Phobia (Interracial Paranormal Romance) (Wisteria) (50 page)

“
Goodbye, Felip. Let’s go.” She tugged at Bach’s arm. “Where are the doors?” She ran her hands over the wall, where the door had been.

*****

When Wisteria had reached the mansion, she’d found the front doors open and sensed Bach inside. Entering, it didn’t take long for her to find the room where Bach and Felip were beating each other down. The weird thing about it all was while she moved through the house, the interior of the house kept changing. Doors vanished, chandlers moved and stairs appeared, seemingly at random.

Still, she
’d found him and they were getting out of there, while Enric’s beacon was still strong.

“
Are you sure there was a door there? You sound confused.” Felip stood unchained in the center of the room, holding her dagger.

“
What is this place Felip?” she demanded.

“
Coia built it after being hounded for three years. When she described this place to me at first, I did not get it. Especially when she told me, she built this with her mind. Now,” The wall behind him moved back. “I am getting the hang of it.”

“
Felip, you can’t stop me,” she smirked.

“
Oh, I can and I will.” Felip tossed the blade and caught it with his other hand. “Bach, you can leave any time you want. The shadow wolves will be thrilled to see you again, but you, my dear, are going to stick around.”

Bach examined where t
he door existed before.

“
Before you bash through it, I would make sure that wall has not now become an exterior wall. You might punch through and smash your hand,” Felip noted. “I suppose, I could open a window.”

Th
e yellow glass window parted. A hideous red mosquito the size of a seagull flew in and went straight for Wisteria.

Unarmed, she reached for the animal, grabbing
it by its pointed noise. It hummed or buzzed as it fought to get free. “You don’t belong inside here.”

“
Wisteria.” Bach rushed to help her, but was cut short as Felip stabbed him in the chest.

She let go of the insect.

It flew around the room and out of the window.

Bach fell back, his already stained shirt turning
a deep red.

Completely numb
, she couldn’t seem to cry out.

“
Do you not care about your beloved Bach, lying there—dying?” Felip wiped the blood from his hands.

“
No one dies in the Deep.” She dropped down beside Bach. “That’s why Coia lived here so long on no food and water.”

“
But if he keeps
dying
and returning, he will go mad,” Felip smiled. “Suppose I can find a way for that to never happen? Peeka, he has been dying, returning and dying for months. How much more of that can anyone take?”

“
Months? You’ve only been gone days.” Wisteria grimaced.

“
Really? It feels longer,” Bach whispered.

“It’s never going to be over is it?” Kissing Bach’s head, she sighed heavily. “Someone’s always going to be after us.”

“
What are you going to do, stab me?” Cockily Felip strode over. “Give that to me.” He nodded at the knife.

Nodding, she held out the knife
.

When
he neared her, she took the Ninth Metal knife and slashed his cheek. Then, she stabbed him in the shoulder.

“
D’cara
!” He hit her across the face, sending her falling.

“
You’re not as strong in here as you were outside,” she panted. “And you aren’t as fast.” Movement caught her eye and she saw the shadows dragging Bach’s lifeless body away. Rising and longing to go after him, she suddenly became pressed down by Felip.

“
I am still stronger and faster than you and I am going to take what I need from you.” Kneeling over her, he placed his hand on her forehead. “I can renew you down here.”

“
You can’t renew me by force. Do it and the Mosroc I have with Bach will cause you to lose your mind—” The ground below them rumbled.

“
Bach is dead—for now, so I can renew you before he regenerates. Then you will be my Thayn.” Felip simpered. “And once that is done, we will find a way out of here.”

“
You knew? You knew I’d come for him and that you’d be able to renew me down here?” she gasped.

“
Wisteria, if you are one thing at all...you are predictable. You left your realm to find Bach. You sent Coia to the Deep out of pure rage to protect him. If I got you mad enough with me, you would send me here and if I brought Bach back here, you’d come looking for him.”

“
You
qwaynide
.”

“
Qwaynide
?” Angrily, he shook her. “I saved your life! I protected your daughter for years. All of this would have been different if you’d trusted me and given me control.”

“
Control of the artifacts? So what? You could’ve complete control over the world?” She forced a bitter laugh. “You sound like you’re twelve.”

“
And you are just a little virgin who is too scared to ever do what needs to be done.” He ran his hand down her chest.

She stopped struggling and lay still.
“This is never going to end. You’re going to hate me forever.”

“
I do not hate you. I actually love you,” Felip whispered softly. “You cannot see it—yet.”

Her tears rolled onto the ashwood floor.

“Do not cry. It is going to be okay. I swear.” He kissed her forehead. “The renewal will not hurt you.”

“
I’m not crying for you. Oleander, Coles, Steven and everyone would be alive still, if you hadn’t started all of this.”

“
You are hurting, so let me end your pain.”

“
I’m Wisteria Kuti, the Sen of the First Pillar. My pain should be the least of your worries.”

The sides of
his mouth curved up in a small smile and he placed his hands on the sides of her head.

H
er face heated up from his pulse. “Agave,” she whispered.

The yellow window swung open and a shadow creature slithered inside, floating around the room.

“How did they get in here?” Felip jumped up as the thick black fog circled around them. “You made this happen?”

The
mist gathered together in the shape of a shadowy wolf-like animal.

“
Do you even understand what this place is?” She panted as she rose to her knees.

“
Not now. Come on.” Panicky, he attempted to get to her.

She yanked her arm away.

“Wisteria now is not the time for you to prove a point. We need to get out of here. If the shadow wolves touch you, the pain will be more than you can handle.”

“
More—than—I—can—handle?” She pronounced each word slowly as the fog formed more shadow beasts. “My daughter died because of you, that
was
more pain than I could handle.”

“
Wisteria, move now.”

“
No, I’m not afraid of what’s here.”

“
This is no joke. We need to move deeper into the house.”

“
Concerned I might get killed before you can renew me and escape from here?”

“
I meant it when I said I didn’t want to see you hurt.” He pulled her to her feet.

More
shadow creatures appeared through the yellow window, growling at the pair with desperately hungry voices.

“
No.” She broke away from him. “I’m safer here than with you.”

Black sand poured in from the sides of the walls.

Felip backed away from her as he realized what was happening. “This is impossible.”

Moving into the center of the room, the
sand formed the shape of a female. “Yes, Mistress.”

“
What is this?” Felip gasped.

“
The Deep is a prison and who do you think constructed it?” She fumed. “I’ll give you a clue. It wasn’t the
Family
.”

“
It was the First Pillar, Mistress,” the sand avatar added. Then it gestured to the shadow beasts around them. “Should the sentries apprehend the one called Felip?”

“
Let me.” Rejuvenated, Bach stepped out of the darkness. His shirt looked torn and stained, but his skin appeared to be intact. He then punched Felip in the face.

“
How?” Felip coughed up blood. “It takes hours to reanimate in here.”

“
Agave, the avatar helped regenerate him sooner,” she informed him. “You’re okay?” Hurrying to Bach, she examined his chest with her hands and felt comforted to feel his heartbeat.

Bach
nodded. “One thing though, Peeka…”Advancing to Felip, he struck him again, sending his cousin through the floor to the room beneath them.

Screaming,
Felip fell to the level below.

Glancing
down at Felip, she saw him lying motionlessly on his chest.

“
This ends now.” Bach lunged forward as if to go after him.

“No.” She stopped him.

“
I told you,” Felip called out as he forced a laugh. “Wisteria, you can never hurt me. You’ll never do it.”

“
Bach, we should go.” She noticed the beacon on her arm was fading. “Agave will lead through us the threshold, but we need to leave before the beacon goes.”

“
Thank you.” Felip groaned.

“
You’re not coming.” Squatting down by the hole in the floor, she whispered, “You’re going to be here alone—all alone. You’re going to have to figure out how to deal with your hatred toward Bach and whatever you thought you felt about me until you’re dead.”

“
But I will never die,” Felip retorted. “You will be long gone and I will still be here and eventually, I will find a way out.”

“
Agave, tell him.” She shook her head.

“
You will die in here eventually. The sentries will torment you over and over until your time comes,” Agave, the avatar explained.

“
And only Agave knows how long that will be,” Wisteria added solemnly.

“
Wisteria, you would leave me here to be tortured?” Felip rose, wiping the blood from his lips.

“
No, you will be safe as long as you never leave this mansion,” she backed away from the whole.

“
I will find a way out,” Felip swore. “This is not over.”

She smiled weakly.
“No, you won’t and you’ll never see me or Bach again.”

“
But I am certain we will be all you think about.” Bach walked away.

“
Goodbye Felip.” Wisteria went with Bach. “Agave, make sure he doesn’t leave this place.”

They followed the black sand avatar out
.

Immediately
, the hole in between Wisteria and Felip sealed up as did the doors and windows in the room below.

“
Hold him there until we’re gone. If after that, he wants to leave, let him,” Wisteria instructed Agave. While she moved through the dark building into the darker night, she heard Felip’s screams.

“
Wisteria! Wisteria!” he shouted in the distance.

A targ in her bed

“It is over.” Bach wrapped one arm around Wisteria. “You are home.”

Hours after
Wisteria and Bach escaped the Deep and returned to the Hall of Ages, the pair journeyed to Smythe with Garfield, Robinia and Enric. They arrived in Norton a few feet away from the first gate, leading into the Isle of Smythe.

Biters shuffled
toward them.

“Stop.” Bach pointed at them.

The fleshers stopped, but continued to growl at the humans, desperately hungry.

“
Yeah.” She felt apprehensive about returning to the island.

When she’d left Smythe, biters were swarming and she’d no
clue what was left of the community.

“
This is your home? This was where all humanity started?” Robinia scanned the decaying town in a mixture of confusion and horror. “I thought Earth would be
better?
What happened?”

“
Nero.” Wisteria exhaled.

“
D’cara
.” Robinia gasped. “How?”

“
It is would take over a quarter of a million words to even begin to explain it.” Enric marched forward.