Enslaved (The Inbetween Novels) (34 page)

“In a way, I guess.”

“You guess?” Faye stood and moved to sit beside her on the couch. “Tell me what happened with Deryck and this other incubus.”

Shayla tucked her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Looking not at her friend, but at the table full of leftover food, she told Faye about Harry, his true identity, and the God-awful time they spent in Iraq summoning Marduk. She wanted to glaze over certain parts, but once the story started, she couldn’t stop. Faye sat motionless beside her. Shayla had no clue if she believed the story. If someone told her the same tale, she’d think they dropped acid.

“How did you get home?” Faye turned to sit sideways on the couch, facing Shayla.

“Deryck used his powers and” —she bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should continue— “he left me with a way to call him if I ever wanted to.”

“Do you want to?” Faye patted Shayla’s knee.

“I don’t know.” Her fingers sought out the charm in her pants pocket and traced the swirling design.

“He saved you, Shayla. Deryck didn’t try to sleep with you or hurt you. I think he lied because he couldn’t tell you the truth of what he is. Would you have believed him?”

“No. Even now, I’m having a hard time accepting everything, but after what I saw and did in the temple . . . the truth is staring me in the face, and all I want to do is crawl in bed and hide under the blankets.” She laughed. “I sound so childish. It’s easier to convince myself it was all a dream. Except I can’t forget what Cyrus did to me and how it‘s tied to Harry and Deryck’s arrival in my life. This was planned, Faye. The last five years of trying to make my life better were for nothing. They’d planned to drag me back and use me to free them.”

“Did Deryck say he wanted you to free him?”

Shayla nodded. Tears stung her eyes and she gave them an angry swipe. She’d cried enough. “Yes, he said I was his one chance to be free.”

“Did he ask you to free him?”

“Ye—no.” She thought back to the moment before she asked him to take her home. “He mentioned freedom, but didn’t ask me. Deryck seemed genuinely sorry for what happened to me. He didn’t press the issue after.”

“After what? Did you sleep with him when he brought you home?”

“No! God, no. I was bleeding and covered in dirt and barely holding it together. If he hadn’t have been there, I would’ve been stuck in Iraq, most likely trapped in that temple until I starved to death.”

“So, Deryck came to help you after he realized Harry, or Herryk, kidnapped you. He fought a man he’s known for who knows how long. Despite his desire to be free, he never asked you to do whatever it is you need to. And he was a gentleman once he got you home, and left without taking advantage of your frightened and weakened state.” Faye shook her head and stood. “You’re an idiot.”

Shayla stared at her. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Faye was right, she was an idiot. Admitting it, however, was a different story. A small voice in the back of her mind fully believed Deryck had a larger part in her abduction. The rational part of her mind pulled up memories of Deryck’s face when he brought her home. He was distraught, worried about her, and she shut him out.

One of their cell phones rang. Shayla fished hers out of her pocket. Deryck’s charm came with it. She pooled the charm and chain in her hand and checked her phone.

Faye pulled her cell from her purse. “It’s mine, hold on.” She answered the phone and her face lit up. Shayla was glad to see the pregnancy didn’t put any stress on their relationship. If anything, Faye and Phil were closer. They worked hard and it showed in the way Faye talked and teased him. She hung up and grabbed her purse. “I gotta go, Shayla. Phil’s parents want to see the ultrasound pictures.”

Shayla wanted to smack her friend. “You have ultrasound pictures and didn’t show me?”

“We were dealing with your crappy personal life, remember?” Faye dug through her purse and pulled out a pair of papers. “You can’t really see anything, yet, but there it is.”

Shayla looked at the ultrasound pictures. Faye was right, it was impossible to know what she was looking for if not for the small arrow pointing to a blur varying slightly from the blurs around it. She smiled and handed the pictures back. “I’m so happy for you.”

Faye pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. “I wish you could be this happy, Shayla. Promise me you’ll seriously think about talking to Deryck, even if it is to get the full story about why he sought you out. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

“I’ll think about it.” Shayla kissed Faye’s cheek. “Now get out of here, your mushy face is making me want to puke.”

Faye nodded toward the leftover food. “Keep it. I bet you have nothing edible in the house.”

“Stop being psychic. Bye, Faye.”

Shayla walked her friend to the door and locked up after she was sure Faye made it into her car. It took a few minutes to wrangle all of the food cartons and shove them in the fridge. Luckily there was enough room for everything. She snagged a slice of garlic bread on her way out of the kitchen. Munching, she walked over to her bookshelves to find something to read. She really needed to hit the bookstore for new books; she’d read everything new she had during her week off work.

Finally deciding on a book, she shoved it under her arm, picked up her cell from the coffee table, and padded down the hall to her bedroom. The clock lit the room, reminding her it was far too early to go to bed. She flipped on the light and tossed a Kleenex over the clock.

“Screw being normal and functioning.” She dropped her cell, the book, and Deryck’s charm on the nightstand and went in search of her most comfortable pajamas.

The mists of the Inbetween were a power all their own, with no one to govern them aside from the human minds manipulating them into whatever form they desired. It was magic taken from the dream gods and gifted to mankind, though they had no clue what it was, how to actually use it, or why it was necessary in order to spare their lives.

Deryck hated the mists.

Since he’d separated from Shayla, the mists no longer thrilled him. Before, he could at least lose himself in thinking,
What will reveal itself this time around?
Each mistress he took had a different notion of what was romantic or a fitting location to meet with the man of their dreams—he’d even been with one woman who chose the center ring of a circus for her time with him. But now, now he dreaded the moment the mists thinned and the illusion took hold.

Deryck forced himself to keep moving forward. Looking back, thinking about what he’d lost—it would cripple him. There was no comfort to be found in his memories, and he’d wished, more than once, one of the injuries he’d suffered at Herryk’s hands would have wiped out the portion of his life he’d devoted to Shayla. It was not better to have loved then lost. It hurt like hell in ways he could never describe or escape. The pain ate at him, rending his heart to shreds. Deryck knew it would linger long after he knew Shayla was through with her mortal life. Yet he continued to put one foot in front of the other. Once he cleared the fog, his body knew what to do. He never failed to please his mistresses.

His shoes sunk into a patch of lush green grass. It was damp, dew clung to the cuff of his jeans, but it wasn’t cold. The sound of water trickling down a narrow stream filled the slice of Inbetween he’d been summoned to. The stream ran past on his left with a worn dirt path following its winding progress into the distance where the mists lingered. Massive trees lined this side of the stream, their branches hanging over the water and occasionally dropping a leaf in to sail off into the mists. Deryck looked up, wondering at the detail his mistress put into the trees. Stars winked at him between the leaves. His chest ached anew. He dropped his head, corralling the memories before they could do any more damage.

A gasp came from behind him; so faint he thought perhaps it was a false wind winding through the leaves. “It worked.”

Deryck froze. He couldn’t turn around, even if his life depended on it. There was no way. It had to be his imagination running wild and masking the true voice of the woman who’d summoned him. Yes, he was hearing things.

Soft footfalls whispered across the grass and crossed onto the path directly behind him. A pebble skittered around his shoes. “Deryck? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come. You’re upset. I’ll find a way to leave.” The tremor in her voice made his stomach flip.

“No, stay.” Deryck turned around and forgot everything he’d ever wanted to say should he be given the chance to see Shayla again.

The light from the moon made its way through the branches and gave him a good look to reassure himself he wasn’t hallucinating. Shayla stood a few feet back on the path, her arms crossed over her chest. She was in an oversized sweatshirt and jeans similar to what she wore during their movie night. Even with her body covered and her hair pulled back from her face in a low ponytail, she stole his breath. Shayla didn’t need to imagine herself in revealing clothing to feel secure in the Inbetween. She chose to be herself to face him.

Her eyes darted from his face to the stream beside them. “Are you sure you want me to stay?”

“Of course I do. I’m just surprised you called on me. By all rights, you should hate me.”

“Deryck, if I hated you, I wouldn’t be here.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a slow, deep breath to keep himself in check. She said she didn’t hate him, it didn’t mean she trusted him or wanted anything beyond a talk. He’d told her to come talk if she wanted to—as friends, nothing more. He needed to respect her wishes.

“Let’s sit and talk.” He gestured to the grass.

Shayla toed the damp lawn. “I should have picked a better place. We’re going to end up with wet butts.”

“This is your playland, Shayla. Picture a blanket in your mind and walk around that tree.” Deryck pointed to the large oak tree behind her.

She gave him a confused look, but turned and walked around the oak as he’d suggested. When she vanished behind the massive trunk of it, he heard her startled gasp. Shayla emerged from behind the tree with a plaid blanket over her arm. “It was hanging on one of the branches.”

“The Inbetween was fashioned to grant human desires, similar to the Dreamlands, but it allows creatures like me to come and fulfill certain needs otherwise ignored in dreams.” Deryck relieved her of the blanket and spread it over the grass. He sat, legs stretched in front of him, and watched the water in the stream trickle past.

Shayla joined him, picking a seat on the far side of the blanket. “So I’m not dreaming?”

“Not really. Dreams hold too much of a human’s energy, because it is their subconscious powering everything that happens. With access to so much energy, a demi-god could absorb it, kill the host, and pose a serious threat to the gods.” Deryck met Shayla’s eyes. “The truth no one will tell you is humans hold all of the power in the universe. Belief is a power the gods can never match. They rely on humans to provide them with that energy.”

She rubbed her forehead. “Why are you telling me all of this? It has to be against whatever rules you guys operate by.”

“As far as I see it, I have one chance to be honest with you. Once you hear everything about me, that’s it. But even if you never want anything to do with me again, you are still in danger of being used to free another incubus. Herryk’s ritual failed; your prophecy has not been fulfilled. Someone else will try. It is just a matter of when, and I want you to be prepared—know your enemy. There is no guarantee the next will give you an option like I have.”