Beware, p.15
Beware, page 15
“You don’t want to fuck him.”
Molly nodded. “In essence, yes, if we can avoid that, I would prefer it.”
“I can keep him occupied. It is in my talent wheel.”
“That it is.” Molly pulled Faye down for a kiss before standing. “Would you speak with Ben soon, please? I think he needs his best friend.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Faye pushed up from the chair and walked toward the door. She had to get out of there, had to get out of the house. Her skin crawled. It wasn’t the first time she used her body to get what she wanted. In fact, that was exactly how her relationship with Molly started, but she had hoped to avoid it again. Malek was the first man she’d had sex with since Caliban, and the memories were almost too much.
Unlocking the door, Faye made her escape and found herself at the bottom of the spiral staircase. Her friend would know where she could go to get more of this new drug she’d discovered. He knew the oddest things. Grabbing her helmet and her motorcycle, Faye took off without looking back.
###
She waited at the base of the sculpture of the troll as his head broke from the stone. The grinding of rock against rock echoed under the bridge. His face morphed from being frozen in time to contorted with pain before he settled his gaze on her.
“My young friend.”
She smirked. He was the only one allowed to call her that. Faye bit her lip as she climbed up his arm, the path familiar, and rested on his shoulder. She patted his cheek and rested her head against him. “Hello, my friend.”
“You are visiting often now.”
“I know.” She wasn’t quite sure what to say to him. She wanted information more than anything, knew he’d have it. For a troll who was stuck in one place, he had a wealth of gossip. His face was wrinkled. She’d noticed even with time he had more wrinkles gathering under his eyes and along his neck. She wondered if any of the patrons who visited him regularly would notice.
“Did you hear about the club?”
“I did.” His voice was quiet, deep as it rumbled along with the rest of the sounds of the city at night. Each of his words was slowly spoken, each with care. She knew it took him a great amount of effort to speak, that each word hurt as he forced it beyond his lips. If she’d been thinking, she would have brought him some relief, but she’d been too selfish and thinking only of herself.
“Do you know anyone else who has this new drug?” She didn’t want to wait around longer than necessary. She was already guilty about coming without offering him anything.
He turned to look at her, eyeing her carefully. “Why do you ask?”
“I’d like some.”
“It is not safe.”
“It’s never safe. Drugs aren’t made to be safe.” Faye patted his cheek and bit her lip. “Do you know where I can get some?”
“There is something in it.”
“I know.” Faye sighed. “I know there is. Still, I want what I want.”
He regarded her. “There is an underground city.”
“There’s what?”
He shot her a look, telling her to shut up. “Go to the club but take a left. Follow the path until it splits and take the one that leads you down.”
“Who will I find there?”
“My brethren.”
“And they’ll have some of this drug?”
He groaned. “Yes. Next time, Faye, bring some relief.”
“I will. I promise. I’m so sorry I forgot it this time.”
He snorted, and dust billowed from his nose into the air in front of him. Faye kissed his cheek and climbed down the way she came up. By the time she was on the sidewalk again, he was already fully stone.
Faye followed his directions. She walked through the entrance to the club in the sewers, but instead of turning toward the door, she took a left. The moss still covered the ground and quieted her footsteps, at least for half a mile or so before it disappeared.
It seemed like she was walking for hours, but she knew it was barely even thirty minutes before she came to the split he had been talking about. Sure enough, one way led down and the other way stayed straight. With a deep breath, Faye turned and walked down the as she had been directed.
The halls became dark, and it was only because of her superior eyesight that she was able to see where she was going. Just for the hell of it, Faye held out her hand and send electricity shocking between all of her fingers, lighting up the way even more. She stopped when she realized there were paintings and drawings on the walls. Staring at them, she memorized as much of them as she could.
Faye eventually continued along the path, her boots making hardly any noise as she went. She came to a large opening. As she walked through it, Faye wished she could see everything, but it was even darker—pitch black. Focusing her hearing, she heard a rustling, a lot of rustling. There were definitely creatures surrounding her.
Before she knew what was happening, a flash of light nearly blinded her. Faye dropped her hand to the side, the electricity pulling back into her body. Glancing around, she saw the troll’s brethren for the first time. Her spine stiffened, every muscle in her body tightening. She should not have come down there alone.
Faye pinpointed the one in charge as he stepped forward. He towered over her, and for the first time, Faye realized just how large her friend on the surface must be. “Your brethren sent me here.”
The one in charge halted.
“He said I could come here, told me the way.”
“For what purpose?” His voice was firm and deep just like her friend’s.
Faye gulped. “He said you had something I was looking for, a drug.”
“We have what you are looking for.”
“M-may I have some?”
The troll nodded at something off to the side. Faye didn’t dare turn to see what it was, but something plopped by her feet. She risked a glance down and was shocked to find a large bag of pills, enough to last her years if she kept it all to herself. Bending down, she snatched it up and held it close to her chest.
“Thank you.”
“Share it.”
The lights went out, the shuffling of feet against dirt and stone echoed until the room was silent. Faye let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and carefully walked back the way she had come. She’d have to do some research on that when she got back to the house and had a few spare moments. Not only was there an entire troll colony living underneath their city, but she had a sinking suspicion Molly knew about it, in detail.
Faye made it up to the first landing and ripped open the bag. She took two pills and swallowed them without pretense. Staring at the door to the club she had once frequented, Faye let out a sigh. She would miss that place, perhaps someday it would live again. Until then, she’d have to find a new place to party with Joel when they had a night off. Maybe they could even convince Ben to join them on the rare occasion.
Taking a risk, Faye popped a third pill between her lips and weighed her options as she held it there. She’d taken two pills before, and it had been the most glorious high she had ever experienced. She’d felt warm, fuzzy, peaceful for the first time in her long life. She wanted that peaceful experience again. It was everything she had craved with heroin and been unable to find.
Three pills might just put her there since she had grown her resistance to the drug itself through her low-dose usage of it. Swallowing the third white pill, Faye got onto her hands and her knees and found a place to stash the rest of the drugs. She’d want to come back for them later, when she was more with it, and when it would be worth it to her to take them with her. She’d have to find some new hiding places at the house, but that wasn’t difficult. Molly could only have her eyes and ears in so many places at once, and Faye was resourceful if nothing else. She walked down the pathway she hadn’t taken before as she waited for the drugs to kick in.
Chapter Seventeen
Molly’s phone rang, waking her from a near dead sleep. Since she rarely slept, when she flipped onto her side to stare at her phone, she was surprised to see Malek’s name flash across the screen. Rubbing her eyes, Molly pressed the phone to her ear and acted as if she’d been awake the entire time but not before glancing at her watch on the night stand. Four-thirty in the morning. She was about to have to wake up anyway.
“This better be good.” She didn’t want to play games. Her mind was too slow to figure everything out and keep all the lies straight. Rubbing her temple, Molly waited for an answer, but she got none.
His breathing was somewhat heavy, but she couldn’t hear anything beyond that. Narrowing her gaze, Molly shifted in her bed and sat up, continuing to listen rather than ask him what he wanted or why he was calling. Perhaps he hadn’t meant to call her at all, and she was about to get a little piece of information she needed.
He grunted. “Molly.”
“Yes,” she answered, knowing finally he had meant to dial her number.
“It’s Faye.”
She turned immediately to the side of the bed next to her that was empty, not that she expected Faye to be in it. They hadn’t seen each other in at least a day, and while Molly tended to keep close tabs on Faye especially when she was getting high regularly, she hadn’t checked with Ben that day and had fallen into bed exhausted.
“Where is she?”
“We’re downtown. East side.”
“We? What were you doing with her?”
“I found her.”
Molly swallowed and turned the lamp on her nightstand on. Her feet were over the edge of the mattress within seconds, and she was standing to get dressed, the phone still pressed to her ear as she waited for an answer. When she got none, she huffed. “Found her where?”
“In the sewer lines underneath the city.”
Faltering in her step, Molly hesitated before she reached for a pair of black leather pants instead of a skirt suit she’d almost grabbed. “Where exactly are you?”
“Down by the piers. She looks like she was dragged here, or maybe crawled here. I can’t quite tell.”
Molly cradled the phone to her shoulder as she pulled the pants on and picked out a shirt. “And what were you doing there?”
“Molly, she needs medical attention. Something…something isn’t right.”
“What’s wrong?”
“She’s not responding at all. I can’t get her to move. She’s barely breathing and her breaths keep getting slower.”
Cursing, Molly sped up getting dressed. “Text me a ping where you’re at. I’ll grab the van and get Amachon ready. But don’t think this gets you out of explaining to me why you were down there.”
Hanging up, Molly pulled her shirt over her head, grabbed her jacket, and called Amachon as she slid her feet into her boots. After alerting him to the situation, she moved through the halls and down to the garage. With the keys to the van in hand, Molly left the house and drove to Malek and Faye.
By the time she got there, her mind was a whir of possibilities. One thing she knew, Faye was likely high, but beyond that, Malek had given her very little details. Pulling up where her phone told her they were, she stopped. No one was in sight. The pier was empty, the warehouse next to it was closed up tight.
Stepping out of the van, Molly pocketed the keys and took her phone out. Before she could even call him, her phone was ringing again. Pressing it to her ear, that annoying flair of anger that seemed to lick at her any time she had to deal directly with Malek in any capacity came to life.
“Where are you?” she asked without pretense.
“Hold on. Turn around.”
Spinning on her heel, Molly twisted to see Malek coming out of the shadows between two warehouses about two hundred feet from where she was. Hanging up, she pocketed her phone. She ducked her head and shoved her hands into her pockets as she walked toward him, but he didn’t move to get closer to her. Beyond confused as to what was going on, Molly’s anger ratcheted up a few notches as she made her way to him.
“I need to tell you that I have no idea what happened. I found her this way.” His tone had an edge of worry in it.
Perhaps he knew if he’d done anything to Faye he would have to face Molly’s wrath and he wouldn’t survive. Clenching her jaw, she stopped short when Faye’s body appeared in her view. She wasn’t just lifeless, she was beaten and bruised. Molly knelt immediately by Faye’s side, brushing her fingers over her cheek, a cheek that was split open and a nose clearly broken.
“What the hell happened to her?”
“I honestly have no idea. I found her like this.”
“Found her where?” Accusation couldn’t help but find it’s way into Molly’s voice.
Malek shrugged and squatted down next to Molly. “I found her in the sewers like this. I told you that.”
“You didn’t tell me she was this close to death.”
“She’s a vampire.”
Snorting, Molly rolled her eyes and carded her fingers over Faye’s cheek. “Why haven’t you given her any blood yet?”
“I did. The blood on her lips is mine. It didn’t work.”
Turning to him sharply, Molly kept her mouth shut. If his blood wasn’t working, then Faye was definitely high on the same drug she’d been taking. There was no way to sober her up except to wait, but just because their blood didn’t work didn’t mean their magic was fruitless.
“Did you attempt to heal her?”
“Yes,” he whispered and pressed a hand to the small of Molly’s back. “Twice and neither time did I make any progress. I was only able to heal a few small cuts, but you are far more talented at healing than I am. Don’t think I know you didn’t help me when she ripped out your side.”
Molly chose not to answer him. She’d hoped he hadn’t noticed, but she’d known she wouldn’t have been able to hide it from him at the same time. Melding magic together like that had a completely different feel to it than using one’s own magic.
“We need to get her home. Perhaps Amachon can do something.”
“I didn’t find any drugs on her.”
Cocking her head to the side, Molly thinned her lips. “Did you expect to?”
“I think she’s taken more than she’s ever taken.”
“Most likely. Any idea where she got it?”
“Not a clue.”
Molly’s heart sunk. Malek had lied. If there was one thing she had learned all those years ago, it was how to determine when he was lying, which he had done to her fairly often in those first few years, claiming she wasn’t ready to understand the ins and outs of the fold. Little had he known, her father had shared far more than he had.
“Let’s get her home.” Molly’s voice was barely above a whisper as she bent and pressed her lips to Faye’s in a gentle kiss. “Amachon is waiting.”
“You’ll have to…” Malek waved his hand at Faye. “I’m not sure I’ve the energy.”
Molly clenched her jaw again, trying to figure out why Malek had depleted a lot of his resources or if this was a ploy for him to determine just how powerful she was without him. He’d had a taste of her magic the last time they were on the pier together, perhaps he wanted to know the true source of it, but that was something she’d never share with him.
Standing, Molly stared down at him and Faye before waving her hand. Faye’s body moved in the exact position it had been upward from the ground until she was floating. Molly’s power surged through her chest and into her fingers, and she had to work hard to control it and keep it at bay. She always struggled with that when her emotions were heavy, one of the things Malek had chided her over throughout the years of training she’d endured.
Without a word, Molly directed Faye’s lifeless body to the back of the van. Malek opened the doors with a grunt. Molly lifted Faye’s body a little higher and slid her into the van, lowering her down gently. She crawled in and checked on her again. No doubt she’d at least be able to heal some of the wounds Faye had endured from whatever she’d been through, but she had no desire to do that in front of Malek and let him in on how powerful she had become in the intervening years since she’d seen him last.
Molly kissed Faye’s forehead and then crawled up to the driver’s seat. Malek shut the back doors and before he could even get in the passenger side, Molly stepped on the gas and took off. He found his own way to the docks, he could find his own way home.
Driving rapidly, Molly pulled into the garage. Faye was home. She was in good hands. That was all that mattered for now. Crawling into the back without alerting Amachon she was home yet—he’d figure that out shortly—she kneeled over Faye’s body in the small, confined space.
“What have you been doing, Faye?”
Faye didn’t answer, nor did she move. Her breathing was so shallow, Molly worried she would stop at any moment. Pressing a hand to the center of Faye’s chest, Molly closed her eyes. Power pulled through her, growing as it compounded on top of her. With a sharp breath, she worked her way into Faye’s body, feeling all her injuries. Malek hadn’t been wrong, and neither had Molly—Faye was near death.
Molly focused on the physical injuries she could heal, but every time she would mend a rib, it would break again. Every time she was magically sew a cut together, it would stay only for a moment before ripping open again. After her fourth attempt, Molly gave up.
Malek ripped open the back of the van, his eyes narrowing as they focused in on Molly. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing that is working.”
“Let’s get her to Amachon.”
He reached forward, cupping her cheek. Molly turned into the soft touch, the exhaustion hitting her fast, but it wasn’t physical exhaustion. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh. She’d already been through this fiasco with Faye once, and while she loved her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to sober her up again without Faye wanting to work on that herself.
Malek moved his thumb, and Molly opened her eyes. “Amachon’s coming.”
“How do you know?”
The door to the garage opened, and Amachon rolled a stretcher in. As he reached the back of the van, he grunted at Molly, who moved out of the way. The giant reached in, pulled Faye by her ankles until he could reach her torso. Then he lifted her onto the stretcher and pushed her out of the room. Molly and Malek shared a glance before she scrambled to follow.
