Page 45 of The Fallen
The pressure on my chest increases, making it almost impossible to breathe. It’s too difficult for me to concentrate enough to tap into the power that’s pulsing right beneath my skin.
“Poor little Issac, thinking he can take what’s mine. Entitled little brats should get punished,” Jacob coos.
“Why do all this?” I gasp out.
“You were merely a distraction, and you played your part perfectly.”
“Issac!” Asenath’s voice seems to come from a long way off.
All I can see is the neon green of Jacob’s eyes as if through a tunnel. Feel his power as it slithers down my throat, choking me.
The power binding Asenath and Ben to me flares and then Asenath is there, his grip on my shoulders keeping me from sliding down the wall. I suck in a deep breath, my throat on fire and my ribs feeling like someone hit me with a baseball bat.
Asenath stares down at me, his crimson eyes squinted in a mixture of confusion and concern and I can’t help a snort of laughter. The expression looks odd on him. It isn’t funny, nothing about this situation is funny, but it doesn’t stop the giggle bursting out of my lips.
My attention shoots to where Ben is, but find the spot empty. “Ben?” I ask, my voice coming out as a hoarse croak.
“It’s just you here.” Just me? How can it bejustme? Jacob and Ben were here only seconds ago.
Footsteps thunder towards us, Mr. Muscles and Dean Hayes appearing behind Asenath. “Where’s Ben?” Dean Hayes asks, looking around.
“Jacob,” I say, pushing away from the wall. Asenath’s hands drop away, but he stays close to me. His solid presence at my side is comforting and I lean against him, exhaustion making my muscles weak.
Dean Hayes shares a look with Mr. Muscles before turning back to me, her lips pressing into a thin line. “We discovered something concerning Jacob.”
CHAPTER 8
It’s late, probably early morning, not that it matters. Exhaustion is turning my eyelids into sandpaper, but I can’t convince myself to fall asleep. I’ve been staring at the same crack in the wall for hours, the covers up to my chin as I go over everything I learned earlier. For all I know, Ben could already by dead.
Tears prick my eyes at that realization.
Ben is in the hands of someone far worse than I first thought, Jacob isn’t really Jacob but some ex-communicated Mage. Terrifying, right? If what Mr. Muscles — aka Cecil Arlay — said is true, then Jacob was killed months ago. His body was found decaying in an abandoned section of the tunnel system beneath the Academy.
I mean, the guy was an asshole, but I didn’t want him dead. Okay, maybe a little bit. He was a major asshole.
Instead, a mage by the name of Dimitri killed him and slid seamlessly into Jacob’s life, after using magic to change his appearance. Apparently, the psycho is powerful enough to actively use magic without anyone around him knowing, something I didn’t think was even possible.
Magic has a feel to it that anyone with abilities in their bloodline can pick up on, even if they can’t do magic themselves. We can still feel it.
And he now has Ben. He’s been stalking my best friend and none of us even knew. Once Cecil had uncovered Jacob/Dimitri’s real identity, he had been able to trace his steps and the guy was obsessed with Ben.
Guy had a shrine dedicated to him.
And to add yet another thing to worry about, Jacob/Dimitri’s former roommate can’t be reached, which is concerning. Did the roommate up and leave or is there another body decomposing in the tunnels?
The mattress behind me shifts and a heavy arm slides up my body to rub soothing circles over my chest.
“I can practically feel you thinking,” Asenath rumbles as he rubs his forehead against the back of my neck.
The power that binds the three of us flares painfully and I flinch.
Asenath’s hand tenses against my chest. “Is he. . .” I swallow, forcing the next words through the lump in my throat. “Is Ben being hurt?”
“I would assume so. The binding allows us to feel each other’s pain. If the binding were complete, we would be able to track him down,” Asenath says softly, his breath puffing across the skin of my neck.
His words echo in my mind, reverberating and getting louder. Is this just something he’s saying to get me to say yes? Is there any truth to it? He hasn’t lied to me yet. Hell, even Dean Hayes wasn’t overly upset with Asenath’s presence. They were all able to answer the few questions about demons I could think of after Ben’s abduction.
But am I desperate enough to permanently bind myself to a demon lord on the chance of finding Ben?
