Blessed (Book 2, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (25 page)

We all had a good time dancing and laughing together for most of the night, at least until I found out Malik and Tara were missing.

It first came to my attention when I was making my way back to the dance from a short trip to the ladies’ room. Cheryl approached me and asked if I had seen Malik. It was getting close to midnight and she wanted to go home.

“I’ve been looking for him for like thirty minutes,” she complained. “You have any idea where he might be?”

“No,” I told her, completely confused by Malik’s unexpected absence. “I haven’t seen him.”

“Hey, Lilly, you seen Tara?” Aaron came to join Cheryl and me.

“No,” I told him.

“You think you could go in the ladies’ restroom and see if she’s in there?”

“I was just in there. I didn’t see her.”

“She’s been gone for like half an hour.”

“I should have known,” Cheryl said, crossing her arms in front of her ample bosom. “All Malik talked about was Tara tonight. They’re probably off together somewhere.”

“You think?” Aaron asked, not completely sure he agreed with Cheryl’s assessment.

“Yeah, that’s what I think,” she replied, completely miffed. “Hey, you mind taking me home, since our dates are off together doing who knows what? I need a ride.”

“Well, I hate to leave without knowing Tara’s ok. I just don’t see her as the type to ditch one guy for another one at a party.”

“She’s not,” I defended, giving Cheryl a withering gaze for talking about Tara in such a defamatory way. “But, you should go ahead and take Cheryl home,” I suggested. “It is getting late. I’ll look for them while you’re gone. I can probably find Tara before you get back.”

“Ok.”

Aaron earned a few more brownie points then as he took care of Cheryl for me.

I was about to search out the guys to help me find Tara and Malik when I felt someone touch my shoulder. I turned to see who it was hoping it was either Tara or Malik. Unfortunately, it wasn’t either of them.

“Hello, Lilly,” Robert said, grabbing me by the arm and phasing us outside the building before I could call for help.

“Don’t even think about phasing back inside,” he hissed, gripping my arm so tight I thought I could actually feel my hand go numb from the loss of blood.

I was surprised he knew I could phase. As far as I could remember, he had never seen me do it.

“Yes, I know about your powers,” he said, after seeing my reaction. “He told me all about them. But if you want to save your friends, you need to do exactly what I tell you to do.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, already fearing his next words.

“I have that fairy and your other friend, the human. I have to admit fairy blood does have a certain unique quality to it.” He licked his lips with his tongue, as if removing the last traces of Malik from his lips.

My own blood ran cold. “You didn’t…” I literally couldn’t make the words come out of my mouth to finish the question.

“Not yet,” he grinned, relishing my response to what he was implying. “I’ve only tasted a bit of what they have to offer. Whether or not I go back and finish what I started is completely up to you.”

If I could just get him to show me where they were, I could phase them to safety.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “And no, I’m not going to make it that easy for you. I told you we were going to play a little game, and I meant it. You don’t honestly think I would make it that easy for you to get your friends back, do you?”

“What do you want?”

“I want to see you grovel at my feet,” he said, savoring the power he knew he held over me. “I want to watch you suffer just for the right to beg me for your friends’ lives. I have a few more of your friends with the fairy and human, a few of your werewolf friends. Now, let’s see, there’s Abby, of course; I couldn’t very well not bring your future stepdaughter. Then there’s Sebastian. I’ve always wanted to see him play in one of my games, but Malcolm’s never wanted to bring him. And, of course, poor little Angela. She just can’t seem to catch a break. Her father saw me take her, you know, but he’s too completely paralyzed by his own fears to do anything to help her,” Robert chuckled.

“What sort of game are you talking about?”

“We like to call it Bait. You see, some of my Watcher compatriots and I like to pit our children against each other to see who is the fastest, the most agile. We set up a couple of humans as bait somewhere in a secluded area, and let our children loose to see who can reach them first. There’s usually a bit of fighting between them in the beginning, but as soon as they catch the scent of fresh blood from the victims, they forget all about each other and let their bloodlust take over completely.”

“No,” I covered my mouth with a shaking hand. Not only were Malik and Tara in danger of losing their lives, but Abby, Sebastian, and Angela were in jeopardy of losing their souls if they were allowed to drink human blood. It was the one thing all of my Watcher friends had been protecting their children from all these years. I couldn’t let it happen.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, determined to find a way to stop what Robert had set in motion.

“Oh, I don’t know, Lilly. Why don’t we start with something simple? Why don’t you start by bowing down to me?”

I knew he wasn’t going to make this easy for me. He would try to humiliate me as much as he could.

I did what he asked and got on my knees. At least the petticoat under the dress came in handy and provided a cushion for my knees and legs against the cold concrete.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” he asked, knowing I resented the hold he had on me in that moment.

“Will you take me to them?”

“I might, but first I think I need to hear a little more pleading in your voice. You don’t seem completely convinced that I’ll let your friends die so gruesomely. Maybe you’ve never seen a pack of werewolves tear into a human body before. I can assure you, there won’t be anything left when they get through.”

I tried to fight against letting my anger show. “Please take me to them, Robert.”

“There’s just something about the way you’re saying it,” he said, sounding disappointed. “It just doesn’t sound like it’s coming from your heart, Lilly.”

“
Please
, I’m begging you,” I bowed my head to him in a gesture of complete supplication. “Take me to them.”

“Well, now,” he said, sounding genuinely pleased for the first time. “That’s more like it. I hoped it would just take a little persuasion on my part to bring you in line.”

He placed his hand on top of my head, and I was suddenly kneeling on a dirt- packed forest floor. I looked up to see the moon in the sky directly overhead. High- pitched howls of excitement and urgency from the wolf pack could be heard in the distance.

Robert tilted his head toward the sound, as if the howls were beautiful music playing. “Ahh, the children are searching for your friends.”

“Please,” I begged. “Where are they?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” he said, turning around and pointing straight ahead. “There’s a clearing about a hundred yards that way somewhere. Your fairy friend has transformed into his animal, but it won’t do him any good. I think he feels like he can protect the girl in that form better.”

I sprang to my feet, intent on running as fast as I could to the spot Robert had pointed to. Before I could start running, I felt him grab and yank on my arm.

“Wait,” he said, pulling me to him, forcing his mouth down onto mine. His warm, slimy tongue pushed its way between my lips. The thought of biting down on it occurred to me. But I knew if I did that, he wouldn’t let me go without suffering some sort of repercussions, and that was time I couldn’t afford to waste; not with so much at stake.

“Kiss me back,” he ordered, cupping his hands on the sides of my face, forcing me to look into his lust-crazed eyes. “Or do you think your friends can survive without you for much longer?” he sneered.

I felt nauseated at the thought of having to pretend I enjoyed kissing a loathsome creature such as Robert. I shut my eyes so I wouldn’t have to look at him and followed his lead in the kiss, trying to imagine that I was somewhere else, anywhere else. Every fiber in my body rebelled against complying with his wishes, and I had to quell my urge to shiver in revulsion for fear he would get mad and never let me go in time to save my friends.

I felt his hands leave my face and cup my breasts, fondling them roughly through the silk of my dress, tearing the material. A small whimper escaped my lips, which seemed to make him even more excited. I tried not to think about anything except finding Tara and Malik, and getting them to safety before the wolf pack hunted them down.

Robert finally released me, stumbling back like the kiss had affected him more than he had intended it to.

“Go,” he whispered with a small jerk of his head in the direction I needed to run. I felt his eyes follow me as I sprinted away from him.

It was so dark I could barely make out where I was going. My dress wasn’t helping matters, since it seemed to get caught on every branch I passed. Finally, I took a few precious seconds to pull down the petticoat and leave it on the forest floor. I hiked up the blue silk and ran as fast as I could, hoping I wouldn’t be too late. Branches lashed at my body, but I didn’t have time to care. I had to save them.

But which direction were they? I could barely see in the pitch black. I feared I wouldn’t be able to find them in time. Suddenly, I saw a soft blue light appear about twenty feet in front of me. It was the ghostly shape of the eight-year-old Will.

“Follow me!” he shouted, and started to run ahead of me, leading me to where I needed to go.

“Lilly!”

I heard the cry come from somewhere beside me. I slowed down long enough to see that it was Allan.

“Follow me,” I yelled to him, not wanting to lose sight of my guide. I could tell Allan was having trouble being outside in the strange environment of the forest, but I didn’t have time to deal with his peculiar idiosyncrasies. I had to find Tara and Malik before it was too late.

Allan did as I told him and ran along beside me.

After a few minutes, my ghostly guide disappeared as we came to the clearing Robert said I would find.

“Tara!” I screamed so loud, the sound of my hysterical voice bounced off the trees around us in a shrill cacophony.

The only answer was the growl of a cat. I ran toward the noise, hoping what I heard was Malik. Robert had said he’d transformed into his animal form.

When I found them, Tara was lying on the ground, unconscious, with a black panther licking the wound at her neck. I could hear the wolf pack crashing through the brush at the edge of the clearing. They would be on us at any moment.

“Allan, you need to phase them somewhere safe!”

“But, Angela…”

“Listen to me,” I yelled. “If you want to protect Angela, you need to get these two away now! Then come back here to get the others. Now go! They’re almost here!”

It didn’t take Allan long to come to his senses and phase Tara and Malik to safety.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by at least twenty werewolves, preparing to launch themselves on the spot where Tara and Malik’s blood still stained the ground at my feet.

“Stop!” I ordered.

Amazingly enough they all stopped dead in their tracks, as if I had put up some sort of barrier around myself. In the dark, I could make out their eyes all staring down at me, watching me.

“Kneel!” I ordered again, not sure if it would work, but not seeing how it could hurt to try.

In unison, they all knelt as best they could on their backward-looking legs.

“Well,” Robert appeared beside me. “I didn’t see this coming.” He studied the wolf pack in wonder. “You’re full of surprises, Lilly.”

“Abby! Sebastian! Angela!” I called, ignoring Robert. “Come forward!”

Three of the wolves stood and came closer to me. Allan quickly reappeared beside me, apparently having found a safe place to deposit Malik and Tara.

“Take them home,” I told Allan, having already resigned myself to the fate I knew I would have to endure. “Tell Brand I love him,” I couldn’t help the crack in my voice as I tried to rein in my emotions, “and that I’m sorry. I don’t have any choice.”

“Just leave, Lilly,” Allan implored.

“I can’t,” I told him. “It won’t matter. Robert will just do this again if I don’t go with him now. Don’t you see that? They’ll never be safe.”

“I’ll bring back help,” Allan said, thinking a fight was what was called for in this situation.

“Oh, I don’t think that would make a difference.” Robert snapped his fingers. Almost immediately, there were at least thirty Watchers surrounding us, all dressed in their black feathered cloaks, a sign that they were ready for a hunt. “I doubt you and your friends could take all of them.”

I turned to Robert. I knew it was finally time to meet the person who had been so determined to end my life over the past ten years. If I had to face death, I wanted to do it on my own terms, without regret. My sacrifice would protect the lives of those I loved. As long as I kept that thought in my mind, my fear of dying would have to take a backseat. At least I would finally understand why my death seemed so important to the person who had been trying to kill me since I was child.