Sacrifice Me: The Darkness (Episode 3) (5 page)

The slight smell of sulfur lingered in the air for
a moment, and then disappeared. The flames roared bright and strong,
despite the absence of logs or any actual material to burn.

My mouth fell open as I stared into the fire.

“How did you do that? Is that magic?”

“It’s a special kind of magic,”
he said, placing the small leather bag back inside the wooden box.
“My magic is a type of alchemy. Instead of using the force of
magic within me to cast the spells like you did with the wind in my
office the other day, I combine natural elements of the earth in ways
that create magical effects. That way it doesn’t drain me the
way you were drained the other day.”

“Does that mean I could go into your little
box and take those same two items and create the fire on my own
without using magic?”

He left the fire and came to sit next to me on the
couch. I pulled my legs under my body and sat up, giving him room.
Wanting him closer.

“Yes, anyone could use them now and create
the same effect,” he said. “The magical part is in the
enchantments and the breaking down of the elements and materials in a
way that brings out their natural magic. There’s pure magic
inside every living thing and every element of nature. Most humans
just can’t see it to appreciate its power.”

Our eyes locked and my heart stopped beating for a
long moment.

What was going on with me? I had never felt so
intensely attracted to someone in my life. It was terrifying, but no
matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force my gaze away from
his.

I forced a breath instead, kick-starting my heart.

“Are you going to tell me how we got from a
club in Chicago to a mountaintop in Italy by walking through a
doorway?” I asked. My voice was softer than I’d intended,
but he simply took my breath away.

He rested his arm across the length of the back of
the couch, turning his body fully toward me. It took every ounce of
self-control for me not to move closer to him. Instead, I clutched
the blanket tighter in my fists.

“That’s another type of magic,”
he said. “Each doorway is a portal that leads to another place
inside this world.”

The way he said this world sent a shiver up my
spine. He said it as if he meant there were other worlds besides this
one, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to recognize that as a
possibility.

“So, if we walked back upstairs and went
through the door again, we’d be back inside the club in
Chicago?”

He nodded, his eyes dipping for a moment to my
lips. I felt self-conscious and vulnerable under his gaze.

I wasn’t used to vulnerability. Being
vulnerable meant being weak around someone. It meant trusting
someone. And trust wasn’t something I gave easily, especially
to strange men who could do things like create fire out of dust.

I looked toward the flames as they danced and
flickered. I could get lost inside a fire like that.

“Are you doing okay?” he asked. “I
know this has to be a lot to take in.”

A laugh escaped from my mouth, and it came out as
a half-sob, nearly choking me. I clamped my hand over my mouth,
surprised by the emotion that seemed to pour out of me when I was
around him.

I turned my face away, not wanting him to even
look at me. I had spent my whole life trying to hide who I was—what
I was—and suddenly, I felt exposed. Raw.

He moved closer and placed his hand on my
shoulder. As much as I yearned for his touch, part of me also wanted
to run away and forget the past week had ever happened. I had fought
to control my emotions for so long, and keep everyone at arm’s
length, that I couldn’t handle the thought of opening myself up
to someone like this.

But the warmth of his hand through the fabric of
the shirt felt right. No matter how much my heart and mind rebelled
against the desire of it, my body betrayed me.

I closed my eyes, unable to pull myself away from
him even though I knew I should.

“Franki?”

The sound of my name on his lips made my breath
catch in my throat and I turned to him.

His black eyes searched mine, and I was certain
the desire there mirrored my own. And not just the desire. The fear,
too. Was he afraid of this attraction, just as much as I was? Was
that possible?

It was hard to imagine a strong man like him being
scared of anything, but I was sure I saw it there.

I swallowed, my mouth dry from need and want. My
mind pushed against the growing ache, begging me not to move one inch
toward him. Not to give him permission to act on that desire.

But I couldn’t listen to my mind right now.
Reason faded to the background like a loud stereo being turned down
suddenly, leaving nothing but the intense silence of need.

With slow motion, almost unwillingly, I turned my
shoulders slightly toward him, as if opening myself to him. And that
was all it took, that one micro-movement.

He leaned toward me, fear replaced by hunger.

His hand slid behind my head, his fingers tangling
in my hair as he pulled me toward him. I met him halfway, lifting up
onto my knees. The soft blanket fell between us as our bodies
collided, all hesitation defeated by the heat of the moment.

His lips descended on mine, opening to take my
mouth entirely, his teeth grazing against the soft skin of my lips.
My palms pressed hard against his chest, sliding around to his back
and exploring every ripple of muscle. Without thinking, my hands
gathered his shirt into fists, pulling until it was free of his
pants, giving me access to the warm skin underneath.

He trembled as my fingers slipped up and under his
shirt, touching the flushed heat of his skin. His mouth opened and
his breath fell hot against my cheek as I ran my hands up and down
his back, my mouth on his cheek and chin, the rough stubble abrasive
against the soft skin of my face.

His hand tensed against the back of my neck and he
tugged on my hair, pulling my head back from him so he could claim my
mouth for himself.

Effortlessly, he lifted me from my knees, then
pushed me fully back onto the cushions of the couch, his body heavy
against mine.

Finally, his hands left my face and neck and
explored lower, my blood pulsing with need as his fingers dug into my
thighs. I opened beneath him. My legs wrapped tight around him,
drawing him closer.

His mouth moved from my lips and he traveled
lower. My head dipped back against the couch, giving him access to my
neck. My nails dug into his shoulder, desperately wanting more.

My breath came faster as I moved against him,
cursing the clothing that kept us from fully knowing each other’s
bodies.

His teeth grazed against the sensitive spot just
above my shoulder and he tensed, his entire form growing rigid
against me. His hands gripped me so tightly the pain of it was almost
ecstasy. Almost torture.

Then, suddenly, he released me, moving up and off
of me so fast, the absence of him was disorienting.

I sat up, laboring for each breath as my heart
pounded violently against my ribcage.

“What?” I asked. Had I done something
wrong? He was turned completely away from me, one fist resting
against the stone mantle of the large fireplace.

I stood to go to him, but he turned and the
darkness in his eyes stunned me. Scared me. I stopped without taking
another step, waiting for some kind of explanation.

“We need to get changed and get back to the
club,” he said. His entire demeanor and tone had changed, as if
he had become another person in the space of ten seconds.

I adjusted the borrowed shirt on my body, covering
myself back up as best I could. “That’s all you have to
say?”

His face was hard edges, his expression closed
off. “What more do you want from me?”

I swallowed the hurt that threatened to rip me
apart. I pushed back the desire that I had actually dared to let
consume me. Instead, I invited in anger. I embraced it and let it
flow up through me, burning me like those golden flames.

I knew how to be angry instead of hurt. I knew how
to hide disappointment and pain. If he didn’t care to even
acknowledge what had just happened between us, and if he could
honestly turn his desire on and off like that, then I wouldn’t
give him the satisfaction of seeing me protest.

I covered myself in I-don’t-care. It was a
mask I had created for myself after years of living with a mother who
had never loved me.

“You’re right, it’s probably
getting late,” I said, grateful when my voice sounded relaxed
and indifferent. I was good at hiding my bitterness. “I need to
get home and change before my shift tonight anyway. My roommate is
probably worried sick. In fact, maybe it’s better if I take a
few days off.”

“No,” he said, the volume of his
protest making me jump.

I took a deep breath.

Stay calm. Don’t let him see you upset.
Don’t be vulnerable.

“Why not?” I asked, meeting his gaze
straight on as a challenge. “You said yourself you can’t
keep me safe from the Devil. And if you can’t keep me safe,
then why should I even bother working at Venom, anymore?”

His jaw tensed. “You’ll be safer with
me than out there alone.”

I shook my head, sadness flushing through me. “I’m
not so sure about that.”

I turned on my heels and walked back toward the
grand staircase, feeling his eyes on me the entire time. It was a
miracle my knees didn’t give out on the way up. On the outside,
I managed to hold myself together, but on the inside, my heart was
aching. I cursed myself for caring about him this intensely. How had
this happened so fast? I was usually more guarded than this. I should
know better.

I found my way down the hallway and through the
hidden entrance to the narrow staircase. The stairs opened up to a
small room at the top with five doorways. Crap. Which one? It ruined
my cool and confident exit if I opened up some stupid closet door and
tried to walk inside. I didn’t remember seeing four other doors
in here last night, but the whole thing was kind of a blur.

I bit my lip, my heart racing as I heard his
footsteps on the stairs behind me.

I reached for the handle of the first door to the
right, but as my hand touched the antique bronze knob, Rend placed
his hand on my arm.

“Not that one,” he said.

I yanked my arm away as if his touch were
poisonous to my soul.

“Franki, I know I owe you an apology,”
he said. “I should have never kissed you like that. I let a
weak moment get the best of me.”

It wasn’t the
kiss I wanted an apology for.

I held my feelings
inside, unsure how to respond, but not wanting him to know how he’d
hurt me.

“And you’re right,” he said. “I
don’t own you. Working at Venom is one hundred percent your
choice, but if you come back, I promise I’ll do my best to keep
you safe for as long as I can.”

I swallowed and turned toward the next door. “I
can take care of myself.”

The words came out of my mouth, but I knew I
didn’t really believe them. Who was I kidding? I didn’t
know the first thing about protecting myself from vampires and demons
and witches. I had no idea how to control whatever power I happened
to possess.

“Franki—”

“Don’t,” I said, raising my
voice and lifting my chin. “I never should have come here.”

I looked into his eyes and hoped he couldn’t
see the struggle deep inside.

And I don’t ever plan to come back.

Those were the words I
wanted to say, but I knew I would be lying. I couldn’t walk
away from him forever any more than I could deny that I belonged here
in this world of magic.

“Come back tonight,” he said softly.
“At least to let me explain what it is you’re up
against.”

I took a deep breath. How could I say no?

It would be torture to be around him. The memory
of his kiss still burned on my lips, but something had made him pull
away from me. My heart couldn’t handle that kind of push and
pull for long. I needed to get as far away from him as I could before
I disintegrated into a pile of ashes in his hands.

But I needed to know about my family. I needed to
understand who the Devil was and why he found my blood so valuable.

I sighed and looked at the door leading back into
Venom. “I’ll come back when and if I’m ready,”
I said. “Don’t ask me for more than that.”

Rend stepped toward me,
but I pulled away, not wanting to feel his touch on my skin. I was
terrified that if he touched me again, he would own me and I would
never be able to get away from him. His eyes searched mine.

There was still so much
unsaid between us, but for now, it would have to wait.

Instead, I opened the
door and walked through, crossing back into Chicago and the hall of
doorways.

I closed the door behind me and took a deep
breath. I threw a wishful glance back toward the door with the crow
embedded on its front.

I hadn’t even gotten the chance to really
talk to Rend about the crows. How many of them were there? Why had
they never come to find me? What did he know about my mother?

If the answers were behind that door, I wanted to
go through and face them, no matter how dangerous.

But now was not the time to be going through
strange doors. For all I knew, the crow door could lead me straight
to hell. Or Kansas. Who knew?

Someday, though, I would go through that door and
learn the truth.

I reached for the handle of the door that would
lead me back to Venom and without another glance back at Rend’s
door, I stepped through to the main part of the club.

I ran straight into Azure.

Literally.

A tray full of glasses flew out of her hand. She
cried out as they all went tumbling toward the floor. I jumped back,
waiting for glass to shatter and spray across my legs and bare feet,
but before the glasses hit the floor, they froze in midair.