a celebration. I’ve had some friends down at DeeDee’s make us up something special for the occasion.”

The waitress I’d met on my first ever trip to Delai entered the room. She wasn’t wearing her name tag this time, but I was pretty sure her name was Valerie. Her smile still appeared painted on even after all this time. She carried a tray loaded with bacon and eggs and toast. She set it down in the middle of the table and then just stood there, staring blankly across the room.

“Thank you, Valerie, my dear,” Levi said. “You may go.”

She immediately turned on her heel and walked out the front door. There was no hesitation in her actions. She looked like the perfect little servant, programmed to do Levi’s every command.

It made me sick to my stomach to see it. That girl had once been someone. She’d had a life, though if my guess was correct and everyone in Delai had once been a supe, it might have been something of a deadly life. I didn’t care if she’d been a werewolf or a vampire. She’d been yanked from her home and turned into Levi’s little toy robot.

“I know how much you’ve always enjoyed breakfast,” Levi said, drawing my eye back to him. “I thought it might be nice to have it now, even at dinner, just for you.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled. I had to admit, the food smelled great. If there was one thing about Delai I’d missed, it was the food at DeeDee’s. Whatever Levi had done to the people there, he hadn’t affected their cooking, unless he’d somehow made it better.

“Let’s eat!” Levi clapped his hands together once more. The sound echoed throughout the house, causing me to jump yet again. He gave me a thoughtful grin before he began loading his plate.

I wanted to eat practically everything there, but knew Sienna wouldn’t have. Instead, I picked through the bacon, taking only the crispiest of pieces, and slid one egg and a single piece of toast onto my plate. It was a meager meal, but it would have to do. Sienna had never eaten much in the months I’d lived with her.

Eilene remained silent throughout the meal. She picked at her food, barely slipping anything through her cracked lips. I caught her looking at me more than once and wished she’d just let it go. I hated disappointing her, though I knew it wasn’t actually me she was upset with.

Levi, on the other hand, never stopped talking as he ate. He laughed at his own jokes, ate like he was trying to fill a bottomless pit, and did his best to make sure both his stepdaughter and wife were included in the conversation. I nodded in all of the right places, mumbled a word or two, but made sure not to engage him fully. Eilene did the same.

Eventually, it became too much for me to keep from saying something I might regret. I was never one to hold my tongue, and with a man I sorely despised sitting at the same table, it was practically impossible.

I finished off my dinner, feeling marginally better now that I’d eaten, and then asked to be excused.

A frown flickered across Levi’s face.

“I’m just really tired,” I said quickly, hoping I hadn’t somehow aroused his suspicions. I followed it up with a yawn that was actually genuine.

Levi’s face cleared. “Of course, sweetie,” he said. “You’ve had a long couple of days, haven’t you?”

I nodded and rose.

“I’ll be in to check on you later,” he said. “I’ve got a few more things to do tonight, so it might be late.”

Another nod and I hurried for the stairs. I took them by twos, just wanting to be in Sienna’s room and away from Levi. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, eyes closed and breathing hard. If I had to spend another couple of nights listening to Levi babble on like that, I’d end up going crazy.

With another yawn, I pushed away from the door and dragged myself to bed. I hadn’t been joking when I’d said I was tired. A few hours of sleep would do me some good, and if Levi was gone when I woke, all the better. I’d really wanted to take a look around tonight, but it could wait until morning. I was feeling muddled and might overlook the one clue that would point me directly to Levi’s summoner.

I kicked off my shoes, found Sienna’s pajamas, and slipped into them. I flipped off the light through another yawn, and then turned back to pure blackness.

I stood there, dumbfounded. How in the hell did Purebloods do anything at night? I blinked my eyes a few times and images started to appear. The bed became a vague shape against the wall. The curtained windows were silhouettes in the dark. I slid my feet along the carpet to one of them and opened the blinds that had been drawn down. Light seeped in, just barely lighting the room enough so that I wouldn’t break my neck trying to get into bed. If the moon hadn’t been so bright, I might not have made it.

With another face-eating yawn, I crawled beneath the covers and closed my eyes. My mind was a tangle of half-aware thoughts that I was unlikely to unravel until I had a good night’s sleep. I could feel myself drifting away almost immediately.

A knock at the door brought my eyes snapping open.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I sat up. The entire world was swaying oddly and I felt as if I was vibrating. I was pretty sure I’d fallen into a deep slumber, but had no clue as to how long I’d been out.

The door opened and a slim shape slipped inside. Before I could get a good look at my nighttime visitor, the door was closed and the room was cast in darkness again.

“He’s going to be gone for about an hour,” Eilene said, sitting on the bed next to me.

“Who?” I asked, dumbly. It felt like I’d been sucking on cotton. I smacked my gums a few times and grimaced at the thick taste.

“Levi.” Eilene sighed and flipped on the bedside lamp. The sudden light blinded me. I shielded my eyes against the glare with my arm and groaned.

Seconds passed in silence. The world stopped swaying and I started to think somewhat clearly again. Once I was sure I could open my eyes without them being seared from my skull, I lowered my arm to find Eilene studying me closely.

“I was asleep,” I mumbled. “What time is it?”

Eilene didn’t answer. She continued to study me as if I was some strange new creature she’d never seen before. It was unsettling, like she was dissecting me with just her eyes. It was the type of thing I might expect from Levi or a powerful vampire, not a sick pureblooded woman.

“Where is she?” she asked finally.

“Who?”

“Sienna. Where is she?”

I licked my lips and tried to remain calm. “What do you mean?” I asked, all innocence. “I’m right here.”

“Don’t try to lie to me.” Eilene folded her hands calmly in her lap. “You can’t fool a mother, even an adoptive one. Where is she?”

I considered trying to lie to her. How could she possibly know I wasn’t her daughter? I’d done my best to act like Sienna, had done everything as best as I could, and yet she knew. Did that mean Levi was out there now, trying to find the real Sienna? How could either of them ever have suspected?

“She’s safe,” I said, shoulders sagging. There was no reason to lie to her. I liked the woman too much to keep doing it anyway and perhaps she might be able to tell me something that would help.

“Where?”

“At my place.”

Eilene coughed. She wiped at her lips with a trembling hand before meeting my eyes. There was a speck of blood on her lips. “Who are you?”

The urge to lie flashed through my mind again, but since I’d already admitted I wasn’t her stepdaughter, there was no reason to. I didn’t think Eilene would tell Levi, though I was still worried he might be able to mine the information from her mind.

“You know me,” I said. “When Sienna escaped, she came straight to me. I’m not sure how she found me, but she did. I was able to find a way for us to switch bodies so that I could return here in her place. She’s safe in my house, in my body right now. Levi can’t get to her.”

A strange sort of relief passed through Eilene’s eyes. She was happy Sienna was safe, but I could tell she was concerned about the body switch. Apparently, the thought of the swap didn’t strike her as unbelievable.

“Tell me who you are,” she said after a moment. “I need to know your name.”

With a sigh that was both resignation and relief that I wasn’t going to have to lie to her anymore, I told her.

Eilene stared at me for a long time, as if trying to find the truth in my eyes. I didn’t flinch away from her stare, but rather, sat up straighter, let her see the determination in my own eyes. I wasn’t here just to take over Sienna’s life; I was here on a mission.

It must have worked because a faint smile played across her lips and she nodded.

“I see.” She coughed again. Her entire body jerked with the motion and I was afraid she might never stop. When I reached out to touch her, she waved me off. The fit eased and she went on. “Why did you want to come back here so badly that you have stolen my daughter’s body?”

“I didn’t steal it,” I said, bothered by the implication. “I’m borrowing it with her permission.” I paused. “Actually, she forced me to do it.”

That brought something of a smile to Eilene’s face. “But why?” she asked.

“You know why.” I could tell she knew. There was a look, almost a hopeful expression on her face.

“I see.” She nodded slowly, as if thinking it over.

“How did you know?” I asked, clearly curious. If Eilene knew, then might Levi?

Eilene’s smile widened. “There was just something about how you moved that didn’t quite sit right with me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, and really, I wasn’t sure if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I figured if I came in and asked you point-blank, you might let something slip.”

And instead I’d practically told her everything.

I scooted across the bed and rested a hand on Eilene’s knee. It felt bony and frail beneath my hand. I had a feeling it would crumble if I were to squeeze, even with Sienna’s inferior strength.

“She was scared,” I said. “I didn’t want to do it this way, but I was left with no choice. She kept trying to come back, even though she didn’t want to. I tried to come up with some other way to stop it from happening, but when she discovered that we could swap souls . . .” I shrugged. “She gave me an ultimatum. Either I do this, or she leaves. It was the only thing I could do to keep her safe.”

“I don’t blame you,” Eilene said. A trembling hand rested atop mine. “You do only as you have to do.”

“I do,” I said, and then I took a chance. “And I think you might be able to help me accomplish what I came to do.”

Eilene gave a bitter laugh that erupted into a coughing fit. When I made a move to help her, she shook me off again with a wave of her hand.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “It isn’t as if I can die from it.” She sighed in relief as the fit finally passed. “Do you know what Levi is?”

“I do.” I swallowed back the rush of fear that flashed through me thinking of him. “He’s an angel.”

“An angel.” Eilene shrugged. “Or a demon. It’s really hard to tell the difference.”

“So then you must know he has to be destroyed.”

“If only it were that easy.” Eilene looked away from me. “I’ve tried in more ways than you can count to be rid of him. I’ve lived a very long time and yet, here I am. You can’t kill him, just as I can’t die.”

“I don’t need to kill him,” I said, wondering about the last, but let it go. I was too excited about the prospects that she might very well be able to help me put an end to Levi. I’d always known she was afraid of the man. She’d even tried to warn me off before, telling me to never come back.

The question was, however, could she tell me what I needed to know?

“Do you believe me when I tell you who I am?” I asked, forcing Eilene to meet my eyes.

She nodded without hesitation. “Of course. Only one person I know would be dumb enough to come back here once she’d gotten away.” She said it with a faint smile, telling me she didn’t mean it as a complete insult.

“If you believe me, then you also know I’ll do whatever it takes to stop Levi from hurting anyone else. It’s why I came.”

“I know.”

“I don’t need to kill him directly. All I have to do is find the person who summoned him and kill him. After that, Levi and Delai will be no more.”

Eilene gave me a sad smile. “I know that too.”

“Can you help me, then?”

She took a deep breath and gave a small, bitter laugh. “It depends on what you mean by help.”

“Do you know who summoned Levi?”

Eilene looked up to meet my eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away. She took a deep breath, let it out with a huff that seemed to rattle in her chest, before speaking.

“Of course I do,” she said, her voice shaking on the words. Her bitter smile grew cynical. “I did.”