Page 94 of Of Mercury and Mist

“You never told her anything, did you?” I eyed Della.

She shook her head. “No, of course not.” She sat down where I’d been seated a moment before. “I never said a word, though I wanted to. I kinda suspected you had a thing for her, but you drove her nuts. I mean, you nagged her and harassed her. She called you ‘asshole’ and I didn’t have to ask who that was.”

Kiam snickered.

“After what happened with you, I didn’t want to chance it, and it pissed me off. Well, she pissed me off. She wouldn’t give me the time of day.” I started pacing, wearing a path on the floor.

Della frowned before she said, “She’s sensitive. She hasn’t told me a whole lot, but she has an ex who did a number on her. I offered to talk to Josiah for her once, about how you were acting. I don’t think I ever did though.” She glanced up at him and he shook his head.

“The two of you were friends at one point, weren’t you?” Della asked me.

“Well, this therapy session is great and all but I’m going to get going before you get started on positive affirmations. I’ll see what I can dig up on Samuel,” Kiam announced, giving Josiah a curt nod before he walked away.

Della’s question hung in the air, unanswered. It wasn’t necessary. Being merely friends with her was never an option. Every molecule that made up the fiber of my being craved her, wanting to burrow inside her heart and her mind to the point neither of us knew where the other began or ended. Friends.

Over my dead body.

The front door shut behind him and I turned to Josiah. “I’m going to do what I can. You’ll hear how it goes, I’m sure.”

“You can always petition for mercy,” he said.

I scoffed, remembering how well that went when people had asked him for the courtesy. Not good, if my recollection could be relied on. I distinctly remembered how much we both loved the plea and the onslaught of emotions it would release in the atmosphere when it was denied. Aura drunk was a wild phenomenon that lasted hours and the debauchery that ensued was a days-long party. The wine, the women, and the feasting could last up to week before the effects wore off. The Second Realm abhorred minimalism and restraint.

“You can fight your way out,” he encouraged. “Don’t forget she’ll likely be drugged so deeply she can’t remember who she is.”

I’d have to remind her who she was. I waved a dismissive hand at Josiah before the magnitude of what he’d stated sank in.

“What if I’ve lost her forever?” I said, momentarily caving to the black thoughts. It was unthinkable, though the idea would hover the recesses of my mind until she was back in my arms.

Dark amusement filled my voice, “She stabbed me in the heart.” She was stronger than anyone knew.Iknew. I’d watched, I’d lurked and recorded her, filing away every morsel of her personality as I discovered it. Obsessive didn’t even begin to cover the illness that’d infected me when it came to the woman. It was why it hurt so bad when I’d thought she betrayed me, but it was also why I should’ve known better. My transgressions would be a black mark on my soul for eternity.

“She wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t care for you deeply,” Josiah’s voice thickened. “Why do you think I haven’t gone and killed her myself?”

If anyone else had maimed me in such a manner, he would have gone after them immediately. He wouldn’t have stopped until he’d seized their mortal life. He’d done me a massive favor by restraining himself and shown the mercy and deep love he had for me.

“Thank you,” I said. Della was watching me, her eyes soft and her smile tight. “I’ll bring her back for you,” I promised Ashley’s friend.

* * *

I was achingto get a move on, but I knew I had to find an advantage. Ashley wouldn’t be sacrificed too quickly, not if they were counting on me making an appearance. I had to assume she was relatively safe for now. Haste would be my worst enemy.

My wraiths gathered up my books and fetched extra blades for me while I sat in my study, paging through tome after tome, to see what I could find. The best I’d found were spells to mitigate pain, which I knew I was in for a world of. I’d decided to take Josiah’s advice and plead for mercy. Best I could hope for was finding a weakness of theirs to exploit. during the process. Having worked with and for them, I knew the opportunities would be minimal. I was aware of all the tricks. Magic was the only viable route to success.

Neither Josiah or I had yet figured out if they replaced their slain board member and that left four formidable beings who captured their power by slaughtering and consuming sorcerers. While all vampires and demons contained magic, sorcerers held power above and beyond anyone else. Due to their prized status, they tended toward a solitary, nomadic lifestyle, but that hadn’t stopped the Collective from hunting them down and stealing their gifts. With only four possible foes, that gave me an advantage compared to five. Oftentimes, for security reasons, only two or three at a time visited the palace compound.

There was no way for me to know what I faced. Not even Kiam had known, and he’d been occasionally scouting the area. This told us they were cautious, biding their time and keeping their cards held close to their chest. We’d been trying to keep ourselves as separate as we could from our old life, yet it kept us in the peripheral.

“Thank you,” I murmured to the wraith who’d brought me a fresh glass of blood. “Please see to it that the supply is replenished.” The way I’d been imbibing since Ashley thrust the blade I gave her into my chest, stock must've been depleted.

The wraith bowed and sprang backward like a rubber band, and I was left alone after flicking my fingers at the door, locking it. I wanted to transcribe the two spells I’d settled on, but I would have to memorize them so they wouldn't be discovered. I needed an atmosphere cleansed of distractions to accomplish that.

I focused, concentrating and shutting out all other sounds. The din of traffic and car horns, the clattering of my wraiths doing God knew what outside these walls, faded away as I burned the words onto the screen of my mind.

It was time to go. I thought about getting changed but decided to remain in my three-piece suit and tie, after swapping out my tie pin for an older one I’d acquired back home in the Second Realm.

The entire piece of jewelry was formed of a solid ruby, magic having been used in its creation. It was beautiful and sparkled with an otherworldly glitter—which was appropriate, considering where it came from. I wanted Ashley to see it and remember when I’d taken what I wanted and thrown her over my shoulder. My heavy heel had crushed another ruby pin after she’d tried to escape.

There was no escape from me.

---