Page 32 of Place of Torment

“Anyway. Where was I?” Smacking Dominic’s chest with the back of my hand to stop his chuckling, I stabbed Samir with a pointed look. “You know this is not going to stop. Now that they have attacked this house once, we will have defend it every night.”

“The best way to win with the bully is to change the rules of the game.” Rowen didn't even turn from his task of stirring the sauce over the stove. "If we have learned anything so far, it is that the Council is not good at defense. They will stick to the attacks to keep us occupied so we don't go knocking on their door.” Finally, he glanced at me. “Let's not be afraid to disappoint them.”

“I was thinking the same.” And I nearly laughed when the witch looked like he was about to faint from my admission. “I'm not that much of a horrible person, Rowen, am I? I can admit If I'm wrong, or if I agree with something you say.”

“It's the sex.” Alice whisper-yelled, cupping her mouth as if that will prevent me from hearing it. "I'm pretty sure they had it last night.”

When she saw my glare, she offered me a sweet, innocent smile. “I would agree you're not a bad person at all. I mean you're my bestie, so, hello.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see that Dominic was biting his lips in a pathetic attempt, not to smile. Which obviously made me want to punch him even more. Chester was grinning from ear to ear while giving a thumbs up to my mate, and I was grateful when Echo elbowed him to stop the nonsense.

“What I never had a chance to explain was the reason why I brought Echo and Chester here.” Leaning both elbows on the table, I took a deep breath and explained everything the demons told me after they brought me to their home.

A sea of emotions played across the faces of everyone present, including the few growls and whines coming from the wolf who was sprawled across Alice's feet. Anger I could deal with, and I welcomed it whenever I saw it burning in my friends’ eyes. It was the concern that worried me the most. Especially, when Samir tried to avoid my gaze.

“Now would be the time to share whatever it is that you know, Samir.” Keeping eye contact, I allowed him a little bit of time to collect his thoughts. The battle was evident in his irises, but we did not have the luxury to play a guessing game. He was right in what he said.

The Council was never going to stop coming after us.

“The cages and the creatures were Frederick's pet project.” With a sigh, Samir dragged himself to the closest chair and plopped in it unceremoniously. Very uncharacteristic of him. “If Isiah and I asked too many questions, his psychotic tendencies would come out to play. So, we let him be. I needed to keep my head down and not bring too much attention to myself and what I was doing. Isiah had his own reasons for not asking questions, I'm sure of it.”

“If you say that you had no idea what was going on under your roof, I will tell you you're a liar.” Echo leaned forward trying to get in his face. anger twisted her features, turning her attractive face into something out of a nightmare. The demon in her was coming out in full force. “You don't get to live as long as you have if you're not smart, so stop playing dumb.”

“I never said I didn't know what he was doing. I heard the whispers, I had my spies.” Rubbing his face, Samir looked every bit of the ancient Atua that he was for the first time. “I just had to pick my battle. Was it more important to argue with him and get nowhere, or keep my mouth shut and make sure Brooklyn keeps breathing?”

Clenching his jaw, he squared his shoulders and looked Echo dead in the eye. “If you want me to apologize, I will not. I do not regret keeping my word. I will never regret keeping her alive.”

“He's telling the truth” Rowen turned the oven off and pushed the small pot aside. Snatching a towel, he wiped his hands as he shuffled closer to where all of us were clustered at the table. “Samir may have not noticed me, but I watched him. I have seen many times how he brings attention to himself to keep it away from Brooklyn. More often than not provoking Frederick’s ire.”

“I didn't know.” Metal band was squeezing my chest, preventing me from breathing.” If I knew…”

“I didn't do anything for your gratitude, Child.” His pride returned, and he sat straighter in his chair. “A man is nothing without his word, and my word is my bond.”

I could've kept going, poking and prodding to find out more details about the reason he gave his word to either one of my parents, but I chose not to. Our pasts haunt us without poking at them. Nothing comes out of it, so I dropped it.

Here and now was what mattered.

“I don't think we should waste time.” Dominic suggested and took a hold of my chair so he could pull me closer towards him. “They will expect us to need a day or two to regroup and come up with a plan. I think we should attack tonight.”

“Attack what?” Rowen finished wiping his hands and lobbed the paper towel in the sink. “Their stronghold?”

“No,” the more I thought about it the more I agreed with my mate. “We should hit at the cages. I doubt that they had enough time to fix all the damage we did when you got me out. I kept them busy enough with my bloodlust to make sure that they don't have the time to rebuild it. That’s where we should hit. That’s their weak spot.”

“I agree with you.” Samir stood up and leaned on the table to bring himself closer to my face and look me in the eyes. “I don't know what we are going to find there, Brooklyn. And I shall hope you will not hold it against me whatever it is. I made a promise that you would live. I never made a promise to be a good and kind male. To keep our word, one must do atrocious things sometimes. I am not proud of it. Any of it. I do not regret it, however. And let us not forget. I am an Atua. I do what my nature demands.”

“Yeah, okay, we get it. You're an asshole. We knew this so there’s no need for additional demonstrations.” Alice grabbed his shoulder and shoved him away from me with surprising ease. “Can you get out of her face now? Dear God, are you all this theatrical, all the time? Everything must have drama and suspense with you guys. We all agree we need to attack tonight. Let's get dressed, and let's go. We can discuss Samir’s shortcomings when we come back and there is a cheesecake.”

“I really like the human.” Chester leaned to whisper in Echoe’s ear.

“Thank you.” Alice made a funny face. “I think?”

“Absolutely fascinating.” Echo agreed with a nod. “I think I want to get myself one too.”

“Me and Brooklyn are friends. I'm not her pet.” Shoving her chair back with the back of her legs. Alice jumped up. “And just because I'm trying to talk nice to you, it doesn't mean I trust you. I still pray to God that He will shove you back to hell.”

“You do?” Genuinely curious, I cooked an eyebrow at Alice.

“Well, not exactly right now.” Shuffling her feet awkwardly, she crunched her nose and pushed her glasses up. “I kinda need them around for the magic, you know. It was fun.”

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