Read Indebted: The Premonition Series Online
Authors: Amy Bartol
“Brennus is extremely intelligent, Russell,” he says. “He already tried torture. He knows she’s too strong to succumb to that.”
“Then, she’ll survive this. He can’t bite her, it’s the stipulation that breaks the contract,” I say, and I watch as Reed turns and stares at me like I’m an idiot.
“Once she’s one of them, he wouldn’t need the contract to keep her with him, would he? She would be his slave and he her master and her soul will be forfeit to Sheol. No, but that is plan B. If Brennus cannot win her, he will bite her. She knows that, I think–she is so clever,” Reed says as a small smile comes to his lips. “So, she will play along for a while, but he is not a patient demon. He is used to getting his way and we cannot underestimate how dedicated he will be to his plan. He wants to win her and he knows more about pleasure than you and I put together…all forms of pleasure.”
I think ‘bout that for a second and feel my face flush hot with anger.
Reed glances at me and says, “Exactly,” and his face mirrors my coloring.
“So what do we do?” I ask.
“Our first priority is to find them. They are experts at cloaking themselves. The Gancanagh use their magic well and it’s ancient magic. They have learned techniques to help them fly below the radar, like importing their food supply, perhaps even raising their own ‘stock’ and disposing of the evidence,” Reed says. “But they cannot block you, I don’t believe. You and Evie are connected. You are ‘the other,’ as Brennus so aptly calls you.”
“You need me to find her for ya? And then what?” I ask. “You go there and try to take her away, yer gonna make it worse for her. She can’t leave and if ya get caught, he’ll kill ya, or worse. What else will Red have to give up to save ya, too?” I ask solemnly. “None of y’all can kill him! Not with her tied to him. He intertwined his life with hers, so if ya cut him, she bleeds.” I explain, and I feel almost crazy with the pain of knowin’ I am the one that did that to her.
A look of frustration crosses Reed’s face. “I’m not going to try to take her from him, not physically anyway. I have to try to help her so that he doesn’t break her, so that he doesn’t get her soul,” Reed admits, like he is ashamed of not havin’ a better plan at the moment.
“How’re ya gonna do that?” I ask.
“
We
are going to do it. It’s going to take both of
us
,” he says, turning to look in my eyes and I see what it’s takin’ him to say that, the pain that I have refused to see until now. “I’m not just worried about him breaking her. He is strong—powerful,” Reed admits grudgingly before he goes on. “But, when the evil community realizes that he has her, he is going to need every ounce of his power to keep her.”
“Whaddaya mean? Ya mean that there are worse things out there that can get her if ya don’t find her?” I ask. I can’t begin to estimate how very, very, pissed off that is makin’ me. I already know that there are crueler things than the Gancanagh…I know it first hand. “So yer saying, ya might have to help that demon hold on to her?” I ask.
“Let’s pray we can figure out an alternative to that—but if it comes to that, then yes, that is what I will do. There is evil that you have not seen yet. Things that make the Ifrits look benign,” Reed says with a worried frown.
I shudder and begin to quietly shake like I’ve been doin’ since I left the church. “Why didn’t none of y’all tell us that? Ya know, before?” I ask.
“Could you have conceived of what I was saying until now?” Reed counters in a soft tone.
I slowly shake my head. “Naw. Nothin’ could’ve prepared me for Valentine.” I say, feelin’ sick. “I’ll help ya, Reed. It’s Red. There’s no question that I’ll help only…” I trail off, takin’ my tremblin’ hands from the bar and hidin’ them under it. They are shakin’ so bad that I want to order another shot to see if it will stop them for a few hours.
“Russell, it’s been a long time since I endured the kind of torture that you just experienced and when it happened to me, I was much older than you—at least your body, anyway,” he says without a hint of humor. “It is gruesome and it won’t get better for a while. Even when your body heals within days, the memory of what happened will linger. Everything will make you feel tense—noise, silence, certain scents, the emotions of others…” he trails off before he says, “Brownie is going to be someone you will be tied to for a long time. She shared your pain. You will need to be near her at times, and at other times, it will be almost impossible to look at her face.”
“How long does that last?” I ask quietly, not sure I want to have this conversation with him, but not able to stop myself from havin’ it.
“As long as it lasts,” he says, and his answer makes my throat feel tight. “I have learned something in the length of time that I have been here. This is temporary. Everything changes, whether you will it to or not. What you feel now will eventually fade and you will cease to remember it, until you need the information that you learned from it to survive, then it will be there for you. At the times that I have felt out of control, like you do now, I found that one thing always makes me feel more in control, more focused.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Work,” he says. “Do you feel like working?”
“What do you have in mind?” I ask, feelin’ like I know what he’s sayin’ without him havin’ to say it. Maybe he and Zee will let me stalk some Fallen with them.
“Well, I thought that I had taken care of all the Gancanagh who have been following me before I came in, but I think there are a few of them outside waiting for me to come back out. You want in?” he asks, and I freeze.
“The Gancanagh have been followin’ you?” I ask, stunned.
“Yes. I am their public enemy number one,” he smiles at me, like he is delighted with the distinction. “Brennus is persistent. He wants me to cease to be. He has been sending me only his most seasoned killers. Zephyr is very jealous. Don’t tell him that I let you help me, or he will sulk.”
Evie
Hearing Brennus chuckle next to me, I don’t look up from the book I’m reading as I say smugly, “I told you that you’d like it.”
“Ye did,” Brennus replies, turning the page in the book I gave him. “I must admit dat dis Poe human has a way about him. I enjoy da inventive ways he tortures. He employs da fear of pain much more dan I do—I jus go wi’ da pain—’tis usually very effective.”
“Is it,
The Pit And The Pendulum
?” I ask, lowering my book to look at him next to me on the sofa in my library room.
“’Tis,” Brennus smiles nefariously.
“I didn’t give you that book to read so that you could learn new forms of torture. It wasn’t supposed to be instructional, you know?” I say with a sigh.
“Like I would need instruction on torture,” Brennus says with a laugh. I shiver a little because truer words were never spoken. “Dere are many forms of torture. Did ye know dat? Dere is sensual torture as well…” he says, lifting my hand and kissing my palm, sending a shiver of pleasure through my body this time.
“I’m sure there are, Brennus,” I say, trying to tug my hand away from his lips. “That’s not something I want to learn from you.”
His eyes darken with desire. “But, I am da best teacher,” he says with hubris, undaunted by my rejection of his affection.
“Maybe you can answer a question for me then,” I say, trying to distract him from kissing me again. He lets go of my hand and waits for me to ask my question. “Do you know why I’m broken?”
“Whah?” Brennus asks with concern, while scrutinizing me with his eyes to see if there is some physical deformity to be repaired.
“I could do things before that I can’t do now,” I admit, biting my lip.
“Whah can ye na do now?” he asks me with concern in his green eyes.
“I’m no longer having any nightmares…premonitions,” I say, not sure if he knows that I have been seeing the bad things before they happen.
“Ye are safe now,
mo chroí
. Nuting is going ta harm ye now, so ye would na have nightmares, would ye?” he asks in his rhetorical way.
I hadn’t thought of that. Could it be true? Could being with Brennus make me safe, so that I no longer dream of a scary future?
I wonder. I had thought it was because Paradise has deserted me because I willingly entered into an evil contract.
“I…I can’t send out any of my…clones either,” I say, blushing. “I tried to send them to my friends, to let them know that I’m all right, but nothing happened.”
“Dat, I believe, is part of our contract,” Brennus replies. “In yer mind, ye know dat even if ye are na sending a message ta
him
, yer friends will relay da message ta
him,
so ye would den be ‘communicating wi’ him’ which ye can na do.”
“Oh,” I reply. “That makes sense because I can’t even send an email. I tried to write to my friend, Buns, but I couldn’t send it. It was so frustrating, because I wrote it all, but every time I tried to click on ‘send,’ I would click on ‘cancel’ instead.”
“I tink ye are na broken. I tink dat ’tis jus dat ye can na communicate wi’ dem. Ye should try sending one of yer clones ta Molly or ta me,” he says casually, like he is not angry that I tried to talk to my friends.
“I tried to call Buns, too. I couldn’t even dial her number to call her,” I say.
“Ye are too intelligent,
mo chroí
,” he smiles. “Ye can na fool yerself into tinking ’tis na jus like speaking ta him. Ye’re da one dat sets da parameters of da contract—yer mind sees all da possibilities and den it compares dem ta da contract. Ye are much too honorable for yer own good. Dis contract works so well on ye because ye are na evil,” he says, shaking his head with an ironic grin creeping to the corners of his mouth.
“Well, that completely bites, Brennus,” I say in frustration.
He laughs hard at my comment, “Dat’s funny.”
“So, in theory, if I could lie to myself effectively, then I could do anything I wanted?” I ask him. “Even leave here.”
“In theory, ye could. I would na have entered into dis type of contract wi’, say, an Ifrit, because dey are evil and dey can convince demselves dat up is down and down is up if dey wanted ta. Evil will believe deir own lies, ye see?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say grudgingly. “I hate magic.”
“Ah, come now, dere are a lot of very nice spells, too,” Brennus says in a gentle tone, putting his arm around my shoulder and hugging me. “Would ye like ta see one?” he asks.
“No.” I say in a salty tone.
“Ye will like dis one, I promise,” Brennus says.
Standing up, he offers me his hand. I take it with reluctance as I stand as well, watching him close his eyes and concentrate. His lips move, but I hear nothing of what he says. I feel the energy in the room begin to collect and sizzle, like static electricity. It all seems to be rushing towards Brennus, like he’s pulling it to him. Then, like he flipped a switch, the energy explodes outward in a rush.
I feel the sizzling pop of energy pass through me like a shockwave while the room around me begins to change. Ferns and vines grow up from the floor and the walls. Wild flowers sprout out of long grass, covering the carpets. A waterfall tumbles down the spiral staircase in a rush, while lush trees grow from the first floor and continue past us on the second floor on their way towards the ceiling. Humming birds of pure light fly by me to feast on the flowers near the bookcase. Fireflies drift around, glowing magically in my room.
I would have sat back down in awe, but Brennus catches me by the elbow, saying, “Do na sit on da bunny,
mo chroí
.”
Turning, I find a yellow rabbit made of light on the sofa where I had been sitting. As I straighten up, Brennus smiles at me in amusement.
“Hey, do ye mind?” Eion calls from downstairs, “We are playin’ cards down here.”
“Shut your gob, Eion,” I call back, while admiring the magical rainforest that Brennus has created.
An instant later, a black-winged, shadowy creature that has the physical characteristics of a man, but with a long, spiky tail and ferocious claws leaps to a branch of the tree near me. It climbs up a little higher, leaning towards me, like it will pounce on me at any second. Sinister, yellow eyes bore into mine, causing me to go into a defensive crouch as I growl at it. My heart pounds in my chest while killing scenarios pulse in my head. Trying to read its intentions, I take another step back, pulling Brennus’ elbow back, too, so that he doesn’t get too near to it.
Brennus scowls next to me and flicks his wrist. The frightening creature melts away in seconds while Brennus calls downstairs sternly, “Dat’s na funny, Eion.”
“Me apologies,” Eion calls back as a rainbow shoots up to the ceiling, an apparent attempt from Eion at making amends.
“Well, that was…interesting,” I say, straightening up. I try to slow the beating of my heart to an acceptable level. “Do those creatures exist?” I ask, gesturing towards where the scary thing had been standing.
“They did, but I have na seen a
nevarache
in a very long time,” he replies, looking concerned.
“That’s good,” I murmur, raising a shaky hand to my forehead.
“Ye know dat ye are safe here. I was standing right next ta ye and I would never let anyting harm ye,” Brennus says in a gentle tone, reaching out to stroke my arm.
“You already have,” I say, backing away from him. “You have hurt me before…so bad that it would have been kinder to let me die. You locked me in a cell—I was so alone—when I had barely recovered from it, you made me fight Keegan—then you bit me and it ached and I wouldn’t stop bleeding while my whole world turned to fire and melted around me.”
Brennus looks ill. “Ye are right, I did dat. I can na undo whah I did ta ye, but I learn from me mistakes,” he says in a gentle tone. “I jus want ye da way dat ye are…if ye want ta be Gancanagh later, den I will turn ye, but for now, let’s jus get ta know each other. Dat’s whah I want.”
“I don’t trust you,” I reply, staring into his eyes and seeing them soften in the corners.
“Ye do trust me, jus a wee bit, and dat scares ye,” Brennus replies, his green eyes shining with amusement.
“You are insane,” I sigh in frustration.