Page 44 of Elemental Love
Evrain began to worry approximately one minute after he thought Dominic should have returned. A sick feeling developed in the pit of his stomach and refused to go away. As time went on, he became increasingly agitated. He knew with absolute certainty that something had happened to Dominic once half an hour had passed. He reasoned that thirty minutes could easily be used up by a fuel stop, a puncture, or a chance meeting with a friend who needed a lift. Any longer and Dominic wouldn’t stay away without a phone call. He knew damn well that Evrain was dancing on hot coals over his safety.
“If he’s just late, I’m going to tan his hide until it glows.” The cabin felt like a prison. Evrain needed space. He slammed out into the garden to pace up and down in the darkness. The change of scenery failed to do anything to calm him. Every part of the neatly laid out plot reminded him of Dominic. Even as he prayed that there was a perfectly innocent reason for Dominic’s tardiness, deep down he knew that something was very wrong.His emotions were out of control so he vented, carefully reaching for the sky before he let go of his power. The wind howled, but soon dissipated. Evrain’s despair increased.
Dominic didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there. He faked unconsciousness for a while, trying to assess the condition of his battered body. He remembered losing control of the truck and crashing down the embankment. He recalled Damon being there, then nothing. Someone, not Damon, had struck him on the back of the head and they had moved silently into position in order to do it. As silently as Sylvester Marks had come up behind him at the derelict house. Could Marks and Symeon Malus be the same person? He didn’t understand how that could be possible but only a few days earlier he hadn’t known about the existence of warlocks. Evrain had said that Symeon was very skilled. Maybe he was able to change his appearance.
With slow, careful movements, Dominic probed the back of his skull. His hair wasn’t stuck together, so he guessed there was no blood. He did, however, find an egg-sized lump, which, when he touched it, sent bolts of pain through his head. “Bad move. Really bad move.” He cracked open an eye, blinking to clear his vision. He was inside a building, lying on the floor in the hall. It was cold and drafty but there was a threadbare carpet runner on the floor, which he was becoming intimately acquainted with. He attempted to get up, making it to his knees before pain wracked him. His ribs ached, and a quick examination beneath his shirt showed lines of extensive bruising from where the seat belt had dug into him during the crash. He glanced around, hoping to find an escape route while he was alone. Perhaps hecould make it to the front door if his captors thought he was still safely unconscious.
He forced his abused limbs to move but, as he rose, Damon appeared from a door at the end of the hall. Dominic ran but he was too slow. Damon caught up with him and tackled him to the floor. Damon got in a couple of vicious kicks before Dominic could get back up. He managed to plant a heavy, retaliatory fist into Damon’s smug face before a punch to his side sent searing agony through him. He collapsed once more, taking shuddering, painful breaths.
“So stupid. What does Evrain see in you?” Damon produced two lengths of rope and tied Dominic up, hands behind his back and ankles crossed. “Be a good boy while I let Symeon know you’re awake.” Damon disappeared, leaving Dominic on the hall floor.
Dominic sobbed, partly from frustration, partly from pain. He tugged on his bonds but they were immoveable.
When he returned a few minutes later, Damon was accompanied by Dominic’s prospective client, Sylvester Marks.
“I don’t understand,” Dominic mumbled, rolling onto his side to get a better view.
Marks smiled, the expression so cold Dominic shivered. As Dominic watched, Marks’ body shimmered, his face became blurred. Dominic shook his head, wondering if the bang on the head had affected his eyesight, but Marks’ face gradually resolved into something new. Marks was Symeon Malus.
I was right. Fuck, what an idiot. I knew there was something off about him.
“A simple glamor,” Symeon explained. “When you can manipulate the air itself, it’s easy to make people see what you want them to see.”
The blond-haired warlock looked down on Dominic with barely controlled glee, an evil glint in his black eyes. Black!Dominic shuddered at how demonic they made Malus seem. Evrain’s green-gold eyes were strange enough—Symeon’s dark glare was terrifying.
“Lock up our guest, Damon. I need to make a call to our novice warlock, something I’m anticipating will be a great deal of fun.” Symeon disappeared toward the back of the house.
Damon pulled a knife from his pants pocket. “There’s nowhere for you to run, Dommy, so behave yourself. Then I won’t be forced to hurt you,” he sneered. He untied Dominic’s ankles and hauled him to his feet. “Though carving a few patterns in you would pass the time.”
“How did you manage not to stab yourself in the ass with that,” Dominic muttered.
“Not a complete doormat, then.” Damon shoved him toward the stairs. “What’s it like getting fucked by Evrain Brookes? I’m assuming you are the fuck-ee rather than the fuck-er. Warlocks are the ultimate alpha males after all.”
“I’m not going to talk to you about Evrain. He’s none of your business.” Dominic stumbled up one flight of stairs, then another.
“Symeon doesn’t agree. Ever since Evrain arrived in this country, he’s all Symeon ever fucking talks about.” Damon’s words had a bitter edge.
“You’re jealous!” Antagonizing Damon probably wasn’t the most sensible option, but Dominic was fed up of being pushed around.
“Am not.” Damon leaned around Dominic to open the attic door. The tip of the knife pressed against Dominic’s back. “What’s to be jealous of when I have Symeon? In you go.”
Dominic stepped into the room. “But Symeon is more interested in Evrain than you.”
“Is not!” The pitch of Damon’s voice rose significantly. He kicked the back of Dominic’s knees, taking him to the floor.“Symeon is going to call your lover boy. What do you think he’ll do to get you back?” He retied Dominic’s ankles, then crouched over him, drawing pictures in the air with his knife. “What are you worth to him?”
Dominic attempted to get into a more comfortable position, but with his hands tied it was impossible.
“He won’t respond to Symeon’s threats. He’s not stupid.”Unlike you.
“Does he channel through you yet, Dommy? Do you enjoy the pain? Is that what you are, his little pain slut to be used and abused at his whim?” Damon stood, then retreated to the wall. He leaned against it and began cleaning his fingernails with the point of his blade.
“Sounds like you’re talking about yourself there, Damon.” Dominic almost felt sorry for him.
“Fuck you. I’ll be back later, then you and I will have some fun.” Damon’s lip twisted into an ugly sneer. He slammed the door behind him, and a cloud of dust from the frame exploded into the air. Dominic turned his head away but still ended up sneezing.
When the phone rang inside the cabin, Evrain dashed through the door, not bothering to close it behind him. He grabbed the receiver, almost dropping it in his haste to answer.
“Dominic?”
