When Silver Moons Rise (Lost Immortals Saga #2) (4 page)

“I never came back because I was banished from the kingdom,” I explain. I soften my tone and say, “That was a long time ago.”

She shakes her head and stares at me with eyes as empty as her strange mirror, “You were always so cold, Prince Indrail. Now look at you. Naked. Exiled. Tied to a machine that will eventually drain every drop of blood out of you.” Her entire body shakes and her shoulders heave so I easily see how hard she’s breathing. She opens and closes her mouth several times before she asks, “Tell me more about this Chela?”

Now that got my attention. I perk up and wait for her to say more. How the hell does she know about Chela?

“Ah, you should see the look on your face. I hit the right button this time. Amazing.” She taps her index finger against her cheek as she circles me. “You being attached to this bleeder can’t break that sarcastic side of you, but me uttering one little bitty name makes you tense up in a way I’ve never seen you do before,” Olivia says, her eyes bright. “Did frigid Prince Indrail finally get whipped by a girl? Calling out to her in your sleep and everything. Amazing.” 

“Some girls have class,” I mutter.
Shut up, man. Don’t say it.
I don’t listen. “Other girls are just bat-shit insane. Not too hard of a choice, right?”

Her smile turns in on itself.
Crap.
“Tank get back in here,” she yells. The ogre rushes through the door and back over to where she stands.

“Yes, Mistress?”

“Turn on the electricity,” she purrs. He stalks toward me, a crazy grin on his face. Yeah, I’m regretting my mouth’s inability to avoid trouble. But no, I won’t let Tank know it.

“Give those to me,” Olivia says looking at me as she takes the pads from Tank. “Douse him with water again.”

Right. So, I really ticked her off this time. Cold liquid hits my chest. She moves closer to me, and says, “Insane, huh? My insanity just started.” She slams the pads against my bare, wet chest. Voltage shoots through me. My entire body shudders. I think of Chela’s face, her smile, her silly giggle that I wouldn’t trade for anything in this world. Olivia hits me about three more times before she steps away.

“Keep it up,” she says to Tank and hands the electrodes to him. So the ogre with the sewage breath gets to torture me, now.

“I thought you wanted to keep him alive,” Tank says. “Keep this up and he’ll be dead by the nightfall.”

“Oh, I think he can handle the voltage just fine,” she answers without a care in her voice and walks out the door.

I’m not sure how much times passes before Olivia returns. I do know that thinking of Chela keeps me from giving in to my own demons. I’ve restrained the animal inside me. I’m now one step closer to making sure the Beast stays away forever. I won’t give in to Rabia’s dark power ever again.

I’ll never be rid of it if I do.

Olivia reaches a hand out toward my face. I cringe and snatch my head out of her reach.

“Tsk. Tsk. Look at you, Prince Indrail. Do I make you so nervous that you cower when I come close to you, now?”

Hell yeah, she does. Even a warrior has his limits to how much pain and emotional abuse he can take. 

I look down and study the floor. A witch of the Silver Magic is most powerful when the full moon shines during the month of December. That’s three months away. I’ll find a way to escape out of this place by then. I know I will.

“I like this quiet and obedient side of you.” Turning to Tank who has slipped back into the room, she says, “Remove his bonds.”

“But, Mistress—” Tank begins.

“Do not question me. Or, you’ll take his place.”

“Yes, Mistress Warren.”

Struggling won’t do me a bit of good. She could rip me apart if she really wanted to do so. And I’d be too weak to fight back. My best shot at surviving will be to play the good little lap dog. I close my eyes and slump to the floor after Tank unlatches the bonds on my wrists and ankles. Right away, I bend over and lose my lunch while Tank laughs at me.

Chapter Five

Now I Lay Me Down (Chela)

Three months later…

I have somehow made it through three months of school, and I still can’t shake my feeling of dread. The weekend arrives, and I soon find out how good my instincts have become. I know this can’t be a good thing.

Father and I sit in the living room discussing my post career on Saturday evening. He feels I should choose a healing skill like the one Mother chose. He tries harder than ever to make up for the hurtful things he has done, the secrets he has kept from Micah and me.

I still can’t help but to feel a bit resentful. His loyalty to the Tribunal came before his children. If he had only been honest with us, I would’ve been prepared to deal with Camden and Seth and all the crazy things the Tainted threw at me a few months ago.

“Please, CC, we must try to at least tolerate one another for Micah’s sake,” he pleads. I hear the pain in his voice.

I speak to Father only when I need to. I know my silent treatment hurts him. But I’m in pain too. Something in his words hits me the wrong way. I glance at him. Sad honey brown eyes highlighted by his wavy dark hair, my own looks, meet my gaze. The gray strands along the edge of his face have gotten brighter.

When did that happen?  He has aged so much in only a couple of months. The burden of keeping our secret affects him as well. I should be more understanding, but the hollow pain inside me won’t let me feel anything.

“Did you ever stop to think that trusting me might’ve turned out a lot better than hiding the truth?” I ask, my voice shaking.

“I do believe in you. I explained my actions once before,” he reminds me.

“Yeah, and you left out the part where Mother turned away from the silver light,” I say sharply. He flinches. My statement hits him harder than I thought it would. “Do you even know who she really was?”

He hesitates a long moment before speaking. “I know she was a kind and fair person—a beautiful soul like our son, but rebellious to a fault…like our daughter. I didn’t save Helena, CC. I couldn’t. But I can protect our children. You don’t have to always understand the way I choose to do so.”

I scoff. “Now, there’s the Father I remember so well. I figured he’d return soon enough.”

The doorbell saves me from whatever thought simmers behind the hard look inside Father’s eyes. He stands and heads toward it. Nina bounds through the door, stopping to greet Father in the foyer.

Automatically, my muscles tense up. Yet another person arrives on the scene to remind me of just how strange my life has become. This makes the first time I’ve seen her since I left the safe house three months ago.

Father leads her into our living room.

“Chela, how nice to see you again.” Her eyes briefly meet mine just before she takes a seat across from me.

“Governor Winthrope.” I use her official title because that’s the way I see her. I don’t want to lie or try to act nice.

It’s not good to see Nina. I don’t trust her, and she knows it. She’s the one who ordered the Beast to be killed by the champion. The creature that’s just as much a part of me as my twin brother. How can that be possible? Because Faris and the Beast are the same, and everyone thinks I killed it.

I’ll never tell them any different. Part of me knows that Nina discovered Faris’s secret. What I don’t understand is why she pretends as though she knows nothing about it.

“Have some calming ale,” Father says as he pours himself a glass.

Nina holds up a hand. She wears a dark gray blazer over black slacks. A blood red shirt highlights her auburn hair. “I’m afraid I can’t stay long. This visit isn’t a happy one, Dr. Prizeon.”

Father sits down and places his glass on the table beside him. She has my full attention now, too.

Sighing deeply, she locks her gaze on Father and says, “Rebel Outcast activity has increased. What happened a few months ago only fueled their anger. They’re using angel-blood as a drug. Taken in large doses the blood gives them superhuman strength. The Tainted supplied many of the people living outside this city with food and medical supplies in exchange for their loyalty. With Camden Atrauser’s death, we have now cut all of that assistance off. People living outside the Boroughs are angry. A civil war is almost certain to happen.” Nina’s words floor me. This news is what we’ve all been most afraid to hear.

What does it mean? Will Faris make it back home before a war breaks out? A chill rushes through me.

“Atrauser’s body was never found, James.” She glances at me before she continues. “There is also talk among the people living outside the city. They’re saying the Beast still lives. In fact, the creature was spotted just outside of Borough #5.” Nina looks directly at me this time.

I see the accusation in her eyes. She knows. I can tell. I inhale and hold the breath in. I can’t hide what I feel. Someone saw the Beast. Faris. Both of them are the same thing. The news both excites and scares me.

Her next words cut to my core. “The creature must be stopped. It is a product of dark magic. Nothing more or less. Such a thing must not be allowed to live. No matter how much the thought bothers us. We must destroy the Tainted’s weapon for good this time. The dagger of Uriel can stop it. Chela has the ability to use it.”

Chills fly across my skin. “Never!” I blurt.

“CC, show some respect,” Father orders. Nina fires a look toward me that should make me whimper. I don’t. Something in me has changed over these past few months.

After everything I’ve been through, I think I can handle someone like Nina Winthrope. She narrows her eyes, sensing my unspoken challenge. I know I’m playing with fire; but as Father said, I am the rebellious daughter of a traitor.

“You’re a direct descendant of the seraphim, the only one who can control the dagger,” she begins. “If you hadn’t lied to us a few months ago, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we?”

“You’re such a hypocrite.”I can no longer hide my anger. Father props against his knees and shakes his head. I can see the tension in his shoulders. For his sake, I back off. Nina does too. But her eyes never leave my face.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me, Chela?” Nina gives me a semi-bored, half amused look.

“I don’t think I’m the one that’s been lying to the people of Castle Hayne, am I? Answer me, Champion,” Nina demands.  I lower my eyes, refusing to give her any part of what I’m thinking.

Micah wheels into the room, his red hair sticking out as though he got caught in a windstorm before he came in. My mood shifts at once. The sight of my brother moving around and giving me the smile that used to get me in all kinds of trouble flips my slow-beating heart. Nina’s demanding mood evaporates as she stares at my brother. This is the first time they have officially met, and I wonder what it is about him that silences a woman as powerful as Governor Winthrope.

Micah moves his chair over to where the Governor sits and holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Governor Winthrope.”

Nina’s eyelids flutter, and she makes this little frown. I’ve never seen her at a loss for words before. Slowly, she lifts her hand for my brother to take. “You look—there’s so much of Helena in your son, James.”

“Yes, I hear that quite often,” Father answers proudly.

“I’m happy to see you’re feeling better. Plenty of color in your cheeks too. The therapists have done wonders for you.” Her voice sounds stronger, it reminds me of the woman who led an illegal group of demon slayers to defeat Outcasts and their mutated pets called the sedwigs a few months ago.

“If war is coming as you say,” Father interrupts, “then how do I protect my children? I’ve heard about the dead bodies, and the way angel-bloods are being bled dry. For sake of the Light, Governor, I just reunited with my son. I don’t want to lose either of my children again.” Micah wheels over to where Father sits and places a hand on his shoulder. Father returns the gesture by placing his on top of my brother’s.

Nina sighs and purses her lips. “Which brings me to the other reason I came by this evening. I have dire news.” She addresses Father and Micah without even acknowledging me.

My ears heat and I clench my fists. Any blind person can see why the Governor has been elected twice. Her ability to make someone feel invisible even when they’re sitting right there in the room beside her is legendary.

I lock gazes with Micah who sits directly across from me. Before she can respond, the beep from her reader saves me from any more of the iciness only Nina knows how to dish out so well. She answers the call, her face going from witchy to concerned in a few seconds. She ends the call, closes her eyes, and inhales deeply. My thrumming heart betrays my resolve to be a tough girl. Something bad has happened, and yes, I know that it probably has something to do with me. The anticipation among those of us in the room gets to Father first.

“Is everything all right, Governor?” Father urges.

Nina opens her eyes, her glare resting directly on my face. I shrink in my seat and try not to squeeze my fist. Faris told me once that I was going to break the bones in my hand one day if I didn’t stop doing that. Angel-bloods are strong, even more so than we realize. So, I’m working on controlling my nervous habits. Plus, it makes me feel closer to Faris in some strange way when I think of his advice.

“That was Mabry,” she finally says. “It’s Sarah Needlemeyer.” She glances from Father to Micah and then me. My body goes numb for a bit. The look on her face worries me. Sighing heavily, she passes her reader to Father.

A host of emotions crosses his face as he goes through whatever images are on the reader. Sighing loudly, he hands the reader back to Nina, closes his eyes, and massages his temples.

“Father. What is it? What’s happened to Mrs. Needlemeyer?” Micah asks, his voice laced with panic.

“Sarah Needlemeyer was a good woman. She took care of my children long before I remarried. I…” Father’s voice trails off as emotion chokes out his words. “Tell me when you find who did this.” Nina nods and purses her lips.

“I’d like to see what’s on the reader,” Micah says. “She was my nanny too. If something has happened to her, I want to know about it.”