[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
him. "This is politics in its simplest form. Valentine stands in my way and I want him
gone."
"Gone?" The incredulity in my voice made it a question. "As in dead?"
"Correct." Darius said the word slowly as if he spoke to a young child.
"Good luck with that," I scoffed. "I doubt killing him is even possible."
Valentine was a mystery. Months with him and I never came close to unraveling it.
He wasn't a witch or a shapeshifter. He didn't follow the rules that bound demon magic.
"For your sake, I hope that's not true," he said with a laugh. "You're going to be the
one to do it."
My heart skipped a beat. "If you're trying to get me killed, you could save a lot of
time by taking care of it yourself."
"No trick." He spread his arms wide as if I could ever believe he was harmless.
"Valentine is older than memory and he has never once revealed a weakness. Until
you."
I was suddenly cold. "We had some fun together for a while. That doesn't mean
anything."
"On the contrary, it means everything." Darius played with the lid of his coffee cup
and a smirk twisted at his lips. "I won't call it love infatuation perhaps. He opened
himself up to you in a way that I've never seen before."
Valentine's hands slid down my skin. His voice whispered through my mind as
power raged through me like a storm of fire.
I forced the memory away with an effort.
"That's ancient history." I said, finally. "I couldn't get near him now if I tried."
I snuck away from Valentine like a thief in the night. I could only imagine his anger
at that betrayal. There was a good chance he would kill me on sight just for
embarrassing him.
"Ah yes, the spurned lover," Darius mused. "Going to him now would be ill-advised."
"I guess I'm no use to you then." I pushed away a mutinous surge of regret. The fact
that I was still taking part in this conversation made me certifiable. Or at the very least,
unwilling to make any sudden moves around the coiled panther across from me.
"You can't go to him," Darius said with a careless shrug. "But he might just come to
you."
"What does that mean?"
"Here's how it's going to work: I pay your blood price, payment in advance for
services rendered, and you go home."
"You have that kind of money?" My voice was skeptical.
"I have my resources."
"So, I just go home?"
"That's right. You go back to your family back to life as you knew it." His gaze was
calculating. "When Valentine comes for you which he will you make good on our
bargain."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"We all saw what you did to Ceres. I'm sure you can think of something."
I pushed to my feet even as a wild voice inside of me screamed for me to stay.
Darius offered me a chance to make the fear go away. No more hiding. No more
running.
The magic licked and curled inside of me like a living flame. It would be so easy to
be safe again.
Darius eyed me warily as I suddenly towered over him.
"No deal."
"You're joking." Shock and anger contorted his features into something ugly, barely
human. "It's me or the noose, girlie."
"I'll take my chances. Find someone else to do your dirty work for you." The door
was a hundred feet away and I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other to
get there.
"You won't make it out of town alive." Darius appeared in front of me and I took an
involuntary step back. As I stared at him, I heard the distinct clatter of his wooden chair
hitting the floor. He moved too fast.
"Get out of my way, Darius." Traitorous whispers promised that I could make him
move. It would take little more than the touch of my fingers to his skin. I gritted my teeth
against the dark temptation. "I can't help you."
Darius lifted his hand. A business card was held between two of his fingers. He
tucked the card into the front pocket of my leather jacket. "In case you change your
mind."
I fished the business card out of my pocket and read it. The front listed only his first
name and a phone number. I flipped it over. The back was blank.
When I looked up he was gone.
* * * * *
I shivered in the parking lot of Leno's. Early dawn light broke over the horizon, proof
that I lived another day. I still felt exposed as I jogged down the street to my waiting
bike.
Darius's offer tempted the dark magic that I struggled to control. The power inside of
me relished the memory of fiery screams and twisted bodies. It waged in my heart like a
captive storm, desperate to be unleashed.
At first, it felt amazing. The taste of Ceres' heartbeat on my tongue was a heady
drug. The power made me unstoppable. I was the true Wayward daughter my family
always wanted me to be.
But even at my strongest, I wasn't in control. The magic had a will of it's own. It
raged inside of me like a forest fire, barely at the edges of my control.
Valentine had relished in my uncertainty. He drank the fear from my lips like nectar
from the gods.
So I ran. And I vowed to never let the magic control me again. That meant living like [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
him. "This is politics in its simplest form. Valentine stands in my way and I want him
gone."
"Gone?" The incredulity in my voice made it a question. "As in dead?"
"Correct." Darius said the word slowly as if he spoke to a young child.
"Good luck with that," I scoffed. "I doubt killing him is even possible."
Valentine was a mystery. Months with him and I never came close to unraveling it.
He wasn't a witch or a shapeshifter. He didn't follow the rules that bound demon magic.
"For your sake, I hope that's not true," he said with a laugh. "You're going to be the
one to do it."
My heart skipped a beat. "If you're trying to get me killed, you could save a lot of
time by taking care of it yourself."
"No trick." He spread his arms wide as if I could ever believe he was harmless.
"Valentine is older than memory and he has never once revealed a weakness. Until
you."
I was suddenly cold. "We had some fun together for a while. That doesn't mean
anything."
"On the contrary, it means everything." Darius played with the lid of his coffee cup
and a smirk twisted at his lips. "I won't call it love infatuation perhaps. He opened
himself up to you in a way that I've never seen before."
Valentine's hands slid down my skin. His voice whispered through my mind as
power raged through me like a storm of fire.
I forced the memory away with an effort.
"That's ancient history." I said, finally. "I couldn't get near him now if I tried."
I snuck away from Valentine like a thief in the night. I could only imagine his anger
at that betrayal. There was a good chance he would kill me on sight just for
embarrassing him.
"Ah yes, the spurned lover," Darius mused. "Going to him now would be ill-advised."
"I guess I'm no use to you then." I pushed away a mutinous surge of regret. The fact
that I was still taking part in this conversation made me certifiable. Or at the very least,
unwilling to make any sudden moves around the coiled panther across from me.
"You can't go to him," Darius said with a careless shrug. "But he might just come to
you."
"What does that mean?"
"Here's how it's going to work: I pay your blood price, payment in advance for
services rendered, and you go home."
"You have that kind of money?" My voice was skeptical.
"I have my resources."
"So, I just go home?"
"That's right. You go back to your family back to life as you knew it." His gaze was
calculating. "When Valentine comes for you which he will you make good on our
bargain."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"We all saw what you did to Ceres. I'm sure you can think of something."
I pushed to my feet even as a wild voice inside of me screamed for me to stay.
Darius offered me a chance to make the fear go away. No more hiding. No more
running.
The magic licked and curled inside of me like a living flame. It would be so easy to
be safe again.
Darius eyed me warily as I suddenly towered over him.
"No deal."
"You're joking." Shock and anger contorted his features into something ugly, barely
human. "It's me or the noose, girlie."
"I'll take my chances. Find someone else to do your dirty work for you." The door
was a hundred feet away and I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other to
get there.
"You won't make it out of town alive." Darius appeared in front of me and I took an
involuntary step back. As I stared at him, I heard the distinct clatter of his wooden chair
hitting the floor. He moved too fast.
"Get out of my way, Darius." Traitorous whispers promised that I could make him
move. It would take little more than the touch of my fingers to his skin. I gritted my teeth
against the dark temptation. "I can't help you."
Darius lifted his hand. A business card was held between two of his fingers. He
tucked the card into the front pocket of my leather jacket. "In case you change your
mind."
I fished the business card out of my pocket and read it. The front listed only his first
name and a phone number. I flipped it over. The back was blank.
When I looked up he was gone.
* * * * *
I shivered in the parking lot of Leno's. Early dawn light broke over the horizon, proof
that I lived another day. I still felt exposed as I jogged down the street to my waiting
bike.
Darius's offer tempted the dark magic that I struggled to control. The power inside of
me relished the memory of fiery screams and twisted bodies. It waged in my heart like a
captive storm, desperate to be unleashed.
At first, it felt amazing. The taste of Ceres' heartbeat on my tongue was a heady
drug. The power made me unstoppable. I was the true Wayward daughter my family
always wanted me to be.
But even at my strongest, I wasn't in control. The magic had a will of it's own. It
raged inside of me like a forest fire, barely at the edges of my control.
Valentine had relished in my uncertainty. He drank the fear from my lips like nectar
from the gods.
So I ran. And I vowed to never let the magic control me again. That meant living like [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]