Evarius is sitting with a half-empty bottle of whisky in front of him. He has downed the other half in the past two hours since he came back from seeing Tasha. No matter what he says to himself, he can’t get past that feeling he had when he saw her today after two days and then when she stepped forward to kiss him on the cheek. It feels like her lips have burned a hole into his cheek, and he has touched the spot she kissed countless times since then.He is angry at himself for having let it reach this point. He knows that if it had been anyone else, he would have threatened and forced them to do his bidding. After all, how hard is it to make someone do what you want? Just threaten someone they love. Their friends or their family and they will run around. First, he had decided to spare the binder’s life, but half of it was because of the fiasco last time. However, he had felt that that would be the only obstacle this time. He had counted on Tasha never finding out what his death might
“Do you think it’s Evarius again,” Lilia asks Tasha in a whisper?“No idea. Could be. Although he hasn’t texted me since then.”“Or maybe it’s Sabina,” says Brent, “who knows?”“Let’s stop guessing and check,” Damion says.All of them file out of the kitchen.“I’ll check,” Brent says and walks to the door. He places his eyes at the peephole, withdraws it a second later, and says in a voice full of surprise and disbelief, “It’s the Junta.”“What? Why?” Lilia asks.“Maybe Evarius is doing something he shouldn’t be, and the Junta got alerted,” says Tasha, feeling her heart sink.“But I feel fine,” says Lilia.“For now,” says Damion, “Open the door, Brent, and let’s see what they have to say.”Brent opens the door, and Chiara enters. She takes one look around the room, and her eyes come to rest on Lilia whom she asks, “How are you feeling?”“I feel fine. Normal, as usual,” she replies anxiously, “Why? What’s wrong?”“Nothing yet,” says Chiara. “But it might be. What have you guys been up
Evarius had been waiting for Carl’s text for over an hour when he stopped drinking. Being a vampire, his system got over the alcoholic influence pretty quickly, and by now, he wasn’t back to normal, but he felt much more sober than he did when he had sent the text.But Carl hadn’t texted back. Evarius hadn’t expected him to. This is what is wrong with people who think that they can get away with anything. They try to fight it out till the very end. He knows this very well because he was one of these people, or maybe he still is. Carl would employ the use of his subordinates and friends to escape. Evarius had been counting on Carl to commit this sort of stupidity because some action and chase is what he is looking for right now.He leaves the house and heads to his car. It’s time to drive to Carl’s place. Carl may think that he doesn’t know much about him, but Evarius has always been very careful about knowing his enemies. This has always been important to him. Know your enemy as well
When Damion goes back into the house, he sees that no one is in the hallway anymore. He turns left and enters the hall to find everyone assembled around Tasha who is lying on the sofa, still unconscious.“Why isn’t she waking up,” Damion asks anxiously.“I think whatever the Junta did, impacted her more than us because she is human,” says Nadia, whose face is streaked with tears. “It happened because of me,” she says miserably.“What are you talking about?” Damion asks her because he has no idea how Nadia could blame herself for all this.“I spoke back to her, and that’s when she did all this, and now Lilia is gone because I couldn’t keep quiet...”Fresh tears well up in her eyes.“Absolutely not,” says Damion, “don’t beat yourself up over it. She would have taken Lilia anyway. All you did was stand up for Tasha and the truth.”“Exactly,” says Esther as she reaches over to squeeze her hand. Adeline sits beside Nadia and hugs her.Damion sits opposite Tasha, looking at her face. He co
I feel dazed. The amount of information running through my head is crazy. Rhen’s voice and clear terms echo within this lavish mansion's walls, yet I feel like I might not have a better choice. I have always known what to do and how to take my life ahead. This time, I’m helpless. And miserable. Rhen vexes me. He would undoubtedly be popular among women, and I would have never handed him the control he demands. But the damage is already done. I hold my head in frustration. I don’t like this.A woman, mostly in her mid-sixties, brings me a tray of freshwater and aspirin. I gulp it down, and just like some poison, I decide to gulp my pride and make the decision.‘Puppet, huh?’He didn’t reply. Nor was he guilty.‘Bring the terms. But on one condition. You get my father out.’ ‘He’s better in Jail, though. We can try that.’‘No, Rhen, promise me.’An expression of apparent mockery leaves his face as he scoots closer to me. Rhen holds my gaze with his psychotic face again. Oh, the way I wi
Damion and Tyrus have reached Damion’s grandmother’s place. They have told her everything that has happened since last night. She is now performing her spells to pinpoint the location of the Junta. Last time, she had done something to send them a message and call them here. But this time, she has to be as discreet as possible.After a while of muttering and chanting, she says, “Yes, I have them. They are at Arrowall.”“I’ve never heard of this place,” says Damion.“Neither have I,” Tyrus says.“It’s a small village about five hundred kilometers to the east from here.,” Anastasia explains.Damion notices that she looks more worried than she had before, and he is about to ask her why when she says, “How can you be sure that Lilia is at Arrowall?”Damion is confused by this and says, “We know because the Junta has taken her, and she would be wherever they are.”“No, you don’t understand,” Anastasia says, “the spell I just performed traces the location of the junta tribe i.e wherever the
Although Evarius has agreed to the trade, Carl is skeptical. What if he learns the information and still tortures him for the stone? He knows he might be stretching his luck thin by saying what he is about to say, but he has no choice.“How can I be sure,” he says slowly and carefully, “that you will follow through with the deal?”“You can’t,” says Evarius simply. “You cannot be sure, but I give you my word. If what you tell me is valuable to me, I will leave without the stone. People may consider me selfish, evil, or ruthless. They are not entirely wrong, but I keep my word.”*The confidence with which Carl is claiming to have some information is intriguing to Evarius though he makes sure to seem mildly indifferent.Carl takes a deep breath and says, “As I said, I know you want the Binder and so do I, as a matter of fact, which I think you already know. This is the reason I am always up to date about wherever she is even though I can’t get near her. Now, last night, the Junta kidnap
Tasha and the others are sitting in the hall. Brent has just informed Damion and Tyrus about Lilia’s location. The phone is on speaker, and Damion is explaining what his grandmother has told them. Tasha’s head feels a little heavy. She doesn’t know whether that is because of what she is hearing and her fear for Lilia or because of the injury. A bit of both, maybe.“So, what do we do!?” Damion asks in a panicked voice.“We call Sabina for help,” says Tasha.“Yes,” Brent continues, “Both of you return as quickly as possible. Tyrus, contact Sabina, and we all assemble here to plan.”“Okay, we are coming right away,” says Damion and cuts the call.All of them sit around the hall, thinking.“Do you think we should call other people for help as well?” Brent asks.“What we need,” Esther says, “is witches. We only have Tasha, and they must have a hundred witches there. We need magical help.”“But witches don’t go against their own kind,” Nadia says in a worrying tone.“Unless we find someone