Secret Worlds (431 page)

“Not me? Not my power? But—”

“The water you conjured in Dare the Demon?” he cut in, raising his eyebrow. “I gave you my power. We did it together. I need you to be greater, but you’re
nothing
without me. You should be thanking me.”

Boaz raised his arms suddenly. At the exact same moment, my body jerked tight as if something had wrapped itself around my chest, and I gasped for air. Objects rose from the floor. Books, chairs, and papers lifted high and spun in a wide whirlwind throughout the room. My hair twisted and whipped across my face. I jumped when a stereo behind me turned on, blaring ‘Ode to Joy’.

Boaz waved his arms back and forth, leading the debris in a dark symphony of destruction. His combed-back hair flipped forward, falling across his forehead. Without warning, he slammed his arms forward against the desk. Everything crashed to the floor, and the music shut off.

“You look surprised,” he said. “You didn’t realize I was this powerful, did you? Not using magic was the hardest part about playing the role of the
perfect
man. It was extremely difficult being around you and feeling your dark energy. It was always there, just waiting for you to give it to me.”

“Then why? Why the elaborate scheming if you could’ve just taken it from me all along?”

Boaz straightened. “You have no idea how tiresome it can be to constantly force someone’s powers from them. It’s like trying to tame a lion. It can be done, but really, what kind of idiot does things the hard way when there are such easier methods? Besides, I like you, truly. It would be much more pleasurable for the both of us if you’d willingly work with me.”

I barely heard his words. I was such a fool!

Boaz looked over the notebook again and scanned its entries. “There’s still something I’m not sure about, though.” He opened his palm. A dagger from across the room flew directly into it. He turned the knife over, eyeing it carefully. “I know you’ve been through a lot in the last several hours, but I must know if it worked. Please stand up.”

“Why?”

“Just do it!” My body unwillingly jerked to an upright position. I tried to fight it, but his magic was too strong, making me feel even more stupid.

“This will hurt a little, but if my calculations are correct, the pain won’t last long.” He raised his arm and tossed the dagger at my stomach. I cried out when the knife lodged itself deep into my gut. I stared down at the dagger, shaking from the pain until I finally collapsed to my knees.

Boaz walked over to me and knelt down. With one hand on my shoulder and the other on the dagger, he pulled it out slowly. I fell over and rolled onto my back. Blood pumped out of the open wound with each beat of my heart.

Boaz frowned. “That can’t be good.”

Death’s darkness crept toward me, anxious to claim me for itself. I welcomed it. Death would be better than staring up at the devil who now stood over me with a quizzical expression upon his face. But my wish wasn’t granted. The darkness receded into the shadows of the room, taking with it my pain.

Boaz hurried to the chair behind his desk and scribbled furtively in the notebook. “Oh, so it did work. Excellent!”

I slowly stood and inspected the bloody hole in my gown. The wound had entirely healed. “Tell me Boaz,” I said. “What makes you think I won’t leave you, now that I know your true motives?”

Boaz stopped writing and looked up. “Oh, there’s nowhere for you to go now. You are one of us.”

“I am
nothing
like you.”

Boaz’s gaze burned into mine. He stood up so quickly and with such force that his chair flew backwards, smashing into the bookcase behind him. He rounded his desk and grabbed me by the arm, physically dragging me in front of a tall mirror not far away.

“Look at you!” he said, holding me by my shoulders and giving me a shake. He grabbed my chin and forced me to face my reflection. “See how you’ve changed? You’re so full of hate that it’s changed even your physical appearance. You are cruel and ruthless. You use magic for your own personal gain, but most of all, you crave the power—just like me.”

I stared at myself in the mirror, and for the first time in a long while, I
really
looked. I didn’t recognize the woman before me. She had a hardness to her that only the worst kind of experiences could give. My hair, once a vibrant flaxen color, was now almost entirely black like the color of a raven’s wing. The tight emerald green nightgown I wore was cut low, exposing the majority of my chest. I cowered.

Boaz shoved me back toward the mirror. “Don’t shrink from it, love. Embrace it!”

I stumbled into the glass, suddenly frightened by the cruelty that stared back at me in those green eyes. They no longer reflected the chaste light I’d once guarded with my life. All innocence was gone. I reached forward to touch the reflection in hopes that when I did so, it would be an illusion like all of Boaz’s other deceptions. But when I touched my face in the mirror, I touched evil. I felt the power of it and saw the same dark mist I frequently saw in Boaz’s eyes rise in my own.

Behind me, Boaz laughed.

I fell to my knees and covered my face in shame. “How could you do this to me?”

Boaz stopped laughing. “You did this to yourself. You made the choice.”

“You tricked me.”

Boaz sat on the floor next to me, his back against the mirror. “Let me tell you a story. Maybe it will make you feel better.”

When I didn’t respond, he continued.

“There once was a young Indian boy who was gathering sticks for a fire. Across a river, he noticed a fallen tree where he could get plenty of wood. He was about to cross when a serpent stopped him.

“‘Please, boy, carry me to the other side. There is no food to eat, and I will surely die if I cannot get across.’

“‘But you are a snake,’ the boy said, ‘you will bite me and kill me with your poison if I pick you up!’

“‘Nonsense, boy. I will not bite you if you help save my life. Now, please, pick me up and carry me to the other side.’

“The boy agreed and picked up the snake. When they reached the other side, the snake bit him.

“‘Why did you do that? You said you wouldn’t bite me,’ the boy cried.

“The snake hissed back, ‘You knew what I was when you picked me up.” Boaz paused for dramatic effect. “You
knew
what I was, yet you still chose to let yourself be fooled because you so desperately craved love. You did this to yourself.”

I lifted my head. “How was that supposed to make me feel better?”

Boaz shrugged. “I’m just saying you can’t be angry with me. You were the stooge who let yourself be fooled.”

“Leave me alone.”

“This is my lair, remember? You leave if you want to be alone.”

I stood up, too depressed to care anymore how he spoke to me.

“By the way, your parents will be here soon to see your marvelous transformation,” he called after me. “Don’t disappoint.”

I had nowhere else to go but to my room. I could run away, but I wouldn’t get very far, especially with Hunwald who could track anything. He frightened me as much as Boaz. I collapsed on top of my bed.

Escape was not an option, unless I used magic. A big part of me was begging for me to do just that. It could help me out of this mess…

Or could it?

Had Boaz really been helping all that time? Maybe I wasn’t as powerful as I thought.

I rolled over on the crumpled blankets and thought about the injection Boaz had given me. I was immortal. I didn’t know what that meant exactly or how it would affect my future, but it couldn’t be good. Any creation of Boaz’s should be destroyed.

Wouldn’t death be better than to be like the black wolf that shadowed him day and night? Was my magic the only good thing about me? I had more to offer. Didn’t I?

Several hours passed while I tried to decide between life and death. In the end, I decided to live and find a way to redeem myself of my past actions. It made me sick to think of how many people I had hurt, the lives I had damaged! No more magic for me, no matter how hard.

And with that seemingly small decision, the flame in my heart, already lit by the vampire I’d met in the city, grew, and I felt a sliver of peace.

The lights flipped on. Still wide-awake, I shielded my eyes from the glare, but when my parents walked through the door, I jumped to my feet and scooted backwards into the wall. Memories of the abuse they had inflicted upon me flooded my mind, and I thought I might drown in them. But then I took a deep breath, in and out, and cleared my head. I had to be strong for what was to come.

Sable crossed the room with a smile that made me think she’d just won a beauty contest. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant French twist, and an evening gown clung to her slight curves as if she were attending another one of her charity events. She threw her arms around me in a tight embrace—something she’d never done before.

“Eve, dear,” she said, releasing me and staring me right in the eyes. “You look absolutely wonderful. Boaz told us all about your remarkable transformation. To think, he actually made you an immortal! I’m sure you can understand now why we were so hard on you growing up. We only wanted what was best for you, and now you have the best thing possible.” She glanced back at Boaz, who was standing next to Erik in the doorway, and flashed another perfect smile.

Boaz nodded at me encouragingly. I wanted to give in, to be back in his arms, to feel the darkness that made me feel nothing. It would be so easy to do what they all wanted.

But it wouldn’t be right.

Now, at last, that meant something.

“Well?” Sable said, looking at me expectantly.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not who Boaz thinks I am,” I said.

“What is she talking about?” Sable asked Boaz, her head cocked to the side.

“She’s confused. Don’t worry, it will pass.” Boaz crossed the room and took my hand, but I jerked it away.

“This won’t pass. I’m done with magic. I’m done with all of you.”

Boaz chuckled. “You’ve already crossed the line. There’s no going back.”

“You’re wrong.”

Boaz slapped me with the back of his hand. Sable and I jumped at the same time. “Don’t test me.”

“What’s going on, Boaz?” Erik asked behind him. “I thought you said she had changed.”

“She has. She’s just being stubborn, but I can change that. Leave us.”

Before turning away, Sable shook her head sadly and followed Erik from the room.

As soon as the door closed, Boaz whirled on me. “I don’t like hurting you, you must believe me.”

“I will never believe another word you say.”

“What’s happened to you?” He eyed me up and down. “Where have you been?”

“I went to the city, alone.”

“And what did you do…alone.”

“I was my usual mean self. I used magic to hurt others.”

“And?”

“And I met someone who reminded me of who I used to be.”

Boaz grabbed my arm. “Who?”

“I don’t know his name. He was a vampire, and he didn’t hurt others. There was light inside him.”

Boaz flinched, almost hissing.

“Do you know him?” I asked, startled by his reaction.

His expression darkened. “None of that matters now. We’re wasting time. I need you, and you need—”

“No,” I said. “I don’t
need
you.”

Boaz clenched his fists and breathed heavily through his nose, nostrils flaring. Without touching me this time, he sent me flying across the room and into the wood headboard. I cried out, but only for a moment as my body had already begun to heal.

“Don’t think that just because you’re an immortal I can’t hurt you. I can spend hours breaking your bones, and after they’ve healed, I will break them again.”

“It won’t matter. I won’t do what you want. I went years with my parents’ abuse.”

Boaz glided to the bed, his feet barely skimming the floor. “There are other ways to hurt you than just physically, love.” He took hold of my ankles and jerked my legs toward him. He forced his weight upon on me.

More than anything else ever, I wanted to use magic right then to throw him from me, but that’s exactly what he wanted me to do. I closed my eyes tight as he ripped open the front of my gown.

“What are you waiting for!” he screamed, spittle spraying from his mouth.

When I didn’t give in, he stepped away and stormed from the room without Hunwald. The wolf remained, watching me with a satisfied expression upon his hairy face. I covered myself quickly and moved to jump out of the window. The impact of the fall would only hurt for a minute.

Hunwald jogged over and leapt upon the windowsill as if guarding it.

“Stupid dog,” I muttered.

Hunwald growled.

Outside the open door, Erik argued with Boaz. “You said she changed. You’ve wasted our time!”

“I’ve wasted
your
time? I’ve wasted almost a year with that bitch.”

“You’re the one who so arrogantly insisted you could change her.”

“Watch your tongue, Erik, or I’ll rip it from your throat. I’ve made more progress than you made in her whole life.”

Sable sighed. “This has been a waste for everyone involved. Let’s kill her and start over. I know it will take more time, but really Boaz, don’t you have plenty of that?”

Boaz scoffed. “You’re too old to bear any more children. Besides which, I refuse to waste any
more
time. I want Eve!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Erik asked.

I heard silence for several moments, then, from Boaz, “Get the necklace.”

“I told you it’s not safe,” Sable hissed.

“I’m willing to take that chance. Now get it and make it work or you will lose everything, the money, the power, but most of all your lives.”

I couldn’t hear anyone move.

“Get it, Sable,” Erik finally said.

Sable’s light footsteps moved down the hall. Boaz came back into the room and knelt by my side. When he tried to smooth back my hair, I flinched.

“I don’t enjoy hurting you. And despite what you may think, I am quite fond of you, except for this side. The
poor me
part needs to be destroyed.”

My shoulders slumped, and my gaze slowly lifted to meet his. “Is there any way you can just let me go?”