Phobia (Interracial Paranormal Romance) (Wisteria) (37 page)

They
crossed the garden in silence and came to the main gate leading to the desert.

L
ooking back at the surreal and enormous atrium, she wished she didn’t have to do this. This was a mistake. She wasn’t strong or powerful enough. Fighting biters and babysitting her little brother were things she understood and managed to do, but carrying the weight of this world on her shoulders? She was the wrong person.

“
You can do this.” Enric softly placed one hand on her shoulder as if he heard her inner doubts. “You are stronger than you realize.”

Running
her hand over the control orb, the gate slid open and the dry desert air blew into her face. Squinting, she looked over the rocky desert.

Stepping out ahead of her,
Enric scanned the environment.

Felip and Wisteria followed.

“Goodbye, Mistress.” Robinia vanished from beside them.

The
gates shut behind them.

Wisteria felt like she
’d lost another friend, but accepted Robinia’s place was in the Hall of Ages.

She
took a few steps toward the overland and stopped.
They were in danger.
“We have to go back.”

“
What?” Enric asked.

“
Bach’s here. I can sense him.” She realized. “I didn’t sense him in the Hall of Ages, but I can now. We’re walking into a trap—”

“
Are you certain?” Enric stopped moving.

“
Of course I’m sure. Felip led him here.” Wisteria turned to the black gates. “After everything you said, this was what you were planning?”

“
This was not me.” Felip gasped. “He would kill me if he learned—”

Not waiting to argue, she dash
ed back to the black gates. “Robinia,” she called, hoping the avatar would respond to her voice, but knowing she’d have to touch the gate first.

“
Peeka,” Bach called from behind her.

S
he raced toward the gates, but stopped when she saw that Bach, Lluc, Malcolm and several Drones surrounded her, Enric and Felip.

“
Hey guys.” Felip laughed nervously. “What are you doing out here?”

Eyeing Felip bitterly, she couldn
’t believe his nerve.

Felip
tossed something to her.

They were the earplugs she
’d used earlier at Bach’s den.

Taking out a cantus, Felip squeezed it
as she covered her ears.

She fled
back to the Hall of Ages, but stopped when she remembered the prax. She tapped the vial that was in her pocket. This was her chance to infect Bach and the others. She needed to go back, but barely took three steps before she was lifted off her feet and zipped through the desert. She was taken to a cave.

“
Here she is. I told you nothing Felip could pull would prevent me from getting her to you.” Enric deposited her in front of Bach.

“
Enric, why did you do this?” Wisteria accused in shock. “We were supposed to be helping him.”

Bach didn
’t speak, but his cold demeanor sent a chill down her spine.

Just then, she heard the screams of a man.
Felip!
“What are you doing to Felip?” she demanded trying to get up, but Enric pushed her back down.

“
You wanted her and now you have her.” Enric tossed the broken cantus at Bach’s feet. “Now will you make me one of you?”

Bach raised an eyebrow at his old friend and
nodded.

“
You did this to become a Dy’obeth? Are you out of your mind?” she responded. “They’re killing your people?”

“
It is better to be a winner than a loser Wisteria.” Enric squatted next to her. “I would rather have my whole bloodline destroyed than die for nothing.”

“
You
qwaynide
Enric.” Felip lunged at him.

Lluc
picked Felip up and drove his head into the ground before lifting him up again and snapping his back on his knee like a twig.

Felip
cried in pain, just like a moment before.

“
Stop this,” she calmly begged. “I’ll go with you, but stop hurting him.”

“
You should not have fled, so he will pay for that.” Bach’s eyes darkened and he gripped her arm and lifted her to her feet. “And you will see your friends suffer for it, so next time you will not disobey me.”

“
Please, don’t hurt him.” Closing her eyes, she listened as whatever Malcolm and Lluc did to Felip caused him to cry out.

“
Look at me,” Bach demanded.

“
No, I’m not playing your games, do what you want to do. I’m your prisoner—end of story.” She forced her voice not to waver, but she felt terrified.

“
Open your eyes or I will kill the Dog.” Bach squeezed her arm.

She complied.
“Happy?”

“
What about me? I want what you promised.” Enric stormed forward. “To be made into a Dy’obeth.”

“
You want perfection?” Bach loosened his grip momentarily. “To be like us?”

“
Fine, here take it.” Taking Enric by the head, Malcolm flung him like a doll overhead against the side of the cave.

Even in the
diminished light, Wisteria saw Enric’s blood streaking down the side of the cave wall.

“
What have you done? He was your best friend.” She glared at Bach. Without thinking, she struggled to break free.

Bach
’s took her wrists in his right hand and clench them tightly. “Continue to struggle and you will hurt yourself.”

“
No.” She bit his hands to loosen his hold.

It didn’t work.

His brothers laughed.

“
She has the heart of a Dy’obeth.” Malcolm jeered. “If you let this one loose on Maniko, she might win.”

Humorlessly
, Bach pulled her head back. “Peeka, there will be plenty of time for your silly games—remember I like pain. Right now, we have to get you home.”

Not my master

In the early hours of the morning, Wisteria stood on a chair she’d put on a table she’d balanced onto the bed. Standing on the tips of her toes, she attempted to look through the tiny window. The window looked barely large enough for her to fit her arm through.

It was the
sole source of ventilation in the room or rather cell that Bach locked her in. The room was tiny and was furnished with a small bed, a wardrobe, a wobbly table and the chair she’d been balancing on.

Trying to get a better view of the
surroundings, she balanced on the edge of the chair. All she saw was the orange sky. She must be back in Jarthan.

The journey from the Moon De
sert was a sandy and violent one. She’d spent most of it flung over Bach’s shoulder. He’d only put her down after they’d reached Jarthan because Malcolm and Lluc got into an argument about not being able to kill Felip. Eventually, Lluc and Malcolm dragged Felip off and she’d been brought here.

Enric
’s body had been left to rot in the hot sand. He’d turned on her for nothing.

“
There is no way out,” a woman said from behind her.

Jolting back, Wisteria mis
sed her step and fell, hitting the ground hard. She looked around trying to see the speaker.

“
How are you Wisteria?” Coia stood in the center of the room. She greeted warmly as if they were old friends. “I hope you did not find your journey here too unpleasant. The boys can sometimes get over excited.”

“
What do you want from me? You’re free, so why am I here?” Rising, Wisteria sat on the bed doing her best to show no emotion, but inside she was terrified.

“
Wisteria.” Coia moved forward, her long black dress sweeping across the stone floor. “You are here so Bach and I can look after you. We were was very concerned about your safety, because you are important to me.”

“
You’re manipulating him and he’ll see through it.”

“
I am not manipulating Bach. He believes in my cause.”

“
Bach never believed in killing humans. He’s doing it because you’ve done something to him. “

“
I have set him free.”

“
To be a murderer and wipe out all the humans and Famila in this realm? You didn’t set him free. You turned him into a maniac. So what’s going to happen when all the humans on this realm are gone? You’re going to cross to Earth and kill us—”

Coia shook he
r head. “I care about humans, more than you can understand. The two men I have ever loved were human.” Her voice became small. “Surprised?”

“
No, I knew Jason and Malcolm’s father was human.”

“
The other was John Walter. He was a flutist who lived in a small cottage by a lake in a place they now call Birmingham.” Coia smiled as she recalled her love. “He had long curly brown hair and light grey eyes with speckles. He could make me laugh simply by trying to say my true name. And his music—he was a genius, but what do I know about music?”

Wisteria assumed Coia was referring to the fact the Family cannot naturally make music.

“High Father did not believe my relationship with a Terran was wise. He ordered me to pick either Karvas or Beraz as a mate. I was not prepared to marry my half-brother.” The tips of her fingers lit up. “But my father convinced me it was the right thing to do and I believed him until he asked Beraz to make sure I never saw John again. So Beraz took him, locked him in a box for eight days with no water or food until he died.”

“
Eight days?”

“
As John suffered, the Dy’obeths watched him. They mocked him as he died in agony. I can still remember their heartless jeers.” Coia’s head dropped. “At least our children did not take that long to die.”

“
You had children with John Walter?”

“
Four. I cannot believe I was naïve enough to think I could keep them away from High Father.”

“
What happened to them?”

“
Fortunately, my brother did not find all John’s children. I hid one—Edytha. Her descendants grew up on the home realm, taunted for being mongrels. I could not help them because no one knew they were mine and if I intervened, they would face the same fate as John and my other children.”

Wisteria didn
’t know what to say—or what to believe from this woman.

“
After John Walter died, I worked with the First Pillar to expel my bloodline and I never gave Earth another thought. When the Dy’obeths were sealed in Ajana, I managed to pass as a Famila and soon, everyone forgot what I was and who my people truly were. While the Family never liked humans, they did not have the same hatred as Dy’obeths, or so I thought. Then I went to Earth to visit my brother, who had left the Family and was determined to live as a human.” Coia rolled her eyes. “Then I met Cleo Callasa. He was a DJ.”

“
Jason’s father?”

“
We became friends, but soon he was making me happier than I had been since John died. But that all ended when Aleix, Bach’s father discovered us. The empirics butchered him and took my sons away from me, simply because their father was human.”

“
That’s horrible, but it doesn’t make it right to kill—”

“
Wisteria, I do not need or want your judgment. I want you to understand, I do not have the same aversion to humans as my father does.”

“
Then why are you letting High Father murder the Thayns?”

“
He needs a project. Hunting humans keeps him busy and out of my way. And you being here will keep Bach focused on what is important.” Coia reached out and touched Wisteria’s hair. “You could have been a much prettier girl. At least you will give my son beautiful babies.”

Wisteria jerked her head back.
“That will never happen.” She searched herself for the vial, so she could infect Coia.

“
Oh you and he will breed, why do you think he brought you here?” Coia laughed.

“
To kill me, drain my blood and use it to get artifacts working.”

“
Why would I do that? I love my son and there is nothing or no one he will hate more than the person who kill you.”

“
You‘re scared of him?”

“
I am pragmatic,” Coia corrected. “As long as you are live, he and I want the same things, a world where we will be free.”