Seduced by Pain (14 page)

There was no way they could possibly have enough power to defeat our entire pack, but the devastation I saw when I arrived nearly broke me.

Pain burned through me like acid as something forced me to shift back to my human form.

The jaws of darkness do devour it up:


So quick bright things come to confusion.

—William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO
impossible decisions, I'd chosen the one that would give me the smallest semblance of hope. My desire to be human, to live on this plane, had always been there.

But since falling in love with Rose, that desire now depended entirely on being with her, and what I was about to do would destroy that chance, if I had any at all. But I could not revert back to demon form and live out my life on that hell plane. I had to help the witches complete their ceremony.

The decoy with the sister had worked. As we arrived on the vast O'Conner estate, Rose was missing. So was Derek.

They didn't expect us to attack by day, or maybe at all. They didn't expect us to have enough power to defeat them.

I could tell that loyalty in the coven was breaking apart. The lesbian couple had left in the middle of the night last week and hadn't been heard from since, and there were mutterings of discontent. When Rose and Ocean left, it shocked a lot of them, even without knowing the sordid details.

Jasmine had sunk deeper into her emo tortured teen routine and refused to speak to anyone unless it involved sarcasm. She also refused to participate in this attack, for which I was grateful. I'd developed a fondness for the girl and enjoyed hearing her practice her singing when she thought no one was around.

I wanted her to have a better life than this.

I wasn't sure how long Rainbow would keep her coven together after today, but it wouldn't matter. We just needed to do the transfer of power on the winter solstice, and then they could all drop dead for all I cared.

We snuck onto the property, and acres of woods spread before us, with the palatial mansion standing proudly in the center. Rainbow had likely thought this life would be hers. No wonder she was pissed.

Each witch had spent time holding the sphere under my supervision. I didn't even allow Rainbow to carry it off, much to her chagrin. It was my ass if Beleth didn't get this back.

Their power built on itself as they joined hands in a circle and chanted. The sphere pulsed with life and glowed in my hand. They'd created a spell to stop a Shifter from shifting, or to revert them back to human if they had.

Between that and their increased power, the Druids would not last long in this battle.

"Blake, hand me the sphere," Rainbow commanded from the shroud of her black cape.

I rolled my eyes at her melodrama, but handed it to her.

The witches dropped each other's hands and maintained their magical connection within the circle's power points. As Rainbow chanted, wolves in the woods began to howl in pain.

For several minutes, the howling continued, their agony a physical presence around us. My body itched with the energy of it, and I fought the urge to break the circle and end this before the evil bitch gained even more power.

Rainbow howled like an insane animal as the wolves grew silent. "Now, we take what is rightfully ours!"

With renewed enthusiasm, likely from the magic dripping from the air, the coven ran into the woods, heading straight for the rosebushes.

No wolves remained, only humans lying on the ground, moaning in pain.

The few that tried to stand were easily trampled by the magically-intoxicated witches.

Rainbow claimed a rose and sniffed it deeply. "Ah, the scent of power. Of victory. Of everything that was mine."

The Druid leader walked toward her from the main house. He must not have been in wolf form when this started, but given how he shuffled his legs, he'd likely tried to shift and failed.

Rainbow's lips curled up into a menacing smile. "David, so nice of you to join us. It's been too long."

"What are you doing, Rainbow? I gave you a home, land, money. You have no rights to more." He stood tall, proud and wise and I could see why the world adored him.

"I have every right. This was supposed to be mine, but you tossed me away for that bitch you call wife."

David smacked Rainbow, and as his palm landed on her cheek, a force of power erupted from her and threw him across the garden, where he fell into a pile like a rag doll.

A woman screamed from near the house and ran to him, crying.

Behind me, a wolf howled. Rainbow turned, directing her power at him and forcing him to shift back to human.

Derek lay on the ground naked and semi-conscious. "What have you done? You bitch! I'll tear you apart for this."

His threats fell on empty ears as Rainbow directed a few members of the coven to dig up the rose bush, roots and all, and place it in a bag to be replanted on their property.

She glared at the man who had stolen her daughter. "Kill him, and find Rose and bring her home. I don't care how. We need her."

I grabbed Derek's neck. One twist, and I'd hear a snap. One twist, and Derek would lay dead at my feet. Nothing would stop me from having Rose, then, not if she never found out. I dug my nails into the Shifter's flesh. I'd imagined this. A secret part of me had hoped for it. Derek should have been protecting Rose, not interfering here. Guess I'd have to protect her from now on.

As I began to turn my hands, a scream turned me to stone.

"Let him go!" Rose ran at us, her eyes fixed on Derek, her eyes filled with tears. "Let him go, please. We don't want to fight you."

My grip melted away, and Derek hit the ground.

Rose collapsed beside him, shielding the Shifter with her body. Why him? Why did she have to choose him?

"Rose, move away," I said.

She clutched Derek tighter.

And I threw her off of him.

She hit the ground, rolling in mud and rocks. Tears streaked down her face, and her mouth opened in a silent cry.

Perhaps she mouthed the word 'please.' Perhaps I imagined it. But her tears wiped my rage away all the same. There was something truly dark about those tears—something I had never seen before. Nowhere should such darkness be allowed to exist.

I looked into her eyes one last time, stood up, and turned to Rainbow. "You got what you wanted. Now, it's time to leave. I didn't come here for your petty revenge schemes."

She balled her fist, ready to challenge me, but even with the sphere, I was stronger and she knew it.

"Very well. Grab my daughter so we can go."

"No."

She scowled, the sphere buzzing louder and louder in her hand. "If you want to keep your nice, new body, you will do as I say. You will—"

I lunged at her, grabbing for her throat, but the witch had her tricks. She slapped her hand across the air, and a stream of rock sprayed across my face. Fire raked my cheek, and I knew it had been shredded as I hit the ground. The witch stood over me and laughed a thousand terrors, and the wind lashed at my skin like a knife. Cuts exploded over my body, small but many, and blood began to replace my clothing. I tried to stand, but the air, as if it had all gathered above me into a giant anvil, pushed me down. Perhaps this new body would not last as long as I'd expected.

The witch turned to her daughter. "Come, Rose. Come, and I'll let your precious Shifter live."

Rose's trembling hands fell away. She stood between Derek and her mother. "I'll leave with you if you return the roses."

"I can't do that, dear. Honestly, I'd rather let all of you die." The witch raised her hand, a claw ready to tear into flesh. She was hungry for blood. And she lost focus.

I jumped up, pushing against the wind that sliced at my limbs. My stupid flesh, so human, so weak, tore apart like clothing without thread. It would soon be lost forever. But it would last long enough.

I tackled Rainbow, slamming her into the earth she'd used against me. We clung to each other, and the air that ripped away at my body began to tear into hers as well. A stripe of blood swelled on her cheek, and she stopped the wind, clawing at my face with her nails instead. I grabbed her neck. One twist, and I'd hear a snap. One twist.

And I'd never be free again.

My hands went limp, and the witch scrambled away, dropping the sphere, nightmares of death stitched on her face. She had lost, and she'd remember it.

I picked up the silver orb and walked up to Rose. She had to know what Rainbow and I planned. She had to know how to stay safe. "We're leaving with the rose bush. For your sake, for Derek's, don't follow us."

"How could you help her do this? I thought you loved me, that you were different! How could you do this?" Rose's voice carried through the woods.

I looked at Derek, limp and helpless on the ground. He had bedded Rose. I could smell the deed on them. "We make the choices that are right for us. Sometimes, they aren't our first choices, because those have been taken from us, or perhaps, because they were never there to begin with, but they're the best we have. We try for better, but sometimes better is just a fleeting shadow, and it belongs to someone else."

Rose glanced at Derek and wiped the tears from her eyes.

I raised my hand toward her cheek, but let it drop an inch away. "Rose, I have to go, but listen to me—"

"Why should I ever listen to you?"

"Because I'm not Blake. Not the Blake you knew. There's more to this than you know. Your mother needs to perform a ceremony to acquire the power of the roses. A ceremony that involves a virgin sacrifice."

Rainbow crawled toward us. "Stop. She can't know."

"Silence." I raised my hand as if to hit her, and she twisted into a ball. "Run back to the coven, before I find another witch to do my bidding."

Rainbow retreated out of sight, taking the other coven members and the rose bush with her.

I turned back to Rose. "Rainbow has been using blood magic to gain more powers. That's how she brought me from the demon plane to help her."

"You're… a demon?"

"Yes. But Rose, there's more."

She choked back a sob. "More? How could there be more?"

"Your father, your real father, he was a demon. It's why you're different, and why she wanted you for the ceremony. Without you, she'll be forced to pick another sacrifice."

"But, who? Who else could she pick who's a virgin?"

I waited as she made the connection herself. Her jaw fell open, horror on her face. "Jasmine? She's going to use Jasmine?"

I nodded.

"You have to stop her. You can't let her kill my sister."

"I have to go. I'm sorry. I'll do what I can."
Yet someone will die, even if it's not Jasmine.
I began walking away.

"No, Blake. You can stay with us. With me."

I glanced at Rose, and, for the first time, felt a heart full of agony. "No, Rose, I can't. It was foolish of me to ever think that I could."

The course of true love never did run smooth.

—William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Dear Diary,

Life is a complicated mix of joy and sadness, love and hate, good and evil. This soup of mixed flavors can sometimes leave a bad taste in our mouth, but then with one bite of the sweetness, we remember why we feast, why we risk it all to sample life's cuisine.

Derek and his family are my sweetness.

THE AFTERMATH OF
the attack left two of Derek's cousins with broken ribs, an uncle with a concussion, and the rest laid up at their homes, recuperating.

Fortunately, no one had been killed, but the dug out rose bush looked like a child's grave, and that scar in the land pulled at the stitches that held this family together.

Several days had passed, and still no one voiced any hope that we had a chance at victory.

As we sat around the dinner table, picking at a pot roast, David, who didn't seem the type to stay in his melancholy, explained what the loss of the roses would mean for the O'Conners. "We still control the power of the roses, though it's waning. But if the witches succeed in their ceremony, we'll lose everything: our abilities to shift, our magic, our longevity, the foundation of our lives. And it wouldn't be like becoming normal human; it's more like losing your soul. A part of us would be ripped out. We're the guardians of that ancient power, and we've failed at our task."

Derek squeezed my knee. He'd needed more physical contact than usual lately, not that I minded. Everything around him was falling apart because of my family, but I would find a way to make it right.

Ocean, Lauren and Tammy sat across from us. Everyone was acutely aware of the one missing family member: Dean.

Silence hung heavy in the room as we each considered the worst case scenario. No one had mentioned the shocking revelation that I was half demon. I couldn't even wrap my head around it, let alone process out what the ramifications of that was.

Unable to stand it, I pulled myself away from Derek and stood and paced the room, my appetite gone. "We can't give up. I spent my whole life feeling helpless against the darkness in me, but I finally learned to control it."

That had been a fun conversation to have with my future in-laws.

"Dean believed that I could free him from the demon plane, which means I can. I'll find a way. Father Patrick and Drake can help. Also, Ocean and I know the coven and that land better than anyone. We can get back the rose bush before the ceremony. We have to. They'll kill my sister if we don't. I won't let you lose your power, and I won't let my sister die. And… after this, if it's too much, having me here, because of the whole demon thing, or even because of the witch thing, I can go. I know this is all my fault. But please, just let me help fix it first."

Tammy jumped up from her chair and came around the table to hug me. "You're not going anywhere. I've been surrounded by boys too long. I've always wanted a sister."

Lauren and David joined in the hug, repeating her words. Derek smiled and reached for my hand through the mass of people. "I love you, Rose. Where you go, I go. Always."

I sent a silent promise up to Dean that I would find him and save him.

David smiled down at us. "Thank you, Rose, for reminding me of the truth. We can't lose hope. We have plenty of time before the solstice to plan a strategy and get the roses back. It's time to stop allowing fear to dictate our emotions."

In the middle of that warmth, that love, that total acceptance, a little sliver of hope dug in, refusing to give way to the many fears and doubts that so often crowded it out.

For where there was love, there would always be hope.

~TO BE CONTINUED~

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Seduced by Power
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